http://kobe.blogpico.com Just another Blogpico.com weblog Mon, 01 Dec 2008 11:48:34 +0000 http://backend.userland.com/rss092 en   Texas defeated Oklahoma, 45-35, earlier this season in Dallas. But it's the Sooners, not the Longhorns, who will represent the Big 12 South in the conference's championship game, against Missouri on Saturday night in Kansas City. Oklahoma, Texas and Texas Tech finished in the three-way tie for the division title, but the Sooners (11-1, .9351) were awarded the spot after finishing second behind Alabama (12-0, .9713) but ahead of Texas (11-1, .9223) in Sunday's BCS standings, which the Big 12 opted to use to break the deadlock created by Texas beating Oklahoma, Oklahoma beating Texas Tech and Texas Tech beating Texas. If Oklahoma defeats Missouri, the Sooners likely will head to the BCS national championship game and face either Alabama or Florida on Jan.8 in Miami. If Oklahoma loses, Texas could still back into the national championship game without playing for its conference championship. Texas Tech appears destined for a non-BCS bowl after a one-loss season that included the Red Raiders' signature win over the Longhorns and a 56-20 throttling of Oklahoma State. Florida, USC, Utah, Texas Tech, Penn State, Boise State and Ohio State round out the Top 10. Texas coach Mack Brown, as you might imagine, was not happy. "We don't like it, we don't agree with it or think it's fair," he said "But, like anything else, we'll handle it and move forward." In the future, Brown would like the Big 12 to follow the lead of the SEC, ACC or Conference USA in the case of three-way ties. That conference eliminates the lowest of the three teams in the BCS rankings, then determines the winner by head-to-head competition. "I think their systems are fairer and give more credit to how the two highest teams performed against each other on the field," he said, not noting that such a solution would have given the division title to his team. While Brown is a likeable guy, and his decision to put sportsmanship first was admirable when he pulled quarterback Colt McCoy with 11 minutes left in the Longhorns' 49-9 victory over Texas A&M on Thursday night, it is hard to argue with the conference's decision, as two teams were going to be left out no matter what in this flawed system. The Sooners got their big boost from the BCS' six computers, which ranked them No.1 ahead of Texas, Alabama and Florida. The computers gave Oklahoma credit for playing two non-league opponents - TCU and Cincinnati - in the BCS top15. Texas played just one non-league opponent - Rice - with a winning record. IRISH CREAMED: The calls for Charlie Weis' dismissal grow louder from the Irish faithful after a demoralizing 38-3 loss to USC on Saturday night in L.A. But nothing apparently will be decided until Dec.8, after Weis - who has a 28-21 record through four seasons - meets with new AD Jack Swarbrick. Weis' winning percentage (.571) is lower than both Bob Davie and Ty Willingham - both of whom were fired - and Weis' offense totally imploded against the Trojans, finishing with just 93 total yards. Irish quarterback Jimmy Clausen completed 11 of 22 passes for 41 yards, was intercepted twice and sacked four times, and the Irish never crossed midfield until the second play of the fourth quarter. Cheap warhammer gold [1] Technically, Notre Dame (6-6) is bowl eligible and Weis has said he would accept, if only to give him 14 more days of practice time. But isn't a bowl supposed to be a reward for a good season?Share This [2] | Email this [3] Cool site: http://kobe.blogpico.com :sent by ur frnd [1] http://www.warhammeronline-money.com/ [2] http://kobe.blogpico.com/?p=75&akst_action=share-this [3] http://www.feedburner.com/fb/a/emailFlare?itemTitle=Sooners win Big 12 South thanks to BCS computers&uri=http://kobe.blogpico.com http://kobe.blogpico.com/2008/12/01/sooners-win-big-12-south-thanks-to-bcs-computers/ The attack came as Indian commandoes scoured two luxury hotels room-by-room for survivors and holed-up militants, more than a day after a chain of attacks across India's financial center by suspected Muslim militants left at least 119 people dead. The well-coordinated strikes by small bands of gunmen starting Wednesday night left the city shell-shocked, but the sporadic gunfire and explosions at the Taj Mahal and Oberoi hotels dwindled overnight, indicating the siege might be winding down. At the headquarters of the ultra-orthodox Jewish outreach group Chabad Lubavitch, a commando assault began shortly after dawn following a tense night in which six trucks of soldiers had been brought in to surround the building. Snipers stationed in buildings opposite the center began the attack, with sustained fire on the building as at least nine commandos lowered themselves by rope onto the roof from a circling Indian air force helicopter. Security forces searched the rooms at the hotels — two of the top gathering spots for the Mumbai elite — but there were no gunbattles or blasts. Commandos had spent much of Thursday bringing out hostages, trapped guests and corpses from the hotels in small groups while firefighters battled flames that erupted. The fires were out by Friday. State officials said 119 people had died and 288 were injured in the attacks. The gunmen were well-prepared, even carrying large bags of almonds to keep up their energy during the fight. Their main targets appeared to be Americans, Britons and Jews, though most of the dead seemed to be Indians and foreign tourists caught in the random gunfire. The gunmen — some of whom strode casually through their targets in khakis and T-shirts — clearly came ready for a siege. "They have AK-47s and grenades. They have bags full of grenades and have come fully prepared," said Maj. Gen. R.K. Hooda. Ratan Tata, who runs the company that owns the elegant Taj Mahal, said they appeared to have scouted their targets in advance. "They seem to know their way around the back office, the kitchen. There has been a considerable amount of detailed planning," he told a news conference. The Maharashtra state home ministry said dozens of hostages had been freed from the Oberoi and dozens more were still trapped inside. More than 400 people were brought out of the Taj Mahal on Thursday. Authorities said they had killed three gunmen at the Taj. It remained unclear just how many people had been taken hostage, how many were hiding inside the hotels and how many dead still lay uncounted. A U.S. investigative team was heading to Mumbai, a State Department official said Thursday evening, speaking