Many turning points for Giants, Patriots (AP)

INDIANAPOLIS ? The Jets, of all teams, could forever hold a special place in the hearts of the New York Giants and New England Patriots.

Beating Rex Ryan's ornery bunch proved to be a key turning point in an otherwise up-and-down season for the two Super Bowl teams.

Since coach Bill Belichick's squad routed the Jets in the Meadowlands in mid-November, the Patriots haven't lost. And since a Christmas Eve victory over their stadium co-tenants, the Giants haven't, either.

Although neither side will call those wins singularly pivotal, they clearly were the benchmarks for when things started to get a whole lot better.

"I don't think you can point to one thing," Giants cornerback Corey Webster said, "but I do know when you develop good chemistry, when you don't have anyone pointing fingers, it does not matter what happened the week before. We reached that point, we kept fighting and fighting to win on the field, and we are here today."

By "here," he means Lucas Oil Stadium, a place the Giants (12-7) couldn't see for all the losses they experienced after starting 6-2. They dropped four in a row ? three to eventual division winners ? and were 7-7 before that "road" game against the local rival Jets.

By then, the Giants knew each week brought an elimination game. They've won all of those to reach their second Super Bowl in four years, against the team whose unbeaten season they wrecked in the 2008 title game.

"When we came out of the Dallas game, I thought that would be it," Giants owner John Mara said, referring to a 37-34 victory that broke the slide. "Then we come out so flat `' against Washington, he said. "So that wasn't it."

The Giants manhandled the Jets with a fierce defense. That victory coincided with important players such as DE Justin Tuck and LB Michael Boley getting healthy enough to play up to their usual high standards. Defensive end Osi Umenyiora also was close to returning from an ankle injury.

"We came together against the Jets and we started playing very well as a defense," Umenyiora said, "but definitely health had something to do with that. Obviously, we had a lot of guys who are key components who missed a lot of games. The minute we were able to get everyone together, we all took off."

Health also was a major factor for the Patriots (15-3), who took off following a home loss to the Giants. They went to the Meadowlands and routed the Jets in a much-hyped game ? just as the "Battle of New York" would be ballyhooed later ? and kept right on going, straight to Indy and their fifth Super Bowl with coach Bill Belichick and quarterback Tom Brady.

New England took particular joy in that victory, but found even more satisfaction in piling up the wins while undermanned.

"Not sure there's a turning point as far as one game or anything," linebacker Jerod Mayo said. "I think that it's just having the same group of guys out there as the past couple of weeks. We're finally coming together and getting guys healthy."

Still, there must be a hallmark moment. A Brady touchdown pass, perhaps. A Rob Gronkowski catch-and-plow-over-a-defender score.

Nope.

Not even Sterling Moore's stripping of the ball from Baltimore receiver Lee Evans in the end zone, a play that, if completed, would have lifted the Ravens into the Super Bowl.

"I don't think about it," Moore said when asked about a turning point. "I think there's a lot of plays that helped us get here. (Brandon) Spikes' interception and the way Vince (Wilfork) played that game; I'm just glad I had an opportunity to make a play."

So, for all the spectacular plays, crucial wins and memorable moments in their seasons, nothing truly qualified as a trendsetter?

"That's not the way a season goes," Giants left guard Kevin Boothe said. "There's lots of twists and turns, sure, but even with the streak of losses we had, we still had all our goals in front of us. That's all you can really ask for."

At least the teams don't cite fate or destiny for getting into the Super Bowl. They might not offer simple reasons, but at least what they mention as catalysts toward Giants-Patriots II aren't providential.

"The one thing about the group is that there are a lot of guys who came from free agency or a lot of guys who were cut and had a lot to prove," said Patriots linebacker Rob Ninkovich, who has been both. "I think when you go through that route of getting cut, not having a roster spot, wanted to only be a special teams guy and trying to break into the roster on that aspect, it's kind of tough. Coming here, it's really been a blessing for a lot of guys. You take every moment and every opportunity you have and you make the best of it."

Source: http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/sports/*http%3A//news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20120201/ap_on_sp_fo_ne/fbn_super_bowl_turning_point

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Feds declare Atlantic sturgeon endangered species (AP)

BALTIMORE ? The Atlantic sturgeon, a prehistoric fish whose once bountiful populations were depleted by anglers seeking its coveted caviar, has been declared an endangered species by federal officials, a decision that could lead to moves to protect its habitats along the East Coast.

The National Marine Fisheries Service ruling covers the New York Bight, which includes the Delaware and Hudson rivers, and the Chesapeake, Carolina and South Atlantic populations. The sturgeon population in the Gulf of Maine was also declared threatened.

