Solar Paint Converts Light To Electricity

60-Second Science | Technology

A paint containing titanium dioxide and semiconducting cadmium nanocrystals can convert sunlight to electricity. Christopher Intagliata reports.

December 30, 2011?|

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Instead of installing solar panels on your roof?how about just giving your house a new paint job? Of course you?d have to be sure to use solar paint. That?s what a group of Notre Dame researchers has created, detailing the recipe in the journal ACS Nano. [Matthew P. Genovese, Ian V. Lightcap, and Prashant V. Kamat, Sun-Believable Solar Paint. A Transformative One-Step Approach for Designing Nanocrystalline Solar Cells]

The paint contains nanoparticles of titanium dioxide?which gives whiteness to sunscreen and powdered sugar. The particles are coated with semiconducting cadmium nanocrystals, and mixed with water and alcohol, to create a golden yellow paste. The researchers dubbed the product ?Sunbelievable.? They brushed it onto a conductive glass electrode, and attached that to a counter-electrode, to create a complete circuit.

When they shined light on the tiny solar cell, it pumped out a small current. The efficiency of the light-to-electricity conversion was only about one percent?much lower than the 10 to 15 percent efficiency of conventional silicon cells.

But the researchers say this paint is relatively cheap, can be made in any color, and doesn?t require a clean room to manufacture, like silicon cells?just a bench top. If they can up the efficiency a bit, a future Tom Sawyer could make an electric fence.

?Christopher Intagliata

[The above text is a transcript of this podcast]

Source: http://rss.sciam.com/click.phdo?i=2fdccb77e82dbfe004541d9b3f964eee

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BlackRock's Bob Doll sees hopeful signs in 2012 (AP)

It's a bittersweet way for investors to begin a new year.

On the one hand, economic news in the U.S. has been getting steadily better. This holiday shopping season is shaping up to be the best since the Great Recession; the housing market is showing signs of life and even the job market is on the mend.

Then, there's Europe. The region's leaders have failed again to convince investors that they will be able to prevent a breakup of their 17-nation currency union. Greece could still default on its debt, causing huge losses for banks in France and elsewhere that hold Greek bonds. Investors fear that could cause a financial panic to spread around the world, like what happened in 2008 after the U.S. brokerage Lehman Brothers collapsed.

In the U.S., too, there are plenty reasons for investors to be cautious. Many companies are still wary of hiring, and banks are afraid to turn on the lending spigots.

Who better to guide investors during these uncertain times than Bob Doll, who helps oversee $3.6 trillion in assets as chief investment officer at the world's biggest money manager, BlackRock.

Doll recently spoke with The Associated Press about how 2011 worked out for investors, what he's optimistic about in 2012 and what he's worried about. He's hopeful that Europe can stick to its goal of greater fiscal austerity. But he acknowledges that ? like his own New Year's resolution of losing 15 pounds ? enforcing the outcome is the tricky part.

Here are excerpts from the conversation, edited for clarity.

Q: How does 2011 stack up for you?

A: We entered the year hopeful. Global economies were looking better. But the tsunami disaster in Japan cast a bigger shadow on global growth than a lot of people initially thought. Then there were big political upheavals in the Middle East with the Arab Spring. Those political and social issues contributed to a rise in oil prices that didn't help the fledgling U.S. economic recovery. Then Europe kept coming back as problem. All the wild cards that showed up were on the negative side. The year started high on hopes that were dashed.

Q: With Europe looming large going into the New Year, what's the outlook for 2012?

A: The probability of a solution to Europe's issues is low. Nobody even knows what it will be. Or what a solution looks like.

The European authorities' attitude to dealing with their problem is to close their eyes, hold their noses and hope it might go away. Stumbling along is the most likely path forward.

The alternative is more troublesome. If there's immense pressure on politicians, there can be an accident that takes the form of a bankruptcy, or nationalizing some banks, the collapse of the euro, or that a country exits the European Union. Nobody even knows how that can potentially take place.

Muddling through is the best option. Europe can then face a mild recession and economic contagions are limited. But the darker scenario could lead to a financial contagion which will be drag the global economy down.

Q: But that won't make the problems go away.

Q: The European Central Bank has a lot of different masters to serve. The ECB has Germany looking over its shoulder and is aware that it will have to help the troubled countries, but doesn't want to help them too fast.

They want to see fiscal austerity before bailing out anyone. But how do you enforce fiscal austerity? It's nice for me to say that I will lose 15 pounds in the first month of the year. What recourse does anybody have if I've actually gained 2 pounds instead?

Q: It's like those stories coming out of Greece where people get higher taxes tacked on to their utility bills and they say they won't pay them because they can't.

A: Exactly. It's an illustration of the principle that they want to do the right thing, but how can they get it done if nobody will pay the bill.

Q: OK, let's talk about the U.S. What's your view of economic growth here?

A: One thing is for sure: we are not heading into a recession. The recent numbers are encouraging, but we can't get carried away. If the economy grows from 2.5 percent to 3 percent or a little higher, we can't expect the next stop to be 4 percent.

Consumers are spending, but not a lot. Employers are hiring, but not a lot. There are constraints and headwinds that prevent us from having the typical bounce-back recovery that you'd like to see after a recession. What's important for the U.S. is to maintain respectable growth. Our economy is not yet strong enough to withstand any financial contagion that spreads from Europe.

Q: And what about the big drag on the economy: housing. Is there a turnaround on the horizon?

A: My view is that we are probably in a long-term bottoming process in real estate. According to the Case-Shiller index, the cataclysmic decline in home prices has long ended and prices bottomed out in May 2009. But we've continued to bounce along. Banks are unwilling to make mortgage loans and many loans are higher in value than the homes. All that's kept the real estate recovery very slow.

New construction is taking place at just half the pace of population growth. At some point those things will have to balance out.

Q: Globally, China and India seem to be slowing down. Does that worry you, given that a lot of corporate growth seems to have come from overseas lately?

A: You're right; corporate profits don't equate to U.S. growth anymore. U.S. consumption only accounts for 28 percent of the S&P 500 profits. Only 55 percent of the largest companies' revenue comes from the U.S.

Even with continued slowing, China and India will count for about half of global GDP growth in 2012. So those are critical economies. If the authorities can beat runaway inflation in those countries, and Europe doesn't fall off a cliff, their economies will have a soft landing. And that's important.

Q: Did I hear you right when you said you're aiming to lose 15 pounds?

A: Yeah. Fifteen pounds would be a good number to lose, but only after the New Year.

Q: But if I check back with you in a month I wouldn't be able to enforce it, right? Just like the ECB?

A: Exactly. (Breaks into booming laughter.) Who's going to enforce it?

Source: http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/stocks/*http%3A//news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20111230/ap_on_bi_co_ne/us_wall_street_week_ahead

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In up and down year for cable news, Fox dominates (AP)

NEW YORK ? It was a good year in the ratings for cable news networks. Or a rough one. It depends on your perspective.

Fox News Channel continued its dominance, with an average viewership that exceeded CNN and MSNBC combined in prime time and for the entire day, the Nielsen ratings company said Wednesday. Fox typically had 1.87 million viewers in prime time this year. The top 13 programs in cable news all aired on Fox.

