Annan frustrated over Syria, Russia gives no ground

BEIRUT (Reuters) - International envoy Kofi Annan said on Friday he was "frustrated and impatient" a week after a massacre in Syria of 108 people shocked the world, but Russia said his peace plan was still the best hope for Syria.

Speaking after separate talks with German Chancellor Angela Merkel and French President Francois Hollande, President Vladimir Putin urged countries to continue to back Annan's peace initiative as the best way to avoid full civil war.

"Mr. Annan is a very experienced and respectable person and we must do everything for his mission to succeed. I think it is counterproductive to announce his mission as a failure in advance," Putin told a news conference in Paris.

"Sanctions don't always work. The main thing we need to do is to prevent the situation from developing under the worst scenario and not let a civil war take place."

Damascus says it wants Annan's plan to succeed so the crisis can be resolved through political talks.

But Syrian rebels, who agreed to Annan's April 12 truce plan, have urged him to declare the plan dead, freeing them from a commitment that both sides have repeatedly violated.

The plan calls for the government to pull heavy weapons back from towns and cities, after which both sides are to end violence and begin a dialogue, but it has stalled at the first hurdle.

Although refusing to declare the ceasefire a failure, Annan welcomed any further steps from the U.N. Security Council.

"If there are other options on the table, I will say 'bravo' and support them," Annan told reporters after talks in Beirut with Lebanese Prime Minister Najib Mikati.

"SANCTIONS ESSENTIAL"

Hollande said Syrian President Bashar al-Assad's government had disqualified itself from ruling Syria.

"No solution to this crisis is possible without the departure of Bashar al-Assad," he said, standing next to Putin. "I believe that more sanctions are an essential part of a political solution."

Outrage at last Friday's mass killings in Houla, documented by U.N. observers, prompted a host of Western countries to expel Syria's senior diplomats, and to press Russia and China to drop their vetoes and allow tougher U.N. Security Council action.

China and Russia back Annan's plan, the only broadly accepted initiative to halt the bloodletting in Syria, and reject any intervention, U.N.-backed sanctions, or proposal .

The 193-nation U.N. General Assembly is planning to meet next week to discuss the crisis in Syria and the massacre in Houla. Ban, Annan and U.N. human rights chief Navi Pillay are likely to address the assembly on Thursday, U.N. diplomats said.

Annan will also speak to the 15-nation U.N. Security Council that day about the lack of progress implementing his peace plan.

Arab League Secretary-General Nabil Elaraby urged the Council to "move quickly to end all acts of violence taking place in Syria, and to take the necessary measures to protect Syrian civilians", according to a letter leaked to media.

That proposal is similar to language the Council used last year to authorize military intervention in Libya, which Russia did not veto but has criticized ever since. Russia has vowed to prevent Syria from becoming another Libya, where it says NATO airstrikes directly supported rebels and led to "regime change".

RIGHTS COUNCIL

Russia, China and Cuba all voted against a resolution passed by the 47-member Human Rights Council in Geneva on Friday condemning Syria for the massacre in the Houla region and calling for a U.N. investigation to gather evidence for possible criminal prosecution.

Russia's Foreign Ministry backed the Syrian government's assertion that the massacre was the work of anti-government forces intent on undermining peace efforts.

But in Paris, Putin took a different line.

He appeared to accept that Syrian government forces had at least played a part in killing civilians, but said the rebels were guilty of similar acts.

"How many peaceful civilians were killed by the opposite side? Did you count? The count goes into the hundreds there too. Our goal is make peace between the sides of the conflict."

"We are not for Assad, not for his opposition," he said. "We want to reach a situation where violence ends and a large-scale civil war is averted."

U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton will meet Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov this weekend, Donahoe said.

Clinton said Washington was ready to cooperate with Moscow if it was ready to work on a political transition in Syria.

Putin denied that Russia, which supplies Syria with weapons, was providing the government with the means to crush rebels, brushing off Clinton's comment that its latest shipment to Syria was "reprehensible".

The Kremlin does not want to lose its firmest foothold in the Middle East - a client for billions of dollars' worth of weapons and the host of Russia's only warm-water naval port outside the former Soviet Union.

Putin told reporters in Berlin that Moscow had a "good, long-standing relationship with Syria".

"As for supplying weapons, Russia does not provide weapons that could be used in a civil conflict," he said.

GUNFIRE AND CLASHES

The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, a British-based monitoring group, said at least 20 people had been killed in clashes in Syria on Friday. It said hundreds of thousands of civilians had attended opposition protests around the country.

