Tuesday, January 31, 2012

Drought forces Texas cattle north

For more than a century, through a dozen dry spells when lakes disappeared and the land died, thousands of cows from the Swenson Land & Cattle Co have roamed the fields of Texas.

Yet the drought currently ravaging the southern Plains has done what the Dust Bowl could not: chased them off this land and driven them more than 600 miles north to Nebraska.

Now, as the worst drought in a century stretches into its second year, these ranchers and many of their peers are herding their animals in record numbers to the Cornhusker State and other points north, in search of grazing land that is not parched ? a shift that is fueling a dramatic economic and cultural reshaping of the U.S. livestock industry.

"If we're going to survive, we have to go north," says Dennis Braden, general manager of Swenson Land & Cattle Co in Stamford, Texas, about 170 miles west of Dallas. "We have to go."

While some Texas ranchers hang on, selling off their stock at an unprecedented pace that has reduced America's cattle herd to the smallest in 60 years, many are carving new homesteads out of some of the richest grassland in North America, a bid for survival that falls somewhere between surrender and hope.

In cattle-car convoys that wind along routes cowboys used in the 1800s, this migration is also a stark illustration of the myriad threats facing the world's future food supply: intense competition for land; increasing demands on limited water resources; and the growing threat of volatile weather.

The size and speed of the shrinkage in the U.S. cattle herd has left the industry reeling. As the national cattle and calf inventory fell 2 percent from a year ago to its smallest since 1952, the herd in Texas dropped 11 percent or 1.4 million head, the biggest decline in nearly 150 years of recorded data.

But Nebraska's herd increased 4 percent or 250,000 head in the year to Jan. 1, the most of any state, placing it ahead of Kansas as the country's second-largest cattle producer, according to the Department of Agriculture's bi-annual survey released on Friday.

Today, 7.1 percent of the country's cattle is in Nebraska ? the state's largest share of the national herd since the federal government began collecting data in 1867. At 13 percent, Texas now has the smallest share since 1986.

The shrinking supply has extended a two-year rally in Chicago futures prices, raising costs for companies like Tyson Foods Inc and McDonald's Corp. Retail prices are up 20 percent since 2009, with choice beef topping $5 per pound for the first time ever in November, USDA data show. But slack demand and soaring feed costs have kept margins tight.

It seems set to get worse before it gets better.

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While Nebraska offered solace for a first wave of bovine refugees, space is running out, forcing some even further north or west to less hospitable climes; virulent diseases could, if left unchecked, devastate local stock, a threat that has prompted officials to quarantine dozens of herds.

Local tensions are already apparent. Some worry about the potential strain on the environment. Others fret over old rivalries being revived with crop farmers ? as well as land-hungry southern cattlemen and investors ? that would further drive up record-high farmland values at rural auctions.

"People worry we're going to see a lot of big Texas cattle and oil money up here," said Gary Phipps, a fifth-generation rancher who took in several hundred Texas cattle on his family's spread in Cherry County, Neb. Land prices are already going up, Phipps noted. "Is it going to get worse?"

This great northern migration is troubling, too, for ranchers and packers in Texas, long the nation's leading cattle producer. But the need for the cattle to leave, even if only temporarily for some, is inescapable.

The drought has been keenly felt across a wide swath of the south, as five consecutively dry seasons were exacerbated by weeks of triple-digit temperatures and raging wildfires. On land where cattle once ate their fill of native grasses, ranchers fed their heifers cotton gin trash ? an agricultural byproduct ? hamburger buns and day-old bread as feed supplies disappeared.

Even before the Texas state climatologist warned last September that these dry conditions could last until 2020, a group of managers from a dozen large Texas cattle operations met to talk about how to deal with the drought.

Swenson Land & Cattle's Braden and Joe Leathers, general manager of the Four Sixes Ranch, agreed to travel north.

"We had a couple names and a lot of hope, and that was about it," said Leathers, who is based in Guthrie, Texas, a ranching community located about 214 miles west of Dallas.

After two weeks, and driving thousands of miles of country roads and dirt lanes, the men pieced together enough land in Nebraska and four other states ? a patchwork of leases, ranging from a year to five years ? for more than 11,000 cows.

This January, both men returned to Nebraska on their own, hunting for more land.

"If we can find enough land, and the right leases, we'll stay there for generations," said Leathers.

Leathers doesn't want to leave, nor do the 75 employees he oversees ? families with two and three generations working side-by-side. But they must adapt to the changes in weather patterns across the U.S. and worldwide, he said. The solution: multiple locations to allow trucking the herd to better climes.

There is much to be said for Nebraska's rangeland, and its share of the U.S. herd has risen over the past decade.

Weather patterns have shifted in recent years, allowing the sandy soil of Nebraska's Sandhills to enjoy more rainfall.

In Cherry County, Neb., where some ranchers are sitting on a three-year stockpile of hay and wild grass, the annual precipitation has averaged 30.44 inches in the past three years, up nearly 300 percent from the state's drought of 2002, said Al Dutcher, state climatologist with the University of Nebraska-Lincoln.

While ranchers are being steadily driven out of places like Iowa, where cattle and crop battle for the same fertile ground, Nebraska's richest cattle-grazing country ? the Sandhills ? makes for relatively poor soil for corn, limiting competition from farmers, say agricultural economists and agrarians.

Above all the area boasts abundant hay, which has been in such short supply that the price has quadrupled.

So why not, reasoned Leathers, spend the money moving the cattle to the feed and water ? rather than moving the resources to the cattle?

The desperate drive north is only the latest blow for an industry that has been in distress for much of the past decade.

Producers nationwide have been squeezed by the surge in corn prices as ethanol makers buy up more than 40 percent of the crop. The decline in beef demand has deepened after the economic meltdown of 2008 and the first case of mad cow disease in 2003, pulling per-capita consumption down 25 percent since 1980.

Record export sales and the shrinking herd have helped drive benchmark Chicago live cattle prices up 45 percent over the past two years, but that's cold comfort for feed lot owners looking at the 80 percent rise in corn prices.

The migration risks piling on costs for ranchers too.

Though the Nebraska winter has been relatively mild so far, the temperatures out in the fields are still cooler than they are in much of Texas. The typically colder weather means cattle need more feed to keep on their weight through the winter.

And competition for land, along with prices, is expected to grow as more out-of-state ranchers and investors vie for grazing land, say rural real estate agents.

Rangeland sale prices in central and western Nebraska, a state which saw a more than 40 percent jump in the third quarter last year, have edged up another 25 percent since last summer, said Lee Vermeer, vice president of real estate operations for Farmers National Co, based in Omaha, Nebraska. Land rents, too, have grown by as much as 30 percent in recent months.

