Does PETA Have a Legitimate Beef with The Grey?

Joe Carnahan probably knew he was in for something of a tussle when his latest film, the survival actioner/mortality meditation The Grey, began drawing criticism from animal activist groups sight unseen even before it debuted (at #1, no less) last weekend. But then PETA posted its own twofold complaint regarding the depiction of wolves in the film and the reported eating of wolf meat on Carnahan?s set, escalating the anti-Grey fight. The question is, does PETA have a legit beef with The Grey?

In a blog entry posted to the official PETA website, the organization blasts Carnahan on two fronts for being ?rotten to wolves from the get-go.? First, the more general grievance: The Grey, they say, makes wolves look bad.

?The writers paint a pack of wolves living in the Alaskan wilderness as bloodthirsty monsters, intent on killing every survivor of a plane crash by tearing each person limb from limb,? claims PETA, when in actuality wolves ?shy away from? humans.

Carnahan?s film (scripted by Ian MacKenzie Jeffers from his own short story) takes fairly diligent measures to portray its wolves as agents of nature, dangerous to be sure but with their own reasons for attacking Liam Neeson?s Ottway and his fellow oil rig workers. They?re glimpsed in the dark all glowing eyes and howling breaths and are seen tearing unfortunate victims to bloody pieces, but are they ?monsters,? or simply animals acting on their natural impulses to defend their territory from encroaching human invaders?

Speaking earlier this month in Los Angeles, Carnahan explained his take on the wolves of The Grey. ?I think the wolves are a facet of and thereby a force of nature, but they?re no different in my mind than the river, than the blizzard, than the cliffside,? he said. ?They are component parts of a whole, which is nature. And for all of its beauty there?s equal parts hostility.?

To this end, every front facing the men of The Grey has the potential for death ? the blizzard conditions that fell their airplane, the freezing cold, the river, the harsh terrain. A polar bear, cut from the film, was to have posed a similar threat. Its inclusion may have slightly lessened the weight of the wolves as the film?s only animal foes, but the theme remains the same: It?s not that these things are evil, but that man ? stripped of his weapons and the trappings of civilization -- can only infringe so far on the dominion of nature and its creatures. Watch The Grey and you come away with a deep respect for these animals and their somewhat anthropomorphized qualities ? their intricate pack relations, capacity for loss, and sense for what one character intimates as revenge. Man?s folly is in thinking himself above mortality.

Besides: If Carnahan wanted to vilify wolves as his film's antagonists, a la sharks in Jaws, that would be a matter of creative license. Do you see the Syfy Channel attacked for propagating irresponsible messages about Mega Snakes and Sharktopi?

Verdict on this count: Carnahan 1, PETA 0.

PETA?s other contention is a bit trickier. According to reports, Carnahan flew in a batch of frozen wolf meat for his cast to munch, Method-style, in preparation for a scene in the film. ?[Carnahan] bought the meat from a trapper, meaning that the wolves likely suffered horribly in traps before being killed,? wrote PETA, calling this move a reneging on a promise by the filmmakers to ?use only computer-generated imagery and animatronic wolves.? [UPDATE: The Province spoke to trapper Dick McDiarmid for his account of providing wolf carcasses to the production.]

Taking to Twitter, Carnahan shot back. ?To suggest otherwise is cheap and uninformed,? he wrote in just one of a series of Tweets on the matter. ?Not a single animal was harmed for the making of this film.? [UPDATE: Carnahan Tweeted directly to Movieline to clarify in plain terms: "...There was no trapping or hunting. We didn't harm a single wolf in the making of this film."]

And this: ?Guys, I donate $100 a month to the Humane Society to prevent canned hunting of all kinds. Protestors. Look up my records & SHUT THE FUCK UP.?

Colorful language aside, Carnahan insists that no animals were harmed in the making of the film, but does he escape culpability if said animals were trapped and killed prior to filming by third parties, then utilized in the service of the film? Even if Carnahan didn?t buy the wolf meat to order ? if it was in ?some guy??s basement freezer for six months before the cast of The Grey chowed down, having ostensibly been killed for practical reasons ? is Carnahan culpable for supporting the kill after the fact?

Here's a note from the American Humane Association (via Box Office Magazine), which did send a certified representative to observe filming but conspicuously did not lend its ?No Animals Were Harmed? seal of approval to the credits roll, explaining the omission:

?American Humane Association monitored the live animal action during the filming of The Grey. Our Certified Animal Safety RepresentativeTM on the set of the movie ensured the humane treatment of all of the animals used in this film. The movie does not however carry the American Humane Association "No Animals Were Harmed"? end-credit certification. Our process in awarding the end-credit includes a screening of the locked motion picture, which we were not given. Productions must be screened to determine cohesiveness with all of our on-set documentation.?

As for the wolf meat accusations, AHA had this to add: ?Online allegations regarding the consumption of wolf meat by cast members of The Grey, have not been verified and sources within the production and distribution entities have not returned our phone calls of inquiry. American Humane Association does not permit the trapping and/or killing of any animals for use in filmed entertainment.?

Most AHA animal monitoring concerns the use of living animals in productions, but they do have guidelines regarding the use of dead animals, essentially requiring proper documentation and receipts for transactions that proves the animals were "destroyed in the normal course of the source?s operations and were not killed for the production."

So Movieliners, let?s hash this one out. Does PETA have legit ground to stand on with either or both of their complaints against The Grey, or was Carnahan right when he Tweeted the following to his critics: ?Wolfaboo wackos. Your insane rants about us killing wolves only makes the movie more of a curiosity and thus, more successful. Keep it up!??

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Source: http://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/1924416/news/1924416/

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Cuba's Communists map out party future (AP)

HAVANA ? Cuba's Communist leaders vowed not to cede any ground to "the enemy," even as they pledged to fight corruption and continue overhauling the island's listing Marxist economy with an injection of free market reform.

No word of long-awaited political changes ? including an April pledge by President Raul Castro to implement term limits ? seeped out of the first day of the closed-door party conference. Nor was there any hint of changes to the aged upper ranks of the party hierarchy. President Raul Castro is 80, and his two top deputies are 81 and 79, respectively.

Castro has spoken of the need to revitalize the island's leadership, but has complained there are few young leaders ready to step up. He, or his now-retired brother Fidel, have ruled the country since their 1959 revolution.

"Making the necessary changes, but without the smallest concession to the enemy," read the headline in Sunday's official Juventud Rebelde newspaper, an apparent reference to the United States and other government opponents.

The theme was echoed by delegates at the conference in snippets of the session shown on state television

"The enemy is waiting to create internal problems for us," Angel Bueno warned fellow attendees.

Raul Castro was to address the delegates in a closing speech Sunday, according to state-run website Cubadebate, though it was not clear if his words would be televised or rebroadcast at some point. Attendees did pledge to boost the ranks of women, Afro-Cubans and young people in the party and government, and noted that women currently make up 37 percent of the government, and 41 percent of delegates to the island's National Assembly.

But there were no concrete resolutions, and Castro's recent comments not to expect fireworks out of the internal meetings dampened expectations any major announcements were coming.

The meetings are a follow-up to last April's historic party summit, which opened up long-shut doors of economic opportunity by green-lighting the legalization of home and car sales, expansion of private-sector activity and extension of loans to support farmers, entrepreneurs and homeowners.

