Sorry, Readability was unable to parse this page for content.
Source: http://www.skagitfisheries.org/2012/12/internship-avaliable/
republican debate tonight tinker tailor soldier spy rich forever rick ross project runway all stars elin nordegren tangled ever after kansas state
Thanks to Houston's late-season slump, Denver and New England will have byes when the AFC playoffs begin next week.
The Texans fell from first to third in the conference Sunday when they lost 28-16 at Indianapolis, which welcomed back coach Chuck Pagano after nearly three months of treatments for leukemia.
AFC West champion Denver won its 11th straight game, 38-3 over Kansas City to secure the top seed. New England blanked Miami 28-0 for the second spot.
Minnesota edged Green Bay 37-34 to grab the final NFC wild card, sinking the Packers to the third seed. Those teams will meet again next week at Lambeau Field.
The other NFC matchup will have Seattle (11-5), which beat St. Louis 20-13, at either Washington or Dallas. Those teams met Sunday night for the NFC East crown.
Cincinnati (10-6) will be at Houston and Indianapolis (11-5) at Baltimore (10-6) in the AFC wild-card rounds.
Peyton Manning threw for three touchdowns as Denver (13-3) routed the Chiefs. New England (12-4) got the second seed despite having the same record as Houston because it beat the Texans, who lost three of their final four games.
Adrian Peterson had 199 yards against the Packers, finishing with 2,097 ? Dickerson's single-season rushing mark in 2,105. But it was rookie kicker Blair Walsh who won it with a 29-yard field goal as time expired.
"''Ultimately we got the 'W,'" Peterson said.
Baltimore Pro Bowl safety Ed Reed is looking forward to a reunion with Pagano. He wishes it would come a little later in the postseason.
"Chuck's like a dad to me," Reed said "He means a lot to me. I would have much rather seen them in the AFC championship game than the first game."
But Reed will see him next week at Baltimore.
The Ravens had a chance to move up to the AFC's third seed with a win and a New England loss. But Baltimore lost at Cincinnati as both teams played backups for much of the game.
Pagano coached the Ravens' secondary for three seasons and was promoted to coordinator last year. Players and coaches in Baltimore have kept in touch, offering encouragement as he fought through the cancer treatments.
"Going back to Baltimore, obviously there's some familiarity there," Pagano said. "We had four great years there as a family. It's a top-notch organization, you know, really good football club. It's a great challenge and they have a great team and they have great players all over the place."
The Colts were 2-14 last season and chose quarterback Andrew Luck with the top selection in the draft. Luck and offensive coordinator Bruce Arians, who stepped in as interim coach with Pagano sidelined, led the turnaround.
Next week, Pagano goes up against former boss John Harbaugh.
"I love his family, and he's one of my closest personal friends in coaching," Harbaugh said. "What he's been through is phenomenal, but we're all competitors so that gets set aside."
The defending Super Bowl champion Giants are out of contention. When Chicago beat Detroit 26-24, the Giants (9-7) were eliminated, even though they routed Philadelphia 42-7.
"It hurts," said Eli Manning. "Each year you want to make the playoffs to give yourself an opportunity to win a championship; 9-7 last year was good enough. It wasn't good enough this year and we knew it wouldn't be."
Minnesota's win eliminated Chicago, which the Vikings swept this season.
___
Online: http://pro32.ap.org/poll and http://twitter.com/AP_NFL
Source: http://news.yahoo.com/broncos-top-seed-afc-013853200--nfl.html
marlins marlins facebook buys instagram kevin systrom fibonacci sequence maryland lottery grand jury
From Your Health Journal?..?The Washington Post is an excellent resource on all topics, but I love their health related stories. I encourage all of you to visit their site (link below) to read this full article being reviewed here today, as well as other great articles. Today?s article discusses an option of how to cut obesity by banning food ads. Advertisements can have that ?glorifying? effect on people, especially children ? who see ads for products that may entice them to eat fatty or sugary processed foods. There are many groups who feel advertisements play a big role in contributing to the obesity epidemic. Basically, kids see an ad, go to the supermarket and want this product ? maybe because the ad made the unhealthy food seem very appealing to eat, or simply because it comes with a prize. Now, on the other hand, there are some who feel all this in nonsense, as parents need to step up and show discipline ? and use the word ?no? when a child asks for a food product that may not be healthy. Then, there is another group who say buy the products, but moderate how much they eat, so it is not on a regular basis. Which side do you take? Would love to know, so post away here. Please visit the Washington Post web site to view the full article.?
From the article?..
It should come as no surprise to anyone with a television that advertising for fast food joints and snack foods can be mighty persuasive. A new working paper by public health economists Michael Grossman, Roy Wada, and Erdal Tekin tries to quantify exactly how persuasive, and what this means for public health.
Previous studies have mainly focused on the persuasiveness of junk food advertising to children. Not too surprisingly, the previous literature found that kids were pretty impressionable. One study found that watching 100 ads for soft drinks over a three-year period was associated to a 9.4 percent increase in soda consumption. Another, coauthored by Grossman, found that banning fast food advertising would reduce childhood obesity by 10 percent.
The new paper reproduces Grossman?s earlier calculations and reaches very similar conclusions. What?s more, it finds that banning fast food ads reduces obesity when measured using percent body fat (PBF), which many experts consider a better metric to body-mass index (BMI), upon which Grossman?s earlier study relied. Using PBF, the effects of an advertising ban are even larger. A PBF-based calculation suggests that a ban would reduce the number of obese youths by 14 percent, while Grossman et al?s most recent BMI-based calculation found a reduction of only 6 percent.
To read the full article?..Click here
Source: http://www.lensaunders.com/wp/?p=11042
Con Edison LaGuardia Airport weather radar the weather channel tony romo national grid LIPA
Posted on December 30, 2012 by dufttuey508 in Internet
Web hosting providers shared stands out as the site an internet based webpage joins many other world wide web internet sites and the like identical web hosting server often by just countless people young and old, might possibly be complicated go over anything from the pair of hundreds as well as 1000?s. A standard swimming pool of server assets is perhaps shared by simply almost all domain names, by way of example Memory in addition to CPU. Homehost is out there within a system administration attached with manage panels these kinds of as cpanel, plesk and many others
It truly is not ideal for customers that might demand very much take care of and should require to employ or have interaction the utilization of software?utes apart the hosting firm may well existing alongside allow. Shared hosting has a number of limits compared to other kinds related with hosting.
It can be usually one among a multitude of the very least high priced about demand in comparison to different kinds relating to web-based hosting much like the committed hosting server and many way more.
Applying the shared internet hosting could possibly be complete by just Establish centered because of this a clients of webhosting shared will surely explore hostnames in then just one web-based protocol deal with. Such a shared enviroment include some constraints this sort of as: Often called chiefly centered shared web hosting is not going to present an if it is compatible with additional mature versions pertaining to HTTP/a solitary.2 surfers that do not properly remit hostnames considering that HTTP could very well be obligatory. Furthermore, it doesn?t benefit collateralized websites with HTTP deal with. As soon as considerably more you?ll discover DNS may well various durations breakdown.
Ip primarily based working with this type of each particular person because of the webhosting shared get yourself a various alongside original internet protocol offer with allotted to each and every buyer?azines site. It truly is at all times to try a centered the web protocol handle pertaining to ssl qualification motives.
