Liberty: Mississippi State pounding Rice

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After winning its first outright conference title in 56 years, Rice will try for an unprecedented feat in what could prove to be an unfriendly Liberty Bowl.

The Owls will seek a school-best 11th win when they face a Mississippi State team that will likely have a sizable and noisy crowd on its side on New Year's Eve in Memphis.

Rice (10-3) heads into its first Liberty Bowl having won nine of 10 after capturing the Conference USA title with a 41-24 victory over Marshall on Dec. 7. The Owls have earned 10 victories twice in their history, with one of those seasons taking place under current coach David Bailiff in 2008.

"To have an opportunity to go win an 11th ballgame for the first time in the history of the school and to win a Liberty Bowl championship, that's everything that was on the goals they set," Bailiff said. "All our goals are still intact. It's been an amazing run for us."

Rice, though, could face a significant disadvantage as it tries for that history-making victory. That's because Mississippi State will be playing around 165 miles away from its campus, with their fans bringing their innumerable cowbells - noisemakers that drew a $25,000 fine from the SEC earlier this month but are allowed in Memphis.

The Bulldogs brought in virtually all of a record crowd of 63,816 in their most recent appearance in the Liberty Bowl, a 10-3 win over Central Florida on in 2007.

"I think we have a good plan for the cowbells," Bailiff said. "We've got the CDs of the cowbells going off (at practice). We're looking forward to it."

Mississippi State barely made it to any bowl after losing six of its first 10 games, but the Bulldogs (6-6) won their final two, including a 17-10 overtime victory over rival Mississippi on Nov. 28. Their reward was a school-record fourth consecutive postseason appearance.

"Our seniors have done something no one here has ever done, and that's play in four straight bowls. That's special," coach Dan Mullen said.

An improving defense aided Mississippi State down the stretch. The Bulldogs allowed an average of 15.7 points in their final three games after giving up 37.2 per contest in their previous five.

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Liberty: Mississippi State pounding Rice

Liberty Property Reaps $367.7M from Asset Sale – Analyst Blog

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Liberty Property Trust ( LRY ) has reaped $367.7 million as proceeds by selling 49 properties aggregating around four million square feet of space and 140 acres of land. The move is part of the company's strategy to reposition its portfolio and support its growth initiatives.

These 49 properties are among the 97 properties that the company had earlier disclosed of selling. The sale of remaining assets is slated to be accomplished by late Jan 2014. This remaining disposition is expected to fetch $329.6 million as proceeds.

In particular, the divested portfolio of Liberty consists of office properties spanning 1.9 million square feet, flex properties aggregating 1.8 million square feet and industrial properties spread over 274,000 square feet. These comprise the company's entire Jacksonville, FL portfolio, a part of its Fort Washington, PA assets, and flex properties in Minnesota.

At present, the U.S. industrial market is benefiting from healthy demand for industrial properties with improving net absorption rate and declining vacancy rates. With a thriving demand for premium-quality industrial space, Liberty Property is repositioning its portfolio and shifting focus to the industrial real estate in growing markets. Consequently, the company has been involved in several deals in the past six months.

In October, Liberty Property sealed the $1.475 billion buyout of Cabot Industrial Value Fund III that enhanced its industrial platform by 23 million square feet. The company gained 177 properties in 24 new and existing Liberty industrial markets. Simultaneously, Liberty Property is making concerted efforts to lower its exposure to the suburban office properties market.

Despite the near-term drag to profitability, we believe that repositioning efforts on the part of Liberty are encouraging. The dispositions provide the wherewithal to be invested in acquiring premium assets and poise the company well for riding on the growth trajectory going forward.

This Pennsylvania-based real estate investment trust (REIT) - Liberty Property - currently has a Zacks Rank #3 (Hold). Investors interested in the REIT industry may consider stocks like Getty Realty Corp. ( GTY ), Alexandria Real Estate Equities Inc. ( ARE ) and Chatham Lodging Trust ( CLDT ). While Getty Realty carries a Zacks Rank #1 (Strong Buy), Alexandria Real Estate and Chatham Lodging Trust hold a Zacks Rank #2 (Buy).