Foreign journalists were not allowed access to the weekend event.

State-run website Cubadebate showed photos of Castro presiding over the conference wearing a gray blazer and a dark, open-collar shirt, with what appeared to be a small bandage on the tip of his nose. There was no word of any appearance by Fidel Castro, who was greeted with a standing ovation and some tears at the April congress.

In a brief snippet of video posted on Cubadebate, Vice President Jose Ramon Machado Ventura said in a keynote speech that the conference would focus on "the everyday work of the organization."

___

Follow Paul Haven at http://www.twitter.com/paulhaven/

Source: http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/latam/*http%3A//news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20120129/ap_on_re_la_am_ca/cb_cuba_communist_party_conference

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Storms leave dozens of pets boarded in Pinson, Clay (gallery and ...

BIRMINGHAM, Alabama -- Lori and Christopher Theriot credit a 9-year-old mutt with saving their lives during the overnight tornado that ripped the roof off their home in the Pinson/Clay area last week.

"Dawson bought us the extra five minutes we needed to grab our essentials and get to a safe place," said Chris Theriot.

Dawson doesn't like storms, and while he'll usually try to get as close to his humans as possible, on this particular night he was barking and trying to jump to get in bed with the couple.

In truth, Dawson was an accidental hero, but the Theriots say that doesn't matter; what matters is that they were able to stand outside their destroyed home in shoes and warm clothes.

The Theriots were lucky; they lost their home, but they and their family -- including their 5-year-old daughter and Dawson -- escaped unharmed. They also were able to go, together as a four-member family, to stay with Lori's parents.

For about 90 dogs and cats in the storm-ravaged area, that wasn't the case. Of that number, about 70 are being boarded because their owners homes were damaged. The remainder were found wandering in neighborhoods near those affected by the storm.

Damaged homes meant a stay in an animal clinic or shelter; in one case, animals already staying overnight in a clinic had to be moved when the clinic was destroyed.

The storm tore off most of the roof at James Wallace's Parkway Veterinary Clinic in Center Point, but the area where about 20 animals were housed was untouched. Veterinarians from the area acted quickly to help get the pets to safety.

"It was amazing how the community came together," said Mark Pelham, a veterinarian at Kelley Animal Hospital in Center Point.

Pelham said he was boarding about a dozen of the Parkway animals; 10 more were are at Pinson Animal Hospital, according to veterinarian Patrice Woodruff.

Trussville Animal Hospital has become a temporary home to about 17 dogs and cats that lived in houses that were damaged; Clay-Chalkville Animal Clinic has about 20.

The clinics as well as area shelters currently have about 20 dogs and cats that were found wandering in the area hardest hit by the storm.

"This is nowhere near what it was in April," said Phil Doster, spokesman for Birmingham-Jefferson County Animal Control. "We have about eight pets from the storm right now, and we know who almost every one of them belongs to."

Doster said he wouldn't be surprised if a lot of displaced animals show up this week. He said animals often will go into hiding, then start coming out when they get really hungry.

He said animal control representatives have been delivering food and bowls to the areas affected by the storm, and he encouraged anyone who is missing a pet to contact the shelter.

"If we pick up an animal in the storm areas, we will hold it indefinitely," Doster said.

Deerfoot Animal Clinic is accepting donations of blankets, food, crates -- "anything a pet would need," said Jackie Oser.

Mission PAWSible, a project of the Animal League of Birmingham, also is accepting donations of pet necessities. Hollywood Feed stores in Mountain Brook and Greystone are serving as drop-off points for the donated items.

The league works with rescues and shelters in the metro Birmingham area to provide money and goods, particularly to smaller groups that often work either with small staffs or through volunteers.

"We lend a hand whenever we can," said Tina Willard, league president.

Pelham, the vet at Kelley Animal Hospital, said the clinic is keeping a list of lost and found dogs, but he also urged anyone who finds a displaced pet to check with the Alabama Pet Registry.

"We check for microchips," Pelham said. "It really is a lot easier to reunite pets with their owners when we can read a microchip."

He said many dogs -- including his -- have a fear of storms. They tend to run and hide if not contained; even if they are inside, they are likely to run if the house is damaged.

Dawson kept his family safe

Dawson -- that reluctant hero dog -- is afraid of storms, which is why he inadvertently helped keep his family safe.

During storms, Dawson usually can be found next to the bed, whimpering to snuggle with his humans until the danger passes. Last Monday night, however, he was especially persistent, and the Theriots are grateful to the 25-pound mixed breed dog they adopted years ago from the Shelby Humane Society.

"When Dawson woke us up, we turned on the TV and heard that the tornado was in the Pinson area," Lori Theriot said. "I decided that since the storm was close, we should be prepared."

She and her husband got out of bed, put on some warm clothes and tennis shoes, then got their daughter up and dressed. They got wallets and cellphones, then headed to the bathroom where they put on their bicycle helmets and crouched in the tub. Lori had even gotten a stroller so she could put their child and Dawson in it if necessary.

She knew they had done the right thing when she felt her ears pop and saw debris floating around the bathroom.

"Two beams came through the ceiling," Lori Theriot said. "The storm had torn the roof off the house."

As she stood outside what was left of the one-story home she and her husband had lived in the past 10 years, she was grateful to Dawson.

"He was the catalyst," she said. "He gave us the five extra minutes we needed."

Join the conversation by clicking to comment or email Kennedy at vkennedy@bhamnews.com.

Source: http://blog.al.com/spotnews/2012/01/dozens_of_pets_remain_boarded.html

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Source: http://www.wwe.com/shows/wrestlemania/28/axxess-tickets

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Afghans blast French plan to withdraw troops early

Afghanistan's President Hamid Karzai, center, France's Defence and Veterans Minister Gerard Longuet, left, and French General and Paris military governor Bruno Dary, right, pay tribute to the Unknown soldier's tomb, at the Arc of Triomphe, in Paris, Friday Jan. 27, 2012. (AP Photo/Lionel Bonaventure, Pool)

Afghanistan's President Hamid Karzai, center, France's Defence and Veterans Minister Gerard Longuet, left, and French General and Paris military governor Bruno Dary, right, pay tribute to the Unknown soldier's tomb, at the Arc of Triomphe, in Paris, Friday Jan. 27, 2012. (AP Photo/Lionel Bonaventure, Pool)

Afghanistan's President Hamid Karzai arrives prior to laying a wreath on the Unknown soldier's tomb, at the Arc de Triomphe, in Paris, Friday Jan. 27, 2012. (AP Photo/Lionel Bonaventure, Pool)

Afghanistan's President Hamid Karzai, second from right, France's Defence and Veterans Minister Gerard Longuet, third from right, and French General and Paris military governor Bruno Dary, fourth from right, pay tribute to the Unknown soldier's tomb, at the Arc of Triomphe, in Paris, Friday Jan. 27, 2012. (AP Photo/Lionel Bonaventure, Pool)

France's President Nicolas Sarkozy, front right, and Afghanistan's President Hamid Karzai, second from left, sign a friendship and cooperation treaty at the Elysee Palace in Paris, Friday, Jan. 27, 2012. (AP Photo/Philippe Wojazer, Pool)

KABUL, Afghanistan (AP) ? France's plans to withdraw its combat troops from Afghanistan a year early drew harsh words Saturday in the Afghan capital, with critics accusing French President Nicolas Sarkozy of putting domestic politics ahead of Afghans' safety.

