Exclusive: Shell strikes shale gas in China (Reuters)

DOHA (Reuters) ? Royal Dutch Shell Plc has found shale gas in China, a development that could cap imports in a market natural gas producers are hoping will drive demand.

An official with Shell's partner, PetroChina (601857.SS), a unit of the country's top energy group, state-owned CNPC, said drilling results from two wells Shell drilled had been positive.

"Shell has two vertical wells and they got very good primary production," Professor Yuzhang Liu, Vice president of Petrochina's Research Institute of Petroleum Exploration and Development (RIPED), said in an interview at the sidelines of the World Petroleum Congress (WPC) in Doha.

"It's good news for shale gas," Liu, who regularly represents PetroChina at industry events around the world, told Reuters late on Monday.

China currently has no commercial shale gas production.

Some industry executives doubt the explosion of shale gas in the U.S. that has revolutionized the market there could be replicated elsewhere due to difficult geology, the lack of water availability or land access issues.

Liu accepted the rock formations in China were "different" from those in the United States but denied this meant they were more challenging or less bountiful.

In less than decade, shale gas has transformed the United States from gas shortage to a point where companies are planning to export liquefied natural gas (LNG), fundamentally altering the dynamics of the international gas market.

LNG projects freeze and squeeze natural gas into liquid for export in tankers. Many producers who were targeting the United States were forced to rethink their plans, and China, with its booming energy demand, was seen as the answer to their need for a market.

A Chinese 'shale gale' as the revolution was termed in America, could jeopardize that market too.

Shell declined to confirm the find but said in a statement;

"Shell will complete drilling activities by the year end... as planned."

Chief Executive Peter Voser has previously said he has "great expectations" for Chinese shale but was cautious in his comments to the WPC on Tuesday.

"We are going through the exploration phase there and are exactly now analyzing what potential is available now in China," he told a news conference.

In November 2009, PetroChina and Royal Dutch Shell agreed to jointly evaluate shale gas reserves of the Fushun-Yongchuan block in Sichuan basin.

Earlier this year, industry sources said Shell had started drilling two shale gas exploration wells in Fushun.

A U.S. Energy Information Administration report in April said China had 1,275 trillion cubic feet of technically recoverable shale gas resources -- by far the largest in the world, followed by the United States with 862 trillion cubic feet and Argentina with 774.

(Reporting by Tom Bergin; Editing by Andrew Callus)

Source: http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/china/*http%3A//news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20111206/bs_nm/us_shell_chinashale

fiddler on the roof rally squirrel rally squirrel scumbag steve scumbag steve day of the dead rocksmith

Recess and PE policies mean more activity for kids (Reuters)

NEW YORK (Reuters Health) ? According to a new nationwide survey of elementary school principals, kids are more likely to get the recommended amount of recess and physical education if they live in states or districts with policies that call for more of those types of activity.

However, more than half of states and districts didn't require regular PE classes, and few made daily recess mandatory or even suggested it.

And schools that did meet national recommendations for either recess or PE tended to skimp on the other -- suggesting that policy makers need to recognize the value of both activities for physical health and learning, researchers said.

"There are a lot of competing demands right now," said lead author Sandy Slater, from the University of Illinois at Chicago. "There's a lot to address during the school day. It's also obviously important to try to address physical activity in some way, shape or form."

The findings, Slater told Reuters Health, suggest that even in states that don't have specific regulations on PE and recess, individual districts can make a difference by prioritizing those activities.

She and her colleagues surveyed principals at close to 1,800 elementary schools in 47 states during the 2006 through 2009 school years. Principals were asked how often the average third grader at their school had PE class, and for how long, as well as the amount of time normally allocated for recess.

Slater and her colleagues then compared those survey responses with state laws and district policies requiring or suggesting PE and recess in accordance with recommendations endorsed by the American Heart Association -- which call for two and a half hours of PE per week and 20 minutes of recess every day.

Only eight states suggested or required third graders get daily recess. Twenty-three, or just under half, had any laws on PE classes, and only six of those required at least two and a half hours a week.

Other states required less PE time, or suggested schools give kids the full two and a half hours but didn't make it mandatory.

About 70 percent of schools did offer third graders recess every day, and 18 percent of principals said kids had the recommended amount of weekly PE.

Schools were more than twice as likely to meet PE recommendations if they were in states or districts that required it.

Being in a state that encouraged recess also increased the chance that kids would get enough of it.

However, schools that offered the recommended amount of recess were less likely to fulfill weekly PE recommendations -- and vice versa.

