Tuesday, January 31, 2012

Earth's energy budget remained out of balance despite unusually low solar activity, study finds

ScienceDaily (Jan. 30, 2012) ? A new NASA study underscores the fact that greenhouse gases generated by human activity -- not changes in solar activity -- are the primary force driving global warming.

The study offers an updated calculation of Earth's energy imbalance, the difference between the amount of solar energy absorbed by Earth's surface and the amount returned to space as heat. The researchers' calculations show that, despite unusually low solar activity between 2005 and 2010, the planet continued to absorb more energy than it returned to space.

James Hansen, director of NASA's Goddard Institute for Space Studies (GISS) in New York City, led the research. Atmospheric Chemistry and Physics published the study last December.

Total solar irradiance, the amount of energy produced by the sun that reaches the top of each square meter of Earth's atmosphere, typically declines by about a tenth of a percent during cyclical lulls in solar activity caused by shifts in the sun's magnetic field. Usually solar minimums occur about every eleven years and last a year or so, but the most recent minimum persisted more than two years longer than normal, making it the longest minimum recorded during the satellite era.

Pinpointing the magnitude of Earth's energy imbalance is fundamental to climate science because it offers a direct measure of the state of the climate. Energy imbalance calculations also serve as the foundation for projections of future climate change. If the imbalance is positive and more energy enters the system than exits, Earth grows warmer. If the imbalance is negative, the planet grows cooler.

Hansen's team concluded that Earth has absorbed more than half a watt more solar energy per square meter than it let off throughout the six year study period. The calculated value of the imbalance (0.58 watts of excess energy per square meter) is more than twice as much as the reduction in the amount of solar energy supplied to the planet between maximum and minimum solar activity (0.25 watts per square meter).

"The fact that we still see a positive imbalance despite the prolonged solar minimum isn't a surprise given what we've learned about the climate system, but it's worth noting because this provides unequivocal evidence that the sun is not the dominant driver of global warming," Hansen said.

According to calculations conducted by Hansen and his colleagues, the 0.58 watts per square meter imbalance implies that carbon dioxide levels need to be reduced to about 350 parts per million to restore the energy budget to equilibrium. The most recent measurements show that carbon dioxide levels are currently 392 parts per million and scientists expect that concentration to continue to rise in the future.

Climate scientists have been refining calculations of Earth's energy imbalance for many years, but this newest estimate is an improvement over previous attempts because the scientists had access to better measurements of ocean temperature than researchers have had in the past.

The improved measurements came from free-floating instruments that directly monitor the temperature, pressure and salinity of the upper ocean to a depth of 2,000 meters (6,560 feet). The network of instruments, known collectively as Argo, has grown dramatically in recent years since researchers first began deploying the floats a decade ago. Today, more than 3,400 Argo floats actively take measurements and provide data to the public, mostly within 24 hours.

Hansen's analysis of the information collected by Argo, along with other ground-based and satellite data, show the upper ocean has absorbed 71 percent of the excess energy and the Southern Ocean, where there are few Argo floats, has absorbed 12 percent. The abyssal zone of the ocean, between about 3,000 and 6,000 meters (9,800 and 20,000 feet) below the surface, absorbed five percent, while ice absorbed eight percent and land four percent.

The updated energy imbalance calculation has important implications for climate modeling. Its value, which is slightly lower than previous estimates, suggests that most climate models overestimate how readily heat mixes deeply into the ocean and significantly underestimates the cooling effect of small airborne particles called aerosols, which along with greenhouse gases and solar irradiance are critical factors in energy imbalance calculations.

"Climate models simulate observed changes in global temperatures quite accurately, so if the models mix heat into the deep ocean too aggressively, it follows that they underestimate the magnitude of the aerosol cooling effect," Hansen said.

Aerosols, which can either warm or cool the atmosphere depending on their composition and how they interact with clouds, are thought to have a net cooling effect. But estimates of their overall impact on climate are quite uncertain given how difficult it is to measure the distribution of the particles on a broad scale. The new study suggests that the overall cooling effect from aerosols could be about twice as strong as current climate models suggest, largely because few models account for how the particles affect clouds.

"Unfortunately, aerosols remain poorly measured from space," said Michael Mishchenko, a scientist also based at GISS and the project scientist for Glory, a satellite mission designed to measure aerosols in unprecedented detail that was lost after a launch failure in early 2011. "We must have a much better understanding of the global distribution of detailed aerosol properties in order to perfect calculations of Earth's energy imbalance," said Mishchenko.

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The above story is reprinted from materials provided by NASA/Goddard Space Flight Center.

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


Journal Reference:

  1. J. Hansen, M. Sato, P. Kharecha, K. von Schuckmann. Earth's energy imbalance and implications. Atmospheric Chemistry and Physics, 2011; 11 (24): 13421 DOI: 10.5194/acp-11-13421-2011

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

Disclaimer: Views expressed in this article do not necessarily reflect those of ScienceDaily or its staff.

Source: http://feeds.sciencedaily.com/~r/sciencedaily/~3/jisuFgW5t4E/120130172611.htm

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Monday, January 30, 2012

Are We Heading for a Brokered Convention? (ContributorNetwork)

Newt Gingrich recently told reporters in Florida that "he is going all the way to the convention" this summer where he will win the Republican Party's nomination. And following the South Carolina primary earlier this month, former GOP national chairman Michael Steele said he thought there was a "50-50 chance" the Republican convention would be brokered.

Given how close the race is between Mitt Romney and Newt Gingrich, let's take a look at some brokered, or nearly brokered political conventions of the past.

Election of 1948 (Republicans)

With Franklin Roosevelt's death in 1945 the Republicans had high hopes for this election, but they didn't have a clear candidate going into the convention. New Yorker Thomas Dewy, who had run against Roosevelt, was the favorite, but he had some strong competition. Republican stalwart Robert Taft from Ohio, Herold Strassen of Minnesota and Douglas MacArthur were making a run against Dewy. It took three ballots but eventually Dewy prevailed in what was the first political convention to be televised. He went on to lose a close election to incumbent Harry Truman.

Election of 1952 (Democrats)

When Harry Truman decided not to seek re-election in 1952 the Democrats found themselves scrambling for a candidate. When it came time for the convention that July in Chicago, there was no clear nominee and 11 candidates were put forward, the most prominent being Tennessean Estes Kefauver and Illinois Gov. Adlai Stevenson. On the first ballot Kefauver had more votes but not enough to win the nomination. By the third ballot, Stevenson had gained enough votes to clinch victory for the Democrats. He went on to lose to Dwight Eisenhower in the general election.

Election of 1976 (Republicans)

The 1976 Republican convention began in Kansas City, Mo., with two possible nominees: incumbent President Gerald Ford and surprise challenger Ronald Reagan. A fierce challenge from within the party, like Reagan's, against a sitting president is highly unusual, but the former California governor only backed down at the last moment. The delegates nominated Ford, but Reagan gave a speech to a rapt audience who seemed more enthralled with him than they were with their president who had never been elected. Ford went on to lose the general election to Jimmy Carter, while Reagan would win the White House four years later in 1980.

Source: http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/gop/*http%3A//news.yahoo.com/s/ac/20120129/pl_ac/10897909_are_we_heading_for_a_brokered_convention

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Sunday, January 29, 2012

Screen actors get their say in Oscar race (omg!)

Actress Regina King poses next to a placard for nominee Laurence Fishburne at a press preview of the 18th annual Screen Actors Guild Awards showroom in Los Angeles, California January 27, 2012. King is the the social-media ambassador for the SAG Awards and will give viewers a behind-the-scenes look at the awards as she posts on Twitter and Facebook during red carpet arrivals. The Screen Actors Guild Awards honoring excellence in acting in film and television will be presented in Los Angeles January 29. REUTERS/Fred Prouser

LOS ANGELES (Reuters) - After months of talking and weeks of voting, Hollywood's actors finally name their picks for the best performances in the films and TV shows of 2011 at the annual Screen Actors Guild Awards on Sunday.

