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Tuesday, December 6, 2011
USHER Gives His Grammy Award as a Surprise Birthday Gift to Producer RICO LOVE
The most exclusive invitation-only event during this year?s Art Basel Miami Beach turned in to an award-winning bombshell on Friday night, when one hundred of the music industry?s closest contemporaries were taken by complete surprise by one today?s leading music icons during a private dinner party at Vic & Angelo?s in South Beach. Half way [...]
Monday, December 5, 2011
Brees passes Saints past Lions
Brees throws 3 TD passes, including decisive strike to Sproles in 4th quarter
By BRETT MARTEL
updated 11:37 p.m. ET Dec. 4, 2011
NEW ORLEANS - Drew Brees rifled a 20-yard pass over the middle in just the right spot for Lance Moore to make a leaping catch between two defenders in the end zone.
The receiver might have been impressed if he hadn't seen it so many times before.
"He doesn't amaze us. That's just Brees out there," Moore said. "He does it every single day in practice. The rest of the world doesn't get to see it but once a week."
Brees made a little more history for New Orleans and kept mistake-prone Detroit struggling, passing for 342 yards and three touchdowns as the Saints won their fourth straight, 31-17 over the Lions on Sunday night.
The performance gave Brees 4,031 yards this season, making him the first quarterback in NFL history to eclipse the 4,000-yard mark in the first 12 games.
"We were able to spread the ball around and come up with some big plays," Brees said. "I hope our hopes and aspirations are bigger than setting records."
His touchdown passes went for 67 yards to Robert Meachem, 20 yards to Lance Moore and 6 yards to Darren Sproles. He also connected eight times with tight end Jimmy Graham for 89 yards as the Saints (9-3) improved to 6-0 at home while taking a two-game lead over Atlanta in the NFC South."He's a stud, a young raw talent but a guy who's figuring it out quickly," Brees said of Graham, who became the first Saints tight end to have 1,000 yards receiving in a season. "I love most his heart and desire."
Matthew Stafford passed for 408 yards and one touchdown for the Lions (7-5), who have lost five of their last seven, but remain in playoff contention.
The Lions hurt themselves with 11 penalties for 107 yards, including three offensive pass interference penalties and a personal foul on tight end Brandon Pettigrew for shoving an official who was trying to get between him and Saints safety Roman Harper after the whistle.
"We lost to the Saints, but we beat ourselves today. Our offense continued to get derailed by penalties," Lions coach Jim Schwartz said. "We need to act accordingly. We need to be a team that doesn't beat ourselves. We have talent, we have good schemes, good coaching. We cannot afford to be selfish and put the team at risk of taking points off the board and there was way too much of that today."
The mistakes made it impossible for the Lions to keep pace with the league's No. 1 offense, and Detroit missed a chance to take a one-game lead over Chicago and Atlanta in the NFC wild-card race.
"We had a great opportunity to do what we wanted to do," Stafford said. "Obviously, we did not do it tonight. Smart football teams are still playing in January. Teams that make smart decisions don't beat themselves."
Mark Ingram scored New Orleans' first touchdown on a 14-yard run. The Saints then built a 24-7 halftime lead on the touchdowns to Meachem and Moore before Detroit showed signs of mounting a comeback in the third quarter.
Jason Hanson's 31-yard field goal made it 24-10. The Lions pulled within one score on Maurice Morris' 9-yard touchdown reception from Stafford, capping a nine-play, 88-yard drive.
Hanson lined up for 55-yarder early in the fourth quarter that could have pulled the Lions even closer, but it missed wide left.
"We've got a lot of work to do still ... but I like the fact that we're playing with confidence," Saints coach Sean Payton said. "I like the fact that we answered in the second half when the momentum shifted."
That answer came on Sproles' TD, which capped a seven-play, 55-yard drive on which Brees found Graham four times for 46 yards.
Graham said he was in man-to-man coverage, "and Drew laid a couple in there for me."
"He's a surgeon out there and makes me look good," Graham added. "When your quarterback has confidence in you, it raises you to a new level."
