Juhan

Source: http://factoidz.com/where-to-find-best-housecleaner-in-lubbock-texas/

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Going to recycle this as soon as I need another OOC thread. XD my bad.

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Mother Monster was named Mayor Bloomberg's special guest for the annual celebration.
By James Montgomery

Lady Gaga
Photo: Joe Scarnici/ WireImage

Back in May, ahead of the release of her Born This Way album, Lady Gaga described her hometown of New York City as her "husband," and now, she's been tapped to help her spouse ring in the New Year in the most traditional of ways: by dropping the ball in Times Square.

Yes, according to The New York Post, Mayor Michael Bloomberg has named Gaga as his special guest at the City's annual New Year's Eve celebration, where she'll ceremoniously push a Waterford Crystal button at 11:59 p.m., officially beginning the famed crystal ball's descent over the raucous Times Square crowd.

Shortly after the official announcement was made, Gaga took to her Twitter account to express her excitement, writing "I'm so looking forward to ... dropping the Ball with Mayor Bloomberg! What an honor as a New Yorker!"

Each year, Bloomberg chooses a guest to drop the ball and help usher in the New Year ... though, to date, Gaga is his most, uh, unique pick: previous honorary button-mashers have included Bill and Hillary Clinton, Colin Powell, Muhammad Ali and Rudy Giuliani.

Of course, dropping the Times Square Ball — which this year is bedazzled with 2,688 Waterford Crystal triangles and carries the theme of "Let There Be Friendship" — isn't Gaga's only New Year's Eve gig. She'll also perform at two NYE celebrations: the 40th annual "Dick Clark's New Year's Rockin' Eve" and, of course, the Japanese program "Kohaku Uta Gassen."

MTV will also be throwing a New Year's Eve party of its own: "NYE in NYC 2010," a performance-packed special featuring Demi Lovato, Mac Miller, Selena Gomez, J. Cole, Jason Derülo and more. It all goes down live on MTV at 11 p.m. ET on Saturday (December 31) from Times Square.

Will you be watching the ball drop this New Year's Eve? Let us know in the comments below!

Related Artists

Lady Gaga

Source: http://www.mtv.com/news/articles/1676579/lady-gaga-new-years-times-square-ball-drop.jhtml

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',
container = $('#drop-panel-container'),
contents = $(container).html();

if (isIE8) {

$(container).replaceWith(f+contents+b)

}

}

function dropPanelSetUp(data) {
/* buttons should be a dataobject of strings representing IDs
the hide and show functions are expecting IDs so passing a class will result in a
failure.

click as the action is assumed for now

the data object should look like this:

{ masterlistener:(string[dom id]),
panel:(string[dom id]),
eventgroup1:{ button:(string[dom id]),
content:(string[dom id]),
offset:{x:(int),y:(int)},
on_state_class: ''(string)
},
eventgroup2:{ button:(string[dom id]),
content:(string[dom id]),
offset:{x:(int),y:(int)},
on_state_class: ''(string)
} ... etc
}

The drop panel nodes should be placed so they share the same offset parent as the buttons that activate it.

NOTE: IE8 Got-chya: the ID for the panel is hard coded into the IE8 rouned corners code.
If you have changed the ID for the drop panel and are having trouble with IE8
change the ID in the template string in this function: ie8DropPanel()

*/

var speed = 300,
panel = $('#'+data.panel),
buttons = [];

for (var i=1,eg; eg=data[('eventgroup'+i)]; i++) {

var bp = $('#'+eg.button).position(), //button position
ph = $('#'+eg.button).height(), //button height
panelPos = [bp.top+ph, bp.left, eg.offset];
on_state_class = eg.on_state_class;

buttons.push([$('#'+eg.button),$('#'+eg.content),panelPos,eg.button,on_state_class]);

}

$('#'+data.masterlistener).bind('click',{speed:speed,panel:panel,buttons:buttons},function(event){

var org = event.target,
speed = event.data.speed,
panel = event.data.panel,
buttons = event.data.buttons,
panel_open = isPanelOpen(panel);

for (var i=buttons.length-1, b; b=buttons[i]; i--) {
/*
* b[0] = button DOM object
* b[1] = content DOM object
* b[2] = the display co-ord object:
* [0] = top (int)
* [1] = left (int)
* [2] = offset object
* {x,y}(int,int)
* b[3] = button ID (string)
* b[4] = button 'on' class
*/

var button_id = b[3],
same_content = isSameContent(panel,b[1]);

if ( $(org).attr('id') === button_id || $(org).parents('#'+button_id).attr('id')){

if(!same_content) {

hideAllContent(buttons);
movePanel(panel,b[2]);

if (panel_open) {

showContent(b[1],b[0],b[4]);

} else {

showContent(b[1],b[0],b[4]);
showPanel(panel,speed);

}

} else {

hidePanel(panel,speed,b[4]);

}

}

}

function isPanelOpen(panel) {

return ($(panel).css('display').toLowerCase() === 'block');
}

function isSameContent (panel,content) {

return ($(content, panel).css('display').toLowerCase() === 'block');

}

function movePanel(panel,b) {
// b[0] top, b[1] left, b[2] {x,y}

$(panel).css({
'top': (b[0] + b[2].x)
});
$(panel).css({
'left': (b[1] + b[2].y)
});

}

function showPanel(panel,speed) {

$(panel).slideDown(speed);
}

function hidePanel(panel,speed) {

$(panel).slideUp(speed, function() {hideAllContent(buttons);});

}

function showContent(content, button, btn_class) {
$(content).show();
$(button).addClass(btn_class);
}

function hideContent(content) {

$(content).hide();

}

function hideAllContent(buttons) {

for (var i = buttons.length-1, b; b=buttons[i]; i--) {
$(b[1]).hide();
$(b[0]).removeClass(b[4]);
}

}

})

}

return {

ieRoundedCorners:ieRoundedCorners,
ie8DropPanel:ie8DropPanel,
dropPanelSetUp:dropPanelSetUp
}

