Emery introduced as Bears GM

/

By RICK GANO

updated 6:48 p.m. ET Jan. 30, 2012

LAKE FOREST, Ill. - Phil Emery presented a thorough plan for improving the Chicago Bears, and team president Ted Phillips loved his attention to detail and his toughness from his days as a strength and conditioning coach at Navy.

That's how Emery became the top choice to become the team's new general manager. And when Phillips called around the league and talked with other GMs, coaches and executives to get their take, he heard nothing that challenged his initial impression.

"Nobody had a negative thing to say about Phil Emery, so I became intrigued early on," Phillips said.

Emery was introduced Monday as the Bears GM, taking over after Jerry Angelo was fired following an 8-8 season that featured the Bears faltering down the stretch after injuries to quarterback Jay Cutler and running back Matt Forte.

During Angelo's 11-year run, the Bears won four division championships, reached the Super Bowl and got back to the NFC championship game after the 2010 season. But Angelo, who had been under contract through 2013, was undone on several fronts ? especially when backup Caleb Hanie struggled mightily after Cutler was hurt.

Chicago has missed the playoffs four out of the last five seasons.

The 53-year-old Emery actually worked under Angelo when he was a Bears area scout from 1998-2004. His final year in that post overlapped for five months with coach Lovie Smith, whose future Emery will now determine.

Emery made it clear that he's his own man and not following in the footsteps of Angelo, who like Emery had an extensive scouting and personnel background before getting his first GM job.

"I'm a very different person than Jerry. I worked for Jerry. I respect him. But we both come from different backgrounds as any two people would," Emery said. "My influences are different."

Emery spent the three previous seasons as director of college scouting for the Kansas City Chiefs. From 2004-08, Emery held a similar post with the Atlanta Falcons. Among his several college coaching stops were stints as conditioning and strength coach at both Tennessee and Navy.

There are areas where he is not as experienced. Emery said during his stay with the Falcons he became familiar with salary-cap issues, but acknowledged he would have to rely on Bears lead contract negotiator Cliff Stein.

Emery and New England Patriots director of pro personnel Jason Licht were finalists and both interviewed twice. The Bears also interviewed San Diego Chargers director of player personnel Jimmy Raye, New York Giants director of college scouting Marc Ross, and former director of player personnel Tim Ruskell.

Ruskell and the Bears parted ways by mutual decision Monday, a team spokesman said, so Emery now has a vacancy to fill.

Phillips said Emery's previous stint with the Bears was not a major consideration in him being hired.

"The familiarity really had no bearing at all," Phillips said. "I mean, he was an area scout so you really only saw him at draft time for a couple of weeks so I really didn't have a relationship with him.

"But what you do find out is ? you did sense even back then ? that he had convictions in his evaluations even back then. You saw a little start of what might be traits of a general manager but really had nothing to do with the fact that he worked here."

Phillips' mandate for his new GM was an ability to work with Smith and close the talent gap in the NFC North with the Packers and more recently the Detroit Lions. He said he also wants the Bears to be more productive with their higher picks.

As for his relationship with Smith, Emery said he, Smith and all members of the coaching staff and football operations department will be evaluated daily.

He praised the schemes Smith has brought to the Bears and said he would do everything possible to be in synch with Smith and work with him toward building a championship through the draft and free agency.

"I have great respect for what Lovie has done," Emery said during a nearly hour-long news conference at Halas Hall. "The consistency of teaching, of being systematic is very important. I would say that the Naval Academy taught me more in that area than any other coaching assignment.

"We had players who were under extreme stress in their daily activities and it was very important that the scheme stayed the same so that we could play fast. ... When I watch Lovie Smith's defense those players play fast because they know the scheme. So consistency is important."

Phillips said Emery has the power to hire and fire a head coach and final say on the 53-man roster but he doesn't expect there to be any problems.

"The idea is you work together to find the best team for the Bears," Phillips said. "I don't know of a single team that's been successful with a general manager jamming players down the coach's throat."

Emery, who said he watched tape or six or seven Bears games before his first interview and even more before the season, praised Cutler and veteran linebacker Brian Urlacher, who will be entering his 13th NFL season as the Bears' marquee defensive player.

"I've heard rumblings that there is age on our roster," Emery said. "I kind of look at it this way: It's not a numerical number. It's whether you are making plays. If it was just a numerical number and number of gray hairs, I wouldn't be standing here."

Copyright 2012 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.

advertisement

Source: http://nbcsports.msnbc.com/id/46193620/ns/sports-nfl/

black friday 2011 rhodium uppity uppity stuffing brandon mcinerney brandon mcinerney

NFL Communications - NFL Introduces Communications System For ...

\ '); $('#wpl-mustlogin').hide().slideDown('fast'); } ); $('#wpl-mustlogin input.input').live( 'focus', function() { $(this).prev().hide(); }).live( 'blur', function() { if ( $(this).val() == '' ) $(this).prev().show(); }); $('#wpl-mustlogin input#wp-submit').live( 'click', function(e) { e.preventDefault(); $.post( 'http://nflcommunications.com/wp-admin/admin-ajax.php', { 'action': 'wpl_record_stat', 'stat_name': 'loggedout_login_submit' }, function() { $('#wpl-mustlogin form').submit(); } ); }); $('#wpl-mustlogin a#wpl-signup-link').live( 'click', function(e) { e.preventDefault(); var link = $(this).attr('href'); $.post( 'http://nflcommunications.com/wp-admin/admin-ajax.php', { 'action': 'wpl_record_stat', 'stat_name': 'loggedout_signup_click' }, function() { location.href = link; } ); }); }); /* ]]> */

Source: http://nflcommunications.com/2012/01/30/nfl-introduces-communications-system-for-super-bowl-xlvi-ticket-holders/

joe pa joe pa michael oher glenn miller marist south carolina primary results marco scutaro

Verizon shared data plans show up in employee training materials, still on track?

Verizon said it was working on a shared data solution for 2012, and according to an anonymous tipster, the new packages could be rolling out soon. We've been told that training material for an update to the outfit's internal account management application includes screenshots (one of which you can see above) that show a new section labeled "account level data plans." The new section apparently shows an account level charge for data allowance and a 9.99 charge per line. There's no word on exactly when these backend tweaks might translate into a new family data plan, but if it pans out the way we hope, AT&T's Ralph de la Vega may have to reconsider his oath of silence on Ma Bell's own data sharing plans.

[Thanks, Anon]

Verizon shared data plans show up in employee training materials, still on track? originally appeared on Engadget on Mon, 30 Jan 2012 04:15:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink   |   | Email this | Comments

Source: http://www.engadget.com/2012/01/30/verizon-shared-data-plans-show-up-in-employee-training-materials/

danny gokey sonny rollins sweet caroline lottery winning numbers pro bowl roster quirky chrissy teigen

SUV hits light-rail train in Sacramento, killing 3 (AP)

SACRAMENTO, Calif. ? An SUV ignored flashing warning lights and veered around a rail crossing arm moments before it collided with a light-rail train, killing two adults and an 18-month-old boy in the vehicle, authorities said.

