The 'Buffet Rule' Is a Hypocritical Political Ploy

About Jonathan Collegio:

Jonathan Collegio is the communications director for American Crossroads.

America's unemployment rate has been over 8 percent for the last three years. The federal government has run trillion dollar plus deficits those last three years as well. And polls consistently show that Americans are most concerned with those two issues: creating jobs and getting the budget deficit under control.

Yet this week, President Obama made a major policy proposal based not on creating jobs or cutting the deficit. The president instead proposed a "Buffett rule" policy which is not a serious policy initiative designed to solve an actual problem, but is the worst type of political ploy.

[See a collection of political cartoons on the economy.]

What does the president's proposal do? The Associated Press said it best—that President Obama was "picking an election-year fight with congressional Republicans." With more the economy in the doldrums for three years, 13 million Americans out of work and the country on an unsustainable path of deficits and debt, the president is most concerned about picking a fight with Republicans.

But America needs a president who can solve problems, not pick fights and create more Washington drama.

Proving the policy was really just a ploy, the premise behind Obama's proposal has been thoroughly debunked. According to an AP analysis of Obama's proposal, households making over $1 million pay on average 29.1 percent of their income in federal taxes, while those making between $50,000 and $75,000 will pay on average 15 percent. Wealthier Americans are already paying a higher percentage of their incomes in taxes, and contribute disproportionately to federal revenues. The problem Obama is talking about is not a real issue.

[Read what the Buffett Rule Gets Wrong.]

Secondly, Obama's proposal does nothing to help solve the real problems America faces with our debt crisis. Estimates suggest it would only raise $4.7 billion dollars per year, less than 0.4 percent of 2011's deficit. Not only is it a nonissue, but fixing the non-issue doesn't raise any real money for the government.

Worst: We found out on Friday that the President himself pays a lower percentage in federal taxes than his own secretary.

In the end, this isn't a proposal to solve the jobs crisis or pay off the debt. This is an election year political ploy designed by Obama to pick a fight. And Americans aren't buying it.

Not only is Obama's proposal a crass political ploy, but it's a hypocritical one at that. Rarely does a presidential proposal fail as quickly, or as dramatically, as Mr. Obama's so called Buffett rule.

Tags:taxes, deficit and national debt, Warren Buffett, federal taxes

Peliculas Online

Read More

GOP: Obama, Romney Contrast Will Grow Sharper

Home > News > Ken Walsh's Washington > GOP: Obama, Romney Contrast Will Grow Sharper

April 16, 2012 Print

The presidential race will be volatile for the next few months as President Obama and Republican front-runner Mitt Romney rise and fall in the polls, but over time the contrast between the two men and their policies will benefit Romney, Republican strategists predict.

Party officials say that the GOP presidential primaries have kept the country from focusing fully on President Obama and his failures, especially when it comes to the economy. Instead, the intra-party debate has emphasized the Republican candidates' attacks on each other.

[See a collection of political cartoons on the Republican party.]

"There's a big difference between a one-on-one race and a one-on-six race," says Republican National Committee Communications Director Sean Spicer, referring to the number of major GOP contenders who were once in the competition for the party's presidential nomination. Spicer argues that the contrasts will grow sharper and will work to the GOP's advantage once the Republicans settle on their nominee.

There are only three serious candidates left in the Republican presidential contest—Romney, the former governor of Massachusetts, former House Speaker Newt Gingrich, and Rep. Ron Paul of Texas.

Romney is so far ahead in nominating delegates, in states won, and in fund-raising that he is considered the presumptive GOP standard-bearer.

Tags:Obama administration, Barack Obama, politics, republican party

Peliculas Online

Read More

4 Tips for Helping Your Teen Land a Summer Job

By April, many high school students are already longing for summer. Prom and final tests are mile markers along the homestretch of the school year, and they're also cues for teens to start searching for summer jobs.

Before the recession, many employers were begging for workers, says Rick Parker, senior vice president of marketing for Snagajob.com, a job-hunting website with a focus on hourly positions. "But it's a different ball game today," Parker notes, and teens often compete with older, more experienced applicants for the same jobs. Parents can help teens get a leg up on their competition by applying to summer jobs now using these tips from Parker.

1. Take the job search seriously: Many teens may not realize the amount of time and effort that goes into applying for jobs, Parker says.

"Teach your kids that job No. 1 is the job search itself," he says. For example, teens may think applying to five jobs is sufficient, Parker notes, but they should apply to 10 or even 20 positions.

2. Be flexible: In a bleak economy, teens can't afford to be picky when applying to jobs. Parker says many teens limit their job search to about a 10-mile radius, but if they can, he says they should also consider positions farther from home.

And while working in evenings and on weekends isn't always ideal for teens' social lives, the ability to do so is very important to hiring managers, Parker says.

[Read why teens should learn about personal finance.]

3. Network: "Lots of people want to help," Parker acknowledges, so "Parents should encourage their kids to let friends, family, and neighbors know that they're looking for a job. You never know where that connection is going to come from."

4. Coach your teens: "Make a list of where to apply, and take them through mock interviews, proofread job applications until they get the hang of it, [and] have them practice their elevator speech," Parker suggests.

Practice is particularly important for teens applying for their first jobs, Parker notes, and those teens should mention past experiences such as babysitting and volunteering on their applications.

Parents should also remind their teens to be happy and agreeable when talking with a potential employer. At many summer jobs, teens are representing the company, perhaps by working at a retail store behind the cash register, Parker says.

In those positions, teens become the "face of the company," he adds, "So it's extremely important to employers that the job applicant has a positive attitude."

See how your school stacks up in our rankings of Best High Schools. Have something of interest to share? Send your news to us at highschoolnotes@usnews.com.

Peliculas Online

Read More

Carjacked Tyke Knocks on Door at 2 a.m.

By STEVEN K. PAULSON Associated Press

A 3-year-old is back with his parents after he knocked on a stranger's door in the middle of the night following the hijacking of his father's car at a Colorado Springs, Colo., convenience store with him in the back seat.

"Help me, I'm cold," the toddler told Traci Gilbert, who answered the door.

She said she heard her doorbell ring about 2:15 a.m. Sunday and got up to check. Gilbert looked through the peephole and didn't see anyone, so she opened her door. Outside, she found the 3-year-old covered in snow and sleet, wearing nighttime diapers and a thin jacket.

"He wasn't crying. He never shed a single tear the whole time. That boy is a hero to me," Gilbert said.

Gilbert said Monday she is still amazed that the toddler made it up 14 slick steps to her front door on the second floor of a duplex, carrying a plastic bag that held a container of soy milk, a Sippy cup, two diapers, wipes and pajama bottoms.

She believes the car thief picked her home because it was near the store where the car was stolen. The temperature was in the 30s and the weather was alternating between sleet and snow.

"He didn't even wait until the child was safe inside," Gilbert said, her voice shaking with anger.

The father, Anthony Pettiford, said Monday he was headed home from a family gathering when he stopped to buy some gum. He was chatting with friends next to his car when someone jumped in the driver's seat and took off. Pettiford chased the car down the street while his friends chased the vehicle for about 10 blocks before losing it. The friends said the car thief must have turned back to drop the boy off three blocks from the store, then left the child to fend for himself.

Pettiford said he believes his son, whose name has not been released, was trying to return to the convenience store to find him when he showed up on the woman's doorstep.

"He knew what to do. He's a champ," Pettiford said.

Gilbert, a 53-year-old nurse at Memorial Hospital, said at first she was afraid that the boy's father had put him out in the cold because of a domestic argument or he had run away from home, but when she asked, the boy told her his parents were "happy."

Gilbert's adult son took the boy in his car to find his father. Gilbert's son waved down an officer searching for the boy and he was reunited with his father.

Barbara Miller, spokeswoman for the Colorado Springs Police Department, said Monday it is unlikely Pettiford will face charges because he was standing next to his vehicle when the child was abducted. The suspect and the car, a white 1995 Chrysler New Yorker, are still missing.

———

Information from: The Gazette, http://www.gazette.com

Peliculas Online

Read More

Math Power: Physicist Calculates Way out of Traffic Ticket

Ever talk your way out of a traffic ticket? Bet it's a painful memory, isn't it?

Dmitri Krioukov, a physicist at the University of California, San Diego, was pulled over for jumping a stop sign. The fine would have been $400. But Krioukov tried something that most traffic courts probably haven't seen: He wrote an academic paper to argue why he ought to be found not guilty. Its title: "The Proof of Innocence."

The judge bought it, says Krioukov. He was acquitted. Krioukov posted his paper online and gave it a subtitle: "A way to fight your traffic tickets. The paper was awarded a special prize of $400 that the author did not have to pay to the state of California."

Here's the abstract. If you were a busy judge, who'd studied law more intently than mathematics in school, how would you react to it?

"We show that if a car stops at a stop sign, an observer, e.g., a police officer, located at a certain distance perpendicular to the car trajectory, must have an illusion that the car does not stop, if the following three conditions are satisfied: (1) the observer measures not the linear but angular speed of the car; (2) the car decelerates and subsequently accelerates relatively fast; and (3) there is a short-time obstruction of the observer's view of the car by an external object, e.g., another car, at the moment when both cars are near the stop sign."

The paper is four pages of dense reading, filled with equations and graphs, but here's the simple version:

Krioukov argues the officer, watching at an angle about 100 feet away, confused the car's actual (or linear) speed with its angular speed -- the rate at which it seemed to go by. If you'd like an analogy, think of yourself on a railroad platform as the express roars past. As the train approaches in the distance, it doesn't seem to move much, but as it passes you -- going no faster -- it certainly seems to race by.

Krioukov claims he did stop and restart quickly, and the officer missed it.

Finally -- and this is the fun part -- Krioukov says there was another car blocking the officer's view at the moment of truth. He was driving a Toyota Yaris, a subcompact, and something bigger (perhaps, he suggests, the size of a Subaru Outback) was in the lane next to him as he jammed on the brakes.

Why did he jam on the brakes? Krioukov, in slightly broken English (he grew up in Russia) puts it right there in the paper:

"The author/defendant (D.K.) ... was badly sick with cold on that day. In fact, he was sneezing while approaching the stop sign. As a result he involuntary pushed the brakes very hard."

The judge chose not to fight him. Next case, please.

But Physics Central, which first reported this story, says Krioukov concluded with a challenge: "I want to ask the readership to please find the flaw in the argument."

Peliculas Online

Read More

Minuman Juice Buah Delima Di Istanbul Turki

Peliculas Online

Read More

Mitt Romney Didn't Flip-Flop on Stay-at-Home Moms

April 16, 2012 Print

We can't call it a gaffe per se. Former Gov. Mitt Romney said it months ago, and it didn't seem remotely controversial at the time. But in light of last week's controversy involving Hilary Rosen and Ann Romney's skirmish in the "Mommy Wars," the remark has taken on a fresh significance.

