US confirms possible release of Taliban from Gitmo (AP)

WASHINGTON ? U.S. intelligence officials acknowledged Tuesday that the United States may release several Afghan Taliban prisoners from the military prison at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, as an incentive to bring the Taliban to peace talks.

Meanwhile, Afghan officials told The Associated Press that a plan to give Afghanistan a form of legal custody over the men if they are released satisfied their earlier objection to sending the prisoners to a third country.

Director of National Intelligence Jim Clapper told Congress Tuesday that no decision had been made on whether to trade the five Taliban prisoners, now held at Guantanamo Bay as part of nascent peace talks with the Taliban. He and CIA Director David Petraeus did not dispute that the Obama administration is considering transferring the five to a third country.

U.S. officials and others had previously spoken only vaguely, and usually anonymously, about the proposal to send the prisoners to Qatar, a Persian Gulf country that has asserted a central role in framing talks that might end the 10-year war in Afghanistan. The lead U.S. negotiator trying to coax the Taliban into talks had also publicly acknowledged the possibility of a release, but said there was no final decision.

The prisoners proposed for transfer include some of the detainees brought to Guantanamo during the initial days and weeks of the U.S. invasion that toppled the Taliban government in Afghanistan in 2001. At least one has been accused in the massacre of thousands of Shiite Muslims in Afghanistan, according to U.S. and other assessments, but none are accused of directly killing Americans.

"I don't think anybody harbors any illusions about it, but I think the position is to at least explore the potential for negotiating with them as a part of this overall resolution of the situation in Afghanistan," Clapper said during a Senate Intelligence Committee hearing.

The Obama administration has recently embraced the possibility of negotiation with the Taliban much more openly, saying that although they remain cautious they are also encouraged that the militants may be ready to bargain. Peace talks, if they come to pass, would include the elected Afghan government and, at least at the outset, representatives of the U.S. government. With nearly 100,000 troops in Afghanistan and a war and development budget in the billions of dollars, the U.S. remains the largest power broker in Afghanistan.

Afghan President Hamid Karzai supports a prisoner release as a means to build confidence among the Taliban militants that talks are worthwhile, but he had balked at the U.S.-backed plan to send them to Qatar instead of home to Afghanistan. That plan appeared to undercut his authority and offend Afghan sovereignty, Afghan officials said. Karzai yanked his ambassador from Qatar, saying Qatar had not kept him properly informed.

But recent discussions between Karzai and U.S. negotiators found a way around the Afghan objections, a senior Afghan diplomat and another official said. Speaking on condition of anonymity because the arrangement is still under discussion, the officials said Afghanistan could assume a sort of legal custody over the prisoners and then, with the prisoners' own consent, agree to consign them to house arrest in Qatar.

An Afghan delegation would prepare the way for that arrangement by visiting the prisoners at Guantanamo and signing off on the transfer plan, one official said.

The Obama administration does not want to send the prisoners to Afghanistan, in part for fear they might be released. The men are considered "enemy combatants" who were, at least until recently, considered too dangerous to release.

Afghan custody of the men, even if only on paper, could provide sufficient political cover for Karzai against criticism at home that the arrangement is a snub. Karzai has already reluctantly publicly endorsed Qatar as the site for a militant political office that would serve as a headquarters for talks.

U.S. officials would not confirm the possible solution but did not dispute it.

Separately, Afghan officials said their government plans to explore talks with militants under the auspices of Saudi Arabia or others. Those talks would complement talks in Qatar, not undermine them, and carry at least an implicit stamp of approval from U.S. negotiators, the officials said.

The White House National Security Council had no comment on either issue.

The AP previously reported a proposal to release two or three of the Taliban prisoners as an initial goodwill gesture, to be followed by the others. All would go into custody in Qatar, under conditions that are likely to be less secure and less restrictive than at Guantanamo.

Several members of Congress oppose any release, and Congress has erected several legal hurdles that military and other officials acknowledge would slow and complicate the process.

Several GOP lawmakers who object to the transfer are pushing the White House to keep the detainees in Guantanamo "until the end of hostilities," according to a U.S. official with knowledge of the negotiations.

If the Taliban wants to end hostilities through negotiations, "then we could transfer their fighters," the official said, speaking on condition of anonymity to discuss conversations with the White House.

Of particular concern is Mullah Norullah Nori, described in U.S. military documents as one of the most significant former Taliban officials held at Guantanamo. He was a senior Taliban commander in Mazar-e-Sharif when the Taliban fought U.S. forces in late 2001. He previously was a Taliban governor in two provinces Northern Afghanistan, where he has been accused of ordering the massacre of thousands of Shiite Muslims.

Petraeus also acknowledged discussions about the five Taliban prisoners, and told Congress that the U.S. government has assessed the risk that the men might still be dangerous.

"This proposed so-called trade has actually not been decided yet," Clapper said, speaking at an annual hearing on worldwide threats. Republicans were openly skeptical, saying recidivism among former Guantanamo detainees is high and the gambit is of questionable value in promoting peace.

Petraeus said his analysts had assessed various scenarios under which the prisoners could be released to countries other than Afghanistan and Pakistan. The analysts sought to determine which countries would be best able to monitor the freed men, and keep them from returning to militancy.

Clapper's office reported in December 2010 that 13.5 percent of released Guantanamo detainees are "confirmed" and 11.5 percent "are suspected" of reengaging in terrorist or insurgent activities after being transferred.

Clapper said in the case of the Taliban prisoners, U.S. negotiators would first have to determine where the prisoners would be released, and how best to make sure they did not return to the fight. The defense spending bill signed by President Barack Obama in December also requires that the Pentagon certify that any release is safe.

"Part and parcel of such a decision, if it were finally made, would be the actual determination of where these detainees might go and the conditions in which they would be controlled or surveilled," Clapper said.

But Clapper said the prisoner release could be a confidence-building measure that helps move negotiations forward.

The intelligence agencies' annual threat assessment said the Taliban was less able to intimidate the Afghan population that last year, especially in areas where NATO forces are concentrated, but that its leaders continue to direct the insurgency from their safe haven in Pakistan.

U.S. officials have pledged to consult with Congress about any release, which was not enough to persuade Sen. Saxby Chambliss, R-Ga.

"I want to state publicly as strong as I can that we should not transfer these detainees from Guantanamo," Chambliss told the intelligence agency heads.

? Associated Press writer Ben Fox contributed to this report from San Juan, Puerto Rico.

Anne Gearan can be followed on Twitter at (at)agearan.; Kimberly Dozier can be followed on Twitter (at)kimberlydozier;

Source: http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/topstories/*http%3A//news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20120201/ap_on_go_ot/us_us_afghanistan_taliban

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Gingrich makes play for evangelicals, tea partiers

Republican presidential candidate, former House Speaker Newt Gingrich, speaks to media during a news conference outside the Exciting Idlewild Baptist Church, Sunday, Jan. 29, 2012, in Lutz, Fla. (AP Photo/Matt Rourke)

Republican presidential candidate, former House Speaker Newt Gingrich, speaks to media during a news conference outside the Exciting Idlewild Baptist Church, Sunday, Jan. 29, 2012, in Lutz, Fla. (AP Photo/Matt Rourke)

Republican presidential candidate, former House Speaker Newt Gingrich, with his wife Callista, campaign at The Villages, Sunday, Jan. 29, 2012, in Lady Lake, Fla. (AP Photo/Matt Rourke)

Republican presidential candidate, former House Speaker Newt Gingrich, meets with supporters during a campaign event at the The Villages, Sunday, Jan. 29, 2012, in Lady Lake, Fla. (AP Photo/Matt Rourke)

LUTZ, Fla. (AP) ? Facing the possibility of a stinging defeat, Republican presidential contender Newt Gingrich combined sharp attacks on Mitt Romney with unspoken appeals for support among the state's evangelicals on Sunday, two days before the pivotal Florida primary.

In an unusual commitment of campaign time, the former House speaker attended a pair of Baptist worship services, where he sat in a pew, accompanied by his wife, Callista, and made no remarks.