A day before, a dozen workers were killed near the western town of al-Qusair when gunmen loyal to Assad ordered them off a bus and shot them, activists said. Syrian media blamed "terrorists".

Video released by activists showed the corpses of 12 men, two of them with the tops of their heads shot away, laid out on the ground near the town of al-Qusair, which like Houla is about 20 km from the city of Homs, a hotbed of opposition to Assad.

Hamza Al-Buweida, a local opposition activist, said a survivor had told him the dead men had been returning from work at a fertilizer company in al-Buweida al-Sharqiya.

"They stopped, as usual, at a Syrian army checkpoint. But about 300 meters after the checkpoint a yellow car with four armed shabbiha (pro-Assad militia) stopped their car," he told Reuters over Skype.

"They took money off the men and then killed them one by one with gunshots to the head. More than 300 bullets were found in the bodies."

It was impossible to verify Buweida's account. Syria has restricted journalists' access since the start of the uprising against Assad 15 months ago.

Activists say 50 to 100 people have died each day this week, including civilians, soldiers and anti-Assad rebels.

U.N. High Commissioner for Human Rights Navi Pillay said those who carried out the slaughter in Houla could be prosecuted for crimes against humanity.

(Additional reporting by Tom Miles in Geneva, Khaled Yacoub Oweis in Amman, Mariam Karouny in Beirut, Gleb Bryanski and Andreas Rinke in Berlin, Jonathon Burch in Istanbul and Louis Charbonneau; Writing by Peter Millership and Robin Pomeroy; Editing by Kevin Liffey)

debra messing ayaan hirsi ali rachel uchitel new years eve party ideas strait of hormuz mars needs moms gary johnson

Bill Clinton On Bain: 'This Is Good Work' (VIDEO)

During an appearance on CNN on Thursday night, Bill Clinton weighed in on presumptive Republican presidential candidate Mitt Romney's former private equity firm, Bain Capital, which has come under scrutiny in the campaign.

"I don't think we ought to get into a position where we say this is bad work," Clinton said. "This is good work."

He continued, "I think, however, the real issue ought to be, what has Gov. Romney advocated in the campaign that he will do as president? What has President Obama done and what does he propose to do? How do these things stack up against each other? That's the most relevant thing."

Clinton characterized Romney's career as "sterling."

HuffPost's Ryan Grim and Hunter Stuart reported last week:

Romney has been reluctant recently to delve too deeply into his private equity background, as the Obama administration has hammered the GOP candidate for profiting even while workers were left jobless -- in some cases, obligations for such workers' pensions were then met by the government, and the cost foisted on the taxpayer. On Wednesday, Romney declined twice to say whether he welcomed a full discussion of the nature of private equity. Instead, he accused President Obama of not understanding how private enterprise works. "Having been in the private sector for twenty-five years gives me a perspective on how jobs are created ? that someone who's never spent a day in the private sector, like President Obama, simply doesn?t understand," Romney told Time magazine.

(Scroll down for Tony Soprano's explanation of Bain Capital.)

Newark, N.J. Mayor Cory Booker (D) recently raised eyebrows after he walked back remarks calling the Obama campaign's attack on Romney's recored at Bain "nauseating." In the aftermath, he signaled a different stance, saying he viewed the approach as "reasonable."

So far, those high profile Democrats who have objected to scrutinizing Bain or private equity as a part of the presidential campaign have themselves been closely tied to the moneyed industry. That includes former President Clinton, who dabbled in private equity before facing public criticism and beating a hasty retreat.

Harold Ford, an earlier defender of Bain, is an executive with Morgan Stanley. Massachusetts Gov. Deval Patrick, who stuck up for the company, has worked in subprime lending. And Booker is heavily dependent on philanthropy from private equity barons to keep his city afloat, as his friend Bill Maher noted after the controversy erupted.

WATCH: Tony Soprano Explains Bain

Below, Obama surrogates to keep an eye on this election cycle:

  • Former President Bill Clinton

  • Chicago Mayor Rahm Emanuel

  • Massachusetts Gov. Deval Patrick

  • Montana Gov. Brian Schweitzer

  • Former Pennsylvania Gov. Ed Rendell

  • Newark Mayor Cory Booker

  • N.Y. Gov. Andrew Cuomo

  • Sen. Jon Tester (D-Mont.)

  • L.A. Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa

  • Sen. Jim Webb (D-Va.)