What's more, schools with mostly minority and poorer kids were less likely to have daily recess, the researchers reported Monday in the Archives of Pediatrics & Adolescent Medicine.

More physical activity time has been linked to better thinking and memory skills and better concentration in the classroom, Slater said.

Doctors are also pushing exercise as a way to slow growing rates of childhood obesity.

Amy Eyler, a physical activity and policy researcher at Washington University in St. Louis, agreed that it makes sense that having time to run around and getting fresh air is good for kids.

But until there's definitive evidence showing that getting enough PE and recess raises test scores and grades, a lot of school districts won't set aside the facilities and the staff to make it happen, she added.

"It's not seen as something that's a priority," Eyler, who wasn't involved in the new study, told Reuters Health.

She said the new research suggests that when states and districts do take action on physical activity recommendations, kids see the benefits.

"The message is that policies at the state level trickle down all the way to the classroom. It really does make a difference," Eyler said.

"Teaching kids PE skills or an enjoyment of physical activity is really important and I don't think that can be overlooked," she added.

Slater said there are ways for schools to get creative with physical activity and work it into the classroom schedule in brief spurts here and there, even if a full PE session isn't always possible. "All those minutes add up over the course of the day."

SOURCE: http://bit.ly/tDZkLz Archives of Pediatrics & Adolescent Medicine, online December 5, 2011.

Source: http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/parenting/*http%3A//news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20111205/hl_nm/us_recess_activity_kids

gwar gwar san diego weather tropic thunder justin bieber baby justin bieber baby credit unions

Pivotal week for Europe's leaders and fate of euro

FILE - In this Nov. 24, 2011 file photo, German Chancellor Angela Merkel and French President Nicolas Sarkozy say goodbye after their meeting in Strasbourg, France. Sarkozy and Merkel are scheduled to meet in Paris on Monday, Dec. 5, 2011, to unveil a proposal for closer political and economic ties between the 17 countries that use the euro. While the leaders differ on some of the details, their cooperation has been so tight they have come to be known by a single name: "Merkozy." (AP Photo/Michael Probst, File)

FILE - In this Nov. 24, 2011 file photo, German Chancellor Angela Merkel and French President Nicolas Sarkozy say goodbye after their meeting in Strasbourg, France. Sarkozy and Merkel are scheduled to meet in Paris on Monday, Dec. 5, 2011, to unveil a proposal for closer political and economic ties between the 17 countries that use the euro. While the leaders differ on some of the details, their cooperation has been so tight they have come to be known by a single name: "Merkozy." (AP Photo/Michael Probst, File)

FILE - In this Nov. 24, 2011 file photo, German Chancellor Angela Merkel and French President Nicolas Sarkozy leave the building after their meeting in Strasbourg, France. Sarkozy and Merkel meet in Paris on Monday, Dec. 5, 2011, to unveil a proposal for closer political and economic ties between the 17 countries that use the euro. While the leaders differ on some of the details, their cooperation has been so tight they have come to be known by a single name: "Merkozy." (AP Photo/Michael Probst, File)

BRUSSELS (AP) ? Europe's sovereign-debt crisis, which has dragged on for more than two years, is entering a pivotal week, as leaders across the continent converge to prevent a collapse of the euro and a financial panic from spreading.

Expectations are rising that Friday's summit of 27 EU leaders will yield a breakthrough. An agreement on tighter integration of the 17 countries that use the single currency ? especially on budget matters ? would be seen as a crucial first step. That could trigger further emergency aid from the European Central Bank, the International Monetary Fund or some combination, analysts say.

The coming days "will decide if the euro will survive or not," Emma Marcegaglia, the head of Italy's industrial lobby, Confindustria, said Sunday.

French President Nicolas Sarkozy, German Chancellor Angela Merkel, European Central Bank Chief Draghi, and even U.S. Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner will star in a 5-day financial drama leading up to the summit.

If the summit is a failure, Sarkozy warned last week, "the world will not wait for Europe."

Sarkozy and Merkel meet in Paris on Monday to unveil a proposal for closer political and economic ties between eurozone countries. While the leaders differ on some of the details, their cooperation has been so tight they have come to be known by a single name ? "Merkozy."

The two agree overall on the need for tougher rules that would prevent governments from spending or borrowing too much ? and on certain penalties for persistent violators.

"Where we today have agreements, we need in the future to have legally binding regulations," Merkel said Friday.

