Tuesday, January 31, 2012

Romney confident as Florida prepares to vote (AP)

TAMPA, Fla. ? Mitt Romney is starting primary day in Florida leading in statewide polls and already looking to the next round of nomination contests in the Republican presidential race.

Romney is widely expected to do well against chief rival Newt Gingrich in Tuesday's voting.

The Romney who campaigned Monday was dramatically more confident than the candidate who flew here a week ago from South Carolina, where Gingrich won convincingly.

"It feels good at this point," Romney told reporters aboard his campaign plane Monday. "The crowds are good and you can sense that it's coming our way. It's getting better and better every day."

Romney and his allies have pummeled Gingrich on the air in Florida, spending millions on negative ads. Gingrich has complained that the assault is a "carpet-bombing" that has left him unable to retaliate.

Romney has also repeatedly attacked Gingrich in speeches around the state. On Monday he labeled Gingrich an untrustworthy Washington influence peddler. His constant linking of Gingrich with the federally backed mortgage giant Freddie Mac has hurt the former speaker in a state wracked by the foreclosure crisis.

After he left Congress in 1999, Gingrich's consulting firm received more than $1.5 million from Freddie Mac, which Romney calls "the very institution that helped stand behind the huge housing crisis here in Florida."

Romney is preparing to move his campaign to Nevada and, beyond that, Minnesota. While he didn't have any events scheduled before Tuesday evening, he planned a campaign stop in Minnesota before flying to Las Vegas on Wednesday for an evening campaign event.

Source: http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/politics/*http%3A//news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20120131/ap_on_el_pr/us_romney

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Syrian troops push back in fight on Damascus edges


Essential News from The Associated Press

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Source: http://hosted2.ap.org/APDEFAULT/3d281c11a96b4ad082fe88aa0db04305/Article_2012-01-30-ML-Syria/id-4717319eaad94f96b44d247487c36f8b

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Monday, January 30, 2012

95% Pariah

"Pariah," from first-time writer/director Dee Rees, doesn't break much artistic ground. It tells the same gay/lesbian coming-out story that we've seen a million times. But it's told particularly well and from within a black urban context, which I don't believe has been done before. It also goes a bit deeper into the hearts and minds of the homophobic parents than typically is done, which was great. Unfortunately, it only scratches those surfaces. Kim Wayans, who of course has a long history in comedy, shows she has major dramatic talent, playing the homophobic mother of the main character. The cast is universally good, but Wayans is the stand-out. The main character is a black teenage girl in Brooklyn going through the coming-out process. She has fully come out to herself as a lesbian, and she has even found her way into a lesbian circle of friends. She even frequents a women's night club. But she hasn't told Mom or Dad about any of this, both of whom are homophobic. Mom is particularly venomous in her hatred of gays and lesbians. You can see that Dad, a detective in the NYPD, in his heart of hearts is not a bigot. Thrown into the mix to complicate things a little bit is a bisexual girl eager to have lesbian experiences to explore herself. But she tosses lesbians aside like useless candy wrappers after she's had her fun. If I were going to give Dee Rees advice, I would say this: Ms. Rees, in "Pariah" you started digging into the parent characters with some real psychological and artistic depth. I encourage you to go more deeply in that direction. I think your true gifts as an artist lie there. I would give anything to see a sequel where you explore what happened to that mother and what she's really fighting. You hint that her husband is beginning to stray, but I think there's more in there. Help us see it. Remember when that great schoolteacher tells Alike that she could "go deeper" with her poetry? You could go deeper with your films. I know you could.

January 1, 2012

Source: http://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/pariah_2011/

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Zimbabwe doctors report 800 typhoid cases

HARARE,Zimbabwe (AP) ? An independent doctors' group in Zimbabwe is reporting 800 cases of the bacterial disease typhoid in a recent outbreak.

No deaths have been reported in the past three weeks. The Zimbabwe Association of Doctors for Human Rights said Sunday that the nation's troubled coalition government lacked urgency in dealing with public health woes.

In a statement, the group said that amid heavy rains clean water supplies were still irregular or "completely absent" in most impoverished townships in Harare. It said burst sewers were left unattended and meat and fish were sold on streets nearby.

A cholera outbreak in 2009 blamed on the collapse of water, sanitation and prevention services in Zimbabwe killed more than 4,000 people.

Associated Press

Source: http://hosted2.ap.org/APDEFAULT/bbd825583c8542898e6fa7d440b9febc/Article_2012-01-29-AF-Zimbabwe-Typhoid/id-f458dbde38f0492abd3eecfc6f06ada3

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Sunday, January 29, 2012

Abbas: Israel to blame for failure of latest talks (AP)

RAMALLAH, West Bank ? The Israeli and Palestinian leaders on Sunday blamed each other for the impasse in newly launched peace efforts, raising doubts about whether the dialogue would continue just weeks after it began.

Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas accused Israel of spoiling the low-level talks, saying it failed to present detailed proposals for borders and security requested by international mediators. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said the Palestinians "refused to even discuss" Israeli security needs.

For the past month, the sides have held Jordanian-mediated exploratory talks at the urging of the Quartet of international Mideast mediators ? the U.S., the U.N., the E.U. and Russia. The goal of the talks has been to find a formula to resume formal peace negotiations, with the aim of forging an agreement this year.

The Palestinians say a three-month period set by the Quartet for the exploratory talks ended last week, counting from the day the mediators issued their marching orders last October.

But Abbas, deeply skeptical about the hardline Netanyahu, is under intense international pressure to stay at the table and would risk being blamed for the failure of the latest Mideast peace efforts.

Walking away would be a risky strategy at a time when he seeks global recognition of a state of Palestine ahead of a possible border deal with Israel. U.N. chief Ban Ki-moon is expected in the region this week to help keep the talks alive.

Abbas said Israel's efforts so far have fallen short.

"By not presenting a clear vision on the issues of borders and security, as the Quartet demanded, Israel foiled the exploratory talks in Amman," Abbas said in remarks published late Saturday by the Palestinian news agency Wafa.

Israel has said it wants to keep talking and is serious about reaching a deal by year's end. It says the exploratory talks should continue for another two months, starting its countdown of the Quartet's three-month period from the beginning of meetings in early January.

Addressing his Cabinet on Sunday, Netanyahu said the dialogue had gotten off to a rocky start, but held out hope the talks would continue.

