Obama should fire advisers over gas prices: Romney

Republican presidential candidate Mitt Romney on Sunday called for President Barack Obama to fire three top administration officials as he sought to harness voter anger over rising gas prices ahead of nominating contests in Puerto Rico and Illinois.

Top rival Rick Santorum, meanwhile, promised a crackdown on pornography and stood by comments he made earlier in the week that predominantly Spanish-speaking Puerto Rico should make English its official language if it wants to achieve statehood.

Romney, the Republican frontrunner, is fending off a growing challenge from Santorum in Illinois, which holds its primary contest on Tuesday in the state-by-state battle to determine who will face Democratic President Barack Obama in the November 6 election.

Fewer delegates are at stake in Puerto Rico's nominating contest on Sunday.

A bitter, drawn-out battle could compromise the eventual nominee's ability to take on Obama in the fall.

Republican candidates have seized on rising gasoline prices to argue that Obama's environmental efforts are hurting ordinary Americans who are struggling to recover from the deepest recession since the 1930s.

Gas prices have increased 53 cents since the start of the year to an average of $3.88 a gallon.

"When he ran for office he said he wanted to see gasoline prices go up," Romney said on Fox News Sunday.

Romney said Obama should fire the three top officials who oversee energy and environmental matters - Energy Secretary Stephen Chu, Interior Secretary Ken Salazar and Environmental Protection Agency Administrator Lisa Jackson.

"This gas-hike trio has been doing the job over the last three and a half years and gas prices are up. The right course is they ought to be fired," the former Massachusetts governor said.

Energy experts say that the price of gasoline is largely set by global markets, not government policies, and Obama has accused Republicans of pandering on the issue. Still, Obama and British Prime Minister David Cameron have discussed releasing strategic oil reserves to ease gas prices.

Santorum, whose opposition to gay marriage and birth control and positions on other hot-button social issues has won him a loyal following among Christian conservatives, said he would enforce anti-pornography laws that the Obama administration has ignored.

"They have not put a priority on prosecuting these cases. And in doing so they are exposing children to a tremendous amount of harm," the former U.S. senator from Pennsylvania said on CNN.

Santorum also defended his comments earlier in the week in which he said, incorrectly, that Puerto Rico would have to make English its official language in order to achieve statehood.

He accused Romney of hypocrisy for backing a resolution that would make English the official language of the United States while telling Puerto Ricans they would not face such a requirement.

"He's willing to say whatever he needs to say in order to get those votes. And I'm hopeful the people of Puerto Rico will see through the charade," he said.

Romney said Santorum's underfunded, poorly organized campaign would not be able to defeat Obama in the fall.

"This is not about a shoestring operation, this is about an operation that can be competitive with the president of the United States and beat him," he said.

Source http://www.reuters.com/article/2012/03/18/us-usa-campaign-romney-idUSBRE82G01E20120318

Grooming and care tips for pet parents

CHECK out the "Grooming" Issue of BOW & WOW TIMES, and learn what it takes to make pet parenting (including keeping pets healthy & clean) a whole lot easier. Whether all you can do is brush your dog’s coat and feed dental treats, or have become adept in safely removing build-up around the eyes and ears of your pooch, among other grooming essentials, you can keep in mind many useful suggestions and insights contained within the pages of the premier issue for 2012 of Bow & Wow Times. The handy informational guide for pet parents can be found at Bow & Wow stores located at Level 5, Shangri-La Plaza Mall, Mandaluyong City; and at the lower ground floor of Greenbelt 5, Makati.

Grooming a pet for the first time may be a chaotic moment, but with practice, and lots of tips from the experts, grooming time can be hassle-free. It can be a precious and wonderful time to bond with your furry baby. By paying attention to your pet’s coat and behavior, you can prevent a great deal of discomforts and ensure good pet health and happy existence.

Browse the article on "Health Benefits of Grooming a Pet" and know why regular grooming is crucial to preventing pet problems before they even develop. Get pointers for bathing, brushing, cleaning the eyes & ears, or trimming the nails of your pooch or kitty in "Pet Grooming 101".

Is your feline friend showing signs of severe itching, scratching, hair loss, and skin scabs? Constant itching may be triggered by parasites, allergies and dietary problems. Itching is a telltale sign of pet skin health problem. Pets who experience itching so badly need extra care and professional help. The culprit may be fleas. Peruse the article, "Flea Control in Cats" and know more about symptoms of flea bite hypersensitivity or flea allergic dermatitis, and what you can do to kill fleas on your cat.

