সোমবার, ৭ জানুয়ারী, ২০১৩

End In Dreams: Craft Space

A while back I mentioned that we were moving to a new home and how excited I was about this process.

Well, as we're finishing our second month here (and first full month actually all moved in) and the new place is wonderful and feels more like home every day.

My mom was able to come up this weekend to work on crafts but we spent the whole time hanging pictures and setting up the extra bedroom. This room has really become the 'Et cetera room': I want to use it for crafting (both witchy and arts), the Kiddo's piano is housed here, we have our gecko and newt cages and it's become the cat sanctuary (for when they don't want to deal with the dogs).

Since this room is multi-purpose, we had only about 1/3 of it to work with and the large, bulky stuff (fabric, yarn, scrapbook paper, etc) is organized in the closet. I'm not finished but I am a heck of a lot closer than I was on Friday.?It really looks fantastic and I'm inspired already. In fact, I think it's where I'll spend most of my time.?I dabble in a lot of different crafts so it was hard for me to visualize a space that would organize all of my different hobbies. She didn't have that problem at all! (To be fair, she has some experience; her craft room is incredible.)?It's amazing to me that I feel so much more connected to this place with just the addition of pictures and shelves!

Desk and shelves: need to be painted! Scrapbook box needs to be organized, need a new lamp

Close up 1: glitter, pens, citrine for creativity, a God & Goddess statue

Close up 2: paint brushes, clay tools, buttons in jars?

?Close up 3: knitting needles, crochet hooks, counters, placeholders, end caps


I have a bookshelf on the wall behind this desk that needs to be organized; I have my sewing machine and craft books slated for occupancy. Also not pictured is a cabinet to the left where I will organize my different altar pieces (you know- the different chalices and offering plates, altar cloths, candle holders and candles) and above that is a wire that I will use to hang and dry the harvest from my herb and flower garden. My actual herb collection lives in the kitchen but I hope to do my planning and journalling here.

So that's a little bit of my life and home! Hopefully next I'll scan and include the garden plans I've drawn up to bless at our Imbolc ritual next month.

Source: http://end-in-dreams.blogspot.com/2013/01/craft-space.html

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Play or Sit: the coaches' quandary

NEW YORK (AP) ? At some point, an injured player, even a star like Robert Griffin III, is too hampered to help a team. Deciding when enough is enough is the problem.

Redskins coach Mike Shanahan became the target of widespread criticism after Griffin reinjured his right knee in Sunday's 24-14 wild-card loss to Seattle. The questions have ranged from whether Shanahan made his sensational rookie's health his No. 1 priority to whether the protocol for dealing with injuries was followed.

Coaches who have been in such tricky situations say the solutions aren't complicated.

"You have to rely on the doctors, the health always has to come first," said Super Bowl-winning coach Tony Dungy. "If the doctor says he can go or he can't go, you don't argue, there's not even a discussion.

"If the doctors say, 'Here are the limitations, he can go,' then you have to judge for yourself. How is he mentally? How limited is he physically?"

Dungy recalls many times when players wanted to go and he had to say no. While coaching the Buccaneers, Dungy told Warren Sapp he wouldn't be suiting up for a national TV game against Miami because Sapp had cracked a bone in his hand.

Sapp wanted to wear a splint, but team doctors said it was too soon for him to play.

"Warren was upset," Dungy said.

"If you ask the player, it means nothing. It's rare a player will tell you he can't do this or this or that."

Shanahan said Monday that Griffin will see renowned orthopedist James Andrews for more examinations on the knee, leaving open the possibility the quarterback will be sidelined for a lengthy period.

Shanahan added he thought he made the "right decisions" and it would be "crazy" to think he would purposely sacrifice Griffin's career to win a game.

But Shanahan admitted he did not talk to team doctors initially after Griffin was hurt in the first quarter.

"I went up to Robert. I said, 'You OK?'" Shanahan said. "And he said, 'I'm fine.'"

Not exactly the way some coaches would have handled it.

"You never put a player in harm's way," said Herm Edwards, who defended how Shanahan handled the situation during his ESPN show.

"It starts with the medical staff on the sideline. They advise you if a player is able to go back in. If they say, 'Yea,' you put him back in. If he can play, you keep him on the field."

Players don't ever want to come out, and Dungy says some will even try to hide medical problems. Or at least minimize them.

San Francisco tight end Vernon Davis suffered a concussion on Dec. 23 at Seattle and returned to play in the season finale against Arizona. He admits to being a little "woozy" during his limited reps, but insists sitting should not have been the first option.

"You trust the player. A player knows his body better than anyone," Davis said. "If he's feeling a certain way, then I don't think you can go against that. He knows he can play."

But he could be placing himself in greater jeopardy, whether in the short term or for his entire career. For every Adrian Peterson and Jamaal Charles who makes a stunningly quick recovery, there are dozens of players who are never the same.

Some don't even get back in uniform again.

Or they come back too quickly, as Griffin's teammate, cornerback DeAngelo Hall, did in 2010.

Hall missed practice leading up to a game against the Colts. Usually, Shanahan bars players from suiting up when that happens, but Hall was allowed to play.

"I gave up a couple of touchdown passes," Hall said. "And Mike was just like, 'That's my fault, you shouldn't have been out there. I respect you wanted to be out there, but I could tell you just couldn't go.'

"You always want to be out there. It's nothing against the guys behind you, but just that competitiveness in you. You want to compete, you want to be a part of it, especially this run we've had.

"Man, it would have been hard for that guy (RG3) to say, 'Nah, coach I can't go' or 'pull me.' Everything was going so special, he wanted to be a part of it."

___

Online: http://pro32.ap.org/poll and http://twitter.com/AP_NFL

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/play-sit-coaches-quandary-220440796--nfl.html

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Thomas Gibson Arrested for Drunk Driving

Source: http://www.thehollywoodgossip.com/2013/01/thomas-gibson-arrested-for-drunk-driving/

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Source: http://bloglacaja.blogspot.com/2013/01/business-bay-property-for-sale-in_5.html

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রবিবার, ৬ জানুয়ারী, ২০১৩

Fugitive Saddam deputy lends support to Iraq Sunni protests

BAGHDAD (Reuters) - The most senior member of the late Iraqi dictator Saddam Hussein's entourage still at large has urged Sunni Muslim anti-government protesters to stand their ground until the Shi'ite prime minister, Nuri al-Maliki, is toppled.

Izzat Ibrahim al-Douri heads Saddam's now-banned Baath party, whose leaders fled or went underground after the U.S.-led invasion in 2003 that overthrew the Sunni strongman and empowered the Shi'ite majority.

Over the past two weeks, tens of thousands of Sunnis, some waving Saddam-era flags, have staged demonstrations in a show of anger against Maliki, whom they accuse of marginalizing their community and monopolizing power.

"The people of Iraq and all its nationalist and Islamic forces support you until the realization of your just demands for the fall of the Safavid-Persian alliance," said Douri, addressing protesters in footage broadcast on the pan-Arab news channel Al Arabiya.

