In up and down year for cable news, Fox dominates (AP)

NEW YORK ? It was a good year in the ratings for cable news networks. Or a rough one. It depends on your perspective.

Fox News Channel continued its dominance, with an average viewership that exceeded CNN and MSNBC combined in prime time and for the entire day, the Nielsen ratings company said Wednesday. Fox typically had 1.87 million viewers in prime time this year. The top 13 programs in cable news all aired on Fox.

Yet Fox was alone among the cable news networks in losing viewers ? down 8 percent in prime time and 5 percent for the full day, Nielsen said. The 2010 midterm election year was particularly engaging for Republicans, who make up a big part of Fox's audience.

CNN was up 17 percent in prime-time viewership with a revamped lineup that includes a double dose of Anderson Cooper and Piers Morgan replacing Larry King. CNN is third behind Fox and MSNBC in prime time but second for the day as a whole.

CNN's rivals acknowledge its gains but are quick to point out that last year represented CNN's worst year ever in the ratings.

MSNBC can take pride in surviving the exit of its most popular prime time personality, Keith Olbermann, who defected to Current. The network is up 2 percent over last year in its prime-time average, Nielsen said.

However, MSNBC is down 11 percent for the 8 p.m. time slot, which Olbermann occupied. Along with the continued popularity of Rachel Maddow at 9 p.m., MSNBC is showing rating gains at 10 p.m. because it replaced the Olbermann rerun that used to air at that time with an original show, currently hosted by Lawrence O'Donnell.

HLN, the former CNN Headline News, is up 20 percent over last year, with its popular blanket coverage of Casey Anthony's trial a big factor.

NBC had a rare win in the prime time rankings, with its Sunday night football programming leading the way.

During Christmas week, NBC averaged 7.2 million viewers in prime time (4.0 rating, 7 share). A ratings point represents 1,147,000 households, or 1 percent of the nation's estimated 114.7 million TV homes; the share is the percentage of in-use televisions tuned to a given show.

CBS was second with 6.9 million viewers (4.4 rating, 8 share). When a network has a higher rating despite having a smaller audience, as CBS did, it indicates that more people were watching the network alone. NBC had more cases of several people gathered around the TV ? probably watching its Sunday night football game.

Fox had 5.5 million (3.2, 6), ABC had 4.4 million (2.6, 5), Ion Television had 1.1 million (0.7, 1) and the CW had 960,000 (0.6, 1).

Among the Spanish-language networks, Univision led with 3.3 million viewers (1.6, 3), Telemundo had 1.3 million (0.7, 1), TeleFutura had 450,000 (0.2, 0), Estrella had 220,000 (0.1, 0) and Azteca had 160,000 (also 0.1, 0).

NBC's "Nightly News" topped the evening newscasts with an average of 8.6 million viewers (5.6, 11). ABC's "World News" was second with 8.2 million (5.4, 10), and the "CBS Evening News" had 6.4 million viewers (4.3, 8).

For the week of Dec. 19-25, the top 10 shows, their networks and viewerships: NFL Football: Chicago at Green Bay, NBC, 24.02 million; "Sunday Night NFL Pre-Kick," NBC, 18.67 million; "Football Night in America," NBC, 14.73 million; "The X-Factor" (Thursday), Fox, 12.59 million; "NCIS," CBS, 12.37 million; "NCIS: Los Angeles," CBS, 11.43 million; "The X-Factor" (Wednesday), Fox, 11.23 million; "The Big Bang Theory," CBS, 9.28 million; "The Mentalist," CBS, 8.47 million; "Person of Interest," CBS, 8.14 million.

___

ABC is owned by The Walt Disney Co. CBS is owned by CBS Corp. CW is a joint venture of Warner Bros. Entertainment and CBS Corp. Fox is a unit of News Corp. NBC and Telemundo are owned by Comcast Corp. ION Television is owned by ION Media Networks. TeleFutura is a division of Univision. Azteca America is a wholly owned subsidiary of TV Azteca S.A. de C.V.

___

Online:

http://www.nielsen.com

Source: http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/tv/*http%3A//news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20111229/ap_en_tv/us_nielsens

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Fire destroys church building in Townsend

TOWNSEND, Mass. -- A religious education center in Townsend was destroyed by a fire on Thursday evening.

"Upon arrival we had heavy fire showing from a garage and a truck,? said Chief Donald Klein of the Townsend Fire Department.

Fire officials say the fire may have started in the garage of the home next door and spread to a religious building, where children at St. Johns Catholic Church have Sunday school.

Firefighters were able to salvage the home, but the fire destroyed the religious education center.

"It?s a beautiful building,? said Father Phillip Conroy.

Father Phillip Conroy, a retired priest, was filling-in until?a new pastor comes this weekend.

"We?re going to welcome him to the burnt building here," Father Conroy said.

Father Conroy lives in the neighborhood. When he saw the building up in flames, Father Conroy?said he was?"?shocked - shocked and saddened.?

The building is a total loss.

"They?ll have to do something. They need a place to educate the children,? said Father Conroy.

As Father Conroy watched the firefighters go inside the building, "I pray for them, I know they?re very competent. I have a nephew who?s a firefighter in Cambridge and I'm very proud of him,? he said.

Eight fire departments responded to the fire on Thursday.

There were no reports of injuries. Fire officials say they are still investigating the cause of the fire.

(Copyright (c) 2011 Sunbeam Television Corp. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.)

Source: http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/45821860/ns/local_news-boston_ma/

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College Sues Obama Admin Over Morning After Pill Mandate

by Kristen Walker | Washington, DC | LifeNews.com | 12/28/11 5:43 PM

The Washington Times reported Thursday that Colorado Christian College is suing the Obama administration.

If you?re thinking to yourself, ?Self, if someone?s suing the Obama administration it?s probably because of health care,? well, you?re right. Last year, Kathleen Sebelius, the Secretary of Health and Human Services, issued a mandate as part of the health care reform bill requiring businesses to pay for Plan B and ella, two ?emergency? contraceptives.

Insurers will be required to provide these medications ? which can be used to cause abortions ? without a co-pay. In layman?s terms, they would be free.

But you and I know nothing is free. Who pays for that abortion pill? The taxpayer. In other words: you.

Although medical literature states these drugs will not terminate an ?established? pregnancy, they don?t tell you exactly what ?established? means. The drug information for both Plan B and ella states that they can stop or delay ovulation, or they can keep a fertilized egg from attaching to the uterine wall.

When used effectively as an emergency contraceptive, it is obviously too late for the drug to keep a woman from ovulating. The woman takes the drug in that case to keep a fertilized egg ? which is to say, a zygote; which is to say, a living human being ? from implanting in the uterus. This is, quite simply, a very early abortion.

