ofella hung: June 2013

Sunday, June 30, 2013

Small Talk: BofA executive says small business is coming back | The ...

In this Friday, June 14, 2013 photo, Robb Hilson, small business executive for Bank of America, poses for photos in his Coral Gables, Fla., office. Hilson?s job is to convince small business owners that Bank of America does want to do business with them. (AP Photo/J Pat Carter)

Robb Hilson?s job as head of small business banking at Bank of America is to convince small business owners that the bank wants to do business with them.

That?s not easy when small businesses have consistently said in surveys that they find it hard to get loans from banks, and when banks have become more cautious about lending to small companies following the recession. But in the 18 months Hilson has been on the job at the nation?s second-largest bank it has had some success with its 3.2 million small business customers. Last year, Bank of America made $8.7 billion in new loans to small businesses, up 28 percent from 2011.

"I feel really good about the momentum. There?s obviously more work to do, but we?ve made a lot of progress," Hilson says.

Hilson, 54, took the job as small business executive in November 2011 soon after Bank of America started placing 1,000 bankers in cities and communities around the country to serve small companies. Bank of America and other big banks began bolstering their small business outreach after they were criticized by company owners and lawmakers for stringent lending standards that prevented many companies from getting loans. Bank of America was also one of the banks that pledged to the Small Business Administration that it would increase its loans to small business.

Hilson previously served larger companies during more than two decades at the bank. This job is very different from anything he has done before.

"It?s a bigger challenge because we?re building a business," Hilson says. "It?s a different conversation with small business owners. So many of these folks are wearing a bunch of hats. It?s just a different environment than meeting with the CEO."

Hilson?s role puts him in a position to hear about, and gain understanding, of the problems small business owners face. He recently spoke with The Associated Press about his work and small businesses. Here are excerpts, edited for brevity and clarity:

Q. How do you size up the state of small business today?

A. This most recent downturn by almost any account, if not all accounts, was the steepest, the most dramatic, severe, however you want to characterize it, since the Great Depression. I think it?s also fair to say that small businesses relative to other businesses were particularly hard hit. I think it really speaks to the remarkable resilience of American small business owners that they have come back as far as they have. The economy isn?t perfect, but it continues to slowly but surely get better. We saw small business owners doing a great job of rightsizing their businesses when sales dropped off so dramatically in 2008 and 2009, and they?ve come back. Surveys have told us that despite all the challenges and the recession that they endured, very few of them have second thoughts about getting into business for themselves. They are very confident and optimistic about their own capabilities, less so about things that they don?t have as much control over.

Q. What will it take for small business owners to be more confident?

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A. You probably see a little more confidence today than what you saw in November or even last May. I think there were things leading up to the election and all that (that contributed to some pessimism).

I think they?re dealing with this new reality of sluggish growth, very low interest rates and not taking as much risk as they were in 2005. What is it going to take to go back to 2005? I don?t know if we?re going to see that, maybe ever. Certainly not in the near term.

I think we?ll see more optimism than what we?ve seen today. In our survey, we did a subset around the millennials (people age 18-34). The numbers were off the chart versus any other age groups we looked at. They were very optimistic, more likely to hire, more optimistic about where the economy is going and prospects for the near term. As that group becomes a bigger part of the small business owner population, maybe you?ll see some lift there as well.

Q. Suppose a business owner doesn?t qualify for a loan at Bank of America? What do you do?

A. We would give them a pretty good sense of what it would need for them to look like for them to qualify. But we also work with some nonprofit organizations in the community that might be able to work with them. Community development financial institutions ? these are by and large nonprofit financial institutions, and we?ve been one of the biggest supporters of these. They?re smaller organizations that aren?t subject to the same regulations as Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. banks. We extended a $110 million grant a couple of years ago to some CDFIs that turned around and leveraged that to the tune of more than 10 times. So they were able to leverage that to more than $100 million that they could then invest or lend directly to small businesses.

If we?re not able to help a client today from a credit standpoint, our goal would be to give them a pretty good sense of, what were the gaps, and what they would need to work on to make the answer a positive one the next time around.

There are other opportunities for us to help them, not just with credit. There are opportunities for us to help improve their cash flow by helping them collect payments, for instance.

Q. What results are you seeing from the 1,000 bankers you?ve placed around the country?

A. We have a lot of nice charts with impressive trend lines. Let?s talk business lending. I think it?s safe to say that small business owners, their health continues to improve, so balance sheets and cash flows are getting stronger, interest rates are at an all-time low. So it?s a good environment to borrow in. The economy, while not robust, continues to grow. Translated, that equals greater loan demand, and our bankers have a lot to do with that. We?re excited that we were up 28 percent in new loan originations in 2012 over 2011. And through the first four months of this year, we?re ahead of that pace. I feel really good about how we?re delivering credit. But we know we can do more.

We know that the bankers are focused on credit but they?re also focusing on delivering all of our capabilities, not just meeting the needs of the business. They?re also working with other experts, pairing up with financial solutions advisers who will work with small businesses on the personal side ? investing solutions, preparing small business owners for retirement or for taking care of their children?s education.

Q. But small business owners are known for plowing every penny they can into their companies. How do you convince them that their personal finances should be more of a priority?

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Source: http://www.sltrib.com/sltrib/money/56521434-79/business-bank-owners-america.html.csp

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On a technicality, Hong Kong and China extradite themselves from Snowden

The case of NSA leaker Edward Snowden was one that neither Hong Kong nor Beijing wanted to get involved in. With a stalling maneuver, Hong Kong let Mr. Snowden flee US extradition.

By Peter Ford,?Staff Writer / June 23, 2013

A giant screen at a Hong Kong shopping mall shows Edward Snowden, the former contractor accused of leaking information about NSA surveillance programs. He left Hong Kong on Sunday.

Vincent Yu/AP

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By allowing Edward Snowden to leave Hong Kong Sunday, hours after the United States sought to extradite him, the government there has rid itself ? and Beijing ? of an awkward diplomatic and legal problem.

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Beijing Bureau Chief

Peter Ford is The Christian Science Monitor?s Beijing Bureau Chief. He covers news and features throughout China and also makes reporting trips to Japan and the Korean peninsula.

Saturday, June 29, 2013

US stocks flit between small gains and losses

NEW YORK (AP) ? U.S. stocks were flitting between small gains and losses on Friday, a calm end to the most volatile trading month in nearly two years.

The Dow Jones industrial average was down 39 points, or 0.3 percent, to 14,986 at 2:30 p.m. Eastern Daylight Time. The Standard & Poor's 500 stock index was up less than one point to 1,614.

Investors seemed unsure how to react to recent statements by Federal Reserve officials about the central bank support's for the economy. Mixed economic news Friday added to investor uncertainty after big stock gains so far this year.

"It's a dull Friday," said Gary Flam, a stock manager at Bel Air Investment Advisors. A bull market, he added, is "rarely a straight march up."

The S&P 500 index is still on track to end its best first half of a year since 1998, when it gained 17.7 percent, including dividends. The index has gained 14.3 percent so far this year.

On Friday, consumer confidence was up but a key gauge of business activity in the Chicago area plunged.