Douri said he was in the Iraqi province of Babil but the authenticity or timing of the video could not be verified.

The Safavid dynasty ruled Shi'ite Iran - which at times also controlled parts of modern-day Iraq - from the 16th to the 18th centuries.

Since Maliki came to office in 2006, Iraq has edged closer to its neighbor, which wields strong influence over several Iraqi Shi'ite parties.

In the video, Douri was surrounded by men in military uniform. He said the Baath leadership was considering launching a campaign to "justly and decisively" punish civilians and soldiers who supported what he described as Iran's "Safavid project" for Iraq.

"It is a clear plan to destroy Iraq and annex it to Iran," he said. "We warn those traitors, agents and spies ... who support the dangerous project ... that the national resistance will confront them."

The influential Shi'ite cleric Moqtada al-Sadr, a rival to Maliki who has voiced support for the Sunni rallies, said Douri and his followers were agents of the United States and Israel, and urged the protesters to denounce him.

SIXTH MOST WANTED

"If the government is not able to seriously and urgently capture (or kill) him, this will be our job, we, the soldiers of God upon earth," he said in a statement on his website.

Douri, seldom seen since 2003, was the deputy head of Iraq's Revolutionary Command Council under Saddam, and took over as Baath Party leader after Saddam was executed in 2006.

After the 2003 invasion, he was ranked sixth on the U.S. military's list of 55 most wanted Iraqis and a $10 million reward was offered for his capture. U.S. officials accused him of organizing the insurgency that peaked in 2005-07.

The conflict in neighboring Syria, where a Sunni-led insurgency is fighting to remove a leader backed by Shi'ite Iran, is whipping up sectarian tension across the region and straining a precarious political balance between Iraq's Sunni, Shi'ite and Kurdish factions.

That has raised concern about a relapse into intercommunal slaughter in Iraq just over a year after U.S. troops withdrew.

A car bomb parked near a vegetable and fruit market in the town of Kanaan in Diyala province killed two people on Saturday, police said, in an attack the mayor blamed on Baathists seeking to ignite sectarian strife.

At least four Shi'ite pilgrims were also killed by a car bomb near the Shi'ite holy city of Kerbala.

The protests in Iraq's Sunni Muslim heartland pose a new challenge to Maliki, who is already at odds with the autonomous Kurdish region in the north.

Iyad Allawi, the head of the Sunni-backed Iraqiya political bloc, on Friday called on Maliki to resign and for an interim government to take over pending an early election.

Failing that, he said Maliki's alliance should select an alternative prime minister.

The latest crisis gathered pace just hours after President Jalal Talabani, a Kurd seen as a moderating influence between the political groups, suffered a stroke and was flown to Germany for medical care.

Talabani's medical team said on Saturday the 79-year-old was responding very well to treatment and had "passed the difficult stages more quickly than expected", but gave no details about his health or whether he was able to communicate.

(Additional reporting by Ahmed Tolba in Cairo and Suadad al-Salhy in Baghdad; Writing by Isabel Coles; Editing by Kevin Liffey)

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/fugitive-saddam-deputy-lends-support-iraq-sunni-protests-213248611.html

