Bells, applause as Pope Benedict XVI flies out of Vatican

With "heart-felt thanks," Benedict XVI addresses the crowd outside Castel Gandolfo in his last speech as Pope, urging faithful to "keep going forward."

By Alastair Jamieson, Staff writer, NBC News

To a chorus of bells and a ripple of applause from his closest advisers, Pope Benedict XVI departed the Vatican for the last time as pontiff Thursday.

He emerged from the Apostolic Palace and was saluted by Cardinal Tarcisio Bertone, the Vatican secretary of state, and other senior staff members in the St. Damaso Courtyard before being driven to his helicopter for the journey to his lavish temporary residence.

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A crowd of well-wishers was waiting to greet him from the piazza when he arrived at Castel Gandolfo, which is about 20 miles south-east of Rome.

They chanted his name in Italian and cheered wildly as he appeared from the balcony of the building. Some were moved to tears.

"Thank you for your friendship," he said. "I am just a pilgrim."

To coincide with his 5 p.m. local time (11 a.m ET) departure, a final message was posted to the pontiff's official Twitter account.

"Thank you for your love and support," it said. "May you always experience the joy that comes from putting Christ at the centre of your lives."

Although the pope has a helicopter pilot?s licence, the chopper was flown by an Italian air force pilot, as is customary.

Thousands of faithful pack the medieval square outside Castel Gandolfo in Lazio, Italy, to greet Pope Benedict XVI and thank him for his papacy as he settles into his new surroundings.

Due to join the pontiff on the 15-minute flight were his personal secretaries Archbishop Georg Ganswein and Monsignor Alfred Xuereb, along with Monsignor Leonardo Sapienza, the deputy prefect of the papal household, Professor Patrizio Polisca who is the pope's personal physician, and Sandro Mariotti, the pope's butler.

It was a quiet departure, characteristic of his shy demeanor, giving little hint of the historical significance of the event ? the first of its kind for almost six centuries.

Earlier, he said a muted goodbye to his cardinals and closest advisers.

"I will continue to be close to you," he told them in the Vatican's 16th century Sala Clementina, before exchanging individual, private greetings.?

"The future pope is among you," the pontiff added, pledging his "unconditional reverence and obedience" to whoever is chosen as his successor.

He also expressed a desire for the church to work like an orchestra where diverse elements came together in harmony ? yet another reference to his frustration over infighting at the top of the church.

He was expected to bid an individual farewell to dozens of members of the papal hierarchy, the curia, during the day before flying by helicopter to his temporary residence at Castel Gandolfo.

As the final day of Pope Benedict XVI's papacy comes to a close, focus turns to the cardinals entrusted to elect the next leader of the church. NBC's Anne Thompson reports on the upcoming conclave and the centuries-old tradition of a secret vote.

Cardinal Timothy Dolan, Archbishop of New York, was among 11 cardinals from the United States bidding him farewell on his final day as pontiff.

"It was kind of somber for me," Dolan told TODAY. "To see this gentle, learned, loving holy man, to see him very fragile, to see him having made what I consider to be a remarkably humble and courageous decision, it was very moving, it was a very tender moment."

"I was honored that he remembered my name ? it?s always good when the boss knows your name," he added.

When the doors of Castel Gandolfo close at 8 p.m. local time Friday (2 p.m. ET) ? the moment Benedict's papacy ends ? the distinctive Swiss Guards in attendance will go off-duty.

The pontiff, who will be known from that moment as pope emeritus, will remain at the papal summer residence for two months until his permanent home in a monastery within the Vatican is refurbished.

'A caring pastor'
NBC News Vatican expert George Weigel said Benedict would be remembered as "the greatest papal preacher since Gregory the Great in the 6th century" and "a caring pastor."

Almost eight years after the death of John Paul II, it's clear Catholics still feel a special affection for the man often called "the people's pope," who was renowned for his compassion and support of human rights. NBC's Savannah Guthrie reports.

Father John Bartunek, a priest and author who works in Rome, added: "One of the characteristics that has struck us is personal humility and sincerity. He has a certain sweetness and openness and he?s always present, always willing to listen and that will also be part of his legacy.?

"A lot of the repercussions of his decisions won?t be seen right away," he said.

Thursday's goodbyes were in stark contrast to?Wednesday's public event, where a crowd of more than 100,000?cheered, applauded and waved banners of support as he delivered his final audience at a packed St. Peter's Square.

He assured pilgrims and well-wishers that he was not "coming down from the cross" despite renouncing his office, saying his decision was taken "in full awareness of its gravity and rarity but also with profound serenity of spirit."

An introverted theologian, Benedict is credited with pushing the "new evangelization" and repairing rifts with Jews, but faulted for not taking stronger action as a sex-abuse scandal tarnished the church's reputation and for letting the Vatican bureaucracy run amok.

Vatican watchers say there is no clear front-runner to replace him and Benedict's legacy will loom large as they look to the future.

A Vatican spokesman told the Catholic News Service that the college will probably not meet over the weekend but could gather the following Monday for informal talks to set a date for the conclave and begin talking about priorities for 266th pope.

Gabriel Bouys / AFP - Getty Images

The pope delivers his final audience in St. Peter's Square as he prepares to stand down.

Under church law, the conclave couldn?t start until March 15, but an amendment this week will allow the cardinals to push up the date as along as all 115 electors are in place. There were supposed to be 117, but one is too sick to attend and another recused himself after being accused of inappropriate behavior with priests.

And the Vatican guesthouse, where the cardinals will stay during the conclave, must be swept for listening devices before they can move in.

The length of the conclave ? with its four secret ballots a day, cast in the Sistine Chapel ? is anyone's guess; it took two days to elect Benedict and three to choose his predecessor, John Paul II.

Dolan, who will be in the conclave, said: "There?s a mixed feeling. You hear cardinals say there is a sense of wanting a new pope as soon as possible, and for that to happen in the most prudent way you need some time for reflection and prayer to get to know each other. But the ?first item on the agenda at the general congregations next week will be 'When well we begin the conclave?'"

Meanwhile, the Vatican announced on Thursday that a 92-year-old French cardinal, Jean Honor?, died on Wednesday. Because of his age, he was not among the 117 cardinals eligible to take part in the conclave.

NBC News' Tracy Connor contributed to this report.

