NHL Lockout 2012: Owners, Union Continue To Meet, But Only Discussing Secondary Issues

The good news is that for the first time since Sept. 12 -- three days before the NHL lockout became official -- the owners and the Players' Association have met. And when Sunday concludes, they will have done so for three straight days. The bad news is that the two sides have not discussed the component -- how to split hockey-related revenue -- that in essence has spurred the work stoppage.

Make no mistake about it: the sheer fact that the owners and players continue to meet is a great sign. However, until the core economic issues are hammered out, this lockout is still very much far from over.

Over the past two days, the sides have convened to discuss the secondary components that will still go to the creation of a new collective bargaining agreement. On Friday, topics such as medical care, drug testing, training camp and the schedule were touched on and meetings lasted for seven hours. On Saturday, the two sides went over the definitions of what comprises hockey-related revenue and that lasted about four hours. In theory, a mutual agreement of what its "definition" is should help the basis of the next proposal, whether that's by the owners or players. One would think that when the grey areas are cleared up, the next CBA offer should be a little more "acceptable."

Of course, when the next proposal will be made remains the big question. Time is ticking down to where the new CBA has to be agreed upon or regular season games will start to be crossed off. Some have said that a new deal will have to be reached by the middle of the coming week as the season starts Oct. 11 and it will take time for the players, coaches and other personnel to get ready. It's not like a deal gets done Sunday, teams will begin training camps the next day, especially with many players already overseas or still at home, away from their team's city.

Sunday, the agenda likely will include health and safety issues and other legal topics, according to the Sporting News. More talk on the definition of hockey-related revenue could also be revisited because a mutual agreement was not found just yet.

Even though commissioner Gary Bettman and NHLPA head Donald Fehr did not attend these meetings with the group, they had their own, private talks.

Leave it to Fehr to describe the nature of these:

"I spent a few minutes with Gary talking about the overall situation, and we agreed to keep in touch," Fehr said Saturday, as reported by the Sporting News. "I am sure we will talk again (Sunday). I don't know whether will meet again (Sunday). That remains to be seen.

"I am not going to talk about the specifics, but in general we're trying to discuss how do we find a way to make an agreement. How do we bridge the gap on the major issues that are between us."

NHL deputy commissioner Bill Daly on Friday said that the owners needed to hear from the players that they would compromise on the hockey-related revenue split in order to for the "meaningful issues" to be discussed. As such, Daly even acknowledged Saturday that topics talked about this weekend have been considered the " underbrush." That means nothing is likely to get done without the players budging. If the general feelings of players that the union is stronger than ever is correct, we could still be in for a long work stoppage and even a lost season. The silver lining remains that the two sides will be meeting for the third straight day Sunday and nothing can ever get done without that happening.

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Source: http://newyork.sbnation.com/2012/9/29/3430786/nhl-lockout-2012-owners-union-continue-to-meet-but-only-discussingo

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China launches 2nd satellite built for Venezuela

CARACAS, Venezuela (AP) ? China has launched a second satellite built for Venezuela's government.

The remote sensing satellite soared into orbit atop a rocket from the northwestern Chinese province of Gansu.

The launch was shown live on Venezuelan TV on Friday night. Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez applauded as he watched alongside aides in Caracas, congratulating those who worked on the project.

Officials have said the satellite cost $140 million and will provide images for tasks such as mapping croplands, counter-drug efforts and monitoring floods.

The launch came more than a week ahead of Venezuela's Oct. 7 presidential election, in which Chavez is seeking another six-year term.

The satellite is named after Venezuelan independence hero Francisco de Miranda.

Venezuela's first satellite was named after independence leader Simon Bolivar. It was launched from China in 2008.

Associated Press

Source: http://hosted2.ap.org/APDEFAULT/cae69a7523db45408eeb2b3a98c0c9c5/Article_2012-09-29-Venezuela-China-Satellite/id-dbe3e55d3ea04740936b74dabd701e67

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EU raids lead recycling firms in cartel investigation

(Reuters) - The U.S. Food and Drug Administration on Thursday approved a new drug for advanced colon cancer developed by Bayer AG, a month ahead of the agency's expected action date for a decision. The drug, to be sold under the brand name Stivarga, was approved to treat colon cancer that has progressed after prior treatment or that has spread to other parts of the body, the agency said. "Someone has clearly lit a fire under the FDA," Sanford Bernstein analyst Geoffrey Porges said of the speedy approval. ...

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/eu-raids-lead-recycling-firms-cartel-investigation-085408630--finance.html

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NPD: Android users chew an average 870MB of cellular data per month, youngest gobble the most

Ever wonder how much data you burn through every month on average? If you're an Android user within the US, odds are that it's quite a lot. The NPD Group estimates that Americans of the Google persuasion typically consume about 870MB of data on cellular networks every month. While it's not an extreme amount next to the 2.5GB of WiFi usage, it's enough to give anyone second thoughts about coasting on a basic data plan -- and a reflection of how both 4G and media apps have changed our behavior. Not surprisingly, it's a younger crowd more comfortable with smartphones that's the most aggressive: the 18-24 set races through 1.05GB a month where the 55-plus audience uses a more modest (if still healthy) 750MB. We don't yet know how iOS stacks up in current conditions, but the NPD is promising a comparable look soon. Something tells us the iPhone 5's LTE will lead to just as much voraciousness.

Filed under: Cellphones, Mobile

NPD: Android users chew an average 870MB of cellular data per month, youngest gobble the most originally appeared on Engadget on Fri, 28 Sep 2012 13:12:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Source: http://www.engadget.com/2012/09/28/npd-android-users-chew-average-870mb-of-cellular-data-per-month/

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Louie, Season 3

Last week I suggested that Louie?s attempt to make Jack Dall laugh on command was the grimmest thing Louie had ever depicted. Well, uh, scratch that. The shocking death of Liz?Parker Posey?s particularly manic pixie dreamgirl?didn?t just make me wince momentarily. I?m still a little shaken up.

When Liz first appeared unexpectedly on Louie?s bus ride to the airport, I figured it was a happy dream. By then we?d watched what amounted to a very Louie Christmas: a happy scene of opening presents undercut by flashbacks to the horror involved in making that happen?specifically, an ugly scene at a crowded toy store and a seemingly endless doll-fixing ordeal that C.K. devoted a surprising amount of wordless screen time to. I suppose those shots of Louie cutting off the doll?s head and jabbing scissors through its empty eyeholes foreshadowed the violence that was to come. But I still felt unprepared. After Louie tossed the Christmas tree, Never-like, out the window, I figured we were in for a low-key paean to seasonal loneliness?followed, perhaps, by some kind of reconciliation with his daughters, who had left him behind to spend the day with mom and her blimp-riding friend Patrick. (That shot of the happy Louie-less family in the elevator looking back at him was beautifully executed.)

Just minutes later, though, blood streams horribly from Liz?s nostrils and she dies almost immediately after Louie gets her to the hospital. Nurses decide it?s over for her right as other hospital employees begin the New Year?s countdown; Louie wanders out, dazed, amid burgeoning revelry.

But is it all a nightmare? And is everything that follows a dream as well? Moments before the bus ride, we see Louie falling in and out of sleep while watching Flappy Howserton and Fanny Chapcranter deliver the news. Those names probably hint at his semi-conscious state. Or maybe they?re just funny names. Either way, when Flappy tells viewers to ?Go ahead and put that gun in your mouth,? it seems safe to say that Louie isn?t all there. It?s a callback to a funny scene in the Season 1 finale, in which a news anchor says terrifically dirty and nonsensical things as Louie watches her report the day?s events while drifting off to sleep in his bed. In this episode, Louie gets up and takes a shower?but he still has his shirt on and he screams. Then the horribleness begins.

After Liz?s death, dazed Louie heads right to the airport, with plans to visit his abuelita in Mexico City along with younger sister Debbie?Amy Poehler! who was exciting to see but not given much to do?and her big boorish husband with the dreadful haircut who bought his brother-in-law ?a first-class ticket out of that left-wing Kennedy Airport.? When Louie sees Beijing on the departure board, though, he thinks of Ping the duck, and suddenly he?s in China, clad as almost always in his black t-shirt and jeans, improbably asking random strangers for directions to the Yangtze River.