Here's what Romney said, as heard in a video unearthed by MSNBC's Chris Hayes:

I wanted to increase the work requirement ... I said, for instance, that even if you have a child two years of age, you need to go to work. And people said, "Well, that's heartless," and I said "No, no, I'm willing to spend more giving daycare to allow those parents to go back to work. It'll cost the state more providing that daycare, but I want the individuals to have the dignity of work."

[Vote: Will the Hilary Rosen-Ann Romney Uproar Matter for the Election?]

The Washington Post's Ezra Klein pounces:

So what Mitt Romney was saying, in other words, was that he believes poor mothers should go out and get jobs rather than to stay home with their children. He believes that going out and getting a job gives mothers —and everyone else —"the dignity of work." And so, finally, he believes that staying home and taking care of children is not "work," and does not fulfill a "work requirement," and does not give poor mothers "the dignity of work." And he believes all of this strongly enough that, as governor of Massachusetts, he signed those beliefs into law.

Much as I enjoy pouncing on Romney, I don't think the contradiction is as stark as Hayes and Klein make it out to be. In my last post on this topic, I tried to make the case that we should look at a household with children as a single economic unit, a joint venture, irrespective of whether just one or both parents worked outside the home. A job in the marketplace plus domestic labor and childrearing; or two jobs in the marketplace plus shared responsibilities for domestic labor and childrearing—the particulars of the arrangement should not matter. What matters is total output: as measured in widgets made, plus human citizens molded.

[See a collection of political cartoons on Mitt Romney]

In the case of single mothers, however, the widgets are missing. Now, contra comedian Chris Rock, I realize most women don't typically choose to be single mothers. I realize, further, that the children of single mothers can turn out perfectly well (they can even become president!). And I certainly don't mean to imply that single mothers lack dignity in any sense.

But the reality Mitt Romney was trying to convey, back in January, is that some form of productivity, in addition to childrearing, is an essential feature in the life of a family. As I explain to my kids when they ask why mommy and daddy can't both stay home every day—"Somebody has to do it."

Alas, that includes single moms, too.

Tags:Ann Romney, Mitt Romney, 2012 presidential election, politics

Peliculas Online

Read More

Penawaran super Songkran agoda.com untuk Tahun Baru Thai!

Agoda.com, situs pemesanan hotel global terkemuka di Asia dan bagian dari Priceline Group yang terdaftar di Nasdaq (Nasdaq: PCLN) hari ini mengumumkan penawaran hotel spesial Songkran untuk turut merayakan perayaan terbesar di Thailand.

Sawasdee bii mai! adalah bahasa Thai untuk “Selamat tahun baru!” dan sesuatu yang akan kerap didengarkan para pelancong yang berkunjung selama tiga hari Songkran ini. Yang akan diadakan dari tanggal 13-15 April, Songkran bukan hanya perayaan terbesar dan terpenting dari negara kerajaan ini tetapi juga sesuatu yang harus dirasakan oleh para pencinta Thailand, setidaknya sekali.

Selama Songkran, banyak orang Thai akan mengunjungi keluarga, berpesta dengan teman-teman dan beramal di kuil setempat mereka. Banyak penduduk Bangkok akan pergi ke luar kota ke kampung halaman mereka, yang menjadikan kota ini sangat sepi dan bebas dari kemacetan selama perayaan ini berlangsung.

Bagi mereka yang familiar dengan Songkran pasti telah tidak asing akan tradisinya yang sangat meriah, yakni permainan air. Sebenarnya aksi ini berasal dari tradisi Buddha yang percaya bahwa percikan air adalah kegiatan untuk memberkati, tetapi kini telah berubah menjadi pertempuran air yang seru.

Di seluruh negara ini, jalan-jalan akan berubah menjadi zona pertempuran air dengan orang-orang yang berpakaian baju Hawai sambil menggunakan meriam air dan ember-ember air es. Bukan hanya itu, orang-orang juga akan mengenakan bubuk kapur ke satu sama lain sebagai tanda pemberkatan yang lebih.

Para pelancong yang berkunjung ke Thailand selama Songkran dapat menikmati pengalaman yang unik. Untuk dapat benar-benar menikmati Songkran, berikut adalah beberapa barang-barang yang dapat dipersiapkan oleh para pelancong sebelumnya.

5 Barang Penting untuk Songkran

1)      Baju Hawaii warna dan corak apa saja. Ini dapat dibeli dari toko-toko di jalan atau supermarket hanya untuk sekitar 79 THB (sekitar IDR 24.000)

2)      Pistol air. Pistol air dalam segala bentuk dan ukuran akan didiskon dari beberapa bulan sebelum Songkran. Meriam air akan memerlukan waktu untuk diisi kembali tetapi ember-ember air akan jauh lebih efektif.

3)      Dompet/kantong telepon plastik. Ketika berada di luar, para pelancong harus membawa uang dan telepon mereka dalam kantongan yang tahan air. Ini dapat dibeli dengan murah dari toko-toko di pasar dan penjaja jalanan hanya untuk sekitar 20 hingga 50 Baht (sekitar IDR 6.000 hingga 15.000)

4)      Sandal. Sepatu tertutup bukan pilihan yang tepat untuk berdiri berjam-jam dengan sejumlah tepung/bubuk dan air di cuaca panas Thailand.

5)      Kamera tahan air. Ini adalah waktu yang paling mengasyikkan dan berisik di Thailand dan Anda tentu harus berfoto! Daripada menyia-nyiakan kamera mahal atau telepon Anda, beli saja kamera sekali pakai dari 7-Eleven maupun supermarket.

Tempat untuk bermain air

Jalan Khao San (Khao San Road) di Bangkok. Hanya dengan memasuki kawasan Khao San Road Anda telah dapat merasakan adrenalin seru di kota ini. Pesta di sini dimulai sangat awal setiap hari hingga subuh.Di Chiang Mai di sekitar parit-parit dan gerbang-gerbang Kota Tua (Old City). Chiang Mai adalah salah satu destinasi terpopuler di Thailand selama masa Songkran dengan sejumlah parade dan aktivitas beramal.Pattaya. Songkran dimulai lebih terlambat di Pattaya dengan permainan air yang akan berlangsung hingga 19 April tahun ini. Hanya mereka para antusias permainan air yang harus mengunjungi Pattaya selama periode ini.Phuket. Pantai Patong adalah pusat permainan air di Phuket dengan kemacetan padat karena para pemuda akan menyemburkan air dari truk ke para pejalan kaki.Pai di provinsi Mae Hong Son – Walking Street di sini menawarkan suasana Songkran yang lebih tenang. Pai juga merupakan salah satu bagian paling indah negara ini dan juga tempat retret pilihan para backpackers dan pelancong ramah lingkungan.

Penawaran Hotel Songkran agoda.com

Bangkok

Ramada Plaza Menam Riverside Hotel, Bangkok – bintang 5 – Diskon 57.23%!
Mulai dari IDR 857.000 per malam. Berlaku dari 10 hingga 17 April, 2012.

Centre Point Langsuan – bintang 4 – Diskon 30%!

Mulai dari IDR 556.000 per malam. Berlaku dari sekarang hingga 30 April 2012.

Anantara Bangkok Sathorn – bintang 5 – Diskon 30%!
Mulai dari IDR 820.000 per malam. Berlaku dari sekarang hingga 12 Desember 2012.

Golden Tulip Mandison Suite – bintang 4 – Diskon 41.55%!
Mulai dari IDR 520.000 per malam. Berlaku dari sekarang hingga 12 Juni 2012.

Chiang Mai

Dusit D2 Chiang Mai Hotel – bintang 4 – Diskon 25%!
Mulai dari IDR 957.000 per malam. Penginapan minimal 2 malam. Berlaku dari 1 April hingga 26 Oktober 2012.

Yantarasri Resort – bintang 4 – Diskon 10%!

Mulai dari IDR 556.000 per malam. Berlaku dari 1 April hingga 31 Oktober 2012.

Kodchasri Thani Hotel – bintang 4 – Diskon 27%!
Mulai dari IDR 848.000 per malam. Tarif early bird – pemesanan minimal 10 hari sebelumnya. Berlaku dari 1 April hingga 30 April 2012.

Lotus Pang Suan Kaew Hotel – bintang 3 – Diskon 30%!
Mulai dari IDR 319.000 per malam. Penginapan minimal 3 malam. Berlaku dari 1 April hingga 30 Juni 2012.

Pai

Payi Resort – bintang 3.5 – Diskon 25%!
Mulai dari IDR 155.000 per malam. Berlaku dari 1 Maret hingga 30 September 2012.

Paiviengfah Resort – bintang 4 – Diskon 50%!
Mulai dari IDR 228.000 per malam. Berlaku dari 1 Maret – 30 Juni 2012.

Baan Suan Rim Pai Hotel – bintang 3 – Diskon 50%!
Mulai dari IDR 210.000 per malam. Berlaku dari sekarang hingga 31 Mei 2012.

Baan Kungkang De Pai Resort – bintang 3.5 – Diskon THB 601!
Mulai dari IDR 228.000 per malam. Berlaku dari 1 Maret hingga 30 September 2012.

Pattaya

Miracle Suite – bintang 4 – Diskon 40%!
Mulai dari IDR 547.000 per malam. Berlaku dari 1 April hingga 30 September 2012.

Furama Jomtien Beach Hotel – bintang 4 – Diskon 30%! 

Mulai dari IDR 565.000 per malam. Berlaku dari 1 April hingga 31 Oktober 2012.

V8 Seaview Hotel – bintang 3
Mulai dari IDR 501.000 per malam. Berlaku dari sekarang hingga 30 Juni 2012

Mike Hotel – bintang 2.5 – Diskon 17%!
Mulai dari IDR 246.000 per malam. Berlaku dari sekarang hingga 31 Oktober 2012.

Phuket

Palmyra Patong Resort – bintang 4 – Diskon 50%!
Mulai dari IDR 720.000 per malam. Berlaku dari sekarang hingga 31 Oktober 2012.  Tarif tanpa pengembalian.

Baan Laimai Beach Resort – bintang 4 – Diskon 50%!
Mulai dari IDR 729.000 per malam. Berlaku dari sekarang hingga 30 April 2012. Tarif tanpa pengembalian.

Phuket Orchid Resort – bintang 3 – Diskon 30%!
Mulai dari IDR 601.000 per malam. Berlaku dari sekarang hingga 30 April 2012. Tarif tanpa pengembalian.

Pimnara Boutique Hotel – bintang 4 – Diskon 50%!

Mulai dari IDR 847.000 per malam. Berlaku dari sekarang hingga 30 April 2012. Tarif tanpa pengembalian.

Peliculas Online

Read More

Advertisement:

The likely cause for this is that your browser, feed reader, or email application is configured to not accept cookies, or your reader may launch an external browser to view links without sharing cookies.