ALEXANDRIA REAL (ARE): Free Stock Analysis Report

CHATHAM LODGING (CLDT): Free Stock Analysis Report

GETTY REALTY CP (GTY): Free Stock Analysis Report

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Liberty Property Reaps $367.7M from Asset Sale - Analyst Blog

Liberty Bowl report: Rice running game hits a wall

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Rice took advantage of an early fumble by Mississippi State for a 7-0 lead.

"After that nothing went our way," center Nate Richards said of the 44-7 loss Tuesday in the AutoZone Liberty Bowl. "I don't know what happened."

Rice was held to season lows in total yards (145), rushing yards (61) and points.

The rushing total - 179 yards below its season average - was especially problematic for Rice, which was ranked 16th in the Football Bowl Subdivision. In its first meeting against a Southeastern Conference opponent this season, Rice rushed for 306 yards in a 52-31 season-opening loss to Texas A&M.

"There just wasn't much going on," quarterback Taylor McHargue said. "We never really found a rhythm moving the ball the entire game."

Charles Ross, who rushed for 1,252 yards this season, was limited to 28 yards on 10 carries. He scored the Owls' only touchdown on a 1-yard run in the first quarter.

"We knew coming in that their defensive line was pretty big and we were going to have trouble moving them."

Gaines attracts foes' attention

Like many teams this season, Mississippi State threw away from Phillip Gaines, the Owls' all-Conference USA cornerback, for most of the game.

"We knew where he was at all times on the field," Bulldogs coach Dan Mullen said. "We tried to make mismatches in the middle field."

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Liberty Bowl report: Rice running game hits a wall

Glenn Beck: ‘I Will Stand with GLAAD’ Against Russia’s ‘Hetero-Fascism’

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As Mediaite readers may recall, Glenn Beck recently appeared on CNN for a full hour of talk with S.E. Cupp. Buried within that interview is one especially interesting nugget: Beck said he would gladly stand with GLAAD in the fight against Russias hetero-fascist laws criminalizing public homosexuality.

Beck told Cupp that he finds it ridiculous that Americans were debating Santa Claus race and a comment made by a Duck Dynasty star while, over in Mother Russia, laws have criminalized public homosexuality and a well-known TV celebrity actually called for the burning alive of gay people.

Hetero-fascism, Beck called it. And he said hed gladly stand with GLAAD in taking a stand against Russias anti-gay legislation.

So why is that so interesting?

Ive long been tough on Beck for suggesting hes sympathetic to libertarianism while openly supporting the likes of Rick Santorum and Michele Bachmann two of the most un-libertarian GOP candidates in the 2012 cycle. And then he started to make some progress on many issues, including surveillance and the warfare state.

So Id consider this an even greater step forward. With this one soundbite, Beck has done more to speak out against Russias war on homosexuality than any of his conservative radio colleagues, thereby showing clarity of his belief that while his religious views may say one thing about homosexuality, he does not believe any government has any place legislating such morality. Not only that, but he mentioned fighting arm-in-arm with GLAAD, one of the rights biggest bogeymen.

Bravo.

Watch below, via CNN:

>> Follow Andrew Kirell (@AndrewKirell) on Twitter

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Glenn Beck: ‘I Will Stand with GLAAD’ Against Russia’s ‘Hetero-Fascism’

Galápagos Islands – Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

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The Galpagos Islands (official name: Archipilago de Coln, other Spanish names: Islas Galpagos, Spanish pronunciation:[alapaos]) are an archipelago of volcanic islands distributed on either side of the Equator in the Pacific Ocean, 926km (575mi) west of continental Ecuador, of which they are a part.

