Forthcoming gigs (4 of 103 total): Fri 30th Dec: The Last Laugh at The Memorial Hall, Sheffield... Sat 31st Dec: The Grinning Idiot Comedy Club @ The Tyne Theatre, Newcastle... Mon 2nd Jan: The Stand, Newcastle... Fri 6th Jan: Crack Comedy, London... View All Gigs ?
Source: http://www.lemonrock.com/garydelaney?bgig=188387
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Just over one-half of the Iowa Republicans surveyed by Time/CNN this week said they would ?definitely support? the candidate they backed at the time of the poll. Among the remainder, opinions are still fluid?by any measure, a staggeringly high share of likely voters. A much higher percentage of voters appear to make late decisions in the caucuses than in presidential general elections: While 10 percent of voters nationwide in the fall of 2008 told exit pollsters they made up their minds in the race?s final week, 40 percent of Republican caucus-goers in Iowa that year did. Seventeen percent said they made up their mind on the day of the caucuses. ??This presents a serious challenge for the Republicans vying for votes in this year?s Iowa caucus. To make matters worse, many voters who tell pollsters they?re undecided are actually anything but?they?ve made up their mind, but for one reason or another, don?t care to share their feelings with pollsters. What?s more, studies have shown that many undecided voters don?t ever show up to vote in elections at all, making efforts to win them over doubly doomed. But the candidates do have some strategies for dealing with this squirrely segment of the electorate. Campaigns know, for instance, that undecided voters are not all the same. Here are a dozen different types of self-described undecided voters, and how the Republican presidential candidates are dealing with them in the final days before the Iowa caucus. N.B.: Some voters likely fit into more than one category.
Source: http://feeds.slate.com/click.phdo?i=85a15ae05c6bccd847feeb1ed346daa1
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Source: http://newsnewmexico.blogspot.com/2011/12/new-mexico-retail-sector-10th-best.html
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ENGLEWOOD, Colo. -- Denver Broncos head coach John Fox considers Sunday?s regular season finale against Kansas City to be a must-win game, even though the Broncos could still make the playoffs with a loss.
"My mind is much like a playoff game already. We need to win this game. That will determine our fate,? Fox told reporters at Dove Valley Monday.
The Broncos and Oakland Raiders are tied atop the AFC West with records of 8-7. However, based on NFL tiebreaker rules, only the Broncos control their own playoff hopes.
The Broncos, who have lost two straight, will clinch the AFC West with a win over the Chiefs. But they could also back into the playoffs if they lose to Kansas City and the Raiders lose in San Diego.
"Whoever shows up and executes the best Sunday is going to win. That hasn't been any different the first 15 games," said Fox.
Sunday also provides Chiefs quarterback Kyle Orton with a chance to extract revenge on his former team.
Orton was benched by the Broncos earlier in the season for Tim Tebow, later released, and then picked up by Kansas City.
Fox downplayed the coincidence.
"There's familiarity (with Orton), just like any division game, whether it's the whole team or a player."
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When 2011 began, Osama bin Laden was still alive, U.S. troops were still fighting in Iraq, and Iran could only dream about capturing our most advanced spy drone. By the end of the year -- everything had flipped upside-down. America's shadow wars grew, as its conventional conflicts shrank. Secret tech was suddenly not so secret any more. Dictators in place for decades suddenly found themselves out of jobs, thanks in no small part to Facebook. Even the ordinarily sacrosanct Pentagon budget was suddenly under fire. It was, in retrospect, a decidedly crazy, thoroughly exhausting, and utterly exhilarating year. It's hard to imagine what more could be in store for 2012.
2011 was definitely the most dangerous year ever -- if you were an al-Qaida bigwig. Most famously, Navy SEALs finally killed Osama bin Laden in May, removing from the Earth the world's most infamous terrorist and puncturing al-Qaida's most potent symbol of resilience. It was an operation that showed off just how deadly the U.S. really is. Special operations forces paired with CIA operatives, prepped with spy satellites, and equipped with the latest stealth gear. Then, less than four months later, the U.S. proved its lethality again. An American missile strike in Yemen killed al-Qaida's chief online propagandist, Anwar al-Awlaki.
No wonder al-Qaida didn't come close to bombing the U.S. at home, unlike its efforts in 2009 and 2010. Instead, it lost two of its most important figures; a treasure trove of its data; and suffered the kind of setbacks that have Washington talking about capital-V Victory.
Al-Qaida looks like it's in crisis mode now. Top government officials think it's almost a spent force. Its new leader, Ayman Zawahiri, is an uncharismatic, divisive figure. The bin Laden raid gave the U.S. access to dozens of cellphones, thumb drives and computer hard drives revealing terrorist secrets. (Also, bin Laden's porn.) The costly 9/11 Era may actually soon be a relic of the past -- if, that is, we can stop being so afraid of the terrorists who got rolled in 2011.