A wider proposal by Sarkozy for NATO to hand over all security to Afghans by the end of next year also came under fire, with one Afghan lawmaker saying it would be "a big mistake" that would leave security forces unprepared to fight the Taliban insurgency and threaten a new descent into violence in the 10-year-old war.

Sarkozy's decision, which came a week after four French troops were shot dead by an Afghan army trainee suspected of being a Taliban infiltrator, raises new questions about the unity of the U.S.-led military coalition.

It also reopens the debate over whether setting a deadline for troop withdrawals will allow the Taliban to run out the clock and seize more territory once foreign forces are gone.

"Afghan forces are not self-sufficient yet. They still need more training, more equipment and they need to be stronger," said military analyst Abdul Hadi Khalid, Afghanistan's former interior minister.

Khalid said the decision by Sarkozy was clearly political. Sarkozy's conservative party faces a tough election this year, and the French public's already deep discontent with the Afghan war only intensified when unarmed French troops were gunned down by an Afghan trainee Jan. 20 at a joint base in the eastern province of Kapisa.

Sarkozy announced France's new timetable on Friday alongside Afghan President Hamid Karzai, who was in Paris for a previously planned visit. He also said Karzai had agreed with him to ask for all international forces to hand security over to the Afghan army and police in 2013, a plan he would present at a Feb. 2-3 meeting of NATO defense ministers in Brussels.

In what could be seen as a gentle rebuke to France, British Prime Minister David Cameron said in London on Saturday that withdrawals must depend on security conditions on the ground.

"The rate at which we can reduce our troops will depend on the transition to Afghan control in the different parts of Afghanistan and that should be the same for all of the members of NATO who are all contributing and helping to (build) a strong, stable and peaceful Afghanistan, which is in all our interests,'" he said after meeting with Karzai.

Afghan lawmaker Tahira Mujadedi said Afghan security forces will not be ready in time for any early NATO withdrawal, saying the current timetable already is rushing the training of national forces.

"That would be a big mistake by the Afghan government if they accept it," Mujadedi said of Sarkozy's plan. "In my view, they should extend 2014 by more years instead of cutting it short to 2013."

She said she sympathizes in the matter of the French soldiers' deaths, but argued that they present no logical reason for France to deviate from the U.S. timetable for NATO to hand over security by 2014.

"When military forces are present in a war zone, anything can happen," Mujadedi said. The French troops "are not here for a holiday."

France now has about 3,600 soldiers in the international force, which is mostly made up of American troops.

Afghan forces started taking the lead for security in certain areas of the country last year and the plan has been to add more areas, as Afghan police and soldiers were deemed ready to take over from foreign troops.

According to drawdown plans already announced by the U.S. and more than a dozen other nations, the foreign military footprint in Afghanistan will shrink by an estimated 40,000 troops at the close of this year. Washington is pulling out the most ? 33,000 by the end of the year. That's one-third of 101,000 U.S. troops that were in Afghanistan in June, the peak of the U.S. military presence in the war, Pentagon figures show.

Sarkozy also said France would hand over authority in the province of Kapisa, where the French troops were killed this month, by the end of March. Karzai's office confirmed that decision Saturday, saying it was made at the French president's request.

The NATO coalition has started to hand over security in several areas of Afghanistan, aiming to transfer about half of the country in the coming months. But Kapisa was not one of the provinces earmarked for handover, according to U.S. Navy Lt. James McCue, a coalition spokesman.

Mujadedi, a lawmaker who represents Kapisa, argued that Afghan forces in her province are not ready to go it alone in fighting the Taliban insurgency, which is especially strong in several of the province's districts. She warned that if NATO forces do pull back from Kapisa, it could also destabilize nearby Kabul.

"We have had so many attacks, ambushes and also suicide attacks in Kapisa," Mujadedi said. "Unfortunately, our national police and army, while present in Kapisa, are unable to provide good security for people."

France's early withdrawal announcement could step up pressure on other European governments like Britain, Italy and Germany, which also have important roles in Afghanistan.

Karzai, who praised the role of France and other NATO allies, didn't object at Friday's joint news conference when Sarkozy said the 2013 NATO withdrawal timetable was sought by both France and Afghanistan.

However, the Afghan leader appeared to suggest that it was a high-end target.

"We hope to finish the transition ... by the end of 2013 at the earliest ? or by the latest as has been agreed upon ? by the end of 2014," Karzai said.

Nick Witney, a senior policy fellow at the Paris-based European Council on Foreign Relations, said public support of the war in Europe started sliding fast after the coalition agreed to end the combat mission in 2014.

"It has become more and more difficult to justify every single casualty, since it's now clear that these are wasted lives," said Witney, a former head of the European Defense Agency.

"Most European policymakers realize that on a purely cost-benefit assessment, we would all leave Afghanistan tomorrow," Witney said.

___

Associated Press writers Slobodan Lekic in Brussels and Jill Lawless in London contributed to this report.

Associated Press

Source: http://hosted2.ap.org/APDEFAULT/cae69a7523db45408eeb2b3a98c0c9c5/Article_2012-01-28-AS-Afghanistan/id-2979822928014ee2906892c74ede82e5

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Video: Facebook IPO Impact on Social Media

News that Facebook could launch its IPO next Wednesday is lifting stocks with exposure to Facebook. CNBC's Kayla Tausche & Julia Boorstin, and Harry Rady, Rady Asset Management, discuss the ripple effects of its IPO on social media stocks.

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Gingrich ad labels Romney 'dishonest man'

WASHINGTON (AP) ? TITLE: "What Kind of Man?"

LENGTH: 1 minute

AIRING: On broadcast and cable stations in Florida.

KEY IMAGES: The ad begins with footage of former Arkansas Gov. Mike Huckabee, who ran against Romney in the 2008 GOP presidential contest, talking into the camera. "If a man's dishonest to get a job, he'll be dishonest on the job," Huckabee says.

Downbeat music starts playing. A narrator intones darkly as a blurry image of former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney slowly comes into focus. "What kind of man would mislead, distort, and deceive just to win an election?" the male voice asks. "This man would. Mitt Romney."

As a series of photos of Romney from recent debates flash across the screen, a bright red "false" stamp flashes across a different picture of Romney, who appears pained.

"Romney said he has always voted Republican when he had the opportunity," the narrator says. "But in the 1992 Massachusetts primary, Romney had the chance to vote for George H.W. Bush or Pat Buchanan but he voted for a liberal Democrat instead."

The narrator continues: "Romney said his investments in Fannie and Freddie were in a blind trust. But as reported in the National Journal, Romney earned tens of thousands of dollars from investments NOT in a blind trust. Romney denied seeing a false ad his campaign used to attack Newt Gingrich. But Romney's own campaign paid for the ad ... Romney's own voice is on the ad approving the content.

"If we can't trust Romney in a debate, how can we trust him on anything?"

As the final line is read, a picture of Romney with his head bowed appears with text next to it that is superimposed over a shot of the White House. It reads, ".... and that's why he would lose to Barack Obama."

The ad signs off with "Paid for by Newt 2012."