The Galpagos Islands and their surrounding waters form an Ecuadorian province, a national park, and a biological marine reserve. The principal language on the islands is Spanish. The islands have a population of slightly over 25,000.[1]

The islands are famed for their vast number of endemic species and were studied by Charles Darwin during the voyage of the Beagle. His observations and collections contributed to the inception of Darwin's theory of evolution by natural selection.

The first recorded visit to the islands happened by chance in 1535, when the Dominican friar Fray Tomas de Berlanga went to Peru to arbitrate in a dispute between Francisco Pizarro and his subordinates. De Berlanga was blown off course, though he eventually returned to the Spanish Empire and described the conditions of the islands and the animals that inhabited them. The first navigation chart of the islands was made by the buccaneer Ambrose Cowley in 1684.[dubious discuss] He named the individual islands after some of his fellow pirates or after the British noblemen who helped the privateer's cause. More recently, the Ecuadorian Government gave most of the islands Spanish names. While the Spanish names are official, many users[who?] (especially ecological researchers) continue to use the older English names, principally because those were the names used when Charles Darwin visited[citation needed].

The islands are located in the eastern Pacific Ocean, 973km (525nmi; 605mi) off the west coast of South America. The closest land mass is that of mainland Ecuador, the country to which they belong, 926km/500nmi to the east.

The islands are found at the coordinates 140'N136'S, 8916'9201'W. Straddling the equator, islands in the chain are located in both the northern and southern hemispheres, with Volcn Wolf and Volcn Ecuador on Isla Isabela being directly on the equator. Espaola Island, the southernmost islet of the archipelago, and Darwin Island, the northernmost one, are spread out over a distance of 220km (137mi). The International Hydrographic Organization (IHO) considers them wholly within the South Pacific Ocean, however.[2] The Galpagos Archipelago consists of 7,880km2 (3,040sqmi) of land spread over 45,000km2 (17,000sqmi) of ocean. The largest of the islands, Isabela, measures 2,250 sq mi/5,827km2[3] and makes up close to three-quarters of the total land area of the Galpagos. Volcn Wolf on Isabela is the highest point, with an elevation of 1,707m (5,600ft) above sea level.

The group consists of 18 main islands, 3 smaller islands, and 107 rocks and islets. The islands are located at the Galapagos Triple Junction. The archipelago is located on the Nazca Plate (a tectonic plate), which is moving east/southeast, diving under the South American Plate at a rate of about 2.5 inches (6.4cm) per year.[4] It is also atop the Galapagos hotspot, a place where the Earth's crust is being melted from below by a mantle plume, creating volcanoes. The first islands formed here at least 8million and possibly up to 90million years ago.[5]

While the older islands have disappeared below the sea as they moved away from the mantle plume, the youngest islands, Isabela and Fernandina, are still being formed, with the most recent volcanic eruption in April 2009 where lava from the volcanic island Fernandina started flowing both towards the island's shoreline and into the centre caldera.

The 18[6] main islands (with a land area larger than 1km2) of the archipelago (with their English names) shown alphabetically:

Although located on the Equator, the Humboldt Current brings cold water to the islands, causing frequent drizzles during most of the year. The weather is periodically influenced by the El Nio events, which occur about every 37 years and are characterized by warm sea surface temperatures, a rise in sea level, greater wave action, and a depletion of nutrients in the water.[8]

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Galápagos Islands - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

china-japan-disputed-islands-reuters-251113.JPG

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January 01, 2014

China's reported plan to reorganise its military regions comes amid rising tensions between China and Japan over a chain of uninhabited islands in the East China Sea.China is considering reorganising its seven military regions into five in a bid to respond more swiftly to a crisis, the Japanese daily Yomiuri Shimbun reported today.

The news comes amid rising tensions over Beijing's territorial claims in the region, with China and Japan squaring off over a chain of uninhabited islands in the East China Sea.

