Adoptable Pets of the Week - The Ellen DeGeneres Show

Bert

Bert is so particular about who he likes, he's asked for a special rule that applies just to him: he'd like to meet you before you take him home, just to make sure you're his type.

At first, we said, "No, Bert, lots of people like to adopt long-distance from Best Friends. They can't always meet you in person first." But Bert insisted that he won't go home with just anyone! He wants to review the candidates in person.

Bert is a healthy young cat, born in 2006. He's terrific with other cats. It takes time to get to know him, but once you do, he just loves to snuggle and purr. He has such a long tail that it curls all the way around him when he sits up!

Bert would just love to have a visitor who was thinking of taking him home.

Azure

Azure is shy with people she hasn't met before, but warms up quickly and then becomes your best friend. Once you're buddies, she's a very affectionate girl who appreciates attention and petting, and she's good with other dogs, too.

Born in 2009, Azure was rescued from a Los Angeles shelter. Her back end is weak from an old injury, but that doesn't stop her from taking walks and hikes! In fact, getting exercise helps build Azure's strength and keep her in good shape. At just under fifty pounds, her weight is perfect.

When you look into her big brown eyes, Azure seems to be begging you to make her a part of your home. Could you love her and promise her only blue skies ahead?

Best Friends adopts to all of the United States and Canada. Please contact Best Friends Animal Society right here.

See all the animals that need homes... at Best Friends Animal Sanctuary.

Source: http://ellen.warnerbros.com/2012/01/adoptable_pets_of_the_week_0120.php

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Judge narrows Apple and Motorola patent battle to five points (Digital Trends)

motorola-droid-4

U.S. Circuit Court Judge Richard Posner has significantly narrowed the high-profile patent litigation between Apple and Motorola over the technology used in their iOS and Android-powered mobile devices, reducing the number of claims in the case that could go to trial from eight to five. Posner ruled that one of Apple?s patents in the case is invalid, and that Apple was not guilty of infringing on Motorola patents for authenticating telecommunications users and encrypting communications. However, the five remaining issues are eligible to go to trial. Posner has given the companies until January 23 to decide which of the remaining five issues they want tried; the jury trail has been scheduled to start June 11.

The ruling comes just days after Motorola won an early victory against Apple with the International Trade Commission, in which an administrative judge ruled Motorola smartphones weren?t violating three Apple patents. Apple?s complaint now moves on to a full ITC panel.

Judge Posner was hearing the case by special designation from a lower-court case in Chicago. He ruled that an Apple patent detailing a method for drawing graphics on a display was invalid because it was too vague; however, he also ruled that Apple was not guilty of infringing on two Motorola patents, finding one had been anticipated by earlier patents.

So far, neither Apple nor Motorola have commented on Judge Posner?s ruling.

The patent infringement case between Apple and Motorola could soon become the first direct conflict between Apple and Google over Android, which Apple co-founder Steve Jobs famously considered a ?stolen product.? Until now, Apple has been content to target Android device makers like Samsung, HTC, and Motorola with its litigation; however, since Motorola Mobility is currently in the process of being acquired by Google, the Motorola case could shift into a direct conflict between Apple and Google. Google has consistently claimed it doesn?t want Motorola Mobility so it can get into the Android handset business itself; rather, it wants Motorola?s extensive intellectual property portfolio to protect Android from litigation from the likes of Apple, Oracle, and Microsoft.

This article was originally posted on Digital Trends

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Source: http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/personaltech/*http%3A//news.yahoo.com/s/digitaltrends/20120120/tc_digitaltrends/judgenarrowsappleandmotorolapatentbattletofivepoints

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News Corp pays out over hacking claims (Reuters)

LONDON (Reuters) ? The British newspaper arm of Rupert Murdoch's News Corp settled a string of legal claims over phone hacking on Thursday, and said this was not an admission that management had known about the practice or tried to cover it up.

Murdoch's News International had claimed for years that the hacking of voicemails to generate stories was the work of a single "rogue" reporter who went to jail for the crime in 2007.

