PFT: Newton the best rookie QB ever?

Reuters

All I wanted for Christmas was 14 NFL contests on Christmas Eve and Christmas Day.

And I got it, primarily since there was little or no danger of shooting my eye out.

The best part about it?? The ability to write 10 things about what I saw while enjoying the 14 games-a-playing.

1.? ?Playoff turnover trend continues.

While the final postseason field isn?t quite yet settled, it?s already obvious from the teams that made it ? and the teams that won?t ? that the trend of 50-percent playoff turnover most likely will once again hold true.

In the AFC, the Patriots, Steelers, and Ravens have made it back again to the playoffs.? But the Colts, Chargers, and (most likely) the Jets will be left behind.

Replacing them will be the Texans and some combination of the Broncos, Raiders, Bengals, and Titans, with the Jets having a far-slimmer-than-Rex chance of dropping the turnover rate to 33 percent.

In the NFC, the Packers, Saints, and Falcons will be back.? Dumped from contention are the Eagles, Seahawks, and Bears.? Taking their places will be the Cowboys or the Giants, along with the Lions and 49ers.

Maybe we should quit calling this a trend.? Maybe it?s now the rule, and any situations in which more than half of the playoff field makes it back the next year should be regarded as the exception.

For the NFL, it?s a great development, because it creates annual hope for the 20 teams that end up on the outside looking in.? Every year, the fans of those franchises can take some solace in the notion that nearly a third of them will be playing for a Super Bowl title the following year.

Even the Bills and the Browns.

2.? Steelers face tough decision on Ben.

It?s hard to gauge the overall impressiveness of the Steelers? 27-0 win over the Rams, due to the quality of the competition.? But the decision to sit Ben Roethlisberger and start veteran Charlie Batch at quarterback couldn?t have gone much better.

So why not do it again?

The Steelers, after all, are playing the lowly Browns.? And while Pittsburgh?s arch-rivals from Cleveland would love nothing more than to keep the Steelers from winning the AFC North and clinching the No. 2 seed (even if it means seeing the even-more-hated Ravens pocket those prizes), the Steelers have the weaponry to handle the Browns with Batch or Dennis Dixon or even Terry Hanratty at quarterback.

On the other hand, getting a bye and securing home field advantage for at least the division round and possibly, if the Pats lose to the Bills in Week 17 or at home in the conference semifinals, the AFC title game carries with it tremendous value.? If, in the end, the Steelers indeed are on a collision course to play the Ravens again, it?s important for that game to be played in Pittsburgh, where the Steelers have beaten the Ravens twice in the last three postseasons.

The fact that the Bengals can get in with a win, which gives them even more motivation to beat the Ravens, should make the Steelers more willing to load up the cannon in order to beat the Browns.? Thus, while it was reckless for the Steelers to go with Roethlisberger only 11 days after he suffered the sprained ankle, Sunday?s game invites a calculated risk that, if it works out, could generate a great reward.

If it doesn?t pay off, the Steelers will be in no worse shape, since they?re locked in as the fifth seed.

Unless, of course, Roethlisberger aggravates the ankle with as little as six days to get ready for a game in Denver or Oakland.

In the end, it won?t be an easy call.? Maybe the answer will be to use Roethlisberger until the game against the Browns seems to be decided ? or until the scoreboard shows that the Ravens are handling the Bengals.

3.? AFC playoff field is flawed.

Not that long ago, all the best teams resided in the AFC.? Now, the once top-heavy conference has teams at the top that are littered with warts.

The Patriots, currently the top seed, possess a porous defense and not much of a running game.? Last time I checked, those were two key components of any serious playoff run.

The Ravens seem to be the most dangerous team of the bunch, as long as they can put it all together.? But they seem only to put it all together when playing good teams.? Saturday?s dilly-dallying with the Browns shows that the Ravens could be ripe for an upset if/when a lesser franchise comes to town.

Not long ago, the Texans were the ?it? team.? Now, many of their fans want to add an ?s? and an ?h? to that description.? With scant playoff experience on the roster, the Texans will need to make a quick adjustment when it?s time to play the big boys in the conference.

The Steelers have the tools to beat anyone, but they?re in danger of having to do it the hard way, with three hurdles to clear ? all of which most likely will come on the road ? before a earning a return trip to the Super Bowl.

The Broncos can beat anyone on any given day.? As we saw in fairly dramatic fashion on Saturday, they can lose to anyone, too.? Including a team that was riding a seven-game winning streak.? Even if the clock is striking twelve on Tebow Time, it?s hard to see this team winning in Pittsburgh/Baltimore, New England, or even Houston.

Ditto for the Raiders, who have at times looked good enough to barely win and at other times bad enough to be blown off the field.

That means the team poised to pocket the last ticket to the party ? the Bengals ? could be the most dangerous.? With a capable defense, a better-than-expected rookie quarterback, and a better-than-most rookie receiver, the team with the least to lose and the lowest expectations could string together one win after another, thanks to the deeply flawed field of candidates.

Of course, this could mean that the winner of the conference will end up being the sacrificial lambs for the Packers, Saints, or 49ers.? Unless, of course, the Ravens avoid playing down to the competition in their own conference long enough to earn a crack at the best teams in the league.

4.? Tough year for top two tailbacks.

Entering the 2011 football season, running backs in the NFL fell into two categories:? (1) Adrian Peterson and Chris Johnson; and (2) everyone else.

And the season started very well for both men, who took two very different paths to getting paid a lot of money.? Johnson held out of training camp and the preseason, getting his big-money deal only days before the start of the season.? Peterson happily entered the final season of his rookie contract without creating any overt drama, even though it privately was known he wouldn?t react well to being subjected to the franchise tag in 2012.

Once the games started, it became clear that the holdout hampered Johnson.? Peterson performed well as usual, but he was underutilized at times by a Vikings team that kept blowing second-half leads.

Now that Peterson has suffered a serious knee injury, which seemed inevitable given his hard-charging running style, both men have a long way to go to prove that they remain the best tailbacks in the game.? Johnson needs to rediscover the explosiveness that allowed him to slide through a crease and hit the nitrous button; Peterson needs to get healthy.

Their experiences demonstrate that, unlike the quarterback position, which produces a tight nucleus of elite players who remain at that level for years, the best running backs have become a revolving door, with each year producing new guys who?ll enter the next season at the top of the league ? and who?ll have only a limited window to remain there.

5.? Cruz control in New York.

In his team?s first game of the 2010 preseason, undrafted rookie receiver Victor Cruz created a major stir for the Giants, with a performance that featured 145 yards and three touchdowns against the Jets in their annual exhibition.? But then the regular season started, and Cruz disappeared from view, making zero receptions before suffering a season-ending injury.

The 2011 campaign began far more inconspicuously for Cruz, with no touchdowns in the preseason and no receptions in the regular-season opener.? In Week Two, Cruz had only two catches for 17 yards.

Then came the explosion.? In the past 13 games, Cruz has generated 1,341 receiving yards.? Combined with the paltry 51 feet from the first eighth of the season, Cruz now has become the single-season receiving yardage leader in the storied history of the Giants franchise.

And the breaking of Amani Toomers? record came in perhaps the biggest regular-season game the Giants have had in years ? a cross-town/cross-stadium rivalry with the loud-mouthed Jets, in which Cruz?s nine-yard catch and 90-yard run turned the tide of a game in which the ?home? team in Green seemed to be overpowering the team that had won only one of six games.

As a result, Cruz needs to be taken seriously as one of the best young receivers in the game.? It?s a great story for a New Jersey kid who simply wanted to play in the NFL.? Cruz, through two NFL seasons, is on track not just to play but to dominate.

