Mich. city's changing garage rules worry Arabs

DEARBORN, Mich. (AP) ? As early summer days on Orchard Street draw to a close, sliding doors open, inviting fresh air and neighbors into side-by-side garages.

More patio than parking place or storage for power tools, Mariam Khalaf said her garage is primarily for "chilling purposes" ? including smoking, eating and watching TV with family and friends, including next-door neighbors, Muheeb Nabulsy and his wife, Fatima Mkkawi.

Khalaf and Nabulsy say gathering in their east-side garages never invited scrutiny until they installed the sliding doors last year in front of the more traditional electric ones. Now, officials in the Detroit suburb are looking at changing an ordinance on garage use, arguing that as people get a little too comfortable hanging out in the garage, more cars are clogging side streets.

Many who've made the unsanctioned transition are part of Dearborn's nearly 100,000 Arab-American residents, one of the largest such communities outside of the Middle East and a third of the city's population. The garages are a continuation of marathon socializing sessions that started many years ago in their home countries under shady trees, often accompanied by coffee and a water pipe, known as a hookah or argileh.

"They migrated over time to the garage as an extension of the living place, and here comes the complaint from people who don't have that as part of their tradition," said Nabeel Abraham, a Dearborn resident and an instructor and administrator at a Dearborn community college. "I think it's a class, ethnic reaction."

Not so, say Dearborn officials, who say the ordinance-tightening isn't meant to target Arabs or anyone else. They don't want the garages, which they contend aren't built to the same standards as the rest of a home, to become "habitable" places for cooking or sleeping.

They say the structures aren't meant to be living spaces, so building permits can't be issued to convert them. That conversion, city spokeswoman Mary Laundroche said, is not only illegal but also isn't inspected for safety.

"We're trying to find a solution that is safe and acknowledges the way garages are being used," she said.

Khalaf and Nabulsy attended a meeting this spring to explain what they do in their garages ? and what they don't. They were each issued citations last summer and the doors were inspected, though their court challenges are ongoing.

Laundroche said the city is trying to work with residents and enforcement "has been put on hold."

The interiors of Nabulsy's and Khalaf's garages resemble patios outfitted with furniture, TVs and tile floors, but also incorporate storage areas typical of any garage.

Nabulsy said he and his wife were inspired by sliding doors on a nearby garage after renovating their house. They no longer wanted to smoke inside their home but liked having fresh air, a street view and protection from insects and the elements, so they installed their own.

But both said they received "stop-work orders" and visits by a city inspector. Nabulsy said an inspector came twice and saw nothing objectionable, but he hasn't yet received a permit.

"When (the inspector) entered the garage, he said, 'I don't know why I'm here,'" Nabulsy said over coffee and cigarettes during a recent evening in Khalaf's garage. Both even fashioned ramps that allow vehicles to get over the door frames and into the garage.

What any new ordinance will say is unclear. A city attorney is still working on a draft of the revision, which is expected to be ready for the Planning Commission's consideration at its July 8 meeting. An early version prohibited sliding doors and tile floors.

What's tricky is how to define "living space."

"I think your home is your home," said commission Chairman Gary Errigo. "There was someone who spoke who said they're sitting in their garage in a lounge chair and a police car drives by and they pack up their chair and run inside. It shouldn't be like that, and it's not like that."

Errigo uses his garage for his passions: car collecting and art. And he knows of many ? Arabs and non-Arabs ? who do the same.

"The garage ordinance currently says you have to be able to park your car into your garage. Well, there's a lot of folks who just can't do that. Not because they live in their garage, but because they have stuff. ... Man caves, and that kind of thing ? this is the era we're in."

Errigo doesn't think having a spare refrigerator in the garage is a problem, but he doesn't want the structures to become crash pads or places where meals are prepared. In that case, they should be evaluated and taxed accordingly.

If the ordinance is approved by the Planning Commission, the City Council will have the final say.

Abraham said city officials will have to ensure that any changes are enforced evenly and fairly across ethnic, class and neighborhood lines.

"What's the difference between sitting together and smoking an argileh or cigar and having tea, or having a homemade brew?" said Abraham, who doesn't have a garage hangout. "This town has a law for everything and anything ? (it) needs to loosen up a little bit."

___

Follow Jeff Karoub on Twitter: http://twitter.com/jeffkaroub

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/mich-citys-changing-garage-rules-worry-arabs-145559735.html

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Muslims In Myanmar: Trapped In Ghetto After Clashes

SITTWE, Myanmar -- From inside the neighborhood that has become their prison, they can look over the walls and fences and into a living city.

Stores are open out there. Sidewalk restaurants are serving bottles of Mandalay beer. There are no barbed-wire roadblocks marking neighborhood boundaries, no armed policemen guarding checkpoints. In the rest of Sittwe, this city of 200,000 people along Myanmar's coast, no one pays a bribe to take a sick baby to the doctor.

But here it's different.

___

EDITOR'S NOTE ? This story is part of "Portraits of Change," a yearlong series by The Associated Press examining how the opening of Myanmar after decades of military rule is ? and is not ? changing life in the long-isolated Southeast Asian country.

___

Aung Mingalar is just a few square blocks. You can walk it in 10 minutes, stopping only when you come to the end of the road and a policeman with an assault rifle waves you back inside, back into a maze of shuttered storefronts, unemployment and boredom.

In the evenings, when bats fly through the twilight, the men gather for prayers at Aung Mingalar's main mosque, the one that wasn't destroyed in last year's violence.

Zahad Tuson is among them. He had spent his life pedaling fares around this state capital, a fraying town, built by British colonials, full of bureaucrats and monsoon-battered concrete buildings. Now his bicycle rickshaw sits at home unused. He hasn't left Aung Mingalar in nearly a year.

"We could go out whenever we wanted!" he says. His voice is a mixture of anger and wonder.

What has caused this place to become a ghetto that no one can leave and few can enter? A basic fact: Aung Mingalar is a Muslim neighborhood.

A year after sectarian violence tore through Myanmar, the fury of religious pogroms has hardened into an officially sanctioned sectarian divide, a foray into apartheid-style policies that has turned Aung Mingalar into a prison for Sittwe's Muslims and that threatens this country's fragile transition to democracy.

Muslims, Tuson says, are not welcome in today's Myanmar.

It's simple, he says: "They want us gone."

___

For generations, Aung Mingalar existed as just another tangle of streets and alleys in the heart of Sittwe. It was a Muslim quarter; everybody knew that. But the distinction seldom meant much.

Until suddenly it meant everything.

Last year, violence twice erupted between two ethnic groups in this part of Myanmar: the Rakhine, who are Buddhist, and a Muslim minority known as the Rohingya. While carnage was widespread on both sides of the religious divide, it was Muslims who suffered most, and who continue to suffer badly more than a year later.

Across Rakhine state, more than 200 people were killed, 70 percent of them Muslim. In Sittwe, where Muslims were once almost half the population, five of the six Muslim neighborhoods were destroyed. Over 135,000 people remain homeless in Rakhine state, the vast majority of them Muslims forced into bamboo refugee camps that smell of dust and wood smoke and too many people living too close together.

The troubles here were, at least initially, driven by ethnicity as much as religion. To the Rakhine, who dominate this state, as well as to Myanmar's central government, the Rohingya are here illegally, "Bengalis" whose families slipped across the nearby border from what is now Bangladesh. Historians say Rohingya have been here for centuries, though many did come more recently. Their modern history has been a litany of oppression: the riots of 1942, the mass expulsions of 1978, the citizenship laws of 1982.

What started with the Rohingya has evolved into a broader anti-Muslim movement, helping ignite a series of attacks across Myanmar ? from Meikhtila in the country's center, where Buddhist mobs beat dozens of Muslim students to death in March, to Lashio near the Chinese border, where Buddhist men swarmed through the city burning scores of Muslim-owned stores in May.

