Map and data showing the swing States and considered safe States for Romney and Obama as at 11th October 2012.
| RCP POLL AVERAGE | ELECTORAL VOTES | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| States | Obama | Romney | Obama | Romney |
| Colo. | 47.0% | 47.6% | 0 | 9 |
| Fla. | 47.5% | 47.5% | 0 | 29 |
| Iowa | 48.6% | 45.4% | 6 | 0 |
| Nev. | 48.2% | 46.6% | 6 | 0 |
| N.H. | 49.8% | 45.3% | 4 | 0 |
| N.C. | 46.0% | 49.3% | 0 | 15 |
| Ohio | 47.6% | 46.3% | 18 | 0 |
| Va. | 48.2% | 47.6% | 13 | 0 |
| Wis. | 50.0% | 47.7% | 10 | 0 |
| Swing-State Votes | 57 | 53 | ||
| Leaning/Likely State Votes | 237 | 191 | ||
| Total Overall Votes | 294 | 244 | ||
| On October 11th, while Vice President Biden and Vice Presidential Candidate Ryan are preparing to debate serious US issues, in Kentucky, another statesman – the Dalai Lama from Tibet, will be visiting neighboring state Virginia at the joint invitation of The Foundation for American Heritage Voices (their Tibetan American Cultural Division), the Tibetan Association of Charlottesville, the UMA Institute for Tibetan Studies, and the City of Charlottesville.
The Dalai Lama will be speaking on “Compassionate Care in 21st Century Medicine” and “Beyond Religion: Ethics for a Whole World.” His choice of topics are very poignant considering the current debates around Obamacare. The city of Charlottesville is also headquarters to the National Ground Intelligence Center (the security command for the US Army), GE Intelligent Platforms (including Aerospace, Defense/Military, and Communication Systems), and SNL Financial LC (a provider of breaking news, financial data and expert analysis on business sectors critical to the global economy). While there, Charlottesville’s Mayor will be presenting the Dalai Lama with the distinguished Key to the City, giving him freedom of the city status.
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There has been much talk in the media in the run up to these elections about the use of voter ID in order to cast a ballot. Democrats have argued that requiring voters to show photographic ID will make it harder for people to vote, and will stop people voting from minority groups, or poorer backgrounds- thus weakening democracy. They have also argued that it is not necessary, that cases of voter fraud are so rare as to make it’s impact negligible. Those in favor of implementing voter ID argue that ID is required to obtain government entitlements, gain access to government buildings etc so it ought to be required when casting a vote in an election- that it strengthens democracy.
Groups like Veritas and True the Vote have been cataloguing cases of voter fraud. True the Vote report that in a recent Wisconsin recall election a bus was seen offloading people at a voting station, “Magically, all of them needed to register and vote at the same time,” Ms. Engelbrecht, of True the Vote, said. “Do you think maybe they registered falsely under false pretenses? Probably so.” She also cites a similar report from a 2010 election in San Diego. Election officials say there is no evidence to collaborate True the Vote’s claims.
The Pew Center on the States, who provide non-partisan research, reporting and advocacy, issued a report in February finding that more than 1.8 million dead people remained on voter rolls and about 2.8 million people were registered in more than one state, while another 12 million registrations contained flawed addresses.
Yet again Ohio is key to another Presidential election.
Ohio is regarded as the most important of all the swing states at election time. This is not only due to demographics but also because Ohio has 18 electoral votes. History shows no republican has ever been elected President without winning Ohio- it decided the election for George W Bush in 2004, and in 2000. And this year is no exception.
“For me, the Taliban is on the inside of the building”. Eric Nordstrom, the former Libyan regional security officer for the State Department, said in his testimony on Capitol Hill on Wednesday regarding the attack on the U.S. Embassy in Libya.
“It’s not the hardships, it’s not the gunfire, it’s not the threats. It’s dealing and fighting against the people, programs and personnel who are supposed to be supporting me… For me, the Taliban is on the inside of the building.”
Both Eric Nordstrom and Lt. Col. Andrew Wood, former head of a 16-member U.S. military team that helped protect the embassy in Tripoli, in testimony to the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee described their frustrations in performing their jobs.
“We were fighting a losing battle. We couldn’t even keep what we had,” stated Wood in relation to having asked for further security forces to defend the Libyan Embassy before it was attacked on September 11, 2012.
Angela Merkel recoils from Greek showdown on Spain contagion fears – Telegraph.
The German Chancellor Angela Merkel has been visiting Athens today, for the first time in three years. She comes at a time when Greece is looking for the next €31.5bn tranche of aid. Without the aid Greece will run out of money by the end of November. Recent figures show Greece has been in recession for 5 years, it’s economy has shrunk by 22%, and youth unemployment is currently at 55%.
Mrs Merkel was met with angry protestors and required 6,000 police officers to protect her. Greeks, and the Greek media, greeted her with Nazi insults.
Both the EU and IMF have been insistent that Greece steps up austerity measures in order to receive the money. However, Mrs Merkel came to Athens with a softer tone than Athens has previously heard.