Colorado Christian College is suing on the grounds that this mandate violates freedom of speech and religion. There are still a few exceptions being made for religious objections, but the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops and other organizations ? such as Colorado Christian College ? are saying the exemptions are not broad enough.

This week the USCCB ran a full-page ad in the New York Times and the Washington Post condemning the mandate. ?As written, the rule will force Catholic organizations that play a vital role in providing health care and other needed services either to violate their conscience or severely curtail those services,? the ad said. ?This would harm both religious freedom and access to health care.?

Discussing this with someone, I heard an argument I often hear: ?Well, you don?t get to choose where your tax money goes.?

I have two answers to that argument. First: well, we do get to choose. By voting. Except we the people did not get to vote on abortion. The Supreme Court discovered a right to abortion in the Constitution one day. ?Oh, hey, look! There it is!?

Second: so we don?t all get to order where our taxes go, a la carte. It would be pretty cool if you could fill in a little form and say, ?I want my money to only go to schools and roads, not to pay grants to ?artists? who submerge sharks in formaldehyde and call it ?Untitled No. 3: Man?s Existential Dilemma? so they can get invited to parties in SoHo.? It doesn?t work that way. We pay taxes and the government spends our money however they want.

But wait a second! We?re supposed to be in charge of the government and how it spends our money. In theory, they work for us.

So where do we draw the line? Here?s a hypothetical: we all wake up tomorrow and the President or the Speaker of the House comes on TV and says, ?Good morning, my fellow Americans. We?ve decided that 80% of all tax revenues will be spent building a giant machine that will find and murder all the world?s puppies.? Couldn?t we object to ? and stop ? our tax dollars being spent on a puppy-killing machine?

Or let?s say a government representative came on TV and said, ?From now on, some of your money is going to be spent to pay for other people?s abortions, and if you refuse, you?ll be fined.? That is exactly what?s happening.

All pro-lifers should be educated about these so-called ?abortion pills.? Our whole argument ? our entire cause ? is based on the simple, scientific fact that a unique, priceless human life begins at the moment of conception. If this is true ? and it is ? Plan B or ella, when used effectively as an emergency contraceptive, is every bit as responsible for the death of a living person as an abortionist.

Can we, as members of a free society, require people to participate ? financially or otherwise ? in an act they believe is wrong? This issue is different from one of, say, national defense, where Congress has the Constitutional authority to act as they see fit on behalf of the nation. This is the case of a private individual committing what I believe to be murder, and expecting me to foot the bill.

What do you think? Does Colorado Christian College have a case? Do you have a problem paying for other people?s abortions, whether caused by a pill or surgically?

LifeNews.com Note: Kristen Walker is Vice President of New Wave Feminists.This post originally appeared at the Live Action blog and is reprinted with permission.

Source: http://www.lifenews.com/2011/12/28/college-sues-obama-admin-over-morning-after-pill-mandate/

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Wall Street tumbles sharply on European jitters

By Associated Press

NEW YORK ? Stocks fell Wednesday after Europe's central bank reported that its overnight deposits hit another record, the latest indication of worry among European lenders.

The European Central Bank said the continent's banks parked a record $590.72 billion with it overnight. That means those banks are less willing to take the risk of making short-term loans to each other, opting instead to earn low interest rates from the ECB. The disclosure also hurt the euro, which fell over 1 percent against the dollar, to $1.29.

The worrying news from the ECB overshadowed two successful auctions of Italian government debt. Italy was able to pay much lower borrowing rates than it did in auctions last month. The strong demand from investors raised hopes that Italy would be able to avoid sinking into a financial crisis, as smaller countries like Greece and Portugal have.

John Merrill, chief investment officer at Tanglewood Wealth Management, said markets would remain vulnerable to flare-ups in Europe's long-running financial crisis until leaders there come up with more convincing solutions for paying down their enormous debt loads and keeping the 17-nation currency union intact.

"We live in a Band-Aid world," Merrill said. "Nobody really is addressing underlying issues."

European leaders agreed at a summit Dec. 9 to forge closer fiscal ties over the long term, but investors are still worried that Greece might default on its debt or be forced to leave the euro bloc. A Greek exit from the currency union would likely cause huge disruptions for the country's economy and losses for European banks that hold Greek government debt. Investors fear that could cascade into another global financial panic, as happened in 2008 following the collapse of the U.S. investment bank Lehman Brothers.

According to preliminary calculations, the Dow Jones industrial average fell 137.82 points, or?1.12 percent, to 12,153.53. Materials and energy companies were leading the declines. Alcoa Inc. fell 2.7 percent and Caterpillar Inc. fell 1.8 percent. AT&T Inc. edged up 0.1 percent, was the only one of the 30 stocks in the Dow average that rose.

Trading was very quiet in a holiday-shortened week. Markets were closed Monday in observance of Christmas. The Dow closed 2 points lower Tuesday.

The S&P 500 fell?15.65 points, or?1.24 percent, to 1,249.78. It was the first decline for the S&P index after five days of gains, and turned the index negative for the year. The Nasdaq composite declined?24.84 points, or 1.33?percent, to 2,590.36.

The Bank of Italy raised $11.8 billion in two bond auctions, reflecting investor approval of the country's recently passed austerity measures. The yield on Italy's six-month bill offering was half the interest rate the country paid in a similar auction last month. The yield on the country's 10-year bond remained dangerously high, however, at 6.93 percent. It had risen to 7 percent Tuesday, a level that is considered unsustainable.

Italy is the euro zone's third-largest economy and is considered too big to save under the euro zone's current bailout funds. Investors have grown fearful over the past few months that Italy will find it difficult to pay off its massive debts, which stand at around $2.5 trillion.

The worries were reflected in U.S. bank stocks. Bank of America Corp. fell 3 percent, while Regions Financial Corp. fell 3 percent.

In other corporate news:

• Sandridge Energy Inc. stock is down over 3 percent on news that it is selling drilling rights in two states to a Spanish energy company, Repsol YPF.
• Cavium Inc. fell 2 percent, a day after the chipmaker said its fourth-quarter results will fall below its previous forecast.

?

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

Source: http://bottomline.msnbc.msn.com/_news/2011/12/28/9777467-wall-street-tumbles-sharply-on-european-jitters

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Gabe Zichermann: Why I'm Glad You're Gone

New York around Christmas is a pretty quiet place. In this city of fierce individualists, where millions come to seek their fortune precisely because it's not the small, shitty town they grew up in, the late December exodus can catch a newbie by surprise. You can practically bowl down Manhattan's avenues, get any table you want at the best restaurants, and suddenly, unexpectedly, you actually need to call ahead to see if places are open.

So it's funny to see all these Type-A New Yorkers who wouldn't be caught dead in their hometowns the rest of the year send back pics of shotgun-shell wreaths on Facebook and ironic food store signs on Twitter. The messages of peace, love, and family are both sweet and poignant for those of us who don't celebrate the holiday or can't afford to go "home."