Merkel wants to change the basic European Union treaty to reflect the tougher rules on eurozone countries and make them enforceable. Even if there is general agreement on Friday, actually putting new rules in place through treaty changes could take more than a year. And many economists fear the new rules alone would not be enough to halt the rise in Europe's borrowing costs.

The hope is that a firm expression of intent, however, would reassure the ECB, so that it can make stronger efforts in the short term. That would give governments time to get their finances under better control and make economic reforms that would improve growth.

The urgency has been heightened in recent weeks as Italy and Spain, the continent's third- and fourth-largest economies, face unsustainably high costs to finance their debts. For example, the yield on 10-year Italian bonds is around 7 percent. Yields above that level forced Ireland, Portugal and Greece to seek bailouts. By comparison, bond yields in Germany, Europe's largest and most stable economy, are roughly 2 percent.

The eurozone is threatened to face an existential situation if it becomes clear over the next few weeks that several member states cannot cover their refinancing needs, or can only do so at suicidal conditions," former German Finance Minister Peer Steinbrueck told the Sunday edition of German tabloid Bild.

"Everything must be done to hinder the Eurozone from breaking up," he said.

Italy, whose sovereign debt is equivalent to 120 percent of the country's annual economic output, needs to refinance ?200 billion ($270 billion) of its ?1.9 trillion ($2.6 trillion)of outstanding debt by the end of April.

The size of the problems facing Italy and Spain are considered too large for the existing funds available to the European Financial Stability Facility ($590 billion) and the IMF ($389 billion.) To boost the firepower of the IMF, several economists have proposed that the ECB lend to it.

"We are now entering the critical period," the EU's financial chief, Olli Rehn, said last Wednesday.

That same day, the U.S. Federal Reserve, in coordination with the ECB and four other central banks, sought to give stressed-out European banks some relief. The Fed announced a plan to make it cheaper for banks to borrow American dollars, which is the dominant currency of trade. It was the most extraordinary coordinated effort since October 2008, and it prompted a nearly 500 point rally in the Dow Jones industrial average.

Still, that help did not address the fundamental problem in Europe: unsustainable levels of government debt.

Italian Prime Minister Mario Monti will have that on his mind, when he unveils new austerity measures at a Cabinet meeting on Sunday. The measures will likely include reforms to require Italians to work longer before drawing pensions, a return of a property tax that Silvio Berlusconi's government abolished in 2008 and a "wealth" tax.

"The first move to save the euro is in Italian hands," Marcegaglia said.

In a sign of how all 17 eurozone nations see their fates as intricately linked, Dutch Premier Mark Rutte will be visiting Monti in Rome.

"It is really important that the markets see that Europe is prepared to help the countries in trouble, so long as those countries commit to very tough reforms and austerity programs," Rutte said.

Indeed, the debt loads of countries like Italy and Greece are everyone else's problem.

Germany's economy depends heavily on exports, and if economic output in the rest of Europe collapses, the people of smaller countries couldn't buy as many German goods. Across the Atlantic Ocean, the United States depends on Europe for 20 percent of its own exports. And investors in American banks have worried about their holdings of European debt.

The United States is ratcheting up its involvement.

Geithner will meet Tuesday in Germany with Draghi and German Finance Minister Wolfgang Schauble. On Wednesday he travels to France for talks with Sarkozy and the prime minister-elect of Spain, Mariano Rajoy Brey. And Geithner will meet Monti in Milan just before the new Italian leader heads for the EU summit in Brussels.

On Wednesday, many of Europe's most important leaders will be in Marseille, France, for a meeting of the conservative-leaning European People's Party. Merkel, Sarkozy and Spain's new conservative prime minister, Mariano Rajoy, will all be there.

On Thursday, the ECB holds its monthly policy meeting. Many analysts expect one or more actions by the bank aimed at boosting growth and steadying the financial system.

One step would be to cut its key short-term interest rate from the current 1.25 percent. It made a surprise quarter-point cut at November's meeting. Another would be to extend loans to banks for up to two or three years, instead of the current limit of 13 months.

Even more significantly, ECB President Mario Draghi hinted last week that the bank could be willing to take a more direct and aggressive role in solving Europe's sovereign-debt crisis, so long as EU leaders agree to the coordinated belt-tightening being pushed by Merkel, Sarkozy and others.

"Other elements might follow, but the sequencing matters," he said in a speech Thursday.

The ECB extends unlimited short-term loans to banks. It cannot lend directly to governments, including by buying their national bonds. It can, however, buy national bonds on the secondary market, lowering borrowing costs for governments.

