Tuesday, January 31, 2012

Obama plays up auto industry success story (AP)

WASHINGTON ? President Barack Obama wears his decision to rescue General Motors and Chrysler three years ago as a badge of honor, a move to save jobs in an industry that helped create the backbone of the middle class more than a half-century ago.

For Obama, the auto bailout is a case study for his efforts to revive the economy and a potential point of contrast with Republican Mitt Romney, who opposed Obama's decision to pour billions of dollars into the auto companies. The president's campaign views the auto storyline as a potent argument against Romney, the son of a Detroit auto executive who later served as Michigan governor.

If Romney wins the GOP nomination, expect to hear a lot about the car industry.

"The American auto industry was on the verge of collapse. And some politicians were willing to let it just die. We said no," Obama told college students last week in Ann Arbor, Mich. "We believe in the workers of this state."

Obama was expected to visit the Washington Auto Show on Tuesday, giving him another forum to talk about GM and Chrysler, along with the administration's attention to manufacturers and efforts to boost fuel efficiency standards. The White House has taken every opportunity to highlight its efforts to rebuild the auto industry, pointing to GM's reemergence as the world's largest automaker and job growth and profitability in the U.S. auto industry.

As the industry was collapsing in the fall of 2008, the former Massachusetts governor predicted in a New York Times op-ed that if the companies received a federal bailout, "you can kiss the American automotive industry goodbye." Romney said the companies should have undergone a "managed bankruptcy" that would have avoided a government bailout.

"Whether it was by President Bush or by President Obama, it was the wrong way to go," Romney said at a GOP presidential debate in Michigan in November. Romney said the nation has "capital markets and bankruptcy ? it works in the U.S. The idea of billions of dollars being wasted initially, then finally they adopted the managed bankruptcy. I was among others that said we ought to do that."

Both the Bush and Obama administrations found themselves in uncharted territory in the fall of 2008 and early 2009. GM and Chrysler were on the verge of collapse when Congress failed to approve emergency loans in late 2008. Bush stepped in and signed off on $17.4 billion in loans, requiring the companies to develop restructuring plans under Obama's watch.

The following spring, Obama pumped billions more into GM and Chrysler but forced concessions from industry stakeholders, enabling the companies to go through swift bankruptcies. Obama aides said billions in aid ? about $85 billion for the industry in total ? was necessary because capital markets were essentially frozen at the time, meaning there was no way for GM and Chrysler to fund their bankruptcies privately.

Without any private financing or government support, they argued, the companies would have been forced to liquidate.

Three years later, Obama is trying to turn the tough decision into a political advantage in Ohio and Michigan, which Obama carried in 2008 and where unemployment has fallen of late. During last week's State of the Union address, Obama said the auto industry had hired tens of thousands of workers, and he predicted the Detroit turnaround could take root elsewhere.

Yet Obama's poll numbers in places like Ohio and Michigan remain in dangerous territory, under 50 percent, and the auto industry argument carries some inherent risks.

A Quinnipiac University poll in Ohio released Jan. 18 found Obama locked in a virtual tie with Romney in a hypothetical matchup, with about half the voters disapproving of Obama's performance as president. A poll in Michigan released last week by Lansing-based EPIC-MRA found 48 percent supporting Obama and 40 percent backing Romney in a potential matchup.

Republicans say the bailout still remains unpopular and the government intervention was hardly a cure-all. "The industry was bailed out but a lot of people lost their jobs," said David Doyle, a Michigan-based Republican strategist.

In a nation still soured on bailouts, the government owns more than a quarter of GM. The Treasury Department estimates the government will lose more than $23 billion on the auto bailout: GM is trading at $24 a share, well below the $53-per-share mark needed for the government to recoup its investment in the company.

Romney, facing attacks from Democrats on his work at private equity firm Bain Capital, has tried to use the GM and Chrysler cases to insulate himself against charges his firm gutted companies and fired workers. "How did you do when you were running General Motors as the president?" Romney said in a December debate. "Gee, you closed down factories. You closed down dealerships. And he'll say, well I did that to save the business. Same thing with us, Mr. President."

Obama, Vice President Joe Biden and others say the decision, while unpopular, saved an estimated 1 million jobs throughout the Midwest and say the industry is coming back.

As a result of the restructuring, the companies can make money at far lower U.S. sales volumes than in the past. Industry analysts predict U.S. sales will grow by at least 1 million this year over last year's 12.8 million units as people replace aging cars and trucks. And North American operations at GM, Chrysler and Ford are thriving, boosting their companies' earnings ? all signs that Democrats say will make the difference in the Midwest.

"I don't know how any reasonable person can fail to acknowledge that this rescue plan worked and the country has benefited," said former Ohio Gov. Ted Strickland, a Democrat.

___

AP Auto Writer Tom Krisher in Detroit contributed to this report.

Source: http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/politics/*http%3A//news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20120131/ap_on_go_pr_wh/us_obama_autos

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Uggie retires: 6 tributes to The Artist's star dog (The Week)

New York ? The four-legged breakout star of 2011 leaves showbiz on a high note. And the critics will miss him

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Just as his star is shining brightest, Uggie the movie dog is hanging up his collar. The sweet-faced Jack Russell Terrier became the four-legged breakout film star of 2011, thanks to his role as the convincingly faithful companion to Jean Dujardin's down-and-out character in The Artist. While he was "snubbed" by the Oscars, the hard-working dog did manage to snag two nominations for next month's inaugural?Golden Collar Awards. But Uggie, 10, is starting to slow down, and it's time for him to retire, says his trainer, Omar Von Muller. Here's what critics have to say about Hollywood's loss:

One for the history books: "It's a sad, sad day in the animal kingdom,"?says Michelle Profis at Entertainment Weekly. Uggie is "arguably one of the most adored pooches of all time." It's heartbreaking to lose such charisma, such "star power," so soon.

SEE MORE: Searching a house based on a drug dog's sniff: Unconstitutional?

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He made the awards season exciting again: Uggie managed to turn Hollywood's seasonal dog-and-pony shows into a literal one with his red carpet showmanship, says Sarah Anne Hughes at The Washington Post. He is "arguably, one of the best things to come out of this awards season," between his Golden Globe performance and a "fantastic (but failed) campaign to make him an Oscar nominee."

A fleeting favorite:?"Nooooooo!" says Jeremy Feist at Pop Bytes. Just when America was falling in love with his talent and charm, he leaves the stage. "Oh Uggie, we didn't know what we had until it was gone."?

SEE MORE: Should your dog get a flu shot?

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Leaving on a high note: The "mean ol' Academy" won't let animals be nominated for an Oscar, says Glen Levy at TIME, but Uggie still had a year few could top. Now that he's retiring, Uggie won't have to worry about trying to out-perform the past 12 months, "which didn't just see him charm audiences worldwide in the current front-runner for Best Picture but also cropping up in Water for Elephants."?

He's earned his break: This "scene-stealing canine" worked hard to earn his acclaim, and now he deserves a relaxing retirement, says Bryan Enk at The Next Movie. It's too bad his time in the spotlight was so short, but "there's something to be said about getting out once you've hit it big."?