"Investors don't know what to make of the news," said John Toohey, vice president of stock investment at USAA Investments. "I wouldn't be surprised to see more ups and downs."

The University of Michigan said its index of consumer sentiment dipped to 84.1 in June from 84.5 the previous month. But that was still relatively high. May's reading was the highest since July 2007.

Meanwhile, the Chicago Business Barometer sank to 51.6 from a 14-month high of 58.7 in May. That was well below the level of 55 that economists polled by FactSet were expecting.

The Dow gained 365 points over the previous three days this week as investors jumped back into the market following a slump last week. That's when Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke said that the central bank could begin scaling back on its economic stimulus program later this year, providing the economy continues to recover. Since then, other top Fed officials have stressed that the Fed wouldn't pull back its support too soon.

The Dow has had 15 triple-digit moves in June, the most since October 2011.

The Nasdaq composite index was up 13 points, or 0.4 percent, to 3,414.

The yield on the 10-year Treasury note rose to 2.49 percent from 2.47 percent late Thursday. Last month, the yield fell as low as 1.63 percent. Treasury yields help set borrowing costs for a range of consumer and business loans.

In commodities trading, gold gained $12.10 to $1,223.70 an ounce. The price of crude oil fell 49 cents to $96.56 a barrel. The dollar rose against the euro and the Japanese yen.

Among stocks making big moves:

? BlackBerry maker Research In Motion plunged $3.97, or 26 percent, to $11.08 after the company posted a surprise loss in the first quarter and warned of future losses despite releasing its make-or-break smartphones this year. The company also discontinued making new versions of its slow-selling tablet device, The Playbook.

? Accenture fell $8.22, or 10 percent, to $72. The consulting firm cut its revenue and profit outlook for its fiscal year ending in August. Revenue was hurt by lower demand in Europe as well as its communications, media and technology division.

In overseas trading, Japanese stocks rose on news that a key consumer price index stopped falling for the first time in seven months, a sign that the world's third-largest economy is making progress in its battle against deflation. The government also reported that industrial production rose 2 percent, a fourth straight monthly increase. The benchmark Nikkei 225 rose 3.5 percent.

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/us-stocks-flit-between-small-gains-losses-184556731.html

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Pride Parade London: ?Love (and Marriage)?

Revellers hold high a rainbow flag at last year's event. Picture: Pride London/Flickr

Saturday, June 29, 2013
9:53 AM

More than 150 groups have registered to take part in today?s Pride Parade 2013 in London, as David Cameron said equal marriage reforms will allow gay schoolchildren to ?stand a little bit taller?.

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The Prime Minister told how he hopes youngsters would be able to see that Parliament ?believes their love is the same as anyone else?s love? as thousands of people prepare to hit the capital?s streets for the annual gathering.

Organisers expect the parade and festival, whose theme is ?Love (and Marriage)?, to be the biggest lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender event in London over the last decade.

Among the sponsors is Mayor of London Boris Johnson, who caused a stir after making a controversial joke at a gala dinner for Pride in London about gay men taking their husbands ?up the Arcelor? - a reference to the ArcelorMittal Orbit sculpture in the Olympic Park.

The parade, which begins at 1pm, will travel through the heart of London, along Oxford Street and Regent Street before ending up on Whitehall, and will be followed by events across the city.

Writing in the official Pride guide, Mr Cameron said: ?There will be girls and boys in school today who are worried about being bullied and concerned about what society thinks of them because they are gay or lesbian.

?By making this change they will be able to see that Parliament believes their love is the same as anyone else?s love and that we believe in equality. I think this will enable them to stand that bit taller, be that bit more confident and I am proud of that.?

Michael Salter, chairman of Pride in London, said: ?London is an amazingly diverse city attracting the most talented people from across the world, which is vital to the economic welfare of our city.

?Pride in London is a great opportunity to promote a charity or community group and campaign. This year the theme is Love (and Marriage) to celebrate civil partnerships, parents? love for their children, love of friends and family but it also recognises the Equal Marriage bill going through Parliament.?

London Mayor Mr Johnson, who has provided London LGBT and Community Pride with a grant worth up to ?500,000 to stage the event in 2013 and develop it over five years, said: ?As befits a city with a large LGBT population, London hosts one of the biggest events of the year and I am delighted to support the festivities, which attract people from across the UK and beyond.

?As the parade shows, it is a diverse and multi-faceted community, which makes an enormous contribution to our city?s success, socially, culturally and economically. We should be very proud of London?s reputation as a place where LGBT people can be open about who they are.

?Our city has been at the forefront of the drive towards equality, but let?s not rest on our laurels - of course more needs to be done to tackle prejudice and discrimination. This means standing up against homophobic bullying in the workplace, schools and elsewhere.?

Source: http://www.london24.com/pride_parade_london_love_and_marriage_1_2256830

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Reputation.com Buys Snail Mail Filtering App PaperKarma To Boost Its Mobile Privacy Management Business

Reputation.com, the online identity and privacy startup, has bought PaperKarma, a mobile app built to help users identify and then stop spammy snail mail. In a letter to users (embedded below), PaperKarma's founders Sean Mortazavi and Brendan Ribera say that the app will continue to work as before; but Reputation.com notes that it will also be tapping into the startup's software expertise for a wider remit: building up Reputation.com's mobile capabilities, and applying PaperKarma's address-tracking algorithms to online data as well.

Source: http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/Techcrunch/~3/3FlNeXa5v9c/

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Friday, June 28, 2013

Windows Store recommendations could one day reflect your usage patterns

Yesterday was the day Microsoft made Windows 8.1 available as a public download; today's the day we ask "what's next?" Here at the company's annual Build developer conference, we sat down with Ted Dworkin, the man who oversees the Windows Store, to do a deeper dive on the store's latest redesign. In particular, we were curious about that new Bing-powered recommendaton engine, and how it might become smarter over time. What ensued was a Pandora's box of a brainstorming session. Naturally, Dworkin wouldn't make any promises about what we'll see in future updates, but he did offer some compelling ideas about how Microsoft could take people's usage patterns into account when recommending apps. For instance, while Windows already knows which applications you've downloaded, a future version of the store might also be aware of which apps you use most frequently, which ones you've uninstalled, which ones you've shared, which ones you've pinned, which ones you've unpinned, et cetera. On a privacy note, the recommendation engine is already optional, so there's no reason why you couldn't disable this kind of data collection too.

For starters, this an interesting idea for the developers attending Build this week -- there are definitely people out there who download apps because they're testing them (or reviewing them) and not because they plan on using them every day. Even more broadly, though, who among us hasn't gone on a downloading spree, just to see what they liked? With usage patterns taken into account, you might get more useful picks, ones that ignore that random Twitter client or Angry Birds game you installed. Again, Dworkin wouldn't say for sure if Microsoft plans on implementing any of this, but our vote would be "yes" if it leads to more recommendations we'd actually use.

Filed under: Software, Microsoft

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Source: http://feeds.engadget.com/~r/weblogsinc/engadget/~3/Nme85mSZdhs/

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Two-Pronged Anxiety Treatment Aids Older Adults - Health News ...

THURSDAY, June 27 (HealthDay News) ? A combination of antidepressant therapy and counseling is an effective way to treat anxiety in older adults, a new study finds.

