Video: Decision 2012

>> on decision 2012 , let's bring in cnbc's chief washington correspondent john harwood . we witnessed plenty of surges in this race. you had bachmann, perry, cain, all had their turn. how does gingrich's rise differ, if at all?

>> reporter: it is a bigger threat to mitt romney because of how close it comes to when voting starts in january. because of newt gingrich 's national track record as the leader of the 1994 republican revolution , gingrich starts way behind in organization to convert popular support into delegates and money for tv ads and mitt romney has just begun to advertise.

>> we heard it a moment ago, some white house attacks seem to presuppose romney as the nominee. might that change?

>> reporter: i wouldn't expect the white house to change tactics at all. they clearly fear mitt romney more than any other republican candidate. they believe as democrats do generally that the background and record of newt gingrich makes him an easy target, but we have seen that the white house doesn't always calculate those things correctly as we saw in 1980 when president jimmy carter 's aides wanted to run against ronald reagan .

>> john harwood , appreciate the insight. thanks.

Source: http://video.msnbc.msn.com/nightly-news/45543653/

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Amazon forest loss at lowest in 23 years: Brazil

BRASILIA | Mon Dec 5, 2011 6:22pm EST

BRASILIA (Reuters) - Deforestation in Brazil's Amazon region fell to its lowest in 23 years in the year through July, the government said Monday, attributing the drop to its tougher stance against illegal logging.

Destruction of the Brazilian portion of the world's largest rain forest dropped 11 percent to 6,238 square km (2,400 square miles) over the 12-month period, satellite data from Brazil's National Institute for Space Research showed.

That is less than a quarter of the forest area that was destroyed in 2004, when clear-cutting by farmers expanding their cattle and soy operations reached a recent peak.

Brazil has stepped up its monitoring and enforcement policies in the Amazon in recent years but the improvement has partly been driven by slower global economic growth that has reduced demand and prices for the country's farm produce.

Overall improvement in 2010/11 masked worrying rises in some Amazon states such as Rondonia, where deforestation doubled from the previous year. Forest clearing in the farming state of Mato Grosso rose 20 percent.

"Some states are still extremely sensitive," Environment Minister Isabel Teixeira told reporters. "Rondonia needs to be clarified, we need to understand what has caused the change in its profile."

Two large hydroelectric dams are being built in Rondonia, boosting the local economy and attracting migrant workers.

The drop in deforestation comes as Brazil's Congress debates an overhaul of the land law that environmentalists say would severely set back conservation efforts. The Senate is expected to approve the new forest code in the coming days.

Brazil's influential farming lobby says the reform, which would ease conservation requirements for land owners, is needed to end widespread uncertainty over the current regulations that farmers say is a burden on production.

(Reporting by Hugo Bachega; writing by Stuart Grudgings; editing by John O'Callaghan)

Source: http://feeds.reuters.com/~r/reuters/scienceNews/~3/OGmZLGEDz-E/us-brazil-amazon-idUSTRE7B42OE20111205

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Where Would Ron Paul Slash $1 Trillion from the Federal Budget? (ContributorNetwork)

GOP presidential hopeful Ron Paul released a new commercial pledging to slash $1 trillion in federal spending during the first year of his presidency. How does the Texas Congressman plan to do that?

Here's a look at Ron Paul's proposed cuts:

Medicaid, children's health care, food stamps

Politico reported Paul has claimed he would strip these programs from mandatory federal spending and reassign them to the individual states in the form of block grants. Paul opposes Obamacare, but National Journal reported he would not seek to immediately change health coverage for the elderly and children.

Pentagon

Paul told The Quad-City Times two months ago that $200 billion could be cut from the Defense Department. He has frequently campaigned to close U.S. foreign bases and, as Associated Press reported, to bring all American troops home "as soon as the ships could get there."

Foreign Aid

Paul would reduce all foreign aid to zero, Politico reported. The move would save up to $139 billion per year from known sources, excluding any foreign aid buried inside other agency budgets. Paul said the U.S. government cannot afford to spend money on foreign aid every year.

Cutting federal employees

Paul has proposed eliminating 221,000 federal jobs -- all of which he deems nonproductive -- from five Cabinet level departments (Interior, Energy, Education, Commerce and Housing and Urban Development). According to The Hill, Paul would target nonproductive jobs and continue to eliminate federal jobs wherever they do not serve the national interest.