For every web web-site to get triumph over the internet it requires for being located using a web hosting supplier. There is certainly plenty of hospedagem companies on the internet now to pick from thought about one in every of this kind of hospedagem provider provider may be the homehost Company found in Brazil. This individual Brazilian business gives you keeping offering this purchasers inside of Brazil nut jointly with homehost and hospedagem P Websites.
Earlier than enthusiastic about choosing a different hospedagem or maybe homehost DE Web pages products a particular needs to endure critiques through consumers specifically initial prior for you acquiring these hospedagem or homehost answers. The main reason why it?s very worthwhile take a look at analysis is that often testamonials are feedbacks from what now buyers are expressing about that business as well as note no matter if or not beneficial or destructive they?re for your reward in generating a conclusion about buy it or not.
Homehost has the many plenty of web hosting kinds that may be perfect on your will require and in particular your existing web-site so as to prosper on-line. It?s not at all just low-cost as well as expenses highly effective but it is actually on top of that a little more hard to management because they possess an encouraging purchaser service workers almost always at your doorway to help you deal with your existing inquiries including dilemmas frequently.
HOMEHOST may be a Brazilian business working on the online site web hosting business. The world wide web website hosting regularly best-known as for most language due to the fact hospedagem or hospesdagem Signifiant Web sites. Hosting company your blog site in addition to any hosting provider is truly an extremely critical as well as a vital means to to be flourishing on the internet nowadays. But on account of Family Number?azines accessibility to the market involving hosting. World wide web hosting a number of seek advice from it as hospedagem as well as homehost Signifiant Web sites.
Cacildo Sinistrov can be an IT top notch from MIT. To browse through more about homehost, make sure you stop by
Causes To Make Use Of Cheap Internet Hosting To Your WebSites can provide you with optimum facts for Free Web Hosting Great Threat.Be sure to drop by and see the article for additional info!
Source: http://www.veritasindia.com/internet-hosting-forums
chad ochocinco roman numerals new england patriots superbowl halftime madonna madonna papa johns
LONDON (AP) ? Few people keep Queen Elizabeth II waiting, especially when she has issued a personal invitation, but President Ronald Reagan managed to do so in 1982 without causing any lasting damage.
It happened in 1982, when the Reagan White House failed to reply in a timely way to a personal invitation from the queen for the president and his wife Nancy to stay with her at Windsor Castle during a planned visit to England.
Formerly Confidential papers made public Friday reveal there were raised eyebrows, and bruised feelings, when Reagan did not answer the sort of invite that usually commands a prompt reply the world over. The queen's invitation was left to languish for weeks ? something the British believe is simply Not Done.
"It is really for the president to respond to her invitation, which he has not done personally, something that I have pointed out several times here," writes Nicholas Henderson, Britain's ambassador to Washington, in a memo to the British Foreign Office. "As you know those surrounding the president are not deliberately rude: It is simply that they are not well-organized and do not have experience of this sort of thing."
The misunderstanding was eventually cleared up ? and Reagan even found the time to go horseback riding with the queen.
A former Reagan official today offers one possible explanation for the delay replying: Nancy Reagan's need to consult an astrologer.
"You have to remember that Mrs. Reagan was very strict about his schedule, and she would consult her astrologer to see if this was the right time to travel," William F. Sittman, a special assistant to Reagan who was involved in planning the trip, told The Associated Press. "Sometimes she would back up departures."
The tiff over the tardy reply is but one revelation contained in nearly 500 pages of newly released documents relating to the Reagan visit being made public Friday by Britain's National Archives. The dossier shows the British government ? led by Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher ? to be extraordinarily interested in pleasing the relatively new president on his two-day visit.
British leaders also fretted that perennial cross-Channel rivals might triumph in the tug-of-war for presidential face time in a visit that had to be sandwiched between two summits on the European mainland. They feared the president might cancel, either because of time pressure or a reluctance to offend other European leaders who wanted meetings with Reagan.
The dossier is filled with serious political concerns ? how to maximize Britain's influence on U.S. policy? ? and lighter matters, including what gift to give the Reagans (they decided on a carriage clock), and what type of horse and saddle Reagan would most enjoy for his ride with the queen.
At one point, the president's men pose a fashion question on his behalf: Just what should the president wear to go riding with the queen?
The answer: Something smart, but casual, of course. Riding boots, breeches and a turtleneck sweater would do fine ? no need for formal riding attire.
The papers show that top Reagan adviser Michael Deaver had a way of annoying his British counterparts with last-minute changes and requests, and also surprised them with some of his objectives. Deaver, remembered as a shrewd image-builder, said he wanted Reagan to be photographed outside of formal venues, so he wouldn't be seen "exclusively in white tie" at palace functions, even suggesting that Reagan go to a village pub to soak up the atmosphere
The documents make clear that Europe's leaders were desperate for Reagan's attention at a time of high Cold War tensions. A memo from U.K. Cabinet Secretary Robert Armstrong on Feb. 5 expresses concern that a gala, summit-closing dinner at the palace of Versailles outside Paris could delay Reagan's arrival in London. But he warns against pressuring the Reagan entourage to skip the meal at Versailles' Hall of Mirrors because "that would not please the President of the French Republic."
Reagan's aides also worried the British by suggesting the president might have to skip the stop in London because accepting it might anger the Germans, who had offered a similar invitation. The Americans express concern about "the German problem" ? the prospect that if the president visited London he might also have to add a stop in Germany, as well.
But feelings are smoothed when the Americans assure the British contingent that the Germans are not America's top priority.
"Eagleburger emphasized how much the president himself wanted to go to London," stresses one confidential memo from the British ambassador, referring to senior U.S. diplomat Lawrence Eagleburger. "There should be no doubt about that. Eagleburger also said that at the moment the Germans were not America's favorite allies."
There are confidential memos back and forth about whether the London stopover should be officially called a "state visit" ? the White House is reluctant to use that phrase for fear of offending the Italians, since a visit to Rome was not designated a state visit.
The prospect of a chance to relax from international summitry with a bit of horseback riding with the queen seems to have helped carry the day for the Brits. Asked for the president's favorite type of horse, British planners are told simply that he wants a thoroughbred. He ended up riding Centennial, one of the queen's favorites, and wearing a perfectly fitted sports jacket above his sweater, going for an old-time Hollywood look he carried off with ease.
Much of the actual visit was devoted to pomp and pageantry, or to relaxation, but Reagan did make one speech of consequence. He became the first American president to address a meeting of both houses of Parliament and used the occasion to trumpet his distaste for the Soviet Union, calling it an economic catastrophe.
He said Marxism-Leninism would be left on the ash heap of history ? a prediction that would come to pass in the following decade.
Source: http://news.yahoo.com/thatcher-papers-show-fascination-reagan-visit-012217318.html
ellsbury brad pitt and angelina jolie brad and angelina herniated disc sacramento kings luke scott tom benson
4 hrs.
Those spunky?Android tablets may have made big gains on Apple's flagship slate in recent months in terms of sales, but competitors still have a long way to go when it comes to actual usage. So says Chitika Insights, an ad and analytics firm that claims the iPad still accounts for a full 87 percent of all tablet Web traffic.
For every 100 iPad impressions Chitika receives, it only receives 14.75 impressions from all other tablets combined, VentureBeat reports.
