3 Americans arrested in Egypt back in US

CAIRO?? All three American students arrested during protests in Cairo are back in the U.S., three days after an Egyptian court ordered their release.

The young men were arrested on the roof of a university building near Cairo's iconic Tahrir Square last Sunday after officials accused them of throwing firebombs at security forces fighting with protesters.

Gregory Porter, 19, was greeted by his parents and other relatives Saturday evening when he landed at Philadelphia International Airport. Porter took no questions, but said he was thankful for the help he and the other American students received from the U.S. Embassy in Cairo, administrators at the university they were attending, and attorneys in Egypt and the U.S.

"I'm just so thankful to be back, to be in Philadelphia right now," said Porter, who is from nearby Glenside, Pa., and attends Drexel University in Philadelphia.

Luke Gates, 21, arrived in the U.S. late Saturday and was expected back home in Indiana soon, Indiana University spokesman Mark Land said. Gates attends the university, and his parents have declined to talk with the media. Land said he spoke with Gates' father.

"He said he was doing very well and he was very excited to be on his way home," Land said. He added that Gates' parents are "really hopeful they can spend a little time with him without having to answer a lot of questions" in the media spotlight.

The mother of the third student, 19-year-old Derrik Sweeney, says she spoke with her son when he landed in Washington late Saturday before he boarded a flight to St. Louis.

All three left the Egyptian capital Saturday morning on separate connecting flights to Frankfurt, Germany, an airport official in Cairo said. The three were studying at the American University in Cairo.

Story: Egypt military woos public to keep power

In earlier developments, attorney Theodore Simon, who represents Porter, said police escorted the three students to the Cairo airport Friday. Simon later said his client was on a flight.

"I am pleased and thankful to report that Gregory Porter is in the air. He has departed Egyptian airspace and is on his way home," Simon said, though he declined to say when Porter was expected back in the U.S.

1. Only on msnbc.com

   1. Military families say 'Cheese!'
   2. Controversial sheriff set to endorse Rick Perry
   3. Updated 60 minutes ago 11/27/2011 4:49:48 AM +00:00 Bachmann keeps at Gingrich over immigration amnesty
   4. Updated 54 minutes ago 11/27/2011 4:55:45 AM +00:00 Campaign mailings race revs up in Iowa
   5. Nurse! Medicare dollars tied to patient satisfaction
   6. US ranchers: We live in fear along Mexican border
   7. American filmmaker in Cairo tells of arrest ordeal

Simon said he and Porter's mother both spoke by phone with the student, who is from the Philadelphia suburb of Glenside.

American filmmaker in Cairo tells of arrest ordeal

"He clearly conveyed to me ... that he was OK," Simon told the AP.

Gates is a student at Indiana University. It wasn't clear when he was expected back in the U.S.

Joy Sweeney told the AP her son, a 19-year-old Georgetown University student from Jefferson City, Missouri, would fly from Frankfurt to Washington, then on to St. Louis.

She said family will meet him when he arrives late Saturday.

Video: Mother relieved after US students freed in Cairo (on this page)

"I am ecstatic," Sweeney said Friday. "I can't wait for him to get home tomorrow night. I can't believe he's actually going to get on a plane. It is so wonderful."

Sweeney said she had talked with her son Friday afternoon and "he seemed jubilant."

"He thought he was going to be able to go back to his dorm room and get his stuff," she said. "We said, 'No, no, don't get your stuff, we just want you here.'"

She said the American University in Cairo will ship his belongings home.

Sweeney had earlier said she did not prepare a Thanksgiving celebration this week because the idea seemed "absolutely irrelevant" while her son still was being held.

"I'm getting ready to head out and buy turkey and stuffing and all the good fixings so that we can make a good Thanksgiving dinner," she said Friday.

Copyright 2011 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.

Source: http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/45443080/ns/world_news-mideast_n_africa/

bérénice marlohe google offers tim gunn tim gunn death clock death clock cerebral palsy

Doris Day still sings at 87, offers fans "My Heart" (Reuters)

LOS ANGELES (Reuters) ? At age 87, Doris Day is not exactly pop music's latest hot young artist. But this week the star of film, TV and music returns to the U.S. record world she conquered more than 60 years ago with a new album, "My Heart."

The CD, which hits record stores and websites December 2, is filled with old standards like "My Buddy," previously unreleased tunes such as "Stewball," about a race horse Day loved, and pop hits of the 1960s and '70s such as "Daydream" and "You Are So Beautiful."

"I like the music when I was working and singing," she told Reuters. "I think the writers were so incredibly brilliant, and when you sang a song of theirs that you loved, it really meant something. And love songs, I love love songs."

Day, whose first hit was 1945's "Sentimental Journey," went from big band singer to movie star of the 1950s and '60s. She became the quintessential All-American girl and a major box office draw with films such as "Calamity Jane" and "Pillow Talk," opposite Rock Hudson. In the late 1960s, she moved to TV where she starred in "The Doris Day Show."

But after that show ended in 1973, Day stepped out of the Hollywood limelight, moved to California's Central Coast and devoted herself to helping animals through various charitable groups, including the Doris Day Animal Foundation.

For the most part, she has stayed away from entertainment circles for more than 20 years since accepting a lifetime achievement honor from Golden Globe organizers in 1989.

Day recorded and released the songs for "My Heart" because she wanted to help animals -- sales proceeds go to her animal foundation -- and she dedicated the song "My Buddy" to her son, the late record producer and songwriter Terry Melcher, who died in 2004 after battling melanoma.

"He really was my buddy," Day said of her son. "I wanted that song to be there because it was for him and, well, all I can say is that I miss him very much."

PICKING SONGS SHE LIKES

Day's voice is sharp on songs such as "My One and Only Love" and "The Way I Dreamed It," and she says she picked the songs for the album simply because she liked them.

"It's difficult to explain," she said. "You pick the songs that you like and like a lot."

She agreed that she's lived a magical life -- from Ohio schoolgirl to Hollywood star -- but then remembered that not all was sunshine and sweetness.

While her years in music, movies and TV will be known for performing, Day's setbacks notably included being left deeply in debt after one husband and his business partner squandered her earnings. Still, she recovered.

"I had a lot of bumps, but each one led me to something better," she said.

Of all her endeavors, Day said she loved singing the most -- singing and the movies equally, on second thought. Of her favorite memories, she said, are those when she first became a singer in a big band with a swinging sound.

"My Heart" already has been released in Great Britain, and it landed in the top 10 on U.K. record charts, making Day among the oldest singers ever to earn that achievement.