SEE MORE: The 7 most newsworthy dogs of 2011

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And he's paved the way for others: With "two of the year's most critically acclaimed pooch-oriented performances," says Ben Child at Britain's Guardian, Uggie deserves a break from his grueling 15-hour days during filming. But "if animal actors are increasingly becoming as well known as their human counterparts, it should come as no surprise that there is a perky ingenue waiting in the wings" ? Uggie's brother, Dash, has been groomed to take his place in the spotlight.

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SEE MORE: Does your dog actually know what you're thinking?

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    Source: http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/oped/*http%3A//news.yahoo.com/s/theweek/20120130/cm_theweek/223824

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    Monday, January 30, 2012

    Tilera sees sense in the server wars, puts just 36 cores in its newest processor

    While Tilera's forthcoming 100-core processors threaten to set off fire alarms around the world, the company has finally brought out its more sensible 36-core variant. The 1.2GHz Tile-GX36 sips just 24 watts and is designed to be especially handy with short and sharp jobs like processing internet transactions. It's a reduced instruction set (RISC) chip, so it's less power hungry and cheaper than Intel's x86 silicon. It also sports 64-bit architecture, whereas rival ARM is set to remain 32-bit until 2014. Then again, with Tilera lagging behind in terms of brand recognition and software support, a two-year head start might not be long enough.

    Tilera sees sense in the server wars, puts just 36 cores in its newest processor originally appeared on Engadget on Mon, 30 Jan 2012 10:59:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

    Permalink   |  sourcePCWorld  | Email this | Comments

    Source: http://www.engadget.com/2012/01/30/tilera-sees-sense-in-the-server-wars-puts-just-36-cores-in-its/

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    Police officer shot, killed by fellow officer trying to arrest him

    SANTA MARIA, Calif. ? A Santa Maria police officer was shot and killed Saturday by a fellow officer who was trying to arrest him for suspected sexual misconduct with a minor, the Santa Maria Times reported.

    The slain officer was on duty when police tried to?take him into custody?early Saturday, the Santa Maria Police Department said in a press release.

    The suspect officer allegedly drew his weapon and fired. "In response, one officer on scene fired at the suspect officer hitting him once," officials said in a news release, according to the Times.

    The wounded officer was taken to a hospital, where he died.

    The name of the slain?officer was not released. Authorities said he was being investigated on an allegation of sexual misconduct against a minor.

    Source: http://usnews.msnbc.msn.com/_news/2012/01/28/10259852-police-officer-shot-killed-by-fellow-officer-trying-to-arrest-him

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    Sunday, January 29, 2012

    Man stuck in mud for 3 days, is rescued

    A homeless man who was stuck in thick mud near the Rio Grande river in Albuquerque for three days was rescued Saturday after some high school students on a field trip heard him yelling for help, authorities said.

      1. C'mon ? what's not to like?

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    However, the man's newfound freedom wasn't going to last. Police said he was wanted on a felony warrant, and they planned to arrest him after he was treated at a local hospital.

    A group of La Cueva High School students and their biology teacher heard the man yelling Saturday morning from a marshy wetlands area in the Oxbow Open Space Preserve, the Albuquerque Fire Department and police officials said.

    The students were in the area ? about two miles north of Interstate 40 in Albuquerque ? doing a school project. They called authorities and told them that the man said he'd been stuck in the river for three days and could not move, according to a police report.

    Fire crews and preserve officers responded and found a "male subject stuck on a reed island about a hundred yards from the west bank of the river," the report said.

    Crews deployed an air boat and used a pulley system to lift the man from the mud and water, and up a hill.

    Police later identified the man as Clayton Senn, a transient who'd been living near the river.

    Authorities said they discovered a warrant for Senn's arrest on suspicion of aggravated assault with a deadly weapon, a felony. Senn was taken to an Albuquerque hospital for treatment and was to be booked on the warrant upon his release, police said.

    Details on Senn's condition were not immediately available.

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

    Source: http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/46176341/ns/us_news-weird_news/

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    Saturday, January 28, 2012

    Alona Elkayam: Icon of the Day: In Search of Lost Time With Salon Tea

    Nostalgia is making a serious comeback. So while you tell me about your new 4G phone, it won?t be non sequitur that I respond with an exquisite description of my grandmother?s old strawberry and whip cream dessert she used to make my brother and I every Friday night. Your current Super Bowl chit chat will be met with descriptions of my past as a teen in my living room making up various killer dance routines to Shannon?s ?Let the music play.?

    Ahhhhhh, yes nostalgia sure is making a comeback. Woody Allen makes it the main character in his movie, Midnight in Paris; Urban Outfitters honors nostalgia with the USB turntable, among other throwback products; and Tracy Stern urges us to savor it with her Salon Tea brand.

    While Woody focuses on the idea that every generation thinks the previous generation was simpler, Ms. Stern focuses on something less debatable: Lost time. All Ms. Stern wants is for us to put our iPhones down. Pour un instant s'il vous pla?t. She wants us to experience what Proust wrote about In Search of Lost Time when he bit into that madeleine and ?ceased now to feel mediocre, contingent, mortal." And she?s giving us a chance. From her line of teas named after turn of the century archetypes like ?The Dandy? or ?The Society Hostess? to her instruction book, Tea Party, there is a place for nostalgia in all of us.

    If you men and women out there aren?t ready for tea parties (Boston or English) just yet, how about just cherishing the moments between Facebook updates, Siri results, or while staring at the Twitter whale -- preferably with a cup of tea.

    Salon Tea Branded Teapot

    1? of ?3

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    Follow Alona Elkayam on Twitter: www.twitter.com/321takeoff

    Source: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/alona-elkayam/tracy-stern-salon-tea_b_1234995.html

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    Police commissioner: NYPD is good with Muslims (AP)

    NEW YORK ? New York's police commissioner says a film that critics say paints Muslims in a bad light wasn't officially approved for NYPD training.

    At a news conference Friday, Police Commissioner Raymond Kelly called the movie "The Third Jihad" inflammatory. But he said it was shown by mistake in a side room of a training center.

    He also defended the NYPD's record with the city's Muslim community. He called the relationship "excellent."

    The movie uses dramatic footage to warn against the dangers of radical Islam. Muslim groups say it teaches Americans to be suspicious of all Muslims.

    Kelly appears for about 30 seconds of the 72-minute movie. He originally said he was not involved but later acknowledged giving the filmmakers an interview in 2007 and apologized.

    Source: http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/religion/*http%3A//news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20120127/ap_on_re_us/us_nypd_intelligence_movie

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    Friday, January 27, 2012

    Mortgage task force may anger big banks

    By John W. Schoen, Senior Producer

    In the Wild West of the ongoing mortgage mess, there?s a new sheriff in town. And he?s not handing "Get Out of Jail Free" cards in return for a $25 billion check.

    The appointment of New York Attorney General Eric Schneiderman to head?a special task force that will?investigate mortgage fraud marks a turning point in a year-long effort to resolve a wave of legal challenges to abusive and illegal foreclosure practices.

    After a year of talks aimed at a settlement with five big banks ? Bank of America, JPMorgan Chase, Wells Fargo, Citibank and Ally Financial (formerly GMAC) ? attorneys general in all 50 states this week have been poring over the 100-page draft of a proposed $25 billion deal requiring bankers to commit to modify problem loans that they have been slow to do. Under the proposed terms, the banks would also agree to follow strict foreclosure guidelines and procedures and contribute as much as $5 billion to foreclosure relief programs.