About Ping: He?s the star of a beautiful children?s book that Louie buys for Jane and reads to her on Christmas morning. The Story About Ping tells of a time the titular duckling got separated from his family, which lives on a Yangtze riverboat. Ping spends the night alone and the next day he almost becomes someone?s dinner. But he?s saved by a young boy who puts him back in the river and he returns to live with ?his mother and his father and his two sisters and three brothers and eleven aunts and seven uncles and forty-two cousins.?

Ping is also kin in some sense to the duckling from ?Duckling,? a Season 2 episode of Louie in which Louie goes to Afghanistan and finds his daughter has put a duckling in his luggage. At the end of ?Duckling,? the duckling makes Louie and some American soldiers and Afghani locals laugh together in surprising solidarity. That?s sort of how this episode ends, too: Louie shares unexpected laughs with foreign strangers. But this ending felt much lonelier to me. I?ll explain.

The Story About Ping provides a leitmotif of sorts for tonight?s episode, which is about family and becoming separated from it. Louie, unlike Ping, doesn?t end his story by returning to dozens of cousins and siblings and parents?or even to his two daughters. Instead he finds a group of people in a humble abode in China, and eats with them, and laughs with them, trying to speak their language. We then cut to an exterior shot of where they?re eating, and the camera turns its lens to a scenic vista, with music playing as the credits roll. This was less reminiscent of ?Duckling? than it was of the final shot of the show?s first-season closer, ?Night Out,? which ended with Louie and his daughters eating pre-dawn pancakes at Veselka, and went to credits and a closing song over a shot of New York?s East Village. It?s still one of my favorite scenes from this series.

That was a moment of domestic bliss, enjoyed with the daughters who should be around to keep Louie company even if Liz really is gone for good and Pamela never returns and nothing ever works out romantically for our wayward hero. But our last glimpse of Jane and Lilly this season was of their grown-up dreamworld doppelgangers worrying about their pathetic dad, who does nothing but ?sit in that big old chair and eat pinwheel cookies.? A quick shot of old man Louie, looking withered in a too-big set of black t-shirt and jeans, shows a truly sad and lonely man.

Considering this season as a whole, I would say that Louie has gotten more ambitious, more varied?and better. And, for whatever reason, it got darker, too. Didn?t it?

I have, like, a career-y thing, and I work?

Source: http://feeds.slate.com/click.phdo?i=c8974b201f87e9339543f2de4b65e1dc

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Police say gunman kills 4, himself at Minn. office

An officer secures the area as police investigate a shooting that left at least two dead and four others wounded at Accent Signage Systems in Minneapolis, Thursday, Sept. 27, 2012. (AP Photo/The Star Tribune, Richard Tsong-Taatarii) MANDATORY CREDIT; ST. PAUL PIONEER PRESS OUT; MAGS OUT; TWIN CITIES TV OUT

An officer secures the area as police investigate a shooting that left at least two dead and four others wounded at Accent Signage Systems in Minneapolis, Thursday, Sept. 27, 2012. (AP Photo/The Star Tribune, Richard Tsong-Taatarii) MANDATORY CREDIT; ST. PAUL PIONEER PRESS OUT; MAGS OUT; TWIN CITIES TV OUT

An officer walks through the area as police investigate a shooting at Accent Signage Systems on the north side of Minneapolis Thursday, Sept. 27, 2012. Police say left at least two people were killed and four others wounded. (AP Photo/The Star Tribune, Renee Jones Schneider) MANDATORY CREDIT; ST. PAUL PIONEER PRESS OUT; MAGS OUT; TWIN CITIES TV OUT

An unidentified woman is consoled at the scene of a shooting that left at least two dead and four others wounded at Accent Signage Systems in Minneapolis, Thursday, Sept. 27, 2012. (AP Photo/The Star Tribune, Richard Tsong-Taatarii) MANDATORY CREDIT; ST. PAUL PIONEER PRESS OUT; MAGS OUT; TWIN CITIES TV OUT

Police investigate a shooting at Accent Signage Systems on the north side of Minneapolis Thursday, Sept. 27, 2012, that police say left at least two people dead and four others wounded. (AP Photo/Amy Forliti)

Police investigate a shooting at Accent Signage Systems on the north side of Minneapolis Thursday, Sept. 27, 2012, that left at least two people dead and four others wounded. (AP Photo/Amy Forliti)

MINNEAPOLIS (AP) ? A gunman killed four people inside a Minneapolis sign-making business before turning the weapon on himself, authorities said early Friday.

Officers summoned Thursday afternoon by a 911 call discovered the victims' bodies shortly after arriving at Accent Signage Systems Inc., located in a residential area in the city's north side, according to a statement from police spokesman Sgt. Stephen McCarty.

"When officers arrived and entered the business to assist with the evacuation of employees, give aid to the victims and to search for the suspect, they found four victims dead from apparent gunshot wounds," the statement said.

Four other people were wounded, including three critically.

No details were released about the gunman, other than he was found dead from an apparent self-inflicted gunshot wound.

During a news conference Thursday night, Minneapolis Police Deputy Chief Kris Arneson wouldn't specify how many people had been killed, saying only that "several" victims were found dead inside. She said police never fired at the gunman, but she didn't release other details ? including the gunman's possible motive or whether he had worked at the company.

Hennepin County Medical Center was treating the four patients, including three men in critical condition, according to a hospital spokeswoman. The fourth victim suffered minor injuries, police said.

None of the victims' names has been released.

Someone from inside the building called 911 around 4:30 p.m. to report the shootings, police said. The first officers on the scene quickly began evacuating people from the business and closed off several blocks.

Dozens of squad cars and SWAT officers swarmed the neighborhood Thursday afternoon, and traffic was stopped on a nearby bridge along Penn Avenue, where officers had rifles drawn and pointed at the business and a park below.

By Thursday evening, police vehicles were still surrounding the business. People from the neighborhood milled around but deputies kept them back.

Marques Jones, 18, of Minneapolis, said he was outside a building down the street having his high school senior pictures taken when he and his photographer heard gunfire that sounded close.

"We heard about four to five gunshots," Jones said. "We were shocked at what happened and we just looked at each other. We all just took off running to our vehicles."

According to Accent Signage Systems' website, the company makes interior signage and lists its founder as Reuven Rahamim. A phone messages left at the business was not immediately returned, and a woman who answered the phone at Rahamim's residential listing declined comment.

The company employed 28 people as of July, according to a feature on the business in Finance & Commerce, a local business publication. The paper reported that U.S. Under Secretary of Commerce Francisco Sanchez visited it in August in a trip focused on exporting and praised the company for its innovation.

The company developed a patented technology for producing signs in Braille and had licensed the technology to companies in 38 countries, the newspaper said.

Minneapolis Mayor R.T. Rybak said employees who were working when the shootings occurred were together and being cared for Thursday evening.

"We are deeply sorry about what has happened here," he said, calling the shootings "a horrible tragedy."

___

Associated Press writers Doug Glass and Jeff Baenen in Minneapolis, and Barbara Rodriguez, Erin Gartner and M. David Nichols in Chicago contributed to this report.

Associated Press

Source: http://hosted2.ap.org/APDEFAULT/3d281c11a96b4ad082fe88aa0db04305/Article_2012-09-28-Minneapolis%20Shooting/id-088756ab866e4c04ae9e09e37575d4cf

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Netanyahu's Iran cartoon bomb timed to make big impact

NEW YORK (Reuters) - The "Bibi bomb" was born of days of discussions between Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and a brain trust of close advisers on how to make a powerful impact in yet another speech on Iran's nuclear program.

"The diagram made his address special," a senior official in Netanyahu's entourage said on Friday about the cartoonish drawing of a bomb the Israeli leader, who is nicknamed "Bibi," used at the U.N. General Assembly as a prop to illustrate what he sees as Iran's drive for an atomic weapon.

It may have raised a titter on Twitter, where the New Yorker magazine quipped, "if Wile E. Coyote ever gets hold of this, the Roadrunner is toast." But the graphic got what Israel was hoping for - attention.

Such a Looney Tunes analogy would not have been lost on Netanyahu, who was educated in the United States, and at least one of his top advisers, Ron Dermer, who was born there and immigrated to Israel.