As you can see in the chart below, the Kindle Fire family is far and away the second most popular tablet on Chitika's ad network, and it generates more than 20 times less traffic than the iPad, accounting for just 4.88 percent of all impressions. The vaunted Google Nexus tablets? Just 1.22 percent.
Early reports peg Microsoft's Surface tablet as the most-used Windows 8/RT device, but it only accounts for 0.22 percent of all tablet traffic by Chitika's count???just 0.04 points ahead of the defunct HP TouchPad's share. No wonder Microsoft has broadened the Surface's distribution.
Android tablets, on the other hand, have been on a hot streak of late. Google-powered tablets managed to knock the iPad's market share down to "just" 50.4 percent in the third quarter, which was the Apple tablet's smallest chunk since its launch.
One strong quarter is just the start of an uphill battle for Android, however. As Chitika's numbers show, years of utter dominance by the iPad have given it a substantial lead when it comes to actual usage. It will be interesting to see if the release of the iPad mini and fourth-gen iPad chew into Android's gains when the fourth-quarter sales numbers are released.
Copyright 2012 LAPTOP, a TechMediaNetwork company. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.
the replacements how to hard boil eggs new nfl uniforms easter derbyshire the matrix oceans 11
WASHINGTON -? Let us count the ways that Sen. Marco Rubio is already better positioned to be a competitive presidential candidate in 2016 than Mitt Romney ever was.
Rubio (R-Fla.) is younger. He's Latino. He gives a good speech. But less remarked upon: Rubio understands the importance of talking about himself.
In other words, Rubio, 41, gets narrative.
For much of the last year, the Republican Party apparently did not. And the GOP's self-examination in the wake of Romney's loss has prompted many to say that the party needs to convey a more compelling, inspiring vision to American voters.
"The number one rule of competitive politics [is that] your story has to be rooted in lives of people. Having a narrative is really important," said former president Bill Clinton.
Narrative has become an overused clich? in everyday political parlance, but as a concept it is as crucial as ever for any national politician. President Barack Obama paved his path to victory in 2008 by telling his own story in a 1995 memoir. And Obama's longtime trusted adviser David Axelrod centered the 2008 campaign message firmly around the candidate's biography.
"Barack is the personification of his own message," Axelrod said in 2007. "He is his own vision."
Marshall Ganz, a veteran labor organizer whose ideas about narrative have influenced some of Obama's top campaign operatives, has explained the importance of what he called a "leadership story."
"Some people say, 'I don?t want to talk about myself,' but if you don?t interpret to others your calling and your reason for doing what you?re doing, do you think it will just stay uninterpreted? No. Other people will interpret it for you," Ganz wrote in 2009. "You don?t have any choice if you want to be a leader. You have to claim authorship of your story and learn to tell it to others so they can understand the values that move you to act, because it might move them to act as well."
Romney, the failed 2012 Republican nominee, was often faulted for not wanting to talk about ways he had helped other people. But Romney seemed uncomfortable talking about himself in any context. And his campaign consultants discouraged him from talking at length about his Mormon faith, a crucial part of Romney's biography and of his inner life.
Ganz, in an interview, said candidates who come from privilege often avoid self-examination. Romney grew up in a wealthy family, as did Al Gore and John Kerry, the Democratic candidates who fell short of the White House in 2000 and 2004 and who both were hindered by stiff and inaccessible personalities.
"There's a Yiddish riddle: 'Who discovered water? I don't know, but it wasn't a fish,'" Ganz told The Huffington Post. "We're fish in the water of our own stories unless there's some motivation, or some need that provokes us articulating them. And if you're living a life of privilege, it could be that there's just less need. 'I don't need to do the work of interpreting who I am.'"
Rubio doesn't have that challenge. He grew up the son of working-class Cuban immigrants who struggled at times to provide for him and his siblings. And Rubio has made sure to mention that in recent public appearances.
"My mother lived in a home with dirt floors in rural Cuba, raised by a disabled father who struggled to bring food home every night," Rubio said at a speech in early December headlining the annual dinner in honor of former Rep. Jack Kemp (R-NY).
The low-income and working-class Americans that Rubio is seeking to win over were famously alienated by Romney's 47 percent remarks. But conservative columnist Ramesh Ponnoru argued after the election that the entire meta-narrative that the GOP was telling throughout the election season did little to win these voters.
"The Republican story about how societies prosper -- not just the Romney story -- dwelt on the heroic entrepreneur stifled by taxes and regulations: an important story with which most people do not identify," Ponnoru wrote. "The ordinary person does not see himself as a great innovator. He, or she, is trying to make a living and support or maybe start a family.
"A conservative reform of our health care system and tax code, among other institutions, might help with these goals," Ponnoru continued. "About this person, however, Republicans have had little to say."
Avik Roy in Forbes sounded a similar note.
"Increasingly, swing voters are being hit with our health care problems," Roy wrote. "People who lose their jobs, or work part time, have to buy costly coverage on their own. Employers are increasingly dropping their health coverage -- a trend that was true before Obamacare, but that our new health care law will accelerate.
"If Republicans don?t wake up to these problems, and devote intellectual energy to solving them, they will become increasingly irrelevant to the voters who decide elections."
Rubio is trying to change this. It will, obviously, have to be about more than biography for Rubio or any other candidate in 2016. But a candidate's personal story, and the brand it creates, has become in many ways the key with which to open a door and gain a hearing with voters on these issues. Once you're through the door, they'll listen to your ideas. But not before that.
"In politics appearances are as important as reality," Rubio himself said in his book.
With that in mind, Rubio's plans for the immediate future are heavy on nontraditional media appearances that will help introduce him to the nation, rather than bog him down on Capitol Hill in partisan fights.
"He's willing to go into spaces that other people aren't," said Rubio political adviser Albert Gonzalez, mentioning the senator's two appearances on "The Daily Show."
Rubio has said little about the fiscal cliff fight. His media shop sent nothing on the issue through all of December. In contrast, his Senate office has issued statements on Human Rights Day and World Aids Day. He's also taken a hard line supporting Israel, has harped on the Obama administration's handling of the terrorist attack on the U.S. consulate in Benghazi, and has made economic growth and reducing the national debt his points of emphasis in the fiscal cliff debate.
Rubio also has followed the Obama template by publishing his own memoir. "An American Son" came out in June, and while it is not as angst-ridden or soul-searching as Obama's "Dreams From My Father," Rubio displays honesty and authenticity that sets his story apart from many other books by presidential hopefuls, who usually just blather about policy positions and the greatness of America.
Rubio's book takes the reader through his personal story -? from childhood to adulthood -? and begins with a chapter about his mother's father titled, "Storyteller." Rubio also admits frequent regrets over being absent from his wife and four children, and gives his own explanations of matters that eventually exploded into ethics probes of his time as House speaker in the Florida legislature.
Having laid the groundwork to define his own narrative, Rubio is now trying to connect his biography to a broader message of how conservatism is the governing ideology that will help poor and middle-class Americans like his own parents.
"We have not done a good enough job of communicating to people what conservatism is," Rubio told GQ.
"Big government helps the people who have made it. It doesn't help the people who are trying to make it -- it crushes the people who are trying to make it," Rubio said. "So, our challenge is, if we want free enterprise, limited government, and conservatism to be a viable and successful political movement in America, we've got to make that connection for people."
