GOP tries new strategy to get Canada pipeline

Republican lawmakers will try to force the Obama administration to approve the Canada-to-Texas Keystone XL pipeline by attaching it to a bill that Congress will consider next month, House of Representatives Speaker John Boehner said on Sunday.

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    4. Gingrich labels Romney a 'liberal'
    5. GOP tries new strategy to get Canada pipeline

President Barack Obama earlier this month denied TransCanada's application for the oil sands pipeline, citing lack of time to review an alternative route within a 60-day window for action set by Congress.

The denial does not block TransCanada from reapplying and the company intends to do just that.

But Republicans have since been looking for a vehicle to claim the $7 billion project as their own, and Boehner said that would be a House Republican energy and highway bill.

"If (Keystone) is not enacted before we take up the American Energy and Infrastructure Jobs Act, it will be part of it," Boehner said on ABC's "This Week" news program.

Environmentalists and some Democrats oppose Keystone, citing higher greenhouse gas emissions, while most Republicans say it would create needed jobs.

Story: With oil pipeline to US on hold, Canada eyes China

Republicans in the Senate also plan to introduce a Keystone bill. Some Senate Democrats back the pipeline, but its passage is not guaranteed in the body.

Parts of the House Republican plan, such as opening up the Alaska National Wildlife Refuge to oil exploration, stand little chance of passing the Democratic-controlled U.S. Senate.

Attaching Keystone to a pending deal to extend payroll tax cuts for workers, which has greater bipartisan backing than the highway bills, is another vehicle Republicans are considering.

Source: http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/46181992/ns/politics-capitol_hill/

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'Harry Potter,' 'Thrones' win SAG stunt honors (omg!)

A worker sweeps the stage as setup for the SAG Awards is under way at the Shrine Auditorium in Los Angeles on Saturday, Jan. 28, 2012. (AP Photo/Jason Redmond)

LOS ANGELES (AP) ? The "Harry Potter" finale has earned some love from Hollywood's top acting union, winning the Screen Actors Guild Award for best big-screen stunt ensemble Sunday.

The win for "Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part 2" was a final triumph for the fantasy franchise that concluded last summer after a run of eight blockbusters.

Winning the TV stunt ensemble prize was "Game of Thrones." The stunt awards were announced on the arrivals red carpet before the show began.

Among the early arrivals to the cheers of enthusiastic fans on a sunny and warm afternoon were Patrick Duffy and Linda Gray of the old "Dallas" TV series, soon to be the new "Dallas" TV series on TNT. Meanwhile, Glenn Close was looking very unlike her "Albert Nobbs" character for which she received a SAG nomination as she posed for fans in a sleek black gown.

For the main event, Sunday's 18th annual SAG ceremony is heavy on actors playing illustrious real-life figures.

Among them: Meryl Streep as Margaret Thatcher in "The Iron Lady"; Leonardo DiCaprio as J. Edgar Hoover in "J. Edgar"; and Michelle Williams as Marilyn Monroe and Kenneth Branagh as Laurence Olivier in "My Week With Marilyn."

Streep won a Golden Globe for "The Iron Lady" and is considered a favorite for the SAG prize and for her third win at the Academy Awards, which are set for Feb. 26.

The front-runners for the other SAG awards are actors in fictional roles, though, among them George Clooney as a dad in crisis in "The Descendants" and Jean Dujardin as a silent-film star fallen on hard times in "The Artist." Both are up for best actor, and both won Globes ? Clooney as dramatic actor, Dujardin as musical or comedy actor.

Octavia Spencer as a brassy Mississippi maid in "The Help" and Christopher Plummer as an elderly dad who comes out as gay in "Beginners" won Globes for supporting performances and have strong prospects for the same honors at the SAG Awards.

The winners at the SAG ceremony typically go on to earn Oscars. All four acting recipients at SAG last year later took home Oscars ? Colin Firth for "The King's Speech," Natalie Portman for "Black Swan" and Christian Bale and Melissa Leo for "The Fighter."

The same generally holds true for the weekend's other big Hollywood honors, the Directors Guild of America Awards, where Michel Hazanavicius won the feature-film prize Saturday for "The Artist." The Directors Guild winner has gone on to earn the best-director Oscar 57 times in the 63-year history of the union's awards show.