However, under a wave of evidence last year it finally admitted that the problem was widespread, sparking a scandal that has rocked the company, the British press, police and the political establishment.

On Thursday, lawyers for victims who had reached settlements said their agreements were based on News Group Newspapers (NGN), publisher of some of News International's titles, acknowledging that senior management were at fault.

They said the company was now seeking to settle all the claims. "News Group has agreed to compensation being assessed on the basis that senior employees and directors of NGN knew about the wrongdoing and sought to conceal it by deliberately deceiving investigators and destroying evidence," the lawyers said in a statement.

But News International said in a "clarification" late on Thursday that despite agreeing the settlements it was not making any admission that senior staff or directors at NGN had known about the wrongdoing or tried to conceal it.

"However, for the purpose of reaching these settlements only, NGN agreed that the damages to be paid to claimants should be assessed as if this was the case," News International said.

In a London court packed with journalists and lawyers, Judge Geoffrey Vos went through each case and heard the grounds for the settlement. At the end of each statement a lawyer for News Corp confirmed the details and offered "sincere apologies."

Settlements announced in court generally ranged from around 30,000 pounds ($46,000) to 60,000 pounds, while some were not revealed. Actor Jude Law accepted 130,000 pounds after he was physically followed abroad as well as in Britain.

"It is clear that I, along with many others, was kept under constant surveillance for a number of years," Law said in a statement. "No aspect of my private life was safe from intrusion by News Group newspapers, including the lives of my children.

"I believe in a free press but what News Group did was an abuse of its freedoms. They were prepared to do anything to sell their newspapers and to make money."

The settlements may lift some immediate pressure off the group, as it will prevent lawyers from poring over further details in open court, and it could result in all cases eventually settling as the size of the payouts set a precedent.

But it could also lead to increased scrutiny of the role played by James Murdoch.

Rupert Murdoch's son James was placed in charge of News International only after the hacking, but has been accused of leading a cover-up. He has denied all knowledge of the scale of the problem and blamed many of those around him for the failings.

PAY-OUT TIME

The court was told that 36 claimants were now ready to settle, including Law, former deputy Prime Minister John Prescott, politician Chris Bryant and other celebrities, while 10 cases were ready to go to court.

News Corp has already received 60 claims and police say there are almost 6,000 potential victims. The legal costs to be paid by News International will also vary hugely, lawyers said.

Lawyers for the victims said they had obtained documents from News International that revealed the scale of the malpractice, partly thanks to the fact that the 12 solicitors' firms involved had joined forces to work together.

"As a result, documents relating to the nature and scale of the conspiracy, a cover-up and the destruction of evidence/email archives by News Group have now been disclosed to the claimants," their statement said.

The long-running case blew up in July when it emerged that the voicemail of missing schoolgirl Milly Dowler, later found murdered, had been hacked into by the News of the World.

News Corp took the drastic step of shutting down the 168-year-old tabloid and pulled its plan to take full control of Britain's highly profitable satellite broadcaster BSkyB.

The scandal had already forced the resignation of Prime Minister David Cameron's spokesman, a former News of the World editor, and later prompted the resignations of senior police officials who were accused of failing to properly investigate the affair.

Three criminal investigations are under way while a judge-led inquiry into Britain's press ethics sits most days, bringing yet more attention to the conduct of the media as it seeks to draw up new regulations.

"I'm grateful to News Group for finally acknowledging, admitting and apologizing for their unlawful voicemail interception," Graham Shear, a lawyer representing victims who also had his own phone hacked, told Reuters.

"But I'm a bit frustrated that they didn't find a way to do this earlier, having previously strenuously defended my own claim and the claims on which I'm acting."

(Additional reporting by Tim Castle; Editing by Peter Graff)

Source: http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/enindustry/*http%3A//news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20120120/media_nm/us_newscorp_hacking_compensation

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Contact lenses provide extended pain relief to laser eye surgery patients

ScienceDaily (Jan. 18, 2012) ? Scientists are reporting development of contact lenses that could provide a continuous supply of anesthetic medication to the eyes of patients who undergo laser eye surgery -- an advance that could relieve patients of the burden of repeatedly placing drops of medicine into their eyes every few hours for several days.

