Nigeria sect leader defends killings in video (Reuters)

ABUJA (Reuters) ? The leader of Nigerian Islamist sect Boko Haram said recent killings of Christians were justifiable revenge attacks and President Goodluck Jonathan had no power to stop the group's insurgency, in the first video of him posted online.

The 15 minute video of Abubakar Shekau posted on YouTube is similar in style to messages submitted by other Islamist groups like al Qaeda, a sign of the growing influence other jihadist movements are having on the sect.

Boko Haram, whose name translates from the northern Hausa language as "Western education is sinful," has been behind almost daily killings in its home base in the largely Muslim northeast, most recently targeting Christians.

"Christians, everyone knows what they have done to us and Muslims ... we were attacked and we decided to defend ourselves and, because we were on the right path, Allah has made us stronger," Shekau says in Hausa, sat in front of two Kalashnikov rifles and wearing a camouflage bullet proof jacket.

"Jonathan, (you) know full well that this thing is beyond your powers," he added, referring to the president.

Shekau is understood to have taken over control of Boko Haram, which wants sharia law more widely applied across Africa's most populous nation, after the sect's founder Mohammed Yusuf was killed in police custody in 2009 following an uprising in which 700 people were killed.

"Everyone knows how our leader was murdered and everyone knows the way the Muslims were killed," Shekau says, remaining stony faced and calm throughout.

"Catastrophe is caused by unbelief, unrest is unbelief, injustice is unbelief, democracy is unbelief and the constitution is unbelief."

DEVELOPING

Boko Haram's attacks began small scale - usually drive-by shootings on authority figures or drinking joints in their home town of Maiduguri, in the country's remote northeast corner - but lately have become increasingly sophisticated and ambitious.

In August last year, the sect carried out a suicide car bombing of the United Nations headquarters in the capital Abuja that killed 24 people. On Christmas Day it masterminded coordinated explosions against Christians, including one at a church near Abuja that killed at least 37 people.

The most recent attacks have targeted Christians but dozens of Muslims were killed by the sect last year.

"Anyone who attacks us, we will attack him back even if he is a Muslim. We shall kill anyone who works against Islam, even if he is a Muslim," Shekau said in the online tape.

Gunmen shot dead four people at a petrol station on Wednesday in the northeast Nigerian town of Potiskum, where on Tuesday suspected members of Boko Haram shot dead eight people.

Boko Haram's increasingly violent insurgency has become a major security problem for Jonathan's administration, also facing pressure from nationwide strikes and protests against fuel price increases.

"Four people were shot dead this afternoon but I cannot confirm whether the attackers were Boko Haram," said Tanko Lawal, police commander in Yobe state.

Yobe's government said on Wednesday it has banned the use of motorbikes, which have often been used in Boko Haram attacks, in volatile areas of the state.

(Additional reporting by Ibrahim Mshelizza in Maiduguri; Writing by Joe Brock; Editing by Peter Graff)

Source: http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/world/*http%3A//news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20120111/wl_nm/us_nigeria_violence

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NC panel: Sterilization victims should get $50,000

Rock Center's Dr. Nancy Snyderman investigates how thousands of North Carolinians were sterilized under the state's now defunct eugenics program. Survivors such as Elaine Riddick are demanding answers and compensation from the government.

?

By The Associated Press and NBC News

People sterilized against their will under a discredited North Carolina state program should each be paid $50,000, a task force voted Tuesday, marking the first time a state has moved to compensate victims of a once-common public health practice called eugenics.

The Legislature must still approve any payments.

The panel recommended that the money go to verified, living victims, including those who are alive now but may die before the lawmakers approve any compensation. The panel had discussed amounts between $20,000 and $50,000 per person.

Before the vote, chairwoman Laura Gerald said the task force was seeking a balance between the victims' needs and political reality, noting that "compensation has been on the table now for nearly 10 years, but the state has lacked the political will to do anything other than offer an apology."

North Carolina is one of about a half dozen states to apologize for past eugenics programs, but it is alone in trying to put together a plan to compensate victims.

