Women ALIVE Ministries

Jan 28, 2012 

WASHINGTON (AP) — President Barack Obama is pressing his case for changes in how the Senate does business, hoping to ease the partisan gridlock, and he wants to bar lawmakers from profiting from their service.

In his radio and Internet address Saturday, Obama said many people he met during his five-state tour after his State of the Union address were optimistic but remained unsure “that the right thing will get done in Washington this year, or next year, or the year after that.”

“And frankly, when you look at some of the things that go on in this town, who could blame them for being a little cynical?” Obama said.

The president reiterated his calls for government reform made in Tuesday’s address, saying he wants the Senate to pass a rule that requires a yes-or-no vote for judicial and public service nominations after 90 days. Many of the nominees, he said, carry bipartisan support but get held up in Congress for political reasons.

Obama noted that “a senator from Utah” said he would hold up nominations because he opposed the recess appointment of the head of the new consumer protection agency and three members of the National Labor Relations Board. Obama put the officials in their post during the Senate’s holiday break; many Republicans have called that move unconstitutional. Obama said the American people deserve “better than gridlock and games.”

“One senator gumming up the works for the whole country is certainly not what our founding fathers envisioned,” the president said.

Obama was referring to Utah GOP. Sen Mike Lee who asserted on Thursday that Obama’s “blatant and egregious disregard both for proper constitutional procedures and the Senate’s unquestioned role in such appointments, I find myself duty-bound to resist the consideration and approval of additional nominations until the president takes steps to remedy the situation.”

On Saturday, Lee issued a statement standing by his decision.

“Sadly, the president has sought to make this a partisan issue; but the Constitution is not partisan,” he said. “The Constitution does not allow any president, Republican or Democrat, to circumvent the Senate in making appointments, and I will resist, just as vigorously, members of my own party who would attempt to do the same thing.”

In his address, Obama said he also wants Congress to pass legislation to ban insider trading by lawmakers and prohibit lawmakers from owning securities in companies that have business before their committees.

In addition, the president is seeking to prohibit people who “bundle” campaign contributions from other donors for members of Congress from lobbying Congress. Obama urged the public to contact their member of Congress and tell them “that it’s time to end the gridlock and start tackling the issues that really matter.”

Sen. Marco Rubio, R-Fla., delivering the GOP address, said Obama’s address to Congress lacked much discussion of the president’s achievements “because there isn’t much.”

“This president didn’t talk about his record for one simple reason,” Rubio said. “He doesn’t want you to know about it. But you do know about it, because you feel the failure of his leadership every single day of your life.”

Rubio accused the president of driving up the national debt, failing to reduce high unemployment across the country and offering divisive economic policies.

The Florida senator said there is a growing gap between the rich and the poor but the best way to solve the problem is by embracing the American free enterprise system. Rubio said he hopes 2012 “will be the beginning of our work toward a new and prosperous American century.”

Copyright © 2012 The Associated Press. All rights reserved.

For one thing, Facebook is already making money. Its operating income in the first six months of last year was reportedly $800 million, or about half of the $1.6 billion in revenue it was said to be taking in. And Facebooks numbers have been rising an estimated 50 percent every six months.

That gets you to a $25 billion valuation pretty easily, and then with growth, thats where you get to $50 (billion) or $100 (billion) but you have to believe theyre going to keep growing and making money, said Steve Kaplan, a professor at the University of Chicagos Booth School of Business who studies private equity and venture capital. Its stunning to have that kind of operating profit so quickly.

For comparison, Kaplan noted Google went public in August 2004 with a valuation of around $24 billion after racking up, in the first half of that year, $300 million in operating income off $1.4 billion in revenue. Its now worth $188 billion.

Remember when Google went public, people didnt understand it, Kaplan said. They didnt get a particularly good valuation. People understand this one.

It may not be clear yet how prepared Mark Zuckerberg, the 27-year-old who launched Facebook from his Harvard dorm room eight years ago, is to answer to shareholders or run a public company on par in value with Oak Brook-based McDonalds Corp. His reputed prickliness real or embellished was ingrained in the pop culture consciousness in the film The Social Network, an Oscar nominee last year for best picture.

But theres a greater consensus concerning his company. Facebook lays claim to 800 million users around the world, and 500 million supposedly log on to the site daily. In this country alone, as of November, according to the analytics firm comScore, Facebook had 166 million unique visitors, each spending an average of 6.6 hours on the site over the course of the month, a 37 percent increase from a year earlier.

In the third quarter of 2011, comScore determined Facebook was responsible for 28 percent of all US online display ad impressions. Thats more than the sites of Yahoo (12 percent), Google (4 percent), Microsoft (4 percent) and AOL (3 percent) combined.

As in old-school media, the audience is the product, whats bought and sold. Rather than break it down simply into traditional categories such as age, sex, income, geography, Facebook can target socialgraphics, which takes other variables into account to better tailor the pitch.