The SAG honors, which are closely watched in the race for Oscars, follow the Golden Globe, Critics' Choice and other awards given by media watchers, as well as acknowledgements from the U.S. Producers Guild and Directors Guild, which represent their respective professional groups in industry matters.

"The Artist," a romantic tale of a fading actor whose career is eclipsed by the woman he loves just as talkies are putting an end to silent pictures, has won top awards from many of those groups including the Directors Guild on Saturday night and will look to do as well with SAG voters on Sunday.

But "Artist" faces stiff competition from civil rights-era drama "The Help," which comes into Sunday night's awards with more nominations, four, more than any other movie, as well as from George Clooney-starring "The Descendants".

The actors in all three of those movies, along with the performers in Woody Allen's "Midnight in Paris" and the ladies of comedy "Bridesmaids," will compete for the night's top honor, best ensemble cast in a film.

The SAG Awards are a key barometer of which films and actors have a good chance at winning Oscars, the world's top film honors given on February 26 by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences, because performers make up the largest voting branch of the academy.

In other SAG races, Clooney, playing a father struggling to keep his family together, squares off against Jean Dujardin of "Artist" fame and Brad Pitt for his role as a numbers-crunching baseball executive in "Moneyball." The other two nominees in that category are Demian Bichir in the little seen "A Better Life" and Leonardo DiCaprio for "J. Edgar."

The SAG race for best actress is seen as a tight one among Meryl Streep playing former British Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher in "The Iron Lady," Viola Davis as a maid in "The Help" and Michelle Williams for her turn as Marilyn Monroe in "My Week with Marilyn."

Rounding out that category are Glenn Close in a gender-bending role as a butler in "Albert Nobbs" and Tilda Swinton as a troubled mother in dark drama, "We Need to Talk about Kevin."

SAG also hands out awards for best supporting roles in movies, and it honors performances in TV dramas, comedies and mini-series. But because of SAG's importance in the Oscar race, the film categories are most closely followed.

The SAG Awards air on U.S. TV on Sunday night from Los Angeles on cable networks TNT and TBS.

(Reporting By Bob Tourtellotte and Piya Sinha-Roy; Editing by Sandra Maler)

Source: http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/entertainment/*http%3A//us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/external/omg_rss/rss_omg_en/news_screen_actors_oscar_race191934410/44346917/*http%3A//omg.yahoo.com/news/screen-actors-oscar-race-191934410.html

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Reader: Demi Moore is too rich to be exhausted





>>> with new details on demi moore 's health scare. her publicist is claiming she sought treatment for exhaustion. but this morning there are indications that may not be the whole story. nbc's mike taibbi is outside sherman oaks hospital in california with more. hey, mike, good morning.

>> reporter: good morning, ann. well it's certainly been a rough patch for the 49-year-old actress. and that number, her age, 49, appears to be a key element in this phase of her story. if she was celebrated by many for her marriage to ashton kutcher , an unlikely marriage, an actor 16 years her junior, this appears to be the flip side . what can happen when it all goes wrong. in october, after the break-up, demi moore looked beyond thin. emaciated, unhealthy, some friends said. of her hospitalization, her publicist said because of the stresses in her life right now, demi has chosen to seek professional assistance to treatment her exhaustion and improve her overall health. she looks forward to getting well. but "people" magazine is saying it's more than exhaustion.

>> there are reports that she had a seizure and she was shaking. one thing that is clear is that prescription drugs seem to have played a role in her being brought here.

>> reporter: moore had sought treatment for substance abuse in the early '80s and in the '90s her career soared with starring roles in films like "ghost" and "a few good men." and her marriage to megastar, bruce willis and their eventual divorce provided fodder for the tabloids. on tuesday, their daughter, rumor willis , spent time at sherman oaks hospital where her mother was rushed for treatment. the ending of moore 's marriage to kutcher, supposed by a breaking point.

>> her life seemed to be spiraling a bit and it wasn't something she could take control of herself.

>> reporter: and she couldn't control the march of time, either. the woman who relied on her physical talents to work a dancer's pole in "striptease" to outmacho the men in " g.i. jane " a and to not them dead in her mid 40s. recently told harper's "bazaar" i have a love-hate relationship with my body.

>> we've seen ashton kutcher at a concert. he's certainly not rushing back to be in los angeles .

>> reporter: not rushing back to a woman now struggling, a famous woman, soon to be 50, who said in that same recent interview, that what scares her is she might find out that i'm really not lovable. that i'm not worthy of being loved. that there's something fundamentally wrong with me. moore 's publicist also says the actress is pulling out of a planned biopic of the porn star, linda lovelace , she was to have played the feminist, gloria steinham.

>>> alisha quarrels, is the global editor for and the author of "weekends at bellevue." dr. holland, walk us through what exactly getting professional assistance to treat exhaustion and improve overall health would entail?

>> well the first thing is a physical exam , how much do you weigh, how much are you eating, what is your blood sugar , kidneys working, and just a psychiatric examination , to see if somebody is psychotic or depressed or suicidal. a global examination for starters.

>> how long would that take in the hospital?

>> i could do it in 15 minutes . but -- it can take days.

>> so the tests, for the tests to come back, it could take hours, if not days.

>> would the patient necessarily stay in the hospital for days?

>> psychiatric, it's going to take days to figure out what's going on. bellevue, you have 72 hours to make an assessment of what's going on.

>> alisha , how defensible is the reporting that the problem here may also be prescription drugs ?

>> you know, those are unsubstantiated reports and we're not inside of her life, we don't know that we've seen it happen with hollywood actresses time and time again. so when people hear exhaustion, the red flags go up. when you think about it, she's going through this very public divorce. they have three children, she's a director, actress. and can you imagine going through all that and being a famous actress, i'm exhausted.

>> so that's defensible, the idea of exhaustion.

>> but doctor, you're saying the idea that one out of every four women take some form of prescription drugs . when used correctly, that's probably not an issue. how can they be used incorrectly?

>> one of the problems is mixing medicines with alcohol. you know, certainly sedatives like sleeping pills or anti-anxiety medicines, if you're mixing them with alcohol, you're getting them in trouble. taking them not as prescribed, taking too much, mixing pills.

>> are they have these drugs in this category, drugs that can use to sort of limit your appetite, to cause you to -- or have the effect of causing you to lose a lot of weight?

>> on some of the antidepressants, wellbutrin can cause you to lose your appetite. and cocaine cuts your appetite. heroin doesn't cut your appetite, but it can make you not feel hunger pains .

>> is it abused in that way? do some women abuse his drugs for that purpose?

>> definitely, i think you can do stimulants that will also cut your appetite. women abuse pills to lose weight , no question.

>> we don't know what the situation is in this particular case. we do know that demi has now had to back out of a movie in which she was going to play gloria steinham. how much of an impact might this have on her career, given the circumstances?

>> i don't think it will have a major impact. i've been interviewing her for years, i was there in 2003 when she did the big comeback in haie's angels." she left hollywood to raise her children and was brought back after all of those years. i think people understand she was going through a hard time . a public break-up. she said in an interview she feels betrayed by her body. we're forgiving people, understanding people. everyone has been affected by divorce in one way or another. i think people wish her well.

>> i think a lot of women empathize with some of these issues. thank you so much, alisha and doctor, thank you so much.

