servant atrium: February 2013

Thursday, February 28, 2013

Music, movie industry to warn copyright infringers... | Stuff.co.nz

American internet users who share music, movies or TV shows online may soon get warning notices from their service providers that they are violating copyright law.

Ignore the notices, and violators could face an internet slow-down for 48 hours.

Those who claim they are innocent can protest - for a fee.

For the first time since a spate of aggressive and unpopular lawsuits took no prisoners in the US almost a decade ago, the music and movie industries are going after internet users they accuse of swapping copyrighted files online.

But unlike the lawsuits from the mid-2000s - which swept up everyone from young kids to the elderly with sometimes ruinous financial penalties and court costs - the latest effort is aimed at educating casual internet pirates and convincing them to stop.

There are multiple chances to make amends, and no real, legal consequences under the program if they don't.

"There's a bunch of questions that need to be answered because there are ways that this could end up causing problems for internet users," such as the bureacratic headache of being falsely accused, said David Sohn, general counsel for the Center for Democracy and Technology, a Washington-based civil liberties group.

But he added: "There's also the potential for this to have an impact in reducing piracy in ways that don't carry a lot of collateral damage."

The Copyright Alert System was put into effect this week by the five biggest US internet service providers - Verizon, AT&T, Time Warner Cable, Comcast and Cablevision - and the two major associations representing industry - the Motion Picture Association of America and the Recording Industry Association of America.

Under the new programme, the industry will monitor "peer-to-peer" software services for evidence of copyrighted files being shared.

Each complaints will prompt a customer's internet provider to notify the customer that their internet address has been detected sharing files illegally.

Depending on the service provider, the first couple of alerts will likely be an email warning. Subsequent alerts might require a person to acknowledge receipt or review educational materials. If a final warning is ignored, a person could be subject to speed-throttling for 48 hours or another similar "mitigation measure."

After five or six "strikes," however, the person won't face any repercussions under the program and is likely to be ignored. It's unclear whether such repeat offenders would be more likely at that point to face an expensive lawsuit.

The number of internet users subject to the new system is a sizeable chunk of the US population. Verizon and AT&T alone supply more than 23 million customers.

For the recording industry, which blames online piracy for contributing to a dramatic drop in profits and sales during the past decade, the new alert system is a better alternative than lawsuits. In December 2008, the Recording Industry Association of America announced it had discontinued that practice - which had been deeply unpopular with the American public - and would begin working with the internet providers on the alert system instead.

"We think there is a positive impact of programs like this, and that they can put money in the pocket of artists and labels," said Jonathan Lamy, a spokesman for the RIAA.

The Motion Picture Association of America estimates some 29 million people have downloaded or watched unauthorized movies or TV shows online, mostly using technology such as BitTorrent, a popular peer-to-peer protocol. Like its counterparts in the music industry, the MPAA says it believes people will stop when they understand it's illegal and are redirected to legal ways of paying for downloads.

The alert system "will help ensure an internet that works for everyone by alerting families of illegal activity that has occurred over peer-to-peer networks using their internet accounts and educate them on how they can prevent such activity from happening again," Michael O'Leary, an executive for the MPAA, said in a statement Tuesday.

A primary question is whether the system will generate a significant number of "false positives," or cases in which people are accused of sharing illegal content but aren't.

One scenario is if a person doesn't encrypt their wireless connection, leaving it open to a neighbour or malicious hacker that swaps illegal files. Another example might be if a person uploads a "mashup" of songs or brief scenes from a movie - content that wouldn't necessarily violate the law but could get flagged by the system.

The Center for Copyright Information, which created the alert system, is responsible for producing the methods that companies will be allowed to use to catch pirates, but it said it won't release those details publicly.

It said the system will rely on humans to review the entire content of every file to make sure it qualifies as material protected under copyright laws.

"This is an imperfect science," said Yoshi Kohno, an associate professor of computer science and engineering at the University of Washington. "The likelihood of a false positive depends on the diligence of the party doing the investigation."

Bartees Cox, a spokesman for the consumer watchdog group Public Knowledge, says it will watching to ensure the program doesn't evolve into imposing harsher punishments by internet providers, such as terminating a person's internet access altogether if they are accused of being a prolific violator.

If a person believes they've been wrongly accused, they will have multiple chances to delete the material and move on without any repercussion. If the problem is chronic, they can pay US$35 to appeal - a charge intended to deter frivolous appeals but also one that can be waived. The centre says it won't require proof that a person is financially strapped.

The centre's director, Jill Lesser, said that the goal is to educate the average internet user, rather than punishing them, and no one will see their internet access cut off.

"This is the first time the focus has been on education and redirection rather than a carrot-and-stick approach," she said.

Sohn said the effort will be a significant test whether voluntary measures can reduce copyright infringement.

"The long-term challenge here is getting users to change their attitudes and behaviours and views toward copyright infringement, because the technology that enables infringement - computers, digital technology and the internet - that stuff isn't going away," he said.

- AP

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Source: http://www.stuff.co.nz/technology/digital-living/8358630/What-is-the-Copyright-Alert-System

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NuSTAR helps solve riddle of black hole spin

Public release date: 27-Feb-2013
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Contact: Anne Stark
stark8@llnl.gov
925-422-9799
DOE/Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory

An international team including Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory scientists has definitively measured the spin rate of a supermassive black hole for the first time.

The findings, made by the two X-ray space observatories, NASA's Nuclear Spectroscopic Telescope Array (NuSTAR) and the European Space Agency's XMM-Newton, solve a long-standing debate about similar measurements in other black holes and will lead to a better understanding of how black holes and galaxies evolve.

"We can trace matter as it swirls into a black hole using X-rays emitted from regions very close to the black hole," said Fiona Harrison, NuSTAR principal investigator at the California Institute of Technology, Pasadena, and coauthor of a new study appearing in the Feb. 28 edition of Nature. "The radiation we see is warped and distorted by the motions of particles, and by the black hole's incredibly strong gravity."

The formation of supermassive black holes is thought to mirror the formation of the galaxy itself, since a fraction of all the matter drawn into the galaxy finds its way into the black hole. Because of this, astronomers are interested in measuring the spin rates of black holes in the hearts of galaxies.

The observations also are a powerful test of Einstein's theory of general relativity, which holds that gravity can bend light and space-time. The X-ray telescopes detected these warping effects in the most extreme of environments, where the immense gravity field of a black hole is severely altering space-time.

