I Suck At Poetry

I'm too easily distracted.<br /><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgQcMimSsBUvC5Aw213qe8d5sKTGU6ecOE_DyCVIRfB21osotm3oVLl_5wlNJlm67IM5G3nfrArB-WzaWMf-OtWjM2jDr7ulAtk4SazWwGQzb2Tt3tLH5_lrZABaXDVlALPcQ7_wlw_v7Ci/s1600/roses.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgQcMimSsBUvC5Aw213qe8d5sKTGU6ecOE_DyCVIRfB21osotm3oVLl_5wlNJlm67IM5G3nfrArB-WzaWMf-OtWjM2jDr7ulAtk4SazWwGQzb2Tt3tLH5_lrZABaXDVlALPcQ7_wlw_v7Ci/s640/roses.jpg" /></a></div>

I Suck At Poetry

I'm too easily distracted.

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Ex-Cowboy convicted of intoxication manslaughter (BLOG)

<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi-s6wkxR39YBKpGBSEyzB3Ffl9R-hDuiU8GYScLt1966Isd8jjEZKyDP3-aQWs0AOcJvX1f0-zGNXIg9qb2IuH9WCLzwC-M51H1l515eHwc1YkerAHGc0ar7bouqWj-unkqpeQrPTsZXM/s1600/201401211236454014176.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi-s6wkxR39YBKpGBSEyzB3Ffl9R-hDuiU8GYScLt1966Isd8jjEZKyDP3-aQWs0AOcJvX1f0-zGNXIg9qb2IuH9WCLzwC-M51H1l515eHwc1YkerAHGc0ar7bouqWj-unkqpeQrPTsZXM/s1600/201401211236454014176.jpg" width="218" /></a></div><div id="yui_3_9_1_1_1390442907828_3898" style="background-color: white; font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', HelveticaNeue, helvetica, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 15px; line-height: 24.000001907348633px; margin-bottom: 1.1em;">DALLAS (AP) -- Former <a class="yom-entity-link yom-entity-sports_team" data-rapid_p="8" href="http://sports.yahoo.com/nfl/teams/dal" style="color: #324fe1; cursor: pointer; text-decoration: none;">Dallas Cowboys</a> player Josh Brent was convicted of intoxication manslaughter Wednesday for a fiery wreck that killed his teammate and close friend, <a class="yom-entity-link yom-entity-sports_player" data-rapid_p="9" href="http://sports.yahoo.com/nfl/players/26529" style="color: #324fe1; cursor: pointer; text-decoration: none;">Jerry Brown</a>.</div><div id="yui_3_9_1_1_1390442907828_3912" style="background-color: white; font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', HelveticaNeue, helvetica, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 15px; line-height: 24.000001907348633px; margin-bottom: 1.1em;">Jurors took about nine hours over two days to convict Brent, who was led from the courtroom in handcuffs as family members sitting in the front row of the gallery sobbed.He faces up to 20 years in prison for a December 2012 wreck after a night of partying with fellow Cowboys players. He could also get probation.</div><div id="yui_3_9_1_1_1390442907828_3932" style="background-color: white; font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', HelveticaNeue, helvetica, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 15px; line-height: 24.000001907348633px; margin-bottom: 1.1em;">Among those sitting with Brent's family was Stacey Jackson, Brown's mother. Jackson did not respond to questions as she left the courtroom Wednesday with Brent's family, but she has said in interviews that she's forgiven Brent and could testify in support of a lighter sentence for him when that phase of the trial begins Thursday.</div><div style="background-color: white; font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', HelveticaNeue, helvetica, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 15px; line-height: 24.000001907348633px; margin-bottom: 1.1em;">Attorneys from both sides remain under a gag order that prevented them from commenting after the proceedings.</div><div style="background-color: white; font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', HelveticaNeue, helvetica, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 15px; line-height: 24.000001907348633px; margin-bottom: 1.1em;">Prosecutors say Brent, a defensive tackle, was drunk when he crashed his Mercedes on a suburban Dallas highway in December 2012, killing Brown, a linebacker on the Cowboys practice squad who had also been Brent's teammate at the University of Illinois. Officers who arrived on scene saw Brent trying to pull Brown's body from the wreckage.</div><div class="body-related" style="background-color: white; clear: right; float: right; font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', HelveticaNeue, helvetica, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 15px; line-height: 24.000001907348633px; margin-bottom: 10px; margin-left: 10px; position: relative;"><a class="body-related-link body-related-image go-to-slideshow-lightbox rapid-noclick-resp portrait onesize get-lbdata-from-dom" data-rapid_p="10" data-uuid="8ca29351-0dff-33b6-a2f3-d2eacf19193c" href="http://sports.yahoo.com/photos/ex-cowboys-player-39-crash-photo-222503977--nfl.html" style="color: #324fe1; cursor: pointer; display: block; margin: 0px auto; max-width: 300px; position: relative; text-decoration: none;" title="Ex-Cowboy convicted of intoxication manslaughter"><div class="img-wrap" style="position: relative;"><div class="cta-overlay" style="-webkit-transition: background-color 0.24s linear; font-size: 13px; height: 394px; left: 0px; position: absolute; top: 0px; transition: background-color 0.24s linear; width: 300px;"><span class="clearfix title cta-text medium" style="-webkit-transition: opacity 0.24s linear; color: white; font-size: 16px; left: 5px; opacity: 0; position: absolute; top: 5px; transition: opacity 0.24s linear; white-space: pre-wrap; width: 270px; zoom: 1;"></span><span class="cta-text xsmall" style="-webkit-transition: opacity 0.24s linear; bottom: 5px; color: white; font-size: 16px; margin-left: 42px; opacity: 0; position: absolute; transition: opacity 0.24s linear;">View gallery</span><span class="icon-slideshow icon-white-slideshow-xsmall" style="-webkit-transition: opacity 0.16s linear; background-color: #324fe1; background-image: url(data:image/svg+xml; background-repeat: no-repeat no-repeat; background-size: cover; border-bottom-left-radius: 4px; border-bottom-right-radius: 4px; border-top-left-radius: 4px; border-top-right-radius: 4px; bottom: 5px; cursor: pointer; height: 23px; left: 5px; line-height: 0; opacity: 0; padding: 0px; position: absolute; text-indent: -1000em; transition: opacity 0.16s linear; width: 32px; z-index: 1;"></span></div><img alt="Ex-Cowboy convicted of intoxication manslaughter" class="body-related-thumb" data-src-2x="" height="394" src="http://l2.yimg.com/bt/api/res/1.2/70k.rvJp32K2hJj2oPpsng--/YXBwaWQ9eW5ld3M7Zmk9ZmlsbDtoPTM5NDtxPTc1O3c9MzAw/http://media.zenfs.com/en_us/Sports/ap/201401211236453614166" style="-webkit-transition: opacity 0.3333s ease 0ms; background-repeat: no-repeat no-repeat; border: 0px; display: block; opacity: 1 !important; transition: opacity 0.3333s ease 0ms; vertical-align: baseline; visibility: visible !important;" width="300" /></div></a><div class="body-related-title photo-caption" style="box-sizing: border-box; color: grey; font-size: 11px; line-height: 16.5px; margin: 0px auto; max-width: 100%; padding: 5px 5px 0px 0px; position: relative; width: 300px;">Dallas Cowboys linebacker Sean Lee arrives at court for closing arguments in the intoxication mansla …</div></div><div style="background-color: white; font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', HelveticaNeue, helvetica, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 15px; line-height: 24.000001907348633px; margin-bottom: 1.1em;">Police say Brent's blood alcohol level was tested shortly after the crash at 0.18 percent, more than twice the legal limit for drivers in Texas. Prosecutors last week argued that the burly, 320-pound defensive tackle had as many as 17 drinks the night of the crash.</div><div style="background-color: white; font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', HelveticaNeue, helvetica, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 15px; line-height: 24.000001907348633px; margin-bottom: 1.1em;">Brent's attorneys argued the blood tests used by police were faulty and that Brent could not have drank nearly that much. Attorney George Milner said his client was ''guilty of being stupid behind the wheel of a car,'' not drinking beforehand.</div><div style="background-color: white; font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', HelveticaNeue, helvetica, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 15px; line-height: 24.000001907348633px; margin-bottom: 1.1em;">Brent retired from the NFL last year, but his ties to the Cowboys were prominent at trial. Two current players, Barry Church and Danny McCray, testified about hanging out with Brent and Brown, first playing video games, then having dinner and going to Privae, a Dallas nightclub.</div><div style="background-color: white; font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', HelveticaNeue, helvetica, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 15px; line-height: 24.000001907348633px; margin-bottom: 1.1em;">Sean Lee, a Cowboys linebacker, attended part of the trial to show support for Brent, and Cowboys owner Jerry Jones said this week that he was closely watching for a verdict.</div><div id="yui_3_9_1_1_1390442907828_3936" style="background-color: white; font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', HelveticaNeue, helvetica, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 15px; line-height: 24.000001907348633px; margin-bottom: 1.1em;">''Certainly it's tragic. We've all, to some degree, have been a part of this,'' Jones said on Tuesday, according to the Cowboys' website. ''We support Josh. This has been just a terrible experience for the families who lost a loved one and for Josh who loved Jerry as well.''</div><div class="body-related" style="background-color: white; clear: right; float: right; font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', HelveticaNeue, helvetica, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 15px; line-height: 24.000001907348633px; margin-bottom: 10px; margin-left: 10px; position: relative;"><a class="body-related-link body-related-image go-to-slideshow-lightbox rapid-noclick-resp portrait onesize get-lbdata-from-dom" data-rapid_p="11" data-uuid="bd95563e-bae6-37a2-a5ee-93ae2d990e62" href="http://sports.yahoo.com/photos/ex-cowboys-player-39-crash-photo-222503324--nfl.html" style="color: #324fe1; cursor: pointer; display: block; margin: 0px auto; max-width: 300px; position: relative; text-decoration: none;" title="Ex-Cowboy convicted of intoxication manslaughter"><div class="img-wrap" style="position: relative;"><div class="cta-overlay" style="-webkit-transition: background-color 0.24s linear; font-size: 13px; height: 471px; left: 0px; position: absolute; top: 0px; transition: background-color 0.24s linear; width: 300px;"><span class="clearfix title cta-text medium" style="-webkit-transition: opacity 0.24s linear; color: white; font-size: 16px; left: 5px; opacity: 0; position: absolute; top: 5px; transition: opacity 0.24s linear; white-space: pre-wrap; width: 270px; zoom: 1;"></span><span class="cta-text xsmall" style="-webkit-transition: opacity 0.24s linear; bottom: 5px; color: white; font-size: 16px; margin-left: 42px; opacity: 0; position: absolute; transition: opacity 0.24s linear;">View gallery</span><span class="icon-slideshow icon-white-slideshow-xsmall" style="-webkit-transition: opacity 0.16s linear; background-color: #324fe1; background-image: url(data:image/svg+xml; background-repeat: no-repeat no-repeat; background-size: cover; border-bottom-left-radius: 4px; border-bottom-right-radius: 4px; border-top-left-radius: 4px; border-top-right-radius: 4px; bottom: 5px; cursor: pointer; height: 23px; left: 5px; line-height: 0; opacity: 0; padding: 0px; position: absolute; text-indent: -1000em; transition: opacity 0.16s linear; width: 32px; z-index: 1;"></span></div><img alt="Ex-Cowboy convicted of intoxication manslaughter" class="body-related-thumb" data-src-2x="" height="471" src="http://l.yimg.com/bt/api/res/1.2/g8HCZd7sDsmu2GdYam3oLA--/YXBwaWQ9eW5ld3M7Zmk9ZmlsbDtoPTQ3MTtxPTc1O3c9MzAw/http://media.zenfs.com/en_us/Sports/ap/201401211236453614167" style="-webkit-transition: opacity 0.3333s ease 0ms; background-repeat: no-repeat no-repeat; border: 0px; display: block; opacity: 1 !important; transition: opacity 0.3333s ease 0ms; vertical-align: baseline; visibility: visible !important;" width="300" /></div></a><div class="body-related-title photo-caption" style="box-sizing: border-box; color: grey; font-size: 11px; line-height: 16.5px; margin: 0px auto; max-width: 100%; padding: 5px 5px 0px 0px; position: relative; width: 300px;">Former Dallas Cowboys NFL football player Josh Brent arrives at court for closing arguments in his i …</div></div><div id="yui_3_9_1_1_1390442907828_3951" style="background-color: white; font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', HelveticaNeue, helvetica, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 15px; line-height: 24.000001907348633px; margin-bottom: 1.1em;">Jurors saw video of Brent appearing to hold bottles of Champagne in each hand and credit-card receipts that showed Brent had purchased three bottles. They also saw police dash cam footage of Brent losing his balance during field sobriety tests and occasionally stumbling over his words while talking to officers.</div><div style="background-color: white; font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', HelveticaNeue, helvetica, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 15px; line-height: 24.000001907348633px; margin-bottom: 1.1em;">It was, in the words of prosecutors Jason Hermus and Heath Harris, a textbook case of intoxication manslaughter. The prosecutors told jurors in their closing argument that they should send a message about the danger posed by drunken drivers.</div><div style="background-color: white; font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', HelveticaNeue, helvetica, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 15px; line-height: 24.000001907348633px; margin-bottom: 1.1em;">Hermus stood in front of Brent, hit the table and shouted: ''They shouldn't be driving, no exceptions, no excuses!''</div><div style="background-color: white; font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', HelveticaNeue, helvetica, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 15px; line-height: 24.000001907348633px; margin-bottom: 1.1em;">Prosecutors have indicated they will push for jail time for Brent. His conviction comes just after weeks of fierce debate about a North Texas teen, Ethan Couch, who received probation for intoxication manslaughter after a wreck that left four people dead. Couch's case, and the so-called ''affluenza'' defense his attorneys employed, became the subject of fierce, widespread scrutiny.</div><div style="background-color: white; font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', HelveticaNeue, helvetica, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 15px; line-height: 24.000001907348633px; margin-bottom: 1.1em;">Dallas County District Attorney Craig Watkins has attended parts of Brent's trial and whispered in prosecutors' ears during the questioning of one witness. Watkins told a sports radio station last year that prosecutors had the responsibility to make sure Brent ''loses his freedom.''</div><div style="background-color: white; font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', HelveticaNeue, helvetica, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 15px; line-height: 24.000001907348633px; margin-bottom: 1.1em;">Brent, a defensive tackle, had played in all 12 games of the 2012 NFL season before the crash. He retired in July.</div><div style="background-color: white; font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', HelveticaNeue, helvetica, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 15px; line-height: 24.000001907348633px; margin-bottom: 1.1em;">Brown was signed to the Cowboys' practice squad in the 2012 season.</div><div style="background-color: white; font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', HelveticaNeue, helvetica, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 15px; line-height: 24.000001907348633px; margin-bottom: 1.1em;">---</div><div id="yui_3_9_1_1_1390442907828_4016" style="background-color: white; font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', HelveticaNeue, helvetica, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 15px; line-height: 24.000001907348633px; margin-bottom: 1.1em;">Follow Nomaan Merchant on Twitter at https://twitter.com/nomaanmerchant</div></div>