Some animals have suffered on the up to 1,000-mile journey.

Phipps, the Nebraska rancher, said he agreed last summer to lease part of his land and care for 316 animals owned by a Montana investor whose cattle were in Texas.

When the delivery trucks arrived, there were 450 animals ? many of the extras young calves too weak to move. A few of the cows had given birth in the trucks while they were being transported. "Those calves, they didn't make it," Phipps said.

The animals, thin from lack of feed, wouldn't gain weight. Though the paperwork Phipps received from the owner showed the animals were clear of any diseases, he soon realized many of them had worms.

Nebraska agriculture officials, concerned about the spread of bovine diseases that can cause infertility and abortions in cows and heifers, have quarantined more than 70 herds from the south whose owners failed to send the proper health certificates and animal identification data.

The U.S. Department of Agriculture said it has launched an inquiry into the matter. State officials have forced some of the cows to be sent to slaughter, for fear of the unknown.

But perhaps the most immediate threat is, simply, that prime grazing land is running out.

"I got three calls this morning. I told them, I don't know where I'd put one more head right now," said Galen Sherman, a rancher who is leasing space to a Texas rancher for 400 cows.

Even the Sandhills Cattle Association, which acts as a kind of broker to match ranchers with extra grass or feed with those in need, can't help, says manager Ronna Morse.

"We have 46 requests for pasture for summer grazing 2012, and no listings of pasture available," Morse said.

Copyright 2012 Thomson Reuters. Click for restrictions.

Source: http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/46191566/ns/us_news-environment/

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U.S. Embassy shelters Americans amid Egypt NGO crackdown (Reuters)

WASHINGTON (Reuters) ? Several American citizens have taken refuge in the U.S. Embassy in Cairo amid a sharpening dispute between Washington and Egypt over U.S.-funded pro-democracy groups in the country, the State Department said on Monday.

"We can confirm that a handful of U.S. citizens have opted to stay in the embassy compound in Cairo while waiting for permission to depart Egypt," State Department spokeswoman Kate Starr said.

The unusual step of offering ordinary U.S. citizens diplomatic refuge follows a crackdown by Egypt's military-led government on non-governmental organizations, including several funded by the U.S. government, which saw travel bans imposed on six American staffers including a son of U.S. Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood.

Egyptian police raided the groups in late December as part of an investigation into foreign funding of 17 pro-democracy and human rights groups, part of what civil society groups say has been a broader crackdown on critics of the army's heavy-handed tactics in dealing with street unrest.

Washington has strongly criticized the move, which has cast a pall over U.S.-Egyptian relations as the most populous Arab nation reaches a critical stage in its uncertain transition away from authoritarian rule.

"We have made clear our concerns about this issue and our disappointment that these several citizens are not being allowed to depart Egypt," White House spokesman Jay Carney told reporters on Monday.

Leading U.S. lawmakers have also voiced outrage over the incident, and American officials have repeatedly warned that Washington may have to take a fresh look at U.S. aid to Egypt's military, which runs about $1.3 billion per year.

The six U.S. citizens hit with travel bans work with the National Democratic Institute and International Republican Institute. Both receive U.S. public funding and are loosely affiliated with the two major U.S. political parties.

The State Department did not provide details on the Americans sheltering in the embassy, although officials at the National Democratic Institute said none of their staff had been relocated. The Egyptian Foreign Ministry declined to comment.

Another State Department spokeswoman, Victoria Nuland, described the refuge offer as "a unique situation" and dismissed suggestions that the aim was to shield the U.S. citizens from potential arrest.

"There is no expectation that any of these individuals are seeking to avoid any kind of judicial process," Nuland said.

"We do not feel that they are in physical danger at the moment. That is a different matter than whether they are being persecuted in the Egyptian judicial system," Nuland added.

MILITARY DELEGATION

An Egyptian military delegation is expected in Washington this week for regular talks that are expected to focus on the impasse over the NGOs, U.S. officials said.

Nuland, while stressing that the visit had been planned before the NGO dispute erupted, said the Egyptians could expect firm words during their U.S. meetings.

"We have concerns about the fact that we have not been able to resolve this situation. That is the message that we are giving the Egyptian government in the strongest terms," she said.

The delegation, made up of four major generals, was expected in Washington on Tuesday, diplomatic sources said.

President Barack Obama spoke with the head of Egypt's ruling military council, Field Marshal Hussein Tantawi, on January 20. He stressed the importance of the NGOs and discussed Egypt's request for $3.2 billion from the International Monetary Fund.

In a weekend call to Tantawi, U.S. Defense Secretary Leon Panetta urged the Egyptians to lift the travel ban and expressed concern over restrictions placed on NGOs, the Pentagon said.

The Obama administration is finalizing its budget for the 2013 fiscal year, which will be presented on February 13 and is expected to include continued assistance for Egypt's military, albeit subject to new conditions imposed by U.S. lawmakers.

Those include evidence that Egyptian military authorities are committed to holding free and fair elections and protecting freedom of expression, association, and religion.

(Additional reporting by Missy Ryan and Laura MacInnis; editing by Doina Chiacu and Mohammad Zargham)

Source: http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/africa/*http%3A//news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20120130/ts_nm/us_egypt_usa

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Monday, January 30, 2012

Wendy's reports lower adjusted profit, revenue up

DUBLIN, Ohio (AP) ? Wendy's Co. says its adjusted earnings fell 29.5 percent in the fourth quarter, while its revenue rose 5.6 percent.

The hamburger chain said Monday its income from continuing operations was $4.3 million in the period ended Jan. 1. That was down from $6.1 million a year ago.

The adjusted number stripped out one-time charges like costs related to selling sandwich chain Arby's. The company didn't report what net income would be if those charges were factored in.

Earnings were 4 cents per share, in line with the predictions of analysts polled by FactSet. After adjusting for the one-time charges, earnings were 1 cent per share.

Wendy's says revenue rose to $615 million, beating the $613 million predicted by analysts polled by FactSet.

Associated Press

Source: http://hosted2.ap.org/APDEFAULT/f70471f764144b2fab526d39972d37b3/Article_2012-01-30-Earns-Wendy's/id-96ac332c09444f1ca703c303ad97a0aa

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'House Of Lies': Kristen Bell Talks Character Reveal

On Showtime's "House of Lies," the characters aren't opposed to breaking more than a few social standards in an effort to get the job done.

In the fourth episode of Season 1, "Mini-Mogul" (airing Sun., Jan. 29 at 10 p.m. EST), for example, Jeannie Van Der Hooven says goodbye to her fiance in the airport and promptly removes her engagement ring before meeting up with the rest of "the Pod."