Source: http://today.msnbc.msn.com/id/46164370/ns/today-entertainment/

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Saturday, January 28, 2012

96% Tomboy

In "Tomboy," 10-year old Laure(Zoe Heran) moves to a new neighborhood with her parents(Sophie Cattani & Mathieu Demy) and younger sister Jeanne(Malonn Levana). While looking out from an apartment window one pleasant afternoon, Laure sees a group of boys playing out in the park. When she finally leaves her sister and sleeping, very, very pregnant mother behind in the apartment, the boys are gone, with only Lisa(Jeanne Disson), a girl of her age, left behind in their wake. Laure introduces herself as Mikael and they run after them together, so they can join in the fun. With that simple, elegant setup, writer-director Celine Sciamma tells an evocative and naturalistic genderblender with a very belieable sibling relationship. Sadly, the movie eventually runs straight into a narrative wall. Until then, Laure is not just being a tomboy; she is passing as a boy but not 24/7, so we'll keep to the feminine pronouns.(Actually, it is not until later that she is revealed not to be a boy.) She does this to enjoy the freedoms that boys enjoy but is too young to realize the minefield of gender that she has just walked into. That's where parents come in, as the movie smartly shows how parents help to shape their children's gender.

November 29, 2011

Source: http://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/tomboy_2011/

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Fitch downgrades credit ratings for 5 EU nations (AP)

LONDON ? U.S. ratings agency Fitch says it is downgrading the credit ratings for five European nations including leading economic heavyweights Italy and Spain.

The agency on Friday lowered credit ratings for the five nations by one notch and placed a negative outlook on all of them, as well as on Ireland. Those nations downgraded included Belgium, Cyprus, Italy, Slovenia and Spain.

Italy went down to A- credit rating while Spain was downgraded to A. Ireland's BBB+ rating was affirmed but it also received a negative outlook.

Fitch Ratings blamed the revisions on "the marked deterioration in the economic outlook" in Europe and "the absence of a credible financial firewall against contagion and self-fulfilling liquidity crises."

Source: http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/eurobiz/*http%3A//news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20120127/ap_on_bi_ge/eu_europe_credit_ratings

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Friday, January 27, 2012

Information on Sunny Carney and her Carcinoid Cancer ? CBS ...

Sunny Carney is living with an uncommon form of cancer called Carcinoid Cancer, and despite her terminal illness, she has stayed upbeat and positive, and is living life to the fullest. ?She recently wrote a book about her experiences called ?The Sunny Side of Life,? and is fighting back with experimental treatments in Switzerland. However, the toils of travel, expensive hospital bills, and the stress of her illness has put her and her husband in a dire financial situation that may mean she can?t leave the hospital until her bills are paid.

To learn more about Sunny, her family, her illness, and how you can help, visit her blog at?http://sunnycarneycarcinoidcancerfund.blogspot.com.

?

Source: http://pittsburgh.cbslocal.com/2012/01/26/information-on-sunny-carney-and-her-carcinoid-cancer/

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Thursday, January 26, 2012

NC Democratic Gov. Perdue won't seek re-election

North Carolina Gov. Beverly Perdue wears a Freightliner hat as she smiles during a news conference at a Freightliner plant in Cleveland, N.C., Thursday, Jan. 12, 2012. About 1,100 workers laid off from a factory that builds long-distance Freightliner trucks will be called back to work to meet increasing demand as economies in the U.S. and elsewhere improve, Daimler Trucks North America said Thursday. (AP Photo/Chuck Burton)

North Carolina Gov. Beverly Perdue wears a Freightliner hat as she smiles during a news conference at a Freightliner plant in Cleveland, N.C., Thursday, Jan. 12, 2012. About 1,100 workers laid off from a factory that builds long-distance Freightliner trucks will be called back to work to meet increasing demand as economies in the U.S. and elsewhere improve, Daimler Trucks North America said Thursday. (AP Photo/Chuck Burton)

(AP) ? Democratic North Carolina Gov. Beverly Perdue, the first woman elected governor in the state, said Thursday she would not seek re-election this year because she believes a bid would make it more difficult to fund education.

Perdue has faced poor poll numbers, continued budget troubles and a campaign investigation while Republicans took over the Legislature last year.

She announced last week she would offer a budget this spring that would seek a sales tax increase for education. Republicans let a temporary sales tax increase expire last summer, and at least one legislative leader called her proposal dead on arrival.

"We live in highly partisan times, where some people seem more worried about scoring political points than working together to address the real challenges our state faces," Perdue said in an email to supporters. A re-election bid, she added, "will only further politicize the fight to adequately fund our schools."

Perdue faced a tough rematch against former Charlotte Mayor Pat McCrory, a Republican she narrowly defeated in 2008 in the state's closest gubernatorial contest since 1972. Perdue's win was partly attributed to Barack Obama's surprise victory in North Carolina ? the first in 36 years for a Democratic nominee for president.

News of Perdue's decision came as North Carolina Democratic Rep. Brad Miller said he also would not seek re-election, avoiding a potential primary contest against fellow Democrat David Price after the Republican-controlled Legislature drew them into the same district.

North Carolina is considered an important state for Obama's re-election prospects and Democrats decided to hold the party convention in Charlotte in September.

Perdue, 65, has struggled with a state economy hit hard by the recession and an unemployment rate persistently above the national average. Polling conducted throughout her term has consistently shown her approval ratings hovering around 40 percent.

She's had to deal with state budget problems that led her and fellow Democrats to raise the sales tax by a penny in 2009 and make deep cuts to education and health care. The first-term governor more recently clashed with the new Republican leadership in the General Assembly, which swept into power after the 2010 elections and gave GOP control of the Legislature for the first time since the 1870s.

Perdue has traded jabs with Republican leaders on issues ranging from jobless benefits to a measure allowing death row inmates to use statistical evidence of racial bias to challenge their convictions. In a sign of the tension, she vetoed a record 16 bills last year.

She faced scrutiny about her 2008 campaign and more than three dozen flights that she didn't initially report on campaign filings required by state election officials. A local prosecutor has said the governor wasn't the focus of his investigation, but four people have been indicted related to the flight investigation, including her former campaign finance director.

Perdue had said for months she was running again, and she raised more than $2.6 million in 2011. The amount was only slightly more than what McCrory had raised during last year ? a poor showing in a state where Democratic candidates routinely outspend Republicans in statewide elections. Perdue's term goes through the end of the year.

"To those of you who have supported me throughout my years of public service, I will always be grateful for the confidence you have placed in me," Perdue said. "In my remaining months in office, I look forward to continuing to fight for the priorities we share, by putting North Carolinians back to work and investing in our children's future."

Democratic state Rep. Bill Faison, who has been hinting he wanted to run for governor, said he was not surprised Perdue is stepping aside. For weeks, prominent people in the party worried about Perdue's low poll numbers had been visiting the governor and suggesting she not run, Faison said.

"I don't think anyone will be surprised by what that announcement is," Faison said.

Lt. Gov. Walter Dalton, another Democrat, would seem to consider a run. Democratic Attorney General Roy Cooper, who toyed with a gubernatorial bid in 2008 but decided against the idea, announced Thursday he would run for a fourth term as the state's top law enforcement officer.

A native of Virginia, Perdue worked as a teacher and moved in the 1970s to the coastal town of New Bern, where she became director of geriatric services at a hospital before entering politics. She served in the Legislature and as lieutenant governor before being elected governor.

___

Robertson reported from Raleigh. Associated Press writers Michael Biesecker and Tom Breen in Raleigh also contributed to this report.

Associated Press

Source: http://hosted2.ap.org/APDEFAULT/89ae8247abe8493fae24405546e9a1aa/Article_2012-01-26-NC%20Governor/id-15f4ffc90d41460e9a735df061119a86

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Brown Fat Furnishes Physiological Furnace

60-Second Health60-Second Health | Health

Men with more brown fat burn more calories in the cold to keep warm. Katherine Harmon reports.

More 60-Second Health

When it comes to the battle of the bulge, putting on more muscle will burn extra calories even when you're resting. But recent research suggests that there might be a particular type of fat that also uses up more energy than the typical off-white stuff that tends to congregate around American midsections: brown fat.