NuSTAR, a NASA Explorer-class mission launched in June of 2012, is uniquely designed to detect the highest-energy X-ray light in great detail. For Livermore, the predecessor to NuSTAR was a balloon-borne instrument known as HEFT (the High Energy Focusing Telescope) that was funded, in part, by a Laboratory Directed Research and Development investment beginning in 2001. NuSTAR takes HEFT's X-ray focusing abilities and sends them beyond Earth's atmosphere on a satellite. The optics design and the manufacturing process for NuSTAR are based on those used to build the HEFT telescopes.

NuSTAR complements telescopes that observe lower-energy X-ray light, such as the European Space Agency's (ESA's) XMM-Newton and NASA's Chandra X-ray Observatory. Scientists use these and other telescopes to estimate the rates at which black holes spin.

"We know that black holes have a strong link to their host galaxy," said astrophysicist Bill Craig, a member of the LLNL team. "Measuring the spin, one of the few things we can directly measure from a black hole, will give us clues to understanding this fundamental relationship."

The team used NuSTAR to observe X-rays emitted by hot gas in a disc just outside the "event horizon," the boundary surrounding a black hole beyond which nothing, including light, can escape.

Previous measurements were uncertain because obscuring clouds around the black holes could, in theory, have been confusing the results. By working together with XMM-Newton, NuSTAR was able to see a broader range of X-ray energy, penetrating deeper into the region around the black hole. The new observations ruled out the idea of obscuring clouds, demonstrating that spin rates of supermassive black holes can be determined conclusively.

"This is hugely important to the field of black hole science," said Lou Kaluzienski, NuSTAR program scientist at NASA Headquarters in Washington, D.C. "NASA and ESA telescopes tackled this problem together. In tandem with the lower-energy X-ray observations carried out with XMM-Newton, NuSTAR's unprecedented capabilities for measuring the higher energy X-rays provided an essential, missing puzzle piece for unraveling this problem."

NuSTAR and XMM-Newton simultaneously observed the two-million-solar-mass supermassive black hole lying at the dust and gas-filled heart of a galaxy called NGC 1365. The results showed that the black hole is spinning close to the maximal rate allowed by Einstein's theory of gravity.

"These monsters, with masses from millions to billions of times that of the sun, are formed as small seeds in the early universe and then grow by swallowing stars and gas in their host galaxies, and/or merging with other giant black holes when galaxies collide," said Guido Risaliti, lead author of the new study from the Harvard-Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics in Cambridge, Mass. and the Italian National Institute for Astrophysics. "Measuring the spin of a supermassive black hole is fundamental to understanding its past history and that of its host galaxy."

###

Founded in 1952, Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory provides solutions to our nation's most important national security challenges through innovative science, engineering and technology. Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory is managed by Lawrence Livermore National Security, LLC for the U.S. Department of Energy's National Nuclear Security Administration.

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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.

NuSTAR helps solve riddle of black hole spin Public release date: 27-Feb-2013
[ | E-mail | Share ]
Contact: Anne Stark
stark8@llnl.gov
925-422-9799
DOE/Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory

An international team including Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory scientists has definitively measured the spin rate of a supermassive black hole for the first time.

The findings, made by the two X-ray space observatories, NASA's Nuclear Spectroscopic Telescope Array (NuSTAR) and the European Space Agency's XMM-Newton, solve a long-standing debate about similar measurements in other black holes and will lead to a better understanding of how black holes and galaxies evolve.

"We can trace matter as it swirls into a black hole using X-rays emitted from regions very close to the black hole," said Fiona Harrison, NuSTAR principal investigator at the California Institute of Technology, Pasadena, and coauthor of a new study appearing in the Feb. 28 edition of Nature. "The radiation we see is warped and distorted by the motions of particles, and by the black hole's incredibly strong gravity."

The formation of supermassive black holes is thought to mirror the formation of the galaxy itself, since a fraction of all the matter drawn into the galaxy finds its way into the black hole. Because of this, astronomers are interested in measuring the spin rates of black holes in the hearts of galaxies.

The observations also are a powerful test of Einstein's theory of general relativity, which holds that gravity can bend light and space-time. The X-ray telescopes detected these warping effects in the most extreme of environments, where the immense gravity field of a black hole is severely altering space-time.

NuSTAR, a NASA Explorer-class mission launched in June of 2012, is uniquely designed to detect the highest-energy X-ray light in great detail. For Livermore, the predecessor to NuSTAR was a balloon-borne instrument known as HEFT (the High Energy Focusing Telescope) that was funded, in part, by a Laboratory Directed Research and Development investment beginning in 2001. NuSTAR takes HEFT's X-ray focusing abilities and sends them beyond Earth's atmosphere on a satellite. The optics design and the manufacturing process for NuSTAR are based on those used to build the HEFT telescopes.

NuSTAR complements telescopes that observe lower-energy X-ray light, such as the European Space Agency's (ESA's) XMM-Newton and NASA's Chandra X-ray Observatory. Scientists use these and other telescopes to estimate the rates at which black holes spin.

"We know that black holes have a strong link to their host galaxy," said astrophysicist Bill Craig, a member of the LLNL team. "Measuring the spin, one of the few things we can directly measure from a black hole, will give us clues to understanding this fundamental relationship."

The team used NuSTAR to observe X-rays emitted by hot gas in a disc just outside the "event horizon," the boundary surrounding a black hole beyond which nothing, including light, can escape.

Previous measurements were uncertain because obscuring clouds around the black holes could, in theory, have been confusing the results. By working together with XMM-Newton, NuSTAR was able to see a broader range of X-ray energy, penetrating deeper into the region around the black hole. The new observations ruled out the idea of obscuring clouds, demonstrating that spin rates of supermassive black holes can be determined conclusively.

"This is hugely important to the field of black hole science," said Lou Kaluzienski, NuSTAR program scientist at NASA Headquarters in Washington, D.C. "NASA and ESA telescopes tackled this problem together. In tandem with the lower-energy X-ray observations carried out with XMM-Newton, NuSTAR's unprecedented capabilities for measuring the higher energy X-rays provided an essential, missing puzzle piece for unraveling this problem."

NuSTAR and XMM-Newton simultaneously observed the two-million-solar-mass supermassive black hole lying at the dust and gas-filled heart of a galaxy called NGC 1365. The results showed that the black hole is spinning close to the maximal rate allowed by Einstein's theory of gravity.

"These monsters, with masses from millions to billions of times that of the sun, are formed as small seeds in the early universe and then grow by swallowing stars and gas in their host galaxies, and/or merging with other giant black holes when galaxies collide," said Guido Risaliti, lead author of the new study from the Harvard-Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics in Cambridge, Mass. and the Italian National Institute for Astrophysics. "Measuring the spin of a supermassive black hole is fundamental to understanding its past history and that of its host galaxy."

