Apple engineers ?heavy into? near-field communication for iPhone 5, rumor says (Appolicious)

Near-field communication seems poised to be the next major technology to sweep the smartphone market. Already there are smartphones running Google?s Android operating system that contain the technology, and we recently heard about a chip embedded in a smartphone case that brings the capability to any current iPhone.

But with the iPhone 5, you might not need an external chip hidden in a smartphone case. Rumor has it, Apple is working hard on bringing NFC to the next iPhone, expected to drop this summer.

A little background for the unfamiliar: near-field communication is a short-range broadcast technology that would allow your smartphone to interact with other devices when you hold them close together. The major use for the tech right now is for completing transactions in brick-and-mortar stores: imagine inputting all your credit card information (as well as loyalty cards and anything else relevant to the store you?re in) into your phone, then just waving it in front of a terminal at a store. Many stores already include Pay Pass terminals, which include the same tech, and the credit card ?wallet? system describes the Google Wallet system the company announced last year.

According to a story from 9to5Mac, an unidentified high-ranking app developer told the site at Macworld that Apple?s engineers are hard at work on NFC technology, presumably to work it into the iPhone 5 ? and that he was confident enough to bet app development on it. That make sense in a lot of ways, given that NFC seems ready to break out, with merchants embracing the technology (or similar, smartphone-related payment methods), terminals readily available and mobile payment methods provided by credit card companies, Google and others.

Apple usually likes to wait for a technology to be mature and reliable before implementing it, as well as make sense for its users. NFC makes sense under those criteria, especially given the move among many smartphone owners to make use of their phones to pay for things. Already, Starbucks stores are seeing heavy use of the company?s mobile app, which allows users to use the screens of their iPhones in place of a Starbucks card; scanning the barcode on the screen can be used to pay for the transaction in-store. PayPal is currently testing a similar app-driven system in Home Depot stores.

There are still hurdles to be worked out for NFC payment programs, though. Apple will likely find a partner (as 9to5Mac reports, Pay Pass seems likely) for its service, but it?ll also need the cooperation of its carriers. Over in the Google camp, Verizon has blocked Google Wallet in favor of ISIS, its own NFC wallet tech. So though the beginning of the NFC road could be waiting for iOS users in June, how long it?ll be before we?re swiping our smartphones to pay for groceries isn?t yet clear.

Source: http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/software/*http%3A//us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/external/appolicious_rss/rss_appolicious_tc/http___www_appolicious_com_articles10919_apple_engineers_heavy_into_near_field_communication_for_iphone_5_rumor_says/44367260/SIG=13sp7kb6n/*http%3A//www.appolicious.com/tech/articles/10919-apple-engineers-heavy-into-near-field-communication-for-iphone-5-rumor-says

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School bans fuzzy boots used to hide cell phones (Reuters)

PHILADELPHIA (Reuters) ? Singer Nancy Sinatra may have had boots made for walking, but she never attended Pottstown Middle School.

Starting Monday the Philadelphia suburban district is banning the wearing of fuzzy open-top boots, including the popular Ugg brand, to middle school classes because students have been stashing cell phones in the loose footwear, according to district director of community relations John Armato.

"Cell phones are a problem for obvious reasons," Armato said.

Superintendent Reed Lindley said the school principal asked for the boot ban "because of the classroom disruptions that are resulting from ringing cell phones."

Students at the school can avoid going toe-to-toe with school officials by wearing boots that lace up and usually have a snugger fit.

First time offenders will get detention, and subsequent violations include two detentions, followed by confiscation of the phone, Armato said.

Middle school parent Adrienne Beyer said she thinks the ban is extreme.

"I understand there may be a handful of kids that shove cell phones down their boots, but why does the handful have to ruin it for the other 600 students? But, I said to my daughter, 'It's a rule and we're going to follow it,'" Beyer said.

Ugg sheepskin boots originated in Australia and New Zealand and have become popular with pre-teens and teenagers in the United States in recent years.

(Editing By Barbara Goldberg and Greg McCune)

Source: http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/personaltech/*http%3A//news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20120129/us_nm/us_boots_uggs_pennsylvania

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Video: Winter heat wave

Temperatures are rising around the nation, making for an unusually warm January. Weather Channel meteorologist Jim Cantore reports.

>>> there's already a name for what we are experiencing this winter. it's called junuary. temperatures today and tomorrow much closer to what they are in june than they should be in the dead of winter. thus, the newspaper headlines around the nation blaring about winter's virtual cancellation. events called off for lack of snow, ice and cold. with us tonight from weather channel headquarters, our friend meteorologist jim cantore . jim, there is a chance it just never moves in to stay, winter does?

>> i think we are going to get winter. february and march, big months for storms. it's not over yet. let's talk about what we had though. this is amazing well. you look at 9/10 of the country, we have had above-normal temperatures. the scale to the top above average. that is above average. we look into february. more of that to the south. this may not bode well for our severe weather potential. we already had 74 tornados this month, third all time. today, 50 plus record highs right in this region here. we will have another slew tomorrow. i bet they wish the super bowl was in dallas. 72 coming up. it looks like this area will finally cool off by the time we start early next week. some of the extended models do suggest we do cool off starting next week, and possibly a big chill coming toward the middle of february. we're going to have to wait and see. they haven't lasted that long.

>> we'll pay for all these stories we keep doing. jim cantore from the weather channel , thanks as always.

>>> some be fair sox folks are having a good old-fashioned winter like parts of alaska where the temperature in fairbanks plunged to 49 below zero over the weekend.

Source: http://video.msnbc.msn.com/nightly-news/46196761/

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Iran claims it has produced laser-guided shells

TEHRAN, Iran (AP) ? Iran's state TV is reporting the country has produced laser-guided artillery shells, capable of hitting moving targets with high accuracy.

The Monday report quoting Defense Minister Gen. Ahmad Vahidi also says that the shell was an "intelligent" munition with the capability to identify its own targets.

The report was accompanied by footage showing an artillery piece firing a shell, followed by an explosion in the desert.

The report does not give details on specifications of the shell. It could not be independently verified.

Iran occasionally announces the production and testing of military equipment, ranging from torpedoes to missiles and jet fighters.

The country's military has run a program dating from 1992 which aims at self-sufficiency in producing modern weaponry.

Associated Press

Source: http://hosted2.ap.org/APDEFAULT/cae69a7523db45408eeb2b3a98c0c9c5/Article_2012-01-30-ML-Iran/id-0ebcb63025124a61a651b70ea7c4f14d

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Time short for Gingrich to close gap in Florida (AP)

MIAMI ? Newt Gingrich slammed GOP rival Mitt Romney on Sunday for the steady stream of attacks he likened to "carpet-bombing," trying to cut into the resurgent front-runner's lead in Florida in the dwindling hours before Tuesday's pivotal presidential primary.

Surging ahead in polls, Romney kept the pressure on Gingrich, casting him at an appearance in south Florida as an influence peddler and continuing his heavy advertising blitz questions the former House speaker's ethics.

