Tuesday, January 31, 2012

Sky will launch an internet based TV service in the UK in the first half of 2012

UK pay TV service Sky has just announced its quarterly results, and despite adding 100,000 subscribers as well as notching its "highest ever first-half adjusted operating profit" it will launch a new internet TV service, available to anyone in the country with a broadband connection. Sky describes the new over the top (OTT) service as being aimed at the 13 million UK households who don't currently subscribe to pay TV, with access available via "PC, laptop, tablet, smartphone, games console or connected TV." Initially, it will offer Sky Movies on demand joined by sports and entertainment options later, with access based on either monthly unlimited subscription or "pay-as-you-go" pricing. As far as the company's basic services, it will continue to develop its existing Sky Go product for standard pay-TV subscribers and zeebox iPad companion app, although this seems to initially be a worth competitor for things like Lovefilm and recent UK entrant Netflix. We have plenty of questions about what it will offer cord-cutters and cord-nevers in the UK when it launches in the first half of this year, we should find out more on the earnings call shortly. Until then, hit the PDF link for more detailed financial breakdowns, or check out the IPTV service press release after the break.

Update: Still waiting for Sky Go on Android? The company mentioned during its presentation that the app will finally arrive on Google's platform in February. It will also have new channels, including Sky 1, Sky Living and Sky Arts, plus, of course, the new Sky Sports F1 HD channel. The company is also expanding its broadband reach, with plans to cover a million more homes by June 2013, and add a Sky Broadband Unlimited Fibre option. For 20 a month, it offers 40 megabit download speed with no usage caps based on BT Fibre.

Continue reading Sky will launch an internet based TV service in the UK in the first half of 2012

Sky will launch an internet based TV service in the UK in the first half of 2012 originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 31 Jan 2012 03:05:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink   |  sourceEarnings (PDF), Sky broadband  | Email this | Comments

Source: http://www.engadget.com/2012/01/31/sky-will-launch-an-internet-based-tv-service-in-the-uk-in-the-fi/

matt leinart cyber monday 2011 cyber monday 2011 turkey pot pie turkey pot pie southern university regenesis

Monday, January 30, 2012

Source: Investors face 70 pct loss in Greek deal (AP)

BRUSSELS ? Investors participating in a deal to slash Greece's massive debt would face an overall loss on their bond holdings of around 70 percent, a person familiar with the negotiations said Monday.

European leaders at a summit in Brussels said a final debt deal could be signed off in the coming days, together with a second multibillion euro bailout packaged designed to save the country from a potentially disastrous bankruptcy.

Athens and representatives of investors holding Greek government bonds over the weekend came close to a final agreement designed to bring Greece's debt down to a more manageable level. Without a restructuring, those debts would swell to around double the country's economic output by the end of the year.

If the agreement works as planned, it will help Greece remain solvent and help Europe avoid a blow to its already weak financial system, even though banks and other bond investors will have to accept big losses.

The person briefed on the talks said Monday that the 70 percent loss was the result of cutting the bonds' face value in half, reducing the average interest rate to between 3.5 per cent and 4 percent and pushing repayment of the bonds decades into the future.

The person spoke on condition of anonymity because the talks are confidential.

The deal, which would reduce the country's debt by about euro100 billion and save it billions of euros in interest payments, needs to be finalized quickly. Greece runs the risk of a disorderly default on March 20, when it faces a euro14.5 billion bond repayment it cannot afford without additional help.

Many investors ? banks, insurance companies and hedge funds ? who hold Greek bonds also hold debt from other countries that use the euro, which could lose value if there is a fully fledged Greek default. This is the scenario the eurozone fears most and why the currency union hopes investors will voluntarily accept a partial loss on their Greek bonds.

The agreement taking shape is a key step before Greece can get a second, euro130 billion bailout. The country has been surviving since May 2010 on an initial euro110 billion package of rescue loans from other countries using the euro and the International Monetary Fund.

Besides restructuring its debt with private investors, Greece must also take other steps to secure further aid. It must cut its deficit and boost the competitiveness of its economy through layoffs of public sector workers and the sale of several state companies, among other moves.

But Greece's partners in the eurozone have grown frustrated with the country's slow implementation of austerity measures and economic reforms promised almost two years ago. In recent days, they have discussed ways of monitoring Athens' efforts even more closely, including giving the European Commission, the power to block spending decisions that threaten the country's ability to repay its debts.

Earlier Monday, Greek lenders Eurobank and Alpha Bank said a planned merger to create the country's largest bank by assets could be put on hold because of the negotiations over the bond swap.

The banks said that "an accurate timeline cannot be given" to complete the deal announced last August because of the negotiations.

Greece's finance ministry expressed surprise at the announcement, arguing that the negotiations had produced "nothing new or different" to factors already taken into account by both banks.

__

Becatoros reported from Athens, Greece.

Source: http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/business/*http%3A//news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20120130/ap_on_bi_ge/eu_greece_financial_crisis

cyber monday 2011 turkey pot pie turkey pot pie southern university regenesis fanboys ucla usc

Exclusive: Celine Dion on Madonna Super Bowl Show (omg!)

Exclusive: Celine Dion on Madonna Super Bowl Show

Celine Dion is sharing her thoughts on fellow music superstar Madonna performing in next week's Super Bowl halftime show, and disclosed why she herself won't be up on that stage.

Celine tells The Trend on Zappos Couture, "I'm not going to be performing at the Super Bowl because I'm pretty booked, I'm in Las Vegas right now at Caesars Palace doing a lot of shows so I won't be at the Super Bowl."

"But I love Madonna and know her well," she continued. "I know she'll do just fine, she doesn't need any luck. She's going to do her thing, she's going to do what she does best, she's going to give us something for us to remember. She's going to be great, just fine."

Madonna's Super Bowl Special Guest: Cee Lo!

Celine also opened up about how she's balancing life with twin one-year-olds Eddie and Nelson, and her Las Vegas show. "My schedule is hard because I sing at night and I want to be with my babies during the day and I have twins and they are not sleeping good," the working mom shared.

"They are in my room and they wake up five-six times a night. Two babies, so that mean 10 to 12 times a night. I can't let them cry," she says, breaking into Bob Marley's No Woman, No Cry. "I can't let them cry so I wake up, and [say], 'It's okay.' [They] want to be with mommy and mommy wants to be with them, and then the next day, sometimes it's hard, for me too."

Celine Dion Relives the Song that Made her a Star

Celine was interviewed in Montego Bay, Jamaica, where she performed at the Jamaica Jazz and Blues Festival with the support of the Jamaica Tourist Board.

Source: http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/entertainment/*http%3A//us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/external/omg_rss/rss_omg_en/news_exclusive_celine_dion_madonna_super_bowl_show184800853/44339280/*http%3A//omg.yahoo.com/news/exclusive-celine-dion-madonna-super-bowl-show-184800853.html

day of rage sportscenter pay per view fsu fsu defiance acc

Sunday, January 29, 2012

Goldman, Berkshire names surface in Gupta case (Reuters)

NEW YORK (Reuters) ? The names of a Goldman Sachs board member and a top executive of Berkshire Hathaway surfaced on Friday as potential witnesses in the insider trading trial of Rajat Gupta, a former director of Goldman, Procter & Gamble and other companies.

Gupta, a one-time global head of the McKinsey & Co consultancy firm, is the most prominent corporate executive charged in the U.S. government's broad investigation of Wall Street insider trading, a probe that used secretly recorded phone conversations as evidence.

His trial is scheduled to start on April 9 in U.S. District Court in New York. Gupta, 63, has denied the charges of securities fraud and conspiracy in providing inside tips about Goldman and Procter & Gamble board meetings to hedge fund founder Raj Rajaratnam.

At a hearing in federal court in New York to discuss potential evidence and potential witnesses, U.S. prosecutor Reed Brodsky identified Ajit Jain, the top Berkshire Hathaway insurance executive, as a "close friend" of Gupta who has already been interviewed by the prosecution and defense.

Jain is not accused of any wrongdoing.

A spokeswoman for renowned investor Warren Buffett's company Berkshire Hathaway did not immediately respond to a request for comment. Jain, who heads the company's insurance business, has been identified as a possible successor of Buffett's as chief executive.