Each of the new military regions will create a joint operations command that controls the army, navy and air force as well as a strategic missile unit, the major daily said citing senior Chinese military officials and other sources.

The planned revamp would mark a shift from the current defence-oriented military that relies mainly on the army to one that ensures more mobile and integrated management of the army, navy, air force and strategic missile units, Yomiuri said.

"It is a proactive measure with eyes on counteracting the Japan-US alliance," the daily quoted one of the officials as saying.

Tokyo and Beijing are locked in a simmering territorial row over Tokyo-controlled Senkaku Islands in the East China Sea which China also claims and calls the Diaoyus.

The United States, while insisting it does not take sides on sovereignty disputes, has said that the islands are under Tokyo's management and so come under a security treaty in which it is required to defend officially pacifist Japan against attack.

Under the proposed military structure China aims to strengthen its attack capability to secure air and naval superiority in the South China Sea and the East China Sea, the daily said.

The newspaper also reported that Japan plans to deploy its first "Global Hawk" unmanned surveillance planes at an airbase in Misawa, on the northern tip of Japan's main Honshu Island, adjacent to a US airbase where the same type of aircraft will be based later this year.

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Travel Guide: Calaguas Islands in Daet Camarines Norte

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Calaguas Islands is increasingly becoming a popular backpacker destination. Located in the northernmost tip of Bicol, this beautiful beach is probably one of the best for Barkada destination in this part of Luzon.

Mahabang Buhangin in Calaguas Island (photo courtesy of Wikipedia)

Calaguas is a group of islands that includes Tinaga Island and Guintinua Island, there are minor islands like Maculabo Island and other minor islands.In Tinaga Island, you can find the famous Mahabang Buhangin (Long Beach) or Halabang Baybay in Bicolano. If you are looking for a perfect camp site or a perfect white sand beach, you will surely enjoy Mahabang Buhangin.

If you are planning a trip to Calaguas Islands and you are looking for travel tips, sample itinerary, transportation guide and hotel recommendation then you just found the right page. This post aims to provide the most detailed Calaguas Islands Travel Guide to help you prepare for your future visit in this beautiful group of islands.

There are no hotels in Calaguas except Cottages. If you are more adventurous, you can choose to camp out. If you do not have a tent, you can ask the locals or your boatmen where you can rent a tent. Each tent is normally good for up to 5 individuals and it is usually rented at 300 400 pesos per night plus a camping fee of 100 pesos per person.

There are Sari-sari stores in some parts of the island but they dont sell hot meals. There are houses where you can ask to cook your meals but I guess its more exciting if you will cook your own meals so make sure to bring enough drinking water, food and booze. You will find some fishermen selling their fresh catch every morning or in the afternoon. There is also a small talipapa (market) in Brgy. Mangcawayan where you can buy fish. If you dont have cooking utensils, ask your boatmen, some of them will you borrow their cooking pan, plates etc.

Day 0 9:00PM ETD daet

Day 1 07:00AM ETA Daet/ Breakfast 08:00AM ETD for Calaguas Island 10:00AM ETA Calaguas Island/ set camp explore 12:00 NN- Lunch 01:00PM Siesta/ swimming/ explore/ picture happy campers 06:00PM Dinner 07:00PM Socials 10:00PM Lights out

Day 2 06:00AM Wakeup call 07:00AM Breakfast 09:00AM Prepare for Island Hopping (own pax Acct) 12:00NN Back to camp site 01:00pm Late lunch 04:00pm Explore the beach 05:00 PM Rest 06:00 PM Dinner

Day 3 06:00AM Wakeup call 07:00AM Breakfast 09:00AM Break Camp 10:00AM ETD Calaguas Daet 12:00NN ETD Daet 01:00PM Late Lunch 02:00PM Surfing Bgasbas 05:00 PM Rest 06:00 PM Dinner 09:00 PM ETD Daet Manila

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Travel Guide: Calaguas Islands in Daet Camarines Norte