'); jQuery('#c_text_1530').append(""); if (Campaign_1530.campaign_info.campaign.picture_url !=null && Campaign_1530.campaign_info.campaign.picture_url !=""){ jQuery('#moment_right_1530').append(""); }else{ jQuery('#moment_right_1530').append(""); } jQuery('#moment_right_1530').append(""); jQuery('#c_text_1530').append(""); jQuery('#moment_left_1530').append('

'+Campaign_1530.campaign_info.campaign.campaign_name+'

'); jQuery('#campaign_name_1530').addClass('moment_campaign_title'); jQuery('#moment_left_1530').append('

'+Campaign_1530.campaign_info.campaign.about_text+'

'); jQuery('#campaign_text_1530').addClass('m_campaign_text'); }, otb_design:function(data){ jQuery('#campaign_participate_btn_container_1530').remove(); jQuery('#campaign_name_1530').addClass('otb_campaign_title'); jQuery('#campaign_text_1530').addClass('otb_campaign_text'); jQuery('#campaign_1530').addClass('otb_campaign_container'); jQuery('#campaign_title_container_1530').append(" "); jQuery('#campaign_title_container_1530').append(""); }, defaul_design:function(){ jQuery('#campaign_name_1530').addClass('campaign_title'); jQuery('#campaign_title_1530').html(Campaign_1530.campaign_info.campaign.campaign_title); jQuery('#campaign_bottom_1530').remove(); jQuery('#campaign_1530').addClass('campaign_container'); }, CampaignJoin : function (join_control, campaign_id) { join_control.style.display = 'none'; jQuery('#btn_take_part_in_survey_1530').css("display", ''); jQuery('#campaign_name_1530').html(Campaign_1530.campaign_info.campaign.thank_you_email_subject); jQuery('#campaign_text_1530').html(Campaign_1530.campaign_info.campaign.thank_you_email_body); Campaign_1530.CallPostJoinAction(); }, GetFormFail:function(){ alert('Sorry, unable to procees your request'); HuffConnect.hideModal(); }, CallPostJoinAction:function(){ jQuery.ajax({ url: Campaign_1530.post_join_actions_url , success: function(data){ huff.use('modal', function(m){ m.show({ content: data, width: 750, height: 550 }) }); //HPUtil.EvalScript(data); } , cache: false }); } };

"; var coords = [-5, -72]; // display fb-bubble FloatingPrompt.embed(this, html, undefined, 'top', {fp_intersects:1, timeout_remove:2000,ignore_arrow: true, width:236, add_xy:coords, class_name: 'clear-overlay'}); });

payroll tax aisha khan alanis morissette vanessa bryant vanessa bryant adam lambert incendiary

wo kann fenster kaufen - The Significance of French Doors

Or, if you want to simply upgrade a part of your home, you will get the best results you have pictured in your mind by installing French doors and discarding your old and dull doors. After the installation of French doors, the huge impact will be felt in your home. And to make sure that you have indeed did a good job in beautifying your home, you can invite friends and guests and they will offer their appreciation for sure.

French Doors Embody Perfection

Modern home living is an achievement to every homeowner. So, smart homeowners dedicate their time in finding more and much better means to add aesthetic and functional value to their property. Installing French doors is the best step to complete the process of enhancing the look of your home. But, what are French doors, really?

Basically French doors are paired doors that come with glass panes. The glass panes have specific measurements, depending on the interior and the area where you wish to install the French doors. The most apparent feature of French doors is they are made of glass that is considered to be energy-efficient fiber glasses.

What are the Features of French Doors (Do you know that the German term for doors is t?ren)?

French doors are easy to use; they are user friendly. They can be opened outwards to maximize space. And since they don't have center jam, French doors are indeed secured and safe to use. However, you can customize your French doors if you want to. You can choose to go for sturdier and safer lock advancement systems for French doors and it will greatly benefit you.

Since they are made of glass or fiberglass, French doors instantly provide natural source of light in your home and this means a refreshing ambience in the morning and a clear environment in the evening. If you want to add more meaning to your French doors, you can decorate them with curtains or blinds so that you can achieve privacy or you can make your living room or patio more secured.

So far, there are diversified collections of French doors and they all exhibit style and design that is pleasant to the eyes. However, French doors are not confined to glass and wood materials. In fact, your French doors can be also a combination of glass and aluminum materials. Or you can go for French doors that have different shades so that it will make your home interior exquisite-looking.

Finally, when you choose to acquire French doors, make sure that you get them from reliable provider. That way, you will be provided with high-end French doors that you can be proud of. After all, investing your money on French doors is quite an achievement.

Keywords: windows,doors and windows,timber doors and windows,window,modern windows

This article has been viewed 8 time(s).

