Giants vs. Patriots II worth 4-year wait

New England Patriots quarterback Tom Brady talks to a friend as he leaves a news conference on Sunday, Jan. 29, 2012, in Indianapolis. The Patriots are scheduled to face the New York Giants in Super Bowl XLVI on Feb. 5. (AP Photo/Mark Humphrey)

New England Patriots quarterback Tom Brady talks to a friend as he leaves a news conference on Sunday, Jan. 29, 2012, in Indianapolis. The Patriots are scheduled to face the New York Giants in Super Bowl XLVI on Feb. 5. (AP Photo/Mark Humphrey)

FILE - In this Jan. 19, 2012, file photo, New York Giants' Chris Canty (99), Osi Umenyiora (72), Jason Pierre-Paul (90) and Justin Tuck share a laugh during NFL football practice, Thursday, Jan. 19, 2012, in East Rutherford, N.J. The Giants play the New England Patriots in Super Bowl XLVI on Feb. 5, in Indianapolis. (AP Photo/Bill Kostroun, File)

INDIANAPOLIS (AP) ? Four years after what many consider the best finish in Super Bowl history, the Giants and Patriots are facing off once more for the NFL championship. While there are no perfect records on the line this time, this matchup could be equally enticing.

It certainly looks that way heading into Sunday's big game. In 2008, with New England undefeated and having beaten New York in the regular-season finale, the Patriots were 12-point favorites. The spread now is 3, and the Giants beat them during the season.

Both teams are on quite a roll, too. The Patriots (15-3) have won 10 straight ? it was 18 in a row in '08 ? and the Giants (12-7) have five consecutive victories.

All of which matters not a bit, according to Bill Belichick, who will tie a record for head coaches with his fifth Super Bowl appearance.

"I've been asked about that game for several days now. All of the games in the past really don't mean that much at this point," said Belichick, 3-1 in NFL title games. "This game is about this team this year. There aren't really a lot of us coaches and players who were involved in that game, and very few players, in relative terms, between both teams. We are where we are now, and we're different than where we were earlier in the season. The Giants are where they are now, and I think they're different than where they were at different points of the season. To take it back years and years before that, I don't think it has too much bearing on anything."

The loss still reverberates for former Patriots linebacker Rosevelt Colvin.

"It was like getting punched in the stomach," he said. "I still can't watch the highlights from that game because of the opportunity we missed out on was so grand

Having come this far before is immeasurably helpful, according to Justin Tuck, the leader of the Giants' defense whose return to health and form has keyed New York's resurgence. He says the experience of four years ago in the Arizona desert will benefit everyone.

"The only thing that I tell the younger guys is make football football," Tuck said. "Don't make this game bigger than it has to be. Everybody around you is going to make it bigger, but we have to concentrate on why we're going out there. There's going to be a lot of parties. There's going to be a lot of people pulling at your coattail. Listen, if you go out there and you handle your business and you win this game, you can party all you want to after that.

"For me, personally, the first time I went to a Super Bowl I approached it as such ? as a once in a lifetime thing."

For Tuck, it wasn't. And while the defense he leads to Indianapolis isn't quite as overwhelming as the unit that made life miserable for Tom Brady in '08, it has been reinvigorated as the Giants surged to the NFC championship. It also is just as deep as the group that sacked Brady five times, hit him nine more ? Osi Umenyiora claimed he had that many hits alone ? and unnerved the usually unflappable star.

Today, it's Tuck, Umenyiora, All-Pro Jason Pierre-Paul, Dave Tollefson and linebacker Mathias Kiwanuka, who compare favorably with Umenyiora, Tuck, Michael Strahan, Jay Alford and LB Antonio Pierce in 2008.

Other than head coaches Belichick and New York's Tom Coughlin, that is the most common element between the two Super Bowls.

"It's been a strength of their team for as long as I can remember," Brady said. "Michael Strahan, as great of a player as he was, I think we played them in 2003 and they were still harassing the quarterback. It seems like they always have guys who can rush the quarterback. Justin Tuck is as good as they come. Osi week in and week out, he's a player who can ruin a game for an offense. You look at the group they have now, and they have a ton of depth at the defensive line position."

Controversial receivers Randy Moss and Plaxico Burress have been replaced by skilled playmakers like tight ends Rob Gronkowski and Aaron Hernandez in New England, wideouts Hakeem Nicks and Victor Cruz in New York. Eli Manning no longer is a question as Giants quarterback, and has carried the offense much the way running backs Brandon Jacobs and Ahmad Bradshaw did in the past.

Lawrence Tynes kicked the Giants into the Super Bowl in overtime in '08 and ? incredibly ? this year, too. Wes Welker led the Patriots with 112 catches that season and had 122 in this one.

Sixteen Giants remain from the 17-14 Super Bowl victory, and only seven Patriots are still around.

Similarities and differences, all juicy elements for Giants-Patriots II.

Here we go again.

___

AP Sports Writers Tom Canavan and Mike Marot contributed to this story.

Associated Press

Source: http://hosted2.ap.org/APDEFAULT/347875155d53465d95cec892aeb06419/Article_2012-01-30-Super%20Bowl-Here%20We%20Go%20Again/id-a3a3622cbf764b139e865b43949da72a

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Allen West being redistricted out of existence in effort led by Romney ...

The establishment is fighting back, alright.

This has not received a lot of national attention, but the Republican legislature in Florida is about to push through a plan which puts Allen West at serious risk, and the person leading the effort is one of Mitt Romney?s spokemen.? As reported by The Shark Tank:

After last night?s [Jan. 26] Republican Presidential debate, the candidates? respective spinmeisters made their cases to the media as to why their guy won the debate.? One of Governor Mitt Romney?s spokesmen was Florida Representative Will Weatherford, and during the course of his remarks in the ?Spin Room?, he shed a very dim light on the ongoing redistricting process in the Florida Legislature?.

West?s congressional district inexplicably sheds the most out support as compared to all other incumbent Republican and Democrat Congressman. A few weeks back we quoted an unnamed legislator saying that, ?Allen West was screwed?, a statement which was originally made about made five months before the purposed maps were made public, leading insiders to believe that the fix was in against Allen West.? But in light of Weatherford?s comment, it is increasingly clear that this is a fait accompli.

According to Weatherford, those preliminary maps will not change- at the most, any additional changes would be minimal, and those changes would not make any appreciable difference from the preliminary maps.? In addition, Weatherford stated that a deal was struck between him, Senate President Mike Haridopolos, and Senator Don Gaetz to finalize these maps and push them through as soon as possible.

