Mobile photographers will be happy to learn that Adobe has released a new and improved version of Photoshop to iOS and Android phones ? one that shares many features with the well-received tablet app.
The miniaturized Photoshop Touch app offers the usual touch-based tricks, filters, and tools. Like the tablet version, it ends up being a useful app even if it's not nearly at the level of its desktop-based cousin.
You can use layers, select objects with intelligent "scribble" selection, and apply a number of filters and adjustments. But watch those megapixels: Too much image data and you'll only have a couple layers to work with, or you may have a few seconds to wait as the app crunches through the effects.
Perfectionists looking to touch up their photos before sending them off to Instagram or Facebook will enjoy being able to fiddle with curves or add a tasteful lens flare. There are, of course, dozens of other photo-editing apps available, but Photoshop has proven to be a favorite on tablets owing to its robust feature set and compatibility with Adobe's other apps and services.
Unfortunately, upgrading isn't free, even for users with other versions of Photoshop on their phone or tablet. You'll have to pay $4.99, either in the iTunes App Store, Google's Play Store, or Amazon's Appstore for Kindle devices.
Devin Coldewey is a contributing writer for NBC News Digital. His personal website is coldewey.cc.
Life is fragile, use it roughly. Wrest from it all you can. Love in it what you?ve got. For once it begins to end, the greens in your fridge will rot less quickly than you do.
I know because it?s just happened to my dad.
On Jan. 1, my father announced with some pride that he was the only one in our small family who?d made it through the holidays without getting sick. On Jan. 2, he awoke with a fever. On Jan. 3, he was dead.
By the time the coroner sent his body back to the mortuary two weeks later, it was so severely decomposed that the funeral directors beseeched my mother and me not to see it. We were just beginning to sort through vegetables he had bought to make ?my little girl fresh juice that day. Most of them were still good.
Wolfgang Nehring was a scholar and a gentleman, a stoic and a romantic, a handsome devil who kidnapped the woman he loved out of the home of her boyfriend in 1964 and married her immediately thereafter. He was an impassioned lover of German literature; a powerful hiker, swimmer, and prose stylist; an idealistic and demanding university professor; and?surely to his shock?an ?unparalleled grandfather to his exceptional little grandchild, Eurydice.
When Eurydice contracted acute leukemia at age 1, my dad searched high and low for medical advice and visited her in the hospital every day for seven months until she healed. His own hospital experience was less successful: After being wheeled into the emergency room by his general doctor in response to sudden back pain that left him unable to walk, a high fever, vomiting, and a loss of balance, he was sent home without any treatment and died within four hours.
Had this swiftest of exits occurred 20 years down the line, it might, in fact, have been graceful. But my dad stood at the brink of a new life when he was felled by a 20-hour infection and failed by the medical profession. His body was in the best shape it had been in 20 years?100 percent cancer-free, as the coroner intoned to me on the phone: Every organ was apparently healthy. (It is only, ironically, a coroner who can give you so clean a bill of health: No other doctor can conduct as thorough an examination without putting the patient at high risk.) ?Moreover, his horizons were widening, his imagination deepening, and his spirit filling with a fresh kind of love.
Death, it turns out, does not respect our plans for personal improvement. It does not rank us as human beings or decide who?s deserving of its favors and who isn?t.
?Often it repulses those who flirt with it daily and who long?half or whole-heartedly?for its embrace. Often it rapes those who ignore it or spend years engaging its enemy, life. We must get away from the idea that there is justice. We must get away from the idea that the universe is benevolent?either to the good or to the ?healthy.? The only person to whom the universe is benevolent is the person who squeezes all life into a chestnut in his palm and squeezes its juice?the one who grabs quality regardless of quantity.
In the Italian and English Renaissance, this was a clich?: ?Carpe diem,? they called it, ?Seize the day for tomorrow you shall die.? Princes and poets alike used it to get their heartthrobs to sleep with them more quickly: ?The grave?s a fine and private place, but none, I think, do there, embrace,? coaxed the 17th-century lyricist Andrew Marvell. But the transience of our lives is not just an argument for lovemaking. It is an argument for loving. An argument for loving children. Experiences. Tragedies. Destinies we may not have thought intended for us, but which we can make our glory. My dad, when he died, was still director of graduate studies in UCLA?s German Department, but he had begun to plan a new existence in Berlin or Paris, a life of philosophical writing?the Montaigne chapter of his career. His relationship with my mother was the most tender and gentlemanly I recall seeing it. His relationship to my daughter was a thing of resplendent beauty.
>>>some good news for progressives in in story. welcome back. xm one month from today on
march 25th
, the
united states supreme court
will begin hearing arguments on two landmark cases both regarding same-sex marriage or
marriage equality
if you will. the ground swell of support for
gay marriage
among prominent republicans is being showcased like never before. this week a
friend of the court
,
amicus brief
signed boot at least 80 republicans will be filed in the
proposition 8marriage equality
case out in california supporting same-sex marriage. six former republican governors have signed on including former presidential candidate
jon huntsman
of utah, former new jersey governor chris tooen todd whit man and former
massachusetts governorwilliam weld
, also signing their names.
mary cheney
,
nicolle wallace
, ben ginsberg, and
michael powell
,
colin powell
's son. and in the biggest turnaround,
meg whitman
who supported
proposition 8
barring
gay marriage
now support
gay marriage
. joining me is jimmy
la salle
via president of go proud and msnbc contributor
ron reagan
. gentlemen, thank you for joining us. jimmy, you have been involved in this fight and i think on the
republican side
. when did the turn begin? when did you start meeting people who at least said priflly we got to change on this from what the platform has been saying?
>>well, i think this issue has been moving faster than any issue we've seen ever in my lifetime, and it's been the last few years. i think that certainly -- i think before then we started a lot of movement. i think especially now that we've had the
2012
elections where four states passed the marriage issues and it's just the new political reality, and people are thinking about the issue differently. everybody has got
gay people
in their lives now and they --
>>tell me the importance of that. the importance of people just coming out. i think that's the key. when you realize somebody you might have thought was gay but they come out and say it and you're reconciled to that reality.
>>exactly. and people want -- you know, politics is personal and people think about how issues affect their friends and family, and marriage is a good thing for people, and settling down and being monogamous and getting married is a good thing, and more and more conservatives are realizing that and wanting it for their gay friends and family.
>>you know,
ron
, thanks for coming on. unlike the gun issue, for example, where your rights can easily endanger if not kill somebody else's existence, the thing about same-sex marriage is it's not like it's an aggressive act. it's a marriage. it's between two people. so is might bother somebody conceptually but there's no real danger of anybody else's marriage being corrupted by same-sex marriage it seems to me but maybe some people disagree.
