Tuesday, January 31, 2012

Merkel to urge China to cut Iran oil imports: source (Reuters)

BERLIN (Reuters) ? German Chancellor Angela Merkel will use an upcoming visit to China this week to encourage Beijing to reduce its imports of Iranian oil, a German government source said on Tuesday.

The European Union will implement an embargo on Iranian oil by July as it tightens sanctions on Tehran over its nuclear program.

(Reporting by Matthias Sobolewski)

Source: http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/iran/*http%3A//news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20120131/wl_nm/us_germany_iran

capital one bowl 2012 nfl draft order georgia bulldogs football winter classic 2012 rashard mendenhall rachel zoe penn state football

LeBron James Jumps Over Hapless Defender For Dunk; John Lucas III Trends on Twitter


Poor John Lucas III.

LeBron James' drunk over him was so insane in the first quarter of the Miami Heat's win over the Chicago Bulls Sunday that the defender became an instant trend in the Twitter-verse. He may end up on a poster someday, too ... though not in a good way.

In one of the most ridiculous alley-oops you will ever see - no small feat for the human highlight reel - Dwyane Wade threw a lob to LeBron, who literally JUMPED OVER LUCAS, throwing it down with relative ease no less.

Watch the gravity (and comprehension) defying clip below:

Source: http://www.thehollywoodgossip.com/2012/01/lebron-james-jumps-over-dunks-on-hapless-defender-john-lucas-iii/

bcs championship game alabama vs lsu alabama vs lsu detroit auto show beyonce baby tebow broncos ben roethlisberger

Monday, January 30, 2012

Time short for Gingrich to close gap in Florida (AP)

POMPANO BEACH, Fla. ? Newt Gingrich slammed GOP rival Mitt Romney on Sunday for the steady stream of attacks he likened to "carpet-bombing," trying to cut into the resurgent front-runner's lead in Florida in the dwindling hours before Tuesday's pivotal presidential primary.

And despite surging ahead in polls, Romney wasn't letting up, relentlessly casting Gingrich as an influence peddler with a "record of failed leadership."

In what has become a wildly unpredictable race, the momentum has swung back to Romney, staggered last weekend by Gingrich's victory in South Carolina. Romney has begun advertising in Nevada ahead of that state's caucuses next Saturday, illustrating the challenges ahead for Gingrich, who has pledged to push ahead no matter what happens in Florida.

An NBC News/Marist poll published Sunday showed Romney with support from 42 percent of likely Florida primary voters, compared with 27 percent for Gingrich.

Romney's campaign has dogged Gingrich at his own campaign stops, sending surrogates to remind reporters of Gingrich's House ethics probe in the 1990s and other episodes in his career aimed at sowing doubt about his judgment.

Gingrich reacted defensively, accusing the former Massachusetts governor and a political committee that supports him of lying, and the GOP's establishment of allowing it.

"I don't know how you debate a person with civility if they're prepared to say things that are just plain factually false," Gingrich said during appearances on Sunday talk shows. "I think the Republican establishment believes it's OK to say and do virtually anything to stop a genuine insurgency from winning because they are very afraid of losing control of the old order."

Gingrich objected specifically to a Romney campaign ad that includes a 1997 NBC News report on the House's decision to discipline Gingrich, then speaker, for ethics charges.

Romney continued to paint Gingrich as part of the very Washington establishment he condemns and someone who had a role in the nation's economic problems.

"Your problem in Florida is that you worked for Freddie Mac at a time when Freddie Mac was not doing the right thing for the American people, and that you're selling influence in Washington at a time when we need people who will stand up for the truth in Washington," Romney told an audience in Naples.

Gingrich's consulting firm was paid more than $1.5 million by the federally-backed mortgage company over a period after he left Congress in 1999.

Former Pennsylvania Sen. Rick Santorum, trailing in Florida by a wide margin, stayed with his 3-year-old daughter, Bella, who was hospitalized with pneumonia. Sunday night he told supporters, "She without a doubt has turned the corner," but he cautioned she "isn't out of the woods yet."

Aides said Santorum would resume campaigning Monday in Missouri and Minnesota.

Texas Rep. Ron Paul, who has invested little in Florida, looked ahead to Nevada. The libertarian-leaning Paul is focusing more on gathering delegates in caucus states, where it's less expensive to campaign. But securing the nomination only through caucus states is a hard task.

The intense effort by Romney to slow Gingrich is comparable to his strategy against Gingrich in the closing month before Iowa's leadoff caucuses Jan. 3. Gingrich led in Iowa polls, lifted by what were hailed as strong performances in televised debates, only to drop in the face of withering attacks by Romney, aided immensely by ads sponsored by a "super" political action committee run by former Romney aides.

But Romney aides say they made the mistake of assuming Gingrich could not rise again as he did in South Carolina. Romney appears determined not to let that happen again.

"His record is one of failed leadership," Romney told more than 700 people at a rally in Pompano Beach Sunday evening. "We don't need someone who can speak well perhaps, or can say things we agree with, but does not have the experience of being an effective leader."

Gingrich has responded by criticizing Romney's conservative credentials. Outside an evangelical Christian church in Lutz, Gingrich said he was the more loyal conservative on key social issues.

"This party is not going to nominate somebody who is a pro-abortion, pro-gun-control, pro-tax-increase liberal," Gingrich said. "It isn't going to happen."

But Gingrich, in appearances on Sunday news programs, returned to complaining about Romney's tactics. "It's only when he can mass money to focus on carpet-bombing with negative ads that he gains any traction at all," he said.

Romney and the political committee that supports him had combined to spend some $6.8 million in ads criticizing Gingrich in the Florida campaign's final week. Gingrich and a super PAC that supports him were spending about one-third that amount.

Gingrich worked to portray himself as the insurgent outsider, collecting the endorsement of tea party favorite Herman Cain, whose own campaign for president foundered amid sexual harassment allegations.

It was unclear how aggressively Gingrich would be able to compete in states beyond Florida. The next televised debate, a format Gingrich has used to his advantage, is not until Feb. 22, more than three weeks away.

Romney already has campaigned in Nevada more than Gingrich, is advertising there, and stresses his business background in a state hard-hit by the economy. His campaign welcomed the Sunday endorsement of the Las Vegas Review-Journal, Nevada's largest newspaper.

Michigan and Maine, where Romney won during his 2008 campaign, also hold their contests in February. Arizona, a strong tea-party state where Gingrich could do well, has its primary Feb. 28.

___

Associated Press writers Steve Peoples in Naples and Shannon McCaffrey in Lutz contributed to this report.

Source: http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/gop/*http%3A//news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20120130/ap_on_el_pr/us_gop_campaign

republican candidates virginia tech mike martz hokies norv turner quadrantid work it

Gingrich says he's in 'til GOP convention (AP)

PORT ST. LUCIE, Fla. ? On the weekend before the pivotal Florida primary, Newt Gingrich vowed Saturday to stay in the race for the Republican presidential nomination until the national convention this summer even if he loses Tuesday's vote. Front-runner Mitt Romney poured on the criticism of his rival in television ads airing across the state.

Gingrich's pledge, in a race defined by unpredictability, raised the prospect of an extended struggle inside the party as Republicans work to defeat President Barack Obama in the fall. "You just had two national polls that show me ahead," he said. "Why don't you ask Gov. Romney what he will do if he loses" in Florida.

The former Massachusetts governor countered a few hours later while in Panama City. "I think we are going to win here, I sure hope so," he said.

As the two rivals made their appeals to Hispanic, Jewish and tea party voters, veterans of the armed forces and others, all known indicators pointed to a good day for Romney in the primary.