Day said she thinks the key to her longevity is "laughing a lot ... My entire family has gone to heaven, so I'm all alone. But if I sat in my house and cried all the time, what kind of life would that be?"

She ends the album with the song "Ohio" -- a musical reference to the state where she was born, with its classic lyrics "Why, O why, O why-o//why did I ever leave Ohio?"

Day said she's not really sure exactly why she left home so many years ago, except that she simply loved to sing.

"I was going to marry a very nice man," she said. "I was going to have a nice little house and cook for him."

She pauses to reflect.

"I still don't cook," she said, then laughs.

(Editing by Sheri Linden)

Source: http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/movies/*http%3A//news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20111127/en_nm/us_dorisday

bieber baby justin beiber dia de los muertos dia de los muertos david arquette lionfish lionfish

Companies give Republicans, federal regulators, different messages on environmental proposals (Star Tribune)

Share With Friends: | | Politics - Top Stories News, RSS Feeds and Widgets via Feedzilla.

Source: http://news.feedzilla.com/en_us/stories/politics/top-stories/166440198?client_source=feed&format=rss

dana wilkey dana wilkey chuck liddell chuck liddell dancing with the stars brandi glanville kristin chenoweth

Ex-CEO wants Olympus to come clean on scandal (AP)

TOKYO ? The former chief executive of Olympus Corp. spoke with Japanese investigators Thursday, reiterating his determination to get to the bottom of one of Japan's biggest financial scandals involving a cover-up of massive investment losses.

Michael Woodford, 51, plans to confront the board of the Japanese camera and medical equipment maker at a meeting Friday ? a day after speaking with the Tokyo District Public Prosecutors Office, the Tokyo Metropolitan Police Department and the Securities and Exchange Surveillance Commission.

Woodford, who was fired last month after questioning dubious accounting at Olympus, remains on the board and can only be removed by shareholders. He declined comment on what he was going to tell prosecutors. He returned to Japan on Wednesday.

Under intense pressure, the embattled company has admitted that a $687 million payment to an obscure Wall Street firm for financial advice and expensive acquisitions were used to cover up investment losses dating to the 1990s.

The board abruptly ousted Woodford last month for questioning the deals and payment. At the time, Olympus said Woodford was sacked because his management style was incompatible with the company's culture.

The scandal has cast a harsh light on corporate governance in Japan, which has been repeatedly criticized as falling behind global standards. Recent media reports have also pointed to possible ties between Tokyo-based Olympus and organized crime.

A third-party panel created by Olympus to investigate its accounting has said it has so far found no evidence of any ties with the underworld.

Woodford told the throngs of media gathered at Narita International on Wednesday that he is not afraid to be back in Japan and would press for answers during his stay.

"This isn't going to go away, the truth will come out," he said. "Please now have the dignity, at least the dignity, to accept that the game is up."

Woodford went public with his concerns after his sacking, and has become a hero among circles hopeful for better corporate governance in Japan.

Tsuyoshi Kikukawa resigned as president on Oct. 26 and was replaced by Shuichi Takayama. The company blamed the accounting scheme on Kikukawa, former executive vice president Hisashi Mori and ex-auditor Hideo Yamada.

Prosecutors are questioning the executives, according to Kyodo news agency.

Olympus now risks being delisted from the Tokyo Stock Exchange unless it can rectify past filings with regulators by reporting revised earnings by Dec. 14.

The company's shares lost four-fifths of their value after the scandal erupted in mid-October, but have since recovered on optimism that Olympus will avoid removal from the stock exchange.

The issue gained 17 percent Thursday, its maximum gain allowed for a single day, to finish at 1,019 yen.

The Tokyo Stock Exchange was closed Wednesday for a national holiday. Olympus shares surged 20 percent Tuesday after the panel said it had found no evidence of links to organized crime.

The practice of hiding investment losses through funny bookkeeping and paper companies has surfaced before in Japan, especially in the 1990s, when mergers and acquisitions became a way for companies to survive in the depressed economy that followed the bursting of Japan's real estate bubble.

Such scandals have previously ensnared other major names in Japan Inc., such as Yamaichi Securities Co., which went bankrupt in 1997, and cosmetics maker Kanebo, which was forced to undergo a government-backed bailout in 2005.

Woodford is speaking on a panel and with reporters Thursday evening, and has a press conference Friday at the Foreign Correspondents' Club of Japan in Tokyo.

___

Follow Yuri Kageyama on Twitter at http://twitter.com/yurikageyama

Source: http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/asia/*http%3A//news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20111124/ap_on_bi_ge/as_japan_olympus

lake malawi hines ward warren jeffs james harrison james harrison phaedra parks oklahoma earthquake

Eccentric Gambia leader poised to win another term (AP)

JOHANNESBURG ? Gambia's president of 17 years is widely expected to win another term in Thursday's election with the opposition divided and voters apathetic.

President Yahya Jammeh, who has drawn international attention for his claims that he can cure AIDS, faces two opposition candidates.

On Wednesday, the West African regional bloc ECOWAS said it believed the vote would not be free and fair. International observer missions from the African Union and European Union will be overseeing the polls.

Gambia's president already has removed term limits from the constitution, and has told his supporters that neither an election nor a coup can shake his grip on power.

The president's supporters credit him with developing infrastructure across this tiny country located on Africa's western coast.

Source: http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/world/*http%3A//news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20111123/ap_on_re_af/af_gambia_election

david blaine kevin smith kevin smith jordy nelson hot chelle rae guile alton brown

NATO in Kosovo moves to dismantle Serb barricade (AP)

RUDARE, Kosovo ? NATO troops in Kosovo fired tear gas to disperse a crowd of Serbs resisting the dismantling of a concrete barricade put up to block Kosovo authorities from controlling the Serb-dominated area.

An AP reporter witnessed NATO soldiers in riot gear attempting to remove a concrete barrier late Wednesday and stretching barbed wire on the road. Tear gas was fired after several hundred Serb protesters removed the barbed wire. NATO did not immediately comment.

Serbs in Kosovo's north have been blocking roads since summer angered by Kosovo authorities' attempt to send ethnic Albanian customs and police officers into the Serb area.

Many Serbs that live there reject the country's 2008 secession from Serbia and say NATO is supports Kosovo institutions.

Source: http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/europe/*http%3A//news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20111124/ap_on_re_eu/eu_kosovo_tense_north

oobleck justin timberlake marine corps ball dallas cowboys cheerleaders frank gore injury frank gore injury makana makana

PIC: Ashlee Simpson, Pete Wentz Celebrate Bronx's 3rd Birthday (omg!)

No cat fights here!

