Friday, December 23, 2011

PFT: Big Ben's Saturday status still unknown

Dallas Cowboys v Philadelpia EaglesGetty Images

Still nine games back with 43 to go, I need a minor miracle to catch Rosenthal.? But I?m not going to start pulling out Hail Mary-type maneuvers by doing something like Picking the Chiefs to beat the Packers.

I mean, that would be kooky.

Rosenthal and I emerged from that crazy, upside-down Week 15 at 9-7 each.? For the year, he?s 151-73.? I?m 142-82.

Texans at Colts

Florio?s take:? Not long ago, it was presumed that the Colts would beat the Texans.? That was before the Colts lost Peyton Manning ? and before the Texans found their defense.? The ongoing absence of defensive coordinator Wade Phillips makes this one less of a sure thing for Houston, but the Colts surely won?t be looking to risk losing the Andrew Luck pick.

Florio?s pick:? Texans 28, Colts 13.

Rosenthal?s take: The Texans were reminded last week that their margin for error isn?t huge with T.J. Yates at quarterback. But that won?t be a problem this week. Houston?s defense will want to make amends after getting manhandled against Carolina. Expect 35 rushing attempts by the Texans.

Rosenthal?s pick: Texans 26, Colts 10.

Browns at Ravens

Florio?s take:? The Browns are one of the few inferior teams the Ravens managed to beat on the road.? This time, the Browns come to Baltimore, where the team that used to play in Cleveland has lost once in the last two seasons.? With the division title only two wins away, the Ravens won?t be blowing their chance to play a postseason game at home for the first time in the John Harbaugh/Joe Flacco tenure.

Florio?s pick:? Ravens 31, Browns 17.

Rosenthal?s take: Seneca Wallace looked like a slight upgrade from Colt McCoy.? Peyton Hillis is slightly healthier and more effective than he was earlier in the season.? So I?ll predict the Browns will make this slightly more interesting than the last time these two teams played.

Rosenthal?s pick: Ravens 27, Browns 17.

Broncos at Bills

Florio?s take:? Tebowmania takes Buffalo, where the Bills have seen a 4-1 start disintegrate, via seven straight losses.? With a trip to New England looming, this one gives the Bills their last, best shot at winning another game.? Though a playoff berth seems inevitable for the Broncos, it?ll have to wait until Week 17.

Florio?s pick:? Bills 24, Broncos 20.

Rosenthal?s take: Timing is everything. If the Bills started the season at 0-7, losing by an average of 18 points per week, Chan Gailey would be on the hot seat. But the Bills started fast before the bottom fell out, so no one has noticed that Buffalo is arguably the worst team in football at the moment.

Rosenthal?s pick: Broncos 23, Bills 16.

Buccaneers at Panthers

Florio?s take:? The Panthers have gotten better on the fly.? The Bucs have fallen apart, with eight straight losses.? Though anything can happen when teams from the same division square off, the Bucs haven?t made much of anything happen this year.? The Panthers won?t need to annex Puerto Rico or any other U.S. territories to win this one on Saturday.

Florio?s pick:? Panthers 34, Buccaneers 23.

Rosenthal?s take: The Bucs also have an argument for the worst team of the second half.? They?ve lost eight straight, with the last three by 21 points per game. Tampa is no longer even the up-and-coming ?Youngry? team in the division with the cool franchise quarterback; that?s now Carolina.

Rosenthal?s pick: Panthers 36, Buccaneers 23.

Cardinals at Bengals

Florio?s take:? One of the best games of the weekend will unfold before another way-less-than-capacity crowd in Cincinnati.? The Cardinals have won six of seven, and the Bengals still find themselves in the thick of things in the AFC wild-card chase.? But the Bengals have lost some of their punch in recent weeks, barely beating a pair of bad teams and losing four games to playoff contenders.? The Cardinals may not make it to the postseason, but it won?t be because they failed to handle their business.

Florio?s pick:? Cardinals 20, Bengals 17.

Rosenthal?s take: A legitimate quarterback controversy between Kevin Kolb and John Skelton is a surprising development. Arizona winning six of seven games in insane final possession fashion is even more surprising. The streak of luck ends against a Bengals team that was the surprise of the early season.