    On Wednesday, President Barack Obama tapped Schneiderman to co-chair a joint federal-state task force to pursue criminal charges related to abusive mortgages and the bundling?of those loans into investments. Some observers suggested the appointment was intended to blunt Schneiderman?s opposition to the multistate settlement.? Schneiderman has said he's not?about to let bankers off the hook.

    "My concern ... has always been to make sure that we're not releasing claims that obviously now are even more important to me because I'm investigating them," he told reporters Wednesday.

    From the beginning of the settlement talks, the five big banks have been holding out for a blanket waiver of legal liability to protect them from future lawsuits or prosecution. The creation of?Schneiderman?s task force makes that blanket waiver extremely unlikely. It?may?even collapse the deal, JP Morgan Chase Chief Executive Officer?Jamie Dimon, told CNBC.

    ?My own read is (the creation of the new task force) has a pretty good chance of derailing it,? said Dimon.

    The proposed settlement was also dealt a major blow Wednesday when California Attorney General Kamala D. Harris said its terms would limit her ability to bring civil charges against mortgage lenders that wrongfully foreclosed on homeowners.

    "We've reviewed the details of the latest settlement proposal from the banks, and we believe it is inadequate for California," said Shum Preston, a spokesman for Harris

    As ground zero for the mortgage meltdown, California is?critical to the approval of any settlement.?Roughly one in four of all foreclosures are happening in the state and?ten of the top 20 metro areas with the highest foreclosure rates in 2011 are there according to RealtyTrac.

    From the early stages of the talks, Schneiderman and a handful of other state AGs have resisted any deal that would let banks off the hook for a variety of claims by homeowners and investors who bought bonds backed by home mortgages. In August, Iowa Attorney General Tom Miller, who is leading the state group, booted Schneiderman from the executive committee of federal and state officials because he steadfastly opposed any deals that would end investigations into mortgage fraud.

    Schneiderman holds several powerful legal cards that the other 49 AGs don?t. New York?s anti-fraud Martin Act gives him broad subpoena powers other state prosecutors lack. Some New York state securities laws apply to Wall Street firms based in the state. Many of the pools of mortgages that were chopped up into bonds are held in trusts registered in New York.

    Delaware, another AG holdout, has securities laws that apply to the corporate registrations of many of entities involved the mortgage mess. Massachusetts has successfully sued other smaller players in the mortgage mess. In September, Massachusetts Attorney General Martha Coakley broke with the talks to file her own lawsuit against the five banks.

    From the beginning,?critics have argued that the White House has been too eager to see a settlement?and too willing to help the five big banks get the immunity they?re seeking.

    ?The Obama administration has been?more concerned with settling quickly than with settling in a way that moves the ball forward for homeowners,? said Diane Thomsen, an attorney with the National Consumer Law Center.

    It remains to be seen whether the new mortgage fraud task force will?produce results. The Obama administration already created a Financial Fraud Enforcement Task Force in November of?2009 that?tapped 20 federal agencies, 94 U.S. Attorneys offices and state and local partners. Though the group has won a number of cases against smaller players, it has yet to win any high-profile convictions.

    In June, Sen. Charles Greassley (D- Iowa) described the task force as ?a press release collection agency utilized by the Justice Department to?collect examples of investigations of prosecutions that would otherwise have been brought.?

    Neil Barofsky, a former federal prosecutor who served as the special inspector general of the Troubled Asset Relief Program and worked with the 2009 task force, shared those doubts.

    ?I'm a little puzzled by it," he told Reuters. "Here we are three years later, launching what seems like a very similar effort, except now co-headed by a state attorney general."

    "Does it mean they haven't really been working on investigating the causes of the financial crisis for the last three years?" he said. "Or is it a statement that the last three years of investigating done by the Department of Justice has been ineffectual and needs to be reworked?"

    Related:

    Proposed mortgage settlement offers little relief for homeowners??
    Obama: New push to aid homeowners

    James Dimon, chairman, president & CEO, JPMorgan Chase, discusses the world economy, muddling through in Europe, and the President's prerogative when it comes to naming a successor for Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner. Bernanke, he says, has been an...

    Source: http://bottomline.msnbc.msn.com/_news/2012/01/26/10244290-banks-square-in-mortgage-fraud-crosshairs-again

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    Fed adds more punch to low-rate pledge

    Larry Downing / Reuters

    Fed Chairman Ben Bernanke has been a dominant force in pushing for more openness at the central bank.

    By John W. Schoen, Senior Producer

    New normal, meet the new Fed.

    The Federal Reserve took two major new steps Wednesday to assure businesses and consumers that it intends to keep borrowing costs at record low levels for the foreseeable future ? at least three years.

    For the first time in its 94-year history, the central bank opened its mind to the public, publishing a collection of charts that break down policymakers? forecasts on interest rates, inflation and unemployment. ?And for the first time ever, it set an explicit target for inflation, 2 percent a year, instead of an implied target.

    Both steps are in keeping with Fed Chairman Ben Bernanke?s stated goal of making the Fed?s decisions ever more transparent. Economists welcomed the new moves but said they have their own risks.

    The first headline to come out after central bankers ended their two-day meeting Wednesday was the news that policymakers do not expect to raise short-term interest rates until late 2014 at the earliest, rather than mid-2013 as they said a month ago.? Those record-low rates are still needed to help boost an improving but still sluggish economy, the Fed said in the new statement.??

    "I think what they are seeing is that the rate of growth is not sufficient to bring down the unemployment rate,? said Brian Dolan, chief strategist at Forex.com. Unemployment stood at 8.5 percent at the latest reading in December, with 13 million Americans who would like a job unable to find one.

    The latest data show the economy beginning to strengthen: Hiring has picked up, factories are increasing output and car sales are rising. Still, the threat of a recession in Europe continues to weigh on the global economy. U.S. consumers have been resorting to borrowing again to maintain spending levels that may not be sustainable.

    In its latest forecast, the central bank cut its growth outlook this year but is now a bit more optimistic about the unemployment rate. It expects the U.S. economy to grow between 2.2 percent and 2.7 percent this year. That's down from its November's forecast of between 2.5 percent and 2.9 percent. But it sees unemployment falling as low as 8.2 percent this year, better than its earlier forecast of 8.5 percent. December's rate was 8.5 percent.

    By making its plans and expectations clear and explicit, the Fed is hoping to boost public confidence that interest rates will stay low. If the strategy works, that higher confidence will encourage investment and spending that would give the moribund economy a lift.

    The plan could create problems for Fed officials down the road as economic conditions change. Though the disclosures are being billed as ?expectations,? investors have come to view the pronouncements as commitments. If events overtake the Fed?s current thinking, those expectations may have to be altered. That could undermine the credibility of these forecasts, according to Credit Suisse economists.

    ?Eventually, the Fed is bound to discover it cannot live up to the policy trajectory communicated to the market,? they wrote in a recent note explaining the changes in Fed?s communication strategy. ?When this happens the Fed will have enhanced its transparency at the expense of its credibility. And between those two assets, credibility is by far the more important.?

    That, the economists argue, could have ?the perverse effect of encouraging greater volatility in the fixed income markets, especially when the FOMC eventually starts forecasting higher funds rate targets.?

    Promising to keeping rates low to spur borrowing and spending may be a double-edged sword. Potential home buyers, for example, may be happy to sit on the fence as long as they don?t have to worry about missing out on record-low mortgage rates.