Ex-Cowboy convicted of intoxication manslaughter (BLOG)

DALLAS (AP) -- Former  Dallas Cowboys  player Josh Brent was convicted of intoxication manslaughter Wednesday for a fiery wreck that killed ...

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2013's Existing Home Sales Exponential Trend Failure

<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhNQ_ZeM6wi5VAJd25lqxVnYrlgWTCCKbCaqm_p0UqHU_ZN7-lZUvkQqGiExik6x1JPD0GFSEK7EqQ9VLXBV_FZ7yBSxJtCpJWinLUabFzMgxAjIRU8lf9Qu0HwYmA5ixQYOTNuGOUvEG4/s1600/Existing+Home+Sales.jpg" imageanchor="1"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhNQ_ZeM6wi5VAJd25lqxVnYrlgWTCCKbCaqm_p0UqHU_ZN7-lZUvkQqGiExik6x1JPD0GFSEK7EqQ9VLXBV_FZ7yBSxJtCpJWinLUabFzMgxAjIRU8lf9Qu0HwYmA5ixQYOTNuGOUvEG4/s320/Existing+Home+Sales.jpg" /></a><br /><span style="font-size: x-small;">Click to enlarge.</span><br /><br />I'm using quarterly averages to eliminate some of the noise.<br /><br /><b>Source Data:</b><br /><a href="http://research.stlouisfed.org/fred2/graph/?g=rh7">St. Louis Fed: Existing Home Sales</a>

2013's Existing Home Sales Exponential Trend Failure

Click to enlarge. I'm using quarterly averages to eliminate some of the noise. Source Data: St. Louis Fed: Existing Home Sales

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Why FM Radio Is More Repetitive Than Ever. Why FM Radio Is More Repetitive Than Ever. Why FM Radio... (BLOG)

<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjUbMcQvFlQbXD8pBcIYlPefuGBzyXfxq5UgSdUcYusi00AWUYXtPaYkW93HdFZu1uEPv7C0baEIIQIYAdDA2FZhLJimat9pHjHU-8A3pPOukx9npQUlkazriBWwRDzgo8Fk9TaH2OqkKg/s1600/78caa6aebee116d177515406697d054be29c34dd.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="213" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjUbMcQvFlQbXD8pBcIYlPefuGBzyXfxq5UgSdUcYusi00AWUYXtPaYkW93HdFZu1uEPv7C0baEIIQIYAdDA2FZhLJimat9pHjHU-8A3pPOukx9npQUlkazriBWwRDzgo8Fk9TaH2OqkKg/s1600/78caa6aebee116d177515406697d054be29c34dd.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><div style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: Georgia, Times, serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 26px; margin-bottom: 0.55em; margin-top: 0.55em;">You don’t hear so much about FM radio these days. Pandora, Spotify, iTunes, the <a data-rapid_p="53" data-ylk="elm:itm;elmt:link;g:cbdf14cb-1e2f-3ee7-b3f0-7f887237b30b;ct:1;t1:a5;t4:18;itc:0;" href="http://www.yahoo.com/tech/beats-music-streaming-service-launches-in-the-u-s-74061641040.html" style="color: #324fe1; text-decoration: none;" target="_blank">just-launched Beats Music streaming service</a> and countless other post-radio alternatives <a data-rapid_p="54" data-ylk="elm:itm;elmt:link;g:cbdf14cb-1e2f-3ee7-b3f0-7f887237b30b;ct:1;t1:a5;t4:18;itc:0;" href="http://www.yahoo.com/tech/beats-music-spotify-rdio-and-more-whats-the-best-73651350300.html" style="color: #324fe1; text-decoration: none;" target="_blank">get all the attention</a> instead.</div><div style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: Georgia, Times, serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 26px; margin-bottom: 0.55em; margin-top: 0.55em;">That’s understandable — digital listening is a big deal, obviously — but maybe we shouldn’t just pretend old-school radio has disappeared. After all, regular radio broadcast over the air, often referred to as “terrestrial” radio, remains easily the <a data-rapid_p="55" data-ylk="elm:itm;elmt:link;g:cbdf14cb-1e2f-3ee7-b3f0-7f887237b30b;ct:1;t1:a5;t4:18;itc:0;" href="http://www.nielsen.com/us/en/press-room/2013/radio-increases-year-over-year-reach-by-more-than-700-000-according-to-december-2013-radar-report.html" style="color: #324fe1; text-decoration: none;" target="_blank">dominant American listening medium</a>; more than <a data-rapid_p="56" data-ylk="elm:itm;elmt:link;g:cbdf14cb-1e2f-3ee7-b3f0-7f887237b30b;ct:1;t1:a5;t4:18;itc:0;" href="http://wargod.arbitron.com/study/grt.asp" style="color: #324fe1; text-decoration: none;" target="_blank">90 percent</a> of Americans over age 12 listen to the radio <a data-rapid_p="57" data-ylk="elm:itm;elmt:link;g:cbdf14cb-1e2f-3ee7-b3f0-7f887237b30b;ct:1;t1:a5;t4:18;itc:0;" href="http://variety.com/2013/biz/news/new-gadgets-beckon-but-americans-still-tune-in-old-school-radio-1200913564/" style="color: #324fe1; text-decoration: none;" target="_blank">every week</a>.</div><div style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: Georgia, Times, serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 26px; margin-bottom: 0.55em; margin-top: 0.55em;">In fact, <em>The Wall Street Journal</em> published some <a data-rapid_p="58" data-ylk="elm:itm;elmt:link;g:cbdf14cb-1e2f-3ee7-b3f0-7f887237b30b;ct:1;t1:a5;t4:18;itc:0;" href="http://online.wsj.com/news/articles/SB10001424052702303754404579313150485141672" style="color: #324fe1; text-decoration: none;" target="_blank">interesting data</a> the other day suggesting how terrestrial radio has changed in the burgeoning digital era. Somewhat incredibly, it’s gotten <em>more</em>repetitive.</div><div style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: Georgia, Times, serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 26px; margin-bottom: 0.55em; margin-top: 0.55em;">I said <em>more </em>repetitive.</div><div style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: Georgia, Times, serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 26px; margin-bottom: 0.55em; margin-top: 0.55em;">MORE repetitive.</div><div style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: Georgia, Times, serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 26px; margin-bottom: 0.55em; margin-top: 0.55em;">At first this sounds completely insane. One obvious advantage of most digital-listening systems is their enormous variety: millions of songs, countless strategies for “discovering” new music and so on. But instead of prodding traditional radio to mix things up, this innovation has actually moved the dial in the other direction. <a data-rapid_p="59" data-ylk="elm:itm;elmt:link;g:cbdf14cb-1e2f-3ee7-b3f0-7f887237b30b;ct:1;t1:a5;t4:18;itc:0;" href="http://online.wsj.com/news/articles/SB10001424052702303754404579313150485141672" style="color: #324fe1; text-decoration: none;" target="_blank">As the <em>Journal </em>notes</a>, the most-played song on the radio in 2013 was Robin Thicke’s “Blurred Lines,” with nearly 750,000 spins. Compare that with the most-repeated tune from a decade earlier: “When I’m Gone,” by Three Doors Down, got about 440,000 plays. That works out to a repetition increase of more than 70 percent.</div><div style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: Georgia, Times, serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 26px; margin-bottom: 0.55em; margin-top: 0.55em;">Let me repeat: Radio repetition is up by 70 percent. (OK, I won’t do that again.)</div><div style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: Georgia, Times, serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 26px; margin-bottom: 0.55em; margin-top: 0.55em;">Apparently this has happened because research suggests that radio listeners tend to flip away from anything unfamiliar. Eventually, I suppose, that means every station will simply broadcast “Hey Jude” 24 hours a day.</div><div style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: Georgia, Times, serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 26px; margin-bottom: 0.55em; margin-top: 0.55em;">My own listening habits are dominated by iTunes and (to a lesser extent) Pandora, with occasional doses of Spotify, SoundCloud and YouTube. But the more I thought about that <em>Journal </em>story, I had to admit that I, too, listen to regular radio sometimes. And repetition — or really, familiarity — is part of the reason.</div><div style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: Georgia, Times, serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 26px; margin-bottom: 0.55em; margin-top: 0.55em;">All my radio listening (with the exception of involuntary situations, such as in the grocery store) happens in the car. For years this owed to simple lack of choice: Our first car was a no-extras 1999 model with AM/FM radio only. But last year we bought a new car, and something weird happened: I’ve never bothered to figure out the Bluetooth connection, or even used the CD player. So I must get something out of radio. What is it?</div><div style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: Georgia, Times, serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 26px; margin-bottom: 0.55em; margin-top: 0.55em;">For starters, even though everybody trashes radio, it’s actually possible to hear perfectly good songs. “Should I Stay or Should I Go” never gets old; ditto “Back in Black”; I like Adele; and so on. Just the other day I bumped into Dwight Yoakam’s “A Thousand Miles from Nowhere.” Good stuff.</div><div style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: Georgia, Times, serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 26px; margin-bottom: 0.55em; margin-top: 0.55em;">But because I’m generally in the car alone, I’m also free to enjoy radio’s ability to feed my most embarrassing musical pleasures — again, stuff that’s enjoyable partly because I’ve been hearing it my entire life. The number of Billy Joel songs I own is zero, but I am happy to sing along to “Uptown Girl” when it presents itself (and nobody I know can see me). You will never find me at home listening to Styx’s “Grand Illusion”; on the car radio, I crank it up. Any day that includes hearing “Total Eclipse of the Heart” for the nth time is a good day.</div><div style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: Georgia, Times, serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 26px; margin-bottom: 0.55em; margin-top: 0.55em;">At this point maybe you’re concluding that I just have bad taste. I promise that in real life, I’m an adventurous listener. The point is that nobody should turn to conventional radio hoping for Wooden Shjips, Sam Phillips or <a data-rapid_p="60" data-ylk="elm:itm;elmt:link;g:cbdf14cb-1e2f-3ee7-b3f0-7f887237b30b;ct:1;t1:a5;t4:18;itc:0;" href="http://martinibomb.bandcamp.com/" style="color: #324fe1; text-decoration: none;" target="_blank">Martinibomb</a>. I almost never “discover” new music on the radio. But I do <em>re</em>discover music: The repetition factor has actually given me a much deeper appreciation of some songs, by sheer dint of being forced to listen to them over and over. I always liked “Shattered,” for instance, but it’s thanks to radio that it’s become maybe my favorite Stones song ever.</div><div style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: Georgia, Times, serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 26px; margin-bottom: 0.55em; margin-top: 0.55em;">Partly, then, radio is a familiarity machine that spits out nonstop nostalgia. But it’s also useful for assessing the Top 40: I’ve had enough of “Royals,” but, yeah, I still enjoy listening to “Blurred Lines.” Again. </div><div style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: Georgia, Times, serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 26px; margin-bottom: 0.55em; margin-top: 0.55em;">Having said all that, I’m not really in the car very much, and if I had an hourlong daily commute, I’d probably change my tune. And none of the pleasures of repetition I’ve sketched above have inspired me to turn on a radio in my house in several years. The digital alternatives are, basically, superior.</div><div style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: Georgia, Times, serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 26px; margin-bottom: 0.55em; margin-top: 0.55em;">But in small doses, a little familiarity sounds good. Just don’t make me say this again.</div><div style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: Georgia, Times, serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 26px; margin-bottom: 0.55em; margin-top: 0.55em;"><em>Yahoo Tech is a brand new tech site from David Pogue and an all-star team of writers. <a data-rapid_p="61" data-ylk="elm:itm;elmt:link;g:cbdf14cb-1e2f-3ee7-b3f0-7f887237b30b;ct:1;t1:a5;t4:18;itc:0;" href="http://www.facebook.com/yahootech" style="color: #324fe1; text-decoration: none;" target="_blank">Follow us on Facebook</a> for all the latest.</em></div></div>