Cut president's salary

Paul recommends reducing the president's salary from $400,000 a year to $39,336 a year, roughly the median income of an average American worker, according to a report by USA Today. The last president to earn a salary that low was Ulysses S. Grant in 1873, when he earned $50,000 per year.

Dan McGinnis is a freelance writer, published author and former newspaper publisher. He has been a candidate, campaign manager and press secretary for state and local political campaigns for more than 30 years.

Source: http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/gop/*http%3A//news.yahoo.com/s/ac/20111205/pl_ac/10607351_where_would_ron_paul_slash_1_trillion_from_the_federal_budget

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Astronomers discover pair of record-setting supermassive black holes (Yahoo! News)

RQ-170 (File Photo, via Aviation Weekly)

A day after the Pentagon acknowledged that an unmanned American reconnaissance drone went missing while on an operation in western Afghanistan late last week, Defense officials still smarting from the incident have come forward to dismiss Iranian claims that the drone was brought down by hostile activity. And American cyber experts also expressed skepticism over Iranian claims that hackers based in Iran brought down the drone by penetrating its software or jamming its signals.

"The one thing I can tell you is we don't have any indications that the UAV [unmanned aerial vehicle], that we know we no longer have, was brought down by hostile activity of any kind," Pentagon spokesman Capt. John Kirby told reporters at the Pentagon press briefing Monday, ABC News's Luis Martinez reported. "As it says in the statement, the controllers lost control and, without getting into specific details, I think we're comfortable stating that there's no indication of hostile activity."

Likewise, the Iranian claim of an effective cyber-hacking initiative strains credulity, James Lewis, a cyber security expert, said. "Iran hacking into the drone is as likely as an Ayatollah standing on a mountain-top and using thought waves to bring it down," James Lewis, a former Reagan administration official with the Center for Strategic and International Studies, told Yahoo News by email Monday. "The most likely explanation is that it crashed on its own."

"If you could hack into a drone, you wouldn't use it for some spontaneous fun, you'd save it for a rainy day," Lewis continued. "You'd need to be able to hack either the control network in the U.S. or a satellite.? Neither is easy, and both are probably not something the Iranians can do."Read More ?

Source: http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/techblog/*http%3A//news.yahoo.com/s/yblog_technews/20111205/tc_yblog_technews/astronomers-discover-pair-of-record-setting-supermassive-black-holes

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End of era as Bollywood's "evergreen" Dev Anand dies (Reuters)

MUMBAI (Reuters) ? Movie actor and director Dev Anand, known for his joie de vivre as Bollywood's "evergreen hero," has died aged 88, an aide said, bringing the end to an era of Indian cinema.

Anand, whose last film, "Chargesheet," was released in September, was in London with his son, Suneil, when he died on Saturday from a heart attack, aide Mohan Churiwala told Reuters.

"He was never sick. Even when I spoke to him last evening, he sounded fine -- hale and hearty," Churiwala said.

Anand is also survived by his wife, Kalpana Karthik.

Born in Lahore, Anand travelled to Mumbai to work as a clerk in a government office in 1944 and got his first break two years later in the film "Hum Ek Hain." He turned director soon afterwards and went on to deliver a string of hits.

"CID," "Guide," "Hare Rama Hare Krishna" and "Jewel Thief" are movies considered part of Bollywood's essential viewing catalogue, and Anand's unique acting style is widely celebrated.

He is said to have been inspired by Hollywood's Gregory Peck, but his own casual style and the signature nod of his head while delivering lines were often imitated by fans.

Anand refused to retire from Bollywood, often telling interviewers he would work till his last breath. He was working on a new film at the time of his death.

"An era has come to an end," Bollywood superstar Amitabh Bachchan wrote on Twitter. "Dev Anand leaves a void never perhaps to be filled again... his never-give-up belief, his joy of life."

(Editing by Henry Foy and Nick Macfie)

Source: http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/movies/*http%3A//news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20111204/film_nm/us_india_bollywood

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Research improves diagnosis and potential treatment of neuromyelitis optica

ScienceDaily (Dec. 2, 2011) ? Mayo Clinic researchers have identified critical steps leading to myelin destruction in neuromyelitis optica (NMO), a debilitating neurological disease that is commonly misdiagnosed as multiple sclerosis (MS). The findings could lead to better care for the thousands of patients around the world with NMO.