In what has become a wildly unpredictable race, the momentum has swung back to Romney, staggered last weekend by Gingrich's victory in South Carolina. Romney has begun advertising in Nevada ahead of that state's caucuses next Saturday, illustrating the challenges ahead for Gingrich, who has pledged to push ahead no matter what happens in Florida.

An NBC News/Marist poll published Sunday showed Romney with support from 42 percent of likely Florida primary voters, compared with 27 percent for Gingrich.

Romney's campaign has dogged Gingrich at his own campaign stops, sending surrogates to remind reporters of Gingrich's House ethics probe in the 1990s and other episodes in his career.

Gingrich reacted defensively, accusing the former Massachusetts governor and a political committee that supports him of lying, and the GOP's establishment of allowing it.

"I don't know how you debate a person with civility if they're prepared to say things that are just plain factually false," Gingrich said during appearances on Sunday talk shows. "I think the Republican establishment believes it's OK to say and do virtually anything to stop a genuine insurgency from winning because they are very afraid of losing control of the old order."

Gingrich objected specifically to a Romney campaign ad that includes a 1997 NBC News report on the House's decision to discipline Gingrich, then speaker, for ethics charges.

Romney continued to paint Gingrich as part of the very Washington establishment he condemns and someone who had a role in the nation's economic problems.

"Your problem in Florida is that you worked for Freddie Mac at a time when Freddie Mac was not doing the right thing for the American people, and that you're selling influence in Washington at a time when we need people who will stand up for the truth in Washington," Romney told an audience in Naples.

Gingrich's consulting firm was paid more than $1.5 million by the federally-backed mortgage company over a period after he left Congress in 1999.

Former Pennsylvania Sen. Rick Santorum, trailing in Florida by a wide margin, stayed in his home state, where his 3-year-old daughter, Bella, was hospitalized. She has a genetic condition caused by the presence of all or part of an extra 18th chromosome. Aides said he would resume campaigning as soon as possible.

Texas Rep. Ron Paul, who has invested little in Florida, looked ahead to Nevada. The libertarian-leaning Paul is focusing more on gathering delegates in caucus states, where it's less expensive to campaign. But securing the nomination only through caucus states is a hard task.

The race began moving toward a two-person fight in South Carolina, and has grown more bitter and personal in Florida.

The intense effort by Romney to slow Gingrich is comparable his strategy against Gingrich in the closing month before Iowa's leadoff caucuses Jan. 3.

Gingrich led in Iowa polls, lifted by what were hailed as strong performances in televised debates, only to drop in the face of withering attacks by Romney, aided immensely by ads sponsored by a "super" political action committee run by former Romney aides.

Gingrich has responded by criticizing Romney's conservative credentials. Outside an evangelical Christian church in Lutz, Gingrich said he was the more loyal conservative on key social issues.

"This party is not going to nominate somebody who is a pro-abortion, pro-gun-control, pro-tax-increase liberal," Gingrich said. "It isn't going to happen."

But Gingrich, in appearances on Sunday news programs, returned to complaining about Romney's tactics, rather than emphasizing his own message as that of a conservative with a record of action in Congress.

"When we get to a positive idea campaign, I consistently win," Gingrich said. "It's only when he can mass money to focus on carpet-bombing with negative ads that he gains any traction at all."

Romney and the political committee that supports him had combined to spend some $6.8 million in ads criticizing Gingrich in the Florida campaign's final week. Gingrich and a super PAC that supports him were spending about one-third that amount.

Gingrich worked to portray himself as the insurgent outsider, collecting the endorsement of tea party favorite Herman Cain, whose own campaign for president foundered amid sexual harassment allegations.

It was unclear how aggressively Gingrich would be able to compete in states beyond Florida. The next televised debate, a format Gingrich has used to his advantage, is not until Feb. 22, more than three weeks away.

Romney already has campaigned in Nevada more than Gingrich, is advertising there, and stresses his business background in a state hard-hit by the economy. His campaign welcomed the Sunday endorsement of the Las Vegas Review-Journal, Nevada's largest newspaper.

Michigan and Maine, states where Romney is well-positioned, also hold their contests in February. Arizona, a strong tea-party state where Gingrich could do well, has its primary Feb. 28.

___

Associated Press writers Steve Peoples in Naples and Shannon McCaffrey in Lutz contributed to this report.

Source: http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/gop/*http%3A//news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20120129/ap_on_el_pr/us_gop_campaign

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S. Sudan holds firm on oil production stoppage (AP)

JUBA, South Sudan ? South Sudan's minister of petroleum and mining says the nation will not restart oil production unless Sudan accepts a list of demands.

Stephen Dhieu Dau said Sunday that South Sudan was "committed to negotiations" but that Khartoum would have to accept their offer of paying $1 per barrel for using Sudan's pipelines for export and $2.4 billion dollar financial assistance package before South Sudan turns on production again.

He also says Sudan must withdraw troops from the disputed border region of Abyei and stop funding rebel groups in South Sudan. He says South Sudan wants an international treaty guaranteed by "international superpowers" to guarantee the agreement.

South Sudan shut down oil production Saturday after it accused Sudan of stealing hundreds of millions of dollars worth of oil.

Source: http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/energy/*http%3A//news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20120129/ap_on_bi_ge/af_south_sudan_oil

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Suspect shown by Mexico cops says he beat Canadian (AP)

CULIACAN, Mexico ? A man charged with brutally beating a Canadian tourist at a luxury beach hotel told reporters Saturday that he tried to hold the woman in an elevator and punched her several times in the face when she cried for help.

Police presented Jose Ramon Acosta Quintero, 28, to local and foreign journalists in the Pacific port city of Mazatlan, where the attack on Sheila Nabb of Calgary, Alberta, occurred in the early hours of Jan. 20.

He was arrested Friday and charged with attempted murder. Prosecutors have said investigators were led to Acosta by a hotel security video that showed him leaving the elevator where Nabb was attacked.

Sinaloa State Prosecutor Marco Antonio Higuera Gomez said Saturday that Acosta was drinking in local bars and had taken cocaine with a Canadian friend when they decided to go to one of the large tourist hotels where bars operate 24 hours. He said Acosta frequents those hotels and sometimes goes by the name "Ray."

Flanked by police, Acosta spoke in fluent English as he answered a few questions from foreign reporters. He said he entered the hotel from the back beach doorway and was taking an elevator up to the roof when the doors opened and Nabb got in. They talked and then he put his hand on the door, he said, to prevent her from leaving so they could keep talking.

"She got afraid when I didn't let her out and she started yelling, 'He won't let me out,'" Acosta said. "I got afraid also, because she's a North American and I'm Mexican and I wasn't supposed to be in the hotel."

He said he covered her mouth as she continued to yell for help.

"Then I hit her four or five times in the face with my fist and then I left," said Acosta, who swallowed nervously as he talked.

Nabb's husband was in their hotel room at the time of the attack and she was found lying in the elevator and bleeding heavily.

She was flown to Canada, and Canadian media have reported that she remains hospitalized with major injuries to her face and jaw.

"Yeah, I did it. I did, but it wasn't planned or anything like that," Acosta said in a soft voice. "I didn't try to abuse her, or I didn't try to kill her or anything or rob her."

