HBT: Rollins, Phillies not close to deal

Last night we learned that [insert ominous music] a Mystery Team was talking to Jimmy Rollins. Maybe they?re making mystery headway, because Scott Miller of CBS says today that the Phillies and Rollins are nowhere close to a deal.

The Phillies and Rollins are still talking, but it may be a while. ?Unless there?s real mystery here, the market for Rollins has shrunk a bit in the past week, and it seems like he?s inevitably going back to Philly. Which, for purely subjective reasons, I hope is the case. ?There aren?t many active players in baseball who would look more out of place in a different uniform than Rollins.

Source: http://hardballtalk.nbcsports.com/2011/12/14/jimmy-rollins-and-the-phillies-are-not-close-to-a-deal/related/

fracking fracking drosselmeyer drosselmeyer pacific standard time local time lsu alabama

South Pole Discovered, December 14, 1911

Map of Amundsens journey, from Scientific American, Vol. CVI, No. 12, March 23, 1912. Image: SCIENTIFIC AMERICAN

One hundred years ago today the South Pole was reached by a party of Norwegian explorers under the command of Roald Amundsen. The existence of the pole had been known, but the inhospitable landscape presented a barrier until Amundsen?s party made the dangerous trek across ice and snow to stand at the geographical South Pole on this day a century ago.

One of Amundsen?s competitors, Robert Falcon Scott and his party, achieved a different kind of fame: they arrived on January 17, 1912 to find they were second in the race to fame, and they perished on their way back north.

News of Amundsen?s achievement was telegraphed to the world on March 7, 1912, on his return to Hobart, Australia.

From Scientific American, Vol. CV1, No. 11, March 16, 1911
The Discovery of the South Pole

It is much too early to give any critical account of Capt. Roald Amundsen's achievement. Many weeks must elapse before we are in complete possession of all his data. Yet even the laconic account, which he has cabled to the press, throws a flood of light on the mystery of Antarctic geography. Amundsen seems to have collected enough evidence to substantiate the theory that the great chain of mountains which extends almost uninterruptedly from Alaska to Patagonia finds its continuation in a ridge connecting Victoria Land and King Edward VII Land, and which, in honor of his queen, he has named "Queen Maude's Range."

The ice barrier, which had proved for a century and a half a formidable obstacle to Antarctic exploration, is found to terminate in a bay, lying between the southeast mountain range running from South Victoria Land and a range which is probably a continuation of King Edward the VII Land and which extends in a southwesterly direction. Contrary to his original plan, Amundsen despatched one of his officers, Lieut. Prestud, to survey the Bay of Whales and the great ice barrier and to explore King Edward VII Land, of which practically nothing is known. No doubt the spur of competition played its part in unfolding the secrets of the last unexplored frigid region of the earth.

Amundsen and his party at the geographic South Pole, December 14, 1911.
CREDIT: PHOTO COURTESY OF NORWEGIAN-U.S. SCIENTIFIC TRAVERSE OF EAST ANTARCTICA

No less than four other expeditions were in the Antarctic regions at the time while Amundsen was forcing his way south. Besides Amundsen's, there was the Japanese expedition under Lieut. Shirase, which had to retreat to Australia last spring in order to replenish its supply of dogs, and which Amundsen says landed on January 16th at the Bay of Whales, two weeks before he sailed for home; Dr. Mawson's Australian expedition, for which $215,000 had been raised up to November 1st last, and which was to land three parties between Cape Adare and Gaussberg; the German expedition under Lieut. Filchner in the "Deutschland," elaborately equipped with wireless, magnetic, and meteorological apparatus, full of the hope of establishing a base southwest of Coats Land in as high a latitude as possible; and lastly, Capt. Scott's English expedition in the "Terra Nova," which left New Zealand in November, 1910, badly damaged by stormy weather; so badly, indeed, that the necessary repairs and the cost of making good the stores that had been lost seriously depleted the resources of the party.

Amundsen seems to have been helped by exceptionally favorable weather conditions. To be sure, there were storms, but not those frightful hurricanes which thwarted Shackleton. It was cold, so cold that the dogs suffered visibly; yet the average temperature was no lower than that in many an inhabited part of Canada. Amundsen himself states that part of his journey was much like a pleasure trip--"excellent ground, fine sledging, and an even temperature." The glaciers and crevasses make detours necessary, yet, despite them, progress was remarkably rapid. The party climbed up 2,000 to 5,000 feet in a day. Throughout much of his journey Amundsen covered entirely new ground. Therefore he will bring back absolutely new information of Antarctic geography. He made up his mind that he would reach the plateau on which the Pole is situated by another route than that of Beardmore Glacier. Luck, instinct, experience, call it what you will, the new route proved easier than that which either Shackleton or Scott took on their expeditions. To that comparatively easy route, coupled with exceptionally favorable weather, may be attributed Amundsen's success.

