Campaign ads go negative in Iowa as Romney, Gingrich, Ron Paul mix it up (VIDEO) (The Christian Science Monitor)

Mitt Romney doesn't like Newt Gingrich. Ron Paul doesn't like Mitt Romney. And Mr. Gingrich has little love for either one of them.

At least that's the impression coming through from TV ads and candidates' responses, as the clock ticks closer to the Jan. 3 Iowa caucuses. 

Some of the ads are positive. Some go after the candidate of the opposing party, President Obama. But as the race for Iowa draws to a finish, with no clear winner in view, the campaigners have stepped up efforts to raise voter doubts about their rivals for the Republican nomination.

RECOMMENDED: Election 101: Where the GOP candidates stand on immigration, abortion, and other social issues 

and Where the GOP candidates stand on the economy

Some of the mud-slinging is being done by surrogates, the so-called "super PACs" (political action committees) that can draw unlimited amounts of money from donors.

Watch Ron Paul's ad here:

youtube

A super PAC working on Mr. Romney's behalf, Restore Our Future, is airing ads that say former House Speaker Gingrich has "too much baggage" to beat Mr. Obama. Romney and his allies have oodles of money to spend on the effort.

In response, a Gingrich-supporting group is broadcasting spots that say Republicans are "attacking him with falsehoods," and Gingrich has personally urged Romney to be "man enough" to rein in his super PAC supporters.

The pro-Gingrich group, Winning Our Future, warns Iowans not to let "the liberal Republican establishment pick our candidate."

Haven't heard of the "liberal Republican establishment" before? From the context, it seems safe to say the ad means Romney backers who come from the corporate world and who aren't perceived as pure conservatives on issues such as abortion, gun rights, or a balanced budget amendment to the Constitution.

For his part, Romney has said campaigns are partly in the business of drawing distinctions among candidates. He has wondered aloud if Gingrich can "handle the heat in this little kitchen," which will only get hotter in a general-election campaign.

Watch Mitt Romney's ad here:

youtube

Rep. Ron Paul of Texas has mounted attacks of his own, which could grow louder on the airwaves as he sets his sights on a potential first-place finish in Iowa.

"Serial hypocrites [photo of Gingrich] and flip-floppers [photo of Romney] can't clean up the mess" in Washington, says a new ad from the Paul campaign. It then touts Congressman Paul's budget-balancing plan and calls him "the one we've been looking for."

The opening of the Paul ad has the look of a movie trailer ? no accident, as campaigns struggle to grab voters' attention and get them to turn out for the Jan. 3 caucuses.

In fact, a sibling commercial by the Paul campaign actually opens with a green screen showing the words "the following preview has been approved for all audiences." (A story "of smooth-talking politicians" and a ready-to-conquer hero follows.)

Some recent polls in the state show Paul, Romney, and Gingrich as the leaders in a six-candidate field. (Another Republican aspirant, former Utah Gov. Jon Hunstman Jr., is not campaigning in Iowa.) Texas Gov. Rick Perry, Minnesota Rep. Michele Bachmann, and former Pennsylvania Sen. Rick Santorum aren't out of the running, given that even a third-place finish in Iowa can bring a candidate some momentum to compete in subsequent primary votes.

Indeed, Mr. Santorum has edged ahead of Gingrich in the latest poll, with 16 percent of likely attendees at the Iowa GOP caucuses. Romney had 25 percent and Paul 22 percent in the CNN/Time/ORC poll.

The candidates also seek to woo Iowans with positive pitches.

Watch Newt Gingrich's ad here:

youtube

One new Romney ad plugs his experience at balancing budgets, saying that it's a "moral imperative for America to stop spending more money than we take in. It's killing jobs...."

The Ron Paul ads segue seamlessly from the problem (the other guys in Washington) to promotion of Paul and his ideas as the solution.

Gingrich is the self-avowed Mr. Sunshine of the campaign, with a recent pledge to stay "relentlessly positive." 

His recent digs against Romney (a "Massachusetts moderate") and Paul ("totally outside the mainstream") make that upbeat image harder to sustain. But his TV ads echo the "morning in America" themes used so effectively by Ronald Reagan.

One new Gingrich ad called "Winning the Argument" uses debate footage showing some of his rivals nodding approvingly as he sings the praise of free markets. Another new spot has the candidate intoning: "If you hear high unemployment is our new normal, just say boloney! We can create millions of jobs right now."

RECOMMENDED: Election 101: Where the GOP candidates stand on energy and environment 

and Where the GOP candidates stand on China, Iran, Israel, and other foreign issues 

Get daily or weekly updates from CSMonitor.com delivered to your inbox. Sign up today.

Source: http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/gop/*http%3A//news.yahoo.com/s/csm/20111228/ts_csm/442448

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Samsung Galaxy S II & Galaxy Tab 10.1 Coming to US Cellular?

By Jeff Baker - 12/28/2011 5:00:45 PM

When it comes to high quality Android powered devices Samsung is definitely up there with the best of them. In fact, the Samsung Galaxy S has been considered one of the most successful Android powered phones of all time. Now, Samsung has moved on to bigger and better things with devices like the Samsung Galaxy S II and the Galaxy Tab 10.1.

Both of these devices are?available?unlocked and from an array of different carriers. If you?re not familiar with either device, the Samsung Galaxy S II features a 4.5-inch display with 800 x 480 resolution, 1.2GHz dual-core processor, 1GB of RAM, 16GB of internal storage, 8 megapixel rear facing camera with 1080p video capture, 2 megapixel front facing camera and Google?s Android ?Gingerbread? 2.3.6.

The Galaxy Tab 10.1 on the other hand features a 10.1-inch display with 1280 x 800 resolution, 1GHz dual-core processor, 1GB of RAM, 16/32/64GB of internal storage, front/rear facing cameras and Google?s Android ?Honeycomb? 3.2.

As I mentioned above both of these devices are available from a plethora of different carriers. However, it?s just been noted today that US Cellular may in fact be picking them both up. Reports suggest that model numbers for the Galaxy Tab 10.1 and Galaxy S II hve appeared within US Cellular?s system. Of course, until official information is made available we haven?t a clue if this is to be believed or not.

We?ll continue digging and let you know what we come up with in terms of US Cellular?s future offerings.

Related posts:

1. Samsung Galaxy Tab 7.0 Plus 4G Coming to T-Mobile on November 16 Manufacturers are scrambling to crack the code that will eventually...
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3. Samsung Galaxy Tab 8.9 4G LTE Hits AT&T Samsung is really on a roll with their devices even...
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Tags: galaxy s 2, galaxy tab 10.1, Gingerbread, Honeycomb, release, rumor, US Cellular

This entry was posted on Wednesday, 28 December 2011 at 5:00 pm and is filed under Android, Google, Samsung, Tablet.
Trackback Entry.

Source: http://www.mobilewhack.com/samsung-galaxy-s-ii-galaxy-tab-10-1-coming-to-us-cellular/

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Cerrone and Diaz in agreement about UFC 137 run-in, but still want to smash each other on Friday

Donald Cerrone was annoyed with Nate Diaz back in October. He was insulted by an encounter the fighters had at UFC 137, but now he's come to understand why Diaz was rude.

Cerrone tried to say hello to him, and Diaz responded by telling him off. Diaz explained during workout day that's just the way it has to be. He'd rather fight someone he dislikes than a pal.

"Let's just say for second you're fighting some maniac from the street that's killed 20 people and they're just like crazy as hell, but you get a fair fight with him, and he's just biting his arm off and talking crazy [expletive]," Diaz told MMAjunkie during Tuesday's UFC 141 workout day (3:40 mark). "Then you're going to fight this nice guy that goes to church, and he just comes up and says, 'Hey, man, nice to meet you. It's going to be a good fight.' Who are you guys going to feel more comfortable fighting? I'd rather not go in like the rest of these guys. They're trying to put me in a comfort zone. "

Make sense?

