We're still a few minutes out from Apple's Q1 2012 earnings call ? but as is par for the course, the raw numbers have made their way out a bit early. And they.. are... insane.Source: http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/Techcrunch/~3/sPiXv2z7mN0/
breaking dawn part 2 big game jeremy london jeremy london butterball turkey fryer butterball turkey fryer yale harvard
Jeff Chiu / AP
Customers shop at a Target Store in Colma, Calif.
By Marisa Taylor
In an effort to prevent consumers from taking a look at merchandise in-store, but using smartphone apps to?shop for cheaper prices online, low-end retail chain Target is scaling up its business model by asking vendors to create Target-exclusive products.
The problem, experts say, is that there isn?t much Target and other big-box retailers can do to quash competition from online giants like Amazon.com and Overstock.com. The practice of so-called "showrooming," when shoppers hit the brick-and-mortar venues to determine whether they like an item, but then buy it for cheaper on Amazon.com, is here to stay, these experts note.
?The bottom line is that the more commoditized the product is, the more people are going to look for the cheapest price,? said Morningstar analyst Michael Keara. ?If there?s a significant price difference [among retailers] and you?re using it on a regular basis, you?re going to go to Amazon.?
Consumers turned to online shopping in droves this year, spending a whopping $37.2 billion during November and December of 2011 alone, representing a 15 percent increase in spending over the same time period in 2010, according to digital research company comScore.
And while many retailers, from J.Crew to Barnes & Noble, offered free shipping and steep discounts on merchandise in the days leading up to Christmas, smaller brick-and-mortar retailers cried foul when Amazon.com rolled out its Price Check App last December.
Amazon offered customers an additional 5 percent discount on products they purchased using the app, which would essentially strangle brick-and-mortar stores by encouraging shoppers to seek products there, but buy them online.
Indeed, Target sent an ?urgent? letter to vendors last week, asking them to ?create special products that would set it apart from competitors,? according to The Wall Street Journal. Citigroup?s Deborah Weinswig told the Associated Press that Target?s letter insisted that it would not ?let online-only retailers use our brick-and-mortar stores as a showroom for their products and undercut our prices without making investments, as we do, to proudly display your brands.??
Target would not comment on the letter, but did say that the company ?has long prided itself on having truly collaborative vendor partnerships and we continually work with our vendors to remain competitive in the ever-evolving retail environment,? according to an e-mailed statement from Target spokesperson Molly Snyder.
Other big-box retailers -- such as Wal-Mart, Best Buy and Sears --?did not immediately respond to requests for comment. Amazon did not respond to a call for comment.
Target also recently announced that it would partner with a number of boutique chains -- such as The Candy Store and Cos Bar --?to carry specially designed Target wares, and it has long teamed up with high-end designers to create special budget lines for its stores to increase demand.
Analysts say that other big-box retailers will likely try to follow Target?s example of creating exclusive products and shopper loyalty programs,?such as?Target?s RedCard, which offers cardholders free shipping for online purchases and a 5 percent discount on select products.
?The trend toward more exclusives has been growing anyway, and showrooming is just another accelerant,? wrote Sean McGowan, a senior analyst at Needham & Company, in an e-mail message.
And whether Target likes it or not, when it comes to higher-end products and national brands, consumers aren?t loyal.?The advent of online shopping just exacerbates that.
?This company is under extreme pressure to keep their margins down,? said Morningstar's Keara. ?They really need you to come into the store and buy things that are a little higher margin.?
But that?s where Amazon goes in for the kill, because today?s cash-strapped consumer just wants a lower price.
?I think we?re slowly, gradually coming to this realization that consumers aren?t going to spend what they did in the last 10 to 15 years,? he said.
Source: http://bottomline.msnbc.msn.com/_news/2012/01/24/10226938-target-tries-to-fight-off-online-retailers
ted kennedy warren zevon caroline kennedy caroline kennedy day of rage sportscenter pay per view
We can respect Kevin Federline for working out so hard to lose weight that he passes out, but he may want to scale back, having been hospitalized twice now.
The ex-Mr. Britney Spears was rushed to the hospital a SECOND TIME since filming Excess Baggage, an amusingly-named Australian Celebrity Fit Club spinoff.
Apparently he was in the midst of an AFL training session with the Greater Western Sydney Giants on Monday afternoon when he complained of chest pains.
A spokesperson for the network airing the show said:
"Kevin was at Doonside with the [Giants], completing an AFL-related challenge. He did his challenge, which was running and catching the ball, then while his [in-series weight-loss partner] was taking the same challenge, he reported chest pains and a racing heart."
