Sunday, September 30, 2012

UPDATE 4-Spain debt rises on aid to banks, regions


Sat Sep 29, 2012 9:22pm BST

* Spain details cuts to health, education

* Debt-to-GDP ratio to rise to 90.5 percent by end-2013

* Budget deficit rises to 7.4 percent including bank aid

* Gross debt issuance rises to 207.2 billion euros in 2013

By Andr?s Gonz?lez

MADRID, Sept 29 (Reuters) - Spain's debt levels are set to rise next year, piling pressure on the government to apply for aid as it pours funds in to cash-strapped regions, an ailing banking system and rising refinancing costs, its budget showed on Saturday.

Spain's debt as a ratio of gross domestic product will reach 90.5 percent by end 2013, according to the document presented to parliament for approval, almost three times that registered before the property bubble burst in 2008.

The budget aims to make savings of around 13 billion euros ($16.7 billion) next year, largely by deepening already unpopular cuts in public sector wages, education, health and social services, fuelling anti-austerity protests.

"This is an austerity budget, but will serve to help us get over this long economic crisis and once again show that Spain is a trustworthy partner within Europe," Treasury Minister Cristobal Montoro told journalists after delivering the budget.

Spain is at the centre of the euro zone debt crisis as nervous investors demand ever higher premiums to hold Spanish debt on concerns the government cannot control its finances in the midst of a deepening recession.

Calls by wealthy northeastern region Catalonia for independence and the rising number of demonstrations on the streets of major cities have stoked doubts Spain can fix its problems without help.

Thousands of protesters gathered on Saturday in Madrid's Neptune plaza, between the Prado Museum and Parliament, for a third time this week to vent anger at politicians they accuse of pillaging the welfare state to bail out badly-run banks.

"This has to change. We have to show them we are not an anti-system minority but represent Spain's discontent and we are many. You only have to see the unemployment rate to see that," said state school teacher, Montse, 44, who was at the march with her unemployed husband and 11-year-old daughter.

Unemployment in Spain is more than double the European Union average, with half of all working-age under-26s unable to find jobs and shattered businesses laying off employees they cannot afford to pay.

Prime Minister Mariano Rajoy has delayed any plea for aid, which would kick-start a European Central Bank plan to buy debt and ease financing costs, though this week has passed reforms and the budget plan in what many see is an effort to pre-empt the likely terms of a bailout.

Rajoy, who said he is considering the conditions behind any aid request, is widely expected to wait until after regional elections in Galicia and the Basque Country before taking any decision.

RISING BORROWING NEEDS

The budget details spending cuts of 3.1 percent in health, 14.4 percent in education and 6.3 percent in unemployment benefits, as the recession, which began in the first quarter, drags on.

Spain will also slash state funding to commerce, tourism and small, and medium-sized companies by 18.8 percent and infrastructure by 13.5 percent.

The government will increase its reliance on international markets for funding next year, with gross debt issuance requirements of 207.2 billion euros, after budgeting in 2012 for gross issuance of 186.1 billion euros.

The cost of financing its debt, as benchmark 10-year bond yields rise to near unsustainable levels of above 6 percent, is expected to increase to 38.6 billion euros, or 3.6 percent of GDP, in 2013, the budget showed.

The Treasury must pay debt redemptions of 159.2 billion euros in 2013, up slightly from 153.2 billion euros in 2012.

The increase in the debt-to-GDP ratio was due the economic crisis and the effect of state instruments on public accounts, the Treasury said in the document.

The instruments include the power deficit bond programme, FADE, the service provider fund for regional governments, Spain's part in aid granted to Ireland, Greece and Portugal and the recapitalisation loan for the country's banks, it said.

Brussels on Thursday said the budget was a large step in the right direction. But many economists expressed doubt Spain's conservatives would be able to raise the cash the budget demanded as pension and debt-servicing costs rise.

"My general view is that this is an optimistic budget, in the sense that predictions for the contraction in 2013 are very optimistic," said Xavier Vives, economist at business school IESE, adding he expected the plans to be revised as with every other budget over the last four years.

The budget is based on the assumption GDP will shrink by 0.5 percent in 2013 year-on-year, though most economists expect a deeper slump.

DEFICIT JUMP

Spain will meet its 2012 public deficit target as dictated by European guidelines, Montoro said, but the shortfall will jump by more than one percentage point if aid to its struggling banks were taken in to account.