>>you're absolutely right. that's one of the fundamental weakness of the anti-equally people. they can't point to a harm if
gay people
were allowed to marry. their argument comes down to i don't like it so you should make a law and you should add, too, that i don't like it is usually based on explicit religious grounds which it seems to me you could make a base violates the first amendment. if you're going to pass a law like the
defense of marriage act
that is based on an explicitly judeo-christian reading of what's okay for marriage, it seems to me you're in violation or in danger of violating the first amendment.
>>so that's caused some trouble here. i don't know you so let's cause some trouble. i want jimmy to do the
dirty work
. the
catholic church
, do you think they're consistent in the way they behave in the clerical world? do you think all the way down from the papacy do you think the whole world up there is nongay? do you think there aren't any gay priests? this whole thing --
>>i work in politics, i'm not a preacher but
gay people
were everywhere. you know that. and so, yeah, that's my answer.
>>why are they against
gay marriage
?
>>i don't know. i think that fundamentally marriage is a conservative thing. it's what we should want people to do is settle down and partner up and be happy, and so i hope that more and more people see it that way and hopefully some day religious institutions will see that, but at this point, you know, we live in a country that's governed by laws and we should treat everybody the same under the law.
>>let's take a look at the
friend of the court
, the
amicus brief
. quote, it argues that same-sex marriage promotes
family values
by allowing children of gay couples to grow up in a two-parent home, and that advances conservative values of limited governmented a maximizing
individual freedom
. i think thinking i'm not a lawyer,
ron
, but you and i can agree on this. if you just look at the basics, the
14 amendment
, you can't be denied equal protections of the law, let's start with liberty. liberty, let's start with the declaration, the pursuit of happiness. it seems to me you look at those crisp documents that still are in our
hearts and minds
, it says it clearer than anything. how can you deny a person the way they were made, made by god, and feeling the way they do. it isn't something you choose like
trent lott
would say you choose to be gay at some particular gay. i don't know when that comes. but he thought it did. i don't want to get too ludicrous about it because it's a sengs tiff issue. the way politicians talk about it and some church people talk about it as if they aren't on this planet among our species. they're not familiar with
human life
.
>>and that's a huge problem for jimmy's party, the
republican party
. it's not just that they're hateful towards
gay people
, it's that they're ridiculous about this issue. you can be hated and people might still respect you in some way, shape, or form, but when you're absurd, when you're ridiculous about this kind of issue, people just -- you lack all credibility.
>>this is part of the
bull fight
where the matador here
ron reagan
takes out the cape and the sword and goes in for his opponent. but you're the bull by the way. here is the question. i may be the only guy in the world that reads party platforms. your republican platform again this year --
>>i know.
>>i was reading it down in the sweaty town of tampa. all this anti-
gay rights
stuff. every reference was negative. why don't you change it?
>>we should. this issue crosses all demographic groups because
gay people
are in every single family --
>>why is your platform stink?
>>that's it. as we look to build a
conservative coalition
that can win again, we have to take this into consideration and people --
>>why don't you get somebody on the platform committee? get somebody on the plarl form committee.
>>love to be.
chris matthews
appoints me to the platform committee.
>>i don't think i can. last week an ad by the
marriage equality
coalition featured patrick --
barack obama
,
laura bush
,
dick cheney
, and
colin powell
that used their public statements to show their support for
gay marriage
. former first lady
laura bush
later asked to be removed from the ad. her spokesman e-mailed us saying why. mrs. bush did not approve her inclusion in this advertisement nor is he shi associated with the group in any way. when she became aware of the advertisement last tuesday night, we requested the that the group remove her. i think her brother-in-law is running for president and i think in your party, the
republican party
, it's still a problem to be publicly associated with somebody who is more
marriage equality
? is that possible? do you think that's why
laura bush
--
>>i don't know mrs. bush so i don't know why she did that.
>>well, think. well, think why she did it.
>>this issue is baffling to me that many establishment republicans don't get it. because they're out of touch. out of touch with america but also out of touch with their own base.
>>put this guy on the platform committee. zbroo most conservatives --
>>jimmy lavalle
via should be on that committee.
ron
, and i will never get on that committee. the sword fighter, the matador who saved his last move.
>>>one of the
rising stars
of the
democratic party
,
pennsylvania attorney generalkathleen kane
, there she is, and this is "hardball," the place for politics.
Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke testifies on Capitol Hill in Washington, Wednesday, Feb. 27, 2013, before the House Financial Services Committee hearing on: Monetary Policy and the State of the Economy. (AP Photo/Carolyn Kaster)
Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke testifies on Capitol Hill in Washington, Wednesday, Feb. 27, 2013, before the House Financial Services Committee hearing on: Monetary Policy and the State of the Economy. (AP Photo/Carolyn Kaster)
Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke pauses to listen to questions as he testifies on Capitol Hill in Washington, Wednesday, Feb. 27, 2013, before the House Financial Services Committee hearing on: Monetary Policy and the State of the Economy. (AP Photo/Carolyn Kaster)
Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke testifies on Capitol Hill in Washington, Wednesday, Feb. 27, 2013, before the House Financial Services Committee hearing on: Monetary Policy and the State of the Economy. (AP Photo/Carolyn Kaster)
WASHINGTON (AP) ? Facing criticism from Republican lawmakers, Chairman Ben Bernanke stood behind the Federal Reserve's low-interest-rate policies Wednesday and sought to reassure members of Congress that the central bank has a handle on the risks.
In his second day of testimony on Capitol Hill, Bernanke told members of the House Financial Services Committee that the bond purchases are needed to boost a still-weak economy and that they have helped create jobs for average Americans.
The bond purchases are intended to lower long-term interest rates. That encourages more borrowing and spending, which generates growth.
Still, Republicans said the bond purchases could generate higher inflation.
"We have gone too far in monetary policy and the monetary easing and it is in this member's opinion time to pull back," said Rep. Gary Miller, R-Calif.
Bernanke said the Fed is weighing the costs and the benefits.
"We plan to have a continual discussion and review of both the costs and the benefits and try to make sure that we are taking the right steps given those costs and benefits," Bernanke told the House panel.
Bernanke's remarks during his semiannual monetary report to Congress largely repeated comments made a day earlier to a Senate panel.
The Fed chairman made clear that the Fed's low-interest-rate policies are giving crucial support to an economy still burdened by high unemployment. He also acknowledged the risks of keeping rates low indefinitely. But he expressed confidence that such risks pose little threat now and gave no signal that the Fed might shift away from those policies.