If you're using Internet Explorer, make sure your privacy setting is at medium or below. Select 'Internet Options' from the 'Tools' menu in your browser windowClick the Privacy tabAdjust your privacy setting if necessary
If you're using a reader that embeds Internet Explorer (examples: Microsoft Outlook, Outlook Express, Feed Demon), you'll also need to select Internet Explorer as your default web browser. Open Internet ExplorerSelect 'Internet Options' from the 'Tools' menu in your browser windowClick the 'Programs' tab and check the box for Internet Explorer to check if it is the default browser and save your changeClose your browser, re-open it, and when prompted, select Internet Explorer as your defaultYou can then click on an ad in your newsletter and visit the site you wish to view

Peliculas Online

Read More

5 Resume Statements That Prove You're Fit For the Job

Determining how to communicate your value in a resume and prove that you are an employer's bottom-line solution can often cause anxiety.

While it's critical to focus on measurable achievements, your resume should also look beyond numbers and relate soft skills that you've applied to projects and interactions. These soft skills directly tie into your emotional fitness, and ultimately, demonstrate your cultural fit with your target employer.

Proving emotional fitness means you show your resilience and strength in areas that often directly impact business, including:

1. Shifting unwavering opinions

2. Uniting disparate groups

3. Pacifying unhappy clients

4. Conveying enthusiasm; motivating others

5. Navigating treacherous business seas

The following are examples of what you'd write on a resume to knit threads of emotional nuance and personal culture with a bottom line, to convince an employer you're the best fit for the job.

Example 1: Demonstrating an ability to shift unwavering opinions:

"Opened door to new market vertical, leading to more than $20M in new business. Won over adamantly uninterested hospital department head in first meeting after quickly 'getting a read' on corporate and personal challenges." 

Note: The second sentence focuses on soft skills in "getting a read" on the department head's challenge, and this ability ultimately supported the $20M result. 

Example 2: Showing aptitude in bringing together disparate groups:

"Invoked vision, leadership and change agent skills to coalesce 15 disparate regionally focused purchasing teams into global procurement entity managing $15M+ of annual spend."

Note: Describing soft skills in vision, leadership, and change agency better demonstrates the candidate's capabilities. 

Example 3: Illustrating skill for satisfying unhappy clients:

"Slashed customer cancellations 35%: Weighted down with a 70% membership cancellation rate within first week, orchestrated sales training and ongoing development, with 1-week training curriculum and scripting; developed employee mentoring program; and designed on-boarding from hire date through to first 90 days of employment." 

Note: Soft skills were implied by describing a practical, pragmatic, and multi-pronged response to being "weighted down" with a hefty member cancellation rate (versus this candidate simply folding under the pressure).

Example 4: Painting a picture of enthusiasm and imaginative expression that builds confidence in others:

"Conveyed an enthusiasm for teaching that fosters student interest and motivation, compelling children's results beyond self-imposed limitations. An artist since youth, I offer a lifetime of imaginative expression that permeates creative problem solving."

Note: Knitting in descriptive words like "enthusiasm, foster, motivation, imaginative expression" underscores this candidate's obvious soft skills. 

Example 5: Demonstrating an ability to navigate stress:

"Unleashed $75M in savings while directing company right sizing and cost reduction initiative, following capital market collapse and subsequent global recession (2009, 2010, 2011), paired with changing industry dynamics including healthcare arena uncertainty. 

Made and enforced difficult decisions regarding rightsizing and terminations, including engaging in multiple, intense conversations with key staff members regarding the necessity to take action for the betterment of the organization."

Note: The bullet showcases this candidate's emotional fitness to not only make, but enforce tough decisions during a difficult period of company reorganization; describing intense conversations further reinforces this candidate's emotional strength in being willing to deal squarely with tough, and necessary, interactions.

By weaving emotional fitness threads into the fabric of your resume, you will ensure employers receive a three-dimensional view of your character and how it influences your performance results. This melding of personality and culture fit with skill and performance will further ensure that you and the company you're courting are on the same page. 

Jacqui Barrett-Poindexter is a Glassdoor career and workplace expert, chief career writer and partner with CareerTrend, and is one of only 28 Master Resume Writers (MRW) globally. Jacqui and her husband, "Sailor Rob," host a lively careers-focused blog at http://careertrend.net/blog. Jacqui is a power Twitter user (@ValueIntoWords), listed on several “Best People to Follow” lists for job seekers.

Peliculas Online

Read More

Heidi Klum Goes Nude for Cover Shoot

Norman Jean Roy/Allure

Heidi Klum is baring it all in a cover shoot for Allure magazine’s May issue.

Klum, a mother of four, said she had no issue with posing nude.

“I think you just have to be comfortable in your skin,” said the 38-year old.  “But I’m a nudist in any case, I’ve never had a problem with my body and I don’t really care what people think.”

She told the magazine she has never had any cosmetic surgery.

“Ask me again when I’m 65, but I’m proud to be able to say, in this day and age, I haven’t doesn’t anything,” she said.  “Everyone has a view of what’s pretty and what’s not pretty, and [surgery] just doesn’t look pretty to me.”

She discusses Seal, her husband of seven years from whom she just filed for divorce.

“If I had to go back in time and say, ‘I could have changed this or that…’ No. I don’t resent anything that ever happened,” she said. “Things just turn out the way they turn out.”

She also discusses her years before becoming a Victoria’s Secret model, saying she did not model in fashion shows and was rejected by her Project Runway co-host Michael Kors in her 20s.

The issue will be available April 24.

Peliculas Online

Read More

Obama Raises $53M for Campaign in March

By KEN THOMAS, Associated Press

WASHINGTON (AP) — President Barack Obama raised a combined $53 million for his campaign, the Democratic Party and other campaign funds in March, his campaign said Monday as it prepared to face Mitt Romney and a rejuvenated GOP in the general election.

Obama has collected nearly $350 million since the start of the campaign last year, representing a boost in campaign cash compared with recent months. He has raised about $127 million for his campaign, the Democratic National Committee and other campaign funds since the beginning of 2012.

Obama has entered a new phase in which he faces a direct challenge from Romney, who has begun raising money jointly with the Republican National Committee to overcome the president's fundraising edge. The RNC raised $13.7 million in March, its best month of the election cycle and has $32.7 million in cash.

[Read: Five Economic Mistakes Obama is Making.]

Romney had raised about $75 million through the end of February and ended the month with about $7.2 million in the bank. His campaign was expected to announce fundraising totals for March this week.

Obama's campaign had $84.7 million in cash-on-hand through the end of February and was expected to detail its cash position in an upcoming report with the Federal Election Commission.

Obama's campaign team has tried to generate a sense of urgency, telling donors they need to get involved because of Republican-leaning super PACs aiming to raise hundreds of millions of dollars to defeat the president."We're all going to have to dig even deeper, work even harder, move even faster," said Obama campaign manager Jim Messina in a video released Monday outlining the fundraising totals. "It's going to take all of us working together."

[Read: Obama Campaign Ready for a 'Ramping Up' On Romney.]

RNC spokeswoman Kirsten Kukowski said Obama "cannot run on his record and is simply offering shiny objects to distract from his failure to bring hope and change to Americans as he promised."

The president has ramped up his fundraising pace in 2012, collecting about $29 million in January and $45 million in February. But Republicans note that Obama's fundraising efforts this year are slightly behind the $136 million his campaign raised during the first three months of 2008 when he didn't have the party's fundraising apparatus at his disposal.

Obama's campaign said earlier this year that it would bless big-money super PACs supporting Democrats as a way of countering the Republican effort. The Democratic outside groups have struggled to raise money compared to their GOP-leaning counterparts, raising concerns among party activists.

___

Follow Ken Thomas on Twitter: http://www.twitter.com/AP_Ken_Thomas

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

Peliculas Online

Read More

GSA Heads Slammed During Congressional Hearing

As if there wasn't enough outrage at the more than $840,000 the General Services Administration forked over for an circus-like conference. Ohio Rep. Michael Turner pointed out Monday during a House Oversight Committee hearing that many of the trinkets guests walked away from the Las Vegas conference with weren't even made in the United States.

"This is one of those examples of spending under your leadership," Turner said firmly, holding up a vest for former GSA administrator Martha Johnson to see. "All of these items are being purchased and made in China, so we are stimulating China, not the United States."

Many of the conference's extras were outsourced, from the blackajack-themed vests adorned with the conference logo that cost more than $1,000 to a bag with the conference insignia.

Compared to past gatherings, the GSA Western Regional conference reached a historic level of excess in 2010. In 2004, the conference cost taxpayers just over $400,000. In 2006, the cost actually decreased to nearly $324,000. Even the 2008 conference, where the GSA spent double from the year before, paled in comparison to 2010 spending.

"Thank God this time what happened in Vegas didn't stay in Vegas," Pennsylvania Rep. Mike Kelly said.

Johnson, who resigned in light of the scandal, appeared remorseful at the hearing, apologizing for what transpired on her watch.

"I personally apologize to the American people," Johnson said. "As the head of the agency, I am responsible and deeply regret this. I will mourn for the rest of my life the loss of my appointment."

Not all were as cooperative.

Jeff Neely, the pacific rim's regional commissioner for GSA and the man who allegedly approved the spending, pleaded the Fifth and refused to answer questions from the committee.

Maryland Rep. Elijah Cummings, however, read several incriminating E-mails Neely sent to friends who were not GSA employees, inviting them to the conference. "We'll get you guys a room near us, and we'll pick up the room tab," Neely wrote. "I know I am bad, but as I often say 'Why not enjoy it while you have it...Ain't going to last forever.'"

Brian Miller, the GSA's inspector general, testified that many of Neely's employees had declined to alert authorities about their boss's excessive spending earlier for fear of "being squashed like a bug."

"We had a witness that was extremely afraid," Miller says. "That witness was extremely afraid that even in her new job, she would face retaliation."

Many of the congressmen also grilled Johnson about why, even after she was aware of Neely's involvement in the scandal, she had approved a $9,000 bonus.

"There is frustration just steaming out of our ears," Utah Rep. Jason Chaffetz said. "And for the President of the United States to look the American people in the eye and say 'Well, we've got a pay freeze in place,' while you're giving bonuses and going on trips is totally unacceptable."

Peliculas Online

Read More

6 Surprising Ways to Boost Your Credit Score

Your credit score is an all-powerful number, capable of determining whether you get that new loan, car, or apartment. Banks use your credit score to determine your credit risk—the higher the score, the lower the risk and the more appealing you look on paper, which can give you better interest rates on loans. Even job applicants can have their credit scores pulled by employers, as a means of determining if they'll be a risky hire for the company.

And now it is arguably more important to have a great credit score, since banks have been forced to write off record levels of credit card debt and are requiring borrowers to have higher credit scores. "Because of the recession, a lot of issuers are closely scrutinizing your credit score," says Bill Hardekopf, a credit expert from LowCards.com. Now, a FICO score in the mid- to high-700s is considered a great credit score, according to Hardekopf.

