The National Weather Service has issued a Tornado Warning for Lee and Terrell Counties until 4:15pm. If you are in the path of the tornado, seek shelter immediately. This includes Dawson, Sasser, Bronwood, Olivers Mill, Smithville, Chickasawhatchee moving northwest at 50 mph.
Source: http://www.facebook.com/WFXLTV/posts/10151427421576273
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Allison Williams is more than just one of the stars of the Golden Globe-winning HBO series Girls. She's also the daughter of NBC Nightly News anchor Brian Williams, who is a self-proclaimed fan of her series.
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Epic Games' first internal initiative to produce an Unreal Engine 3 project on Android is complete, nearly three years after a similar initiative produced the Epic Citadel demo. That same demo is being employed on Android, albeit with one shiny new feature: benchmarking. The new mode enables users to test framerate, quality settings, and resolution details -- it's an exclusive for the Android version. The iOS version also saw an update today across its various iterations, enabling support for higher-res displays (the original app launched in September 2010 and has seen little in the update department since).
While Epic's Unreal Engine 3 has supported Android for some time, the release of the internal app means, "we've invested in plenty of QA testing against a wide range of devices, and we've executed the necessary profiling required for shipping Android games," an Epic Games rep tells us. Moreover, that investment carries over to Unreal Engine 3 licensees. To snag the Epic Citadel demo (for free) on your Android device of choice, head to Google's Play store or Amazon's App Store. And for a taste of games currently on Android based in Unreal Engine 3, check out the incredible trailer for Horn just beyond the break.
Epic Games Releases "Epic Citadel" for Android
Android users can download the free app now, plus 'Epic Citadel' gets iOS update
CARY, N.C. (January 29, 2013) - Epic Games, Inc. today released "Epic Citadel" for Android devices. The free app, which is used to demonstrate the studio's award-winning Unreal Engine 3 (UE3) technology on multiple platforms, is available now on Google Play and Amazon Appstore for Android. A new benchmarking mode and updated visuals bring added depth to the popular app.
In "Epic Citadel," players navigate the dynamic fantasy setting of the award-winning Infinity Blade. From the circus bazaar to the sweeping cathedral in the center of town, "Epic Citadel" dazzles with a visual parade of special effects.
"While we've licensed our engine to help developers build and ship many fantastic games for Android, 'Epic Citadel' is our first internally developed product to be released to Android users," said Jay Wilbur, vice president of Epic Games. "It's a free, easy way to check out the high-quality experience Unreal Engine technology delivers on mobile devices."
High-End Graphics for Android
"Epic Citadel" was created with the same UE3 tools and technologies used to develop best-selling PC, console and mobile games. Features include:
· Amazing visuals. "Epic Citadel" pushes the envelope for modern visuals on Android devices. Through the latest advances in Unreal Engine 3 technology, the application delivers unrivaled graphics and special effects that immerse players in the kingdom's grounds.
· Benchmarking mode. "Epic Citadel" enables users to gather performance data for Android devices through its benchmarking mode, which displays frames per second stats, quality settings and resolution details.
· Realistic reflections and animations. Environment mapping and other high-end rendering techniques produce lifelike reflections, and vertex deformation and skeletal animation bring trees and banners to life with dynamic movements.
· Global illumination. Unreal Engine 3's built-in global illumination system, Unreal Lightmass, provides realistic lighting and shadows with minimal development resources.
· Dynamic specular lighting with texture masks. Sophisticated graphics features impart a tangible quality to cobblestone roads and vivid reflective marble surfaces, while lens flares and light coronas add dramatic emphasis when panning across light sources.
Outstanding Cross-Platform Performance
Epic has worked closely with hardware leaders to ensure that "Epic Citadel" delivers a superior experience on the latest mobile platforms.
"'Epic Citadel' features beautiful, high-performance graphics that are characteristic of mobile Unreal Engine games. Throughout the app's development for Android, we worked closely with Epic Games to ensure that the visuals can be experienced on NVIDIA Tegra-based devices in all of their glory," remarked Tony Tamasi, SVP Content and Technology, NVIDIA.
"Intel is very pleased to see Epic's award-winning Unreal Engine 3 technology shipping on Android with full native support for x86," said Mukesh Goel, Director of Ecosystem Enabling, Mobile Communications Group, Intel. "We're especially excited by the tremendous performance being realized in 'Epic Citadel' on the Atom Z2460 platform."
"As the leading supplier of mobile and embedded GPUs for both iOS and Android, Imagination has worked extremely closely with Epic for many years as it has continuously pushed the boundaries of mobile graphics with Unreal Engine technology," Tony King-Smith, VP of Marketing, Imagination Technologies. "We are delighted that our collaboration is extending into the Android space and that Epic is making such excellent use of our PowerVR GPUs and tools as it brings the best of gaming capability to the rapidly growing Android market."
New iOS Update
Today Epic also released an update for "Epic Citadel" on the App Store that improves the industry-leading visuals of the iOS app. Available for iPad, iPhone and iPod touch, "Epic Citadel" now supports high-resolution devices and offers aesthetics even more striking than previously seen.
About Unreal Engine
Developed by Epic Games, the award-winning Unreal Engine is known for its cutting-edge graphics technology, world-class toolset and scalability across PC, console and mobile platforms. Unreal Engine 3 (UE3) is designed to accelerate developers' productivity for creating high-quality games, applications, training simulations, visualizations, digital films and animated entertainment. Powering hundreds of games and integrated with two dozen leading middleware technologies, UE3 holds more than 20 technology awards, including eight Game Developer Front Line Awards and five Develop Industry Excellence Awards. The Unreal Engine also owns a seat in the Front Line Awards Hall of Fame. Unreal Engine 4 (UE4), winner of multiple Best of E3 2012 awards, offers unprecedented graphical capabilities and workflow improvements that provide unparalleled accessibility for developers building the next generation of games and applications. For more information, visit http://www.unrealengine.com and follow @UnrealEngine.
About Epic Games
Established in 1991, Epic Games, Inc. develops cutting-edge games and cross-platform game engine technology. The company is responsible for the bestselling "Unreal" series of games, the blockbuster "Gears of War" franchise and the groundbreaking "Infinity Blade" line of mobile games. Epic's award-winning Unreal Engine technology has won dozens of awards and is available for licensing. Epic is continually recruiting top talent for its studios located in North Carolina, Washington, Utah, Maryland, Poland, Korea and Japan. For more information, visit http://www.epicgames.com and follow @EpicGames.