Why FM Radio Is More Repetitive Than Ever. Why FM Radio Is More Repetitive Than Ever. Why FM Radio... (BLOG)

You don’t hear so much about FM radio these days. Pandora, Spotify, iTunes, the  just-launched Beats Music streaming service  and countless ...

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G4T is a VICTIM OF CYBERBULLYING

<div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: large;"><b>Send G4T some donation$</b></span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;">G4T is a victim of bullying and defamation.  He needs your help to combat this abuse on YOU TUBE because deep down he's really a nice guy.  Yea right.<br /><br />Listen people here's what I see going on here.  This guy is a serial con man who has taken many people directly into financial destruction at his own benefit.  He's an opportunist the preys on people and will do anything for attention.  He's a combination of things and quite a complex personality that seems to enjoy his attempt to annoy people while he himself gets a sport of this behavior and is simply working this out to feed his insatiable lust for power and control.  He might be an employee of the nation's largest employer.  They love people like this.  Could it be the intent of this is to create more chaos?  I think this fits a pattern of others who are engaged in the same program.  Remember who he's affiliated with and you might actually figure some of this out.  This is a large cartel of chaos along with role playing and various mind control experiments.<br /><br />To those who watch this guy beware.  You better have at least a limited understanding of what is going on here.  If you don't you might fall prey to this complicated game of mind assaults.  This guy is not the victim; he's the perpetrator of this.  And he's only a very small portion of a larger community of chaos distribution and development:<br /><a href="http://news-these-days.blogspot.com/2014/01/america-is-going-over-edge.html" style="color: red;">http://news-these-days.blogspot.com/2014/01/america-is-going-over-edge.html</a> </div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /><iframe allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="360" src="//www.youtube.com/embed/xACnykaUfhw?feature=player_detailpage" width="640"></iframe><br /><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;">...developing...</div>

G4T is a VICTIM OF CYBERBULLYING

Send G4T some donation$ G4T is a victim of bullying and defamation.  He needs your help to combat this abuse on YOU TUBE because deep down h...

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Obama targets college sexual assault epidemic (BLOG)

<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhsgxHmdLKfpxXvc-HrTQCqKqLPK7251_P8cLSoG2JtSeabG5tap695tHcmAP7hoVNom85PiOcuVZUihn10ZwdnFDIJIr5kK_M18NnJf3E-iqLwyjyNmzGbuoPxZfbwjvbkcvLx-Y5TqI0/s1600/dd89bc1d4628432692725a4d247def63.jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="213" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhsgxHmdLKfpxXvc-HrTQCqKqLPK7251_P8cLSoG2JtSeabG5tap695tHcmAP7hoVNom85PiOcuVZUihn10ZwdnFDIJIr5kK_M18NnJf3E-iqLwyjyNmzGbuoPxZfbwjvbkcvLx-Y5TqI0/s1600/dd89bc1d4628432692725a4d247def63.jpeg" width="320" /></a></div><div id="yui_3_9_1_1_1390441625499_18164" style="background-color: white; font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', HelveticaNeue, helvetica, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 15px; line-height: 24.000001907348633px; margin-bottom: 1.1em;">WASHINGTON (AP) — President Barack Obama shone a light Wednesday on a college sexual assault epidemic that is often shrouded in secrecy, with victims fearing stigma, police poorly trained to investigate and universities reluctant to disclose the violence.</div><div class="body-slot-mod" style="background-color: white; clear: right; float: right; font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', HelveticaNeue, helvetica, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12px; line-height: 17.307693481445313px; margin: 0px 0px 1.1em 10px; max-width: 300px;"><div class="yom-remote"><div class="" id="mediacontentrelatedstory_container"></div></div></div><div id="yui_3_9_1_1_1390441625499_18202" style="background-color: white; font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', HelveticaNeue, helvetica, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 15px; line-height: 24.000001907348633px; margin-bottom: 1.1em;">A White House report highlights a stunning prevalence of rape on college campuses, with 1 in 5 female students assaulted while only 1 in 8 student victims report it.</div><div id="yui_3_9_1_1_1390441625499_18212" style="background-color: white; font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', HelveticaNeue, helvetica, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 15px; line-height: 24.000001907348633px; margin-bottom: 1.1em;">"No one is more at risk of being raped or sexually assaulted than women at our nation's colleges and universities," said the report by the White House Council on Women and Girls.</div><div id="yui_3_9_1_1_1390441625499_18222" style="background-color: white; font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', HelveticaNeue, helvetica, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 15px; line-height: 24.000001907348633px; margin-bottom: 1.1em;">Nearly 22 million American women and 1.6 million men have been raped in their lifetimes, according to the report. It chronicled the devastating effects, including depression, substance abuse and a wide range of physical ailments such as chronic pain and diabetes.</div><div id="yui_3_9_1_1_1390441625499_18232" style="background-color: white; font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', HelveticaNeue, helvetica, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 15px; line-height: 24.000001907348633px; margin-bottom: 1.1em;">The report said campus sexual assaults are fueled by drinking and drug use that can incapacitate victims, often at student parties at the hands of someone they know.</div><div style="background-color: white; font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', HelveticaNeue, helvetica, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 15px; line-height: 24.000001907348633px; margin-bottom: 1.1em;">Perpetrators often are serial offenders. One study cited by the report found that 7 percent of college men admitted to attempting rape, and 63 percent of those men admitted to multiple offenses, averaging six rapes each.</div><div style="background-color: white; font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', HelveticaNeue, helvetica, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 15px; line-height: 24.000001907348633px; margin-bottom: 1.1em;">Obama, who has overseen a military that has grappled with its own crisis of sexual assaults, spoke out against the crime as "an affront on our basic decency and humanity." He then signed a memorandum creating a task force to respond to campus rapes.</div><div style="background-color: white; font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', HelveticaNeue, helvetica, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 15px; line-height: 24.000001907348633px; margin-bottom: 1.1em;">Obama said he was speaking out as president and a father of two daughters, and that men must express outrage to stop the crime.</div><div class="body-related" style="background-color: white; clear: right; float: right; font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', HelveticaNeue, helvetica, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 15px; line-height: 24.000001907348633px; margin-bottom: 10px; margin-left: 10px; position: relative;"><a class="body-related-link body-related-image go-to-slideshow-lightbox rapid-noclick-resp landscape onesize get-lbdata-from-dom" data-rapid_p="8" data-uuid="845d3865-41e2-3a0d-86e0-f94d2d8b99cb" href="http://news.yahoo.com/photos/president-barack-obama-vice-president-joe-biden-center-photo-172944481--election.html" style="color: #324fe1; cursor: pointer; display: block; margin: 0px auto; max-width: 300px; position: relative; text-decoration: none;" title="President Barack Obama and Vice President Joe Biden,&nbsp;&hellip;"><div class="img-wrap" style="position: relative;"><div class="cta-overlay" style="-webkit-transition: background-color 0.24s linear; font-size: 13px; height: 195px; left: 0px; position: absolute; top: 0px; transition: background-color 0.24s linear; width: 300px;"><span class="clearfix title cta-text medium" style="-webkit-transition: opacity 0.24s linear; color: white; font-size: 16px; left: 5px; opacity: 0; position: absolute; top: 5px; transition: opacity 0.24s linear; white-space: pre-wrap; width: 270px; zoom: 1;"></span><span class="cta-text xsmall" style="-webkit-transition: opacity 0.24s linear; bottom: 5px; color: white; font-size: 16px; margin-left: 42px; opacity: 0; position: absolute; transition: opacity 0.24s linear;">View gallery</span><span class="icon-slideshow icon-white-slideshow-xsmall" style="-webkit-transition: opacity 0.16s linear; background-color: #324fe1; background-image: url(data:image/svg+xml; background-repeat: no-repeat no-repeat; background-size: cover; border-bottom-left-radius: 4px; border-bottom-right-radius: 4px; border-top-left-radius: 4px; border-top-right-radius: 4px; bottom: 5px; cursor: pointer; height: 23px; left: 5px; line-height: 0; opacity: 0; padding: 0px; position: absolute; text-indent: -1000em; transition: opacity 0.16s linear; width: 32px; z-index: 1;"></span></div><img alt="President Barack Obama and Vice President Joe Biden,&nbsp;&hellip;" class="body-related-thumb" data-src-2x="" height="195" src="http://l1.yimg.com/bt/api/res/1.2/JhmRXCn49zZ2ov77FilYBg--/YXBwaWQ9eW5ld3M7Zmk9ZmlsbDtoPTE5NTtxPTc1O3c9MzAw/http://media.zenfs.com/en_us/News/ap_webfeeds/d0224c7c1cbaa903490f6a706700abca.jpg" style="-webkit-transition: opacity 0.3333s ease 0ms; background-repeat: no-repeat no-repeat; border: 0px; display: block; opacity: 1 !important; transition: opacity 0.3333s ease 0ms; vertical-align: baseline; visibility: visible !important;" width="300" /></div></a><div class="body-related-title photo-caption" style="box-sizing: border-box; color: grey; font-size: 11px; line-height: 16.5px; margin: 0px auto; max-width: 100%; padding: 5px 5px 0px 0px; position: relative; width: 300px;">President Barack Obama and Vice President Joe Biden, center, meet with, from left, White House Senio …</div></div><div style="background-color: white; font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', HelveticaNeue, helvetica, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 15px; line-height: 24.000001907348633px; margin-bottom: 1.1em;">"We need to encourage young people, men and women, to realize that sexual assault is simply unacceptable," Obama said. "And they're going to have to summon the bravery to stand up and say so, especially when the social pressure to keep quiet or to go along can be very intense."</div><div style="background-color: white; font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', HelveticaNeue, helvetica, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 15px; line-height: 24.000001907348633px; margin-bottom: 1.1em;">Obama gave the task force, comprised of administration officials, 90 days to come up with recommendations for colleges to prevent and respond to the crime, increase public awareness of each school's track record and enhance coordination among federal agencies to hold schools accountable if they don't confront the problem.</div><div style="background-color: white; font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', HelveticaNeue, helvetica, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 15px; line-height: 24.000001907348633px; margin-bottom: 1.1em;">Records obtained by The Associated Press under the federal Freedom of Information Act illustrate a continuing problem for colleges in investigating crime. The documents include anonymous complaints sent to the Education Department, often alleging universities haven't accurately reported on-campus crime or appropriately punished assailants as required under federal law.</div><div style="background-color: white; font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', HelveticaNeue, helvetica, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 15px; line-height: 24.000001907348633px; margin-bottom: 1.1em;">A former Amherst College student, Angie Epifano, has accused the school of trivializing her report of being raped in a dorm room in 2011 by an acquaintance. She said school counselors questioned whether she was really raped, refused her request to change dorms, discouraged her from pressing charges and had police take her to a psychiatric ward. She withdrew from Amherst while her alleged attacker graduated.</div><div style="background-color: white; font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', HelveticaNeue, helvetica, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 15px; line-height: 24.000001907348633px; margin-bottom: 1.1em;">Among the federal laws requiring colleges to address sexual assault are: Title IX, which prohibits gender discrimination in education; the renewed Violence Against Women Act, which was signed into law last year with new provisions on college sexual assault; and the Clery Act, which requires colleges and universities to publicly report their crime statistics every year.</div><div style="background-color: white; font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', HelveticaNeue, helvetica, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 15px; line-height: 24.000001907348633px; margin-bottom: 1.1em;">The Education Department has investigated and fined several schools for not accurately reporting crimes. Most notably was a 2006 case at Eastern Michigan University, in which the government eventually fined the school a then-record $357,000 for not revealing a student had been sexual assaulted and murdered in her dorm room.</div><div style="background-color: white; font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', HelveticaNeue, helvetica, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 15px; line-height: 24.000001907348633px; margin-bottom: 1.1em;">Violent crime can be underreported on college campuses, advocates say, because of a university's public-image incentive to keep figures low, or because crimes can occur off campus and instead investigated by local police. Other times, schools put such suspects before a campus court whose proceedings are largely secret and not subjected to judicial review.</div><div style="background-color: white; font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', HelveticaNeue, helvetica, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 15px; line-height: 24.000001907348633px; margin-bottom: 1.1em;">Students Active for Ending Rape, a nonprofit group that works with student activists to push for sexual assault policy changes on their campuses, said in a report last year that schools often do not fully address the problem. The report gave more than 80 percent of college policies a grade C or below, an F to nearly one-quarter and said one-third don't fully comply with the Clery Act.</div><div id="yui_3_9_1_1_1390441625499_18242" style="background-color: white; font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', HelveticaNeue, helvetica, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 15px; line-height: 24.000001907348633px; margin-bottom: 1.1em;">The White House report also declares that the criminal justice response to sexual assault broadly is too often inadequate and lays out a goal of increasing arrest, prosecution and conviction rates without any specific targets.</div><div id="yui_3_9_1_1_1390441625499_18252" style="background-color: white; font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', HelveticaNeue, helvetica, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 15px; line-height: 24.000001907348633px; margin-bottom: 1.1em;">The report blames police bias and a lack of training to investigate and prosecute sex crimes for low arrest rates and says the federal government should promote training and help police increase testing of DNA evidence collected from victims.</div><div style="background-color: white; font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', HelveticaNeue, helvetica, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 15px; line-height: 24.000001907348633px; margin-bottom: 1.1em;">The report mentions sexual assaults in the military — Obama last month directed the Pentagon to better prevent and respond to the crime within its ranks or face further reforms. White House officials say they want to set the example by turning around the sexual assault problem in the military. "I've made it clear I expect significant progress in the year ahead," Obama said.</div><div style="background-color: white; font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', HelveticaNeue, helvetica, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 15px; line-height: 24.000001907348633px; margin-bottom: 1.1em;">___</div><div id="yui_3_9_1_1_1390441625499_18283" style="background-color: white; font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', HelveticaNeue, helvetica, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 15px; line-height: 24.000001907348633px; margin-bottom: 1.1em;">Associated Press writer Jack Gillum contributed to this report.</div><div id="yui_3_9_1_1_1390441625499_18256" style="background-color: white; font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', HelveticaNeue, helvetica, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 15px; line-height: 24.000001907348633px; margin-bottom: 1.1em;">___</div><div id="yui_3_9_1_1_1390441625499_18271" style="background-color: white; font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', HelveticaNeue, helvetica, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 15px; line-height: 24.000001907348633px; margin-bottom: 1.1em;">Follow Nedra Pickler on Twitter at https://twitter.com/nedrapickler</div></div>