The violence is about religion and ethnicity, but also about what happens when decades of military rule begin giving way in the nation once known as Burma, and old political equations are clouded by the complexities of democracy.

In 2010, political change finally came to Myanmar, a profoundly isolated nation long ruled by a series of mysterious generals. Opposition leader and Nobel laureate Aung San Suu Kyi was freed from house imprisonment. National elections were held. Former political prisoners became politicians.

Amid the tumult ? and with the military still wielding immense power behind the scenes ? old animosities and new politicians flourished. Ethnic groups formed powerful regional parties. Buddhist nationalists, with a deep-seated suspicion of Muslims, moved from the fringes into the mainstream.

Political frustration fed on economic frustration, with millions of poor rural residents flocking to Myanmar's cities only to find continued poverty in ever-growing slums. In a country that is about 90 percent Buddhist, Myanmar's Muslims, who number as little as 4 percent of the population, became political bogeymen.

U Shwe Maung, a top official with the Rakhine Nationalities Development Party, the state's most powerful party, will tell you about the problems with the Rohingya: They have too many children, they are angling for political clout, they claim to be citizens.

"We are not willing to live with them," the onetime high-school English teacher says in his quiet voice. He's an avuncular man, friendly and unfailingly polite. "They want to Muslimize this land. They want power."

Anti-Muslim sentiment has been magnified by an increasingly virulent strain of Buddhist nationalism, as a once-obscure group of monks nurtures populist fears of a growing Muslim threat. Muslims are criminals, they say, a "poison" driving up land prices and pushing aside the Buddhist working class. Crowds pack monasteries and prayer halls to hear the monks' speeches. Recordings are sold in sidewalk stalls along Myanmar's streets.

"They will destroy our country, our religion, our people. They will destroy the next-generation Buddhist women, since their aim is to mix their blood with ours," a popular monk, Ashin Tayzaw Thar Ra, said in a speech earlier this year. "Soon, Buddhists will have to worship in silence and fear."

___

In Aung Mingalar, they know all about fear.

The neighborhood is where Maung Than Win once served hundreds of meals a day at the little restaurant his father had opened, and where residents gathered at the Chat Cafe to gossip in the cool of twilight. It is where dozens of boys showed up every day for classes at Hafeez Skee's Islamic school, but most children attended secular schools.

It was widely seen as the wealthiest of Sittwe's Muslim neighborhoods, but it was hardly an island of economic isolation. It was a place where day laborers built thatch huts for themselves, and rich businessmen, their fortunes often made on small fleets of wooden fishing boats that troll the Bay of Bengal, built sprawling houses covered in shiny green tiles. A few families farmed gardens of watercress in a swampy area between some of the alleys. The main streets, once brick or cobblestone, had turned to dirt over the years.

"My grandfather was from Aung Mingalar. My father was from Aung Mingalar. I'm from Aung Mingalar," says Win, his teeth stained red from years of chewing betel nuts. At 32 he has spent nearly his entire life working at his restaurant, the Love Tea Shop. It filled with people every day, particularly after prayers at the mosque. "I just want to stay as long as I can."

Not that everything was perfect. Buddhist and Muslim residents of Sittwe agree at least on that.

There were fights, though they tended to be just one person against another. In the last sectarian violence, in 2001, only one person died in Sittwe. The last widespread bloodshed was during World War II, when the Rohingya backed the British colonial forces and the Rakhine supported the Japanese. Hundreds of people were killed.

"I had heard about the troubles then," says Ferus Ahmad, a pharmacist. "We thought something like this could never happen again."

But it did. It began last year on May 28, with the rape and murder of a Buddhist woman by a group of Rohingya men in a village a few hours from here. Days later, a bus carrying Muslim travelers was surrounded by a Buddhist mob and ten Muslims were killed. Five days after that, Rohingya mobs attacked Rakhine near the Bangladesh border. It's unclear how many people died.

With fear spiraling on both sides, trouble came to Sittwe. Over five days, Rakhine and Rohingya mobs battled one another. By the end, hundreds of Rakhine homes had been destroyed, as had nearly every Rohingya neighborhood. Today, other than Aung Mingalar, Muslim Sittwe is little more than destroyed mosques and once-crowded communities grown over with grass and weeds, completely empty of residents.

During the street battles, the women and children of Aung Mingalar were put into a mosque for safety, while the men protected the neighborhood's edges. Then something unusual happened: The security forces arrived to help.

Across Myanmar, the army and the police have done little to protect Muslims through a year of violence, and rights groups say they have often joined in the attacks. It's still unclear why it was different in Aung Mingalar.

But while they arrived as protectors, those soldiers soon became jailers. Today, the security forces enforce the official ghetto. And the dominant story line remains: Not only did Muslims never need protection from Buddhists, but they destroyed their own neighborhoods.

"The Bengalis lit their own houses on fire, because they knew they would get another house" in the refugee camps, says U Win Myaing, the Rakhine state assistant director for communications. "Plus, they thought the fires would spread to Rakhine areas and burn those houses down."

Increasingly, such stories about Muslims are believed across Myanmar.

___

Today, Aung Mingalar is consuming itself.

House after wooden house has been torn down for firewood. The dead, who can no longer be taken out to the Muslim cemetery, are buried behind the mosque. Food, which comes from occasional government handouts and the twice-weekly markets some residents can attend, is scarce and expensive.

There are no stores left open, just a few food stalls and a makeshift pharmacy that sells laxatives and herbal headache medicine.

There are also few heroes. Residents say wealthy Rohingya have bought land from poorer or more desperate neighbors. While the authorities occasionally allow some Rohingya into the neighborhood to sell supplies, they charge double what customers pay on the outside.

"People aren't competing with each other," says Win, the tea shop owner, "but they are not working together either."

Officials refuse to say when ? or if ? Aung Mingalar will be allowed to rejoin the rest of Sittwe.

There is one way to get out. The bribe to pass the checkpoints is 10,000 kyats (about $10) each way, according to current and former residents. That's a lot of money here, but plenty of people are paying it. While no one is sure of the neighborhood's size ? aid workers say it was probably about 4,000 before the violence ? it's now dropping fast.

"When everything they have is gone, people just want to leave," Win says.

Thousands have left Myanmar, paying smugglers to slip them into Malaysia or Thailand. But most head to the refugee camps outside towns, endless rows of bamboo shelters filled with Rohingya. Many of the camps are restricted areas ? residents are not allowed to come and go as they wish ? but most are also large enough to have their own economies.

Across Myanmar, many Muslims are now more closed-off than they once were, barricading their neighborhoods at night against possible attackers. But so far, at least, Aung Mingalar is the only sealed ghetto.

Ahmad, the pharmacist, lived in Aung Mingalar for 38 years. Until the violence of 2012, he owned a pharmacy in Sittwe's main market, a warren of shops near the port. But soon after the trouble started, Aung Mingalar was sealed and Ahmad couldn't get to his shop. The medicines expired. His customers went elsewhere. The shop has been closed for months.

Ahmad wonders at what has happened to his country. The 2010 transition was supposed to bring change, but he's seen nothing to encourage him.

"We now have a president, a government," says Ahmad, his button-down shirt faded from so many washings. "But it's like there is no ruler."

For many like him, the main sustenance now is memories. That is what keeps Ahmad going.

A couple of times a week, back when things were good, Ahmad would close his pharmacy, pick up his wife and two children at home and head to the Sittwe beach, barely a mile away. Now, only Rakhine are allowed at the beach and Ahmad has left the neighborhood where he grew up. His family is still there, but he has moved to the refugee camps, where he seeks work and tries to remember what normal felt like.

"We'd just walk along the beach," he says of those family outings. "I dream about that sometimes."

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Source: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2013/06/30/muslims-myanmar_n_3525222.html

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The Gamer Who Raised Me - Kotaku

There are many factors that have made me into the person I am today, as is the case with any person on this planet. My personality has been partially formed by that chemical factor called 'depression' that I have discussed here many times but, as any good psychologist would tell me, there are also plenty of external elements that have played roles in my development as a human being.

