0 Romney blames Obama of 'vicious lies' on Bain Capital

Romney blames Obama of 'vicious lies' on Bain Capital

“So shame on you, Barack Obama!” cries out the voice in the latest TV ad from the Romney campaign, airing only in Ohio. Yet the voice belongs not to presumptive GOP nominee Mitt Romney, but to an unlikely figure to appear in any Romney commercial: Hillary Clinton.

The footage comes from the bitterly contested Democratic primary campaign of 2008, when then-Sen. Clinton – now President Obama’s loyal and steadfast secretary of state – complained about the Illinois insurgent spending “millions of dollars perpetuating falsehoods.”

“But that’s Barack Obama,” the ad’s narrator intones, before adding that the man who went on to win the presidency first attacked Clinton with “vicious lies.” 

The ad also cites a Washington Post column from last month that denounced a particular Obama attack ad against Romney as “misleading, unfair, and untrue.”

Tough stuff – and the latest attempt by the Romney campaign to demonstrate that it intends to meet head-on the barrage of attacks it has faced on the candidate’s private-equity career at Bain Capital. The Obama ad denounced in the Post column was one that had suggested Romney outsourced American jobs overseas during his 15-year career at the Boston-based financial firm.

Those Obama ads in turn relied on a Washington Post news article, published June 21, that reported that six companies that Bain invested in during Romney’s tenure at the firm were “pioneers” in the emerging trend of outsourcing U.S. jobs to foreign countries like India and China.

The Romney campaign collected statements from the six companies’ current and former CEOs, all of whom maintained that they had in fact added U.S. jobs during their respective periods of affiliation with Romney and Bain. They also said their reliance of foreign call centers and packaging plants was solely to support existing foreign sales of U.S. exports. After a meeting with the Post’s editorial board, in which the campaign demanded a retraction of the June 21 article, the paper announced it was standing by its reporting.

Then the independent group FactCheck.org weighed in on the Obama ads, declaring “we found no evidence to support the claim that Romney -- while he was still running Bain Capital -- shipped American jobs overseas."

An Obama-Biden campaign spokesman told Fox News that FactCheck.org “did get this one wrong.”  Interviewed at the campaign’s headquarters in Chicago, campaign press secretary Ben LaBolt discounted the testimony from the current and former CEOs, and instead urged a reporter inquiring about them to talk to the workers who lost their jobs when these businesses shut down U.S.-based plants.

LaBolt also sought to cast doubt on Romney’s longstanding career narrative, which holds that he left Bain Capital in February 1999 to run the Salt Lake City Olympics.

“What the Romney campaign and others have tried to do is to extract Mitt Romney from his tenure at Bain,” LaBolt said. “Some of these jobs were shipped overseas after 1999, but the fact is that Romney remained CEO and sole owner of Bain Capital through 2001.”

In support of that claim, Obama-Biden campaign aides uploaded state and federal disclosure forms that they said are “unambiguous” in showing that Romney continued to list Bain as his employer in 2001. A lengthy rebuttal sent to FactCheck.org by Obama’s deputy campaign manager, Stephanie Cutter, cited dozens of forms from 2001 and 2002 that listed Romney as the sole owner of Bain or its various subsidiaries and funds.

Contacted by Fox News and asked about the documents, a source at Bain Capital insisted that Romney never returned to the firm or did any substantive work for it, or for its “portfolio companies,” after February 1999.  Some of the 2001 documents cited in Cutter’s letter clearly showed Romney listing his occupation with Bain as “former executive” and explaining his role in the firm and its offshoots as “passive…with no management capacity.”

Bill Burton, the former Obama White House aide who now runs Priorities USA, a liberal super PAC that is spending $10 million on ads attacking Romney for his tenure at Bain, claimed the effort is materially benefiting the president’s re-election prospects.

“They're clearly starting to work,” Burton told MSNBC on Monday. “If you look at any of the numbers out there, any public polling or focus groups, they're clearly working.  Our fundraising has picked up considerably, and the spending we are doing is having an impact.”

