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2009-11-09T10:46:00.005-08:00

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US Morning Notes - USD & JPY lower tracking a rebound in risk appetite

2009-11-09T10:46:00.003-08:00

FX Highlights

The USD and JPY start Wednesday's session lower pressured by improving risk appetite as global equity markets rally and the price of gold and crude trade higher, the World Bank upgrades China's growth forecast, GBP supported by report of rising consumer confidence and services PMI, UK services PMI at its best level in two years, EU PPI weakens for the ninth straight month, Fitch cuts Ireland's rating limiting EUR gains, commodity currencies mixed as gold trades at new record high and Australia's retail sales decline
Focus turns to today's release of US ADP employment, non-manufacturing ISM and FOMC policy decision
Japan's Finance Minister Fujii shows Japan will issue more bonds this year to cover the tax shortfall, Japan's October monetary base expands 4.4%, BOJ Governor Shirakawa says that interest rates will remain low, JPY lower
Australia's September retail sales fall 0.2%, building approvals rose 2.7%, PSI rises 5.5 points to 54.8, AUD higher
UK October nationwide consumer confidence rises to its highest level since April 2008 at 72, BRC October shop price index unchanged, October services PMI rises to 56.9 from 55.3, GBP higher
ECB's Weber says liquidity measures will expire on their own, EU September PPI falls 0.4%, October services PMI rises to 53 from 51.1, EUR higher
Challenger October job cuts were 51% lower than last year
White House officials warn against withdrawal of stimulus too quickly
Chrysler October autos sales -32.3%, Ford October auto sales rose 2.6%, Toyota sales fell 3.5%, Nissian sales rose 5.6%, GM sales rose 4%, Kia sales rose 45.3%, Auto sales for October 10.46mln
J & J plans to cut 8,200k jobs and will save more than a $1bln
US equity markets set to open higher, European equities 1.5% higher, Nikkei closed 41 points higher

Upcoming Events

US - Wednesday, October ADP employment will be released expected at -190k compared to -263k last month along with October non manufacturing expected at 51.5 compared to 50.9 last month and the FOMC policy decision
CAN - Wednesday , no major Canadian economic data is due for release today

Read More... [Source: Easy-Forex - News and Reports - Posted by FreeAutoBlogger]

Daily Forex Outlook - US Unemployment Rate passes 10%

2009-11-09T10:46:00.001-08:00

CURRENCY TRADING SUMMARY - 9th November (00:30GMT)

U.S. Dollar Trading (USD) a surprise jump in the October Unemployment Rate to above the psychological 10% barrier kept the rebound in investor confidence contained on Friday with the stock market ending unchanged and the Dollar on the back foot. The actually figure of -190k was only slightly worse than forecasts of -175k but enough for commentators to agree that the Fed will not be raising rates in the next 6 months. In US Stocks, DJIA +17 points closing at 10023, S&P +3 points closing at 1069 and NASDAQ +7 points closing at 2112.

The Euro (EUR) traded briefly above the 1.4900 level as traders shrugged off the disappointing US jobs data to focus on the USD and US FED rates. Without heavy selling in the equity markets the Euro remained firm and closed at the 1.4850 level. EUR/JPY did struggle however as the Yen was broadly strong. September Industrial Orders were at 0.9% vs. 2.1% previously. Overall the EUR/USD traded with a low of 1.4815 and a high of 1.4913 before closing at 1.4846. looking ahead, German Trade Balance forecast at 11.5bn vs. 10.6bn previously.

The Japanese Yen (JPY) gained heavily against the dollar as the market began to once again favor the USD as the funding currency of choice. A weak US jobs number and lackluster equities meant crosses were at the mercy of the major and AUD/JPY and GBP/JPY slipped. Overall the USDJPY traded with a low of 89.62 and a high of 90.85 before closing the day around 89.85 in the New York session.

The Sterling (GBP) was very contained tracking the euro down then up again after the US data but sticking to a tight range. The Pair is struggling to gain above the 1.6600 level but is finding solid support below 1.6500. EUR/GBP is also staying in a tight range within the 0.8900 figure waiting for further direction. Overall the GBP/USD traded with a low of 1.6521 and a high of 1.6635 before closing the day at 1.6615 in the New York session.

The Australian Dollar (AUD) was very strong as the market seized upon hawkish comments in the Quarterly Monetary Policy statement to argue for faster rate rises. Also noted in the report was the help that the strong AUD was having in keeping inflation down. Overall the AUD/USD traded with a low of 0.9093 and a high of 0.9197 before closing the US session at 0.9174.

Oil & Gold (XAU) broke above the $1100 level briefly in the US session. Overall trading with a low of USD$1088 and high of USD$1101 before ending the New York session at USD$1095 an ounce. Fell heavily on concerns US consumer demand will be weaker as Unemployment grows. Crude Oil was down $2.19 ending the New York session at $77.43.

TECHNICAL COMMENTARY

Currency	Sup 2	Sup 1	Spot	Res 1	Res 2
EUR/USD	1.4702	1.4811	1.4870	1.4927	1.4959
USD/JPY	89.20	89.62	89.85	91.32	91.62
GBP/USD	1.6402	1.6467	1.6650	1.6693	1.6742
AUD/USD	0.8971	0.9026	0.9210	0.9218	0.9329
XAU/USD	1080.00	1084	1098.00	1101.00	1107.00
OIL/USD	75.00	76.50	77.80	78.00	80.00

Euro - 1.4870

Initial support at 1.4811 (Nov 5 low) followed by 1.4702 (Nov 4 low). Initial resistance is now located at 1.4927 (Oct 27 high) followed by 1.4959 (0.764 retrace of 1.5063-1.4624)

Yen - 89.85

Initial support is located at 89.62 (Nov 6 low) followed by 89.20 (Nov 2 low). Initial resistance is now at 91.32 (Nov 4 high) followed by 91.62 (Oct 29 high).

Pound - 1.6650

Initial support at 1.6467 (Nov 5 low) followed by 1.6402 (Nov 4 low). Initial resistance is now at 1.6693 (Oct 23 high) followed by 1.6742 (Sept 11 high).

Australian Dollar - 0.9210

Initial support at 0.9026 (Nov 5 low) followed by the 0.8971 (Nov 4 low). Initial resistance is now at 0.9218 (Oct 27 high) followed by 0.9329 (Oct 21 high).

Gold - 1098

Initial support at 1084 (Nov 5 low) followed by 1080 (Nov 4 high). Initial resistance is now at 1101 (Nov 6 high ) followed by 1107 (905.10 plus 1.618 of 864.97-990.00).

Oil - 77.80

Initial support at 76.50 (Intraday Support) followed by 75 (key Level). Initial resistance is now at 78 (Intraday resistance) followed by 80 (Key Level).

Read More... [Source: Easy-Forex - News and Reports - Posted by FreeAutoBlogger]

cotton bowl

2009-10-17T10:30:00.000-07:00

DALLAS — Cotton Bowl Stadium has found a replacement for the namesake game that is moving to the new Cowboys Stadium.

The Dallas Football Classic at the 77-year-old Fair Park venue will debut on New Year's Day after the 2010 season with teams from the Big Ten and Conference USA.

The Cotton Bowl is moving this season to the Cowboys' $1.15 billion stadium in suburban Arlington. The Cotton Bowl on Tuesday extended its deal with the Big 12 through 2014 and plans to the same with the SEC.

The Big Ten will end a 14-year relationship with the Alamo Bowl in San Antonio after this season. Instead, the Big Ten will send teams to Dallas and the Texas Bowl in Houston, where a Big 12 team will be the opponent.

red river rivalry

2009-10-17T10:26:00.000-07:00

First came the flyovers. Then the Big 12 tiebreaker that helped Oklahoma win the league title. A few months later in Austin there was — briefly — an asterisk.

The annual Texas-Oklahoma rivalry at the Cotton Bowl is always a grudge match. Saturday's game between the No. 3 Longhorns and No. 20 Sooners also carries national title implications and promises to be extra spicy after what happened last season.

Forgot? Here's a rundown.

Texas beat Oklahoma to vault to No. 1. A few weeks later, the Sooners, Longhorns and Texas Tech were in a three-way tie in the Big 12 South. The border battle then became the banner war.

A plane circled the stadium at Oklahoma's regular-season finale with a banner: "Texas 45 OU 35 — Settled on a Neutral Field." A few days later, a flying message over Austin teased Texas with "Hey Mack, quit whining. U knew the rules."

The Big 12 tiebreaker went to Oklahoma. The Sooners went to the BCS title game in Florida and Texas got bumped to the Fiesta Bowl.

Still seething months later, the Texas staff claimed the 2008 Big 12 title on the champions wall in the team complex, putting an asterisk next to the year before coach Mack Brown ordered it taken down.

So now Texas tries to tries to get revenge against a team it beat last season.

"I'm sure they're a little bitter," Oklahoma quarterback Sam Bradford said. "We're a little bitter that they beat us last year. I'm sure both sides are going to be pretty amped up come Saturday."

The Longhorns (5-0, 2-0 Big 12) insist they've put the past in the past and that Saturday is about trying to win league and national titles in 2009, not replaying 2008.

"OU had nothing to do with keeping us out," Brown said. "We lost at Tech. It was on us. We should have been mad at ourselves for letting it get out of the control of our own destiny."

The Longhorns opened this season at No. 2 eyeing three goals: the Big 12 and national titles and a Heisman Trophy for quarterback Colt McCoy. The first two are still in reach if they keep winning. McCoy's trophy campaign needs a boost.

McCoy, runner-up to Bradford for the Heisman last season, has 1,410 yards passing with 10 touchdowns but also has six interceptions. Some early missteps led to slow starts and the Longhorns managed just two offensive touchdowns in the first half of three games this season.

McCoy has played some of his best games against the Sooners the last three years and knows another big game could vault into the favorite's role again.

"These four games I've played in have been some of the most fun. They're the ones that you remember because of the tradition, the rivalry and what it means to your conference and your season," McCoy said.

Oklahoma (3-2, 1-0) and Bradford were in the mix for the same goals when the season started. Then Bradford hurt his throwing shoulder in the first game and missed the next three.

Bradford returned last week in a win over Baylor and looked good. The losses may have ended their national title hopes, but with Bradford back, the Sooners are very much in the hunt for a seventh Big 12 title in 10 years.

"How can he not make a difference? Last year he was the best player in college football," Oklahoma coach Bob Stoops said. "In the end, we're not talking about just any old guy. He's been pretty special over and over."

For McCoy and Bradford, it will be the last time the friends face each other on the field in college. McCoy is a senior and Bradford, a junior, will likely leave for the NFL after this season.

Brown said he's glad Bradford made it back in time to play Texas.

"I thought it would be great for college football if it was Sam and Colt again," Brown said.

Saturday will be the 104th meeting between the schools in a rivalry that dates to 1900. Since 1912, they have met in Dallas, about halfway between each campus.

The Cotton Bowl sits amid the rides, food and livestock shows at the State Fair of Texas, giving the game a carnival atmosphere unrivaled in college football.

The game kicks off at 11 a.m. local time but fans still come early to taunt each other while chewing on turkey legs, corny dogs and trying to stomach the latest fried concoction. This year, it's fried butter, a scoop of pure butter frozen and covered with dough.

"It was crazy," said Texas safety Earl Thomas, who was a freshman last season and got his first taste of the rivalry.

"You would think it's like 5 p.m., but it's 11 in the morning," Thomas said. "Everybody's out there being rowdy."

illegal alien halloween costume

2009-10-17T10:20:00.000-07:00

How does an illegal alien Halloween costume get on a website "by mistake"? It is a question one might put to Target,

According to NBC Los Angeles, Target spokesperson Joshua Thomas stated that the offending Illegal Alien Halloween costume was being removed after Target had received several complaints regarding it. Of course, it probably did not help that a civil rights group, the Coalition for Humane Immigrant Rights of Los Angeles, also asked Target to remove the Illegal Alien Halloween costume from the website.

The Illegal Alien Adult Costume pictured on the website offers the description: "He didn't just cross a border, he crossed a galaxy! He's got his green card, but it's from another planet! Sure to get some laughs, the Illegal Alien Adult Costume includes an orange prison-style jumpsuit with 'Illegal Alien' printed on the front, an alien mask and a 'green card.'"

Thomas also told the Associated Press that the offending costume was never intended to be sold by Target but was placed among the Halloween costumes offered online by mistake.

The Illegal Alien costume did not get a laugh out of Angelica Salas, Director of the Coalition for Humane Immigrant Rights of Los Angeles, who asked Target to remove the Halloween costume. She said that it was "distasteful, mean-spirited and ignorant of social stigmas and current debate on immigration reform.

state college area school district

2009-10-16T06:33:00.000-07:00

School districts in the rural Itasca County area already know how to cope with difficult times. Schools here have faced declining enrollment, and thus declining revenues from the state, for more than a decade.

While watching student enrollment numbers edge downward each fall has presented its challenges, it also offered opportunity to work together in ways that 20 years ago would have seemed unfathomable.

Rural school districts in this area, including Grand Rapids, Greenway, Nashwauk-Keewatin, Deer River, Remer, Floodwood and Hill City, began working together collectively in 1987 as the Quad County Telecommunications Project. Then the focus was simple: making interactive television studios a reality for rural education.

In 2005, the school districts, joined by Itasca Community College, reorganized as the Itasca Area Schools Collaborative (IASC). The group re-launched with a greatly expanded mission dealing with: declining enrollments, strained budgets, high poverty, stagnant or declining state aid funding, the need to maximize resources, the declining ability to provide recovery, remedial or elective classes, and the need for data-driven decisions. In short, IASC’s redefined focus dealt with many of the same issues that face rural communities as a whole.

Grand Rapids School District Superintendent Joe Silko, a 2004 alumnus of the Blandin Educational Leadership Program, said one of the main benefits of membership is that districts can choose whether to participate in any given initiative. “It’s a menu-driven approach,” he said.

The umbrella IASC is a pick-and-choose model for member educational institutions, but there is plenty on the menu. Some of the collaborations include: Project Lead the Way, a pre-engineering curriculum offered at the high school level, a shared fiber network, cost savings through combined staff development and textbook purchasing and combining resources to greatly expand community education offerings. IASC also fed into northeastern Minnesota’s Applied Learning Institute, a workforce development collaboration of 16 school districts and five community colleges.

Rochelle Van Den Heuvel, a 2008 BCLP alum and former Greenway superintendent, said the greatest benefit of the collaboration has been to students. “I believe the value to Greenway is significant both in financial savings as well as being able to provide increased opportunities for students in the district,” she said. “As a district moving to get out of statutory operating debt, we were reducing core and elective courses as well as staff development options. Through IASC partnerships and programs, we were able to continue, or bring back, some of those opportunities.”

“The relationships that have been established through IASC have enabled changes to happen more quickly,” added Mike Johnson, a 2004 BCLP alumnus, ICC Provost and Blandin Foundation trustee. “The social capital that has developed has allowed a crisis to create opportunities. Reality is upon us and we have the trust and willingness to make bold moves to enhance educational opportunities for students.”

The collaborative approach has not only been successful but it also is beginning to expand. An IASC online learning collaborative, VITAL, merged with a Brainerd-based online learning group last year to become Infinity Online Learning. The new online learning group is comprised of 35 member school districts.

Through Infinity, about 900 students from IASC member districts were able to take courses from about 50 offerings during the 2008-2009 school year. There was a much wider spectrum of offerings available through Infinity than ever would have been possible for any small school district operating on its own.

“Through Infinity, we can offer everything from intermediate to advanced coursework in a number of areas,” said Joe.

“We have a responsibility to improve the quality of education for all students in the region, not just the pupils in our individual districts,” said Joe.

boss day

2009-10-16T06:32:00.000-07:00

It's National Boss Day today, which means you should probably be doing something nice for your boss (which might include not browsing the web while you're at work, but that's not our call). However, if you're a frequent player of MMOs -- or video games in general, at that -- you have a very different definition of boss. And after years of playing MMOs -- or even for a few months -- there are certain bosses who hold a soft spot in your heart for whatever reason.

Perhaps they were a truly challenging fight the first time you faced them, maybe they just looked impressive and they stuck in your mind, or it could even be something as simple as getting exactly wanted from them the first time you went through the encounter. In honor of National Boss Day, we're asking you what boss holds the nearest and dearest spot in your memories. If you were sending a missive to one of your personal favorite bosses, who would it be? What would you say? Would you thank them for being generous in their drops when you fought them, or would you offer consolation at how easy they are to kill these days? And if you want to get creative and phrase it like a greeting card, on this day, it's certainly appropriate. Just take a moment to give thanks to the bosses... before you go back to killing them for loot, anyway.

phillies dodgers score

2009-10-16T06:29:00.000-07:00

FINAL - Final score for game one of the Phillies vs. Dodgers - Phillies win 8-6. The Phillies Dodgers win came after Phillies’ Carlos Ruiz and Raul Ibanez hit three run homers. Dodgers Joe Torre said of Thursday night’s game - “It’s like a prize fight, we just came up a little short”.

Manny Ramirez homered. But that wasn’t enough for Los Angeles before the 56,000 full capacity crowd at Dodger Stadium last night.

In the 2nd, Loney gave the Dodgers an early lead with a homer to right. Ruiz delivered a 3 run homer in the 5th to put the Phillies up 3-1. A double to right for Howard in the 5th put the Phillies up 5-1. Ramirez’ homer in the 5th and a Ethier’s grounder brought Los Angeles closer trailing 5-4 in the 5th.

But Ibanez’s three run homer in the 8th expanded the lead again 8-4 for the Phillies in the 8th. Two more scores by the Dodgers in the 8th was the end of scoring - narrowing it to only 8-6.

farmville crop whisperer

2009-10-16T06:28:00.000-07:00

It seems that everyone is playing Farmville and I am the only one left not playing it. I have a farm in Farmville but I don't have time to till my virtual farm, it is my four-year-old son who cares for my virtual farm. My son knows a lot about farmville and now he told me about this new feature called Farmville Crop Whisperer. What is it? To be honest, I really don't know, but based on what I have gathered from my son, this new feature allows players to randomly select users gift, and recognize 5 bags of fertilizer each day. What is its implication on the game? Again, I really do not know, I'll ask my little boy about it.

florida vs lsu

2009-10-10T11:01:00.001-07:00

This is our opportunity to see what the defending champion Gators are made of. Nobody's come close to testing them this season as they started off playing a couple of cupcakes and taking care of business against two lightweights in the SEC. It's almost unanimous in both polls that Florida is the No. 1 team in the land.