But on the world stage at the U.N. General Assembly, Netanyahu took out a marker and dramatically drew a red line just below a label reading "final stage" to a bomb, in which Iran would be 90 percent along the path to having sufficient weapons-grade material.

"I tried to say something yesterday that I think reverberates now around the world," Netanyahu said at a meeting on Friday with Canadian Prime Minister Stephen Harper.

Iran denies allegations by Israel, widely believed to be the Middle East's only nuclear power, that it is enriching uranium in order to build a weapon.

"USEFUL TOOL"

So who was the father of the "Bibi bomb?"

The Israeli official would not say.

"He's got a small group of close advisers," the official said. "In different meetings, people throw out all sort of ideas. Ultimately, the prime minister makes a decision which ideas to accept."

The team met for days, proposing "countless drafts" and a decision was made that "by using the diagram, the people would get the message - people would understand", the official added, calling the drawing "a useful tool."

He said he did not know who actually drew the bomb or if it had been copied from a computer graphics program. And, as with any Netanyahu speech, it's unclear until the last moment what stays in and what is left out.

"He's making changes until the very end. He was making changes as he was being introduced in Congress last year," the official said about Netanyahu's address to a joint meeting of the U.S. legislature in May 2011.

Netanyahu has also done some public sketching in the past.

While he was finance minister from 2003 to 2005, Netanyahu illustrated the burden of Israel's bloated public sector on the economy by drawing stick figures of a thin man - private enterprise - carrying the weight of a heavy man on his back.

At a news conference in April, he used a tablet, projected onto a large screen, to draw a tree whose fruit and stability he said symbolized his government's achievements.

AUDIO-VISUAL AIDS AT THE U.N.

It is not the first time visual or audio props have been used to make a point at the United Nations.

During the 1962 Cuban missile crisis U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations Adlai Stevenson unveiled during a televised U.N. Security Council meeting photos taken by U-2 spy planes of Soviet missiles and launch pads on Cuba and dramatically confronted Soviet Ambassador Valerian Zorin with the charges.

In 1983, U.S. Ambassador Jeane Kirkpatrick played an audio recording of a Soviet interceptor pilot involved in the shooting down of Korean Airlines flight 007 over the Sea of Japan, which killed all 269 passengers and crew. Afterward, it was impossible for the Soviets to deny their involvement.

U.S. Secretary of State Colin Powell's February 2003 speech to the U.N. Security Council in which he presented intelligence about Iraqi leader Saddam Hussein's alleged nuclear, biological and chemical weapons programs was less successful.

Perhaps attempting to follow in Stevenson's and Kirkpatrick's footsteps, Powell's speech employed images, audio recordings, even a vial of white powder that was intended to look like enough anthrax to kill the entire U.S. Senate.

That speech, based on evidence now known to have been erroneous, did nothing to sway the skeptical French, Russians and Germans. They eventually forced the frustrated United States and Britain to abandon their efforts to secure a green light from the United Nations for the March 2003 invasion of Iraq.

In 2009, the late Libyan leader Muammar Gaddafi held up a copy of the U.N. charter and tossed it over his shoulder during a rambling 1-1/2 hour speech to the General Assembly. It was his first and last U.N. speech.

Also that year at the General Assembly, Netanyahu displayed a copy of the blueprints for the Nazi death camp Auschwitz to decry Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad's denial of the Holocaust.

(Additional reporting by Louis Charbonneau; editing by Christopher Wilson)

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/netanyahus-iran-cartoon-bomb-timed-big-impact-163812078.html

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Syrian rebels bomb army command in Damascus

BEIRUT (Reuters) - Syrian rebels bombed a military complex in Damascus on Wednesday, striking at the heart of President Bashar al-Assad's power and igniting a fire which gutted the army command headquarters.

The Free Syrian Army, the main rebel force fighting to overthow Assad, claimed responsibility for the attack which it said killed dozens of people.

But an armed forces statement said military leaders were unhurt and only a number of guards were wounded in the blasts, which shook the whole city at around 7 a.m. (0400 GMT) before regular working hours.

It was the biggest attack in Damascus since July 18 when a blast killed several senior security officials, including Assad's brother-in-law, the defense and interior ministers.

That attack paved the way for a rebel advance into the centre of the capital, although they have since been pushed back to the outskirts.

Internet footage of Wednesday's fire at the General Staff Command Building in central Umayad Square showed flames engulfing its upper floors, indicating explosives were planted inside the building itself.

The main gate was completely blackened from the fire while all the windows of the building were blown out. Shards of glass littered the nearby streets, Reuters television foootage showed.

The blast gouged a deep crater, apparently where the explosive-laden car blew up.

Residents reported that gunfire rattled out around the district for at least two hours after the explosions. Roads in the area were blocked off as ambulances rushed to the scene.

"All our colleagues in the military leadership, the army staff command and the Defense Ministry are unhurt," Information Minister Omran Zoabi told Syrian Television.

Security forces were chasing "armed terrorists" - a term the authorities use to refer to insurgents waging war to oust Assad.

"It's a terrorist act, close to an important site, that's true. But as usual they failed to achieve their goal," he said.

Activist Sami al-Shami said the main explosions were caused by a suicide car bombing and second car loaded with explosives on the perimeter of the complex.

"Then the fighters went inside and clashed with security inside, while some of the men started to torch the building".

"There must be several security forces dead, there's no way the rebels could have made it in that far, fighting their way in, without killing any security forces," he told Reuters.

That appeared to tally with accounts from residents who heard gunfire and smaller blasts after the first explosions.

"The explosions were very loud. They shook the whole city and the windows of our house were shuddering," one resident reached by telephone said. "Black smoke was rising from the area near the army staff building."

A reporter for al-Manar television, run by Assad's Lebanese ally Hezbollah, said he was in the building after the explosion and saw the bodies of three "armed men", suggesting clashes between security forces and rebels at the site.

MAJOR STRIKE

Another resident said: "I was woken up at four minutes to seven by the first loud explosion. Five or six minutes later there was a second."

"We're used to the sound of artillery but these were very big - bigger than usual. I can hear gunfire still," he said.

He said he saw soldiers on the roof of the nearby Air Force Intelligence building, part of the same military complex which was hit.

Syria's conflict, once a peaceful protest movement, has evolved into a civil war that the U.N. special envoy to Syria, Lakhdar Brahimi, said was "extremely bad and getting worse."

Activists say more than 27,000 people have been killed in the 18-month-old uprising against Assad, and even Damascus has become a battleground.

Pro-Assad gunmen killed at least 16 people in the city on Wednesday, the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said.

The British-based Observatory said three of those killed in the poor district of Barzeh, which is sympathetic to opposition fighters, were children and six were women.

A correspondent for Iran's English-language Press TV was shot dead by a rebel sniper and its Damascus bureau chief was wounded while they covered Wednesday's explosions, Press TV said.

With no foreseeable prospect of foreign intervention and diplomacy stuck, outgunned rebels have relied increasingly on attacks with homemade bombs, striving to level the playing field against an army using fighter jets, artillery and tanks.

At the annual U.N. General Assembly in New York, French President Francois Hollande sought to shake up international inertia over the crisis by calling for U.N. protection of rebel-held areas.

"The Syrian regime ... has no future among us," Hollande said in a speech. "Without any delay, I call upon the United Nations to provide immediately to the Syrian people all the support it asks of us and to protect liberated zones."

PROTECTION ZONES

Protection for "liberated" areas would require no-fly zones enforced by foreign aircraft, which could stop deadly air raids by Assad's forces on populated areas. But there is little chance of securing a Security Council mandate for such action given the opposition of veto-wielding members Russia and China.

The United States, European allies, Turkey and Gulf Arab states have sided with the Syrian opposition while Iran, Russia and China have backed Assad, whose family and minority Alawite sect have dominated the major Arab state for 42 years.

But Western powers have stopped short of supplying military aid to the rebels to an extent that could turn the tide of the conflict, in part out of fear of arming Islamist militants who have joined the anti-Assad revolt.

In another speech to the General Assembly, Qatari Emir Sheikh Hamad bin Khalifa al-Thani said Arab nations should intervene in Syria given the Security Council's failure to stop the civil war [ID:nL1E8KPBSE]

Qatar, which backs the rebels, called on big powers to prepare a "Plan B" within weeks and set up a no-fly zone to provide a safe haven inside Syria in case mediator Brahimi fails to make headway.

