Five ways the UFC can survive a post-Brock Lesnar world

Brock Lesnar retiring from MMA is not just a problem for the legion of fans who were hoping to see the former WWE star return to championship form. It's a problem for the UFC, as Lesnar brought with him regular consumers of pay-per-views and merchandise.

But his decision to hang up the four-ounce gloves to spend time with his wife and suddenly deceased animals doesn't have to be the death knell for the UFC.

1. Build up Alistair Overeem vs. Junior dos Santos as battle of skill and size. The next heavyweight UFC championship battle will be between two huge men who can hit really hard. Though that's reason enough to tune in, the UFC can only go to that well so many times. They would be better served by pointing out how dos Santos is a skilled puncher and Overeem is a master of strategy, not just two behemoths winging at each other.

2. Get Jon Jones on every talk show, magazine cover and any other piece of media. The light heavyweight champ is personable outside the Octagon and unstoppable in it. He is the exact person the UFC can build their next big growth spurt on, but to do it, he needs to be the guy your mom watches on "The View."

3. Embrace the heel of Chael Sonnen. Villains sell tickets, whether it's because the buyers love to hate him or they secretly envy the way he embraces the dark side. Sonnen is a first-rate talker who Dana White compared to Muhammad Ali, and is incredibly skilled at the heel role. The UFC needs to use that. Pull from his best speeches and press conferences for commercials. He called himself "the real American Idol," and that line should run at least once during Fox's broadcast of the incredibly popular show. If Fox is serious about promoting his fight with Mark Munoz at UFC on Fox 2, put him on the show.

4. Put the lighter weights center stage. Though conventional combat sports wisdom is that only the big fighters sell, Manny Pacquiao is the world's most popular fighter and has never boxed at over 155 lbs. The UFC has a stable of interesting fighters at who are Pacquiao-sized. Sell them as skilled, interesting, and maybe even good singers like Pac-Man.

5. Move over Strikeforce heavyweights as soon as humanly possible. The UFC plans to migrate Strikeforce's big men after the Grand Prix final. Considering that this group includes master of the post-fight speech Josh Barnett, two-time Olympian Daniel Cormier, the gigantic yet sweet Antonio "Big Foot" Silva, and many other fighters with great back stories, it makes sense to get them in the UFC as soon as can be.

Source: http://sports.yahoo.com/mma/blog/cagewriter/post/Five-ways-the-UFC-can-survive-a-post-Brock-Lesna?urn=mma-wp11468

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"The Sims" designer creating new game for real life (Reuters)

RALEIGH, North Carolina (Reuters) ? Will Wright, the designer behind successful video game simulations including "SimCity", "The Sims" and "Spore", is at it again. Only this time, rather than controlling virtual people or creating space creatures, the protagonist of "HiveMind" is the actual player.

"HiveMind," a group of cross-platform, cross-media online applications, is designed to turn a gamer's everyday life into part of the interactive experience by building upon Alternate Reality Games (ARGs) and tapping into streams of personal information on phones, tablets, social networks and computers.

While the technology and data collection is in place, the game doesn't yet have a release date. Nevertheless, Wright is enthusiastic about his new project and eager to discuss the lifestyle implications "HiveMind" could have on casual gamers.

Q: What did you learn from past games like "The Sims" and "Spore" that you applied to "HiveMind"?

A: "Those games were in some sense exploring the idea of becoming more personal and involving the player in a very creative role. In 'The Sims' people were crafting doppelgangers of their real life, their friends, their house, and then they experimented with things. 'Spore' was a more fantastical environment that offered higher-level creative tools. Both of those games showed me that when something is personal to a player, they're willing to invest in the experience. And the more emotionally attached they get, the more they want to share it with their friends and family."

Q: Where did the idea for "HiveMind" come from?