"We have a lot of paramedics on standby and they treated him for the first signs of a minor cardiac arrest, called an ambulance and had him taken to hospital."
Fortunately, tests revealed he did not have a heart attack.
Still, don't fight the good fight too hard, Kev.
[Photo: WENN.com]
Source: http://www.thehollywoodgossip.com/2012/01/kevin-federline-hospitalized-for-exhaustion-again/
x factor results the hobbit movie trailer tcu xfactor frankincense cloudy with a chance of meatballs the hobbit movie
Debating whether the GOP will reverse the Keystone decision, and partisan politics on Capitol Hill, with Rep. Charlie Rangell, (D-NY), and Rep. David Schweikert, (R-AZ).
Related Links:
Business & financial news headlines from msnbc.com
Source: http://video.msnbc.msn.com/cnbc/46079304/
uss arizona myth busters tracy mcgrady tracy mcgrady mash alec baldwin kicked off plane alec baldwin kicked off plane
This digital document is an article from National Underwriter Property & Casualty-Risk & Benefits Management, published by The National Underwriter Company on February 3, 1997. The length of the article is 673 words. The page length shown above is based on a typical 300-word page. The article is delivered in HTML format and is available in your Amazon.com Digital Locker immediately after purchase. You can view it with any web browser.
From the supplier: The US Justice Dept is investigating Nationwide Mutual Insurance Co for possible violations of federal civil rights laws in the firm?s homeowners insurance sector. The firm also has several local lawsuits against it for the same alleged violations. The US Department of Housing and Urban Development and the National Fair Housing Alliance are investigating Allstate Insurance Co for similar discrimination against homeowners from urban minority neighborhoods who apply for insurance.
Citation Details
Title: Nationwide probed by Justice Dept.(Nationwide Mutual Insurance Co., discrimination in homeowners insurance)
Author: L.H. Otis
Publication: National Underwriter Property & Casualty-Risk & Benefits Management (Magazine/Journal)
Date: February 3, 1997
Publisher: The National Underwriter Company
Issue: n5 Page: p1(2)
Distributed by Thomson Gale
List Price: $ 5.95
Price: $ 5.95
google doodle notre dame shane denarius moore denarius moore alley boy alley boy
Woman With Two Vaginas Offered $1 Million By Vivid Entertainment
A British woman named Hazel Jones was born with two fully formed vaginas and could make bank if she accepts an offer by Vivid Entertainment! [...]
Woman With Two Vaginas Offered $1 Million By Vivid Entertainment Stupid Celebrities Gossip Stupid Celebrities Gossip News
Source: http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/stupidcelebrities/~3/ka4_e_2SHlQ/
uss carl vinson holly marie combs unc basketball college basketball gunsmoke papelbon papelbon
Granted, it's early. It's very, very, very early.
There's probably a better chance that American Idol viewers never hear from Phillip Phillips again than there is that this southern pawn shop worker goes on to win season 11. But that doesn't mean the aspiring crooner doesn't deserve a shout-out today, as she stood above all others in Savannah on last night's premiere audition episode.
Watch below as Phillips wows the panel with two songs, first a unique take on "Superstition" and then a version of "Thriller." Anyone else reminded here of Casey Abrams?
Source: http://www.thehollywoodgossip.com/2012/01/phillip-phillips-very-early-american-idol-favorite/
google buzz trace cyrus hilary duff pregnant hilary duff pregnant psat psat brenda song
FILE - In this Monday, Oct. 17, 2011 file photo, a woman walks down a fog-covered trail at Montie Beach Park in Houston. The world last year wasn't quite as warm as it has been for most of the past decade, government scientists said Thursday, Jan. 19, 2012, but it continues the general trend of rising temperatures. In the United States, it was only 1 degree above normal, which made it the 23rd warmest on record. But 17 cities - including Houston, Miami, Atlantic City, Trenton and Austin - had their warmest years. (AP Photo/Houston Chronicle, Cody Duty)
FILE - In this Monday, Oct. 17, 2011 file photo, a woman walks down a fog-covered trail at Montie Beach Park in Houston. The world last year wasn't quite as warm as it has been for most of the past decade, government scientists said Thursday, Jan. 19, 2012, but it continues the general trend of rising temperatures. In the United States, it was only 1 degree above normal, which made it the 23rd warmest on record. But 17 cities - including Houston, Miami, Atlantic City, Trenton and Austin - had their warmest years. (AP Photo/Houston Chronicle, Cody Duty)
WASHINGTON (AP) ? The world last year wasn't quite as warm as it has been for most of the past decade, government scientists said Thursday, but it continues a general trend of rising temperatures.