Their report appears in ACS' journal Langmuir.

Anuj Chauhan and colleagues explain that more than 1 million laser eye correction procedures are performed each year in the U.S. The surgery enables most patients to see clearly without eye glasses or contact lenses. The procedure known as LASIK is the most common type of laser eye surgery, but complications can develop if the patient undergoes trauma or is hit very hard at any time after the procedure. Photorefractive keratectomy (PRK) doesn't have this complication, and that's why it is preferred for athletes and those in the military. A downside to PRK, however, is a longer period of pain after surgery. To ease their pain, PRK patients place drops of several medications, including anesthetics, into their eyes every few hours, which can interfere with daily life and increase the risk of drug overdose. PRK patients receive a special "bandage contact lens" after surgery to help the outer layer of the eye heal.

The researchers tested whether anesthetics loaded onto this type of lens could release the drugs over time automatically. They found that adding vitamin E to the lenses extended the time of release of three commonly used anesthetics from just under two hours to up to an entire day -- or a few days in some instances. The vitamin E acts as a barrier, keeping the anesthetics on the eye, right where they are needed. The researchers say that, in the future, these lenses could serve as bandage contact lenses after PRK surgery while also delivering necessary pain medications.

The authors acknowledge funding from the University of Florida.

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Journal Reference:

  1. Cheng-Chun Peng, Michael T. Burke, Anuj Chauhan. Transport of Topical Anesthetics in Vitamin E Loaded Silicone Hydrogel Contact Lenses. Langmuir, 2012; 28 (2): 1478 DOI: 10.1021/la203606z

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

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

Source: http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2012/01/120118112001.htm

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Major oil refinery to close in US Virgin Islands (AP)

ST. CROIX, U.S. Virgin Islands ? The giant Hovensa oil refinery that has dominated the economy and part of the landscape of the island of St. Croix for decades will cease operations next month, the operator said Wednesday.

Industry analysts said the closure is unlikely to have a major effect on the global oil market, but Gov. John de Jongh described the announcement as "a complete body blow" for the U.S. territory. He said Hovensa generated a minimum of $60 million a year in revenue for the government, which already faces a budget crisis.

"Given what we're going through right now, this is the last bit of news that I wanted to hear," he said in a teleconference with reporters.

The refinery, the largest private employer in the U.S. Virgin Islands and once one of the largest refiners in the Western Hemisphere, will be converted to an oil storage terminal, said Brian K. Lever, president and chief operating officer of Hovensa LLC.

Losses at Hovensa, a joint venture of U.S.-based Hess Corp. and Venezuela's state-owned oil company, have totaled $1.3 billion over the past three years and were projected to continue due to reduced demand caused by the global economic slowdown and increased refining capacity in emerging markets, Lever said in a statement.

"We deeply regret the closure of the Hovensa refinery and the impact on our dedicated people," Lever said. "We explored all available options to avoid this outcome, but severe financial losses left us with no other choice."

Hess announced in New York that it will take a $525 million after-tax charge against its fourth-quarter 2011 earnings due to the shutdown.

The refinery employs about 1,200 people in St. Croix and has approximately 950 contractors, according to Hovensa spokesman David Roznowski. About 100 people, including contractors, will work at the oil storage terminal, the company said.

The refinery, founded in the 1960s, has been producing about 350,000 barrels per day during the rough economic climate.

The company's website says it is still one of the 10 largest oil refineries in the world, but the closure is not expected to have a major effect on the oil industry because it had not been operating at full capacity, said Fadel Gheit, senior energy analyst for Oppenheimer & Co.

Hess benefits because it had been hemorrhaging money through the refinery, he said.

The closure reflects a three-year trend across the U.S. of refineries closing because of the global financial crisis, a drop in gasoline consumption and a shift in growth elsewhere, Gheit said.

"They cannot compete with the modern refineries being built in India, China and the Middle East," he said.

Despite the closure, the U.S. remains Venezuela's largest customer, and Venezuela is still among the top four suppliers of crude oil to the U.S., he said.

