First gas tanker crosses Arctic

A large tanker carrying liquified natural gas (LNG) is set to become the first ship of its type to sail across the Arctic.

The carrier, Ob River, left Norway in November and has sailed north of Russia on its way to Japan.

The specially equipped tanker is due to arrive in early December and will shave 20 days off the regular journey.

The owners say that changing climate conditions and a volatile gas market make the Arctic transit profitable.

Long-term preparation

Built in 2007 with a strengthened hull, the Ob River can carry up to 150,000 cubic metres of gas. The tanker was loaded with LNG at Hammerfest in the north of Norway on 7 November and set sail across the Barents Sea. It has been accompanied by a Russian nuclear-powered icebreaker for much of its voyage.

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?Start Quote

You are able to reach a highly profitable market by saving forty percent of the distance, that's forty percent less fuel used as well?

End Quote Tony Lauritzen Dynagas

The ship, with an international crew of 40, has been chartered from its Greek owners Dynagas by the Russian Gazprom energy giant. It says it has been preparing for the trip for over a year.

"It's an extraordinarily interesting adventure," Tony Lauritzen, commercial director at Dynagas, told BBC News.

"The people on board have been seeing polar bears on the route. We've had the plans for a long time and everything has gone well."

Mr Lauritzen says that a key factor in the decision to use the northern route was the recent scientific record on melting in the Arctic.

"We have studied lots of observation data - there is an observable trend that the ice conditions are becoming more and more favourable for transiting this route. You are able to reach a highly profitable market by saving 40% of the distance, that's 40% less fuel used as well."

Shale of the century

But melting ice is not the only factor. A major element is the emergence of shale gas in the US.

The Norwegian LNG plant at Hammerfest was developed with exports to the US in mind. But the rapid uptake of shale in America has curbed the demand for imported gas.

Meanwhile in Japan, in the wake of the Fukushima nuclear disaster, there has been a growing interest in alternative power sources, especially gas.

"The major point about gas is that it now goes east and not west," says Gunnar Sander, senior adviser at the Norwegian Polar Institute and an expert on how climate change impacts economic activity in the Arctic.

"The shale gas revolution has turned the market upside down; that plus the rapid melting of the polar ice."

He stresses that the changes in climate are less important than the growing demand for oil and gas.

"The major driver is the export of resources from the Arctic region, not the fact that you can transit across the Arctic sea."

There is an expectation that because of changing climactic conditions, sea traffic across the northern sea route will increase rapidly. 2012 has been a record year both for the length of the sailing season and also for the amount of cargo that has been shipped.

But Gunnar Sander says there are limits to the growth and some perspective is required.

"Nineteen thousand ships went through the Suez canal last year; around 40 went through the northern sea route. There's a huge difference."

Source: http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/science-environment-20454757#sa-ns_mchannel=rss&ns_source=PublicRSS20-sa

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NATO missiles not for Syria no-fly zone: Turkish military

ANKARA (Reuters) - NATO surface-to-air missiles due to be stationed near Turkey's border with Syria will only be used to protect Turkish territory and not to establish a no-fly zone within Syria, the Turkish military said on Monday.

Turkey riled Syria, Russia and Iran by requesting the NATO surface-to-air Patriot system, designed to intercept aircraft or missiles, last Wednesday after weeks of talks on how to shore up security on its 900-km (560-mile) border as the conflict in Syria deepens.

Syria, which called the move "provocative", and its allies including Russia and Iran oppose any development that they perceive could be a first step towards implementing a no-fly zone.

"The deployment of the air and missile defense system is only to counter an air or missile threat originating in Syria and is a measure entirely aimed at defense," the Turkish military said in a statement.

"That it will be used to form a no-fly zone or for an offensive operation is out of the question," it said.

Syrian rebels, despite seizing swathes of land, are almost defenseless against Syria's air force and have called for an internationally enforced no-fly zone, a measure that helped Libyan rebels overthrow Muammar Gaddafi last year.

On Monday, Syrian jets bombed the rebels' headquarters near the border, opposition activists in the area said.

Most foreign governments are loath to impose a no-fly zone for fear of getting dragged into the 20-month-old conflict.

A joint Turkish-NATO team will start work on Tuesday assessing where to station the missiles, how many would be needed and the number of foreign troops that would be sent to operate them, the statement said.

Within NATO, only the United States, the Netherlands and Germany possess Patriot missiles. The Netherlands has sent Patriots to Turkey twice before during both Gulf wars in 1991 and 2003.

Turkey is reluctant to be drawn into the fighting, but the proximity of Syrian bombing raids to its border is straining its nerves. It has repeatedly scrambled fighter jets along the frontier and responded in kind to stray Syrian shells that have crossed into its territory.

