Obama, who dominated YouTube in 2008 with 150,000 million video views, officially announced his 2012 presidential run today, and he returned to his old video stomping ground to do it. Here’s the video: In an interesting move, the video does not really feature President Obama, in either image or speech. Instead, it includes the voices of his supporters. This is a smart idea, and not an entirely new one. Obama used a similar tactic in 2008′s “Signs of Hope and Change” video, which was both an iconic representation of the grassroots movement and also heavily viewed: But this year the Republicans are expecting Obama to bring his A-game and they are ready with a retaliation plan. The NRSC published this spoof ad four days ago, clearly expecting an Obama declaration this week. The NRSC video already has over 550,000 views. In addition, shortly after Obama’s announcement video was released, Republican nominee Tim Pawlenty pushed out this counter-video . In summary, Obama may be revving up his YouTube engine but the Republicans are showing that they’re far more prepared than they were in 2008. If today’s activity is any indication, it’s going to be an interesting fight in 2012 for Battleground YouTube.
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Robert Pattinson and Reese Witherspoon reveal what it’s really like working with circus animals for their new movie ‘Water for Elephants,’ – the leading lady also dishes on her recent wedding to Hollywood agent Jim Toth. (April 4)
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A 31-year-old Indianapolis man is facing serious charges after police say he doused his girlfriend with some sort of flammable liquid, setting her on fire. (April 4)
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US president opts for aggressive start to his 2012 campaign to defeat the Republicans and return to the White House Barack Obama has formally launched his campaign for re-election to the White House next year, hoping to raise a record-breaking $1bn (£620m) in funds as the Republicans struggle to find a clear challenger for the presidency. Obama made the announcement in an email that reached out to disenchanted Democrats whom he needs to campaign for him even though they feel he has been insufficiently progressive. Although the election is set for Tuesday 6 November 2012, Obama is anxious to create a campaign organisation at least as efficient as the one in 2008 and to begin gathering enough funds now to outspend the Republicans in advertising, just as he did last time. If Obama were to lose the election, the Republicans would dismantle his healthcare reforms, due to start in 2014. He said: “We’ve always known that lasting change wouldn’t come quickly or easily. It never does. “But as my administration and folks across the country fight to protect the progress we’ve made – and make more – we also need to begin mobilising for 2012, long before the time comes for me to begin campaigning in earnest.” Many analysts predict Obama will win a second term, given the tendency of Americans to re-elect the incumbent. But others are more cautious, suggesting the result will be close and largely dependent on the state of the economy. Brad Coker, director of Mason-Dixon polling, said it was far from a foregone conclusion. “I would put his chances of re-election at 50-50,” he said. “Obviously, his popularity has suffered in a number of areas. The economy has been a little slow to recover. That is the linchpin. If the economy continues to improve, his chances improve greatly; if there are more bumps on the road, he has a problem. The little adventure in Libya is not helping him.” A CNN poll last week put Obama on 47%, down from 52% in January. Obama formally filed election papers on Monday with the Federal Election Commission, allowing him to start fund-raising in earnest. He spent $748m to win the White House in 2008 and has already been sounding out big donors across the country for his re-election race. The Republican contenders have been slow to come forward this year, with only Tim Pawlenty, the former governor of Minnesota, having formally declared so far and Newt Gingrich, the former house speaker, having half-announced his intention to stand. Others, such as Mike Huckabee, Mitt Romney and Sarah Palin, have yet to declare. A televised debate of Republican candidates, scheduled for May, has had to be postponed until September because the declared field is so small. Obama’s campaign chief is Jim Messina, a former White House deputy chief of staff, and the campaign will be based in Obama’s home town, Chicago, as it was in 2008. Others who were prominent in 2008, such as David Axelrod, have already moved back from the White House to Chicago to prepare for next year. Obama’s announcement was accompanied by a video in which he was largely absent, with the focus on potential campaign workers saying why it was important to them that he secured a second term. Pawlenty, responding with a video of his own, rehearsed the potential campaign issues: high unemployment, the collapse of the housing market in many areas and the soaring federal debt. “How can America win the future when we’re losing the present?” Pawlenty asks in the video. “In order for America to take a new direction, it’s going to take a new president.” One advantage of Obama’s early announcement, and his declaration of his aim to raise $1bn, is that it could help scare off any potential Democratic challenger. The only credible challenger from within the party is the secretary of state, Hillary Clinton, and she has already ruled out taking Obama on a second time. It is also likely that he will keep the vice-president, Joe Biden, as his running mate. Coker predicted Biden would stay on the ticket: “If Obama was to drop Biden, the only person to enhance his chances as a running mate would be Clinton. “If he dropped him, it would look like an act of desperation.” Obama received a boost last