Yet Fox was alone among the cable news networks in losing viewers ? down 8 percent in prime time and 5 percent for the full day, Nielsen said. The 2010 midterm election year was particularly engaging for Republicans, who make up a big part of Fox's audience.

CNN was up 17 percent in prime-time viewership with a revamped lineup that includes a double dose of Anderson Cooper and Piers Morgan replacing Larry King. CNN is third behind Fox and MSNBC in prime time but second for the day as a whole.

CNN's rivals acknowledge its gains but are quick to point out that last year represented CNN's worst year ever in the ratings.

MSNBC can take pride in surviving the exit of its most popular prime time personality, Keith Olbermann, who defected to Current. The network is up 2 percent over last year in its prime-time average, Nielsen said.

However, MSNBC is down 11 percent for the 8 p.m. time slot, which Olbermann occupied. Along with the continued popularity of Rachel Maddow at 9 p.m., MSNBC is showing rating gains at 10 p.m. because it replaced the Olbermann rerun that used to air at that time with an original show, currently hosted by Lawrence O'Donnell.

HLN, the former CNN Headline News, is up 20 percent over last year, with its popular blanket coverage of Casey Anthony's trial a big factor.

NBC had a rare win in the prime time rankings, with its Sunday night football programming leading the way.

During Christmas week, NBC averaged 7.2 million viewers in prime time (4.0 rating, 7 share). A ratings point represents 1,147,000 households, or 1 percent of the nation's estimated 114.7 million TV homes; the share is the percentage of in-use televisions tuned to a given show.

CBS was second with 6.9 million viewers (4.4 rating, 8 share). When a network has a higher rating despite having a smaller audience, as CBS did, it indicates that more people were watching the network alone. NBC had more cases of several people gathered around the TV ? probably watching its Sunday night football game.

Fox had 5.5 million (3.2, 6), ABC had 4.4 million (2.6, 5), Ion Television had 1.1 million (0.7, 1) and the CW had 960,000 (0.6, 1).

Among the Spanish-language networks, Univision led with 3.3 million viewers (1.6, 3), Telemundo had 1.3 million (0.7, 1), TeleFutura had 450,000 (0.2, 0), Estrella had 220,000 (0.1, 0) and Azteca had 160,000 (also 0.1, 0).

NBC's "Nightly News" topped the evening newscasts with an average of 8.6 million viewers (5.6, 11). ABC's "World News" was second with 8.2 million (5.4, 10), and the "CBS Evening News" had 6.4 million viewers (4.3, 8).

For the week of Dec. 19-25, the top 10 shows, their networks and viewerships: NFL Football: Chicago at Green Bay, NBC, 24.02 million; "Sunday Night NFL Pre-Kick," NBC, 18.67 million; "Football Night in America," NBC, 14.73 million; "The X-Factor" (Thursday), Fox, 12.59 million; "NCIS," CBS, 12.37 million; "NCIS: Los Angeles," CBS, 11.43 million; "The X-Factor" (Wednesday), Fox, 11.23 million; "The Big Bang Theory," CBS, 9.28 million; "The Mentalist," CBS, 8.47 million; "Person of Interest," CBS, 8.14 million.

___

ABC is owned by The Walt Disney Co. CBS is owned by CBS Corp. CW is a joint venture of Warner Bros. Entertainment and CBS Corp. Fox is a unit of News Corp. NBC and Telemundo are owned by Comcast Corp. ION Television is owned by ION Media Networks. TeleFutura is a division of Univision. Azteca America is a wholly owned subsidiary of TV Azteca S.A. de C.V.

___

Online:

http://www.nielsen.com

Source: http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/tv/*http%3A//news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20111229/ap_en_tv/us_nielsens

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Keeping College Students From the Polls

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Source: topics.nytimes.com --- Monday, December 26, 2011
To limit Democratic turnout on Election Day, Republican lawmakers are making it harder for students and other liberal-leaning groups to vote. ...

Source: http://www.nytimes.com/2011/12/27/opinion/keeping-college-students-from-the-polls.html?partner=rssnyt&emc=rss

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Weather deserves medal for clean air during 2008 Olympics

Public release date: 27-Dec-2011
[ | E-mail | Share ]

Contact: Mary Beckman
mary.beckman@pnnl.gov
509-375-3688
DOE/Pacific Northwest National Laboratory

Emission reductions during Beijing Olympics got help from weather

RICHLAND, Wash. -- New research suggests that China's impressive feat of cutting Beijing's pollution up to 50 percent for the 2008 Summer Olympics had some help from Mother Nature. Rain just at the beginning and wind during the Olympics likely contributed about half of the effort needed to clean up the skies, scientists found. The results also suggest emission controls need to be more widely implemented than in 2008 if pollution levels are to be reduced permanently.

Reporting their findings December 12 in the journal Atmospheric Chemistry and Physics, co-author atmospheric chemist Xiaohong Liu at the Department of Energy's Pacific Northwest National laboratory said, "In addition to the emission controls, the weather was very important in reducing pollution. You can see the rain washing pollution out of the sky and wind transporting it away from the area."

Liu and colleague Chun Zhao at PNNL and at the Chinese Academy of Sciences in Beijing took advantage of the emission controls China put into play before and during the August Olympics to study the relative contributions of both planning and nature. Chinese officials restricted driving, temporarily halted pollution-producing manufacturing and power plants, and even relocated heavy polluting industries in preparation for the games.

To find out if the controls worked as well as people hoped, the researchers modeled the pollution and weather conditions in the area before, during and after the Olympics. They compared the model's results with measured amounts of pollution, which matched well.

Adding up the sources of pollution and the sinks that cleared it out, the team found that emission sources dropped up to a half in the week just before and during the Olympics. And while some pollution got washed out by rain or fell out of the sky, most of it got blown away by wind.

"They got very lucky. There were strong storms right before the Olympics," said Liu.

In addition to rain, wind also helped. Beijing is bordered on the south by urban areas and on the north by mountains, so wind blowing north would carry more pollution into the city. Examining the direction of the wind, the researchers saw that it generally blew south in the time period covering the Olympic period.

"The area we looked at is about 50 miles south. This suggests that emission controls need to be on a regional scale rather than just a local scale," said Liu.

The importance of regional controls meshes well with previous research on 2008 Olympics air quality that focused on nitrogen-based pollutants.

Next, the researchers will be examining the effect of pollution on other weather events and climate change in China. Pollutants are very small particles, and some suspect they might be causing fog to form rather than rain due to numerous pollution particles in China, Liu said.

###

This work was supported by the U.S. Department of Energy Office of Science, the National Natural Science Foundation of China, and the Ministry of Environmental Protection of China.

Reference: Yi Gao, Xiaohong Liu, Chun Zhao, and Meigen Zhang. Emission controls versus meteorological conditions in determining aerosol concentrations in Beijing during the 2008 Olympic Games, 2011 Atmos. Chem. Phys. 11, 12437-12451, DOI 0.5194/acp-11-12437-2011 (http://www.atmos-chem-phys.net/11/12437/2011/acp-11-12437-2011.html).

Pacific Northwest National Laboratory is a Department of Energy Office of Science national laboratory where interdisciplinary teams advance science and technology and deliver solutions to America's most intractable problems in energy, national security and the environment. PNNL employs 4,250 staff, has a $918 million annual budget, and has been managed by Ohio-based Battelle since the lab's inception in 1965. Follow PNNL on Facebook, Linked In and Twitter.