Epic, Epic Games, Gears of War, Infinity Blade, Unreal, Unreal Engine, UE3, UE4, Unreal Lightmass and Unreal Tournament are trademarks or registered trademarks of Epic Games, Inc. in the United States of America and elsewhere. All other trademarks are the property of their respective owners. All rights reserved.
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Filed under: Cellphones, Gaming, Handhelds, Tablets, Mobile, Google, Amazon
Source: http://feeds.engadget.com/~r/weblogsinc/engadget/~3/EiFXmbKGsR8/
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With his performance against Donald Cerrone on Saturday night, Anthony Pettis made a believer out of many fight fans. One of those who now thinks Pettis belongs in the title shot conversation is UFC president Dana White.
Pettis =AMAZING!!!! Ok I'm sold
? Dana White (@danawhite) January 27, 2013
While the next bout for UFC lightweight champion Benson Henderson is set with Strikeforce champion Gilbert Melendez in April, Pettis has set himself up as the obvious next man up.
"I think the Melendez fight is pretty set, but (Pettis is) next. I can't say enough things about the kid tonight. That was incredible," White said in the postfight press conference.
The last time Pettis had a title shot, he had a wrench thrown into the plans. Pettis won the WEC lightweight belt in the promotion's final fight. A title shot was promised to whoever had the belt when the WEC merged with the UFC.
But two weeks after Pettis won the belt, Frankie Edgar and Gray Maynard faced off for the belt. They fought to a draw and Edgar kept the belt, but Maynard was given an immediate rematch.
Instead of waiting for the title shot then, Pettis fought Clay Guida. He lost a decision, and the title shot was gone. This time, he's not going to let the title shot slip through his hands.
"If it's a guaranteed title shot, then I'm waiting. That was my goal this year, and I'm definitely going to wait and get better," Pettis said.
The way title shots have been going in the UFC, there's no way to know if Pettis is making the right call. However, what Pettis is doing is setting himself up as the go-to guy if the UFC needs him. Melendez has had to postpone fights because of injuries in the past, and you never know what could happen as fighters prepare for their bouts.
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Are you considering a water treatment system for your Quakertown, PA?area home? At Carney Plumbing, Heating & Cooling, we offer water softeners, acid neutralizers, ultraviolet (UV) lights, and water testing and analysis to help you get the cleanest possible water for your home. ?If you are not sure which type of water treatment system is right for your home, call one of our water treatment experts to review the different types of systems with you.
Before we can help you decide which water treatment system is best for your home, we will need to test your water to see what contaminants are affecting your water system. With a whole-home water filtration system, you get more purification than installing a faucet filter or with a filtered water pitcher. Whole home systems also protect your pipes from being damaged by minerals in homes with hard water. Whole-house systems are designed to provide your entire home with clean water, and they require basic maintenance that is easy to do.
Acid neutralizers are also called chemical feed pumps, and like water softeners, they use salts and minerals to remove contaminants that may be in your water system, such as arsenic or sulfur. Acid neutralizers are quite safe and can be a cost-effective way to improve the quality of your water.
While you may have heard of using UV germicidal lights for your HVAC system, they can also be used to treat water. Poor water quality can lead to illness, and UV lights kill harmful microorganisms that cause certain illnesses.
We put your safety and comfort first at Carney Plumbing, Heating & Cooling. That?s why we offer water testing, water analysis, and a variety of water treatment systems for your Quakertown, PA?area home. Call today to set up a consultation.
Tags: Abington, Langhorne, Plumbing, Quakertown, Souderton, Water Treatment Systems
Source: http://www.carneyphc.com/blog/plumbing/quakertown-pa-plumbers-tip-types-of-water-treatment-systems/
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It didn't take long for Twitter's new mobile service Vine to get its first collection of porn uploads.
The app -- which launched on Thursday and allows users to create and share six-second GIF-like looping videos -- already has not-safe-for-work videos of male and female genitalia creeping up on the platform.
[More from Mashable: Vine Is Teaching Everyone This Terrible Habit]
We first noticed the occurrence while watching VinePeek, a new website which aggregates Vine videos in real time via a steady stream of user-generated clips. Cozied in between videos of snow, puppies and babies was a graphic clip uploaded just seconds before of a nude body.
[More from Mashable: Facebook Explains Why Vine Can?t Access Your Friends]
Videos saved via the Vine app with hashtags such as #porn, #sex and #penis revealed even more graphic videos, many of which had a warning that the following content contained sensitive content. Twitter and Vine have not yet responded to a request for comment.
Do you think porn should be kept off Vine? Let us know your thoughts below.
Photo via iStockphoto, Sodafish
Click here to view the gallery: How To Use Vine
This story originally published on Mashable here.
Source: http://news.yahoo.com/warning-graphic-porn-invades-vine-171809897.html
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There are a few options available to those wanting to run Android apps on a Windows machine. The first, and oldest, is the official Android emulator; there's also Bluestacks, which has been around for a while. Today another contender emerges -- WindowsAndroid, from Chinese startup SocketeQ. Unlike the emulator, it runs Android natively on your Windows PC, and unlike Bluestacks it brings to life the full Android OS, not just individual apps. Essentially, it's full-blown open-source Android running natively, in a window, on Microsoft's desktop OS.
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Source: http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/androidcentral/~3/JnGCQwu2HR0/story01.htm
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Getty ImagesThe $20 million home built by Patriots QB Tom Brady and his other half who earns well over half of the family income has a moat.? (And if they get past the moat, Tom will be ready with his sliding crane kick.)
With Ike Hilliard serving as the Bills? receivers coach, the wideouts will have a position coach who played at the NFL level for the first time since Charlie Joiner in 2000.
So what should the Dolphins do with LT Jake Long?
CB Antonio Cromartie says the Jets ?can?t lose a guy like? Darrelle Revis.
Steelers RB Isaac Redman is due to become a restricted free agent in March.
The defamation lawsuit filed by the Bengals cheerleader who pleaded guilty to having a relationship against a gossip website ended in a mistrial.