Related:

Inside Castel Gandolfo, Pope Benedict's spectacular temporary retirement home

'Amateur hour': Vatican conclave drama is one for the history books, experts say

Inside the Vatican: The $8 billion global institution where nuns answer the phones

This story was originally published on Thu Feb 28, 2013 6:57 AM EST

Source: http://worldnews.nbcnews.com/_news/2013/02/28/17129365-thank-you-for-your-friendship-pope-benedict-xvi-flies-from-vatican?lite

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Syrian army clashes with rebels around Aleppo

BEIRUT (AP) ? Syrian warplanes carried out airstrikes on rebels trying to storm a police academy outside Aleppo on Wednesday, activists said, while jihadi fighters battled government troops along a key supply road leading to the southeastern part of the city, activists said.

The latest fighting came as the new U.S. secretary of state said Washington is looking for more concrete ways to help the rebels in their fight to oust President Bashar Assad.

Aleppo, Syria's largest city and former commercial capital, became a key front in the country's civil war after rebels launched an offensive there in July 2012. In months of bloody street fighting, opposition fighters have slowly expanded the turf under their control, although the combat has left much of the city in ruins.

The police academy has recently emerged as a new front in the fight for the city, which is considered a major prize in the conflict. Activists say the government has turned the facility into a military base, using it to shell opposition areas in the countryside as well as rebel-held neighborhoods inside the city.

The Britain-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said clashes raged Wednesday around the complex.

"The rebels are still trying to storm the school, but they can't because the regime is carrying out airstrikes and bombarding rebel forces," Observatory director Rami Abdul-Rahman said.

He said at least six rebels were killed Wednesday, bringing the three-day death toll to 37 opposition fighters and more than 50 regime troops.

Another key front in the battle for control of Aleppo is the city's international airport. Rebels have been trying for months to seize the facility, and have made headway in recent weeks, overrunning checkpoints and capturing a military base charged with protecting the airport.

The government is desperate to hold onto the airport, which it has used in the past to fly in supplies to its troops bogged down in the city. However, the fighting has forced the government to close the airport to flights and try to send supplies and reinforcements overland.

Most of those reinforcements, including dozens of vehicles and thousands of troops, are now stuck in the city of Safira, southeast of Aleppo, according to Abdul-Rahman. Fighters from Jabhat al-Nusra, an Islamic extremist rebel group that the U.S. has designated a terrorist organization, have cut the road leading from Safira to the airport, and for weeks have battled troops along the road, preventing them from pushing north to the city to link up with government troops there.

The Observatory reported fierce clashes north of Safira on Wednesday, with both sides shelling each other with mortars and artillery.

The rebels have notched a number of strategic victories in recent weeks that appear to mark a shift in momentum in the nearly 2-year-old conflict, which the U.N. says has killed some 70,000 people. Already in control of much of the countryside in the northeast, the rebels have captured the nation's largest hydroelectric dam, a major oil field and two army bases.

They have also been peppering the center of Damascus with mortar shells as part of their effort to bring the fighting from the capital's rebel-held suburbs into the center of the city. On Wednesday, the Observatory said several mortar shells exploded near the military judiciary and the literature department of Damascus University.

Part of the rebel strategy appears to be to try to shatter the sense of normal life that Assad's regime has desperately tried to maintain in the capital, which has been insulated from much of the violence ravaging the rest of the country.

In Paris, U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry said Washington is looking for more tangible ways to support Syria's rebels and bolster the Western-backed political opposition that would "accelerate the political transition that the Syrian people want and deserve."

So far, the U.S. has largely limited its assistance to funding for communications and other logistical equipment. A decision on whether to vastly increase the size and scope of aid ? including pre-packaged meals and medical supplies ? is expected by Thursday when Kerry will attend an international conference on Syria in Rome, officials in the U.S. and Europe said.

The Obama administration has not sent military equipment to the rebels, in part out of fears it could fall into the hands of Islamic militants who could use it for terrorist attacks.

The officials spoke on condition of anonymity because the shift in strategy has not yet been finalized and still needs to be coordinated with European nations.

The civil war has forced hundreds of thousands of Syrians to flee their homes and seek shelter elsewhere inside the country or abroad.

Anmar Hmoud, a government spokesman for Syrian refugee affairs, said Wednesday new surge has seen around 3,000 refugees a day escaping across the border into the kingdom as fighting intensifies in southern Syria. The influx has pushed the total number in Jordan to nearly 420,000.

The U.N. says there are nearly 925,000 displaced Syrians scattered throughout the region.

Syria's state news agency said the Interior Ministry on Wednesday extended the validity of passports from six to 10 years, starting from January 2013. Syrians outside the country holding expired passports will be able to renew their documents for two years, SANA said.

The move appeared to meet a demand of Syria's exiled opposition leaders, who have pressed the government to renew passports of the hundreds of thousands of Syrians who have sought refuge abroad and now find their papers no longer valid, potentially trapping them outside the country.

The opposition is certain to monitor whether the order is indeed implemented at the embassy level, or whether it remains on paper only.

___

Associated Press writers Dale Gavlak in Amman, Jordan, and Matthew Lee in Paris contributed.

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/syrian-army-clashes-rebels-around-aleppo-175322218.html

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Good Eggs Aims to Be the Amazon of Local Food

Good Eggs launched on Thursday a new web platform that lets users select items from various local vendors and farmers for a single, customized box of food, ready for delivery or pickup.

Source: http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/GearFactor/~3/vewFDDyB0Jk/

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ADCELLPACK project advances the use of cellulose-based materials in food packaging

Public release date: 22-Feb-2013
[ | E-mail | Share ]

Contact: Marja Juvonen
marja.juvonen@vtt.fi
358-207-227-430
VTT Technical Research Centre of Finland

ADCELLPACK project advances the use of cellulose-based materials in food packaging By developing cellulose packaging material to be used in atmosphere packaging techniques, the European ADCELLPACK consortium is aiming to create an alternative to the use of oil-based packaging materials in food packaging, especially for cheese. The need for the development work arises from the increasing amounts of non-renewable oil-based packaging waste.

Centros Comerciales Carrefour, Distribuciones Juan Luna, Papelera de Brandia, Elastopoli Oy, Skymark and VTT Technical Research Centre of Finland, with ITENE as coordinator, will develop a new renewable solution that will maintain the freshness of a product and assure its food contact safety.

Life-style changes and the need for product differentiation have put pressure on the quality and sales appeal of food packaging. This has increased the amount of packaging material. At the moment, most food packaging material is of non-renewable, oil-based origin. According to EUROSTAT, domestic plastic packaging waste in Europe amounts to more than 15 million tonnes, of which 40% is disposed of and not recovered or recycled.

In order to increase the amount of bio-based food packaging materials, the European ADCELLPACK consortium is developing a thermoplastic wood-fibre-based packaging material for trays used primarily in packages of sliced cheese.

