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Saturday, December 31, 2011
Oil price climbs to near $100 per barrel (AP)
Oil prices climbed near $100 per barrel Thursday on stronger jobs and housing data in the U.S.
Here's a breakdown of how energy prices traded:
On the New York Mercantile Exchange:
Crude: added 29 cents to $99.65 per barrel;
Gasoline: rose by 2.88 cents to $2.6801 per gallon;
Heating oil: increased by 2.41 cents to $2.9175 per gallon;
Natural gas: fell by 9.4 cents to $3.027 per 1,000 cubic feet.
On the ICE futures exchange:
Brent crude: rose by 45 cents to $108.01 per barrel.
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Friday, December 30, 2011
Toronto Blue Jays vs Cleveland Indians Live Stream FREE online NBA HD broadcast 26 DEC
Watch Toronto Blue Jays vs Cleveland Indians Live Free Online on Monday, December 26, 2011 at 7:00 PM . Both teams played with good records and standings in their last season. Both teams currently play in the same market. But outcomes for each team have been quite different. Please Don?t miss to watch this exciting Match between Toronto Blue Jays vs Cleveland Indians at the home court of Indiana Pacers. Catch up on games between Toronto Blue Jays vs Cleveland Indians free live streaming and get the latest updates and match schedules on the games between the two teams, please watch it here at nba live streaming FREE.
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Watch out on Free Live Streaming, who will be declared winner in Toronto vs Cleveland after this game. Viewers around the world looking for this match up Toronto vs Cleveland , check out the Highlights and Results. If you do not have enough time to visit the stadium and watch the game live free.
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Source: http://c.moreover.com/click/here.pl?r5663973344
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Commitment to resilience
Oakland didn't fall apart like other teams did after losing their starting QB to injury
Getty ImagesIn the short term, Carson Palmer has given the Raiders a second chance, something few teams have gotten from their incumbent backup quarterbacks, NBCSports.com contributor Mike TAnier says.
updated 6:10 p.m. ET Dec. 27, 2011
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This season, the Raiders have become survivors. They are 8-7 despite all odds, and they can reach the playoffs two ways: Capture the AFC West with a win and a Broncos loss, or earn a wild-card berth with a win and an elaborate-but-not-impossible combination of losses around the AFC.
The Raiders are on the brink of their first playoffs since 2002 because of all they've had to overcome: injuries at quarterback and other skill position starters, the death of Al Davis, a midseason swoon that swallowed other hot-starting teams the Bills and Redskins, and Tebowmania ? or at least they've been able to swim in its wake.
The Raiders could easily be the Bears: Their hopes dashed, their coach?s job in jeopardy, their whole roster shrugging its shoulders and saying ?sorry, we had too many injuries.? The Raiders are still around because they play in an easier division, but also because they made the kind of daring moves they were famous for in their heyday, taking chances other teams were not bold enough to take.
Palmer method
Carson Palmer is just 4-4 as a starter this season, 4-5 if you count his early, ineffective relief appearance against the Chiefs. At his worst, he looks rusty and out-of-synch with his receivers. At his best, he bears only a slight resemblance to the Palmer of 2005 and 2006. He cost the Raiders a fortune in draft picks, including a first-rounder next year. It is hard to classify the midseason trade to bring Palmer out of Bengals exile as an unqualified success. It was a high-risk gambit, and we won?t know what the long-term impact of the trade will be for many years.
Instead of comparing Palmer to his former peers among elite starting quarterbacks, compare him to the some of the backups that have taken snaps this season. He has thrown 11 touchdowns and has a 77.2 efficiency rating.
- Caleb Hanie threw three touchdowns in four starts and earned a 41.8 rating before the Bears dragged Josh McCown out of the private sector and tossed him in the lineup.
- Tyler Palko had two touchdown passes, seven interceptions and a 59.8 rating in the month before the Chiefs pulled Kyle Orton out of Tebow Limbo.
- The Eagles thought they had an ideal backup in Vince Young, but he has a 60.8 rating, mixing a handful of brilliant plays with lots of comic bumbling.
- Matt Leinart played just long enough to finish a coffee and Danish before getting hurt, and the Texans would be in deep trouble if T.J. Yates did not mature so quickly.
- Charlie Whitehurst started one game for the Seahawks and went 12 of 30 for 97 yards; when a banged-up Tarvaris Jackson looks like a savior, you know the backup quarterback really screwed things up.
- And let?s not even mention Curtis Painter of the Colts. For every team that discovers a Yates on their bench, there are two or three others who realize too late that their backup is so terrible that they cannot run anything resembling their regular offense.
The Raiders would be in the same boat as the Bears Chiefs, and others if they had crossed their fingers and left Kyle Boller to his own devices when Jason Campbell got hurt. Their three-game winning streak against the Chargers, Vikings, and Bears never would have happened. They would probably be experimenting with Terrelle Pryor.
Palmer is no Drew Brees, and he isn?t 2005 Palmer, but he is light years above the vat of unqualified Hanie-Boller-Palko types that teams talked themselves into. Coach Hue Jackson knew Boller and wishes were not going to work, and that waiting 'til next year was not an appealing option. He acquired a quarterback he knew and trusted.
As for the heavy price tag in draft picks, Palmer probably will look much better after spending a full training camp in Oakland. Also, he hasn't yet lined up with his full complement of offensive weapons since joining the Raiders. When you look at their injuries on offense, it?s a wonder they've scored any points at all in the last two months.
Something old, something new
Darren McFadden has not played since Oct. 23, the day Palmer entered the lineup. Wide receiver Jacoby Ford has been out of action since mid-November, though he might return Sunday. Rookie sensation Denarius Moore missed three full games and was limited in others before getting his groove back against the Chiefs last week.
Backups such as running back Taiwan Jones and receiver Derek Hagan have also been injured. The Raiders endured a three-game stretch (Bears, Dolphins, Packers) without their No. 1 running back and their Nos. 1 and 2 receivers, and with the still-adjusting Palmer at quarterback. That they beat the Bears under those circumstances might have been their greatest accomplishment this season.
Bruising Michael Bush has been excellent in McFadden?s absence, and Jackson has done a fine job disguising the fact that the Raiders have no real backup or change-of-pace runner. At wide receiver, the Raiders have performed a miracle, cobbling a credible passing game together from has-been T.J. Houshmandzadeh, 100-meter dash specialist Darrius Heyward-Bey and hanger-on Chaz Schilens.
Heyward-Bey was the last of the great scratch-your-head Al Davis draft picks: a speedster with a lackluster college record and everything to learn about running NFL routes. For two years in Oakland, he lived down to his reputation as a guy who does nothing but run fly routes.
But he has 55 receptions this season, and there is nothing wrong with being a one-dimensional deep threat if you are good at it: Palmer and Heyward-Bey have connected on 34-, 35-, and 55-yard passes in the past two weeks, the final pass to set up a game-winning overtime field goal Saturday. Heyward-Bey also has helped in ways that do not show up on the stat sheet: He is a fine blocker on screens and outside runs.