The Qatari emir said he believed Arab and European countries would be ready to take part, despite their public wariness of committing the forces needed for such a mission.

Humanitarian conditions are worsening as the violence drags on. The president of the Syrian Arab Red Crescent, which has been the only relief group on the ground the entire 18 months of conflict, said it was in dire need of supplies.

"We need to concentrate mostly on health and shelter because there are 1.5 million displaced people," Abdul Rahman Attar told Reuters during a visit to Oslo. "We need more of everything."

(Additional reporting by Dominic Evans and Erika Solomon in Beirut, Rania El gamal and Sami Aboudi in Dubai; Writing by Dominic Evans; Editing by Angus MacSwan)

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/two-explosions-near-damascus-army-building-state-tv-053244736.html

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lines and colors :: a blog about drawing, painting, illustration, comics ...

Lines and Colors is a blog about drawing, sketching, painting, comics, cartoons, webcomics, illustration, digital art, concept art, gallery art, artist tools and techniques, motion graphics, animation, sci-fi and fantasy illustration, paleo art, storyboards, matte painting, 3d graphics and anything else I find visually interesting. If it has lines and/or colors, it's fair game.

Source: http://www.linesandcolors.com/2012/09/26/eye-candy-for-today-the-trellis-by-gustave-courbet/

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Social Networking: 5 tips to Skyrocket Your Sales ~ Article Marketing ...

You?re probably aware of the gigantic number of users of social media ? well over a billion for the top two social networks combined ? and the waves that these platforms are making in the business world. Facebook and the micro-blogging platform Twitter count consumers from nearly every country on the planet, which is why social media marketing tips can become the catapult your business needs for leaping ahead of your competition.

With that said; there are many methods out there for getting people to join your social network; but there are fewer for getting those people to engage frequently and for a sizable fraction of them to convert to sales. Here are 5 of the more effective social media marketing tips that may help your business experience real results in the sales department:

1. Building a useful social network requires a strong foundation; the first thing you should do is of course sign up for Facebook. Afterwards, specifically create a business page separate from a personal profile, so that fans can ?Like? you and decide to follow the progress of your business. This is precisely the platform you will be using primarily for future business-related promotions and updates to keep your growing community together and informed.
2. The old adage ?never put all your eggs in one basket? is very timely and applicable here: Facebook is not the only place where social media marketing tips can apply ? even if it is currently the biggest. Set up social networks on YouTube to get video messages out there; given the huge increase in mobile marketing and video downloads and viewing in general, working to get subscribers to your YouTube account can be a big sales generator in the years to come. Just don?t forget the call to action at the end of your videos, reminding your viewers to click the ?Subscribe? button.
3. Keep in mind that what you choose to write about is just as important as how you write it. Although this is true offline as well as online, it is much more important in the latter: your headlines and subheads must ?pop?. They must be vibrant and engaging while remaining truthful; they must be engrossing without telling a lie. Furthermore, your headlines must be relatively short; you can?t generate sales if people are skipping over your post because the headline didn?t grab their attention.
4. Interacting in a timely fashion with people who take the time to comment or ask questions is absolutely essential. More often than not, the single question that one person may ask is actually the same question many more wanted to know the answer to. You further show your audience that you take your business and their concerns seriously, which will keep your retention rate higher than the business that doesn?t bother ? and more traffic almost always equals greater sales.


5. Social media marketing tips usually center on engagement with your audience; which means making sure the contributions to your social platform are consistent - as opposed to constant. Don?t focus on the mundane, at the risk of boring your audience; but be sure to always note new developments that you think are relevant to the interests of your audience. If at any time you hit a small rut in terms of things to say or add, never hesitate to check out what your competition is doing ? and duplicate the social media marketing tips of the more successful ones.

Social media, then, when used in conjunction with search engine optimization, can easily drive you ahead of your competition. ?Be sure to make a worksheet of the best avenues to take in both directions, comprised of?maybe?5-10 of the top methods. ?

Then focus on allocating time to these over the next few months, and Google (and Facebook) will reward you for it - all with no cost other than your time (although I can't think of anything worth more than your time - but nonetheless).?

Please feel free to comment below; just keep hyperlinks out of the text body unless they're truly relevant. ?Thanks for interacting!!!

Source: http://article-marketing-tools.blogspot.com/2012/09/social-networking-5-tips-to-skyrocket.html

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Mitt Romney Endorsed by 'Dirty Jobs' Host

Romney Gets a 'Dirty' Endorsement category: Mitt Romney

Mike Rowe, host of the Discovery Channel series, "Dirty Jobs," appeared with Mitt Romney Sept. 26, 2012, at a campaign event in Ohio. The media personality and Ford ad star touted the importance of job opportunity while standing next to the GOP presidential nominee onstage.

"There's got to be a better way to be happy and successful in your career than simply assuming a massive amount of debt and exiting an educational program that gives you a degree without training," Rowe said.

Earlier this month, Rowe posted an online open letter to Romney. The letter began, "If you read the whole thing, I'll vote for you in November."

Rowe said Romney responded to his letter.

Rowe's post, which aimed to emphasize the value of hard work and the nation's skills gap was not one-of-a-kind, as Rowe admitted in a postscript that he directed a similar letter to President Obama in 2008.

"P.S. In the interest of full disclosure, I should mention that I wrote a similar letter to President Obama," Rowe wrote in the letter. "Of course, that was four years ago, and since I never heard back, I believe proper etiquette allows me to extend the same offer to you now. I figure if I post it here, the odds are better that someone you know might send it along to your attention."

Jay-Z and Beyonce

President Obama was hosted Sept. 18 in New York City by rap mogul Jay-Z and wife Beyonce. The fundraiser, organized by the two longtime Obama supporters, was held in the rapper's swanky 40/40 Club in the heart of Manhattan.

The mega-star power couple has an ongoing relationship with the first family. Beyonce sang at the president's inauguration in 2008, and she also attended a fundraising dinner in March hosted by the first lady. The love of the ladies is mutual as Michelle Obama helped Beyonce with efforts to promote global humanitarianism.

Jay-Z and the president also have a bond. In early September, the president appeared in a pre-recorded video at a Jay-Z event in Philadelphia.

In an email to Obama supporters, Beyonce said she's a huge fan and will do whatever it takes to help him win a close race.

Gwen Stefani category: Barack Obama

There was face painting, animal balloons and fake tattoos on the tennis courts, and big white umbrellas on the lawn of Gwen Stefani's Beverly Hills house Sunday, Aug. 12, as she played host to Michelle Obama for a family-friendly Sunday of Fun.

The No Doubt rocker and her two sons, 6-year-old Kingston and 3-year-old Zuma, frolicked with the first lady at the $2,500-per-family fundraiser, which Stefani called a "playdate."

"Getting ready for Michelle Obama to come for a playdate," Stefani tweeted before the event, adding later that "Zuma cried all over my pink top! Oh well mom central."

While President Obama has been racking up Hollywood endorsers, the first lady has attracted support of her own from an array of female singers.

From Stefani to Beyonce to George Clooney to Morgan Freeman, here's a look at the celebrities who have thrown their support to Obama, and those who have put their money on Mitt Romney.

Elizabeth Banks category: Barack Obama

"Hunger Games" actress Elizabeth Banks may not want to talk to her employer about her intimate women's health issues, but she candidly laid them out for President Obama supporters in a campaign ad.

Banks, who played Effie Trinket in "The Hunger Games," admitted she got birth control from Planned Parenthood as an uninsured college graduate "for my massive migraine headaches and my heavy flow."

"These aren't the types of things I want to discuss with employers," Banks said, weighing in on the debate between Republicans and Democrats over Planned Parenthood funding. "That's between me and my doctor and, at the time, my doctor happened to be at Planned Parenthood. So I'm really grateful they exist."

Banks said she was supporting Obama because he has "not compromised on women's rights," while his GOP rival Mitt Romney wants to cut funding to Planned Parenthood over the small percentage of the health care provider's business that goes to providing abortions.

"For that little 5 percent that Mitt Romney decides he doesn't agree with he's going to take away cancer screenings? What is he doing?" Banks says in the ad. "He's going to take away people's access to health care close by."