Weatherford tried to hide behind a need to comply with federal law, but that?s obviously a dodge since there could have been many ways to comply yet not sacrifice West:

A website, SaveAllenWest, had been set up, but it appears to be too late.

One of the rising stars of the Tea Party is about to be sacrificed by?the Republican establishment in Florida, led by someone spinning for Mitt Romney.

Don?t say you weren?t warned.

?

?

?

Source: http://legalinsurrection.com/2012/01/allen-west-being-redistricted-out-of-existence-in-effort-led-by-romney-florida-spokesman/

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"The Help" gets Oscar boost with big SAG wins (Reuters)

LOS ANGELES (Reuters) ? Civil rights drama "The Help" got a leg up in the Oscar race on Sunday when the movie won three awards from the Screen Actors Guild, including best cast in a surprise over silent movie romance "The Artist."

"The Help," which came into the show with four nominations, more than any other film, also earned its star Viola Davis the SAG award for best actress, while Octavia Spencer was named top supporting actress. They both played maids who face discrimination in the film set in Mississippi during the 1960s.

Davis thanked another African-American actress, Cicely Tyson, who inspired her as a child and was in the audience. Davis talked of dreaming big as a child when she wanted to become an actress. She encouraged others to do so, too.

"Dream big and dream fierce," she said.

Davis also took the opportunity to remind the celebrities in attendance, including A-listers George Clooney, Brad Pitt, Angelina Jolie and Meryl Streep, as well as TV audiences, that change is still necessary in current U.S. culture.

"The stain of racism and sexism is not just for people of color or women," she said. "It's all of our burden. All of us, and we can, absolutely all of us, we can inspire change."

Silent movie "The Artist" could only claim one trophy. Jean Dujardin was named best actor in a drama for his role as a fading screen star at the end of the talkies who is ultimately saved by love.

Dujardin, who beat out Clooney and Pitt in the category, seemed genuinely surprised as he held his statue and thanked SAG. Like Davis, he noted that as a kid he was always a dreamer and said his teachers called him "Jean of the moon."

"I was always dreaming," he said. "I realize now that I never stopped dreaming. Thank you very much."

Others winning SAG film honors included Christopher Plummer for supporting actor. Plummer, 82, who plays an elderly man who reveals his homosexuality, much to the chagrin of his family, thanked his fellow actors from the stage, calling them a wacky but wonderful bunch of artists.

SAG's film awards are closely watched for their impact on Oscars because actors make up the biggest voting group at the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences which picks winners. The Academy Awards take place in Los Angeles on February 26.

Coming into the SAG Awards, "The Artist" had been favored by pundits because it has claimed a string of victories in recent weeks at the Golden Globe and Critics Choice honors, as well as among industry groups like the producers and directors guilds.

But pundits may now have to re-calculate their odds back toward "The Help" with its SAG wins. Another key Oscar contender, "The Descendants," was shut out by SAG voters.

TV WINNERS

Unlike academy voters focused on film, SAG members also pick winners in TV awards, and in that arena, "Boardwalk Empire" was named best drama series for the second straight year and "Modern Family was chosen top comedy, also for the second year running.

Jessica Lange took her first SAG trophy for best dramatic actress in new show, "American Horror Story," and Steve Buscemi was named best actor in a drama for critically acclaimed "Boardwalk Empire." Both thanked their cast and crew members.

Alec Baldwin, Betty White and the "Modern Family" were the three TV winners in comedy categories.

The offbeat "Modern Family" claimed its second straight win for best TV comedy, while Baldwin was named best actor in a TV comedy for the sixth year playing a TV executive on "30 Rock," and White, who turned 90 earlier this month, took the comedy actress trophy for a second time in "Hot in Cleveland."

An obviously surprised White acknowledged her co-stars Valerie Bertinelli, Jane Leeves and Wendie Malick.

The win "belongs with four of us," she said, then looked at her statuette with a gleam in her eye and a joke on her mind. "I'm dealing them right-in with this. I'm not going to let them keep this, but I will let them see it."

In other TV awards, Kate Winslet was named best actress in a small-screen movie or miniseries for "Mildred Pierce," and Paul Giamatti won the trophy for actor in a movie or mini-series with "Too Big to Fail."

Among the humorous moments, three women from raunchy film comedy "Bridesmaids" played a game in which everyone had to take a drink when director Martin Scorsese's name was mentioned. The game became a running joke throughout the show.

And of the more poignant points, Mary Tyler Moore - a star on comedy "The Dick Van Dyke" show in the 1960s, who cemented her fame in the '70s on "The Mary Tyler Moore Show" and starred in critically acclaimed 1980 movie "Ordinary People" - was given a lifetime achievement honor.

"It means so much, it really does," she told Reuters about her honor backstage.

Asked how she wanted to be remembered for all her accomplishments, she replied in modest fashion. "As a good chum. As somebody who was happy most of the time and took great pride in making people laugh when I was able to pull that off."

Hollywood's biggest film stars including Clooney, Pitt, Jolie and others turned out on the red carpet, as did TV's top talent such as Julianna Margulies, Lea Michelle and others.

As with previous Hollywood honors programs, many of the women showed off low-cut or strapless gowns. Some wore vintage or sequined dresses. Colors - violets, reds and teals - proved popular. The men wore tuxedos or stylish suits with bow ties.

(Reporting By Bob Tourtellotte and Piya Sinha-Roy; Editing by Stacey Joyce and Eric Walsh)

Source: http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/celebrity/*http%3A//news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20120130/film_nm/us_sagawards

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China to make Shanghai the world's yuan centre by 2015 (Reuters)

BEIJING (Reuters) ? China will make Shanghai the global centre of yuan trading, clearing and pricing by 2015, according to a specific state plan laying out the city's future as an international financial centre.

The detailed plan, published jointly by the country's economic planning agency and the Shanghai government, shows the scale of China's ambition in creating its own version of New York, London or Hong Kong.

The National Development and Reform Commission envisions a trading hub with annual non-forex financial market volume of 1,000 trillion yuan ($158.3 trillion) by 2015 from less than 400 trillion in 2010.

The plan said the daily mid-point price published by the central bank in the onshore yuan market would be the benchmark for both domestic and foreign yuan trading markets, and the government-backed Shanghai Interbank Offered Rate, or Shibor, would be the benchmark for yuan credit everywhere.

China would also encourage overseas companies to sell yuan-denominated shares in its domestic stock markets, but the plan did not give a detailed timetable.