The only other person in the Nissan Pathfinder, a woman in her 30s, was hospitalized with serious injuries after Saturday's crash, said Niko King, assistant chief with the Sacramento Fire Department.

Six of the roughly 50 passengers on the light rail train suffered minor injuries and were taken to a hospital, he said.

King and a spokeswoman for the transit line said video from a camera at the crossing clearly shows the SUV driving around the crossing arm.

The collision, in a working class neighborhood south of downtown, occurred shortly after 4 p.m. and pushed the Pathfinder about 30 yards from the point of impact.

"All I heard was a big bang, and I saw a light-rail train heading south with a big truck smashed on it," said Ravin Pratab, 42, of Davis, whose car was among those waiting for the train at the rail crossing, on the opposite side of the tracks from the Pathfinder.

The train was going about 55 mph at the time, a typical speed for that location.

The light rail followed two Union Pacific freight trains, which use separate tracks, and the arms had remained down during the interval, said Alane Masui, spokeswoman for the Sacramento Regional Transit District.

"They were down after the UP trains and before the (light rail) train approached, so the crossing arms were properly working," she said.

She said the length of time between the freight trains clearing the intersection and the light rail train crossing it had not yet been determined and would be part of the investigation. Investigators also were reviewing video from a camera mounted on the light rail train.

Authorities did not release the identities of those in the Pathfinder or their relationship. A man and woman in the vehicle, both in their 40s, died at the scene while the toddler was pronounced dead at a hospital. Firefighters said one had been ejected.

The University of California, Davis Medical Center in Sacramento would say only that the woman remained in serious condition late Saturday.

The light rail system carries an average of 50,000 passengers a day, with lines stretching from the state capital to its suburbs in the north, south and east.

Masui said there are four sets of tracks at the crossing ? two for freight and two for light rail so trains from both systems can run in either direction.

Source: http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/us/*http%3A//news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20120129/ap_on_re_us/us_suv_light_rail_crash

apple crisp recipe apple crisp recipe listeria symptoms listeria symptoms lsat bluegrass festival cochlear implant

British radio's 'Desert Island Discs' turns 70 (AP)

LONDON ? Margaret Thatcher chose Beethoven, Michael Caine picked Frank Sinatra and boxer George Foreman selected The Beatles' "All You Need is Love."

They are among almost 3,000 guests who have appeared on the radio program "Desert Island Discs," a British broadcasting institution that turned 70 on Sunday.

The show's simple format hasn't changed since 1942: Ask an illustrious or famous figure to choose the eight pieces of music they would take with them to a deserted isle, and talk about what the tracks mean to them. At the end of each program, the guest is sent into imaginary exile, along with their choice of a book, a luxury and one of their eight records.

Almost 3 million listeners tune in each week to the show, which has stranded royalty, prime ministers and movie stars, as well as scientists, poets and philosophers.

Its success is a mark of radio's enduring popularity in the age of the Internet and high definition TV. Host Kirsty Young said its strength lies in the "unique blend of a castaway's life and the music that forms its soundtrack."

"At best it displays the frailties and strengths of the human condition ? how our creativity, grit and humanity can see us through," she said in a BBC radio documentary marking the anniversary.

Young told the Radio Times magazine that scientists made the best guests, because they often had not been interviewed before.

"Politicians are awful, especially when they have the responsibility of office, because they have to be careful," said Young, one of only four hosts the show has had in 70 years.

Still, politicians rarely refuse an invitation to soften their image. Former Prime Minister Tony Blair revealed a love of Spanish guitar music, his successor Gordon Brown enthused about Bach and current leader David Cameron selected Bob Dylan's "Tangled Up in Blue" as his desert island record.

Even a senior member of the British royal family has appeared. Princess Margaret, sister of Queen Elizabeth II, was a guest in 1981. Her musical choices included "Rule Britannia" and ? more surprisingly ? "Sixteen Tons" By Tennessee Ernie Ford.

The probing of the castaways is gentle ? a style pioneered by the show's creator and original host Roy Plomley, who plied guests with food and drink at his club before recordings. But the interviews are often revealing and can occasionally make headlines.

There were hundreds of complaints when Lady Diana Mosley, widow of Britain's World War II Fascist leader Oswald Mosley, was a guest in 1989 and offered the view that Hitler "was of course extraordinarily fascinating and clever."

In February 2003, a month before the invasion of Iraq, actor George Clooney accused then U.S. President George W. Bush of manipulating the country into supporting war and said it was Americans' "patriotic duty to question the actions of your government."

Few refuse an invitation, which brings no fee but considerable prestige.

"You're honored to be part of this strange national club," said U.S.-born music broadcaster Paul Gambaccini, a castaway in 2002.

"To be welcomed into something so quintessentially British as 'Desert Island Discs' means I've made it, I'm welcome, I'm home," he told the BBC.

Mick Jagger is one of the best-known holdouts. His Rolling Stones bandmate Charlie Watts said yes, as did ex-Beatle Paul McCartney ? who chose his murdered bandmate John Lennon's "Beautiful Boy" as his desert-island track ? and musicians from Bing Crosby to Alice Cooper.

The most popular musical choice over the decades has been the "Ode to Joy" from Beethoven's 9th Symphony, with Mozart the most frequently selected composer. The most popular non-classical piece is Edith Piaf singing "Je Ne Regrette Rien."

The most commonly requested luxury item is a piano. Other choices have been more original.

American novelist Norman Mailer requested "a stick of the very best marijuana," while egocentric entertainment svengali Simon Cowell asked for a mirror ? "because I'd miss me."

___

Online: http://www.bbc.co.uk/radio4/features/desert-island-discs

Source: http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/music/*http%3A//news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20120129/ap_en_mu/eu_britain_desert_island_discs

haunted houses favicon.ico favicon.ico footloose best iphone 4 case best iphone 4 case sonic youth

One million children in Sahel at risk, UNICEF warns (Reuters)

GENEVA (Reuters) ? More than 1 million children in the Sahel are at risk of severe malnutrition and urgent action is needed to avert starvation akin to that in Somalia, the United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF) warned on Friday.

The agency appealed for $67 million for 8 countries in the region where it said instability fueled by increasing activities of al-Qaeda and Boko Haram was compounding humanitarian needs. They are Burkina Faso, Chad, Mali, Mauritania, Niger and the northern regions of Cameroon, Nigeria and Senegal.

"In the Sahel we are facing a nutrition crisis of a larger magnitude than usual with over 1 million children at risk of severe, acute malnutrition," Rima Salah, acting UNICEF deputy executive director, told a news briefing.

"The countries in the Sahel, for example, if we do not now attend to their needs, it will become like Somalia and other countries," she said. "We have to prevent it before it becomes a disaster."

