The Jeremy Lin-led Knicks are 9-2 after starting the season 8-15, standing at an even 17-17 record.

They are second in the Atlantic Division, trailing the Philadelphia 76ers by three games (who themselves are on a five-game skid).

If the playoffs started today, the Knicks would be the seventh seed playing the second seed Chicago Bulls.

With Carmelo and Lin both in the lineup, they are 2-1.

In their last 10, they are 8-2 (mostly due to the emergence of Lin) and have become a viable threat in the Eastern Conference (with two solid wins over the Lakers and Mavericks).

All signs are pointing to good things for the Knicks this season (obviously, providing they are healthy among the important factors).

They have tremendous depth on their team when you factor in the additions of Baron Davis and J.R. Smith (Smith had a great showing on Sunday against Dallas where he scored 15 points in his debut).

Guys like Steve Novak and Tyson Chandler get a boost when Lin is in the game (Novak, the beneficiary of open threes, and Chander, for his wide open lanes to the basket, not to mention pretty alley-oop plays).

The Knicks have the potential to go far, but before they take the weekend off, they have one more test to go through, and that is a very hot Miami Heat team.

The Heat have won seven in a row and are 9-1 in their last 10 games. the Big three in Miami is playing like we expected to, with all the stars getting theirs and playing very good basketball.

Thursday’s nationally televised game will be a must-see for hoops fans everywhere.

If new York is expected to do anything this season, they will have to most likely go through Miami.

A win would give them a huge momentum boost going into the All-Star break (not to mention all the great publicity surrounding the team since the insertion of Lin).

They will be playing on Miami’s home floor, but more importantly, can this Knicks team show that is can beat the best of the best?

Miami advanced all the way to the NBA Finals last season before losing to Dallas in six games. They have started this season on a tear, going 26-7 through 34 games (they are tied with Oklahoma City for the best record in the NBA).

If this Knicks team is for real, they will need to be on their A game if they want to get over D-Wade, Bron Bron and Chris Bosh.

The formula may be simply good team basketball and good defense. It could be something else. But the Heat are not an unstoppable force, as they do have seven losses on their record. Can the Knicks conquer their long-time rivals?

We’ll see if it happens tomorrow night.

Read more New York Knicks news on BleacherReport.com

How Linsane a Knicks Victory over a Hot Miami Team Would Be » NBA GRAPEVINE

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Home Ministry Solved 100 per Cent Of Complaints Last Year

KUALA LUMPUR, Feb 15 (Bernama) — the Home Ministry recorded a 100 per cent success in solving the 1,356 public complaints it received last year, said its secretary-general Tan Sri Mahmood Adam said. He said based on the Public Complaint Bureau’s (BPA) report involving 25 ministries, 11 recorded a 100 per cent success in solving complaints with the Home Ministry receiving the most complaints. “The Home Ministry received the most complaints and of the total, 738 were found to be genuine and the rest, baseless. Not all feedback received were complaints. “There were also queries, suggestions, praises and letters of appreciation, he said in a statement here Wednesday. the BPA report also stated that the Royal Malaysian Police (PDRM) was at the top for complaints among eight agencies and government departments, receiving 842. — BERNAMA

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BERNAMA – Home Ministry Solved 100 Per Cent Of Complaints Last Year

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CHARLESTON, W.Va.—Gas prices in West Virginia are about 46 cents higher per gallon compared with a year ago.

AAA East Central says gas prices rose about 3 cents in the past week and now average $3.65 for a gallon of regular unleaded.

It marks the fourth straight week of price increases in West Virginia.

Prices range from $3.54 in Huntington to $3.84 in Martinsburg.

A year ago, the price of a gallon of regular unleaded averaged $3.19 in the state. But the following week, prices jumped about 20 cents.

Nationally, prices at the pump now average $3.57, the highest ever for this time of year. Analysts say they may reach a record $4.25 per gallon this spring.

© Copyright 2012 Associated Press. All rights reserved. this material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.

Gas prices up for 4th straight week in W.Va.

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InterDigital, inc. (NASDAQ: IDCC) today announced that its patent holding subsidiaries have entered into an amendment of its worldwide royalty-bearing patent license agreement with Sierra Wireless, inc. to include a license for products designed to operate in accordance with 4G wireless technologies, including LTE, LTE-Advanced, and WiMax™.

“We are pleased to add Sierra Wireless to our list of licensees with coverage under our portfolio to sell 4G products,” commented Lawrence Shay, President of InterDigital’s patent holding subsidiaries. “Sierra Wireless offers a comprehensive portfolio of mobile computing and machine-to-machine (M2M) communications products and solutions and is a proven leader in bringing new innovative 4G products to market. we are pleased to have come to an expanded agreement with them in a timely fashion.”