State officials sterilized more than 7,600 people in North Carolina from 1929 to 1974 under eugenics programs, which at the time were aimed at creating what was seen as a better society by weeding out people such as criminals and mentally disabled people considered undesirable.

North Carolina was not the only state to engage in the practice. But it was different because it ramped up sterilizations after World War II despite associations between eugenics and Nazi Germany. About 70 percent of all North Carolina's sterilizations were performed after the war, peaking in the 1950s, according to state records. The state officially ended the program in 1977.

A task force report last year said 1,500 to 2,000 of those victims were still alive, and the state has verified 72 victims.

On Tuesday, some said they were simply looking forward to the issue being resolved.

"I just want it to be over," said 57-year-old Elaine Riddick, who was sterilized when she was 14 after she gave birth to a son who was the product of rape. "You can't change anything. You just let go and let God."

Riddick, a constant presence at the task force meetings, said she was surprised that the task force recommended $50,000 instead of $20,000.?

During an interview for NBC's Rock Center in November,?Riddick gave an emotional account of the events leading to her sterilization. She was 13 when she got pregnant after being raped by a neighbor in Winfall, N.C., in 1967.? The state ordered that immediately after giving birth she should be sterilized.? Doctors cut and tied off her fallopian tubes.

?I have to carry these scars with me.? I have to live with this for the rest of my life,? she said.

Riddick said she was never told what was happening.? ?Got to the hospital and they put me in a room and that?s all I remember, that?s all I remember,? she said.? ?When I woke up, I woke up with bandages on my stomach.?

Riddick?s records reveal that a five-person state eugenics board in Raleigh had approved a recommendation that she be sterilized. The records label Riddick as ?feebleminded? and ?promiscuous.? They said her schoolwork was poor and that she ?does not get along well with others.?

?I was raped by a perpetrator [who was never charged] and then I was raped by the state of North Carolina.? They took something from me both times,? she said.? ?The state of North Carolina, they took something so dearly from me, something that was God given.?

It wouldn?t be until Riddick was 19, married and wanting more children, that she?d learn she was incapable of having any more babies. A doctor in New York, where she was living at the time, told her that she?d been sterilized.

?Butchered.? The doctor used that word?? I didn?t understand what she meant when she said I had been butchered,? Riddick said.

Riddick once sued North Carolina for a million dollars.? Her case made it all the way to the Supreme Court of the United States, but the court declined to hear the case.? ?I would like for the state of North Carolina to right what they wronged with me,? she said.

Despite the state social workers who declared Riddick was ?mentally retarded? and ?promiscuous?, she went to college and raised the son born moments before she was sterilized. Her son is devoted to his mother and a successful entrepreneur.

Riddick?is proud of her achievements.

?I don?t know where I would be if I listened to the state of North Carolina,? she said.

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

Source: http://usnews.msnbc.msn.com/_news/2012/01/10/10094319-nc-panel-sterilization-victims-should-get-50000

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Chinese authors sue Apple for copyright infringement: report (Reuters)

SHANGHAI (Reuters) ? A group of Chinese authors has sued Apple Inc for 11.9 million yuan ($1.9 million) in compensation for allegedly providing copyright-infringing books for download through its online store, Chinese financial magazine Caixin reported.

The group behind the lawsuit has been lobbying Apple for months to remove copyright-infringing books from its App Store.

The group of nine authors, under the mantle of the China Written Works Copyright Society (CWWCS), sued Apple in Beijing's No. 2 Intermediate People's Court for copyright infringement of 37 works, Caixin reported on Friday.

Over the years, the lobby group has waged similar high-profile battles with Baidu Inc and Google Inc over their online book products.

The CWWCS said no one was available to comment for this article. An Apple spokeswoman was not immediately available for comment. Calls to the Beijing No. 2 Intermediate People's Court were not answered. ($1 = 6.3095 Chinese yuan)

(Reporting by Melanie Lee; Editing by Jacqueline Wong and Muralikumar Anantharaman)

Source: http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/asia/*http%3A//news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20120109/wr_nm/us_apple_china

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U.S. authorities probe U.S.-China commission email hack (Reuters)

(Reuters) ? U.S. authorities are investigating allegations that an Indian government spy unit hacked into emails of an official U.S. commission that monitors economic and security relations between the United States and China, including cyber-security issues.