Photo: White House
Spencer Ackerman is Danger Room's senior reporter. Noah Shachtman tries to tell him what to do.Source: http://feeds.wired.com/~r/wired/politics/~3/EPB50imdanw/
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@sucklepig thanks for what you do! -and wish the LGB team a Merry Christmas from the JetBlue Twitter team ^MJ 
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Source: http://twitter.com/JetBlue/statuses/151030161528201216
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Source: http://www.facebook.com/muktware/posts/309696042395910
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Published: Tuesday, Dec. 27, 2011 1:28 a.m. MST
Jazz 0-0 at Lakers 0-2
STAPLES CENTER
Today, 8:30 p.m. TV: TNT
Radio: 1320 AM, 98.7 FM
Season series: first meeting
Probable Starters
Derrick Favors: 0.0 ppg, 0.0 rpg josh mcroberts: 6.0 ppg, 8.0 rpg
Gordon Hayward: 0.0 ppg, 0.0 rpg devin ebanks: 8.0 ppg, 1.0 rpg
Al Jefferson : 0.0 ppg, 0.0 rpg pau gasol: 14.0 ppg, 8.0 rpg
Raja Bell : 0.0 ppg, 0.0 rpg kobe bryant: 28.0 ppg, 7.0 rpg
Devin HARRIS: 0.0 ppg, 0.0 rpg Derek fisher: 2.0 ppg, 3.0 apg
Game Notes
This is the Jazz's season-opener, but the Lakers are playing their third game in three nights. ... Los Angeles recently traded Lamar Odom. Troy Murphy and Jason Kapono were among the team's acquisitions. ... Ron Artest officially changed his name to Metta World Peace in the offseason. ... The Jazz edged the Lakers, 86-85 on April 5, in their last Staples Center meeting after losing there the previous 17 times including regular season and playoffs.
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MEXICO CITY, Dec 26 ? Thirteen bodies were found in an abandoned truck in eastern Mexico yesterday, local media reported, as a turf war between drug cartels spreads far from the border with the United States.
The truck was found during a routine security patrol near the border between the eastern states of Veracruz, a major oil-producing region, and Tamaulipas, local media said, citing state officials.
Messages left at the site suggested the dead were killed in a rivalry between criminal gangs, local media said.
Violent drug cartels that have long menaced Mexico?s northern border with the United States have moved into states such as Veracruz as they battle rivals for control of drug routes and other criminality.
On Thursday, three American citizens were killed in Veracruz when gunmen attacked the bus in which they were travelling.
On Friday, the tortured bodies of 10 people were found in Veracruz as a turf war between the Zetas gang and Gulf drug cartels intensifies.
In September, 35 bodies were dumped along a downtown highway in the Veracruz city of Boca del Rio.
More than 45,000 people have been killed in drug violence since President Felipe Calderon took office in December 2006. ? Reuters
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Reporting from Paris?
?The French government has advised about 30,000 women to remove possibly defective breast implants, but is saying there is no proof they pose a cancer risk.
The implants, manufactured by French company Poly Implants Protheses, or PIP, contained nonmedical industrial silicone. Women with these implants have been told by the government to consider consulting their surgeons. Besides the 30,000 women in France, 40,000 women in Britain are thought to be affected, as well as tens of thousands more around the world.
French women who got the implants after reconstructive surgery will be reimbursed by the government for their medical fees to have the implants replaced. Women who got them for cosmetic reasons will not receive government reimbursement.
French Health Minister Xavier Bertrand said he was encouraging women to have the implants removed as a preventive measure but one that was not urgent.
A panel of French scientists and health experts with the National Cancer Institute said Thursday that there was "no increased risk of cancer for women with PIP implants." But it said the higher risk of the PIP implants rupturing justified the recommendation.
Nine women in France who had the implants are suffering from a rare form of cancer.
Former executives of PIP have been summoned before a judge in Marseilles to answer accusations of "aggravated falsehoods." Jacques Dallest, the Marseilles public prosecutor, said he hoped criminal proceedings could be launched within a "reasonable time."
PIP, the third-largest manufacturer of silicon implants, was closed down by French authorities in 2010 after being accused of cutting corners by fraudulently using an unapproved silicone gel in its products for almost 10 years. The nonmedical grade silicone is believed to have been designed for use in mattresses.
An estimated 2,200 French women have filed lawsuits against the company with the prosecutor's office in Marseilles.
Willsher is a special correspondent.
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AMSTERDAM ? The editor of a Dutch fashion magazine has been fired after the publication used a racial slur to refer to Barbados-born Rihanna, setting off a social media furor and prompting an outraged response from the singer.
Eva Hoeke, editor of "Jackie," and the magazine's publisher said in a joint statement on Facebook that the misuse of a racial slur ? "although without malicious intentions" ? was cause for Hoeke's departure after eight years on the job.
The slur was used in an article about how to dress your daughter like a pop star. Responding to criticism that flashed across the ocean, Hoeke said at first that her use of the term was meant as a joke.
She then put out a Twitter item with a more explicit apology, saying she learned, "1. Don't publish bad jokes in the magazine 2. Don't pretend bad jokes to be funny. Sorry guys. My bad."
On Tuesday, Rihanna responded herself via Twitter: "Your magazine is a poor representation of the evolution of human rights! I find you disrespectful, and rather desperate!!"
Rather than a positive article useful to Dutch girls, Rihanna said Jackie chose to print an item "degrading to an entire race. That's your contribution to this world!" She also ended her tweet with an indelicate phrase.
Hoeke said she was unaware the word she used was so loaded because "you hear it all the time on radio and TV."
By Wednesday, the Facebook apology had attracted hundreds of comments, many condemning Hoeke but some saying the reaction was overblown.
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Mortgage rates fall to new low for the year, but loan volume for home buyers and refinancers also drops. Historically low mortgage rates are not enough to boost demand, says Mortgage Bankers Association.
Maybe it's the holiday season. Or fear about the economy. Or expectations that rates will go even lower next year.
Skip to next paragraphWhatever it is, Americans are not taking advantage of historic low mortgage rates.
Even though rates fell to a new low for the year, fewer Americans applied for mortgages to buy homes or refinanced their existing mortgages last week, according to the Mortgage Bankers Association (MBA).?The group's composite index of loan volume fell 2.6 percent on a seasonally adjusted basis (2.8 percent on a seasonally adjusted basis). The decline in home buyers was even steeper 4.9 percent, while the refinancing index dropped 1.6 percent.