In December, "House of Lies" star Kristen Bell, who plays Jeannie, told HuffPost TV that her character "doesn't have the strongest moral compass;" but in Jeannie's mind, she's not doing anything wrong.

Find out what else Bell had to say about Jeannie below.

In the fourth episode, we find out Jeannie's engaged.
Mm hm.

And then that ring comes off as soon she leaves the fiance.
You bet your balls it does! [Laughs]

[Laughs] When you were reading the script, were you kind of appalled at anything she does?
I wasn't appalled because I was reading from her perspective -- my only goal is to believe everything she does and then display it for the audience, present it for the audience. Jeannie was a big player born into a really small game and that's what she's running from. She desperately wants to be an adult, which causes her often to act like a child. She has not really had a set of consequences that has ever forced her to reconcile her actions with her values, so she'll continue to do what satisfies her ... I guess what I'm saying is she doesn't think taking off her ring is all that wrong. She looks at it from the perspective -- most people can look at it with empathy and say, "Well, this is disrespectful to her husband." Jeannie is simply looking at where, "I don't want the men at work to know I'm engaged because being single and being sexy gives me a leg up." It's as simple as that.

It's similar to celebrities who don't talk about their personal lives.
Kind of, yeah. There's the addition of once you pop that can open, everybody wants to know everything about the lint between your toes. But yeah, I think that is definitely a part of it. You feel more in control and you have a little bit more power when you are fiercely protective of your private life. Granted, it doesn't really work out all that well for Jeannie as you'll see in the unfolding episodes.

Tune into "House of Lies" on Sundays at 10 p.m. EST on Showtime.

Related on HuffPost:

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Source: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/01/29/kristen-bell-house-of-lies-showtime_n_1237062.html

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Sunday, January 29, 2012

Kuyt to the rescue

Image:AFP - Getty Images

Liverpool midfielder Stewart Downing (left) vies with Manchester United defender Patrice Evra on Saturday.

By STUART CONDIE

updated 12:56 p.m. ET Jan. 28, 2012

Dirk Kuyt struck a dramatic 88th minute winner to give Liverpool a 2-1 victory over Manchester United in the FA Cup on Saturday and a place in the last 16.

The match between the two bitter rivals looked set for a replay after Park Ji-sung leveled for United in the 39th minute at Anfield after a rare goal by Daniel Agger had given Liverpool a 21st minute lead.

It was the first meeting between Liverpool and United since Liverpool striker Luis Suarez was handed an eight-game ban for racially abusing United defender Patrice Evra in a league game on October 15.

United's Antonio Valencia was denied by the woodwork in the first half, while Liverpool's Andy Carroll hit the bar in the closing moments of a thrilling encounter which passed off without major incident.

Victory over United came just days after Liverpool booked a place in the League Cup final at Manchester City's expense, and a week after the side lost 3-1 at Bolton.

"The week started badly for us at Bolton, but it's a fantastic credit to the players and how much pride they take in the club that they've got themselves back on track," said Liverpool manager Kenny Dalglish.

"They've come out on the right side of two huge cup games."

United manager Alex Ferguson meanwhile struggled to come to terms with his side's cup exit.

"We dominated the game it terms of possession," added Ferguson. "We did very well in that respect. But to lose the game is hard to believe.

"The players showed great respect to each other, there wasn't a bad tackle in the game."

Such was the level of concern after what happened when the teams last met that both managers appealed for calm from supporters before the match. The fierce rivalry between Liverpool and United has existed for many years but the incident between Suarez and Evra only served to heighten tensions.

Evra, who captained United, was booed by the home fans every time he touched the ball as the match started amid an unpleasant atmosphere. But to the relief of both clubs, the real drama was on the pitch as Liverpool took the lead against the run of play before United hit back before the interval.

"There was a wee bit of banter between both fans which is brilliant because we wouldn't want to take that away, but at the end of the day I thought they were fantastic," Dalglish said. "The players were a great credit for that as well - none of them tried to do anything other than play football."

Asked what he thought about Evra being booed, Dalglish said: "Are you winding me up? Why would I be disappointed for Patrice Evra? I used to be booed when I played."

Evra did himself few favors when the France international fullback lunged on Maxi Rodriguez in the early stages. But referee Mark Halsey kept his cards in his pocket and instead dealt with the matter by dishing out a stern lecture to the United player.

In a frantic opening, Rodriguez forced goalkeeper David de Gea, recalled to United's side after being dropped for the last three matches, into a fourth minute save before United settled into their stride.

The visitors were missing some key players - Wayne Rooney, Nani and Phil Jones - due to ankle injuries but after veteran Ryan Giggs had forced Liverpool keeper Pepe Reina into his first save, Valencia was denied by the woodwork after a terrific 18th minute attempt.

United were beginning to take control but three minutes later Liverpool broke the deadlock through an unlikely source.

Agger has not scored in a Liverpool shirt since April 2010 but the former Brondby player leapt high above the United defense to nod Steven Gerrard's corner past De Gea.

Instead of building on their lead, Liverpool was content to sit back and was punished when Jose Enrique was hustled off the ball by Rafael da Silva, who set up Park to fire past Reina.

The game continued to swing from end-to-end.

Liverpool appealed for a penalty after Chris Smalling's failed attempt to clear inside his own area before Gerrard forced De Gea into a full-stretch save from a 65th minute free kick.

At the other end, Liverpool defender Martin Skrtel made a goal-saving clearance after Danny Welbeck looked certain to score after darting past Reina.

With a replay looming, Dalglish sent on Craig Bellamy, who scored the decisive goal against Manchester City in midweek to book Liverpool a place in the League Cup final.

But it was Kuyt - not Bellamy - who was Liverpool's hero this time as the Dutch striker beat De Gea at his near post following Andy Carroll's flick.

Carroll went close to a third when he headed against the top of the post in the closing seconds.

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


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The U.S. women's soccer team booked their way to London on Friday night with a 3-0 victory over Costa Rica in the semifinals of the CONCACAF qualifying tournament.

Kuyt to the rescue

??Liverpool reached the 5th round of the FA Cup, beating rival Manchester United 2-1.

Source: http://nbcsports.msnbc.com/id/46174603/ns/sports-soccer/

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US Sen. Brown releases military service record (AP)

BOSTON ? U.S. Sen. Scott Brown has released his military service record documenting the 32 years he has served in the Army National Guard.

The records include his promotions, service awards and officer evaluation reports, which offer high praise of Brown.

The Massachusetts Republican's office says the documents show that the reason he was passed up for a promotion to lieutenant colonel in 2003 and 2004 was a missing document in his file.