on condition of anonymity because the U.S. and Indian governments were still working out final details. The official declined to identify which agency or agencies the team members came from. There were conflicting reports about hostages at the Jewish center. A diplomat closely monitoring the site said people were still being held there, though an Indian state official said earlier eight hostages had been released. Both sources spoke on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to talk to the media. On Thursday morning, a woman, child and an Indian cook were led out of the building by police, said one witness. The child was identified as Moshe Holtzberg, 2, the son of Rabbi Gavriel Noach Holtzberg, the main representative at Chabad house. The child was unharmed, but his clothes were soaked in blood. India has been shaken repeatedly by terror attacks blamed on Muslim militants in recent years, but most of them were coordinated bombings striking random crowded places: markets, street corners, parks. These attacks were more sophisticated — and more brazen. They began at about 9:20 p.m. with the shooters spraying gunfire across the Chhatrapati Shivaji railroad station, one of the world's busiest terminals. For the next two hours, there was an attack roughly every 15 minutes — the Jewish center, a tourist restaurant, one hotel, then another, and two attacks on hospitals. There were 10 targets in all. Indian media showed pictures of rubber dinghies found by the city's shoreline, apparently used by the gunmen to reach the area. Both of the luxury hotels targeted overlook the Arabian Sea, which surrounds the peninsula of Mumbai. At the Chhatrapati Shivaji railroad station, a soaring 19th century architectural monument, gunmen fired bullets through the crowded terminal, leaving the floor spattered with blood and corpses. "They just fired randomly at people and then ran away. In seconds, people fell to the ground," said Nasim Inam, a witness. Analysts around the world were debating whether the gunmen could have been tied to — or inspired by — Al Qaeda. "It's clear that it is Al Qaeda style," but probably not carried out by the group's militants, said Rohan Gunaratna, of the International Center for Political Violence and Terrorism Research in Singapore and author of "Inside Al Qaeda." Gunaratna said the attacks were a "watershed" for India, "because for the first time, the terrorists deliberately attacked international targets," he said, noting that symbolic high-profile targets had been chosen, apparently to magnify the effects of the violence. Indian media reports said a previously unknown group calling itself the Deccan Mujahideen claimed responsibility in e-mails to several media outlets. The Deccan is a region in southern India that was traditionally ruled by Muslim kings. Prime Minister Manmohan Singh blamed "external forces" for the violence — a phrase sometimes used to refer to Pakistani militants, whom Indian authorities often blame attacks on. Survivors of the hotel attacks said the gunmen had specifically targeted Britons and Americans. Alex Chamberlain, a British citizen dining at the Oberoi, told reporters that a gunman ushered 30 to 40 people from the restaurant into a stairway and ordered everyone to put up their hands. The gunmen "stopped once and asked, 'Where are you from? Any British or American? Show your ID.' My friend said, 'Tell them you're Italian.' And there I was with my hands up basically thinking I was in a lot of trouble." Chamberlain said he managed to slip away as the patrons were forced to walk upstairs. One victim was British-Cypriot Andreas Dionysiou Liveras, 73, the owner of a luxury yacht business, said the Cypriot foreign ministry and his brother, Theophanis Liveras. Andreas Dionysiou Liveras, who was attending a conference, had spoken to the British Broadcasting Corp. from a locked room inside the Taj Hotel before he was killed. "As we sat at the table we heard the machine gun fire outside in the corridor. We hid under the table and then they switched all the lights off. ... All we know is the bombs are next door and the hotel is shaking every time a bomb goes off," he said. Among the dead were at least four Australians and a Japanese, said the state home ministry. An Italian, a Briton and a German were also killed, according to their foreign ministries. At least three top Indian police officers — including the chief of the anti-terror squad — were among those killed, said Roy. Among those foreigners still held captive in all three buildings were Americans, British, Italians, Swedes, Canadians, Yemenis, New Zealanders, Spaniards, Turks, French, a Singaporean and Israelis. The United States, Pakistan and other countries condemned the attacks. The motive for the onslaught was not immediately clear, but Mumbai has frequently been targeted in terrorist attacks blamed on Islamic extremists, including a series of bombings in July 2006 that killed 187 people. Mumbai is one of the most populated cities in the world with some 18 million crammed into shantytowns, high rises and crumbling mansions. Relations between Hindus, who make up more than 80 percent of India's 1 billion population, and Muslims, who make up about 14 percent, have sporadically erupted into bouts of sectarian violence since British-ruled India was split into independent India and Pakistan in 1947.Share This [1] | Email this [2] Cool site: http://kobe.blogpico.com :sent by ur frnd [1] http://kobe.blogpico.com/?p=73&akst_action=share-this [2] http://www.feedburner.com/fb/a/emailFlare?itemTitle=URGENT: Indian Forces Assault Besieged Jewish Center in Mumbai&uri=http://kobe.blogpico.com http://kobe.blogpico.com/2008/11/27/urgent-indian-forces-assault-besieged-jewish-center-in-mumbai/ There was a lot to cheer Tuesday night at Madison Square Garden: LeBron James being introduced, LeBron James throwing talc in the air, LeBron James slamming two-handed breakaway dunks and LeBron James refusing to rule out playing for the Knicks. It was a night to cheer for the future, for the possibilities that come with salary-cap space and for the fantasy that James, a potential free agent in 2010, may some day pull on a blue and orange jersey. James was as splendid and occasionally dominant, although he hardly needed to exert himself in a game that was never close as the Cleveland Cavaliers dismantled the retooled Knicks, 119-101. He finished with 26 points and had ample support from Zydrunas Ilgauskas (11 points) and Delonte West (16 points). The Cavaliers were as crisp and efficient as the Knicks were