Dozens of hedge fund managers, lawyers and executives have been convicted since 2009 in the sweeping prosecution, including Gupta's onetime friend and business associate Rajaratnam. He is serving an 11-year prison sentence.

Goldman Sachs chief executive Lloyd Blankfein testified at Rajaratnam's two month-long trial last year and could be called to the witness stand in Gupta's case along with other Goldman executives, according to court records.

On Friday, the name of Goldman board member Claes Dahlback also came up in court and he could be asked to testify.

"After Rajaratnam was arrested in October 2009, Dahlback asked Gupta if he knew Rajaratnam," U.S. District Judge Jed Rakoff said, reading from a government report on the case. "Gupta responded that Rajaratnam was a 'bad man' and further stated that Gupta lost money with Rajaratnam."

A Goldman Sachs spokesman, David Wells, declined to comment.

Government investigators recorded at least two discussions between Rajaratnam and Gupta.

Gupta's lawyer Gary Naftalis indicated that part of the defense would be to emphasize that in 2008 and 2009 - the time the alleged illegal tips took place - relations between Gupta and Rajaratnam had deteriorated. He said Gupta lost all of a $10 million investment he made with the Galleon hedge fund manager.

"We were very unhappy with how he handled our investment and the information he gave us and this is obviously inconsistent with going out and tipping him," Naftalis told the judge.

The government contends that Gupta provided Rajaratnam with advance knowledge of Warren Buffett's $5 billion investment in Goldman at the height of the 2008 financial crisis, as well as information about Goldman's surprise fourth-quarter loss in 2008 and P&G's quarterly earnings in late January 2009.

The case is USA v Gupta, U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York, No. 11-907.

(Reporting By Grant McCool; Editing by Gary Hill)

Source: http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/business/*http%3A//news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20120128/bs_nm/us_galleon_gupta

humpback whale humpback whale barrel roll anagram 180 degrees askew cory smoot

EFF working to keep jailbreaking legal, wants your help

Android Central

Jailbreaking or rooting your smartphone is currently "legal" under Digital Millennium Copyright Act, but that exemption is set to expire in 2012.  The EFF (Electronic Frontier Foundation) is looking for help and support to keep it that way, and they would like people to contact the US Copyright office and express their opinion.  They are offering up a handy set of questions and concerns readers can use in their appeal to the copyright office, and have done as much as they can to streamline the process and make it painless, with direct links and a petition.  

The idea behind it all is that once we pay our hard-earned money for our expensive electronic toys, they are ours to do with as we please.  As long as safety regulations are met, and we don't do anything to adversely affect our cellular carrier, we should be able to do anything we wish.  It's a great idea, and it's a shame that this even requires an exemption in the DMCA.

The DMCA has been used against people who hack game consoles, and used against people trafficking cell phones, but has anyone ever been prosecuted for rooting their smartphone?  I've searched the net for a few days, and every time I find something that sounds promising, it ends up being more than just someone jailbreaking their iPad or rooting their Bionic.  Yeah, carriers and manufacturers probably hate it, and we can't blame them, but I don't see a case like HTC vs. Jerry Hildenbrand for rooting his Wildfire S getting much traction in a court of law.  Unfortunately, we can't trust things will stay this way in a world full of companies like Microsoft and Apple.

It's absolutely ridiculous that we would require some sort of waiver to be allowed to mess up our own hardware.  It's even more ridiculous that carriers and device makers have acted in ways to put the fear of prosecution in us so we want an exemption in the first place.  It's mine.  If you want to tell me what to do with it, you need to pay me for it.  Until then, leave me the hell alone and let me enjoy my toys.

Hit the link below, and do your part to make sure the Copyright Office does the right thing.

EFF: Jailbreaking is not a crime

read more



Source: http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/androidcentral/~3/q4rHz7aO0tc/story01.htm

prospect park no child left behind no child left behind byu skylab skylab all my children

Saturday, January 28, 2012

Chevron profit falls as refineries, output suffer (Reuters)

(Reuters) ? Chevron Corp reported lower quarterly earnings on Friday, missing Wall Street forecasts, as rising spending on oil and gas projects and losses at its U.S. refinery business offset gains from higher crude oil prices.

Oil and gas output at the No. 2 U.S. oil company also declined to 2.64 million barrels per day (BPD) from 2.79 million BPD a year-ago, although benchmark oil prices rose about 25 percent during the quarter.

Chevron had said earlier this month its refinery margins were suffering and would be near breakeven for the quarter, but the U.S. losses pulled the entire segment into the red, and the company's profits from oil and gas sales also appeared weaker than expected.

Its shares fell 2.5 percent in early trading.

"It was a miss on some non-controllable factors," said Pavel Molchanov, analyst with Raymond James in Houston, citing the timings of sales and global pricing differences as the likely reason oil and gas profits fell about $500 million below his forecast.

Still, Chevron added 1.67 billion barrels of oil equivalent to its reserves last year, 171 percent of its 2011 output, a very strong performance, Molchanov said.

Chevron is embroiled in two major legal battles in South America, where a Brazilian prosecutor plans to file criminal charges against it and some of its local managers.

The company is facing an $11 billion lawsuit there related to an offshore oil spill in November, and it also remains locked in a legal war against plaintiffs in Ecuador, who won an $18 billion judgment against it in a court there.

PROFIT DIP

Fourth-quarter profit slipped to $5.1 billion, or $2.58 per share, from $5.3 billion, or $2.64 per share, a year earlier.

That fell short of the $2.84 per share that analysts had forecast, according to Thomson Reuters I/B/E/S.

Chevron's warning of weaker earnings on January 11 knocked 17 cents per share off the average analyst estimate.

Among other U.S. oil companies, the quarterly profits from ConocoPhillips and Occidental Petroleum Corp earlier this week topped Wall Street estimates, though Hess Corp fell short.

Exxon Mobil is due to report earnings on Tuesday, Jan 31.

Chevron is spending piles of money on production growth that will not really kick in until 2014. Its 2012 capital budget of $32.7 billion is nearly $5 billion higher than last year.

In the fourth quarter, Chevron's spending on oil and gas projects in the United States nearly doubled from a year ago to $2.0 billion, while outside the U.S. it grew by more than a quarter to $5.1 billion.

Shares of Chevron fell 2.5 percent to $103.94 in early trading on the New York Stock Exchange.

(Reporting by Matt Daily in New York, additional reporting by Braden Reddall in San Francisco, editing by Dave Zimmerman)

Source: http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/business/*http%3A//news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20120127/bs_nm/us_chevron

james ray williston nd williston nd mists of pandaria mists of pandaria 20 20 gunner kiel

NFL's Ochocinco, US House speaker trade tweets

In this Wednesday, Jan. 25, 2012 photo provided by the Press Office of the Speaker of the House, Speaker John Boehner, R-Ohio, sits at his desk in Washington next to a Cincinnati Bengals helmet for use in responding to a tweet from New England Patriots receiver Chad Ochocinco. The New England Patriots wide receiver known for prolific social media interactions tuned in to President Barack Obama's State of the Union address Tuesday night, and he soon was wondering about the unsmiling man sitting behind the Democratic president. Informed by a friend it was Republican Speaker John Boehner of Ohio, the former Cincinnati Bengal decided to reach out to him on Twitter, asking Tuesday night if he was "OK." (AP Photo/Bryant Avondoglio)

In this Wednesday, Jan. 25, 2012 photo provided by the Press Office of the Speaker of the House, Speaker John Boehner, R-Ohio, sits at his desk in Washington next to a Cincinnati Bengals helmet for use in responding to a tweet from New England Patriots receiver Chad Ochocinco. The New England Patriots wide receiver known for prolific social media interactions tuned in to President Barack Obama's State of the Union address Tuesday night, and he soon was wondering about the unsmiling man sitting behind the Democratic president. Informed by a friend it was Republican Speaker John Boehner of Ohio, the former Cincinnati Bengal decided to reach out to him on Twitter, asking Tuesday night if he was "OK." (AP Photo/Bryant Avondoglio)

New England Patriots wide receiver Chad Ochocinco (85) smiles at team practice in Foxborough, Mass., Thursday, Jan. 26, 2012. The Patriots will face the New York Giants in the Super Bowl on Feb. 5 in Indianapolis. (AP Photo/Elise Amendola)

New England Patriots wide receiver Chad Ochocinco speaks to a reporter while sitting at his locker in Gillette Stadium at Foxborough, Mass., Thursday, Jan. 26, 2012. The Patriots are preparing to face the New York Giants in the Super Bowl on Feb. 5 in Indianapolis. (AP Photo/Elise Amendola)

New England Patriots wide receiver Chad Ochocinco leans back in a chair at his locker while speaking to a reporter in Gillette Stadium at Foxborough, Mass., Thursday, Jan. 26, 2012. The Patriots are preparing to face the New York Giants in the Super Bowl on Feb. 5 in Indianapolis. (AP Photo/Elise Amendola)

New England Patriots wide receiver Chad Ochocinco speaks to reporters at his locker at the NFL football stadium in Foxborough, Mass., Thursday, Jan. 26, 2012. The Patriots are scheduled to face the New York Giants in the Super Bowl on Feb. 5 in Indianapolis. (AP Photo/Elise Amendola)

(AP) ? Chad Ochocinco, meet the speaker of the U.S. House. On Twitter, of course.