})();

var headerNavication = (function($,cw) {

var nav_item_list = $('.cw-header .main-nav ul.main > li'),
channel_id_list = '',
channel,
sub_channel;

var findChannel = function () {

var winloc = isIE ? document.URL.split('/') : document.documentURI.split('/') ,
channel_id = winloc[3],
sub_chanel_id = winloc.length > 5 ? '/'+winloc[4]+'/' : '',
reg_sub_find_id = new RegExp(sub_chanel_id,'ig'),
reg_removed_id = /^nav-/i;

for (var i=nav_item_list.length-1,n; n=nav_item_list[i]; i--) {

if ( channel_id === $(n).children('a').attr('id').replace(reg_removed_id,'') ) {
var list = $(n).children('ul').children('li');

if (sub_chanel_id.length > 0) {

for (var j=list.length-1,l; l=list[j]; j--) {

if (reg_sub_find_id.test($(l).children('a').attr('href'))) {
break;
} else {
l = false;
}

}

}

break;

}

}

findChannel = function () {
return [n,l];
}

return [n,l];

}

var init = (function() {
channel = findChannel()[0] || nav_item_list[0];
sub_channel = findChannel()[1];

if (sub_channel) {
highlightSubChannel();
}

clearNav();

if(isIE) {

cw.ieRoundedCorners();

if(isIE8) {
cw.ie8DropPanel();
}
}

if ($('#handle-header').attr('id')) {
cw.dropPanelSetUp({
masterlistener: 'handle-header',
panel: ('drop-panel-container'),
eventgroup1: {
button: 'btn-newspapers',
content: 'panel-newspapers',
offset: {
x: 5,
y: 0
},
on_state_class: 'newspapers-dropdown-on'
},
eventgroup2: {
button: 'btn-networks',
content: 'panel-networks',
offset: {
x: 5,
y: 0
},
on_state_class: 'networks-dropdown-on'
}
});
}

//need to check state of search radio buttons since firefox doesn't reset to the default checked radio button
if($('.cw-header #radio-btn-yp:checked').attr('id') != null){
$('.cw-header #header-search-form').attr('action','http://canadacom.yellowpages.ca/search/');
$('.cw-header #header-search-string').attr('name','what');
$('.cw-header #radio-btn-yp').siblings('label').removeClass('selected');
$('.cw-header #radio-btn-yp').next().addClass('selected');
}

eventSetUp();

}())

function highlightSubChannel() {

if((document.location+"").indexOf("/sports/football/cfl/") > -1) $(".mainnav-item .cfl").addClass('sub-nav-highlight');
else if((document.location+"").indexOf("/sports/football/grey-cup-2011/") > -1) $(".mainnav-item .cfl").addClass('sub-nav-highlight');
else if((document.location+"").indexOf("/sports/football/nfl/") > -1) $(".mainnav-item .nfl").addClass('sub-nav-highlight');
else $(sub_channel).addClass('sub-nav-highlight');
}

function clearNav() {

clearTabs();
$(channel).children('ul').show();
$(channel).css('background-position', 'bottom right');

}

function eventSetUp() {

$('.cw-header .main-nav ').bind('mouseleave', function(event){

if (isIE) {

if ($(event.relatedTarget).parents('.main-nav').length 0)?"" + value.substring(0,pos) + "" + value.substring(pos, term.length) + "" + value.substring(pos + term.length) + "":value.substring(0, term.length) + "" + value.substring(pos + term.length) + ""; }, scroll: false, selectFirst: false }); });

Source: http://feeds.canada.com/~r/canwest/F71/~3/x_ShENoh2dg/story.html

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Robert Siegel speaks with Shree Bose, the winner of this year's Google Science Fair. Bose investigated why cancer cells become resistant to the chemotherapy drug Cisplatin. Through her research, she discovered a specific protein that makes cancer cells resistant to the drug.

Copyright ? 2011 National Public Radio?. For personal, noncommercial use only. See Terms of Use. For other uses, prior permission required.

ROBERT SIEGEL, HOST:

Of course, the U.S. is also known for exporting another precious commodity: Ideas. And all this week, we're exploring the ideas of young innovators, people who've made advances in the fields of science and technology before they are old enough to vote.

And today, a teenage cancer researcher, 17-year-old Shree Bose. This past summer, Shree Bose took home the grand prize at the inaugural Google Global Science Fair. Her project was researching ways to make a more effective cancer-killer. And she joins us now online from Fort Worth, Texas. Welcome to the program. Congratulations.

SHREE BOSE: Thank you.

SIEGEL: And I'd like you to describe for us, in a nutshell, what you did about chemotherapy and cells that become resistant to chemotherapy.

BOSE: In a nutshell, my project was about drug-resistance in ovarian cancer. And basically what happens is that when patients are diagnosed with cancer, they go in for chemotherapy treatment, which is basically giving patients really high doses of chemicals to try and kill off cancer cells. Which works great most of the time. But sometimes, years after they've been declared cancer-free patients come back with a recurrence of the same cancer that they had before.

And this time, they're resistant to the drug. You can't treat with the same treatment option, so you have to turn towards radiation therapy and different types of chemotherapy drugs. So, basically, my project was trying to figure out exactly how these cancer says were becoming resistant to one particular chemotherapy drug.

SIEGEL: And you actually identified a factor that could be at work here.

BOSE: Yes, we did. We found that one protein in the cell, AMP-kinase, which is an energy protein, shifts its function from sensitive cells to resistant cells. And it actually might be changing the cell along with it to make those cells resistant. And if we can target that, we can actually treat resistant patients again, which is huge for chemotherapy and huge for future research.

SIEGEL: Now, how did you become interested in cancer research?

BOSE: After my freshman year actually, my grandfather passed away due to cancer and I just decided that I wanted to see what research was going on, what was out there. And I decided that I wanted to get involved in cancer research. So, I started emailing all of these professors in my area, asking to work under their supervision.

And I got rejected by all except one. And then I went in to work with Dr. Basu at the UNT Health Science Center here in Fort Worth. And that's where my cancer research story began.

SIEGEL: So that was the beginning of your young career as a cancer researcher. But you were already involved in science fair projects for quite a while.

BOSE: It was. I've been involved in science fairs since I was in second grade. My first project was trying to turn spinach blue with food coloring to make it more appetizing to little kids. And it just grew from there. And at 15, I was doing cancer research. So, it was a nice step.

(SOUNDBITE OF LAUGHTER)

SIEGEL: Did you have cooperative little kids who would eat the blues spinach?

BOSE: Actually, I killed off the spinach plant before it actually grew. So...

(SOUNDBITE OF LAUGHTER)

BOSE: It didn't work out so well for me.