She was referring to the anarchic Horn of Africa country where the U.N. says 250,000 still live in famine conditions due to drought and conflict and a total of 4 million need aid.

More than nine million people in five countries in Africa's Sahel region face food crisis next year, following low rainfall, poor harvests, high food prices and a drop in remittances from migrants, aid agency Oxfam said last month.

The funds for the Sahel, for an initial six-month phase, will provide therapeutic feeding to malnourished children and campaigns to prevent the spread of epidemics including cholera. Some families will receive cash to cover higher food prices.

It is part of UNICEF's overall appeal of $1.28 billion for 98 million women and children in 25 countries. Somalia and other Horn of Africa countries (Djibouti, Ethiopia and Kenya) account for nearly one-third of the total amount sought.

"There is growing instability in the Sahel region, fuelled by the Arab Spring and increasing activities of al-Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb and Boko Haram, all compounding the humanitarian needs of children and women in the region," UNICEF's report, "2012 Humanitarian Action for Children," said on Friday.

The Libyan civil war might have given militant groups in Africa's Sahel region like Boko Haram and al Qaeda access to large weapons caches, according to a U.N. report released in New York on Thursday.

The U.N. report on the impact of the Libyan civil war on countries of the Sahel region that straddle the Sahara - including Nigeria, Niger and Chad - also said some national authorities believe the Islamist sect Boko Haram, which killed more than 500 people last year and more than 250 this year in Nigeria, has increasing links to al Qaeda's North African wing.

(Reporting by Stephanie Nebehay Editing by Maria Golovnina.)

Source: http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/health/*http%3A//news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20120127/hl_nm/us_africa_sahel_un

regis and kelly reno fire regis philbin last show regis philbin last show crystal cathedral sarah vowell fire in reno

German court rejects Samsung's second 3G patent complaint against Apple

About a week after suffering a legal setback in Germany, Samsung received another bit of bad news this morning, when the Mannheim Regional Court rejected the second of its patent infringement claims against Apple. As with last week's ruling, today's decision addresses one of Samsung's arguments that Apple's 3G / UMTS technology infringes upon its patents. Judge Andreas Voss officially shot down these claims early this morning, though he didn't offer an immediate reason for his ruling. As FOSS Patents points out, however, these initial decisions against Samsung may be based on the validity of the specific patents themselves, and would therefore have no bearing upon the outcome of the Korean manufacturer's three other claims -- all of which are based upon different 3G / UMTS patents. In addition, the company is pursuing two lawsuits based on patents not related to 3G standards, including one, apparently, that details a way to type smiley emoticons on a mobile handset. We're still awaiting more information on today's outcome and will update this post as soon as we hear more.

German court rejects Samsung's second 3G patent complaint against Apple originally appeared on Engadget on Fri, 27 Jan 2012 03:43:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink   |  FOSS Patents  | Email this | Comments

Source: http://www.engadget.com/2012/01/27/german-court-rejects-second-samsung-patent-complaint-against-app/

coriolanus jon corzine v tech the three stooges top model all stars americas next top model mark buehrle

Should Undercover Video Be Banned at Livestock Farms? (Time.com)

Humane Society of the United States

For decades, animal activists have gone undercover to take jobs inside large-scale livestock farms in order to document conditions for farm animals that they say are routinely inhumane. Their hidden camera footage has resulted in criminal charges against owners and workers, plant shutdowns, and after one at a California slaughterhouse in 2008, the largest meat recall in U.S. history.

But these images could soon be made illegal. Legislation pending in five states ? Indiana, Iowa, Minnesota, Nebraska, and New York ? would criminalize the actions of activists who covertly film farms. Proponents of the various pieces legislation say that their proposed laws would lead to beneficial consequences, including the protection of such farms from potential terrorist infiltration (preserving the integrity of the food supply) and espionage; the prevention of images that mislead consumers; as well as regulating the job application process to circumvent potential employees from lying in order to be hired. See the legal assault on animal-abuse whistleblowers.

These so-called "ag-gag" bills have ignited a national debate about undercover videos and have raised concerns about free speech and journalists' and whistleblowers' ability to report on the farming industry.

TIME traveled to Iowa, the nation's leading producer of eggs and pork and the first state to propose a ban on undercover videos, with one former investigator for a rare glimpse at how these videos are made and why they are so controversial.

LIST: Top 10 Pictures of the Year of 2011

SPECIAL: TIME's 2011 Person of the Year: The Protester

'); } } // REQUIRED VALUES google_ad_client = 'ca-timeinc-time-bah'; google_ad_output = 'js'; google_max_num_ads = '3'; // OPTIONAL, USED google_ad_type = 'text'; // type of ads to display google_ad_channel = 'article'; google_safe = 'high'; // -->

Source: http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/us/*http%3A//us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/external/time_rss/rss_time_us/httpwwwtimecomtimenationarticle08599210506300htmlxidrssnationyahoo/44301677/SIG=12ll7gmsg/*http%3A//www.time.com/time/nation/article/0,8599,2105063,00.html?xid=rss-nation-yahoo

les paul detroit tigers red hook romney tax return fred thompson fred thompson oscar nominees

PocketCPR app by the British Heart Foundation hits the App Store

The British Heart Foundation has released an app that provides detailed instruction on how to give CPR (cardiopulmonary resuscitation) should the need ever arise. Performing CPR could save the life of a friend or relative and is a practice everyone should know how to perform.

Source: http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/TheIphoneBlog/~3/bbVUzj0DwJA/story01.htm

ny giants chip kelly billy cundiff new york giants super bowl tickets giants superbowl

Video: Obama strikes populist tone in State of Union

>> the president's state of the union was not a campaign speech per se . but his populist rhetoric is something we're going to hear a lot of in the general election campaign ahead. president obama used this election year state of the union address to talk about the future and boast about what he believes are his best accomplishments.

>> the state of our union is getting stronger. we've come too far to turn back now.

>> reporter: bracing for a tough re-election fight the president struck a populist tone.

>> we can have an economy where everyone gets a fair shot, everyone gets their fair share and everyone plays by the same rules.

>> reporter: he went out of his way to strike a patriotic tone using the words " america " and "american" 88 times.

>> what's at stake aren't democratic or republican values but american values . american manufacturers are hiring again. america is back.

>> reporter: sticking to the populist theme he went after easy targets -- wall street and congress.

>> i talked about the deficit of trust between main street and wall street but the divide between this city and the country is at least as bad.

>> reporter: foreign policy mostly took a back seat but one topic came up twice.

>> for the first time in two decades, osama bin laden is not a threat to this country.

>> reporter: the president going out of his way to use the successful bin laden mission as a lesson on how washington should work.

>> one of my proudest possessions is the flag that the s.e.a.l. team took with them on the mission to get bin laden . on it are each of their names. some may be democrats. some may be republicans. but that doesn't matter.

