Tuesday, January 29, 2013

Ryan Doesn't Know About 2016; Feinstein Believes in Assault Ban

Paul Ryan does not know if he's running for President in 2016, so stop asking. It's "premature," he said on NBC's Meet the Press. "I?ve got an important job to do," Ryan told David Gregory in his first Sunday show appearance since the election. "I represent Wisconsin, I?m chairman of the Budget Committee at a time of a fiscal crisis. I think I can do my job, representing the people I work for by focusing on that right now than focusing on these distant things." Ryan acknowledged that the Republican party is in the middle of a rebuilding period. "We have to expand our appeal to more people and show how we?ll take the country?s founding principles and apply them to the problems of the day to offer solutions to fix our problems," he said. "We have to show our ideas are better at fighting poverty. How our ideas are better at solving health care. How our ideas are better at solving the problems people are experiencing in their daily lives and that?s a challenge we have to rise to, and I think we?re up for it."

RELATED: McCain: Ryan 'a Bold Choice;' Pawlenty 'Not Disappointed'

Ryan justified his silence between the end of the election and the?inauguration, about three months in real time but an eternity in Washington, by saying he was waiting to see how Obama behaved immediately after being re-elected. So far Ryan is unimpressed. ?He thinks Obama is more interested in "political conquest," than compromise. And, amazingly, Ryan longed for the days when staunch Republican Democrat Bill Clinton was in the White House. "If we had a Clinton presidency, if we had Erskin Bowles chief of staff of the White House, or president of the United States, I think we would?ve fixed this fiscal mess by now," Ryan said. "That?s not the kind of presidency we?re dealing with right now."

RELATED: Aides Fight Over Who Is More Confident in Ohio

On gun rights, Ryan seemed open to reforms. He said the illegal purchase of firearms is "a question we need to look at." "We need to look into making sure there aren?t big loopholes where a person can illegally purchase a firearm," he said.

RELATED: Democrats Launch Offensive on Romney's Offshore Accounts

RELATED: Dianne Feinstein Wants to Ban Assault Weapons

Sen. Dianne Feinstein went on CBS' Face the Nation to talk about the "uphill climb" she's facing trying to pass an assault weapons ban. But she's not cynical about her chances, just realistic. "I think I can get it passed because the American people are very much for it," Feinstein said. When it comes to gun owners preaching about their rights to own guns, she only has one answer for them. "Does a child have a right to be safe in school?" she asked, referring to the shooting in Newtown, Connecticut. "Does a law client when he goes into a law firm have a right to believe he's safe? Does a shopper in a mall have a right to believe that she's safe? I think so... You want to talk about rights, talk about the rights of the majority, too."

RELATED: Chris Christie Can't Wait to Tell You How Excited He Is for the Debates

Feinstein also gave Hillary Clinton an endorsement for a 2016 Presidential run during her appearance on CNN's State of the Union. "I think she's accomplished an incredible record and really has really unbridled popularity. She has a total knowledge of all of the issues. She has served in the senate. She has been first lady." But then host Candy Crowley cut her off. "You're a fan," Crowley said. "I'm a fan," Feinstein replied. "I would love it if she would run."

In other endorsement news, Newt Gingrich has taken a liking to Florida Sen. Marco Rubio. He had only nice things to say about the outspoken and rumored 2016 Republican candidate on Face the Nation. He thinks the rest of the party need to start listening to the young buck. "Republicans ought to listen very carefully to Marco Rubio. You can?t lose Asians, Latinos, African Americans and young people and think you?re going to be competitive," Gringrich said. That's Gingrich's advice for the next step in the Republican rebuilding process. "You have to come to grips with reality. You have to learn to communicate with young people on their terms," he said. "But you also have to understand we need to be a country of immigrants where Republicans are seen as welcoming of hardworking, confident people."

Meanwhile, Sen.?John McCain started?preemptively making the argument for his new bipartisan immigration reform package that's going include a pathway to citizenship for immigrants during his appearance on ABC's This Week with George Stephanopolous. "Well, I?ll give you a little straight talk: Look at the last election," McCain said. "We are losing dramatically the Hispanic vote, which we think should be ours for a variety of reasons, and we?ve got to understand that. And second of all, we can?t go on forever with 11 million people living in this country in the shadows in illegal status. We cannot forever have children who were born here, who were brought here by their parents when they were small children live in the shadows as well. I think the time is right." Sen. Bob Menendez, also on the program, thinks there's a "a glimmer of bipartisanship out there," when it comes to comprehensive immigration reform.?