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v\:* {behavior:url(#default#VML);} o\:* {behavior:url(#default#VML);} w\:* {behavior:url(#default#VML);} .shape {behavior:url(#default#VML);} Some new points about Teaching and Learning English as a Foreign Language Language education is the ?teaching ?and learning of a language. It can include improving a learner's mastery of her or his native language, but the term is more commonly used with regard to second language acquisition, which means the learning of a foreign or second language and which is the topic of this article. Some scholars differentiate between acquisition and learning. Language education is a branch of applied linguistics. Need for language education??????????? ?? People need to learn a second language because of globalization, connections are becoming inevitable among nations, states and organizations which creates a huge need for knowing another language or more multilingualism. The uses of common languages are in areas such as; in trade, tourism international relations between governments, technology, media and science. Therefore, many countries such as Japan (Kubota, 1998) and China (Kirkpatrick & Zhichang, 2002) create education policies to teach at least one foreign language in primary and secondary school level. However, some countries such as India, Singapore, Malaysia and Philippines make a second official language in their governing system. However, according to Gao (2010) many Chinese people are giving enormous importance to foreign language learning especially learning the English Language. History of foreign language education Ancient to medieval period ? Although the need to learn foreign languages is almost as old as human history itself, the origins of modern language education are in the study and teaching of Latin in the 17th century. Latin had for many centuries been the dominant language of education, commerce, religion, and government in much of the Western world, but it was displaced by French, Italian, and English by the end of the 16th century. John Amos Comenius was one of many people who tried to reverse this trend. He composed a complete course for learning Latin, covering the entire school curriculum, culminating in his Opera Didactica Omnia, 1657. ? In this work, Comenius also outlined his theory of language acquisition. He is one of the first theorists to write systematically about how languages are learned and about pedagogical methodology for language acquisition. He held that language acquisition must be allied with sensation and experience. Teaching must be oral. The schoolroom should have models of things, and failing that, pictures of them. As a result, he also published the world's first illustrated children's book, Orbis Sensualim Pictus. The study of Latin diminished from the study of a living language to be used in the real world to a subject in the school curriculum. Such decline brought about a new justification for its study. It was then claimed that its study developed intellectual abilities, and the study of Latin grammar became an end in and of itself. "Grammar schools" from the 16th to 18th centuries focused on teaching the grammatical aspects of Classical Latin. Advanced students continued grammar study with the addition of rhetoric. 18th century ? The study of modern languages did not become part of the curriculum of European schools until the 18th century. Based on the purely academic study of Latin, students of modern languages did much of the same exercises, studying grammatical rules and translating abstract sentences. Oral work was minimal, and students were instead required to memorize grammatical rules and apply these to decode written texts in the target language. This tradition-inspired method became known as the 'grammar-translation method'. 19th?20th century ?? The examples and perspective in this article deal primarily with the United States and do not represent a worldwide view of the subject. Please improve this article and discuss the issue on the talk page. (November 2010) Henry Sweet was a key figure in establishing the applied linguistics tradition in language teaching.. ?? Innovation in foreign language teaching began in the 19th century and became very rapid in the 20th century. It led to a number of different and sometimes conflicting methods, each trying to be a major improvement over the previous or contemporary methods. The earliest applied linguists included Jean Manesca, Heinrich Gottfried Ollendorff (1803?1865), Henry Sweet (1845?1912), Otto Jespersen (1860?1943), and Harold Palmer (1877?1949). They worked on setting language teaching principles and approaches based on linguistic and psychological theories, but they left many of the specific practical details for others to devise. ??? Those looking at the history of foreign-language education in the 20th century and the methods of teaching (such as those related below) might be tempted to think that it is a history of failure. Very few students in U.S. universities who have a foreign language as a major manage to reach something called "minimum professional proficiency". Even the "reading knowledge" required for a PhD degree is comparable only to what second-year language students read and only very few researchers who are native English speakers can read and assess information written in languages other than English. Even a number of famous linguists are monolingual. ????? However, anecdotal evidence for successful second or foreign language learning is easy to find, leading to a Page 1 ? discrepancy between these cases and the failure of most language programs, which helps make the research of second language acquisition emotionally charged. Older methods and approaches such as the grammar translation method or the direct method are dismissed and even ridiculed as newer methods and approaches are invented and promoted as the only and complete solution to the problem of the high failure rates of foreign language students. ??? Most books on language teaching list the various methods that have been used in the past, often ending with the author's new method. These new methods are usually presented as coming only from the author's mind, as the authors generally give no credence to what was done before and do not explain how it relates to the new method. For example, descriptive linguists seem to claim unhesitatingly that there were no scientifically-based language teaching methods before their work (which led to the audio-lingual method developed for the U.S. Army in World War II). However, there is significant evidence to the contrary. It is also often inferred or even stated that older methods were completely ineffective or have died out completely when even the oldest methods are still used (e.g. the Berlitz version of the direct method). One reason for this situation is that proponents of new methods have been so sure that their ideas are so new and so correct that they could not conceive that the older ones have enough validity to cause controversy. This was in turn caused by emphasis on new scientific advances, which has tended to blind researchers to precedents in older work. There have been two major branches in the field of language learning; the empirical and theoretical, and these have almost completely separate histories, with each gaining ground over the other at one point in time or another. Examples of researchers on the empiricist side are Jesperson, Palmer, and Leonard Bloomfield, who promote mimicry and memorization with pattern drills. These methods follow from the basic empiricist position that language acquisition basically results from habits formed by conditioning and drilling. In its most extreme form, language learning is seen as basically the same as any other learning in any other species, human language being essentially the same as communication behaviors seen in other species. ?? On the theoretical side are, for example, Francois Gouin, M.D. Berlitz, and Elime de Sauz?, whose rationalist theories of language acquisition dovetail with linguistic work done by Noam Chomsky and others. These have led to a wider variety of teaching methods ranging from the grammar-translation method to Gouin's "series method" to the direct methods of Berlitz and de Sauz?. With these methods, students generate original and meaningful sentences to gain a functional knowledge of the rules of grammar. This follows from the rationalist position that man is born to think and that language use is a uniquely human trait impossible in other species. Given that human languages share many common traits, the idea is that humans share a universal grammar which is built into our brain structure. This allows us to create sentences that we have never heard before but that can still be immediately understood by anyone who understands the specific language being spoken. The rivalry of the two camps is intense, with little communication or cooperation between them. ??????????????????????????????????????????????????? Methods of foreign languages Main article: Methods of? foreign languages?????????????????????????????????? ??? Language education may take place as a general school subject or in a specialized language school. There are many methods of teaching languages. Some have fallen into relative obscurity and others are widely used; still others have a small following, but offer useful insights. While sometimes confused, the terms "approach", "method" and "technique" are hierarchical concepts. An approach is a set of correlative assumptions about the nature of language and language learning, but does not involve procedure or provide any details about how such assumptions should translate into the classroom setting. Such can be related to second language acquisition theory. There are three principal views at this level: The structural view treats language as a system of structurally related elements to code meaning (e.g. grammar). The functional view sees language as a vehicle to express or accomplish a certain function, such as requesting something. The interactive view sees language as a vehicle for the creation and maintenance of social relations, focusing on patterns of moves, acts, negotiation and interaction found in conversational exchanges. This view has been fairly dominant since the 1980s. Examples of structural methods are grammar translation and the audio-lingual method. Examples of functional methods include the oral approach / situational language teaching. Examples of interactive methods include the direct method, the series method, communicative language teaching language immersion, the proprioceptive language learning method, the Silent Way, Suggestopedia, the Natural Approach, Total Physical Response, ?Proficiency through Reading and Storytelling and Dogme language . A method is a plan for presenting the language material to be learned and should be based upon a selected approach. ?In order for an approach to be translated into a method, an instructional system must be designed considering the ? Page 2 ? objectives of the teaching/learning, how the content is to be selected and organized, the types of tasks to be performed, the roles of students and the roles of teachers. A technique is a very specific, concrete stratagem or trick designed to accomplish an immediate objective. Such are derived from the controlling method, and less-directly with the approach. Learning strategies Code switching Main article: Code-switching Code switching, that is, changing between languages at some point in a sentence or utterance, is a commonly used communication strategy among language learners and bilinguals. While traditional methods of formal instruction often discourage code switching, students, especially those placed in a language immersion situation, often use it. If viewed as a learning strategy, wherein the student uses the target language as much as possible but reverts to their native language for any element of an utterance that they are unable to produce in the target language (as, e.g., in Wolfgang Butzkamm's concept of enlightened monolingualism), then it has the advantages that it encourages fluency development and motivation and a sense of accomplishment by enabling the student to discuss topics of interest to him or her early in the learning process?before requisite vocabulary has been memorized. It is particularly effective for students whose native language is English, due to the high probability of a simple English word or short phrase being understood by the conversational partner. Blended learning Main article: Blended learning?????????????????????????????????????????????????????????? Blended learning combines face-to-face teaching with distance education, frequently electronic, either computer-based or web-based. It has been a major growth point in the ELT (English Language Teaching) industry over the last ten years.? Some people, though, use the phrase 'Blended Learning' to refer to learning taking place while the focus is on other activities. For example, playing a card game that requires calling for cards may allow blended learning of numbers (1 to 10). Skills teaching ?? When talking about language skills, the four basic ones are: listening, speaking, reading and writing. However, other, more socially-based skills have been identified more recently such as summarizing, describing, narrating etc. In addition, more general learning skills such as study skills and knowing how one learns have been applied to language classrooms. ??In the 1970s and 1980s the four basic skills were generally taught in isolation in a very rigid order, such as listening before speaking. However, since then, it has been recognized that we generally use more than one skill at a time, leading to more integrated exercises. Speaking is a skill that often is underrepresented in the traditional classroom. This could be due to the fact that it is considered a less-academic skills than writing, is transient and improvised (thus harder to assess and teach through rote imitation). More recent textbooks stress the importance of students working with other students in pairs and groups, sometimes the entire class. Pair and group work give opportunities for more students to participate more actively. However, supervision of pairs and groups is important to make sure everyone participates as equally as possible. Such activities also provide opportunities for peer teaching, where weaker learners can find support from stronger classmates. Language education by region Europe Foreign language education ? 