Theyre going to know everything I read, see, think, do and go, said Francine Hardaway, chief executive of Stealthmode Partners, an Arizona incubator for startups, and a blogger for Fast Company. Theyre going to sell me exactly what I want. I used to get ads on Facebook for senior citizen singles dating sites because what they had about me was my age. Now theyve discovered that its not really dating I want, and Im getting a lot of business ads. Im getting a lot of the things I actually do, which is fascinating.

Even if youre just on there to (shadow) your daughters page, Facebook will see that too and maybe it will suggest a gift to buy her for her birthday. Or it will suggest a trip for me to take if it sees Ive been here and there. Google doesnt make that connection. Not yet.

Google has plenty of info on its users, too, and last week unveiled new privacy rules for later this year that will enable it better to track users as they flit from search to the Facebook-esque Google+ to mobile to YouTube and so on.

But Google isnt sticky, Hardaway said. Google+, I like it a lot because I have a lot of serious discussions and thats where a lot of serious discussions take place. But I dont stalk people on Google+. I do that on Facebook. I look for people I went to high school with and cousins I havent seen lately and check whats going on in their lives. As a result, I spend a lot more time on Facebook and theres more time to see the ads there. Most Google ads, I dont see.

Thats not all. Forbes earlier this month suggested that the sales of Facebook Credits since 2009 to transact business on the site makes it something of a central bank. And while its not clear exactly how much Facebooks 30 percent cut of sales of virtual goods and livestock from social games such as Zyngas FarmVille is worth, its no small digital potatoes.

Just a year ago, when Goldman Sachs and others invested $1.5 billion into Facebook, the company, Googles top online ad rival, was valued at approximately $50 billion.

Kaplan sees this on track to go in the books (or e-reader) as the best venture investment of all time. Californias Accel Partners invested $12.7 million in Facebook when the company carried a $100 million valuation in 2005, and, according to The Wall Street Journal, it could still reap a 1,000-times return.

That would blow away the 200-times return some venture capital investors got from Google and Benchmarks approximately 625-times return on its $80 million investment in eBay, Kaplan said. Other people have come before (Facebook), he said. But it has the strongest story.

Google, LinkedIn, eBay and others have demonstrated the power of the network. Once a site such as Facebook becomes the place to go, everyone has to be there. That becomes a huge obstacle for an upstart to unseat.

You not only have to build a better mousetrap, but you have to pull people away from the old one in order to get the network effect for a new one, Kaplan said. Facebook did that to MySpace. Its not clear anyone can do that to Facebook.

When retirees just getting the hang of email are signing up, even if only to access pictures of their grandchildren, you know theres a real bond with the site, and the site can profit from that.

Its a relationship, Hardaway said. Youre in a relationship.

philrosenthal@tribune.com

Twitter @phil_rosenthal

There are still many billions of dollars to be made in the old oil patch, even with the world far more focused on alternative and renewable sources of energy. But the business of refining that oil into various fuels is still a hard way to make a buck.

Thats one of the lessons investors might draw from Chevron Corp.s fourth-quarter earnings report, released Friday. The San Ramon, Calif.-based oil giant raked in a net profit of $5.12 billion, or $2.58 a share. But losses in its refinery business during the period meant its profit fell below both its 2010 fourth-quarter performance and Wall Street expectations.

If you are in the upstream part of the business, drilling for oil, you are making money, said James L. Williams, an energy economist and owner of WTRG Economics, based in London, Ark. If you are downstream, in refining, you are losing.

Chevrons results left it 3.2% short of the $5.3 billion, or $2.64 a share, it earned during the final three months of 2010, even though the price of oil in the fourth quarter of 2011 was substantially higher than it had been a year earlier. Wall Street analysts had been expecting something between $2.84 to $2.88 a share.

The difference: Chevrons downstream refinery business lost $204 million in the fourth quarter, compared with a profit of $475 million a year earlier. The losses were occurring even as several US refiners scrambled to find overseas customers, logging record US export totals.

But Chevron isnt struggling overall, as its executives emphasized.

Chevron had an outstanding year financially, with record earnings and cash flow. This reflects our exceptionally strong upstream portfolio, as well as higher 2011 crude prices, said the companys chief executive, John Watson.

We also had an outstanding year in terms of oil and gas reserves replacement, he added later.

Fourth-quarter sales climbed to $58 billion, compared with $52 billion a year earlier.

For the full 2011 year, Chevron had a net profit of $26.9 billion, or $13.44 per diluted share, up 41% from $19.0 billion, or $9.48 per diluted share in 2010.

Fourth-quarter oil production declined, to 2.64 million barrels per day from 2.79 million barrels a day a year earlier, but Watson said the company was well positioned for the future, adding 1.67 billion barrels of net oil reserves during 2011.

Chevron is the smallest of the worlds five super major oil conglomerates, and the second-biggest based in the US Its current size is the result of a 2001 merger with Texaco and its acquisition of Unocal in 2005.

Chevron stock was down $3.11 to $103.49 during trading on the New York Stock Exchange.

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But Friday, when Mankins lumbered into the Gillette Stadium media room for a final news conference before heading to Indianapolis on Sunday for the Super Bowl, the intricacies of his handlebar mustache were the last thing on Mankins mind.

From my stance, its all business this week, Mankins said. If we win itll be fun; if we lose it wont be.