The request for an investigation came after hackers posted on the Internet what purports to be an Indian military intelligence document on cyber-spying, which discusses plans to target the commission - apparently using technical know-how provided by Western mobile phone manufacturers.

Appended to the document are transcripts of what are said to be email exchanges among commission members.

"We are aware of these reports and have contacted relevant authorities to investigate the matter. We are unable to make further comments at this time," Jonathan Weston, a spokesman for the U.S.-China Economic and Security Review Commission, said on Monday.

The document's authenticity could not be independently verified. But the U.S.-China commission is not denying the authenticity of the emails.

Officials in India declined to comment on the document's content or authenticity. One India-based website quoted an unnamed army representative as denying that India used mobile companies to spy on the commission and calling the documents forged.

The purported memo says that India cut a technological agreement - the details are not clear - with mobile phone manufacturers "in exchange for the Indian market presence." It cites three: Research in Motion, maker of the BlackBerry; Nokia; and Apple.

Apple spokeswoman Trudy Muller said her company had not provided the Indian government with backdoor access to its products. A spokesman for RIM in India said the company does not typically comment on rumor or speculation. A spokesman for Nokia declined comment.

The U.S. Congress created the commission in 2000 to investigate and report on the national security implications of the economic relationship between the United States and China. The bipartisan, 12-member panel holds periodic hearings each year on China-related topics such as cyber security, weapons proliferation, energy, international trade compliance, and information policy.

The email breach, if confirmed, would be the latest in a series of cyber intrusions that have struck U.S. institutions ranging from the Pentagon and defense contractors to Google Inc.

A group calling itself the Lords of Dharmaraja said in an internet post that it had uncovered the hacking. It said it had discovered the source codes of a dozen software companies in Indian Military Intelligence servers.

A U.S. government official, who asked not to be identified, said the matter is under investigation. The FBI has jurisdiction to investigate cyber-hacking inside the United States. An FBI spokesman declined to comment.

Many of the previous hacks have been blamed on China. In this case, it is unclear whether India might have been eavesdropping on the U.S.-China commission for itself or sought to pass any information collected to authorities in China.

INDIA INTERESTED

India would be intensely interested in the official U.S. view of Beijing. Ties between the two countries, which fought a brief border war in 1962, remain difficult. New Delhi sees Beijing as a long-term rival.

Stewart Baker, a former cyber-security policy expert at the National Security Agency and U.S. Department of Homeland Security, said the commission "would be a high-priority target for China, since USCC has been one of the most vocal U.S. agencies in warning against Chinese hacking."

"What's interesting is that they seem to have become a target for India for the same reason," Baker said. "If it's genuine, it should cause red faces all around. At USCC for apparently getting hacked by Indian intelligence, and even more so at Indian intelligence for getting hacked by what may be a bunch of amateurs."

The purported emails between U.S.-China commission staff members, dating from September and October 2011, include discussions of how senior analysts from the Office of the Director of National Intelligence were scheduling a classified briefing for commission officials on a forthcoming National Intelligence Estimate looking at global manufacturing trends.

The messages also contain discussions between commission staff members about legislation pending in Congress related to alleged currency manipulation by China.

In one email, a staff member, reacting to criticism that a China currency bill pending on Capitol Hill would be "ineffective," argues: "Don't make the perfect the enemy of the good; we should confront bullies even if there is a risk we will get punched back."

The emails are attached to what purports to be a memo dated October 6 and signed by a Colonel Ishwar Singh of India's Directorate General of Military Intelligence, Foreign Division.

In the memo, Singh describes how "the President" had given "sanction" to an operation "to gain access to USCC transmittals." What "President" the memo is referring to is not further explained.

According to the memo, because "MI" - presumably Military Intelligence - had trouble accessing U.S.-China commission cyber networks, the "decision was made earlier this year to sign an agreement with mobile manufacturers (MM) in exchange for the Indian market presence."

One U.S. law enforcement official said the commission would be a logical target for intense surveillance by Chinese authorities, since its principal mission was to produce policy studies and recommendations about the U.S.-China relationship.