Rosenthal?s pick: Bengals 28, Cardinals 24.

Raiders at Chiefs

Florio?s take:? Chiefs players want to win for interim coach Romeo Crennel.? If they?d wanted to win as badly for former head coach Todd Haley, Crennel wouldn?t have the job he currently holds.? Kyle Orton and company keep making an unlikely push to the playoffs, as the Raiders continue to wonder how good they could have been if Darren McFadden hadn?t injured his foot the last time they played the team from Kansas City.

Florio?s pick:? Chiefs 24, Raiders 17.

Rosenthal?s take: Suddenly this game means a great deal. Both teams are trying to stay alive in the AFC West race. Romeo Crennel is trying to win a job. Hue Jackson is trying to justify his trade for Carson Palmer. Unfortunately, I fear that all the drama in the AFC West race will be over after this week.

Rosenthal?s pick: Chiefs 30, Raiders 20.

Dolphins at Patriots

Florio?s take:? Yes, the Dolphins aren?t as bad as they were when they lost seven straight games.? Yes, the Dolphins played the Patriots tough in Week One.? But the Patriots are two home wins away from the No. 1 seed for the second straight year.? Defensive warts and all, the Pats won?t be choking ? at least until they host the Jets or the Ravens in January.

Florio?s pick:? Patriots 35, Dolphins 23.

Rosenthal?s take: The Dolphins are 5-2 in their last seven games. The defense that got strafed in Week One by Tom Brady has improved greatly. Karlos Dansby, Kevin Burnett, and Vontae Davis are all playing much better for Miami. This is a dangerous game for the Patriots as they try to lock up the No. 1 seed.

Rosenthal?s pick: Patriots 26, Dolphins 24.

Giants at Jets

Florio?s take:? I?ve said for days that, if there were a way for both teams to lose this one, that?s what would happen.? (Maybe that means a tie is coming.)? The Giants have the better team on paper, but on paper the Giants shouldn?t have lost five of six games.? Recent trends have the Jets pulling things together and getting to the playoffs and the Giants completing a slide out of postseason contention.? Though all reason and common sense points to a Giants win, neither team?s performance this year has meshed with reason and common sense.

Florio?s pick:? Jets 17, Giants 14.

Rosenthal?s take: The Giants don?t have much if they don?t have a pass rush. And they don?t have much of a pass rush right now. At least the Jets have one reliable strength: Their pass defense. That should be enough to stop a Giants team that relies too much on Eli Manning.

Rosenthal?s pick: Jets 22, Giants 17.

Rams at Steelers

Florio?s take:? Against any other team, the question of whether the Steelers would use Ben Roethlisberger or Charlie Batch at quarterback would matter.? But these are the Rams.? The 2-12 Rams.? The hopelessly hapless Rams.? The Steelers would be likely to win this one even with one of the St. Louis backup quarterbacks taking the snaps for the home team.

Florio?s pick:? Steelers 20, Rams 3.

Rosenthal?s take: Charlie Batch is 37 years old. He was once teammates with Barry Sanders. At some point, the Steelers are going to roll him out there, and he just won?t be able to play the position anymore. Batch looked rough in his brief appearance two weeks ago. On the plus side: The Rams look rough every week.

Rosenthal?s pick: Steelers 16, Rams 6.

Jaguars at Titans

Florio?s take:? Though the Titans lost to the winless Colts last week, the Jaguars have been looking even worse in recent weeks, notwithstanding the contributions of Maurice Jones-Drew.? So with Matt Hasselbeck, Jake Locker, or even Vince Young at quarterback, the Titans should be able to take care of business ? despite the fact that the Jaguars pulled off the win the last time around.

Florio?s pick:? Titans 27, Jaguars 14.

Rosenthal?s take: Analysts have crushed Blaine Gabbert for his weak pocket presence all year. So interim coach Mel Tucker overcompensated by calling Gabbert ?courageous? and ?super-tough? this week. The Jaguars might be better off with a coach that recognizes Gabbert?s faults and tries to improve upon them.