The New England Patriots receiver known for prolific social media interactions tuned in to President Barack Obama's State of the Union address Tuesday night, and he soon was wondering about the unsmiling man sitting behind the Democratic president. Informed by a friend it was Republican Speaker John Boehner of Ohio, the former Cincinnati Bengal decided to reach out to him on Twitter, asking Tuesday night if he was "OK."

Apparently still concerned Wednesday, Ochocinco asked Boehner in another message if he was in better spirits, and told him: "If all else seems bad in life, just remember I love you kind sir."

Boehner thanked Ochocinco in a tweet and wished him good luck in the Super Bowl. Ochocinco said Thursday the two exchanged contact information and made plans to meet after the Patriots' season is over.

New England plays the New York Giants for the National Football League championship on Feb. 5.

"We'll see you in the playoffs next year," Boehner added, using "Bengals" and their fans' cheer "WhoDey" to tag his response on Twitter.

Boehner's Twitter feed later included a photo of him at his desk with a Bengals helmet in the foreground.

In the Patriots locker room in Foxborough, Mass., Ochocinco asked a reporter questions about Boehner's place in the presidential line of succession. The House speaker is second in line, after the vice president.

"He's a pretty powerful man, then," the football player said. "For him to contact me back, it's awesome."

Ochocinco has more than 3.1 million Twitter followers, including President Felipe Calderon of Mexico.

"Me and the president of Mexico tweet back all the time," Ochocinco said. "That's two powerful people."

___

Contact this reporter at http://www.twitter.com/dansewell

___

AP Sports Writer Jimmy Golen in Foxborough, Mass., contributed to this report.

Associated Press

Source: http://hosted2.ap.org/APDEFAULT/347875155d53465d95cec892aeb06419/Article_2012-01-26-US-Ochocinco-Boehner/id-d706f04e68e845c0b66824a5ae59cac6

weta weta rudolph the red nosed reindeer rudolph the red nosed reindeer adam carolla desean jackson rick neuheisel

Friday, January 27, 2012

Amnesty: Tear gas used on Bahrain protesters kills

By msnbc.com staff and news services

Bahrain must investigate more than a dozen deaths that followed the use of tear gas by security forces, rights group Amnesty International said on Thursday after the Gulf kingdom reported that a man had died while in custody.

Reuters reported that Bahrain's Interior Ministry said that a man detained by police over "acts of sabotage" died in the?hospital, without elaborating on the cause of death.


According to Amnesty, a Bahraini human rights group has reported at least 13 deaths resulting from the security forces' use of tear gas against peaceful protesters as well as inside people's homes since February 2011, with a rise in such deaths in recent months.

Bahrain fires tear gas, stun grenades to halt protesters

A 20-year-old was seriously injured and hospitalized after being hit in the head by a tear gas canister launched by riot police, the group said. Amnesty went on to document a series of incidents that allegedly showed how tear gas had been used improperly, including against women, children and the elderly.

Bahrain last year crushed protests led by its Shiite Muslim majority demanding an end to sectarian discrimination and limits to the authority of the Sunni ruling family, relying in part on backing from troops from fellow Sunni-led Gulf monarchies.

More than a thousand people were detained in the crackdown, at least four of whom died in official custody. An inquiry Bahrain commissioned into the protests and government crackdown found systematic abuse of detainees, including torture.

The ministry said last month it would begin recording the questioning of detainees in line with the recommendations of the inquiry, which also disputed Bahrain's claim that the protests were fomented by Iran through its Shiite coreligionists.

Bahrain to citizens living abroad: Spy on countrymen, no protests permitted

Washington, which bases its Fifth Fleet on the Gulf island, has linked a $53 million arms sale to the kingdom's response to the inquiry. Bahrain has said it is implementing the inquiry's recommendations, but the top U.N. human rights official argues that Bahrain is not punishing those behind abuses.

Reuters and msnbc.com staff contributed to this report.

?

More from msnbc.com and NBC News:

Source: http://worldnews.msnbc.msn.com/_news/2012/01/26/10243804-amnesty-tear-gas-used-on-bahrain-protesters-kills

lord howe island lord howe island conficker conficker zach braff kevin federline amy smart

Former Guatemala dictator faces war crimes charges (Reuters)

GUATEMALA CITY (Reuters) ? Former Guatemalan dictator Efrain Rios Montt will face trial on charges of genocide and crimes against humanity as the Central American nation seeks to close files on a brutal 36-year civil war.

A judge found sufficient evidence that linked Rios Montt, who ruled during a particularly bloody period in 1982 and 1983, to the killing of more than 1,700 indigenous people in one counterinsurgency effort.

"I believe that there is enough evidence in these charges," said Judge Carol Flores, who agreed with prosecutors that Rios Montt, as head of the government, should answer for brutality under his rule.

Prosecutors allege that Rios Montt, who ruled as commander-in-chief for 17 months, turned a blind eye as soldiers used rape, torture and arson to rid Guatemala of leftist insurgents.

Lawyers also charge that Rios Montt conceived a counterinsurgency plan that killed at least 1,771 unarmed members of the Ixil tribe that he said were aiding guerillas and drove another 29,000 more into forced exodus.

Defense attorneys claim that Rios Montt, 85, did not control battlefield operations during the 1960-1996 internal conflict that left nearly a quarter of a million dead or missing and therefore cannot be held responsible.

"Each commander is responsible for making decisions in his own post," attorney Danilo Rodriguez said.

Ixil women clad in bright red indigenous dresses attended the hearing that ended in Rios Montt being ordered to house arrest until a preliminary hearing in March.

The right-wing party Rios Montt founded has lost relevance and the former general was turned out of Congress in a September general election, loosing the immunity from prosecution granted to public officials.

(Reporting By Michael McDonald; editing by Christopher Wilson and Eric Beech)

Source: http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/latam/*http%3A//news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20120127/wl_nm/us_guatemala

ruben studdard ruben studdard black friday sales 2011 black friday sales 2011 whitney duncan bradley cooper elisabeth hasselbeck

Thursday, January 26, 2012

SOTU Response: We???re Still in Bad Shape (ContributorNetwork)

COMMENTARY | Tuesday night was the night of speeches. First there was the State of the Union; then there was the GOP response. While I'm not a fan of Mitch Daniels, I liked his answer. It was more factual and current then Obama's State of the Union address, and it highlighted the importance of the 2012 elections. As a country, we cannot do another four years of Obama, and the answer is electing a Republican president.

Gov. Daniels crafted an impressive response to Obama's State of the Union address. I particularly liked Daniels' speech when he stated, "The president did not cause the economic and fiscal crises that continue in America tonight. But he was elected on a promise to fix them, and he cannot claim that the last three years have made things anything but worse: the percentage of Americans with a job is at the lowest in decades. One in five men of prime working age, and nearly half of all persons under 30, did not go to work today."

While I'm not in either of those demographics, I didn't go to work yesterday. In fact, I gave up looking for traditional employment in November 2011. There are no jobs out there. There are no jobs for the uneducated, and there are no jobs for the educated. I fall into the latter category. I have two degrees, and I'm thinking about getting a third degree. I shouldn't need three degrees to find a job. With two degrees I'm already overeducated, but that's the world Obama has created.

I had a job in 2008, and I still had a job in 2009 after Obama was elected. I wasn't downsized until April 2009. Supposedly, the recession ended during that summer, but a more than two years later, I'm still not traditionally employed. It's a problem, and it's not just a problem for me. It's a problem for the nation.