Rubio has a group of experienced political advisers, all loyalists who have been with him for several years. Todd Harris, Heath Thompson, Malorie Miller and Gonzalez are outside consultants, while Bush administration veteran Cesar Conda, southern operative Terry Sullivan and communications director Alex Burgos run his Senate office. Veteran spokesman Alex Conant, who has an excellent rapport with the press, is at the senator's side most of the time.
But Gonzalez told HuffPost that as Rubio goes forward, the candidate will be the ultimate keeper of the flame regarding his story.
"He's the guy who is at the center of it all," Gonzalez said. "The strength of his narrative comes from who he is, where he's from, the neighborhood that he grew up in."
Also on HuffPost:
"; var coords = [-5, -72]; // display fb-bubble FloatingPrompt.embed(this, html, undefined, 'top', {fp_intersects:1, timeout_remove:2000,ignore_arrow: true, width:236, add_xy:coords, class_name: 'clear-overlay'}); });
Source: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/12/29/marco-rubio-narrative-gop-story_n_2377748.html
Demi Lovato iOS 6 Features big brother Shakira chick fil a chick fil a iOS 6
9 hrs.
WASHINGTON --?A measure of the burden of U.S. household debt tumbled in the third quarter to its lowest level in 29 years, which should help free up money for consumer spending and support the economy.
The household debt service ratio -- an estimate of the share of debt payments to disposable personal income -- fell to 10.61 percent from 10.72 percent in the second quarter, the Federal Reserve said on Thursday.
It was the lowest level since the fourth quarter of 1983.
"Consumers have more money in their pockets to spend, which should be positive for the economic recovery going forward," said Gennadiy Goldberg, an economist at TD Securities in New York.
U.S. households built up a massive debt load as the housing bubble expanded and efforts to pay down those debts have been a restraint on spending and the economy's recovery.
The debt service ratio, which takes into account outstanding mortgage and consumer debt, peaked in the third quarter of 2007, shortly before the economy tipped into recession.
The Fed has sought to help consumers dig out by keeping interest rates near record lows. It has held overnight rates near zero since December 2008 and has bought around $2.4 trillion in bonds to further lower borrowing costs.
Even though households are now in better shape, analysts caution that consumer spending could stall if Congress fails to prevent higher taxes from taking hold next year.
An even broader measure of financial obligations that includes automobile lease payments and the cost of renting a home also fell in the third quarter, dropping to 15.74 percent of disposable income -- the lowest level since the first quarter of 1984.
That drop reflected an easier burden for homeowners as mortgage debt payments dropped to 8.90 percent of disposable income in the third quarter, the lowest in 11 years.
Both the overall homeowners measure and separate mortgage gauge peaked in the third quarter of 2007.
"You have a lot of people refinancing their mortgages at lower rates," Goldberg said.
In contrast, the relative cost of rent rose to its highest level since the first quarter of 2010.
The weak housing market has led Americans away from home ownership and toward renting, pushing up rents. At the same time, a modest economic recovery has encouraged some people who had moved in with family and friends to seek their own lodgings, further strengthening the rental market.
While a lightening of household debt burden puts the recovery on firmer ground, it also highlights a hesitance to take on new debt, which could be an obstacle to spending.
"We all (would) like to see better growth in credit, banks being more willing to make more loans to consumers, demand for loans rising," said Omair Sharif, an economist at RBS in Stamford, Connecticut.
"That would push the ratio higher, but that's not necessarily a such a bad thing, especially if rates are so low and you are able to service that debt."
Source: http://www.nbcnews.com/business/us-household-debt-burden-hits-29-year-low-1C7753188
occupy oakland morgellons disease arik armstead sag awards red carpet torrey pines nhl all star game 2012 pollyanna
WASHINGTON (AP) ? Retired Gen. H. Norman Schwarzkopf, who topped an illustrious military career by commanding the U.S.-led international coalition that drove Saddam Hussein's forces out of Kuwait in 1991 but kept a low public profile in controversies over the second Gulf War against Iraq, died Thursday. He was 78.
A sister of Schwarzkopf, Ruth Barenbaum of Middlebury, Vt., said that he died in Tampa, Fla., from complications from pneumonia. "We're still in a state of shock," she said by phone. "This was a surprise to us all."
A much-decorated combat soldier in Vietnam, Schwarzkopf was known popularly as "Stormin' Norman" for a notoriously explosive temper.
He served in his last military assignment in Tampa as commander-in-chief of U.S. Central Command, the headquarters responsible for U.S. military and security concerns in nearly 20 countries from the eastern Mediterranean and Africa to Pakistan.
Schwarzkopf became "CINC-Centcom" in 1988 and when Saddam Hussein invaded Kuwait three years later to punish it for allegedly stealing Iraqi oil reserves, he commanded Operation Desert Storm, the coalition of some 30 countries organized by President George H.W. Bush that succeeded in driving the Iraqis out.
"Gen. Norm Schwarzkopf, to me, epitomized the 'duty, service, country' creed that has defended our freedom and seen this great nation through our most trying international crises," Bush said in a statement. "More than that, he was a good and decent man ? and a dear friend."
At the peak of his postwar national celebrity, Schwarzkopf ? a self-proclaimed political independent ? rejected suggestions that he run for office, and remained far more private than other generals, although he did serve briefly as a military commentator for NBC.
While focused primarily in his later years on charitable enterprises, he campaigned for President George W. Bush in 2000 but was ambivalent about the 2003 invasion of Iraq, saying he doubted victory would be as easy as the White House and Pentagon predicted. In early 2003 he told the Washington Post the outcome was an unknown:
"What is postwar Iraq going to look like, with the Kurds and the Sunnis and the Shiites? That's a huge question, to my mind. It really should be part of the overall campaign plan," he said.
Initially Schwarzkopf had endorsed the invasion, saying he was convinced that former Secretary of State Colin Powell had given the United Nations powerful evidence of Iraqi weapons of mass destruction. After that proved false, he said decisions to go to war should depend on what U.N. weapons inspectors found.
He seldom spoke up during the conflict, but in late 2004, he sharply criticized then-Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld and the Pentagon for mistakes that included inadequate training for Army reservists sent to Iraq and for erroneous judgments about Iraq.
"In the final analysis I think we are behind schedule. ... I don't think we counted on it turning into jihad (holy war)," he said in an NBC interview.
Schwarzkopf was born Aug. 24, 1934, in Trenton, N.J., where his father, Col. H. Norman Schwarzkopf Jr., founder and commander of the New Jersey State Police, was then leading the investigation of the Lindbergh kidnap case, which ended with the arrest and 1936 execution of German-born carpenter Richard Hauptmann for stealing and murdering the famed aviator's infant son.
The elder Schwarzkopf was named Herbert, but when the son was asked what his "H'' stood for, he would reply, "H." Although reputed to be short-tempered with aides and subordinates, he was a friendly, talkative and even jovial figure who didn't like "Stormin' Norman" and preferred to be known as "the Bear," a sobriquet given him by troops.
He also was outspoken at times, including when he described Gen. William Westmoreland, the U.S. commander in Vietnam, as "a horse's ass" in an Associated Press interview.
As a teenager Norman accompanied his father to Iran, where the elder Schwarzkopf trained the country's national police force and was an adviser to Reza Pahlavi, the young Shah of Iran.
Young Norman studied there and in Switzerland, Germany and Italy, then followed in his father's footsteps to West Point, graduating in 1956 with an engineering degree. After stints in the U.S. and abroad, he earned a master's degree in engineering at the University of Southern California and later taught missile engineering at West Point.