###

Founded in 1952, Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory provides solutions to our nation's most important national security challenges through innovative science, engineering and technology. Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory is managed by Lawrence Livermore National Security, LLC for the U.S. Department of Energy's National Nuclear Security Administration.

[ | 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.

Source: http://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2013-02/dlnl-nhs022713.php
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3-D computing puts your hands inside the screen

Devin Coldewey , NBC News ? ? ? 9 hrs.

Attendees of the latest TED conference got a look at a futuristic device called SpaceTop where the user views a 3-D workspace through a transparent display, manipulating the on-screen elements with just their hands. It won't be on shelves any time soon, but it does pique the imagination.

The demonstration was by Jinha Lee, an MIT graduate student who undertook an internship at Microsoft's Applied Science group to develop a 3-D desktop. Part of that project was creating a new method for users to interact with the computer.

Mice and touchscreens, of course, really only let one interact along two dimensions ? you can scroll left, right, up, and down, but going in and out must be done with 2-D gestures like pinches, whereas in real life you would just move your hand forward or back.

Lee's work focused on creating an interface though which one could move one's hand naturally and interact with familiar elements like windows and documents. The result is still rather rough, but it's promising.

The transparent display is equipped with a camera that tracks the user's head and adjusts the perspective on the 3-D desktop "under" it. Meanwhile, a second camera watches the user's hands and determines their position in three dimensions.

While it's still limited to a few demo applications, it's fascinating to watch: Grabbing a file from a stack is as easy as plucking it out, and when you need to type, just drop your hands onto the built-in keyboard.

Among the many challenges of developing such a system is that there is essentially no software written for it. Every operating system with which an average user might be familiar is built around the idea of a flat display navigated by a mouse or touchscreen. So Lee's had to be built from scratch.

As such, it's still very much just a concept or work in progress. His original work was done in late 2011, and the "core design and framework" were presented at Microsoft's TechForum in 2012. But this week's TED demonstration was much farther along and the first time it has been shown so publicly.

Whether this kind of interaction becomes commonplace or not (devices like the Oculus Rift and Leap Motion also present alternative input methods and are farther along in development), it's still a thrill to see something like this that seems to be science fiction made fact.

Devin Coldewey is a contributing writer for NBC News Digital. His personal website is coldewey.cc.

Source: http://www.nbcnews.com/technology/futureoftech/3-d-computing-prototype-puts-your-hands-inside-screen-1C8600002

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Creationism Case: John Freshwater Lawyers Spar With Mount Vernon School Board In Ohio Bible Case

COLUMBUS, Ohio ? In a heated hour of arguments, Ohio Supreme Court justices sparred with lawyers Wednesday over the extent to which a now-fired public school science teacher had the right to push his personal religious beliefs in class.

A lawyer for the school board that dismissed John Freshwater in 2011 said he waved a Bible at his students, handed out religious pamphlets and espoused creationism in his evolution lessons.

Freshwater violated the constitutional separation between church and state and was rightfully fired, said David Smith, an attorney for the Mount Vernon School Board.

"You can't teach evolution from a Christian perspective" without violating constitutional protections against government establishment of religion, he said.

Freshwater's attorney, Rita Dunaway, said accounts of Freshwater's class conduct were exaggerated and that the instructor was exercising his academic freedom to explore controversial ideas.

"A Bible on a desk hidden amongst other clutter does not a religious display make," she said.

Dunaway said Freshwater had a laudable teaching record and his students scored well on standardized science tests.

Freshwater was dismissed in 2011 after investigators reported he preached Christian beliefs in class when discussing topics such as evolution and homosexuality and was insubordinate in failing to remove the Bible from his classroom.

Justices appeared perplexed, at times irritated, about what lawyers believed was the legal issue before them.

Justice Paul Pfeifer was incredulous when Smith argued that Freshwater's evolution class wouldn't have been covered under the school district's controversial-issues policy.

"So there's nothing controversial about evolution. It is a theory, isn't it?" he said.

Freshwater also had been accused of using a science tool to burn students' arms with the image of a cross, but that allegation was resolved and was not a factor in his firing.

Justices wanted to know Wednesday whether that incident played a role in Freshwater's dismissal. Smith speculated that attention surrounding that incident was what prompted the school board's investigation into Freshwater's 21-year career.

In its review, the board concluded Freshwater had used a high-frequency generator, which other teachers have used to demonstrate electrical current, to burn a cross onto a student's arm. The cross lasted a few weeks.

The student's family settled a federal lawsuit against the district in an effort to move on.

In his dismissal case, Freshwater is getting legal backing from the Charlottesville, Va.-based Rutherford Institute, a civil liberties group. Science education and humanist and secular groups have joined the side of the school board.

The school board argues that as far back as 1994, a middle school principal told Freshwater to stop distributing an "Answers in Genesis" pamphlet, which contained information about a creationist organization's seminar, according to a filing by board attorneys asking the court to uphold Freshwater's firing.

Freshwater also used a handout titled "Survival of the Fakest" to teach his students to doubt science, the board's attorneys said.

Two lower courts previously upheld Freshwater's dismissal.

At the back of the courtroom Wednesday, 17-year-old Esther Sorg and 18 other students from Wilmington Christian Academy about an hour southwest of Columbus were listening in as part of a school field trip.

Sorg said her science classes include evolution, and it seems public school classes could include the creationist perspective without harm.

"My eighth-grade science class was taught from a Christian perspective, but we discussed evolution as well," she said. "I thought that was good because I wanted to know what the current theories were."

___

Online:

Ohio Supreme Court: http://www.sconet.state.oh.us

Also on HuffPost:

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Source: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2013/02/27/creationism-john-freshwater_n_2773977.html

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Oil ends lower on Italy elections, crude supplies

NEW YORK (AP) ? The price of oil was lower Tuesday as investors weighed the implications of political uncertainty in Italy, the latest assessment of the economy from the head of the Federal Reserve and prospects for growing US crude supplies.

Benchmark crude for April delivery finished down 48 cents at $92.63 a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange. The price dropped below $92 earlier in the session.

Brent crude, used to price many kinds of oil imported by U.S. refineries, fell $1.73 to end at $112.71 on the ICE Futures exchange in London.

Stock and commodities markets were initially rattled by the possibility of political paralysis in Italy after nearly complete results in crucial national elections showed no clear front-runner. Investors worried that the uncertainty could intensify Europe's debt crisis.