SAG also presents an award for overall cast performance, a prize that's loosely considered the ceremony's equivalent of a best-picture honor. However, the cast award has a spotty record at predicting what will win best picture at the Oscars.

While "The King's Speech" won both honors a year ago, the SAG cast recipient has gone on to claim the top Oscar only eight times in the 16 years since the guild added the category.

Airing live on TNT and TBS from the Shrine Exhibition Center in downtown Los Angeles, the show features nine television categories, as well.

Receiving the guild's life-achievement award is Mary Tyler Moore. The prize was to be presented by Dick Van Dyke, her co-star on the 1960s sit-com "The Dick Van Dyke Show."

___

Online:

http://www.sagawards.com

http://www.sagawards.com

Christopher Plummer arrives at the 18th Annual Screen Actors Guild Awards on Sunday Jan. 29, 2012 in Los Angeles. (AP Photo/Matt Sayles)

Source: http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/entertainment/*http%3A//us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/external/omg_rss/rss_omg_en/news_harry_potter_thrones_win_sag_stunt_honors232901017/44348578/*http%3A//omg.yahoo.com/news/harry-potter-thrones-win-sag-stunt-honors-232901017.html

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A Weekly Roundup of Small-Business News - NYTimes.com

Dashboard

A weekly roundup of small-business developments.

What?s affecting me, my clients and other small-business owners this week.

The Big Story: The President Sings

In his annual State of the Union address, President Obama cranked up the populist pitch. The G.O.P. responded. Representative Sam Graves outlined what he thought small businesses wanted to hear but small-business owners were split. A small-business owner in West Virginia was excited. One study finds small-business owners are dissatisfied with all of the presidential candidates. Joel Kotkin says ?this is America?s moment ? if Washington doesn?t blow it.? Your cellphone can now sing like the president.

Davos Update: An Intern Is Bored

As the sun bombards Earth with radiation, billionaires occupy Davos and bemoan the inequality of incomes. Their outlook is gloomy. Haley Amber Feinberg, a fictional intern, checks in: ?Attended my first panel: ?Tolerating the Unemployed.? Was really boring, played Crackgammon on my phone?s Facebook app the whole time.?

The Economy: The Baltic Dry Index

Even though chief financial officers do not plan significant expansion (pdf) in 2012, Thomas Black at Bloomberg reports that companies from General Electric to Chobani, a yogurt producer, are adding workers and leading a rebound in hiring. M.B.A. employment figures are another reason for economic optimism. Tech hiring is strong. The Federal Reserve chairman promises to keep rates low. Paul Krugman is feeling better. Durable goods orders jump, but the Baltic Dry Index records a disturbingly large drop. Travel on all roads and streets declined in November 2011, but the trucking industry posts its biggest jump in tonnage in 13 years. President Obama delays his 2013 budget. Steven Rattner says it?s dangerous when economists claim that debt doesn?t matter.

Sales and Marketing 1: A Twitter Lesson

American Express succeeds at a Facebook campaign, while McDonald?s suffers the wrath of Twitter. Flowtown creates a cool small-business social media infographic. An educational institution spends more on Google advertising than Apple, eBay, State Farm and AT&T. Retailers were the second-largest source of Google ad revenue in 2011. A study finds that while lots of small-business owners believe social media are important only a few tap its power. John Donahoe, chief executive of eBay, believes we?re going to see more change in how consumers shop and pay in the next three years than we saw in the last 20.

Sales and Marketing 2: The Power of Bieber

Lori Richardson names five attributes of top sales influencers. Devin Cole explains how to network. Google takes its daily deals to five new cities. Trendcentral discusses three new crowdfunding services. Our patience for Web ads lasts, oh, about 15 seconds. A location-based shopping app, Shopkick, has three million users. Christopher Penn shows that vintage ads can teach a lot about e-mail marketing design. Derek Johnson explains how to measure success with text-message advertising. Justin Kownacki explains how Justin Bieber ruined his life: ?Evidently, Mr. Bieber (or his handlers) saw my tweet and ? decided that I was a bloke worth following. And that one single button click momentarily ruined my life.?

