Rebels, Syrian troops battle for control of key airbase

BEIRUT - Syrian rebels launched a dawn assault Saturday on a strategic airbase in the north of the country, trying to disrupt strikes by warplanes and helicopters that pound rebel-held towns and give the regime of President Bashar Assad a major edge in the civil war.

The assault, reported by activists, comes a day before the start of a key international conference in Qatar at which the United States and its allies aim to reorganize the opposition's political leadership and unite their ranks. The leadership-in-exile has been widely seen as ineffective and out of touch with rebel fighters on the ground.

Rebel forces attacked the Taftanaz airbase early Saturday morning in fighting with government forces that continued into the afternoon, the anti-regime activist Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said.

Joining Syrian rebels in the attack were fighters from Jabhat al-Nusra, an al-Qaida-inspired Islamic militant group made up of foreign jihadis, according to the Observatory. Al-Nusra fighters, who are considered among the most experienced and disciplined among the opposition forces, have led attacks on other airbases in the north in past months.

The Taftanaz base mainly houses military helicopters, near the main highway between the capital Damascus and the northern city of Aleppo, where rebels and the military have been battling for control for months.

Online activist videos claim to show the battle, with rebels firing rockets and mortars, and smoke rising over buildings and an airstrip area. An activist speaking in the video identifies it as an attack by rebels and Jabhat al-Nusra on the base.

The videos appear genuine and are consistent with other Associated Press reporting in the area.

The capturing of the base ? and holding on to it ? would be a major achievement for the rebels, who often complain they are outgunned by government forces.

Airstrikes have been one of the most effective and feared weapons of the regime in the civil war. Rebels managed to seize control of a pocket of territory around Aleppo, but government warplanes and helicopters continue to blast towns they hold from the air. In the fierce fighting over Aleppo itself, warplanes almost daily swoop in to strafe or bomb rebel-held neighbourhoods.

Rebels repeatedly target military airports and runways and often try to shoot down military jets to curtail the regime's air power, even though they don't have anti-aircraft weapons.

In an August attack on the Taftanaz base, rebels claimed to have badly damaged 10 military helicopters.

Activists say more than 36,000 people have been killed during Syria's 19-month-old conflict, which began in March last year as a largely peaceful uprising but has transformed into a brutal civil war.

Several attempts for a truce in the fighting have failed, including the U.N.-supported four-day cease-fire that was meant to coincide with a major Muslim holiday last week, leaving the international community at a loss for ways to end the war.

U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton on Wednesday called for a major leadership overhaul and suggested Washington would handpick more representative leaders, including those fighting the regime. The opposition conference in the Qatari capital, Doha, starts on Sunday.

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/rebels-syrian-troops-battle-control-key-airbase-174015711.html

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Rockets Beat Hawks 109-102: James Harden Scores Career-High 45 (VIDEO)

ATLANTA -- The Houston Rockets are winning with James Harden performing like the team's new franchise player.

The Atlanta Hawks struggled in the start of their new era without their longtime franchise player.

Harden continued to shine at the start of his Houston career, scoring a career-high 45 points to lead the Rockets to a 109-102 victory over the Hawks on Friday night.

Harden, traded to the Rockets from Oklahoma City on Saturday, topped 30 points for the second time in his first week with his new team.

"He's pretty good, I'd say," Rockets coach Kevin McHale said. "He just kept battling and playing."

Jeremy Lin, who had 21 points, 10 rebounds and seven assists, said Harden makes a "big time" difference.

"He frees everybody up," Lin said. "He knows what he's doing. We're thankful that he showed up."

Marcus Morris had 17 points for Houston.

Rockets center Omer Asik had a career-high 19 rebounds but did not score, missing seven shots from the field.

Lou Williams led the Hawks with 22 points in his Atlanta debut. Josh Smith had 18 points and 10 rebounds.

Williams averaged a career-high 14.9 points per game with the Sixers last season when he was runner-up to Harden for NBA's Sixth Man of the Year Award.

Williams appears bound for another year as a sixth man. Harden is thriving in his new role as a starter.

"It's a lot different," Harden said. "Having the offense run basically through you, it's a lot different, but that's my job now so I've got to get used to it."

Harden said he wasn't focused on his impressive scoring in his first two games.

"I don't even worry about it," he said. "I just go out there and play hard."

The Hawks traded six-time All-Star Joe Johnson to the Brooklyn Nets in July for five players and a draft pick. Johnson averaged more than 20 points in five of his seven seasons as Atlanta's top player.

"We're still trying to establish an identity," Hawks coach Larry Drew said. "That may take a little time to do."

Drew said his team struggled in rebounding and on defense, especially in helping stop Harden's drives.

"When he gets the basketball in transition, he's going to get to the basket," Drew said. "It won't be just one guy's responsibility, it will be a team responsibility."

With the game tied 92-92, Harden had consecutive baskets, including a three-point play, to give Houston the lead for good. Chandler Parson's 3-pointer with 1:55 remaining pushed the lead to 100-94.

Harden was 14 of 19 from the field and 15 of 17 from the free throw line. Harden's 17 free-throw attempts matched Atlanta's total.