Although the Lions were without Ndamukong Suh because of his two-game suspension, and also without injured defensive backs Chris Houston (left knee) and Louis Delmas (left knee), Schwartz said that was no excuse for several defensive lapses, particularly in the first half.
"We played poorly on defense. We never gave ourselves a chance," Schwartz said. "We didn't get the job done in coverage, we didn't get the job done rushing the passer."
Still, Detroit got more pressure on Brees than the Saints' recent opponents, sacking him twice, including rookie Nick Fairley's first career sack. Brees had not been sacked in three previous games.
Stafford completed 31 of 44 passes, but was sacked three times and intercepted by Tracy Porter.
Nate Burleson had five catches for 93 yards, while Calvin Johnson had six catches for 69 yards.
Meachem caught three passes for 119 yards.
After Meachem's TD made it 17-0, the Lions responded with an 80-yard scoring drive on which Stafford completed all six of his passes. Kevin Smith's 2-yard TD run made it 17-7.
Moore's score with 22 seconds left in the first half increased the lead to 24-7, but the Lions had a chance to get some points in the final seconds after Titus Young beat Saints defensive back Patrick Robinson deep down the left sideline for a 52-yard gain to the Saints 24.
Robinson saved a touchdown by pushing Young out of bounds, then made amends for his earlier mistake in coverage by coming off the end to block Hanson's field-goal attempt as time expired in the half.
The first quarter was more of a defensive struggle, with the only scoring coming on John Kasay's 39-yard field goal that gave New Orleans a 3-0 lead.
His kick capped a methodical 13-play, 41-yard drive during which the Saints converted three third downs.
Notes: Lions T Jeff Backus set a new franchise record with his 172nd consecutive start, surpassing Hall of Fame CB Dick LeBeau. ... Schwartz said Fairley was limited by pain in his left foot, which he'd injured during training camp, but X-rays were negative. ... Brees is the second quarterback in NFL history to pass for 4,000 or more yards in six straight seasons. Peyton Manning did it from 1999-2004. ... Graham now has 1,046 yards this season, making him the first Saints tight end to have more than 1,000 receiving in a season.
? 2011 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.
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More newsCan Bears overcome Forte injury?
??Chicago's playoff hopes appear dim, though Rodney Harrison and Mike Florio also discuss the Giants' confidence and the Broncos' potential.
PFT's 10-pack: Packers are closing in on 16-0
??PFT's 10-pack: Many believed that, if the Packers could get past the giant-killing Giants in Week 13, the defending Super Bowl champs would be virtually guaranteed a perfect regular season. Given the current state of the four remaining opponents, that outcome is looking more and more likely.
Source: http://nbcsports.msnbc.com/id/45548036/ns/sports-nfl/
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Syria must sign Arab peace plan by Sunday: Qatar (Reuters)
DOHA (Reuters) ? The Arab League gave Syria until Sunday to sign an initiative to end its military crackdown on nearly a year of pro-democracy protests, Qatar's foreign minister said on Saturday.
"There has been some communication with the Syrians. If they want to come (and sign) tomorrow they can," said Sheikh Hamad bin Jassim al-Thani, speaking in Doha after a meeting of an Arab foreign ministers committee tasked with following up on the Syrian crisis.
The committee also confirmed sanctions on Syria, freezing assets for 19 top officials and associates of President Bashar al-Assad's administration and banning them from travelling to Arab countries, a statement said.
It also ordered a 50 percent reduction in Syria flights.