"Until this moment, according to what happened in recent days, the Palestinians refused to even discuss with us the needs of Israel's security," he said. "The signs are not very good, but I hope they will come to their senses and we'll continue the talks so we can reach real negotiations."

The Quartet had asked both sides to present detailed proposals on borders and security arrangements between Israel and a future Palestinian state, in hopes the exploratory talks would evolve into full negotiations.

The Palestinians said they presented four-page proposals on each subject, but refused to elaborate. Earlier this week, Israel presented its principles for drawing a border with a future state of Palestine ? the first-ever indication by Netanyahu on how much war-won land he would be willing to relinquish.

Abbas said he remains committed to serious negotiations that would lead to the establishment of a Palestinian state, with east Jerusalem as its capital.

The Palestinians want to establish their state in the West Bank, Gaza Strip and east Jerusalem, territories Israel captured in the 1967 Mideast war. The Palestinians, who regained control of Gaza in 2005, have said they are willing to swap some land to enable Israel to keep some of the largest of dozens of settlements it has built on occupied lands. In talks with Netanyahu's predecessor, the Palestinians suggested swapping 1.9 percent of the West Bank, while Israel proposed 6.5 percent.

Two Palestinian officials said last week that Israel proposed keeping control of east Jerusalem and essentially turning its West Bank separation barrier into the border. That would place attach roughly 10 percent of the West Bank to Israel.

Israeli officials have declined comment.

However, it is unlikely Abbas would accept any deal that leaves east Jerusalem under Israeli control and gives him only 90 percent of the West Bank.

Abbas consulted Sunday with his Fatah movement and was to talk Monday with top officials in the Palestine Liberation Organization. Abbas said he would make his final decision after briefing the Arab League at the end of the week.

Western diplomats said Quartet envoy Tony Blair will try in coming days to persuade Netanyahu to agree to incentives to salvage the talks, including the release of veteran Palestinian prisoners.

Mahmoud Aloul, a senior Fatah official, said Sunday that Fatah would likely urge Abbas to end the talks.

"There is no hope ... that these talks or any talks with this right-wing Israeli government would lead to any progress," Aloul said.

Source: http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/mideast/*http%3A//news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20120129/ap_on_re_mi_ea/ml_israel_palestinians

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Barrier proposed as Israel border?

Israel is proposing to essentially turn its West Bank separation barrier into the border with a future state of Palestine, two Palestinian officials said Friday, based on their interpretation of principles Israel presented in talks this week.

The officials said Israeli envoy Yitzak Molcho told his Palestinian counterpart that Israel wants to keep east Jerusalem and consolidate Jewish settlements behind the separation barrier, which slices close to 10 percent off the West Bank. They spoke on condition of anonymity, citing strict no-leaks rules by Jordanian mediators.

The proposal would fall short of what the Palestinians seem likely to accept, especially because it would leave Jerusalem on the "Israeli" side of the border.

But it would also mark a significant step for Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, who has spent most of his career as a staunch opponent of Palestinian independence.

And if talks advance in such a direction, it could also spell the end for his nationalist coalition, where key members would consider the abandonment of most of the West Bank ? a strategic highland and biblical heartland ? an unforgivable betrayal.

Israel has confirmed that it presented principles this week for drawing a border with a Palestinian state. But the politically charged nature of the talks ? even though they were held at a relatively low level, below that of Cabinet ministers ? was reflected in the guarded refusal by any top official to discuss details.

An Israeli government official said that as far as he knew, the information was incorrect, but declined to elaborate or go on the record, citing Jordan's demand for discretion.

Deputy Prime Minister Dan Meridor, one of the closest Cabinet ministers to Netanyahu, said he has been supporting such an offer for months, and that Israel should concentrate on preserving the large West Bank settlement blocs, close to the pre-1967 border. But he could not confirm whether the offer was in fact made.

"I do not know if (Molcho) said these words exactly, but it would be great," Meridor told The Associated Press.

The Palestinian officials ? one a senior member of the leadership ? said Molcho told the Palestinians that Israel wants to live peacefully beside a Palestinian state.

It would be the most detailed offer yet from Netanyahu on how much he wants to keep of the lands Israel captured in the 1967 Mideast War ? the West Bank, Gaza and east Jerusalem.

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The Palestinians want to establish their state in virtually all of these lands ? although they do seem ready to accept minor adjustments, through land swaps in which Israel keeps some of the largest settlements.

Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas is certainly unlikely to consider a proposal that keeps east Jerusalem under Israeli control. The eastern sector of the city is home to key Jewish, Muslim and Christian sites.

And Israel's position, as described by the Palestinians, is less than what was offered by Netanyahu's predecessors, Ehud Barak and Ehud Olmert, who were willing to discuss a partition of Jerusalem as well.

About half a million Israelis settled in east Jerusalem and the West Bank after 1967, including tens of thousands east of the barrier.

Israel started building the barrier in 2002, in the midst of a Palestinian uprising that included scores of deadly attacks by Palestinian militants who crossed from the West Bank into Israel and blew themselves up among civilians.

Israelis have generally credited the barrier ? along with other punitive measures ? with stopping the spate of incursions several years ago.

However, it was routed in a way that raised questions about Israel's claim that it was a temporary security measure ? weaving through the West Bank, looping wide around some settlements to leave room for expansion, and looking very much like a border a future Israeli government might argue for. The Palestinians condemned it from the start as a land grab.

Story: Israel senses bluffing in Iran's retaliation threats

The Palestinian officials also said that Molcho portrayed the Jordan Valley, which makes up about one-fourth of the West Bank and borders Jordan, as a strategic Israeli security asset. However, that wording suggests less than a demand for firm territorial control.

Netanyahu has said he wants a continued Israeli presence on the eastern border of a future Palestinian state as part of any peace deal.

Netanyahu has long argued Israel needs the area as a security buffer ? protection against possible attack from the east.

The 1994 peace treaty with Jordan eased this concern ? but the Arab Spring has given it new life: although it is almost never discussed by officials, mindful of riling Jordan, many in Israel ponder a nightmare scenario in which the Jordanian monarchy falls to Israel's enemies, who then pour weapons and militants into the West Bank, reaching within miles (kilometers) from its major cities.

A senior Israeli military official said last week the Israeli army had to consider in its planning the possibility of heightened threats from east of the West Bank.

Israeli officials have said any presence in the Jordan Valley could be reviewed over time.