About InterDigital®

InterDigital develops fundamental wireless technologies that are at the core of mobile devices, networks, and services worldwide. we solve many of the industry’s most critical and complex technical challenges, inventing solutions for more efficient broadband networks and a richer multimedia experience years ahead of market deployment. InterDigital has licenses and strategic relationships with many of the world’s leading wireless companies.

For more information, visit interdigital.com.

InterDigital is a registered trademark of InterDigital, inc. all other marks are the sole property of their respective owners.

InterDigital and Sierra Wireless Expand Worldwide Patent License Agreement to Cover 4G Standards

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for more than a decade, we have listened to big talk and bold ideas about whitewater rafting on the Chattahoochee River.

A decade ago, it looked to be on the fast track, backed by the Bradley-Turner Foundation and project champion John Turner, a Columbus businessman.

But things slowed considerably amid governmental red tape — apparently you can’t just tear dams out at will — and funding uncertainty.

Today, the $23 million public-private project is well under way.

And the change in the river is evident.

From this project’s initial discussions in 1999, one of the top selling points has been that removing the Eagle & Phenix Dam and the City Mills Dam would eliminate two small impoundments in the Chattahoochee and return the river to a more natural state.

Jim Phillips, the Chattahoochee Riverkeeper at the time, summed up the project’s goal in a 2002 newspaper interview: “Restore the natural flow of the river.” Many others have said similar things along the way.

There is no doubt when those two dams are breached, it will significantly narrow the river and create rapids into downtown Columbus. it will create a habitat for fish and plants.

Those swift falling waters will provide an economic engine for years to come, just as they were harnessed for hydro power in the 1800s.

But something else became obvious in recent weeks. after watching the construction from the banks for four months, I spent an hour in the river bed a few weeks ago.

They are building the ultimate amusement park ride. that signature rapid at the Eagle & Phenix will rival any rapid you can ride in North Georgia or the hills of southern Tennessee.

The course is being built in and around the large rocks that make up the historic Fall Line. This is every bit a construction project as it is a destruction project. Tons of concrete have been poured into the Chattahoochee at the Eagle & Phenix Dam. Concrete-filled bags have been strategically placed along the river bottom to make this course safer and take away some of the places a rafter or kayaker could get trapped under water.

None of that should be visible when the project is completed, organizers have said. but this is not an exact science. They are dealing with a real river — and things happen. Like in early November when a chunk of the riverwalk eroded into the river as water was diverted through a powerhouse to allow low flow in the construction zone.

And now the Eagle & Phenix Dam, a structure that has stood the test of time since 1868, is about to be breached.

The old is clearly giving way to the new. This is a project designed to change downtown Columbus, and I have little doubt it is going to be for the better.

But let’s be frank — just as the river was altered by 19th Century industrialists, it is being altered again.

And as it was then, the driving force is economic development.

Chuck Williams, metro editor, can be reached at

Chuck Williams: Everything flows and nothing stays

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WASHINGTON – the money has largely been spent, but as President Obama’s $825 billion economic stimulus turns 3 years old today, its substantial, yet still inadequate impact remains the subject of sharp debate.

The White House, the Obama re-election campaign and liberal allies point to an improving economy, more than 3 million new jobs and an unemployment rate that has dropped closer to the rate Obama inherited.

Republican presidential candidates and congressional leaders decry high poverty rates and food stamp caseloads, earnings that are not keeping pace with inflation and a declining percentage of Americans in the workforce.

• BLOG: CBO projects 8%-plus unemployment into 2014
• STORY: Positive news on unemployment claims, housing starts, inflation

As the two sides prepare for a presidential campaign that’s likely to be won or lost on the economy, what’s changed is … the economy. Its rebound has prompted Obama to focus less on the recession he inherited and more on the rebound taking shape.

“The month I took office, we were losing 750,000 (jobs) a month. last month, we created 250,000. That’s a million-job swing,” Obama said Thursday at a fundraiser in Corona del Mar, Calif. “And that’s representative of the progress that the economy has made.”

Obama’s re-election campaign touts on its website and in online advertising this Labor Department graphic, which shows the economy has created 3.7 million private-sector jobs over the past 23 months.

Republicans respond that the “recovery” in the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 has yet to materialize, leading to three straight years of unemployment rates above 8% and soaring budget deficits.