Many economists have urged the bank to sharply increase its purchases to help the most heavily indebted countries lower their borrowing costs and avoid potentially calamitous defaults.

The ECB has so far resisted expanding its support because it believes that would take the pressure off politicians to cut spending and reform government finances, a concern known as moral hazard. The ECB has also worried that injecting too much money into the European economy would trigger inflation.

Sarkozy and others say the stakes couldn't be higher.

"What will remain of Europe if the euro disappears?" Sarkozy asked. He then provided an answer: "Nothing."

___

Don Melvin from Brussels, Dave McHugh from Frankfurt, Sara DiLorenzo from Paris, Frances D'Emilio from Rome and Mike Corder from Amsterdam contributed

Associated Press

Source: http://hosted2.ap.org/APDEFAULT/f70471f764144b2fab526d39972d37b3/Article_2011-12-04-Europe-Financial%20Crisis/id-ae008f4a90b9434baf1e46cf39c11135

amy schumer ascii art ascii art andrew mason once in a blue moon gwar guitarist gwar guitarist

WikiLeaks' chief in vital extradition court fight (Providence Journal)

Share With Friends: | | Politics - Top Stories Stories, RSS Feeds and Widgets via Feedzilla.

Source: http://news.feedzilla.com/en_us/stories/politics/top-stories/169492254?client_source=feed&format=rss

mark kelly mark kelly jeff goldblum uc berkeley ohio state basketball annie annie

PFT: Martz blames his players ... again

Getty Images

I was so excited by the fact that Rosenthal and I disagree on six games ? and that I feel very good about my position in each of them ? that I posted the weekly PFT picks without the perfunctorily pithy opening comments.

Yes, we disagreed on five games last week.? Yes, even though I picked the Packers when Rosenthal picked the Lions and the Broncos when he picked the Chargers, he got me on the other three and extended his season-to-date lead by a game.

It doesn?t matter.? This week, his 12-game lead gets cut in half.

For the week, he was 11-5 and I was 10-6.? For the season, he?s 120-56.? I?m 108-68.

Eagles at Seahawks

Florio?s take:?? Vince Young gets another crack at Pete Carroll, nearly six years after Young stole from Carroll an NCAA title that the NCAA would have stolen from Carroll last year.? The last time the Eagles faced a short week amid so many challenges and distractions, they blew out the Cardinals on Thanksgiving night, 2008.? Though this one won?t be a blowout, it?ll be enough to prolong for another week or two the ultimate demise of the Dream Team.

Florio?s pick:? Eagles 27, Seahawks 19.

Rosenthal?s take: The Seahawks quietly have a strong defense, the fourth quarter of last week?s game notwithstanding. The Eagles don?t do anything quietly. Just when you think their season has bottomed out, they find a way to go lower. Losing a third game to an NFC West team is the new rock bottom.

Rosenthal?s pick: Seahawks 20, Eagles 17.

Titans at Bills

Florio?s take:? The Bills are disintegrating and the Titans still see an opportunity to steal a playoff spot.? With Chris Johnson waking up and the rest of the team doing enough to get more wins than losses, look for the Titans to extend Buffalo?s misery, without having to resort to any Music City Miracles.

Florio?s pick:? Titans 24, Bills 16.

Rosenthal?s take: Buffalo?s meltdown has mostly been on the road. Things might look different at home against a mediocre opponent. Chris Johnson showed renewed quickness last week, but the Titans passing game remains limited. The receivers either can?t get separation or are in the wrong place. Matt Hasselbeck has worked wonders to get this team to 6-5.

Rosenthal?s pick: Bills 24, Titans 21.

Chiefs at Bears

Florio?s take:? Kyle Orton wanted to return to Chicago.? He gets his wish, in a roundabout way.? But he won?t be starting and he may not be playing.? Which is good news for the team for which he wanted to return.

Florio?s pick:? Bears 27, Chiefs 17.

Rosenthal?s take: Todd Haley may not start Kyle Orton, which would be a shame. Orton?s revenge tour starts Sunday in Chicago and ends in Denver on January 1. Don?t discount the Chiefs no matter who starts at quarterback. Caleb Hanie?s pocket presence was Gabbert-like last week. He?s no better than Tyler Palko.

Rosenthal?s pick: Bears 17, Chiefs 14.

Falcons at Texans

Florio?s take:? Coach Gary Kubiak?s decision to entrust the offense to a rookie quarterback gets its toughest test against a team with an offense that has the firepower to test the Texans? much-improved defense.? Though Atlanta could still swipe a playoff berth in the NFC, the home team in this one has the horses to grind the clock, limit Matt Ryan?s chances, and ultimately outscore the Falcons.