The new material will be designed to suit Modified Atmosphere Packaging (MAP). The MAP technique is widely used for the preservation of fresh foods because it offers the product an increased shelf life. In this packaging technique, atmospheric air inside the package is replaced with the desired gas mixture. Common MAP packaging structures are based on non-renewable multilayer materials which are difficult to recycle.

The use of bio-based materials is a promising alternative in the packaging industry for reducing the environmental impact and the use of non-renewable resources. Materials based on cellulose can be an outstanding alternative to substitute materials currently used in MAP.

A fully sustainable solution will be developed that will maintain the freshness of the product and assure its food contact safety. The solution will provide actual or improved shelf life through the use of cellulosic materials and biodegradable polymers, with simplified production. There will be broad opportunity for use of the solution in several food products nowadays packaged using MAP.

ADCELLPACK is a two-year project that started at the beginning of November 2012. The budget is 1.4 million euros, and the project is financed by the EU (FP7-SME-2012 Research for the benefit of specific groups).

The consortium is based on a group of four SMEs Distribuciones Juan Luna, S.L.U. (Spain), Papelera de Brandia, S.A. (Spain), Elastopoli Oy (Finland), and Skymark Packaging International Limited (UK); one large enterprise Centros Comerciales Carrefour (Spain); and two relevant research centres VTT Technical Research Centre of Finland and ITENE Packaging, Transport and Logistics Research Center (Spain), the latter as coordinator of this initiative. All have expertise in paper production, bioplastics processing, conversion of packaging materials, and cheese production.

###

The research has received funding from the European Union's Seventh Framework Programme managed by REA-Research Executive Agency under grant agreement number 315688.

www.adcellpack.eu

Further information:

ITENE - PACKAGING, TRANSPORT & LOGISTICS RESEARCH CENTER
Antonio Monsalve, Marketing Department
tel. +34 96 182 00 00, amonsalve@itene.com

VTT Technical Research Centre of Finland
Marja Juvonen, Senior Scientist
tel. +358 20 722 7430, marja.juvonen@vtt.fi

Further information on VTT:

Sakari Sohlberg, Manager, External Communications
Tel. 358 20 722 6744
sakari.sohlberg@vtt.fi
www.vtt.fi

VTT Technical Research Centre of Finland is a leading multitechnological applied research organization in Northern Europe. VTT creates new technology and science-based innovations in co-operation with domestic and foreign partners. VTT's turnover is EUR 290 million and its personnel totals 3,100.

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[ | 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.

Public release date: 22-Feb-2013
[ | E-mail | Share ]

Contact: Marja Juvonen
marja.juvonen@vtt.fi
358-207-227-430
VTT Technical Research Centre of Finland

ADCELLPACK project advances the use of cellulose-based materials in food packaging By developing cellulose packaging material to be used in atmosphere packaging techniques, the European ADCELLPACK consortium is aiming to create an alternative to the use of oil-based packaging materials in food packaging, especially for cheese. The need for the development work arises from the increasing amounts of non-renewable oil-based packaging waste.

Centros Comerciales Carrefour, Distribuciones Juan Luna, Papelera de Brandia, Elastopoli Oy, Skymark and VTT Technical Research Centre of Finland, with ITENE as coordinator, will develop a new renewable solution that will maintain the freshness of a product and assure its food contact safety.

Life-style changes and the need for product differentiation have put pressure on the quality and sales appeal of food packaging. This has increased the amount of packaging material. At the moment, most food packaging material is of non-renewable, oil-based origin. According to EUROSTAT, domestic plastic packaging waste in Europe amounts to more than 15 million tonnes, of which 40% is disposed of and not recovered or recycled.

In order to increase the amount of bio-based food packaging materials, the European ADCELLPACK consortium is developing a thermoplastic wood-fibre-based packaging material for trays used primarily in packages of sliced cheese.

The new material will be designed to suit Modified Atmosphere Packaging (MAP). The MAP technique is widely used for the preservation of fresh foods because it offers the product an increased shelf life. In this packaging technique, atmospheric air inside the package is replaced with the desired gas mixture. Common MAP packaging structures are based on non-renewable multilayer materials which are difficult to recycle.

The use of bio-based materials is a promising alternative in the packaging industry for reducing the environmental impact and the use of non-renewable resources. Materials based on cellulose can be an outstanding alternative to substitute materials currently used in MAP.

A fully sustainable solution will be developed that will maintain the freshness of the product and assure its food contact safety. The solution will provide actual or improved shelf life through the use of cellulosic materials and biodegradable polymers, with simplified production. There will be broad opportunity for use of the solution in several food products nowadays packaged using MAP.

ADCELLPACK is a two-year project that started at the beginning of November 2012. The budget is 1.4 million euros, and the project is financed by the EU (FP7-SME-2012 Research for the benefit of specific groups).

The consortium is based on a group of four SMEs Distribuciones Juan Luna, S.L.U. (Spain), Papelera de Brandia, S.A. (Spain), Elastopoli Oy (Finland), and Skymark Packaging International Limited (UK); one large enterprise Centros Comerciales Carrefour (Spain); and two relevant research centres VTT Technical Research Centre of Finland and ITENE Packaging, Transport and Logistics Research Center (Spain), the latter as coordinator of this initiative. All have expertise in paper production, bioplastics processing, conversion of packaging materials, and cheese production.

###

The research has received funding from the European Union's Seventh Framework Programme managed by REA-Research Executive Agency under grant agreement number 315688.

www.adcellpack.eu

Further information:

ITENE - PACKAGING, TRANSPORT & LOGISTICS RESEARCH CENTER
Antonio Monsalve, Marketing Department
tel. +34 96 182 00 00, amonsalve@itene.com

VTT Technical Research Centre of Finland
Marja Juvonen, Senior Scientist
tel. +358 20 722 7430, marja.juvonen@vtt.fi

Further information on VTT:

Sakari Sohlberg, Manager, External Communications
Tel. 358 20 722 6744
sakari.sohlberg@vtt.fi
www.vtt.fi

VTT Technical Research Centre of Finland is a leading multitechnological applied research organization in Northern Europe. VTT creates new technology and science-based innovations in co-operation with domestic and foreign partners. VTT's turnover is EUR 290 million and its personnel totals 3,100.

---

[ | 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/vtrc-apa022213.php

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Potential Surprise Picks to Watch for St. Louis Rams at NFL Scouting Combine

Brian Spurlock-USA TODAY Sports

When a team is as stocked with draft choices as the St. Louis Rams will be in April, the NFL Scouting Combine becomes an even more important exercise. The club will have a number of different options to choose from in the first round as the only team with two selections in the top 22. Trading down is always a sensible choice while staying put and adding two potential instant starters is also a viable possibility.

