Tuesday, December 27, 2011

What was a miracle of the May 22 tornado has become a Christmas blessing. Desire...

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Source: http://www.facebook.com/joplinglobe/posts/345110672170539

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Adam Neal standing winner while Pittsburgh Penguins setback when Winnipeg Jets 4-1.Roy Neal will be twiddling with these sorts of self confidence, they could nearly view him self credit score.Neal obtained the dog's team-leading Last target of year to get clear an important fasten contest, and Pittsburgh Penguins beat often the Winnipeg Jets 4-1 Ending friday that will make a killing three positive mmorpgs successively initially due to recent November.Neal's game-winning desire came up 21 just a towards other timeframe. Any kind of fishing Evgeni Malkin in a position to slip the main puck towards Neal, of which steadly whip Winnipeg goaltender Ondrej Pavelec due to directly in 1st about the aim."When you, yourself are fiddling with that may certainty and you really are playing with which experts claim point of view, you should create in your mind,In Neal suggested."When I recieve all of the puck in my small keep to, I've met where Let me say. I try to obtain it away from as simple simply because can certainly.Inside

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That appeared to buy your very nice resolution for the enthusiast," Bylsma considered.Otherwise, Winnipeg supporters having a large amount of contributing factor for boo as the Penguins obtained four pursuits within a really 5 minutes of these third stage.Neal's hope begun the actual onslaught, that have Staal in relation to sticking with even on a strength take up for 8:12 combined with Dupuis 40 no time later on. John Kunitz has a two of will help.The loss finished Winnipeg's six-game homestand, including about three mmorpgs for some early evenings. These guys drove 3-2-1 during that length.Typically the Water jets was getting away any 4-0 win over Montreal over Thurs night that includes below wholesale NHL cycling tops.Jets bus Claude Noel specific by some weakness getting ingredient on the manner in which his particular class grinded."I don't think previously it was give good results mentality that had been this challenge,Inch Noel considered.Inside

There was weakness, there had been certain items concerning some people dudes that didn't surely have lower limb a good deal. I believed it had things that appear in case you game the idea many programs equipped with legitimate NHL jerseys."Winnipeg swarmed approximately Fleury tremendously, but simply cannot evidently you can put puck using the web, unaccounted for 15 needles on the opening up cycle. These folks were outshot 14-5 for the initial by having traditional basketball nfl jerseys."I think that most of us taken part, merely we each had not been on an emotional level sudden once needed to be, moving upwards a couple of filming potentials,Within Water jets left-winger Tanner Panes considered."They have fun playing a fairly audio tracks safety contest and to sector men and women boys you've got to you should be well-defined in your head.In

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Source: http://c.moreover.com/click/here.pl?r5666871786

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Texas Family Musical members get special farewell party

Update

Texas Family Musical members get special farewell party
?(Posted Today 07:18 am)
The Opera Guild of Granbury recently hosted a farewell party for the Granbury Opera House cast at Hank?s on the Square on the final night in Granbury. Refreshments were served compliments of the guild. Each member of the Opera House family received a Christmas gift bag. Mike Skiles, producer of Texas Family Musicals, was thanked for keeping the Opera House open for the past five years. There was a special thanks to Sam DiRosa and Brent Skiles along with each cast member. For information about the Opera Guild contact Pruitt 817-326-4591.

Home in Comanche Harbor total loss in fire
?(Posted Today 01:27 am)
A mobile home on Horseshoe Trail in the Comanche Harbor subdivision south of Granbury was a total loss after a major fire struck at about 9:30 p.m. Friday, Hood County Fire Marshal Brian Fine said. No one was injured, but two pets were lost, Fine said. It was also home to a man, who declined help from the Red Cross. Fine said the cause was believed to be accidental and electrical in nature.

Santa Claus is coming to town
?(Posted Fri 12:34 pm)
The lights are shining bright at 117 Dove Hollow Road, the home of Jon and Suzanne Back in South Grove. This lighting display is a favorite for families driving around to check out Christmas lights.?The Backs won first place and are repeat winners in the annual Hood County News Deck the House Holiday Lights Contest. Food items were collected to help those in need as part of the contest. Second place honors went to Mitch and Patty Lewallen, 905 Meadowlark Lane in South Grove. Third place in the residential lighting category was awarded to Max and Jeaneen Duffey, 6426 Walters Bend Court. There?s still time to get out and view Christmas lights across Hood County.

Essay winners announced at VFW
?(Posted Fri 07:18 am)
VFW Post 7835 has announced winners for the Voice of Democracy (VOD) contest, ?Is There Pride in Serving in Our Military,? and winners of the Patriot?s Pen Essay (PPE) contest, ?Are You Proud of Your Country.? Third place VOD winner is Leah McKinney, second place VOD winner is Zack Hasegawa and first place VOD winner is Jacob Phillips. Third place PPE winner is Mikayla Ross, second place PPE winner is Jeffrey Robinson?and first place PPE winner is?Christerfer Sanchez. After winning on the local level, Phillips won a $1,000 scholarship at district, advanced to the state finals and could go on to national competition.

Baby Riley out of hospital, heading to foster home
?(Posted Thu 06:08 pm)
Riley Alston, the 8-month-old Hood County boy who has been receiving medical attention at Cook Children's Medical Center in Fort Worth since Dec. 9 when he was found drastically underweight at only 9 pounds, has been discharged from the facility and is on his way to join his 18-month-old sister Katelynn with a foster family, Department of Family and Protective Services spokeswoman Marissa Gonzales announced late Thursday afternoon. "He's eating well and has gained a couple of pounds since being hospitalized," Gonzales stated. The parents, Justin and Brittany Alston of Rance Drive in the Sandy Beach subdivision, remain in jail, each facing two felony charges - injury to a child and abandonment/endangerment of a child, Sheriff's Office officials said.

Injured motorcycle rider upgraded to serious condition
?(Posted Thu 02:50 pm)
The medical condition of Dwight Damon Franks, a 40-year-old Granbury man who was injured when his Harley-Davidson motorcycle collided Tuesday afternoon?with a pickup driven by a Montana man,?was upgraded from critical to serious Thursday, according to a?spokesman for Texas Health Methodist Hospital Fort Worth. Franks had been flown to the Fort Worth hospital by air ambulance shortly after the crash. No?other injuries were reported.?

Rockin' country at Rio Brazos
?(Posted Thu 12:34 pm)
Clint Black performed in concert last Saturday at the Rio Brazos Music Hall in Granbury. Some of Black?s hit songs include ?Like the Rain,? ?A Bad Goodbye? and ?Killin? Time.? On Friday, Dec. 30, the Rio Brazos welcomes Randy Rogers in concert at 9 p.m. Mark Chesnutt performs at 9 p.m. on New Year?s Eve. For ticket information, visit www.riobrazoslive.com.

Source: http://www.hcnews.com/shownews.asp?category=20&id=9737

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Monday, December 26, 2011

yofiesetiawan: Merry Christmas to 1241 Facebook Friends, 314 Facebook Subscribers, 727 Twitter Followers, 43 Google+ Circles

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Merry Christmas to 1241 Facebook Friends, 314 Facebook Subscribers, 727 Twitter Followers, 43 Google+ Circles yofiesetiawan

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Source: http://twitter.com/yofiesetiawan/statuses/150682622815780864

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The Weekend NCAA/NFL Football Open.