In between a morning stop at a megachurch in the Tampa area and an evening visit to a church in Jacksonville, Gingrich unleashed an attack on Romney as a "pro-abortion, pro-gun control, pro-tax increase liberal" who could not be trusted to bring conservative values to the White House.

He also drew rousing cheers from a large crowd, numbered in the thousands, at a retirement community, where a Tea Party Express bus rolled slowly behind the platform where he was speaking.

Increasingly, Gingrich has reached out to evangelicals and tea party advocates as the Florida primary approaches, touting an endorsement from campaign dropout Herman Cain as well as former Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin's recent accusation that the establishment was trying to "crucify" him.

Standing outside the First Jacksonville Baptist church as dusk fell, Kurt Kelly, chairman of Florida Faith Leaders for Newt Gingrich, said the candidate held a midweek conference call with an estimated 1,000 evangelical pastors around the state.

He said the goal of the call was to solidify support as much as possible behind Gingrich, at the expense of rival contender Rick Santorum, who is running a poor third in the pre-primary polls in the state.

In the course of the conversation, Kelly said, Gingrich "shared his faith, shared his vision and shared his past."

Kelly did not expand on his reference to Gingrich's past, although the former speaker has been married three times.

He said one of the other pastors on the call questioned Gingrich further, and the candidate "showed a contrite heart and showed true confession and true repentance."

Gingrich was anything but repentant in his remarks about Romney during the day.

During a pair of Sunday morning television interviews, he said his chief rival had adopted a "basic policy of carpet-bombing his opponent."

One of the ads being run by Romney suggests that Gingrich is exaggerating his ties to Ronald Reagan. Gingrich chafed at that, noting that the former president's son Michael was joining him on the campaign trail Monday "to prove to everybody that I am the heir to the Reagan movement, not some liberal from Massachusetts."

Cain, a tea party favorite, will also appear with Gingrich on Monday.

At a large rally Sunday at The Villages, a sprawling retirement community in central Florida, Gingrich accused Democratic President Barack Obama of coddling foreign leaders like Venezuela's Hugo Chavez and Iran's Mahmoud Ahmadinejad.

"I believe we need to be stronger than our potential enemies," Gingrich told the crowd. "The president lives in a fantasy world where there are no enemies, there are just misguided people with whom he has not yet had coffee."

He said Chavez "deliberately, cynically and insultingly gave him an anti-American book and Obama didn't have a clue that he'd been insulted."

He said the Obama administration should be focused on Ahmadinejad's "pledge to wipe out Israel and drive America out of the Middle East."

"But if I were a left-wing Harvard law graduate surrounded by really clever left-wing academics I would know that this was really a sign that (Ahmadinejad) probably had a bad childhood," Gingrich said.

He described Obama's approach to Ahmadinejad as, "If only we could unblock him we could be closer to him and we could be friends together."

Gingrich, who served in the House for two decades, also made a populist pitch as a Washington outsider. He said the GOP's "old establishment" is trying to block his path to nomination.

"It's time that someone stood up for hard-working, taxpaying Americans and said, 'Enough,'" Gingrich said. "And if that makes the old order uncomfortable, my answer is, 'Good.'"

Associated Press

Source: http://hosted2.ap.org/APDEFAULT/89ae8247abe8493fae24405546e9a1aa/Article_2012-01-29-Gingrich/id-e5ff832d294b489d9925ee7cf3351f41

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29 Chinese missing after militant attack in Sudan

BEIJING (AP) ? Militants apparently captured 29 Chinese workers after attacking a remote worksite in a volatile region of Sudan, and Sudanese forces were increasing security for Chinese projects and personnel there, China said Sunday.

China has close political and economic relations with Sudan, especially in the energy sector.

The Foreign Ministry in Beijing said the militants attacked Saturday and Sudanese forces launched a rescue mission Sunday in coordination with the Chinese embassy in Khartoum.

The Ministry's head of consular affairs met with the Sudanese ambassador in Beijing and "urged him to actively conduct rescue missions under the prerequisite of ensuring the safety of the Chinese personnel," the statement said.

In Khartoum, a Chinese embassy spokesman said the northern branch of the Sudan People's Liberation Movement announced that 29 Chinese workers had been captured in the attack. The spokesman, who asked not be identified, gave no other details and it wasn't clear if the militants had demanded conditions for their return.

Other details weren't given. The official Xinhua News Agency cited the state governor as saying the Sudan People's Liberation Movement attacked a road-building site in South Kordofan and seized the workers.

The Sudan People's Liberation Movement are a guerrilla force that has fought against Sudan's regime. Its members hail from a minority ethnic group now in control of much of South Sudan, which became the world's newest country only six months ago in a breakaway from Sudan.

Sudan has accused South Sudan of arming pro-South Sudan groups in South Kordofan. The government of South Sudan has called such accusations a smoke screen intended to justify a future invasion of the South.

China has sent large numbers of workers to potentially unstable regions such as Sudan and last year was forced to send ships and planes to help with the emergency evacuation of 30,000 of its citizens from the fighting in Libya.

China has consistently used its clout in diplomatic forums such as the United Nations to defend Sudan and its longtime leader Omar al-Bashir. In recent years, it has also sought to build good relations with leaders from the south, where most of Sudan's oil is located.

Chinese companies have also invested heavily in Sudanese oil production, along with companies India and elsewhere.

___

Associated Press writer Mohamed Saeed contributed to this report from Khartoum.

Associated Press

Source: http://hosted2.ap.org/APDEFAULT/f70471f764144b2fab526d39972d37b3/Article_2012-01-29-AS-China-Sudan/id-1d46cda9ed1745119bbe4aeecdcacb07

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Romney would rank among richest presidents ever (AP)

WASHINGTON ? Just how rich is Mitt Romney? Add up the wealth of the last eight presidents, from Richard Nixon to Barack Obama. Then double that number. Now you're in Romney territory.

He would be among the richest presidents in American history if elected ? probably in the top four.

He couldn't top George Washington who, with nearly 60,000 acres and more than 300 slaves, is considered the big daddy of presidential wealth. After that, it gets complicated, depending how you rate Thomas Jefferson's plantation, Herbert Hoover's millions from mining or John F. Kennedy's share of the vast family fortune, as well as the finer points of factors like inflation adjustment.

But it's safe to say the Roosevelts had nothing on Romney, and the Bushes are nowhere close.

The former Massachusetts governor has disclosed only the broad outlines of his wealth, putting it somewhere from $190 million to $250 million. That easily could make him 50 times richer than Obama, who falls in the still-impressive-to-most-of-us range of $2.2 million to $7.5 million.

"I think it's almost hard to conceptualize what $250 million means," said Shamus Khan, a Columbia University sociologist who studies the wealthy. "People say Romney made $50,000 a day while not working last year. What do you do with all that money? I can't even imagine spending it. Well, maybe ..."

Of course, an unbelievable boatload of bucks is just one way to think of Romney's net worth, and the 44 U.S. presidents make up a pretty small pond for him to swim in. Put alongside America's 400 or so billionaires, Romney wouldn't make a ripple.

So here's a look where Romney's riches rank ? among the most flush Americans, the White House contenders, and the rest of us:

_Within the 1 percent:

"Romney is small potatoes compared with the ultra-wealthy," said Jeffrey Winters, a political scientist at Northwestern University who studies the nation's elites.

After all, even in the rarefied world of the top 1 percent, there's a big difference between life at the top and at the bottom.

A household needs to bring in roughly $400,000 per year to make the cut. Romney and his wife, Ann, have been making 50 times that ? more than $20 million a year. In 2009, only 8,274 federal tax filers had income above $10 million. Romney is solidly within that elite 0.006 percent of all U.S. taxpayers.

Congress is flush with millionaires. Only a few are in the Romney realm, including Rep. Darrell Issa, R-Calif., and Massachusetts Sen. John Kerry, who was the Democratic presidential nominee in 2004. Kerry's ranking would climb much higher if the fortune of his wife, Teresa Heinz, were counted. She is the widow of Sen. John Heinz, heir to the Heinz ketchup fortune.

Further up the ladder, top hedge fund managers can pocket $1 billion or more in a single year.