Together, these treatments keep seniors anxiety-free for a longer time than either medication or counseling alone, according to the researchers.

The investigators studied 73 people, aged 60 and older, with generalized anxiety disorder, a problem that affects about 5 percent of seniors. All the patients began the study by taking the antidepressant escitalopram (Lexapro) for three months.

After that time, the patients were randomly assigned to one of two groups. The first group simply continued taking the antidepressant for another 16 weeks, while the second group continued taking the drug but also received 16 weeks of cognitive behavioral therapy.

During cognitive behavioral therapy, patients learned about the nature of anxiety, worked on relaxation techniques, such as deep, slow breathing and progressive muscle relaxation, and were also taught problem-solving skills, the study authors explained in a Washington University School of Medicine news release.

After four months, participants were randomly divided again, with half continuing on the antidepressant for another seven months and half getting an inactive placebo. At the end of 13 months the researchers compared results.

?Those individuals who had both the drug and cognitive behavioral therapy also had a lower relapse rate, and if they did relapse, it happened later,? Dr. Eric Lenze, a professor of psychiatry at Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis, said in the news release.

Taking the antidepressant lowered anxiety levels, but the improvement was much greater in patients who also received cognitive behavioral therapy, according to the study, published online recently in the American Journal of Psychiatry.

However, not all older adults benefit from cognitive behavioral therapy, Lenze said.

?Antidepressant medication and cognitive behavioral therapy appear to work well in combination, but if an older adult has begun to develop dementia related to Alzheimer?s disease or some other illness, it appears even small amounts of cognitive impairment from those disorders can interfere with the benefits this combination of therapies provides,? Lenze explained.

More information

The U.S. National Institute of Mental Health has more about anxiety disorders.

Source: http://news.health.com/2013/06/27/two-pronged-anxiety-treatment-aids-older-adults/

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Thursday, June 27, 2013

Why plants are smarter than us

Scientists have found that plants must do complex arithmetic to avoid starvation.?

By Elizabeth Barber,?Contributor / June 24, 2013

Droplets of rain water hang on the leaves of a spiderwort plant in the morning sun.

John Nordell / The Christian Science Monitor

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Comparing someone?s intellect to that of a potted plant is no longer such an insult.

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Scientists at the John Innes Centre, a British research institute that focuses on plants and microbiology, found that plants must do complex arithmetic to calculate the amount of food needed to get them through the long, dark night.

"This is the first concrete example in a fundamental biological process of such a sophisticated arithmetic calculation," said a JIC mathematical modeler,?Martin Howard.

The new research, published in eLife, reports that mechanisms in plants? leaves estimate the size of the plant?s starch store and the length of time before the sun rises and energy again becomes available. In daylight, plants use the sun?s energy to convert carbon dioxide and water into sugars and starches. Based on that information, the plant?s leaves appropriately adjust their rate of starch consumption to avoid starving before the sun comes up, but without being wasteful and harboring too much starch. At the end of the night, the plants project to have used 95 percent of their starch.

The precise calculations account for variations in daylight and accumulated starch stores.

?The calculations are precise so that plants prevent starvation but also make the most efficient use of their food,? said JIC metabolic biologist Alison Smith. ?If the starch store is used too fast, plants will starve and stop growing during the night. If the store is used too slowly, some of it will be wasted.?

Scientists proposed that information about the size of the starch store and nighttime-length is encoded in the concentrations of two kinds of molecules in the plant. The scientists have called those molecules S for starch and T for time. The S molecules stimulate starch consumption, and the T molecules inhibit that consumption, so the rate of starch consumption comes out to the ratio of S molecules to T molecules ? or S/T.

Scientists believe that further study of how plants regulate their starch consumption could give insights into more productive farming techniques.

"The capacity to perform arithmetic calculation is vital for plant growth and productivity," said Smith. "Understanding how plants continue to grow in the dark could help unlock new ways to boost crop yield."

So when faced with a tricky math problem, go ahead: vegetate.?

Source: http://rss.csmonitor.com/~r/feeds/science/~3/krA_fR8Jl1k/Why-plants-are-smarter-than-us

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Standard Chartered brushes off China fears after stronger quarter

By Matt Scuffham

LONDON (Reuters) - Standard Chartered brushed off fears that a slowdown in China's economy would hit the Asia-focused lender hard and said it would meet analysts' expectations for the full-year following an improved second-quarter.

The bank, which makes about four-fifths of its earnings in Asia and the Middle East, said it was on track to meet forecasts for full-year operating profit of about $8 billion but would miss its usual target of 10 percent profit and revenue growth.

U.S. activist investor group Muddy Waters has bet against the bank, saying that a slowdown in China would lead to "considerable stress" at the London-based lender. A cash crunch in China's money market over the last three weeks and consequent sharp rise in borrowing costs, has sent Chinese stocks to four-year lows and spilled over into global markets.

Standard Chartered's finance chief Richard Meddings said on Wednesday actions being taken by the government in China were appropriate and its interventions in the inter-bank lending market would not materially affect the bank's ability to borrow there.

"We think these are very good reforms that are being introduced. I think what it points to is perhaps slower growth but on a more sustainable level," Meddings told reporters on a conference call.

The profitability of banks in Asia has been squeezed by ultra-easy monetary policy in the West, which has created a flood of cheap money that has pressured margins for banks competing to lend to fast-growing emerging markets.

Standard Chartered, which has been one of the most consistent performers during the financial crisis, said revenue for the first six months of 2013 was expected to rise by about 5 percent following an acceleration in the second quarter.

Chief Executive Peter Sands said second quarter growth was up on the previous quarter and the same period the year before.

"Growth has remained resilient across our footprint markets of Asia, Africa and the Middle East with high levels of client activity," he said. The bank said it had benefited from the diversity of its markets and products, with strong performances in Hong Kong and Africa helping offset weak growth in Korea and Singapore.

The bank was also cutting costs to offset its inability to meet 10 percent profits growth and has eased back on hiring to rein in rising wage costs, Meddings said.

"At the top line level we are now tracking to below double digit. We expect that to be the case (for the full year). To the extent that we don't make that in any one year, we manage the business, the costs and so on, to protect and manage returns, he said.

Net interest margin is expected to be down from 2012 by about 20 basis points with margins coming under pressure from high levels of liquidity in its markets while charges on bad loans were expected to be up on the first half of 2012 by about 15 percent, mostly from its consumer banking unit.

Shares in Standard Chartered were up 0.6 percent by 1210 GMT, underperforming a 2.1 percent rise in the European Banking Index <.sx7p>.

JP Morgan analyst Raul Sinha said the update was "likely to reassure concerns over near term earnings with an improved performance in the second quarter".

Meddings, who has been linked with the vacant chief executive job at Royal Bank of Scotland , said he was "very happy" at Standard Chartered but declined to confirm whether he had been approached by RBS.