In October 2009 the commission produced a detailed study on the "Capability of the People's Republic of China to Conduct Cyber Warfare and Computer Network Exploitation." A spokesman for the commission said it was working on a second study of cyber security issues related to China.

(Additional reporting by Paul Eckert in Washington, Jim Finkle in Boston, Tarmo Virki in Helsinki, Devidutta Tripathy and Frank Jack Daniel in New Delhi and Alastair Sharp in Toronto; editing by Warren Strobel, Mohammad Zargham and Ian Geoghegan)

Source: http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/economy/*http%3A//news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20120110/ts_nm/us_usa_india_hacking

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GOP race moves south after Romney wins New Hampshire

Gergen: Romney's N.H. speech memorable

STORY HIGHLIGHTS

  • NEW: Mitt Romney says he'll focus on Obama's failures
  • Romney sweeps the first two contests of the nominating process
  • Ron Paul finishes a solid second, with Jon Huntsman in third
  • Romney sounds like the presumptive nominee in his victory speech

Manchester, New Hampshire (CNN) -- Former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney won a convincing victory in the New Hampshire primary, the second straight triumph for Romney and one that bolsters his front-runner status to take on President Barack Obama in November.

All six Republican contenders head to South Carolina on Wednesday ahead of the next primary.

With 95% of precincts reporting, Romney received 40% of the vote in Tuesday's balloting. Texas Rep. Ron Paul received 23% and former Utah Gov. and U.S. Ambassador Jon Huntsman garnered 17%.

Romney's sweep of the first two contests for the GOP nomination made history. It was the first time a non-incumbent Republican won both the Iowa caucuses and New Hampshire's first-in-the-nation primary.

Former House Speaker Newt Gingrich and former Pennsylvania Sen. Rick Santorum came in with 10% and 9%, respectively, and Texas Gov. Rick Perry had 1%.

"We didn't compete in New Hampshire. So it doesn't surprise us that our score there was a bit on the low side," Perry said on "Piers Morgan Tonight."

With Romney's New Hampshire victory expected, based on polling in recent weeks, the battle for second place and beyond had implications for the South Carolina primary on January 21.

Romney leaves N.H. with wind at back

Despite the strong showing by Romney, who won nearly every group of voters after his narrow victory last week in the Iowa caucuses, all the other contenders made clear they would continue their campaigns in South Carolina.

The Palmetto State will be the first Southern contest of the nomination process and more welcoming to conservatives such as Santorum, Perry and Gingrich, who hails from neighboring Georgia.

"South Carolina is a winner-take-all state," Perry said. "Winning here, I can promise you, wipes out the caucus victory and New Hampshire. So if Mitt's thinking he's got it in the bag, I think he'll be in for a great surprise in South Carolina when he shows up here."

In an interview with CNN before Tuesday's results came in, Gingrich acknowledged South Carolina will be vital to his presidential hopes.

"We're going to go all out to win South Carolina. We think that's a key state for us," Gingrich said, describing the race there as a contrast between himself -- a "Georgia Reagan conservative" -- and Romney, "a Massachusetts moderate."

Romney told CNN Wednesday he does not plan to discount the other candidates and noted he has "a long way to go" to secure the GOP nomination.

However, he said, "I really think we're best off focusing on the failures of this president." He said he believes voters want to hear his plans for restoring rising incomes and job growth.

In his victory speech in New Hampshire, Romney sounded like the presumptive Republican nominee to take on Obama in November.

"Tonight we celebrate. Tomorrow we go back to work," Romney told exuberant supporters, calling Obama "a failed president" and asking "the good people of South Carolina to join the good citizens of New Hampshire to make 2012 the year he (Obama) runs out of time."

The crowd interrupted with chants of "Mitt" as he outlined a campaign strategy that portrayed Obama as a European-leaning big government advocate while defining his candidacy as a return to American ideals.

"This president puts his faith in government. We put our faith in the American people," Romney said to cheers.

Paul told CNN that he expected to raise more money after a second-place finish, and he then told cheering supporters that their campaign for freedom in America would continue to grow.