Cerrone and Diaz clash at UFC 141. The UFC returns to its traditional start time of 10 p.m ET/7 p.m. PT.

Yesterday, Cerrone said he understands Diaz's rationale.

"Whatever has to do to justify his fighting tactics. That's what he does. I don't care. I can fight my best friend, we go in there and get paid. That's what we do for a living," Cerrone said. "So whatever he has to do get ready. Whether that's talk [expletive] or not friend people, I understand where he's coming from. 'No, I'm not going to shake your hand because I don't want to create a repore with you that I have to worry about later."

Sounds pretty nice, right? Make no mistake about it, these guys still want to beat the snot out of each other. Cerrone was also asked about going to the ground against Diaz, a Brazilian jiu-jitsu black belt.

"If he wants to take the fight to the ground, go ahead," Cerrone told Adam Hill of the Las Vegas Review-Journal. "He'll just lay on his back, get beat, flip me off and yell '209.'"

The "209" is a reference to the Stockton, Ca. area code. The Diaz brothers are proud of where they come from and carry a chip on their shoulder from one of the rougher towns in California. He meets a rough customer on Friday which should result in a Fight of the Night candidate.

Watch UFC 141 right here on Yahoo! Sports

Source: http://sports.yahoo.com/mma/blog/cagewriter/post/Cerrone-and-Diaz-in-agreement-about-UFC-137-run-?urn=mma-wp11203

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Avastin May Help Some With Ovarian Cancer: Studies (HealthDay)

WEDNESDAY, Dec. 28 (HealthDay News) -- Two new studies suggest that the drug Avastin may lengthen progression-free survival by about four months for women with ovarian cancer.

What isn't clear yet is whether adding Avastin (bevacizumab) will make a difference in overall survival. One study suggested it would, while the other study didn't find a difference in overall survival between two treatment groups.

"The bottom-line results are a 28 percent reduction in disease progression with patients on continued bevacizumab compared to the standard treatment group. There was a 3.8 month median difference in progression-free survival," said Dr. Robert Burger, author of one of the studies and director of the Women's Cancer Center at Fox Chase Cancer Center in Philadelphia.

"We still have to fine-tune or optimize this sort of new paradigm of treatment. This regimen [chemotherapy plus continued Avastin] could be considered a frontline option for patients with advanced ovarian cancer. However, there are some risks to the treatment, and we haven't shown an impact on overall survival. But, in the European trial, they saw an overall survival benefit," Burger added.

"I think the difficult reality is that these studies are not clear-cut," said Dr. Len Lichtenfeld, deputy chief medical officer for the American Cancer Society. "The improvements in progression are modest and appear to be greater for women who have worse disease. What this ultimately means is that it's absolutely important for doctors treating women with advanced ovarian cancer to read these studies very carefully so they know who may benefit and the risks of treatment, and to counsel their patients very carefully before moving forward with Avastin treatment," Lichtenfeld explained.

"This is not a case where treatment can be initiated in every woman. The benefits for many women are modest at best," he added.

Results of both studies are published in the Dec. 29 issue of the New England Journal of Medicine. The studies were funded by Roche and Genentech (a Roche-owned company). Burger said Genentech played no role in the study design or analysis.

Burger's study included almost 1,900 women with newly diagnosed stage 3 or stage 4 epithelial ovarian cancer. All of the women had undergone surgery to remove as much cancer as possible. They were then randomly assigned to one of three treatment groups: standard treatment including paclitaxel and carboplatin chemotherapy; the Avastin-initiation group that included the standard chemotherapy and Avastin for the second through sixth treatment cycle; and the Avastin maintenance group that included chemotherapy plus Avastin for up to the 22nd treatment cycle.

The average progression-free survival was 10.3 months for the standard group, 11.2 months for the Avastin-initiation group and just over 14 months for the Avastin-maintenance group. There was no difference in overall survival for the three groups.

The European study included more than 1,500 women with varying types of ovarian cancer. Most had epithelial ovarian cancer, but the severity ranged from early-stage disease to stage 4. Seventy percent of the women enrolled in this study had stage 3 or stage 4 cancer.

The women were randomly assigned to receive either standard chemotherapy treatment or chemotherapy plus Avastin for up to 12 cycles of chemotherapy. The dose of Avastin used in this trial was half of what was used in Burger's trial.

Progression-free survival was 20.3 months for the standard group and 21.8 months for the standard therapy plus Avastin. In women who were considered at high risk for progression, the progression-free survival was 14.5 months on standard therapy and 18.1 months with the addition of Avastin. Overall survival in high-risk women was 28.8 months for women on standard chemotherapy and 36.6 months for standard therapy plus Avastin.

High blood pressure is a common side effect of Avastin, but Burger said that in most cases, it can be controlled with blood pressure medication. Another serious side effect associated with Avastin is bowel perforation, which means a hole opens in the bowel wall. This side effect occurred in fewer than 3 percent of women treated, but occurred twice as much in women taking Avastin.

Published reports peg the cost of the drug at somewhere between $4,000 and $9,000 a month, depending on co-pay assistance that's available from Genentech, Avastin's manufacturer. In a previous study, another research group looked at the cost effectiveness of treatment with Avastin in Burger's trial and found the standard treatment arm of the trial cost $2.5 million. Treating the Avastin-initiation group cost $21.4 million and the Avastin-maintenance group cost $78.3 million, according to the study, which was published in the March 7 issue of the Journal of Clinical Oncology. And, most of those costs came directly from the cost of the medication. Those researchers concluded that Avastin was not a cost-effective medication.

"We don't want cost to be a deciding factor, but for many women with ovarian cancer, cost may be a significant factor, and it needs to be weighed in the equation," Lichtenfeld said.

Avastin isn't approved in the United States for the treatment of ovarian cancer, so some insurance companies may balk at paying for it. Plus, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration pulled Avastin's approval for the treatment of metastatic breast cancer in November because the FDA found the risks of the drug outweighed its modest benefits. Avastin is still approved for the treatment of some types of colon, lung, kidney and brain cancer in the United States.

However, the drug was just approved by the European Union for use in ovarian cancer in combination with chemotherapy.

More information

Learn more about ovarian cancer and its treatment from the U.S. National Cancer Institute.

Source: http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/diseases/*http%3A//news.yahoo.com/s/hsn/20111229/hl_hsn/avastinmayhelpsomewithovariancancerstudies

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Russia?s potentially dangerous industrial sites, such as power plants, oil-proce...

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Source: http://www.facebook.com/RiaNovosti/posts/240886135982848

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Toyota begins selling 83-mpg hybrid in Japan

The Prius c.

(Credit: Toyota)

Toyota yesterday opened the order books for its smallest hybrid to thousands of space-conscious, fuel-weary Japanese buyers.

More then 60,000 buyers have signed up to purchase the 83-mpg Aqua subcompact hybrid, which is expected to retail for $22,000 in Japan. Known as the Prius c to the rest of the world, the 1.5-liter hatchback is the same length and width as the pint-sized Yaris, but a little bit shorter to increase aerodynamics.

Its dimensions may sound diminutive to American buyers, but its elfin size and fuel-sipping ways are exactly what's attracting Japanese consumers. With the average price of a gallon of gasoline in Japan hovering around $7 a gallon, sales of the Aqua are expected to be brisk. Toyota plans to move about 12,000 units each month in its homeland.

The Aqua will make its U.S. premier at the 2012 North American International Auto Show next month, and will be marketed as the Prius c--the smallest member of the Prius family.

It features a selectable electric-vehicle mode that can propel the vehicle using only the electric motor. Sales of the Prius c outside of Japan will begin next year, but domestic pricing and sale dates were not given.