I certainly didn't become a games journalist by accident. Like pretty much every other dude my age, I've long had an interest in video games. The reasons I have for preferring certain types of games over others, however, can be traced back to a specific origin: my dad. His influence is why I've almost always been primarily a PC gamer. He's also why I have such an intense fascination with storytelling in games that I've made that aspect of the medium my main editorial focus as a columnist and critic.

My dad, also named Phil, has been an engineer working for the US Army since he graduated college in the mid-'80s. He was, to put it bluntly, a nerd.

In his formative years, my father spent a lot of time at the arcade dropping quarter after quarter into games like Galaga and Tempest. But he married my mom when he was only a year into college, and by the time he was 22 my older sister and I had invaded his life. He didn't have time for the arcade but, being of a nerd type, he had a personal computer.

---

My dad knew how much he enjoyed playing video games when he was a kid, and he wanted to share those experiences with me.

---

By the earliest time in my life that I can still remember?some time in the early '90s?he had a PC with a 486 DX 100 CPU. He played a lot of old-style arcade-ish games on it. I would watch him play, and sometimes he would give me a turn. He told me recently that he knew how much he enjoyed playing video games when he was a kid, and he wanted to share those experiences with me.

My dad is therefore the reason why I was playing games on the computer, before we ever had a game console in our house. My earliest gaming memories are of Lemmings and the Home Alone 2 platformer and something called Brix, which I remember being my dad's poison. My dad encouraged me to become comfortable with a mouse and keyboard before I ever touched a gamepad.

Back during Christmas in 1996, my parents gifted me something that would greatly impact my destiny as a human being: LucasArts Archives vol II: The Star Wars Collection for the PC. They gave me a joystick to go with it. By this time we had a Super Nintendo. I spent a lot of time on it playing Donkey Kong and sports games. But this pack of PC games that I received included TIE Fighter, both Rebel Assault games and a three-level demo for Dark Forces. Those games scratched an itch I didn't know I had.

My dad tried to take turns playing Rebel Assault with me, but he found he couldn't keep up with action in those games. That didn't stop me from becoming what could charitably be called 'obsessed.' I already greatly enjoyed Star Wars?another way my dad influenced my taste in entertainment?but the idea of playing through stories set in that universe was unbelievably exciting to me. I consumed those titles with the same urgency that I approach a home-cooked meal. Before I knew it I was begging my dad to upgrade the family computer to something Pentium-powered with a 3D accelerator graphics chip. I needed to be able play more technically-demanding games like Dark Forces 2, Rogue Squadron and X-Wing Alliance.

My father obliged, although not quite all at once. He saw how much fun I was having, how much joy these experiences brought me, and he encouraged my growing habit?plus, I got good grades at school and played a lot of sports, so my dad let me play.

I would, of course, branch out from Star Wars games. I developed a liking for Command & Conquer and Half-Life and Quake 2, but I rarely strayed from games with stories. I played some Counter-Strike, sure, but even with that game, for match after match, I would create narratives in my mind.

Today, I play games on a desktop PC that I built with my bare hands. My dad, excited that I was doing that, purchased the graphics card for it. That's not an insignificant part, as PC nerds will know. As he always had, he wanted to support my desire to game on a PC.

S

There's one other thing I want to share about my father. Even though he is only 48 years old, he is dying of cancer. Chemotherapy has been completely ineffective, and his doctors say he won't last the year. He probably won't even make it to his birthday in September. When he does go, he will leave behind a tangible legacy: my writings on games, writing that was borne from the love of gaming he instilled in me.

I don't know who I would be today had my father not chosen to share his enjoyment of interactive entertainment with me. I am certain that I am who I am because he, all those years ago, let me sit in front of a computer and have all the fun in the world.

Phil Owen is a freelance entertainment journalist whose work you might have seen at VG247, GameFront, Appolicious, Gameranx and many, many other places. You can follow him on Twitter at @philrowen. Send hate mail to phil.r.owen@gmail.com.

Source: http://kotaku.com/the-gamer-who-raised-me-612721055

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Stocks sag, but Dow logs best first half of year since 1999

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JeeYeon Park CNBC

3 hours ago

The Dow and S&P 500 dropped on Friday as investors were reluctant to jump in following a three-day rally, but major averages still capped the volatile quarter with gains.

Stocks finished lower for the month of June, logging their first monthly drop this year. But all three major averages logged their third winning quarter in four. And so far for the year, the Dow has surged more than 14 percent, while the S&P 500 and Nasdaq have spiked more than 13 percent each.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average declined 114.89 points to close at 14,909.60, pulling back after logging its third-straight day higher. Still, the Dow posted its strongest first half of the year since 1999.

The S&P 500 fell 6.92 points to finish at 1,606.28. The S&P 500 logged its best first half performance since 1998. The Nasdaq eked out a gain of 1.38 points to end at 3,403.25.

The CBOE Volatility Index (VIX), widely considered the best gauge of fear in the market, finished unchanged below 17.

For the quarter, the Dow rose 2.27 percent, the S&P 500 climbed 2.36 percent, and the Nasdaq soared 4.15 percent. Microsoft was the best performer for the quarter on the Dow, while IBM tumbled.

Financials topped the S&P 500 sector gainers in the second quarter, while utilities lagged.

Stocks initially opened in negative territory after Fed Governor Jeremy Stein highlighted the upcoming September policy meeting as a possible time when the central bank may need to consider paring back its QE program, adding that the Fed consider the overall economic improvements since it launched the stimulus instead of giving undue weight to the most recent round of tepid economic data.

(Read More: Buckle Up! Expect More Market Volatility This Year)

Stein's comments contradicted comments from other Fed policymakers who have suggested the central bank will bide its time before scaling back its bond purchases.

Menawhile, Richmond Fed President Jeffrey Lacker said markets should brace for more volatility as they digest news the Fed will scale back bond buying later this year, but the swings will not derail growth. Lacker said he expects U.S. growth to remain around 2 percent for the "foreseeable future."

(Read More:Fed Out in Force as Markets Stabilize)

On the economic front, business activity index in the Midwest fell in June to 51.6 from 58.7 in May, according to the Institute for Supply Management-Chicago. A Reuters survey of economists on average expected a median reading of 56.0 in June versus the May figure of 58.7.

Meanwhile, consumer sentiment improved in late June, with the final reading on the overall index at 84.1, above the preliminary reading of 82.7, according to Thomson Reuters/University of Michigan. Economists polled by Reuters had forecast the final June reading of 82.8.

Japan's benchmark stock index hit a three-week high on the heels of positive economic reports that include much stronger than expected industrial output and retail sales numbers.

"We had better job market numbers, better production numbers, and even consumer prices are picking up. So data-wise, today is a pretty good day for Japan," said Takuji Okubo, principal and chief economist at Japan Macro Advisors.

Traders will closely watch gold prices, as the precious metal dipped below a key level of $1,200 per ounce. Analysts warned that miners could be severely affected if prices remain this low.

(Read More: Three Reasons Gold Will Go to $800)

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'Zero Dark Thirty' star Jennifer Ehle joins Kevin Costner in 'Black and White' (Exclusive)

By Jeff Sneider

LOS ANGELES (TheWrap.com) - "Zero Dark Thirty" star Jennifer Ehle is set to play Kevin Costner's late wife in writer-director Mike Binder's drama "Black and White," TheWrap has learned.

Costner's Treehouse Productions and Binder's Sunlight Productions are co-producing the project, which IM Global was selling to foreign buyers at Cannes. Executive producer Cassian Elwes is handling domestic rights.

Story follows a widowed attorney (Costner) and his bi-racial granddaughter (Jillian Estell) whose mother (the daughter of Costner's character) died while giving birth.

Octavia Spencer co-stars as the young girl's grandmother who wants her son (Andre Holland) to care for the child. When he's unable to due to a drug addiction, she and Costner's character spar over custody.

