Democratic support for Hagel grows

WASHINGTON (AP) ? Democratic support for Chuck Hagel's nomination for defense secretary grew on Thursday as the former Republican senator allayed concerns about his past statements on Israel and Iran.

Sens. Frank Lautenberg of New Jersey, Joe Manchin of West Virginia, Chris Coons of Delaware and Jeanne Shaheen of New Hampshire said they met with Hagel this week and were reassured by his commitment to Israel's security.

Hagel would replace Defense Secretary Leon Panetta, who is stepping down. Despite early misgivings, about a dozen Democrats have announced they would vote for his nomination, and none has declared opposition to President Barack Obama's choice.

Six Republicans have said they would vote against Hagel, with some stating their opposition before Obama announced his pick on Jan. 7.

"Senator Hagel clarified his position on Iran sanctions and Israel, and I am confident he is firmly committed to ensuring a strong U.S.-Israel relationship," Lautenberg said, adding that he and his colleagues will be watching closely "to ensure that issues of concern do not emerge as he takes on this critical position."

Separately, 13 former secretaries of defense and state as well as national security advisers sent a letter to members of the Senate strongly endorsing Hagel. Among them was former Defense Secretary Robert Gates, who has worked for Republican and Democratic administrations, and George Schultz and Brent Scowcroft, veterans of GOP administrations.

"For those of us honored to have served as members of a president's national security team, Sen. Hagel clearly understands the essence and the burdens of leadership required of this high office," the former officials wrote.

Hagel, who served two terms as Nebraska senator, has faced opposition from GOP-leaning outside groups over his past statements about the power of the "Jewish lobby" of pro-Israel groups and his doubts about the effectiveness of unilateral sanctions on Iran.

Not one GOP lawmaker has endorsed the nominee. Sen. John Barrasso, R-Wyo., writing in an op-ed in The Wall Street Journal on Thursday, all but announced his opposition.

"When we are faced with unpredictable national security crises, we can't afford to have a secretary of defense who has unpredictable judgment," Barrasso wrote.

Other lawmakers have said they are waiting for Hagel's confirmation hearing next Thursday in the Senate Armed Services Committee.

Democrats hold a 55-45 edge in the Senate and would have the votes to confirm Hagel.

"Chuck is a combat veteran and foot soldier who has a unique understanding of the challenges faced by our men and women in uniform, and a practical leader who understands the need for common sense in military spending and national security strategy," Manchin said in a statement.

Coons said he believes Hagel "will be a strong and effective secretary of defense, and I will be proud to vote for his confirmation."

Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand, D-N.Y., who met with Hagel on Thursday, said he had satisfied her concerns and she felt his responses were sincere. A member of the Armed Services Committee, she said she would reserve judgment until after the hearing but described Hagel as well-qualified for the job.

Their statements came shortly after Sen. John Kerry, the president's choice for secretary of state, found himself defending Hagel at his confirmation hearing.

"I know Chuck Hagel. I think he is a strong patriotic former senator, and he will be a strong secretary of defense," Kerry said of Hagel, who, like Kerry, served in Vietnam.

Republican Sen. Bob Corker questioned Kerry about Hagel's support for an 80 percent reduction of U.S. nuclear weapons. Possible reductions and modernization of the nuclear arsenal are major issues for the Tennessee lawmaker, who has the Y-12 nuclear facility in his state.

Corker has expressed concerns about Hagel, questioning whether the Republican's "overall temperament" makes his suitable for the job.

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/democratic-support-hagel-grows-232254328--politics.html

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Lease & Finance Group Lists Acquisition Trends | Construction ...

The Equipment Leasing and Finance Association, which represents the $725 billion equipment finance sector, has issued its "Top 10 Equipment Acquisition Trends for 2013."

1.?????? Corporate perceptions of the economic outlook will be a primary driver of business investment decisions.?Despite pressing considerations such as technological innovations and aging equipment, the economy will be the true barometer for whether or not businesses acquire new equipment in 2013.

?

2.?????? Equipment investment will pick up in the second half of 2013. Equipment investment will grow this year, although the rate of growth will be hampered by fiscal uncertainty. Some companies will remain cautious about taking on large capital investments even now that important decisions impacting short-term fiscal stability have been made. Equipment acquisition activity will gain momentum through relief from the policy uncertainty that brought the economy to the edge of the fiscal cliff.?An improving housing sector will provide an added boost.

?

3.?????? Pent-up demand will spur investment across varied equipment types. Demand for replacement equipment will drive investment in the construction, agriculture and transportation categories in particular, while other equipment types will await the replacement cycle.?However, greater economic improvements will be needed before significant equipment investment expansion takes place.

?

4.?????? A continuing low interest rate environment will enable companies to acquire the equipment they need and conserve cash.?The prospect of continued low interest rates at least through 2014 will be an incentive for businesses to acquire equipment through financing and still hold on to their cash for uncertainties. In addition to maintaining cash flow, equipment financing will help businesses preserve capital and improve expense planning in challenging economic conditions.

?

5.?????? A majority of U.S. businesses will use some form of financing for equipment acquisition.?In 2013, $742 billion (55 percent) of the projected $1.3 trillion investment in plant, equipment and software investment in the United States will be financed through loans, leases and lines of credit.?Seven out of 10 businesses will use at least one form of financing to acquire equipment.

?

6.?????? Business size will impact equipment acquisition.?Size will matter when acquiring equipment in 2013.?Primarily larger businesses anticipate increasing equipment spending over the next 12 months. Small companies? high degree of concern about general economic conditions and less access to credit will temper their equipment acquisition plans.?

?

7.?????? The gaining prominence of cloud computing will transform the way businesses pay for IT investments. Along with changes in how companies consume software and hardware, cloud computing will spawn new financing options.?Companies will look to equipment financiers for variable payment structures in the cloud. ?

?

8.?????? Credit market conditions will remain favorable for long-term equipment financing. Businesses will generally find an improving credit supply as they consider equipment acquisitions.

?

9.?????? The one-year extension of bonus depreciation may provide incentives for businesses to acquire equipment. The continuation of the depreciation bonus will allow businesses to deduct up to 50 percent of the cost of new equipment purchases in 2013.

?

10.?? Although the value of lease financing will remain, businesses will begin to adapt their equipment acquisition strategies to comply with long-awaited changes to lease accounting standards.?A new draft of proposed changes to lease accounting standards by the Financial Accounting Standards Board and the International Accounting Standards Board should be announced this year, enabling businesses to begin to evaluate how their balance sheets, earnings and other financials will be affected by equipment financing agreements.

?

Source: ELFA

Source: http://www.constructionequipment.com/lease-finance-group-lists-acquisition-trends

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Modifications of a nanoparticle can change chemical interactions with cell membranes

Jan. 23, 2013 ? Researchers at Syracuse University's Department of Biomedical and Chemical Engineering at L.C. Smith College of Engineering and Computer Science are studying the toxicity of commonly used nanoparticles, particles up to one million times smaller than a millimeter that could potentially penetrate and damage cell membranes.

In a recent article published along with cover art in the journal Langmuir, researchers Shikha Nangia, assistant professor of biomedical and chemical engineering (BMCE), and Radhakrishna Sureshkumar, Department Chair of BMCE and professor of physics, showed how simple shape and charge modifications of a nanoparticle can cause tremendous changes in the chemical interactions between the nanoparticle and a cell membrane.