When Jackson acquired Houshmandzadeh, it looked like he was trying to get the old band back together, Blues Brothers-style. Houshmandzadeh was Palmer?s favorite target in the Bengals glory years, catching 294 passes in one three-year period, but he has been bouncing around Seattle and Baltimore for a while, proving that he is little more than a third or fourth receiver.Lately, Houshmandzadeh has found his niche, and he is 8-for-8 on passes thrown to him in the past two games, most of them short passes into the right flat that help keep the chains moving.
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More newsCommitment to resilience
Tanier: Oakland didn't fall apart like other teams did after losing their starting QB to injury.
Source: http://nbcsports.msnbc.com/id/45798342/ns/sports-nfl/
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Thursday, December 29, 2011
Google Webmaster Tools Web Results Vs. API Results
There are some reports via Google Webmaster Help forums that the Webmaster Tools API results do not match up always with the Webmaster Tools web console.
One developer noticed the differences and posted a question in the forums asking:
I'm using the Google Webmaster Tools API to get data about our site's keywords (in Google's eyes).It's great.
But something's strange- the keywords showing up in the API feed are not quite the same as what's showing up when we used the web-based tool.
Has anybody else noticed this difference in the data?
I know that the web-based data is quite a few days behind, so one theory I have is that the API data is fresher. Just guessing at this point.
This is not uncommon being that the data is refreshed often and data filters can play a role in the results. But also, sometimes, APIs access slightly different data sources and can throw the numbers off. Finally, Webmaster Tools is known to have reporting bugs often - so that can play a factor also.
Or maybe, this was just a random fluke? Do you have this as an issue also?
Forum discussion at Google Webmaster Help.
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WE_FR: [Digital] Top 10 des pages Google+ en France et dans le monde http://t.co/dJXVyTZT
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Wednesday, December 28, 2011
Dec 27, 1:00 PM: Head & Neck Cancer Support Group
This outpatient support groups provide a safe environment where those with cancer can share common concerns and strengthen their ability to adjust to life with cancer. Topics include changes in relationships, lifestyle changes, communication, body image, managing stress, fear of recurrence and coping techniques.
For more information, please call Mary Herbert at 773-734-7326.
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Thursday, December 22, 2011
Gas tubing fires linked to lightning spark concern (AP)
WESTERVILLE, Ohio ? Reports of lightning-related fires and gas leaks in at least a dozen states have sparked concerns about the use of flexible gas lines made of corrugated stainless steel tubing.
The same type of lightning strikes is suspected of causing fires in four homes in central Ohio over a stormy 12-hour period this summer. Genoa Township Fire Chief Gary Honeycutt said he believes lightning struck at or near the homes, and the electrical charge traveled along the plastic-coated metal tubing, known as CSST, before jumping to a less resistant pathway nearby such as a metal ventilation duct. It then punctured a hole the size of a pencil tip in the tubing and created a gas leak that could ignite, he said.
One of the fires charred the ceiling in the lowest level of Michael Wagner's dream home, a two-story property near a country club and golf course in an area where farmland has been turned into neatly manicured neighborhoods of newer homes.
"It had been burning the joists much like a blowtorch," said Wagner, whose family moved into the home a few weeks before the fire and has been displaced for months because of smoke damage. The home passed inspection without problems, they said, but they later learned lightning had struck it and created a gas leak in 2004.
Reports of such fires and gas leaks, ranging from such states as Florida, which has a high occurrence of lightning strikes, to those where strikes are less frequent, have led to lawsuits, studies and efforts to better track the incidents. Manufacturers defend CSST, which has become increasingly common in new homes since it was introduced domestically more than two decades ago, and fire officials and researchers are trying to determine whether to blame a faulty product, unsafe installation or something else.
Firefighters and gas providers point out that the fires seem to occur with an unusual combination of factors ? a newer building that has CSST, a lightning strike in just the right place, the puncture of the tubing and the spark to ignite the gas. Most of the Ohio fires were in the central part of the state, though it's possible there are others that haven't been linked to the tubing because the reports didn't include that detail.
"I'd say we've got a problem with that product, but it's very anecdotal evidence that we have," said state Fire Marshal Larry Flowers, who recently started collecting information about such fires around Ohio.
A class-action lawsuit filed in Arkansas against several manufacturers claimed the tubing posed an unreasonable risk of fire from lightning strikes, leading to a 2006 settlement that was worth up to about $29 million, according to a copy of the settlement agreement provided by an attorney not affiliated with the case. Lawyers involved in the case did not respond to messages for comment.
And an unresolved wrongful death lawsuit blames a CSST failure for a 2008 blaze that killed three children and their grandmother in rural Jefferson, S.D.
"For a homeowner or a business owner, really the problem with the product is it's very unpredictable when it's going to fail, and it's a very difficult product to make safe," said Mark Utke, a lawyer with the Cozen-O'Connor firm in Philadelphia, which is working on the South Dakota case and dozens more it connects to CSST.
Manufacturers say the flexible tubing was developed in Japan as an alternative to rigid gas piping that could break during an earthquake, and hundreds of millions of feet of tubing have been installed in U.S. homes and other buildings. It can cost significantly more than black metal pipe, with one recent estimate putting the cost at 65 cents for a foot of rigid pipe in Ohio and about a dollar more for standard CSST. But the tubing is easier to install and can bend around corners, appearing much like a garden hose affixed to ceiling joists.
Both types of lines meet existing product and code requirements, but manufacturers say that CSST is the safer option and that it's less likely to crack, leak or cause a gas explosion because it doesn't require as many joints to follow the shape of a building's interior.
"Of course we would like everything in the house to be safe from lightning, but that's not a requirement," said Bob Torbin, the director of codes and standards for Exton, Pa.-based Omega Flex Inc., one of the producers targeted in lawsuits. "And so we have to ask ourselves: Does this represent an unreasonable risk compared to other risks that you take when you occupy your home?" That's a measurement that's tough to quantify, he said.
In response to concerns, Omega Flex stopped offering its earlier CSST product this fall and instead is promoting tubing wrapped in a special covering intended to make it more resistant to lightning strike damage.
Some manufacturers and builders say there may be other contributing factors in the tubing fires, including whether gas lines are correctly grounded and bonded, meaning they're linked into a system that would direct energy from a lightning strike into the earth.
The president of the Ohio Home Builders Association said he has used the tubing and has no doubt that it's a safe product when installed properly.
"We have it in our home," said Bill Owens, who's also founder and president of Owens Construction in suburban Columbus. "A lot of it is just paying attention to the actual installation requirements and the code requirements associated with safe installation."