Ehle will play Costner's late wife who regularly appears in his booze-soaked dreams and hallucinations.

Binder, who previously worked with Costner on "The Upside of Anger," will begin shooting "Black and White" this summer in New Orleans.

In addition to a stirring turn in Kathryn Bigelow's "Zero Dark Thirty," Ehle's recent credits include "The King's Speech," "The Ides of March" and "Contagion." She'll soon be seen in Jose Padilha's remake of "RoboCop," which hits theaters February 7, 2014.

Ehle is represented by ICM Partners and Independent Talent Group.

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/zero-dark-thirty-star-jennifer-ehle-joins-kevin-193934722.html

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A Comprehensive Analysis of the Student-Loan Interest-Rate ...

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The federal student-loan programs should operate in a manner that consistently puts students first and rewards individuals for enrolling in and completing college. It is a national economic imperative that we have more college graduates in our workforce. But interest on student-loan debt can stand in the way of some students deciding to enroll, while it may cause others to drop out. Keeping the interest rates low on student loans enables students, workers, and people who are unemployed to get the postsecondary training required to adapt to new economic realities.

On July 1, 2013, interest rates on federally subsidized Stafford student loans are scheduled to double from 3.4 percent to 6.8 percent. Interest rates on unsubsidized Stafford loans and PLUS loans would remain unchanged at 6.8 percent and 7.9 percent, respectively. On May 23, 2013, we published a column that highlighted the differences between the primary proposals being considered. In this brief we provide additional detail and context for the current interest-rate debate. We also make policy recommendations based on the three major proposals currently on the table.

Definitions of student loans

Subsidized Stafford loans are available to undergraduate students with financial need. The federal government does not charge interest on a subsidized loan while the student is in school at least half time, for the first six months after the student leaves school, and during an approved postponement of loan payments.

Unsubsidized Stafford loans are available to both undergraduate and graduate students; there is no requirement to demonstrate financial need. The student must pay interest, or it accrues and is added to the principal amount of the loan.

PLUS loans allow parents of undergraduate and graduate students to borrow up to the cost of attendance?tuition and fees, room and board, and allowances for living expenses?less any other aid.

Pay As You Earn, or PAYE, is an income-based repayment option under which eligible borrowers? payments are capped at 10 percent of their discretionary income, with any outstanding balance forgiven after 20 years.

Congress acted to prevent an identical rate hike from going into effect on July 1, 2012, and is preparing to act to keep rates low again this year. There are key differences, however, between the various proposals. Unfortunately, some of the proposals are worse than the status quo, particularly for low- and middle-income students that take out subsidized Stafford loans.

The goal of the federal student-aid programs, including the loan programs, is to help increase access to postsecondary education. These programs have been largely successful. Since the mid-1970s, the college-going rate for low-income recent high school graduates increased. While this rate has gone up, because of increases in the cost of college, these students are dependent on loans, with more students borrowing than ever before and in larger amounts.

Even though they have more debt, college graduates are better off: They are nearly twice as likely to find a job compared to those with only a high school diploma, and college graduates will earn 63 percent more in a year than those with only a high school diploma. (see Figure 1) Finally, the majority of student loans are repaid, and repayments will result in substantial revenues to the federal government.

Primary student-loan interest-rate proposals

As we noted in our May 23, 2013, column, there are several student-loan proposals currently on the table that offer more than another one-year solution and have elements that could be brought together to achieve an agreement before July 1, 2013.

President Obama?s proposal

In his budget, President Barack Obama used a variable model to determine loan rates when they are issued. After the loan is made, the interest rate would remain fixed for the life of the loan. The president?s proposal sets the interest rate to the 10-year Treasury note plus an additional 0.93 percent for subsidized Stafford loans, 2.93 percent for unsubsidized Stafford loans, and 3.93 percent for PLUS loans. Under Congressional Budget Office projections, that would result in 2013-14 interest rates of 3.43 percent for subsidized Stafford loans, 5.43 percent for unsubsidized Stafford loans, and 6.43 percent for PLUS loans. Unfortunately, the proposal does not include a cap on interest rates, nor does it provide for refinancing of old loans. The proposal is intended to be budget neutral, and it neither costs new money nor generates new savings.

Federal investment in higher education pays off

The goal of the federal student-aid programs, including the loan programs, is to help increase access to postsecondary education. These programs have been largely successful. The college-going rate for low-income, recent high school graduates increased from 31 percent in 1975, three years after the Pell Grant program?then called the Basic Educational Opportunity Grant?was created, to 54 percent in 2011. While not on par with students from middle- and upper-income students?at 66 percent and 82 percent, respectively?significant progress has been made. (see Figure 2)

Today students enrolled in higher education are more dependent on student loans than they were in 1975. Indeed, the maximum Pell Grants met more than half of the cost of college in the 1980s; today they meet only a third.

Low-income students, particularly those that depend on Pell Grants, are more likely to rely on subsidized Stafford loans to meet postsecondary expenses. Low-income students are also more sensitive to changes in the cost of attending postsecondary education. The additional cost of borrowing resulting from an increase in interest rates may therefore deter enrollment at the very time that education beyond high school is critical for millions of students and their families as they seek to move into or remain a part of the middle class.

Recent reports from the Bureau of Labor Statistics now show that college graduates are nearly twice as likely to find work as those with only a high school diploma. (see Figure 1) An advanced degree provides individuals with a clear path to the middle class, a higher likelihood of meaningful and gainful employment, and lifelong financial and personal benefits. College education also provides for a skilled workforce that is crucial to rebuilding the entire American economy.

Rep. John Kline?s proposal

The Smarter Solutions for Students Act, or H.R. 1911, passed the U.S. House of Representatives on May 23, 2013. The bill, proposed by Rep. John Kline (R-MN), chairman of the House Committee on Education and the Workforce, would adopt a completely variable interest-rate proposal, meaning that the rates on all loans would fluctuate from year to year. Similar to the administration?s proposal, the interest rate would be tied to the 10-year Treasury note but with an add-on of 2.5 percent to both subsidized and unsubsidized Stafford loans and 4.5 percent to PLUS loans. It also includes a fairly high cap on interest rates?8.5 percent for Stafford loans and 10.5 percent for PLUS loans. Unfortunately, the 2.5 percent and 4.5 percent add-ons are more than is necessary, resulting in $3.7 billion in additional revenue, which would go toward paying down the federal debt. The proposal also fails to make a meaningful distinction between subsidized and unsubsidized Stafford loans, and it does not include the Pay As You Earn expansion or a refinancing mechanism.

Sens. Tom Coburn and Richard Burr?s proposal

Sens. Tom Coburn (R-OK) and Richard Burr (R-NC) have a similar proposal with a 3 percent add-on for all Stafford and PLUS loans. The Coburn-Burr proposal is more generous to the PLUS borrowers than any other proposal. As such, the proposal would most benefit those with higher incomes by actually reducing the interest rate that would be charged to PLUS loan borrowers. On June 7, 2013, the Coburn-Burr proposal was voted on by the U.S. Senate as an amendment to the Agriculture Reform, Food, and Jobs Act of 2013 (S. 954) but it did not pass.

Sen. Tom Harkin, Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, and Sen. Jack Reed?s proposal

Sen. Tom Harkin (D-IA), chairman of the Senate Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions Committee, put forth legislation?S. 953?with Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-NV) and Sen. Jack Reed (D-RI) to extend current student-loan interest rates for two years. The legislation, which has 20 co-sponsors, proposes that subsidized Stafford loans would remain at 3.4 percent for two years, and other interest rates would be unaffected. This legislation would cost $8.3 billion but is fully paid for through a package of three noneducation offsets.

The offsets included in the Harkin-Reid-Reed proposal include closing three loopholes related to the oil industry, tax-deferred accounts, and non-U.S. companies. On June 7, 2013, the U.S. Senate considered the bill as an amendment to the Agriculture Reform, Food, and Jobs Act of 2013, but a motion to move for a vote failed to pass.

Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-MA) has also introduced a proposal that is a one-year plan to set subsidized Stafford loan interest rates at a lower rate than they are currently. She accomplishes this by tying interest rates to the Federal Reserve discount rate, which is the rate the Federal Reserve charges their member banks for borrowing money. Sen. Warren?s Bank on Students Loan Fairness Act (S. 897) has not been scored by the Congressional Budget Office. A companion bill, H.R. 1979, has been introduced by Rep. John Tierney (D-MA). Sen. Warren is also a co-sponsor of the two-year extension. The proposal presents significant administrative issues. Since the secretary would borrow from the Federal Reserve for one year, loans made with those funds would have to be separately tracked, with payments made to the Federal Reserve instead of all other loans where the secretary pays the Treasury.

Policy position and recommendations

It is time for Congress to adopt a comprehensive student-loan interest-rate approach that lowers student debt levels when compared to the current policy. Student-loan borrowers must be better off than they would be if no action is taken and the subsidized Stafford student-loan rate doubles on July 1 to 6.8 percent.

To ensure the long-term viability of the student-loan program and ensure greater equity, student-loan interest rates should be made variable, fixed at the time the loan is originated, and capped at a level that is meaningful. Federal student loans create both private and public good. As such, student-loan interest-rate changes need to be justified by more than just the excess earnings being applied to deficit reduction.

Under current scoring rules, the federal student-loan programs return significant savings to taxpayers. (see Figure 3) This is true under all of the current proposals for setting interest rates. The challenge is to develop an approach to interest rates that treats students fairly.

In the long term, we believe that students need to know that interest rates on their student loans are set in a manner that is fair and equitable. Generally, students know?and to an extent understand?the general economic environment in which they are living. They know, for example, what interest rate is being offered to homebuyers even if they don?t understand the differences between the various home-loan options available. The current mechanism for setting interest rates, however, is purely political and is therefore perceived to be inequitable. For this reason, having student-loan interest rates vary based on a market mechanism would have a significant advantage not only because it would be fair but also because it would be perceived to be fair and would allow borrowers to take advantage of today?s historically low interest rates.

A plan that relies exclusively on variable interest rates set by market mechanisms, however, would not provide students with protections against interest rates rising dramatically in the future. High interest rates on student loans, which would significantly increase the cost of going to college, could discourage some students from enrolling and persisting in postsecondary education.

A plan that uses a market mechanism to establish the student-loan interest rate requires the setting of the base interest rate and an add-on. The add-on interest-rate amount should be as low as possible and avoid additional deficit reductions that shift the national debt onto students.

In addition, expanding protections such as PAYE?which lets borrowers limit their monthly payments to an affordable percentage of their income?to include all borrowers, along with the addition of a refinancing mechanism, would further strengthen the federal student-loan program. The PAYE expansion, outlined in the president?s budget for fiscal year 2014, would ensure that all federal student-loan borrowers could cap their monthly loan payments to 10 percent of their income so that the payments are affordable and achievable.

A refinancing and loan-modification mechanism would provide borrowers with the option to switch their loans from their current interest-rate model into the new system.

Conclusion

The federal student-loan programs should operate in a manner that consistently puts students first and rewards individuals for enrolling in and completing college. Among low-income borrowers, who principally benefit from subsidized Stafford loans, student-loan debt burden can stand in the way of enrolling and completing a degree or certificate. Keeping interest rates low helps people get the postsecondary training required to adapt to new economic realities and ensures that employers have the skilled workforce they need to compete. It is time for Congress to adopt a comprehensive student-loan interest-rate approach that lowers students? debt burden compared to the current policy. Student-loan borrowers must be better off than they would be if no action is taken and the subsidized Stafford student-loan rate doubles on July 1 to 6.8 percent.

David A. Bergeron is the Vice President for Postsecondary Education at the Center for American Progress. Tobin Van Ostern was formerly the Deputy Director of Campus Progress.

Appendix

Elements of interest-rate setting

Since the beginning of the federal student-loan program, a primary issue has been what the interest rate should be. A number of elements need to be considered when setting an interest rate. Each of these elements are described in this appendix.

Variable or fixed interest-rate loans

Loans are funds that are provided to an individual with an expectation of repayment of the amount provided plus interest. The interest rate on most loans is fixed over the entire life of the loan. When a loan?s interest rate is fixed, the lender sets the interest rate. In terms of student loans, Congress has generally set the interest rate for the life of the loan. In 1992 Congress moved away from the fixed rate to a variable interest rate. Under a variable-rate approach, the interest rate changes annually in concert with the reference rate. In 2007 Congress went back to fixed interest rates in the College Cost Reduction and Access Act.[i] Subsequently, Congress temporarily lowered the interest rates on subsidized Stafford loans. In his FY 2014 budget, President Obama proposed going back to an alternative approach to setting a variable interest rate where the rate is fixed for the life of the loan at origination. This type of variable-fixed interest-rate loan has not been used in the federal student-loan programs before.

The original intent of a fixed rate was to have predictability for students, lenders, and the federal government. A variable interest rate, tied to the prevailing interest rate in the economy, was viewed as more sustainable over the long term than one with a fixed interest rate. It was also intended to reduce the cost to the federal government. The rates, however, were difficult for borrowers to understand. In addition, private-sector loan servicers, working under contract to the lender, often made errors in billing, which in some cases went undetected for a decade. Today there are far fewer servicers, and the servicers can therefore be monitored more closely by the federal government.

Base rate

When setting an interest rate, a primary consideration is the cost of the loan program to taxpayers of the particular interest rate selected. When the rate is fixed in law, the cost of a federal loan program rises and falls with the cost of capital to the government. When an interest rate varies, the cost of capital is just another variable that moves and affects the cost of the program. In selecting the base rate to which an add-on may be applied, therefore, two factors can be considered: (1) the cost of capital to the federal government; and (2) the more general prevailing interest rates in the economy.

In terms of cost of capital to the lender, the federal government borrows to meet current expenses through approximately 14 different funding instruments ranging from 4-week Treasury bills to 10-year Treasury notes to 30-year bonds. One commonly used instrument for setting interest rates is the 91-day Treasury bill. The 91-day Treasury bill accounts for a fifth of all debt held by the public. The 91-day Treasury bill rate has been used to set lender yield and interest rates in federal loan programs. So it is a logical instrument to consider as a base for setting a variable interest rate.

Another Treasury-derived rate that has been considered by Congress and various administrations for setting student-loan interest rates is the 10-year Treasury note. The average maturity of the 10-year Treasury note matches the historic norm for the length of repayment of student loans. The average length of repayment will likely increase as the debt load taken on by students increases over time and the new types of repayment options extend the length of repayment. The Pay As You Earn repayment option, for example, which caps a borrower?s payment at 10 percent of his or her discretionary income, will likely extend the time required to repay student loans. As a result, an instrument of longer duration?20 years or 30 years?could be justified.

Another base that some private-sector lenders have used to set interest rates for private student loans is the rate at which commercial paper, or CP, trades. CP consists of short-term promissory notes issued primarily by corporations. Maturities range up to 270 days but average about 30 days. Many companies use CP to raise cash needed for current transactions, and many find it to be a lower-cost alternative to bank loans. The Federal Reserve Board disseminates information on CP weekly in its H.15 Statistical Release.

Recently, another alternative base was proposed?the rate that the Federal Reserve charges commercial banks and other depository institutions on loans they receive from their regional Federal Reserve Bank?s lending facility. This is known as the discount rate. The discount rate is the rate charged to the most stable lending institutions for overnight borrowing. The discount rates are established by each Reserve Bank?s board of directors, subject to the review and determination of the Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System. While this approach has only been proposed for loans made between July 1, 2013, and June 30, 2014, it offers another alternative that has not been in the debate until now. It is therefore helpful in expanding the range of options being considered.

