Robert Guttman: Please, No More GOP Presidential Debates!

--By Robert J. Guttman & Dustin Taylor

Stop the debates, please! How long are we going to put up with these silly debates? What are we really getting out of these debates? At the end of the day are we going to find any major differences between the candidates? If you spent five minutes watching, you would realize they're all very conservative candidates. Actually it seems that's all these debates have really turned into, is a showboating contest to see who can be the most conservative. We are really only watching to see who is going to make the next predictable folly, gaffe or boring remark.

How many times do we need to hear Bachmann say something that's almost certainly going to get rebuffed by an amateur fact checker? How many times do we need to hear Cain say something so strange that it excuses an amateur fact checker from even bothering to do a fact check? How many Perry fumbles do we need to hear? How many times do we need to listen to Paul's conspiracy theories? How many times must we listen to Mitt's defense of Romneycare? How many patronizing Gingrich comments do we need to sit through?

Rick Santorum lost his Senate seat in 2006 and now he thinks he can run for president. Where's the logic in that? Wouldn't the average person with a shred of humility understand that after losing an incumbent seat, it's time to maybe toss in the towel or try for something in state politics? Santorum, for some reason, thinks that getting fired from middle management is the perfect opportunity to apply for the CEO vacancy. Even Sarah Palin had enough common sense not to run for president after quitting her governorship of Alaska.

Why doesn't anyone care about Jon Huntsman? He was a businessman, governor and ambassador to China, easily one of America's most important diplomatic posts. The common phrase to sum up his lack of popularity is his drabness. Seriously? When did we turn into Simon Cowell? He doesn't have "it" is another way of explaining his lack of fame. When did presidential primaries turn into high school popularity contests? I can hear Simon telling Hunstman, "Look, you obviously understand the dynamics of the Pakistani and Chinese relationship, but your suit is dowdy and your monotone vocals simply just don't cut it." I heard former Ambassador and Governor Huntsman speak at a think tank in Washington, D.C. recently. My first thought after listening to him speak was that he was extremely qualified to be the GOP nominee for president. And because he was so thoughtful and middle of the road on his views, I knew that he would never survive the GOP primaries and caucuses. And my second thought was, why was a candidate for president using his precious time speaking to a small group of people in the nation's capital a month before actual voting begins in Iowa?

And what makes these debaters more relevant than Gary Johnson? He's just as qualified to be in the debate as all the other self-appointed candidates we have to listen to every other week. Johnson's a two-term governor of New Mexico, successful businessman and remarkable athlete. That's as much or more experience than most candidates in these debates. Wouldn't you rather listen to a story about his climbing Mt. Everest than how the ACLU controls the CIA? Former two-term New Mexico Governor Gary Johnson was the guest speaker at my Johns Hopkins/University of California speakers series earlier this month. The former governor and mountain climber and all-around athlete should certainly be allowed in these debates. As he rightly says the Republican National Committee should support his appearance on the televised debates. Johnson is a libertarian with more progressive social views than Ron Paul.

This whole debate season has gotten so redundant and silly that it's time we move on to the caucuses and primaries. We do not need three more debates before the Iowa Caucus and two before the New Hampshire primary. Let's just let the candidates work on their ground game in the early states and go from there. Does anyone think thirteen more scheduled debates will make a difference in producing a more competent Republican presidential candidate?

Where is the moderate voice that will give Obama a run for his money? This so-called "inclusive" primary system hasn't given voters much to choose from. Obama may be nervous about his reelection, but this list of potential opponents must make sleeping a little easier every time they open their mouths.

The candidates have participated in fourteen debates up until now, with thirteen more scheduled. The debates have become so stale and predictable that we would welcome Sarah Palin and her self-centered views. After all, she is the ultimate reality show and the debates could use some new buzz. And with a new front runner every two weeks, Gary Johnson or Sarah Palin could surge into the lead in the near future.

Governor Romney could probably beat President Obama in the fall. But of course, that would make too much sense for the Republicans to back a likely winner.