Florio?s pick:? Texans 23, Falcons 20.

Rosenthal?s take: The Texans will have to throw more to win this week. The Falcons rush defense can slow down Arian Foster, especially if Houston stays ultra-conservative. I?m hoping for the sake of Texans fans that T.J. Yates shows promise, but it?s hard to see a fifth-round rookie beating many playoff-caliber teams.

Rosenthal?s pick: Falcons 22, Texans 17.

Raiders at Dolphins

Florio?s take:? The Dolphins played well enough to beat the Cowboys in Dallas.? The Dolphins will play well enough to beat the Raiders in Miami.? And the Raiders, still banged up, are due for a stumble.? Tony Sparano may not save his job, but he?ll definitely throw a wrench into the franchise?s plans to draft a quarterback in the top ten.

Florio?s pick:? Dolphins 24, Raiders 21.

Rosenthal?s take: Miami is favored by three partly because Oakland misses its big play threats. Darrius Heyward-Bey, Chaz Schilens, and Louis Murphy make too many mistakes. Michael Bush is playing well, but he?s no Darren McFadden. It?s a credit to Hue Jackson and Carson Palmer this team keeps winning. (And will keep winning.)

Rosenthal?s pick: Raiders 28, Dolphins 24.

Broncos at Vikings

Florio?s take:? Tebowmania invades the Twin Cities, along with a Minnesota native who has become one of the best young receivers in the NFL.? The only way to beat the Broncos is to build a big lead against them, something that the Vikings were able to do back in September, when they were blowing big leads.? Look for this one to remain close and for Tebow to generate a Vick-in-2002 highlight for the winning touchdown run, possibly in overtime.

Florio?s pick:? Broncos 23, Vikings 17.

Rosenthal?s take: Florio?s record would be a lot better if he didn?t go with the Vikings so often early in the year. This week, I?ll return the favor. The Vikings aren?t as bad as their record indicates. The Broncos aren?t as good as their winning streak indicates. Tim Tebow can?t exploit Minnesota?s big weakness in the secondary.

Rosenthal?s pick: Vikings 24, Broncos 21.

Colts at Patriots

Florio?s take:? Once the greatest non-division rivalry in the NFL, the absence of Peyton Manning has made this one a stinker.? The fact that the Colts haven?t won a game this year doesn?t help matters.

Florio?s pick:? Patriots 42, Colts 13.

Rosenthal?s take: Dan Orlovsky has awful luck, becoming the Colts starter just in time to face back-to-back AFC powerhouses on the road. (The Colts head to Baltimore next week.) I think Orlovsky will avoid going down in 0-16 infamy again, but in a week where the Colts can compete. Bill Belichick is going to enjoy this one.

Rosenthal?s pick: Patriots 38, Colts 17.

Bengals at Steelers

Florio?s take:? The Bengals get another chance to prove that they?re for real.? Though they have managed to keep it interesting against the Steelers and Ravens, at some point the Bengals need to win one of these games.? It?ll eventually happen, but the Steelers have been tougher than usual to beat at home this season, and they know they need to keep pace with Baltimore.? Injuries to the Cincinnati secondary coupled with an improving corps of young wideouts could be the difference.

Florio?s pick:? Steelers 28, Bengals 24.

Rosenthal?s take: This is the Bengals? last stand in the AFC North. Andy Dalton did some good things against Pittsburgh last time out should be more prepared for the rematch. The bigger concern is the Bengals secondary. They don?t have enough bodies ? especially at safety ? to deal with the Steelers.

Rosenthal?s pick: Steelers 27, Bengals 21.

Panthers at Buccaneers

Florio?s take:? The Bucs finally get a break from their crippling schedule, which now features three of four games against three-win teams.? If Tampa blows this one, Raheem Morris should go ahead and leave now.

Florio?s pick:? Buccaneers 30, Panthers 20.

Rosenthal?s take: It?s a scary thought for the Bucs that they could be in the NFC South cellar with a loss Sunday.? Another scary thought: Carolina has the diverse running game to pound the Bucs? soft defense for four quarters.

Rosenthal?s pick: Panthers 29, Buccaneers 28.

Jets at Redskins

Florio?s take:? Once an intriguing rivalry given the pipeline of players between the two cities, this one has lost a lot of its pop.? In large part because the Redskins aren?t very competitive.? The Jets need this one badly, but perhaps not as badly as a head coach who hosts the Patriots next weekend.? Perhaps Mark Sanchez will get some extra motivation once he realizes that his inconsistency could put him on the Rex Grossman career arc.