Except for the 10-year Treasury note, all three other instruments are relatively short term. As a result, they fluctuate in very similar ways. The 91-day Treasury bill, however, is consistently the lowest of the rates, followed closely by the discount rate. The average gap between the 91-day Treasury bill and the 10-year Treasury note was just under 1.75 percent but ranged between 0.07 and 3.11 percent over a 15-year period. (see Figure 4) When compared to the 10-year Treasury note, the 91-day Treasury bill, the commercial paper, and the discount rate are very volatile, and the maturity does not match that of student loans.

Add-on

Any exercise in lending is essentially a transfer of risk. Commonly, creditors price these risks by charging three premiums: (1) inflation premium, (2) liquidity premium, and (3) credit-risk premium. Tying the borrower?s interest rates to the 10-year Treasury note (or to any other long-term instrument) takes care of the inflation and liquidity premiums because these rates are set in the bond markets based on the future expectations of inflationary trends and the ability to sell or trade the notes.

The add-on, therefore, only needs to cover the credit risk, which includes the cost of administering the loan program. The cost of insurance provided to borrowers explicitly and implicitly under the federal student-loan program?death, disability, unemployment, etc.?is another element of the credit risk and should be covered.

Beyond covering these costs, any addition to the add-on would be profit for taxpayers. If the value to society in providing loans to low- and middle-income students is high because of the impact that college graduates have on the nation?s economic and social well-being, then the add-on should be relatively low, with federal taxpayers holding more of the credit risk. If the add-on is high, however, it suggests that the loan program and the students that benefited from it are less valuable to society.

One alternative would be to charge no add-on above the base interest rate. This approach would signal that there is only public good generated by the investment in students and that society should bear more of the risk. As previously discussed, there are significant private benefits of student loans.

Another approach would be to charge an add-on equal to the estimated cost of administering the federal student-loan programs. These costs would include the direct cost of making and servicing the loans as well as the cost of insurance provided to borrowers under the federal student-loan program.

Approaches that keep the cost of borrowing low make good sense for individuals, including those from low-income families and those from certain debt-averse minority groups, which are also extremely sensitive to the cost of enrolling in higher education. For this reason, a very modest add-on should be considered for low-income students. Having an add-on and resulting interest rate that is too low, however, could cause middle- and upper-income students to borrow more than necessary to meet educational expenses. This potential overborrowing, while profitable for the federal government, has long-term impacts on the economy by suppressing consumer spending, particularly in key segments of the economy such as housing and automobile sales. It is this division that led to the difference in interest rates charged under the subsidized and unsubsidized loan programs.

Beyond a modest add-on intended only to cover costs for low-income students, it is unclear how an objective standard for setting the add-on could be reached. As shown in Figure 5, low-income students rely on both subsidized and unsubsidized student loans, but so do more affluent students. So the distinction between the two loan types is blurred.

One consideration is that setting a higher add-on could prevent excessive borrowing, which could be an issue in the unsubsidized Stafford loan and, perhaps more significantly, in PLUS loans. Because of the relatively low loan limits on subsidized Stafford loans, preventing excessive borrowing is not a consideration. But it is a legitimate consideration in the unsubsidized Stafford and PLUS loan programs, where interest rates that are too low could promote overborrowing.

Interest-rate ceiling

In addition to the base rate and the add-on, policymakers must decide whether to include a ceiling or maximum interest rate that a borrower could be charged. A ceiling on the interest rate charged to borrowers will ensure that even if the result of the base plus add-on exceeds an established level, the interest rate will not go higher than, for example, 8 percent. This is an especially important protection for borrowers that could see interest rates rise to a level that makes it difficult for them to make payments except under an income-based repayment plan. As such, a ceiling on the interest rate charged is an important protection for borrowers.

Where to set the ceiling is based, again, more on values than empirical analysis. That being said, the history of student-loan interest rates is instructive. Since 1992 student-loan interest rates have ranged from a low of 3.4 percent to a maximum of 8.25 percent, with an average of 6.6 percent. (see Figure 6) Consistent with historical trends in interest rates overall, the trend has been toward lower interest rates. As a result, a ceiling at or below the current unsubsidized student-loan interest rate would seem reasonable for Stafford loans. For PLUS loans, a ceiling of approximately 7.5 percent would seem reasonable.

Refinancing and other borrower protections

As can be seen in Figure 6, student-loan interest rates have fluctuated significantly in recent years, reflecting the cost of capital and of servicing student-loan debt. Various other protections for students could be included in legislation to keep interest rates from rising. A refinancing option, for example, could be provided to permit existing borrowers to move into the new interest-rate model. This would allow borrowers that currently have interest rates as high as 8.25 percent to move down to the newly established rate. To defray the cost of a refinancing program, borrowers could be assessed a one-time fee or charged a slightly higher interest rate similar to the current consolidation loans. Under the consolidation-loan program available to some borrowers today, the interest rate charged is rounded up to the nearest one-eighth of a percent. A different rounding convention?to the nearest 0.5 percent, for example?would generate additional revenues to defray program expenses.

Finally, repayment tools such as Pay As You Earn could be expanded to help borrowers who have a difficult time making payments on their loans. While such protections are not directly related to student-loan interest rates per se, they do provide a mechanism to address the most significant impacts of student-loan debt on the most vulnerable.

Tobin is the deputy director for Campus Progress.

Source: http://campusprogress.org/articles/a_comprehensive_analysis_of_the_student-loan_interest-rate_changes_tha/

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Your Top Plays for Today

Your Top Plays for Today: AP's Sports Guide

?BIG NAME EXODUS CONTINUES AT WIMBLEDON

Roger Federer and Maria Sharapova head the list of players exiting Wimbledon after a day of upsets and injuries.

http://apne.ws/14yjyw8

?BRAZIL INTO CONFEDERATIONS CUP FINAL

Brazil says the hard-fought win over an experienced Uruguayan squad has helped the team mature and gain more confidence for next year's World Cup, also being staged on home ground.

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?PATRIOTS TIGHT END CHARGED WITH MURDER

New England Patriots tight end Aaron Hernandez has been charged with murder in the shooting death of a friend prosecutors say had angered the player at a nightclub a few days earlier by talking to the wrong people.

http://apne.ws/19tehfX

?ANCELOTTI HAILED AS SAGE UPON REAL MADRID ARRIVAL

New coach Carlo Ancelotti has been tagged as "a true sage" of football by Real Madrid president Florentino Perez as he takes up his job at the Spanish giants.

http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/soccer/news/20130626/carlo-ancelotti-real-madrid.ap/

?TEVEZ ARRIVES AT NEW CLUB JUVENTUS

Carlos Tevez arrives in Turin after agreeing to a three-year contract with Italian champion Juventus

http://apne.ws/124ADvn

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/top-plays-today-070246380.html

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Kim Kardashian's First Post-Baby Tweet!

The new mom posts cute pics of sister Khloe! Check out other cute and candid moments from the stars.

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This Nesting Storage Beats Any Set of Russian Dolls

Moving house has never been easier than with this amazing set of nesting storage units. Designed by Sasa Mitrovic of TwentyTree, an amazing six pieces fit together seamlessly?and look great, too.

Read more...

Source: http://feeds.gawker.com/~r/gizmodo/full/~3/czjrVia7tn8/this-nesting-storage-beats-any-set-of-russian-dolls-583798487

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Why Drone Engineering Sucks (And How It Gets Better)

Despite our international obsession with drones?both their awesome powers and terrifying repercussions?the truth is that they're an incredibly immature technology. And, like most immature technologies, that means they?re not quite all they?re cracked up to be.

In fact, drones are severely limited by a whole heap of engineering issues that are stymying their widespread adoption. Here are some of the biggest issues holding them back?and the ways engineers are planning to fix them in the future.