Rosenthal?s pick: Titans 27, Jaguars 17.

Vikings at Redskins

Florio?s take:? Last year, the Vikings played their butts off against the Redskins in D.C., hopeful of helping Leslie Frazier lose the ?interim? tag.? This year, most Vikings don?t seem to care about Frazier or anyone else.? On a weekly basis, it shows.? It?s likely to show again on Saturday.

Florio?s pick:? Redskins 23, Vikings 10.

Rosenthal?s take: The Vikings feel like a 3-13 team, but their last win is more likely to come next week against the Bears. The Redskins feel exactly like a 6-10 type of team. They will hit their magic number on Sunday. This ?analysis? made more sense in my head.

Rosenthal?s pick: Redskins 26, Vikings 17.

Chargers at Lions

Florio?s take:? Norv Turner?s team has launched another impressive late-season run.? But the Lions have rediscovered their explosiveness on offense.? It?s time for Detroit to nail down its first playoff berth in more than a decade ? and to do so not by the skin of their teeth but by flexing some Motown muscle.

Florio?s pick:? Lions 35, Chargers 17.

Rosenthal?s take: Both quarterbacks in this game are playing very well.? Matthew Stafford saves his best stuff for the fourth quarter, while Philip Rivers has simply been on fire for three weeks. The Lions are 4-5 since beating the Bears on Monday Night Football. I?m not convinced they can beat good teams. The Chargers finally are a good team.

Rosenthal?s pick: Chargers 33, Lions 30.

Eagles at Cowboys

Florio?s take:? Jerry Jones fears the Eagles.? And for good reason.? Philly has found its groove, perhaps too late.? But not late enough for the Dream Team to complete a sweep of America?s Team.

Florio?s pick:? Eagles 33, Cowboys 27.

Rosenthal?s take: I predicted the Eagles would miss the playoffs at the beginning of the year. Despite a 6-8 record, they are somehow still alive and look like the best team in the division. I?m trying not to fall for it. It?s all part of an elaborate plan for Andy Reid to torture Eagles fans in the most painful way possible.

Rosenthal?s pick: Cowboys 30, Eagles 27.

49ers at Seahawks

Florio?s take:? The Jim Harbaugh-Pete Carroll rivalry is renewed, weeks after we?d all forgotten about it.? But even if the Seahawks can?t get the help they need to make it to the playoffs, they can throw a wrench into the Niners? plans for an easier path to Indy by killing Harbaugh?s shot at a bye.

Florio?s pick:? Seahawks 23, 49ers 17.

Rosenthal?s take: This is a dangerous game for the 49ers on a short week. Seattle?s defense continues to improve, while Tarvaris Jackson is playing his football of the season. (Without both his starting wideouts.) Both teams play a style designed to keep the game close. That favors the home team.

Rosenthal?s pick: Seahawks 17, 49ers 13.

Bears at Packers

Florio?s take:? Not long ago, this looked like it could be one of the best games of the year.? Now, it?ll mainly be an opportunity for the Packers to get the bad taste out of their mouths that came from losing to the Chiefs.

Florio?s pick:? Packers 35, Bears 13.

Rosenthal?s take: Josh McCown was coaching high school football four weeks ago. On Christmas night, he?ll show that he?s better than Caleb Hanie, and that it doesn?t really make a difference. The Packers have solved bigger injury problems than a few missing tackles.

Rosenthal?s pick: Packers 31, Bears 14.

Falcons at Saints

Florio?s take:? The Falcons beat the Saints in New Orleans last year.? Somehow.? This year, the Saints are unstoppable in the Superdome, thanks to a record-smashing season from Drew Brees.? But the Falcons have the firepower to keep it interesting.? Get your popcorn ready.? And your abacus.

Florio?s pick:? Saints 45, Falcons 38.

Rosenthal?s take: Exactly three points decided the last four games in this series. Atlanta will do enough to remind everyone the Saints? defense really hasn?t improved much. But the Falcons won?t do enough to hand New Orleans their first home loss of the year.

Rosenthal?s pick: Saints 34, Falcons 31.