---

[ | E-mail | Share ]

?

AAAS and EurekAlert! are not responsible for the accuracy of news releases posted to EurekAlert! by contributing institutions or for the use of any information through the EurekAlert! system.

Public release date: 27-Dec-2011
[ | E-mail | Share ]

Contact: Mary Beckman
mary.beckman@pnnl.gov
509-375-3688
DOE/Pacific Northwest National Laboratory

Emission reductions during Beijing Olympics got help from weather

RICHLAND, Wash. -- New research suggests that China's impressive feat of cutting Beijing's pollution up to 50 percent for the 2008 Summer Olympics had some help from Mother Nature. Rain just at the beginning and wind during the Olympics likely contributed about half of the effort needed to clean up the skies, scientists found. The results also suggest emission controls need to be more widely implemented than in 2008 if pollution levels are to be reduced permanently.

Reporting their findings December 12 in the journal Atmospheric Chemistry and Physics, co-author atmospheric chemist Xiaohong Liu at the Department of Energy's Pacific Northwest National laboratory said, "In addition to the emission controls, the weather was very important in reducing pollution. You can see the rain washing pollution out of the sky and wind transporting it away from the area."

Liu and colleague Chun Zhao at PNNL and at the Chinese Academy of Sciences in Beijing took advantage of the emission controls China put into play before and during the August Olympics to study the relative contributions of both planning and nature. Chinese officials restricted driving, temporarily halted pollution-producing manufacturing and power plants, and even relocated heavy polluting industries in preparation for the games.

To find out if the controls worked as well as people hoped, the researchers modeled the pollution and weather conditions in the area before, during and after the Olympics. They compared the model's results with measured amounts of pollution, which matched well.

Adding up the sources of pollution and the sinks that cleared it out, the team found that emission sources dropped up to a half in the week just before and during the Olympics. And while some pollution got washed out by rain or fell out of the sky, most of it got blown away by wind.

"They got very lucky. There were strong storms right before the Olympics," said Liu.

In addition to rain, wind also helped. Beijing is bordered on the south by urban areas and on the north by mountains, so wind blowing north would carry more pollution into the city. Examining the direction of the wind, the researchers saw that it generally blew south in the time period covering the Olympic period.

"The area we looked at is about 50 miles south. This suggests that emission controls need to be on a regional scale rather than just a local scale," said Liu.

The importance of regional controls meshes well with previous research on 2008 Olympics air quality that focused on nitrogen-based pollutants.

Next, the researchers will be examining the effect of pollution on other weather events and climate change in China. Pollutants are very small particles, and some suspect they might be causing fog to form rather than rain due to numerous pollution particles in China, Liu said.

###

This work was supported by the U.S. Department of Energy Office of Science, the National Natural Science Foundation of China, and the Ministry of Environmental Protection of China.

Reference: Yi Gao, Xiaohong Liu, Chun Zhao, and Meigen Zhang. Emission controls versus meteorological conditions in determining aerosol concentrations in Beijing during the 2008 Olympic Games, 2011 Atmos. Chem. Phys. 11, 12437-12451, DOI 0.5194/acp-11-12437-2011 (http://www.atmos-chem-phys.net/11/12437/2011/acp-11-12437-2011.html).

Pacific Northwest National Laboratory is a Department of Energy Office of Science national laboratory where interdisciplinary teams advance science and technology and deliver solutions to America's most intractable problems in energy, national security and the environment. PNNL employs 4,250 staff, has a $918 million annual budget, and has been managed by Ohio-based Battelle since the lab's inception in 1965. Follow PNNL on Facebook, Linked In and Twitter.

---

[ | E-mail | Share ]

?

AAAS and EurekAlert! are not responsible for the accuracy of news releases posted to EurekAlert! by contributing institutions or for the use of any information through the EurekAlert! system.

Source: http://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2011-12/dnnl-wdm122711.php

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Students saving energy at school, home

BOULDER - More than 1,400 households have signed up to save energy through the Center for ReSource Conservation's ReNew Our Schools program.

The ReNew Our Schools program each year provides solar panels and energy-saving devices for schools and is now promoting school-based energy competitions.

This year, with additional funding from the Governor's Energy office, the Center for Resource Conservation expanded the program to include school-based competitions involving 13 schools across the Boulder Valley and St. Vrain school districts. Between now and January 2012 the schools and 1,400 participating households are taking efforts to reduce their energy consumption.

The Boulder-based nonprofit is collecting data from school utility accounts and home surveys to determine which school is making the most reductions.

This analysis involves data from United Power, Longmont Power and Xcel Energy.

Students and residents are encouraged to learn methods to reduce their energy consumption such as unplugging appliances, turning off unused computers and using blinds when appropriate.

"We redesigned our competition to get students more involved with tangible actions they can take to save energy," said Brad Queen, Center for Resource Conservation's energy director. "Focusing on both their schools and homes will hopefully keep them mindful that they can have a positive influence in both worlds."

Source: http://www.bcbr.com/article.asp?id=61494

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Miley Cyrus ? All I Want For Christmas (Disney Channel Parade 2007)

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Source: http://mileycyrus.ws/2011/12/26/miley-cyrus-all-i-want-for-christmas-disney-channel-parade-2007-2/

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Lions vs. Cattle: Taste Aversion Could Solve African Predator Problem

After coexisting for thousands of years, humans and African lions (Panthera leo) are on a collision course. Lion populations have dropped from 450,000 animals 50 years ago to as few as 20,000 today. Most of that decline has taken place over the past two decades, and experts are now predicting that the big cats could actually go extinct in as little as 10 to 20 more years.

Threats to lions come on many fronts?including hunting by American trophy seekers, poaching for use in traditional Asian medicine, disease and pesticide poisoning?but the biggest danger occurs when lions encroach upon livestock. Cattle farms have taken over much of the African savanna and grasslands, thus pushing aside lions? natural prey such as impalas, zebras and buffalo. Rather than following the prey to new territories, many lions simply turn to its nearest replacement?cattle. But when lions kill cattle, it affects peoples? livelihoods, and the lions are the ones that often end up paying the price with their lives as farmers shoot or poison the troublesome beasts.

But now there?s an idea that could keep lions from predating on livestock. The Colorado-based nonprofit WildiZe Foundation has funded research to see if lions can be taught to dislike the taste of beef. The process is called conditioned taste aversion, and it has worked with some other endangered species, including Mexican wolves and quolls in Australia.

Denver Zoo research associate Bill Given started his research on lions this September at Grassland Safari Lodge in Botswana. The lodge is home to several lions that have previously slain cattle but were captured by lodge personnel before farmers could kill them. The lions now live semi-wild lives in 11-hectare enclosures at the lodge but depend upon humans for their food. Given and his team of researchers gave eight of the cats meals of beef treated with the deworming agent thiabendazole in doses large enough to make them temporarily sick to their stomachs. ?It basically causes a bad case of indigestion,? WildiZe founder Eli Weiss told The Aspen Times.

After a few meals of treated beef, the lions were once again offered untreated meat. Seven of the eight refused to eat it, while an eighth actually refused to eat at all for a short period.