Acosta said police had shown him a security camera video of him leaving the elevator, but he denied it showed him kicking Nabb. He said that possibly he was using his foot to move her hand out of the door so it would close.

Higuera has said Acosta had Nabb's blood on his shoes when he was arrested.

"I'm sorry and I hope that she recovers," Acosta said before being led away by police. "I've seen the papers. Her face was bad."

Source: http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/world/*http%3A//news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20120129/ap_on_re_la_am_ca/lt_mexico_canadian_attacked

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Kourtney & Kim Take New York Finale Preview: The Fairy Tale Ends...

Cue the drama music, listen to the serious voiceover and get the tissues ready, folks: the fairy tale is about to end for Kim Kardashian.

On this Sunday's finale of Kourtney & Kim Take New York, Kim will finally face the harsh truth about her two-month marriage to Kris Humphries.

"It's hard for me. He's a good heart, he's a Christian - everything on paper I want in someone, but for some reason, my heart isn't connecting," she tells Kourtney. "I feel sad, I feel bad for the guy. He fell in love with me and I fell in love with him and now all my feelings have changed."

Kourtney and Kim Take New York Finale Preview

It's truly emotional stuff, but at least there's positive news for fans of Kim Kardashian: she won't be off the air for long. Look for the reality star to appear on multiple episodes of Drop Dead Diva this summer, for some reason.

Source: http://www.thehollywoodgossip.com/2012/01/kourtney-and-kim-take-new-york-finale-preview-the-fairy-tale-end/

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Romney puts Gingrich on defensive in Florida debate (Reuters)

JACKSONVILLE, Florida (Reuters) ? Republican presidential hopeful Mitt Romney took the fight to chief rival Newt Gingrich on Thursday in his most aggressive debate performance yet, five days ahead of Florida's primary vote.

A neck-and-neck race for Florida and its importance for the Republican presidential nomination made for a combustible atmosphere at the University of North Florida in Jacksonville as the candidates sparred repeatedly.

Gingrich, who has displayed a mastery of debating skills during previous debates, was frequently caught flat-footed under attack from Romney who went after his chief rival in an attempt to put his campaign back on track after losing South Carolina last Saturday.

Gingrich and Romney are running close in polls before next Tuesday's primary vote in Florida, the biggest state so far in the early voting for the Republican nomination to face President Barack Obama in November. The most recent polls put Romney ahead.

Romney, a former Massachusetts governor, took umbrage at Gingrich's description of him as "anti-immigrant."

"That's inexcusable," Romney said, turning to his rival. "I'm not anti-immigrant. My father was born in Mexico. ... The idea that I'm anti-immigrant is repulsive. Don't use a term like that."

Gingrich, who has offered a softer version of immigration policy than most Republican conservatives, insisted the United States could not rationally deport millions of people and that some who had lived here for decades should be allowed to stay.

But he added some confusion to his position by saying he would support some version of "self-deportation," the very issue he has criticized Romney for supporting.

"Newt needed a big night to turn around the momentum and he didn't get it. He struck me as tired and too ticked for his own good," wrote conservative columnist Rich Lowry on the National Review's website. His blog post was titled "Newt's worst night."

GINGRICH ATTACK FELL FLAT

Gingrich has enjoyed support from rock-ribbed conservatives in debate audiences by attacking debate moderators.

But this time, his effort to chastise CNN moderator Wolf Blitzer over a question about Romney's tax disclosures fell flat when Blitzer stood his ground and insisted Gingrich explain a comment he made in a TV interview that Romney "lives in a world of Swiss bank and Cayman Island bank accounts.

Gingrich did draw attention to Romney's vast wealth, which was put under the microscope this week when the former private equity executive release two years of tax documents.

"I don't know of any American president who has had a Swiss bank account. I'd be glad for you to explain that sort of thing," he said.

But Gingrich was ridiculed by Romney, Rick Santorum and Ron Paul for telling laid-off space workers near Cape Canaveral on Wednesday that if elected president next November he would seek to build a permanent colony on the lunar surface.

It was the kind of claim that supports criticism that Gingrich has grandiose yet far-fetched ideas.

Romney said the money could be better spent elsewhere, that Gingrich's proposal was a big idea but not a good one. Paul, a Texas congressman and libertarian, got off the zinger of the night.

"I don't think we should go to the moon," said Paul. "I think maybe we should send some politicians up there."

Bickering erupted from the first question over illegal immigration, and intensified over Gingrich's past work for the troubled mortgage giant Freddie Mac.

Romney raised Gingrich's work for Freddie Mac as a sign that his rival was an influence peddler, a "horn tooter" for Freddie Mac. Romney has attacked Gingrich all week for accepting $1.6 million in consulting fees from Freddie Mac.

Gingrich fought back. "Romney made $1 million dollars on Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac," he said, an attack that fell flat when Romney pointed out that Gingrich owns stock in the two government-sponsored entities at the heart of the U.S. housing crisis.

The candidates, asked which of their wives would make the best first lady of the White House, chose their own, except for Gingrich, who said they would all be terrific, including his wife, Callista.

"I would rather just talk about why I like Callista, and why I'd like her to be first lady, but she's not necessarily in any way better. These are wonderful people, and they would be wonderful first ladies," he said.

(Editing by Alistair Bell and Eric Beech)

Source: http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/gop/*http%3A//news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20120127/ts_nm/us_usa_campaign_debate

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Tired and broke, Santorum heads home to do taxes (AP)

PUNTA GORDA, Fla. ? Rick Santorum is tired, almost broke ? and going home.

The former Pennsylvania senator is leaving Florida just days before the Tuesday primary that even he expects to deal him a third consecutive loss.

Santorum says he would rather spend his Saturday sitting at his kitchen table to do his taxes than campaigning in a state where the race for the Republican presidential nomination has become a two-man fight between Newt Gingrich and Mitt Romney.

The cash-strapped candidate acknowledges that he simply can't keep up with the GOP front-runners in Florida.

"We're going to talk about the Constitution and talk about being a strong conservative," Santorum said at an event here this week. "And that's all we can do."

Outside advisers are urging him to pack up in Florida completely and not spend another minute in a state where he is cruising toward a loss.

Santorum seem to be listening. He has yet to announce his primary day schedule but says it was a mistake for him to remain in South Carolina on its primary day.

"We can't let grass grow," he told reporters Thursday. "South Carolina Election Day was sort of a wasted day for us."

But he pledged to continue his campaign regardless of the Florida outcome.

It's a grim period for Santorum, who just three weeks ago was riding high after narrowly winning the Iowa caucuses. The victory was short-lived. He lost big in both New Hampshire and South Carolina.

He faced an uphill battle even before the race turned to Florida. He doesn't have the money to spend on television ads in Florida's expensive media markets. He couldn't compete with the thousands-strong crowds his rivals have been drawing. And he wasn't able to find a moment here that crystalized the rationale for his candidacy.

"Other candidates tell you they need your help," Santorum told Florida Republicans this week ? almost pleaded really. "They're lying. I really need your help."

But help didn't come ? at least in this state ? for a candidate who is visibly exhausted and running on, at most, four hours of sleep each night.