(SOUNDBITE OF LAUGHTER)

SIEGEL: So, your project has gotten a lot more sophisticated than that.

BOSE: Exactly.

SIEGEL: Shree, do you remember a time when you were very little, when something that your parents showed you or took you to, or told you about inspired you to want to do science?

BOSE: I think my biggest influence in science has actually been my older brother, Pinaki Bose. He's 19, smartest kid I know. And just throughout my entire life he's always been there to teach me things and to show me how exciting and interesting science could be. So, I owe a lot of my success to him and I'm really lucky to have him in my life.

SIEGEL: And your plans for your own education? You're now senior in high school?

BOSE: Yes, senior in high school - last year. I'm hoping to go on to do an undergraduate degree in biology and hopefully pursue premed. I was accepted early to Harvard, so that's one of my options. But I'm applying to a lot really, really great schools like Stanford and Johns Hopkins. And so, hopefully I'll end up somewhere great, and I'll be able to pursue future research and hopefully go into the medical field.

SIEGEL: I suspect you'll do just fine.

(SOUNDBITE OF LAUGHTER)

SIEGEL: That's Shree Bose. She's the grand prize winner of this year's Google Global Science Fair for her research into cancer treatment. She spoke to us from Fort Worth, Texas. Shree, thank you very much.

BOSE: Thank you for having me.

Copyright ? 2011 National Public Radio?. All rights reserved. No quotes from the materials contained herein may be used in any media without attribution to National Public Radio. This transcript is provided for personal, noncommercial use only, pursuant to our Terms of Use. Any other use requires NPR's prior permission. Visit our permissions page for further information.

NPR transcripts are created on a rush deadline by a contractor for NPR, and accuracy and availability may vary. This text may not be in its final form and may be updated or revised in the future. Please be aware that the authoritative record of NPR's programming is the audio.

Source: http://www.npr.org/2011/12/29/144449812/google-science-fair-winner-discusses-her-project?ft=1&f=1007

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Click here to read Shooting Challenge: Long Party Exposures

New Year's Eve is this weekend, meaning that most of us are attending parties. For this week's Shooting Challenge, I want you to capture that party...in a really long exposure. 15 seconds to 30 minutes. More »

Source: http://feeds.gawker.com/~r/gizmodo/full/~3/3sPrrJKhmZ4/shooting-challenge-long-party-exposures

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Military in court

Colombian authorities said Wednesday seven soldiers have been charged in the killing of a comrade who had deserted.

According to the Prosecutor general's Office, the troops reported on December 24, 2006 they killed a rebel in combat near the northern town of Majagual.

In a statement, the prosecutors said investigators determined the victim wasn?t a rebel but rather a soldier who had deserted from the same infantry unit.

A scandal broke out in Colombia in 2008 over extrajudicial executions of civilians by security forces. Since then, prosecutors have received complaints of more than 2,700 such killings.

Prosecutors said earlier this year that at least 368 soldiers and police officers have been convicted and an additional 700 face charges.

Source: http://colombiareports.com.feedsportal.com/c/33781/f/605316/s/1b57db0f/l/0Lcolombiareports0N0Ccolombia0Enews0Cnews0C212690Ecolombian0Etroops0Echarged0Ein0Edeserters0Ekilling0Bhtml/story01.htm

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This image made from amateur video and released by Shaam News Network Tuesday, Dec. 27, 2011, purports to show the blood of men killed from shells in Homs, Syria, Monday, Dec. 26, 2011. (AP Photo/Shaam News Network via APTN) THE ASSOCIATED PRESS CANNOT INDEPENDENTLY VERIFY THE CONTENT, DATE, LOCATION OR AUTHENTICITY OF THIS MATERIAL. TV OUT

This image made from amateur video and released by Shaam News Network Tuesday, Dec. 27, 2011, purports to show men carrying an injured man in Homs, Syria, Monday, Dec. 26, 2011. (AP Photo/Shaam News Network via APTN) THE ASSOCIATED PRESS CANNOT INDEPENDENTLY VERIFY THE CONTENT, DATE, LOCATION OR AUTHENTICITY OF THIS MATERIAL. TV OUT

This image made from amateur video and released by Ugarit News Group Tuesday, Dec. 27, 2011, purports to show a Syrian military tank in Homs, Syria. (AP Photo/Ugarit News Group via APTN) THE ASSOCIATED PRESS CANNOT INDEPENDENTLY VERIFY THE CONTENT, DATE, LOCATION OR AUTHENTICITY OF THIS MATERIAL. TV OUT

This image made from amateur video and released by Shaam News Network Tuesday, Dec. 27, 2011, purports to show a woman mourning over a relative who has been killed in Homs, Syria Monday, Dec. 26, 2011. (AP Photo/Shaam News Network via APTN) THE ASSOCIATED PRESS CANNOT INDEPENDENTLY VERIFY THE CONTENT, DATE, LOCATION OR AUTHENTICITY OF THIS MATERIAL. TV OUT

This image made from amateur video and released by Shaam News Network Tuesday, Dec. 27, 2011 Monday, Dec. 26, 2011, purports to show a woman mourning over a close relative in Homs, Syria Monday, Dec. 26, 2011. (AP Photo/Shaam News Network via APTN) THE ASSOCIATED PRESS CANNOT INDEPENDENTLY VERIFY THE CONTENT, DATE, LOCATION OR AUTHENTICITY OF THIS MATERIAL. TV OUT

BEIRUT (AP) ? Tens of thousands of defiant Syrian protesters thronged the streets of Homs Tuesday, calling for the execution of President Bashar Assad shortly after his army pulled its tanks back and allowed Arab League monitors in for the first time to the city at the heart of the anti-government uprising.

The pullback was the first sign the regime was complying with the League's plan to end the 9-month-old crackdown on mostly unarmed and peaceful protesters.

Yet amateur video released by activists showed forces firing on protesters even while the monitors were inside the city. One of the observers walked with an elderly man who pointed with his cane to a fresh pool of blood on the street that he said had been shed by his son, killed a day earlier.

The man, wearing a red-and-white checkered headdress, then called for the monitor to walk ahead to "see the blood of my second son" also killed in the onslaught.

"Where is justice? Where are the Arabs?" the old man shouted in pain.

Syrian tanks had been heavily shelling Homs for days, residents and activists said, killing dozens even after Assad signed on early last week to the Arab League plan, which demands the government remove its security forces and heavy weapons from city streets, start talks with opposition leaders and allow human rights workers and journalists into the country.