The paper was published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.

NMO is an inflammatory autoimmune disease of the central nervous system that damages the optic nerves and spinal cord, causing vision loss, weakness, numbness and, sometimes, arm and leg paralysis and loss of bowel and bladder control. NMO was historically misdiagnosed as a severe variant of MS until 2005 when a team led by Vanda A. Lennon, M.D., Ph.D., a Mayo Clinic research immunologist, identified an antibody unique to NMO, and discovered that its unexpected target was the major water channel of the central nervous system (aquaporin-4). A blood test emerging from this discovery has revolutionized the diagnosis of NMO, allowing its distinction from multiple sclerosis and introducing more appropriate treatments.

The NMO antibody targets astrocytes, which are 10 times more numerous in the brain and spinal cord than neurons. In addition to providing nutrients to neurons and supporting the repair and scarring process, other critical functions of astrocytes include regulation of tissue water and electrical activities of neurons, and the stabilizing the protective covering of nerves (myelin). By attacking the water channels on astrocytes, the antibody disrupts all related dynamic functions of the astrocyte and in acute attacks kills many astrocytes.

The new findings advance the understanding of the basic mechanisms of NMO, critical to the ultimate development of optimal treatment or even a cure. Key findings include:

• The antibody associated with NMO affects two forms of the aquaporin-4 water channel: M1 and M23. M1 more readily escapes from antibodies, but antibody binding to M23 causes aggregation of M23 on the astrocyte surface which amplifies cell damage.
• As a consequence of antibody interfering with the transfer of water in the brain, water accumulates in the myelin sheath, preventing rapid transmission of nerve messages) and causing breakdown of myelin, a traditional hallmark of MS, thus contributing to the diagnostic confusion.
• Traditional therapies used to treat MS may actually make NMO worse.

"These findings build on our initial research and greatly advance our understanding of disease development and progression in patients with NMO," Dr. Lennon says. "Only by learning more about NMO can we develop new therapies and new approaches to treat people with this terrible disease."

About Neuromyelitis Optica

Because NMO has only recently been identified as a syndrome distinct from MS, it is difficult to know how many people have it. To date the Mayo Clinic Neuroimmunology Laboratory has detected the antibody in three thousand patients in the United States. Thus NMO is more common than was previously thought. Disease progresses with each new attack, and there is no cure. For most patients, a combination of drug and physical therapy is required to manage NMO, with the focus being on preventing recurrent attacks after treatment of the first attack, thus reducing disability and preventing relapses.

Contributing scientists include: Shannon Hinson, Ph.D.; Claudia Lucchinetti, M.D.; Michael Romero, Ph.D.; Bogdan Popescu, M.D.; James Fryer, M.S. and Tuebingen University (Germany) scientists led by Petra Fallier-Becker, Ph.D.

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The above story is reprinted from materials provided by Mayo Clinic.

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

---

Journal Reference:

1. S. R. Hinson, M. F. Romero, B. F. G. Popescu, C. F. Lucchinetti, J. P. Fryer, H. Wolburg, P. Fallier-Becker, S. Noell, V. A. Lennon. Molecular outcomes of neuromyelitis optica (NMO)-IgG binding to aquaporin-4 in astrocytes. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, 2011; DOI: 10.1073/pnas.1109980108

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

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

Source: http://feeds.sciencedaily.com/~r/sciencedaily/~3/JUsjQh8uDYU/111202091949.htm

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Court weighs trademark on Maker's Mark wax seal (AP)

LOUISVILLE, Ky. ? The red wax seal atop a Maker's Mark bottle makes the bourbon stand out on store shelves. Whether the bourbon company can keep that distinction is up to a panel of three federal judges.

The U.S. 6th Circuit Court of Appeals on Thursday stepped into the sticky arguments over whether Maker's Mark can keep a trademark on the wax seal and enforce an injunction stopping any other liquor company from using a similar top.

Maker's Mark won an order in 2010 awarding it exclusive rights to the dripping wax seal. U.S. District Judge John G. Heyburn II in Louisville granted Maker's Mark an injunction prohibiting any other company from using a similar seal and look, saying the bourbon maker held a valid trademark.