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Speaking of Sen. Bob Menendez, the Democrat from New Jersey ducked questions about his feelings regarding Cory Booker's potential Senate run. There were some feathers?rustled?when Booker started openly talking about running for?fellow Democrat ?and Senate veteran Frank Lautenberg's seat in 2014. Menendez previously said Booker was being disrespectful considering the 89-year-old Lautenberg has not said whether he would seek reelection, but this time Menendez was tight lipped. "That election is next year, and all of the back and forth now is something I?m not focused on," Menendez said. "That?s a question for Sen. Lautenberg and Mayor Booker,"

Senate Majority Whip Dick Durbin also spoke about the path to citizenship coming in the Senate's comprehensive immigration reform package on Fox News Sunday. "We are committed to a comprehensive approach to finally in this country have an immigration law that we can live with," Durbin said. Without going into specifics, Durbin said the package will put a "high priority on the unification of families," when it's unveiled.?

Chuck Hagel's quest for Defense Secretary confirmation got two votes of approval from former high-ranking security officials on Sunday.?Retired Gen. Stanley McChrystal and former CIA Director Michael Hayden both backed the Republican's nomination. "He was a member -- and this is not a universal condition -- he was a member that you could talk to, have an honest dialogue not necessarily disagree, but on a personal base have a candid exchange of views," Hayden said on?State of the Union. "You could always speak with him. And frankly given my time in uniform, that's a tremendous attribute. So I actually think this will work out well." McChrystal was much more demure in his praise. "Of course he'll build relationships as he goes. He has already got a lot of credibility," McChrystal said. "I don't think it will be a problem.

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/ryan-doesnt-know-2016-feinstein-believes-assault-ban-203348420.html

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Seoul pulls Asian shares down, solid economic data helps

TOKYO (Reuters) - Tech-heavy South Korean shares dragged down the broader Asian share index on Monday on fears of weaker earnings, but improving economic prospects in Europe and solid U.S. profit reports underpinned sentiment.

The MSCI's broadest index of Asia-Pacific shares outside Japan <.miapj0000pus> inched down 0.2 percent, after seeing its biggest weekly loss in two months last week. Asian markets were in positive territory except in Seoul and Jakarta.

The Korea Composite Stock Price Index (KOSPI) <.ks11> extended losses to an 8-week low with a 0.6 percent slip, as a weakening yen soured the outlook for local exporters and foreign investors reduced their holdings.

Tech-heavy South Korea was also vulnerable to a clouding outlook for high-end smartphone device shipments.

"Investors have begun preempting concerns about exporters' outlooks since automakers announced weak earnings last week, while large-caps continue to be pressured by foreign selloffs," said Kim Hyung-ryol, an analyst at Kyobo Securities.

Global investor sentiment improved on Friday when the German Ifo business morale index improved in January to its highest in more than half a year, further evidence that Europe's largest economy is gathering speed again, and European banks were set to repay the European Central Bank a larger sum of money than expected to underscore stabilising financial system in the euro zone.

In China, data on Sunday showed profits earned by industrial companies rose 17.3 percent in December from a year earlier to 895.2 billion yuan ($143.9 billion), adding to evidence of a fourth-quarter economic recovery.

The yen extended losses to fresh lows, but Japanese equities gave up earlier gains and eased ahead of Japan's corporate reporting season which enters full swing this week.

Japan's Nikkei stock average <.n225> edged down 0.1 percent after jumping 2.9 percent on Friday to log an 11th straight week of gains, its longest such run since 1971. <.t/>

Against the yen, the dollar hit 91.26 early on Monday, its highest level since June 2010 while the euro touched 122.91, its highest point since April.

New Prime Minister Shinzo Abe has called for aggressive monetary easing and huge fiscal spending to beat deflation. The yen has fallen some 13 percent since mid-November when he began making those calls as part of his election campaign.

"The potent mix of Abenomics and strong risk appetite abroad is continuing to soften the yen, which means investors will still be buying stocks," said Masayuki Doshida, senior market analyst at Rakuten Securities.

