Saturday, December 31, 2011

Friday, December 30, 2011

Romney, sensing opening, makes big push in Iowa

Republican presidential candidate, former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney greets supporters after a campaign stop at Homer's Deli and Bakery in Clinton, Iowa, Wednesday, Dec. 28, 2011. (AP Photo/Chris Carlson)

Republican presidential candidate, former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney greets supporters after a campaign stop at Homer's Deli and Bakery in Clinton, Iowa, Wednesday, Dec. 28, 2011. (AP Photo/Chris Carlson)

Republican presidential candidate, former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney speaks during a campaign stop at Rastrelli's restaurant in Clinton, Iowa, Wednesday, Dec. 28, 2011. (AP Photo/Chris Carlson)

(AP) ? Mitt Romney has stepped into the center of a perfect storm in Iowa ? and he's going all in.

Sensing an opening to win next Tuesday's caucuses, an ever-more confident Romney is campaigning hard in a region of the state where he performed well in his failed 2008 race, with a bus tour and new crush of advertising intended to bolster his closing argument: that he's the most electable candidate against President Barack Obama.

It's thanks to a combination of luck and planning that Romney now finds himself in strong contention for an Iowa caucus victory that would give him a boost heading into the next contest, in New Hampshire, where the former Massachusetts governor's standing is strong.

Not that he's publicly entertaining the notion of back-to-back victories.

"I can't possibly allow myself to think in such optimistic terms. I just have to put my head down and battle as best I can," Romney said Wednesday. "But I can tell you: If the people here in Clinton are any example, or any indication, of what's going to happen in the process, I feel pretty good."

In a sign of his growing confidence that a victory may be at hand, Romney plans to spend caucus night in Iowa.

Advisers are redoubling efforts to try to capitalize on the slide in support for Newt Gingrich and skepticism of Ron Paul by making a concerted effort to increase turnout in areas where Romney did well four years ago. His campaign also added at least $100,000 in additional advertising for the final days ? and bought broadcast advertising for the first time in the Quad Cities market in eastern Iowa.

And, while Romney is largely shying away from criticizing his rivals, he jabbed at Paul, who has emerged as his chief rival in Iowa, on Wednesday ? another indication of Romney's efforts to triumph here.

"One of the people running for president thinks it's OK for Iran to have a nuclear weapon," Romney said in Muscatine in response to a question from the audience. "I don't."

This is a far more aggressive strategy than the one Romney has employed all year after pouring $10 million into the state in 2008 only to lose it in a defeat that crippled his entire campaign. He couldn't allay concerns about his Mormon faith or his reversals on some social issues in a state where evangelical Republicans and other social conservatives dominate.

Romney approached Iowa more cautiously for this race, so much so that until recently aides worked out of an attic in Des Moines on a shoestring budget. He also had spent less than $200,000 on the state before the campaign started buying TV ads in December.

But even as advisers worked to play down expectations, they quietly stayed in contact with backers from his first campaign ? and Romney stood at the ready to try to take advantage of an opportunity in the race, should one present itself.

It looks like it has.

Social conservatives that united behind former Arkansas Gov. Mike Huckabee in 2008 remain splintered among a handful of candidates that include Texas Gov. Rick Perry, Minnesota Rep. Michele Bachmann and former Pennsylvania Sen. Rick Santorum. Gingrich, the former House speaker, was Romney's latest threat but he's taken a significant beating from an onslaught of advertisements by a super PAC run by Romney's allies. Paul, a libertarian-leaning Republican, is a serious contender in Iowa but he has foreign policy views so outside the Republican mainstream that most Republicans believe he has little chance to win the GOP nomination.

On Wednesday, a new CNN/TIME poll in Iowa showed Romney leading with 25 percent support. Paul had 22 percent and Santorum drew 16 percent while Gingrich had fallen to 14 percent.

So Romney is trying to seize the moment. And it may be working.

Overflow crowds have been greeting Romney at every stop of his three-day, seven-city tour on a bus plastered with his campaign logo and "Conservative, Businessman, Leader" slogan on the side.

So many people showed up at a deli in Clinton that Romney's staff also sent the candidate to visit the restaurant across the street. Before sunrise, the line to see Romney at Elly's Coffee and Tea in Muscatine stretched out the door and down the block.

On Tuesday night, the campaign said that only 150 people had RSVPed to attend Romney's speech in Davenport. But more than 500 people showed up, shutting at least 200 people out of the Blackhawk Hotel ballroom. Many area voters were notified only that morning of Romney's visit.