So Santorum is going home to Pennsylvania, which he represented in the Senate, and Virginia, where he lives with his wife and seven children, to get some rest and, he says, prepare his own taxes. He also plans fundraisers in both states as he works to rebuild his campaign account to pay for upcoming contests in Missouri, Minnesota and Colorado.

Santorum also is looking at Arizona and Michigan, which vote at the end of February ? if he makes it that far.

His inner circle of advisers is looking at the campaign checkbook. They say they can keep a lean campaign rolling in case Gingrich or Romney implode.

"This race is just starting. It's a three-man race," Santorum insists. "We're going to be in this race for the long term."

For now, at least, polls show Santorum dramatically trailing in Florida, the largest and most diverse state in the early nominating schedule. And he seems to be coming up short as he tries to win over voters with his everyman persona.

"I wish he had a little more passion in the belly," said Don Waldt, a Punta Gorda retiree who attended a Santorum rally at dusk this week. "He is conservative and authentic. But he isn't on top and doesn't seem to have a clear path to the top."

Source: http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/politics/*http%3A//news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20120127/ap_on_el_pr/us_santorum

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France, Karzai want faster NATO Afghanistan exit (AP)

PARIS ? President Nicolas Sarkozy says France and Afghan President Hamid Karzai will ask NATO to hand over all combat missions in Afghanistan to Afghan troops in 2013 ? a year earlier than planned.

Sarkozy also says France has informed U.S. President Barack Obama of the proposal and will present it at a meeting of NATO defense ministers early next month.

The move, if confirmed, comes at a time of widespread fatigue among European contributors to the 10-year allied intervention in Afghanistan, and would accelerate a gradual drawdown of NATO troops that Obama planned to see through until the end of 2014.

"We have decided in a common accord with President Karzai to ask NATO to consider a total handling of NATO combat missions to the Afghan army over the course of 2013," Sarkozy said.

News of the French-Afghan proposal comes one week after Sarkozy abruptly suspended France's training missions and joint military patrols with Afghan forces following the shooting death of four unarmed French troops by an Afghan soldier on Jan. 20.

Sarkozy announced that the French will resume their training mission as of Saturday and withdraw its own troops by the end of 2013.

With Karzai at his side, Sarkozy also said authority in the strategic province of Kapisa east of Kabul, where nearly all French troops are deployed, will be handed over to the Afghans in March.

Source: http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/europe/*http%3A//news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20120127/ap_on_re_eu/eu_france_afghanistan

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Boulder gears up for legal battle over the grid ? Cleantech News ...

A tough legal showdown between the city of Boulder and utility Xcel Energy is brewing as the city prepares to force Xcel to sell its distribution network. Boulder voters approved measures last November that would allow the city to look into forming its own electric utility, which city officials said will enable them to buy more clean energy than what Xcel can provide.

Boulder announced this week that it?s hired Denver-based law firm Duncan, Ostrander & Dingess, which specializes in a legal process that allows a government to seize private property for projects that will benefit the public. The city would have to pay ?just compensation? for the property, and that definition includes fair market value. This process is typically called ?eminent domain? and is used more commonly for building roads.

The move to seize the distribution network should send chills down the spine of utilities and serves as one of the most extreme examples of customers pushing back against their utilities and demanding more clean energy. Ratepayers and cities have known to complain about utility programs, such as installing smart meters, but they don?t usually take the steps and money to leave their service providers.

The city would use the eminent domain process only if it isn?t able to successfully negotiate a price with Xcel. So far Xcel hasn?t shown an interest in selling its distribution network, so the city is gearing up for a legal fight, said Sarah Huntley, a spokeswoman for the city.

The cost of sovereignty

Boulder also plans to hire legal counsel for what could be another contentious process: asking the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) to decide whether and how much Boulder would have to compensate Xcel for the investments Xcel said it?s put up in anticipation of having to serve Boulder for many years to come. This fee is called ?stranded cost,? and Xcel told Boulder last year the stranded cost was estimated to be $335.7 million.

Boulder, however, questions whether it should pay the stranded at all, Huntley said. In a memo the city staff prepared last year, it noted that Boulder began looking into forming its own utility in early 2000?s, so Xcel shouldn?t have made investments assuming that it would continue to serve the city for a long time.

Xcel estimated the stranded cost based on its belief that it would get a 20-year renewal of a franchise agreement to serve the city. The previous agreement expired in 2010, but the city and Xcel couldn?t agree on the terms of the new agreement, which was to include the construction of a new wind farm.

FERC hasn?t had to issue many rulings on stranded costs, so its decision on the Boulder/Xcel case could set a precedent, Huntley said.

Although Boulder thought about forming its own utility for a while, it began that process in earnest when Xcel sought to renew its franchise agreement. The city asked voters last November whether it should investigate the process and costs of running its own utility. Voters narrowly approved a measure to give the city a go-ahead and another measure to allow the city to collect $1.9 million in taxes per year until the end of 2017 and use the money for hiring legal counsel and consultants to figure out various costs. There have been some early estimates of how much it will take for Boulder to form its own utility ? the city said last November the cost would be $227 million while Xcel said it would be over $1 billion.

Promise to ratepayers

The city has said that it would form the utility if it?s able to charge the same rates as Xcel at the time it buys the distribution network from Xcel. So, if the final cost estimate for forming its own utility is too high, then the city will have to abandon the plan or it could ask voters if they still want to proceed.

Xcel has argued that, as a municipal utility, Boulder wouldn?t have the resources to get away from buying power generated from coal or natural gas. Wind or solar electricity isn?t available around the clock, for one thing. Renewable electricity also is more expensive, so it?s not likely to be cost effective for Boulder to run its own power service.

?The question is do they really care about renewable energy or do they just want to municipalize?? said Xcel spokesman Gabriel Romero when I spoke with him last year. ?It?s disingenuous for them to say we want to do it because we want to be green. That?s not a valid agreement in the eyes of Xcel Energy.?

Photos from Boulder and Xcel Energy

Related research and analysis from GigaOM Pro:
Subscriber content. Sign up for a free trial.

Source: http://gigaom.com/cleantech/boulder-gears-up-for-legal-battle-over-the-grid/

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McCartney's wife resigns from NYC transit board (omg!)

NEW YORK (AP) ? Paul McCartney's new bride is stepping down from the board of the authority that runs New York City's public transit system.

Nancy Shevell married the Beatles great in October. She announced her resignation from the board of the Metropolitan Transportation Authority at its meeting Wednesday.

Shevell had been on the MTA's board since 2001 and was one of its longest-serving members. Her term expired last year, but she had stayed on pending a new appointment by New York's governor.

When she isn't dating music legends or running subway systems, Shevell is a philanthropist. She was an executive at New England Motor Freight, a New Jersey trucking firm owned by her family.

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Democrats club Romney with his tax records (Daily Caller)

Democratic officials are using Gov. Mitt Romney?s tax records to hammer him in Florida.

Romney?s 2010 records show he paid out 13.9 percent of his income in taxes.