The average global temperature was 57.9 degrees Fahrenheit, making 2011 the 11th hottest on record, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration said. That's 0.9 degrees warmer than the 20th century average, officials said. In fact, it was hotter than every year last century except 1998.
One reason 2011 was milder than recent years was the La Nina cooling of the central Pacific Ocean. La Ninas occur every few years and generally cause global temperatures to drop, but this was the warmest La Nina year on record.
And 2011 also was the warmest year on record for Spain and Norway, and the second warmest for the United Kingdom. In the United States, the average temperature of 53.8 was just 1 degree above normal, making last year only the 23rd warmest on record. But 17 cities ? including Houston, Miami, Trenton and Austin ? had their warmest years.
This marks the 35th straight year that global temperatures were warmer than normal. NOAA's records for world average temperatures date back to 1880.
"It would be premature to make any conclusion that we would see any hiatus of the longer-term warming trend," said Tom Karl, director of NOAA's National Climatic Data Center. "Global temperatures are continuing to increase."
NASA, which calculates global temperatures in a slightly different way, announced essentially the same temperature for the year. But NASA's record-keeping calls it the ninth warmest ever.
Both NASA climate scientist James Hansen and University of Victoria's Andrew Weaver said they expect that in the next few years the world will set yet a new record high temperature. 2010 tied for the hottest on record.
NOAA also released new figures for extreme weather. The agency recalculated the number of billion-dollar weather disasters in the U.S., bumping the total from 12 to 14. Officials added Tropical Storm Lee, which dumped rain from Maryland to New England in September, and a July hail and wind storm in Colorado to the list.
The 14 extreme events smash the old record of nine billion-dollar disasters in 2008.
"America has endured an unusually large number of extreme events, totaling damages of more than $55 billion," NOAA deputy administrator Kathryn Sullivan said. She blamed a variety of factors, including population changes.
For the year, a record 58 percent of the United States had either extreme rainfall or severe drought, about triple what is normal for the country. Seven states ? New York, Pennsylvania, Ohio, New Jersey, Massachusetts, Indiana and Kentucky ? had their wettest years since those types of records were kept beginning in 1895. Texas had its driest year ever.
The record wet up north and dry down south fits with what climate change science predicts, but it is too early to say if 2011's precipitation extremes were due to global warming, Karl said. And the unusual number of deadly tornadoes can't be linked to global warming, he said.
But Kevin Trenberth, director of climate analysis at the National Center for Atmospheric Research in Boulder, Colo., which is a consortium of universities, said it's hard not to see the hand of man-made global warming behind the extremes.
"Where these events occur is largely driven by natural variability, but the fact that they are breaking records and causing tremendous damage when they do occur is undoubtedly because of the human stimulus," Trenberth said in an email.
___
NOAA's climate report: http://1.usa.gov/zeeYab
NASA's climate report: http://1.usa.gov/ynPirr
Associated Pressdrew brees drew brees nfl games nfl schedule nfl scores nfl scores jesus montero
Whether you think they'll be competitive or not isn't the point. (I do.) Whether you think they should have cut payroll or not isn?t the point. (I don't.) The point is this: the Twins have invested $99M in their 2012 team.
Now they need to spend a tiny fraction of that to insure it.
You would think that would be obvious to the Twins, who have traditionally been a risk-adverse organization, especially under Terry Ryan. They demonstrated that again this offseason. They could've waited to sign their free agents, gambling that the market would go down and they wouldn't be left without competent players. Instead, they reversed course from the last few seasons, aggressively signing almost their entire roster before Christmas.
But they also have a tradition of being extremely tied to a budget, and it appears they've hit it. But to stop now, when the free agent market is so affordable and they still have two enormous risks on the roster would be the definition of pennywise and pound-foolish.
They created the first of these risks earlier this week when they signed Joel Zumaya to a super affordble one-year deal, heavy with incentives. The contract is awesome. Zumaya's health history isn't.
Zumaya has failed to stay healthy for the last five consecutive seasons. The question isn't if he'll stay healthy. The question is when he'll break.
When he does, the Twins are right back where they were a week ago - without a dependable right-handed arm in their bullpen other than Matt Capps. (Let's let the irony of that last sentence settle in for minute.)
Zumaya has the potential to be a great signing or a dubious choice depending entirely on whether the Twins go out and sign someone else. There are a half-dozen competent right-handed relievers on the market, all of whom are likely to cost between one and two million dollars. That's how much it would take to transform the bullpen from ?mess? to ?average with upside.?