Whatever the Rams decide to do, the Combine over the next week will likely have a large impact on just which players end up in St. Louis for 2013.

There are three clear needs for the Rams coming into the offseason with offensive line, wide receiver, and safety all leading the way. Any of these positions could be where the Rams focus in the upcoming draft, but a potential wild card could be outside linebacker. The team really struggled at that spot this past season and everyone is well aware of the fact that during Head Coach Jeff Fisher?s lengthy tenures as an NFL coach, never has one of his teams drafted an offensive lineman in the first round.

Defense is always a priority with Fisher and even though the Rams have glaring deficiencies on offense, the team may choose to continue beefing up the other side of the football. With the 16th pick, a player to keep an eye on at the Combine will be safety Kenny Vaccaro of Texas.

While he can make plays in coverage, perhaps his best asset is coming down into the box and acting as that fourth linebacker. He doesn?t shy away from contact and can certainly help against the run, but there are questions about his ability to defend the pass. If he can show some decent speed, test well in all of the agility exercises, and show some knowledge during interviews, Vaccaro may be on the Rams? radar at pick number 16 in April.

A possible surprise pick at number 16 overall could be Georgia linebacker Alec Ogletree. There are plenty who believe he has the talent to be a top 10 pick, but almost assuredly after his recent DUI arrest and failed drug test prior to the 2012 season he will end up much lower.

As a converted safety, clearly Ogletree has the rangy speed to excel in coverage. He could easily play outside backer in the Rams 4-3 alignment and would help mask some of the team?s difficulties in coverage as a result. He isn?t the best against the run, but the Rams have a number of players who would complement that skill set quite well.

There is no doubt he will test well at the Combine and if his interviews go alright, don?t be surprised if Fisher and his Rams take a gamble on a player with ridiculous upside who has some character questions (i.e. Janoris Jenkins).

It?s still too early to know which direction the Rams are leaning in, but after the Combine, players will rise and fall rapidly which should only further serve to focus their intent in the upcoming draft. It certainly couldn?t be a surprise to see the Rams take a calculated risk on some players that they feel could really pay off immediately, even if they aren?t necessarily in the most talked about areas of need for the team.

Anthony Blake is a Writer/Editor for Rant Sports. You Can Follow Him on Twitter, on Facebook, or add him to your network on Google.

Source: http://www.rantsports.com/nfl/2013/02/21/potential-surprise-picks-to-watch-for-st-louis-rams-at-nfl-scouting-combine/

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Video: Jesse Jackson Jr. pleads guilty to fraud

>>> former congressman jesse jackson jr . was for years considered a rising bright light among democrats in congress with a famous family name. but today he and his wife were in tears in a federal courtroom, pleading guilty to serious crimes involving campaign money. both of them now face possible prison time. our report from our justice correspondent, pete williams .

>> reporter: for jesse jackson jr ., the walk into the courthouse was the end of a slow-motion fall from grace . he told a federal judge , for years i have lived off my campaign. admitting that he took money received in political contributions and used it to make more than 3,000 separate purchases for himself and his wife over the past seven years. a $43,000 gold watch. $19,000 for one of michael jackson 's guitars. $16,000 for a pair of elk heads. tens of thousands more in furnishings for their homes in washington and chicago. total value, $750,000.

>> jesse jackson jr . had the drive, the ability and the talent to be the voice of a new generation. but he squandered that talent.

>> reporter: as he left today, jackson was apologetic.

>> not a proud day. i'm sorry i let everybody down.

>> reporter: but his lawyer says at age 47, he still has a promising future.

>> a man that talented, a man that devoted to public service , a man who has done so much for so many, has another day. there will be another chapter in jesse jackson 's life.

>> reporter: his wife, sandra, a former chicago alderman , was at the same courthouse, tearfully pleading guilty to a related charge. jesse jackson jr . will be sentenced in june, and will almost certainly face prison time, perhaps as much as four years. pete williams , nbc news, at federal court in washington.

Source: http://video.msnbc.msn.com/nightly-news/50880252/

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The Walking Dead, Season 3

"He's dead, Jim."

Gene Page/AMC

When the Governor put a bullet in Axel?s head, I could almost hear Bones say it: ?He?s dead, Jim.? Axel did what he had always seemed destined to do?die?and in so doing, he joined a pantheon of mostly forgotten?The Walking Dead?characters whose sole purpose seemed to be to remind viewers that the good guys are vulnerable.

Axel was prime redshirt material. He first appeared in the first episode of this season, but after nine episodes we only knew him a little better than ill-fated Oscar. His backstory-revealing flirtation with Carol in in ?Home? was a mislead, and an effective one at that; it misled us into thinking the show would actually give a new character some substance and purpose before killing him off.

My buddy in this week?s chat,?Forbes? Erik Kain, described this as the ?Lost?Syndrome,? after the second season of?Lost, which added a swath of new characters to the show only to?promptly kill almost all of them. I get it:?The Walking Dead?wants to convince us that the protagonists aren?t indestructible. Superman has kryptonite because suspense isn?t suspense unless the good guys can get hurt. But?The Walking Dead?doesn?t have to make this point every other episode by killing off a recently added character. It?s lazy and unnecessary, and, more grievously, it wastes the time viewers have invested observing and evaluating that character.

A high school English teacher once told me that great literature lacks characters and subplots that are superfluous to its point,?Moby Dick?notwithstanding. While I don?t expect?The Walking Dead?to be?Pride and Prejudice, good drama spends human capital effectively, and at times this show knows how to do that.

Take Lori?s death, for instance. Lori?s death had huge repercussions throughout the rest of the season. It calcified Carl and drove Rick mad.

Now consider Jim?s death. I know. Who the hell was Jim again?

That doesn?t mean we have to know every new guy?s origin story or that Rick should spend episodes grieving over each casualty (which he?s kind of doing anyway). Dale?s death showed that even deeply developed characters can die rather inconsequentially?but at least he had a significant part to play?before?his death. Conversely, the deaths of lightly developed characters can have far-reaching ramifications. Otis? death in Season 2 led circuitously to Shane?s fall and demise, and Jacqui?s suicide at the CDC raised fascinating philosophical questions. These characters, whether in their lives or through their deaths, had some sort of significant plot-related or thematic point.

What has Axel really?done?since the group reluctantly brought him into the fold??Creep on Beth? Maybe it?s premature to call his death meaningless, but I don?t see any character or viewer giving him more than the same shrug they gave to any of the other doomed members of the prison gang. Just like Ana Lucia, Mr. Eko, and those poor redshirts who beamed down with Kirk and Spock, he was a plot device, not a person?and his two minutes of backstory in ?Home? didn?t change that.

