Friday, May 31, 2013

Alarm grows as Iraqi forces fail to stem violence

BAGHDAD (AP) ? Officials in Iraq are growing increasingly concerned over an unabated spike in violence that claimed at least another 33 lives on Thursday and is reviving fears of a return to widespread sectarian fighting.

Authorities announced plans to impose a sweeping ban on many cars across the Iraqi capital starting early Friday in an apparent effort to thwart car bombings, as the United Nations envoy to Iraq warned that "systemic violence is ready to explode."

Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki, meanwhile, was shown on state television visiting security checkpoints around Baghdad the previous night as part of a three-hour inspection tour, underscoring the government's efforts to show it is acting to curtail the bloodshed.

Iraqi security forces are struggling to contain the country's most relentless round of violence since the 2011 U.S. military withdrawal.

The rise in violence follows months of protests against the Shiite-led government by Iraq's Sunni minority, many of whom feel they've been marginalized and unfairly treated since the 2003 U.S.-led invasion. Tensions escalated sharply last month after a deadly crackdown by security forces on a Sunni protest camp.

Sunni militants, including al-Qaida, have long targeted Iraq's Shiite majority and government security forces. But Sunni mosques and other targets have also been struck over the past several weeks, raising the possibility that Shiite militias are also growing more active.

Several members of the security forces were killed in Thursday's bombings. The attacks also included an assassination attempt by a suicide bomber targeting a provincial governor in the country's Sunni-dominated west.

"These daily patterns of car bomb attacks ... in Baghdad and some other cities (are) really unacceptable for the people of Iraq, who have suffered so much," Foreign Minister Hoshyar Zebari said Thursday.

"It's the government's responsibility to redouble its efforts, to revise its security plans, to contain this wave, to prevent it from sliding into sectarian conflict and war," he added. "That should not happen again."

The spike in violence, which has gained momentum since the middle of the month, is raising worries that Iraq is heading back toward the widespread sectarian bloodletting that spiked in 2006 and 2007 and pushed the country to the brink of civil war.

More than 500 people have been killed in May. The month before was Iraq's deadliest since June 2008, according to a United Nations tally that put April's death toll at more than 700.

"Iraq is a reactor that's overheating and there's little coolant available," said Ramzy Mardini, an analyst at the Beirut-based Iraq Institute for Strategic Studies. "Iraq's nascent politics is not quipped to sustain the current dangerous levels of internal and external pressure. There needs to be an off-ramp to relieve some of the pressure."

The vehicle ban coming into effect Friday applies to cars bearing temporary black license plates. Those plates are common in post-war Iraq, where for years it was difficult to obtain new ones. They are typically on older-model vehicles and are more difficult to trace, and authorities say they are frequently used in car bombings.

Most of Thursday's blasts erupted in Baghdad.

Car bombs killed four in the northeastern Shiite neighborhood of Binouq, and three died in a bombing at a market selling spare car parts in central Baghdad, according to police. In Baghdad's eastern Shiite Ur neighborhood, a parked car bomb went off next to an army patrol, killing four and wounding 17, police said.

Police officials also said that a roadside bomb exploded near a police patrol in the largely Shiite central commercial district of Karradah, killing three people there. That explosion shattered glass on several storefronts and left the stricken police unit's modified Ford pickup truck charred and mangled.

"What have these innocent people done to deserve this?" asked witness Sinan Ali. "So many people were hurt. Who is responsible?"

In Baghdad's northern Shiite neighborhood of Shaab, a car bomb exploded in a commercial area, killing six civilians and wounding 17 others.

In the largely Sunni neighborhood of Azamiyah in the capital's north, a car bomb struck near a military convoy, killing three people, including two soldiers, according to police. Another 14 people were wounded in that attack.

A bomb hidden on a minibus killed three and maimed eight in the eastern mixed Sunni-Shiite New Baghdad neighborhood. And a police patrol was struck in the southern neighborhood of Saydiyah, wounding six.

Hospital officials confirmed the casualties.

In Anbar province, the provincial governor escaped an assassination attempt when a suicide bomber rammed his explosive-laden car into his convoy, his deputy Dhari Arkan said. The governor escaped unharmed, but four of his guards were wounded.

Anbar is a vast Sunni-dominated province west of Baghdad that for months has been the center of protests against the Shiite-led government.

In the former insurgent stronghold city of Mosul, about 360 kilometers (225 miles) northwest of Baghdad, a suicide bomber attacked a federal police checkpoint, killing three people, according to police.

And to the west of Mosul, a suicide attacker drove his explosives-packed car into a security checkpoint, killing two members of the security forces and two civilians, according to a police officer and a doctor. Eight other people were wounded in the attacks in the town of Tal Afar, they added.

All officials spoke on condition of anonymity because they weren't authorized to talk to the media.

The United Nations envoy to Iraq, Martin Kobler, urged Iraqi leaders to do more to "pull the country out of this mayhem."

"Systemic violence is ready to explode at any moment," he said in a statement.

There was no immediate claim of responsibility for the attacks but blame for many of the attacks is likely to fall on al-Qaida's Iraq arm, which frequently carries out bombings against civilians and security forces in an effort to undermine faith in the Shiite-led government.

Other militant groups have also grown more active in recent months, including the Army of the Men of the Naqshabandi Order, which has ties to members of Saddam Hussein's now-outlawed Baath party.

The attacks began hours after bomb blasts tore through two Baghdad neighborhoods Wednesday evening, killing at least 30, including several members of a wedding party in the mixed Sunni-Shiite Jihad neighborhood.

___

Associated Press writers Qassim Abdul-Zahra and Sinan Salaheddin contributed to this story.

___

Follow Adam Schreck on Twitter at http://twitter.com/adamschreck

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/alarm-grows-iraqi-forces-fail-stem-violence-190227075.html

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HBO's VICE crew surprised by North Korean leader

NEW YORK (AP) ? The documentary crew that accompanied Dennis Rodman to North Korea over the winter says it had no idea it would meet the reclusive country's young leader, Kim Jong Un, until he showed up at a basketball game it was filming.

The media company VICE arranged the trip and invited Rodman after its first choice, Michael Jordan, expressed no interest. A 30-minute documentary on the unexpected piece of basketball diplomacy will air on June 14 on HBO as the final episode of VICE's first season, and was previewed for some reporters on Wednesday.

The North Korean leader loves basketball so much that he overlooked the government's antipathy for VICE founder Shane Smith, who had made two critical documentaries on North Korea, and invited the crew in. Smith wasn't allowed back but VICE's Ryan Duffy accompanied Rodman and three members of the Harlem Globetrotters traveling basketball troupe.

"We just wanted to make a good documentary," Smith said in an interview. "We didn't do it as a stunt."

Duffy quickly learned his place: One of the first things one of his "tour guides" told him was, "I know who you are. I don't like you and I don't like your company," he said Wednesday. The crew was told when it could turn on its cameras and when they had to be off, and feared landing in a North Korean prison if it didn't comply, he said.

The North Koreans did not go through the footage shot by the crew, however. Some 36 hours of film was cut down into the half-hour HBO show, and some may surface later as online extras.

The crew went through an elaborate week-long organized tour of North Korea's capital of Pyongyang, visiting a well-stocked mall with no other customers and the country's version of Sea World. At one point, it was shown a classroom with students sitting behind computers, but only one person either knew how or was allowed to use one of the machines. One student sat before Google's home page and never searched for anything, just moving the cursor back and forth randomly.