Source: http://profootballtalk.nbcsports.com/2011/12/22/roethlisbergers-status-remains-unknown/related/

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Avatron?s Air Dictate App Makes Siri Take Notes On Your Mac

airdictatePerhaps best known for the Air Display iOS app, Avatron is at it again with new app called iOS dictation app called (what else?) Air Dictate. But of course, Avatron wouldn't just cook up a straightforward dictation app -- there's a twist. Instead of just taking your voice input and transcribing it into a file on your iDevice, it actually syncs with your Mac and dumps the interpreted output into your text field of choice. As long as both devices are on the same wireless network, the connection yields quick and (mostly accurate) transcriptions.

Source: http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/Techcrunch/~3/URNIK4hWtH4/

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Monday, December 19, 2011

ICC dismisses charges against Rwandan suspect (AP)

THE HAGUE, Netherlands ? International Criminal Court judges dismissed charges Friday against a Rwandan rebel accused of involvement in the murder, rape and torture of Congolese villagers by a Hutu militia in 2009.

The judges ordered the release of Callixte Mbarushimana, saying there is not enough evidence to support the charges against him.

Prosecutors said they would send the case to appeals judges and quickly filed a request to halt Mbarushimana's release pending the outcome of the appeal. If judges reject the request, the court has to find a country willing to accept Mbarushimana before he can be released and it is not clear how long that could take.

Prosecutors had accused Mbarushimana of being a senior member of the Democratic Forces for the Liberation of Rwanda, known by its French acronym the FDLR. The group is accused of unleashing savage attacks on civilians in the North and South Kivu provinces of Congo as a "bargaining tool" to win power.

If he is freed, Mbarushimana would be the first suspect released from ICC custody since the court's inception in 2002.

In February 2010, judges refused to confirm charges against a Darfur rebel accused of attacking African Union peacekeepers, but unlike Mbarushimana the rebel, Bahar Idriss Abu Garda, was never taken into custody.

In an unusual case at the court, prosecutors accused Mbarushimana of contributing to crimes from a Paris apartment "by orchestrating an international campaign of propaganda and extortion" to force Rwanda to accept the return of the rebels who had fled the country after its 1994 genocide.

In a majority decision, a three judge panel said evidence presented at a preliminary hearing in September was not strong enough to merit sending the case to trial.

The evidence was "not sufficient to establish substantial grounds to believe that the Suspect encouraged the troops' morale through his press releases and radio messages, and, therefore, he could have not provided ... a significant contribution to the commission of crimes," two judges wrote in their decision. The presiding judge at the September hearing, disagreed, saying Mbarushimana should have been sent to trial.

Nick Kaufman, the lawyer who represented Mbarushimana at the preliminary hearing, praised the decision.

"We welcome this brave decision which is a moment of truth and vindication for Callixte Mbarushimana," Kaufman told The Associated Press in an email.

Mbarushimana was arrested in Paris in October, 2010, and transferred to the court in The Hague.

He faced 11 charges of war crimes and crimes against humanity but always maintained his innocence.

The FDLR was established by former guerrillas accused of genocide in Rwanda's 1994 ethnic slaughter. After moving to Congo, the FDLR launched attacks on Rwanda aimed at ousting the government in Kigali.

Knowing they could not win a conventional military campaign, the rebels retreated to the dense forests of eastern Congo and from there went on a yearlong killing spree that left hundreds dead and forced thousands from their homes.

FDLR fighters "killed, raped and tortured civilians in this region. They carried out pillaging and burned down entire villages," deputy prosecutor Fatou Bensouda told judges in September. Women were raped, often repeatedly and by several attackers in turn, she added.

After the Rwanda genocide, Mbarushimana went to work as a software programmer for the United Nations in Angola and then Kosovo.

He was arrested in Kosovo at the request of Rwanda but released in 2001 because Rwanda failed to properly prepare his indictment. He was later indicted by the Rwanda war crimes tribunal, set up by the U.N. in Tanzania. But his case was dropped.

Gregory Alex, a senior U.N. official who has worked in Rwanda and Congo and has long wanted to see Mbarushimana face trial, told the AP he was disappointed by the decision.