Source: http://feeds.slate.com/click.phdo?i=bb216c1c856a30646f5bf3e54258c5d8

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New technique scales up production of graphene micro-supercapacitors

Feb. 19, 2013 ? While the demand for ever-smaller electronic devices has spurred the miniaturization of a variety of technologies, one area has lagged behind in this downsizing revolution: energy-storage units, such as batteries and capacitors.

Now, Richard Kaner, a member of the California NanoSystems Institute at UCLA and a professor of chemistry and biochemistry, and Maher El-Kady, a graduate student in Kaner's laboratory, may have changed the game.

The UCLA researchers have developed a groundbreaking technique that uses a DVD burner to fabricate micro-scale graphene-based supercapacitors -- devices that can charge and discharge a hundred to a thousand times faster than standard batteries. These micro-supercapacitors, made from a one-atom-thick layer of graphitic carbon, can be easily manufactured and readily integrated into small devices such as next-generation pacemakers.

The new cost-effective fabrication method, described in a study published this week in the journal Nature Communications, holds promise for the mass production of these supercapacitors, which have the potential to transform electronics and other fields.

"The integration of energy-storage units with electronic circuits is challenging and often limits the miniaturization of the entire system," said Kaner, who is also a professor of materials science and engineering at UCLA's Henry Samueli School of Engineering and Applied Science. "This is because the necessary energy-storage components scale down poorly in size and are not well suited to the planar geometries of most integrated fabrication processes."

"Traditional methods for the fabrication of micro-supercapacitors involve labor-intensive lithographic techniques that have proven difficult for building cost-effective devices, thus limiting their commercial application," El-Kady said. "Instead, we used a consumer-grade LightScribe DVD burner to produce graphene micro-supercapacitors over large areas at a fraction of the cost of traditional devices. Using this technique, we have been able to produce more than 100 micro-supercapacitors on a single disc in less than 30 minutes, using inexpensive materials."

The process of miniaturization often relies on flattening technology, making devices thinner and more like a geometric plane that has only two dimensions. In developing their new micro-supercapacitor, Kaner and El-Kady used a two-dimensional sheet of carbon, known as graphene, which only has the thickness of a single atom in the third dimension.

Kaner and El-Kady took advantage of a new structural design during the fabrication. For any supercapacitor to be effective, two separated electrodes have to be positioned so that the available surface area between them is maximized. This allows the supercapacitor to store a greater charge. A previous design stacked the layers of graphene serving as electrodes, like the slices of bread on a sandwich. While this design was functional, however, it was not compatible with integrated circuits.

In their new design, the researchers placed the electrodes side by side using an interdigitated pattern, akin to interwoven fingers. This helped to maximize the accessible surface area available for each of the two electrodes while also reducing the path over which ions in the electrolyte would need to diffuse. As a result, the new supercapacitors have more charge capacity and rate capability than their stacked counterparts.

Interestingly, the researchers found that by placing more electrodes per unit area, they boosted the micro-supercapacitor's ability to store even more charge.

Kaner and El-Kady were able to fabricate these intricate supercapacitors using an affordable and scalable technique that they had developed earlier. They glued a layer of plastic onto the surface of a DVD and then coated the plastic with a layer of graphite oxide. Then, they simply inserted the coated disc into a commercially available LightScribe optical drive -- traditionally used to label DVDs -- and took advantage of the drive's own laser to create the interdigitated pattern. The laser scribing is so precise that none of the "interwoven fingers" touch each other, which would short-circuit the supercapacitor.

"To label discs using LightScribe, the surface of the disc is coated with a reactive dye that changes color on exposure to the laser light. Instead of printing on this specialized coating, our approach is to coat the disc with a film of graphite oxide, which then can be directly printed on," Kaner said. "We previously found an unusual photo-thermal effect in which graphite oxide absorbs the laser light and is converted into graphene in a similar fashion to the commercial LightScribe process. With the precision of the laser, the drive renders the computer-designed pattern onto the graphite oxide film to produce the desired graphene circuits."

"The process is straightforward, cost-effective and can be done at home," El-Kady said. "One only needs a DVD burner and graphite oxide dispersion in water, which is commercially available at a moderate cost."

The new micro-supercapacitors are also highly bendable and twistable, making them potentially useful as energy-storage devices in flexible electronics like roll-up displays and TVs, e-paper, and even wearable electronics.

The researchers showed the utility of their new laser-scribed graphene micro-supercapacitor in an all-solid form, which would enable any new device incorporating them to be more easily shaped and flexible. The micro-supercapacitors can also be fabricated directly on a chip using the same technique, making them highly useful for integration into micro-electromechanical systems (MEMS) or complementary metal-oxide-semiconductors (CMOS).

These micro-supercapacitors show excellent cycling stability, an important advantage over micro-batteries, which have shorter lifespans and which could pose a major problem when embedded in permanent structures -- such as biomedical implants, active radio-frequency identification tags and embedded micro-sensors -- for which no maintenance or replacement is possible.

As they can be directly integrated on-chip, these micro-supercapacitors may help to better extract energy from solar, mechanical and thermal sources and thus make more efficient self-powered systems. They could also be fabricated on the backside of solar cells in both portable devices and rooftop installations to store power generated during the day for use after sundown, helping to provide electricity around the clock when connection to the grid is not possible.

"We are now looking for industry partners to help us mass-produce our graphene micro-supercapacitors," Kaner said.

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The above story is reprinted from materials provided by University of California - Los Angeles. The original article was written by Davin Malasarn.

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

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Journal Reference:

1. Maher F. El-Kady, Richard B. Kaner. Scalable fabrication of high-power graphene micro-supercapacitors for flexible and on-chip energy storage. Nature Communications, 2013; 4: 1475 DOI: 10.1038/ncomms2446

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

Disclaimer: Views expressed in this article do not necessarily reflect those of ScienceDaily or its staff.

Source: http://feeds.sciencedaily.com/~r/sciencedaily/matter_energy/technology/~3/BBZmcgdASWk/130220100755.htm

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Smartphone petition breaks 100,000 signatures, forces White House response

The petition to reinstate the DMCA protection of smartphone unlockers has reached 100,000 signatories on We The People. As it's now hit the golden limit, the White House will have to issue an official response explaining its stance on the matter. The petition also asked that if the Librarian of Congress wouldn't bring back the exemption, that a bill should be passed that enshrines the right into law. As soon we see the message from the West Wing, we'll let you know what they say.

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Via: The Next Web

Source: The White House

Source: http://feeds.engadget.com/~r/weblogsinc/engadget/~3/PUOq6042kTc/

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Football: Spartans to open season Saturday against Steam

by Staff reports Rn T.Com

Semi-pro football makes a return to Rome on Saturday when the Rome Spartans host their series opener at Coosa High.