Nanomaterials, which are currently being used as drug carriers, also pose a legitimate concern, since no universal standards exist to educate and fully protect those who handle these materials. Nanoparticles are comparable to chemicals in their potential threat because they could easily penetrate the skin or be inhaled.

"Nanotechnology has immense potential that is starting to be being realized; a comprehensive understanding of toxicity of nanoparticles will help develop better safe handling procedures in nanomanufacturing and nano-biotechnology" says Sureshkumar and Nangia, In addition, the toxicity levels of various nanoparticles can be used to our advantage in targeting cancer cells and absorbing radiation during cancer therapy. Nanotoxicity is becoming a major concern as the use of nanoparticles in imaging, therapeutics, diagnostics, catalysis, sensing and energy harvesting continues to grow dramatically.

This research project has taken place over the past year utilizing a state of the art 448 core parallel computer nicknamed "Prophet" housed in Syracuse University's Green Data Center. The research was funded by the National Science Foundation.

Langmuir is a notable, interdisciplinary journal of American Chemical Society publishing articles in: colloids, interfaces, biological interfaces, nano-materials, electrochemistry and devices and applications.

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Story Source:

The above story is reprinted from materials provided by Syracuse University.

Note: Materials may be edited for content and length. For further information, please contact the source cited above.

---

Journal Reference:

1. Shikha Nangia, Radhakrishna Sureshkumar. Effects of Nanoparticle Charge and Shape Anisotropy on Translocation through Cell Membranes. Langmuir, 2012; 28 (51): 17666 DOI: 10.1021/la303449d

Note: If no author is given, the source is cited instead.

Disclaimer: This article is not intended to provide medical advice, diagnosis or treatment. Views expressed here do not necessarily reflect those of ScienceDaily or its staff.

Source: http://feeds.sciencedaily.com/~r/sciencedaily/top_news/top_technology/~3/XVzlBAkegHQ/130123165103.htm

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Merck CEO says jury out on raising good cholesterol

DAVOS, Switzerland (Reuters) - The jury is still out on the benefits of increasing "good" HDL cholesterol, but the strategy remains worth pursuing, despite recent setbacks, the chief executive of Merck & Co said on Thursday.

Confidence in the HDL thesis suffered a fresh blow last month when a major clinical trial of Merck's Tredaptive medicine failed. That followed earlier failures with two other HDL-boosting drugs from Pfizer and Roche.

The Pfizer and Roche drugs worked differently to Tredaptive, by inhibiting a protein called CETP, and Merck is also developing a key experimental product in this area.

Merck CEO Ken Frazier, speaking in Davos on the sidelines of the World Economic Forum, said the U.S. drugmaker would continue to press ahead with clinical research on HDL raising, even though the scientific case so far remained inconclusive.

"The Tredaptive failure is another piece of evidence on the side of the scale that says HDL raising hasn't yet been proven," he said.

"I don't think by any means, though, that the question of HDL raising as a positive factor in cardiovascular health has been settled."

Tredaptive, which is now being taken off the market in those countries where it was sold, combined an extended release form of niacin, to raise HDL, with a drug to cut the incidence of facial flushing that is a side effect of niacin therapy.

Merck is developing another drug called anacetrapib, which targets CETP and raises HDL cholesterol by much more than niacin, to see if it can reduce risks of heart attacks and stroke.

If that trial succeeds, anacetrapib would address a huge market, and the medicine could be a decisive factor in Merck's commercial success in the years ahead.

But investors' confidence in the whole approach of lifting HDL is shaky.

"It's certainly not a slam dunk, but I believe that given the properties of the drug, it is an experiment well worth conducting," Frazier said of the ongoing anacetrapib trial.

Anacetrapib belongs to the same cholesterol-ester transfer protein (CETP) class as Pfizer's high-profile drug torcetrapib, which was ditched in 2006 due to adverse side effects, and Roche's dalcetrapib, which was dropped last year due to lack of efficacy.

On both those fronts, Frazier believes the Merck product has an edge, since there is no evidence that it causes the unwanted side effects seen with torcetrapib, and it is also able to lower "bad" LDL, which Roche's product did not.

Another similar drug, evacetrapib, is under development from Eli Lilly.

(Editing by Will Waterman)

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/merck-ceo-says-jury-raising-good-cholesterol-090016329--finance.html

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Justified, Season 4

Joseph Mazzello plays Pastor Billy in Justified, Season 4. Billy finds himself in danger in Episode 3, "Truth and Consequences."

PRASHANT GUPTA/FX. All rights reserved.

Rachael Larimore: Welcome, Holly! I understand you?re a fan of Boyd Crowder. So, if we were teenage girls, we?d start off our chat with a big Team Raylan vs. Team Boyd fight. But I have to admit, Boyd is growing on me. How do you feel about his storylines and character this season?

Holly Goddard Jones: Yes, I'm a conflicted Boyd fan. Not to say I don't also love Raylan, but part of the appeal of Boyd is how surprising it is to discover he's appealing. This season is building slowly for me compared to Seasons 2 and 3. Boyd is still great?god, do I love him in preacher mode, dancing up the aisle at the tent revival?but I'm curious to see how fallible the writers will make him. Part of what's reassuring about the show is that Boyd, in particular, always seems to land on his feet, is always three steps ahead of everyone who'd try to wrong him, but that becomes predictable at a certain point.

Larimore: Something that I find appealing about Boyd, that we're reminded of just every once in a while, is that he might be a criminal kingpin, but he really doesn't relish hurting or killing people. There?s a decency to him. We saw it back in Season 2 when he spared Shelby from dying in the mine heist. And in the season opener, he didn't mean for Colton to kill Hiram. We see it again tonight, when he's figured out that Preacher Billy's sister is draining the snakes of their venom. He brings a freshly caught rattlesnake to the sermon and dares Billy to handle it. It becomes clear quickly that he's just calling Cassie's bluff, and he doesn't actually want Billy to touch the snake. What did you make of this scene?

Goddard Jones: Well, I'm a sucker for Boyd's softer side?he won me over at the end of Season 1 when he called Raylan his friend?and so I loved that moment as he's walking out, the conflict on his face. He knows what this man has been through, and he's guilty about being the means by which this innocent believer begins the process of losing his faith. (Of course, he's probably losing not just his faith but his life.) This is what makes you want to root for Boyd, even though when you step back and analyze the situation, what's happening is that the drug dealer is trying to run a source of hope out of town, however problematic that source of hope might be.

Larimore: I was fearful that the writers might be?too?cynical in this story arc and make Cassie and Billy out to be total frauds. I like the direction that they took with Billy being a true believer, and I like the smaller moments, like tonight when the camera flashed on Ellen May. She looks so good! Flush and clean and happy. The church has helped her. It's given the storyline more complexity than just being a thorn in Boyd's side. However, it looks as if the church might be coming to a premature end, but there are no shortages of thorns in Boyd's side. If I had to pick a theme for tonight's episode, it would be "Nothing and no one is as it seems." In Boyd's case, of course, I'm talking about Cousin Johnny, who we see meeting with Wynn Duffy because Johnny wants Boyd killed. Like most folks on Justified, Johnny and Boyd have a complicated history, but I didn't see this coming.