In the meantime, LSU's played in a couple of barnburners against other SEC competition. The Tigers needed a goal-line stand late to hold of Mississippi State and a late touchdown to down the Georgia Bulldogs in Athens. They've been hearing all week how they might not be as good as their ranking shows.

So what might be the key to this game? No surprise here, but it's Tim Tebow.

What's surprising is why he might be the key.

Tebow suffered a concussion last week against Kentucky after hitting the back of his head on the knee of one of his linemen, knocking him unconscious. All week, we've been listening to "will he or won't he" and head coach Urban Meyer has stated that he'll wait until Saturday to decide if Tebow can go.

Well, Saturday's here and his status is still up in the air. The team said he'll play if he passes pregame medical tests. If Tebow can't go, Florida will trot out sophomore John Brantley, a kid who's played some mop-up duty in his first two years in the program and has seen some success.

But this is different. This is Baton Rouge, at night. It's the biggest game of the season for an LSU team that's sick and tired of feeling disrespected. This is not the time to be missing your experienced, Heisman-winning, senior quarterback if you're the Gators.

If Tebow can play, expect Florida to play composed, run their offense nearly flawlessly, and come out with a win.

If Tebow can't play, things might get interesting once the new polls are released tomorrow.

florida vs lsu

2009-10-10T10:42:00.000-07:00

So what might be the key to this game? No surprise here, but it's Tim Tebow.

What's surprising is why he might be the key.

If Tebow can play, expect Florida to play composed, run their offense nearly flawlessly, and come out with a win.

If Tebow can't play, things might get interesting once the new polls are released tomorrow.

joey luft

2009-10-10T10:39:00.000-07:00

Lollipop Guild member Jerry Maren, Judy Garland’s son Joey Luft

Judy Garland’s son Joey Luft, Garland’s grandchildren Jesse and Vanessa Richards, Lollipop Guild member Jerry Maren, and Emerald City manicurist Dorothy Barrett were present at the "Hollywood’s Greatest Year" screening of The Wizard of Oz presented by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences on Monday, August 3, at the Samuel Goldwyn Theater in Beverly Hills.

Photos: Todd Wawrychuk / ©A.M.P.A.S.

Click on the images to enlarge them.

Joey Luft

Academy director of special projects Randy Haberkamp, Jerry Maren

Dorothy Barrett, an Emerald City manicurist in The Wizard of Oz

Jesse Richards, Vanessa Richards, Judy Garland’s grandchildren

julia e. laack

2009-10-10T10:17:00.000-07:00

Sheboygan: In a dramatic incident, Julia E Laack stripped before the police to avoid arrest.

According to the sources, the 36-year-old Laack was charged with stealing beef jerky and a lighter from a Sheboygan gas station.

When police tried to arrest her, drunken Laack stripped infront of her children and hit a police official.

A police official said that following the complaint a police party went to her residence but she begun screaming on her children. When police entered her house she stripped in the undergarments.

"You can't arrest me as I am going to be naked now." Later this, Laack attacked a police official and punched at his groin.
After some scuffle police successfully controlled her. Meanwhile, she has been charged in two counts one for theft and second for misbehaving with police official.

She may face sentence upto five-year in jail under these charges.

lorna luft

2009-10-10T10:14:00.000-07:00

Getty Images

Lorna Luft, the late Judy Garland's daughter, just gave away a fun tidbit that her mother shared with her about filiming the classic movie The Wizard of Oz. Toto had killer breath. She said that the little dog had such offensive breath that if Judy had to pick the dog up, her eyes would water from the stench!

Lorna Luft's mother Judy Garland played Dorothy in The Wizard of Oz 70 years ago. (Getty Images)
Luft, who is a singer and actress, also revealed her mom had a hard time being scared of the Wicked Witch because the two actresses were friends in real life. Luft told CBS News her mother told her, "Margaret Hamilton was such a lovely woman and she was so nice and so sweet."

The classic movie about Dorothy, the Scarecrow, Tinman and Cowardly Lion celebrates its 70th anniversary this year.

cdot colorado

2009-10-10T09:24:00.000-07:00

Colorado Department Of Transportation..Cdot Colorado:The state’s top transportation official gave his managers bonuses despite state rules that prohibit performance payments to the highly paid officials, a CALL7 investigation found.

In 2008, Colorado Department of Transportation Executive Director Russ George gave bonuses of about $2,500 each to more than a dozen managers who are under senior executive service contracts. Those contracts prohibit payments above the compensation stated in the contract.

“Was it wrong? Yes. Has it been corrected? Yes,” said state Department of Personnel and Administration Executive Director Rich Gonzales, whose office notified CDOT that the payments were improper. “I think he thought he was doing the right thing by awarding those extra dollars.”

DPA caught the error after CALL7 investigators and other media asked for information about bonuses paid to state employees.

George conceded that he made a mistake and should have know about rules prohibiting the bonus payments.

“The staff didn’t do anything wrong as far as they knew … the mistake was mine,”George said. “I didn’t know that rule, or if I ever knew I didn’t remember it. And I should have known it. And I shouldn’t have paid the bonuses.”

George said he was just trying to give top managers, who each make more than $120,000 a year, the same percentage bonuses as he gave the rest of the staff who had outstanding performances reviews.

“I work with them every day and I see the outstanding performance.” George said.

But sources inside CDOT said the bonuses angered the rank and file employees because they believed George was trying to slip the bonuses under the radar.

“I think it would be a very sensitive issue when this came out and was exposed that this had been done,” Gonzales said.

“There are employees of CDOT (who) believe senior executive staff that got caught with their hand in the cookie jar. Is that fair?” asked CALL7 Investigator Tony Kovaleski.

“No,” George said. “The truth is how we did it. We were trying to match the same salary increases that the rest of the employees were getting. That’s all there is to it.

eddie robinson

2009-10-10T09:22:00.000-07:00

On this day in 1985, Grambling football coach Eddie Robinson won his 324th game to pass Bear Bryant as the winningest college coach in history.

Robinson, who coached for 57 years, ended up with 408 wins and sent 200 players to the NFL.

“Nobody has ever done or will ever do what Eddie Robinson has done for this game,” Penn State coach Joe Paterno said. “Our profession will never, ever be able to repay Eddie Robinson for what he has done for this country and the profession of football.”

We agree and thanks to RayHigginsTV we can offer this video tribute (music by Stevie Wonder) to the legendary coach who died in 2007.

colorado road conditions

2009-10-10T09:21:00.000-07:00

Four years ago, Texas handed Colorado a crushing 70-3 defeat in the Big 12 championship game that had to feel like the absolute bottom for Buffaloes fans.

The Longhorns went on to win the 2005 national championship. Back up in the Rocky Mountains, Colorado coach Gary Barnett was forced out, fiery Dan Hawkins was hired to replace him and good times were supposed to follow.

They’re still waiting.

Struggling Colorado (1-3) is headed back to Texas on Saturday night to face a No. 2 Longhorns (4-0) team again in the hunt for the national title, not to mention the Big 12.

“Winning the Big 12 is one of the premiums on the list,” said the eternally optimistic Hawkins. “It starts now.”

Hawkins, who was 53-11 in five seasons at Boise State, is 14-27 with three losing seasons at Colorado. He tried to inject some life into the program when he said the goal for 2009 was “10 wins, and no excuses,” but that is already out of reach after just four games.

The Longhorns have won at least 10 games eight seasons in a row, several of them including blowout wins over the Buffaloes. Texas has outscored Colorado 181-41 in the last four meetings and the Longhorns are 32½-point favorites to make it a rout again.

And that’s exactly why coach Mack Brown has issued a warning to his team to avoid looking ahead to next week’s showdown with Oklahoma in Dallas.

“They’re desperate,” Brown said of Colorado. “When you come in against a team desperate for a win, you have to expect anything.”

Texas has cruised through the early part of its schedule, briefly stepping into Big 12 play for a 34-24 win over Texas Tech on Sept. 19. Then came a 64-7 whipping of Texas-El Paso before an open date to rest up for the big push over the next eight weeks.

After Colorado, four of Texas’ next seven opponents are ranked in the Top 25.

“We’re going to start the toughest stretch of the year,” Texas quarterback Colt McCoy said. The Longhorns’ defense, anchored by a better-than-expected defensive line, seems to be improving every week. Texas forced five turnovers, including four interceptions, against UTEP.

Colorado quarterback Cody Hawkins, the coach’s son, has thrown seven picks this season as the Buffaloes have scrambled to play catchup in their three losses.

The Texas offense looks to be getting rolling at the right time. After struggling early in their first three games, McCoy and the Longhorns have seemed to find their groove in the second half against Texas Tech and the blowout of UTEP.

McCoy has not been quite as sharp as he was last season when his 77 percent completion rate set an NCAA record. He is completing 71 percent so far, but has been better over the last two games.

In the second half against Texas Tech and the game against UTEP, McCoy was 43-of-53 passing (81 percent) with five touchdowns. Those are the kinds of numbers Heisman Trophy voters will be looking for.

They’ll also be looking for wins.

A slip-up against Colorado would cost McCoy and the Longhorns dearly in the chases for the Heisman and national championship.

Texas players say they won’t take anything for granted against the Buffaloes.

“You can’t do that,” said defensive end Sam Acho, “or it will bite you in the butt

obama nobel peace prize for what

2009-10-10T09:20:00.000-07:00

Applauding Barack Obama for his efforts for a nuclear-arms free world and resolving global conflicts through wisdom, Tibetan spiritual leader, the Dalai Lama, has said the US President's key role in these areas have been rightly recognised through the Nobel peace prize.

In a letter to Obama, the exiled Tibetan leader, currently on a week-long visit here, congratulated the American leader on winning the Nobel peace prize for the year 2009.

He said he was pleased that the Nobel Committee had recognised Obama's "approach towards resolving international conflicts through the wisdom and power of dialogue."

"The Committee has rightly noted your efforts towards a world without nuclear weapons and your constructive role in environmental protection," the Dalai, himself a recipient of the Nobel Peace Prize for the year 1989, said in the letter.

slooh

2009-10-09T06:14:00.000-07:00

Slooh, a service that offers unfettered access to two huge earth-based telescopes, is inviting folks to watch the LCROSS impact on Friday at 4:30am PDT or 7:30am EDT. The feed begins at 3:30am PDT.

The Lunar CRater Observation and Sensing Satellite will hit the moon to created a crater 14 meters in diameter and 2 meters deep. The resulting analysis will help assess how large bodies will damage planets along with an assessment of current water levels in the moon. Plus it involves blowing holes in the moon.

The feeds are available here and they will be transmitting from New Hampshire and Arizona simultaneously. NASA is also transmitting the impact live.

Slooh is a cool web-based service that lets “borrow” time on high powered telescopes. I’ve had bad luck with it – I’ve never been able to see much because of cloud cover – but if the weather is right and you’re fascinated by astronomy it’s a fun service.

The service costs $5.95 a month (the LCROSS impact is free) or $49.95 a year. It includes live picture-taking and group missions led by a professional astronomer. You can also share your pictures at MySlooh. There is also a kids’ version including tours of the moon, the universe, and the outer stars.

moon impact

2009-10-09T05:55:00.000-07:00

NASA's LCROSS (Lunar CRater Observing and Sensing Satellite) mission is coming to a glorious end. The mission launched on June 18, 2009 is just minutes away from making dual-impact on the face of the moon. The first impact sees the Centaur craft hitting the surface at a speed of about 1 mile per second ejecting about 350 tons of debris from a crater about 20-30-meters in diameter and 2- to 4-meters deep. A second Shepherding spacecraft will pass through the debris plume 4 minutes later, collecting and relying data back to Earth in real-time before meeting its end. With any luck, we'll know shortly if the moon contains the water-ice theorized by scientists.

nasa tv

2009-10-09T05:47:00.000-07:00

Nasa TV

Interested by the NASA's crash landing on the moon, I wanted to watch the event live on my Linux machine. NASA has a few live TV channels, but none seemed to work on Linux. Until I discovered that they use ASX files to view the channels in Windows Media Player - turns out Silverlight (and by consequence Moonlight) also support ASX files. It was just a matter of creating a simple silverlight application referencing the ASX links. And that's what I did!

The bad thing is that our ASX support was a bit broken [1], and I had to fix it. This means that the currently released beta is not able to view the streams, you need to download brand new xpis from here: x86 / x64 (fair warning: these xpis are not tested at all, download at your own risk). Download, restart firefox and you should be able to watch the event live here.

lcross

2009-10-09T05:44:00.000-07:00

Thu, 08 Oct 2009 10:11:22 PM EDT

At 6:50 p.m. on Thursday, Oct. 8 the LCROSS shepherding spacecraft successfully separated from the Centaur that is has been attached to since early June 2009, when the LCROSS and LRO were stacked at Space Launch Complex 41, a few days before launch from Cape Canaveral. After the separation sequence was initiated, sensors attached to three break wires indicated a successful separation.

After the separation, the LCROSS shepherding spacecraft completed a 180 degree flip maneuver and powered up the science payload to watch the Centaur steadily increase the distance between them. Mission operations then commanded the spacecraft to perform a breaking burn to create a separation distance of 600 km from the Centaur, This was determined by the science team as the optimal distance to view the Centaur on the surface of the moon.

The Centaur will impact the floor of Cabeus crater at 4:31:19 a.m. PDT. Following about 4 minutes behind and collecting and transmitting data back to LCROSS mission control, the Shepherding spacecraft will impact the surface at approximately 4:35:45 a.m. PDT.

nasa moon bombing live

2009-10-09T05:41:00.000-07:00

NASA moon bombing moon crash moon impact NASA moon bombing live. NASA’s moon bombing operation has been put in motion. This is the first time that any space agency is going to strike moon with such a speed that will take the probe four to five feet beneath the moon surface.

The world’s leading space agency is trying to ascertain about the water on the moon following its probe showing that water was there on the moon.

Very recently NASA and the Air Force Office of Scientific Research successfully launched a small rocket using an environmentally-friendly, safe propellant comprised of aluminum powder and water ice, called ALICE.

"This collaboration has been an opportunity for graduate students to work on an environmentally-friendly propellant that can be used for flight on Earth and used in long distance space missions," said NASA Chief Engineer Mike Ryschkewitsch at NASA Headquarters in Washington. "These sorts of university-led experimental projects encourage a new generation of aerospace engineers to think outside of the box and look at new ways for NASA to meet our exploration goals."

Using ALICE as fuel, a nine-foot rocket soared to a height of 1,300 feet over Purdue University's Scholer farms in Indiana earlier this month. ALICE is generating excitement among researchers because this energetic propellant has the potential to replace some liquid or solid propellants. When it is optimized, it could have a higher performance than conventional propellants.

"By funding this collaborative research with NASA, Purdue University and the Pennsylvania State University, AFOSR continues to promote basic research breakthroughs for the future of the Air Force," said Dr. Brendan Godfrey, director of AFOSR.

ALICE has the consistency of toothpaste when made. It can be fit into molds and then cooled to -30 C 24 hours before flight. The propellant has a high burn rate and achieved a maximum thrust of 650 pounds during this test.

where is joe scarborough

2009-09-28T06:49:00.000-07:00

Finally, someone in the Republican party has stepped up and publicly said what I’ve been saying for months now – Glenn Beck is a charlatan. On his show, aired on MSNBC, Scarborough, a former Republican Congressman from Florida noted that Beck was bad for the conservative movement due to his penchant for wild commentaries which bear little resemblance to relaity. Scarborough noted that Beck’s tendency to whip up senseless paranoia in people who don’t seem to know any better.

My hat’s off to Joe. Frankly, I’ve always thought he was a good guy, even when he was in Congress. Quite frankly, if the Republicans are ever to retake the majority in Congress or the White House, it will be with people like Joe, not people like Glenn Beck. Let’s remember that Glenn Beck has no qualifications whatsoever to make political commentary. He’s a radio DJ who saw an opportunity to manipulate angry, undereducated Americans who are upset (understandably) at their circumstances.

During economic downturns, there are always people who whip others into delusional hysteria while adding absolutely nothing to the national debate. That is what Beck and his band of followers have done. For all the noise they make, they’ve accomplished absolutely nothing for the country.

jasmine fiore playboy pics

2009-08-20T07:43:00.000-07:00

It seems that beauty has disappeared from the earth after the departure of a beauty damsel queen Jasmin Fiore from the world. A beauty Queen of the famous magazine” Play Boy”, was found dead in a suitcase.

According to police report she was murdered very cruelly. It is suspected that a person named, Ryan Alexander Jenkins, a Reality TV Show contestant, has a rolled in this murder. She was noticed with him in her last time. The most suspect full news is that, Ryan Alexander Jenkins is still underground and has not any contact with police. His negligence can put him in a big trouble and he killed her in jealousy. Ryan and jasmine first met in a casino and after spending some time together they became good friends.

It is UN believe able thing that, how death can behave roughly with a softy doll. She was found in the Buena Park area of Las Vegas on the morning August 15th by police. She was an example of pleasure. Her photo career shows that her sympathy and affections for life. It will be completely wrong to say that she had any enmity around her. She was only 28 year old. It was a climax of her life career but Death did not gave her a chance for acquire the most hire status in her field. She finally gone to met with the twilight of her career and life in the same time.

Although, she died but her name and the effects of her beauty will remain ever in all over the world.