6.? Heaping helping of humble pie for the Ryans.

It?ll be interesting to see the relationship between the outcome of the 2011 regular season and the extent to which the Ryan twins keep talking.? For Rex, the Jets head coach, he had a chance to put up or shut up against the Giants.? Rex didn?t put up; now we?ll see whether he shuts up.

For Rob, the Cowboys defensive coordinator, another ugly loss to the Eagles and a looming winner-take-all game against the team that just beat Rex should induce caution and, relatively speaking, silence.

But guys who like to talk tend to find ways to keep talking.? Even after a season in which the Eagles scored a total of 99 points against the Ryans in three games, and with both the Jets and Cowboys facing a strong possibility of no postseason appearance for either team, it?s unlikely that they?ll change.

They can?t change; they are who they are, which is the source of their appeal to the men who play for them.? And as long as their players respond well to Rex and Rob, they?ll have a place in the league.

Besides, there?s still a chance ? slim as it may be ? that both men will extend their seasons past January 1.? For Rob, it?s a simple win-and-in proposition.? For Rex, the odds are longer, but it?s no huge stretch to think that the Jets will beat the Dolphins, the Ravens will beat the Bengals, the Texans will beat the Titans, and the Raiders or the Broncos will lose to the Chargers or the Chiefs, respectively.

If that all happens, Rex will find a way to quickly and completely digest his Christmas Eve portion of humble pie.? And now that the Jets have bottomed out for the third time this year, the boomerang effect could carry them deep into that deeply flawed AFC playoff field.

7.? It?ll be hard to keep Raheem.

The Buccaneers nearly made it to the postseason in 2010.? But for a surprising (at the time) home loss to the Lions, the 10-6 Bucs would have claimed the last seat at the NFC table, bouncing to the curb the eventual Super Bowl champions.

This year, expectations were higher, even though they were tempered by the reality that the Bucs compete with the Falcons and Saints in the NFC South.? A 4-2 start to the season, including wins over said Falcons and Saints, created a sense that the ?yungry? team from Tampa could take over the division.

And then the bottom dropped out.

Nine straight losses later, including two to a Carolina team that won only two total games a year ago, the Bucs have clinched the basement.? With coach Raheem Morris having only one year left on his contract and receiving no public or (by all appearances) private assurances that he?ll be back in 2012, it?s safe to assume that ownership will move on.

With the Jon Gruden buyout completed and Morris being paid nowhere near the top of the coaching food chain, it?ll be no problem to pay him not to coach the team in 2011.? And with the Bucs on track to finish the year with as many consecutive losses as total victories a year ago, it?ll be virtually impossible for a team that struggles to sell tickets to bring Raheem back.

But then who will they hire to run the team?? The up-and-coming coordinator who happens to be the younger brother of the guy the Bucs fired three years ago?? Another young assistant coach with low recognition, low salary demands, and, in turn, a limited ability to put butts in seats?

Or will the Glazer family decide to spend some of the money that hasn?t been devoted to player costs over the past several years on a big-name coach whose mere presence will help market the team?

We?ll all find out the answer soon.? The end result could result in even more empty seats next year at Raymond James Stadium.

8.? Lions peaking at the right time, but will it matter?

After the Lions slumped from 5-0 to 7-5, serious questions hovered regarding the team?s true ability to compete.? The loss of running back Jahvid Best to a season-ending concussion and the decision of opposing defenses to blanket receiver Calvin Johnson took the sting out of the offense.? The Ndamukong Suh imbroglio created a torrent of negative publicity, and a sense that the Lions simply weren?t ready to compete at the highest levels of the league.

Three straight wins in a row later, the Lions have made it to the postseason for the first time since 1999, and they?re being regarded as a serious threat to make some major noise when the playoffs start.

But will they?? Though Saturday?s thumping of the Chargers arguably was the most impressive victory of the season, the Lions barely held on to beat a bad Vikings team and found a way to steal a road win over the up-and-down Raiders.

It?s entirely possible that the bolt of momentum coming from the knockout blow that the Lions administered to the Chargers will help the Lions win a game or two, or maybe more, when it counts the most.? Ultimately, the Lions? fate could be influenced heavily by whether they enter the playoffs as the No. 5 or No. 6 seed.

If they can hold off the Falcons for the primary wild-card spot in the NFC, the Lions will play at Dallas (where the Lions won during the season) or New York (where the Giants have a hard time holding serve, at least when they?re not the visiting team).? But if the Lions slide into the sixth spot, Detroit will have to return to New Orleans, where they lost badly in early December.

The Saints seem to be unbeatable in the Superdome.? Perhaps the Lions could find a way to beat them there, but the Lions would surely prefer not to be forced to try.

And that creates an interesting dilemma for the Packers next week.? With the top seed clinched, should Green Bay rest their starters for the postseason, or should they do everything they can to force the Lions? postseason tour to commence with the possibility of inevitable failure in New Orleans?

9.? Eventual Super Bowl teams dodged a bullet.

In less than a month, we?ll know the identities of the teams who?ll qualify for the biggest event in all of sport.? Whoever makes it should look back to Week 16, and breathe a deep sigh of relief.? (Not to be confused with the many other types of sighs.)

On Christmas Eve, two of the most potentially disruptive teams summarily were erased from postseason contention, when the Chargers saw their three-game winning streak end in Detroit and when the Eagles saw their own three-game run rendered irrelevant by the Giants? win over the Jets.

Either team could have wreaked major havoc in January.? Just as the Packers barely made it to the playoffs as the NFC?s sixth seed in 2010 and then won the whole thing, the Eagles and Chargers could have parlayed late-season surges into postseason pillaging.

Now, none of the other playoff teams have to worry about the two teams who were the hottest in the league entering Week 16.? The Eagles have gotten even hotter, and the Packers, 49ers, and Saints should be thrilled that the Eagles won?t get a chance to extend that vibe beyond Sunday.

10.? The bloom is off the Tebow.

Eight days ago, Tim Tebow had reached the pinnacle of pro football popularity and/or notoriety.? The Broncos quarterback had become the biggest name in football, joining only a small handful of football players who can cross over into major mainstream consciousness.

Today, with a pair of ugly losses in which Tebow and the Broncos offense started strong but ultimately collapsed, the national buzz has diminished, significantly.? Though Tebow can get it back by leading the Broncos to a win over the Chiefs and former Denver starter Kyle Orton, the past two weekends prove that the flavor of the month sometimes is only the flavor of the week.

At some point, Tebowmania likely will return to the top of the non-sports news cycle.? Also, he remains the hottest thing going in Denver.

Still, his inability to deliver further heroics at home against the Patriots or to stay within 20 points of a bad Buffalo team on Christmas Eve has served as a stark reminder that the latest big name in sports is at any given time only a couple of bad games away from again becoming just another face in the crowd.

Source: http://profootballtalk.nbcsports.com/2011/12/26/cam-newton-is-indestructible/related/

victoria secret angels fox 4 fox 4 adam levine vs fashion show 2011 victoria secret fashion show beverly hills hotel

Bees Appear to Experience Moods

Grumpy? Giddy? According to some measures, bees appear to experience moods. Image: Charles Krebs/Corbis

If you have never watched bees carefully, you are missing out. Look closely as they gently curl and uncoil their mouthparts around food, and you will sense that they are not just eating but enjoying their meal. Watch a bit more, and the hesitant flicks and sags of their antennae seem to convey some kind of emotion. Do those twitches signal annoyance? Or something like enthusiasm?

Whether bees really experience any of these emotions is an open scientific question. It is also an important one, with implications for how we should treat not just bees but the great majority of animals. Recently studies by Melissa Bateson and her colleagues at Newcastle University in England have rekindled the debate over these issues by showing that honeybees may experience something akin to moods.