1995 European Commission?s White Paper "Teaching and learning ? Towards the learning society", stated that "upon completing initial training, everyone should be proficient in two Community foreign languages". The Lisbon Summit of 2000 defined languages as one of the five key skills. ? In fact, even in 1974, at least one foreign language was compulsory in all but two European member states Ireland and the United Kingdom (apart from Scotland). By 1998 nearly all pupils in Europe studied at least one foreign language as part of their compulsory education, the only exception being the Republic of Ireland, where primary and secondary schoolchildren learn both Irish and English, but neither is considered a foreign language although a third European language is also taught. Pupils in upper secondary education learn at least two foreign languages in Belgium's Flemish community, France, Denmark, Netherlands, Germany, Luxembourg, Finland, Sweden, Switzerland, Greece, Cyprus, Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania, Poland, Romania, Serbia, Slovenia and Slovakia. ?? On average in Europe, at the start of foreign language teaching, pupils have lessons for three to four hours a week. Compulsory lessons in a foreign language normally start at the end of primary school or the start of secondary school. In Luxembourg, Norway, Italy and Malta, however, the first foreign language starts at age six, in Sweden at age seven and in Belgium's Flemish community at age 10. About half of the EU's primary school ? Page 3 pupils learn a foreign language. English is the language taught most often at lower secondary level in the EU. There, 93% of children learn English. At upper secondary level, English is even more widely taught. French is taught at lower secondary level in all EU countries except Slovenia. A total of 33% of European Union pupils learn French at this level. At upper secondary level the figure drops slightly to 28%. German is taught in nearly all EU countries. A total of 13% of pupils in the European Union learn German in lower secondary education, and 20% learn it at an upper secondary level. Despite the high rate of foreign language teaching in schools, the number of adults claiming to speak a foreign language is generally lower than might be expected. This is particularly true of native English speakers: in 2004 a British survey showed that only one in 10 UK workers could speak a foreign language. Less than 5% could count to 20 in a second language, for example; 80% said they could work abroad anyway, because "everyone speaks English." In 2001, a European Commission survey found that 65.9% of people in the UK spoke only their native tongue. Since the 1990s, the Common European Framework of Reference for Languages has tried to standardize the learning of languages across Europe (one of the first results being UNIcert). Bilingual education Main article: Bilingual education ? ?? In some countries, learners have lessons taken entirely in a foreign language: for example, more than half of European countries with a minority or regional language community use partial immersion to teach both the minority and the state language. ?? In the 1960s and 1970s, some central and eastern European countries created a system of bilingual schools for well-performing pupils. Subjects other than languages were taught in a foreign language. In the 1990s this system was opened to all pupils in general education, although some countries still make candidates sit an entrance exam. At the same time, Belgium's French community, France, the Netherlands, Austria and Finland also started bilingual schooling schemes. Germany meanwhile had established some bilingual schools in the late 1960s. United States Main article: Language education in the United States In most school systems, foreign language is taken in high school, with many schools requiring one to three years of foreign language in order to graduate. In some school systems, foreign language is also taught during middle school, and recently, many elementary schools have begun teaching foreign languages as well. However, foreign language immersion programs are growing in popularity, making it possible for elementary school children to begin serious development of a second language. ? In late 2009 the Center for Applied Linguistics completed an extensive survey documenting foreign language study in the United States. The most popular language is Spanish, due to the large number of recent Spanish-speaking immigrants to the United States (see Spanish in the United States). According to this survey, in 2008 88% of language programs in elementary schools taught Spanish, compared to 93% in secondary schools. Other languages taught in U.S. high schools in 2008, in descending order of frequency, were French, German, Latin, Mandarin Chinese, American Sign Language, Italian, and Japanese. During the Cold War, the United States government pushed for Russian education, and some schools still maintain their Russian programs. Other languages recently gaining popularity include Arabic. Australia ? Prior to European colonization, there were hundreds of Aboriginal languages, taught in a traditional way. The arrival of a substantial number of Irish in the first English convict ships meant that European Australia was not ever truly monolingual. When the gold rushes of the 1850s trebled the white population, it brought many more Welsh speakers, who had their own language newspapers through to the 1870s, but the absence of language education meant that these Celtic languages never flourished. ? ? Waves of European migration after World War II brought "community languages," sometimes with schools. However, from 1788 until modern times it was generally expected that immigrants would learn English and abandon their first language (Clyne, 1997). The wave of multicultural policies since the 1970s has softened aspects of these attitudes. ?? In 1982 a bipartisan committee of Australian parliamentarians was appointed and identified a number of guiding principles that would support a National Policy on Languages (NPL). Its trend was towards bilingualism in all Australians, for reasons of fairness, diversity and economics. ? Page 4 ?? In the 1990s the Australian Languages and Literacy Policy (ALLP) was introduced, building on the NPL, with extra attention being given to the economic motivations of second language learning. A distinction became drawn between priority languages and community languages. The ten priority languages identified were Mandarin, French, German, Modern Greek, Indonesian, Japanese, Italian, Korean, Spanish and Aboriginal languages. ? However, Australia's federal system meant that the NPL and ALLP direction was really an overall policy from above without much engagement from the states and territories. The NALSAS strategy united Australian Government policy with that of the states and territories. It focused on four targeted languages: Mandarin, Indonesian, Japanese and Korean. This would be integrated into studies of Society and Environment, English and Arts. ?? By 2000, the top ten languages enrolled in the final high school year were, in descending order: Japanese, French, German, Chinese, Indonesian, Italian, Greek, Vietnamese, Spanish and Arabic. In 2002, only about 10% of Year 12 included at least one Language Other Than English (LOTE) among their course choices. Japan Main article: Eikaiwa Language study holidays Language school ?? An increasing number of people are now combining holidays with language study in the native country. This enables the student to experience the target culture by meeting local people. Such a holiday often combines formal lessons, cultural excursions, leisure activities, and a homestay, perhaps with time to travel in the country afterwards. Language study holidays are popular across Europe and Asia due to the ease of transportation and variety of nearby countries. These holidays have become increasingly more popular in Central and South America in such countries as Guatemala, Ecuador and Peru. With the increasing prevalence of international business transactions, it is now important to have multiple languages at one's disposal. This is also evident in businesses outsourcing their departments to Eastern Europe. Language education on the Internet The Internet has emerged as a powerful medium to teach and learn foreign languages. Websites that provide language education on the Internet may be broadly classified under 3 categories: Language exchange websites Language portals Virtual online schools Support websites Language exchange websites ? Language exchange facilitates language learning by placing users with complementary language skills in contact with each other. For instance, User A is a native Spanish speaker and wants to learn English; User B is a native English speaker and wants to learn Spanish. Language exchange websites essentially treat knowledge of a language as a commodity, and provide a market like environment for the commodity to be exchanged. Users typically contact each other via text chat, voice-over-IP, or email. Language exchanges have also been viewed as a helpful tool to aid language learning at language schools. Language exchanges tend to benefit oral proficiency, fluency, colloquial vocabulary acquisition, and vernacular usage, rather than formal grammar or writing skills.????????????????????????????????? Portals that provide language content ?There are a number of Internet portals that offer language content, some in interactive form. Content typically includes phrases with translation in multiple languages, text to speech engines (TTS), learning activities such as quizzes or puzzles based on language concepts. While some of this content is free, a large fraction of the content on offer is available for a fee, especially where the content is tailored to the needs of language tests such as TOEFL, for the United States. ? In general, language education on the Internet provides a good supplement to real world language schooling. However, the commercial nature of the Internet, including pop-up and occasionally irrelevant text or banner ads might be seen as a distraction from a good learning experience. Virtual world-based language schools ??? These are schools operating online in MMOs and virtual worlds. Unlike other language education on the Internet, virtual world schools are usually designed as an alternative to physical schools. In 2005, the virtual world Second Life started to be used for foreign language tuition, sometimes with entire businesses being developed. ??? Foreign language English has gained an online presence, with several schools operating entirely online, and the British Council which has focused on the Teen Grid. In addition, Spain?s language and cultural institute Page 5 Instituto Cervantes has an "island" on Second Life. A list of educational projects (including some language schools) in Second Life can be found on the second life Educational wiki, or the SimTeach site. Minority language education policy ?? The principle policy arguments in favor of promoting minority language education are the need for multilingual workforces, intellectual and cultural benefits and greater inclusion in global information society. Access to education in a minority language is also seen as a human right as granted by the European Convention on Human Rights and Fundamental Freedoms, the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages and the UN Human Rights Committee. Bilingual Education has been implemented in many countries including the United States, in order to promote both the use and appreciation of the minority language, as well as the majority language concerned. Materials and e-learning for minority language education Suitable resources for teaching and learning minority languages can be difficult to find and access, which has led to calls for the increased development of materials for minority language teaching. The internet offers opportunities to access a wider range of texts, audios and videos. Language learning 2.0 (the use of web 2.0 tools for language education) offers opportunities for material development for lesser-taught languages and to bring together geographically dispersed teachers and learners. Acronyms and abbreviations ?? English language learning and for information on language teaching acronyms and abbreviations which are specific to English. CALL: computer-assisted language learning CLIL: content and language integrated learning CLL: community language learning DELE: Diploma de Espa?ol como Lengua Extranjera DELF: dipl?me d'?tudes en langue fran?aise EFL English as a foreign language ELT English language teaching FLL foreign language learning FLT foreign language teaching ?????????????????????????L1: first language, native language, mother tongue L2: second language (or any additional language) LDL: Lernen durch Lehren (German for learning by teaching) SLA: second language acquisition TELL: technology-enhanced language learning TEFL: Teaching English as a foreign language N.B. This article is about travel-teaching. TEFLA: Teaching English as a foreign language to adults TPR: total physical response TPRS: Teaching ?Proficiency through Reading and Storytelling UNIcert is a European language education system of many universities based on Common European Framework of Reference for Languages. ? References Richards, Jack C.; Theodore S. Rodgers (2001). Approaches and Methods in Language. Cambridge UK: Cambridge University Press. ISBN?0-521-00843-3.? Diller, Karl Conrad (1978). The Language Controversy. Rowley, Massachusetts: Newbury House. ISBN?912066-22-9.? Holden, Susan; Mickey Rodgers (1998). English language. tMexico City: DELTI. ISBN?968-6820-12-4.? Dorveaux, Xavier (15 July 2007). "Apprendre une langue dans un monde virtuel". Le Monde. http://www.lemonde.fr/web/article/0,1-0,36-935560,0.html. Retrieved 15 July 2007.? Dorveaux, Xavier (15 July 2007). "Study and? in Second Life". iT's Magazines. http://www.its-teachers.com/destinations/second_life/second_life03.asp. Retrieved 15 July 2007.? Sachdev, I; McPake, J (2008). "Community Languages in Higher Education: Towards realising the potential". Routes into Languages. pp. 76. http://www.routesintolanguages.ac.uk/community. Retrieved 26 June 2009.? De Varennes, Fernand (2004). "The right to education and minority language". EUMAP: EU Monitoring and Advocacy Program Online Journal. http://www.eumap.org/journal/features/2004/minority_education/edminlang. Retrieved 26 June 2009.?[dead link]????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????? ??page 6 ? ? ? National Center for Research on Cultural Diversity and Second Language Learning (1999-07). "Two-Way Bilingual Education Programs in Practice: A National and Local Perspective". Center for Applied Linguistics. http://www.cal.org/resources/Digest/ed379915.html. Retrieved 26 June 2009.? Sachdev, I; McPake, J (2008). "Community Languages in Higher Education: Towards realising the potential". Routes into Languages. pp. 61?62. http://www.routesintolanguages.ac.uk/community. Retrieved 26 June 2009.? Diouri, Mourad (2009). "Language learning 2.0 in action: web .0 tools to enhance language learning". 4th Plymouth e-Learning Conference 2009. http://www2.plymouth.ac.uk/e-learning/conference_proceedings_2009.pdf. Retrieved 26 June 2009.?[dead link] Ikeda, A. Sho; Doty, Christopher (14 March 2009). "New Roles for Technology in Language Maintenance and Revitalization". 1st International Conference on Language Documentation and Conservation (ICLDC). http://hdl.handle.net/10125/5011. Retrieved 26 June 2009.? ?? 12.Kubota, K (1998) ?Ideologies of English in Japan? World Englishes Vol.17, No.3, pp.?295?306. ?? 13.Kirkpatrick, A & Zhichang, X (2002).?Chinese pragmatic norms and ?China English?. World Englishes.Vol. 21, ???pp.?269?279. ?? 14.Gao, Xuesong (Andy). (2010).Strategic Language Learning.Multilingual Matters:Canada, 2010 ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? Prepared & Written by A.Golpaieganni ? Hamedan Province, Nahavand 1391 ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? page 7 ? ? ? In the name of the Soul Creating God ? ???? ?????? ??? ???? ? ? ? Some new points about Teaching & Learning English as a Foreign Language . ? ?????? ???? ???? ?? ???? ????? ???? ??????? ? ?? ????? ???? ????? ? Prepared & written by ? Ali Golpayganni ? 2012- 04 - 10