Jasmine Fiore Pictures

jasmine fiore playboy pictures

jasmine fiore playboy pics

jasmine fiore playboy Model and Ryan Alexander Jenkins

caster semenya photos

2009-08-20T07:31:00.000-07:00

Caster Semenya Pictures:Caster Semenya Photos - Caster Semenya Pictures can be viewed below.Caster Semenya won the 800-meter gold medal Wednesday at the world championships despite facing a very strange controversy.The South African teenager has many doubting that she is really a woman,the allegations went so far that the international federation has asked the South African track and field authorities to conduct a verification test which includes a physical medical evaluation and examination from a gynecologist, endocrinologist, psychologist, internal medicine specialist and gender expert.South Africa team manager Phiwe Mlangeni-Tsholetsane said:

“We entered Caster as a woman and we want to keep it that way.Our conscience is clear in terms of Caster. We have no reservations at all about that.”

sheri zombie

2009-08-20T07:19:00.000-07:00

By Paul Talbot: Among the more disturbing images created by Rob Zombie for his controversial Halloween remake is the brutal scene where a young female inmate is raped by two sleazy orderlies in Michael Myers’s dark cell at Smith’s Grove Sanitarium. Chenell Cowan played the disturbed girl in this unsettling set piece which was cut from the theatrical version (after negative test audience reactions) and can only be seen on the “Unrated Directors Cut” DVD.

The petite, dark-blonde, blue-eyed actress first got involved with Zombie’s camp in early 2007, when she was cast in the director’s Werewolf Women of the SS, a fake exploitation trailer featured in Grindhouse. Cowan explains, “I was a huge fan of Rob Zombie’s first two films prior to working on Werewolf Women of the SS and was totally thrilled to have the opportunity to work with him. I worked on Werewolf Women for one day in the second week of January. I did not receive a script. Each time I shot a scene, I didn’t know what I would be doing until they brought me on set and told me what was going to happen.”

In the finished “trailer,” Cowan can be seen screaming on an operating table as a crazed Nazi (Bill Moseley) conducts a fiendish experiment. She says, “I filmed two additional scenes that didn’t make it to the version that was seen in theaters. The makeup was minimal. They made me look haggard and beaten down, like someone who has been kept prisoner and experimented on. I also had special makeup applied to my body to add wounds and slash marks. All of those details were amazing. I thought those sets were incredible.”

“Bill Moseley was a really nice man and really talented. I did another scene with Sheri [Moon Zombie] and Sybil [Danning], and both of them were great. Sheri is a real sweetheart and it was really exciting for me to get to meet her after being such a fan of [her] ‘Baby Firefly’ [character] in Rob’s first two films.”

Most of the actors from Zombie’s Grindhouse trailer ended up in his Halloween remake including Cowan, who was cast as Karen Mercy, a mentally-unbalanced resident of the Smith’s Grove asylum. “I didn’t audition for Halloween,” she explains. “Shortly after the shoot for Werewolf Women of the SS, the casting director for Halloween called me and said that [Zombie] had asked her to offer me the role of Karen Mercy. Grindhouse and Halloween are the first two studio films that I worked on, and they both happened really quickly. I got both jobs within around two weeks. Prior to shooting those films, I had worked on two short films that were both comedies, so it was a lot of fun to dive into something completely different.”

“I watched the original Halloween before shooting. I knew that the part I was playing was not in the original film. I did research to prepare for the role. This character is a mental patient, who is also overly-medicated, and she has this incredibly violent and traumatic experience in the film. She is very helpless in many ways but she is still going to put up a fight. I really worked on my strength and endurance so that I’d be able to handle it.”

“I shot Halloween in mid-March. I worked for two days. The hallway scene was shot in a real hospital. The scene in Michael Myers’ room was shot at the same hospital, but his room was built by the crew. The first time I walked into his room, I was blown away. It felt so real and just perfect [with] all the masks covering the walls. The room had such a dirty and dark feel to it. You really felt like someone had been in there in isolation for years. I only met [Tyler Mane] briefly. I think he gives an awesome performance in the film.” (Mane played Michael Myers.)

The effectiveness of Cowan’s Halloween scene was helped immensely by the creepy performances by cult actors/convention regulars Lew Temple (The Devil’s Rejects) and Courtney Gaines (Children of the Corn) as the rapists. “It was a closed set when we shot my scene,” Cowan says. “Both Lew and Courtney are really nice guys and great actors, and I think they were both so pitch-perfect in the scene. They really turned your stomach. When I arrived on set the first day and met them, we knew that because of what went on in the scene that it was going to be tough to shoot. We spent some time talking about it and getting to know each other a bit before we shot so we had a comfort level with each other. I honestly couldn’t have asked for two better guys to have done that scene with. They made me feel so completely comfortable every step of the way. I thought they had a tougher job than me, given what they had to do to me in that scene. I mean, that is really disturbing stuff. We had a really open dialogue about everything, and I wanted to make sure that they knew they didn’t have to hold back or anything. I wanted it to feel really gritty and I think and hope that we managed to achieve that.”

“No stunt woman or double was used for me in Halloween. There was a stunt coordinator who helped me learn how to brace myself against the walls and the bed frame and make sure I didn’t really get hurt. It was tricky because the scene needed to feel gritty and sloppy in a way because you have these two really drunk guys taking advantage of this helpless girl in tight quarters in front of this dangerous killer. But at the same time, for technical reasons, it needed to have structure to it. We couldn’t just be flying all over the place without a plan. We needed to make sure we stayed in frame. It certainly felt like we shot a ton of takes for the scene, but it is hard to remember how many we did. I lost count! I think the best word to define how that scene felt is ‘draining,’ both emotionally and physically. I definitely went home feeling drained but also really excited and invigorated because I was just so thrilled to be a part of Halloween.”

“The makeup I wore was pretty minimal; mostly it was used to make me look pale, tired and worn-down. I was not brought in during post to add screams. Any screams I did were recorded as we filmed the scene.”

Cowan speaks highly of her Grindhouse and Halloween director: “What was really wonderful was that he was such a great guy in person, and such a talented director, that he actually exceeded my expectations. The scenes I did in both films had difficult material and, right off the bat, I completely trusted him and he made me feel totally at home and comfortable. As a director, he has a really clear vision of what he wants. Yet at the same time, he is really open to input from the actors and different ideas that are discovered in the filming process. The crew on both films worked so well together. You could certainly tell that there was a comfort level and camaraderie.”

Although her role took up only a few pages of the screenplay, Cowan explains: “I was given the entire script for Halloween. The script was labeled as ‘Confidential’ and I knew that the plot details were a secret, so I made sure to honor that before the film’s release.”

After a June 2007 test screening of Halloween in New York City, comment cards and website reports revealed that the vicious rape scene had alienated most of the audience. Rumor had it that the explicit sexual attack could get the film an unwanted NC-17 rating. Later that month, Zombie and company shot several additional scenes including one set in Smith’s Grove that replaced the rape with a different vignette that leads to Michael Myers’ escape. All footage of Cowan and Courtney Gaines was completely deleted from the final cut. (Lew Temple still appeared, briefly.)

Cowen says: “I definitely think [the scene] is unsettling and disturbing. I really like how they put it together and added the music it really has a sense of dread to it. I can definitely understand how people would find it hard to watch. A couple of friends of mine were really disturbed by it, especially because they know me. It’s kind of weird for me to watch it, because my perspective is so different after having shot so many different takes. When we were filming it, I purposefully didn’t watch any of the playback. Plus, a lot of what goes on was not in my line of sight, or was going on behind me, so I had no idea how the final product would look when I was shooting it. I do think it has the gritty, visceral, unsettling feeling that we were going for when we shot it so I am happy about that.”

Cowan saw the final theatrical version of Halloween at the August 23, 2007 private screening in Hollywood. “Before I saw the film at the premiere, they told me that my scene had been cut. While it would have been great to have seen my scene on the big screen, I also think that the new escape sequence works incredibly well. There are so many factors that go into these types of decisions. It would be selfish of me to be upset about my scene not making it to the final version. This kind of stuff happens all the time, so you just roll with it. I love the final version. I thought it was such a cool take on the original. Rob Zombie really made it his own. Honestly, working on the film was such an amazing experience for me and I feel so privileged to have been a part of the film and I didn’t worry that the scene ended up being cut.”

But Cowan’s performance didn’t disappear into Halloween oblivion. A few days before the final version opened nationwide on August 31 (to huge grosses and mixed fan reactions), a high-quality copy of the early test screening version became available as an illegal download on numerous torrenting sites. Labeled by fans as the “Work Print Version,” this early cut is considered by some to be superior to the theatrical version and, like the Halloween 6 “Producer’s Cut,” became a popular bootleg.

When Zombie put together his “Unrated Director’s Cut” for the late 2007 DVD release, he decided to restore the scene with Cowen. On the commentary track, Zombie explained why he cast the actress in Halloween after working with her on Grindhouse: “I knew that she was game for anything. Sometimes people complain a lot and I knew that she wouldn’t complain, so she’d be perfect.”

The “Unrated Director’s Cut” far outsold DVDs of the “Theatrical Cut” and the former is now the only version that is readily-available. Chenell Cowen’s minor Halloween role has insured her a place in Michael Myers history. (One rabid fan of the series even purchased, off eBay, the soiled nightgown that she wore for her role.) She says, “I know some people who are fans of the series and they were really excited that I was a part of this film. I would really love to do another horror film.”

megan wants a millionaire ryan

2009-08-19T08:42:00.000-07:00

Each day there seems to be another story where a contestant from a reality show has committed some sort of crime in the past. The latest is Megan Wants a Millionaire contestant Ryan Jenkins, as he is a person of interest to the police for the murder of a woman. This is according to reports from TMZ.

Jasmine Fiore was a Playboy representative and was found dead inside a suitcase in a trash bin in Buena Park over the weekend. Jenkins had reported her missing on Saturday night, police tried to contact him on Saturday morning when the body was discovered.

Police had feared that Jenkins may be on the run to Canada. Jenkins was a final contestant on VH1’s “Megan Wants a Millionaire.” The show has already decided its winner, but is still being aired. TMZ have updated their story, showing a vehicle that Jenkins could have possible been driving.

eric dane tape video

2009-08-19T08:09:00.000-07:00

Eric Dane Tape Video

Published by Pastilan on Wednesday, August 19, 2009 at 6:26 AM

The threesome sexcapade of Eric Dane, Rebecca Gayheart, and Kari Ann Peniche is not dying down yet. Many people are searching for the video they took of themselves that day. You can read more about the Eric Dane Tape Video in my earlier post, there are also screen shots of the video, just click the link.

hurricane bill update

2009-08-19T07:43:00.000-07:00

The latest Hurricane Bill update is not that good news to people at Leeward Island because Bill is expected to touch the northeastern part of the island late Wednsday or early Thursday. The National Hurricane Center has adviced the people at Leeward Islands to monitor Bill's progress. Bill is now considered a dangerous category 4 storm; its top sustained wind has the speed of 135 mph. Bill is expected to hit Bermuda in three or four days. Last Tuesday Bill was 460 miles of Leeward Island and was moving west-northwest at about 16 miles per hour.

ashley greene scandal pictures

2009-08-11T07:51:00.000-07:00

Ashley Greene Scandal Pictures Leaked

Twilight actress Ashley Greene’s scandal pictures and photos are said to have been spreading all over the internet like wildfire. It is confirmed that the alleged scandalous pictures of Twilight New Moon’s starlet have already surfaced the internet showing a sexy Ashley Greene with no clothes on. According to some press reports, her legal counsel have already issued a statement about the alleged scandal pictures that were leaked saying:

“The photos in question, which appear to be of our client, are illegal and are being unlawfully displayed. Our client intends to take legal action.”

I guess it’s just another publicity stunt for Ashley Greene to boost up her career now that the Twilight’s sequel is just weeks away. Although I was just wondering how come the photos just leaked now,the raunchy Vanessa Hudgens scandal pictures also made its way on the web a couple of days ago. Geez! It’s raining scandal pictures of celebrities taking photos of themselves and spreading them around for the ultimate publicity stunt. So who’s next in line, Miley Cyrus perhaps?

Check out the alleged Ashley Greene scandal pictures after the jump and don’t forget to wank hit the comment button.

deadly doctors

2009-08-10T08:02:00.000-07:00

Deadly doctors...

Found this over at New York Post.com via the Prolife Blogs. Pretty good, the woman lists her sources and if her name is familiar it's because she's presently featured in a YouTube video discussing the healthcare bills going through Congress.
DEADLY DOCTORS
By BETSY MCCAUGHEY

THE health bills coming out of Congress would put the de cisions about your care in the hands of presidential appointees. They'd decide what plans cover, how much leeway your doctor will have and what seniors get under Medicare.

Yet at least two of President Obama's top health advisers should never be trusted with that power.

Start with Dr. Ezekiel Emanuel, the brother of White House Chief of Staff Rahm Emanuel. He has already been appointed to two key positions: health-policy adviser at the Office of Management and Budget and a member of Federal Council on Comparative Effectiveness Research.

Emanuel bluntly admits that the cuts will not be pain-free. "Vague promises of savings from cutting waste, enhancing prevention and wellness, installing electronic medical records and improving quality are merely 'lipstick' cost control, more for show and public relations than for true change," he wrote last year (Health Affairs Feb. 27, 2008).

Savings, he writes, will require changing how doctors think about their patients: Doctors take the Hippocratic Oath too seriously, "as an imperative to do everything for the patient regardless of the cost or effects on others" (Journal of the American Medical Association, June 18, 2008).

Yes, that's what patients want their doctors to do. But Emanuel wants doctors to look beyond the needs of their patients and consider social justice, such as whether the money could be better spent on somebody else.

Many doctors are horrified by this notion; they'll tell you that a doctor's job is to achieve social justice one patient at a time.

Emanuel, however, believes that "communitarianism" should guide decisions on who gets care. He says medical care should be reserved for the non-disabled, not given to those "who are irreversibly prevented from being or becoming participating citizens . . . An obvious example is not guaranteeing health services to patients with dementia" (Hastings Center Report, Nov.-Dec. '96).

Translation: Don't give much care to a grandmother with Parkinson's or a child with cerebral palsy.

He explicitly defends discrimination against older patients: "Unlike allocation by sex or race, allocation by age is not invidious discrimination; every person lives through different life stages rather than being a single age. Even if 25-year-olds receive priority over 65-year-olds, everyone who is 65 years now was previously 25 years" (Lancet, Jan. 31).

The bills being rushed through Congress will be paid for largely by a $500 billion-plus cut in Medicare over 10 years. Knowing how unpopular the cuts will be, the president's budget director, Peter Orszag, urged Congress this week to delegate its own authority over Medicare to a new, presidentially-appointed bureaucracy that wouldn't be accountable to the public.

Since Medicare was founded in 1965, seniors' lives have been transformed by new medical treatments such as angioplasty, bypass surgery and hip and knee replacements. These innovations allow the elderly to lead active lives. But Emanuel criticizes Americans for being too "enamored with technology" and is determined to reduce access to it.

Dr. David Blumenthal, another key Obama adviser, agrees. He recommends slowing medical innovation to control health spending.

Blumenthal has long advocated government health-spending controls, though he concedes they're "associated with longer waits" and "reduced availability of new and expensive treatments and devices" (New England Journal of Medicine, March 8, 2001). But he calls it "debatable" whether the timely care Americans get is worth the cost. (Ask a cancer patient, and you'll get a different answer. Delay lowers your chances of survival.)

Obama appointed Blumenthal as national coordinator of health-information technology, a job that involves making sure doctors obey electronically deivered guidelines about what care the government deems appropriate and cost effective.

In the April 9 New England Journal of Medicine, Blumenthal predicted that many doctors would resist "embedded clinical decision support" -- a euphemism for computers telling doctors what to do.

Americans need to know what the president's health advisers have in mind for them. Emanuel sees even basic amenities as luxuries and says Americans expect too much: "Hospital rooms in the United States offer more privacy . . . physicians' offices are typically more conveniently located and have parking nearby and more attractive waiting rooms" (JAMA, June 18, 2008).

No one has leveled with the public about these dangerous views. Nor have most people heard about the arm-twisting, Chicago-style tactics being used to force support. In a Nov. 16, 2008, Health Care Watch column, Emanuel explained how business should be done: "Every favor to a constituency should be linked to support for the health-care reform agenda. If the automakers want a bailout, then they and their suppliers have to agree to support and lobby for the administration's health-reform effort."

Do we want a "reform" that empowers people like this to decide for us?

john hughes films

2009-08-07T08:50:00.000-07:00

Top Ten John Hughes Films

In honor of John Hughes I decided to create a top ten list of his movies. He wrote and directed so many movies that shaped the lives of youths through the 80's. This list will include movies that he either wrote, produced or directed.

10. Christmas Vacation
After the mediocre European Vacation I feel that Christmas Vacation raised the bar in terms of comedic bliss and in turn made for a wonderful holiday film!

9. Dutch
Ed O'neill breaks away from his couch on Married With Children long enough to make this bonding road trip an enjoyable experience.

8. Some Kind of Wonderful
Eric Stoltz, Mary Stuart Masterson and Leah Thompson have great chemistry in this film and it has a cool soundtrack as all Hughes films do.

7. She's Having A Baby
Kevin Bacon and Elizabeth McGovern take us on the dramatic and humorous journey that is pregnancy.

6. Home Alone
I remember seeing this in the theaters a lot and loving the antics of Joe Pesci and Daniel Stern as they chased Macaulay Culkin around. This is also one of my top holiday films.

5. Weird Science
This classic had every geek wishing they could be like Gary and Wyatt and build a machine in their room to magically create a sexy woman like Kelly LeBrock myself included.

4. Sixteen Candles
Every girl wanted to be Molly Ringwald and every guy wanted to be Anthony Michael Hall or Justin Henry in the first film Hughes directed.

3. Planes, Trains & Automobiles
In my opinion this is John Candy's best role. He and Steve Martin had perfect chemistry in this film.

2. The Breakfast Club
The cast for this movie truly nailed every high school stereotype to a t and did it very well creating one of the films that is a must see in my opinion and is why it is at the top of my list!

1. Ferris Bueller's Day Off
Ferris Bueller has the day of his life and does a wonderful job of giving movie goers a truly memorable movie and allows them to live vicariously through him. This movie is a true classic and one of my favorite movies.

steven tyler dead

2009-08-07T08:43:00.000-07:00

Aerosmith Steven Tyler Dead Rumor: Steven Tyler was bleeding, Holding Shoulder after he Tumbled from Stage

Aerosmith Steven Tyler Dead Rumor, Unfortunately the rumours of Aerosmith Steven Tyler death have also been sparked. But there is no truth in it.