"It seems that Italy is repeating the same story as Greece, bringing renewed uncertainty about European political and economic conditions and further volatility and nervous trading across the markets," said a report from Sucden Financial Research in London.

Benchmark U.S. crude cut some of its early losses after economic data released Tuesday showed further improvement in sales of new homes and housing prices, as well as an increase in consumer confidence. U.S. stock indexes rose, reversing a sharp decline on Monday.

Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke delivered the central bank's semiannual report on the economy to Congress on Tuesday. Bernanke signaled that the Fed's efforts to keep borrowing costs low will continue. He downplayed concerns that the Fed's easy-money policies could mean runaway inflation later or bubbles in assets like stocks.

The Energy Department's weekly report on U.S. stockpiles of crude oil is due on Wednesday. Data for the week ending Feb. 22 are expected to show an increase of 2.6 million barrels in crude oil stocks, according to a survey of analysts by Platts, the energy information arm of McGraw-Hill Cos. The nation's oil supplies are at the highest levels since the 1990's.

Gas pump prices stayed around a national average of $3.78 a gallon, up almost 4 cents from a week ago and about 44 cents higher than a month ago.

In other energy futures trading on Nymex:

? Wholesale gasoline fell 6 cents to finish at $3.20 a gallon.

? Heating oil dropped 7 cents to end at $3.03 a gallon.

? Natural gas rose 1 cent to finish at $3.43 per 1,000 cubic feet.

Martin Crutsinger in Washington and Pablo Gorondi in Budapest contributed to this report.

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/oil-ends-lower-italy-elections-crude-supplies-202836014--finance.html

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Wednesday, February 27, 2013

The Engadget Interview: Qualcomm's Raj Talluri talks Snapdragon at MWC 2013

Qualcomm finally detailed its Snapdragon 200 and 400 processors here at MWC, and we got the opportunity to discuss the new chips with Raj Talluri, SVP of product management. While the Snapdragon 600 and 800 SoCs are geared towards high-end devices, the 200 and 400 are targeting sub-$100 and $200-300 phones. He explained that the software remains as close as possible to what's available on the 600 and 800, but the hardware is scaled down to support lower-resolution displays and cameras by using ARM cores instead of the company's own Krait architecture. We then talked about the Snapdragon 800, which was decoding 4K video at CES but is being showcased here in Barcelona handling 4K playback with Dolby and DTS in Qualcomm's movie theater (sans popcorn, sadly). He also mentioned some of the other demos at the company's booth -- 4K encoding and streaming (via TransferJet), realtime video editing, voice activation, games (Modern Combat 4 and Need For Speed) and more. Don't miss our video interview after the break.

Filed under: Cellphones, Tablets, Mobile

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Source: http://feeds.engadget.com/~r/weblogsinc/engadget/~3/C8_YxwM0wec/

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First lady goes Hollywood (CNN)

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Adobe Debuts Photoshop Touch For Phones, Bringing The Full Power Of The Tablet Version To Your Pocket

Adobe's mobile Photoshop strategy has so far kept more heavyweight editing capabilities to tablets with Photoshop Touch, and left the iPhone with Photoshop Express. But today the company has officially released Photoshop Touch for iPhone and Android smartphones, which inherits virtually all of the functionality of the more powerful tablet app, with an?interface?tailored to the smaller screens.

Source: http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/Techcrunch/~3/Wgk9cGmwQgk/

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Russia's foreign minister defends anti-gay bill

MOSCOW (AP) ? Russian foreign minister has defended a bill that's now pending in the Russian parliament and, if adopted, will target the gay community.

Russia's lower house of parliament on Jan. 25 voted to support a bill that makes public events and dissemination of information about the lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender community to minors punishable by fines of up to $16,000. The bill still requires the parliament's and the president's final approval.

Sergey Lavrov said Tuesday that Russia "has no international obligations to allow propaganda of homosexuality."

Lavrov insisted that since homosexuality was decriminalized in the early 1990s, gays have enjoyed full rights in Russia. But he said that Russia "has its own moral, religious and historical values."

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/russias-foreign-minister-defends-anti-gay-bill-082924710.html

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Justin Timberlake works with Marcus Mumford on Coen film music

(Reuters) - Justin Timberlake has brought his movie and music work together by teaming up with British singer Marcus Mumford from Grammy-winning folk band Mumford & Sons on the soundtrack for an upcoming Coen brothers film.

Timberlake, 32, said in a British radio interview this week that he and Mumford worked with veteran T-Bone Burnett and folk band The Punch Brothers on the soundtrack for "Inside Llewyn Davis," a film directed by Joel and Ethan Coen and starring Oscar Isaac and Carey Mulligan.

Mulligan married Mumford in April 2012.

"We all kind of worked on the music together and I don't know any other world where we would get the opportunity to collaborate like that, but it was so much fun. So not only will it be a great movie, but the music to it will be fantastic," Timberlake told Britain's Capital FM radio station.

The film, co-starring Timberlake, John Goodman and Garrett Hedlund, follows a singer-songwriter exploring the folk music scene in 1960s New York. It is expected to be released later this year.

The "Sexyback" singer, who first gained fame in the 1990s as lead vocalist of the boy band 'N Sync, stepped away from music five years ago to focus on films such as "The Social Network" and "Friends With Benefits." But last month he released lead single "Suit & Tie" ahead of his album "The 20/20 Experience" out on March 19.

Timberlake is also starring in upcoming crime drama "Runner, Runner," alongside Ben Affleck and Gemma Arterton.

Mumford & Sons won two Grammy Awards earlier in February, including Album of the Year for "Babel."

(Reporting by Piya Sinha-Roy; Editing by Eric Walsh)

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/justin-timberlake-works-marcus-mumford-coen-film-music-003817255.html

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Nedbank sees slower earnings growth in 2013: CEO

Playing off his?pre-Oscars prediction?that everyone would hate him at the Oscars, Seth MacFarlane spent the first 19 minutes of the Academy Awards on Sunday making sure everyone would, in fact, hate him.?After some real stinkers, the main conceit was William Shatner descending on a screen as Captain Kirk, from the future, to tell MacFarlane to do a better job of hosting, in a kind of alternate-reality bit that turned pretty sordid?and pretty fast. ...

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/nedbank-sees-slower-earnings-growth-2013-ceo-153516597--finance.html

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Tuesday, February 26, 2013

Kerry Washington Oscars Dress: Marvelous in Miu Miu

Source: http://www.thehollywoodgossip.com/2013/02/kerry-washington-oscars-dress-marvelous-in-miu-miu/

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Why can't Washington compromise? They're too human

WASHINGTON (AP) ? Turns out politicians are people, too, only worse.