Ideas: A Professional Laugher?

A new service helps people save money and resources by sharing stuff with community and friends. This is the place to go if you?re in the market for a professional laugher. Virtual internships are experiencing a rise in demand. Patrick Smith finds a few unexpected pleasures at our airports. David Bakke explains how he started his side business with Scotch tape and offers this simple advice: ?For the most part, I bought and sold products with which I was familiar.? Here are 10 reasons some companies succeed and others fail. Debbie McDonnell offers ideas for choosing a business name, including: ?Count the characters. Google AdWords permits 25 characters so a business name longer than this means having to abbreviate the name if you advertise there. Even if you don?t plan to advertise here initially, allow for it as it tends to be one of the most cost-effective ways of advertising.? Walmart offers a chance to sell ?in the big box.? This mountaintop ride seems like a bad idea.

Around the Country: Cashing In

Female business owners wave a magic wand in Portland, Ore. Houston?s businesses are hiring. A bunch of Indiana businesses plan to cash in on the Super Bowl. Maine is open for business, according to its governor. The start-ups in Brevard County, Fla., are finding that investors are still cautious. Illinois teenagers face bleak job prospects, but a marketing company gives teenagers with ideas the chance to win cash and fame. Manufacturing activity in the Chicago and central Atlantic regions advances. Steven Tyler gives an embarrassing rendition of the national anthem and a New York City school sign is embarrassingly misspelled. A coming Small Business Summit extends its ?strategy award? nomination deadline to Feb. 10. An accountant offers a small-business survival guide webinar on Tuesday. A Staples contest offers a free TV commercial as its prize.

Around the World: Press Freedom

A 375-year-old French bank forgives the debts of Paris?s poor. The United States drops 27 places on an index of press freedom. As Big Ben and the Houses of Parliament sink and the country slips into recession, Britain?s prime minister has an idea: let businesses occupy empty Government offices! Iran?s trade with China soars, and Chinese solar companies are found to be selling below cost. Wenguang Huang explains why Chinese entrepreneurs want to invest in the United States. The International Monetary Fund says Europe poses a global recession threat. Eleven years of Dubai?s growth can now be seen from space. A new satellite takes spectacular pictures of Earth.

Finances: Employee Expense Reports

As lending accelerates, Jamie Dimon discusses the state of banking. Catherine Clifford explains how community development financial institutions can help start-ups. Barry Moltz suggests where companies can find short-term cash. Accounting Today has a slide show on the most unusual items found in employee expense reports. A company offers a Weight Watchers-type service to help us ?set financial goals (and actually meet them).?

Boss of the Week

Christian Wentz?s Cambridge, Mass., start-up is developing a ?wireless router for the brain? that will make it possible to collect data from the brain: ?The data could then be wirelessly transmitted to a computer.? (On the other hand, this guy is not performing like a boss.)

Technology: Apple Is Flush

After a blow-out quarter, Apple has $97.6 billion in the bank and now we know why! Google starts tracking small businesses more closely ? here?s how to find out what the company knows about you. Twitter is going to censor posts. With new ad rollouts to come, Twitter acquires an antimalware start-up. Bill George explains how I.B.M.?s Sam Palmisano redefined the global corporation. Meanwhile, I.B.M. selects its global start-up entrepreneur finalists and is gearing up to challenge Google Docs and Microsoft Office 365. A Microsoft executive says a gay marriage law in Washington State is essential to the company?s competitive edge. Craftsmen creates a garage door opener with very remote control. Almost a third of all Americans now own a tablet or digital reading device. Information Week shares nine password security policy suggestions.

The Week?s Bests

Reason my kids should go to China. Wendy Kaufman tells how a trip to China changed how she ran her business: ?A C.E.O. that I met in China explained that he so passionately believes in the importance of honoring elders that he would only marry his wife if she treated his parents as her own. In the Chinese culture, family is so valued there is always someone caring for the family member. This type of work/life balance helps improve quality of care in both business and family interactions.?

