Is Lady Gaga So Gaga Over Taylor Kinney That She?s Moving to Pennsylvania?

Lady Gaga has been roaming Lititz, Pennsylvania in search of a new house so?says Radar Online?she can be closer to her Vampire Diaries beau, Taylor Kinney. Here?s a look at the house that has the paparazzi talking: a 6,000-square-foot English manor-styled estate with four bedrooms and five baths. While it might not have the Lady [...]

Source: http://www.celebritymound.com/is-lady-gaga-so-gaga-over-taylor-kinney-that-shes-moving-to-pennsylvania/?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=is-lady-gaga-so-gaga-over-taylor-kinney-that-shes-moving-to-pennsylvania

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Football Weekly Extra: Henry back to Arsenal and Chris Whelpdale's scrotum

The podders round-up all the action from the festive season. Plus, Celtic claw back the Ranger's lead in Scotland; Carlo Ancelotti heads to PSG and eye-watering injuries

It's the final Football Weekly Extraaa of 2011, but you could barely tell...

AC Jimbo is joined by Sean Ingle, Barry Glendenning and Michael Cox for the usual mix of puns and punditry as we look back on all the action from the festive period, which saw Manchester United bang in the goals, Tottenham continue their impressive form, and a hole host of amazing goalkeeping performances.

Plus, Ewan Murray updates us on the title race in the SPL where Celtic have pegged back Ranger's 15 point lead. It's almost as exciting as La Liga.

Finally, we give our thoughts on some of the other stories doing the rounds on the back pages: Carlo Ancelotti's imminent appointment as PSG's new manager, Thierry Henry's mooted return to Arsenal and poor old Chris Whelpdale's scrotum.

See you next year (indeed, next Thursday, when Fernando Duarte and Philippe Auclair will be along to play)

"); jQ('a.report-abuse:not(.no-abuse-popup)').live('click', function(ev) { ev.preventDefault(); loading_box.dialog({ title: "Abuse report", draggable: false, modal: true, width: 400, minHeight: 320, resizable: false, beforeclose: function(event, ui) { var readOnly = jQ('.report-abuse-ajax-readonly').length; if(readOnly == 1) return true; var reason = jQ('.report-abuse-ajax-form textarea#id_reason').val(); var thanksPage = jQ('.report-form-loading p[data-abuse-report-accepted-for-comment]').length; if (thanksPage == 0) { thanksPage = jQ('.report-form-loading p[data-abuse-report-accepted-for-profile]').length; } if(thanksPage == 0) { if(reason == 0) { return true; } else { return confirm("Closing this window without pressing \"Report\" will result in your words being lost. Are you sure?"); } } else { return true; } }, close: function(ev, ui) { loading_box.remove(); } }); abuse_report_url = this.href.replace('report-abuse', 'report-abuse-ajax'); abuse_report_url = fix_domain_for_careers(abuse_report_url); jQ.ajax({ url: abuse_report_url, success: function(data){ loading_box.html(data); } }); }); jQ('body').delegate('.report-abuse-ajax-form form', 'submit', function(ev) { ev.preventDefault(); var form = jQ(this); var url = fix_domain_for_careers(form.attr('action')); jQ.post(url, form.serialize(), function(html) { form.parents('.ui-dialog-content').html(html); // Has the abuse report been accepted? var el = jQ(html); var comment_id = el.attr('data-abuse-report-accepted-for-comment'); var profile_id = el.attr('data-abuse-report-accepted-for-profile'); if (comment_id) { jQ('ul#comment-' + comment_id).find('li.abuse-report').remove(); } else if (profile_id) { jQ('p.report-abuse').remove(); } var is_successful_submission = (comment_id || profile_id); if (is_successful_submission) { if(guardian.r2.omniture.isAvailable()) { // track with omniture s.linkTrackVars = 'events,eVar37'; s.linkTrackEvents = 'event37'; s.eVar37 = 'Comment:Report Abuse'; s.events = 'event37'; s.tl(true, 'o', 'Comment report abuse'); } window.setTimeout(function() { loading_box.dialog("close"); }, 3000); } }); }); //make sure submit button is enabled onReady. jQ('#newcommenting-form input[type=submit]' ).removeAttr('disabled'); var newFormURL = window.location.protocol + '//' + window.location.host + window.location.pathname + '?#post-area'; jQ('div#login-container form.post-your-comments').attr('action', newFormURL); jQ('div#signup-container input').click(function(){ urlStack.clearUrlStack(); urlStack.pushUrlOntoStack(newFormURL); document.location = 'http://users.guardian.co.uk/signup/tr/1,,-720,00.html'; }); jQ('.recomended').show(); jQ('#newcommenting-form').submit(function(){ jQ('input[type=submit]', this).attr('disabled', 'disabled'); }); }); //end jQ ready function openAbuseBox(commentId) { jQ("#abuse-report-comment-id").val(commentId); var loading_box = jQ('

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'); loading_box.dialog({ title:"Abuse report", draggable: false, modal:true, width:400, minHeight:320, resizable: false, beforeclose: function(event, ui) { var reason = jQ('textarea#id_reason').val(); if (reason != "") { return confirm("Closing this window without pressing \"Report\" will result in your words being lost. Are you sure?"); } else { return true; } } }); } function recommendComment(commentId) { var post_url = "http://www.guardian.co.uk/discussion/handlers/recommendComment"; post_url = fix_domain_for_careers(post_url); jQ.post(post_url, { comment_id: commentId }, function(data) { if (data == "OK") { var span = jQ("#recommended-count-" + commentId); span.prev('a').contents().unwrap(); span.text(parseInt(span.text(), 10)+1); } else { var span = jQ("#recommended-count-" + commentId); span.prev('a').contents().unwrap(); } }); }

James Richardson, Barry Glendenning, Sid Lowe and the rest of the Guardian's football writers bring you their Sony award-nominated, twice-weekly podcast - mixing puns and punditry, a round-up of all the action from the Premier League and around Europe

Source: http://www.guardian.co.uk/football/blog/audio/2011/dec/29/football-weekly-extra-podcast

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Don't put all your eggs in 1 basket -- or all your horses on 1 pasture

Public release date: 29-Dec-2011
[ | E-mail | Share ]

Contact: Petra Kaczensky
petra.kaczensky@vetmeduni.ac.at
43-148-909-15181
University of Veterinary Medicine -- Vienna

Winters in the Gobi desert are usually long and very cold but the winter of 2009-2010 was particularly severe. Millions of livestock died in Mongolia and the re-introduced wild Przewalski's horse population crashed dramatically. Petra Kaczensky and Chris Walzer from the University of Veterinary Medicine, Vienna have used spatially explicit loss statistics, ranger survey data and GPS telemetry to provide insights into the effect of a catastrophic climate event on wild horses, wild asses and livestock.