A: "I've had a couple of experiences where I realized that I'm surrounded by opportunities in life that I'm not aware of. Every now and then I trip over one of these experiences -- like a classic car show I happened upon in a Burbank Shoney's parking lot. I realized that we could build a system -- if we had a situational awareness about you, about who you are, where you are, what time of day it is, how much money is in your pocket, what's the weather like, what your interests are, etc. -- that could make your life much more interesting.

Q: How would a game experience work?

A: "If we had that much situational awareness about you and at the same time we were building this very high-level map of the world, and I don't just mean where Starbuck's is, but all sorts of things like historical footnotes and people you might want to meet. I started thinking about games that we can build that would allow us to triangulate you in that space and build that deep situational awareness. There will be all types of games, but the key will be focusing the experiences, including multiplayer, within the real world and away from the fictional world that games currently invest in."

Q: What are the personal privacy challenges that exist with creating a game around players' personal data?

A: "That's something that obviously they would opt in for, so it's not like you'd be stealing the info. They would want to play the game. It's the same thing with the ARGs that are out there. We need to get the players on our side. Every time we gather some data about them, we need to reflect it back to an experience that got much better so they understand. Once we get them on board, hopefully they're very forthcoming and they get more involved in terms of how they're feeling and what they're doing. The system can actually be used by them and benefit them with the more accurate data it collects."

Q: Will "HiveMind" expand beyond gaming to include television?

A: "We're finding television to be amazingly synergistic in some ways with this idea. We did do one television show, 'Bar Karma', that ran for a season on Current TV last year. It used crowd sourcing and the community we built came up with everything from the concept and storylines every week to helping cast the show with real actors."

Q: Will you be pushing this type of interactivity with your new TV projects?

A: "'Bar Karma' was an interesting hybrid between crowd sourcing and professional television, but we learned a lot about how you get communities involved in creative activities. That will definitely feed into 'HiveMind' because there is going to be a very strong community component to this. I think crowd sourcing is one of the most interesting tools in our arsenal now as a designer."

Q: The fact that new TVs offer Internet connectivity should help with this endeavor, right?

A: "It's kind of remarkable. I've set up a couple of PCs and a few TVs over the last couple of years. Buying a new television and setting it up is far more complicated now than buying a computer and setting it up."

(Editing by Bob Tourtellotte

Source: http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/videogames/*http%3A//news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20120102/en_nm/us_videogame_willwright

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Israelis, Palestinians to meet but prospects bleak (Reuters)

AMMAN (Reuters) ? Israeli and Palestinian negotiators meet in Jordan Tuesday alongside international mediators trying to revive their stalled peace talks, but neither side is raising hopes they can end more than a year of deadlock.

Negotiations stalled in late 2010 after Israel refused to renew a partial freeze on Jewish settlement in the occupied West Bank, as demanded by Palestinians.

The Palestinians say they cannot hold talks while Israel cements its hold on land it captured in a 1967 war and on which they intend to establish an independent state. Israel says peacemaking should have no preconditions.

"The only way to reach an agreement is through talks," Israeli cabinet minister Dan Meridor said. "There is an opening to renew negotiations... We must hope that things will work out but it does not depend only on us."

Palestinians were also downbeat ahead of the Amman meeting.

"We should not impose on this meeting a heavy load," Palestinian negotiator Saeb Erekat said. "I do not know if the Israeli side is bringing anything new, or if they are willing to put their position on the table."

The talks at the Jordanian Foreign Ministry bring together Erekat, Israel's Yitzhak Molcho and representatives of the Quartet of Middle East mediators - the United States, the European Union, Russia and the United Nations.

A ministry spokesman said earlier this week that the meeting aimed at reaching common ground to allow a resumption of direct talks between Israel the Palestinians, with the goal of reaching a peace accord by the end of this year.

Secretary of State Hillary Clinton also urged both sides to "take advantage of this opportunity.

"The need for a lasting peace is more urgent than ever. The status quo is not sustainable and the parties must act boldly to advance the cause of peace," Clinton said.