Writing for the WildiZe Web site, Given described conditioned taste aversion as ?a natural defensive mechanism enabling predators to survive encounters with prey with toxic [antipredator] defenses. When mammalian predators experience nausea after consuming prey with toxic defenses, they form an aversion to the taste and scent of these prey animals. Long after recovering from the effects of a [sublethal] dose of the toxin, predators avoid offending prey wherever they are encountered.?

Now that researchers know conditioned taste aversion works in lions, the next step is to obtain approval from Botswana?s Department of Wildlife and National Parks and the Kenya Wildlife Service to try the idea in the wild.

Photo by Dominik Kreutz via Flickr. Used under Creative Commons license

Source: http://rss.sciam.com/click.phdo?i=d53033d4db78043d660a786a8c1468c2

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Volunteer program offers wig and makeup assistance to cancer patients

Rep. Steve Rothman has decided to move to Englewood and take on a fellow incumbent Democrat, Bill Pascrell Jr., in Pascrell?s reconfigured district, which was redrawn last week to include parts of Bergen County, according to two Democratic sources with knowledge of Rothman?s plans.

Source: http://www.northjersey.com/r?19=961&43=515347&44=136247838&32=4497&7=309037&40=http://www.northjersey.com/news/136247838_Volunteer_program_offers_wig_and_makeup_assistance_to_cancer_patients.html

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In Christmas Message, Pope Urges Peace In Africa, Asia

In his traditional Christmas Day message, Pope Benedict XVI has urged the faithful to seek a "spiritual union" with the less fortunate around the world.

Appearing at noon from the central loggia of St. Peter's Basilica, the pope also pronounced Christmas blessings in 65 languages, including Arabic, Hebrew, Hindi, Swahili, and his native German.

The "Urbi et Orbi" (to the people of Rome and to the world) blessing was broadcast on television and radio to more than 60 countries.

The spiritual leader of the world's more than 1.1 billion Roman Catholics mentioned several of the world's trouble spots, expressing the need to "speak out for those who have no voice."

Benedict asked God's help for the peoples of the Horn of Africa," who suffer from hunger and food shortages, aggravated at times by a persistent state of insecurity."

The pontiff also asked God to "encourage the resumption of dialogue between Israelis and Palestinians," and for an end to the violence in Syria.

Benedict prayed for a "full reconciliation and stability" in Iraq and Afghanistan and for dialogue and cooperation in Myanmar.

The Vatican has also denounced the deadly Christmas Day attacks on Nigerian churches as a sign of? "cruelty and absurd, blind hatred" that shows no respect for? human life.?

compiled from agency reports

Source: http://www.rferl.org/content/pope_calls_for_peace_on_christmas/24432999.html

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Gingrich fails to qualify for Va. primary ballot (AP)

WASHINGTON ? Republican presidential hopeful Newt Gingrich failed to qualify for Virginia's Super Tuesday primary ballot, the latest setback for a candidate whose standing in polls has been slipping. Gingrich's campaign said he would pursue an aggressive write-in campaign, though state law prohibits write-ins on primary ballots.

The state party said early Saturday that Gingrich and Texas Gov. Rick Perry had failed to submit the required 10,000 signatures to appear on the March 6 ballot.

Failing to get on the ballot in Virginia, where Gingrich lives, underscores the difficulty first-time national candidates have in preparing for the long haul of a presidential campaign.

And it illustrates the advantage held by Mitt Romney, the former Massachusetts governor, who has essentially been running for president for five years. Romney's team, larger than those of most of his opponents, has paid close attention to filing requirements in each state. He will appear on the Virginia ballot along with Texas Rep. Ron Paul, who also has run a national campaign before.

Ironically, Gingrich had a slight lead over Romney in a Quinnipiac poll of Virginia Republicans released earlier in the week.

The former House speaker surged in popularity in early December and tried to use that momentum to make up for a stalled campaign organization. But his standing in polls has slipped in recent days amid a barrage of negative ads in Iowa, where the Jan. 3 caucuses begin the contest for the Republican presidential nomination.

Three other candidates ? Minnesota Rep. Michele Bachmann, former Pennsylvania Sen. Rick Santorum and former Utah Gov. Jon Huntsman ? did not submit signatures before Virginia's deadline of 5 p.m. Thursday.

Gingrich's campaign attacked Virginia's primary system on Saturday, saying that "only a failed system" would disqualify Gingrich and other candidates and vowing to run a write-in campaign.

"Voters deserve the right to vote for any top contender, especially leading candidates," Gingrich campaign director Michael Krull said in a statement. "We will work with the Republican Party of Virginia to pursue an aggressive write-in campaign to make sure that all the voters of Virginia are able to vote for the candidate of their choice."

However, according to state law, "No write-in shall be permitted on ballots in primary elections."

"Virginia code prohibits write-ins in primaries. He can't do it," said Carl Tobias, a law professor at University of Richmond.

Tobias said Gingrich may have had trouble meeting a requirement that he must submit 400 signatures from each of Virginia's 11 congressional districts.

Gingrich's campaign did not immediately respond to a request for comment. Gingrich had been concerned enough to deliver his signatures personally. Rushing Wednesday from New Hampshire, which holds its primary on Jan. 10, he had supporters sign petitions before entering a rally in Arlington, Va.

Virginia GOP spokesman Garren Shipley said in a statement that volunteers spent Friday validating signatures on petitions that Romney, Paul, Perry and Gingrich had submitted. "After verification, RPV has determined that Newt Gingrich did not submit required 10k signatures and has not qualified for the VA primary," the party announced early Saturday on its Twitter feed. Shipley did not respond to telephone calls Saturday seeking comment.

Forty-six delegates will be at stake in Virginia's Super Tuesday primary. That's a small fraction of the 1,144 delegates needed to win the nomination. But they could prove pivotal in a close race, especially for a candidate like Gingrich, who expects to do well in Southern contests.

Gingrich already missed the deadline to appear on the ballot in Missouri's Feb. 7 primary, though he insists it doesn't matter because the state awards delegates based not on the primary but on a Republican caucus held in March.

Meanwhile, Virginia's Democrats said President Barack Obama's re-election campaign gathered enough signatures to get him on the state's primary ballot though he was the only candidate who qualified.

___

Associated Press writers Will Lester and Stephen Ohlemacher contributed to this report.

Source: http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/gop/*http%3A//news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20111224/ap_on_el_pr/us_gop_ballot

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California Gay Laws Are The Mexicans? Fault, Says Wingnut

Roy Edroso shortened this piece by Mark Krikorian at the National Review as, ?What good are wetbacks if we can?t use them against faggots?? Then he added, ?you think I?m kidding?!?

Sadly, Roy is not kidding, for if you click on the piece by Krikorian, you see a lot of verbose garbage that could indeed be reduced to that base, racist sentiment. Look:

While Hispanic immigrants, like black Americans, are conservative on certain social issues (though not as much as some might think), it doesn?t matter politically. As one political scientist recently put it, in reaction to a new poll:

?It?s always been said that Latinos have a conflict between their religion and their political tendencies. That they?re usually more progressive on economic policy but conservative on social issues,? said Matt Barreto, a professor at the University of Washington in Seattle and advisor to Latino Decisions.