Paul: Only I can stop Romney

Referring to Romney, Paul said "he certainly had a clear-cut victory, but we're nibbling at his heels," giving a chuckle as the crowd chanted "President Paul."

In response to criticism by rivals that his calls for scrapping the Federal Reserve and bringing home American forces from around the world were dangerous, Paul declared: "We are dangerous, to the status quo."

Huntsman told his supporters, "I think we're in the hunt," adding "Hello, South Carolina" to emphasize his third-place finish would keep him in the race.

Huntsman's surge stops at 3rd place

Santorum, who narrowly lost to Romney in Iowa but finished well back in New Hampshire, also said he would head to South Carolina and continued to portray himself as the "true conservative" in the field.

"With faith in American people we can not only wipe out this deficit and rebuild this economy ... but we can win a huge victory that will rally this country to take on the challenges we have before us," Santorum said.

Santorum hits rockier road in N.H.

Perry already was in South Carolina in what amounted to a concession of New Hampshire.

A record 250,000 voters were expected to turn out in New Hampshire for the GOP primary on an unseasonably warm winter day, Deputy Secretary of State David Scanlan told CNN. With no competitive challenger to Obama on the Democratic side, more "undeclared" voters could weigh in on the Republican race, he said.

Exit poll data showed that nearly seven out of 10 Republican voters in the state were very worried about the economy and their personal financial situation.

One in four said the deficit was the most important issue. Also, more than three-quarters of respondents said the series of Republican debates was important to their final decision, while less than half said television ads were important.

The exit poll data showed that Romney scored a solid victory. Even Christian conservatives and tea party backers -- the heart of Santorum's support last week in Iowa when he lost by just eight votes to Romney -- gave a plurality win to Romney this time.

Still, most New Hampshire voters indicated they only made up their minds this week.

One of the state's more than 300,000 "undeclared" or independent voters, Linda Underhill, said Tuesday that she decided to support Huntsman.

After initially backing Romney, Underhill shifted to Huntsman, calling him smart and likely to take a bipartisan approach.

"In the past few days, I watched him very closely," Underhill said. "I just feel he is more genuine."

Earlier Tuesday, Gingrich argued that a Romney showing in the 30% range, as the most recent polling suggested, could hurt the front-runner even if he won Tuesday's contest.

"If he can't come close to 50% here, it's very unlikely he can sweep the nomination," Gingrich told reporters in Bedford. "And I think that gives the party time to take a deep breath, look at his record and begin to realize that maybe this isn't the right guy to run against Obama."

Gingrich has been pounding at Romney since Iowa, complaining about a massive negative ad campaign against him by allies of the former Massachusetts governor.

A Gingrich-allied super PAC has already launched its own anti-Romney barrage in South Carolina, and Gingrich and others have honed in on Romney's years as a financier with Bain Capital, accusing him of getting rich by gutting companies and laying off workers.

Romney will have to answer questions about that in conservative South Carolina, Gingrich said Tuesday.

Asked about the negative ads from the Gingrich camp, Romney told Boston radio station WRKO on Tuesday that they "will not help" his rival.

"All I have got to do is keep my head down, keep talking about my message of getting America back to work, my experience in having led two businesses successfully, the Olympics successfully," Romney said.

Gingrich wasn't alone in attacking Romney's business record. In South Carolina, Perry told supporters Romney's firm "looted" a photo company in Gaffney and a steel company in Georgetown.

"I would suggest they are just vultures," Perry said. "They are vultures that are sitting out there on the tree limb waiting for the company to get sick, then they swoop in, they eat the carcass, they leave with that and they leave the skeleton."

Asked about those remarks on Wednesday, Romney said the issue has been brought up every time he has run for an office.

"I understand that President Obama is going to try and put free enterprise on trial," he said. "But, you know, Rick Perry and Newt Gingrich are going to be the witnesses for the prosecution. I'm not worried about that. They can take it as they like, but you saw last night that that approach didn't work very well for either Rick Perry or Newt Gingrich."

On Tuesday night, an Obama campaign aide said that despite Romney's victory in New Hampshire, "the premise of his candidacy began to unravel in the last 48 hours," referring to the questions over Romney's business experience.

Romney tops most national polling and is ahead in the latest surveys in South Carolina and Florida.