Ashlee Simpson and Pete Wentz split up in February, but they appear to be happy to put their differences aside for the sake of their son Bronx. On Monday, Wentz, 32, Ashlee, 27, were joined by the Simpson family -- including a pregnant, makeup-free Jessica! -- to celebrate Bronx's third birthday at The Coop in Studio City, Calif.?

PHOTOS: Ashlee and Pete in happier times

Ashlee and Bronx had matching kitten whiskers painted on their faces, while Jessica, 31, opted for a natural look. The designer's fiance, Eric Johnson, and parents Tina and Joe Simpson were also on hand for the fete.?

PHOTOS: Ashlee and Jessica through the years

Although she's amicable with Wentz, Ashlee has a new man in her life: Boardwalk Empire's Vincent Piazza. Ashlee and Piazza have been dating since June, and in September, the actor introduced Ashlee to his parents.

PHOTOS: Bronx's Aunt Jess shows off her baby bump!

Fortunately, Piazza and Wentz haven't had any issues with one another. "It's been really great. So there is no head butting," Piazza joked to Us Weekly in September about his relationship with Ashlee's ex. "You'd see the marks if there were!"

Get more Us! Follow us on Twitter, Friend us on Facebook, Subscribe to Us Weekly

Source: http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/entertainment/*http%3A//us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/external/omg_rss/rss_omg_en/news_pic_ashlee_simpson_pete_wentz_celebrate_bronxs3rd_153634415/43683065/*http%3A//omg.yahoo.com/news/pic-ashlee-simpson-pete-wentz-celebrate-bronxs-3rd-153634415.html

reo chilis snow white and the huntsman snow white and the huntsman philip rivers chanukah chanukah

Oil price up on Mideast strife, Europe debt plan

NEW YORK (AP) ? Oil prices rose Tuesday on concerns that Middle East strife could disrupt supplies and on hopes that Europe's debt crisis wouldn't lead to worldwide financial gridlock.

West Texas Intermediate crude, the benchmark used to price oil in much of the U.S., rose $1.09 to end at $98.01 a barrel in New York. Brent crude, which is used to price oil produced in many foreign countries, rose $1.99 to finish at $108.65 a barrel in London.

Oil prices rose on worries that new international sanctions on Iran would reduce the flow of oil from the world's fourth biggest oil producer. Also large, violent protests in Egypt stirred fears that upheaval in the region could spread and disrupt supplies. Egypt is not a major oil producer, but it does control important energy supply lines and wields considerable influence in the region.

The worst fears about Europe's debt crisis ? that it could lead to a lending crisis and financial gridlock around the world ? were allayed somewhat Tuesday by the announcement of an International Monetary Fund plan designed to help prevent the debt crisis in Europe from spreading. The IMF plan would provide quick cash on flexible terms to countries facing sudden financial stress.

Concerns remain that Europe's debt crisis is pushing the region toward recession, which would slow industrial activity in Europe and in countries around the world that export to Europe.

In the U.S., the Commerce Department said the economy grew more slowly over the summer than the government had earlier estimated. That picture of a sluggish economy helped drive the stock market mostly lower Tuesday.

When the global economy slows, demand for crude oil and refined products like diesel and gasoline falls because fewer goods are produced and shipped, and people travel less. Even with Tuesday's gain, oil is down 5 percent since last Wednesday, when it spiked to $102.59 per barrel.

"The market is concerned on the one hand about the rate of economic growth," said Andrew Lipow, an independent oil analyst based in Houston. "On the other hand issues in the Middle East are continuing."

There was some encouraging economic news in the U.S., however, that helped push oil higher Tuesday. The government reported that inventories of goods fell over the summer. That raised hopes that the economy could grow faster than expected in the current quarter, if factories crank up to restock shelves.

And mild weather forecast for much of the U.S. over the Thanksgiving weekend is expected to motivate drivers to hit the road to visit families and shop. The price of gasoline futures rose nearly 3 percent, to finish at $2.5618 a gallon in New York, a gain of 7.28 cents.

At the pump, retail gasoline fell almost a penny to a national average of $3.34 per gallon on Tuesday, according to AAA, Oil Price Information Service and Wright Express. In coming days the higher price of wholesale gasoline could push up pump prices.

Gasoline demand has been falling in the U.S. for the past several months. It began to drop sharply as prices rose above $4 per gallon in many states last winter and spring. Current pump prices, while still high, are 16 percent below the peak national average of $3.98 per gallon reached on May 5.

In other energy trading in New York on Tuesday, natural gas rose 2 cents to finish at $3.4150 per 1,000 cubic feet, and heating oil rose 4 cents to end the day at $3.0346 a gallon.

Associated Press

Source: http://hosted2.ap.org/APDEFAULT/f70471f764144b2fab526d39972d37b3/Article_2011-11-22-Oil%20Prices/id-65f478a4e1fd4af398aec673a170c27f

mukesh ambani mukesh ambani bob harper aapl x factor judges x factor judges raiders news

Kenneth weakens rapidly to Category 2 hurricane (AP)

MIAMI ? Forecasters say Hurricane Kenneth is weakening rapidly and has been downgraded to a Category 2 storm in the eastern Pacific.

There is no threat to land from what had been the strongest late-season hurricane in that area on record when it earlier reached Category 4 status.

The U.S. National Hurricane Center in Miami said Wednesday that Kenneth has maximum sustained winds near 110 mph (175 kph). The storm was centered about 840 miles (1,350 kilometers) south-southwest of the southern tip of Baja California, Mexico.

It is moving west at 9 mph (15 kph)

Kenneth is expected to weaken further and could be downgraded to a tropical storm by Thursday. There are no coastal watches or warnings in effect.

The eastern Pacific hurricane season ends Nov. 30.

Source: http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/weather/*http%3A//news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20111123/ap_on_re_us/tropical_weather

colorado avalanche colorado avalanche bass lake michael jackson kids michael jackson kids father of the bride father of the bride

Ohio man fighting charge over rubber costume ax (Providence Journal)

Share With Friends: | | Politics - Top Stories Stories, RSS and RSS Feed via Feedzilla.

Source: http://news.feedzilla.com/en_us/stories/politics/top-stories/164743017?client_source=feed&format=rss

gloria cain gloria cain kandi burruss occupy portland occupy portland the hunger games neil degrasse tyson

Taylor Swift wins 3 trophies at AMAs (AP)

LOS ANGELES ? Taylor Swift was crowned artist of the year at the American Music Awards for a second time.

"This is so crazy!" the country superstar said after beat such contenders as Adele, Lady Gaga and Katy Perry to capture all three awards that she was nominated for at Sunday's ceremony, including artist of the year, the show's highest accolade that she previously claimed in 2009.