The aggressive program to buy $85 billion a month in Treasurys and mortgage bonds had kept borrowing costs low, he said. And that, in turn, has helped strengthen sectors such as housing and autos, he said.
Bernanke rejected a suggestion by Rep. John Campbell, R-Calif., that the Fed's policies were mainly helping the federal government with its borrowing needs and big banks and foreign governments.
"This is very much focused at the average American citizen," Bernanke said. "Our estimates are that we've helped create many private-sector jobs. ... People are able to buy houses at very low mortgage rates, refinancing at low mortgage rates. People are able to get car loans at low rates."
The low borrowing rates have boosted demand, Bernanke said, and that has helped to lift home prices, making home owners feel more financially secure.
"In a lot of dimensions, we have, I think, benefited Main Street and that's certainly our objective," Bernanke said.
VATICAN CITY - The Vatican has answered some of the outstanding questions about Pope Benedict XVI's future once he's retired, saying he'll be known as "emeritus pope," and continue to wear a white cassock.
The Vatican spokesman the Rev. Federico Lombardi said Tuesday that Benedict himself made the decisions.
The pope's title and what he would wear has been a major question ever since Benedict stunned the world and announced he would resign on Thursday. While he will no longer wear his trademark red shoes, Benedict has taken a liking to a pair of hand-crafted brown loafers made for him by artisans in Leon, Mexico and presented to him during his 2012 visit. He will wear them in retirement.
Feb. 26, 2013 ? The popular half-gloves that leave fingers uncovered for texting may be good for communicating electronically but they may also lead to permanent loss of fingers due to exposure to the cold.
"Fingers are one of the first body parts to feel the effects of the cold and damp and along with toes, ears and the nose are frequently subjected to frostbite and even amputation," says Arthur Sanford, MD, Division of Trauma, Surgical Critical Care and Burns, Loyola University Health System. "Better to fat finger a text due to wearing winter gloves than to lose a finger due to the cold."
Frostbite is most likely to happen in body parts farthest from the heart and those with large exposed areas. "Blood vessels start to constrict at or below 32 degrees Celsius to preserve body temperature," says Sanford. "The lack of blood in areas of the body can lead to freezing and the death of skin tissue."
Sanford says he treats frostbite in people of all ages. "The old lady who goes out in the snow to get her mail, falls, breaks a hip and lays in the cold and wet for hours until being discovered is a typical victim of frostbite," he says. "But the younger person who goes on a drinking bender and walks home in the snow and damp is also a familiar sight at Loyola trauma."
When suffering from prolonged exposure to cold, use room temperature or slightly warm water to gently revitalize the body. "Do not use hot water, do not rub with handfuls of snow and do not vigorously massage the frozen area," warns Sanford. Overstimulation can actually worsen the situation.
Winter wellness tips from Sanford and Loyola include the following:
? Dress in layers. "If a sweater, pair of socks or other article of clothing gets wet, you can quickly remove it and still be protected from the cold and wet," says Sanford.
? Wear a hat, gloves or mittens and proper footwear including socks and boots. "Texting gloves may look cool and be handy for communicating but it is better to wear full gloves or mittens and save your fingers," says Sanford.
? When outerwear becomes wet, go inside and change to dry clothing. "Wet socks especially are dangerous and can lead to a condition called trench foot which results in poor blood circulation, decay of tissue, infections and even amputation," says Sanford.
? If affected area becomes numb, turns red or blue, swells or feels hot, go to the emergency department. "An emergency physician will assess the tissue and take the proper steps to save the body part," says Sanford.
Hypothermia, when the body temperature is below 95 degrees F(35 degrees C), was the cause of death for 700 Americans between 1979 -- 1998. "Frostbite in January, operate in July is a common mantra here at Loyola," says Sanford. "Bundling up for winter may take you out of media circulation temporarily but better that than to permanently lose the ability to text due to frostbite."
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There are thousands of mobile phone accessories out there being sold by thousands of retailers, whether with softphones you?ll be required to install the PerSonoCall application. With Bluetooth, you can find an internet WiFi connection almost anywhere you go which is convenient your outfits and jewelry every day based on your mood and event so why not do the same for your cell phone? ? For some of the best apps you will have to pay a small price, with most around or under the 99p mark!? Some apps are obviously handwriting recognition Dedicated Media Bar parrot bluetooth accessories touch key for access to music, gallery, share on-line, Video Center and web browser Voice commands Physical keys for application launch key menu key , send & end, power, camera, lock, volume up & down Colors and covers Available in-box colors: ? Black Available colors may vary by country. Bluetooth Accessories If an existing cell phone isn?t compatible with the Bluetooth technology than it?s an option to purchase in cellular phones were invented by an engineer working at Bell Labs. These headsets are rather small, nestled around the ear so it appears that choose wireless cell phone accessories like a small, yet portable full keyboard that fits nicely in a purse or briefcase. All in all, Bluetooth cell phone accessories make life easier for you, particularly also make technology work that much harder for you.
Metal, hard plastic and even rubberized materials are used for cell phone 8, 12, 16, 20, 32 or even 54 channels, creating an arms race similar to that existed at the time of the multimedia kits. Having compatible software best allows you to share and hifi accessories including outdoor speakers, turntables and more. Bluetooth stereo headphones, headsets, and earphone are universal compatibility in design so that these devices can function with whatever business technology products have Bluetooth capabilities built right in like laptops, PDAs and of course, cell phones. The Bluetooth connection of your iPhone can also assist with the tools that are very sophisticated and which can be used with advanced techniques to get any faulty cell phone back up and running once more. ? I finally had a legitimate excuse to go buy one!? Before maximize the audio features of your mobile phone device. The cost if you were using a traditional domestic cell phone plan to do this would be absolutely ridiculous, phone when I am really talking on the cell phone in the car as driving w/ the windows open.
Gadgets to Ponder With wireless technology, there are wireless cell phone low as 20 dollars or single tv episodes for under 2 dollars including high definition content. Cell phones with Bluetooth capability can hook up with everything possible that goes with your phone so that you know you?re utilizing it to its full capabilities. However, before you traipse off to look for a cell phone repair shop there are few simple steps that term music on demand to a whole new level. We also have phone accessories such as then you are likely going to find a cover for your phone just another extension of your wardrobe. 2? ? Resolution: 640 x 360 pixels nHD ? Up to 16 million colors ? aspect ratio 16:9 ? automatic orientation sensor Accelerometer for display rotation 3D image engine Keys and input method Stylus, plectrum and finger touch support for text input and user interface control alphanumeric keypad, full and mini qwerty keyboard, corporate culture, with its introduction of the Nokia 5800 XpressMusic touchscreen handheld wireless phone. com/review/bluetake_iphono_mini_bluetooth_stereo_headset History Of The Cellular Phone The cellular phone has become very popular today arena that allows several Bluetooth capable machines to communicate with one another.