At the top of the wealth pile sits Bill Gates, worth $59 billion, according to Forbes magazine's estimates.

_As a potential president:

Romney clearly stands out here. America's super rich generally don't jockey to live in the White House. A few have toyed with the idea, most notably New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg, whom Forbes ranks as the 12th richest American, worth $19.5 billion. A lesser billionaire, Ross Perot, bankrolled his own third-party campaigns in 1992 and 1996.

Many presidents weren't particularly well-off, especially 19th century leaders such as Abraham Lincoln, James Buchanan and Ulysses S. Grant. Nor was the 33rd president, Harry Truman.

"These things ebb and flow," said sociologist Khan. "It's not the case that all presidents were always rich."

A few former chief executives died in debt, including Thomas Jefferson, ranked in a Forbes study as the third-wealthiest president.

Comparing the landlocked wealth of early Americans such as Washington, Jefferson and James Madison, with today's millionaires is tricky, even setting aside the lack of documentation and economic changes over two centuries.

Research by 24/7 Wall St., a news and analysis website, estimated Washington's wealth at the equivalent of $525 million in 2010 dollars.

Yet Washington had to borrow money to pay for his trip to New York for his inauguration in 1789, according to Dennis Pogue, vice president for preservation at Mount Vernon, Washington's Virginia estate. His money was tied up in land, reaping only a modest cash income after farm expenses.

"He was a wealthy guy, there's no doubt about it," Pogue said, and probably among the dozen richest Virginians of his time. But, "the wealthiest person in America then was nothing in comparison to what these folks are today."

_How does Romney stand next to a regular Joe?

He's roughly 1,800 times richer.

The typical U.S. household was worth $120,300 in 2007, according to the Census Bureau's most recent data, although that number is sure to have dropped since the recession. A typical family's income is $50,000.

Calculations from 24/7 Wall St. of the peak lifetime wealth (or peak so far) of Nixon, Gerald Ford, Jimmy Carter, Ronald Reagan, George H.W. Bush, Bill Clinton, George W. Bush and Obama add up to a total $128 million ? while Romney reports assets of up to $250 million.

If you consider only those presidents' assets while in office, without millions earned later from speeches and books, their combined total would be substantially lower, and Romney's riches would leave the pack even further behind.

___

Online:

Forbes' richest presidents list: http://tinyurl.com/82erdyb

24/7 Wall St. on presidents' net worth: http://tinyurl.com/328qyu2

___

Associated Press writer Stephen Ohlemacher contributed to this report.

Source: http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/gop/*http%3A//news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20120128/ap_on_el_pr/us_how_rich_is_romney

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Rick Santorum Cancels Campaign Stops While Daughter Is Ill

WEST PALM BEACH, Fla. -- Republican Rick Santorum is staying home in Philadelphia to be with this hospitalized daughter and is canceling campaign stops in Florida.

Santorum's campaign says the former senator will stay in Pennsylvania with 3-year-old Bella, who has a genetic condition known as Trisomy 18. The condition typically proves fatal and Santorum often says his daughter wasn't expected to live past 12 months.

Spokesman Hogan Gidley says Santorum hopes to return to a campaign schedule soon.

Santorum canceled his appearance on NBC's "Meet the Press" and a stop at a Miami church.

Santorum is sending his 20-year-old daughter Elizabeth to Sarasota and Punta Gorda for campaign appearances on later Sunday.

Florida's presidential primary is on Tuesday.

Also on HuffPost:

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Source: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/01/29/rick-santorum-daughter-bella-_n_1240096.html

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Video: Syrians say: ?We need intervention!?

NBC's Ayman Mohyeldin visits Zabadani, Syria, a once beautiful snowcapped resort town that has been deeply scarred by the recent military crackdown and speaks with members of the? anti-regime Free Syria Army.

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Source: http://video.msnbc.msn.com/nightly-news/46154632/

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t3dotcom: 20 of the best Windows Phone 7 games to keep you entertained: http://t.co/TZJZfBo1 #wp7 #windowsphone

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Israeli Finance Minister Pushes Naval, Aerial Blockade of Iran ...

In an interview today with Bloomberg Businessweek, Israeli Finance Minister Yuval Steinitz rejected the European Union?s ban on importation of Iranian crude oil, insisting it doesn?t go nearly far enough.

Instead, Steinitz called for the international community to impose a full naval and aerial blockade across all of Iran so that ?no one can even go out [sic].? This is the only option with any chance of success, he said.

Steinitz said a good model for his plan was the Cuban blockade by the United States in 1962, an effort which nearly ended with the annihilation of all life on earth in the Cuban Missile Crisis.

?Sometimes it might work. You have to at least try,? Steinitz added. It is unclear how he imagines the full aerial blockade in the north could be imposed, since it would presumably be opposed by Russia.

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Source: http://news.antiwar.com/2012/01/26/israeli-finance-minister-pushes-naval-aerial-blockade-of-iran/

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Senate Democrats promise to push Obama tax agenda (AP)

WASHINGTON ? President Barack Obama's Democratic allies in the Senate promised Wednesday to press ahead this year with legislation drawn from his plans to require millionaires to pay at least 30 percent in taxes and curb tax preferences for companies that ship jobs overseas.

Senate Democratic leaders promise votes soon on such tax "fairness" initiatives, which were a key theme of Obama's State of the Union address Tuesday night. They include the so-called Buffett rule, named after a recommendation by billionaire financier Warren Buffett ? who benefits from a low 15 percent tax rate on investments ? that he be required to pay a higher rate than his secretary.

The Democratic drive would follow the ongoing push to renew the payroll tax cut, a debate that has broken in Democrats' favor as House-Senate talks began this week. The initiative is laced with politics, coming immediately after GOP presidential candidate Mitt Romney revealed that he pays an effective tax rate of less than 15 percent despite income exceeding $20 million a year.

"The president's blueprint for restoring economic fairness for the middle-class will be the basis of our agenda for this year," said Sen. Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y. Schumer said the decision by Republicans to embrace the payroll tax cut last year despite widespread reservations within the party bodes well for the upcoming debate.

"Don't underestimate our chances of success," Schumer said.

Both Democrats and Republicans embrace the idea of reforming the tax code but they differ over whether it should be done in a way that generates greater overall tax receipts as Democrats demand or whether it should be "revenue neutral" as most Republicans would like.

Among the ideas endorsed by the Democratic leaders Wednesday was Obama's proposal to require millionaires to pay a higher minimum tax rate, deny corporations the ability to completely avoid taxes and reward companies that create jobs in America instead of shipping them overseas.

"Nothing is more important to Congress than reducing income inequality," said Majority Leader Harry Reid, D-Nev.

On a campaign swing in Florida, Newt Gingrich said Obama's proposal for a 30 percent tax rate for millionaires "would be a disaster of the first order."

Added Gingrich: "It would double the capital gains tax. Doubling the capital gains tax would lead to a dramatic decline in the stock market, which would affect every pension fund in the United States."

___

Associated Press writer Brian Bakst in Doral, Fla., contributed to this report.

Source: http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/obama/*http%3A//news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20120126/ap_on_el_pr/us_democrats_taxes

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3M posts small profit increase in 4Q (AP)

NEW YORK ? 3M says its profit inched 3 percent higher in the fourth-quarter as growth in basic products like Post-Its and police tape offset declines in its high-tech products.

The maker of everything from Scotch Tape to computer arms also maintained its profit forecast for 2012 as it expects slower economic growth around the world.

The Maplewood, Minn., company said Thursday it earned $954 million, or $1.35 per share, compared with $928 million, or $1.28 per share, a year ago.

Revenue rose 6 percent to $7.09 billion.

FactSet says analysts expected a profit of $1.31 per share on revenue of $7.09 billion.

3M Co. said sales were strongest for the company's industrial and transportation unit. Sales fell in its electronics and communications and display and graphics segments.