Get the hook & take Cain and Paul off the stage. Turn off the debates.

?

Follow Robert Guttman on Twitter: www.twitter.com/@cpfr

Source: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/robert-guttman/please-no-more-gop-presid_b_1117304.html

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Washington holiday season begins with arrival of White House Christmas tree

The Washington holiday season had a festive start Friday when First Lady Michelle Obama presided over the arrival of the White House Christmas tree ??a balsam fir from Wisconsin.

The Washington holiday season got off to a festive start Friday when First Lady Michelle Obama presided over the arrival of the White House Christmas tree.

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The picturesque scene, outside the North Portico of the White House facing Pennsylvania Avenue, offered a sharp contrast to scattered reports of violence ? including one shooting and one incident of pepper spraying ? that accompanied the predawn start of Black Friday shopping at malls around the country.

At 11:09 a.m. a green wagon loaded with a 19 foot-tall balsam fir was pulled up the White House driveway by two horses with wreathes and red bows around their necks.?A Marine Band brass quintet struck up the German carol ?O Tannenbaum? (O Christmas Tree) as Mrs. Obama, daughters Malia and Sasha, and first dog Bo walked out the mansion?s front door.

IN PICTURES: A gallery of Christmas trees

After inspecting the tree, the Obamas posed for pictures with Sue and Tom Schroder whose Wisconsin farm ? dubbed Schroeder?s Forevergreens ? grew this year?s tree. After several minutes, the Obamas headed back into the White House.?As she left, Mrs. Obama told the assembled reporters and news photographers, ?You all take care. Happy holidays.? ?

The arrival of the tree marks the beginning of a very active period at the White House, which last year hosted some 20 holiday parties and receptions involving 12,000 guests. In addition, some 100,000 visitors toured the mansion during the season when it is filled with Christmas decorations and the official tree is displayed in the Blue Room. ?

The full holiday party schedule for 2011 has not been announced. But some invitations ? featuring the presidential seal surrounded by a green holiday wreath and a big red bow ? have already gone out. ?

The First Lady?s office said Friday that military families would be the first to see this year's holiday decorations. She will host a special gathering for them November 30 where she will speak, and the White House chefs and florist will talk about holiday decorations and food. The theme of this year?s Blue Room Christmas tree will be honoring Blue star families, the White House said.?Blue Star families are those who have a member serving in the military during a time of war.

Mrs. Obama?s office also said Gold Star families will take part in decorating a special Gold Star tree that will be placed at the visitors? entrance to the East Wing. Guests at White House holiday events enter through the East Wing entrance near where Mrs. Obama's office is located. Gold Star families are those who have a relative killed while serving in the Armed Forces in wartime.

Source: http://rss.csmonitor.com/~r/feeds/csm/~3/btYuSC15r00/Washington-holiday-season-begins-with-arrival-of-White-House-Christmas-tree

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Panasonic plans to go forth with Android to all of Europe this spring, North America is a definite maybe

Have you been hoping to experience a Panasonic boom up close and personal, but found yourself in the wrong locale? The Japanese electronics giant wants to change all of that by expanding its Android lineup to Europe and North America, according to Nikkei. The company's said to be in talks with a "major telecommunications firm" in Europe to bring several devices to the continent as early as this spring, and is aspiring to eventually make it to North America and other Asian countries. This lines up with last week's rumors that it was seeking out a PR agency to help spread the news when the time's right. Might we expect Panasonic to make a mobile splash at CES or MWC in a major way? It's going to be exhibiting at both, so we'd say there's a pretty good chance.

Panasonic plans to go forth with Android to all of Europe this spring, North America is a definite maybe originally appeared on Engadget on Sat, 26 Nov 2011 19:40:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Source: http://feeds.engadget.com/~r/weblogsinc/engadget/~3/jlQLBhDFG-g/

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Black Friday draws crowds but spending in doubt (Reuters)

(Reuters) ? Retailers were hoping for more shoppers like Shawn Elzia as the annual Black Friday bargain stampede marked the unofficial start of what is widely expected to be a middling holiday shopping season.