>> reporter: but the presidential campaign was never far from his mind. one of his signature proposals -- creating a 30% minimum tax rate for multimillionaires and billionaires.

>> asking a billionaire to pay at least as much as his secretary in taxes? most americans would call that common sense.

>> reporter: the president could have been talking directly to mitt romney who released his tax returns tuesday showing he paid less than 15%. under the president's proposal romney's tax bill would more than double.

>> he thinks america is on the right track.

>> reporter: in an interview with brian williams , romney questioned the optimistic tone.

>> the idea that we are on the right track is foreign to people here.

>> reporter: the emotional high point of the evening took place before anyone uttered a word. arizona congresswoman gabby giffords who is resigning her seat today received an enthusiastic bipartisan salute, including a special greeting from the president. while the president's traditional post state of the union travel schedule looks awfully like a campaign swing, he's hitting five battleground states in three days from michigan, arizona, nevada, colorado and iowa, matt.

Source: http://video.today.msnbc.msn.com/today/46128879/

sopa blackout southland protect ip act wisconsin recall wisconsin recall internet blackout jim caldwell

China's 'Year of the Dragon' baby boom: A guide (The Week)

New York ? The Chinese new year just began this week, but the rush to have babies under the culture's luckiest zodiac sign has been underway for months

China is in the midst of a baby-making boom, as couples try to ensure that their children are born during the Year of the Dragon, which began Monday. The dragon is considered the most auspicious zodiac sign in Chinese culture. Once reserved for the emperor, it is believed to bring strength and good luck. Here, a brief guide to the coming wave of "dragon babies":

Why is the Year of the Dragon so lucky?
Eleven of the 12 zodiac symbols in Chinese culture are animals ? the dragon is the only one that is a mythical creature. That's one of the reasons it's so lucky, and that's why the state news agency Xinhua says China is expecting a 5 percent jump in the number of babies born in 2012. Boys, especially, are said to be destined for success and wealth if they're born under the sign.

SEE MORE: China vs. Harry Potter

?

So Chinese parents are scheduling their pregnancies accordingly?
They sure are. The math is easy enough to figure out: Parents have to get pregnant by May 2 of this year to squeeze in their due date before Feb. 9, 2013, when the Year of the Dragon ends, and the less auspicious Year of the Snake begins. Once the lunar calendar turns over, the baby boom is expected to come to a screeching halt. "The dragon baby boom seems unlikely to have a significant impact on the total fertility rates in the long run,'' Dr. Zhang Yanxia tells the BBC.

How else will this affect China?
Infertility clinics are bracing for a spike in women seeking in vitro fertilization treatment during the coming year, says Dr. Chen Shee-Uan, director of reproductive endocrinology and infertility at the National Taiwan University Hospital.?And parents are sparing no expense to prepare for their dragon babies. As a result, nannies in Beijing have been able to double their rates, and "beds in the Chinese capital's Maternity Hospital are booked until August," says Ian MacKinnon in Britain's Telegraph. And the effects won't end there. The baby boomlet means all those dragon babies destined for such greatness will soon be locked in fierce competition for spots in China's best schools, as the dragon babies of the year 2000 are now.

Sources: BBC, Huffington Post, Telegraph, TIME

View this article on TheWeek.com
Get 4 Free Issues of The Week

Other stories from this topic:

Like on Facebook?-?Follow on Twitter?-?Sign-up for Daily Newsletter

Source: http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/oped/*http%3A//news.yahoo.com/s/theweek/20120124/cm_theweek/223630

four loko michael savage aj burnett aj burnett jason wu jason wu the fall

Vera Bradley Laptop Travel Tote

Vera Bradley has a new Laptop Travel Tote that’s designed to make travel with a laptop a bit easier.? This tote is 11 1/4″ x 14 3/4″ x 3″ with a 12″ strap drop.? It’s made of Vera Bradley’s standard quilted cotton fabrics.? There’s a laptop compartment on one side; the other side has a [...]

Source: http://the-gadgeteer.com/2012/01/25/vera-bradley-laptop-travel-tote/

ciara world trade center memorial world trade center memorial spartacus spartacus forrest gump sunday night football

Jerry Ashton: Hip Hop: Time to Occupy It

"Hip Hop was stolen from us just like the economy was stolen from Americans by Wall Street," declares famed hip-hop photographer, 'Brother Ernie' Paniccioli.

And, he finds this to be grand theft at its worst. "As close as I can determine, hip hop earns between $250-500 billion a year. This includes ticket sales, hip hop clothing and merchandise, books, magazines and record sales as well as hip hop themed movies, DVD's etc. There is no 'trickle-down.' It all goes to the 1 percent at the top."

Any man who reveres David Lynch, John Coltrane, Richie Havens, The Dalai Lama, Public Enemy and Lee "Scratch" Perry and has done books on Punk, Hip Hop and Collage, is a member of The Universal Zulu Nation and a honorary member of The Black Panther Party is respected as a free thinker, if not a rebel.

Appropriately, he has gathered together a significant number of people who agree with him -- enough to make this movement and his Facebook page "Occupy Hip Hop Ernie Paniccioli," a must-visit site for music activists.

Relentless in his scorn, Ernie sees most of present-day hip hop and rap as being "the voice of the colonizer and the exploiter -- to make people who love hip hop into subservient consumers."

In Ernie's mind, what originated as a "voice for the voiceless" has become just one more way for Wall Street to extract money from people's pockets. "It is a war for the hearts and mind of our children," and he and his adherents are intent in promoting non-violent direct action and he is rallying them to "identify, unite and take action."

"It was first necessary to identify and target that which is wrong in commercialized rap and hip hop and how it is hurting us," Ernie says. (As example, the top 10 rap songs of 2009 were those that glorified the top 10 killers of black people: drugs, alcohol, unprotected sex, etc.)

"If you trace all of these things... follow the money... it all goes down to a certain small clique of criminal-minded people. It is organized, and it is criminal -- it is organized crime. And, we in the community are seriously considering a RICO action against this out-of-balance and out-of-control media."

Pride, courage, consciousness and clarity have been co-opted by people touting pimps and "hoes." "Hip hop was never pure, but it was organic. Today, this stuff is created in a lab by a mad scientist. Throw in a certain amount of profanity, the N-word, 'hate women' lyrics, violence and machismo, and you have a hit."

Ernie doesn't want to see the Occupy Hip Hop movement to become the music police, but a force to bring about a level music field in which everyone has a chance to be heard. Essentially, he feels the community is being subjected to the tyrannical equivalent of the musical 1 percent.

"How come we don't hear the music of the 99 percent?

We're trying to expand the vocabulary, and rap is an oral tradition. What once was used to bring people together now serves to separate them. Hip hop has always been here -- always a native vibe, a spiritual force that came from the people."

Ernie understands the power of social media in this struggle against mainstream media and leverages it in his Internet presence. "The FCC is asleep at the wheel, which is why we need to have our voices heard," Ernie declares. "Media has done all that they can do to suppress dissent and have their way.