Lessons from the big guys. Phil Simon shares six things he?s learned from big companies, including, ?Be sticky?: ?Attracting customers with your great products and services is step one. But getting them to stay with you ? and only you ? is the ultimate goal. With the launch of its Kindle Fire, Amazon just got stickier by making it easier for users to shop at Amazon and consume media and entertainment at Amazon than anywhere else. How can your business lure in customers and keep them there? With amazing customer service, follow-up, regular e-mail specials or contests? With interactive features at your Web site, birthday coupons or preferred customer perks? Make it hard for your customers to want to go anywhere else.?

Ways to manage time. Michael Costigan offers great advice on time management, including, ?Find someone else to crack the whip?: ?I find that it helps to have someone hold you accountable. Whether it?s a team member or an assistant, ask them to keep on you about getting things done. Sometimes the best way to make sure you do the things you need to do is by positioning the involvement of other people. That way, you aren?t just letting yourself down if something doesn?t get completed, you?re letting them and maybe the entire team down. And depending on how critical the tasks are, that could mean meeting payroll.?

This Week?s Question: What should McDonald?s have done differently on Twitter ? or was disaster inevitable?

Gene Marks owns the Marks Group, a Bala Cynwyd, Pa., consulting firm that helps clients with customer relationship management. You can follow him on Twitter.

Source: http://boss.blogs.nytimes.com/2012/01/30/this-week-in-small-business-a-twitter-lesson/

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Kuyt to the rescue

Dirk Kuyt

updated 4:25 p.m. ET Jan. 28, 2012

LONDON - Liverpool reached the fifth round of the FA Cup on Saturday at the expense of its fiercest rival, a last-gasp 2-1 victory over Manchester United leaving the famous competition without the English Premier League's top two teams.

While Chelsea progressed with a 1-0 win at Queens Park Rangers thanks to Juan Mata's second-half penalty, Netherlands forward Dirk Kuyt scored the winner for Liverpool in the 88th minute at Anfield.

United earlier dumped out neighbor Manchester City ? the Premier League leader and defending FA Cup champion ? in the fourth round, leaving the world's oldest club knockout competition wide open this year.

Second-tier Brighton beat Premier League Newcastle 1-0 at Amex Stadium in another Cup match that Magpies defender Mike Williamson will want to forget.

Williamson deflected in Will Buckley's close-range effort for the only goal 14 minutes from time. The defender also scored an own goal last season when Newcastle lost to then League Two side Stevenage in the third round of the competition.

Bolton beat Swansea 2-1 and Norwich won by the same scoreline at West Bromwich Albion in the other all-Premier League matchups, while Stoke ? which lost the 2011 final to Man City ? also progressed with a 2-0 win at Derby.

Arsenal hosts Aston Villa on Sunday.

Liverpool and United met for the first time since the unsavory race row between Luis Suarez and Patrice Evra erupted in a Premier League match between them in October.

Evra, United's captain on Saturday, was booed throughout while Suarez watched from the stands as he served the seventh of his eight-game ban for repeatedly racially abusing the France defender.

The match passed without trouble, however, with United manager Alex Ferguson saying: "The players showed great respect to each other ? there wasn't a bad tackle in the game."

Denmark center back Daniel Agger's opener for Liverpool in the 21st minute was canceled out by United's Park Ji-sung six minutes before the break in a first half edged by the visitors, despite being without a raft of key players including the injured Wayne Rooney.

Kuyt settled the match when he ran to a flick-on by Andy Carroll and beat United goalkeeper David de Gea at the near post.

___

BARCELONA, Spain (AP) ? Three days after Barcelona ended its Copa del Rey title defense, Real Madrid came from behind to beat last-place Zaragoza 3-1 on Saturday as its campaign rolled on to break its fierce rival's hold on the Spanish league title.

Three-time defending champion Barcelona finds itself trailing the league leader by eight points heading into its game at Villarreal later.

Zaragoza, which upset Madrid at home late last season, started well with Angel Lafita scoring an 11th-minute opener.

But Kaka leveled for Madrid in the 32nd, and Cristiano Ronaldo and Mesut Oezil added two more shortly after halftime at Santiago Bernabeu Stadium.