Goddard Jones: They've been hinting at it for several episodes. For me, this comes back to that How fallible is Boyd this season? question. Because I don't think they've developed Johnny enough, after Boyd's takeover of the Harlan crime scene, to make me truly feel the pathos of his betrayal. So he seems more like a plot problem, and those tend to get dispensed with pretty tidily by Boyd. If that does happen, it leaves Boyd in a vulnerable position. Who is his clan at this point? A snake-bit kid, Colton, and Ava. And Colton doesn't feel like a permanent addition.?One question: Where do you think the show's going with Rachel? I've wanted to see more happen with that character, and I hope she'll get more than a peripheral arc in the near future.

Larimore: I am hoping that we got a hint that there?s more to come in Episode 2 when Art, in running down the reasons that no one in his right mind would want his job, pointed out that Rachel just left her husband. If we're going to find out what's going on with Rachel from Rachel, I think we?ll have to wait. In her scene with Raylan at the bar, he asked if he was supposed to ask about it, and she said no. I think you see that a lot with females (real life and literary characters) who work in male-dominated fields. They are not overly emotional, at least outwardly. Rachel has to keep up the tough-guy persona, so she's going to be reserved. Aside from more screen time for Rachel, I'm also ready for the Drew Thompson/Waldo Truth/Arlo's wall mystery to circle back to Arlo. Am I crazy?

Goddard Jones: They've layered these side stories?the church, Lindsey and her ex-husband the fighter?atop the real story, and I think the point is to tease out the mystery, but maybe that's not what this show does best. It's hard to invest in characters we're not seeing. The writers want me to care about Drew Thompson, but that's just a name to me right now. And this story with Lindsey is not my favorite. Not that it's bad for us to see Raylan in a different light, but it brings out qualities in him that I don't love?not just weakness, which we've seen before, but a lack of nuance. He usually wears the cowboy hat with a wink.

Larimore: Exactly! I was a little frustrated when he at first appeared to be bothered by Lindsey's past of shaking down guys by getting close to them. But then she walked out in her bra and ... well, there went that. (Something tells me that Raylan wasn't having sex with her just to piss off Randall.)

Goddard Jones: Oh, no. The man has a type, doesn't he? Get a stringy blond thing in a bra, and there goes his brain.

Larimore: An affliction that has once again turned his life?or at least his apartment?upside down.

Source: http://feeds.slate.com/click.phdo?i=a12a8e31731bc70abcbfad0400ec5743

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Pentagon: AQ ally is top suspect in Algeria attack

WASHINGTON (AP) ? The Pentagon on Tuesday stopped short of saying al-Qaida's North Africa affiliate is definitely to blame for the deadly Algeria terrorist attack, but it said there is good reason to believe the group had a leading role.

"When it comes to terrorist attacks of this sort in North Africa, AQIM has to be at the top of the list of suspects, I'll put it that way," said Pentagon press secretary George Little, referring to al-Qaida in the Islamic Maghreb.

The White House said the Obama administration is working with the Algerian government to learn more about what happened and did not echo concerns expressed by the British defense minister over the Algerian government's collaboration.

"We cannot lose sight of the fact that the blame for this lies with the terrorists," said White House press secretary Jay Carney.

Little told reporters there are "strong indications that AQIM, "had a hand" in the assault on an Algerian natural gas plant that left dozens of hostages and militants dead, but he would not be more specific.

"AQIM does what terrorist groups do ? they plan and carry out attacks. I'll leave it at that," he said.

The State Department has said three U.S. citizens were killed in last week's hostage standoff, while seven Americans made it out safely.

The State Department has not definitively declared that AQIM was responsible for the attack, but it has suggested the group played a leading role.

State Department spokeswoman Victoria Nuland said Tuesday the U.S. is consulting with Algerian government officials about who they believe was responsible for the attack.

"We don't have any reason to doubt AQIM's involvement in this attack," Nuland said, noting that the group has claimed responsibility.

Defense Secretary Leon Panetta has blamed the broader al-Qaida network.

Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton last week described a "continuing effort by the terrorists, whether they call themselves one name or al-Qaida, to try to destroy the stability, the peace and security, of the people of this region."

___

Associated Press writers Nedra Pickler and Bradley Klapper contributed to this report.

Associated Press

Source: http://hosted2.ap.org/APDEFAULT/cae69a7523db45408eeb2b3a98c0c9c5/Article_2013-01-22-US-Algeria/id-cf57d62727df409ba46853ca17408147

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White Samsung ATIV Smart PC launches in South Korea, remains the same inside

There's obviously something about gadgets dressed in white livery that attracts plenty of consumers, and thus it shouldn't come as a surprise to see Samsung introduce a bleached model of its own ATIV Smart PC. Unfortunately for some, however, the maker of the Galaxy line is keeping this particular launch local, with the white ATIV Smart PC set to be an exclusive to South Koreans -- well, at least for the time being. Regardless, Samsung's Windows 8 hybrid remains unchanged otherwise, meaning there's still that same 11.6-inch, 1,366 x 768 display, a 1.8GHz, dual-core Clover Trail processor, 4,800 mAh battery and 64GB of onboard storage. The frosted ATIV device is on sale now for 1,090,000 won (around $1,000) -- but, hey, because we know there are likely would-be buyers outside of South Korea, we have a gallery past the jump to show what's being missed.

Gallery: Samsung ATIV Smart PC in white

Filed under: Laptops, Tablets, Samsung

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Source: Samsung

Source: http://www.engadget.com/2013/01/21/white-samsung-ativ-smart-pc-south-korea/

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Four tires blow as commuter jet lands

A commuter jet veered off a taxiway after it blew four tires while landing at Newark airport?Sunday night.

ExpressJet Flight 4480 -- which was carrying 13 people including crew -- ?touched down at 8:24 p.m.

More news from NBCNewYork.com

No injuries were reported aboard the Embraer aircraft, which was traveling from Rochester, New York, to Newark.

According to the firm's website, "ExpressJet is the world?s largest regional airline ... ?ExpressJet operates as Delta Connection and United Express to serve more than 188 airports in the U.S., Bahamas, Canada and Mexico."

NBCNewYork.com and NBC News' Jay Blackman contributed to this report.?

Source: http://usnews.nbcnews.com/_news/2013/01/21/16620421-four-tires-blow-as-commuter-jet-lands-in-newark?lite

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Obama says 'America's possibilities are limitless'

President Barack Obama waves after his speech while Vice President Joe Biden applauds at the ceremonial swearing-in at the U.S. Capitol during the 57th Presidential Inauguration in Washington, Monday, Jan. 21, 2013. (AP Photo/Pablo Martinez Monsivais)

President Barack Obama waves after his speech while Vice President Joe Biden applauds at the ceremonial swearing-in at the U.S. Capitol during the 57th Presidential Inauguration in Washington, Monday, Jan. 21, 2013. (AP Photo/Pablo Martinez Monsivais)

President Barack Obama speaks at his ceremonial swearing-in at the U.S. Capitol during the 57th Presidential Inauguration in Washington, Monday, Jan. 21, 2013. (AP Photo/Pablo Martinez Monsivais)

President Barack Obama receives the oath of office from Chief Justice John Roberts as first Lady Michelle holds the bible at the ceremonial swearing-in at the U.S. Capitol during the 57th Presidential Inauguration in Washington, Monday, Jan. 21, 2013. (AP Photo/Evan Vucci)

President Barack Obama, with daughter Sasha, waves as they leave St. John's Church in Washington, Monday, Jan. 21, 2013, followed by first lady Michelle Obama, talking with Rev. Luis Leon, after attending a church service during the 57th Presidential Inauguration. (AP Photo/Jacquelyn Martin)

Crowds congregate in The National Mall for the ceremonial swearing-in for President Barack Obama at the U.S. Capitol during the 57th Presidential Inauguration in Washington, Monday, Jan. 21, 2013. (AP Photo/Susan Walsh)

WASHINGTON (AP) ? Declaring "our journey is not complete," President Barack Obama took the oath of office for his second term before a crowd of hundreds of thousands Monday, urging the nation to set an unwavering course toward prosperity and freedom for all its citizens and protect the social safety net that has sheltered the poor, elderly and needy.