Using simple behavioral tests, Bate?son?s team showed that honeybees under stress tend to be pessimistic. Other tests have demonstrated that monkeys, dogs and starlings all tend to react similarly under duress and likewise see the proverbial glass as half empty. Although this finding does not?and cannot?prove that bees experience humanlike emotions, it does give pause. We should take seriously the possibility that insects, too, have emotions.

Beeline to the Brain
First, a little bit about bees. They are members of the diverse group of animals lacking backbones?indeed, more than 95 percent of all animal species are invertebrates. Despite the varied and often nuanced behaviors they can exhibit, invertebrates are sometimes regarded as life?s second string, a mindless and unfeeling band of alien critters. If that seems somewhat melodramatic, just consider our willingness to boil some of them alive.

Those judgments tend to arise from arguments about invertebrates? failure to demonstrate the behaviors we usually associate with a pain response. Whereas the yelps and grimaces of other mammals are familiar to us as announcements of hurt, invertebrates can appear to take their injuries in stride. Insects are commonly observed using their crushed limbs with undiminished force when walking, for example, and a locust will reportedly carry on with a meal while it is being eaten by a mantis.

Other attempts to draw a dividing line between creatures that feel and those that do not are rooted in comparative brain anatomy. Invertebrates lack a cortex, an amygdala and many of the other major brain structures routinely implicated in human emotion. Their nervous systems are quite minimalist compared with ours: we have roughly 100,000 bee brains? worth of neurons in our head. Some invertebrates, however, including insects, do possess a rudimentary version of our stress response system. So the question remains: Do they experience emotion in a way that we would recognize, or do they simply react to the world with an elaborate set of reflexes?

To gain some traction on this fascinating question, Bateson?s team followed the lead of recent investigations on ?pessimistic biases? in animals. In humans, the pessimistic bias refers to our well-known tendency to perceive threats or anticipate negative outcomes more frequently when we are feeling anxious or depressed. For example, in tests where people are shown ambiguous statements such as ?the doctor examined little Emily?s growth,? anxious individuals are less likely than others to conclude that Emily is fine and only her height was being checked.

Although the link between bad moods and negative judgments may not be terribly surprising, this correlation is still useful. We rely on it in our daily lives to make informed guesses about how people are feeling by observing their actions and choices. Scientifically, we can use it to study the emotions of creatures unable to tell us directly how they feel. The key here is to set up a controlled situation where animals encounter an ambiguous stimulus?think of it as a nonverbal version of the Emily statement.

Source: http://rss.sciam.com/click.phdo?i=a6f6b37e1b8b7408c7853aeb27b41cd8

esophageal cancer extreme makeover home edition marfan syndrome marfan syndrome britney spears engaged craig smith craig smith

James_Raia: Toyota Aqua debuts in Japan with unknown: Can new tiny hybrid sell well?: Toyota's smallest hybrid car, named th... http://t.co/wvWkSoFw

• Passer la navigation
• Twitter sur votre mobile ? Cliquez ici m.twitter.com!
• Passer cette ?tape
• Connexion

• Connexion
• Rejoignez Twitter !

Toyota Aqua debuts in Japan with unknown: Can new tiny hybrid sell well?: Toyota's smallest hybrid car, named th... bit.ly/vlsuq4 Il y a environ 2 heures via twitterfeed

James_Raia

James Raia

Pied de page

• ? 2011 Twitter
• ? propos de nous
• Contact
• Blog
• Statut
• Ressources
• API
• Entreprises
• Aide
• Offres d'emploi
• Conditions
• Confidentialit?

Source: http://twitter.com/James_Raia/statuses/151474151830470656

ed reed teresa giudice red ribbon week much ado about nothing sean hayes caroline manzo caroline manzo

Trade Binds North Korea to China

By JEREMY PAGE

YANJI, China?When North Korea closed its frontier with China to visitors and trade after the death of Kim Jong Il, people here braced for a long wait: Tourists were stranded, business trips canceled, food and oil deliveries frozen.

Within 48 hours, however, many border crossings sprang open again, underlining the reality facing Mr. Kim's son and successor, Kim Jong Eun: The impoverished country can ill afford to close itself off for long from China?which has long been its economic lifeline.

But the swiftness with which the border was reopened highlighted a more recent dynamic: A variety of North Korean agencies and individuals have vested interests in expanding commercial links with China and have become an interest group among the country's elite, analysts say. They point to such ties as the strongest impetus for change within the world's most isolated country.

As the world scrutinizes North Korea for the slightest signal of what lies ahead, the activity along the 885-mile border with China provides some telling clues to the politics playing out in Pyongyang.

China's trade with North Korea has more than doubled since 2006, and Beijing's investment in North Korea and in Chinese border infrastructure has been rising, too, although official statistics on both are somewhat unreliable, analysts say. China exports mainly food and oil to North Korea, and is also the conduit for luxury goods from elsewhere for Pyongyang's elite, while the North sells commodities such as copper, coal and iron ore to China. By some estimates, China now accounts for more than 70% of North Korea's foreign trade, with Russia believed to account for most of the rest.

China has been pouring money into the border area over the past two years in a bid to encourage North Korea to launch Chinese-style market reforms, analysts say.

Reuters

Armed North Korean soldiers walk by the border of China and North Korea on the banks of Yalu River near the North Korean town of Sinuiju on Thursday.

The impact of those economic ties are evident in the Chinese border town of Yanji. Older people here remark on the different atmosphere this week compared with after the death of Kim Il Sung in 1994, when North Korea came to a standstill as people there were ordered to show "total grief."

"This time, their slogan is 'Turn grief to strength' and they're paying much more attention to business and the economy," said a veteran official at one of the biggest Chinese cross-border trade companies. "Stores and businesses in North Korea have mostly resumed production," said the official, who is in regular contact with North Korean counterparts.

China's strategy to ramp up commercial links has so far failed to elicit meaningful reform, and analysts say the new regime will be equally wary of introducing economic freedoms that could undermine a state policy of "juche" (self-reliance), and total control over its citizens' lives.

But the expansion of Chinese trade and investment has bound North Korea more closely to China?its only military ally and main aid donor?and unleashed economic forces, at least in border areas, that some experts believe could encourage change over the longer term.

The official at the trading company said the number of North Korean officials living on the Chinese side had increased significantly in recent years and border trade is now being conducted by companies set up by a wider variety of North Korean agencies, including the security forces.

Although these companies still pass most of their revenue to the government, they can keep a commission of 4%-5%, and staff appear to receive generous gifts from the growing number of Chinese companies competing for their business, she said.

She and several other local people also said that many North Korean officials are now living with their families?a significant change from the past, when North Koreans posted abroad usually had to leave families behind to prevent defections.

"That's new," said one long-term foreign resident of the Yanji area, who declined to be identified. "They seem to be living pretty well, too."

A handful of well-dressed North Korean officials were seen by a reporter paying their respects to their deceased leader at the Liujing Hotel in Yanji, a modern high-rise in the city center, outside which several black Audi sedans with tinted windows were parked. They declined to answer questions.

Analysts caution that the benefits of commercial ties are limited to North Korea's border areas, and to its elite officials, and there are no signs yet of them being spread more broadly.

On Friday, North Korea said it would open its border near the South Korean town of Kaesong, clearing the path for a delegation led by the widow of former South Korean President Kim Dae-jung and another by the head of Hyundai Group to visit the North. Kim Dae-jung, who died in 2009, and the Hyundai conglomerate were key players in the so-called Sunshine Policy years from 1998 to 2008, during which South Korea attempted to improve relations with Pyongyang through political engagement and financial support.