Read more: http://www.foxnews.com/politics/2012/07/02/romney-accuses-obama-vicious-lies-on-bain-capital/#ixzz1zX0vN6yD

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0 Kris Humphries told ex that Kim Kardashian's sex tape was dramatic by her own mother, information says

Kris Humphries trashed Kim Kardashian and her family in conversations and text messages to his former girlfriend, Myla Sinanaj, telling Sinanaj that Kris Jenner not only directed her daughter to shoot her infamous sex tape with Ray J, but to re-shoot it, because Jenner didn't think the first one was pretty enough, TMZ reports.

Kardashian has subpoenaed Sinanaj in her divorce case with Humphries, and TMZ reports Sinanaj has a lot to say about what Humphries told her about his relationship with his famous estranged wife.

In addition to the sex tape claim, sources tell us Sinanaj has numerous text messages in which Humphries says Sinanaj is the love of his life, and he wants to get the divorce over with quickly so they can spend the rest of their time on earth together.

In several of the messages, TMZ was told Humphries says specifically that he's "moved on" from Kim.

The information is extremely damaging to Humphries, because he's alleging in his divorce that Kim has destroyed him emotionally by allegedly defrauding him into believing it was a real marriage, TMZ reports. It turns out Humphries has been seeing Sinanaj since mid-January, so his devastation argument may be hard to swallow.

Sources close to the Kardashians tell TMZ that Humphries is lying about the sex tape. They say Kim made it clear at the beginning of their relationship she would not discuss the tape because she didn't want to be judged by it.

Read more: http://www.foxnews.com/entertainment/2012/06/21/kris-humphries-told-ex-that-kim-kardashian-sex-tape-was-staged-by-her-own/#ixzz1ynTr8XwM

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0 Disney Pixar's Brave heights US box office table

Brave, the latest animated feature from Disney Pixar, has made its debut at number one in the US box office chart, according to early estimates.

The film made $66.7m (£42.8m) in its opening weekend, knocking Madagascar 3: Europe's Most Wanted off the top spot.

Brave, about a princess in medieval Scotland, is the first Disney Pixar animation with a female protagonist.

Action thriller Abraham Lincoln: Vampire Hunter was the second highest new entry at number three.

The film, whose cast includes the British actors Dominic Cooper and Rufus Sewell, took a total of $16.5m (£10.6m) over the weekend.

Brave, which will close the Edinburgh International Film Festival later this week, is the the 13th consecutive Pixar release to open at number one.

"Their track record is just unbelievable," said Paul Dergarabedian, analyst for box-office tracker Hollywood.com.

"The Pixar brand just carries so much weight with the audience. It doesn't matter almost what the story is about if it has the Pixar name."

Brave's heroine, who rebels against her family's plans for her to marry, is voiced by Kelly Macdonald, of Trainspotting and Boardwalk Empire fame.

Keira Knightley's latest film, Seeking a Friend for the End of the World, made its debut at number 10.

It's three-day takings of $3.8m (£2.4m) reflected the fact it had a more limited release than the rest of the titles in this week's Top 10.

Woody Allen's Italian romance, To Rome With Love, opened in five cinemas and made $379,371 (£243,905).

That gave the film an average of $75,874 (£48,780) per screen, compared to the $16,028 (£10,307) screen average for Brave.

Review

Brave is a 2012 American 3D computer-animated fantasy adventure film produced by Pixar Animation Studios and distributed by Walt Disney Pictures. It was written by Mark Andrews, Steve Purcell, Brenda Chapman and Irene Mecchi, directed by Andrews and Chapman and co-directed by Purcell. The film's voice cast features Kelly Macdonald, Julie Walters, Billy Connolly, Emma Thompson, Kevin McKidd, Craig Ferguson, Robbie Coltrane and John Ratzenberger. To make the most complex visuals possible, Pixar completely rewrote their animation system for the first time in 25 years. It is also the first movie ever to use the Dolby Atmos sound format.

In Brave, set in the highlands of 10th century Scotland, a skilled archer named Merida defies an age-old custom, causing chaos in her kingdom. After consulting a witch for help, her family becomes cursed and Merida is forced to undo the spell herself before it is too late. Brave premiered on June 10, 2012, at the Seattle International Film Festival, and was released in North America on June 22, 2012, to positive reviews.

Preceding the film is a short film entitled La Luna, directed by Enrico Casarosa.

In the Scottish kingdom of DunBroch, King Fergus presents his young daughter, Merida, with a bow and arrow for her birthday, to the discomfort of Merida's mother, Queen Elinor. During their outing, a giant bear named Mor'du, attacks the family with Fergus fighting off the bear while Elinor and Merida escape, at the cost of his left leg.