"Our country cannot succeed when shrinking few do very well and a growing many barely make it," Obama said in a relatively brief, 18-minute address. "We believe that America's prosperity must rest upon the broad shoulders of a rising middle class," he added, echoing his calls from the presidential campaign that catapulted him to re-election.

The president declared a decade of war is ending, as is the economic recession that consumed much of his first term.

He previewed an ambitious second-term agenda, he devoted several sentences to the threat of global climate change and said that failure to confront it "would betray out children and future generations." Obama's focus on climate change was notable given that he barely dealt with the issue in his first term.

In an era of looming budget cuts, Obama said the nation has a commitment to costly programs such as Medicare, Medicaid and Social Security. "These things do not sap our initiative, they strengthen us," he said.

Sandwiched between the bruising presidential campaign and continuing fiscal fights, Monday's inaugural celebrations marked a brief respite from the partisan gridlock that has consumed the past two years.

Standing in front of the flag-bedecked Capitol, he implored Washington to find common ground over his next four years. And seeking to build on the public support that catapulted him to the White House twice, the president said the public has "the obligation to shape the debates of our time."

"Not only with the votes we cast, but with the voices we lift in defense of our most ancient values and enduring ideals," Obama said.

Moments earlier, Obama placed his hand on two Bibles ? one used by the Rev. Martin Luther King Jr. and the other used by Abraham Lincoln ? and recited the brief oath of office. Michelle Obama held the Bibles, one on top of the other, as daughters Malia and Sasha looked on.

Vice President Joe Biden was also sworn in for his second term as the nation's second in command.

Monday's oats were purely ceremonial. The Constitution stipulates that presidents begin their new term at noon on Jan. 20, and in keeping with that requirement, Obama was sworn in Sunday in a small ceremony at the White House.

Associated Press

Source: http://hosted2.ap.org/APDEFAULT/89ae8247abe8493fae24405546e9a1aa/Article_2013-01-21-Obama-Inauguration/id-d8b9d170e6304f1da26989f5a0154b9e

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NFL reinstates Saints' coach

Getty Images

Former Raiders quarterback Rich Gannon does not agree with his old teammate Tim Brown about coach Bill Callahan sabotaging the team in their Super Bowl loss to the Buccaneers.

Gannon said on SiriusXM NFL Radio that he believes Callahan coached to win in Super Bowl XXXVII, when the Bucs beat the Raiders 48-21.

?In terms of Bill Callahan, let me just say this: He was a good football coach, he was a good man,? Gannon said. ?We all wanted to win.?

Gannon made clear that he likes and respects Brown, but he doesn?t accept Brown?s version of events, which is that Callahan ?hated the Raiders so much that he would sabotage the Super Bowl.?

So why did the Raiders only run the ball 11 times while throwing 44 passes in that game? Brown says Callahan changed the game plan at the last minute, leaving the Raiders ill-prepared. But Gannon says the pass-heavy play calling happened mostly because the Raiders fell behind early and trailed 20-3 by halftime.

?I think what happened was that we came out and tried to run the football early in that game, we didn?t have a lot of success,? Gannon said. ?We fell behind in the game and at that point we started throwing the ball too much.?

Considering that the Raiders gained only 19 yards on their 11 runs, that theory seems more plausible than Brown?s bizarre belief that Callahan would put in all the work necessary to lead his team to the Super Bowl and then purposely sabotage his team by changing the game plan at the last minute.

?I don?t know that the game plan really changed,? Gannon said.

Where Gannon did acknowledge the Raiders? coaches screwed up was in not changing up the terminology they used for calls at the line of scrimmage. Jon Gruden had coached the Raiders for the four previous seasons before coaching against them in the Super Bowl, and Gannon says Callahan hadn?t changed any of the terminology the Raiders used on offense. As a result, Gruden had taught the Bucs the Raiders? calls, and the Bucs knew what was coming when Gannon barked out his signals at the line of scrimmage.

?So much of our verbiage and terminology was a carryover from what Jon Gruden had installed in terms of our run checks, and so we were calling certain plays and guys like Warren Sapp and Derrick Brooks were calling out the runs,? Gannon said. ?So it kind of took us out of our no-huddle plan at the line of scrimmage.?

Failing to change the terminology so that the opposing coach wouldn?t know it was a huge gaffe by Callahan, and it?s completely reasonable to criticize him for that. But saying he made a stupid mistake in his preparation for the Super Bowl is a long way from saying he actually wanted to lose the Super Bowl.

Source: http://profootballtalk.nbcsports.com/2013/01/22/sean-payton-has-been-reinstated/related/

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Kaepernick rallies 49ers past Falcons, into SB

QB leads 4 touchdown drives and Gore runs for 2 scores as Atlanta blows big lead again

By Paul Newberry

updated 10:45 p.m. ET Jan. 20, 2013

ATLANTA - The clutch quarterback. The genius coach. The big-play defense.

The San Francisco 49ers are ready to start a new dynasty with a familiar formula. Next stop, the Big Easy.

Colin Kaepernick and Frank Gore led San Francisco to a record comeback in the NFC championship game Sunday, overcoming an early 17-0 deficit to beat the Atlanta Falcons 28-24 and send the 49ers to their first Super Bowl since 1995.

Gore scored a pair of touchdowns, including the winner with 8:23 remaining for San Francisco's first lead of the day, and the 49ers defense made it stand up. A fourth-down stop at the 10-yard line denied Atlanta another stirring comeback after blowing a big lead.

"Everybody does a little," 49ers coach Jim Harbaugh said, "and it adds up to be a lot."

San Francisco (13-4-1) moves on to face Baltimore at New Orleans in two weeks, looking to join Pittsburgh as the only franchises with six Super Bowl titles. It'll be a brother-vs.-brother matchup, too, since John Harbaugh coaches the Ravens.

Joe Montana led the 49ers to four Super Bowl wins and Steve Young took them to No. 5. It's up to Kaepernick and Co. to get No. 6.

"He just competes like a maniac all the time," said Harbaugh, whose much-debated decision to bench Alex Smith at midseason now looks like the best move of the year.

Harbaugh was hoppin' mad when a disputed call went against the 49ers on Atlanta's potential winning drive. He leaped in the air, screamed at the officials and had to be restrained by his staff from charging the field.

No complaints when it was over.

"We rose up there at the end," Harbaugh said.

His second-year quarterback, who runs like a track star, didn't get a chance to show off his touchdown celebration - flexing his right arm and kissing his bicep, a move that quickly became a social media sensation known as Kaepernicking.

But he shredded the Falcons through the air by completing 16 of 21 for 233 yards, including a 4-yard touchdown to Vernon Davis, and had them so worried about his running ability out of the spread option that Gore and LaMichael James had plenty of room.

Gore scored a pair of touchdowns, including the game winner with 8:23 remaining for San Francisco's first lead of the day. Davis scored the first TD for the 49ers on a 15-yard run.

"I take my hat off to Atlanta. They played hard. They've got a great team," Gore said. "But we fought, man. We fought and we deserved it."