?We appreciate that Mitt Romney is a fabulously wealthy individual,? said Democratic National Committee Executive Director Patrick Gaspard.??There are questions about how he amassed that wealth ? [so] it is right for voters in Florida and other states to ask whether Mitt Romney is advocating [tax] principles that benefit him ? to the detriment of working Americans.?

For several months, Obama?s campaign deputies have criticized Romney, and largely ignored rival candidates, such as former Speaker of the House Newt Gingrich, who they believe would be easier to defeat in the 2012 election.?(RELATED:??Obama for Gingrich? memo hits Romney)

?Mitt Romney is against Americans paying their fair share. ? Romney doesn?t believe that we all have a responsibility to do our fair share,? said Gaspard, who declined to say what Romney?s ?fair share? of taxes would be.

Romney?s 2010 records show he produced nine times as much in taxes and charities as President Barack Obama produced during the same year.?Romney produced $6 million in taxes and gifts for his fellow Americans, while Obama only produced taxes and gifts totaling $700,000.

By not releasing 23 years of tax records, Gaspard said, Romney ?is continuing to keep those records secrets. ? Romney has significant offshore investments [in] famous tax havens ? [and] these [2010 records] don?t show how much tax he?s avoiding.?

?I have no treason to doubt the returns are perfectly lawful,? said Ed Kleinbard, a law professor at the University of Southern California, who joined Gaspard during a midday press conference.

But, he added, ?is this candidate so personally or financially invested in certain [tax-related] positions that he cannot separate his own position from what is good for the country going forward??

Their criticisms match Obama?s campaign-trail effort to portray Romney as a out-of-touch elitist, and the same themes will likely be part of this evening?s State of the Union speech.

Romney?s 2010 tax payments amounted to 13.9 percent of his income;?Obama?s taxes of $453,770 came to 26 percent of his 2010 income.

Combined, Obama?s taxes and gifts were worth $245,075, and amounted to almost 40 percent of his income;?Romney?s combined taxes and gifts added up $6 million, or almost 30 percent of his income.

That combined rate is higher than the percentage of taxes paid by any income group, according to a 2010 report by the bipartisan congressional Joint Committee on Taxation.

The highest rate ? 27 percent ? is paid by people earning between $200,000 and $500,000, according to the committee?s report, titled ?Present Law and Background Data Related to the Federal Tax System In Effect For 2010 and 2011.?

Romney?s tax rate ? but not his tax bill ? was lower than the rate paid by taxpayers earning between $40,000 and $50,000, according to the report.

However, Romney?s tax record does not show any information about the tax revenue generated by the firms that he helped established when he was working at Bain Capital.

Romney argues that his investments helped create tax-generating jobs for 110,000 people.

Nationally, tax revenue has declined since 2009, when Obama was inaugurated.

In 2008, federal revenues stood at $2.29 trillion. The next year, revenues fell to $1.9 trillion because of an economic downturn. But because of the stalled economy, 2011 revenues were expected to reach only $1.9 trillion ? still far below the 2008 level, according to the Tax Policy Center.

During 2010, the federal government also borrowed $1.27 trillion to pay for programs that could not be supported with the $2.38 trillion paid in taxes by Romney and other taxpayers.

Join the conversation

Read more stories from The Daily Caller

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Source: http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/democrats/*http%3A//news.yahoo.com/s/dailycaller/20120124/pl_dailycaller/democratsclubromneywithhistaxrecords

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'Crony' of Mugabe to promote Thai national image

BANGKOK (AP) ? A Thai Cabinet member under U.S. sanctions for alleged business deals with Zimbabwe strongman Robert Mugabe is now in charge of promoting Thailand's national image.

Nalinee Taveesin, previously Thailand's trade representative, was named a Cabinet minister in the Prime Minister's Office during last week's reshuffle of Yingluck Shinawatra's government.

The opposition has expressed dismay, questioning whether the appointment violates the Thai constitution's ethics code for lawmakers.

Undeterred, Yingluck's office announced Tuesday that Nalinee's duties would include overseeing the National Identity Office, which according to the agency's website is responsible for promoting the "unique and noble values that distinguish Thailand."

Nalinee has said she knows Mugabe and his wife socially but has no business dealings with them.

The government office aims to promote national values among Thais, such as the significance of the nation, religion and monarchy. It produces documentaries and music and pamphlets about Thailand's king, as well as organizing events for Buddhism Week.

The U.S. Treasury Department in 2008 named Nalinee a crony of Mugabe and said she had "facilitated a number of financial, real-estate and gem-related transactions" on behalf of Mugabe's wife and other figures in Zimbabwe.

"Ironically, Nalinee Taveesin has participated in a number of initiatives on corruption ... in Africa and Southeast Asia while secretly supporting the kleptocratic practices of one of Africa's most corrupt regimes," the department said at the time.

The sanctions freeze any potential U.S. assets and ban American citizens from doing business with her.

A former senator and advisor to the Commerce Ministry, Nalinee also holds a master's degree in public administration from Harvard University, according to her website. She also served on the board of directors for several Thai companies.

Seeking to calm the criticism, Nalinee called a news conference over the weekend and said that she met Mugabe and his wife during an official visit to Thailand in 2002. On subsequent visits, she had "social relations" with the couple but "no business transactions at all."

"I never thought a friendship could have had such a tremendous impact on my life, especially when I stepped into the political arena," she said.

Nalinee is a member of the ruling Pheu Thai Party, which is led by Yingluck and closely allied to her brother, deposed Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra. Critics say the current government is stacked with Thaksin's political and business allies and call Yingluck a proxy for her brother.

Deputy government spokesman Anusorn Eiamsa-ard defended Nalinee as "a person of great expertise and experience," saying she had been thoroughly vetted before being named to the Cabinet. He said she has tried to explain herself to U.S. authorities and dismissed the blacklisting as "one-sided."

Associated Press

Source: http://hosted2.ap.org/APDEFAULT/cae69a7523db45408eeb2b3a98c0c9c5/Article_2012-01-25-AS-Thailand-National-Image/id-5ffc810d43d940dc94c04c6dba2a4bc9

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Turkish film highlights gay honor killing

ANKARA, Turkey (AP) ? Shortly after telling his parents he was gay, Ahmet Yildiz was gunned down inside his car by his father in Istanbul. It was Turkey's first officially recognized gay "honor killing."

An award-winning film partly inspired by Yildiz's story, which opened in dozens of cinemas across Turkey last week, is putting the spotlight on gays in a Muslim country that is seeking European Union membership but remains influenced by conservative and religious values.

The film "Zenne Dancer" ? or male belly dancer ? is not the nation's first gay-themed movie but is the first to explore the little-known phenomenon of men killed by family members for being gay. So-called honor killings in Turkey usually target women accused of disgracing the family.

"Our main aim was to convey Ahmet's story, but by doing so we also wanted to expose the pressure the (gay and lesbian community) faces from their family, the society and the state," said Mehmet Binay, who co-directed and produced the film with his partner, Caner Alper.

"Zenne Dancer" won four awards at Turkey's coveted Antalya Golden Orange film festival this year, including best First Film and Best Cinematography. Erkan Avci, who plays Yildiz's character, won Best Supporting Actor. The movie was also recently chosen a Best Film by an association of Turkish film critics.