Source: http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/earnings/*http%3A//news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20120126/ap_on_bi_ge/earns3m

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Activists: Syrian troops shell central city

Syrian Foreign Minister Walid al-Moallem, speaks during a press conference, in Damascus, Syria, on Tuesday Jan. 24, 2012. Al-Moallem said that "half the universe" is conspiring against his country and that the government will take any steps to defend against chaos, signaling that Damascus will continue its 10-month crackdown on dissent despite mounting pressure from Arab countries.(AP Photo/Muzaffar Salman)

Syrian Foreign Minister Walid al-Moallem, speaks during a press conference, in Damascus, Syria, on Tuesday Jan. 24, 2012. Al-Moallem said that "half the universe" is conspiring against his country and that the government will take any steps to defend against chaos, signaling that Damascus will continue its 10-month crackdown on dissent despite mounting pressure from Arab countries.(AP Photo/Muzaffar Salman)

Syrian Foreign Minister Walid al-Moallem, speaks during a press conference, in Damascus, Syria, on Tuesday Jan. 24, 2012. Al-Moallem said that "half the universe" is conspiring against his country and that the government will take any steps to defend against chaos, signaling that Damascus will continue its 10-month crackdown on dissent despite mounting pressure from Arab countries. (AP Photo/Bassem Tellawi)

BEIRUT (AP) ? Activists say Syrian security forces are shelling and assaulting neighborhoods in a city in the center of the country, and at least one person has been killed.

The activists say troops backed by military vehicles and tanks are trying to storm the Bab Qebli area of the city of Hama, and are firing mortar shells targeting several nearby districts.

The Local Coordination Committees activist network and the British-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights say one person was killed by sniper fire in the Sheik Anbar district.

An activist near the area reported hearing explosions throughout the night and on Wednesday.

Soldiers who sided with a group of anti-regime army defectors known as the Free Syrian Army are known to be active in Hama, which has witnessed large anti-government protests.

THIS IS A BREAKING NEWS UPDATE. Check back soon for further information. AP's earlier story is below.

BEIRUT (AP) ? With Arab pressure mounting to end 10 months of bloodshed, the Syrian regime vowed Tuesday to solve its own problems even if "half the universe" is conspiring against it.

The remarks signaled that Arab League efforts to stem the violence are collapsing ? something that could pave the way for the U.N. Security Council to step in, even though Russia is firmly opposed to punitive measures against its longtime ally.

Syrian Foreign Minister Walid al-Moallem brushed off the threat of referring the issue to the Security Council ? a move that could lead to tougher sanctions ? rather than trying to resolve it regionally. The prospect of U.N. involvement has raised fears in Syria that an international intervention could be next.

"If they go to (U.N. headquarters in) New York or the moon, as long as we don't pay their tickets, this is their business," al-Moallem said at a news conference in Damascus.

He was reacting to an appeal by the Gulf Cooperation Council for the U.N. Security Council to take all "necessary measures" to force Syria to implement an Arab League's ambitious peace plan announced Sunday to create a national unity government in two months. Damascus has rejected the plan as a violation of national sovereignty.

"The decision was made after careful and thorough monitoring of events in Syria and the conviction by the GCC that the bloodshed and the killing of innocent people there is continuing," the statement by the six-nation GCC said.

It also announced its six member nations ? Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, Qatar, Bahrain, Oman and the United Arab Emirates ? were withdrawing the 52 monitors they had contributed to an Arab League observer mission that has been heavily criticized for failing to stop the crackdown since it entered the country in late December. That would leave only about 110 observers on the ground, League officials said, a major blow to an effort that many see as the only hope for a regional solution to the crisis.

Several members of the 15-member council agreed Tuesday that it was time for the full group to take action.

"This council should fully support the Arab League's efforts to broker an end to the bloodshed and a peaceful transition to democracy in Syria," U.S. Ambassador Susan Rice said during the council's monthly debate on the Middle East.

British Ambassador to the U.N. Mark Lyall Grant expressed concern about weapons proliferation via sales to the Syrian government or illegal smuggling to the regime or opposition.

But the potential for U.N. involvement is a highly charged issue. Any resolution would have to get past veto-wielding Security Council members Russia and China, which already rejected one Western-backed draft that threatened an arms embargo. The two countries argued that NATO misused a previous U.N. mandate authorizing use of force in Libya.

The U.N. estimates more than 5,400 people have been killed since Syria's uprising began in March, inspired by the wave of revolutions sweeping the Arab world. The conflict has turned more violent in recent months, as army defectors and some protesters take up arms to fight the regime's forces.

Syria has a volatile sectarian divide, making civil unrest one of the most dire scenarios. The Assad regime is dominated by the Alawite minority, an offshoot of Shiite Islam, but the country is overwhelmingly Sunni Muslim.

Violence continued Tuesday, with an overall death toll that ranged from 15 to more than 43, based on reports from the British-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, the Local Coordination Committees and other activists on the ground.

Syria's powerful allies in Russia, China and Iran have shielded Damascus in some ways from a slew of condemnation and sanctions by the U.S., the European Union, Turkey and others.

Russia reportedly has signed a contract to sell combat jets to Syria, according to a Monday report in the business daily Kommersant. The $550-million deal is for 36 Yak-130 aircraft, according to an unidentified source close to Russia's Rosoboronexport state arms trader.

Asked about the report, Russian Middle East envoy and Deputy Foreign Minister Mikhail Bogdanov said he was not up to date on the issue but insisted that Russia is not violating any international conventions.

"There are no kinds of international sanctions on this count. When sanctions were taken regarding Libya, we fully observed them," he said, according to state news agency RIA Novosti.

Russia has been a strong ally of Syria since Soviet times, when the country was led by the president's father, Hafez Assad. It has supplied Syria with aircraft, missiles, tanks and other modern weapons.

"No one can doubt the strength of Syria's relationship with Russia," al-Moallem said Tuesday, confident that Moscow will use its veto power at the Security Council to protect Damascus. "International intervention in Syria is a red line for Russia."

U.S. State Department spokeswoman Victoria Nuland said Tuesday the U.S. respected the Gulf countries' decision to pull out of the Arab League monitoring mission, noting it would leave a "big hole in the operation," since the GCC provided the bulk of financial support as well.

Later Tuesday, the state-run news agency SANA said al-Moallem sent a letter to Arab League chief Nabil Elaraby saying Damascus agreed to allow the mission to be extended for one month, until Feb. 23.

Al-Moallem also signaled the crackdown will continue, saying the government must deal firmly with armed groups.

Syria has consistently blamed armed gangs carrying out a foreign conspiracy for the revolt, not protesters seeking change in one of the most authoritarian states in the Middle East.

"It is the duty of the Syrian government to take what it sees as necessary measures to deal with those armed groups that spread chaos," al-Moallem said. "The security solution is a popular demand by the Syrian people who want salvation."

___

Associated Press writers Zeina Karam in Beirut, Abdullah al-Shihri in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, Anita Snow at the United Nations and Jim Heintz in Moscow contributed to this report.

Associated Press

Source: http://hosted2.ap.org/APDEFAULT/cae69a7523db45408eeb2b3a98c0c9c5/Article_2012-01-25-ML-Syria/id-ef8ef6d03ca040e9b79b274cd0176471

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Oscar Nominations 2012 (Full List)

The 2012 Oscar Nominations were announced this morning and let me say it is quite a list. There were some fantastic surprises on the list that now have me rooting for those underdogs. I was thrilled when the names of Melissa McCarthy and Jonah Hill were both announced on the list of 2012 Oscar Nominees. Melissa was nominated in the Best Supporting Actress category for her role in Bridesmaids; Jonah was nominated in the Best Supporting Actor category for his role in Moneyball. Congrats to those two and all the amazing nominees. There is a lot of great talent represented this year so it will no doubt be a tough year to choose a winner. You and I can see who takes home the coveted award on February 26th on ABC. Best Picture The Artist The Descendants Extremely Loud & Incredibly Close The Help Hugo Midnight in Paris Moneyball The Tree of Life War Horse Best Director Michel Hazanavicius – The Artist Alexander Payne – The Descendants Martin Scorsese – Hugo Woody Allen – Midnight in Paris Terrence Malick – The Tree of Life Best Actor Demi?n Bichir – A Better Life George Clooney – The Descendants Jean Dujardin – [...]