He and his allies held a 3-1 advantage in money spent on television advertising in the race's final days. Robust early vote and absentee ballot totals followed a pre-primary turnout operation by his campaign. Even the schedules the two men kept underscored the shape of the race ? moderate for Romney, heavy for Gingrich.

Campaigning like a front-runner, Romney made few references to Gingrich. Instead, he criticized Obama's plans to cut the size of the armed forces. "He's detached from reality," the former Massachusetts governor said.

"The foreign policy of `pretty please' is not working terribly well," he added. Romney said he wants to add 100,000 troops, not cut them.

If his personal rhetoric was directed Obama's way, the television commercials were trained on Gingrich, whose victory in last Saturday's South Carolina primary upended the race for the nomination. A new ad released as the weekend began is devoted to the day in 1997 when Gingrich received an ethics reprimand from the House while serving as speaker and was ordered to pay a $300,000 fine.

Nearly the entire 30-second ad consists of NBC News anchor Tom Brokaw's nationally broadcast description of the events on the evening news. "By an overwhelming vote, they found him guilty of ethics violations; they charged him a very large financial penalty, and they raised ? several of them ? raised serious questions about his future effectiveness," Brokaw said that night, and now again on televisions across Florida.

Both NBC and the former newsman registered objections. The network called on the campaign to stop using the footage and Brokaw said in a statement, "I do not want my role as a journalist compromised for political gain by any campaign."

A Romney adviser, Eric Fehrnstrom, said the campaign wasn't likely to stop running the ad. "We believe it falls within fair use," he said. "We didn't take the entire broadcast; we just took the first 30 seconds."

Whatever its impact, the ad represented part of a barrage that Gingrich could not match.

A second Romney ad said Gingrich had "cashed in" as a Washington insider while the housing crisis was hitting Florida particularly hard.

Figures made available to The Associated Press showed Romney was spending $2.8 million to air television commercials in the final week of the Florida campaign. In addition, a group supporting him, Restore Our Future, was spending $4 million more, for a combined total of $6.8 million.

By contrast, Gingrich was spending about $700,000, and Winning Our Future, a group backing him, an additional $1.5 million. That was about one-third the amount for the pro-Romney tandem.

Officials said the total of absentee and early vote cast approached 500,000, about 200,000 of them before Gingrich won in South Carolina last weekend.

Gingrich seemed in good humor during the day, despite the obstacles in his way. He joked with reporters that they had missed an example of his grandiosity ? a charge that one rival, former Pennsylvania Sen. Rick Santorum, had used in a recent debate ? when they didn't see him hold a golf trophy on display at the PGA Library.

Gingrich also turned aside one opportunity to criticize Romney, answering a question by saying, `I want to talk about defeating Obama."

But his tone seemed to change after he said he wasn't happy with his performances in a pair of debates during the week, and was asked to explain.

"You cannot debate somebody who is dishonest. You just can't," he said, referring to Romney.

Referring to one answer the former Massachusetts governor had given, Gingrich said it was not true that Romney had always voted for a Republican when one was on the ballot.

"That in fact he could have voted for George H.W. Bush or Pat Buchanan the same day and he chose the Democratic primary, he voted Paul Tsongas, the most liberal candidate. The same year he gave money to three Democrats for Congress," he added, referring to the 1992 campaign.

"Now there's no practical way in a civil debate to deal with somebody who is that willing to say something that is just totally dishonest."

Romney poked fun at Gingrich's debate performances.

"This last one Speaker Gingrich said he didn't do so well because the audience was so loud. The one before he said he didn't do so well because the audience was too quiet. This is like Goldilocks, you know, you've got to have it just right.

"When I debate the president, I'm not going to worry about the audience, I'm going to make sure that we take down Barack Obama and take back the White House."

The two other contenders, Santorum and Texas Rep. Ron Paul, have conceded Florida and did not campaign in the state during the day.

___

Associated Press reporter Steve Peoples in Panama City contributed to this report.

Source: http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/gop/*http%3A//news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20120129/ap_on_el_pr/us_gop_campaign

matt moore matt moore national grid day light savings time 2011 hocus pocus hocus pocus bj penn

Sunday, January 29, 2012

Lincee Ray: Is Anyone Still Watching Grey's Anatomy?

I remember the days when Meredith Grey's opening voiceover marked an hour-long journey of medical miracles, snarky banter and at least one hot doctor doing something naughty in an on-call room. Seattle Grace was the place to be on Thursday nights and I embraced the entire hour-long journey. (Except for the one where Izzie has a brain tumor and sees dead people. Shonda Rhimes can't win them all, am I right?)

Last night I prepared to catch up on my ever-expanding list of DVR'd shows. As I clicked through my favorites to determine the viewing order of my lazy evening, I was shocked to discover that there were six episodes of Grey's Anatomy that I hadn't watched this season. To be honest, I hadn't even thought about the show lately.

Could it be that after eight seasons I've grown indifferent about the characters? Do I no longer care about the odd yet relatable bond of my favorite couple Meredith and Cristina? Is Dr. Shepherd's debonair and brooding presence now lost on me? Have I learned everything there is to learn from the sharp Miranda Bailey?

My loyalties have definitely wavered. Instead of immediately tuning in each week to experience the lives of my favorite group of doctors, I'm choosing to try and figure out fairy tale characters in Storybrooke, laughing at what Jess and Schmidt are saying, getting completely sucked in by Emily Thorne's devious ways and wondering which one-liners from Phil Dunphey I'll be quoting the next day. I'll even watch Glee before tuning in to Grey's. And Glee's been on the fence for me for a long time.

Help me out Grey's fans. Is it worth sitting through the six episodes I haven't watched? Or should I cut my losses and just focus on the hours of television I have recorded in my DVR?

?

Source: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/lincee-ray/is-anyone-still-watching-_b_1239189.html

rashard mendenhall rachel zoe penn state football mt rainier national park rose parade ticket city bowl drop dead gorgeous

Funny How That Works (Theagitator)

Share With Friends: Share on FacebookTweet ThisPost to Google-BuzzSend on GmailPost to Linked-InSubscribe to This Feed | Rss To Twitter | Politics - Top Stories Stories, RSS Feeds and Widgets via Feedzilla.

Source: http://news.feedzilla.com/en_us/stories/politics/top-stories/192758790?client_source=feed&format=rss

steve miller band boston weather kara dioguardi thomas kinkade the shining when does daylight savings time end world series mvp

Suicide bomber kills 32 at Iraq funeral procession (AP)

BAGHDAD ? A suicide bomber detonated an explosives-packed car near a funeral procession in southeastern Baghdad on Friday, killing at least 32 people ? half of them policemen who were guarding the march ? in the latest brazen attack since the U.S. troop withdrawal from Iraq.

Police said the bomb exploded at 11:00 a.m. in the predominantly Shiite neighborhood of Zafaraniyah, where mourners had gathered for the funeral of a person killed the day before. They said 65 people were wounded in the attack, including 16 police.

Hospital officials confirmed the death toll.

Across Iraq, at least 200 people have been killed in a wave of attacks by suspected insurgents since the beginning of the year. Erupting just weeks after completion of the U.S. military withdrawal Dec. 18, it raised concerns that the surge in violence and an escalating political crisis might deteriorate into a civil war.

Most of the dead have been Shiite pilgrims and members of the Iraqi security forces.

A sectarian-based political crisis has added to the concerns of descent into violence.