Yildiz, a physics student at Istanbul's Marmara University, was shot dead on July 15, 2008 after he went out for an ice cream break while studying at home for his final exams.

An arrest warrant has been issued for his father, Yahya Yildiz, who has been charged in absentia for the murder. The father, who has been on the run for three years, is believed to be in hiding in northern Iraq.

Yildiz, who was a close friend of Binay and Alper, came from the conservative, mostly-Kurdish Sanliurfa province, where homosexuality is taboo and where officials have been struggling to stem the practice of honor killings of women. Women there have been killed for flirting or having a boyfriend without the family's consent.

Gay honor killings are believed to be common in Turkey's conservative heartland. But Yildiz's murder was the first in Turkey to be reported by authorities as a gay honor killing.

Binay said Yildiz's family suspected his homosexuality but believed he could be treated by imams and were pressuring him to return to Sanliurfa.

"He was killed shortly after he told them he would not be cured, would not return and that he was considering leaving for Germany where he might marry (his boyfriend)," he said.

In "Zenne Dancer," Yildiz's life is intertwined with the stories of two other male characters ? a flamboyant Zenne dancer named Can and a bisexual German photographer, Daniel.

A stranger to Turkey's conservative traditions, Daniel encourages Yildiz to come out to his parents, insisting honesty was the best way to deal with his family.

"You don't understand," Yildiz responds in one scene: "Honesty would kill me."

Binay said he and Alper were filming a documentary on male belly dancers when Yildiz was killed. Shocked by the murder, they put the documentary on hold and decided to create a feature film that blends the story of the Zenne dancers with Yildiz's tragedy.

Turkish attitudes toward gay and lesbians are more relaxed compared to the 1980s and 1990s when police routinely raided gay bars, detained transvestites and banned gay festivals. Gay sex is not considered a crime in the country, and some bars and clubs in major cities openly cater to gays.

But a majority of gays still choose to hide their lifestyle in a country where liberal views have yet to make inroads in rural areas and many urban settings.

Last year, a former government minister described homosexuality as a biological disorder that needs to be treated, while municipalities have some leeway to introduce laws safeguarding "morality," which gay activists view as a potential threat to their freedom.

Some gays openly acknowledge their sexual orientation, including poet Murathan Mungan and the late singer Zeki Muren. Zenne dancing itself harks back to the Ottoman Empire, a time when there was a degree of tolerance toward gay sex among some sectors of the elite.

Hebun LGTB, a gay and lesbian group based in the conservative city Diyarbakir that neighbors Sanliurfa, described the film as an opportunity to break ingrained attitudes toward gays in traditional areas.

"There was a piece of us in each of the characters," said a group member, Arif, who declined to give his surname because his family does not know about his sexual orientation. "I am in the same situation as Ahmet Yildiz: If I was honest, I would be killed by my family."

"If out of all the people who watch it, just 10 are able to change their attitudes, then the filmmakers should be happy," he said.

Despite one article in a pro-Islamic newspaper that branded "Zenne Dancer" a "film for perverts," Binay says he and Alper have not received any threats or hate mail, and that some 35,000 people have seen the movie in its first week.

Gulsah Simsek, a 23-year old student, watched "Zenne Dancer" in Ankara.

"Some of the swearing and some of the scenes shocked me," she said. "But there must be so many people like (Yildiz) and it's good that the pain they suffer is being told."

Binay and Alper have been same-sex partners for 14 years and openly came out as a couple during one of the film's early screenings. They regularly attend showings where they hold discussions on attitudes toward homosexuality.

The film is showing in 50 cinemas in 16 out of Turkey's 81 provinces, including conservative Diyarbakir.

"The (positive) response we got in Istanbul wasn't much different to the response we got in Diyarbakir," Binay said. "We are encouraged by the attitudes in (traditional) regions."

Associated Press

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Watch: Newt Gingrich Praises America's Diversity (ABC News)

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Federal judge will determine Golden Globes' future (AP)

LOS ANGELES ? A little more than a week after handing out Golden Globes to show business elite, members of the Hollywood Foreign Press Association and their longtime collaborators will begin a trial to determine which group controls broadcast rights to the popular awards ceremony.

The decision will alter the future of the glitzy gala and whether it will remain on NBC or, for the first time in 17 years, appear on another network.

If the association prevails, it may mean an end to its relationship with dick clark productions, the company that brought the Globes back to network television after a scandal threatened its future. The partnership also helped transform the show into one of the biggest events in Hollywood's crowded awards season.

It would also give the association of roughly 85 foreign journalists a chance to reposition the show on its own terms for the first time in nearly 30 years.

The trial's scheduled opening on Tuesday in a Los Angeles federal court comes just nine days after nearly 17 million viewers tuned in to the show, which featured barbs from host Ricky Gervais and a potential bump in Oscar momentum for films such as "The Artist" and actor George Clooney.

U.S. District Judge A. Howard Matz has already been presented thousands of pages of documents and evidence to decide the case, and he will hear live testimony from a number of current HFPA members, executives and possibly from Dick Clark himself. The extensive documents filed in the case include minutes of board meetings dating back to the early 1980s.

CBS CEO Les Moonves, who has said he wanted to bid on the Globes, is also expected to testify next week. Matz ruled Monday that he must testify in person and not by videoconference as he had hoped. An attorney for Moonves said the executive had wanted to testify electronically because he is in the midst of meetings and preparing decisions on shows and a board of directors meeting. Matz said he didn't want to give Moonves special treatment.

Matz urged attorneys to streamline their questioning during a hearing Monday, saying they had framed the issues well in their filings.

Audiences of the past two Globes awards shows didn't notice it, but the HFPA and its producers, also known as dcp, have waged a bitter legal war since November 2010 over who has the right to negotiate broadcast deals for the Globes. The association contends dcp improperly negotiated a deal keeping the Globes on NBC until 2018, a move that also guarantees the company the right to work on the show until then.

The association claims it was blindsided by the deal and had received assurances throughout 2010 from dcp that it wasn't negotiating a new broadcast deal. However, the company claims it had the right to pursue the NBC extension.

The disputed NBC deal is worth more than $150 million, court records show. The deal reflects what big business the Globes have become, not only for Hollywood studios hoping to get boosts for their films, TV shows and stars, but also for fourth-place NBC and the show's organizers.

The network will pay $17 million for this year's show, a figure that will gradually increase to $26 million if the disputed broadcast contract is upheld. By comparison, NBC paid $3.7 million to the HFPA to air the Globes from 1996-1998, the first years after dcp secured a network broadcast deal.

The association began working with dcp in 1983, a year after it lost a broadcast deal with CBS when its members were accused of receiving favors in exchange for giving actress Pia Zadora a newcomer award. The show aired on late-night syndication for several years before shifting to cable and eventually landing on NBC.

Matz's decision will also alter the fortunes of dcp, which is no longer owned by entertainment legend Dick Clark, but produces other shows such as the American Music Awards, Academy of Country Music Awards and "So You Think You Can Dance." The company splits revenues for the Globes with the HFPA.