Brown's office described the missing document as an administrative oversight. It noted that when Brown appealed to show that he had completed the required military education, he received the promotion in 2006.

Brown, a member of the Armed Services Committee, is facing a tough re-election campaign.

His chief Democratic rival is Harvard professor Elizabeth Warren.

Source: http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/uscongress/*http%3A//news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20120129/ap_on_el_se/us_massachusetts_senate_brown

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Saturday, January 28, 2012

Report: Facebook IPO filing could come next week

(AP) ? Facebook could file regulatory papers as early as Wednesday for its highly anticipated initial public offering of stock, according to a newspaper report.

Facebook's expected launch as a publicly traded company is the most hotly anticipated tech IPO in more than a decade. It would vault it into the top ranks of the largest public companies in the world, on par with the likes of McDonald's Corp., Amazon.com Inc., Visa Inc. and Bank of America Corp.

The Wall Street Journal, citing unnamed people familiar with the matter, said Friday that the social-networking company could raise as much as $10 billion in an offering that would value the company at $75 billion to $100 billion.

Either measure would dwarf the $1.67 billion raised in Google's 2004 IPO. That offering gave Google a market value of $23 billion. Google is now worth $184 billion.

CEO and founder Mark Zuckerberg, 27, is already considered a billionaire because of shares traded on a closed market.

Facebook spokesman Larry Wu said the company will not comment on IPO-related speculation.

After filing its initial paperwork, a public offering usually takes three to four months.

Associated Press

Source: http://hosted2.ap.org/APDEFAULT/f70471f764144b2fab526d39972d37b3/Article_2012-01-27-Facebook-IPO/id-013b4443cbe84ea5be3d879ed1c35d2d

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AP source: NYPD head's son accused of sex assault (AP)

NEW YORK ? The son of New York City's police commissioner, also a co-host of a popular New York City morning television show, has been accused of sexually assaulting a woman, a person familiar with the investigation said Thursday.

Greg Kelly, 43, was absent Thursday morning from his job as anchor of "Good Day New York" and through a lawyer denied the allegations.

The woman said she had drinks with him on Oct. 8, then went back to her office, where she was assaulted, the person familiar with the case told The Associated Press.

She went to police Tuesday, according to the person, who was not authorized to speak publicly and did so on condition of anonymity. It's not clear why she went to police weeks later or how long they knew each other before the encounter, though she said they had met on the street at some point.

Police spoke to the woman but turned the case quickly over to the Manhattan district attorney's office because of the potential conflict of interest in investigating the son of Police Commissioner Raymond Kelly, the person said.

Kelly, a former Fox News correspondent, is cooperating with the investigation, his lawyer, Andrew Lankler, said in an emailed statement.

Greg Kelly "strenuously denies any wrongdoing of any kind," Lankler said. "We know that the district attorney's investigation will prove Mr. Kelly's innocence." The lawyer didn't respond to questions about the focus of the investigation.

Lew Leone, the general manager of the local Fox station, said, "Greg Kelly has requested some time off." He did not elaborate.

The commissioner was recently made aware of an accusation against his son by an unknown man believed to be the accuser's boyfriend. The man approached the elder Kelly at a public event, chief police spokesman Paul Browne said.

"He said, `Your son ruined my girlfriend's life,'" Browne said. "The commissioner said, `Well, what do you mean?' He said he didn't want to talk about it here so the commissioner told him to send a letter."

Browne wasn't sure whether the letter was ever sent. He said he could not comment on the investigation because of the potential conflict of interest and referred inquiries to the district attorney's office, which declined to comment.

Mayor Michael Bloomberg said Thursday at an unrelated event that the police department did the right thing by turning information over to the district attorney.

Kelly joined Fox News in 2002. He covered the Iraq War, including four assignments in Baghdad, and was the White House correspondent from 2005-2007, according to his biography on WNYW's website.

In 2007, the television show "Extra" identified Kelly as the most eligible anchorman on TV. The show's website said Kelly "has enough heart and courage to make any woman swoon."

He's been involved in an ongoing feud with Joel McHale, host of "The Soup" on E! Entertainment. The show plays clips from television shows to poke fun at people, and McHale has frequently targeted Kelly and "Good Day New York."

One clip noted his sullen response to partner Rosanna Scotto the morning after a loss by the NFL's New York Jets, another showed Kelly playing disco music on his laptop coming off a commercial.

Kelly struck back last Halloween by showing up on "Good Day New York" in a McHale costume and making fun of "The Soup."

Earlier in his career, Kelly covered politics for local cable news channel New York 1 and was an anchor and reporter for NewsChannel 34, an ABC and NBC affiliate in Binghamton, N.Y., his biography said.

He also served for nearly a decade in the Marine Corps and is now a lieutenant colonel in its reserves.

Raymond Kelly has been police commissioner since 2002. He also served as commissioner in the 1990s.

___

Associated Press writer Colleen Long and AP Television Writer David Bauder contributed to this report.

Source: http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/crime/*http%3A//news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20120126/ap_on_re_us/us_police_commissioner_son

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Friday, January 27, 2012

Samsung's earnings call liveblog

Samsung earnings liveblog
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BP executive expected to be first trial witness (AP)

NEW ORLEANS ? A BP executive is expected to be the first witness to testify at a trial next month designed to identify the causes of a deadly rig explosion that spawned a massive oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico in 2010.

In a court filing Tuesday, plaintiffs' lawyers said BP America Chairman and President Lamar McKay is the first witness they intend to call after the trial's opening statements. They also intend to call Mark Bly, BP's executive vice president for safety and operational risk, during the first week of a trial scheduled to start Feb. 27.

U.S. District Judge Carl Barbier will preside over the three-phase trial without a jury. He oversees tens of thousands of claims spawned by the April 20, 2010, explosion of the Deepwater Horizon oil rig.

Source: http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/science/*http%3A//news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20120125/ap_on_re_us/us_gulf_oil_spill_litigation

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Thursday, January 26, 2012

Bringing programming and aviation know-how together to create safer flight systems

Bringing programming and aviation know-how together to create safer flight systems [ Back to EurekAlert! ] Public release date: 25-Jan-2012
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Contact: Gabrielle DeMarco
demarg@rpi.edu
518-276-6542
Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute

Grant From US Air Force to support new research out of Rensselaer Data Science Research Center

Troy, N.Y. Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute computer scientist Carlos Varela has received seed funding from the U.S. Air Force to help make flight data as updated, active, and accurate as possible. Varela, part of the Data Science Research Center at Rensselaer, will use the more than $100,000 grant to develop sophisticated computer logic programming to help create safer and more efficient flight technology. The grant is part of the Air Force Office of Scientific Research (AFOSR) Dynamic Data-Driven Application Systems (DDDAS) program.