(Reporting by Zhou Xin and Nick Edwards; Editing by Ken Wills)

Source: http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/economy/*http%3A//news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20120130/bs_nm/us_china_economy_shanghai

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First quantum jiggles detected in solid object

NOTHING sits still. Even at absolute zero, when the thermal jiggling of matter is frozen, all things must still buzz to the tune of quantum mechanics. Now this subtle jittering has been detected in a small silicon bar, the first solid object ever to reveal its quantum vibrations.

This phenomenon, called zero-point fluctuation, is a consequence of Heisenberg's uncertainty principle, which says that we can never pin down the precise position and motion of any object. So far zero-point energy has only been seen directly in single atoms or small collections of particles.

The new experiment uses a silicon bar about 12 micrometres long and less than a micrometre across. Oskar Painter at the California Institute of Technology in Pasadena and colleagues cooled the bar to within half a degree of absolute zero and then used a laser to detect its motion.

Some photons from this laser got a shift in energy when they hit the vibrating bar. Ordinary thermal vibrations can either boost or reduce photon energy, but the zero-point quantum vibration is different. Because it is the lowest energy state possible, it can only absorb energy. Painter's group detected this bias towards lower-energy scattered light, a clear signature of a quantum twang (Physical Review Letters, DOI: 10.1103/physrevlett.108.033602).

"Seeing these effects in large objects can provide us with a way to probe the foundations of quantum mechanics," says Caltech team member Amir Safavi-Naeini.

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Holocaust remembered across the world

ITN's Sue Saville reports.

The world marked International Holocaust Remembrance Day on Friday. In Great Britain there was a promise never to forget the genocide at?Auschwitz during World War II.

Friday was the 67th anniversary of the Nazi camp's liberation by Soviet troops. Jan. 27 was designated as International Holocaust Remembrance Day by the United Nations in 2005, and marked with ceremonies across Europe.

Source: http://worldnews.msnbc.msn.com/_news/2012/01/27/10252029-holocaust-remembered-across-the-world

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Today's sports briefs 1-27

Corn Belt classic pairings released

The Corn Belt Conference basketball classic will be held on Saturday in Freeman.

The classic starts at 11 a.m. at Freeman High School with the Menno girls playing Marion. At 12:30 p.m., the Menno boys play Marion.

The Canistota girls play Bridgewater-Emery at 2 p.m. and the Bridgewater-Emery boys play Freeman at 3:30 p.m. At 5 p.m., the Freeman girls play Hanson, and at 6:30 p.m., the Canistota boys play Hanson.

All-day admission for adults is $5, and students? admission is $4.

Craion, Oral Roberts pound South Dakota

TULSA, Okla. (AP) ? Michael Craion?s double-double of 18 points and 10 rebounds paced Oral Roberts to its 12th straight victory in a 97-64 decision over South Dakota on Thursday night.

Mikey Manghum scored 18 points, all on 3-pointers, and Steven Roundtree 17 for the Golden Eagles (19-4, 11-0), whose winning streaks reached 19 at home and 18 in the Summit League. Warren Niles added 11 points and Dominique Morrison 10.

Charlie Westbrook scored 23 points and Trevor Gruis 11 for the Coyotes (7-13, 2-9), who have dropped four of five.

Manghum hit back-to-back 3-pointers to give Oral Roberts a 20-15 lead with 11:04 to go in the first half, and the Golden Eagles never trailed after that.

The Golden Eagles outshot the Jackrabbits 56.7 percent to 45.5 percent, held a 36-26 rebounding advantage and piled up 13 steals and 21 assists.

Oral Roberts took the first meeting 79-67 on the road Dec. 30.

Bader, Oakland, Mich., top South Dakota St. 92-87

ROCHESTER, Mich. (AP) ? Travis Bader scored 37 points and set a school record with 10 3-pointers to lead Oakland, Mich., to a 92-87 victory over South Dakota State on Thursday night.

Bader went 10 of 14 from long range, and his 3-pointer with 1:36 left gave the Golden Grizzlies the lead for good at 81-79. He also tied the best 3-point output in Division I this season.

Drew Valentine scored 19 points for Oakland (12-11, 6-5 Summit League), which has won four of five. Reggie Hamilton added 16 points and Ryan Bass 10. Corey Petros grabbed 10 rebounds.

Two players had double-doubles for the Jackrabbits (16-6, 8-2), whose three-game winning streak ended. Jordan Dykstra scored 23 points with 10 rebounds, and Nate Wolters had 21 points and 12 assists. Griffan Callahan scored 17, and Taevaunn Prince had 10 rebounds.

The Golden Grizzlies earned a season split, having lost 76-64 at South Dakota State.

Bucs hire Greg Schiano as coach

TAMPA, Fla. (AP) ? The Buccaneers are counting on Greg Schiano to lead them back to respectability and transform Tampa Bay into consistent winners ? much in the same way he made Rutgers matter again.

The 45-year-old former Scarlet Knights coach was hired Thursday, more than three weeks after the Bucs fired Raheem Morris following a 4-12 finish.

Celtics beat Orlando 91-83

ORLANDO, Fla. (AP) ? Paul Pierce had 24 points and 10 assists, and E?Twaun Moore added 16 points to help the Boston Celtics erase a 27-point deficit and beat the Orlando Magic for the second time this week, 91-83 on Thursday night.

Pierce and Moore had 10 points each in the fourth quarter.

Dwight Howard led the Magic with 16 points and 16 rebounds. Orlando had an 11-point lead entering the fourth quarter, but shot 2 of 17 in the final 12 minutes.

Tags: sports,?updates

Source: http://www.mitchellrepublic.com/event/article/id/61640/

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Camera-nabbing leopards caught on video

Snow leopards are one of the most elusive cats on Earth. Not only is the species endangered, but it is notoriously shy, and much about where snow leopards live in the wild remains mysterious.

So researchers got a big surprise when a set of 11 camera traps installed in a lonely corner of Tajikistan revealed at least five snow leopards were living in the region, including a mother with two young cubs.

The motion-sensing camera traps were set high in the remote Pamir Mountains.

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Over the three-month study period, the cameras snapped pictures of a parade of creatures ? mountain ibex, Marco Polo sheep (the largest in the world), a rare mountain weasel, a variety of birds and the family of snow leopards. [See photos of the snow leopards and other animals here.]