Salam Hussein, a 42-year-old grocery store owner in Zafaraniyah, said he was watching Friday's funeral procession, which was heavily guarded by police, when the blast blew out his store windows and injured one of his workers.

"It was a huge explosion," Hussein said. As he took his worker to the hospital, Hussein said he saw cars engulfed in flames, "human flesh scattered around and several mutilated bodies in a pool of blood" around the place where the attacker's car exploded.

Officials at the Zafaraniyah General Hospital, where most of the dead and injured were taken, said the powerful blast shattered windows and damaged walls in the hospital, injuring a nurse and four patients who were being treated at the time of the attack.

Zafaraniyah resident Talib Bashir, 50, said he was part of the procession of about 500 men but left the group to take his child home, and then he heard the blast.

"I saw smoke coming from a parked car that exploded," Bashir said, and police and civilians cars, an ambulance and several stores were engulfed in flames hours after the blast. "The fire lasted for a long time," Bashir said.

There was no immediate claim of responsibility for Friday's attack.

Minutes after the explosion, gunmen opened fire at a checkpoint in Zafaraniyah, killing two police officers, according to police officials. All officials spoke on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to speak to reporters.

Since the United States completed its pullout, militant groups ? mainly al-Qaida in Iraq ? have stepped up attacks targeting the country's majority Shiites to undermine confidence in the Shiite-led government and its efforts to protect people without American backup.

On Thursday, 17 people were killed in bombings around the country, including seven people in attacks on Baghdad's s two mostly Sunni districts, suggesting that Shiite militants could be retaliating for attacks against them.

Friday's blast was the second deadliest single attack in Iraq this month.

At least 53 people were killed Jan. 14, when a bomb tore through a procession of Shiite pilgrims heading toward a largely Sunni town in southern Iraq.

Source: http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/topstories/*http%3A//news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20120127/ap_on_re_mi_ea/ml_iraq

cliff harris josh turner bishop eddie long barnaby barnaby giuliana rancic giuliana rancic

Saturday, January 28, 2012

Sudan says to release ships seized from South Sudan (Reuters)

ADDIS ABABA (Reuters) ? Sudan said on Saturday it would free tankers carrying cargoes of South Sudanese crude it had seized earlier this month, in a push to defuse a row over transit fees between former civil war foes that both depend on oil for almost all their income.

Landlocked South Sudan, which became independent in July after seceding from Sudan, has to use a northern pipeline and the port of Port Sudan to export its crude, and the two countries are in dispute over the transit fees it should pay.

The row heated up this month when Sudan said it was confiscating some of South Sudan's oil exports to make up for what it called unpaid fees. South Sudan retaliated by saying it would shut down its crude output by Saturday.

Oil is the lifeline of both countries' economies, and the south's secession left Khartoum with output of about 125,000 barrels per day and South Sudan with production that has fallen slightly to 350,000 bpd from 375,000 bpd in June.

Oil revenue is about 98 percent of South Sudan's income, and is vital if the government is to develop a country devastated by years of civil war and one of the world's poorest nations.

China is the biggest buyer of oil from the two countries, taking some 12.99 million barrels last year - five percent of overall 2011 crude imports by China, which is also the biggest investor in South Sudan's oilfields.

"President Bashir is ready to make this gesture. Sudan is going to release the vessels detained in Port Sudan," Sayed El-Khatib, deputy head of Sudan's negotiating team, told a media conference in the Ethiopian capital on Saturday.

"By taking this step, we expect the cover agreement to be signed, the shutdown to be halted, and the terms of the cover agreement to be respected," said El-Khatib. "Before the end of today, we could be able to sign the cover agreement. We, at least, are ready to sign."

A South Sudanese official, asked to comment, told Reuters: "We are studying the claim. We are waiting for confirmation from the shipping companies." He did not want to be named.

LEADERS FOUND NO ANSWER

Sudanese President Omar al-Bashir and South Sudan's President Salva Kiir met on the sidelines of a meeting of East African officials in Ethiopia on Friday, but failed to resolve their differences over the oil transit tariff.

Ethiopian Prime Minister Meles Zenawi, a broker between the two sides, met Bashir again on Saturday.

The row with Sudan has angered many in South Sudan, where independence, the result of a referendum following a 2005 peace accord, is often framed as the climax of a long struggle against political and economic marginalization by the north.

South Sudan's Kiir accused Khartoum of "looting" oil worth roughly $815 million and of building a tie-in pipeline to divert 120,000 barrels per day of southern oil flowing through the north.

Industry sources have said Sudan has sold at least one cargo of crude seized from South Sudan at a discount of millions of dollars to the official price charged by the South, and is offering more.

Awad Abdelfatah, undersecretary of Sudan's petroleum ministry, denied South Sudan's accusations of oil "theft."

"Since the 9th of July (South Sudan's independence day), we have opened our export line for them (South Sudan) without any hindrance," Abdelfatah told Reuters.

"We have been sending them invoices since that time and have been patient until the 1st of December. We decided then to take our dues. We didn't take anything more than what our invoice shows," Abdelfatah said.

Sudan's civil war, fought over issues of ethnicity, religion, ideology and oil, ebbed and flowed from 1955 to 2005 and caused the deaths of an estimated 2 million people. Southerners voted overwhelmingly for secession in a referendum in January 2011.

(Writing by James Macharia; Editing by Tim Pearce)

Source: http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/africa/*http%3A//news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20120128/wl_nm/us_sudan_oil

september 11 2001 pomegranate pomegranate 9 11 lightning dominica fiji

Friday, January 27, 2012

Jean Smith, Junior League president and Nancy Reagan confidant, dies at 93

Jean Webb Vaughan Smith, a member of the Reagans' inner circle who championed volunteerism as national president of the Association of Junior Leagues, died Wednesday in Los Angeles of natural causes, her family said. She was 93.

Smith joined the Junior League in the 1950s, rising to president of the Los Angeles chapter in 1954 and Western regional director in 1956. She served as national president from 1958 to 1960.

Her decades of public service also included government appointments and civic roles, including serving on the boards of the Blue Ribbon, Children's Hospital Los Angeles, the United Way, the American Red Cross, the National Endowment for the Humanities and the California Arts Commission.

A seasoned Washington wife, she was close to two Republican administrations. Her first husband, George William Vaughan, was assistant secretary of defense under President Dwight D. Eisenhower. Her second husband, William French Smith, was attorney general under President Ronald Reagan.

Nancy Reagan remembered Jean Smith in a statement Wednesday as "an incredibly kind and caring woman, and a good friend. ... When Bill was named attorney general and they moved to Washington, D.C., Jean and I found ourselves reminiscing together on more than one occasion as we shared a little bit of homesickness for California."

Born in Los Angeles on Aug. 5, 1918, Smith attended Los Angeles and Beverly Hills high schools before entering Stanford University to study Greek and Latin. She met Vaughan at Stanford, graduated in 1940 and married him two years later. After World War II service, they settled in Los Angeles, where he prospered as an auto dealer and she raised their two children.

"When I went to Stanford, you got married, and then you did volunteer work. And I ran that into the ground," she quipped in a 1984 interview with the Los Angeles Times.

Noting that she "must have always wanted to run things," she quickly rose through the ranks of the Junior League, eventually overseeing 75,000 members in the United States, Canada and Mexico.

She was married to Vaughan for 21 years, until his death in 1963. She is survived by their children, Bill of Santa Barbara, Calif., and Merry Vaughan Dunn of Ojai, Calif., and five grandchildren.

After Vaughan died, Smith worked briefly in the public affairs office at San Francisco's Mark Hopkins Hotel, where she met William French Smith. They were married in 1964.