“At the signing of the ‘stimulus’ three years ago, President Obama said he wanted to be held accountable for the results of his spending binge,” House Speaker John Boehner said Thursday. “Today, there’s no denying the fact that his ‘stimulus’ policies not only failed, they made things worse.”

The rhetoric increasingly is finding its way into charts and videos on the Internet. a simple bar chart from the Bureau of Labor Statistics that shows monthly job creation graces the Obama campaign’s website, is used in online advertising and has become the campaign’s most shared item on Facebook.

On the other side, the House Republican Study Committee used a Labor Department chart on declining labor force participation in a release Thursday titled, “Where are the Jobs?”

Today, the Obama campaign and Republican National Committee will release state-by-state reports touting their versions of events. the campaign will detail the impact of Obama’s policies on manufacturing. the Republicans will focus on states’ economies.

The two sides even have produced Web videos claiming that the stimulus succeeded or failed, thanks to the liberal Center for American Progress and the libertarian Reason Foundation.

House Speaker John Boehner speaks during a news conference on Capitol Hill Thursday. Republicans have said that stimulus policies not only failed, they made things worse.

Why the completely different evaluations? Politics, of course. and this: While most economists acknowledge the package of infrastructure spending, aid to states and $300 billion in tax cuts signed by Obama on Feb. 17, 2009, helped stop the bleeding from the worst recession in more than 70 years, it fell short of supporters’ predictions.

The Obama team dug itself a hole before it even got the keys to the White House. in January 2009, it released a report that said its stimulus package would hold unemployment below 8%. by October, it hit 10%.

It took more than a year before jobs started coming back, 15 months before the unemployment rate began to decline and nearly three years before the gains became solid.

Along the way, independent analyses gave the stimulus package at least part of the credit. a 2010 report by economists Alan Blinder and Mark Zandi said it boosted economic growth by about 3.4%, held the unemployment rate about 1.5 percentage points lower and added almost 2.7 million jobs.

The non-partisan Congressional Budget Office pegged the number of jobs saved or created by the stimulus at its peak between 700,000 and 3.3 million. Most independent economists estimated the stimulus saved or created about 2.5 million jobs — about 1 million short of what the White House predicted.

The impact of some pieces of the stimulus can be seen more clearly now that the money has stopped flowing. For instance, aid to state and local governments prevented layoffs of teachers and other government workers, says Zandi, Moody’s Analytics chief economist, a stimulus proponent and former adviser to 2008 Republican presidential nominee John McCain.

That money began to run out in mid-2010, was briefly renewed and began to run out again in early 2011. That set off a wave of teacher layoffs that initially had been avoided. Local governments have cut 200,000 education jobs since June 2010.

Another big part of the stimulus was nearly $100 billion set aside for technology, split between encouraging electronic medical records and promoting clean energy. While loan guarantees to now-bankrupt companies such as solar panel maker Solyndra were controversial, a USA TODAY analysis last fall found tech companies that benefited from the stimulus have outperformed the stock market since.

A third component of the stimulus, the $14 billion home-buyer tax credit, was criticized for subsidizing people who would have bought homes anyway. but Pulte, the nation’s biggest homebuilder, says its 2011 second-quarter home sales dropped 29% after the credit wasn’t available anymore. “The evidence is that it helped,” says Jared Bernstein, who was Vice President Biden’s top economic adviser during the stimulus’s rollout. “We wouldn’t be where we are today if it hadn’t.”

Obama, GOP take stimulus debate online

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The economy may be weak, but feelings of love still run strong.That seems to be the lesson to be drawn from Valentine’s Day salesat local flower shops.

“Sales were a lot better than last year, and we noticed a biglift in our delivery business,” Super Saver store director StevePetersen said. “We were double digits over last year.”

It helped that the holiday fell on Tuesday, a workday.

“People like to send flowers on a workday, and the people whoget them like to have the flowers at work for a day or two,”Petersen said.

Sales were up at Bloom Works, 142 W. Broadway, too.

“We were up this year,” owner Alisa Roth said. “We had moresales and deliveries than last year.”

Both Roth and Petersen agreed red roses are still the firstthing many people think of for Valentine’s Day.

“Red roses are the big guns for the holiday,” Petersen said.“There was a big demand for red roses.”

“Red roses are still the big item, but we sell a ton of colors,like bicolor and multicolor roses,” Roth said. “We sold a lot ofthose, anything that stood out like orange and hot pink.”

On the other hand, those with big hearts but small budgets wereable to find ways to demonstrate their affection.

“We had guys coming in the day before, studying what to buy,”Petersen said.

Flower sales included “a nice mix of arrangements, colors andflowers” spanning a range of prices.