However, he came under criticism after a speech Monday to the Nashua Chamber of Commerce, when he said he wanted Americans who were unhappy with their health care coverage to be able to switch insurance companies.

"I like being able to fire people who provide services to me," he said. "You know, if someone doesn't give me the good service I need, I want to say, 'You know, I'm going to go get someone else to provide that service to me.' "

The first seven words of that sentence -- "I like being able to fire people" -- provided an enticing sound bite for opponents to attack.

"Gov. Romney enjoys firing people. I enjoy creating jobs," Huntsman said at a campaign stop in Concord on Monday.

Romney Communications Director Gail Gitcho said opponents are taking Romney's remarks out of context -- a point on which Gingrich and Paul defended him Tuesday.

However, the attacks fed the image of Romney that his GOP opponents and Democrats have pushed: That he's a wealthy businessman who can't connect to average Americans.

Vice President Joe Biden touched on that theme Tuesday night, telling New Hampshire voters via teleconference that Romney's firing comment was "probably taken a little out of context," but nonetheless reflected Romney's true sentiments.

"He thinks it's more important for the stockholders and the shareholders and the investors and the venture capital guys to do well than for those employees to be part of the bargain," Biden said.

But Romney said Wednesday, "You've got almost 2 million people that have lost their jobs under this president, median income that has dropped 10% over the last few years." Millions are out of work, and some have stopped looking, he said.

"This is a failed presidency," he said. "People know that. They're going to do their very best to attack whoever the Republican party puts forward. But in the final analysis, they can't defend their record, and it's because of the president's failure that he's going to be replaced, at least in my view."

CNN's Paul Steinhauser, Alan Silverleib, Dana Bash, Kevin Bohn, Tom Cohen, Jessica Yellin and Rachel Streitfeld contributed to this report.

Source: http://www.cnn.com/2012/01/11/politics/new-hampshire-main/index.html?eref=rss_mostpopular

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Book depicts tensions between first lady, aides (AP)

WASHINGTON ? First lady Michelle Obama is a behind-the-scenes force in the White House whose opinions on policy and politics drew her into conflict with presidential advisers and who bristled at some of the demands and constraints of life as the president's wife, according to a detailed account of the first couple's relationship.

New York Times reporter Jodi Kantor, in a book to be published Tuesday, portrays a White House where tensions developed between Mrs. Obama and former White House Chief of Staff Rahm Emanuel and former press secretary and presidential adviser Robert Gibbs.

The Associated Press obtained a copy of the book, "The Obamas," Friday evening and The Times posted a 3,300-word adaption on its website that appeared to capture its most revealing accounts. The book is based on interviews with 30 current and former aides, though President Barack Obama and the first lady declined to be interviewed for the book.

The book portrays Mrs. Obama as having gone through an evolution from struggle to fulfillment in her role at the White House but all the while an "unrecognized force" in pursuing the president's goals.

She is seen publicly as the friendly and popular face of the softer side of the White House, the one reading to school kids or promoting exercise as a means to reduce child obesity.

According to Kantor, early in 2010 as the president's health care agenda seemed in danger of collapsing, Mrs. Obama let it be known she was annoyed by how the White House was handling the strategy. After media reports indicated Emanuel was unhappy pursuing the health care overhaul, Emanuel offered to resign, Kantor wrote. The president declined the offer.

By that spring, however, Kantor writes that Mrs. Obama "made it clear that she thought her husband needed a new team, according to her aides."

Among the book's most provocative anecdotes, Kantor recounts a scene in which Gibbs, frustrated after tamping down a potential public relations crisis involving the first lady, exploded when presidential adviser Valerie Jarrett told him the first lady had concerns about the White House response to the flap. The initial commotion had been over an alleged remark by Michelle Obama to French first lady Carla Bruni-Sarkozy that living in the White House was "hell."

Gibbs cursed the first lady, who was absent. Kantor writes that Gibbs later said his anger was misplaced and that he blamed Jarrett for creating the confrontation. Kantor writes that Jarrett appeared to have been too quick with her criticism of Gibbs and that two aides to the first lady later said Jarrett had misspoken.