People seem to like what they hear.

"He's probably the best chance to beat Obama," said Carol Hetzler, a medical secretary who backed Sen. John McCain's in 2008. She had also considered voting for Gingrich.

And Tim McCleary, who was waiting in line at Elly's before 7 a.m. to see Romney, said: "The only reason I'm supporting Romney is because he can win the election."

As Romney visits small towns in eastern Iowa, he's also doing countless interviews with the local media. He spent most of Wednesday morning talking to radio stations and small Iowa newspapers.

He's also relying on friends to help him make the sale.

Romney was dispatching surrogates from nearby states, including South Dakota Sen. John Thune, former Sens. Norm Coleman of Minnesota and Jim Talent of Missouri, to campaign in Iowa. Former Kansas Sen. Bob Dole was dialing influential activists Tuesday, including former state GOP chairman Steve Grubbs, who is a well-connected campaign operative in Davenport in the heart of Romney's eastern Iowa base.

"He made the argument that the candidate who has shown the ability to win by the effectiveness of the campaign he's run is Mitt Romney," said Grubbs, who worked on Dole's 1996 campaign. "At the end of the day, he was selling electability."

It's the case Romney will try to make in North Liberty, Waterloo and Ames on Thursday and in Des Moines on Friday.

Mindful not to ignore New Hampshire altogether, Romney planned events there Friday and Saturday. Four of his five sons will campaign in the state Thursday before heading to Iowa this weekend. His wife, Ann, will remain in Iowa all weekend, campaigning in the western part of the state. Romney returns to Iowa later Saturday.

__

Beaumont reported from Des Moines, Iowa.

Associated Press

Source: http://hosted2.ap.org/apdefault/89ae8247abe8493fae24405546e9a1aa/Article_2011-12-28-Romney/id-cc281292f54f4d0197e3e9b06c4f5809

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How many of you combine taskbar buttons on Windows 7?

It really depends on how you use Windows 7 for which option may work best for you.

Like me, I usually have so many things opened at once, it's not even funny. For example, 10 tabs in IE9, a few virtual machines, and a few other programs. There just wouldn't be enough room on the taskbar for all of them without them being grouped. "Always combined" is just more convenient for me.

Source: http://www.sevenforums.com/chillout-room/205334-how-many-you-combine-taskbar-buttons-windows-7-a.html

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Thursday, December 29, 2011

BreakingNews: 3 NATO troops killed in eastern Afghanistan - @AP http://t.co/egNLwivw

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3 NATO troops killed in eastern Afghanistan - @AP apne.ws/vAkPXK BreakingNews

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Online shopping up 16.4 percent on Christmas

A growing number of shoppers apparently need only the briefest of breaks before diving back in, especially if they can log in to shop.

IBM found that online shopping jumped 16.4 percent on Christmas Day over last year, and the dollar amount of those purchases that were made using mobile devices leaped 172.9 percent.

IBM tracks shopping at more than 500 websites other than Amazon.com, which is the largest. It found a huge increase in the number of shoppers making their purchases with iPhones, iPads and Android-powered mobile devices.

In fact, nearly 7 percent of all online purchases were made using iPads, just 18 months after the tablet computers were released by Apple Inc., said John Squire, chief strategy officer for IBM's Smarter Commerce unit.

The online uptick was continuing on Monday. As of 3 p.m. Eastern time, shopping was up 10 percent over Dec. 26, 2010. And the expectation was that the pace of buying would increase as the day wore on and consumers clicked on sales at various retailers.

Squire said consumers were chasing sales on both Sunday and Monday. The data did not show what portion of purchases was made using gift cards.

Copyright 2011 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.

Source: http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/45791965/ns/business-holiday_retail/

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Wednesday, December 28, 2011

defendhaiti: 'Mouvman T?t Kale' Calls on President Martelly for Support #Haiti http://t.co/gbQ2Re69

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'Mouvman T?t Kale' Calls on President Martelly for Support #Haiti shar.es/Wr5ZN defendhaiti

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RT @iPad_Accessoire Test accessoire iPad 2 : Etui cuir et aluminium http://t.co/...

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Monday, December 5, 2011

European economic slowdown a problem for Africa: WTO

ACCRA (Reuters) - The euro zone crisis will continue to hamper African countries' trade and economic growth because of the continent's dependence on exporting to European markets, the World Trade Organization chief said on Saturday.