ANALYSIS: From disappointing losses in Iowa and New Hampshire to a soaring victory in South Carolina, the level of vitriol in Gingrich's attacks on Romney has waxed and waned. After scaling back his barbs in two debates, Gingrich has seen his numbers slip. Opinion polls show a close race in Florida, with a slight advantage for Romney. This ad dramatically escalates Gingrich's attacks on Romney.

It is by far Gingrich's sharpest, most personal attack on the former Massachusetts governor to date. "What Kind of Man?" also seems to signal that Gingrich will fight bitterly for the GOP nomination.

The ad curiously begins with Huckabee, currently a TV personality and popular conservative Republican figure. Gingrich may be hoping to remind viewers that, at least four years ago, Romney's fellow presidential aspirants could barely contain their anger at him. Huckabee hasn't endorsed in this year's contest.

As a narrator takes over, the ad makes a series of claims that Romney could justifiably dispute.

It alleges that Romney voted for Democrats when he could have voted for Republicans. While this is technically true of the 1992 Massachusetts primary, Romney has said repeatedly that he was a registered independent so he could have more influence in a state where Democrats typically dominate. Romney has maintained that he has always voted for Republicans in general elections, and voted in the Democratic primary so he could vote for a weaker candidate and improve the GOP's chances.

As Gingrich's ad asserts, National Journal did report that Romney's investments in mortgage companies Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac were not in a blind trust. And Romney's personal financial disclosure forms show he owned between $250,001 and $500,000 in the Federated Government Obligation Fund, which contained mutual-fund notes of politically sensitive Fannie and Freddie. An addendum to Romney' disclosure forms says certain assets, including the federated fund, were outside the scope of his blind trust. The investment was not on Romney's 2007 financial form, making it a relatively new one coming just as the housing and financial crises were hitting Americans full force.

Romney and his campaign have, nonetheless, denied that he had any knowledge of his large investment in the fund.

The final factual claim, that Romney says he had no knowledge of an ad from his campaign against Gingrich, is true. Also true is that Romney's voice can be heard at the end of the ad, approving its message. But there is no way to determine whether Romney saw the ad before his campaign put it on the air.

Beyond the ad's specific claims, Gingrich has chosen to take an unusually personal tone that effectively calls his opponent untrustworthy and a liar. That's a sign both of Gingrich's frustration and the high stakes. Both Gingrich and Romney believe a Florida victory could catapult them to the Republican nomination.

The ad is also a variation on a theme Gingrich has tried to push about Romney. Gingrich's campaign wants voters to see Romney as a flip-flopper and someone who will say anything to get elected. But this ad is stripped of even a patina of civility.

As Romney has done before him, Gingrich also raises the specter of a second term for President Barack Obama as the consequence of voting for his opponent. Both candidates seem to be talking past each other on the issue of electability. In Iowa and New Hampshire, Romney was viewed by voters as more electable. In South Carolina, where Gingrich jolted the race with a victory, he was viewed as the candidate with the best chance of beating Obama.

One thing both campaigns seem to agree on is Obama's effectiveness as a bogeyman in GOP primaries.

___

Follow Henry C. Jackson on Twitter: (at)hjacksonap

Associated Press

Source: http://hosted2.ap.org/APDEFAULT/89ae8247abe8493fae24405546e9a1aa/Article_2012-01-27-Gingrich-AdWatch/id-96e922b24eae42d3bc69140a99f1f087

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Early Morning Open Thread: Happy Australia Day! (Balloon Juice)

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Group calls for U.S. to break up Bank of America (Reuters)

(Reuters) ? A group of consumer advocates, academics and economists want to end "too-big-to-fail" banks, starting with Bank of America Corp.

The group, led by consumer advocacy organization Public Citizen, plans to file a petition with the Federal Reserve Board and other regulators on Wednesday asking them to carve the bank into simpler, safer pieces.

The Fed and the coalition of regulators known as the Financial Stability Oversight Council have the authority to take such action under the Dodd-Frank financial reform law passed in 2010, the group said.

Nearly two dozen professors and groups have joined the effort.

It's not clear how much effect the petition will have, and some community groups have declined to sign on.

However, the petition is a dramatic criticism of regulators who have so far done little to shrink giant banks after the 2007-2009 financial crisis.

"Bank of America currently poses a grave threat to U.S. financial stability by any reasonable definition of that phrase," the 24-page petition said.

It said Bank of America, the nation's second-largest bank, is too large and complex, and that its financial condition could deteriorate rapidly at any moment, potentially causing the market to lose confidence in the bank.

"An ensuing run on the bank could cause a devastating financial crisis," the petition said.

David Arkush, director of Public Citizen's Congress Watch division, said a lot of the group's concerns apply to other large banks, but that Bank of America is the institution most exposed to the housing crisis.

"Regulators need to get ahead of this and act proactively to reform Bank of America," Arkush said.

Bank of America has had a tough time emerging from the financial crisis, particularly because of mortgage losses tied to its 2008 Countrywide Financial purchase.

The bank's stock slid 58 percent last year as investors expressed disappointment with the speed of a turnaround and fear about the bank's ability to comply with new capital rules.

Bank of America has fared better this year. It reported improved capital levels in its fourth-quarter earnings report last week, and its stock has risen 31 percent since the start of the year.

Arkush said he doesn't expect regulators to immediately act on the group's petition.

Dodd-Frank includes mechanisms for regulators to break up large financial firms, but it includes high hurdles for such action.

Bank of America, the Fed and the Treasury declined to comment on the planned petition.

Some community groups decided to pass on signing the entreaty. Janis Bowdler, an official with the National Council of La Raza, said the letter was distributed on a list-serve for a coalition called Americans for Financial Reform, but her group decided not to join up.

"I don't want to downplay the concerns that were raised," said Bowdler, "but for now, a strong housing market and cleaning up Countrywide is the priority for us."

NCLR is a national Hispanic civil rights organization. It receives financial support from Bank of America.

The Center for Responsible Lending, which has been critical of banks for mortgage lending practices, has also declined to participate. CRL president Mike Calhoun declined comment.

Bank of America was one of the large banks that received a government bailout during the financial crisis. It paid back the $45 billion in 2009, but analysts say it still needs more capital to absorb mortgage-related losses and to meet new international standards.

(Reporting By Rick Rothacker; Additional reporting by Dave Clarke in Washington and David Henry in New York; Editing by Phil Berlowitz)

Source: http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/business/*http%3A//news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20120125/bs_nm/us_bankofamerica_breakup

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Wanted: Automotive Partner for Small Car Development; Contact ...

Going it alone on new model development is a costly endeavor even for large automotive groups ? and practically out of the question for smaller manufacturers.

Volvo until now has built all of its models around the platforms and powertrains from its former owner Ford. Now it is seeking a new partner to jointly develop its next generation of compact models.

Currently owned by Chinese carmaker Geely, Volvo recorded an impressive 20 percent increase in sales last year. Still, with some 450,000 units, it remains a small player in the global automotive industry, thus the need for cost sharing on new model development.

?We are open for partners?, Volvo?s CEO Stefan Jacoby told the Financial Times. ?We are open for collaboration in a win-win situation for sharing platforms, for sharing engines, and for a general higher scale of economics.?

Under the 2010 deal between Ford and Geely, the former would continue to provide platforms and components to Volvo for an (undisclosed) time after the sale. Its current compact car is the Focus-based three-door C30, which will be joined by the new V40 five-door compact hatch that's scheduled to be unveiled at the Geneva Motor Show in March.