The tour was taken in the hopes of catching one or two glimpses of the real North Korean people, which the group finally achieved toward the end when its minders let the bus stop at a park and the Globetrotters played around with some of the kids, helping them learn to spin a basketball on their finger.

Duffy said the group was surprised when Kim arrived to watch what was essentially a pickup basketball game with the Globetrotters and some members of a North Korean youth team. Rodman didn't play; he sat in the stands watching with Kim. After the game, the VICE crew and players were rushed across Pyongyang unexpectedly for a dinner with Kim and other members of the North Korean government.

Although Rodman was key to securing the visit and played the most prominent role of any of the visiting Americans, he's only a bit player in VICE's documentary. Smith said Rodman declined to be interviewed about the trip by VICE afterward.

The American group brought in some basketballs and basketball equipment to distribute to young North Koreans, but wasn't asked for anything else by its hosts, Smith said. VICE hasn't spoken to anyone in the Obama administration about the trip, he said. During the trip, the administration had refrained from commenting about it.

HBO and VICE have not agreed to continue its series of news documentaries beyond this season, but the arrangement is likely. HBO said the show gets solid ratings, while VICE said the network gives VICE valuable exposure beyond the young audience that traditionally follows its product.

Smith said he's open to heading back to North Korea at some point in the future.

Next time, VICE may take Scottie Pippen.

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/hbos-vice-crew-surprised-north-korean-leader-183943215.html

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Thursday, May 30, 2013

U.S. banks report record earnings of $40.3B for Q1

WASHINGTON (AP) -- U.S. banks earned more from January through March than during any quarter on record, buoyed by greater income from fees and fewer losses from bad loans.

The banking industry earned $40.3 billion in the first quarter, the Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. said Wednesday. That's the highest ever for a single quarter and up 15.8 percent from the first quarter of 2012, when the industry's profits were $34.8 billion.

Record profits show banks have come a long way from the 2008 financial crisis. But the report offered a reminder that the industry is still struggling to help the broader economy recover from the Great Recession.

Only about half of U.S. banks reported improved earnings from a year earlier, the lowest proportion since 2009. That shows the industry's growth is being driven by a narrower group of the nation's largest banks.

Those banks include Bank of America Corp., Citigroup Inc., JPMorgan Chase & Co. and Wells Fargo & Co. Most of them have recovered with help from federal bailout money and record-low borrowing rates.

Bank lending declined from the October-December quarter, although that followed several quarters of increases.

And bank profits from interest charged fell 2.2 percent to $104 billion. The industry's average interest income as a percentage of total loans on its books fell from 3.35 percent to 3.27 percent. That's the lowest portion of total loans in nearly seven years.

That has forced banks to see more revenue from fees, despite complaints from customers and consumer advocates.

FDIC Chairman Martin Gruenberg said the banking industry "is in much stronger shape today than it was three years ago." But he added that "it's a fairly tricky environment for the industry" because of narrowing profit margins from charging interest and relatively weak demand for loans.

Income earned from interest on loans is falling in part because interest rates have been near record lows. The Federal Reserve's aggressive stimulus programs since the crisis have exerted downward pressure on short- and long-term interest rates, making mortgages and other loans cheaper. The Fed's low interest-rate policies are intended to boost borrowing and spending to accelerate overall economic growth.

Still, many banks have adopted stricter lending standards since the financial crisis, requiring higher credit scores, larger down payments and proof of employment. So while loans are a bargain, they are only available to those who can qualify.

Another sign of the industry's health is that fewer banks are at risk of failure. The number of banks on the FDIC's "problem" list fell to 612 from 651 as of Dec. 31.

And so far this year, only 13 banks have failed. That follows 51 closures last year, 92 in 2011 and 157 in 2010. The 2010 closures were the most in one year since the height of the savings and loan crisis in 1992.

On Tuesday, Moody's Investors Service said it had raised its outlook for the U.S. banking industry from "Negative" to "Stable," the first increase in five years. The rating agency said sustained economic growth and a better jobs picture will help banks over the next 12 to 18 months.

The FDIC is backed by the government, and its deposits are guaranteed up to $250,000 per account. Apart from its deposit insurance fund, the agency also has tens of billions in loss reserves.

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/us-banks-report-record-earnings-140234172.html

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Human error blamed in deaths of 7 Marines during training (CNN)

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Cosmic glitch: Astronomers discover new phenomenon in neutron star

May 29, 2013 ? The physics behind some of the most extraordinary stellar objects in the Universe just became even more puzzling.

A group of astronomers led by McGill researchers using NASA's Swift satellite have discovered a new kind of glitch in the cosmos, specifically in the rotation of a neutron star.

Neutron stars are among the densest objects in the observable universe; higher densities are found only in their close cousins, black holes. A typical neutron star packs as much mass as half-a-million Earths within a diameter of only about 20 kilometers. A teaspoonful of neutron star matter would weigh approximately 1 billion tons, roughly the same as 100 skyscrapers made of solid lead.

Neutron stars are known to rotate very rapidly, from a few revolutions per minute to as fast as several hundred times per second. A neutron star glitch is an event in which the star suddenly begins rotating faster. These sudden spin-up glitches have long been thought to demonstrate that these exotic ultra-dense stellar objects contain some form of liquid, likely a superfluid.

This new cosmic glitch was detected in a special kind of neutron star -- a magnetar -- an ultra-magnetized neutron star that can exhibit dramatic outbursts of X-rays, sometimes so strong they can affect Earth's atmosphere from clear across the galaxy. A magnetar's magnetic field is so strong that, if one were located at the distance of the Moon, it could wipe clean a credit card magnetic strip here on Earth.

Now astronomers led by a research group at McGill University have discovered a new phenomenon: they observed a magnetar suddenly rotate slower -- a cosmic braking act they've dubbed an "anti-glitch." The result is reported in the May 30 issue of Nature.

The magnetar in question, 1E 2259+586 located roughly 10,000 light years away in the constellation of Cassiopeia, was being monitored by the McGill group using the Swift X-ray telescope in order to study the star's rotation and try to detect the occasional giant X-ray explosions that are often seen from magnetars.

"I looked at the data and was shocked -- the neutron star had suddenly slowed down," says Rob Archibald, lead author and MSc student at McGill University. "These stars are not supposed to behave this way."

Accompanying the sudden slowdown, which rang in at one third of a part per million of the 7-second rotation rate, was a large increase in the X-ray output of the magnetar, telltale evidence of a major event inside or near the surface of the neutron star.

"We've seen huge X-ray explosions from magnetars before," says Victoria Kaspi, Professor of Physics at McGill and leader of the Swift magnetar monitoring program, "but an anti-glitch was quite a surprise. This is telling us something brand new about the insides of these amazing objects." In 2002, NASA's Rossi X-ray Timing Explorer satellite also saw a large X-ray outburst from the source, but in that case, it was accompanied by a more usual spin-up glitch.

The internal structure of neutron stars is a long-standing puzzle, as the matter inside these stars is subject to forces so intense that they are presently not re-creatable in terrestrial laboratories. The densities at the hearts of neutron stars are thought to be upwards of 10 times higher than in the atomic nucleus, far beyond what current theories of matter can describe.