"The European economic slowdown is a problem for Africa," WTO Director-General Pascal Lamy told a news conference on the margins of an African Union conference for trade ministers in the Ghanaian capital.

Lamy said there could be a significant decline in the growth of African economies if the euro zone crisis continued to worsen.

"Africa is still dependent on trade with Europe, which is its first trade partner," Lamy said. "The order of magnitude in what you find in economic research is that -1 percent for Europe's growth equals -0.5 percent for Africa's growth."

Trade between the 27-nation European Union, the world's largest trading zone, and its former colonies stood at 278 billion euros in 2008, according to the European Union's statistics agency Eurostat. The euro zone comprises 17 EU member states.

African countries export commodities and other raw materials including timber, tobacco, cocoa, cut flowers and oil to Europe, as well as textiles, while importing finished products including machinery, chemicals and vehicles.

Lamy said African countries needed to focus on intraregional trade to mitigate the impacts of the crisis.

"I have no doubt that it will impact Africa's growth in years to come, which is one of the reasons why Africa has to try and become more dependent on other sources of trade than the EU market," Lamy said.

Source: http://feeds.reuters.com/~r/reuters/AFRICATopNews/~3/1c1k2V4ZkvY/idAFJOE7B203Z20111203

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Sunday, December 4, 2011

Report: Facebook Has Acquired Gowalla

gowallashotFacebook has acquired location-based startup Gowalla, according to a report this evening by Laurie Segall on CNN Money. The terms of the deal haven't been reported, and Gowalla declined to comment. Facebook says it doesn't comment on rumor and speculation. According to CNN's report, the Gowalla team will be working on Facebook Timeline, with most of the team moving to Facebook's Palo Alto headquarters and some remaining in Gowalla's hometown of Austin, where Facebook has an office as well.

Source: http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/Techcrunch/~3/yv-LXsDLDqc/

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Saturday, December 3, 2011

Kanye gets 7 Grammy noms; Adele, Mars, Foos get 6 (AP)

It was Adele's year, and when the Grammy Awards are revealed next February, it very well may be her night.

But on Wednesday night, the British songstress shared in the Grammy nominations glory. While she was nominated for six trophies, including album of the year for "21" and record and song of the year for her bitter groove "Rolling in the Deep," Bruno Mars and the Foo Fighters also received six, and it was Kanye West who was the night's top leader, with seven nominations.

West was nominated for song of the year for his all-star anthem "All of the Lights," which featured everyone from Rihanna to Elton John. But even though the album from which it came, "My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy," heralded an epic album by critics when it was released last year, it was not featured in the best album category (so far, no obligatory West rant has surfaced in response).

Bon Iver, the folky indie rock act that was a key part of "My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy" and received a popularity boost from its association with Kanye, was one of the night's big winners, receiving four nominations, including for best artist, and song and record of the year for "Holocene." And last year's critical darlings, Mumford & Sons, were once again nominated, receiving among their bids for song and record of the year for "The Cave."

Other multiple nominees were Lady Gaga, Nicki Minaj, Lil Wayne, Radiohead, and dubstep artist Skrillex, who landed a bid for best new artist among his surprising five nominations.

Among the evening's biggest eye-openers were the artists not mentioned in certain categories. Taylor Swift, who won best album in 2010 for "Fearless" and was considered to be a key favorite for her multiplatinum "Speak Now," only got her three nominations in the country fields, and Tony Bennett, who had a feel-good story as his "Duets II" album made him the oldest act to debut an album at No. 1 at age 85, was not nominated for album of the year, as some critics had predicted.

West's joint album with Jay-Z, "Watch the Throne," was also ignored for best album.

Mars, who like Adele was nominated in all the top three categories ? record, album and song of the year ? was estatic about his night. He was nominated for song and record of the year for "Grenade," album for "Doo-Wops & Hooligans," and best pop solo performance, among other bids.

"It feels incredible. Me and these guys, we locked ourselves in the studio not too far from here and worked on this album, especially `Grenade.' That's the song we worked the hardest on. That's like our trophy right there. Of all the songs we've been fortunate enough to be a part of this year, we were most proud of that one," Mars said after the nominations, some of which were announced in Los Angeles at the Nokia Theatre as part of the Recording Academy's hour-long concert nominations special.

Mars, who was part of the CBS special, along with Rihanna, Lady Gaga, The Band Perry and others, also got key nominations last year. But he said of awards: "I'm trying to get used to it. It's hard for me, because Adele is incredible. Kanye West is incredible. All these people are just incredible and they all offer something different, so the fact that this album got recognized and is being categorized alongside these acts, that's the craziest part, because I'm a fan of all of this music."