(Editing by Louise Ireland)

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/stanchart-says-track-meet-fy-earnings-forecasts-083111756.html

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Suspect in Boston Marathon bombing indicted

FILE - This file photo provided Friday, April 19, 2013 by the Federal Bureau of Investigation shows Boston Marathon bombing suspect Dzhokhar Tsarnaev. A federal grand jury in Boston returned a 30-count indictment against Tsarnaev on Thursday, June 27, 2013, on charges including using a weapon of mass destruction and bombing a place of public use, resulting in death. (AP Photo/Federal Bureau of Investigation, File)

FILE - In this April 15, 2013 file photo, medical workers aid injured people at the finish line of the 2013 Boston Marathon following an explosion in Boston. A federal grand jury in Boston returned a 30-count indictment against bombing suspect Dzhokhar Tsarnaev on Thursday, June 27, 2013, on charges including using a weapon of mass destruction and bombing a place of public use, resulting in death. (AP Photo/Charles Krupa, File)

FILE - In this April 15, 2013, file photo, blood from victims covers the sidewalk on Boylston Street, at the site of an explosion during the 2013 Boston Marathon in Boston. At right foreground is a folding chair with the design of an American flag on the cover. A federal grand jury in Boston returned a 30-count indictment against bombing suspect Dzhokhar Tsarnaev on Thursday, June 27, 2013, on charges including using a weapon of mass destruction and bombing a place of public use, resulting in death. (AP Photo/Charles Krupa, File)

BOSTON (AP) ? A federal grand jury on Thursday returned a 30-count indictment against the surviving suspect in the Boston Marathon bombings, and many of the charges carry the possibility of life in prison or the death penalty.

Dzhokhar Tsarnaev, 19, was indicted on charges including using a weapon of mass destruction and bombing a place of public use, resulting in death.

Three people were killed and more than 260 injured in twin explosions near the finish line of the marathon on April 15. The charges also cover the death of MIT police officer Sean Collier, who authorities say was shot to death in his cruiser by the Tsarnaevs a few days after the bombing.

Tsarnaev's older brother, Tamerlan Tsarnaev, was killed following a shootout with police on April 19.

Dzhokhar Tsarnaev was captured later that day hiding in a boat in a backyard in Watertown, Mass. According to the indictment, he wrote a message on the inside of the boat that said, among other things, "The U.S. Government is killing our innocent civilians," ''I can't stand to see such evil go unpunished," and "We Muslims are one body you hurt one you hurt us all."

The Tsarnaev brothers had roots in the turbulent Russian regions of Dagestan and Chechnya, which have become recruiting grounds for Islamic extremists. They had been living in the United States for about a decade.

Authorities said each of the brothers placed a knapsack containing a shrapnel-packed pressure cooker bomb near the finish line of the 26.2-mile race. The bombs went off within seconds of one another.

The U.S. attorney's office says 17 of the charges against Tsarnaev could bring life in prison or the death penalty.

Associated Press

Source: http://hosted2.ap.org/APDEFAULT/3d281c11a96b4ad082fe88aa0db04305/Article_2013-06-27-Boston%20Marathon%20Bombing/id-724ca6063cdd407da2f68ef49c712646

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Wednesday, June 26, 2013

Prensa Latina News Agency - Cuban Educational Attention to ...

Imagen activa 24 de junio de 2013, 15:58Havana, June 24 (Prensa Latina) Educational attention to differently abled children and teens in Cuba relies on the principles of equality, justice and social commitment, said today representative of UNICEF in Cuba, Seija Toro.

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During the presentation here of the 2013 State of World???s Children UNICEF Report, Toro denounced that in many nations these minors are among the most vulnerable because they often suffer exploitation and abandonment, with less possibility to get medical attention and education.

However, with 39,340 differently abled children in the current school year, Cuba has placed children in a privileged place and one of the distinctive characteristics is the comprehensive nature of services provided to them, she said.

This is carried out through interdisciplinary teams made up of doctors, speech therapists, psychiatrists, psychologists and specialized teachers, in many cases in a personalized way.

According to the 2013 State of the World???s Children UNICEF Report, nearly 93 million children worldwide live with some moderate or serious disability, that is one of every twenty children under 14.

But UNICEF lacks accurate figures, though, and as a result of it, few governments have a reliable orientation to allocate resources to support and help them, says the document.

Santiago Borges, Principal of the Latin American Special Education Reference Center, said that more than 12,000 teachers have been graduated for special education in Cuban universities, and despite the US blockade, new information and communication technologies have been introduced and made available to disabled children in special institutions.

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Source: http://www.plenglish.com/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=1546031&Itemid=1

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Tuesday, June 25, 2013

Singapore, Malaysia face economic hit from prolonged smog

By John O'Callaghan

SINGAPORE (Reuters) - Singapore and Malaysia could face a bigger economic impact than from their worst air pollution crisis 16 years ago if slash-and-burn fires in Indonesia continue to rage in the coming weeks, turning off tourists and raising business costs.

Restaurants, tourist attractions and some other businesses are already feeling the pain as haze envelopes the Southeast Asian neighbors, from Singapore's upscale shopping districts to Malaysia's popular beach resorts.

The haze crisis in 1997 lasted about three months and cost Southeast Asia an estimated $9 billion from disruptions to air travel, health expenses and other business impacts. Economists and businesses say the costs are already mounting about a week since air pollution levels in the countries shot up to unhealthy and sometimes hazardous levels.

"The haze has definitely affected our business. Our sales fell around 40 percent in the past week," said Goo Wai Chien, who sells pizza and pasta at a hawker center in Singapore's business district. "But hopefully the situation is improving."

Much depends on how long the haze lasts and which way the wind blows the smoke that is coming mostly from fires set on palm oil plantations on Indonesia's Sumatra island. Singapore Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong has said the haze, which eased over the weekend and on Monday in the city state, could last a few weeks or until the dry season ends in Sumatra in September or October.

Extinguishing the fires, which smolder deep within peat, depends almost entirely on levels of rainfall.

Irvin Seah, DBS economist in Singapore, said the overall impact could be worse than in 1997 if the haze drags on.

"In 1997, the level of pollution was not this severe, and on the other hand the tourism industry's contribution to the economy was relatively smaller back then."

Tourism makes up 6.4 percent of Malaysia's economy and about 5 to 6 percent of Singapore's. Analysts see that sector taking an immediate knock, even if they cannot quantify the damage.

"The impact will be negative," ANZ, a bank, said in a research report, referring to Singapore. "Shopping, restaurants, bars and outdoor entertainment will all suffer during this hazy period."

Hotels, restaurants and other hospitality businesses also benefit from Singapore's prominence as a center for industry meetings and trade shows.

TOURISM, HEALTH FEARS

Perceptions of Singapore, which usually enjoys clear skies and relatively little pollution, could be the biggest casualty if the smoke hangs over the island through September.

A conference this week on global nuclear issues with dozens of high-profile experts, including former U.S. secretary of state George Shultz and former secretary of defense William Perry, was postponed "due to increasingly hazardous weather conditions in Singapore", the organizers said.

"It would create a very negative impression and also deter tourist inflows. It would deter people thinking about moving to work in Singapore," said P.K. Basu, regional head of research and economics at Maybank Kim Eng.

Brokerage CLSA has estimated the damage to Singapore - a major financial center, aviation hub and tourism destination - could end up being hundreds of millions of dollars. Other analysts said it could top $1 billion.