The Spanish deficit this year would be 6.3 percent of GDP, not including these payments to its banks, he said, but would rise to 9.4 percent of GDP last year and 7.4 percent of GDP this year if the aid was considered.

"Everything within the deficit derived from financial operations aren't included ... they're considered one-offs," Montoro said.

Spain has asked for up to 100 billion euros for its crisis-hit banks, though the debate among Spain's European partners rages over whether that money would go directly to its lenders or first via public coffers.

On Friday, an independent report showed Spanish banks will need up to 59.3 billion euros in extra capital to ride out the economic downturn.

The budget details on Saturday showed Spain's debt ratio included 30 billion euros of the planned 100-billion-euro aid request for the country's banks.

Source: http://uk.reuters.com/article/2012/09/29/spain-budget-idUKL5E8KT0NM20120929?feedType=RSS&feedName=rbssFinancialServicesAndRealEstateNews

hayden panettiere china gdp dont trust the b in apartment 23 johnny damon kirk cameron news 10 hillary rosen

Kings of Leon's Jared Followill ties the knot

Francis Bertrand / Getty Images file

Jared Followill and Martha Patterson in April.

By Brandi Fowler, E! Online

Jared Followill is officially off the market.

The 25-year-old Kings of Leon bassist married aspiring model Martha Patterson Saturday in Charlotte, Tenn., E! News has learned.

Check out Antonio Sabato Jr.'s wedding pic!

People reports that it was a casual-cool affair in front of family and friends, who stayed to celebrate in a rustic farmhouse after the ceremony.

The musician popped the question to his stunning bride at his Nashville home April 11 with a 4-carat cushion-cut diamond ring...and kept the engagement news under wraps for about a month.

"It's true! I'm engaged! CANNOT wait to finally lose my virginity," Jared tweeted in May.

The couple reportedly plans to split their time between Nashville and Los Angeles.

Congrats!

Take a look at these awesome celeb wedding dresses!

Source: http://todayentertainment.today.com/_news/2012/09/29/14154739-kings-of-leons-jared-followill-ties-the-knot?lite

Phelps NBC Olympics Live Olympic medal count Medal Count 2012 London 2012 Fencing olympics chariots of fire

Saturday, September 29, 2012

India's dominance as offshore IT location being diluted - Inside ...

Effective alternatives to India for IT services are reducing its dominance as an offshore location for large businesses, according to Gartner.

But where are the alternatives and who is using them?

There are, according to Gartner, 30 leading global locations for offshore services as well as another 50? other options that "have either started initial activities to establish an environment attractive to companies considering investing in lower-cost countries, or become home to external service providers that are beginning to sell services abroad."

Businesses are trying to create global delivery so are buying services from across the globe.
According to Gartner Currently 63% of global buyers of IT services use Latin American locations, 63% use locations in Asia/Pacific and 55% use locations in EMEA.

In Latin America Mexico servers 50.2% of businesses offshoring IT to the region, while Brazil has 46.8% and Argentina 22.1%.

The EMEA's biggest offshore service provider is Poland with 25.3% of businesses using the region buying from Poland. Russia has 19.2% and South Africa 16.6%.

In Asia/Pacifc 48.5% of IT services buyers get services from India with China close behind with 45.9% and Malaysia 13.9%.

Western European buyers predominantly use India (35%), Poland (21%), Brazil (18%) and China (16%). The UK is probably even more dominated by India because of the language advantage.

Ian Marriott, research vice president at Gartner says IT suppliers are spreading their resources to meet customer desires to globalise. "Providers are beginning to de-focus further investments in India and will aim to create critical mass across a number of these centers."
"This will allow them to establish a global delivery network through a combination of common methodologies, tools, processes and procedures, to provide seamless and consistent delivery capabilities to their customers, wherever they are located."

Here are articles I have written about some of the regions mentioned:

Brazil will be a massive location to source IT, but challenges remain

IT operations in Malaysia could offer the near China experience?
Chinese IT services providers can be a gateway to Chinese economy for big business?

Is India becoming too expensive for offshoring your IT??

South Africa is a low cost call centre option with investment funds on offer?

Are nearshore suppliers the best low cost option for agile software development??

Source: http://www.computerweekly.com/blogs/inside-outsourcing/2012/09/indias-dominance-as-offshore-it-location-being-diluted.html

julian beever appeasement ian stewart ian stewart odom vt vt

Israeli leader says Iran warning "reverberates"

NEW YORK (AP) ? Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said Friday that his stern warning to stop Iran from going nuclear "reverberates" around the world and could ultimately prevent the Islamic Republic from getting a nuclear bomb.