The academy seemed to be fans of a wide variety of music as well. They top categories honored rap, pop, indie music, folk and dance.

Adele's "21" is the year's top-selling album with more than 4.5 million albums sold, and the singer-songwriter's mournful post-breakup album produced smash hits like the torch ballad "Someone Like You." Besides "21," the best album candidates inclduded Lady Gaga; Gaga garnered her third straight nod in the category for "Born This Way," while veteran rockers the Foo Fighters were nominated for "Wasting Light," along with Mars' debut album,and Rihanna's steamy dance album "Loud."

For record of the year, besides Bon Iver, Adele, Mars and Mumford & Sons, Katy Perry's inspirational anthem "Firework" got a nod. The category looked virtually the same for song of the year, with "Firework" being replaced by West's "All of the Lights."

Unlike the past two years, which saw Swift and fellow country act Lady Antebellum soar in the general categories, the only country act that got a mainstream nomination was the country sibling act The Band Perry. Best known for their poignant ballad "If I Die Young," they got a nomination for best new artist. Their competition also includes Bon Iver, Jay-Z rap prot?g? J. Cole, Skrillex and rapper-singer Minaj.

"It's been an amazing evening," said lead singer Kimberly Perry. "We got the good news yesterday that our debut album went platinum, it was certified yesterday, to so follow it with a nomination tonight is phenomenal. We're just in the clouds, absolutely."

The 54th Grammys will be held Feb. 12 in Los Angeles. The ceremony will mark the first since the academy shaved its categories from 109 to 78 this year, amid some protest. Some of the more niched categories, like best Zydeco or Cajun music album, were eliminated.

In addition, men and women now compete together in vocal categories for pop, R&B and country, instead of having separate categories for each sex. This year, the category is best pop solo performance and Bruno Mars is the only man nominated for "Grenade." His competition includes Adele for "Someone Like You," Lady Gaga for "You and I," Pink for "(Expletive) Perfect" and Perry for "Firework."

___

http://www.grammy.com

___

Entertainment Writer Sandy M. Cohen contributed to this report.

____

Nekesa Mumbi Moody is the AP's music editor. Follow her at http://www.twitter.com/nekesamumbi . AP Entertainment Writer Sandy M. Cohen is at http://www.twitter.com/apsandy

Source: http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/entertainment/*http%3A//news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20111201/ap_en_ot/us_grammy_nominations

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Northeast to post warmest November in 10 years (Reuters)

NEW YORK (Reuters) ? The Northeastern United States, the world's largest heating oil market, is set to post its warmest November in a decade, and the mildest for some cities like Boston in over 30 years, forecasters said this week.

The Northeast and East North Central regions, including Chicago, Cleveland and St. Louis, had their warmest November since 2001, Pennsylvania-based forecaster Planalytics said.

Boston was the warmest since 1975, while Indianapolis was the warmest in over 50 years.

Overall, forecasters expect this November to be the fifth-warmest since records began in 1950.

The mild weather was a result of "autumn being autumn" and not a sign of a weakening La Nina weather pattern - expected to continue through winter - or a harbinger of what's to come this winter, according to New York-based Weather 2000 meteorologist Michael Schlacter.

While November's mild weather aided U.S. retailers as shoppers took to the streets, it pressured demand for natural gas to fire furnaces and power plants.

Cash gas prices slid to their lowest levels in more than two years, while gas futures on the New York Mercantile Exchange slid to 11-month lows.

Heating oil prices, meanwhile, were weaker, but concerns about supply disruptions due to recent refinery closures limited the downside, market sources said.

The Southwest coast was the coolest since 2004, with Los Angeles the coolest since 2000, the forecaster said.

Weather 2000's Schlacter noted that while New York City had a "warm" November, it was not "off the charts" or historic in nature.

"Even just this past decade we've had some tremendous swings in weather in November temperatures. We're not that much warmer than 2009 or 2006. We are going to top those, but we're still in the same ballpark as the last five years," Schlacter said.

Overall this November will fall behind November 2001, and will likely be the fifth-warmest on recent record, Schlacter said. MDA EarthSat meteorologist Rick Groh agreed.

All the forecasters noted that cooler weather in the U.S. West would likely skew the overall national average.

"The tremendous cool in the West will likely dilute the impressiveness of the warmth for the nation as a whole," Schlacter said.