But a few hours before the arrival of the monitors, who began work Tuesday to ensure Syria complies with the League's plan, the army stopped the bombardment and pulled some of its tanks back.

The British-based activist group Syrian Observatory for Human Rights confirmed that government forces fired on protesters while the monitors were inside Homs and said at two people were killed from the fire.

About 60 monitors arrived in Syria Monday night ? the first foreign observers Syria has allowed in since March, when the uprising against Assad's authoritarian rule began. The League said a team of 12 visited Homs.

After agreeing to the League's pullback plan on Dec. 19, the regime intensified its crackdown on dissent; government troops killed hundreds in the past week and Syria was condemned internationally for flouting the spirit of the agreement.

On Monday alone, security forces killed at least 42 people, most of them in Homs. Activists said security forces killed at least 16 people Tuesday, including six in Homs.

One group put Tuesday's toll at 30, including 13 in Homs province. Different groups often give varying tolls. With foreign journalists and human rights groups barred from the country, they are virtually impossible to verify.

Amateur videos show residents of Homs pleading with the visiting monitors for protection.

"We are unarmed people who are dying," one resident shouts to one observer. Seconds later, shooting is heard from a distance as someone else screams: "We are being slaughtered here."

Given the intensified crackdown over the past week, the opposition has viewed Syria's agreement to the Arab League plan as a farce. Some even accuse the organization of 22 states of complicity in the killings. Activists say the regime is trying to buy time and forestall more international condemnation and sanctions.

"The Syrian government will cooperate symbolically enough in order not to completely alienate the Arab League," said Bilal Saab, a Middle East expert at the Monterey Institute of International Studies in California. "But make no mistake about it, its survival strategy is to keep kicking the can down the road, until domestic and international circumstances change in its favor."

Opponents of Assad doubt the Arab League can budge the autocratic leader at the head of one of the Middle East's most repressive regimes. Syria's top opposition leader, Burhan Ghalioun, called Sunday for the League to bring the U.N. Security Council into the effort. The U.N. says more than 5,000 people have been killed since March in the political violence.

Shortly after the tanks pulled back and stopped shelling, the videos showed tens of thousands flooding into the streets and marching defiantly in a funeral. They carried the open casket overhead with the exposed face of an 80-year-old man with a white beard.

"Listen Bashar: If you fire bullets, grenades or shells at us, we will not be scared," one person shouted to the crowd through loudspeakers. Many were waving Syria's independence flag, which predates the 1963 ascendancy of Assad's Baath party to power.

"The people want to execute Bashar," chanted a group as they walked side-by-side with monitors through one of Homs' streets. "Long live the Free Syrian Army," they chanted, referring to the force of army defectors fighting Assad's troops.

The amateur video also showed a man picking up the remains of a mortar round and showing it to the observers.

In another exchange, a resident tells a monitor: "You should say what you just told the head of the mission. You said you cannot cross to the other side of the street because of sniper fire."

The monitor points to the head of the team and says: "He will make a statement." The resident then repeats his demand, and the monitor, smoking a cigarette, nods in approval.

The Observatory for Human Rights said as the monitors visited Homs, tens of thousands of protesters gathered in some neighborhoods to "reveal the crimes committed by the regime."

Later, the Observatory said some 70,000 protesters tried to enter the tightly secured Clock Square but were pushed back by security forces that fired tear gas and later live bullets, killing at least two, to prevent them from reaching the city's largest square. The Local Coordination Committees, another activist group, said security forces were shooting at protesters trying to reach the central square.

Homs, Syria's third-largest city, has a population of 800,000 and is at the epicenter of the revolt against Assad. It is about 100 miles (160 kilometers) north of the capital, Damascus. Many Syrians refer to it as the "Capital of the Revolution."

Opposition activist Mohammed Saleh said four days of heavy bombardment in Homs stopped in the morning on Tuesday and tanks were seen pulling out. Another Homs activist said he saw armored vehicles leaving early on a highway leading to the eastern city of Palmyra. He asked that his name not be made public for fear of retribution.

"Today is calm, unlike previous days," Saleh said. "The shelling went on for days, but yesterday was terrible."

The Observatory said some army vehicles pulled out of Homs while other relocated in government compounds "where (they) can deploy again within five minutes."

A local official in Homs told The Associated Press the team of monitors, headed by Sudanese Lt. Gen. Mohamed Ahmed Mustafa al-Dabi, met with Ghassan Abdul-Aal, the governor of Homs province. After the meeting, the monitors headed to several tense districts including Baba Amr and Inshaat, sites of the most intense crackdowns since Friday.

The official later said that most members of the Arab team headed back to Damascus, while three will spend the night in Homs. The official refused to give details about where the observers will stay for security reasons.

In addition to the deaths reported by activist groups Tuesday, Syrian state-run news agency SANA said two roadside bombs targeted a bus carrying employees of a state company in Idlib, killing six and wounding four.

Also Tuesday, a Lebanese-based al-Qaida-linked group, Abdullah Azzam Brigades, claimed that two suicide attacks against Damascus security offices that killed at least 66 Friday were the work of the Syrian regime, and not al-Qaida as Syrian authorities said.

And in Lebanon, security officials said Syrian troops opened fire at a car that crossed illegally into northern Lebanon, killing three Lebanese men. Some Syrians have fled to Lebanon to escape the fighting, and Syria has complained that weapons are smuggled across its borders. It was not immediately clear if the shooting was related to the uprising in Syria.

___

Associated Press writer Albert Aji contributed to this report from Damascus, Syria.

___

Bassem Mroue can be reached on http://twitter.com/bmroue

Associated Press

Source: http://hosted2.ap.org/APDEFAULT/3d281c11a96b4ad082fe88aa0db04305/Article_2011-12-27-ML-Syria/id-d5b9067761614942935337ab036be989

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RAMALLAH, West Bank ? Alarmed by bloody unrest in Syria, the Hamas militant group has pulled out many of its lower-level cadres from its Damascus headquarters and made contingency plans to move its leadership to locations across the Middle East, senior Hamas members have told The Associated Press.

The Hamas members say the group remains appreciative of Syrian leader Bashar Assad and there is no immediate intention to abandon their base in Damascus. But they confirmed that dozens of low and midlevel members have already left Syria as the security situation grows increasingly precarious.