Source: http://reviews.cnet.com/8301-13746_7-57348649-48/toyota-begins-selling-83-mpg-hybrid-in-japan/

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Turkey Grease Oil vs Nucks GDT *buuuuuurp*

Quote:

Kinda surprised that Bobby Lou is starting tonight, when is Schneids gonna get a chance?

probably Thurs vs the Ducks? (2nd night of a back-to-back.)
also, Van visits Boston next week.... will be interesting to see who gets the nod.

Lou has 7 quality starts* in his last 9 games, might as well let him run for a while.
*defined as 2 or less GA, with save% > .913

__________________
"The only two things in life that make it worth livin'
Is guitars that tune good and firm feelin' women"

Source: http://www.sportshoopla.com/forums/nhl-hockey-forum-message-board-general-discussion/58323-turkey-grease-oil-vs-nucks-gdt-buuuuuurp.html

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Team India's moments of glory in Australia

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Source: http://www.dnaindia.com/sport/slideshow_team-india-s-moments-of-glory-in-australia_1629938

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Turkey and France trade accusations of genocidal history

Turkey and France tussle over genocide bill:?Turkey, angered by a French bill forbidding denial of the mass killings of Armenians by Ottoman Turks as genocide, accused France of committing genocide during its occupation of Algeria.

Turkey responded to French genocide allegations with a charge of its own Friday, accusing France of committing genocide during its colonial occupation of Algeria.

Skip to next paragraph

French lawmakers passed a bill Thursday making it a crime to deny that the mass killings of Armenians by Ottoman Turks constitute genocide.

The deepening acrimony between two strategic allies and trading partners could have repercussions far beyond the settling of accounts over some of the bloodiest episodes of the past century.

Turkey was already frustrated by French opposition to its stalled European Union bid, and hopes for Western-backed rapprochement between Turkey and Armenia seem ever more distant ahead of 2015, the 100th anniversary of the Armenian killings.

The bill strikes at the heart of national honor in Turkey, which maintains there was no systematic campaign to kill Armenians and that many Turks also died during the chaotic disintegration of the Ottoman Empire.

The French bill still needs Senate approval, but after it passed the lower house, Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan halted bilateral political and economic contacts, suspended military cooperation, and ordered his country's ambassador home for consultations.

Turkey and France worked closely together during NATO's operation against Libyan dictator Muammar Qaddafi, and had been coordinating policy on Syria and Afghanistan.

"What the French did in Algeria was genocide," Mr. Erdogan said Friday in a heavily personal speech, laced with criticism of French President Nicolas Sarkozy.

He alleged that beginning in 1945, about 15 percent of the population of Algeria was massacred by the French. He also said Algerians were burned in ovens.

"They were mercilessly martyred," he said.

Erdogan appeared to be referring to allegations that the French burned the dead in ovens after a 1945 uprising that began in the Algerian town of Setif. Algerians say some 45,000 people may have died. French figures say up to 20,000.

Source: http://rss.csmonitor.com/~r/feeds/csm/~3/LME4wuftF1k/Turkey-and-France-trade-accusations-of-genocidal-history

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Fry Communications adding jobs in 2012 | PennLive.com

The Mechanicsburg-based printing and digital publishing company plans to add up to 50 jobs to its press and binding operations in 2012.

The company is bringing back some jobs that had been cut over the past few years, said Michael T. Lukas, CEO of Fry Communications. The company is now seeing additional volume, although Lukas would not provide details.

Fry Communications added 67 workers throughout 2011. The company employs about 1,000 workers at six locations in the midstate.

Lukas in June succeeded Henry Fry as company CEO. Fry remains chairman of the company board of directors.

Source: http://www.pennlive.com/midstate/index.ssf/2011/12/fry_communications_adding_jobs.html

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MCX zinc under pressure on debt concerns

Zinc yesterday traded with the negative node and settled -0.26% down at 97.85 as the US Commerce Department announced that the seasonally adjusted number of jobless claims for the week ending December 17th decreased by 4,000, to 364,000, the first decline and the lowest since April 2008.

In this context, LME Zinc prices rallied to USD 1,880/mt, down USD 3.3/mt. Italy passed the latest austerity measures Thursday, comforting market concerns over Europe's debt crisis.

Meanwhile, the US announced claims for unemployment benefits last week dropped to the lowest level since April 2008, while the index of leading economic indicators for November rose for a seventh straight month, offsetting the negative impact from the softer than expected 3Q GDP data. As a result, US stock markets closed with gains.

However, market activity was light Thursday and positions for LME continued to fall, suggesting that the US and European markets already entered the Christmas holiday. In yesterday's trading session Zinc has touched the low of 97.5 after opening at 98.15, and finally settled at 97.85.

For today's session market is looking to take support at 97.3, a break below could see a test of 96.8 and where as resistance is now likely to be seen at 98.5, a move above could see prices testing 99.2.

Trading Ideas:

Zinc trading range is 96.8-99.2.
Zinc settled down as the US Commerce Department announced that the seasonally adjusted number of jobless claims.
Trading volumes were expected to remain light ahead of the Christmas holiday weekend.
Economic data from the US boosted market sentiment, and the pass of austerity plan in Italy also stoked investors? confidence.

Courtesy: Kedia Commodities

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Source: http://www.commodityonline.com/futures-trading/commoditytrends/MCX-zinc-under-pressure-on-debt-concerns-10446.html

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Alec Baldwin rules out NYC mayoral run (Reuters)

NEW YORK (TheWrap.com) ? Alec Baldwin says he won't run for New York City mayor -- because he isn't "horny" for the office like other candidates -- and suggested he may stay with "30 Rock," the show he had long been expected to leave after this season.

The announcement comes soon after a patch of bad publicity for Baldwin after a dispute on an American Airlines flight. He has previously described himself as "very, very interested" in running for office.

"I've lost my appetite," Baldwin said on his weekly WNYC podcast Wednesday, adding that the other candidates are "like a guy on a date that you can tell he just can't wait to get his hand up your blouse before even the lights go out in the theater."

He added: "They're all just so horny for it."

Baldwin's "30 Rock" contract ends after this season, and he said in October that he wanted to move on. But he also said at the time that he might do "a piece of the year" after this season.

On Wednesday, however, Baldwin suggested that sticking with "30 Rock" would be better than trying to run for mayor.

"Give this up for what?" he said. "I give up money and fame and position and success; I give up this wonderful life I have now in exchange for the chance to 'really change things?'... Yeah, I'm not quite sure you can anymore."

Baldwin was ejected from an American Airlines flight earlier this month after he refused to shut off his phone, which he was playing a game on.