Abbas, meanwhile, is under growing pressure from the Quartet of Mideast mediators ? the U.S., the U.N., the EU and Russia ? to continue the talks with Israel, which began earlier this month. The Quartet had asked the sides to present detailed proposals on borders and security arrangements.

The Palestinians argue that the period set aside for the contacts ended Thursday, or three months after the Quartet issued its marching orders. Israel says the intention was to have three months of talks, and so wants meetings to continue.

Abbas will consult Monday with senior officials from the Palestine Liberation Organization and his Fatah movement. Later next week, he will also seek advice from the Arab League.

___

Perry reported from Tel Aviv, Israel.

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

Source: http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/46166579/ns/world_news-mideast_n_africa/

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Saturday, January 28, 2012

Obama's State of the Union: An Optimistic President Talks to a Pessimistic Nation (Time.com)

Bristling with optimism and a can-do pep, President Obama asked for his pessimistic nation's attention on Tuesday night to announce he would not stand the naysayers any longer. "Anyone who tells you that America is in decline or that our influence has waned, doesn't know what they're talking about," he said from the biggest lectern in the land on Tuesday night, during his annual State of the Union Address.

It was a startlingly blunt statement, even for a speech invariably laced with optimistic bromides. Polls throughout 2011 showed that huge majorities of the American people had come to the opposite conclusion; more than 2 out of every 3 voters in one October survey saw the country in decline. Yet the President was not willing to let this stand. He came out swinging, with positive data, happy anecdotes and an energy that he rarely displays these days when he's off the campaign trail. (See photos of the State of the Union.)

"The state of our union is getting stronger," he said, sounding like a football coach after a tough home loss. "We've come too far to turn back now." In the face of national dissatisfaction, he focused on the silver lining: The killing of Osama bin Laden, the withdrawal of combat troops from Iraq, the resurrection of the American auto industry. He even promised things he could never deliver, like a return to uninterrupted American labor dominance in a globalized world. "If the playing field is level, I promise you: America will always win," he said.

As a piece of performance, it was uplifting. But the performance only went so far, given his audience. The President offered more than a dozen new proposals, from more money for infrastructure repairs, to increased investments in alternative energy, to corporate tax reforms and new limits on tuition increases. He spoke of the American spirit after World War II, and told the stories of two unemployed workers who had found new careers. But few of his legislative proposals had any hope of serious consideration in Congress, let alone passage in this election year.

A year ago, during the same address before the same body of lawmakers, Obama announced plans to spend the year "winning the future." The months that followed were mostly characterized by loss, with economic troubles at home and abroad, new depths of legislative dysfunction, and a political climate that surprised even the most hardened cynics. (See photos of special guests at State of the Union Addresses throughout the years.)

The residue of this funk set the scene Tuesday, as Republicans and Democrats scattered through the room failed more often than not to rise in applause with unity. As Obama spoke, House Speaker John Boehner looked on respectfully behind him, while his staff bombarded reporters with e-mail press releases that effectively accused the President of misleading the American people while embracing "a political gimmick."

Almost as soon as Obama had finished speaking, the Republican National Committee released a video called "Familiar Rhetoric, Failed Record" that highlighted nearly identical language in the 2011 and 2012 speeches. Afterwards, Utah Senator Mike Lee, one of the Republican freshmen, said he felt the President was trying to divide the nation and belittle its residents. "He's insulting the American people," Lee said. "He's saying, 'I'm going to do everything for you because you obviously can't do anything for yourselves.'"

If the speech has any lasting impact, it will likely be political. Between the exhortations of American greatness, the President laid out the central argument of his re-election campaign, a twist on Harry Truman's 1949 appeal for fairness. "We can either settle for a country where a shrinking number of people do really well while a growing number of Americans barely get by, or we can restore an economy where everyone gets a fair shot, and everyone does their fair share, and everyone plays by the same set of rules," Obama said.

Some of those different rules, he later explained, had to do with taxation. He called for eliminating certain deductions for those making more than $1 million, and for a new minimum tax on the same group, a change in the law that would directly impact his biggest primary rival, Mitt Romney, who pays a low percentage of his income in taxes because it comes from investment gains. Under Obama's new proposal, anyone making more than $1 million a year would have to pay at least 30% of the gross income in federal taxes. This proposal, as well, is essentially dead on arrival in Congress.

At one point, Obama seemed to directly address Romney's charge that the White House encourages class envy. "When Americans talk about folks like me paying my fair share of taxes, it's not because they envy the rich," Obama said. "It's because they understand that when I get tax breaks I don't need and the country can't afford, it either adds to the deficit, or somebody else has to make up the difference -- like a senior on a fixed income; or a student trying to get through school; or a family trying to make ends meet. That's not right."

In other ways, Obama seemed to claim the rhetoric of Republicans as his own. Just as "winning the future" had been the title of a Newt Gingrich book, Obama proposed an "all of the above" energy strategy, stealing a campaign line from Texas governor Rick Perry. He spoke of "nation building right here at home," a line that had become a standard feature of Jon Huntsman's stump speech. Both Huntsman and Perry have since bowed out of the Republican race.

Obama, by contrast, is just beginning to publicly engage in his re-election campaign. He has settled on his optimistic message. Now he must hope that circumstances improve enough that the American people are ready to hear it.

Additional reporting by Katy Steinmetz

See TIME's 2011 Person of the Year: The Protester.

See TIME's Top 10 Everything of 2011.

View this article on Time.com

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Iraq War veteran accused of posing as Ore. officer

In a Thursday, Jan. 26, 2012 photo, Eugene police officers Judd Warden, right, and Dennis Doe inventory items resembling police gear that were confiscated from an apartment in Eugene. Danial Scott Alloway, 39, an Oregon National Guard reservist, was arrested on a charge of masquerading a police officer. Police anticipate more charges against Alloway, who allegedly posed as a Eugene police officer for at least a year, making traffic stops and volunteering at a youth center. (AP Photo/The Register-Guard, Brian Davies)

In a Thursday, Jan. 26, 2012 photo, Eugene police officers Judd Warden, right, and Dennis Doe inventory items resembling police gear that were confiscated from an apartment in Eugene. Danial Scott Alloway, 39, an Oregon National Guard reservist, was arrested on a charge of masquerading a police officer. Police anticipate more charges against Alloway, who allegedly posed as a Eugene police officer for at least a year, making traffic stops and volunteering at a youth center. (AP Photo/The Register-Guard, Brian Davies)