This "dumbing down" is not accidental -- the dumbed-down masses are easier to control (and sell to), and we are sick of it."

Ernie goes into significant detail at Manifesto.com and his piece "So Much Things to Say" as well as his poem "Thank You" on YouTube as a self-described "Big Red Alarm Clock."

"You will better understand how to hold Hip Hop... that force that evolved from the outcry concerning the decimation of the inner city... what we have termed the the urban blight."

"Today's blight is the music that attempts to pass for hip hop and rap," Ernie growls.
(You can check out Ernie's Facebook Page here).

?

Follow Jerry Ashton on Twitter: www.twitter.com/WrittenOffUSA

Source: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/jerry-ashton/hip-hop-time-to-occupy-it_b_1220881.html

enews mona simpson mona simpson grady sizemore grady sizemore samhain great pumpkin charlie brown

3 Strong Companies Investing in Themselves

It's no secret that corporations are sitting on huge piles of cash these days. In fact, by the latest count non-financial US companies have over $2 trillion in cash and other liquid assets on their books.

It's understandable that companies are still a little gun-shy in deploying that cash after the Great Recession. But with money market funds and Treasury bills paying paltry returns for the foreseeable future, businesses need to find other places to put all that dough to work.

Ideally, a company should use its capital to maximize long-term value for their shareholders. But unfortunately some managers understand this better than others. Many corporate executives are more concerned about empire-building than producing high returns on capital and often make reckless decisions with shareholders' money.

Decisions, Decisions

There are plenty of uses for a company's excess cash to try and generate strong returns for shareholders. They could plow it back into the business to fund growth, acquire other companies, or distribute it to shareholders through dividends.

Or the company could invest in itself; that is, buy back shares.

Investing in Themselves

When a company announces a stock buyback, it's a powerful signal to investors that management is confident in the long-term outlook of the company and that the share price is fundamentally undervalued.

And when the company actually buys back its shares, it has a direct benefit in that it reduces the number of shares outstanding. This means that earnings are divided among fewer shares. In other words, your piece of the pie just got bigger.

Use Caution

Stock buybacks don't always add value, however. If a company commences a share repurchase and shares go down in value, clearly it's not a good use of shareholders' cash. The money would have been better allocated elsewhere to generate returns for shareholders.

So make sure you look at the underlying business before investing in a company, because all the buybacks in the world won't save a company headed off a cliff.

3 Financially Solid Companies Buying Back Stock

I've highlighted 3 companies below who have been buying back significant amounts of their shares outstanding. And because each one has a strong cash balance and no long-term debt, they're well-positioned to continue buying back stock in the future:

Bed Bath & Beyond (BBBY)

Cash & Securities to Total Assets: 26%
Long-term Debt to Total Assets: 0%

Bed Bath & Beyond is a home furnishings retailer with over 1,000 stores in the United States and Canada.

Since December 2004, Bed Bath & Beyond has spent $3.7 billion buying back its stock, including $859 million through the first 9 months of 2011. And total shares outstanding has decreased by 13% since 2007. That's one way to grow EPS.

Insperity (NSP)

Cash & Securities to Total Assets: 42%
Long-term Debt to Total Assets: 0%

Insperity is a leading Professional Employment Organization (PEO) that provides a wide array of Human Resource solutions to small and mid sized firms.

The company's sizeable cash position and zero debt has allowed it to buy back shares of its common stock. In the third quarter of 2011 alone, the company bought back over 668,000 shares of stock (~3% of shares outstanding). As of September 30, 2011, it was authorized to repurchase an additional 1,352,089 shares under its share repurchase program.

Accenture plc (ACN)

Cash & Securities to Total Assets: 33%
Long-term Debt to Total Assets: 0%

Accenture provides consulting and technology services to clients around the globe. With very little fixed assets and capital expenditure requirements, the company is able to return a substantial portion of its cash flow to shareholders through stock buybacks and dividends.

On top of paying a dividend that yields 2.4%, the company has been aggressively buying back its shares outstanding. From fiscal 2007 through fiscal 2011, the company generated $13.6 billion in free cash flow. It spent a whopping $12.5 billion of that buying back its stock.

And in its latest 10-Q, the company stated that it "intend[s] to continue to use a significant portion of cash generated from operations for share repurchases during the remainder of fiscal 2012."

The Bottom Line

With the economy improving and cash representing the highest percentage of total assets since 1959, it's time companies start putting that money to good use to generate decent returns for shareholders. One way is to invest in itself and buy back its shares.

That is, of course, if the company is worth investing in.

Todd Bunton is the Growth & Income Stock Strategist for Zacks.com and Co-Editor with Steve Reitmeister of the Reitmeister Value Investor that snaps up discounted value stocks and sells them after the market realizes their true worth for long-term gains.

Read the full analyst report on ACN

Read the full analyst report on ASF

Read the full analyst report on BBBY

Source: http://www.zacks.com/commentary/19973/3+Strong+Companies+Investing+in+Themselves

safeway standing rib roast powerball rajon rondo its a wonderful life its a wonderful life rex ryan

Russian Mars Probe Crash Sets Off Confusion, Conspiracy Theories (SPACE.com)

When an ill-fated Russian Mars probe fell to Earth over the weekend, the spacecraft's untimely demise set off a flurry of conflicting media reports and conspiracy theories.

Russia's Phobos-Grunt space probe suffered a debilitating malfunction shortly after its November 2011 launch, which stranded it in low-Earth orbit for more than two months before it succumbed to gravitational forces and plummeted through the atmosphere on Jan. 15.

The $165 million spacecraft reportedly broke apart over the Pacific Ocean, but inconsistent reports soon surfaced, which sparked different theories about where the probe had landed, and what had caused it to malfunction in the first place.

The Russian Federal Space Agency is notorious for closely controlling any information released, but part of the issue is the tricky nature of calculating re-entry predictions for dead satellites and other pieces of orbital debris.

"Predicting an impact point is problematic because it involves fundamental factors that cannot be noted in advance and cannot be measured in real time, such as atmospheric density," space consultant James Oberg, a former NASA space shuttle mission control engineer, told SPACE.com. "These can only be averaged or guessed, sometimes even after re-entry. These known unknowns are more than enough to throw off any kind of prediction by thousands of kilometers." [Photos: Russia's Phobos-Grunt Mission to Mars Moon]

A curious case

Still, the Phobos-Grunt saga was shrouded in mystery long before it crashed back to Earth. The cause of the spacecraft's malfunction has not yet been determined, and claims ranging from accidental radar interference to outright sabotage have been reported by Russian news outlets.?

Russian space officials suggested that strong emissions from an American radar station on an island in the Pacific Ocean could have accidentally interfered with Phobos-Grunt, reported the Russian news agency Ria Novosti.