According to AP Aerosmith’s Steven Tyler suffered head, neck and shoulder injuries in a tumble from the stage at a South Dakota show, a concert spokesman said Thursday, and the audience thought it was part of his hipshaking act until he didn’t get up.

Tyler, 61, fell while entertaining the crowd by dancing around as the sound crew replaced a fuse that blew during the song “Love in an Elevator,” said Mike Sanborn, spokesman for the Buffalo Chip Campground, which hosted the Wednesday night concert. An amateur video showed him spinning around before falling off the stage.

A concertgoer said Tyler’s head was bleeding and he was holding his shoulder after the fall, but it wasn’t immediately clear how seriously he was hurt. The frontman was airlifted to Rapid City Regional Hospital, Sanborn said, the only major hospital in western South Dakota. A hospital spokeswoman would not confirm whether Tyler was there, and a representative for Aerosmith’s publicity firm said the company was gathering information about the accident.

AP Music Writer Nekesa Moody and Associated Press Writer Carson Walker contributed to this report.

so you think you can dance winner 2009

2009-08-07T08:36:00.000-07:00

After weeks of dances, heartbreaks, and triumphs, "So You Think You Can Dance" finally announces the winner. Will it be Brandon, Evan, Jeanine or Kayla? Tonight, I've decided to switch it up and live-blog the results. Feel free to follow along!

The show kicks off with the whole Top 20 doing Tasty Oreos...er, Tyce D'Orio's "Brand New Day" number from "The Wiz." It works much better with more people and I love that everyone got little spotlight moments. Plus it fills out that big stage. Do I love the choreography? No. But I like it so much better this time around.

Host Cat Deeley comes out and, when she says all the Top 4's names, Jeanine and Brandon got the biggest roars. Hmm.

Introducing the judges on hand - Lil' C, Mia Michaels, Tyce D'Orio, Debbie Allen, Adam "Shankizzle" Shankman, Mary Murphy who's wearing the gaudiest necklace I've ever seen, and of course Nigel Lythgoe. We next get a full season montage, from auditions to Vegas to last week before hitting our first commercial break.

Back from the break, Cat reiterates that there were over 21 million votes last night. That's quite a few votes for sure. We next go to last night's recap. Then, we get our first Judges' Choice routine - Shankman picks Jeanine & Phillip's Hip Hop from the very first week. It's to "Mad" by Ne-Yo and choreographed by Napoleon & Tabitha in case you don't recall. Yay Phillip! It's good to see him again even if he didn't excel as much as I'd have like during the series. Jeanine is a lot stronger this time than she was the first time around. Good times.

Nigel's pick is next - he picks Janette & Brandon's Tango which is totally deserved. Double yay for Janette! They were this season's super-couple for sure and they traveled the huge Kodak Theater stage effortlessly. They got a standing ovation from the entire crowd when they finished. Awesome.

After more adverts, Ms. Allen selects the Louis Van Amstel choreographed Waltz by Asuka & Vitolio. It was absolutely their best dance. (Best dance as a couple I should say - I really liked his Foxtrot I believe with Karla.) I feel there was an ease this time around that maybe wasn't there initially. Very pretty number which gets a partial standing O.

Mary's fave number is Jeanine & Jason dancing the Travis Wall Contemporary piece. The crowd was screaming as soon as she gave the slightest indication what she was picking. A great testament to how well it was danced and choreographed and to how loved everyone involved is. And yes, they kiss again. And I don't blame them in the least, though I love how Cat mocks them slightly. Why wasn't she nominated for an Emmy again?

We go to Mia next for her favorite routine - Max & Kayla's Samba from Week 1. She gives a shout-out to Max for being one of the hardest working dancers on the show this season. I do wish he'd have stuck around longer (especially since I think they kept Wolfpack over him which is unacceptable). The dancer was very good, though Kayla's legs were a little oddly positioned at one point. I wonder if she injured herself this week?

Since they've been working so hard, apparently on Sunday the Top 4 were taken to a surprise outing - a screening of "Fame" with Kherington Payne from last season and several other stars from the movie who's names I don't know. It's shameless, shameless promotion but smart shameless promotion. Cat got super-excited when Debbie did her original "Fame" speech (I don't blame her in the least) exclaiming, "I've been waiting for you to say that all season!"

Speaking of Debbie, her second pick is the "Calle Ocho" Top 16 number choreographed by Dmitry Chaplin (yes, that Dmitry) and Napoleon & Tabitha. Great pick - it was hot like fire as the kids say. They may have done that water-on-the-table part live. Janette and Jeanine worked that section, honey.

A slight digression: Holy crap, I just saw Dale from the 90's "MMC" revival in the "Fame" commercial. Did they just cast from every dance/music show in the past twenty years? If so, I heartily approve.

Our next guest is, as Nigel explains, the winner of "So You Think You Can Dance Australia" Talia Fowler who is a ballerina. She dances to "Shot You Down" by Audio Bullys. It's choreographed by I believe Sonya Tayeh. Dug it.

Lil' C chose Caitlin & Jason's Bollywood number "Jai Ho" and gave the most wonderful, wordy, slightly convoluted explanation why. It's just as enjoyable now as it was then. And this is the second smooch for Jason tonight. Naturally, Cat mocks him playfully.

Now that we've reached the second hour mark, we get our first result of the night. Season 5's fourth place finisher is Kayla. There's a slight gasp of surprise but...I'm not particularly shocked. The audience gives her a standing ovation as Cat tosses to her highlight reel.

Kayla was a great dancer in every choreographed piece from day one. Her slight "weaknesses" were that she had an understated personality when not performing and seemed frazzled when having to dance for her life. Sadly, the perceived favoritism from the judges probably didn't help either. Silly? Yes, but it is what it is.

Adam's second Judges' Pick was Mia's Contemporary piece with Evan & Randi. For me, it was easily the best number they did together. They also got a full standing ovation for their performance.

The second pick Mary shrieked was Jeanine & Brandon's Paso Doble from last night. I have no problem with this getting an encore though I kind of hope someone picks Janette & Brandon's Disco. That was crazy and deserves some favoritism.

Okay. It's time for more results. I have no idea how this is going to turn out. Our third place finisher is Evan and he gets yet another standing ovation before we see his highlight reel. I love him but, based on last night and overall growth, he absolutely shouldn't have won so it's turning out the way it should be.

Yet another favorite from Nigel - when Mary admitted to using Botox. Oh ho! Saucy. But his actual dance pick is the Kayla & Kupono Addiction piece by Mia. Great, great number. Absolutely one of the top three of the season. After they'd done and the crowd was on their feet, Mia and Adam were wiping their eyes.

The Rage Boys Crew, that cadre of 878 kid dancers from around 7-14 years old I'd guess, return. They're much more together this time than the first time. That part where they throw that one kid across the stage is still ridiculous.

Tyce gets his first pick and he went for Brandon & Janette's super-speed Disco number. Thanks Tyce!

For the last choice of the night, Mia selects Melissa & Ade's Breast Cancer piece. Tyce then announced Michele, the person that he choreographed the number for, called him today to say she just learned she's cancer free. That news got a much deserved standing ovation. I chose to avert my eyes because I'm too much of a softy and didn't feel like weeping tonight. The number also got a standing ovation and some tears from the audience. The camera focused on Christina Applegate, sitting next to Lance Bass, who's in attendance and also a breast cancer survivor.

Before going to break, we get an encore of Mia's "One" Top 8 number featuring some special guests - namely the judges on panel tonight. WIN.

So, after a combo highlight reel, we've come to the moment of truth. Will it be Jeanine? Will it be Brandon? After months of dancing and millions and millions of votes, the winner is Jeanine!

Brandon did fantastically this entire season but Jeanine's personality and a killer night last night were too much for him to overcome. As a bit of a joke, she thanked the Academy since she never thought she'd win something in the Kodak Theater. Gotta love it.

heidi montag playboy pics

2009-08-07T08:30:00.000-07:00

Heidi’s husband, Spencer Pratt has approved these pictures as well. You can see Heidi in Playboy magazine cover for the month of September.

One notable thing is that, Heidi is not featured totally nude in the pictures, so those naughty fans who are hoping to watch their favorite star nude, should be disappointed. Heidi said once that she would never pose nude and she stood true to her words. In the latest pictures, she wore a white bikini. It is true that we have watched her in bikini for numerous times. We had also watched her in bikini in the Stuff magazine and Maxim photos, but still she is looking awesome in her latest pictures.Check out some her breathtaking pictures below.

Heidi Montag

In just a few short weeks, Heidi Montag's Playboy issue will be hitting newsstands. And her sister and occasional "Hills" co-star Holly confirmed earlier reports that Heidi isn't baring all for the mag.

"She's not nude," Holly told UsMagazine.com. "Her Maxim cover was so gorgeous and tasteful, and I know Playboy is going to be the same. It's really cool that she can be part of the Playboy family. I love it. I go up there all the time and play poker. I love the girls there, and it's very cool to be a part of that legacy."

She also has faith that Heidi, whose Playboy pictorial follows that of fellow MTV star Aubrey O'Day, will give a great performance at the 2009 Miss Universe Pageant telecast next month.

"She will kill it," Holly said. "I know she will give the best performance ever. She's a phenomenal performer and dancer. That's what she's born to do. I think when she's stepping into her own in singing and concerts, people will see that that's where she really shines."

Back in June, Heidi told MTV News that her Playboy photos would have an emphasis on tastefulness. "I'm more of a modern Mother Teresa," she said. "I would take things with moderation. I think God created the body. I think we're born naked. We die naked. I don't think it's something to be ashamed of. I think the body is a beautiful piece of artwork that God created. I have nothing to be ashamed of."

Holly also told Us that her often-contentious relationship with brother-in-law Spencer Pratt has been good lately. "We're actually getting along really well right now," she said. "I don't want to jinx it, but he's been awesome as a brother and better than ever."

usa today coaches poll

2009-08-07T08:22:00.000-07:00

Preseason poll. 2008 records in parentheses. Times p.m. Eastern. Outlook by USA TODAY’s Jack Carey.

1. Florida (13-1)

Points: 1,466 (53 first-place votes). Previous ranking: 1. Outlook: The Gators appear to have an excellent chance at being the first with consecutive Bowl Championship Series titles and three in four years. QB Tim Tebow is back for another crack at the Heisman Trophy, along with return man Brandon James and OLs Mike and Maurkice Pouncey. Every starter is back on defense, including E Carlos Dunlap, LB Brandon Spikes, CB Joe Haden and S Ahmad Black. Opens: Sept. 5 vs. Charleston Southern.

2. Texas (12-1)

Points: 1,386 (4). Previous ranking: 3. Outlook: After missing out on the Big 12 title game last season because of a conference tiebreaker, the Longhorns should be poised for a big year behind returning star QB Colt McCoy, OL Adam Ulatoski, C Chris Hall, WR Jordan Shipley, DE-LB Sergio Kindle and CB Aaron Williams. Opens: Sept. 5 vs. Louisiana-Monroe.

3. Oklahoma (12-2)

Points: 1,358 (1). Previous ranking: 5. Outlook: Last year’s BCS runner-up returns Heisman Trophy QB Sam Bradford and TE Jermaine Gresham, OL Trent Williams, RB DeMarco Murray, DTs Gerald McCoy and DeMarcus Granger and LB Travis Lewis. The Oct. 17 battle vs. Texas again could be pivotal. Opens: Sept. 5 vs. No. 24 Brigham Young in Arlington, Texas (ESPN, 7).

4. Southern California (12-1)

Points: 1,321 (1). Previous ranking: 2. Outlook: Four years have passed since the Trojans played for a national title. They’ll be working in new faces, including at quarterback, where Aaron Corp will try to hold off freshman Matt Barkley and Arkansas transfer Mitch Mustain. RBs Joe McKnight and Stafon Johnson are back with C Kristofer O’Dowd, OLs Jeff Byers and Charles Brown, WR Damian Williams, S Taylor Mays and DL Everson Griffen. Opens: Sept. 5 vs. San Jose State (FSN, 3:30).

5. Alabama (12-2)

Points: 1,134. Previous ranking: 6. Outlook: After missing the BCS title game bid by dropping the Southeastern title game, the Crimson Tide need to settle on a quarterback. The offense returns standout WR Julio Jones, RB Mark Ingram and OL Mike Johnson. K Leigh Tiffin and return man Javier Arenas also return, and the defense welcomes back T Terrence Cody and LB Rolando McClain. Opens: Sept. 5 vs. No. 7 Virginia Tech in Atlanta (ABC, 8).

6. Ohio State (10-3)

Points: 1,126. Previous ranking: 11. Outlook: Dynamic QB Terrelle Pryor returns for his sophomore season as the Buckeyes try to take the Big Ten crown and contend for a third title-game appearance in four years. He will be joined by RB Daniel Herron, C Mike Brewster, OL Justin Boren, WR-return man Ray Small, DBs Kurt Coleman and Anderson Russell, DLs Thaddeus Gibson and Doug Worthington and LB Ross Homan. Opens: Sept. 5 vs. Navy (ESPN, noon).

7. Virgina Tech (10-4)

Points: 1,020. Previous ranking: 14. Outlook: After sharing the quarterback job, Tyrod Taylor takes over exclusively as the Hokies bid for another Atlantic Coast title. He’ll work behind G Sergio Render and be throwing to TE Greg Boone. TB Darren Evans could be a star in the making. The defense brings back S Kam Chancellor, E Jason Worilds, CB Stephan Virgil, rover Dorian Porch and LB Cam Martin. Opens: Sept. 5 vs. No. 5 Alabama in Atlanta (ABC, 8).

8. Penn State (11-2)

Points: 988. Previous ranking: 8. Outlook: The Nittany Lions narrowly missed a probable BCS title-game appearance with a last-second loss to Iowa, so they settled for the Rose Bowl. There are holes to fill, but they return QB Daryll Clark, RB Evan Royster, C Stefen Wisniewski and OT Dennis Landolt along with LB Navorro Bowman, DT Jared Odrick and LB Sean Lee. Opens: Sept. 5 vs. Akron.

9. LSU (8-5)

Points: 917. Previous ranking: Not ranked. Outlook: Tigers hope to rebound in the SEC West after a down year. Jarrett Lee and Jordan Jefferson return at quarterback, and also back are OLs Ciron Black and Lyle Hitt, RB Charles Scott, WR Brandon LaFell, TE Richard Dickson, return man Trindon Holliday, DE Rahim Alem, CB Patrick Peterson and S Chad Jones. Opens: Sept. 5 at Washington (ESPN, 10:30).

10. Mississippi (9-4)

Points: 889. Previous ranking: 15. Outlook: The Rebels, the only team to beat national champ Florida last year, appear to be on the rise in the SEC West. QB Jevan Snead leads the way along with WRs Shay Hodge and Dexter McCluster, OL John Jerry, DE Greg Hardy and K Joshua Shene. Opens: Sept. 6 at Memphis (ESPN, 3:30).

11. Oklahoma State (9-4)

Points: 861. Previous ranking: 18. Outlook: The Cowboys continue to make waves in the tough Big 12 South and could be ready for a breakthrough behind standout WR Dez Bryant, QB Zac Robinson, OLs Russell Okung and Brady Bond, RB Kendall Hunter, KR-DB Perrish Cox, LB Andre Sexton and K Dan Bailey. Opens: Sept. 5 vs. No. 13 Georgia (ABC, 3:30).

12. California (9-4)

Points: 711. Previous ranking: 25. Outlook: The Golden Bears have their eyes focused on the top of the Pacific-10 with RB Jahvid Best, the nation’s leading returning rusher, QB Kevin Riley and OLs Mark Boskovich, Mike Tepper and Mitchell Schwartz along with CBs Syd’Quan Thompson and Darian Hagan, DLs Tyson Alualu and Cameron Jordan, LB Mike Mohamed and P Bryan Anger. They host USC on Oct. 3. Opens: Sept. 5 vs. Maryland (ESPN2, 10).

13. Georgia (10-3)

Points: 707. Previous ranking: 10. Outlook: With QB Matthew Stafford and RB Knowshon Moreno gone, the Bulldogs could look to QB Joe Cox to lead them to contention in the SEC. TB Caleb King returns with flanker A.J. Green, C Ben Jones and OLs Clint Boling and Trinton Sturdivant. Defense boasts LB Rennie Curran and L Geno Atkins. Opens: Sept. 5 at No. 11 Oklahoma State (ABC, 3:30).

14. Oregon (10-3)

Points: 694. Previous ranking: 9. Outlook: This is Chip Kelly’s first season as coach after Mike Bellotti moved to the athletics director job. The Ducks will be leaning on returning QB Jeremiah Masoli, RB LeGarrette Blount, TE Ed Dickson, DL Will Tukuafu, FS T.J. Ward, LB Spencer Paysinger and CB Walter Thurmond. Opens: Sept. 3 at No. 16 Boise State (ESPN, 10:15).

15. Georgia Tech (9-4)

Points: 559. Previous ranking: 22. Outlook: Coach Paul Johnson’s first season was a success, and the Yellow Jackets hope to continue their rise behind standout RB Jonathan Dwyer, QB Josh Nesbitt, WR Demaryius Thomas, OL Cord Howard, S Morgan Burnett and DL Derrick Morgan. Opens: Sept. 5 vs. Jacksonville State.

16. Boise State (12-1)

Points: 542. Previous ranking: 13. Outlook: After an unbeaten regular season, the Broncos could be ready to jump back into the BCS picture with the return of QB Kellen Moore, RB Jeremy Avery, C Thomas Byrd, WR Austin Pettis and TE Kyle Efaw. The defense brings back CBs Kyle Wilson and Brandyn Thompson, E Ryan Winterswyk and S Jeron Johnson. K Kyle Brotzman also returns. Opens: Sept. 3 vs. No. 14 Oregon (ESPN, 10:15).

17. TCU (11-2)

Points: 461. Previous ranking: 7. Outlook: The Horned Frogs are eyeing a push for a BCS game behind returning QB Andy Dalton, receivers Jimmy Young and Jeremy Kerley, T Marshall Newhouse and a platoon of RBs including Ryan Christian, Joseph Turner, Chris Smith, Jai Cavness and Ed Wesley. E Jerry Hughes helps pace the defense with CBs Rafael Priest and Nick Sanders and LB Daryl Washington. Opens: Sept. 12 at Virginia (ESPNU, 3:30).