To land yourself in that credit-friendly range, consider these six surprising ways to boost your credit score:

Vet your credit report for errors. It may sound hard to believe, but Hardekopf says one way errors make their way onto your credit report is when someone else shares the same name as you and the credit-reporting companies mix up your activity. More likely, identity theft has taken place, in which case your credit report's payment history—which Anthony Sprauve of FICO says accounts for 35 percent of your credit score—will be chock-full of errors. So you'll want to check to make sure you're actually the one responsible for all of the things appearing on your credit report. If you're not, contact the credit-reporting agency to correct the errors. At annualcreditreport.com, you can get a free copy of your credit report from each of the three credit bureaus: Equifax, Experian, and TransUnion. Beverly Harzog, Credit.com's credit expert, suggests spacing out your free copies so you receive one every four months and can check for identity theft or clerical errors throughout the year.

Don't take out too many cards. To keep your credit score high, limit the number of credit cards you apply for within a short period of time. "Every time you apply for new credit, that application shows up on your credit report, so you'll shoot yourself in the foot if you apply for a number of credit cards hoping to get one," Hardekopf says. The more cards you apply for, the more likely you are to be seen as a "credit seeker," a less-than-desirable label for someone who wants to maintain good credit. "You don't want to apply for credit that you don't need," adds Liz Weston, author of Your Credit Score.

The less debt, the better. A lot of credit card users think they have to carry debt on their credit cards to have a good credit score, which is not true, Weston says. "There's this idea that there's a hard-and-fast line of how much credit you should be using," she says. "The reality is, the less credit you use, the better." Ideally, you want to use less than 10 percent of your credit limit. If you use a lot of credit each month and are paying your bill in full, Weston says you may still be hurting your credit score. The balance that is reported to the credit bureaus is from whatever day the bank chooses, so it might be on a day that you're close to your credit limit. That's why making more than one payment each month will benefit your credit score, says Harzog.

Don't wait to pay off your bill all at once. You don't have to wait until the first of the month, or whenever your credit card is due, to make payments. You can make little payments throughout the month—micropayments—which will help lower your debt quicker. Such small payments help your credit score because they lower your debt utilization ratio, which accounts for 30 percent of your credit score, according to Sprauve. That ratio is how much debt you've accumulated on your credit cards divided by the credit limit on the sum of your credit cards. "You want to keep that at around a third, or 33 percent," Hardekopf recommends.

Peliculas Online

Read More

Zimmerman Asks for New Judge

The neighborhood watch volunteer charged with killing an unarmed black teenager in Florida asked a judge in the case to step down Monday after she revealed a potential conflict of interest.

George Zimmerman's attorney, Mark O'Mara, filed the request and said Circuit Judge Jessica Recksiedler revealed the potential conflict last week.

Zimmerman was charged last week with second-degree murder in Trayvon Martin's Feb. 26 death. The lack of an arrest in the shooting inspired weeks of protests nationwide.

Zimmerman is pleading not guilty, saying it was self-defense.

Recksiedler's potential conflict involves her husband, who works with attorney Mark NeJame. Zimmerman's family first approached NeJame about representing Zimmerman. He declined and referred them to O'Mara.

Also Monday, Florida's governor rejected any suggestions that charges were filed in the case because of public pressure. Rick Scott said he doesn't believe special prosecutor Angela Corey is influenced by anything but the facts.

News organizations in Florida, including The Associated Press, are challenging the sealing of records related to the case against Zimmerman.

O'Mara asked for the records to be sealed last week.

Records such as full police reports, autopsy reports and transcripts of witness interviews are normally public under Florida law. Zimmerman's case doesn't meet the standards that are typically used to create an exemption, according to the motion filed by the news organizations.

Those standards allow the sealing of records if their public release would create an imminent threat to the administration of justice, if there are no alternatives for protecting a defendant's right to a fair trial and if closing the records protects the rights of the person being tried.

A spokeswoman for Corey said her office was reviewing the media motion but had no immediate comment. O'Mara didn't immediately return an email seeking comment on Monday.

Hearings for the requests by O'Mara and the news organizations have not immediately been scheduled. If a new judge is assigned to the case, Zimmerman's bail hearing — originally scheduled for Friday — could be pushed back.

Peliculas Online

Read More

Feds Find 16 Crashes, 5 Injuries in BMW Probe

DETROIT (AP) — U.S. safety regulators have found 16 crashes and five injuries in an eight-month investigation of transmission control problems with BMW 7-Series luxury cars.

The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration began the probe in August and has now upgraded it to an engineering analysis, which is a step closer to a recall. However the cars have not been recalled.

The investigation covers nearly 122,000 BMWs from the 2002 through 2008 model years.

[Read: BMW Recalls 9,200 Cars Over Pump Problem.]

The cars have push-button start and electronic transmission controls. In some cases the owners may think the cars are in park when they actually are in neutral. The safety agency said in documents on its website Monday that the cars can roll away unexpectedly and crash.

BMW is cooperating in the investigation, spokesman Dave Buchko said Monday in an e-mail.

NHTSA said in the documents that BMW and investigators have received 50 complaints about the problem.

In one case, the driver of a 2002 745LI told NHTSA that the car was parked at a day-care center north of Atlanta when it rolled about 40 yards and crashed into a parking lot embankment on March 29, 2010. No one was hurt.

[Read: US News & World Report Best Car Rankings]

In another complaint, a driver reported that he parked his 2006 750 model BMW on Feb. 21, 2007, and it was supposed to automatically shift to park when he touched the stop-start button to turn off the car. Instead, after the driver left the car, it rolled backward about 100 feet and crashed into a lamppost, the driver told NHTSA. No one was injured. He did not set the parking brake.

"The dealer stated they are unable to diagnose the failure," the man told NHTSA.

Federal safety regulators do not release the names of people who file complaints.

NHTSA said it upgraded the investigation to an engineering analysis "to further assess the potential safety consequences of the alleged defect."

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

Peliculas Online

Read More

Polo Tycoon's Lawyers Want New Trial

Attorneys for convicted polo tycoon John Goodman filed a motion today for a new trial based on alleged juror misconduct, according to documents obtained by ABC News.

An alternate juror reported the alleged instances of misconduct to Goodman's lawyers, saying "it was clear" to her the jurors had made up their minds before the end of the trial.

A Florida jury found Goodman guilty of DUI manslaughter and vehicular homicide in March. He could face up to 30 years in prison when sentenced April 30.

Goodman's Bentley slammed into Scott Wilson's Hyundai and sent it into a nearby canal in Wellington, Fla., in February 2010. Wilson, a 23-year-old engineering graduate, was strapped into the driver's seat and drowned.

The multi-millionaire founder of the International Polo Club Palm Beach claimed his $200,000 car malfunctioned and lurched forward. He has also denied being drunk at the time of the crash that killed Wilson, although other testimony has contradicted him and his blood alcohol level was more than twice the legal limit three hours after the crash.

The motion, filed today in a Palm Beach County court, asks for a new trial or for Goodman's convictions to be overturned.

"The defendant bases these requests on several strains of jury misconduct that were recently reported to counsel, unsolicited, by an alternate juror," according to the motion.

The defense claims that jurors "repeatedly disobeyed their oaths and instructions from the court" in several ways, including by discussing evidence before the end of the case, by making derogatory comments about Goodman's wealth throughout the trial, and by ignoring instructions about not reading media coverage of the case.

The defense also alleges that two jurors made false statements in order to cover up a juror's "prejudicial gesture" and that the same juror improperly began writing a book about the case during the trial.

It was allegedly an alternate juror that called the court at the end of March, "wishing to report the various forms of misconduct she had witnessed during the trial," the motion said.

When the court did not respond, the motion stated, the alternate juror called the office of Goodman's attorneys and told them of the alleged misconduct.

The alternate juror said that even though the six-person jury, comprised of five men and one woman, were told not to discuss the case among themselves until the end of the trial, they did so "throughout the trial."

"We all had things to say about the trial as it progressed each day," the juror said in an affidavit. "On one occasion I reminded the jury that we had been instructed by the court not to discuss the case until the end. In reply, I was teased by being asked by another juror if I had a crush on Mr. Goodman."

The juror said that member of the jury would often mention Goodman's wealth.

"Most conversations about money was in the context of Mr. Goodman probably being guilty, but getting away with it because he has a lot of money. Although no one specifically used the word 'guilty,'" the juror said.

Before the end of the trial, the juror claimed, some jurors were saying they had to finish the case by Friday, March 23, because they did not want to go into the following week and one had a boating trip planned for the weekend.

"Based on the negative talk about Mr. Goodman's wealth and the issues discussed about the case, it was clear to me that these jurors had already made up their minds before Thursday, March 22," the juror stated in her affidavit.

The jurors signaled they had a verdict on Friday, March 23 after 5.5 hours of deliberation.

Defense attorney Roy Black's office said they have no comment at this time: "The motion speaks for itself."

Goodman has already settled a civil suit over the crash after adopting his 42-year-old girlfriend to help protect his estate.

Peliculas Online

Read More

London Book Fair's Focus on China Irks Activists

By JILL LAWLESS, Associated Press

LONDON (AP) — Britain's biggest book fair opened Monday amid criticism of its decision to extend a special invitation to China, a country that regularly censors and imprisons authors.

A lone protester demonstrated outside the "China Market Focus" section of the fair Monday morning, holding a picture of imprisoned Nobel peace laureate Liu Xiaobo and a sign saying "stop literary persecution." Writers and anti-censorship groups also have criticized the decision to invite an officially sanctioned slate of Chinese writers to the fair.

"We're disappointed that the full breadth and depth of Chinese literature is not represented at the book fair," said Robert Sharp of the free-speech group English PEN.

[Read: J.K. Rowling's Next Book: 'The Casual Vacancy.']

The three-day book fair features seminars on Chinese literature and readings from about 20 Chinese authors, and is being attended by more than 180 Chinese publishers.

The invited authors, who include internationally known writers such as Bi Feiyu and Mo Yan and best-selling young novelist Annie Baobei, were chosen by the British Council in collaboration with China's General Administration of Press and Publications, the agency that regulates printed media.

Critics say the selection excludes dissident voices such as Gao Xingjian — China's only Nobel literature laureate and a resident of France — and jailed writer and political activist Liu, who won the 2010 Nobel Peace Prize.

Writer Ma Jian, who lives in Britain, said the fair was "giving tacit approval to China's suppression of free speech."

"The fair is giving the Communist party a stage on which to perform its propaganda show," he told The Guardian newspaper.

[Read: Ken vs. Boris in Race to be London's Olympic Mayor.]

The Frankfurt Book Fair, the world's largest publishing trade show, faced similar criticism when it made China its special guest in 2009.

London Book Fair organizers say Chinese writers not on the official list, including exiles, will attend the fair outside the official China Focus slate.

Fair director Alistair Burtenshaw and British Council literature chief Susie Nickin defended the China program as "a great opportunity to deepen understanding and strengthen cultural and business links between the U.K. and China."

They said the British Council was promoting events with a wider slate of Chinese writers around the country.

"Censorship and human rights are expected to feature prominently in all the discussions and debates. These are key issues for U.K. audiences," Burtenshaw and Nickin said in a letter published in Monday's Guardian newspaper.