Just ask pros who make their living in the trenches of everyday human drama such as divorce, family feuds or schoolyard scraps. They recognize in Washington's bitter budget standoff a hint of human nature as they know it, but with the crazy pumped up to absurd levels.

"We're seeing middle school behavior here," says Barbara Coloroso, who crusades against childhood bullying. Psychologist Piers Steel, an expert on procrastination, says Congress has the worst case of it he's seen. Divorce attorney Sanford Ain's assessment is blunter: "It's nuts!"

A sampling of conflict-savvy professionals and scholars interviewed by The Associated Press finds dismay that the nation is in political stalemate after two years of showdowns and near-misses for the economy. Not that these they have any easy solutions, either.

Some dream of locking up President Barack Obama and House Speaker John Boehner. R-Ohio, together until the nation's tax and spending issues are settled.

"That's my fantasy: To go into a room and tell them what to do, right or wrong, and make them do it," said Marvin McIntyre, a prominent financial adviser in the District of Columbia who writes political novels on the side.

With lawmakers and the president on the brink of yet another compromise-or-else deadline Friday, the nonpoliticians shared their take on the all-too-human behavior in Washington.

Historian Altina Waller is reminded of the Hatfields and McCoys. Of course, she would be: Waller's an authority on the deadly 19th century feud.

Despite the myth, the Hatfield-McCoy conflict wasn't primarily about clan hatred, Waller said, and she doesn't think today's acrimony between Republicans and Democrats is fully explained by partisanship or ideology.

The Appalachian feud grew out of economic anxiety as farming declined and logging and coal moved in, she said. These days, Democrats and Republicans worry about the economy and the loss of American jobs and influence to foreign competition, and blame each other.

"Like the Hatfields and McCoys," Waller said, "they are personalizing a problem brought about by larger economic forces."

Coloroso, author of "The Bully, the Bullied and the Bystander," sees too many politicians acting like the mean girl who taunts unpopular classmates in the cafeteria.

"Bullying is about contempt for the other person," Coloroso said. "Do you see how that fits with some of the people in Congress? Utter contempt, bullying, wanting to bring somebody down. You cannot resolve a major issue like a budget with name-calling, with disdain for the person you're supposed to be working with."

Ain says the political fight illustrates something he's learned in 40 years of striving to keep family law cases amicable: "If you have extreme views and won't compromise, you can't get anything done. It's going to go to war."

Yet a sudden switch to civility will not guarantee that tough decisions get made.

Human brains are wired to put off the unpleasant, says "The Procrastination Equation" author Steel.

We postpone starting a diet, put off going to the gym, keep meaning to write those thank-you notes. Congress members are masters of this.

"They're pretty much the worst, hands down, of any group we ever investigated," said Steel, who has researched procrastination for more than a decade. "They're worse than college students."

What finally gets people moving? A deadline. The paper must be written to pass the class. The house is tidied because company's coming. The expense report is finished because the boss demands it by 5 p.m.

So it makes sense to set deadlines for solving the nation's pressing fiscal problems. Only it isn't working.

Congress and the White House have lurched from the brink of default or government shutdown or "fiscal cliff" to the next potentially disastrous deadline, this time automatic budget cuts known as the "sequester." They've only achieved temporary fixes without resolving the big disagreements over the deficit, taxes and Medicare and Social Security spending. Obama calls it "drifting from one manufactured crisis to the next."

Why aren't the deadlines working?

Pushing the limits isn't always procrastination; sometimes it's strategy.

Negotiation expert Robert Mnookin points to labor disputes resolved just before the strike deadline and lawsuits settled on the courthouse steps on the eve of trial. Bargainers tend to play "chicken" like two drivers speeding toward each other in hopes the other will swerve first.

"It's often believed that you won't be able to extract the very best concession from the other side unless you are on the brink of something that's very bad," said Mnookin, chairman of Harvard's Program on Negotiation and author of "Bargaining with the Devil."

Both the Republicans and Democrats have die-hards pushing to keep charging ahead.

"It's a hugely dangerous game to play," Mnookin warns, "because people aren't always rational in their behavior."

What happens if Democrats and Republicans collide head-on this time? Some $85 billion in automatic federal budget cuts over the next seven months, with more in following years.

Obama says that would weaken the military, disrupt programs Americans rely on, eliminate jobs and weaken the economy. Boehner calls it "an ugly and dangerous way" to reduce spending. These cuts were designed to be so distasteful that politicians would agree on more rational budget-cutting to stop them.

But there's another way out. Lawmakers and Obama could agree to block the cuts, before or after they kick in, and once again postpone making big fiscal decisions that might cost some of them re-election.

That's a problem with artificial deadlines: They're hard to enforce.

Economist Christopher Kingston, whose research ranges from 19th century dueling to modern game theory, says what lawmakers need is a strong "commitment device." He cites the story of William the Conqueror burning his ships after his invading army landed in England, ensuring his soldiers couldn't retreat.

A less reliable commitment device: A shopaholic cutting up his credit cards. That works unless he gets new ones and start running up debt again.

"It's really hard to create a commitment device artificially, particularly if you don't have an external power that's going to enforce it," said Kingston, an associate professor at Amherst College.

Congress and the president have no judge, no referee, no board of directors. Washington won't hear from the voters again for two years, and even then the message may be unclear.

With human nature against them, how can politicians escape gridlock?

A few tips from the pros:

?Shock them with kindness. "Try to do something unexpectedly nice for the other side," advises Ain, and your surprised opponent may reciprocate.

?Avoid the "zero-sum" trap. Just because something is good for one side doesn't mean it's bad for the other. "There are all kinds of deals that the president and the Congress could make that would be better for the economy and the nation as a whole and in that sense would benefit them all," Mnookin says.

?Get a mediator. Maybe the special 2011 deficit committee could have reached agreement with the help of a trusted outsider. It's worth a try, Ain says, because "that works in major litigation and all sorts of situations."

?Shame the bullies. If politicians denounced their fellow party members who display contempt for the other side, Coloroso says, it would squelch the mocking tone.

America's citizens also are mostly silent bystanders right now, the author said.

"What are we going to do about it?" she asked. "Do we just stand by and shrug our shoulders?"