Week 16 ? It?s down to the wire folks ? heck there are a couple of divisions that don?t even have their champion yet!? In honor of the NFL?s decision to play Saturday (meaning that at least 13 teams will be having a less-than-merry Christmas the next day),?and since Saturday football is the domain of Cold Warrior, we present the first-ever Cold Warrior ? Carolina Girl Professional Football Derby ? we?ll give you the Saturday matchups and our picks for the winners!?

?My winner this weekend? Definitely not the Eagles Fans! Looks like the pre-season media hype was just that, hype. That?s what youse gets fer booing Santa Claus and Hiring a Dog murderer for QB!?

So get out the egg nog (spiked with your favorite adult beverage), wrap those White Elephants for the Christmas Eve Party Yankee Swap and play along!?? Here we go!

Booze is definitely the right call here!

Miami @ New England

CW?s pick ? Reno is giving ten to the fish. 10? yep. The Cheaters have already wrapped up the division and will have a by and home field if they win. SO, they win this one.Ironic that they havent won a SUper BOwl since they got caught cheating. They aint getting one this year either.

CG?s pick ? New England.? Although, I would not consider it a failure on my powers of prognostication if the Fish take it to ?em (translation ? no problem here if I?m wrong!).? And I?m in the mood for a Christmas miracle.

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Jacksonville @ Tennessee

CW?s pick ?Expansion football?The Tuxedos win this to keep their very dim playoff hopes alive.

CG?s pick ? Tennessee.? Being beaten by the Colts last Sunday is like getting coal in your stocking, and they?ll be working toward a comeback and something nice under the tree from Santa.?

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Tampa Bay @ Carolina

CW?s pick ?5-9 v 4-10 *yawn* ? The Spastic Cats are getting a TD in Vegas, so I pick the Spastic Cats.

CG?s pick ? Carolina? (oh please, like with my name I?m picking Tampa Bay?)

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Cleveland @ Baltimore

CW?s pick ?The poor, poor Brownies. Well, Fagco and the Ray Lewises will win this. Maybe Fagco will get more interviews this week? The dude is a mediocre QB at best and he was whining about lack of media? Ray effin Lewis is everywhere at all times in the media, so shut up Fag.

CG?s pick ? Baltimore ??Wonder if Joe Flacco, after being shellacked last week, is still going to be complaining about the lack of media attention.??.

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Arizona @ Cincinnati

CW?s pick ?Teh kitteh cats versus the red birds. I love watching Cinci implode every year. It?s like a rite of winter. Arizona wins this.

CG?s pick ?? the Mighty Bengals of Cincinnati on this one, I think.?

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Minnesota @ Washington

CW?s pick ? 5-9 v 2-12 !? WOOOHOOO!!!! Its a barnburner! ?cept they picked the wrong barn. Take the skins in this game.

CG?s pick ? Washington ??I?ll have explaining to do with Best Friend Jane, who is apparently still speaking to me after the game last week.

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Denver @ Buffalo

CW?s pick ? No snow predicted, so Tebow should actually have an easy time in Western NY State.

CG?s pick ? Denver ? I still think it?s TEBOW time.?

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St. Louis @ Pittsburgh

CW?s pick ? Charlie Batch will start. Charlie Batch will win. Had he started against SF, the Steelers win that game as well. Steelers are all beat up again this year, so don?t look for a deep playoff run. Bet the under, its at 38 right now.

CG?s pick ? Pittsburgh ? Because there ain?t ?eight tiny linesmen? in their defense.??Although guys I was really counting on a loss to S.F. last Monday.?

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Oakland @ Kansas City

CW?s pick ?A classic match up if da Raiderz and the Cheifs were any good this year. Just Win Baby! Not this time, KC wins it late.

CG?s pick ? Oakland ? the Raiders have something to prove and toppling their arch-rival Chiefs right off their vanquishing of Green Bay is a helluva incentive.? Also because ? dude, it?s Xmas Eve.? I can?t pick my son?s team to lose.? Santa will take all my presents and I think there?s a $500 Apple?card in there from my boss??

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NY Giants @ NY Jets

CW?s pick ?J-E-T-S JETS JETS JETS!

CG?s pick ? NY Giants.? I think.? Uh, who?s the effing HOME team again?

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San Diego @ Detroit

CW?s pick ?I gotta go with Carolina girl?s reasoning and outcome. C?mon Detroit. Make the damn playoffs!

CG?s pick ? Detroit.? For no other reason than I rememer what it was like to?cheer for?the team everybody thought were the biggest losers around.?

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Philadelphia @ Dallas

CW?s pick ?I thought the Dog Murderers were the greatest collection of football talent evah, ESPN??? Youse Eagles fans booed Santa and hired a dog murderer for QB. Consider it the curse of the dead dogz. As much as I hate to say this, go Cowboys.

CG?s pick ? Dallas (because they like dogs in Texas)

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San Francisco @ Seattle

CW?s pick ?I was not impressed by the 49ers last week. That said, the Seattle Tearhawks fans are still whining and complaining about losing the Super Bowl. So, I?ll take the 9?ers because I can?t stand whiners.

CG?s pick ? San Francisco.? I love my Saints but guys, you are soooo looking at playing Wild Card week.

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Sunday Night Game

Chicago @ Green Bay

CW?s pick ?On a normal Sunday, The Pack destroys Chicago. Vegas is giving 13.5 for this one. Are the Pack resting their starters?? See, I don?t know this. As a side note, Steelers fans always root for GB because the city and the fans are no bullshit hard nosed football in the blood people. So, I have to take GB here. We don?t take Chablis and quiche to the tailgate party. (I still bet against tha13.5 line tho)

CG?s pick ? Chicago ? now that the ?streak? is over, and nothing is on the line for Green Bay, it?s time?to let Aaron Effing Rodgers and company take a break and give the second tier guys some playing time.? Also Chicago is still in the wild card hunt near as I can tell (with my abysmal math) and has greater incentive to win.??And will be happy to run over the Packer first string to do get there.

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Monday Night Game

Atlanta @ New Orleans

CW?s pick ?My pick for this Monday night game will have to come after the 49?er game on Sunday.

CG?s pick ? New Orleans ? Home at the Dome has worked well for the Saints this season, and even though Atlanta will still be playing for division leader, the Saints?clinch with a win here.? If the Saints get a decent lead by the 4th Quarter, I?d let that Chase kid come in and throw a few.

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Yes, I know there should be a playoff system. There isn?t. And, NO, i do not like this playing the national championship game NOT on New Years Day.?

8:00 PM ET Nevada vs. No. 21 Southern Miss*

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Source: http://www.theblogmocracy.com/2011/12/24/the-weekend-ncaanfl-football-open/

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Sunday, December 25, 2011

Student leaves $172,000 violin on Philly-bound bus

(AP) ? Police are asking for the public's help recovering a rare violin worth $172,000 that was left on board a Boston-to-Philadelphia bus by a groggy music student from Taiwan.

Philadelphia police say the instrument was left in an overhead bin on a Megabus late Tuesday.

Muchen Hsieh (moo-SHEHN' SHEE'-uh) tells KYW-TV she noticed she didn't have the violin after getting picked up by the family hosting her visit to the Philadelphia area. She called the bus company but was told the instrument hadn't been found.

Hsieh says a Taiwanese culture foundation lent her the violin as she studies at the New England Conservatory in Boston. It was made in 1835 by Vincenzo Jorio in Naples.

Lt. John Walker says the instrument can be returned to Philadelphia police, no questions asked.