The game will kick off at 3 p.m. against the Chattanooga Steam.

Admission is $7, and children 12 years old and younger get in for free.

The Spartans compete in the Deep South Football League which is comprised of teams from Georgia, Tennessee and South Carolina.

Source: http://rn-t.com/bookmark/21751379

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Manti Te'o ready for NFL combine

BRADENTON, Fla. -- Former Notre Dame linebacker Manti Te?o will be the center of attention when the NFL scouting combine opens later this week and most of the NFC South teams are likely to be watching closely.
Te?o has been in the headlines since it was revealed that he was the victim of what he said was a hoax that led him to have an online relationship with a woman that did not exist.

The story came to light soon after Te?o arrived at IMG Academy to begin preparing for the combine.

?He missed precisely one day,?? said former NFL quarterback Chris Weinke, the director of football operations at IMG Academy where Te?o has been preparing for the combine. ?He?s gone about his business and been the same guy all along. I really admire that because a lot of guys his age would not be able to handle this as well as he has. I haven?t seen any signs of it being a distraction and I expect him to go up to Indianapolis and have a great combine.??

Those closest to Te?o said he?s shown no signs of being distracted by the off-field drama.

?Manti has been the same Manti I went to college with,?? said former Notre Dame tight end Tyler Eifert, who also has been working out at IMG. ?He left to do the Katie Couric interview for one day and I think he was back that same night. He?s been out on the field working just like he?s always worked. I?ve tried to be there for him, but I don?t know that he?s needed all that much help because he?s such a strong person to begin with.??

Teams are likely to grill Te?o about his situation during his individual interviews at the combine. Most draft gurus have been projecting Te?o as a likely first-round pick.

The Saints, Buccaneers and Panthers all pick in the middle of the first round and the Atlanta Falcons are scheduled to pick No. 30 overall. New Orleans needs some stability in its linebacker corps and Tampa Bay could be looking to add a linebacker because Quincy Black suffered a major injury last season. Carolina doesn?t appear to have much need at linebacker, but it remains to be seen if veteran Jon Beason will be a salary-cap casualty.

It may be a long shot that Te?o is still available when the Falcons pick. But, knowing how thorough the Falcons are, I?m sure they?ll do their homework on Te?o just in case.

Source: http://espn.go.com/blog/nflnation/post/_/id/72561/manti-teo-ready-for-combine

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Passenger fired after allegedly using racial slur, hitting child during ...

Kootenai County Sheriff, file

Joe Hundley was charged with assault after allegedly hitting a 19-month-old boy who had started to cry aboard a Delta flight.

By Alastair Jamieson, Staff writer, NBC News

A man accused of uttering a racial slur and slapping another passenger's crying toddler during a flight has been fired in the wake of the alleged incident.

Joe Hundley, 60, from Hayden, Idaho, was charged with assault after he allegedly hit the 19-month-old boy who had started to cry during the airplane?s descent, NBC station KARE?reported.

According to court documents, the child?s mother Jessica Bennett alleges Hundley leaned over and said, "Shut that [N-word] baby up!" before slapping the child. This caused him to bleed and cry even harder, his mother told KARE.

'Offensive and disturbing'
The Boise Weekly reported that Bennett's story was supported by another passenger who was aboard the Delta Air Lines flight from Minneapolis to Atlanta on Feb. 8. That could not be independently confirmed by NBC News.

Hundley is no longer working for Idaho-based aircraft component manufacturer, Unitech, its?parent company AGC Aerospace and Defense?said in a statement on its website Sunday:

?Reports of the recent behavior of one of our business unit executives while on personal travel are offensive and disturbing. We have taken this matter very seriously and worked diligently to examine it since learning of the matter on Friday afternoon. As of Sunday, the executive is no longer employed with the company.

?We wish to emphasize that the behavior that has been described is contradictory to our values, embarrassing and does not in any way reflect the patriotic character of the men and women of diverse backgrounds who work tirelessly in our business.?

In an interview with KARE, Bennett said Hundley appeared intoxicated, accusing him of becoming increasingly obnoxious during the flight.

"He reeked of alcohol," Bennett said.? "He was belligerent and?I was uncomfortable."

Hundley's attorney, Marcia Shein of Atlanta, has said that her client will plead not guilty to the charge.

Shein told Reuters that she has received hate mail over her defense of Hundley, but added that she believes her client has been misunderstood.

"He is not a racist," Shein said. "I'm going to make that real clear because that's what people are suggesting."

"There's background information people don't know about, and in time it will come out," she said.

The Spokesman-Review newspaper of Spokane, Wash., reported that Hundley had denied the allegations.

?I can only say it?s an absolute falsehood,? the Spokesman-Review quoted Hundley as saying.?

?

Source: http://usnews.nbcnews.com/_news/2013/02/18/17002453-passenger-fired-after-allegedly-using-racial-slur-hitting-child-during-flight

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How Obama Might OK Pipeline (WSJ)

Share With Friends: | | Politics - Top Stories News, News Feeds and News via Feedzilla.

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Video: New JFK items for auction

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Kourtney & Kim Take Miami Recap: Scott Puts the Moves on Khloe

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Osteoporosis ? The Facts | Gnet Health and Fitness

We all know as the body gets older we can become more susceptible to various ailments. If we don?t exercise properly or have a healthy diet then of course this risk becomes much greater as time goes on. Quite a lot of people over the age of 50 develop Osteoporosis, and this can lead to a lot of personal discomfort in all sorts of ways. But if you don?t really understand this disease then this article will enlighten you. We also hope to give you some great advice to help you stay clear of the symptoms!

Osteoporosis Explained

In simple terms this is the body?s inability to reconstruct the make up of the internal bone structure. It also involves the deterioration of your bone density. If you want to be blunt about things then we get holes in our bones! But in essence common sense tells you this will surely weaken the structure of the bones in the longer term.

These are normally tightly packed and extremely strong in make up, but in the case of osteoporosis they become loose and holey. This in turn will leave you at risk of fractures and breaks with just the minimum of contact!

How Do We Know If We Have a Problem?

This can start out as a backache pain or a bit of soreness in any other area around the major joints and bones. The truth is one in five men will develop osteoporosis along with one in three women over age of 50. Caucasian and Asian women carry a higher risk along with tall and slender women and those who have a strong family history of the disease. This might be worth looking into for piece of mind! But of course younger people can also develop this disease!