The reported anti-glitch strongly suggests previously unrecognized behaviour inside neutron stars, possibly with pockets of superfluid rotating at different speeds. The researchers further point out in the Nature paper that some properties of conventional glitches have been noted to be puzzling and suggestive of flaws in the existing theory to explain them. They are hoping that the discovery of a new phenomenon will open the door to renewed progress in understanding neutron star interiors.

The research was funded in part by the Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council of Canada, the Canadian Institute for Advanced Research, the Fonds de recherche du Qu?bec -- Nature et technologies, the Canada Research Chairs program, the Lorne Trottier Chair in Astrophysics and Cosmology, and the Centre de recherche en Astrophysique du Qu?bec.

Source: http://feeds.sciencedaily.com/~r/sciencedaily/top_news/top_science/~3/o58OduJAT2w/130529130522.htm

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Arrested Development, Season 4

In?Slate?s?Arrested Development?TV Club, two fans will IM about each episode of Season 4 once they finish watching it. Today,?Brow Beat?editor David Haglund and editorial assistant Emma Roller recap Episode 1, "Flight of the Phoenix."

David Haglund: So, you and I have both watched much more than just the first episode, yes?

Emma Roller:?Of course. I?m half-proud and half-embarrassed to say I finished the entire season in a day.

Haglund: Well done! I still have a few to go. Nonetheless, I thought maybe we could begin with first impressions of the first episode, before we get to our more considered, 24-hours-later reflections. At the beginning of Season 4, we learn that following the boat party fiasco that ended Season 3, Michael traded his shares in the family company to Lucille Austero, so that she could take it over; then he borrowed money to finish the Sudden Valley development, which sits entirely unoccupied, since there are no roads connecting it to the outside world. (Also: no Internet.) Finally, he moved into his son George Michael?s dorm room, a nearly broken man. Fun stuff! On first viewing, what did you think?

Roller: I don?t know what I expected. I liked the role reversal of Michael/George Michael, especially the switching of a line from the show?s pilot: ?What have we always said is the most important thing?? And unlike Michael?s smartphone calendar, the show isn?t stuck in 2003. I enjoyed the jab at the Bluths receiving stimulus money, only for George Sr. to spend it on land where he can build a border fence. The plot lagged as the episode went on, though?they spent the last third of the episode on voting Michael out of George Michael?s dorm room, which I thought was a bit overstretched. But it?s the poor carpenter who blames his shoddy tools, after all. What did you think?

Haglund: My reaction was similar. That vote-Michael-out-of-the-dorm-room storyline took forever! Even if it paid off in a couple of good gags at the airport. (?Well, of course P-Hound?s going to vote you out,? says the guy X-raying Michael?s luggage.) The freedom of the Netflix format mostly seems like a good thing, but? maybe if they?d had to cut this down to 22 minutes, they would have edited it a bit more ruthlessly. I was encouraged, though, by both the stimulus-funded-anti-immigration-wall scheme (these episodes are indeed taking place in Obama?s?or Boehner?s?America) and the bringing low of Michael Bluth. There were some amusing callbacks to the first three seasons, but they didn?t overwhelm the show. Kristen Wiig was delightful as a young Lucille, but Seth Rogen was inert as a young George, Sr. Poor casting there, I thought. And the episode highlighted the challenge of working around everyone?s schedules. These characters are funniest when they?re bouncing off one another, but we necessarily got much less of that.

Finally, is it just me, or are jokes about Michael Cera-Jesse Eisenberg confusion rather old hat? Granted, ?anti-social network? is pretty funny.

Roller: Huh. I like Kristen Wiig as much as the next tiny-handed person, but her Lucille portrayal didn?t do it for me?although that probably speaks more to the stubbornness of my love for Jessica Walter. And before I figured out that they were mocking The Social Network, I kept thinking, ?Man, why is George Michael such a jerk now?? And I definitely agree that the biggest problem?scheduling the old cast together?is an intractable one. That said, is it selfish that I don?t particularly care to meet any new characters?

Haglund:?I don?t know if it?s selfish or just overly nostalgic. The hair-trigger online response to these episodes seemed to be disappointment?people I follow on Twitter were taking general potshots, because of all the unpleasantness. ?Why isn?t it immediately as good as the first three seasons!? But the form pretty much requires it to be different, and Hurwitz clearly didn?t shy away from that. (Also, I really like some of the new characters we meet later on in the season.) And there were enough good moments in this first one?the whole bit about not tipping African-Americans, that ostrich tackle at the end?that I was happy to keep watching.

Roller:?Well, I don?t care about ostriches. Actually, I do, I just wonder if the ostrich plot is intended as karmic payback for that Season 1 remark of Lindsay?s. And to tell you the truth, I?ve been avoiding Twitter like Barry avoids paying with a credit card. But if fans are disappointed that the show didn?t pick up exactly where Season 3 left off, they need to get over their?fine, our?nostalgia. It?s a different show: The jokes have more breathing room, the strong have become the weak, etc. But Mitch Hurwitz has a few more illusions up his sleeve.

Haglund:?Agreed. Before we wrap up, let?s confess a few jokes we didn?t get on first viewing, and lay on the table anything we?re still trying to puzzle out. I didn?t notice the Showstealer Pro Trial Version watermark on the flashback sequences the first time?possibly the geekiest joke a sitcom has ever made (it apparently confused some people). I also failed to spot all the in-jokes on the airport mural Michael passes in Phoenix on the moving walkway. As for things that puzzled me: Is Cinco de Quatro somehow a joke on Star Wars Day (?May the Fourth be with you?)?

Roller: Upon first viewing, I didn?t notice the Vertigo theme playing when Michael tries to kiss Lucille 2.

Haglund:?Was it? Cut to two minutes later. Having re-listened, I think that was pseudo-Herrmann?but definitely meant to allude to the Hitchcock classic, at least.

Roller: I did pick out the loose seal in the mural at the Phoenix airport, but I missed the Mexican church and other Easter eggs. I fully plan on watching the episodes again with a Talmudic scholar?s patience. I?m a scholar. I enjoy scholarly pursuits.

Haglund:? I look forward to chatting again a little farther down the line.

?Roller: Adios, brothiero.?

Source: http://feeds.slate.com/click.phdo?i=e9a1a4438188a0dd537474af866af94d

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Stocks jump after confidence, house prices surge

NEW YORK (AP) ? A rally that brought the stock market to record highs this year came back to life after consumer confidence reached a five-year high and U.S. home prices rose the most in seven years. As stock prices rose investors sold bonds, sending interest rates higher.

The Dow Jones industrial average rose 106 points to close at another record Tuesday, bouncing back from a loss the week before. The Standard & Poor's 500 index also gained. The S&P is on track for its seventh straight monthly increase, the longest winning streak since 2009.

"They say the stock market tends to lead the economy. Now we're starting to see the improvement on the economic front, so there's some justification for this rally," said Ryan Detrick, a senior technical strategist at Schaeffer's investment research.

The yield on the 10-year Treasury note jumped to 2.17 percent, its highest level since April 2012, as investors moved money out of safe assets and into riskier ones like stocks. That's a big move from Friday's level of 2.01 percent. Markets were closed Monday for Memorial Day.

The stock market is coming off a rare loss last week, when both the Dow and the S&P 500 index had their first losing weeks in a month. Investors worried that the Federal Reserve might slow its extraordinary economic stimulus measures, which have also supported the stock market's advance.

The gains were broad. Eight of the 10 industry groups in the S&P 500 index rose, led by financial stocks. The only groups that fell were utilities and telecommunication companies, which investors tend to buy when they're seeking stable, safe stocks that pay high dividends. All but six of the 30 stocks in the Dow rose.