18. Utah (13-0)

Points: 404. Previous ranking: 4. Outlook: After an undefeated season and Sugar Bowl win against Alabama, the Utes eye another Mountain West title but must replace QB Brian Johnson. Returnee Corbin Louks, freshman Jordan Wynn or junior college transfer Terrance Cain could be the answer. They return RB Matt Asiata, OLs Zane Beadles and Caleb Schlauderaff, KR-WR David Reed, LBs Stevenson Sylvester and Mike Wright, DBs Robert Johnson and Joe Dale and DLs Koa Misi and Kenape Eliapo. Opens: Sept. 3 vs. Utah State.

19. Florida State (9-4)

Points: 371. Previous ranking: 23. Outlook: The Seminoles hope to regain their top status in the Atlantic Coast with the return of QB Christian Ponder, RB Jermaine Thomas, WR Bert Reed, Gs Rodney Hudson and Andrew Datko and C Ryan McMahon. The defense brings back LB Dekoda Watson and CB Patrick Robinson. Opens: Sept. 7 vs. Miami (Fla.) (ESPN, 8).

20. North Carolina (8-5)

Points: 293. Previous ranking: Not ranked. Outlook: The Tar Heels appear on their way up in the Atlantic Coast under coach Butch Davis with the return of QB T.J. Yates, TE Zack Pianalto, OL Kyle Jolly, CB Kendric Burney, DT Marvin Austin, LB Quan Sturdivant, S Deunta Williams and K Casey Barth. Opens: Sept. 5 vs. The Citadel.

21. Iowa (9-4)

Points: 257. Previous ranking: 20. Outlook: After a bounce-back season, the Hawkeyes must replace star RB Shonn Greene but return QB Ricky Stanzi, RB Jewel Hampton, WR Derrell Johnson-Koulianos and OLs Julian Vandervelde, Bryan Bulaga and Kyle Calloway. The defense calls on LBs Pat Angerer and A.J. Edds, DBs Amari Spievey and Tyler Sash, Ls Adrian Clayborn and Christian Ballard and P Ryan Donahue. Opens: Sept. 5 vs. Northern Iowa.

22. Nebraska (9-4)

Points: 236. Previous ranking: Not ranked. Outlook: After a bounce-back season that included a win in the Gator Bowl, the Cornhuskers need to settle on a quarterback, probably from among junior Zac Lee, redshirt freshman Kody Spano and true freshman Cody Green. TE Mike McNeill, OL Jacob Hickman and RB Roy Helu Jr. return to the offense. The defense brings back standout T Ndamukong Suh and E Pierre Allen. K Alex Henery also is back. Opens: Sept. 5 vs. Florida Atlantic.

23. Notre Dame (7-6)

Points: 194. Previous ranking: Not ranked. Outlook: After the Irish’s consecutive subpar seasons, the heat is on coach Charlie Weis. But the Irish should have improved depth with the return of QB Jimmy Clausen, RBs Armando Allen and Robert Hughes, WRs Golden Tate and Duval Kamara, TE Kyle Rudolph, DT Ian Williams, LB Brian Smith and DBs Harrison Smith, Kyle McCarthy and Raeshon McNeil. Opens: Sept. 5 vs. Nevada (NBC, 3:30).

24. Brigham Young (10-3)

Points: 178. Previous ranking: 21. Outlook: The offensive line needs retooling, but the Cougars get back standout QB Max Hall, RB Harvey Unga, WR McKay Jacobson and TE Dennis Pitta. DL Jan Jorgensen paces an experienced front seven, with CB Brandon Bradley helping to anchor the secondary. The opener could answer many questions. Opens: Sept. 5 vs. No. 3 Oklahoma in Arlington, Texas (ESPN, 7).

25. Oregon State (9-4)

Points: 165. Previous ranking: 19. Outlook: The Beavers knocked off Southern California a year ago and came within a win of playing in the Rose Bowl. They’ll count on returning QBs Lyle Moevao and Sean Canfield, RB Jacquizz Rodgers, WR-KR James Rodgers and C Alex Linnenkohl. The defense needs retooling but returns LB Keaton Kristick and T Stephen Paea. K Justin Kahut is also back. Opens: Sept. 5 vs. Portland State.

erin micklow

2009-08-07T08:14:00.000-07:00

George Sodini Blog Link

Model Erin Micklow says George Sodini attended a workshop by R. Don Steele on how to date women. Model Erin Micklow says George Sodini on dating women was nervous the whole workshop.

Micklow is a model and actress who was hired to attend the workshop. The 20 year says the purpose was for men to learn how to date women. Erin Micklow says Sodini remained nervous the whole workshop while other men eventually loosened up.

“He was really, really quiet, he took a lot of notes. [....He was] the most studious in the workshops …[By the end] a lot of the guys had loosened up… [but] George was pretty much just as nervous.”

Yesterday LALATE posted new uncovered YouTube videos of Sodini, the LA Fitness shooter, in addition to new face shots.

George Sodini YouTube Videos (user MOSB46PGH)

CLICK HERE FOR VIDEO 1

CLICK HERE FOR VIDEO 2

George Sodini’s Vacation Pictures

George Sodini Photo 1
George Sodini Photo 2
George Sodini Photo 3
George Sodini Photo 4

New George Sodini’s Face Photos
George Sodini Face 1
George Sodini Face 2

GeorgeSodini.com has the above photos taken by Sodini while on vacation. The first is a random woman.

LALATE can identify the photo locations as

1. Ocean Avenue at the Pier (Santa Monica, CA) 2. Ocean Avenue facing the Pacific Ocean (Santa Monica, CA) 3. Ocean Avenue at Wilshire Boulevard close to the Promenade (Santa Monica, CA) 4. Hollywood, CA

CLICK HERE TO READ SODINI’S DIARY ENTRIES

Online tools indicate Sodini registered his website domain in 2000 and listed registered contact information to a Pittsburgh address on Orchard Spring Road, Pittsburgh, PA 15220-1714.

In an online blog diary, Sodini wrote the following about his frustrations with women:

“Girls and women don’t even give me a second look ANYWHERE. There is something BLATANTLY wrong with me that NO god–am person will tell me what it is.”

To see the Erin Micklow video, click

google transit

2009-08-06T07:29:00.001-07:00

Good news for Bostonians: Massachusetts is finally joining the Google grid.

At a press conference on Thursday, MBTA officials announced a partnership with Google Transit, the mapping site that provides information on public transportation in hundreds of American cities. In major hubs such as New York, the site has been extraordinary popular, and for good reason – it helps users cut down on travel time, avoid delays, and sift through the clutter of the most complicated subway systems.

“This really makes a lot of information more accessible,” Google Boston engineering director Steve Vinter said Thursday, according to the Boston Globe. “There are a lot of people like me who take the T to work but do not know much about the transit system outside of that.” Google Transit will now provide data on boats, trains, and buses in Boston, as well as a complete look at the commuter rails which run out to other major towns and cities in Massachusetts.

“For locals and visitors alike, Google Transit makes it easier to search and discover public transportation options that get them into, around, and out of Boston, Brookline, Cambridge, Quincy, Somerville, and the surrounding areas – or to travel to and from other MBTA-linked cities like Brockton, Gloucester, Lowell, Providence, and Worcester,” Google’s Sean Carlson wrote in a blog post yesterday.

Why not DC?

Google Transit already provides planning information for most of the major hubs across the country, including Los Angeles, Philadelphia, and Chicago. One city is conspicuously missing: Washington, DC. ~~Carlson told the Monitor he couldn’t comment on why DC did not participate in Google Transit~~ (update below), but the topic has already received a good deal of attention from the Washington media.

Back in December, Greater Greater Washington blogger Michael Perkins recalled his quest to get answers from WMATA, the transit authority in DC:

At first, WMATA officials said that their scheduling information was “proprietary” and could not be shared with Google. Later, they told me that formatting the data in GTFS was time-consuming and not a priority for the WMATA staff. In June, General Manager John Catoe said in a Friday lunchtime chat that WMATA was working on it, but that the results were not accurate enough. (Since Transit would use the same data as WMATA’s own trip planner, this explanation didn’t hold water.) Finally, when I asked about it at the October board meeting, they said that they still needed to hammer out the legal agreements.

Eventually, Perkins got this response from Brett Tyler, the Director of Customer Service, at the WMATA:

Metro staff did explore some possibilities with Google, but ultimately we decided that forming a partnership with Google was not in our best interest from a business perspective. We do believe that Metro’s newly redesigned Web site, at www.wmata.com, improves customers’ access to information about the Metro system. In addition, customers may get real-time information and bus and rail schedules directly on their cell phones or PDAs.

Then this year, the WMATA agreed to provide Google information on a very restricted basis. As of a week ago, a potential partnership was in a holding pattern – Google and the DC Metro have failed to reach an agreement on how to incorporate schedule data into the Google Transit engine. Many critics have faulted Google, claiming that the company has received the data from the WMATA. But Perkins says the problem is with the city:

[Their] terms are too draconian. Metro won’t let you use their trademarks at all, and even the term “Metro” is a registered trademark according to the system maps. They also reserve the right to stop providing the data without notice, and to start charging for the use of the data at any time. Furthermore, Metro reserves the right to modify or revoke the agreement at any time.

Update: Google’s Sean Carlson wrote us to say, “We’re continually looking into adding more transit agencies to make the service as useful as possible to as many people as possible, but there are no specific partnerships to announce at this time.”

google transit

2009-08-06T07:27:00.000-07:00

forbes college rankings

2009-08-06T07:19:00.000-07:00

Middlebury in Top 25 of Forbes College Rankings

Skiing friendly Middlebury College in Vermont ranked 25 in the Forbes College Rankings. They operate the Middlebury College Snow Bowl ski area and is also near Killington, Mad River Glen and Sugarbush ski resorts. If you're looking for a great college with easy access to skiing or snowboarding this should be at the top of your list.

Here's the Forbes Top 25

Rank	Name	State	Cost	Freshman Class Size
1	United States Military Academy	NY	0	1,263
2	Princeton University	NJ	49,830	1,243
3	California Institute of Technology	CA	48,990	236
4	Williams College	MA	49,530	540
5	Harvard University	MA	50,250	1,666
6	Wellesley College	MA	50,026	596
7	United States Air Force Academy	CO	0	1,286
8	Amherst College	MA	50,230	439
9	Yale University	CT	51,400	1,318
10	Stanford University	CA	51,760	1,703
11	Massachusetts Institute of Technology	MA	50,100	1,048
12	Swarthmore College	PA	50,381	372
13	Columbia University	NY	51,406	1,356
14	Centre College	KY	39,200	336
15	Haverford College	PA	51,637	327
16	Boston College	MA	52,060	2,167
17	Northwestern University	IL	52,120	2,078
18	Bowdoin College	ME	50,570	488
19	Vassar College	NY	51,370	638
20	Whitman College	WA	46,212	401
21	University of Chicago	IL	53,310	1,306
22	Kenyon College	OH	49,260	456
23	Carleton College	MN	50,000	489
24	Colby College	ME	50,120	482
25	Middlebury College	VT	52,460	576

so you think you can dance finale 2009

2009-08-06T07:11:00.000-07:00

So, So You Think You Can Dance Finale is over with the great question that who is the winner of the spectacular session and who should be the winner.

Don’t be sure about Evan as you all think that he is the one surely won’t be entitled for the no. 1 position, as experts assume that the way judges- Adam Shankman, Mary Murphy and Nigel Lythgoe openly let poor Evan Kasprzak know in front of the audience that its a real surprise how he could entered into the top 4, may reverse the whole thing.

In each and every occasion when ever it was indicated that Evan is the odd man their, the audience didn’t liked it and this overkilling factor may prove to be a enormous blessing for Evan, who knows ?

However Evan’s finale performance with Jeanine (Sonya Tayeh Jazz routine) was enjoyable as always, though it was not a exceptional one.

Among the four finalist it appears that ‘the should be winner’ could be Brandon or Jeanine Manson, and Jeanine is a step or two ahead of Brandon. But who knows it still could be Evan or even Kayla Radomski- who was highly pampered by the judges throughout the show as the best dancer of the show.

steven tyler falls off stage

2009-08-06T07:04:00.000-07:00

Your webmaster search is: steven tyler falls off stage

Rocker Steven Tyler was rushed to the hospital after falling from the stage during a concert in South Dakota on Wednesday night.

The Aerosmith frontman fell off the stage in Sturgis, South Dakota while his band was performing “Love in an Elevator,” The Rapid City Journal reports.

Tyler was taken backstage to be evaluated by medical personnel before being taken to an area hospital.

george sodini blog link

2009-08-06T06:33:00.000-07:00

I read just about every word of George Sodini’s rambling blog posts here, after looking for the Google cache of both George Sodini’s website called GeorgeSodini.com and CrazyGeorge.com — and finding no cache, but didn’t need it, since Sodini had already planned for others to put up his blog post ramblings on other sites after his deadly rampage.

George Sodini had no social cache with women, or so he thought…

But why?

From this pic, George Sodini looked like an attractive enough man.

I guess women could sense something off about him.

It’s just too bad Sodini didn’t get help, or that someone, anyone couldn’t have found Sodini’s blog cache writings and ramblings and realized what he was planning before he killed anyone.

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When I read this I thought I figured at least 6 people would respond out of the millions of people that use the internet. And wow!! In 4 days I made my $5 back and my libertyreserve account is growing even while I sleep. You should give it a try too! You have nothing to lose, and thousands to gain! You have most likely seen or heard about this projection on TV programs such as 20/20 and Oprah or you may have read about it in the Wall Street Journal. If not, here it is below-revealed to you in step-by-step detail. This program is by no existence in many forms for at least a decade. But in the early days, it required a lot more time and effort, as well as an investment of a few hundred dollars. However thanks to libertyreserve and the internet, the investment is now virtually ZERO! And what¡¯s more, the entire process is FASTER, EASIER, and MORE LUCRATIVE than it has EVER been! This is the email sent to me:
Make $5, 00 with just $5 in 30 days with libertyreserve
I WAS SHOCKED WHEN I SAW HOW MUCH MONEY CAME FLOODING INTO MY LIBERTYRESERVE ACCOUNT I turned $5 into $5,706 within the first 30 days of operating the business plan that I am about to reveal to you free of charge. If you decide to take action on the following instructions, I will GURANTEE that you will enjoy a similar return! The only things you will need are:
- An email address.
-a libertyreserve account with at least $5 deposited in it. (It¡¯s free to sign up to libertyreserve.com
- And just 15 to 30 minutes of your time. (The more time you put into it, the more time you¡¯ll see in return) this program takes just half an hour to set up. After that, there is absolutely no work whatsoever to do on your part. You have absolutely NOTHING to lose, and there is NO LIMIT to the amount of income you can generate from this one single business program. Let¡¯s get started, just follow the instructions exactly as set out below and then get prepared for a HUGE influx of cash over the next 30 days! Here¡¯s what you need to do¡*
REQUIRMENTS:
#1) an email address
#2) libertyreserve account (free to open at: Liberty Reserve
#3) $5
Now follow the steps: 1-4 STEP #1 ¨C Setting up your FREE e-gold (if you already have an account, just move on to the next step) it¡¯s extremely safe and very easy to set up a FREE e-gold account or libertyreserve copy and paste this to the address bar Liberty Reserve
libertyreserve.com is used by thousands of companies, including eBay to accept credit cards and other forms of payment¡*
STEP #2: Fund your libertyreserve account locally from listed exchangers. STEP #3: Sending libertyreserve money “it is an undeniable law of the universe that we must first give in order to receive.” Now all you have to do is send $1.00 by way of libertyreserve to each of the five email address listed below. After setting up your free libertyreserve account, confirming or verifying is AND putting (five dollars) #5.00 into your libertyreserve Account use the Account tab on libertyreserve to send $1.00 to each of the numbers on the list. Then remove the top one (#1) and place your libertyreserve number in the #5 spot in the list of numbers #1- #5. Remember your number becomes #5.
*** Make sure the subject of the payment says¡* *PLEASE PUT ME ON YOUR EMAIL LIST* ***
(This keeps the program 100% legal¡* so please don¡¯t forge!) The following are the e-gold numbers:
#!) U1663563
#2) U5584909
#3) U0251103
#4) U1862782
#5) U6741773
Remember, all of this is ABSOLUTELT LEGAL! You are creating a service! A business¡* An Email List Service Business. If you have any doubts, please refer to title 18 Sec. 1302 & 1241 of the United States Postal Laws. However, do not spam. This means, you should never sent it to an email that was not given to you willingly by the owner. This makes your business completely legal.
STEP#3 ¨C Adding your libertyreserve number:
After you send your five $1.00 payments, it¡¯s your turn to add your libertyreserve number to the list! Take the #1) num libertyreserve ber off the list that you see above, move the other libertyreserve numbers up one by one (5 becomes 4 & 4 becomes 3, etc) then put YOUR e-gold number (the one used in your libertyreserve account as #5) on the list.
**MAKE SURE THE LIBERTYRESERVE YOU SUPPLY IS EXACTLY AS IT APPEARS IN YOUR LIBERTYRESERVE ACCOUNT **
STEP #4 ¨C Copy Message to 200 Newsgroups, message boards, etc¡*¡* or you can start sending his letter to as many e-mails you encounter. The pure joy of receiving LIBERTYRESERVE Money! You are now ready to post your copy of this message, to at least 200 newsgroups, message boards, etc. (I think there are close to 32,000 groups). All you need is 200, but remember, the more you post, the more money you make-as well as everyone else on the list! In this situation your job is to let as many people see this letter as possible. So they will make you rich!!! HOW TO POST TO NEWSGROUPS & MESSAGE BOARDS
Step #1) you do not need to re-type this entire letter to do your own posting. Simply put your CURSOR at the beginning of this letter and drag your CURSOR to the bottom of this document, and select “copy” from the edit menu. This will copy the entire letter into your computer¡¯s temporary memory.
Step #2) Open a blank “Notepad” fie and place your cursor at the blank page. From the “Edit” menu select “Paste”. This will paste a copy of the letter into notepad so that you can add your email to the list. Or copy to a word document and place in the e-nail.
Step #3) Save your new Work or Notepad file as a txt file. If you want to do your postings in different sittings, you¡¯ll always have this file to go back to.
Step #4) Use Netscape or internet Explorer and try searching for various newsgroups. On-line forums, message boards, bulletin boards, char sites, discussions, discussion groups, online communities, etc. EXAMPLE: go to any search engine like yohoo.com, Google.com, altavista.com, excit..com-then search with subjects like millionaire message board or money making message board or opportunity message board or money making discussions or business bulletin board or money making forum etc. you will find thousands & thousands of message boards. Click the, one by one then you will find the option to post a new message.
Step #5) Visit these message board and post this article as a new message by highlighting the text of this letter and selecting ¡®select All¡¯ the go the message board and ¡®paste¡¯ from the ¡®Edit¡¯ menu. Fill in the Subject, this will be the header that everyone sees as they scroll thru the list f postings in a particular group, click the post message bulletin. You¡¯re done with your first one! Congratulations! THAT”S IT!! ALL you have to do is ump to different newsgroups and post away. After you get the hang of it, it will take about 30 seconds for each newsgroup!
REMEMBER, THE MORE NEWSGROUPS AND/OR MESSAGE BOARDS YOU POST IN, THE MORE MONEY YOU WILL MAKE!! BUT YOU HAVE TO TRU TO POST A MINIMUM OF 200**.
That¡¯s it! You will begin receiving money within days! Explanation of why it works so well.
The things to remember are thousands of people all over the world are joining the internet and reading these articles everyday, JUST LIKE YOU are now! So can you afford $5.00?? And see if it really works?? I think so! People have said what if the plan is played out and no one sends you the money? So what are the chances of that happening when there are tons of new honest users and new honest people who are joining the internet and newsgroups everyday and are willing to give it a try? Estimates are at 20,000 to 50,000 new users everyday, with thousands of those having the actual internet. Remember, pay FAIRLY and HONESTLY and this will work. This really isn¡¯t another one of those crazy scams! As long as people FOLLOW THROUGH with sending out $5.00, it works! Thank you for reading this letter. Now give yourself the opportunity to try it out, there is really nothing to lose. With warm wishes, bless you and your loves ones¡*
$$$$$ REMEMBER, IT IS 100% LEGAL! DON¡¯T PASS THIS UP STILL NEED PROOF? Here are just 3 testimonials from the countless individuals who decided to invest nothing more than $5 and half an hour of their time to participate in this program¡*
“what an amazing plan! I followed your instructions just 3 weeks ago, and although I haven¡¯t made 5 grand yet, I¡¯m already up to $4,135. I¡¯m absolutely gob
Smacked.” ¨C Pam Wittemore, Ohio “well, what can I say¡*? THANK you so much! I SENT 40 E-MAIL OUT LIKE YOU SAID AND THEN I JUST FORGOT ABOOUT the whole thing. To be honest, I didn¡¯t really think anything would come of i. But when I checked my LIBERTYRESERVE account a week later, there was over #3,000 in my LIBERTYRESERVE account. After 30 days I now have over #5,000 to spend! I can¡¯t thank you enough!” ¨C Juan Tovar, NY, NY. “I was shocked when i saw how much money came flooding into my e-gold account. Within 3 weeks my account balance has ballooned to $5 449. At first I sort of error with my account!”-Richard Barri.