The second risk was made clear last week on the MLB Network in an interview with Justin Morneau.
"Most days, I wake up I feel pretty good. Usually after I get done, really exert myself, really working out hard after a long day, your brain gets tired and everything gets so worn down. It's not functioning the way it's supposed to be, and you kind of get done with the day and you go, 'Something's not right.' And you end up going home and taking a nap for a couple hours or whatever it is, and you wake up and the headache's still there and you kind of grind through it. But it's been a lot better lately.?
?A lot better.? That?s an in interesting phrase. Not ?good? or ?fine.? Just ?better.?
Last year the Twins had a backup plan for Morneau: Jim Thome. He wouldn't play first, but manager Ron Gardenhire could move around the lineup and have Thome play designated hitter. He can do the same this year, except that the bats he is going to turn to are Trevor Plouffe and Luke Hughes.
Meanwhile, one of the stories of the free agent market is how many designated hitter are looking for work. Vladamir Guerrero, Hideki Matsui, Johnny Damon, Raul Ibanez, Magglio Ordonez and even Carlos Guillen are available and several of them are going to be available for about the same amount the Twins paid Thome.
For $2-4 million, the Twins could pick up two key insurance policies on their #5 hitter and their bullpen. To not do so, to instead roll the dice on two critical areas that already look dubious, is foolhardy.
~~~~If you haven't taken advantage of the special pre-order price for Seth Stoh's Minnesota Twins Prospect Handbook, time is running out. This isn't an e-book, you can throw this on your bookcase, bring it to games, give it to the Twins fan in your life. Grab it quick to help retain your sanity during these cold snaps. You can order it HERE.Source: http://twinsgeek.blogspot.com/2012/01/season-insurance.html
doj dept of justice weather chicago mpaa swizz beatz nightline lauren scruggs
lindsay lohan playboy cover lindsay lohan playboy cover shooting at virginia tech shooting at virginia tech blagojevich rod blagojevich rod blagojevich
ALHAMBRA, Calif. ? Evidence presented Wednesday in the California murder case against a German man who posed as an heir to the Rockefeller fortune includes a fractured skull and bones in a bag from Wisconsin, where the defendant had ties.
Los Angeles County prosecutors called expert witnesses to testify about the bones in a preliminary hearing to determine if Christian Gerhartsreiter will stand trial for murder.
Authorities say the bones have been matched to John Sohus, a 27-year-old computer engineer who vanished in 1985. They were unearthed in 1994 in wealthy San Marino, where Gerhartsreiter allegedly lived under the name Chris Chichester.
The defendant was brought to court in a baggy prison jumpsuit and was told he could not be referred to as Clark Rockefeller, a name he used in Boston where he was previously convicted of kidnapping his own daughter.
Superior Court Judge Jared Moses appeared taken aback when lawyers for Gerhartsreiter asked if their client could be referred to as Clark Rockefeller because that is the name many witnesses know him by.
Moses said he realized the defendant had many aliases but Gerhartsreiter would be called by his true name in court.
In 1985, Clark Rockefeller did not exist. The pseudonym, one of many fake identities assumed by Gerhartsreiter, would surface years later when he began cutting a swath across high society.
As a world-class impostor, he conned people into believing he was a physicist, an art collector, a ship captain and a financial adviser who renegotiated debt for small countries.
Much of the murder case will hinge on three bags of human bones found during the excavation for a swimming pool at a San Marino home.
One of the bags shown in photographs in court bore a logo from the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee, where the defense acknowledges Gerhartsreiter had links.
Forensic experts called to the witness stand said the bones in the bags were wrapped in layers of plastic and stuffed into a fiberglass box buried 3 feet to 5 feet in the ground.
Details of their discovery were outlined by Judith Daye, an anthropologist who worked for the Los Angeles County coroner and was sent to the scene.
Using pictures, she identified pieces of the body and the bag with a logo reading "UWM Bookstore." There was also the word "Milwaukee." Daye pointed to leg bones inside jeans as well as a foot stuffed in a sock. She said the hole in which the material was found also contained boots, a zipper and a man's shirt.
Records previously reviewed by The Associated Press show that in 1981 Gerhartsreiter married a 22-year-old woman at the Dane County courthouse in Madison, Wis., enabling him to get a green card. Divorce records say he left the next day.
In the opening round of the hearing, Deputy District Attorney Habib Balian did not immediately directly connect the bones to Sohus. But further forensic experts were expected to make the identification based on DNA samples.