Turkey - a major backer of Syria's opposition - is worried about its neighbor's chemical weapons, the refugee crisis on its border, and what it says is Syrian support for Kurdish militants on its own soil.

(Writing by Jonathon Burch; Editing by Nick Tattersall and Hugh Lawson)

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/nato-missiles-not-syria-no-fly-zone-turkish-105509519.html

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Intrade boots US customers after federal charges

(AP) ? Intrade, the online prediction market that gained popularity as an informal oddsmaker for the presidential election, shut itself to U.S. customers Monday after regulators charged it with illegally facilitating bets on future economic data, the price of gold and even acts of war.

Hours after the Commodity Futures Trading Commission filed a complaint in federal court, Intrade posted in its user forum and on its news page that it could no longer allow U.S. residents to trade "due to legal and regulatory pressures."

U.S. residents must begin closing their accounts and withdrawing their funds immediately, the website said. It said customers must resolve open predictions by Dec. 23 or the site would assign them "fair market value" and close them.

The CFTC's civil complaint charged that Intrade and its operator solicited customers to trade investment contracts that technically are options. Options must be traded on approved, regulated exchanges.

"Today's action should make it clear that we will intervene in the 'prediction' markets, wherever they may be based, when their U.S. activities violate" laws and rules enforced by the agency, CFTC enforcement director David Meister said in a statement.

By requiring that options be traded on approved exchanges, Meister said, regulators can "police market activity and protect market integrity."

Intrade did not respond to an emailed request for comment.

It was unclear whether regulators believe that all trades on Intrade by U.S. investors are illegal. The CFTC said it would not comment further because the matter was in litigation.

Intrade is known for facilitating bets on award shows, weather and other high-profile events. The prices at which customers are willing to make those bets are cited as informal odds. TEN also used to allow betting on sports through other sites that it operated.

For example, on Monday the site gave "Argo" a 28.5 percent chance of winning the Oscar for best picture and assigned a 19 percent chance that the United States or Israel would launch an airstrike against Iran by June 30.

The CFTC oversees markets for futures and options, investments that allow people to bet on the future prices of commodities like grain and oil. Those contracts help farms, airlines and other businesses to protect themselves against unexpected price swings.

In the complaint, the CFTC alleged that Intrade, based in Ireland, had illegally solicited everyday U.S. investors to use the website between September 2007 and June 25 of this year.

Intrade and its operator, Trade Exchange Network Ltd., falsely claimed in annual reports that the contracts were not being sold to ordinary U.S. customers, the CFTC said. Regulators want the companies to pay fines and return profits that were obtained illegally. They want the site and its operators barred from any future activities related to options trading.

Intrade users reported on Twitter that the site already blocks them from trading contracts related to the prices of oil and gold.

One of them, Joe Schilling, posted an image of an email he said was sent by Intrade in 2009, stating that crude oil and gold contracts were unavailable to U.S. users "due to a regulatory request" from the CFTC.

TEN settled similar charges of soliciting U.S. investors in 2005. In an order filed with that settlement, the CFTC said that U.S. customers accounted for up to 40 percent of Intrade's total customer base. TEN paid $150,000 and agreed to halt further violations.

Under the settlement, TEN agreed to use pop-up windows to tell U.S. customers which bets were not available to them. It said it would cooperate in any future investigations.

Monday's complaint includes charges that TEN violated that earlier settlement. The company used Intrade to offer illegal options including on the future prices of gold, changes in the unemployment rate and a measure of U.S. economic output, the complaint said. It said TEN failed to provide the pop-up notices mandated in the 2005 order.

___

Daniel Wagner can be reached at www.twitter.com/wagnerreports.

Associated Press

Source: http://hosted2.ap.org/APDEFAULT/f70471f764144b2fab526d39972d37b3/Article_2012-11-26-Intrade-Charges/id-63c3823144d940bfb21e41712e94232f

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AP IMPACT: Will NYC act to block future surges?

This artist's rendering provided by DLANDSTUDIO and Architecture Research Office shows a proposed perimeter wetlands and an archipelago of man-made barrier islets on New York's Manhattan island, designed to absorb the brunt of a huge storm surge. The concept was worked up by DLANDSTUDIO and Architecture Research Office, two city architectural firms, for a museum project. (AP Photo/DLANDSTUDIO and Architecture Research Office)

This artist's rendering provided by DLANDSTUDIO and Architecture Research Office shows a proposed perimeter wetlands and an archipelago of man-made barrier islets on New York's Manhattan island, designed to absorb the brunt of a huge storm surge. The concept was worked up by DLANDSTUDIO and Architecture Research Office, two city architectural firms, for a museum project. (AP Photo/DLANDSTUDIO and Architecture Research Office)