Some of the most eye-catching price moves were in the bond market.

Bond yields are rising in anticipation that the Fed may ease back on its $85 billion monthly bond purchases. Tim Courtney, chief investment officer at Exencial Wealth Advisors, is among those who see a bleak outlook for the bond market. While inflation is currently low, it will likely start to rise within one or two years if the economy continues to improve, Courtney said.

Higher inflation prompts investors to demand higher yields, pushing down bond prices and inflicting losses on bond investors.

"The only way that bonds can make money from here is if we go a prolonged period of time with very, very low inflation and rates just don't move up a whole lot at all," said Courtney. "Under any other scenario they lose."

Treasury yields are used as benchmarks to set interest rates for consumer loans and mortgages. While they have increased sharply this month, they are still relatively close to the record low of 1.39 percent reached last July.

The Standard & Poor's/Case-Shiller survey, which was released before stock trading opened, found that U.S. home prices rose 10.9 percent in March, the most since April 2006. A growing number of buyers are bidding on a tight supply of homes. Beazer Homes jumped 44 cents, or 2.1 percent, to $21.79.

Stocks extended their gains in the morning after the Conference Board reported at 10 a.m. that its measure of consumer confidence rose in May to its highest level since February 2008.

The Dow was up as much as 218 in the early going, then gave up some of its gain in the afternoon.

Some analysts said investors were likely booking gains as the end of the month approached on Friday. The Dow is up 3.8 percent so far in May. The S&P 500 is 3.9 percent higher.

"It's the end of the month," said Quincy Krosby, a market strategist at Prudential Financial. "If you've been long and you'd done very well you want to lock in those gains."

The Dow closed 106.29 points, or 0.7 percent, higher at 15,409.39. The index has risen for 20 straight Tuesdays. The longest streak of consecutive gains for any day of the week was sent in 1968, when there were 24 gains on Wednesdays, according to Schaeffer's Investment Research.

The S&P 500 index rose 10.46 points, or 0.6 percent, to 1,660.06. The Nasdaq composite index climbed 29.74 points, or 0.9 percent, to 3,488.89.

The Dow has advanced 17.6 percent this year and the S&P 500 index is 16.4 percent higher as investors have piled into stocks.

Unlike the first three months of the year, when the biggest gains were in large companies in steady industries that pay big dividends, investors have been bidding up the stocks of companies that will gain more if the economy continues to strengthen. That shift out of lower-risk stocks, like utilities, and into more "cyclical" stocks, like banks and industrial companies, means investors are becoming more aggressive in seeking returns and more comfortable taking on risk.

Another bullish signal for the market is the strong growth in small-company stocks. Those stocks have a greater potential for appreciation but also tend to carry greater risk than large, diversified companies. The preference for small stocks was on display again Tuesday as the Russell 2000 index of small-company stocks rose 1.3 percent, more than other market indexes, to 997.35 points, a gain of 13.08 points. Its year-to-date increase of 17.4 percent is 1 percentage point greater than that of the S&P 500.

Among other stocks making big moves:

?Tiffany rose $3.01, or 3.9 percent, to $79.22 after the high-end jewelry seller said its first quarter net income rose 3 percent as sales improved across all regions. The results beat the forecasts of Wall Street analysts.

?Tesla Motors jumped $13.25, or 13.7 percent, to $110.33. Last week the electric car maker raised almost $1 billion from a bond and stock offering and paid off a government loan nine years early. The company is also set to announce this week that it's expanding a network of car-charging stations.

?Railway operator CSX fell 20 cents, or 0.8 percent, to $25.30 after one of its freight trains derailed in a Baltimore suburb.

?Electricity company FirstEnergy dropped 6.5 percent, or $2.76, to $39.86 after Credit Suisse stripped the company of its "outperform" rating, saying that a glut of energy would push down prices the company is able to charge.

In commodities trading, the price of oil rose 86 cents, or 0.9 percent, to $95.01. Gold fell $7.70, or 0.6 percent, to $1,378.90 an ounce. The dollar rose against the euro and the Japanese yen.

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/stocks-jump-confidence-house-prices-surge-213849495.html

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Discuss the latest Samsung Galaxy Note 3 rumors at AndroidForums.com [Forum Talk]

galaxy-note-2-feature

Samsung?s next big (literally and figuratively speaking) rumored phone is the Galaxy Note 3, and you?re probably looking for a safe haven to discuss every juicy piece of information that comes out about the phone. That safe haven exists over at the Samsung Galaxy Note 3 section at AndroidForums.com. Folks are discussing this handset quite early, so by the time it launches later this year (we believe Samsung will unveil it this September at or around IFA Berlin) you know folks will be filing in by the boatload.

So far, we?ve learned that Samsung once thought about using metal for this release (though they reportedly ended up changing their minds), the device might have a 6-inch displayand 3GB of RAM, and the latest suggests a 13 megapixel zoom camera and a Qualcomm Snapdragon 800 processor. It?s shaping up to be quite the ridiculous device, and if you can?t contain your excitement and must share said excitement with others there?s no better place to be. Stop in and say hello, and be sure to participate in all the discussion surrounding Samsung?s next big thing.



Source: http://phandroid.com/2013/05/28/samsung-galaxy-note-3-forums/

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Tuesday, May 28, 2013

Zach Galifianakis Goatee: What Do You Think?

Source: http://www.thehollywoodgossip.com/2013/05/zach-galifianakis-goatee-what-do-you-think/

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Hubble sees a swirl of star formation

May 28, 2013 ? The Hubble Space Telescope has captured the image of an unusual galaxy -- a beautiful, glittering swirl named, rather un-poetically, J125013.50+073441.5. A glowing haze of material seems to engulf the galaxy, stretching out into space in different directions and forming a fuzzy streak in this image. It is a starburst galaxy -- a name given to galaxies that show unusually high rates of star formation. The regions where new stars are being born are highlighted by sparkling bright blue regions along the galactic arms.

Studying starburst galaxies can tell us a lot about galactic evolution and star formation. These galaxies start off with huge amounts of gas, which is used to form new stars. This period of furious star formation is only a phase; once all the gas is used up, this star birth slows down. Other famous starbursts captured by Hubble include the Antennae Galaxies and Messier 82, the latter of which is forming new stars ten times faster than our galaxy, the Milky Way.

The data for this image were collected using Hubble's Wide Field Camera 3 as part of a study named LARS (Lyman Alpha Reference Sample), which is investigating the interaction between radiation and matter in relatively nearby starburst galaxies.

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The above story is reprinted from materials provided by NASA.

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Source: http://feeds.sciencedaily.com/~r/sciencedaily/top_news/~3/Kjg5BTL-UN4/130528105104.htm

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LG exec says the company won't make the Nexus 5

Korea Times LG working with Google on another Nexus phone

Despite the ladles of praise heaped upon LG's Nexus 4, the company's European VP doesn't believe we'll see the company build the next iteration in the range. During a chat with AllAboutPhones, Kim Wong said that the Nexus 4's success means that the company "does not need such a marketing success again" -- disagreeing with the Korea Times, which said just the opposite at the start of the month. Wong added that whilst the company is still friendly with Google, it won't be entering the stock Android game any time soon, thanks to a desire to bring LG's own skin-friendly experience to users.