laura silverman

2009-08-05T09:06:00.000-07:00

Adam welcomes actress / foxy lady, Laura Silverman and funny man Jason Nash to the podcast.

Grand slam! I think we should have Ray and the gang in every Friday, Bryan and T on Thursdays, give Jason Nash the Wednesday slot, Dr. Bruce on Tuesdays, and Dr. Drew on Mondays. Then we won’t have to bother with talented professional actors, musicians, and comedians spinning interesting yarns about their road to success ever again.

euna lee husband

2009-08-05T08:57:00.000-07:00

When your wife has been sentenced to 12 years of hard labor in a North Korean prison camp, missing her phone call leaves you emotionally wrecked. Missing that phone call, when you have only spoken to her three times in the 4 months that she has been detained, is a precious, lost opportunity. That’s what happened to my friend Michael Saldate, husband to Euna Lee.

The thing is that these days, Michael cannot afford to give in to his own emotions. Instead he has to remain purely focused on the wellbeing of his and Euna’s 4-year-old-daughter, Hana. Hana misses her mom desperately and does not understand why she has not returned from her business trip. At least once a day, she breaks down crying for her mommy.

This past weekend, Hana, Michael and Euna’s sister, Jina, joined us in Disneyland for my daughter’s fifth birthday. It was a privilege to have little Hana cavorting and playing alongside my daughter as they ran from one ride to the next. Hana has an angel’s soul. She is gentle and playful, thoughtful and energetic, and like most children her age clearly has her father and aunt wrapped around her little finger! It was Hana’s first time to Disneyland, and she was determined to meet some Princesses. As we rode through it’s a Small World, she squealed with delight with each new section. Her enthusiasm is infectious and my own five year old would now seem to have a life-long playmate well intact.

Days like these for Hana are important ones, brief moments that she can escape a reality, that even while she may not fully intellectually process, certainly is taking its emotional toll on her. For Michael, no such a luck. There is no relief from the agony that he and Laura Ling’s family (Euna’s imprisoned colleague) are facing. The rollercoaster of hope and despair is exhausting – Michael described to us how his body intermittently collapses from all the stress. The prior morning, he literally found himself paralyzed in bed, unable to get up. Fortunately, Gina was able to watch Hana as Michael slowly reclaimed his strength and recovered.

Last week was a hard one – as Secretary of State Hillary Clinton and North Korean officials traded barbs attacking one another. Words are powerful, and in this case they may have real consequences on the fate of real people, Euna and Laura. Fortunately this week is looking a bit more hopeful. According to accounts, the North Korean government is requesting direct talks with the US government on a host of issues, including the resolution of the fate of Laura and Euna. We have our fingers crossed, but are accustomed now, 4 months later, to the peaks and valleys that sadly define this nightmare.

Based on what he knows from press accounts, briefings by the US State Department and his limited correspondences with Euna in the last 4 months, Michael believes that Euna and Laura are currently being held in a Medical Detention Facility. Indications are that Laura’s pre-existing medical condition (an ulcer) has worsened, and Euna has lost a lot of weight while also having pains in her abdominal region. Michael is confident that his wife and Laura are being treated “fairly,” and have not been transported to the infamous North Korean labor camps as their sentence deems – for that he is very grateful to her captors.

Fortunately, even after missing Michael, Euna was able to connect with her sister Jina. She asked Jina to be there for Hana while she was away, no matter how long this dreadful predicament lasts. Jina says that it’s clear that Euna aches for her daughter, and is more worried about her than for herself. Any mother can relate. Similarly, Laura Ling in her communication with hers sister, Lisa Ling, has been more concerned about her parents’ and family’s welfare than her own. Curious how the human mind copes, how hope twists itself around concern, how suffering is perhaps easier to endure when one places their own attention outside of themselves. God bless Euna Lee and Laura Ling for having the strength to endure the unimaginable. The world could learn a lot by following their lead.

This is not just about Hana needing her mom back. This is about broken families. Husbands and wives torn apart (including Laura’s husband Iain who is equally devastated), sisters, parents, friends all wandering around in the fog of geopolitics, frayed diplomacy, juvenile gamesmanship and emotional terror.

Back to that missed phone call. Euna actually left Michael a specific message on his voice mail. She requested her husband reach out to moms, sensing that they may relate uniquely to her situation. She’s right: every mother instinctively can empathize with the notion of being separated from their child. It’s a gut-wrenching emotion, the worst type of helplessness that can completely physically, emotionally, spiritually, and psychologically overwhelm. To that end, I am personally committed to honoring Euna’s request – to reach out to as many moms as I can to mobilize their efforts in bringing Euna and Laura home as promptly as possible.

I am hopeful that no less than our Nation’s “First Mom” Michelle Obama, a powerful and passionate role model for millions, can add to the choir formally requesting Amnesty for these two young women who have now apologized for whatever crimes they may have committed.

Here are two specific things we can do to help Euna and Laura, and their families.

Sign the petition for Amnesty for Laura Ling and Euna Lee. If you have signed it already, please pass it on to others that you know – friends, colleagues, classmates, mommy groups, church members, etc.

Write to Michelle Obama to get involved and make a statement asking that Euna and Laura be granted Amnesty. You can write to her at:

Mrs. Michelle Obama
1600 Pennsylvania Avenue NW
Washington D.C. 20500

Honestly, your active participation – even if just signing the petition or sending the letter to Michelle Obama – helps the family and the girls know that they are supported and their story not forgotten. It also influences the Administration to know that we are all relying on them to make Euna and Laura’s release a priority. On behalf of Michael, the families of both Euna and Laura, and all of their friends and supporters, we are eternally grateful.

shangri la entertainment

2009-08-05T08:51:00.000-07:00

Steve Bing|Shangri La Entertainment:Tenderhearted and sympathetic to an unusual degree, Steve Bing has an understanding of other people’s feelings and needs which borders on telepathy. Steve Bing is extremely compassionate and cannot bear to see any fellow creature – human or animal – suffer. Because of his kindness and nonjudgmental attitude, people suffering from pain or confusion are drawn to Bing for help, which he readily gives. Sometimes Bing’s soft-heartedness is taken advantage of.

He is a gentle, poetic soul and has a great love and affinity for music. Because many of his feelings are vague and he cannot easily verbalize how he experiences life, music seems a natural language for Bing. He is also extremely romantic and often “in love with love”.

Steve Bing may have done extensive traveling in his early years, or in some way had a background which enables him to understand and identify with many different types of people or cultures.

Bing has a craving for things which are far away and foreign or for things he has never experienced before. Steve Bing wants to completely immerse himself in the feelings and tastes of a new place, rather than simply have facts or an intellectual appreciation. Emotionally, too, Steve is restless and something of a wanderer.

Generally sunny and optimistic, Steve Bing has a cheering effect on those around him. Steve likes and needs people, and others genuinely like him too. He enjoys a wide circle of friends who are like family to him. Entertaining, partying, social activities, and fellowship are essential ingredients for his emotional well-being.

Steve Bing has a strong sense of duty, is serious and tends to see everything on the dark side. Steve should guard against emotional inhibition and depression. He prefers to lead a secluded, modest and simple life.

He is inclined to identify duty and happiness with each other. Self-disciplined and realistic, Steve Bing expects very little. Once he has found his mate, Steve Bing will be faithful, self-sacrificing and strongly attached to his partner.

Emotionally, he is very vulnerable and tends to have his feelings hurt quite easily. He is very impressionable and inclined to suffer states of melancholy or depression. Steve Bing may choose a profession where he is allowed to be his own boss.

His love feelings and desires are easily aroused but he may find it difficult to sustain his romantic interest in relationships after the initial, exciting “chase and conquest”. Steve Bing enjoys a dynamic partner with a strong independent streak, and he does not like things to become too peaceful or predictable in the love arena. Steve wants to see sparks fly once in awhile, even if it means instigating a fight.

Steve is attracted to foreigners, exotic places, traveling, and to people who can expand his horizons, teach him something, or show Bing places and worlds he has never experienced before. Sharing a philosophy or ideal with his love partner is important to him.

Also, Steve Bing feels love and kinship for people everywhere, not only with his own family, nationality, or group. Finding similarities and making links between people from differing backgrounds or with different perspectives is a gift of his.

Steve Bing thinks with both his mind and his heart and he has an unobtrusive, empathic intellect. Bing relates to others in an affable, considerate and thoughtful way and always seem to find the right words at the right time.

lauren tewes

2009-08-05T08:43:00.000-07:00

All your other Love Boat regulars are featured . Shelley Taylor Morgan and much more! ABC situation comedy The Love Boat.

Tewes caught various TV roles on shows like . Me and Seth MacFarlane. The actress lives here. Are We Ready to Get Some Dan Tanna on DVD at Last? Award Channing Street.

Display posts from previous: What Ever Happened to Love Boat Cruise Director Julie McCoy? Related posts brought to you by Yet Another Related Posts Plugin. It makes you wonder when Araki is going to find something else to think .

current tv

2009-08-05T08:34:00.000-07:00

CurrentCurrent, the TV network and social news web site that counts Al Gore as its Chairman, has reason to celebrate this afternoon. The two journalists working for the company that were detained in North Korea back in March have been freed following a visit to the country by former President Bill Clinton.

According to CNN, the release of Current’s Laura Ling and Euna Lee “came after former U.S. President Clinton met with top North Korean officials in Pyongyang.” Those officials included North Korean President Kim Jong Il, who was pictured with Clinton earlier today.

Ling and Lee were arrested while working on a story near the border between China and North Korea, and were swiftly sentenced to 12 years in labor camp. No official comment yet from Current regarding Ling and Lee’s release, but the story is receiving a huge amount of discussion on TwitterTwitter.

saved by the bell reunion photo

2009-08-04T07:39:00.000-07:00

ee Saved By The Bell Reunion Cover Photo of People Magazine below.
Twenty years after it all began, the cast of Saved By The Bell has reunited on the pages of the new issue of PEOPLE Magazine. When the cast of “Saved by the Bell” assembled for this week’s PEOPLE photo shoot and cover story, everyone breathed a sigh of relief-including Mario Lopez, who nearly missed the whole thing.

NBC’s Saturday Morning TNBC, Mario Lopez (Slater), Mark-Paul Gosselaar (Zack), Elizabeth Berkley (Jessie), Tiffani Thiessen (Kelly) and Lark Voorhies (Lisa) are back together in celebration of their days as the face. “Everybody knew the 20-year anniversary was coming up,” says Lopez. “This PEOPLE story has been in the works for over a year, long before (late night host) Jimmy Fallon started talking about it. We were all excited about it.”

According to MSNBC, But Lopez’s work ethic almost prevented the reunion from coming to fruition. “I’m so busy. I was concerned about my schedule,” says Lopez, who in the past year alone has danced on Broadway in “A Chorus Line,” become the new host of TV’s “Extra” and written a fitness book, “Mario Lopez’s Knockout Fitness.” The night before the PEOPLE shoot in Los Angeles he was making a public appearance in Canada, across the country, and arrived on set straight from the airport after a 7-hour flight.

It’s very smart of People magazine to pull something like this out. I mean, when the news of MJ is old and there is nothing around, why not bring together one of TV’s most famous gangs and go an expose on them? They haven’t changed that much and they all look good, still. Mario Lopez is still in the spotlight. The rest, no so much. Still, Elizabeth Berkeley’s Showgirls is one of the greatest movies ever.

cash for clunkers car list

2009-08-04T07:24:00.000-07:00

Cash For Clunkers Car List And Qualification-For those that don’t know what “cash for clunkers” is, it is a new program where the government will reimburse the car companies for giving you 4500 dollars for a car.Are you still unsure as to what vehicles qualify for the Cash for Clunkers program? The list keeps being updated daily, so its a good idea to check out this full list of eligible vehicles that we have found for you.

As reported from Edmunds, the list of vehicles is based on the current requirements needed for the Consumer Assistance to Recycle and Save Act, or CARS as its now more commonly known.

The list shows all the vehicles that have a a combined MPG of 18 mpg or less and also vehicles that have a current average national trade-in True Value Market price of $4,500 or less.

Check out the vehicle eligiblity list here to see if your car meets the requirements. We also have a separate article for you to read here, which helps you determine if you qualify or not.

implosion gone wrong

2009-08-03T10:56:00.000-07:00

A building implosion went totally wrong in Turkey the other day after narrowly missing a neighboring apartment buidling. Officials are unsure why it didn’t implode as planned and are currently looking into the matter. Luckily no one was hurt and no major damaged occured.

There are no results for Implosion Gone Wrong.

Apparently, the one-time flower factory was built a lot stronger than originally thought. I’m pretty sure someone got fired after this mishap.

Failed implosions seem to be pretty normal nowadays. Many of these so-called implosion experts do not correctly measure the mass of the building, thus incorrectly missing the implosion point.

turbulence

2009-08-03T10:49:00.000-07:00

The Christian Science Monitor takes a look at turbulence, noting it may be more common than passengers would expect. The publication writes that "for pilots who routinely fly several times a day, turbulence is a common occurrence. Severe turbulence, the kind that can cause injuries, is less common, but it's not as rare as one might think."

The FAA says turbulence is the "leading cause of injuries to airline passengers and flight attendants" in nonfatal accidents, the Monitor reports. The publication adds about 60 passengers a year get hurt from incidents relating to turbulence. "The primary reason: They're not wearing their seat belts," the Monitor writes.

UPDATE (12:50 p.m. ET on Monday Aug. 3): Bloomberg News updates the number of passengers injured on Continental Flight 128, saying "as many as" 37 injuries are now being blamed on the turbulence that forced the Brazil-to-Texas flight to make an emergency landing in Miami. Bloomberg writes: "Nine passengers were taken to the hospital after the Boeing 767-200 arrived at 5:35 a.m. local time, Dave Messing, a spokesman for the Houston-based carrier, said today in an e-mailed statement. About 28 more people were treated at the scene, he said." Initial reports had said about 26 passengers were injured in the incident.

UPDATE (11:33 a.m. ET on Monday, Aug. 3): The Associated Press notes Rio de Janeiro also was "the departure airport for Air France Flight 447 that crashed in the mid-Atlantic, more than 900 miles off Brazil's northeastern coast, in thunderstorms on June 1, killing all 228 people on board." Despite that, FAA spokeswoman Kathleen Bergen tells AP it's too early to draw any parallels between the two. "I wouldn't draw any conclusions and comparisons," Bergen says, noting the cause of the Continental incident is being investigated.

Bloomberg News also notes points out that the ill-fated Air France flight originated from Brazil. Bloomberg adds "turbulence accounted for 22% of all U.S. airline accidents from 1996 to 2005 and was responsible for 49% of the serious-injury accidents, the National Transportation Safety Board said in a report in March."