In Indiana, officials increased code requirements for bonding and grounding in new homes and expanded the required gap between gas tubing and other metal items to help decrease the risk of a problem. The research foundation affiliated with the National Fire Protection Association, which sets national codes that pertain to construction, is studying how to mitigate any lightning-related dangers of CSST and has sought information from various stakeholders in the discussion, including manufacturers and insurers.
"Now that it's out there, how do we make it safe?" said Mitchell Guthrie, an engineering consultant from Blanch, N.C., who has researched CSST and lightning protection and worked with a panel studying concerns.
Iowa Fire Marshal Ray Reynolds said people in the insurance industry have linked the tubing to more than 200 fires in his state over the past two years, and he doesn't believe proper grounding and bonding is the only solution. He said Iowa has seen some problems with properly bonded systems, and he decided to replace the tubing in his own home with the updated, extra-protected CSST.
Wagner, the Ohio homeowner displaced by a fire, said he decided to replace his flexible tubing with rigid lines to help his family feel safer.
The American Gas Association, which represents gas providers, doesn't think CSST is a defective product, but it has helped develop product standards and has supported the industry's effort to educate the public about concerns and to minimize any dangers.
"It's just a situation that could occur, just like lightning could penetrate a home and damage wiring," said Jim Ranfone, the AGA's managing director of codes and standards.
"It's not a panic situation, but it's one that I would sort of keep tabs on to make sure the system was properly bonded," he said.
___
Associated Press writer Doug Whiteman contributed to this report.
___
Kantele Franko can be reached at http://www.twitter.com/kantele10.
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Monday, December 19, 2011
The Week in Android News
Finally! The unicorn has been found Samsung Galaxy Nexus is available on Verizon Wireless! In addition to its release there has been a ton of other news, which you probably missed while staring at that 720P display, so check below for some of what you may have missed!
General News
Hardware News
- Samsung Stratosphere Review
- Available from Verizon Dec. 15 ... the white Motorola Droid RAZR!
- Samsung Galaxy S II (I-9100) Ice Cream Sandwich ROM leaks out
- Hands-on with the Prada Phone by LG 3.0
- Verizon Galaxy Nexus hands-on
- How to manually update your GSM Nexus S to Ice Cream Sandwich
Tablet News
- 3G version of Sony Tablet S showing up in the UK
- NOOK Color to receive OTA update this week, includes Netflix support
- Hands on with the Motorola XYBOARD 8.2
- Hands-on with the Motorola XYBOARD 10.1
- Toshiba Thrive 7 review
- Samsung Galaxy Tab 10.1 headed to Cricket Wireless Dec. 16
 |  |
Source: http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/androidcentral/~3/5DFeMihQwU0/story01.htm
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Sunday, December 18, 2011
Adrian Peterson plans to play vs. Saints
By JON KRAWCZYNSKI
updated 6:31 p.m. ET Dec. 15, 2011
EDEN PRAIRIE, Minn. - Spending three weeks on the sideline watching his Minnesota Vikings appears to be about all Adrian Peterson can take.
Peterson said on Thursday that he plans to play against the New Orleans Saints on Sunday despite being only about 85 percent healed from a sprained left ankle that has caused him to miss three straight games.
He wants to be there for his teammates, who have found a new way to lose seemingly every week to fall to 2-11; for his coaches, who have been receiving plenty of criticism during this massively disappointing season; and for all the fans who are counting on him to help them in their fantasy football leagues.
"It's very important, especially for my fantasy team owners," Peterson joked. "They've been giving me a hard time on Twitter. But just being out ... seeing my guys go out and fall short week after week and just wishing I was out there to help those guys compete."
Peterson suffered the high ankle sprain against the Oakland Raiders on Nov. 20. After making him the highest-paid running back in NFL history in the offseason, the Vikings didn't want to risk their investment by rushing Peterson back in a season in which the playoffs were not an option.
But Peterson never thought about taking the rest of the season off to make sure he's fully recovered.
"I love this game, so no matter if we were 2-11 or whatever, if I'm healthy I'm going to go out and play," Peterson said. "That's been my mindset from the beginning. Three weeks off, I'm going to be a part of it."
His teammates aren't the only ones eager to see him back. Peterson said fantasy owners have pestered him every week with questions on Twitter.
"Should we play you this week? Please!" Peterson said with a chuckle. "Some of the stuff I read on there is crazy."
Quarterback Christian Ponder's hip pointer has improved as well, so coach Leslie Frazier said the Vikings are expecting to have everyone available for the game against the Saints (10-3). Peterson will be evaluated again on Friday, but all signs are pointing to him returning to the field.
"The way he's moving around, some of the things that really concerned him a week ago at this time don't seem to concern him much, nor does it concern us," Frazier said. "So if he has another good day (Friday), we should be in the clear."
Frazier said the fact that Peterson still wants to play even though there is nothing left for the team to play for speaks volumes.
"A superstar like him, he's going to achieve what he wants to achieve," Frazier said. "The fact that he wants to get back and play with this football team speaks very highly of who he is as a person. He wants to finish this season with his teammates."
Peterson said he still feels some soreness when he cuts and plants, but not enough to prevent him from wanting to play.
"I'm like 85 percent," he said. "But I'll be able to take the pain and whatever it is that comes with it."
___
Follow Jon Krawczynski on Twitter at http://www.twitter.com/APkrawczynski
Copyright 2011 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.
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More newsBears are in for a surprise
PFT Picks: Marshawn Lynch and the Seahawks will keep their playoff hopes alive with a win over the ailing Bears.
PFT: Atlanta closing in on a magic number
PFT: Atlanta's passing game is starting to click, the defense is playing better and the postseason seems inevitable. But the Falcons still have some lingering issues ...
Source: http://nbcsports.msnbc.com/id/45687218/ns/sports-nfl/
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Saturday, December 17, 2011
"Artist", "Hugo" pile up nominations ahead of Oscars (Reuters)
LOS ANGELES (Reuters) ? Silent film "The Artist" and 3D movie "Hugo" led nominations for Hollywood's Critics' Choice Awards on Tuesday, in a key week that will firm up the field of likely Oscar contenders.
The two movies -- both love letters to the early days of the movie industry -- notched 11 nominations, including for best film and for their directors Michel Hazanavicius ("The Artist") and Martin Scorsese ("Hugo").
Summer sleeper box-office hit "The Help" and action movie "Drive" starring Ryan Gosling followed with eight nominations apiece, while the George Clooney family drama "The Descendants" and director Steven Spielberg's upcoming family movie "War Horse" both garnered seven. All four also landed among the 10 nominees for best film.
Clooney, Brad Pitt ("Moneyball") and Viola Davis ("The Help") were among acting nominees, along with Meryl Streep for her performance as former British Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher in "The Iron Lady", and Michelle Williams' turn as Marilyn Monroe in "My Week with Marilyn."
The nominations were announced by the Broadcast Film Critics Association -- the largest film critics organization in the United States and Canada.