It is a violation of our terms and conditions for writers to submit material which they did not write and claim it as their own. If this article infringes on your copyrights, you MUST either call us at 706-866-2295 or send proof of infringement along with the offending article's title, URL, and writer name to

IdeaMarketers.com
Attn: Marnie Pehrson - Copyright Concern
514 Old Hickory Ln
Ringgold GA 30736 USA
If you email us or use our problem submission form, we CANNOT guarantee we'll receive your notice!

kenny rogers avatar the last airbender david wright cory booker cj wilson cubs ellsbury

Tips on Evaluating Personal Finance Software, Computers And ...

The personal finance software you use can be an important decision, as finding a good program can allow you to get a handle on your finances. These programs perform a variety of functions, such as letting you view all of your financial accounts in one place, remind you to pay your bills, help you create the right budget and more. What follows are some criteria you should use when choosing personal finance software and a look at some of the leading programs on the market.

Notwithstanding your exact financial ambitions, you noticeably wish for personal finance software which will make your life easier. Of course, if you utilize it appropriately, it can do more than simply automate tasks that you?d otherwise need to calculate on your own. It can also help you to improve your financial situation by showing you exactly what?s going on. You can have immediate access to all the important numbers, for instance your expenses, income, bills, bank accounts and investments. Therefore if you spend money on a personal finance program, be sure you make full use of it so that you can get pleasure out of the benefits it has to offer. Microsoft Money Plus is one of the more eminent personal finance programs, yet they have stopped manufacturing it. It?s significant for you to recognize this, as you can still buy it from some Internet suppliers, although Microsoft will be discontinuing their support for it in early 2011. To make up for it, Microsoft will now offer a free program which is downloadable, called Money Plus Sunset Deluxe. This new program will have the ability to run on any Windows application and doesn?t entail any activation, but there are no online services or aids with it. So if you?re looking for free personal finance software with some useful features, you should try Microsoft Plus Sunset Deluxe, but if you want a program with full support you should look into one you have to pay for, such as Quicken or YNAB.

A good choice if you are looking for a robust budgeting and money marketing software is Quicken Starter Edition 2011. This new edition is made for people who wish to gain control over their personal finances and Quicken is one of the best known names in financial software. Easily organize your household budget with this software by tracking your bank accounts and credit cards. Never have a late fee again, with the convenient bill reminder. You can also export your data to turbo tax to make doing your taxes even easier. With its guided setup feature Quicken Starter Edition 2011 is designed to be simple to use. If you want a more advanced version, there?s also Quicken Deluxe 2011.

In the end there are bound to be one of the many software options available that fits your personal needs. To be sure you choose the right one, take some time to determine exactly what you need it to do. This information should point you in the right direction to discover the right personal financial software for you. It is key though to get your program up and running so that you can quickly begin to enjoy the ease of keeping track of your finances.

There is more information available on depakote birth defect lawsuit there is plenty of details not covered in this post, go to Author?s website to discover more.

college football recruiting rankings ground hog day 2012 aaron carter black history month did groundhog see his shadow soul train don cornelius rod parsley

Pizza guy gets busted for drugs on 'D.U.I.'

TLC

A pizza delivery guy gets busted on the next episode of "D.U.I."

By Ree Hines

If endless hours of watching true-crime TV shows have taught viewers anything, it's that suspects almost always lie about their illegal activities when confronted by law enforcement and camera crews. That's what makes a sneak peek for the return of TLC's "D.U.I." all the more interesting.

In it, Paul, a mild-mannered -- really mild-mannered -- pizza delivery guy who was pulled over for speeding through a residential neighborhood, makes no attempt to conceal his drug use. Well, at least not at first.

After an officer noticed Paul's collection of bumper stickers --?which included the classics "How's my driving? Call 1-800-EAT (expletive)" and "Drugs lead to nowhere, but it's the scenic route"?--?the lawman wanted to know if Paul actually was on drugs. The man behind the wheel didn't flinch.

"Yeah, I'm not gonna lie," he said. "I smoke it."

"It" being marijuana.

"I smoked a pinch-hit at my house before I left for work," Paul offered up with no resistance.

His reason for the pre-work smoke out? "Um?...?It's just stress and stuff," he said.

But Paul soon had more to stress about than his pizza route, as the officer discovered marijuana, drug paraphernalia and a gun in the delivery guy's SUV?-- and of course a perfectly legal pizza too. That's when Paul dropped the open-book approach and stopped being so cooperative.