The service, a division of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, said a recent study indicated that the loss of only a few adult female sturgeons in the Delaware River as a result of vessel strikes would hinder recovery of the population, and the populations in the New York Bight and Chesapeake Bay are at risk of extinction.

NOAA said it is currently considering information on sturgeon populations in order to designate critical habitat.

Environmental groups have sought to stop dredging of the Delaware River, citing the harm it could cause to the sturgeon population.

"We simply have too few to spare for a make-work boondoggle like the Delaware River deepening," said Maya van Rossum, the Delaware Riverkeeper, after the decision was announced.

Jane Davenport, senior attorney at the Delaware Riverkeeper Network, said the group would work to ensure sturgeon are protected under the Endangered Species Act.

"As of today, federal agencies like the Army Corps of Engineers, as well as private parties like shipping companies, are on notice that each and every Atlantic sturgeon in the Delaware River will be protected by the ESA's wide-ranging prohibitions against killing or harming it or degrading its habitat," Davenport said.

Ed Voigt, a spokesman for the Army Corps of Engineers' Philadelphia office, said if funding is approved for continued dredging, the Corps will continue to work with the Fisheries Service to ensure sturgeons are not affected. Voigt said that could involve a number of factors, including the timing of dredging or modification of dredging techniques.

Federal officials said that before 1890 an estimated 180,000 female sturgeon spawned in the Delaware River. The Delaware is believed to have less than 300 sturgeon today.

About 20,000 adult females inhabited the Chesapeake Bay and its tributaries before 1890. Only one known spawning population of about 300 remains in the James River.

In the Hudson, more than 6,000 females were estimated to spawn each year, compared to about 600 now, according to NOAA.

Sturgeon, which can grow up to 15 feet long, weigh hundreds of pounds and live a century, were a staple of early settlers. However, populations were depleted in the late 19th century as demand grew for their caviar. Now, the greatest threats to the Atlantic sturgeon are pollution, climate change and the propellers of cargo ships that can kill the lumbering fish.

Brad Sewell, an attorney with the Natural Resources Defense Council, which petitioned for the declaration, said that despite a decade-old ban on fishing, other threats have proved too challenging. He said the decision gives the fish that survived the Ice Age "a fighting chance to live on into the 21st century."

Source: http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/environment/*http%3A//news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20120201/ap_on_re_us/us_endangered_sturgeon

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Intercultural Communication and Relationship Marketing: A ...

[unable to retrieve full-text content]Since it thoroughly examines the cultural differences from a managerial perspective and delivers a suitable understanding of the present cross-cultural global state by covering dimensions that influence attitudes and behavior.

Source: http://competitiveness.in/2012/01/31/intercultural-communication-relationship-marketing-conceptual-perspective/

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Associated Baptist Press - Mohler says insurance mandate not just ...

LOUISVILLE, Ky. (ABP) ? A Southern Baptist seminary president applauded Roman Catholic bishops for refusing to obey an insurance mandate forcing employers to offer coverage for contraceptives and sterilization, and predicted that evangelical leaders will soon face similar choices.

?Our religious liberty is being similarly subverted and attacked,? Albert Mohler, president of Southern Baptist Theological Seminary, said of the Obama administration?s inclusion of pregnancy in ?preventive services? that health insurers must provide.

In his daily podcast briefing Jan. 31, Mohler commented on a letter from bishops read in Catholic churches Jan. 27 stating in part, ?We cannot -- we will not -- comply with this unjust law.?

?You at least have to admire the courage of the Roman Catholic bishops in saying they are willing to go to jail rather than to comply with this,? Mohler said. ?How many evangelical presidents and pastors and leaders will be willing to do the same? We?re going to find out in the coming months.?

Mohler said the insurance mandate ?is not only a Catholic issue,? even though the mainstream media wants to present it that way. Not all Christians agree with the Catholic Church?s teaching against all forms of artificial birth control, he said, but they must be united in opposition to abortion.

Because the insurance mandate includes ?morning after? pills that prevent pregnancy by causing spontaneous miscarriage of a fertilized egg, Mohler said, evangelical seminaries and colleges that teach that life begins at conception ?will also be covered by this mandate and thus violate our own consciences.?

In the meantime, Mohler said, ?everyone who stands both for the sanctity of human life and for the mandate of religious liberty must express outrage in whatever form is available to us to the president of the United States.?

Mohler also expressed hope for ?remedial legislation? and court action ?to restore religious liberty to Christian institutions to operate in a Christian manner on the basis of Christian conviction in supposedly free America.?

-30-

Bob Allen is managing editor of Associated Baptist Press.