    ?It may take the floor away from the housing market,? said Douglas C. Borthwick, managing director at Faros Trading. ?With no apparent need for buyers to lock in lower rates today they may be more encouraged to wait a little while longer to pull the trigger. Why buy today when there may be more supply tomorrow?"

    Since the Great Recession of 2007-09 and the biggest housing collapse since the 1930s, the Fed has thrown pretty much everything in its toolkit at the financial system, trying to revive the economy. Conventional moves targeting short-term lending have been followed by unorthodox schemes that included massive buying of mortgage bonds and a switch in the maturities of Treasury bonds to drive down longer-term rates. On Wednesday, the Fed announced no new plans to buy bonds.

    Economists generally believe the Fed?s initial moves succeeded in heading off a deeper financial and economic collapse. But the economy is still growing slowly, and the job and housing markets are still badly broken.

    The Fed has been debating for some time the idea of publishing its internal inflation and unemployment forecasts. The central bankers have been following an unofficial inflation target of about 2 percent of the last few years.

    Part of the problem with publishing both inflation and unemployment targets is that, while they are both part of the Fed?s ?dual mandate,? managing the two objectives often call for conflicting policies. Controlling inflation often calls for tighter monetary policy, for example, which typically slows growth and raises the level of unemployment.

    The Fed?s new rate-forecast policy may already be having the desired impact. As details of the Fed?s new policy have been disclosed, interest rates on U.S. Treasury bonds, a bellwether for borrowing costs from mortgages to corporate commercial paper, have been edging lower.

    On Wednesday, Treasury yields fell on the news that the Fed plans no rate increase until late 2014 at the earliest. The yield on the 10-year note sank to 1.95 percent, down from 2.02 percent just before the Fed made its announcement.

    Lower yields could help further reduce mortgage rates and possibly boost stock prices as investors shift out of lower-yielding Treasurys. Stocks, which had traded lower before the Fed announcment, quickly recovered their losses. The Dow Jones industrial average, which had been down about 60 points before the announcement, was up 81 points shortly before the close.

    Is the Fed helping the economy with its latest actions?

    Related:

    ?

    ?

    Fed Chairman Ben Bernanke says he will "not get involved in political rhetoric" and also shares insight on Dodd-Frank.

    Source: http://bottomline.msnbc.msn.com/_news/2012/01/25/10235144-fed-adds-more-punch-to-low-rate-pledge

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    Thursday, January 26, 2012

    How a typo led to a marriage

    By Rosa Golijan

    Courtesy of the Salazars

    The next time you make a particularly strange typo, don't throw your keyboard out the window ? instead just smile. Smile, because it's possible for a simple typo to lead to a marriage.

    After all, it was a typo that brought together?Rachel P. Salazar and Ruben P. Salazar despite the fact that they lived?about 9,000 miles apart and were "completely unaware of each other's existence."

    Apparently an email intended for Rachel accidentally went to Ruben ??thanks to their similar email addresses and some sloppy typing skills?? in Jan. 2007. Ruben politely forwarded that email along to its intended recipient and began an email chain that led to a marriage proposal.

    You can hear Ruben and Rachel share the details of their love story in the video below.?It is an animated clip?created by the folks behind StoryCorps,?a non-profit organization with a mission of providing "Americans of all backgrounds and beliefs with the opportunity to record, share, and preserve the stories" of their lives. (I strongly recommend checking out the organization's YouTube page after you're done watching the video. There are many more gems to be found there.)

    Related stories:

    Want more tech news, silly puns, or amusing links? You'll get plenty of all three if you keep up with Rosa Golijan, the writer of this post, by following her on?Twitter, subscribing to her?Facebook?posts, or circling her?on?Google+.

    Source: http://digitallife.today.msnbc.msn.com/_news/2012/01/26/10244209-how-a-typo-led-to-a-marriage

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    Cat Cora Calls Out Cynthia Nixon, View on Homosexuality as "Dangerous"


    Following Cynthia Nixon's declaration that homosexuality - at least in her case - is a choice, the reaction within the gay community has been strong, swift and mixed.

    The harshest rebuke of the Sex and the City star has likely come from celebrity chef Cat Cora, who appeared yesterday on The Talk and said:

    "I'm gay, and I was born this way," adding of Nixon's view and how it could impact others: "I really feel like it was dangerous and irresponsible of Cynthia, especially in this environment today when so many young people are taking their lives."

    Cynthia Nixon, No Hair

    Continued Cora, making a plea to the actress who is currently starring on Broadway:

    "I know growing up as a young gay person how much you hate yourself, how much you already think you're different. And for someone to say, ‘It's a choice, you can be this way or that way,' I think it's dangerous and I ask Cynthia to please, reach out to the community and say - to all the people who do hate themselves right now, all the young kids who are impressionable - to say, ‘You're OK, take it one day at a time, it gets better.'"

    Nixon has been in relationships with both men and women, but dismisses the classification of "bisexual."I completely feel that when I was in relationships with men, I was in love and in lust with those men," she told The Daily Beast. "And then I met [girlfriend Christine Marinoni] and I fell in love and lust with her. I am completely the same person and I was not walking around in some kind of fog. I just responded to the people in front of me the way I truly felt."

    Finally, in a Huffington Post article, Tracy Baim - editor of the Chicag-based LGBT publication The Windy City Times - writes:

    "The bottom line is that those who hate us, want to cure us, or even kill us don't really take the time to understand these nuances.

    "Yes, there are some who advocate a 'nature made us this way' argument to help us accept ourselves. But others still try to get gays to suppress their sexuality, or transgender people to suppress their gender identity, no matter how they got that way."

    Source: http://www.thehollywoodgossip.com/2012/01/cat-cora-calls-out-cynthia-nixon-view-on-homosexuality-as-danger/

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    Wednesday, January 25, 2012

    Yahoo delivers another listless performance in 4Q (AP)

    SAN FRANCISCO ? Yahoo slipped further behind in the online advertising race during the fourth quarter as the Internet company entered the fourth year of a revenue slump.

    The results announced Tuesday marked the latest in a succession of disappointing performances. The persisting malaise led to the firing of Carol Bartz as CEO four months ago.

    Yahoo Inc. recently replaced Bartz with PayPal executive Scott Thompson, anointing him as the fourth CEO in less than five years to try to snap the company out of a funk that has depressed its stock. Thompson, who was hired just three weeks ago, promised to move quickly to fix the problems.

    "There is no question we need to do better and we will," Thompson assured analysts in a Tuesday conference call.

    The company earned $296 million, or 24 cents per share, in the October-to-December period. That is down 5 percent from $312 million, or 24 cents per share, a year earlier.

    The earnings matched analysts' estimates, but the company missed Wall Street's revenue target.

    Fourth-quarter revenue dropped 13 percent from the previous year to $1.32 billion. After subtracting advertising commissions, Yahoo's revenue totaled $1.17 billion, or $20 million below analyst projections. It's the 13th straight quarter that Yahoo's net revenue has declined from the prior year.

    Although Thompson said it was still too early to share precise details about his turnaround strategy, he said he will close some Yahoo services. That could mean layoffs. Yahoo added 400 employees in the fourth quarter to end the year with 14,100 workers. It lost one of its co-founders last week when Jerry Yang resigned from the company's board and gave up his role as "Chief Yahoo."