But the absence of most of my friends from the city this past weekend belies another, more important story. Behind all the warm, fuzzy posts, cute photos of Christmas sweaters, and outrageously giant meals, there is a minor miracle: we can go home.

It wasn't long ago that gay men and lesbians fled their small, shitty towns to New York and San Francisco because they couldn't live there anymore. Not safely, not openly, not holistically, anyway. Just like the character in that Bronski Beat song that featured so prominently in my adolescence, they boarded a train, bus, plane, or car and headed to the big city, hoping to find people like them -- hoping to be themselves.

For many, the journey was understood to be one-way. Once we left, broke the bonds of small community, came out of the closet, made our lives and friends, and nested here in the big city, we could never go back. Not to the closed-minded parents or high school friends that wouldn't understand. Not to the old man to whom you delivered papers up the street, or to your school principal, or to your first crush from all those years ago. Seeing them, living their lives, having to explain everything, to relate -- well that's best left for Facebook.

Imagine coming back, with that boyfriend (or girlfriend) in tow, awkwardly negotiating sleeping arrangements with Mom and Dad. Fighting over politics, religion, freedom, and what is good for the country's morality. Eating entirely too unsophisticated food, feeling sickly full, and forced to watch a game, or parade, or -- worse yet -- join an old-time outing with your old man.

For millions of us, this remained an unthinkable reality, no matter how much we yearned for the (dis)comforts of home. We took that one-way ticket to the city, made a life there, never looked back. But things change. There are still too many young LGBT people who are estranged from their families, and many more who still don't feel comfortable. But quietly, confidently -- and in the most banal of ways -- a revolution is occuring.

This past weekend, millions negotiated the small awkwardness of family. Learning how two grown men can sleep on a twin bed -- in Star Wars sheets. That maybe Mom's casseroles won't be featured on the Cooking Channel, but your girlfriend likes them. And maybe that you can teach your dad how to use Skype and introduce your grandmother to your partner with ease, and meet your high-school sweetheart and his boyfriend for a drink at the local coffeehouse.

Things are changing in non-New-York America. It takes a provincial courage -- and the cumulative struggle of those before you -- to make this possible. And though the airport lines may have been hellish, the flights expensive, the family cloying, and there was still nothing to do, the weekend went by faster than you wanted it to. As you bask in the afterglow of that familiar, weird energy, remember those who still can't go home, and all those who never made it. Be grateful for your amazing, open-hearted family, and for your own personal strength, and let that warm you on the freezing cold flight home.

While I may not share your Christmas tradition and miss all my friends this holiday season, let me say from the bottom of my heart that I'm genuinely glad you're gone.

Merry Christmas.

?

Follow Gabe Zichermann on Twitter: www.twitter.com/gzicherm

Source: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/gabe-zichermann/why-im-glad-youre-gone_b_1168745.html

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Texas hopes to extend Mack Brown

Posted by Tom Fornelli

It's becoming somewhat of a December tradition. Texas has a disappointing season and then the rumors of Mack Brown retiring begin. Those rumors have been put to rest by anyone at Texas whom you might ask about them, but it seems athletic director DeLoss Dodds wants to do something that will really put an end to the retirement rumors.

Dodds is hoping to give Mack Brown a contract extension.

?I?m just tired of all the conversations (about Brown?s retirement),? Dodds told the Austin American-Statesman. ?Continuity is of the essence. It?s more about stability than anything else.?Mack?s comfortable with what he?s doing right now. I think he?s very comfortable. He?s enjoying it. I?ve been around him 14 years, and he seems to be into it. Everything I know points to him being happy and wanting to do it for a while.?

Dodds wouldn't go into how long of an extension it would be, but Brown's current contract runs through the 2016 season and pays him $5.2 million annually. Dodds did say that there are no plans to give Brown a raise on his current salary, though considering he's already one of the highest paid coaches in the country, that's understandable.

As for when Brown would get his extension, Texas regents won't discuss the extension until the next time they're together, and that won't be until February. Which is after signing day, so expect the retirement rumors to continue until then.

Source: http://www.cbssports.com/mcc/blogs/entry/24156338/34061721?source=rss_teams_Texas_Longhorns

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ENERGY: State panel to revisit Gorge wind farm proposal

Vancouver Two months after it recommended scaling back the project, Washington?s Energy Facility Site Evaluation Council on Tuesday will weigh in for a final time on a proposed wind farm near the Columbia River Gorge in Skamania County.

EFSEC members met last week for an update on the Whistling Ridge Energy Project. They?ll convene again at 10 a.m. Tuesday for a special meeting to consider numerous legal arguments and responses filed since October. The council is then scheduled to cast its final vote on the matter.

?The EFSEC process ends on the 27th,? said EFSEC manager Al Wright. ?Then it?s up to the governor.?

Wright stressed that the council?s vote is only a recommendation. The project?s fate ultimately rests with Gov. Chris Gregoire, who will have 60 days to make her decision once EFSEC gives its final recommendation.

On Oct. 6, EFSEC called for a scaled-back version of the project that would reduce the number of wind turbines from 50 to 35 ? largely to protect views in the Columbia River Gorge National Scenic Area. The decision drew objections from both project developer Whistling Ridge Energy and opponents, though for very different reasons.

In a legal petition asking for reconsideration, Whistling Ridge argued that eliminating 15 turbines from the proposal effectively ?kills the project.?

The farm wouldn?t be economically viable in a scaled-back form, the petition argued. It also wouldn?t be feasible to simply squeeze larger turbines into the project area and reach the original intended capacity of 75 megawatts, the developer said.

Whistling Ridge officials urged the council to reconsider the decision based on what they called a ?subjective? reason.

A Skamania and Klickitat county economic development organization also sided with Whistling Ridge, citing the economic boost and tax revenue that could come from the project.

Impact on wildlife

Three advocacy groups ? Save Our Scenic Area, Friends of the Columbia River Gorge, and the Seattle Audubon Society ? took the opposite stance. They argued in petitions that the council?s decision didn?t go far enough, with some calling for a denial of the entire project. In addition to obstructed views, environmental advocates have pointed to the potential impact on wildlife habitat as a major reason to reconsider.

The project area is located just north of the Gorge scenic area boundary, near the city of Underwood. Developers filed the application in 2009.

Tuesday?s EFSEC meeting will begin at 10 a.m. in the state Utilities and Transportation Commission Building, 1300 S. Evergreen Park Drive in Olympia. Anyone can attend, but the council won?t accept public comments.

Similar stories:

• Wind power fans should

  admit green's not their color

  Wind power fans should

  admit green's not their color

  Wind energy promoters and enablers are finally waking up to the possibility that the public knows there may be adverse effects from wind power.