Source: http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/celebrity/*http%3A//news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20111222/people_nm/us_alecbaldwin

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Handing over al-Hashemi ?out of the question? ? KRG president?s chief of staff

Handing over al-Hashemi out of the question KRG presidents chief of staff
Erbil, Asharq Al-Awsat In the latest development in the crisis that has embroiled the Iraqi political scene this week, Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki called on the Kurdish authorities on Wednesday to hand over Sunni Vice President Tareq al-Hashemi ... more GCC leaders back King Abdullahs call for Gulf union
Riyadh, Asharq Al-Awsat The proposal for the Gulf Cooperation Council [GCC] to move from a phase of cooperation into a phase of union, heralding a new era of Gulf cooperation and collaboration, figured prominently in the final communique issued by ... more Egyptians back at polls, calm in Cairo after clashes
CAIRO, (Reuters)- Egyptians returned to the polls on Wednesday in a staggered parliamentary election after five days of violence in Cairo that has cast a pall over the transition to democracy and drawn a U.S. rebuke of Egypt's security forces. Tahrir ... more Iraq's Maliki tells Kurds to hand over Sunni leader
BAGHDAD, (Reuters) - Iraq's Shi'ite Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki on Wednesday called on Kurdish authorities to hand Sunni Vice President Tareq al-Hashemi over to face charges his office had run death squads, a demand likely to further heighten sectarian ... more U.N. council members line up to criticize Israel
UNITED NATIONS, (Reuters) - Most members of the U.N. Security Council voiced deep concerns on Tuesday about the impasse in the Israeli-Palestinian peace process and criticized Israel for pressing ahead with the construction of new settlements. Council ... more Al-Assad's signing of the protocol means nothing to us Syrian National Council
Beirut, Asharq Al-Awsat Following Syrias long-awaited signing of the Arab League protocol yesterday, an advanced team preparing the way for Arab peace monitors is set to arrive in the country later this week. The 150 Arab monitors are expected to ... more Al-Hashemi hits back against al-Maliki
Baghdad/Erbil, Asharq Al-Awsat In a striking development in the crisis surrounding Iraqi Vice President Tareq al-Hashemi, Iraqi authorities yesterday issued a warrant for his arrest for suspected ties to assassinations and bombings. Iraqi Interior ... more Gulf states issue warnings to Syria and Iran
RIYADH, (AFP) Gulf Arab states on Tuesday urged Syria's government to immediately halt its "killing machine", and called on arch rival Iran to stop interfering in their internal affairs. The six-nation Gulf Cooperation Council also pledged to implement ... more Maliki acting "like Saddam": Sunni bloc leader
AMMAN, (Reuters) - Iraq's Nuri al-Maliki is acting like Saddam Hussein in trying to silence opposition and he risks provoking a new fightback against dictatorship, one of Maliki's predecessors as prime minister said on Tuesday. Iyad Allawi, who leads ... more Karzai wants immediate halt to NATO night raids
KABUL, (AFP) Afghan President Hamid Karzai on Tuesday demanded an immediate halt to controversial NATO-led night raids and for foreign forces to stop entering Afghan homes, his spokesman said. The comments come after NATO on Monday defended the operations ... more Outcry grows as Cairo violence enters fifth day
CAIRO, (AFP) Clashes between Egyptian security forces and protesters demanding an end to military rule entered a fifth day on Tuesday, as US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton denounced the beating of women as a "disgrace." Riot police used rocks, ... more Arab peace monitors to arrive in Syria Thursday
BEIRUT, (Reuters) - An advanced team preparing the way for peace monitors will arrive in Syria this week, the Arab League chief said on Tuesday, after more than 100 people were killed in one of the bloodiest days of a revolt against President Bashar ... more Tensions rise as Iraq seeks Sunni VP arrest
BAGHDAD, (Reuters) - Iraqi authorities issued an arrest warrant for Sunni Muslim Vice-President Tareq al-Hashemi on Monday for suspected ties to assassinations and bombings, a decision likely to fuel sectarian tensions after the U.S. troop withdrawal. The ... more Saudi King Abdullah calls for formation of Gulf union
Riyadh, Asharq Al-Awsat Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques, King Abdullah Bin Abdulaziz, called for the formation of a Gulf union during the opening speech of the annual Gulf Cooperation Council [GCC] summit in Riyadh. Addressing the GCC summit, ... more How can elections take place when there is blood in the street? - Nawal El Saadawi
Cairo, Asharq Al-Awsat Nawal El Saadawi is a leading Egyptian feminist, sociologist, and political activist. In an exclusive interview with Asharq Al-Awsat, the Egyptian feminist author spoke about the 25 January revolution, the current political ... more Iran state TV airs "confession" of detained CIA spy
TEHRAN, (Reuters) - Iranian state television on Sunday aired what it described as the confession of an Iranian man detained for spying for the CIA. State television broadcast a taped interview with Amir Mirza Hekmati, in which he said he had received ... more Syria signs deal to let in Arab monitors
CAIRO, (Reuters) - Syria agreed on Monday to let Arab League observers into the country to monitor implementation of a deal it agreed last month to pull troops from protest-hit towns, free political prisoners and start talking to dissidents. However, ... more North Korea leader dead, son hailed as "Great Successor"
SEOUL, (Reuters) - North Korean leader Kim Jong-il died of a heart attack, state media reported on Monday, sparking concern over who is in real control of the nuclear renegade state as his untested youngest son takes over the family dynasty. A tearful ... more Egypt clashes move into 4th day, U.S. worried
CAIRO, (Reuters) - Egyptian security forces fought opponents of army rule in Cairo for a fourth day on Monday and the United States, worried by the violence, urged the generals to respect human rights. Medical sources said the death toll had risen to ... more

Source: http://www.aawsat.com/english/news.asp?section=1&id=27789

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Successful ARISS contact at Teodoro Mommsen Middle School, Rome, Italy

Daniel C. Burbank KC5ZSX

On Monday December 19, 2011 at 08:43 UTC, Teodoro Mommsen Middle School, Rome, Italy established an Amateur Radio on the International Space Station (ARISS) contact with NASA astronaut Daniel C. Burbank KC5ZSX onboard the International Space Station.
Astronaut Daniel C. Burbank operated with ISS callsign NA1SS.

This was a telebridge contact performed by ARISS ground station LU1CGB, located in Buenos Aires, Argentina.

The Mommsen middle school is located in the district "Appio-Latino", in the south of Rome and is composed of three complexes located on the edge of the "Caffarella" Park. The school endorses the aims of Article 3 of the Constitution of the Italian Republic and those suggested by UNESCO for the formation of the citizen. The school is attended by about 800 students aged 11 - 13.

ARISS mentor Francesco De Paolis, IK0WGF proposed to the radio contact coordinator and co-Mentor for this event to set up a telebridge contact. Mr. Marcelo Teruel, IK0USO the contact coordinator, decided in favor of this setup. The ARISS event was excellently prepared by Mr. Stefano Castriotta, IW0CZC and Mr. Giordano Giordani, IK0XFD (teaching and set-up). Mr. Gaston Bertels, ON4WF moderated the session. The questions were read by the students at Teodoro Mommsen Middle School where an audience of about 80 students, teachers, visitors participated to the ARISS event.

At 08:43 UTC, contact with NA1SS was established by station LU1CGB and the operator presented the event to NASA astronaut Daniel C. Burbank.? Using the amateur station aboard the ISS Service Module, the astronaut answered 16 questions prepared by students and exchanged greetings. During the pass the signal from ISS was loud and clear. The event was covered by Media also.

Streaming video was for both contacts on:
http://www.livestream.com/AMSAT_Italia

The video is here:
http://www.livestream.com/amsat_italia/video?
clipId=pla_47be5d99-fe7a-4b1a-967c-e58fabbb97aa

ARISS contact was announced by web story on ESA Portal - National News: http://www.esa.int/esaCP/SEMQIL8XZVG_Italy_0.html

Congratulations to ARISS Roma Team and to Telebridge Station LU1CGB!

73,

Francesco - IK0WGF & Marcelo - IK0USO
ARISS mentors

Source: http://www.southgatearc.org/news/december2011/ariss_event_success_1912.htm

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Samsung Series 7 (NP700Z5A-S03)

I'm a sucker for skinny chassis with slot-loading optical drives. The Samsung Series 7 (NP700Z5A-S03) ($1,299 list) laptop combines an elegantly slim (under one inch thick) aluminum case with slot-loading DVD?RW drive; sunny 15.6-inch screen and backlit keyboard; quad-core Intel Core i7 power; 8GB of RAM; and a roomy 750GB hard drive yoked to a small solid-state drive or 8GB of cache storage to boost boot and application loading times?all in a package about as light as desktop replacements get, 5.2 pounds.