___

Online:

London Book Fair: http://www.londonbookfair.co.uk

English PEN: http://www.englishpen.org

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

Peliculas Online

Read More

Roti Ala Kaki Lima Di Istanbul Turki

Bila kita sedang jalan-jalan di kota Istanbul Turki, kita akan sering melihat pedagang roti kaki lima, yang mereka berjualan dengan gerobak dorong. Roti-roti yang dijual bentuknya bulat dan bolong ditengahnya (bentuknya seperti donat), namun ukuran rotinya cukup besar. Roti-roti itu seperti menggoda untuk dibeli dan kita cicipi.

Kebetulan penulis pas berada di Istanbul Turki, penulis mencoba untuk membeli roti-roti tersebut. Dari bentuk, warnanya membuat ingin cepat-cepat dilahap. Setelah dicoba, hmmm roti ini benar-benar ‘keras!’ hati-hati yang giginya tidak kuat dikawatirkan giginya lepas nempel di rotinya menurut penulis mungkin roti ini akan lebih cocok bila dimakan dengan seduhan kopi/teh agar dikunyahnya menjadi lunak.

Peliculas Online

Read More

Florida Burned Bodies Were Young Men

Two bicyclists out for an early morning ride in Florida made a gruesome discovery when a fire turned out to be two burning bodies. Police have now disclosed that the victims were two young men.

The Orange County Sheriff's Office received a call at 6:41 a.m. on Sunday about a fire that had been spotted on Cady Way Trail on a grassy hill beside a small wooden bridge. The trail is often used by bicyclists and walkers.

"The caller(s) were using the trail when they came upon the fire and the realization that it could be two bodies within the flames," the sheriff's office said in a news release.

Firefighters and sheriff's deputies responded to the scene and confirmed that two bodies were being burned.

Authorities are classifying the incident as a double homicide. Orange County Sheriff's Capt. Angelo Nieves said the victims were "two young males," but said that no positive identification has been made yet.

Authorities also discovered a small fire that was extinguished outside a nearby apartment complex and believe that the two fires are related.

"Based on evidence, they believe it to be associated with the crime," Nieves said, but he could not provide any details as to how authorities believe the fires are related.

Investigators are asking that anyone who has heard anything about the crimes or who may have seen something to call Crimeline at 407-423-TIPS.

"It's a well-traveled area, but at that time of the morning, there's not a lot of activity," Nieves said. "It's still somewhat dark and the area in which the bodies were located was somewhat of a wooded area."

Authorities have no suspects at this time.

A similar incident occurred in California on Sunday. A passerby saw a fire on a sidewalk in Altadena, about 15 miles northeast of Los Angeles, around 6 a.m. When he got closer, he realized the object on fire was a human body, according to ABC News' Los Angeles station KABC.

The victim, a male, was pronounced dead at the scene and autopsy results are pending.

Peliculas Online

Read More

Romney: 'SNL' 'Sounds Like a Lot of Fun'

If the producers of Saturday Night Live want Mitt Romney to appear on their show, he has but one request -- it had better be funny.

In an exclusive interview with ABC's Diane Sawyer, Romney denied he had already been approached to appear on the show, but said he thought a gig on sketch show sounded "like a lot of fun."

Romney said he was still deciding whether to appear SNL, which almost weekly skewers the presumptive GOP nominee.

"I haven't made a decision on that, just heard about it," he told "World News" anchor Diane Sawyer in an exclusive interview today when asked about the show's invite. "Of course it would depend on the nature of the skit. I want it to be funny."

Romney said he enjoys SNL comedian Jason Sudeikis' slick-haired impersonation and even sets his DVR to record it.

"He's very good, Jason's very good," Romney said of the SNL veteran.

Sudeikis has portrayed Romney since last summer, interpreting the former Massachusetts governor as buttoned up and stiff. In one sketch, Romney promises to go "raw and unleashed" and then just opens the button of his suit jacket.

Romney is not opposed to some good natured self mockery. Last December he appeared on "The Late Show with David Letterman," introducing himself during a Top Ten List with the phrase: "What's up, gangstas? It's the M-I-double tizzle."

Romney, known in his family as a practical joker, dodged Sawyer's question as to whether he believed he was funnier than President Obama.

"I have no idea how funny he is in real life," Romney said of the president.

Romney said he honed his sense of humor around the dinner table with his five sons.

"Most of our dinner table events were involving humor of one kind or another, most of which can't be repeated on the air," he said.

Peliculas Online

Read More

Ore Unternehmen erinnert verseuchter Salat inmitten Listerien Sorge

Jack Gruber, USA heute

Ein Salat-Bauernhof in Salinas, Kalifornien.

Leider konnte ich nicht den Inhalt Fromt diese Seite lesen.

Peliculas Online

Read More

Obama delivers Air Force Academy commencement

AppId is over the quota
AppId is over the quota

President Obama is delivering a commencement address today at the Air Force Academy in Colorado Springs, Col.

Peliculas Online

Read More

Unternehmen vorgeworfen der Begünstigung von Wanderarbeitnehmern

AppId is over the quota
AppId is over the quota

A New Jersey company that hires staff for the information technology industry is fighting charges that it fired a receptionist who complained the company favored hiring immigrants over American workers.

The Department of Justice filed a lawsuit late Tuesday on behalf of an unnamed worker who was fired by Whiz International, a Jersey City company that describes itself as offering staffing and information technology services to "small, mid-size and large corporations throughout the globe."

STORY:  States grapple with immigration enforcement

According to the lawsuit, the receptionist was responsible for recruiting potential workers and to maintain a list of applicants that included their nationality and visa status. The suit says she was later told that the company preferred hiring workers on temporary visas because "they would be tied to (Whiz International) and it would be difficult for them to obtain other employment."

The receptionist voiced her discomfort with that screening process, and how it would hurt American workers applying for similar positions -- and the company's response was a termination letter, according to the lawsuit.

"Employers cannot punish employees who try to do the right thing and take reasonable measures to shed light on a practice they believe may be discriminatory," Assistant Attorney General Thomas Perez said in a statement. "Employers must ensure that their practices conform to the anti-discrimination provision of the (Immigration and Nationality Act), and retaliation will not be tolerated."

Whiz International officials did not return requests for comment.

The lawsuit comes as the immigration debate continues raging in Congress, on the presidential campaign trail, and in state capitals and cities across the country.

The number of people immigrating from Mexico halted or actually reversed for the first time in 2010, according to the Pew Hispanic Center. But states like Alabama continue passing tough laws cracking down on illegal immigrants in their states. That has created a legal challenge, with the U.S. Supreme Court expected to rule next month on a battle between Arizona and the Department of Justice over how much states can assist in immigration enforcement.

Peliculas Online

Read More

Arizona offizielle führt über die Obama Berechtigung

Ende ein kleines Drama: Arizona Staatssekretär Ken Bennett sagte gestern, dass er seine Drohung, Präsident Obama Namen aus der allgemeinen Wahlen Abstimmung über Bedenken über die Echtheit der Obama der Geburtsurkunde aufzugeben ist.

The Arizona Republic berichtet, dass Bennett kündigte er "Informationen aus Hawaii, die beweist, US-amerikanischer Präsident Obama Geburt und Arizonas Anforderungen für haben der Präsident auf die bevorstehende Wahl Wahlgang erhalten hatte."

Bennett hatte einen Feuersturm letzte Woche begann, als er sagte, dass er Obama die Namen aus den Präsidentschaftswahlen Stimmzettel halten könnte, sofern Hawaii Beweis seiner Geburt gibt. Bennett, ein Republikaner, sagte, er ist kein "Birther" aber war nur Antworten auf die Fragen der Arizona-Bewohner, die Zweifel an der Obama Bürgerschaft ausgelöst hatte.

In einem Radio interview Dienstag, Bennett erzählte Bahnhof KTAR, "Wenn ich den Zustand peinlich, ich entschuldige mich." Er sagte, er wollte nie Obama der Geburt in Frage aber, "Ich sehe nichts falsch mit etwas zu überprüfen, damit möglichst viele Arizonas möglichst sicher sein, die die Menschen, die auf dem Stimmzettel erscheinen vorhanden sein können."

Im vergangenen April veröffentlicht Obama die lange Form der seine Geburtsurkunde Hawaii. Aber Arizona Maricopa County Sheriff Joe Arpaio--, die mit der Verwaltung über Immigration Enforcement verheiratet hat--verbrachte sechs Monate untersucht Obama die Geburtsurkunde und behauptet, dass es geschmiedet wurde.

Peliculas Online

Read More

Obama again struggles in southern primaries

AppId is over the quota
AppId is over the quota

Two more southern primaries, two more eyebrow-raising performances by President Obama.

Obama carried only 58% of the vote in yesterday's Kentucky Democratic primary -- against 42% for "uncommitted" delegates to the national convention; "uncommitted" actually outpolled the president in 67 of Kentucky's 120 counties.

Obama also carried 58% in the Arkansas primary; little-known Tennessee lawyer and Occupy Wall Street supporter John Wolfe won 42% of the vote against the Democratic president in Arkansas.

Two weeks ago, a federal prisoner in Texas named Keith Judd racked up 41% of the vote against Obama in the West Virginia primary.

Of course, there are reasons for these kinds of returns. Few Democrats are voting in these primaries where Obama faces only token opposition; only protest voters are truly motivated.

There's also the fact that Obama is an underdog to Republican candidate Mitt Romney in the states of Kentucky, Arkansas and West Virginia; Obama lost all three in 2008 to John McCain.

Another potential factor: Race.

The Washington Post reports:

One easy explanation -- and the one regularly espoused by some Democrats -- for Obama's struggles in Appalachia and portions of the South is simply that some white voters will not vote for an African American for president.

But although no one doubts that race may be a factor, exit polling suggests that the opposition to Obama goes beyond it.

And seasoned political observers who have studied the politics of these areas say race may be less of a problem for Obama than the broader cultural disconnect that many of these voters feel with the Democratic Party.

"Race is definitely a factor for some Texans but not the majority," said former congressman Charles W. Stenholm (D-Tex.). "The most significant factor is the perception/reality that the Obama administration has leaned toward the ultra-left viewpoint on almost all issues."

Peliculas Online

Read More

Officials: 2 foreign doctors, 3 Afghans abducted

AppId is over the quota
KABUL, Afghanistan (AP) – zwei ausländische Ärzte und ihre drei afghanischen Kollegen haben in einem abgelegenen Gebiet im extremen Nordosten Afghanistan entführt worden, sagte Beamten Mittwoch.

Abdul Maroof Rasikh, der Sprecher des Gouverneurs der Provinz Badachschan, sagte, dass es unklar war, wer die fünf entführt.

Er sagte, dass die Entführung am Dienstag aufgetreten, als die Gruppe auf dem Pferd, zwischen Yaftal und Ragh Bezirke ungefähr 90 Kilometer (56 Meilen unterwegs war) von der Provinzhauptstadt Faizabad.

Er sagt, dass die fünf durch eine gemeinnützige humanitäre Organisation beschäftigt waren. Weder der Name der Organisation die Identität der fünf entführt wurden veröffentlicht. Stellvertretender Gouverneur Shams Ul Rahman Shams bestätigt auch die Entführung.