"Remarkably low rates are not enough, as many homeowners continue to hold back due to lack of equity in their properties, poor credit, and a weak job market," Michael Fratantoni, MBA's vice president of research and economics, said in a statement.
The average rates for a 30-year fixed mortgage dropped to 4.08 percent, the lowest rate of 2011, MBA reported, with 0.49 points. The average for a 15-year fixed mortgage was 3.39 percent with 0.40 points, also a new low for the year.
Will rates fall even lower next year? With turmoil in the eurozone causing investors to seek safety in US Treasury bonds (which lowers interest rates), some analysts see rates dipping a bit more in coming months.
Even if they don't reach new lows, current levels are at levels not seen since at least the 1950s. And they'll remain extremely attractive through 2012, forecasts Greg McBride, senior financial analyst for Bankrate.com, an online aggregator of financial rate information.
Source: http://rss.csmonitor.com/~r/feeds/csm/~3/0OlHVV1k_Gk/Mortgage-rates-at-record-lows.-Home-buyers-yawn
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BEIJING (Reuters) ? North Korea will shift to collective rule from a strongman dictatorship after last week's death of Kim Jong-il, although his untested young son will be at the head of the ruling coterie, a source with close ties to Pyongyang and Beijing said.
The source added that the military, which is trying to develop a nuclear arsenal, has pledged allegiance to the untested Kim Jong-un, who takes over the family dynasty that has ruled North Korea since it was founded after World War Two.
The source declined to be identified but has correctly predicted events in the past, telling Reuters about the North's first nuclear test in 2006 before it took place.
The comments are the first signal that North Korea is following a course that many analysts have anticipated -- it will be governed by a group of people for the first time since it was founded in 1948. Both Kim Jong-il and his father Kim Il-sung were all-powerful, authoritarian rulers of the isolated state.
The situation in North Korea appeared stable after the military gave its backing to Kim Jong-un, the source said.
"It's very unlikely," the source said when asked about the possibility of a military coup. "The military has pledged allegiance to Kim Jong-un."
North Korea's collective leadership will include Kim Jong-un, his uncle and the military, the source said.
Jang Song-thaek, 65, brother-in-law of Kim Jong-il and the younger Kim's uncle, is seen as the power behind the throne along with his wife Kim Kyong-hui, Kim Jong-il's sister. So too is Ri Yong-ho, the rising star of the North's military and currently its seniormost general.
The younger Kim, who is in his late 20s, has his own supporters, but is not strong enough to consolidate power, analysts said.
"I know that he's been able to build a group of supporters around himself who are of his generation," said Koh Yu-hwan, president of the Korean Association of North Korean Studies in Seoul.
"So it is not entirely elders in their 70s, plus some like Jang in their 60s, who are backing him. These young backers will be emerging fairly soon."
Koh said the coterie was put in place by Kim Jong-il before he died. "The relative calm seen these few days shows it's been effective. If things were not running smoothly, then we'd have seen a longer period of 'rule by mummy,' with Kim Jong-il being faked as still being alive."
He said the younger Kim would accept the set-up, for now. "Considering the tradition of strongarm rule by his father and grandfather, things can't be easy for him," he said.
MAKES SENSE
Ralph Cossa, an authority on North Korea and president of the U.S. thinktank Pacific Forum CSIS, said it made sense that the ruling group would stick together.
"All have a vested interest in regime survival," he said. "Their own personal safety and survival is inextricably tied to regime survival and Kim Jong-un is the manifestation of this. I think the regime will remain stable, at least in the near-term."
He added in a commentary that the new group may be inclined to reform, but stressed this was far from confirmed.
"Over the long term, there appears to be some hope, primarily emanating from Beijing, that Kim Jong-un will take North Korea down the path of Chinese-style reform, apparently based on the belief that Jang is or will be a "reformer."
"Who knows, this may be true. While this could relieve the suffering of the North Korean people over time, it will do little to promote the cause of denuclearization, however."
The high-level source also said the North Korea test-fired a missile on Monday to warn the United States not to make any moves against it. Pyongyang however had no immediate plans for further tests barring an escalation of tensions.
"With the missile test, (North) Korea wanted to deliver the message that they have the ability to protect themselves," the source said.
"But (North) Korea is unlikely to conduct a nuclear test in the near future unless provoked" by the United States and South Korea, the source said.
The unpredictable North's nuclear program has been a nagging source of tension for the international community. Pyongyang carried out nuclear tests in 2006 and 2009, and has quit six-party talks with South Korea, the United States, China, Japan and Russia on abandoning its nuclear program and returning to the Non-Proliferation Treaty.
The high-level source also said Beijing was only notified of Kim's death earlier on Monday, the same day that North Korean state television broadcast the news. Kim died on Saturday.
A leading South Korean newspaper reported on Wednesday that China learned of Kim's death soon after it occurred.
China has given no official comment or even hints suggesting it was told of Kim's death before the public announcement.
Beijing, the North's closest ally and biggest provider of aid, has pulled out the stops to support the younger Kim. The government has invited him to visit, and in an unusual gesture, President Hu Jintao and Vice-President Xi Jinping also visited the hermit state's embassy in Beijing to express their condolences. Roads leading to the embassy were blocked.
Mainly, the prospect of instability on its northeastern border worries China and it sees the younger Kim and his coterie as the best prospect for keeping North Korea on an even keel.