Flying an airplane takes skill and Varela knows this all too well. The associate professor of computer science is also a licensed pilot. But, what Varela also knows is that flying an airplane also takes dataand lots of it. Pilots are constantly receiving and inputting data from air traffic controllers, weather reports, and the multiple sensors throughout the plane to help ensure a safe flight. But what happens when that data isn't up-to-date, or worse, incorrect?

"Data should drive the flight systems in an aircraft to create active and constantly updated flight data for the pilot," Varela said. "The idea is that rather than pulling data from sources such as weather forecasting services or air traffic control, which is more static in nature, the system would constantly be comparing and updating source data so that the flight plan is always up to date."

According to Varela, data must understand the connections with other data. For example, we can't be on time for a meeting if we didn't get the text message that the meeting was moved to an hour earlier. The data points weren't connected and we are late for the meeting. In the same way, a pilot or autopilot system cannot take the right action when the data they are receiving is out of date or plain wrong. This may have been the problem with the tragic crash of Air France flight 447, which crashed into the Atlantic in June of 2009 killing, all on board, according to Varela.

The evidence from the crash has suggested that the pilots on board raised the nose of the plane when it shouldn't have been brought up, he said. A plane with a nose too high will lose speed until eventually it stalls completely. Since the crash, many experts have purported that an equipment failure may have provided inaccurate information to the autopilot, causing it to disengage, said Varela. The pilots may have then incorrectly reacted to the emergency by raising the nose of the plane when in fact it needed to go down to break the stall, according to Varela.

Varela himself experienced this exact type of equipment failure during one of his own flights. Fortunately, Varela was able to determine the failure by comparing bad airspeed data to the ground speed data provided by his own GPS device. It turned out that ice had developed on the airspeed sensor, causing it to fail. Varela did not lower the nose of the plane as he normally would in response to such readings and instead deiced the sensor and safely finished his flight. His simple data comparison revealed a misreading and likely saved his life.

These experiences inspired Varela to develop new flight system programming that greatly reduces the possibility of accidents by making connections between the different data streams available to a pilot. This would create redundancies in the data that allow the different data streams to essentially fact check each other.

An active and redundant flight system may help prevent crashes caused by sensor or other data errors. For example, by comparing the airspeed data to the ground speed data, a flight system would be able to fact check a bad airspeed reading, assuming reasonable constraints on the wind speed. If the pilot is only operating by air speed data alone, they would have no way of knowing that there is an error in the system and they would respond to the incorrect data, upsetting the balance of the plane. The ground speed data would instead provide a fact checking mechanism because if air speed were swiftly changing, ground speed would be doing the same. If airspeed is changing, but ground speed remains unchanged, Varela's more active flight system would be able to notify the pilot of the discrepancy, allowing for more informed decision making.

The same would be true of flight plans. Flight plans are typically developed well ahead of the actual flight based on weather and air traffic forecasts. At the time of the actual flight, only limited or extreme data is considered, said Varela.

"The data being used for the actual flight is a little bit old and certainly not ideal," said Varela. "Pilots then end up flying a suboptimal and even unsafe plan."

The new system Varela seeks to develop would allow for the easier and faster inclusion of new data. This means that when a sensor gets new data such as a change in air pressure or temperature, it would trigger dependences with other data such as the data stream from the sensors that detect potentially lethal icing on the plane's wings. The flight plan could then be updated as needed. In this manner, pilots would always be flying an updated plan.

"The programming will model the data mathematically, so a pilot can tell that the data being received is wrong with some probability and have more information to make a flight decision."

The new system will build off what is known in computer science as logic programming by extending a logic programming language to associate probabilities to knowledge. The new system will also give first-class support to redundancy and connections between various spatio-temporal data streams, said Varela.

"Weather forecasts are by their very nature, not a sure thing," Varela said. "But, other data points are.

Varela hopes to create a new system that more easily deals with data streams and quickly admits new data. Such a system could be expanded to include unmanned flight systems and even beyond aviation. The example given by Varela was the citation of scientific findings, where data needs to be well connected to ensure it is accurate and constantly updated as new findings are created.

###


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Bringing programming and aviation know-how together to create safer flight systems [ Back to EurekAlert! ] Public release date: 25-Jan-2012
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Contact: Gabrielle DeMarco
demarg@rpi.edu
518-276-6542
Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute

Grant From US Air Force to support new research out of Rensselaer Data Science Research Center

Troy, N.Y. Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute computer scientist Carlos Varela has received seed funding from the U.S. Air Force to help make flight data as updated, active, and accurate as possible. Varela, part of the Data Science Research Center at Rensselaer, will use the more than $100,000 grant to develop sophisticated computer logic programming to help create safer and more efficient flight technology. The grant is part of the Air Force Office of Scientific Research (AFOSR) Dynamic Data-Driven Application Systems (DDDAS) program.

Flying an airplane takes skill and Varela knows this all too well. The associate professor of computer science is also a licensed pilot. But, what Varela also knows is that flying an airplane also takes dataand lots of it. Pilots are constantly receiving and inputting data from air traffic controllers, weather reports, and the multiple sensors throughout the plane to help ensure a safe flight. But what happens when that data isn't up-to-date, or worse, incorrect?

"Data should drive the flight systems in an aircraft to create active and constantly updated flight data for the pilot," Varela said. "The idea is that rather than pulling data from sources such as weather forecasting services or air traffic control, which is more static in nature, the system would constantly be comparing and updating source data so that the flight plan is always up to date."

According to Varela, data must understand the connections with other data. For example, we can't be on time for a meeting if we didn't get the text message that the meeting was moved to an hour earlier. The data points weren't connected and we are late for the meeting. In the same way, a pilot or autopilot system cannot take the right action when the data they are receiving is out of date or plain wrong. This may have been the problem with the tragic crash of Air France flight 447, which crashed into the Atlantic in June of 2009 killing, all on board, according to Varela.

The evidence from the crash has suggested that the pilots on board raised the nose of the plane when it shouldn't have been brought up, he said. A plane with a nose too high will lose speed until eventually it stalls completely. Since the crash, many experts have purported that an equipment failure may have provided inaccurate information to the autopilot, causing it to disengage, said Varela. The pilots may have then incorrectly reacted to the emergency by raising the nose of the plane when in fact it needed to go down to break the stall, according to Varela.

Varela himself experienced this exact type of equipment failure during one of his own flights. Fortunately, Varela was able to determine the failure by comparing bad airspeed data to the ground speed data provided by his own GPS device. It turned out that ice had developed on the airspeed sensor, causing it to fail. Varela did not lower the nose of the plane as he normally would in response to such readings and instead deiced the sensor and safely finished his flight. His simple data comparison revealed a misreading and likely saved his life.