William became Ronald Reagan's personal lawyer, confidant, business adviser and, in 1981, attorney general. Jean served on the President's Advisory Commission on White House Fellowships.

They enjoyed the Washington social scene, where Jean drew some unwelcome attention from Washington Post columnist Richard Cohen.

"The ears of Mrs. William French Smith dangle earrings that cost more than a house," Cohen wrote in a 1982 piece attacking the Reagan administration for being insensitive to the needs of ordinary citizens.

Smith fired back in a letter critical of Cohen. She said her earrings were fakes that cost about $40, just enough to buy "a small doghouse, into which he could fit."

Source: http://www.miamiherald.com/2012/01/26/2610629/jean-smith-junior-league-president.html

last of the mohicans ryan howard meteor shower 2011 meteor shower 2011 home depot center the replacements fleet week

Hispanics in focus as GOP race intensifies (AP)

JACKSONVILLE, Fla. ? More than a million Hispanic voters are the prize as Republican presidential rivals Mitt Romney and Newt Gingrich resume campaigning after a feisty, final debate before Florida's GOP primary.

Romney was the aggressor in the second debate in four days Thursday night, pressing Gingrich to apologize for an ad labeling him as anti-immigrant and calling the idea "repulsive."

Both men arranged for appearances Friday in Miami with the Hispanic Leadership Network on the day after the debate. The state has roughly 1.5 million Hispanic voters, who figure to play prominently in next Tuesday's Florida primary.

Immigration sparked the first clash Thursday night, moments after the debate opened, when Gingrich responded to a question by saying Romney was the most anti-immigrant of all four contenders on stage. "That's simply inexcusable," the former Massachusetts governor responded.

Gingrich fired back that Romney misled voters by running an ad accusing the former House speaker of once referring to Spanish as "the language of the ghetto." Gingrich claimed he was referring to a multitude of languages, not just Spanish.

Romney initially said, "I doubt it's mine," but moderator Wolf Blitzer pointed out that Romney, at the ad's conclusion, says he approved the message.

Gingrich rushed out an ad using debate footage that raised questions about Romney's credibility, including his ownership of the language-driven commercial. "If we can't trust Romney in a debate, how can we trust him in the White House," a narrator says in the Gingrich ad.

The debate was the 19th since the race for the Republican nomination began last year, and came five days before the Florida primary. Opinion polls make the race a close one, showing a slight advantage for Romney, with two other contenders, former Sen. Rick Santorum of Pennsylvania and Texas Rep. Ron Paul far behind.

Paul has already made clear his intention to skip Florida in favor of smaller, less-expensive states. And Santorum, who had been campaigning aggressively here, conceded Thursday that he's better off sitting at his own kitchen table Saturday doing his taxes instead of campaigning in a state where he simply can't keep up with the GOP front-runners.

Outside advisers are urging him to pack up in Florida completely and not spend another minute in a state where he is cruising toward a loss.

The cash-strapped Santorum seemed to be listening. He'll make a handful of Florida campaign stops early in the day, but will finish Friday with his family in Pennsylvania, where he'll spend all day Saturday before returning to Florida.

Despite the shift, Santorum stood out at times Thursday night.

While the clashes between Gingrich and Romney dominated, Santorum drew applause when he called on the front-runners to stop attacking one another and "focus on the issues."

"Can we set aside that Newt was a member of Congress ... and that Mitt Romney is a wealthy guy?" he said in a tone of exasperation.

In the days since Romney's loss in South Carolina, he has tried to seize the initiative, playing the aggressor in the Tampa debate and assailing Gingrich in campaign speeches and a TV commercial. An outside group formed to support Romney has spent more than his own campaign's millions on ads, some of them designed to stop Gingrich's campaign momentum before it is too late to deny him the nomination.

With polls suggesting his South Carolina surge is stalling, Gingrich unleashed a particularly strong attack earlier in the day, much as he lashed out in Iowa when he rose in the polls, only to be knocked back by an onslaught of ads he was unable to counter effectively.

But he struggled to find an effective attack in the debate and was more often on the defensive.

Romney pounced when the topic turned to Gingrich's proposal for a permanent American colony on the moon ? an issue of particular interest to engineers and others who live on Florida's famed Space Coast.

A career businessman before he became a politician, Romney said: "If I had a business executive come to me and say I want to spend a few hundred billion dollars to put a colony on the moon, I'd say, `You're fired.'"

Gingrich tried to raise questions about Romney's wealth and his investments. "I don't know of any American president who's had a Swiss bank account," Gingrich said.

Romney replied that his investments were in a blind trust over which he had no control. "There's nothing wrong with that," declared Romney, who has estimated his wealth at as much as $250 million.

Earlier Thursday, it was disclosed that Romney and his wife, Ann Romney, failed to list an unknown amount of investment income from a variety of sources including a Swiss bank account on financial disclosure forms filed last year. His campaign said it was working to correct the omissions.

Gingrich also failed to report income from his 2010 tax return on his financial disclosure. The former Georgia congressman will amend his disclosure to show $252,500 in salary from one of his businesses, spokesman R.C. Hammond said.

Source: http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/politics/*http%3A//news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20120127/ap_on_el_pr/us_gop_campaign

acrylamide advent calendar adobe air 2005yu55 advanced search alexander the great personhood amendment

Thursday, January 26, 2012

EU still sees chance for Israel-Palestinian talks (AP)

AMMAN, Jordan ? A low-level dialogue between Israelis and Palestinians is not at a dead end, the European Union's foreign policy chief said Thursday, hoping that contacts to get "real negotiations under way" will continue.

"I don't think there's an impasse," Ashton told reporters following talks with Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas in the Jordanian capital.

Her remarks come a day after Abbas said informal talks between Israelis and Palestinians about the border of a future Palestinian state ended without any breakthrough.

"President Abbas is thinking carefully about how to move forward," Ashton said. Abbas has said he will consult on his next moves with the Arab League in a meeting planned for Feb. 4 in Cairo.

While frustrated with the lack of progress, Abbas is under pressure to extend the Jordan-hosted exploratory talks, which the international community hopes will lead to a resumption of long-stalled formal negotiations on establishing an independent Palestinian state.

The Arab League consultation stage could leave the door open to continue the low-level meetings.

A Palestinian walkout could cost Abbas international sympathy at a time when he seeks global recognition of a state of Palestine in the West Bank, Gaza and east Jerusalem, territories Israel captured in the 1967 Mideast war.

The border issue is at the heart of the current standoff. The Palestinians want Israel to halt construction in settlements in the territories they claim, along with an Israeli commitment to make the pre-1967 war lines the basis of a future agreement.

In Jerusalem, Israeli officials said they hoped Abbas would not end the talks. An official familiar with the negotiations said that during Wednesday night's meeting, the Israelis gave their "principles" for setting a border.

"We presented the Palestinian side the central points that determine our policy on dealing with the territorial issue," the official said, speaking on condition of anonymity because he was discussing sensitive negotiations.

He refused to elaborate on what was presented, or even to term it a proposal. He said the Palestinians had requested "clarifications on a number of issues," and Israel had also asked for clarifications on some Palestinian proposals presented so far.

The official said the Israelis believe it's "very important" to continue the newly resumed talks, with the goal of forging a comprehensive peace this year.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu rules out a return to the pre-1967 war lines. He opposes any withdrawal from east Jerusalem and has signaled that he wants to retain an Israeli presence in key parts of the West Bank. Palestinians reject those positions.

Israel withdrew from Gaza, the other part of the state the Palestinians seek, in 2005.