Inzwischen, sagte der afghanischen Geheimdienst, dass fünf Aufständischen festgenommen Mittwoch bevor sie einem Selbstmordanschlag an einer Hauptstraße gelegene, zum internationalen Flughafen der Hauptstadt durchgeführt.

Die Möchtegern-Bomber wurden in einem Minivan mit 560 Kilogramm (1.235 Pfund) von Explosivstoffen geladen, wenn sie kurz nach Mittag an einem Checkpoint die National Directorate gestoppt wurden of Security sagte in einer Erklärung. Er sagte, dass es auf der Spitze gehandelt hätte, die ein Angriff in Kabul durchgeführt werden kann.

Der Geheimdienst sagte, dass der vereitelten Angriff als Protest gegen einen NATO-Gipfel in Chicago letzte Woche gemeint war, die die Zukunft Afghanistans diskutiert. Auf dem Gipfel von den Vereinigten Staaten und ihren NATO-Verbündeten voraus geschmiedet mit Pläne schließen den weitgehend stalemated Konflikt und Kampftruppen bis Ende 2014 abheben.

"Die Feinde des Friedens von Frieden und Stabilität in Afghanistan hatte einen Plan reagieren auf die Entscheidungen der Chicago Konferenz und einem Selbstmordanschlag auf der Flughafen-Straße durchzuführen, aber bevor der Vorfall stattgefunden hat die NDS war in der Lage, sie zu verhaften" die Anweisung von der National Directorate of Security sagte.

Auch berichtet Mittwoch, Ärzte in der nördlichen Provinz Takhar, was sie als Fall von Massenhysterie auf eine Mädchenschule in der Provinzhauptstadt Taluqan beschrieben. Sie sagten, dass 125 Studenten gebracht wurden, um die wichtigsten Krankenhaus beschweren sich, dass sie krank waren, während eine kleine Zahl wurde Erbrechen. Alle waren nur fünf, entlassen, die nicht krank waren, sondern für Beobachtung gehalten wurden.

"Wir konnten nicht finden Vergiftung, wir konnten nichts in das Wasser oder Lebensmittel oder Luft nicht finden. Wir denken, dass jemand krank fühlte und es Massenhysterie verursacht. Jeder begann zu schreien und herumlaufen,"sagte Habib Ullah Rustaqi, Direktor der Abteilung Gesundheit Takhar.

Takhar der stellvertretende Gouverneur, Farid Zaki, sagte, dass die lokalen Behörden nicht herausfinden konnte, was die Panik Schreibweise. "Wir konnten nicht alles finden," sagte er.

Copyright 2012 der Associated Press. Alle Rechte vorbehalten. Dieses Material kann nicht veröffentlicht, gesendet, umgeschrieben oder weiterverteilt.Besuchen Sie für weitere Informationen über Nachdrucke & Berechtigungen unsere FAQ's. Um Korrekturen und Klarstellungen zu melden, wenden Sie sich an Standards Editor Brent Jones. Senden Sie für die Prüfung der Veröffentlichung in der Zeitung Kommentare an letters@usatoday.com. Gehören Sie Name, Telefonnummer, Stadt und Staat zur Überprüfung. Um unsere Korrekturen anzuzeigen, gehen Sie zu corrections.usatoday.com.

Peliculas Online

Read More

KY, Arche Vorwahlen push Romney gegenüber unvermeidlich Nominierung

AppId is over the quota
Dienstag der Präsidentschaftswahlen Vorwahlen in Kentucky und Arkansas war eine wichtige Funktion: um sicherzustellen, dass Mitt Romney die Delegierten Lock-up-kann er die Nominierung zu sichern, wenn Texas nächste Woche stimmen muss.

Von Carlos Osorio, AP

Republikanische Präsidentschaftskandidat spricht Mitt Romney in Lansing, Michigan, am 8. Mai.

Von Carlos Osorio, AP

Republikanische Präsidentschaftskandidat spricht Mitt Romney in Lansing, Michigan, am 8. Mai.

Unterwegs in Tuesday der Vorwahlen, war Romney 152 Delegierten hinter der 1.144 erforderlich, um die Nominierung zu sichern. Er fegte, Kentucky und Arkansas, mindestens 73 der 75 Delegierten aus den zwei Staaten verlassen Texas und seine 155 Delegierte auf dem Spiel, den ehemaligen Gouverneur von Massachusetts über die Ziellinie schieben 29. Mai gewinnen.

Charlie Black, ein veteran GOP Strategist, sagte erreicht 1.144 Abbildung lediglich zeremonielle an dieser Stelle.

"Gouverneur Romney gewann überall, dass er und sicherte sich die Nominierung auf halbem Weg durch den Kalender," sagte schwarz. "Er anmutig, mit keine Prellungen, entstanden und hat vereinheitlicht die Basis hinter seine Kandidatur bereits 90 % der Stimmen GOP erhalten."

Senator John McCain, R -Arizona, die Nominierung im März 2008 gesichert, aber viel ein anderes primäres Kalenders konfrontiert.

"Gouverneur Romney stärker und mehr getesteter durch diese primäre Saison jeder Kandidat-des-Monats standhalten, die seinen Weg, kam schon gekommen", sagte Mike DuHaime, als Wahlkampfmanager für ehemalige New York Bürgermeister Rudy Giuliani Präsidentschaftswahlkampf 2008.

DuHaime verwies auf Romney die steigenden Zahlen in mehreren jüngsten Umfragen als weiteren Beweis, dass die primäre ihn nur mehr gewaltige nominiert gemacht hatte.

Eine aktuelle USA heute / Gallup-Umfrage zeigte Romney mit einer Favorability von 50 % bis 39 % im Februar ein Zeichen, dass die Republikaner Coalesed um ihre Nominierung haben.

Das Republican National Committee begann ein gemeinsames Fundraising-Bemühungen mit der Romney-Kampagne letzten Monat. Die beiden Entitäten ausgelöst von 40 Millionen $ im April, entsprechend der neuesten Anmeldungen mit der Federal Election Commission.

"Das einzige, was sie besorgt sein müssten Ron Paul," sagte ehemaligen RNC Vorsitzender Michael Steele. "Ein großer Teil davon wird ermittelt werden, von wie gut Ron Paul von Romney Menschen behandelt wird."

Letzte Woche, Rep Ron Paul Kampagne räumte die Texas Kongressabgeordnete hat kein Pfad für die Nominierung an diesem Punkt, aber versprochen, weiterhin Mobilisierung Unterstützer Pauls libertären Nachricht drücken — ein Schritt einige Republikaner noch Sorgen verursacht Schwierigkeiten bei der August-Convention in Tampa.

Paul Unterstützer verwendet ihr Wissen über die Regeln bei staatlichen Konventionen in den vergangenen Monaten füllen Dutzende von offenen Delegaten Slots sowie einige derjenigen, die gebunden sind, um Romney im ersten Wahlgang zu unterstützen.

Besuchen Sie für weitere Informationen über Nachdrucke & Berechtigungen unsere FAQ's. Um Korrekturen und Klarstellungen zu melden, wenden Sie sich an Standards Editor Brent Jones. Senden Sie für die Prüfung der Veröffentlichung in der Zeitung Kommentare an letters@usatoday.com. Gehören Sie Name, Telefonnummer, Stadt und Staat zur Überprüfung. Um unsere Korrekturen anzuzeigen, gehen Sie zu corrections.usatoday.com.

Peliculas Online

Read More

Iran seeks concessions in Baghdad nuclear talks

AppId is over the quota
Bagdad (AP)-Iran und sechs Weltmächte fortgesetzt Gespräche Mittwoch über Teherans Atomprogramm, mit den Iranern drängt auf spezifische Zeitpläne und Ziele aber Westerns Führer signalisiert, dass sie mehr Angaben wünschen, vor Belohnungen anbieten.

Von Hadi Mizban, AP

EU-Außenpolitik stellt Chef Catherine Ashton mit Saeed Jalili Irans nukleare Chefunterhändler, am Mittwoch in Bagdad.

Von Hadi Mizban, AP

EU-Außenpolitik stellt Chef Catherine Ashton mit Saeed Jalili Irans nukleare Chefunterhändler, am Mittwoch in Bagdad.

Die Push für Meilensteine von Iran spiegelt offensichtliche Anstrengungen Zugeständnisse von Westen über Sanktionen im Austausch für die schrittweise internationale Anliegen aufgreifen, über seine nuklearen Ambitionen zu erzwingen. Teheran hat unter Vorbehalt zugestimmt, UN-Inspektoren Prüfpunkte in einer Militärbasis mit vermuteten Verbindungen zu nukleare Waffen-bezogene Tests neu starten können.

Aber kein Durchbruch-Abkommen werden die Gespräche in der irakischen Hauptstadt, was darauf hindeutet, dass alle Seiten immer noch ihre Strategien prägen und der Verhandlungsprozess ist wahrscheinlich lang erwartet.

Durch die amerikanischen und europäischen Verbündeten zu Bedrohungen militärischer Maßnahmen deutlich abschwächen könnte. Aber es würde wahrscheinlich bringen Einwände aus Israel, die behauptet, dass Iran versucht nur mal ihren Kernbrennstoff-Laboren in Betrieb zu halten, zu kaufen.

Tehran und westliche Diplomaten gleichermaßen hoffen, Bagdad mit einen klaren Rahmen für künftige Gespräche und potenzielle Dealmaking verlassen, sagte Beamten auf beiden Seiten. Aber keine der beiden Seiten würde jede spezifische Angebote oder Benchmarks wollten sie Ende Mittwoch Gespräche finden Sie unter identifizieren — die zweite Runde nach der Dialog wieder aufgenommen letzten Monat in Istanbul.

Die USA und die NATO-Staaten befürchten, dass Iran die nukleare Fachwissen nutzen könnten, um Atomwaffen zu bauen. Iran behauptet, dass es nur Kernreaktoren für Energie und Forschung sucht.

Die Obama-Verwaltung wurde vage über seine unmittelbaren Ziele, mit Beamten sagen die Gespräche Spurweite Irans Ernsthaftigkeit und Elemente einer möglichen Vereinbarung untersuchen werden. Ein westlicher Diplomat in Bagdad, sagte, dass die Gespräche auf "vertrauensbildende Maßnahmen" konzentrieren, dass Irans Nuklearprogramm nur für friedliche Zwecke verwendet wird.

"Dieser Ansatz umfasst konkrete Schritt für Schritt, wechselseitige Maßnahmen zur kurzfristigen Aktion,", sagte der westliche Diplomat, sprechen unter der Bedingung der Anonymität, den zarten Prozess mehr offen zu diskutieren.

Washington hat wenig Bereitschaft zu verhandeln, obwohl eine vorläufige Vereinbarung diese Woche von der Internationalen Atomenergie-Agentur vermittelte Parchin militärischen Komplex südöstlich von Teheran überprüfen angezeigt. Das ist, wo die U.N. glaubt, dass Iran explosive Tests im Jahr 2003 musste eine Kernladung aufrechnen ausgeführt haben. Teheran sagt Parchin keine nukleare Website.