"I ended up writing the record by myself, so the fact that you would honor it this way, you have no idea what this means to me," said Swift after winning the trophy for favorite country album for "Speak Now." She was also awarded the prize for favorite country female artist.

Nicki Minaj, the pink-loving hip-hop diva, won two awards Sunday. She kicked off the 39th annual fan-favorite ceremony by sporting a pair of speakers on her much-talked about posterior and was later honored as favorite rap/hip-hop artist, besting a group that included mentor Lil Wayne, and won favorite rap/hip-hop album for "Pink Friday."

"There's so much love in this room," beamed the pink-haired Minaj.

Adele had been the night's leading nominee with four nods, but didn't have much of a presence at the show: She was absent from the ceremony because she is recovering from recent throat surgery. Adele tied Swift with three awards: favorite pop/rock female artist, adult contemporary artist and pop/rock album for "21."

Other winners included Maroon 5 as favorite pop-rock band/duo/group, Blake Shelton as favorite country male artist, Lady Antebellum as favorite country band/duo/group, Beyonce as favorite soul/R&B female artist, Rihanna for favorite soul/R&B album for "Loud" and Hot Chelle Rae as new artist of the year.

The ceremony inside the Nokia Theatre in an unusually rainy Los Angeles was drenched with 17 musical performances.

Justin Bieber got in the holiday spirit among a forest of neon lights with "Under the Mistletoe," and Kelly Clarkson, wearing a glittery red gown with her hair swept to the side, delivered a swinging rendition of her hit "Mr. Know It All" as back-up dancers dressed as 1930s-era photographers snapped the first-ever "American Idol" champion.

Jennifer Lopez and Marc Anthony shared custody of rapper Pitbull, who joined the former couple in a pair of separate performances. Lopez performed essentially a live version of a car commercial starring the "Idol" judge set to "Papi" ? with the car onstage ? before launching into her hit "On the Floor." Pitbull later returned to the stage and joined Anthony for "Rain Over Me."

Lopez expressed surprise when she won the favorite Latin music artist award.

"It's been up and down and just exciting and overwhelming and so many things," Lopez said of the last year.

Several artists delivered stripped-down performances: The Band Perry crooned an emotional "If I Die Young," a pink-haired Perry accompanied herself on guitar for "The One That Got Away" and a platinum-blonde Chris Brown simply sang "All Back" before being joined by a troop of helmet-clad back-up dancers for a flashy interpretation of "Say It With Me."

There were collaborations, too. Lopez joined a glowing-in-the-dark will.i.am for his new single "Hard." Christina Aguilera dueted with Maroon 5 on their "Moves Like Jagger," and then Maroon 5 lead singer Adam Levine teamed with Gym Class Heroes for their hit "Stereo Hearts." Bieber joined LMFAO in animal-print pants for the show's finale, which ended with everyone on stage ? including David Hasselhoff ? stripping down to smiley-face underwear.

___

Online:

http://abc.go.com/music-lounge/show/american-music-awards/

___

AP Entertainment Writer Sandy Cohen contributed to this report.

___

AP Entertainment Writers Derrik J. Lang and Sandy Cohen can be reached at http://www.twitter.com/derrikjlang/ and http://www.twitter.com/APSandy.

Source: http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/entertainment/*http%3A//news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20111121/ap_en_ot/us_american_music_awards

debit card fees how to be a gentleman how to be a gentleman iphone 5 case pawpaw pawpaw cantaloupe

Gizmodo's Guide to IM Etiquette [Etiquette]

Everyone has an obnoxious instant messenger friend. If you don't, it's probably you. Our parents didn't come of age in the days of AOL, so it's unlikely that they were able to pass on the finer points of internet manners. More »

Source: http://feeds.gawker.com/~r/gizmodo/full/~3/JBlifdfdg14/gizmodos-guide-to-im-etiquette

barbados resorts tiger woods helen mirren the call surrogates surrogates james garner

Winnebago Co. Finance Committee approves money saving ...

WINNEBAGO COUNTY (WREX) -

Winnebago County's finance committee approves a measure that could reduce our electric bills.

Committee members also discussed and agreed to hire more employees to shrink the jail population.

The committee spent just more than an hour discussing an idea to combine people in the county into shopping groups and lower the price of electricity for everyone.

Plus members okayed using the county's one percent sales tax to hire people in the state's attorney's office. The goal is to speed up prosecutions and cut down on the amount of time people spend in jail.

Winnebago County Finance and Administration Committee Chairman Ted Biondo explains how aggregating power works.

"We will join with a number of counties and municipalities to try to get electricity at a group rate, and maybe save up to 20% on each of the residential and commercial electric bills."

He says response to the measure has been positive and should pass when it shows up on primary ballots in March of 2012.

"It can be as high as 20% or 50% of your electric bill saved so I think it will have overwhelming support."

County Chairman Scott Christiansen likes the idea of saving money and says there are options for folks who don't want to take part.

"Even if the referendum were to pass if there is a problem people have the option to opt out"

The county also discussed and is moving forward with using the one percent sales tax to hire more prosecutors. That should speed up the legal process shrink the jail population and save money.

"We're far enough ahead in the revenue side of our budget, both the one cent and the corporate replacement tax and of course we're looking forward to the payment of some of these old fines and stuff and we feel pretty confident in all that now."

The full board still has to vote on both ideas. Chairman Christiansen also says they'll keep a close eye on progress at the jail to make sure hiring all these new employees was the right move.

Source: http://www.wrex.com/story/16071388/winnebago-co-finance-committee-approves-money-saving-measures

social security intc barometer barometer cyclops cyclops zanesville

Android Game Review: Reflexions

YouTube link for mobile viewing

We've all been there: a maniacal evil genius has you in the thick of his trap, and the only way to escape his series of death beams is to reflect them away from you using whatever is at your disposal. Maybe it's a nickel, maybe you've got a lot of mirrors at your disposal. At any rate, we all know the only way we got out of the trap (and saved the day!) was through practice.

My tool of choice? Reflexions, by YoYo Games. What better way to brush up on your reflecting skills, kill some time, and work your brain into a frenzy as you try to collect the diamonds and advance to the next level? I can think of none.

In Reflexions, you're trying to arrange mirrors to bounce your energy ball around, pick up all the diamonds scattered throughout the level (while avoiding the red, mine-looking things), and then bounce your way to the exit portal. The diamonds aren't for fun, either. The exit portal doesn't activate until you've nabbed all the diamonds, so you can't try and skip them to make a sweet time completing a level.