In Mongolia, extreme weather conditions droughts followed by cold and snowy winters occur at irregular intervals. However, the dzud of 2009/10 was the most extreme winter Mongolia had experienced in the past 50 years. Fifteen out of Mongolia's twenty-one provinces were declared disaster zones and over 7.8 million livestock, 17% of the national stock, are believed to have perished.

Przewalski's horses have been re-introduced intto Mongolia since 1992 and there are now free-ranging populations in Hustai National Park in central Mongolia and in the Great Gobi B Strictly Protected Area (SPA) in south-western Mongolia. Due to its special location at the fringe of the Dzungarian basin, flanked by high mountains, the Great Gobi B SPA received particularly high amounts of snowfall in the winter of 2009/2010. Most snow came with weather from the west and when the snow clouds hit the Altai Mountains on the eastern edge of the Great Gobi B SPA they discharged large amounts of snow, resulting in a strong east-west gradient in snow depth. The high, tightly packed snow made it hard for animals to gain access to the vegetation under the snow.

Herders in and around the Great Gobi B Strictly Protected Area were severely affected by the dzud and lost on average 67% of their livestock. Although herders are semi-nomadic, it was hard for them to escape the worst of the weather as competition for the available winter camps was high. Przewalski's horses were found to use three different winter ranges, two in the east and one in the west. Losses averaged 60% but mainly affected the groups wintering in the east, with the group in the west suffering almost no mortalities. As spatial use of Przewalski's horses is extremely conservative, groups did not attempt to venture beyond their known home ranges. In contrast, Asiatic wild asses seem to have suffered few losses. These animals roam over much larger areas than Przewalski's horses and are not restricted to any particular wintering areas. Petra Kaczensky, the first author on the PLoS paper, says that "wild asses were obviously able to outrun the worst of the dzud by moving west. The long-distance movements and shifts in range highlight how important it is to manage migratory or nomadic species on a landscape level, including multi-use areas outside of protected areas. Fragmentation of their range will reduce their flexibility and can easily result in local population crashes such as the one seen for the Przewalski's horses."

The severe effect of this localized catastrophic event was largely due to the small size and limited range of the present-day Przewalski's horse population. A large and continuous population would be much more robust as it could counteract local population lows or extinctions via re-colonization. The dzud winter of 2009/2010 is a textbook example of how vulnerable small and spatially confined populations are in an environment prone to fluctuations and catastrophes. Losses of this magnitude are difficult to model or predict. As long as populations remain small and spatially confined, their survival cannot be guaranteed, necessitating a long term conservation commitment to ensure the species' future. "The winter disaster really highlighted how dangerous it is to have all our eggs in one basket or in this case all the horses on a single pasture," says Petra Kaczensky. "The national strategy for Przewalski's horse conservation in Mongolia should continue to aim at multiple re-introduction sites with spatially dispersed populations. Ideally the sites should cooperate closely and if necessary also exchange animals on a national as well as international scale. Such steps have already been initiated in Mongolia and the recent downlisting of the Przewalski's horse in the IUCN Red List from 'critically endangered' to 'endangered' shows that this strategy is paying off." Generally, it is not feasible, either technically or financially, to breed and re-introduce all endangered species, as has been done for the Przewalskis horse. Chris Walzer explains, "More promising strategies involve timely science-based measures to reduce threats to fauna and flora. These may include the establishment of protected areas but it is also important to maintain natural spaces and structures that make multi-purpose landscapes 'permeable' for wildlife, so that wide-ranging species can roam, as Asiatic wild asses tend to do".

###

---

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AAAS and EurekAlert! are not responsible for the accuracy of news releases posted to EurekAlert! by contributing institutions or for the use of any information through the EurekAlert! system.

Public release date: 29-Dec-2011
[ | E-mail | Share ]

Contact: Petra Kaczensky
petra.kaczensky@vetmeduni.ac.at
43-148-909-15181
University of Veterinary Medicine -- Vienna

Winters in the Gobi desert are usually long and very cold but the winter of 2009-2010 was particularly severe. Millions of livestock died in Mongolia and the re-introduced wild Przewalski's horse population crashed dramatically. Petra Kaczensky and Chris Walzer from the University of Veterinary Medicine, Vienna have used spatially explicit loss statistics, ranger survey data and GPS telemetry to provide insights into the effect of a catastrophic climate event on wild horses, wild asses and livestock.

In Mongolia, extreme weather conditions droughts followed by cold and snowy winters occur at irregular intervals. However, the dzud of 2009/10 was the most extreme winter Mongolia had experienced in the past 50 years. Fifteen out of Mongolia's twenty-one provinces were declared disaster zones and over 7.8 million livestock, 17% of the national stock, are believed to have perished.

Przewalski's horses have been re-introduced intto Mongolia since 1992 and there are now free-ranging populations in Hustai National Park in central Mongolia and in the Great Gobi B Strictly Protected Area (SPA) in south-western Mongolia. Due to its special location at the fringe of the Dzungarian basin, flanked by high mountains, the Great Gobi B SPA received particularly high amounts of snowfall in the winter of 2009/2010. Most snow came with weather from the west and when the snow clouds hit the Altai Mountains on the eastern edge of the Great Gobi B SPA they discharged large amounts of snow, resulting in a strong east-west gradient in snow depth. The high, tightly packed snow made it hard for animals to gain access to the vegetation under the snow.

Herders in and around the Great Gobi B Strictly Protected Area were severely affected by the dzud and lost on average 67% of their livestock. Although herders are semi-nomadic, it was hard for them to escape the worst of the weather as competition for the available winter camps was high. Przewalski's horses were found to use three different winter ranges, two in the east and one in the west. Losses averaged 60% but mainly affected the groups wintering in the east, with the group in the west suffering almost no mortalities. As spatial use of Przewalski's horses is extremely conservative, groups did not attempt to venture beyond their known home ranges. In contrast, Asiatic wild asses seem to have suffered few losses. These animals roam over much larger areas than Przewalski's horses and are not restricted to any particular wintering areas. Petra Kaczensky, the first author on the PLoS paper, says that "wild asses were obviously able to outrun the worst of the dzud by moving west. The long-distance movements and shifts in range highlight how important it is to manage migratory or nomadic species on a landscape level, including multi-use areas outside of protected areas. Fragmentation of their range will reduce their flexibility and can easily result in local population crashes such as the one seen for the Przewalski's horses."