After meeting with Abbas and Israelis in the past few days, Ashton said, "I still remain hopeful that with goodwill, they can continue to talk."

Under Jordanian mediation, Israeli and Palestinian envoys have met several times over the past month. The Quartet of international mediators ? the U.S., the U.N., the EU and Russia ? said last fall that it expected both sides to submit detailed proposals on borders and security arrangements in these meetings.

The Palestinians say that Thursday is a deadline for the proposals, while Israel says it is only in April. Ashton said the deadline was not "written in stone, but was there to give a sense of dynamic or momentum."

___

Josef Federman in Jerusalem contributed to this report.

Source: http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/europe/*http%3A//news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20120126/ap_on_re_mi_ea/ml_israel_palestinians

occupy los angeles comedian patrice o neal occupy philadelphia occupy philadelphia conrad murray conrad murray jack del rio

Country music great Haggard recovering from pneumonia (omg!)

Country music performer Merle Haggard walks the red carpet at the California Hall of Fame Induction Ceremony at the California Museum in Sacramento, California December 14, 2010.    REUTERS/Kevin Bartram

NASHVILLE, Tenn (Reuters) - Country singer Merle Haggard, who was admitted to a Georgia hospital last week after illness forced him to cancel a show, was recovering from a host of health issues discovered while he was being treated for pneumonia, his spokeswoman said on Tuesday.

Haggard was admitted to hospital on January 17, when illness forced him to cancel a show in Macon, Georgia, just moments before taking the stage. He later said that being hospitalized "probably saved my life."

The 74-year-old singer, a member of the Country Music Hall of Fame, is recovering from double-pneumonia but was also being treated for a number of serious ailments that doctors discovered while he was hospitalized.

Haggard's pneumonia is "almost completely clear, while he is recovering from three stomach ulcers, the removal of eight polyps from his colon and diverticulitis in his esophagus," which were discovered by the Macon medical staff, according to his Los Angeles-based spokesperson Tresa Redburn.

"He will be back up and running in 30 days," said Redburn, adding that Haggard would be in the hospital for "at least a few more days."

"Thanks to the wonderful people all over the world that prayed their special prayers," Redburn quoted Haggard as saying.

"I'm a new man. Another special thanks to the folks of Macon, Georgia, for their kindness, their intelligence and probably saving my life," he said.

Haggard had to cancel the remainder of his January tour and was planning on beginning his performance schedule again in late February.

With influences ranging from Lefty Frizzell to Bob Wills to Jimmie Rodgers, Haggard is an architect of country music's so-called "Bakersfield Sound." He is best known for songs like "Mama Tried," "Okie from Muskogee" and "The Fightin' Side of Me."

(Reporting By Tim Ghianni; Editing by Cynthia Johnston)

Source: http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/entertainment/*http%3A//us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/external/omg_rss/rss_omg_en/news_country_music_great_haggard_recovering_pneumonia061731044/44295994/*http%3A//omg.yahoo.com/news/country-music-great-haggard-recovering-pneumonia-061731044.html

brownback brownback salvia cybermonday deals cybermonday deals steve johnson norman reedus

President Clinton?s Former Chief Of Staff Says: ?Yes We Scan? (TCTV)

Podesta-tc_upload.mp4While the topic didn't make its way into President Obama's Sate of the Union speech last night, Mr. Obama's former transition team co-chair, John Podesta,?thinks creating a "Digital Library of Congress" comprised of "the vast holdings of the federal government" deserves executive level attention. He's calling the initiative, ?Yes We Scan? My suggestion to him: get Google to do it for free in return for a reprieve from the government's never-ending antitrust investigations. I am only half-joking.

Source: http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/Techcrunch/~3/q25HHomOBfE/

conrad murray verdict tappan zee bridge jessica chastain jessica chastain nook tablet eagles magic johnson

Wednesday, January 25, 2012

Report: Amanda Knox 'loves Italy' and might return

Elaine Thompson / AP

Amanda Knox, left, is comforted by her sister, Deanna Knox, during a news conference shortly after her return to the US on Oct. 4, 2011, in Seattle.

By msnbc.com staff

Amanda Knox "loves Italy" and would like to return despite having spent four years in a prison there before a murder conviction was overturned last year, her lawyer reportedly said.

The 24-year-old may go back to Italy as early as September because her parents are charged with slandering the Perugia police, according to?an ABC News report,?citing the Italian news service ANSA.


Carlo Dalla Vedova, one of Knox's lawyers, told ANSA that Knox "loves Italy and likes Perugia" and would like to return to the country "as a tourist, but if necessary she will return to testify in the trials against her parents," ABC News said.

The Italian appeals court that overturned the murder conviction of American student Amanda Knox is now explaining its ruling in a newly-released report. NBC's Stephanie Gosk reports.

Knox's mother and father face a prison sentence if found guilty of slandering police officers in a 2009 interview with London's Sunday Times newspaper in which they?alleged?their daughter?was physically abused and threatened while being questioned.

Knox spent four years of a 26-year sentence in a Perugia prison on charges that she killed her British roommate Meredith Kercher.

  • STORY: Amanda Knox hires attorney for possible book deal
  • ?

    Her then-boyfriend Raffaele Sollecito was also convicted. A third person, Rudy Guede, was convicted of taking part in the murder in a separate trial.

    Knox and Sollecito were cleared of the murder last year, but Knox was convicted of a separate charge of slandering her former boss by saying he was involved in the murder.

    More content from msnbc.com and NBC News

    Msnbc.com staff contributed to this report.

    Source: http://worldnews.msnbc.msn.com/_news/2012/01/25/10232054-report-amanda-knox-loves-italy-and-might-return

    shipwreck jose aldo vs chad mendes lana del rey john 3 16 alex smith 49ers broncos broncos

    Tornadoes warnings as storms cross Midwest, South (AP)

    BIRMINGHAM, Ala. ? Tornadoes were spotted in Arkansas as storms moved through parts of the South and Midwest late Sunday and early Monday, prompting reports of damaged homes and tornado warnings in some areas.

    The National Weather Service says it's received reports of damage to homes and other buildings in Alabama.

    In Arkansas, there were possible tornadoes in Arkansas, Dallas, Lonoke, Prairie and Cleveland counties Sunday night. The storms also brought hail and strong winds as they moved through parts of Arkansas, Tennessee, Illinois and Mississippi.

    Tornado warnings were in effect for parts of Tennessee, Mississippi and Alabama early Monday.

    National Weather Service forecaster Marlene Mickelson in Memphis, Tenn., told The Associated Press the Memphis area had some damage from winds that reached 60 to 70 mph.

    Source: http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/weather/*http%3A//news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20120123/ap_on_re_us/us_severe_weather

    michelle obama adam lambert arrested shroud of turin barkley beltran space ball jim mora

    Tuesday, January 24, 2012

    Video: Christie on MTP: S.C. results ?disappointing?

    A Second Take on Meeting the Press: From an up-close look at Rachel Maddow's sneakers to an in-depth look at Jon Krakauer's latest book ? it's all fair game in our "Meet the Press: Take Two" web extra. Log on Sundays to see David Gregory's post-show conversations with leading newsmakers, authors and roundtable guests. Videos are available on-demand by 12 p.m. ET on Sundays.

    Source: http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/3032608/vp/46090592#46090592

    oregon ducks oregon football lana turner donald glover julio cesar chavez jr jason segel turducken

    Monday, January 23, 2012

    Another Applied Hayek Moment (Powerlineblog)

    Share With Friends: Share on FacebookTweet ThisPost to Google-BuzzSend on GmailPost to Linked-InSubscribe to This Feed | Rss To Twitter | Politics - Top Stories Stories, RSS Feeds and Widgets via Feedzilla.