Florio?s pick:? Jets 20, Redskins 14.

Rosenthal?s take: Rex Ryan seasons have a formula. First comes the early overconfidence. Then the humbling midseason swoon.? We?ve hit the portion of the schedule where the Jets go on a winning streak against bad teams with improbable fourth-quarter plays. It all wraps up with the Jets peaking in January.

Rosenthal?s pick: Jets 24, Redskins 21.

Ravens at Browns

Florio?s take:? The Ravens chased three big wins against good teams with deflating losses against bad ones.? Baltimore gets a chance to reverse the trend in Cleveland, where the team that used to be in Cleveland has won four out of five times.? And coach John Harbaugh never has lost there.? The Ravens can see the bye and the home playoff game(s) waiting for them the season?s finish line.

Florio?s pick:? Ravens 30, Browns 17.

Rosenthal?s take: Peyton Hillis returned to the starting lineup just in time to face the Ravens and Steelers four times in five weeks.? Hillis ran hard against the Bengals, but the Browns are too limited offensively to move the ball on Baltimore. This closing stretch will make Colt McCoy?s dreadful numbers even worse.

Rosenthal?s pick: Ravens 22, Browns 13.

Cowboys at Cardinals

Florio?s take:? An old NFC East rivalry renews, with the Cardinals having beaten the Cowboys two times in a row.? This year, the Cowboys have found a way to consistently outscore inferior teams, and that?s simply what the Cardinals are in relation to the current kings of the division these franchises once shared.? As long as the Cowboys don?t kick to Patrick Peterson.

Florio?s pick:? Cowboys 31, Cardinals 21.

Rosenthal?s take: All John Skelton does is win. That?s more proof that judging a quarterback by wins and losses is overrated. Kevin Kolb should be back, and he?ll upgrade the team?s passing game. That doesn?t mean they can beat Dallas. Arizona lost all four games they?ve played this year against teams that currently have a winning record.

Rosenthal?s pick: Cowboys 27, Cardinals 20.

Packers at Giants

Florio?s take:? The possibility that the Giants could upset the Packers will prompt at least one prominent commentator to say, ?That?s why they play the games.?? After this one ends, there?s a chance Giants fans will be saying, ?Why did they play this game??

Florio?s pick:? Packers 35, Giants 20.

Rosenthal?s take: Eli Manning should keep the Giants competitive, but the rest of the team has fallen apart. I?ve been waiting for weeks to pick the Giants in this game, but it makes no sense after New York?s implosion in the Superdome. Justin Tuck isn?t the same guy this year and Osi Umenyiora is hurt. The Giants don?t have much if they don?t have a pass rush.

Rosenthal?s pick: Packers 33, Giants 24.

Rams at 49ers

Florio?s take:? The firing of Jack Del Rio possibly has primed the pump for other coaches to be prematurely punted.? If (when) the Rams get blown out in San Fran, Steve Spagnuolo could the next one to go.

Florio?s pick:? 49ers 30, Rams 7.

Rosenthal?s take: The Rams offense scored three touchdowns combined in their last four games. Brandon Lloyd scored all of them. That slump came against mediocre competition. They?ll be lucky to score one touchdown in San Francisco.

Rosenthal?s pick: 49ers 24, Rams 9.

Lions at Saints

Florio?s take:? With or without Ndamukong Suh, who has in many respects been ordinary this season, the Lions won?t be able to stop an offense that is largely unstoppable in the Superdome.? Unfortunately for the Saints, even running the table likely won?t prevent them from having to travel to San Francisco or Green Bay in the playoffs.

Florio?s pick:? Saints 38, Lions 24.

Rosenthal?s take: The Lions have lost four straight games to winning teams. The Saints haven?t lost at home all year, with three of those wins coming against winning teams. That doesn?t bode well for the Lions. Detroit will make this more interesting than New Orleans? last primetime game, but the result will be the same.

Rosenthal?s pick: Saints 34, Lions 28.

Chargers at Jaguars

Florio?s take:? This could be the most uninteresting Monday Night Football game since Raiders-Seahawks in 2006.? Or perhaps ever.

Florio?s pick:? Jaguars 17, Chargers 10.

Rosenthal?s take: It?s painful to pick a winner of this game. It may be even more painful to watch it. The Chargers defense versus Blaine Gabbert is the ultimate matchup of weakness against weakness. The difference here: Maurice Jones-Drew. He should go to the Pro Bowl for overcoming Gabbert.