Anne Hathaway category: Barack Obama

Days after "The Dark Night Rises" hauled in $36 million at the box offices last weekend, its fierce female star, Anne Hathaway, helped President Obama rake in millions for his re-election campaign at a Hollywood-studded fundraiser in Connecticut.

Hathaway co-hosted the $35,800 per-person fundraiser Aug. 6, 2012, with producer Harvey Weinstein at his home in Connecticut. The duo helped Obama add $2 million to his campaign war chest.

Hathaway is a longtime Obama supporter, having attended his inauguration festivities in 2009 and telling People magazine shortly after his election that she'd love to work in the White House as "first babysitter" for Obama's daughters, Sasha and Malia.

The president returned the compliment at Monday's fundraiser, gushing about Hathaway's "spectacular" performance as Catwoman in the latest Batman movie.

"She's spectacular," Obama told the crowd of about 60 supporters. "I got a chance to see 'Batman,' and she was the best thing in it.

"That's just my personal opinion," the president added as Hathaway beamed and laughed, according to the pool press report.

Other notable names at the fashionable fundraiser included "West Wing" screenwriter Aaron Sorkin, Vogue editor Anna Wintour and reality-TV host Jerry Springer.

Clint Eastwood category: Mitt Romney

On Aug. 3, Clint Eastwood came out in support of Mitt Romney when he made an appearance at an Idaho fundraiser for the presumptive GOP nominee.

The Oscar-winning director said he is supporting Romney this November "because I think the country needs a boost somewhere."

While Eastwood also endorsed the Republican presidential candidate in 2008, lending his support to Sen. John McCain in his bid for the White House and even campaigning for him, his position the 2012 race hasn't always been clear. After a cameo in a Super Bowl ad about the revival of the auto industry this February, where he uttered the instantly famous line, "It's halftime, America," Eastwood was forced to clarify that he was not in fact supporting Obama's re-election campaign.

Jenna Jameson category: Mitt Romney

Sipping champagne in the VIP lounge of San Francisco's Gold Club gentleman's lounge, former porn star Jenna Jameson said she was supporting Mitt Romney to win the White House in November.

"I'm very looking forward to a Republican being back in office," Jameson told a CBS San Francisco staffer in August. "When you're rich, you want a Republican in office."

But four years ago Jameson, who is estimated to have a net worth of $20 million, was singing the opposite tune.

"I look forward to another Democrat being in office," Jameson told PR.com, noting that Republicans "put their crosshairs on the adult industry."

Jameson said in the 2007 interview that she supported then-Democratic presidential candidate Hillary Clinton.

"I love Hillary," Jameson said. "I think that in some ways she's pretty conservative for a Democrat, but I would love to have a woman in office."

Jerry Springer category: Barack Obama

Talk show host Jerry Springer, a lifelong Democrat, does not see why America would not want President Obama in the White House for another four years. The reality TV presenter lavished praise on the president after meeting with him in Cincinnati in July.

"I have met with lots of politicians, but this man is truly exceptional," Springer said after the meeting, according to the Huffington Post. "He's so competent and so smart, I just don't see why we wouldn't want him for four more years as president."

Springer was once a politician himself, serving one year as mayor of Cincinnati and running failed campaigns for Congress and Ohio governor.

"I'm a long-standing supporter of the Democratic Party and believe in President Obama," Springer said.

Morgan Freeman category: Barack Obama

Morgan Freeman, actor and vocal Obama supporter, became the second celebrity donor to write a $1 million check to the support the president's re-election bid. Since there is a spending cap on individuals contributing to political candidates, Freeman gave his million to the pro-Obama Super PAC Priorities USA Action.

"Pres. Obama has done a remarkable job in historically difficult circumstances," Freeman said.

The actor praised Obama for ending combat operations in Iraq, reforming Wall Street, keeping the auto industry alive, reforming health care and appointing the first woman to the Supreme Court.

"He has led our nation to be more tolerant," Freeman said. "In return, he is the target of hundreds of millions of dollars from right-wing sources. I am proud to lend my voice - and support - to those who defend him. Priorities USA Action is doing a great job of protecting the values I believe in. I am happy to help them and I hope others will join me."

Bill Nye the Science Guy category: Barack Obama

Bill Nye, that quirky science guy from 1990s TV fame, took his brightly-colored bow ties on the campaign trail making a trip through New Hampshire in support of the Obama campaign on July 16. At stops in three New Hampshire towns, Nye sang the praises of the president's education policies and pushed for more science and engineering programs.

"This is the most important election of my life and I believe we're at a crossroads, a turning point," Nye told the Fosters Daily Democrat. "We can either move forward, especially in education, or backward. I think voters have a clear choice, so I'm supporting the president."

The eccentric Science Guy who showed children the fun side of learning on his 'Science Guy' TV show appeared as a special guest at both of the White House Science Fairs.

"The choice is clear" on who to vote for in November Nye proclaimed at the McAuliffe-Shepard Discovery Center in Concord, N.H. "The president supports moving education forward, supporting our teachers and administrators and public education, and the other side, for lack of a better expression, just wants to take it for granted."

Marc Anthony category: Barack Obama

President Obama has added another star-studded fundraiser to his already history-breaking list, appearing with singer Marc Anthony in Miami Beach in June.

The concert featuring the Latino singer in the heavily-Hispanic state of Florida came just one day after the Supreme Court struck down three key parts of Arizona's immigration law ? a win for Obama ? and upheld the state's right to check the immigration status of everyone stopped by police ? a win for Republican Gov. Jan Brewer.

Anthony, who supported Obama in 2008, aimed to convince Latinos to support the president in a campaign video released in early June.

"The president has our back, so it's time to let him know that we've got his," Anthony says in the video.

Bob Dole category: Mitt Romney

While former presidential candidate Bob Dole is not your typical Hollywood celebrity, as a 40-year veteran of the Republican Party leadership his endorsement still packs a punch.

Dole, you could say, endorsed Mitt Romney before endorsing Mitt Romney was cool, writing a letter supporting the former Massachusetts governor that ran in the Des Moines Register in the midst of the rough and tumble of the GOP primary in December.

Dole described that early endorsement this week in an interview with GQ, saying his support came down to a choice between Romney and former GOP candidate Newt Gingrich.

"I'm not a Gingrich fan, so?" Dole said, "I thought he?well, I'll say this: Romney looks like a president."

Dole insisted his Romney endorsement was "not tepid at all," noting that Romney's opponent President Obama is "totally out of step."

Cristina Saralegui category: Barack Obama

Days after President Obama announced that his administration would no longer deport young undocumented immigrants, the woman often dubbed the "Hispanic Oprah" made her first-ever presidential endorsement, pledging her support for Obama.

Cristina Saralegui, who has hosted a popular Univision talk show for more than 20 years, is featured in two Obama for America campaign videos, one in English and one in Spanish.

"I came to this country when I was 12 years old because my parents wanted to give me new opportunities to succeed," Saralegui says in the video. "President Obama wants everyone to have the chances I had."

Saralegui's support comes as both Obama and Romney are making a push to court Hispanic voters, one of the fastest-growing voting blocs. If endorsements from Latino celebrities are any guide, Obama has a head start over Romney, with Saralegui joining the likes of Marc Anthony, Eva Longoria and Ricky Martin on the president's side.

Spike Lee category: Endorsed: Barack Obama

Director Spike Lee, an ardent Obama supporter in 2008, is less optimistic about the president's election prospects this time around, telling GQ magazine in an article published June 12 that an Obama win in November "is not a lock."

"The people have to get out and vote," Lee said. "It is not a lock that President Obama is getting a second term, and people have to really rekindle the enthusiasm that we had the first time."

As for Mitt Romney, Lee said the best thing he has going for him is that "he's not Obama."

"Once we get to the debates my man [Obama] is going to tear him up," Lee said. "It's going to be obvious who should lead this country for the next four years once they go head to head, toe to toe, elbow to elbow, butt to butt. And I don't think Mr. Romney can hang with him. He just can't!"

Lee and his wife, Tonya Lewis Lee, hosted the president at their New York City brownstone home for a $35,800-per-ticket fundraiser in January.

During his remarks to the crowd of about 40 supporters, Obama told the movie producer/director that on his "first official date" with Michelle Obama, he took her to see "Do the Right Thing," which Lee wrote and directed in 1989.