Years later, Elinor, who has since given birth to identical triplet boys, teaches Merida in the ways of the court, such as playing an instrument and proper manners. The princess is determined to practice her archery and explore the kingdom on her horse, Angus. The Lords Macintosh, MacGuffin, and Dingwall present their first-born sons to compete for Merida's hand. Merida chooses an archery challenge to determine her suitor, as she knows she is the first born of a great leader, enabling her to compete and she can defeat the others easily. Lord Dingwall's son wins by accident, but Merida enters herself as first-born of DunBroch and shoots the targets over Elinor's objections. The two have a falling out, resulting in Merida destroying a sewn tapestry depicting the family and Elinor throwing her daughter's bow into the fireplace. Only after Merida leaves in tears does Elinor realize her mistake; she tries to save the bow, but it is already damaged, leaving her to cry over it.

Fleeing to the forest, Merida encounters a trail of will-o'-the-wisps that lead her to an elderly witch's hut. The witch disguises herself as a simple whittler of wood, but as Merida notices her broom and talking crow, she sees through her ruse, and bargains with the witch for a spell that will change Elinor, thus changing Merida's fate. The witch conjures a small cake for Merida to give to her mother. In DunBroch, Elinor eats the cake and later transforms into a bear. With the help of the triplets, Merida and Elinor sneak out of the castle past Fergus and the celebrating clans. The pair return to the witch's cottage, where after tripping a Rube Goldberg booby trap they find a potion-controlled automated message left for Merida: the spell will be permanent unless undone by the second sunrise. The witch leaves Merida a riddle, mentioning that a bond must be repaired.

Merida teaches Elinor how to catch fish with her bow, and the two begin to reconcile; however, Elinor, for a brief period, forgets who she is and acts like a real bear, nearly mauling Merida. They are led by more wisps to the ruins of an old castle. In the throne room, Merida finds a damaged stone engraving with three brothers; a fourth brother had been cut off, just like how Merida had cut her mother off of the tapestry. Merida realizes that the curse had happened before, that the wayward brother was transformed into Mor'du, and Elinor will lose all traces of her humanity like Mor'du if they do not break the spell. They travel back to DunBroch to sew the family tapestry back together. To distract Fergus and the lords, who are on the verge of war after impatiently waiting to know which suitor Merida has chosen, Merida brings the four factions back together and with some direction from Elinor, declares that the sons should choose their own brides. Fergus goes to their bedroom and finds Elinor's ripped clothes and broken bed, mistaking his wife for dead. He bursts into the tapestry room where he finds Merida and Elinor as a bear. Elinor, once again reverting to a normal bear, attacks Fergus, and after realizing she has harmed both Merida and Fergus, flees.

Merida tries to convince her father that the bear is Elinor, but Fergus locks her in the room and sets off with the lords to capture and kill the bear. Merida is freed with the help of her brothers who retrieve the key from the maid. They were turned into cubs after eating the same cake, and the four follow wisps to where Fergus has captured Elinor. Merida defends Elinor by confronting Fergus, but he throws her aside and she is restrained by Lord Macintosh. She escapes, but Mor'du attacks the party. When the bear lunges for Merida, Elinor intervenes to protect her daughter and battles Mor'du. Elinor tricks Mor'du into attacking a weakened stone pillar, which eventually collapses onto and kills the demon bear. The group sees a wisp emerge from Mor'du's body, which reveals the human form of the fourth brother, whose spirit is now freed from the curse. He then flies away to join the other wisps. Merida puts the repaired tapestry on top of her wounded mother. But when the sun starts to rise, Elinor begins to permanently become a bear. Merida then bursts into treats and admits that it was all her fault and that she wants her mother back. As she sobs "I love you," the rift is mended, and Elinor and the boys return to human form. The kingdoms, having rekindled their own bonds, go their separate ways, except for young Dingwall who has apparently fallen in love with Merida, as the ships leave, though it is revealed Merida's brothers have stowed away on Macintosh's ship, causing Fergus to go after them and the ship. Merida and Elinor ride their horses through Scotland, both having changed for the better.