The Brooklyn, New York teacher, one of hundreds of thousands of shoppers jostling for deals around the country, said he ended up spending about 25 percent more than he planned, even while worrying about the state of the economy.

"I did not expect such deals," the 33-year old said as he left a Macy's store in Jersey City, New Jersey clutching bags full of clothing for himself and his family.

"It's slashed down to the bones," he said. "There were some great discounts if you showed up early."

Even as eager shoppers emerged from stores lugging big-screen TVs and bags full of video games and toys, it was far from certain that stretched consumers will be pulling out their wallets for much more than the best deals this year.

"Americans are still worried about jobs, still worried about the economy, they're still worried about debt of the country," said Mike Thielmann, group executive vice president at J.C. Penney.

"I don't think you can take for granted that they've got more money in their pocket or they're interested in buying this year or you can take your prices up," he said. "I don't think our economy or the consumer confidence is there yet."

(For a graphic on shopping trends see, http://link.reuters.com/tag35s)

Shopper-related injuries were popular topics on social networks such as Twitter. A shopper at a Los Angeles-area Walmart used pepper spray on a throng of shoppers and there was a shooting in a Walmart parking lot in the Oakland area.

In 2008, a security officer working at a Walmart on Black Friday was trampled to death by a crowd.

Competition among the retailers was fierce as it was among shoppers, with some stores pushing their openings and specials up to Thanksgiving night on Thursday.

The term "Black Friday" is generally accepted to refer to the time when retailers start to turn profitable for the year, although the phrase's origin is unclear.

What is clear is that while it is the busiest day of the year in terms of store traffic, it does not always mean that sales will soar for the season.

Despite brisk sales right after Thanksgiving in 2008 and 2009, total holiday season sales fell as the recession gripped the country.

The National Retail Federation, an industry trade group, expects 152 million people to hit stores this weekend, up 10.1 percent from last year.

Yet it expects sales for the full November-December holiday season to rise just 2.8 percent, well below the pace of last year when sales rose 5.2 percent.

Shares of most retailers were flat to up slightly in early trading on Friday.

LUXURY STORES BIG WINNERS

Luxury chains such as Saks Inc and those catering to lower-income shoppers, such as dollar stores, are expected to do well this shopping season. Those in the middle are expected to have a tough time winning over shoppers without the cache of the high-end set or the deep discounts others offer.

Opening early appeared to work, judging from the long lines at stores such as Toys R Us, Best Buy, Walmart and Target.

Even after a Toys R Us in New Jersey had been open for nearly an hour, at 9:50 p.m. EST on Thursday night, there was still a line of about 300 people waiting to get inside.

"It was like 'Club Toys R Us' -- one cart out, one cart in," said Charlie O'Shea, a senior retail analyst at Moody's. "People are looking for the big ticket item, which is where they're going to get the most bang for their buck."

Overall, retail executives and analysts expect a more competitive shopping season than in 2010. Unemployment remains at 9 percent, European debt woes are weighing on the stock market, and consumer confidence remains spotty.

Walmart, Gap Inc's Old Navy, and Kmart, owned by Sears Holdings, were among the few retailers open on Thanksgiving day.

Walmart began offering Black Friday deals at 10 p.m. on Thursday, while Target, electronics chain Best Buy and department store chains Macy's and Kohl's opened at midnight, their earliest starts ever.

Marta Marchado, 46, who works in construction, arrived at The Mall at Prince Georges in Hyattsville, Maryland at 4 a.m. to buy a television.

"Target has good prices," she said, almost too tired to speak as she sat on a bench in the mall courtyard. Her boyfriend was fast asleep as he leaned on her shoulder.

Other retailers, including J.C. Penney opened early Friday morning as they did last year.

Nelson Sepulveda, a building superintendent from Manhattan, was the first person in line at the Best Buy in Union Square, having queued up at 8 p.m. on Wednesday -- 28 hours before the store opened -- to get the $200 Sharp 42-inch LCD television, Play Station 3 games and other items he wanted.