They come as Hollywood's awards season heats up with the Screen Actors Guild announcing its picks on Wednesday for the best movie performances of 2011, and Thursday's Golden Globe nominations.
The early nominations help narrow the field for the actors, directors and writers likely to compete for the Oscars, the film industry's top awards. Oscar nominations are due January 24 and the awards will be presented on February 26.
Other Critics' Choice nominees for best film included Woody Allen's "Midnight in Paris" and Terrence Malick's "The Tree of Life" in the best picture category.
Christopher Plummer, who has proved popular in early film critics awards, got another nod for his supporting actor turn as a gay man who comes out in old age in "Beginners".
Newcomer Jessica Chastain also notched another nomination, this time for her role in "The Help" about black maids and their white employers in the early 1960s.
The Critics' Choice Awards will be handed out at a ceremony in Hollywood on January 12.
(Reporting by Jill Serjeant; Editing by Bob Tourtellotte)
(Corrects first para "Hugo" reference to 3D, not animated)
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Wunderlist coming to Windows Phone
Wunderlist, the free popular multi-platform task manager is coming to Windows Phone according to a screengrab published by the developers, 6Wunderkinder.
The App?s UI looks pretty slick, and users are able to arrange tasks, collaborate with other people on the cloud, etc. Wunderlist has apps for iOS, Android, Windows and Mac OS X so we?re happy to see it coming to WP7 as well.
[via: Wunderlist over Dribble]
Related posts:
- [Developers] Windows Phone apps can now directly integrate with the SkyDrive cloud
- Multi-Tasking, Copy-Paste, Twitter Integration, Coming to Windows Phone 7 in 2011
- Viber VOIP Calling coming to Windows Phone
- Video: New features coming to Skydrive with Windows Phone Mango Update
- Windows Phone 7 Connector Now in the Mac App Store
Related posts:
- [Developers] Windows Phone apps can now directly integrate with the SkyDrive cloud
- Multi-Tasking, Copy-Paste, Twitter Integration, Coming to Windows Phone 7 in 2011
- Viber VOIP Calling coming to Windows Phone
- Video: New features coming to Skydrive with Windows Phone Mango Update
- Windows Phone 7 Connector Now in the Mac App Store
Source: http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/ZomgItsCj/~3/jA2h-v1d3NA/
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Friday, December 16, 2011
"Sherlock," "MI4," "Chipmunks" to warm up box office (Reuters)
LOS ANGELES (TheWrap.com) ? After two wretched weekends at the box office, sequels to "Sherlock Holmes," "Alvin and the Chipmunks" "Mission: Impossible" are riding in to rescue the domestic movie business.
The three films will kick off a tentpole onslaught that will see eight movies released wide over nine days. The studios hope that they'll also kickstart the box office.
Warner Bros.' "Sherlock Holmes: A Game of Shadows" opens Friday at 3,703 locations in the U.S. and Canada and is expected to take in as much as $60 million in its opening weekend.
Fox's G-rated "Alvin and the Chipmunks: Chipwrecked," meanwhile, is starting out in 3,723 theaters and is looking at up to $30 million over its first three days -- though the studio's more conservative estimate is in the mid-to-high $20 million range.
And Paramount is opening "Mission: Impossible -- Ghost Protocol" in 425 locations, 300 of them IMAX. The fourth installment in the Tom Cruise action franchise goes wide December 21.
Among adult dramas, Paramount's R-rated comedy "Young Adult" is expanding from eight theaters to 986. And Roman Polanski's "Carnage," starring Jodie Foster, Kate Winslet and Christoph Waltz will play at five locations. Sony Classics is releasing the R-rated drama.
With the domestic box office coming off its worst weekend since September 2008, the movie business could use a hero -- or at least, a holiday season like the one it had in 2009.
Two years ago, the original "Sherlock Holmes" opened to $62.3 million over Christmas weekend, while "Alvin and the Chipmunks: the Squeakquel" premiered to $48.9 million. (Neither film opened in first place, however -- that position belonged to "Avatar," then in its second week of release.)
"Sherlock Holmes" reunites Robert Downey Jr., as the private detective Holmes, with Jude Law playing his sidekick, Dr. Watson. In "A Game of Shadows," Holmes and Watson go after their nemesis, the evil Professor Moriarty.
Guy Ritchie, who directed the 2009 film, which grossed nearly $525 million worldwide, returned to the director's chair for the sequel.
"Game of Shadows" cost about $125 million to produce.
The movie has a good 69 percent fresh rating on Rotten Tomatoes.
According to research firm NRG, 93 percent of males from both age quadrants report awareness of the "Sherlock Holmes" sequel.
About 65 percent of males older than 25 -- and 64 percent of those 25 and younger -- say they have "definite interest" in seeing the film, while 29 percent of both groups call the movie their "first choice" to see next time they're in the theater.
Meanwhile, "Alvin and the Chipmunks: Chipwrecked" cost an estimated $80 million to make and arrives with weak Rotten Tomatoes score of 15 percent.
Jason Lee returns in the lead live-action role, playing paternal figure to the high-pitched, CG-rendered singing and talking chipmunks, who get stuck on an island in this one.
Tracking is solid among women 25 and older, with 92 percent telling NRG that their kids have made them very aware the movie is coming out, and 38 percent from that group saying they have definite interest in seeing the film. Also from that group, 7 percent call it their first choice to see next time they're in a theater.
With a crush of movies opening Christmas weekend, the limited release of "Mission: Impossible" is designed to generate strong word-of-mouth for director Brad Bird's $140 million action film, exhibitor IMAX said.
"Our IMAX DNA is all over 'MI4,'" Greg Foster, chairman, filmed entertainment at IMAX, told TheWrap. "The picture was shot with our cameras, several of the big set pieces feature IMAX photography and our focus is on putting the movie's best foot forward."
The fourth "Mission Impossible" movie is getting raves from critics, with Rotten Tomatoes ranking the film at 92 percent fresh.
Finally, Paramount is expanding "Young Adult," the Charlize Theron comedy directed by Jason Reitman, to 1,000 locations.
"Young Adult" is about a successful writer who, soon after her divorce, returns to the small town in Minnesota where she grew up and tries to rekindle a romance with her now-married ex-boyfriend.
It has a Rotten Tomatoes score of 80 percent and has grossed $408,814 since it opened last weekend.
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Society may get stuck with the bill for expensive higher education
Wednesday, December 14, 2011
The rising cost of a college education and limited access to financial aid may create a less productive workforce and steeper wealth inequity, according to a study by North American economists.
Students with low-income parents are discovering that it is more difficult to find funds to pay for a college education now compared to students of similar economic backgrounds in the 1980s, said Alexander Monge-Naranjo, assistant professor of economics, Penn State.
"The consensus was that in the 1980s, credit constraints didn't seem to matter for those who went to college," said Monge-Naranjo. "But according to the latest data, we see family income and parental wealth are making a big difference in who is attending college."