Jacoby said that even though ?no decisions have been made yet?, he did have some potential partners in mind. Volvo?s CEO wants to double Volvo?s annual production to 800,000 units by 2020. To achieve this goal, the company is currently building two new plants in China.

To cut down costs the Swedish carmaker is slashing its engine line-up from 10 units down to just two turbocharged four-cylinders, one gasoline and one diesel, reducing unique engine parts by an impressive 60 percent.

It will also build its all its bigger models on the new Scalable Platform Architecture, a modular structure that will allow for significant savings on development, tooling and assembly costs.

PHOTO GALLERY

Source: http://carscoop.blogspot.com/2012/01/wanted-automotive-partner-for-small-car.html

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iPad Rock Prodigy, Like Guitar Hero With Real Guitars

Wouldn’t it be great if learning a musical instrument was as fun and addictive as playing a video game or dickering around with your phone? Now it is, thanks to Rock Prodigy, an app that teaches you to play guitar. It’s like Guitar Hero, but with real guitars. Rock Prodigy guides you through lessons and [...]

Source: http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/GearFactor/~3/oM6gpLO01UQ/

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Poles protest ACTA online and on the streets (AP)

WARSAW, Poland ? Hundreds of people waged a street protest in Warsaw on Tuesday to protest the government's plan to sign an international copyright treaty, while several popular websites also shut down for an hour over the issue.

Poland's support for the Anti-Counterfeiting Trade Agreement, or ACTA, has sparked days of protest, including attacks on government sites, by groups who fear it could lead to online censorship.

Prime Minister Donald Tusk insisted Tuesday that his government will not give in to the protesters. He vowed that Poland will sign the international agreement, which is aimed at protecting intellectual property ? like music and books ? and products including pharmaceuticals and designer items. ACTA enjoys widespread support from the producers of music, movies and a range of goods enjoying copyright protections.

"There will be no concessions to brutal blackmail," Tusk said at a news conference.

Several popular websites replaced their normal content with a statement about ACTA, including several that are popular with young people and carry a mix of celebrity news, jokes, funny photographs and other entertaining material.

One site, http://www.wykop.pl, said that "under the banner of fighting piracy and concerns about intellectual property, ACTA will limit the rights of each of us."

At the street protest, held in front of a European Union office, people carried banners that said "Stop ACTA," while some put tape over their mouths to signify their fears that ACTA will infringe on freedom of expression online.

An extremist right-wing group is planning a separate protest Wednesday to oppose ACTA.

However, an influential group representing authors and composers ? known by its Polish acronym ZAiKS ? has thrown its support behind ACTA. ZAiKS argued that ACTA will not hurt Internet freedom but protect the rights of creators. It said that Internet piracy is now robbing artists and the state treasury of hundreds of millions of zlotys (many millions of dollars) in income.

ACTA shares some similarities with the hotly debated Stop Online Piracy Act in the U.S., which was shelved by lawmakers last week after Wikipedia and Google blacked out or partially obscured their websites for a day in protest.

In recent days, a group calling itself Anonymous attacked Polish government websites, leaving several paralyzed on Sunday and Monday. On Tuesday, most appeared to be working again, though the prime minister's site was unreachable.

Still, Polish leaders are vowing to stick to plans to sign ACTA in Tokyo on Thursday.

ACTA has been negotiated by a number of industrialized countries that have been struggling for ways to fight counterfeiting and intellectual property theft ? crimes that cause huge losses to the movie and music industries and many other sectors.

The far-reaching agreement would cover everything from counterfeit pharmaceuticals to fake designer handbags to online piracy. The United States signed ACTA in October in Tokyo along with seven other countries: Australia, Canada, South Korea, Japan, New Zealand, Morocco and Singapore.

Critics of ACTA accuse the negotiating countries of hammering out the agreement in secret and failing to consult with the broader societies along the way.

(This version CORRECTS Updates with the websites going dark; corrects style on spelling of group ZAiKS. This story is part of AP's general news and financial services.)

Source: http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/tech/*http%3A//news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20120124/ap_on_hi_te/eu_poland_websites_attacked

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Tornado touches down in Arkansas as storms menace U.S. (Reuters)

LITTLE ROCK, Ar (Reuters) ? A twister touched down 70 miles south of the Arkansas state capital late Sunday, as forecasters warned that tornadoes and heavy storms could mete out punishment to several southeast states into Monday.

The tornado tore into an area outside of Fordyce, in Dallas County, Ark, around 8:00 p.m. local time, damaging houses and felling trees and power lines as it moved, according to Accuweather.com.

An unnamed official at Dallas County sheriff's department told Reuters that emergency responders rescued a woman resident after she become trapped in her home.

The potential for severe storms overnight and into Monday stretched from the Gulf of Mexico in Mississippi to southern Indiana and Ohio, according to AccuWeather.com.

"A few destructive, long-track tornadoes are quite possible," AccuWeather.com meteorologist Bill Deger said, warning that the severe storms created "an especially dangerous situation given the veil of night."

Heavy rain fell on state capital Little Rock, while parts of the state were pelted by golf-ball sized hailstones and buffeted by winds gusting up to 70 miles per hour.

Funnel clouds were spotted within 20 miles of state capital Little Rock, according to a national weather service alert.

Roughly 11,600 homes were without power across Arkansas as the storms intensified, according to utility provider Entergy Arkansas, Inc.

Roughly one third of Arkansas tornadoes occur at night and are difficult to see in the darkness, the national weather service said, recommending residents in the state to take cover as a precaution.

VERY HAZARDOUS CONDITIONS

In Alabama, residents were bracing for storms that could hit after dark on Sunday or overnight with a strong cold front from the west combining with warm moist air flowing up from the Gulf of Mexico, said Mary Keiser, meteorologist with the National Weather Service in Birmingham, Alabama.

"The best dynamics for this are going to be across the northwest part of the state and lesser so as you move to the southeast part of the state," Keiser said of the forecast for severe weather to strike in Alabama.

The weather service said thunderstorms could bring wind gusts up to 80 mph, tornadoes or gulf ball-sized hail in Mississippi. Farther west, the weather service warned of a high fire danger in Texas with wind gusts of up to 50 mph.

Weather.com said the greatest tornado threat appeared to be in eastern Arkansas, western Tennessee, northern Louisiana and northern Mississippi.

A second stormfront expected to hit California late Sunday night will bring significant snowfall to the mountain regions, according to the National Weather Service, before rolling into the southern United States later in the week.

Parts of central and southern California were under a winter weather warning as a storm system was expected to sweep into the area late Sunday into Monday morning, with the weather service predicting 6 to 12 inches of snow.

The Sierras and the Rockies may accumulate as much as 3 feet of snow, the weather service said, and driving in mountain passes will be "very hazardous" due to low visibility, gusting winds and heavy snowfall.

In Reno, Nevada, meanwhile, snowfall provided welcome relief to firefighters who were monitoring remaining hotspots from a blaze that raged near the outskirts of the city beginning Thursday, destroying 30 houses and prompting thousands of people to flee their homes.

"As long as we keep on getting snow instead of rain, it looks like we'll be okay, at least for the next couple of days," said Mark Regan, spokesman for the Sierra Fire Protection District.