The United States cannot thrive with high unemployment. "The federal government now spends one of every four dollars in the entire economy; it borrows one of every three dollars it spends. No nation, no entity, large or small, public or private, can thrive, or survive intact, with debts as huge as ours," said Gov. Daniels.

It's been more than two years since the recession officially ended. Yet, the unemployment rate is still a whopping 8.5 percent. While Obama wants to take credit for the improvements no matter how marginal, I don't see enough improvement.

The answer to the economy is to elect a Republican president. We can't do another four years of Obamanomics. That means we need to pay close attention during this year's primaries. We need to scrutinize each candidate as if our lives depended on it. Then, we, as a nation, need to pick the best republican presidential candidate so we can get this nation and its jobs and its citizens back on track.

Source: http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/obama/*http%3A//news.yahoo.com/s/ac/20120125/pl_ac/10883091_sotu_response_were_still_in_bad_shape

marco rubio marco rubio sopa marg helgenberger censorship wikipedia sopa and pipa bills

Klipsch Mode M40 noise-cancelling headphones review

Around these parts, we've generally had favorable opinions of Klipsch's audio products. Whether it's been something as small as its S4 line of smartphone oriented in-ears or grand speaker systems like its AirPlay-enabled G-17 Air, we've usually ended up awarding the brand our highest praise. If you'll recall, it was little over a year ago that Klipsch introduced its $150 Image One on-ear headphones -- the company's first set ever that weren't of the intra-aural variety, and a favorite of our own James Trew.

Fast forward to the present, and the company's unleashed its second proper over-the-head headphone, the Klipsch Mode M40 with active noise-cancellation. In recent years, headphones have exploded in popularity -- many companies have been furiously trying to blend good sound with fashion-forward looks. It's safe to say that's Klipsch's end game here, and is asking that you part ways with 350 bones to get in on the action.

Put simply, these aren't a follow-up to the Image Ones, but rather, a luxury pair that takes cues from the company's reference series headphones. Of course, as we've come to expect from Klipsch, the M40s do have some notable tricks up their yokes aside from their debatably fashionable looks -- the company promises they'll cancel noise for a massively long 45 hours on a single AAA battery, and both earcups feature an interesting dual-driver array with a 15mm tweeter and a 40mm woofer. So, have the M40s made us smitten with Klipsch all over again? Or not? Maybe something a bit more complicated? Click on past the break to find out!

Continue reading Klipsch Mode M40 noise-cancelling headphones review

Klipsch Mode M40 noise-cancelling headphones review originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 24 Jan 2012 13:00:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink   |   | Email this | Comments


Source: http://feeds.engadget.com/~r/weblogsinc/engadget/~3/U6lKvwxEhXA/

unc basketball college basketball gunsmoke papelbon papelbon anita hill penn state football schedule

Wednesday, January 25, 2012

Children with ADHD benefit from healthy lifestyle options as first-line treatment

ScienceDaily (Jan. 24, 2012) ? Every year between 3 and 10 percent of school-age children in this country are diagnosed with attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD). Increasingly, families are using natural or complementary therapies to improve their child's attention or behavior, and often seek advice from an integrative pediatrician, according to a new study by researchers at Wake Forest Baptist Medical Center.

"Many parents are reluctant to put their children on medication for ADHD, and instead want to first try healthy lifestyle options to help promote optimal focus and attention," said Kathi Kemper, M.D., professor of public health sciences and pediatrics at Wake Forest Baptist, and lead author of the study.

Published in the January issue of the journal Focus on Alternative and Complementary Therapies, the research is the first to study what parents who seek natural remedies for their child's ADHD are actually using or interested in learning about from an integrative pediatrician. The growing field of integrative pediatrics covers not only complementary therapies, but also focuses on health promotion, disease prevention, lifestyle coaching and coordinated team care.

In the study, the researchers reviewed intake forms, physician reports and laboratory studies for 75 new patients seen in an integrative pediatric clinic over a year and a half. Most of the patients (87 percent) were referred by their primary care physicians and the rest were referred by specialists. Among the patients, 31 percent of the families had concerns about ADHD, but only 13 percent of the children were taking medicine for the condition.

The data suggest that these children often suffer from several chronic health conditions, receive care from multiple, diverse specialists as well as primary care clinicians, and take a variety of medications and supplements while avoiding ADHD medications. "Although it was a small study from one practice, we believe that it reflects an emerging trend among pediatricians and primary care providers," Kemper said.

The Wake Forest Baptist researchers showed that most families with ADHD children were interested in information about diet, exercise, stress management and sleep. Physician recommendations focused on health promotion information, dietary supplements, such as multivitamins/minerals and omega-3 fatty acids, and referrals to specialists.

"For example, if your child has trouble concentrating in his mid-morning math class, be sure he eats a really good breakfast, or try having him go to bed an hour earlier to see if that helps," Kemper said. "If your child can't sit still to do homework when he gets home from school, have him go outside to shoot some hoops and then try doing homework. I recommend using low-risk, healthy lifestyle approaches first before resorting to medication."

For parents interested in finding an integrative pediatrician, Kemper recommends the American Academy of Pediatrics' website under the Section on Complementary and Integrative Medicine for a list of board-certified integrative pediatricians.

Recommend this story on Facebook, Twitter,
and Google +1:

Other bookmarking and sharing tools:


Story Source:

The above story is reprinted from materials provided by Wake Forest Baptist Medical Center, via Newswise.

Note: Materials may be edited for content and length. For further information, please contact the source cited above.


Note: If no author is given, the source is cited instead.

Disclaimer: This article is not intended to provide medical advice, diagnosis or treatment. Views expressed here do not necessarily reflect those of ScienceDaily or its staff.

Source: http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2012/01/120124134425.htm

mike quade sticks and stones sticks and stones top chef powerball winner powerball winner narwhals

President Obama's Campaign Gains Momentum, Voters Weigh In

Following Newt Gingrich's win in the South Carolina primary, young voters have advice for the president's bid for re-election.
By Uptin Saiidi


President Barack Obama
Photo: Shahar Azran/WireImage

If there's one thing that's certain, it's that primary voters aren't yet ready to decide on a Republican candidate for the 2012 presidential election. Despite Mitt Romney's considerable lead at the beginning of last week, Newt Gingrich pulled off an upset over the weekend in the South Carolina primary, taking 40 percent of the vote over Romney's 27 percent.

While Republicans wrestle with choosing a nominee as they head into next week's Florida primary, President Barack Obama's re-election campaign is gaining momentum. On Thursday, in addition to raising $1.6 million for his campaign, Obama captured widespread attention when he busted out his singing chops with Rev. Al Green's "Let's Stay Together" at a fundraiser event at the Apollo Theater in Harlem.

When MTV News spoke to people in Times Square about the president's musical interlude, the consensus was that his vocals scored a passing grade. "It sounded really good, it's one of my favorite songs," Felicia Bullinger, 20, said.

Even an "American Idol" producer weighed in, telling MTV News that the commander in chief could pass an "Idol" audition and make it through to Hollywood Week.

Obama's voice wasn't the only thing that won people over. His softer side resonated with 18-year-old student Tonya Deodath. "I think he's always serious so I think it's kind of good that he's being a little personal with everybody. It doesn't hurt to be silly sometimes."

Jamie Dahlquist, 24, agreed. "I think it's fun to show the real human side of himself. It's a good way to get the young people on his side."

A human side could ultimately help translate into more votes. "Seeing how it's time for re-election, if he's going to get more votes, you have to get personal with the people you're trying to win over," Deodath said.

With 45 million Americans between the ages of 18 and 29 eligible to vote in this year's election, the power of young voters is hard to ignore, especially after the support he received from 2008's record youth turnout.

Of course, gaining popularity will take more than singing at $200-per-ticket fundraisers as voters have mixed reactions to the president's time in office and weighed in with their advice for his campaign.

"He shouldn't make so many promises because as much as someone wants to change the world, they're not going to be able to promise everything," Victoria Lavista, 18, said. "I think he did that last time and there's a lot of promises he didn't follow up on."

One issue that seems to top the list of issues for young Americans is student loan debt and jobs.