+?????? ??? ?? ????? ??????? ?? 1391?????10:32&nbsp ????????? ????? |?

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MMA Marketplace: Bid on sports bras from the best female fighters for a good cause

Do you want to own your favorite fighter's sports bra without committing a felony and support a worthy cause? Good news. Some of your favorite female fighters are auctioning off signed sports bras and rash guards to help fight breast cancer.

Ronda Rousey, Felice Herrig, Liz Carmouche and Julie Kedize are among the fighters who have handed over their sports bras for an eBay auction. Rosie Sexton gave her top and shorts. Proceeds will go to Keep A Breast, a nonprofit organization dedicated to eradicating breast cancer for future generations.

As of this writing, UFC women's bantamweight champion Rousey has the highest bid. It's going for $340, plus shipping. The bra that belonged to Bec Hyatt, who will fight for Invicta's straw weight title on Saturday, is up to $330. Check it out, and help a good cause.

Source: http://sports.yahoo.com/blogs/mma-cagewriter/mma-marketplace-bid-sports-bras-best-female-fighters-154443405--mma.html

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শনিবার, ৫ জানুয়ারী, ২০১৩

Fed becoming worried about stimulus side effects

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Federal Reserve officials are increasingly concerned about the potential risks of the U.S. central bank's asset purchases on financial markets, even if they look set to continue an open-ended stimulus program for now.