Hovensa spokesman Alex Moorehead said the refinery equipment will shut down by mid-February, but that the company will continue to provide fuel oil to the island's Water and Power Authority through end of June.

The announcement seemed to take officials by surprise on an island already struggling with the layoffs of hundreds of state workers to offset a budget deficit.

"This is a blow in the gut," Senator Terrence Nelson told The Associated Press. "We have to organize an economic plan, and it might involve assistance from the federal government."

Nelson accused Hovensa of violating a long-term agreement with the government to continue refinery operations on the island. Nelson said it is unclear what Hovensa will need to do to compensate the government for breaching the agreement.

"It's devastating," Senator Samuel Sanes said. "It was something I suspected was going to happen, but of course it took me by surprise. On a personal level it affects many people in my family. I have many in my family working for Hovensa."

De Jongh said he called an emergency meeting to talk about ways to offset the economic damage.

He warned that local fuel prices will likely rise while the government looks for other suppliers and said officials are asking the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency to ease sulfur content restrictions so they can quickly contract a new supplier.

De Jongh said he will also ask Hovensa officials if they are interested in selling the facility.

"I cannot afford to have an asset of that size sitting there," he said.

In January, Hovensa entered into a consent decree with the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency and Justice Department in which the company agreed to invest $700 million on pollution controls after a series of chemical releases affected people living downwind from the refinery. Hovensa also agreed to pay a $5.4 million penalty for violating the Clean Air Act.

It is unclear how the agreement will be affected by the closure. EPA spokeswoman Mary Mears said the agency would soon issue a statement, while Moorehead said Hovensa representatives were meeting with EPA and U.S. Department of Justice officials on Wednesday to talk about the issue.

___

Associated Press writer Danica Coto contributed to this report from San Juan, Puerto Rico.

Source: http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/economy/*http%3A//news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20120118/ap_on_bi_ge/cb_virgin_islands_oil_refinery

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Political Whiplash: Santorum wins Iowa, Perry Drops Out, Newt's 'Open Marriage' Request, and Obama Does Disney (PM Note) (ABC News)

Nintendo 3DS: 12 Games To Look Out For In 2012 (Digital Trends)

Nintendo-3DS

The dawn of a new year means 365 days of new gaming action to look forward to, and the pressure?s really on for Nintendo in 2012. Not only is the company launching its new Wii U console at the end of the year; there?s also a need to keep pushing with the 3DS, which suffered at launch a year ago due to a high price tag and a generally weak launch lineup. Some real gems have emerged since then, particularly on the first-party side of things. Super Mario Land 3D continues to be the best reason to own the system.

With Sony bringing the PlayStation Vita and its console-quality portable gaming to the masses in North America on February 22, the 3DS will be facing some stiff competition this year. There?s hope though. At least a few big-ticket games are fully confirmed and presumably arriving on schedule, which means that there?s some quality 3DS content to look forward to this year. Then there are others that aren?t so confirmed, but we?re all wishing and hoping that they firm up soon. Here are some of our most-anticipated from both sides of the fence?

?

The Binding of Isaac

To be fair, The Binding of Isaac is technically unconfirmed as a 3DS release. The hope is that Nintendo sees it being mentioned in lists like this and carries forward with approving the game for release on its portable platform. Edmund McMillen?s currently PC-only Roguelike (with shades of The Legend of Zelda) has been submitted to the handheld-maker for release approval. The hope is that it comes soon and that the port is ready for a fall release. McMillen is on record as a big Nintendo supporter, and hopes are high that this 3DS release will eventually happen.

Crush 3D

It?s kind of crazy to think that this 2007 PlayStation Portable puzzler is such a highly anticipated 3DS release, and yet here we are. Sega?s underrated puzzle-platformer was great on the PSP and it should really shine with the 3DS. The object of the game is to navigate through a series of environments by jumping between 2D and 3D layouts to play with perspective and bridge otherwise inaccessible locations. Crush 3D is already available in Europe and it?s coming to the U.S. soon, on March 6.