"I think you helped me out that day," Obama said. "So it worked out, which is why I've always had a soft spot for Spike Lee in my heart."

Jay-Z category: Endorsed: Barack Obama

If there's any lingering doubt about whether rapper Jay-Z is an Obama supporter, as he was in 2008, the hip-hop megastar dispelled it in June.

In an interview with CNN, Jay-Z said President Obama is a better choice for the country than Mitt Romney "by leaps and bounds."

The rapper praised Obama's recent support for same-sex marriage, saying the issue "is still holding the country back."

"You can chose to love whoever you love; that's your business," Jay-Z, 42, said. "It's no different than discrimination against blacks. It's discrimination plain and simple."

Jay-Z and wife Beyonce have been ardent Obama supporters since his 2008 campaign. And the president is equally supportive of the hip-hop duo. When The Atlantic asked whether he preferred Jay-Z or Kanye West, Obama said, without hesitation, "Jay-Z."

Beyonce showed her love for the first family in January, writing a letter to Michelle Obama in which she said the first lady was "the ULTIMATE example of a truly strong African American woman."

Ricky Martin category: Endorsed: Barack Obama

International pop star Ricky Martin, famous for hits like "Livin' La Vida Loca," swung his infamously leather pants clad hips in step behind President Obama, endorsing him for the 2012 election.

The openly gay singer hosted a fundraiser with Obama in New York just days after the president publicly declared his support for same-sex marriage in May.

"I applaud President @barackobama for affirming that ALL Americans should enjoy equal rights," Martin tweeted shortly after the president's announcement. "Historic! I will be a very proud host on Monday."

While the fundraiser was scheduled weeks before Obama's announcement, it takes on a new significance following Obama's assertion that "same sex couples should be able to get married."

"I am proud to support our president," Martin told Univision's Spanish-language program Primer Imapcto after announcing the fundraiser in April.

"I believe Barack Obama has shown a deep conviction to help those most in need, even if their voices are not always the ones heard the loudest in Washington," Martin continued. "He has also been an exceptionally strong advocate for the Latino and LGBT communities, leading us to precedent setting milestones such as the appointment of the first Hispanic Supreme Court Justice and the repeal of [Don't Ask, Don't Tell]."

George Clooney

Actor George Clooney was an Obama supporter before being an Obama supporter was cool. In a 2006 interview with ABC News, Clooney said then-Sen. Obama was "the most charismatic person I've been in a room with in a long time."

"I must tell you, I've never seen anybody in my life in person that was as qualified this young to do what I think we need done," Clooney said.

And six years later, Clooney is still a firm Obama supporter. Clooney hosted one of the biggest fundraisers of the year for President Obama, hauling in a record-breaking $15 million at the star-studded black tie event at Clooney's Hollywood home.

Other big names at the $40,000 per plate dinner included actors Toby Maguire and Salma Hayek, designer Diane Von Furstenberg, singer Barbara Streisand and comedian Billy Crystal.

"I'm disillusioned by the people who are disillusioned by Obama, quite honestly, I am," Clooney said on ABC News Now's "Popcorn with Peter Travers" before the October release of "The Ides of March," a political movie that he wrote, directed and starred in. "Democrats eat their own. Democrats find singular issues and go, 'Well, I didn't get everything I wanted.' I'm a firm believer in sticking by and sticking up for the people whom you've elected."

Sarah Jessica Parker category: Barack Obama

Two weeks after the president enlisted the help of Hollywood A-lister George Clooney to host a $12 million campaign fundraiser, Obama is pumping up his star power again, only this time it's "Sex and the City" star Sarah Jessica Parker who is hosting.

Parker is not only an Obama donor, but has participated in his campaigns and his administration. She volunteered to call undecided voters in the week leading up to the election in 2008, she served on the president's Committee on Arts and the Humanities starting in 2009, and she recorded a public service announcement supporting a White House veterans program earlier this year.

"For me, this election is even more important than 2008," Parker wrote in a letter to Obama supporters. "I'm hosting this event on June 14th because there is so much at stake this year, and I want to keep doing what I can."

The "fabulous" New York City fundraiser, as Parker describes it, is likely to be a hot spot for celebrities, much like Clooney's Los Angeles gala was.

Jeff Foxworthy category: Endorsed: Mitt Romney

He already loves the cheesy grits. He has perfected the twang in his "y'all." And in order to further beef up his Southern street cred before the Alabama and Mississippi primaries, Mitt Romney called in the blue-collar cavalry.

Self-proclaimed Redneck comedian Jeff Foxworthy joined Romney on the Alabama campaign trail in March, just days before the state's primary election, after endorsing the GOP candidate via Twitter.

"Time for Republicans to unite behind Governor Romney, a great leader who can win the White House and rebuild our economy for all Americans," Foxworthy tweeted.

The "Blue Collar Comedy Tour" headliner most famous for his "you might be a redneck if..." jokes went out on the stump to support Romney amid a torrential downpour in Mobile, Ala., before traveling to two additional meet and greets in Biloxi, Mississippi and Richland, Mississippi.

Bon Jovi category: Barack Obama

Ten days before Sarah Jessica Parker hosts her "fabulous" fundraiser, rocker Jon Bon Jovi will take the stage to serenade Obama donors at an equally-pricey and similarly-star-studded fundraising "gala dinner."

Like Parker, Bon Jovi is a longtime Obama supporter. He hosted a fundraiser for then-candidate Obama at his home in 2008 and was one of a handful of music stars who played in Obama's pre-inauguration concert.

The rock star also serves on the White House Council on Community Solutions, which promotes volunteerism and community building.

James Taylor

How sweet is it to be loved by James Taylor? If you're President Obama, it's pretty sweet considering the sing/songwriter is embarking on an 18-city concert tour through a handful of battleground states.

Taylor, who endorsed Obama in 2008 as well, said he will throw a little politics between the fire and rain on his folk-rock tour this year.

"I really love this president. I love what it says about America, that we were able to elect this man," Taylor, 63, said in an interview with local North Carolina TV affiliate WCNC.

The North Carolina native will sing the president's praises in tough general election states like Pennsylvania, New Hampshire, Ohio and Colorado.

Ted Nugent

Hollywood may be leaning toward President Obama, but the rockers seem to be picking Romney. Ted Nugent came out in support of Mitt Romney shortly after Kid Rock made a guest appearance on the Romney campaign trial to play his song "Born Free."

Nugent announced his endorsement on Twitter, telling his 44,000 followers "after a long heart & soul conversation with Mitt Romney today I concluded this good man will properly represent we the people & I endorsed him."

Nugent, who is from Michigan but now lives in Texas, told the Texas Tribune that before deciding on his endorsement he spoke with Romney over the phone to make sure the former Massachusetts governor would not enact any gun law restrictions and would help rein in what he dubbed the "out of control" U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service.

"The conclusion based on all the evidence I can find is that Mitt Romney has the best shot at bringing the U.S. Constitution, common sense, and the American way back to the White House," Nugent told the Tribune.

But Romney was not Nugent's first choice for president.

"It is my firm belief that Rick Perry would have [made] and would make the best president we could choose," Nugent said, adding that he was baffled by Perry's debate performances. "If the real Rick Perry had been at those debates, he would still be in the race."

Kid Rock

Kid Rock found his presidential jam the day before his home state's voters found their polling places. The rapper-turned-country-rocker belted out "Born Free," Mitt Romney's official campaign song, at the presidential candidate's final Michigan rally before Romney's home state voted Feb. 28.

While the musician did not actually endorse Romney, he insisted on a personal meeting with the GOP candidate before he agreed to take the stage at Romney's rally.

"The other day I got in my car and I drove out to a home of a fellow that lives in this area, and I asked him whether he might come here tonight," Romney said before introducing Kid Rock. "He said, 'If you're elected president, will you help me help the city of Detroit?' I said I would. And then I turned to him, and I said, 'By the way, given the fact that I'm willing to do those things, will you come here and perform a concert tonight for my friends, and he said he would."

Rock's pseudo-endorsement represents a change of heart for the music star. During the last presidential race, Rock, whose real name is Bob Ritchie, said celebrities should keep their political opinions to themselves.