Police officers confiscated a cache of police gear, including official-looking badges, from the apartment of Daniel Alloway on Thursday, Jan. 26, 2012. Alloway, an Oregon National Guard reservist who served multiple tours in Iraq, was arrested on a charge of masquerading as a police officer. Police anticipate more charges against Alloway, who allegedly posed as a Eugene police officer for at least a year, making traffic stops and volunteering at a youth center. (AP Photo/The Register-Guard, Brian Davies)

Daniel Scott Alloway, 39, shown in a undated Lane County Jail booking photo, is an Oregon National Guard reservist. He was arrested Thursday, Jan. 26, 2012 in Eugene on a charge of masquerading as a police officer. (AP Photo/Lane /county Jail via The Register-Guard)

(AP) ? Eugene Police Officer Dan Baker drove a blue SUV and set off sirens to clear cars in front of him at traffic lights. He pulled over motorists ? though it's unclear if he ever gave out tickets. And when he stopped by a youth shelter as a volunteer, he came in full uniform.

There's just one problem: There has never been an Officer Dan Baker in the Eugene Police Department.

Police in Oregon's second-largest city say the man with the badge was Daniel S. Alloway, and investigators are now trying to piece together at least a year of his alleged exploits while posing under the guise of an officer of the law.

"In one respect, I think he considers himself a public servant," said Eugene police Sgt. Scott McKee. "There's admissions by him, in his own mind, that he was doing a service."

McKee said Alloway acknowledged the impersonations under questioning Thursday night. He was arraigned Friday on one count of criminal impersonation, and police said they expect to file at least two dozen more charges.

Alloway was assigned a public defender and didn't enter a plea Friday. The Public Defender Services of Lane County did not immediately return a call seeking comment.

Authorities fear the victims of Alloway's alleged transgressions could go beyond the department's reputation. McKee said Alloway's uniform, badge, handcuffs and radio could have easily convinced anyone, including the 15- to 20-year-old boys at the youth shelter, that he had the power to arrest and charge them.

"People get automatic credential with the public," McKee said. "Somebody could use that to isolate a person, a 16-year-old, and that is dangerous."

Alloway, 39, was no stranger to being an authority figure. He is an active-duty member of the Oregon Army National Guard's Alpha Company, 2-162 Infantry Battalion, headquartered in Cottage Grove, Ore.

He was deployed three times to Iraq, in 2004, 2007 and 2009, serving a year tour each time. An Oregon Military Department spokesman said Alloway received service awards for each tour.

He also works a day job as a security guard. That job may have given him access to authentic-looking badges and a utility belt that included a Taser, handgun, pepper spray, radio and handcuffs, said Eugene police spokeswoman Melinda McLaughlin.

Police said they started receiving information from people in the community that something about "Officer Baker" wasn't right. That led to Alloway's arrest Thursday afternoon, which was not without drama.

No one answered the door when local police and Federal Protective Service officers arrived at Alloway's Eugene apartment. They later said they heard a gun being loaded from behind a locked door, but when they broke out a window, Alloway was missing.

He was on a county bus and out of cellphone range but returned calls from the police and was arrested a short while later in downtown Eugene.

Inside the apartment, McKee said police found several shoulder patches from various law enforcement agencies, framed like artwork.

One complication to the investigation was pure happenstance. Baker is a common name for Willamette Valley police officers: One family featured two Eugene police officers and one longtime Springfield officer.

___

Nigel Duara can be reached at http://www.twitter.com/nigelduara .

Associated Press

Source: http://hosted2.ap.org/APDEFAULT/386c25518f464186bf7a2ac026580ce7/Article_2012-01-27-Fake%20Cop/id-432eefc53ac0471097030d547109ce5b

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Friday, January 27, 2012

[OOC] Dawn of Hearts 2.0

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Lomography LomoKino


The Lomography LomoKino ($79 direct) is a bit of a strange beast. It is a hand-crank silent movie camera that captures a sequence of images on standard 35mm roll film. Billed as a "Gloriously Analogue Movie Maker," the camera is as low-fi as it gets. A flip-up optical finder gives you a rough idea of framing, and the camera's frame rate varies based on how fast you crank it. The camera's analog workflow is the antithesis of the instant gratification delivered by digital video, but artists and nostalgia buffs who are willing to work to hone their craft could get a lot out of the LomoKino.

Design and Features
The LomoKino is delightfully simple in its design. Its lens has three aperture settings?f/5.6, f/8, and f/11?and the rate at which images are captured varies based on how quickly you crank the camera's handle. Its shutter speed is set at 1/100 of a second, so your choice of 35mm film will largely depend on the light in which you are shooting. The camera does have a hot shoe, so you can use an on-camera flash?you'll just have to make sure you don't crank faster than the flash can recharge.?

Each frame only occupies a quarter of the real estate of a standard film frame, netting approximately 144 exposures on a single roll of film. A pop-up viewfinder gives you a rough idea of what will be captured in each frame, although it is by no means exact, and there is a button next to the lens that moves it out a bit for close-focusing work.

As the camera shoots 35mm film, getting it developed and digitized for sharing can be a hurdle. Most drugstores and many department stores still process color negative film, and costs can be quite reasonable if you don't buy prints?in some cases as little as a dollar per roll. I was unable to get scans from a department-store lab due to the odd frame size, which left me to scan the film at home. Lomography offers instructions on scanning on its website, but scanning each frame individually can be extremely time consuming. I used a dedicated 35mm film scanner, which prevented me from batch scanning as the VueScan software I used limited me to six standard frames per roll. Using a flatbed may help to speed things up, as VueScan does let you enter manual frame sizes when working with a flatbed. Lomo recommends scanning the entire strip and saving each frame individually later on, which can also take a bit of time.

I took a roll of black and white film to a pro lab, and had better results when I inquired about scanning. The lab was able to develop and provide a CD, but the cost was a bit high?$20, a quarter of the cost of the LomoKino itself. There were still four frames to each JPG file, which requires you to do some manual copying and pasting to break them into individual frames. If you live near a Lomography Gallery store that offers developing services you can take the LomoKino film there. For about $20 you can get your film developed and scanned?with a separate file for each individual frame.?If you're willing to put the time in to scanning yourself, or have a local lab with reasonable rates, using the LomoKino can be economical?but processing and scanning costs need to be taken into consideration when using the camera.