This year, the heavy push by retailers got an even earlier start, as chains such as Walmart and Toys R Us started offering holiday layaway programs as early as October.

Retailers from Amazon.com to Walmart were also offering online deals as Thanksgiving has become one of the biggest online shopping days of the year.

Some shoppers, though, said they felt as if the economy was back in a recession, making them reluctant to spend.

"Because of the recession, we are not going to shop as much," said Desiree Schoolfield, 49, a public service professional from Queens, who was shopping at the Toys R Us in Times Square.

About 1,000 people were waiting in line at the midnight opening of a Target store in Farmingdale, New York.

Those midnight openings drew online petition protests from store workers, and there were shoppers too who said they did not like the early openings.

Dwayne Dickson, a 19-year-old college student who works part time at Target, decided to stand in line to try and snag some small items, such as jewelry and clothing, before his Black Friday shift began.

"I will probably accidentally spend more this year on the holidays than I did last year," said Dickson, who, as a Target employee, gets an extra 10 percent discount.

For some shoppers, staying up late beat waking up for a 4 a.m. or 5 a.m. opening. "Nobody really has to be out so early to come into the store. I really feel like that's better," Tosha Smith, a 21-year-old hotel attendant from Queens, said while shopping at Macy's in New York.

Outside, four Occupy Wall Street activists chanted "boycott Macy's" and "stop supporting big corporations" even as about 9,000 people lined up to shop at the store.

(Reporting by Dhanya Skariachan, Liana B. Baker and Phil Wahba in New York, Mihir Dalal in Jersey City, New Jersey, Jessica Wohl in Chicago, and Diane Bartz in Hyattsville, Maryland; Writing by Brad Dorfman in Milwaukee; Editing by Jon Loades-Carter, Phil Berlowitz)

Source: http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/economy/*http%3A//news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20111125/bs_nm/us_usa_retail_thanksgiving

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Tilda Swinton dives again into dark emotional waters (Reuters)

LOS ANGELES (TheWrap.com) ? By now, it's certainly no surprise that Tilda Swinton has turned in another riveting performance in a dark and difficult movie; from "Orlando" to "I Am Love," that's what she does, with occasional detours to play the white witch in the Narnia films and win an Oscar as a corporate lawyer in "Michael Clayton."

Swinton's latest, which has made her a dark-horse Oscar candidate, is "We Need to Talk About Kevin," an intense, intimate and disquieting drama drawn from Lionel Shriver's novel about a woman struggling through the aftermath of a horrific crime committed by her son.

Her performance is often wordless; she may be the only person in the family aware of the depths of evil that reside within her son (played by Ezra Miller and two younger actors), but she's unable to communicate with her husband (John C. Reilly) or turn to anyone in the aftermath of Kevin's actions.

Oscilloscope Laboratories is opening the film on December 9 for a one-week Oscar-qualifying run. Its commercial release begins on January 27.

Swinton flew to Los Angeles from her home in Northern Scotland for the Governors Awards earlier in the month. Not surprisingly, she's out of the loop when it comes to Hollywood buzz -- when I told her that Billy Crystal had signed on to host the Oscars just moments before we met, she was completely unaware of the turmoil that had surrounded the show in the previous few days.

TheWrap: Billy Crystal just tweeted that he's hosting the Oscars.

Tilda Swinton: Things have been happening with that show, haven't they? I didn't know anything about it, and then I got to L.A. and people were talking about something. But the news doesn't reach those of us who live on other planets.

TheWrap: Yeah, the original producer had to quit because he said "rehearsal is for fags" at a Q&A, and then talked about his sex life on the Howard Stern show.

Swinton: How fantastic! How fantastic.

TheWrap: You went through that circus once, with "Michael Clayton."

Swinton: Well, apparently so, but it didn't feel like it. I was somehow oblivious at the time. I'm trying to remember anything from it. I think maybe the second time you can feel it happening. It's like taking an anesthetic the first time. You don't feel it going in.

TheWrap: I understand your agent has your Oscar.