This tissue turns food energy directly into heat. It was thought to exist only in babies, to help them keep warm. But it?s recently been found?in small quantities?in adults, too. Mostly distributed in our necks and shoulders. And a new study finds that when adult men are chilly, those with more brown fat burn through more calories keeping warm. The results are in the Journal of Clinical Investigation. [Veronique Ouellet, et al, Brown Adipose Tissue Oxidative Metabolism Contributes to Energy Expenditure During Acute Cold Exposure In Humans]

The researchers found that those subjects with the most brown fat saw the biggest boost in their metabolism when they were subjected to cold for three hours.

Although scientists are interested in brown fat?s obesity-battling possibilities, don't count on a calorie-crunching injection in a meat locker anytime soon. For now, we have to burn calories the old fashioned way?or avoid them in the first place.

?Katherine Harmon

[The above text is a transcript of this podcast]???
?


Source: http://rss.sciam.com/click.phdo?i=099314cbd3130c83a6c0de6c5080ed72

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Wednesday, January 25, 2012

GOP Clown Car Arrives in Florida for Fifth Debate This Month (Little green footballs)

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Source: http://news.feedzilla.com/en_us/stories/politics/top-stories/190674118?client_source=feed&format=rss

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Oil near $100 as Middle East tension simmers

(AP) ? Oil inched toward $100 a barrel after Iran threatened to block shipments of crude from the Persian Gulf in the wake of the European Union's widely expected decision to embargo imports of Iranian oil.

Benchmark oil for March delivery was up 39 cents at $99.98 a barrel at late afternoon Bangkok time in electronic trading on the New York Mercantile Exchange. The contract rose $1.25 to settle at $99.58 a barrel in New York on Monday.

Brent crude was down 13 cents at $110.45 on the ICE futures exchange in London.

Tanker traffic out of the Persian Gulf has concerned oil traders for weeks, with Iran saying it could close the strategic Strait of Hormuz, through which a fifth of the world's crude is transported, in response to sanctions by the West.

On Monday, the EU said its refineries will stop buying Iranian crude after July. It also froze assets of Iran's central bank. The sanctions are meant to force Iran to talk with the West about its nuclear program. Iran says its nuclear program is peaceful, but Western nations suspect it is trying to build nuclear weapons.

The embargo itself isn't expected to affect world supplies, although markets would get reshuffled. Analysts say China, which is one of the biggest buyers of Iranian crude, probably will buy more Iranian oil at below-market prices when the embargo begins. China would reduce imports from other oil-producing countries, which would then sell more to Europe.

"Iran needs to sell its oil to someone," independent analyst and trader Stephen Schork said. "Outside the West, Iran really has only one buyer: China. That means China's probably going to get some sweetheart deals."

Experts say Iran doesn't have the firepower to close off the strait, which is the only way to get from the Persian Gulf to the open sea. But a conflict there could clog the waterway with military vessels and force the world's refineries to wait for crucial oil shipments.

In other energy trading, heating oil rose 1.4 cents to $3.02 a gallon and gasoline futures added 0.7 cent to $2.79 a gallon. Natural gas futures were up 5.7 cents at $2.58 per 1,000 cubic feet.

Associated Press

Source: http://hosted2.ap.org/APDEFAULT/f70471f764144b2fab526d39972d37b3/Article_2012-01-24-Oil%20Prices/id-a6ee2fbe6c994efda650dda577a37da0

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Tuesday, January 24, 2012

Child's Play Communications Announces Addition of RRKidz and ...

By PR Newswire

Article Rating:

January 23, 2012 01:40 PM EST

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NEW YORK, Jan. 23, 2012 /PRNewswire/ -- Child's Play Communications, the award-winning public relations agency specializing in reaching moms, is thrilled to announce the addition of LeVar Burton's RRKidz to the agency's client roster. Child's Play will launch RRKidz, re-launch the company's much loved Reading Rainbow brand, promote the Reading Rainbow classic library of episodes (DVD and streaming) and announce the Reading Rainbow Kidz App, the first of RRKidz' many innovative products and services to debut starting in 2012.

Originally a TV series designed to inspire a love of reading among young children, the Peabody Award-winning Reading Rainbow ran for 26 years on PBS (1983-2009) and was co-produced and hosted by actor LeVar Burton. RRKidz, a trans-media entity bringing enrichment products to the children's digital space, is run by Burton, Co-Founder, entertainment veteran Mark Wolfe and CEO Asra Rasheed. RRKidz will bring Reading Rainbow to today's digitally connected children beginning with a reading and book discovery app initially launching for iPad in early 2012. Child's Play Communications will generate awareness for the return of Reading Rainbow and the Reading Rainbow Kidz app through an extensive traditional and social media campaign, kicked off with a major New York City event.

RRKidz' goal is to become not only the leader in digital publishing for children, but also a major, multi-platform, kids' educational and enrichment brand?- one that delights children while maintaining parents' devotion and trust. The company is located in Los Angeles, CA.

"As major Reading Rainbow fans, we can't wait to help introduce Reading Rainbow to a new generation of children, and re-introduce it to their parents, who grew up watching the show," said Stephanie Azzarone, president, Child's Play Communications. "Today's moms and dads will now have the opportunity to share those special memories and that feel-good Reading Rainbow experience with their own youngsters."

"Child's Play Communications, with its powerhouse experience in reaching moms and their children, is the ideal partner to help us re-launch Reading Rainbow and develop the RRKidz brand," said Wolfe. "We're looking forward to a very productive relationship with this innovative and exciting company."

Located in New York City, Child's Play Communications specializes in public relations, social media and word-of-mouth communications for products and services targeted to moms.

Child's Play Communications
Child's Play Communications?specializes exclusively in public relations, social media and word-of-mouth communications for products and services targeted to moms. Based in New York City, the agency has launched an exciting array of proprietary services to engage this influential market through traditional media, online and in-person, including the award-winning Team Mom?, the agency's own network of mom review-bloggers. Recent company awards have included Bulldog's PR Innovation of the Year and Social Media Innovator of the Year. For additional information, please visit our Web site, our blog, like us on Facebook, or follow us on Twitter.

RRKidz
RRKidz?(www.RRKidz.com) provides an enriching interactive platform for children to discover and explore exceptional digital media content that is both educational and entertaining. Headquartered in Los Angeles with an office in San Francisco, RRKidz?holds global rights to the trusted Reading Rainbow brand through a partnership with series creator, WNED-TV, a premier PBS station, based in Buffalo, NY. The?Reading Rainbow Kidz?subscription app, designed to instill a lifelong love of reading, will be available via the iPad and select Android operating system devices.

SOURCE Child's Play Communications

Source: http://buyersteps.ulitzer.com/node/2138071

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5 Firefox Add-Ons for Increasing Productivity (Mashable)

This post originally appeared on the American Express OPEN Forum, where Mashable regularly contributes articles about leveraging social media and technology in small business. The Internet is a black hole of procrastination. It's a rare occasion when we open up our web browsers and just do work without checking Facebook or getting sucked into YouTube.

[More from Mashable: How To Close The Books on Your Startup]

Not only is it possible to get work done, but your web browser can actually help you be more productive. If you use Mozilla's Firefox, you're in even more luck since we've compiled this list of five Firefox add-ons to boost your work flow efficiency.

Take a look and let us know which add-ons you use to stay productive.

[More from Mashable: Why 2012 Is the Year of Mobile Advertising]



If you use Firefox, you've learned to love tabs, but it's far too easy to get over-zealous and end up with an unrecognizable clutter up there. Tab Mix Plus will help you wrangle your tabs including sorting options, the ability to undo closed tabs and it even come with a session manager to help you multitask like a pro. Besides, more than one million users can't be wrong.