Your motivation to complete levels in a timely fashion? That timer running in the background, of course. In addition to your time being checked, the game is also timing your number of moves (how many times you flip a mirror), and that factors into your overall rating. There's no scores here, just the familiar three-star system that all games are using these days.

If you're like me and think you only earned two stars because the star in the middle is the biggest, don't fret. The game fills the outer stars first, and you get the big star in the middle if you really maxed the level out and earned all three stars. Trust me, confused me, too.

Reflexions is also peppered with little achievements here and there (in-game only, no OpenFeint), like completing the tutorial, world 1, getting 20 stars in world 1, etc. The achievements run the gamut from incredibly simple to ridiculously difficult, and while it's nice to give the player a lot of easy ones at the start, it almost feels a little too much like "everyone is a winner" for my tastes. Still, the completionist in me appreciates the challenge.

With 40 levels in four worlds, oodles of achievements, and the fact Reflexions runs equally well on both tablets and phones, I'd behoove you to try it out. It's only $1.10 in the Android Market, but that's a special, introductory price, so I'd move on this sooner rather than later.

Dr. Evil Mr. Bad Guy is planning, so if you're ready to brush up on your reflecting skills, we've got download links after the break.

read more

Source: http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/androidcentral/~3/GBh9m7C9410/story01.htm

honda generator honda generator cc sabathia ruth madoff ruth madoff in living color enews

Newspaper owners team up in deal-finding venture (AP)

SAN FRANCISCO ? A group of newspaper publishers and other media companies are teaming up to sell more advertising aimed at people looking for online deals.

Eight companies formed a joint venture that has acquired Find n Save, a search engine focused on discount offers made by merchants in cities across the U.S. The venture acquired Find n Save as part of its purchase of Travidia, an online shopping service. Financial terms of that deal weren't disclosed in Thursday's announcement.

The joint venture's initial owners include: Advance Digital, part of Advance Publications Inc., whose newspapers include The Plain Dealer in Cleveland; A.H. Belo Corp., owner of The Dallas Morning News; Cox Media Group, owner of The Atlanta Journal-Constitution and more than 100 radio and TV stations; and Gannett Co.; owner of USA Today and more than 80 other newspapers as well as more than 20 TV stations.

Discussions are being held with other media companies interested in joining the venture.

Find n Save is tapping into the coupon craze that helped turn Groupon's daily-deal service into a hot commodity. Although it's still losing money, Groupon Inc. is growing so fast that the 3-year-old company already has a $15 billion market value.

Unlike search engines such as Google, Find n Save specializes in showcasing discounts offered by advertisers within local markets. A consumer can type, say, "burrito" into a search field, and receive a list of nearby Mexican restaurants and the deals they're offering.

The search engine makes money from the advertisers in its database. Other ads can be placed by companies looking to connect with people whose search engine requests have signaled their interest in certain products and services.

The participating newspapers will share in the revenue and contribute daily deals covering their markets to Find n Save's index.

Find n Save currently tracks local deals in 19 of the top 50 U.S. markets. The joint venture plans to add 21 more top markets to the list during the next month. By the end of 2013, the joint venture expects more than 400 newspapers to be affiliated with Find n Save.

Newspapers have been mining the Internet for more revenue to offset a steep decline in print advertising that has triggered bankruptcies and massive cutbacks during the past three years. The drop has been driven by the Internet's appeal to advertisers looking for less expensive ? and in some cases, more effective ? alternatives to print advertising.

The joint venture overseeing Find n Save will be run by acting CEO Christopher Trippe, who helped newspapers put together a partnership with Yahoo Inc. that began five years ago.

The venture's other partners include Hearst Corp., whose newspapers include the San Francisco Chronicle and 14 other dailies; MediaNews Group, owner of the San Jose Mercury News, The Denver Post and more than 50 other newspapers; McClatchy Co., owner of The Sacramento (Calif.) Bee, The Miami Herald and 28 other dailies; and The Washington Post Co., publisher of the largest newspaper in the nation's capital.

Source: http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/tech/*http%3A//news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20111117/ap_on_hi_te/us_newspapers_shopping_search_engine

gilad shalit santonio holmes john edward psychic john edward psychic brandon marshall headless horseman headless horseman

Israel blames Abbas for choosing Hamas over peace. Is he? (The Christian Science Monitor)

Tel Aviv ? Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas is reaching out to rival Hamas in a renewed bid for unity after his campaign for United Nations membership failed in the Security Council last week.

Mr. Abbas is reportedly pushing to set a May 2012 date for Palestinian elections ? the first such vote in five years ? and will bow to Hamas demands for the resignation of Prime Minister Salam Fayyad so an interim unity cabinet can be appointed.

The fresh effort at reconciliation highlights an apparent contradiction. Israel considers Abbas's potential cooperation with Hamas as collusion with a sworn enemy, but many observers believe a peace deal would be impossible to implement so long as Hamas and Fatah remain estranged, one controlling Gaza Strip and the other the West Bank.

Top 5 issues on the table in Israeli-Palestinian conflict

"We have an opportunity here," says Akiva Eldar, a columnist for the liberal newspaper Haaretz, who adds that Hamas wouldn't necessarily block Abbas from engaging in peace talks after they formed a unity government. "What Hamas is saying is that Abbas, the PLO, has a full mandate to cut a deal with Israel. They are betting that Israel will do the job for them, by saying no."

Mr. Eldar also says that Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu won?t come under pressure from the US to negotiate with an Abbas-Hamas unity government before America's 2012 elections, because the largely pro-Israel Congress opposes any dealings with Hamas, which is designated a terrorist organization by the US, Israel, and the European Union.

Hamas-Fatah meeting next weekHamas and Abbas's Fatah party had formed a unity government in 2006, after Hamas won elections that year. But they split in 2007, when Fatah was violently ousted from the Gaza Strip. Since then, Hamas has ruled Gaza, while the Fatah-dominated Palestinian Authority has run the West Bank.

Anticipation of a breakthrough on the Fatah-Hamas impasse has been stoked in part by a scheduled meeting between the president and Hamas leader Khaled Meshaal in Cairo next week. The two haven?t met since last May, when Fatah signed a unity deal with Hamas.

At the time of the May announcement, Netanyahu said that Abbas must choose between peace with Hamas and peace with Israel. But Abbas has pointed to Israeli settlement construction in the West Bank and Jerusalem as evidence that the current Israeli government isn?t interested creating a viable Palestinian state.

"Is there peace offer by Israel?" says Ghassan Khatib, a spokesman for Fayyad's government in Ramallah. "I didn?t notice."