"I truly believe that people like myself, who are in a position of entertainers in the limelight, should keep their mouth shut on politics," he told CMT Insider. "Because at the end of the day, I'm good at writing songs and singing. What I'm not educated in is the field of political science. And so for me to be sharing my views and influencing people of who I think they should be voting for ... I think would be very irresponsible on my part."

Rock went on to say that celebrity endorsements actually "hurt politicians."

"As soon as somebody comes out for a politician, especially in Hollywood, when they all go, 'I'm voting for this guy!' -- I go, 'That's not who I'm voting for!'" Rock said in the 2008 interview.

Bill Maher

While another comedian makes a mockery of Super PACs, liberal jokester Bill Maher put $1 million worth of support behind the pro-Obama Super PAC Priorities USA.

Maher said he decided to write the mega-check to Priorities "partially out of fear -- fear of Santorum and Romney," who he said live in a "bubble of insanity."

"Half the country is nuts, and Obama could very well lose," Maher told the Los Angeles Times after announcing his donation in February. "He may not have been the best president in his first term, but given the alternative, I feel there's a clear choice.

"Unless the rich liberals get into the game," Maher added, "Obama will be horribly outspent. If he is outspent, he stands a good chance of losing."

Maher told ABC News that he hoped his hefty donation would inspire other wealthy Democrats to do the same.

"Hey, rich liberals," he said. "If I can do this, there's a lot of people who can do it even easier."

Eva Longoria

To say that actress Eva Longoria is an Obama supporter would be a glaring understatement.

Not only has the "Desperate Housewives" star publicly announced her support for the president and held high-dollar fundraisers to fill his election war chest, she is one of two big names in Hollywood who signed on to be one of 35 "ambassadors" for his re-election campaign.

Longoria will spearhead efforts to reach women and Hispanic voters leading up to the 2012 election, Obama's re-election campaign announced in February. Kalpen Modi (aka Kal Penn) is the only other actor on the list.

Before a high-dollar fundraising dinner with the president in September, Longoria told Jimmy Kimmel that Obama has been "very receptive" to her in her efforts to promote Latino issues.

"I'm a big Obama supporter no matter what he's been through -- he's been beaten up the past couple of years," Longoria said, according to the Huffington Post. "He's been very receptive for me, I'm a big advocate for Latino issues, and so he's been a big listener and he's done a lot of coalitions and roundtables regarding what we want changed."

Longoria helped raise between $200,000 and $500,000 for Obama's re-election in 2011 and in she helped inspire additional online donations in December when the Obama campaign raffled off a dinner with the actress to five online donors.

Chuck Norris

Chuck Norris' endorsement of Newt Gingrich was nearly as epic as the decades of jokes about his larger-than-life persona.

"Civilization is on the brink," Norris wrote in a WND.com editorial. "We need a veteran of political war who has already fought Goliath, because he will be facing Goliath's bigger brother. [Gingrich] is the best man left on the battlefield who is able to outwit, outplay and outlast Obama and his campaign machine."

After the endorsement, Gingrich anointed Norris as a member of his "Faith Leaders Dream Team," a group of what he called "fearless Christians" who serve as Gingrich's "official advisory coalition on issues pertaining to life, marriage, and religious liberty," according to his campaign website.

Donald Trump

If you ask Donald Trump, the most important endorsement of the GOP primary was Donald Trump's, which he bestowed on Mitt Romney after a whirlwind of rumors that the real estate mogul was going to pick Newt Gingrich.

Trump officially announced his endorsement in the Trump International Hotel on the Las Vegas strip shortly before the Nevada Caucus.

"Mitt is tough, he's smart, he's sharp, he's not going to allow bad things to continue to happen to this country that we all love," Trump said. "So, Gov. Romney, go out and get 'em. You can do it."

Vince Vaughn

Hollywood humor met primary politics when actor Vince Vaughn endorsed Rep. Ron Paul while introducing him at the Liberty Political Action Conference in September.

"Ron and Vince are friends, with Vince not merely interested in Dr. Paul's philosophy but he also graciously invited Dr. and Mrs. Paul to the premier of his film 'Couples Retreat,'" Paul's campaign manager Jesse Benton said in a statement, according to Slate.

Vaughn is a long-time supporter of Paul, having endorsed his 2009 book "End the Fed," as well.

Stephen Spielberg

Having a three-time Academy Award winning director on your side is not only good for morale; it's also great for fundraising. Director Steven Spielberg donated nearly $150,000 to Democratic election efforts in 2011, including $5,000 to Obama's campaign and $100,000 to pro-Obama super PAC Priorities USA, according to the Center for Responsive Politics.

While Spielberg is a long-time supporter of the Democratic Party, he was not one of the original Hollywood Obama-backers. During the 2008 Democratic primary, Spielberg endorsed Obama's opponent Hillary Clinton.

Cindy Crawford

Supermodel City Crawford was a firm supporter of Barack Obama in 2008, with both she and her husband contributing the federal limit to the Illinois senator's presidential campaign.

But in 2012, the model-turned-actress is putting her bet on Mitt Romney. Crawford appeared in an early campaign video for the former Massachusetts governor, although her spokeswoman told CNN at the time that Crawford was "not politically aligned with any party or candidate" and merely doing a favor for one of Romney's sons, with whom she was friends.

Kelly Clarkson

While pop star Kelly Clarkson did not officially endorse Ron Paul, the original "American Idol" winner tweeted some Ron Paul Revolution love to her 1.1 million followers back in December.

"I love Ron Paul," Clarkson tweeted. "I liked him a lot during the last Republican nomination, and no one gave him a chance. If he wins the nomination for the Republican Party in 2012, he's got my vote. Too bad he probably won't."

Clarkson's tepid support ignited a deluge of 140-character criticisms from her Twitter fans, many of whom were apparently unhappy about racist newsletters Paul sent out during his decades-long tenure as a Texas congressman.

Clarkson later apologized to her Twitter fans for throwing her support behind Paul.

"I am really sorry if I have offended anyone," Clarkson tweeted. "Obviously, that was not my intent. I do not support racism. I support gay rights, straight rights, women's rights, men's rights, white/black/purple/orange rights. I like Ron Paul because he believes in less government and letting the people (all of us) make the decisions and mold our country. That is all. Out of all of the Republican nominees, he's my favorite."

In an interview for Rolling Stone in March, Clarkson said she was flabbergasted by the instant outrage that her political-themed tweet incited.

"I'm hanging out with my brother and my little niece, playing Barbies, and Ron Paul comes on TV," she said according to Politico. "He doesn't BS around anything. I was like, 'This dude is refreshing.' All I did was tweet what I thought, and people went crazy! All of a sudden people were like, 'You hate gay people' -- what? I didn't even endorse him! All I said was that I liked him. I voted for Barack, so it's not even like I'm a hardcore Republican."

Michelle Branch

Apparently pop stars flock together when it comes to presidential endorsements. Shortly after Kelly Clarkson tweeted her support for Ron Paul, fellow pop princess Michelle Branch retweeted her support, writing, "@kelly_clarkson I wholeheartedly agree. #RonPaul."

Branch is best known for her early 2000s hits "Breathe" and "All You Wanted."

Gene Simmons

Gene Simmons, the bassist in the rock band Kiss, chose team Romney in January, telling Big Hollywood that Romney has the best chance of beating President Obama.

"Who's got a chance? Mitt Romney's got a chance and he's got the experience," Simmons said in the Big Hollywood interview. "He's run successful companies, knows how to make money. I believe Mitt Romney and President Obama are going to have a very good dialogue, and I want to hear that dialogue."

Joe Perry

In what is becoming typical rock star fashion, Aerosmith guitarist Joe Perry used Twitter to tell the world he was voting for Ron Paul.

"Obama hasn't done anything close to what he promised he'd do," Perry tweeted in January. "Didn't get my vote and I got lotta grief. Well, my votes for Ron Paul."

Pat Boone

The 1950s singer, actor and author Pat Boone, 77, threw his support behind Rick Santorum, saying in a statement that Santorum is "experienced, honest and deeply principled," according to Politico.

"I am excited to endorse Rick Santorum for president. I've known Rick for many years, and Rick has been a consistent defender of conservatism and the values our great nation was founded upon," Boone said in a statement released by Santorum's campaign.