On Super Sunday, any fun that New England hopes to have will start with Mankins and his mates on the Patriots offensive line. It was the Giants pass rush that gave them their 17-14 win over the Patriots in Super Bowl XLII, New Yorks front four pressuring Tom Brady in the pocket and holding him to just one touchdown after hed thrown a historic 50 in the regular season.

The 2011 Giants are a different team with different players, but one thing hasnt changed: that devastating pass rush.

Its very good, Mankins said of the Giants defensive attack. Theyve got good pass rushers across the board, and when their backups come in theyre good, too. So you could always have four guys who are very good pass rushers in the game.

With the security environment in the Asia-Pacific region experiencing significant change, Japan-Russia relations are taking on growing importance, Foreign Minister Koichiro Genba told a joint news conference with his Russian counterpart, Sergey Lavrov, after their meeting in Tokyo.

Genba said the two countries agreed to prioritize cooperation over trade, energy and security, aiming to build appropriate ties for our partnership in the region.

Japan and Russia have been at odds over the sovereignty of islands off Hokkaido seized by Soviet troops after Japans surrender in World War II on Aug. 15, 1945. The dispute over the islands of Etorofu, Kunashiri, Shikotan and the Habomai islet group has prevented the two countries from signing a peace treaty to formally end the war.

Genba said settling the territorial issue and concluding a peace treaty are more important than ever if the two countries are to forge true bonds of friendship, adding he wants Tokyo and Moscow to hold meaningful talks on the sovereignty of the islands.

Lavrov said Russia is prepared to resume talks with Japan over the process for moving toward a peace treaty after its presidential elections in March, which Prime Minister Vladimir Putin hopes will see him reinstalled in the Kremlin.

Lavrov, who has maintained Moscows long-held position that the islands are legally part of Russian territory, said he wants to seek a way to resolve the dispute acceptable to both sides.

But settling the issue to Japans satisfaction remains uncertain, as Russia is increasingly viewing the development of its Far East region as critical to its future.

The two sides agreed to make efforts to settle the territorial issue in a calm atmosphere and did not rule out the possibility of carrying out joint economic development projects on and around the disputed islands.

Genba said Japan has already made concrete proposals in regard to joint programs, but that differences with Russia remain over the nature of such projects.

Lavrov said he will try to create an environment in which Japan can carry out economic activities on and around the islands with Russia, such as fishing, farming and tourism, without Tokyos legal stance being harmed.

Despite the territorial dispute, Japan and Russia seem well-suited for energy cooperation.

The two foreign ministers did not agree on any specific energy projects this time, however. Instead, they signed an agreement to simplify procedures for obtaining business visas in an effort to increase tourism and business ties between the two countries.

For Japans part, the agreement will allow citizens to apply for visas for stays not exceeding 90 days without requiring letters of invitation from Russia.

The accord will also extend the validity of multiple-entry visas for Japanese traveling to Russia for business and other nontourist purposes from the current one year to three years.

Although bilateral trade has expanded in recent years, the number of Japanese and Russians traveling between the two countries annually has remained between 120,000 and 150,000, according to the Foreign Ministry.

This is far below the equivalent figures for China or South Korea, which both total more than 5 million people.

Despite the European sovereign debt crisis and growing concerns about China, recent independent surveys by Grant Thornton have revealed that US business executives are showing greater confidence in the U.S. economic outlook. This increasing business confidence can be attributed to better than expected manufacturing results, greater investment in U.S manufacturing plants, and data that indicates U.S inflation is in check.

Accordingly, all of these factors indicate that the U.S. economy is in better shape than previously predicted and that economic growth has resumed. On this basis I feel it is the time to analyze five stocks that performed poorly in 2011 to see whether they will bounce back and offer solid investor returns in 2012. After applying my unique fundamental analysis I have found four stocks, that I believe will bounce back in 2012 to deliver solid investor value and one that won’t. As always use my analysis as a starting point for conducting your own due diligence prior to investing.

Cummins Inc

Cummins is a Fortune 500 corporation that designs, manufactures, distributes and services engines and related technologies in approximately 190 countries, through a network of more than 500 distributors and approximately 5,200 dealers. It is the fourth largest participant in the diversified machinery industry with a market cap of $20 billion.

Cummins’ performance outlook is dependent on worldwide demand for industrial machinery and engines and this dipped with the sluggish economic environment and drop in business confidence that we saw through 2010 and 2011. It has a 52 week trading range of $79.53 to $121.49, and is now trading at around $105, with a price to earnings ratio of 12.

Cummins’ earnings remained steady in the third quarter 2011 at $4.6 billion, which was relatively unchanged from second quarter earnings of $4.6 billion, although during this period net income dropped by 10% to $452 million. For the same period Cummins’ balance sheet strengthened despite cash and cash equivalents dropping by 2% to $1.4 billion, as long-term debt dropped by 5% to $665 million.

Cummins compares well to its competitors, its quarterly revenue growth of 36% is the sixth highest in its industry and is higher than General Electric’s (GE) 0% and Tyco’s (TYC) 4%. Its return on equity of 32% is also higher than GE’s 11% and Tyco’s 12% and is the seventh highest for its industry.