The 49ers pulled off the biggest comeback victory in an NFC championship game, according to STATS. The previous NFC record was 13 points - Atlanta's victory over Minnesota in the 1999 title game, which sent the Falcons to what remains the only Super Bowl in franchise history.

The AFC championship game record is 18 points, when Indianapolis rallied past New England in 2007.

Harbaugh is hardly cool and collected like the 49ers' first Super Bowl-winning coach, Bill Walsh, but has pulled off a similar turnaround in San Francisco. The 49ers had eight straight years without a winning record before their new coach arrived from Stanford in 2011.

He immediately led San Francisco to the cusp of the Super Bowl, losing to the eventual champion New York Giants in overtime in last year's NFC title game, a bitter defeat at home set up by a fumbled return.

This time, the 49ers were the ones winning on the road to set up another celebration in the city by the bay, which is rapidly becoming the new Titletown USA. They'll try to follow the lead of the baseball Giants, who won the World Series in October.

"We've come full circle," said Denise DeBartolo York, part of the family that has owned the 49ers since their championship days, "and the dynasty will prevail."

Kaepernick guided San Francisco on a pair of second-half scoring drives that wiped out Atlanta's 24-14 lead at the break. Gore scored on a 5-yard run early in the third quarter, then sprinted in from 9 yards out for the winning score with 8:23 remaining after each team made crucial mistakes to ruin potential scoring drives.

On both of Gore's TDs, the Falcons had to worry about Kaepernick running it in himself. They barely even touched the running back on either play, and James scored pretty much the same way.

"I kind of figured that coming in and they showed that on film, so I assumed Frank and LaMichael were going to have a big day," Kaepernick said. "Frank ran hard today, and I can't say enough about him."

The top-seeded Falcons (14-4), in what appeared to be the final game for Hall of Famer-to-be Tony Gonzalez, tried to pull off another season-extending drive. But, unlike the week before against Seattle, they needed a touchdown this time.

They came up 10 yards short.

On fourth down, Matt Ryan attempted a pass over the middle to Roddy White that would have been enough to keep the drive going. But linebacker NaVorro Bowman stuck a hand in to knock it away with 1:13 remaining.

The 49ers ran off all but the final 6 seconds, not nearly enough time for Ryan to pull off his greatest comeback yet.

In the divisional playoffs, the Falcons blew a 20-point lead in the fourth quarter, the Seahawks scoring the go-ahead touchdown with 31 seconds remaining. But Ryan completed two long passes, setting up Matt Bryant's 49-yard field goal for 30-28 victory.

The Falcons came up short of their second Super Bowl, leaving the 1995 Braves as the city's only major sports champions. This one figures to hurt for a while.

"We didn't make the plays when we had the opportunity," Falcons coach Mike Smith said. "There were five or six plays, like in most hard-fought games, that make a difference. There were ebbs and flows and changes in momentum, and they made more plays than we did."

Kaepernick, who ran for 181 yards against the Packers the week before to set an NFL playoff record for a quarterback, didn't have much chance to use his legs against the Falcons. He broke off a 23-yard gain, but was thrown for a 2-yard loss the only other time he carried the ball.

But Kaepernick showed he's more than a runner. His favorite receiver was Davis, who hauled in five passes for 106 yards.

Gore carried 21 times for 90 yards, while James added 34 yards on five carries.

Ryan finished 30 of 42 for 396 yards, by far the best performance of his playoff career. But his postseason record dropped to 1-4, done in by two big miscues - an interception and a fumble - in the second half.

Julio Jones was Ryan's leading target most of the day, finishing with 11 catches for 182 yards and a pair of touchdowns. He hauled in a 46-yarder less than 4 minutes into the game, then made a dazzling grab in the left corner of the end zone for a 20-yard score. He got his left foot down, then planted his right foot about an inch inside the line - while cornerback Tarell Brown was all over him.

Ryan threw a 10-yard touchdown pass to Gonzalez with 25 seconds remaining in the first half after the 49ers had cut the deficit to 17-14. It seemed the home team had reclaimed the momentum heading to the locker room, but, amazingly, that would be its final score of the day. The 49ers quickly seized control on the opening possession of the second half, driving 82 yards in just seven plays for Gore's first TD.

After a nearly perfect first half, in which Ryan was 18 of 24 for 271 yards and those three TDs, the quarterback known as Matty Ice made a couple of crucial blunders.

First, he tossed a pass that was picked off by Chris Culliver, halting a drive in 49ers territory. Ryan ripped off his chinstrap in disgust.

Then, with the Falcons in scoring range for at least a field goal, Ryan failed to grab a shotgun snap, appearing to take his eyes off the ball before he caught it. The ball squirted away and Aldon Smith recovered for the 49ers at their own 37.

"Against a good team, you can't have those kind of mistakes," Ryan said.

San Francisco also squandered some chances. Struggling kicker David Akers clanked a 38-yard field goal try off the upright, and Michael Crabtree fumbled just short of the goal line, the ball stripped away by Dunta Robinson and recovered by Stephen Nicholas. But, after that big defensive stop with 13 1-2 minutes remaining, the Falcons went three-and-out.

The 49ers drove for the winning touchdown.

Atlanta took the ensuing kickoff and used up nearly all the clock while going 70 yards. The Falcons might have reclaimed the lead if Harry Douglas had been able to stay on his feet while hauling in a 22-yard pass.

The defender slipped, and so did Douglas, but he held on to the ball. Harbaugh thought it touched the turf and challenged the call, then launched into his tirade when the officials let it stand. It all worked out, though.

As for the 36-year-old Gonzalez, who said all year he was all but certain this would be his final season, it sure sounded like the end.

"I've had such a great life," he said. "I wish it would've culminated with the Super Bowl, but it didn't."

? 2013 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.

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Super storyline: Brother vs. brother

PFT: You'll get sick of hearing about it long before kickoff, but appreciate it: the 49ers' Jim Harbaugh coaching against the Ravens' John Harbaugh on the biggest stage in American sports.

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Joe Flacco outdueled Tom Brady, throwing three touchdown passes in the second half and leading the Baltimore Ravens to their first Super Bowl in 12 years with a 28-13 victory over the New England Patriots on Sunday for the AFC championship.

Source: http://nbcsports.msnbc.com/id/50528580/ns/sports-nfl/

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White House says confident will pass some gun control legislation

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - A White House adviser on Sunday said he was optimistic Congress will approve at least part of President Barack Obama's proposals to reduce gun violence in the wake of December's massacre at a Connecticut elementary school.

Just hours before Obama was to be sworn in for his second term in office, White House adviser David Plouffe said on Sunday talk shows he felt there was support in Congress for some measures, including universal background checks for gun buyers and limits on high-capacity clips.

"I'm confident some of the measures you mentioned - clips, universal background checks - I think there are 60 votes in the Senate and 218 in the House, that the president would sign," Plouffe said on ABC's "This Week," citing the vote threshold to pass legislation in the two chambers.

"We don't expect it all to pass, or in its current form, but we think there's elements of this that are absolutely critical," Plouffe said.

Obama last week proposed the biggest U.S. gun-control push in decades, including a ban on military-type assault weapons and mandatory background checks for all gun buyers to prevent mass shootings like December's Newtown, Connecticut, school massacre in which a gunman killed 20 children and six adults.