Fayyad, darling of the West, likely to step downAbbas emerged weaker after the Palestinians failed to muster a majority at the Security Council in favor of full membership. A Security Council committee that reviewed the Palestinian application specifically mentioned the four-year divide between the West Bank and Gaza as a problem.

In an address on Wednesday, Abbas vowed to accelerate reconciliation with Hamas. A unity deal would help the Palestinian president recover some of the lost prestige. But the Islamist militant group is in a stronger position after a prisoner swap with Israel that freed hundreds of Palestinians.

The original reconciliation deal called for a unity cabinet and elections within a year, however the sides never agreed on a cabinet. Hamas, which refuses to recognize Israel, has demanded that Prime Minister Salam Fayyad, a darling of the West for his reputation as being tough on corruption, step down.

Still that task of unity will be difficult because Abbas will not have much room for maneuvering between Hamas and the US, says a Palestinian official who asked to remain anonymous. "The more flexibility he shows to Hamas, the more difficulties he will have with the outside world and with Israel."

Get daily or weekly updates from CSMonitor.com delivered to your inbox. Sign up today.

Source: http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/un/*http%3A//news.yahoo.com/s/csm/20111116/wl_csm/425414

ows kindle fire review community newt gingrich matt schaub fire island fire island

Facebook warns of recent wave of spam (AP)

BERLIN ? A recent wave of spam flooding Facebook users' pages with graphic pictures depicting sex and violence has mostly been stopped, but the social networking site said Wednesday that people need to remain vigilant to keep their accounts from being hijacked.

Facebook in Germany said the latest attack tricked users into pasting and executing malicious JavaScript in their browser URL bar, exploiting a browser vulnerability that caused them to unknowingly share the content, according to a statement to news agency dapd.

"Our team responded quickly and we have eliminated most of the spam caused by this attack," the statement said. "We are now working to improve our systems to better defend against similar attacks in the future."

According to Facebook, no user data or accounts were compromised during the attack.

Facebook said it built enforcement mechanisms to quickly shut down the malicious pages and accounts that attempt to exploit the vulnerability.

"Protecting the people who use Facebook from spam and malicious content is a top priority for us," Facebook said.

Meantime, Facebook warned users to never cut and paste unknown code into a browser's address bar, and to always use an up-to-date browser, as well as to flag and report any suspicious content.

Source: http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/topstories/*http%3A//news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20111116/ap_on_hi_te/facebook_spam

lady liberty lady liberty the rum diary addams family in time cj wilson statue of liberty

Soccer star Hope Solo has been eliminated on ?Dancing With the Stars?

Solo was eliminated from the ABC ballroom competition Tuesday after finishing in last place during the semifinal performance round. Dancing for the mirror ball trophy Monday will be actor and Army veteran J.R. Martinez, TV personality Ricki Lake and reality star Rob Kardashian. “Instead of winning the mirror ball trophy, I’m going to try and [...]

Source: http://www.celebritymound.com/soccer-star-hope-solo-has-been-eliminated-on-dancing-with-the-stars/?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=soccer-star-hope-solo-has-been-eliminated-on-dancing-with-the-stars

merce cunningham bcs rankings saints tim hightower tim hightower waldorf school waldorf school

From the makers of Siri comes Trap.it, a new take on the search engine (Digital Trends)

Siri, the breakout technology made famous via the iPhone 4S, has inspired everything from talk of the next step in artificial intelligence to an entirely new Internet meme. But Apple?s been cagey on introducing the feature to its other devices, and at the moment it remains something of an exclusive application.

If you have Siri-envy, there is a solution beyond caving and buying the expensive smartphone. A new take on the search engine called Trap.it uses the same AI technology that Siri does?courtesy of the CALO project (which was funded by DARPA), and has launched its public beta for anyone and everyone to try out.

Trap.it is like a hybrid of Pandora and Qwiki (the ?information experience? site that boasted former Facebook founder Eduardo Saverin as an investor) that feels a lot like the next step in search. While Google reigns supreme over this market, consumers? shifting priorities are starting to make it feel just the tiniest bit antiquated.

Using your Facebook or Twitter account, Trap.it curates the Web for you, offering up more personal takes on everything the Internet has to offer. It?s true that the typical search engine experience is more about the collective than it is you: It takes into account current news stories or information that the Web community has deemed quality via their clicks. But Trap.it doesn?t really care about the community?it?s more interested in the individual.

Via the ?discover? bar, you ?trap? information that comes up in visual-heavy icons with short text summaries. Hovering over these images lets you vote up or down if this is what you were looking for, share the information, or bookmark it for later. Your feedback on these ?traps? is how the search engine learns and gets smarter, so eventually you?re receiving more and more spot-on results. We advise you to take a look at the privacy policy before you use it?although if you?re a Pinterest user, you shouldn?t take any issue with these terms.

It?s yet another signal we?re moving from search to discovery. We talked about this recently and how it applies to e-commerce, but this time Trap.it is striking at the heart of the matter and challenging traditional search at its most basic. A recent study into search revealed how products should gear products:?

?Future investigation for improving how users gather Web information should take into account the following aspects:

• Visual characteristics of search result presentations for information gathering.
• Re-finding tools that bookmark complete and partial search sessions with user annotations.
• Integrated information management features that support information gathering tasks.??

Sounds a lot like what Trap.it is doing. When we were looking for something, we used to go to Google and look for it by keywords?but we had to know what it was we were looking for. Now it?s like that process is in reverse. First we know we want something, and a phrase or anecdote is what leads us to the end result via a discovery process that helps us pinpoint what exactly it is we were looking for in the first place.?

This article was originally posted on Digital Trends

More from Digital Trends

Google promotes Web journalists ? as long as they have Google+ profiles

Google Search police strike again, send ?cc.co? domains into oblivion

China pushing Baidu on Android phones

Google hits us with yet another YouTube redesign

Source: http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/applecomputer/*http%3A//news.yahoo.com/s/digitaltrends/20111116/tc_digitaltrends/fromthemakersofsiricomestrapitanewtakeonthesearchengine

arrested development arrested development shannon tweed shannon tweed don lapre aladdin weird al yankovic

Around the Web?

Take a break to click through Tuesday’s afternoon links: Six foods expectant moms should avoid at Thanksgiving ? lilSugar.com More moms are returning to work only a month after giving birth ? Los Angeles Times The latest trend for dads-to-be? Dadchelor parties ? FoxNews.com Fun ways to teach kids about recycling ? Parenting.com Australian psychologist [...]