Singapore and its $271 billion economy cannot afford a big hit from a prolonged pollution crisis or any loss of confidence.

The economy - which is dominated by services, followed by manufacturing and construction - was stronger than expected in the first quarter due to a surge in the financial sector.

But exports have been weak, especially electronics, and economists now expect growth of 2.3 percent this year, slower than the median estimate of 2.8 percent in March, according to the central bank's latest quarterly survey released this month.

Francis Tan, an economist at United Overseas Bank, said if the smog in Singapore extends until September, with pollution rising to unhealthy levels from time to time, it could shave 0.3 to 0.5 percentage points off his 2013 growth forecast of 3 percent. That would mean up to $1.2 billion in economic losses.

Among the biggest costs that businesses face from the haze is illness.

Hospitals and clinics in areas badly affected by haze in recent days had recorded a rise of more than 100 percent in asthma cases, Malaysia's director-general of health Noor Hisham Abdullah was quoted as saying by the Bernama state news agency.

Patients reporting other respiratory problems and conjunctivitis had also jumped, he said.

The Malaysian capital, Kuala Lumpur, was veiled in thick smog on Monday, a day after parts of the southern state of Johor declared an emergency as pollution readings rose above the hazardous level.

Cheah Tuck Wing, the executive director of the Malaysia-Australia Business Council, said companies in Johor - which has attracted growing investment from neighboring Singapore - were already seeing a rise in worker sickness.

"People are not well and it will definitely affect production, that goes without saying. It has definitely impacted business, especially factories where a huge number of people are working."

(Additional reporting by Anshuman Daga, Eveline Danubrata and Kevin Lim in SINGAPORE; Anuradha Raghu, Megha Rajagopalan, and Siva Sithraputhran in KUALA LUMPUR; editing by Stuart Grudgings and Nick Macfie)

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/singapore-malaysia-face-economic-hit-prolonged-smog-093307319.html

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The executed: A glance at 10 key Texas executions

HUNTSVILLE, Texas (AP) ? Texas is approaching its 500th lethal injection since the Supreme Court in 1976 cleared the way to resume executions in the United States. The execution total in Texas is by far the largest in the country. Here are eight noteworthy executions since that ruling:

? Dec. 7, 1982: Charlie Brooks, No. 1, the first Texas inmate executed after the Supreme Court in 1976 reinstated the death penalty. Brooks also was the first U.S. prisoner to die by lethal injection. He abducted and killed a Fort Worth car lot employee during a test drive.

? Dec. 13, 1988: Raymond Landry, No. 29, whose execution was interrupted when a needle containing the lethal chemicals popped out of his arm. Prison technicians re-inserted it and Landry died. It was the first of two such needle "blowouts" in the death chamber. Landry was condemned for the fatal shooting of Kosmas Prittis, a Houston restaurant owner, during a robbery.

? Feb. 9, 1996: Leo Jenkins, No. 105, whose execution was the first in Texas where relatives or friends of the murder victims in the case were allowed to witness the punishment. Victims' rights supporters had pushed for the change after earlier executions in Texas allowed only friends or relatives of the prisoner to be present. Jenkins was convicted of killing Mark Kelley and his sister, Kara Voss, during a robbery at their family-owned pawn shop in Houston. Their parents were among those watching Jenkins die.

? Feb. 3, 1998: Karla Tucker, No. 145, the first woman executed in Texas since the Civil War. Tucker's born-again-Christian conversion and persuasive TV interviews sparked debate over whether her redemption should justify commuting her sentence to life. Tucker was convicted of using a pickax to kill Jerry Lynn Dean during a burglary of his Houston apartment. A woman with Dean also was killed. On a tape recording played at her trial, Tucker said she had an orgasm each time she swung the ax into their bodies.

? Nov. 17, 1998: Kenneth McDuff, No. 161, who was on death row in 1968 when the Supreme Court halted executions. His sentence was commuted to life and he was later paroled. A free man, McDuff was arrested for the abduction-murder of Melissa Ann Northrup of Waco and sentenced to death again. At the time of his execution, he was believed to be the only prisoner who was paroled from death row only to be returned there for another killing.

? March 14, 2000: Ponchai Wilkerson, No. 210, who stunned prison officials when, after declining to make a final statement, he spit out a handcuff key he had hidden in his mouth. Wilkerson had been convicted of the fatal shooting of a Houston jewelry store employee, Chung Myong Yi, during a robbery.

? June 22, 2000: Gary Graham, No. 222, whose loud claims of innocence and racism brought robed Ku Klux Klansmen and gun-toting Black Panthers to Huntsville. The two groups had a tense stand-off while Texas state troopers in riot gear watched. Graham ranted at length in the death chamber that he was being lynched. He had been convicted of killing an Arizona man, Bobby Lambert, during a robbery outside a Houston supermarket.

? Feb. 17, 2004: Cameron Todd Willingham, No. 320, whose arson-murder case became more famous after his death when a new investigation cast doubt on the arson evidence that led to his conviction. Willingham maintained his innocence and berated his ex-wife in an obscenity-filled final statement. He was convicted of the deaths of his three young daughters, Amber, 2, and 1-year-old twins Karmon and Kameron.

? June 27, 2006: Angel Resendiz, No. 368, a drifter known as the "Railroad Killer." Resendiz earned a spot on the FBI's Most Wanted list as he hopped aboard freight trains and committed indiscriminate and particularly gruesome killings in places near railroad tracks. He was convicted in the death of Claudia Benton, a Houston-area physician attacked at her home.

? July 18, 2012: Yokamon Hearn, No. 483, the first Texas prisoner given a single dose of pentobarbital as the lethal injection drug. Drugs used in the previous three-drug process became unavailable after manufacturers bowed to pressure from death penalty opponents. The change in reaction among inmates given the single drug has been negligible. Hearn was convicted of the fatal abduction and robbery of Frank Meziere during a carjacking in Dallas County.

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/executed-glance-10-key-texas-executions-182532298.html

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Monday, June 17, 2013

The Marketplace Fairness Act: a headache for small business owners

In 1992, the Supreme Court ruled in Quill Corp. v. North Dakota that a state can?t require an out-of-state business to collect and remit sales taxes to it if doing so is burdensome to the business.

The Marketplace Fairness Act (MFA), recently passed by the Senate and under consideration in the House, ignores the need to simplify tax collection obligations and instead ensures that compliance will be burdensome for small businesses. In a recent Daily Caller op-ed, Drex Davis provides a high-level introduction to the burdens imposed on small businesses by the MFA. My personal experience confirms his assertions.

Unfortunately, proponents of the MFA such as Senator Lamar Alexander (R-TN) have claimed that tax collection post-MFA will be ?as simple as looking up the weather on a person?s computer.? This illustrates a deep misunderstanding about the complexity of tax laws, jurisdictions and the software systems that are necessary to tie the mess together.

Each of this country?s 10,000 different taxing jurisdictions has its own laws for applying sales tax to all sorts of goods ? including food, prescription drugs, non-prescription drugs, software, clothes and much more. Plus, within the same zip code, even on the same street, different tax rates can apply. I manually downloaded and printed the sales tax rates by zip code for all of the states. It?s over 38,000 lines long and 811 printed pages.