Rain had threatened the area with flash flooding on Friday night. Emergency responders had the blaze 100 percent contained as of Saturday, and all residents have been allowed to return to their homes, Regan said.

In the upper Midwest, freezing drizzle was expected to make roads and sidewalks slippery from southeastern Minnesota into Wisconsin, changing to snow later Sunday, the weather service said. Up to 4 inches of snow was expected farther north in southeast North Dakota and west central Minnesota.

In the northeast United States, a fast-moving storm from central Pennsylvania eastward dropped up to a foot of snow in parts of Rhode Island and Massachusetts on Saturday.

(Additional reporting By David Bailey and Mary Slosson; Writing by Mary Slosson; Editing by Tim Gaynor)

Source: http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/us/*http%3A//news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20120123/us_nm/us_weather

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Rick Santorum says he?ll release tax records this week (Washington Post)

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Video: Snakes plaguing Everglades banned

It's now illegal to import four types of snakes that have been a scourge to the Everglades ecosystem. Federal officials have banned Burmese pythons and three other snakes. NBC?s Mark Potter reports.??

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Man marries corpse, posts to YouTube

By msnbc.com staff

Chadil Deffy posted photos of his dead bride on Facebook.

Hopeless romantic or macabre publicity hound?

A Thai television director?s decision to marry his dead girlfriend and post photos and video of the event to Facebook and YouTube is drawing mixed reaction from the public.

Chadil Deffy, also known as Deff Yingyuen, married his girlfriend of 10 years, Sarinya ?Anne? Kamsook, early this month as she lay in a coffin in a wedding-cum-funeral at a temple in Surin Province, the Pattaya Daily News reported.

---

?During the ceremony, the 28-year-old groom, wearing a black tuxedo, placed a ring on the finger of his late girlfriend, whose body was lying on a raised platform, dressed in a white bridal dress.

He put photos of himself and his dead bride on his personal Facebook page under an album titled "Corpse Bride." He also uploaded a video to YouTube.

The couple met while studying at Eastern Asia University 10 years ago and had planned to get married for a while but Kamsook died in a car accident on Jan. 3, according to media reports. She was 29.

A friend of Deffy, Onsiri Pravattiyagul, wrote in an opinion column this week in The Bangkok Post:

The "wedding" was his attempt to right a wrong, however belated the gesture might have been.

As expected, the initial public reaction was an outpouring of sympathy for the "groom" and a wave of sentimental remarks. The romantically inclined were moved by this expression of "true love," however unconventional. It seemed to hit a nerve with many people. The offline media picked up on the buzz, too, and went to town with the story. Chadil found himself under a spotlight, experiencing an unexpected 15 minutes of fame.

Also as expected, within days, the backlash began ? and it wasn't at all kind. In a heartbeat, Chadil went from being viewed as a hopeless romantic to being vilified as a publicity-hungry opportunist.

Pravattiyagul said Deffy was heartbroken and ?wasn't thinking about the possibility of fame when he decided to put a ring on her cold finger. He merely wanted to make things right, however small or inadequate the gesture might seem.?

More from msnbc.com and NBC News:

Source: http://worldnews.msnbc.msn.com/_news/2012/01/21/10206889-till-death-do-us-part-marriage-to-dead-girlfriend-draws-mixed-reaction

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Vodafone not liable for $4.4B India tax bill (AP)

MUMBAI, India ? British telecom giant Vodafone is not liable for up to $4.4 billion in back taxes and penalties, India's top court said Friday, in a ruling that removes significant uncertainty for foreign companies investing in the country.

The decision will come as a relief to international investors who feared the Vodafone precedent would expose them to unforeseen tax liabilities.

"We welcome the Supreme Court's decision, which underpins our confidence in India," Vodafone chief executive Vittorio Colao said in a statement. "We will continue to grow our Indian business ? including making significant investments in rural areas and in 3G network coverage ? for the benefit of Indian consumers."

Faced with flagging growth and investment and a weakening currency, the Indian government has been scrambling to rekindle foreign investment.

Analysts say the Vodafone tax case had cast a chill on investor sentiment, serving as a powerful emblem of the danger of shifting regulations in Asia's third largest economy.

At the same time, the Indian government is eager to boost revenues to help balance its budget and pay for planned increases in spending on social programs in a country where some 800 million live on less than $2 a day.

Analysts say at least eight other companies are facing similar litigation, as India steps up tax collection efforts to help plug its growing fiscal deficit.

"This will improve investor sentiment tremendously," said Mumbai lawyer Nishith Desai. "Rule of law is re-established."

He said the verdict will hasten dealmaking which had stalled as companies awaited clarity on tax law.

"We will see a lot of interest in India in terms of FDI (foreign direct investment) and outbound investment as well," said Desai, who has done work for Vodafone.

The dispute centered on Vodafone's $11 billion acquisition of the Indian telecom assets of Hong Kong's Hutchison Telecommunications in 2007.

In May 2007, Vodafone International Holdings BV ? a Dutch subsidiary of the British telecom giant ? acquired a 67 percent stake in CGP Investments Ltd., a Cayman Islands company which held the Indian telecom assets of Hutchison.

Vodafone says it doesn't owe tax on the deal because it took place between two foreign entities.

Friday's ruling overturns a high court decision which favored Indian tax authorities. Mumbai's high court had found that the deal was taxable in India because it involved the indirect transfer of Indian assets, which accrue revenue in India.

The government said Vodafone owed 112.2 billion rupees ($2.2 billion) in tax and interest, plus up to 100 percent in penalties.

Vodafone said the Supreme Court's decision absolved it of liability.

Vodafone said the court would also refund, with 4 percent interest, the 25 billion rupee ($496 million) deposit it made on the potential tax bill in November 2010.

GE, SAB Miller, Cadbury, AT&T, Sanofi, and Vedanta are among the companies fighting tax cases in India that could be affected by the Vodafone precedent, said Sandeep Ladda, executive director at PricewaterhouseCoopers in India.

"This settles a prolonged litigation which had created a lot of uncertainty for multinationals," he said. "This should provide much needed respite to other litigants in other cases."

But he cautioned that the legal precedent may have limited impact on new deals. India's new Direct Tax Code, likely to be implemented in 2013, currently contains provisions that would make transactions similar to the Vodafone deal liable to Indian tax, he said.

Desai said he hoped the new tax code would be changed to reflect Friday's judgment.

India is an increasingly important market for Vodafone. It was home to 145 million of Vodafone Group Plc's 391 million mobile customers worldwide as of September.

Vodafone lost 9 million pounds in India during the six months ending in September, but counted on the country for 9 percent of the group's 23.5 billion pound global revenues during the period.

Source: http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/asia/*http%3A//news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20120120/ap_on_bi_ge/as_india_vodafone

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Canada looks at alternatives to nixed US pipeline

House Speaker John Boehner of Ohio, center, accompanied by House Majority Leader Eric Cantor of Va., right, and Rep. Jeb Hensarling, R-Texas, gestures during a news conference on Capitol Hill in Washington, Wednesday, Jan. 18, 2012, to discuss President Barack Obama's decision to halt the Keystone XL pipeline. (AP Photo/J. Scott Applewhite)

House Speaker John Boehner of Ohio, center, accompanied by House Majority Leader Eric Cantor of Va., right, and Rep. Jeb Hensarling, R-Texas, gestures during a news conference on Capitol Hill in Washington, Wednesday, Jan. 18, 2012, to discuss President Barack Obama's decision to halt the Keystone XL pipeline. (AP Photo/J. Scott Applewhite)

White House Press Secretary Jay Carney speaks during the daily briefing at the White House in Washington, Wednesday, Jan. 18, 2012. (AP Photo/Susan Walsh)

TORONTO (AP) ? Canada is looking at alternatives for exporting its oil since U.S. President Barack Obama announced he was blocking a pipeline from Alberta to Texas.