In 1966 he volunteered for Vietnam and served two tours, first as a U.S. adviser to South Vietnamese paratroops and later as a battalion commander in the U.S. Army's Americal Division. He earned three Silver Stars for valor ? including one for saving troops from a minefield ? plus a Bronze Star, a Purple Heart and three Distinguished Service Medals.
While many career officers left military service embittered by Vietnam, Schwarzkopf was among those who opted to stay and help rebuild the tattered Army into a potent, modernized all-volunteer force.
After Saddam invaded Kuwait in August 1990, Schwarzkopf played a key diplomatic role by helping to persuade Saudi Arabia's King Fahd to allow U.S. and other foreign troops to deploy on Saudi territory as a staging area for the war to come.
On Jan. 17, 1991, a five-month buildup called Desert Shield became Operation Desert Storm as allied aircraft attacked Iraqi bases and Baghdad government facilities. The six-week aerial campaign climaxed with a massive ground offensive on Feb. 24-28, routing the Iraqis from Kuwait in 100 hours before U.S. officials called a halt.
Schwarzkopf said afterward he agreed with Bush's decision to stop the war rather than drive to Baghdad to capture Saddam, as his mission had been only to oust the Iraqis from Kuwait.
But in a desert tent meeting with vanquished Iraqi generals, he allowed a key concession on Iraq's use of helicopters, which later backfired by enabling Saddam to crack down more easily on rebellious Shiites and Kurds.
While he later avoided the public second-guessing by academics and think tank experts over the ambiguous outcome of Gulf War I and its impact on Gulf War II, he told The Washington Post in 2003, "You can't help but... with 20/20 hindsight, go back and say, 'Look, had we done something different, we probably wouldn't be facing what we are facing today.'"
After retiring from the Army in 1992, Schwarzkopf wrote a best-selling autobiography, "It Doesn't Take A Hero." Of his Gulf war role, he said, "I like to say I'm not a hero. I was lucky enough to lead a very successful war." He was knighted by Queen Elizabeth II and honored with decorations from France, Britain, Belgium, Kuwait, Saudi Arabia, United Arab Emirates, Qatar and Bahrain.
Schwarzkopf was a national spokesman for prostate cancer awareness and for Recovery of the Grizzly Bear, served on the Nature Conservancy board of governors and was active in various charities for chronically ill children.
"I may have made my reputation as a general in the Army and I'm very proud of that," he once told the AP. "But I've always felt that I was more than one-dimensional. I'd like to think I'm a caring human being. ... It's nice to feel that you have a purpose."
Schwarzkopf and his wife, Brenda, had three children: Cynthia, Jessica and Christian.
___
Pyle reported from New York. Associated Press writer Jay Lindsay in Boston contributed to this report.
Source: http://news.yahoo.com/retired-gen-norman-schwarzkopf-dies-age-78-022908548.html
ozzie guillen castro comments phish gluten free diet barry zito mac virus santorum drops out bby
FILE - This Dec. 21, 2012 file photo shows travelers walking to a ticketing desk at O'Hare International Airport in Chicago. For many passengers, air travel is only about finding the cheapest fare. But as airlines offer a proliferating list of add-on services, from early boarding to premium seating and baggage fees, the ability to comparison-shop for the lowest total fare is eroding. (AP Photo/Nam Y. Huh, File)
FILE - This Dec. 21, 2012 file photo shows travelers walking to a ticketing desk at O'Hare International Airport in Chicago. For many passengers, air travel is only about finding the cheapest fare. But as airlines offer a proliferating list of add-on services, from early boarding to premium seating and baggage fees, the ability to comparison-shop for the lowest total fare is eroding. (AP Photo/Nam Y. Huh, File)
WASHINGTON (AP) ? For many passengers, air travel is only about finding the cheapest fare.
But as airlines offer a proliferating list of add-on services, from early boarding to premium seating and baggage fees, the ability to comparison-shop for the lowest total fare is eroding.
Global distribution systems that supply flight and fare data to travel agents and online ticketing services like Orbitz and Expedia, accounting for half of all U.S. airline tickets, complain that airlines won't provide fee information in a way that lets them make it handy for consumers trying to find the best deal.
"What other industry can you think of where a person buying a product doesn't know how much it's going to cost even after he's done at the checkout counter?" said Simon Gros, chairman of the Travel Technology Association, which represents the global distribution services and online travel industries.
The harder airlines make it for consumers to compare, "the greater opportunity you have to get to higher prices," said Kevin Mitchell, chairman of the Business Travel Coalition, whose members include corporate travel managers.
Now the Obama administration is wading into the issue. The Department of Transportation is considering whether to require airlines to provide fee information to everyone with whom they have agreements to sell their tickets. A decision originally scheduled for next month has been postponed to May, as regulators struggle with a deluge of information from airlines opposed to regulating fee information, and from the travel industry and consumer groups that support such a requirement.
Meanwhile, Spirit Airlines, Allegiant Air and Southwest Airlines ? with backing from industry trade associations ? are asking the Supreme Court to reverse an appeals court ruling forcing them to include taxes in their advertised fares. The appeals court upheld a Transportation Department rule that went in effect nearly a year ago that ended airlines' leeway to advertise a base airfare and show the taxes separately, often in smaller print. Airlines say the regulations violate their free-speech rights.
At the heart of the debate is a desire by airlines to move to a new marketing model in which customers don't buy tickets based on price alone. Instead, following the well-worn path of other consumer companies, airlines want to mine personal data about customers in order to sell them tailored services. You like to sit on the aisle and to ski, so how would you like to fly to Aspen with an aisle seat and a movie, no extra baggage charge for your skis, and have a hotel room and a pair of lift tickets waiting for you, all for one price? You're a frequent business traveler. How about priority boarding, extra legroom, Internet access and a rental car when you arrive?
"Technology is changing rapidly. We are going to be part of the change," said Sharon Pinkerton, vice president of Airlines for America, which represents most U.S. carriers. "We want to be able to offer our customers a product that's useful to them, that's customized to meet their needs, and we don't think (the Transportation Department) needs to step in."
If airlines have their way, passengers looking for ticket prices may have to reveal a lot more information about themselves, such as their age, marital status, gender, nationality, travel history and whether they're flying for business or leisure. The International Air Transport Association, whose 240 member airlines cover 84 percent of global airline traffic, adopted standards at a meeting earlier this month in Geneva for such information gathering by airlines as well as by travel agents and ticketing services that would relay the data to airlines and receive customized fares in return.
"Airlines want, and expect, their (ticket) distribution partners to offer passengers helpful contextual information to make well-informed purchase decisions, reducing the number of reservations made based primarily or exclusively on price," said a study commissioned by the association.
Consumer advocates question how airlines would safeguard the personal information they gather, and they worry that comparison shopping for the cheapest air fares will no longer be feasible.
"It's like going to a supermarket where before you get the price, they ask you to swipe your driver's license that shows them you live in a rich zip code, you drive a BMW, et cetera," Mitchell said. "All this personal information on you is going out to all these carriers with no controls over what they do with it, who sees it and so on."
The airline association said consumers who choose not to supply personal information would still be able to see fares and purchase tickets, though consumer advocates said those fares would probably be at the "rack rate" ? the travel industry's term for full price, before any discounts.
It's up to individual airlines whether they price fares differently for travelers who don't provide personal information, said Perry Flint, a spokesman for the international airline association.