These experiences inspired Varela to develop new flight system programming that greatly reduces the possibility of accidents by making connections between the different data streams available to a pilot. This would create redundancies in the data that allow the different data streams to essentially fact check each other.

An active and redundant flight system may help prevent crashes caused by sensor or other data errors. For example, by comparing the airspeed data to the ground speed data, a flight system would be able to fact check a bad airspeed reading, assuming reasonable constraints on the wind speed. If the pilot is only operating by air speed data alone, they would have no way of knowing that there is an error in the system and they would respond to the incorrect data, upsetting the balance of the plane. The ground speed data would instead provide a fact checking mechanism because if air speed were swiftly changing, ground speed would be doing the same. If airspeed is changing, but ground speed remains unchanged, Varela's more active flight system would be able to notify the pilot of the discrepancy, allowing for more informed decision making.

The same would be true of flight plans. Flight plans are typically developed well ahead of the actual flight based on weather and air traffic forecasts. At the time of the actual flight, only limited or extreme data is considered, said Varela.

"The data being used for the actual flight is a little bit old and certainly not ideal," said Varela. "Pilots then end up flying a suboptimal and even unsafe plan."

The new system Varela seeks to develop would allow for the easier and faster inclusion of new data. This means that when a sensor gets new data such as a change in air pressure or temperature, it would trigger dependences with other data such as the data stream from the sensors that detect potentially lethal icing on the plane's wings. The flight plan could then be updated as needed. In this manner, pilots would always be flying an updated plan.

"The programming will model the data mathematically, so a pilot can tell that the data being received is wrong with some probability and have more information to make a flight decision."

The new system will build off what is known in computer science as logic programming by extending a logic programming language to associate probabilities to knowledge. The new system will also give first-class support to redundancy and connections between various spatio-temporal data streams, said Varela.

"Weather forecasts are by their very nature, not a sure thing," Varela said. "But, other data points are.

Varela hopes to create a new system that more easily deals with data streams and quickly admits new data. Such a system could be expanded to include unmanned flight systems and even beyond aviation. The example given by Varela was the citation of scientific findings, where data needs to be well connected to ensure it is accurate and constantly updated as new findings are created.

###


[ Back to EurekAlert! ] [ | E-mail | Share Share ]

?


AAAS and EurekAlert! are not responsible for the accuracy of news releases posted to EurekAlert! by contributing institutions or for the use of any information through the EurekAlert! system.


Source: http://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2012-01/rpi-bpa012512.php

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Wednesday, January 25, 2012

SKorea's economy slows amid waning overseas demand (AP)

SEOUL, South Korea ? South Korea's economy grew at its slowest pace in two years in the fourth quarter last year as manufacturing waned amid weak overseas demand, the country's central bank said Thursday.

Gross domestic product in the October-December period expanded 0.4 percent from the third quarter, the Bank of Korea said in a release. It was the slowest growth rate since the fourth quarter of 2009, when the economic growth slowed to 0.2 percent from the previous quarter.

On a year-on-year basis, the economy grew 3.4 percent for the whole and for the whole of 2011 it grew 3.6 percent.

Earlier this month, the central bank kept its benchmark interest rate unchanged at 3.25 percent for a seventh consecutive month, citing a global slowdown and the sovereign debt crisis in Europe.

In the final quarter of last year, growth rates for consumer spending and capital and construction spending were weak and exports also decreased, the bank said.

Consumer spending dropped 0.4 percent because of weak expenditures on goods while investment in facilities fell 5.2 percent as investment on machinery and transport equipment decreased, the release said.

Construction investment decreased 0.3 percent while exports and imports fell 1.5 percent and 3.1 percent, respectively, it said.

Source: http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/economy/*http%3A//news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20120126/ap_on_bi_ge/as_skorea_economy

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Tracy Morgan out of hospital, back at work on "30 Rock" (Reuters)

LOS ANGELES (TheWrap.com) ? A little altitude isn't enough to keep "30 Rock" star Tracy Morgan in a Park City, Utah hospital. Morgan tweeted Monday that he had been released and planned to be back at the "30 Rock" set in New York on Tuesday.

"Thank U 2 the hospital staff. Back at work 2morrow shooting 30 Rock. Holla at me!" Morgan tweeted Monday.

He added: "Gotta thank the AMAZING medical staff and all my supporters! Love you. #GOgiants @Giants #ALLIN"

Morgan collapsed after an awards ceremony at the Sundance Film Festival on Sunday and was rushed to a local hospital.

"Superman ran into a little kryptonite," he tweeted. "The high altitude in Utah shook up this kid from Brooklyn."

Morgan's rep had previously released a statement saying the star's collapse was the result of "a combination of exhaustion and altitude."

(Editing by Chris Michaud)

Source: http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/tv/*http%3A//news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20120124/tv_nm/us_tracymorgan

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Tuesday, January 24, 2012

Second life: Revive your old workstation with SSDs (InfoWorld)

San Francisco ? I've written on a number of occasions about the capabilities of enterprise-class SLC solid-state drives (SSDs) when leveraged in demanding primary storage environments. Their ability to both provide impressive sequential read/write performance and shoulder enormous OLTP loads has made them an almost indispensable component of high-end database and large VDI infrastructures.

However, to stop there ignores the enormous impact of consumer and workstation-grade MLC-based SSDs on the desktop market. The price of these devices has been falling consistently as their popularity has grown over the past few years (notwithstanding occasional spikes due to supply problems) and is poised to drop even further. Their low power requirements and ability to withstand vibration have made them a great choice for laptops, while their performance versus 5,400-rpm ATA disks has turned coveted sub-20-second POST-to-login boot times into a reality.

These lower-end SSDs have also found another interesting niche: in resurrecting older desktop/workstation hardware.

To continue reading, register here to become an Insider. You'll get free access to premium content from CIO, Computerworld, CSO, InfoWorld, and Network World. See more Insider content or sign in.

Source: http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/enterprise/*http%3A//news.yahoo.com/s/infoworld/20120123/tc_infoworld/184661

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[OOC] Group 2 intro: Lucas and Mariah

Forum rules
This forum is for OOC discussion about existing roleplays.

Please post all "Players Wanted" threads in the Roleplayers Wanted forum!

Topic Tags:

Forum for completely Out of Character (OOC) discussion, based around whatever is happening In Character (IC). Discuss plans, storylines, and events; Recruit for your roleplaying game, or find a GM for your playergroup.
This group will be starting in Longmont, Colorado -- South of Fort Collins on 287.