The severe effect of this localized catastrophic event was largely due to the small size and limited range of the present-day Przewalski's horse population. A large and continuous population would be much more robust as it could counteract local population lows or extinctions via re-colonization. The dzud winter of 2009/2010 is a textbook example of how vulnerable small and spatially confined populations are in an environment prone to fluctuations and catastrophes. Losses of this magnitude are difficult to model or predict. As long as populations remain small and spatially confined, their survival cannot be guaranteed, necessitating a long term conservation commitment to ensure the species' future. "The winter disaster really highlighted how dangerous it is to have all our eggs in one basket or in this case all the horses on a single pasture," says Petra Kaczensky. "The national strategy for Przewalski's horse conservation in Mongolia should continue to aim at multiple re-introduction sites with spatially dispersed populations. Ideally the sites should cooperate closely and if necessary also exchange animals on a national as well as international scale. Such steps have already been initiated in Mongolia and the recent downlisting of the Przewalski's horse in the IUCN Red List from 'critically endangered' to 'endangered' shows that this strategy is paying off." Generally, it is not feasible, either technically or financially, to breed and re-introduce all endangered species, as has been done for the Przewalskis horse. Chris Walzer explains, "More promising strategies involve timely science-based measures to reduce threats to fauna and flora. These may include the establishment of protected areas but it is also important to maintain natural spaces and structures that make multi-purpose landscapes 'permeable' for wildlife, so that wide-ranging species can roam, as Asiatic wild asses tend to do".

###

---

[ | E-mail | Share ]

?

AAAS and EurekAlert! are not responsible for the accuracy of news releases posted to EurekAlert! by contributing institutions or for the use of any information through the EurekAlert! system.

Source: http://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2011-12/uovm-dpa122911.php

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The nations weather (AP)

Weather Underground Forecast for Wednesday, December 28, 2011.

Both East and West Coast will be battling with cold and wet weather Wednesday. In the East, the storm system over the Northeast will continue to lift northward into Canada. Expect some wrap around and lake effect snow showers to continue over the eastern Great Lakes as well as the northern and central Appalachians. Northern New England can expect rain and snow to diminish by midday but cold northwest winds 20 to 30 mph will continue. These winds will likely to drop wind chill values to single digits.

Moving to the West, much needed precipitation finally arrives in the Northwest as a strong Pacific system moves ashore. This system is expected to bring abundant rain to the Pacific Northwest, with heavy snow possible in the Cascades and northern Rockies. Total rainfall is forecast to be 3 to 5 inches along the Washington and Oregon coastal ranges and lower elevations of the Cascades. Precipitation coverage is expected to reach as far south as northwestern California and eastward across the northern Rockies Wednesday.

Around midday, a warm front will reach the northern Plains and bring a mix of snow and freezing rain to northern Dakota. By evening, snowfall is expecte to spread across Dakota and Minnesota and continue through the Upper Midwest into Thursday. Temperatures in the Lower 48 states Tuesday have ranged from a morning low of -9 degrees at Grants-Milan, N.M. to a high of 84 degrees at Fort Lauderdale, Fla.

Source: http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/weather/*http%3A//news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20111228/ap_on_re_us/us_weatherpage_weather

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Actor Matthew McConaughey proposes to girlfriend (Reuters)

LOS ANGELES (Reuters) ? Hollywood leading man Matthew McConaughey has proposed to his longtime girlfriend and the mother of their two children, model Camila Alves, the actor said in a posting on celebrity website Whosay.com

McConaughey, star of such films as "Ghosts of Girlfriends Past" and "The Lincoln Lawyer," posted a picture of him and Alves kissing near a Christmas tree on Sunday with the message "just asked camila to marry me, merry Christmas."

WhoSay.com is a website that hosts many celebrity accounts. A spokesman for the actor confirmed that McConaughey posted the message but gave no further details.

McConaughey, 42, and Alves, 28, have been a couple for several years. They have two children, Levi, 3, and Vida, who turns 2 next month.

(Reporting by Bob Tourtellotte; Editing by Ian Simpson)

Source: http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/celebrity/*http%3A//news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20111226/people_nm/us_mcconaughey

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After Their Very Business-Like Win Over the Rams on Christmas ...

I didn't get a chance to see a lot of Saturday's game between the Steelers and Rams because of work (I plan on watching a replay of it tonight), but when it was 13-0 in the 4th quarter, all I could think about was how crappy it must have been to be a Rams fan watching that game. Even the Rams fan from the NFL commercial who painted his face and wore that fright wig must of had a difficult time sitting through that game. Not only were the Rams 2-12 going into Saturday's contest, but there was little to nothing to cheer about during that game. Even a spectacular blow-out loss would have been preferable to the way the Steelers methodically did away with St. Louis on Christmas Eve.

It made me appreciate being a Steelers fan even more, because like Maryrose has said on numerous occasions, the Steelers haven't played a game when they were out of playoff contention since December 31st, 2006. When you think about that, it's pretty remarkable.

It's almost hard to imagine watching a game with nothing really to play for. Even one of those end-of-season games where your team has everything wrapped up and is just resting its key starters for the postseason is at least a little enjoyable to watch because of the playoffs being on the horizon.

Speaking of playoffs on the horizon, the Steelers still have a shot at the AFC North crown and a bye as we head to the finish line.

Heading into this past weekend's action, the Steelers needed losses by the Ravens and Texans in-order to gain the upper hand in both the AFC North and the race to the bye in the first round of the playoffs provided they took care of business against St. Louis. Unfortunately, like the Steelers, the Ravens and Texans were playing two teams that were out of contention a long time ago. Surprisingly, however, the Texans lost to the 1-13 Colts on Thursday night, and even though the Browns couldn't knock off the Ravens on Saturday, at least the Steelers inched a little closer to a possible bye.

If you ask me, the prospects for a bye are looking a lot better today.

The Steelers may not control all of their playoff destiny, but the Cincinnati Bengals certainly do after they defeated the Cardinals on Saturday and the Jets lost at "home" to the Giants.

Before this past weekend, the Bengals and Jets had identical 8-6 records, but the Jets held the tiebreaker over Cincy. Now, at 9-6, Cincinnati only needs to defeat Baltimore at home in-order to clinch the final playoff spot in the AFC.

We'll get to see who is a more desperate football team on Sunday: A Bengals team with their playoff lives on the line or a Ravens team with a chance to earn their first division title since 2006 and the bye that would accompany it. One might automatically assume that the Bengals would be the more desperate of the two, but the Ravens are only 3-4 on the road this year and would fall from the 2nd seed, a bye and at least one home playoff game all the way down to the 5th spot and road games throughout the postseason if they can't win their division. Also, Baltimore went 8-0 at home this year and may have the best homefield advantage in the AFC right now. Besides that, Ray Lewis and Company are a prideful bunch, and the last thing they'd want to see happen is the Steelers celebrating another AFC North crown after losing to the Ravens twice this year.