"To President Obama, I speak for students when I say this, help us out, especially parents and [those] students who want to go back to school or who are in school right now," Deodath said. "It's kind of hard for students to get a job and nobody's really doing anything about that.

"And if kids are the future, we have to go to school in order to be the future."

Source: http://www.mtv.com/news/articles/1677705/president-obama-campaign-voter-advice.jhtml

beyonce baby tebow broncos ben roethlisberger downton abbey season 2 2013 dodge dart shameless kwame brown

Tuesday, January 24, 2012

Investing in Guns | Shall Not Be Questioned

Categories'; collapsItems['collapsCat-21:4'] = ''; collapsItems['collapsCat-10:4'] = ''; collapsItems['collapsCat-55:4'] = ''; collapsItems['collapsCat-17:4'] = ''; collapsItems['collapsCat-15:4'] = ''; collapsItems['collapsCat-22:4'] = ''; collapsItems['collapsCat-30:4'] = ''; collapsItems['collapsCat-20:4'] = ''; collapsItems['collapsCat-67:4'] = ''; collapsItems['collapsCat-49:4'] = ''; collapsItems['collapsCat-18:4'] = ''; collapsItems['collapsCat-14:4'] = ''; collapsItems['collapsCat-69:4'] = ''; collapsItems['collapsCat-35:4'] = ''; collapsItems['collapsCat-34:4'] = ''; collapsItems['collapsCat-32:4'] = ''; collapsItems['collapsCat-28:4'] = ''; collapsItems['collapsCat-37:4'] = ''; collapsItems['collapsCat-19:4'] = ''; collapsItems['collapsCat-24:4'] = ''; collapsItems['collapsCat-11:4'] = ''; collapsItems['collapsCat-56:4'] = ''; collapsItems['collapsCat-57:4'] = ''; collapsItems['collapsCat-62:4'] = ''; collapsItems['collapsCat-53:4'] = ''; collapsItems['collapsCat-3:4'] = ''; collapsItems['collapsCat-8:4'] = ''; collapsItems['collapsCat-16:4'] = ''; collapsItems['collapsCat-9:4'] = ''; collapsItems['collapsCat-51:4'] = ''; collapsItems['collapsCat-63:4'] = ''; collapsItems['collapsCat-66:4'] = ''; collapsItems['collapsCat-7:4'] = ''; collapsItems['collapsCat-23:4'] = ''; collapsItems['collapsCat-65:4'] = ''; collapsItems['collapsCat-29:4'] = ''; collapsItems['collapsCat-33:4'] = ''; collapsItems['collapsCat-5:4'] = ''; collapsItems['collapsCat-2:4'] = ''; collapsItems['collapsCat-26:4'] = ''; collapsItems['collapsCat-50:4'] = ''; collapsItems['collapsCat-38:4'] = ''; collapsItems['collapsCat-12:4'] = ''; /* Collapse Functions, version 2.0 * *--------------------------------------------------------------------------*/ String.prototype.trim = function() { return this.replace(/^\s+|\s+$/g,""); } function createCookie(name,value,days) { if (days) { var date = new Date(); date.setTime(date.getTime()+(days*24*60*60*1000)); var expires = "; expires="+date.toGMTString(); } else { var expires = ""; } document.cookie = name+"="+value+expires+"; path=/"; } function readCookie(name) { var nameEQ = name + "="; var ca = document.cookie.split(';'); for(var i=0;i

Source: http://www.pagunblog.com/2012/01/23/investing-in-guns/

mermaid roger federer drake corset andy murray jerusalem nadal

Polywell Ignition X7900i-3960


The year's most scorching gaming machines on the market tend to arrive hot on the heels of Intel releasing a new flagship processor, and that's certainly true of 2011. In the wake of the debut of the Intel Core i7-3960X, manufacturers are falling over themselves to put out the fastest, most decked-out desktops that anyone living on a trust fund will be dying to have. One such system is the Polywell Ignition X7900i-3960, a $4,599 (street) behemoth bearing the smoking new processing and enough other new hardware to send the most trembling enthusiast into flights of ecstasy. And, oh yeah, it's fast, too. But if you're spending over $4,500 on a desktop, you undoubtedly want the speediest, best-designed, and most feature-packed one you can get. For its numerous virtues and outstanding performance scores, however, the Ignition X7900i-3960 is not quite that.

Design
At least the Ignition X7900i-3960 is an eye-catcher. Its full-size tower case is cast in gleaming, glossy white with sharp accents that give each part of it a uniquely striking appearance. A band of silvery metal wraps around the top and the bottom, though it's interrupted on the latter with a black plastic ventilation grille. You'll find a similar grille at the bottom of the front panel: It's covering the intake fans and is in turn covered by a series of shiny black fins. This look, in turn, is replicated on the top panel; on the two side panels, you'll find the black grille as well, albeit without the fins. The rear panel is solid black metal, though cut with many hexagonal holes for ventilation.

Both the side panels eschew thumbscrews in favor of a key-and-knob locking mechanism. The knob is found on either side of the rear panel: Turn it one way to free the panel, which you can then just pull away; turn it back the other way to secure it shut; or use the keys (on our model, attached via a twist tie to one of the ventilation holes) to prevent anyone from getting into the computer. It's a somewhat bulky and inelegant system, but it works.

Features
Dashing as the Ignition X7900i-3960 may be in the attractiveness department, it's what's inside that counts even more?and there's a lot. In addition to the Core i7-3960X processor cooled by a sedate-looking, Polywell-branded fan?and?heat sink combo, plugged into the Intel Desktop Board DX79SI is a whopping 32GB of 1,600MHz DDR3 memory. Because Intel's new X79 Express chipset supports quad-channel memory, this is divided among eight DIMMs, and there are no free slots for putting in more. (Not that you'll need to upgrade anytime soon, anyway!) Video capabilities come courtesy of two video cards using the Nvidia GeForce GTX 590 GPU design, the fastest the company makes. This gives you an enormous amount of graphics potential, but requires a lot of power?thankfully, this is provided by a 1,250-watt power supply. All these internal components are cooled by four fans: one 150mm for intake, located at the bottom of the internal drive well, and three for exhaust (two in the top panel, one in the rear panel).

There's plenty more to be found on the front panel, too. Let's start with the two optical drives: one LG "Super Multi Blue" model that combines Blu-ray playing and DVD recording functionality, and one traditional DVD?RW drive. In another of the 5.25-inch bays you'll find a multiformat card reader. This leaves two bays free, and from them you can directly access the internal storage, all without having to unplug any SATA data or power cables. This gives you 240GB spread across two 120GB solid-state drives (SSDs) and an additional 3TB hard drive.

Only when you get to the collection of front-panel ports do you start to see what you're missing: One eSATA, three USB 2.0, and headphone and microphone jacks flank the power button on the top edge?that's right, no USB 3.0 ports. You'll only find two of those on the rear panel, joining six USB 2.0 ports, two Gigabit LAN jacks, a FireWire port, and S/PDIF digital and 8.1-channel analog audio ports for connecting speakers. Another nice feature is the "back to BIOS" button, which lets you safely roll back any changes you make to your system's configuration (such as overclocking).

A Logitech Cordless Desktop X100 keyboard and an associated OptiMouse complete the hardware side of the spectrum. Two warranties, one for three years for parts and one for five years for labor, should keep you decently protected.

Performance
Polywell Ignition X7900i-3960Any performance tweaking you may want from the X7900i-3960 you will have to do yourself: Polywell has provided no out-of-the-box overclocking for it. The good news is that because the rest of the system?s components are so advanced, you still get amazing frame rates. But overall performance isn?t going to compare with what you?ll see on an overclocked system such as the Falcon Northwest Mach V that uses this same CPU and many similar components?with one big difference that further accelerates its gaming prowess.

That would be its setup of three Nvidia GeForce GTX 580 video cards, which let it deliver results that surpass those of the Polywell. We saw this in every gaming test, whether PCMark 7 (6,154 versus 5,990), 3DMark 11 (6,505 versus 6,148 at the Extreme preset), Crysis at 1,920 by 1,080 with Very High details (75 frames per second, or fps, versus 73fps), or Lost Planet 2 at 1,920 by 1,080 with High details (168fps versus 122fps). And the Falcon Northwest?s overclocking helped it excel at non-gaming tasks, too (on the off chance you?ll ever want to do them), again trumping the Polywell in every match-up.