"Most of Hamas has left Damascus. We have a plan B for leaving if things deteriorate," said a senior Hamas official, who spoke on condition of anonymity because he was discussing the inner workings of the secretive group.

Hamas, an Iranian-backed Palestinian group, has been based in Syria for more than a decade. Assad has allowed Hamas, branded a terrorist group by Israel and the West, to use his territory for military training, and provided a valuable headquarters in the heart of the Arab world.

But the uprising in Syria has put Hamas in a difficult place. The U.N. estimates that more than 5,000 people have been killed in violence since March, and Hamas is wary of being associated with the government crackdown.

If Hamas does pull out completely, the move could force it to change the way it operates since the leaders would become dispersed across the region and their new hosts may not give them as much freedom. Hamas' supreme leader, Khaled Mashaal, for instance, is set to go to Qatar, a Gulf state with close ties to the U.S. Other leaders would go to Egypt, another American ally, while others would end up in Lebanon, Turkey or the Hamas-run Gaza Strip.

Fawzi Barhoum, a Hamas leader in the group's Gaza stronghold, says Hamas "hopes that Syria will get out of its difficult internal crisis through a political solution ending further bloodshed in the country." He said there has been "no decision" to leave Damascus.

The plan is the latest sign of change in the Islamic group amid the convulsions of the Arab Spring across the Middle East the past year. The uprisings have been a mixed blessing for Hamas. On one hand, allies like Syria are in trouble. On the other hand, Islamic groups have made strong gains through peaceful elections. While Hamas leaders say they haven't abandoned their dream of destroying Israel, they also seem to be realizing that they can advance their agenda through nonviolent means.

In recent days, Mashaal said Hamas would turn focus on nonviolent protests against Israel, though he refused to renounce violence.

He also signaled that Hamas might be willing to accept a Palestinian state alongside Israel in the West Bank and Gaza Strip, the areas captured by Israel in the 1967 Mideast war. Hamas has in the past endorsed the 1967 lines as the first stage toward eliminating Israel.

Hamas also last week began the process of joining the Palestine Liberation Organization as it reconciles with the rival Fatah movement. The Fatah-dominated PLO has long sought a political settlement with Israel. Joining the PLO could give Hamas a voice, and possibly veto, in future peace efforts.

Israeli officials dismiss any suggestion that Hamas, which has killed hundreds of Israeli civilians in suicide bombings, rocket attacks and other violence, has changed. They cite the hardline speeches delivered at Hamas' 24th anniversary celebrations earlier this month, when speakers proudly called for "armed resistance" and the destruction of Israel.

"Unfortunately there is no evidence that Hamas has in any way moderated its extremist agenda," said government spokesman Mark Regev.

Barhoum said the group has not abandoned its ideology. Instead, he said it has merely changed its tactics as it adjusts to the times.

"There is a new environment around us," he said. "That doesn't mean Hamas is giving up its rights and its clear program as a resistance faction."

Hamas began its transformation into a political movement in 2006, when it defeated Fatah in Palestinian legislative elections in the West Bank and Gaza Strip.

A brief power-sharing arrangement disintegrated into violence the following year, leaving Hamas in control of Gaza and the Fatah-dominated Palestinian Authority in charge of the West Bank. The sides are now holding reconciliation talks and hope to hold new elections next year.

In Gaza, Hamas on Tuesday marked the third anniversary of an Israeli military offensive in the seaside strip. The offensive, launched in response to months of intense rocket barrages, killed some 1,400 Palestinians, including hundreds of civilians, and caused widespread damage. Thirteen Israelis also died in the fighting.

At memorial ceremonies, speaker after speaker voiced their support for continued armed confrontation with Israel. After suffering heavy losses in the fighting, Hamas has largely maintained a cease-fire with Israel the past three years. Still, it is believed to have restocked its arsenal with more powerful weapons.

But Raed Nearat, a political science professor in the West Bank who is close to Hamas, said that behind the rhetoric, Hamas is in the midst of a significant change.

He said the revolutions across the Middle East, as well as elections that have voted heavily in favor of Islamic movements in Egypt, Tunisia and Morocco, have emboldened Hamas.

"The Arab Spring has made Hamas much more confident, pragmatic and open," he said. "It's much more confident now that it can lead."

This week, the prime minister of the Gaza government, Ismail Haniyeh, left the territory for the first time since the 2007 takeover on an official tour of the Muslim world. His first stop was Egypt, with planned visits to Sudan, Qatar, Bahrain, Tunisia and Turkey.

Hamas officials say the goal of the trip is to improve ties with Muslim countries swept up in the uprisings shaking the Arab world. In Egypt, Haniyeh met with the leader of Egypt's Muslim Brotherhood, the biggest winner in the first parliamentary elections since the Feb. 11 fall of Hosni Mubarak.

Source: http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/mideast/*http%3A//news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20111228/ap_on_re_mi_ea/ml_palestinians_changing_hamas

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Source: http://iowntheworld.com/blog/?p=111359

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Eighteen games remain in the 2011 NFL season: Bears-Packers tonight, Falcons-Saints tomorrow and 16 games on New Year?s Day. Here?s a rundown of how each team still in contention can have its playoff position affected by the results of those 18 games:

Patriots: Clinch home-field advantage throughout the AFC playoffs by beating Buffalo or by having both the Ravens and Steelers lose.

Ravens: Clinch the AFC North and a first-round bye with a win or a Steelers loss. Clinch home-field advantage with a win and a Patriots loss.

Steelers: Clinch the AFC North with a win and a Ravens loss. Clinch home-field advantage with a win, a Ravens loss and a Patriots loss.

Texans: Locked into the AFC No. 3 seed. Week 17 is meaningless to Houston, and the Texans may rest many of their key players.

Broncos: Clinch the AFC West and the No. 4 seed by beating the Chiefs, or a Raiders loss.

Raiders: Clinch the AFC West and the No. 4 seed by beating the Chargers and a Broncos loss. If the Broncos win, the Raiders can still get a wild card if they win and the Bengals lose, plus either the Titans lose or the Jets win.

Bengals: Clinch a playoff spot and the No. 6 seed if they win, or if the Jets lose and either the Raiders or Broncos lose.

Jets: Get the No. 6 seed if they win and the Bengals and Titans and either the Raiders or Broncos lose.