As Gerhartsreiter sat handcuffed to a chair, the apparent half-sister of Sohus, Lori Moltz, identified a birth certificate and adoption papers signed by her mother for a baby boy she said was the brother she never knew she had.
Authorities have said the discovery of Moltz and a DNA sample from her helped identify the bones.
Dr. Frank Sheridan, chief medical examiner for San Bernardino County, said he found that the person died of multiple fractures of the skull inflicted by a blunt object, possibly a baseball bat.
Sheridan said the skull was badly fractured and had to be sent to a U.S. Department of Defense facility in Hawaii to be reconstructed. A photo of the reconstructed skull was shown to the judge as Sheridan explained where the person was struck on the face and side of the head.
He said any of the blows would have killed the person without medical intervention and might have been fatal regardless.
On cross-examination, defense attorney Jeffrey Denner asked whether the blows could have been inflicted by a slight person or whether it would take a large individual to cause such damage. Gerhartsreiter is very slim.
The witness said a person of any size using a blunt object could inflict that level of damage.
Sohus' wife, Linda, also disappeared in 1985. No trace of her was found, though postcards purportedly written by her in France were sent to friends and relatives after she disappeared. The handwriting was never authenticated. Authorities presume she is dead, but they have not charged Gerhartsreiter with her death.
The other person who disappeared from San Marino at about the same time was the tenant known as Chichester.
Police explored various possibilities, including that Chichester had been in love with Linda Sohus and murdered her husband in a fit of jealousy. Authorities came close to finding him in the late 1980s when he was pulled over in Greenwich, Conn., driving Sohus' truck. But by the time the Department of Motor Vehicles had confirmed it was Sohus' truck, Chichester and the vehicle had vanished.
The man at the center of the mystery eluded authorities for years, moving to New York and then Boston where he hobnobbed in high society, claiming to be a Rockefeller and marrying a woman with whom he had a daughter. She divorced him when she found out he had duped her.
Last year he was convicted of kidnapping his daughter in Boston during a bitter custody dispute. Gerhartsreiter is serving a four- to five-year prison sentence. He would be eligible for parole this year if he was not facing the California charge, which could bring him 26 years to life in prison if convicted.
At the kidnapping trial, Denner claimed his client was suffering from a delusional disorder and was legally insane when he snatched his daughter during a supervised visit. Prosecutors portrayed him as a master manipulator who used multiple aliases and told elaborate lies about his past since moving to the United States in the 1970s.
hines ward troy polamalu james harrison james harrison falcons norman borlaug giants game
Source: http://moviesblog.mtv.com/2012/01/18/juice-20th-anniversary/
rhodes scholar cranberry sauce recipe mls cup amas 2011 black friday elliot elliot
COLUMBIA, Mo. ? Reserve Michael Dixon scored 18 points and helped spark a 17-0 first-half run as No. 5 Missouri beat Texas A&M 70-51 on Monday, snapping an eight-game losing streak to the Aggies.
The Tigers (17-1, 4-1 Big 12) started the game by making only five of their first 14 shots from the field against the conference's best scoring defense. But Dixon's 3-pointer with 7:22 remaining in the first half started the 17-0 run that gave Missouri a 31-17 lead.
Elston Turner hit a free throw to end the Aggies' 6:32 scoreless drought.
Turner and Khris Middleton both had 13 points for Texas A&M (10-7, 1-4), which scored the first seven points of in the second half to get within 42-30. The Aggies got within 10 points three times, but could get no closer.
Marcus Denmon's steal and ensuing three-point play with 8:40 left started a 10-1 run for Missouri, which led 64-44 with 3:57 left in the game.
Missouri's last win over Texas A&M had been in the 2004 Big 12 tournament.
Missouri is ranked in the top five for the first time since 2003-04, and has won 62 of its last 65 home games, falling only to Kansas twice and Texas A&M. The Tigers' have won each home game this season by an average of 27.6 points.
The Aggies came in allowing 57.5 points per game, holding opponents to 36.9 percent shooting. Missouri couldn't do much better, shooting 40 percent, but the Tigers held Texas A&M to 35 percent, its second-lowest shooting percentage of the season.
Denmon added 16 points and nine rebounds for Missouri, which leads the Big 12 in scoring offense (83.9) and field goal percentage (51.2).
Middleton is leading the Aggies in scoring since he returned nine games ago after surgery to repair a partially torn meniscus in his right knee.
Ray Turner added 11 points and nine rebounds for Texas A&M, which has lost six of eight.