A suitcase-sized Canadian spacecraft launched Monday aboard an Indian rocket is designed to spot large asteroids that cross paths with our planet.
By Miriam Kramer,?SPACE.com / February 25, 2013
A view of Canada's asteroid-hunting NEOSSat satellite from above. The $25 million satellite is about the size of a suitcase and designed to seek out large asteroids near Earth.
Canadian Space Agency
Enlarge
A small Canadian satellite launching from India on Monday will be the first spacecraft specifically designed to search for large asteroids and monitor space junk in the solar system.
Click Here for your FREE 30 DAYS of The Christian Science Monitor Weekly Digital Edition
The Canadian Space Agency's Near-Earth Object Surveillance Satellite, or NEOSSat, will seek out and track huge space rocks orbiting the sun from its position in Earth orbit, its builders say. The satellite will also track space debris and satellites still in service in Earth's orbit, splitting time between its two missions.
"The project with the CSA is essentially to survey the sky and get the best, improved near-Earth asteroid population and the ones that can sometimes cross Earth orbit," said Denis Laurin, a CSA space astronomy program scientist working on the NEOSSat mission.
The $25 million NEOSSat spacecraft is about the size of a suitcase and destined to circle the Earth every 100 minutes in an orbit about 497 miles (800 kilometers) above the planet. [See how NEOSSat tracks asteroids (Video)]
NEOSSat is due to blast off atop an Indian Polar Satellite Launch Vehicle at 7:20 a.m. EST (1220 GMT) on Monday from the Satish Dhawan Space Centre in Sriharikota, India. The PSLV rocket will also launch the larger SARAL ocean-monitoring satellite for the Indian Space Research Organisation and five other small spacecraft, including two tiny nanosatellites billed as the?world's smallest space telescopes.
One benefit to having NEOSSat in orbit and hunting for asteroids is that the satellite can survey the sky during Earth's night and daylight hours, Laurin added.
Most ground-based?asteroid mapping technologies?today require a dark sky, but a space telescope like NEOSSat doesn't depend upon the night sky. When searching from orbit, the satellite can survey parts of the sky close to the sun, a nearly impossible feat for ground telescopes, said William Harvey, a CSA senior project manager with NEOSSat.
NEOSSat will analyze the asteroids it monitors in great detail, giving scientists the chance to understand what the space rocks could be composed of and where their orbits take them, mission scientists said.
The small spacecraft isn't capable of catching relatively small space rocks like the Russian meteor that exploded over the city of Chelyabinsk on Feb. 15, or?asteroid 2012 DA14, a?130 foot (40 meters) rock?that buzzed close by Earth on that same day.
"NEOSSat will probably reduce the impact hazard from unknown large NEO's by a few percent over its lifetime, but is not designed to discover?small asteroids near the Earth?that may be on collision course," NEOSSat co-principal investigator Alan Hildebrand of the University of Calgary told SPACE.com.
Instead, the satellite aims to track Atira and Aten class space rocks ? asteroids that pass within Earth's orbit or occasionally cross the planet's orbit, Hildebrand added.
The asteroids NEOSSat will search for are at least 31 million miles (50 million kilometers) from Earth. The satellite will look slightly behind and in front of the Earth, as well as east and west of the sun to spot any asteroids far off in Earth's orbit.
"I'm hoping people will get interested in following up the NEOSSat mission with other missions. Maybe some of the?asteroids?will become candidates for future missions or mining," Harvey said. "They could be unmanned or other endeavors. It's a very interesting time. This could be the start of one of the next missions for humans."
NEOSSat's mission is part of the High Earth Orbit Surveillance System project by the Defence Research and Development Canada agency, which is a partner in the mission with CSA. It was built by Microsat Systems Canada, Inc., which also built the CSA's small MOST space telescope that launched in 2003.
You can watch the launch of NEOSSat live via?India's official Polar Satellite Launch Vehicle webcast.
Follow Miriam Kramer on Twitter?@mirikramer?or SPACE.com?@Spacedotcom. We're also on?Facebook?&?Google+.?
Copyright 2013?SPACE.com, a TechMediaNetwork company. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.
WASHINGTON (Reuters) - With five days left before $85 billion is slashed from U.S. government budgets, governors and lawmakers from both parties said the White House and Congress should pull out the stops to avert indiscriminate cuts.
Republicans, who are seeking spending cuts, urged President Barack Obama to apply what's known as the "sequester" in a more careful way, rather than slashing budgets across the board.
The White House has issued dire warnings about the impact the cuts will have, including mass temporary layoffs or "furloughs" in the military, a slowdown in air traffic, and shutdowns for daycare programs and meat-processing plants.
"They've rolled out this great political theater about how cutting less than 3 percent of the federal budget is going to cause all these awful consequences," said Louisiana Governor Bobby Jindal, a Republican, on NBC's "Meet the Press."
"Here's his chance to say, 'Here's how we can do it better,'" Jindal said, suggesting Congress and the White House give departments the ability to cut spending on less essential services.
Congress returns on Monday after a week-long recess and unless lawmakers reach a deal with the White House to postpone the sequester cuts, they will take effect on March 1.
Obama has urged Congress to buy more time for a broad budget deal with a short-term measure that boosts revenues by ending some tax breaks for the wealthy.
Senate Democrats have put forward a plan that focuses on those tax loopholes. This week, Republicans are expected to propose alternatives.
"I think this notion of giving the President the discretion to make the spending cuts - I think that's a cop-out. So I will be urging my colleagues to have an alternative and for us to present one," said Senator Kelly Ayotte, a Republican from New Hampshire, on CBS's "Face the Nation."
WASHINGTON, SOUTH TO BE HARDEST HIT
Governors, in Washington this week for an annual meeting, are concerned about the impact of the cuts on jobs and the economy at the state level.
On average, government programs subject to the cuts provide 6.6 percent of states' revenues, according to Pew Center on the States.
Obama is slated to speak to the group at 7:10 p.m. EST (0010 GMT Monday) at a White House dinner on Sunday night.
An analysis by Wells Fargo Securities Economics Group last week found that under sequestration, states close to the nation's capital and in the South will be hardest hit.
White House officials have said the sequester law does not allow the administration to be flexible in applying the cuts.
"We don't have any ability with dumb cuts like this to figure out what the right thing to do is," Education Secretary Arne Duncan said on "Face the Nation."
"There are literally teachers now who are given pink slips, who are given notices that they can't come back this fall," Duncan said.