Kim Jong Il often appeared to toy with the idea of Chinese-style market reforms?usually after visiting China?and set up several "special economic zones" in the border area, but repeatedly balked at introducing the necessary reforms to allow private enterprise to flourish.

One of the only apparent success stories in the earliest such zone, Rason, which was established in 1992, is a casino that attracts visitors mainly from China, where gambling is forbidden.

"It's OK to go over there to gamble, or to buy and sell things," said one 41-year-old Chinese businessman, who regularly visits Rason. "But if you invest in anything there, you'll lose it. It's like before China began reform and opening up."

Another North Korean economic zone, set up at Sinuiju in 2002, ground to a halt after a Chinese-born Dutch flower tycoon was appointed its governor, then promptly arrested by authorities in China for corruption before he could take up his post.

Nonetheless, Beijing has invested heavily on both sides of the border and has pledged to back a plan to revamp the Rason special economic zone, and to build a new one on an island near Sinuiju.

Whether these trends continue will depend to a large extent on the balance of power in Pyongyang, analysts say.

The younger Mr. Kim is too young, and was anointed heir too recently, to wield the same power as his father. So he is likely to rule as the figurehead of a collective leadership alongside his aunt's husband and several powerful generals, analysts say.

The aunt's husband, Jang Song Thaek, is thought by many experts to be an economic specialist who oversaw the establishment of the special economic zones on the Chinese border and is responsible for the commercial ties with China. An early indicator of Mr. Jang's influence could be whether, or how fast, North Korea resumes talks over that and other ongoing projects.

He accompanied the late North Korean leader on recent trips to China and attended a ground-breaking ceremony in June for the new special economic zone on the island of Hwanggumpyong, analysts say.

North Korea has leased China a pier at a port in Rason, and a Chinese company signed an agreement last year to invest $2 billion in more infrastructure there. China has also started building a $250 million border bridge at Dandong, another frontier city. Analysts say Chinese firms have been negotiating with North Korea on developing its substantial mineral deposits.

"I think the new leadership [in Pyongyang] will continue along this path because North Korea has gained such benefits from it," said Yang Xiyu, a senior fellow at the China Institute of International Studies who has taken part in nuclear talks with North Korea.

"I don't expect any sudden changes, but I think they understand that they key for sustainable economic recovery is making use of external markets and resources."

?Se Young Lee in Seoul
and Kersten Zhang in Beijing contributed to this article.

Source: http://feeds.wsjonline.com/~r/wsj/xml/rss/3_7013/~3/5Hq2MPsPnY4/SB10001424052970203686204577116162967853258.html

reo reo chilis snow white and the huntsman snow white and the huntsman philip rivers 11 11 11 meaning

srilankanewsnet: South Africa aim to seal overdue series win http://t.co/4v5aNshW

• Passer la navigation
• Twitter sur votre mobile ? Cliquez ici m.twitter.com!
• Passer cette ?tape
• Connexion

• Connexion
• Rejoignez Twitter !

South Africa aim to seal overdue series win tf.to/UAM6 Il y a environ 17 heures via Sri Lanka News tweet feeder

srilankanewsnet

Sri Lanka News

Pied de page

• ? 2011 Twitter
• ? propos de nous
• Contact
• Blog
• Statut
• Ressources
• API
• Entreprises
• Aide
• Offres d'emploi
• Conditions
• Confidentialit?

Source: http://twitter.com/srilankanewsnet/statuses/150801349947293698

chili recipe grimm jello shots tashard choice tashard choice amityville horror puss in boots

iPhone apps to get you in the Christmas mood

So, it's really beginning to look like Christmas, but with all the stress that's characteristic to this very season, we can imagine that many of you (some of us included) find it difficult to get into that jolly Christmas mood that's an absolute must for this time of the year. With this in mind, we thought "Hey, the App Store is full of apps about drinking beer, farting, talking cats and dinosaurs... there must be a few Christmas-themed offerings as well!" You know what? We were right. Here are a few apps to help you get into the right mood for Christmas...

• Christmas Music ~ 10,000 FREE Christmas Songs! - Free

What better way to get in the mood for Christmas than singing along with a few beautiful Christmas songs?! C'mooon, who doesn't love Christmas carols! Really, we're sure that if you try one, you'll want to sing more and more. And this app is just the right tool for the purpose, with an incredible catalog of about 10,000 Christmas songs. Enjoy!

• History of American Christmas and Its Traditions - $0.99

While you're practicing your singing though, it might be a good idea to read about the origin of the holiday and all the cool traditions that go with it. You know, just to refresh your memory. What has happened on that day? Why do we give presents? Who is this Santa Claus guy, and why no one objects when he breaks into people's houses? These are all questions that this nice little app here will be happy to answer.

• Christmas Cooking Recipes - $0.99

Alright, ladies, time to do something useful! Hey, hey, this was just a joke! Stupid - yeah, but a joke nonetheless. Geez... Christmas Cooking Recipes offers a selection of 39 recipes for delicious dishes, which are very appropriate for the Christmas holidays. But it's OK if you don't want to cook. We'll just order pizza and coke. It's cool...What's Christmas without a Christmas tree? Well, this just can't happen. Every self-respecting household should have one, but you know what the best part about the Christmas tree is? Decorating it! You know what's even better? You can let your kids do all the decorating so that you can watch some TV. However, you don't want to end up with an ugly tree, so you can first let your little bandits practice with the oChristmas Tree app, where they can use dozens of different ornaments to decorate a virtual tree. Once they are ready, you'll just have to approve the project and continue watching your show.

• Christmas Fun - All In One - Free (more content is unlocked via in-app purchases)

Here's the ultimate Christmas all-in-one fun that you can find on the App Store! Singing along Christmas carols, playing mini-games and coloring pictures - you'll find it all in this app. It will surely be lots of fun for both kids and adults alike.

Source: http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/phonearena/ySoL/~3/d0J2Q4_kVcA/iPhone-apps-to-get-you-in-the-Christmas-mood_id25064

art basel 2011 art basel 2011 straight no chaser straight no chaser bcs standings bcs standings douglas fir

Analysis: GOP's struggle on taxes gives Dems hope

President Barack Obama speaks during a news conference in the South Court Auditorium at the White House complex, Thursday, Dec. 22, 2011, in Washington. The president was flanked at the White House by several people who commented on Twitter about how they would be impacted if the tax cuts were not extended. (AP Photo/Carolyn Kaster)

President Barack Obama speaks during a news conference in the South Court Auditorium at the White House complex, Thursday, Dec. 22, 2011, in Washington. The president was flanked at the White House by several people who commented on Twitter about how they would be impacted if the tax cuts were not extended. (AP Photo/Carolyn Kaster)

WASHINGTON (AP) ? For all his problems with the economy, President Barack Obama is getting unexpected help from a Republican Party that seems incapable of capitalizing on its advantages.

Congressional Republicans' fumbling of the payroll tax issue is the latest example of party in-fighting and disarray that gives Democrats hope for the 2012 elections. GOP presidential contenders have tried to distance themselves from the legislative mess. But they might be tarred nonetheless if swing voters decide the party is either inept at governing or too extreme.

The eventual GOP presidential nominee "will be somewhat shackled to the Republican brand," said Democratic strategist Erik Smith, even if congressional Republicans are the ones leading the charge in an unpopular fight over the payroll tax. He said GOP House and Senate candidates will face even more problems.