Print Edit is one heck of a hack if you know how to use it. The main purpose of the add-on is to help you format any webpage for printing. From the edit mode, you can add and remove elements from a page -- like, say, banner ads or search bars -- for a cleaner printed page. The add-on, however, can also give you detailed information on the make up of a website. "Inspecting" individual elements will bring up their properties in CSS. For example, did you know that the width on the "I'm Feeling Lucky" button on Google is 102px wide, in bold font with a background color of #f8f8f8?

It's a fun and quick hack for discovering how elements on a site are created.



Keep forgetting birthdays? Meetings? What you need to do next Thursday? ReminderFox is a simply add-on that acts like a digital to-do list and calendar permanently attached to your browser. It's not a revolutionary idea, but it's one that could save you from missing that important business appointment.


4. The Power Shopper: PriceBlink


If you've shopped online for anything recently, you know that prices can vary drastically between websites. An espresso machine on Amazon could be $50 cheaper on eBay. PriceBlink aims to streamline your comparison shopping by automatically searching for the same product across dozens of sites and alerting you when it's available somewhere else for cheaper. The add-on also has alerts for coupons and deals on any website you visit to help you get the most bang for your buck whether you need to buy a last-minute gift or supplies for your office.


5. The Socializer: Twitter, LinkedIn, YouTube, chat services and more with a discrete little vertical and/or horizontal bar. The add-on will scroll updates from your connected networks and allows you to publish and post text, image and video at the same time.

Image courtesy of Flickr, Jacob Davies

This story originally published on Mashable here.

Source: http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/tech/*http%3A//news.yahoo.com/s/mashable/20120121/tc_mashable/5_firefox_addons_for_increasing_productivity

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Monday, January 23, 2012

Divers resume desperate search as Costa stabilizes

Divers had to stay out of the water, at risk of getting injured by the beached ship. NBC's Michelle Kosinski reports.

By NBC News and msnbc.com news services

Divers resumed the search of the wreckage of the capsized Costa Concordia after data indicated the cruise ship had stabilized in the sea off Tuscany.

Italian coastguard spokesman Cosimo Nicastro told NBC News Saturday that the navy had punctured two holes in the carcass of the ship, which has been lying on its side near the port of Giglio island since shortly after it crashed into a reef on Jan. 13.


Divers were expected to search the area around bridge number four, an emergency meeting point near to where other bodies were found. They had been hoping to reach that area for days, NBC reported.

They are searching for bodies or survivors, although it is unlikely any of the 21 missing in the accident could still be alive. The search was suspended on Friday after the Concordia shifted, prompting fears the ship could roll off a rocky ledge of sea bed and plunge deeper into the sea.

There are also fears the Concordia's fuel could leak, polluting pristine waters.

On Friday, the Concordia owner's CEO said the captain did not relay correct information either to the company or the crew after the ship hit rocks.

Pierluigi Foschi told Italian state TV that the company spoke to the captain some 20 minutes after the ship ran aground, but could not offer proper assistance because the captain's description "did not correspond to the truth," Reuters reported.

More from msnbc.com and NBC News:

The Associated Press and Reuters contributed to this report.

Source: http://overheadbin.msnbc.msn.com/_news/2012/01/21/10204464-divers-blast-more-holes-resume-desperate-search-as-cruise-ship-stabilizes

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Sunday, January 22, 2012

Source: Braun appeal of positive drug test begins (AP)

NEW YORK ? Ryan Braun's appeal of his positive drug test began Thursday before baseball arbitrator Shyam Das.

The start of the National League MVP's appeal, first reported by the New York Daily News, was confirmed by a person familiar with the session who spoke on condition of anonymity because the proceeding was not to be made public.

Calls to Braun's agent, Nez Balelo, and Major League Baseball spokesman Pat Courtney were not returned.

When the positive drug test was first reported by ESPN.com last month, Braun had a spokesman issue a statement saying there were circumstances supporting "Ryan's complete innocence."

Under the joint drug agreement between baseball teams and the players' association, Braun will have to prove "the presence of a prohibited substance in his urine was not due to his fault or negligence."

As Braun tries to avoid a 50-game suspension, the burden is a heavy one to overcome. A baseball arbitrator has never ordered a suspension overturned following a grievance hearing.

The person did not know whether the hearing had concluded or whether it would extend into at least one more session. Typically in grievances, after the hearing the sides may submit written final arguments before the arbitrator rules.

MLB has not confirmed the positive test. Baseball's drug agreement says first positive tests are not made public until after the appeals process has been completed.

Technically, the arbitration is before a three-person panel that also includes a representative of management and the union. The independent member, Das, is the decisive vote in nearly all cases.

Braun is to receive his MVP Award on Saturday at the annual dinner of the New York chapter of the Baseball Writers' Association of America. While he is expected to speak to the crowd from the dais in a hotel ballroom, he is not expected to take questions from reporters.

Braun has known about since the positive test since late October, people familiar with the appeals process said last month. If suspended, Braun wouldn't be eligible to play for the NL Central champions until May 31 at Dodger Stadium, barring any postponements. He would miss the first 57 days of the major league season, losing about $1.87 million of his $6 million salary.

The 28-year-old the 2007 NL Rookie of the Year, hit .312 with 33 homers and 111 RBIs last season and led Milwaukee to the NL championship series, where the Brewers lost to the eventual World Series champion St. Louis Cardinals.

Source: http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/sports/*http%3A//news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20120120/ap_on_sp_ba_ne/bbn_braun_positive_drug_test_appeal

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Chuck & Grimm Sneak Peek Videos!

It is finally Friday and that can mean many things. For some it simply involves a nice evening at home watching some fantastic television, which is why I am going to give you a couple of sneak peek videos at tonight?s all new episodes of Chuck and Grimm, woohoo! NBC Friday night is hot hot hot! You have Chuck, which I am sad to say will be ending soon and you have the awesome Grimm. I admit the later took me a little while to get into because it isn?t really my type of show. That being said I stuck with it and wowza does it have me hooked. Ok enough of my babble babble lets get down to business. I have for you an exciting look at a little role reversal on Chuck. Casey and Sarah will go to great lengths to save Chuck when he is held hostage on a Japanese bullet train. Next up is Grimm and it is going to be one heck of a night on this show, if these preview videos are any indication that is. I have a couple of goodies for you to enjoy from this show. The clip has Nick learning [...]

Source: http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/RightCelebrity/~3/ieo3LpCOcAA/

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Saturday, January 21, 2012

Russell Brand to interview Ringo for Sirius XM (AP)

NEW YORK ? British actor-comedian Russell Brand will interview former Beatles drummer Ringo Starr for Sirius XM Radio.

"Town Hall With Ringo Starr" will air live from Los Angeles on Jan. 30.

Music producer Don Was will moderate the Q&A, and Starr will perform at the event.

A day later, Starr will release his 17th solo album, "Ringo 2012."

Brand said in a statement Thursday that he's a "massive fan" of Starr, "but like most people I am ignorant as to his life before he rose to prominence with `Thomas the Tank Engine.'"

Added Brand: "Now we can unravel the enigma of Ringo."

Past "Town Hall" specials have featured Bruce Springsteen, Tom Petty, Coldplay and members of Nirvana.

___

Online:

http://www.ringostarr.com/

Source: http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/movies/*http%3A//news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20120119/ap_en_mo/us_people_russell_brand

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Friday, January 20, 2012

Experts see tough road for Kodak to reinvent self

An unidentified person enters Kodak Headquarters in Rochester, N.Y., Thursday, Jan. 5, 2012. Eastman Kodak Co. said early Thursday Jan. 19, 2012 it has filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection, as it seeks to boost its cash position and stay in business. (AP Photo/David Duprey)

An unidentified person enters Kodak Headquarters in Rochester, N.Y., Thursday, Jan. 5, 2012. Eastman Kodak Co. said early Thursday Jan. 19, 2012 it has filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection, as it seeks to boost its cash position and stay in business. (AP Photo/David Duprey)

(AP) ? Even in bankruptcy, Kodak boasts some enviable strengths: a golden brand, technology firepower that includes a rich collection of photo patents, and more than $4 billion in annual sales of digital cameras, printers, and inks.