Ricardo Ratliffe wasn't called for his first foul until the second half for the second consecutive game, helping Missouri avoid having to go deeper than its seven-man rotation. The Tigers outrebounded Texas A&M 38-26 and were 27 of 31 from the free throw line.
Texas A&M coach Billy Kennedy served as an assistant under Missouri coach Frank Haith while both were at Miami in 2005-06. Haith defeated his mentor and former head coach, Rick Barnes, in a 84-73 victory on Friday over Texas.
wes welker fred davis fred davis fracking fracking drosselmeyer drosselmeyer
BEIRUT?? Twelve people were killed on Monday in Syria where a peace plan monitored by Arab observers has failed to douse a 10-month-old struggle between President Bashar al-Assad and his foes.
Only on msnbc.com
Arab foreign ministers will meet on Sunday to discuss the future of the mission sent last month to check if Syria was abiding by the agreement it accepted on November 2.
The Arab plan required Syria to halt the bloodshed, withdraw the military from cities, free detainees and hold a dialogue.
Hundreds of people have been reported killed in Syria even since the monitors deployed on December 26 as pro-Assad forces try to crush peaceful protests and armed resistance to his rule.
Random gunfire by pro-Assad militiamen killed five people, including a woman, and wounded nine in the restive city of Homs, the British-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said. A sniper later shot dead a 16-year-old girl there, it added.
It said five soldiers were killed when they tried to change sides during a clash with rebels in the northwestern province of Idlib, adding that 15 soldiers had succeeded in defecting.
The state news agency SANA said an "armed terrorist group" had shot dead Brigadier-General Mohammed Abdul-Hamid al-Awad and wounded his driver in the countryside near Damascus.
U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon reiterated a call for Assad to "stop killing, and listen to his people."
During a visit to Abu Dhabi, he said: "I hope the U.N. Security Council handles Syria in a coherent manner and with a sense of gravity," but did not recommend any specific action.
"The casualties have reached such an unacceptable stage we cannot let the situation continue this way," Ban said.
The harsh response to the uprising by Assad's security forces has killed more than 5,000 people, by a U.N. count. The Syrian authorities say 2,000 members of the security forces have also been killed. The deaths of 32 civilians and soldiers were reported on Sunday.
The head of the Arab monitoring mission is due to report to an Arab League committee on Thursday before Arab foreign ministers gather to consider their next step on Syria.
Qatar, which heads the committee, has suggested Arab troops step in, an idea that is anathema to Damascus and which Arab nations such as Iraq, Lebanon and Algeria are likely to oppose.
The League could also refer Syria to the Security Council if it concludes that its own peace effort has failed.
RUSSIA, CHINA OPPOSE ACTION
The council has been paralyzed so far because Russia and China oppose any resolution that could lead to U.N. sanctions or Western military action against Syria.
There is little Western appetite for any Libya-style intervention. The United States, the European Union, Turkey and the Arab League have announced economic sanctions against Syria.
On Sunday Assad proclaimed the latest of several amnesties for "crimes" committed during the uprising. Some prisoners were released the same day and more on Monday, activists said.
Mohamed Saleh, an activist in Homs, said about 185 people had been freed there, though some had been freed on bail and would still face trial. Many more were expected to be released.
Rami Abdelrahman, head of the Syrian Observatory, also said some activists had only been freed on bail. Many more were still held because the authorities had brought new, more serious charges against them that were not covered by the amnesty.
Kinan al-Shami, of the Syrian Revolution Coordination Union, said hundreds of detainees appeared to have been released, but they represented only a fraction of at least 40,000 people he said had been jailed without charge since March, many of whom have been held in secret police buildings or makeshift prisons.
The movement to end more than four decades of Assad family rule began with largely peaceful demonstrations, but after months of violence by the security forces, army deserters and insurgents started to fight back, prompting fears of civil war.
Assad, who retains the support of core military units, is backed by his own Alawite minority as well as some minority Christians and some majority Sunni Muslims who fear chaos, civil war and the rise of Islamist militancy if he is toppled.
The northern commercial city of Aleppo, like central parts of the capital Damascus, has mostly escaped the turmoil, but security forces stormed Aleppo University campus overnight in pursuit of students who staged an anti-Assad protest on Friday.
Activists said dozens of students were beaten in the raid, in which students belonging to a pro-Assad militia took part.
Aleppo residents say that big Sunni merchants in the city still support Assad and that the authorities have recruited Sunni tribesmen from the countryside to patrol the streets.
The president, 46, who appeared in public twice in as many days last week, is eager to show that his people love him.