The Wall Street Journal editorial page ? an important voice among conservatives ? berated Republican lawmakers for their handling of the payroll tax matter. Obama wants to add another year to this year's reduction in the tax, which nearly all workers pay toward Social Security. Senate Republicans, after forcing Democrats to swallow several unrelated concessions, joined in an overwhelmingly bipartisan vote to approve only a two-month tax cut extension, with plans to revisit the issue next year.

But House Republicans, who generally disliked the payroll tax cut from the start, refused to concur early this week. Under relentless criticism from conservative bloggers and several GOP senators, House Speaker John Boehner announced Thursday that he expects to pass a new bill by Christmas to renew the break for two months while congressional negotiators work on a longer-term measure.

Unless Congress acts in the next 10 days, the payroll tax rate will return to 6.2 percent on Jan. 1, after one year at 4.2 percent. That would cost a family making $50,000 about $1,000.

Republican congressional leaders' actions "might end up re-electing the president before the 2012 campaign even begins in earnest," the Journal's editorial page said Wednesday.

Democrats point to episodes like the payroll tax fuss and say congressional Republicans are essentially controlled by tea party activists, whose tax and spending agendas are outside the political mainstream.

"Tea Party Republicans blocked a bipartisan bill to extend President Obama's payroll tax cut," the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee said in a fundraising email Tuesday, minutes after a key House vote. House Democratic Leader Nancy Pelosi told reporters, "the tea party tail is wagging the elephant."

Democratic strategists hope to remind voters of last summer's near-calamity over raising the limit on the debt ceiling. Then, as now, Boehner struggled to control his GOP caucus and to calculate which bills can and cannot pass. These Democrats want to paint the Republican Party as an out-of-touch institution that would rather stand for rigidly conservative principles than solve the nation's problems.

"I think the tea party-engendered dysfunction has the potential to really get the electorate's attention," said Jared Bernstein, a former Obama administration economist now with the Center on Budget and Policy Priorities. "At this point, the system is crippled by them."

All of this, of course, may be wishful thinking by Democrats. Republicans crushed them in the 2010 elections, giving the GOP control of the House and many governorships. Unemployment and other economic indicators bode badly for Obama's re-election hopes, and the payroll tax fuss may seem a musty memory by next November.

One other worry looms. If the payroll tax impasse remains unresolved, working Americans' taxes will rise by billions of dollars next year. Economists say that would depress spending and slow job growth, at least somewhat. Even if more voters blame Republicans than Democrats, Obama could end up as a net loser politically, given that the economic climate already is deeply troublesome for him. Also, unemployment benefits will be curbed if the legislative package remains stalled.

Analysts in both parties question whether Republicans will take such a risk.

"I think the likely scenario is some kind of bill passes in January, probably with retroactive benefits," Bernstein said. "It's a real pain for businesses," he said, because they would have to adjust their employees' tax withholding programs yet again.

Such an outcome, however, might help Obama and other Democrats politically. Restoration of the lower payroll tax rate would hold the economy harmless. But independent voters might think Republican lawmakers sought to raise their taxes. And hard-core conservative voters might blame those same lawmakers for surrendering to a tax cut they dislike.

Democrats note that Republicans fought fiercely to prevent Bush-era income tax cuts from expiring on schedule, even for the wealthiest people. GOP leaders say income tax cuts do more to stimulate growth than do payroll tax reductions.

The payroll tax impasse seems to have cost Republicans another political victory. In House-Senate negotiations, they forced Obama to agree to an expedited decision on a proposed transcontinental oil pipeline opposed by environmental groups. But it was included in the Senate-passed package with the two-month tax extension. Republicans who gloated over Obama's concession on the pipeline now have nothing to show for their efforts.

Republicans in Congress don't need more bad publicity. Americans hold Congress in extremely low regard, but they put more blame on Republicans than Democrats.

A recent poll by the Pew Research Center found that a record-high 50 percent of Americans say the current Congress is less effective than most. By nearly 2-to-1, "more blame Republican leaders than Democratic leaders for this," Pew found. "By wide margins, the GOP is seen as the party that is more extreme in its positions, less willing to work with the other side to get things done, and less honest and ethical in the way it governs. And for the first time in over two years, the Democratic Party has gained the edge as the party better able to manage the federal government."

Such findings may add pressure on Boehner and other Republican leaders to find a way out of the payroll tax cut dilemma.

Associated Press

Source: http://hosted2.ap.org/APDEFAULT/89ae8247abe8493fae24405546e9a1aa/Article_2011-12-22-GOP%20Troubles-Analysis/id-a6184fe7429b45fd9ecb3206826475c2

breeders cup 2011 gwar gwar san diego weather tropic thunder justin bieber baby justin bieber baby

Southwest Florida home sales and prices up

A sign outside a house at 2844 Novus Street in Sarasota, on Monday, Feb. 1, 2010, indicates a short sale in progress. (Herald-Tribune archive / 2010)

Published: Wednesday, December 21, 2011 at 12:16 p.m.

Last Modified: Wednesday, December 21, 2011 at 12:16 p.m.

Homes sales in Southwest Florida rose by double digits in November and prices bounced back markedly from what had been threatening to be a new post-recession low.

Sales rose 17 percent in the Sarasota-Bradenton market and 11 percent in Charlotte County-North Port, according to data released by the trade group Florida Realtors.

In Sarasota-Bradenton, the median of $152,100 last month was up 2 percent from a year ago and up 11 percent from October.

That October median of $137,100 was a price that only hovered $800 above the lowest since the Great Recession.

The November median in Charlotte County-North Port was $102,600, up 11 percent from a year ago and up 14 percent from October.

Statewide, nearly 13,000 homes changed hands last month, an 11 percent increase from a year ago. The statewide median was $130,100, roughly flat with a year ago and down only slightly from October.

NATIONALLY: Existing home sales up 4 percent

The number of Americans who bought previously occupied homes rose last month. But the National Association of Realtors says it overstated about 3.5 million sales during and after the Great Recession, showing the housing market remains much weaker than previously thought.

The private trade group says sales rose 4 percent last month to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 4.42 million. That's below the roughly 6 million sales a year that economists say are consistent with a healthy housing market. But it's ahead of 2008's revised sales, now considered the worst in 13 years.

The nearly 4.2 million homes sold last year are far fewer than the nearly 7.1 million sold at the peak of the housing boom in 2005. This year is on pace to slightly exceed last year's total of about 4.25 million.

The trade group revised down its sales from 2007 through October more than 14 percent, from 24.8 million to nearly 21.3 million. Among the reasons for the lower figures, the Realtors group says: changes in the way the Census Bureau collects data, population shifts and some sales being counted twice.

The sharp revisions could cast doubt on future sales numbers from the Realtors' group, a private trade organization that lobbies on behalf of its 1.2 million members.

John Ryding, an economist at RDQ Economics, called the revisions "massive" and cited them as an example of how economic data can be unreliable.

The Realtors' group said it trusts its new figures, which were checked by government agencies and CoreLogic, the California-based real estate data firm that first raised questions about the numbers earlier this year.

Other economists said the lower numbers won't necessarily matter, since sales are up and fewer homes are sitting idle waiting for buyers. Sales have risen more than 12 percent over the past 12 months. The supply of unsold homes has fallen more than 18 percent.

More than two years after the recession officially ended, many people can't qualify for loans or meet higher down-payment requirements. Even those with excellent credit and stable jobs are holding off because they fear that home prices will keep falling. Sales are also being hurt by a decline in first-time buyers, who are critical to reviving the housing market.

The new figures show that sales fell in three of the past four years since the housing market began to drop in 2006. Declining prices and record-low mortgage rates haven't been enough to boost sales.

The changing numbers could affect how economists view the trade group's data. It could also affect companies that use the figures for hiring and expansion plans.