In size, shape, CPU, and slot-loading, it's impossible not to compare the Samsung Series 7 with Apple's MacBook Pro 15-inch (late 2011) ($1,799 direct, 4 stars), an equally elegant slab of aluminum with the same 2.2GHz processor. The slightly heavier (5.5 pounds) MacBook Pro comes with OS X Lion, the operating system PCMag.com praises as consumers' best choice, versus the business favorite Windows 7 Professional. It has a Thunderbolt port versus the Samsung's two USB 3.0 ports. And it has half the memory, a lower-resolution screen, and a smaller hard disk without solid-state assistance, for a price tag $500 higher. Lion is admirable, but it's not irresistible. For style, performance, and value, the Series 7 (NP700Z5A-S03) replaces the MacBook Pro as our desktop replacement Editors' Choice.

Design
Measuring 9.4 by 14.3 by 0.94 inches, the Samsung sports a DeLorean-like buffed aluminum body with black chiclet-style keys and a large Apple-style touchpad with virtual (lower left and right corners) instead of physical mouse buttons. The latter work as smoothly as any I've seen, though ordinarily I'm no fan of buttonless touchpads. The keyboard combines a full- or desktop-sized main area with a slightly condensed numeric keypad and small but dedicated Home, End, PgUp, and PgDn keys and cursor arrows. Its typing feel is a little shallow but precise?the space bar in particular seems to require a true tap instead of the light brush of a thumb that touch typists may be used to, but 15 minutes' practice makes one thoroughly comfortable.

The Series 7 (NP700Z5A-S03) offers a 15.6-inch, matte-finish screen with 1,600 by 900 resolution; both figures are fractionally better than the MacBook Pro's, whose 15.4-inch display totals 1,440 by 900 pixels. The extra sharpness and application window space compared to the standard 1,366 by 768 screens of systems like the Dell XPS 15z (Microsoft) ($999 direct, 4 stars) and Toshiba Satellite P755-S5269 ($979.99 list, 4 stars) is most welcome. So is the screen's 300-nit brightness?sufficient to dial the backlight down to a battery-saving three-quarters or two-thirds intensity without eyestrain. The system's speakers pump out decent sound, though without exceptional highs or lows.

Features
Besides the slot-loading DVD burner, the Series 7 (NP700Z5A-S03) offers one USB 2.0 and two USB 3.0 ports, a clever fold-down Ethernet jack, HDMI and mini-VGA ports (adapter for the latter not included), a headphone/microphone jack, and an SD/MMC card slot. Bluetooth and 802.11n wireless are included; Intel's Wireless Display screen-beaming technology, oddly standard on the NP700Z5A-S03's more affordable sibling the Samsung NP700Z5B-W01UB ($1,019 list at Best Buy, 4 stars), is not.

The 750GB, 7,200-rpm hard disk is divided into a 270GB C: drive and a 404GB D: drive, plus a system recovery partition. The 8GB solid-state drive on the motherboard doesn't appear as a drive letter, but makes the Series 7 (NP700Z5A-S03) feel noticeably snappier than laptops without bonus flash?our test unit booted in 29 seconds and awoke from sleep in 3.5 seconds in unofficial stopwatch tests. The software bundle ranges from bloatware (WildTangent games) to useful if short-lived (a 60-day trial of Norton Internet Security) to a mostly handy collection of Samsung-brand utilities, such as an Easy Settings menu that provides an alternative to poking through Windows' Control Panel for a variety of system options and an Easy Software Manager for centralizing drivers, versions, and updates. Samsung supports the Series 7 with a one-year parts-and-labor warranty.

Performance
With 8GB of RAM and a 2.2GHz quad-core, eight-thread Intel Core i7-2675QM processor, the Series 7 (NP700Z5A-S03) is a strong contender in PC Labs' performance benchmarks, with its hybrid storage system helping it to a best-in-class score of 2,697 in PCMark 7 (ahead of 2,480 for the speedy HP Pavilion dv6-6173cl and 2,235 for the MacBook Pro). Its Photoshop CS5 time of 3 minutes and 39 seconds tied the Apple's, while its Handbrake video encoding time of 1:37 joined the Toshiba P755-S5269 and Samsung NP700Z5B-W01UB in a group just a tick behind.

As for graphics, the Series 7 (NP700Z5A-S03) joined the 10,000-point club in 3DMark 06 (score 10,807, though both the MacBook Pro and HP dv6-6173cl scored higher still at 11,180 and 12,030 respectively) and posted playable frame rates of 49.0 frames per second in Crysis and 64.3 fps in Lost Planet 2 at 1,024 by 768 resolution. One note: While the system does let you switch between the power-saving Intel integrated graphics and the faster AMD Radeon HD 6750M adapter, it's a dorky affair of right-clicking on the desktop and choosing "Configure switchable graphics" to select specific applications, not the ingenious, automatic switching based on application needs of laptops with Nvidia's Optimus technology.

The Series 7 (NP700Z5A-S03)'s battery lasted 6 hours 41 minutes in our MobileMark 2007 rundown test, which is fine for a desktop replacement?topping the MacBook Pro's 5:26 and Toshiba P755-S5269's 5:07?but not a record?trailing the Dell XPS 15z's 7:13 and Samsung NP700Z5B's 8:18. The sealed-inside-the-case battery can't be swapped for a spare, but Samsung claims an Easy Settings option that caps battery charge at 80 percent (not used in our testing) increases its life for many more charge/discharge cycles.

Users who want the smoothest integration of hardware and software on the market will forsake Windows for the MacBook Pro 15-inch, while those who balk at the Series 7 (NP700Z5A-S03)'s price can check out its Samsung NP700Z5B-W01UB sibling (which subtracts 2GB of RAM, the backlit keyboard, and the solid-state cache and substitutes a tamer graphics chip). But if you're looking for a deftly engineered desktop replacement that combines cutting-edge tech with style and class, definitely check out our newest Editors' Choice.

BENCHMARK TEST RESULTS:

COMPARISON TABLE
Compare the Samsung Series 7 (NP700Z5A-S03) with several other laptops side by side.

More laptop reviews:
??? Samsung Series 7 (NP700Z5A-S03)
??? Samsung Series 7 Slate (700T1A)
??? Lenovo IdeaPad Z570-10249ZU
??? Lenovo IdeaPad U300s
??? Alienware M14x R3
?? more

Source: http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/ziffdavis/pcmag/~3/kLAopkdI8ys/0,2817,2397703,00.asp

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Vote now for the casual gaming app of the year [TiPb Awards]

TiPb Awards: Casual game of the yearMany of the most popular casual iOS games in 2011 were, in some ways sadly, the same games that were popular in 2010 — the same Angry Birds and Cut the Rope and Smurf’s Village and various Farm/Village/City/World franchises....

Source: http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/TheIphoneBlog/~3/pWmwEPaL5Mk/story01.htm

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Did Bumbo ignore child safety in favor of profits? (Reuters)

(Reuters) ? Like millions of other parents over the past several years, Kevin and Lucy Ferrell used a new baby product called the Bumbo Baby Sitter that they bought at Toys R Us to prop up their son, Colby. The simple molded plastic seat is more upright than a bouncy chair, and less rigid than a high chair, making it a hit with parents looking for new infant gear.

But when 9-month-old Colby fell out of the seat and fractured his skull, his parents learned very quickly that the seat wasn't ideal for a small, moving child.

"He arched his back up and he kind of flipped out of it sideways and backwards and rolled right off (the table)," Kevin Ferrell says. "It just happened in a split second."

Bumbo, which is used to help babies sit up before they're able to do so on their own, has been an unquestioned success in sales - with nearly 4 million sold in the U.S. since 2003. But its safety record is uncertain.