The order ended a seven-year long lawsuit between Deerfield, Ill.-based Fortune Brands, which owns Maker's Mark, and London-based Diageo North America and Casa Cuervo of Mexico, which used a dripping red wax seal on special bottles of its Reserva tequila. Fortune Brands has since split its liquor business into a new company called Beam Inc.

The appeals court did not give a timeline for deciding the case.

Maker's Mark attorney Edward T. Colbert said the seal serves no purpose other than to make the bourbon bottles distinctive and that Cuervo doesn't need to use it.

"What they have here is a competitive desire to use the wax, not a competitive need to use wax," said Colbert, the brother of comedian Stephen Colbert.

Attorneys for Diageo and Cuervo argued that using a wax seal wouldn't cause customers to confuse the company's tequila with the bourbon or believe the two companies were affiliated.

"Wouldn't it be a logical assumption that the same company made the two products because of the red wax seal?" asked Judge Karen Nelson Moore, looking at a bottle of Maker's Mark and a bottle of Cuervo brought into the courtroom.

"They know exactly where that comes from," Cuervo attorney Michael Aschen said of the tequila. "They're not going to get confused and think it comes from Kentucky."

The Samuels family, which created Maker's Mark in 1958, trademarked the distinctive seal, which serves only a decorative purpose.

Cuervo opted to include a dripping wax seal on bottles in 1997 as part of an effort to create an artisan look. The bottles of Reserva with the new seal entered the U.S. market in 2001 in a limited production of 3,000-to-4,000 bottles. The bottles remained on sale in the U.S. for about three years.

Maker's Mark, bottled in Loretto in central Kentucky, sued over the seal in 2003, claiming it violated the long-standing trademark. Cuervo dropped the dripping wax seal six years ago.

At times, the arguments devolved into a conversation about the quality of the liquors, shape and size of the bottles and hypothetical questions about whether the color of the wax seal would make a difference.

Aschen noted that Maker's Mark uses a square bottle with large, black letters on it, while Cuervo's bottle is tall, cylindrical, bears the tequila's logo and cost about $100, compared to about $25 for the bourbon. The only thing that looks alike is the red wax seal, Aschen said.

"Other than that, there's no similarity," Aschen said.

"They're both dark," Judge Boyce F. Martin said. "Don't they look alike? Maker's Mark is not cheap."

Maker's Mark spends about $22 million annually to market its bourbon, and sells about 800,000 cases annually. The ad campaigns focus heavily on the dripping red wax seal. The company occasionally will make a wax seal of a different color, such as its recent promotion raising money for a charity with University of Kentucky basketball coach John Calipari. In that case, Maker's Mark produced a limited number of bottles with a blue wax seal.

Along with the advertising campaigns, Maker's Mark uses onsite dipping stations that allow customers to make their own wax seals on bottles.

Heyburn declined to award damages, saying Cuervo violated the trademark, but did not focus its marketing efforts on the red wax seal to the point of damaging Maker's Mark's brand. Cuervo spent only about $500,000 of its $100 million overall branding budget on the Reserva tequila and sold its bottles for $100 each, while Maker's Mark went for about $24 a bottle, Heyburn found.

___

Online:

Beam Inc. (formerly Fortune Brands): http://www.beamglobal.com/

Diageo: http://www.diageo.com

____

Associated Press writer Brett Barrouquere is on Twitter: http://Twitter.com/BBarrouquereAP

Source: http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/crime/*http%3A//news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20111201/ap_on_re_us/us_wax_seal_battle

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Icon of US military now in Iraqi hands

U.S. soldiers leaving Al Faw palace at Camp Victory, one of the last American bases in this country where the U.S. military footprint is swiftly shrinking, after a special ceremony in Baghdad, Iraq, Thursday, Dec. 1, 2011. Vice President Joe Biden thanked U.S. and Iraqi troops for sacrifices that he said allowed for the end of the nearly nine-year-long war, even as attacks around the country killed 20 people, underscoring the security challenges Iraq still faces. (AP Photo/Khalid Mohammed)

U.S. soldiers leaving Al Faw palace at Camp Victory, one of the last American bases in this country where the U.S. military footprint is swiftly shrinking, after a special ceremony in Baghdad, Iraq, Thursday, Dec. 1, 2011. Vice President Joe Biden thanked U.S. and Iraqi troops for sacrifices that he said allowed for the end of the nearly nine-year-long war, even as attacks around the country killed 20 people, underscoring the security challenges Iraq still faces. (AP Photo/Khalid Mohammed)