North Korea has been pressed by China to denuclearize and is willing to do so on condition that North and South Korea, the United States and China sign an armistice replacing a 1953 ceasefire agreement, the source said.
The two Koreas have been divided for decades and remain technically at war since their 1950-53 conflict ended with an armistice but no peace agreement. The United States backed the South, while China supported the North in that conflict.
Pyongyang also is convinced there are U.S. nuclear weapons in South Korea and demands Washington pull them out, the source said.
(Additional reporting by Jack Kim in Seoul; Editing by Raju Gopalakrishnan and Jonathan Thatcher)
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WASHINGTON ? The number of Americans who bought previously occupied homes likely rose in November. But the National Association of Realtors is also expected to release figures Wednesday showing that sales during the Great Recession were weaker than previously thought.
Sales likely increased to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 5 million last month from 4.97 million in October, according to a FactSet survey. That's still below the 6-million-a-year pace that economists say is consistent with a healthy housing market. And it's just slightly ahead of last year's sales.
The NAR will release the report at 10 a.m. Wednesday.
The trade group will also lower its national figures dating to 2007 after it announced last week that the numbers were too high.
Among the reasons for the lower figures, the Realtors group says: changes in the way the Census Bureau collects data, population shifts and some sales being counted twice. Last year's reported total sales figure of 4.91 million was the worst in 13 years.
The Realtors consulted with government and private housing experts, including the Federal Reserve, the Department of Housing and Urban Development, the Mortgage Bankers Association, the National Association of Home Builders, mortgage giants Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac and CoreLogic, a California-based data firm that first raised doubts about the annual numbers earlier this year.
CoreLogic has estimated that the Realtors group overstated sales in 2010 by at least 15 percent.
The changing numbers could affect how economists view the trade group's data. It could also affect companies that use the figures for hiring and expansion plans.
Sales are measured when buyers close on homes. But many deals are collapsing before that point. One third of Realtors said they had at least one contract scuttled in October, up from 18 percent in September.
Contracts are being cancelled for several reasons: Banks have declined mortgage applications; home inspectors have found problems; appraisals showed a home was worth less than the bid; a buyer lost a job before the closing.
More than two years after the recession officially ended, many people can't qualify for loans or meet higher down-payment requirements. Even those with excellent credit and stable jobs are holding off because they fear that home prices will keep falling. Sales are also being hurt by a decline in first-time buyers, who are critical to reviving the housing market.
Sales have fallen in four of the five years since the housing boom went bust in 2006. Declining prices and record-low mortgage rates haven't been enough to boost sales.
At the same time, home construction has begun a gradual comeback and should add to the economy's growth in 2011 for the first year since the Great Recession began in 2007. Last month, builders broke ground on an annual rate of 685,000 homes, the government said Tuesday. That was a 9.3 percent jump from October and the fastest pace since April 2010.
Most economists say home prices will keep falling, by at least 5 percent, through 2012. Many forecasts don't foresee a rebound in prices until at least 2013.
The high rate of foreclosures has made resold homes cheaper than new ones. The median price of a new home is roughly 30 percent above the price of one that's been occupied before ? twice the normal markup. Investors are taking advantage of the discounts.
The housing market is struggling even as the broader economy has improved in recent months.
The economy grew at an annual pace of 2 percent in the July-September quarter. Many economists expect slightly better growth in the October-December quarter.
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San Diego Chargers running back Ryan Mathews fumbles as he is hit by Baltimore Ravens cornerback Cary Williams during the first half of a NFL football game Sunday, Dec. 18, 2011 in San Diego. (AP Photo/Denis Poroy)
San Diego Chargers running back Ryan Mathews fumbles as he is hit by Baltimore Ravens cornerback Cary Williams during the first half of a NFL football game Sunday, Dec. 18, 2011 in San Diego. (AP Photo/Denis Poroy)
Baltimore Ravens tight end Ed Dickson pulls in a 15 yard touchdown pass against the San Diego Chargers during the first half of a NFL football game Sunday, Dec. 18, 2011 in San Diego. (AP Photo/Denis Poroy)
Baltimore Ravens quarterback Joe Flacco stands behind a wall of protection while releasing a pass against the San Diego Chargers during the first half of a NFL football game Sunday, Dec. 18, 2011 in San Diego. (AP Photo/Lenny Ignelzi )
San Diego Chargers running back Ryan Mathews races away from Baltimore Ravens defensive end Haloti Ngata during the first half of a NFL football game Sunday, Dec. 18, 2011 in San Diego. (AP Photo/Lenny Ignelzi )
San Diego Chargers quarterback Philip Rivers is drilled by Baltimore Ravens inside linebacker Jameel McClain after releasing a pass during the first half of a NFL football game Sunday, Dec. 18, 2011 in San Diego. (AP Photo/Mark J. Terrill)
SAN DIEGO (AP) ? Philip Rivers isn't going to get caught up trying to figure out what it will take for his San Diego Chargers to reach the playoffs.
He just knows that if San Diego can't win its final two games ? on the road, no less ? it's not going to matter.
Rivers threw for one score and reached the 4,000-yard mark for the fourth straight season, Ryan Mathews ran for two scores and hit 1,000 yards rushing, and the Chargers won their third straight game, beating the playoff-bound Baltimore Ravens 34-14 on Sunday night.
Unlike Joe Flacco and the Ravens, Rivers and the Chargers played as if they were postseason-bound. San Diego might not make it to the playoffs, though, because of an earlier six-game losing streak.
"The one thing that stays true in all the scenarios is, we have to win our next two games," Rivers said. "Let's just worry about us. If it's not enough on Jan. 1, it's not enough. But we're going to go down fighting."