However, Barreto said the poll reflects no such conflict: ?Religion and social and moral values are not among their priorities when they make their political and election calculations.?

That?s part of the reason why California, the state with the largest share of immigrants in its population, has ?the first state law mandating lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender history and social science curricula.? It?s not that immigrants demanded this nonsense; they probably don?t even like it very much. But their large-scale presence solidifies the position of the Left, making this kind of thing possible, and they aren?t turned off by it enough to rebel against it. When there?s a referendum, sure, they?ll vote against gay marriage, for instance, but that?s not the way most social policy is made. Both by importing faithful Democratic voters and through sheer numbers creating more safe leftist seats in local and state and federal legislatures, mass immigration empowers statism and cultural leftism.

It?s all a conspiracy by the ?leftists? and the ?statists? and the gays to ?import Mexicans? in order to create laws mandating that gay history be taught in California, you see. Now, what I want you to notice about this fine wingnut hackery is just how many of their ooga-boogas it involves. You?ve got big gub?mint, you got lib?ruls, you got gays and you?ve got ?illegally imported? Mexicans! This works on their readers because wingnuts don?t have to explain anything. They just have to invoke the specter of things their readers are afraid of and it?s considered a Q.E.D. situation.

It?s not that Democrats are necessarily bad (well, the slaveholder part was bad, but we finally beat that out of them),

By turning them into Republicans?

But it does mean that any successful GOP effort to woo immigrants and their children will take generations ? and if small-government, morally traditionalist, pro-sovereignty conservatism is to have any chance of lasting political success during our lifetimes, future immigration must be curbed.

In order to keep ?Murka pearly white, Christian and heterosexual, we have to keep dark-skinned people out. Gotcha.

How exactly has conservative rhetoric changed in the past forty years?

Tags: anti-gay, bigots, California, hate, immigration, Mark Krikorian, National Review, racism, wingnuts

Related posts

Source: http://www.truthwinsout.org/blog/2011/12/21083/

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Miami Dolphins Talking Points: The first responsibility for the new coach? Sell tickets

A trio of Dolphins talking points to jump start your Thursday:

1. The first responsibility for the Dolphins? new head coach? Sell tickets.

It?s no secret that the Dolphins have had trouble at the gate this year, as the team has been forced to buy its own tickets to avoid local TV blackouts for five of seven home games. But how bad is their ticket situation right now? According to figures compiled by the Sports Business Journal, pretty bad.

Overall, NFL attendance has increased by 0.1 percent this year. But after five home games, the Dolphins had an average attendance of 59,246, a 13.8 percent decrease from last year (68,755). That?s the second-biggest drop in the NFL, ahead of only the Cincinnati Bengals, who have dropped 20.6 percent in attendance despite a surprising playoff push under rookie QB Andy Dalton.

The Dolphins are filling Sun Life Stadium to just 78.8 percent capacity, also the second-lowest figure in the league behind Cincinnati (only Cleveland, St. Louis, Tampa Bay and Washington are under 90 percent). The Dolphins have yet to fill the stadium to 98 percent capacity yet this year, and are one of three teams to host a game with less than 75 percent capacity (Cincinnati (three times) and Tampa Bay).

So this won?t be strictly a football hire for Stephen Ross and the Dolphins. The coach?s ability to excite the fan base and sell season tickets will be just as important as his philosophies and X?s and O?s.

2. Brian Billick says Dolphins must resolve front-office structure first.

Billick, the former Ravens coach who has been with Fox and NFL Network the past four seasons, was asked this morning on 560-AM if he has been contacted by the Dolphins about their coaching vacancy.

?No, I haven?t,? he said on The Joe Rose Show. ?We?re a long way from that kind of speculation.?

Billick said the Dolphins have more on their plate than just hiring a head coach. He didn?t mention Carl Peterson by name, but obviously Peterson?s role with the team needs to be resolved (will he be Jeff Ireland?s boss? Will he remain just an advisor?) before a team can hire a coach.

?I think they still have some structuring to do to decide how they want to piece the top end of that organization together, before they can go and approach and sit down and present to any coach to say OK, here?s the partnership that we?re advocating that we can put together,? Billick said.

Billick said he?s never met Ireland before, and while that wouldn?t preclude him from coming to Ireland, he would only take a coaching job if he?s confident in the relationship he would have with the general manager.

?This has become a general manager?s league to a large degree, and a lot of GMs are looking for a guay that I can lock in his room, feed his meals under the door, and just crank out a brilliant game plan,? Billick said. ?Regardless of who Miami wants to pursue ? and this is true of all the other clubs ? you?ve got to pursue a partnership.?

And if you?re wondering if Billick would keep Miami?s defensive staff intact if he were given the job, here?s all you need to know:

?There?s no better defensive coordinator in the league than Mike Nolan,? said Billick, who worked with Nolan as his coordinator from 2002-04 in Baltimore. ?Outstanding vision for the game. There?s no better coach than Mike Nolan, I promise you.?

3. Will Allen deserves a lot of credit for the secondary?s turnaround.

The Dolphins? secondary has been making plenty of big plays lately, with nine interceptions in their last seven games, but Allen doesn?t have one of them. The Dolphins? third cornerback, he has modest stats this year ? 39 tackles, three passes defended and zero interceptions.

Allen, though, deserves a lot of credit for the secondary?s turnaround, particularly for helping the development of young guys such as Vontae Davis, Sean Smith, Nolan Carroll and Jimmy Wilson.

?Will is so smart, he knows everything before it happens,? Smith said. ?He?ll call it out, and you?re nodding your head when he?s doing it, but you?re thinking, ?Nah, no way.? And then it happens, and he?ll come back and explain why. To know somebody out there is thinking like that, it takes our game to another level.?

Allen was a mere afterthought for the Dolphins during training camp. An 11-year veteran, Allen hadn?t played since tearing his ACL in Week 6 of the 2009 season, and although former coach Tony Sparano said Allen was competing with Benny Sapp for the starting nickel job this year, Allen didn?t feel like that was the case.

Allen pulled his hamstring two days into camp, making his situation worse.

?I felt like in training camp I really didn?t get a chance to compete at all,? Allen said Wednesday as the Dolphins prepared to face the Patriots. ?I feel like I didn?t get a fair shot, but that was on me. Maybe I should?ve had myself in better shape.?

Allen was cut by the Dolphins at the end of training camp but re-signed after the Dolphins cut Sapp after the Week 1 meltdown against the Patriots.

Yet Allen has made a big impact on the Dolphins? secondary during the second half of the season. Used only as a third cornerback, he led the Dolphins with seven tackles last week against Buffalo, and batted down a pass, as well.

Allen, 33, isn?t thinking about retirement.

?This is not the end for me by a longshot,? he said. ?The thing I feel the most confident about is that my body feels better now than it has all year.?

Tags: Benny Sapp, Brian Billick, Carl Peterson, Jeff Ireland, Jimmy Wilson, Mike Nolan, Nolan Carroll, Sean Smith, Stephen Ross, Tony Sparano, Vontae Davis, Will Allen

This entry was posted on Thursday, December 22nd, 2011 at 10:02 am and is filed under 2011 regular season, Ben Volin, Front office, Talking Points. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.