And I wouldn't put it past the Bengals to choke. The last time the Bengals were in this exact situation, it was that same day the Steelers played their last game out of playoff contention--December 31st, 2006--and Pittsburgh knocked off the Bengals in overtime, and Cincinnatie missed the playoffs.

If the Bengals were to win, it would only help the Steelers if they won their last game in Cleveland.

I'm not too worried about that part of the equation. I know a lot of Steelers fans are going to be concerned with the Browns wanting to cripple Pittsburgh's Super Bowl chances, but the fans were worried about the exact same thing last year when Pittsburgh had to travel to Cleveland for the final week with a division title and bye on the line. But the Browns must have been more interested in their offseason plans than sabotaging the Steelers season, because Pittsburgh made short work of the Brownies, 41-9.

I see the same thing happening this year. Maybe not a 41-9 win (still a question as to whether or not Ben Roethlisberger will play in the final week), but I don't see this veteran Super Bowl team letting the Browns stand in the way of them and a possible better playoff seed.

My brother informed me last night that the NFL moved the Steelers/Browns game to 4:15. I was hoping the Bengals/Ravens game was played at 1pm so Mike Tomlin could know his team's fate before the game and act accordingly, but he won't get that luxury since that game will also be played at 4:15.

In any event, I'd say the Steelers are still very much in the mix for a bye as we head to the regular season finale

Source: http://www.behindthesteelcurtain.com/2011/12/26/2661642/after-their-very-business-like-win-over-the-rams-on-christmas-even

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Control4 MyHome app takes up residence on Android while Android@Home is out of town

Home automation provider Control4 has finally seen fit to open up its systems to Android users, releasing a version of its MyHome software for phones and tablets. Already available on iOS and PCs, it lets homeowners with Control4 setups manage their video, music, lighting and more on their own devices with taps and gestures. The apps themselves are free, but naturally one will need a MyHome license to use them, which runs $499 for multiple devices at one location or $199 for a single device. Of course, if you've had one of these installed scraping together the cash probably won't be too difficult, while you're checking the couch for loose change we'll sit back and wonder whatever happened to that Android@Home project we (haven't) heard so much about.

Continue reading Control4 MyHome app takes up residence on Android while Android@Home is out of town

Control4 MyHome app takes up residence on Android while Android@Home is out of town originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 21 Dec 2011 04:12:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Flash floods kill more than 400 in Philippines (AP)

MANILA, Philippines ? Flash floods devastated a southern Philippines region unaccustomed to serious storms, killing more than 400 people while they slept, rousting hundreds of others to their rooftops and turning two coastal cities into muddy, debris-filled waterways that were strewn Saturday with overturned vehicles and toppled trees.

Most of the victims were asleep Friday night when raging floodwaters cascaded from the mountains after 12 hours of rain from a late-season tropical storm in the southern Mindanao region. The region is unaccustomed to the typhoons that are common elsewhere in the nation of islands.

Ayi Hernandez, a former congressman, said he and his family were resting in their home in Cagayan de Oro late Friday when they heard a loud "swooshing sound" and water quickly rose ankle-deep inside. He decided to evacuate to a neighbor's two-story house.

"It was a good thing, because in less than an hour the water rose to about 11 feet (3.3 meters)," filling his home up to the ceiling, he said.

At least 436 were dead, based on a body count in funeral parlors, Philippine Red Cross Secretary General Gwen Pang told The Associated Press. She said that 215 died in Cagayan de Oro ? a city of more than 500,000 ? and 144 in nearby Iligan, with more than 300,000 residents. The rest died in several other southern and central provinces, she said.

Many of the bodies were unclaimed after nearly 24 hours, suggesting that entire families had died, Pang said.

The number of missing was unclear Saturday night. Before the latest Red Cross figures, military spokesman Lt. Col. Randolph Cabangbang said about 250 people were still unaccounted for in Iligan.

The swollen river sent floodwaters gushing through neighborhoods that do not usually experience flooding. A man floated in an inner tube in muddy water littered with plastic buckets, pieces of wood and other debris. Ten people in one home stood on a sloping roof, waiting for rescuers even as water still flooded the lower floors.

Local television footage showed muddy water rushing in the streets, sweeping away all sorts of debris. Thick layers of mud coated streets where the waters had subsided. One car was thrown over a concrete fence and others were crushed and piled in a flooded canal.

Benito Ramos, chief of the government's Civil Defense Office, attributed the high casualties in Mindanao "partly to the complacency of people because they are not in the usual path of storms" despite four days of warnings by officials that one was approaching.

Thousands of soldiers backed up by hundreds of local police, reservists, coast guard officers and civilian volunteers were mobilized for rescue efforts, but they were hampered by the flooded-out roads and lack of electricity.

Many roads were cut off and there was no electricity, hampering relief efforts.

The missing included prominent Filipino radio broadcaster Enie Alsonado, who was swept away while trying to save his neighbors, Iligan Mayor Lawrence Cruz said.

Rep. Rufus Rodriguez of Cagayan de Oro said that about 20,000 residents of the city had been affected and that evacuees were packed in temporary shelters.

Authorities recovered bodies from the mud after the water subsided. Parts of concrete walls and roofs, toppled vehicles and other debris littered the streets.

Rescuers in boats rushed offshore to save people swept out to sea. In Misamis Oriental province, 60 people were plucked from the ocean off El Salvador city, about six miles (10 kilometers) northwest of Cagayan de Oro, said disaster official Teddy Sabuga-a.

About 120 more were rescued off Opol township, closer to the city, he added.

Cruz said the Philippine coast guard and other rescuers were scouring the waters off Iligan for survivors or bodies that may have been swept away to sea.

Tropical Storm Washi dumped on Mindanao more than a month of average rains in just 12 hours.

It quickly cut across the region overnight and headed for Palawan province southwest of Manila on Saturday night.

Forecaster Leny Ruiz said that the records show that storms that follow Washi's track come only once in about 12 years.

Lucilo Bayron, vice mayor of Puerto Princesa in Palawan, said he already mobilized emergency crews but local officials have not ordered an evacuation yet because the weather was still fine.

___

Associated Press writer Hrvoje Hranjski contributed to this report.

Source: http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/weather/*http%3A//news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20111217/ap_on_re_as/as_philippines_storm

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Flipboard Gets Tiny, The Best Office Suite, Rate Everything, and Look Pretty [Video]

Flipboard for iPad is huge, both in terms of use and the actual size of the app. Well, the iPhone version just snuck up behind the iPad version and took its flipping mojo. Plus, rate the worls, get the best Office suite, and start dressing like an adult.