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Cummins reached an intra-day high of $114 in January 2011, before announcing a downgrade in its profit outlook in October 2011. This saw the stock slide to under $100. It has now recovered to around $105, and in my opinion the company was unfairly punished by the market in 2011. This increase in value is indicative of a good start to 2012 and can be attributed to improved business sentiment regarding the U.S. economic outlook.

The company has a PEG ratio of 1, which when combined with a forward PE of 11, indicates that the company has growth potential, although it is highly likely this growth won’t be spectacular. However, Cummins does have a solid profit margin of 11%, indicating the company is capable of translating any earnings growth into growing net income. However, I am somewhat concerned by Cummins high debt to equity ratio of 1.88, and weaker balance sheet. If interest rates were to rise as a result of improved economic growth, this would apply pressure to the company and its profitability.

Finally at current trading prices, I believe that Cummins appears to be unfairly valued by the market as it has an earnings yield of 8%. This is more than triple the risk free rate of return set by ten year Treasury bond yields. For all of these reasons I believe that at current prices Cummins, will bounce back in 2012 and is worthy of a second look.

Potash Corporation of Saskatchewan 

With a market cap of $39 billion, Potash is the second largest agricultural chemicals company listed in the U.S. It mines and produces potash as well as producing and selling fertilizers and related industrial and feed products primarily in the United States and Canada. It has a 52 week trading range of $38.42 to $63.97, and has dropped in value by 13% since the start of 2011, to now trade around $45 with a price to earnings ratio of 14.

For the third quarter 2011 Potash’s earnings rose by 1% to $2.3 billion, while net income dropped by 0.5% to $810 million. For this period Potash’s balance sheet weakened, with cash and cash equivalents dropping by 3% to $394 million, while long-term debt increased by 8% to $3.9 billion.

Potash is performing strongly in comparison to its competitors, with quarterly revenue growth of 47%, which is higher than Monsanto’s (MON) 33% and Intrepid’s (IPI) 25%. Its return on equity of 39% is the second highest in the industry and greater than Monsanto’s 15% and Intrepid’s 13%.

The short-term outlook for the agricultural chemical industry is cautiously positive, with a 12% rise in the price of potash expected in 2012. This should translate into increased earnings and net income for potash miners such as Potash, even more so for Potash due to its solid profit margin of 36%.

The earnings outlook for fertilizers is also quite positive over the long-term, with the view that demand for fertilizer nutrients, including potash, should rise significantly due to the close correlation between food demand and fertilizer demand. Long-term food demand is predicted to increase due to the rising global population, and in conjunction with growing fertilizer demand from rapidly developing countries such as China, this bodes well for potash miners and producers. For all of these reasons I believe that the long-term future for Potash is quite bright and it was unfairly punished by the market in 2011.

First Solar Inc

First Solar manufactures and sells solar modules using thin film semiconductor technology, as well as designing, constructing, and selling photovoltaic solar power systems. It operates primarily in the United States, Germany, France and Canada.

In 2011, this former Wall Street darling had its own Icarus moment, when it was savagely burned by the market, notably after it announced an earnings downgrade in December 2011. This saw its shares plunge by around 83% to a 2011 low of $29.87. The stock is now trading at around $38, which gives the company a market cap of $3 billion and it has a 52 week trading range of $29.87 to $175.45.

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For the third quarter 2011 First Solar reported a massive 90% increase in earnings to $1 billion and net income also rose by a monster 221% to $197 million. For this period the company also reported a stronger balance sheet, with cash and cash equivalents rising by 64% to $763 million, although long-term debt rose by 75% to $583 million.

When compared to its competitors First Solar is performing quite strongly. Its quarterly revenue growth of 26% is greater than Suntech’s (STP) 9%, and Sharp’s (SHCAY.PK) -12%. Its return on equity of 15% is also greater than Suntech’s 2% and Sharp’s -3%.

First Solar has a PEG ratio of 0.40, which when coupled with its return on equity of 15% and profit margin of 20%, indicates that the company is well positioned to capitalize on future earnings growth opportunities. This should also see the company translate those increased earnings growth into increased net income.

In addition, demand for solar panels remains high and should grow over the long-term as pressure grows to utilize alternate greener energy sources, which bodes well for alternate energy product manufacturers such as First Solar. The indicators for increased short-term demand for solar panels are also quite positive, as in the third quarter 2011 there was a record number of U.S. solar installations,with 449 megawatts of photovoltaic solar panels installed.

Finally, I believe that at current trading prices the stock is undervalued. Firstly, as it is trading at a 23% discount to its book value per share of $46.61 and secondly it has an earnings yield of 16%, which is more than quadruple current ten year Treasury bond yields. Accordingly, I’d have no hesitation in adding First Solar to my investment portfolio as it represents a solid value investment with strong upside, as evidenced by its recent rise in earnings and net income.