Titans: Get the No. 6 seed if they win and the Bengals lose, plus either the Jets win and the Broncos or Raiders lose, or the Jets lose and the Broncos and Raiders both win.

Packers: Clinch home-field advantage throughout the NFC playoffs if they beat either the Bears tonight or the Lions next week, or if the 49ers lose next week.

49ers: Clinch a first-round bye with a win next week or the Saints losing either on Monday night or next week. The 49ers can still get home-field advantage throughout the playoffs if they win and the Packers lose to both the Bears and the Lions.

Saints: Clinch the NFC South if they win either of their two remaining games, and they could even clinch the NFC South if they lose both of their remaining games, if the Falcons lose in Week 17. The Saints can?t get home-field advantage throughout the NFC playoffs, but they can get a first-round bye if they win both their remaining games and the 49ers lose next week.

Cowboys/Giants: Next Sunday night?s game is essentially a playoff game: The Cowboys-Giants winner wins the NFC East and is the No. 4 seed, while the loser?s season is over. If the game ends in a tie, the Giants win the division.

Falcons: The Falcons can clinch a playoff spot tonight by the Packers beating the Bears. They need just one more win or one more Chicago loss to get to the playoffs. They could still win the NFC South, but only if they beat the Saints Monday night and win next week, plus the Saints lose next week.

Lions: Detroit is an NFC wild card. Whether they?re the No. 5 or No. 6 seed depends on the results of their own game with the Packers and the Falcons? remaining games.

Bears: Chicago can still make the playoffs, but only if they win both their remaining games and the Falcons lose both their remaining games.

Source: http://profootballtalk.nbcsports.com/2011/12/25/vikings-will-take-hard-look-at-making-webb-quarterback-of-the-future/related/

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All Critics (74) | Top Critics (24) | Fresh (67) | Rotten (7)

Herzog is pursuing no agenda with Into the Abyss, despite his opposition to extreme judicial measures. He's seeking to answer the question of why people kill, especially in a situation such as this where the reason for the murders was so meaningless.

Into the Abyss does what too few documentaries these days do - it gives ample play to all sides of the argument. Herzog allows us to think things through on our own.

Herzog has managed another strange and intriguing look at a culture and the sorts of people it creates - victims, cops and criminals.

Herzog's investigation may not work as an anti-death-penalty editorial, but its findings are undeniably profound.

A disquieting, heartbreaking look at American crime and punishment.

The abyss here isn't capital punishment, the ostensible subject of the film; it's the seemingly unending capacity for causing and enduring pointless misery that humans seem to have.

An eerie, unsettling and slightly macabre attempt to understand the how and why of three senseless murders in 2001 in Texas.

The most memorable image here is the lethal-injection gurney. With its crossbar for the outstretched arms of doomed prisoners, it resembles a padded crucifix -- a ghastly and inelegant parody of a symbol of Christian comfort.

[Herzog] simply means to show us things as they are - and in this corner of Texas, just north of Houston, things are undeniably violent. And mean.

Into the Abyss makes Herzog's point powerfully, without descending to the level of polemic.

Unlike, say, Errol Morris in The Thin Blue Line, Herzog isn't seeking to exonerate anyone or introduce new evidence. He's just there, observing the process as it rolls forward and wondering why.

Herzog unforgettably shows how when you pull tight the straps on men who've lain down to die, it leaves a mark.

This is the abyss the film shows, the frightening arbitrariness of the death penalty. People are born into poverty and violence by chance, and their fates -- as crime victims or victims of the state -- are also functions of chance.

The director's ability to objectively pursue this line of inquiry makes Into the Abyss a compelling, revealing work of art.

Herzog's death-row documentary hits hard

The overriding point of Into the Abyss, what keeps this sad, sorrowful film from becoming depressing and elevates it far above the usual chatter of liberal-conservative debate, is that there can be light on the other end of even the darkest of tunnels.

Herzog asks, in that probing yet gentle, meditative voice we've come to cherish, "What does it mean?" Oh, Werner. We don't ask such things in 'Merica.

Covers much the same ground as other death row movies, but with the Herzog difference.

Comes close to the voyeurism of Nick Broomfield's documentaries on Aileen Wuornos but is saved by Herzog's obviously deep conviction that capital punishment is evil.

"Into the Abyss" makes a strong case for the inhumanity of capital punishment, regardless of the crime or the criminal.

[Herzog's] piercing gaze provides a tightly focused look at the realities underlying our nation's continued reliance on this archaic tool of criminal justice.

The interviews that make up the balance of the film yield plenty of oddities of modern American life.

More Critic Reviews

Source: http://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/into_the_abyss_2011/

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FILE - In this April 10, 2011 file photo released by Tokyo Electric Power Co. (TEPCO), workers in protective suits watch monitors as they operate remote-controlled rubble removing equipment to clear debris in the compound of the tsunami-crippled Fukushima Dai-ichi nuclear power plant in Okuma, northeastern Japan. A report reveled Monday, Dec. 26, said Japan's response to the nuclear crisis that followed the March 11 tsunami was confused and riddled with problems, including an erroneous assumption an emergency cooling system was working and a delay in disclosing dangerous radiation leaks. (AP Photo/Tokyo Electric Power Co., File) EDITORIAL USE ONLY

Japanese Prime Minister Yoshihiko Noda, right, receives an investigation report from Yotaro Hatamura, chairperson of the Investigation Committee on the Accident at the Fukushima Nuclear Power Stations of Tokyo Electric Power Co., at Noda's official residence in Tokyo, Monday, Dec. 26, 2011. Japan's response to the nuclear crisis that followed the March 11 tsunami was confused and riddled with problems, including an erroneous assumption an emergency cooling system was working and a delay in disclosing dangerous radiation leaks, a report revealed Monday. (AP Photo/Shizuo Kambayashi, Pool)

FILE - In this March 22, 2011 file photo released by Tokyo Electric Power Co. (TEPCO) , workers in protective suits conduct cooling operation by spraying water at the damaged No. 4 unit of the Fukushima Dai-ichi nuclear complex in Okumamachi, northeastern Japan,Tuesday, March 22, 2011. A report revealed Monday, Dec. 26, said that Japan's response to the nuclear crisis that followed the March 11 tsunami was confused and riddled with problems, including an erroneous assumption an emergency cooling system was working and a delay in disclosing dangerous radiation leaks. (AP Photo/Tokyo Electric Power Co., File) EDITORIAL USE ONLY

Yotaro Hatamura, left, chairperson of the Investigation Committee on the Accident at the Fukushima Nuclear Power Stations of Tokyo Electric Power Co., and Kunio Yanagida, right, a member of the investigation committee, react during the committee meeting in Tokyo, Monday, Dec. 26, 2011. Japan's response to the nuclear crisis that followed the March 11 tsunami was confused and riddled with problems, including an erroneous assumption an emergency cooling system was working and a delay in disclosing dangerous radiation leaks, a report revealed Monday. (AP Photo/Koji Sasahara)

TOKYO (AP) ? Japan's response to the nuclear crisis that followed the March 11 tsunami was confused and riddled with problems, including an erroneous assumption an emergency cooling system was working and a delay in disclosing dangerous radiation leaks, a report revealed Monday.