Kid Icarus: Uprising

Kid Icarus: Uprising heralds the long-awaited return of one of Nintendo?s most vintage mascots, Pit. The hero of the NES classic Kid Icarus hasn?t been seen much since that original game and its Game Boy sequel; only the odd cameo and all-star lineup appearances. Uprising is the first new Kid Icarus game since the early ?90s, and it sports a fresh new 3D look and approach to gameplay, complete with online multiplayer. Look for it in North America on March 23.

Kingdom Hearts 3D: Dream Drop Distance

The next Kingdom Hearts release puts players in control of two of the series? past protagonists: Sora and Riku. The story follows them as they visit and awaken a series of worlds as part of their Mark of Mastery Exam, the completion of which will mark them as Keyblade Masters. Early gameplay videos have shown the same sort of action-RPG play that fans of the series have come to expect. Dream Drop Distance arrives in Japan in March, and it?s confirmed as a North America release for sometime later this year.

Luigi?s Mansion 2

Nintendo revealed Luigi?s Mansion 2 at E3 last year. The sequel to the cult favorite GameCube launch title, the game casts Mario?s green-clad brother as a ghostbusting do-gooder armed with a spirit-sucking vacuum cleaner. The new game will see Luigi exploring multiple mansions (instead of the previous game?s one). It is also expected that the sequel will have more of a puzzle focus, one that likely takes good advantage of the 3DS?s unique display capabilities. There?s no release date set for this one yet; all we know is that it?s coming in 2012. Halloween, or thereabouts, seems like a safe bet.

Metal Gear Solid: Snake Eater 3D

Metal Gear Solid: Snake Eater 3D is a portable remake of the Metal Gear Solid 3: Snake Eater console game. It?s a prequel to the events of all other MGS games, putting players in the shoes of Big Boss back when he was just plain old Naked Snake. Portable isn?t an ideal format for this style of Metal Gear game, but that doesn?t matter to fans like me who are screaming for some quality stealth action on the go. The remake will add touch screen inventory access and gyroscope controls, and it?s coming to North America on February 21.

Monster Hunter 4

Nintendo revealed last year that Capcom is prepping a 3DS release of Monster Hunter 4. The series is HUGE in Japan, and it?s also big with discerning action-RPG fans who prefer a portable game that breaks hundreds of hours worth of play into bite-sized, minutes-long sections. The trailer reveal at TGS last year showed some gorgeous 3DS visuals in action, giving fans plenty to look forward to. It may be a little optimistic to put this down as a hoped-for 2012 release, but we?re a hopeful bunch here at Digital Trends.

Myst

Some of you might take issue with the selection of a vintage PC game for this ?most anticipated in 2012? list. I mean, let?s face it: Myst was new when CD-ROMs were still a freshly released technology. The game has been ported to any number of platforms, including the Nintendo DS. Whether you?ve played it with every new port or never touched it before, the game remains one of the most clever and challenging puzzle-based adventure games that?s ever been released. Don?t expect the 3DS version to change things up TOO much, though fans can expect to explore the newly added RIME Age. Myst comes to the 3DS on March 27.

Paper Mario

I?m not sure how many are convinced that Paper Mario really will be coming to 3DS this year, but it would be a smart move on Nintendo?s part to make that happen. Fans want to play this game, and badly. We don?t know a whole lot yet. Turn-based combat will make a return, and it will of course take advantage of the 3DS touchscreen. A 2012 release is expected, which means that we?ll very likely be hearing more soon, as the year?s trade shows start to ramp up.

Professor Layton Vs. Ace Attorney

This is one of those mysterious ?2012 release? titles that doesn?t have a proper date yet, but it?s such a cool mash-up that I couldn?t possibly ignore it. The 3DS will ALSO be seeing a new Layton game, Professor Layton and the Mask of Miracle, but it can?t compete with an adventure pitting gaming?s premiere lawyer versus gaming?s premiere? uhh? logic puzzle-solver. As you would probably expect from a mash-up like this, the game will feature of mix of the Layton puzzle-solving and Ace Attorney trial investigations. Expect plenty of colorful, anime-style weirdness.