Previous story:

SBC leader questions judgment of Christians who support Obama

Source: http://www.abpnews.com/content/view/7106/53/

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UN: World lacks enough food, fuel

LONDON?? The world is running out of time to make sure there is enough food, water and energy to meet the needs of a rapidly growing population and to avoid sending up to 3 billion people into poverty, a U.N. report warned on Monday.

As the world's population looks set to grow to nearly 9 billion by 2040 from 7 billion now, and the number of middle-class consumers increases by 3 billion over the next 20 years, the demand for resources will rise exponentially.

Even by 2030, the world will need at least 50 percent more food, 45 percent more energy and 30 percent more water, according to U.N. estimates, at a time when a changing environment is creating new limits to supply.

And if the world fails to tackle these problems, it risks condemning up to 3 billion people into poverty, the report said.

Efforts towards sustainable development are neither fast enough nor deep enough, as well as suffering from a lack of political will, the United Nations' high-level panel on global sustainability said.

"The current global development model is unsustainable. To achieve sustainability, a transformation of the global economy is required," the report said.

"Tinkering on the margins will not do the job. The current global economic crisis ... offers an opportunity for significant reforms."

Although the number of people living in absolute poverty has been reduced to 27 percent of world population from 46 percent in 1990 and the global economy has grown 75 percent since 1992, improved lifestyles and changing consumer habits have put natural resources under increasing strain.

There are 20 million more undernourished people now than in 2000; 5.2 million hectares of forest are lost per year - an area the size of Costa Rica; 85 percent of all fish stocks are over-exploited or depleted; and carbon dioxide emissions have risen 38 percent between 1990 and 2009, which heightens the risk of sea level rise and more extreme weather.

The panel, which made 56 recommendations for sustainable development to be included in economic policy as quickly as possible, said a "new political economy" was needed.

"Let's use the upcoming Rio+20 summit to kick off this global transition towards a sustainable growth model for the 21st century that the world so badly needs," EU Climate Commissioner Connie Hedegaard said in response to the report, referring to a U.N. sustainable development summit this June in Brazil.

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Action
Among the panel's recommendations, it urged governments to agree on a set of sustainable development goals which would complement the eight Millennium Development Goals to 2015 and create a framework for action after 2015.

They should work with international organizations to create an "evergreen revolution," which would at least double productivity while reducing resource use and avoiding further biodiversity losses, the report said.

Water and marine ecosystems should be managed more efficiently and there should be universal access to affordable sustainable energy by 2030.

To make the economy more sustainable, carbon and natural resource pricing should be established through taxation, regulation or emissions trading schemes by 2020 and fossil fuel subsidies should also be phased out by that time.

National fiscal and credit systems should be reformed to provide long-term incentives for sustainable practices as well as disincentives for unsustainable ones.

Sovereign wealth and public pension funds, as well as development banks and export credit agencies should apply sustainable development criteria to their investment decisions, and governments or stock market watchdogs should revise regulations to encourage their use.

Governments and scientists should also strengthen the relationship between policy and science by regularly examining the science behind environmental thresholds or "tipping points" and the United Nations should consider naming a chief scientific adviser or board to advise the organization, the report said.

Copyright 2012 Thomson Reuters. Click for restrictions.

Source: http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/46196441/ns/world_news-europe/

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Summary Box: Eli Lilly 4Q profit falls 27 percent (AP)

A BIG DROP: Drugmaker Eli Lilly and Co. said Tuesday its fourth-quarter net income fell 27 percent. Lilly earned $858.2 million, or 77 cents per share, compared to $1.17 billion, or $1.05 per share, in the 2010 quarter. Revenue fell 2 percent to $6.05 billion.

WHAT HAPPENED: Lilly lost patent protection for its all-time best seller, the antipsychotic Zyprexa, in October. Revenue from the drug fell 44 percent to $749.6 million in the fourth quarter.

EXPECTATIONS: Adjusted earnings were 87 cents per share. Analysts expected, on average, earnings of 81 cents per share on $5.89 billion in revenue.

Source: http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/earnings/*http%3A//news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20120131/ap_on_bi_ge/us_earns_eli_lilly_summary_box

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Puppet dictator? Syrian satirists mock Assad

BEIRUT?? Throughout 40 years of Assad family dictatorship, one thing united Syrians ? the culture of self-censorship, fear and paranoia.

But the uprising against President Bashar Assad has unleashed a burst of blunt irreverence and black humor that would have been unthinkable before, when any satire had to be indirect or hidden.

"The type of expression has now shifted, the subtlety has gone," said Rime Allaf, associate fellow at London's Chatham House. "Today, for the first time in recent Syrian history, people are able to get out and say it openly."