More »

Source: http://feeds.gawker.com/~r/gizmodo/full/~3/7t4dLx42r9E/

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AP-GfK Poll: More than half say Obama should lose (AP)

WASHINGTON ? Entering 2012, President Barack Obama's re-election prospects are essentially a 50-50 proposition, with a majority saying the president deserves to be voted out of office despite concerns about the Republican alternatives, according to a new Associated Press-GfK poll.

Obama's overall poll numbers suggest he's in jeopardy of losing, even as the public's outlook on the economy appears to be improving, the AP-GfK poll found. For the first time since spring, more said the economy got better in the past month than said it got worse.

The president's approval rating on unemployment shifted upward ? from 40 percent in October to 45 percent in the latest poll ? as the jobless rate fell to 8.6 percent last month, its lowest level since March 2009.

But Obama's approval rating on his handling of the economy overall remains stagnant: 39 percent approve and 60 percent disapprove.

Heading into his re-election campaign, the president faces a conflicted public that does not support his steering of the economy, the most dominant issue for Americans, or his reforms to health care, one of his signature accomplishments. Yet they are grappling with whether to replace him with Republican contenders Mitt Romney or Newt Gingrich.

The poll found an even divide on whether Americans expect Obama to be re-elected next year.

For the first time, the poll found that a majority of adults, 52 percent, said Obama should be voted out of office while 43 percent said he deserves another term. The numbers mark a reversal since last May, when 53 percent said Obama should be re-elected while 43 percent said he didn't deserve four more years.

Obama's overall job approval stands at a new low: 44 percent approve while 54 percent disapprove. The president's standing among independents is worse: 38 percent approve while 59 percent disapprove. Among Democrats, the president holds steady with an approval rating of 78 percent while only 12 percent of Republicans approve of the job he's doing.

"I think he's doing the best he can. The problem is the Congress won't help at all," said Rosario Navarro, a Democrat and a 44-year-old truck driver from Fresno, Calif., who voted for Obama in 2008 and intends to support him again.

Robin Dein, a 54-year-old homemaker from Villanova, Pa., who is an independent, said she supported Republican John McCain in 2008 and has not been impressed with Obama's economic policies. She intends to support Romney if he wins the GOP nomination.

"(Obama) spent the first part of his presidency blaming Bush for everything, not that he was innocent, and now his way of solving anything is by spending more money," she said.

Despite the soft level of support, many are uncertain whether a Republican president would be a better choice. Asked whom they would support next November, 47 percent of adults favored Obama compared with 46 percent for Romney, a former Massachusetts governor. Against Gingrich, the president holds a solid advantage, receiving 51 percent compared with 42 percent for the former House speaker.

The potential matchups paint a better picture for the president among independents. Obama receives 45 percent of non-aligned adults compared with 41 percent for Romney. Against Gingrich, Obama holds a wide lead among independents, with 54 percent supporting the president and 31 percent backing the former Georgia congressman.

Another piece of good news for Obama: people generally like him personally. Obama's personal favorability rating held steady at 53 percent, with 46 percent viewing him unfavorably. About three-quarters called him likable.

The economy remains a source of pessimism, though the poll suggests the first positive movement in public opinion on the economy in months. One in five said the economy improved in the last month, double the share saying so in October. Still most expect it to stay the same or get worse.

"I suppose you could make some sort of argument that it's getting better, but I'm not sure I even see that," said independent voter John Bailey, a 61-year-old education consultant from East Jordan, Mich. "I think it's bad and it's gotten worse under (Obama's) policies. At best, it's going to stay bad."

Despite the high rate of joblessness, the poll found some optimism on the economy. Although 80 percent described the economy as "poor," respondents describing it "very poor" fell from 43 percent in October to 34 percent in the latest poll, the lowest since May. Twenty percent said the economy got better in the past month while 37 percent said they expected the economy to improve next year.

Yet plenty of warning signs remain for Obama. Only 26 percent said the United States is headed in the right direction while 70 percent said the country was moving in the wrong direction.

The president won a substantial number of women voters in 2008 yet there does not appear to be a significant tilt toward Obama among women now. The poll found 44 percent of women say Obama deserves a second term, down from 51 percent in October, while 43 percent of men say the president should be re-elected.

About two-thirds of white voters without college degrees say Obama should be a one-term president, while 33 percent of those voters say he should get another four years. Among white voters with a college degree, 57 percent said Obama should be voted out of office.

The poll found unpopularity for last year's health care reform bill, one of Obama's major accomplishments. About half of the respondents oppose the health care law and support for it dipped to 29 percent from 36 percent in June. Just 15 percent said the federal government should have the power to require all Americans to buy health insurance.

Even among Democrats, the health care law has tepid support. Fifty percent of Democrats supported the health care law, compared with 59 percent of Democrats last June. Only about a quarter of independents back the law.

The president has taken a more populist tone in his handling of the economy, arguing that the wealthy should pay more in taxes to help pay for the extension of a payroll tax cut that would provide about $1,000 in tax cuts to a family earning about $50,000 a year. Among those with annual household incomes of $50,000 or less, Obama's approval rating on unemployment climbed to 53 percent, from 43 percent in October.

The Associated Press-GfK Poll was conducted December 8-12 2011 by GfK Roper Public Affairs and Corporate Communications. It involved landline and cellphone interviews with 1,000 adults nationwide and has a margin of sampling error of plus or minus 4 percentage points.

___

Associated Press writer Stacy A. Anderson and News Survey Specialist Dennis Junius contributed to this report.

___

Online: http://www.ap-gfkpoll.com

Source: http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/obama/*http%3A//news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20111216/ap_on_el_pr/us_obama_poll

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Pets As Guests During the Holidays

For many, this is the busiest time of year, and for those with pets, travel arrangements may have to be made. If boarding isn?t an option, what should be done when pets aren?t welcome at the in-laws, or other family arrangements?

First, it can be very frustrating when pets aren?t welcome at someone else?s home, especially when you love them so much! After all, it is easy to think, who wouldn?t love Puddles Schmoopykins? That said, there are things that need to be considered from the other side. First, it is the host?s home and their rules should be respected. Someone in the home might be severely allergic, afraid of dogs, or simply just not like the hair associated with a pet.

The best way to approach the problem is to try and reach a compromise with the person (or people) you are staying with. Be calm, and discuss that this pet (or pets) is part of your family, and that you would appreciate if they were welcome on your trip. Be proactive and offer solutions that will make you and the host happy. For example, keeping the pet(s) crated as needed, or keeping the pet(s) in one room only is a welcome compromise. If the location works for this, keeping the pet outside is another option (only if it is safe, with fencing or a well-trained pet).