Gun advocates led by the powerful National Rifle Association have mobilized to fight Obama's plan. With gun ownership rights enshrined in the Second Amendment of the U.S. Constitution, gun restrictions have long been a divisive issue.

Republicans on Sunday said Obama's key proposals had little chance in Congress, and said Obama's policies would not have prevented the Newtown shooting.

Reinstating the ban on assault weapons that expired in 2004 is widely seen as having little chance in Congress.

"Let's do things that will make a difference here, rather than take one more opportunity to go at an old agenda," Missouri Senator Roy Blunt said on "Fox News Sunday".

"We had bans on things for a decade. That didn't seem to make any difference at all, but, during that same decade, our willingness to share information about mental problems, our willingness to share information between security officials and police officials, all declined," Blunt said.

Wyoming Republican Senator John Barrasso said Obama "ignored the major issues of mental health and violence in society in the media and video games, and he has focused so much on what may be happening at gun shows or on gun shelves at gun stores that I think he is failing to try to really find a solution to the problem of the tragedy of Newtown."

Barrasso, speaking on CNN's "State of the Union," also noted Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, a Nevada Democrat, had voiced doubt about prospects for reinstating a ban on assault weapons.

"I don't think Senator Harry Reid even brings it to the Senate floor because he has six Democrats up for election in two years in states where the president received fewer than 42 percent of the votes," Barrasso said.

"And he doesn't want his Democrats to have to choose between their own constituents and the president's positions," he said, highlighting the political perils of gun control legislation for Democrats from pro-gun western and rural states.

(Reporting by Vicki Allen; Additional reporting by Thomas Ferraro and Leslie Wroughton; Editing by Sandra Maler)

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/white-house-says-confident-pass-gun-control-legislation-174110819.html

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Moscow to start evacuating Russians from Syria

A Free Syrian Army fighter holds his weapon during heavy clashes with government forces in Aleppo, Syria, Sunday, Jan. 20, 2013. The revolt against President Bashar Assad began in March 2011with peaceful protests but morphed into a civil war that has killed more than 60,000 people, according to a recent United Nations recent estimate. (AP Photo/Andoni Lubaki)

A Free Syrian Army fighter holds his weapon during heavy clashes with government forces in Aleppo, Syria, Sunday, Jan. 20, 2013. The revolt against President Bashar Assad began in March 2011with peaceful protests but morphed into a civil war that has killed more than 60,000 people, according to a recent United Nations recent estimate. (AP Photo/Andoni Lubaki)

Free Syrian Army fighters fire their weapons during heavy clashes with government forces in Aleppo, Syria, Sunday, Jan. 20, 2013. The revolt against President Bashar Assad began in March 2011with peaceful protests but morphed into a civil war that has killed more than 60,000 people, according to a recent United Nations recent estimate. (AP Photo/Andoni Lubaki)

Free Syrian Army fighters hold their weapons during heavy clashes with government forces in Aleppo, Syria, Sunday, Jan. 20, 2013. The revolt against President Bashar Assad began in March 2011with peaceful protests but morphed into a civil war that has killed more than 60,000 people, according to a recent United Nations recent estimate. (AP Photo/Andoni Lubaki)

A Free Syrian Army fighter runs for cover, as another fires his weapon during heavy clashes with government forces in Aleppo, Syria, Sunday, Jan. 20, 2013. The revolt against President Bashar Assad began in March 2011with peaceful protests but morphed into a civil war that has killed more than 60,000 people, according to a recent United Nations recent estimate. (AP Photo/Andoni Lubaki)

Free Syrian Army fighters hold their weapons during heavy clashes with government forces in Aleppo, Syria, Sunday, Jan. 20, 2013. The revolt against President Bashar Assad began in March 2011with peaceful protests but morphed into a civil war that has killed more than 60,000 people, according to a recent United Nations recent estimate. (AP Photo/Andoni Lubaki)

BEIRUT (AP) ? Russia said Monday it is sending two planes to Lebanon to start evacuating its citizens from Syria, the strongest sign yet that President Bashar Assad's most important international ally has serious doubts about his ability to cling to power.

The Russian announcement came as anti-government activists reported violence around the country, including air raids on the town of Beit Sahm near Damascus International Airport, just south of the capital.

Russian officials said about 100 of the tens of thousands of Russian nationals in the country will be taken out overland to Lebanon and flown home from there, presumably because renewed fighting near the airport in Damascus has made it too dangerous for the foreigners to use that route out of the Syrian capital.

Assad has dismissed calls that he step down. He has proposed a national reconciliation conference, elections and a new constitution, but the opposition insists he play no role in a resolution to the conflict. The U.N. says more than 60,000 people have died in the civil war since March 2011.

Russia has been Assad's main ally since the conflict began, using its veto power in the U.N. Security Council to shield Damascus from international sanctions.

Russia recently started to distance itself from the Syrian ruler, signaling that it is resigned to him losing power. Russian President Vladimir Putin said last month that he understands Syria needs change and that he was not protecting Assad.

Russian officials say the evacuation of thousands of its citizens from Syria ? many of them Russian women married to Syrians ? could be by both air and sea.

A squadron of Russian Navy ships currently is in the Mediterranean for a planned exercise near Syrian shores later this month. Military officials earlier said that the exercise will simulate marines landing and taking people on board from the shore.

Earlier this month, Lakhdar Brahimi, who is the joint U.N.-Arab League envoy for Syria, said that Russia seemed as determined as the United States to end Syria's civil war, but that he didn't expect a political solution to emerge anytime soon.

The Arab League chief said Monday that Brahimi's mission had not yielded even a "flicker of hope."

In Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, Nabil Elaraby proposed that the heads of state gathered there at an economic summit call for an immediate meeting of the U.N. Security Council. He suggested the security council adopt a resolution calling for a cease-fire in Syria and establish a monitoring force to ensure compliance.

Syria's defense minister said Monday that the army would keep chasing rebels all over the country "until it achieves victory and thwarts the conspiracy that Syria is being subjected to."

Gen. Fahd Jassem al-Freij's comments came as activists reported air raids and shelling around the nation.

Monday's fighting included a helicopter raid in the northeastern town of Tabqa that killed eight people, according to the Britain-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights.

The Observatory also reported a car bombing in the Damascus neighborhood of Dummar and said another car bomb exploded late Monday in central Syria, killing at least 30 pro-government gunmen in Salamiyeh.

In addition, the group said there were clashes in the town of Ras al-Ayn near the border with Turkey between fighters from the Kurdish Democratic Union Party, or PYD, which leans in favor of Syria's government and anti-government rebels, who entered the town in November.

Tensions have flared between Syria and Turkey after shells fired from Syria landed on the Turkish side of the border. As a result, Germany, the Netherlands and the United States decided to send two batteries of Patriot air defense missiles each to protect Turkey, their NATO ally.

On Monday, German soldiers unloaded trucks carrying the missile systems at the port of Iskenderun, while another ship, carrying the Dutch shipment, waited its turn anchored at the harbor.

The U.N. said that there are an estimated 4 million people were in urgent need of humanitarian assistance in Syria, including at least 2 million who are internally displaced. With harsh winter conditions, people are facing heavy rains and sub-zero temperatures, often without adequate food, shelter, water or access to medical care.

The McClatchy news organization published a report on Monday, supporting activists' claim that Syrian forces have been targeting bakeries. According to data compiled by the news organization, government forces attacked bread lines and bakeries at least 80 times last year, causing hundreds of casualties and in most cases destroying the bakeries.