Source: http://blogs.palmbeachpost.com/thedailydolphin/2011/12/22/miami-dolphins-talking-points-the-first-responsibility-for-the-new-coach-sell-tickets/

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Video: Indictments Against Transocean & Chevron

An oil spill off Brazil's coast last month has provoked indictments against Transocean and Chevron execs. 'To me, this is noise, and we're more believers in the sector and the operational turnover that Transocean has in front of it,' says Collin Gerry,...

Source: http://video.msnbc.msn.com/cnbc/45768301/

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Spanish Christmas lottery dishes out billions (AP)

MADRID ? Days before Christmas, a tiny town of 2,000 in cash-strapped Spain found itself richer by euro720 million ($940 million) Thursday after scooping the top prize in the nation's famed Christmas lottery.

Billed as the world's richest, the lottery dishes out some euro2.52 billion ($3.29 billion) to winners across the nation.

The top prize ? dubbed "El Gordo" (The Fat One) ? was split among the holders of tickets bearing the number 58268. The number appeared on 1,800 tickets, giving winners euro400,000 for their euro20 ticket.

The state lottery agency said all 1,800 tickets with that number were sold in the town of Granen, located in the arid and barren northeastern Los Monegros area.

Spain is struggling to emerge from a near two-year recession that has left it with a eurozone-high 21.5 percent unemployment rate.

The Gordo lottery aims for a share-the-wealth system, rather than a single jackpot, and thousands of numbers yield at least some kind of return. Lots of people chip in together and buy shares of several or many tickets, meaning it is common for multiple prizes to go to the same town.

Other lotteries have larger individual top prizes but El Gordo is ranked as the world's richest for the total sum paid out.

The winning number was picked and announced by pupils of Madrid's Saint Ildefonso School in a nationally televised draw.

Since it began in 1812, the Dec. 22 lottery has become a favorite holiday tradition. This year, it sold an estimated euro2.7 billion in tickets and the state lottery agency estimated per-capita spending of about euro70.

Spain holds another big lottery Jan. 6 to mark the Feast of the Epiphany. It is known as "El Nino" (The Child), in reference to the baby Jesus.

Source: http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/business/*http%3A//news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20111222/ap_on_re_eu/eu_spain_christmas_lottery

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Warrant issued for agent Leigh Steinberg over debt

SANTA ANA -- A California court has issued a bench warrant for sports agent Leigh Steinberg in a case involving a $1.4 million judgment owed to a landlord.

The warrant was issued after Steinberg failed to appear in court last week, Carole Levitzky, a spokeswoman for Orange County Superior Court, said on Thursday

Court papers show Steinberg was ordered to pay $1.4 million last year to the Irvine Company in a default judgment for office space he leased in Newport Beach.

Steinberg stopped paying under the terms of his lease in 2009, according to court papers filed by the landlord, which declined to comment on the case.

Steinberg -- the agent who was the inspiration for Tom Cruise's character in the movie "Jerry Maguire" -- said he's not hiding or running from the law, adding he has an office open for business in Irvine and thousands of friends on Facebook and followers on Twitter.

The 62-year-old agent said he's still representing athletes and he's acting as a consultant on projects related to sports in movies, television and video games.

Steinberg said he had asked his attorney to change the date of last week's hearing and was told it was taken care of. Steinberg said he was unaware he had a warrant in the case, which stems from some payments he missed in 2009 before moving to less expensive office space.

"Since when in this country do you put people in jail for having debt?" he said in a phone interview

Thursday. "The point is, I had some financial struggles, which I regret. And I am working hard right now to pay the debts I owe."

Steinberg said his financial troubles stem in part from his divorce several years ago. He separated from his wife in 2006.

The Irvine Company earlier this month asked the court to require Steinberg to apply a portion of his income stream to pay the judgment, alleging process servers have been unable to directly contact him.

"Steinberg is a semi famous figure with huge apparent notoriety but shows signs of significant recent deterioration," Brooke Brandt, an attorney for the Orange County real estate company, wrote in a Dec. 9 court filing. "He appears to have a phalanx of security protection around him that prevents process servers from gaining access to him unless he allows it."

The next hearing in the case is scheduled for Feb. 6.

Steinberg appeared last month as master of ceremonies at an event in Orange County honoring local Jewish sports figures.

Steinberg is considered the first super agent in sports, having represented such NFL stars as Troy Aikman, Steve Young, Warren Moon and Ben Roethlisberger, as well as boxer Oscar De La Hoya. He began his career in 1975 and was able to secure huge signing bonuses for some of football's biggest stars.

------

Associated Press writer John Rogers contributed to this report from Los Angeles. AP Sports Writer Bernie Wilson contributed from San Diego.

Source: http://www.mercurynews.com/breaking-news/ci_19601435?source=rss

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House passes bill tightening sanctions on Belarus government (Star Tribune)

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

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Second air drop for stricken Russian fishing ship (AP)

WELLINGTON, New Zealand ? A New Zealand air force cargo plane flew to Antarctica on Wednesday to drop sea pumps and hull patches to a leaking Russian fishing vessel, stuck in the frigid waters after hitting sea ice last week.

The vessel Sparta, with 32 crew in board, hit underwater ice Friday that tore a 1-foot (30-centimeter) hole in the hull and caused it to list at 13 degrees. Rescue ships, hampered by heavy sea ice, were still several days away from the Ross Sea shelf area of northern Antarctica where the stricken ship sits immobilized.

Maritime New Zealand, which is coordinating rescue attempts, said Wednesday this second air drop of vital pumps and patches will help the crew in their fight to keep the ship afloat after it was damaged below the waterline.

Search and rescue mission coordinator John Dickson said the crew's efforts over the past few days meant the vessel was now back on an even keel and "the crew only needs to resume pumping occasionally to keep ahead of the water ingress."

A New Zealand Defense Force C-130 plane was scheduled to drop the extra equipment, including patches for its torn hull, to the vessel later in the day.

Weather conditions in the area were reasonably good, with occasional snow showers and clouds, but were forecast to worsen Thursday, Dickson said.

The crew is made up of 15 Russians, 16 Indonesians and one Ukrainian, the agency said.

Source: http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/oceania/*http%3A//news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20111220/ap_on_re_as/as_new_zealand_stricken_ship

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'Barefoot Bandit' gets more than 7 years for spree

Colton Harris-Moore, also known as the "Barefoot Bandit," glances at the courtroom gallery as he walks to the defense table, in Island County Superior Court, Friday, Dec. 16, 2011, in Coupeville, Wash. Harris-Moore pleaded guilty Friday to burglary and theft charges in the Barefoot Bandit case. The 20-year-old softly answered affirmatively when the judge asked if he understood his rights. He said guilty when the judge asked how he wanted to plead. (AP Photo/Ted S. Warren)

Colton Harris-Moore, also known as the "Barefoot Bandit," glances at the courtroom gallery as he walks to the defense table, in Island County Superior Court, Friday, Dec. 16, 2011, in Coupeville, Wash. Harris-Moore pleaded guilty Friday to burglary and theft charges in the Barefoot Bandit case. The 20-year-old softly answered affirmatively when the judge asked if he understood his rights. He said guilty when the judge asked how he wanted to plead. (AP Photo/Ted S. Warren)