Boone, whose rendition of Little Richard's "Tutti Fruiti" sent him to the top of the Billboard charts, is an outspoken critic of President Obama. He told the San Francisco chronicle in September that he believes the president was born in Kenya, is a Muslim and is "spending millions" to hide his real birth certificate. Each charge was refuted after Obama released both his certificate of live birth and long-form birth certificate.

Snooki

The Donald might not be running for president, but if he were, he would enjoy the backing of one of his fellow reality-TV superstars, Snooki. The "Jersey Shore" diva, whose real name is Nicole Polizzi, told the Huffington Post in January that Donald Trump would be her pick for president.

"I thought Trump was going to run," Snooki told the Huffington Post. "But he's not, right? I would endorse him and vote for him."

Also Read

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/mitt-romney-endorsed-dirty-jobs-host-184911633.html

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Green Blog: Climate Change, Metal and Waterways

High in the Rocky Mountains, just west of the Continental Divide, metal concentrations in the Upper Snake River have been climbing over the last 30 years, in some cases increasing as much as fourfold. Strong evidence links this trend to climate change, according to a recent study led by the United States Geological Survey and University of Colorado at Boulder.

Air and water sampling and record-keeping for the Upper Snake River, which has remained pristine for the past three decades, has been long-term and consistent. The United States Geological Survey and the Environmental Protection Agency?s records show a 30-year trend of rising temperatures, melting permafrost and dropping water tables that parallels the rise in metal concentrations, suggesting a relationship between those variables.

Because the metals are diluted by other water sources, the concentrations do not pose a direct threat to water for drinking or agriculture. ?This is not a human health issue directly, not for big downstream urban areas,? said Andrew Manning, a research geologist with the United States Geological Survey and one of the study?s principal investigators. Resort towns could potentially see metal contamination in their water sources, but the study raises broader concerns.

?Higher metal concentrations can impact the whole alpine ecosystem,? said Andrew Todd, a research biologist with the survey and the study?s primary author. At the confluence of Deer Creek and the Upper Snake River, for example, the water is sometimes milky with aluminum precipitate that blankets the riverbed and smothers life underneath. ?It?s referred to as the white death,? Dr. Todd said.

This emerging challenge for local flora and fauna is layered on top of other new stresses, like rising stream temperatures and changing hydrology.

The rise in metal concentrations also has implications for mine reclamation projects. Not five miles from the Upper Snake River, the E.P.A. has ?people underground right now? at the Pennsylvania Mine working to determine what level of remediation is required in local streams, Dr. Manning said. But ecosystem remediation practices are based on static waterborne metal concentrations.

?How do we set these standards with shifting baselines?? Dr. Manning said. ?These findings present a very big challenge for the cleanup of mine sites.?

The researchers are now looking for other long-term data sets in similarly undisturbed watersheds like the Upper Snake River, both to corroborate their findings and develop a predictive model of how mineralized watersheds might react to climate change.

?How broadly our findings carry over to other mineralized watersheds is a very important question that remains unanswered,? Dr. Manning said.

Current models of these chemical reactions are based on much smaller-scale experiments, often from work in the laboratory ?plopping a piece of rock in a beaker,? he said. ?But how this processes works on the mountain-scale remains a topic of research.?

Source: http://green.blogs.nytimes.com/2012/09/26/climate-change-metal-and-waterways/?partner=rss&emc=rss

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Jen Sheahan Shares Facebook Marketing Strategies on Internet ...

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Source: http://freereleasepress.com/jen-sheahan-shares-facebook-marketing-strategies-on-internet-prophets-live-conference-in-chicago/

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Blue Jays down Orioles again

Associated Press Sports

updated 10:22 p.m. ET Sept. 25, 2012

BALTIMORE (AP) - The Baltimore Orioles insist they're not watching the scoreboard. They say they're concentrating on the last-place Toronto Blue Jays.

They will need to concentrate harder.

On Tuesday night, the Orioles lost for the second straight game, 4-0 to the Blue Jays.

Baltimore remained 1 1-2 games behind first-place New York in the AL East. The Yankees lost 5-4 at Minnesota.

After Boston's loss, Adam Jones said it was vital to ignore the Yankees.

"Trying to get more runs on our scoreboard," Jones said.

For the first time since Aug. 3, Baltimore was shut out as Aaron Laffey and five relievers combined on a six-hitter.

Laffey (4-6) allowed five singles in 5 2-3 innings and won his first game since Aug. 5. He had been winless in his previous six starts. He neither walked nor struck out a batter.

"Honestly, he's running on fumes. His stuff is not as sharp and crisp, but you can't take anything away from what he did tonight. He's gone out there on really some guile tonight," Toronto manager John Farrell said.

Relievers Steve Delabar, Brett Cecil, Brandon Lyon, Darren Oliver and Casey Janssen combined to allow one hit - Chris Davis' seventh-inning double - in 3 1-3 innings.

The Orioles loaded the bases in the ninth on an error and two walks, but Ryan Flaherty flied out on the first pitch of his at-bat to end the game.

"He's the tying run there," manager Buck Showalter said. "He just missed that ball, hitting it out of the ballpark."

On Monday, Baltimore and Toronto split a doubleheader, with the Blue Jays winning the second game 9-5. The Orioles had just four runners in scoring position.

Baltimore leads the season series 10-7 with one game remaining on Wednesday.

"You're always going to get everyone's best shot and when we had been struggling and we'd go into certain venues where there's a good emotion in the ballpark, it feeds the other team as well as us," Showalter said.

The Orioles had won seven of their previous nine.

"We got to get some wins. That's what we've been doing since the first day of spring training. Now, we're just in a position where each game matters. It's a cool position to be in," Jones said.

Joe Saunders (2-3) pitched 6 1-3 innings, allowing four runs - three earned - and 11 hits. He struck out two and walked none.

"I didn't feel I had my best stuff, but I feel like I kept my team in the game as best I could. I think we've played like 100 innings the last five days, so bullpen's pretty burnt up, so I had to go as deep as I could," Saunders said.

The Orioles played an 18-inning game in Seattle a week ago, another 11 innings against the Mariners the next night, and 12 innings in Boston last Saturday.

"I think we're fine. I think we might be a little bit tired, but we just have to push through, especially at this time of the year, dig down deep and find whatever you have and compete the best you can. That's about it," Saunders said.

In the first inning, the Blue Jays took a 1-0 lead on Yan Gomes' RBI single that scored Brett Lawrie, who led off with a single.

Rajai Davis beat out an infield single with two outs in the fourth and scored on Adeiny Hechavarria's double.

In the seventh, Colby Rasmus and Edwin Encarnacion had consecutive RBI singles to give Toronto a 4-0 lead.

"They came up with clutch hits, not really hard hits, but just kind of dinked it in there," Saunders said.

Dylan Bundy made his second appearance for Baltimore. The 19-year-old pitched a scoreless ninth, but allowed his first hit.

NOTES: Orioles LHP Randy Wolf, who's suffering from discomfort in his pitching elbow, will consult with orthopedist Dr. Lewis Yocum before settling on his next step. Yocum performed Tommy John surgery on Wolf's left elbow in 2005. ... Baltimore RHP Jason Hammel, who's been out with a bad right knee, threw about 35 pitches off the mound. He hasn't pitched since leaving a game on Sept. 11. ... Orioles OF Lew Ford is out with a groin injury. ... Bundy and OF L.J. Hoes were given awards for outstanding pitcher and hitter in the Orioles' minor league system. Hoes made his major league debut as a pinch-runner in the ninth. ... Davis was credited with a first-inning single when his batted ball hit Gomes, who was ruled out. ... Baltimore RHP Miguel Gonzalez (7-4, 3.52) faces Toronto RHP Carlos Villanueva (7-6, 3.88) on Wednesday.

? 2012 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.

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Braves are in!

Freddie Freeman hit a two-run homer in the bottom of the ninth inning to put the Atlanta Braves back in the playoffs with a 4-3 victory over the Miami Marlins on Tuesday night.

Yanks fall to Twins, fail to stretch lead

MINNEAPOLIS (AP) - Phil Hughes ran out of gas in the seventh inning and Boone Logan couldn't hold the lead for him as the New York Yankees missed a chance to go up 21/2 games on Baltimore in a 5-4 loss to the Minnesota Twins on Tuesday night.

Source: http://nbcsports.msnbc.com/id/49173137/ns/sports-baseball/

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