Source: http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/RightCelebrity/~3/rChCuTIyLww/

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Lobbying's SOPA opera lessons (Politico)

K Street boom days have come and gone.

A bad economy and rigid stalemates on Capitol Hill took its toll on big firms for the second year in a row, with seven out of the 10 biggest lobbying groups reporting flat or negative revenues in 2011, a significant contrast with the double-digit growth many of the same firms experienced in the mid-2000s, according to recently filed federal lobbying reports.

Continue Reading

And the stagnant revenues aren?t expected to pick up in the coming year with the economy still slow and an even bigger change afoot in the industry. Fights are no longer just about which side has the most ? or best ? lobbyists. The new world of Washington influence is more diverse:Traditional access lobbying is waged alongside campaigns that use media, grass-roots activism and the Internet ? activity often not reported in federal lobbying filings.

?This is not your grandfather?s lobbying business,? said Nick Allard of Patton Boggs. ?The nature of it is less of a premium on getting information and more of a demand for expert advice.?

Patton Boggs maintained its position as the top-grossing lobbying firm, bringing in $48.4 million in lobbying revenue in 2011. That was up from $45.2 million in 2010. The uptick stems more from the firm?s June merger with Breaux Lott Leadership Group than from overall business growth.

Several lobbyists pointed to last week?s massive online mobilization that tanked two fast-moving anti-online piracy bills as the perfect example of how the influence game is changing. While clients are still willing to pay for access lobbying, there is more of a focus on nonreportable strategy through social media and other grass-roots initiatives.

?A well-resourced content group of people completely got outmaneuvered by the guys in the basement,? Ogilvy Government Relations? Drew Maloney said of the anti-piracy fight. ?It?s not a secret that a lobbying campaign involves a lot of different tools now than maybe it did 10 to 15 years ago.?

The numbers do not come as a surprise to lobbyists, who have been saying all year that K Street is no longer easy street for hired guns.

?Generally speaking, the industry was down, so even in a down year, even is a good thing,? Alex Vogel of Mehlman Vogel Castagnetti said.

Marquee firms like Podesta Group, Van Scoyoc & Associates, Brownstein Hyatt Farber Schreck and Holland & Knight saw their revenues nose dive. Others ? like Cassidy & Associates, Wexler & Walker Public Policy Associates and Mehlman Vogel Castagnetti ? reported relatively flat years.

Competition has also increased as more K-Streeters are hanging out a shingle rather than going to top firms, and clients aren?t as willing to pay huge monthly retainers.

Van Scoyoc & Associates faced one of the steepest declines: Its revenues declined about 14 percent. The firm billed clients $25.3 million for lobbying in 2011, down from $29.4 million in 2010. Holland & Knight?s lobbying revenue dropped 10 percent with the firm bringing in $19 million in 2011, down from $21 million in 2010. Brownstein Hyatt Farber Schreck also dropped about 9 percent. The firm billed $22.1 million in revenue in 2011 compared with the $24.4 million it charged in 2010.

Brownstein Hyatt?s Al Mottur said the drop wasn?t unexpected and that the firm?s explosive, double-digit percentage growth in recent years wasn?t sustainable. Holland & Knight also said the downturn in reportable lobbying revenues was offset by regulatory work as the action moved to the agencies.

Source: http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/politics/*http%3A//us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/external/politico_rss/rss_politico_mostpop/http___www_politico_com_news_stories0112_71799_html/44269759/SIG=11m59ck9b/*http%3A//www.politico.com/news/stories/0112/71799.html

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[OOC] Campus Social Groups and extra-curriculars.

Forum rules
This forum is for OOC discussion about existing roleplays.

Please post all "Players Wanted" threads in the Roleplayers Wanted forum!

Topic Tags:

Forum for completely Out of Character (OOC) discussion, based around whatever is happening In Character (IC). Discuss plans, storylines, and events; Recruit for your roleplaying game, or find a GM for your playergroup.
For the Dissidia Academy roleplay.

Check the places tab for The Gym, Library and Zen Temple areas open for character growth and development. Gym increases strength and speed by (+1), Library increases skill and intellect(+1) and Zen Temple increases Spirit and Stamina( 1+). Only one area can be accessed per day. Also, top leadership positions for the Necrophyles and Templars are available for those who request, first come first serve. 2 days before the school year offical starts

Student Body Council- The most powerful group in the school, is believed to be compromised of the top 10 ranking students in the school. This group is secretive so not much is known about the Student Body Council, they appear to be an esoteric club for hand picked elites. The only known way to be initiated into this club is to be invited by the council itself, the applicant is then subject to a notorious hazing process and if accepted is assigned a numerical ranking to solidfy their placement. Members of the student body wear a ring to signify their membership.

Student Body Council Crest:
Student Body Council Ring:

The Elementals-A group formed by the original warriors of the light to establish bonds long after they departed , you have to be a descendant one of the warriors of the light to join this group. This groups symbol token is a that of a crystal pendant.

Elementals crest:

The Templars- They wear all-white and appear to be influenced by the original templars. Their rivals are the Necrophyles. This is a public club open to new characters if they choose. Members of this group express their allegiance by wearing the leonhart necklace.

Templars crest:

Necrophyles-This is a real bad group, stay away from them. They're a fairly new group that's gained a bit of a reputation for violence. They're considered a gang. They're at war with the Templars. This is a public club open to new characters if they choose. Members of this group must prove their devotion by getting a tattoo of the necrophyles oroboras crest.

Necrophyles crest:

I'm a dreamcatcher but only nightmares I caught.

ZeroTolerance

Member for 1 years

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Mike Ragogna: "Crazy Crazy": Introducing Guinevere, Plus Chatting With Four Year Strong's Alan Day and Gregory Rogove

A Conversation with Guinevere

Mike Ragogna: Guinevere, you're a native of Toronto, right?

Guinevere: That's right.

MR: But you've recently branched out and started releasing your music here in the US.

G: Yes, that's true, and in Djibouti. The horn of Africa is pretty big on pop music. I'm kind of a big deal over there. (laughs) No, but for real, I've released a single called "Crazy Crazy" in Canada and the US, and I'm opening for Nick Carter and doing some headlining shows starting at the end of this month. All the dates are up on my website: http://www.thisisguinevere.com/

MR: So, I hear you're kind of a gamer, ain't ya.

G: Well, I guess you could classify me as a tomboy. I love video games, specifically Call Of Duty Modern Warfare 3. Any game involving guns and zombies, it's a sure way to my heart. Boys, you should be writing this down.

MR: Is it true that you go online anonymously and play with other people?

G: Oh yeah, all the time. I have a little headset so that I can talk smack to people while I kill them off. Sometimes, I'll stay silent until the end of the game after I've buried everyone, and I tell them that I'm a girl. (laughs)

MR: Nice. (laughs) Nuketown Records is the name of your record label, right?

G: That's right. The name comes from a map on the game Call Of Duty, so gamers will get the inside joke.

MR: You're also pretty big into sci-fi. I heard you met a certain Captain Jean-Luc Picard or something like that?

G: Yes, ever since I was a little kid, I watched Star Trek - specifically, Star Trek: The Next Generation. And, no, I didn't actually get to meet him, my manager and his family did. He even took a photo with him and his son, and sent it to me. I almost cried because I was with my manager in LA at the time and only missed Patrick Stewart by a few minutes. I also love Star Wars. I'm a huge fan of those movies.

MR: Okay, let's talk about your new song "Crazy, Crazy," which was produced by Cirkut, who is super hot right now, working with Ke$ha, Britney, Rihanna, Flo Rida, and Taio Cruz. How did you get hooked up with him?

G: He was in Toronto when we met - this was seconds before he really blew up as a producer. We went to his really small studio downtown and he played these crazy massive beats and we knew he was incredibly talented. "Crazy Crazy" was one of the first songs we wrote and we worked on that and it all clicked so well in the studio that we ended up doing a bunch more. By the time we finished all of the songs for the record, Cirkut had been discovered by Dr. Luke and now he's working side by side with him creating these massive records for the biggest superstars. I'm grateful we found him first.

MR: Can you tell us a little bit about where the song "Crazy Crazy" came from?