Speaking ahead of a meeting with his Canadian counterpart, Netanyahu said Iran's uranium enrichment was the "only discernible and vulnerable part of their nuclear program" and his demand before the United Nations to draw a red line on its process could force Iran to back down.

"I tried to say something yesterday that I think reverberates now around the world," he said, "and that is to translate the agreement and principle of stopping Iran from developing nuclear weapons to practice."

On Thursday, Netanyahu laid out before the U.N. General Assembly his most detailed plea for global action against Iran, saying the world had until next summer at the latest to stop Iran from getting a bomb. In his speech, the Israeli leader demonstratively flashed a diagram of a cartoon-like bomb showing the progress Iran has made, pulled out a red marker and drew a line across what he said was a threshold Iran was approaching and which Israel could not tolerate ? 90 percent of the way to the uranium enrichment needed to make an atomic bomb.

Israel considers a nuclear-armed Iran to be an existential threat, citing Iranian denials of the Holocaust, its calls for Israel's destruction, its development of missiles capable of striking the Jewish state and its support for hostile Arab militant groups.

Netanyahu has repeatedly argued that time is running out to stop Iran from becoming a nuclear power and that the threat of force must be seriously considered. Israeli leaders have hinted they may strike Iran to prevent it from going nuclear.

President Barack Obama has vowed not to allow Iran to attain nuclear weapons and has said the U.S. would be prepared to use force as a last resort. But he has urged restraint, saying there is more time to diplomacy. His administration has urgently sought to hold off Israeli military action, which would likely result in the U.S. being pulled into the conflict.

Netanyahu's persistent demands for red lines have put the two leaders at odds. Netanyahu tried to smooth over the differences in his U.N. address, making a point to thank Obama for his firm stance. The reconciliation continued Friday with a phone call between them.

"The two leaders underscored that they are in full agreement on the shared goal of preventing Iran from obtaining a nuclear weapon," the White House said in a statement.

Netanyahu also spoke to Republican presidential candidate Mitt Romney during his brief stay in New York. The two are old friends and colleagues and they are both backed politically by Jewish-American billionaire casino mogul Sheldon Adelson. Romney has harshly criticized Obama for throwing Israel "under the bus" and Netanyahu's perceived preference of the Republican in the upcoming elections has further strained relations with Obama.

Netanyahu's fiery rhetoric on Iran suggested he may be considering military action before the U.S. elections, against Obama's wishes. His 2013 deadline appeared to be a concession, but in an interview with Israel's Channel 10 TV he refused to commit.

"You've never heard me talking about dates. I spoke about the critical stage that Iran must not be allowed to complete," he said, in an interview aired Friday. "I did not limit or reject for a moment Israel's right to defend itself at any time."

Netanyahu's lone scheduled meeting Friday was with Canadian Prime Minister Stephen Harper - a close ally who recently expelled the Iranian ambassador from his country. Netanyahu praised Harper as a "real statesman" and thanked him for standing by Israel.

"I think that what you did, severing ties with Iran, was not only an act of statesmanship, but an act of moral clarity," he said.

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/israeli-leader-says-iran-warning-reverberates-172626615.html

kuroda gene hackman pineda john edwards heart condition mena suvari joyful noise one life to live

Bahrain opposition: Protester killed in clashes

MANAMA, Bahrain (AP) ? A Bahrain opposition party and authorities say a 17-year-old has been killed in clashes with security forces.

The death could bring fresh protests by Shiite-led groups seeking a greater political voice in the Sunni-ruled Gulf kingdom.

More than 50 people have died, including protesters and police, in almost 20 months of near-nonstop unrest in the strategic island nation, which is home to the U.S. Navy's 5th Fleet.

Saturday's statement from the political bloc Al Wefaq say security forces killed the boy the previous day during street clashes in Sadad village, southwest of the capital Manama, without providing details.

Bahrain's Interior Ministry confirmed one person was killed in what it described as a "terror act" that included firebombs hurled at police.

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/bahrain-opposition-protester-killed-clashes-051809513.html

new hope baptist church associated press foster friess new orleans hornets ghost rider spirit of vengeance hornets prince johan friso

Friday, September 28, 2012

The Shady Ethics of the Obama Phone

UPDATE: The story gets even weirder. ?See the update below.