  That puts them about 25 years behind the rest of the country, at least that part of the country that does not fall to its knees when the word "green" is attached to a concept, no matter how inaccurately.

  Birds might die! That's what the pro-wind farm folks now admit.

• Energy Northwest cancels first large-scale project on state's west side

  Energy Northwest cancels first large-scale project on state's west side

  Energy Northwest and four southwest Washington utilities have canceled the Radar Ridge wind power project, which had been proposed as the first major wind farm in Western Washington.

  Energy Northwest of Richland announced the decision Wednesday at a board meeting in Portland. About $4 million had been spent on the proposed project since 2007, about half of that from Energy Northwest.

  New restrictions proposed for the project by U.S. Fish and Wildlife were unreasonable, said Jack Baker, Energy Northwest vice president for energy business services.

• Energy Northwest makes wise choice on Radar Ridge

  Energy Northwest makes wise choice on Radar Ridge

  We won't feign disappointment that Energy Northwest has canceled its Radar Ridge wind power project.

  Some might have gotten perverse satisfaction that the west side of the Cascades was to get a dose of the visual blight that wind power generators bring.

  But frankly, we feel Western Washington is entirely too beautiful to be subjected to those spinning giants.

• State mulls rules on wind farming

  State mulls rules on wind farming

  OLYMPIA -- Power generated by Northwest wind turbines will likely double in the next two years, but some energy officials are worried the negative effects have not been properly assessed and understood.

  The number of wind turbines in the state, such as those dotting the horizon of the Horse Heaven Hills south of Kennewick to Walla Walla, has boomed in the past seven years, with 2,100 now in operation, according to the Northwest Power and Conservation Council.

  Washington does not require regulatory agencies to consider their effects on nearby property owners or wildlife, and state and local officials are discussing evaluation policies before hundreds -- perhaps thousands -- more are built.

• Program helps pick site for renewable energy generation

  Program helps pick site for renewable energy generation

  Sunshine and wind are two things we know well in the Tri-Cities and beyond. My own back yard is a perpetual vortex of breezy fun to the point that it almost seems silly not to harness it for something useful. But I recently learned that when we are talking about building renewable energy generation capacity, it is not quite as simple as, "If you build it, they will come."

  In fact, according to renewable energy expert and Pacific Northwest National Laboratory researcher John DeSteese, there are several criteria that make a piece of property suitable for this kind of development. DeSteese and his team recently completed an assessment regarding the use of specific land for renewable power generation through PNNL's Technology Assistance Program.

  The program provides small businesses with up to a week of researcher time for free help with specific technical questions or challenges. This particular project focused on wind and solar power generation.

Source: http://www.tri-cityherald.com/2011/12/26/1765379/energy-state-panel-to-revisit.html

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Robertson: 'SNL' Tebow skit shows 'disgusting' bigotry

By Gael Fashingbauer Cooper

Msnbc.com readers who posted comments on our site Monday?mostly enjoyed the "Saturday Night Live" skit in which Jesus visits Tim Tebow and the Denver Broncos.

Evangelist Pat Robertson was not laughing.

"There's an anti-Christian bigotry that is just disgusting," said Robertson on CBN, the Christian Broadcasting Network. ?If this had been a Muslim country and they had done that, and had Muhammad doing that stuff, you would have found bombs being thrown off ... and bodies in the street. And we think it's OK."

Robertson went on to praise Tebow for his public display of faith. "This man has been placed in a unique position and I applaud him, God bless him."

It's unclear if Robertson saw or just heard about the skit, in which Jesus (Jason Sudeikis) delivers the line?"Tim's doing his best, Dad bless 'em." We're going to guess no.

You can watch the video, which was posted by Mediaite.

Related content:

Source: http://entertainment.msnbc.msn.com/_news/2011/12/21/9588704-pat-robertson-says-tebow-snl-skit-an-attack-on-christianity

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Danny Schechter: Occupy Wall Street Is Now Three Months Young: Protests Mark Anniversary

New York, December 17 2001: Saturday marked the third month anniversary of Occupy Wall Street. It was also Bradley Manning's birthday. It was one of those days that confirmed the validity of the chant: "All Day, All Week, Occupy Wall Street".

Ok, maybe, it wasn't a whole week but Saturday felt like a week in one day.

The plan for the day, as announced, was to gather at Duarte Park at 6th Avenue and Canal Street to attempt a RE-Occupation of vacant land owned by Trinity Church, more of a real estate company than a house of worship.

For a few weeks, the Occupy Movement had been demanding that the church allow the movement to take "sanctuary" on that land. There were earlier protests and even a hunger strike that made page one of the New York Times.

Police in riot gear had ousted the occupiers the last time they tried to take over the space a few weeks back, and, since then, there has been a rancorous standoff between a Church that is supported by many fat cat one-percenters and OWS's volunteer non-violent army of outrage.

The Church has repeatedly turned the movement down, despite support for the OWS demands from many clergy in New York and the most famous Episcopal priest in the world, South Africa's Desmond Tutu. (Tutu sent OWS a supportive message but, then later sent the Church a disclaimer of any attempt on his part to sanction violence.)

No doubt church lawyers were expressing worries about financial liability should there be any claims, but many of the their trustees had political objections. They are Wall Streeters, including, a Vice President of Brookfield Properties, the owner of the "public" Zuccotti Park that had been the Movement's home until they were unceremoniously and violently ejected by police in the dark of night.

Trinity Church may be there to serve God, but the defense of their real estate portfolio seems to come before their pretensions at social justice.

The gathering at Duarte Park was predictably surrounded by cops, some in riot gear, while what looked like the Zuccotti Park alumni association roamed around on a sliver of a City Park next to the unholy Trinity site.

At least half of the crowd, which grew as the day progressed, appeared to be covering the other half with still or video cameras and tape recorders. The press was out in force too, no doubt hoping for a bloody confrontation. Pacifica Radio outlet WBAI was broadcasting live and its programming was played back at the crowd on boom boxes.

The librarians of the People's Library were on hand with a few boxes of newly donated books, but, despite the rhetoric, the scene seemed tired except for those who were dancing around or looking for action.

A few activists and clergy were arrested for climbing over the fence while others tried, but failed, to knock it down. (There were more than 50 arrests Saturday)

I was pretty discouraged by the relatively small turnout and the focus on getting to occupy a new tiny land base in an area with no real pedestrian traffic nearby, instead of finding more ways to reach out to mainstream America.

Saturday was a big Xmas Shopping day. While tens of thousands of New Yorkers were flocking to stores in Times and Herald Square. I thought that if you want to hit at economic power, you should be Occupying Macy's or Toys 'R' Us.

All the stores were putting on new sales after Black Friday turned out to be a relative bust. Why not a march by Occupy Santas?

It all seemed unpromising when announced concerts at the park by Lou Reed and others didn't seem to materialize, or at least I missed them.

