Twitter Fantasy Football Roundtable - Dec 20,2012

Mark and Ashley, formerly featured on House Hunters and hosts of the popular food and culture site, The Seattle Cook, join Real Sisters for a fun conversation loaded with ideas on how to entertain during the holidays.

On this edition of The Show with Steve and Bo, we present the great debate version 2.0. With Seattle Seahawks set to throw down with the San Francisco 49ers on Sunday Night Football, we welcome Matthew D. Irby from LetstalkRangers.com

Gideon Grove is no stranger to the music scene. Having grown up around music & being an accomplished viola player, he's played for some of DC's dignitaries & politicians. He stops by Jammin Jukebox Radio Show to chat about his new release Wildfires.

Charley & Tracy Vega, owners of Simple Self Defense for Women, rejoin us to discuss safety tips for holiday travelers as well as safety while shopping, leaving your home and other great tips and advice to help you stay safe during the holidays and all year.

Host Brenda Brown presents 14 Year Old Lizzie Sider, an accomplished singer-songwriter seen on TCN as well as performing in various venues throughout the country. English band 10Reasonstolive will present their holiday song, Christmas Time. Stories,Music,Fun

Best Ever You welcomes former Elite model, Elina Madison to the show. Known for her acting in suspense and thriller movies, Elina was most recently seen playing devoted wife Susan Montemayor in the Discovery Channel series ?Blood Relatives."

Small Business Roundtable welcomes Dr. Fred Garmon, Executive Director for People for Care and Learning. PCL has embarked on an ambitious campaign to build an entire new city in Andong Cambodia, which will create new homes, paved roads, clean water, and new businesses.

Jim Everett, former Rams and Saints QB perhaps best known for his run in with Jim Rome and this GQ Cover joins Chris Mascaro and Angelo Cane this week on Thursday Night Tailgate. Hear Jim talk about playing for Purdue, in L.A. and the controversy with Rome.

Our first guest is a Doomsday Prepper! Ron Foster, author of several books on surviving the apocalypse joins us from Alabama. We will also be planning our last meal with George Kourounis host of televisions ANGRY PLANET.

Veteran award-winning actor, Dennis Christopher, visits with Olivia Wilder to talk about his new Quentin Tarantino film, "Django," scheduled for Christmas day release.

The world's premiere science comedian Brian Malow joins FastForward radio to ring in the final day of the Mayan calendar. Will the world end as predicted or will we push on? Tune in and find out!

Louise Rogers is an IFBB Pro Figure Athlete capturing the British Championship and gained her pro car in the Women's World Championship , the first Brit to do so in that division. Her next stops on her competition trail are the Arnold Classic and her televisi

We are told that there is 100 years' worth of natural gas waiting to fuel the U.S. thanks to modern drilling and fracking. We are also told that is a blessing...but for whom? Food & Water Watch researcher Hugh MacMillan answers that and other questions.

Teen hosts Jackie, Janae, Kia, and Grace talk about giving back to the community through volunteerism, both during the holidays and all year long. They are joined by guest Greg Meitus, Public Relations & Marketing Manager of the Salvation Army of Syracuse.

Host Tim Gordon and a panel of guest film critics will discuss some of the year's most epic failures, disappointments and cinematic misfires as we talk about the Worst Movies of 2012.

The Power Is Now Real Estate Resource is a special edition of the Power Is Now Online Radio. Join us in welcoming Michael Hellickson, Founder/CEO of Virtual Assistant Staffing. Learn how to use virtual assistants to grow your real estate business.

Tash Phillips is a Pop singer/songwriter who found fame with her hit single, "California Eyes" that was featured in "Hollywood Heights". She sits down with Pam & Dawn to chat about her latest release & upcoming new web series.

His roles in Millenium, Terminator and as the legendary character Bishop in Aliens, he became a SCI FI Icon. Now he has expanded into the world of comic books, releasing his first issue of "To Hell you Ride." Matty welcome Lance Henrickson!