Pitiful Power

One of the major charms of drones?aside from the fact that they're unmanned?is that they're light and nimble. But their small size and low weight comes at a cost: They can't carry much in the way of payload, or power source, for that matter. Look up the flight time of most drones and you'll be sorely disappointed. Parrot's $500 AR Drone 2.0 can only manage 12 minutes on a standard battery, while even AeroVironment's military-spec Shrike VTOL only achieves 40 airborne minutes. They're both commercial copters, admittedly, and fixed wing designs can fly a little longer: the Sensefly eBee, for instance, can manage up to 45 minutes if you're lucky, and winged military drones can stay airborne for an hour or two. Whichever way you look at it, it?s disappointing.

So what?s the problem? Well, just like in every other area of technology, battery science just hasn't kept up with the rate of innovation. "Time of flight will improve but slowly, because battery technology is still poor," explains Henri Seydoux, CEO of Parrot. Sure, there's floods of battery research going on across hundreds of universities and industrial research and developments labs, but in the past decade battery tech has barely improved. Lithium-ion remains the best bet, and that's still heavy and of limited capacity. What?s required for drones is a low-weight, high power density power sources, and batteries won?t be able to deliver that for some time.

But all's not lost. The future of drone power doesn't rely on batteries alone. "People are experimenting with solar cells across the wings,? explains James Mazeika from AeroVironment. ?Maybe even fuel cells." It's unlikely either of those will replace batteries completely any time soon, though: solar cells of a reasonable size don't provide nearly enough power, and fuel cells are still a fairly immature technology themselves. But some combination of two or more could comfortably keep drones in the air for longer.

Lacking Autonomy

Once you can keep a drone in the air for longer, you want to be able to do more with it, and that invariably means taking more interesting flight paths. The whole point of drones is that, on some level, they function autonomously; they're at the very least able to follow pre-programmed flight schemes or, better yet, able to react to their surroundings. Of course, it's unlikely?we hope!?that anyone would every dream of making a weaponized drone entirely autonomous, but for consumer models and micro-sized military reconnaissance craft it would be a real boon.

But making a vehicle that can control itself is no mean feat. Think for a moment how long Google's been working on its driverless car. Now imagine trying to make something that flies and is capable of entirely independent motion and control. It's an insane challenge, that relies on acquiring accurate data and then making sense of it in real time. It's certainly possible to get a drone to fly a simple route by itself?the Sensefly eBee, for instance, can happily fly routes that allow it to create aerial maps without breaking a sweat. But flying through something full of hazards?say, a forest?is much more challenging. Currently, navigating a complex assault course at speed is beyond the capabilities of virtually every small drone in existence.

The trouble is finding the right combination of sensors to minimize weight and maximize the quantity of data available. The likely solution lies in something like everyone's favorite household sensor: The 3D cameras which drive Kinect. "The drone can reconstruct his environment, and fly?avoiding obstacles?by itself," explains Seydoux. The plan, then, is to shrink down the 3D sensing technology to a point where a lightweight drone can carry it, along with the processing grunt to sift through the data in real time. Fortunately, we?re in a position where that can happen relatively soon. "Truly autonomous flight; I think in two years we'll have it," says Seydoux.

Spectral Shortfall

If drones are going to become pervasive, by definition there will be a lot of them floating around our skies?both personal and commercial, civilian and military. And if the skies are full, there's also going to be rather a lot of control signals and data links required for them to communicate with the ground. Sadly, RF spectrum is already at a premium?and it's not clear that there's enough to go round to provide for all the drones that will inevitably take over the skies. "There's just not enough spectrum to go round if drones are to really break into the civil sector,? explains Mazeika.

Perhaps most importantly, that means that drones are currently forced to use unprotected radio spectrum?unlike manned aircraft, which benefit from the luxury of protected frequency bands. That might not sound like a big deal, but unprotected bands are vulnerable to unintentional or intentional interference. And the last thing a drone needs is a loss of its control signals at inopportune moments.

The government knows that this is problem, and it?s chiseling away to find or create or new spectrum, specifically for drones, but that?s a long, slow task. The biggest problem? ?The phones carriers continue to purchase spectrums in all parts of the world that are currently being used but will not not be available in the future,? sighs Mazeika. It?s not going to be easy to wrestle spectrum out of the hands of carriers?not least because there?s an impending data crunch as well. So realistically that leaves us in a position where we need to try and make the most of the bandwidth we already have. While that?s not impossible, it?s certainly not just around the corner. Let?s just hope it can keep pace with the rate at which drones become more prolific.

Image by kaffeeringe under Creative Commons license

Source: http://gizmodo.com/why-drone-engineering-sucks-and-how-it-gets-better-529020736

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People prefer 'carrots' to 'sticks' when it comes to healthcare incentives

June 26, 2013 ? To keep costs low, companies often incentivize healthy lifestyles. Now, new research suggests that how these incentives are framed -- as benefits for healthy-weight people or penalties for overweight people -- makes a big difference.

The research, published in Psychological Science, a journal of the Association for Psychological Science, shows that policies that carry higher premiums for overweight individuals are perceived as punishing and stigmatizing.

Researcher David Tannenbaum of the Anderson School of Management at the University of California, Los Angeles wanted to investigate how framing healthcare incentives might influence people's attitudes toward the incentives.

"Two frames that are logically equivalent can communicate qualitatively different messages," Tannenbaum explains.

In the first study, 126 participants read about a fictional company grappling with managing their employee health-care policy. They were told that the company was facing rising healthcare costs, due in part to an increasing percentage of overweight employees, and were shown one of four final policy decisions.

The "carrot" plan gave a $500 premium reduction to healthy-weight people, while the "stick" plan increased premiums for overweight people by $500. The two plans were functionally equivalent, structured such that healthy-weight employees always paid $2000 per year in healthcare costs, and overweight employees always paid $2500 per year in healthcare costs.

There were also two additional "stick" plans that resulted in a $2400 premium for overweight people.

Participants were more likely to see the "stick" plans as punishment for being overweight and were less likely to endorse them.

But they didn't appear to differentiate between the three "stick" plans despite the $100 premium difference. Instead, they seemed to evaluate the plans on moral grounds, deciding that punishing someone for being overweight was wrong regardless of the potential savings to be had.

The data showed that framing incentives in terms of penalties may have particular psychological consequences for affected individuals: People with higher body mass index (BMI) scores reported that they would feel particularly stigmatized and dissatisfied with their employer under the three "stick" plans.

Another study placed participants in the decision maker's seat to see if "stick" and "carrot" plans actually reflected different underlying attitudes. Participants who showed high levels of bias against overweight people were more likely to choose the "stick" plan, but provided different justification depending on whether their bias was explicit or implicit:

"Participants who explicitly disliked overweight people were forthcoming about their decision, admitting that they chose a 'stick' policy on the basis of personal attitudes," noted Tannenbaum. "Participants who implicitly disliked overweight people, in contrast, justified their decisions based on the most economical course of action."

Ironically, if they were truly focused on economic concerns they should have opted for the "carrot" plan, since it would save the company $100 per employee. Instead, these participants tended to choose the strategy that effectively punished overweight people, even in instances when the "stick" policy implied a financial cost to the company.

Tannenbaum concludes that these framing effects may have important consequences across many different real-world domains:

"In a broad sense, our research affects policymakers at large," says Tannenbaum. "Logically equivalent policies in various domains -- such as setting a default option for organ donation or retirement savings -- can communicate very different messages, and understanding the nature of these messages could help policymakers craft more effective policy."

Co-authors on this research include Chad Valasek of the University of California, San Diego; Eric Knowles of New York University; and Peter Ditto of the University of California, Irvine.