MFA proponents argue that the ?free software? (paid for by the states) will make this complexity irrelevant. But the software will only provide me with rates, not product categories, and it will do nothing to help lift the time-and-money burden of submitting up to 600 tax returns per year. So much for ?free.? I can use an unsubsidized software program like the one Avalara produces, which simplifies the process to some degree, but if I did that I?d have to pay Avalara a fee on every single sale I make, plus about $29 for every tax return I file. For my business, that would be $16,000 in remittance costs annually, plus thousands of dollars in transaction fees.

The problems and costs don?t end there. I scheduled two meetings with Avalara to walk me through implementation of their software. Like many other small businesses, I use the accounting software Sage 50 (formerly Peachtree). The Sage 50 platform isn?t capable of live, forced compliance, so the Avalara representatives I spoke with told me I?d have to upgrade to the Sage 100 platform in order to automate my sales tax calculations. They also said my shopping cart isn?t compatible with their program and would have to be modified. Moreover, I?d have to change my entire sales software and strategy because no multi-channel cart solutions are currently supported by their software. To integrate Avalara?s software, I?d have to spend at least $40,000 in the first year alone, and then a certain amount each year after that.

I wish I could say that was the end of it, but I can?t. I?d also have to categorize all of my products to be readable by the software. Contrary to statements by pro-MFA politicians, neither the MFA nor the Streamlined Sales and Use Tax Agreement (SSUTA) provide rate simplification or designate what is taxable and what isn?t. This means that small business owners will have to become experts on tax law in the 46 sales-tax states so that they can tag their products to be software readable.

This is virtually impossible. For example, in Idaho clothing is exempt from sales taxes but in Minnesota it?s not. In other states, clothing might be exempt, depending on the price. That is ? of course ? unless it?s not. In Massachusetts the categorization requirements are unbelievably convoluted and confusing: sports bras are tax exempt, but sports shorts aren?t. A sewing button is exempt but a scrapbooking button isn?t. That same sewing button isn?t exempt if it?s included in a sewing kit. Yarn is exempt unless it could be used to make a rug. Thread is exempt, unless it?s sold with a needle. These are just a few examples of thousands.

Software isn?t going to make these distinctions or judgment calls. We will be forced to make them, and that will mean huge time investments. But that still won?t protect us. If an out-of-state auditor disagrees with our categorization, we could be held personally liable for uncollected taxes or penalized for over-collecting.

The MFA fails to satisfy the minimum requirements set forth by the Supreme Court because collecting and remitting sales taxes for remote states is extremely burdensome on small businesses like mine. Congress needs to scrap the MFA and go back to the drawing board.

Justin Krauss is the president of Garage Flooring LLC and cofounder of the eMainStreet Alliance.

Source: http://dailycaller.com/2013/06/15/the-marketplace-fairness-act-a-headache-for-small-business-owners/

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Saturday, June 15, 2013

Oil price highest since January on Syria concerns

NEW YORK (AP) ? Oil rose to the highest level since January amid concerns about a possible escalation in Syria's civil war.

Benchmark oil for July delivery rose $1.16 to close at $97.85 a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange. Oil finished the week with a gain of $1.82 a barrel, or 1.9 percent.

President Barack Obama's decision, revealed Thursday, to provide some weapons to rebels fighting the forces of Syrian President Bashar Assad came after the White House said it had convincing evidence that Assad's regime ? which has been supported by Russia, Iran and Lebanon's Hezbollah ? had used chemical weapons against the opposition.

The Middle East is a key source of crude oil and important transit routes cross the region, so conflicts which threaten disruptions in crude production or supply usually push oil prices higher.

"The possibility of unrest spreading into larger oil-producing regions such as Saudi Arabia and Iraq" induced some buying Friday, said Jim Ritterbusch, president of energy consultancy Ritterbusch and Associates. However, he said, "the current large amount of unused OPEC productive capacity provides a sizable cushion against any temporary loss of supply from countries other than Saudi Arabia."

Oil's closing price was the highest since Jan. 30. But U.S. stock markets fell following lackluster reports on consumer confidence and industrial production. Among other commodities, gold and silver rose, while the prices for industrial metals dropped.

Drivers head into the weekend paying around the same for gas as they did a week ago. The national average of $3.625 is about 9 cents higher than at this time last year.

Meanwhile Brent crude, a benchmark for many international oil varieties, rose 98 cents to end at $105.93 a barrel on the ICE Futures exchange in London.

In other energy futures trading on the Nymex:

? Wholesale gasoline rose 4 cents to finish at $2.90 a gallon.

? Heating oil added 2 cents to end at $2.96 per gallon.

? Natural gas fell 8 cents to finish at $3.73 per 1,000 cubic feet.

___

Pablo Gorondi in Budapest and Pamela Sampson in Bangkok contributed to this report.

Associated Press

Source: http://hosted2.ap.org/APDEFAULT/f70471f764144b2fab526d39972d37b3/Article_2013-06-14-Oil-Prices/id-59a0aab43d644d4084ce4b81c48dd835

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Source: http://pandandabulletin.blogspot.com/2013/06/112-suzuki-vinson-auto-500-44-camo-atv.html

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Iran's battered reformers seek election rebound

Iranian women, queue, in a polling station to vote for the presidential and municipal councils elections, in the city of Qom, 78 miles (125 kilometers) south of the capital Tehran, Iran, Friday, June 14, 2013. Iran's supreme leader delivered a salty rebuke to the U.S. Friday as Iranians lined up to vote in a presidential election that has suddenly become a showdown across the Islamic Republic's political divide: hard-liners looking to cement their control and re-energized reformists backing the lone moderate. (AP Photo/Ebrahim Noroozi)

Iranian women queue in a polling station to vote for the presidential and municipal councils elections, in Tehran, Iran, Friday, June 14, 2013. Iran's supreme leader delivered a salty rebuke to the U.S. Friday as Iranians lined up to vote in a presidential election that has suddenly become a showdown across the Islamic Republic's political divide: hard-liners looking to cement their control and re-energized reformists backing the lone moderate. (AP Photo/Vahid Salemi)

In this photo released by an official website of the Iranian supreme leader's office, Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei casts his ballot in the presidential election without publicly endorsing a candidate, in Tehran, Iran, Friday, June 14, 2013. On Friday, Khamenei delivered a salty rebuke to U.S. questions over the openness of the presidential contest , telling Washington "the hell with you" after casting his ballot in a race widely criticized in the West as pre-rigged in favor of Tehran's ruling system. (AP Photo/Office of the Supreme Leader)

Iranian women attend a polling station to vote for the presidential and municipal councils elections in downtown Tehran, Iran, Friday, June 14, 2013. (AP Photo/Vahid Salemi)

Iranian citizens wait to get ballots for the Iranian presidential election at a polling station inside the Sadr Mosque in the Kazimiyah district of Baghdad, Iraq, Friday, June 14, 2013. Iranian voters appeared to heed calls to cast ballots Friday in a presidential election that has suddenly become a showdown across Iran's political divide: Hard-liners looking to cement their control and re-energized reformists backing the lone moderate left in the race. (AP Photo/ Khalid Mohammed)

TEHRAN, Iran (AP) ? Reform-minded Iranians who have faced years of crackdowns looked Friday to claw back a bit of ground in a presidential election that gave them an unexpected hero and a chance to upend a vote that once appeared solidly in the hands of Tehran's ruling clerics.