FILE - In this Wednesday, Oct. 31, 2012 file photo, Joseph Leader, Metropolitan Transportation Authority vice president and chief maintenance officer, shines a flashlight on standing water inside the South Ferry 1 train station in New York in the wake of Superstorm Sandy. A map of the original topography of Manhattan is seen on the wall behind Leader. By century's end, researchers forecast up to four feet higher seas, producing storm flooding akin to Sandy's as often as several times each decade. Even at current sea levels, Sandy's floodwaters filled subways, other tunnels and streets in parts of Manhattan. (AP Photo/Craig Ruttle, File)

This 1939 photo made available by the Library of Congress shows New York City Park Commissioner Robert Moses with a model of the proposed, but never built Brooklyn Battery Bridge in New York. Retired geologist Jim Mellet of New Fairfield, Conn., recalls hearing a story told to him by the late Bill A. O'Leary, a retired city engineer at the time: He and other engineers, concerned about battering floods, had approached Moses more than 70 years ago to ask him to consider constructing a gigantic barrier to hold back storm tides at the entrance to the city's Upper Bay. Moses supposedly squashed the idea like an annoying bug. "According to Bill, he stood there uninterested, with his arms folded on his chest, and when they finished the presentation, he just said, 'No, it will destroy the view.'" Or perhaps he was already mulling other plans for the same site, where he would build the Verrazano Narrows Bridge years later. (AP Photo/Library of Congress, C.M. Spieglitz)

FILE - This February 1953 file photo shows an aerial view of a windmill pump elevated above the floodwaters in the coastal village of Oude Tonge in The Netherlands. It took the collapse of dikes, drowning deaths of more than 1,800 people, and evacuation of another 100,000 in 1953 for the Dutch to say "Never again!" They have since constructed the world's sturdiest battery of dikes, dams and barriers. No disaster on that scale has happened since. (AP Photo/File)

FILE - This Wednesday, Nov. 16, 2005 file photo shows apartment buildings built just behind a small dike which separates them from the Maas River in Rotterdam, The Netherlands. It took the collapse of dikes, drowning deaths of more than 1,800 people, and evacuation of another 100,000 in 1953 for the Dutch to say "Never again!" They have since constructed the world's sturdiest battery of dikes, dams and barriers. No disaster on that scale has happened since. (AP Photo/Fred Ernst, File)

Think Sandy was just a 100-year storm that devastated New York City? Imagine one just as bad, or worse, every three years.

Prominent planners and builders say now is the time to think big to shield the city's core: a 5-mile barrier blocking the entryway to New York Harbor, an archipelago of man-made islets guarding the tip of Manhattan, or something like CDM Smith engineer Larry Murphy's 1,700-foot barrier ? complete with locks for passing boats and a walkway for pedestrians ? at the mouth of the Arthur Kill waterway between the borough of Staten Island and New Jersey.

Act now, before the next deluge, and they say it could even save money in the long run.

These strategies aren't just pipe dreams. Not only do these technologies already exist, some of the concepts have been around for decades and have been deployed successfully in other countries and U.S. cities.

So if the science and engineering are sound, the long-term cost would actually be a savings, and the frequency and severity of more killer floods is inevitable, what's the holdup?

Political will.

Like the argument in towns across America when citizens want a traffic signal installed at a dangerous intersection, Sandy's 43 deaths and estimated $26 billion in damages citywide might not be enough to galvanize the public and the politicians into action.

"Unfortunately, they probably won't do anything until something bad happens," said CDM Smith's Murphy. "And I don't know if this will be considered bad enough."

Sandy and her 14-foot surge not bad enough? By century's end, researchers forecast up to four feet higher seas, producing storm flooding akin to Sandy's as often as several times each decade. Even at current sea levels, Sandy's floodwaters filled subways, other tunnels and streets in parts of Manhattan.

Without other measures, rebuilding will simply augment the future destruction. Yet that's what political leaders are emphasizing. President Barack Obama himself has promised to stand with the city "until the rebuilding is complete."

So it might take a worse superstorm or two to really get the problem fixed.

The focus on rebuilding irks people like Robert Trentlyon, a retired weekly newspaper publisher in lower Manhattan who is campaigning for sea barriers to protect the city: "The public is at the woe-is-me stage, rather than how-do-we-prevent-this-in-the-future stage."

He belongs to a coterie of professionals and ordinary New Yorkers who want to take stronger action. Though pushing for a regional plan, they are especially intent on keeping Manhattan dry.

The 13-mile-long island serves as the country's financial and entertainment nerve center. Within a 3-mile-long horseshoe-shaped flood zone around its southernmost quadrant are almost 500,000 residents and 300,000 jobs. Major storms swamp places like Wall Street and the site of the World Trade Center.