If there is no way that the host is willing to allow pets into the home, consider the length of your trip. Boarding the pets nearby is a great way to see them often and not worry about being far away from them. Another option is to consider other friends or family that live in the same area. Maybe they will be willing to host your pets for a few days!

If the host says yes, always keep in mind that you are a visitor and should treat their home with respect when it comes to your animals. Be prepared for accidents, barking, the zoomies, and any other habits your pet has that the host is probably not used to. Cleaning up after pets is a must, both in the house and the yard. Always be sure to thank the host for welcoming your pets as well!

I have three dogs, and have experienced a lot of horrifying moments with my pups visiting my in-laws. My golden retriever broke the glass of a small end table (we paid to replace it), my border collie peed in the hallway during Thanksgiving, and when it?s time to visit my parents, the dogs are not allowed upstairs at all, and have to sleep in the basement (it?s a nice, finished basement). Last year, my husband and I pitched in with his siblings for getting his parents? carpet cleaned as part of their Christmas gift.

Even though pets are part of the family, unfortunately not everyone feels that way about them! Luckily, there are ways to make traveling with pets work when it comes to the most wonderful time of the year.

?

This article was written by My Pet Saving?s contributor Melissa. She has a master?s degree in creative writing, owns several pets and runs her own online pet magazine. To learn more about this author check out the contributor profile page.

No related posts.

Tagged as: holidays, in-laws and pets, pets as guests, traveling with pets

Source: http://www.mypetsavings.com/2011/12/pets-as-guests-during-the-holidays.html

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SkyDrive Releases iPhone and Windows Phone 7 Apps to Sync and Share Data Anywhere [Video]

iOS/Windows Phone 7: Microsoft has released two mobile apps for its SkyDrive cloud storage service, allowing you to access, share, and store files from your Windows Phone or iPhone.

The previously featured cloud storage service Skydrive has advantages compared to other similar services, including more default storage space than the likes of Dropbox, but it was lacking a mobile version for people to access files from phones. The new mobile apps have the same basic features and functionality of the webapp version and only require a Windows Live account to start using.

You can download the Windows Phone 7 version and the iPhone version for free right now.

Introducing SkyDrive for iPhone and Windows Phone | Windows Live Blog

Source: http://feeds.gawker.com/~r/lifehacker/full/~3/FQhNzgXq6GU/skydrive-releases-iphone-and-windows-phone-apps-to-sync-and-share-data-anywhere

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Republicans try to protect military from budget cuts (Reuters)

WASHINGTON (Reuters) ? A top Republican on Wednesday introduced legislation to protect the military from automatic budget cuts despite stiff opposition from Democrats and a veto threat from President Barack Obama.

Republicans have been trying to find savings to replace the $1.2 trillion in automatic budget cuts that go into effect from 2013 after a congressional debt panel failed to reach a deficit reduction plan in November.

Half the savings would come from the Pentagon's budget and the rest from domestic federal programs.

The bill proposed by the chairman of the House Armed Services Committee, Republican Representative Howard McKeon, would slash the federal workforce by 10 percent in order to spare the military and other programs from spending cuts.

"The troops simply don't have any more to give. It is time we address our debt crisis sensibly, by literally shrinking the size of government," McKeon said in a statement.

Congress has been struggling with how to rein in the country's $15 trillion public debt.

As part of this summer's deal to raise the debt ceiling, a super committee of lawmakers was charged with finding $1.2 trillion in deficit reduction over 10 years. When they failed to forge a deal, it triggered the series of budget cuts.

Republicans in the Senate also announced plans on Wednesday to protect the Pentagon's budget, which has nearly doubled over the past decade to $700 billion.

They said they would introduce legislation in January that would rely on savings proposed by other means including broadcast spectrum and land sales.

"We are not talking about raising taxes," said Jon Kyl, the no 2 Republican in the Senate.

"The bottom line is, we will identify savings, we will present that in the best legislative vehicle we can and thereby offset the savings from (the automatic budget cuts)," he said.

(Editing by Todd Eastham)

(Reporting By Rachelle Younglai)

Source: http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/obama/*http%3A//news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20111215/pl_nm/us_usa_budget_defense

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[OOC] Submission Thread

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Please post all "Players Wanted" threads in the Roleplayers Wanted forum!

This topic is an Out Of Character part of the roleplay, ?Gods; A New Age.?. Anything posted here will also show up there.

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Forum for completely Out of Character (OOC) discussion, based around whatever is happening In Character (IC). Discuss plans, storylines, and events; Recruit for your roleplaying game, or find a GM for your playergroup.

This is where you can publicly submit your sample for the Co-GMs and GM to see and evaluate.

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Rod Blagojevich offers no apologies at sentencing hearing

Witnesses testified Tuesday that Rod Blagojevich had good intentions at heart and that he received bad advice from aides and advisers. The judge disagreed,?saying Blagojevich 'was not a supplicant.'

The federal judge conducting the sentencing hearing of Rod Blagojevich Tuesday heard from many people stumping on his behalf why the impeached Illinois governor should only receive the minimum prison time.

Skip to next paragraph

But he never heard a direct apology from Mr. Blagojevich, which most federal experts agree is crucial in getting a lesser sentence than federal guidelines suggest.

?He?s expressed no remorse. He says he?s sorry he got caught, he?s sorry his family got hurt, and he?s sorry he?s not governor anymore,? says Patrick Cotter, a former US prosecutor now in private practice in Chicago. ?If you?re not sorry, don?t say anything at all because all it does is antagonize the judge.?

Blagojevich was convicted of 18 counts of corruption related to the attempt to curry President Obama?s former US Senate seat for favors. The prosecution won the convictions over two separate trials, the second of which ended this summer. Prosecutors recommend Blagojevich receive 15 to 20 years in prison. US District Judge James Zagel says he will issue his sentencing verdict Wednesday.

In the meantime, the defense ushered into the courtroom several people who told the judge Blagojevich had good intentions at heart and that he received bad advice from aides and advisers in discussions heard on FBI wiretapped recordings.

The ex-governor ?is a kind and compassionate man who is sincere in his desire to help people,? said defense attorney Carolyn Gurland. To demonstrate, she introduced a Chicago pediatrician who told the judge how a children?s health insurance program that Blagojevich created as governor became a lifesaver during the subsequent recession.

Ms. Gurland also stressed that Blagojevich received no money from his scheming. She described him as not knowing what he was doing was wrong and therefore assuming ?his conduct was within the bounds of the law.?

Judge Zagel disagreed with the defense?s portrayal, saying Blagojevich ?was not a supplicant? who fell prey to bad advice.

?I do believe that it is absurd to contend that his staff and advisers would devise a criminal scheme whose only aim was to benefit the defendant.? He was interested in himself,? he said.