Associated Press

Source: http://hosted2.ap.org/APDEFAULT/aa9398e6757a46fa93ed5dea7bd3729e/Article_2011-12-23-Rare%20Violin%20Lost-Bus/id-ce54acc841e647bca3ac21246f4ed237

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After a delay, Obama begins Hawaiian vacation (AP)

HONOLULU ? It isn't taking any time at all for President Barack Obama to get into vacation mode.

Less than 30 minutes after arriving in Hawaii, Obama and first lady Michelle Obama joined friends for a Friday night dinner at one of their favorite places, Morimoto Restaurant.

Mrs. Obama has been in Hawaii with their daughters for a week. But the president delayed his departure to stay in Washington while Congress worked out an agreement on extending expiring payroll tax cuts.

Obama has no public events planned while in Hawaii. A small group of advisers is traveling with him to brief him on domestic and international developments.

A native of Hawaii, Obama plans to spend the rest of the year on the islands before returning to Washington shortly after New Year's Day.

Source: http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/obama/*http%3A//news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20111224/ap_on_go_pr_wh/us_obama_hawaii

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Saturday, December 24, 2011

Colts get past Houston 19-16 for 2nd straight win

Indianapolis Colts' Joseph Addai is tackled by Houston Texans' Quintin Demps (27) and Brice McCain (21)during the first half of an NFL football game Thursday, Dec. 22, 2011, in Indianapolis. (AP Photo/Michael Conroy)

Indianapolis Colts' Joseph Addai is tackled by Houston Texans' Quintin Demps (27) and Brice McCain (21)during the first half of an NFL football game Thursday, Dec. 22, 2011, in Indianapolis. (AP Photo/Michael Conroy)

Indianapolis Colts quarterback Dan Orlovsky is tackled by Houston Texans' J.J. Watt during the first half of an NFL football game Thursday, Dec. 22, 2011, in Indianapolis. (AP Photo/AJ Mast)

Indianapolis Colts' Dan Orlovsky throws a pass during the first half of an NFL football game against the Houston Texans Thursday, Dec. 22, 2011, in Indianapolis. (AP Photo/Michael Conroy)

Houston Texans' Arian Foster is tackled by Indianapolis Colts' Antoine Bethea during the first half of an NFL football game Thursday, Dec. 22, 2011, in Indianapolis. (AP Photo/Michael Conroy)

Indianapolis Colts' Adam Vinatieri reacts with Pat McAfee following a 23-yard field goal during the first half of an NFL football game against the Houston Texans on Thursday, Dec. 22, 2011, in Indianapolis. (AP Photo/AJ Mast)

(AP) ? Reggie Wayne followed the script Thursday night.

And just like his previous 11 seasons in Indianapolis, he had it down.

Wayne made one of his trademark moves to outmaneuver a Houston defensive back with 19 seconds left, freeing himself for a 1-yard touchdown catch that gave the Colts a stunning 19-16 victory over AFC South champion Houston. The five-time Pro Bowler celebrated by flinging his hands into the air, pointing toward the fans he loves and hugging his teammates before heading to the Colts' locker room for possibly the final time.

"I said if this is going to be the last game, I want to go out with a bang. It was great," Wayne said. "It was a great feeling to go out. Hopefully, I'll be back but you never know."

Wayne, whose contract is up after the season, certainly made a strong case to return with the Colts in 2012.

The five-time Pro Bowler finished with eight catches for 106 yards, the biggest, of course, giving Indianapolis (2-13) a second win in five days. It was Wayne's third 100-yard day of the season and put the Colts' No. 2 all-time receiver in position to match another franchise record with eight straight 1,000-yard seasons.

Indy's suddenly strong finish could jeopardize the Colts' stronghold on the No. 1 overall draft pick, having tied the league's other two-win teams -- St. Louis and Minnesota.

But Wayne and his teammates could care less about that chase. They wanted a win, and some of them wanted to win for teammates such as Wayne, Robert Mathis and Jeff Saturday, who were cornerstones of one of the league's model franchises. All of them have expiring contracts.

"I was kind of in my hotel room thinking today and kind of know it's the last home game of the season here and there's question marks about what can happen in this future, and I was thinking if it ever got to the point in the game where somebody needed to make a play, it wasn't probably going to go anywhere but (Wayne)," quarterback Dan Orlovsky said. "I think he deserved that opportunity."

Orlovsky finished 23 of 41 for 244 yards with the one touchdown and won his second straight after losing his first nine NFL starts. Even sweeter, he beat the team he played for the past two seasons.

For Houston, it was a bitter reminder that they hadn't completely swung the balance of power in the AFC South.

Having already clinched the franchise's first playoff berth and still playing for a first-round bye, the Texans (10-5) seemed poised for a playoff tuneup in Indianapolis.

Instead, they looked anything but playoff-ready.

Houston settled for two field goals in the red zone, didn't convert a third down until getting a lucky bounce late in the fourth quarter, its running game was stymied late and the defense helped the Colts with three penalties on the decisive drive.

"The last two were absolutely unnecessary on my part," rookie defensive end J.J. Watt said after being called for two of the penalties. "That's on me. I can't do that. I can't hurt our football team like that."

Houston is now 0-10 in Indianapolis and hasn't scored more than 20 points in a game since T.J. Yates took over as the starting quarterback.

Yates was solid, 13 of 16 for 132 yards with a rating of 101.0, and Arian Foster had a big day rushing 23 times for 158 yards.

But when the Texans had to sustain drives or punch it into the end zone, they squandered away scoring chances.

"We make one play offensively at the end, the game's over," coach Gary Kubiak said. "We make one stop at the end, the game's over."

At the start, the game certainly looked as if it would be a repeat of the Texans' 34-7 season-opening blowout when Brian Cushing beat the Colts blockers on the game's first play, sacking Orlovsky and stripping the ball. Foster ran for 8 yards on the next play, then scored on a 9-yard burst off the left side to give Houston a 7-0 lead.

The teams traded five field goals over the next 58 minutes, but the Colts never had the lead.

Then somehow Orlovsky got rolling. He connected with Pierre Garcon for 11 yards and Jacob Tamme for 10. After a 3-yard completion to Donald Brown, Wayne caught a 34-yard pass on third-and-7 to keep the drive alive with 51 seconds left. Houston's three penalties moved the ball to the Houston 1, and on first-and-goal, Orlovsky lobbed the pass to Wayne, who hauled it in for the momentous catch.

"It's big," Wayne said. "For one thing, not knowing what my future's going to be, just wanting to get a win, couldn't get anything better than this."

NOTES: Before the game, Colts owner Jim Irsay told NFL Network that if Peyton Manning plays next year, it will be in Indianapolis. ... Wayne also moved past Rod Smith for No. 18 on the NFL's career receptions list. Smith finished with 849. Wayne now has 854. ... Houston's four-game winning streak came to an end. ... Adam Vinatieri missed a 42-yard field goal just before halftime, ending his streak of 33 consecutive field goals made at Lucas Oil Stadium.

Associated Press

Source: http://hosted2.ap.org/APDEFAULT/3d281c11a96b4ad082fe88aa0db04305/Article_2011-12-23-Texans-Colts/id-cc465c5327344bed83676ed45cbe5ed5

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Monday, December 19, 2011

Murray Fromson: The GOP Presidency

I must confess: I don't like Newt Gingrich. He's an insufferable bore. He talks too much. He has an opinion about everything, none of it conciliatory. Most of it in fact is irrational. He is not what anyone might consider to be a deep thinker. While Barack Obama demonstrates leadership abroad, Gingrich is pursuing worn-out ideas that continue to harp on government spending, waste in Washington and the need for unregulated tax cuts for the rich, none of which are on the minds of shoppers at Costco or Walmart.