Tune in to listen to Season 2, Episode 4 of Verses and Flow with Spoken word by Gina Loring and Pharaohe Monch Brought to you by Lexus

Source: http://www.blogtalkradio.com/fantasyfootballpowerhour/2012/12/20/twitter-fantasy-football-roundtable

maya angelou joan of arc tony robbins bon iver abraham lincoln vampire hunter their eyes were watching god lara logan

Venezuela VP hopes Chavez can be sworn in Jan. 10

CARACAS, Venezuela (AP) ? Venezuela's vice president said on Wednesday that the government is still aiming for President Hugo Chavez to be sworn in for a new term as scheduled next month, saying his condition has been improving after his cancer surgery in Cuba.

Vice President Nicolas Maduro declined to speculate when asked about scenarios if the ailing president is unable to take the oath of office on Jan. 10. He took the stance amid mounting concerns over the president's tough fight against complications following his fourth cancer-related operation, and a day after National Assembly President Diosdado Cabello floated the idea of postponing Chavez's inauguration if necessary.

"We're concentrating on prayer, on faith, on medical treatment that is among the best in the world, so that our commander in chief and president upholds his sacred duty on Jan. 10," Maduro said at a news conference. "Day after day ... he has been getting better, and he's the commander of a thousand victories, he's the commander of miracles."

Maduro, whom Chavez designated as his chosen successor before the surgery, also said that if Chavez isn't able to be sworn in as planned, "he left clear, public instructions about any scenario."

The 58-year-old president has not spoken publicly since his Dec. 11 surgery for pelvic cancer, and on Tuesday the government said he had a respiratory infection, though it was controlled. Chavez also suffered bleeding during the six-hour operation, which the government has said was promptly stanched.

Cabello raised the idea of postponing the inauguration on Tuesday, telling reporters it was simply his personal opinion and not an official proposal.

"You can't tie the will of the people to a date," Cabello said in remarks published by the newspaper El Nacional. "My idea is that we can't see the laws and the constitution from the restrictive point of view."

The constitution says the president should be sworn in for a new term on Jan. 10. Cabello expressed hope that Chavez could still be back for his swearing-in.

But Venezuelan analyst Edgar Gutierrez said that Cabello appeared to be sending a message that it might take longer, and that he believes pushing back the date is an option.

"It's the clearest signal that the president won't be in conditions to be sworn in," Gutierrez said. "Diosdado is preparing the field of opinion."

Cabello noted the constitution also says that if a president is unable to be sworn in by the National Assembly, he may be sworn in by the Supreme Court. "And it doesn't put a date" for that, he said, noting that there is no mention of a date in the article dealing with a swearing-in before the Supreme Court.

When Maduro was asked about the idea at Wednesday's news conference, he said: "We don't think it's favorable to enter into the field of speculation."

Cabello is one of the few government officials who have traveled to Cuba since Chavez's surgery, and his comments carry weight with the president's United Socialist Party of Venezuela, known as PSUV for its initials in Spanish. Cabello is an influential vice president of the party, and he was among the officials present at Maduro's news conference.

Asked about the possibility raised by Cabello, Maduro said that "any matter that has to be settled, we have our ... Constitutional Chamber of the Supreme Court of Justice, which has shown a great ability to interpret any subject in the constitution that's necessary."

Venezuela's opposition coalition took issue with Cabello's proposal, saying in a statement that the president should appear and be sworn in on the scheduled date, and that "it can't be modified on the basis of personal opinions or political conveniences." If the president does not appear, the opposition statement said, the constitution is clear that he should be declared absent and a new election should be called.

Law professor Vicente Gonzalez de la Vega, however, agreed with Cabello, saying the constitution allows for the swearing-in to be before the Supreme Court at a later date, which it doesn't specify.

"The only thing that ends Jan. 10 is the current (presidential) term," said Gonzalez, a professor at Central University of Venezuela.