While Iran's presidential elections offer a window into the political pecking orders and security grip inside the country ? particularly since the chaos from a disputed outcome in 2009 ? they lack the drama of truly high stakes as the country's ruling clerics and their military guardians remain the ultimate powers.

Election officials began the ballot count after voters waited on line for hours in wilting heat at some polling stations in downtown Tehran and other cities, while others cast ballots across the vast country from desert outposts to Gulf seaports and nomad pastures. Voting was extended by five hours to meet demand, but also as possible political stagecraft to showcase the participation.

The apparent strong turnout suggested liberals and others abandoned a planned boycott as the election was transformed into a showdown across the Islamic Republic's political divide.

On one side were hard-liners looking to cement their control behind candidates such as nuclear negotiator Saeed Jalili, who says he is "100 percent" against detente with Iran's foes, or Tehran's mayor, Mohammad Bagher Qalibaf.

Opposing them were reformists and others rallying behind the "purple wave" campaign of the lone relative moderate left in the race, a former nuclear envoy, Hasan Rowhani.

A preliminary sampling of results from around Iran suggested Rowhani's appeal was broad in cities and rural areas, although the tally was too small to draw clear trends, officials handling the ballot count told The Associated Press. They spoke on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to brief media.

But even if the last-moment surge around Rowhani brings him to the presidency, it would be more of a limited victory than a deep shake-up. Iran's establishment ? a tight alliance of the ruling clerics and the ultra-powerful Revolutionary Guard ? still holds all the effective power and sets the agenda on all major decisions such as Iran's nuclear program and its dealings with the West.

Security forces also are in firm control after waves of arrests and relentless pressures since the last presidential election in 2009, which unleashed massive protests over claims the outcome was rigged to keep the combative Mahmoud Ahmadinejad in power for a second and final term. He is barred from seeking a third consecutive run.

The greater comfort level by the theocracy and Revolutionary Guard sets a different tone this time. Opposition groups appear too intimidated and fragmented to revive street demonstrations, and even a win by Rowhani ? the only cleric in the race ? would not likely be perceived as a threat to the ruling structure.

Rowhani led the influential Supreme National Security Council and was given the highly sensitive nuclear envoy role in 2003, a year after Iran's 20-year-old atomic program was revealed.

"Rowhani is not an outsider and any gains by him does not mean the system is weak or that there are serious cracks," said Rasool Nafisi, an Iranian affairs analyst at Strayer University in Virginia. "The ruling system has made sure that no one on the ballot is going to shake things up."

Yet a Rowhani victory would not be entirely without significance either. It would make room for more moderate voices in Iranian political dialogue and display their resilience. It also would bring onto the world stage an Iranian president who has publicly endorsed more outreach rather than bombast toward the West.

The last campaign events for Rowhani carried chants that had been bottled up for years.

Some supporters called for the release of political prisoners including opposition leaders Mir Hossein Mousavi and Mahdi Karroubi, both candidates in 2009 and now under house arrest. "Long live reforms," some cried at Rowhani's last rally. The rally was awash in purple banners and scarves ? the campaign's signature hue in a nod to the single-color identity of Mousavi's now-crushed Green Movement.

"My mother and I both voted for Rowhani," said Saeed Joorabchi, a university student in geography, after casting ballots at a mosque in west Tehran.

In the Persian Gulf city of Bandar Abbas, local journalist Ali Reza Khorshidzadeh said many polling stations had significant lines and many voters appeared to back Rowhani.

Just a week ago, Rowhani was seen as overshadowed by candidates with far deeper ties to the current power structure: Jalili and Qalibaf, who was boosted by a reputation as a steady hand for Iran's sanctions-wracked economy.

Then a moderate rival of Rowhani bowed out of the presidential race to consolidate the pro-reform camp. That opened the way for high-profile endorsements including his political mentor, former President Akbar Heshmi Rafsanjani, who won admiration from opposition forces for denouncing the postelection crackdowns in 2009. This, too, may have led to Rafsanjani's being blackballed from the ballot this year by Iran's election overseers, which allowed just eight candidates among more than 680 hopefuls.

Iran has no credible political polling to serve as harder metrics for the street buzz around candidates, who need more than 50 percent of the vote to seal victory and avoid a two-person runoff next Friday. Journalists face limits on reporting such as requiring permission to travel around the country. Iran does not allow outside election observers.

Yet it's clear that fervor remains strong for Rowhani's rivals as well.

Qalibaf is riding on his image as a capable fiscal manager who can deal with the deepening problems of Iran's economy and sinking currency.

Jalili draws support from hard-line factions such as the Revolutionary Guard's paramilitary corps, the Basij. His reputation is further enhanced by a battlefield injury that cost him the lower part of his right leg during Iran's 1980-88 war with Saddam Hussein's Iraq, which at the time was backed by the United States.

"We should resist the West," said Tehran taxi driver Hasan Ghasemi, who supported Jalili.

Iran's supreme leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, has not publicly endorsed a successor for Ahmadinejad following their falling out over the president's attempts to challenge Khamenei's near-absolute powers.

Ahmadinejad leaves office weakened and outcast by his political battles with Khamenei ? yet another sign of where real power rests in Iran. The election overseers also rejected Ahmadinejad's protege Esfandiar Rahim Mashaei in apparent payback. The usually talkative Ahmadinejad gave only a brief statement to reporters as he voted and refused to discuss the election.

Khamenei remained mum on his own choice even as he cast his ballot. He added that his children don't know whom he backs.

Instead, he blasted the U.S. for its repeated criticism of Iran's clampdowns on the opposition and the rejection of Rafsanjani and other moderates from the ballot.

"Recently I have heard that a U.S. security official has said they do not accept this election," Khamenei was quoted by state TV after casting his vote. "OK, the hell with you."

By many measures, this election is far removed from the backdrop four years ago.

Iran's security networks have consolidated near-blanket control, ranging from swift crackdowns on any public dissent to cyberpolice blocking opposition Internet websites and social media. Hackers calling themselves the Iranian Cyber Army disrupted at least a half dozen reform-oriented websites, including one run by well-known political cartoonist Nikahang Kosar.

Prominent reformist politician Mostafa Tajzadeh, who was jailed after the 2009 disputed election, voted from his cell in Tehran's Evin Prison, the semiofficial ISNA news agency reported.

The economy, too, is under far more pressures than in 2009.

Western sanctions over Iran's nuclear program have shrunk vital oil sales and are leaving the country isolated from international banking systems. New U.S. measures taking effect July 1 further target Iran's currency, the rial, which has lost half its foreign exchange value in the past year, driving prices of food and consumer goods sharply higher.

Outside Iran, votes were casts by the country's huge diaspora including Dubai, London and points across the United States.

"I hope we take a step toward democracy," said Behza Khajavi, a 29-year-old doctoral candidate in physics from Boca Raton, Florida, as he voted in Tampa for Rowhani.