Sales are measured when buyers close on homes. But many deals are collapsing before that point. One-third of Realtors say they've had at least one contract scuttled in November and October, up from 18 percent in September.

Contracts have been canceled for any of several reasons: Banks have declined mortgage applications; home inspectors have found problems; appraisals showed a home was worth less than the bid; a buyer lost a job before the closing.

The median sales price rose 2.1 percent to $164,200 in November.

The high rate of foreclosures has made resold homes much cheaper than new homes. The median price of a new home is roughly 30 percent higher than the price of one that's been occupied before ? twice the normal markup.

Investors are taking advantage of the discounts. Their purchases made up 19 percent of all sales last month, compared with fewer than 10 percent in healthier housing markets.

Purchases among first-time buyers rose slightly last month to make up 35 percent of sales, up from 34 percent in October. In healthy markets, first-time buyers make up at least 40 percent of sales.

At the same time, homes at risk of foreclosure made up 29 percent of sales last month. That's up from 28 percent in October. Those homes made up less than 10 percent of sales in healthier periods. Investors are increasingly buying homes priced under $100,000.

Sales rose across the country in November. They increased on a seasonal basis by nearly 10 percent in the Northeast, 4.3 percent in the Midwest, 3.6 percent in the West and 2.4 percent in the South.

The glut of unsold homes declined to 2.58 million homes. At last month's sales pace, it would take seven months to clear those homes. Analysts say a healthy supply can be cleared in about six months.

Source: http://www.heraldtribune.com/article/20111221/article/111229904

apostasy canon powershot elph 300 hs christmas lights canon eos rebel t3 christmas photo cards ar 15 costco

Payroll tax fight: Has Boehner lost control of the GOP? (The Week)

New York ? The House speaker rejects the Senate's bipartisan tax deal after members of his caucus revolt. Just who's calling the shots in the House?

Republican John Boehner is ending his first year as House speaker with a high-stakes political gamble: On Tuesday, his caucus?rejected a Senate bill to extend a popular payroll tax break for two months. Instead, House Republicans insisted that the recessed Senate ? which passed the temporary extension 89-10 ? come back to Washington to square its bill with the House's plan, which extends the tax break for a year, but also makes spending cut demands that Democrats strongly oppose. The Senate is holding firm, and Senate Republicans are livid. Indeed, Boehner?appeared to support the bipartisan Senate deal before his unruly caucus balked. Now, the House speaker is flunking his "last and biggest political test of a wild year," say Jonathan Allen and Seung Min Kim at?Politico. "Has John Boehner lost control?"

Yes. "Radical backbenchers" are calling the shots: This obvious cave to Tea Party freshmen proves Boehner is "less a leader of his caucus than a servant of his radical backbenchers," says Dana Milbank in The Washington Post. Instead of victories, these "sophomoric" freshmen have delivered Boehner "a string of insults." In fact, the Tea Partiers have become so "tipsy with power" that maybe Boehner should give up his speaker's gavel and admit what he truly is: "Their barkeep."
"On tap: Radical Republican Winterfest"

No. Boehner and his team did the right thing: Critics are spouting nonsense,?says Americans for Prosperity's Phil Kerpen at?Politico.?Boehner's caucus passed its own bill, "which is superior in many respects" to the Senate plan.?"Pundits can argue about whether Boehner's move is good politics," but it's clearly better policy than the Senate's "weak two-month punt attempt." House Republicans were right to call senators back to work to fix their unworkable "political gimmick."
"Has Boehner lost control of the House?"

Regardless, the GOP really "botched the politics": "The short extension makes no economic sense, but then neither does a one-year extension," says The Wall Street Journal in an editorial. Neither tax holiday would truly affect hiring. This is simply a political exercise, and clearly, the GOP has made a hash of things. Bohner did flip on the Senate bill after "House members revolted." And now President Obama is in the driver's seat. Thanks to a lack of strategy, infighting, and messaging flubs, Republicans have "achieved the small miracle" of losing this tax fight to the Democrats.
"The GOP's payroll tax fiasco"

View this article on TheWeek.com
Get 4 Free Issues of The Week

Other stories from this topic:

Like on Facebook?-?Follow on Twitter?-?Sign-up for Daily Newsletter

Source: http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/politicsopinion/*http%3A//news.yahoo.com/s/theweek/20111221/cm_theweek/222697

wale wale weather denver weather denver ambition dorothy rodham rick hendrick plane crash

Built-in 'self-destruct timer' causes ultimate death of messenger RNA in cells

ScienceDaily (Dec. 22, 2011) ? Researchers at Albert Einstein College of Medicine of Yeshiva University have discovered the first known mechanism by which cells control the survival of messenger RNA (mRNA) -- arguably biology's most important molecule. The findings pertain to mRNAs that help regulate cell division and could therefore have implications for reversing cancer's out-of-control cell division. The research was recently described in the journal Cell.

"The fate of the mRNA molecules we studied resembles a Greek tragedy," said the study's senior author, Robert Singer, Ph.D., co-director of the Gruss Lipper Biophotonics Center and professor and co-chair of anatomy and structural biology at Einstein. "Their lifespans are determined at the moment of their birth." The study was carried out in yeast cells using advanced microscope technology developed previously by Dr. Singer that has allowed scientists, for the first time, to observe single molecules in single cells in real time.

Directions for making proteins are encoded in the DNA sequences of genes, which reside on chromosomes in the nucleus of each cell. But for proteins to be made, a gene's DNA code must be copied, or transcribed, onto mRNA molecules, which migrate from the nucleus and into the cytoplasm where the cell's protein-making machinery is located. For as long as it exists, an mRNA molecule can act as a template for making copies of a protein. So scientists have long suspected that cells must have ways for degrading mRNAs when, for example, a protein starts accumulating to harmful levels. "The cell somehow decides to destroy its mRNA on cue, but nobody knew how this happens," said Dr. Singer.

In their search for such a mechanism, Dr. Singer and his colleagues focused on two genes, SWI5 and CLB2, which code for proteins that regulate the cell cycle -- the complex series of steps during which a cell divides, first duplicating its genetic material and then distributing it evenly to two daughter cells. To properly choreograph the cell cycle, the levels of the proteins encoded by the SWI5 and CLB2 genes must be exquisitely controlled -- suggesting that the mRNAs made from these genes would be prime candidates for purposeful degradation. Remarkably, the researchers found that these mRNAs are, in effect, born with molecular "self-destruct timers" that ultimately destroy them.

When genes are transcribed, a part of the gene called the promoter region has the job of switching on the gene so that DNA will be copied into mRNA. The Einstein scientists found that the promoter regions of the SWI5 and CLB2 genes do something else as well: they recruit a protein called Dbf2p, which jumps onto mRNA molecules as they're being synthesized.

These mRNAs -- transcribed from the SWI5 and CLB2 genes and bearing the Dbf2p protein -- make their journey from the nucleus into the cytoplasm. Here a protein called Dbf20p joins Dbf2p aboard the mRNA molecules -- and the two proteins together call for the molecules' precipitous decay.

"Our findings indicate that genes making proteins whose levels must be carefully controlled contain promoter regions that sentence their mRNA molecules to death even as the mRNA is being born," said Dr. Singer. "The promoter regions do that by 'marking' the newly made mRNA with the protein Dbf2p -- the common factor between mRNA synthesis and its ultimate decay. Dbf2p stays attached to the mRNA from its birth and then, responding to a signal indicating that no more protein should be made, orders mRNA's destruction."

While these observations pertain to yeast cells, Dr. Singer said he is confident that the process governing mRNA decay in humans "will prove to be very similar" and could be relevant for combating cancer. "Once you gain insight into the mechanisms controlling the cell cycle and cell division," he noted, "you can propose targeted therapies for regulating the uncontrolled cell division that characterizes cancer."