Consider the opinions of Gingrich on the Belgian Congo; on race relations in the U.S.; about immigration from across the border; or how to treat underprivileged, hungry people. The inference is fairly clear. Gingrich has never been challenged by his all-white panelists on the CNN election platform. None of the presidential candidates who cluttered cable television last week were ready to respond to tough questions. The panel overall was as meek as mice.

After an airing of the past revelations uttered by Gingrich, it is impossible to imagine how many African-American or Latino voters will cast a ballot for him as president. Gingrich is an uncontrollable motor mouth. Yet, despite such flaws, many of his supporters still believe him fit to be a president or world leader..

As Paul Krugman, the Nobel Prize winning economist of the New York Times said of Gingrich recently "He is a glib speaker, even when he has no idea of what he is talking about." Krugman went on to say "My sense is that he's very good at double think -- that even when he knows what he's said isn't true while he's saying it.

To any reporter who has covered politics from the highest to the lowest level -- and I've covered many including the ill-fated Goldwater campaign in 1964 -- it's clear that Gingrich is tempted to say anything in public once he has access to a microphone or platform. Careless ideas simply roll off his tongue. So outrageous, often times he can shock anyone within hearing distance. Gingrich has disdain for many Americans; not only poor ones, but blacks, gays, Arabs, or welfare recipients for starters. His analysis of the Israeli-Palestinian issue is so absurd and over-simplified you would have to worry if he were elected president.

But Gingrich is not the sole champion of negative thinking in Republican ranks. The tactic may easily come back to haunt him on Election Day, if he gets that far. Having covered enough national politics, instinct tells me that a persistent negative campaign could sink the GOP. On the other hand, I would not be surprised by an Obama victory next November, providing he makes a slight indent in the unemployment and inflation figures. My hunch then is the President could win re-election next year and even by a substantial margin.

The problem for the GOP is that it is devoid of real solutions to cope with the economic doldrums gripping the nation. Moreover, it is trapped in a campaign with such implicit racist implications, it's a miracle that so many of its political experts act as if it they didn't exist.

From election day on, the Republicans have focused on getting Obama out of the White House, no matter the cost. But the president has been savvy enough politically to avoid turning it into a food fight. While every Republican office-holder or candidate seems determined since Day One to defeat Obama; no matter what the president says or stands for; regardless of what positive social policy he proposes and no matter how dedicated he is to reducing the number of American soldiers in Iraq, the Republicans say no.

They act as if they are deaf or blind to the latest polls that show 77 percent of the American people support the president. John McCain, Lindsay Graham and other prominent Republican legislators truck out every absurd excuse for keeping American troops on the ground in a war that literally ended months ago. You could ask how many of their own sons have ever served in Iraq or Afghanistan? But the answer would be insignificant. Having covered wars all over the world and seen body bags ad nauseum, the notion of reporting the number of American families that have sacrificed their sons or loved ones for vague objectives is painful for me.

Aggravating the nightly political discourse, the artificial debates staged by the cable networks are a waste of time. They are tailored to provoke outrageous arguments, so much so that anyone skilled in broadcasting should be demanding that more producers be hired to exercise control over the nonsense. Viewers are never told how difficult it is to win passage of any legislation in a divided Congress. Consequently, the American people have a negative view of government.

While Barack Obama exercises leadership abroad, the Republicans are pursuing worn out ideas that continue to harp on government spending, waste in Washington and the need for unregulated tax cuts for the rich. That's not what everyday shoppers at Wal-mart or Costco are talking about.

As Krugman said of Gingrich, "He's very good at double think -- even when he knows that what he's said isn't true while he's saying it." It's enough to encourage serious voters to move to Iceland.

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Follow Murray Fromson on Twitter: www.twitter.com/FromsonFile

Source: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/murray-fromson/republicans-iraq-withdrawal_b_1156036.html

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Sunday, December 18, 2011

NC soldier, 23, was last US troop killed in Iraq

In this photo taken Dec. 14, 2011, in Decatur, Ill., Lexie Gifford, 12, right, reflects on the memories of her father, Marine Pvt. Jonathan Lee Gifford, portrait below, who was killed just two days into the Iraq war. Lexie was four when she last saw him. Lexie's mother, Victoria Shain, sits by her side. As the last U.S. troops withdrew from Iraq on Sunday, Dec. 18, 2011, friends and family of the first and last American fighters killed in combat cherished their memories rather than dwelling on whether the war and their sacrifice was worth it. (AP Photo/Seth Perlman)

In this photo taken Dec. 14, 2011, in Decatur, Ill., Lexie Gifford, 12, right, reflects on the memories of her father, Marine Pvt. Jonathan Lee Gifford, portrait below, who was killed just two days into the Iraq war. Lexie was four when she last saw him. Lexie's mother, Victoria Shain, sits by her side. As the last U.S. troops withdrew from Iraq on Sunday, Dec. 18, 2011, friends and family of the first and last American fighters killed in combat cherished their memories rather than dwelling on whether the war and their sacrifice was worth it. (AP Photo/Seth Perlman)

In this photo taken Dec. 14, 2011, Vicky Langley says she thinks constantly of her son, Marine Pvt. Jonathan Lee Gifford, who was killed just two days into the Iraq war, and sits surrounded by photographs and paintings of him at her home in Decatur, Ill. As the last U.S. troops withdrew from Iraq on Sunday, Dec. 18, 2011, friends and family of the first and last American fighters killed in combat cherished their memories rather than dwelling on whether the war and their sacrifice was worth it. (AP Photo/Seth Perlman)

In this photo taken Dec. 14, 2011, in Decatur, Ill., Vicky Langley, mother of Marine Pvt. Jonathan Lee Gifford, who was killed just two days into the Iraq war, recalls the day she took him to the first day of kindergarten and how she came home and turned on every appliance she could because it was just so quiet without him. As the last U.S. troops withdrew from Iraq on Sunday, Dec. 18, 2011, friends and family of the first and last American fighters killed in combat cherished their memories rather than dwelling on whether the war and their sacrifice was worth it. (AP Photo/Seth Perlman)

In this photo taken Dec. 14, 2011, in Decatur, Ill., Lexie Gifford, 12, reflects on the memories of her father, Marine Pvt. Jonathan Lee Gifford, who was killed just two days into the Iraq war. Lexie was four when she last saw him. As the last U.S. troops withdrew from Iraq on Sunday, Dec. 18, 2011, friends and family of the first and last American fighters killed in combat cherished their memories rather than dwelling on whether the war and their sacrifice was worth it. (AP Photo/Seth Perlman)

FILE - In this April 23, 2003 file photo, members of the U.S. Marine Corps carry the casket of United States Marine Pvt. Jonathan Lee Gifford at Maranatha Assembly of God in Decatur, Ill. Gifford, 30, was in the 1st Battalion, 2nd Regiment, 2nd Marine Expeditionary Brigade, and was killed just two days into the Iraq war. The last U.S. troops withdrew from Iraq, Sunday, Dec. 18, 2011. (AP Photo/Seth Perlman, File)

(AP) ? As the last U.S. troops withdrew from Iraq on Sunday, friends and family of the first and last American fighters killed in combat cherished their memories rather than dwelling on whether the war and their sacrifice was worth it.