"This is the first detailed biodiversity survey of the area, and it's very exciting to see so much diversity," lead scientist David Mallon said in a statement. "But the highlight was confirming the presence of what seems to be a healthy population of breeding snow leopards."

Yet when scientists returned to retrieve their camera traps, they found only 10. One had gone missing.

A close look through the piles of pictures revealed the culprits: the two snow leopard cubs.

A companion camera trap to the stolen rig caught the two young leopards red-pawed.

The IUCN, an independent international body that assesses the status of species around the globe, has listed snow leopards as endangered since at least 1986. The big cats, known for their cloudy gray fur and dark spots, are native to Central Asia's high mountains, and their numbers have been decreasing.

Hard numbers are difficult to establish, but it is estimated that between 4,000 and 6,500 snow leopards are left in the wild. ?

Despite the fact that researchers found only five cats, they were encouraged by the results of the survey, which was conducted by British-based Fauna & Flora International with the help of U.S.-based big-cat conservation organization, Panthera.

Snow leopards require large swaths of land, and researchers said the region offers a good place to concentrate conservation efforts.

"These survey results demonstrate that there is hope still for the endangered snow leopard," Panthera's Tom McCarthy said in a statement.

The fate of the stolen camera is unknown.

Follow OurAmazingPlanet for the latest in Earth science and exploration news on Twitter @OAPlanetand on Facebook.

? 2012 OurAmazingPlanet. All rights reserved. More from OurAmazingPlanet.

Source: http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/46166950/ns/technology_and_science-science/

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Obama and Jan Brewer Have Words on Airport Tarmac (Michellemalkin)

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Is lower consumer demand actually a problem?

?Demand fear? is the worry that there aren?t enough people who want things and have the money to pay for them. But why not be satisfied with the demand as it is?

Yesterday, Europe was back in the news. Whenever Europe is in the headlines, the headlines are bad. And the ideas behind the headlines are absurd. In fact, it is amazing how many crackpot ideas the press can throw at you in a single day.

Skip to next paragraph Bill Bonner

Bill has written two New York Times best-selling books, Financial Reckoning Day and Empire of Debt. With political journalist Lila Rajiva, he wrote his third New York Times best-selling book, Mobs, Messiahs and Markets, which offers concrete advice on how to avoid the public spectacle of modern finance. Since 1999, Bill has been a daily contributor and the driving force behind The Daily Reckoning (dailyreckoning.com).

Recent posts

The immediate problems in Europe were two:

First, it looked like Portugal was going the way of Greece. It would soon need another bailout, said the papers.

Second, the Greeks themselves, were still having trouble settling up with their creditors ? despite years of negotiation, bailouts, rescue plans, and mouth-to-mouth resuscitation.

Bloomberg was on the story yesterday afternoon:

?a stalemate between European policy makers and Greek bondholders over debt relief increased concern that the European credit crisis will spread.

?finance ministers balked at putting up more public money for Greece, calling on holders of its debt to provide more relief. The International Monetary Fund cut its global economic forecast as Europe slips into recession and growth cools in China and India.

?The Greek debt impasse is weighing on the market,? said John Kilduff, a partner at Again Capital LLC, a New York-based hedge fund that focuses on energy. ?The IMF warning this morning dampened any economic optimism.?

At the heart of the market?s nervousness was what Bloomberg calls ?demand fears.? As near as we can figure, ?demand fear? is the worry that there aren?t enough people who want things and have the money to pay for them.

Why not be satisfied with the demand as it is? Why not accept the decisions of willing and able consumers as to how much stuff they need and how much they can afford to buy? Why is it important that they buy more than they need with more than they have?

Because it could lead to another Great Depression, says Christine Lagarde.

No kidding. That?s what the head of the IMF told Germany?s Council on Foreign Relations. The Washington Post:

International Monetary Fund Managing Director Christine Lagarde warned of a ?1930s moment? for the world economy if Europe does not solve its financial problems and said Germany must contribute more money to rescue efforts if a disaster is to be avoided.

Without such funds, Lagarde said, ?we could easily slide into a 1930s moment. A moment, ultimately, leading to a downward spiral that could engulf the entire world.?

She said the 17 euro-zone countries also must move quickly to integrate their economies as deeply as they integrated their monetary systems with the creation of the common currency. Failure to act, she said, could precipitate a crisis comparable to the Great Depression.

And here?s one of our favorite economists, Larry Summers, writing in The Financial Times. Mr. Summers is concerned by a lack of confidence?and ?uncertainty about future growth prospects,? which he thinks are the causes of the demand shortage.

What? You can see the problem with Summers? pensee right here. If ?uncertainty about growth prospects? is a problem, it is equivalent to uncertainty about how long our liquor supply will last in a snow storm. It?s an uncertainty we have to live with. The future is unknowable. We?re always uncertain about growth prospects ? particularly now, when the developed economies are doing so little growing.

Europe is expected to contract by 0.5% this year. The US is expected to grow, but only at a 1.8% rate. Japan?the other major developed economy?hasn?t grown in 21 years and most likely won?t growth this year either.

So, you can forget your ?uncertainties about growth?? The entire developing world, as a whole, is not growing. Get over it?

Instead, Summers thinks these uncertainties should be addressed?yes, by government! Of course, government is the sector that never produces any real growth. It?s a consumer, not a producer. And it can only consume what it extracts from the real economy. It diverts resources from real, growth-creating activities into zombie redistribution, make-work, and work-squelching regulations.

(An aside? A friend of ours just started up a new bio-tech company. He moved out of Georgia to Toronto, Canada, to start the business. Why? ?Too much regulation and red tape in the US,? he says. ?You?d have to be crazy to start a business in the US.?)

Still, Summers believes that government has no higher purpose than to get people to shop.

?Government has no higher responsibility than insuring economies have an adequate level of demand,? he says.

What? Luring people to the mall is more important that protecting them from annihilation? Is it more important that people buy more toaster ovens and more super-size bottles of cherry cola than they are able to live in peace in a just and honest society?

Apparently.

But how can government increase demand? How can it make people richer and more confident? Of course, it can?t. Government is not a producer. So, it can?t make people wealthier.

All it can do is to bamboozle them. Summers quotes the Great Bamboozler himself, John Maynard Keynes:

?[The] public authority must be called in aid to create additional current incomes through the expenditure of borrowed or printed money.?

Let?s see. The feds borrow $5 from Peter to give it to Paul. How is demand increased?

?Peter was a rich guy,? you say. ?He wasn?t going to spend it. Better to give it to Paul.?