Weiße Haus Pressesekretär Jay Carney am Dienstag bezeichnet die Ankündigung einer "Schritt vorwärts" und "ein Schritt in die richtige Richtung." Er betont aber, dass die Verwaltung "Urteile über Irans Verhalten auf der Grundlage von Maßnahmen, nicht nur Versprechen und Vereinbarungen machen wird."

Irans höchsten Beamten, einschließlich der oberste Führer Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, haben wiederholt gesagt, dass Iran Atomwaffen nicht versucht und haben solche Waffen gegen islamischen Prinzipien genannt.

Bei einem Besuch in den westlichen Iran am Mittwoch rief Präsident Mahmoud Ahmadinejad Khamenei die Überzeugung, dass "Herstellung und Verwendung von Massenvernichtungswaffen ist verboten" durch den Islam.

"Es gibt keinen Raum für diese Waffen in Irans Verteidigung Lehre," sagte er auf einer Versammlung zum Gedenken an Opfer des irakischen Chemiewaffen während des Krieges 1980-88 mit Saddam Husseins Irak.

Er behauptete ein "MVW-freien Welt ist ehrlich und der islamischen Republik wünschen."

Unterhändler aus den USA und fünf anderen Weltmächten kam am späten Mittwoch Vormittag in Bagdad auf Diskussionen letzten Monat in Istanbul Gespräche aufbauen, die als Eisbrecher mehr als ein Jahr nach dem frühere Gesprächen zusammenbrach, gesehen wurden, obwohl keine festen Entscheidungen getroffen wurden.

Iranische Diplomaten, Montag in Bagdad kam, traf sich mit irakischen Ministerpräsidenten Nouri al-Maliki Stunden bevor die Gespräche waren zu öffnen.

Analyst Hassan Abedini, die iranische Delegation informiert sein wird, sagte, dass Teheran die Vereinigten Staaten und anderen Weltmächten zu bieten einige Zugeständnisse für die vorläufige Vereinbarung mit der UN nukleare Agentur erwartet.

"Jetzt ist der Ball in der (Weltmächte) Gericht zu erwidern es," sagte Abedini Mittwoch.

Er sagte, dass Iran "geben Ansatz," zu den Verhandlungen fordert.

Die Bagdad Gespräche, bei denen die fünf ständigen Mitglieder des UN-Sicherheitsrates plus Deutschland, könnte einen Test für wie viel die USA und die NATO-Staaten bereit sind, biegen von Anforderungen für den Iran zu stoppen alle Urananreicherung und stattdessen darauf konzentrieren, nur die hochwertigsten Produktion stoppen anbieten.

Iran hält zu seinem Recht, Uran anzureichern, als Unterzeichner der UN nukleare Verträge fest. Im Westen und andere befürchten, dass das Niveau der Bereicherung, den Iran zu tun, ist schnell in waffenfähiges Uran umgewandelt werden kann.

Im Mittelpunkt der Debatte sind die Sanktionen des Westens in Iran um ihn an den Verhandlungstisch zwingen gebracht hat — vor allem auf eine Europäische Union Entscheidung alle Rohöl Schnitt importiert aus dem Iran, die zum 1. Juli in Kraft gesetzt werden. Den Jahresabschluss der EU 27 Staaten nur 18 % des Irans insgesamt Öl exportiert.

Anfang dieser Woche, unterstützt den US-Senat Vorschläge für weitere Sanktionen auf den Iran, einschließlich erfordern börsennotierten US-Börsen, jedes Geschäft im Zusammenhang mit Iran offen zu legen. Amerikanische und europäische Maßnahmen haben bereits gezielte iranische Ölexporte — seinen Chef Einnahmequelle — und das Land von internationalen Netzwerken effektiv blockiert.

Öl fiel auf ein sieben-Monats-tief in der Nähe von $91 pro Barrel Mittwoch in Asien auf Hoffnungen auf Fortschritte bei den Verhandlungen.

Copyright 2012 der Associated Press. Alle Rechte vorbehalten. Dieses Material kann nicht veröffentlicht, gesendet, umgeschrieben oder weiterverteilt.Besuchen Sie für weitere Informationen über Nachdrucke & Berechtigungen unsere FAQ's. Um Korrekturen und Klarstellungen zu melden, wenden Sie sich an Standards Editor Brent Jones. Senden Sie für die Prüfung der Veröffentlichung in der Zeitung Kommentare an letters@usatoday.com. Gehören Sie Name, Telefonnummer, Stadt und Staat zur Überprüfung. Um unsere Korrekturen anzuzeigen, gehen Sie zu corrections.usatoday.com.

Peliculas Online

Read More

Gesundheit Zusammenfassung: Diabetes Sterbeziffer Tropfen

Ihre Mittwochmorgen Gesundheit Zusammenfassung:

Diabetes Todesfälle: Es gibt selten etwas gute Nachrichten über Diabetes. Obwohl Fall in den Vereinigten Staaten zählt weiter steigen, sterben Menschen mit der Krankheit zu niedrigeren Preisen, sagt die Zentren für Seuchenkontrolle und -Prävention. Bessere Diabetes-Management, verbesserte Behandlung von verwandten Herzerkrankungen und gesunden Lebensstil Änderungen scheinen den Unterschied machen, sagen Forscher. Herzinsuffizienz Hoffnung: Ein neues Experiment bietet Hoffnung, dass menschliche Herz versagt, eines Tages mit ihren Besitzern Hautzellen repariert werden könnte. Im Experiment nahm Hautzellen von Patienten mit Herzinsuffizienz älterer Wissenschaftler und verwandelte sie in funktionierende, jugendlich Herz-Muskelgewebe, das in den gesunden Ratte Herz Transplantation überlebt. Aber auch wenn die Technik in den Leuten unter realen Bedingungen funktioniert, wahrscheinlich fünfzehn Jahre entfernt, ist ein Experte sagt Reuters. Schlaf-Apnoe und Blutdruck: Menschen mit Schlafapnoe haben ein erhöhtes Risiko für Bluthochdruck. Aber verfügt über eine spezielle Maske das Apnoe--nächtliche Atmung Pausen, oft begleitet von Schnarchen und tagsüber Müdigkeit--Ergebnis in niedriger Blutdruck zu behandeln? Es könnte, schlagen Sie zwei neue Studien. Aber es einen Haken gibt: Patienten müssen die Maske verwenden, um kontinuierliche positive Airway Pressure Therapie oder CPAP, mindestens vier Stunden pro Nacht--etwas liefern für viele Menschen schwer. Hund behandeln Geheimnis: Die Food and Drug Administration hat protokolliert 1.000 Berichte von Hunden durch Huhn ruckartig Leckereien krank gemacht aus China, MSNBC berichtet. Die FDA warnte Eigentümer über das mögliche Risiko im November, aber hat noch Gifte in die Produkte zu identifizieren. Hersteller stehen durch die behandelt, verkauft unter Markennamen wie Waggin' Zug, Canyon Creek Ranch und Milos Küche hausgemachte Hund behandelt.

Heutigen Talker: Wenn es darum geht, Kartoffel-Chips, Essen nur wenige von uns können nur eine oder nur zehn oder zwanzig. Aber Forscher haben einen Trick, der nur einige Snackers--zumindest helfen könnten diejenigen, die ihre Chips aus der Dose fein säuberlich gestapelten Essen. Der Trick: Einfügen von roten Chips, damit die Menschen wissen, sie haben die Grenzen von einer Portion erreicht. Menschen, die die farbigen Chips gefunden nach knirschen über 5-14 Stück endete bis 50 % weniger Chips als jener bestimmten traditionellen Dosen einfarbige Chips Essen, sagte Forscher ABC News.

Peliculas Online

Read More

Ägypter beginnen Abstimmung im Post-Mubarak-Wahl

Error in deserializing body of reply message for operation 'Translate'. The maximum string content length quota (8192) has been exceeded while reading XML data. This quota may be increased by changing the MaxStringContentLength property on the XmlDictionaryReaderQuotas object used when creating the XML reader. Line 2, position 8236.
Error in deserializing body of reply message for operation 'Translate'. The maximum string content length quota (8192) has been exceeded while reading XML data. This quota may be increased by changing the MaxStringContentLength property on the XmlDictionaryReaderQuotas object used when creating the XML reader. Line 1, position 8879.
CAIRO (AP) – More than 15 months after autocratic leader Hosni Mubarak's ouster, Egyptians streamed to polling stations Wednesday to freely choose a president for the first time in generations. Waiting hours in line, some debated to the last minute over their vote in a historic election pitting old regime figures against ascending Islamists.

Fredrik Persson, AP

A man walks by posters of Muslim Brotherhood presidential candidate in Cairo, Egypt, Tuesday, May 22. The May 23-24 presidential election marks the first time Egyptians will choose their leader in a race overseen by international monitors.

Fredrik Persson, AP

A man walks by posters of Muslim Brotherhood presidential candidate in Cairo, Egypt, Tuesday, May 22. The May 23-24 presidential election marks the first time Egyptians will choose their leader in a race overseen by international monitors.

A sense of amazement at having a choice pervaded the crowds in line, along with fervent expectation over what direction a new leader will take a country that has been in turmoil ever since mass protests toppled the man who ruled with an iron fist for nearly 30 years.

Some backed veterans of Mubarak's regime, believing they can bring stability after months of rising crime, a crumbling economy and bloody riots. Others were horrified by the thought, believing the "feloul" — or "remnants" of the regime — will keep Egypt locked under autocracy and thwart democracy.

Islamists, particularly the Muslim Brotherhood, saw their chance to lead a country where they were repressed for decades and to implement their version of Islamic law. Their critics recoiled, fearing theocracy.

"You can't tell me, 'Vote for this or else you're a sinner!'" Wael Ramadan argued with another man in line at a polling station in the impoverished Cairo neighborhood of Basateen. "We never said that," protested the man. "Yes, you did," Ramadan shot back.

"The revolution changed a lot. Good things and bad things," Ramadan, a 40-year-old employee at a mobile phone company, said afterward. "The good thing is all this freedom. We are here and putting up with the trouble of waiting in line for electing a president. My vote matters. It is now a right … Now we want a president that has a vision."

A field of 13 candidates is running in the voting Wednesday and Thursday. The two-day first run is not expected to produce an outright winner, so a runoff between the two top vote-getters will be held June 16-17. The winner will be announced June 21. Around 50 million people are eligible to vote.

An Islamist victory will likely mean a greater emphasis on religion in government. The Muslim Brotherhood, which already dominates parliament, says it won't mimic Saudi Arabia and force women to wear veils or implement harsh punishments like amputations. But it says it does want to implement a more moderate version of Islamic law, which liberals fear will mean limitations on many rights.

Many of the candidates have called for amendments in Egypt's 1979 peace treaty with Israel, which remains deeply unpopular. None is likely to dump it, but a victory by any of the Islamist or leftist candidates in the race could mean strained ties with Israel and a stronger stance in support of the Palestinians in the peace process. The candidates from the Mubarak's regime — and, ironically, the Brotherhood, which has already held multiple talks with U.S. officials — are most likely to maintain the alliance with the United States.