Roth said her shop primarily tries to sell floral arrangementsbut “we did sell some single roses.”

Roth noted some sales were on the higher end of the financialscale.

“We had people buying double dozens, and people buying threedozen roses in arrangements,” she said. “Sometimes they’d add a boxof chocolates or some balloons. Those get pricey.”

Petersen also noticed customers who purchased arrangementscosting $100 to $150, while others purchased individual roses.

“It’s the thought, not how much you spend,” Petersen said.

Love and affection trump hard economic times – SouthwestIowaNews.com: Council Bluffs Nonpareil

Love and affection trump hard economic times – SouthwestIowaNews.com: Council Bluffs Nonpareil is a post from: Noon News: Entertainment, Politics, Business

Tributes are pouring in for Sunday Times foreign correspondent Marie Colvin who has been killed during an attack in Homs in Syria.

French photojournalist Remi Ochlik was also killed after shells reportedly hit a makeshift media centre in Baba Amr.

Her mother, Rosemarie Colvin, said her daughter should have left Syria the day she died.

UK Prime Minister David Cameron said Ms Colvin's death was a "sad reminder" of the risks journalists took in Syria.

‘Committed journalist’

US State Department spokesman mark Toner condemned the killings, saying the White House was "deeply troubled and saddened" by the reports of the deaths of the American and her colleague.

Ms Colvin, who had spoken to the BBC the day before she died about the situation in Homs, was one of few Western journalists in the troubled country.

The latest violence in the besieged city of Homs left 60 people dead.

Ms Colvin's mother Rosemarie, who lives in New York, said her daughter had been told by her editor to leave the country because of the danger she was facing, but the award-winning journalist "wanted to finish one more story".

Mrs Colvin told the BBC her daughter was committed to showing the full reality of people in trouble, not just a snapshot, and her work would always involve personal stories from those in the heart of conflict.

"That's the way she wanted to do it, to show that these horrible things were happening, and this oppression was happening to real people and it was something that had to be exposed and had to be written about," she said.

Her brother William said: "She always tried to bear witness to what was happening and get the story right. That's what she did."

Continue reading the main story

Sunday Times owner Rupert Murdoch described Ms Colvin as "one of the most outstanding foreign correspondents of her generation" who was "driven by a determination that the misdeeds of tyrants and the suffering of the victims did not go unreported".

"This was at great personal cost, including the loss of the sight in one eye while covering the civil war in Sri Lanka. This injury did not stop her from returning to even more dangerous assignments," he added.

‘Joie de vivre’

Sunday Times editor John Witherow told the BBC Ms Colvin was too experienced in war reporting to take "reckless risks".

He said: "She was somebody who was fun, full of life with joie de vivre and friends all over the world. everybody is in shock at this.

"during her time she saved many lives by highlighting the plight of victims of violence. everywhere she had gone she tried to help people because she believed she was a witness to the violence that was going on and that she could make a difference."

Mr Cameron told Parliament that the government's thoughts were with Ms Colvin's friends and family.

Foreign Secretary William Hague said: "Marie and Remi died bringing us the truth about what is happening to the people of Homs.

"Governments around the world have the responsibility to act upon that truth – and to redouble our efforts to stop [President Bashar] Assad regime's despicable campaign of terror in Syria."

Labour leader Ed Miliband told Parliament that Ms Colvin was "an inspiration to women in her profession".

Marie Colvin helped the BBC's Jeremy Bowen get one of the major final interviews with Col Gaddafi ‘Brave and determined’

Sir Menzies Campbell, the former Lib Dem leader who is also on the Commons foreign affairs committee, said Ms Colvin's reports were "always perceptive, balanced and compelling."

BBC correspondent Jim Muir in Beirut, who had known Ms Colvin for 25 years, said she was both nervous and excited about going to Syria but she felt she had to go.

He said: "She, more than anybody, knew the dangers of war. It's not about glamour, it's not about glory. It's about people being torn to pieces."

Marie Colvin's mother, Rosemarie: "Telling the story was her life"

Peter Bouckaert from Human Rights Watch, said he had spoken to Ms Colvin only on Tuesday.

He said: "for Marie, covering war wasn't about doing a few quick interviews and writing up a quick story: she experienced war alongside those who suffered in war, and her writings had a particular vividness because of what she had dared to see and experience.

Ms Colvin sent Jeremy Bowen, the BBC's Middle East editor, an email on Monday about her Sunday Times article on Homs, published on 19 February.

She wrote: "I thought yesterday's piece was one of those we got in to journalism for. they are killing with impunity here, it is sickening and anger-making."

Mr Bowen said: "She was a real nuts and bolts journalist who would get down to get the story."