Source: http://feeds.celebritybabies.com/~r/celebrity-babies/~3/pfkXJNwPbkw/

joseph addai joseph addai michael jackson autopsy michael jackson autopsy liberace liberace repudiate

As Gingrich surges, rivals raise questions about his temperament (Politico)

With Newt Gingrich emerging as serious contender, some Republicans are questioning his fitness for a general election campaign by seizing on comments the former speaker made in 2007 about Hispanics.

Making the case against bi-lingual education at a National Federation of Republican Women event, Gingrich said children should be taught "the language of prosperity, not the language of living in a ghetto."

Continue Reading

In the wake of his comments, Gingrich recorded a video in rudimentary Spanish, saying: "The words I chose to express myself were not the best."

"It is indicative of Gingrich's propensity to say crazy things off the cuff," said an adviser to one of the former speaker's presidential rivals. "He hasn't had the spotlight on him up until recently, and I think it's only a matter of time before he says something that's inexcusable, nutty, or insulting."

This adviser, who shared the video, also noted with some awe that the former speaker himself had last month blamed "Republican incompetence" for losing Latino votes.

"This video could be devastating to GOP efforts to court Hispanics if he were the nominee," said the adviser.

Asked what Gingrich's "ghetto" comments say about his discipline, a Gingrich spokesman suggested the candidate's performance so far in this campaign answered the question.

"The final merits of whether a candidate is capable of leading the country will be decided beginning in Iowa and going through Tampa," said Gingrich spokesman R.C. Hammond. "Based on what we?ve seen on the campaign trail so far in debates and other forums, there is no question that Newt Gingrich is capable of being commander-in-chief."

Source: http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/politics/*http%3A//us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/external/politico_rss/rss_politico_mostpop/http___www_politico_com_news_stories1111_68347_html/43601528/SIG=11mrd6c7c/*http%3A//www.politico.com/news/stories/1111/68347.html

walter isaacson zodiac killer battlefield 3 review battlefield 3 review real housewives of new jersey coraline coraline

PFT: Packers leave no doubt about NFL's best team

AP

A day after the football-following world warmed up to the notion that the Texans may be the best team in the AFC, the Texans? ability to compete with AFC teams not in the AFC South took a major hit.

And now, with starting quarterback Matt Schaub expected to miss the rest of the year, the job falls to Matt Leinart, a former Heisman winner who hung around campus one year too long, lost his job to Kurt Warner, and then blew his chance to succeed the Hall of Famer by displaying a lack of accuracy that nearly got Larry Fitzgerald killed in the preseason.

Instead, it got Leinart run out of Arizona.

So why in the world would the Texans entrust the starting quarterback job to Leinart, whose coach at USC has shown no interest in a reunion, as they move toward their first playoff berth in franchise history?

Yes, I believe the Texans should call Brett Favre. ?Though he has become a caricature, the analysis is simple: ?Would you rather have Favre or Leinart running your offense?

I don?t expect the Texans to call Favre, and I have no idea whether Favre would be interested. ?But for the past few years there?s been a vague sense that Favre would consider capping his career with a Roger Clemens-style partial season with a contending team that has a clear need.

Many will dismiss the possibility because we?re all sick of Brett Favre the man. ?But there?s no denying that Brett Favre the quarterback can still bring it. ?He has shown that he can get up to speed quickly, and if the Broncos can re-tool their offense quickly to suit the unique skills of Tim Tebow, the Texans surely can come up with a playbook that consists of healthy doses of Arian Foster and Ben Tate on the ground, periodic Brett bombs to Andre Johnson, and a smattering of short throws to Owen Daniels and either Foster or Tate.

Coupled with one of the best defenses in the league, and in light of the fact that Houston is a fairly short flight from Hattiesburg, it makes sense.

It makes a lot more sense than trusting Matt Leinart.

Sure, Leinart may dub me a ?hater? and use this criticism as motivation, but if the guy wasn?t able to motivate himself when the starting job in Arizona had been handed to him, the kick in the butt that comes from a external slight won?t matter.

And if, as expected, the Texans don?t call Favre, he can blame only himself for allowing issues other than his arm strength and experience and competitiveness influence teams to now avoid him. ?This could have been his best chance to write the perfect final chapter for his career, walking off into the sunset with a second Lombardi after beating the Packers and Aaron Rodgers.

But the short-term marriage simply isn?t going to happen.

Even though, given the Texans? alternatives, it should.

Source: http://profootballtalk.nbcsports.com/2011/11/14/packers-stand-alone-atop-the-nfl/related

breaking bad breaking bad atlanta falcons nancy shevell nancy shevell weezer weezer

Sony's latest PS Move Bundles let you go Medieval, get your groove on

Good ol' gaming bundles can be enticing when you're on the prowl for a new console or accessory set, and we have to admit, we'd be excited to lay some motion-controlled moves down with Sony's latest PlayStation offerings. Back at E3, we had a chance to slice enemies with virtual swords in Medieval Heros: Deadmunds Quest, thanks to the PS Move's 1:1 tracking abilities. With the game releasing next week, Sony's decided to offer it in a $100 bundle, packing a PS Eye, Move controller and a copy of Sports Champions (which Deadmund shares its gameplay mechanics with). If you don't already own a PS3 -- and love getting your groove on -- the Everybody Dance bundle may be your $300 ticket to the wand-waving fun; it features a 320GB PS3 Slim, PS Eye and Move controller, along with a DualShock 3 for when Duty Calls. These likely won't be Sony's last PlayStation-related bundles to hit shelves before the year's through, but if it sounds like your kind of party you'll find more info at the source link below.

Sony's latest PS Move Bundles let you go Medieval, get your groove on originally appeared on Engadget on Sun, 13 Nov 2011 15:33:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink PlayStationLifeStyle  |  PlayStation Blog (US)  | Email this | Comments

Source: http://feeds.engadget.com/~r/weblogsinc/engadget/~3/r0N5wJiausE/

full tilt poker shel silverstein dont ask dont tell dont ask dont tell troy davis execution date troy davis execution date skylar grey

Israel speeds up work on airline defense system (AP)

JERUSALEM ? Israel has sped up work on a missile defense system for its commercial airliners because of fears that Palestinian militants in Gaza have obtained anti-aircraft weapons looted from Libya, defense officials said Friday.

All Israeli passenger planes will be fitted with the laser-based system "within months," or about a year ahead of schedule, the officials said, speaking on condition of anonymity because they are not allowed to brief journalists.

Israel began developing the system in 2002, after Islamic militants tried to hit an Israeli passenger plane with shoulder-fired missiles outside Mombasa, Kenya. The missiles missed, but the incident pushed Israel to find a way to better protect its commercial airliners.