Nearly 4,500 American fighters died before the last U.S. troops crossed the border into Kuwait. David Hickman, 23, of Greensboro was the last of those war casualties, killed in November by the kind of improvised bomb that was a signature weapon of this war.

"David Emanuel Hickman. Doesn't that name just bring out a smile to your face?" said Logan Trainum, one of Hickman's closest friends, at the funeral where the soldier was laid to rest after a ceremony in a Greensboro church packed with friends and family.

Trainum says he's not spending time asking why Hickman died: "There aren't enough facts available for me to have a defined opinion about things. I'm just sad, and pray that my best friend didn't lay down his life for nothing."

He'd rather remember who Hickman was: A cutup who liked to joke around with friends. A physical fitness fanatic who half-kiddingly called himself "Zeus" because he had a body that would make the gods jealous. A ferocious outside linebacker at Northeast Guilford High School who was the linchpin of a defense so complicated they had to scrap it after he graduated because no other teenager could figure it out.

Hickman was these things and more, a whole life scarcely glimpsed in the terse language of a Defense Department news release last month. Three paragraphs said Hickman died in Baghdad on Nov. 14, "of injuries suffered after encountering an improvised explosive device."

He was more, too, than the man who bears the symbolic freight of being the last member of the U.S. military to die in a war launched in the political shadow of 9/11, which brought thousands of his fellow citizens out into the streets to oppose and support it. Eventually, the war largely faded from the public's thoughts.

"There's a lot of people, in my family included, they don't know what's going on in this world," said Wes Needham, who coached linebackers at Northeast when David was a student. "They're oblivious to it. I just sit and think about it, the courage that it takes to do what they do, especially when they're all David's age."

And they were mostly young. According to an Associated Press analysis of casualty data, the average age of Americans who died in Iraq was 26. Nearly 1,300 were 22 or younger, but middle-aged people fought and died as well: some 511 were older than 35.

"I've trained a lot of kids. They go to college and you kind of lose track of them and forget them," said Mike King of Greensboro Black Belt Academy, where Hickman trained in taekwondo for about eight years. "He was never like that. That smile and that laugh immediately come to mind."

The pain is fresh for people who knew Hickman. But the years have not eased the anguish of those who lost loved ones in the war's earliest days, when funerals were broadcast live on local television, before the country became numb to the casualty count.

Vicky Langley's son, Marine Pvt. Jonathan Lee Gifford, was killed just two days into the war. More than eight years later she sits in her Decatur, Ill. home, surrounded by photographs of him and even a couple of paintings of him in his dress uniform that total strangers created and sent her.

She said she doesn't concern herself with thoughts about the cost of the war and whether it was worth the life of her son and all the others who died.

"Only the Iraqi people can answer that," she said.

She thinks of her son constantly. She recalls the first day of kindergarten and how she came home and "turned on every appliance I could (because) it was just so quiet without him." She remembers how as a young man he would call her, without fail, when the first snow of the year started to fall. She still hears the knock at her door at 11 at night, and the chaplain telling her that her 30-year-old son had been killed in Iraq.

And she sees him in the 4-year-old daughter he left behind, who is now 12. Lexie Gifford's thin frame and face are miniature versions of her father's, her smile a replica of his. She has the same slow, I'll-get-there-when-I-get-there walk. For a reason nobody understands, a while back started popping frozen French fries in her mouth just like her dad used to do.

As the last troops prepared to leave Iraq, Langley was getting ready.

"I'll probably sit and cry," said Langley, 58. "I'll be happy for the ones you can be happy for and sad for the ones you are sad for."

Langley's life has been one catastrophe after another since her son died. The next year her husband died. Then months later, doctors told her the reason she was feeling poorly was that her kidneys had shut down. That was followed by a fall and a broken back. Today, as she waits for her name to come up on a list for a kidney transplant, she gets around the house she shares with her mother in a motorized scooter.

The one thing she doesn't have, she said, is guilt. Though she talked her son out of enlisting in the military a couple times over the years, the reasons began and ended with concerns about the safety for her only child.

But after the terrorist attacks of 9/11, she knew there would be no talking him out of enlisting. Besides, she said, "If I was young enough I would have gone in, too."

Even though the country's mood was much different in 2009 when Hickman joined the Army, he had no doubts about his decision, Trainum said.

"When I talked with him on the phone a week before, he wasn't unhappy about where he was or regretting being there at all," Trainum said. "It was just going to work for him, and he was looking forward to getting his work done and getting home."

Hickman, Gifford and the others left behind parents and spouses and children like Lexie, whose memories of her Marine father are what one might expect of a girl who was four when she last saw him.

"He popped out of a Christmas box," she said, of the Christmas just before Gifford was deployed, when he hid inside a large box to surprise his daughter. "He was tall. He had brown hair. He was nice."

The losses linger for people who saw the flag-draped coffins come home.

"I used to watch all the war stories on TV, you know," said Needham, Hickman's old coach. "But since this happened to David, I can't watch that stuff anymore. I just think: That's how he died."

______

Associated Press news researcher Monika Mathur contributed to this report. Babwin reported from Decatur, Ill.

Associated Press

Source: http://hosted2.ap.org/APDEFAULT/386c25518f464186bf7a2ac026580ce7/Article_2011-12-18-Iraq-Last%20Death/id-dc32bca6c6cf49dbab0df0583c98bc79

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Berenson says she was barred from leaving Peru (AP)

LIMA, Peru ? Paroled U.S. activist Lori Berenson said Saturday that she and her toddler son were not permitted to leave Peru despite being granted permission in court to spend the holidays in New York with her family.

"They didn't let me leave and they're putting out this version that I arrived late," she said in a brief phone conversation with The Associated Press, referring to media reports citing unnamed airport officials.

Her lawyer, Anibal Apari, accused the government of making an arbitrary political decision to halt her departure. He said it had provided no official explanation for not allowing Berenson to board a New York-bound flight the previous night.

"An abuse of authority has been committed," Apari told the AP. "Administratively, you can't block a court order."

An Interior Ministry press offical reached by the AP said he could not immediately offer a response.

Berenson, 42, was paroled last year after serving 15 years for aiding leftist rebels. She was given permission to leave the country beginning Friday with the stipulation that she return by Jan. 11.

She had been denied such permission in October, but a three-judge appeals court on Wednesday overturned the lower court judge's ruling.

Peru's anti-terrorism prosecutor, Julio Galindo, told the AP that he had on Friday asked the court that approved Berenson's leave to nullify the decision because it violated a law prohibiting paroled prisoners from leaving the country.

He said he did not know if the court had acted on his appeal and Peru's courts spokesman, Guillermo Gonzalez, said he had no information on the matter.

Galindo's move was precisely the kind of action feared by Berenson's parents, who did not respond to phone calls seeking comment on Saturday.

The prosecutor had opposed letting Berenson out of prison before her 20-year sentence for aiding terrorism ends in 2015, arguing that it would set a bad precedent for the early release of others convicted of terrorism-related crimes.

Berenson's father Mark told the AP on Friday that he was "petrified" that negative local reaction could prevent the trip, including celebrating his 70th birthday Dec. 29.

"My worry is that there's going to be screaming to stop this," he said. Some Peruvians consider his daughter a terrorist and have publicly insulted her on the street.

Mark Berenson said his daughter had every intention of returning to Peru.

"As Lori says, if she doesn't come home, let Interpol arrest her," Mark Berenson said.

Peru could seek her extradition and return her to prison if she doesn't return in the allotted time, Gonzalez said.