Ronaldo has scored in each of Madrid's last four games, and his 24 league goals are best in Spain, two ahead of Barcelona's Lionel Messi, who was playing later Saturday against Villarreal.

Madrid has won nine of 10 league home games this season, with its only home loss to Barcelona in December.

"Every game is tough. Zaragoza is a good team and they showed it with a quick goal," Madrid midfielder Esteban Granero said. "But we gave it our all and were able to turn it around."

After his team's strong performance in its closely fought elimination by Barcelona on Wednesday, Madrid coach Jose Mourinho opted again for an attack-minded starting 11 with rarely used Granero and Kaka in midfield behind Oezil and scoring pair Karim Benzema and Ronaldo.

Fernando Llorente scored a hat trick to give Athletic Bilbao a 3-2 win at Rayo Vallecano.

After Miguel "Michu" Perez's opener for Rayo, Llorente headed in a free kick to level in the 16th minute, and added a second when he controlled a pass with his chest, spun and fired from the edge of the area in the 23rd.

Alejandro Arribas drew Rayo even moments later, but Llorente headed home Gaizka Toquero's cross for the 68th-minute winner and his 11th league goal of the season.

Bilbao, which plays third-tier Mirandes in the Copa del Rey semifinals this week, moved into sixth place.

Also, Espanyol edged 10-man Mallorca 1-0 to climb level on points with fourth-place Levante.

___

BERLIN (AP) ? Bayern Munich beat Wolfsburg 2-0 to remain top of the Bundesliga on goal difference, just ahead of Borussia Dortmund and Schalke.

All three are tied at 40 points, but Bayern will be looking nervously over its shoulder after Dortmund brushed Hoffenheim aside 3-1 and then Schalke came from behind to win 4-1 in Cologne.

Dortmund was already 3-0 up at home through two goals from Shinji Kagawa and another from Kevin Grosskreutz, before league scoring leader Mario Gomez's 60th-minute strike allowed Bayern a sigh of relief.

Dutch winger Arjen Robben sealed the points in an edgy win for Bayern with a goal in injury time.

"We had a lot of chances and for me this win is fully deserved," Bayern coach Jupp Heynckes said. "The win gives us security so we can continue like this in the coming weeks."

Werder Bremen drew 1-1 with Bayer Leverkusen, Hamburger SV won 2-1 at Hertha Berlin, and Augsburg and Kaiserslautern played out a 2-2 draw in a relegation battle.

___

MILAN (AP) ? Catania was held to 1-1 by Parma in the Serie A, a result which did neither team any favors in the standings.

Gonzalo Bergessio gave Catania a deserved lead shortly after the half-hour mark, but Francesco Modesto leveled 10 minutes later.

The tie left Parma nine points above the relegation zone before the rest of the weekend's fixtures. Catania, which has won only one of its past seven games, was tied with Cagliari a point further back.

Serie A leader Juventus hosts third-place Udinese later.

___

PARIS (AP) ? Big-spending Paris Saint-Germain needed a scrappy 1-0 win over Brest to keep a three-point lead over Montpellier at the top of the French league.

PSG defender Milan Bisevac flicked home a corner from Christophe Jallet in the sixth minute.

Brest lost its first home match this season while PSG has now won all four games under coach Carlo Ancelotti, who replaced Antoine Kombouare last month.

Also Saturday, it was: Nice 0, Montpellier 1; Lyon 3, Dijon 1; Toulouse 1, Caen 0; Lorient 1, Sochaux 1; and Auxerre 1, Nancy 3.

Lille hosts Saint-Etienne later Saturday.

___

ATHENS, Greece (AP) ? Olympiakos closed within two points of Greek league leader Panathinaikos by defeating stubborn visitor Ergotelis 3-0.

Ergotelis ended the game with nine players, as Mario Hieblinger and Andreas Bouhalakis were shown second yellow cards for rough challenges in the 56th and 60th minutes, respectively.

Also, OFI beat Xanthi 1-0 and Panionios defeated Kerkyra 2-0.

Panathinaikos travels to last-place Drama on Sunday.

___

GLASGOW, Scotland (AP) ? Rangers kept the pressure on Scottish Premier League leader Celtic with a 4-0 thrashing of 10-man Hibernian.