By now, most of my readers will have seen the infamous YouTube video of an Obama supporter explaining that all minorities should vote for President Obama because he gives out free phones:

YouTube Preview Image

The story has taken several turns.

Surely this woman is deceived, right? ?Surely ??surely?? Barack Obama is not in the business of giving out cell phones in exchange for a vote. ?Right?

As it turns out, there is a government assistance program to provide low-income individuals with landlines or with cell phones.

So, surely this is another example of Barack Obama purchasing the favor of special interest groups with government largesse, right? ?Barack?s big-government, redistributionist policies run amok?

That?s not quite right either. ?It was?long felt?that universal access should be the goal of telecommunications, so that all people would have access to phones in case of emergency and so that existing customers could reach all people. ?Liberal website ThinkProgress says, ?The idea of providing low-income individuals with subsidized phone service was?originated in the Reagan administration?following the break-up of AT&T in 1984. (It was expanded and formalized by the Telecommunications Act of 1996.) The program is paid for by telecommunications companies through?an independent non-profit, not through tax revenue.?

So, the conservative response to the ?Obama phone? is just example of conservative stupidity, right? ?Obama has nothing to do with the program, and it?s not supported by taxpayers, right?

Well, no, again it?s not that simple. ?For one thing, ThinkProgress supports its reference to Reagan with a link to FactCheck.org, which does not reference Reagan at all. ?ThinkProgress seems to be reaching hard to associate the Lifeline phone service program with Reagan, when it actually began in 1996 under a law signed by Clinton (isn?t it interesting how ThinkProgress leaves out his name?). ?For another thing, the government forces phone providers to pay a fee in support of the Lifeline program, and phone service providers in turn force their American customers ? taxpayers ? to pay a fee. ?It?s not unreasonable to call this a tax, even if it?s a tax that?s trying to avoid being called a tax.

But the really interesting question is: Who has been marketing this as the ?Obama Phone??

First, let?s step back. ?Having a program to ensure that welfare recipients have at least minimal phone service is not necessarily a bad idea. ?We can all imagine emergency situations where phone access would be critical, whether it?s because the individual needs to reach emergency services or because a local government or law enforcement needs to reach the individual. ?And expanding the program to cell phones is, likewise, not necessarily a bad idea. ?It?s arguably cheaper, since there is no installation charge.

Where I have questions is with the?marketing?of the free cell phones as ?Obama phones.? ?Imagine, for instance, that it were the government itself that advertised the phones as Obama phones, starting in 2009. ?This would be, at the very least, deeply misleading. ?It would be taking credit for a program begun under predecessors. ?It would be similar to President Bush in his first term, if he had come to office after Clinton initiated a program that gave free cars to welfare recipients, seeking electoral advantage by advertising them as ?Bush cars.?

But clearly (?) that?s not the case here, right? ?A visit to FreeGovernmentCellPhones.net ? which calls itself ?a small publishing company and the authority on the U.S. government?s Lifeline Assistance program as it applies to mobile phones? ? decries the ?false rumor? of Obama Phones, which it calls an ?incorrect term? because the cell phone program began several months before Obama?s election. ?Case closed.

Or maybe not. ?Visit ObamaPhone.net and here?s what you see (I suspect they?ll make changes soon, if they haven?t already, so I wanted to take a screenshot):

It begins: ?What exactly is the free Obama phone? The free OBama phone is a program that is meant to help the financially unstable who cannot afford access to a cell phone??

When you click the link at ObamaPhone.net to apply for a free cell phone, you?re redirected to?wait for it?FreeGovernmentCellPhones.net. ?That?s right. ?The same website that decried the ?false rumor? and ?incorrect term? of The Obama Phone Program has another website, surely desired to attract search engine traffic, that advertises The Obama Phone Program. ?Nice.

UPDATE: The website has already been changed! ?Visit Obamaphone.net now, and you?ll get something like a blog with no pictures of Obama, as though they?re in the process of dismantling the site. ?But surely there?s nothing to see here, folks! ?Let?s talk about Mitt Romney?s tax forms!

So then we reach the question: Who funds the companies like FreeGovernmentCellPhones.net and ObamaPhone.net? ?Did they begin calling it ?the Obama Phone? before or after the rumors of Obama phones began to spread through email? ?Do they have a profit-share arrangement with the wireless telecoms that receive money (albeit indirectly) from the government to distribute free cell phones? ?Are they paid by the federal government to help spread the word about the free cell phone service program?