The South African company recalled Bumbo in 2007 after a spate of 28 injuries reported to the Consumer Product Safety Commission - including numerous skull fractures - and placed warning labels on the seats that said they shouldn't be used on elevated surfaces. Bumbo company records obtained as part of a lawsuit the Ferrells filed in June against the company and Toys R Us, where the product was purchased off their baby registry, show some 300 reported incidents, including some in other countries, mainly Great Britain. The suit was filed in U.S. District Court in Austin, Texas, where the case is still in a pretrial phase.

Then in late November, the CPSC issued an unusual warning that there had been another 45 incidents since the recall, and that it had learned of another 18 older cases. It also noted that children were hurt both when the product was elevated and when it was on the ground.

Ross Cunningham of the Rose Walker firm in Austin, who represents the Ferrells and says he has settled a dozen lawsuits over Bumbo's safety, alleges in the lawsuit that Bumbo "has taken no effort" to reconfigure the product to prevent children from getting out of it, "despite having actual knowledge of the dangers associated with the Bumbo Baby Sitter...and the potential of the Bumbo Baby Sitter to cause serious injury to children."

Bumbo's U.S. attorney, Tarush R. Anand, says he cannot comment on the litigation, but did provide a statement from Bumbo, in which the company says the product is safe. "The Bumbo baby seat is a safe product for infants when it is used as intended: on the floor and never on an elevated surface," the statement says. "Children should always been closely supervised when they are in the Bumbo seat." The company also says it is working with the Consumer Product Safety Commission to educate parents on the correct use of the seat.

Toys R Us is accused in the most recent lawsuit of knowingly stocking a baby product that has caused injuries. One of the company's buyers is quoted in the litigation as saying under oath that she had never seen an infant product like that without a safety restraint, and that after learning about the severity of the injuries, she didn't think it was safe.

Nancy Cowles, executive director of the advocacy group Kids in Danger, notes the product - unlike cribs, car seats and high chairs - is not governed by any government or industry standard. The Ferrell lawsuit says Toys R Us has a huge profit margin on the seats and has ignored even voices from within the company about their safety.

Toys R Us spokeswoman Katie Reczek said in a statement in response to questions that the retailer followed the terms of the recall and stands by the decision to keep selling it.

"The safety of the products we sell is, and always has been, our highest priority," Reczek said. "At the time of the recall of the Bumbo Baby Sitter, we immediately removed the product from our store shelves, and worked with Bumbo to update the warning labels on the packaging, as was required. This warning label cautions parents not to use the Bumbo on elevated surfaces. Due to the recall and labeling process, the product was off the sales floor and was not available for purchase for several months. We continue to offer Bumbo products in our stores, and as always, we closely monitor all product safety issues."

Its only competitor, b?b?POD, added a seatbelt after the Bumbo recall.

Attorney Cunningham alleges in the Bumbo lawsuit that safer alternative design existed. "Specifically, Bumbo could have incorporated any combination of the following design changes: made the Bumbo Baby Sitter wider at the base, raised the side and back walls of the seat, installed a bulbous pommel on top of the post in between the child's legs, and incorporated a safety harness, seatbelt or other securing device...that would sit low and tight across the child's hips. These, and possibly other design improvements, would have prevented a child like (Colby) Ferrell from falling out of the Bumbo Baby Sitter."

The Ferrells are now evangelists for seatbelts. Says Kevin Ferrell: "For me, it was important, if nothing else, to try to prevent (this) from happening to future parents and kids."

---

The author is a Reuters contributor. The opinions expressed are his own.

(Editing by Lauren Young and Beth Gladstone)

Source: http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/health/*http%3A//news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20111214/hl_nm/us_usa_bumbo

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Jay-Z Compares Running Roc Nation To 'Having Kids'

'When you see that someone can make it on their own ... you let that talent be,' label boss says of J. Cole.
By Rob Markman

Jay-Z
Photo: MTV News

Jay-Z isn't a dad quite yet, but maybe his many years as a label head has prepped him for fatherhood.

"I think running a label is a bit like having kids," Hov told MTV News while in New York to promote two charitable Carnegie Hall concerts in February.

The Roc Nation CEO's answer came in response to criticism that he could have done more to endorseJ. Cole, who dropped his debut, Cole Word: The Sideline Story, in September. "When you know someone needs more help, you help them," Jigga said. "When you see that someone can make it on their own ... you see Kanye or J. Cole, you see that sort of talent — you let that talent be. You let that talent find its way."

It's no secret that a co-sign from the God MC can help anyone's career, but in the case of J. Cole, Hov didn't believe his Roc Nation signee needed any more than what he was given. And apparently, Jay was right. With Sideline Story, Cole debuted at #1 on the Billboard albums chart, selling more than 217,000 copies in its first week of release.

To Hova's credit, he did appear on "Mr. Nice Watch," a braggadocios album cut off of Cole's debut, but the guest appearance came in the ninth inning. By August, Jay had not yet contributed to the album. During a press listening session that month it was clear that Cole was not expecting the feature. "Nobody owes me anything," he said. "Jay-Z doesn't owe me a verse because I signed to him."

Still, Jay was watching his protégé from afar, careful not to interfere with Cole's creative process. "Of course, you're not gonna let any harm befall it," Hov said of his approach to cultivating talent. "You pretty much let people find their way."

As Roc Nation enters 2012 with a roster that includes Willow Smith, Jay Electronica and vocalist Bridget Kelly, Hov has set a standard on how he intends to run his company. "I'm just really here to provide opportunity. I'm not here to do anything else," he said. "I provide the opportunity, you figure out what you want to say to the world and how you gonna do it.

"It's much more than just a [16-bar verse] and an endorsement deal; it's an opportunity to let your voice be heard. It's really about you, it's not about me."

What do you think Jay's approach to running Roc Nation? Sound off in the comments below!

Related Artists

• Jay-Z

Source: http://www.mtv.com/news/articles/1676076/jay-z-roc-nation.jhtml

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All-white Kentucky church reverses ban on interracial couples

A Kentucky church that voted to ban interracial couples has now overturned that vote. The Appalachian church voted Sunday to welcome all believers "regardless of race, color or creed."

An eastern Kentucky church under a firestorm of criticism since members voted to bar mixed-race couples from joining the congregation overturned that decision Sunday, saying it welcomes all believers.

Skip to next paragraph

Stacy Stepp, pastor of the Gulnare Free Will Baptist Church in Pike County, told The Associated Press that the vote by nine people last week was declared null and void after it was determined that new bylaws can't run contrary to local, state or national laws. He said the proposal was discriminatory, therefore it couldn't be adopted.

Stepp said about 30 people who attended church services voted on a new resolution that welcomes "believers into our fellowship regardless of race, creed or color."

The issue came up at the tiny all-white Appalachian church after the daughter of church secretary Dean Harville visited over the summer with her boyfriend, who is from Africa, and the two sang for the congregation.

Harville said he was approached in August by Melvin Thompson, the church member who crafted the resolution to bar mixed-race couples, and was told that his daughter and her boyfriend were no longer allowed to sing at the church.

Thompson has said he is not racist and called the matter an "internal affair."

Stepp said the Sandy Valley Conference of Free Will Baptists declared the vote on Thompson's resolution null and void during a meeting on Saturday.

He said he told church members on Sunday about the decision and proposed a resolution to promote "peace, love and harmony."

He said the resolution to welcome all believers passed with a unanimous vote.

Source: http://rss.csmonitor.com/~r/feeds/csm/~3/tqGS9EKfdh8/All-white-Kentucky-church-reverses-ban-on-interracial-couples

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Jimmy Fallon Continues Our Top 50 2011 TV Characters

'X Factor' castoff Astro and 'Dance Moms' personality Abby Lee Miller also make MTV News' list, counting down all week long.
By MTV News staff

Jimmy Fallon
Photo: NBC

MTV News' Top 50 TV Characters of 2011 continues with a few must-include entries, as well as some visits from surprise guests.