If you shoot slide film you can view your movies without the need to scan. The LomoKinoScope is available only as a bundled item with the LomoKino?the two are sold for $99 together, a $20 premium on the LomoKino by itself. You can load developed film into the device and hold it up to your eye to view each frame, turning a crank to advance it. As you'll need to use color slide film, which produces a positive film strip rather than a more traditional negative, you'll be limited to getting film developed in a professional lab in order to use the LomoKinoScope.

The camera ships with some very fun printed documentation. Instructions for use are part of a flip-book. They're a bit hard to read, as the book itself is pretty small, but you'll really only need them to learn how to load the camera. The more impressive tome one titled Inventing the LomoKino. The full-color, 160-page book is full of pictures and is written as the diary of the inventor of the device. It's a fun way to give you some background and inspiration for its use, and unlike bland instruction manuals, it's a book that is worth an hour of your time to thumb through.

Results and Conclusions
After shooting a few rolls with the LomoKino, I quickly recognized that I was doing some things wrong. First of all, I have a tendency to crank the camera pretty fast, which results in movies that are a bit on the short side. I used iMovie to put the videos together, based on Lomography's instructions, although I did use 0.2 second per frame rather than 0.1 second that Lomo recommends. This gave the videos a more of a flip-book feel to me, and extended the playback length a bit?without sacrificing the sense of motion. There are also instructions for making videos with Windows Movie Maker, which has a minimum frame length of a quarter second.

If objective video quality is a concern, stay away from LomoKino. If you're looking for jumpy, scratchy, unsharp frames?think the credit sequence from The Wonder Years, minus Joe Cocker and some resolution?then by all means, the LomoKino will give you what you want. Images are only somewhat sharp in the center of the frame and have a soft, dreamy feel towards the edgtes. The lens is prone to flare when you point it towards the sun or another bright light source?something you can use to your benefit if that is the effect you are going for.?While it's possible to take footage from a digital camcorder or a series of stills from a digital camera and apply filters to get a similar effect, the rough working style of the LomoKino has a unique charm.

The amount of time that you'll need to devote to the scanning workflow can be daunting, although it may be possible to reduce that time if you use a flatbed scanner. Professional scanning is an option, but those costs can add up quickly. If you're willing to put the time in, the LomoKino could prove to be a valuable creative tool. Sure, you can save some time and money and mimic some of its effects via digital trickery. But if a low-fi camcorder that shoots jumpy, silent movies on 35mm roll film sounds like a fun creative tool, digital filters aren't likely to sate your analog desires. For those with patience, time, and the budget to shoot and process film, the LomoKino is worth a close look.

More Digital Camcorder reviews:
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Source: http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/ziffdavis/pcmag/~3/lCsQwB4Php8/0,2817,2399112,00.asp

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Free Android Wallpaper of the day - Airborne at 39,000 feet

Free Android WallpaperToday's free Android wallpaper comes to us from reader ishore, who got this nice shot of a sea of clouds at 39,000 feet, taken with a Motorola Droid RAZR. 



Source: http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/androidcentral/~3/7HF2uZLP2bc/story01.htm

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Outside Syria's capital, suburbs look like war zone

When Arab League observers headed to the suburbs of Damascus on Thursday, Syrian security refused to accompany them to most areas, because they are no longer in control there.

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In some towns no more than a 15-minute drive from the capital, the governor of rural Damascus warned that gunmen were walking the streets.

But the monitors went, accompanied by journalists, to the outskirts of Irbin and Harasta, which have become hotbeds for protests and armed revolt since the 10-month uprising against President Bashar al-Assad began.

At a checkpoint on an intersection heading into the town of Irbin, dozens of soldiers with assault rifles were deployed in full gear and on alert. On the sidewalk near them lay the bodies of two men shot dead, one of them a soldier.

But the soldiers were fixated nervously on the anti-Assad protest just hundreds of meters away, with protesters chanting "Allahu Akbar". Most shops were closed and people gave the Arab League monitors suspicious looks.

Video: Inside Syria: the untold story (on this page)

"Some people are angry with us because of the report," one observer said.

The observer team sent a report last week on their mission to check implementation of an Arab peace plan that aims to halt bloodshed from Assad's military crackdown on the unrest that the United Nations says has killed more than 5,000 people.

Syria says the revolt is run by foreign-backed militants that have killed over 2,000 of its forces.

While the Arab League came out with a strong statement calling for Assad to step down, many in the Syrian opposition were angry at the monitors' report, which highlighted violence by Assad's adversaries as much as by the government itself.

They said monitors neglected the balance of power in the struggle between protesters and rebels against the army.

ICRC: Red Crescent official shot dead in Syria

Reuters, which joined the monitors on their first observation trip since the report, is in Syria on a state-sponsored trip and is usually accompanied by a government minder.

The Arab observers watched the anti-Assad demonstration from afar, and minutes later they drove away towards a police hospital in Harasta, another flashpoint in the revolt.

The team head, Jaafar al-Kubaida, said the monitors did not enter Irbin because they were worried the "angry crowd" might harass them. "Teams are harassed sometimes, we feared they might attack the cars or throw stones at us. It has happened before."

Cars with 'Israeli bombs'
At the police hospital in Harasta, the staff said most of rural Damascus was not controlled by the government forces and gunmen were kidnapping and killing those affiliated with the government in those areas.

"Any car plate that belongs to the government cannot drive inside Harasta, we as doctors cannot go, they hijacked one of our cars a week ago," said a doctor in the hospital.

A soldier pointed at a mosque facing the checkpoint and said, "You see that mosque? Their snipers sometimes fire at us from there."

A senior officer said that security forces were in talks with the armed men through dignitaries in the towns, hoping to convince them to hand over their weapons. He said the government had not completely lost control of the Damascus countryside.

"No, you cannot say that they are in control of rural Damascus, they control areas and the army control areas," he told Reuters.

Elderly Syrian man dares to speak out to journalists then says 'I will disappear'

When Arab observers pressed a senior officer to allow them entry into the troubled town, he said it was too dangerous.

"The coordination (team) did not get back to us, we told them you wanted to go but still no reply from them, We want you to go to them under their protection," a senior officer told the monitors.

The monitors were frustrated they could not enter, but also said they were unsure if their presence was wanted after their first report. "We would love to go, but I'm not sure we are welcomed there," one observer told Reuters.

Security officials showed monitors three cars which they said were towed from inside Harasta and Douma. They said the vehicles were confiscated from "terrorists" and loaded with Israeli bombs.