These websites are hard to penetrate, so I don?t know the answer, but it?s a juicy question: Is the Obama administration effectively paying a company to advertise the free cell phones as Obama Phones? ?Or was the administration aware of the practice, and have they done anything to stop it? ?I?m sure the mainstream media are hard on the case, investigating the Obama administration in that relentless way they do.

You can learn more about the program ? which, if not begun by President Obama, seems to have grown bloated in his term ? from Rep Tim Griffin?s video:

YouTube Preview Image

Source: http://www.patheos.com/blogs/philosophicalfragments/2012/09/28/the-shady-ethics-of-the-obama-phon/

att wireless nfl nfl Mother Jones cars Bacon Number Kate Middleton photos

Canines against cancer YWCA benefit | WLFI - Lafayette, Indiana

LAFAYETTE, Ind. (WLFI) - Columbian Park was packed with pups Wednesday as the Lafayette Park Department and the Dog Park Association of Greater Lafayette presented the?11th?annual "Hike With Your Hound Event."

The walk was held to raise money and awareness for a worthy cause. Proceeds this year benefited the YWCA Women's Cancer Program.

Event organizers and participants said it's not only a blast for dogs and owners, but the money raised will help women in the community protect against, and battle cancer.

"It's for a good reason and for a good cause and it's also very fun," Participant Robert Schuman said. "That's why I like it, and I come as much as I possibly can."

"We're just a couple days away from breast cancer awareness month, so I'm encouraging all women who need to get their mammograms to get out there and do that," YWCA Executive Director Debi DeBruyn said.

Besides serving as a canine social, "Hike With Your Hound" had several contests including best trick, waggiest tail, dog and owner look-alike, and best breast cancer advocate costume.

Source: http://www.wlfi.com/dpp/news/local/canines-against-cancer-ywca-benefit

current time a thousand words my sisters keeper kirby sarah palin cbi the shins

Thursday, September 27, 2012

Home Staging Expert Christine Rae Publishes New Article With ...

Christine Rae, President of CSP International Business Training Academy, a Home Staging Training company, urges home staging professionals to focus on what they can control?and not to be stressed out by what they can?t control.

Orlando, FL ? September 26, 2012 ? Christine Rae, President of CSP International Business Training Academy, a Home Staging Training and Real Estate Strategy company, recently published an article on her website (http://www.stagingtraining.com) discussing the home staging business. The article, titled ?Home Staging Success: Do Your Best? and Forget the Rest? offers practical advice for home staging business owners.

Christine writes, ?But while it?s normal to experience stress from time to time, when stress becomes constant and debilitating, you have a serious problem. If you?re too stressed out to function effectively, let alone make the right decisions for the future, your business is at serious risk.?

Certified Staging Professionals trains home stagers through a comprehensive course of study that includes 3 days in a classroom, 4 weeks of home study and 6 weeks of hands-on market coaching. CSP is also a resource for Realtors and home sellers to find and hire graduates of this highly accredited staging education program, for assisting them in successfully closing their real estate sale.

The entire article can be found at http://www.stagingtraining.com/articles/home-staging-success-do-your-best-and-forget-the-rest.php

To learn more about Christine Rae and Certified Staging Professionals, please visit http://www.stagingtraining.com.

About CSP International? Business Training Academy:?

CSP began as the brainchild of its founder and president, Christine Rae. A long-time corporate executive, Christine began with the CSP program and a goal of bringing her penchant for high standards and business ethics, together with her knowledge of design and the real estate industry to an industry without a map. Her own extensive training from across North America includes ?New York City, California, Texas and the Carolinas as well as the United Kingdom.? From her research Christine knew there was a need for a distinctly different approach to staging and staging training. Growing from one course to a complete school with several physical locations and a group of well trained instructors, the CSP program is the leading global source for finding highly trained stagers and is the primary destination for anyone wanting to become a stager, it is the company more real estate agents turn to, on behalf of their clients. CSP International is a Certified Women?s Business Enterprise having expanded to the United States in 2006 and Australia in 2009.? The program has been translated into Mandarin; Global license opportunities currently under review include China, Germany and France.

About the CSP? designation:?