(Reporting by Regan Doherty; Editing by Louise Ireland)
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Sunday, December 4, 2011
Contrite Boeheim commits to child abuse awareness
Syracuse head coach Jim Boeheim reacts after apologizing for statements he made earlier about the Bernie Fine sexual abuse case after Syracuse defeated Florida 72-68 in an NCAA college basketball game in Syracuse, N.Y., Friday, Dec. 2, 2011. (AP Photo/Kevin Rivoli)
Syracuse head coach Jim Boeheim reacts after apologizing for statements he made earlier about the Bernie Fine sexual abuse case after Syracuse defeated Florida 72-68 in an NCAA college basketball game in Syracuse, N.Y., Friday, Dec. 2, 2011. (AP Photo/Kevin Rivoli)
Syracuse head coach Jim Boeheim reacts after apologizing for statements he made earlier about the Bernie Fine sexual abuse case after Syracuse defeated Florida 72-68 in an NCAA college basketball game in Syracuse, N.Y., Friday, Dec. 2, 2011. (AP Photo/Kevin Rivoli)
Syracuse head coach Jim Boeheim reacts after apologizing for statements he made earlier about the Bernie Fine sexual abuse case after Syracuse defeated Florida 72-68 in an NCAA college basketball game in Syracuse, N.Y., Friday, Dec. 2, 2011. (AP Photo/Kevin Rivoli)
Syracuse head coach Jim Boeheim apologizes for statements he made previously about the Bernie Fine sexual abuse case after Syracuse defeated Florida 72-68 in an NCAA college basketball game in Syracuse, N.Y., Friday, Dec. 2, 2011. (AP Photo/Kevin Rivoli)
SYRACUSE, N.Y. (AP) ? Two weeks after vilifying two former ballboys who accused his longtime assistant of child molestation, Syracuse men's basketball coach Jim Boeheim said Saturday he'll campaign against child abuse even though he knows his motives will be questioned.
"We believed in helping kids long before this. I'm sure people are always going to question why you do something, but we're going to do this and continue to do it," Boeheim said in a phone interview with The Associated Press. "We don't do it for what people might say."
The comments came a day after a postgame press conference in which a drawn-looking Boeheim apologized in a halting voice for initially disparaging the men who accused Bernie Fine of molesting them as minors. Fine has denied the allegations.
A few people had called on Boeheim to resign or be fired when the accusations first surfaced, and he was criticized as callous for saying the accusations were lies motivated by money.
Boeheim first softened his stance earlier this week. After Fine was fired Sunday, Boeheim released a statement saying he regretted any statements he made that might have been "insensitive to victims of abuse." Then on Tuesday, Boeheim apologized but said again he didn't regret defending his old friend based on the information he had at the time and said he had never worried about his job status in 36 years.
By Friday, he was far more contrite.
"I believe I misspoke very badly in my response to the allegations that have been made," said Boeheim, who paused frequently during a postgame press conference. "I shouldn't have questioned what the accusers expressed or their motives. I am really sorry that I did that, and I regret any harm that I caused."
Boeheim and his wife, Juli, spent time Thursday at the McMahon/Ryan Child Advocacy Center in Syracuse. He said they want to raise awareness about the pervasiveness of child abuse.
"We're going to try to do this because it's our community, and that's what we're going to continue to do," Boeheim told the AP.
He insists the marked shift in his public statements over two weeks is real and not being scripted by the university's chancellor or other outside forces.
"I think in some ways it definitely is genuine," said Nick Caneo, a 19-year-old sophomore studying economics, said of the center visit. "But on top of it, it definitely is a PR thing,"
Mark Grimm, an adjunct media professor at Siena College, said he was shocked by how unprepared Boeheim was Tuesday night.
"Clearly, he took a radical turn between the Tuesday and Friday press conferences. There's no question. He was in over his head there for a while," Grimm said. "They give him a standing ovation when he walks in the Carrier Dome, but remember, these are hard-core Syracuse fans. The whole other community ? many of them are appalled."
University spokesman Kevin Quinn declined comment.
Boeheim is easily the most recognized person in this upstate New York city of 145,000 and the public face of Syracuse University. Forbes magazine puts the worth of Boeheim's squad at $17 million, eighth best in the NCAA, while the industry research group SportsOneSourceGroup says the team probably accounts for $40 million a year in merchandise sales.
And in a city where the economy has faltered along with the rest of the Rust Belt, and where headlines often involve the words, "record-setting snow," there's another reason to support the coach: Basketball is a balm.
Not anymore.
That changed Nov. 17, when the allegations against Fine were made public.