In a surprise to Wall Street, minutes from the Fed's December policy meeting, published on Thursday, showed a growing reticence about further increases in the central bank's $2.9 trillion balance sheet, which it expanded sharply in response to the financial crisis and recession of 2007-2009.

"Several (officials) thought that it would probably be appropriate to slow or to stop purchases well before the end of 2013, citing concerns about financial stability or the size of the balance sheet," the minutes said, referring to the narrower group of voting Fed members.

Investors picked up on the report's hawkish tone, with stock prices drifting lower after the announcement, while the U.S. dollar extended gains against the euro. Yields on the 30-year Treasury bond hit 3.12 percent, their highest levels since May.

"The minutes of the Federal Reserve's December monetary policy meeting revealed a somewhat surprising level of concern among the ranks of central bankers regarding the long-term impact of the bank's asset purchase program, or quantitative easing," said Omer Esiner, chief market analyst at Commonwealth Foreign Exchange in Washington D.C.

Still, the Fed appeared likely to continue buying assets for the foreseeable future, having announced in December it was extending monthly purchases of $40 billion in mortgage securities and also buying $45 billion in Treasuries each month.

A few of the voting members on the central bank's policy-setting Federal Open Market Committee thought asset buying would be warranted until about the end of 2013. A few others highlighted the need for further large-scale stimulus but did not specify an amount or time frame.

Fed officials generally agreed that the labour market outlook was not likely to improve without further nudging from the monetary authorities.

QE "HEEBIE-JEEBIES"

The U.S. economy expanded a respectable 3.1 percent in the third quarter on an annualized basis, but growth is believed to have slowed sharply to barely above 1.0 percent in the last three months of the year.

Data on Thursday showed a solid gain of 215,000 new private sector jobs for December, while analysts polled by Reuters last week were looking for a rise of 150,000 new jobs in the Labor Department's official survey, due out on Friday.

Still, the minutes indicated worries about quantitative easing policies were spreading beyond the usual regional Fed hawks who, like Richmond Fed President Jeffrey Lacker, have opposed additional Fed easing.

"What's clear from these minutes is that there is little consensus among the members of the FOMC on how long asset purchases should carry on," said Jason Conibear, trading director at Cambridge Mercantile.

"Some members want more accommodation for as long as it takes, some want more but to start winding it down while others have got the heebie-jeebies about the size of the balance sheet."

In the December meeting, the Fed also launched a new framework of policy thresholds, numerical guideposts that are supposed to give markets and the public a clearer idea of how policymakers will react to incoming economic data.

Officials say they will keep interest rates near zero until the unemployment rate falls to 6.5 percent for as long as estimates of medium-run inflation do not exceed 2.5 percent.

The minutes suggested it took officials some time to build a consensus around the idea.

"A few participants expressed a preference for using a qualitative description of the economic indicators influencing the Committee's thinking," the minutes said.

U.S. unemployment has come down steadily after hitting a peak of 10 percent in late 2009, but remains elevated at 7.7 percent.

Fed officials noted worries about the looming "fiscal cliff," which was dealt with only partly in an agreement earlier this week, were hurting the confidence of businesses and households.

(Editing by Chizu Nomiyama)

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/fed-becoming-worried-stimulus-side-effects-074755049--business.html

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শুক্রবার, ৪ জানুয়ারী, ২০১৩

Hulu CEO Jason Kilar Is Outta There

Hulu CEO Jason Kilar posted on the Hulu blog explaining his reasons for leaving the company. In the post he says he's leaving the company this quarter. Kilar has been at the helm of the online video on demand service since it's early days as a venture in 2007. More »


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A Season of Miracles in Washington

Daniel Snyder Washington Redskins owner Daniel Snyder looks on before a game between the New York Giants and Washington Redskins at FedExField on December 3, 2012 in Landover, Maryland.

Photo by Patrick McDermott/Getty Images.

For the second year in a row, Slate and Deadspin are teaming up for a season-long NFL roundtable. Check back here each week as a rotating cast of football watchers discusses the weekend's key plays, coaching decisions, and traumatic brain injuries. And?click here to play the latest episode of?Slate?s sports podcast Hang Up and Listen.

Dan Snyder didn't even show up to his team's annual turkey giveaway before Thanksgiving. Somebody clearly told Snyder, the Redskins' unbeloved owner, that he couldn't win until his team won. And dang if he didn't listen. And dang if the team didn't win.

Snyder's media strategy this year?stay invisible?has been followed with discipline and worked brilliantly.

Since he bought the franchise in 1999, presenting himself as a boy-fan who grew up to live the dream of owning the team, Snyder has been the face of the Redskins. He's never been cooperative with real reporters, but went through just enough staged Q&A?s at charitable events or with either?high-level employees?or?little kids guesting on TV shows he produces?to remain in the public eye. Until this year.

I started writing regularly about the Redskins in 1993 for?Washington City Paper, a D.C. weekly. That period covers the entire Petitbon, Turner, Robiskie, Marty, Spurrier, Gibbs II, Zorn coaching eras, plus the first two years of Shanahan. The team's record in that stretch: 127-176-1, or more than three perfect seasons below .500. But these teams were more, or less, than just losers. The rosters were full of an amazing collection of unlovables?Deion Sanders, Jeff George, Bruce Smith, Albert Haynesworth, etc. And to them, Snyder added a front office that behaved in mostly detestable fashion. The result was a franchise that both performed as poorly as the original Amazin' Mets and was as tough to root for as the Bronx Zoo Yankees. (Disclosure: Snyder sued me in 2011 for what I wrote about him for Washington City Paper. Eventually he dropped the suit.)

But this year, Snyder was quiet. He didn't get in the way of the rare sympathetic press that came his way in the offseason after the team was hit with a salary cap penalty, which was really just a voiding of the cap benefits the team thought it could get by paying off the old-school bloat in Albert Haynesworth's and DeAngelo Hall's contracts during 2011's labor strife. Commissioner Roger Goodell and New York Giants president John Mara, the folks behind the cap hit, were the Bad Cops in everybody's eyes.

Snyder helped his own cause away from the team, too. Snyder got through 2012 without any of the sort of punchline-worthy behavior he's always shown in the past with his non-Redskins diversions. He didn't buy a $70 million yacht all year.

And he's now divested of the business interests that once brought him nothing but bad press. In September, during the very week of RGIII's NFL debut, he sold Dick Clark Productions to a group organized by Allen Shapiro, cousin of former Six Flags CEO and Snyder's right-hand-man, Mark Shapiro. That's the same Allen Shapiro from whom Snyder bought Dick Clark Productions in 2007 using money from Six Flags shareholders in a complicated transaction that ... oh, now's not the time for buzzkills! 'Tis the season for Redskins joy! (Things are joyous with Snyder's old theme park chain, too: Six Flags stock, which was worthless when Snyder was removed as chairman of the Six Flags board during bankruptcy proceedings, traded for $61.49 on New Year's Eve, having gone up $20 per share in 2012 under new management.)