___

Follow Connie Cass on Twitter: http://www.twitter.com/ConnieCass

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/why-cant-washington-compromise-theyre-too-human-131324676.html

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MIT algorithms teach robot arms to think outside of the box (video)

Although robots are getting better at adapting to the real world, they still tend to tackle challenges with a fixed set of alternatives that can quickly become impractical as objects (and more advanced robots) complicate the situation. Two MIT students, Jennifer Barry and Annie Holladay, have developed fresh algorithms that could help robot arms improvise. Barry's method tells the robot about an object's nature, focusing its attention on the most effective interactions -- sliding a plate until it's more easily picked up, for example. Holladay, meanwhile, turns collision detection on its head to funnel an object into place, such as balancing a delicate object with a free arm before setting that object down. Although the existing code for either approach currently requires plugging in existing data, their creators ultimately want more flexible code that determines qualities on the spot and reacts accordingly. Long-term development could nudge us closer to robots with truly general-purpose code -- a welcome relief from the one-track minds the machines often have today.

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Apple signals emerging-market rethink with India push

NEW DELHI/BANGALORE (Reuters) - As BlackBerry launches the first smartphone from its make-or-break BB10 line in India, one of its most loyal markets, the company faces new competition from a formidable rival that has long had a minimal presence in the country.

More than four years after it started selling iPhones in India, Apple Inc is now aggressively pushing the iconic device through installment payment plans that make it more affordable, a new distribution model and heavy marketing blitz.

"Now your dream phone" at 5,056 rupees ($93), read a recent full front-page ad for an iPhone 5 in the Times of India, referring to the initial payment on a phone priced at $840, or almost two months' wages for an entry-level software engineer.

The new-found interest in India suggests a subtle strategy shift for Apple, which has moved tentatively in emerging markets and has allowed rivals such as Samsung and BlackBerry to dominate with more affordable smartphones. With the exception of China, all of its Apple stores are in advanced economies.

Apple expanded its India sales effort in the latter half of 2012 by adding two distributors. Previously it sold iPhones only through a few carriers and stores it calls premium resellers.

The result: iPhone shipments to India between October and December nearly tripled to 250,000 units from 90,000 in the previous quarter, according to an estimate by Jessica Kwee, a Singapore-based analyst at consultancy Canalys.

At The MobileStore, an Indian chain owned by the Essar conglomerate, which says it sells 15 percent of the iPhones in the country, iPhone sales tripled between December and January, thanks to a monthly payment scheme launched last month.

"Most people in India can't afford a dollar-priced phone when the salaries in India are rupee salaries. But the desire is the same," said Himanshu Chakrawarti, its chief executive.

Apple, the distributors, retailers and banks share the advertising and interest cost of the marketing push, according to Chakrawarti. Carriers like Bharti Airtel Ltd, which also sell the iPhone 5, run separate ads.

India is the world's No. 2 cellphone market by users, but most Indians cannot afford fancy handsets. Smartphones account for just a tenth of total phone sales. In India, 95 percent of cellphone users have prepaid accounts without a fixed contract. Unlike in the United States, carriers do not subsidise handsets.

Within the smartphone segment, Apple's Indian market share last quarter was just 5 percent, according to Canalys, meaning its overall penetration is tiny.

Still, industry research firm IDC expects the Indian smartphone market to grow more than five times from about 19 million units last year to 108 million in 2016, which presents a big opportunity.

Samsung Electronics Co Ltd dominates Indian smartphone sales with a 40 percent share, thanks to its wide portfolio of Android devices priced as low as $110. The market has also been flooded by cheaper Android phones from local brands such as Micromax and Lava.

Most smartphones sold in India are much cheaper than the iPhone, said Gartner analyst Anshul Gupta.

"Where the masses are - there, Apple still has a gap."

'I LOVE INDIA, BUT...'

Apple helped create the smartphone industry with the iPhone in 2007. But last year Apple lost its lead globally to Samsung whose smartphones, which run on Google Inc's free Android software, are especially attractive in Asia.

Many in Silicon Valley and Wall Street believe the surest way to penetrate lower-income Asian markets would be with a cheaper iPhone, as has been widely reported but never confirmed. The risk is that a cheap iPhone would cannibalize demand for the premium version and eat into Apple's peerless margins.

The new monthly payment plan in India goes a long way to expanding the potential market, said Chakrawarti.

"The Apple campaign is not meant for really the regular top-end customer, it is meant to upgrade the 10,000-12,000 handset guy to 45,000 rupees," he said.

Apple's main focus for expansion in Asia has been Greater China, including Taiwan and Hong Kong, where revenue grew 60 percent last quarter to $7.3 billion.

Asked last year why Apple had not been as successful in India, Chief Executive Tim Cook said its business in India was growing but the group remained more focused on other markets.

"I love India, but I believe that Apple has some higher potential in the intermediate term in some other countries," Cook said. "The multi-layer distribution there really adds to the cost of getting products to market," he said at the time.

Apple, which has partly addressed that by adding distributors, did not respond to an email seeking comment.

Ingram Micro Inc, one of its new distributors, also declined comment. Executives at Redington (India) Ltd, the other distributor, could not immediately be reached.

BlackBerry, which has seen its global market share shrivel to 3.4 percent from 20 percent over the past three years, is making what is seen as a last-ditch effort to save itself with the BB10 series.

The high-end BlackBerry Z10 was launched in India on Monday at 43,490 rupees ($800), close to the 45,500 rupees price tag for an iPhone 5 with 16 gigabytes of memory. Samsung's Galaxy S3 and Galaxy Note 2, Nokia's Lumia 920 and two HTC Corp models are the main iPhone rivals.

BlackBerry will target corporate users and consumers in India for the Z10, said Sunil Dutt, India managing director, adding that it will tie-up with banks for installment plans.

Until last year, BlackBerry was the No. 3 smartphone brand in India with market share of more than 10 percent, thanks to a push into the consumer segment with lower-priced phones. Last quarter its share fell to about 5 percent, putting it in fifth place, according to Canalys. Apple was sixth.

(Additional reporting by Aradhana Aravindan in MUMBAI and Poornima Gupta in SAN FRANCISCO; Editing by Tony Munroe, Mark Bendeich and Chris Gallagher)

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/apple-signals-emerging-market-rethink-india-push-011705541--sector.html

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Ultrasound reveals autism risk at birth

Feb. 25, 2013 ? Low-birth-weight babies with a particular brain abnormality are at greater risk for autism, according to a new study that could provide doctors a signpost for early detection of the still poorly understood disorder.