Places of Interest:
- Hamms Nature Area
- Izaak Walton Park
- McIntosh Park and Lake
- Union Resevoir
- Golden Ponds
- Vance Brand Airport
- Garden Acres Park
- Clark Centennial Park
- Numerous Grocers (Simply Bulk Market, AB Supermarket, Flavor of India, Safeway, 7-Eleven, Dollar Store, Loaf 'N Jug, Natural Grocers, Robin Chocolates, Pantry Market, etc.)
- Numerous Pharmacies (Walgreens, The Medicine Shoppe, Safeway, Good Day Pharmacy, King Soopers, Associated Pharmacists)
- Numerous Sporting Goods (Dick's Sporting Goods, WTW Corp, Grand Shelters Inc)
- Numerous medical clinics

Environment:
The estimated population of Longmont, CO is 71,093
Longmont is highly urban, influenced by its proximity to the Boulder metro area.
Vegetation is sparse, due to the development of homes, but carefully tended parks provide a lush atmosphere.
Once you exit Longmont, the population becomes much less dense and developed.

~*Do not frown, you never know who is falling in love with your smile*~

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Monday, January 23, 2012

Euro zone ministers reject private bondholders' Greece offer (Reuters)

BRUSSELS/BERLIN (Reuters) ? Euro zone finance ministers Monday rejected as insufficient an offer made by private bondholders to help restructure Greece's debts, sending negotiators back to the drawing board and raising the threat of Greek default.

At a meeting in Brussels, ministers said they could not accept bondholders' demands for a coupon of four percent on new, longer-dated bonds that are expected be issued in exchange for their existing Greek holdings.

Banks and other private institutions represented by the Institute of International Finance (IIF) say a 4.0 percent coupon is the least they can accept if they are going to write down the nominal value of the debt they hold by 50 percent.

Greece says it is not prepared to pay a coupon of more than 3.5 percent, and euro zone finance ministers effectively backed the Greek government's position at Monday's meeting, a position that the International Monetary Fund also supports.

Jean-Claude Juncker, the chairman of the Eurogroup countries, said Greece needed to pursue a deal with private bondholders where the interest rate on the replacement bonds was "clearly" below 4.0 percent, stating:

"Ministers asked their Greek colleagues to pursue negotiations to bring the interest rates on the new bonds to below 4 percent for the total period, which implies the interest comes down to well below 3.5 percent before 2020."

The aim of the restructuring is to reduce Greece's debts by around 100 billion euros ($129 billion), cutting them from 160 percent of GDP to 120 percent by 2020, a level EU and IMF officials think will be more manageable for the growth-less Greek economy.

But with Greece off-track in its efforts to get its budget deficit in shape, the 2020 goal looks a long shot at best.

The disagreement increases the risk that it will prove impossible to strike a voluntary restructuring deal between Greece's creditors and the Greek government - an outcome that would have severe repercussions for financial markets.

Negotiations over what's called 'private sector involvement' (PSI) have been going on for nearly seven months without a concrete breakthrough. Failure to reach a deal by March, when Athens must repay 14.5 billion euros of maturing debt, could result in a disorderly default.

Despite the disagreement, Olli Rehn, the European commissioner in charge of economic and monetary affairs, said he expected a deal on PSI to be struck "within days."

PERMANENT BAILOUT FUND

As well as assessing Greece's debt restructuring, euro zone ministers discussed efforts to enforce stricter budget rules for EU states via a "fiscal compact," and steps to finalize the structure of a permanent euro zone bailout fund, the European Stability Mechanism (ESM), which is due to operate from July.

The ESM will have an effective lending capacity of 500 billion euros and replace the European Financial Stability Facility, a temporary fund that has so far been used to bail out Ireland and Portugal and which will be used to provide part of a second, 130 billion euro package for Greece.

Germany has insisted that once the ESM is up and running, the combined potential outlay of the EFSF and ESM should not exceed 500 billion euros.

Italian Prime Minister Mario Monti and IMF chief Christine Lagarde have said the ceiling should be raised, possibly up to 1 trillion euros, so it has more than enough capacity to handle any problems in major economies such as Spain or Italy.

The Financial Times reported Monday that German Chancellor Angela Merkel was ready to see the ceiling of the combined firewall raised to 750 billion euros in exchange for agreement on tighter euro zone budget rules, but the report was immediately denied by her chief spokesman.

"It is not true. There is no such decision," Steffen Seibert told Reuters.

Monti told reporters after Monday's meeting that no conclusions had been reached on the ESM, which all 17 euro zone countries must back in a new treaty. Officials said the details would have to be finalized by an EU summit on January 30.

It was a similar situation for the "fiscal compact," which also involves a new treaty and which EU leaders are expected to agree at the summit next week.

"We have had an extremely constructive meeting on the fiscal compact and this text is a good basis for the discussions for the heads of government at the end of the month," said Juncker, sidestepping concerns about the text raised by the European Central Bank.

DEBT SUSTAINABILITY

Despite the continued deep differences, Greece and its private creditors do appear to be slowly converging on a deal in which private bondholders would take a real loss of 65 to 70 percent on their Greek bonds - giving a nominal reduction of 50 percent - officials close to the negotiations say.

Sources close to the talks told Reuters Monday that the impasse centered on questions of whether the deal would return Greece's debt mountain, currently over 350 billion euros, to levels that European governments believe are sustainable.

"There will likely be an updated debt sustainability analysis that will be discussed at the Eurogroup," a banking source in Athens said, requesting anonymity. "Talks will continue this week. The aim is to have an agreement by late next Monday."

Speaking in Berlin, Lagarde called on European leaders to complement the "fiscal compact" they agreed last month with some form of financial risk-sharing, mentioning euro zone bonds or bills, or a debt redemption fund as possible options.

Merkel told a news conference it was not the time to debate an increase in the euro zone's bailout funds.

"I don't think it is right to do one new thing then do another, let's get the ESM working," Merkel said, reiterating that Germany was prepared to accelerate the flow of capital into the ESM ahead of its planned introduction in mid-2012.

Euro zone leaders agreed in October that the second bailout would total 130 billion euros, if private bondholders forgave half of what Greece owes them in nominal terms.

But Greek economic prospects have deteriorated since then, which means either euro zone governments or investors will have to contribute more than thought.

(Additional reporting by Stephen Brown and Alexandra Hudson in Berlin, Leigh Thomas in Paris, Lefteris Papadimas and Ingrid Melander in Athens; Writing by Noah Barkin and Luke Baker, editing by Mike Peacock/Jeremy Gaunt/Rex Merrifield.)

Source: http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/business/*http%3A//news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20120124/bs_nm/us_eurozone_ministers

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It's complicated: Romney struggles to talk wealth (AP)

WASHINGTON ? Mitt Romney is no natural when it comes to "common man" politics.