Also featured in the Pet Health section is Pyoderma, a bacterial skin infection in dogs that can cause intense itching, painful skin lesions, pustules and sores requiring veterinary attention. Update your knowledge by reading about the canine bacterial infection in Bow & Wow Times.

If your pooch have stinking doggie breath, it may be a sign of dental disease. Just like humans, pets will benefit from a proper nutritious diet, veterinarian approved treats, daily brushing and annual dental visits to the veterinary clinic at an early age. Flip the pages of Bow & Wow Times to the Pet Care section, which features the article "Dental Care for Cats & Dogs".

The Bow & Wow Times premier `grooming’ issue is filled with lots of other useful feature articles that can guide pet lovers, including "Choosing the Right Shampoo for Your Pet," and "Pet Massage: The Touch That Heals".

In "Ask the Vet," Bow & Wow resident veterinarian Dr. Mylene Maranan enlightens pet owners on specific concerns, like what brush to use for problem fur, what to do about stinky dog smell, excessive scratching and hair fall of cats, and other pet problems. Bow & Wow Times also features "How to Find a Groomer For Your Baby".

In Breed Spotlight, the devoted, spirited, amusing, obedient, and fearless Jack Russell Terrier takes the spotlight. Find out more about the dominant traits and temperament of the dog. Equally interesting is a feature about actress and pet parent Rita Avila who shares her experiences in running a household with four dogs and five cats, and her discovery of the all-natural pet products store in the Philippines.

Source http://www.malaya.com.ph/02062012/liv3.html

Android scare: percentages do not tell the real tale

In its eagerness to put a computer running its software on every desk, Microsoft has spawned a number of ancillary industries, the most pernicious of which is the anti-virus group. McAfee is a major force in this industry.

Anti-virus companies operate on the Chicken Little principle: the sky is going to fall on your head unless you use A-V software to protect your computer; you might as well buy from us. Politicians use the same principle but are much less successful than the A-V crowd.

With Windows being the insecure platform that it is, A-V companies have built up businesses worth billions and, understandably, are keen to guard their terrain.

Hence, when Microsoft decides that it is going to provide dedicated A-V software as a core part of its next operating system, Windows 8, A-V companies know that their slice of the pie is going to decrease. This seems like the ultimate definition of the word chutzpah - create a problem and then provide a solution - but Microsoft, no longer under the restrictions of a consent decree, probably knows it will get away with it.

Thus it is not surprising that A-V companies are looking for new markets into which they can sell their software. And the new kid on the block is Android, a rapidly spreading mobile operating system which is attracting some interest from malware writers. The headlines that are being generated are, thus, not surprising.

McAfee issued a press release last week that, in its very first paragraph, said Android malware was up by 37 percent. Looks impressive until you ask McAfee for the actual numbers. Michael Sentonas, chief technical officer for Australia and New Zealand, said they were unable to provide numbers - I wonder why - and then referred me to a graph in the 21-page report (PDF) that accompanied the press release.

According to said graph, there were 60 samples of unique Android malware collected in the second quarter. That number grew to 82 in the third quarter. There you have the 37 percent growth. Sounds like a declamation from a prophet of doom when you use the percentage instead of the actual numbers.

The word Windows was mentioned once in that 21-page report. Once. And yet on probing, Sentonas admitted that of the 75 million unique malware samples McAfee expected to collect in 2011, more than 95 per cent would attack only one platform. No prizes for guessing the platform in question.

In my book, the second fact would be the headline. It is much more shocking, after all these years of development, that every form of malware just continues to increase when it comes to Windows. One can understand if these were early days. Windows, remember, has been around for 26 years in one form or another.

Android is a baby in terms of development. And in the haste to add new features and make it do more than its competitors, Google is disregarding the basic principles that underlie the security of any UNIX-like operating sytem. The Mac people are streets ahead because they have been using a UNIX-like base for many, many years. Google will take some time to catch up.