Source: http://feeds.sciencedaily.com/~r/sciencedaily/top_news/~3/NltV_68swwU/130626143118.htm

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Rihanna Instagrams HUGE Joints, Wishes U.S. Would #LegalizeIt

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Zimmerman portrayed as vigilante in Fla. shooting

George Zimmerman waits for his defense counsel to arrive in Seminole circuit court for his trial, in Sanford, Fla., Monday, June 24, 2013. Zimmerman has been charged with second-degree murder for the 2012 shooting death of Trayvon Martin. (AP Photo/Orlando Sentinel, Joe Burbank/Pool)

George Zimmerman waits for his defense counsel to arrive in Seminole circuit court for his trial, in Sanford, Fla., Monday, June 24, 2013. Zimmerman has been charged with second-degree murder for the 2012 shooting death of Trayvon Martin. (AP Photo/Orlando Sentinel, Joe Burbank/Pool)

Assistant State Attorney John Guy gestures during his opening statement in George Zimmerman's trial, in Seminole circuit court, in Sanford, Fla., Monday, June 24, 2013. Zimmerman has been charged with second-degree murder for the 2012 shooting death of Trayvon Martin. (AP Photo/Orlando Sentinel, Joe Burbank, Pool)

FILE - This June 20, 2013 file photo, George Zimmerman listens as his defense counsel Mark O'Mara questions potential jurors during Zimmerman's trial in Seminole circuit court in Sanford, Fla. Judge Debra Nelson said Saturday, June 22, 2013, that prosecution audio experts who point to Trayvon Martin as screaming on a 911 call moments before he was killed won't be allowed to testify at trial. Nelson reached her decision after hearing arguments that stretched over several days this month on whether to allow testimony from two prosecution experts. (AP Photo/Orlando Sentinel, Gary Green, Pool, file)

Don West, a defense attorney for George Zimmerman describes the shooting of Trayvon Martin to the jury while holding an evidence photo of a gun during opening statements in Zimmerman's trial in Seminole circuit court, in Sanford, Fla., Monday, June 24, 2013. Zimmerman has been charged with second-degree murder for the 2012 shooting death of Trayvon Martin. (AP Photo/Orlando Sentinel, Joe Burbank,Pool)

George Zimmerman, left, arrives in Seminole circuit court, with his wife Shellie, in Sanford, Fla., Monday, June 24, 2013. Zimmerman is accused in the fatal shooting of Trayvon Martin. Zimmerman has been charged with second-degree murder for the 2012 shooting death of Trayvon Martin. (AP Photo/Orlando Sentinel, Joe Burbank/Pool)

SANFORD, Fla. (AP) ? George Zimmerman was fed up with "punks" getting away with crime and shot 17-year-old Trayvon Martin "because he wanted to," not because he had to, prosecutors argued Monday, while the neighborhood watch volunteer's attorney said the killing was self-defense against a young man who was slamming Zimmerman's head against the pavement.

The prosecution began opening statements in the long-awaited murder trial with shocking language, repeating obscenities Zimmerman uttered while talking to a police dispatcher moments before the deadly confrontation.

The defense opened with a knock-knock joke about the difficulty of picking a jury for a case that stirred nationwide debate over racial profiling, vigilantism and Florida's expansive laws on the use of deadly force.

"Knock. Knock," said defense attorney Don West.

"Who is there?"

"George Zimmerman."

"George Zimmerman who?"

"All right, good. You're on the jury."

Zimmerman, 29, could get life in prison if convicted of second-degree murder for gunning down Martin on Feb. 26, 2012, as the unarmed black teenager, wearing a hoodie on a dark, rainy night, walked from a convenience store through the gated townhouse community where he was staying.

The case took on racial dimensions after Martin's family claimed that Zimmerman had racially profiled Martin and that police were dragging their feet in bringing charges. Zimmerman, whose mother is Hispanic and whose father is white, has denied the confrontation had anything to do with race.

Prosecutor John Guy's first words to the jury recounted what Zimmerman told a dispatcher in a call shortly after spotting Martin: "F------ punks. These a-------. They always get away."

Zimmerman was profiling Martin as he followed him, Guy said. He said Zimmerman viewed the teen "as someone about to a commit a crime in his neighborhood."

"And he acted on it. That's why we're here," the prosecutor said.

Zimmerman didn't have to shoot Martin, Guy said. "He shot him for the worst of all reasons: because he wanted to," he said.

The prosecutor portrayed the watch captain as a vigilante, saying, "Zimmerman thought it was his right to rid his neighborhood of anyone who did not belong."

West told jurors a different story: Martin sucker-punched Zimmerman and then pounded the neighborhood watch volunteer's head against the concrete sidewalk, and that's when Zimmerman opened fire.

Showing the jury photos of a bloodied and bruised Zimmerman, the defense attorney said, "He had just taken tremendous blows to his face, tremendous blows to his head."

West said the story that Martin was unarmed is untrue: "Trayvon Martin armed himself with a concrete sidewalk and used it to smash George Zimmerman's head."

The prosecutor, however, disputed elements of Zimmerman's story, including his claim that Martin put his hands over Zimmerman's mouth and reached for the man's gun. Guy said none of Zimmerman's DNA was found on Martin's body, and none of the teenager's DNA was on the weapon or the holster.

But West said that doesn't prove anything, arguing that crime-scene technicians didn't properly protect Martin's hands from contamination.

Two police dispatch phone calls that could be important evidence for both sides were played for the jury by the defense. Martin's mother, Sybrina Fulton, left the courtroom before the second recording, which has the sound of the gunshot that killed Martin.

The first was a call Zimmerman made to a nonemergency police dispatcher, who told him he didn't need to be following Martin.

The second 911 call, from a witness, captures screams in the distant background from the struggle between Zimmerman and Martin. Martin's parents said the screams are from their son, while Zimmerman's father contends they are his son's.

Circuit Judge Debra Nelson ruled last weekend that audio experts for the prosecution won't be able to testify that the screams belong to Martin, saying the methods used were unreliable.

On Monday, one of the first witnesses for the prosecution was a custodian of police dispatch calls. During the witness' testimony, prosecutors started playing police calls Zimmerman had made in the months before he shot Martin. The defense objected, arguing the calls were irrelevant.

The judge said she would address the matter Tuesday and sent the jurors to the hotel where they are being sequestered for the duration of the trial, which could last several weeks

Other witnesses who testified Monday included a convenience store clerk and the 911 dispatcher who took Zimmerman's call when he was following Martin. Martin had gone to the convenience store to buy Skittles and a can of iced tea.

The 911 dispatcher, Sean Noffke, testified that he had advised Zimmerman not to follow Martin.

Randy McClean, a criminal defense attorney in Florida with no connection to the case, called the prosecution's opening statement "brilliant" in that it described Zimmerman's state of mind. But he described the knock-knock joke as less than stellar.

"If you're defending your client for second-degree murder, you probably shouldn't start your opening with a joke," McClean said.

___

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Associated Press

Source: http://hosted2.ap.org/APDEFAULT/3d281c11a96b4ad082fe88aa0db04305/Article_2013-06-24-Neighborhood%20Watch/id-dd3a7b5d186e48bfb0744436119ad638

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Snapjoy photo sharing service shut down following Dropbox aquisition

Snapjoy has announced that it'll be shuttering all of its services a mere six months after being acquired by cloud colossus Dropbox. In a blog post, the company said photos can no longer be imported into Snapjoy and the iPhone app is henceforth unavailable. If you've got images stored on the site, you'll have exactly a month to get them downloaded, since after July 24th, "all photos and data will be permanently deleted." The same thing happened to Audiogalaxy shortly after its acquisition by Dropbox, and of course other big fish like Google and Twitter are well known for similar behavior after eating smaller fish -- though at least we saw the #Music fruits of Twitter's buyout shortly after it happened. On the other hand, we've yet to see Dropbox do anything with Audiogalaxy, so we hope the defunct apps will be resurrected in some form soon.

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Via: CNET

Source: Snapjoy (Blog)

Source: http://www.engadget.com/2013/06/24/snapjoy-photo-sharing-site-shut-down/?utm_medium=feed&utm_source=Feed_Classic&utm_campaign=Engadget

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