Here are some thoughts about the things about which the Browns are thinking.
Ravens CB Asa Jackson says the people hitting him up for seats at the Super Bowl are ?not quite in the ticket budget range? for this specific game.
The Texans average general-admission ticket price will increase by 9.8 percent in 2013.
Some Colts fans had some questions about teams, and someone from the Colts website had some answers.
The radio description of the Titans? ?Music City Miracle? has been named one of the top calls in sports history.
The Jaguars continue to support local charities and programs in Jacksonville.
The mother of deceased Chiefs LB Jovan Belcher is still trying to secure custody of Belcher?s daughter, Zoey.
The powers-that-be in Oakland will spend $1 million to study new stadium proposals.
In an appearance with CNN?s Piers Morgan, Broncos V.P. of football operations John Elway talked about fake girlfriends and real guns.
Since the Chargers didn?t make it to the real tournament, they?ve concocted a tournament of the best plays from a year that wasn?t good enough to get them to the real tournament.
Former Giants DE Michael Strahan talks about his upcoming Hall of Fame bid.
MADD is working with the Cowboys on strategies to raise team awareness regarding the consequences of drunk driving.
The lawyer for former Redskins CB Fred Smoot wants to make one thing clear about Smoot?s recent DUI arrest in D.C.:? Smoot did not pee in his pants.
If the Eagles return to a 3-4 defense, there could be plenty of changes on the defensive line.
Here?s an argument for the Lions drafting Texas safety Kenny Vaccaro.
Vikings K Blair Walsh offered to pay for P Chris Kluwe to attend the Pro Bowl, but Kluwe doesn?t want a free ride unless he earns it.
Even if the read-option is only a fad, teams like the Packers need to adjust to it.
Bears DT Henry Melton remains optimistic that he?ll work out a deal to stay in Chicago before the start of free agency.
Saints P Thomas Morstead finds it ?surreal? to be hanging out at the pool after Pro Bowl practice with the ?best athletes in the world.?? (Meanwhile, the ?best athletes in the world? find it surreal that Morstead has a puzzled look on his face when they tell him they?d like a Mai Tai and a bowl of macadamia nuts.)
It could be that the Falcons will get $300 million in public money for their proposed new stadium only if the effort avoids a vote from the Georgia legislature.
So how can the Bucs recapture their 10-year-old glory?? Here are 12 steps for getting there.
Panthers LB Luke Kuechly is still working toward finishing his marketing degree at Boston College.
49ers coach Jim Harbaugh sought advice from John Madden on how to handle the Super Bowl:? ?I just know that over the years watching it, the team that complains the most when they get down there usually loses,? Madden said.? ?The other thing I know is that you haven?t done anything yet.? And I think that the team that celebrates having gotten there the most usually loses focus.?
Rams G.M. Les Snead talks about the pool of talent at the Senior Bowl.
Here?s photographic proof that Seahawks QB Russell Wilson is the same size as Drew Brees.
Cardinals coach Bruce Arians said this week of the team?s quarterbacks:? ?I?m going to give them all a shot.?? (John McKay would be in favor of that.)
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Ceremony, Halftime Game to Take Place During Bulldogs' Game vs. Harvard
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NEW HAVEN, Conn. ? The Yale University Women's Basketball Team will welcome Special Olympics Connecticut and the Unified Sports? athletes from local high schools to the John J. Lee Amphitheater for an awards ceremony and special halftime game when the Bulldogs host rival Harvard on Friday, February 1, at 7 p.m.
Yale Women's Basketball and Special Olympics Connecticut will honor three individuals who have made outstanding contributions to Special Olympics Connecticut during an awards ceremony at halftime of Friday's game.
"We are so honored to have Special Olympics Connecticut be a featured part of our game against Harvard," said Chris Gobrecht, the Joel E. Smilow, Class of 1954, Head Coach of Women's Basketball. "There will be some amazing members of Special Olympics Connecticut being honored in our gym and I hope everyone in attendance gives them a rousing, standing ovation. I am especially excited to welcome two Unified teams onto our court to compete during halftime. We believe this will be a great night for everyone and hopefully the beginning of a long tradition of teamwork between Yale Women's Basketball and the athletes, coaches, and fans of Special Olympics."
The ceremony will recognize athlete Alix Violano, of Hamden, and volunteers Nancy Hemingway, of Manchester, and the late Sue Armitage, formerly of Hamden.
Violano has participated in Special Olympics for over 10 years and trains and competes in sports including Unified basketball, croquet and swimming. She has won many medals and has represented Connecticut at the 2011 Special Olympics National Games in Lincoln, Neb.
Hemingway has been instrumental in helping to organize and run competitions and major events including Summer Games and enthusiastically recruits others to volunteer for Special Olympics.
Armitage served as the coordinator of the Hamden-New Haven Special Olympics local program for 10 years. In this role, she served 135 athletes, providing them with opportunities to train and compete in seven sports.
Following the ceremony, Special Olympics athletes will take the court during halftime to play an abbreviated basketball game. The athletes, from Wilby High School in Waterbury and Hillhouse High School in New Haven, participate in the Special Olympics' Unified Sports? program at their schools.
Unified Sports? brings athletes with and without intellectual disabilities together to play sports, gain physical fitness and establish meaningful friendships. In addition, Unified Sports? inspires social change ? acceptance, understanding and respect for people of all abilities, both on and off the playing field.
Tickets for the game are available for purchase by phone (203) 432-1400 or by email at athletic.tickets@yale.edu. The Yale-Harvard game will be held inside John J. Lee Amphitheater at Payne Whitney Gymnasium beginning at 7 p.m.
The 2012-13 season marks the 40th season of women's basketball at Yale University. In 1972-73, women's basketball appeared on the Yale scene as a club sport and became a varsity sport the following year. The Bulldogs have won 443 games since their debut. A total of nine men and women have coached women's basketball at Yale, and there have been 35 women who have been named captain in those 40 seasons. Throughout the season, Yale will be celebrating the program's historic achievement.
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More about Unified Sports?