The Chargers (7-7) are tied with Oakland for second in the AFC West, a game behind Denver with two to play. Denver and Oakland both lost on Sunday. The Chargers finish with road games against Detroit and the Raiders.
The Ravens (10-4) had their four-game winning streak snapped, but clinched a playoff berth earlier in the day thanks to losses by the New York Jets, Oakland and Tennessee.
"It's a reality check," said Baltimore linebacker Terrell Suggs, who was anything but the disruptive force that he has been in accumulating a career-high 13 sacks this season. "You don't show up to play in a game like this, you're going to get your (butt) whupped. Championship teams get on the road and keep playing ? they peak ? they don't take a step back."
Even though Ray Lewis was back with the Ravens after a four-game injury layoff, Baltimore only had two punishing hits on Rivers. Rivers was dominating, completing 17 of 23 passes for 270 yards to lead the Chargers to scores on six of their first seven possessions. He didn't throw an interception, and the only sack the Ravens got was wiped out on a personal foul against Suggs.
"It was good to win a big game like this at home against a good team," Rivers said. "It was a rough six-game stretch, but we hung tight together and fought our way back to .500 with two to play and we're still alive."
Rivers joined Peyton Manning (1999-04 and 2006-10) and former teammate Drew Brees (2006-11) as the only QBs in NFL history with at least four-straight 4,000-yard seasons.
Flacco got the treatment many thought Rivers would. Flacco was sacked five times ? three by former Ravens linebacker Antwan Barnes ? and intercepted twice. Overall, the Chargers had seven sacks, and Barnes finished with four.
Chargers coach Norv Turner said it was San Diego's most complete game this season.
"We are building on some things we have done over the last couple weeks," he said.
Turner said the Chargers have to "play as good as we can" to keep their playoff hopes alive. "That's the only thing we can control. You obviously need some luck in the situation we are in."
Mathews gained 96 yards on 23 carries, including scores of 1 and 3 yards. He's at 1,033 yards for the season.
Rivers surpassed 4,000 yards on a 21-yard completion to Malcom Floyd that set up Mathews' 3-yard TD run late in the third quarter. The drive was set up when Takeo Spikes intercepted Flacco and returned it 45 yards to the Baltimore 27. The Chargers were flagged 15 yards for excessive celebration.
"We did not play particularly well at all," Ravens coach John Harbaugh said. "I think the mistakes we made, they were able to capitalize on and turn them into points, especially early on. We're disappointed, but we're moving on."
Nick Novak, who earlier kicked a 45-yard field goal for the Chargers, had a 37-yard attempt bounce off the right upright late in the third quarter.
San Diego took the second-half kickoff and moved 80 yards, with Rivers throwing a perfect 28-yard TD pass to Floyd for a 24-7 lead.
Mathews scored on a 1-yard run and Novak kicked a 45-yard field goal to help the Chargers take a 17-7 halftime lead.
Novak became the first Chargers kicker with 11 field goals of 40 yards or longer in a season when he booted his 45-yarder for a 10-7 lead. Rivers was sacked on the drive by Cory Redding for an 8-yard loss, but Suggs was whistled for a personal foul for head-slapping tight end Randy McMichael.
Instead of a third-and-17 on their 27, the Chargers had a first down on the 50 after the 15-yard penalty.
After forcing a Ravens punt, the Chargers moved 80 yards in seven plays. Rivers pitched to Mathews for a 1-yard TD run and a 17-7 lead. The key play was Vincent Jackson's 58-yard reception, which put him over 1,000 yards for the season.
San Diego's Mike Tolbert scored on a 2-yard run on San Diego's opening drive, and Flacco's 15-yard touchdown pass to Ed Dickson tied it early in the second quarter.
NOTES: Chargers TE Antonio Gates had two catches, leaving him three shy of breaking Hall of Famer Charlie Joiner's franchise record of 586. ... San Diego linebacker Travis LaBoy hurt a knee. ... It was the first time in franchise history ? 254 games ? that Baltimore allowed a team to score on its first five drives. ... The Ravens allowed a season-high 34 points.
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AKTAU, Kazakhstan (Reuters) ? Protests in Kazakhstan's oil-producing Mangistau region, unprecedented in the Central Asian state's recent history, spread Sunday to the regional capital, where hundreds of angry protesters faced reinforced police troops.
Late Saturday, one person was killed and 11 people were wounded in a fresh clash with police in the village of Shetpe, bringing the total official death toll in the western region to 12 and the number of wounded to nearly 100.
President Nursultan Nazarbayev declared a 20-day state of emergency Saturday in the oil city of Zhanaozen, in the same region, after at least 11 people were killed there in violence that broke out Friday.
Public protests are rare in Kazakhstan, Central Asia's largest economy and biggest oil producer, where the 71-year-old Nazarbayev has overseen more than $120 billion in foreign investment during more than two decades in power, but tolerates little dissent and puts stability before democratic freedoms.
The Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe said it was worried by the confirmed death toll and urged the Kazakh authorities to use force proportionately, respect human rights and hold a transparent investigation.
Sunday morning, around 500 angry protesters gathered near the main square of Aktau, a city of 160,000 on the Caspian Sea, some 2,600 km (1,600 miles) southwest of the capital Astana.
Braving biting frost, they faced a large force of black-clad riot police holding shields, a Reuters correspondent reported from the scene. Some policemen were armed with automatic rifles.
"Take the troops out of Mangistau!" read a long banner in Kazakh held by a dozen protesters.