A pipeline executive said Thursday that the company was weighing whether to build a segment of the line ? from Oklahoma to Texas ? that wouldn't require U.S. State Department approval. And government officials said Canada would push harder for a pipeline to the Pacific Coast, where oil could be shipped to China.

At the same time, Canadian officials said, they are hopeful the 1,700-mile (2,740-kilometer) Keystone XL pipeline will be built.

Alberta Premier Alison Redford, the leader of the Canadian province that has the world's third-largest reserves of oil, said that while Canada is disappointed at Obama's decision, the government believes Obama has made it clear the U.S. would consider a new Keystone XL pipeline application with a new routing.

Obama called Prime Minister Stephen Harper to explain that the decision on Wednesday was not on the merits of the pipeline but rather on the "arbitrary nature" of a Feb. 21 deadline set by Republican legislators as part of a tax measure he signed, Harper's office said.

"The fact that the president has said that the decision was not based on the merits we take as a signal that there is an opportunity to make a decision that is in the national interest that allows the project to go ahead," Redford told The Associated Press in a telephone interview.

Calgary-based TransCanada Corp., which proposed the pipeline, said Thursday it was considering building the pipeline in segments, with the first connecting an existing pipeline in Oklahoma to refineries in Texas.

The Obama administration had suggested development of an Oklahoma-to-Texas line to alleviate an oil glut at a Cushing, Oklahoma, storage hub.

"If our shippers are interested in building that portion of the pipeline (first), we would look at that," TransCanada President and CEO Russ Girling told The Associated Press in an interview.

Obama's rejection of Keystone XL "clearly gives flexibility to do that," Girling said. He emphasized that the company had made no decisions.

U.S. officials have said that building the pipeline in sections could speed up the process since the U.S. State Department would not be involved if the pipeline does not cross the U.S.-Canada border.

Girling's remarks were in contrast to a statement TransCanada issued on Wednesday declaring it would reapply for a presidential permit to build the full pipeline. Girling said the company still expects to reapply, but "will take our time for how to refile it."

He said a new route that avoids environmentally sensitive areas of Nebraska should be made public in a matter of weeks

In Washington, the proposed $7 billion pipeline has become a political hot potato.

Republicans ? who earlier put the president in the awkward position of having to make a decision on it before Feb. 21 ? now hope to force Obama to deal with it yet again before next November's presidential election. He wants to put it off beyond that.

Republicans are looking to drive a wedge between Obama and two key Democratic constituencies. Some labor unions support the pipeline as a job creator, while environmentalists fear it could lead to an oil spill disaster.

The Alberta-to-Texas pipeline proposed by TransCanada would carry 800,000 barrels of oil a day from Alberta across six U.S. states to the Texas Gulf Coast, which has numerous refineries.

Natural Resource Minister Joe Oliver said it's clear the process is not yet over and said Canada is hopeful the pipeline will be accepted on its merits.

Redford said Obama's decision adds urgency to Enbridge's proposed pipeline to the Pacific Coast of British Columbia that would allow Canadian oil to be shipped to Asia for the first time.

The project is undergoing a regulatory review in Canada.

"Asian markets are a very viable alternative. I say alternative, I probably shouldn't. It's not an either or situation. There's an opportunity here for us to grow our markets in both directions and we'd like to be able to do that," Redford said.

Canadian officials see the pipeline to the Pacific coast as critical as Canada seeks to diversify its energy customer base beyond the United States, which Canada relies on for 97 percent of its energy exports.

Alberta has more than 170 billion barrels of oil reserves. Daily production of 1.5 million barrels from the oil sands is expected to increase to 3.7 million in 2025. Only Saudi Arabia and Venezuela have more reserves.

Sinopec, a Chinese state-controlled oil company, has a stake in Enbridge's proposed $5.5 billion Northern Gateway Pipeline. Chinese state-owned companies also have invested more than $16 billion in the oil sands in the last two years.

Tens of billions more are expected to be invested in Canada's oil sands if the Pacific pipeline is built.

There is fierce environmental and aboriginal opposition to the Pacific pipeline, but Harper's government has called it a nation-building project that is crucial to the country's goal of becoming an energy super power.

___

Associated Press writer Matthew Daly contributed to this story from Washington, D.C.

Associated Press

Source: http://hosted2.ap.org/APDEFAULT/cae69a7523db45408eeb2b3a98c0c9c5/Article_2012-01-19-Oil%20Pipeline/id-45417e0316b8496cb595ef2b2ef89102

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LSU cornerback Tryann Mathieu tweeted Tuesday about the BCS title game loss Met with coach (Les) Miles today and I seen the lo...

SbB LIVE FROM LA (Jan 18, 2012 @ 7:18am ET)

12:00 AM: Ed Tomlin, father of Pittsburgh Steelers coach Mike Tomlin & a former local NAACP president, died Monday at the age of 63 from an apparent heart attack.

9:00 PM: Former Miami Dolphins receiver Mark Duper says he feels "great" after having a cancerous kidney removed over the weekend. Duper was discharged from a Miami hospital on Tuesday.

8:45 PM: Baltimore Ravens safety Ed Reed said of QB Joe Flacco's performance in Sunday's playoff win over the Houston Texans: "It just didn't look like he had a hold on the offense."

8:30 PM: In a press conference Tuesday, LSU coach Les Miles denied rumors that there was a locker room confrontation between players & coaches over Jordan Jefferson starting at QB for the BCS title game instead of Jarrett Lee.

8:15 PM: Former Auburn RB Michael Dyer has transferred to Arkansas State, where he'll re-join former Tigers offensive coordinator & new Red Wolves head coach Gus Malzahn.

8:00 PM: A Fort Collins, Colorado movie theater has suspended five employees after a 66-year-old man had supposedly spent five days dead in a theater bathroom.

7:45 PM: Washington Redskins linebackers coach Lou Spanos has been hired as UCLA's new defensive coordinator.

7:30 PM: Former PGA Champions Tour player Steve Thomas was one of 40 people arrested in an undercover Internet child sex sting in Florida during the past week.

7:15 PM: The Denver Broncos are not bringing back strength & conditioning coach Rich Tuten, who's been with the team for the past 17 seasons.

7:00 PM: Boston Red Sox outfielder Carl Crawford underwent left wrist surgery on Tuesday & may miss Opening Day on April 5.

6:45 PM: The Boston Herald's Inside Track reports that porn star Bibi Jones, who posed for pics with New England Patriots TE Rob Gronkowski, will be performing at a Boston-area strip club during Super Bowl weekend.

6:30 PM: According to an NBA.com poll, 74.1% of the league's general managers believe the Miami Heat will win the 2012 NBA title. 14.8% believe the Oklahoma City Thunder will win it, 7.4% are for the L.A. Lakers & 3.7% are for the Chicago Bulls.