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Source: All About Phones (Translated)

Source: http://feeds.engadget.com/~r/weblogsinc/engadget/~3/0VbP4Wig-qM/

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Perhaps there is hope for Great Britain (Powerlineblog)

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Monday, May 27, 2013

Fox Sports has not determined why rope snapped

In this photo provided by Fernando Echeverria, security personnel assist a fan injured by a broken television camera cable during the NASCAR Sprint Cup series Coca-Cola 600 auto race at Charlotte Motor Speedway in Concord, N.C., Sunday, May 26, 2013. (AP Photo/Fernando Echeverria)

In this photo provided by Fernando Echeverria, security personnel assist a fan injured by a broken television camera cable during the NASCAR Sprint Cup series Coca-Cola 600 auto race at Charlotte Motor Speedway in Concord, N.C., Sunday, May 26, 2013. (AP Photo/Fernando Echeverria)

In this photo provided by Fernando Echeverria, Kyle Busch drives over a broken television camera cable during the NASCAR Sprint Cup series Coca-Cola 600 auto race at Charlotte Motor Speedway in Concord, N.C., Sunday, May 26, 2013. (AP Photo/Fernando Echeverria)

An official and a member of the cleanup crew attend to a broken television cable rig during a red flag in the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series Coca-Cola 600 auto race at Charlotte Motor Speedway in Concord, N.C., Sunday, May 26, 2013. Several cars were damaged by the broken rig. (AP Photo/Gerry Broome)

Cars drive on the track as a television camera rides above during the NASCAR Sprint Cup series Coca-Cola 600 auto race at Charlotte Motor Speedway in Concord, N.C., Sunday, May 26, 2013. A cable from the camera broke, damaging several cars and causing a red flag to clean up the track and repair the damaged cars. (AP Photo/Nell Redmond)

(AP) ? Fox Sports says on Monday it still had not determined why an overhead TV camera cable snapped during the Coca-Cola 600.

The network says a full investigation is under way and use of the camera is suspended indefinitely. Earlier, NASCAR said it would wait for Fox Sports to conclude its review before deciding if such technology would be used in the future.

Charlotte Motor Speedway said 10 people were injured when part of the drive rope landed in the grandstand; three were taken to hospitals. All were checked out and released soon after.

Several drivers, including then-leader Kyle Busch, reported damage to their cars from the rope.

NASCAR spokesman Kerry Tharp told The Associated Press on Monday that there were no plans to use the system at upcoming races "so we'll have ample time to review."

The network said the system was provided by Austrian company CAMCAT. The rope that failed was certified for a breaking strength of 9,300 pounds and was only bearing less than 900 pounds of force during the race, according to Fox Sports.

The network said it's reviewing with CAMCAT equipment maintenance records, history and installation information and plans to share its findings with NASCAR and Charlotte Motor Speedway.

The network said the system was used successfully at the Daytona 500 and was set up and working at last week's Sprint All-Star race in Charlotte. Fox's final NASCAR telecast this year comes Sunday at Dover International Speedway.

Tharp said NASCAR would let the network determine what went wrong.

"We'll sync up with them on what they have learned this week and go from there," he said.

The network explained how the drive rope moves the camera back and forth and failed near its turn one connection. The camera, it said in a statement, did not come down "because the guide ropes acted as designed."

The rope, Fox said, was made of Dyneema, which it described as "an ultra-strong synthetic that has the same approximate strength of a steel wire with the same diameter." It said the rope was less than a year old, had been factory-tested by its manufacturer and its breaking strength was certified before shipment. The rope was also inspected by CAMCAT when it was received last June.

According to OnlineRopes.com, Dyneema has the "highest strength-to-weight ratio of any manmade material in the world. On weight-to-weight base, it is up to 15 times stronger than steel."

The pictures such cameras provide can be extraordinary. But in this case, the failure brought confusion and chaos to the racers and the fans.

Coca-Cola 600 winner Kevin Harvick thought he was imagining things when he noticed the black rope on the track. He was among the lucky ones who escaped without damage. Busch said he heard a "thunk" when he ran over it and knew he'd have problems.

Busch used a cellphone to take a picture of the mangled metal around his front, right-side wheel so his team could figure out how to repair the damage.

Marcos Ambrose dragged a piece of the rope that got caught up in his car behind him on the track. Mark Martin also reported problems after driving over the rope.

NASCAR red-flagged the race for about 30 minutes and allowed teams back to their pits to get their cars back to race trim.

NASCAR first threw a caution flag before two red flags came out. It eventually allowed the cars to come into the pits, giving crews 15 minutes to work on their cars.

During the break, Busch's crew frantically worked to repair several problems to the right front wheel well. After completing repairs, the crew slapped high-fives as the car rolled back on the track.

Busch remained competitive and was running in the top five at the midpoint of the race. But his night ended in frustration when his engine blew up on lap 253. He said the engine problem was not related the rope damage. He thanked NASCAR for how it handled the unique stoppage.

"I commend NASCAR for taking the initiative and letting us repair our damaged cars from the issue we had," Busch said.

Busch said he never saw the nylon rope.

Ambrose wound up ninth behind Harvick, the second top-10 finish of the year for the Richard Petty Motorsports team.

Kasey Kahne led 156 laps, most of the night, and was second to Harvick. He was as bewildered as everyone else with the TV cable across the track.

"I've never seen anything like it," he said. "I came around turn four, saw it wrapped around Kyle's car, hit mine. I thought I was seeing things."

The camera hung in place over the large painted logo on the grass between the start-finish line and pit road.

Fox broadcaster Chris Myers apologized during the telecast several times to fans, drivers and race teams for the disruption. The network's statement offered "a sincere 'thank you' to the staff at CMS for attending to the injuries and keep us informed on this developing situation."

Busch wasn't sure anybody had seen that happen before and offered a solution: "Maybe now we can rid of that thing."

Associated Press

Source: http://hosted2.ap.org/APDEFAULT/347875155d53465d95cec892aeb06419/Article_2013-05-27-NASCAR-Snapped%20Cable/id-8afcda39221b47cb822a596257b82770

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Owners should attend to ugly online reviews, not melt down | The ...

(AP Photo/Matt York) After a particularly ugly TV experience and negative online reviews, the owners of Amy's Baking Co. in Scottsdale, Ariz., allegedly cursed out critics on their Facebook page.

Social media ? Businesses? calm, focused response to posts key to winning back customers, experts say.

Scottsdale, Ariz. ? It was the customer service disaster heard around the Internet.

An Arizona restaurateur, fed up after years of negative online reviews and an embarrassing appearance on a reality television show, allegedly posted a social media rant laced with salty language and angry, uppercase letters that quickly went viral last week, to the delight of people who love a good Internet meltdown.

?

The art of staying cool

No matter how bad the reviews get, experts say businesses need to be willing to admit mistakes and offer discounts to assuage skeptical customers. Still, they acknowledge, the wave of digital feedback can be especially challenging for small businesses with small staffs.

"I AM NOT STUPID ALL OF YOU ARE," read the posting on the Facebook wall of Amy?s Baking Co. in Scottsdale, Ariz. "YOU JUST DO NOT KNOW GOOD FOOD."

It was, to put it kindly, not a best business practice. Add to that an appearance earlier this month on the Fox reality TV show "Kitchen Nightmares" ? where celebrity chef Gordon Ramsay gave up on trying to reform the restaurant after the owners refused to listen to his advice ? and you have a recipe for disaster.