Swinton: My agent has my Oscar. His Oscar. I gave it to him.

TheWrap: I expected "We Need to Talk About Kevin" to be disturbing, and it was, But I didn't expect it to be as lyrical as it was.

Swinton: Did you know the book?

TheWrap: No, I didn't.

Swinton: The book is a lot less lyrical. That's one of the great things about (writer-director) Lynne Ramsay adapting the book. Because she is someone who is ... "Lyrical" is not exactly the word that I'd use, but she is definitely someone who is interested in atmosphere, particularly a kind of atmosphere of discomfort.

And it was important that it be beautiful. It's got a kind of elegiac quality, this feeling of her nostalgia for this life, as well as being a horror story.

TheWrap: Were you familiar with the book before the movie came along?

Swinton: Yeah, I was. I knew the book, and I was very keen to know what Lynne was doing next, and very interested that she had chosen to adapt this book. There had been this really unwieldy gap of time since (Ramsay's 2002 film) "Morvern Callar," and I was wanting to help her make another feature film in any way I could. But then this point came when it became clear that I wanted to be in it.

I can't really remember if it was my idea or hers. But we sort of slowly moved toward that idea.

TheWrap: Why?

Swinton: As it became more and more developed, and less and less about the social atmosphere in the book, more and more about this woman's interior life, then the more interested I became in playing it.

And to be honest, I think it was partly to do with a sort of huge budget cut that we faced at a certain point. I always hate to say this, because it sounds like I'm arguing for the stringencies of people cutting budgets, but it became very clear that we were only going to get about half of what we wanted. Which meant that we were going to really have to streamline it and reduce the social context. And there had to be less people in it, less locations. More claustrophic, in fact. Much more Greek. All the action had to take place offscreeen.

The cheaper it got, the better it got. But that's not always the case.

TheWrap: So the more it departed from the book, the more it improved?

Swinton: Well, it became much clearer as a Lynne Ramsay film. The book is very much about someone who's trying to work it out. She's writing letters, trying to work out what happened, trying to explain it to herself and to her husband. It's quite a political book about Bush-era America, and it's very socially aware. And we sort of pulled out of that, and locked into her mind, her memories, her fantasies, her nightmares.

It became a sort of phantasmagoria, and the more it became about someone who is lonely, who doesn't have anybody to talk to or to explain things to, the more it became interesting to me. That's really something I'm interested in, the idea of inarticulacy or dumbness.

TheWrap: Does it take away some of your tools as an actress?

Swinton: To me, it feels like you gain more capacity, the less you get to say, in cinema at least. I always say that I think cinema has gone downhill since people started talking in it.

It's just a personal preference. I like it when people ... Like what I'm doing now. I think I know what I want to say, but I'm searching for the words. I like that. I don't like it when people become playwrights on-screen. I like a level of inarticulacy, and also silence.

TheWrap: They may have helped develop the material, but did the time and budget constraints feel limiting when you were shooting?

Swinton: It meant that we had to work in a more prescribed way than we would have liked to do. Lynne and I were talking earlier about how we're both looking forward to working in a more loose way. But that is a luxury in this kind of filmmaking. If you get two takes, you're lucky. It's a discipline, and it's painful at times, but you've got to keep trucking.

TheWrap: Can it be frustrating as an actor?

Swinton: In terms of performance, when you've been thinking about doing something for four years and then you have to do it in half an hour and then leave it, that's always a bit tricky. But you just have to do it.

TheWrap: Your character, Eva, has a complicated bond with her son -- she's the one who really knows that something is wrong, but she's also connected to him in a deeper way than his father is.

Swinton: We were always clear that we wanted this to be a sort of double portrait of one person. We knew that Kevin and Eva had to feel like two sides of the same coin. The thing that's so horrendous is not that his violence and badness is exotic and foreign to her. It's really familiar -- that's the worst part. She knows it's hers, and he's acting it out in front of her.

So we needed them to feel very closely linked physically. If he had been short and round and red-haired, I would have been short and round and red-haired. As it happened, he looked like Ezra Miller, so I had to go that way. He led the way, and I had to follow.