French photojournalist Remi Ochlik was also killed

The BBC's Lyse Doucet said Ms Colvin was a glamorous, elegant, passionate woman whose focus was always on finding the "quiet bravery" of those she would be reporting on.

"The world will miss her because she was the eyes and ears of so many," she said.

"She admired the pioneering journalism of fellow American Martha Gelhorn. I always saw her as the Martha of our generation: brave and beautiful."

ITN's bill Neely blogged: "on Monday I sent her a message; 'Bravo Marie. Keep your head down.' This morning I looked at the video of her body in a house in Homs. her head down. her voice silenced."

Michelle Stanistreet, general secretary of the National Union of Journalists, said Ms Colvin had lived up to her own desire to "report on the horrors of war with accuracy and without prejudice" with "bravery and grace".

Meanwhile Kate Allen from Amnesty International called Ms Colvin's death "a terrible loss to journalism in this country."

Tributes paid to Sunday Times reporter Marie Colvin

Tributes paid to Sunday Times reporter Marie Colvin is a post from: Noon News: Entertainment, Politics, Business

Giving service: President Monson has a special message just for children. Watch this delightful new Mormon Messages video “Pass it On,” then pass it on to the children in your life and pass the message of service on to those around you. love it!

Ash Wednesday: Today marks Ash Wednesday, the beginning of Lent for the Catholic Church. One blogger takes “A Mormon Look at Lent” and discovers some similarities in the practice of fasting and giving: “As you can see, even with minimal understanding of Lent, members of the LDS Church have much in common with our Catholic friends. What I appreciate learning most is that all who love Jesus Christ, and recognize him as our personal Savior, have a deep desire to express our love in similitude of His Great Sacrifice.” Beautifully stated.

Snowboarding athlete: “My name is Jeremy Jones and I always told my mom and my dad that I won’t wear a suit and a tie to work.” Meet snowboarder Jeremy Jones who loves his sport and loves that he can do it for his employment, “but that is what it is.” His love of his family and his faith comes first. Learn more about this new Mormon.org profile.

Emily W. Jensen updates “Today in the Bloggernacle” on Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays, presenting the best from the world of LDS-oriented blog sites. Her extended “Bloggernacle back Bench” appears on Tuesdays.

A message from President Monson and a Mormon looks at Lent

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Comedian Frank Carson, best known for his catchphrase “It’s a cracker”, has died, his family has said.

The Belfast-born stand-up, 85, who had suffered from stomach cancer and was in poor health, died at home surrounded by his family in Blackpool, Lancashire.

In a statement, his family said Carson was a “husband, father, Gaga and comedian” who had “set off for his final gig”.

“He went peacefully at his home in Blackpool surrounded by his greatest fans – his extended family. we will be taking him home to Belfast to lay him to rest and celebrate his joyful life. It’s quieter down here now. God help them up there!”

The comic rose to fame in the 1960s after winning talent show Opportunity Knocks three times. He went on to appear in the Comedians and Tiswas. Carson had undergone a successful operation for stomach cancer last year.

Born in Belfast on 6 November 1926 to a family of Italian descent, the son of a binman grew up in the Little Italy area of the city and worked as a plasterer and electrician before joining the Parachute Regiment.

He served three years in the Middle East in the 1950s before turning to showbusiness. Spotted for his stand-up work, he was a popular performer on Irish television before moving to England.

Celebrity friends who died before him included Eric Morecambe, Bernard Manning, Tommy Cooper, Spike Milligan and Norman Wisdom. He also worked ceaselessly for charity and was made a Knight of St Gregory by Pope John Paul II in 1987, the highest honour in the Catholic church. He dedicated much of his life to looking after his wife Ruth, who had serious eyesight problems, with his sons Tony and Aidan and daughter Majella, despite his own heart problems. they have also put a huge effort into bringing the two sides of the community in Northern Ireland together through education.

His agent said: “His audience and friends alike will remember him as a genuine, kind-hearted and generous man who was also very funny because of ‘the way he told ‘em’. we will remember him as one of the nicest people in showbiz, a gentleman and a friend.”

Former chat show host Sir Michael Parkinson said: “We had him on the show a couple of times and I met him playing golf. He was a good comic and great company. He represented that front-of-cloth comedy, it’s a different genre from the kind of comedy that we have today, where younger and smarter comedians play big halls – he was a club comic… He was a good man – you’re always smiling with people like Frank around.”

Comedian Frank Carson dies aged 85

Comedian Frank Carson dies aged 85 is a post from: Noon News: Entertainment, Politics, Business