SANA, the state news agency, reported on Sunday that a 10 km (six mile) long letter, which it billed as the world's longest, was being written and signed by Syrians across the country as a "message of loyalty to the homeland and its leader."
Copyright 2012 Thomson Reuters. Click for restrictions.
Source: http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/39039381/ns/world_news-mideast_n_africa/
cruise ship derek fisher martin luther king jr. zappos john elway john elway fox news debate
AMSTERDAM (AP) ? Talk about overkill.
The Dutch air force says two of its F-16 jet fighters tried to help police chase a criminal suspect.
Spokesman Olav Spanjer says the jets were about to leave Volkel airbase on a training mission Thursday evening when they heard local police had requested a military jeep to chase a suspect over soggy terrain.
The pilots volunteered to help search using their infrared cameras.
Spanjer conceded Friday, "It was kind of a long-shot."
The suspect was in a car with stolen license plates that sped away when police tried to pull it over. After an exchange of gunfire, the car crashed into a canal and the man ran away across a field.
In the end, a tip from a suspicious neighbor, and not a high-tech jet, led police to the suspect.
Associated Pressveterans barbados resorts the call helen mirren surrogates surrogates james garner
A closer look at Origin PC's Phase Change cooling system (and its new gaming laptops too) originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 11 Jan 2012 18:36:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
Permalink |
Origin PC | Email this | CommentsSource: http://www.engadget.com/2012/01/11/a-closer-look-at-origin-pcs-phase-change-cooling-system-and-it/
nfl standings giants vs jets 49ers chargers ny jets ny jets seahawks
One year ago, Brandy attended the Season 4 premiere of The Game and walked away with one thought.
"I was like, 'This is a fantastic show. I would love to be part of something this smart and this amazing and relatable,'" she tells TVGuide.com.
So surely she must've reached out to BET and producers, right? Nope! "I was busy with other projects, but then they wanted me to read for this character. But the timing was so weird because I didn't really have time to prepare. Then they said, 'We're just going to give it to you!' I was like, 'What?!' So the moral of the story is, don't take initiative!" she jokes. "This all just happened by chance."
Get the scoop on? your favorite returning winter shows
In her biggest TV role since Moesha ended 11 years ago, Brandy will recur on Season 5 of the comedy as a spunky bartender named ? wait for it ? Chardonnay who romances the newly single and slightly heartbroken Jason (Coby Bell). But it's anything but love at first sight for these two. For one, they don't exactly get off on the best foot, as seen in the sneak peek below.
"He's a football player, so he's arrogant and egotistical, and she's feisty and can stand up for herself, and they butt heads. But he puts her job in jeopardy, so in the beginning, she definitely has an attitude toward him," Brandy says. "She was saving up for a special dream that will be revealed later in the season and he takes that away from her, so she hates his guts. He tries to make it up to her, but she's not having any of it."
That is, until, Chardonnay finally acquiesces, and their alcohol-fueled make-up session turns into, well, not a make-out session, but something much more complicated. "There's a very interesting twist, and this one night ends up bonding them," Brandy says. "She starts to see how charming he is and she starts to look past the fa?ade of who Jason Pitts is. She sees that he really is a gentleman and just needs somebody to put his ass into place! That's all he needs! And she's absolutely that person to keep him in check. She's sassy and she's not fazed by his fame or anything."
Still, their road to romance will be slow and steady. After having a heart to heart, Jason and Chardonnay will become close friends first, which Brandy says is necessarily for Jason, following his divorce from Kelly (Brittany Daniel) and breakup with Camille (Stacey Dash). "Any good relationship needs a good friendship [as a foundation], and they will definitely have that. You'll see them connect and embrace each other."
The singer/actress ? who is working on her sixth studio album, scheduled for a spring release ? hopes The Game fans will welcome her to the show, which they helped resurrect from the dead two years ago. And even if fans aren't keen on Chardonnay right away, perhaps they will warm up to her ? like Brandy did with her name.
Check out photos from The Game
"It took me a minute to like it. I thought it was so ghetto. I hated Moesha too at first. But I think Chardonnay is such a cute name now," she says. "I'm excited to see what the fans think of her. Jason and I are having so much fun. The chemistry was just magical, so I knew our characters together were going to be something special. That's my homeboy now. We sing on-set, we laugh and crack jokes. I hope fans will like Chardonnay and Jason together, and they can feel what we feel when we're playing the characters. Those Game fans are very protective of their show!"
Brandy, who's appeared on Dancing with the Stars, 90210 and Drop Dead Diva the past two years, is attached for 11 of the 22 episodes. Although she hasn't yet heard about returning for the sixth season (if there is one), she would "totally" be up for it ? hopefully as a regular. And if it doesn't happen, it's onto the next, preferably long-term TV project.