Unified Sports? is currently offered in over 170 schools across the state through Special Olympics' partnership with the Connecticut Association of Schools and Connecticut Interscholastic Athletic Conference (CAS/CIAC). The Unified Sports? experience teaches good sportsmanship and good citizenship to elementary-, middle- and high-school students.? Additionally, Unified Sports? is offered as a community-based Program for participants of all ages, where it employs sports to ensure those with disabilities have the same opportunities afforded to all other members of society.
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Year-round Sponsors of the Special Olympics Connecticut-CAS/CIAC Unified Sports? Program include Team ESPN, Bob's Stores, Campus Customs, Hoffman Auto Group and ConnectiCare.
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About Special Olympics Connecticut
Special Olympics Connecticut provides year-round sports training and competitions for nearly 15,000 children and adults with intellectual disabilities and Unified Partners (their teammates without disabilities). Through a myriad of initiatives throughout the state and the world, Special Olympics is a movement that's transforming lives by inspiring inclusion, understanding and respect for people of all abilities, in all aspects of life. (www.soct.org)
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Partner Sponsors
Adams Hometown Markets/IGA Hometown Supermarkets, Connecticut Light & Power/Yankee Gas/ Western Massachusetts Electric (Northeast Utilities Companies), Law Enforcement Torch Run, NBC Connecticut, TD Bank, and United Technologies. Year-Round Suppliers: Adams Hometown Markets/IGA Hometown Supermarkets, The Coca-Cola Bottling Company of New England, Crystal Rock Water and Coffee Company, Graebel Van Lines, Guida's Milk and Ice Cream, Marcus Communications, State of Connecticut Judicial Branch Community Service and Worx Branding & Advertising. To find out more, visit soct.org, call 203-230-1201 or email specialolympicsct@soct.org.
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Report filed by Jon Erickson Jr., Yale Sports Publicity
Source: http://www.yalebulldogs.com/sports/w-baskbl/2012-13/releases/20130125c7awvp
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January 23, 2013 in Announcements
Here is your virtual assignment, to be completed by 12:20 PM?on 1/25. You do not need to show up to the G-17 lab to complete this assignment, but need to be at a computer with Internet access. You will receive participation credit for completing this assignment, and will get counted as having attended the class for completing this assignment by 12:20 PM?on 1/25.
Note: don?t forget to do Homework #2 for Monday!
Source: http://guiseppegetto.com/pwr393/2013/01/23/virtual-assignment-for-125/
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Our eyes nearly popped out of our heads when we saw the reported sale price of this Woodside, Calif., mega-mansion: $117.5 million! If it's true, it would be the second most expensive home sale ever in the United States. (Billionaire Stanley Kroenke holds the No. 1 spot for his $132.5 million purchase of a Montana ranch last November.)
Bay Area blog SF Luxe came across the shocking discovery, pointing to public records on listings site Redfin showing the astronomical sale price of the 8,930-square-foot home in the middle of Silicon Valley. Our buddies at Curbed, though, expressed a bit of skepticism, saying: "It could also be a fat finger error at the property records office." We can't be totally certain, but there is some evidence that the sale price may be the real deal. A historic Colonial in Woodside went on the market for $85 million last September, and Russian billionaire Yuri Milner coughed up $100 million for a home in nearby Los Altos Hills, Calif.
Check out other massive homes for sale in Woodside, Calif., or search listings in your area.
See also:
Candy Spelling's Closing Price: $85 Million
Most Expensive NYC Apartment Sale Closes at $88 Million
More on AOL Real Estate:
Find out how to calculate mortgage payments.
Find foreclosures in your area.
See celebrity real estate.
Follow us on Twitter at @AOLRealEstate or connect with AOL Real Estate on Facebook.
Source: http://realestate.aol.com/blog/2013/01/25/2nd-most-expensive-home-sale/
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The National Association of Realtors (NAR) recently published statistics regarding about the buyers and sellers of real estate in Florida.? The report compares demographics of Florida buyers and homes vs. the national average utilizing 2011 NAR data.? Some of the findings are very interesting including:
Median age of Florida buyer: 55
Median age of buyers nationally: 45
Median income of Florida buyer:? $74,200
Median income of buyers nationally: $78,600
Percentage of Florida buyers with no children living in household: 74%
Percentage of national buyers with no children living in household: 59%
Percentage of first time home buyers in Florida: 25%
Percentage of first time home buyers nationally: 39%
Percentage of new homes purchased in Florida: 20%
Percentage of new homes purchased nationally: 16%
Median price of Florida homes purchased: $164,500
Median price of homes purchase nationally: $189,700
Median square footage of a sold Florida home: 1,800
Median square footage of a home sold nationally: 1,900
If you are interested in exploring home ownership options in the Fort Myers area, here is a resource to facilitate your search for a Fort Myers home.
Source: http://www.gulfreturns.com/2013/01/who-is-buying-fort-myers-real-estate.html
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PLYMOUTH MEETING, Pa., Jan. 11, 2013 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ --?Governor Tom Corbett today ceremonially signed into law the Brad Fox Law or the Straw Purchase Gun bill, also known as House Bill 898.
Corbett was joined at the ceremony by Rep. Marcy Toepel (R-Montgomery), who sponsored the legislation, and the family of Plymouth Township Police Officer Bradley Fox who was shot and killed last September.
"Officer Fox died in the line of duty last year at the hands of a felon who should never have had a gun and, less directly, by the hand of the man who later admitted buying the gun and passing it along,'' Corbett said.
"Such 'straw buyers' are as deadly a threat to our citizens and our first responders as the felons to whom they pass along the weapon.
"State and federal laws are very plain: convicted felons are forbidden from owning firearms. And those who knowingly provide firearms to felons are themselves criminals and worthy of being locked up.''
The new law allows for imposition of a five-year mandatory minimum sentence for repeat offenders who transfer guns to persons who are not legally allowed to own them in Pennsylvania.
The law, supported by the Pennsylvania District Attorneys Association and Pennsylvania Chiefs of Police Association, went into effect on Dec. 26, 2012.
"Brad Fox was always accountable to his family, to his community, to his country,'' Corbett said. "It is time we held others accountable in his name.''
Fox, who died one day before his 35th birthday, had been with the police department for five years, after serving two tours of duty in Iraq with the U.S. Marines. Fox's wife, Lynsay, is expecting the couple's second child in March.