Well, we don?t know what Peter was going to do with his money. He might have invested it to create more jobs and output. Or he might have spent it himself. Either way, we?d be better off than if he lent it to the feds. We know what they do with it. Maybe it ends up in the pockets of a rich lobbyist in Washington. Maybe it is used to build a drone that crashes in the desert. Nothing good comes from it.

The other demand-increasing choice is to print the money. Hey?what kind of money is this that you can just create on a printing press?

We?re not going to dignify that question with an answer, dear reader. We all know what kind of money it is. It?s make-believe, counterfeit money?the kind of money that you?d go to jail for creating on your own.

And you?d deserve to go to jail. So do the feds who gin it up.

Regards,

Bill Bonner
?for The Daily Reckoning

The Christian Science Monitor has assembled a diverse group of the best economy-related bloggers out there. Our guest bloggers are not employed or directed by the Monitor and the views expressed are the bloggers' own, as is responsibility for the content of their blogs. To contact us about a blogger, click here. To add or view a comment on a guest blog, please go to the blogger's own site by clicking on dailyreckoning.com.

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Obama draws contrast to GOP on immigration

By Michael O'Brien, msnbc.com

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President Obama drew one of his sharpest contrasts with Republicans at Tuesday night's State of the Union address when he called for Congress to pass legislation giving illegal immigrants a pathway to citizenship.

NBC News

The president urged lawmakers to pass comprehensive immigration reform, or, absent that, a law like the DREAM Act that gives immigrants who were brought to the U.S. illegally as children a way to earn U.S. citizenship under certain conditions.

"I believe as strongly as ever that we should take on illegal immigration. That?s why my administration has put more boots on the border than ever before. That?s why there are fewer illegal crossings than when I took office," Obama said in his remarks on Capitol Hill.

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"The opponents of action are out of excuses. We should be working on comprehensive immigration reform right now," Obama added. "But if election-year politics keeps Congress from acting on a comprehensive plan, let?s at least agree to stop expelling responsible young people who want to staff our labs, start new businesses, and defend this country. Send me a law that gives them the chance to earn their citizenship. I will sign it right away."

Obama declares 'we've come too far to turn back now'

It was a portion of tonight's speech that was imbued in politics, both in its appeal to Latino voters who could help fuel Obama's re-election in key swing states, but also in its contrast from Republican presidential candidates, who have expressed opposition to such legislation.

Former House Speaker Newt Gingrich said at a Republican presidential debate on Monday night that he would sign a limited version of the DREAM Act, which the Senate rejected in December of 2010 in a bipartisan vote.

"I think any young person living in the United States who happened to have been brought here by their parents when they were young should have the same opportunity to join the American military and earn citizenship which they would have had from back home," he said, adding that he wouldn't support a version that would grant citizenship simply because an undocumented immigrant attends college.

Former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney has gone a step futher by vowing to veto the DREAM Act. But he's said he wouldn't favor a policy in which the government rounds up and deports immigrants residing in the U.S. illegally.

"The answer is self-deportation, which is people decide they can do better by going home because they can?t find work here because they don?t have legal documentation to allow them to work here. And so we?re not going to round people up," Romney said.

Source: http://firstread.msnbc.msn.com/_news/2012/01/24/10229109-obama-draws-contrast-with-gop-on-immigration-urging-pathway-to-citizenship

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After nearly 60 years, beards are back at Disney (Reuters)

ORLANDO, Florida (Reuters) ? Six of Snow White's seven dwarves have them, along with Merlin the Magician and Aladdin's genie, and now men working at Disneyland and Walt Disney World can sport one too -- a beard.

From next Friday, front line male employees at Disney's parks and resorts will be allowed to grow a beard in the biggest change to the company's conservative, clean-cut dress code since pantyhose became optional for female employees in 2010.

The change came during the company's periodic review of employee requirements, and had been requested by some "cast members," which is what Disney calls employees who work face-to-face with the public, Disney spokeswoman Andrea Finger said.

"We're careful to maintain our heritage and the integrity of our brand," Finger said.

The brand includes the "Disney Look," described as fresh, clean, neat and approachable. The dress code governs everything from hair color and style to jewelry and fingernail length. The rules will require beards to be short and neat.

Facial hair had been banned at the Disney company since the 1950s opening of Disneyland in California, but that was relaxed in 2000 when the company allowed moustaches with strict rules on bushiness, width and length, said Eric Clinton, a Disney union leader.

Clinton said the response by younger workers to the change was: "Finally, I can take a vacation and grow a beard." However, some of the more senior Disney employees "tend to be a little more traditional and consider this a departure from the heritage we've been taught by Disney," he said.

Disney is also instituting "casual Fridays" when behind-the-scenes workers may wear neat jeans and polo shirts, and female workers may wear sandals.

(Editing by Michelle Nichols and Paul Thomasch)

Source: http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/enindustry/*http%3A//news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20120125/media_nm/us_disney_beards

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Study Finds Mercury in More Northeastern Bird Species

[unable to retrieve full-text content]Dangerously high levels have been detected in Northeastern songbirds as the most toxic form of the heavy metal moves through the food chain.

Source: http://feeds.nytimes.com/click.phdo?i=03041e4d751724c9bdddd394c38671bb

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OK Go And Eytan And The Embassy Rockers Talk About Their New App: inBloom

Today two musicians sat down with me to have a chat: Andy Ross of OK Go, and Eytan Oren of Eytan and the Embassy. But we weren't there to talk music. The dynamic duo actually built an iPhone app called InBloom ? a Yelp-style application that offers up sustainable businesses and eco-friendly/dietary food retailers based on location ? and sat down with me to tell us how it came to be, and what it's all about.

Source: http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/Techcrunch/~3/baGTXfrRLh8/

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The Best Resources of Communications Degree Scholarships and ...

Find out the different institutions you can check out for communications degree scholarships and grants.

Are you looking for grants and scholarships for a communications degree?
Numerous jobs are vacant that welcome those with degrees of communication, and as such, grants and scholarships can be found everywhere.
To save money, you should know all about these financial aids offered for those taking up masters in communication.

The main reason why there are plenty of grants and scholarships for this field is that communications degree students can work on a variety of career fields.
Do you know what you can do with a communications degree?

People with advanced degrees in communication can pursue jobs in the fields of photography, graphic design, publishing, advertising, journalism and radio announcing, just to name a few.

With the wide range of possible jobs that this degree offers, you will realize that there is no shortage of financial assistance that can be obtained to help you with this degree.
So how do you earn these scholarships and grants?
You can earn them the same way that you would earn them in other programs.