Proven technology already exists to blunt or virtually block wind-whipped seas from overtaking lower Manhattan and much of the rest of New York City, according to a series of Associated Press interviews with engineers, architects and scientists and a review of research on flooding issues in the New York metropolitan area and around the globe.

These strategies range from hard structures like mammoth barriers equipped with ship gates and embedded at entrances to the harbor, to softer and greener shoreline restraints like man-made marshes and barrier islands.

Additional landfill, the old standby once used to extend Manhattan into the harbor, could further lift vulnerable highways and other sites beyond the reach of the seas.

Even more simply, the rock and concrete seawalls and bulkheads that already ring lower Manhattan could be built up, but now perhaps with high-tech wave-absorbing or wave-reflecting materials.

Seizing the initiative from government, business and academic circles have fleshed out several dramatic concepts to hold back water before it tops the shoreline. Two of the most elaborate proposals are:

? A rock causeway, with 80-foot-high swinging ship gates, would sweep five miles across the entryway to inner New York Harbor from Sandy Hook, N.J., to Breezy Point, N.Y. To protect Manhattan, another shorter barrier is needed to the north, where the East River meets Long Island Sound, and another small blockage would go up near Sandy Hook. This New Jersey-side barrier and a network of levees on both ends of the causeway could help protect picturesque beach communities like Atlantic Highlands, in New Jersey to the west, and the Rockaways, in New York City to the east. This so-called outer barrier option was conceived for a professional symposium by the engineering firm CH2M HILL, which last year finished building a supersized 15-mile barrier guarding St. Petersburg, Russia, from Baltic Sea storms.

? An extensive green makeover of lower Manhattan would install an elaborate drainage system beneath the streets, build up the very tip by 6 feet, pile 30-foot earthen mounds along the eastern edge, and create perimeter wetlands and a phalanx of artificial barrier islets ? all to absorb the brunt of a huge storm surge. Plantings along the streets would help soak up runoff that floods the city sewers during heavy rains. This concept was worked up by DLANDSTUDIO and Architecture Research Office, two city architectural firms, for a museum project.

What's missing is not viable ideas or proposals, but determination. Massive projects protecting other cities from the periodic ravages of stormy seas usually happened after catastrophes on a scale eclipsing even Sandy.

It took the collapse of dikes, drowning deaths of more than 1,800 people, and evacuation of another 100,000 in 1953 for the Dutch to say "Never again!" They have since constructed the world's sturdiest battery of dikes, dams and barriers. No disaster on that scale has happened since.

It took the breach of levees, a similar death toll, and flooding of 80 percent of New Orleans from Hurricane Katrina in 2005 to marshal the momentum finally to build a two-mile barricade against the Gulf of Mexico.

A handful of seaside New England cities ? Stamford, Conn.; Providence, R.I.; and New Bedford, Mass. ? have built smaller barriers after their own disasters.

However, New York City, which mostly lies just several feet above sea level, has so far escaped the horrors visited elsewhere. Its leaders have been brushing off warnings of disaster for years.

Retired geologist Jim Mellet of New Fairfield, Conn., recalls hearing a story told to him by the late Bill A. O'Leary, a retired city engineer at the time: He and other engineers, concerned about battering floods, had approached power broker Robert Moses more than 80 years ago to ask him to consider constructing a gigantic barrier to hold back storm tides at the entrance to the city's Upper Bay.

Moses supposedly squashed the idea like an annoying bug. "According to Bill, he stood there uninterested, with his arms folded on his chest, and when they finished the presentation, he just said, 'No, it will destroy the view.'" Or perhaps he was already mulling other plans for the same site, where he would build the Verrazano Narrows Bridge years later.

Many city projects, like the Westway highway plan of the 1970s and 1980s, died partly because of the impact they would have on the cherished view of water from the congested cityscape. Imagine, then, the political viability of a project that might further block access to the harbor or the view of the Statue of Liberty from the tip of Manhattan.

"I can assure that many New Yorkers would have strong opinions about high seawalls," said an email from a retired New York commander of the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, Bud Griffis, who was involved in the permitting process for the failed Westway.

However, global warming and its rising sea levels now make it harder simply to shrug off measures to shield the city from storms. Sandy drove 14-foot higher-than-normal seas ? breaking a nearly 200-year-old record ? into car and subway tunnels, streets of trendy neighborhoods, commuter highways and an electrical substation that shorted out nearly all of lower Manhattan.

The late October storm left 43 dead in the city, and City Council Speaker Christine Quinn estimated at least $26 billion in damages and economic losses. The regional cost has been estimated at $50 billion, making Sandy the second most destructive storm in U.S. history after Katrina.