Obama targets college sexual assault epidemic (BLOG)

WASHINGTON (AP) — President Barack Obama shone a light Wednesday on a college sexual assault epidemic that is often shrouded in secrecy, wit...

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Continued Claims

<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjZktof6L1QZAtHKM75p0a9kRBslW81e3DO12iRIwylmwL32GaOD5crglQ9iNe5hwNSvk5iw1_u0b3l3y-Yh9WvLnaxiOcDfotMGtqRsoCyfn8MtxdLtlHk7_MpsUX-orl0im6XY08vupk/s1600/Continued+Claims.jpg" imageanchor="1"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjZktof6L1QZAtHKM75p0a9kRBslW81e3DO12iRIwylmwL32GaOD5crglQ9iNe5hwNSvk5iw1_u0b3l3y-Yh9WvLnaxiOcDfotMGtqRsoCyfn8MtxdLtlHk7_MpsUX-orl0im6XY08vupk/s320/Continued+Claims.jpg" /></a><br /><span style="font-size: x-small;">Click to enlarge.</span><br /><br /><b>January 23, 2014</b><br /><a href="http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2014-01-23/treasuries-hold-back-to-back-drop-on-growth-fed-taper-pressure.html">U.S. 10-Year Yield Falls to Six-Week Low After Economic Reports</a><br /><br /><div style="color: #666666;"><i>Treasuries rose, pushing 10-year note yields to a six-week low, after <span style="color: red;">continuing jobless claims rose last week more than forecast</span> and a manufacturing gauge unexpectedly fell this month, reflecting an uneven economic expansion.</i></div><br />This is not investment advice. If slapping parabolic trend lines onto a series of data points could accurately predict the future then historians would all be billionaires. That said, damn. Bad chart. Bad. Bad.<br /><br /><b>Source Data:</b><br /><a href="http://research.stlouisfed.org/fred2/graph/?g=rgO">St. Louis Fed: Continued Claims</a>

Continued Claims

Click to enlarge. January 23, 2014 U.S. 10-Year Yield Falls to Six-Week Low After Economic Reports Treasuries rose, pushing 10-year note yie...

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Mob Wives: Sneak Peek "Eat Worms B*tch" Ep 8

<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEid3ppoHe3T2Hh7jCPWqeLSHP3UoJjjYhRTAmADTq1GUUJjRcmAzkuTqHXrW0uuiaADuor9tWJCqcI2-WhWJQfL_LgksoyYw6KD_VL3FaJ4tBRfROCovi6g3wFvv73olA78LlsiTWloPMI/s1600/renee+tells+off+alicia.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="222" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEid3ppoHe3T2Hh7jCPWqeLSHP3UoJjjYhRTAmADTq1GUUJjRcmAzkuTqHXrW0uuiaADuor9tWJCqcI2-WhWJQfL_LgksoyYw6KD_VL3FaJ4tBRfROCovi6g3wFvv73olA78LlsiTWloPMI/s1600/renee+tells+off+alicia.JPG" width="400" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><b>Renee tells Alicia off! Yes!</b></div><br /><br />Well, well looks like Renee has had enough of Alicia! Join the club Renee! I don't know who Alicia thinks she is, but her inflated ego is getting knocked down a few pegs by Renee and I couldn't be happier. I am Team Renee. Renee has been nothing but supportive of Alicia and Alicia turned on her two times without reason. Let's sum up Alicia's record so far...let's see if that "innocent" act holds water! Here's my two cents worth...<br /><br />It's true I have been having a little fun on the blog at Alicia’s expense. I consider it like a “hazing” or initiation like to the Mob Wives sorority. She is the new comer and she immediately got off on the wrong foot by throwing Karen’s and her father’s name around right off the bat. It came across badly to anyone who is a fan of Karen Gravano or has a sense of right and wrong. The things she was saying weren’t true. To make matters worse, Karen wasn’t even on the show to defend herself. So that was my first impression of Alicia, and it wasn’t good.<br /><br />And then Alicia’s issues with Renee started when she heard her name mentioned on the wire tap recordings. I have a big problem with this. Alicia and Eddie were arrested three years ago and she already pled guilty before the show started filming, so WHY is she just now listening to wire taps and just learning Renee’s name was mentioned in them? Interesting.<br /><br />Then, we come across conflicting stories on the show and in the media for just about everything that concerns Alicia. She swears she did not have a clue her husband worked for the mob. Big Ang says she had to have known, his father was whacked by the mob, what else could she think?  Did she know her husband worked for the mob or not? Like Big Ang, I find it hard to believe that she was that naïve and didn’t know about it…so I think that was a LIE.<br /><br />Next she says she was arrested by the Feds for embezzling money, but swears she never “cooked the books.” The Feds have five years of wire taps recorded and she is on them. They felt there was enough evidence there to convict her of embezzlement. Alicia pled guilty to the charges, even though she still claims she is “innocent” and it was all her husband’s fault. She was the bookkeeper. She saw where the money went. I think she is guilty as charged. The innocent act sounds like a LIE.<br /><br />The Feds asked Alicia to fill out papers disclosing her income before she was cast on Mob Wives. She failed to go back and correct the disclosure when she learned she would be earning roughly $8,000 an episode or $96,000 for the season. The Feds want her to pay restitution and fines to the truckers whose pension funds she allegedly pocketed. Failure to report her Mob Wives income may appear to some as a LIE.<br /><br />Then I read about the Gucci lawsuit. According to several media stories, Gucci believed that she was selling items with their logo and passing it off as theirs. We don’t know all the details, but Alicia says they have dropped their lawsuit. Apparently, from what I gather, the boutique was selling handmade baby items adorned with little frills made with material that had designer logo patterns all over them. Maybe that’s not an infringement on their logo? Who knows? Gucci will not return my calls. I’ll give this one to Alicia.<br /><br />In her personal life, at least  on the show, she is crying a river over Eddie, who was imprisoned three years ago. One would think she “doesn’t know what to do” when he comes out. She loves him, but this was such a huge betrayal. Should she stay or go…that’s the impression I got. After all he was her one true love. Turns out, according to people in Philly, that Alicia found herself a new man very soon after Eddie’s incarceration. Alicia says he is an old family friend, there is no truth to the rumors they are “together.” Yet, people are saying he rarely leaves her side and his car is always parked outside her house. Who are we to believe, the people from Philly, the city of love, or Alicia? I’m going with the word on the Philly street, which would make Alicia’s version a LIE.<br /><br />Now for the Vegas picture and newspaper articles! According to Alicia, it’s NOT the picture that’s the problem, it’s the lies told to the newspapers about her going to visit her son in WV and then going to Vegas instead. She blames Renee for leaking the information. Why? I don’t get it. Why would Renee tell the media lies and why would the judge be upset by the content of the article? Alicia is not responsible for what the media prints or what their sources may tell them. The judge evidently knows that Alicia asked to go to Vegas, it was approved and her lawyer did not seem concerned about that. BUT, Alicia is responsible for tweeting out her own picture in a skimpy swimsuit with Drita...the picture that Alicia discussed with her attorney on the show...the picture he was concerned about because it could leave the judge with a negative image of her as a party girl and not the stay at home mom she tried to portray to the court. So, the way it was presented on the show, it leaves us to believe that the pictures were indeed the problem. The pictures that, by Alicia’s own admission, were released on her social media accounts by her. So which one is the problem…the pictures or the content of the article? Maybe neither? After all who stands to benefit from those articles? Everyone! The media, VH1, Mob Wives Producers, the cast and Alicia herself, because it has created drama for the show to film…and drama = $$$.<br /><br />Let's go to the video tape! May the best Mob Wife win!<br /><br /><div style="background-color: black; width: 520px;"><div style="padding: 4px;"><div style="text-align: center;"><iframe frameborder="0" height="288" src="http://media.mtvnservices.com/embed/mgid:uma:video:vh1.com:996087/cp~channelId%3D3%26id%3D1720820%26vid%3D996087%26instance%3Dvh1%26uri%3Dmgid%3Auma%3Avideo%3Avh1.com%3A996087" width="512"></iframe></div><div style="background-color: white; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 12px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-top: 4px; padding: 4px; text-align: left;">Get More: <a href="http://www.vh1.com/shows/mob_wives/season_4/series.jhtml" style="color: #439cd8;" target="_blank">Mob Wives (Season 4)</a></div></div></div>

Mob Wives: Sneak Peek "Eat Worms B*tch" Ep 8

Renee tells Alicia off! Yes! Well, well looks like Renee has had enough of Alicia! Join the club Renee! I don't know who Alicia thinks s...