In this Oct. 15, 2011 file photo, a U.S. Army soldier walks past a sign outside a base exchange after its closure at Camp Victory that is set to close in Baghdad, Iraq. Victory Base Complex, as it's formally called by the military, started life as a country club for the Baghdad elite under Saddam. Little reminders of the base's former life such as a sign reminding patrons where to park or when the casino would be open are still located on the base. (AP Photo/Khalid Mohammed, File)

Iraqi flags wave as U.S. soldiers leave Al Faw palace at Camp Victory, one of the last American bases in this country where the U.S. military footprint is swiftly shrinking, after a special ceremony in Baghdad, Iraq, Thursday, Dec. 1, 2011. Vice President Joe Biden thanked U.S. and Iraqi troops for sacrifices that he said allowed for the end of the nearly nine-year-long war, even as attacks around the country killed 20 people, underscoring the security challenges Iraq still faces. (AP Photo/Khalid Mohammed, Pool)

In this Nov. 7, 2011 photo, a U.S. army soldiers walks past military armored vehicles are ready to be shipped out of Iraq at Camp Victory Baghdad, Iraq. Victory Base Complex, as it's formally called by the military, started life as a country club for the Baghdad elite under Saddam. Little reminders of the base's former life such as a sign reminding patrons where to park or when the casino would be open are still located on the base. (AP Photo/Khalid Mohammed)

In this April 26, 2011 photo, U.S. Army soldiers walk through Al Faw palace in Camp Victory Baghdad, Iraq. Victory Base Complex, as it's formally called by the military, started life as a country club for the Baghdad elite under Saddam. Little reminders of the base's former life such as a sign reminding patrons where to park or when the casino would be open are still located on the base. (AP Photo/Khalid Mohammed)

CAMP VICTORY, Iraq (AP) ? Inside palace walls built by Saddam Hussein, U.S. generals plotted the war's course, tracked the mounting death toll and swore in new American citizens under gaudy glass chandeliers.

Just outside the palace, American troops whacked golf balls into man-made lakes or fished for carp, while others sat down with a cigar and a can of nonalcoholic beer hoping for a respite from incoming rockets or mortar shells.

Along another lake some distance away, a jailed Saddam tended to tomatoes and cucumbers in a small, walled-off enclosure with guards patrolling overhead.

Ever since the soldiers of the 3rd Infantry Division fought their way into the Baghdad airport grounds nearly nine years ago, the sprawling area they renamed Camp Victory has held a special place in the American military experience in Iraq.

From here, the highest-ranking generals sitting behind banks of telephones and video screens communicated with commanders in the field and political leaders in Washington, and dictated strategy that unfolded on the streets of Fallujah, Mosul and Najaf.

It was an intersection in the war where U.S. troops, hot and dusty after traveling across Iraq's deadly roads and highways, could relax with a latte or bootlegged movie before heading back out again.

On Friday, the base that at its height was home to 46,000 people was handed over to the Iraqi government as part of American efforts to move all U.S. troops out of the country by the end of the year.

"The base is no longer under U.S. control and is under the full authority of the government of Iraq," said U.S. military spokesman Col. Barry Johnson. He said that by 2 p.m. on Friday, there was no longer any U.S. troop presence at the base.

The transfer of the country's largest American military base to Iraqi custody happened with little fanfare, and no ceremony was held.

The area, which the military formally calls Victory Base Complex, was originally used as a country club for the Baghdad elite under Saddam. A visitor can still find small relics of that era, such as signs advising patrons where to park, or the hours during which the casino was open.

Saddam built the palace complex near the airport out of embarrassment. During the 1978 Arab League summit he was forced to house incoming dignitaries in private homes in Baghdad because he had no proper accommodations, according to Robert O. Kirkland, a former U.S. military historian who interviewed former Foreign Minister Tariq Aziz and other Iraqis who were once in American custody.

To rectify the problem, Saddam went on a palace-building spree, eventually building nine structures of varying size and impressiveness. He gave some of them names that reflected his often convoluted view of the world: Victory over America, Victory over Iran and Victory over Kuwait.