The Syrian government, meantime, blamed a rebel attack on a key power line for a blackout that hit Damascus and much of the country's south overnight, leaving residents cold and in the dark amid a fuel crisis that has stranded many at home.

The Syrian capital's 2.5 million residents have grown used to frequent power cuts as the country's conflict has damaged infrastructure and sapped the government's finances. But some said Monday that the overnight outage was the first to darken the entire capital since the conflict began.

The blackout hit residents especially hard because of rampant fuel shortages and below-freezing temperatures.

"We covered ourselves from the cold in blankets because there was no diesel or electricity for the heaters," said retired teacher Mariam Ghassan, 60. "We changed our whole lives to get organized for power cuts, but now we have no idea when the power will come or go."

By midday Monday, power had returned to more than half of the capital, and Electricity Minister Imad Khamis said authorities were working to restore it in other areas.

___

Associated Press writer Albert Aji contributed to this report from Damascus, Syria.

Associated Press

Source: http://hosted2.ap.org/APDEFAULT/cae69a7523db45408eeb2b3a98c0c9c5/Article_2013-01-21-Syria/id-264bb85d2c9d4676901a8dd95a339da8

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Mother Grieving Loss of Child - http://mothergrievinglossofchild ...

Saturday's Sayings

Survivors in a Fallen World

~~~~~

~~~~~

~Wings of Hope~Living Forward

The Pain Of Grief

It comes quietly but quickly

Stealing away your breath

A pain in your heart so strong

Caused by a loved one?s death.

It?s cold and harsh and painful

It weaves through your soul and mind

Tears that flow like a river

No peace in your heart you?ll find.

A harsh reality it makes you face

Such an emptiness in your heart

A longing so unbelievably strong

For the love that?s been torn apart.

The nights are long and terrible

Old memories rob you of sleep

Remembering every precious moment

And in the quiet of night you weep.

Sorting through old pictures

And some will make you smile

But then you?re overcome with pain

And you?ll cry again for awhile.

No one can understand it

Unless they've suffered this way

And then they come to realize

That their grief is here to stay.

In time it may get easier

But it always will remain

Inside a broken, shattered heart

And a soul that?s etched with pain.

~ Charlotte Anselmo ~

~~~~~~

~~~~~

Grief is not your Enemy

Grief surrounds you with no language yet all people and all lands know it. Grief wreaks havoc with your mind and body and soul.

Grief plays nasty head games with you and can take a beautiful day and put it to the depths of hell. Grief does not want you to escape it - ever.

Grief is invisible but becomes loud and present to the grieving parents it visits to and you have to walk in the world as if it is not there. Grief is an unwanted visitor.

Grief is a volcano deep inside your core. It digs, and digs, day after day destroying your inner being.

Grief reminds you of every piece of fragment of your pain and anger and disbelief of what has happened to your child and controls your every emotion. Grief puts a lot of trust in your memory to help it?s cause so to bring up everything bad or things you wish you could change about the relationship you had with your child.

In the beginning, griefs job is so easy. No resistance. The grief moves around in you causing deep valleys of sorrow and pain. Grief can talk you into anything if you let it. Grief tells you life is not worth living.

Grief has very clever and deceptive ways and will go to any means to invoke the rawest, of your emotions. Grief can take the sweetest dream and turn it into your worst nightmare.

We ask ourselves why? Why would grief do such a terrible thing to someone? Why would grief get such pleasure out of someone else's pain?

What else are we suppose to think?

Actually, Grief is doing it?s job.

Grief is there to get you to work whether you want to or not, to work the process of grieving. In addition, do not fool yourself; it is work, hard work and only you can do it. The work is painful but in the end can be victorious.

As you work through the grieving process, you may even find that you are starting to understand and know grief and maybe grief will become your friend. Grief is an on-going job with no end in sight. It is just moments of release from the pain and sorrow.

As you go through the grief process you will begin to understand that a lot of the unrelenting pain, the pictures, and bad dreams will give way to softer memories of smiles and whispers and eyes of love.

~Wings of Hope~Living Forward

~~~~~~~~~~~~

~Death of a Loved one

~~~~~

~Death of a Loved one

~~~~~

~Darlene Thomas via ~Death of a Loved one

~~~~~

~I Miss Those Close To Me Who Are Now In Heaven As Beautiful Angels?

~~~~~

~~~~~

~Grieving Mother Jill Compton and ~Grieving Mother?Pat Dattoli Wentworth?