"That?s probably the worst thing that can happen," said Sujan Patel, founder and CEO of Single Grain, a digital marketing agency in San Francisco.

In the evolving world of online marketing, where the power of word of mouth has been wildly amplified by the whims and first impressions of anonymous reviewers posting on dozens of social media websites, online comments, both good and bad, and the reactions they trigger from managers, can make all the difference between higher revenues and empty storefronts.

Hotels, restaurants and other businesses that depend on good customer service reviews have all grappled in recent years with how to respond to online feedback on sites such as Twitter, TripAdvisor, Foursquare, Yelp, Facebook and Instagram, where comments can often be more vitriol than in-person reviews because of the anonymous shield many social media websites provide.

No matter how ugly the reviews get, businesses need to be willing to acknowledge mistakes and offer discounts to lure unhappy customers back, digital marketing experts said.

"In the past, people just sent bad soup back. Well, now they are getting on social media and telling all their friends and friends of friends how bad the soup was and why they should find other places to get soup in the future, so it takes the customer experience to another level," said Tom Garrity of the Garrity Group, a public relations firm in New Mexico.

"The challenge becomes ? how do you respond when someone doesn?t think your food or product is as great as you think it is?"

story continues below

Fighting back ? In Amy and Samy Bouzaglo?s case, the bad reviews were compounded by their reality TV experience. The couple said during a recent episode of "Kitchen Nightmares" that they needed professional guidance after years of battling terrible online reviews. They opened the pizzeria about six years ago.

"Kitchen Nightmares" follows Ramsay as he helps rebuild struggling restaurants. After one bite, he quickly deemed Amy?s Baking Co. a disaster and chided the Bouzaglos for growing increasingly irate over his constructive feedback. Among his many critiques: The store-bought ravioli smelled "weird," a salmon burger was overcooked and a fig pizza was too sweet and arrived on raw dough.

"You need thick skin in this business," Ramsay said before walking out. It was the first time he wasn?t able to save a business, according to the show.

Amy?s Baking Co. temporarily closed last week after the episode aired. A Bouzaglo spokesman said the couple wasn?t available for an interview. The restaurant?s answering machine was full. Emails and Facebook messages were not returned.

A wall post published last week claimed the restaurant?s Facebook, Yelp and Twitter accounts had been hacked, but hundreds of commenters expressed doubt. Social media sites show someone posting as a member of the Bouzaglo family had been insulting customers over negative reviews since at least 2010.

The story bounced across the Internet, generating thousands of comments on Facebook, Yelp and Twitter, and prompting nearly 36,000 people to sign a petition on Change.org that asks the Department of Labor to look into the Bouzaglo?s practice of pocketing their servers? tips.

Although many corporations hire communications experts to respond to every tweet, Facebook message and online review, the wave of digital feedback can be especially challenging for small businesses with small staffs, digital consultants said.

For one thing, there is so much online content to wade through. Roughly 60 percent of all adults get information about local businesses from search engines and entertainment websites such as Yelp or TripAdvisor, according to a 2011 study by the Pew Internet & American Life Project.

"Customer service is a spectator sport now," said Jay Baer, president of Convince & Convert, a social media marketing consultancy in Indiana. "It?s not about making that customer happy on Yelp. That?s the big misunderstanding of Yelp. It?s about the hundreds of thousands of people who are looking on to see how you handle it. It?s those ripples that make social media so important."

In their "Kitchen Nightmares" episode, Amy and Samy Bouzaglo are seen yelling and cursing at customers inquiring about undercooked food or long delays. They blame online bullies.

Next Page >

Copyright 2013 The Salt Lake Tribune. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.

Source: http://www.sltrib.com/sltrib/money/56355416-79/reviews-businesses-online-amy.html.csp

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Hagel: Cadets must stamp out sex assault scourge

WEST POINT, N.Y. (AP) ? Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel told cadets at the U.S. Military Academy at West Point on Saturday that they must stamp out the scourge of sexual assault in the military.

A day after President Barack Obama delivered a similar edict to U.S. Naval Academy graduates, Hagel's message comes amid a series of widespread incidents of sexual misconduct across the armed services in recent months and a new report showing that the problem is growing. The challenge is particularly poignant for the West Point crowd, since earlier in the week an Army sergeant was charged with secretly photographing and videotaping at least a dozen women at the upper New York state academy, including in a bathroom.

"Sexual harassment and sexual assault in the military are a profound betrayal ? a profound betrayal ? of sacred oaths and sacred trusts," Hagel told 1,007 graduating cadets during a cold, rainy outdoor ceremony. "This scourge must be stamped out. We are all accountable and responsible for ensuring that this happens. We cannot fail the Army or America. We cannot fail each other and we cannot fail the men and women that we lead."

Hagel, who served in the Army in Vietnam, took the opportunity to reflect on his own time in uniform and the lessons that he said must resonate as the soldiers take on the job of helping to transform the military. It was his first graduation address as defense chief.

The graduates, he said, must be the generation of leaders who will stop the debilitating and insidious threats of suicide, sexual assault and drug and alcohol abuse that are hurting the all-volunteer force.

Wounded twice during his roughly one year at war, Hagel has two Purple Hearts and is the first man to become secretary of defense after serving only in the enlisted corps. Reflecting on his military service, Hagel said his time in the Army shaped him forever.

"In Vietnam, I learned that combat is a furnace that can consume you, or it can forge you into something better and stronger than you were before," said Hagel, who took over the job as Pentagon chief at the end of February.

He also told the graduates that they must begin to build the future Army as the service recovers from the strains of more than a decade of war in Iraq and Afghanistan. Future conflicts, he said, will take on new and unfamiliar forms, and the military must be ready to face them even as budget cuts force the service to curtail training and trim the number of soldiers from a wartime high of about 570,000 to 490,000.

But he said that readiness will be strained by health and social problems.

Pentagon leaders have been struggling to deal with what they have come to call an epidemic of sexual assaults in the military. A Pentagon report released this month estimated that as many as 26,000 military service members may have been sexually assaulted last year and that thousands of victims are unwilling to come forward despite new oversight and assistance programs. The estimate was based largely on anonymous surveys.

According to the report, the number of sexual assaults actually reported by military service members rose 6 percent to 3,374 in 2012. And nearly 800 of those simply sought help but declined to file complaints against their attackers.

Spurred on by furious Congress members, the Defense Department has ordered the services to come up with ways to curb the problem and better help the victims.

In the latest case, Sgt. 1st Class Michael McClendon is facing charges of dereliction of duty, mistreatment, entering a women's bathroom without notice, and taking and possessing inappropriate photos and videos of at least a dozen women who were naked or in various states of undress.

The women have been notified by the Army about the matter.

He was charged May 14 with violating four articles of the Uniform Code of Military Justice, but some of the allegations date back to 2009. He has been transferred to Fort Drum, N.Y. It isn't immediately clear if McClendon has a lawyer.

Joint Chiefs of Staff Chairman Martin Dempsey has called the problem a crisis and said the women who serve in the military are losing confidence that it can be solved.

___

Baldor contributed from Washington.

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/hagel-cadets-must-stamp-sex-assault-scourge-140935132.html

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Dyslexia In Children: 'The Stigma Has To Change'

In the fourth installment on our series on families whose children have mental health and learning disabilities, Vanessa, 26, and her mom, Liz, talk about the challenges they faced getting a diagnosis for Vanessa's dyslexia, and her journey to embrace it openly. "We just didn't know what was wrong with me," the aspiring special education teacher says.