Monge-Naranjo said there were several reasons for the move away from affordability. Over the last two decades, more higher-paying jobs required a college degree. The higher demand for a college education led universities to increase tuition, according to Monge-Narajo.
At the same time, money available through government loan programs remained flat or, when adjusting for in inflation, declined. During the 1990s, the percentage of undergraduates who borrowed from government lending programs increased significantly. Of those students, the ones at the top limit of their borrowing capacity tripled to 52 percent. Many more students are relying on private lenders for loans, Monge-Narajo said.
In the 1980s, credit constraints -- factors that limit financial access to college funding, such as caps on financial assistance and family income -- did not significantly stop students from attending college, once the researchers controlled for other factors, such as SAT score, age and race. Even poor students who had little financial resources to pay for college, but who were smart, could access credit to pursue an education, Monge-Naranjo said.
The researchers, who reported their findings in the current issue of the American Economic Review, said a shift occurred in the 1990s as more low-income students began to struggle to access credit to pay for a college. During the 1990s, youths from high-income families were 16 percent more likely to attend college than youths from low-income families.
Monge-Naranjo, who worked with Lance Lochner, associate professor, Western economics and director, CIBC Centre for Human Capital and Productivity, University of Western Ontario, used the most recent data from the National Longitudinal Surveys of Youth and the Armed Forces Qualifying Test to examine the relationships between intelligence, family income and college attendance.
According to Monge-Naranjo, constraints on financial aid could have far-reaching economic impacts. When poor but intelligent workers are unable to earn a college degree, their career choices are restricted, Monge-Naranjo said. That could mean less qualified and less productive workers will attain those positions.
"It's a matter of economic efficiency," said Monge-Naranjo. "Are we choosing the best individuals for the job, or just the individual whose parents are wealthy? In the long-term that may have an effect on the economy, although it may take a couple of generations to find out and, even then, perhaps be hard to quantify."
###
Penn State: http://live.psu.edu
Thanks to Penn State for this article.
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Source: http://www.labspaces.net/116007/Society_may_get_stuck_with_the_bill_for_expensive_higher_education
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Wednesday, December 7, 2011
AP Interview: Pakistan PM sees progress in US ties
Pakistani Prime Minister Yousuf Raza Gilani gestures during an interview with The Associated Press at his residence in Lahore, Pakistan, Monday, Dec. 5, 2011. Gilani says his country wants to rebuild ties with the United States despite Islamabad's ongoing retaliation for deadly airstrikes on its troops by the U.S.-led coalition in Afghanistan. (AP Photo/Muhammed Muheisen)
Pakistani Prime Minister Yousuf Raza Gilani gestures during an interview with The Associated Press at his residence in Lahore, Pakistan, Monday, Dec. 5, 2011. Gilani says his country wants to rebuild ties with the United States despite Islamabad's ongoing retaliation for deadly airstrikes on its troops by the U.S.-led coalition in Afghanistan. (AP Photo/Muhammed Muheisen)
Pakistani Prime Minister Yousuf Raza Gilani gestures during an interview with The Associated Press at his residence in Lahore, Pakistan, Monday, Dec. 5, 2011. Gilani says his country wants to rebuild ties with the United States despite Islamabad's ongoing retaliation for deadly airstrikes on its troops by the U.S.-led coalition in Afghanistan. (AP Photo/Muhammed Muheisen)
Pakistani Prime Minister Yousuf Raza Gilani smiles during an interview with The Associated Press at his residence in Lahore, Pakistan, Monday, Dec. 5, 2011. Gilani says his country wants to rebuild ties with the United States despite Islamabad's ongoing retaliation for deadly airstrikes on its troops by the U.S.-led coalition in Afghanistan. (AP Photo/Muhammed Muheisen)
Pakistani Prime Minister Yousuf Raza Gilani, center, gestures during an interview with The Associated Press at his residence in Lahore, Pakistan, Monday, Dec. 5, 2011. Gilani says his country wants to rebuild ties with the United States despite Islamabad's ongoing retaliation for deadly airstrikes on its troops by the U.S.-led coalition in Afghanistan. (AP Photo/Muhammed Muheisen)
Pakistani Prime Minister Yousuf Raza Gilani pauses during an interview with The Associated Press at his residence in Lahore, Pakistan, Monday, Dec. 5, 2011. Gilani says his country wants to rebuild ties with the United States despite Islamabad's ongoing retaliation for deadly airstrikes on its troops by the U.S.-led coalition in Afghanistan. (AP Photo/Muhammed Muheisen)
LAHORE, Pakistan (AP) ? Pakistan wants to rebuild ties with the United States despite ongoing retaliation over deadly NATO airstrikes on its troops along the Afghan border, the country's prime minister said Monday, stressing that he believes "it won't take long" to achieve a new relationship with its uneasy ally.
Prime Minister Yousuf Raza Gilani's remarks indicate that Pakistan is looking for a way to restore some normalcy to ties with Washington following the Nov. 26 airstrikes by the U.S.-led coalition in Afghanistan, but wants to leverage the situation to try and reset the relationship in ways more beneficial to Pakistan.
In an interview with The Associated Press, Gilani also said the country remained committed to working with Afghanistan to bring insurgent leaders ? many of whom are believed to be on Pakistani soil and to enjoy close relations with Islamabad's security forces ? into talks with the government and allow the U.S. to begin withdrawing its troops as it is committed to doing.
"I think we have evolved some mechanisms, and we are ready to cooperate," he said, referring to meetings with Afghanistan's military and intelligence chiefs on a framework for talks. "We are committed (to reconciliation), despite that we are not attending" the conference on Afghanistan, he said.
That may offer some reassurance to international leaders meeting in Bonn, Germany, to discuss the future of Afghanistan.
Islamabad boycotted the talks because of the airstrikes along the Pakistan-Afghan border that killed 24 Pakistani troops. The decision disappointed Afghan and Western leaders, who realize the vital role Pakistan has in any future stability in neighboring Afghanistan even as they complain that it tolerates, or even supports, insurgents along the border.
Pakistan refused pleas by Afghan and U.S. leaders to attend the Bonn conference. Gilani said he did not regret skipping the meeting, saying "since the soil of Afghanistan was used against Pakistan in the NATO raids, there was a tremendous protest in my country and people putting pressure that we not attend."
Speaking in Germany, U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton called the deaths of the Pakistani soldiers tragic and reiterated a pledge for a thorough investigation. "No one is more interested than the United States in getting to the bottom of what happened in the border incident," she said.
President Barack Obama called Pakistani President Asif Ali Zardari on Sunday to offer his condolences. No one from either NATO or the U.S. has formally apologized, but they have disputed comments by Pakistan's army that the act was a deliberate act of aggression.
As well as boycotting the Bonn talks, Pakistan retaliated by blocking its Afghan border crossings to NATO supplies and giving the U.S. 15 days to vacate Shamsi air base, which has been used by American drones to strike militants along the Afghan border. U.S. Ambassador Cameron Munter said in a local TV interview that Washington was doing its best to comply with Pakistan's demand to leave the air base.