The stakes, of course, are enormous. Since 2000, U.S. airlines have lost money for more years than they've made profits. Fee revenue has made a big difference in their bottom lines. Globally, airlines raked in an estimated $36 billion this year in ancillary revenue, which includes baggage fees and other a la carte services as well as sales of frequent flyer points and commissions on hotel bookings, according to a study by Amadeus, a global distribution service, and the IdeaWorksCompany, a U.S. firm that helps airlines raise ancillary revenue. U.S. airlines reported collecting nearly $3.4 billion in baggage fees alone in 2011.
One expense airlines would like to eliminate is the $7 billion a year they pay global distribution systems to supply flight and fare information to travel agents and online booking agents like Expedia. Airlines want to deal more directly with online ticket sellers and travel agents, who dominate the lucrative business travel market. Justice Department officials have acknowledged an investigation is underway into possible anti-trust violations by distribution companies.
Airlines also have been cracking down on websites that help travelers manage their frequent flier accounts. The sites use travelers' frequent flier passwords to obtain balances and mileage expiration dates, and then display the information in a way that makes it easier for travelers to figure out when it makes more sense to buy a ticket or to use miles.
"What the airlines are trying to do right now is reinvent the wheel so they can hold all their information close to their chest," said Charles Leocha, founder of the Consumer Travel Alliance. "As we move forward in a world of IT, the ownership of passenger data is like gold to these people."
By withholding information like fee prices, he said, "we are forced to go see them, and then we are spoon-fed what they want to feed us."
___
Airlines for America http://www.airlines.org
Travel Technology Association http://www.traveltechnologyassociation.org
Business Travel Coalition http://businesstravelcoalition.com/
___
Follow Joan Lowy at http://www.twitter.com/AP_Joan_Lowy
Associated Presssarah palin cbi the shins atomic clock daylight savings time john mccain game changer
ReutersRedskins?quarterback Robert Griffin III can clinch rookie records for completion percentage (66.4 percent) and passer rating (104.1) with a good performance against the Cowboys on Sunday.
Opinion
By Scott Kacsmar
NBCSports.com contributor
updated 12:20 p.m. ET Dec. 27, 2012
Hard to believe, but we have reached the end of the NFL?s 2012 regular season. Was it not that long ago that we had replacement referees and the Arizona Cardinals were 4-0? Yet here we are, days away from that last Sunday until next September in which all 32 teams will play a real game. Savor the moment.
Week 17 offers numerous playoff scenarios, the last two playoff berths, and one more attempt to rewrite the NFL record book. Here is your handy guide to what to watch for this Sunday. All 16 games are divisional rematches.
AFC South
The Houston Texans (12-3) have been in the driver?s seat of the AFC all season, yet a loss in Indianapolis (10-5) will likely push them all the way to the No. 3 seed, which means no first-round bye.
It is a very important game for Houston, which just beat the Colts 29-17 in a Week 15 game dominated by J.J. Watt. He has 20.5 sacks, eyeing Michael Strahan?s record of 22.5 sacks set in 2001.
For the Colts, Bruce Arians had one of the finest runs ever as an interim coach, leading the team to a 9-3 record. Chuck Pagano triumphantly returns to the sidelines this week as his battle with leukemia continues to inspire this team of underdogs.
Despite their -42 scoring differential, the Colts are 10-5. They have done so by going 9-1 in games decided by 1-7 points. Andrew Luck has already set the rookie passing record (4,183 yards), and has tied the regular season record with seven game-winning drives.
While the Colts are locked into the No. 5 seed, they are still a young team that can use the experience against a quality opponent. It is hard to imagine they will not go all out for the win with Pagano?s return. The Colts are 10-0 all time at home against Houston.
You can say Peyton Manning?s injury last year helped pave the way for drafting Luck. Now Manning will be looking for some help in return, as a Colts? victory over Houston is the path for Manning?s Broncos to get the No. 1 seed this year.
Jacksonville (2-13) has a slight chance of securing the No. 1 pick in the draft with a loss to Tennessee (5-10). The only other need is a Kansas City win in Denver, so good luck there. Think of your imminent future with Tim Tebow as a consolation prize, Jacksonville fans.
AFC North
With Baltimore (10-5) clinching the division last week, there is little on the line against playoff-bound Cincinnati (9-6), which is locked into the sixth seed. Ray Lewis is back, but he is not expected to play on Sunday. The Ravens have won four straight over the Bengals, who are making back-to-back playoff trips for the first time since 1981-1982.
A Baltimore win combined with a New England loss would give the Ravens the No. 3 seed, but that is not a likely scenario. Besides, that would mean the Ravens would host these very same Bengals a week later, and it is hard to beat a team twice in one week.
Only pride is on the line for Pittsburgh and Cleveland. The Steelers (7-8) will look to avoid their first losing season since 2003, while the Browns (5-10) have not swept the Steelers since 1988.
AFC West
In a season full of inconsistent play, the Denver Broncos (12-3) are a glimmer of hope. They have won 10 straight games by at least seven points. All other AFC winning streaks combined add up to just eight games. Ranking top five on both offense and defense, Denver might be the most complete team in the league.
Peyton Manning will look to cap off his campaign for a fifth MVP award. His 12 consecutive games with a passer rating of at least 90.0 is the third longest streak in NFL history. Only Aaron Rodgers (13 games in 2011) and Manning again (15 games in 2004) had longer streaks.
Consistency is the name of the game, and that?s what Manning has brought to Denver as it looks towards a run at the Super Bowl. A win will give the Broncos a first-round bye.
The Chiefs (2-13) have consistently been bad this year, and will likely have the first pick in the draft. If they should fail to get a takeaway, they will tie the NFL record for fewest takeaways (12) in a 16-game season. The 2006 Washington Redskins also had 12 takeaways.
San Diego (6-9) plays Oakland (4-11), which should be the swansong for Norv Turner?s run there. Turner is 55-40 (.579) and 3-3 in the postseason as San Diego?s head coach.
AFC East
With a home finale against Miami (7-8), New England (11-4) can be anywhere from the No. 1 to No. 4 seed depending on Sunday?s results. If the Patriots score at least 32 points, they will have the second-highest scoring season in NFL history. Miami is looking for its third non-losing season since 2004.
Buffalo (5-10) and the Jets (6-9) will play a Week 1 rematch. The season cannot possibly end any faster for these two teams.
NFC South
Atlanta (13-2) can tie its 1998 Super Bowl team for the best record in franchise history with a win over reeling Tampa Bay (6-9), which has lost five straight games. The Falcons have already clinched the NFC?s No. 1 seed.
New Orleans (7-8) can end its troubled season with a win over Carolina (6-9), which would give the Panthers a second straight 6-10 finish.
Cam Newton needs one touchdown pass to join Dan Marino, Peyton Manning and Andy Dalton as the only quarterbacks to throw at least 20 touchdowns in each of their first two seasons. Meanwhile, Drew Brees needs one touchdown pass to become the first player in NFL history with consecutive seasons of 40 or more touchdown passes.
Brees only needs 219 yards to reach 5,000 yards passing for the third time in his career. Matthew Stafford (305) and Tony Romo (315) also are in position to throw for 5,000 yards, which would match last season?s total of three quarterbacks hitting the milestone.