So if you?re looking for the best Core i7-3960X gaming machine you can find, right now the Editors? Choice Mach V takes the prize?in addition to superior performance, it also gives you more storage space (with the help of two 256GB SSDs), a more forward-thinking case design, and a more adventurous motherboard loaded with features (including a lot more USB 3.0 ports) that Intel?s doesn?t attempt. But it?s important to note that the Mach V also comes with a faint-worthy $6,899 price tag. The Polywell Ignition X7900i-3960 offers an incredibly compelling alternative for $2,300 less, with most of the same pluses and only some minor minuses. The only way it will disappoint is your hunger for speed can only be sated by the most tip of the top desktop out there.

BENCHMARK TEST RESULTS

More desktop reviews:
??? Polywell Ignition X7900i-3960
??? iBuypower Chimera 4-V1
??? Velocity Micro Vector Holiday Edition (2011)
??? Falcon Northwest Mach V (Core i7-3960X)
??? Cybernet ZPC-D5
?? more

Source: http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/ziffdavis/pcmag/~3/fn3RE_Lr4PE/0,2817,2398335,00.asp

k cups best buy we bought a zoo we bought a zoo ipad accessories derrick rose port charlotte florida

Sunday, January 22, 2012

Madagascar's exiled president vows return Saturday (AP)

JOHANNESBURG ? The president of Madagascar, exiled in South Africa since a 2009 coup, said Friday he will return to his Indian Ocean homeland on Saturday even though he faces arrest there.

Following the coup, Marc Ravalomanana was convicted in absentia of conspiracy to commit murder in a case related to the turmoil during his overthrow. The court was appointed by Andry Rajoelina, who took power with the military's backing in 2009. Ravalomanana called the tribunal illegitimate.

"Any attempt to arrest me will be unlawful," Ravalomanana told reporters Friday. "I have not committed any of the crimes of which I am accused by the illegal regime."

Harry Laurent Rahajason, the government spokesman in Madagascar, said Ravalomanana "will be arrested" if he returns.

Attempts to find a political solution in Madagascar have been troubled. A new prime minister and unity Cabinet that took office last year were greeted with protests by some opposition figures and skepticism from the international community. Rajoelina appears firmly in control.

Source: http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/africa/*http%3A//news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20120120/ap_on_re_af/af_madagascar

power outage snow storm snow storm reggie bush ufc 137 boston news matilda

Inside Obama's World: The President talks to TIME About the Changing Nature of American Power (Time.com)

Christopher Morris / VII for TIME

Christopher Morris / VII for TIME

Fareed Zakaria interviews President Obama for TIME in the Oval Office on Jan. 18, 2012

Fareed Zakaria: When we talked when you were campaigning for the presidency, I asked you which Administration?s foreign policy you admired. And you said that you looked at George H.W. Bush?s diplomacy, and I took that to mean the pragmatism, the sense of limits, good diplomacy, as you looked upon it favorably. Now that you are President, how has your thinking evolved?
President Obama: It is true that I?ve been complimentary of George H.W. Bush?s foreign policy, and I continue to believe that he managed a very difficult period very effectively. Now that I?ve been in office for three years, I think that I?m always cautious about comparing what we?ve done to what others have done, just because each period is unique. Each set of challenges is unique. But what I can say is that I made a commitment to change the trajectory of American foreign policy in a way that would end the war in Iraq, refocus on defeating our primary enemy, al-Qaeda, strengthen our alliances and our leadership in multilateral fora and restore American leadership in the world. And I think we have accomplished those principal goals.

Christopher Morris?VII for TIME

We still have a lot of work to do, but if you look at the pivot from where we were in 2008 to where we are today, the Iraq war is over, we refocused attention on al-Qaeda, and they are badly wounded. They?re not eliminated, but the defeat not just of [Osama] bin Laden, but most of the top leadership, the tightening noose around their safe havens, the incapacity for them to finance themselves, they are much less capable than they were back in 2008.

Our alliances with NATO, Japan, South Korea, our close military cooperation with countries like Israel have never been stronger. Our participation in multilateral organizations has been extremely effective. In the United Nations, not only do we have a voice, but we have been able to shape an agenda. And in the fastest-growing regions of the world in emerging markets in the Asia Pacific region, just to take one prominent example, countries are once again looking to the United States for leadership.

That?s not the exact same moment as existed post?World War II. It?s an American leadership that recognizes the rise of countries like China and India and Brazil. It?s a U.S. leadership that recognizes our limits in terms of resources, capacity. And yet what I think we?ve been able to establish is a clear belief among other nations that the United States continues to be the one indispensable nation in tackling major international problems.

(MORE: Read TIME?s Cover Story on Obama, Now Available to Subscribers)

And I think that there is a strong belief that we continue to be a superpower, unique perhaps in the annals of history, that is not only self-interested but is also thinking about how to create a set of international rules and norms that everyone can follow and that everyone can benefit from. So you combine all those changes, the United States is in a much stronger position now to assert leadership over the next century than it was only three years ago.

We still have huge challenges ahead. And one thing I?ve learned over the last three years is that as much as you?d like to guide events, stuff happens and you have to respond. And those responses, no matter how effective your diplomacy or your foreign policy, are sometimes going to produce less-than-optimal results. But our overall trajectory, our overall strategy, I think has been very successful.

Mitt Romney says you are timid, indecisive and nuanced.
Ah, yes.

I particularly like the third one. What do you say?
I think Mr. Romney and the rest of the Republican field are going to be playing to their base until the primary season is over. Once it is, we?ll have a serious debate about foreign policy. I will feel very confident about being able to put my record before the American people and saying that America is safer, stronger and better positioned to win the future than it was when I came into office.

And there are going to be some issues where people may have some legitimate differences, and there are going to be some serious debates, just because they?re hard issues. But overall, I think it?s going to be pretty hard to argue that we have not executed a strategy over the last three years that has put America in a stronger position than it was when I came into office.

Romney says if you are re-elected, Iran will get a nuclear weapon, and if he is elected, it won?t. Will you make a categorical statement like that: If you are re-elected, Iran will not get a nuclear weapon?
I have made myself clear since I began running for the presidency that we will take every step available to prevent Iran from obtaining a nuclear weapon. What I?ve also said is that our efforts are going to be ? Excuse me. When I came into office, what we had was a situation in which the world was divided, Iran was unified, it was on the move in the region. And because of effective diplomacy, unprecedented pressure with respect to sanctions, our ability to get countries like Russia and China ? that had previously balked at any serious pressure on Iran?? to work with us, Iran now faces a unified world community, Iran is isolated, its standing in the region is diminished. It is feeling enormous economic pressure.

(MORE: See TIME?s Interview with Hillary Clinton on Libya, China, the Middle East and Barack Obama)

And we are in a position where, even as we apply that pressure, we?re also saying to them, There is an avenue to resolve this, which is a diplomatic path where they forego nuclear weapons, abide by international rules and can have peaceful nuclear power as other countries do, subject to the restrictions of the [Nuclear] Non-Proliferation Treaty.

But the way, the Iranians might see it as that they have made proposals ? the Brazilian-Turkish proposal ? and that they never go anywhere. They aren?t the basis of negotiations.
Yes, I think if you take a look at the track record, the Iranians have simply not engaged in serious negotiations on these issues.

We actually put forward a very serious proposal that would have allowed them to display good faith. They need medical isotopes; there was a way to take out some of their low-enriched uranium so that they could not ? so that there was clarity that they were not stockpiling that to try to upgrade to weapons-grade uranium. In exchange, the international community would provide the medical isotopes that they needed for their research facility. And they delayed and they delayed, and they hemmed and they hawed, and then when finally the Brazilian-Indian proposal was put forward, it was at a point where they were now declaring that they were about to move forward on 20% enriched uranium, which would defeat the whole purpose of showing good faith that they weren?t stockpiling uranium that could be transformed into weapons-grade.

(PHOTOS: Political Pictures of the Week)

So, not to get too bogged down in the details, the point is that the Iranians have a very clear path where they say, We?re not going to produce weapons, we won?t stockpile material that can be used for weapons. The international community then says, We will work with you to develop your peaceful nuclear energy capacity, subject to the kinds of inspections that other countries have agreed to in the past. This is not difficult to do. What makes it difficult is Iran?s insistence that it is not subject to the same rules that everybody else is subject to.