You can earn a grant or scholarship through easy application.
However, not all schools require the traditional way of application.
Because this is a special field, the application process often requires a demonstration of your communication ability.

Similar to scholarships for English majors, most financial aid given to students will be based on your ability to speak your thoughts.
You may be requested to present your speaking ability or to write essays.
The application will be most likely a persuasive scholarship essay.

This test allows devoted communications students to stand out from others who, perhaps, are not cut for the field.
When you truly love the field of communications, then this form of application will let you present the culmination of your capabilities to shine.
After you have decided to pursue a communications degree scholarship, you should start considering the kind of skills you presently have to make sure your application stands out from the rest.

Many institutions offer financial aids.
You should visit the communications program website of the universities you are interested in.
There are also private scholarships available, which are a great source of funding as they usually offer them to students with specific majors.

The Electric Document System Foundation (EDSF) provides communications scholarships known as EDSF David Hoods Memorial Scholarship.
They offer 30 scholarships every year to students (fulltime) with a GPA of 3.0 or higher.
Other popular private scholarships for communications degree students include the Betty Endicott/NTA-NCCB Student Scholarship and the James Lawrence Fly Scholarship.

The communications department at each college or university usually offers some form of financial aid that is specifically aimed at communication majors.
Currently, some schools have a good number of scholarship sources for their students.
Some of the most popular universities include the University of Miami and the University of Texas at San Antonio.

Not everyone who decides to pursue some part of the communications field gets a communications degree.
In some cases, they go to other related degrees.
Use this factor to your advantage by applying to as many scholarships or grants that are exclusively aimed for those taking up degrees in communications.

Source: http://www.atthefulton.org/2012/01/23/the-best-resources-of-communications-degree-scholarships-and-grants/

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Does Newt Own a Beet Farm? (Powerlineblog)

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

Source: http://news.feedzilla.com/en_us/stories/politics/top-stories/190196348?client_source=feed&format=rss

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iPhone 4S and iPad 2 get Corona command line jailbreak tool

If you're a little too impatient to wait for the Absinthe jailbreak tool to make its way to Windows, good news, there's another option. The iPhone Dev Team has released Corona, a command line-based option for Mac and Windows 7 that will deliver Cydia to your iOS 5.0 or 5.0.1-running iPhone 4S or iPad 2. Obviously, you'll want to be comfortable with the terminal and command prompt but, if you can handle a little CTRL+c and CTRL+v action, jailbreaking your brand new iOS device shouldn't prove too difficult. Hit up the source link for complete instructions on how to free your shiny A5 portable from Apple's shackles while still using your Microsoft machine.

iPhone 4S and iPad 2 get Corona command line jailbreak tool originally appeared on Engadget on Mon, 23 Jan 2012 09:37:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Source: http://www.engadget.com/2012/01/23/iphone-4s-and-ipad-2-get-corona-command-line-jailbreak-tool/

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Video: What?s next after wild day in S. Carolina?

The Republican presidential field may be smaller, with Jon Huntsman and Rick Perry recently dropping out, but that?s not stopping the fireworks on the campaign trail ahead of South Carolina?s primary on Saturday. NBC?s Chuck Todd takes a look at what may be next.

Source: http://video.today.msnbc.msn.com/today/46069572/

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Tiny baby leaves Los Angeles hospital amid fanfare (AP)

LOS ANGELES ? One of the world's smallest surviving babies was discharged Friday from the hospital where she spent nearly five months in an incubator ? but not before getting the Hollywood treatment.

Wearing a pink knit hat and wrapped in a pink princess blanket, Melinda Star Guido was greeted by a mob of television cameras and news photographers outside the Los Angeles County-USC Medical Center.

"I'm just happy that she's doing well," said her 22-year-old mother Haydee Ibarra. "I'm happy that I'm finally going to take her home ... I'm just grateful."

Melinda was born on August 30 weighing just 9 1/2 ounces, less than a can of soda. She was so tiny that she fit into her doctor's hand. Melinda is believed to be the world's third-smallest surviving baby and second smallest in the U.S.

Now weighing 4 1/2 pounds and breathing through an oxygen tube as a precaution, doctors said Melinda has made enough progress to go home. Her brain scan was normal and her eyes were developing well. She also passed a hearing test and a car seat test that's required of premature babies before discharge.

It's too early to know how she will do developmentally and physically, but doctors planned to monitor her for the next six years.

"I am cautiously optimistic that the baby will do well, but again there is no guarantee," said Dr. Rangasamy Ramanathan, who oversees preemies at the hospital.

Most babies as small don't survive even with advanced medical care. About 7,500 babies are born each year in the U.S. weighing less than 1 pound, and about 10 percent survive.

Melinda has come a long way since being delivered by cesarean section at 24 weeks after her mother developed high blood pressure during pregnancy, which can be dangerous for mother and fetus.

She was whisked to the neonatal intensive care unit where she breathed with the help of a machine and received nutrition through a feeding tube. Infants born before 37 weeks are considered premature.

Even after discharge, such extremely premature babies require constant care at home. Their lungs are not fully developed and they may need oxygen at home. Parents also need to watch out for risk of infections that could send infants back to the hospital. Even basic activities like feeding can be challenging.

"They may need extra help and patience while they learn to eat," Dr. Edward Bell, a pediatrician of the University of Iowa who runs an online database of the world's smallest surviving babies born weighing less than a pound.

The list features 130 babies dating back to 1936 and does not represent all survivors since submission is voluntary. Melinda was not eligible to be included until she was discharged.

Two years ago, Bell published a study in the journal Pediatrics that found many survivors have ongoing health and learning concerns. Most also remain short and underweight for their age.

There are some rare success stories. The smallest surviving baby born weighing 9.2 ounces is now a healthy 7-year-old and another who weighed 9.9 ounces at birth is an honors college student studying psychology, according to doctors at Loyola University Medical Center in Illinois where the girls were born.

Soon after birth, Melinda was treated for an eye disorder that's common in premature babies and underwent surgery to close an artery. Ibarra held Melinda for the first time after the operation in November. Her parents said the toughest part was battling traffic after work every day to see their daughter.

___

Online:

Registry: http://www.healthcare.uiowa.edu/tiniestbabies

Source: http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/health/*http%3A//news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20120121/ap_on_he_me/us_med_tiny_baby

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US drone kills senior al-Qaida militant

WASHINGTON/ISLAMABAD?? A militant who acted as a senior operations organizer for al-Qaida was targeted and killed in one of two U.S. drone strikes launched against targets inside Pakistan last week, a U.S. official said.