A local TV station displayed video on Friday night of Berenson pacing nervously in front of a ticket counter, wearing a bulky black backpack, with Salvador in a stroller beside her. She wore pants and a brown polo shirt.

On Saturday, she left her apartment around midday to take Salvador for a walk and did not comment to new crews other than to ask them to leave her in peace.

Berenson has been repeatedly hounded and mobbed by Peruvian news media, which has occasionally frightened young Salvador. Last month, one TV channel obtained her new address and showed video of her home.

"It was very dangerous," Mark Berenson said. "The (U.S.) Embassy complained."

"It's just not fair to Salvador or to her," he said. "They used her like she's a celebrity and she just wants to be a low-profile person and get on with her life and be a good citizen."

He said he would appeal to President Ollanta Humala to send his daughter home.

Humala could by law commute her sentence but has not indicated whether he might do so. The AP sought presidential palace comment but its calls were not returned.

Lori Berenson is separated from Salvador's father, Anibal Apari, whom she met in prison and who serves as her lawyer.

Mark Berenson said his daughter is looking forward to seeing relatives she hasn't met since her 20s, including his 96-year-old aunt, and that he wants his grandson, who loves trees, see the New York Botanical Garden's holiday display.

Since her initial parole in May 2010, Lori Berenson repeatedly expressed regret for aiding the rebel Tupac Amaru Revolutionary Movement.

Arrested in 1995, the former MIT student was accused of helping the rebels plan an armed takeover of Congress, an attack that never happened.

A military court convicted her the following year and sentenced her to life in prison for sedition. But after intense U.S. government pressure, she was retried in civil courts in 2001 and sentenced to 20 years for terrorist collaboration.

Berenson was unrepentant at the time of her arrest, but softened during years of sometimes harsh prison conditions, eventually being praised as a model prisoner.

Yet she is viewed by many as a symbol of the 1980-2000 rebel conflict that claimed some 70,000 lives. The fanatical Maoist Shining Path movement did most of the killing, while Tupac Amaru was a lesser player.

Berenson has acknowledged helping the rebels rent a safe house, where authorities seized a cache of weapons. But she insists she didn't know guns were being stored there. She denies ever belonging to Tupac Amaru or engaging in violent acts.

In an interview with the AP last year, Berenson said she was deeply troubled at having become Peru's "face of terrorism."

Its most famous prisoner, she also became a politically convenient scapegoat, she said.

___

Associated Press writer Franklin Briceno contributed to this report.

Source: http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/latam/*http%3A//news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20111217/ap_on_re_la_am_ca/lt_peru_lori_berenson

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Saturday, December 17, 2011

Bahraini police fire tear gas at protesters: witnesses (Reuters)

DUBAI (Reuters) ? Bahraini police fired tear gas and clashed with Shi'ite Muslim protesters on Friday, a day after a man was run over and killed as he fled security forces chasing protesters near Manama, the opposition and a rights group said on Friday.

Tensions have been high in Bahrain since security forces crushed weeks of pro-democracy street protests by the Gulf kingdom's majority Shi'ite Muslims in March.

The police fired tear gas and sound grenades to disperse protesters, and several people were injured during the clashes which went on for several hours in different Shi'ite villages outside the capital Manama, said Matar Matar, a member of the Shi'ite al Wefaq political bloc.

Doha-based Al Jazeera television aired footage of riot police firing tear gas at protesters.

"Many were injured because of excessive force," Matar told Reuters over the telephone. "Many have head injuries which indicates there is an intention to hurt them."

The Bahrain Center for Human Rights (BCHR) said demonstrator Ali-Ahmed al-Qassab was trying to flee intelligence officers during clashes between hundreds of mainly Shi'ite protesters and riot police on Thursday when a speeding car hit him.

His funeral will be held on Saturday.

"The regime prefers using force and killing people instead of instituting reforms that the people are asking for," Nabeel Rajab, the head of BCHR, told Reuters.

An interior ministry spokesman could not be reached for comment.

TALKS STALLED

Protesters took to the streets in February demanding a bigger role for elected representatives and less power for ruling al-Khalifa family, who are Sunni Muslims. Some Shi'ite groups sought an end to the monarchy altogether.

Bahrain hosts the U.S. Fifth Fleet and faces Shi'ite giant Iran on the other side of the Gulf. Iran has denied Bahraini government accusations it has incited the protests.

A government-appointed commission of international jurists found evidence of systematic abuses against detained protesters.

There has been no progress on talks between the government and opposition groups on political reform, and sectarian tensions continue to dog the Gulf Arab island state.

Also on Thursday, police detained Zainab al-Khawaja, a human rights activist and daughter of a prominent opposition leader, after she joined the protesters, many of whom chanted slogans against King Hamad bin Isa al-Khalifa, Rajab said.

(Reporting by Mahmoud Habboush)

Source: http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/mideast/*http%3A//news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20111216/wl_nm/us_bahrain_violence

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Friday, December 16, 2011

Lawmakers wrangle over extending payroll tax cut (Reuters)

WASHINGTON (Reuters) ? U.S. lawmakers struggled on Friday to agree to a deal on payroll tax relief for 160 million Americans after a roller-coaster week of brinkmanship again laid bare the partisan divide that has gridlocked the Congress all year.

The talks on extending the $120 billion payroll tax cut for another year followed a separate deal reached by bickering lawmakers on Thursday night to keep the U.S. government running through September 2012.

With the government just hours away from running out of money for a wide range of programs, the House of Representatives approved on Friday a nearly $1 trillion spending bill. The Senate most likely will pass it on Saturday and send it to President Barack Obama to sign into law.

The House vote approving the spending bill was 296-121, with about a third of the chamber's 242 Republicans voting no.

After a week of partisan wrangling, a driving force behind the 11th-hour spending deal appeared to be fears among party leaders of a voter backlash in the 2012 presidential and congressional elections. Congress' approval ratings are already at record lows.

Republican and Democratic aides were still negotiating on Friday over how to pay for the payroll tax cut, which the White House and some economists warn must be renewed or risk damaging the still-tepid economic growth.

House of Representatives Speaker John Boehner, the top Republican, swatted down a Democratic proposal for just a two-month extension to allow more time for negotiations.

Boehner said that if the Senate passed the stopgap measure, the Republican-led House would insert a provision to accelerate a decision on the proposed Keystone XL pipeline that would transport oil from Canada to refineries on the U.S. Gulf Coast.

Obama has delayed a decision on the pipeline until 2013 and called for further environmental studies. Environmental groups, a core constituency, strongly oppose the project. Obama has already threatened to veto any bill that links Keystone to the payroll tax cut.

"If that bill comes over to us, we will make changes to it, and I will guarantee you that the Keystone pipeline will be in there when it goes back to the United States Senate," Boehner told reporters on Friday.

(Reporting By Ross Colvin; Editing by Peter Cooney)

Source: http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/uscongress/*http%3A//news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20111216/ts_nm/us_usa_taxes

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Playboy operations bunny-hopping to LA

Playboy File / AFP - GETTY IMAGES

A December 1953 photo shows Playboy founder Hugh Hefner with the magazine's first issue, featuring Marilyn Monroe.

By msnbc.com staff and NBC News

After 58 years as an institution synonymous with Chicago ? among other things ? Playboy is uprooting to a climate somewhat more appropriate for its Playmates' attire: Los Angeles.

Playboy, which Hugh Hefner founded in the Windy City in 1953, announced Tuesday that the magazine's editorial, art and photo departments would be relocating by next May.