The White House had a cold reaction to the book, calling it an "over-dramatization of old news" and emphasizing that the first couple did not speak to the author, who last interviewed them for a magazine piece in 2009.

"The emotions, thoughts and private moments described in the book, though often seemingly ascribed to the president and first lady, reflect little more than the author's own thoughts," White House spokesman Eric Schultz said. "These secondhand accounts are staples of every administration in modern political history and often exaggerated."

The book, in an array of reconstructed anecdotes, depicts a first couple often wishing they could escape the confining White House life more freely; a president who at times gets deeply frustrated by how the press covers him; and a former chief of staff, Emanuel, who let loose with profane outbursts on staff members. All of those themes have been presented in some form in other publications.

One incident recalled that Jarrett used a phone aboard Air Force One to call a New York Times reporter. The reporter was pursuing a story about how Obama's West Wing was essentially a big boys' club, and Jarrett was calling to argue that the premise of a male-dominated operation was overblown. The book says even though Jarrett was the one making the call, it was Obama himself who was managing the response to the Times' story even before it came out by "personally dictating talking points to the aides who would speak to the reporter."

In another, the book describes how Obama, after winning a U.S. Senate seat and writing a best-selling book, "The Audacity of Hope," sought self-protection and privacy as he came to terms with his new fame. Some staffers came up with a word to describe times when the senator couldn't connect with people: "Barackward," a combination of "Barack" and "awkward."

But despite the White House pushback to the book, Kantor also includes many positive portrayals of both Obamas as committed parents and a down to earth power couple who have not lost their perspective.

Other revelations in the book:

? Mrs. Obama initially chafed at life in the White House and for a short period before the inauguration had even mulled staying in Chicago in 2009 at least until the two Obama daughters completed their school session.

? During the struggle to pass health care reform, Obama was committed to tackling the massive problem of rising health care costs despite the political costs. "Michelle and I are perfectly comfortable if we're only here one term if we feel like we really accomplished something," the book quotes the president as telling aides.

? Despite her reticence in 2010 to campaign during the midterm elections, the book says Mrs. Obama now has no qualms about 2012. "Michelle had been playing it safe, storing up political capital, and now she wanted to spend it all on her husband's re-election campaign."

___

Associated Press writers Ben Feller and Ken Thomas contributed to this report.

Source: http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/politics/*http%3A//news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20120107/ap_on_en_ot/us_obamas_book

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Red wine may reduce breast cancer risk

Published: Jan. 6, 2012 at 9:03 PM

LOS ANGELES, Jan. 6 (UPI) -- Red wine may reduce one risk factor for breast cancer, challenging the widely-held belief that alcohol increases breast cancer, U.S. researchers say.

Study co-author Dr. Chrisandra Shufelt, assistant director of the Women's Heart Center at the Cedars-Sinai Heart Institute, said doctors long ago determined all alcohol increases the body's estrogen levels, fostering the growth of cancer cells.

The study, published online ahead of the April print edition of the Journal of Women's Health, found chemicals in the skins and seeds of red grapes slightly lowered estrogen levels while elevating testosterone among premenopausal women who drank 8 ounces of red wine nightly for about a month. The effect was not found in white wine.

The study involved 36 women were randomized to drink either Cabernet Sauvignon or Chardonnay daily for almost a month, then switched to the other type of wine. Blood was collected twice each month to measure hormone levels.

Study co-author Dr. Glenn D. Braunstein said the results do not mean white wine increases the risk of breast cancer but grapes used in those varieties may lack the same protective elements found in reds.

Source: http://pheed.upi.com/click.phdo?i=f4907e94c0ba05dde577ec76fee6af02

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Wifi-only Motorola XYBOARDs shipping in mid-January, pre-order now

MOTOROLA XYBOARD

Motorola has four new versions of the XYBOARD tablet up for preorder. They've dropped the cellular radios as thus the Verizon "Droid" branding as well, and they've shed a few bucks, too. There are 10.1- and 8.2-inch versions, of course. And other than also shedding some Verizon apps, it looks like we're pretty much looking at the same devices here. Pricing is as follows:

  • XYBOARD 10.1 32GB: $599.99
  • XYBOARD 10.1 16GB: $499.99
  • XYBOARD 8.2 32GB: $499.99
  • XYBOARD 8.2 16GB: $399.99

Across the board, that's actually $20 less than what they're going for on Verizon, though you're saving hundreds in monthly charges by going wifi-only. Moto's got them shipping the week of Jan. 18. Hit the link below to preorder.