    Bartz had also closed or sold some of Yahoo's less popular services while jettisoning jobs to cut costs and sharpen the company's focus. Those moves, though, didn't increase Yahoo's revenue or stock price, leading the company's board to fire her in September with more than 15 months remaining on her contract.

    "This company has been through such a rotating cast of characters that it's reached the point where it needs action, not words," BGC Financial analyst Colin Gillis said.

    Besides closing services, Thompson said Yahoo will expand into some fields where he sees opportunities to make money. He didn't elaborate on that or on which services to close.

    Thompson also pledged to develop more innovative products to keep Yahoo's audience of 700 million users on its websites for longer periods. Accomplishing that could make Yahoo more attractive to online advertisers. Thompson said he hopes to harness the data that Yahoo collects about its audience to help advertisers do a better job of putting their marketing messages in front of the people most likely to buy their products.

    "I'll always ask a lot of questions and I'll immerse myself in the details but when it comes to making decisions, I make them quickly and then push to move fast, fast, fast," Thompson said.

    But Yahoo isn't promising a quick start under Thompson's leadership. Yahoo predicted its net revenue in the current quarter will range from $1.02 billion to $1.1 billion. The mid-point of that target works out to $1.06 billion, unchanged from last year's first quarter.

    Investors appear to be taking a wait-and-see attitude with Thompson. Yahoo's stock shed 14 cents to $15.55 in extended trading after the report came out. The stock price has fallen by about 40 percent from five years ago.

    Yahoo's downturn in revenue has occurred as advertisers are shifting more of their budgets to the Internet as people spend more of their time on the Web. The biggest beneficiaries of this boom so far have been Internet search leader Google Inc. and Facebook, the owner of the largest online social network.

    While Yahoo continued to struggle during the final three months of last year, Google's revenue rose 25 percent from the same period in 2010. As a privately held company, Facebook doesn't disclose its financial results, but data compiled by independent research firms show that its website has been luring advertisers away from Yahoo.

    Google has become so dominant in Internet search that Yahoo teamed up with another rival, Microsoft Corp., in an effort to become more competitive and save money. Yahoo's search engine now relies on Microsoft's technology to handle most requests. The alliance, forged in mid-2009, hasn't generated as much revenue so far as Yahoo had hoped, although there were signs of progress in the fourth quarter.

    Net revenue from search totaled $376 million in the fourth quarter, a 3 percent decrease from a year earlier. The company, which is based in Sunnyvale, Calif., had been suffering year-over-year declines of more than 10 percent in previous quarters.

    As it tries to boost its revenue and lift its stock price, Yahoo is considering selling its stakes in China's Alibaba Group and Yahoo Japan. Yahoo is pursuing those negotiations with "great enthusiasm," according to Tim Morse, the company's chief financial officer. Neither Morse nor Thompson elaborated on when a deal might be reached.

    Source: http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/business/*http%3A//news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20120125/ap_on_hi_te/us_earns_yahoo

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    Very Affordable Automotive Insurance

    by BiglowSchutzenhofer438 on January 24, 2012

    It is important to retailer for inexpensive automobile insurance in New Jersey whenever you rent a car. When you hire a car in New Jersey, the car isn?t yours; it is just for your possession for a certain length of time. That means you can no longer put off repairing damages to the automobile till you?ll find the money for it. Condominium car insurance is important.

    One method to get cheap car insurance for condominium automobiles in New Jersey is to pay the automobile condominium agency?s collision injury waiver (CDW), loss injury waiver (LDW), legal responsibility insurance coverage supplement (LIS), private coincidence insurance coverage (PAI), and private effects protection (PEC). A lot of these apartment automotive insurance coverage that allows you to offer protection to the condominium automotive, your personal property, your individual, and your checking account in opposition to damages got whilst the apartment automotive is for your possession.

    But, depending on how long you will have the rental automotive, those insurance coverages can add up on your final bill, turning cheap automobile insurance to dear car insurance. Therefore, you must test into alternative ways of acquiring reasonable automobile insurance in New Jersey in your rental car.

    If you have already got car insurance coverage for the car you own, it will or would possibly not quilt condominium vehicles ? ask. If you don?t own a car, and subsequently would not have a car insurance policy, you should look into transient automobile insurance coverage policies for apartment cars in New Jersey. Yet, some automobile insurance insurance policies do quilt condo automobiles, or allow you to make a choice the option of insuring rental cars. You can also also be able to choose that choice for the desired amount of time you?re going to have the New Jersey condo car.

    Another option for acquiring cheap car insurance coverage in New Jersey on your condo car is to use your credit card to pay for the rental. Many credit card corporations be offering these kind of insurance services for different purchases akin to renting a car.

    If you need additional knowledge in regard to cheap car rentals honolulu, visit Sherley S Katsaounis?s web page immediately.

    Source: http://articletnt.info/very-affordable-automotive-insurance/

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    Tuesday, January 24, 2012

    MTV Movie Brawl 2012: Voting Ends Today!

    It all comes down to this: the final push in the final round of the MTV Movie Brawl 2012! After weeks of match-ups and almost 40 fallen competitors along the way, we're down to just two films vying for the top spot in the brawl for it all: "The Hunger Games," the number-one ranked action [...]

    Source: http://moviesblog.mtv.com/2012/01/23/mtv-movie-brawl-2012-voting-ends-today/

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    Croats vote in EU membership referendum (AP)

    ZAGREB, Croatia ? Croatians voted Sunday in a referendum on whether to join the European Union ? a test of how much the debt-stricken 27-nation bloc has lost in its appeal among aspiring new members.

    Several pre-vote surveys suggest that between 56 and 60 percent of those who take part in the vote will answer "yes" to the question: "Do you support the membership of the Republic of Croatia in the European Union?"

    Those who support the EU say their Balkan country's troubled economy ? burdened by recession, a euro48-billion ($61-billion) foreign debt and a 17 percent unemployment rate ? will revive due to access to wider European markets and job opportunities that the membership should bring.

    "It's a big moment in our history ... we are joining more successful countries in Europe," Croatia's President Ivo Josipovic said after casting his ballot, adding that he expects a "Yes" vote in the referendum.

    Opponents say Croatia has nothing to gain by entering the bloc, which is fighting off the bankruptcy of some of its members. They say that Croatia will only lose its sovereignty and the national identity it fought for in a war for independence from Yugoslavia in the 1990s.

    About 11 percent of the voters cast their ballots four hours into the referendum, the state electoral commission said. That is nearly five percent less than during parliamentary elections in December when a left-wing coalition ousted the conservatives.

    "I voted against because I don't think we'll do well in the EU," said university student Matea Kolenc, 23. "I heard a lot of bad things about the EU, its economic situation and what it has to offer."

    Croatia signed an EU accession treaty last year and is on track to become a member in July 2013, if Croat voters say yes and all of the bloc's states later ratify the deal.

    The Balkan nation started negotiating its EU entry six years ago, but since then the popularity of the bloc has faded, as Croats realize that EU membership would not automatically lead to prosperity.

    In a sign of deep divisions in Croatia over the membership, police clashed Saturday in downtown Zagreb with a group of nationalist protesters who attempted to take down an EU flag.

    "We won't have any say in our own affairs any more," Natko Kovacevic, one of the organizers of the protest, told the crowd carrying banners reading "No to EU" and "I love Croatia."