One protester, Sarsekesh Bairbekov, said he had been fired by oil firm Karazhanbasmunai (KBM) in May. "I worked there for 20 years. I was a welder and lost an eye," the 58-year-old told Reuters. His wage was 120,000 tenge ($810) before he was fired.
KBM is jointly owned by London-listed KazMunaiGas Exploration Production and CITIC, China's biggest state investment company.
"We want them to take away the troops," Bairbekov said, referring to the state of emergency imposed in Zhanaozen after the riots. "They killed local people," he added, still wearing maroon-and-blue KBM overalls.
Many protesters called into question the official death toll announced after the riots in Zhanaozen.
One oil worker, who declined to be named, said he had just visited a blood donor center in Aktau. "It is working round-the-clock. If only 10 people were killed, why is it working round-the-clock?" he asked.
Nurlan Mukhanov, deputy chief doctor at the Mangistau regional hospital in Aktau, said 35 wounded had been brought from Zhanaozen and another three from Shetpe.
"The majority have gunshot wounds," Mukhanov said. "We should be ready for any situation."
"KAZAKHS SHOOTING KAZAKHS"
A large group of people supporting Zhanaozen protesters stopped a train carrying more than 300 passengers Saturday, the Kazakh prosecutor-general's office said in a statement.
Most later left but some 50 "hooligans" set the diesel locomotive on fire and moved into the nearby village of Shetpe, setting the New Year tree on fire, smashing shop windows and throwing petrol bombs at police, the statement said.
"Taking into account the fact that the hooligans presented a real threat to the life and health of peaceful citizens and policemen, the latter were forced to use weapons," it said.
One of the 12 people brought to a local hospital with gunshot wounds died later, the statement said.
In Aktau, numerous splashy posters of Nazarbayev's Nur Otan ruling party dot the dusty streets with green and white painted Soviet-era apartment blocks.
"The authorities don't really know what is happening in their own home," said Ivan Rabayev, a 74-year-old retired construction worker. "Kazakhs are shooting Kazakhs."
The riots began Friday when sacked oil workers and sympathizers stormed a stage erected for an Independence Day party and smashed sound equipment in central Zhanaozen, a city of some 90,000 people.
They later set fire to the city hall, the headquarters of a local oil company, a hotel and dozens of other buildings, including trade centers and houses. They also burned cars and buses and plundered cash machines.
The clashes soured national celebrations marking the 20th anniversary of independence from the Soviet Union and unnerved a government focused on stability and economic growth.
Nazarbayev, a former steelworker who has overseen rapid market reforms but tolerates little dissent in his hydrocarbon-rich nation of 16.6 million, declared a state of emergency and a curfew in Zhanaozen until January 5.
Public protests and strikes are banned, while movement around Zhanaozen and access to and from the city is restricted.
State-controlled KazMunaiGas EP, which sacked 989 workers in Zhanaozen after staff went on strike for better pay and conditions in May, said 2,500 people were on strike at the height of the dispute. Representatives of the striking workers have put the maximum number at almost 16,000.
One sacked oilman, who declined to be named, said: "People have been on strike for seven months and the authorities are saying that hooligans and alcoholics are causing this trouble. It's all lies."
(Reporting by Robin Paxton and Dmitry Solovyov; Editing by Tim Pearce)
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David Guttenfelder / Pool via EPA, file
A building of the crippled Fukushima Dai-ichi nuclear power station as seen through a bus window in Okuma, Japan, on Nov. 12.
By NBC News and msnbc.com news services
Updated at 6:23 a.m. ET
TOKYO -- The tsunami-devastated Fukushima Dai-ichi nuclear power plant has reached a "cold shutdown" and is no longer leaking substantial amounts of radiation, Japan's prime minister?said Friday.
Prime Minister Yoshihiko Noda's announcement marks a milestone nine months after the March 11 tsunami sent three reactors at the plant into meltdowns in the worst nuclear crisis since Chernobyl.?It is a?crucial step toward lifting evacuation orders and closing the plant.
"Even if unforeseeable incidents happen, the situation is such that radiation levels on the boundary of the plant can now be maintained at a low level," Noda said. "Now that we have achieved stability in the reactors, a major concern for the nation has been resolved."
However,?experts noted that the plant remains vulnerable. Its surroundings are contaminated by radiation and closing the plant safely will take 30 or more years.
'Our battle is not over'
NBC News reported that there are still sporadic reports of leaks of contaminated water from the site.?
"There are many issues that remain," Noda added. "Our battle is not over."
Noda's?announcement means officials?can now start discussing whether to allow some evacuees to return to less-contaminated areas ? although a 12-mile zone around the plant is expected to remain off limits for years to come. The crisis displaced some 100,000 people.
A cold shutdown normally means a nuclear reactor's coolant system is at atmospheric pressure and its reactor core is at a temperature below 212 degrees Fahrenheit (100 degrees Celsius), making it impossible for a chain reaction to take place.
According to?plant operator?TEPCO, temperature gauges inside the Fukushima reactors show the pressure vessel is at around 158 degrees??F (70 C). The government also says the amount of radiation now being released around the plant is at or below 1 millisievert per year ? equivalent to the annual legal exposure limit for ordinary citizens before the crisis began.
Akira Yamaguchi, a nuclear physicist at Osaka University, said that the government's definition of cold shutdown is disputable.
"But what's most important right now is that there aren't any massive radiation leaks any more," he said.
Winter woes?
Putting longer-term issues aside, he warned that much of the backup equipment installed at the plant since the crisis began is makeshift and may break down. He said winter cold could test their strength.
Tamotsu Baba, the mayor of?evacuated Naimie town,?told a?press conference Friday that it was "hard to accept" Noda's declaration.