But, these claims were later dismissed by a Russian scientist who was involved with the development of Phobos-Grunt. Alexander Zakharov, a scientist at the Russian Academy of Science Space Research Institute, told Ria Novosti that the radar theory is "far-fetched," and suggested instead that issues with the spacecraft itself were likely to blame.

American experts were also quick to write off the idea that a U.S. radar station could have been the source of the spacecraft's demise ? accidental or otherwise.

"I do not see any evidence that supports the suggestion that the United States somehow played a role in the failure of Phobos-Grunt," Brian Weeden, an orbital debris expert at the Secure World Foundation in Washington, D.C., told SPACE.com in an email. "I have examined the claims made about the U.S. tracking radar on the South Pacific potentially interfering with Phobos-Grunt and they are without any credibility whatsoever."

Following Phobos-Grunt's fall from space, the Russian Federal Space Agency released an official statement confirming that the spacecraft had landed in the Pacific Ocean. But, the agency admitted this impact zone was based on orbital predictions, and they lacked tracking or visual data.

This fueled speculation that the spacecraft had overshot its predicted landing zone and broke apart elsewhere along its orbital track, such as over Argentina or Brazil. [6 Biggest Spacecraft to Fall Uncontrolled From Space]

"You're never quite sure," said Emmet Fletcher, Space Surveillance and Tracking Manager at the European Space Agency (ESA). "Eyewitness accounts are good, so if someone sees it coming in and takes a picture, that can tell you about where it lands. But, if you're fortunate and it lands in the ocean, which is where we like things to go, there shouldn't be anyone there. So, if something lands in the South Pacific, you won't have anyone there to observe it."

Tracking a falling spacecraft

Fletcher is part of ESA's Space Situational Awareness team which monitors space junk and operates a network of tracking stations. Fletcher could not comment specifically on Phobos-Grunt, but he has worked on coordinated international efforts to deal with spacecraft and orbital debris that has re-entered the atmosphere.

"It's all a learning experience," Fletcher said. "There are lessons learned and conclusions about what we can do better. A lot of work is being done to standardize data."

Right now, different agencies and organizations have different methods for calculating re-entry predictions. This has advantages and disadvantages, Fletcher said, but ultimately, a more standardized approach could help foster more efficient cooperation between entities.

But the story of Phobos-Grunt doesn't end there.

In a recent development, the U.S. military appeared to have removed links to Phobos-Grunt tracking data on a public website that ordinarily details such events.

Information about the doomed Russian probe's re-entry was removed from Space Track, a website operated by U.S. Strategic Command. The military also did not publish any confirmation of the probe's fall, which breaks with standard protocol.

This handling of the data seemed unusual, said Weeden, a former U.S. Air Force officer, who once also directed the Joint Space Operations Center's orbital analyst training program.

"[T]he final re-entry prediction data is still missing from the U.S. military's website where they normally publish the information," Weeden said. "I do not really have any idea why they would withhold this information for Phobos-Grunt. They have published the full re-entry prediction data on three other space objects so far this year, and they are continuing to publish re-entry predictions as normal for the next object, Cosmos 2176, which is a Russian Kompass-2 satellite that is due to re-enter in the next several days. "

Falling spacecraft and human error

But Friday evening (Jan. 20), a spokesperson from U.S. Strategic Command told SPACE.com that data was not, in fact, removed from the Space Track website. Rather, a human error had accidentally misfiled the information.

"All actions taken during the Phobos-Grunt re-entry were designed to improve international data sharing on this event," Julie Ziegenhorn, Deputy Chief of Public Affairs at U.S. Strategic Command, said in an email statement. "Unfortunately, shortly after the re-entry event, there was human error that led to all Phobos-Grunt entries on spacetrack.org being misfiled into the year 2011 data, which made it difficult for customers to access the information. Shortly after the error was discovered, the information was re-posted to the site and is accessible at this time."

Still, experts are hoping that more precise information about Phobos-Grunt's impact zone will be released, but it's unclear which agencies will make their reports available to the public. ESA plans to release a final report on Phobos-Grunt, but officials are currently still waiting for "additional data from non-ESA sources," agency spokesperson Andreas Schepers said in an email.

The Phobos-Grunt spacecraft was designed to collect soil samples from the Mars moon Phobos and return them to Earth in 2014. The botched mission is one of several space failures that plagued the Russian Federal Space Agency over the past year.

"It was one of the boldest cavalry charges, and they said it was a cavalry charge to restore Russia's honor in space," Oberg said. "But, cavalry charges can also wind up disastrously, so the use of that metaphor was particularly apt."

You can follow SPACE.com staff writer Denise Chow on Twitter @denisechow. Follow SPACE.com for the latest in space science and exploration news on Twitter @Spacedotcom and on Facebook.

Source: http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/space/*http%3A//news.yahoo.com/s/space/20120122/sc_space/russianmarsprobecrashsetsoffconfusionconspiracytheories

urban meyer ohio state traffic report traffic report opensky dia frampton dia frampton zook

I Really Want to Drink This Wine Aged with a 4.5 Billion-Year-Old Meteorite [Booze]

I'm not that big a fan of the vino but I really want to drink the Cabernet Sauvignon from Ian Hutchinson's vineyard in Chile's Cachapoal Valley. Why? Well, for some reason, it's aged with a three-inch, 4.5 billion years old meteor from the asteroid belt between Mars and Jupiter. SPACEWINE. More »

Source: http://feeds.gawker.com/~r/gizmodo/full/~3/gk53HJZpLgU/i-really-want-to-drink-this-wine-aged-with-a-45-billion+year+old-meteorite

patsy cline portlandia detroit lions pierre thomas beyonce gives birth playoffs kelly clarkson

No. 24 Saint Mary's holds off Santa Clara 93-77 (AP)

SANTA CLARA, Calif. ? Santa Clara outshot and outran No. 24 Saint Mary's most of the night and held a slim lead in the second half.

What the Broncos couldn't do was outmuscle the Gaels.

That ? and another big night from Matthew Dellavedova ? was too much to overcome.

Dellavedova had 26 points and seven assists, Rob Jones added 14 points and 15 rebounds and No. 24 Saint Mary's held off Santa Clara 93-77 on Saturday.

"We had a chance to get some stops and didn't come up with the finished product with some rebounds and that hurt us," Broncos coach Kerry Keating said. "Even the chances that we had to get those rebounds, after we didn't finish the play we were fouling."

Saint Mary's, which moved into the Top 25 this week, outrebounded Santa Clara 53-38 and shot 45 free throws, 30 in the second half. Even on a night when Kevin Foster passed Steve Nash on the Broncos career scoring list, that was a hurdle Santa Clara couldn't get past.

Niyi Harrison had 23 points and nine rebounds for Santa Clara (8-10, 0-5 West Coast Conference). Foster added 22 but the Broncos couldn't sustain their early momentum and lost their sixth straight.

Playing in front of the first sellout crowd at the Leavey Center in nearly two years seemed to give Santa Clara a spark. So did Foster.