Led by Michigan State University, the study found that low-birth-weight newborns were seven times more likely to be diagnosed with autism later in life if an ultrasound taken just after birth showed they had enlarged ventricles, cavities in the brain that store spinal fluid. The results appear in the Journal of Pediatrics.

"For many years there's been a lot of controversy about whether vaccinations or environmental factors influence the development of autism, and there's always the question of at what age a child begins to develop the disorder," said lead author Tammy Movsas, clinical assistant professor of pediatrics at MSU and medical director of the Midland County Department of Public Health.

"What this study shows us is that an ultrasound scan within the first few days of life may already be able to detect brain abnormalities that indicate a higher risk of developing autism."

Movsas and colleagues reached that conclusion by analyzing data from a cohort of 1,105 low-birth-weight infants born in the mid-1980s. The babies had cranial ultrasounds just after birth so the researchers could look for relationships between brain abnormalities in infancy and health disorders that showed up later. Participants also were screened for autism when they were 16 years old, and a subset of them had a more rigorous test at 21, which turned up 14 positive diagnoses.

Ventricular enlargement is found more often in premature babies and may indicate loss of a type of brain tissue called white matter.

"This study suggests further research is needed to better understand what it is about loss of white matter that interferes with the neurological processes that determine autism," said co-author Nigel Paneth, an MSU epidemiologist who helped organize the cohort. "This is an important clue to the underlying brain issues in autism."

Prior studies have shown an increased rate of autism in low-birth-weight and premature babies, and earlier research by Movsas and Paneth found a modest increase in symptoms among autistic children born early or late.

The study was supported by a grant from the National Institutes of Health.

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The above story is reprinted from materials provided by Michigan State University.

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Journal Reference:

Tammy Z. Movsas, Jennifer A. Pinto-Martin, Agnes H. Whitaker, Judith F. Feldman, John M. Lorenz, Steven J. Korzeniewski, Susan E. Levy, Nigel Paneth. Autism Spectrum Disorder Is Associated with Ventricular Enlargement in a Low Birth Weight Population. The Journal of Pediatrics, 2013; DOI: 10.1016/j.jpeds.2012.12.084

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/top_health/~3/CRxm3nh61Tc/130225112510.htm

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Monday, February 25, 2013

Do You Believe In Quick Golf Fixes? | Content for Reprint

Author: RoseannaLeaton | Total views: 82 Comments: 0
Word Count: 597 Date: Sun, 24 Feb 2013 7:48 PM

One of the key aspects about the sport called golf is that without a considerable amount of practice you can find hitting the ball as you wish is a somewhat elusive dream!? This tends to hold true for both beginners and the more seasoned golfer.? Thus it is no wonder that so many golfers avidly seek to find any or every type of quick golf fix that they can feast their eyes or lay their hands upon.

The million-dollar question is whether or not such quick golf fixes have a hope of working.? I suspect that the majority of golfers soon discover that whilst their currently favored fix might work to a degree for a short period of time, its effectiveness quickly fades and disappears.?

Fewer golfers hold an appreciation of the very real potential for the supposed "quick fix" to morph into a golf nightmare.? Unless you fully understand the how and why of a swing change, be it related to rhythm, tempo, swing plane, wrist cock, length of backswing or follow through, etc., you are running the risk of making a change that puts you further off course than on.??

Additionally most "quick" golf fixes are not actually quick to apply.? The various parts of your golf swing are linked together like a row of dominoes.? As you change one tiny little component, be it by just a fraction of a millimeter, it will inevitably affect every domino along the line.? Most golfers will be only too aware of those times when they feel like their swing has totally collapsed.? You do not ever want that to happen again.

The exception to this rule applies to mental focus.? You can in fact change your mind about something literally "at a moment's notice".? Women are frequently accused of this; it is a woman's prerogative to change her mind!?

In golf, the application of correct mental focus will prove to be a very effective fix indeed.? With your attention correctly placed and your emotions kept under control, the numbers written upon your scorecard are likely to be very pleasing indeed.? What is even better is that there is no negative side effect.? Correct mental focus simply cannot cause your game to fall apart!

But, if you forget to focus or apply your mind correctly, then you will miss out upon the advantages that this confers to your current shot.?? Even though you can change your mind in an instant, and gain good mental focus simply by thinking about it, what really pays off is to make this ideal focus into a habit.?

The creation of a habit, even one that is mental in nature, is not a quick fix.? It takes time and effort.? But this time and effort put into the mental side of golf is worth its weight in gold.? It is also something that can be worked upon at home or in the dark and for just a few minutes at a time.

Roseanna Leaton, golf addict and specialist in golf hypnosis mp3s and author of the GolferWithin golf mind training system.

P.S.? Discover how to focus your golf mind and play winning golf through golf hypnosis.? Check out my website now.

Grab a free hypnosis mp3 from http://www.RoseannaLeaton.com and check out the acclaimed GolferWithin series of golf mind training aids.

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4: Five Decisions To Make Before Opening A Driving Range

In opening any busines there are many things that you need to think through prior to opening your doors. Here are a few that you need to think about before you open a driving range.

5: How To Drive A Golf Ball Farther More Consistently

Learning how to hit the driver can be a significant challenge. Discover some useful golf driving tips to help you learn how to become a better golfer.

Source: http://www.content4reprint.com/recreation-and-leisure/sports/golf/do-you-believe-in-quick-golf-fixes.htm

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Horrifying crash at Daytona exposes risks to fans

Kyle Larson's car (32) gets airborne during a multi-car wreck on the final lap of the NASCAR Nationwide Series auto race Saturday, Feb. 23, 2013, at Daytona International Speedway in Daytona Beach, Fla. (AP Photo/David Graham)

Kyle Larson (32) goes airborne into the catch fence in a multi-car crash including Dale Earnhardt Jr. (88), Parker Kilgerman (77), Justin Allgaier (31) and Brian Scott (2) during the final lap of the NASCAR Nationwide Series auto race at Daytona International Speedway, Saturday, Feb. 23, 2013, in Daytona Beach, Fla. (AP Photo/John Raoux)

Kyle Larson's car is on fire as he slides down the track with Regan Smith after being involved in a crash at the conclusion of the NASCAR Nationwide Series auto race Saturday, Feb. 23, 2013, at Daytona International Speedway in Daytona Beach, Fla. (AP Photo/Chris O'Meara)

Kyle Larson climbs out of his car after being involved in a crash at the conclusion of the NASCAR Nationwide Series auto race Saturday, Feb. 23, 2013, at Daytona International Speedway in Daytona Beach, Fla. (AP Photo/Chris O'Meara)

Track workers repair the safety fence along on the front grandstands, where Kyle Larson's car hit it on the final lap of the NASCAR Nationwide Series auto race at Daytona International Speedway in Daytona Beach, Fla., Saturday, Feb. 23, 2013. (AP Photo/Phelan M. Ebenhack)

DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. (AP) ? The risks of racing extend beyond the drivers.