"We still feel a major distrust towards the government," he added.
Located 150 miles northeast of Tokyo, the plant was wrecked by a huge earthquake and a?tsunami that exceeded 45 feet in some areas, which knocked out its cooling systems, triggering meltdowns and radiation leaks.
NBC News reported that?the extraction of more than 3,000 fuel rods from the site, most likely?involving robotic cranes, is due to begin next year. High-powered water sprays will be used to decontaminate?roads and other infrastructure in nearby towns from early next month.
More from msnbc.com and NBC News:
NBC News' Arata Yamamoto, Reuters and The Associated Press contributed to this report
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IRWINDALE, Calif. ? Terrified employees hid under desks and barricaded themselves behind locked doors after a utility company office worker went on a shooting rampage, killing two co-workers and critically wounding two others before taking his own life, police said.
The shooting around 1:30 p.m. Friday at Southern California Edison offices in a business park outside Los Angeles forced a lockdown of a large office complex and nearby schools as officers from surrounding cities and the Los Angeles County Sheriff Department's SWAT team responded.
"This is one of the most horrible days in our company's history," said Edison International Chairman and CEO Ted Craver. "We are deeply saddened by today's tragic events."
A man and a woman were wounded by gunfire and were listed in critical condition at local hospitals, said Sheriff's Lt. Holly Francisco.
Three men were killed in the shooting ? two bodies were found on the scene and a third died en route to a hospital. Four of the shooting victims were company employees and the fifth was a contract worker.
"As far as we know there was one shooting suspect, period," Baldwin Park police Capt. Michael Taylor said.
Craver was careful not to provide identifying details for the victims, saying the company was still working to contact family members.
There was no immediate word on what prompted the gunfire.
Police could not confirm media reports that at least two of the targeted victims were believed to be company managers.
No gunfire was exchanged after officers arrived.
In the hours after the shooting, police cars, ambulances and fire trucks surrounded the building, and dozens of workers emerged with their hands over their heads.
The complex is surrounded by a fence and patrolled by a security guard. Employees need a security card to get into the building, said Gil Alexander, a spokesman for Southern California Edison. About 230 employees work in the building where the shooting took place, and about 1,100 employees work in the complex.
The utility's office is in a complex of buildings that also includes a business called California Lighting Sales.
Cindy Gutierrez, the controller for that company, said employees there didn't hear gunshots and didn't realize anything was amiss until building management announced over the intercom that everyone should stay indoors.
Two nearby schools were locked for about two hours after the shooting and no one on the campuses was hurt.
Irwindale is a small industrial city of about 1,400 residents in the San Gabriel Valley, 22 miles east of downtown Los Angeles. It is home to the Irwindale Speedway auto racetrack and large rock and gravel quarries.
Southern California Edison is one of its largest companies, employing 2,100 people.
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San Francisco-based?Liftopia, an online retailer of lift tickets and mountain resort?activities, is launching its iPhone app today. The app's title is quite the mouthful: "Liftopia Ski Reports, Snow Conditions and Ultimate Lift Ticket Deal Engine App." Whoa! So there's the news, I guess - it's all in the app's name. Oh you want more info? OK.Source: http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/Techcrunch/~3/0EB83TmIXu8/
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This Dec. 8, 2011 satellite image provided by the the DigitalGlobe Analysis Center shows the Chinese aircraft carrier Varyag sailing in the Yellow Sea, approximately 100 kilometers south-southeast of the port of Dalian, China. (AP Photo/DigitalGlobe) MANDATORY CREDIT
This Dec. 8, 2011 satellite image provided by the the DigitalGlobe Analysis Center shows the Chinese aircraft carrier Varyag sailing in the Yellow Sea, approximately 100 kilometers south-southeast of the port of Dalian, China. (AP Photo/DigitalGlobe) MANDATORY CREDIT
FILE - In this April 17, 2011 file photo, China's first aircraft carrier, the former "Varyag" of Ukraine, is under restoration in a shipyard in Dalian in northeastern China's Liaoning province. The commercial U.S. satellite company DigitalGlobe Inc. said Wednesday, Dec. 14, 2011 that one of its satellites captured a photo of "Vayag" on Dec. 8 in the Yellow Sea off the Chinese coast. The aircraft carrier has generated intense international interest because of what it might portend about China's intentions as a military power. China has said the carrier is intended for research and training. (AP Photo, File) CHINA OUT
DENVER (AP) ? A commercial U.S. satellite company said Wednesday it has captured a photo of China's first aircraft carrier in the Yellow Sea off the Chinese coast.
The aircraft carrier has generated intense international interest because of what it might signal about China's intentions as a military power. China has said the carrier is intended for research and training, which has led to speculation that it plans to build more.
DigitalGlobe Inc. said one of its satellites photographed the carrier on Dec. 8. A DigitalGlobe analyst found the image on Tuesday while searching through photos.
Stephen Wood, director of DigitalGlobe's analysis center, said he's confident the ship is the Chinese carrier because of the location and date of the photo. The carrier was on its second round of sea trials at the time.
A Pentagon spokesman didn't immediately respond to a request for comment.
DigitalGlobe, based in Colorado, sells satellite imagery and analysis to clients that include the U.S. military, emergency response agencies and private companies. DigitalGlobe has three orbiting satellites and a fourth is under construction.
The former Soviet Union started building the carrier, which it called the Varyag, but never finished it. When the Soviet Union collapsed, the carrier ended up in the hands of the Ukraine, a former Soviet republic.