Rosenthal?s pick: Jaguars 20, Chargers 17.

Source: http://profootballtalk.nbcsports.com/2011/11/30/martz-blames-players-for-execution-issues/related/

jessica sutta houston astros matt barnes sexiest man alive 2011 ruben studdard ruben studdard black friday sales 2011

Perry's new campaign ad, "Faith"

NEW YORK (AP) ? TITLE: "Faith."

LENGTH: 30 seconds.

AIRING: In Iowa television markets.

KEY IMAGES: Perry, in a barn jacket and dark blue shirt, speaks directly to the camera.

"When you run for president, you get a bunch of questions about your faith," the Texas governor says. "People want to know what drives you, how you make decisions. Now, some liberals say that faith is a sign of weakness. Well, they're wrong. I think we all need God's help. America's greatest leaders have been people of strong faith, strong values. That makes for a strong America. I'm Rick Perry. I'm not ashamed to talk about my faith."

ANALYSIS: Less than five weeks before the Iowa caucuses, Perry is stressing his credentials as a person of deep Christian faith. The Texas governor is a Methodist who attends an evangelical megachurch. Many of Iowa's Republican caucus goers are evangelical Christians, and Perry is assuring them he shares their values.

There's an unspoken message, too: Perry is hoping to draw a contrast with rivals Mitt Romney and Newt Gingrich, currently the top candidates in the GOP field. Romney is a Mormon, a religion many evangelicals view skeptically. Gingrich, who recently converted to Catholicism, has been married three times and acknowledged infidelity in his first two marriages.

It's not uncommon for Republicans to paint Democrats as godless or skeptical of religion, as Perry does in this ad. But he offers no evidence of "liberals" dismissing religion as weakness.

It's true that many American leaders have held strong religious beliefs, including President Barack Obama, who was baptized in his late 20s and calls himself a devout Christian. The Founding Fathers were Christian, but they also established the nation on a principle that separates church and state.

Few leaders have been as publicly religious as Perry, who hosted a major prayer gathering in August a week before declaring his presidential candidacy. The event drew 30,000 attendees, and Perry was criticized by some at the time for using his authority as a public official to promote a religious event.

Associated Press

Source: http://hosted2.ap.org/APDEFAULT/89ae8247abe8493fae24405546e9a1aa/Article_2011-12-02-Perry-AdWatch/id-399da4ebd5f14cda80fe4201ca784127

black friday news gamestop albert haynesworth banana republic apple store academy barnes and noble nook

Russians blog to highlight fears of election fraud (Reuters)

CHELYABINSK, Russia (Reuters) ? When bloggers posted what they said was a tape of the governor of this industrial region telling local employers to organize "compulsory voting" for Vladimir Putin's ruling party, it caused a stir across Russia.

But no local newspapers or television stations reported the story in Chelyabinsk, a city of 1.1 million people 1,600 km (1,000 miles) east of Moscow.

The governor's office says he has done nothing wrong but the episode highlights a new challenge for the leaders of Russian regions where bloggers are increasingly using the Internet to subvert their grip on traditional media.

Many Russians, long accustomed to allegations of vote rigging and irregularities, shrug their shoulders at such reports before a parliamentary election on Sunday. Most get their news from television stations in thrall to the Kremlin.

But a growing number of Russians are using new media to spread what they say is evidence of dirty campaigning by Putin's United Russia, which is widely known on the blogosphere as "the party of swindlers and thieves."

"If the authorities used to have a monopoly in the information sphere, they no longer do," said Konstantin von Eggert, a commentator for Kommersant FM radio in Moscow.

"This is partly linked to voters' fatigue with always seeing the same faces on television but also with the appearance of a serious, so far unfettered source of alternative news."

Eggert said the increase in Internet criticism was unlikely to translate into significant support for any opposition party in Sunday's election, in which United Russia is expected to secure a reduced majority in the lower house.

But when Putin was booed at a martial arts fight in Moscow, it was online video footage that ensured the story was told.

Videos of alleged dirty tricks have also in a few cases forced officials into a grudging response.

"Fast-spreading news of violations are vital because people see in them a confirmation they are not alone in injustice," said Grigory Melkonyants, the deputy director of Golos, an independent organization that monitors voting.

"With the videos that get the most hits, people see that they also have a way to put pressure on the authorities."

REGIONS COMPETE FOR STATE HANDOUTS

Political analysts say the centralization of power under Putin during his eight-year presidency until 2008 encourages abuses because many regions compete to secure the highest vote for United Russia -- a show of loyalty they hope will be rewarded by a bigger share of state handouts.