In Paris, a 25-year-old Iranian student, Sohrab Labib, voted at his nation's consulate while a small group of protesters gathered across the street.

"It's our country. It's our future," he said. "In any case, even a little change could influence our future."

___

Murphy reported from Dubai, United Arab Emirates.

Associated Press

Source: http://hosted2.ap.org/APDEFAULT/cae69a7523db45408eeb2b3a98c0c9c5/Article_2013-06-14-Iran-Election/id-dba358eff2074d6382e0dc0b909ee3af

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Tuesday, June 11, 2013

Victim recalls facing gunman in Calif. rampage

Debra and Russell Fine pose for a photo Sunday, June 9, 2013 in Santa Monica, Calif. Debra Fine, who was wounded Friday when shooting suspect John Zawahri went on a deadly rampage in Santa Monica, was released in good condition late Saturday from Ronald Reagan UCLA Medical Center, according to a hospital statement. Bullets missed his wife?s vital organs by inches, Russell Fine told the AP Sunday. (AP Photo/Tami Abdollah)

This undated photo provided on Sunday, June 9, 2013, by the Santa Monica Police Department shows John Zawahri, 23, who police have identified as the shooter in Friday's deadly rampage at Santa Monica College. The suspect was shot and killed by authorities Friday after a violent spree that claimed the lives of five people and wounded several others. (AP Photo/Santa Monica Police Department)

A picture of the suspect entering Santa Monica College Library is seen as Jacqueline Seabrook, Chief of Santa Monica Police department speaks during a news conference Saturday June 8, 2013, in Santa Monica, Calif., to discuss more information regarding the suspect in the shooting that left five people dead, including the shooter, near Santa Monica College on Friday. (AP Photo/Ringo H.W. Chiu)

This photo provided by the Santa Monica Police Department during a news conference Saturday, June 8, 2013, shows a frame grab from a surveillance camera revealing the suspect entering Santa Monica College Friday, in Santa Monica, Calif. The Police chief said Saturday that the gunman who went on a chaotic rampage killing four people before being fatally shot by police at the college planned the attack and was capable of firing 1,300 rounds of ammunition. (AP Photo/Santa Monica Police Department)

SANTA MONICA, Calif. (AP) ? Debra Fine lived to tell of her encounter with a heavily armed gunman who killed five people and wounded her and others in a Santa Monica rampage.

Though the attacker had spiky hair, black clothing and a ballistics vest, what she remembers most were the eyes ? cold, hard, intense.

"No hesitation, no flick of a muscle, nothing. Just absolutely staring and going onto the next step," Fine recalled. "I just simply got in his way. And he needed to kill me. That was it."

She recognized the eyes in a 2006 high school yearbook photo of John Zawahri shown to her by The Associated Press.

Investigators trying to determine why Zawahri planned the shooting spree focused on a deadly act of domestic violence that touched off the mayhem. They were also looking into whether he had a mental health issue.

Police said he fatally shot his father and older brother at a home that went up in flames before taking the violence to the streets, which lasted less than 15 minutes until he was shot to death in a chaotic scene at the Santa Monica College library by police.

Investigators were hoping his mother, who returned early from a trip abroad and was interviewed Sunday by police, could help provide clues about what triggered the violence.

"A big piece of the puzzle just came home," Sgt. Richard Lewis said.

The killing began as a domestic violence incident when Zawahri killed his father, Samir, 55, and brother, Christopher, 24, in their home near Interstate 10 in a working-class part of town a few miles from the beachside attractions that draw tourists year-round.

The gunman, carrying a duffel bag with 1,300 rounds of ammo, fired shots in the neighborhood and took his rampage on the road.

Fine was the first stranger shot by Zawahri. She was using side streets after her singing lesson to avoid traffic from President Barack Obama's visit three miles away when the gunman motioned at the car of the woman in front of her with his rifle, telling her to pull over.

Fine thought the man was providing security for the president's visit. Then he pointed the rifle at the woman and started to yell.

Upset that he would yell at someone who cooperated, Fine accelerated.

"He looked right at me," Fine said. "Stared right at me and then shot. No hesitation."

Zawahri then walked toward her, shooting again. Fine was hit in the shoulder, arm and ear, and she lay on the passenger seat, pretending to be dead. Zawahri, meanwhile, carjacked the woman he'd stopped and directed her to Santa Monica College, firing at bystanders along the way and shooting up a city bus.

At the college, he blasted a Ford Explorer driven by Carlos Navarro Franco, 68, killing the driver and his daughter, Marcela Franco, 26, who died Sunday. The father was a longtime groundskeeper at the college and was taking his daughter to buy textbooks for summer classes.

On foot, Zawahri headed for the library, spraying gunfire around campus as students, who were in the middle of final exams, took cover in classrooms or bolted for their lives. He fatally shot one woman in the head and then casually strolled past a cart of books into the library where he fired 70 shots without striking anyone.

In a shootout with three police officers, Zawahri was struck multiple times. His body was taken outside, where he was pronounced dead.

A small cache of ammunition was found in a room of the burned down house.

The elder Zawahri brought his family to the neighborhood of small homes and apartment buildings tucked up against Interstate 10 in the mid-1990s, according to property records.

Not long after arriving on Yorkshire Avenue, Zawahri and his wife Randa Abdou, 54, went through a difficult divorce and split custody of their two boys, said Thomas O'Rourke, a neighbor. When the sons got older, one went to live with his mother while the other stayed with the father.

Public records show Abdou, who lives in an apartment a couple miles away, was the ex-wife of Samir Zawahri and former co-owner of the house where the first shooting took place.

John Zawahri had a run-in with police seven years ago, but Police Chief Jacqueline Seabrooks wouldn't offer more details because he was a juvenile at the time. She said the gunman was enrolled at Santa Monica College in 2010.

Home from the hospital on Sunday, Fine recalled the moments after she was shot. Neighbors had come to help her, one holding towels to her wounds. Fifteen minutes later paramedics arrived. Her husband Russell Fine said he rushed to her side by using the family GPS tracking feature on his phone to pinpoint her location.

"When I got ... into the trauma room and I heard one of the doctors say, 'Two more have arrived but they're DOA,' that's when I realized that this was part of something bigger, and that his intent had been to kill people," Fine said. "I'm just, I feel very, very lucky to be here."

"I've always been right in the middle on the gun control issue, and I'm not anymore," she added. "When are we going to get the guns out of the hands of the people who are mentally ill, or when is there enough proof that it's very dangerous to have those types of weapons out there?"

___

Associated Press writer Christopher Weber contributed to this story. Tami Abdollah can be reached at: http://www.twitter.com/latams

Associated Press

Source: http://hosted2.ap.org/APDEFAULT/386c25518f464186bf7a2ac026580ce7/Article_2013-06-10-Santa%20Monica%20Shooting/id-582360fa4d3049dcb14c32ed57fbde79

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Sunday, June 30, 2013

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Wednesday, June 26, 2013

Tuesday, June 25, 2013

Monday, June 17, 2013

Saturday, June 15, 2013

1/12 Suzuki Vinson Auto 500 4?4 Camo ATV

Tuesday, June 11, 2013