In sharp contrast to U.S. and German equities, the Nikkei remains well below levels before the financial crisis in 2008, reflecting the magnitude of negative effect from the yen's strength. The benchmark Standard & Poor's 500 Index <.spx> closed at their highest in more than five years on solid U.S. corporate earnings on Friday and Frankfurt's DAX index <.gdaxi> also scaled five-year highs.

The yen is still stronger than around 95 yen before the 2008 financial crisis, but both the euro and the dollar measured against a basket of key currencies <.dxy> hover at levels far below the pre-crisis levels.

SAFE HAVEN SUFFERS

The improving global macroeconomic environment has curbed interest in safe haven assets such as gold.

Spot gold steadied around $1,659.90 (1,053.44 pounds) an ounce on Monday, still below its 200-day moving average. As riskier equities rallied on Friday, bullion saw its biggest weekly drop this year on Friday.

U.S. crude inched up 0.1 percent to $95.95 a barrel and Brent steadied around $113.23.

London copper, another industrial commodity linked to demand prospects, rose 0.4 percent to $8,065 a tonne.

With easing stress in financial markets, investors pumped $5.65 billion into stock funds worldwide in the latest week, with most of it flowing into emerging market stock funds, data from EPFR Global showed on Friday.

The euro hovered near an 11-month high of $1.3480 hit on Friday. The Australian dollar stumbled to an eight-month low against the euro early on Monday. European shares scaled fresh multi-month peaks on Friday.

Investors will focus this week on the Federal Reserve's Open Market Committee statement on Wednesday and U.S. nonfarm payrolls due on Friday.

Sluggish equities weighed on Asian credit markets, widening the spread on the iTraxx Asia ex-Japan investment-grade index by 1 basis point.

(Additional reporting by Joyce Lee in Seoul and Sophie Knight in Tokyo; Editing by Edwina Gibbs & Kim Coghill)

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/nikkei-rises-yen-extends-loss-lows-011704703--finance.html

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Study shows climate change could affect onset and severity of flu seasons

Study shows climate change could affect onset and severity of flu seasons [ Back to EurekAlert! ] Public release date: 28-Jan-2013
[ | E-mail | Share Share ]

Contact: Rebecca Howe
REBECCA.HOWE@asu.edu
480-727-6577
Arizona State University

The American public can expect to add earlier and more severe flu seasons to the fallout from climate change, according to a research study published online Jan. 28 in PLOS Currents: Influenza.

A team of scientists led by Sherry Towers, research professor in the Mathematical, Computational and Modeling Sciences Center at Arizona State University, studied waves of influenza and climate patterns in the U.S. from the 1997-1998 season to the present.

The team's analysis, which used Centers for Disease Control data, indicates a pattern for both A and B strains: warm winters are usually followed by heavy flu seasons.

"It appears that fewer people contract influenza during warm winters, and this causes a major portion of the population to remain vulnerable into the next season, causing an early and strong emergence," says Towers. "And when a flu season begins exceptionally early, much of the population has not had a chance to get vaccinated, potentially making that flu season even worse."

The current flu season, which is still in high gear in parts of the nation, began early and fiercely. It followed a relatively light 2011 season, which saw the lowest peak of flu since tracking efforts went into effect, and coincided with the fourth warmest winter on record. According to previous studies, flu transmission decreases in warm or humid conditions.

If global warming continues, warm winters will become more common, and the impact of flu will likely be more heavily felt, say the study's authors.

Mathematical epidemiologist Gerardo Chowell-Puente, an associate professor in the School of Human Evolution and Social Change in the College of Liberal Arts and Sciences, adds that the findings could inform preparedness efforts following mild winters: "The expedited manufacture and distribution of vaccines and aggressive vaccination programs could significantly diminish the severity of future influenza epidemics."

###

This study was partially supported by the Multinational Influenza Seasonal Mortality Study, overseen by the National Institutes of Health's Fogarty International Center. Other team members are Rasheed Hameed, Matthew Jastrebski, Maryam Khan, Jonathan Meeks, Anuj Mubayi and George Harris of Northeastern Illinois University. The goal of the overarching study is to better grasp the character and trajectory of influenza in all its forms.


[ Back to EurekAlert! ] [ | E-mail | Share Share ]

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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.