Other scientists involved in the study were lead author Tatjana Trcek (who did this work at Einstein as part of her thesis and is now a postdoctoral student at New York University), Daniel Larson, Ph.D. (now at the National Cancer Institute), postdoctoral fellow Alberto Mold?n, Ph.D., and Charles Query, M.D., Ph.D., professor of cell biology at Einstein. This research was supported by the National Institute of General Medical Sciences of the National Institutes of Health.

Recommend this story on Facebook, Twitter,
and Google +1:

Other bookmarking and sharing tools:

---

Story Source:

The above story is reprinted from materials provided by Albert Einstein College of Medicine.

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

---

Journal Reference:

1. Tatjana Trcek, Daniel?R. Larson, Alberto Mold?n, Charles?C. Query, Robert?H. Singer. Single-Molecule mRNA Decay Measurements Reveal Promoter- Regulated mRNA Stability in Yeast. Cell, 2011; 147 (7): 1484 DOI: 10.1016/j.cell.2011.11.051

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

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

Source: http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2011/12/111222133454.htm

forgetting sarah marshall jets aaron hernandez aaron hernandez portland news portland news tibetan mastiff

The week's buzz: We aren't the median

Brandon Thibodeaux for msnbc.com

Megan and Sam Moss, pictured here with their baby daughter Mary Margaret, are living on the nation's median household income of around $50,000 a year.

By Allison Linn

?

For the last couple of weeks, Life Inc. has been exploring what it?s like to be in the exact midpoint of the nation?s economic spectrum.

The We are the median project prompted thousands of readers to share their stories and thoughts on what it?s like for to live on the nation?s household median income of around $50,000 a year. And it also prompted lots of you to tell us about what it?s like to be much worse off.

Many readers told us they can only hope to bring home $50,000 a year.

?$50,000 would be great to make a year. Single mom with 2 kids and I bring home less than $35,000. Took a cut in hours to keep my job,? one reader wrote in response to our profile of a mom and son who are struggling with a drop in income.

Another profile, of a young couple bringing home around $50,000 a year and juggling high student loan bills, also prompted some to tell us that people need to pay more attention to those who have it much worse.

?Why is this news? We make less than $27K, I have over $80K in student debt. My dream is a nightmare and we are family of 4,? one reader wrote.

Although some readers told us?they are doing just fine?on incomes below $50,000 a year, others said it?s very hard to make ends meet on a lower income. In a post this week about a family choosing to live a very simple life on about $20,000 a year, many readers questioned whether low-income living is really ?living well.??

But some found the story inspirational.

?It's gratifying to hear stories of real people. I applaud this young family and see their lot improving, over time. My husband and I struggled in our early life, with young children and little money. ? Our kids are not scarred because of this, they are all hard working, successful contributors to society. We have always had to be smart about our money and now that we have more, we are still frugal,? one commenter wrote.

Apparently that?s not a lesson many parents are passing on to their children. In a post about a young couple getting a good financial start in life, about 40 percent of our readers said they hadn't learned much from their parents about how to manage money.

?My parents didn't tell me anything about budgeting. It's a hard lesson I now know and am passing this on to my kids,? one reader wrote.

How much would you have to bring home to be free of money worries? More than half of our readers said they would have to make $250,000 or more per year in order to feel rich.

For some, the more money, the better.

?As much as possible. You're never secure in this country unless you are the 1%,? one reader wrote.

Still, some readers said they would settle for much less.

?I would be thrilled with that (to me) mythical $50,000 per year..........!? one reader wrote.

{"contentId":"9471435","totalVotes":"1777"}

What's the minimum annual income your household could live on?

?

Source: http://lifeinc.today.msnbc.msn.com/_news/2011/12/15/9471435-the-weeks-buzz-we-arent-the-median

syracuse shonn greene oklahoma state plane crash syracuse university best buy black friday 2011 ads broncos jets jessie james

iTunes Match rolls out to international community, makes music lovers flinch

Thought you'd have to wait until 2012 to snag an international iTunes Match account? Think again. It seems Apple ended its negotiations with British record companies earlier than expected, as the outfit prematurely launched the music matching service on Wednesday, pulled it and refunded early subscribers, and finally relaunched a fully functional Match to the international community on Thursday. Users from the UK, Australia, Canada, France, the Czech Republic and other countries are now reporting that the service is live, appearing in the iTunes Store and fully functional. If the US rollout was a little late, we certainly don't mind the international debuting a tad early.

iTunes Match rolls out to international community, makes music lovers flinch originally appeared on Engadget on Fri, 16 Dec 2011 01:18:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink TUAW, Apple Insider  |   | Email this | Comments

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

robert wagner live with regis and kelly heavy d funeral oklahoma state university osu football osu football christopher walken

New probe into 31-year mystery of Ayers Rock baby

SYDNEY?? Australia will hold a new inquest into the controversial 1980 disappearance of baby Azaria Chamberlain at Ayer's Rock, a famous landmark in the central Australian outback, a government spokesman said on Sunday.

1. 1. Flashback! Relive 2011?s greatest moments

      From global crises to a royal wedding, from Emmy wins to a momentous goodbye, TODAY looks back at the most notable moments...

   2. 'Barefoot Bandit' gets 7 years for crime spree
   3. What beauty product is Amy Robach obsessed with?
   4. Love dilemmas: I hate my fiance?s teeth!
   5. Santa lady! Michelle Obama donates gifts to Toys for Tots

The inquest will be the fourth into the infant's death, which drew international attention after her mother, Lindy Chamberlain-Creighton, was convicted of murder in 1982 and sentenced to life imprisonment.

The conviction was later quashed. A conviction against the baby's father, Michael Chamberlain, as an accessory after the fact was also later quashed.

Azaria's parents have always maintained she was taken from their tent by a dingo, an Australian wild dog. The case has gripped attention for decades, prompting several dramatisations, including a 1988 movie starring Meryl Streep.

A spokesman for the Department of Justice in Australia's Northern Territory said a new inquest had been ordered for February, without elaborating on the reasons.

"I can confirm that this is going to take place," he said, adding it would begin on February 24.

Ayer's Rock, or Uluru by its Aboriginal name, is a giant monolith in Australia's parched centre and is one of the country's leading tourist attractions.

Copyright 2011 Thomson Reuters. Click for restrictions.

Source: http://today.msnbc.msn.com/id/45710902/ns/world_news-asia_pacific/

stuffing brandon mcinerney brandon mcinerney black friday 2011 deals nfl power rankings week 12 nfl power rankings week 12 brine turkey

Pet Gift Baskets Are Increasing in Acceptance ? Arkham City

Do you have pets of your very own? Perhaps you know an individual with pets. Possibly way, pet gift baskets are turning into very popular. According to the American Pet Item Manufactures Association APPMA approximately forty five million families have canines, 38 million have cats and an additional fifteen million have other pens like, birds, fish, horses, reptiles or other small animals. The APPMA estimates that 83 million of these families have an average of two pets every single. That is a whole lot of pets!

The pet sector has been expanding consistently considering that the commence of the millennium. To a $forty billion additionally industry. Emotional connections amongst pet owners and their beloved pets have developed much better as effectively, which has triggered a need to have for a lot more pet items and providers. There has been a continual rise in pet add-ons, goods and services. Pet owners are confronted with a plethora of alternatives when it comes to pet food items and treats. You can now locate a range that ranges from natural and organic, to kosher and even connoisseur. There are greater goods for dental treatment of pets and enhanced veterinary care and medicines have elevated the common existence spans of your pets. This indicates more birthdays, Christmases or other holidays for your pets!