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Bird flu spikes in China ahead of Lunar New Year (BLOG, PICS)

<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjkGqDOlfV6wZoEmbMmIKBQuGSGB6UmZzMguHYqEsjmctM_2jdCJwvY7ayOidG8g7d9hybPGHQ8Gd02A3mT9doT4Padml_uxQYvaViLpA1VrLZZPlpc1LBkqxObLGtMh2d42-To9K5XGYU/s1600/a8cc0df61ad4a003490f6a706700a590.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="207" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjkGqDOlfV6wZoEmbMmIKBQuGSGB6UmZzMguHYqEsjmctM_2jdCJwvY7ayOidG8g7d9hybPGHQ8Gd02A3mT9doT4Padml_uxQYvaViLpA1VrLZZPlpc1LBkqxObLGtMh2d42-To9K5XGYU/s1600/a8cc0df61ad4a003490f6a706700a590.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><div id="yui_3_9_1_1_1390441625499_14352" style="background-color: white; font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', HelveticaNeue, helvetica, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 15px; line-height: 24.000001907348633px; margin-bottom: 1.1em;">A spate of bird flu cases since the beginning of the year in China has experts watching closely as millions of people and poultry are on the move ahead of the Lunar New Year holiday, the world's largest annual human migration.</div><div id="yui_3_9_1_1_1390441625499_14366" style="background-color: white; font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', HelveticaNeue, helvetica, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 15px; line-height: 24.000001907348633px; margin-bottom: 1.1em;">For those who track influenza, the holiday, which begins Jan. 31, is always worrying because it comes during the winter months when flu typically rages. Add that to hundreds of millions of people — and often birds — crammed together on buses and other forms of transportation going home, and it's always a bit of a gamble. China estimates 3.6 billion trips will be taken over the holiday season.China has reported more than 50 H7N9 infections in 2014 after the strain jumped from birds to people for the first time last year. The virus remains hard to catch and most cases have been linked to contact with poultry, but scientists worry that could change if it mutates into a form that allows it to spread easily among people.</div><div style="background-color: white; font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', HelveticaNeue, helvetica, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 15px; line-height: 24.000001907348633px; margin-bottom: 1.1em;">"This is the first winter we've seen H7N9. We are in uncharted territory," said Gregory Hartl, World Health Organization spokesman in Geneva. "We have seen an upstart in cases, which we are attributing basically to the fact that it's winter. That combined with a lot of movement of people in crowded trains with chickens could give rise to a lot more infections, but we've also seen in past years where it hasn't."</div><div id="yui_3_9_1_1_1390441625499_14321" style="background-color: white; font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', HelveticaNeue, helvetica, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 15px; line-height: 24.000001907348633px; margin-bottom: 1.1em;">The first H7N9 cases were reported in late March near Shanghai, and more than 200 others have since been identified, including some 50 deaths. A 31-year-old doctor became one of the latest fatalities, raising fears he may have been infected at the hospital where he worked, but none of his patients or other close contacts have reported flu symptoms, according to the Shanghai Municipal Commission of Health and Family Planning.</div><div id="yui_3_9_1_1_1390441625499_14331" style="background-color: white; font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', HelveticaNeue, helvetica, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 15px; line-height: 24.000001907348633px; margin-bottom: 1.1em;">There have been a handful of family clusters, but WHO says no sustained human-to-human transmission has occurred. However, scientists warn that the H7N9 virus contains genetic markers that could help it infect mammals easier than other avian flus. Infected birds also do not show symptoms, making it harder to track the disease. Cases declined in China over the summer, which is typically slower for influenza viruses, after some local live poultry markets were temporarily closed.</div><div class="body-related" style="background-color: white; clear: right; float: right; font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', HelveticaNeue, helvetica, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 15px; line-height: 24.000001907348633px; margin-bottom: 10px; margin-left: 10px; position: relative;"><a class="body-related-link body-related-image go-to-slideshow-lightbox rapid-noclick-resp landscape onesize get-lbdata-from-dom" data-rapid_p="8" data-uuid="2a49bedc-363f-392c-9bf5-646b2f091c2a" href="http://news.yahoo.com/photos/tuesday-jan-21-2014-photo-man-picks-chickens-photo-081715209.html" style="color: #324fe1; cursor: pointer; display: block; margin: 0px auto; max-width: 300px; position: relative; text-decoration: none;" title="In this Tuesday Jan. 21, 2014 photo, a man picks chickens&nbsp;&hellip;"><div class="img-wrap" style="position: relative;"><div class="cta-overlay" style="-webkit-transition: background-color 0.24s linear; font-size: 13px; height: 200px; left: 0px; position: absolute; top: 0px; transition: background-color 0.24s linear; width: 300px;"><span class="clearfix title cta-text medium" style="-webkit-transition: opacity 0.24s linear; color: white; font-size: 16px; left: 5px; opacity: 0; position: absolute; top: 5px; transition: opacity 0.24s linear; white-space: pre-wrap; width: 270px; zoom: 1;"></span><span class="cta-text xsmall" style="-webkit-transition: opacity 0.24s linear; bottom: 5px; color: white; font-size: 16px; margin-left: 42px; opacity: 0; position: absolute; transition: opacity 0.24s linear;">View gallery</span><span class="icon-slideshow icon-white-slideshow-xsmall" style="-webkit-transition: opacity 0.16s linear; background-color: #324fe1; background-image: url(data:image/svg+xml; background-repeat: no-repeat no-repeat; background-size: cover; border-bottom-left-radius: 4px; border-bottom-right-radius: 4px; border-top-left-radius: 4px; border-top-right-radius: 4px; bottom: 5px; cursor: pointer; height: 23px; left: 5px; line-height: 0; opacity: 0; padding: 0px; position: absolute; text-indent: -1000em; transition: opacity 0.16s linear; width: 32px; z-index: 1;"></span></div><img alt="In this Tuesday Jan. 21, 2014 photo, a man picks chickens&nbsp;&hellip;" class="body-related-thumb" data-src-2x="" height="200" src="http://l2.yimg.com/bt/api/res/1.2/XcjT2bnomOmkWKyj5ifp_g--/YXBwaWQ9eW5ld3M7Zmk9ZmlsbDtoPTIwMDtxPTc1O3c9MzAw/http://media.zenfs.com/en_us/News/ap_webfeeds/474813771ad3a003490f6a7067009eae.jpg" style="-webkit-transition: opacity 0.3333s ease 0ms; background-repeat: no-repeat no-repeat; border: 0px; display: block; opacity: 1 !important; transition: opacity 0.3333s ease 0ms; vertical-align: baseline; visibility: visible !important;" width="300" /></div></a><div class="body-related-title photo-caption" style="box-sizing: border-box; color: grey; font-size: 11px; line-height: 16.5px; margin: 0px auto; max-width: 100%; padding: 5px 5px 0px 0px; position: relative; width: 300px;">In this Tuesday Jan. 21, 2014 photo, a man picks chickens at a wholesale poultry market in Shanghai. …</div></div><div style="background-color: white; font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', HelveticaNeue, helvetica, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 15px; line-height: 24.000001907348633px; margin-bottom: 1.1em;">In Hong Kong, which has logged three cases, officials will test all poultry for the virus beginning later this week. Taiwan has reported two cases.</div><div style="background-color: white; font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', HelveticaNeue, helvetica, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 15px; line-height: 24.000001907348633px; margin-bottom: 1.1em;">In past years, it was the H5N1 bird flu virus that spiked during this time of year. That strain, which has killed at least 386 people since 2003, is still circulating widely in poultry stocks and kills about 60 percent of the people it infects.</div><div style="background-color: white; font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', HelveticaNeue, helvetica, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 15px; line-height: 24.000001907348633px; margin-bottom: 1.1em;">On Tuesday, Vietnam, which has long battled the virus, confirmed its first H5N1 death in nine months. Earlier in January, the first human case was reported in North America after a person traveling back from a trip to Beijing became ill and died in Canada.</div><div id="yui_3_9_1_1_1390441625499_14380" style="background-color: white; font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', HelveticaNeue, helvetica, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 15px; line-height: 24.000001907348633px; margin-bottom: 1.1em;">Both bird flus cause high fever and respiratory problems, including pneumonia and shortness of breath. Scientists have repeatedly warned that the viruses cannot be ignored because of their potential to possibly spark a global pandemic. But after years of campaigning in countries where it's common for chickens and pigs to live closely with people, sometimes in the same house, that message is often a hard sell.</div><div style="background-color: white; font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', HelveticaNeue, helvetica, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 15px; line-height: 24.000001907348633px; margin-bottom: 1.1em;">"After almost a decade of sitting on the proverbial edge of the H5N1 pandemic cliff and not falling off, people are beginning to think that we never will fall," Michael Osterholm, an infectious disease expert at the University of Minnesota, said by email. "But the best scientific assessment of microbial genetics tells us we could still fall off of that cliff and if we do, the global consequences could be devastating."</div><div style="background-color: white; font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', HelveticaNeue, helvetica, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 15px; line-height: 24.000001907348633px; margin-bottom: 1.1em;">Poultry is a central part of many families' dinner tables during the Lunar New Year festivities, and it's often bought live and killed at home in China and elsewhere across the region. The WHO urges care when slaughtering and preparing birds, including frequent hand washing. However, well-cooked meat and eggs do not pose a threat.</div><div id="yui_3_9_1_1_1390441625499_14406" style="background-color: white; font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', HelveticaNeue, helvetica, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 15px; line-height: 24.000001907348633px; margin-bottom: 1.1em;">____</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj1kEOGyqKNqRSEjSnsKDWLQCTnzM9J9CeocRNh3FrucbwPInWrKGo1lRMFubYukyGJMYvvWhtr9_bHqXqBl9A1HpYqBM49FsuIF45csEk8HCKNDwz_qxLxQoIrfENNkp41gHb2GidPY-0/s1600/474813771ad3a003490f6a7067009eae.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"></a></div><div id="yui_3_9_1_1_1390441625499_14391" style="background-color: white; font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', HelveticaNeue, helvetica, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 15px; line-height: 24.000001907348633px; margin-bottom: 1.1em;">AP Medical Writer Margie Mason covers health issues across the Asia-Pacific. Follow her on Twitter: twitter.com/MargieMasonAP</div></div>

Bird flu spikes in China ahead of Lunar New Year (BLOG, PICS)

A spate of bird flu cases since the beginning of the year in China has experts watching closely as millions of people and poultry are on the...