Study shows climate change could affect onset and severity of flu seasons [ Back to EurekAlert! ] Public release date: 28-Jan-2013
[ | E-mail | Share Share ]

Contact: Rebecca Howe
REBECCA.HOWE@asu.edu
480-727-6577
Arizona State University

The American public can expect to add earlier and more severe flu seasons to the fallout from climate change, according to a research study published online Jan. 28 in PLOS Currents: Influenza.

A team of scientists led by Sherry Towers, research professor in the Mathematical, Computational and Modeling Sciences Center at Arizona State University, studied waves of influenza and climate patterns in the U.S. from the 1997-1998 season to the present.

The team's analysis, which used Centers for Disease Control data, indicates a pattern for both A and B strains: warm winters are usually followed by heavy flu seasons.

"It appears that fewer people contract influenza during warm winters, and this causes a major portion of the population to remain vulnerable into the next season, causing an early and strong emergence," says Towers. "And when a flu season begins exceptionally early, much of the population has not had a chance to get vaccinated, potentially making that flu season even worse."

The current flu season, which is still in high gear in parts of the nation, began early and fiercely. It followed a relatively light 2011 season, which saw the lowest peak of flu since tracking efforts went into effect, and coincided with the fourth warmest winter on record. According to previous studies, flu transmission decreases in warm or humid conditions.

If global warming continues, warm winters will become more common, and the impact of flu will likely be more heavily felt, say the study's authors.

Mathematical epidemiologist Gerardo Chowell-Puente, an associate professor in the School of Human Evolution and Social Change in the College of Liberal Arts and Sciences, adds that the findings could inform preparedness efforts following mild winters: "The expedited manufacture and distribution of vaccines and aggressive vaccination programs could significantly diminish the severity of future influenza epidemics."

###

This study was partially supported by the Multinational Influenza Seasonal Mortality Study, overseen by the National Institutes of Health's Fogarty International Center. Other team members are Rasheed Hameed, Matthew Jastrebski, Maryam Khan, Jonathan Meeks, Anuj Mubayi and George Harris of Northeastern Illinois University. The goal of the overarching study is to better grasp the character and trajectory of influenza in all its forms.


[ Back to EurekAlert! ] [ | E-mail | Share 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/2013-01/asu-ssc012813.php

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Monday, January 28, 2013

Despite IRS limit, nonprofit is political force

Philip Andrews / Roll Call Photos/Newscom

Bruce Rastetter, CEO of Hawkeye Renewables, reportedly provided some of the seed money for the American Future Fund.

By Michael BeckelThe Center for Public Integrity

Last fall, a cadre of wealthy business executives and conservative groups tried to sell California voters on new campaign finance reforms.

Couched in lofty rhetoric about the importance of cutting off money from special interests to politicians and other regulations favored by reformers, their proposal sought to ban the practice of using payroll deductions for political expenditures ? a popular method of union fundraising.

Once alerted to the true nature of Proposition 32, the unions and political left rose up against it.

An innocuously named nonprofit, the Iowa-based American Future Fund, proved to be one of the biggest backers of the initiative, sinking more than $4 million into the ballot measure that voters ultimately rejected.


As a ?social welfare? organization, the American Future Fund is not required to publicly disclose its donors. But to maintain its tax-exempt status under Sec. 501(c)(4) of the U.S. tax code, influencing elections cannot be its primary purpose.

The American Future Fund?s investment in California was part of a nationwide, political advertising spree in 2012 that exceeded $29 million, according to a Center for Public Integrity analysis of state and federal records.

That amount included more than $19 million on efforts designed to oust President Barack Obama, as well as millions more to oppose Democratic candidates for Congress and even two state attorneys general. Now the group is funding ads opposing Obama?s nomination of former Republican Sen. Chuck Hagel of Nebraska for defense secretary.

Since the U.S. Supreme Court?s controversial Citizens United decision in 2010, nonprofits such as the American Future Fund have played a more prominent role in electoral contests ? all while giving their supporters the ability to keep their identities hidden. During the 2010 midterm elections, politically active nonprofits outspent super PACs, which exist to fund political advertisements, by a 3-to-2 margin.

The American Future Fund ranked third among ?social welfare? nonprofits in spending in the 2012 federal election, according to the Center for Responsive Politics, trailing only the Karl Rove-affiliated Crossroads GPS and Americans for Prosperity, which is backed by conservative billionaire brothers Charles and David Koch.