But all that may not be enough to revive its declining fortunes in a Chapter 11 overhaul. Kodak is at a crossroads: It could go the way of fallen Montgomery Ward and Circuit City, two corporate names that never recovered from long declines. Or Kodak could prosper after bankruptcy like General Motors.

Of the many restructuring experts interviewed by The Associated Press on Thursday, none are optimistic that Kodak can make a strong comeback.

Selling select business lines and patents and making the right bets on a limited number of new technology products could allow the Eastman Kodak Co. to survive, several experts said. But none see a path back to anything close to the glory days of the former photography titan.

"You can pick your metaphor: 'Stick a fork in them,' 'They're over the cliff' -- they're done," said Bill Brandt, chief executive of turnaround consultant Development Specialists Inc. in Chicago. "The Kodak as we know it is done, unequivocally."

The company's only hope, Brandt said, is to reinvent itself as an intellectual property company. But first it will have to put its patent portfolio up for sale and determine whether it wants to sell them based on what's offered, he said, or retain them and try to remake the company over a period of years.

Kodak said only that it has appointed a chief restructuring officer to head the effort: Dominic DiNapoli, vice president of FTI Consulting. It expects to complete its U.S.-based restructuring next year.

Whatever the company does now is likely to be too little, too late, said Gary Adelson, managing director of turnaround firm NHB Advisors in Los Angeles.

"I can't imagine a big future for Kodak," said Adelson, who thinks the company should just sell its assets. "I think it's going to be another one of those companies that didn't make the transition to the future."

Some experts think the company can get by once it cuts debt by reducing pension and employee benefit costs in bankruptcy, then disposes of its least valuable products.

Only a much leaner, more focused Kodak can survive, said Haresh Sapra, an accounting professor and bankruptcy specialist at the University of Chicago Booth School of Business. "They probably should go back to basics and focus on one or two of those business lines that are self-sustaining," he said.

The primary hope lies in digital businesses that generated some $4.5 billion in revenue last year, an amount Kodak said accounted for about 75 percent of total sales. That includes consumer devices such as self-service photo kiosks, printers and high-volume document scanners.

"If they can take their existing products and improve them and make them much cheaper, I see no reason why the company can't emerge with a healthier balance sheet," said Edward Neiger, a partner at New York bankruptcy law firm Neiger LLP. "It's going to be a shell of what the old company was, but I don't think they need to liquidate."

In a statement accompanying the Chapter 11 filing on Thursday, the company touted its "pioneering investments in digital and materials deposition technologies" in recent years.

The best-case scenario for Kodak in the long run may be to end up like Polaroid, suggested Eli Lehrer, who heads the nonprofit Heartland Institute's Center on Finance, Insurance and Real Estate in Washington. The company long known for its instant-film cameras stopped making them and filed for bankruptcy in 2008. The Polaroid name, however, lives on under private ownership, albeit as a much smaller firm.

Kodak has a better brand name, Lehrer said, although "That doesn't necessarily translate to people keeping their jobs, or stockholders keeping anything."

Associated Press

Source: http://hosted2.ap.org/APDEFAULT/495d344a0d10421e9baa8ee77029cfbd/Article_2012-01-19-Kodak-How%20to%20Fix/id-5e56f30adb12480f94fa07a0c4cc141d

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Republican candidates on the issues (AP)

WASHINGTON ? Here's where the 2012 Republican presidential candidates stand on a selection of issues.

They are former House Speaker Newt Gingrich, Texas Rep. Ron Paul, Texas Gov. Rick Perry, former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney and former Pennsylvania Sen. Rick Santorum.

___

GINGRICH:

Abortion: Platform calls for conservative judges and no subsidies for abortion but not for constitutional abortion ban.

Debt: As House speaker in mid-1990s, engineered passage of a seven-year balanced-budget plan. It was vetoed by President Bill Clinton but helped form a bipartisan balanced budget two years later. Supports constitutional balanced budget amendment. Said that without a balanced budget, the U.S. had no choice but to raise its debt limit in the deal that avoided a default.

Economy: Repeal the 2010 financial industry and consumer protection regulations that followed the Wall Street meltdown, and repeal the 2002 regulations enacted in response to the Enron and other corporate and accounting scandals. Restrict the Fed's power to set interest rates artificially low. Make work training a condition of unemployment insurance and have states run it.

Education: "Dramatically shrink the federal Department of Education, get rid of virtually all of its regulations." But supported Obama administration's $4 billion Race to the Top grant competition for states, which encourages compliance with national education standards, because it also promotes charter schools.

Energy: Let oil and natural gas industries drill offshore reserves now blocked from development, end restrictions on Western oil shale development. In Alaska alone, "We could liberate an area the size of Texas for minerals and other development."

Environment: Convert EPA into an "environmental solutions agency" devoted to scientific research and "more energy, more jobs and a better environment simultaneously." Supported tougher environmental regulation early in congressional career.

Gay Marriage: If the Defense of Marriage Act fails, "you have no choice except a constitutional amendment" to ban gay marriage. Under the act, the federal government does not recognize same-sex marriage and no state is forced to recognize a same-sex marriage validated by another state.

Health Care: Repeal Obama's health care law if Republicans win congressional majorities. Prohibit insurers from cancelling or charging discriminatory rate increases to those who become sick while insured, an element of Obama's law. Offer the choice of a "generous" tax credit to help people buy health insurance or the ability to deduct part of the cost from taxes, another feature similar to the existing law. Limit medical lawsuits to restrain health care costs and let people in one state buy policies in another. "Block-grant Medicaid and send it back to the states." Previously supported proposals that people be required to carry health insurance.

Immigration: In contrast to most rivals, supports giving legal status to illegal immigrants who have sunk roots in the U.S. and lived otherwise lawfully. "If you've been here 25 years and you got three kids and two grandkids, you've been paying taxes and obeying the law, you belong to a local church, I don't think we're going to separate you from your family, uproot you forcefully and kick you out." Supports path to citizenship for illegal immigrants' children who perform U.S. military service. Make English the official language. Divert more Homeland Security assets to fighting illegal immigration at Mexican border.

Social Security: Give younger workers the option of diverting Social Security taxes to private retirement accounts.

Taxes: Cut corporate tax to 12.5 percent from maximum 35 percent, eliminate capital gains and estate taxes, let companies write off all new equipment in one year. For personal taxes, let people choose whether to file under the current system or pay a 15 percent tax, preserving the mortgage interest and charitable deductions. Supported extending payroll tax cut.

Terrorism: Supports extending and strengthening investigative powers of Patriot Act. Supports continued use of Guantanamo Bay detention for suspected terrorists. Supported creation of Homeland Security apparatus, because "we need some capacity to respond to massive events." In 2009, said of waterboarding: "It's not something we should do."

War: Initially criticized Obama for not intervening in Libya, then did an about-face after the president had sent in U.S. war planes to support the rebels fighting the government. "I would not have used American and European forces." No cuts in defense spending except waste. Supported Iraq war and opposed early timetables for withdrawal.

___

PAUL:

Abortion: Says federal government should have no authority either to legalize or ban abortion. Yet signed pledge to advance only anti-abortion appointees for relevant administration jobs, cut off federal dollars for clinics that perform or finance abortions, and support a ban on abortions after the fetus reaches a certain stage in development.

Debt: Would eviscerate federal government, slashing nearly half its spending, shut five Cabinet-level agencies, end spending on existing conflicts and on foreign aid.