Preorder: Motorola; thanks to everyone who sent this in!

Source: http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/androidcentral/~3/BKrZa12TmnE/story01.htm

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Preferred by Used Ford Cincinnati Owners & New Ford Cincinnati Buyers, Kings New & Used Ford Dealer Reigning Supreme With Motor Trend Truck of the Year 2012 New Ford Pickup.

Posted in by TheodoreJ on January 7th, 2012

New Ford Cincinnati shoppers & Used Ford Cincinnati seekers are made breathless by the New Ford Pickup. Find a New Ford Cincinnati among the most popular New Ford line of pickup trucks. The steely American automaker allies Ford fuel-efficient resourcefulness with a selection of polished, distinctive style options, now available at Most-Trusted Kings New Ford Cincinnati Cars & Trucks. Here is where to look for a New Ford Cincinnati. Truck lovers and used Ford Cincinnati traders can choose from a spectacular selection of cabs, truck bed lengths, and exceptional trims. These include the Ford F-150 XL, STX, XLT, FX2/FX4, Lariat, King Ranch, Platinum and the ever-popular Harley Davidson. New Ford brings substance to style with outstanding safety measures-four-wheel ABS disc brakes, electronic traction and stability control, front and side airbags and the highly-praised Safety Canopy side curtain airbags. The new and used F-150 can come in so many styles. The New Ford offers a 4?2 or a 4?4 drive system, three cab styles, three pickup box lengths and several useful individual options and option packages. Also, there are two more choices for New Ford Cincinnati in 2012 as XL and XLT models now offer a new light-duty 163-inch wheelbase option with the SuperCab, while XL, XLT, and Lariat Crew Cab models are now offered in a 157 wheelbase along with a heavy-duty payload option. Lift the hood, 2012 New Ford Pickup offers four engine options partnered with fuel efficient 6-speed automatic transmissions including tow haul mode for V6 and V8 equipped F-150. The commanding V6 engines consist of a 4-valve, DOHC aluminum block 302-hp 3.7-liter or a 365-hp 3.5-liter EcoBoost V6 with direct fuel injection and twin turbochargers. This engine is acclaimed for incomparable power and fuel efficient towing virtue. With the V8 engines offered, a 4-valve DOHC 360-hp 5.0-liter and a 2-valve SOHC 411-hp 6.2-liter deliver outstanding towing capability for weekend warriors and weekday workers. For Cincinnati New Ford F-150 isprovided in 4?2 or a 4?4 drive system. Kings New Ford Cincinnati and and Ford offer more detailed improvements for the 2012 F-150 line-up with six-spoke, 20-inch wheels treated with a black finish as part of the new package. Available with any exterior paint color, new options in a number of black-colored exterior accents, including emblems, grille insert, headlamp surrounds, smoked rear tail lamps, and a chromed exhaust tip are well received by new Ford Cincinnati buyers and used at Kings Ford. With resounding success, 2011 was the proving ground for Ford?s major upgrades on the full-size pickup. This year, Kings New Ford Cincinnati is also pleased to provide neutral tow capability on all 4?4 models, making it possible for any 2012 New Ford F-150 to be flat-towed. More new Ford Cincinnati drivers will appreciate the new Hill Start Assist feature, for undulating. The system is standard, holds the brakes for two seconds after the driver decompresses the brakes, preventing the truck from moving back when taking off on an incline! The 2012 line-up demonstrates again New Ford Cincinnati is built tough-and smart for those looking to buy trucks of quality craftsmanship at the Top New Ford Cincinnati Auto Dealer,, Kings New Ford Cincinnati Dealers central to Cincinnati, Ohio. Come visit the King of New Ford Cincinnati.

Source: http://www.luckybunnyranch.com/lucky-bunny-ranch/11356

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