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Carla Bruni on the pages of The Edit

<br /><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh7bsj88ERwscNQtJ0Lm2qYr02YsE4vVvJLkcqDZtOxLiumamMhxLc3dHWnZj8sl1e2zq8Zj-EO6gfQeJcga7c7KTty4Ee0YQzv_7Fet9fyJliUfE-rTtd_qVQHywtDzPoL7oMtTPbh/s1600/Carla+Bruni+on+the+pages+of+The+Edit.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh7bsj88ERwscNQtJ0Lm2qYr02YsE4vVvJLkcqDZtOxLiumamMhxLc3dHWnZj8sl1e2zq8Zj-EO6gfQeJcga7c7KTty4Ee0YQzv_7Fet9fyJliUfE-rTtd_qVQHywtDzPoL7oMtTPbh/s1600/Carla+Bruni+on+the+pages+of+The+Edit.jpg" /></a></div><br /><b><span style="font-size: large;">Carla Bruni:</span></b>Italo-French top model, singer, and former first lady of France once again delighted us with excellent work - stylish photo wants to examine again and again.<br /><br /><script type="text/javascript"><!-- google_ad_client = "ca-pub-8441125172513237"; /* biner3 */ google_ad_slot = "7346003106"; google_ad_width = 468; google_ad_height = 60; //--></script><script type="text/javascript" src="//pagead2.googlesyndication.com/pagead/show_ads.js"></script><br /> <br /> Recall that recently celebrated its Bruni 46 years, but never looking at her and not think of this. Aristocratic beauty is admired all star!<br /><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhSYFhhAnecGrkerQt51tufHcE80HZHFFF3x-LzKoa_ocjuI7jdkrFZyBOlFNHCUFI4lumjbzo-gBV6bbdqvmTVlJZRubZFZfXJsI4V00jcBvTMGxo4caxpJ8Pks76GMxJmAgaOIriK/s1600/Carla+Bruni+1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="Carla Bruni photo shoot " border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhSYFhhAnecGrkerQt51tufHcE80HZHFFF3x-LzKoa_ocjuI7jdkrFZyBOlFNHCUFI4lumjbzo-gBV6bbdqvmTVlJZRubZFZfXJsI4V00jcBvTMGxo4caxpJ8Pks76GMxJmAgaOIriK/s1600/Carla+Bruni+1.jpg" title="Carla Bruni photo shoot " /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiy6R31Xf8AvCBj13qg1Sg3mbA361vJaOxo8A3HqM4Repy4-BQNGW_oaywI8LSvawwl4OuNazO0pAfd2m1lecDi6u8AAlpd9lJ0WUTT4kwyQqk_tgbSDy2uvJPl-wBNIA6FKjOjM6hv/s1600/Carla+Bruni+2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="Carla Bruni photo shoot " border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiy6R31Xf8AvCBj13qg1Sg3mbA361vJaOxo8A3HqM4Repy4-BQNGW_oaywI8LSvawwl4OuNazO0pAfd2m1lecDi6u8AAlpd9lJ0WUTT4kwyQqk_tgbSDy2uvJPl-wBNIA6FKjOjM6hv/s1600/Carla+Bruni+2.jpg" title="Carla Bruni photo shoot " /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEickABaPGE69-O9TxVVc6WFsRwn2UkybWKBbdJXv3AOGCMGCIpTspXFtW1Tvutffn6ytJxOOEHgP8YQmGGFYtSen_PQUT9ZB3AtvjFkka3v1mJ4Uep2Vv9HW0rmfzCKTfziJTbJJxGd/s1600/Carla+Bruni+3.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="Carla Bruni photo shoot " border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEickABaPGE69-O9TxVVc6WFsRwn2UkybWKBbdJXv3AOGCMGCIpTspXFtW1Tvutffn6ytJxOOEHgP8YQmGGFYtSen_PQUT9ZB3AtvjFkka3v1mJ4Uep2Vv9HW0rmfzCKTfziJTbJJxGd/s1600/Carla+Bruni+3.jpg" title="Carla Bruni photo shoot " /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiB3Z841jZplQvD8Kq08ZWlbI0xFyShJEJK9lhCzMXkRhGDcIjMcZkLIIEaDGJehYsIvav2Ve8rKqwcLNHK0g267fcn6V8JfX2jRSGJyTch3V6_Z2BgwtcTb8H2vV8wWH9ReJQJuJQK/s1600/Carla+Bruni+4.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="Carla Bruni photo shoot " border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiB3Z841jZplQvD8Kq08ZWlbI0xFyShJEJK9lhCzMXkRhGDcIjMcZkLIIEaDGJehYsIvav2Ve8rKqwcLNHK0g267fcn6V8JfX2jRSGJyTch3V6_Z2BgwtcTb8H2vV8wWH9ReJQJuJQK/s1600/Carla+Bruni+4.jpg" title="Carla Bruni photo shoot " /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjNtOKrobWk7KWl3hyphenhyphenPXtlijMJ8vE5a5m47ritRpgqnyuUAJm3cFtv11CDdghp3tF0RfJwg9Jl7UzA1sUoknPFnZ7iTNGUT8vjmIjLdOvW168u_Lfl380KTOWMqA13VGgHkJ2n14Yt7/s1600/Carla+Bruni+5.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="Carla Bruni photo shoot " border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjNtOKrobWk7KWl3hyphenhyphenPXtlijMJ8vE5a5m47ritRpgqnyuUAJm3cFtv11CDdghp3tF0RfJwg9Jl7UzA1sUoknPFnZ7iTNGUT8vjmIjLdOvW168u_Lfl380KTOWMqA13VGgHkJ2n14Yt7/s1600/Carla+Bruni+5.jpg" title="Carla Bruni photo shoot " /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjbUkDtkyJ-ULzawdGJeFdJgmz7UPBPoKNv6MThJ3fXpX9Yk6rGnri9KYDF6WRbOA9dNFkUDQoZhkR8gbG587VSsSkE96nxa7UWB-P9klXf17Hm1xU6S_vZgDqWUQp1fXxNJ3Fym2qC/s1600/Carla+Bruni+6.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="Carla Bruni photo shoot " border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjbUkDtkyJ-ULzawdGJeFdJgmz7UPBPoKNv6MThJ3fXpX9Yk6rGnri9KYDF6WRbOA9dNFkUDQoZhkR8gbG587VSsSkE96nxa7UWB-P9klXf17Hm1xU6S_vZgDqWUQp1fXxNJ3Fym2qC/s1600/Carla+Bruni+6.jpg" title="Carla Bruni photo shoot " /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj910tFlrqrBtZDi_O14hDib2cr_ixCjj54Jca-v3YzOoa4nBoy3lCCd5RR67POc_4u8q6_4EpJPH-OlCVISFRwGyfdQtal5e04Qom-7qh_Ws4Seq8sJUGGviRYlF-Y5sL0IY7SD1Z2/s1600/Carla+Bruni+7.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="Carla Bruni photo shoot " border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj910tFlrqrBtZDi_O14hDib2cr_ixCjj54Jca-v3YzOoa4nBoy3lCCd5RR67POc_4u8q6_4EpJPH-OlCVISFRwGyfdQtal5e04Qom-7qh_Ws4Seq8sJUGGviRYlF-Y5sL0IY7SD1Z2/s1600/Carla+Bruni+7.jpg" title="Carla Bruni photo shoot " /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjRVLdN0I2DSlovGHmPG_xRxN_VTRpXtcFGyRaJBsQ9fcUxqV8i9ZEZCOLqwy5vLnlBLtVh9D3OGduXeFtvJYvBqjBV-LeX_DOntcg9m_eP9p8KLp8slLfav5OV9ph4UrdZFfyAuPA6/s1600/Carla+Bruni+8.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="Carla Bruni photo shoot " border="0" height="261" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjRVLdN0I2DSlovGHmPG_xRxN_VTRpXtcFGyRaJBsQ9fcUxqV8i9ZEZCOLqwy5vLnlBLtVh9D3OGduXeFtvJYvBqjBV-LeX_DOntcg9m_eP9p8KLp8slLfav5OV9ph4UrdZFfyAuPA6/s1600/Carla+Bruni+8.jpg" title="Carla Bruni photo shoot " width="400" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiJ_XAL7mdDkbXEwNBQyRGq9HrAJg0_5AT5p0vT7bUJdwtXISIxTUZW_LIR984zmTJPC2y830uAyTQY8JiMqBv9alD5hiX90eVswbhOus5YLAOfXQzmp6e6VMdkui4r7nY6Xwdm3TCb/s1600/Carla+Bruni+9.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="Carla Bruni photo shoot " border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiJ_XAL7mdDkbXEwNBQyRGq9HrAJg0_5AT5p0vT7bUJdwtXISIxTUZW_LIR984zmTJPC2y830uAyTQY8JiMqBv9alD5hiX90eVswbhOus5YLAOfXQzmp6e6VMdkui4r7nY6Xwdm3TCb/s1600/Carla+Bruni+9.jpg" title="Carla Bruni photo shoot " /></a></div><br /><script type="text/javascript"><!-- google_ad_client = "ca-pub-8441125172513237"; /* boton */ google_ad_slot = "4392536701"; google_ad_width = 200; google_ad_height = 90; //--></script><script type="text/javascript" src="//pagead2.googlesyndication.com/pagead/show_ads.js"></script>

Carla Bruni on the pages of The Edit

Carla Bruni: Italo-French top model, singer, and former first lady of France once again delighted us with excellent work - stylish photo wa...

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Justin Bieber arrested for drunk driving

<script type="text/javascript"><!-- google_ad_client = "ca-pub-8441125172513237"; /* bleu 280 */ google_ad_slot = "8164661108"; google_ad_width = 336; google_ad_height = 280; //--></script><script type="text/javascript" src="//pagead2.googlesyndication.com/pagead/show_ads.js"></script><br /><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiECOgHynDy8bx3O6_Y4ELkvPhJT39sS6zn0hbSIhVEHzBiXBCxobsXMXURSAZi8RuGgwT-Y44_zde0yWcpQf5Iip8TEKJB8N68bazrsIcm_kkrhsM_sPDeEm4AOgGLZGpkimHR-Y6Z/s1600/Justin+Bieber+arrested+for+drunk+driving.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="Justin Bieber " border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiECOgHynDy8bx3O6_Y4ELkvPhJT39sS6zn0hbSIhVEHzBiXBCxobsXMXURSAZi8RuGgwT-Y44_zde0yWcpQf5Iip8TEKJB8N68bazrsIcm_kkrhsM_sPDeEm4AOgGLZGpkimHR-Y6Z/s1600/Justin+Bieber+arrested+for+drunk+driving.jpg" title="Justin Bieber " /></a></div><br /><span style="font-size: large;"><b>Justin Bieber</b> arrested - tells the world press. Singer arrested today in Miami, Florida. It is known that the cause was driving while intoxicated, as well as participation in prohibited street races. It is reported that the singer was driving a rented Lamborghini.</span> <br /> <script type="text/javascript"><!-- google_ad_client = "ca-pub-8441125172513237"; /* biner3 */ google_ad_slot = "7346003106"; google_ad_width = 468; google_ad_height = 60; //--></script><script type="text/javascript" src="//pagead2.googlesyndication.com/pagead/show_ads.js"></script><br /><br /><br /> News comes tweeted Miami Beach police: officers of the law stated that more complete information will be available later. <br /> <br /> According to media reports in recent days Bieber active "club" night clubs in Miami. <br /> <br /> This is not the first scandal on account of 19-year-old artist: so the other day at his house taking the drug. Also recently turned to the police neighbor musician: he complained that Justin with friends pelted his home with eggs. <br /> <br /> Latest news was the same information that the weekend Bieber spent time at a strip club, where for One night spent 75 thousand dollars.<br /><br /><script type="text/javascript"><!-- google_ad_client = "ca-pub-8441125172513237"; /* boton */ google_ad_slot = "4392536701"; google_ad_width = 200; google_ad_height = 90; //--></script><script type="text/javascript" src="//pagead2.googlesyndication.com/pagead/show_ads.js"></script>

Justin Bieber arrested for drunk driving

Justin Bieber arrested - tells the world press. Singer arrested today in Miami, Florida. It is known that the cause was driving while int...