The CSP? designation is recognized by real estate professionals, builders, home stagers, decorators and home sellers for its brand reputation of excellence. The designation identifies home staging consultants who have achieved certification in the staging industry which included quality hands-on training with vigorous testing, apprenticeship, business process and ethics.

Source: http://www.stagingtraining.com/news/home-staging-expert-christine-rae-publishes-new-article-with-advice-for-home-staging-professionals.php

time magazine person of the year 2011 time magazine person of the year 2011 new orleans jazz fest new orleans jazz fest louis ck michelle duggar heisman

Megan's motivation | The East Carolinian

By Rex Rose
September 27, 2012.

Chelsea Curry | The East Carolinian

Megan Pawtowski paused while she tied the shoelaces of her soccer cleats and closed her eyes. She pushed the guilt that she felt for not being at the hospital with her mom aside, as well as the thoughts of projects and assignments that she would be working on later that night.

As she took the field she looked down at the cleat she had just tied to make sure that her three ribbons were still attached.

There they were, the three cancer ribbons that represented three peoples fight with cancer. A green one for her teammate Rachel?s battle with lymphoma, a pink one for her mom?s breast cancer diagnosis and an orange one for Amanda?s death from leukemia.

Megan Pawtowski, an 18-year-old freshman nursing major originally from Ellicott, Maryland, knows all too well about the devastating effects of cancer. Watching her friends and mother struggle with different forms of cancer throughout her life made her look to the healthcare field for a career. That career aspiration caused her to choose ECU as the route to her becoming an oncology nurse.

Her first run in with the devastating disease was in seventh grade when her friend Amanda, which she had met the year before, was diagnosed with leukemia. After numerous treatments and time out of school, Amanda returned in eighth grade with the cancer under control. Then the girls lost touch during ninth grade year, the year of Amanda?s relapse, because they went to different high schools.

?Then I remember one day one of my friends texted me and was like, ?Did Amanda die,?? said Pawtowski. With extreme disbelief she said, no of course not. ?Then I went on her care page and read that she had passed away, and it was rough for a while.?

Cancer had taken one of her best friends. Time did not stop though, and Pawtowski eventually got over the initial loss and continued through her high school years at Glenelg High School.

During her senior year the cancer hit again. This time it took the form of breast cancer and lymphoma in her mom and teammate Rachel.

?I went to a school play and I was watching the school play and I get a text from my sister and she was like, ?You need to call mom. Something is wrong,?? said Pawtowski. ?After that I was like I can?t watch this play. I went outside and I called her. She was like, ?honey come home everything is ok? I was like, ?Stop lying to me I know something is wrong.? I just started crying after that, then she was like ?I?ve got breast cancer.??

This phone call changed the course of the next few months for Pawtowski. She became her mom?s caregiver during the three months of chemo that started in January and the radiation treatments that started around April.

Pawtowski?s life became a chaotic scene of working four to five days at Walgreens, going to school, playing soccer and taking her mom to and from doctor?s visits. This did not stop her from being a source of strength for her mom.

?Right after she was diagnosed and she had to shave her ahead I arranged a kind of a thing at my house. A bunch of my guy friends came over, we called it the Shave fest. And they shaved their heads for her,? said Pawtowski. ?It was probably about 15 of my guy friends. And seven of my girlfriends died a strip of their hair pink for her. I cut nine inches of my hair off.?

Also during her mom?s battle with cancer her teammate Rachel had to get her tonsils taken out because of lymphoma.

While all of this set the stage for her career decision, it was her memories of her mentorship at Howard County General Hospital that helped her decide for a career in oncology nursing.

?I was working in a post-surgery unit, just so I could get a feel for basic RNs,? said Pawtowski. ?I didn?t want to do nursing at first but through the mentorship and through all the diagnoses and all that stuff I realized I liked that the most. I don?t know what else I would do now at this point.?

With her mom back to her old self, and the cancer subsided, she is teaching kindergarten again. Pawtowski?s need to use her experiences to help others is something that is very meaningful to her.

?It is not just about the medical and just doing your job,? said Pawtowski. ?It is about going beyond, you know what I mean, just connecting with your patient and developing that relationship to the point that they feel absolutely cared for. Not just that their getting treatment done, you know, but that someone actually cares for them.?

?

This writer can be contacted at lifestyles@theeastcarolinian.com.