Resident Evil: Revelations

Last year?s Resident Evil: Mercenaries offered some fun, arcade-style action, but Resident Evil: Revelations is the narrative-driven survival-horror-style adventure that fans of the series have been waiting for. The story follows Chris Redfield and Jill Valentine in a story set between the events of RE4 and RE5. Revelations is coming very soon too; the game arrives in North America on February 7! Are you ready for more zombie-fueled mayhem?!

Theatrhythm: Final Fantasy

Theatrhythm Final Fantasy is yet another Japan-only 3DS release for now, with a February 16 release date. It?s a popular series here in the West though, and Square Enix would do well to release it. Also, it?s important to note that Theatrhythm is a FINAL FANTASY RHYTHM GAME. The story is built from the same Chaos/Cosmos conflict used in the Dissidia fighting games, which allows it to spread across the entire history of the series. Expect to encounter plenty of familiar characters, locations and music as you play. Now, how about that U.S. release confirmation? Eh, Square Enix?

This article was originally posted on Digital Trends

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Source: http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/personaltech/*http%3A//news.yahoo.com/s/digitaltrends/20120119/tc_digitaltrends/nintendo3ds12gamestolookoutforin2012

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Why Obama doesn't get enough credit

Why hasn?t the president gotten more credit for what history may ultimately judge as a record of remarkable accomplishments?

I?ve always said that if someone calculated a ratio of credit-for-things-accomplished/things-accomplished?President Obama would score extremely low.? Andrew Sullivan collects the facts.

Skip to next paragraph Jared Bernstein

?

Before joining the Center on Budget and Policy Priorities as a senior fellow, Jared was chief economist to Vice President Joseph Biden and executive director of the White House Task Force on the Middle Class. He is a contributor to MSNBC and CNBC and has written numerous books, including 'Crunch: Why Do I Feel So Squeezed?'

Recent posts

One question I was left with after reading this was why does the President score so low on that ratio?? Why hasn?t he gotten more credit for what I believe history will ultimately judge as a record of remarkable accomplishments?

A few thoughts:

?The main reason is that people don?t do ?counterfactuals??things are getting better but still pretty bad for a lot of folks and pointing out that ?it coulda been worse,? while true, is not?um?good politics.? It didn?t help that the admin?and I played a role in this one?underestimated how high unemployment would go.

?On the other hand, where we were and where we are is (good politics, that is)?and good economics too (if we don?t accurately evaluate the impact of policies like the Recovery Act, we won?t be guided by lessons learned next time).

?A useful concept in this regard is what economists call the ?swing??(see ?table; and you thought we economists weren?t swingers!).? It?s the difference between changes in a variable over two different periods.? So if GDP was falling 9% last year and growing 4% this year, the swing?the change from how you were falling to how fast you?re now growing is 4%-(-9%), or 13%.? The swings in GDP and jobs over the President?s first year in office are historically large.

?People don?t like bailouts.? Saving the banks and autos was necessary but unpopular.? I get why helping the banks was unpopular; I don?t really get why the autos weren?t.? People particularly dislike bailouts when too little is asked of the recipients (again, this should have favored the autos, where creditors took haircuts, unions made concessions, execs were replaced?I think that story was just not well explained).

?Housing: missing from Sullivan?s review, these programs underperformed, and millions were hit by the bursting of the bubble.

?Stuff Kicks in Later : Health care reform, financial regulation, consumer protection?most people haven?t yet benefitted from these changes.

?A level of opposition heretofore unseen: when a national leader (senate minority leader Mitch McConnell) says out loud that his party?s #1 goal is not jobs, deficit reduction, improving education, the business climate, etc?but is instead defeating the President, you?re into some unchartered territory.? These are the same folks that flirted with default on US debt.? When one side is willing to self-inflict wounds of that magnitude on the body politic, it?s awfully hard for anyone to look good.

?Budget deficits: Polls show most people actually hold a reasonable view of federal budget deficits in that they don?t see them as our biggest problem right now (that would be ?jobs?).? But the echo chamber resounds with noise about all of our borrowing?Europe?s debt problems amplify the noise?and the admin has had trouble talking about the short-term imperative of more stimulus to attack unemployment at the same time as persuing?the longer term imperative of getting on a sustainable budget path.