Captain Steven Davis scored two goals.

Celtic, whose lead was trimmed to one point, was not in league action this weekend. Instead, Neil Lennon's team will face Falkirk in the semifinal of the Scottish League Cup on Sunday.

Motherwell tightened its grip on third place, six points ahead of Hearts, by beating St. Johnstone 3-2.

Copyright 2012 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.


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US women qualify for Olympics

The U.S. women's soccer team booked their way to London on Friday night with a 3-0 victory over Costa Rica in the semifinals of the CONCACAF qualifying tournament.

Kuyt to the rescue

??Euro roundup: Liverpool reaches the 5th round of the FA Cup, beating rival Manchester United 2-1.

Source: http://nbcsports.msnbc.com/id/46175745/ns/sports-soccer/

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Editorial: Google needs better user support in the Android Market

Android Market

We see Google working hard to provide better support for Android developers, and that's a great thing.  We want developers for our platform of choice to be well taken care of so it's worth learning to code for Android and releasing great applications.  Google's not perfect in this regard, but they keep improving, and that's the only way to make it better.  But el Goog needs to start focusing a little more on user support.

Recently, I stumbled across an app in our forums that I wanted to try.  It's an Aquarium screen-saver type app for Google TV on my Logitech Revue.  I'm an Android nerd, and an aquarium nerd (we had jackets made), so I thought I would give it a try.  Just so happens that I ran into some Market issues, and was in some magical diabolical limbo where I had paid for the app, but couldn't download it or pay for it again.  It's not the first time we've heard about this happening -- the cofounder of doubleTwist just ran into it as well when trying to buy his own app -- and it's not even the first time we've seen it happen on the Revue.  There's a chance you've read about someone with similar issues on the Internet somewhere.  Unfortunately, it's a fairly common issue.  

So I did what any self-respecting Android user would do -- tried to hack it to make it work.  Wipe Market data, clear cache, even a reset of the device.  All with no luck.  I couldn't make the Market know I had paid so I could download, but it knew I had paid and wouldn't let me pay again.  All that was left to do was click the support link.  

Clicking the support link of course sends you to an online form to fill out.  Tell it some transaction details, describe the issue, and submit.  Then wait.  And wait.  And now it's been two weeks and still no response.  I get that they're busy, and that this is only a buck.  Not exactly high-priority stuff. But to leave a user hanging for two weeks waiting on any type of response is just poor customer service, plain and simple.  I'm fairly well versed in all things Android-ish, so I eventually contacted the developer with my transaction code.  But my mother isn't, and would have not known any way to resolve this little issue.  A little issue that leaves a big impression, and not a good one.  Google has shown that they want to take Android mainstream in a big way, and introduced a really user-friendly version with Ice Cream Sandwich.  Now it's time they focus more on the little stuff.

That Aquarium app?  I got a copy to sideload after talking with the developer, and it kicks ass.  We'll be reviewing it soon but If you are looking for a beautiful app made specifically for Google TV, grab it and check it out.  

Source: http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/androidcentral/~3/Ef9X_ks4F90/story01.htm

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Romney widens lead over Gingrich in Florida: poll (Reuters)

WASHINGTON (Reuters) ? White House hopeful Mitt Romney widened his lead over rival Newt Gingrich to 11 percentage points in Florida, according to Reuters/Ipsos online poll results on Saturday, up from 8 points a day earlier, as he cemented his front-runner status in the Republican nomination race.

With just three days remaining before Florida's Republican primary, Romney, a former Massachusetts governor, led Gingrich, a former speaker of the U.S. House of Representatives, by 43 percent to 32 percent among likely voters in Florida's January 31 primary, the online poll said.

He had led Gingrich by 41 percent to 33 percent in the online tracking poll on Friday.

"The momentum in Florida ... really seems to be moving in Romney's direction," said Chris Jackson, research director for Ipsos Public Affairs.

The poll confirmed that Romney's fortunes are turning around in Florida a week after a stinging setback when Gingrich scored an upset win in South Carolina's primary.