dull and disoriented. Al Harrington and Tim Thomas, acquired in a pair of salary-purging trades last week, seemed shaky in their debuts. The rest of the Knicks looked no better, as the team shot 41.4 percent from the field and turned the ball over 17 times. The Knicks put James in their sights last Friday when they made two trades to clear cap space in 2010. One of those deals remains unresolved, however. Cuttino Mobley, the third player acquired last week, remains in limbo because of concerns over his heart, which surfaced during routine testing this week. The Knicks allowed the trade to become final Tuesday, so Mobley is theirs regardless of what happens. Mobley visited a specialist in Boston on Tuesday and is scheduled for more tests on Wednesday. Because of the Thanksgiving holiday, the Knicks do not expect him to be cleared this week. That means he will miss at least two more games, against Detroit and Golden State. So the Knicks played another game with an incomplete roster and a jumbled rotation. The lineup took another blow in the first half, when Nate Robinson left with a strained right groin muscle. Robinson, who had started every game since the trade, injured himself when he landed awkwardly after converting a fast-break layup. His status is uncertain. Although Harrington and Thomas have experience playing the run-and-gun, they seemed uneasy in Coach Mike D’Antoni’s offense. They were guilty of stopping the offense at times while trying to become acclimated. Harrington, who had 13 points, took 16 shots, the second most on the team, and made just five. Thomas (16 points) went 4 for 9. Quentin Richardson led the Knicks with 22 points. The Knicks sorely missed Zach Randolph’s rebounding, particularly on the offensive end, and Jamal Crawford’s instant offense. Mostly, the Knicks missed the offensive flow they had established before making the two trades. They looked a lot like the Knicks of Isiah Thomas, with no evidence of chemistry or organization. They were booed frequently in the first half, as the Cavaliers pushed the lead to 20 points, then 30. Cleveland led by 67-38 at halftime and never looked back. The only consolation in any of this was James’s gracious praise of New York and the Garden, and his graceful avoidance of any predictions about his future. He swatted away a direct question about playing for the Knicks. “To bring that type of distraction to our team right now would be unfair to my team, my teammates, coaching staff and the rest of the organization,” James said. During an eight-minute session with a room packed with 60 reporters, James clarified a few of his career priorities. He said he was not concerned with a team’s market size, noting that Tim Duncan has fared quite well in San Antonio. He said he considered defense a critical factor in winning titles, which would conceivably rule out the Knicks. He said his greatest priority was collecting championships. James said he was flattered by all of the speculation tying him to the Knicks (and the Nets and the Detroit Pistons), but said it was too early to contemplate free agency. James would be the biggest prize in 2010, when Dwyane Wade, Chris Bosh and Amare Stoudemire can also be free agents. “July 1 of 2010 is a very big day,” James said. “It’s probably going to be one of the biggest days in free-agent history in the N.B.A.” But James left Knicks fans with two valentines to hold for the next 19 months. He said he was “really close” to D’Antoni, one of his coaches with the USA Basketball team last summer, whom he called an “offensive mastermind.” And he said he loved playing at the Garden. “Every time I come here it’s a warm feeling, because you know the history,” he said. “Being a basketball junkie like myself, how could you not love it, being in this building.” REBOUNDS Team officials have given no indication that Cuttino Mobley’s career is in jeopardy, but they cannot say when, or if, he will be cleared to play. “I don’t know yet,” said Donnie Walsh, the team president, declining to say whether Mobley had failed his physical examination. “I’m saying right now that he’s undergoing further tests and we’ll make a determination when we get more information.” The team will not confirm widespread reports that Mobley is being tested for heart issues, although multiple people have confirmed that is the case. The Knicks chose Tuesday to waive the physical examination requirements, thus allowing their trade with the Los Angeles Clippers to become final. Clippers officials were frustrated by the delays, which forced them to play Monday’s game without Zach Randolph. “All I know is if he has had anything, he has been asymptomatic," Coach Mike Dunleavy told Los Angeles reporters. “He’s never had any issue with us.” Walsh declined to say whether the Knicks would be entitled to compensation if Mobley could not play. “I did the trade, we’re happy with the trade, it’s a good trade for us,” he said.warhammer gold [1]Share This [2] | Email this [3] Cool site: http://kobe.blogpico.com :sent by ur frnd [1] http://www.warhammeronline-money.com/ [2] http://kobe.blogpico.com/?p=71&akst_action=share-this [3] http://www.feedburner.com/fb/a/emailFlare?itemTitle=James Lifts, Then Crushes Knicks’ Hopes&uri=http://kobe.blogpico.com http://kobe.blogpico.com/2008/11/25/james-lifts-then-crushes-knicks%e2%80%99-hopes/ Illinois Senator Barack Obama and New York Senator Hillary Clinton. (Getty Images Photo) Barack Obama may be the new leader of the free world, but Topic A this week has become the will-she-or-won't-she speculation about Hillary Rodham Clinton and the secretary of state's job. So superheated is interest in the question that the Gallup Organization conducted a national poll on it, which found that 57 percent of Americans and eight of 10 Democrats favor Obama naming her to the post. A Marist poll released Wednesday found 55 percent of New Yorkers want to see Clinton named to the post, and 72 percent think she'll do a good or excellent job at it. As transition team lawyers vet the complex dealings of former President Bill Clinton - and as Clinton herself is said to be weighing whether she really wants to surrender her Senate seat for a job as the nation's top diplomat - ordinary citizens, pundits and pols have joined their voices in a rising cacophony of opinion on the topic. Out in Mentor, Ohio, a die-hard Hillary backer who has been following news accounts yesterday called her "an excellent choice. "She and her husband would be wonderful around the world - but I do have some concerns that the media starts treating her with a