Generally this pain will worsen and you?ll feel a constant twinge which can easily affect your mood making you extremely irritable a lot of the time. Individuals will become more tired and anxious as what they once considered normal tasks become much harder. You?ll even lose confidence afraid you might fall and get a serious injury!

Tell Us What Causes This Condition?

In certain cases like a family history of the disease or for women, depleted estrogen following the menopause, there are every-day mitigating circumstances. Estrogen for example decreases after the menopause and as the bones need this to help with bone cell structure, then problems can certainly arise. But we can all contribute to our demise in this sense through things like smoking, too much alcohol and an unbalanced fast food diet lacking calcium which is crucial to good bone structure.

If you don?t exercise then this too can lead to quite a few problems later on. Sadly, a few medications have been linked to osteoporosis, and the disease can also lead to Arthritis, glandular problems and even cancer. Our lifestyle is a big factor!

Bone mass peaks at the age of 30 and then slowly starts to reduce!

So What If I?m Already Diagnosed with This Disease?

The good news is you can fight back against its effects and slow down the process by taking part in low impact exercise on a regular basis. Long walks or working out on a treadmill will actually improve your complete health anyway. So don?t feel you should stop exercising ? far from it!

Ask your doctor for advice and consult a fitness professional!

Treatments for the disease can include a diet rich in calcium or drugs containing phosphorus. Things like Vitamin D and eating more protein will be advised along with the low impact exercise we?ve mentioned. In fact this is very important!

So How Can We Prevent It?

There are a number of measures you can take to ward off the threat of osteoporosis.

1. A Healthy Diet with the usual amounts of fruit and vegetables
2. Minimise your caffeine content to no more than 3 daily cups of coffee
3. Consume foods rich in calcium
4. Take in plenty of vitamin D
5. Don?t smoke
6. Avoid too much alcohol
7. Strength training and weight bearing exercises will help

Can You Advise on Foods?

You?ll find good calcium in dairy products and canned fish whose bones are edible ? but look for low fat when selecting dairy products and consult your dietician or doctor! They might prescribe calcium supplements or anything else that may help. Remember every individual case is different and you need the best advice.

How Much Calcium Should We Be Getting?

1. Children (over four years) ? 700-1,000mg calcium per day
2. Adolescents ? 1,300mg calcium per day
3. Women under 50 and men under 70 ? 1,000mg calcium per day
4. Postmenopausal women and men over 70 ? 1,300mg calcium per day.

So there we have a brief overview of Osteoporosis and what we can do to help thwart off the threat. Living a good lifestyle is no guarantee about anything in this world but it certainly will reduce the risk greatly. We know you can still exercise when you have the disease and this will help you greater in later years especially.

We know changing your diet can help along with taking in things like vitamin D, calcium and phosphorus. Even if you don?t have the disease strength training and weight bearing exercises will help ensure you never have to face it!

TAKE A LOOK AT THIS: www.qualityhealth.com/osteoporosis-index/video

Related posts:

Source: http://www.gnet.org/osteoporosis-the-facts/

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Exit poll: Ecuador leader wins easy re-election

President Rafael Correa waves to supporters as he leaves a polling station after voting in Quito, Ecuador, Sunday, Feb. 17, 2013. President Rafael Correa gestures to photographers as he votes at a polling station in Quito, Ecuador, Sunday, Feb. 17, 2013. Ecuadoreans elect president, vice-president and National Assembly members Sunday with Correa highly favored to win a second re-election.(AP Photo/Martin Jaramillo)

President Rafael Correa waves to supporters as he leaves a polling station after voting in Quito, Ecuador, Sunday, Feb. 17, 2013. President Rafael Correa gestures to photographers as he votes at a polling station in Quito, Ecuador, Sunday, Feb. 17, 2013. Ecuadoreans elect president, vice-president and National Assembly members Sunday with Correa highly favored to win a second re-election.(AP Photo/Martin Jaramillo)

President Rafael Correa casts his vote for the National Assembly members in Quito, Ecuador, Sunday, Feb. 17, 2013. Ecuadoreans elect president, vice-president and National Assembly members Sunday with Correa highly favored to win a second re-election. His government has won broad backing from the lower classes as it leads Latin America in social spending.(AP Photo/Dolores Ochoa)

President Rafael Correa waves to supporters as he leaves a polling station after voting in Quito, Ecuador, Sunday, Feb. 17, 2013. President Rafael Correa gestures to photographers as he votes at a polling station in Quito, Ecuador, Sunday, Feb. 17, 2013. Ecuadoreans elect president, vice-president and National Assembly members Sunday with Correa highly favored to win a second re-election.(AP Photo/Martin Jaramillo)

Ecuador's President Rafael Correa gives a thumbs up to supporters as he stands with the Emir of Qatar Sheikh Hamad bin Khalifa al-Thani, not in picture, on a balcony at the government palace in Quito, Ecuador, Saturday, Feb. 16, 2013. Correa is running for another term in tomorrow's presidential election. Members of the National Assembly will also be elected. (AP Photo/Dolores Ochoa)

Supporters of Ecuador's President Rafael Correa attend his closing campaign rally in Quito, Ecuador, Thursday, Feb. 14, 2013. Correa, 48, who is running for re-election has brought political stability to a traditionally unruly nation that cycled through seven presidents in a decade, from 1997-2007. If re-elected on Sunday, this four-year term will be his last unless the constitution is changed. (AP Photo/Dolores Ochoa)

QUITO, Ecuador (AP) ? Ecuadorean voters appeared set to elect President Rafael Correa to a third term Sunday, with an exit poll giving a wide margin of victory to the polemical economist who has raised living standards for the lower classes and widened their social safety net while being widely criticized as intolerant of dissent.

Correa had 61 percent of the vote compared to former Banco de Guayaquil executive president Guillermo Lasso with 20 percent, according to the exit poll by Cedatos-Gallup company. Six other candidates shared the remaining votes. The poll had a margin of 3.7 percentage points.

"Presidente! Presidente!" an excited Luzmila Cordova, 33, shouted as she craned to get a look at Correa as he voted in the capital Sunday.

"We get respect from this president and the poor feel like they, too, are human," said Cordova, a maid who traveled from her hometown, Otavalo, with her three small children to watch Correa vote.

The 48-year-old president has brought uncharacteristic political stability to this oil-exporting nation of 14.6 million people that cycled through seven presidents in the decade before he first took office in 2007.

He won re-election in April 2009 after voters approved a constitutional rewrite that mandated a new ballot, and he would be legally barred from running again following a victory Sunday. To avoid a runoff, Correa needed a simple majority or 40 percent of the vote plus a 10-point margin over the No. 2 vote-getter.