The Broncos' junior had eight points in the first 5 minutes and later made his third 3-pointer to put Santa Clara up 29-23 midway through the first half. Santa Clara ran into some foul trouble, which allowed Saint Mary's to make a brief run and take a 44-42 lead before Foster hit another 3.

Robert Garrett then blocked a shot by the Gaels' Tim Williams under the basket. Brandon Clark grabbed the rebound and threw a long pass to Evan Roquemore, who raced down the court for the easy layup to make it 47-44.

"We did what we wanted to do," Keating said. "We played really well in that first half. But typical of a young team, we're trying to figure out how to carry that over."

The Gaels were outhustled for most of the game and trailed midway through the second half before going on a 15-2 run to pull away for their ninth consecutive win. Saint Mary's (19-2, 9-0) is off to its best start under 11th-year coach Randy Bennett.

Jorden Page scored a career-high 19 points and Brad Waldow had 14 points and a career-best 16 rebounds for Saint Mary's, which has won six straight in the series.

Jones, who nearly had a double-double before halftime with 11 points and eight rebounds, scored on a layup to pull Saint Mary's within one at the break.

Santa Clara opened the second half as well as it ended the first, getting six points from Harrison.

Knocked out of the game earlier after crashing to the floor going for a rebound, Harrison came back and gave the Broncos a 56-52 lead with his second dunk in a 57-second span.

Bennett called a timeout to try to calm his team but it took some time for the Gaels to recover. They missed seven of 11 free throw attempts after the timeout and trailed 64-63 before going on their 15-2 run.

"They had a little run early in the second half but after that I thought we did a good job on them defensively," Bennett said. "It didn't seem like a 16-point win."

Keating, frustrated at seeing his team's shot at an upset slip away, was called for a technical foul with 4:47 left and the Gaels up 79-68.

Saint Mary's continued to pull away and went up by 14 following Stephen Holt's driving layup with just over 2 minutes remaining.

Foster, who finished 6 of 16, moved into fourth place on the Broncos career scoring list. He passed Dennis Awtry and Nash, now an NBA star with the Phoenix Suns.

Source: http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/sports/*http%3A//news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20120122/ap_on_sp_co_ga_su/bkc_t25_santa_clara

curtis painter apple news conference apple news conference apple news apple iphone apple iphone chris christie

Camera+ 2.4VS (for iPhone)

Camera+ has been a favorite, highly-rated iPhone photo app in the iTunes app store for a few years. The $1.99 app matches the competing Camera Genius in a lot of ways, with many features in common, though this latest version of Camera+ has a slicker interface and more photo enhancements. For its part, Camera Genius ($1.99, 3.5 stars) offers a bit more in shutter options and sharing targets. Camera+ features fall into two main categories, shooting and photo enhancing. How does it compare with the best iPhone camera apps around?

Shooting
If you use Camera+ to replace the iPhone's default Camera app, you'll get several extra shooting options. First, a timer, common to pretty much all standalone digital cameras, lets you set up a shot and walk into the photo yourself. But you don't get all of Camera Genius's ingenious ways to trigger the shutter?using a noise, on focusing, and with a full screen shutter button. These are less of a concern now that you can shoot with the iPhone's Volume button or using its front camera.

The app also, like Camera Genius, offers a "Stabilizer," which, rather than adding actual stabilization as is done optically or digitally on digital camera, simply waits till you're holding the camera steady to snap a picture. This worked equally as well as Camera Genius's equivalent. A burst mode does a better job than Camera Genius's equivalent feature. By lowering the image resolution, I could shoot more rapid photos, though of course, the resulting images couldn't be blown up as much.

Another shooting possibility that Camera+, like Camera Genius, adds to the iPhone is the ability to specify separate focus and exposure points. It takes an interesting, if less intuitive approach than Genius: You touch the screen once on the spot you want the focus, and while holding that finger down touch another spot for exposure. After this you can drag either point around anywhere on screen. This only works with the better camera on the back of the phone; with the front camera I could only set the aperture point. But this was better than Camera Genius's, which showed separate focus and exposure points for the front camera, but in fact they didn't work separately.

A final shooting tool was the ability to set the flash always on?something not available in Camera Genius, but also something that will wear down your iPhone's battery quickly.

Enhancing
After taking your shots, photos appear in a smart-looking "Lightbox"?a photo gallery that looks like a contact sheet of film photos. From here, you can touch an image to get the Edit, Share, Save, and Info buttons. The first offers Scenes, Adjust, Crop, Effects, and Borders, each with their own subchoices. "Scenes" is like the feature offered on many point-and-shoot cameras, including Clarity, Auto, Flash, BackLit, Darken, Cloudy, Shade, Fluorescent, Sunset, Night, Portrait, Beach, Scenery, Concert, Food, and Text?a healthy selection! One drawback?unlike Snapseed ($4.99, 4 stars) and Camera Genius, you can only edit photos taken in the Camera+ app itself, not existing images in the Camera roll.

But you don't get sliders to adjust the lighting the way you do in Snapseed ($4.99, 4 stars) and Camera Genius; Camera+'s Adjust tab only let you rotate and flip the image. The Cropping tool is excellent, with large easy-to-grab handles and plenty of preset aspect ratios. One problem, though, was that I couldn?t rotate a preset from portrait to landscape orientation, as I could in Camera Genius.

The FX tab is one place Camera+ shines: you get four sets of nine effects: Color, Retro, Special, and Analog. Be warned, though, that the last set is an extra-cost item, only available for preview in the base app. The Special effects include HDR, polarize, color dodge, grunge, and cross process. It's just about everything you find in Instagram (Free, 3.0 stars) and Hipstamatic ($1.99, 3.0 stars). And each effect offers an Intensity slider for further adjustment.

Sharing
Once you've got your photo all dolled up the way you want it, your choices are Flickr, Facebook, and Twitter (as well as SMS and email, which you can do in the default Photo app). Camera Genius goes a bit beyond this, with Tumblr and Picasa sharing thrown in. Of course, both are a far cry from Instagram, which encourages deep delving into its own photo-centric social network based around small, usually stylized square images.

A Lot of Plusses
Camera+ 2.4VS is a beautifully designed app that enhances your iPhone camera and photo enjoyment. I actually find its slick interface design one of the best, but Camera Genius offers more shutter and sharing options, more editing control, and lets you work with existing images. Camera+ has a better burst mode and lots of fun effects. But for the ultimate in photo correction and enhancement, look to our Editor's Choice, Snapseed for iPhone.