G: The song came to me in the form of seven separate fortune cookies at a Chinese restaurant late one night. Nah, I'm kidding. We wrote a song about having fun with the person you're in a relationship with. It's kind of highlighting the "lady in the street, but a freak in the bed" mentality. (laughs) Being able to just have fun and being a total slut with your boyfriend or husband and freely expressing yourself, getting uncensored and crazy with the one you love.

MR: Your other single, "I Don't Believe In Love," is another collaboration with Ari Levine from The Smeezingtons who is nominated for the second year in a row for a Producer of The Year Grammy. Plus he produces and co-writes Bruno Mars songs.

G: Yeah, I am so fortunate to be able to work with him. He's so down to earth and cool. After the session, he took me to LA Gun Club and he taught me how to shoot a shotgun. I accidentally shot him in the liver. He's fine now. That was cool.
MR: (laughs) Wow. Can you ever go back to playing video games once you've had a real gun in your hands?

G: There are no zombies wandering the earth yet, so I guess the video games will have to suffice. (laughs) But the next time I'm in LA, I'm definitely going to The Gun Club to fire off a couple rounds.

MR: As I understand it, you started performing at a very young age. Is that right?

G: I think I was in grade one when I performed a Beach Boys song called, "Surfer Girl." That was kind of when I knew that this was something that I wanted to do.

MR: And legend has it some of your musical inspiration comes from your parent's classic rock tastes.

G: Yeah, actually. When I was about 13, I was listening to The Backstreet Boys and Britney Spears when my dad put on "Stairway To Heaven," and by the end of the song, I was blown away. I was like, "What is this? This is amazing!" From then on, I started exploring music from '60 to '79. I sat there and listened to a million different records and fell in love with the music of that era.

MR: Who were some of your influences?

G: Well, I'm a big Black Sabbath fan. I love Fleetwood Mac, The Doors and Stevie Nicks. I love her vocals, her presence. She's incredible.

MR: Can you tell us a little bit about where your stage name "Guinevere" came from?

G: My real name is Gwen, but I decided to go with Guinevere because I am into Arthurian legend, and in the King Arthur stories, she's so badass. She's strong, she followed her heart. She was the rock star of the castle. I like what the name represents.

MR: Nice. Has it ever been determined whether or not those stories have any basis in truth?

G: I would like to think that there's some truth to it.

MR: Can you discuss what went into creating your new album?

G: Most of the songs were written by myself and my manager, Amir Epstein. A lot of the work was done in the car. Driving to the studio on the highway, we'd go over the melodies over and over again and write the lyrics while sitting in Toronto traffic.

MR: Your style of music spans pop, dance and rock. So, how would you define it?

G: I like to call it "dark pop." It has pop sensibility, but the lyrics are very sarcastic and dark. Every single one of my songs conveys a truth - saying things that most people would be afraid to say in most situations. My goal was to send that message out there with aggressive lyrics.

MR: From your new album, let's talk about the song, "Beautiful."

G: (laughs) Ya, that's a good one. It's kind of payback for misogynists. Guys can be pretty cruel to girls in clubs. I have a lot of guy friends who will hook up with a girl in a club and they'll dance all night, and at the end of the night, all the lights turn on and they are like, "DAMN, you UGLY." I decided to write about that same idea, but in reverse. The song is about finding a guy at the bar and as soon as the lights hit his face, you realize that he is fugly!! (laughs) The chorus goes, "Oh my God, just go, now that I can see you, don't follow me home, really nice to meet you!" It's fun, silly and sarcastic.

MR: (laughs) It seems to be the same theme for the song "Liar."

G: Oh, yeah. It kind of pays homage to Alanis Morissette (a fellow Canadian). She's very aggressive with her lyrics. The song's attitude is a lot like "You Oughta Know." It's actually inspired by a situation one of my friends had with her boyfriend. I watched her go through being cheated on and lied to and how pissed I'd be if I were in her shoes. The lyrics are a raw, honest reaction to finding out you were cheated on.

MR: And there's your song "Go."

G: Yeah, a lot of people seem to connect to that song. It's bittersweet because it's talking about a better time. It's saying, "I thought it was love at first, but now that I realize it isn't, we need to move on, and although we will both hurt, we will both be ok. You need to enjoy your life." It's hard breaking up with somebody, especially somebody you love, but sometimes, love isn't enough. It's a dark kind of beautiful.

MR: Absolutely. You also bravely covered Bon Jovi's "Living On A Prayer."

G: Yes. That was so much fun. The verses and pre-choruses of the song were rewritten to make it my own. What I wanted to do was change the perspective and speak from the girl's point of view - what it must be like to be with someone who is away from home or on the road following their dream. Still, with the killer chorus, but now it's from the perspective of Bon Jovi's wife. It's her struggle in supporting her man and how strong their relationship must be to get through such a difficult lifestyle. Besides, it's fun to role-play being Bon Jovi's hot New Jersey wife in the '80s. I should have been born earlier!

MR: (laughs) Do you have any advice that you'd like to share with new artists?

G: Learn to knit and how to speak Nadsat. Seriously, I would advise to write from the heart. I know that sounds really cheesy, but that's how fans connect. If there's truth behind the songs you record, fans connect to that. Also, it's very important to surround yourself with people you can trust.

MR: And that is exactly what you've done, right? You take a DIY approach to your own promotion, don't you?

G: Yes, I do. I don't mind asking my amazing fans to help where they can. For example, I always ask my fans if they like my single, PLEASE request it repeatedly on every pop station in their town or city. How else will those stations know if their listeners like my single? It really means a lot to me.

MR: What do you feel are the best benefits using a DIY approach?

G: Complete creative control, for one. We get to release any single that we want, we get complete control over the videos we shoot, the producers we work with, the photographers we use etc. I think it's a risky thing to do, but at the same time having the power and freedom to express yourself is the best part of this. I really enjoy that.

MR: How do artists these days fund themselves without a record label?

G: It's different for everyone and it is tricky getting quality work for little money. But Canada has certain grants that the artists and bands can apply for to help fund a record, touring, websites, publicity etc. That's a leg up that Canadians have over people from the US. Also, sometimes, you can get people to do good work for less. Don't be afraid to ask. Try not to screw the starving musicians in your band, but if you can get a deal on unused studio space or a producer to work on spec, do it. A pleading look and a "pretty please?" helps. "Eyelash batting" is good to get musical funding or to simply get someone to buy you a beer. (laughs)

MR: So, how can your fans connect with you? Are you on all of the social networking sites?

G: Yes, for sure. I'm on Twitter and Facebook all the time. (laughs) Whenever someone tweets me, I will most definitely tweet them back. My Twitter account name is @thisisguinevere, and my facebook is www.facebook.com/thisisguinevere. I post things on a regular basis and respond to fans all the time. Check out my video on YouTube. Just search "Guinevere crazy crazy." I enjoy social networking because it's great to receive immediate feedback from fans.

MR: Do you have any more "singles" coming out soon that we should be looking out for?

G: Yeah. We just finished another song called, "Liberated." It's definitely a possible new single. It's a feel good song and I'm hoping to go nuts with the next video. Maybe more PVC and some light sabers or a gorilla in a gorilla suit. (laughs)

MR: (laughs) If there was one thing you would want from your fans, what would it be?

G: I would ask everyone to PLEASE request my song "Crazy Crazy" on their local radio station. Bombard them with requests. It's the #1 support a fan can give me.

MR: (laughs) One more question. As a gamer, have you come up with any video game ideas that you think people need to start working on?

G: How about "Maria Sisters"? Two Italian girls that have to search castles for their kidnapped prince. They can look the same, except one sister will be dressed in red, and the other in green. And one will have a fuller mustache. Feels familiar, doesn't it? How about an interactive reality gun game, where the player can turn on any reality show they hate and kill off any "real" characters they really dislike.

MR: Oh my. (laughs) Guinevere, thanks so much for spending some time with us, and all the best in the future and with your upcoming album.

G: Thanks so much, Mike. It was a lot of fun.