Friday with a surprise drop in unemployment to 8.8%, although the actual unemployment figure, as opposed to the official one, is estimated to be double that. In the worst-hit states families are unable to move to other jobs because they are unable to sell their houses, some of which are worth half of what they were five years ago. Obama won North Carolina and Indiana in 2008, two states likely to go back to the Republicans, while six other states he took last time – Colorado, Nevada, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Florida and Virginia – could be tighter races. But Larry Sabato, professor of politics at the University of Virginia, said Obama’s chances were pretty good, citing statistics showing America tends to re-elect incumbents. Since 1900 incumbents have won 14 times and lost five times. “I think the odds favour him,” he said. “The economy is picking up. But there are things that could happen. The economy could take a nosedive. Libya is not working out as they intended. “Do not rule out the possibility that the Republicans will nominate a clunker. “They have four decent choices – Romney, Pawlenty, [Mitch] Daniels and [Haley] Barbour – and the rest are a bunch of clunkers. In ideal circumstances, one of the four could win.” The Republican challengers Mike Huckabee (55) Fox commentator, former governor of Arkansas and Baptist minister. Not yet said if he will stand. Good communicator, has sense of humour, plays electric guitar at rallies and appeals to the Christian evangelical wing of the Republican party, whose support helped him win the Iowa caucus in 2008. Mitt Romney (64) Former governor of Massachusetts and businessman. Not yet said if he will stand but is already campaigning. Has millions of his own money that he can throw into an election race, and his business background may be seen an asset by some, but he is a poor speaker, lacks charisma and introduced a form of healthcare in Massachusetts, a negative for many Republicans, as is his Mormon faith. Tim Pawlenty (50) Former governor of Minnesota. The only Republican to have formally declared he is standing. He is, like Romney, charisma-free but he can claim previous election victory as a Republican in traditionally Democratic Minnesota, where he succeeded in tackling a huge budget deficit. Sarah Palin (47) Former governor of Alaska and Fox commentator. Not yet said whether she is standing. Would win enthusiastic backing of much of the Tea Party movement and could win the Republican nomination, but polls suggest she is a polarising figure, making winning the White House difficult. Newt Gingrich (67) The former House Speaker. Has half announced he is in the running, but no formal confirmation. Conservative, who helped organise the Republican mid-term election campaign in 1994, but is an unpredictable figure and seen as loose-lipped. Key dates in the run-up to the US presidential election 2012 Some dates are tentative as states may move up their primaries. No dates are yet confirmed for presidential and vice-presidential debates 2011 5 May First scheduled Republican candidates’ debate hosted by Fox News and the Republican party in South Carolina, a key early state in the nominating process. 13 August The Iowa Republican straw poll, an important early gauge of a candidate’s strength. 14 September Republican debate at the Ronald Reagan Presidential Foundation in California. Former first lady Nancy Reagan is scheduled to welcome the contenders. 2012 6 February Iowa caucuses, the traditional firing gun in the race to the White House. 7 February Super Tuesday: Primaries in Alabama, Arkansas, California, Connecticut, Delaware, Georgia, Illinois, Missouri, New Jersey, New York, Oklahoma, Tennessee and Utah. Montana Republican caucuses. In 2008, Super Tuesday was a close-run thing for the Democratic candidates, with Obama winning 13 primaries (847 delegates) to Hillary Clinton’s 10 (834). So there was no knockout blow and the contest dragged on until May, when Obama finally went over the top with a victory in Oregon. 14 February New Hampshire primary, traditionally the first to be held, so the date may move forward. A chance to make the early running. 6 March Minnesota caucuses. Primaries in Massachusetts, Ohio, Rhode Island, Texas, Vermont, Virginia. 27 August Republican convention begins, Tampa, Florida, running to 30 August. 3 September Democratic convention begins, Charlotte, North Carolina, running to 6 September. 6 November Election day. Barack Obama US elections 2012 United States Democrats Republicans US politics Ewen MacAskill guardian.co.uk
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Health secretary makes the rare step of making a Commons statement on his bill as it passes through parliament The health secretary, Andrew Lansley, is to launch a last-ditch attempt to rescue his controversial NHS reforms by accepting that the membership of new GP-led consortiums needs to be widened. Lansley will on Tuesday agree with the broad principles of proposals made by the health select committee, chaired by John Major’s last health secretary, Stephen Dorrell, although he will resist many of the detailed recommendations. Lansley was forced to announce to MPson Monday that he would amend his plans, during a “natural break” in the passage of the heath and social care bill. His reforms would hand 60% of the NHS’s £103bn budget to new GP-led consortiums. Government sources said he was studying carefully proposals by the committee, which warns that GPs should not be the sole commissioners of care in the NHS. In a report it calls for GPs to share commissioning powers and responsibility with nurses, consultants, public health experts and patients. Lansley, who met David Cameron in Downing Street on Monday, took the rare step of making a statement to MPs about the progress of a bill which has still not completed all its stages in the Commons. In a sign of nervousness in Downing Street, which fears