UPDATE (11:20 a.m. ET on Monday, Aug. 3): The latest version of the AP story says "the plane reported hitting severe turbulence at 4:30 a.m. and landed safely at 5:30 a.m, at Miami International Airport (FAA spokeswoman Kathleen Bergen) said. ... The airline released a statement that said the fasten seat belt sign was illuminated at the time and that about 28 passengers were treated in Miami. ... Passenger Fabio Ottolini of Houston said it was about 6 hours into the flight when he felt the aircraft suddenly drop."

" 'People didn't have time to do anything,' he said. Ottolini said flight attendents were serving items in the aisles when the turbulence hit. He said some flight attendants were thrown against the roof of the cabin and may have been among those injured." The BBC says "airline catering lorries with hydraulic lifts were reportedly used by rescue crews to get those hurt off the plane as quickly as possible."

"I have never seen anything like that in my life," Flight 128 passenger Richard Sharp said in an interview with FOX's Megyn Kelly, according to the network's website. "It was severe...like nothing that i have ever experienced ," added Sharp, who told that network he flies often. He described the turbulence as rocking "up and down and in a vertical motion." He said it lasted about 10 seconds, but threw people about the cabin and into the ceiling and overhead bins."They were pretty severely injured. The ones that were transported were mostly head injuries and fractures", Sharp told Fox.

The Miami Herald has more first-hand accounts from passengers on the flight while the Houston Chronicle covers the reaction from Houston, which is also the home to Continental's headquarters.

ORIGINAL POST: Severe turbulence injured 26 passengers and forced Continental Airlines Flight 128 to make an emergency landing this morning, The Associated Press reports. There were 168 passengers on the Rio de Janeiro-to-Houston flight, which landed in Miami at 6 a.m. ET, according to CNN. The network says "ambulances and other vehicles were lined up on the runway to treat and transport the injured passengers when the plane landed at Miami International Airport at about 6 a.m. ET." CBS 4 of Miami reports four passengers were sent to the hospital in serious condition while "another 22 with bumps and bruises are in stable condition." CNN says the Boeing 767 operating Flight 128 hit turbulence at 38,000 feet about 50 miles north of the Dominican Republic, according to an official with the Federal Aviation Administration.

newsbusters

2009-08-03T10:43:00.000-07:00

Newsbusters' Seton Motley couldn't have screwed this one up more badly if he had tried. The right-wing media critic picked a fight with New York Times columnist Paul Krugman, but only succeeded in making himself look like a fool.

Here's Motley, trying to ridicule Krugman's column about Toyota deciding to open a new plant in Ontario, Canada:

Krugman's Nobel-prize winning economic mind then offers up:

So what's the impact on taxpayers? In Canada, there's no impact at all: since all Canadians get government-provided health insurance in any case, the additional auto jobs won't increase government spending.

Really? Adding workers brought in from outside Canada to the government rolls won't increase government spending? A little of Krugman's new math: X plus 5,000 still somehow equals X.

Who said anything about "Adding workers brought in from outside Canada"? Not Krugman. In fact, Krugman specifically wrote that Toyota chose Canada in part because of the quality of Ontario's work force.

Oops.

Motley then purported to rebut a Krugman point about the quality of health care in Canada and the U.S. But while Krugman cited an actual study that used, you know, actual data and stuff to measure the effectiveness of various health care systems, Motley "rebutted" it by assertion:

The key words being "timely" and "effective" - two words never associated with government medicine.

OK, Motley didn't have data or studies to point do -- but he did have bold and italics to bolster his case. He must be right.

Then, at the end, Motley suggests Krugman do "a little due diligence and some rudimentary research."

huntington bank

2009-08-03T10:36:00.000-07:00

Huntington Bancshares Incorporated is a $52 billion regional bank holding company headquartered in Columbus, Ohio. Huntington has more than 143 years of serving the financial needs of its customers. We are a bank whose size makes people feel right at home, yet is more than large enough to provide them with access to all the resources they need. We like to think of Huntington as a local bank with national resources, and it’s just one of the things that makes us great. Our values – Communication, Teamwork, Accountability, Service, Diversity and Passion – define the way we think and act, and help to create extraordinary customer experiences. We demonstrate our commitment to the customer by delivering simply the best service—always.

Rebecca R. Smith

Rebecca Smith attended Ohio Wesleyan University, Delaware, Ohio completing a B.A. degree in 1977. Her M.B.A. degree was acquired at Oakland University in Rochester, Michigan in 1981. She started her banking career with NBD Bancorp in 1977 in retail, and after five years entered the loan officer/credit-training program in 1982. In 1983, she was moved to the Middle Market Lending Group as a Loan Representative in the Regional Banking Group, Bloomfield Hills, MI; followed by an assignment in National Banking where she spent the next two years responsible for developing relationships with large corporations located in Virginia, Maryland, and Washington D.C.

In 1987, she was asked to become the major credit exposure review officer as part of the Credit Administration leadership team, where she spent the next two years developing industry studies and lending strategies for the bank's largest credit exposures. In 1989, she was promoted back to a line sales position, Commercial Loan Manager, opening a commercial loan production office in Novi, Michigan until 1992. In 1992, she was promoted to Regional Bank Director in the Downriver Region of the bank in Wyandotte, Michigan where she remained until the end of 1995. During this time she was responsible for Retail Banking, Commercial and Consumer Lending for this region. In January 1996 as part of restructuring to a line of business organization, she was promoted to Middle Market Group Head for East Oakland County in Troy, Michigan.

In late 1997, Rebecca became the Division Head/President of the Equipment Leasing Division/NBD Equipment Finance in Detroit, Michigan. This subsidiary's lease portfolio was approximately $1 billion with 100 employees. She subsequently integrated the division into Bank One's Equipment Leasing subsidiary after that merger was announced. In 1998, her leadership/organization skills were further developed when she became the Commercial Banking Integration Director for the Bank One/First Chicago NBD merger. She spent the next year in an integration role for the Commercial Banking line of business. This was a position located in Chicago dealing with the executives and consultants merging the three organizations. After completing this role, Rebecca decided not to relocate and left Bank One. Rebecca was recruited in May 2000 to Old Kent Bank as President of East Michigan. In 2001 Fifth Third Bank acquired Old Kent. She was appointed Executive Vice President and Senior Leader for Fifth Third Eastern Michigan Commercial Banking; responsible for both Sales and Credit segments. At the time of Rebecca's departure from Fifth Third Bank in June 2005, the Commercial banking Division produced over half of the affiliate's net income with a portfolio approaching $3 billion and a total head count of 178 employees. Rebecca left Fifth Third Bank with a track record of growth, profitability, leadership in recruiting talent and championing the affiliate's Diversity initiative for two years. Rebecca joined Huntington National Bank as the East Michigan Regional President in December, 2006.

Rebecca resides in Birmingham with her husband, Dave, and three children.

huron consulting

2009-08-03T10:28:00.000-07:00

U.S. stocks traded higher Monday. The Dow Jones Industrial Average gained 88 points to 9259, the S&P 500 rose 12 points to 1000 and the Nasdaq Composite moved up 21 points to 2000. Among the companies whose shares are actively trading in the session are Ford Motor Co. (F), Huron Consulting Group Inc. (HURN) and Savient Pharmaceuticals Inc. (SVNT).

Ford's ($8.47, +$0.47, +5.88%) July sales increased year over year for the first time in nearly two years, helping boost shares along with hype behind the "cash for clunkers" program. Auto parts maker Dana Holding Corp. (DAN, $4.20, +$0.69, +19.60%) also climbed on the news, as Ford is its biggest customers. American Axle & Manufacturing Holdings Inc. (AXL, $2.68, +$0.48, +21.81%) - another volatile auto parts maker facing bankruptcy concerns - also traded higher, as did Modine Manufacturing Co. (MOD, $9.18, +$1.53, +20.00%), a maker of heating and cooling systems.

Huron ($14.30, -$30.05, -67.76%) late Friday said it will restate financial statements for 2006 to 2008 in addition to the first quarter. For all restated periods, the provider of financial and legal consulting services said it anticipates a hit of $57 million on income. The company blamed the acquisition of four businesses from 2005 to 2007 for the restatements. It also forecast revenue for this year and the second quarter below Wall Street's expectations.

Savient ($11.85, -$3.74, -23.99%) shares declined after the U.S. Food and Drug Administration said at this time it couldn't approve the drug company's application for its gout treatment Krystexxa. The agency said there are "deficiencies with the chemistry, manufacturing and controls" portion of the application for Krystexxa, along with problems with the latest draft of proposed labeling.

Shares of Orbitz Worldwide Inc. (OWW, $3.01, +$0.41, +15.77%) and Priceline.com Inc. (PCLN, $133.27, +$3.65, +2.82%) climbed Monday after analysts said the online travel-booking companies could beat second-quarter estimates. Benchmark boosted its stock-investment ratings for Orbitz and Priceline to buy from hold, saying "last week's impressive transaction volume gains" by peer Expedia Inc. (EXPE, $21.11, +$0.40, +1.93%) could signal upside surprise for the other online travel companies.

Oshkosh Corp. (OSK, $30.51, +$3.06, +11.15%) received an additional $1.06 billion order to deliver 1,700 military all-terrain vehicles to U.S. Army by February. The maker of specialty vehicles won an original $1.05 billion contract in June. The company said it's confident it will be able to ramp up production to 1,000 vehicles per month in December.

Zions Bancorp (ZION, $14.68, +$1.10, +8.08%) shares rose after Morgan Stanley recommended taking more risk in mid-cap banks. The firm highlighted Zion as one of three banks with the most upside potential after raising capital to work out problematic loans. Zion will keep suffering credit losses for several more quarters, the firm said, but contended the losses are already reflected in the share price. The firm's other two other picks were South Financial Group Inc. (TSFG, $1.75, +$0.14, +8.70%) and Webster Financial Corp. (WBS, $11.86, +$0.55, +4.86%).

   Other Stocks In Focus:

Administaff Inc.'s (ASF, $24.53, -$0.53, -2.11%) second-quarter earnings dropped 51% on increased benefits costs and falling margins. The human-resources provider's results missed expectations.

U.K. bank Barclays PLC (BCS, $21.91, +$1.37, +6.67%) Monday posted a 10% rise in first-half profit as it benefited from its purchase last year of Lehman Brothers' North American investment banking assets, which helped boost the performance of its own investment bank, Barclays Capital.

Barnes Group Inc. (B, $15.49, +$1.42, +10.09%) posted a 69% drop in second-quarter profit that reflected pressures in the transportation sector for the maker of precision components for the aerospace, automotive and other industries.

Clorox Co.'s (CLX, $59.22, -$1.79, -2.93%) fiscal fourth-quarter profit rose 7.6% on increased margins, despite flat revenue, as earnings beat analysts' views.

Colonial BancGroup Inc. (CNB, $0.50, -$0.11, -18.46%) reported earnings, excluding items, above Wall Street's expectations. But Colonial said it's seeking to sell or merge the company. In addition, the company will try to reduce expenses and initiate an exchange of bank level subordinated debt for senior notes. Among other possibilities are seeking sources of private capital and reducing assets.

Goldman Sachs cut its stock-investment rating on Comfort Systems USA Inc. (FIX, $10.92, -$0.86, -7.30%) - which provides heating, ventilation and air-conditioning systems - to sell from neutral, saying it believes the market is still in the early stages of a non-residential construction slowdown.

PT Freeport Indonesia, a unit of U.S. mining giant Freeport McMoRan Copper & Gold Inc. (FCX, $64.69, +$4.39, +7.28%), almost doubled its copper output and nearly tripled its gold output in the first half compared with the same period last year as a result of mining higher grade ores, a company spokesman said Monday.

Georgia Gulf Corp.'s (GGC, $23.80, +$6.51, +37.65%) shares extended last week's gains from amendments to its credit pact. It said Friday most of its seven-member board of directors have resigned or intend to resign as the plastics maker has been refinancing debt and trying to ride out a drop in demand in the chemical industry.

Green Mountain Coffee Roasters Inc. (GMCR, $66.91, -$3.54, -5.02%) said it plans to sell at least 4 million shares, equal to 10% of the current stock outstanding, as the specialty coffee maker tries to pay down debt.

Hampton Roads Bankshares Inc. (HMPR, $4.05, -$1.11, -21.46%) will offer up to 32.5 million shares in a highly dilutive offering. The Virginia-based bank also said its board voted Thursday to suspend its quarterly dividend, as the company said it swung to a second-quarter loss.

HSBC Holdings PLC (HBC, $54.37, +$3.67, +7.24%) on Monday continued to show losses at its U.S. consumer finance division, where it has been heavily exposed to the subprime market, but said that the economy was stabilizing and that customer delinquency showed signs of slowing down.

Humana Inc.'s (HUM, $34.32, +$1.47, +4.47%) second-quarter earnings rose 34% as revenue climbed, despite falling enrollment, on strong gains at its Medicare Advantage business. Earnings per share were in line with guidance, as revenue came in slightly ahead of analysts' expectations.

Loews Corp. (L, $31.65, +$1.63, +5.43%) reported Monday that its second-quarter profit slumped on a prior-year gain from discontinued operations, and its unit insurer CNA Financial Corp.'s (CNA, $19.75, +$2.70, +15.81%) profit fell 42%, as investment losses continue to pressure the companies' results.

Mercury General Corp.'s (MCY, $36.06, +$0.99, +2.82%) second-quarter profit jumped 62% as investment income tripled, while claims costs fell modestly amid a decline in premiums. That helped earnings handily top analysts' expectations. Many insurance companies continue to suffer from investment losses and a drop in consumer spending, including for homeowners and auto insurance. Mercury General has cut jobs and other costs in response.

MGIC Investment Corp.'s (MTG, $6.38, -$0.22, -3.33%) mortgage-insurance unit delayed its first payment to the MGIC division which will write new business and expects the planned $1 billion in capital to be reduced as it seeks to have the unit approved as an eligible mortgage insurer by Fannie Mae (FNM, $0.57, -$0.01, -1.34%) and Freddie Mac (FRE, $0.60, -$0.02, -2.90%).

MGM Mirage (MGM, $7.69, +$0.46, +6.37%) swung to a second-quarter loss amid charges and falling revenue as the debt-laden casino giant said demand is still down but it has seen some signs of a pickup in bookings. Other casino operators trading higher included Las Vegas Sands Corp. (LVS, $9.93, +$0.58, +6.20%), Wynn Resorts Ltd. (WYNN, $53.68, +$2.51, +4.91%) and Melco Crown Entertainment Ltd. (MPEL, $5.85, +$0.29, +5.22%).

Molson Coors Brewing Co. (TAP, $47.05, +$1.84, +4.07%) on Monday reported its second-quarter profit more than doubled amid the company's U.S. joint venture with SABMiller PLC (SAB.JO) while results topped analysts' expectations with Coors Light volume up 3%.

O'Reilly Automotive Inc. (ORLY, $39.59, -$1.07, -2.63%) was downgraded to underperform from market perform by FBR. The firm said it's taking a more cautious stance with after-market auto parts retail equities. It added that it believes that the equity market has become accustomed to significant earnings-per share beats, and it now looks less likely as O'Reilly starts to cycle the first full quarter of its 2008 acquisition of CSK Auto in fourth-quarter 2009.

Patriot Coal Corp. (PCX, $8.95, +$0.58, +6.93%) announced Monday it will close a surface mine in southern West Virginia in 60 days as the industry continues to cut back production.

Repros Therapeutics Inc. (RPRX, $1.28, -$1.25, -49.41%) suspended dosing in clinical trials of its Proellex drug for uterine fibroids and endometriosis after late last month reporting significantly higher levels of liver enzymes in patients at higher doses. The pharmaceuticals development company also said it is considering various funding options to address its immediate short-term liquidity needs. Shares plunged as Repros said if funding is unavailable, steps up to a bankruptcy filing or liquidation would be considered.

RRI Energy Inc. (RRI, $5.63, +$0.28, +5.23%), the former Reliant Energy, said Monday second-quarter income more than doubled on a gain from discontinued operations as revenue and demand continued to slump.

Thoratec Corp. (THOR, $25.15, +$0.01, +0.04%) said it ended its $282 million bid to acquire medical-device maker HeartWare International Inc. (HTWR, $22.00, -$0.59, -2.61%) after the Federal Trade Commission said it would challenge the deal in court.

Wendy's/Arby's Group Inc. (WEN, $4.87, +$0.29, +6.33%) "may have the best potential for big upside" among fast-food chains, UBS said, raising its stock investment rating to buy from neutral. Wendy's is underway on its restaurant margin improvement while new boneless wings have helped boost same-store sales to the 3% range, UBS said in a note to clients. The firm added the big upside, though, will "depend on Arby's ability to get out of the way of Wendy's Ebitda recovery." That appears to be happening as Arby's is planning value-oriented promotions in coming months to help traffic.

cash for clunkers requirements

2009-08-01T05:03:00.000-07:00

The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) will be administering the program. - Cash for Clunkers Requirements - Car dealers, not consumers, will need to register for the program on www.cars.gov, the only federal official website. If you have a car that is eligible, you can contact a local car dealership to help with the program. Dealer Registration for the program began on 7.24.2009 CARS.

Stay tuned to this website for news and details on the CARS program as they are released. By subscribing to our email alerts, you be the first to know when important details are released.

In an effort to sweeten the incentive for those who benefit from the allocation of government discount Car System (aka "cash-for-Clunkers"), Nissan would have sent its engineers back to the laboratory in order to squeeze the last mile from each gallon of fuel. As it is written, the program offers a sweet incentive when consumers are buying vehicles with greater efficiency (based on the difference in fuel economy between the vehicle purchased and the trade-in).

Put pressure on the Sentra four-cylinder engine gave a 1 mpg improvement - not bad for a few drivetrain tuning. If the EPA reviews and confirms the hump, the small gain in May to create the difference of 10 mpg Nissan whose clients need to start the $ 4500 credit.

girls gone wilde

2009-08-01T04:58:00.000-07:00

RENO, Nev.—A trial has been set for Sept. 22 for one of the former Washoe County sheriff's deputies accused of accepting bribes in exchange for giving preferential treatment to "Girls Gone Wild" creator Joe Francis while jailed in Reno in 2007.