Yes, it seems despite all of his earlier admissions, Paul didn't want to have anything to do with the hard evidence. The drugs? That belonged to a friend, of course -- same for a marijuana-covered scale. And the pipe in his very own pocket? Well, he had no idea how that even got there.

"I thought it was my phone," he insisted. "It's not mine, honestly."

See how far those excuses get him when "D.U.I." returns to TLC for a new season of busts on June 28.

Will you tune in to see more of Paul's not-so-fast thinking? Tell us on our Facebook page.

?

More in The Clicker:

cpac straw poll breaking dawn part 2 breaking dawn part 2 whitney cummings msnbc i will always love you maine caucus

Roofing Tip: Cool Roofing - Networx Blog :: Networx

undefinedIn recent years, the installation of ?cool roofing? has become ?the single largest trend in the roofing industry,? according to the Allied Roofing Company. The company states that the trend is due to ?increasing population, environmental concerns, energy shortages, and vastly improved life cycle costing.?

?

In essence, a cool roof is a white or light-colored roof that reflects heat as opposed to absorbing it. The Santa Ana roofing company states, ?In order to comply with Energy Star and the Cool Roof Rating Council standards, the minimum reflectivity needs to be at least 70 percent. Only continuous white or shades of white, such as off-white or cream color can meet these reflectivity standards.?

?

Other benefits of cool roofing the company says include reduced air pollution and greenhouse gas emissions by lowering energy usage. Cool roofs also reduce air temperatures inside buildings with and without air conditioning.

?

benson henderson 2012 dunk contest edgar vs henderson berkshire hathaway ufc 144 james jones james jones

Naturopathic acne treatment - Health and Fitness

naturopathic acne treatmentThe reasons why your organism becomes prone to acne are numerous and include your lifestyle, diet and even genetic heritage. It is not surprising that dermatologists and researchers have developed numerous medications and skincare products to curtail, prevent, and treat acne. When your body is able to fight off the toxins that are causing acne and the first acne treatment products that work acne place, there will be fewer blemishes on the skin. INTERLUDE? Are you finding this piece related to acne laser so far helpful? Once cooled slightly, put your face naturopathic acne treatment over the bowl and a towel over your head and let the steam work its magic. Finding all natural remedies may take some trial and error, but they can bring relief until your hormones calm down again. Properly cleansing your face at least twice a day is a good method to prevent the apparition of acne. Another treatment is to provide an anti- inflammatory medication on the entire treatment skin area in order to reduce inflammation and redness. Hydrating your self with clean and potable water is also good in maintaining the health of your skin. These acids are extracted from fruits, milks, or sugars. When the more severe irritation subsides, start using just the cleanser and the toner just once a day and see how that goes. There are a lot of treatments for back acne available on the market, and you should definitely make sure you know how to look for one correctly and smartly. You will find that there are many dermatologists who specialize in working with adult patients and not with teenagers. You will need to weigh that these up before making a final decision. Strictly applied acne preventing routine will resolve the problem anyway. Youll find a lot naturopathic of emotional impacts that may very well be brought about by having acne. 2. The holistic approach targets this relationship and will provide you with strategies to eliminate acne. This too must be work face masked overnight and can be washed off with cool water the next morning. If this is the naturopathic acne treatment case, consult your doctor immediately. While you do need sebum to help get dead skin cells to the surface so they can be removed, too much of it isn? t good for your body. You could also use toners. 2. It is time consuming as well as leaves a hole in the pocket treatment of the patient to some extent. So, are you destined to become a ` victim` of acne? Rubbing ice cubes on the skin will shrink the size of pores, and also it will increase the blood flow towards face due to which the face skin can regain vitality rapidly. It can affect many areas of the skin that may range from the face, back, and neck. Here are 3 acne ways in which you products can avoid making your acne worse, so you can learn how to get rid of acne. The most common products are in the form of creams, pads and lotions.

Related Post Naturopathic acne treatment

Any physical routine that you like to do, such as yoga, running, biking, ipl spinning, pilates, boxing, and such, will help to lessen the It is believed that approximately 25% of adults can experience some form of adult acne at some stage and this doesnt mean that it This is the first acne most aloe vera gel for acne common myth about acne. One of the things that you can do is By doing this, they are able to achieve results in a matter of days and wipe out hormonal cystic acne treatment acne on a This will help keep your body hydrated to get rid of toxins that can aggravate the acne and cause breakouts. Dairy products also include

mena suvari joyful noise one life to live jeff fisher van der sloot heather locklear mlk memorial

Sony announces Xperia Go and Xperia acro S: waterproof and dual-core (video)

Sony announces Xperia Go and Xperia acro S: waterproof and dual-core

If you were underwhelmed by the middling specs of Sony's past toughphones, you might want to take a look at the latest pair to join the 2012 Xperia family. First up, the Xperia go houses a 3.5-inch 480 x 320 display with a dual-core 1GHz processor, powering the (unfortunately still) Gingerbread interface. Sony has reiterated that Android 4.0 will find its way to both new devices. The Xperia go also throws in a 5-megapixel camera and the same wet finger tracking seen on the Xperia Active, which will mean the phone can be steered during underwater adventures. You be able to pick from white, black and yellow color options when the phone arrives in Q3 this year.