In a post-credits scene, one of the guards in front of the castle is awakened by the witch's pet crow asking him to sign for delivery of a large collection of wooden sculptures, which Merida had bought from the witch earlier in the film.

Thanks: http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/entertainment-arts-18576493 & Wikipedia

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0 Will China surpass America in space?

China's space plans are ambitious, incremental and extensive. Should Americans be worried that China will overtake us in both space exploration and military capability in space?

No, not yet.

This week, China successfully achieved its first manned space docking with the launch of the Shenzhou 9 spacecraft that carried two men and China's first female astronaut. Part one of China's Project 921, a 30-year plan for space exploration that was approved in 1992, is complete. This is progress, indeed.

Project 921 is the result of China's fear of being left behind in the development of space technology. Part one was about attaining human spaceflight. Part two -- which is where China is now -- focuses on testing advanced technologies, like maneuvering and docking. Part three envisions a large (about 20 tons, the size of Skylab) space station.

A manned mission to the moon was never included in the plan and has only recently become a topic of discussion in China. When talks do come up of putting a Chinese on the moon as early as 2016, they can rile U.S. officials and engender international prestige for China, especially as the U.S. space program appears to be floundering.

But China is not overtaking the United States in space. It is, however, advancing. The execution of China's space program has led to "tortoise and hare" comparisons with the United States.

During the Apollo phase, the United States advanced very quickly, launching many missions which culminated in reaching the moon by a decade's end. In contrast, China launches a mission about every two years, but takes large steps with each one and has a much longer timeline for achieving its goals. What China has that the United States lacks -- and what may give the Chinese an advantage over the long run -- is patience.

China's path to space is not without obstacles, though. Launching their large space station will require a new heavy lift vehicle, the Long March 5, which is still in development and behind schedule. And China's ambitions do not come with an unlimited budget, even though it has already spent billions.

In response, the U.S. needs to keep moving forward.

The Obama administration's decision to redirect the civilian space program to a private-public partnership is smart. A space exploration program fully funded by the government is unsustainable. The recent use of the privately developed Flacon-9/Dragon duo to resupply the International Space Station indicates that if the private sector can handle low-Earth orbit needs, then over time NASA can focus its limited budget on new, more distant exploration goals.

But Americans are not known for patience. The real danger for the United States is in ceding space exploration and leadership to China because it lacks the political will to proceed at a steady, supportable pace. This will have broad strategic implications.

Complicating the issue is the largely dual-use nature of space technology, which can be used for both civilian and military purposes. And it is difficult to discern whether military space assets are intended for offense or defense. The difference between a rocket and a missile is considerable in political considerations, but nominal in terms of technology. A country that possesses missile defense could also use it as a weapon.

So what can be done if we need to protect our space assets? One thing is clear -- weapons are not the answer.

China's irresponsible 2007 anti-satellite weapon test exponentially increased the amount of space debris in orbit, which is dangerous to operating satellites. Space debris is now recognized by all countries (and militaries) as a threat to space assets.

An International Space Code of Conduct is being discussed in the United Nations. It would state what responsible spacefaring nations consider acceptable behaviors in space. Though legally nonbinding, it would be a first step toward maintaining the sustainability of the space environment for use by all.

The United States largely knows what space technology China possesses, but it doesn't know what China's intentions are. The United States should try to better understand China's space goals.

However, NASA is prohibited by law from working with China. This makes no sense. If one believes that China and the United States are not inherently enemies, then working together on space projects -- with technology transfer controls -- will benefit both countries. If one believes that China is inherently a threat to the United States, then the adage "keep your friends close and your enemies closer" comes to mind.

The script for U.S.-China relations -- and space relations in particular -- is constantly evolving. The United States can influence the direction, but only if we engage and persuade the Chinese to engage with us. It's one way of preventing a scenario of a galactic Wild West in which China has become the world's leader in space.

Thanks: http://edition.cnn.com/2012/06/20/opinion/freese-china-space/index.html?hpt=wo_mid

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0 Romney too timid on emigration

Now that President Obama has put the immigration issue front and center, Mitt Romney can't avoid the subject any longer.

Romney needs to answer two simple questions: "What specifically are you going to do about the estimated 800,000 "DREAM'ers" at the center of President Obama's announcement last week - those young illegal immigrants under age 31 who, because they've graduated from high school or served in the military, are being told they'll be spared deportation? Would you deport them or let them stay in the United States?"