Michon Mills of Carson City has pleaded not guilty to two federal counts of accepting a bribe.

Prosecutors accuse a Hollywood associate of Francis, Aaron Weintstein, of bribing Mills and two others while Francis was awaiting trial on tax evasion charges.

They say Weinstein gave Mills a Cartier watch worth about $4,500 and a $5,000 gift card to Saks Fifth Avenue.

Francis lawyer David Houston says Mills never got a gift card and gave back the watch when she found out how much it was worth.

thirteen ghosts

2009-08-01T04:55:00.000-07:00

Thirteen Ghosts (also known as Thir13en Ghosts or 13 Ghosts) is a horror film with a remake heritage, the present film is a remake of a film of same name directed by William Castle in 1960 which was also a remake of a film named House on Haunted Hill by the same director.

Saturday at 12.15 am MTV arranged to telecast Thirteen Ghost. Though 12.15 am was a perfect time for horror film but experts claimed that the film is not that scary but every aspects of horror was there- a strange house that shift walls itself - presence of strange powers- ghost hunter etc.

finding nemo

2009-08-01T04:52:00.000-07:00

Every year around this time, I try to get a sense of the laptop market by test-driving sample machines loaned by a handful of manufacturers. Most of this research flows into my annual guide to laptop shopping--which you can read in today's column--but as the laptop increasingly becomes the default home computer, these trials also provide me with a broader perspective on the state of the computing business.

shuttle landing

2009-07-31T09:09:00.000-07:00

Endeavour and its crew are safely home at Kennedy Space Center following their two-week, five-spacewalk mission.

Original post follows.

Space shuttle Endeavour and its seven-member crew are enroute to Kennedy Space Center in Florida. They'll be landing on Runway 15 at the Shuttle Landing Facility at 10:48 p.m. EDT.

The multinational crew of the space shuttle Endeavour prepared to return to Earth on Friday, following a marathon mission to the International Space Station.

There was only a slight chance that rain showers near NASA’s Kennedy Space Center runway in Florida might force the seven-member crew to spend an extra day in orbit, according to forecasters.

“It’s time to come back.” said Endeavour commander Mark Polanski, as the astronauts prepared the ship for its high speed descent.

“We have accomplished our primary objectives successfully.”

Endeavour has two opportunities to touchdown Friday: at 10:48am (1448 GMT) and 12:22 pm (1622 GMT).

Touchdown would end a long sojourn, during which the astronauts installed the final piece of Japan’s Kibo science laboratory and delivered spare parts crucial to the space station’s future operations.

The flight also saw a record number of astronauts aboard the 220-mile high orbital outpost, representing Europe, Japan, Canada Russia and the United States.

Inspections of the shuttle’s fragile heat shielding revealed no major damage after the long flight, according to Bryan Lunney, the NASA flight director, who will supervise landing operations from Mission Control.

“The vehicle is in great shape,” he said.

Kibo, the largest and best equipped of the space station’s major experiment facilities, required three shuttle missions over 16 months to assemble.

Endeavour’s crew carried out the last of the construction by joining a new external experiment platform to Japan’s primary science enclosure and separate stowage module.

The long shuttle flight was punctuated by moments of drama and some humor.

Four of the astronauts conducted a record-tying five spacewalks, including one outing that had to be cut short when one of the astronauts registered higher than expected readings of carbon dioxide inside his space suit, in what proved to be a temporary setback.

The spacewalkers went on to replace a half-dozen batteries in the station’s oldest power storage module, ensuring electricity for crucial life support systems and science experiments as the orbital outpost ages.

American Tim Kopra, who launched aboard Endeavour, will stay at the space outpost at least until early September. He replaced Koichi Wakata, Japan’s first long-duration astronaut.

Wakata, who had flown in space twice previously, returns to Earth aboard Endeavour after 138 days in space and a novel experiment in which he wore a single pair of underwear made from a bacteria resistant fabric for a month.

“My space station crew mates never complained,” he told an interviewer on Thursday.

Among the snags encountered during the mission was a temporary breakdown by one of the station’s two toilets soon after Endeavour docked.

Later, an American device that cleanses the station’s breathing air of carbon dioxide faltered as well. The untimely mishap threatened to force the shuttle astronauts to depart the station early until Mission Control devised a temporary solution.

Efforts to repair the air purifier were still under way aboard the station on Thursday.

Endeavour launched July 15 after five previous attempts to start the mission were scuttled for weather and technical reasons. Plans to lift off in June were stalled by an evasive hydrogen leak and daily thunderstorms at the Florida shuttleport.

As the seven shuttle astronauts finally roared into orbit, Endeavour’s underside heat shielding was sprayed by breakaway fragments of foam insulation from a region of the external fuel tank that previously had not been considered a source of debris.

Mission managers determined the damage was minor after two days of external inspections carried out by the astronauts.

However, the unexpected loss of foam prompted a round of testing on the shuttle Discovery’s fuel tank.

Discovery’s 11-day mission to deliver scientific equipment and other supplies to the space station has been delayed until late August by an unplanned round of tests to check the bonding on the foam insulation.

The shuttle’s fuel tank foam has been a source of concern for NASA since the 2003 loss of the shuttle Columbia.

The death of Columbia’s seven astronauts was blamed on undetected heat shield damage from a large piece of the foam that jackets the big tank.

NASA’s shuttle fleet is facing retirement in late 2010, and Endeavour’s mission reduces the number of remaining flights to seven.

Many of the missions that remain will haul equipment and other supplies to the station to extend activities well beyond the shuttle’s retirement.

The final flight, currently scheduled for launch on September 16, 2010, will deliver the Alpha Magnetic Spectrometer, an external observatory designed to measure cosmic radiation, as well as reveal levels of antimatter and dark matter.

jackson love child

2009-07-31T08:56:00.000-07:00

Omer Bhatti Michael Jackson Love Child - Joe Jackson did an interview with NewsOne where he confirmed that Omer Bhatti is indeed Michael Jackson’s son.Jackson said:

“Yes, I knew he had another son, yes I did.He looks like a Jackson, acts like a Jackson, can dance like a Jackson.”

Bhatti spent about 14 years living and traveling with Jackson.Joe Jackson: “Omer Bhatti is Michael’s Secret Son” video is after the jump.

capital one online banking

2009-07-31T08:49:00.000-07:00

One of the more popular online banking options nowadays is the ability to make payments online through an online bill paying service. Several banks, like Capital One Online Banking payments, are offering this service now, so we here atonline banks blog thought we’d better let you in on how it works.

Capital One Online banking is already a good service with a fast-loading website, secure access to your account information, etc. In addition to this, though, Capital One Online payments are offered, making paying your bills even easier.

All you need is the payee info (who gets paid), a schedule for when payments are to be made, and you’re done. The rest is automated for you. As long as you have the money in your account on the date the payment is to be made, Capital One Online Banking payments will do it for you.

You can get notices of when payments are made, go online to track and view them, etc. This takes a lot of the load off your mind and makes life easier. Saves stamps and trees too!

Capital One Online Banking payments center is worth trying if you’re a Capital One customer. You’ll likely find it a useful way to simplify your life.

the faculty

2009-07-31T08:44:00.000-07:00

Details still to be determined on faculty furloughs

CHICO — Employees at Chico State University were sent an e-mail from President Paul Zingg this week, outlining what is known about the upcoming staff furloughs and campus budget.

Numerous details have yet to be worked out before classes begin Aug. 24.

With the state budget, California State University campuses have been jarred by budget cutbacks that include a reduction of $584 million. Students at Chico State will pay an additional $978 a semester with the new budget.

Part of the budget package is two furlough days a month for most staff, which equals about 9.5 percent less in pay, which will save about $275 million systemwide.

Universities in the 23-campus system will also need to trim another $186 million from campus budgets.

VIEW California Faculty Association letter

VIEW President Paul Zingg's letter

One questions has been, and remains, how exactly will furloughs work. While less staffing is problematic in all departments, teachers have varied workloads, meet with students and grade papers, projects and tests.

In the letter sent to staff this week, Zingg said the California Faculty Association (the union for teachers) have entered talks about how the furloughs will work.

For other campus employees with furloughs, staff will take off the

bruce rossmeyer harley davidson

2009-07-31T08:39:00.001-07:00

Legendary Harley Davidson dealer, Bruce Rossmeyer was killed in a motorcycle accident yesterday. Rossemeyer was headed to Sturgis when he was killed while trying to pass a pickup truck.

According to the Wyoming State Patrol, Bruce Rossmeyer tried to pass a truck that was pulling a trailer. The truck was trying to turn left when the accident happened. Rossmeyer was thrown from his Harley after striking the driver side door and landed under the truck.

The police said the driver of the truck had his turn signal on. Rossmeyer was not wearing a helmet at the time of the accident.

News of Rossmeyer's death has shaken many of those attending Sturgis. Rossmeyer has been a beloved icon to the motorcycle community.

Bruce Rossmeyer Harley Davidson and Biography: Bruce Rossmeyer born in New Jersey in May 1943, Bruce Rossmeyer was a long-time resident of Ormond Beach. Bruce Rossmeyer and his wife Sandra also lived in Fort Lauderdale.

Bruce Rossmeyer Death: Bruce Rossmeyer Killed This Morning In Motorcycle Accident

They have five children, Mandy, Wendy, Randy, Will & Shelly.

One of the largest Harley-Davidson dealers in the nation, Rossmeyer also co-owned three automobile dealerships.

He acquired his first auto dealership, Rossmeyer Dodge, in Washington, New Jersey in 1969.

He opened his first motorcycle business, a Harley-Davidson dealership on Beach Street in Daytona Beach, in January 1994.

In the next 15 years, he became one of the nation’s largest Harley dealers, with 13 dealerships in Florida, Colorado, Massachusetts and Tennessee.

“Some other dealers may have more blades of grass, and someone else may sell more spark plugs than I do, but I sell the most motorcycles,” Rossmeyer told The News-Journal in 2007.

He opened the 109,000 square feet Destination Daytona in October 2005. In 2007, the company employed about 500, including 125 in Ormond, Daytona and New Smyrna.

Rossmeyer was known locally and in Broward County for his generous philanthropy and support of charities, especially those benefiting children.

He helped found and served on the board of directors for Camp Boggy Creek in Cassia, a division of The Hole in the Wall camps. He sponsored “Ride for Children,” the camp’s annual charity motorcycle ride.

He served on the executive committee of Boys & Girls Clubs of Volusia/Flagler Counties.

He was a sponsor for “Kyle Petty Ride Across America.” He also has served on the board of the Boys & Girls Clubs of Broward County and the Police Athletic League for the city of Daytona Beach.

He was a life member of the Alumni Association of the University of Southern Mississippi and was inducted into its Hall of Fame in October. According to University documents, he was a “significant contributor” to its college of business and athletics department. He received the school’s “Distinguished Entrepreneur of the Year Award” in 2003.

us senior open 2009

2009-07-30T09:05:00.000-07:00

For the second week in a row, the Champions Tour has a major. This week, it's the U.S. Senior Open, played at Crooked Stick in Indiana.

Last week it was the Senior Open Championship, won by Loren Roberts in a playoff. Third-round leader Greg Norman fell back on the final day, and British Open hero Tom Watson played well but wasn't a major factor.

Watson is one of the best ever, and proved at the British Open he can still scare the flatbellies. But he's probably not among the favorites at the U.S. Senior Open. The British Open was Watson's "perfect storm," so to speak: The right course, the right conditions, the right weather, the right time for his putting to look again (except on that 72nd green) like it did in 1977.

It's been a year since Watson won (albeit he hasn't played all that much over the past year), and Crooked Stick will play very long.

After the U.S. Senior Open, the Champions Tour takes two weeks off before playing another major, the Tradition. Three majors in a row on the senior circuit. That's how they roll.

erin andrews 911 call

2009-07-30T08:36:00.000-07:00

TMZ has obtained the audio from Erin Andrews’ recent call to 911. The ESPN sideline reporter called The Fuzz after she spotted “suspicious people” — in the case reporters — creeping around her Georgia home last week.

Apparently, Erin is still feeling the effects of the publicity that has dogged her since she was secretly videotaped walking naked in her hotel room earlier this month.

In the call, Andrews can be heard complaining: “I’ve been in the news recently about being in a hotel naked.” She goes on to say, “I did nothing wrong and I’m being treated like fucking Britney Spears and it sucks.”

In other words

TMZ.com has posted what it says is a 911 call from ESPN's Erin Andrews, to complain about paparazzi lurking outside her Georgia home. (We haven't confirmed the authenticity, but it sounds legit.)

It begins with Andrews referencing the peephole video of her, as she says, "I've been in the news recently about being in a hotel naked."

She later adds that, "I'm the girl that was videotaped without her knowing, without her clothes on in the hotel."

And her voice is clearly frustrated as she says, "I did nothing wrong and I'm being treated like f---ing Britney Spears and it sucks."

charo

2009-07-30T08:27:00.000-07:00

Charo Still Has Her Cuchi-Cuchi

This is a recent photo of the famous Latina singer Charo.

Charo is 67.

Or 57 if you believe her version of events.

The Colombian-born Charo is best known for her "Cuchi-Cuchi."

Charo's words, not mine.

I'd translate but that might screw me out of big advertising bucks.

CRICKETS CHIRPING.

Hey, if Charo can have a 50, oh, sorry, "40" year showbiz career....

Then why the hell not Mike Doe?

Other than my lack of boobs?

Or Cuchi-Cuchi.

sporting news top 50 coaches

2009-07-30T07:56:00.000-07:00

The top 50 greatest coaches of all time are:

SN’s greatest coaches

1. John Wooden, college basketball

2. Vince Lombardi, NFL
3. Bear Bryant, college football
4. Phil Jackson, NBA
5. Don Shula, NFL
6. Red Auerbach, NBA
7. Scotty Bowman, NHL
8. Dean Smith, college basketball
9. Casey Stengel, MLB
10. Knute Rockne, college football
11. Pat Summitt, women’s college basketball

12. Paul Brown, NFL
13. Joe Paterno, college football
14. George Halas, NFL
15. Chuck Noll, NFL
16. Bob Knight, college basketball
17. Joe Gibbs, NFL
18. Tom Landry, NFL
19. Mike Krzyzewski, college basketball
20. Bill Belichick, NFL
21. Adolph Rupp, college basketball

22. Joe McCarthy, MLB
23. Eddie Robinson, college football
24. Bobby Bowden, college football
25. John McGraw, MLB
26. Bill Walsh, NFL
27. Woody Hayes, college football
28. Connie Mack, MLB
29. Bud Wilkinson, college football
30. Pat Riley, NBA
31. Pete Newell, college basketball

32. Joe Torre, MLB
33. Bill Parcells, NFL
34. Tom Osborne, college football
35. Walter Alston, MLB
36. Bo Schembechler, college football
37. Toe Blake, NHL
38. Sparky Anderson, MLB
39. Al Arbour, NHL
40. Amos Alonzo Stagg, college football
41. Tony La Russa, MLB

42. Geno Auriemma, women’s college basketball
43. Dick Irvin, NHL
44. Ara Parseghian, college football
45. Chuck Daly, NBA
46. Bobby Cox, MLB
47. Hank Iba, college basketball
48. Tommy Lasorda, MLB
49. Gregg Popovich, NBA
50. Herb Brooks, NHL

iphone virus

2009-07-30T07:11:00.000-07:00

Apple has been peddling its iphone virus as being more secure than PCs simply because hackers could not be bothered targeting them.

However according to MSNBC the recent Black Hat security conference in Las Vegas has been dicing and slicing the iphone virus reputation for security with a number of exploits found in Apple's hardware and software.

Dino Dai Zovi disclosed a software flaw that hackers could use to take control of Macs and steal data that is scrambled to protect it from identity iphone virus.

The show has also been bad news for Iphone users, which were told that Apple's encryption is a joke and that the Jesus phone could be broken into by someone sending you an SMS.

The show was told that if Macs gain market share there will be a danger that hackers will start having a look under the bonnets of the machines. If they do, iphone virus they will find it pretty easy to defeat them, presenters said.

Dai Zovi, who is the co-author of "The Mac Hacker's Handbook," said that once hackers start to put substantial resources into targeting iphone virus, they will be at least as vulnerable as Windows machines.

He said that there is no magic fairy dust protecting Macs, despite the belief of Apple's fanboys that Steve Job's aura is the only anti-virus protection you need.

Charlie Miller, co-author of "The Mac Hacker's Handbook," said that the Mac OS will be easier to crack than Windows because it is bigger and less concisely written. This means that there is more room for vulnerabilities and bugs. iphone virus

Another problem is that Apple has learned nothing from Microsoft in dealing with exploits. Microsoft has changed its attitude to start fixing exploits quickly. However Apple still goes through a phase of denying that problems exist before it looks at them.iphone virus

Madonna photos

2009-07-29T09:36:00.000-07:00

Madonna photos the latest hot topic in news world, If u wana amazing madonna photos so there are..
Madonna biceps photos have amazed one and all. Having the sort of muscles that professionals may have after fifty years of age is not possible for lesser mortals.

Health experts say that Madonna's veiny arms may be the result of over-exercise and dehydration.
She has managed to get back in the limelight this weekend after shutter bugs spotted her in the semi raw with the type of physique that would make a/ most heroin users drool, b/ most medical students weep and c/ most magazine editors wince.

That of course is nothing one way or another as Madonna preeminent pop star and marketing mogul is constantly on the go to transform the fantasy that you wish to see her reside in.

We just like to thank Madonna for having the stamina and the discipline to look the way she does, even if what she looks like isn’t anyone’s particular view of hot.

Then again, 400 push ups a day and running 16 miles with a log around your neck is bound to have some results. Yeah Madonna!

At fifty years, Madonna’s face looks like a thirty year old woman. Many women will di for a face like her.

But her hands are not only disappointing many of her fans, but also industry insiders.

Madonna is among all time favorite singer, recording artist, actress and entrepreneur. Born in Bay City, Michigan and raised in Rochester Hills, Michigan, she moved to New York City in 1977, for a career in modern dance. After performing as a member of the pop musical groups Breakfast Club and Emmy, she released her self-titled debut album, Madonna in 1983 by Sire Records.