    Source: http://news.feedzilla.com/en_us/stories/politics/top-stories/190499287?client_source=feed&format=rss

    bill o brien will kopelman portland trailblazers casey anthony leann rimes dakota fanning joseph kennedy iii

    Police seek suspect in Huckabee relative's death (AP)

    ARKADELPHIA, Ark. ? Authorities in Arkansas were searching Sunday for a suspect wanted in a homicide and kidnapping case involving a distant relative of former Arkansas Gov. Mike Huckabee.

    Police issued an arrest warrant for Donald Hux after investigators found the body of Sandy Carl Huckabee at his home in Arkadelphia, which is about 70 miles southwest of Little Rock.

    Former Huckabee spokesman Jim Harris said Sandy Huckabee's father was the first cousin of former presidential hopeful Mike Huckabee's father.

    Authorities said Hux abducted his ex-wife, Amy Huckabee, and their three children in Arkadelphia before he drove to El Dorado, which is about 80 miles away. He dropped the children off somewhere in southern Arkansas' Union County, which is where El Dorado is located, the local sheriff's office said in a statement. Union County Sheriff's Capt. Clark Burton told The Associated Press the children were not hurt.

    Meanwhile, police in Arkadelphia learned about the situation and went to the Huckabee home to do a welfare check. They found Sandy Huckabee's body inside, but they had yet to find his wife, Amy Huckabee, as of Sunday evening.

    Hux is wanted on capital murder, kidnapping, burglary and firearms charges.

    He was last seen driving a tan 2005 Chevrolet extended cab truck with the license plate 487-MDZ.

    No one answered the phone at one number listed for Donald Hux in El Dorado. Another number for Donald Hux there was disconnected.

    Harris, the spokesman when Huckabee was governor, said the former Republican governor was traveling Sunday but had learned of the distant relative's death.

    Source: http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/crime/*http%3A//news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20120123/ap_on_re_us/us_huckabee_relative_killed

    missoni maker faire the hub the hub pat robertson evan rachel wood i don t know how she does it

    Sunday, January 22, 2012

    Sail boats face piracy threats, head to safe haven

    (AP) ? Boats competing in the Volvo Ocean Race were transported onboard an armed ship again to the safe haven of the Maldives capital because of the threat of pirates along the east coast of Africa.

    Dutch ship Happy Diamond was protected by barbed wire when it delivered the six-strong fleet safely to Male.

    "It has been a very tense and difficult time for us, and obviously we did not want to have to take this measure," Race CEO Knut Frostad said. "But we had no option but to take our security experts' advice. Now we're just looking forward to getting back to racing."

    In an unprecedented move the 38-year history of the race, boats in the race were transported in late December on an armed ship through the Indian Ocean. They completed the leg with a short sprint into Abu Dhabi in the first week of January.

    More than four months ago, only team and race officials knew of the decision to use the Maldives as a safe haven. They were required to sign non-disclosure documents.

    The race, which started in late October from Alicante, Spain, has already had its share of drama. The boats were forced to suspend racing four times because of broken rigging and a holed hull.

    The third leg promises to be just as hazardous with the fleet racing more than 3,000 nautical miles across the Indian Ocean, through the Malacca Strait and into the South China Sea.

    The fleet will face monsoon winds and long stretches of upwind sailing through rough seas. They'll dodge container ships while picking their way through some of the busiest shipping lanes.

    Team Telefonica of Spain, led by co-world sailors of the year Iker Martinez and Xabi Fernandez, lead the overall standings. Camper (Spain/New Zealand) and French boat Groupama trail the leader.

    Associated Press

    Source: http://hosted2.ap.org/APDEFAULT/347875155d53465d95cec892aeb06419/Article_2012-01-21-SAI-Volvo-Ocean-Race/id-48f7a1a9b2a046f8895d530b4e3e0a40

    panasonic lumix dmc lx5 ucla football taylor momsen deliverance muhammad ali pentatonix nicki minaj barbie doll

    Learn To Drive Disneyland's Monorails With Its 1966 Operator Guide [Past Perfect]

    I thought the class Homer had to take to become a monorail driver was a tongue-in-cheek look at what it takes to operate the trains of tomorrow. But glancing through this Disneyland Operator Guide from 1966, it doesn't look that difficult. More »


    Source: http://feeds.gawker.com/~r/gizmodo/full/~3/QtzfCyzufQo/learn-to-drive-disneylands-monorails-with-its-1966-operator-guide

    nfl scores nfl scores kuroda hiroki kuroda jesus montero gene hackman pineda

    Saturday, January 21, 2012

    iConvert hardware scanner for iPad coming in February

    Brookstone is set to launch an iPad specific hardware scanner in February. The scanner has been designed for the road warrior that no longer wants or needs to carry around a laptop, but needs to regularly scan documents on the go .


    Source: http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/TheIphoneBlog/~3/h_Xidvpq0lE/story01.htm

    lsat bluegrass festival cochlear implant navy football navy football 50/50 50/50

    [OOC] A Slave's Life

    Forum rules
    This forum is for OOC discussion about existing roleplays.

    Please post all "Players Wanted" threads in the Roleplayers Wanted forum!

    This topic is an Out Of Character part of the roleplay, ?A Slave's Life?. Anything posted here will also show up there.

    Topic Tags:

    Forum for completely Out of Character (OOC) discussion, based around whatever is happening In Character (IC). Discuss plans, storylines, and events; Recruit for your roleplaying game, or find a GM for your playergroup.
    This is the auto-generated OOC topic for the roleplay "A Slave's Life"

    You may edit this first post as you see fit.

    User avatar
    Delirium
    Member for 0 years



    Post a reply

    RolePlayGateway is a site built by a couple roleplayers who wanted to give a little something back to the roleplay community. The site has no intention of earning any profit, and is paid for out of their own pockets.

    If you appreciate what they do, feel free to donate your spare change to help feed them on the weekends. After selecting the amount you want to donate from the menu, you can continue by clicking on PayPal logo.

    Who is online

    Registered users: Abraxas, Agent*, Airanea, Alasund De'astio, allimagination, Ambreose*, Anansi, Andreis, Annaky, ArcticFox, Armageddon, Athra*, AutomailJunkie, AzricanRepublic*, Bashie L. Craft*, BBClock*, Beta Type Jakuri, blackwolf*, Brony Otaku*, BSDJoker*, Buddywazzizname*, ChaosxChild13, ChaoticMarin, Choclate~Pyrus, Chrome Shiny, Chulance*, CiksKayVolts*, CountessMomo, Crooked Thoughts, Cynique, dealing with it, Dr. Seuss*, Dragoon*, Draruto, Eteles*, Fallo, Fatal_Flaw_Enki, feral gale, Gintoki Sakata, girlwt*, Google [Bot], Google Adsense [Bot], Google Feedfetcher, Harlequin Smile, HeroOfAwesomeness, Hushh, Iamdeadpool, jackrules158*, Kansiov, kathrin*, KenXin, Kestrel, KrazyTigger, Lainpinky131*, Leif Cauldor, Light_of_the_Fallen, Lloyd999, LostInFantasy, Lucaris*, Magix, Marionette, Markas_Graves, Missing Link, Movintarget, MusicLover, Myst5981*, Nevan*, nightwolf, Nocte*, NorthernSoul, OdiOdi, Patcharoo*, Phoenix6000, Pichu-Chan, PirateofPie*, Pretty*, Princess Awinita*, Prose, RainWish, Rem?us*, Renmiri, RosexXxStarlight*, RubyBlue*, Ryand-Smith*, RydeDawg, Saken, Seerow, Shaodow, Shavnia_Velmount, SilverStar89, Sivermist, SkullJester, Smileybird*, Sorella*, speckles32shido, Starryskies, Stilts*, SuperQ19, supertoastgirl, sweet_peach1995, Sylwyn*, The Angry Penguin, The Illusionist*, The Painkiller, The Protagonist*, TheAngelSisters, TheDarkWorgen, Tiko*, Tom Ice, Tonks, True Grave, Tyliana, Usui*, Valerie_Nix, vampyre_smiles, ViceVersus, Wake, Walking-travesty*, wednesdaysun, WeFoundLove, Whiskey Go Dark, Whispering_Words, Wing06Twilight, wolfoftheage, Wren, Wudgeous, XianEvermor, XKanojoOokamiX, Yami Kilmore, Ylanne, Yoru-Senpai, Zentose, Zodia195, ~Tempo~, ? Reality ?