One of Fine's accusers, Bobby Davis, now 39, told ESPN that Fine molested him beginning in 1984 and that the sexual contact continued until he was around 27. A ball boy for six years, Davis said the abuse occurred at Fine's home, at Syracuse basketball facilities and on team road trips, including the 1987 Final Four. Davis' stepbrother, Mike Lang, 45, who also was a ball boy, told ESPN that Fine began molesting him while he was in the fifth or sixth grade.
A third accuser, 23-year-old Zach Tomaselli of Lewiston, Maine, came forward last Sunday. He said he told police that Fine molested him in 2002 in a Pittsburgh hotel room after a game. He said Fine touched him "multiple" times in that one incident.
The allegations have rattled the Syracuse community, especially so soon after the Penn State child sex abuse case in which former defensive coordinator Jerry Sandusky is accused in a grand jury indictment of sexually abusing eight boys over a 15-year period.
Chancellor Nancy Cantor immediately made it clear in an e-mail to the Syracuse community that the school would not tolerate abuse: "We know that many question whether or not a university in today's world can shine a harsh light on its athletics programs. We are aware that many wonder if university administrations are willing to turn a blind eye to wrongdoing that may disrupt a successful sports program. I can assure you I am not, and my fellow administrators are not. We hold everyone in our community to high standards and we don't tolerate illegal, abusive or unethical behavior ?no matter who you are."
Boeheim, who's paid a salary around $1.5 million, is a lifer.
Born and raised in nearby Lyons, Boeheim enrolled at Syracuse in 1962, was a walk-on with the basketball team that year, and by his senior season was a team captain along with Dave Bing. After graduating, Boeheim played pro ball in Scranton, Pa., then returned to Syracuse as a graduate assistant in 1969. He's been there ever since.
For the city and the university, there are plenty of reasons to protect Boeheim's reputation and the basketball program:
? The Syracuse Convention and Tourism estimates the university pumps $179 million in travel-related spending into the region every year.
? Just two NCAA teams, Syracuse and Kentucky, have drawn an average of more than 20,000 fans per game in each of the past 10 seasons.
? In his 36th season, there have been eight Big East titles, 28 NCAA Tournament appearances, three title games and a national championship in 2003.
Now, Boeheim's trying to shift the focus from his program to child abuse awareness.
Although he and his wife previously raised money for the McMahon/Ryan center, Boeheim said they want to raise awareness.
"We started working with them last summer," he said Saturday. "We met with them the other day, not just to be fundraisers but to bring more awareness to people in this area. In our area there's not as much awareness as there needs to be."
Julie Cecile, director of the McMahon/Ryan Center, said Boeheim spent about an hour at the facility Thursday.
"He was really sincere. He really was," Cecile said. "He's been with us since last year, and I think it's an ongoing education. We just have to really use this as a teachable moment, make people realize that there is a problem, and I think that he's going to be able to do that."
The center is a nonprofit organization dedicated to ending child abuse through intervention and education.
Boeheim said he was surprised to learn how many child abuse victims don't come forward.
"I don't think people realize how much abuse there is and how much work needs to be done," Boeheim said. "That's what I think I learned from talking to people at McMahon/Ryan house; people don't realize the magnitude of this problem. I really don't, and it's something that needs to be addressed in this community. We have started to now realize we need to do more than ever."
___
AP Basketball Writer Jim O'Connell in New York and AP Writers John Kekis, Meghan Barr and Ben Dobbin in Syracuse contributed to this report.
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Saturday, December 3, 2011
Swiss Government Declares Downloading for Personal Use Legal ...
The government of Switzerland has issued a statement declaring that it will not take action to alter current copyright laws allowing the downloading of music and movies for personal use. The statement is the result of a lengthy study conducted by the Swiss government into the impact of so-called ?piracy? on the entertainment industry.
The entertainment industry has been complaining in Switzerland ? as in the US and elsewhere ? that the unauthorized downloading of music and movies has harmed their business. The situation in Switzerland is somewhat unique, in that current copyright law considers the downloading of content for personal use as acceptable and legal. The entertainment industry has been lobbying the Swiss government to change the law. This study is the government?s response.
