US shuts embassy in Central African Republic

WASHINGTON (AP) ? The State Department has closed its embassy in the Central African Republic and ordered the ambassador and his diplomatic team to leave the country as rebels there continue to advance and violence escalates, U.S. officials said Thursday.

A Pentagon spokesman, Lt. Col. Todd Breasseale, said that at the State Department's request, Defense Secretary Leon Panetta had directed U.S. Africa Command to evacuate U.S. citizens and designated foreign nationals from the U.S. Embassy in Bangui "to safe havens in the region."

State Department spokesman Patrick Ventrell said the U.S. Embassy had temporarily suspended operations, but not diplomatic relations with the country.

"This decision is solely due to concerns about the security of our personnel and has no relation to our continuing and long-standing diplomatic relations" with the Central African Republic, Ventrell said in a statement.

Shortly after announcing the evacuation Thursday, the State Department warned U.S. citizens against travel to the Central African Republic, saying it could not "provide protection or routine consular services to U.S. citizens" and urging Americans who have decided to stay to "review their personal security situation and seriously consider departing" on commercial flights. Four days earlier, the State Department had issued a warning recommending against travel to the country and authorizing its non-emergency personnel in Bangui to leave.

U.S. officials said about 40 people were evacuated on an U.S. Air Force plane bound for Kenya. The officials spoke on condition of anonymity because they weren't authorized to discuss the details of the operation.

The departure of Ambassador Laurence Wohlers and his staff comes as the president of the Central African Republic on Thursday urgently called on France and other foreign powers to help his government fend off rebels who are quickly seizing territory and approaching this capital city, but French officials declined to offer any military assistance.

Rebels have seized at least 10 towns across the sparsely populated north, and residents in the capital of 600,000 people fear insurgents could attack at any time.

The developments suggest the Central African Republic could be on the brink of another violent change in government, something not new to the impoverished country. The current president, Francois Bozize, himself came to power nearly a decade ago in the wake of a rebellion.

Speaking to crowds in Bangui, Bozize pleaded with foreign powers to do what they could. He pointed in particular to France, Central African Republic's former colonial ruler.

About 200 French soldiers are already in the country, providing technical support and helping to train the local army, according to the French defense ministry.

French President Francois Hollande said Thursday that France wants to protect its interests in Central African Republic and not Bozize's government. Paris is encouraging peace talks between the government and the rebels.

President Barack Obama late last year sent about 100 U.S. special operations forces to the region ? including Central African Republic ? to assist in the hunt for Joseph Kony, the fugitive rebel leader of the notorious Lord's Resistance Army. Forces have been hunting the elusive warlord in Central African Republic, South Sudan and Congo.

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Associated Press writer Matthew Lee contributed to this report.

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Online:

http://bangui.usembassy.gov/service.html

Associated Press

Source: http://hosted2.ap.org/APDEFAULT/89ae8247abe8493fae24405546e9a1aa/Article_2012-12-27-US-Central%20African%20Republic/id-fac5a6a92c8f468eaeb14084b2e06ba5

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PFT: Jets' McElroy hid concussion symptoms

AP

A decade ago, Cyrus Mehri and the late Johnnie Cochran demonstrated that the NFL was doing a poor job of giving African-American coaches fair opportunities to progress to the highest levels of the sport.? Mehri and Cochran made such a compelling case that the NFL installed the ?Rooney Rule,? which requires at least one minority candidate to be interviewed for every head-coaching vacancy.

Today, only a minority of head coaching jobs are filled by members of minority groups, with five African-American head coaches (Marvin Lewis, Mike Tomlin, Romeo Crennel, Lovie Smith, Leslie Frazier) and one Hispanic head coach (Ron Rivera).? That?s six, out of 32.

As Michael Silver of Yahoo! Sports explains, only one of 32 teams has an offensive play-caller who also is African-American.? And as of a few weeks ago, the number was zero; Jim Caldwell inherited those duties in Baltimore once Cam Cameron was fired.