Colton Harris-Moore, right, also known as the "Barefoot Bandit," stands with his attorney, John Henry Browne, in Island County Superior Court, Friday, Dec. 16, 2011, in Coupeville, Wash. Harris-Moore pleaded guilty Friday to burglary and theft charges in the Barefoot Bandit case. The 20-year-old softly answered affirmatively when the judge asked if he understood his rights. He said guilty when the judge asked how he wanted to plead. (AP Photo/Ted S. Warren)

Colton Harris-Moore, left, also known as the "Barefoot Bandit," is escorted to the defense table, in Island County Superior Court, Friday, Dec. 16, 2011, in Coupeville, Wash. Harris-Moore pleaded guilty Friday to burglary and theft charges in the Barefoot Bandit case. The 20-year-old softly answered affirmatively when the judge asked if he understood his rights. He said guilty when the judge asked how he wanted to plead. (AP Photo/Ted S. Warren)

Colton Harris-Moore, left, also known as the "Barefoot Bandit," talks with his attorney, John Henry Browne, right, in Island County Superior Court, Friday, Dec. 16, 2011, in Coupeville, Wash. Harris-Moore pleaded guilty Friday to burglary and theft charges in the Barefoot Bandit case. The 20-year-old softly answered affirmatively when the judge asked if he understood his rights. He said guilty when the judge asked how he wanted to plead. (AP Photo/Ted S. Warren)

Island Co. Sheriff's Deputy Luke Atkins stands watch outside Island County Superior Court, Friday, Dec. 16, 2011, in Coupeville, Wash. prior to the sentencing hearing for Colton Harris-Moore, who is also known as the "Barefoot Bandit." Harris-Moore is expected to plead guilty to about 30 state felony charges arising from a two-year, cross-country crime spree in stolen planes, boats and cars. (AP Photo/Ted S. Warren)

COUPEVILLE, Wash. (AP) ? Colton Harris-Moore, the "Barefoot Bandit," was sentenced Friday to more than seven years in prison after pleading guilty to dozens of state charges.

The 20-year-old man gained international notoriety while evading police across the country in stolen planes, boats and cars during a two-year crime spree.

He looked down and showed no reaction as the sentence was delivered.

Judge Vickie Churchill said, "This case is a tragedy in many ways, but it's a triumph of the human spirit in other ways."

She described Harris-Moore's upbringing as a "mind numbing absence of hope," and believed he was genuinely remorseful and contrite.

Friday's proceedings consolidated cases against Harris-Moore in three Washington counties. He has already pleaded guilty to federal charges in Seattle and will be sentenced for those crimes early next year. He will serve his state and federal sentences at the same time.

Harris-Moore faced a sentencing range of between seven and just under 10 years.

"Colton's very pleased," said his attorney John Henry Brown, who called the sentence fair. "He was expecting the worst."

Island County Prosecutor Greg Banks said he's glad the case is over and he could live with the sentence.

"I can see why people are sympathetic to him," Banks said. "It's still a significant amount of time for someone who's never been in the adult system."

Wearing handcuffs and an orange jail uniform, Colton Harris-Moore spoke softly in court while entering his pleas.

In a statement provided to the judge, he said his childhood was one he wouldn't wish on his "darkest enemies."

Still, he said he takes responsibility for the crime spree that brought him international notoriety.

Harris-Moore said he studied manuals and online videos to teach himself to be a pilot, and the thrills he experienced while flying stolen planes renewed his passion for life and will help him rehabilitate while in prison.

"The euphoria of the countdown to takeoff and the realization of a dream was nearly blinding," he wrote of his first illicit flight on Nov. 11, 2008. "My first thought after takeoff was 'Oh my God, I'm flying.' I had waited my entire life for that moment."

He said he'll use his prison time to study and get ready to apply to college, with the hope of earning an aeronautical engineering degree.

Several victims and a few curious citizens watched Harris-Moore enter his pleas in Island County Superior Court, along with Harris-Moore's aunt.

Harris-Moore pleaded guilty to a total of 16 counts from Island County, including identity theft, theft of firearm and residential burglary. Then the hearing continued with Harris-Moore pleading guilty to 17 counts from San Juan County.

Harris-Moore's daring run from the law earned him international fame and a movie deal to help repay his victims after he flew a stolen plane from Indiana to the Bahamas in July 2010, crash-landed it near a mangrove swamp and was arrested by Bahamian authorities in a hail of bullets.

State prosecutors had asked for a nine-and-a-half year sentence. Browne and fellow defense attorney Emma Scanlan sought a low-end, six-year term, citing Harris-Moore's bleak childhood in a Camano Island trailer with an alcoholic mother and a series of her convict boyfriends. They laid out the details of his upbringing in psychiatric and mitigation reports filed with the court.

Browne also said the young man's time on the run was horrific and included spending nights in culverts and portable toilets.

Harris-Moore's first conviction came at age 12, in 2004, for possession of stolen property, and according to the reports, his first experience with burglary came when he broke into the homes of his classmates to steal food because his mother spent most of her Social Security income on beer and cigarettes ? something she has denied.

Over the next three years he was convicted of theft, burglary, malicious mischief and assault, among other crimes.

In 2007, the boy was sentenced to three years in a juvenile lockup after pleading guilty to three burglary counts in Island County. But he fled the minimum-security facility in April 2008 and was soon back to his old tricks, breaking into unoccupied vacation homes, stealing food and sometimes staying there.

As red-faced investigators repeatedly failed to catch him, his antics escalated: He began stealing planes from small, rural airports and crash-landing them ? at least five in all.

Waves of burglaries broke out on Orcas Island, where Kyle Ater runs his Homegrown Market and Deli, in late 2009 and in early 2010, after stolen planes were found at the airport there. The second time, Harris-Moore left Ater's new security system in a utility sink, under a running faucet.

Harris-Moore's final spree came after he stole a pistol in eastern British Columbia and took a plane from a hangar in Idaho, where investigators found bare footprints on the floor and wall. That plane crashed near Granite Falls, Wash., after it ran out of fuel.

He made his way to Oregon in a 32-foot boat stolen in southwestern Washington ? stopping first to leave $100 at an animal shelter in Raymond, Wash. From Oregon, authorities said, Harris-Moore traveled across the United States, frequently stealing cars from the parking lots of small airports. In Indiana, he stole another plane and made for the Bahamas, more than 1,000 miles away, where authorities finally caught him in a manhunt that spanned multiple islands.

Among the courtroom spectators Friday were 18-year-olds Annie Cain and Hayley Hanna, who drove from nearby Langley to be at the courthouse at 5:30 a.m. ? four hours before the hearing.

"We wanted to be here just because he's so young, and everything he did, it's fascinating," Cain said.

Fox bought the movie rights in a deal that could be worth $1.3 million, and Dustin Lance Black, who won an Academy Award for writing the movie "Milk," about the gay rights activist Harvey Milk, is working on the screenplay.

Harris-Moore doesn't get to keep any of the money under the terms of his federal plea deal.

Associated Press

Source: http://hosted2.ap.org/APDEFAULT/386c25518f464186bf7a2ac026580ce7/Article_2011-12-16-US-Barefoot-Bandit/id-020e449d0b4941be9ad87c8666a4cd98

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Make Your Own Waterproof Slipcovers for Shoes with Duct Tape [DIY]

If you don't live in a climate where you need a pair of expensive waterproof boots or you just don't want to buy any, Instructables user csymmank has a guide to making slipcovers for any shoe that will work in a pinch.