And during his speech Thursday to the annual conference of the National Association of Latino Elected and Appointed Officials, here is the closest that Romney came to an answer:

"Some people have asked if I will let stand the president's executive action," he told the organization. "The answer is that I will put in place my own long-term solution that will replace and supersede the president's temporary measure. As president, I won't settle for a stop-gap measure. I will work with Republicans and Democrats to find a long-term solution."

Surely, Romney must have an idea of what he thinks the proper solution should be. Why not share it?

Thanks: http://inamerica.blogs.cnn.com/?hpt=us_bn1

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0 Prince William moves 30, succeed to half of Diana's estate

The Duke of Cambridge celebrated his first anniversary with Catherine Middleton and toasted Queen Elizabeth II's Diamond Jubilee. And on Thursday, he adds another milestone to his list: his 30th birthday.

He's now also legally entitled to half of his mother's inheritance, which was left to him after Princess Diana was killed in a car crash in 1997. His half of the inheritance, according to The Daily Telegraph, would likely be around $15.5 million, with the current currency exchange rate.

William has been in the spotlight as the eventual heir to the British throne since early childhood. He's endured his parents' breakup, his mother's death and his own big royal wedding all while the world watched along with him.

The Duke of Cambridge has recently said he and his wife are excited about the prospect of bringing a child into the world.

“I’m just very keen to have a family, and both Catherine and I, you know, are looking forward to having a family in the future," he told ABC's Katie Couric before the Diamond Jubilee.

To celebrate William's big day, we wanted to take a look back at his life. After all, many people would say that he and Catherine have helped the royal family become popular again by making the monarchy more accessible to the public.

Click through the gallery above to see William's evolution from Diana and Charles' lovable young son to the Duke of Cambridge.

Thanks: http://news.blogs.cnn.com/2012/06/21/prince-william-turns-30-inherits-half-of-dianas-estate/?hpt=us_r1

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0 Check out Emma Stone's 'Amazing' red carpet looks

This is a message for Emma Stone: Maybe Jim Carrey, in all his creepy, close-up goodness, was onto something when he called her "all-the-way beautiful" in his YouTube love letter.

The actress has been casting her web of attraction around the world as she helps roll out the much-anticipated "The Amazing Spider-Man." Alongside her onscreen superhero and real life boyfriend Andrew Garfield, we've seen Stone walk the red carpet for premieres in Tokyo, Seoul, Moscow, London, Paris and Berlin so far.

Stone, a natural blonde who sometimes goes red, is the cover subject of the latest New York magazine. Her "Spidey sense is tingling," says a promo for the article, "she knows you're watching her." Great, now we really feel creepy. But the 23-year-old actress says of that Carrey video, "I was so flattered I can’t even tell you. Honest!"

That doesn't mean she's buying all the attention she gets for her looks. "The pretty thing ... It was never a value to me growing up," Stone told New York mag. "I always thought I was like the goofy, wonky one.

"I don’t actually recognize the person that’s out there," she says of her red-carpet persona. "It's like there’s this outside person, and there’s me."

Thanks: This is a message for Emma Stone: Maybe Jim Carrey, in all his creepy, close-up goodness, was onto something when he called her "all-the-way beautiful" in his YouTube love letter.

The actress has been casting her web of attraction around the world as she helps roll out the much-anticipated "The Amazing Spider-Man." Alongside her onscreen superhero and real life boyfriend Andrew Garfield, we've seen Stone walk the red carpet for premieres in Tokyo, Seoul, Moscow, London, Paris and Berlin so far.

Stone, a natural blonde who sometimes goes red, is the cover subject of the latest New York magazine. Her "Spidey sense is tingling," says a promo for the article, "she knows you're watching her." Great, now we really feel creepy. But the 23-year-old actress says of that Carrey video, "I was so flattered I can’t even tell you. Honest!"

That doesn't mean she's buying all the attention she gets for her looks. "The pretty thing ... It was never a value to me growing up," Stone told New York mag. "I always thought I was like the goofy, wonky one.

"I don’t actually recognize the person that’s out there," she says of her red-carpet persona. "It's like there’s this outside person, and there’s me."

Thanks: http://todayentertainment.today.msnbc.msn.com

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