?We are very, very conscious of this issue, and it?s something that needs to be addressed,? John Wooten, chairman of the Fritz Pollard Alliance, told Silver. ?We have alluded to it and spoken to it directly, and we feel our only course of action is to push more people up the pipeline.?

And that seems to be the biggest problem.? African-American coaches aren?t being positioned to naturally mature into the role of play-caller on offense.?Really, the reason why there aren?t a lot of guys calling plays is that you have to have people ascending to quarterbacks coach and jobs that lead to coordinator positions.? And that?s simply not happening,? Bengals coach Marvin Lewis told Silver.? ?There are a lot of good coaches who aren?t getting those opportunities.?

As Silver points out, only two NFL quarterbacks coaches are African-American:? Karl Dorrell of the Texans and Craig Johnson of the Vikings.? Curtis Modkins serves as offensive coordinator in Buffalo, but head coach Chan Gailey calls the plays.

?This is the biggest travesty that?s taking place in this league, and every black coach is well aware of it,? an anonymous African-American assistant for an AFC team told Silver.? ?They don?t promote you from running backs coach or receivers coach to offensive coordinator.? When guys do get coordinator titles, they have to be position coaches at the same time, and they don?t get paid as much as other coordinators, because they?re not the play-callers.? And in a lot of cases, guys believe they?re really there for locker-room reasons, to ?take care of? the minority players.?

Eventually, the absence of a pipeline of African-American offensive minds will make it hard to find viable African-American head coaches, since all current minority head coaches have defensive backgrounds.

?The whole thing we have to do in terms of building this pipeline is make teams more conscious of the fact that [position coaches] want to get involved,? Wooten said. ?I tell these running backs, receivers and quarterbacks coaches, ?Go to the head coach and general manager and tell them you want this as an opportunity to learn.?? You learn by being in game plan meetings, when plays are being installed.? You listen and learn.?

Real change may come only if the Rooney Rule, which since its adoption has been extended to G.M. positions, is also applied to coordinator jobs.? However, Wooten isn?t recommending that.

?I just feel that the head coach has to have the right to select his people,? Wooten said.? ?If they can?t see who?s the best out there for them, they?re gonna perish anyway.?

Wooten is right, but the Rooney Rule doesn?t require minority candidates to be hired.? It only requires them to be considered, an important reality given that head coaches immediately tap into their network of friends, cronies, and (sometimes) family members when filling out their staffs.? If nothing else, requiring coaches to interview at least one minority coordinator candidate will help position coaches become better prepared to interview for coordinator positions ? and eventually to get them.

In the end, it?s a simple analysis.? If the NFL believes the Rooney Rule remains viable ten years later when the number of minority head coaches has expanded to six, the NFL should take a hard look at whether the Rooney Rule should be applied one level lower, given that the number of minority play-callers is one and, as of the first of the current month, it was zero.

Source: http://profootballtalk.nbcsports.com/2012/12/27/mcelroy-concealed-concussions-symptoms/related/

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Basement Remodeling Contractor in Newton | Basement Remodeling

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New England Home Improvement?is a professional remodeling contractor. Call today to get started on your project 508-232-6223.??Our company provides a full range of interior and exterior home improvement services including kitchen remodeling, bathroom remodeling, basement remodeling, complete home renovations, home additions, ?roofing, siding, replacement windows, Newton Home Renovation, porches, doors and more. You can count on New England Home Improvement to take care of your home remodeling project from start to finish.

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Source: http://www.footbridgemedia.com/basement-remodeling/basement-remodel/basement-remodeling-contractor-newton/

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Fiscal Cliff deadline looms: Kicking the Can, Washington-style (Star Tribune)

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Source: http://news.feedzilla.com/en_us/stories/politics/top-stories/273219560?client_source=feed&format=rss

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You can be part of the action with MirrorCase for iPhone 4/4S

With the iPhone 4/4S built-in cameras, you never find yourself without a camera anymore, but you’ll probably find yourself blocked from what’s happening with the iPhone in front of your face. ?The MirrorCase for iPhone 4/4S lets you hold the phone in the more natural, horizontal orientation, so you can see what’s happening around you [...]