Fans can wind up in the danger zone, too.

A horrifying crash on the last lap of a race at Daytona International Speedway injured at least 30 fans Saturday and provided another stark reminder of what can happen when a car going nearly 200 mph is suddenly launched toward the spectator areas.

The victims were sprayed with large chunks of debris ? including a tire ? after rookie Kyle Larson's machine careened into the fencing that is designed to protect the massive grandstands lining NASCAR's most famous track.

"I love the sport," said Shannan Devine, who witnessed the carnage from her 19th-row seat, about 250 feet away. "But no one wants to get hurt over it."

The fencing served its primary purpose, catapulting what was left of Larson's car back onto the track. But it didn't keep potentially lethal shards from flying into the stands.

"There was absolute shock," Devine said. "People were saying, 'I can't believe it, I can't believe it. I've never seen this happen, I've never seen this happen. Did the car through the fence?' It was just shock and awe. Grown men were reaching out and grabbing someone, saying, 'Oh my gosh! Oh my gosh!' It was just disbelief, absolute disbelief."

From Daytona to Le Mans to a rural road in Ireland, auto racing spectators have long been too close to the action when parts start flying. The crash in the second-tier Nationwide race follows a long list of accidents that have left fans dead or injured.

The most tragic incident occurred during the 1955 24 Hours of Le Mans, when two cars collided near the main stands. The wreck sent debris hurtling into the crowd, while one of the cars flipped upside down and exploded in a giant fireball.

Eighty-three spectators and driver Pierre Levegh were killed, and 120 fans were injured.

The Daytona crash began as the field approached the checkered flag and leader Regan Smith attempted to block Brad Keselowski. That triggered a chain reaction, and rookie Kyle Larson hit the cars in front of him and went airborne into the fence.

The entire front end was sheared off Larson's car, and his burning engine wedged through a gaping hole in the fence. Chunks of debris from the car were thrown into the stands, including a tire that cleared the top of the fence and landed midway up the spectator section closest to the track.

"I thought the car went through the fence," Devine said. "I didn't know if there was a car on top of people. I didn't know what to think. I'm an emotional person. I immediately started to cry. It was very scary, absolutely scary. I love the speed of the sport. But it's so dangerous."

The fencing used to protect seating areas and prevent cars from hurtling out of tracks has long been part of the debate over how to improve safety.

Three-time Indianapolis 500 winner Dario Franchitti lost close friend Dan Wheldon at Las Vegas in the 2011 IndyCar season finale, when Wheldon's car catapulted into the fencing and his head struck a support post. Since his death, IndyCar drivers have called for studies on how to improve the safety barriers.

Franchitti renewed the pleas on Twitter after the Daytona crash, writing "it's time (at)Indycar (at)nascar other sanctioning bodies & promoters work on an alternative to catch fencing. There has to be a better solution."

Another fan who witnessed the crash said he's long worried that sizable gaps in the fencing increase the chances of debris getting through to the stands.

"I've always thought the netting was very wide and pieces could fly through," said Lenny Brown, who was attending races at Daytona for the fourth time.

Among the most frightening accidents involving fans:

? In 1987, Bobby Allison's car lifted off the track at Talladega Superspeedway in Alabama while running over 200 mph, careening into the steel-cable fence and scattering debris into the crowd. That crash led to the use of horsepower-sapping restrictor plates at Talladega and its sister track in Daytona, NASCAR's fastest layouts. As a result, the cars all run nearly the same speed, and the field is typically bunched tightly together ? which plenty of drivers have warned is actually a more dangerous scenario than higher speeds.

? That same year, at the Indianapolis 500, a fan was killed when struck by a tire that came off Tony Bettenhausen's car. The tire bounced off the front of Roberto Guerrero's car and flew to the top row of the grandstand.

? In 1998, three fans were killed and six others were injured in CART's IndyCar race at Michigan International Speedway when Adrian Fernandez crashed, sending a tire and other parts into the stands.

? The following year, three fans were killed at Charlotte Motor Speedway during an Indy Racing League event when debris from an accident flew into the stands. The track never held another IndyCar race.

? In 2009, Talladega was the scene of another scary crash during a NASCAR Sprint Cup race. Carl Edwards' car sailed upside-down into the front-stretch fence on a furious dash to the finish line, showering the stands with debris. Seven fans sustained minor injuries.

? In 2010 at a National Hot Rod Association event in Chandler, Ariz., a woman was killed by a tire that flew off Antron Brown's crashing dragster at Firebird International Raceway. The wheel bounced a couple of times and soared over the grandstands ? missing the bulk of the spectators ? before it hit the woman.

? Also in 2010, at an off-road racing event in the Southern California desert, a truck flew off a jump and landed on a group of spectators, sending bodies flying. Eight were killed, 10 injured. There also have been deaths at the Baja 1000 and Dakar Rally, the two most famous off-road races, though multiple-death crashes into the crowd like the one in the Mojave Desert are rare.

? Last year, in a rally car race in Ireland, a car went out of control on a rural road and crashed into a crowd of about 30 spectators, killing two people and seriously injuring seven. Witnesses said the car crashed through a fence and into the onlookers before coming to rest on its side beside a home.

At Daytona, workers scurried to patch up the damaged fencing and left little doubt that the biggest race of the weekend, Sunday's Daytona 500, would go on as planned.

Brown, who saw the crash from his 38th-row seat in the Petty grandstand, said he would be back in the same section for the season-opening Sprint Cup event. He has no qualms about his safety, sitting so high up, but said he would think twice about the seats he had for the race two years ago.

"The last time I was here, we were only about six rows up," Brown said. "I had even told some people before the crash, 'I would never sit that close to the track ever again.'"

But someone surely will ? mindful of the risks but eager to be among more than 100,000 fans cheering on stock car racing's biggest stars.

"Here we are, paying money to sit next to cars going 195 mph," Devine said. "We do it because we love it. That's what we expect."

___

Associated Press writer Jerome Minerva in Daytona Beach contributed to this report.

Associated Press

Source: http://hosted2.ap.org/APDEFAULT/347875155d53465d95cec892aeb06419/Article_2013-02-24-NASCAR-Fan%20Accidents/id-51a5c88221214bd2b8a97b1741a99bda

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