The disturbing picture of harried and bumbling workers and government officials scrambling to respond to the problems at Fukushima Dai-ichi nuclear power plant was depicted in the report detailing a government investigation.

The 507-page interim report, compiled by interviewing more than 400 people, including utility workers and government officials, found authorities had grossly underestimated tsunami risks, assuming the highest wave would be 6 meters (20 feet). The tsunami hit at more than double those levels.

The report criticized the use of the term "soteigai," meaning "outside our imagination," which it said implied authorities were shirking responsibility for what had happened. It said by labeling the events as beyond what could have been expected, officials had invited public distrust.

"This accident has taught us an important lesson on how we must be ready for soteigai," it said.

The report, set to be finished by mid-2012, found workers at Tokyo Electric Power Co., the utility that ran Fukushima Dai-ichi, were untrained to handle emergencies like the power shutdown that struck when the tsunami destroyed backup generators ? setting off the world's worst nuclear disaster since Chernobyl.

There was no clear manual to follow, and the workers failed to communicate, not only with the government but also among themselves, it said.

Finding alternative ways to bring sorely needed water to the reactors was delayed for hours because of the mishandling of an emergency cooling system, the report said. Workers assumed the system was working, despite several warning signs it had failed and was sending the nuclear core into meltdown.

The report acknowledged that even if the system had kicked in properly, the tsunami damage may have been so great that meltdowns would have happened anyway.

But a better response might have reduced the core damage, radiation leaks and the hydrogen explosions that followed at two reactors and sent plumes of radiation into the air, according to the report.

Sadder still was how the government dallied in relaying information to the public, such as using evasive language to avoid admitting serious meltdowns at the reactors, the report said.

The government also delayed disclosure of radiation data in the area, unnecessarily exposing entire towns to radiation when they could have evacuated, the report found.

The government recommended changes so utilities will respond properly to serious accidents.

It recommended separating the nuclear regulators from the unit that promotes atomic energy, echoing frequent criticism since the disaster.

Japan's nuclear regulators were in the same ministry that promotes the industry, but they are being moved to the environment ministry next year to ensure more independence.

The report did not advocate a move away from nuclear power but recommended adding more knowledgeable experts, including those who would have been able to assess tsunami risks, and laying out an adequate response plan to what it called "a severe accident."

The report acknowledged people were still living in fear of radiation spewed into the air and water, as well as radiation in the food they eat. Thousands have been forced to evacuate and have suffered monetary damage from radiation contamination, it said.

"The nuclear disaster is far from over," the report said.

The earthquake and tsunami left 20,000 people dead or missing.

___

Follow Yuri Kageyama on Twitter at http://twitter.com/yurikageyama

Associated Press

Source: http://hosted2.ap.org/APDEFAULT/f70471f764144b2fab526d39972d37b3/Article_2011-12-26-AS-Japan-Nuclear/id-b22db784d3c9499088e73e929db07628

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By Craig Berman, TODAY.com contributor

Michael Becker / FOX

Melanie Amaro was crowned the first "X Factor" champ on Thursday night.

Melanie Amaro was crowned the winner of ?X Factor? on Thursday, surprising almost nobody and completing the journey that nearly ended before it began.

Amaro famously wasn?t one of judge Simon Cowell?s original four female finalists, but got called back into the competition when he either changed his mind or decided that the charade had gone on long enough, depending on how cynical you are. Once she got that second chance, she immediately became the favorite among the women, sailing through the competition and earning the $5 million recording contract.

She fell to her knees in prayer after hearing the news, overwhelmed enough to resist host Steve Jones? numerous attempts to get something resembling a sound bite out of her. She choked up several times during her show-closing number, but presumably will recover in time to record what everyone at Fox hopes?will be?a monster album that sells millions of downloads.

Josh Krajcik, the former burrito maker and champion of the 30-somethings, came in second, with Chris Rene having been eliminated earlier in the evening as the third-place finisher.

The result capped an evening that was more of a holiday special than a coronation. The three finalists all sang Christmas tunes, as did Justin Bieber in a duet with Stevie Wonder. Bieber than sang a few notes with Drew, the teenager eliminated earlier in the competition who auditioned with Bieber?s ?Baby? and seemed as overwhelmed by the opportunity as any girl her age would.

?She is a very special girl and she will go far,? Bieber said, though he did not indicate that he was prepared to fulfill Drew?s fantasy of a date with him at the beach.

The show also featured the snippets of interviews with friends and family members that tug at the heartstrings and are a staple of all reality competitions, or so it seems.

?We used to complain about you singing all the time, and now look at you singing in front of millions of people,? Amaro?s brothers said.

?I?m not really surprised we?re here right now. I want you to know that I love you so much, and I don?t think I say that enough,? said Krajcik?s daughter.

The night also saw the rivalry between Simon and judge?L.A. Reid depicted as a battle of heavyweights, while judges Nicole Scherzinger and Paula Adbul had the ?Cry-Off? clip show instead. This concept was brought to you by the 1950s, which wants its gender roles back.

Rachel Crow made her return, two weeks after her elimination in what was called the most shocking moment of the season. She didn?t seem to have any lingering scars from that experience.

?I?m gonna steal your job,? she told Steve.

It was a tough night for the host in general, who was often stymied in his attempts to talk with the contestants and had Nicole whiff on a punchline several times before he finally threw up his hands and gave up.