"X-Factor" contestant Astro makes the cut this round as does "Dance Moms" favorite Abby Lee Miller, but you might be surprised to see certain sports and talk-show personalities who yapped their way onto our Best of 2011 list. Keep reading for the latest entries to our Top 50, and make sure to check out characters 50 to 41 over here.

40. Skip Bayless (ESPN's "First Take")
One of the nation's most respected sportswriters, Bayless got his start at the Miami Herald, eventually rising to prominence at the Los Angeles Times and followed by his coverage of the Cowboys for the Dallas Morning News and Dallas Times Herald. Since many of you don't have an app for those papers, you might know Bayless as the perpetual devil's advocate on ESPN's "First Take." He started as a pundit on ESPN's "Cold Pizza" in a segment called "First Take," but thanks to his arguments with other journalists, athletes and even Lil Wayne, "Cold Pizza" evolved into "First Take." His divisive arguments — most recently his idolatry of Tim Tebow — have garnered the ire of plenty of sports fans, and Skip couldn't be any happier, especially since he's right more often than they'd care to admit. -Steven Roberts

39. Victoria Grayson ("Revenge")
Imagine Blair Waldorf 30 years older and transplanted to the Hamptons, and you've got the central villainess of ABC's newest guilty pleasure "Revenge." The Queen Bee of the tony enclave, Victoria rules with an iron (not to mention, diamond-laced) fist, scheming against anyone who dares get in her way (lovers and best friends included). But Victoria's no sociopath — fleeting flashes of guilt and sorrow betray more than a few vulnerable spots. While revenge-seeking Emily is the protagonist here, it's Madeleine Stowe's Victoria that steals scenes in this sudsy drama. -Amy Wilkinson

38. Marty Funkhouser ("Curb Your Enthusiasm")
Funk-man had a short-yet-rewarding arc this season. He commenced his time on "Curb" with a divorce (though they "had a beautiful marriage"), delivered one of the funniest lines of the season (when he asked Richard Lewis when he plans to look at his new girlfriend's face) and starred in what noted lawyer and academic Alan Dershowitz believes was an episode of television powerful enough to expedite peace in the Middle East — though Larry owed him such shine after leaving his dinner before dessert. -Rya Backer

37. Jimmy Fallon ("Late Night With Jimmy Fallon")
Outside of his portrayal of Barry "F---ing" Gibb on "The Barry Gibb Show," Jimmy Fallon didn't have the most memorable "Saturday Night Live" career. And then there was "Taxi" with Queen Latifah. So expectations weren't necessarily high when Fallon took over "Late Night" after Conan's all-too-brief promotion to "The Tonight Show." But that didn't stop Jimmy from making his show the most-talked-about the next morning either. His first move once he got the job was to hire the coolest band possible in the Legendary Roots Crew, who, along with the show's genius music bookers, have brought us amazing performances from Beyoncé, Odd Future and Justin Timberlake. His regular guests are all too eager to play along as well (Google "Gwyneth Paltrow rapping," please). His viral-worthy segments are perfect water-cooler fodder for those in bed before midnight and on blogs before 9 a.m. -Steven Roberts

36. Abby Lee Miller ("Dance Moms")
If Corky St. Clair and the God Warrior from "Trading Spouses" had a daughter, she'd resemble the human steamroller that is Abby Lee Miller, Pittsburgh's leading dance instructor for tweens. When Miller's not shrieking endlessly quotable gems like "Thou shall not lie, thou shall not steal, and thou shall not disrespect Abby," she's placing her young students' headshots in a pyramid formation based on how much their moms pissed her off that week. But Miller's irresistible crazy shines brightest when she dreams up wildly inappropriate routines for 8-year-olds to "emotionally execute." If "Where Have All the Children Gone?" is not nominated for an Emmy, then voters don't have a soft spot for "child suicide" like Abby Lee Miller. -Jim Cantiello

See our Top 50 TV Characters of 2011, 50 to 41!

35. Mags Bennett ("Justified")
The Bennett matriarch isn't just one of the finest villains in the two-season run of "Justified," but one of the greatest baddies on television all year long. There's a reason nobody batted an eye when Margo Martindale took home the Best Supporting Actress Emmy earlier this year; her Mags is a cold, calculated crime boss dressed up in hillbilly clothing, not one to be underestimated, certainly not when she has the Bennett boys at her disposal. And even though she'll typically lean on one of her three sons to handle the dirty work, don't discount Mags' ability to break bad on her lonesome — needless to say, you should always pass on her apple pie. -Josh Wigler

34. Astro ("The X Factor")
"The X Factor" worked hard to be the opposite of the aging "American Idol," and nothing said "We don't do karaoke" like casting a teenage MC from Brooklyn who spit original rhymes. Each week, Brian "The Astronomical Kid" Bradley, a.k.a. Astro, brought grade-A drama with his defiant hip-hop swagger and dynamic, head-turning verses. The 15-year-old trailblazer wrote his own lyrics and wore his own headphones, and when he landed in the bottom two, he felt like the judges didn't deserve to hear his "survival song." So he stopped the live show — and his perceived front-runner momentum — dead in its tracks. Whether you thought he was an arrogant dope or just plain dope (like we do), there's no denying 'Stro made "The X Factor" one of TV's most exciting, unpredictable competitions in a long time. -Jim Cantiello

33. Kalinda Sharma ("The Good Wife")
Brains. Sexiness. Attitude. Mystery. Add those up and throw in a leather jacket and a pair of knee-high boots and you've got Kalinda Sharma, the in-house investigator at Lockhart Gardner, the law firm at the center of "The Good Wife." Scene-stealing British actor Archie Panjabi won an Emmy last year for playing Kalinda, who remains cloaked in mystery even well into the show's third season. We saw some chinks in Kalinda's armor recently when her friendship with Alicia Florrick (Julianna Margulies) fell apart — she did sleep with Alicia's husband, after all. But those signs of vulnerability make Kalinda even more intriguing. -Tami Katzoff

32. Carla Hall ("Top Chef: All-Stars")
Hootie hoo! Fan favorite Carla Hall found herself back on "Top Chef" for the All-Stars edition of the competition this year, and boy, were we glad to have her back! Carla is always a great source of much-needed comic relief, but for "All-Stars," she proved she's a culinary force to be reckoned with, making it all the way to the finals. -Kevin P. Sullivan

31. A ("Pretty Little Liars")
Never has a text message been so ominous than at the thumbs of A on "Pretty Little Liars." The mystery of the unseen menace is the central plotline of ABC Family's frothy series, and theories abound as to his/her identity — from murderer to dead teen come back to life. It's likely we've already met the treacherous texter, but producers have been clear that we won't know A's true identity for a while (perhaps series' end) — even more reason to keep tuning in week after week. -Amy Wilkinson

MTV will reveal the best artists, songs and movies of the year. Come to MTV News each day to see more big reveals and check out more of MTV's Best of 2011 music, TV, movies and news coverage.

Related Videos

• 2011 Best MTV Performance Nominees

Related Photos

• Best TV Characters 2011

Source: http://www.mtv.com/news/articles/1675390/jimmy-fallon-best-of-2011.jhtml

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13-Year-Old Girl Shot In Chest During Violent Chicago Weekend

A 13-year-old girl was hospitalized in critical condition after she was shot in the chest early Sunday in Chicago's West Englewood neighborhood.

According to the Chicago Tribune, the girl was shot at from a white sedan that drove by around 12:45 a.m. as she walked on the sidewalk in the 2100 block of West 71st Street.

The girl's condition has since stabilized and no arrests have been made in the shooting.

Elsewhere in the city, three people were killed and at least seven other people were wounded in unrelated shootings Saturday and early Sunday, during a weekend of warmer-than-average temperatures.