But I left too soon.

Unknown to me, the movement then launched a previously unscheduled march but, at the last minute changed its direction and headed uptown, catching the police unaware.

The Live Stream people went with them so what happened next was shown on the Internet. One of the live streamers was busted but kept his camera-computer going from inside a police paddy wagon.)

At one point, I saw coverage by three cameras. One view, in ironic counter-point, covered several cops defending the statue of the Bull on an empty Wall Street traffic junction. No one there was bullish. Bullshit anyone?

The cops attacked as the activists marched up Seventh Avenue at 29th Street, arresting some for marching when they should be walking, a crime that may soon be punishable by the crazed new NDAA measure treating the homeland as a battlefield.

The crowd then broke into smaller guerilla-style groups, darting in and out of various streets, and ending up in a packed Times Square on a Saturday night at the height of the Christmas shopping season.

This march was spontaneous, powered by the power of surprise. The police actually chased some out of towners out of Times Square to try to cut them off at the pass, but failed.

Before the men in Blue, led by men in White, could reassert their version of Law and Order, and while shoppers and tourists watched, the occupiers began "mic-checking," with individual after individual shouting out "Why I Occupy," and offering personal statements and testimony that were repeated several times.

In this way, individual members of the movement, from every class, color and gender, spoke with eloquence about their reasons for protesting -- personal reasons and social reasons, national reasons and global reasons, economic reasons and political reasons reached out to thousands.

They had to electrify whoever was watching, their passion and sincerity was there for all to see.

I watched the Live Stream of the event on a computer in Harlem and was moved, at some points, to tears by how articulate and reasonable they were. They later left the square and returned to Zuccotti Park for a late-night General Assembly meeting.

Not only was this the best show on Broadway on the "Great White Way" for that hour, but it proved the correctness of a political claim, asserted in one of the OWS signs written after the police raided Zuccotti Park.

It reads: "It's So Not Over."

News Dissector Danny Schechter has been covering the Occupy movement for his News Dissector.com blog and other websites including Al Jazeera. He has collected his reporting into a new book, available next week, with a preface by writer Greg Palast.

For more information and to comment: Dissector@mediachannel.org

?

Follow Danny Schechter on Twitter: www.twitter.com/Dissectorevents

Source: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/danny-schechter/occupy-wall-street-trinity-church_b_1156231.html

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Former Czech president Havel dies (Reuters)

PRAGUE (Reuters) ? Former Czech President Vaclav Havel died on Sunday, his secretary said in a statement.

Havel was comforted in his last moments by his wife Dagmara and several nuns, his secretary, Sabina Tancevova, said in the statement.

(Reporting by Michael Winfrey; Editing by Sophie Hares)

Source: http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/obits/*http%3A//news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20111218/wl_nm/us_czech_havel

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Fox scores top cable news GOP debate so far (omg!)

LOS ANGELES (TheWrap.com) - It wasn't Mitt. It wasn't Newt. Instead, it looks like Fox News was the big winner of Thursday night's Republican presidential debate.

The showdown in the early primary state of Iowa was the highest-rated cable news debate so far this year in both total viewers and in the key news demographic of 25-54 years old.

The debate averaged 6.7 million viewers with 1.9 million in the 25-54 demographic, besting Fox's previous debate high held in September.

Beyond the numbers, Sioux City, Iowa, served up a heaping helping of political theater: Rick Perry provided a mock-worthy parallel of himself with Broncos' quarterback Tim Tebow; Michele Bachmann implied that Newt Gingrich was talking down to her in a sexist fashion; and the entire Republican field bent over backwards emphasizing their God-fearing ways.

The debate is second most popular debate in this seemingly endless season of GOP match-ups: ABC's broadcast last Saturday scored 7.6 million viewers with 2.1 million coming in the 25-54 demographic.

Source: http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/entertainment/*http%3A//us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/external/omg_rss/rss_omg_en/news_fox_scores_top_cable_news_gop_debate_far233852437/43932244/*http%3A//omg.yahoo.com/news/fox-scores-top-cable-news-gop-debate-far-233852437.html

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Firms press EU over carbon price

15 December 2011 Last updated at 05:53 ET

Some of Europe's biggest energy and manufacturing firms say the EU must act to raise the price of carbon and ensure that CO2 emissions targets are met.

A letter to the European Commission from the industry group warns that the future of the EU's Emissions Trading Scheme (ETS) is at stake.

The EU Corporate Leaders Group on Climate Change (EUCLG) includes Royal Dutch Shell, Enel, Alstom and Acciona.

EU carbon permits have dropped 55% in price this year, to 6.45 euros (?5.40).

ETS permits, each representing a tonne of carbon emissions, are traded to give industry a financial incentive to cut CO2 emissions and invest instead in green energy.

The EUCLG's patron is Britain's Prince Charles. The group's letter called for permits to be withheld in Phase Three of the ETS, which begins in 2013.

Reducing the supply of carbon permits would push up the price, they argue, saying "it is critical that the European institutions take decisive action now".

Too many permits?

The letter to EU Commission President Jose Manuel Barroso urged a "recalibration of Phase Three of the ETS by withholding allowances and designing a robust Phase Four that will send the right long-term price and investment signal and will immediately strengthen the carbon price".

The EUCLG Director, Sandrine Dixson-Decleve, told BBC News that "the ETS is no longer functioning as it should be functioning".

"We're in a financial crisis, and as we're trying to look at the eurozone we need to look at the existing [carbon] market and make sure it's functioning, so recalibrating the market to take into consideration the situation we're in."

She said the financial crisis had helped to reduce Europe's CO2 emissions, because of the slump in industrial output. That makes it more likely that the EU will meet its target of a 20% emissions cut by 2020.

"So the question is whether we need to tighten that target," she said, adding that some companies in the EUCLG were calling for a cut of 25% or even 30%.

Currently the ETS, launched in 2005, sets pollution limits for more than 11,000 energy firms and carbon-intensive manufacturers.

If an installation's CO2 emissions are higher than the number of permits it has, it must buy extra allowances from other installations which are lower CO2 emitters.

The EUCLG wants the EU's Energy Efficiency Directive to be aligned with the ETS, because it expects a 13.9% reduction in carbon prices if firms in the ETS increase their energy efficiency.

The letter says the EU must take account of the potential impact of the directive and other green energy policies on the carbon price, to ensure that the ETS remains viable.

Source: http://www.bbc.co.uk/go/rss/int/news/-/news/world-europe-16193954

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Eliot Daley: Obama Needs More Involuntary Head-Nods

Maybe, just maybe, President Obama is finally shaking off his subdued demeanor and will resume the kind of soul-stirring leadership stance that carried him into office. Deliberately echoing the rambunctious Teddy Roosevelt, Obama's recent speech calling for an America that is "fair" reminded us all how powerfully he can state the case, and how powerfully we yearn for a leader who will demand the best from us and elected officials.