I?m sure there?s more, but those are some of the big ticket entries.? Still, I could be wrong, but unless the economy heads south again, the truth of Sullivan?s survey will dominate in coming months.? I may be way too optimistic about this, but you can?t fool all the people all the time.

The Christian Science Monitor has assembled a diverse group of the best economy-related bloggers out there. Our guest bloggers are not employed or directed by the Monitor and the views expressed are the bloggers' own, as is responsibility for the content of their blogs. To contact us about a blogger, click here. To add or view a comment on a guest blog, please go to the blogger's own site by clicking on jaredbernsteinblog.com.

Source: http://rss.csmonitor.com/~r/feeds/csm/~3/-oPMp_WMtYk/Why-Obama-doesn-t-get-enough-credit

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Taylor Swift: I'm "Ridiculously Stupid" When I'm in Love

Taylor Swift is known for her smartly crafted songs, most of them about the boys in her life. So it's a little surprising to hear that Swift, 22, thinks that love actually lowers her I.Q.

Source: http://www.ivillage.com/taylor-swift-talks-being-love-stalkers-new-album/1-a-420226?dst=iv%3AiVillage%3Ataylor-swift-talks-being-love-stalkers-new-album-420226

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Sheboygan mayor advances to runoff in recall

Embattled Sheboygan Mayor Bob Ryan survived his first test in an unprecedented local recall election Tuesday, taking nearly 33% of the vote to lead a crowded eight-person field.

The second-place finisher was Terry Van Akkeren, with 26.2% of the vote.

Van Akkeren is a former state representative and mayor whom Ryan defeated in 2009. Ryan, 48, and Van Akkeren, 52, now advance to a recall runoff Feb. 21.

The winner of that round gets the final year of Ryan's four-year term.

Van Akkeren has touted his elective office experience in the race, including three terms as a Democratic Assembly member, 17 years as an alderman and two as a county supervisor.

The seeds of the recall effort against Ryan trace to a weekend of heavy drinking last summer in Elkhart Lake that reportedly included a physical altercation and vulgar comments by Ryan toward women in several bars.

He publicly apologized, admitted he was an alcoholic who had a relapse and sought treatment.

But the incident recalled earlier embarrassments, including a 2009 video on YouTube showing an intoxicated Ryan making sexually explicit comments about his sister-in-law and an accusation by the city's personnel director that Ryan fired her after she accused him of unwanted advances in a Sheboygan tavern.

The recall drive was launched after an effort by some aldermen to force Ryan from office was resisted by Ryan's attorney as a violation of federal law banning job discrimination based on disability.

Reached Tuesday, Ryan said he was moving forward and about to celebrate six months of sobriety.

He said he felt good about drivers who passed by during his seven hours of street side campaigning on election day.

"I got more thumbs up as opposed to any other appendage," Ryan joked.

He's campaigning on a theme of bringing more jobs to Sheboygan, including his support for a tribal casino at Blue Harbor Resort on the city's lakefront.

Ryan, a former Sheboygan alderman and onetime gas station owner, said he was glad to have a recall as a means to get beyond his controversial past.

"It was embarrassing when that happened," he said. "Truthfully, I would like to get this behind me."

Other candidates in the recall were: retired executive Roberta Filicky-Peneski, with 16.3%; local businessman Randy Schwoerer, with 15.4% of the vote; Ald. Jean Kittelson, with 4.9%; musician Erik Neave, with 2.9%; and high school senior Asher Heimermann and restaurant worker Mark Hermann, each with less than 1%.

Kittelson said she's no fan of recalls, but jumped in the race when the Ryan recall was set. She campaigned on other things, such as a neighborhood cleanup program, she said.

"Everything that happened with Bob Ryan was real unfortunate," Kittelson said. "It is what it is."

Source: http://www.jsonline.com/news/wisconsin/sheboygan-mayor-survives-first-test-in-recall-move-t43rg52-137543563.html

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