More iPhone App Reviews:

??? CameraBag 1.93 (for iPhone)
??? Camera+ 2.4VS (for iPhone)
??? Camera Genius 4.2 (for iPhone)
??? Lookout for iPhone
??? StumbleUpon (for iPhone)
?? more

Source: http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/ziffdavis/pcmag/~3/benNEabU30g/0,2817,2399064,00.asp

lindsey lohan reed hastings cujo hpv vaccine hurricane tracking hurricane tracking flat tax

Marine's Iraq killings trial resumes in California

FILE - In this Aug. 30, 2007 file photo, Marine Corps Staff Sgt. Frank Wuterich arrives for his Article 32 Investigation Hearing at Camp Pendleton Marine Corps Base in San Diego County. Wuterich, the last defendant in the biggest and lengthiest criminal case against U.S. troops to arise from the Iraq war, is expected to stand trial this week, more than six years after his squad killed 24 Iraqi civilians in the town of Haditha, including unarmed women and children. (AP Photo/Denis Poroy, File)

FILE - In this Aug. 30, 2007 file photo, Marine Corps Staff Sgt. Frank Wuterich arrives for his Article 32 Investigation Hearing at Camp Pendleton Marine Corps Base in San Diego County. Wuterich, the last defendant in the biggest and lengthiest criminal case against U.S. troops to arise from the Iraq war, is expected to stand trial this week, more than six years after his squad killed 24 Iraqi civilians in the town of Haditha, including unarmed women and children. (AP Photo/Denis Poroy, File)

FILE - In this Jan. 5, 2012 file photo, United States Marine Staff Sgt. Frank Wuterich arrives at a court room at Camp Pendleton with lead defense attorney Neal Puckett in Camp Pendeton, Calif. Opening arguments in Wuterich's will be Monday, Jan. 9, 2012 _ more than six years after his Marine squad in 2005 killed 24 Iraqis, including unarmed women and children in the town of Haditha. (AP Photo/Lenny Ignelzi, File)

FILE - In this March 22, 2010 file photo, Marine Corps Staff Sgt. Frank Wuterich arrives for a pretrial hearing at Camp Pendleton Marine Corps Base in San Diego County, Calif. A squad mate of Wuterich, a Marine accused of killing unarmed Iraqi civilians testified that if he had to do it again, he would have called in an air strike to destroy a home where the group gunned down six people.(AP Photo/Denis Poroy, File)

Marine Corps Staff Sgt. Frank Wuterich, right, arrives for a court session at Camp Pendleton, flanked by his attorneys Neal Puckett, left, and Haytham Faraj, center, Friday, Jan. 20, 2012, in Camp Pendleton, Calif. Court was scheduled to reconvene Friday in a major Iraq war crimes case after a military judge's move fueled speculation that a plea deal was in the works for a soldier who led the killing of 24 unarmed Iraqi civilians. (AP Photo/Gregory Bull)

Marine Corps Staff Sgt. Frank Wuterich, center, arrives for a court session at Camp Pendleton, flanked by his attorneys Neal Puckett, left, and Haytham Faraj, right, Friday, Jan. 20, 2012, in Camp Pendleton, Calif. Court was scheduled to reconvene Friday in a major Iraq war crimes case after a military judge's move fueled speculation that a plea deal was in the works for a soldier who led the killing of 24 unarmed Iraqi civilians. (AP Photo/Gregory Bull)

CAMP PENDLETON, Calif. (AP) ? Testimony in the trial of a Marine sergeant charged in the biggest criminal case to emerge from the Iraq war resumed Friday with no explanation of what lawyers were negotiating during a two-day delay.

The judge advised jurors not to speculate on the reasons for the delay, and lawyers did not respond to repeated inquiries asking if there was talk of a plea deal.

"There were some negotiations going on and some other legal issues," Lt. Col. David Jones told the court before the all-Marine jury entered.

When the trial resumed, prosecutors showed long-disputed outtakes of a 2007 "60 Minutes" interview in which Staff Sgt. Frank Wuterich defended the decisions he made Nov. 19, 2005 ? the day his squad killed 24 unarmed Iraqi civilians in Haditha after a roadside bomb hit a Marine convoy, killing one and wounded two others.

Wuterich told "60 Minutes" he gave the interview because he wanted the truth to be told after being called a "monster" and "baby killer."

The 31-year-old was charged with nine counts of voluntary manslaughter and prosecutors have implicated him in 19 of the deaths ? including those of women and children. Most of the killings happened during a series of raids on homes after the bomb explosion.

Prosecutors have argued Wuterich lost control of himself after seeing his friend blown apart by the bomb.

When asked in the interview if he felt angry after the bomb hit, Wuterich said he felt no emotion and "was essentially like a machine." He said his mind went to another place and his training kicked in, prompting him to react.

He said he fired on five Iraqi men outside a car near the bombsite because the car was the only one out there at the time and the men started to run. He said he feared it was a car bomb or they had triggered the roadside explosion. After that, he said the squad stormed nearby homes believing they were chasing insurgents. The search continued throughout the day.

The young squad leader said in the "60 Minutes" interview he had never been in combat before that day but he had been trained to positively identify his targets before shooting to kill.

He said he believed his troops were under fire and it was coming from the direction of the homes.

After the first home, Wuterich said in the interview that he saw women and children had been killed but he didn't call for his squad to stop firing, saying he could not risk hesitating.

"You can't hesitate to make a decision," Wuterich said in the interview. "Hesitation equals being killed. I lost a fire team. I couldn't afford to lose anymore."

He said he saw some of the Iraqis as threats because they were military-age men and seemed to be suspicious.

The father of three said after he learned he had killed women and children that day, he could not sleep and was afraid of his dreams. His mother cried Friday as she listened to the tape.

Defense attorneys have said Wuterich did the best he could in the fog of war.

Jurors have been tasked with trying to decipher whether Wuterich acted appropriately as a squad leader that fateful day: Did he protect his Marines by going after the threat following the explosion, or did he go on a rampage, disregarding combat rules and leading his men to indiscriminately kill Iraqis?

Wuterich of Meriden, Conn., is one of eight Marines initially charged. None has been convicted.

Wuterich has said he regretted the loss of civilian lives but believed he was following the rules of engagement, which included unleashing deadly force if there was a hostile act or hostile intent by someone. Prosecutors have questioned why he didn't order his men to stop after finding no weapons or taking no gunfire during the raid on the first home.

One of his squad mates took the stand Friday. Sgt. Humberto Mendoza told jurors that after he helped remove the bodies of women and children who were riddled with bullets in a back bedroom of the second home, he felt himself questioning "things" that night.

Mendoza acknowledged he lied to investigators at first about what happened and wanted to cover it up to protect his squad, but he told jurors he decided it's time to tell the truth. Defense attorneys have pointed out many squad members had their cases dropped in exchange for testifying for the prosecution.

"Up to this day, I really don't know what happened in the back bedroom," Mendoza said.

Associated Press

Source: http://hosted2.ap.org/apdefault/386c25518f464186bf7a2ac026580ce7/Article_2012-01-21-Marines-Haditha/id-feac4118dbd24d7c94335528bc0ba337

todays news bergen bergen india news current news sons of anarchy sons of anarchy season 4