Suppose that with all this pressure you have been able to put on Iran, and the economic pressure, suppose the consequence is that the price of oil keeps rising, but Iran does not make any significant concession. Won?t it be fair to say the policy will have failed?
It is fair to say that this isn?t an easy problem, and anybody who claims otherwise doesn?t know what they?re talking about. Obviously, Iran sits in a volatile region during a volatile period of time, and their own internal conflicts makes it that much more difficult, I think, for them to make big strategic decisions. Having said that, our goal consistently has been to combine pressure with an opportunity for them to make good decisions and to mobilize the international community to maximize that pressure.

Can we guarantee that Iran takes the smarter path? No. Which is why I have repeatedly said we don?t take any options off the table in preventing them from getting a nuclear weapon. But what I can confidently say, based on discussions that I?ve had across this government and with governments around the world, is that of all the various difficult options available to us, we?ve taken the one that is most likely to accomplish our goal and one that is most consistent with America?s security interest.

When you look at Afghanistan over the past three years ? the policies you?ve adopted ? would it be fair to say that the counterterrorism part of the policy, the killing bad guys, has been a lot more successful than the counterinsurgency, the stabilizing of vast aspects of the country, and that going forward, you should really focus in on that first set of policies?
Well, what is fair to say is that the counterterrorism strategy as applied to al-Qaeda has been extremely successful. The job is not finished, but there?s no doubt that we have severely degraded al-Qaeda?s capacity.

When it comes to stabilizing Afghanistan, that was always going to be a more difficult and messy task, because it?s not just military ? it?s economic, it?s political, it?s dealing with the capacity of an Afghan government that doesn?t have a history of projecting itself into all parts of the country, tribal and ethnic conflicts that date back centuries. So we always recognized that was going to be more difficult.

Now, we?ve made significant progress in places like Helmand province and in the southern portions of the country. And because of the cohesion and effectiveness of coalition forces, there are big chunks of Afghanistan where the Taliban do not rule, there is increasingly effective local governance, the Afghan security forces are beginning to take the lead. And that?s all real progress.

(MORE: The Obama Campaign?s Romney Glossary)

But what is absolutely true is that there are portions of the country where that?s not the case, where local governance is weak, where local populations still have deep mistrust of the central government. And part of our challenge over the next two years as we transition to Afghan forces is to continue to work with the Afghan government so that it recognizes its responsibilities not only to provide security for those local populations but also to give them some credible sense that the local government ? or the national government is looking out for them, and that they?re going to be able to make a living and they?re not going to be shaken down by corrupt police officials and that they can get products to market. And that?s a long-term process.

I never believed that America could essentially deliver peace and prosperity to all of Afghanistan in a three-, four-, five-year time frame. And I think anybody who believed that didn?t know the history and the challenges facing Afghanistan. I mean, this is the third poorest country in the world, with one of the lowest literacy rates and no significant history of a strong civil service or an economy that was deeply integrated with the world economy. It?s going to take decades for Afghanistan to fully achieve its potential.

What we can do, and what we are doing, is providing the Afghan government the time and space it needs to become more effective, to serve its people better, to provide better security, to avoid a repetition of all-out civil war that we saw back in the ?90s. And what we?ve also been able to do, I think, is to maintain a international coalition to invest in Afghanistan long beyond the point when it was politically popular to do so.

But ultimately, the Afghans are going to have to take on these responsibilities and these challenges, and there will be, no doubt, bumps in the road along the way.

From the perspective of our security interests, I think we can accomplish our goal, which is to make sure that Afghanistan is not a safe haven from which to launch attacks against the United States or its allies. But the international community ? not just us; the Russians and the Chinese and the Indians and the Pakistanis and the Iranians and others ? I think all have an interest in making sure that Afghanistan is not engulfed in constant strife, and I think that?s an achievable goal.

As the Chinese watched your most recent diplomacy in Asia, is it fair for them to have looked at the flurry of diplomatic activity ? political, military, economic ? and concluded, as many Chinese scholars have, that the United States is building a containment policy against China?
No, that would not be accurate, and I?ve specifically rejected that formulation.

I think what would be fair to conclude is that, as I said we would do, the United States has pivoted to focus on the fastest-growing region of the world, where we have an enormous stake in peace, security, the free flow of commerce and, frankly, an area of the world that we had neglected over the last decade because of our intense focus on Iraq, Afghanistan and the Middle East.

So if you look at what we?ve done, we?ve strengthened our alliances with Japan and South Korea ? I think they?re in as good of shape as they?ve ever been. We have involved ourselves in the regional architecture of ? including organizations like ASEAN and APEC. We?ve sent a clear signal that we are a Pacific power and we will continue to be a Pacific power, but we have done this all in the context of a belief that a peacefully rising China is good for everybody.

One of the things we?ve accomplished over the last three years is to establish a strong dialogue and working relationship with China across a whole range of issues. And where we have serious differences, we?ve been able to express those differences without it spiraling into a bad place.

I think the Chinese government respects us, respects what we?re trying to do, recognizes that we?re going to be players in the Asia Pacific region for the long term, but I think also recognize that we have in no way inhibited them from continuing their extraordinary growth. The only thing we?ve insisted on, as a principle in that region is, everybody?s got to play by the same set of rules, everybody?s got to abide by a set of international norms. And that?s not unique to China. That?s true for all of us.

But do you think they?re not?
Well, I think that when we?ve had some friction in the relationship, it?s because China, I think, still sees itself as a developing or even poor country that should be able to pursue mercantilist policies that are for their benefit and where the rules applying to them shouldn?t be the same rules that apply to the United States or Europe or other major powers.

(MORE: Iraq?s Government, Not Obama, Called Time on the U.S. Troop Presence)

And what we?ve tried to say to them very clearly is, Look, you guys have grown up. You?re already the most populous country on earth, depending on how you measure it, the largest or next-largest economy in the world and will soon be the largest economy, almost inevitably. You are rapidly consuming more resources than anybody else. And in that context, whether it?s maritime issues or trade issues, you can?t do whatever you think is best for you. You?ve got to play by the same rules as everybody else.

I think that message is one that resonates with other Asia Pacific countries, all of whom want a good relationship with China, all of whom are desperately seeking access to China?s markets and have forged enormous commercial ties, but who also recognize that unless there are some international norms there, they?re going to get pushed around and taken advantage of.

You think it?s inevitable that China will be the largest economy in the world? It?s now the second largest, even on PPP.
Well, they are ? assuming that they maintain stability and current growth patterns, then, yes, it?s inevitable. Even if they slow down somewhat, they?re so large that they?d probably end up being, just in terms of the overall size of the economy, the largest.

But it?s doubtful that any time in the near future they achieve the kind of per capita income that the United States or some of the other highly developed countries have achieved. They?ve just got a lot of people, and they?re moving hundreds of millions of people out of poverty at the same time.

You have developed a reputation for managing your foreign policy team very effectively, without dissention. So how come you can manage this fairly complex process so well, and relations with Congress are not so good?
Well, in foreign policy, the traditional saying is, Partisan differences end at the water?s edge, that there is a history of bipartisanship in foreign policy.

Now, obviously, there were huge partisan differences during the Bush years and during the Iraq war. But I do think there?s still a tradition among those who work in foreign policy, whether it?s our diplomatic corps or our military or intelligence services, that says our focus is on the mission, our focus is on advancing American interests, and we?re going to make decisions based on facts and analysis and a clear-eyed view of the world, as opposed to based on ideology or what?s politically expedient.

And so when I?m working with my foreign policy team, there?s just not a lot of extraneous noise. There?s not a lot of posturing and positioning and ?How?s this going to play on cable news?? and ?Can we score some points here?? That whole political circus that has come to dominate so much of Washington applies less to the foreign policy arena, which is why I could forge such an effective working relationship and friendship with Bob Gates, who comes out of that tradition, even though I?m sure he would?ve considered himself a pretty conservative, hawkish Republican. At least that was where he was coming out of. I never asked him what his current party affiliation was, because it didn?t matter. I just knew he was going to give me good advice.