Gilani said new ties being negotiated with the U.S. would ensure that the two countries "respected each other's red lines" regarding sovereignty and rules of engagement along the border. While he gave few details, he made it clear he thought this was both desirable and possible.
"We really want to have good relations with the U.S. based on mutual respect and clearly defined parameters," he said in an interview at his residence. "I think that is doable. I think that it won't take long."
The civilian government is in many respects subservient to the army in Pakistan, which formulates Afghan policy. Gilani is unlikely to be saying anything that doesn't broadly reflect the thinking of the army, however. This year has a seen a succession of crisis in Pakistan-U.S. ties that have been patched up, albeit at a cost of dwindling trust and expectations on both sides.
While no one in Washington underestimates the difficulties in dealing with Pakistan, most officials there also call for continued engagement. As well as holding a major key to future Afghan peace, Pakistan has nuclear weapons and a thriving Islamist militant insurgency of its own that is giving support to al-Qaida operatives in the country.
Pakistan, despite the fiercely anti-American rhetoric of its people, many of its lawmakers and ? increasingly after the NATO strike ? its army, relies on Washington for military and civilian aid to maintain some parity with its regional foe India, as well as diplomatic legitimacy.
In Gilani's office, along with photos of his children, there are two pictures of the prime minister with President George W. Bush in Washington, along with a signed note from Bush in 2008 pledging continued support for Gilani's efforts to bring stability to the country and thanks for "the fine-looking gun" he had brought him as a gift.
Washington and Islamabad have given differing accounts of what led to the airstrikes on the Pakistani army posts last month, in what is at least the third such incident along the porous and poorly defined border since 2008.
U.S. officials have said the incident occurred when a joint U.S. and Afghan patrol requested air support after coming under fire. The U.S. checked with the Pakistan military to see if there were friendly troops in the area and were told there were not, they said.
Pakistan has said the coordinates given by the Americans were wrong ? an allegation denied by U.S. defense officials.
___
Associated Press writers Abdul Sattar in Quetta, Pakistan, and Zarar Khan and Sebastian Abbot in Islamabad contributed to this report.
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Tuesday, December 6, 2011
Man City routs Norwich
updated 10:25 p.m. ET Dec. 3, 2011
LONDON - Unbeaten leader Manchester City turned on the attacking style to maintain its stunning start to the season, thrashing Norwich 5-1 as the Premier League's title-chasers went goal crazy on Saturday.
While second-place Manchester United was content with a 1-0 win at Aston Villa, Tottenham and Chelsea routed Bolton and Newcastle 3-0 each and Arsenal went one better, overwhelming Wigan 4-0 to send the northwest team back to the bottom of the table.
City continues to lead the way, though, extending its undefeated run to 14 matches thanks to goals by Sergio Aguero, Samir Nasri, Yaya Toure, Mario Balotelli and Adam Johnson.
In winning 12 of those games, City has racked up 48 goals as the big-spending club seeks to capture its first title since 1968.
Phil Jones' first goal for United, in the 20th minute, kept the champions five points behind of City and two ahead of Tottenham, which has a game in hand over all its title rivals.
A left ankle injury sustained by Javier Hernandez put a dampener on United's fourth 1-0 victory in its last five league games. The Mexico striker was carried off on a stretcher in the 12th minute at Villa Park and could be out for four weeks with ligament damage, according to manager Alex Ferguson.
American goalkeeper Brad Guzan replaced Villa starter Shay Given in the 38th minute of the match after the Ireland goalkeeper appeared to injure a hamstring.
It was just the second Premier League appearances for Guzan, who joined Villa in July 2008. He made his Premier League debut on March 22, 2009, when he entered in the 65th minute of a 5-0 loss to Liverpool after compatriot Brad Friedel received a red card.
Ayegbeni Yakubu scored four goals as Blackburn won its first Premier League game in nine matches, beating Swansea 4-2 to climb off the bottom of the table and provide some relief for its under-pressure manager Steve Kean.
The Nigerian striker became the fifth player in Premier League history ? after Teddy Sheringham, Nicolas Anelka, Kevin Campbell and Les Ferdinand ? to score a hat-trick for three different clubs.
West Bromwich Albion scored late to hold Queen Park Rangers to a 1-1 draw in the other match.
___
BARCELONA, Spain (AP) ? Spanish league leader Real Madrid extended its winning streak to 14 games in all competitions by beating Sporting Gijon 3-0 on Saturday.
The victory kept Madrid three points ahead of Barcelona.
Angel Di Maria's goal in the 34th minute stood out in an otherwise dull first half that saw more bookings than scoring chances.
Di Maria then produced the through ball for Cristiano Ronaldo to put the game at El Molinon beyond doubt in the 64th with his 17th goal before Marcelo capped the win in stoppage time.
"It was a tough game and the important thing is that we won," Di Maria said. "We scored early and then knew how to manage the rest of the game."
Madrid hosts Barcelona next Saturday in the first highly anticipated "clasico" of the season.
Later in the Catalan capital, Barcelona coach Pep Guardiola returned to a three-man defensive line, thereby allowing Xavi Hernandez, Andres Iniesta and Fabregas to overwhelm Levante in the midfield for a 5-0 win. Lionel Messi scored his 17th league goal, tying Ronaldo for the top spot, and No. 27 for the season.
Levante was missing its two most dynamic players ? midfielder Jose Barkero and forward Juanlu Gomez ? and didn't look like the revelation of the season that had previously spent two rounds at the top of the table.
Barcelona's passing attack worked wonders from the start as the hosts had little trouble remaining unbeaten this season at Camp Nou, where it has outscored its league opponents 39-0.
Elsewhere, Christian Stuani's first-half goal gave Racing Santander a 1-0 win over Villarreal in its first game under interim coach Juanjo Gonzalez since Hector Cuper parted ways with the northern Spanish club.
Racing's second win of the season lifted it out of last place.
___
MILAN (AP) ? Udinese beat 10-man Inter Milan 1-0 in Serie A, and Napoli routed Lecce 4-2.
Mauricio Isla gave Udinese the lead in the 73rd minute and the visitors were in position to grab control when they were awarded a penalty and Inter captain Javier Zanetti was sent off.
But Antonio Di Natale had his spot kick saved by Julio Cesar. Inter was awarded a penalty moments later, but Giampaolo Pazzini blazed over.
Udinese defender Damiano Ferronetti was sent off in injury time for dissent.
"When Pazzini was about to take the penalty I was really hoping (goalkeeper Samir) Handanovic could do something," Udinese coach Francesco Guidolin said. "When I saw the ball go over I let out a sigh of relief.
"We deserved the victory. It was a heart-stopping game but I'm pleased with my players' performance. It doesn't always happen that Udinese wins at San Siro. To be at the top is marvelous, we're picking up more and more points."