TheWrap: Do you have to be sensitive when you're acting with younger children in a work that involves tough, disturbing material?

Swinton: To me, it's much, much easier to play with children. Children know that it's play. You ask a 6-year-old to dress up as a dog, he'll go there. You ask a 45-year-old to dress up as a dog, and you'll have to go through all sorts of questions of method and psychological background.

With children, it's very easy and relaxed. You ask a 3-year-old to be bad and growl at his mommy, it's easy. It's what a 3-year-old loves to do. So no, it's really graceful and easy, working with children.

TheWrap: As the lead actor but also a producer, was it easy for you to maintain the split focus required?

Swinton: Honestly, that's always been the way that I've worked.

If anything, it's stranger for me and rarer for me to just come in and play and get a check and go away. That's only happened to me a handful of times in my life. Most of the time I'm minding the shop as well. And I like that.

There's a kind of myopia you get with performance that feels to me potentially hazardous and weird. And I quite like having the actualities of knowing what time it is, and knowing how quickly you have to work.

TheWrap: What are you doing next?

Swinton: I feel like a farmer who's had a big harvest. There were three films that I was working on for the last 12 years. "I Am Love" I worked on for 11 years, "Julia" for five and this one for five. And they've all now been made, so I'm very happily facing a bit of a plowed field. I worked very briefly and very happily on the new Wes Anderson film, but apart from that I'm back to the drawing board.

TheWrap: Do Hollywood-type movies factor into your plans?

Swinton: I don't quite know how to answer that, because I never factored in Hollywood-type movies in the first place. You know, the mountain does tend to go to Mohammed, as far as I'm concerned. I'm totally available to have conversations with pretty much anybody who's inclined to chat. I have some projects that I'm slowly beginning to seed at home, but given my track record, they'll probably take so long that there'll be room at the table.

TheWrap: Did "Michael Clayton" and the Oscar change your profile with the industry?

Swinton: You'd be the one to tell me. I've got no idea.

TheWrap: Are you seeing different or better scripts from Hollywood?

Swinton: Well, the thing is, everything that I've done since then, I was going to do anyway. Because that 12 years I've just described, "Michael Clayton" was in the middle of it. I was already working on "I Am Love," and "Julia," and this. So I don't know.

The only real change I can see is that people ask me how my life has changed since then. And we'll see now, I suppose. If it helps take a little film like this and give it a bigger release than it would have had otherwise, then I'm really grateful.

Source: http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/celebrity/*http%3A//news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20111125/people_nm/us_tildaswinton

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Video: Ceremonial presidential pardon for turkeys

President Obama held the ceremonial pardoning of the Thanksgiving turkeys at the White House. Later, the turkeys arrived at their new home in Mount Vernon, Virginia.

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Philippine massacre victims' kin sue ex-president (AP)

MANILA, Philippines ? Relatives of 57 people massacred in the Philippines' worst political violence sued former President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo on Tuesday, claiming she could have prevented the killings.

At least two Arroyo allies, including a former governor of an autonomous Muslim region, are among about 100 suspects being tried on murder charges in the massacre that occurred two years ago Wednesday. The dead included 32 media workers, making it the worst single killing of journalists in the world.

Arroyo was arrested last week on charges that she ordered the former governor, Andal Ampatuan Sr., and another official to commit election fraud two years before the massacre. Arroyo has condemned and denied any knowledge of the killings, but lawyer Harry Roque said she should have known that Ampatuan and his son were a danger.

Roque filed the lawsuit Tuesday, seeking 15 million pesos ($346,000) in damages. In court documents, he argued that Arroyo turned a blind eye to a decade of human rights abuses in the region and "instead she cultivated ties with the Ampatuans, who would prove indispensable to her continued hold on political power."

Reporters, drivers and assistants were accompanying family and supporters of the Ampatuans' political rival en route to file for candidacy in regional elections when gunmen allegedly led by former town mayor Andal Ampatuan Jr. stopped them and led them to a hilltop clearing where they were mowed down and hastily buried in mass graves.