Inside Harasta, the army was heavily deployed. Dozens of soldiers in full gear were deployed in a 1,650-foot-long street, their guns pointed up as they nervously watched the nearby houses. People peeked from their windows but few went out. The trash-littered streets was almost deserted.

"Free Syria" was written on a wall.

"Yes, it is not safe," said a veiled woman who was walking a man down the street. She looked worried and scared. "There are gunmen but we do not have the Free Syria Army here."

More of msnbc.com's Syria coverage

Copyright 2012 Thomson Reuters. Click for restrictions.

Source: http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/46150156/ns/world_news-mideast_n_africa/

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Thursday, January 26, 2012

GPS uncovers possible Southwest quake risk

The U.S. Southwest isn't particularly known for its seismic activity, but the Rio Grande Rift, a series of faults and basins that runs from central Colorado south through New Mexico, is alive and stretching, new research shows.

Scientists had suspected the rift might be dead, but measurements of its movement varied widely and were riddled with uncertainties. Now, thanks to state-of-the-art GPS technology, geophysicists have found the rift is indeed extending ? just very slowly.

And of course, anytime a large chunk of the Earth's crust moves, the issue of earthquakes arises.

"There's certainly potential for earthquakes in this region," said Anne Sheehan, a seismologist at the University of Colorado at Boulder who co-authored the new study. "They would be very low-probability events but, like all earthquakes, they could have large consequences if they do happen."

Not dead, but not thriving
Sheehan began studying the region after noticing something odd in the mantle underlying the Rio Grande Rift. Studies had shown that seismic waves move through this part of the mantle very slowly, hinting that it could be quite hot. It could also mean that the overlying continental crust is spreading apart, Sheehan thought.

Using a large network of GPS stations ? nearly 300 sites ? her team monitored the rift's movement over four years. They found that the rift is in fact spreading very slowly, at a rate of about 0.1 millimeters per year.

"That's really pretty small," Sheehan told OurAmazingPlanet. "The rift is not dead, but it's not really thriving, either."

More surprisingly, the team found that the spreading isn't focused at the rift itself, but is spread across a span of more than 370 miles (600 kilometers).

"That wasn't what we expected, because the deformation at the surface has been along faults that are relatively narrow," said Henry Berglund, a geophysicist at UNAVCO who led the study. "Instead, we observed the deformation is likely much broader than that ? at least the width of the state of New Mexico."

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A real earthquake risk?
As for earthquake risks, Berglund explained, "It's not a predictive tool, but it does tell us that, if the deformation is broader, maybe we're more likely to have earthquakes in more places than we previously expected.?

There was a magnitude-5.3 quake near Trinidad, Colo., last August, and a larger earthquake with an estimated magnitude of 6.6 in north-central Colorado in 1882. A magnitude-5.5 quake shook Dulce, N.M., in 1966. Future quakes in the region could also fall in the magnitude-5 or -6 range, but likely not much higher, Sheehan said.

"We can't use this to say we expect to see a big earthquake anywhere in the region," Sheehan cautioned. "But a more worrisome aspect is that we don't really expect earthquakes here, so our building codes aren't as strict as they are in, say, California."

The team's findings appear in the January issue of the journal Geology.

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

Source: http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/46132907/ns/technology_and_science-science/

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Higher oil prices, asset sales boost Conoco profit (AP)

NEW YORK ? Higher oil prices are making it easier for ConocoPhillips to complete a massive transformation this year.

The Houston company said Wednesday that profits rose 66.1 percent in the fourth quarter. Much of that came from the sale of pipelines and other assets that rose in value with the price of oil.

From October to December, ConocoPhillips earned $3.39 billion, or $2.56 per share, compared with $2.04 billion, or $1.39 per share a year earlier. Revenue increased 17.2 percent to $62.4 billion.

Excluding gains, earnings were $2.02 per share. Analysts had expected earnings of $1.77 per share on revenue of $45.1 billion.

ConocoPhillips is in the final stages of a three-year overhaul of its worldwide operations. Since 2010, the company shed $10.7 billion in assets, including some of its least profitable businesses, and it plans to sell more than $1 billion more by the end of 2012.

It also will spin off its refining business into a separate company, Phillips 66, before June.

As it closed operations, worldwide oil production declined, including a 13.3 percent drop in the final three months of 2011. Exploration and production profits fell 5 percent in the quarter, but the decline would have been much worse if not for an increase in oil and natural gas prices.

ConocoPhillips sold crude worldwide for an average of $97.22 in the quarter, up 22.4 percent from the same period last year. It sold natural gas for $5.34 per 1,000 cubic feet, up 4.9 percent from last year.

Meanwhile, refining and market profits soared as the company sold $1.55 billion in pipelines and other refining assets. Altogether, the company's refining business earned $1.7 billion in the quarter.

ConocoPhillips' chemicals unit increased profits 32.2 percent to $156 million and its midstream business increased earnings 30 percent to $118 million.

For the full year, ConocoPhillips said it earned $12.4 billion, or $8.97 per share, compared with $11.4 billion, or $7.62 per share, in 2010. Annual revenue increased 26.5 percent to $251.2 billion.

ConocoPhillips is the first major oil company to report financial results for the fourth quarter. Chevron Corp. plans to release its quarterly figures on Friday, followed by Exxon Mobil Corp. and Royal Dutch Shell next week. Occidental Petroleum Corp. on Wednesday reported a 35 percent jump in quarterly profits as it increased production and sold crude for higher prices.

ConocoPhillips shares fell by 11 cents to $70.50 in morning trading.

Source: http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/energy/*http%3A//news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20120125/ap_on_bi_ge/us_earns_conocophillips

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Wednesday, January 25, 2012

Remember, They Hate us for Our Freedom (Balloon Juice)

Share With Friends: Share on FacebookTweet ThisPost to Google-BuzzSend on GmailPost to Linked-InSubscribe to This Feed | Rss To Twitter | Politics - Top Stories Stories, News Feeds and News via Feedzilla.

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Egypt partially lifts state of emergency law (Reuters)

CAIRO (Reuters) ? The head of Egypt's ruling military council said Tuesday he had decided to lift a state of emergency from Wednesday except in certain cases, a move one lawmaker said did not amount to a full cancellation of laws in place since 1981.

"I have taken a decision to end the state of emergency," Field Marshal Mohamed Hussein Tantawi said in a televised address, adding that it would still apply in dealing with cases of "thuggery." He did not spell out what that meant.