Romney has moved ahead of Gingrich in several Florida polls, after turning in his strongest debate performance yet in the seesawing race for the Republican nomination to oppose Democratic President Barack Obama's bid for re-election in November.

The Reuters/Ipsos survey showed Romney also gained when voters were asked who they would support in a head-to-head contest with Gingrich. Saturday's results showed that 53 percent would support him, versus 45 percent for Gingrich.

In the results released on Friday, Romney had led by just 2 percentage points when voters were asked the same question.

SANTORUM GETTING SOME GINGRICH SUPPORT?

Former Pennsylvania Senator Rick Santorum trailed well behind with 16 percent support, but he had gained ground from 13 percent in Friday's results.

"It seems like some people who are leaving Gingrich are moving to the other conservative in the race, Rick Santorum," Jackson said.

Texas Congressman Ron Paul was at 6 percent, up from 5 percent. The small-government libertarian has not been campaigning in Florida.

Romney has subjected Gingrich to a blistering run of attack advertisements in Florida. He has assailed Gingrich for leaving Congress under an ethics cloud in the 1990s and for being a Washington insider and lobbyist in the two decades since.

Gingrich denies he ever worked as a lobbyist, but has yet to find an effective way to parry Romney's attacks.

The Reuters/Ipsos poll was conducted on Thursday, Friday and Saturday, capturing many voters after the most recent debate in Jacksonville on Thursday, where Romney was seen as a clear winner.

Florida lets voters cast their ballots early at polling stations or by mail, and 30 percent of the poll respondents said they had done so, compared with 29 percent on Friday.

Romney held a 12-point lead among those who had already voted, and an 11-point lead among those who had not yet voted.

Statistical margins of error are not applicable to online surveys, but this poll of 903 likely voters has a credibility interval of plus or minus 4 percentage points.

Saturday's Reuters/Ipsos survey is the second of four daily tracking polls being released ahead of Tuesday's Florida primary.

(Editing by Mohammad Zargham)

Source: http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/internet/*http%3A//news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20120129/pl_nm/us_usa_campaign_poll

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Are we bad at forecasting our emotions? It depends on how you measure accuracy

ScienceDaily (Jan. 27, 2012) ? How will you feel if you fail that test? Awful, really awful, you say. Then you fail the test and, yes, you feel bad -- but not as bad as you thought you would. This pattern holds for most people, research shows. The takeaway message: People are lousy at predicting their emotions.

"Psychology has focused on how we mess up and how stupid we are," says University of Texas Austin psychologist Samuel D. Gosling.? But Gosling and colleague Michael Tyler Mathieu suspected that researchers were missing part of the story. So the two reanalyzed the raw data from 11 studies of "affective forecasting" and arrived at a less damning conclusion: "We're not as hopeless as an initial reading of the literature might lead you to think," says Gosling. The study is published in Psychological Science, a journal of the Association for Psychological Science.

If you look at it in absolute terms, says Gosling, it's true. Take a group of people, ask them to make an emotional prediction, and on average they will get it wrong. "But there's also a relative way of looking at it," he explains. You thought you're going to feel really, really awful when you saw that red F on the top of the paper -- and you ended up feeling only awful. I guessed I'd feel moderately bummed and, after flunking, felt only mildly so. You forecast you'd feel worse than I forecast I was going to feel -- and relative to each other, we were both right.

The authors combed through the literature with two criteria in mind: the study had to be "within-subject," meaning the same person did the forecasting and reported the later feeling; and the two reports had to be about the same event. They ended up analyzing the raw data of 11 articles, comprising 16 studies and 1,074 participants. The results: Indexing relative affective forecasting -- that is, looking at individuals and their positions in the group -- we're better predictors than if you measure only the average absolute accuracy.

One way of thinking about it is not objectively better than the other, says Gosling. But relative accuracy might be useful in real life. His example: An HIV clinic has learned that its clients are generally less upset than they thought they'd be at receiving a positive HIV test. But rather than throw counselors at clients at random, the clinic might serve people better if they know in advance who is going to have the worst time of it, and prepare those people for possible bad news.

"The story here is not, 'are we bad forecasters or aren't we?' For me, the story is that past literature says we're bad at this. And in truth we are bad at it in some ways, but not in others." The central finding: "It's complicated."