that the public backlash is jeopardising Cameron’s work in persuading the public that the NHS is safe in Tory hands, Lansley will accept some of the broad principles in the health select committee report. “Some of the ideas suggested by the committee are in sync with the government’s thinking on how, for example, others might be involved in the GP consortia,” one Whitehall source said. But Lansley will not accept all of Dorrell’s ideas because he believes they would put too many groups in the new GP-led consortiums. “It is wrong to assume that the health select committee is telling the secretary of state what to do,” the source said. “This is an evolutionary process.” Dorrell admitted that his reworking of the bill “is not minor tweaking”. He said: “We believe it is crucial to get the reform of NHS commissioning right if the service is to confront the massive financial challenge it now faces. Our report contains a set of practical proposals to strengthen the health and social care bill and make it better able to meet the government’s objectives. “Our proposals are designed to ensure that NHS commissioning involves all stakeholders – GPs, certainly, but also nurses, hospital doctors, and representatives of social care and local communities. We believe this broadening of the base for commissioning is vital if we are to achieve the changes that are necessary to allow the NHS to deliver properly co-ordinated healthcare.” The signals that the government was prepared to accept some of the principles behind the Dorrell report came as Lansley acknowledged that people have “genuine” concerns as he announced that the government would table amendments to the bill. Amid fears in Downing Street that Lansley has failed to explain the thinking behind his reforms, the health secretary said he would use a “natural break in the passage of the bill” to offer reassurances that the government’s sole intention is to improve the NHS. The bill completed its committee stage last week. No date has been fixed for its report stage, the penultimate hurdle before it goes to the House of Lords. In a sign of Lansley’s isolation no full voting member of the cabinet, apart from ministers on other business, sat with him on the frontbench. Lord Tebbit, the former Conservative chairman, criticised the plans in the Daily Mirror. Lansley will outline the amendments at a joint appearance later this week with the prime minister and Nick Clegg. The health secretary told MPs the amendments will make clear there will be no backdoor privatisation of the NHS; Lansley told MPs: “Choice, competition and the involvement of the private sector should only be a means to improve services for patient, not ends in themselves. Some services like accident and emergency or major trauma clearly will never be based on competition.” the private sector will not be allowed to cherry-pick the most profitable parts of the NHS; and there will be greater transparency and accountability of the new consortiums. Lansley said: “People want to know that the GP commissioning groups cannot have a conflict of interest, are transparent in their decisions and accountable not only nationally but locally, through the democratic input to health and wellbeing boards.” Under the committee’s proposals, the GP consortiums would become NHS commissioning authorities and would no longer be merely the province of GPs. GPs should take a majority of the seats on the authority, says the report, but there should also be places reserved for a professional social care representative, an elected member of the local authority, a nurse, a hospital doctor and a public health expert. This wider membership is necessary to ensure commissioning bodies, which have responsibility for spending large amounts of taxpayers’ money, “comply with the highest standards of governance and accountability”, says the committee. It would also help break down the barriers between primary, hospital and community care, with the commissioning authorities responsible for commissioning all of it, as well as forging closer links with social care. NHS Health Health policy Andrew Lansley Liberal-Conservative coalition Nicholas Watt Sarah Boseley Polly Curtis guardian.co.uk
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An official close to internationally recognized president Alassane Ouattara says their forces have entered Ivory Coast’s economic capital in a final offensive to take the city. (April 4)
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Some relatives of victims who died a decade ago at the World Trade Center decried a plan Sunday to place more than 9000 unidentified pieces of human remains at a subterranean site at the National September 11 Memorial & Museum. (April 4)
Continue reading …Al-Qaeda has emerged as a kid in a candy store in Libya, exploiting the conflict to get its hands on such high-powered weapons as anti-tank RPGs, Kalashnikov heavy machine guns, and even surface-to-air missiles, an Algerian security official tells Reuters . According to the official, a convoy of eight Toyota pick-up…
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Over the past few days we’ve been trying to come to terms with the fact that Arnold Schwarzenegger’s first entertainment project since returning to private life will be a cartoon superhero series called The Governator. (Which will also get a 3D feature film incarnation, as revealed this morning [1].) Now there is a trailer for the animated series, and it has a guest appearance from Larry King (kids… Broadcasting platform : YouTube Source : /Film Discovery Date : 04/04/2011 19:14 Number of articles : 4
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The self-proclaimed 9/11 mastermind and four co-conspirators will face a military tribunal, after the Obama administration faced stiff opposition to its plan of trying them in a New York City civilian court. (April 4)
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