Tuesday, July 31, 2012

'Kiss my a**': Romney's aide curses reporters at Polish holy site

By MICHAEL ZENNIE and ASSOCIATED PRESS REPORTER
Rick Gorka
Lashing out: Press secretary Rick Gorka was forced to apologize after telling reporters to 'kiss my a**'


Read more: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2181571/Kiss--Romneys-aide-curses-reporters-Poland-latest-world-tour-gaffe.html#ixzz22DXf21Hh


He drew criticism and accusations of racism in Jerusalem on Monday when he said Israel's economic superiority to the Palestinian territories was a matter of 'culture.'
His campaign has vehemently denied those allegations. 
Mr Gorka's remarks came hours before a major foreign policy speech in the Polish capital in which Romney praised the central European nation for becoming what he said was a model of small government and free enterprise.
The former Massachusetts governor said that 'rather than heeding the false promise of a government-dominated economy, Poland sought to stimulate innovation, attract investment, expand trade and live within its means' after the Communist era.
'The world should pay close attention to the transformation of Poland’s economy,' Romney said. 
'A march toward economic liberty and smaller government has meant a march toward higher living standards, a strong military that defends liberty at home and abroad, and an important and growing role on the international stage.'
Mr Gorka's angry words to reporters were made Tuesday morning when Romney visited a monument to Poland's war dead with the Warsaw mayor. 
Reporters began shouting questions at the presumptive Republican nominee from behind a rope line because, they said, he has answered only three queries from the traveling press corps.
A CNN reporter shouted: 'Gov Romney are you concerned about some of the mishaps of your trip?'


Read more: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2181571/Kiss--Romneys-aide-curses-reporters-Poland-latest-world-tour-gaffe.html#ixzz22DWTbV00

Paul McCartney was paid $1.57 (U.S.) for London Olympic Opening

Mark's Blog

Paul McCartney was paid $1.57 (U.S.) for London Olympic Opening By Greg Wyshynski

Sunday, July 29, 2012

Mitt Romney would 'respect' Israel strike on Iran, aide says

 NBCNews.com Reuters contributed to this report.

Jason Reed / Reuters
U.S. Republican presidential candidate Mitt Romney meets Israel's Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu in Jerusalem, Sunday.
JERUSALEM - Mitt Romney would “respect” Israel if it were to decide it had to use military force to stop Iran from developing a nuclear weapon, a senior aide said on Sunday as the Republican presidential candidate began his visit to Jerusalem.
"If Israel has to take action on its own, in order to stop Iran from developing that capability, the governor would respect that decision," Romney's senior national security aide Dan Senor told reporters traveling with the candidate.
While stopping short of endorsing a preemptive military attack, the comment seemed to differ with President Barack Obama's attempts to convince Israel to avoid any such move.
Gov. Romney’s first meeting was Israel's Prime Minister, Benjamin Netanyahu, who greeted him as a “personal friend and friend of Israel.”
Shaking hands underneath U.S. and Israel flags, the pair signaled that Iran would be top of the agenda in their discussions.
Netanyahu said: "We have to be honest and say that all the sanctions and diplomacy so far have not set back the Iranian program by one iota. And that's why I believe that we need a strong and credible military threat coupled with the sanctions to have a chance to change that situation."
Later, Gov. Romney and his wife Ann visited the city's Wailing Wall.
Sunday’s comments came as a senior Israeli official denied a newspaper report that President Barack Obama's national security adviser had briefed Netanyahu on a U.S. contingency plan to attack Iran should diplomacy fail to curb its nuclear program.
The Israeli liberal Haaretz daily on Sunday quoted an unnamed U.S. official as saying the adviser, Thomas Donilon, had described the plan over dinner with Netanyahu earlier this month.
"Nothing in the article is correct. Donilon did not meet the prime minister for dinner, he did not meet him one-on-one, nor did he present operational plans to attack Iran," the senior official, who declined to be named given the sensitivity of the issue, told Reuters.