"Some of the magazine's Chicago employees have been asked to relocate, while others have been asked to stay on in Chicago to ensure a seamless transition. Open key positions will be hired out of Los Angeles," the company said, according to NBC station WMAQ of Chicago.


A company spokeswoman told the Chicago Tribune that no decisions had been made about other departments at the Chicago headquarters, including human resources, public relations, legal, accounting and information technology.

Hefner took Playboy private in January as the company's circulation and staff dwindled. After hitting a circulation of more than 7 million in 1972, the magazine was down to 1.5 million last year, according to figures from the Audit Bureau of Circulation. The company cut its staff from 679 in 2008 to 530 last year.

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Source: http://usnews.msnbc.msn.com/_news/2011/12/13/9424525-playboy-operations-bunny-hopping-to-la

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Thursday, December 15, 2011

Global forests are overlooked as water suppliers, study shows

ScienceDaily (Dec. 15, 2011) ? The forests of the world supply a significant amount of moisture that creates rain. A new study published in Global Change Biology reveals how this important contribution of forests to the hydrologic cycle is often overlooked in water resource policy, such as that of the EU.

The study, by David Ellison, Martyn Futter and Kevin Bishop at the Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences (SLU), shows that reducing forest area reduces regional and continental rainfall. This needs to be recognized to obtain a fair picture of the forest role in the hydrologic cycle.

"Are forests good for water? An apparently simple question divides scientists in two camps -- those who see trees as demanding water and those who see trees as supplying water," said David Ellison who works in the Future Forests research program studying resource management. "This paper demonstrates that the difference between these two camps has to do with the spatial scale being considered."

From a local perspective, a tree is a consumer of water. But on a broader regional scale, forests supply the atmosphere with moisture that will become rainfall. Some dry areas depend almost entirely on rain that comes from forest-covered areas via the atmosphere.

The view of forests as a consumer of water influences the EU Water Framework Directive (WFD) which includes strategies for water pricing, but fails to consider the contribution of forests to the water cycle. The same goes for the increasingly popular "Water Footprint," a tool developed to communicate the water usage of a product or process.

Deforestation and land conversion from forest to agriculture or urbanization will have a negative effect on regional precipitation. On a small scale and in the short run it may not be noticeable. But if the loss of forests continues, there is a risk that both rainfall and water supply will decrease in many places.

Afforestation and reforestation on the other hand could be used as an invaluable climate change adaptation tool to bring increasing moisture to regions where rainfall is on the decline.

David Ellison argues for the need to change the basic view about the importance of forests in the hydrologic cycle in a new article in the influential journal Global Change Biology.

"Forests, whose contribution to the water cycle is crucial for human survival and future well being, should be regarded as a global public good, to be preserved and used for the benefit of all."

The Future Forests research programme produces research on which to base strategies for the sustainable use of boreal forests. Future Forests is a Mistra programme, hosted by Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences (SLU). It is a joint initiative between SLU, Ume? University and the Forestry Reserach Institute of Sweden.

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Journal Reference:

  1. David Ellison, Martyn N. Futter, Kevin Bishop. On the forest cover-water yield debate: from demand- to supply-side thinking. Global Change Biology, 2011; DOI: 10.1111/j.1365-2486.2011.02589.x

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

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

Source: http://feeds.sciencedaily.com/~r/sciencedaily/~3/S13s1bwGBzE/111215094923.htm

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Wednesday, December 7, 2011

Sheriff: McCready didn't have OK to hide at house

(AP) ? By the time authorities took country singer Mindy McCready's 5-year-old son from her and into custody on Friday evening, one thing had already become apparent: her life has come to resemble a bad country song.

Since her emergence in the mid-1990s as a honey-voiced success story out of Nashville, McCready has been increasingly known for her personal troubles instead of her music.

This week's custody battle, where McCready took her son from his Florida home, was the latest in her brushes with the law.

Florida Department of Children and Families spokeswoman Terri Durdaller wrote in an email Saturday that her agency was working with Arkansas state officials to bring McCready's son, Zander, back to his legal guardian, McCready's mother.

Officials say the boy is safe and in good health after he and McCready were found in a bedroom closet of an unoccupied Arkansas home.

"Zander is in Arkansas and we continue to arrange his swift arrival back to Florida," Durdaller wrote.

In Arkansas, Cleburne County Sheriff Marty Moss said Saturday that McCready didn't have permission to be in the unoccupied summer home where she was found Friday evening with her son. Authorities continue to investigate, he said.

The sheriff's office said in a news release Saturday that McCready had been a visitor to the area. Authorities located her after receiving a report of "possible occupants in a summer home that was supposed to be unoccupied," the news release said.

Moss told The Associated Press on Saturday that he doesn't expect that McCready will face any charges for being at the unoccupied home.

Gayle Inge, McCready's mother, was tearful Friday night.

"I'm real excited that he's safe," she said. "But I can't explain what this is like. We feel for Mindy and we feel for Zander."

Inge said that her son ? McCready's half-brother ? texted McCready, who responded with a text that said her mother would never see her again.

"I want to wrap my arms around her and tell her that I love her," Inge said.

McCready, who turned 36 on Wednesday, did not respond to emails Friday and Saturday.

Authorities say McCready took the boy during a visit late last month to her father's Florida home, where she was allowed to visit the boy. McCready's parents are divorced.

A Florida judge signed an order Thursday telling authorities to take the boy into custody and return him. It's not yet clear whether the singer could face criminal charges.

McCready said earlier in the week that she would not bring her son back from Tennessee, where she has a home, despite violating the custody arrangement. She told the AP that her son had suffered abuse at her mother's house, a claim that Inge vehemently denies.

"I'm doing all this to protect Zander, not stay out of trouble," McCready wrote in an email to the AP on Thursday. "I don't think I should be in trouble for protecting my son in the first place."

McCready told the AP Wednesday night she was in Tennessee and couldn't travel because she is seven months pregnant with twins.

McCready and her mother have had a long custody battle over the boy.

McCready found fame in the mid-1990s when she moved to Nashville at the age of 18, armed with only her karaoke tapes. Her first album, "Ten Thousand Angels," sold two million copies.

Her next four albums weren't as successful. Her personal troubles began encroaching on her professional success. According to her website, she suffers from severe depression.

In August, she filed a libel suit against her mother and the National Enquirer's parent company, American Media Inc., over a story published in the tabloid newspaper that quoted Inge.

And in 2008, McCready was admitted to a hospital after police said she cut her wrists and took several pills in a suicide attempt.

___

Follow Tamara Lush on Twitter at http://twitter.com/tamaralush

Associated Press

Source: http://hosted2.ap.org/APDEFAULT/4e67281c3f754d0696fbfdee0f3f1469/Article_2011-12-03-People-McCready/id-8c8b8944852d45dca515fa57b9dd03bc

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Tuesday, December 6, 2011

Twisted Communications 2.0 | ProjectX Blog ? Information Security ...

Twisted Communications 2.0

When I was working on some communications strategy for a project, I first used the categories for synchronous and asynchronous communications. Asynchronous communication is a process where the participants of the communication do not necessarily have to be online at the same time in order to communicate such as emails. Synchronous communication is a process where all participants have to be online at the same time in order to get an added value of it such as a video call or chatting. Of course chat messages can also be sent (with most programs) when the other person is offline. He will then receive it when he comes back online but this would more likely be a pretty short email than a real chat, because a chat requires both people to interact with each other with short questions and answers rather than a long text following a long text from the other person (as in emails).