Despite the industry?s claims that downloading undermines their business, this study shows that the effect of unauthorized downloading on the industry?s bottom line is negligible. One key finding of the study is that downloaders spend as much if not more to acquire content legally as those who do not download. Researchers found no change in amount of disposable income spent on music and movies, despite the fact that roughly one third of Swiss people engage in some form of downloading. The government concluded, then, that no change to the current legal structure was necessary, and urged the entertainment industry to grow and adapt with the changes in technology and in consumer habits, rather than trying to suppress progress.
Switzerland?s findings are just the latest in a series of reports showing that the downloading of music and movies is far less harmful than the entertainment industry would have us believe. In July Douglas C. Merrill, formerly of Google and then EMI, one of the three main record labels, said in a keynote address that his research while at EMI showed that users of torrenting service LimeWire were among the best customers in the iTunes music store. Around the same time, Telepolis published a report (Google Translation) stating that users of the recently raided kino.to website tended to pay more at the box office than the average moviegoer. Meanwhile, another study conducted by Northwestern University (PDF) showed that users of peer-to-peer client software ? i.e., BitTorrent users ? bring in a substantial amount of money for the large ISPs.
A Google Translation of the Swiss press release may be found here. A PDF of the government study, which is in German, may be found here.
What do you think? Does downloading really harm the music and movie industries? Let us know in the comments.
About Shaylin ClarkShaylin Clark is a staff writer for WebProNews. Twitter: @stclark81, Google Plus: +Shaylin Clark
View all posts by Shaylin Clark
Source: http://www.webpronews.com/swiss-government-declares-downloading-for-personal-use-legal-2011-12
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NYC ethics board fines HUD official $10,000 (AP)
NEW YORK ? A regional administrator for the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development who previously served as an adviser to President Barack Obama has been fined $10,000 by a New York City ethics board.
Adolfo Carrion, HUD's regional director for New York and New Jersey, was fined for his dealings with an architect who helped him on a home project and later benefited from Carrion's approval of a local development deal when Carrion was president of the Bronx borough.
Carrion conceded in a disposition released Thursday that he broke the city's conflicts-of-interest law. He agreed to the $10,000 settlement with the city Conflicts of Interest Board, the board said.
Carrion hired architect Hugo Subotovsky in 2006 to design a porch and deck on Carrion's Victorian home on City Island in the Bronx. At the time, Carrion was president of the Bronx borough and Subotovsky was part of a team seeking approval of a development called Boricua Village, which included a 14-story college building and 679 units of housing.
Carrion recommended approval of the project in 2007 and it went to the city Planning Commission, which approved the necessary zoning changes.
In March 2009, Carrion was named director of the White House Office of Urban Affairs. Days later, the Daily News reported on the New York project. At the time, Carrion said: "I can say without hesitation or qualification that this modest renovation project was completely unrelated to my professional activities and entirely proper." The following month, Carrion paid the architect $4,247.50 for his work.
Carrion said in the disposition released Thursday that at the time he hired Subotovsky, he didn't know the architect was involved in the Boricua Village project. Still, he said, "I knew that he was an architect associated with similar projects that had previously come before my office seeking the city's approval."
He also said Subotovsky hadn't billed him because the project wasn't formally completed until Carrion scheduled a final inspection of the porch, which he did after hearing from the newspaper. Carrion said his wife had sent the architect an email asking how much they owed him back in 2007, but he never responded.
Prosecutors looked into the case and found no evidence of wrongdoing, the Bronx district attorney's office said Thursday.
As Bronx borough president, real estate developers were among Carrion's biggest campaign donors, and campaign finance records showed that Subotovsky and the team behind Boricua Village gave Carrion tens of thousands of dollars.
A HUD spokesman had no immediate comment Thursday. A spokesman for Subotovsky said the architect was pleased to have the matter resolved. "This settlement proves again that Mr. Subotovsky has no responsibility whatsoever in this matter," Hank Sheinkopf said in a statement.