Gonzalez said that lawmakers can request a medical report "to see whether he's getting better, whether he can come or not." And if not, he said, a transition process should then begin, including the calling of a new election.

If a president-elect dies or is declared incapacitated before the swearing-in, the constitution says the National Assembly president would temporarily take charge of the government and a new presidential vote would have to be held within 30 days. Chavez has said that if such a vote is held, his supporters should elect Maduro to take his place.

Former Supreme Court magistrate Roman Duque Corredor has ruled out the possibility of authorities going to Cuba for a swearing-in, saying a president cannot take the oath of office outside Venezuela.

Diego Moya-Ocampos, an analyst with the consulting firm IHS Global Insight in London, said that given the control that Chavez's movement has over all state institutions, including the Supreme Court, "any arrangement that could suit the ruling PSUV party political strategies is possible.

"This could include postponing the date of the inauguration for the new term, if needed, or even taking advantage of any legal technicality that could see Chavez formally inaugurating his mandate from Cuba," Moya-Ocampos said. "This will all, of course, depend on Chavez's state of health and what is more strategically convenient to those making the decisions."

The Venezuelan leader underwent his latest operation after tests found his cancer had come back despite previous surgeries, chemotherapy and radiation treatments.

He had said in July that tests showed he was cancer-free, and he was re-elected in October. But Chavez said later he had been suffering swelling and pain that he thought was due both to his exertion during the campaign and to his prior radiation treatments.

Independent medical experts consulted by The Associated Press said that given the government's account of the surgery and complications, they think it is unlikely Chavez would be able to stand up and take the oath of office as scheduled. They also said the vague information available makes it difficult to know the likely course of Chavez's recovery.

Dr. Gustavo Medrano, a lung specialist at the Centro Medico hospital in Caracas, said knowing whether Chavez is on a respirator and in an intensive care unit, and whether he is being given high doses of morphine for pain, would be important to judging where his recovery stands.

Based on the information provided about Chavez's condition, Medrano said that on his inauguration date "he shouldn't be on his feet."

Throughout his treatments, Chavez has kept secret several details about his illness, including the precise location of the tumors and the type of cancer.

Dr. Carlos Castro, scientific director of the Colombian League Against Cancer in Bogota, said much will depend on how Chavez's complications evolve, including the respiratory infection and other infections or bleeding that can develop after such surgery.

"Personally I don't think he can be sworn in on that scheduled date. I don't think Chavez is going to be in shape to," Castro told the AP in a telephone interview.

He said that recovering enough to function as president will probably take at least one or two months if all goes well. He noted that Chavez had mentioned being in serious pain before the operation.

"He still isn't out of danger, and he is still in what I'd call a critical phase in which anything can happen," Castro said.

___

Associated Press writers Fabiola Sanchez and Ian James contributed to this report.

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/venezuela-vp-hopes-chavez-sworn-jan-10-230314045.html

apple store bestbuy bestbuy gamestop black friday deals Sephora Cyber Monday 2012

Geminid meteor shower reigns in the night sky (+video)

Geminid meteor shower: Last night's annual meteor shower was a crowd pleaser. The Gemind meteor shower comes from debris shed by a 3-mile-wide? asteroid called 3200 Phaethon.

By Mike Wall,?Space.com / December 14, 2012

The annual Geminid meteor shower peaked overnight last night (Dec. 13), dazzling skywatchers around the world with a bounty of brilliant shooting stars.