About 100 planes are being fitted with the system, named C-Music, at a cost of about $135 million. It aims to improve on earlier technology installed on a smaller number of jets flying to destinations known to be home to militant groups or otherwise considered dangerous, especially in Africa and parts of Asia. That device fired flares to lure heat-seeking missiles away from the plane.

The officials said the new system uses lasers to more effectively jam heat-seeking mechanisms and throw missiles off target.

The project was sped up because of fears that weapons looted during the civil war in Libya have been smuggled into the Hamas-ruled Gaza Strip, the officials said.

Israel has maintained a tight blockade on the Gaza Strip to prevent weapons smuggling since the militant group Hamas seized control of the territory from its more moderate Palestinian rivals in 2007. But tunnels underneath Gaza's border with Egypt still provide an entry point for smugglers.

During Libya's eight-month civil war, human rights groups and reporters came across a number of weapons depots that were left unguarded and were looted after Moammar Gadhafi's fighters fled.

The United Nations says preventing more weapons from being smuggled out of the country is a top concern but that it will be difficult because of the vast desert nation's porous borders.

In particular, the U.N.'s top envoy to Libya, Ian Martin, has urged authorities there to prevent thousands of shoulder-fired missiles and other weapons purchased by Gadhafi from getting into the hands of armed groups and terrorists.

He said Libya under Gadhafi accumulated the largest known stockpile of shoulder-fired anti-aircraft missiles of any non-producing country.

Gadhafi was overthrown in August when anti-government rebels took control of the capital, Tripoli. He was captured and died in the hands of rebels on Oct. 20.

Palestinian militants tried to hit an Israeli military helicopter with a shoulder-fired missile this summer while it was pursuing Palestinian gunmen who had crossed from Egypt's Sinai desert into Israel where they killed eight people.

Source: http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/mideast/*http%3A//news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20111111/ap_on_re_mi_ea/ml_israel_airline_defense

andre johnson arrested development arrested development shannon tweed shannon tweed don lapre aladdin

Is $45,000 a Lot for a Sexual Harassment Settlement?

Since then, lawyers have struggled to find a basis on which to conduct settlement negotiations. As with any litigation, the plausibility of the claim influences the amount. Employers are unlikely to settle a claim they?re convinced they could beat in court for anything more than a ?nuisance? payment of some $5,000 or so. (Kraushaar?s settlement was well in excess of a typical nuisance settlement.) If a plaintiff actually files her claim in court, forces the employer to respond to a couple of motions, and survives a motion to dismiss, the settlement will be higher as a result.

Source: http://feeds.slate.com/click.phdo?i=1c256d908d7a9f50f9d4a79ad7d06664

west virginia football wvu football meteor shower tonight district 9 district 9 pandaria pandaria

Jamie Dupree's Washington Insider: Message From Ohio

Voters in Ohio sent a pair of messages on Tuesday that reinforce the chaotic nature of the American electorate at this time, voting to both repeal a law that limited collective bargaining for public workers and to in effect block parts of the Obama health law.

The much larger issue was the collective bargaining battle, which had galvanized Democrats and their union allies, in a vote that represented a dramatic rebuke for Gov. John Kasich and state Republican leaders in the legislature.

All but a handful of counties in Ohio voted to get rid of Senate Bill 5, which went further than Wisconsin?s law that was part of a budget-cutting effort to limit union bargaining power for state and local government employees.

As for the health ballot measure known as Issue 3, the same voters in almost every Ohio county endorsed a plan which was clearly drafted as a response to the individual mandate and other provisions of the Obama health law, an issue that is expected to soon go before the U.S. Supreme Court.

It?s hard to imagine two more different political messages coming in the same election from the same group of voters.

But that?s what the voters of the Buckeye State sent on Tuesday.

Democrats can honestly say that they put together a powerful coalition to deliver a stinging rebuke to Republican Gov. John Kasich on the union issue, just months after the GOP pushed through a plan on collective bargaining for government employees.

Critics of the Obama health law can say they registered their opposition to the idea of the individual mandate and the health reform effort in general.

Some didn?t like me pointing out those interesting results Tuesday night on Twitter.

?The health care referendum is meaningless and had no real organized opposition. Not fair to equate the two,? Tweeted the folks at the liberal group Think Progress.

?Have you heard of the supremacy clause?? the folks at Think Progress added.

In a sense, that?s what I expect from Ohio. Democrats will ignore the fact that the same voters who strongly supported the repeal of a law hotly opposed by Big Labor could also then register their opposition to the Obama health reform law.

Republicans meanwhile will minimize their lackluster effort in the Buckeye State in favor of Senate Bill 5 and will instead focus on their efforts to close a budget gap in the state.

At an election night party in the state capital of Columbus, Democrats blasted Gov. Kasich and Republicans, accusing them of trying to sell out the middle class of Ohio.

?We in Ohio are sending a message to the entire nation,? said Columbus Mayor Michael Coleman.

?Hear us! Hear us loud and clear,? Coleman said to cheers in a Columbus hotel ballroom.

?Senate Bill 5 dies tonight!?

"The results tonight are a tremendous victory,? said Ohio Democratic Party Chairman Chris Redfern, who made sure to take more jabs at Gov. Kasich.

?Voters were asked if they support John Kasich?s anti-middle class agenda and they responded with a resounding ?NO,?? Redfern added.

As for Kasich, the Governor took his medicine publicly.

"When you get beat, you have to admit it," said Kasich, who disappointed Republicans with this lackluster effort, in great contrast to the fight put up by the GOP in Wisconsin earlier this year on basically the same issue.

Clearly, the collective bargaining vote was a much bigger victory than the outcome of the vote on the Obama health law, and Democrats believe they have laid the groundwork for success in Ohio in 2012.

?This is a good night for Barack Obama,? said former Gov. Ted Strickland, who was ousted last year by Kasich in a tough race.

?This was a citizen?s veto,? Strickland added.

It was certainly a big night for Democrats. The big question is obviously; can they repeat it next year when the Buckeye State will play a pivotal role in the race for the White House?

?While Senate Bill 5 is dead, the groundswell of activism it generated lives on,? said Redfern, the state Democratic Party chairman, who argued it will ?carry over into 2012? for an Obama re-election bid.

Certainly the momentum is on the side of Democrats right now in Ohio. They have one year to build on that.

Source: http://www.wsbradio.com/weblogs/jamie-dupree/2011/nov/08/message-ohio/

banned books 30 rock anna faris amanda knox latest news leann rimes brass monkey x factor auditions