There are numerous suggestions that you can pull jointly for pet gift baskets. Contemplate offering a present basket crammed with natural and organic pet meals or adding spa items such as shampoos, conditioners, or dental products. You could add custom clothes or costumes alongside with fancy colors or leashes. All of these objects could be built on top of a pet bed for some thing truly exclusive and authentic.

The average pet basket can variety from $35 and up. This helps make this kind of a unique and private gift since most men and women cherish their pets. If you want to make an affect on someone regardless of whether a good friend or organization associate consider a pet gift basket. You will have to do a small homework just before supplying them a gift to make confident you know the dimensions and type of pet they have. This way you can get a perfect gift that matches their pets persona and type!

If you are looking for a thing various to give this yr for vacations, birthdays or other situations, will not overlook about peoples pets. You can be certain that they wont neglect you for supplying them one thing they can cherish with their loyal companions.

Gift Baskets For Pets
Related Sites : pet gift basket

Source: http://arkhamcity.org/index.php/2011/12/pet-gift-baskets-are-increasing-in-acceptance/

reo chilis snow white and the huntsman snow white and the huntsman philip rivers chanukah chanukah

The Hitch Remembered Everything

In debate, Hitch was lethal?a super-articulate terrorist, fearless, uningratiating, unforgettable, and unforgetting. The facts never failed him. He had total recall. And he usually had something spectacular to throw into the audience.

I stayed with him in Washington when he was married to Eleni Meleagrou. I was reading at the Library of Congress. As Eleni and I were having tea, Christopher came in, fresh from California, reeking of fags and booze. He had been debating with Alexander Cockburn. ?Drink?? I said I never drank before a reading. ?Gosh,? he said and poured himself a big brandy and Campari. For the next two hours, he put it away. Then we went to the Library of Congress. Afterwards we went to several bars. By 1 a.m. I was speechless with drink and Hitch was in spate.

I don?t remember going to bed. I got up at 7 and found my way to the bathroom, wary as a seal, in case my headache exploded. Hitch was in his study, at his desk, a glass of brandy and Campari to hand, a cigarette immolating itself in the ashtray. He was writing a piece.

One night in Oxford, Hitch and I were having supper at James Fenton?s house. Drink had been taken. At 2 a.m. James was asleep at his kitchen table. The historians Norman Stone and Timothy Garton Ash arrived. Things became hilarious. I left at 4:30. Hitch was filming at 6 a.m. The filming went off?with the Hitch, without a hitch.

Source: http://feeds.slate.com/click.phdo?i=82d9f43955a4337309321a1de543de7c

barney frank barney frank 2012 grammy nominations stephen sondheim los angeles news grammys 2011 mike leach

How the major stock indexes fared on Thursday (AP)

Investors shifted their attention from Europe to the U.S. on Thursday, pushing stocks slightly higher on good jobs and manufacturing reports. The Dow Jones industrial average rose 45 points, having lost 360 points over the past three days on worries that Europe's latest plan to keep its currency union intact would fail.

The Dow Jones industrial average rose 45.33 points, 0.4 percent, to 11,868.81

The Standard & Poor's 500 index rose 3.94 points, or 0.3 percent, to 1,215.76.

The Nasdaq composite index rose 1.70 points, less than 0.1 percent, to 2,541.01.

For the week:

The Dow is down 315.45 points, or 2.6 percent.

The S&P is down 39.43, or 3.1 percent.

The Nasdaq is down 105.84, or 4 percent.

For the year to date:

The Dow is up 291.30 points, or 2.5 percent.

The S&P is down 41.88, or 3.3 percent.

The Nasdaq is down 111.86, or 4.2 percent.

Source: http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/stocks/*http%3A//news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20111215/ap_on_bi_ge/us_wall_street_box

new orleans hornets chris paul time person of the year ndaa sag nominations sag nominations derek jeter

Brian Wall's OT goal lifts Penfield hockey to victory (Rochester Democrat and Chronicle)

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

Source: http://news.feedzilla.com/en_us/stories/politics/top-stories/175390218?client_source=feed&format=rss

lsu game animal house role models big ten championship game big ten championship game ultimate fighter 14 ultimate fighter 14

Romney: Illegal immigrants should have to leave (AP)

SIOUX CITY, Iowa ? Republican presidential hopeful Mitt Romney says he's all for immigration, as long as it's legal and policies don't reward those who are already here.

On Thursday night, Romney and his rivals discussed illegal immigration at the GOP debate. Romney says workers who have come to the U.S. illegally would have to leave the country but would be eligible to apply to return as long as they went to the back of the line.

Newt Gingrich says the nation has to be realistic in confronting the millions of workers without documentation. But Gingrich also says he would cut off funding for so-called sanctuary cities and would drop federal lawsuits against states with tough anti-immigration laws.

Source: http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/politics/*http%3A//news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20111216/ap_on_el_pr/us_gop_debate_immigration

chelsea clinton kat von d tiki barber minnesota vikings packers vs vikings packers vs vikings randall cobb

'X Factor': Marcus Canty's Time Runs Out

Josh Krajcik, Melanie Amaro and Chris Rene will face off in next week's two-part finale.
By Adam Graham

Marcus Canty on "X Factor"
Photo: FOX

Marcus Canty's luck finally ran out on Thursday's (December 15) "The X Factor," as the 20-year-old from Bowie, Maryland, was voted off the show one week away from the finale. That leaves Josh Krajcik, Chris Rene and Melanie Amaro to battle it out for the $5 million recording contract in next week's finals.

Canty found himself in a familiar position on Thursday's results show when he was among the last two to have his fate read by host Steve Jones. Canty had landed in the bottom two each of the last three weeks but had pulled through each time, including last week's dramatic finish when he triumphed over cutie-pie contestant Rachel Crow after a controversial decision by Nicole Scherzinger to put the final results in the hands of America's votes.

Canty didn't have a chance to sing for his life to the judges this week, as votes were decided by America and America only. Krajcik and Canty were the last two standing on the stage, and Krajcik was put through, sending Canty home.

The singer, who was compared early on to Bobby Brown, took the news in stride. He was at a disadvantage coming off Wednesday's episode, after Simon Cowell called his performance of George Michael's "Careless Whisper" "grotesque" and "an absolute joke." His version of Boyz II Men's "I'll Make Love to You" didn't fare much better.

"It's not over, just trust me. This is not the last time you will see Marcus Canty," Canty said after the vote was read. "I gave it my all, and that's really, at the end of the day, that's all you can do."

L.A. Reid, who mentored Canty in the competition, expressed sadness at his contestant's elimination and told Canty he has his support going forward.

Some 30 million votes were cast by viewers this week, according to host Jones.

Earlier in the episode, Chris Rene was the first act put through to the finals, and Melanie Amaro followed. Jones stressed the results were read in no particular order.

The show also saw Florence and the Machine performing "Spectrum" and Nicole Scherzinger debuting her latest single, "Pretty." Afterward, Cowell weighed in on the performance and mocked Scherzinger's cosmic judging style by telling her, "I believe in you, you believe in me, you transcend the universe, God is smiling on you, life is a waterfall, and you are the ultimate rainbow."

Krajcik, Rene and Amaro will face off on Wednesday's 90-minute performance episode, and a winner will be crowned at the conclusion of next Thursday's two-hour finale.

What did you think of the results? Let us know in the comments!

Source: http://www.mtv.com/news/articles/1676110/x-factor-marcus-canty.jhtml

battle field 3 battle field 3 dana wilkey dana wilkey chuck liddell chuck liddell dancing with the stars