Economy: Return to the gold standard, eliminate the Federal Reserve, let gold and silver be used as legal tender, eliminate most federal regulations.

Education: Abolish the Education Department and end the federal role in education.

Energy: Remove restrictions on drilling, coal and nuclear power, eliminate gasoline tax, provide tax credits for alternative fuel technology.

Environment: In 2008, said "human activity probably does play a role" in global warming and part of the solution should be to stop subsidizing the oil industry and let prices rise until the free market turns to alternate energy sources. Now calls the science on manmade global warming a "hoax." Says emission standards should be set by states or regions, not Washington.

Gay Marriage: Says decisions on legalizing or prohibiting should be left to states. Supports federal law allowing one state to refuse to recognize the same-sex marriages of another state.

Health Care: Opposes compulsory insurance and all government subsidies for health coverage. Favors letting people deduct full cost of their health coverage and care from taxes. Says doctors should then feel an obligation to treat the needy for free.

Immigration: Do "whatever it takes" to secure the border, end the right to citizenship of U.S.-born children of illegal immigrants, no social services for illegal immigrants, aggressive deportation of those who overstay a visa or otherwise break U.S. law.

Social Security: Says younger workers should be able to opt out of Social Security taxes and retirement benefits. "My plan explicitly protects the elderly and the sick in the transition."

Taxes: Eliminate the federal income tax and the IRS. Meantime would vote for a national sales tax, supports certain excise taxes and certain tariffs. Favors massive spending cuts to defund close to half the government and eliminate the need to replace the income tax at all. Supported payroll tax cut.

Terrorism: Opposes the surveillance and search powers of the Patriot Act. Says terrorists would not be motivated to attack America if the U.S. ended its military presence abroad. "The Patriot Act is unpatriotic because it undermines our liberty." Says: "Waterboarding is torture. And it's illegal under international law and under our law. It's also immoral. And it's also very impractical. There's no evidence that you really get reliable evidence."

War: Bring all or nearly all troops home, from Afghanistan and other foreign posts, "as quick as the ships could get there." Opposed U.S. intervention in Libya. "We've been fighting wars since World War II, technically in an unconstitutional fashion." Cut Pentagon budget.

___

PERRY:

Abortion: Now supports constitutional abortion ban after saying states should decide their own laws on such issues. Backed Texas law that attempts to discourage abortions by making doctors describe the size of the fetus' limbs and organs to the woman, and make available an image of the fetus and the sound of its heartbeat to her, before she can have the procedure.

Debt: Was non-committal on the deal that avoided default and raised debt ceiling. Proposes to cap federal spending at 18 percent of gross domestic product, down from about 25 percent today, but no specifics on major spending cuts other than from raising retirement age for Social Security and Medicare benefits for future retirees. Favors constitutional balanced-budget amendment. "No more bailouts." Freeze size and salaries of federal civilian workforce until budget is balanced. Press Congress to cut lawmakers' and president's pay by half.

Economy: Spur economy by repealing rafts of regulations, Obama's health care law and the (Dodd-Frank) law toughening financial-industry regulations after the meltdown in that sector. Create jobs in energy sector by removing obstacles to drilling and production. Cut corporate taxes.

Education: Turned down federal education aid to Texas worth up to $700 million because he saw it as imposing national standards on Texas schools. Says No Child Left Behind law gave Washington too much power to interfere with local government.

Energy: Proposes authorizing more development on federal lands and slashing regulations to spur drilling in restricted areas and opening off-limits waters and lands to production, including the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge and the Southern Atlantic and Alaskan outer continental shelves. Opposes federal restrictions on natural gas production, including hydraulic or nitrogen fracturing and horizontal drilling.

Environment: Manmade global warming is a "scientific theory that has not been proven and from my perspective is more and more being put into question." Proposes repeal of EPA's authority to regulate greenhouse gases and elimination of all EPA programs to restrict carbon dioxide emissions. Opposes restrictions on coal industry under the Clean Air and Clean Water acts. Says environmental regulation and conservation are best achieved at state level and EPA should be converted to a "research and advisory" agency with no enforcement powers except when states ask for federal arbitration of regional disputes. As governor, cut money for clean air programs, cut the budget for Texas' environmental watchdog by a third and sued EPA to avoid enforcing clean air laws. Signed law that requires Texas to consider the effect of new regulations on the economy before passing them.

Gay Marriage: Now supports constitutional ban on gay marriage after saying states should choose their own courses.

Health Care: Repeal Obama health care law. Raise eligibility age for Medicare benefits, limit benefits for the wealthy and give people the choice of receiving federal aid to help purchase their own insurance instead of getting the direct benefits of the current system. Proposes turning Medicaid over to the states with no-strings federal support. Texas has the highest percentage of uninsured people in the nation. Signed a law that would allow Texas ? subject to federal approval ? to band together with other states and take over the role of providing health care coverage for the elderly, the poor and the disabled.

Immigration: Opposes U.S.-Mexico border fence, which he calls "idiocy," instead wants more border agents. Supports continued U.S. citizenship for U.S.-born children of illegal immigrants. Illegal immigrants can get in-state tuition at Texas universities if they meet other residency requirements. Neither employers nor state agencies required to run job applicants through a federal database to determine their legal status. Illegal immigrants have access to services for drug treatment, mental health and children with special health care needs.

Social Security: Proposes raising retirement age for full benefits and restricting increases in benefits for the wealthy. Previously branded Social Security a "disease" inflicted by Franklin Roosevelt, now says system should be saved for future generations while younger workers are given the option of building private accounts instead of paying taxes into the entitlement.

Taxes: Let taxpayers choose between current system and 20 percent flat tax on income. Under the flat-tax option, mortgage interest and charitable contributions would continue to be deductible. For each individual or dependent, $12,500 in income would be exempt. Flat-tax plan would eliminate taxes on Social Security benefits, inheritances, dividends and long-term capital gains. Also proposes to cut corporate tax rate to 20 percent from 35 percent.

Terrorism: Said it was "unprincipled" for Republicans to vote for creation of the Homeland Security Department. Supports continued use of Guantanamo Bay detention for suspected terrorists and extension of Patriot Act. Would seek to privatize Transportation Security Administration and decertify its unions. Said U.S. interrogators should "use any technique that they can" short of torture, which he did not define.

War: Alone among the candidates, has said he "would send troops back into Iraq" to prevent Iran from infiltrating and taking control of the country. Criticized Obama for announcing withdrawal of troops from Iraq by end of 2011 and for president's timetable for withdrawal in Afghanistan, but has not said how many troops should remain or for how long.

___

ROMNEY:

Abortion: Opposes abortion rights. Previously supported them. Says state law should guide abortion rights, and Roe v. Wade should be reversed by a future Supreme Court. But says Roe vs. Wade is law of the land until that happens and should not be challenged by federal legislation seeking to overturn abortion rights affirmed by that court decision. Would not sign pledge to advance only anti-abortion appointees for relevant administration jobs, cut off federal dollars for clinics that perform or finance abortions, and support a ban on abortions after the fetus reaches a certain stage in development. "So I would live within the law, within the Constitution as I understand it, without creating a constitutional crisis. But I do believe Roe v. Wade should be reversed to allow states to make that decision."

Debt: Defended 2008 bailout of financial institutions as a necessary step to avoid the system's collapse, criticized the bailout of General Motors and Chrysler and said any such aid should not single out specific companies. Cap federal spending at 20 percent of gross domestic product, down from today's recession-swollen 25 percent. Stayed silent on debt-ceiling deal during its negotiation, only announcing his opposition to the final agreement shortly before lawmakers cast their votes. Instead, endorsed GOP "cut, cap and balance" bill that had no chance of enactment. Favors constitutional balanced budget amendment. Proposes 10 percent cut in federal workforce, elimination of $1.6 billion in Amtrak subsidies and cuts of $600 million in support for the public arts and broadcasting.