Source http://www.itwire.com/opinion-and-analysis/open-sauce/51382-android-scare-percentages-do-not-tell-the-real-tale

Latest golf rankings

1 Luke Donald 10.70
2 Lee Westwood 7.79
3 Rory McIlroy 7.35
4 Steve Stricker 6.56
5 Dustin Johnson 6.49
6 Martin Kaymer 6.34
7 Jason Day 5.94
8 Adam Scott 5.69
9 Matt Kuchar 5.61
10 Phil Mickelson 5.59
11 Nick Watney 5.37
12 Charl Schwartzel 4.93
13 Webb Simpson 4.91
14 Graeme McDowell 4.73
15 KJ Choi 4.70
16 Bubba Watson 4.38
17 Justin Rose 4.23
18 David Toms 4.16
19 Hunter Mahan 4.14
20 Paul Casey 3.96.

Republican senator presses Obama on trade deals

Senator Rob Portman on Wednesday urged President Barack Obama to quickly send three long-delayed free-trade pacts to Congress for approval, rather than wait until after the August congressional recess.

Portman, a former U.S. trade representative under President George W. Bush, also said 12 Republican senators have agreed to support an extension of Trade Adjustment Assistance, a worker retraining program that Obama has insisted be approved along with the pacts.

That, combined with the 53 votes in the Democratic caucus, would be enough to ensure that Republican opponents of Trade Adjustment Assistance in the Senate can not block it, he said.

"Mr. President, please tear down these walls. Send these agreements forward," Portman said, echoing late President Ronald Reagan's call for the Soviet Leader Mikhail Gorbachev to tear down the Berlin Wall.

"If we don't (pass the agreements with South Korea, Colombia and Panama) now, my fear is that over the August break there will be additional pressure from those who oppose the agreements," said Portman, an Ohio Republican.

The administration has hoped to win approval of the three trade deals before the August recess but with each passing day that looks increasingly doubtful, due in large part to intense negotiations on a deal to raise the U.S. debt ceiling by August 2 that is occupying both the White House and Congress.

While Portman may have enough votes to overcome an initial procedural effort to kill Trade Adjustment Assistance, Democratic sources said a Senate leadership deal is needed to give the White House confidence the program will survive a prolonged Senate debate.

Trade Adjustment Assistance, known as TAA, is a nearly 50-year-old retraining and income assistance program to help workers who have lost their jobs due to foreign competition.

Republicans have objected to a White House plan to include an extension of the TAA program in the implementing legislation for the South Korea trade deal and have demanded a separate vote on the legislation. But Democrats fear the program will be killed if not shielded by the South Korea pact.

Democrats view TAA as a vital part of the U.S. social safety net. Many Republicans question the program's cost and effectiveness. The White House has negotiated a bipartisan deal to reform TAA but it has not reached a deal with Republicans on how Congress will consider the package.

Early on Wednesday, U.S. Trade Representative Ron Kirk said he hoped a deal would be struck soon with Senate leaders on a path to consider both TAA and the pacts.

"I am still confident we are going to get these agreements passed and we're going to get them passed sooner rather than later," Kirk said.

But a business lobbyist, speaking on condition that he not be identified, said his organization was told on Tuesday that the administration would not submit the agreements until September. Kirk's office has not confirmed that.

A Senate Democratic aide, also speaking on condition he not be identified, said the only way the pacts could be passed quickly was if Republicans agreed to let TAA remain in the legislation to implement the Korea pact.

Given the tight floor schedule, the demand for a separate vote on TAA makes it impractical the pacts could be passed before September, he said.

Still, Republican Representative Kevin Brady, who chairs a key trade subcommittee in the House of Representatives, urged the administration and Senate leaders to reach an agreement allowing the pacts to be approved in coming weeks.

"If the White House is considering not sending them, I hope they'll reconsider," Brady said.

The United States risks losing sales to competitors in Europe and Canada, which have negotiated their own agreements with the countries, Brady said.

The South Korean parliament also needs to pass the U.S.-Korea agreement for it to go into force. South Korea's ruling Grand National Party chief repeated a pledge to see the deal ratified in August.

South Korea's opposition Democratic Party has issued 10 points it wants revised, including a delay in the opening of the beef market, before it can agree on ratifying the deal.

Source http://www.reuters.com/article/2011/07/21/us-usa-trade-deals-idUSTRE76K0HH20110721

Congress, Barack Obama, and the Malia-Sasha middle school test

While complaining about Congress’s failure to raise the debt ceiling, Barack Obama noted: “Malia and Sasha generally finish their homework a day ahead of time. Malia is 13, Sasha’s 10.”

He continued: “It is impressive. They don’t wait until the night before. They’re not pulling all-nighters. They’re 13 and 10. You know, Congress can do the same thing.”