    Source: http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/RolePlayGateway/~3/uvu-ZrIk-4Y/viewtopic.php

    ayaan hirsi ali rachel uchitel strait of hormuz new years eve party ideas mars needs moms gary johnson gary johnson

    Friday, January 20, 2012

    White House briefly locked down for smoke bomb (Reuters)

    WASHINGTON (Reuters) ? The White House was locked down for more than an hour on Tuesday night as authorities investigated what appeared to be a smoke bomb tossed over the fence of the executive compound, a Secret Service spokesman said.

    The device was thrown over the fence at one point when about 1,000 to 1,500 "Occupy DC" protesters were demonstrating outside the White House, Secret Service spokesman George Ogilvie said.

    He gave the "all clear" later in the evening.

    A majority of the protesters had left the area earlier and there had been no arrests, he said.

    President Barack Obama and his wife, Michelle, went out to dinner to celebrate her birthday and were not at the White House when the incident began but returned while the investigation was under way.

    Members of the White House press pool were prevented from leaving for about 45 minutes before they were escorted off the grounds. Pennsylvania Avenue in front of the White House was also closed during the investigation.

    Demonstrators from the Occupy movement marched to the White House after earlier converging at the U.S. Capitol and congressional office buildings to protest against the influence of money on lawmakers.

    Several hundred demonstrators, some from as far as Nevada and San Diego, staged rallies and attempts to meet lawmakers as they returned from a holiday break. One demonstrator was arrested for assaulting a police officer and three others for crossing a police line, a Capitol Police spokeswoman said.

    The Occupy movement burst on the national scene in September in New York with its focus on income inequality in the United States.

    (Additional reporting by Ian Simpson and Lily Kuo; Editing by Peter Cooney)

    Source: http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/us/*http%3A//news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20120118/us_nm/us_usa_whitehouse

    cybermonday deals steve johnson norman reedus norman reedus sears office max office max

    Man guilty of killing Ga girl; body found in trash

    Ryan Brunn enters Superior Court Judge Frank Mills court at the Cherokee County Justice Center in Canton, Ga. on Tuesday, Jan 17, 2012. Brunn, 20, pleaded guilty Tuesday to several charges including murder in the Dec. 2 killing of Jorelys Rivera. He responded ?Yes, sir,? when a judge asked if he was pleading guilty to the charges. The judge accepted his plea and sentenced him to life without parole. (AP Photo/Atlanta Journal & Constitution, Phil Skinner) MARIETTA DAILY OUT; GWINNETT DAILY POST OUT

    Ryan Brunn enters Superior Court Judge Frank Mills court at the Cherokee County Justice Center in Canton, Ga. on Tuesday, Jan 17, 2012. Brunn, 20, pleaded guilty Tuesday to several charges including murder in the Dec. 2 killing of Jorelys Rivera. He responded ?Yes, sir,? when a judge asked if he was pleading guilty to the charges. The judge accepted his plea and sentenced him to life without parole. (AP Photo/Atlanta Journal & Constitution, Phil Skinner) MARIETTA DAILY OUT; GWINNETT DAILY POST OUT

    Jocelyn Rivera cries as Ryan Brunn pleas guilty in front of Superior Court Judge Frank Mills at the Cherokee County Justice Center in Canton, Ga. on Tuesday, Jan 17, 2012. Brunn, 20, pleaded guilty to several charges including murder in the Dec. 2 killing of Jorelys Rivera. He responded ?Yes, sir,? when a judge asked if he was pleading guilty to the charges. The judge accepted his plea and sentenced him to life without parole. (AP Photo/Atlanta Journal & Constitution, Phil Skinner) MARIETTA DAILY OUT; GWINNETT DAILY POST OUT

    This booking photo provided Wednesday Dec. 7, 2011, by the Cherokee Sheriff?s Department, shows Ryan Brunn,20, of Canton after his arrest for the murder in the beating death of a 7-year-old Jorelys Rivera, who was abducted and killed at an apartment complex and her body left in a trash bin. Brunn was indicted in the beating, rape and murder of a 7-year-old girl at an apartment complex in Canton on Tuesday, Jan. 10, 2012. (AP Photo/Courtesy of the Cherokee Sheriff?s Department)

    Jocelyn Rivera, left, keeps her eyes on Ryan Brunn at the Cherokee County Justice Center in Canton, Ga. on Tuesday, Jan 17, 2012. Brunn, 20, pleaded guilty to several charges including murder in the Dec. 2 killing of Jorelys Rivera. He responded ?Yes, sir,? when a judge asked if he was pleading guilty to the charges. The judge accepted his plea and sentenced him to life without parole. (AP Photo/Atlanta Journal & Constitution, Phil Skinner) MARIETTA DAILY OUT; GWINNETT DAILY POST OUT

    Jocelyn Rivera cries while sitting with family members as Ryan Brunn pleas guilty in front of Superior Court Judge Frank Mills at the Cherokee County Justice Center in Canton, Ga. on Tuesday, Jan 17, 2012. Brunn, 20, pleaded guilty to several charges including murder in the Dec. 2 killing of Jorelys Rivera. He responded ?Yes, sir,? when a judge asked if he was pleading guilty to the charges. The judge accepted his plea and sentenced him to life without parole. (AP Photo/Atlanta Journal & Constitution, Phil Skinner) MARIETTA DAILY OUT; GWINNETT DAILY POST OUT

    (AP) ? A maintenance man quietly detailed in court how he lured a 7-year-old girl into a vacant apartment, molested her, beat and stabbed her to death and stuffed her body into a trash bin. The admission Tuesday as the girl's family sobbed in the front row brought an unusually rapid conclusion to a murder case that frightened a north Georgia community just over a month ago.

    Jorelys Rivera (JOR'-ih-lees ruh-VEHR'-uh) disappeared when she left the complex's playground to head to her apartment to get sodas for her friends. Speaking softly and with little emotion, 20-year-old Ryan Brunn told a judge he used her lost roller skate to coax her into the unit in the complex where he had worked for about a month and forced her to undress in a bathtub.

    "I didn't want her to go home and tell her mom or dad on me," Brunn said. "So I cut her."

    A judge swiftly sentenced him to life in prison without parole after making him tell the packed courtroom what happened.

    "I would like to apologize for everything I've done," Brunn said, turning to the girl's family. "Lo siento," he said, which means "I'm sorry" in Spanish.

    Prosecutors read a statement from the girl's mother, Joselinne Rivera, who said she hopes he suffers as much as her family has.