NOVEMBER VERSUS THE WINTER

Forecasters were quick to note that November weather patterns were not necessarily indicative of how the entire winter will turn out.

Forecaster WSI has called for the mildest winter in five years, lowering heating demand expectations.

U.S. government forecasters said a strengthening La Nina would grip the country for a second straight winter, causing colder and wetter weather in the most northern states and drier, warmer conditions throughout the drought-ravaged South.

The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) said it expects the La Nina weather phenomenon that results in cooler ocean temperatures in the Equatorial Pacific, to become the most dominant factor influencing weather across the country, but added that a change in pressure called the Arctic Oscillation could make it difficult for forecasters to predict more than a week or two in advance.

The volatile condition could produce dramatic short-term swings in temperatures. Arctic Oscillation can generate strong shifts in the climate patterns that could overwhelm or amplify La Nina's typical impacts, NOAA said.

Weather 2000 was calling for a below-normal period from December through March for the nation as a whole, with the Ohio Valley and Great Lakes area the focal points of the coolest weather.

"Last year was very impressive. It's probably not going to be as cold as last year, but could be similar to the 2008-2009 winter for the nation as a whole. The winters the last four years have been in that slightly cool direction and that's where we're leaning this year," Schlacter said.

"Chicago, which had a very, very warm November, just like New York, is already starting this new transition. It's a very slow progress and the Interstate-95 corridor on the East Coast is going to have to wait about six or seven days into December until we catch up with that," he said.

"Everything between the Rockies and the Appalachians are doing a 180 flip starting today or yesterday, compared to what was going on in November, which just shows how quickly things can change," Schlacter added.

MDA EarthSat said the December through February winter period would be normal to slightly above-normal for the Northeast and near to slightly-below normal for the Midwest, above-normal in Texas and below-normal on the West Coast and in the Rockies.

(Editing by Andrea Evans)

Source: http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/weather/*http%3A//news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20111130/us_nm/us_energy_weather_november

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Friday, December 2, 2011

Former spin doctor slams 'putrid' British press (AP)

LONDON ? Tony Blair's former spin doctor told Britain's media ethics inquiry Wednesday that a minority of journalists have turned the country's press "putrid" and tarnished the whole industry.

Alastair Campbell said journalists such as those who hacked phones for the News of the World tabloid had "besmirched the name" of almost every other reporter in the country.

"A very, very small number of people have completely changed the newspaper industry," said Campbell, who is credited with running a sophisticated ? and manipulative ? media operation when he worked for the then-prime minister at 10 Downing Street between 1997 and 2003.

"We have a press that has just become frankly putrid in many of its elements," Campbell said, criticizing the "inhumane treatment" meted out to celebrities and ordinary people alike by newspapers in relentless pursuit of exclusives.

Campbell was giving evidence to judge Brian Leveson's inquiry, which was established to examine media ethics and practices and recommend changes to Britain's system of media self-regulation.

Prime Minister David Cameron set up the inquiry in response to the scandal that began with the exposure of illegal eavesdropping by Rupert Murdoch's the News of the World.

Murdoch shut down the tabloid in July after evidence emerged that it had accessed the mobile phone voice mails of celebrities, politicians and even crime victims in its search for scoops.

In a written witness statement, Campbell said he suspected the phone of Blair's wife, Cherie, had been hacked ? although he acknowledged he had no proof.

He said stories about her "often involved details of where Cherie was going, the kind of thing routinely discussed on phones when planning visits, private as well as public."

He said phone hacking could explain how the Daily Mirror learned that Cherie Blair was pregnant in 1999.

"As I recall it, at the time only a tiny number of people in Downing Street knew that she was pregnant," Campbell said. "I have heard all sorts of stories as to how the information got out, but none of them strike me as credible."

More than a dozen current and former News of the World journalists and editors have been arrested, and two top London police officers and several senior Murdoch executives have resigned over the still-unfolding hacking scandal.

Police said Wednesday that they had made a new arrest, a 31-year-old woman detained in northern England on Wednesday. Her name was not disclosed, although media including Sky News ? which is 39 percent owned by Murdoch's News Corp. ? identified her as a former News of the World reporter.

The only people charged with crimes so far are former News of the World reporter Clive Goodman and private investigator Glenn Mulcaire, who were jailed in 2007 for hacking into the voicemails of royal aides.

___

Online: http://www.levesoninquiry.org.uk/

Source: http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/britain/*http%3A//news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20111130/ap_on_bi_ge/eu_britain_phone_hacking

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