    Croatian officials, who have launched a pro-EU campaign ahead of the referendum, warned that a "no" vote would deprive the country of the much-needed accession funds, and that even the payment of pensions for retirees and war veterans could be in jeopardy.

    Croatia has received around euro150 million ($193 million) in pre-accession assistance since 2007. It is to receive another euro150 million for 2012 and euro95 million ($122 million) in 2013.

    "Clearly all that funding will be stopped if the Croats say no in the referendum," Croatia's Foreign Minister Vesna Pusic said.

    ___

    Eldar Emric contributed to this report.

    Source: http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/topstories/*http%3A//news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20120122/ap_on_re_eu/eu_croatia_eu_referendum

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    Monday, January 23, 2012

    Sony VAIO series get minor processor refresh, Z series grabs LTE option on the way

    Ahead of any possible Ultrabook announcements, Sony's looking to give its existing VAIO catalogue a (relatively underwhelming) shot in the arm with a bundle of hardware retweaks. The Z series looks to gain the most out of the Spring refresh, with a new off-white Carbon Fiber Silver color option set to be offered up alongside an optional LTE modem. The series also gets a processor step-up, with new Intel Core i5 and i7 options rounded off with the choice of SSD storage. Including the connectable drive, prices for the series refresh will start from $1,950. Meanwhile, both the S (13-inch, $800, 15-inch, $980)and E series will get a similar bump to Core i7 processors, with both the S and aforementioned Z series able to lock into an extended sheet battery accessory. If minor processor improvements, more battery options and LTE connectivity enough to fork over your cash, you can expect the revitalized units to arrive early next month.

    Sony VAIO series get minor processor refresh, Z series grabs LTE option on the way originally appeared on Engadget on Mon, 23 Jan 2012 02:06:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

    Permalink   |  sourceSony  | Email this | Comments


    Source: http://feeds.engadget.com/~r/weblogsinc/engadget/~3/WeznJduN1k8/

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    Sunday, January 22, 2012

    Mortgage loan, Hazard Insurance and Homeowner insurance ...

    Hello guys, please help educate me.

    Since I?ll pay a month for Hazard Insurance (about to close on the house).

    1/ Do I have to buy Homeowner insurance or not? Is Homeowner Insurance required by mortgage lender? I thought that what Haz Insurance is for in case of ?..

    2/ If Homeowner insurance is required. Then do I have the right to buy premium just for the cost of rebuilding the house only, instead of the loan amount?

    Please provide any tips and experience that a new homeowner would need.
    Thank you so much.

    Chosen Answer:

    by:
    on: 1st January 70

    Source: http://unoccupied-propertyinsurance.com/mortgage-loan-hazard-insurance-and-homeowner-insurance-question/

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    LG X3 supposedly leaks, to challenge HTC Edge as first quad-core phone?

    Your next tablet is going to rock a quad-core chip, so why not stuff that same silicon into your next phone too? Per PocketNow, that's apparently what LG has up its sleeve with the forthcoming X3. Evidently, the four-core Tegra 3 device will also tote a 1280 x 720 4.7-inch display, 16GB of storage, Ice Cream Sandwich and NFC all in a svelte 9mm package. The whispers didn't stop there, of course, indicating it'll also wield 21Mbps HSPA support coupled with 802.11b/g/n WiFi and Bluetooth 4.0. So will the X3 be the world's first quad-core phone, much in the vein of LG's G2X that preceded it? Or will it be beaten to the punch by HTC and Samsung? Here's to hoping we'll find out at MWC.

    LG X3 supposedly leaks, to challenge HTC Edge as first quad-core phone? originally appeared on Engadget on Fri, 20 Jan 2012 18:31:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

    Permalink SlashGear  |  sourcePocketNow  | Email this | Comments

    Source: http://www.engadget.com/2012/01/20/lg-x3-supposedly-leaks-to-challenge-htc-edge-as-first-quad-core/

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    Saturday, January 21, 2012

    What To Expect (talking-points-memo)

    Share With Friends: Share on FacebookTweet ThisPost to Google-BuzzSend on GmailPost to Linked-InSubscribe to This Feed | Rss To Twitter | Politics - Top Stories News, RSS and RSS Feed via Feedzilla.

    Source: http://news.feedzilla.com/en_us/stories/politics/top-stories/189178501?client_source=feed&format=rss

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    Apple starts selling interactive iPad textbooks

    Philip Schiller, Apple?s senior vice president of Worldwide Marketing, discusses iBooks textbooks available from Pearson for iPad, Thursday, Jan. 19, 2012 in New York. IBooks 2 will be able to display books with videos and other interactive features. (AP Photo/Mark Lennihan)

    Philip Schiller, Apple?s senior vice president of Worldwide Marketing, discusses iBooks textbooks available from Pearson for iPad, Thursday, Jan. 19, 2012 in New York. IBooks 2 will be able to display books with videos and other interactive features. (AP Photo/Mark Lennihan)

    Philip Schiller, Apple?s senior vice president of Worldwide Marketing, discusses iBooks 2 for iPad, Thursday, Jan. 19, 2012 in New York. IBooks 2 will be able to display books with videos and other interactive features. (AP Photo/Mark Lennihan)

    Apple employees demonstrate interactive features of iBooks 2 for iPad, Thursday, Jan. 19, 2012 in New York. IBooks 2 will be able to display books with videos and other interactive features. (AP Photo/Mark Lennihan)

    An Apple employee demonstrates an interactive feature of iBooks 2 for iPad, Thursday, Jan. 19, 2012 in New York. IBooks 2 will be able to display books with videos and other interactive features. (AP Photo/Mark Lennihan)

    E.O. Wilson, professor emeritus at Harvard, shows his book, "Life on Earth," on an iPad2, Thursday, Jan. 19, 2012 in New York. Apple announced iBooks 2 for iPad, featuring iBooks textbooks, Thursday, Jan. 19, 2012 in New York. (AP Photo/Mark Lennihan)

    (AP) ? Apple Inc. on Thursday launched its attempt to make the iPad a replacement for a satchel full of textbooks by starting to sell electronic versions of a handful of standard high-school books.

    The electronic textbooks, which include "Biology" and "Environmental Science" from Pearson and "Algebra 1" and "Chemistry" from McGraw-Hill, contain videos and other interactive elements.

    But it's far from clear that even a company with Apple's clout will be able to reform the primary and high-school textbook market. The printed books are bought by schools, not students, and are reused year after year, which isn't possible with the electronic versions. New books are subject to lengthy state approval processes.

    Major textbook publishers have been making electronic versions of their products for years, but until recently, there hasn't been any hardware suitable to display them. PCs are too expensive and cumbersome to be good e-book machines for students. Dedicated e-book readers like the Kindle have small screens and can't display color. IPads and other tablet computers work well, but iPads cost at least $499. Apple didn't reveal any new program to defray the cost of getting the tablet computers into the hands of students.

    All this means textbooks have lagged the general adoption of e-books, even when counting college-level works that students buy themselves. Forrester Research said e-books accounted for only 2.8 percent of the $8 billion U.S. textbook market in 2010.

    Pearson PLC of Britain and The McGraw-Hill Cos. of New York are two of the three big textbook companies in the U.S. market. The third one, Boston-based Houghton Mifflin Harcourt, also plans to supply books to Apple's store, but none were immediately available.