Because this season, Snyder's had nothing going on but the Skins. For the first time, Snyder's organization is the talk of the nation?for all the right reasons! Robert Griffin III has picked up a foundering franchise more singlehandedly than anybody since Roy Hobbs. The season-ending streak that took the Redskins from thinking about next year to playoff contention, capped off by a boffo performance by a blatantly wounded Griffin?tell me that wasn't the most dominant 100-yard passing performance an NFL quarterback has ever registered!?in the team's first loser-goes-home game since 1979, was straight out of?The Natural?(the movie, that is, since in the book Hobbs failed in crunch time, meaning he's a lot like Tony Romo).

All because of a quarterback who didn't fall into fans' laps so much as the organization threw him there. Whatever, the guy's given any Redskins follower a season long lap-dance.

So anybody who blamed Snyder for all the crazy deals gone wrong through the years has to give him credit for a crazy deal gone oh-so-right: Three first-round picks and a second-rounder for one draft pick? Unheard of!

And, far as we now know: Brilliant!

My father in law gave me a Redskins hoodie for Christmas. Burgundy and gold garb worn anywhere and any time, even inside the Beltway in the fall, had become about as ridicule friendly as white shoes after Labor Day. I've got lots of old licensed gear in closets and drawers, but haven't put it on much in recent years. But times have changed. I'm wearing my new hoodie as I type this.

Source: http://feeds.slate.com/click.phdo?i=3873ec0b181cb8ba379d14c2e32e3dd0

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Transocean agrees oil spill fine

Transocean, which owned the Deepwater Horizon oil rig, has agreed to a settlement with the US government.

The Swiss-based company will pay $400m (?248m) in criminal penalties and a $1bn civil fine after pleading guilty to violating the Clean Water Act.

The rig, which was leased by BP, exploded on 20 April 2010, killing 11 workers.

The oil spill damaged the Gulf of Mexico coast causing one of the biggest environmental disasters in US history.

In November, BP agreed a settlement with the US government worth $4.5bn, including a $1.26bn criminal fine.

A report from the US Chemical Safety Board in July 2012 criticised both BP and Transocean for having inadequate safety rules.

The two companies disagreed about who was in charge of interpreting a negative pressure test that could have warned workers of the problems.

Transocean's agreement with the Department of Justice still has to be approved by a federal judge.

As part of the settlement, the company has to make a series of improvements to the safety and emergency responses on its rigs.

"This resolution of criminal allegations and civil claims against Transocean brings us one significant step closer to justice for the human, environmental and economic devastation wrought by the Deepwater Horizon disaster," said US Attorney General Eric Holder.

The $1.4bn will mainly be spent on environmental projects, and research and training to prevent future spills.

In a statement, Transocean said: "These important agreements, which the company believes to be in the best interest of its shareholders and employees, remove much of the uncertainty associated with the accident."

The company plans to pay the fines over the next five years.

Source: http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-20905472#sa-ns_mchannel=rss&ns_source=PublicRSS20-sa

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Fiscal-cliff deal no recipe for a robust economy

FILE - In this Tuesday, Jan. 1, 2013, file photo, the dome of the Capitol is reflected in a skylight of the Capitol Visitor's Center in Washington. By delaying hard choices on spending, the fiscal cliff deal guaranteed more confrontation and uncertainty this year, especially when Congress must vote later this winter to raise the government?s borrowing limit. That?s likely to keep businesses cautious about hiring and investing. (AP Photo/Jacquelyn Martin, File)

FILE - In this Tuesday, Jan. 1, 2013, file photo, the dome of the Capitol is reflected in a skylight of the Capitol Visitor's Center in Washington. By delaying hard choices on spending, the fiscal cliff deal guaranteed more confrontation and uncertainty this year, especially when Congress must vote later this winter to raise the government?s borrowing limit. That?s likely to keep businesses cautious about hiring and investing. (AP Photo/Jacquelyn Martin, File)

(AP) ? Housing is rebounding. Families are shrinking debts. Europe has avoided a financial crackup. And the fiscal cliff deal has removed the most urgent threat to the U.S. economy.

So why don't economists foresee stronger growth and hiring in 2013?

Part of the answer is what Congress' agreement did (raise Social Security taxes for most of us). And part is what it didn't do (prevent the likelihood of more growth-killing political standoffs).

By delaying painful decisions on spending cuts, the deal assures more confrontation and uncertainty, especially because Congress must reach agreement later this winter to raise the government's debt limit. Many businesses are likely to remain wary of expanding or hiring in the meantime.

One hopeful consensus: If all the budgetary uncertainty can be resolved within the next few months, economists expect growth to pick up in the second half of 2013.

"We are in a better place than we were a couple of days ago," Chad Moutray, chief economist for the National Association of Manufacturers, said a day after Congress sent President Barack Obama legislation to avoid sharp income tax increases and government spending cuts. But "we really haven't dealt with the debt ceiling or tax reform or entitlement spending."

Five full years after the Great Recession began, the U.S. economy is still struggling to accelerate. Many economists think it will grow a meager 2 percent or less this year, down from 2.2 percent in 2012. The unemployment rate remains a high 7.7 percent. Few expect it to drop much this year.

Yet in some ways, the economy has been building strength. Corporations have cut costs and have amassed a near-record $1.7 trillion in cash. Home sales and prices have been rising consistently, along with construction. Hiring gains have been modest but steady.

Bernard Baumohl, chief global economist for the Economic Outlook Group, thinks the lack of finality in the budget fight is slowing an otherwise fundamentally sound economy.

"What a shame," Baumohl said in a research note Wednesday. "Companies are eager to ramp up capital investments and boost hiring. Households are prepared to unleash five years of pent-up demand."

The economy might be growing at a 3 percent annual rate if not for the threat of sudden and severe spending cuts and tax increases, along with the haziness surrounding the budget standoff, says Ethan Harris, co-director of global economics at Bank of America Merrill Lynch.

Still, Congress' deal delivered a walloping tax hike for most workers: the end of a two-year Social Security tax cut. The tax is rising back up to 6.2 percent from 4.2 percent. The increase will cost someone making $50,000 about $1,000 a year and a household with two high-paid workers up to $4,500.

Mark Zandi, chief economist at Moody's Analytics, calculates that the higher Social Security tax will slow growth by 0.6 percentage point in 2013. The other tax increases ? including higher taxes on household incomes above $450,000 a year ? will slice just 0.15 percentage point from growth, Zandi says.

Congress' deal also postpones decisions on spending cuts for military and domestic programs, including Medicare and Social Security. In doing so, it sets up a much bigger showdown over raising the government's borrowing limit. Republicans will likely demand deep spending cuts as the price of raising the debt limit. A similar standoff in 2011 brought the government to the brink of default and led Standard & Poor's to yank its top AAA rating on long-term U.S. debt.

Here's how key parts of the economy are shaping up for 2013:

? JOBS

With further fights looming over taxes and spending, many companies aren't likely to step up hiring. Congress and the White House will likely start battling over raising the $16.4 trillion debt limit in February.

Many economists expect employers to add an average of 150,000 to 175,000 jobs a month in 2013, about the same pace as in 2011 and 2012. That level is too weak to quickly reduce unemployment.