For more information, visit www.pa.gov.
Media contact:? Janet Kelley, 717-783-1116
SOURCE Pennsylvania Office of the Governor
Source: http://news.yahoo.com/governor-corbett-ceremonially-signs-straw-purchase-gun-law-151500312.html
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LONDON (AP) ? Concern is growing that the British economy may be headed back into recession after statistics released Friday showed a surprise drop in manufacturing activity.
The Office for National Statistics said manufacturing output fell by 0.3 percent between October and November, far off analysts' expectations for an increase of 0.5 percent.
Britain's economy has only just emerged from a double-dip recession in the third quarter of 2012, when it recorded 1 percent growth. But it seems unable to make a lasting recovery and experts say it is slowing considerably.
Vicky Redwood, chief U.K. economist at Capital Economics said November's manufacturing figures "provided yet more evidence that the economy probably contracted in the fourth quarter of last year."
The National Institute of Economic and Social Research, a leading think tank, estimated Friday that Britain's economy shrank by 0.3 percent in the fourth quarter. That would leave gross domestic product flat overall in 2012.
If the British economy were to shrink again in the first three months of 2013, it would be back in recession, technically defined as two consecutive quarters of economic contraction.
The Bank of England has kept its key interest rate at its record low of 0.5 percent since March 2009 and implemented a monetary stimulus program to help the economy recover. But the recovery has been uneven due, among other things, to sharp government cutbacks, financial troubles among key trading partners in Europe and a deep restructuring in key economic sectors like the banking industry.
The Bank of England this week held off increasing the size of its stimulus program ? under which it buys government bonds from banks to increase the amount of money flowing in the economy ? as it waits for the impact of previous stimulus to take effect. Analysts say the central bank may yet approve more stimulus in coming months if the economy keeps weakening.
Mervyn King, the governor or the Bank of England, warned in November that the economy could shrink in the last three months of 2012 as a boost from the Summer Olympics is reversed and that growth would remain sluggish into 2013.
British manufacturers, it seems, are being hurt by weak investment and lower public spending.
"Furthermore, consumers' purchasing power is coming under renewed pressure from a move back up in inflation and muted earnings growth," said Howard Archer, the chief U.K. economist for IHS Global Insight. "On top of this, a still uncertain and difficult economic environment risks some orders being delayed or even cancelled."
Archer said the United States' recent budget deal to avoid the so-called fiscal cliff and improvements in eurozone financial markets did offer some hope for British manufacturing exports.
But it may take some time before the increase in confidence in financial markets translates to greater demand for goods and new jobs.
Underlining the pressure felt by U.K. manufacturers, Japanese automaker Honda announced Friday it would cut about one in four jobs at its western England factory.
Honda Motor Europe cited poor sales across the continent as the reason for cutting 800 positions from its 3,500-strong workforce in Swindon. The plant makes the Civic, Jazz and CR-V models.
Source: http://news.yahoo.com/uk-recession-fears-grow-manufacturing-drops-163130321--finance.html
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Amazon is today introducing a new service called "Amazon AutoRip," which automatically gives customers free MP3 versions of any CDs they've purchased from Amazon?since the launch of its Music Store back in 1998, as well as a growing number of new releases. The digital music is being placed in users'?Amazon Cloud Player?account, the company's answer to Google Music, iTunes Match, Rdio, and other services which store users' own music collections in the cloud.Source: http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/Techcrunch/~3/uSkDcVVjbks/
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Online marketing is always changing so there is always more to learn at any given time. There is constant innovation in the widespread field, and anyone that has an online business could always learn more about marketing their own. The following article contains some great, helpful information about Web marketing.
If your title sounds important people will have respect for your business. If you own your company, you?re now the CEO! If you are not the owner of the business, grant yourself a different title that signifies power and authority. Using this title as your signature gives you the perfect chance to display your importance.
It is helpful to have a 500 error page that is user-friendly. If your data codes do not work this might happen. If you have an error page that is generic, it wil tell visitors that the connection has simply timed out. Customizing your 500 page will demonstrate to visitors that you are taking the proper steps to correct the problem and improve your site.
Knowing what your competitors are up to is a vital part of web marketing. No matter what niche you are working in, you will always have competition.
Always avoid spam. While it might seem like a good way to reach many people, they are not nearly as effective as you think. Without your personal edge, most people will turn a deaf ear to your efforts and lose interest in your site.
You are fully capable of having a successful website marketing business right now. In reality, the fancy software and get rich quick schemes you find online are not necessary. The only thing that you need is you. Be diligent, and think thoroughly about the marketing decisions that you make.
Online advertising is a great way to get attention and draw people to your site. While there will be some cost involved, it will get you noticed. A website that has a steady, high volume of traffic can expose your ads to a limitless number of people, every one of whom is a potential buyer.
Web marketing can come in many forms but one of the most basic forms is to place ads strategically around the internet. A business like Google AdSense can be a good place to start. The benefit to you is that the company you are paying does most of the work.
Don?t be typical when it comes to banner ads. If you can make your banner ads look different from the norm, you will find that more people will click on it.
Video marketing is a wonderful way to advertise your business. You can really get a customer to notice your website with video ads. Name your video something clever, and make it unique.
Offer something unique on your site that none of your competitors have. Cartoons and free e-books are some of the ways that you can create incentive to visit your site. Giving your customers something they can only get through you is a great marketing tool.
There is so much to learn when it comes to improving your Affiliate marketing skills. You do not need to learn every detail of the topic either. You can start out with just a few simple tips. They can help just about anyone with Online marketing. So, keep a lookout on all new Web marketing topics and keep looking to improve every day.
Bordeaux Marketing Group is an internet marketing agency specializing Affiliate Program Management, Online Marketing Expert including Pay Per Click (PPC), Social Media Marketing, and Search Engine Optimization (SEO). We are recognized by Google as ?Certified Adwords Professional? specializing in Search Marketing (PPC Management). To find out more visit their website at http://www.bordeauxmarketinggroup.com.
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Source: http://www.dreamjournal.net/journal/index.cfm?username=youngkevin764&dream_id=182094
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PATRICK MOONEY & TONY ANDRACKI
Only seven men have hit more than the 609 home runs Sammy Sosa slammed during his big-league career. He did it with a flair for the dramatic, inside one of baseball?s cathedrals, while playing for a marquee franchise.