    The new textbooks are legible with a new version of the free iBooks application, which became available Thursday.

    The textbooks will cost $15 or less, said Phil Schiller, Apple's head of marketing. He unveiled the books at an event at New York's Guggenheim Museum. Schools will be able to buy the books for its students and issue redemption codes to them, he said.

    Albert Greco, a professor of marketing at Fordham University in New York and a former high-school principal, said schools would need to buy iPads for its students if it were to replace printed books.

    It wouldn't work to let students who can afford to buy their own iPads use them in class with textbooks they buy themselves, alongside poorer students with printed books.

    "The digital divide issue could be very embarrassing. Because if you don't have the iPad, you can't do the quiz, you don't get instant feedback ... that is an invitation for a lawsuit," Greco said. "I would be shocked if any principal or superintendent would let that system go forward."

    Greco said hardback high-school textbooks cost an average of about $105, and a freshman might need five of them. However, they last for five years.

    That means that even if an iPad were to last for five years in the hands of students, the e-books plus the iPad would cost more than the hardback textbooks.

    Apple also released an app for iTunes U, which has been a channel for colleges to release video and audio from lectures, through iTunes. The app will open that channel to kindergarten-through-12th grade schools, and will let teachers present outlines, post notes and communicate with students in other ways.

    Greco called the new app "a shot across the bow" of Blackboard Inc., a privately held company that provides similar electronic tools to teachers. It, too, has applications for cellphones and tablets.

    Apple also revealed iBook Author, an application for Macs that lets people create electronic textbooks.

    According to biographer Walter Isaacson, reforming the textbook market was a pet project of Apple co-founder Steve Jobs, even in the last year of his life. At a dinner in early 2011, Jobs told News Corp. chairman Rupert Murdoch that the paper textbooks could be made obsolete by the iPad. Jobs wanted to circumvent the state certification process for textbook sales by having Apple release textbooks for free on the tablet computer.

    Jobs died in October after a long battle with cancer.

    Associated Press

    Source: http://hosted2.ap.org/APDEFAULT/f70471f764144b2fab526d39972d37b3/Article_2012-01-19-Apple-Textbooks/id-c8ee2044cc6543b29b52ad3640a7a658

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    Friday, January 20, 2012

    NJ parents: Disabled girl was denied transplant (AP)

    PHILADELPHIA ? The parents of a 3-year-old New Jersey girl say she's being denied a kidney transplant because of her mental disabilities, but experts caution the situation may be much more complex.

    The girl's mother, Chrissy Rivera, last week posted a blog entry that described an encounter she claimed happened at The Children's Hospital of Philadelphia. She said she was there to discuss treatment for her daughter, Amelia, who was born with Wolf-Hirschhorn syndrome, a rare genetic defect that can cause physical and mental disabilities.

    Rivera wrote that a doctor, whom she did not name, told her and her husband, Joe Rivera, that Amelia wouldn't be eligible for a transplant because of her quality of life and her mental condition.

    "I put my hand up. `Stop talking for a minute. Did you just say that Amelia shouldn't have the transplant done because she is mentally retarded. I am confused. Did you really just say that?'" she wrote. "I begin to shake. My whole body trembles and he begins to tell me how she will never be able to get on the waiting list because she is mentally retarded."

    Rivera's story was seen by Sunday Stilwell, the mother of two severely autistic boys, and she began an online petition last Friday, demanding that the hospital give a transplant to the girl. By Tuesday night, more than 23,700 people had signed it.

    "I read Chrissy's original blog post, and I just cried. I couldn't believe it," said Stilwell, whose boys are 6 and 9. "I shared it on Twitter with all my followers and on Facebook."

    Children's Hospital said in a statement that it "does not disqualify potential transplant candidates on the basis of intellectual abilities."

    "We have transplanted many children with a wide range of disabilities, including physical and intellectual disabilities," it said, adding that it is "deeply committed" to providing the best possible medical care for all children, including those with disabilities.

    The hospital did not comment further, citing patient confidentiality laws.

    Stilwell has been in contact with Rivera daily over the events.

    "There's a lot of camaraderie" between parents of special-needs kids, Stilwell said. "Almost all of us, across the board, have experienced some discrimination. I've certainly had some bad run-ins with some certainly ignorant doctors, but nothing like this. That's part of the reason I did it. I couldn't actually believe this was happening."

    Messages seeking comment from the Riveras through Facebook and to their home were left Tuesday but were not immediately returned.

    The issue the Riveras face is not simple, said Arthur Caplan, director of the University of Pennsylvania Center for Bioethics.

    For example, the blog notes that Rivera told the hospital that "we plan on donating" the kidney, since they come from a large family.

    "Most adults can't donate an organ, because it won't fit" a child, Caplan said. "You're starting to say you're going to use another child as a living donor, and that's ethically really trouble."

    The supply of organs for child transplants is "extremely limited," Caplan added.

    "So you have hard choices to make," he said. "Dialysis may be a better option."

    According to the National Institutes of Health, 87,820 people were awaiting kidney transplants as of last February. The National Kidney Foundation, which seeks to enhance the lives of people affected by kidney disease, said 4,573 patients died in 2008 while waiting for kidney transplants.

    A 2006 study from Ohio State University on kidney transplants for patients with mental disabilities found that the one- and three-year survival rates for 34 people were 100 percent and 90 percent, respectively.

    "The studies reported good compliance with post-transplant medications due to consistent support from family members or caregivers," the paper noted.

    The researchers added that previous controversies over mental disabilities and transplants led the Joint Commission on Accreditation of Healthcare Organizations to express concern that many people with disabilities are "denied evaluation and referral for transplantation."

    Rivera's blog noted that doctors said Amelia won't need a transplant for six months to a year.

    Some experts said that if Rivera's claims are accurate, the hospital's actions are very disturbing.

    "Everyone deserves an equal chance to these organs, regardless of your mental capacity," said Charles Camosy, a professor of Christian Ethics at Fordham University.

    Camosy said that while it's true that there are shortages of kidneys and other organs, the criteria used to make transplant decisions "should not ever devalue those that are mentally disabled."

    "This is a growing movement that transcends liberal or conservative that says this kind of life, because it's so vulnerable, it deserves special protection," he said.

    Whatever the medical details of Amelia's situation, her mother's blog captured the anger of parents with disabled children who don't want outsiders to decide life and death issues.

    "Do not talk about her quality of life," Rivera wrote of her exchange with the doctor last week. "You have no idea what she is like. We have crossed many, many road blocks with Amelia and this is just one more. So, you don't agree she should have it done? Fine. But tell me who I talk to next."

    Mary Beth Happ, a professor at the University of Pittsburgh Medical Center whose research focuses on communication with non-vocal patients, said that the issue of severe mental disability and kidney transplants has been a source of contention for nearly two decades.

    "Co-existing health problems such as weakened immune system and/or heart disease, which are prevalent in (Wolf-Hirschhorn syndrome), are an additional risk that transplant centers and parents must consider," Happ wrote in an email.

    But Happ and Caplan noted that it's virtually impossible to have a full discussion of Amelia's case because of medical privacy laws.

    "We're seeing this more and more where very private, difficult medical decisions are debated in the media without the full facts," Happ said, adding that while the general discussion can be good, the risks of one side or another inflating the situation is "really problematic."