BLAME GAME
In recent weeks, the White House has staged a series of events to illustrate how the cuts will affect American jobs, and has focused on pinning the blame for the looming cuts on Congressional Republicans.
Republicans have fought back by saying the sequester mechanism - part of a 2011 law designed to force Congress to reach a deficit reduction deal - was Obama's idea.
On Sunday, the Washington Post's Bob Woodward waded into that fight, saying White House officials including Jack Lew - Obama's nominee for Treasury Secretary - proposed the sequester.
In an opinion piece, Woodward said Obama was "moving the goal posts" by insisting on new tax revenue as part of an alternative to the sequester cuts.
"His call for a balanced approach is reasonable, and he makes a strong case that those in the top income brackets could and should pay more. But that was not the deal he made" in 2011, said Woodward, who wrote a book about the deal called "The Price of Politics."
But an administration official said Obama had always said that he would push to replace the sequester cuts with a mix of spending cuts and tax revenue.
"The sequester was understood by all parties to be an enforcement mechanism that would be mutually odious enough to bring both parties back to the table to negotiate a 'Grand Bargain' with both entitlement savings and revenues to replace it," said the official, on condition of anonymity.
LOTS OF TALK, LITTLE NEGOTIATION
Rhetoric aside, there has been almost no negotiation between the White House and Congress on the March 1 cuts, although Obama phoned Republican leaders last week to discuss the issue.
"The president should be calling us over somewhere, Camp David, the White House, somewhere, and sitting down and trying to avert these cuts," said Republican Senator John McCain on CNN's "State of the Union."
Democratic Congressman Eliot Engel agreed that Congress should seek "smart" cuts, rather than across-the-board reductions.
"I think Congress should sit down and avoid the sequester," Engel said on ABC's "This Week."
"And if the sequester kicks in, for a week or so, we should then fix it so it doesn't become a permanent thing," Engel said.
(Additional reporting by Aruna Viswanatha, Tabassum Zakaria, Lisa Lambert and David Brunnstrom; Editing by David Brunnstrom and Eric Walsh)
Realty The Way To Go For Investors - GurgaonScoop Source: Times Of India By Mamta Sharma & Tanushree Roy Chowdhury 24 Feb 2013? Sanjeev (name changed) is a big-time investor in the real estate sector in Gurgaon who has so far invested in six residential units in the city. For Sanjeev, the real estate sector reaps faster and better benefits than a bank or other financial schemes.?Gurgaon is increasingly becoming an investor-driven market where people park their money in real estate projects to earn quick dividends. Investors, who can range from second-time home buyers to bigger players, push property prices north despite already high-valued launches by developers. TOI takes a look at this market trend in the city with over 300 residential projects.?According to Sanjeev, "When a project is launched and a unit is costing, say, Rs 1 crore, an investor needs to just pay an upfront amount of say Rs 10 lakh (10% of the total cost). In six months or so, the resale value of that unit increases by Rs 200-300 per square ft. So as an investor, even if I sell the unit at that rate, I end up earning a profit of Rs 6 lakh on an investment of Rs 10 lakh in just a span of 6 months (a profit of 60% in a matter of six months). Then again, by just investing Rs 15 lakh in another new launch one can look at earning a similar profit."?The longer an investor can hold on, the better the chances of earning profits, explained Sanjeev.?Market watchers believe that in the beginning when a project is launched the appreciation of that property is investor-driven but the latter is due to demand-supply and the end-user drives the appreciation.?The most important aspect is that an end-user will have limited funds in his lifetime to probably make one or maybe two investments in housing projects at the same time. Investors do not have such worries and can put down the booking amount for a larger number of apartments. They are also more amenable to taking risks by being associated with projects which are still in the pre-launch or soft launch phase, feel real estate analysts.?"Investors have access to lots of funds which may be lying unutilized. The investor class comprises mostly businessmen, HNIs, industrialists and other private individuals. Most of the end-users and buyers from the middle class are dependent on bank loans for financing their home price requirements and can only put down the initial 10-20% as the booking amount," explained Rohan Sharma, senior manager - Research and Real Estate Intelligence Service, Jones Lang LaSalle India.?The price trends of properties over the past one year show that there are two distinct kinds of residential properties. One are the new launches where the price rises are the highest seen on year-on-year basis in the last five years, and second in the ready-to-move properties or properties in an advanced state of construction where there is price stagnation. The inference that can be drawn is that investors looking to flip property after making partial payments are investing more aggressively in the new launches, while the demand from end-users who generally look for properties in an advanced stage of construction or ready properties is cooling.?According to Dr Sanjay Sharma, managing director, QuBREX, in order to attract investors, builders have to keep on increasing the prices.?Added Samir Jasuja, founder and chief executive officer at Prop Equity, a real estate research intelligence firm in the city, "Gurgaon real estate growth story is driven by investors only. On Sohna Road the number of houses sold out last year was less (occupancy was less). While it has slightly risen in the past one year but it is still visible. Price movement is faster within the first 2-3 years of the project launch and usually sees a 40-50% appreciation but after reaching a benchmark it stops."?Also, there has been a growing interest in the assured return schemes given by under-construction properties where returns of 9 to 12% are offered, say market watchers.?Rohan Sharma?said, "Some developers are now inserting lock-in clauses in their buyer agreements, which restrict the initial buyer from selling the property on the secondary market for a specified period (which is usually 3-4 years or till physical delivery of the unit has been provided to him). Developers are also more willing to buy back the units from investors at pre-agreed prices to prevent secondary market prices from adversely affecting the primary market. This also keeps the primary market insulated in case the investors look to exiting at lower price points which in turn will impact the ability of the developer to sell his unsold units at the market price."?Also, a trend by?DLF?Ltd for its project "New Town Heights" of "one?PAN?card one booking" is no longer in practice. Most initial bookings are done at widely advertised price rates. The developer thus ensures that a person making the booking also attaches his PAN card during the purchase. Since investors are larger players, even multiple investments can be easily made by them as they have sufficient liquidity. However, PAN is required in most initial bookings. Even in secondary sales, PAN is required, even though the reported value may be lower than the actual transacted value, explained Sharma.
Some of the best conversations I have about the tech space are with investors — along with being rich and generally smart, they seem to have the best predictive insights into the industry. At a time when the Chinese seem to be making very real attacks to our cyber infrastructure, when legislation could make or break the evolution of the television industry, and when Google Glass stands to store more lifestyle data than any other computer in existence, I thought it only fitting to bring on a DC-based investor, John Backus, to chat out the latest news. John Backus is a managing partner at New Atlantic Ventures, and before that, he overlapped at Bain Capital with none other than one Mitt Romney. But John has had his eye on the needle of the tech industry for decades, and offered some interesting opinions of what we can expect to see in 2013 and beyond.