He bets a Republican rival $10,000 on an impulse. He dismisses $373,000 in speaking fees as "not very much." And he slow-walks the release of his income tax returns but then blurts out a key fact: He pays about 15 percent of his income in taxes because he lives mostly on investment income and not a paycheck.

Such commissions of candor suggest a presidential candidate who is far from an everyman ? and who may have a tin ear for how he sounds to those who are. That could pose a special challenge to Romney in hard-hit Florida, and beyond. In a general election, Romney, who had a privileged upbringing and made millions as a venture capitalist, would be fighting for the votes of average Americans against a president whose mother at times drew food stamps and who worked his way through Harvard Law School to the pinnacle of power.

"When Barack Obama talks about paying off student loans and struggling, people believe him and it resonates," said Barbara Perry, a senior fellow at the University of Virginia's Miller Center. Historically, "the common people have to believe that the president knows them and knows their situation and knows their lives."

Republicans hope that in 2012, American voters struggling to get jobs and pay bills are looking past the candidates' personal stories and to their proposals for stabilizing the economy and cutting the nation's staggering debt.

"Barack Obama had an incredible emotional connection with the American people in 2008," said South Carolina Republican consultant Jim Dyke. In the worst economy since the Great Depression, "that connection has dissipated," he added. "The American people may be more interested in a credible plan to address our problems."

The ranks of presidential candidates, and presidents, throughout history are full of American aristocrats, from George Washington to the Roosevelts, Rockefellers, Kennedys and Bushes. Some won by using policy and rhetoric to win support from lower-income voters, a practice that became known as the politics of the common man after Andrew Jackson's 1828 campaign. He won in part by portraying the nation's central bank as an institution that mostly made rich people richer.

So it's possible to run for president, and even win, while wealthy. Indeed, polls suggest that Americans don't begrudge Romney's family fortune or his own success in the private sector. In an AP-GfK survey last month, for example, about half of the respondents said Romney "understands the problems of ordinary Americans." Roughly the same percentage felt that way about Obama.

And efforts to portray Romney as a "vulture capitalist" fat cat at Bain Capital may have backfired against Newt Gingrich and Rick Perry, the Republican rivals who launched them. Perry dropped out of the contest on Thursday.

There's evidence that Romney himself is learning to edit out offhand remarks that may be genuine yet jarring to average voters. In a debate Thursday night, Romney referred to having his tax returns "carefully managed," but mostly stayed clear of lifestyle details.

Instead, he equated his wealth with all-American achievement and upward mobility ? the opposite of coasting on his father's success as head of American Motor Corp., Michigan governor and federal housing secretary.

"What I have, I earned. I worked hard, the American way," Romney said to cheers and applause. "I'm not going to apologize for being successful."

It was a refinement of the way Romney has handled the central challenge of his campaign: winning over people struggling to keep their houses and find work when his own background is so far removed. Making it tougher is that the 2012 contest is happening against a backdrop of anger over income disparity, with "99 percenters" protesting policies that help the wealthiest 1 percent of Americans ? including Romney.

And where the Roosevelts and Kennedys won over ordinary people with social policies like the New Deal, Romney is campaigning on a plan to stabilize the economy through investments and tax breaks for "job creators," including the wealthiest individuals.

"Wealthy Democrats can get away with being wealthy so long as they espouse policies favorable to ordinary folks. Wealthy Republicans, by contrast, take a hit when their policies seem to favor the wealthy," said presidential historian H.W. Brands of the University of Texas. "It's the policies that really matter. The personal history is fluff."

Still, Romney has struggled to strike the right note with the masses.

In New Hampshire last month, he suggested that he's feared job setbacks at various points in his career.

"I know what it's like to worry about whether you're going to get fired. A couple of times I wondered if I was going to get a pink slip," Romney said during a campaign stop in Rochester, NH.

But it's highly unlikely he's ever felt the fear of being let go, or of being unable to find work, without a family fortune to fall back on.

Romney's refusal to release his tax forms put a fine point on the issue.

He grudgingly acknowledged that he might, for the first time, release them. But only one year's worth, and not until April, if he is the GOP's presidential nominee. He did reveal that he pays an effective tax rate of 15 percent, lower than what he would pay if he earned a regular pay check. He then disclosed that he earned speaking fees, "but not very much." The amount turned out to be $373,327.62 from 2010-2011.

In New Hampshire, a day after the pink slip remark, he spoke of the importance of having a choice of health insurance companies and declared, "I like being able to fire people who provide services to me."

And in a heated debate last month, Romney bet Perry "10,000 bucks," apparently on impulse, when he could have wagered a symbolic dollar, or a beer.

Romney will soon get some practice honing his personal story in a state where he would need to be a master of it in the general election. After the South Carolina primary on Saturday, Romney and the GOP field move to Florida, a massive swing state familiar with the toxic cycle of high unemployment, unpaid bills, home foreclosures and despair.

It's no coincidence that Obama announced a new economic initiative there Thursday. The state suffers from 10 percent unemployment, and more than half of its homeowners owe more on their mortgages than their properties are worth.

In Florida and beyond, Romney may find that sometimes it's best to keep his thoughts to himself.

"Don't try to stop the foreclosure process," he told the Las Vegas Review Journal in October, describing ways to improve the housing market. "Let it run its course and hit the bottom."

Source: http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/politics/*http%3A//news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20120120/ap_on_el_pr/us_romney_common_man

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Sunday, January 22, 2012

Romney: I keep my promises (unlike the other guy) (Daily Caller)

In an interview on ?Fox News Sunday? following his loss in the South Carolina Republican presidential primary, former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney may have taken a dig at former Speaker of the House Newt Gingrich when questioned on his 10 percent tithes to The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.

?This is a country that believes in the Bible, the Bible speaks about providing tithes and offerings, I made a commitement to my church a long, long time ago that I would give 10 percent of my income to the church, and I?ve followed through on that commitment. And hopefully as people ? various individuals running for president ? they?d be pleased with someone who made a promise ? a promise to God ? and kept that promise. So, if I had given less than 10 percent than I think people would have to look at me and say, ?Hey, what?s wrong with you fella ? don?t you follow through on your promises???

The ?promise to God? line could be specifically?stinging, given that Gingrich ? a Catholic convert ? was hit last week with further revelations on his three marriages, with his second ex-wife saying that he had asked for an open relationship with her while cheating with a younger congressional aide.

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Source: http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/gop/*http%3A//news.yahoo.com/s/dailycaller/20120122/pl_dailycaller/romneyikeepmypromisesunliketheotherguy

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