In the run-up to the war, U.S. military planners were confused by a cone-shaped structure they could see from satellite imagery, said Col. Les Melnyk, another former U.S. military historian in Iraq. They labeled it a possible prayer site. It turned out to be a pigeon coop.

Maj. William Sumner was a captain when his unit arrived at Camp Victory in mid-April 2003. He remembers how Iraqi looters managed to get into the complex and make off with geese, pelicans and other animals from a small zoo Saddam had built.

"I think that's when the cougar got out of the enclosure," he said. For weeks afterward, a large feline, which Sumner said could have also been a bobcat, was spotted wandering around the base.

In the early days after the invasion, soldiers swam in the man-made lakes or toured the islands with paddle boats.

But quickly the atmosphere became more like bases back in the U.S. That meant rules and regulations ? and military police to enforce them. Sumner said during his unit's second week at Victory he was pulled over for speeding.

"After we moved onto our other place, we just tried to refuse to go back there whenever possible," he said.

Victory Base Complex was essentially a city, often hit by rockets or mortar shells. One time the violence came from within. In May 2009, a U.S. soldier shot and killed five fellow troops at a combat stress clinic.

The facility was so big it was divided into sections with different names. Troops could travel from Camp Stryker to Camp Liberty without leaving the base. A public bus system with posted routes transported people to the dining facilities, the gym or a dirt speedway where troops and contractors would race remote-controlled cars.

By the numbers supplied by the U.S. military, it was a substantial operation:

? The incinerators destroyed an average of 178,000 pounds of waste a day.

? A water purification plant produced 1.85 million gallons of water a day.

? A bottled water plant filled 500,000 one-liter bottles a day.

? Three separate plants produced 60 megawatts of power a day.

If soldiers grew tired of food at the massive chow halls, they could grab takeout at Taco Bell, Pizza Hut, Cinnabon, Burger King or Subway.

At various stores they could buy anything from illegal DVDs to a Harley Davidson motorcycle delivered straight to their door back in the U.S. when they returned from the war. In the early days of the war, troops could even buy Saddam Hussein's personal silverware and place settings.

Troops and contractors visiting from other bases took tours of the palaces.

One particularly entertaining pastime was feeding the carp in the lake surrounding Al Faw palace, where the top generals and U.S. military officials were based. The aggressive fish would jump out of the water for cereal, Girl Scout cookies and Pop Tarts.

Off-limits to most troops was the jail used to house Saddam and some of his cohorts. In a dilapidated, bomb-damaged building encircled by concertina wire, American troops interrogated and guarded the former dictator before he was handed over to the Iraqis and executed in 2006.

The Iraqi government has not yet announced plans for the complex, prime real estate in a country sorely lacking in parks and public spaces. The Iraqi military is already using some parts, and there is talk of turning Saddam's jail cell into a museum.

Associated Press

Source: http://hosted2.ap.org/APDEFAULT/cae69a7523db45408eeb2b3a98c0c9c5/Article_2011-12-02-ML-Iraq-End-of-Victory/id-1106537e62134aecbd1b306a87ef8ff7

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Sens. Chambliss, Corker and Risch: Eric Holder???s ???Fast and Furious??? problem is serious, warrants close scrutiny (Daily Caller)

While Republican Senators Bob Corker of Tennessee, Saxby Chambliss of Georgia and Jim Risch of Idaho are not among the 54 members of Congress who have demanded Attorney General Eric Holder?s resignation over Operation Fast and Furious, they told The Daily Caller that the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF) gun-walking scandal is a serious issue that merits their continued attention.

A spokeswoman for Corker told TheDC the Senator thinks it?s up to the president to ?hire or fire members of his cabinet,? but he ?cannot understand how ATF could permit the illegal sale of firearms to Mexican drug cartels, and believes such a failure of law enforcement should have serious consequences for all involved.?

?Further, he believes Congress should continue to ensure the Obama administration resolves this issue and prevents it from ever happening again,? Corker?s spokeswoman continued.

Sen. Chambliss told TheDC he is continuing to ?monitor? the congressional investigations into Fast and Furious, but hasn?t yet made a decision about how Holder has been implicated in the debacle.

?While I have serious questions about the way the operation was carried out and its results, I have not taken a position on the involvement of Attorney General Holder,? Chambliss said.??As the Judiciary Committee continues its investigation, I will act accordingly.?