TiVo Inc

TiVo provides television solutions and technology services, including digital video recorders (DVRs) and connected televisions in the United States and internationally. The company also offers the subscription-based TiVo service, which enhances home entertainment by providing consumers with a way to record, watch and control live television, as well as to receive videos, pictures, and movies from cable, broadcast, and broadband sources in one interface. It currently has a market cap of $1.2 billion, with a 52 week trading range of $7.06 to $12.65 and it is currently trading at around $10.

TiVo’s third quarter earnings 2011 rose 6% to $65 million and for the same period net income rose by 25% to -$25 million. In the third quarter its balance sheet strengthened with cash and cash equivalents rising by a massive 529% to $604 million and long-term debt remained steady at $173 million.

When compared to its competitors TiVo stacks up well, with quarterly revenue growth of 27%, which is higher than DirecTV’s (DTV) 14% and Time Warner’s (TWC) 4%. It is also has the highest return on equity for its industry of 24%, which is higher than both DirecTV’s -265% and Time Warner’s 17%.

The company is maintaining a healthy debt to equity ratio of 0.58 and when combined with a PEG ratio of 0.53, bodes well for future earnings growth. The company has also seen earnings consistently grow over the last five quarters, with the only dip being in the first quarter 2011.

Overall in my opinion the numbers indicate that TiVo has solid future growth prospects. However, when we consider its earnings yield of 3.5%, which is only slightly higher than the current risk free yield of ten year Treasury bonds, I believe that it is overvalued at current prices. TiVo has seen a 17% rise in value since the start of 2011 and while this is a modest gain I do believe that it is unjustified based upon the company’s current prospects.

Hewlett-Packard Co.

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Hewlett-Packard provides technology, software, solutions, and services to individual consumers, small to medium-sized enterprises, as well as to the government, health, and education sectors worldwide. It is also one of the largest diversified computer system manufacturers in the world with a market cap of $56 billion. It has a 52 week trading range of $21.50 to $49.39 and is currently trading at around $28 with a price to earnings ratio of 8.

Hewlett-Packard has seen third quarter 2011 earnings rise 2% to $32 billion and net income fall by a massive 88% to $239 million. Its balance sheet has also weakened during this period, with a 38% drop in cash and cash equivalents to $8 billion.

Hewlett-Packard stacks up well against its competitors with a price to sales ratio of 0.44, which is the lowest in the industry, and superior to IBM’s (IBM) 2 and Dell’s (DELL) 0.49. However, its profit margin of 0.74% is substantially less than IBM’s 19% and Dell’s 6%.

Hewlett-Packard has a solid return on equity of 17% and when this is considered in conjunction with its price to sales ratio of 0.44, it bodes well for future earnings and net income growth. Since the start of 2011 Hewlett-Packard has dropped by 50% in value and I believe that it has been unfairly punished by the market. Despite Hewlett-Packard’s fundamentals showing a company that has appeared to stall, I do believe that in 2012 it is well placed to increase earnings and net income due to its solid return on equity and price to sales ratio. In my opinion, the company is cheap at current prices, as it has an earnings yield of 12%, which is more than four times current ten year Treasury yield.

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On Thursday, Irsay took to Twitter with yet another response to the newly fueled drama regarding Mannings future. Previously peeved that Manning went public with a few thoughts about the fragile state of the organization — Hes a politician, Irsay said at the time — the Colts boss wanted to make clear his biggest core belief regarding his place as owner.

I humbly serve and protect the Horseshoe, Irsay wrote. It is bigger than any individual, including me.

While I appreciate Irsays final intended message — and believe its probably the only words he needed to express Thursday — it also seems a little nonsensical for him to be bummed or surprised about Mannings comments. Manning, like the rest of us, sees the writing on the wall, and it has forced him into a mode of self-preservation. That should be no surprise. Its natural — not political.

Its tough to be told that they dont want you anymore, said Packers cornerback Charles Woodson, who was unceremoniously bounced from Oakland after eight seasons. It is a business, and everybody always says that, and its supposed to be understood. But that part still hurts.

Time will dictate the end game for Manning and the Colts. Time will also eventually heal the wound thats surely about to show up on the skin of the organization, allowing everyone involved to ultimately appreciate their past, present and future. Thats as likely to ultimately be the case for Manning as it is for the Colts, even if Indianapolis might be in the more desirable spot than its quarterback. Nonetheless, if the team moves on, a healthy Manning would need to do the same.

The bottom line is, youve got to play, said Gonzalez, whose Hall of Fame career in Kansas City is producing a new chapter in Atlanta. Thats what its all about. Youve got to put all of it aside. As sad as it was for me at the time, it was the best situation for both sides.

DAVOS, Switzerland — Business and social media leaders teamed up Friday to tackle the transmission of HIV from mothers to babies, saying the medicine and the money are largely in place, and with the right organizational skills they can eliminate HIV-infected births by 2015.

John Megrue, CEO of Apax Partners US, will chair a business group that includes bankers and consulting experts and will help coordinate work being done by several governments and other international donors, as well as filling in gaps in the funding.

Women need to receive antiretroviral drugs to prevent the virus being passed to their unborn babies.