Yet as a Hall of Fame candidate, Sosa has generated almost zero momentum. The Cubs don?t keep him around as a member of their family and he?s gone off the grid, maintaining a cone of silence.
Barry Bonds and Roger Clemens have become lightning rods on talk shows and Twitter. This time Sosa is barely part of the conversation. Baseball Think Factory?s online exit polling from the Baseball Writers? Association of America has him hovering around 15 percent.
It?s almost impossible to see Sosa getting voted into Cooperstown now. How did it get to this point? With the results to be revealed on Wednesday (1 p.m., MLB Network), here?s a look back on his controversial career:
July 30, 1985: Signed with the Rangers as a 16-year-old out of the Dominican Republic.
June 16, 1989: Made his big-league debut at Yankee Stadium, hitting leadoff and going 2-for-4 with a double and a run scored for a Texas lineup built around Rafael Palmeiro, Ruben Sierra and Julio Franco.
June 21, 1989: Hit his first home run in the majors -- off Clemens at Fenway Park.
July 29, 1989: Traded to the White Sox along with pitcher Wilson Alvarez and infielder Scott Fletcher for Harold Baines and infielder Fred Manrique.
1990 and 1991: Hit 25 homers combined in two full seasons on the South Side.
March 30, 1992: Traded along with pitcher Ken Patterson to the Cubs for outfielder George Bell.
1993: Became the Cubs' first member of the 30-30 club, slugging 33 homers and stealing 36 bases.
July 11, 1995: Returned to Texas to play in his first All-Star Game at The Ballpark in Arlington.
1995: Earned his first Silver Slugger Award and finished eighth in the MVP voting after generating 36 homers, 119 RBIs, 34 steals and 89 runs.
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June 1998: Set a major-league record with 20 home runs in a calendar month.
September 1998: Joined Mark McGwire in an epic home-run chase. Gave ?Big Mac? a bear hug on Sept. 8 after McGwire hit his record-setting 62nd home run off Cubs pitcher Steve Trachsel in St. Louis. Less than a week later, Sosa responded with his 62nd homer at Wrigley Field. His video-game numbers -- 66 homers, 158 RBIs, 134 runs -- made him MVP.
Sept. 30, 1998: Made playoff debut and collected two hits in a 7-1 loss to the Braves at Turner Field. The Cubs got swept as Sosa didn?t record another hit in the three-game series.
Dec. 21, 1998: Dressed in white togas, with wreaths around their heads, Sosa and McGwire appeared on the cover of Sports Illustrated as the magazine?s Sportsmen of the Year.
1999: Put up 63 homers and 141 RBIs for a last-place, 95-loss team.
January 2000: Asked to name his biggest mistake as an adult during a Republican campaign debate in South Carolina, Texas governor George W. Bush, the former Rangers managing partner and future president, said: ?I signed off on that wonderful transaction: Sammy Sosa for Harold Baines.?
July 11, 2000: Won the Home Run Derby in Atlanta, going deep 26 times before beating Ken Griffey Jr. in the finals, a sideshow to a season in which he would account for 50 homers and 138 RBIs.
May 16, 2001: Launched his 400th career homer at Wrigley Field against Astros right-hander Shane Reynolds.
2001: Became the first player in major-league history to put together a third season with 60-plus homers.
2002: Led the league with 49 homers and drove in 122 runs, making it five straight All-Star Games and Silver Sluggers.
April 4, 2003: Hit his 500th career home run off Reds pitcher Scott Sullivan at Great American Ball Park, becoming the 18th member of that exclusive club.
June 4, 2003: Busted for using a corked bat. Umpire Tim McClelland ejected Sosa after a broken-bat groundout against Tampa Bay at Wrigley Field. He claimed it was his batting practice bat, apologized to fans and received a seven-game suspension.
Sept. 30, 2003-Oct. 15, 2003: Reached the postseason for the second and final time in his career. Hit .188 as the Cubs eliminated the Braves. Posted a 1.031 OPS with two homers, six RBIs and seven runs during a heartbreaking NLCS loss to the Marlins.
April 18, 2004: Set a franchise record with his 513th home run in a Cubs uniform.
May 2004: Sneezed too hard, injured his back and wound up being sidelined for more than a month.
Oct. 3, 2004: Walked out on the season finale, which would result in a $87,400 fine -- or one day?s pay. Reports had him leaving Wrigley Field 15 minutes before first pitch, while rumors persisted about a teammate smashing his boombox.
Feb. 2, 2005: Traded with cash to the Orioles for pitcher Dave Crouthers, infielder Mike Fontenot and utility guy Jerry Hairston Jr.
March 17, 2005: Testified at a Congressional hearing: ?To be clear, I have never taken illegal performance-enhancing drugs.?
February 2006: Turned down a non-guaranteed offer from the Nationals, prompting agent Adam Katz to tell ESPN.com: ?We're not going to put him on the retirement list. ... But I can say, with reasonable certainty, that we?ve seen Sammy in a baseball uniform for the last time.?
February 2007: Signed with the Rangers. He hit .252 with 21 homers and 92 RBIs in 114 games that season, including No. 600 against Jason Marquis and the Cubs, joining Bonds, Hank Aaron, Babe Ruth and Willie Mays at that elite level.
Dec. 13, 2007: Escaped the Mitchell Report. George Mitchell, the former Democratic senator from Maine, wrote that he sent letters with specific questions to lawyers for Sosa, Bonds, Palmeiro, and Gary Sheffield, ?none of whom provided answers to my questions.? That was the only time Sosa?s name was mentioned in the entire document.
June 4, 2009: Told ESPN Deportes he would soon announce his retirement, almost two years after his final game, and ?calmly wait for my induction to the Baseball Hall of Fame.?
June 16, 2009: The New York Times reported that he?s among the group of players who tested positive for a performance-enhancing drug in 2003, citing anonymous lawyers familiar with the results from that year.
Jan. 9, 2013: That explosive story shattered the image, which won?t be repaired by Wednesday?s announcement. Was it worth it? According to the salary database at Baseball-Reference.com, Sosa made $124 million in his career.