There has been mounting pressure on Germany not to allow Greece to default, thus forcing her out of the eurozone. If Greece were to exit, then Spain would likely follow, and the euro would break up. Also tougher austerity measures could result in the collapse of the pro-Europe ruling coalition. If the Greek government collapses it would likely be replaced by either a far-right or far-left alternative. That could destabilise the entire region, affecting the Balkan region and Turkey, something no one wants to see.
It is likely Greece will receive the next instalment of money, however the €31.5bn will only keep Greece afloat a few more months. And as time passes both Spain and Portugal are edging closer to requiring more bailouts.
Americans without a stated religious affiliation is on the rise and for the first time in U.S. history, Protestants are not a majority.
The study was performed by the Pew Forum on Religion & Public Life. They found that Protestants now make up a new U.S. low of 48%.
There also appears to be a shift in Christians’ classification of themselves. More of them are stating they do not belong to any denomination.
Remember that purple lens flare issue with the iPhone 5’s camera?
Upon the release of the iPhone 5 last month, some users began reporting a strange issue with the iPhone 5 camera where a purple flare or haze appears when taking a photo near a bright light source such as a lamp or the sun. The issue was first reported by a forum user going by “Kaido” on the tech review site AnandTech who posted several different photos taken inside and outside that showed a purple haze.
Later, Fisher found that the iPhone 5 was in fact particularly vulnerable to lens flare of the sort Kaido and others had described. Interestingly, PCMag’s digital camera analyst found that Apple’s previous-generation handset, the iPhone 4S, was one of the best at minimizing the reproduction of flare caused by out-of-shot light sources (the Galaxy S III was another phone that handled lens flare well, he found).
Video Comparison between iPhone 5 & iPhone 4S
The bottom line from iMore: “There isn’t that big of a difference between the cameras on the iPhone 4S and iPhone 5. There is improvements to the iPhone 5′s camera, but if you were wondering if you should upgrade because of the camera, the answer is definitely no.”
But, if you’re still not convinced that the iPhone 5 isn’t quite a DSLR-replacer just yet, take a look at it compared to a Canon 5D Mark III. That ought to change your mind.
By Thomas Pascoe Economics Last updated: October 4th, 2012
Barack Obama was dreadful in the first presidential debate. He seemed confused and hesitant; his thoughts were incoherent.
There seems to be confusion among the Left as to how this could have happened. How could such a celebrated orator underperform? The answer is simple: Obama did not underperform.
Mr Obama is in the midst of an election campaign he is attempting to win without policies. He claims he will cut debt despite having ruled out reductions to the most significant area of spending, welfare entitlements. He wants to avoid war in the Middle East, which is commendable, but not, in itself, a policy. He is against a “war on women”, he is against the Boy Scouts of America banning gays. This isn’t anywhere close to being a prospectus for governing the world’s most important country through a period of crisis – it’s a manifesto for election to a student union.
The argument has always been that we should not expect Mr Obama to share his innermost thoughts with us. The man, so we are told, is such an intellectual giant that we would not understand him if he did.
That is one explanation. The other is that Mr Obama’s intellectual development froze around the time he first encountered socialism. He is exceptionally good at reading out from a teleprompter, be that on the campaign trail or when addressing an audience of 12-year-olds. When he is left to articulate complex thoughts of his own, he fails.
The fact is that Mr Obama has a talented, cynical team around him who have been succesful in constructing a narrative in which Mr Romney is a comic villan who wants to ruin the poor and open windows on aeroplanes. Stripped of these people, he has no memorable policies and very few discernible convictions. The emptiness we saw on Wednesday was the real thing.
via Obama did not ‘underperform’: we saw the real man – Telegraph Blogs.
President Obama is scheduled to arrive at Los Angeles International Airport after 1 p.m. Sunday, October 7. His Sunday evening is scheduled to include a backstage reception, concert and dinner. The concert, called “30 Days to Victory” at downtown L.A.’s Nokia Theater, will feature Katy Perry, Stevie Wonder, Jennifer Hudson, Earth Wind and Fire, and Jon Bon Jovi. Presidential pal Clooney will make a special appearance to introduce Wonder. After the concert, Obama will head next door for a $25,000-per-plate dinner at Wolfgang Puck’s chic WP24.
Obama is scheduled to depart from LAX on Monday morning and head to a midday ceremony in Keene, near Tehachapi, where he will dedicate the new César E. Chávez National Monument. The President will then continue north to San Francisco for a fundraising dinner hosted by superstar chef Alice Waters, and a concert headlined by John Legend.
View Pasco Hernando Com. College, FL in a larger map
SAND MANDALA AT PASCO HERNANDO COMMUNITY COLLEGE FLORIDA
Pasco Hernando Community College
Spring Hill, Florida
October 6, 2012
A sand mandala is created for Peace Week at the Pasco Hernando Community College.
The ceremony was led by a buddist monk, Ningpo, who is originally from Tibet, now lives in Wesley Chapel, Florida