There are also Democratic-aligned nonprofits, but their spending was well below that of their conservative counterparts. The top left-leaning nonprofit was the League of Conservation Voters, which reported spending about $11 million in the 2012 election opposing or supporting candidates.

The American Future Fund?s spending ?raises some serious questions? and ?evades any form of meaningful disclosure,? said Adam Rappaport, senior counsel with watchdog group Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington (CREW).

Numerous officials with the American Future Fund did not respond to requests for comment for this story.

Advocating for ?free-market ideas?
The American Future Fund?s mission is to ?educate and advocate for conservative and free-market ideas,? according to its annual filing with the Internal Revenue Service.

Despite asserting that it isn?t primarily focused on elections, the nonprofit?s DNA is decidedly political.

Conservative political operative Nick Ryan, a longtime adviser to former GOP Rep. Jim Nussle of Iowa, founded it in 2007. Over the years, the group has paid Ryan?s firm, Concordia Enterprises, hundreds of thousands of dollars annually for consulting services.

In 2010, the New York Times reported that Iowa businessman Bruce Rastetter provided an unspecified amount of ?seed money? for the organization. Ryan once represented four of Rastetter?s companies as a lobbyist, including Hawkeye Energy Holdings, one of the country?s largest ethanol producers.

The nonprofit?s first president was Nicole Schlinger, the former finance director of Iowa?s Republican Party. Its current president is veteran Republican state Sen. Sandra Greiner, who served for 14 years as the Iowa chairwoman of the pro-business American Legislative Exchange Council.

Ryan and Greiner did not respond to requests for comment.

In 2008, when the American Future Fund was seeking ? and ultimately garnered ? tax-exempt status from the IRS, it pledged to abstain from electoral politics, saying it would spend 70 percent of its time doing work to ?educate the public on policy issues? and 30 percent engaging in efforts to ?influence legislation through grassroots advocacy.?

When asked on its application if the group had any plans to spend money to ?influence the selection, nomination, election or appointment? of anyone seeking public office, it answered ?no.? It also vowed to stay out of the presidential race.

When the IRS subsequently inquired why the group?s advertisements ?appear to be more partisan than nonpartisan,? the group?s attorney, Karen Blackistone, wrote that the efforts were ?strictly issued-based and nonpartisan.?

The group takes a position on issues and encourages the public to contact their representative, she wrote in a 2008 response to the IRS.

?AFF?s advertisements have never commented on a candidate?s character, qualifications or fitness for office,? she stated.

Big money tied to post office box
The American Future Fund has raised more than $60 million, with spikes in contributions coming in election years.

Much of that money has come from another conservative ?social welfare? nonprofit that doesn?t disclose its donors by name ? the Arizona-based Center to Protect Patient Rights.

The nonprofit has no website and lists its address as a post office box in Phoenix. It was launched in 2009 by Republican operative Sean Noble, who has extensive ties to the vast political network underwritten by the Koch brothers.

Noble, a former chief of staff for former Rep. John Shadegg, R-Ariz., did not respond to requests for comment for this story.

For three years running, Noble?s organization has reported making substantial grants to the American Future Fund for ?general support,? according to IRS filings. The nonprofit contributed more than $14 million to the American Future Fund between 2009 and 2011, or 51 percent of funds the group raised over the three-year period.

The Center to Protect Patient Rights has also given millions of dollars to a network of conservative groups, including the Koch-backed nonprofit Americans for Prosperity, as was first reported by the Center for Responsive Politics.

In addition to Noble, there is another Koch connection.

In 2008, Trent Sebits, the former manager of public and government affairs for the Kochs? Wichita-based refining giant, Koch Industries, registered with the state of Kansas to lobby on behalf of the American Future Fund and Americans for Prosperity. Sebits did not respond to a request for comment.

The American Justice Partnership, another ?social welfare? nonprofit, gave $50,000 to the American Future Fund in 2011 and $2.4 million in 2010, according to IRS filings. The group supports free enterprise and is often at odds with trial lawyers.

Dan Pero, its president, said in an emailed statement that the organization supported the American Future Fund to help ?promote free enterprise and improve the fairness and predictability of the legal environment.?

Like super PACs, ?social welfare? nonprofits are allowed to accept unlimited donations from individuals, corporations, unions and other organizations. The only funders whose names they are required to publicly disclose are those that make contributions earmarked for political purposes.