But, alas, he is still inept at framing the critical issues that differentiate him from the Republicans, and tone-deaf at using language that reinforces those differences.

There is a holy grail all successful marketers pursue with a passion: it is called "the involuntary head-nod." That head-nod signals that the hearer has just heard something they deeply agree with. The head-nod happens automatically, without the hearers even realizing they are nodding. It is triggered by just the right word or phrase or image that instantly reminds the listeners of what they care about.

The involuntary head-nod is never triggered by a carefully spelled-out intellectual rationale. But the President and his team don't seem to get this.

For example, in a 60 Minutes interview on Dec. 12, Steve Kroft confronted Obama, just after that TR-styled speech, and managed to splatter him with three polarizing images in just two sentences: "You were really talking about income inequality which suggests redistribution of wealth... there are going to be people who say, 'This is the socialist Obama, and he's come out of the closet.'" Three red flags in 10 seconds.

How did Obama respond? He said that everybody's concerned about income inequality and then went on to lament the difficulty of generating a common consensus of one-for-all sharing to build a strong middle class in America. His response was not only boring; it was far worse. By making the dubious assertion that "everyone" wants to redress income inequality, he tacitly agreed, "Yes, I want to tap into rich people's fortunes to beef up the middle class."

This is a total loser of a stance. The Occupy Wall Street demonstrations notwithstanding, Americans get very queasy about playing Robin Hood. We do indeed want "fair" as Obama noted, but, paradoxically, we are so fair-minded that when a proposal sounds like it could be a confiscation of somebody else's money, even from those who don't need it, we shy away from it.

Obama could have leap-frogged over Kroft's provocative language and re-framed the question on his own terms: "Steve, the Bush administration decided the richest Americans would love a cash bonus from the government, and so he told them they could just hold onto a trillion dollars that they were otherwise supposed to send to the U.S. treasury. Remember that? (Head-nod.) Giving them this gift may have seemed like a good idea at the time, but then the crash of 2008 came and we found ourselves in this ridiculous situation: on the one hand, American needs revenues worse than at any time in almost a century, right? (Head-nod.) And on the other hand, the richest Americans are sending in taxes at the lowest rate in almost a century, right? (Head-nod.) Doesn't take a genius to see what's wrong with this picture. (Head- nod.) And so all I'm saying is, the party's over. Uncle Sam is no longer your sugar daddy. No more cash gifts to the rich." (Head-nod.)

There is a world of difference between "redressing income inequality" and "cancelling a special cash bonus." Obama should reinforce the point by describing the Bush tax cuts for the rich as a "tax expenditure" -- money that would be flowing into our treasury right now except for the decision to spend it as a bonus. He should describe the termination of that supposedly "temporary" expenditure as "slashing government spending by a trillion dollars." Reclaiming these revenues is not "new taxes"; terminating these tax expenditures is exactly what everyone is crying for: reduction of government spending. (Head-nod.) We must stop spending money on everything we can't afford -- including cash gifts for the rich. (Head-nod.)

Preemptively taking charge of the framing and the language can upstage the poisonous taint of "new taxes" and "redistribution of wealth" and "socialism" and "class warfare." Obama should never, ever respond to those words at all, and especially refuse to get suckered into claiming "not guilty." He must ignore them completely and simply re-frame the issue on his own terms. If he doesn't, he loses ground. Whenever Obama and the Democrats allow themselves to discuss "making the rich pay more" and to rant about "income inequality," it unwittingly tweaks that instinctive gut-level reaction against Robin Hood-esque confiscation. It evokes the very opposite of the involuntary head nod: the involuntary head shake that says, "I don't think I agree." Even if most Americans envy the rich of their riches, almost none of us feel entitled to take it away from them. Avoiding any such perception is absolutely critical for Obama.

Similarly, Obama and his team should ban any further use of the word "regulation." It has been tainted beyond all hope of positive perception. They should employ instead the word that is the end-purpose of regulation: protection. Nobody wants regulation; but lots of us want and need protection from the manipulators who are doing their nefarious best to sell us shoddy investment vehicles they themselves are betting against or questionable foodstuffs they don't let their own families consume. We know we're completely overmatched by these manipulators' ability to hoodwink us, and we do need a skilled bodyguard to protect us when they try. (Head-nod.)

From now until November 2012, Obama and his team must put every single word of their intended utterances to the test: will it trigger an involuntary head-nod of approval or not? Sophisticated explanations cannot and will not do the job. But simply reminding Americans of what they already know and want can be absolutely magnetic.

?

Source: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/eliot-daley/obama-needs-more-involunt_b_1147972.html

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Japan set to declare nuclear plant stable (AP)

TOKYO ? Japan's government was to declare Friday that the tsunami-devastated Fukushima Dai-ichi nuclear power plant had finally achieved a "cold shutdown," meaning it has stabilized and is no longer leaking substantial amounts of radiation.

The announcement would mark a big milestone nine months after the March 11 tsunami touched off a crisis at the plant and sent three of its reactors into meltdowns. Experts noted, however, that the facility remains vulnerable to more problems and will take decades of difficult and dangerous work to safely close down.

Prime Minister Yoshihiko Noda was to announce the government's assessment of conditions at the plant in a news conference later Friday.

The government's official endorsement of the claim by Tokyo Electric Power Co. that the reactors have reached cold shutdown status is a necessary step toward revising evacuation zones around the plant and focusing efforts from simply stabilizing the facility to actually starting the arduous process of shutting it down.

But the assessment has some important caveats.

The announcement is expected to say Fukushima has reached cold shutdown "conditions"_ a less definitive phrasing reflecting the fact that TEPCO cannot measure temperatures of melted fuel in the damaged reactors in the same way as with normally functioning ones. So the government also attached additional conditions to be met, including minimizing radiation leaks around the plant and taking backup safety measures to ensure Fukushima's wrecked reactors are safely cooled.

Even so, the announcement would mark the end of the second phase of the government's lengthy roadmap to completely decommission the plant, which is expected to take 30 years or more.

Officials can now start discussing whether to allow some evacuated residents who lived in areas with lesser damage from the plant to return home ? although a 12-mile (20-kilometer) zone around the plant is expected to remain off limits for years to come.

Some 100,000 people were displaced by the crisis.

A cold shutdown normally means a nuclear reactor's coolant system is at atmospheric pressure and the 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 TEPCO, temperature gauges inside the Fukushima reactors show the pressure vessel is at around 70 C (158 F). 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.

Source: http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/japan/*http%3A//news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20111216/ap_on_re_as/as_japan_nuclear_crisis

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More Radioactive Leaks From Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Plant

[unable to retrieve full-text content]The breach called into question the progress that the plant?s operator appeared to have made in bringing its reactors under control.