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U.S. and Pakistani sources told Reuters that the target of the attack was Aslam Awan, a Pakistani national from Abbottabad, the same town where Osama bin Laden was killed last May by a U.S. commando team. They said he was targeted in a strike by a U.S.-operated drone on Jan. 10 directed at what news reports said was a compound near the town of Miranshah in the border province of North Waziristan.

That strike broke an undeclared eight-week hiatus in attacks by the armed, unmanned drones that patrol Pakistan's tribal areas and are a key weapon in President Barack Obama's counter-terrorism strategy.

The sources described Awan, who also was known by the nom-de-guerre Abdullah Khorasani, as a significant figure in the remaining core leadership of al-Qaida, which U.S. officials say has been sharply reduced by the drone campaign. Most of the drone attacks are conducted as part of a clandestine CIA operation.

Pakistani officials could not confirm that Awan was killed in the drone attack, but the U.S. official said he was.

Suspected US drone kills 4 militants in Pakistan

One of the sources described Awan as an associate of al-Qaida's current chief of external operations, whose identity is known to intelligence officials but not to the general public.

"Aslam Awan was a senior al-Qaida external operations planner who was working on attacks against the West. His death reduces al-Qaida's thinning bench of another operative devoted to plotting the death of innocent civilians," a U.S. official told NBC News.

Several previous alleged chiefs of external operations for al-Qaida have been caught or killed in drone attacks or counter-terrorism operations, the most notorious being Khalid Sheikh Mohammed, alleged mastermind of the September 11, 2001 attacks on New York and Washington D.C. Mohammed was captured and is being held by U.S. authorities in the Guantanamo Bay, Cuba detention facility.

Because their role in arranging operations involves interacting with militants in the field, external operations chiefs of al-Qaida have found themselves more vulnerable to exposure and counter-attacks by security forces than the movement's most senior leaders, who until bin Laden's demise last year appeared to be able to move about the region and issue provocative audio and video messages with near-impunity.

A Pakistani security source based in the country's border region said that Awan was the remaining member of an al-Qaida cell Pakistani authorities have been trying to roll up since 2008.

"We thought he was very close to Ayman al-Zawahiri," the source said, referring to al-Qaida's current leader and bin Laden's long-time deputy, a former Egyptian doctor.

However, a U.S. source said that American experts did not believe that Awan was particularly close to al-Zawahiri.

Photos document alleged US drone strike victims in Pakistan

The drone strike that targeted Awan was one of two such attacks last week, in what U.S. sources indicated was a resumption of the U.S. drone campaign following the eight-week pause. In the other drone strike, also in North Waziristan, a group of "foreign fighters" sympathetic to the Taliban and al-Qaida, some of Uzbek ethnicity, were targeted on January 12.

The targeted militants were believed to be travelling, possibly in preparation for an operation near Pakistan's border with Afghanistan, and some were injured or killed in the attack, the U.S. source said.

U.S. officials said they could not confirm news reports, based on claims from Pakistani sources, that Hakimullah Mehsud, leader of the TTP, Pakistan's most potent domestic affiliate of the Taliban movement, was also killed in the June 12 attack. Pakistani and U.S. sources said that Mehsud was not targeted in the drone strike, and one Pakistani source said: "He is alive. Hakimullah is alive."

Story: Pakistan crisis: PM appears before top court in contempt case

U.S. officials insisted that the drone strike lull did not represent an official moratorium on such operations by the Obama administration. The officials maintained that any fall-off in the pace of such operations was related to the availability of intelligence and operating conditions, such as weather.

However, some officials did privately acknowledge that the drone lull was at least in part calculated to try to improve strained relations between Washington and Islamabad, which had been on a downswing for much of last year in the wake of Pakistan's detention of a CIA operative and the secret U.S. commando raid on bin Laden's Pakistani hideout.

Relations plummeted to a new low following a late November incident in which 24 Pakistani troops were killed accidentally in a NATO aerial attack on border outposts.

Some U.S. and Pakistani officials say that both governments are making efforts to improve relations. As part of this process, a U.S. official said, it is possible that some permanent tweaks could be made in the U.S. drone program which could slow the pace of attacks.

NBC News and Reuters contributed to this report.

Source: http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/46063325/ns/world_news-south_and_central_asia/

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Home sales up at end of dismal year, offering hope

In this Jan. 18, 2012 photo, a real estate sign is displayed in front of a home in Little Rock, Ark. Home sales rose in December to the highest pace in nearly a year. The gain coincides with other signs that show the troubled housing market improved at the end of last year. (AP Photo/Danny Johnston)

In this Jan. 18, 2012 photo, a real estate sign is displayed in front of a home in Little Rock, Ark. Home sales rose in December to the highest pace in nearly a year. The gain coincides with other signs that show the troubled housing market improved at the end of last year. (AP Photo/Danny Johnston)

WASHINGTON (AP) ? Home sales in December reached their highest pace in nearly a year. The gain coincided with other signs that the troubled housing market improved at the end of last year.

Analysts cautioned that sales remain historically low and that it will take years for the home market to return to full health.

Still, the third straight monthly sales increase was encouraging. And economists noted that conditions are in place for further gains this year:

Prices have declined. Mortgage rates have never been lower. Homebuilders are slightly more hopeful because more people are saying they might be open to buying this year. And home construction picked up in the final quarter of last year.

"There's no denying that home sales are still very low and will remain low for a few years," said Paul Dales, an economist with Capital Economics. "But after having risen in each of the last three months ... it is clear that a housing recovery is now well under way."

Sales of previously occupied homes rose 5 percent to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 4.61 million in December, the National Association of Realtors said Friday. It's the best level since January 2011.

For all of 2011, sales totaled only 4.26 million. That's up slightly from 4.19 million in the previous year. But it's far below the 6 million that economists equate with healthy housing markets. In 2005, at the peak of the boom, 7.1 million homes were sold.

Hiring has improved, which is critical to a housing rebound. Fewer people sought unemployment benefits last week than at any time in nearly four years, evidence of far fewer layoffs. The unemployment rate fell in December to its lowest level in nearly three years.

"With layoffs slowing sharply, hiring rising and consumers' confidence rebounding, the pre-conditions for a sustained recovery are falling into place," said Ian Shepherdson, chief U.S. economist for High Frequency Economics. "Sales and starts will keep rising; prices should stabilize, more or less."