That?s as it should be, according to attorney Dan Backer, who is not affiliated the American Future Fund but does work with other conservative groups.

?A nonprofit makes its decisions by a board or other management structure, which is distinct from its donors,? Backer said.

Increasingly political
In 2010, the American Future Fund became far more politically active, reporting $8.6 million in political expenditures as well as millions more for ?media services,? ?telecommunications? and ?mail service/production.? It told the Federal Election Commission that it spent $9.1 million on political advertisements.

Marcus Owens, former chief of the IRS?s nonprofits division, said it is ?difficult to conjure up a situation where a particular expenditure would be reportable to the FEC but would not constitute political campaign intervention under tax law.?

Nevertheless, Owens said the organization could make a ?straight-faced argument? that its orientation had simply changed over time to become more overtly political.

Of the $25 million that the American Future Fund reported spending to the FEC last year, more than 90 percent fueled ads that urged voters to support or reject candidates.

The group also sought the FEC?s advice on whether mentioning the White House or ?the administration? in negative ads ahead of Election Day would be seen as referring to a ?clearly identified candidate for federal office.?

Such a designation would have required the group to disclose information about its donors. (The commission deadlocked, 3-3, in a vote along party lines.)

In addition to the presidential race, the American Future Fund spent money in 20 congressional elections in 2012, including California?s 26th Congressional District, where it spent $500,000 attacking Democrat Julia Brownley, who, as a state legislator, had authored legislation to bolster disclosure for political advertisements.

She won anyway, but told the Center for Public Integrity that she is ?deeply concerned? about the activities of non-disclosing groups in the wake of Citizens United and hopes to ?take immediate action? to strengthen federal disclosure laws.

The American Future Fund also spent more than $542,000 to aid West Virginia Republican Patrick Morrisey in his successful quest to win the race for attorney general, records indicate, and more than $620,000 in a failed effort to sink Missouri Attorney General Chris Koster, a Democrat.

Complaints about the American Future Fund?s political activities have followed it since its creation.

In 2008, the Democratic Party in Minnesota contended that the group needed to register as a political committee after paying for ads that praised then-U.S. Sen. Norm Coleman, R-Minn. The FEC disagreed.

Two years later, in October 2010, consumer group Public Citizen and two other organizations alleged that the American Future Fund?s ?huge expenditures? to aid candidates in the midterm election should have triggered requirements that the group register as a political committee and disclose its donors. That complaint is still being considered by the FEC, which often takes years to fully resolve such matters.

CREW, the watchdog organization, filed a complaint against the American Future Fund with the IRS in February 2011 that challenged whether its primary purpose was something other than influencing elections. The group has dismissed the complaint as ?baseless? and contends that CREW ?only targets government officials and organizations who have a differing or conservative point of view.?

Proposition 32

California?s campaign finance rules require major donors to groups that pay for political advertisements to be named in actual ads.

Thus, when a political committee called the California Future Fund for Free Markets aired ads praising Proposition 32, each advertisement included the disclaimer ?with major funding by the American Future Fund.?

One ad criticized lawmakers for making ?deals cut in shadows and back rooms? as dramatic music played in the background. Yet the donors to the American Future Fund itself largely remain in the shadows.

The Center for Public Integrity is a nonprofit independent investigative news outlet.? To read more of its stories on this topic go to ?http://www.publicintegrity.org/politics/consider-source?

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Source: http://openchannel.nbcnews.com/_news/2013/01/25/16701522-nonprofit-spends-big-on-politics-despite-irs-limitation?lite

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Foreclosures in Warner Robins GA 31088, December 2012

Foreclosures in Warner Robins GA 31088While the foreclosure market in?the rest of Houston County GA was experiencing a lag, the number of?Foreclosures in Warner Robins GA 31088?increased considerably in December 2012 as the banks released their inventory.

Currently, there are 47 Foreclosures in Warner Robins GA on the market, up 28% from November. These Warner Robins foreclosures range in price from $19,900 to $355,000 and square footage from 884 to 3,750.