There are no technological issues around it. There are no medical issues around it. It does not exist in the wealthy part of the world, Megrue said. But there are still almost 400,000 children a year born primarily in sub-Saharan Africa with HIV.

Ambassador Eric Goosby, a top US AIDS official, said that although the group set a goal of zero transmission by 2015, in reality about 13 percent of babies born to HIV-positive mothers will unavoidably be born with the virus.

Randi Zuckerberg, who founded RtoZ Studios after leaving the Facebook company that her brother Mark started, will lend the power of social media to increase awareness about the issue, by pulling in 1,000 influential Twitter and Facebook users in an expansion of an earlier social media effort to raise $200 million to fight malaria.

Im calling this a social good broadcast experiment, she said. The long-term vision is for this to be a group of thousands or millions of people who can all broadcast in a coordinated manner where there is a global crisis.

Other business leaders involved in the project include Dominic Barton, managing director of consulting firm McKinsey Co., and Cynthia Carroll, CEO of the mining company Anglo American PLC.

AIDS, Carroll said, should not be a disease of children.

Posted at 08:54 AM ET, 01/27/2012
Mitt’s priceless performance, Newt’s loony business
By Alexandra Petri

Courtesy of CNNFor so much of this campaign, Mitt Romney has served as an object lesson in the uncomfortable fact that there are some things money can’t buy. “I want to be rich and I want everyone to like me and think I’m fascinating,” your child says, and you shake your head and point at the television screen, where Mitt Romney is counting off his progeny (Sixteen grandchildren! Sixteen!) and offering Rick Perry a $10,000 bet. “That’s not how money works,” you say. “Just look at Mitt.”

But things were different in Jacksonville, Fla., on Thursday.

If the Mitt Romney who usually shows up at debates is Clark Kent, then the Mitt Romney who showed up on Thursday night, was — Clark Kent, but after some very astute debate coaching.

Romney did stagger once or twice as he spoke about his “blind trusts” and “trustees” and accounts in Switzerland. But would it be a Republican debate if it didn’t include at least one reference to Saul Alinsky (Gingrich, sneaking it in seconds before the buzzer sounded) and one heated debate about Swiss bank accounts and trustees that made the rest of us angrily gnaw our poorly assembled IKEA coffee tables and mutter about the 1 percent?

Newt, accustomed to coasting to the top of the class by reciting the same six words of the Declaration of Independence over and over again, seemed startled by this Romney 2.0. In general, Gingrich drifts through debates in a manner reminiscent of a blimp. In this case, it was a blimp with “Hindenburg” lettered on the side.

If he’s hoping to get elected on his ability to beat President Obama in a debate, he’d better start coming up with a better debate strategy. Critiquing the moderator has officially gotten old. When Gingrich tried his usual strategy of blaming the person asking the questions for suggesting that he stand behind things he’d said earlier, even Romney managed to call him out on it. “If this were really fair,” Newt implied, “I would just get to talk and you would listen respectfully as I informed you of the True Nature of Things.” It went over less well in Florida. Maybe he could refuse to attend any debates that aren’t Lincoln-Douglas?

Rick Santorum had a good evening, if any evening where Rick Santorum yells at you a lot can be considered a good evening. But he got his points across. And he’s apparently friends with the governor of Puerto Rico, which is – I guess – a plus? Possibly the reason Santorum’s night went so well was that his mother was in the audience, which is the recipe for either a terrible or a great debate, depending on your filial impulses. Maternal encouragement tended to help Hamlet and Oedipus but hamstrung Norman Bates.

I was almost warming to him, but then he explained that global warming was a hoax and I felt ice starting to form again.

Ron Paul managed to solidify his position as the class clown. He is possibly the only person in the field with a sense of humor that is neither mean nor nonexistent. Asked what he’d do if Castro called, Paul quipped, “I’d ask what he was calling about.” Would his wife be a good first lady? Well, sure, she’s done a pretty good job being married to him for 54 years (making it past the paper to the gold anniversary, no doubt to Paul’s relief), and she wrote the Ron Paul cookbook!

This question came from the wife-off. In this portion of the debate, Wolf Blitzer asked the candidates which of their wives would make the best first lady. Romney waxed fairly lyrical about Ann. Callista wasn’t even Newt’s first lady, so he gave a meandering answer about her capacity for art. Santorum, having a good night, noted that he loved his wife because she’d written a children’s storybook about politeness. Most people love their wives in spite of that, so I think he won that round. Callista has also written a storybook for children, but compared to the 895,000 books for All Ages by Newt, this somewhat pales, and Newt seemed to say so by his demeanor.

The wife question was followed by a question about who was closer to Ronald Reagan, leading me to fear that the follow-up would force the candidates to choose between Reagan and their wives, the Republican version of Sophie’s choice.

But it was a good night for Mitt. Even religion didn’t faze him. Would religion impact their decision-making as president, an audience member inquired. Ron Paul’s only God is the Constitution, so this was easy for him.

Newt said that he deferred in his decision-making to a power beyond mere humanity: Newt Gingrich.

Mitt said that he was going to spread the word of God to other nations, but not in a creepy, invading way, just through — other things.