"This is not a real cancellation of the state of emergency," said Essam Sultan, a newly elected member of parliament from the

Wasat Party, a moderate Islamist group.

"The proper law designates the ending of the state of emergency completely or enforcing it completely, nothing in between," he said.

(Reporting by Tom Perry/Marwa Awad)

Source: http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/africa/*http%3A//news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20120124/wl_nm/us_egypt_emergency

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Tuesday, January 24, 2012

Redknapp trial: Transfer-bonus bank account hidden

By ROB HARRIS

AP Sports Writer

Associated Press Sports

updated 8:57 a.m. ET Jan. 24, 2012

LONDON (AP) - Tottenham manager Harry Redknapp was accused in court Tuesday of concealing a "secret" offshore bank account from British tax authorities that was used for six years to stash $295,000 of transfer bonuses.

Redknapp, considered a favorite to become England manager after this year's European Championship, is standing trial with his former chairman at Portsmouth on tax evasion charges during their time working together at the south coast club.

"I don't fiddle anybody. I pay my tax," Redknapp said in a police interview read to the court.

According to prosecutor John Black, Redknapp claimed not to know how $295,000 from Portsmouth arrived in his Monaco bank account, despite flying to the principality in 2002 to open the "secret" account.

The payments have been described by Black as "off-record bonus" or a "bung," a British term used to mean a bribe.

But Redknapp denied taking a "bung" in a Feb. 2009 conversation with a journalist, according to a transcript read to London's Southwark Crown Court on the second day of the trial.

"It's nothing to do with a bung - it's paid by the chairman," Redknapp told a reporter with the now-defunct News of the World.

"If it was something dodgy I would have gone over there and brought it back in a brief case," Redknapp added.

Monaco was chosen because it has a "minimal taxation and a long history of banking secrecy," Black said Monday.

On Tuesday, Black cited Redknapp's "supposed ignorance of the circumstances of the opening, operation and ownership" of the account, which Britain's tax authority was only made aware of in 2008.

"Had Mr. Redknapp really forgotten that he had flown to Monaco to set up the account?" Black told the jury.

That disclosure to tax inspectors only came as a result of questions posed by a Premier League-led investigation into kickbacks and after Redknapp was arrested in November 2007.

The court heard Monday that Redknapp did not mention the account's existence between 2004 and 2006 when he was investigated by Britain's tax authority over his transfer dealings at West Ham, which he managed between 1994 and 2001. That probe was prompted by "concerns" over the 300,000 pound bonus Redknapp received from the sale of now-Manchester United defender Rio Ferdinand to Leeds from West Ham.

The charges in this case are that Mandaric paid $145,000 into Redknapp's Monaco bank account in May 2002, prompted by Peter Crouch's sale from Portsmouth to Aston Villa, and another $150,000 two years later to avoid paying income tax and national insurance.

The 64-year-old Redknapp managed Portsmouth, which is now in the second tier, between 2002 and 2004, and returned to Fratton Park in 2005 after a brief spell at its archrival Southampton before moving to Tottenham in 2008.

Redknapp's success at Tottenham has made him the leading contender to replace Fabio Capello as England coach after this year's European Championship. Spurs have qualified for the Champions League for the first time under Redknapp and are currently third in the Premier League.

Redknapp was portrayed by Black as a talented soccer manager, but also "a hardheaded businessman, with a financial acumen."

The 73-year-old Mandaric, a Serbian, is now chairman at third-tier club Sheffield Wednesday. Both Mandaric and Redknapp deny the two charges.

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


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Barca awaits Real Madrid again

Real Madrid probably will abandon its defensive strategy and go on the attack against Barcelona in the second leg of the Copa del Rey quarterfinals on Wednesday.

Reuters
That's a reason?

AC Milan's Kevin-Prince Boateng is hurt again, and his girlfriend says it's because they have sex "7-10 times a week." Oh.

Source: http://nbcsports.msnbc.com/id/46098543/ns/sports-soccer/

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Monday, January 23, 2012

Watch Lifetime's Drew Peterson: Untouchable... in 90 Seconds (omg!)

Did you miss Lifetime's Drew Peterson: Untouchable? Instead of sitting through the full TV movie ? which drew record ratings for Lifetime on Sunday night with 5.8 million viewers ? you can now watch a condensed 90-second version of the film starring Rob Lowe, thanks to Vulture.

VIDEO: Rob Lowe Sports a Mean 'Stache in Drew Peterson: Untouchable

Check out the Parks and Recreation star as womanizing police officer Drew Peterson, who was arrested in connection to the killing of his third wife and disappearance of his fourth (played in the TV movie by The Big Bang Theory's Kaley Cuoco).

It's all about the 'stache, right? What did you think of Untouchable?

Related Articles on TVGuide.com

Source: http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/entertainment/*http%3A//us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/external/omg_rss/rss_omg_en/news_watch_lifetimes_drew_peterson_untouchable90_seconds_023000789/44280578/*http%3A//omg.yahoo.com/news/watch-lifetimes-drew-peterson-untouchable-90-seconds-023000789.html

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Patriots in Super Bowl, beat Ravens 23-20

(AP) ? Tom Brady got all the help he needed to get the New England Patriots into the Super Bowl.

Thank you, Billy Cundiff.

The Baltimore Ravens kicker shanked a 32-yard field goal with 11 seconds left and the Patriots escaped with a 23-20 victory in the AFC championship game on Sunday.

Usually, vintage Brady doesn't need much assistance in championship settings, but the Patriots much-maligned defense came through, and Brady's 1-yard touchdown dive with 11:29 left proved to be the winning points.

"Well, I sucked pretty bad today, but our defense saved us," Brady said after throwing for 239 yards, with two interceptions and, for the first time in 36 games, no TD passes. "I'm going to try to go out and do a better job in a couple of weeks, but I'm proud of this team, my teammates."

Brady waited out the final tense minutes on the sideline, and then celebrated with the rest of his team when Cundiff's attempt went wide left. The Ravens looked on in stunned horror.

Cundiff had no excuse.

"It's a kick I've kicked probably a thousand times in my career," Cundiff said. "I went out there and didn't convert. That's the way things go."

Next up as the Patriots chase their fourth Super Bowl trophy in Brady and coach Bill Belichick's tenure in New England is the New York Giants, who beat the San Francisco 49ers 20-17 in overtime Sunday night.