"He should be arrested and tried for his crimes. There should be loud criticism of this," he said.

Alex said the order to release Mbarushimana comes at a time when authorities have been making headway in efforts to dismantle the FDLR.

"We've been making good progress," he said, adding that 169 FDLR fighters surrendered in November.

____

Associated Press writer Rukmini Callimachi contributed to this report from Washington, D.C.

Source: http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/europe/*http%3A//news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20111216/ap_on_re_eu/eu_international_court_congo

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Saturday, December 17, 2011

Senate OKs $1T budget bill, payroll tax cut

Sen. Olympia Snowe, R-Maine, comments in the U.S. Capitol Saturday, Dec. 17, 2011, after leaving the floor of the Senate, where legislation was passed to extend Social Security payroll tax cut and jobless benefits for just two months, setting the stage for another fight in February. The action also extends long-term unemployment benefits for another two months and requires President Barack Obama to approve the Keystone XL oil pipeline within 60 days unless he declares the project would not serve the national interest. (AP Photo/J. Scott Applewhite)

Sen. Olympia Snowe, R-Maine, comments in the U.S. Capitol Saturday, Dec. 17, 2011, after leaving the floor of the Senate, where legislation was passed to extend Social Security payroll tax cut and jobless benefits for just two months, setting the stage for another fight in February. The action also extends long-term unemployment benefits for another two months and requires President Barack Obama to approve the Keystone XL oil pipeline within 60 days unless he declares the project would not serve the national interest. (AP Photo/J. Scott Applewhite)

Sen. Joe Manchin, D-WV, left, and Sen. Mark Kirk, R-Ill., comment as the Senate approves legislation that extends Social Security payroll tax cuts for two months, at the Capitol in Washington. The action also extends long-term unemployment benefits for another two months and forces President Barack Obama to approve construction of a controversial oil pipeline. (AP Photo/J. Scott Applewhite)

Sen. Pat Roberts, R-Kan., arrives as the Senate votes to approve legislation that extends Social Security payroll tax cuts for two months, at the Capitol in Washington. The action also extends long-term unemployment benefits for another two months and forces President Barack Obama to approve construction of a controversial oil pipeline. (AP Photo/J. Scott Applewhite)

Sen. Joe Manchin, D-WV, left, and Sen. Mark Kirk, R-Ill., comment as the Senate approves legislation that extends Social Security payroll tax cuts for two months, at the Capitol in Washington. The action also extends long-term unemployment benefits for another two months and forces President Barack Obama to approve construction of a controversial oil pipeline. (AP Photo/J. Scott Applewhite)

Sen. John McCain, R-Ariz., talks on his cell phone just off the floor of the Senate as the body votes to approve legislation that extends Social Security payroll tax cuts for two months, at the Capitol in Washington. The action also extends long-term unemployment benefits for another two months and forces President Barack Obama to approve construction of a controversial oil pipeline. (AP Photo/J. Scott Applewhite)

(AP) ? The Senate passed legislation Saturday extending a Social Security payroll tax cut and jobless benefits for just two months, handing President Barack Obama a partial victory while setting the stage for another fight in February.

It also brought a peaceful end to a year-long battle over spending by passing a $1 trillion-plus catchall budget bill that wraps together the day-to-day budgets for 10 Cabinet departments and military operations in Iraq and Afghanistan. The House passed the measure Friday, and the White House has signaled that Obama will sign it.

The renewal of the 2-percentage-point cut in the Social Security payroll tax for 160 million workers and unemployment benefits averaging about $300 a week for the additional millions of people who have been out of work for six months or more is a modest step forward for Obama's year-end jobs agenda.

As a condition for GOP support of the payroll tax measure, Obama has to accept a provision that forces him to decide within 60 days whether to approve or reject a proposed a Canada-to-Texas oil pipeline that promises thousands of jobs.

Obama didn't reference the pipeline issue in a brief appearance at the White House after the vote. He welcomed the Senate's passage of the payroll tax cut and unemployment insurance extension and said it would be "inexcusable" for Congress not to extend them for the rest of 2012 when lawmakers return from their holiday break.