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Journal Reference:

  1. Samuel D. Gosling and Michael Tyler Mathieu. The Accuracy or Inaccuracy of Affective Forecasts Depends on How Accuracy Is Indexed: A Meta-Analysis of Past Studies. Psychological Science, 2012

Note: If no author is given, the source is cited instead.

Disclaimer: This article is not intended to provide medical advice, diagnosis or treatment. Views expressed here do not necessarily reflect those of ScienceDaily or its staff.

Source: http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2012/01/120127162751.htm

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SGP Case Steinheil Ultra Mirror Half Mirror Screen Protectors and Kuel H10 Stylus Pen Review

When SGP Case sent me the iPhone 4 Valentinus case I reviewed recently, they included a couple of extra goodies in the box.? They sent along the Steinheil Ultra Mirror Half Mirror Screen Protector for iPhone 4S/iPhone 4/CDMA iPhone 4 and the Kuel H10 Stylus Pen.? While the screen protector is obviously only for iPhones, [...]

Source: http://the-gadgeteer.com/2012/01/27/sgp-case-steinheil-ultra-mirror-half-mirror-screen-protectors-and-kuel-h10-stylus-pen-review/

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Nintendo chief promises to do Wii U launch right (AP)

TOKYO ? Nintendo's chief is determined to get right the launch of its next game machine, Wii U, set for this year's holiday shopping season, and acknowledged Friday some mistakes with selling its 3DS handheld.

But Nintendo Co. President Satoru Iwata warned earnings for the fiscal year set to begin April will be the toughest ever for the Japanese manufacturer behind the Super Mario and Pokemon games.

Nintendo went against conventional wisdom with the original Wii in 2006. The quirky, cheap game console relied not on high-end graphics and complex buttons to lure in hardcore players, but on simple motion controls to lure in everyone.

Although the company successfully courted casual gamers with the Wii, it is now facing increased competition from Apple Inc.'s iPhone and other devices that offer simple games. It had hoped to win new gamers through a 3-D handheld device. But sales were slow, and Nintendo slashed prices on the 3DS within six months.

Iwata's remarks come a day after it lowered its annual earnings forecast to a 65 billion yen ($844 million) loss, much larger than the 20 billion yen ($260 million) loss projected earlier. It posted a 77.62 billion yen profit the previous fiscal year.

Iwata blamed the strong yen, which erases overseas earnings, as well as the arrival of smartphones and other devices that offer gaming.

The higher yen slashed nearly 54 billion yen ($701 million) from the company's operating profit for the April-December period.

"I can see how the red ink may be perceived as abnormal," Iwata told analysts and reporters at a Tokyo hotel. "The environment has changed."

The failure of the 3DS handheld to take off with enough momentum during the last quarter of 2011 was one of the main reasons for the dismal results, according to Iwata.

The 3DS has gradually started to sell better, but it took a price cut in August. It still lacks a strong lineup of attractive software games, a key factor for a machine to succeed in a big way.

Iwata vowed the company will be better prepared when it introduces the Wii U home console during the 2012 year-end shopping season for a strong comeback.

He declined to give details such as pricing or what the software games available at that time might be.

But he said the Wii U will come with a strong game lineup at the launch as well as secure and safe Internet services that will offer players individual accounts.

The Wii U will come with new ways of playing that will almost make the term "home console" obsolete, Iwata said. It will also offer mobile gaming. The machine has a touch-panel controller.

Nintendo has long competed against rival game makers, such as Sony Corp. and Microsoft Corp. These days, all face the threat from hit devices like the iPad and iPhone from Apple Inc. that also offer games.

Iwata's comments also showed Nintendo is growing less cautious about the Internet, which in the past it had brushed off as mainly for hard-core gamers.

Kyoto-based Nintendo has built its reputation on making games fun to play for casual and newcomer players.

"We are going to put to use our bitter experience with the 3DS," said Iwata.

___

Follow Yuri Kageyama at http://twitter.com/yurikageyama

Source: http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/personaltech/*http%3A//news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20120127/ap_on_hi_te/as_japan_nintendo

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