The Patriots were installed as 3-point favorites for the Super Bowl on Feb. 5 in Indianapolis.

In their last trip to the big game, the Patriots had an 18-0 record when they were stunned by the Giants four years ago. They won the NFL championship for the 2001, 2003 and 2004 seasons. This time, they head to the Super Bowl with a 10-game winning streak.

Before Cundiff missed, the Ravens had a chance to go ahead two plays earlier, but wide receiver Lee Evans was stripped of the ball in the end zone by backup cornerback Sterling Moore, who earlier was victimized for a touchdown that gave Baltimore (13-5) the lead 17-16.

On his touchdown, Brady took a huge hit from Ravens star linebacker Ray Lewis, then emphatically spiked the ball as he walked away. Earlier, Brady showed his fire by barking at Lewis following a hard tackle on a 4-yard run.

"It's a pretty mentally tough team," said Brady, whose fifth trip to the Super Bowl will equal John Elway's achievement with Denver. "There's really some resiliency. We've shown that all season. Even in the games we've lost, the three games we lost, we fought until the end. We're always going to fight to the end. It's great to be a part of a team like this."

Baltimore had the touted defense in this matchup, but New England's unit, ranked 31st overall, was just as powerful.

"We stepped up," Pro Bowl nose tackle Vince Wilfork said. "We all stepped up big time. Being in this situation is a great moment. You have to cherish this moment."

The Patriots shut down Ray Rice, the league's total yardage leader, who was limited to 78 yards. Brandon Spikes made a fourth-quarter interception of Joe Flacco, who played well before that and threw for two touchdowns. And when the Ravens were threatening to score a late touchdown to win their first conference title in 11 years, New England clamped down.

"It's two great football teams, two gladiators, I guess, just kind of going at each other at the end, and I'm proud of our guys," Harbaugh said. "You know, we've got 53 guys, mighty men, as we like to call them ? and they fought, and we came up a little bit short, as 53. You know, 53 win and 53 lose."

With Rice a nonfactor, Baltimore had to rely on Flacco, and he delivered one of his best performances. Flacco has led the Ravens into the playoffs in all four of his pro seasons, but not to the Super Bowl. He was 22 for 36 for 306 yards and touchdowns of 6 yards to Dennis Pitta and 29 to rookie Torrey Smith.

The loss hardly could be blamed on Flacco.

"I don't know if I ever will prove anything," he said. "I just play the same way. We lost; someone has to. But we laid it all out on the field."

Operating against a porous secondary missing its top cornerback, Kyle Arrington, who left in the second quarter with an eye injury, Flacco gave Baltimore its first lead. His short pass on third down to explosive receiver Smith turned into a 29-yard scamper down the right sideline after Moore completely whiffed on the tackle.

Danny Woodhead's fumble on the ensuing kickoff set up Baltimore at the Patriots 28, but a third-down sack forced Cundiff to kick a 39-yard field goal, making it 20-16.

New England didn't flinch.

Brady took the Patriots 63 yards in 11 plays, and seemed to score on a 1-yard run. The call was overruled by replay, though, and on fourth-down, he dived just high enough over the line for the winning points.

"Every inch counts in this game and every foot counts in this game," said 12-year veteran guard Brian Waters, who joined the Patriots this year and is headed to his first Super Bowl.

Defense was particularly dominant early on. The Patriots held Baltimore to minus-4 yards on its first three first-down runs and forced the Ravens to go three-and-out each time. Meanwhile, the Patriots put together a methodical 13-play, 50-yard drive helped greatly by an illegal contact penalty on Lardarius Webb that negated a tipped interception by Bernard Pollard.

But Brady was sacked for the first time by Paul Kruger and Stephen Gostkowski kicked a 29-yard field goal.

Late in the first quarter, the Ravens changed tactics after Webb picked off a pass intended for Julian Edelman at the Baltimore 30. Flacco rolled right on first down and threw deep down the sideline to a wide-open Smith. Had the pass not been short, Smith likely would have sprinted into the end zone. Instead, it was a 42-yard gain, not bad at all given Baltimore's previous ineptitude with the ball.

Cundiff's 20-yard field goal momentarily tied it.

Brady, perhaps peeved by his poor throw that Webb picked off, hit two passes for 29 yards on a 75-yard drive to make it 10-3. BenJarvus Green-Ellis rushed for 36 yards on that series, and also drew a personal foul against Webb, who ripped off the running back's helmet on a short rush. Green-Ellis surged into the end zone from the 7, then pointed to the patch on his jersey honoring Myra Kraft, the late wife of Patriots owner Robert Kraft.

In the locker room afterward, Kraft was asked about the motivation the team got from dedicating the season to his wife of 48 years. Kraft tapped an MHK pin on his left lapel and kissed his fingers before pointing upward.

"They're an amazing team, they're a great brotherhood, they're a family," Kraft said.

Going back to the pass, the Ravens tied it on a 6-yard throw to Pitta ? yes, Baltimore has some dangerous tight ends, too ? that concluded an 80-yard march. Flacco opened the drive with a 20-yard completion to Evans and then Anquan Boldin escaped Arrington's attempted tackle to gain 37 more yards on a reception. Flacco was finding holes in New England's coverage, particularly when he moved out of the pocket.

New England's All-Pro tight end Rob Gronkowski made an error at the end of a 63-yard drive, failing to keep two feet in bounds on a catch. Gostkowski's 35-yard field goal made it 13-10.

Gronkowski left for a while with a left leg problem, but soon returned.

"It doesn't even feel right, especially playing with the veterans here," Gronkowski said. "I watched them go to the Super Bowl as I was growing up and now I'm part of it? It is an unreal moment."

Notes: Brady won his 16th career postseason game to tie Joe Montana for most in NFL history. ... New England's seventh Super Bowl appearance puts it one behind Pittsburgh and Dallas. ... The Patriots are 7-1 in AFC title games, 4-0 at home. ... Brady and Belichick are the first QB-coach combination to win five conference championships in the Super Bowl era. ... Baltimore was 7-0 against playoff teams this season before Sunday's loss. ... The Ravens finished 4-5 on the road. ... In three career games against the Patriots, Rice averaged 145.7 yards, nearly double what he managed Sunday.

Associated Press

Source: http://hosted2.ap.org/APDEFAULT/3d281c11a96b4ad082fe88aa0db04305/Article_2012-01-22-AFC%20Championship/id-e1f4fa158c9d4d7b915e8dfc94ce324f

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