Yet heavier storms are forecast. A 1995 study involving the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers envisioned a worst-case storm scenario for New York: High winds rip windows and masonry from skyscrapers, forcing pedestrians to flee to subway tunnels to avoid the falling debris. The tunnels soon flood.

With its dense population and distinctive coastline, New York is especially vulnerable, with Manhattan at the center.

The famous island can be pounded by storm surges from three sides: from the west via the Arthur Kill, from the south through the Upper Bay, and from the Long Island Sound through the East River. Relatively shallow depth offshore allows storm waters to pile up; the north-south shoreline of New Jersey and the east-west orientation of Long Island further channel gushing seas right at Manhattan.

Some believe that Sandy was bad enough at least to advance more serious study of stronger protections. "I think the superstorm we had really put the fear of God into people, because no one really believed it would happen," said urban planner Juliana Maantay at Lehman College-City University of New York.

But nearly all flood researchers interviewed by the AP voiced considerable skepticism about action in the foreseeable future. "In a half year's time, there will be other problems again, I can tell you," said Dutch urban planner Jeroen Aerts, who has studied storm protections around the world.

William Solecki, a Manhattan-based Hunter College planner who has been at the center of city and state task forces on climate change, guessed that little more will be done to prevent future flooding beyond "nibbling at the edges" of the threat.

In recent years, the city has been enforcing codes that require flood-zone builders to keep electrical and other critical systems above predicted high water from what was until recently thought to be a once-in-a-century storm. Sealing other key equipment against water has been encouraged. The city has tried to keep storm grates free of debris and has elevated subway entrances. The buzz word has been making things more "resilient."

But this approach does little to stop swollen waters of a gigantic storm from pouring over lower Manhattan. "Resiliency means if you get knocked down, this is how you get back up again," huffs activist Trentlyon. "They just were talking about what you do afterward." He said Sandy's flood water rose to 5 feet at street level in Chelsea, where he lives on the western side of lower Manhattan.

The city has at least toyed with the idea of barriers and even considered various locations in a 2008 study. "I have always considered that flood gates are something we should consider, but are not necessarily the immediate answer to rush toward," said Rohit Aggarwala, a Stanford University teacher who is former director of the New York mayor's Office of Long-Term Planning and Sustainability.

Unswayed by Sandy, Mayor Michael Bloomberg and his assistants have been blunter. Bloomberg said barriers might not be worthwhile "even if you spent a fortune."

Deputy Mayor Cas Holloway said no specific measures ? whether more wetlands, higher seawalls or harbor barriers ? have been ruled out because "there's no one-size-fits-all solution." But he compared sea barriers to the Maginot Line, the fortified line of defenses that Germany quickly sidestepped to conquer France at the beginning of World War II.

"The city is not going to be totally stormproof, but I think it can be very adaptable," he added. He said that new flood maps informed by Sandy are being drawn up, and he suspects they will extend the zones where new developments must install critical equipment above flood level.

Computer simulations indicate that hard barriers, which have worked elsewhere around the world, would do a good job of shielding New York neighborhoods behind them. But they'd actually make flooding worse just outside the barriers, where surging waters would pile up with nowhere to go.

The patriarch of this research is Malcolm Bowman, a native New Zealander who leads a passionate cadre of barrier researchers at Stony Brook University on the northern shore of Long Island. His warnings have mostly gone unheeded. "I feel like a biblical prophet crying in the wilderness: 'The end is near!'" Bowman said.

Unbowed, he continues to preach against incremental measures. "If you get a storm and a big oak tree falls on your house, then whether you fix your gutter doesn't matter," he said.

In recent years, his logic has finally begun to resonate a bit more. Nicholas Kim, an oceanographer with engineering firm HDR HydroQual who studied with Bowman in the 1980s, said his mentor has been thinking about barriers since then: "Everybody said, 'You're crazy!' But now it's becoming clear that we need protection."

Even massive structures don't shield everyone, though. A 2009 four-barrier study co-authored by Kim found that in a simulated storm, barriers still failed to protect large swaths of Queens and sections of other outlying boroughs with a total of more than 100,000 people.

Researchers also have predicted at least a modest additional one-foot rise of stormy seas as water piles up outside the barriers. "If you're the guy just outside the barrier, and you're paying taxes and you're not included, you're not going to be very happy," said oceanographer Larry Swanson at Stony Brook University.

How such barriers would affect water movement, silt and marine life also remains an open question requiring further study for each case.