    "The rest of my life I am going to feel terrible and destroyed because of the harm you did to my daughter," Rivera said in the statement. "I desire this man the worst possible of the world, and that they do to him the worst so he suffers."

    She and the family didn't comment after the hearing.

    The guilty plea to murder, child molestation and other charges spares Brunn from possibly facing the death penalty ? and Rivera's family from the prospect of an emotionally devastating trial. Law enforcement officers said the speed of the case even caught them by surprise.

    "It's not often that we get to see a monster appear in court and make a full admission. And certainly we don't get to see justice done this fast," said Vernon Keenan, the head of Georgia's Bureau of Investigation. He said Brunn showed at the hearing that he was a "sociopathic killer."

    "He has no remorse. And he deserves no sympathy," said Keenan. "He is a cold and calculated killer."

    Page Pate, an Atlanta defense attorney who has worked on murder cases, said he was surprised by the speed of the conclusion. Brunn was indicted on the charges just a week ago. He pointed to two possible reasons that led to Brunn's decision.

    "The lawyers representing him realized early on they had an uphill battle and I expect they were looking for the fastest resolution possible. Their number one objective was to save him from the death penalty," said Pate. "And the district attorney's office realized this would be a very costly trial."

    Brunn said he chose Rivera after he found her skate outside her apartment building in Canton. He snapped a photo of it and then used it on Dec. 2 to persuade the girl to follow him into a vacant unit he had earlier unlocked.

    "I thought to myself, I was going to lure her. I don't know why," he said, adding: "I asked her if it was hers. And she came."

    When they got to the apartment, he first forced her to lie on a mattress and undress, he said. When she wanted to use the bathroom, he said he followed her in there and forced her to lie on a bathtub. He said she never asked to leave, but only if she could go home when he was finished. He said he soon grew fearful of the consequences of the assault.

    "I got scared in there from what I was doing and I didn't want her to go home and tell on me," he said.

    So he bound her arms with plastic ties, stuffed her mouth with a cloth dishrag and then wrapped her face in tape, Brunn said. He said he then took a razor used for slicing carpet and slit her throat. When she struggled for a few minutes, he said he hit her about five times with the skate and then stuffed her body in a garbage bag, which he then dumped in a trash compactor.

    That night, he said, he helped search for the missing girl for about an hour, went to Wal-Mart with two friends and came home to smoke marijuana and meth. Two days later, though, he said he began "freaking out" as the search for the girl intensified.

    He said he took a McDonald's receipt from his car and scrawled a note saying the girl's body was in the trash compactor, which he taped to the device. When pressed by the judge why he did that, he responded simply: "I was high."

    Brunn insisted he never had sex with the girl, and prosecutors agreed to reduce charges against him from aggravated child molestation to child molestation. He also pleaded guilty to a range of other charges, including assault and abandonment of a dead body. He had no history of a criminal past and passed a background check to work at the complex.

    Keenan, the GBI director, said after the hearing that investigators uncovered evidence that Brunn had molested other children. He said Brunn's speedy guilty plea gives investigators a chance to delve into Brunn's pathos to uncover what makes him tick.

    "If he were on death row, we wouldn't have the opportunity to talk to him and learn and perfect our skills," he said.

    Brunn, who is being transferred to state prison, said nothing else as he was escorted from courtroom but his attorney offered brief remarks.

    "A child's life was lost and he was sentenced," said his attorney, David Cannon. "And that's the bottom line ladies and gentlemen. It's over."

    ___

    Follow Bluestein at http://www.twitter.com/bluestein

    Associated Press

    Source: http://hosted2.ap.org/APDEFAULT/386c25518f464186bf7a2ac026580ce7/Article_2012-01-17-Playground%20Abduction/id-13e227f98faa460aad23b4cf81cb05d1

    kristin cavallari world aids day 2011 chester mcglockton chester mcglockton arsenic los angeles weather big ten acc challenge

    Thursday, January 19, 2012

    Could Israel live with a nuclear Iran? A gaming exercise suggests yes. (The Christian Science Monitor)

    Tel Aviv ? Three months before the recent upsurge in tension with Tehran over its nuclear program, an Israeli think tank simulated fallout from what many here consider the unthinkable: an Iranian nuclear explosive test.

    The results of the simulation, published this week, are not the Middle East doomsday that some here have warned of.

    Rather than use the weapon to attack the Jewish state ? as many Israeli leaders fear ? the experts playing Iran leveraged the newly unveiled military power as a bargaining chip with the US and Europe. Those representing Israel played down the new threat.

    RELATED: Q&A: What's with the war talk surrounding Iran?

    "It doesn?t mean immediate war, and this can be a surprise," says Yoel Guzansky, a fellow at the Institute for National Security Studies, a think tank affiliated with Tel Aviv University. "The sky won't fall."

    The simulation reflects an effort to grapple with "the day after," a taboo scenario that many Israeli leaders have suggested should by preempted by a military strike because it would mean an intolerable situation for Israel, which is a sworn enemy of Iran and lies within range of its missiles.

    In the simulation, a role-playing exercise used to think through national security questions, Israel was played by a former national security adviser and former deputy foreign minister, while Iran was played by experts from the university and the intelligence community.

    Meir Javedanfar, an Iranian expert based in Tel Aviv, says the simulation adds to a relatively new but growing idea among Israeli experts in a society where fears of a nuclear Iran have long dominated.

    "It's becoming more acceptable that Iran acquiring a nuclear bomb will be like driving in Tel Aviv: It could be very dangerous but precautions can be taken to reduce the danger,?? says Mr. Javedanfar.

    But plenty of concerns remain. Just today, military planning division chief Maj. Gen. Amir Eshel warned of a "global nuclear jungle" if Iran acquired a nuclear weapon, an event he suggested would set off a global arms race.

    The general also said that a nuclear Iran could also deter Israel from striking at Hamas and Hezbollah.

    Escalating tensionsIn recent weeks, concerns about the standoff have heightened as Iran threatened to close the Strait of Hormuz to oil-tanker traffic and an Iranian nuclear scientist was assassinated on the streets of Tehran.

    That triggered Iranian accusations against Israel and pledges of retaliation against Israeli targets. In an apparent effort to defuse tension, Israel said on Monday that a missile-defense drill to be carried out jointly with the US planned for the coming weeks had been postponed.

    There is little if any discussion in public that Israel, an undeclared nuclear power, might be compelled to become accustomed to a situation of mutual deterrence with Iran. Statements by Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmedinejad that Israel will be wiped off the map have prompted Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and others to draw comparisons between Iran and Nazi Germany.

    However, many consider this to be an inaccurate view of the Iranian leadership. The recently resigned chief of Israel's Mossad, Meir Dagan, recently suggested that Iranian strategy is not irrational and that its leaders might be sufficiently deterred from an attack by Israel?s capability to strike back.

    'Game-changing' stepBut the results of the simulation do suggest a "game change" for the Middle East, as had been expected.  

    In the simulation, Saudi Arabia moved to acquire its own nuclear weapon. Israel considered for the first time a formal defense pact with the US, while keeping the option open of a military strike against a nuclear Tehran. Iran decided to use its new status to get economic sanctions lifted in return for a promise not to use the weapon.

    "It?s a political tool," says Mr. Guzansky. "I think that Iran is rational, although it?s a different type of rationality than ours."

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

    Source: http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/iran/*http%3A//news.yahoo.com/s/csm/20120117/wl_csm/450856

    michael jackson dead prickly pear prickly pear jcole jcole j cole j. cole