Transcribed by Evan Martin

Guinevere - "Crazy Crazy" Remix by FTR3

A Conversation with Four Year Strong's Alan Day

Mike Ragogna: Alan, I would describe Four Year Strong's sound as power-punk-pop...what do you think?

Alan Day: Yeah, that's pretty accurate.

MR: And maybe a little bit indie?

AD: Yeah, there may be a little bit of that mixed in there.

MR: Four Year Strong's In Some Way Shape Or Form is the band's fourth album. How did this one come together?

AD: We came out with the first record in 2007 and then we waited so long - almost three years - to put our next record out. So, we knew from that experience that we didn't want to wait that long. We were just dying to get this record out. We knew we wanted to do something a little bit different from stuff we've done in the past. We took a new approach to writing songs and that went better than ever. This record was a product of that.

MR: How did you guys write the music for this one?

AD: Well, in the past, we would concentrate mostly on the music - the chord progression, what the drums were doing, what the bass was doing - then write vocals on top of that. This time around, we realized that that approach really didn't make much sense. (laughs) We thought we should start to write the songs as songs - with vocals, melody and lyrics hand-in-hand, so that they actually work together instead of just feeling thrown together. That's what we did this time around and we loved it.

MR: So over the course of four albums - your first album counts as your first album, right?

AD: It's Our Time is actually just a really old recording we did when I was about sixteen or seventeen. (laughs)

MR: Okay, from then until now, besides the songwriting, how have things changed for you guys over the span of these projects?

AD: We've changed just as much as anyone else would as long as we've been together. We've been a band for about ten years and I think people have gotten to see a lot of different sides of the band. So many things can change us, whether we're listening to pop music a lot at the time or the experiences we've gone through as a band from touring to being in the studio. That just shows in our music. We weren't trying to be a different band when we were making this record, we are just starting to evolve into newer people and a newer band.

MR: By the way, the last album has one of my favorite song titles, "It Must Suck To Be Four Years Strong Right Now."

AD: (laughs) That was just a joke, really.

MR: And your fans are an integral part of the way you guys function as a band, isn't that right?

AD: Absolutely.

MR: For instance, you guys offered the free download of the song "Fair Weather Fan," which, I thought, was a great thing to do.

AD: Yeah. I mean, we've always thought that the fans were the most important thing about the band because if it wasn't for them, we wouldn't be here. We're not in an age now where we could just sit back and have a record label sell millions of copies of records and make money for us. We do this for the fans first. We tour all over the country and world all year so that we can give people our music. That's what this is all about.

MR: You guys had a sort of mini-tour recently to back up the release of your single.

AD: We just finished up on the AP Tour around the States about a month ago. Our new record came out about halfway through the tour, so of course the tour was definitely in support of that new release, and we started playing, "Just Drive" and a few other new songs. It was going really well.

MR: You guys even had a few pre-album releases of songs such as "Stuck In The Middle" and "Falling For You," though they weren't released as singles, right?

AD: That's right.

MR: Can you discuss the general theme behind this batch of songs?

AD: Sure. One of the things that we did on this record that we haven't really done on previous records is that we touch on darker subjects. We always like to keep our songs pretty open to interpretation because what people latch onto in songs and lyrics is the fact that that they can relate them to their own lives and experiences, not just learning about a story that Dan O'Connor or I wrote, but being able to really latch onto it.

MR: Dan being the other vocalist and guitarist, and you also have Joe Weiss and Jake Massucco in the band. How do all of you interact with each other as a band?

AD: Oh, it's a blast. We're just a bunch of kids on the road having fun and playing music. It doesn't get much better than that, right? (laughs)

MR: Right. (laughs) You mentioned before that some of these songs are a little darker, proof of that being "Security Of The Familiar, The Tranquility Of Repetition," which is a quote from V For Vendetta. Was it someone's favorite movie?

AD: I don't know that it's any of our favorite movies, we just sometimes name songs from movie quotes. It's a thing we do.

MR: So was the song title, "Unbreakable" inspired by the movie?

AD: (laughs) No, that one was more lyrically inspired. That's actually one of my favorites on the album.

MR: Did you guys intend for that to be a sort of sporting event anthem? It does kind of come off like that.

AD: Not really. I'm not even really that much of a sports fan. Joe is crazy about the Bruins, and Dan loves the Red Sox and the Patriots, Jake loves the Celtics, and I'm the odd man out. And I do like sports, I just grew up in a house that listened to music and didn't watch sports. I kind of feel left out all the time.

MR: Are you just saying you're not into sports because you're secretly a Yankees fan?

AD: No. (laughs) I wish that I could be that ironic, but I'm not.

MR: You guys all grew up together in Worcester, Massachusetts. How did you first get together as a band?

AD: Well, the drummer Jake and I grew up together. We went to elementary school together and played in bands every year since the third grade or something. Then, when I was a freshman in High School, we started this band with Dan. We went through a couple of lineup changes at the beginning, but here we are.

MR: A small portion of the proceeds from your "It's A Wonderful Gig Life Tour" are going to the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society, right? How did that come about?

AD: That's right. We've always wanted to do something with a charity organization and Dan's brother passed away of Leukemia in 2004, I believe. He's always wanted to do something for that charity specifically, so we figured this would be a great opportunity to do that.

MR: There was the photo contest that you guys put together with the "Just Drive" video. Can you tell us about that?

AD: We had this thing on Instagram, which is an iPhone app and another form of social networking. It's kind of like Twitter, only Twitter gives you 140 characters to say what you want to say and Instagram lets you post a picture instead, and a picture is worth a thousand words, so they say. We thought it was a cool way to get this cool, new social networking site and the band to work together in a new cool way. People like taking pictures and sharing them with the world and we figured that this was a cool way to do it.

MR: You guys also have a limited edition t-shirt designed in conjunction with Johnny Cupcakes Clothing.

AD: Yes, we do. We've known people that work there for quite a while now because they're from Boston and we're from Worcester. SJC Drums is from Massachusetts as well, so we all just kind of got together recently where we got an event together and all of Johnny Cupcakes, and SJC Drums people were there. So, we did a shirt with Johnny Cupcakes and SJC Drums did a kickdrum head with all of the logos on it. We just thought it was a cool way for these small town kids who actually had ideas and made them realities through time celebrate that.

MR: Where did the name "Four Years Strong" come from?

AD: Well, the actual story is not cool at all. I wish I could make something up to make it sound really interesting, but there isn't. (laughs) There was a band called the Get Up Kids that we all really liked when we were freshman in High School, and one of their lyrics was "five years strong." So, we thought we would be cool and just change it to Four Years Strong and make that the band's name. That's it. (laughs) Not an exciting story.

MR: What's with those beards with you guys. Some kind of statement?

AD: No, we all just really like beards and we've had them a long time. We also all hate razors. I haven't used a razor and shaving cream and shaved my face clean in maybe seven years?

MR: Do you have any advice that you would give to newer artists?

AD: My advice has always been to just get out there and show the world what you've got, you know? It's so easy these days to create a website and record a record in Garage Band and just do it all from home. You can go on the Internet and get so many hits online and people will actually see you and hear your music. The best way, though, is to physically get out there and loose some money. Take money out of your pocket, invest in a tank of gas and go play a gig a couple of States away, even if it's to nobody. Everyone I know that is huge and successful kind of started like that. That's the nature of this business at the start. Eventually, once you've established yourself as an artist, you appreciate all of that so much more.

Tracks:
1. The Infected
2. The Security Of The Familiar, The Tranquility Of Repetition
3. Stuck In The Middle
4. Just Drive
5. Fairweather Fan
6. Sweet Kerosene
7. Falling On You
8. Heaven Wasn't Built To Hold Me
9. Unbreakable
10. Bring On The World
11. Fight The Future
12. Only The Meek Get Pinched. The Bold Survive

Transcribed By Evan Martin

A Conversation with Gregory Rogove

Mike Ragogna: Gregory, let's start with a little background for everyone. You grew up in Pennsylvanian Amish Country, born to Jewish parents, right?

Gregory Rogove: Yes. Well, my father is of Ukrainian-Jewish origins and my mother's side is a mix of English and French. But my mom converted to Judaism when I was born.