little respect," said Jeff Dameron, an unemployed banker who went door-to-door for Clinton in the cold winter months before Ohio's primary, and still won't say how he voted in November. "I am hoping maybe this was the happy ending I was looking for after all this mess." Clinton surrogates and some analysts are publicly and privately circulating her strong doubts about whether she should take the job. "She has to evaluate whether she's comfortable closing down her political operation," said one person familiar with the situation. Syndicated columnist David Broder, who calls himself a fan, argues the job would be a "mistake" for Clinton because she would find it hard to subordinate her views to those of her new boss, and her husband would be "unlikely to remain silent." Dick Morris, a onetime Bill Clinton adviser who is now a poison-pen critic of the couple, contends the public is witnessing Hillary's "brazen" and "desperate" efforts to get the job. She may have discussed it with Obama in Chicago last week, Morris wrote on his Web site yesterday, then tried to lock that into an "offer" by leaking an account of their meeting to the media. Obama, Morris argues, is seeking to escape the trap by having allies talk about the legal problems and lining up Senate jobs for her. "In the world of Hillary and Bill, predictions are almost impossible," Morris wrote. "But Obama and the world would be well served if Hillary did not get the job." At the other end of the spectrum are posts on the Web site of the New Agenda, an organization set up by Clinton backers who believe her primary campaign was undermined by rampant sexism in the media and her own party. "Hillary on Obama's leash as SOS? . . . I would want her out of the Senate too if I were him," posted one reader. And psychotherapist Barbara Schlachet contributed a piece expressing irritation at those who fear Clinton will "suck up the limelight" in an Obama administration. And then, "Will secretary of state be enough for Hillary's army?" asks The Daily Beast, a news-buzz site founded by Tina Brown, which yesterday released a poll finding 61 percent of American women see gender bias in the media, and eight in 10 women see it in politics as well. When the going gets rough, Brown wrote, Obama will need Clinton "like Batman needs Robin. . . . And God help Bill if he screws it up for her."wow gold [1] Stella O'Leary, president of the Irish-American Democrats, a political action committee, said Clinton as secretary of state would be "absolutely wonderful from our perspective; she's such a friend of Ireland. " . . . It's always nice to have a friend in high places. But now I'm hearing in these last hours that she may not want it," O'Leary said. "She likes politics a great deal, she and Bill Clinton, they like the rough and tumble of political argument, and she also seems to really love New York."Share This [2] | Email this [3] Cool site: http://kobe.blogpico.com :sent by ur frnd [1] http://www.questmonk.com/ [2] http://kobe.blogpico.com/?p=69&akst_action=share-this [3] http://www.feedburner.com/fb/a/emailFlare?itemTitle=Clinton fans, foes weigh in on secretary of state post&uri=http://kobe.blogpico.com http://kobe.blogpico.com/2008/11/19/clinton-fans-foes-weigh-in-on-secretary-of-state-post/ Stacks of charred bricks, blackened shells of cars and burned tree trunks were all that remained Monday in much of the community some residents once called the "Beverly Hills of mobile home parks." The mostly retired residents returned to see what was left of their homes at Oakridge Mobile Home Park, where winds with hurricane intensity blew a wall of fire through hundreds of manufactured homes and set them ablaze so quickly that even firefighters had to drop their hoses and run. "It looks like a war zone — no trees, no buildings," said Michele Warneck, 54, who burst into tears after returning from the park. She had watched her two-bedroom house burn on the television news. "Everything that was porcelain just blew up." Once considered a paradise with swimming pools and tennis courts, the park was now roamed by cadaver-sniffing dogs in search of anyone who didn't escape. That search ended Monday afternoon with investigators finding no evidence anyone perished. The inferno destroyed 484 homes in the park Saturday. Firefighters were able to save about 120 homes, but many were badly damaged and the park is flattened except for charred trees with blackened branches bent in one direction by the hot winds. Twisted metal foundations and pipes are all that is left of many homes. The fire was one of three in Southern California that have destroyed about 1,000 homes and apartments and burned 41,000 acres, or 64 square miles, forcing thousands to flee. Most evacuation orders were lifted by Monday, when clear skies and calm winds allowed firefighters to make some gains, but officials warned of another bad air day and classes were canceled at dozens of schools near fire zones in Orange County. In Sylmar, scores of residents stood in line outside a high school gymnasium for tours of the charred mobile home park where retirees once played tennis, took a dip in a jacuzzi and played Mah-Johng and poker. Those whose homes were destroyed were shuttled through the neighborhood in a black van. Authorities were still investigating the fire, so people weren't allowed to get out and sift through the ashes for scraps of their belongings. "It's gone," said Ed Hurdle, 82, after taking one of the first park tours. "The car is gone. The house is gone. It's twisted metal. It's totally charred there. There's no hope at all. Nothing. Nothing. Nothing." A separate set of white police vans ferried residents whose homes were still standing so they could gather medication and other essentials. "My house was in great shape. All it was was dirty," said Betty Glassman, 78. "I feel like I'm in a dream. Pinch me." Cadaver dogs searched the burned units, but found only the cremated remains of a man who died several years ago. Animal control recovered several dead animals and three live cats. Los Angeles County Assistant Coroner Chief Ed Winter said the cats could have been hiding under one of the units that wasn't damaged. Neighbors huddled together inside the gymnasium, which has been turned into a Red Cross shelter for evacuees, hugging each other and comparing notes about what they saw and what they were able to salvage. "It's a disaster. It looks like Hiroshima," said Joan Costa, carrying plastic bags filled with makeup and medicines she had pulled from her home. The fire left a local hospital in