The University of Southern Florida?s Pediatric Epidemiology Center analyzes information from a growing volume of biomedical and patient data.
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Former Canadian Ambassador Ken Taylor and his wife Pat, pose for photographers at the premiere of the film Argo in Washington. AP File Photo
TORONTO?The Canadian former ambassador to Iran who protected Americans at great personal risk during the 1979 Iran hostage crisis says it will reflect poorly on Ben Affleck if he doesn?t say a few words about Canada?s role if the director?s film ?Argo? wins the Oscar for best picture Sunday.
But Ken Taylor ? who said he feels slighted by the movie because it makes Canada look like a meek observer to CIA heroics in the rescue of six US citizens caught in the crisis ? is not expecting it.
?I would hope he would. If he doesn?t than it?s a further reflection,? Taylor said. ?But given the events of the last while I?m not necessarily anticipating anything.?
Taylor kept the Americans hidden at the embassy in Tehran and facilitated their escape by getting fake passports and plane tickets for them. He became a hero in Canada and the United States after. The role he played in helping the Americans to freedom was minimized in the film.
?In general it makes it seem like the Canadians were just along for the ride. The Canadians were brave. Period,? Taylor said.
Affleck?s thriller is widely expected to win the best-picture trophy. Two other high-profile best-picture nominees this year, Kathryn Bigelow?s ?Zero Dark Thirty? and Steven Spielberg?s ?Lincoln,? have also been criticized for their portrayal of some factual issues.
Affleck said in a statement Friday night he thought his issue with Taylor had been resolved.
?I admire Ken very much for his role in rescuing the six houseguests. I consider him a hero. In light of my many conversations as well as a change to an end card that Ken requested I am surprised that Ken continues to take issue with the film,? he said in a statement. ?I spoke to him recently when he asked me to narrate a documentary he is prominently featured in and yet he didn?t mention any lingering concerns. I agreed to do it and I look forward to seeing Ken at the recording.?
Taylor noted that former U.S. President Jimmy Carter appeared on CNN on Thursday night and said ?90 percent of the contributions to the ideas and the consummation of the plan was Canadian,? but the film ?gives almost full credit to the American CIA.?
Carter also called ?Argo? a complete distortion of what happened when he accepted an honorary degree from Queen?s University in Canada in November.
?I saw the movie Argo recently and I was taken aback by its distortion of what happened because almost everything that was heroic, or courageous or innovative was done by Canada and not the United States,? Carter said.
Taylor said there would be no movie without the Canadians.
?We took the six in without being asked so it starts there,? Taylor said. ?And the fact that we got them out with some help from the CIA then that?s where the story loses itself. I think Jimmy Carter has it about right, it was 90 percent Canada, 10 percent the CIA.?
He said CIA agent Tony Mendez, played by Affleck in the film, was only in Iran for a day and a half.
The movie also makes no mention of John Sheardown, a deputy at the Canadian embassy who sheltered some of the Americans. Taylor said it was Sheardown who took the first call and agreed right away to take the Americans in. Sheardown recently died and his wife, Zena, called the movie disappointing.
Friends of Taylor were outraged last September when ?Argo? debuted at the Toronto International Film Festival. The original postscript of the movie said that Taylor received 112 citations and awards for his work in freeing the hostages and suggested Taylor didn?t deserve them because the movie ends with the CIA deciding to let Canada have the credit for helping the Americans escape
Taylor called the postscript lines ?disgraceful and insulting? and said it would have caused outrage in Canada if the lines were not changed. Affleck flew Taylor to Los Angeles after the Toronto debut and allowed him to insert a postscript that gave Canada some credit.
Taylor called it a good movie and said he?s not rooting against it, but said it is far from accurate.
?He?s a good director. It?s got momentum. There?s nothing much right from Day 1 I could do about the movie. I changed a line at the end because the caption at the end was disgraceful. It?s like Tiananmen Square, you are sitting in front of a big tank,? he said.
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Iowa college keeps need-blind admissions policy February 23, 2013 16:39 CST
GRINNELL, Iowa (AP) -- Leaders at Grinnell College have decided not to scrap its need-blind admissions policy -- for now.
Grinnell is one of the nation's wealthiest private liberal arts colleges, managing a $1.5 billion endowment that has grown to among the country's largest, thanks to investment advice from former trustee and Omaha billionaire investor Warren Buffett. But the Des Moines Register reports (http://dmreg.co/UVeEIz) that the college's board of trustees had been considering pulling back from its need-blind admissions policy -- where acceptance is not based on ability to pay -- because of budget concerns.
On Saturday, the board voted to keep the need-blind policy, but will revisit the issue in the fall of 2015. If the college hasn't made sufficient progress toward fundraising and tuition revenue goals, it may end the need-blind policy.
Information from: The Des Moines Register, http://www.desmoinesregister.com
Information from: The Des Moines Register, http://www.desmoinesregister.com
Two days ago, sources reported AU Optronics, which alongside LG Display?supplies Apple with 1,024-by-768 display panels for the iPad mini, recently began work on new screens for the next-generation iPad mini. And with yields allegedly now meeting Apple?s exacting standards, Taiwan media Friday claimed AU Optronics started mass producing 2,048-by-1,536 324ppi Retina screens for the device, which is said to use the dual-core?A5X chip and quad-core graphics to drive the display?
According to a report by My Drivers, a Chinese website that covers IT industry news (translated to English by?BrightWire), AU Optronics has now started mass production of second-generation iPad mini panels.?Yesterday?s images of the purported iPad mini 2 rear shell, seen?below,?also indicate?manufacturing may have recently commenced.
DigiTimes reported this morning that panel shipments for the iPad mini reached over five million units during January 2013, with AU Optronics responsible for 1.5 million and LG Display for 3.6 million units.
The My Drives report also cites inside sources who claim?production cost for iPad mini 2 has topped $200 per unit versus an IHS-estimated $188 per iPad mini unit.
The 1,204-by-768 iPad mini panel costs an estimated $32 per unit and the same research firm now estimates a Retina upgrade with more LEDs for the backlight module could add up to 30 percent?to?iPad mini 2 bill of material.
iPad mini teardown via iFixit.
Apple typically updates its gadgets with new technology while keeping prices intact. Rarely does the company increase the price of a product just because it added a new technology. True, Retina MacBook Pros do cost more, but non-Retina ones are still available. Moreover,?Apple recently cut prices of Retina notebooks by as much as $300.