    Caplan said he has heard of cases in which other transplant programs considered severe mental disability as a factor in transplants.

    "With scarcity, social factors do count, with every transplant," he said.

    ___

    Begos reported from Pittsburgh.

    ___

    Online:

    Rivera's Blog: http://bit.ly/xAmRaV

    Source: http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/health/*http%3A//news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20120118/ap_on_he_me/us_disabled_child_transplant

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    War with Iran: A Conflict Obama Hopes to Avoid May Be Imposed on Him (Time.com)

    Sorry, Readability was unable to parse this page for content.

    Source: http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/us/*http%3A//us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/external/time_rss/rss_time_us/httpglobalspinblogstimecom20120117warwithirancouldobamahavethedecisionimposedonhimixzz1jin9knt0xidrssnationyahoo/44222309/SIG=139nckd7l/*http%3A//globalspin.blogs.time.com/2012/01/17/war-with-iran-could-obama-have-the-decision-imposed-on-him/#ixzz1jin9KnT0?xid=rss-nation-yahoo

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    Thursday, January 19, 2012

    Perry says he's dropping out of presidential race

    Anita Perry, wife of Republican presidential candidate Texas Gov. Rick Perry listens at left, during a news conference in North Charleston, S.C., Thursday,Jan. 19, 2012, where Perry announced he was suspending his campaign and endorsing Newt Gingrich. (AP Photo/David Goldman)

    Anita Perry, wife of Republican presidential candidate Texas Gov. Rick Perry listens at left, during a news conference in North Charleston, S.C., Thursday,Jan. 19, 2012, where Perry announced he was suspending his campaign and endorsing Newt Gingrich. (AP Photo/David Goldman)

    El gobernador texano Rick Perry anuncia su abondono de la campa?a por la candidatura presidencial republicana y su apoyo a Newt Gingrich, en conferencia de prensa el jueves 19 de enero de 2012 en North Charleston, Carolina del Sur. (AP Foto/David Goldman)

    Republican presidential candidate, Texas Gov. Rick Perry, accompanied by his wife Anita, right, and son Griffin, announces he is suspending his campaign and endorsing Newt Gingrich, Thursday, Jan. 19, 2012, during a news conference in North Charleston, S.C. (AP Photo/David Goldman)

    NORTH CHARLESTON, S.C. (AP) ? Texas Gov. Rick Perry on Thursday dropped out of the race for the Republican presidential nomination and endorsed Newt Gingrich, adding a fresh layer of unpredictability to the campaign two days before the South Carolina primary.

    "Newt's not perfect, but who among us is?" Perry said. He called the former House speaker a "conservative visionary" best suited to replace Barack Obama in the White House.

    While the ultimate impact of Perry's decision was unclear, it reduced the number of conservative challengers to Mitt Romney. The decision also reinforced the perception that Gingrich is the candidate on the move in the final hours of the South Carolina campaign, and that front-runner Romney is struggling to hold onto his lead there.

    Perry had scarcely finished speaking when Gingrich issued a statement welcoming the endorsement. "I ask the supporters of Governor Perry to look at my record of balancing the budget, cutting spending, reforming welfare, and enacting pro-growth policies to create millions of new jobs and humbly ask for their vote," Gingrich said.

    Romney reacted by praising Perry for running "a campaign based upon love of country and conservative principles" and saying he "has earned a place of prominence as a leader in our party."

    Perry said he decided to suspend his campaign after concluding "there is no viable path forward for me."

    Spokesman Ray Sullivan said money was also a factor: "We have spent the bulk of our funds." Perry chose to drop out before Saturday's primary because he wanted to "respect" the state's voters by giving them a choice among other candidates, Sullivan said.

    Perry made his decision Wednesday night and began telling staff and supporters, spokesman Ray Sullivan said. The Texas governor called Gingrich with the news Thursday morning to inform the former House speaker of his endorsement.

    Sullivan wouldn't say whether Perry intended to hurt Romney but noted that Perry and Gingrich have a long-standing relationship and said Perry is enthusiastic about the possibility of a Gingrich presidency. But Perry will support the candidate who wins the Republican nomination, Sullivan said.

    Perry's exit marked the end of a campaign that began with soaring expectations but quickly faded. He shot to the head of the public opinion polls when he announced his candidacy last summer, but a string of poor debate performances and campaign flubs soon led to a decline in support.

    His defining moment came during one debate when he inexplicably could not recall one of three federal agencies he had pledged to abolish. He joked about it afterward, telling reporters, "I stepped in it," but never recovered from the fumble.

    Also problematic for conservative supporters: Perry's support of a Texas policy to allow children of illegal immigrants to pay in-state tuition rates and his 2007 order to require schoolgirls in Texas to be vaccinated against human papillomavirus, an order later overturned by state lawmakers.

    Perry also risked backlash from elderly voters after calling Social Security a fraud and a "Ponzi scheme." He said the popular federal retirement program for seniors was financially unsustainable and pledged to retool it if elected president.

    Romney, the former Massachusetts governor considered the more moderate candidate in the race, has benefited thus far from having Perry and several other conservative challengers competing for the same segment of voters. New polls show Romney leading in South Carolina but Gingrich gaining steam heading into Saturday's contest in a state where conservatives hold great sway in choosing the GOP nominee.

    Perry's decision to endorse Gingrich does not necessarily mean conservatives will rally behind the former House speaker. Former Pennsylvania Sen. Rick Santorum, an anti-abortion champion, is still in the race and last weekend was endorsed by a group of evangelical Christian leaders.

    And there is no guarantee the Texas donors who fueled Perry's bid will shift to Gingrich, even if the governor asks them to.

    Romney has been working to court them in recent weeks and has also won the backing of former President George H.W. Bush. Several Perry supporters, who spoke on condition of anonymity to avoid publicly discussing their next steps before Perry's announcement, said they have been approached by Romney's campaign and will support him as the candidate most likely candidate to face President Barack Obama in November.

    Also in play are at least three influential "super" political action committees supporting Perry. One so-called super PAC, called Make Us Great Again, aired more than $3.3 million worth of ads in Iowa and South Carolina supporting Perry. A spokesman for the group did not immediately return calls from the AP seeking comment about whom the PAC will support with Perry out of the GOP race.

    Perry, 61, was relatively unknown outside Texas until he succeeded George W. Bush as governor after Bush was elected president in 2000. A former Democrat, Perry had already spent about 15 years in state government when he became governor. He went on to become the state's longest-serving chief executive, winning the office three times, most recently in 2010.

    Part of Perry's appeal came from his humble beginnings in tiny Paint Creek, Texas. He graduated from Texas A&M University and was a pilot in the Air Force before winning election in 1984 to the Texas House of Representatives. He switched to the GOP in 1989 and served as the state's agriculture commissioner before his election as lieutenant governor in 1998.

    Perry's success as a politician suggested he would be a strong competitor to Obama. He had never lost a race in Texas, and his fight against Sen. Kay Bailey Hutchison for the Republican gubernatorial nomination in 2010 showed how tough he could be on a rival.

    ___

    Associated Press writer Chris Tomlinson in Austin, Texas, contributed to this report.

    Associated Press

    Source: http://hosted2.ap.org/APDEFAULT/3d281c11a96b4ad082fe88aa0db04305/Article_2012-01-19-Perry/id-9bcabb594c1c4e2dbdd717d01cc01081

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