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Detroit judge rejects request from creditors to value city art (BLOG)

<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhjvKL109DWvPlaRQfHYduYvCSSen2x3yiTEoNswnYqsLQ4W0lZd6D1NrxNUsNIckgHhSHJ1AQTD0wnE4k3pYVZYZnrXxSvFZ_eqN32GQH4nw1s5fBRXCjNPNKFOnNcTrAUR8ro2qrFdOs/s1600/2014-01-23T003316Z_1_CBREA0M01K200_RTROPTP_2_USA.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="213" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhjvKL109DWvPlaRQfHYduYvCSSen2x3yiTEoNswnYqsLQ4W0lZd6D1NrxNUsNIckgHhSHJ1AQTD0wnE4k3pYVZYZnrXxSvFZ_eqN32GQH4nw1s5fBRXCjNPNKFOnNcTrAUR8ro2qrFdOs/s1600/2014-01-23T003316Z_1_CBREA0M01K200_RTROPTP_2_USA.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><div id="yui_3_9_1_1_1390441625499_10944" style="background-color: white; font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', HelveticaNeue, helvetica, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 15px; line-height: 24.000001907348633px; margin-bottom: 1.1em;">By Joseph Lichterman</div><div id="yui_3_9_1_1_1390441625499_10902" style="background-color: white; font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', HelveticaNeue, helvetica, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 15px; line-height: 24.000001907348633px; margin-bottom: 1.1em;">Rhodes said he did not have the legal authority to approve the creation of the creditors' committee that would have examined the works of the Detroit Institute of Arts.DETROIT (Reuters) - The judge overseeing Detroit's bankruptcy denied a request from creditors to have an official say in valuing the city's art collection and said he will announce his decision next Tuesday on a request from Detroit retirees to block cuts to their healthcare.</div><div id="yui_3_9_1_1_1390441625499_10970" style="background-color: white; font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', HelveticaNeue, helvetica, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 15px; line-height: 24.000001907348633px; margin-bottom: 1.1em;">But even if he could have legally done so, Rhodes said he would not have approved the creation of the committee because discussion of the art should wait until after Detroit submits its plan of adjustment to the court by March 1.</div><div id="yui_3_9_1_1_1390441625499_10980" style="background-color: white; font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', HelveticaNeue, helvetica, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 15px; line-height: 24.000001907348633px; margin-bottom: 1.1em;">Rhodes implored the city and its creditors to do their best to negotiate settlements before that deadline.</div><div id="yui_3_9_1_1_1390441625499_10990" style="background-color: white; font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', HelveticaNeue, helvetica, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 15px; line-height: 24.000001907348633px; margin-bottom: 1.1em;">"Now is not the time for defiant swagger or for dismissive pound-the-table-take-it-or-leave-it proposals," Rhodes said.</div><div style="background-color: white; font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', HelveticaNeue, helvetica, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 15px; line-height: 24.000001907348633px; margin-bottom: 1.1em;">He said it was critical for the city and its creditors to reach agreements that will not further cripple the city and allow it to recover financially.</div><div style="background-color: white; font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', HelveticaNeue, helvetica, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 15px; line-height: 24.000001907348633px; margin-bottom: 1.1em;">"The court will not permit the confirmation of the city's plan to be another bad deal like all the other ones the city entered into of which we are now all too familiar," Rhodes said. "The plan must be feasible."</div><div style="background-color: white; font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', HelveticaNeue, helvetica, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 15px; line-height: 24.000001907348633px; margin-bottom: 1.1em;">HEALTHCARE BURDEN</div><div style="background-color: white; font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', HelveticaNeue, helvetica, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 15px; line-height: 24.000001907348633px; margin-bottom: 1.1em;">Detroit, which filed the largest municipal bankruptcy in U.S. history, is struggling under more than $18 billion in debt, including, it says, $5.7 billion in liabilities for healthcare and other retiree benefits.</div><div style="background-color: white; font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', HelveticaNeue, helvetica, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 15px; line-height: 24.000001907348633px; margin-bottom: 1.1em;">To deal with its healthcare burden, the city has proposed that retirees over 65 would be moved to Medicare and those under the age of 65 would be given a monthly stipend to purchase insurance through the exchanges of the Affordable Care Act.</div><div style="background-color: white; font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', HelveticaNeue, helvetica, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 15px; line-height: 24.000001907348633px; margin-bottom: 1.1em;">The changes to Detroit retiree healthcare are scheduled to take place on March 1.</div><div style="background-color: white; font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', HelveticaNeue, helvetica, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 15px; line-height: 24.000001907348633px; margin-bottom: 1.1em;">Attorney Sam Alberts, representing the Official Committee of Detroit Retirees, said in court Wednesday morning that the city's plan was "such a reduction in healthcare that it violates the constitution."</div><div style="background-color: white; font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', HelveticaNeue, helvetica, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 15px; line-height: 24.000001907348633px; margin-bottom: 1.1em;">But Rhodes, who is overseeing the case, questioned why the retirees' health care claims against the city should get special treatment.</div><div style="background-color: white; font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', HelveticaNeue, helvetica, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 15px; line-height: 24.000001907348633px; margin-bottom: 1.1em;">"I've got adversaries from financial creditors claiming the same special or elevated treatment," Rhodes said during the hearing Wednesday morning. "I've got the swap counterparties claiming hundreds of millions of dollars. I've got a debtor who arguably can't pay any of it. What do I do except deal with all of these claims of special treatment in the context of a plan?"</div><div style="background-color: white; font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', HelveticaNeue, helvetica, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 15px; line-height: 24.000001907348633px; margin-bottom: 1.1em;">In response, Alberts said that "for these people who don't get healthcare, it's literally life or death."</div><div style="background-color: white; font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', HelveticaNeue, helvetica, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 15px; line-height: 24.000001907348633px; margin-bottom: 1.1em;">The healthcare cuts have been subject to mediation discussions, but Alberts said the negotiations over healthcare had "basically fallen off the table since December."</div><div style="background-color: white; font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', HelveticaNeue, helvetica, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 15px; line-height: 24.000001907348633px; margin-bottom: 1.1em;">"There has been no effort to reach an accord in the interim," Alberts said.</div><div style="background-color: white; font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', HelveticaNeue, helvetica, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 15px; line-height: 24.000001907348633px; margin-bottom: 1.1em;">Mediation sessions were ongoing Tuesday and Wednesday, but those discussions, which are confidential, have been focused on the city's pension liabilities, Detroit attorney Heather Lennox said in court.</div><div id="yui_3_9_1_1_1390441625499_11038" style="background-color: white; font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', HelveticaNeue, helvetica, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 15px; line-height: 24.000001907348633px; margin-bottom: 1.1em;">In his closing charge to the city and its creditors Wednesday afternoon, however, Rhodes said that in order for a plan to be feasible, the city might need to make "a fundamental and profound change" to health benefits and pensions.</div><div id="yui_3_9_1_1_1390441625499_11028" style="background-color: white; font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', HelveticaNeue, helvetica, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 15px; line-height: 24.000001907348633px; margin-bottom: 1.1em;">(Reporting by Joseph Lichterman; Editing by Lisa Shumaker)</div></div>

Detroit judge rejects request from creditors to value city art (BLOG)

By Joseph Lichterman Rhodes said he did not have the legal authority to approve the creation of the creditors' committee that would have...

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Ukraine opposition sets 24-hour deadline (BLOG)