President Dmitry Medvedev, who is stepping aside so that Putin can return to the Kremlin in a presidential election next year, dismissed talk of electoral fraud in October.

"I am certain that there will be victory (for United Russia) and that it will be secured by legal means," he said.

But opinion polls show Russians have grown wary of tactics which hark back to Soviet times, and United Russia faces accusations of using state resources to win over support in industrial strongholds such as Chelyabinsk.

The audiotape shows a man who bloggers say is Chelyabinsk Governor Mikhail Yurevich telling businessmen: "Ordinary people don't care who they vote for. I ask you all to do what you can to motivate your employees to support the party."

More votes will mean extra cash for the region, the man says.

Viktor Strootz, who posted the recording online at

www.youtube.com/watch?v=sF7Dw8q_X1U&feature=related , told Reuters 20 officials were present at the meeting but would not say who leaked him the audio files.

The governor's office said Yurevich had met the businessmen to speak about the elections but called the accusations against him a "fairy tale". A dozen journalists and bloggers said they believed the voice on the tape was that of the governor.

Chelyabinsk is marked as a big red blot of discontent on an online map of alleged violations prepared by Golos which says it has already received about 3,000 complaints.

Last month businessman Konstantin Korovin blogged that the top municipal official in the once closed city, which was built around tank, metallurgical and weapons facilities, had told employers to pay workers to vote for United Russia.

If the employees refused bribes of up to 2,000 roubles ($64), a lot of money in a region where salaries average 19,000 roubles a month, companies would be ordered to make Sunday a working day, Korovin quoted the official as saying.

Korovin, 34, whose blog can be found at Korovin74.livejournal.com, said he was so disgusted that he blogged about the meeting, despite the risk of repercussions for his family-run firm, which employs 250 people.

"Such meetings are a regular staple of elections here but this year the rhetoric has changed," Korovin said. "It has gone from requests and trade-offs, such as building roads for votes, to commands and threats."

In a rare boost for the opposition, a court found a top city official in the western Urals guilty of bribing veterans with state funds for votes after a video spread online. But his punishment, a 2,000-rouble fine, was largely symbolic.

FIFTY MILLION USERS

Russia's online community was initially concentrated in Moscow but the number of users in the regions is growing, said Annelies van den Belt, the head of SUP media, which owns the country's biggest blogging platform, LiveJournal.

"Three years ago, 70 percent of traffic of our web site was in Moscow and St Petersburg," she said. "Now it's less than 50 percent and our traffic is three times bigger."

Among the new bloggers are journalists in Chelyabinsk who say the traditional media are tightly controlled by the regional authorities led by United Russia.

The Chelyabinsk Worker newspaper considers itself independent. But Irina Gundareva says she and five colleagues started blogs in August to publish what editors refused to print for fear of falling out with the authorities.

"LiveJournal is the only place where you can read the truth about Chelyabinsk," she said.

ComScore, an Internet marketing research company, says 50.8 million Russians -- more than a third of the population -- are online, and they are the world's most active on social networks.

"Bloggers aren't just people voicing their ideas online. Today they are themselves a source of news for media across Russia," said Anton Bakhayev, Chelyabinsk's head of youth politics.

His decision to launch a state-funded school for bloggers, taught by a member of United Russia's youth group Young Guard, met fierce criticism online and was dismissed as a government effort to form its own army of loyal bloggers.

PRESSURE ON VOTERS

In Chelyabinsk's snowy city centre, filled with bright new shops and cafes erected on the back of demand for the metals the region produces, residents resent what they see as efforts by United Russia to tell them how to vote.

"I work a utilities firm so whether I want to or not, I have to vote," Andrey Mirankov, 45, said. "I'm under orders from my boss or I'll be blacklisted at work."

United Russia posters monopolise the city billboards, while opposition parties have resorted to hanging banners from the balconies of Soviet-era apartment blocks.

Engineering student Vadim Yumakhuzhen, 20, said he was "revolted" by United Russia's campaign methods. Elina, a 19-year-old medical student, said: "I won't vote for them out of principal because we are being forced too."

She said students in her dormitory were told they would be given concert tickets if they photographed their ballot papers to prove they voted for United Russia and that party activists threatened "consequences" for those who opted out.

Source: http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/tech/*http%3A//news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20111130/wr_nm/us_russia_vote_blogs

order of operations carrie underwood eric church sara evans lionel richie cma awards cma awards