Opposition Syrians are pouring contempt on Assad using whatever medium they can, with a humor that also helps them get through the death and destruction in a crackdown that has killed more than 5,400, according to the U.N.

The Internet provides a layer of anonymity, which is vital when retribution is a real danger, but the creativity has also spilled into the streets in the banners, signs and songs of the protesters.

"Top Goon: Diaries of a Little Dictator" is one of several new online shows. It was created by 10 young professional artists inside Syria. It uses finger puppets that impersonate Bashar Assad ? nicknamed Beeshu in the series ? and his inner circle.

In one episode, Beeshu competes against Egypt's Hosni Mubarak and Libya's Moammar Gadhafi on "Who wants to Kill a Million," a play on the game show "Who Wants to Be a Millionaire."

His final question: Will you be able to crush the protests? He answers yes. When he's told that's the wrong answer, he flies into a petty rage, wrecking the set.

Video: Clinton: 'Syria belongs to its citizens' (on this page)

In another, he consults with two devils about how to deal with the uprising. They suggest he kill a single protester to scare the others. He proclaims he will kill 30 protesters a day, torture children and shell cities.

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"You are completely insane," the devils shriek, running away. "I want to get the hell out of here."

Story: Clinton: Syria not another Libya, political solution needed

The director of the series, who goes by the online name of Jameel, says the idea is to "break down the wall of fear."

"When you see the shabih (pro-government militiaman) or the president as puppets, you can't take them seriously anymore," he said, asking that his name and location not be used to protect him from retaliation.

More simply, it "elicits a little laugh" from people who are suffering from the crackdown, he said.

'Every protest is a thrill'
Even in the darkest places, Syrians seem to try to extract some fun. The central city of Homs has been one of the worst hit by the regime's crackdown. But as in many rallies, giant protests there often saw crowds dancing, linking arm in arm and doing a sort of joyous simultaneous hop, along with circles of the traditional "debke" dance.

The song "Yalla Irhal, ya Bashar!" ? a simple yet powerful rendition which translates into "Come on, Bashar, leave" ? is often heard shouted by exultant protesters to the beat of a drum.

It's the most popular, but an entire catalogue of protest songs has arisen, full of puns and references to members of Assad's inner circle.

"We are discovering ourselves for the first time," said a 28-year-old Syrian who goes by the name of Samer Lathkani, from the coastal town of Lattakia. "The uprising has awakened patriotic sentiments among young people, now every protest is a thrill."

Kfarnebel, a rebellious village in northern Syria, has become famous for coming up with colorful, amusing banners.

"Aleppo will not rise even if it took Viagra," said one recent banner, criticizing Syria's second largest city, where anti-government protests have yet to take hold.

Some have paid the price for taking it too far.

In August, Syria's renowned political cartoonist Ali Ferzat, 60, was beaten by gunmen who broke his fingers and dumped him on a road outside Damascus after he posted cartoons satirizing Assad on his website.

Ibrahim Qashoush, a Syrian firefighter who wrote the "Come on, Leave, Bashar" song, was murdered in July, his vocal cords cut out and his body dumped in the river in the city of Hama.

Interactive: Young and restless: Demographics fuel Mideast protests (on this page)

Syria had a flourishing theater and comedy scene in the 1970s and 1980s, despite the autocratic regime of strongman Hafez Assad, which his son Bashar inherited in 2000. Syrian productions were popular around the Arab world for their black, satirical humor.

But it had to be indirect and confined to certain limits.

In one of the 1970s' most famous Syrian political plays, "Kasak ya Watan," or "Toast to the Homeland," the country's top comedian Dureid Lahham kept his satire broad.

His character, swigging from a liquor bottle, has a dialogue with his dead father who chides him over the failures of his Arab generation, particularly the failure to free Palestine.

They get into a debate over which is better, Heaven or Earth, and Lahham argues, "We don't lack a thing here ... Just a little bit of dignity."

It's a far cry from a blunt banner at one recent protest: Assad's face plastered on a pack of Marlboros, reading "the Syrian regime is a main source of cancer and heart and lung disease."

Donatella Della Ratta, a PhD fellow at Copenhagen University and the Danish Institute in Damascus, said the uprising has changed Syria dramatically.

"The sacredness of the leader has been broken. Even widely considered taboo topics such as the Hama massacre of 1982 are openly mentioned and desacralized using dark humor," said Della Ratta, who is focusing her research on the Syrian TV industry.

Copyright 2012 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.

Source: http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/46216153/ns/world_news-mideast_n_africa/

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