<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiFN9bW12Wr2L44nQqGh4WY6D2GFaNFJVIy5vqxkn5Y9-kcx0HkLwIevCfNzqR4DkhpOhkYoHG8n8_DY0XwGJJdJriFNrpDJIx_PAsVtAMARQ8lM04TMHpJuu3d8S1NARMZNVz8bkw7R1c/s1600/a.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="211" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiFN9bW12Wr2L44nQqGh4WY6D2GFaNFJVIy5vqxkn5Y9-kcx0HkLwIevCfNzqR4DkhpOhkYoHG8n8_DY0XwGJJdJriFNrpDJIx_PAsVtAMARQ8lM04TMHpJuu3d8S1NARMZNVz8bkw7R1c/s1600/a.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><div id="yui_3_9_1_1_1390441625499_7134" style="background-color: white; font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', HelveticaNeue, helvetica, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 15px; line-height: 24.000001907348633px; margin-bottom: 1.1em;">KIEV, Ukraine (AP) — Ukrainian opposition leaders issued a stark ultimatum to President Viktor Yanukovych on Wednesday to call early elections within 24 hours or face more popular rage, after at least two protesters were killed in confrontations with police in a grim escalation of a two-monthlong political crisis.</div><div id="yui_3_9_1_1_1390441625499_7187" style="background-color: white; font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', HelveticaNeue, helvetica, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 15px; line-height: 24.000001907348633px; margin-bottom: 1.1em;">With a central Kiev street ablaze and covered with thick black smoke from burning tires and several thousand protesters continuing to clash with riot police, opposition leaders urged tens of thousands of demonstrators in a nearby square to refrain from violence and remain in the main protest camp for the next 24 hours.The protesters' deaths, the first since the largely peaceful protests started in November, fueled fears that the daily demonstrations aimed at bringing down the government over its decision to shun the European Union for closer ties to Moscow and over human rights violations could turn more violent.</div><div style="background-color: white; font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', HelveticaNeue, helvetica, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 15px; line-height: 24.000001907348633px; margin-bottom: 1.1em;">They demanded that Yanukovych dismiss the government, call early elections and scrap harsh anti-protest legislation. It was last week's passage of the laws cracking down on protests that set off the violent clashes.</div><div style="background-color: white; font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', HelveticaNeue, helvetica, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 15px; line-height: 24.000001907348633px; margin-bottom: 1.1em;">"You, Mr. President, have the opportunity to resolve this issue. Early elections will change the situation without bloodshed and we will do everything to achieve that," opposition leader Vitali Klitschko told some 40,000 people who braved freezing temperatures on Kiev's Independence Square late Wednesday.</div><div style="background-color: white; font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', HelveticaNeue, helvetica, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 15px; line-height: 24.000001907348633px; margin-bottom: 1.1em;">If Yanukovych does not concede, "tomorrow we will go forward together. And if it's a bullet in the forehead, then it's a bullet in the forehead, but in an honest, fair and brave way," declared another opposition leader, Arseniy Yatsenyuk</div><div class="body-related" style="background-color: white; clear: right; float: right; font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', HelveticaNeue, helvetica, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 15px; line-height: 24.000001907348633px; margin-bottom: 10px; margin-left: 10px; position: relative;"><a class="body-related-link body-related-video go-to-slideshow-lightbox rapid-noclick-resp landscape onesize get-lbdata-from-dom" data-rapid_p="8" data-uuid="4e011276-5d5a-3590-845c-e091186a13ea" href="http://news.yahoo.com/video/protesters-killed-kiev-unrest-173602991.html" style="color: #324fe1; cursor: pointer; display: block; margin: 0px auto; max-width: 300px; position: relative; text-decoration: none;" title="Protesters Killed in Kiev Unrest"><div class="img-wrap" style="position: relative;"><div class="cta-overlay" style="-webkit-transition: background-color 0.24s linear; font-size: 13px; height: 161px; left: 0px; position: absolute; top: 0px; transition: background-color 0.24s linear; width: 300px;"><span class="clearfix title cta-text medium" style="-webkit-transition: opacity 0.24s linear; color: white; font-size: 16px; left: 5px; opacity: 0; position: absolute; top: 5px; transition: opacity 0.24s linear; white-space: pre-wrap; width: 270px; zoom: 1;">Protesters Killed in Kiev Unrest</span><span class="cta-text xsmall" style="-webkit-transition: opacity 0.24s linear; bottom: 5px; color: white; font-size: 16px; margin-left: 42px; opacity: 0; position: absolute; transition: opacity 0.24s linear;">Play video</span><span class="icon-play icon-white-play-xsmall" style="background-color: #324fe1; background-image: url(data:image/svg+xml; background-repeat: no-repeat no-repeat; background-size: cover; border-bottom-left-radius: 4px; border-bottom-right-radius: 4px; border-top-left-radius: 4px; border-top-right-radius: 4px; bottom: 5px; cursor: pointer; height: 23px; left: 5px; line-height: 0; padding: 0px; position: absolute; text-indent: -1000em; width: 32px; z-index: 1;"></span></div><img alt="Protesters Killed in Kiev Unrest" class="body-related-thumb" data-src-2x="" height="161" src="http://l2.yimg.com/bt/api/res/1.2/o9eyBIiwvmWQyG.o_pMZ4Q--/YXBwaWQ9eW5ld3M7Zmk9ZmlsbDtoPTE2MTtxPTc1O3c9MzAw/http://media.zenfs.com/en-GB/video/video.storyful.com/eec2506521df94369820df5db9b36e31" style="-webkit-transition: opacity 0.3333s ease 0ms; background-repeat: no-repeat no-repeat; border: 0px; display: block; opacity: 1 !important; transition: opacity 0.3333s ease 0ms; vertical-align: baseline; visibility: visible !important;" width="300" /></div></a></div><div style="background-color: white; font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', HelveticaNeue, helvetica, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 15px; line-height: 24.000001907348633px; margin-bottom: 1.1em;">Yanukovych has showed little willingness to compromise, however. A three-hour meeting with opposition leaders accomplished "nothing," said Oleh Tyahbnybok, who attended the session.</div><div style="background-color: white; font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', HelveticaNeue, helvetica, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 15px; line-height: 24.000001907348633px; margin-bottom: 1.1em;">Meanwhile, the government handed security forces extra powers, including closing off streets and firing water cannon against protesters despite the freezing temperatures. Police have already used water cannon but insisted it was only to put out fires. The government also deployed an armored personnel carrier at the site of the clashes.</div><div style="background-color: white; font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', HelveticaNeue, helvetica, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 15px; line-height: 24.000001907348633px; margin-bottom: 1.1em;">During Wednesday's confrontations, riot police violently beat and shot at protesters, volunteer medics and journalists. The Interior Ministry announced that 70 protesters had been arrested.</div><div style="background-color: white; font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', HelveticaNeue, helvetica, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 15px; line-height: 24.000001907348633px; margin-bottom: 1.1em;">Prime Minister Mykola Azarov said the police did not have live ammunition and that opposition leaders should be held responsible for the deaths.</div><div id="yui_3_9_1_1_1390441625499_7206" style="background-color: white; font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', HelveticaNeue, helvetica, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 15px; line-height: 24.000001907348633px; margin-bottom: 1.1em;">City health officials and police said that two people died of gunshot wounds during the clashes Wednesday morning, while the opposition contended as many as five people died. Oleh Musiy, coordinator of the protesters' medical corps, told the Associated Press that four people died of gunshot wounds and the fifth died after falling from a colonnaded gate at a sports arena near the site of the clashes. Health officials contend that man survived and is in the hospital. Hundreds of others were injured in the clashes, Musiy said.</div><div class="body-related" style="background-color: white; clear: right; float: right; font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', HelveticaNeue, helvetica, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 15px; line-height: 24.000001907348633px; margin-bottom: 10px; margin-left: 10px; position: relative;"><a class="body-related-link body-related-video go-to-slideshow-lightbox rapid-noclick-resp landscape onesize get-lbdata-from-dom" data-rapid_p="9" data-uuid="bbad6afb-e3f7-3db6-a9aa-72fa8224c021" href="http://news.yahoo.com/video/outside-view-kiev-protest-standoff-165110073.html" style="color: #324fe1; cursor: pointer; display: block; margin: 0px auto; max-width: 300px; position: relative; text-decoration: none;" title="Outside View of Kiev Protest Standoff"><div class="img-wrap" style="position: relative;"><div class="cta-overlay" style="-webkit-transition: background-color 0.24s linear; font-size: 13px; height: 161px; left: 0px; position: absolute; top: 0px; transition: background-color 0.24s linear; width: 300px;"><span class="clearfix title cta-text medium" style="-webkit-transition: opacity 0.24s linear; color: white; font-size: 16px; left: 5px; opacity: 0; position: absolute; top: 5px; transition: opacity 0.24s linear; white-space: pre-wrap; width: 270px; zoom: 1;">Outside View of Kiev Protest Standoff</span><span class="cta-text xsmall" style="-webkit-transition: opacity 0.24s linear; bottom: 5px; color: white; font-size: 16px; margin-left: 42px; opacity: 0; position: absolute; transition: opacity 0.24s linear;">Play video</span><span class="icon-play icon-white-play-xsmall" style="background-color: #324fe1; background-image: url(data:image/svg+xml; background-repeat: no-repeat no-repeat; background-size: cover; border-bottom-left-radius: 4px; border-bottom-right-radius: 4px; border-top-left-radius: 4px; border-top-right-radius: 4px; bottom: 5px; cursor: pointer; height: 23px; left: 5px; line-height: 0; padding: 0px; position: absolute; text-indent: -1000em; width: 32px; z-index: 1;"></span></div><img alt="Outside View of Kiev Protest Standoff" class="body-related-thumb" data-src-2x="" height="161" src="http://l3.yimg.com/bt/api/res/1.2/foeaJ4uNYNrwS.k4CZBXaA--/YXBwaWQ9eW5ld3M7Zmk9ZmlsbDtoPTE2MTtxPTc1O3c9MzAw/http://media.zenfs.com/en-GB/video/video.storyful.com/5fe52b66243023d3d23e7b5227a47e08" style="-webkit-transition: opacity 0.3333s ease 0ms; background-repeat: no-repeat no-repeat; border: 0px; display: block; opacity: 1 !important; transition: opacity 0.3333s ease 0ms; vertical-align: baseline; visibility: visible !important;" width="300" /></div></a></div><div style="background-color: white; font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', HelveticaNeue, helvetica, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 15px; line-height: 24.000001907348633px; margin-bottom: 1.1em;">Meanwhile, another protester, Yuri Verbitsky, was found dead in a forest outside Kiev on Wednesday, according to his niece Oksana Verbitska. His friends and supporters believe he was kidnapped.</div><div style="background-color: white; font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', HelveticaNeue, helvetica, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 15px; line-height: 24.000001907348633px; margin-bottom: 1.1em;">The United States responded by revoking the visas of Ukrainian officials linked to violence and threatened more sanctions. But it also condemned the extreme-right radical protesters for their aggressive actions. The EU condemned the violence and said it was also considering action against the Ukrainian government.</div><div style="background-color: white; font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', HelveticaNeue, helvetica, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 15px; line-height: 24.000001907348633px; margin-bottom: 1.1em;">One of the victims was identified as Sergei Nigoyan, a 20-year-old ethnic Armenian who joined the protests in December after traveling from his home in the eastern city of Dnipropetrovsk. A video shows Nigoyan reciting poetry in the protest camp in Kiev's Independence Square, also known as the Maidan. He then clenched his fist in a victory sign as a yellow-and-blue Ukrainian flag flapped in the background.</div><div style="background-color: white; font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', HelveticaNeue, helvetica, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 15px; line-height: 24.000001907348633px; margin-bottom: 1.1em;">A Ukrainian journalist, Kristina Berdinskikh, who has been profiling protesters for several weeks, interviewed Nigoyan in early January.</div><div style="background-color: white; font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', HelveticaNeue, helvetica, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 15px; line-height: 24.000001907348633px; margin-bottom: 1.1em;">"I saw on TV what is happening on the Maidan, I didn't sleep at night, I was following the news," Nagoyan said, according to a transcript of the interview posted online. "Then I decided to come. This is also my future."</div><div class="body-related" style="background-color: white; clear: right; float: right; font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', HelveticaNeue, helvetica, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 15px; line-height: 24.000001907348633px; margin-bottom: 10px; margin-left: 10px; position: relative;"><a class="body-related-link body-related-video go-to-slideshow-lightbox rapid-noclick-resp landscape onesize get-lbdata-from-dom" data-rapid_p="10" data-uuid="0569dbe6-f402-3748-8f5e-5a31f048e963" href="http://news.yahoo.com/video/clashes-turn-deadly-ukraine-39-142632819.html" style="color: #324fe1; cursor: pointer; display: block; margin: 0px auto; max-width: 300px; position: relative; text-decoration: none;" title="Clashes Turn Deadly in Ukraine&#39;s Capital Kiev"><div class="img-wrap" style="position: relative;"><div class="cta-overlay" style="-webkit-transition: background-color 0.24s linear; font-size: 13px; height: 161px; left: 0px; position: absolute; top: 0px; transition: background-color 0.24s linear; width: 300px;"><span class="clearfix title cta-text medium" style="-webkit-transition: opacity 0.24s linear; color: white; font-size: 16px; left: 5px; opacity: 0; position: absolute; top: 5px; transition: opacity 0.24s linear; white-space: pre-wrap; width: 270px; zoom: 1;">Clashes Turn Deadly in Ukraine's Capital Kiev</span><span class="cta-text xsmall" style="-webkit-transition: opacity 0.24s linear; bottom: 5px; color: white; font-size: 16px; margin-left: 42px; opacity: 0; position: absolute; transition: opacity 0.24s linear;">Play video</span><span class="icon-play icon-white-play-xsmall" style="background-color: #324fe1; background-image: url(data:image/svg+xml; background-repeat: no-repeat no-repeat; background-size: cover; border-bottom-left-radius: 4px; border-bottom-right-radius: 4px; border-top-left-radius: 4px; border-top-right-radius: 4px; bottom: 5px; cursor: pointer; height: 23px; left: 5px; line-height: 0; padding: 0px; position: absolute; text-indent: -1000em; width: 32px; z-index: 1;"></span></div><img alt="Clashes Turn Deadly in Ukraine&#39;s Capital Kiev" class="body-related-thumb" data-src-2x="" height="161" src="http://l3.yimg.com/bt/api/res/1.2/UEoPB.8WfxtKCCo6g8VesQ--/YXBwaWQ9eW5ld3M7Zmk9ZmlsbDtoPTE2MTtxPTc1O3c9MzAw/http://media.zenfs.com/en-GB/video/video.storyful.com/ecf9f9793433351af85b36de5112af7e" style="-webkit-transition: opacity 0.3333s ease 0ms; background-repeat: no-repeat no-repeat; border: 0px; display: block; opacity: 1 !important; transition: opacity 0.3333s ease 0ms; vertical-align: baseline; visibility: visible !important;" width="300" /></div></a></div><div id="yui_3_9_1_1_1390441625499_7215" style="background-color: white; font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', HelveticaNeue, helvetica, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 15px; line-height: 24.000001907348633px; margin-bottom: 1.1em;">The mass protests erupted after Yanukovych spurned a pact with the European Union in favor of close ties with Russia, which offered him a $15 billion bailout. They swelled to hundreds of thousands after a small peaceful rally on Nov. 30 was violently broken up by police.</div><div style="background-color: white; font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', HelveticaNeue, helvetica, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 15px; line-height: 24.000001907348633px; margin-bottom: 1.1em;">Seeing the government ignore their demands and opposition leaders unable to present a coherent plan or select a single leader, radical protesters have clashed with riot police since Sunday, hurling fire bombs and stones as police fired back with tear gas, stun grenades and rubber bullets.</div><div style="background-color: white; font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', HelveticaNeue, helvetica, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 15px; line-height: 24.000001907348633px; margin-bottom: 1.1em;">The two victims' bodies were found before police moved to tear down protesters' barricades near official buildings in central Kiev and chase demonstrators away.</div><div style="background-color: white; font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', HelveticaNeue, helvetica, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 15px; line-height: 24.000001907348633px; margin-bottom: 1.1em;">Helmeted riot police moved in on hundreds of protesters, dismantling barricades, beating many with truncheons and firing shots at some. One man was attacked by over a dozen policemen, then forced to take off his winter jacket before being dragged away, where he was beaten again.</div><div style="background-color: white; font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', HelveticaNeue, helvetica, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 15px; line-height: 24.000001907348633px; margin-bottom: 1.1em;">The police drove demonstrators down a hill toward the main protest site on Independence Square, where protesters have set up an extensive tent camp and rallied around the clock since Nov. 21. But the protesters soon returned, building barricades from giant sacks of snow and hurling rocks and firebombs at police lines. There was no immediate police move on the main camp.</div><div style="background-color: white; font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', HelveticaNeue, helvetica, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 15px; line-height: 24.000001907348633px; margin-bottom: 1.1em;">Oleksandr Turchynov, one of the opposition leaders, called on Ukrainians to rush to the center of Kiev to defend their country. "Ukraine will not be a dictatorship, it will be an independent, European country," he said. "Let us defend Ukraine!"</div><div style="background-color: white; font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', HelveticaNeue, helvetica, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 15px; line-height: 24.000001907348633px; margin-bottom: 1.1em;">The protests were the biggest since the peaceful 2004 Orange Revolution, which annulled Yanukovych's fraud-tinged victory in a presidential election and forced a new vote that brought his pro-Western rival to power. Largely peaceful, the rallies turned violent after Yanukovych, elected in 2010, pushed through sweeping anti-protest legislation and ignored all the protesters' demands. The deaths mark a turning point in the standoff that could lead to more violence.</div><div id="yui_3_9_1_1_1390441625499_7230" style="background-color: white; font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', HelveticaNeue, helvetica, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 15px; line-height: 24.000001907348633px; margin-bottom: 1.1em;">"Look, the deaths and the injuries speak to the actions of those in power. They've crossed the line," said Andriy Kolosovich, a 20-year-old protester who was injured in the legs by a stun grenade and was being treated in a medical unit set up by the protesters.</div></div>

Ukraine opposition sets 24-hour deadline (BLOG)

KIEV, Ukraine (AP) — Ukrainian opposition leaders issued a stark ultimatum to President Viktor Yanukovych on Wednesday to call early electio...

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