Source: http://feeds.nytimes.com/click.phdo?i=554fc9e92f56317aff4a544176c05a1d

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Holiday Essential Tip: How to Carve the Perfect Turkey (omg!)

For folks hosting their first-ever holiday dinner, often no kitchen task can be more daunting than having to carve the meal's must-have: Turkey!

To help alleviate home cooks' fears, Us Weekly asked Mario Batali -- who currently offers his tips daily as a cohost on ABC's The Chew -- to provide a quick and easy five-step guide.

PHOTOS: LOL! Stars' horrible holiday sweaters

STEP 1 - Remove legs by slicing through the skin between the breast and the leg and using your hands, pull legs down until the joint is exposed. Remove leg by cutting between the joint and attached skin.

STEP 2 - Separate thighs from the drumsticks by cutting between the joint that connects the two. Leave drumsticks whole and slice the thigh meat off the bone.

VIDEO: Tips on how to eat seasonally this winter

STEP 3 - Remove the breast meat from the turkey by running the tip of your knife along the breastbone.

STEP 4 - Use your other hand to hold and take the meat from the bone as you cut.

STEP 5 - Slice the breast meat crosswise into slices, straight down, instead of on an angle. Repeat with the other breast.

VIDEO: What foods to eat and what to skip during the holidays

For more of Batali's tips and recipes, tune in to The Chew weekdays at 1 p.m. (EST) on ABC.

WIN IT! To help you plan ahead for holiday dinner gatherings, Us is gifting one lucky reader with an autographed copy of Mario Batali's new cookbook, Molto Batali: Simple Family Meals from My Home to Yours. To enter, email your name, address, daytime phone number and age (must be over 21) to Giveaways@usmagazine.com. You must put 'Holiday Turkey Essentials' in the subject line of your email in order to be eligible. All entries must be received by 11:59 p.m. (EST) on Tuesday, December 6. Click here for official rules.

Get more Us! Follow us on Twitter, Friend us on Facebook, Subscribe to Us Weekly

Source: http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/entertainment/*http%3A//us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/external/omg_rss/rss_omg_en/news_holiday_essential_tip_carve_perfect_turkey144000164/43819772/*http%3A//omg.yahoo.com/news/holiday-essential-tip-carve-perfect-turkey-144000164.html

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Syrian authorities arrest woman blogger (Reuters)

AMMAN (Reuters) ? Syrian authorities arrested a blogger on Sunday who was traveling to Jordan to attend a conference on freedom of the press in the region, her friends said.

Razan Ghazzawi, 30, is the latest among scores of bloggers and journalists arrested since the break out of street protests against President Bashar al-Assad.

"She was arrested as she presented her passport to immigration at the Syrian border post of Nassib to cross to Jordan," one of her friends told Reuters.

Ghazzawi's last posting on www.razanghazzwi.com reported the release of fellow blogger Hussein Ghreir, freed last week after 37 days in jail.

Ghazzawi said Ghreir was lucky because he had spent most of his incarceration in a regular jail, compared to detention at secret police dungeons, home to "the worst kinds of torture."

There was no comment from the Syrian authorities, who have barred most independent journalists from the country, saying that non-state media have been spreading lies about the uprising, which they blame on a foreign conspiracy.

(Reporting by Khaled Yacoub Oweis, Amman newsroom)

Source: http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/internet/*http%3A//news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20111204/wr_nm/us_syria_blogger

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If a fat tax is coming, here's how to make it efficient, effective

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Source: http://www.labspaces.net/115684/If_a_fat_tax_is_coming__here_s_how_to_make_it_efficient__effective

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Trial set for former chair of the Republican Party of Florida Jim Greer

ORLANDO --?

A trial date is now set for the former chair of the Republican Party of Florida.

Prosecutors and lawyers for Jim Greer settled on July 30 for the beginning of what is expected to be a two week case.

Greer?was charged with steering nearly $200,000 in party money toward a fundraising firm he formed with an aide.

Greer has pleaded not guilty.

Source: http://cfnews13.com/article/news/2011/december/353202/Trial-set-for-former-chair-of-the-Republican-Party-of-Florida-Jim-Greer?cid=rss

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Following in the footsteps of George Wallace (Balloon Juice)

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

Source: http://news.feedzilla.com/en_us/stories/politics/top-stories/169530736?client_source=feed&format=rss

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Huge Tree Crashed Through Home Of Eric Dane & Rebecca Gayheart

Huge Tree Crashed Through Home Of Eric Dane & Rebecca Gayheart

“Grey’s Anatomy” star Eric Dane and his wife Rebecca Gayheart are lucky to have escaped without injury after a huge tree fell onto their Beverly [...]

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Source: http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/stupidcelebrities/~3/uVEO4di0DYI/

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World-traveling sea turtle comes home

When Johnny Vasco de Gama showed up in the Netherlands three years ago, he was a nameless, frigid sea turtle with little chance of surviving much longer in the icy waters of the North Sea. But now, this accidental world traveler is back in the United States and will soon be released into the warm waters his species calls home.

The turtle, dubbed "Johnny" by rescuers in the Netherlands, had "Vasco de Gama" appended to his name in Portugal, where marine biologists at the ocean theme park Zoomarine nursed him back to health. The turtle is a Kemp's ridley sea turtle, a critically endangered species and the rarest of all sea turtles. For that reason, an international team of conservationists has worked hard to bring Johnny back to the waters of the Gulf of Mexico.

On Tuesday, Johnny arrived at Mote Marine Laboratory in Sarasota, Fla., where staff checked him out and placed him in a holding tank in preparation to release him into the Gulf.

No one knows exactly how Johnny made it all the way to the Netherlands, thousands of miles from his home territory in the Gulf of Mexico and along the eastern coast of the U.S. According to Mote Marine Lab, the turtle likely got caught in cold currents and became "cold-stunned," a condition that can shut down turtles' organs and even kill the animals. In that state, Johnny may have drifted hundreds or thousands of miles before being found in November 2008.

1. More science news from MSNBC Tech & Science

   1. How to make an honest profit in the political market

      Science editor Alan Boyle's Weblog: If you made an "investment" in Newt Gingrich's political prospects six weeks ago, you'd have more than 200 times your money today.

   2. Can physicists crack their biggest puzzle?
   3. Crowd recruited to decipher whale songs
   4. Arabian artifacts may rewrite 'Out of Africa' theory

Once rescued, Johnny was stabilized by Rotterdam Zoo employees and then sent to the aquarium Ocean?rio de Lisboa in Portugal the following summer. The aquarium, in turn, sent the turtle to Zoomarine for rehabilitation.

After an international process of permit-getting and transport-organizing, Johnny the turtle made it back to the U.S. side of the pond in considerably greater style than his outbound journey: He flew in a specially adapted plane donated by the Portuguese airline TAP.