But have you been able to forge similar relationships with foreign leaders? Because one of the criticisms people make about your style of diplomacy is that it?s very cool, it?s aloof, that you don?t pal around with these guys.
I wasn?t in other Administrations, so I didn?t see the interactions between U.S. Presidents and various world leaders. But the friendships and the bonds of trust that I?ve been able to forge with a whole range of leaders is precisely, or is a big part of, what has allowed us to execute effective diplomacy.

I think that if you ask them, Angela Merkel or Prime Minister Singh or President Lee or Prime Minister Erdogan or David Cameron would say, We have a lot of trust and confidence in the President. We believe what he says. We believe that he?ll follow through on his commitments. We think he?s paying attention to our concerns and our interests. And that?s part of the reason we?ve been able to forge these close working relationships and gotten a whole bunch of stuff done.

You just can?t do it with John Boehner.
You know, the truth is, actually, when it comes to Congress, the issue is not personal relationships. My suspicion is that this whole critique has to do with the fact that I don?t go to a lot of Washington parties. And as a consequence, the Washington press corps maybe just doesn?t feel like I?m in the mix enough with them, and they figure, well, if I?m not spending time with them, I must be cold and aloof.

The fact is, I?ve got a 13-year-old and 10-year-old daughter, and so, no, Michelle and I don?t do the social scene, because as busy as we are, we have a limited amount of time, and we want to be good parents at a time that?s vitally important for our kids.

In terms of Congress, the reason we?re not getting enough done right now is you?ve got a Congress that is deeply ideological and sees a political advantage in not getting stuff done. John Boehner and I get along fine. We had a great time playing golf together. That?s not the issue. The problem was that no matter how much golf we played or no matter how much we yukked it up, he had trouble getting his caucus to go along with doing the responsible thing on a whole bunch of issues over the past year.

You talked a lot about how foreign policy ultimately has to derive from American strength, and so when I talk to businessmen, a lot of them are dismayed that you have not signaled to the world and to markets that the U.S. will get its fiscal house in order by embracing your deficit commission, the Simpson-Bowles. And that walking away from that,which is a phrase I?ve heard a lot, has been a very bad signal to the world. Why won?t you embrace Simpson-Bowles?
I?ve got to say, most of the people who say that, if you asked them what?s in Simpson-Bowles, they couldn?t tell you. So first of all, I did embrace Simpson-Bowles. I?m the one who created the commission. If I hadn?t pushed it, it wouldn?t have happened, because congressional sponsors, including a whole bunch of Republicans, walked away from it.

The basic premise of Simpson-Bowles was, we have to take a balanced approach in which we have spending cuts and we have revenues, increased revenues, in order to close our deficits and deal with our debt. And although I did not agree with every particular that was proposed in Simpson-Bowles ? which, by the way, if you asked most of the folks who were on Simpson-Bowles, did they agree with every provision in there?, they?d say no as well.

What I did do is to take that framework and present a balanced plan of entitlement changes, discretionary cuts, defense cuts, health care cuts as well as revenues and said, We?re ready to make a deal. And I presented that three times to Congress. So the core of Simpson-Bowles, the idea of a balanced deficit-reduction plan, I have consistently argued for, presented to the American people, presented to Congress.

There wasn?t any magic in Simpson-Bowles. They didn?t have some special sauce or formula that avoided us making these tough choices. They?re the same choices that I?ve said I?m prepared to make. And the only reason it hasn?t happened is the Republicans were unwilling to do anything on revenue. Zero. Zip. Nada.

The revenues that we were seeking were far less than what was in Simpson-Bowles. We?ve done more discretionary cuts than was called for in Simpson-Bowles. The things that supposedly would be harder for my side to embrace we?ve said we?d be willing to do. The whole half of Simpson-Bowles that was hard ideologically for the Republicans to embrace they?ve said they?re not going to do any of them.

So this notion that the reason that it hasn?t happened is we didn?t embrace Simpson-Bowles is just nonsense. And by the way, if you talk to some of these same business leaders who say, Well, he shouldn?t have walked away from Simpson-Bowles, and you said, Well, are you prepared to kick capital gains and dividends taxation up to ordinary income ?

? which is what Simpson-Bowles ?
? which is what Simpson-Bowles called for, they would gag. There?s not one of those business leaders who would accept a bet. They?d say, Well, we embrace Simpson-Bowles except for that part that would cause us to pay a lot more.

And in terms of the defense cuts that were called for in Simpson-Bowles, they were far deeper than even what would have been required if the sequester goes through, and so would have not been a responsible pathway for us to reduce our deficit spending. Now, that?s not the fault of Simpson-Bowles. What they were trying to do was provide us a basic framework, and we took that framework, and we have pushed it forward.

And so there should be clarity here. There?s no equivalence between Democratic and Republican positions when it comes to deficit reduction. We?ve shown ourselves to be serious. We?ve made a trillion dollars worth of cuts already. We?ve got another $1.5 trillion worth of cuts on the chopping blocks. But what we?ve also said is, in order for us to seriously reduce the deficit, there?s got to be increased revenue. There?s no way of getting around it. It?s basic math. And if we can get any Republicans to show any serious commitment ? not vague commitments, not ?We?ll get revenues because of tax reform somewhere in the future, but we don?t know exactly what that looks like and we can?t identify a single tax that we would allow to go up? ? but if we can get any of them who are still in office, as opposed to retired, to commit to that, we?ll be able to reduce our deficit.

Now, to your larger point, you?re absolutely right. Our whole foreign policy has to be anchored in economic strength here at home. And if we are not strong, stable, growing, making stuff, training our workforce so that it?s the most skilled in the world, maintaining our lead in innovation, in basic research, in basic science, in the quality of our universities, in the transparency of our financial sector, if we don?t maintain the upward mobility and equality of opportunity that underwrites our political stability and makes us a beacon for the world, then our foreign policy leadership will diminish as well.

Can we do that in a world with so much competition from so many countries? One of the things you do hear people say is, You know, we have all this regulation. You?re trying to make America more competitive, but you?ve got Dodd-Frank, you?ve got health care. There?s all this new regulation. And in that context, are we going to be able to be competitive, to attract investment, to create jobs?
Absolutely. Look, first of all, with respect to regulation, this whole notion that somehow there?s been this huge tidal wave of regulation is not true, and we can provide you the facts. Our regulations have a lower cost than the comparable regulations under the Bush Administration; they have far higher benefits.

We have engaged in a unprecedented regulatory look-back, where we?re weeding out and clearing up a whole bunch of regulations that were outdated and outmoded, and we?re saving businesses billions of dollars and tons of paperwork and man-hours that they?re required to fill out a bunch of forms that aren?t needed. So our regulatory track record actually is very solid.

I just had a conference last week where we had a group of manufacturing companies ? some service companies as well ? that are engaging in insourcing. They?re bringing work back to the United States and plants back to the United States, because as the wages in China and other countries begin to increase, and U.S. worker productivity has gone way up, the cost differential for labor has significantly closed.

And what these companies say is, as long as the United States is still investing in the best infrastructure in the world, the best education system in the world, is training enough skilled workers and engineers and is creating a stable platform for businesses to succeed and providing us with certainty, there?s no reason why America can?t be the most competitive advanced economy in the world.

But that requires us to continue to up our game and do things better and do things smart. We?ve started that process over the last three years. We?ve still got a lot more work to do, because we?re reversing decade-long trends where our education system didn?t keep pace with the improvements that were taking place in other countries; where other countries started to invest more in research and development, and we didn?t up our game; where our infrastructure began to deteriorate at a time when other countries were investing in their infrastructure; and, frankly, where we have gotten bogged down politically in ways that don?t allow us to take strong, decisive action on issues in ways that we?ve been able to do in the past.

And so my whole goal in the last three years and my goal over the next five years is going to be to continue to chip away at these things that are holding us back. And I?m absolutely confident there?s no problem that America is facing right now that we can?t solve, as long we?re working together. That?s our job.

Source: http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/us/*http%3A//us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/external/time_rss/rss_time_us/httpswamplandtimecom20120119insideobamasworldthepresidenttalkstotimeaboutthechangingnatureofamericanpowerxidrssnationyahoo/44240140/SIG=14oupep9v/*http%3A//swampland.time.com/2012/01/19/inside-obamas-world-the-president-talks-to-time-about-the-changing-nature-of-american-power/?xid=rss-nation-yahoo

chris cooley stevan ridley breast cancer awareness month breast cancer awareness month new ipod touch new ipod touch dwts results