NO RESUMPTION

But a senior figure in Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas's umbrella PLO executive said Israel and the Palestinians were simply fulfilling a request by the Quartet to present their positions on the issues of security and borders.

"This is not a resumption of negotiations," Wasl Abu Yossef told Reuters in Ramallah, the seat of Abbas's administration.

A diplomat in Amman also said Tuesday's meeting was not expected to lead to a breakthrough. "To be realistic, it won't solve anything, (although) it could give new energy" to the process, the diplomat said.

Established a decade ago, the Quartet has in recent months taken a leading role in attempts to broker new negotiations, stepping in after U.S. President Barack Obama's administration failed to revive diplomacy.

Most countries deem Israel's West Bank settlements illegal. Israel disputes this, and says it would keep settlement blocs under any peace deal in accordance with understandings reached in 2004 with then-U.S. president George W. Bush.

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's government also criticizes Abbas for seeking a reconciliation with the Islamists of Hamas, who control Gaza and reject permanent co-existence with Israel. Abbas has also balked at Israel's demand that he recognize it as a Jewish state.

Hamas spokesman Sami Abu Zuhri called on the Palestinian Authority to boycott Tuesday's meeting, saying it was part of a "policy of failure."

(Additional reporting by Ori Lewis in Jerusalem and Jihan Abdalla in Ramallah; Writing by Dominic Evans; Editing by Mark Heinrich)

Source: http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/mideast/*http%3A//news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20120102/wl_nm/us_palestinians_israel

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Protect Canada's "Pocket Desert" as a National Park - Save Endangered Species!

• signatures:
• deadline: ongoing
• signature goal: 10,000

• Target: British Columbia Premier Christy Clark
• Sponsored by: Care2.com

The desert grasslands of the South Okanagan-Similkameen (SOS) region is almost like a natural wildlife park to endangered species. It's home to one-third of British Columbia's endangered species and species at risk.

In fact, there are more species at risk in SOS than any other part of BC, like the bighorn sheep, white-headed woodpeckers, badgers, spotted bats, great basin spadefoot toads, and others. What's more -- the part of this region known as Canada's "pocket desert", the Interior Dry Plateau Natural Region, is the only land connecting BC's interior with U.S. deserts so that animals can migrate north and south.

Unfortunately, while more and more people move to SOS, the animals who live there become threatened by suburban sprawl and agricultural intensification.

Tell British Columbia Premier Christy Clark to enshrine part of the South Okanagan-Similkameen Valley as a national park.

Dear Premier Clark,

The South Okanagan-Similkameen's desert grasslands are home to more than one third of British Columbia's endangered species and species at risk, including the bighorn sheep, white-headed woodpeckers, burrowing owls and more. Plus, this land includes part of the Interior Dry Plateau Natural Region -- the only land that connects the dry British Columbia interior with the United State desert, allowing animals to migrate north and south.

[Your comments will be inserted here.]

Please protect this land and the species that call it home: Approve the South Okanagan-Similkameen National Park Reserve.

Sincerely,
[Your name here]

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we signed "Protect Canada's "Pocket Desert" as a National Park - Save Endangered Species!"

Source: http://www.thepetitionsite.com/takeaction/339/748/195/

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Engadget: now available in Google Currents!

Here at Engadget, we like to live in this wild, ever-changing world called "The Internet." Last month, Google launched yet another branch for internet dwellers to explore, and explore we have. We're happy to say that you can now find each and every Engadget post within Google Currents, a Flipboard-esque reader that nicely formats your favorite websites for magazine-style enjoyment. We'll be working on tweaking the experience based on feedback received, and we certainly hope you'll have a gander if you're already building out your subscriptions.