The scale and costs of hard barrier schemes have further put off many critics. After flooding from Hurricane Irene last year, city representatives asked Aerts, the Dutch planner, to compare the cost and benefits of barriers to existing approaches. His initial analysis will not be finished until February, but his early cost estimate for barriers and associated dikes for New York City is $15 billion to $27 billion ? comparable to that of the record-setting $24 billion Big Dig that reshaped Boston's waterfront ? not to block storms, but to unblock traffic and views of the waterfront.

Barrier defenders counter by pointing to the cost of storm damages. Stony Brook meteorologist Brian Colle said: "When you think of the cost of a Sandy, which is running in the billions, these barriers are basically going to pay for themselves in one or two storms." Advocates say tolls on trains or cars riding atop a barrier could help finance the project.

While appealing for rebuilding, Council Speaker Quinn also has said that "the time for casual debate is over" and called for a bold mix of resiliency with grander protective structures. She has estimated the cost of her plan at $20 billion.

Other massive protection schemes, like the green makeover of lower Manhattan, also would probably run into the billions. And soft protections are meant only to defuse, not stop, rising waters. Sandy battered parts of Long Island behind barrier islands and wetlands.

Nor is it clear that Manhattan has enough space to fashion more extensive wetlands of the sort that help protect the Gulf Coast, however imperfectly. "New York is too far gone for wetlands," said Griffis, the retired Army Corps commander for New York.

Sen. Charles Schumer, D-N.Y., has announced he will spearhead efforts to request a corps study of whether barriers or other options would work better. However, it remains unclear if Congress would be willing to fund such a study, which would undoubtedly take several years and cost millions of dollars.

And even before a dime has been appropriated, the corps is lowering expectations. Says spokesman Chris Gardner: "You can't protect everywhere completely at all times."

___

Associated Press National Writer Adam Geller and AP researcher Julie Reed contributed to this report.

___

The AP National Investigative Team can be reached at investigate(at)ap.org

Associated Press

Source: http://hosted2.ap.org/APDEFAULT/386c25518f464186bf7a2ac026580ce7/Article_2012-11-25-Superstorm-Blocking%20the%20Sea/id-7673cc1940be446892755e614988accc

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Giants end slide, rout Packers 38-10

New York Giants quarterback Eli Manning (10) signals a touchdown during the second half of an NFL football game, Sunday, Nov. 25, 2012 in East Rutherford, N.J. After further review Manning's pass to Hakeem Nicks was ruled a touchdown. (AP Photo/Bill Kostroun)

New York Giants quarterback Eli Manning (10) signals a touchdown during the second half of an NFL football game, Sunday, Nov. 25, 2012 in East Rutherford, N.J. After further review Manning's pass to Hakeem Nicks was ruled a touchdown. (AP Photo/Bill Kostroun)

New York Giants wide receiver Hakeem Nicks (88) signals for a touchdown during the second half of an NFL football game against the Green Bay Packers, Sunday, Nov. 25, 2012, in East Rutherford, N.J. After further review quarterback Eli Manning's pass to Nicks was ruled a touchdown. (AP Photo/Julio Cortez)

New York Giants running back Ahmad Bradshaw, right, celebrates with teammate Martellus Bennett, left, after scoring a touchdown during the first half of an NFL football game, Sunday, Nov. 25, 2012, in East Rutherford, N.J. (AP Photo/Bill Kostroun)

New York Giants defensive end Osi Umenyiora (72) knocks the ball away from Green Bay Packers' Aaron Rodgers (12) during the first half of an NFL football game, Sunday, Nov. 25, 2012, in East Rutherford, N.J. (AP Photo/Julio Cortez)

Green Bay Packers quarterback Aaron Rodgers (12) reacts during the first half of an NFL football game against the New York Giants, Sunday, Nov. 25, 2012, in East Rutherford, N.J. (AP Photo/Kathy Willens)

(AP) ? Adam Merchant had a wish and a command for the New York Giants.

The 15-year-old fan from Barre, Vt., attended practice and then Sunday's game with the Packers thanks to the Make-A-Wish Foundation. He wanted the Giants to snap their two-game slide and get out of their offensive funk.

So he ordered the Giants to "play like world champions," and they delivered a 38-10 rout of the Green Bay Packers.

"That was the theme of our meetings," coach Tom Coughlin said.

Eli Manning came back from the bye week with a rested arm, and that offensive slump was tossed aside. The Giants (7-4) said they turned things around for themselves, and for Merchant, who has cancer.

"They have one wish," Manning said after throwing for three scores to set a team record with 200 TD passes for his career. "It is sad when you think about it ? they have one wish, what you want to do, and he wanted to come to Giants practice ... and to a game.

"He said, 'Go show everybody you are the world champions and why you are the world champions and play that way.' Everybody got fired up and played the way we know we can."