The central issue of the case is an amended agreement between dcp and HFPA that brought the show to NBC. The production company contends the agreement plainly states that it has the rights to produce the Globes as long as the show airs on NBC, although the HFPA disputes that interpretation.

The association points to discussions about the initial NBC broadcast deal in 1993, in which dcp executives asked for an extension to work on the show for up to 10 years, as evidence that a perpetual deal with the production company was never contemplated. Allowing dcp to negotiate rights to the show and work on it indefinitely as long as it aired on NBC would give producers an incentive to only deal with that network as opposed to seeking the best deal, and result in a loss of the association's control over the Globes, HFPA lawyers have argued.

The production company claims the HFPA has known for years about the arrangement and cites instances in which the association's leaders have called it a "major irritant" but acknowledged that a "perpetuity clause" was in place. The clause was also put in place because of the association's credibility problems, dcp attorneys argue.

"The quid pro quo is that HFPA is contractually bound not to pull the rug out from under dcp in the middle of the most successful television run in the Golden Globes' history," the production company's attorneys wrote in a brief in advance of the trial.

Matz said it was clear that a trial is necessary to sort out the parties' rights, but he urged them to focus on events in 1993 and later years. "There is an ambiguity and that's why we're going to trial," Matz said Monday.

Regardless of the winner, the overall feel of the Globes is unlikely to change. Transcripts of minutes from membership meetings throughout the year show HFPA members are committed to the Globes' banquet-style format, which features open-consumption of alcohol and a more-relaxed setting than most other awards shows.

While the Globes aren't necessarily a reliable predictor of who will win weeks later on Oscar night, the show has a knack for creating buzz.

What's worn on the red carpet and said on the winner's stage often dominates the next day's headlines, and each summer the group doles out grants to non-profit and educational institutions. Last year they donated $1.5 million in a star-studded luncheon and have doled out $13 million in grants in the past 17 years.

___

Follow Anthony McCartney at http://twitter.com/mccartneyAP

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Rosenthal: They believed, Alex Smith delivered

49ers quarterback is 2 victories away from ultimate football glory after nearly being left for dead

Jed Jacobsohn / Getty Images

49ers quarterback Alex Smith runs in for a touchdown during his team's victory over the Saints in the divisional playoffs last Saturday.

updated 6:06 p.m. ET Jan. 20, 2012

Gregg Rosenthal

?We want Carr. We want Carr!?

It was the lowest moment of Alex Smith?s seven-year career in San Francisco, Oct. 12, 2010. The winless 49ers hosted the Eagles on Sunday Night Football, and the crowd was looking for blood.

After his fourth-quarter fumble, thunderous boos poured down on Smith. He was hearing it all game from the crowd, but this matched anything I?ve ever heard ? even in Philadelphia. The unmistakable chant that came with the booing was even more depressing.

?We want Carr. We want Carr!?

The home crowd wanted Smith benched in favor of backup quarterback David Carr. The fan base collectively waved the white flag. They were tired of their No. 1 overall pick bust and wanted to try another. It was only Week 5 of a rapidly devolving season.

Coach Mike Singletary tried to remove Smith from the game, but the quarterback barked back. He talked his way into staying in the contest. He wound up throwing for more than 300 yards with three touchdowns in a comeback attempt that fell just short, like so many other 49er games during Smith?s tenure.

The fans got their wish two weeks later when Carr replaced an injured Smith during a loss to the Panthers. Troy Smith wound up starting six games for the 2010 49ers. Alex Smith?s beleaguered run in San Francisco was all but over. If nothing else, that gave the fans something to smile about.

Between rare and extinct
David Carr tells us a lot about Alex Smith. Just like Smith, Carr was a No. 1 overall draft pick viewed as a franchise savior. Like Smith, Carr fell flat on his face.

Carr didn?t face the same injury struggles as Smith. Carr didn?t have two head coaches question his toughness. But after five years in Houston, Carr was beat up mentally and physically. When Carr hit free agency, he wanted to take a break.? He wanted out.

"I need to take a deep breath and be around a good environment and just start enjoying the game again,'' Carr said in 2007. ?I wanted to be on a team that was fun and exciting and whether I had a chance to play right away, it didn't matter to me.''

Smith had his chance to take a deep breath last offseason. His family wanted him to leave San Francisco, toasting to new beginnings after this season. Smith didn?t want to go anywhere.

That desire to finish what he started won over new 49ers coach Jim Harbaugh.

"I wanted to get to know him. I had never met him," Harbaugh said last week of his first meeting with Smith in January 2011. "I was just kind of looking in through the keyhole. But I guess the things that I wanted to know, if you boiled it down to one thing, was, did he want to start? Did he want be in the fire? Or did he want to wear the ball cap backward and backup somewhere??

Harbaugh was asking if Alex Smith wanted to be David Carr. (Or Vince Young. Or Matt Leinart. Or JaMarcus Russell.)

"I really felt that he had the competitive drive, the (desire) to prove himself, him wanting to do it here. That's the thing that probably intrigued me the most. That character of wanting to come back and do it here in San Francisco, which is pretty rare ? probably somewhere between rare and extinct. That's not just for football players. That's about anybody. ... And I thought we could really work with that character. To me that was special."

Smith?s seven fourth-quarter comeback victories this season are special. His league-leading interception percentage says a lot. But the most impressive part of Smith?s season is that he?s there at all. He survived.

The things Alex carries
Alex Smith carries his six seasons through the professional football meat grinder everywhere he goes. He carries the old playbooks; the losses; the chants; the manipulative coaches; the shoulder surgeries.

Smith has gone through this 14-3 season hesitant to look back. It?s as if he doesn?t want to jinx what?s happening.

Seven offensive coordinators
Smith?s first offensive coordinator was Mike McCarthy, who pushed the team to draft Smith over Aaron Rodgers with the No. 1 pick in 2005.

One touchdown, 11 interceptions by Smith later, McCarthy scored the Packers' head coaching job before his coaching stock sunk any further.

Norv Turner came next and guided Smith to a promising second season. Smith appeared to have turned a corner. It?s a reminder what good teaching can mean for a young quarterback.? Smith wouldn?t learn that lesson again until 2011.? Turner left after ?06 for the Chargers head coaching job.

Jim Hostler, Mike Martz, Jimmy Raye, and Mike Johnson followed Turner to disappointing results. Each man had a new idea of how an NFL offense should look and how Smith fit into their system. Some liked Smith more than others. Every spring meant a new playbook.

Smith?s seventh coordinator was the charm. Jim Harbaugh knows the quarterback position as well as any head coach, but he also brought in a terrific staff to help him. It?s one of the most underrated skills a head coach can have. Can he choose the right men to assist him?

Offensive coordinator Greg Roman and quarterbacks coach Geep Chryst have both done a fabulous job with Smith. It was Chryst who took over the play-calling late in the divisional round win over the Saints. Along with Harbaugh, the three men collaborate on one of the smartest offensive attacks in the league.

They create big-play opportunities without taking much risk. They accentuate what Smith does well and limit his weaknesses being exposed. They put Smith in position to succeed. That?s coaching.

2 misguided head coaches
Alex Smith?s rookie season was Mike Nolan?s rookie season as a head coach. Both men looked comfortable in their new role.