A champion of big government in the mold of Venezuelan leader Hugo Chavez but more respectful of private property, Correa has endeared himself to the lower classes by making education and health care more accessible, building or improving 7,820 kilometers (4,870 miles) of highways and, the government says, creating 95,400 jobs in the past four years.

Lasso, meanwhile, promised to be friendlier to foreign investment, lower taxes on job-creating companies and roll back elements of what Correa calls his "21st century socialism," such as a 5 percent tax on capital removed from Ecuador.

Among voters casting their ballot for Correa in Quito was a grateful Jomaira Espinosa, 18.

"Before (Correa), my family didn't have enough to eat and now it does. There are lots of positive changes in the economy and my father was able to find work," said Espinosa, who added that she expects to be able to study for free at a university thanks to Correa's programs.

Correa's critics, including leading international human rights groups, consider him an intolerant bully who arbitrarily wields his near-monopoly on state power against anyone who threatens what he sees as his "citizens' revolution."

German Calapucha, a 29-year-old accountant, said he voted for one of Correa's challengers, though he didn't say which, because he's tired of Correa's imperiousness.

"He thinks that because he wins elections he has the right to mistreat people," Calapucha said. "I want a country where people respect each other."

Correa has eroded the influence of opposition parties, the Roman Catholic Church and the news media and used criminal libel law to try to silence opposition journalists. Critics decry his stacking of the courts with friendly judges and the government's prosecution of indigenous leaders for organizing protests against Correa's opening up of Ecuador to large-scale mining without their consent.

"He is far too insolent and I want there to be freedom of expression," said Laura Realpe, a 59-year-old housewife married to a lawyer who said she voted for Lasso, who she said seems fairer and "more level-headed."

One blessing for Correa has been oil prices that have been hovering around $100 a barrel.

Petroleum accounts for more than half of Ecuador's export earnings and have allowed it to lead the region in 2011 in public spending as a portion of gross domestic product at 11.1 percent, according to the United Nations. Bolivia was second with 10.8 percent.

Voters such as Fabian Garzon, a 48-year-old messenger and cleaner, credit Correa with improving their lives.

Garzon has what he's always dreamed of: his own apartment, which he is buying with a $24,000 government mortgage issued by an institution created by Correa's government. His monthly salary, meanwhile, has more than doubled over the past four years, from $200 to $450, and payments for his social security, vacation and other government-mandated contributions are being made regularly.

"I worked 25 years without having my own house and at this age, thank God, I'm able to own my own home," Garzon said.

In all, 1.9 million people receive $50 a month in aid from the state. Critics complain that the popular handouts to single mothers, needy families and the elderly poor, along with other subsidies, have bloated the government.

The number of people working for the government has burgeoned from 16,000 to 90,000 during Correa's current term, Ecuador's nongovernmental Observatory of Fiscal Policy said in a December report.

Correa also has been unable to stop a growing sensation of vulnerability in a country where robberies and burglaries grew 30 percent in 2012 compared with the previous year.

Correa gained a reputation as a maverick early on, defying international financiers by defaulting on $3.9 billion in foreign debt obligations and rewriting contracts with oil multinationals to secure a higher share of oil revenues for Ecuador.

He has also kept the United States at arm's length while upsetting Britain and Sweden in August by granting asylum at the Ecuadorean Embassy in London to WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange, the online spiller of leaked U.S. government secrets who is wanted for questioning in Sweden for alleged sexual assault.

Correa has cozied up to U.S. rivals Iran and China. The latter is the biggest buyer of Ecuador's oil and holds $3.4 billion in Ecuadorean debt, Finance Minister Patricio Rivera says.

Associated Press

Source: http://hosted2.ap.org/APDEFAULT/3d281c11a96b4ad082fe88aa0db04305/Article_2013-02-17-Ecuador-Election/id-b8538686c4ee43e08d2cb64ffd3b42b8

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Bolt in shock over Pistorius arrest

HOUSTON (AP) ? Usain Bolt says he was in shock when he heard fellow Olympic sprinter Oscar Pistorius had been arrested and charged in the shooting death of his model girlfriend.

In an interview with The Associated Press on Friday night after the NBA's All-Star celebrity game, the Jamaican gold medalist still couldn't seem to believe it.

He says: "I'm still just trying to process it in my head to see if this is really real."

Bolt says he doesn't know Pistorius well, but that he has seen and spoken to him at various events.

Asked if he plans to reach out to the double-amputee sprinter who became a star of the London Olympics, Bolt wasn't sure.

He says: "I've got to stand back and see what's going on and then I'll decide what to do."

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/bolt-shock-over-pistorius-arrest-032954192--oly.html

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PFT: Alex Smith decision looms for 49ers

Getty Images

The Lions plan to be players in free agency ? but that doesn?t mean they?ll be payers.? (See what I did there?? Yeah, I know it was lame.? Does admitting it make it any better?? Probably not.)

Team president Tom Lewand recently told the team?s official website (i.e., a press release that reads like an article) that the Lions will be careful when it comes to spending money.

?Free agency is an area where you have to understand the opportunities that are there and understand the risks that are there,? Lewand said.? ?When we, in 2010, added guys like Nate Burleson and Kyle Vanden Bosch, those were tremendous value for us.?

The Lions specifically targeted both players because offensive coordinator Scott Linehan had a history with Burleson, and coach Jim Schwartz had a history with Vanden Bosch.? Unlike many first-day signings (and due in part to their age), the players didn?t demand market value.

Tim Twentyman of the team?s official website sums up the philosophy that plenty of teams follow, and that the Lions presumably intend to respect:? ?Scoring in free agency isn?t always as easy as identifying the best player available at a position of need and going after him. Most of the time, teams end up overpaying for those services.?

As applied to the Lions, this means they won?t succumb to the temptation to spend on a guy who will generate excitement and create hope (false or otherwise) among the fan base.? Twentyman observes that ?[s]ometimes a player simply isn?t the same after a big contract is in hand,? and he points to defensive end Mario Williams as a guy who has not made ?a significant difference for the Bills.?

Coincidentally (or not), Avril recently said he?d ?love? to get a contract like the one Williams signed last year.? The article/press release/whatever on the team?s official website makes it clear that the Lions won?t get caught up in the rush to overpay Avril or anyone else.

The reality is that the Lions don?t have the cap space to overpay.? And with top-of-the-market value already given to receiver Calvin Johnson and in due time to quarterback Matthew Stafford based on the leverage created by the latter years of their pre-wage scale top-two contracts, the Lions can?t afford to give a large piece of cap pie to folks who never have played for the team.

And for those like Avril who already do.

Source: http://profootballtalk.nbcsports.com/2013/02/17/alex-smith-decision-looms-for-49ers/related/

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