The Packers (7-4) certainly did not. The showcase game was decided early as the Giants outscored the Packers 31-10 in the opening half to end Green Bay's five-game winning streak. While New York took a two-game lead in the NFC East, Green Bay fell out of a tie with Chicago atop the NFC North.

The Packers were missing such key starters as linebacker Clay Matthews, defensive back Charles Woodson and receiver Greg Jennings, and it showed. After being manhandled in last season's playoffs by the Giants, who went on to win the Super Bowl, the Packers weren't much more competitive this time. Aaron Rodgers was sacked five times, including twice by Mathias Kiwanuka, who spent much of the game at defensive tackle rather than in his usual linebacker spot.

"When your quarterback is under pressure like that, it affected me tonight," coach Mike McCarthy said of his play-calling. "I probably didn't call the best game I've called. You have to protect your quarterback. It's your No. 1 responsibility. That's not what we're looking for."

New York's balanced attack was guided by Manning, who had his first strong game in a month with 249 yards passing.

"I never thought my arm was tired, never felt like it," Manning said. "After a week off, you come back to practice, it felt good, alive, balls coming out with a little pop on it.

"After 10 weeks, it definitely needed a little rest."

Coughlin knew Manning would return with some extra verve.

"There was no doubt he was going to come back and play well," Coughlin said. "I think the rest really helped him. ... Eli said he felt as if he was coming back for the start of the season. I was very confident he would come back and be Eli."

Ahmad Bradshaw gained a combined 119 yards and scored a touchdown. He had the first big play of the night to begin the offensive onslaught.

New York struck early with a brilliantly conceived screen pass to Bradshaw off a fake reverse to Victor Cruz. Bradshaw sped down the field before being caught at the Green Bay 2, a 59-yard pickup that led to Andre Brown's scoring run.

Brown later broke his leg; Coughlin did not say which leg after the game.

"It will be a tough loss, he is an important player," Manning said.

Green Bay didn't flinch, with Jordy Nelson getting behind Corey Webster in single coverage down the right sideline for a 61-yard TD reception from Rodgers.

The scoring flurry went back in the Giants' favor ? and pretty much stayed there ? when Manning hit Rueben Randle in the back of the end zone for a 16-yard TD. It was the first score for the rookie and Manning's first touchdown throw in four games, and he set it up with, of all things, a scramble in which he laid his shoulder into Packers cornerback Tramon Williams for a 13-yard gain.

"It sparked our sideline," Coughlin said. "It would not be the recommended way. To see him do that kind of sent the message to the rest of our team: Whatever you have to do to succeed, do it."

Webster's interception led to Lawrence Tynes' 43-yard field goal late in the first quarter for a 17-7 lead, and the Giants weren't nearly done. Manning's 9-yard connection with Cruz tied him for the club record with 199 TD passes, and after Osi Umenyiora's strip-sack of Rodgers was recovered by Jason Pierre-Paul at the Green Bay 23, Bradshaw scored from the 13.

The 31 points were the most New York scored in a half all season and nearly equaled the 33 it scored in its two losses before the bye.

And the Giants had more offense in them. Manning threw his 200th TD pass to move ahead of Phil Simms, a 13-yarder over the middle to Hakeem Nicks, who stretched the ball over the goal line as he was tackled.

"There was a different enthusiasm in practices," Manning said, "and I think that paid off in the game."

It paid off for the Giants, and for their young fan.

"It kind of hit home," Justin Tuck said. "You got this kid that don't know us from James and watches us on TV every Sunday and it's so profound."

NOTES; The Giants lost safety Kenny Phillips with a knee injury in the third quarter. He was making his first appearance since Week 4, when he was sidelined with a knee problem. ... Giants right tackle David Diehl sustained a stinger in the first half. ... Green Bay lost safety M.D. Jennings (rib), DE C.J. Wilson (knee), and RB Johnny White (concussion). ... Rodgers was 14 of 25 for 219 yards, one TD, one interception and one lost fumble.

___

Online: http://pro32.ap.org/poll and http://twitter.com/AP_NFL

Associated Press

Source: http://hosted2.ap.org/APDEFAULT/347875155d53465d95cec892aeb06419/Article_2012-11-26-Packers-Giants/id-71ab13792ef747ca870a7a5d9ffc7345

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Home Improvement Made Easy. Tips For Anyone ...


improvements to your home will not only allow you to have a more desirable space but will also improve the overall value of your home

Check around your home's foundation, looking for any low or sinking areas. These areas should be filled with compacted soil to prevent water from pooling and eroding parts of your yard. If water pools up near your house, it can eat at the foundation of your house.

Try upgrading your home's mailbox for a simple front yard improvement. A newly replaced mailbox is a nice looking addition that gives your home instant curb appeal. Do check your local regulations on required distance from the road so that you do not have to take it down later. In only a few hours, you can give your home a new look.