In?December 19 new Warner Robins Foreclosures hit the market. The details for these new properties is as follows (address, price, heated sq feet, subdivision, year built):

  • 112 Wallace, $19,900, 884, Evergreen Park, 1953
  • 407 Alabama Avenue, $29,900, 1659, United Estates, 1965
  • 110 Shawnee Avenue, $39,900, 1168, Cherokee Hills, 1965
  • 107 Dewey Street, $40,000, 1760, Azalea Park, 1955
  • 602 Oakview Square, $43,600, 1129, Walker Park, 1955
  • 112 Oklahoma Avenue, $47,750, 1056, United Estates, 1969
  • 107 Oakdale Drive, $49,500, 2050, Hill & Dale Estates, 1964
  • 307 Somerset Drive, $52,900, 1110, Villa at Village Walk, 1988
  • 114 Highland Drive, $69,900, 1683, Highland Estates, 1969
  • 102 Juniper Road, $74,000, 1404, Laurel Hills, 1964
  • 516 Arrowhead Trail, $79,900, 1376, Shirley Hills, 1963
  • 122 Wiley Way, $80,500, 1337, Autumn Woods, 1995
  • 208 Meriwood Court, $82,900, 1459, Meriwood Square, 1987
  • 112 Deer Track Court, $91,500, 1266, Deerfield, 2005
  • 403 Heritage Drive, $94,000, 2261, Heritage, 1977
  • 604 Hidden Creek Circle, $94,900, 1502,?Harvest Pointe, 2008
  • 201 Williamsburg Avenue, $109,000, 2114, Williamsburg, 1988
  • 111 Quail Run Road, $176,000, 2323, Quail Run, 1976
  • 410 Tharpe Road, $181,700, 2703, Quail Run, 1985

For a complete list of available Warner Robins real estate, visit Homes for Sale in Warner Robins.

Call me at (478) 960-8055 (C) / (478) 953-8595 x227 (O) so we can discuss your Warner Robins real estate needs.


Foreclosures in Warner Robins GA 31088,?December 2012


View Foreclosures in Warner Robins GA 31088, December 2012 in a larger map

Statistics represent ONLY foreclosure single family homes, condos, and townhouses in Warner Robins GA for the month listed. (Source: CGMLS). Information is deemed reliable, but not guaranteed.

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About Anita Clark Realtor

Anita Clark has written 919 posts on this blog.

Anita Clark Realtor sells Warner Robins Real Estate and provides community information as a service to the public. You can contact her at (478) 960-8055 or via email at anita@cbssk.com.

Source: http://sellingwarnerrobins.com/2013/01/foreclosures-in-warner-robins-ga-31088-december-2012/

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Focus On Fracking Diverts Attention From Horizontal Drilling

Opponents of fracking demonstrate during the Winter X Games 2012 in Aspen, Colo.

Doug Pensinger/Getty Images

Opponents of fracking demonstrate during the Winter X Games 2012 in Aspen, Colo.

Doug Pensinger/Getty Images

Mention the recent surge in oil and natural gas production in the U.S. and one word comes to mind for a lot of people: "fracking." Hydraulic fracturing is a controversial technique that uses water, sand and potentially hazardous chemicals to break up rock deep underground to release oil and natural gas.

But there's another technology that is just as responsible for drilling booms happening across the country: horizontal drilling.

Environmental Consequences

Horizontal drilling and fracking have been combined in recent years to make previously unprofitable deposits profitable.

Much of the oil and natural gas that drillers are after these days is sandwiched deep underground in layers of rock.

"A vertical well going through a hundred-foot-thick gas shale, like the Marcellus, contacts that formation for a hundred feet," says Terry Engelder, professor of geosciences at Pennsylvania State University.

That means a driller would be able to extract oil or gas from only that 100-foot section. But with horizontal drilling, Engelder says, the drill bit makes a turn and extends the well out ? horizontally ? through that layer of petroleum-rich shale. Instead of extracting gas from only a 100-foot section, now a driller can extract it from a section that extends a mile or more.

Combining both technologies has turned once sleepy communities into industrial zones in states such as North Dakota, Pennsylvania, Ohio and Texas. The environmental consequences spawned a new protest movement. It's showing up in your movie theater in the recent film Promised Land and the 2010 film Gasland.

This past summer Yoko Ono and her son, Sean Lennon, sang their fracking protest song "Don't Frack My Mother" on Late Night With Jimmy Fallon.

Ono held a globe labeled "Mother Earth" as her son sang about the dangers of fracking, but they never mention horizontal drilling.