The Xperia acro S bumps the screen resolution up to 720p, slathered across a 4.3-inch surface, alongside a 12-megapixel camera and dedicated shutter button. It appears to be the global version of the Japan-only Xperia acro HD and arrives PlayStation-certified. Like the Xperia go, it totes IP55 and IP57 ratings for dust and water resistance, plus NFC capability of Sony's SmartTags. The Xperia acro S will land in black, white and pink color options -- but we're still waiting to hear more precise availability details. Video tours for both handsets are right after the break.

Update: We've been told that the Xperia go will launch as the Xperia advance in the US -- but dates and prices remain a mystery.

Continue reading Sony announces Xperia Go and Xperia acro S: waterproof and dual-core (video)

Sony announces Xperia Go and Xperia acro S: waterproof and dual-core (video) originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 30 May 2012 04:50:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink   |  sourceSony Mobile (1), (2)  | Email this | Comments

devils dodgers sf giants rachel maddow gia la riots new jersey devils

Nina Kotick: Lionel Richie On Risk-Taking, Passion And Topping The Charts At Age 62

Lionel Richie has another hit on his hands. Renowned for his storied career in soul and R&B, Richie recently released an ode to his southern roots "Tuskegee" -- named for his hometown in Alabama. The album features 13 of Richie's timeless hits, performed this time as duets with today's country stars.

Richie asked each of his collaborators to create new arrangements without making the song unrecognizable. The result: a new twist on old favorites that has rocketed to the No. 1 spot on the Billboard Top 200. Richie joins Ray Charles as the only other artist in history to have a No. 1 album on both the Billboard Country Albums and R&B/Hip-Hop Albums charts.

Richie's career began over 40 years ago as the front man for the Commodores, the popular 1970s Motown band. With hits like "Brick House," "Three Times a Lady," "Sail On" and "Still," Richie catapulted to stardom, with three platinum albums, five Grammy awards and an Academy Award in 1984 for Best Original Song. The Huffington Post caught up with Richie to find out what it's like to be back at the top of the charts at age 62.

With so many accolades, I imagine some artists would kick back at this point in their careers. Why try again with "Tuskegee"?

A lot of people ask me that and my answer is "this is all I know how to do." If you ask me what my hobby was when growing up, I would tell you "writing songs." And probably the best part of what I do is taking it one step further, reinventing every day. For example, when I wrote "Three Times A Lady," they said, "Oh my god, you can never write anything better than that." So I wrote "All Night Long" -- something totally different. And they said the same thing. So that's what I do, even after all these years. I try to find another avenue. I'm from Alabama and it was time for me to go back and discover my country roots.

Of your many duet partners on "Tuskegee" -- from Willie Nelson and Jimmy Buffett to Kenny Chesney and Shania Twain -- who surprised you the most and why?

Normally, when one does an album and brings in other artists, most of the arrangements are still geared to the original artist. For instance, in a Sinatra album, all of the arrangements are geared to Sinatra so that the songs still feel very Frank. I decided instead to customize each song to the style of my partner so that the songs, while never entirely losing their original feel to the listener, could really jive with my collaborator. I let them record it the way they wanted and put myself into their tracks, their arrangements. I don't know if I'll ever have the courage to do that again, but it sure was exciting.

So, given that, I would say Jennifer Nettles really blew me away with her version of "Hello." When she said, "I'm going to sing 'Hello' the way I would sing 'Hello'," I said, "Give it your best shot." And when I heard it, I said "oh my god -- what the heck are you doing?" Because she has a voice that is just unbelievable. When she came out, all I could think of was, "how do I get back on my own record?" So she surprised me the most with her vocal power. (See the slideshow below for a performance by Richie and Nettles.)

What ignites your creativity?