Skip to next paragraph

' + google_ads[0].line2 + '
' + google_ads[0].line3 + '

'; } else if (google_ads.length > 1) { ad_unit += ''; } } document.getElementById("ad_unit").innerHTML += ad_unit; google_adnum += google_ads.length; return; } var google_adnum = 0; google_ad_client = "pub-6743622525202572"; google_ad_output = 'js'; google_max_num_ads = '1'; google_feedback = "on"; google_ad_type = "text"; google_adtest = "on"; google_image_size = '230x105'; google_skip = '0'; // -->

Subscribe Today to the Monitor

Click Here for your FREE 30 DAYS of
The Christian Science Monitor
Weekly Digital Edition

The Geminids' peak was supposed to be good this year, as it occurred in a sky left dark by the new moon. Experts had predicted that viewers in rural areas might see 100 meteors per hour early Friday morning (Dec. 14) ? and perhaps even more.

Judging by the reactions of some SPACE.com readers, the Geminids did not disappoint.

"What an incredible show we had here!" Sean Parker, who watched the shower early Friday just west of Tucson, Ariz., told SPACE.com via email. "I was able to see about 50 per hour." [Photos: Geminid Meteors of 2012]

Parker constructed a gorgeous composite image of about 30 frames, which captured dozens of shooting stars streaking through the skies above a saguaro-studded desert mountain.

"This image took a lot of work, as I had to scroll through about 400 frames and find which frames had shooting stars in them, then cut out every meteor and blend," Parker said.

Skywatchers on the other side of the world were enthralled by the Geminids as well.

"Awesome experience," said Mumbai, India-based Swaroop Hangal, who also captured a photo of a fast-moving meteor.

"Today, I had planned to see 50 streaks and then quit with or without a pic," Hangal said. "Had almost lost hope when I could capture the 50th one, just between Betelgeuse at the bottom & Alhena in the Gemini constellation."

The Geminids? so named because they appear to emanate from the constellation Gemini (The Twins) ? are one of the most dependably impressive annual meteor showers.

They result when Earth plows through debris shed by a 3-mile-wide (5 kilometers) asteroid called 3200 Phaethon. These tiny particles burn up in our planet's atmosphere, leaving bright streaks in the sky to commemorate their passing.

The Geminids' source is unusual for?meteor showers, which are typically caused by streams of sloughed-off comet particles. Debris streams from the famous Halley's Comet, for example, produce the Orionids every October and the Eta Aquarids, which peak in early May.

If you missed the Geminid peak last night, don't fret; you still have a few days to catch the shower this year. The Geminids should linger until Sunday (Dec. 16) or so before fizzling out completely.

Editor's Note: If you take a photo of this year's Geminids that you'd like to share with SPACE.com for a possible story or gallery, please send it, along with your comments, to spacephotos@space.com.

Follow SPACE.com senior writer Mike Wall on Twitter @michaeldwall?or SPACE.com @Spacedotcom. We're also on Facebook?and?Google+.?

Copyright 2012 SPACE.com, a TechMediaNetwork company. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.

Source: http://rss.csmonitor.com/~r/feeds/science/~3/FXHxmvVP7I0/Geminid-meteor-shower-reigns-in-the-night-sky-video

coachella 2012 line up lsu crimson tide crimson tide 2013 ford fusion bcs jay z glory

Budget talks face big hurdles on spending side

1 day

John W. Schoen , NBC News

As fiscal cliff negotiators inch closer to compromise on proposed tax increases to close the federal budget deficit, work now turns to efforts to reach agreements on spending cuts.

In many ways, lawmakers have left the toughest part of their talks until last.

By mid-week, Congressional Republicans and the White House continued to whittle down their differences over how much to raise taxes. Unless revised, the current budget law would impose more than a half-trillion of takes hike and spending cuts on Jan. 1, an amount widely?believed to spell big trouble for the feeble U.S. economic recovery.

The initial gap in the tax proposals???the White House's call for?$1.6 trillion in new money and the?$800 billion counteroffer?from House Republicans ? had narrowed Tuesday?to about $200 billion, prompting optimism that a deal could be reached.

But there appeared to be little progress in negotiating a compromise to the spending side of the ledger, which remains burdened by massive funding gaps in both the Social Security and Medicare entitlement programs.