Edinson Cavani scored twice for Napoli. Ezequiel Lavezzi and Blerim Dzemaili were also on target.
Luis Muriel and Daniele Corvia scored for Lecce. General manager Renato Cipollini said the club could decide to part with coach Eusebio Di Francesco.
"We'll take 24-48 hours to decide and reflect deeply on the situation and on how we can turn around this team which we think has the qualities to save itself," Cipollini said. "I won't go into details about a possible new coach, but if there is one he will have a contract until the end of the season.
"Today we deserved to lose even if we had some good periods of play. We created some good things up front."
___
BERLIN (AP) ? Bayern Munich reclaimed the Bundesliga lead with a 4-1 win over Werder Bremen on Saturday, while Borussia Dortmund was held to 1-1 at Borussia Moenchengladbach.
"Everything is questioned at Bayern after two defeats in a row, so this win is even more important," Bayern coach Jupp Heynckes said.
Franck Ribery opened the scoring in the 22nd minute, but substitute Markus Rosenberg equalized in the 52nd. Thomas Mueller then earned Bayern's first penalty, which was converted by substitute Arjen Robben in the 69th.
Ribery sealed the win with his second goal in the 77th, and earned another penalty which Robben converted in the 83rd.
"We weren't in the game at all today," said Werder coach Thomas Schaaf.
In Moenchengladbach, Robert Lewandowski scored for the defending champions in the 40th, but Mike Hanke deservedly equalized in the 72nd to preserve Moenchengladbach's unbeaten record at home and leave both sides one point behind Bayern.
"The fans saw a thrilling match. The result is fair," said Hanke.
Elsewhere, Hertha Berlin and Hannover drew 1-1 at Kaiserslautern and Freiburg respectively, while Mainz came from behind to draw 2-2 at Wolfsburg.
Late Saturday, Lukas Podolski scored in the 88th to snatch an unlikely 2-2 draw for Cologne at Stuttgart, after his side had given up an early lead.
___
PARIS (AP) ? Montpellier consolidated its top spot in the French league by routing Lorient 4-0 as Olivier Giroud set up three goals and scored one on Saturday.
The France international knocked the ball down for winger Geoffrey Dernis who fired home the opener in the 26th minute.
Giroud got his 12th goal in the 47th. Lorient goalkeeper Fabien Audard stopped a curling shot from playmaker Younes Belhanda but Giroud, the top scorer in the league, followed up to score.
Nigerian forward John Utaka received a pass from Giroud to add a third goal in the 62nd.
Giroud then pulled the ball back for substitute Remy Cabella who sealed the win in the 86th.
Also Saturday, it was: Nice 2, Rennes 0; Ajaccio 2, Lille 3; Brest 2, Saint-Etienne 2; Dijon 0, Sochaux 0; and Evian 2, Valenciennes 1.
___
ATHENS, Greece (AP) ? Defending champion Olympiakos beat visiting Panaitolikos 2-0 and climbed to the top of the Greek league on Saturday.
There were second-half goals from Marco Pantelic and Rafik Djebbour.
Panaitolikos played the last half-hour a man down, as Andre Rocha was shown a direct red card.
Olympiakos has one more point than Panathinaikos, which has played two fewer games and two more than AEK, which, like Olympiakos, has played 11 games.
In other games, OFI beat Asteras 3-0 and fourth-place Atromitos edged Ergotelis 1-0.
___
GLASGOW, Scotland (AP) ? Rangers bounced back from its first defeat of the season by beating Dunfermline 2-1 on Saturday to re-establish its grip at the top of the Scottish Premier League.
Alex Keddie's own goal and Nikica Jelavic's penalty gave Rangers a 2-0 lead by the 29th minute and, although Joe Cardle reduced the deficit two minutes later for the next-to-last visitors, the champions held on.
Second-place Celtic needs to defeat Dundee United on Sunday to keep the gap with its Glasgow rival at four points.
Aberdeen would have moved off the bottom and ahead of Dunfermline with a point at Kilmarnock, but slipped to a 2-0 defeat.
Copyright 2011 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.
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More newsAFP - Getty ImagesMan City routs Norwich
Euro roundup: Unbeaten leader Manchester City turned on the attacking style to maintain its stunning start to the season, thrashing Norwich 5-1 as the Premier League's title-chasers went goal crazy on Saturday.
Season set
Major League Soccer's 2012 season will open March 10 with six games.
Source: http://nbcsports.msnbc.com/id/45536218/ns/sports-soccer/
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Who is This Monster They Call Wall Street? We Are. We Might Even Be Your Neighbor (ContributorNetwork)
COMMENTARY | Wall Street. The monster the protestors love to hate. I still can't understand its logic. Maybe, Marybeth Hicks of the Washington Times asks in her "Occupy Reality" piece, "Who parented these people?" is right. It's about entitlement. I get the feeling that the infamous Gordon Gekko of the Hollywood blockbuster "Wall Street" is being mistaken for documentary material. I wonder if these protestors really know anything real about their target. Who is this "Wall Street" they speak of, so reviled, disparaged and occupied these days?
Well, I'd like to introduce my family. I'm not ashamed to say we are Wall Street. We are not monsters and (gasp), we may not be that different from the protesters, just older and more experienced.
Let me clarify. We graduated from college in 1991, in the middle of a recession caused by the Persian Gulf War and inflation. Few in our class had promising job offers. Applications to law school and medical school soared as people hoped graduate school would help them wait out the economic drought of the time.
Job interviews invariably worked in a typing test. Speed, not your degree equaled a paycheck. Temp jobs and long hours at copy machines were personal purgatories to many. We envied people who had graduated only a few years before with prestigious, higher paying jobs, but we had bills to pay and worked hard at our crappy jobs, (mine at a law firm and his in accounting). It was frustrating and a serious struggle for financial security.
Fast-forward 20 years. The months each year my kids never saw their father during tax season, my graduate school tuition, the credit card bills and life stress took its toll. Finally, we bought our own home and along with it came the stress of a mortgage, taxes and car payments. Now, he's an employer, with four other partners within the finance industry. They employ ten people who work hard to support their families. Forty people, including children, rely on the success of this business. So we're being criticized for achieving the American Dream?
We all know the few newsworthy greed driven crooks and companies who have become household names. The Wall Street I know consists of mostly hardworking people. Some are richer, some poorer and media hype aside most do not own private yachts. If they do, then I say bravo. Are some of them wildly successful like our favorite athletes and entertainers? Yes, and because of that success they can often be found on the boards of major philanthropic organizations trying to better the world for their children and all of us.
I'd like to wager a bet that in another 20 years, when the rallying cry has died down and everyone grows up, some of these protestors will be the 1 percent. It could happen. I wonder how they'll feel then, when their name is on the tax bill and someone tells them they don't deserve their success.