The real election battle is between four front-runners.

The main Islamist contenders are Mohammed Morsi of the powerful Brotherhood and Abdel-Moneim Abolfotoh, a moderate Islamist whose inclusive platform has won him the support of some liberals, leftists and minority Christians.

The two secular front-runners are both veterans of Mubarak's regime — former prime minister Ahmed Shafiq and former foreign minister Amr Moussa.

The winner will face a monumental task. The economy has been sliding as the key tourism industry dried up — though it starting to inch back up. Crime has increased. Labor strikes have proliferated.

And the political turmoil is far from over. The military, which took power after Mubarak's fall on Feb. 11, 2011, has promised to hand over authority to the election winner by the end of June. But many fear it will try to maintain a considerable amount of political say. The fundamentals of Mubarak's police state remain in place — including the powerful security forces. The generals have said they have no preferred candidate, but they are widely thought to be favoring Shafiq, a former air force commander.

"We will have an elected president but the military is still here and the old regime is not dismantled," said Ahmed Maher, a prominent activist from the group April 6, a key architect of last year's 18-day uprising that toppled Mubarak.

"But the pressure will continue. We won't sleep. People have finally woken up. Whoever the next president is, we won't leave him alone," he said outside a polling center in Cairo.

Moreover, the country must still write a new constitution. That was supposed to be done already, but was delayed after Islamists tried to dominate the constitution-writing panel, prompting a backlash that scuttled the process for the moment.

The Muslim Brotherhood is hoping a Morsi victory in the presidency will cap their political rise, after parliament elections last year gave them nearly half of the legislature's seats.

In the Mediterranean city of Alexandria, microbuses run by the Brotherhood ferried women supporters to the polls in the poor neighborhood of Abu Suleiman, one of the group's strongholds. The women, in conservative headscarves or covered head to toe in black robes and veils that hid their faces, filed into the station.

"I want to give the Brotherhood a chance to rule," said Aida Ibrahim, a veteran Brotherhood member who was helping voters find their station. "If it doesn't work, they will be held accountable," she said.

The secular young generation that launched the anti-Mubarak uprising has been at a loss in the race, with no solid candidate reflecting its views.

In Cairo, 27-year-old Ali Ragab said he was voting for a leftist candidate, Hamdeen Sabahi — because the poor "should get a voice," but he admitted Sabahi didn't stand much of a chance.

He said his father and all his father's friends were backing Shafiq "because they think he's a military man who will bring back security. I'm afraid Shafiq would mean another Mubarak for 30 more years."

For most of his 29-year rule, Mubarak — like his predecessors — ran unopposed in yes-or-no referendums. Rampant fraud guaranteed ruling party victories in parliamentary elections. Even when, in 2005, Mubarak let challengers oppose him in elections, he ended up not only trouncing his liberal rival but jailing him.

The election comes less than two weeks before a court is due to issue its verdict on Mubarak, 84, who has been on trial on charges of complicity in the killing of some 900 protesters during the uprising against his rule. He also faced corruption charges, along with his two sons, one-time heir apparent Gamal and wealthy businessman Alaa.

The sense of being able to make a choice — and having that choice mean something — was overwhelming for some.

"I can die in a matter of months, so I came for my children, so they can live," a tearful Medhat Ibrahim, 58, who suffers from cancer, said as he waited to vote in a poor district south of Cairo. "We want to live better, like human beings."

More than four hours after the polls opened, there have been no reports of major violence or irregularities. Before dawn, a policeman in a police car parked outside a polling center in northern Cairo was killed by a stray bullet when a nearby argument over a taxi fare turned into a gunfight, according to security officials speaking on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to speak to the media. Policemen assigned to the protection of the center exchanged fire with the men, wounding and capturing one of them.

"May God help the new president," said Zaki Mohammed, a teacher in his 40s as he waited to vote in a district close to the Giza Pyramids. "There will be 82 million pairs of eyes watching him."

Copyright 2012 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.For more information about reprints & permissions, visit our FAQ's. To report corrections and clarifications, contact Standards Editor Brent Jones. For publication consideration in the newspaper, send comments to letters@usatoday.com. Include name, phone number, city and state for verification. To view our corrections, go to corrections.usatoday.com.

Peliculas Online

Read More

Long commute time linked with poor health, new study shows

AppId is over the quota
AppId is over the quota
New evidence shows that a long commute by car not only takes hours out of your day, but could take years off your life.

Ted S. Warren, AP

Heavy traffic is shown on north-bound Interstate Highway 5 in Seattle.

Ted S. Warren, AP

Heavy traffic is shown on north-bound Interstate Highway 5 in Seattle.

A study published this month in the American Journal of Preventive Medicine found that the longer people drive to work, the more likely they are to have poor cardiovascular health.

"This is the first study to show that people who commute long distances to work were less fit, weighed more, were less physically active and had higher blood pressure," said Christine M. Hoehner, a public health professor at Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis and the study's lead author. "All those are strong predictors of heart disease, diabetes, and some cancers."

The study monitored the health of 4,297 adults from 12 counties in Texas, a metropolitan region where 90 percent of people commute to work by car, Hoehner said.

The New York area has the longest average commuting time -- almost 35 minutes -- of any metropolitan area, according to the Census Bureau in its analysis of the 2009 American Community Survey. But the other nine metro areas in the top 10 also averaged a half hour or more. And even the area with the shortest average commute, Great Falls, Mont., still clocked in at 14 minutes.

That's important because those who commuted by car 10 miles or more each way were more likely to have high blood pressure than people who drove shorter distances. And those who traveled 15 or more miles each way were more likely to have bigger waistlines and less likely to be physically active, according to Hoehner's study.

Tom Ricci, 53, drives 130 miles round trip each day from his home in Mahopac, N.Y., to his job at a music record company in Lyndhurst, N.J.

He gets up at 4:30 a.m. almost every day to hit the gym before work.

"I'd go crazy and lose my mind" without a workout routine, Ricci said. "You need a release from that grind."

Diet, exercise and sleep habits were not looked at in the study, Hoehner said. They also can also contribute to obesity and high blood pressure.

Christine Bruno of Garrison, N.Y., feels the difference. Her commute used to be 7 minutes. Now since she moved in with her fiance it take up to 90 minutes each way to make the 40-mile trek to New Rochelle, N.Y.

"By the time you finish your final meal of the day, there is no time to do much else," said Bruno, 40. "There is no time to exercise. And there is no time to go to the gym, and it's a huge issue, because I used to be a gym rat."

Danielle Mahoney, 36, lives in Patterson, N.Y., works in Suffern, N.Y., and commutes 126 miles round trip a day. Her company offers fitness classes to employees several times a week so they can exercise during the day. Without them, Mahoney said, she wouldn't have time for the gym, especially with twin toddlers at home.

The hours she spends in her car are "definitely draining," she said.

"If it's a longer day or you didn't get enough sleep, you can doze when you are driving," she said. "Numerous times I catch myself."

Dr. Franklin Zimmerman, a cardiologist and director of critical care at Phelps Memorial Hospital in Sleepy Hollow, N.Y., said what makes long commutes by car even worse is that many people are also sitting at work.

He tells patients to get 30 minutes of moderate to vigorous exercise each day. If people can't get to the gym, he suggests they park their cars farther from their offices and then walk. People can also sneak in exercise by getting off the elevator and taking the stairs.

"It's OK to split it up into increments," he said. "It's hard to find 30 minutes, but it's not hard to find five minutes, and all of that still counts."

(Contributing: Tim Henderson, The (Westchester, N.Y.) Journal News)

For more information about reprints & permissions, visit our FAQ's. To report corrections and clarifications, contact Standards Editor Brent Jones. For publication consideration in the newspaper, send comments to letters@usatoday.com. Include name, phone number, city and state for verification. To view our corrections, go to corrections.usatoday.com.

Peliculas Online

Read More

Senatoren: Kein Muster S. Service Fehlverhalten

Führer der ein Parlamentsausschuss sagte Mittwoch, dass sie keine "Muster des Fehlverhaltens" innerhalb der Secret Service gefunden haben, aber sie sagten, dass die Agentur Datensätze 64 Vorwürfe wegen sexuellen Fehlverhaltens von Mitarbeitern mehr als fünf Jahren--die meisten mit E-mail oder online-Materialien-- und 30 weitere mit Alkohol offenbart.

Die Senatoren sprach während einer Anhörung mit Zeugnis vom Secret Service Director Mark Sullivan über den kolumbianischen Prostitution-Skandal verwickelt, die ein Dutzend Agentur Mitarbeiter, die acht davon ihren Arbeitsplatz verloren. Sullivan sagte die Agents "hat einige wirklich dumme Dinge."

Senator Joseph Lieberman,-Conn, Vorstandsvorsitzender der Senat Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee, sagte, dass eine erste Überprüfung der Agentur disziplinären Datensätze in den letzten fünf Jahren ergab 64 Instanzen von Behauptungen oder Beschwerden über sexuelle Verfehlungen gegen Geheimdienst-Mitarbeiter. Die meisten beteiligt, E-mails oder andere online-Materialien, aber drei waren unangemessene Beziehungen mit ausländischen Staatsangehörigen, und eine war eine Beschwerde von nicht einvernehmlichen Geschlechtsverkehr.

Sullivan sagte letztere Fall wurde untersucht und keine Gebühren gedrückt wurde. In den anderen drei Fällen er sagte, war "administrative Maßnahmen" getroffen. Er sagte, dass Prostitution nicht in diese Fälle verwickelt war.

Einmal im Jahr 2008, Sullivan sagte, wurde ein Geheimdienst-Agenten nach hereinholen undercover Polizei Offizier dr??ckte Prostitution von der Agentur entfernt.

Senator Susan Collins, R-Maine, war wichtiger der Agentur sagte "Fakten zeigen mir, dass dies wahrscheinlich kein einmaliger Vorfall war--gab es 12 Personen beteiligt, 12. Das ist acht Prozent der männlichen Secret Service Personal im Land."

Sullivan hatte keine Erklärung für ihre Handlungen. "Diese Personen einige wirklich dumme Dinge," sagte er. "Ich kann nicht genau erklären warum sie getan hätten was sie taten.

"Wir hatten einige Personen, die sehr schlechte Entscheidungen getroffen."

Mehrere Senatoren bezweifelt, daß der Skandal Cartegena Prostitution eine Kultur angibt, in der Secret Service, dass ein solches Verhalten ist akzeptabel, einen Rückschluss Sullivan abgelehnt. Die Senatoren sagte zusätzliche Schritte unternommen werden sollten, einschließlich häufiger Lügendetektor-Tests und nicht strengere Richtlinien--für ähnliche Vorfälle in Zukunft auftreten.

"Wie wir auf den Grund davon bekomme?", sagte Senator Ron Johnson, R -Wis.

Peliculas Online

Read More