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WASHINGTON/ISLAMABAD (Reuters) - President Barack Obama and Afghan President Hamid Karzai will discuss matters of war, including future U.S. troop levels and Afghanistan's army, when they meet on Friday, but matters of peace may be the most delicate item on their long agenda.
After nearly 10 months in limbo, tentative reconciliation efforts involving Taliban insurgents, the Karzai government and other major Afghan factions have shown new signs of life, resurrecting tantalizing hopes for a negotiated end to decades of war.
Pakistan, which U.S. and Afghan officials have long accused of backing the insurgents and meddling in Afghanistan, has recently signaled an apparent policy shift toward promoting its neighbor's stability as most U.S. combat troops prepare to depart, top Pakistani and Afghan officials said.
In another potentially significant development, Taliban representatives met outside Paris last month with members of the Afghan High Peace Council - although not directly with members of the Karzai government, which they have long shunned.
U.S. officials, speaking on condition of anonymity, said the developments are promising - but that major challenges remain to opening negotiations, let alone reaching an agreement on the war-ravaged country's political future.
Hopes for Afghan peace talks have been raised before, only to be dashed. Last March, the Taliban suspended months of quiet discussions with Washington aimed at getting the insurgents and the Karzai government to the peace table.
Obama is expected to press the Afghan president to bless the formal opening of a Taliban political office in the Gulf state of Qatar as a way to jump-start inter-Afghan talks.
Karzai has been lukewarm to the idea, apparently fearing his government would be sidelined in any negotiations.
TRIP AT A TURNING POINT
Karzai's meeting with Obama, at the end of a three-day visit to Washington, is shaping up to be one of the most critical encounters between the two leaders, as the White House weighs how rapidly to remove most of the roughly 66,000 U.S. troops in Afghanistan and how large a residual force to leave after 2014.
Obama, about to begin his second term in office, appears determined to wrap up U.S. military engagement in Afghanistan. On Monday, he announced as his nominee for Pentagon chief former Nebraska Senator Chuck Hagel, who appears likely to favor a sizeable U.S. troop drawdown.
Other issues on the agenda have plenty of potential for causing friction: the future size and focus of the Afghan military; a festering dispute over control of the country's largest detention center; and the future of international aid after 2014.
Karzai's trip "is one of the most important ones because the discussions we are going to have with our counterparts will define the relations between (the) United States and Afghanistan," Afghan Foreign Minister Zalmay Rassoul told the lower house of parliament this month.
No final announcement on post-2014 U.S. troop levels is expected during Karzai's visit, and the issue is further complicated by Washington's insistence on legal immunity for American troops that remain.
General John Allen, the top U.S. and NATO commander in Afghanistan, recommended keeping between roughly 6,000 and 15,000 U.S. troops in Afghanistan after 2014, but the White House is considering possibly leaving as few as 3,000 troops.
A U.S. official, speaking on condition of anonymity, said the White House had asked for options to be developed for keeping between 3,000 and 9,000 troops in the country.
PAST PEACE HOPES DASHED
Last year, the Obama administration hoped to kick-start peace talks with a deal that would have seen Washington transfer five Taliban prisoners from Guantanamo Bay prison. In return, the Taliban would renounce international terrorism and state a willingness to enter talks with Karzai's representatives.
That deal never came off, and the question now is whether it, or an alternative peace process, can get under way as the U.S. military presence rapidly winds down.
Looking at developments in the last few months, "you could see that there are things happening," said one U.S. official, who was not authorized to speak for the record.
At the end of 2012, Pakistan released four Afghan Taliban prisoners who were close to the movement's reclusive leader, Mullah Mohammed Omar. It appeared to be a step toward meeting Afghanistan's long-standing insistence that Islamabad free those who could help promote reconciliation. A senior Afghan official welcomed the release.
A member of Pakistan's parliament closely involved in Afghan policy-making said there are signs of a shift in the thinking of Pakistan's powerful military. Some in the military, which has long regarded Afghanistan as a battleground in its existential conflict with rival India, are now saying that the graver threat comes from Pakistan's own militants.
"Yes, there is skepticism. The hawks are there. But the fact is that previously there were absolutely no voices in the army with this kind of positive thinking," the parliamentarian said.
"Pakistan has also realized that there won't be a complete withdrawal of the U.S. from Afghanistan," the lawmaker said. "The security establishment realizes it has to compromise somewhere. Hence the Taliban releases. ... Hence the statements from even the most skeptical Afghan officials that there is a change in Pakistani thinking."
Ghairat Baheer, who represented the Hezb-e-Islami faction at last month's peace talks in the Paris suburb of Chantilly, rejected a continued U.S. military presence in Afghanistan, but praised the Pakistan prisoner release as a sign of its good intentions.
WAITING FOR THE TALIBAN
After more than a year of frustration, Obama administration officials are skeptical about luring the Taliban to peace talks, citing what appears to be a deep fissure within the movement between moderates who favor entering the political process and hard-liners committed to ousting both NATO troops and Karzai.
The Taliban's lead negotiator, Tayeb Agha, whom the Obama administration regards as a reliable interlocutor, offered to resign last month in apparent frustration, the Daily Beast website reported.
Taliban envoys have yet to meet officially with Karzai's government, and the insurgents demand a rewriting of the Afghan constitution.
"I don't think anyone knows where (reconciliation) stands. And I mean that because there are a lot of reconciliation talks and a lot of games that are being played in a lot of places," said Fred Kagan, a military analyst at the conservative American Enterprise Institute.
"The likelihood of getting an acceptable deal that actually secures our interests is vanishingly small," he said. "But the probability that you could get the deal and have it implemented in time to make this drawdown timeline make sense is nonsense."
(Additional reporting by Phil Stewart and David Alexander in Washington, and Hamid Shalizi in Kabul. Editing by Christopher Wilson)
Source: http://news.yahoo.com/obama-karzai-meet-afghan-peace-efforts-show-flickers-060229796.html
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PARIS (AP) ? Estelle Borrell knew she wanted to work in law since she was a teenager, when she interned at a court in Versailles, France. "The lawyers in their black robes, they were like gods to me," said the 24-year-old Parisian.
Borrell studied law at Vienna University, where she dreamed of putting her passion into practice at an international organization. She got a shock when she began working at a Vienna law firm.