Dale Fisher, 16, of the 7700 block of South Langley Avenue, was fatally shot during a drive-by shooting around 3:45 p.m. Saturday in the 6200 block of South St. Lawrence Avenue, the Chicago Sun-Times reports.

Lorenzo Johnson, 37, was found dead with a shooting wound to his abdomen inside an apartment located in the 6200 block of South Elizabeth Avenue around 10:50 p.m. Saturday. Earlier Saturday, a man shot in the chest was found on the building's back porch, though police have not yet concluded that the shootings were related, CBS Chicago reports.

Edward Clark, 20, was found dead with a gunshot wound to his head in the 4700 block of North Winthrop Avenue, according to CBS.

Photo by [puamelia] via Flickr.

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Source: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2011/12/04/13-year-old-girl-shot-in-_n_1128187.html

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Official: 13 hurt when fans storm Okla. St. field

Fans tear down a goal post, injuring some participants, after Oklahoma State defeated Oklahoma 44-10 in an NCAA college football game in Stillwater, Okla., Saturday, Dec. 3, 2011. (AP Photo/Brody Schmidt)

Fans tear down a goal post, injuring some participants, after Oklahoma State defeated Oklahoma 44-10 in an NCAA college football game in Stillwater, Okla., Saturday, Dec. 3, 2011. (AP Photo/Brody Schmidt)

Oklahoma State quarterback Brandon Weeden, center, celebrates with fans following a 44-10 victory over Oklahoma in an NCAA college football game in Stillwater, Okla., Saturday, Dec. 3, 2011. (AP Photo/Sue Ogrocki)

A fan hangs from the goal post it was tore down in celebration of Oklahoma State's 44-10 win over Oklahoma in an NCAA college football game in Stillwater, Okla., Saturday, Dec. 3, 2011. (AP Photo/Sue Ogrocki)

Oklahoma State fans carry a goal post they tore down following the Cowboy's 44-10 win of rival Oklahoma in an NCAA college football game in Stillwater, Okla., Saturday, Dec. 3, 2011. (AP Photo/Brody Schmidt)

Oklahoma State quarterback Brandon Weeden, center, celebrates with fans following a 44-10 victory over Oklahoma in an NCAA college football game in Stillwater, Okla., Saturday, Dec. 3, 2011. (AP Photo/Sue Ogrocki)

STILLWATER, Oklahoma (AP) ? Thousands of fans stormed the field and tore down goalposts after Oklahoma State's 44-10 college football victory over archrival Oklahoma, leaving at least 13 people injured, including two in critical condition, medical authorities said early Sunday.

Michael Authement, who heads the command post at emergency medical provider LifeNet EMS, told The Associated Press that a throng so big took to the field as the game ended that some fans were trampled and one person fell at least 15 feet onto concrete during a wild celebration by Oklahoma State fans.

No. 13 Oklahoma State routed the Sooners on Saturday night to win the Big 12 championship and make its case to play for the BCS national title. The Cowboys snapped an eight-game losing streak in the rivalry and won their first outright conference title since 1948 in the three-team Missouri Valley.

"They won the game and stormed the field and ripped down the goalposts and some were jumping off the stands and hit the field and others got trampled. It was a nasty deal," Authement said.

He said it took police at least 45 minutes to clear fans from the field at Boone Pickens Stadium in Stillwater. "Thousands of people stormed the field. You couldn't move there were so many people," he added.

AP photographs showed fans climbing atop the yellow goalposts and tearing them apart amid a crush of people on the field. Scores of hands stretched out to pull down the goalposts during the celebration.

Authement said ambulances rushed 11 of the injured away and the two in critical condition were flown to Oklahoma City hospitals. He said he knew of leg fractures and that two of the 13 had minor injuries and were treated at the scene and released.

Others suffered broken ankles, ankle sprains and back sprains, said Shyla Eggers, public relations director for Stillwater Medical Center.

An Oklahoma State University police central dispatcher said she had no immediate details to release when contacted by AP and the public information officer did not immediately return messages seeking comment. Stillwater police and the Oklahoma highway patrol also had no immediate comment.

Associated Press

Source: http://hosted2.ap.org/APDEFAULT/386c25518f464186bf7a2ac026580ce7/Article_2011-12-04-Oklahoma%20St-Fans%20Injured/id-ec1018f01b7c4a8f950be17d068b03b7

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Investing in Home Depot (NYSE: HD)

Investing in Home Depot (NYSE: HD)
If You Can?t Buy or Sell It: Fix It

by Jason Jenkins, Investment U Research
Friday, December 02, 2011

Tuesday on CNBC?s ?Closing Bell?, Maria Bartiromo had a little Q&A with Senior Equity Research Analyst Alan Rifkin of Barclays Capital and Homebuilder Analyst Buck Horne of Raymond James called ?Taking Stock in Housing.?

As you can expect, it wasn?t the cheeriest of conversations?

There was the usual talk of too many foreclosures in the pipeline, a glut of vacant homes on the market, Baby Boomers downsizing and the inability of younger generations to come up with the means in order to buy a home in this new housing/mortgage environment due to strict credit and capital guidelines.

But as a good moderator should, Bartiromo pressed the issue for hidden gems ? or whether there was anything in the sector that deserved our investment attention. On the homebuilder front, there?s a phenomenon called the ?Hope Trade,? where annually from the middle of November to Super Bowl Sunday there?s an uptick with major homebuilders.

However, those industry fundamentals are absolutely horrible after the NFL football season and in the foreseeable future.

A Gem in a Rough Market

What was more interesting is the current trend to fix what you got because you can?t trade up. And this is where Home Depot (NYSE: HD) comes in. We need to look at how they boosted profitability in a bad housing market.

According to an interview with Home Depot Chief Financial Officer Carol Tome, consumers continue to spend money to maintain their homes, lifting same-store sales of transactions over $900 by 3.6 percent, including increases in more discretionary categories such as kitchen cabinets.

?We see the core repair projects remain strong,? Tome said. ?We do see some movement in big-ticket items.?

A Strong Third Quarter

Two weeks ago, when the Atlanta-based company announced its third-quarter numbers, it raised its full-year earnings outlook to $2.38 a share from $2.34 a share and increased its dividend by 16 percent to $0.29 a share. Dividend increases are good right now.

Last quarter?s net income rose to $934 million, or $0.60 a share, from $834 million, or 51 cents, a year earlier. Sales rose 4.4 percent to $17.3 billion. Comparable-store sales rose 4.2 percent, including a 3.8-percent increase in the United States.

Analysts, on average, had estimated Home Depot would earn $0.59 cents a share on sales of $17.1 billion, according to FactSet. Same-store sales topped the 2.9 percent gain analysts surveyed by Retail Metrics expected.

Tome went on to say later in that same interview, ?We are gaining share,? adding that there are still pockets of ?extraordinary housing weakness? in the west. ?Our growth is tied to the general economic growth. We grew faster than GDP. A lot of it is because we are taking share.?

Going forward, why like Home Depot?

Here are two major reasons:

• Last week, Fitch upgraded its rating on Home Depot to an A- due to its solid operating momentum, strong free cash flow and public commitment that it?ll maintain its current financial leverage.
• Home Depot?s 3Q results left its smaller archrival Lowe?s (NYSE: LOW) in the dust. Lowes reported a 44-percent drop in third-quarter profit with a 0.7-percent same-store-sales increase and there is fear its fourth-quarter outlook may fall short of analysts? estimates.

A three-percent dividend yield doesn?t hurt, either. It may be smart to keep an eye on ?The Depot.?

Good Investing,

Jason Jenkins

Any investment contains risk. Please see our disclaimer
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Source: http://www.investmentu.com/2011/December/investing-in-home-depot-nyse-hd.html

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