Rick Santorum explained that he and God are as close as can be, and that if elected he will put God back into the White House, Christmas, Flag Day and everyone’s womb, where God belongs.

The Romney Attack Machine, after Monday night’s non-starter, had had a good two days in the shop and was revved up and ready to go. Meanwhile, Newt Gingrich’s usual debate performance had apparently signed off and gone to check on his moon colony.

And Romney needed this.

There are some things money can’t buy. But for everything else, there’s debate coaching.

By Alexandra Petri
 | 
08:54 AM ET, 01/27/2012

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Philadelphia, PA Willie Fritz has one of those great raspy voices that blends so perfectly with the enthusiasm of a football coach.

Its the kind others love to emulate, as Sam Houston State backup quarterback Greg Sprowls did with his head coach during the Bearkats teams talent show in preseason camp.

Even Fritz got a kick out of seeing what others see in him.

And it underscored something that Fritz has enjoyed all season. His Bearkats know when to have a good time and when to be serious.

With the Thanksgiving holiday over, the Bearkats are in business mode again and hope to be that way through the New Year. As the only unbeaten team in the FCS and ranked No. 1, the bulls-eye is on them as they begin chase of the national championship. Rest assured, the fun will come with the victories.

Top-seeded Sam Houston State will jump onto the Road to Frisco next Saturday when they host Big South champion Stony Brook in a second-round game in Huntsville. The top-seeded Bearkats (11-0) had a first-round bye while the Seawolves rallied past Albany, 31-28.

Weve won most of our games convincingly, but now were going up against higher-level competition. Everybody in the playoffs is a good team, Fritz said.

The thing thats going to be a lot of fun is comparing ourselves to other regions. And hopefully well get a chance to prepare ourselves for quite a few weeks to sit where we sit as far as the landscape of FCS football across the nation. You know it all comes down to blocking and tackling, and who has a good game plan and who has better players.

It might seem odd, but Sam Houston State may have more to prove in the playoffs than some of the other four seeded teams, even some of the unseeded teams among the 16 still alive. The Bearkats are relatively young with only 12 seniors, havent appeared in the playoffs since 2004 and carry the banner of a Southland Conference whose teams were a combined 1-6 in the last five years.

But with four first-team All-SLC players on each side of the ball, and 18 who earned a form of all-conference honors, this isnt a typical SLC team. The Bearkats not only led the conference in rushing offense and defense for the second straight season, but they are among the nations best in both statistics.

Behind Walter Payton Award (sponsored by Fathead.com) finalist Tim Flanders and wide receiver Richard Sincere, who makes big plays out of the Wild Bearkat formation, Sam Houston States 250.1 rushing yards per game rank seventh in the FCS. Theyre No. 1 with 39.5 points per game and clearly keep making the right halftime adjustments, having outscored opponents 142-17 in the third quarter.

Defensively, the Bearkats, with stalwart JT Cleveland getting it started up front, have surrendered only 59 rushing yards and 12.6 points per game – both national bests. They have allowed a mere five rushing touchdowns.

The No. 1 thing we emphasize is turnover/takeaway, said Fritz, whose teams turnover margin is plus-24, which ranks second nationally. Last season, we did a great job of having super ball security and not turning the ball over, but we didnt get as many takeaways as we wanted. And we really worked on that. In spring football and preseason and all throughout the season, weve done a really nice job of getting a bunch of takeaways week after week.

Everybody here has been focused, said Flanders, who has rushed for 1,133 yards and scored a SLC-record 22 touchdowns this season. Were not getting a big head about being undefeated, were just taking it each week at a time. But now, since were at the playoffs, theres (no losing). We either go undefeated all the way or were losing and done. We have to think about each playoff game as a one-game season.

Next Saturdays one-game season centers around the Bearkats finding answers for Stony Brooks explosive offense. Seawolves running backs Miguel Maysonet (Big South single-season record 1,560 yards) and Brock Jackolski (1,332) are both well over 1,000-yard seasons for a second straight year.

Still, the Bearkats will emphasize what they do best more than what Stony Brook does. Its worked well all season.

PRESIDENTIAL GREETING

Towson University is touting how its football team didnt have to win the CAA Football title to get a chance to celebrate with President Barack Obama at the White House.

Instead the prez came to Towson.

President Obama and the First Family were part of the 3,119 at Towson Center Arena on Saturday for the Tigers mens basketball teams 66-46 loss to Oregon State.

Oregon State coach Craig Robinson is the brother of First Lady Michelle Obama.

The Towson football team posed for photos on court with President Obama at the basketball game. The Tigers have made an eight-game improvement this season, from 1-10 last year to 9-2.

WINNERS IN A RUSH

Quarterbacks Taylor Heinicke of Old Dominion and Nathan Dick of Central Arkansas put up big numbers on Saturday, but the key to winning in the FCS playoffs just might be a big ground game.

All four first-round winners set the tone by at least doubling the rushing totals of their opponent.

James Madison had a 244-119 yard edge on Eastern Kentucky with quarterback Justin Thorpe (93 yards), DaeQuan Scott (75) and Jordan Anderson (71) combining in a three-headed monster.