The Early Signs
Liz: We have three children, Vanessa is the middle child. Our oldest boy quickly caught on to his ABCs as a preschooler and when Vanessa was the same age, I tried teaching her the alphabet, but she just wouldn't get it. I'd say, "A ? apple, B ? for bat," and she'd just look at me and shake her head. Then she'd look off.

I'd get so frustrated, thinking, What's wrong? Don't you know what these letters are? Then I'd think, She's just not ready to learn yet. She'll be fine; she's free spirited.

What I didn't realize was that she was so frustrated. She was looking at a "B" backwards, or a "C" upside down.

Vanessa: One of the first memories I have is from kindergarten and all the kids would go to the front of the class and read a book in front of our parents, or to each other. All I wanted to do was get up there and read, but I was nowhere near able.

Liz: Her problems continued into first grade, second grade -- she just wasn't getting it. The first "diagnosis" was always, "She's being lazy" or "She just isn't ready yet." It was never, "Maybe there's something wrong; maybe she has a learning disability."

A Real Diagnosis
Liz: Finally, in the third grade one of her teachers [raised the possibility of a learning disability]. And my husband and I were like, "No. Not our child. She's fine!" She was very strong willed and independent, so I thought, She just doesn't want to do this. But they had her tested and, lo and behold, she had dyslexia. I cried, because I felt so guilty for always being so frustrated with her.

Vanessa: I do remember being tested. They brought me into a room and asked me all these weird questions. But what I remember more is being held back -- I went to the same school from preschool through first grade. In second grade I was put in a private school; in third grade I was home schooled; then when I was going back into the public school system, that's when I was held back and when they diagnosed me.

Early Help
Liz: After the diagnosis, everything changed. They decided to put her in "resource" [a class that provides additional, special instruction]. I'm in my 50s and when I was in grammar school, that was the "slow" class, so of course, I thought there would be a stigma. But there was none of that.

Vanessa: I'll never forget my teachers, they sat down with me one-on-one and started from the beginning, going over the alphabet, going over my math, teaching me techniques to know things like tell my "Bs" and my "Ds" apart, because those were the hardest for me. You put your fists together and put your thumbs up and press: you have a "D" on your left hand, and a "B" on your right.

Liz: Vanessa was determined to be in the mainstream class -- she always wanted to be right up there with her peers. All her friends were getting little stars, or medals and she never got one. She would get so frustrated. As she proceeded into 4th and 5th grade, they had honor roll and that was horrible because she wanted to be on it, but she couldn't.

A Mistake?
Vanessa:By the 6th grade, I had caught up to my reading level so they gave me a choice -- You can stay in resource or not. I didn't want to be different so I chose not to. [The schedule] was also structured so that if you went to resource, you lost an elective. For me, that meant losing choir, which was something I was really good at. As a 12-year-old, I was like, I want to go sing and be good at something, not go for this extra help. But I still needed it. I feel like you shouldn't give a 12-year-old that decision.

I think that was one of the biggest mistakes, not being in resource through middle school, high school and my college years. Academically, I wasn't very good. I did make honor roll, but I think it was one time. I was in junior college for four years, then I transferred to a university and I never told anyone about my dyslexia until then.

Coming Out
Vanessa: We were at a school fair at orientation and my mom said, "Vanessa, you really should get involved with the disability center for extra help." She had heard me crying and being upset all those years because my grades weren't really where I wanted them to be. She has always [pushed] me to get the extra help I deserve, but I never wanted to until I transferred to U.C. Santa Cruz. I was 23 years old.

Liz: Again, strong willed.

Vanessa: I joined Eye to Eye (a national organization with local chapters that aims to improve the lives of people with ADHD and learning disabilities). They encouraged me to be open about my learning disability, and to really talk about it.

The lightbulb finally went on. I didn't know all of the accommodations or extra help that was available, because I had never used it. I started using audio tapes and I had a special editor who helped read over long papers. I got my degree in history, and there's a lot of writing, so that was a big help.

Liz: You know, there is a stigma, people who think, She doesn't see things backwards, that's just malarky. I had someone tell me once, "Oh, she's doing it for attention." No. It's not for attention. It's very real.

What's Up Next
Vanessa: I'm working right now -- at Target and I was a nanny -- and I'm applying to get my master's degree to teach special education. That's my passion, that's what I want to do; help other kids who are struggling in school.

I have to pass four tests to be able to teach kids in California and I'm having a hard time finding tutors or extra help [while] not being in school. I took the first one two times and did not pass and just took it for the third time, I studied a little different, and I passed.

Liz: She has to study a lot more than an average person. It has to be totally quet, and she has to be focused, and she has to be on. But she did it! And we're very proud of her.

Vanessa: The hardest thing day-to-day is spelling, especially now when I'm updating my resume and applying to grad school. Texting is hard. Writing things that not even the autocorrect can fix is really frustrating. I'll type it into an [internet browser], then I'll copy the spelling into my phone. It depends on how determined I am to use that word.

I read all the time to try and stay on top of things, but my vocabulary isn't very broad, I'll admit that. I don't know what some things mean, but at this point, I'm not afraid to ask someone "Hey, what does this mean?" It took a long time to be able to do that.

The stigma has to change. It's not a bad thing to have a learning disability, it just means you learn differently. I don't want kids to wait until they're 23 years old to accept their learning disability.

vanessa and liz
A recent photo of Vanessa and Liz.

This conversation has been edited and condensed.

Read more from our "Speak Up for Kids" series:

"; var coords = [-5, -72]; // display fb-bubble FloatingPrompt.embed(this, html, undefined, 'top', {fp_intersects:1, timeout_remove:2000,ignore_arrow: true, width:236, add_xy:coords, class_name: 'clear-overlay'}); });

Source: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2013/05/27/dyslexia-in-children_n_3327941.html

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Bob Dole: GOP should be 'closed for repairs' (Washington Post)

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Sunday, May 26, 2013

Check out UFC 160 picks from Kevin Iole, Maggie Hendricks and Cagereaders like you

With UFC 160 in less than two days, it's time to make picks. Thank you to all the Cagereaders who made picks and voted in polls on Cagewriter's Facebook page. If you want to join in the fun, check out Cagewriter on Facebook here.

Kevin Iole: Cain Velasquez TKO3 Big Foot Silva -- I believe Silva will be more competitive and won't make the mistake he made last time. But as the fight goes on, it swings even more in Velasquez's favor, given his vastly superior cardio. I expect him to slowly wear Silva down and stop him around the fight's midpoint.

Maggie Hendricks: Cain Velasquez W5 Antonio Silva --Velasquez has better wrestling and better cardio than Silva, and it will pay off as he defends his belt.

Cagereader: 92 percent of Cagereaders said Cain Velasquez will win.
Cain has to much heart unless you knock him out he's not going! And Big Foot doesn't deserve another shot yet anyway!! -- Michael Gabbard

__

Kevin Iole: Junior dos Santos Sub1 Mark Hunt -- Junior would be a fool to stand and trade with Hunt. I think he'll look to get it to the ground and finish it there.

Maggie Hendricks: Junior dos Santos W3 Mark Hunt -- JDS has the footwork to exhaust Hunt and wear him down.