Nolan ran the 49ers through fear. He often seemed unnecessarily paranoid and played misguided mental games. When Smith?s shoulder was hurt in 2007, Nolan implied publicly that Smith wasn?t fighting through the injury. Nolan came out told the 49ers team behind closed doors that Smith was using his shoulder injury as an excuse for poor play. Smith fought back by speaking out.

?I felt it was trying to undermine me with my teammates,? Smith said back then.

Smith had shoulder surgery after the season.

The next 49ers head coach was a defensive-minded motivational speaker: Mike Singletary. Singletary said multiple times he didn?t think quarterback was the most important position on the field. He once called Smith ?meek.? After Singletary was fired, he was asked what he learned from the experience.

"You gotta have a quarterback," Singletary said.

These were the men in charge. They never believed in Smith.

Harbaugh saw something different in that first meeting with Smith. Most importantly, he saw a quietly improved player on film. Harbaugh?s effusive and immediate praise of Smith almost seemed comical. (He once said Smith had ?armadillo skin .?)

Smith, a free agent, publicly expressed doubt he?d return to San Francisco before Harbaugh started recruiting Smith with regular meetings. No one in San Francisco knew what to make of it. Why would the new hot shot coach stick out his neck for Smith?

?I?ve been studying Alex Smith and watching him and I believe that Alex Smith can be a winning quarterback in the National Football League,? Harbaugh said. ?Very accurate passer. Very athletic. And a guy that has played and been durable.?

This was January 2011. Harbaugh embraced the quarterback no one wanted. The message hasn?t changed since. The love affair has only grown.

The teammates
Smith was benched for the following quarterbacks during his 49ers career: Tim Rattay, Ken Dorsey, Trent Dilfer, Shaun Hill, J.T. O?Sullivan, and Troy Smith.

Guys like Carr and Cody Pickett replaced Smith when he was hurt. Only Hill went on to a modicum of success after leaving San Francisco.

The following wide receivers have started games during Smith?s tenure in San Francisco: ?Brandon Lloyd, Arnaz Battle, Johnnie Morton, Kevin McAddley, Antonio Bryant, Bryan Gilmore, Darrell Jackson, Ashley Lelie, Isaac Bruce, Bryant Johnson, Jason Hill, Josh Morgan, Michael Crabtree, Braylon Edwards, Ted Ginn, Kyle Williams, and Brett Swain.

Change was the only constant in San Francisco?s passing attack. Personnel objectives changed annually with the rotating offensive systems. Players past their prime were brought in like Morton, Jackson, and Bruce. Failed draft picks from other teams were given a second chance like Lelie, Johnson, Edwards, and Ginn. Very little stuck.

Even today, San Francisco?s wide receivers struggle to beat man coverage. It?s a concern this week going against a Giants defense that can get pressure with their front four and played great man coverage last week in Green Bay.

Harbaugh knows all this. He built an offense around the run game, his tight ends, and carefully orchestrated ?shot plays? the wideouts wouldn?t have to win consistently on the outside. He relied on Smith?s accuracy and decision making.

When Harbaugh has asked Smith and his receivers to carry the offense ? against the Giants and Saints ? they have found a way.

Bad habits
Smith deserves his share of blame for struggling until Harbaugh came along. He doesn?t have the big arm you?d expect of a top pick. He?s smart but has struggled to translate those smarts into instinct. He was deliberate making decisions.

Going back through five years of my game notes, the same word came up repeatedly describing Smith: tentative. He took the safe play. He didn?t have enough confidence in himself, his receivers, or perhaps his offense to make the difficult throw.

That slowly started to change this year. The 49ers are not an aggressive passing team, but Smith has played his best with the game on the line.

Back-to-back fourth-quarter comeback wins in Cincinnati and Philadelphia kick-started things. Smith threw a fourth-and-goal game-winner to Delanie Walker in Detroit. An insane 41-yard toss to Michael Crabtree set up the game-winning field goal in Seattle.

In most of those games, the 49ers still coached around Smith. Their wins were more about the defense, running game and short, safe passes. Last Saturday against the Saints, the 49ers coaching staff gave the keys to Smith.

"The winning touchdown to Vernon Davis ... and I'm taking nothing away from Vernon Davis's catch ... the throw made that play, not the catch," NFL Films guru Greg Cosell said on KNBR this week. ?He threw that ball before Davis even got past the underneath linebacker.?

The 49ers could have played for the tie, but they went for the win because of the confidence they had in Smith. It was the type of instinctive, anticipatory, gutsy throw we haven?t seen from Smith. Smith is starting to mix in aggression with his smarts. That could be a championship combination.

The other side
Alex Smith is Mark Sanchez if Sanchez went through another three years like the one he just had.

Smith took all the abuse we could hurl at him and emerged on the other side. He will never be Joe Montana, but that?s not the point. He?s here. He is one game away from playing in the Super Bowl. After what Smith has been through, he deserves to enjoy this moment.

Perhaps Smith will take a deep breath during the national anthem on Sunday and allow himself a peak at the opposing sideline. Giants backup quarterback David Carr will be standing there, representing the road more traveled.

When the anthem ends, Carr will reach to put on his backward hat. Smith will grab his helmet.

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Patriots prevail vs. Ravens

??The Patriots beat the stunned Ravens 23-20 in the AFC championship game Sunday after Baltimore's Billy Cundiff missed a 32-yard field goal attempt with 11 seconds remaining that would have tied the score.

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Giants kick 49ers for trip to Super Bowl XLVI

??Lawrence Tynes kicked a winning 31-yard field goal in sudden-death overtime and New York beat the San Francisco 49ers 20-17 in the NFC championship game Sunday night to reach its second Super Bowl in five seasons.

Source: http://nbcsports.msnbc.com/id/46067758/ns/sports-nfl/

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Make an Impromptu Heat Pad [DIY]

Several years ago we covered how you can make a DIY heating pad by sewing a pocket out of an old t-shirt and adding dried beans and/or rice, but if you need it now or don't have sewing skills you can get the same effect by putting dried beans or rice in a clean sock or pillowcase.

Just make sure you tie the sock or pillow so the rice or beans can't escape. Tool blog Cool Tools recommends microwaving for 1-2 minutes to produce up to 10 minutes of heat. They also note that after several uses as a heat pad the rice will start to break down, so you may want to retire the rice after a few days of heavy use. You can also experiment with spices and herbs to add in elements of aromatherapy as well. Photo by Linda

Homemade Hot Pad | Cool Tools

Source: http://feeds.gawker.com/~r/lifehacker/full/~3/KyAaaVLPdwc/make-an-impromptu-heat-pad

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RIAA Reminds Us Why We Hate Them With Obnoxious Smartass Tweet [Sopa]

This tweet from the RIAA's Senior Vice President of Communications is just about the most asinine thing we've read all day. Way to totally trivialize an issue that millions of people care passionately about. More »

Source: http://feeds.gawker.com/~r/gizmodo/full/~3/2KBrS9YWoKs/riaa-reminds-us-why-we-hate-them-with-obnoxious-smartass-tweet

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