darkness, and nurses used hand-cranked ventilators to keep patients alive when the fire knocked out power to Olive View-UCLA Medical Center in Sylmar. Authorities are investigating why the emergency generator failed. No patients were harmed during the 3 1/2-hour outage early Saturday. Elsewhere, the largest of the fires has burned more than 28,000 acres in Orange, Riverside, San Bernardino and Los Angeles counties and has destroyed more than 250 homes and apartment units. San Bernadino became the fourth county declared a state of emergency. Los Angeles County Fire Inspector Frank Garrido warned residents returning their homes in the Diamond Bar area to watch for snakes, mountain lions and other wildlife who fled the flames into more populated areas. In the Orange County suburb of Yorba Linda, residents returned to find more than 100 homes destroyed. Some hung signs thanking firefighters for saving their homes, others snapped photos of the scorched community. Lindey Lindholm sifted through the rubble of his home, searching for family heirlooms. It's all gone," Lindholm said. The first of the wildfires broke out in the Montecito area of Santa Barbara County, about 90 miles northwest of Sylmar. Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa said President-elect Barack Obama contacted him Sunday night to offer what help he could. Obama has turned his campaign Web site home page into a plea to help fire victims that includes a link to Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger's site, where people can sign up to volunteer or donate to the Red Cross or Salvation Army. Schwarzenegger on Monday asked the Bush administration to declare Southern California a federal disaster site. The governor also requested disaster loans for the counties of Los Angeles, Orange, Riverside, Santa Barbara and San Bernardino. He said many of the residents affected by the fires — particularly mobile home owners — lacked insurance or are seriously underinsured. The causes of all three fires were under investigation, although officials labeled the Santa Barbara-area fire "human-caused," said Doug Lannon, a spokesman with the California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection. Lannon said the fire started in a Montecito landmark known to be a popular hangout for teenagers. He said it was possible someone was smoking in the brush or started a campfire there. Oakridge park resident Steve Fisher, 58, said he'd eventually like to move back there but doesn't know if he will — especially since he didn't have insurance on his home that burned. "I've never lived in a place with such a communal spirit," Fisher said. "It was just like paradise."Share This [1] | Email this [2] Cool site: http://kobe.blogpico.com :sent by ur frnd [1] http://kobe.blogpico.com/?p=67&akst_action=share-this [2] http://www.feedburner.com/fb/a/emailFlare?itemTitle=Residents return to devastated LA mobile home park&uri=http://kobe.blogpico.com http://kobe.blogpico.com/2008/11/18/residents-return-to-devastated-la-mobile-home-park/ The Paula Abdul fanatic who police believe committed suicide outside the star's mansion had cased the "American Idol" judge's block as far back as January, cops said Thursday. But a good friend has rushed to the defense of 30-year-old Paula Goodspeed, telling the Daily News that the aspiring singer wasn't a suicidal, "looney freakazoid" still obsessing over the mocking she received at her September 2005 "American Idol" audition. Instead, Goodspeed was upbeat and planning for the future when she last communicated with pal Brianna Schlanger less than 24 hours before cops recovered her body Tuesday. "She sent me a text at 10:22 the night before about meeting for a latte and movie. She ended the message with a happy face," said Schlanger, a model from Reseda, Cali. "She seemed fine. Something must have happened after that. It needs to be further investigated." Goodspeed's mother, Sandra McIntyre, reported Goodspeed missing on Tuesday, telling cops she last saw her daughter at 11 p.m. Monday. McIntyre, who's been living recently at Goodspeed's Thousand Oaks, Calif., apartment, declined to comment when reached by phone late Thursday. Schlanger said Goodspeed mentioned having a doctor's appointment in Burbank at 4:30 p.m. Tuesday and promised to arrive at Schlanger's house after that. "I'll be at your house at 5:30, and we can get a latte and go to the theater," Goodspeed said in a text message. "I'm still in disbelief, waiting for her to show up at my door," Schlanger, who met Goodspeed while taking singing lessons, told the Daily News. "I knew she admired (Paula Abdul). But there's no way she was stalking her or had any bad intentions." Schlanger said Goodspeed had a fiance she was planning to marry on Valentine's Day, and that the aspiring singer never took drugs and didn't touch alcohol when they went to karaoke bars. The detective handling Goodspeed's case said the woman had a history on Abdul's block. "There have been prior incidents involving Paula Goodspeed on the street. One was in January of this year and another in June," said Los Angeles Police Det. Robert Bub. Bub said neither event was serious enough to generate a formal report. Still, the June call apparently led LAPD to ask Ventura County Sheriff's deputies to check on a potentially "suicidal" Goodspeed in her Thousand Oaks apartment on June 24, a sheriff's spokesman said. Goodspeed was found dead with no signs of trauma and no note at 6 p.m. Tuesday in her Toyota, a few doors down from Abdul's Sherman Oaks home. The Abdul fan came face to face with her when she tried out for "American Idol" three years - and was sent home after being roundly mocked in her tryout. Goodspeed's niece Sonja McIntyre, 20, denied her aunt was suicidal - or a stalker. And said Goodspeed even told her that she and Abdul once had coffee together at a Starbucks.warhammer gold [1] "Not an ounce of truth to this," said Abdul publicist Jeff Ballard. "Paula met her only at 'Idol.'" An autopsy is schedule for today, the coroner's office said. A final cause of death could take weeks pending toxicology tests.wow gold [2]Share This [3] | Email this [4] Cool site: http://kobe.blogpico.com :sent by ur frnd [1] http://www.questmonk.com/warhammer-online-us-money-gold-2540.html [2] http://www.questmonk.com/ [3] http://kobe.blogpico.com/?p=66&akst_action=share-this [4] http://www.feedburner.com/fb/a/emailFlare?itemTitle=Friends defend Paula Abdul fan who committed suicide&uri=http://kobe.blogpico.com http://kobe.blogpico.com/2008/11/14/friends-defend-paula-abdul-fan-who-committed-suicide/ As the mortgage crisis deepens and the government joins with the lending industry in a new effort targeting struggling homeowners, Congress is examining the roles played by investors, lenders and loan servicers in the process. Representatives of those three sectors are scheduled to testify at a House Financial Services Committee hearing Wednesday morning. Democratic lawmakers have expressed frustration with the scope of industry cooperation. Committee Chairman Barney Frank, D-Mass., and five other Democrats accused hedge fund investors of blocking mortgage modifications. "For the hedge fund industry, which has flourished for much of the past decade, to take steps so actively in opposition to what is currently in the national economic interest is deeply troubling," they said in a recent letter to industry representatives. On Tuesday, the government and the mortgage industry mounted the most sweeping effort yet to help troubled homeowners by speeding the process for renegotiating hundreds of thousands of delinquent loans held by Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac. The Federal Housing Finance Agency, which seized control of the two mortgage finance companies in September, announced the plan along with other government and industry officials. Officials said they hoped the new approach, which goes into effect Dec. 15., will become a model for loan servicing companies, which collect mortgage payments and distribute them to investors. Expected to appear at Wednesday's hearing are: Benjamin Allensworth, senior legal counsel of the Managed Funds Association, which represents hedge funds; Thomas Deutsch, deputy executive director of the American Securitization Forum, representing Wall Street institutions that transform mortgages and other debt into bonds that are traded; Michael Gross, managing director of loan administration loss mitigation at Bank of America Corp.; and Molly Sheehan, senior vice president in the home lending division at JPMorgan Chase & Co. JPMorgan Chase & Co. last month expanded its mortgage modification program to an estimated $70 billion in loans, which could aid as many as 400,000 customers. The New York-based bank already has modified about $40 billion in mortgages, helping 250,000 customers since early 2007. Bank of America has said that starting Dec. 1, it will modify an estimated 400,000 loans held by newly acquired Countrywide Financial Corp. as part of an $8.4 billion legal settlement reached with 11 states in early October. The government said last week it expects that only 20,000 troubled borrowers will apply to refinance into more affordable home loans by next fall under a new mortgage aid program enacted by Congress over the summer.warhammer gold [1]The $300 billion "Hope for Homeowners" program was launched Oct. 1. Designed by lawmakers eager to respond to the mortgage crisis, the Congressional Budget Office had projected it would let 400,000 troubled homeowners swap risky loans for conventional 30-year fixed rate loans with lower rates. But the early results have been discouraging: the government received only 42 applications in the program's first two weeks, according to the Federal Housing Administration.Share This [2] | Email this [3] Cool site: http://kobe.blogpico.com :sent by ur frnd [1] http://www.warhammer-money.com/ [2] http://kobe.blogpico.com/?p=64&akst_action=share-this [3] http://www.feedburner.com/fb/a/emailFlare?itemTitle=Ahead of the Bell: Mortgage hearing&uri=http://kobe.blogpico.com http://kobe.blogpico.com/2008/11/12/ahead-of-the-bell-mortgage-hearing/  President-elect Obama suggested to President Bush that the administration immediately help struggling U.S. automakers, aides to the Democrat say, in the first face-to-face meeting the pair had since Obama's election victory. Obama's aides said the president-elect on Monday brought up the issue with Bush and discussed with him the need for urgent action. The Illinois senator's spokesman, Robert Gibbs, said only that the talks during Obama's first post-election victory to the White House were mostly "about the broad health of the industry" and were not just limited to any one of the three largest car makers. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi and Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid asked the administration over the weekend to consider expanding the $700 billion bailout for financial firms to include car companies. At a news conference last Friday, Obama said he hoped the Bush administration would "do everything it can to accelerate the retooling assistance that Congress has already enacted." He also said that helping the auto industry was a high priority for his transition team. The White House did not reject such an idea. Presidential spokeswoman Dana Perino said Bush would listen to lawmakers if, when they come back for a post-election session, "they decide to try to do something more on the auto industry." She said Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson would review the rescue plan again, but also suggested the administration needs Congress' help to determine which industries might qualify for help under the new law. Regarding any new economic stimulus plan, the White House has repeatedly stressed that its main priority is passage of a free trade agreement with Colombia. The president and Obama also talked about the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan and financial crisis. At the same time, Laura Bush and Michelle Obama talked about raising daughters in the nation's most famous house. Then Obama flew back to Chicago to work on setting up the new administration that will take over on Jan. 20. The 43rd president and the man who will be the 44th — and first black — commander in chief met alone in the Oval Office, with no handlers or staff. It was Obama's first time in the storied workspace, even though he had been to the White House previously for events. Neither the Bushes nor the Obamas spoke to reporters. Aides who described the discussion about the auto industry did so on grounds of anonymity, citing the private nature of the meeting. Perino said that Bush described the meeting as "constructive, relaxed and friendly," covering problems at home and abroad, and said he personally pledged a smooth transition. Bush gave Obama a sneak peek at White House highlights, such as the Lincoln Bedroom and the president's office in the residence, after their hour-plus in the Oval Office. Such White House meetings have a history going back decades. They are discussions that can range