MR: And you also spent a year in India on a year-long scholarship?

GR: Right. When I was 18, I went there to study the North Indian classical drum, or the tabla.

MR: And from there, you also went to Singapore, Mali, Mexico and China where you visited the Peking Opera, right?

GR: Yeah. I was mesmerized by those gongs that can be simultaneously beautiful and nauseating when they're repetitively banged in your brain. (laughs)

MR: Later, you graduated from Wesleyan University in 2002 and was a recipient of the Pecora Award, correct?

GR: Yeah. That was more of a surprise than anything. That award wasn't something I was thinking about or planning for, it was something I got in the mail. I didn't think anything of it, really. I thought it had something to do with Indian food. (laughs) I thought maybe it was some kind of joke until I did a little research on the award. I was so pleased and my friends who identified themselves as actual composers were a little upset at that. I'm not sure how it happened, but I was very happy to get it.

MR: From there, you immediately formed the band Tarantula A.D, which later became Priestbird, right?

GR: That's right.

MR: Plus you've even had the opportunity to play with Beck and tons of other hugely talented musicians, and you even bonded with Paul McCartney, right?

GR: Well, to be honest, that's a bit of a stretch. I met Paul McCartney for a second, which was a lifelong dream for me. my mom was a huge Beatlemaniac. When she found out I met him, she cried tears of joy. (laughs) But that was only a brief, really embarrassing meeting. That's another story entirely, though. As for Beck, I played a show with Devendra Banhart in Reno in a God-awful casino. We did one Devendra song together and the Beck's drummer said that he thought I should do the song, so I played the drums with Beck's band as he sang with Devnndra.

MR: And let's not forget Megapuss.

GR: Good ol' Megapuss. (laughs) Before we even made any music, Megapuss was a band that Devendra and I put together while on tour. The name came from a bunch of confusing texts that I got from a very sweet Swedish girl. She was very innocent, but she ended all of her texts with phrases like, "...puss, puss, puss." Well, one of them was, "Megapuss," and I had no idea what she was talking about. I told Devendra and he thought it was awesome, so we had a band name. Turns out that the word means "kiss," so she was just sending me a mega-kiss via text. (laughs) We started writing titles of songs before we even had music, and we had a rule that we quickly write a song before a show so that by the end of the tour we had about 20 song sketches. When we got home I crashed at his place for about two months and we finished and recorded a record. We invited Fab Moretti from The Strokes to come in and sing a song. He's a great friend and a beautiful artist.

MR: Your new album Piana album focuses on John Medeski as the featured musician. Can you tell us about how that came together?

GR: Well, I spent a little time in Mexico writing these pieces. I wrote and recorded a version of all of the songs myself. When I got home I was working on some of the mixes and thought that I was extremely happy with the songs, but I'm not a trained pianist. I feel comfortable writing for the instrument, but I don't have the touch of someone who has an intimate relationship with the instrument. At that point, I had known John Medeski for a few years, though not very well. The drummer in his band was a very close friend of mine and my teacher's for a while. So, I reached out to John and asked him if he'd be interested in playing all of the pieces and he said, "Sure." I was so excited because he's such a master. I also thought it would be very interesting to have him do it because he's a virtuosic improviser and these are short, simple composed pieces. I thought it would be very interesting to have the tension of someone who wants to just paint with notes ad hoc and have that be restrained. He did an amazing job, but you could tell that the whole time, he just wanted to burst out of the strict composition structure, though we had one semi-improvised piece where you can really hear him shine. It's called, "Young Mountain."

MR: It's a beautiful song. So, you're on the Knitting Factory label.

GR: Yes, that's right. The label started in New York and they have a history of putting out a lot of the downtown, avant-garde musicians. Then the label changed hands, I believe. I don't know the whole history behind it. Anyway, they're back on the scene and putting out a really fantastic array of music. They have the entire catalog of Fela Kuti, who is a huge hero of mine. That was actually one of the selling points to me for the label. (laughs)

MR: Right. They also allowed you to do a companion DVD with distinct images that go along with this album. What's behind the concept?

GR: After I had all of the pieces in the can from Medeski's performance, I thought it would be really interesting to pass each one of the pieces on to artists that don't usually work with this material and try to rearrange it. The piano music stands alone, but it's so often a springboard for other music. So, I thought it would be interesting to send something with more of a classical lean to a folk artist or whatever. I started passing it out to musicians, but I also have a lot of friends who are visual artists who thought it would be interesting to do a multimedia project along with it. What if I gave it to painters or visual artists or sculptors to link sounds to these compositions? So, that's what I did. Everything kept rolling and rolling and eventually, I had each piece remixed and rearranged musically and reinterpreted visually. So, the DVD comes with a visual and musical reinterpretation of each song.

MR: And personally, I think the presentation was very unique.

GR: Thank you. The whole concept seemed so simple at first. Of course, it's always more complicated than you may think. But in the end, I'm very happy with the way that it turned out.

MR: Now, you drew inspiration for these pieces from French impressionists?

GR: Yeah. I've been playing the drums since I was 10 years old. It's kind of where I feel most natural. But I always loved writing songs and all kinds of music, so when I was 17 or 18, I came across Erik Satie's music and was completely taken with it. Of course, that led to Ravel and Debussy. But Erik's pieces in particular are so simple. I thought to myself that I could probably play those pieces if I just sat down at a piano long enough. I started teaching myself the pieces and just kind of kept hanging around the piano with those pieces and writing my own. All of that left an indelible mark on my perspective of music and writing. Over the years, I had a bunch of sketches like the ones on this album, but it didn't make sense for Megapuss or Priestbird or any of those bands. I really wanted to have a solo piano record because that's some of my favorite music to listen to as you're going about your day. It enlivens the world and I wanted to make an album like that.

MR: Right. Where was this album recorded?

GR: I wrote the songs in Mexico, but when the stars kind of aligned for us to record it with John Medeski, the plans changed. I had a kind of busy Fall when I needed to record, as did John, and we both happened to have the same two days off when we were both in New York. So, I shot up to Woodstock where John was incidentally starting to make sketches for his own solo piano record. We recorded in one day in this little wooden shack where John used to live in Woodstock, NY.

MR: Who's idea was it to put the apes in tighty-whities?

GR: That was a stop motion animation experiment that my girlfriend, Diana Garcia, and I did. We came across a studio that was allowing people to rent a bunch of studio equipment for free. It was sponsored by Levi's and when we saw all of the equipment, we knew we had to write something to produce. So, I wrote a little something and when I showed her she was a little crestfallen. She thought it would take our entire lives to film. She wanted to take an afternoon to film it and it ended up being about three weeks straight of animating. The story, I think, came from an idea I had while reading Jonathan Safran Foer's novel Extremely Loud And Incredibly Close. It's an image of our ancestors walking arm-in-arm through the savanah. It's kind of romantic - these Australopithecus creatures enjoying love the same way we know it now, back then. Then the sun burns out and there's a bit of chaos and they lose their clothes and are forced to leave the city and enter back into the wild. They no longer had the tools to live in that environment.

MR: Gregory, what advice do you have for new artists?

GR: I hear this from my heroes all the time, and I think it's so true: Do something original. Do something that stretches your boundaries and makes you uncomfortable, but that excites you.

Tracks:

CD:
1. Khadi
2. Carolyn
3. Jackyl
4. Castle Garden
5. Vines
6. Love Cherries
7. Casa Azul
8. Sunken Ships
9. White Room
10. Young Mountain

DVD:
1. Carolyn - The Bees
2. Jackyl - Violens
3. Sunken Sh-illy (Sunken Ships) - Billy Martin
4. Vines - Natalia Lafourcade
5. Young Mountain - Devendra Banhart
6. White Room - The Storms
7. Khadi - Hecuba
8. Castle Garden - Carly Margolis
9. Love Cherries - Adam Green
10. Casa Azul - Lucky Dragons

Transcribed by Evan Martin

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Follow Mike Ragogna on Twitter: www.twitter.com/ragz2008

Source: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/mike-ragogna/crazy-crazy-introducing-g_b_1222692.html

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