Cagereader: 68 percent of Cagereaders said Junior dos Santos will win.
Dos Santos will use superior speed and footwork to outclass Hunt. Too much credibility is given to Hunts striking because of the mythological "K1 Striker" label. Truth be told, he won that title with technically sound striking with a lot of power, not exceptionally good striking. Most of his wins in MMA have had nothing to do with his savvy striking but his chin and insane power. Honestly thought those who don't think Dos Santos is on another level with his speed and footwork are lying to themselves aside from Cain who has touched him? I know this logic isn't very sound but it took Hunt a while to put away Struve, and JDS took less than a minute and the logic truly is his speed, timing, and explosive nature outweigh the punchers chance Hunt brings to the table. It will be a pick apart clinic Hunt swinging at air getting battered by a fighter who will dart in and out like a heavyweight Machida. -- John Hensley

__

Kevin Iole: T.J. Grant W3 Gray Maynard -- More of a hunch than anything, but Grant has been on a roll and he might catch Maynard looking past him.

Maggie Hendricks: Gray Maynard W3 T.J. Grant -- Maynard is very good at neutralizing his opponents' skill.

Cagereaders: 83 percent of Cagereaders think Maynard will win.
Maynard is going to use lay and pray to get his title shot. I see a boring fight ahead. Maynard via decision. -- Christopher Walder

__

Kevin Iole: Glover Teixeira TKO3 James Te Huna -- It will be tougher than expecrted, but Teixeira's varied game will win out in the end.

Maggie Hendricks: Glover Teixeira TKO2 James Te Huna -- It's been an impressive start in the UFC for Teixeira, and that won't stop on Saturday. His power will be on display.

Cagereaders: 76 percent of Cagereaders think Teixeira will take it.
The well-rounded skill set and chin will allow him to weather the storm, get Te Huna to the ground and grind him out. -- John Hensley

--

Kevin Iole: Donald Cerrone W3 K.J. Noons -- It should be an explosive fight, but if Cerrone remains under control, he'll handle Noons.

Maggie Hendricks: Donald Cerrone W3 KJ Noons -- Cerrone will be looking to come back after his loss to Anthony Pettis.

Cagereaders: 87 percent of Cagereaders say Donald Cerrone will win.

Related coverage on Yahoo! Sports:
? Antonio Silva eager to prove he's a cut above in UFC 160 rematch with Cain Velasquez
? Yahoo! writers, readers make their UFC 160 picks
? Four questions that will be answered by UFC 160

Source: http://sports.yahoo.com/blogs/mma-cagewriter/check-ufc-160-picks-kevin-iole-maggie-hendricks-150251508.html

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Customers, customer service, customer experience and crystal balls ...

Neon Crystal

Today?s interview is with Dr Nicola Millard, a customer experience futurologist with BT, who does have a crystal ball but says it doesn?t work! However, she spared me some time to shares with us insights around the work that she does, the research that BT is doing and helps us look just over the horizon, or round the corner, in terms of what?s coming up in the ever changing world of the customer, customer service and customer experience.

This interview follows on the back of last week?s interview: Customer engagement, social CRM and cool tools for professional services firms ? Interview with Mark Bower and is number fifty-nine in the series of interviews with authors and business leaders that are doing great things and helping businesses innovate, become more social and deliver better service.

Here?s the highlights from the interview I did with Nicola:

  • Nicola is interested is looking at how technology is changing us and how we behave as customers and businesses.
  • As customers we?ve always regarded customer service as important.
  • Recently, completed some research looking at emerging customer behaviour called The Autonomous Customer.
  • 50% of customers in the UK say that they are not loyal anymore but the counterfact to that is that 76% customers are also saying that they will come back if you make it ?easy? for them to buy from you and to get service from you.
  • There is a danger that businesses get lead by technology and forget the basics where The Autonomous Customer research found that the phone is still the preferred method to reach out to a company.
  • ?If my money was on any channel growing in the next few years it would be on WebChat?
  • WebChat is a lovely bridging mechanism from the very public element of social media into a much more private conversation.
  • However, it is posing challenges for businesses as it is having a real impact on traditional sales processes.
  • BT?s research is showing that social media is typically secondary customer service channel rather than a primary channel and one that customers turn to if they have failed to achieve their goals using other primary methods like face to face, phone and email.
  • Despite being in straitened times, the wrong thing to cut is customer service costs. Better things to cut are the waste, the proliferation of tools, the things that confuse customers, the things that are making it difficult for customers to do business with you etc.
  • 94% of all customers will return to you if you make it easy for them ? Harvard Business Review study on Customer Effort.
  • BT commissioned Henley Management School to look into this and found that: Satisfy your customers where they value it. Otherwise, just make it easy for them. The headline being: Get the basics right before you do anything else.
  • Don?t spend money on things that your customers don?t value.
  • ?Showrooming? is a classic example of omni-channel customer behaviour.
  • However, while some retailers may bemoan this type of customer behaviour Nicola believes it is an advantage to have a physical retail space and an opportunity to engage with customers rather than the converse.
  • Given the changing behaviour of customers, research shows that almost one in two of us when we get to the stage where we want to speak to someone in a contact centre then we have complex questions and need expert help.
  • That sort of enquiry is not what most contact centres were built to deal with and, so, is raising questions about the future nature and viability of many contact centres. Particularly those that use people that are often reading from a script, are the least-qualified and some of the lowest paid people in the company.
  • Some call centres should be considering implementing something like the Networked Expert model, like the one discussed in a previous interview with Vala Afshar of Enterasys.
  • Businesses are built to last not to change.
  • Big data has the power to drive proactive customer service.
  • From a customers perspective, customers are saying that they are happy to give companies their data as long as they do something of value to me.
  • Smartphones are changing the behaviour of the under 34s. However, they use their phones and technology in very different ways to those that are 55+.
  • There is a possibility that there is a generational split emerging in terms of how customers from different age groups want to contact companies that is posing problems for companies.
  • More great stuff like this from Nicola and her colleagues, including lot?s of research and White Papers, on BT?s Let?s Talk blog.

About Nicola (taken from her LinkedIn bio)

Nicola Millard BT

Dr Nicola Millard is a customer experience futurologist with BT. Despite working for a technology company, Nicola isn?t actually a technologist and combines psychology with futurology to try and anticipate what might be lying around the corner for both customers and organisations (sadly, her crystal ball is currently broken).

Nicola has now worked for BT for 22 years. She has done a number of jobs around the BT business, including research, user interface design, customer service and business consulting.

Nicola likes nothing better than to challenge conventional business thinking; from how call centres are managed to the ways in which people work.

She got her PhD from Lancaster University in 2005 on the psychology of motivation and technology acceptance in call centres, published her first book in 2009 and now spends most of her time doing research, writing blogs, articles and white papers. She has also appeared on the BBC (Radio and TV) and Channel 4 TV in the UK, has recently done a TED talk and is a judge on a number of award panels, including the Institute of Customer Service awards.

When she?s not doing all that, Nicola travels around the world presenting at conferences and running workshops with an assortment of organisations including banks, travel companies and retailers, to name but a few.

In the little spare time she has she is writing a novel, enjoys going to the cinema and theatre and does a number of martial arts.

You connect with Nicola on Twitter @DocNicola and visit her blog here.

Photo Credit: EssG via Compfight cc

Source: http://www.adrianswinscoe.com/blog/customers-customer-service-customer-experience-and-crystal-balls-interview-with-dr-nicola-millard-of-bt/

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