Engadget Distro
Engadget in Editions
Engadget on your TV

Currents is available for both iOS and Android platforms, and while Google's limiting the official downloads to accounts based in America, there's a decent chance you can use Google's own search engine to find an APK to sideload. Give it a look if you're clamoring for a more subtle design (just hit 'Add' and look in the Science & Tech category), and while you're at it, have a gander at Engadget Distro, too. Enjoy! Engadget: now available in Google Currents! originally appeared on Engadget on Mon, 02 Jan 2012 15:59:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink | Currents (Android Market), (iOS App Store) | Email this | Comments

Via: Engadget

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Source: http://www.newsgab.com/tech-news/157958-engadget-now-available-google-currents.html

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Ethiopia troops enter Somalia, control border town (AP)

NAIROBI, Kenya ? A resident and a military officer say Ethiopian troops have entered a border town in Somalia in what would be a third front against al-Shabab militants.

Resident Mohammed Abdi said hundreds of residents fled the border town of Beledweyne on Saturday after hundreds of Ethiopian and Somali troops moved in.

Capt. Hashi Nor of the Somali military confirmed that Somali and Ethiopian troops had moved in.

The movement appears to be a third front against al-Shabab, Somalia's strongest militant group. Kenyan troops are fighting al-Shabab in Somalia's south, and African Union troops in Mogadishu have mostly pushed al-Shabab fighters out of the capital.

Source: http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/world/*http%3A//news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20111231/ap_on_re_af/af_somalia_ethiopia

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Pew: Hispanic community upset with status quo

Even as the Democratic Party continues to enjoy the Hispanic community?s support heading into the 2012 election year, the Pew Hispanic Center finds that only 45% of Hispanic voters identified the Democratic Party as the more concerned party (for their interests), while 12% picked the Republican Party.

hispanicallyspeakingnews.com

It?s a lopsided result to be sure. However, the trend should concern Democrats.? The percentage of Latinos who say that the Democratic party displays greater concern has declined by 10 points since 2008.

During this same time, the percentage of Hispanic voters who said that the Republican Party has demonstrated more concern increased, but only by a mere 6% since 2008. Simply put, this is hardly a stat to flaunt if the GOP hopes to attract more Hispanics to the party.

Generally speaking, Hispanic sentiment toward the Democratic and Republican parties should be a cause of concern for the political establishment. These poll numbers may reflect the fact that Hispanic voters feel that both major parties are out of touch when it comes to addressing their community?s key interests.

Hispanics also seem to be growing frustrated with the two-party gridlock.? 33% said there?s no difference between Democrats and Republicans, compared to 12% who believed otherwise. In addition, 56%? said that the country is headed in the wrong direction.

Heading into the 2012 election, Pew finds that President Obama has strong Hispanic support in hypothetical match ups against both Mitt Romney and Rick Perry. However, there?s no denying that the President?s approval rating has suffered with the Latino demographic. It?s now down to 49% compared to 58% in 2010.? While the President?s aggressive immigration policy might have something to do with the drooping poll numbers,? it?s not the whole story.? Hispanics are also concerned with issues such as the economy followed by education, healthcare, taxes, and the federal deficit- all of which rank higher than the immigration issue. Perhaps not coincidentally, this priority list is quite similar to that of independent voters.

Given that the Hispanic voting bloc has become critical for electoral success at the national level, the community?s discontent would appear to pose an increasing threat to the status quo.? If the political establishment is not careful, the nation?s largest minority may jump ship and join the burgeoning Independent movement.

The Pew Hispanic Center?s survey was conducted from November 9- December 7, 2011 in all 50 states and the District of Columbia. It included a randomly selected , nationally representative sample of 1220 Latino adults, 557 of whom said they are registered to vote. It had a margin of error of +/- 3.6 percentage points for the full sample and +/- 5.2 percentage points for the registered voter sample.

Tags: Democrats, hispanics, immigration, independent voters, independents, latinos, Obama, Republicans

Source: http://ivn.us/news/2011/12/30/pew-hispanic-community-upset-with-status-quo/

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