Passion first. Whether it's falling in love, falling out of love, being lonely for love, or searching for love, there's a passion to all of it. So what I seek out in my life is real true emotions. Authenticity. And when I sit down to write, I tap into that. You know how it feels when you're listening to a great sermon and you feel "ahhhh, that hits a chord, he's speaking to me"? That's where I go to write. I look at touching others. And then try to say it in the very simplest way, distill it down to the basics.

Your songs are to you, I imagine, your babies. What is one of your very favorites and why?

Interestingly, I actually had to live life for my own songs to come full circle and touch me in the deepest ways. In the past, sometimes, when I would sing All Night Long at a concert, I might see someone crying. And that didn't make sense because that's supposed to be a happy song. Or when I would sing "Still," I might see someone laughing. And that didn't make sense because that's supposed to be a sad song.

But now, having been through the experiences of my lifetime, I hear these songs, and even the words I wrote myself, very differently. I wrote "Still," for instance, about another person's breakup, not my own. I now feel it differently, having experienced two divorces. But if I had to choose, it would be "Easy Like Sunday Morning," because it was from a part of my life when I worked so hard and everyone tried to make me into something and someone I didn't want to be. I just wanted to be myself. And so that song will always resonate for me.

And "Hello" will also probably be one of my favorites forever. I wasn't the jock in school growing up -- too slow for track, too small for football, too short for basketball -- so I wasn't the most popular kid on the block. "Hello" will always remind me of those times when I saw a guy walking into a party with a beautiful girl and I dreamed that she was looking for me. And what I learned was that there was an entire world of people who felt invisible as I did and dreamed like me.

Looking back, what was it, or who was it, that first led you to believe that you could be a successful artist and musician? What gave you the courage to go for a dream?

I give a great deal of credit to the Commodores. I grew up in a small community, a place where everyone seemed to know me. They knew that I couldn't play football; that I played tennis, which, in Alabama during the civil rights movement, didn't earn me Mr. Popularity. That I was a smart kid. And that community impression became my impression of myself.

But when I went to college, I met a guy from Florida, Thomas McClary, who didn't grow up with me. He said, "I heard you brought your horn with you. You want to join a band?" And he introduced me to the drummer, who was from Florida. And then to the keyboard player, who was from Mississippi. They didn't seem to care that I wasn't the basketball player, the football player, the lover. It was so freeing to see myself through their eyes and not buy into the limitations I knew from my own small town.

These guys gave me a chance because they said, "Hey Rich, can you sing?" And even though I was just a shower singer, it was a little secret of mine, I had the chance to go for it. Then I met Suzanne De Passe, who discovered the Commodores for the Jackson 5 Tour. She said she liked the lead singer and I thought, "who, me?" And then we joined Motown. Finally, there was Dick Clark. He told me I was going to host the American Music Awards. When I said, "I have no experience," he said, "I know. You school boys are all the same -- you think you need a diploma before you think you know what you can do. You can host the show because I say you can host the show." Sometimes you find that there are people who can see your potential before you can see it. Or believe in you before you do.

Did you deem it risky to sing? Would you call yourself a risk-taker?

Joining the Commodores didn't seem risky to me at the time. I believed in the dream. Of course, I was young and naive. It sure was risky to my mom and dad! "Hey, I'm quitting school to join a group called the Commodores, we're the black Beatles and we're going to take over the world." They didn't love it. And when they told me it was risky, I said that if it all goes wrong, I can still be a lawyer or a doctor by age 27. That this was my time to go for it. That's when they said, "OK, take your shot." Becoming a songwriter, that was risky. Because they were my words, my voice. I wasn't just singing someone else's story. I went for it because I knew if I made it, it would be on my own songs.

You now have a daughter, Nicole, in the public eye. Having lived in it for so long, what advice do you find yourself giving her?

Well, her generation is experiencing something that my generation never had to worry about. In mine, we had privacy. I could go to London, Rome, Amsterdam -- do something completely crazy, out of my mind -- and return home as little Richie. No one would know about it. Even in celebrity we had privacy. Now, everything one does is captured for eternity. I want to see Nicole's generation run for president. I don't know how it will be possible when every high school tweet, every frat picture, every move is captured on someone's phone.

So I tell her, always remember one thing -- whatever you do now is forever. Our parents could tell us stories and we believed what they told us. It won't be so for this generation. Their kids will be able to see and know things that they never would have wanted to share. We really don't even know what the consequences of all this exposure will be to future generations.

At this stage of life, what's one rule you feel you can break with impunity?

To a certain degree, I can be brutally honest. My grandmother used to always say, "if you are afraid of the truth, don't ask children or old people." Children don't know better and old people don't care. Tact is good but at a certain point, a person knows what he likes and doesn't like, what he is willing to do and not do, and honesty becomes the way to go. I can now change my mind without feeling guilty. I love that I can simply say no and not have to explain why.