Focus on your entryway or porch for a bit when making improvements to your home. Your porch will be the very first thing many visitors will lay their eyes on when coming to your home. Keep your porch clean and add tasteful enhancements. Flowers, nice furniture and great lighting can be used to dress up an otherwise boring and bland porch. Having a nice porch will improve your home's value.

If you want to spruce up your home in a jiffy, replace the paneling on your walls. Putting up new paneling is a simple way to transform your home, and if you aren't happy with the results, you can always remodel again without causing much damage.

When you are remodeling a room that has a lot of moisture, like a bathroom, consider replacing the wall board with a water-resistant version. Commonly known as "green board" in the building industry, water-resistant wall board stands up to increased moisture better than standard board, and most brands are treated to prevent the growth of dangerous mold that can thrive in damp areas.

Consider arranging your tools, not by the type of tool, but by what type of project you will need them for. For example, you might put all of your plumbing tools and supplies in one cabinet or toolbox. Use another for electrical jobs that contains switches, voltmeters, zip ties, fuses, etc. This is the best way to keep your tools where you can always find them right away.

When starting a home renovation project, you should always aim to take safety precautions. Failing to do so might mean that you or a loved one are harmed, or severe damage is done to your home. Make sure you read the manuals and watch tutorials for your power tools before starting any renovation projects.

If you want major work done to your house, hire someone who has plenty of experience. Architects, designers, and contractors are skilled and that is why they do their jobs. They are skilled at what they do, but the work is grueling. Don't go it alone. Get the help of a professional on large home improvement jobs to avoid the hassle and expense of "do-overs.".

There are many items, such as permits and inspection reports, that your contractor should also provide for your files. Before you hire a contractor, ask him if you will be receiving those items.

Now that you are armed with a few solid tips to guide you, making a sound decision regarding home improvement should seem less daunting. Remember, quality home improvements to your home will not only allow you to have a more desirable space but will also improve the overall value of your home.

If you enjoyed this article or found it useful, please share it with your friends on Facebook, Twitter or Google+

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Ezine Alert: The Not So New Misleading Numbers Scam to Avoid ...

marksmith: jamainai: HEALTH and FITNESS | Disability Benefits

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First Person: Unemployed, Disabled and Hungry for Work

Five million Americans are among the long-term unemployed--those without a job for 27 weeks or longer--according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics. Another 7.3 million are looking for work, while the unemployment rate sits at 7.9 percent. Numbers aside, individual stories illustrate how America is affected. To see how joblessness hits home, Yahoo News asked unemployed workers to share their job-hunting stories. Here's one.

FIRST PERSON | I am 40 and live in Racine, Wis. I have been unemployed since I was 33. I try to find work, but I've been disabled since 27, and I do not collect Social Security or other income. On job applications, when I am asked if I have any disabilities, I answer yes.

I have even tried to travel to different states for employment. I am seeking employment where I can. I have tried Lowe's, Home Depot and other similar stores. All I get are letters saying I do not qualify for employment.

By trade, I am a tattoo artist, a job I have been very good at until I became disabled. I have shoulder impingement syndrome, which consists of some of the following: torn ligaments, torn tendons, bone spurs, bursitis and arthritis.

And constant pain. I feel the weather. I hardly sleep. I wish I could be somewhere else, as it is hard on my mind to deal with on a daily basis.

Still, I try to find work where I can in this tough economy, and I am on several lists to be called and never have been called to date.

I am too proud to try to get Social Security. I cannot even afford insurance to get my condition fixed. I even have applied for local state insurance to get the problem resolved so I can work again, always with no luck. So I have remained unemployed now for over 10 years and going.

I injured myself, and I am not able to lift more than 10 pounds at a time or stand or sit for long periods of time.

I just want a job so I can try to cover the medical expenses myself since I cannot get help. Surgery costs are around $18,000, which sounds pretty reasonable to me.

I am no stranger to hard work. Since 12, I cut grass, shoveled snow, painted houses and fences, swept chimneys, worked in heat treatment plants with dirt and oil, worked in the casting of hot metals, laid brick, made bathroom sinks, swept floors in factories, did drill-press work, sanding work, and worked at fast food places.

I do not lie to get jobs or hid my injury. I do want to work, but I worry now that my disability will mean I won't be hired by companies because they're afraid it will come back on them and their company.

I cannot afford private insurance as I do not have steady income. Now I find whatever I can do to reach my goal of paying for my own surgery.

It is a sad world when you live in pain, day in and day out, and you want and need to find work.

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/first-person-unemployed-disabled-hungry-194300213.html

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