The defense also produced a letter from Patti Blagojevich, the former first lady, who said her husband was dedicated to his family, suggesting that a lengthy prison term would destroy the relationship between him and his two daughters. Gurland told the judge that multiple appearances on primetime reality television shows was not to grab a shot at fame, but to generate income so both their daughters could remain in private school.

While efforts to portray the defendant in a positive light are important, Mr. Cotter says the more credible component of any federal sentencing hearing is an admission of guilt. That may be a tall order for Blagojevich who spent much of his time outside the two trials protesting his treatment by both the prosecution and judge.

An apology during sentencing is ?an acknowledgement you broke the law,? which is essential for a judge to hear when he is making a decision based on deterrence.

?When you have the defendant standing before you and he makes all sorts of claims about how [a harsh sentence] will hurt his family, it?s a lot easier to consider if the guy has earned some credibility because he admitted what everyone knows,? he says.

The closest Blagojevich came to an apology Tuesday was a statement made in the late afternoon to Zagel through his attorney.

?We accept the fact [that Blagojevich?s actions were a] crime,? said defense attorney Sheldon Sorosky. ?It?s illegal. He should not have done it.?

The defense is asking that Blagojevich receive a minimum sentence of just over four years.

Source: http://rss.csmonitor.com/~r/feeds/csm/~3/NqRCCDqRFFk/Rod-Blagojevich-offers-no-apologies-at-sentencing-hearing

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Horror Story Needs Victims and Killers

You live in Morrowfield is your home and you have a big problem: there are psycho killers trying to murder you. Or maybe you are the killer! Whatever the situation, welcome Morrowfield!

As a victim, you are trying to survive the massacre that waits for you. As the killer, you are trying to kill everyone you come across. Maybe a few romances will pop up. Maybe you won't survive long enough to make it there. But the real question is how do you fit into this bloody night? Victim? Killer? Final-girl/boy? or will you let this chance pass by?

Be careful! Killers may be human, but some may be witches. Remember, they are all killers, and may kill each other!

Victims aren't helpless, either! Some can be witches, humans, or psychics! Maybe a few will even turn into killers! Or maybe they'll fall in love with one of the killers...

Join to find your destiny!

Bloody night: http://www.roleplaygateway.com/roleplay/bloody-night/

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Jonathan Adler and Skip Hop Team Up for Chic Diaper Bag Collection

Home design guru Jonathan Adler lends his signature prints to Skip Hop's stylish and functional diaper bags.

Source: http://feeds.celebritybabies.com/~r/celebrity-babies/~3/CuzjRaqErZM/

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im looking for someone role play pj,hp,twilight, anime,other

hello i know they alot looking for post out there but i just want to role play with someone or small group of people. who like twilight but want to do after the book and same with harry potter and percy jackson too. if they is not one listen but you want to rp it let me know i see it have read or watch it if not may some one else have and you can talk about it with them. i play my own chars and i like to play up two main char and will try to play other. im sorry for my spelling and i hope you don't care to much about it. just pm if you want to know more about my idea for hp or jp or twilight.

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Gingrich praises Cain for optimism, big ideas (AP)

NEW YORK ? Newt Gingrich is praising GOP presidential rival Herman Cain for bringing optimism and big ideas to the 2012 campaign.

Gingrich, a former House speaker, made his comments at a tea party rally on New York's Staten Island, not long after Cain said he was suspending his campaign.

Polls show that Gingrich's candidacy has surged in recent weeks, with many showing him topping the Republican field.

Gingrich refused to say the race has come down to a two-man contest with former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney just a month before the first vote, in Iowa.

Gingrich says any of the Republicans could rebound before the Iowa caucuses, just as he did after his campaign almost collapsed last summer.

Source: http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/gop/*http%3A//news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20111203/ap_on_el_pr/us_gingrich

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Apple's Siri irks abortion rights advocates (Reuters)

SAN FRANCISCO (Reuters) ? Apple Inc is facing its first major controversy over well-received voice software Siri, as the cutting-edge iPhone search service ran afoul of abortion rights advocates.

Siri - one of the most popular features of Apple's new iPhone 4S - drew the ire of bloggers and the National Abortion and Reproductive Rights Action League when it could not locate abortion clinics when asked.

NARAL's president, Nancy Keenan, dashed off an email to Apple chief executive officer Tim Cook in which she complained: "In some cases, Siri is not providing your customers with accurate or complete information about women's reproductive-health services."

But Apple said Siri's inability to pull up information was not intentional, blaming the flaw on the fact it was still in beta, or testing, phase.

"Our customers want to use Siri to find out all types of information and while it can find a lot, it doesn't always find what you want," Apple spokeswoman Natalie Harrison said. "These are not intentional omissions meant to offend anyone, it simply means that, as we bring Siri from beta to a final product, we find places where we can do better, and we will in the coming weeks."

Cook responded to Keenan with a similar statement, according to the group's website, which posted the email.

Apple uses a variety of online resources to search for information and relies mainly on review website Yelp for local businesses.

Source: http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/applecomputer/*http%3A//news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20111202/tc_nm/us_apples_siri

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Islamists seen winners in Egypt election (Reuters)

CAIRO (Reuters) ? Initial results of Egypt's first free election in six decades will emerge on Thursday, with Islamist parties expecting to command a majority in parliament, hard on the heels of victories by their counterparts in Tunisia and Morocco.

Parliament, whose exact makeup will be clear only after Egypt's staggered voting process ends in January, may challenge the power of ruling generals who took over in February when a popular uprising toppled Hosni Mubarak, an ex-air force chief.

The Muslim Brotherhood, Egypt's oldest and best-organized Islamist group, believes its new Freedom and Justice Party (FJP) is on course to secure about 40 percent of seats allocated to party lists after the first stage of voting this week, which passed off peacefully, albeit with many irregularities.

Qatar's Prime Minister Sheikh Hamad bin Jassim al-Thani was

quoted on Thursday as saying Islamists were likely to represent the next wave of political power in the Arab world and that the West should embrace them, saying moderate Islamists could help combat what he called extremist ideology.

"We shouldn't fear them, let's cooperate with them. We should not have a problem with anyone who operates within the norms of international law, comes to power and fights terrorism," Sheikh Hamad told the Financial Times.

Islamist success at the polls in Egypt, the most populous Arab nation, would reinforce a trend in North Africa, where moderate Islamists now lead governments in Morocco and post-uprising Tunisia after election wins in the last two months.

Western powers are coming to accept that the advent of democracy in the Arab world may bring Islamists to power, but they also worry that Islamist rule in Egypt might erode social freedoms and threaten Cairo's 1979 peace treaty with Israel.