What's one thing you wish you knew when you you were growing up?

I wish I would have understood what marriage was all about. We fall into love so easily because it is so innocent and so magical but the reality of it is so different. Marriage comes with a great deal of responsibility. A lot of compromise and work. If I knew then what I know now, as the expressions goes, I would've figured out a lot of things and that would have changed my whole life's course. But even though I wish I knew better, I wouldn't really change anything.

What do you want people to know about you that they might not already know?

I'm a jokester. I really love humor. My father used to always say to me, "You can lose your job, your house, your money. But if you lose your mind, then your life is over. And the only way to keep your mind, is to have sense of humor -- about yourself and about life." He had a very serious life and yet he had a great sense of humor. So I live my life by those words. I try to find the adults who still have the children in them -- and hang around with them. It's much more fun.

Is there any stage, literally or metaphorically, on which you still yearn to play?

Yes. The one role I want to play is Dad. I have great stories, great lessons and I want to share them with my kids, and with my grandkids. Of course, it's their lives and they will all do what they want to do anyway. But I want to pay attention to their growing up. Because the best thing that happened to me when I was growing up was that somebody was paying attention to me. If I could win on the fatherhood stage and as a great friend to those in my life, then I will be really happy.

Will you ever retire?

I don't know how! That's the good news for me. I keep waking up every morning with another idea. This is the love affair i'm having. Someone asked me when i'm going to retire and I said "from what?" You only retire from a job. And this has never been a job. It's my life.

  • 'Tuskegee' (2012)

  • Lionel Richie Scores First #1 Album In 26 Years With Tuskegee

    Richie's latest album "Tuskegee" debuted on the Top 200, giving Richie his first #1 album in 26 years. Richie recently performed hits from the album on "ACM Presents: Lionel Richie & Friends In Concert," which aired on CBS. Richie's other #1 albums as a solo artist are "Can't Slow Down" (1983) and "Dancing On The Ceiling" (1986).

  • Lionel Richie And Friends In Concert

    Singer/songwriter Lionel Richie performs during Lionel Richie and Friends in Concert presented by ACM.

  • Lionel Richie And Friends In Concert

  • 'All Night Long' (live, 2012)

  • 'Hello' (live featuring Jennifer Nettles, 2012)

  • Tim McGraw And Lionel Richie Perform 'Sail On'

  • Lionel Richie

    Lionel Richie arrives at the NARM Music Biz Awards dinner party.

  • Lionel Richie

    Singer Lionel Richie arrives at the Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts for the Kennedy Center Honor gala performance.

?

"; var coords = [-5, -72]; // display fb-bubble FloatingPrompt.embed(this, html, undefined, 'top', {fp_intersects:1, timeout_remove:2000,ignore_arrow: true, width:236, add_xy:coords, class_name: 'clear-overlay'}); });

news channel 5 nashville weather jason varitek andrew breitbart dead sheriff joe arpaio limbaugh aaron smith

Verizon Galaxy Nexus 4.0.4 update support page goes live

Verizon Galaxy Nexus

Hey, look at that. The long-awaited Android 4.0.4 update for the Verizon Galaxy Nexus now has an official support page at Big Red's site. That's just one more step closer to an actual OTA update, and it can't come soon enough. Here's the full changelog for IMM76K:

Email, Messaging & Data

  • Email messages will display properly when the text size is set to large.
  • When sending a multimedia message to an Outlook email address, the file extension
  • will send, allowing the recipient to successfully open an image.
  • Successfully deleted emails on the device will be deleted from the desktop as well.
  • Successfully send text messages without experiencing network connectivity issues.

Applications

  • When viewing a Calendar reminder or appointment, you will now be able to view the full notes associated with the appointment.
  • A down arrow has been added in the Calendar application that will expand the calendar message body, allowing you to view the entire message.

Device Features

  • Successfully turn on Wi-Fi using the Power Control widget.
  • Updates have been made to prevent the display from freezing or becoming unresponsive.
  • Complete calls without experiencing choppy audio, clicking noises and one-way audio noises.
  • Successfully access Voicemail and other automated systems without error.

Now all we need is, ya know, the update to actually push. Keep your eyes peeled, folks.

Source: Verizon (PDF); more: Verizon Galaxy Nexus forums
thanks to everyone who sent this in!

 

florida gators hope solo hope solo texas high school football fugazi fugazi indiana jones and the last crusade