Other acts included 50 Cent, who tested the Fox censors and was accompanied by some of the less-heralded members of the Los Angeles Lakers, as well as Ne-Yo and Pitbull. Also singing was Leona Lewis, who won the British version of the show and is what the folks at Fox are desperately hoping that Amaro becomes. That, as much as anything else, will determine whether this becomes the next ?American Idol? or just one of the countless shows stuck in its wake.

Did the right contestant win?

?

More in The Clicker:

Source: http://theclicker.today.msnbc.msn.com/_news/2011/12/22/9645437-the-winner-of-the-x-factor-is

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It all boiled down to talent (Melanie Amaro) versus heart (Josh Krajcik) versus energy (Chris Rene) on the first-ever American finale of The X Factor, with a major recording contract, $5 million and serious bragging rights at stake tonight.

So, who took home the largest grand prize in reality show history?

Following an electrifying set of performances by Justin Bieber, 50 Cent, Leona Lewis, Pitbull and Ne-Yo, host Steve Jones announced the winner as ...

... Melanie Amaro!

Obviously stunned and emotionally overwhelmed just after Jones made the expected announcement, a choked up Amaro said only "GOD IS GOOD!!"

And half a million thank yous.

Simon Cowell said simply, "We came here to find a superstar, and we found a superstar ... congratulations and thank you to all who supported this show."

Chris Rene got the chop first, leaving Melanie and Josh Krajcik in the final two. Before the results were unveiled, the two dueted on David Bowie's "Heroes."

The first season finale then closed out with a performance by Melanie. She sang "Listen," a perfect choice as it was arguably her strongest effort all season.

What do you think? Did Melanie Amaro deserve to win?

Source: http://www.thehollywoodgossip.com/2011/12/who-won-the-x-factor/

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NEW YORK (Reuters) ? Applications for home mortgages slipped last week, led by a drop in purchase demand as low interest rates were not enough to entice home buyers, an industry group said on Wednesday.

The Mortgage Bankers Association said its seasonally adjusted index of mortgage application activity, which includes both refinancing and home purchase demand, fell 2.6 percent in the week ended Dec 16.

The MBA's seasonally adjusted index of refinancing applications dipped 1.6 percent, while the gauge of loan requests for home purchases lost 4.9 percent.

"Remarkably low rates are not enough, as many homeowners continue to hold back due to lack of equity in their properties, poor credit and a weak job market," Michael Fratantoni, MBA's vice president of research and economics, said in a statement.

Fixed 30-year mortgage rates averaged 4.08 percent, down 4 basis points from 4.12 percent the week before. It was the lowest rate this year, the MBA said.

The refinance share of total mortgage activity rose to 80.7 percent of applications from 79.7 percent the previous week.

The survey covers over 75 percent of U.S. retail residential mortgage applications, according to MBA.

(Reporting By Leah Schnurr; Editing by Leslie Adler)

Source: http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/business/*http%3A//news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20111221/bs_nm/us_usa_economy_mortgages

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NASA astronaut Don Pettit, Russian cosmonaut Oleg Kononenko, and Dutch astronaut Andre Kuipers plan to do 57 experiments during five months on the International Space Stations.

Three spaceflyers blasted off today (Dec. 21) from snowy Kazakhstan to spend the holidays on the International Space Station.

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NASA astronaut Don Pettit, Russian cosmonaut Oleg Kononenko, and Dutch astronaut Andre Kuipers, part of the European Space Agency (ESA), lifted off atop the Russian Soyuz TMA-03M spacecraft from Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan at 8:16 a.m. EST (1316 GMT).

The trio is bound for the space station, where they are scheduled to dock on Friday (Dec. 23) at 10:22 a.m. EST (1522 GMT). They are set to begin a roughly five-month stay on the orbiting outpost as part of the station's Expedition 30 mission, and will return in May 2012.

RECOMMENDED: Are you scientifically literate? Take the quiz.

ettit, Kononenko and Kuipers will join the three spaceflyers already on the station: commander Daniel Burbank of NASA and flight engineers Anton Shkaplerov and Anatoly Ivanishin of Russia. Their arrival will beef up the station's crew complement to its full six members.

Holiday celebrations

The new arrivals will find the space laboratory festive for the holidays. The current crew has put up holiday decorations to mark the season, and Burbank sent a holiday greeting video down to the people of Earth. [Space Station Commander Sends Holiday Greetings to Earth]

"We'll celebrate the holidays in great fashion after they get here," Burbank said of the new crewmembers. "We've already put up decorations, and we've gathered together all the cards and gifts that our friends and families have sent to us, and we're planning a couple of big meals. That'll be great."

Pettit, Kononenko and Kuipers, each veteran spaceflyers who've been to the space station before, will also have their work cut out for them once they arrive at their new home-away-from-home. In addition to wide-ranging scientific research projects, the crewmembers will spend their time keeping up the station and fixing anything that might break.

"If liquid's squirting out someplace then it's like I'm a plumber for the day; if an electronics box isn't working right then you're an electrical repairman for the day," Pettit said during a press conference a few months before the launch. "You have to remember that the space station is so complicated, no one person could keep all the details in your mind. That's why we need all the folks on the ground."

The presence of six crewmembers onboard the station will allow each spaceflyer to dig deep into research.

"I think I have something like 57 experiments from NASA, from ESA and also from JAXA," the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency, Kuipers said in a press conference earlier this year. "There's a whole bunch of experiments that I'm looking forward to, experiments in different fields ? fluid physiology, fluid physics."

Source: http://rss.csmonitor.com/~r/feeds/science/~3/ItoU3vLTmdY/Christmas-cosmonauts-American-Russian-and-Dutchman-bound-for-ISS

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Amid bloodshed, Hamas prepares to leave Syria (AP)

Lemon Pickers Union

মঙ্গলবার, ২৭ ডিসেম্বর, ২০১১

PFT: Vikings will take 'hard look' at Webb at QB

91% Into The Abyss

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David_IsayBlog: @OrnellaVanoni Beh, nella canzone parla di Facebook in sostanza, parlando di "Aggiungi agli amici" ecc, ma non di Twitter :)

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Japan probe finds nuclear disaster response failed

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The winner of 'The X Factor' is ...

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শনিবার, ২৪ ডিসেম্বর, ২০১১

Video: 'Merriness' for the Music Industry

Mortgage applications eased last week: MBA (Reuters)

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Christmas cosmonauts: American, Russian, and Dutchman bound for ISS

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