wherever the two men choose, whether on specific issues, how best to make decisions, the extraordinary resources that accompany any American president, the special weight of the office or even the secrets about the building that few people are privy to. It's also a chance to establish personal rapport between near-strangers, though that is by no means guaranteed. Outside, crowds built throughout the day with people pressing their noses through the fencing around the White House complex in hopes of getting a glimpse of the first family to be. Street vendors operating nearby were already stocked with Obama-related merchandise. Bush and Obama met as the main transition news of the day was the Democratic team's preparations to rescind many of the incumbent's executive orders. Obama transition chief John Podesta said that the senator's aides were poring over all of them and will make such reversals among the new president's first acts. Obama spokeswoman Stephanie Cutter said in a statement that no decisions have yet been made on executive orders. "Before he makes any decisions on potential executive or legislative actions, he will be conferring with congressional leaders on both sides of the aisle, as well as interested groups," she said. Said Podesta, delivering a concrete rebuke of Bush only about 24 hours before the two men sat down together: "We need to get off the course that the Bush administration has set."Share This [1] | Email this [2] Cool site: http://kobe.blogpico.com :sent by ur frnd [1] http://kobe.blogpico.com/?p=62&akst_action=share-this [2] http://www.feedburner.com/fb/a/emailFlare?itemTitle=Aides: Obama suggested more help for auto industry&uri=http://kobe.blogpico.com http://kobe.blogpico.com/2008/11/11/aides-obama-suggested-more-help-for-auto-industry/ A senior Chinese envoy left Taiwan on Friday after a historic visit that paved the way for closer cooperation between the former bitter rivals, but which was marred by huge protests that left scores injured. Chen Yunlin -- the most senior Chinese official to visit the island since it split from China at the end of a civil war in 1949 -- made history on Thursday when he met Taiwanese President Ma Ying-jeou. But angry protests followed his five-day visit at every turn, culminating in violent clashes in the early hours of Friday between police and protesters that left more than 110 people injured, according to officials and local media. About 2,200 riot police backed by water cannon were dispatched to Taipei's Grand Hotel where Chen was staying to control 1,000 rowdy protesters, police said. Some threw eggs, rocks, bottled water and petrol bombs at police in an attempt to get past barbed wire barricades. Twelve demonstrators were handcuffed and taken away. Police said 64 officers were hurt in the clashes, while local media said more than 50 protesters and journalists were also injured. Later Friday around 100 people, most of them college students, staged a sit-in outside the main government building to protest police handling of the earlier demonstrations. The group was later dispersed by police. The ruling Kuomintang and the pro-independence opposition Democratic Progressive Party (DPP), which organised the demonstrations throughout Chen's visit, traded barbs over the violence -- the worst protest clashes in 10 years. DPP parliamentarian Lai Ching-teh claimed the party had kept its promise to stage a peaceful protest on Thursday, when Ma and Chen were meeting. "Those who used violence were sent by the Kuomintang," Lai told reporters. But the accusation was flatly rejected by the Kuomintang. "Since DPP chairwoman Tsai Ing-wen led her supporters into the streets, she has to take full responsibility for the violence," the KMT said in a statement. At a press conference shortly before his departure, Chen, his eyes red, appeared close to tears as he thanked Taiwanese security officials. "I would like to express our thanks to the police," he told reporters. "They made many sacrifices and shed blood during the tense protests. Words cannot describe our appreciation," Chen said, bowing briefly. On Thursday, thousands of mainly DPP-supporting demonstrators rallied in central Taipei to protest Chen's brief meeting with Ma. Organisers put the turnout at more than 100,000 while police estimated the size of the crowd to be 10,000. The cacophony could be heard for kilometres (miles) around the central government plaza as they moved off, on foot and in vans equipped with loudspeakers, towards the Grand Hotel. During Chen's visit, the two sides signed four deals that will see them cooperate in air travel, post and cargo shipping. Taipei and Beijing insist the accords will bring enormous economic benefit to both sides, but protesters fear that money and jobs will flood out of Taiwan as businesses seek to take advantage of cheap labour and resources in China. Tung Chen-yuan, a political science professor of National Chengchi University in Taipei, said Taiwan "swiftly signed agreements with Beijing, but a lot of people here felt that he had made too many concessions to Beijing." "It will become more difficult for the Ma administration to reach a consensus with the opposition on the future of the cross-Strait relationship," Tung said.warhammer gold [1] A survey of around 800 people carried out by Taipei's Apple Daily found nearly a third thought the DPP were to blame for the violence, while a quarter pointed the finger at Ma, saying he had failed to safeguard Taiwan's sovereignty. wow gold [2]Share This [3] | Email this [4] Cool site: http://kobe.blogpico.com :sent by ur frnd [1] http://www.gogoer.com/warhammer-online-us-c-2638.html [2] http://www.gogoer.com/ [3] http://kobe.blogpico.com/?p=60&akst_action=share-this [4] http://www.feedburner.com/fb/a/emailFlare?itemTitle=China envoy ends historic Taiwan visit amid violent protests&uri=http://kobe.blogpico.com http://kobe.blogpico.com/2008/11/07/china-envoy-ends-historic-taiwan-visit-amid-violent-protests/ Barack Obama, the son of a father from Kenya and a white mother from Kansas, was elected the nation’s 44th president Tuesday, breaking the ultimate racial barrier to become the first African American to claim the country’s highest office. A nation that was founded by slave owners and seared by civil war and generations of racial strife delivered a smashing electoral college victory to the 47-year-old first-term senator from Illinois, who forged a broad, multiracial, multiethnic coalition. His victory was a leap in the march toward equality: When Obama was born, people with his skin color