6:15 PM: Indianapolis Colts defensive end Robert Mathis tweeted after the firing of head coach Jim Caldwell: "(Team owner Jim) Irsay aint playing no games!"

6:00 PM: The family of Kirby Wilson released a statement Tuesday saying that the Pittsburgh Steelers running backs coach remains in critical condition after suffering burns on over 45 percent of his body from a January 6 house fire.

5:45 PM: The Detroit News reports Tigers designated hitter Victor Martinez is likely out for the 2012 season after tearing his ACL while working out last week.

Source: http://www.sportsbybrooks.com/sbblive?eid=32919

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PSU board meets amid criticism over Paterno firing

FILE - In this Nov. 9, 2011, file photo, John Surma, right, vice chair of the Penn State board of trustees, listens to questions after announcing the firing of university president Graham Spanier and football coach Joe Paterno in State College, Pa. At left is Steve Garban, chairman of the trustees. Penn State trustees are scheduled to meet Friday, Jan. 20, 2012, their first gathering since November. (AP Photo/Gene J. Puskar)

FILE - In this Nov. 9, 2011, file photo, John Surma, right, vice chair of the Penn State board of trustees, listens to questions after announcing the firing of university president Graham Spanier and football coach Joe Paterno in State College, Pa. At left is Steve Garban, chairman of the trustees. Penn State trustees are scheduled to meet Friday, Jan. 20, 2012, their first gathering since November. (AP Photo/Gene J. Puskar)

STATE COLLEGE, Pa. (AP) ? Penn State's trustees fired coach Joe Paterno as outrage boiled up over how school leaders handled child sex abuse allegations against a former assistant coach.

Now it's the trustees who are increasingly feeling the heat.

The embattled, 32-member board meets Friday, its first gathering since November and the frantic first week after criminal charges were filed against Jerry Sandusky, Penn State's retired defensive coordinator.

Paterno was dismissed Nov. 9, the same day school President Graham Spanier also departed under pressure. The trustees pledged to search for the truth of the Sandusky case, and whether Penn State officials acted appropriately.

Some alumni and former players are now wondering whether the trustees themselves have been up front with them, and are questioning why Paterno was ousted without a full airing of the facts. Dozens are lining up for a chance to get on the board.

"The unfortunate circumstances that we've all been living through have put a spotlight on the leadership of the university," Maribeth Schmidt, a 1988 Penn State graduate and spokeswoman for Penn Staters for Responsible Stewardship, said Wednesday. The group started in mid-November, growing out of what she said was a common frustration among members over a lack of due process at the school.

Those concerns took center stage last week when current President Rodney Erickson ? who replaced Spanier ? hosted hundreds of alumni at town hall meetings in Pittsburgh, suburban Philadelphia and New York.

Some questioned why trustees haven't been more accountable, while others have asked why Penn State wasn't better prepared from a public relations perspective if school leaders knew about the investigation. They were told about the case in the spring.

State authorities arrested the 67-year-old Sandusky on Nov. 5, and he is now charged with sexually abusing 10 boys over a 15-year period. He maintains his innocence and remains is out on $250,000 bail while awaiting trial.

Some at the alumni meetings have sought answers specifically about why Paterno was fired after 61 years with the Penn State football program, the last 46 as head coach. Paterno led the Nittany Lions to 409 victories, more than any other major college football coach, and two national titles.

Paterno, 85, testified before the grand jury investigating Sandusky, and authorities have said he is not a target of their efforts.

But the state's top cop, among other critics, chastised Paterno and other school leaders for failing to report a 2002 allegation of abuse to authorities outside of the university.

Against that backdrop, Paterno announced his retirement effective the end of the 2011 season on the morning of Nov. 9. That day, he acknowledged that "with the benefit of hindsight, I wish I had done more."

The trustees announced his firing 12 hours later in a hastily-called news conference.

Mainly quiet since then, the trustees did answer queries posed at the town hall Jan.11 in Pittsburgh through a statement issued the next day, when chairman Steve Garban and vice chairman John Surma said Paterno was still a tenured faculty member, and that the school would honor the terms of his contract as if he had retired at the end of the season.

"Given the nature of the serious allegations contained in the grand jury report and the extraordinary circumstances then facing the university, the Board's unanimous judgment was that Coach Paterno could not be expected to continue to effectively perform his duties and that it was in the best interests of the university to make an immediate change in his status," Garban and Surma said.

Erickson, in New York last week, reiterated his support for the trustees' decision to fire Paterno.

"There comes a time to look at more than legal issues and look at the ability to lead, and I think at that point ability to lead was compromised," Erickson said.

But he added, "that in no way should reflect my feelings about the wonderful things Joe has contributed over the years."

His comments, along with the board's statement last week, seem to signal a change in the university's public stance toward Paterno. For instance, two days after Paterno was fired, Erickson said at a news conference that Paterno would be welcome at the Nov. 12 game against Nebraska as much as any other member of the public.

Last week, Erickson promised the university would pay tribute to Paterno. And as for Paterno, he and his family still donate to Penn State, including a $100,000 gift last month.

Paterno was also diagnosed days after his firing with what his family called a treatable form of lung cancer. He remained hospitalized Wednesday for observation for what the family said was a minor complication from treatments. Paterno has been undergoing chemotherapy and radiation.

"He's in the fight of his life ... It just seems so unfair," state Sen. Jake Corman said Tuesday in a speech on the floor of the statehouse praising Paterno's accomplishments. "It just shouldn't end this way."

In his first public comments since his firing, Paterno told The Washington Post last week he had "no inkling" of any allegations involving Sandusky prior to 2002. He also told the Post he would reserve judgment on Sandusky until after the legal resolution to the case.

Some of the coach's supporters have said the same approach should have been afforded to Paterno.

Among them are more than 520 ex-players who have signed an online letter organized by former players asking for "due process for Joe Paterno and the Penn State community."

Some critics of the trustees have called for wholesale changes in how the board operates in order to better promote transparency. The issues have also drawn unprecedented interest among potential candidates for three alumni-elected seats on the board that are up for a vote this spring.

Typically, about six to 12 candidates express interest. But Wednesday, Schmidt said Penn Staters for Responsible Stewardship alone had received 30 applications already seeking the group's endorsement.

"Everybody is in this together in terms of wanting to preserve and enhance the reputation of Penn State as a world-class university," Schmidt said. "If there's a silver lining to any of it we have a lot more alumni interest and action and only good things can come out of that."

Former Penn State defensive back Adam Taliaferro, now a lawyer, also plans to run but has said he is not seeking the endorsement of Schmidt's group. Now an attorney, Taliaferro is walking again after suffering a serious spinal cord injury following a hit during a game at Ohio State in 2000.

In a letter this week promoting his candidacy, Taliaferro said "In speaking with our alumni, I believe our biggest issue is transparency." He pledged to make information and access to trustees more easily available.

The board Friday is scheduled to hear a presentation on an "overview of Intercollegiate Athletics," among other business. Also scheduled is the election of board officers and executive committee members.

Associated Press

Source: http://hosted2.ap.org/APDEFAULT/347875155d53465d95cec892aeb06419/Article_2012-01-18-Penn%20State-Trustees/id-1c9bd7e1279e4e6ea6393d24f7346360

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