Source: http://rss.sciam.com/click.phdo?i=5e398d515cd0470a86da83b3ee133848

mars rover mars rover trent richardson apple cup jewelry stores the firm sleep no more

Presidential race coverage raises conflict issues (omg!)

NEW YORK (AP) ? Political consultant Dick Morris recently disclosed on Fox News Channel that some of the Republican presidential candidates that he talks about on the air have paid for advertisements in a newsletter he sends out to subscribers.

Columnist and ABC commentator George Will's wife works for Rick Perry. Fox host Greta Van Susteren's husband advised Herman Cain. NPR's Michele Norris left as host of "All Things Considered" in October because her husband began working for President Barack Obama's re-election campaign.

Such entanglements are laying bare the close ties between the media and political world during this campaign season while raising familiar questions: How much should consumers be clued in to preserve the sense that news organizations are acting independently? And what should journalists do to avoid the perception of a conflict?

There are no shortages of opinions on the topic and no one correct answer, though advocates for ethics in journalism tend to lean toward full disclosure of conflicts caused by relationships between politicians and on-air reporters or commentators.

"They may have an opinion, but they should still, I believe, have accuracy and fairness as their guidepost in the same way as other reporters," said Bob Steele, a journalism ethics professor at DePauw University.

On Monday, Morris became the latest to outline publicly his connections to the candidates he discusses on air, saying that Cain, who just suspended his campaign, Rep. Michele Bachmann and former House Speaker Newt Gingrich all have paid for ads in the free political newsletter he sends to nearly a half-million subscribers.

Morris said he does no paid political consulting work for candidates within the United States and has given free political advice to Cain, Bachmann, Gingrich and Mitt Romney.

"I drown them with advice," he said. "I'm constantly emailing them."

Morris' comments during Sean Hannity's prime-time program came a few hours after The Associated Press questioned him and Fox programming executive Bill Shine about the ads. Though he acknowledged the ads, Morris did not address questions from the AP about their propriety, in light of his commentator role, and did not immediately respond to requests for comment. And Shine declined requests for an interview about the topic.

The liberal advocacy group Media Matters for America, which subscribes to the newsletter, says it saw at least seven ads from July through October that stated they were paid for by Cain's campaign.

Morris, during some Fox appearances, expressed support of Cain's campaign and doubt about those who accused Cain of inappropriate sexual behavior. He said on Fox, "I look forward to her spread in Playboy" after Sharon Bialek publicly accused Cain of groping in 1997. Morris also dismissed Ginger White's claim that she had a long-running affair with the married Cain.

How media outlets handle such issues vary.

CNN recently removed Cornell Belcher, a political pollster, from its list of paid political commentators after he began work for the Obama campaign. Belcher still occasionally appears on CNN, but he is identified each time as being a part of the Obama team, spokeswoman Christa Robinson said.

"As a news organization that doesn't take sides, it's important to be transparent and disclose the relevant work of our contributors and guests so that viewers will know the background and possible motivations of those on our air," she said.

When he was working at MSNBC in 2010, prime-time host Keith Olbermann was suspended for two days after violating a network rule on political donations (he gave $2,400 apiece to three Democratic congressional candidates). Olbermann later complained that the rule was "probably not legal" and left MSNBC two months later.

NPR's Norris is taking a break from "All Things Considered" until Election Day next year. She said she'll continue to report for the organization, but not on campaign news.

Prompted to take care of some "housekeeping" by ABC's "This Week" host Christiane Amanpour, commentator Will told viewers last month that his wife, Mari Maseng, had signed on to help Perry prepare for debates. He said Maseng was a longtime political professional who had worked as a campaign speechwriter for Ronald Reagan. But the website Politico wrote about her job before Will addressed it on television.

Fox's Van Susteren fought back last week after it was pointed out in news reports that during a segment on her show about Cain's campaign, she made no mention that her husband, lawyer John Coale, had offered advice to Cain.

Van Susteren wrote on her blog that Coale was not paid for any advice. She said he has many friends across party lines with whom he talks politics, including Bill and Hillary Clinton, Gingrich, Sarah Palin, John Kerry and Alexandra Pelosi, and hasn't been paid by any of them.

It's all part of living in Washington, she said.

"My critics will assume something sinister and so be it," Van Susteren wrote. "You listen to my questions and watch my interviews and you tell me whether you think they are fair or not."

Source: http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/entertainment/*http%3A//us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/external/omg_rss/rss_omg_en/news_presidential_race_coverage_raises_conflict_issues064541998/43829028/*http%3A//omg.yahoo.com/news/presidential-race-coverage-raises-conflict-issues-064541998.html

gary johnson jim thorpe pa jim thorpe pa terry francona ios 5 release date ios 5 release date ios 5 update