NFC North
The NFC North will have a huge impact on the final playoff seeds as both games are involved with many of Sunday?s scenarios. They also will feature two of the league?s best players looking for a 2,000-yard milestone.
Green Bay (11-4) travels to Minnesota (9-6) in a late afternoon game. With a win, the Packers will clinch the No. 2 seed in the NFC. The Vikings need a win just to make the playoffs, which is their best scenario.
A Minnesota win could very well mean these teams will meet again next week, but it will not be easy. The Packers are hot, winners in nine of their last 10 games, and have won five straight against the Vikings.
Minnesota just pulled off an upset in Houston, even without Adrian Peterson having his best game. Peterson needs 102 rushing yards to become the league?s seventh 2,000-yard rusher, and will need 208 yards to break Eric Dickerson?s all-time record (2,105 yards).
Peterson had 210 yards when these teams met in Week 13, but the Packers won. For the Vikings to make the playoffs, they are going to need Christian Ponder to step up.
The Chicago Bears (9-6) are still alive. They have to take care of the Lions (4-11), and hope for the Vikings to lose. Should Chicago falter, it will become just the fourth team to start 7-1 and fail to make the playoffs since 1978. The Bears would join the 1987 San Diego Chargers, 1988 New Orleans Saints and 1996 Washington Redskins.
Standing in their way is a pass-happy Detroit team. Matthew Stafford needs seven pass attempts to surpass Drew Bledsoe?s record of 691 passes in 1994. Unless he is injured, Stafford will become the first quarterback ever to throw 700 passes in a season. He can also break Bledsoe?s record for most drop backs in a season. Bledsoe had 757 while Stafford is currently at 745.
Detroit needs just 12 pass attempts to break the team record for a season, which is currently held by the 1981 Minnesota Vikings (709 attempts).
The beneficiary of all these attempts is Calvin Johnson, who now holds the record for most receiving yards in a season with 1,892 yards. He needs just 108 to become the first player ever with 2,000 receiving yards, and you figure Detroit will do all it can to get him there.
NFC West
Despite their bad loss on Sunday night, the San Francisco 49ers (10-4-1) should have little trouble clinching the NFC West with a win at home over Arizona (5-10). The banged-up 49ers will just have to root for Minnesota to take care of the Packers in order to get the No. 2 seed and what appears to be some needed rest.
Seattle (10-5) is already in the playoffs, and will likely be the No. 5 seed. Though they lost to the Rams (7-7-1) way back in Week 4, this is a much stronger team now.
Not only is Seattle one of two teams (Atlanta) that are 7-0 at home this year, but their home scoring differential of 141 is easily the best in the league. Denver is a distant second at 94 points.
Russell Wilson needs two touchdown passes to break Peyton Manning?s rookie record of 26 touchdown passes set in 1998. Seattle has scored 150 points over the last three weeks, and is +11 in turnover differential since their bye week (4-1 record).
For the Ram, a win would give them their first winning season since 2003. That would be a strong way to end Jeff Fisher?s first season in St. Louis, but not a likely outcome.
NFC East
Finally we have the media darlings of the NFC East. For the New York Giants (8-7) to make the playoffs and defend their championship, they need a lot of help.
Not only do the Giants need to beat the Eagles (4-11), but they need Chicago, Minnesota and Dallas to lose. Technically they can get in if Dallas ties, but that?s not going to happen. They will be extremely fortunate just to get all the other results to go their way.
While most probably expect the Vikings and Cowboys to lose this week, and for Chicago to potentially lose, there is no guarantee the Giants can take care of the Eagles, who will start Michael Vick this week.
It has been a very inconsistent season for the Giants, who have looked like the best and worst team in the league at different moments throughout the season. The Giants would become the seventh defending Super Bowl champion since 1990 to miss the postseason should their miracle scenario not play out.Then there is the 256th and final regular season game of the 2012 season: Dallas Cowboys (8-7) at Washington Redskins (9-6) for the NFC East title on Sunday Night Football.
For the third time since 2008, the Cowboys go on the road in Week 17 for a "win and you?re in" playoff game against one of their NFC East rivals. The last two times have not gone well, but this Dallas team is different. It has been winning a lot of tough games in the second half of the season, and Tony Romo is playing very well.
Also playing well is Redskins quarterback Robert Griffin III, who can clinch rookie records for completion percentage (66.4 percent) and passer rating (104.1) with a good performance. Griffin making the playoffs would mean three rookie quarterbacks (Andrew Luck, Russell Wilson) in the postseason for the first time ever.
Not sure which buttons Mike Shanahan pressed during the team?s bye week, but Washington has turned a 3-6 season into a possible seven-game winning streak that will allow the Redskins to host a playoff game for the first time since the 1999 season.
While it is do-or-die for Dallas, the Redskins can still make the playoffs with losses by the Bears and Vikings, which they will know before the game starts. But if they want to do things the right way, they take care of this one at home.
Either way, let?s just hope for a competitive final game to close out this wild regular season.
Scott Kacsmar (@CaptainComeback) writes for Cold, Hard Football Facts, Bleacher Report, Colts Authority, and contributes data to Pro-Football-Reference.com and NFL Network.
? 2012 NBC Sports.com? Reprintsadvertisement
More newsWeek 17 offers numerous playoff scenarios, the last two playoff berths, and one more attempt to rewrite the NFL record book. Here is your handy guide to what to watch for this Sunday.
The Vikings are playing for a postseason berth. The Packers are playing for a bye. The Packers remain the better team, and they have every reason to demonstrate that on Sunday.
Source: http://nbcsports.msnbc.com/id/50302329/ns/sports-nfl/
carlos condit diaz vs condit super bowl 2012 kickoff time football score ron paul nevada buffalo chicken dip soul train
Sorry, Readability was unable to parse this page for content.
Source: http://passels55a.blogspot.com/2012/12/christmas-craft-supplies-6-inch-sisal.html
Opening ceremony London 2012 Google Fiber Olympics Schedule 2012 Olympic Medal Count 2012 Olympics 2012 Olympic Schedule 2012 NBC Olympics
CAIRO (AP) ? The official approval of Egypt's disputed, Islamist-backed constitution Tuesday held out little hope of stabilizing the country after two years of turmoil and Islamist President Mohammed Morsi may now face a more immediate crisis with the economy falling deeper into distress.
In a clear sign of anxiety over the economy, the turbulence of the past month and expected austerity measures ahead have some Egyptians hoarding dollars for fear the currency is about to take a significant turn for the weaker.
The battle over the constitution left Egypt deeply polarized at a time when the government is increasingly cash-strapped. Supporters of the charter campaigned for it on the grounds that it will lead to stability, improve the grip of Morsi and his allies on state institutions, restore investor confidence and bring back tourists.
"In times of change, politics are the driver of the economy and not the other way around," said Mourad Aly, a media adviser for the political arm of the fundamentalist Muslim Brotherhood, the backbone of Morsi's presidency and the main group that backed the constitution.
But there are already multiple fights on the horizon.
The U.S. State Department bluntly told Morsi it was now time to make compromises, acknowledging deep concerns over the constitution.
"President Morsi, as the democratically elected leader of Egypt, has a special responsibility to move forward in a way that recognizes the urgent need to bridge divisions, build trust, and broaden support for the political process," said Patrick Ventrell, acting deputy spokesman. "We hope those Egyptians disappointed by the result will seek more and deeper engagement. "
He said Egypt "needs a strong, inclusive government to meet its many challenges."