Relatives and colleagues of the journalists who died visited the massacre site Tuesday, the eve of the killings' second anniversary. They offered prayers and 58 white lilies and lighted candles. A Catholic priest celebrated Mass at the mound where concrete markers bearing the names of dead were erected.

Reynafe Momay-Castillo, daughter of journalist Reynaldo Momay ? the 58th victim whose body has not yet been found ? could not hold back tears as she spoke to reporters. "I have been waiting for two years. ...I have also been denied justice for the two years that I've been searching for my father."

Arroyo expelled the Ampatuans from her ruling party after the massacre and declared martial law in Maguindanao province, enabling the army and police to round up the suspects and attempt to restore order.

Roque said that although there is no evidence that Arroyo masterminded the massacre, "she not only funded and armed the Ampatuans but gave them the sense of influence. She could have prevented it. She knew about possible dangers."

Arroyo lawyer Ferdinand Topacio said, "Talk is easy but the evidence has to be solid to pass those who will review it."

The Supreme Court on Tuesday decided not to temporarily stop Arroyo's arrest on charges of electoral cheating. Oral arguments were set for Nov. 29.

The elder Ampatuan was implicated in the electoral fraud case by his son, Zaldy Ampatuan, who wants to become a state witness. Zaldy Ampatuan is also charged in the massacre, and the victims' relatives strongly oppose allowing him to become a prosecution witness in Arroyo's case, which could lead to leniency for him in the murder trial.

Amnesty International lamented the slow pace of the trial, saying "the Philippine government has to show that it has the ability to render justice."

The group criticized significant delays in the hearings and the fact that 100 of the 197 acccused are at large. It noted that Zaldy Ampatuan still has not been arraigned.

___

Associated Press writers Jim Gomez and Teresa Cerojano contributed to this report.

Source: http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/asia/*http%3A//news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20111122/ap_on_re_as/as_philippines_massacre

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Heads-Up Display Contact Lenses Are One Step Closer After Passing Safety Tests [Science]

The days of traditional screens could be numbered if the news coming out of Washington University is anything to go by. It's testing contact lenses that could project information into the wearers eyes and initial safety tests look promising. More »

Source: http://feeds.gawker.com/~r/gizmodo/full/~3/maMQOo80ENg/heads+up-display-contact-lenses-are-one-step-closer-after-passing-safety-tests

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Iran: West must prove its claims about Iran nukes (AP)

TEHRAN, Iran ? The West must prove its claims that Iran seeks to build nuclear weapons, President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad said Wednesday, repeating his denial and insisting that it's not up to Tehran to disprove the allegations.

His remarks follow the latest report by the U.N. nuclear watchdog that cited evidence indicating that Iran is conducting secret experiments toward development of nuclear weapons.

"They (West) tells us, you should prove you don't have atomic bombs. How can something that doesn't exist be proved? It's nonexistent. How can we prove it?" he told thousands of people in Pakdasht, 25 miles (40 kilometers) southeast of the capital Tehran.

"The one who levels the accusations must prove (their) claims. You must prove that someone is guilty," he said.

Ahmadinejad said if Iran decides to build nuclear weapons, it will do so openly.

"When we say we don't possess and we don't want nuclear weapons, we mean it. But you should know that if one day the Iranian nation decides to build atomic bomb, it doesn't fear you. It will bravely stand up and say it wants to build atomic bombs," he said in his speech which was broadcast live on state TV.

Ahmadinejad said the United States, which itself has stored 5,000 nuclear weapons, charges that Iran is guilty without providing evidence, yet it wants Iran to prove its innocence.

The president also warned that Iran would treat any country that freezes its assets as a "thief."

He was reacting to reports that the U.S. and its allies might freeze assets belonging to Iran's central bank following a new set of sanctions imposed on Tehran by U.S., Canada and Britain. The new sanctions seek to apply greater pressure to get Tehran to halt its suspected nuclear weapons program.