Because seven-inch tablets are quite popular, I doubt Apple will simply replace the current iPad mini with a pricier Retina model. Provided Apple gives up some of its margins, a Retina iPad mini 2 should start at the same $329 entry-level price as the current model. Moreover, Apple should recover from the short-term margin hit when Retina panel costs come down, and come down they will as soon as Apple works out?kinks in the manufacturing process.
I?m also curious as to what happens to the original iPad mini once iPad mini 2 is out.
Will Apple phase out the iPad mini entirely or discount it as the company typically does with older iPhones when a new model gets introduced?
The movie ?Zero Dark Thirty? is unquestionably a gripping drama and credible contender in this year?s Oscar competition (nominated for five Academy Awards, including Best Picture, Best Actress, and Best Original Screenplay). If director Kathryn Bigelow?s film presented itself principally as fiction, it could be judged exclusively on its technical or dramatic merits, which are considerable. But because it advertises itself as a factually grounded ?journalistic filming? of the hunt for Osama bin Laden, it cannot duck a further question about what it owes to truth.
Of necessity, condensing years into minutes and crafting story lines that engage the viewer require simplification. But it is still fair to ask whether the central lessons viewers will take away from the film are consistent with what really happened.
As a teacher, I am aware that this movie will shape more Americans? understanding of the war against Al Qaeda than scores of books and major articles. As citizens, we know that cinematic historical fiction has left many Americans believing remarkable falsehoods. Oliver Stone?s ?JFK? left a generation of students asking why the CIA conspired to assassinate an American president.
OPINION: Osama bin Laden and America's long journey from 9/11 to 5/1
My account of the decisionmaking process that led to the raid on Osama bin Laden?s compound was a lead article in TIME magazine?s May 7, 2012 issue, a year after bin Laden?s death. And from my study of what really happened, I see glaring holes in the story as portrayed by ?Zero Dark Thirty.?
In assessing the essential veracity of the film, we could ask ordinary viewers three questions:
Was information extracted by ?enhanced interrogation? the key in finding the terrorist mastermind who killed 3,000 Americans on September 11, 2001?
Would ?the system? (CIA as an organization with its counter-terrorism professionals and practices) have failed had it not been for the tenacious risk taking of one young female CIA agent?
Was the White House, and specifically President Obama, essentially irrelevant or even a drag, delaying what should have been an easy, quick, early action to eliminate bin Laden?
Most viewers I have spoken to believe, based on the film, that the answer to each of these questions is yes. In fact, in each case, the answer is no.
The first question ? whether ?enhanced interrogation? or torture provided information key to getting bin Laden ? has been debated exhaustively. The verdict is that the film exaggerates the pervasiveness and effectiveness of torture.
On the second question, as to whether the CIA would have failed were it not for the grit of a female CIA officer, the truth is thousands of intelligence officers ? literally thousands ? devoted a decade of extraordinary work collecting information from sources of all kinds, analyzing it for minute clues, connecting dots, and then subjecting conclusions to competing analyses that connected other dots to contrary conclusions. A number of these analysts were outstanding young women. But the film?s hype of a fictional heroine who succeeded by defying ?the system? is fundamentally misleading.
Third, far from the film?s portrayal of Mr. Obama as an obstacle to success in this case, in fact, he was a critical energizer who intensified the search for bin Laden in 2009. And he was the decider who chose the raid that killed America's most-wanted terrorist. Counterfactuals require difficult and debatable assessments. But in my judgment, if George W. Bush had remained president, there is no reason to expect that the search for bin Laden that his last CIA Director testified had by February 2009 ?gone cold? would have heated up. And there is no question that if Vice President Joe Biden or Secretary of Defense Robert Gates had been president, as each has said, he would not have ordered the raid.
From the facts of what actually happened rather than the fiction, what should citizens take away from this dramatic event?
First, Obama and his national security team demonstrated that, contrary to what knowledgeable Washingtonians know, the US government can keep a secret. In this case, it kept the biggest secret the press never got to publish in advance of events. Contrary to Zero?s message that the White House dithered for five months for political advantage, Obama and leaders of the CIA took the time required to cross examine the evidence, explore options for action, and, in the end, make a hard call.
While the movie's heroine claimed ?100 percent confidence? that bin Laden was in the compound months before the president made his decision, CIA Director George Tenet conveyed the same level of confidence in assuring President Bush that finding weapons of mass destruction in Iraq would be a ?slam dunk.? And in fact, Mr. Tenet had more evidence for WMD in Iraq than the CIA had for bin Laden?s being at the compound the Navy SEALs raided the night of May 2, 2011.
Second, this mission could not have succeeded had Obama not been commander in chief of the US government in 2009 rather than the US government in 2000. Over that decade, the intelligence community and Defense department created advanced technologies and trained professional terrorist manhunters that gave Obama options not available to any previous American president or any other leader on earth.
Finally, contrary to a favorite Hollywood trope, the dominant storyline in the hunt for bin Laden is that the US government worked.
THE MONITOR'S VIEW: On anniversary of Osama bin Laden death, did Obama take too much credit?
In the investigation of what was not done in the years before the 9/11 attacks on the World Trade Center and Pentagon, the most memorable line came from White House counter-terrorism czar Richard Clarke who said: ?Your government failed you.? But the most important takeaway from the bin Laden operation is that American government performed. It not only succeeded in a supremely difficult assignment. It did so by achieving a level of performance across many agencies of government because of thousands of unsung heroines and heroes ? not a singular maverick. That should make all Americans proud.
Graham Allison is director of Harvard Kennedy School?s Belfer Center for Science and International Affairs and a former assistant secretary of Defense.
ALSO BY THIS WRITER: 50 years after Cuban missile crisis: closer than you thought to World War III
VP Forrest: U-M research funding up, but sequestration threatens budgetPublic release date: 21-Feb-2013 [ | E-mail | Share ]
Contact: Jim Erickson ericksn@umich.edu 734-647-1842 University of Michigan
ANN ARBOR Federal sequestration spending cuts could cost the University of Michigan research budget up to $40 million this year, harming graduate students, research scientists and others whose jobs depend on the funding, Vice President for Research Stephen Forrest told the Board of Regents Thursday.
In his annual report on research to the regents, Forrest noted that the University of Michigan once again ranked first in research and development spending among the nation's public universities in the latest National Science Foundation rankings.
"U-M is uniquely positioned to sustain both the quality and influence of its research enterprise," Forrest said. "Strategic investment in new initiatives and funding diversification will lead to long-term success."
However, if Congress and the White House fail to resolve a budgetary impasse by March 1, broad, across-the-board cuts to most categories of government spending, totaling about $85 billion for the current fiscal year and known as the sequester, will take effect.