China bought the ship from the Ukraine in 1998 and spent years refurbishing it. It had no engines, weaponry or navigation systems when China acquired it.
Beijing is believed to be years away from being able to launch and recover aircraft from it as part of a carrier battle group.
___
Follow Dan Elliott at http://twitter.com/DanElliottAP
___
Online: http://www.digitalglobe.com
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What's changed around here?
Source: http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/RolePlayGateway/~3/d7hv0uNvatQ/viewtopic.php
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This week on home video, we've got a handful of big releases that came out earlier this year; while a couple of them did surprisingly well, a couple of them fell far below expectations, and another one pretty much turned out the way we all thought it would. First up is the Emma Stone and Viola Davis-powered drama about race relations, followed by a sci-fi genre mash-up that should have been better than it was. Then, we've got a children's film starring Jim Carrey, a smart retro spy thriller, and the sequel to a wildly popular comedy from a couple years back. In the reissue department, we've got a new Criterion Blu-ray for a Hitchcock classic, a popular franchise box set, and a Blu-ray for an historical WWII epic. See below for the full list!
Source: http://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/1924080/news/1924080/
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Bradley Cooper admits Ryan Gosling is one of the reasons he doesn?t feel like People?s Sexiest Man Alive.
?There was such a backlash to when they announced it and Ryan Gosling, who I love and I just did a movie with him ? he?s the greatest ? but we were both in Paris this last week and a friend of mine showed me ? photographs from the paparazzi ? and when I say friend, I mean me, alone in my room, looking at the computer. And it?s like him walking around and he literally looks like he?s in a photoshoot, like he just came off the runway, like the pea coat is like this with the scarf,? Bradley recounted on ?The Graham Norton Show? in the UK over the weekend. ?There are ones of me, and I literally look like the neighbor who never really comes out of his house, and when he does, you?re like, ?Maybe you should just stay in.? We don?t know what he does in there. So it?s been interesting.?
VIEW THE PHOTOS: Big Screen Hunk Ryan Gosling
Bradley jokingly called being named the Sexiest Man, ?the worst,? adding, ?it?s just so awful.?
He also revealed the title has made him rethink every day activities.
VIEW THE PHOTOS: Bradley Cooper: Hollywood?s ?Hangover? Heartthrob!
?I?m finally at an age ? I?m 36 years old ? where I really don?t care about anything like that anymore, which is a wonderful thing and then this happened and then I started to realize just how not sexy I am,? he said.
?I have a lot of moments where [I?m] walking out and I?ll open up the door [and think to myself], ?I could do that a lot sexier,?? he laughed.
In related news, Bradley, who was promoting the UK DVD release of ?The Hangover Part II,? said he expects to start shooting the third installment in the film franchise next fall.
VIEW THE PHOTOS: Young Hollywood Heartthrobs!
?I personally want to do it. I hope we?re gonna start shooting in September. [Director, co-writer] Todd Phillips is working on the script,? Bradley said.
The actor also noted the film will likely diverge from the first two vacation-buddy comedies.
VIEW THE PHOTOS: Big Screen Gentlemen: Hollywood?s Leading Men
?I think it?ll take place in Los Angeles and maybe not adhere to the structure. It might be different,? he explained.
Copyright 2011 by NBC. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.
Source: http://today.msnbc.msn.com/id/45556816/ns/today-entertainment/
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WASHINGTON ? NASA has found a new planet outside our solar system that's eerily similar to Earth in key aspects.
Scientists say the temperature on the surface of the planet is about a comfy 72 degrees. Its star could almost be a twin of our sun. It likely has water and land.
It was found in the middle of the habitable zone, making it the best potential target for life yet.
The discovery announced Monday was made by NASA's Kepler planet-hunting telescope. This is the first time Kepler confirmed a planet outside our solar system in the not-too-hot, not-too-cold habitable zone.
Twice before astronomers have announced a planet found in that zone, but neither was as promising. One was later disputed; the other is on the hot edge of the zone.
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COMMENTARY | Taking a cue from the Occupy Wall Street movement, Saturday became Occupy the Climate in several cities around the globe. Officially named the Global Day of Action on Climate Change, protests coincided with the United Nations Conference of the Parties being held in Durban, South Africa. Unfortunately, the message of the protests became muddled amid the usual Occupy Wall Street agenda.
Gathering and Protesting
Protests were held around the globe with many participants blending Occupy Wall Street and Occupy the Climate. In London, a Climate Justice March and rally attracted several hundred protesters. In Boston, a similar number of people came together to show their concern about climate change. The Occupy Los Angeles movement was joined by groups of people voicing their anger about pollution and climate issues.
As the marches and rallies spread, I think it was difficult to distinguish between the Occupy Wall Street and Occupy the Climate movements. It seems that some of the protesters were also confused by the two groups. The protests were a mishmash of ideas and banners that did not produce any real results.
Outcomes
The protests were designed to coincide with the United Nations climate talks. The Conference of the Parties is expected to last through Friday, but activists felt it was better to hold the Global Day of Action on Climate Change after the conclusion of the first week of the talks. Although the global protests may not extend beyond Saturday, the protests in Durban have been ongoing and are expected to continue.
Will the protests lead to any real change? Demonstrations have been held at all the previous COP meetings without producing significant results. While some countries are urging action and concrete plans, the debate over the Kyoto Protocol continues to be the center of attention. Unfortunately, this year's Global Day of Action on Climate Change may be even less beneficial to furthering the protesters' agenda because of the difficulty many are having distinguishing it from Occupy Wall Street. The message for climate change action is being lost amid the cries of anger over the 1 percent and the plight of the 99 percent.
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