Using a pair of socks, velcro, and duct tape, the process doesn't take a lot of effort, but the fact you can easily remove the covers makes it far more appealing than just wrapping your shoes in duct tape. While csymmank's guide is all about using these as bike shoe covers, it's easily applicable to any shoe. The slipcovers aren't pretty, but they'll certainly come in handy for that once-a-year winter storm when you need to shovel the walk. Find the full details over on Instructables.

Super fancy water/windproof bike shoe duct tape covers | Instructables

Source: http://feeds.gawker.com/~r/lifehacker/full/~3/DaUWqH8weqE/make-your-own-waterproof-slipcovers-for-shoes-with-duct-tape

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Thursday's 'critical' Iowa debate: 4 predictions (The Week)

New York ? The GOP gang is getting together Thursday night for one last hurrah in 2011 ? the final chance to make their pitch before the voting starts

Thursday night's Republican presidential debate in Sioux City, Iowa, "will be the final episode in one of the most popular reality television series of 2011," say Peter Hamby and Paul Steinhauser in CNN, and "the stakes could not be higher for all involved." After this face-off between the remaining seven GOP presidential contenders, most voters will tune out until Jan. 3, when the Iowa caucuses launch the actual vote-counting phase of what's already been a long and grueling campaign. What can we expect from this "critical" Fox News/Iowa GOP debate?

1. This will be the last debate for some of the candidates
"If first impressions matter in politics ? and they do ? so too does the last thing voters see before casting a vote," GOP strategist Doug Heye tells CNN. At least half of Iowa caucus-goers are still undecided, giving everyone a strong incentive to shine. That's especially critical for the low-polling candidates ? Michele Bachmann, Rick Santorum, and to a lesser extent Rick Perry ? who have staked their campaigns on a strong finish in Iowa. When the next debate rolls around Jan. 7, "the GOP field will undoubtedly be smaller," says Catalina Camia in USA Today. This debate will help determine "who stays and who goes."

SEE MORE: The sad return of Donald Trump's freak show

?

2. Romney will try to knock Gingrich out
"Expect Mitt Romney, in his elegant way, to slice Newt Gingrich to pieces," Republican strategist Alex Castellanos tells CNN. Romney doesn't have to win Iowa, but if he can keep Gingrich from coming out on top, "his last serious opponent will be dead and stored in a freezer." As the acknowledged and self-proclaimed frontrunner, Gingrich "has the most at stake when the bantering begins tonight," says Bret Hayworth in the Sioux City Journal, but "Romney has the most to gain."

3. Everyone else will be gunning for Gingrich, too
"Frankly, Romney would be more than happy to see Reps. Ron Paul (Texas) or Bachmann (Minn.) have a good night," says Jennifer Rubin in The Washington Post. Paul especially, since he has a real shot at winning Iowa, and Romney wants him to. But "the more votes Gingrich loses, the better for everyone else," so with all his rivals "trying to provoke and skewer him," Gingrich had better turn in "a steady and uneventful performance." He "can't afford to lose his cool," agrees CNN's Castellanos. "If Newt does his 'angry badger' impression, he will be finished."

SEE MORE: The 'cheapest' primary in a decade: 5 theories

?

4. Someone will have an "oops" moment
"Expect to see at least one candidate make a significant mistake," says the Sioux City Journal's Hayworth, something like Romney's $10,000 bet or Perry's brain freeze. "But don't expect to learn much more about where the candidates stand on the issues." The format of the debate is definitely skewed toward forcing "an oops moment," says Iowa State political science professor Steffen Schmidt. "That's been the biggest news from almost all these debates ? who is gonna slip on the banana peel." Everyone will be waiting for, or trying to cause, those pratfalls.

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Factbox: Key quotes from Republican presidential debate (Reuters)

WASHINGTON (Reuters) ? Republican presidential hopefuls competing to challenge U.S. President Barack Obama in 2012 faced off in a debate in Iowa on Thursday, where the state-by-state Republican nominating contest kicks off in less than three weeks.

Here are some of their main quotes.

NEWT GINGRICH, FORMER SPEAKER OF THE HOUSE OF

REPRESENTATIVES

Defending his merit as front-runner:

"I believe I can debate Barack Obama and I think in seven three-hour debates Barack Obama will not have a leg to stand on."

Before answering a question on the Keystone pipeline:

"You know I sometimes get accused of using language that's too strong. So I've been standing here editing. I'm very concerned about not appearing to be zany."

On Michele Bachmann saying he supported partial-birth abortion:

"I have consistently opposed partial birth abortion. I in fact would like to see us go much further than that and eliminate abortions as a choice ... as president I would defund planned parenthood and shift the money to pay for adoption services."

MITT ROMNEY, FORMER MASSACHUSETTS GOVERNOR

On how he compares with Gingrich:

"I spent my life in the private sector. I can debate President Obama based upon that understanding. I'll have credibility on the economy when he doesn't. I know what it takes to get this economy going. The president doesn't."

Complaining that Obama asked Iran to give back a downed U.S. drone:

"A foreign policy based on pretty please? You got to be kidding."

Defending past statements about illegal immigrants:

"Get in line behind everyone else. My view is: people who've come here illegally, we welcome you to apply, but you must get in the back of the line."

On changing his stance on gay rights and abortion:

"I am firmly in support of people not being discriminated against based upon their sexual orientation. At the same time, I oppose same-sex marriage. With regards to abortion, I changed my mind ... My experience in life ... has told me that sometimes I was wrong. Where I was wrong I tried to correct myself."

MICHELE BACHMANN, U.S. REPRESENTATIVE FROM MINNESOTA

On Gingrich's work for mortgage giant Freddie Mac:

"Evidence is that Speaker Gingrich took 1.6 million dollars. You don't need to be within the technical definition of being a lobbyist to still be influence-peddling with senior Republicans."

"Speaker Gingrich said that he would actively support and campaign for Republicans who got behind the barbaric practice of partial birth abortions ... What virtue is there in tolerating infanticide?"

RON PAUL, U.S. REPRESENTATIVE FROM TEXAS

"I would be a different kind of president. I wouldn't be looking for more power. I as the president wouldn't want to run the world."

On Bachmann calling for stronger U.S. action on Iran:

"You're trying to dramatize this that we have to go and treat Iran like we've treated Iraq ... You cannot solve these problems with war."

On whether he would support the eventual nominee:

"Anybody up here can probably beat Obama."

JON HUNTSMAN, FORMER UTAH GOVERNOR

On the state of the country:

"We have been kicked around as people. We are getting screwed as Americans."

RICK PERRY, TEXAS GOVERNOR

On his poor debate performances

"I hope I am the Tim Tebow of the Iowa caucuses. There were a lot of folks who said Tim Tebow would not be very good professional quarterback," he said.

On Washington deadlock:

"That's the reason I've called for a part-time Congress. Cut their pay in half. Send them home. Let them get a job like everybody else back home has."

(Compiled by Lily Kuo in Washington; editing by Mohammad Zargham)

Source: http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/obama/*http%3A//news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20111216/ts_nm/us_usa_campaign_debate_fb

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