Source: http://the-gadgeteer.com/2012/12/27/you-can-be-part-of-the-action-with-mirrorcase-for-iphone-44s/

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Top 2012 Posts: New Homes are Less Expensive to Maintain ? Eye ...

With the end of 2012 approaching, we here at NAHB?s Eye on Housing thought we would take a look at the updates that attracted the most readers over the last year.? In April, we took a look at the cost advantages of new homes.

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April is new homes month. And one of the virtues of a newly constructed home is the savings that come from reduced energy and maintenance expenses.

Data from the 2009 American Housing Survey (AHS) offer proof. The AHS classifies new construction as homes no more than four years old.

For example, for routine maintenance expenses, 26% of all homeowners spent $100 or more a month on various upkeep costs. However, only 11%? of owners of newly constructed homes spent this amount. In fact, 73% of new homeowners spent less than $25 a month on routine maintenance costs.

Similar findings are available for energy expenses. On a median?per square foot basis, homeowners spent 78 cents per square foot per year on electricity. Owners of new homes spent 65 cents per square foot per year.

For homes with piped gas, homeowners spent on average 53 cents per square foot per year. Owners of new homes spent 38 cents per square foot per year.

These data highlight that a new home offers savings over the life of ownership due to reduced operating costs. This is one of the many reasons that the current system of appraisals needs updating to reflect the flow of benefits that come from features in a new home.

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Source: http://eyeonhousing.wordpress.com/2012/12/26/top-2012-posts-new-homes/

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A MotherHood Experience: Welcome Baby M!

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Welcome Baby M!

Saturday, December 22nd at 2:52AM we gave a warm (early) welcome to our newest addition to the family, Baby M! She came to us right before Christmas, a tiny gift weighing 5 lbs 8oz. The sweetest bundle of joy, I fell instantly in love with her.?

My mother was there for the birth along with my hubby for support. I needed it as her birth was quite painful but quite fast - she really wanted to come out and meet everyone!?

We ended up getting the OK to go home on the 23rd provided we come back on Christmas Eve for a follow-up and tests etc. So, the morning of the 24th I gathered up Baby M and took her to the hospital. We waited an hour after the tests for results and then it happened.?

Baby M had to be admitted to the NICU for Jaundice as her bilirubin levels were quite high. They had hoped it would only take six hours under the bili-lights and another test so she could be home for Christmas morning but this wasn't the case.?

Our Baby M stayed the night Christmas Eve at the NICU and Christmas day was spent on pins and needles waiting for phone calls - good or bad. During the gift opening at home with the older two kids we got both bad and good news. Her jaundice was clear but another problem arose - she couldn't hold any formula down which was causing a concern to the nurses and doctor.?

With her blood test clear the hospital called me to get some insight about my previous?preemie? our son, who had?re-flux??Re-flux?did not allow him to properly digest food and we had to sleep him elevated and burp frequently with feedings to avoid him spitting up his meal. Around?6 pm?that evening the hospital called with good news, our Baby M was ready to come home, she was diagnosed with?re-flux?and changing her sleep position is what helped.?

My mom was again right there to help bring me back to the hospital but this time to bring our Baby M home! I went from being in a?somber?mood to being overjoyed within a matter of seconds from that fateful phone call. There is no feeling worse than helplessness when it comes to your children and loved ones being sick.?

My one and only Christmas wish this year was to have my three babies under one roof for Christmas. I got my Christmas wish.

It has been an emotional roller coaster the past five days and the ride is just beginning with this little one as we embark on a new journey as a new family of five. Every day is a new blessing with this baby.

Welcome to the family Baby M, Welcome Home!?



Disclosure: Personal post by AME. All comments, opinions and images are those of the author and are copyrighted.?

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Source: http://www.amotherhoodexperience.com/2012/12/welcome-baby-m.html

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