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Monday, December 5, 2011
Art-theft suspect pleads not guilty in NYC (AP)
NEW YORK ? A wine steward suspected in a bicoastal art-theft spree lifted pricey art from New York hotels simply by walking out with the works in a canvas tote bag and then used them to line his own walls, prosecutors said Friday.
Mark Lugo, who just spent more than four months in jail for grabbing a $275,000 Picasso off a San Francisco art gallery wall, was being held without bail after pleading not guilty Friday to grand larceny and other charges in a Manhattan court.
"In an effort to display stolen art in his apartment, this repeat art thief boldly walked out of two Manhattan hotels in broad daylight" with valuable works, District Attorney Cyrus R. Vance Jr. said in a statement.
Lugo's New York lawyer, James Montgomery, said the 31-year-old was a "pleasant, engaging" man "who's been struggling with particular difficulties," which he wouldn't detail.
"When the dust settles, and the DA's office calms down a little bit, we'll find that Mr. Lugo is a man who had no commercial motive at all" in the alleged thefts, Montgomery said.
The charges relate to two thefts of a total of six artworks, including what prosecutors called a $350,000 sketch by the French Cubist painter Fernand Leger. But prosecutors said a search of Lugo's former apartment in Hoboken, N.J., turned up four other pieces ? including a Picasso work ? that may have been stolen from Manhattan venues, and they said the investigation was continuing.
Lugo was publicly identified as a suspect in several New York heists since shortly after his July arrest in San Francisco, where police identified him as the man who walked into the Weinstein Gallery, lifted the 1965 Picasso drawing "Tete de Femme" ("Head of a Woman") off the wall, strolled down the street with the sketch under his arm and hopped into a taxi. Police tracked Lugo to a friend's Napa County apartment, where the Picasso was found unframed and prepared for shipping.
At his Hoboken apartment, investigators then found a $430,000 trove of stolen art, carefully and prominently displayed, as well as high-priced wine, authorities said.
Among some 19 artworks at the apartment was Leger's 1917 "Composition with Mechanical Elements," Assistant District Attorney Meghan Hast told a judge. The drawing disappeared June 28 from an employee entrance area at a gallery in the Carlyle Hotel; prosecutors pegged its value at $350,000, though Montgomery said that figure warranted investigating.
Lugo also is charged with stealing a group of five works by the South Korea-born artist Mie Yim, known for her disconcerting images of toy bears and other toy-like creatures, from the Chambers Hotel on June 14. The hotel had bought the Yim works, together called "Pastel on Board," for $1,800 apiece, prosecutors said.
Representatives for the hotels didn't immediately return calls Friday.
The San Francisco district attorney's office has said Lugo also was suspected of several other New York art heists, including the theft of a $30,000 Picasso etching from the William Bennett Gallery on June 27.
The sometime sommelier and kitchen server at upscale Manhattan restaurants also is charged in New Jersey with taking $6,000 worth of wine - in the form of three bottles of Chateau Petrus Pomerol - in April from Gary's Wine and Marketplace in Wayne. He hasn't appeared in a New Jersey court yet to answer those charges.
Lugo pleaded guilty in October to grand theft for the San Francisco heist. He finished his 138-day sentence Nov. 21 but was being held until he could be transferred to New York.
Lugo's San Francisco attorney, Douglas Horngrad, has called him "more like someone who was in the midst of a psychiatric episode" than a calculating art thief.
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Former Denver sheriff charged in meth for sex case (AP)
DENVER ? A former Colorado lawman who was once named the nation's sheriff of the year was charged Friday with drug and prostitution offenses after authorities said he offered methamphetamine to a man in exchange for sex.
Patrick Sullivan Jr., 68, was being held on $500,000 bond in an isolation cell at a jail named in his honor in suburban Denver. Arapahoe County Sheriff Grayson Robinson said current or former law enforcement officials are usually kept from the general inmate population for their safety at the Patrick J. Sullivan Jr. Detention Facility.
Prosecutors charged Sullivan with felony distribution, possession of meth as well as a misdemeanor charge of soliciting prostitution. Authorities say he offered methamphetamine in exchange for sex from a male acquaintance in a sting set up by officers with a drug task force.
Sullivan also is charged with attempting to influence a public servant following a Sept. 20 report of an "old man" inside a home that the caller said he wanted to leave.
An incident report notes a man at the house reported Sullivan was getting three recovering addicts back into drugs. Sullivan told investigators he was helping them out as part of his work with a law enforcement and state drug rehab program. Officials have no record of Sullivan working for either.
Sheriff's officials say Sullivan has declined to grant interviews while incarcerated.
Sullivan was sheriff of the suburban Denver county from 1984 until 2002, when he retired. He was hailed as a hero following a daring 1989 rescue in which he crashed a vehicle through a fence to provide cover for two of his deputies who were pinned by gunfire. He was also named Sheriff of the Year by the National Sheriff's Association and praised by former Rep. Tom Tancredo in 2002.
Meanwhile, Robinson said police talked to him in January about Sullivan as part of an investigation into the unsolved drowning death of a man. Robinson said a detective contacted him in January for insight into the personality of Sullivan.
"He told me they were interested in interviewing Sullivan," Robinson said.
Denver police refuse to say whether they questioned Sullivan or what information they sought in the Jan. 26 drowning death of 27-year-old Sean Moss.
An autopsy found intoxication from meth and gamma-hydroxybutryic acid that's a rave drug known by various street names such as "Liquid Ecstasy," that's also a date rape drug, contributed to Moss' death.
Police spokesman Sonny Jackson said the case remains open because the coroner was unable to determine if Moss' death was accidental, a suicide or homicide.
The Denver Post reported that Sullivan had posted bail for Moss after his arrest Jan. 14 in a domestic violence case in Centennial, a suburb of Denver. That case involved a fight that broke out in a car on Interstate 25 between Moss and a man described by investigators as Moss' boyfriend, according to an incident report from the Arapahoe County sheriff's office.
The incident report said Moss and the other man were living together at the time. Both men were arrested.
Moss was carrying a backpack packed with a denture brush, eight pairs of socks, some clothes, and other personal items when his body was found in the South Platte River southeast of downtown Denver.
Robinson said he knew little about the Moss investigation because that was Denver's case.
A Denver man remained in custody in a Denver jail Friday over allegations he supplied methamphetamine to Sullivan. Robinson said Timothy Faase, 49, was arrested Tuesday after investigators tailed Sullivan to Faase's Denver apartment.
Faase was being held in a Denver jail on suspicion of drug trafficking and possession of more than 2 grams of methamphetamine. His bond was set at $25,000.
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Sunday, December 4, 2011
turnageb: RT @BorowitzReport: BREAKING: GOP Rivals Beg Cain To Endorse Someone Else #Cain
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Saturday, December 3, 2011
Security Researchers Find Privacy Leaks in Fundamental Pre-Installed Android Apps [Security]
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