Funding from federal agencies provides 62 percent of U-M's research budget, which totaled $1.27 billion in the fiscal year that ended June 30, 2012. Sequestration cuts would seriously impact the university's ability to pay graduate-student researchers; research scientists and engineers, postdoctoral researchers and administrative staff could be vulnerable as well.
"The students working in our labs help to uncover new knowledge that leads to new applications. They're also being prepared for a lifetime of creativity and productivity as scientists, engineers, physicians, entrepreneurs, educators and artists. These are the people who shape our future. We can't short-change them, or ourselves," Forrest said recently in a video produced in support of an effort coordinated by the Association of American Universities, the Association of Public and Land-Grant Universities and The Science Coalition to encourage Congress to avoid the sweeping budget cuts, which could total $1.2 trillion through 2021.
Draconian cuts to the federal research budget would also damage this country's ability to compete globally, Forrest said.
"We live in a global economy with a growing number of strong international competitors," he said. "If we pull back now from investing in our future, we will lose ground that will be difficult, if not impossible, to regain.
"It would be a mistake to try to save our way out of these difficult economic times," Forrest said in the video. "Never has it been more important for Congress to sustain our investment in research and even to expand it. It's the engine that drives our economy. Let's not let it run out of gas."
At the regents meeting, Forrest noted that the latest National Science Foundation rankings, issued in November, showed U-M atop the R&D expenditures list for public universities and behind only Johns Hopkins University on the list of all U.S. universities and colleges.
It was the third straight year that U-M ranked first among public universities and the 13th time in the past 27 years. U-M held that distinction every year from 1991 through 1999.
In the fiscal year that ended June 30, funding from the National Science Foundation was up by 7.9 percent, and the Department of Energy increased its support by 8.6 percent. The National Aeronautics and Space Administration's investment rose by 15.3 percent, and the Department of Transportation increased its funding by 38.4 percent.
Funding from the Department of Defense grew by 9.5 percent, reversing a decline in the previous year. Support from the Department of Health and Human Services decreased 8.1 percent, in part due to a drop in American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (ARRA) funds.
Research grants and contracts from industry grew by 5.6 percent to $42.8 million, building on a 4 percent growth rate from the previous year.
Forrest cautioned the regents that no matter what happens with sequestration, the United States is entering a period of flat or declining federal funding for university research. U-M is taking steps to anticipate and adapt to the changes, in part by strengthening ties to industry, engaging globally, and working to sustain and enhance the federal investment in university research.
###
View the video at http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3P0EPhBEQYo&feature=youtu.be
[ | E-mail | Share ]
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AAAS and EurekAlert! are not responsible for the accuracy of news releases posted to EurekAlert! by contributing institutions or for the use of any information through the EurekAlert! system.
VP Forrest: U-M research funding up, but sequestration threatens budgetPublic release date: 21-Feb-2013 [ | E-mail | Share ]
Contact: Jim Erickson ericksn@umich.edu 734-647-1842 University of Michigan
ANN ARBOR Federal sequestration spending cuts could cost the University of Michigan research budget up to $40 million this year, harming graduate students, research scientists and others whose jobs depend on the funding, Vice President for Research Stephen Forrest told the Board of Regents Thursday.
In his annual report on research to the regents, Forrest noted that the University of Michigan once again ranked first in research and development spending among the nation's public universities in the latest National Science Foundation rankings.
"U-M is uniquely positioned to sustain both the quality and influence of its research enterprise," Forrest said. "Strategic investment in new initiatives and funding diversification will lead to long-term success."
However, if Congress and the White House fail to resolve a budgetary impasse by March 1, broad, across-the-board cuts to most categories of government spending, totaling about $85 billion for the current fiscal year and known as the sequester, will take effect.
Funding from federal agencies provides 62 percent of U-M's research budget, which totaled $1.27 billion in the fiscal year that ended June 30, 2012. Sequestration cuts would seriously impact the university's ability to pay graduate-student researchers; research scientists and engineers, postdoctoral researchers and administrative staff could be vulnerable as well.
"The students working in our labs help to uncover new knowledge that leads to new applications. They're also being prepared for a lifetime of creativity and productivity as scientists, engineers, physicians, entrepreneurs, educators and artists. These are the people who shape our future. We can't short-change them, or ourselves," Forrest said recently in a video produced in support of an effort coordinated by the Association of American Universities, the Association of Public and Land-Grant Universities and The Science Coalition to encourage Congress to avoid the sweeping budget cuts, which could total $1.2 trillion through 2021.
Draconian cuts to the federal research budget would also damage this country's ability to compete globally, Forrest said.
"We live in a global economy with a growing number of strong international competitors," he said. "If we pull back now from investing in our future, we will lose ground that will be difficult, if not impossible, to regain.
"It would be a mistake to try to save our way out of these difficult economic times," Forrest said in the video. "Never has it been more important for Congress to sustain our investment in research and even to expand it. It's the engine that drives our economy. Let's not let it run out of gas."
At the regents meeting, Forrest noted that the latest National Science Foundation rankings, issued in November, showed U-M atop the R&D expenditures list for public universities and behind only Johns Hopkins University on the list of all U.S. universities and colleges.
It was the third straight year that U-M ranked first among public universities and the 13th time in the past 27 years. U-M held that distinction every year from 1991 through 1999.
In the fiscal year that ended June 30, funding from the National Science Foundation was up by 7.9 percent, and the Department of Energy increased its support by 8.6 percent. The National Aeronautics and Space Administration's investment rose by 15.3 percent, and the Department of Transportation increased its funding by 38.4 percent.
Funding from the Department of Defense grew by 9.5 percent, reversing a decline in the previous year. Support from the Department of Health and Human Services decreased 8.1 percent, in part due to a drop in American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (ARRA) funds.
Research grants and contracts from industry grew by 5.6 percent to $42.8 million, building on a 4 percent growth rate from the previous year.
Forrest cautioned the regents that no matter what happens with sequestration, the United States is entering a period of flat or declining federal funding for university research. U-M is taking steps to anticipate and adapt to the changes, in part by strengthening ties to industry, engaging globally, and working to sustain and enhance the federal investment in university research.
###
View the video at http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3P0EPhBEQYo&feature=youtu.be
[ | E-mail | Share ]
?
AAAS and EurekAlert! are not responsible for the accuracy of news releases posted to EurekAlert! by contributing institutions or for the use of any information through the EurekAlert! system.
Wolfgang Nehring 
Some of the best conversations I have about the tech space are with investors — along with being rich and generally smart, they seem to have the best predictive insights into the industry. At a time when the Chinese seem to be making very 
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Public release date: 21-Feb-2013
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