'Naughty Connotation'

While you won't hear about horizontal drilling in a song or see it on a bumper sticker, it's just as responsible as fracking for changing rural landscapes. So why all the focus on fracking?

Chris Tucker of Energy in Depth, a project of the Independent Petroleum Association of America, suspects the reason fracking has taken off ? especially among the industry's opponents ? is the word itself.

"It starts with F, ends in C-K," he says. "It sort of has this naughty connotation to it."

Tucker says fracking has been distilled down to a curse word, "and that's important for press releases and bumper stickers and everything else. Horizontal drilling hasn't been distilled that way."

A protestor holds a sign against fracking during a demonstration outside of the California Environmental Protection Agency headquarters on July 25, 2012.

Justin Sullivan/Getty Images

A protestor holds a sign against fracking during a demonstration outside of the California Environmental Protection Agency headquarters on July 25, 2012.

Justin Sullivan/Getty Images

This focus on fracking and not horizontal drilling has surprised even some of the petroleum industry's critics.

"In our organization we talked about fracking maybe eight years ago," says Bruce Baizel, with Earthworks' Oil and Gas Accountability Project. "I never would have predicted that it would have become the catchall term."

Fracking has evolved to mean more than just hydraulic fracturing. Baizel says people now use it to refer to just about anything to do with producing oil and gas.

"It means either drilling or ... hydraulic fracturing or it means the truck that ran off the road and spilled whatever the waste was it was hauling away from the well site," Baizel says.

Groups like Baizel's that regularly go up against huge oil companies have embraced this expanded definition of fracking. Oil and gas drilling employs complicated technology that can be difficult to explain to the general public. But with one common word ? especially one like fracking that just sounds bad ? it's easier to rally opposition.

Source: http://www.npr.org/2013/01/27/170015508/focus-on-fracking-diverts-attention-from-horizontal-drilling?ft=1&f=1007

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Sunday, January 27, 2013

Lawrence brings 'walking pneumonia' to SAG

By Natalie Finn, E! Online

Frazer Harrison / Getty Images

Jennifer Lawrence said on the red carpet she has "walking pneumonia."

That flu Jennifer Lawrence was fighting at the Golden Globes apparently escalated into "walking pneumonia."

And yet ... the "Silver Linings Playbook" star somehow keeps looking better and better!?

The 22-year-old thesp, a Screen Actors Guild Award nominee Sunday night for best female actor in a leading role, threw on another Christian Dior confection -- this one a sleek, strapless column gown -- and Chopard jewels and hit the red carpet with her usual poise and sense of humor intact.?

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"It's highly contagious," Lawrence joked with E! News' Giuliana Rancic, quickly assuring that she's doing fine now.

As for that stunning gown ("just whatever, just Diorin' it up"), the burgeoning fashionista said it was only recently that she started to come into her own, style-wise.?

"I had my brothers' hand-me-downs," she told Ranic about being a reluctant tomboy growing up. "I had no choice! I didn't want to be, but my parents wouldn't buy me clothes. I had to wear my brothers' clothes, so I was literally wearing men's clothing.?

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"I was mixing and matching, I could get some girl clothes," Lawrence joked.?

As for awards season, of which the two-time Oscar nominee has become a prominent fixture, Lawrence admitted to being a mix of scared and excited.?

"I never know what I'm going to say or do, so that's always nerve-wracking for me," she said.?

And yet that's always so wonderful for us!

Check out the best quotes from the carpet tonight!?

Meanwhile, though supporting actor nominee Tommy Lee Jones opted to keep his case of the flu confined to his house tonight (perhaps figuring cold medication might have put him in too good of a mood), Rust and Bone star Marion Cotillard braved the chill and came out with a cold.

Check out more stars looking stunning on the 2013 SAG Awards red carpet?

"Don't touch me, I am so sick," Cotillard -- a nominee for lead female actor -- told Rancic, sounding a little stuffed up but looking fabulous. "L.A. doesn't know how to deal with cold weather, I guess ... I never think it's going to be cold!"

Like Lawrence, Cotillard's secret weapons were Dior Haute Couture and Chopard.?

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Source: http://todayentertainment.today.com/_news/2013/01/27/16727347-jennifer-lawrence-brings-walking-pneumonia-to-sag-awards?lite

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