At Mote Marine Lab, Johnny underwent a veterinary exam on Tuesday and is now on medical hold to be sure that he's ready for release back into the wild. As soon as he's cleared, Johnny will be set free in southwest Florida waters.

You can follow LiveScience senior writer Stephanie Pappas on Twitter @sipappas. Follow LiveScience for the latest in science news and discoveries on Twitter @livescience and on Facebook.

? 2011 LiveScience.com. All rights reserved.

Source: http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/45499517/ns/technology_and_science-science/

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My 2 Years With Cancer And What I Learned From Steve Jobs

Exactly two years ago today, I was lying in a hospital bed literally across the street from lab here at UC Davis. It seems unreal in a way, but painfully real it was and still is.

On November 30, 2009, I had surgery for prostate cancer.

Two years ago, things seemed pretty bleak.

Now on November 30, 2011, exactly 2 years later, the world seems a lot different to me both from that time 2 years ago and also from my life before I knew I had cancer.

As unlucky as it is to get any cancer and especially prostate cancer at the unexpected age of just 42, in some ways I feel lucky in my new life after cancer.?I?m happy to report that just this past week I had my latest PSA test and it was as good as it gets: undetectable. So two years out from surgery, I?m in what they call long-term remission. Many men are not so lucky.

One of my doctors told me a few days before the surgery that after it was done that I was to assume I?m cured until proven otherwise. I don?t like to use that word cure as it somehow feels like tempting fate, but I do have hope. Still, I can?t forget the guy who was sitting near me in the waiting room at the cancer surgeon?s office who told some other guy that his prostate cancer had come back after 14 years?.14 years is a long time. It is difficult to ever really know a cure when you think you see one.

Earlier this year?I did a post on what my cancer had taught me that you might find interesting reading. I also did?a post on where I was at after 1 year out from surgery?in which I first publicly said I had cancer and talked about how it has inspired me to be a patient advocate and I also wrote?a perspectives piece for Nature?about this as well that has gotten a lot of feedback. That was a big step for me.

Now at 2 years out, I think despite everything that my vision of the world is somewhat better than before I ever knew I had cancer or had surgery. I am less likely to take life for granted and I am more committed than ever to making a difference. Cancer was the kick in the pants that I needed to become a patient advocate and to do this blog in a manner where I say what I think.

Source: http://www.science20.com/confessions_stem_cell_scientist/my_2_years_cancer_and_what_i_learned_steve_jobs-85105

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PFT: Lions condemn Suh's stomp; he apologizes

A recent item from Kevin Acee of the San Diego Union-Tribune suggested that John Spanos, the son of Dean Spanos and grandson of Alex Spanos, could become the next G.M. of the Chargers.? A source with knowledge of the situation tells PFT that this won?t happen.

?John Spanos will never serve as the Chargers? general manager,? the source said.? ?Some day in the future he may be in a position over all of the team?s football operations and be responsible for hiring a general manager, but that?s well down the road and he will never be the team?s general manager.?

Of course, if John Spanos, 32, is ?overseeing? the football operations, he?ll be serving as the General Manager?s manager.? Then again, every G.M. answers to someone in the organization, whether it?s a member of ownership or a president/CEO with no family relationship to ownership.

In the end, then, it may just be a matter of semantics.? The real question is whether and to what extent John Spanos will be actively involved in making football decisions, and whether he possesses the ability to do so.

That said, it?s possible that John Spanos has acquired the ability to make football decisions.? Since high school, Johns Spanos has been involved at all levels of the football business, from player evaluation to scouting to contract negotiations.? He currently serves as the director of college scouting.

Still, direct involvement in football decisions would be ironic, to say the least, given that the Spanos family apparently prohibits nepotism within the football side of the organization.? It was the desire of former coach Marty Schottenheimer to hire his brother as special-teams coordinator that prompted Marty?s ouster.

While nepotism often is necessary when it comes to the ownership of a professional sports franchise, allowing that concept to drift into football operations can be a problem.? When a team fails, heads eventually need to roll ? and nepotism keeps that from happening.

Source: http://profootballtalk.nbcsports.com/2011/11/25/lions-say-suh-failed-to-meet-the-level-of-sportsmanship-we-expect/related

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UConn Upset By UCF: Connecticut Blows Big Lead In Basketball Loss

PARADISE ISLAND, Bahamas -- This one was particularly painful for Connecticut coach Jim Calhoun.

Jeremy Lamb scored 15 points, but the fourth-ranked Huskies blew a 17-point lead in the second half of a 68-63 loss to Central Florida in the semifinals of the Battle 4 Atlantis on Friday.

Connecticut finished with 13 turnovers in its first loss since March 5 against Notre Dame. The defending national champions had won 16 straight games.

Calhoun said it was one of the most "surreal" performances he has seen during his long tenure with the Huskies.

"I can't be more disappointed in how we played," he said. "We just stopped playing. We couldn't even get the ball inbounded near the end. Nobody stepped up and it was a complete disaster for us."

Marcus Jordan and Keith Clanton had 20 points apiece for the Knights (4-1), who had eight turnovers. Jordan also had seven rebounds and seven assists.

Connecticut put together a 10-0 run to take a 50-33 lead with 16 minutes left. Lamb sparked the run with a 3-pointer and also hit two free throws during the surge.

Central Florida then scored 17 of the next 19 points to pull within two. Clanton kicked off the rally with a 3-pointer and Jordan finished the spurt with a 3.

Lamb made another 3 to stretch the Huskies' lead to five, but they couldn't hold off the pesky Knights. Jordan converted a layup, then made two big free throws to give Central Florida a 58-57 advantage with 3:11 left. Jordan added four more foul shots down the stretch to preserve the big win.

Jordan, the son of Hall of Famer Michael Jordan, said he received an encouraging message from one of his teammates before he made the two free throws that gave the Knights the lead.

"He told me this shot is in my blood," Jordan said.

Isaiah Sykes added 10 points for the Knights, including consecutive layups that stretched Central Florida's lead to 62-57 late in the game.

Andre Drummond finished with 13 points, nine rebounds and four blocked shots for the Huskies (5-1), who led 38-29 at halftime. Alex Oriakhi had 14 points and 10 rebounds.

"I feel like I let the team down," Lamb said. "I turned the ball over in key moments. We've lost games before but this hurts. We just need to come out with energy tomorrow and be ready to play."

Starting point guard Shabazz Napier finished with seven turnovers, and Lamb had three. Napier went 1 for 7 from the field and finished with four points and five assists.

Jordan was whistled for a technical with 16 minutes left in the game, fueling his big final surge.

"I still don't know why I got the technical," he said. "But I do know I wanted to come out and be more aggressive."

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Source: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2011/11/25/uconn-basketball-upset-central-florida-bahamas_n_1113650.html

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