"We are not close to a deal,"?Sen.?Bob?Corker, R-Tenn.,? told CNBC Tuesday. "I've been trying for three weeks ? standing on my head, doing cartwheels ? to try to pivot to entitlement reform. This is not a deal here."?

It?s not hard to see why the spending side of the talks is proving so difficult.

One big reason: Congress has already enacted deep cuts in the growth of so-called discretionary spending, the money authorized every year to fund domestic programs, governments agencies and defense spending.

With the Budget Control Act of 2011 last year, both parties in Congress and the president agreed to tight spending caps that reduce discretionary spending by $1 trillion over 10 years. Those caps are expected to shrink federal?spending from 8.7 percent of gross domestic product in 2011 to 5.0 percent in 2022, according to the Office of Management and Budget.

?Essentially we?ve already implemented some quite big cuts, ??said Jim Horney, a budget analyst at the?Center on Budget and Policy Priorities. ?In many areas, we?re going to have to cut pretty far below inflation just to comply with the caps.?

But it remains to be seen whether Congress sticks with the budget control?plan over the next decade and generates the projected savings needed to rein in the deficit. Some budget analysts note that Congress has broken similar?budget promises in the past.

?Even though the law's in place right now to cap spending at a?modest growth rate in the future, that all depends on whether those caps really hold,? said Patrick Louis Knudsen, a budget analyst at the Heritage Foundation. ?We?ve had spending caps in the past but they've blown right through them.?

The bigger problem is that discretionary spend makes up only about third of what Uncle Sam spends every year. That makes it harder to shrink the overall deficit by cutting only the slowest-growing slice of the pie.

?You're basically cutting bone, and you?re not getting much for it,? said Georgetown University professor Gary Bass, a founder of budget watchdog?OMB Watch. ?The big-ticket items are the entitlements. But that?isn't?where Congress tends to make their cuts.?

That may be about to change. In return for raising taxes, congressional Republicans have made clear they won?t go along with any deal that?doesn't?include major changes in Social Security and Medicare.

While those programs offer the biggest potential for savings, they also present negotiators with the thorniest political choices. For decades, no politician has dared propose raising the costs to taxpayers?or cutting their?benefits.

Of the two, Social Security offers some relatively simple ? if politically painful???fixes. One involves slowing the growth of benefits to better reflect the real increase in the?annual?cost of living. Some critics argue that the program's adjustment formula is?too generous and contributes to the funding gap.

A beneficiary born in the 1940s, for example, will have paid in an average of about $195,000 (in current dollars) and can expect to collect an average of $175,000, according to CBO estimates. But, unless the formula is changed, the ratio of payments to benefits will?gradually shift for younger retirees in the coming decades. By the time those born in the 1980s retire, they will have paid in $260,000 in current dollars ? but will collect $285,000, according to CBO estimates.

Worse, the system relies on a slower?growing working-age population to fund the rapidly expanding pool of ?baby boom retirees. Today, there are nearly five workers supporting every retiree collecting benefits. By 2030, that ratio shrinks to just three workers supporting each beneficiary.

One proposed solution is to slow the growth of benefits. By applying a so-called ?chained? consumer price index (which takes into account consumer-buying patterns as prices of specific goods rise or fall), some analysts believe the long-term financial health of the system can be brought back into balance.

?You?re still adjusting Social Security to accommodate to the rise in the cost of living, but you?re accommodating it in a more accurate way,? said Knudsen. ?The existing CPI tends to overstate it.?

Opponents of the move argue that the chained index doesn't accurately reflect the typical?shopping basket of elderly consumers, who pay a disproportionate share of their income on health care, which is rising in cost more rapidly that overall?inflation.? ?

Another major fix could come from raising the cap on income subject to the payroll taxes that fund the program. Under current law, income over $110,000?isn't?subject to that tax; raising the cap to $170,000 would bring in another $450 billion over 10 years, according to CBO estimates.