Economy: Lower taxes, less regulation, balanced budget, more trade deals to spur growth. Replace jobless benefits with unemployment savings accounts. Proposes repeal of the (Dodd-Frank) law toughening financial-industry regulations after the meltdown in that sector. Proposes changing, but not repealing, the (Sarbanes-Oxley) law tightening accounting regulations in response to corporate scandals, to ease the accountability burden on smaller businesses. "We don't want to tell the world that Republicans are against all regulation. No, regulation is necessary to make a free market work. But it has to be updated and modern."

Education: Supported the federal accountability standards of No Child Left Behind law. In 2007, said he was wrong earlier in his career when he wanted the Education Department shut because he came to see the value of the federal government in "holding down the interests of the teachers' unions" and putting kids and parents first.

Energy: Accelerate drilling permits in areas where exploration has already been approved for developers with good safety records. Says cap and trade would "rocket energy prices." Supports drilling in the Gulf of Mexico, Atlantic and Pacific outer continental shelves, Western lands, the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge and offshore Alaska; and supports exploitation of shale oil deposits. Reduce obstacles to coal, natural gas and nuclear energy development. Says green power has yet to become viable.

Environment: Spending a fortune to cut the emissions linked to global warming "is not the right course for us." Has acknowledged the scientific consensus that humans contribute to global warming: "I believe the world is getting warmer, and I believe that humans have contributed to that." But now says: "My view is that we don't know what's causing climate change on this planet." Proposes to remove carbon dioxide from list of pollutants controlled by Clean Air Act, and amend clean water and air laws to ensure the cost of complying with regulations is balanced against environmental benefit.

Gay Marriage: Favors constitutional amendment to ban gay marriage, says policy should be set federally, not by states. "Marriage is not an activity that goes on within the walls of a state."

Health Care: Promises to work for the repeal of the federal health care law modeled largely after his universal health care achievement in Massachusetts because he says states, not Washington, should drive policy on the uninsured. Proposes to guarantee that people who are "continuously covered" for a certain period be protected against losing insurance if they get sick, leave their job and need another policy. Would expand individual tax-advantaged medical savings accounts and let the savings be used for insurance premiums as well as personal medical costs. Would let insurance be sold across state lines to expand options, and restrict malpractice awards to restrain health care costs. Introduce "generous" but undetermined subsidies to help future retirees buy private insurance instead of going on traditional Medicare. No federal requirement for people to have health insurance. His Massachusetts plan requires people to have coverage, penalizes those who don't, and penalizes businesses of a certain size if they do not provide coverage to workers. His state has highest percentage of insured in nation. On Medicaid, proposes to convert program to a federal block grant administered by states.

Immigration: Favors U.S.-Mexico border fence, opposes education benefits to illegal immigrants. Would veto legislation that seeks to award legal status to some young illegal immigrants who attend college or serve in the armed forces. Proposes more visas for holders of advanced degrees in math, science and engineering who have U.S. job offers, and would award permanent residency to foreign students who graduate from U.S. schools with a degree in those fields.

Social Security: Protect the status quo for people 55 and over but, for the next generations of retirees, raise the retirement age for full benefits one or two years and reduce inflation increases in benefits for wealthier recipients.

Taxes: No one with adjusted gross income under $200,000 should be taxed on interest, dividends or capital gains. Cut corporate tax rate to 25 percent from a high of 35 percent. Opposes proposals to replace current tax system with national sales tax because he says it raises taxes on middle class while lowering them for rich and poor. Make Bush-era tax cuts, including for the wealthy, permanent. Eliminate estate tax. Dodged on extending cut in payroll tax, saying he doesn't like "temporary little Band-Aids" but also he's not for raising taxes "anywhere."

Terrorism: No constitutional rights for foreign terrorism suspects. In 2007, refused to rule out use of waterboarding to interrogate terrorist suspects. In 2011, his campaign said he does not consider waterboarding to be torture.

War: Has not specified the troop numbers behind his pledge to ensure the "force level necessary to secure our gains and complete our mission successfully" in Afghanistan. "This is not time for America to cut and run." Said Obama was wrong to begin reducing troop levels as soon as he did. Would increase strength of armed forces, including number of troops and warships.

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SANTORUM:

Abortion: Favors constitutional abortion ban and opposes abortion even in cases of rape because "I would absolutely stand and say that one violence is enough." Previously supported right to abortion in cases of rape, incest and to save the life of the mother.

Debt: Freeze social and military spending for five years to cut $5 trillion from federal budgets. Opposed the financial-industry bailout and stimulus programs of the Bush and Obama administrations. Supports constitutional balanced budget amendment holding federal spending at no more than 18 percent of GDP, down from the current recession-swollen 25 percent.

Economy: Spur jobs by eliminating corporate taxes for manufacturers, drill for more oil and gas, and slash regulations. Repeal every Obama-era regulation that costs business more than $100 million a year. "You may have to replace a few, but let's repeal them all because they are all antagonistic to businesses, particularly in the manufacturing sector."

Education: Voted for sweeping No Child Left Behind education overhaul, now says he regrets doing so. Wants "significantly" smaller Education Department but not its elimination. Criticized early childhood education programs as an attempt by government to "indoctrinate your children."

Energy: Favors drilling in the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge and scaling back "oppressive regulation" hindering drilling elsewhere. Eliminate energy subsidies in four years.

Environment: The science establishing human activity as a likely contributor to global warming is "patently absurd" and "junk science."

Gay Marriage: Supports constitutional ban on same-sex marriage, not leaving decision to states. "We can't have 50 marriage laws." "Abraham Lincoln said the states do not have the right to do wrong. I respect the 10th Amendment, but we are a nation that has values. We are a nation that was built on a moral enterprise, and states don't have the right to tramp over those because of the 10th Amendment."

Health Care: Would seek to starve Obama's health care law of money needed to implement it, and to repeal it. Was a leading supporter of Bush administration's prescription drug program for the elderly, which he now calls a mistake.

Immigration: Supports border fence, opposes letting children of illegal immigrants qualify for cheaper in-state tuition and says federal government should not require states to offer any social services to illegal immigrants. Favors making English the official language.

Social Security: Proposes immediate steps to lower benefits for wealthier retirees, raise the age to qualify for full benefits and restrict inflation increases in benefits. "We need to change benefits for everybody now." "We should absolutely do something about people who don't need Social Security." Supports option of private retirement accounts instead of Social Security taxes and benefits for younger workers.

Taxes: Triple the personal exemption for dependent children, reduce the number of tax brackets to two ? 10 percent and 28 percent ? exempt domestic manufacturers from the corporate tax and halve the top rate for other business. "If you manufacture in America, you aren't going to pay any taxes." Opposes any national sales tax.

Terrorism: Defends creation of Homeland Security Department as an attempt to fix a "complete mess" in the domestic security apparatus. Voted to reauthorize Patriot Act. Says airport screeners should employ profiling; "Muslims would be someone you'd look at, absolutely." Supports continued use of Guantanamo Bay detention for suspected terrorists but says Americans accused of being enemy combatants should have the right to go to court to challenge indefinite detention. Says waterboarding has proved effective.

War: Says he would order that Iran's nuclear facilities be bombed unless they were opened for international arms inspectors. Proposes freezing defense spending for five years. Said in September 2011 that 20,000 to 30,000 U.S. troops should remain in Iraq. Says U.S. troops should withdraw from Afghanistan "a little slower" than Obama is planning. In May, accused Obama of "dithering" in Libya and creating a "morass" because he let the international community take the lead. Opposes closure of U.S. bases abroad.

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Associated Press writers Brian Bakst and Chris Tomlinson contributed to this report.

Source: http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/gop/*http%3A//news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20120117/ap_on_el_pr/us_where_they_stand_candidates

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