After a spate of resignations of senior aides and advisers during the constitutional crisis, Morsi appeared to have lost another member of his government late Tuesday night when his communications minister posted on his Twitter account that he was resigning.
The minister Hany Mahmoud said he "couldn't cope with the culture of government work, particular in the current conditions of the country." The resignation could not be immediately verified because it came so late at night.
Morsi signed a decree Tuesday night that put the new constitution into effect after the election commission announced the official results of the referendum held over the past two weekends. It said the constitution has passed with a 63.8 percent "yes." Turnout of 32.9 percent of Egypt's nearly 52 million registered voters was lower than most other elections since the uprising nearly two years ago that ousted authoritarian leader Hosni Mubarak
Morsi is expected to call for a new election of parliament's lawmaking lower house within two months.
In the meantime, the traditionally toothless upper house, the Shura Council, will hold legislative power. But the chamber is overwhelmingly Islamist-dominated so any laws it passes could spark a backlash from the opposition. Many fear a legal crackdown on independent media, highly critical of Islamists.
In a bid to reach out to opposition, the leader of the Muslim Brotherhood said he hoped the charter will be a "good omen" for Egyptians.
"Let's all begin to build the renaissance of our country with free will, good intentions and strong determination, men, women, Muslims and Christians," Mohammed Badie said on his Twitter account.
But the opposition said the passing of the document is was not the end of the political dispute. Critics fear the constitution will usher in Islamic law in Egypt and restrict personal freedoms.
"This is not a constitution that will last for a long time," said Khaled Dawoud, a spokesman for the main opposition group, the National Salvation Front, vowing to fight for more freedoms, social and economic rights.
In a sign that the new front for the opposition against Morsi's policies may be the economy, Dawoud said the Morsi administration was "confused" both on the political and economic fronts.
"We want stability and economic prosperity like everybody else. But we don't believe that the policies of Morsi and the Brotherhood will lead to more stability," he said.
The turmoil over the constitution sparked huge protests that turned deadly at times. For a moment, the tension looked like it was spiraling out of control and only added to an already weakened economy.
At the height of the protests, the government called off its talks with the International Monetary Fund over a $4.8 billion loan which Morsi's government viewed as a way to attract much needed foreign investors, and deal with a high budget deficit.
Major foreign currency earners, such as foreign direct investment and tourism, have dropped off because of political unrest and deterioration in security following Mubarak's ouster in February 2011.
Over the last two years, the country has lost more than half of its foreign currency reserves from $36 billion in 2010 to around $15 billion currently. The reserve level has been slightly propped up by some Qatari deposits in past months.
Economic experts say that Egypt's current foreign reserves barely cover three months of imports, which is the IMF's minimum recommended coverage.
There were signs on Tuesday that some Egyptians were starting to hoard dollars for fear that the local currency could weaken significantly.
The run on the dollar was fueled in part by a decree issued by Morsi late Monday banning people from leaving Egypt with more than $10,000 or its equivalent in other currencies.
Some currency exchanges in the upscale Cairo neighborhood of Zamalek ran out of dollars by midday and offered only euros ? a rare occurrence. Some banks, too, said they had run out of cash dollars.
"I asked around in many exchange places and can't find dollars anywhere," said Cairo resident Mahmoud Kamel after unsuccessfully visiting one exchange office. "I want to exchange money because I'm afraid the Egyptian pound will not have any value soon."
The dollar rush prompted the Central Bank of Egypt to issue a statement on Monday calling on banks not to listen to rumors circulating about the fiscal health of the nation.
The bank declared its commitment to guarantee all deposits in local and foreign currencies to banks in Egypt and said banks are "financially strong enough."
There was one particularly nerve-rattling report in recent days that longtime Central Bank Governor Farouk Okdah had resigned. The report came on Saturday during the second and final round of voting on the constitutional referendum.
Official media quickly retracted the news after reporting it. The governor then turned up at a meeting of the government's economic team on Sunday in an apparent attempt to quell nervousness over the state of the economy.
Egypt's currency had been stable trading around 6 pounds to the dollar for the first half of the year. It has since slipped, especially in the past two months as political instability worsened. The dollar was selling Tuesday at 6.18.
Rumors swirling around impending tax hikes, subsidy cuts and other bread-and-butter issues have heightened the public's concern. Around 40 percent of Egyptians live just at or below the poverty line of surviving on around $2 a day.
In a sign of the worsening economy, the number of people living on under $1 a day rose to 25 percent in 2011, up from 21.6 percent in 2009, according to government statistics released last month.
Promises that the Islamist-drafted constitution would bring about the stability Egyptians crave were dismissed by economic experts who warned that without enough currency reserves, there is little to stop the pound from falling.
"The instability of the foreign exchange rate is not at all detached from the political instability. It is a reflection and clear mirror to what is happening," said Haytham Abdel Fattah, head of the Treasury and International Markets Manager at Industrial Development Bank.
______________
Mariam Rizk contributed to this report
Source: http://news.yahoo.com/egypt-constitution-passes-economic-crunch-looms-220907323--finance.html
jk rowling new book between two ferns ihop statins chardon sean young juan pablo montoya
Most expect recognition for 'Les Mis' come Oscar time, like it or not.
By Ryan J. Downey
Anne Hathaway in "Les Miserables"
Photo: Universal
Source: http://www.mtv.com/news/articles/1699373/les-miserables-the-reviews-are-in.jhtml
tim howard scores nick cannon kidney failure consumer financial protection bureau casey anthony video recess appointment eastman kodak eastman kodak
Some of the best fitness magazines are sporting articles on the good, the bad, and the ugly regarding the real nutrition of common foods. Researching some of these articles and the basis for these new facts I have discovered most are true?. Be ware of what you believe and what you are being told regarding the value of each of the foods you eat.
Here are some of the most common facts that I have discovered.
A lean beef patty is not only less calories but more nutritious than a chicken breast sandwich especially when ordering out. Chicken is often injected with salty water and chemicals to keep it moist giving it a? high salt content ( not very healthy) while a lean beef patty can have 50 less calories and more protein without the added salt. In this case beef can be healthier than chicken.
How about brown eggs? Would you think brown eggs are better or the same for you as white eggs? Most experts agree that white eggs have the same nutrients that brown eggs contain. Brown eggs just look healthier and they appeal to your eye.? Marketers count on you to buy with emotion and not on the facts.
The bottom line is this. Ask, seek the facts, and do your research before you make drastic changes in your diet. It is a matter of your health and what is the real truth about nutrition.
Source: http://blogs.ideasforwomen.com/blogs/health/2012/12/24/surprising-new-findings-regarding-nutrition/
encyclopedia brittanica nfl free agency jonbenet ramsey jason campbell doobie brothers jennie garth peter facinelli marques colston
I know~ It's a terrible title. But if you ever want to RP in a love story, the link is the place.
But If you have any great ideas for a romantic character but don't have a world to play, click the link and play them there. Trish Julietson will be with you, forever and ever~
The world is a fantasy world with magic and advance technology. It only needs 1 person to join then it can start. If there are more, we shall create a roll for them. Love triangle? Love square? Gay? It will be possible. Come and join.
Source: http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/RolePlayGateway/~3/UXAzDGolX64/viewtopic.php
wanderlust gone tyler perry good deeds pretty in pink nba all star game shark tank john wall