That change alone could close the bulk of the retirement program?s shortfall, said Bass.

Solutions will be much harder to come by for the funding gaps overtaking Medicare, which pays for health care for seniors, and Medicaid, which covers low-income households. That?s because Congress has little control over the rapid increases in the cost of delivering health care, no matter how it?s funded.

One very simple proposal would be to raise the age at which Medicare?coverage kicks in. Though simple, the idea is deeply unpopular with a wide swath of older, politically influential voters.

?It?s just a code for cutting benefits,? said Bass. ?However you do the math, it?s a cut to the beneficiaries.?

The change also wouldn't generate nearly enough in savings to offset the harsh political backlash it would produce.?Raising the eligibility age by just two years, to 67, would only save $125 billion?over 10 years, according to the CBO. That?s about 2 percent of the $7 trillion, 10-year overall budget?deficit lawmakers are trying to close.

Another proposal: raise Medicare?premiums. Since the program was launched in 1966, the share paid by beneficiaries? premiums has fallen from half of the cost of coverage to a quarter. But raising that to 35 percent of the cost would raise just $240 billion over 10 years, according to CBO.

Other budget-balancing moves include applying a ?means test? to Medicare benefits ? cutting the amount of coverage for wealthier seniors who can afford to buy their own private insurance.

?Raising premiums simply feeds a larger government,? said Knudsen. ?By reducing subsidies, you?re actually restraining the growth of government, which is what we favor.?

But, like Social Security, politically powerful lobbies?behind seniors covered by Medicare, including AARP,?strongly oppose any benefit cuts.

The ultimate solution, say budget analysts, is to slow the overall growth of health care spending, one of the primary goals of Obamacare. But it remains to be seen whether the estimated savings from that health-reform law?will materialize. Even then, the savings from that program, by themselves, are too small to make a serious dent in the overall?deficit.

Until they are, the unchecked growth of health care costs will remain the biggest???and thorniest ? problem involved in taming federal spending, say budget analysts.

Source: http://www.nbcnews.com/business/economywatch/budget-talks-face-major-hurdles-spending-side-1C7657732

double fine adventure turbo tax katharine mcphee cold mountain valentines day ideas the villages florida egoraptor

Save 43% on the My Little Pony Royal Wedding Castle Playset, Free Shipping Eligible!

Sorry, Readability was unable to parse this page for content.

Source: http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/Babygoodbuyscom/~3/9qEGX9CKzZQ/save-43-on-the-my-little-pony-royal-wedding-castle-playset-free-shipping-eligible.html

Jael Strauss Alison Pill Sam Bacile sprint britney spears At&t Wireless 9/11

Andrew Luck-led Colts rally to beat Lions 35-33

DETROIT (AP) ? Andrew Luck threw a 14-yard touchdown pass to Donnie Avery with no time left to lift the Indianapolis Colts to a dramatic 35-33 comeback win over the Detroit Lions on Sunday.

With the final seconds ticking away, the rookie quarterback moved up in the pocket, flipped a short pass to Avery, and the receiver ran untouched into the end zone to complete a rally that started with Lions up 12 points midway through the fourth quarter.

The Colts (8-4) stayed in control of the AFC wild-card race with the win. Detroit (4-8) lost for the fourth straight time, including three in a row at home after leading in the final quarter.

___

Online: http://pro32.ap.org/poll and http://twitter.com/AP_NFL

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/andrew-luck-led-colts-rally-beat-lions-35-214958328--spt.html

whitney houston news sylvia plath whitney houston whitney houston autopsy results obama trayvon jim yong kim michael bush

The Three Indispensable Success Skills

Sorry, Readability was unable to parse this page for content.

Source: http://articles.submityourarticle.com/the-three-indispensable-success-skills-305298

ufc 143 results kickoff time super bowl 2012 superbowl national anthem patriots vs giants super bowl superbowl halftime show jason wu for target underwood