Source: http://theeastcarolinian.com/?p=5852

labor day college football scores khan academy Espn College Football Eddie Murphy died Suzanne Barr Clint Eastwood speech

Wednesday, September 26, 2012

Artificially intelligent game bots pass the Turing test on Turing's centenary

ScienceDaily (Sep. 26, 2012) ? An artificially intelligent virtual gamer created by computer scientists at The University of Texas at Austin has won the BotPrize by convincing a panel of judges that it was more human-like than half the humans it competed against.

The competition was sponsored by 2K Games and was set inside the virtual world of "Unreal Tournament 2004," a first-person shooter video game. The winners were announced this month at the IEEE Conference on Computational Intelligence and Games.

"The idea is to evaluate how we can make game bots, which are nonplayer characters (NPCs) controlled by AI algorithms, appear as human as possible," said Risto Miikkulainen, professor of computer science in the College of Natural Sciences. Miikkulainen created the bot, called the UT^2 game bot, with doctoral students Jacob Schrum and Igor Karpov.

The bots face off in a tournament against one another and about an equal number of humans, with each player trying to score points by eliminating its opponents. Each player also has a "judging gun" in addition to its usual complement of weapons. That gun is used to tag opponents as human or bot.

The bot that is scored as most human-like by the human judges is named the winner. UT^2, which won a warm-up competition last month, shared the honors with MirrorBot, which was programmed by Romanian computer scientist Mihai Polceanu.

The winning bots both achieved a humanness rating of 52 percent. Human players received an average humanness rating of only 40 percent. The two winning teams will split the $7,000 first prize.

The victory comes 100 years after the birth of mathematician and computer scientist Alan Turing, whose "Turing test" stands as one of the foundational definitions of what constitutes true machine intelligence. Turing argued that we will never be able to see inside a machine's hypothetical consciousness, so the best measure of machine sentience is whether it can fool us into believing it is human.

"When this 'Turing test for game bots' competition was started, the goal was 50 percent humanness," said Miikkulainen. "It took us five years to get there, but that level was finally reached last week, and it's not a fluke."

The complex gameplay and 3-D environments of "Unreal Tournament 2004" require that bots mimic humans in a number of ways, including moving around in 3-D space, engaging in chaotic combat against multiple opponents and reasoning about the best strategy at any given point in the game. Even displays of distinctively human irrational behavior can, in some cases, be emulated.

"People tend to tenaciously pursue specific opponents without regard for optimality," said Schrum. "When humans have a grudge, they'll chase after an enemy even when it's not in their interests. We can mimic that behavior."

In order to most convincingly mimic as much of the range of human behavior as possible, the team takes a two-pronged approach. Some behavior is modeled directly on previously observed human behavior, while the central battle behaviors are developed through a process called neuroevolution, which runs artificially intelligent neural networks through a survival-of-the-fittest gauntlet that is modeled on the biological process of evolution.

Networks that thrive in a given environment are kept, and the less fit are thrown away. The holes in the population are filled by copies of the fit ones and by their "offspring," which are created by randomly modifying (mutating) the survivors. The simulation is run for as many generations as are necessary for networks to emerge that have evolved the desired behavior.

"In the case of the BotPrize," said Schrum, "a great deal of the challenge is in defining what 'human-like' is, and then setting constraints upon the neural networks so that they evolve toward that behavior.

"If we just set the goal as eliminating one's enemies, a bot will evolve toward having perfect aim, which is not very human-like. So we impose constraints on the bot's aim, such that rapid movements and long distances decrease accuracy. By evolving for good performance under such behavioral constraints, the bot's skill is optimized within human limitations, resulting in behavior that is good but still human-like."

Miikkulainen said that methods developed for the BotPrize competition should eventually be useful not just in developing games that are more entertaining, but also in creating virtual training environments that are more realistic, and even in building robots that interact with humans in more pleasant and effective ways.

Share this story on Facebook, Twitter, and Google:

Other social bookmarking and sharing tools:


Story Source:

The above story is reprinted from materials provided by University of Texas at Austin, via EurekAlert!, a service of AAAS.

Note: Materials may be edited for content and length. For further information, please contact the source cited above.


Note: If no author is given, the source is cited instead.

Disclaimer: This article is not intended to provide medical advice, diagnosis or treatment. Views expressed here do not necessarily reflect those of ScienceDaily or its staff.

Source: http://feeds.sciencedaily.com/~r/sciencedaily/top_news/~3/z_9Y-xYhQ78/120926133235.htm

vince young vince young evan longoria carrie underwood ryan seacrest kentucky derby beltane