The median sales price of a previously occupied home ticked up 0.3 percent from November to December to $164,500.

The supply of homes has declined, though it's still historically high at 2.38 million. At last month's sales pace, it would take nearly seven months to clear those homes.

If the supply continues to fall, prices could rise, more sellers would put homes on the market and more people would likely consider buying, said Pierre Ellis, an analyst at Decision Economics.

Still, the industry appears years away from fully recovering from its bust four years ago. Since the bubble burst, sales have slumped under the weight of foreclosures, tighter credit and falling prices.

Fewer first-time buyers, who are critical to a recovery, are in the market for a home. Purchases among that group fell last month to just 31 percent of sales. That's down from 35 percent in November. In healthy markets, first-time buyers make up at least 40 percent.

Homes at risk of foreclosure made up a third of sales last month. In strong markets, they make up only about 10 percent of sales.

And many deals are collapsing before they close. One-third of Realtors say they've had at least one contract scuttled in December, November or October. That's up from 18 percent in September.

Among the reasons why contracts have been canceled: Banks have declined mortgage applications. Home inspectors have found problems. Appraisals showed that a home was worth less than the bid. Or a buyer suffered a financial setback before the closing.

Still, sales rose across the country in December. They rose on a seasonal basis by more than 10 percent in the Northeast, 8.3 percent in the Midwest, 2.9 percent in the South and 2.6 percent in the West.

Associated Press

Source: http://hosted2.ap.org/APDEFAULT/f70471f764144b2fab526d39972d37b3/Article_2012-01-20-Home%20Sales/id-bbda6181f07c427a9210c128c074d731

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Expedition White Shark: Tracking the Beast of the Deep [App Of The Day]

Great White Sharks get a bum rap. Sure they'll blindly attack anything they think is food before swimming off in search of delicious sea lions. But who hasn't? Instead of hating on these eating machines of the sea, how about we track them and learn about their wonderful migration. More »

Source: http://feeds.gawker.com/~r/gizmodo/full/~3/N_sxPu-hWcY/expedition-white-shark-tracking-the-beast-of-the-deep

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Do We Need A ?GarageBand For Books??

My Dad used to take me to Long's Bookstore on the OSU campus when I was young - I'd say this was during the 1980s and very early 1990s although in my mind these afternoons spent on campus are tinged with a 1970s wash out of color, as if I were remembering my time in Kansas before Oz. We'd rumble through the stacks, picking out used titles from the basement that were beaten and worn by years of the students' buy/read/return-for-a-pittance cycle so common at universities. Most of the books there were, obviously, but Long's stocked quite a bit of ephemera including my favorite Mad Magazine digests and sci-fi. Long's is now a Barnes & Noble, its handsome neon sign taken down during a massive restructuring of OSU's student core. Most of the old book stores are gone. The local head shop, Monkey's Retreat, turned into a Taoist center. Long's and its competitor, the University Book Exchange, are gone. Even Larry's, where I went to poetry readings as a petulant high-schooler is gone. To paraphrase Joni Mitchell, they paved paradise and put up a Quizno's.

Source: http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/Techcrunch/~3/ktwF743cmu4/

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Reward offered in fatal beating near Liberty Bell (AP)

PHILADELPHIA ? Investigators pleaded Tuesday for witnesses to come forward and searched for surveillance footage of the men who beat to death a young man they apparently thought was yelling at them ? not at the taxi that wouldn't give him and his friends a lift in the city's historic district.

Police are seeking four men and offering a reward in the beating of recent college graduate Kevin Kless, 23, early Saturday after he shouted at the cab while he, his girlfriend and a female friend looked for a ride after leaving a bar, authorities said.

Three men got out of a car behind the cab and started kicking and punching Kless, who fell to the sidewalk, severely injured. The men, who have not been found or identified, may have been acting on the mistaken belief that Kless was yelling at them, according to police.

Police are also seeking the driver of the car, believed to be a maroon sedan.

Officer Tanya Little, a police spokeswoman, said officers were re-interviewing Kless' companions, whose identities were not disclosed, and are trying to find other pedestrians who may have been around at the time.

They are looking for any good surveillance video of the attack, which might have been caught by cameras at stores or other businesses nearby. The attack took place near the historic Second Bank of the United States, not far from the Liberty Bell and Independence Hall, in an area home to many bars and restaurants that are popular hangouts for young adults.

"We're just pleading with anybody," Little said. "Any leads at this point would be helpful."

The city and the Fraternal Order of Police announced a combined $15,000 in reward money for arrests and convictions, and Mayor Michael Nutter took to Twitter to condemn the killing: "Encourage ANYONE who knows or saw anything about this incident to give us info, we need to catch these people, asap!"

The attack was the latest in a string of killings in the City of Brotherly Love, where there have been 20 homicides so far in 2012, up from 12 at the same point last year. Last week, a 30-year-old man with a long arrest record was charged with gunning down a carload of seven teenagers who had been feuding with his stepsons. Three of the boys died.

Investigators have little information in Kless' killing, which happened as he tried to stop the cab a few blocks from Lucy's Hat Shop, a bar that he and his friends had just left.

When the cab stopped, police said, Kless got in a conversation with the cab driver, who then drove off. The suspects, who were in a car behind the cab, apparently thought Kless was yelling at them, according to police. Three of them got out and began beating Kless.

Kless, a May 2010 graduate of Temple University who had studied risk management, had recently returned to the city to work at an insurance firm after spending time working in Harrisburg.

The youngest of three brothers, he grew up in Warwick, N.Y., and spent his whole life there before going to college in Philadelphia, said his mother, Kendall Kless.

"Kev was returning to Philly with this job and thrilled to be back among his friends," said Kless, who described her son as a very social person with a huge circle of friends who have been offering condolences. "It's what is holding us up right now."

One of Kless' professors described him as a good student and a pleasant and easygoing person who was rising in his field.

"He was a good, solid ambassador for our program," said R.B. Drennan, associate professor and chairman of Temple's Department of Risk, Insurance and Health Care Management. "He was well on his way."

His mother said Kless, who had a knack for making people laugh, dreamt of making an impact on the world.

"If anything has come from this that I didn't realize was how loved his was," she said. "He made everybody laugh. He made everybody happy."

There are simply no answers to explain a killing that can only be described as senseless, Kless said.

"There is no sense in it," she said. "There is nothing that makes sense about this."

Source: http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/us/*http%3A//news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20120117/ap_on_re_us/us_slain_hailing_cab

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