___
Samantha Gross can be reached at http://www.twitter.com/samanthagross
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Friday, December 2, 2011
Good news: Minnesota expects $876 million surplus (AP)
ST. PAUL, Minn. ? The state of Minnesota's finances turned unexpectedly sunny Thursday when economists projected an $876 million surplus, just months after a bitter budget fight largely shut down its government for nearly three weeks.
The forecast covering the rest of the state's two-year budget cycle took state lawmakers by surprise. Many were ready for up to $1 billion in new red ink, and the possible repeat of the shutdown stalemate that briefly made the state a national model for political dysfunction. But state forecasters said income and corporate tax collections came in higher than expected, buoyed by an economy that has outperformed other states, and that recent changes in state and federal laws led to lower health-care costs than predicted.
It wasn't all happy news. Lawmakers can expect a $1.3 billion deficit when they convene in 2013 to pass a new state budget, the forecast said, and the state economist warned that a number of possible scenarios ? failure by Congress to extend the payroll tax cut or worsening financial instability in Europe among them ? could plunge the state right back into the red by the time of the next economic forecast, in late February.
In addition, forecasters predicted slower growth in the state's economy through 2013 even than what they had expected last February.
"It's not that we're doing as well as we should, it's not that there isn't a lot left to do," said State Economist Tom Stinson. "It's that we're outperforming the U.S. economy, and we're expected to continue to do that as well."
Still, Democratic Gov. Mark Dayton and Republican legislative leaders were jubilant at the state's first positive economic forecast since 2007.
Supporters of public funding for a new Minnesota Vikings stadium were likely to relish Thursday's news as well, given fears that another state deficit would have made it tough for lawmakers to back state money for a private businessman's project.
While stadium supporters had been hoping for a special legislative session for a stadium vote prior to the session set to begin Jan. 24, the forecast will leave more room for stadium politics in the regular session. Many feared the session would again be dominated by the fundamental dispute between the governor and GOP lawmakers over tax increases versus spending cuts as the best way to combat the state's perennial deficits.
"The Dayton tax hike plan is dead," Republican Senate Majority Leader Amy Koch said after the estimate was announced. And Dayton said he would indeed drop what had been his signature policy goal since the beginning of his 2010 campaign for governor: the push for income tax hikes on the state's wealthiest citizens.
"We have a surplus," Dayton said. "Assuming this holds up into next February's forecast, I'm not going to get involved in that debate again. They made their position very clear."
By law, surpluses are supposed to go into budget reserve accounts and be used as a cushion against future needs.
Republicans said the unexpected surplus showed the fruits of trying to reduce government spending in response to a struggling economy. "I think this is what happens when there's fiscal restraint," said House Speaker Kurt Zellers.
The last budget forecast, in February 2010, presented Dayton and lawmakers with a $5 billion projected deficit that didn't get resolved until the partial government shutdown reached its 20th day. In the end, Dayton and Republicans agreed to borrow on future proceeds from state tobacco settlement bonds, and delays in state aid payments to school districts.
It was a solution, House Democratic Leader Paul Thissen argued Thursday, that rendered the new surplus basically meaningless.
"I think most Minnesotans understand that, when you have some money in your savings account but you maxed out your credit card, your savings account balance isn't real," Thissen said. "That's exactly the situation we're facing today."
Still, the forecast left room for both parties to claim success for their favored policies. The document, prepared by economists at the Department of Minnesota Management and Budget, said two major factors fed the surplus: revenues that came in $358 million higher than expected, and spending that was $205 million below earlier estimates.
Most of the higher tax collections came through individual and corporate income taxes. Stinson said that's because Minnesota's economy is outpacing the national economy in most key measures: lower unemployment, higher wage growth and gross domestic product and a faster rate of adding back lost jobs.
At the same time, state spending for health care turned out to be lower, and is predicted to continue to be lower, than earlier estimates. State Budget Director Margaret Kelly said that's due in part to additional federal funding for Medicaid, and smaller enrollment in several new health programs for the needy than expected. Budget officials said they did not know why such enrollment was growing more slowly than expected.
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