"I told them they might as well make me a regular!" she jokes. "I would love to come back. Chardonnay is such a fun and different character than I've ever played before. But everything is a step toward my goal, which is to have a show of my own. ... That's definitely a dream of mine. That's why I've been doing shows like The Game ? really smart, incredible shows that people can see this is what I want to do. Hopefully, they saw it with Drop Dead Diva and 90210. This and music are stuff that I love. This is what I'm used to ? doing both at the same time. It's good to be 32 and getting back into what you love and reinventing yourself. I haven't had this much fun since I was kid!"
Season 5 of The Game premieres Tuesday at 10/9c on BET.
Related Articles on TVGuide.com
turducken power rangers jungle fury power rangers jungle fury ufc 139 fight card houston nutt houston nutt peter marshall
by Djournal.Com
TUPELO - Country star Eric Church is bringing his "Blood, Sweat and Beers" tour to Tupelo.Church will perform at the BancorpSouth Arena on April 12, with Brantley Gilbert and Blackberry Smoke opening.
Church won over critics and fans in 2011 with the release of his third album, "Chief." His biggest hits include "Drink in My Hand," "How 'Bout You," "Homeboy," "Hell on the Heart," "Love Your Love the Most" and "Guys Like Me."
Tickets go on sale Friday at 10 a.m. and are $42.50 for general admission pit, $34.75 for reserved floor and bowl, with fees. A $199 VIP package also is available.
Tickets are available at ticketmaster.com, the arena's box office or by calling (800) 745-3000.
Source: http://nems360.com/bookmark/17038046
black friday sales 2011 black friday sales 2011 whitney duncan bradley cooper elisabeth hasselbeck roger craig roger craig
This Samsung Galaxy Tab features an impressive 7-inch touchscreen display with Swype technology. It's both compact and light so you can take it with you anywhere you go and its built-in Wi-Fi and 3G wireless connectivity through Sprint keep you connected to the Internet from nearly anywhere. Add peripherals or stream music with the Galaxy Tab's integrated Bluetooth 3.0 wireless technology.
Being light and compact doesn't mean the Galaxy Tab skimps on features! This Galaxy Tab is loaded with Google Android OS 2.2 (Froyo), giving you incredible speed and usability for a mobile computing device. It also features full integration with a whole range from Google services, from Gmail and YouTube to built-in search and the Android App Market.
Download music and movies to the Galaxy Tab and store them on the included 16 GB microSDHC memory card. The Galaxy Tab's microSDHC card slot supports cards with capacities up to 32 GB. Snap photos or record video with the Galaxy Tab's rear-facing 3.0 MP camera and video chat with friends using its front-facing 1.3 MP camera.
The Galaxy Tab doesn't just play music, movies, and show photo slideshows, it's also a fully-fledged portable gaming device. Simply search the Android App Market for tons of games to download. With Samsung's exclusive Media Hub app, you can download content and share it between five devices. The Tab also enjoys full support for the most popular social networks like Facebook, Twitter, and even MySpace.
Get the most popular Android tablet to date, get your Samsung Galaxy Tab Android Tablet today!
Yours until gone...
?
?
conrad murray sentencing urban meyer adam shulman adam shulman nfl power rankings week 13 nfl power rankings week 13 patrice
After nine years together, the singer is leaving her girlfriend. See more celeb pairs who are back to going solo
the hobbit an unexpected journey dark knight rises trailer dark knight rises trailer latkes how to make it in america how to make it in america schweddy balls
It hasn't exactly been a secret, but did Kelsey Grammer admit to cheating on Camille Grammer during a Jimmy Kimmel Live appearance last Wednesday night?
Asked by the host about wife Kayte Walsh and how they met, the actor said the event took place on "a plane to England" in December 2009, about six months before he split from Camille.
"It was very romantic," Kelsey said. "We went out for a coffee several days later and had a magical night in the snow around Christmas time, that was two years ago."
Kimmel followed up the story by saying Grammer's friends should have asked him if Walsh had a reality show because "that's not what you want," clearly a reference to The Real Housewives of Beverly Hills and Camille's bashing of Kelsey on the air.
The actor feigned laughter and the conversation quickly moved on to another topic.
Source: http://www.thehollywoodgossip.com/2012/01/kelsey-grammer-speaks-on-magical-night-with-kayte-walsh/
band of brothers being human being human the closer michael turner split pea soup land of the lost