The budget bill, passed 67-32, heads to the White House for Obama's signature; the payroll tax measure won a 89-10 tally that send it back to the House ? where many Republicans only reluctantly support it ? for a vote early next week.

A spokesman for House Speaker John Boehner, R-Ohio, would not predict whether the House would accept the Senate payroll tax measure, saying GOP leaders would have to discuss it with the rank and file. But Democrats assume Senate Republicans would not have allowed the short-term measure to advance without a signal from Boehner that the House would go along.

Democratic and GOP leaders opted for the short-term extension of the payroll tax and jobless benefits measure after failing to agree on big enough spending cuts to pay for a full-year renewal. The measure also provides a 60-day reprieve from a scheduled 27 percent cut in the fees paid to doctors who treat Medicare patients.

The $33 billion cost of the measure would be covered by raising fees on new mortgages backed by Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac.

The fees, drawn from a Treasury Department housing finance market reform plan, would effectively raise the interest rate on home loans guaranteed by the mortgage giants and the Federal Housing Administration by one-tenth of a percentage point.

The idea is to open up the market to private companies currently priced out by the implicit subsidies of Fannie and Freddie.

The White House says the fee would increase the monthly cost of a typical $220,000 mortgage by almost $15 a month. Over 30 years, the fees would increase the total cost of such a mortgage by more than $5,000.

In contrast, a worker making a $100,000 salary would reap a tax cut of about $330 through the two-month extension of the payroll tax cut. A worker with a typical $50,000 salary would get just a $165 tax cut.

Officials said that in private talks, the two sides had hoped to reach agreement on the full one-year extension of the payroll tax cut and unemployment benefits that Obama had made the centerpiece of the jobs program he submitted to Congress last fall.

Those efforts failed when the two sides could not agree on enough offsetting cuts to blunt the measure's impact on the debt.

The failure tees up the issue again for early next year, but it won't get any easier to agree on spending cuts.

Neither House Speaker Boehner nor his aides participated in the negotiations, although McConnell said he was optimistic about the measure's chances for final approval. The payroll tax cut is unpopular in GOP ranks and another vote in two months could present a headache for GOP leaders.

On the controversial Keystone XL pipeline, the legislation requires the president to grant a permit unless he makes a determination that it is "not in the national interest." One senior administration official said the president would almost certainly refuse to grant a permit. The official was not authorized to speak publicly.

The White House on Friday backed away from Obama's earlier threat to veto any bill that linked the payroll tax cut extension with a Republican demand for a speedy decision on the proposed 1,700-mile pipeline. Obama said on Dec. 7 that "any effort to try to tie Keystone to the payroll tax cut I will reject. So everybody should be on notice."

The president recently announced he was postponing a decision on the much-studied pipeline until after the 2012 election. Environmentalists oppose the project, but several unions support it. The legislation puts the president in the uncomfortable position of having to choose between customary political allies.

The State Department, in an analysis released this summer, said the pipeline project would create up to 6,000 jobs during construction, while developer TransCanada put the total at 20,000 in direct employment.

The pipeline would carry oil from western Canada to Texas Gulf Coast refineries, passing through Montana, South Dakota, Nebraska, Kansas and Oklahoma.

The spending bill locks in spending cuts that conservative Republicans won from the White House and Democrats earlier in the year.

Republicans also won their fight to block new federal regulations for light bulb energy efficiency, coal dust in mines and clean water permits for construction of timber roads.

The White House turned back GOP attempts to block limits on greenhouse gases, mountaintop removal mining and hazardous emissions from utility plants, industrial boilers and cement kilns.

___

Associated Press writers David Espo, Alan Fram, Donna Cassata and Jim Kuhnhenn contributed to this report.

Associated Press

Source: http://hosted2.ap.org/APDEFAULT/386c25518f464186bf7a2ac026580ce7/Article_2011-12-17-US-Congress-Rdp/id-8adf9e83e2624e649b265a8e0ac73a98

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Republican Friendly Fire Today Will Hurt the Nominee Later (Atlantic Politics Channel)

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