Egypt's April 6 youth movement, a prime mover in the revolt against Mubarak, also said there was no cause for concern.

"No one should worry about the victory of one list or political current. This is democracy and this great nation will not allow anyone to exploit it again," its Facebook page said.

FJP officials have said the party is also leading the race for individual seats that account for a third of the total.

Al-Nour Party, one of several newly formed ultra-conservative Salafi Islamist groups, said during the voting that it would pick up at least 70 seats in the new assembly.

Such an outcome, if confirmed, would give Islamist parties an option to combine to form a solid majority bloc, although it is not certain that the Brotherhood would invite al-Nour to join a coalition after the party quit an FJP-led electoral alliance.

Senior FJP official Essam el-Erian said before the vote that

Salafis, who had kept a low profile and shunned politics during Mubarak's 30-year rule, would be "a burden for any coalition."

The FJP might seek other partners, such as the liberal Wafd Party or the moderate Islamist Wasat Party, set up by former Brotherhood members in 1996 although not officially licensed until a few days after Mubarak's fall.

The liberal multi-party Egyptian Bloc has said it is on track to secure about a fifth of votes for party lists.

PERILS OF DEMOCRACY

Some Egyptians fear the Muslim Brotherhood might try to impose Islamic curbs on a tourism-dependent country whose 80 million people include a 10 percent Coptic Christian minority.

Ali Khafagi, the leader of the FJP's youth committee, dismissed such concerns, saying the Brotherhood's goal was to end corruption and start reform and economic development.

Only a "mad group" would try to ban alcohol or force women to wear headscarves," Khafagi told Reuters on Wednesday.

The Brotherhood's priority, which gained trust by aiding the poor during the Mubarak years, is likely to be economic growth to ease poverty and convince voters they are fit to govern.

"They are going to have to deliver something. The bread-and-butter issues will be their focus," said Shadi Hamid, director of research at the Brookings Doha Centre.

Any new government will have to grapple with an economic crisis that has already forced the Egyptian pound to its lowest level in nearly seven years after tourism and foreign investment collapsed in the turmoil since Mubarak's fall.

The ruling military council, under increasing pressure to make way for civilian rule, has said it will retain powers to choose or dismiss a cabinet. But the FJP leader said on Tuesday the majority in parliament should form the government.

Essam Sharaf's outgoing government quit during protests against army rule last month in which 42 people were killed, most near Cairo's Tahrir Square, hub of the anti-Mubarak revolt.

Kamal al-Ganzouri, asked by the army to form a "national salvation government," aims to complete the task in the next day or two, but acknowledged on Wednesday that five presidential candidates had turned down invitations to join his cabinet.

Protesters who returned to Tahrir last month, angered by the military's apparent reluctance to cede power, say the generals should step aside now, instead of appointing a man of the past like Ganzouri, 78, who was a premier for Mubarak in the 1990s.

Officials were due to announce first-stage election results for individual seats at 7 p.m. (1700 GMT), but not those for party-list seats, which will be made public in January.

(Additional reporting by Marwa Awad, Yasmine Saleh, Shaimaa Fayed, Maha El Dayan, Tom Perry and Tom Pfeiffer; Writing by Alistair Lyon, editing by Peter Millership)

Source: http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/africa/*http%3A//news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20111201/wl_nm/us_egypt_election

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Graphene lights up with new possibilities

Wednesday, November 30, 2011

The future brightened for organic chemistry when researchers at Rice University found a highly controllable way to attach organic molecules to pristine graphene, making the miracle material suitable for a range of new applications.

The Rice lab of chemist James Tour, building upon a set of previous finds in the manipulation of graphene, discovered a two-step method that turned what was a single-atom-thick sheet of carbon into a superlattice for use in organic chemistry. The work could lead to advances in graphene-based chemical sensors, thermoelectric devices and metamaterials.

The work appeared this week in the online journal Nature Communications.

Graphene alone is inert to many organic reactions and, as a semimetal, has no band gap; this limits its usefulness in electronics. But the project led by the Tour Lab's Zhengzong Sun and Rice graduate Cary Pint, now a researcher at Intel, demonstrated that graphene, the strongest material there is because of the robust nature of carbon-carbon bonds, can be made suitable for novel types of chemistry.

Until now there was no way to attach molecules to the basal plane of a sheet of graphene, said Tour, Rice's T.T. and W.F. Chao Chair in Chemistry as well as a professor of mechanical engineering and materials science and of computer science. "They would mostly go to the edges, not the interior," he said. "But with this two-step technique, we can hydrogenate graphene to make a particular pattern and then attach molecules to where those hydrogens were.

"This is useful to make, for example, chemical sensors in which you want peptides, DNA nucleotides or saccharides projected upward in discrete places along a device. The reactivity at those sites is very fast relative to placing molecules just at the edges. Now we get to choose where they go."

The first step in the process involved creating a lithographic pattern to induce the attachment of hydrogen atoms to specific domains of graphene's honeycomb matrix; this restructure turned it into a two-dimensional, semiconducting superlattice called graphane. The hydrogen atoms were generated by a hot filament using an approach developed by Robert Hauge, a distinguished faculty fellow in chemistry at Rice and co-author of the paper.

The lab showed its ability to dot graphene with finely wrought graphane islands when it dropped microscopic text and an image of Rice's classic Owl mascot, about three times the width of a human hair, onto a tiny sheet and then spin-coated it with a fluorophore. Graphene naturally quenches fluorescent molecules, but graphane does not, so the Owl literally lit up when viewed with a new technique called fluorescence quenching microscopy (FQM).

FQM allowed the researchers to see patterns with a resolution as small as one micron, the limit of conventional lithography available to them. Finer patterning is possible with the right equipment, they reasoned.

In the next step, the lab exposed the material to diazonium salts that spontaneously attacked the islands' carbon-hydrogen bonds. The salts had the interesting effect of eliminating the hydrogen atoms, leaving a structure of carbon-carbon sp3 bonds that are more amenable to further functionalization with other organics.

"What we do with this paper is go from the graphene-graphane superlattice to a hybrid, a more complicated superlattice," said Sun, who recently earned his doctorate at Rice. "We want to make functional changes to materials where we can control the position, the bond types, the functional groups and the concentrations.

"In the future -- and it might be years -- you should be able to make a device with one kind of functional growth in one area and another functional growth in another area. They will work differently but still be part of one compact, cheap device," he said. "In the beginning, there was very little organic chemistry you could do with graphene. Now we can do almost all of it. This opens up a lot of possibilities."

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Rice University: http://media.rice.edu

Thanks to Rice University for this article.

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Source: http://www.labspaces.net/115556/Graphene_lights_up_with_new_possibilities

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