Harden, who signed a five-year, $80 million contract extension with Houston following the trade, had 37 points, 12 assists and six rebounds in a 105-96 win at Detroit in his debut on Wednesday night.

Houston led after each of the first three periods. The Rockets took a 68-52 lead in the third before Atlanta cut the deficit to 81-74 at the end of the quarter.

A basket by Smith with 7:12 remaining gave Atlanta an 88-87 lead, its first since the opening period.

"We were just trying to put together as many stops as we could," Williams said. "We battled our way back into the game to even get it to that point."

The Rockets are 2-0, but McHale said the team needs work on closing out wins.

"We need a few days together in the gym where we can slow some things down and figure out how we want to finish games," McHale said.

After a preseason of sampling lineup combinations, Drew had two newcomers ? Devin Harris and Kyle Korver ? join Al Horford, Smith and Jeff Teague. Drew said he had "a little indecision" about Harris starting at shooting guard as the coach worried about the defensive matchup with Harden, who at 6-foot-5 is at least 3 inches taller than Harris.

DeShawn Stevenson, who could match Harden's height ? and at least come close to matching Harden's beard ? became an important player off the bench for Atlanta.

Stevenson had 12 points on four 3-pointers, including one at the buzzer to end the first half.

Teague had 14 points and seven assists and Horford had 14 points.

The Rockets had a 58-36 advantage in rebounds.

"We have some things that we really have to focus in and work on," Drew said. "There were areas in this game where we weren't very good, very polished, particularly on the boards."

Drew said his perimeter players were beaten for too many long rebounds.

"We didn't play well, yet we gave ourselves a chance in fighting back," he said.

Notes: Houston F Patrick Patterson started after missing the opener with a strained left quad. C Greg Smith (strained left foot) did not play. ... Harden's previous career high was 40 points against the Suns on April 18. ... Hawks C Johan Petro was inactive. ... Stevenson fouled out in the final minute. ... Harden is the first player to score 40 points against Atlanta since LeBron James had 43 points on March 18, 2011.

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Source: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/11/03/james-harden-rockets-hawks-109-102-video_n_2068659.html

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How Google Plus Helps with Local Search

Google Plus and Facebook: ?What?s the Difference and What Does It All Mean?

For years now, local marketers have worked to better understand Google search in order to get found by more consumers using Google search. ?While Yahoo, Bing and others have captured local search traffic, Google has dominated the space for the last few years. ?At the same time, Facebook has come on the Internet marketing ?leaving local marketing and ad agencies wondering what impact it could have on pay per click ? PPC ? campaigns. ?As you might expect, Google decided to jump into the social media marketing space with Google Plus (also know as Google+). ?So, what are Google?s plans? ?What will Google Plus mean for local search? ?And how will local marketing firms use Google Plus to help local businesses?

Before we answer these questions, it is important to understand what has happened over the last few years. ?If you consider the difference in how Google and Facebook have grown, there are vast differences. ?Google started with the world?s greatest search?algorithm?focused on what people looking for products and services in a local market wanted when they typed in a few short words. ?These short words have evolved into what most Internet marketers call long-tail key phrases. ?Instead of searching for ?inspectors?, consumers started helping Google by using home inspectors in DFW or even home inspectors in Colleyville. ?This helped Google learn search patterns and how consumers searched for local business offerings.

While all of this was going on, Facebook was allowing the same consumers to setup free accounts to communicate with friends and family through social media. ?Interestingly enough, Facebook allowed these consumers to input as much information about themselves as they wanted and they did! ?They entered their address, telephone numbers, email address, relationships, occupations, interests, education, pictures of themselves and much more ? all of which very helpful to local marketing firms and local business leaders trying to market to local consumers.

While Google was improving their search?algorithm and local marketing firms were working on search engine optimization,?Facebook was building a database of what is now over one billion people giving away tons of information about themselves with the idea of monetizing their efforts through social media marketing ? SMM ? for local businesses. ?Both continued to grow as local marketers worked to understand what Internet marketing would be like over the next few years while these Internet power houses capturing more and more consumer data.

The Impact of Google Plus on Social Media Marketing

Finally in mid-2011, Google launched Google Plus ? Google+ or G+ ? entering the social media market before Facebook entered the search market. ?Over the next year, the world and specifically many businesses involved in Internet marketing watched as Google integrated this social media platform into their search?algorithm. ?So, let?s get back to the questions? what does it all mean and how did Google Plus and Google+ Local change the game for Internet marketing?

Search in the past involved many things, but two of the simplest were the phrase ?landscaping companies in Dallas? and the location of the search ? the consumer searching?s IP address. ?This helped Google understand with a decent degree of accuracy the general vicinity of the consumer and what the consumer searching was interested in. ?Now take that next level? what if Google can also know what the searching consumer?s friends like. ?If we are now searching for a home inspector in Colleyville and happen to have a friend that is friends with a home inspector or has even given a review for a home inspection company, it will likely appear higher in rank. ?In fact, we will also see how our friend is connected and gave them a review.