Some new developments however screw this distinction of synchronous and asynchronous communications. More precisely, they make synchronous communication asynchronous and therefore obsolete ? without even knowing it. I don?t know where I first experienced it, but I would like to one recent example later on. But first, let us have a closer look at the chat function of Facebook.

Facebook chat shows my friends who chose to be seen online in a list, categorized by my particular needs (friends, colleagues, I have to freaking idea who that is but he added me). When I click their name, I can send them a message. In real-time this message will be transmitted to that person and he or she can answer but sending me a message back. When one of us goes offline and the other one sends a message, this message will not be send thru the chat anymore but thru the private messaging system of Facebook (very similar to email, understanding wise). This transition from chat to message did not always work well and I would not risk sending an important message to someone on Facebook chat when he is offline, hoping that it will be redirected to his private message inbox (though, important messages should never be sent via Facebook, but this is another story).

Then, there are mobile phones. To be precise: smart phones. There are so many things you can do with them. One recent, free of charge, features for the Blackberry for example is the integration of the Facebook chat into the Facebook application on the phone. This means, I can stay online on Facebook chat the whole time with my Blackberry. And when I am home I just switch it over to my computer. However, phones and smart phones still are used in a certain way. ?I just check my emails?. ?I just make a phone call?. ?I just look up what thisandthat really is?. Did you ever here someone ?I will not be available for the next five minutes because I am chatting on my smart phone?? Text messages are certainly faster in pace then emails are. However, they are still slower in pace than chat is. If someone does not respond to my text message in a couple of minutes, it is still okay because he might be in the Starbucks queue getting a hot latte or has no reception because he got into the elevator. There is a different expectation with chat though.

If I chat with someone, I always picture him in front of a computer or laptop. If he answers, it means he has time. If he is online but does not answer, then he certainly does not have time ? or does not like me anymore. Imagine this someone is now not sitting on his desk with his laptop anymore but getting is hot latte. He replies to my first chat message (for me as chatter a sign of him wanting to chat) with some quick characters (for him a standard response to emails and text messages on the phone). I will be under the impression that he is chat-ready but he will be under the impression that he answered everything already. Instead of communicating synchronously (as intrinsic to chat) it will become more and more asynchronous because the perception of one (or maybe both) of the communication partners is different. If the one with the smart phone does not sit down and dedicates time to the chatting process, it will end up in sending chat messages every now and then and the chat will convert into a small scale email ? asynchronous communication. It happened to me last week and I thought naah, maybe it?s just me. When a friend told me the same just two days later, I began to spend some thoughts on it.

What is the outcome of this? People will be more online on chat programs but less responsive. Subsequently, I will less message them (because I assume they are just idling on their smart phone, showing off that they have a smart phone and the latest app but will not answer anyway) and instead email them or write a private message in one of the social networking sites, I know they frequent every evening.

Will chat die? Certainly not..

? The Medium is the Message Cloud No 1337 ?

Source: http://www.theprojectxblog.net/twisted-communications-2-0/

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Monday, December 5, 2011

Packers still unbeaten, barely

Rodgers tosses four TD passes, Green Bay (12-0) wins 38-35 on last-second FG

By TOM CANAVAN

updated 7:45 p.m. ET Dec. 4, 2011

EAST RUTHERFORD, N.J. - The Green Bay Packers are still perfect and heading to the playoffs.

Aaron Rodgers engineered a last minute drive to set up a 31-yard field goal by Mason Crosby on the final play and the Green Bay Packers remained undefeated and clinched a playoff berth with a 38-35 victory over the New York Giants on Sunday.

Rodgers hit three passes of more than 18 yards on the drive in the final 58 seconds as the Super Bowl champion Packers (12-0) won their 18th straight game and handed the Giants (6-6) their fourth straight loss.

New York, which was blown out by New Orleans Monday night, tied the game on a 2-yard Eli Manning touchdown pass and a 2-point conversion run by D.J. Ware with just under a minute to play.

However, Rodgers, who threw four touchdown passes, wasn't going to settle for overtime after a touchback on the ensuing kickoff.

On first down, he completed a pass to Jermichael Finley just over the outstretched hands of rookie linebacker Jacquian Williams and the tight end rumbled 24 yards up the right sideline to the 44.

A 24-yard pass to Jordy Nelson down the left sideline moved the ball to the New York 29 and an 18-yard pass to Greg Jennings two plays later moved the ball to the 12.

Green Bay called time out with 3 seconds to go, and then Crosby delivered his winning kick.

The Packers would clinch the NFC North if Detroit lost to New Orleans on Sunday night.

For the Giants, everything wasn't terrible. Dallas also lost, leaving New York a game behind the Cowboys with four games to go. The two teams will play twice over that span.

Rodgers, who was harassed by Giants front and sacked three times, finished 28 of 46 for 369 yards. He threw touchdown passes of 7 and 13 yards to Donald Driver, 20 to Jennings and 12 to Finley.

Linebacker Clay Matthews also returned an interception 38 yards for a score in the second quarter.

Manning finished 23 of 40 for 347 yards. He had a 67-yard touchdown pass to Travis Beckum and touchdown tosses of 4 and 2 yards to Nicks. Brandon Jacobs scored on a 1-yard run after a rare interception of Rodgers and Lawrence Tynes kicked two field goals with a 50-yard in the fourth quarter getting New York within 28-27.

Rodgers hooked up with Driver on a 7-yard TD with 3:34 to go to push the lead to 35-27.

However, Manning hit tight end Jake Ballard on two 15 yard passes and connected with Victor Cruz for 22 yards to set up the game-tying score that New York thought would send the game to OT.

Rodgers had other ideas, though, and the Packers continued their run at trying to match Miami's perfect season in 1972.

It's not surprising New York gave them a game. The Giants ended the Denver Broncos perfect season at 11 games in 1998 and they knocked off the New England Patriots in the Super Bowl in February 2008 when Tom Brady and company were a game from perfection.

The Giants let the Packers know early they were going to be in a for a battle this week.

Manning and Beckum, who had one catch all season, combined on a 67-yard catch and weaving run for a touchdown on the third play of the game.

Rodgers tied the game with a 12-yard TD pass to Finley on Green Bay's second possession, only to see New York take the lead on a 38-yard field goal by Tynes.

New York seemed to be in control until Manning made a mistake on a play action pass on the first play of the second quarter. With his primary receiver covered, Manning threw a sideline pass to Ahmad Bradshaw in front of the Packers bench and Matthews jumped the route and returned it 38 yards for a touchdown and a 14-10 lead.

Rodgers had only been intercepted four times all season but linebacker Chase Blackburn, who was signed on Wednesday, picked him off at the Green Bay 21 and returned the ball to the 12. Two plays later, Brandon Jacobs plowed in from the 1 to give New York a 17-14 edge.

Rodgers atoned for the error on the next series, driving the Packers 80 yards in 11 plays with the biggest play being an 11-yard scramble on a third-and-10 from New York 43. Rodgers capped the march with a 13-yard, third-down touchdown pass to a wide-open Donald Driver on a play in which the Giants secondary blew the coverage.

Rodgers pushed the lead to 28-17 on the opening series of the second half with his fist TD pass to Driver but Manning got New York back in the game later in the quarter with his first TD to Nicks.

? 2011 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.


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Source: http://nbcsports.msnbc.com/id/45546256/ns/sports-nfl/

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