could not even vote in parts of America, and many were killed for trying. Obama was winning in every state his party carried four years ago, including Pennsylvania, which McCain had worked vigorously to pry from the Democratic column. Obama was also making significant inroads into Republican turf, carrying Ohio and Virginia, the latter voting Democratic for the first time in more than 40 years. He was also winning the swing states of New Hampshire, Iowa and New Mexico, which backed President Bush in 2004. The major TV networks and the Associated Press called the race for Obama within minutes of the polls closing, sparking a raucous celebration in Chicago, where hundreds of thousands of celebrants gathered in Grant Park along the city’s waterfront. Giant video screens at the scene were tuned to CNN. Each time the network projected a state as an Obama win, the crowd erupted in cheers. The battleground states produced the loudest roars – first Pennsylvania, then New Hampshire, then Ohio, then, finally, victory. Moments later, the Obama campaign announced that McCain had called the president-elect to concede. Voters also handed Obama a fortified congressional majority, as Democrats picked up several seats in the Senate and in the House. The party knocked off at least two GOP incumbents, including North Carolina Sen. Elizabeth Dole. McCain, burdened by his party’s toxic image, prevailed in a band of states that comprise a shrinking Republican base, mainly in the South, the Plains and parts of the interior West. In winning the White House, Obama to a large degree remade the electorate: About one in 10 of those casting ballots Tuesday were doing so for the first time. Though that number was about the same as four years ago, most of the newcomers were under age 30, about a fifth were black and a fifth were Latino. That was greater than their share of the overall population, and those groups voted overwhelmingly for Obama. Overall, he won large majorities of women, black and Latino voters. Although he lost among white voters, Obama narrowed the margin significantly from 2004. For most voters, the sagging economy was the topmost concern – a dynamic that played strongly to the Democrat’s favor. Six in 10 voters said the economy was the most important issue facing the nation, according to exit polls – far more than cited energy, Iraq, terrorism or healthcare. Voters flocked to the polls in record numbers Tuesday, continuing a pattern of electoral exuberance that started in the primary season. There were scattered voting problems reported throughout the day, including long lines, malfunctioning voting machines and mislaid ballots. But there was nothing like Florida’s infamous “butterfly ballot” fiasco, which sent the 2000 presidential contest into several weeks of overtime before the U.S. Supreme Court stepped in to settle the race. Mostly, there was patience, good cheer, and for many, pride in taking part in a slice of history, whatever the result; had he won, McCain’s running mate, Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin [1], would have been the first woman to serve as vice president. Lines began forming across the country before the sun had risen, with queues starting at 4 a.m. in New York City. The outcome across most of the Democratic-leaning Northeast was never in doubt, but many felt it was their responsibility – and privilege – to vote. “I needed to cast my own ballot today, not just because it’s my duty as a citizen but because for once it feels like it counts,” said Eric Schwartz, 36, a computer specialist on New York’s Upper West Side. “It’s a more global feeling. Like I needed to make a mark on a day when things matter. Today, everyone matters.” In Arlington, Va., Takia Williams, 25 and African-American, wrestled with her frustrated 2-year-old, who wanted to play on the slide in the back seat of their car. But nothing could dampen Williams’ spirits after casting a ballot for Obama. “I couldn’t wait to vote,” she said. Obama will be one of the youngest presidents in American history, the first born outside the continental United States (in Hawaii) and only the third to move directly from the U.S. Senate to the White House. He burst on the national political scene just over four years ago, with an electrifying keynote address to the Democratic National Convention in Boston. Obama’s soaring speech previewed themes he would reprise in his presidential bid, including a call to end the partisanship symbolized by a country divided into Republican red and Democratic blue. Months after that address, Obama won his U.S. Senate seat, and there was immediate talk of a run for president. The speculation, however, vastly understated the challenge facing Obama, who by his own admission entered the crowded Democratic field as a decided underdog. His victory over New York Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton after a long, contentious primary season was in itself one of the great political upsets of all time. Contrary to the wisdom at the time, the battle did not sap but rather strengthened Obama. He built campaign organizations in traditionally Republican states, like Nevada, North Carolina, Colorado and Indiana, that came into play in the fall thanks to the groundwork laid in the spring. Obama also became a better, more substantive candidate and a much stronger debater, which served him well in his three matchups with McCain. Obama’s unflappable performance on stage and steady response to the Wall Street meltdown helped allay voter concerns about his judgment, maturity and readiness to assume office, undercutting what was perhaps McCain’s strongest argument against the freshman lawmaker. For all the wild celebration in Chicago, there were quieter moments that captured the full weight of history. Former U.N. Ambassador Andrew Young, a veteran of protests in Selma, Birmingham and other racial flash-points, was among hundreds of black Atlantans who crowded the pews for an election-watch party at the Rev. Martin Luther King’s Ebenezer Baptist Church. When CNN called the state of Pennsylvania, an early harbinger, Young pulled out a handkerchief and dabbed away tearsShare This [2] | Email this [3] Cool site: http://kobe.blogpico.com :sent by ur frnd [1] http://topics.latimes.com/politics/people/sarah-palin [2] http://kobe.blogpico.com/?p=58&akst_action=share-this [3] http://www.feedburner.com/fb/a/emailFlare?itemTitle=Barack Obama wins presidency, making history&uri=http://kobe.blogpico.com http://kobe.blogpico.com/2008/11/05/barack-obama-wins-presidency-making-history/