Old Dominion outgained Norfolk State 103-43, limiting the Spartans to 1.5 yards per carry.

Stony Brook doubled up Albany 164-82 as Jackolski was the only 100-yard rusher with 103.

Central Arkansas advantage on Tennessee Tech was 120-58 as Jackie Hinton rushed for 87 yards.

PLAYOFF GAME BALLS

James Madisons Cameron Starke missed his first field-goal attempt, but came back to make his final two, including the game-winning 35-yarder that lifted the Dukes past Eastern Kentucky, 20-17, in the first-ever meeting between the two programs. Next up for the Dukes (8-4) is No. 2 seed North Dakota State (10-1) … Heinicke, a freshman quarterback, threw for 269 yards and five touchdowns as Old Dominion rolled past new cross-town rival Norfolk State, 35-18, in their first-ever playoff game. The Monarchs (10-2) visit No. 3 seed Georgia Southern (10-1) in the second round … Stony Brook overcame Albanys upset bid, 31-28, as Jackolski scored three touchdowns in a span of 6 minutes, 30 seconds of the third and fourth quarters, erasing a 28-10 deficit. He had 232 all-purpose yards. But Donald Porter gets a game ball as well for his nine tackles, interception and tipped ball in the Seawolves end zone that Dominick Reyes intercepted to seal the win. The Seawolves (9-3) next play Sam Houston State. They have won nine straight games, which is tied for the second-longest streak in the FCS behind Sam Houston States 13 … Dick, a redshirt senior, completed 23-of-29 passes for 319 yards and two touchdowns, and rushed for another score, in Central Arkansas 34-14 win at Tennessee Tech. The Bears (9-3) will try to extend an eight-game winning streak at No. 4 seed Montana (9-2) in the second round.

ATTENDANCE FIGURES

Eastern Kentucky outbidding James Madison for a home playoff game didnt end so well, and not just because the Colonels were knocked out of the playoffs.

The fans in Richmond, Ky., were so impressed that an embarrassing crowd of 2,388 turned out for the nationally televised game on ESPNU.

Incredibly, the OVC school, which averaged 7,267 fans for six home games in the regular season, outbid James Madison, which averaged 25,002 in five home games, for the right to host their first-round match-up.

Ticket sales usually plummet during the FCS playoffs for a variety of reasons, including their higher price, a lack of free tickets for students, a short buildup to the games, the holiday season being underway and colder weather.

Still, outside EKU, the playoffs got off to a solid start.

The Norfolk State-ODU game, a first-ever match-up between teams whose campuses are five miles apart, drew the regular-season average of 19,818 to sold-out Forman Field. Albany at Stony Brook drew 8,286, up from the Seawolves regular-season average of 5,121. Central Arkansas at Tennessee Tech drew 6,115, down from the Golden Eagles regular-season average of 8,866.

FCS AWARDS

One voters ballot for the 2011 FCS awards:

Walter Payton Award (FCS outstanding player)

1. Jonathan Grimes, William Mary, RB

2. Bo Levi Mitchell, Eastern Washington, QB

3. Shakir Bell, Indiana State, RB

4. Aaron Mellette, Elon, WR

5. Kevin Decker, New Hampshire, QB

Buck Buchanan Award (FCS defensive outstanding player)

1. LJ Fort, Northern Iowa, LB

2. Matt Evans, New Hampshire, LB

3. Adrian Hamilton, Prairie View AM, DE

4. Justin Bethel, Presbyterian, CB

5. Brent Russell, Georgia Southern, NT

Jerry Rice Award (FCS freshman of the year)

1. Terrance West, Towson, RB

2. Taylor Heinicke, Old Dominion, QB

3. Chuck Dibilo, Princeton, RB

4. DVonte Grant, North Carolina AT, LB

5. Austin Sumner, South Dakota State, QB

Eddie Robinson Award (FCS coach of the year)

1. Rob Ambrose, Towson

2. Willie Fritz, Sam Houston State

3. Bobby Wilder, Old Dominion

4. Kevin Kelly, Georgetown

5. Chris Creighton, Drake

All four awards are presented by The Sports Network and sponsored by Fathead.com.

JUST THE PICKS

Just win, baby. Thats the playoff mentality.

This Weekends Record: 6-0 (1.000)

Season Record: 579-198 (.745)

Saturday, Dec. 3

NCAA Division I Second Round

All Times ET; All Games on ESPN3

X-projected winner

Old Dominion (10-2) at X-No. 3 Georgia Southern (9-2), 1 pm

Maine (8-3) at X-Appalachian State (8-3), 2 pm

New Hampshire (8-3) at X-Montana State (9-2), 2:05 pm

Central Arkansas (9-3) at X-No. 4 Montana (9-2), 2:05 pm

Stony Brook (9-3) at X-No. 1 Sam Houston State (11-0), 3 pm

Lehigh (10-1) at X-Towson (9-2), 3:30 pm

James Madison (8-4) at X-No. 2 North Dakota State (10-1), 4 pm

X-Wofford (8-3) at No. 5 Northern Iowa (9-2), 5 pm