A spokesman for Risch told TheDC that he is also to monitoring the situation closely, and hasn?t yet made a decision about Holder. ?Senator Risch is concerned about the issue and is paying close attention as new information comes to light,? Risch said. ?He has not made any statement about the Attorney General in regards to his handling of the issue.?

Two Senators, Jim Inhofe of Oklahoma and Johnny Isakson of Georgia, have now called for Holder?s immediate resignation. They join 52 members of the House, three presidential candidates and two sitting governors.

Follow Matthew on Twitter

Read more stories from The Daily Caller

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Robin Williams gives Siri some French attitude on Ellen

Comedian and iPhone 4S user Robin Williams decided to give Siri some snooty Parisian attitude on the Ellen show this week. Give it a watch and then let us know if Apple should be calling on Williams to provide some voice talent for Siri 2.0…

Source: http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/TheIphoneBlog/~3/PdfQyz8ipZo/story01.htm

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CSN: Debunking three myths about Valentine

?

BOSTON -- Bobby Valentine has been so many things -- standout amateur baseball player, manager, broadcaster, competitive ballroom dancer -- that, even at 61, it's difficult to get a clear picture of him.
?? ?
Making matters more complicated is that few people are neutral about Valentine. Valentine has both his ardent supporters and a seemingly equal number of vocal detractors -- and not many who are in-between.
?? ?
In the last five days, Valentine has gone from stealth candidate to potential Red Sox managerial frontrunner.?? ?

Whether he's hired or not, here are three myths about Valentine that require debunking:

1) He's a winner.
?? ?
That would depend on your definition of "winner."
?? ?
It's true that Valentine's career winning percentage is .510 (1117-1072) over 2,189 games in the big leagues.
?? ?
But a closer look reveals that Valentine, true to his winning percentage, was more "slightly above-average" than "winner" in his two previous turns.
?? ?
In his first manager's job, with the Texas Rangers, Valentine spent eight seasons in the dugout and never reached the playoffs. In fact, for a time, Valentine held the dubious distinction of having managed the most number of games by an active manager without once qualifying for the postseason.
?? ?
Managing the New York Mets, Valentine had six straight winning seasons and twice took the Mets to the playoffs -- once in 1999 as a wild-card entry which lost in the NLCS to the Atlanta Braves and again in 2000, when he directed the Mets to the World Series (where they lost to the New York Yankees in a famed Subway Series).
?? ?
In 15 years, Valentine managed a team into the postseason twice. Similarly, his teams cracked the 90-win plateau two times. His teams never finished better than second.
???
2) He wouldn't stand for the kind of frat-house behavior that sank the 2011 Red Sox.
?? ?
Actually, Valentine twice oversaw teams which had some similar issues.
?? ?
In 1999, as the Mets season was ending, at least two of the team's stars -- Bobby Bonilla and Rickey Henderson -- were otherwise occupied. In Game 6 of the NLCS, Bonilla and Henderson were in the clubhouse playing cards while the Mets tried, unsuccessfully, to force a Game 7.
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Then, in 2002, some stories alleged that as many as seven players on the roster had smoked marijuana. Some, it was reported, hired limousines rather than take the team bus so they could smoke postgame.
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When Valentine was fired after the 2002 season, owner Fred Wilpon said Valentine had lost control of the clubhouse and the players.
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Given the late-season implosion the Sox underwent, complete with players drinking beer and eating fried chicken, Valentine undoubtedly had some explaining to do in his interview with Red Sox management and ownership.

3) At 61, Valentine is too established and too set in his ways to incorporate some of the new statistical metrics which the Red Sox employ.
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To the contrary, Valentine has long been eager to incorporate advanced statistical data for in-game strategy, dating all the way back to his first major league managerial
job in Texas.
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There, Craig Wright, a forerunner among sabremeticians, supplied him with data and Valentie embraced it.
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At the time, Wright's information was rather basic; statistical anaylsis has grown mightily in the last 25 years or so.
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But when you consider that some organizations still eye such data wearily, the very fact that Valentine was willing to incorporate such information as early as the mid-to-late 1980s signals a willingness to try new things and listen to what others have to offer.?

Source: http://www.csnne.com/baseball-boston-redsox/news/McAdam-Debunking-three-Valentine-myths?blockID=598520&feedID=3947

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