The roughly 2 million jobs Zandi estimates employers will add this year would be slightly more than the 1.8 million likely added in 2012. Zandi thinks employers would add an additional 600,000 jobs this year if not for the measures agreed to in the fiscal cliff deal.

Federal Reserve policymakers have forecast that the unemployment rate will fall to 7.4 percent, at best, by year's end. Economists regard a "normal" rate as 6 percent or less.

? CONSUMER SPENDING

Consumer confidence fell in December as Americans began to fear the higher taxes threatened by the fiscal cliff. Confidence had reached a five-year high in November, fueled by slowly declining unemployment and a steady housing rebound. Consumer spending is the driving force of the economy.

But the deal to avoid the cliff won't necessarily ignite a burst of spending. Taxes will still rise for nearly 80 percent of working Americans because of the higher Social Security tax rate.

Since the recession officially ended in June 2009, pay has barely kept up with inflation. The Social Security tax increase will cut paychecks further. And with the job market likely to remain tight, few companies have much incentive to hand out raises.

Thanks to record-low interest rates, consumers have whittled their debts to about 113 percent of their after-tax income. That's the lowest share since mid-2003, according to Haver Analytics.

Yet that hardly means people are ready to reverse course and ramp up credit-card purchases. Most new spending would have to come from higher incomes, says Ellen Zentner, senior economist at Nomura Securities.

"We don't see the mindset of, 'Let's run up the credit card again,'" she says.

The holiday shopping season in 2012 produced the worst year-over-year performance since 2008. Shoppertrak, a consulting firm, estimates that sales grew just 2.5 percent, down from an earlier forecast of 3.3 percent.

? HOUSING

Economists are nearly unanimous about one thing: The housing market will keep improving.

That's partly because of a fact that's caught many by surprise: Five years after the housing bust left a glut of homes in many areas, the nation doesn't have enough houses. Only 149,000 new homes were for sale at the end of November, the government has reported. That's just above the 143,000 in August, the lowest total on records dating to 1963. And the supply of previously occupied homes for sale is at an 11-year low.

"We need to start building again," says Patrick Newport, an economist at IHS Global Insight.

Sales of new homes in November reached their highest annual pace in 2? years. They were 15 percent higher than a year earlier. And October marked a fifth straight month of year-over-year price increases in the 20 major cities covered by the Standard & Poor's/Case-Shiller national home price index.

Potential homebuyers "are more likely to buy, and banks are more likely to lend" when prices are rising, says James O'Sullivan, chief U.S. economist at High Frequency Economics. "It feeds on itself."

Higher prices are also encouraging builders to begin work on more homes. They were on track last year to start construction of the most homes in four years.

Ultra-low mortgage rates have helped spur demand. The average rate on the U.S. 30-year fixed mortgage is 3.35 percent, barely above the 3.31 percent reached in November, the lowest on records dating to 1971.

Housing tends to have an outside impact on the economy. A housing recovery boosts construction jobs and encourages more spending on furniture and appliances. And higher home prices make people feel wealthier, which can also lead to more spending.

"When you have a housing recovery, it's nearly impossible for the U.S. economy to slip into recession," Zentner says.

? MANUFACTURING

Factories appear to be recovering slowly from a slump last fall. The Institute for Supply Management's index of manufacturing activity rose last month from November. And a measure of employment suggested that manufacturers stepped up hiring in December. Factories had cut jobs in three of the four months through November, according to government data.

Another encouraging sign: Americans are expected to buy more cars this year. That would help boost manufacturing output. Auto sales will likely rise nearly 7 percent in 2013 over last year to 15.3 million, according to the Polk research firm. Sales likely reached 14.5 million last year, the best since 2007. In 2009, sales were just 10.4 million, the fewest in more than 30 years.

And if Congress can raise the federal borrowing limit without a fight that damages confidence, companies might boost spending on computers, industrial machinery and other equipment in the second half of 2013, economists say. That would help keep factories busy.

Associated Press

Source: http://hosted2.ap.org/APDEFAULT/386c25518f464186bf7a2ac026580ce7/Article_2013-01-03-US-Fiscal-Cliff-2013-Economy/id-79a43860e15c422fb8a8a0c19e0378e3

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Engadget's CES 2013 Preview: Tablets

With CES looming like an electrically charged storm of news and announcements, it's time for us to give you our best bets on what you'll see come January. During the month of December, we'll bring you a series of CES preview posts, forecasting what you can expect when the news deluge begins. For more of what's to come, check out our hub.

Engadget's CES 2013 preview Tablets

Tablets: the other living room screen. For a category that was once regarded as an odd-duck luxury for the early adopter, 2012 certainly saw the portable computing tech grow closer to becoming a true laptop alternative. With an ever-increasing number of high-resolution displays, faster multi-core processors, a range of form factors and varied price points, it seems there's now a tab for just about everyone. So while last January's CES brought us news of 1,920 x 1,200 screens, quad-core CPUs and a proliferation of Android Ice Cream Sandwich offerings, the year ahead aims to take that same tack and turn it up a few notches. That said, don't expect this upcoming CES to play host to a glut of next-gen tablet reveals -- from what we gather, many major manufacturers are holding off for Mobile World Congress 2013's more focused global stage.

Continue reading Engadget's CES 2013 Preview: Tablets

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Deadly Ala. plane crash may have been teen joyride

JASPER, Ala. (AP) ? Investigators believe a small plane that crashed in the Alabama woods was taken without permission for a joyride by a student pilot and two other teenagers who died in the wreck Tuesday night.

Walker County sheriff's Chief Deputy James Painter said Wednesday authorities are still investigating but believe the three teenagers took off in the plane before it went down in a wooded area near Jasper, northwest of Birmingham.

"We don't know for sure but we think it was some teenagers who stole the plane and were sort of joyriding it," Painter told The Associated Press. "They got it in and took off and didn't go very far."

Federal Aviation Administration spokeswoman Kathleen Bergen said the Piper PA 30 crashed less than a mile from the Walker County Airport in Jasper.

The names of the three occupants of the plane haven't been released.

"I think they were just looking for a thrill and they had their last one," Painter said.

The plane had departed from the small airport around 10:30 p.m. in overcast skies and a low cloud ceiling, airport manager Edwin Banks said.

"It was a student pilot flying an airplane without permission, an airplane that he was not qualified to fly at night," Banks said. He declined to name the student before authorities release the identities.

The teenage pilot had flown a single-engine airplane in the past "and he got in a double-engine at night in bad weather with a couple of his buddies," Banks said.

The Piper PA 30 is also called a Piper Twin Comanche. It is a low-wing plane with two propellers and can seat four to six, depending on the model.

The planes were built from 1963 until 1972, and were popular with flight schools because of their fuel efficiency and relatively inexpensive price tags, according to the International Comanche Society, an enthusiasts' group.

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Associated Press writers Jeff Martin and Phillip Lucas in Atlanta contributed to this report.

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/deadly-ala-plane-crash-may-teen-joyride-155840809.html

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