First of all, I hope D.C.’s most intrepid reporters are fact-checking this! Assuming it’s true, though, why are Malia and Sasha doing their homework a day ahead of time? I don’t know anyone who does that, except for maybe the Chua children, and that is only so they can have more spare time to lovingly decorate their pianos with bite marks.

I would describe myself in middle and high school as somewhere between “cheerfully scrupulous” and “an obnoxious, insufferable workaholic” and even I did not do my homework a day ahead of time. I knew someone who did, but she also color-coded all her notes using a complicated system of multiple highlighters. As a consequence, her only friends were people like me. And I wore the same shirt in different colors every day.

I am not saying that Malia and Sasha should not be doing their homework. Although, if they have enough time for that, they clearly are not extracurricularly involved enough. Don’t they realize that their futures hang in the balance? They should be out teaching catfish about self-expression, or something.

But whether or not it’s accurate, this comment concerns me on a number of levels.

Telling Congress to be more like Malia and Sasha is a slippery slope. First we say Congress should do its homework like middle-school-aged girls, then the next thing we know they’ll be curled up on a couch watching the Teen Choice Awards.

Congress is already too much like middle school. There are the ill-advised sexts. There’s the constant need for attention. The desire to avoid doing the assigned reading. The flights of enthusiasm at the sighting of a putative celebrity. The craving to seem cool and fit in that leads to doing what everyone else wants you to do. The over-dramatized desire to stalk from the room rolling your eyes rather than having a productive discussion. “I’m not going to vote to raise the debt ceiling!” you yell. “And you can’t make me!”

So even if Malia and Sasha are paragons of studiousness who actually do everything a night ahead of time, I hope Congress doesn’t listen to this advice. If it’s this bad when they aren’t trying to be like middle-schoolers, imagine what would happen if they were.

Source http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/compost/post/congress-barack-obama-and-the-malia-sasha-middle-school-test/2011/06/29/AGXsEDrH_blog.html

Michelle Obama heads to Africa next week

First lady Michelle Obama’s official visit to South Africa and Botswana next week will focus on engaging African youth and paying tribute to the cultural heritage and political struggles of both countries.

Obama’s schedule — which includes a hearty mix of public events, visits with local consulate officials and tourism — was released by White House officials Wednesday afternoon. She will be accompanied by her daughters, Malia and Sasha, her mother, Marian Robinson, and her niece and nephew, Leslie and Avery Robinson, on the five-day goodwill tour.

Their trip will begin June 20 in Pretoria, where Obama will meet with South African President Jacob Zuma’s wife Nompumelelo Ntuli-Zuma at Zuma’s official residence. The meeting will highlight one significant cultural difference: Zuma is a Zulu traditionalist and polygamist. Reports conflict on how many wives he has.

In Johannesburg, Obama and her entourage will visit the Nelson Mandela Foundation, where the anti-apartheid movement’s archives are housed. A visit with Mandela, who is 92 and battled a difficult respiratory infection earlier this year, is not on her schedule, but his wife, Graca Machel, the former first lady of Mozambique, will lead the family’s tour of the archives.

As in past trips, Obama will spend much of her time with children and young leaders, focusing her talks on education and wellness. Last year, in her first solo official visit overseas, Obama held a roundtable discussion with young adults in Mexico, hugged schoolchildren and visited earthquake-ravaged Haiti.

Obama’s itinerary in South Africa similarly includes a visit to Soweto, the most populous black urban residential area in the country, where she will give a keynote address to 75 young women selected by U.S. officials for their leadership skills and lead them in a community service project.

During the latter part of the trip, Obama will visit Cape Town. She will meet with students at the University of Cape Town, visit an HIV/AIDS project that educates children about the virus, and travel to Robben Island, where Mandela and other anti-apartheid activists were held during the country’s years of racial oppression.

The family’s trip ends with a visit to Gabarone in Botswana and a safari in that country.

Both countries, which are democracies and have made progress on the HIV/AIDS epidemic, are well placed to be showcased with a visit by the first lady, said John Campbell, a former U.S. ambassador to Nigeria, who has also served in South Africa.

“If you want to showcase countries that are moving in a democratic direction with a track record of credible elections and with governments that are actively wrestling with real issues that impact on their citizens, Botswana and South Africa are the right ones,” Campbell said.

Source http://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/michelle-obama-heads-to-africa-next-week/2011/06/15/AGbmyMWH_story.html