While there are many other developments around?Google+ Local replacing Google Places for local business, it is important to know that in the first 16 months of Google+ for users, they have garnered over 400 million users who have signed up and given similar information to that given to Facebook. ?So as Facebook begins entering the world of search, Google has a bit of a head start in combining search engine marketing and social media marketing with Google Plus. ?It will be important to watch the developments over the next 14 months to see how social media marketing grows and consumers begin sharing through online reviews and recommendations.

To learn more about social media marketing and search engine marketing, sign up for the Social180 blog and connect with us on Google Plus, Facebook, Twitter and LinkedIn. ?If you have immediate needs, CLICK HERE or give us a call at 469-420-0180!

Source: http://www.social180.com/2012/11/02/how-google-plus-helps-local-search/

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Justice vs Good Ole Boys ? Texas Home School Coalition PAC

I have been a conservative Republican all my life, and I can count on one hand, with fingers left over, the number of times I have voted for a Democrat and even less that I have endorsed a Democratic candidate for elected office. The reason is that the majority of the time Democratic candidates do not hold conservative positions on the issues that I do.

When it comes to judicial candidates, my definition of a ?conservative? is a judge who is fair and impartial and rules on the law, not on his own opinions or what he wished the law was. Being fair and impartial, in my opinion, also includes appropriate ?judicial demeanor.? A judge should be patient, kind, and tolerant of those in his court with which he might disagree.

It is on that basis that I have concluded that in the campaign for the 20th District Court in Milam County, Judge John Youngblood is not the conservative in the race. In previous posts you can read the long description of his actions in the Moody case that have led me to this position.

On the other hand, Hollis Lewis is the local attorney representing Heather Moody in this case. It was deemed necessary to have a local attorney, as Heather?s primary attorney is from New Braunfels where her parents live, and after the first hearing, it was clear that the New Braunfels attorney was getting ?home towned? (the opposite of fair and impartial) by the judge.

It was months after I became involved in this case that I learned that Hollis Lewis was actually running for the Democratic nomination for the 20th District Court. He won that nomination in the Democratic primary probably on the strength of his service for ten years as the Milam County District Attorney.

When we contacted Mr. Lewis in our process of assessing candidates for endorsement by THSC PAC, we were pleasantly surprised that Hollis is one of the passing breed of conservative rural Democrats. He is pro-life, a staunch supporter of the Second Amendment rights of all Americans, and one who believes that fit parents have a fundamental constitutional right to direct the care, control, and education of their children. In fact, he was recently back in Judge Youngblood?s court on another case where he is representing fit parents against a grandparent who is seeking to take their children.

After this research and several conversations with Mr. Lewis, THSC PAC decided to endorse him for the 20th District Court. As a result of our efforts to help him win that office, we received several calls from those who have told us that he is being attacked as a result of a ?professional reprimand? from the Texas State Bar.

As is usually the case with these issues, there is much more to the story. As district attorney in Milam County, Mr. Lewis told us he was approached by the young teenage daughter of a local sheriff?s deputy.? This young lady told him that her father had beaten her in an attempt to force her to have an abortion and when that did not work, she was taken to Dallas to receive a late-term abortion. Mr. Lewis responded to this by documenting her allegations, confirming with the abortion clinic, and then went to the sheriff, who refused to take any action at all.

At a later date, Mr. Lewis was contacted by the DPS regarding an attempted murder by a friend of this same deputy. The sheriff?s office did not even notify the district attorney, and he went through the DPS to get information on the case. The judge hearing the case ruled that all the evidence presented by Mr. Lewis to the defense attorney could not be used because it was delivered one minute after the court-appointed deadline. During the trial a witness made a reference to some of this evidence, and the judge declared a mistrial ?with prejudice? to make it impossible to retry the case.

In the course of examining witnesses for this particular trial, a criminal background check was done. One female witness had a DWI on her record, but that was not originally discovered because the background check was done on her married name, not her maiden name. The corrupt officials seized on this minor issue to accuse Mr. Lewis of withholding evidence. The district judge who dismissed the case began to call county attorneys in surrounding counties, trying to entice one into investigating and prosecuting Mr. Lewis. After learning this, Mr. Lewis went to the county commissioners and asked them to find someone to investigate. They called in the DA from Williamson County, who, after a thorough investigation, announced that the charges were ridiculous and that it was all ?political,? and he refused to prosecute.

These corrupt officials then filed allegations of misconduct with the Texas State Bar, and an investigation and hearings were launched during a reelection campaign. A Milam County attorney, who was pushing these bogus allegations, was also a member of the State Bar?s panel who reviewed such charges. Then, as now, these allegations were used as a political weapon against Mr. Lewis in the midst of a campaign. His political advisors encouraged him to simply accept the reprimand as a way to end the issue, and unfortunately he agreed to do so.

The attorney who pushed this false issue with the State Bar is also the primary attorney representing Mr. Moody in the case before Judge Youngblood.

This whole sordid saga confirms for me that Hollis Lewis is the conservative in this race and should be elected to represent the people of Milam County in the 20th District Court. Call his campaign at (254) 697-3132 to help him win this race.

?

Source: http://thscpac.org/2012/11/justice-vs-good-ole-boys/

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