The measures were built on previous sanctions to target Iran's oil and petrochemical industries and companies involved in nuclear procurement or enrichment activity.

"Let me tell you (West) that the slightest appropriation of the Iranian nation's currency reserves will be tantamount to theft. The Iranian nation will deal with the perpetrator as a thief," Ahmadinejad warned.

Source: http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/iran/*http%3A//news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20111123/ap_on_re_mi_ea/iran_nuclear

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Review: Jackson's Cirque soundtrack needs context (AP)

Michael Jackson, "Immortal," (Epic)

"The Immortal World Tour" is a new Cirque du Soleil extravaganza that pays tribute to the life of the late King of Pop through his rich catalog of hits. Word has it that the show, which will tour the country beginning in December, is a must-see production.

Listening to the show's soundtrack will leave you with a "must-see" feeling about the show as well, mainly because you'll feel like you've got to see the show to put much of the re-imagined versions of Jackson's hits in context.

Without the imagery and plotline of the show, much of the album seems disjointed. Some songs are oddly chopped up, others are spliced together without much finesse, and there are a myriad of sound effects, from bullets firing to glass shattering to the whistle of a train to basketballs bouncing, that just sound like noise.

There are a few exceptions. "Dancing Machine" is paired with an electro-groove that gives it a nice updated feel (until it is bogged down by the weird insertion of "Blame it on the Boogie" and lots of slamming sound effects); "I'll Be There" sounds gorgeous with just Jackson's voice and a piano; and the a cappella confrontation scene from the "Bad" video fits perfectly into a brief interlude of "State of Shock."

But just as you're jamming to that, the song switches to "Beat It," leaving you with a sense of confusion.

Onstage, it probably all makes sense beautifully ? well, let's hope. But without that visual picture, the listening experience is a disappointment.

CHECK THIS TRACK OUT: The additional of a choir, as well as the foreboding boots marching, makes Jackson's anthem for the oppressed, "They Don't Care About Us," even more powerful.

Source: http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/music/*http%3A//news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20111121/ap_en_mu/us_music_review_michael_jackson

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'This Week' Transcript: Rahm Emanuel (ABC News)

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HOLD UNTIL 11:00 -- Wisconsin under siege (Star Tribune)

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'The X Factor': Who Was Sent Home?

See which act was sent packing and who still has a shot at the $5 million recording contract!

Source: http://www.ivillage.com/x-factor-top-12-cast-photos/1-b-396869?dst=iv%3AiVillage%3Ax-factor-top-12-cast-photos-396869

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Slideshow: What home buyers can get for $300,000

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Sprint rides the Express to Budget Town, available now for $20

Do you choo-choo-choose the Sprint Express, or does it choose you? The Now Network's mixing things up this holiday season by adding its own branded device -- in reality, a reworked Huawei Boulder that Sprint slapped its name on -- to the low end of its smartphone lineup. Known simply as the Express, it's a portrait QWERTY Android 2.3 handset that will set you back $20 with a two-year contract (after a $50 mail-in rebate). What you'll get in return for that hard-earned Jackson is a 2.6-inch QVGA (320 x 240) display, 3.2MP camera, 256MB of RAM, 512MB of internal storage (with expandable microSD slot), a 1,500mAh battery and a 3G mobile hotspot that supports up to five devices. We doubt it'll be the first stop on anybody's Black Friday shopping list, but we think it may actually get penciled into the schedule somewhere.

Continue reading Sprint rides the Express to Budget Town, available now for $20

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A Booming Sound System Made of 5000 Beer Cans Is the Physical Manifestation of My Hangover [Video]

If my hangover existed in real life, it would be in the form of this 5000 beer can speaker system. Yup. All the beer I drank over the past few years booming different noises right inside my ear as I groggily make sense of what happened to my life. More »

Source: http://feeds.gawker.com/~r/gizmodo/full/~3/HRYWz7EvnDo/a-booming-sound-system-made-of-5000-beer-cans-is-the-physical-manifestation-of-my-hangover

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