"I knew how to resolve cases on paper, but when I got into the law firm it was really ridiculous," Borrell said. "My boss asked me to call a judge and I was absolutely not able to do it. I didn't even have the vocabulary I needed to do a really simple call."
Borrell, who is now back in France seeking work while continuing legal studies in Paris, had found out firsthand what educators, industry and governments across the continent are slowly coming to acknowledge as globalization intensifies competition and a devastating economic crisis swells youth unemployment: Europe's universities, many founded during the Middle Ages, are failing to prepare students for the demands of the 21st century world.
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Editors: This is the latest installment in Class of 2012, an exploration of Europe's financial crisis through the eyes of young people emerging from the cocoon of student life into the worst downturn the continent has seen since the end of World War II. Follow the class on its new Google plus page: http://apne.ws/ClassOf2012
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Outmoded teaching, overcrowded classrooms and even broken windows are common complaints by both teachers and students at French universities ? even the Sorbonne, one of Europe's oldest and most illustrious schools. Classes often begin with a hunt for spare chairs as classrooms built for 20 students regularly pack 40 or more. Sometimes students are forced to sit on tables or the floor. On Twitter, students post such complaints as: "Monday morning 9:00 in the constitutional law lecture at Paris 8, freezing my toes off, not very fun."
Recently, a group of overwhelmed instructors at Paris University published an open letter to France's education minister in daily newspaper Liberation to voice their frustration and call for the repeal of a reform that decentralized university control, which they blame for many of the universities' woes.
In Spain, where universities are in even more dire financial straits, the heads of around 50 state-run universities recently made a joint statement warning of "irreparable deterioration" in education as crisis cutbacks choke academic institutions and threaten to hold back economic recovery.
Officials recognize the problem.
The European Commission, the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development and the Federation of European Employers all have studies under way to examine why the continent's universities are failing. The research aims to identify ways to better match universities' output with the needs of employers, and hopefully help improve the job prospects of Europe's graduates.
The failure of Europe's universities is also reflected in their weak showing in the most closely-watched barometer of university performance ? Shanghai Jiaotong University's annual ranking of the world's universities, which places only two European universities, Oxford and Cambridge, in the top 20. The Shanghai Ranking focuses on research, looking at things such as the number of Nobel Prizes and citations in top academic journals, but experts see a correlation between a faculty's academic caliber and quality of education.
And it's precisely the failings of European university teaching that are now increasingly being put under the microscope.
A recent study in Britain showed that an increasingly large number of graduates are failing to find graduate-level jobs. The Futuretrack survey by Warwick University's Institute for Employment Research showed that the number of graduates still without graduate-level jobs two years after leaving university nearly doubled to 40 percent last year compared to 10 years ago.
Much of the blame can be placed on Europe's economic crisis, but experts say the problem also lies with the universities themselves, which are often accused of imparting theoretical abstraction with little practical application in the real world.
Some experts complain that students need to acquire a whole new way of thinking once they leave university.
"In social sciences, arts, I.T., there is an enormous transition in which you almost have to tell people to forget what they've been studying so that they can see again," said Robin Chater, secretary general of the Federation of European Employers.
Chater's organization represents multinational firms working in the EU, advising them on employment law and other matters, and also functions as a think tank focused on issues of concern to international businesses. Students' lack of practical experience in real-world situations is an emerging cause of concern for the organization's membership, Chater said.
That's an experience Lucy Nicholls, a member of AP's Class of 2012, knows well.
"I'm not saying universities should find you a job, but they should mentally prepare you for the big wide world and make you very much aware of what the climate is like..." said Nicholls, a 22-year-old fashion graduate in London. "It didn't happen for me."
Nicholls describes herself as "sorely disappointed" by her university education in Britain. "I expected to have some sort of lecture on maybe how to go freelance, how to go into the world of fashion because freelance is such a big part of that industry," Nicholls said.
The need to reform Europe's universities has been identified by both the EU Commission and independent experts.
Although graduate unemployment at 5.4 percent is significantly lower than overall youth unemployment, university curricula "are often slow to respond to changing needs in the wider economy," said Dennis Abbott, spokesman for the EU Education Commissioner. In an email response to questions, Abbott said courses should be better tailored to the needs of the labor market, better guidance should be given in selecting courses, and students should be given more opportunities to develop entrepreneurial and work-relevant skills as part of their studies.
That's precisely what Nicholls found lacking in her fashion studies. "I really just wasn't given any opportunities," she said. "I was very disappointed and I think the (university) could and should have done so much more."
Data from the EU Commission show the disparity that exists between the EU and the United States in terms of spending on university education, one factor that has been identified as a cause of European universities' underperformance.
Total public and private spending on higher education in the European Union accounts for 1.3 percent of GDP, compared to 3.3 percent in the United States, according to EU figures cited in a 2008 report by the Brussels-based Bruegel think tank. On a per student basis, that translates to annual spending of euros 8,700 in the EU versus euros 36,500 in the US, Bruegel says.
Borrell, the French law student, saw the effects of this underfunding while in Vienna.
Her law school library shut as early as 4 p.m. some days, and was closed completely on weekends. "You can imagine what this means when exams are approaching and all of a sudden libraries are just literally stuffed with people," Borrell said.
In its report, Breugel recommended that the EU spend an extra 1 percent of GDP annual on higher education, and give universities more autonomy in budgets, hiring and faculty pay as a way of giving the additional spending "more bite."
Moira Koffi, another member of the Class of 2012, last month finished her diploma in corporate communications from the Sorbonne journalism school. Her experience provides an optimistic tale of what Europe's universities may be doing right.
"I'm very satisfied" with how her school, CELSA, prepared her for finding post-graduation employment. "There were courses to prepare you for interviews, and networking was a very important" part of the curriculum, Koffi said.
In her case, it paid off: Koffi has just signed her first work contract with an important public relations firm, working on social media campaigns.
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Cassandra Vinograd in London contributed to this report.
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Follow The Class of 2012 on its new Google plus page:
http://apne.ws/ClassOf2012
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Follow The Class of 2012 on the AP Big Story page:
http://bigstory.ap.org/topic/class-2012
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Follow The Class of 2012 on Twitter:
https://twitter.com/AP/class-of-2012
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