? ? ? ? ? via ~Wings of Hope-Living Forward

~~~~~

We want to be...

Survivor, not victim. Growing, not ignoring. Authentic, not flawless.

~Authentuity

Lead picture and quote by Annie Dillard, thanks to ~Authentuity

Source: http://mothergrievinglossofchild.blogspot.com/2013/01/saturdays-sayings-survivors-in-fallen.html

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Up to six Britons killed in Algeria, Cameron says

LONDON (Reuters) - Three British nationals have been confirmed killed during a hostage crisis at a gas plant in Algeria, and a further three Britons along with a resident of Britain are believed to have died, Prime Minister David Cameron said on Sunday.

Islamist militants seized the remote compound in the Sahara desert before dawn on Wednesday, taking a large number of hostages. Details are still emerging of what happened when the Algerian army launched an assault to end the siege on Saturday.

"Tragically we now know that three British nationals have been killed and a further three are believed to be dead and also a further British resident is also believed to be dead," Cameron said in a televised statement.

"The priority now must be to get everybody home from Algeria ... and I've spoken this morning to our ambassador who is in Algiers and this morning will be going again to the south of the country to help coordinate that absolutely vital activity."

Foreign Secretary William Hague said shortly after Cameron spoke that 22 Britons who had been caught up in the hostage drama had flown home on charter flights organized by the government or by BP.

Cameron had told parliament on Friday he was "disappointed" Algeria had given him no advance warning of an operation to rescue hostages at the plant, but on Sunday he thanked Algeria for its actions.

"Now of course people will ask questions about the Algerian response to these events, but I would just say that the responsibility for these deaths lies squarely with the terrorists who launched this vicious and cowardly attack," he said.

"We should recognize all that the Algerians have done to work with us and to help and coordinate with us. I'd like to thank them for that. We should also recognize that the Algerians too have seen lives lost among their soldiers."

Asked whether the threat from militant groups in North Africa was as serious as the one that had once existed in Afghanistan, Cameron said: "It is different in scale but there are similarities.

"What we face is an extremist Islamist violent al Qaeda-linked terrorist group, just as we had to deal with in Pakistan and Afghanistan, so the world needs to come together to deal with this threat in North Africa."

(Reporting by Estelle Shirbon; Editing by Andrew Heavens)

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/pm-cameron-says-three-britons-confirmed-dead-algeria-091310530--finance.html

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On 2nd term eve, Obama cites commitment to service

President Barack Obama stains a bookshelf at Burrville Elementary School in Washington, Saturday, Jan. 19, 2013, as the first family participated in a community service project for the National Day of Service, part of the 57th Presidential Inauguration. (AP Photo/Susan Walsh)

President Barack Obama stains a bookshelf at Burrville Elementary School in Washington, Saturday, Jan. 19, 2013, as the first family participated in a community service project for the National Day of Service, part of the 57th Presidential Inauguration. (AP Photo/Susan Walsh)

National Day of Service Honorary Chair, Chelsea Clinton, participates service project with Addison Rose, 8, of Washington, on the National Mall as part of the Inaugural event Saturday, Jan. 19, 2013 in Washington,. The two made cards for the Sunshine Mail Foundation that sends the cards along with care packages to the ill and disadvantaged people. (AP Photo/Steve Helber)

First lady Michelle Obama stains a bookshelf at Burrville Elementary School in Washington, Saturday, Jan. 19, 2013, as the first family participated in a community service project for the National Day of Service as part of the 57th Presidential Inauguration. (AP Photo/Susan Walsh)

ADDS NAME - Vice President Joe Biden, center, fills care kits with necessities for deployed U.S. service members, wounded warriors, veterans and first responders, joining the National Day of Service as part of the 57th presidential inauguration in Washington, Saturday, Jan. 19, 2013. Volunteer Nathan Fouse walks with a care kit at right. Army Capt. Cesar J. Visurraga, US Army Nurse Corps, is at left (AP Photo/Manuel Balce Ceneta)

Jay Desai, of Washington, front and Ariel Timar, of Cherry Hill, N.J., center, paint a mural as they participate in the National Day of Service on the Mall as part of the 57th Presidential Inaugural festivities, Saturday, Jan. 19, 2013, in Washington, . The two were working on the Greater DC care project that will place the murals in schools and fire stations to help promote volunteerism. (AP Photo/Steve Helber)

WASHINGTON (AP) ? On the brink of a second term, President Barack Obama invoked Martin Luther King Jr.'s commitment to service Saturday as inauguration-goers flocked to the capital city for a distinctly American celebration including an oath-taking as old as the republic, a splashy parade and partying enough to last four years.

"I think we're on the cusp of some really great things," Vice President Joe Biden predicted for a country still recovering from a deep recession.

Freshly built inaugural stands at the Capitol gleamed white in the sun, and hundreds of chairs for special guests were set out on the lawn that spills down toward the National Mall as the president and vice president began their inauguration weekend.

Julius Cherry, in town from Sacramento, Calif., brought his family to the foot of the Capitol to see the area where their official tickets will let them watch the public ceremonies on Monday.

"There were people who said they'd never vote for an African-American president," the 58-year-old lawyer said. "Now they've voted for him twice, and he won the popular vote and the electoral vote. That says something about his policies and his team."

"And the country," added Cherry's wife, Donna.

Said Erika Goergen, from the Midwest and attending college locally: "It's amazing to be here right now."

Officials estimated that as many as 800,000 people will attend Monday's public ceremonies. That's more than live in the city, if far fewer than the 1.8 million who were at Obama's first inauguration in 2009.

The president made only a glancing reference to race as he spoke at an elementary school not far from the White House after he and first lady Michelle Obama stained a bookcase as part of a national service event organized by the inaugural committee.

"We think about not so much the inauguration, but we think about this is Dr. King's birthday we're going to be celebrating this weekend," the president said.

"He said everybody wants to be first, everybody wants to be a drum major. But if you're going to be a drum major, be a drum major for service, be a drum major for justice, be a drum major for looking out for other people," Obama said of the civil rights leader whose birthday is celebrated as a national holiday on Monday.

Because the date for inauguration set in the Constitution, Jan. 20, falls on a Sunday this year, Obama and Biden were to be sworn in for second terms in separate, private ceremonies on Sunday.

The public ceremonies are set for Monday, when Obama will take the oath of office at noon, then deliver an inaugural address before a large crowd and a national television audience in the millions.

The traditional lunch with lawmakers in the Capitol follows, and the inaugural parade down Pennsylvania Avenue toward the White House. There, a reviewing stand was adorned with the presidential seal and equipped with seats enough for Obama and other dignitaries to watch in relative comfort as military units, marching bands, floats and thousands of participants go past. A pair of inauguration balls will cap the day, including one with a guest list that runs to 40,000 names.

A select few ? those who donated as much as $1 million to defray inauguration expenses ? received special access to public as well as invitation-only receptions and parties.

The second term begins in circumstances different in many ways from the first, but familiar in others.

The economy, then in the grip of a fierce and deepening recession, is now recovering slowly as unemployment recedes and stocks flirt with five-year highs. The health care legislation that Obama urged Congress to enact in his first inaugural address is the law of the land, courtesy of a split ruling by the Supreme Court.

Al-Qaida leader Osama bin Laden is dead at the hands of U.S. special operations forces. But the organization he inspired is far from moribund, as demonstrated by the just-ended kidnapping episode Saturday at an Algerian natural gas complex that, according to the Algerian government, left at least 23 hostages dead. The U.S. on Friday acknowledged one American death.

When Obama took office in 2009, his Democratic allies held control of Congress.

Now, divided government rules, and Republicans who control the House lead the way in insisting the administration agree to spending cuts that will reduce soaring federal deficits. Obama has said he is ready to compromise on that.

At the outset of a second term, he also wants Congress to overhaul the nation's immigration laws and take steps to reduce gun violence in the wake of the shooting last month in Newtown., Conn., that left 20 elementary school children dead.

Yet for once, politics seemed to edge ever so slightly into the background in the most political of cities.

Former first daughter Chelsea Clinton headlined a National Day of Service gathering under a tent on the National Mall, where she said she had been inspired by her grandmother, as well as her famous parents. She urged her audience to become part of a "chain of service" by helping the less fortunate.

Biden and his wife, Jill, spent time at an armory pitching in as volunteers packed 100,000 care kits for deployed members of the military, wounded warriors, veterans and first responders.

Biden credited former President George H. W. Bush, a Republican, for starting the "Points of Light" program, which was a sponsor of the event. He said service was an antidote to "the coarsening of our culture. We've got to get back to reaching out to people."

In the evening, Mrs. Obama and Mrs. Biden were hosting the Kids' Inaugural Concert, an event paying special tribute to military spouses and children.

___

Associated Press writers Darlene Superville, Laurie Kellman and Frederic J. Frommer contributed to this report.

Associated Press

Source: http://hosted2.ap.org/APDEFAULT/386c25518f464186bf7a2ac026580ce7/Article_2013-01-19-Obama-Inauguration/id-4d637c99987a410b853df6076416a552

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Half Price Beer Cans At Percy Street Next Thursday! Celebrate! at ...

We aren?t certain if this holiday is more about beer cans themselves or canned craft beer, but Percy Street Barbecue is celebrating Beer Can Appreciation Day next Thursday, January 24th, by selling their entire list of over 100 craft beer cans at half price, including several we?ve covered on Phoodie. This is the beer list that was named #1 Most Cantastic Place to Grab a Can of Craft in America by CraftCans.com. Has your craft beer cans and barbecue joint ever gotten that honor? Didn?t think so. It?s a great time to hunker down with your favorite can or try out some new stuff.

By the way, it?s in their name but it deserves mentioning that Percy?s has excellent barbecue to go with that half price beer.

Some regular Phoodie readers might be wondering, didn?t you say just yesterday that January 24th is National Peanut Butter Appreciation Day? Well, yes actually. In what must have been an oversight by the international body that sanctions food-based holidays, and another thing the Mayans missed, National Peanut Butter Day and Beer Can Appreciation Day will fall on the same day this year, January 24th. What this means? Probably just that there are more than 365 foods to celebrate, but just in case you?d better make it out to both events.

Percy Street?s Beer Can Appreciation Day special starts at 5pm.

Percy Street Barbecue, 900 South Street, (215) 625-8510

Source: http://www.phoodie.info/2013/01/18/half-price-beer-cans-at-percy-street-next-thursday-celebrate/

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