Saturday, July 28, 2012

Romney trip begins in shambles

By Jim Acosta, CNN National Political Correspondent

Mitt Romney's trip to the London Olympics was met by jeers from the British public and media after a series of missteps.
Mitt Romney's trip to the London Olympics was met by jeers from the British public and media after a series of missteps.
STORY HIGHLIGHTS
  • Mitt Romney's comments in London draw criticism from the British press
  • #Romneyshambles is trending on Twitter on both sides of the Atlantic
  • Romney disclosed a meeting with intelligence official usually kept quiet
  • Campaign tries to pivot from its misfortune to criticize Obama on weak GDP
London (CNN) -- If only Mitt Romney could turn the Olympic torch on the newspaper headlines in London.
He's the "Party Pooper" in the Daily Mail, "Nowhere Man" in the Times of London and "Mitt the Twit" in The Sun.
This was not the storyline Romney and his team wanted when they journeyed overseas for a trip designed to burnish the GOP contender's foreign policy credentials.
Romney has yet to publicly acknowledge the outrage he set off in London when he appeared to question the city's "disconcerting" problems in gearing up for the Olympic Games.
In an interview with CNN's Piers Morgan on Thursday, Romney chuckled when he was asked about the criticism.
Romney's London blunders
Romney off to a rocky start in London
Romney's Olympic comments cause stir
Piers discusses Romney press backlash
"Well, I'm delighted to see the kind of support that has been around the torch for instance. I watched last night on BBC an entire program about the torch being run across Great Britain. And the kind of crowds. I guess millions of people that turned out to see the torch. That's what you hope to see," Romney told Morgan.
Asked about the controversy on NBC's "Today" show, Romney again sidestepped the question but declared London prepared.
"After being here a couple of days it looks to me like London is ready," Romney said.
The uproar in Britain reached its crescendo Thursday evening when London Mayor Boris Johnson whipped up a crowd of 60,000 revelers at a pre-Olympics celebration with a taunt for the Republican presidential candidate. Johnson is a Tory, theoretically putting him near Romney on the same conservative end of the political spectrum.
"There's this guy called Mitt Romney who wants to know if we are ready. Are we ready? Yes we are," Johnson shouted at what sounded like a political rally, for President Obama.
Meanwhile on Twitter, the hashtag #RomneyShambleswas trending on both sides of the Atlantic.
For instance, ‏@Pawelmorski's Tweet read: "Americans: This Mitt person is some sort of American Borat, right? #romneyshambles"
The hashtag is a play on "omnishambles," from the BBC TV series "The Thick of It," a satire of British government.
"It led most of the networks' news shows, and the message was clear: This fellow is not ready for primetime," said presidential scholar Larry Sabato with the University of Virginia's Center for Politics.
The British media also seized on Romney's disclosure after his visit with Prime Minister David Cameron that he had met Sir John Sawers, head of the British Intelligence agency MI6. Such meetings are typically not made public, a government spokesman told London's Telegraph newspaper.
"Sir John meets many people, but we don't give a running commentary on any of these private meetings," the spokesman said.
Former Minnesota Sen. Norm Coleman, a top Republican surrogate for the Romney campaign, had his doubts about any long-lasting damage to the GOP's likely nominee.
"Britain is a strong ally. This governor is about strengthening America's relationship with allies not undercutting them," Coleman said in an interview on CNN's "Starting Point," a running GOP attack theme against Obama.
The former senator pinpointed other opportunities for Romney on the next legs of his trip, Israel and Poland.
"The governor will be in Poland. They had the rug pulled out from them on the missile defense," Coleman said. "Obama's ratings in Israel are in single digits," he added.
Aaron David Miller, a distinguished scholar at the Woodrow Wilson International Center for Scholars, believes Romney can redeem his trip while in Israel.
"He knows and likes [Prime Minister Benjamin] Netanyahu and can convey quite naturally that he understands that Israel is a small country with a dark past living on the knife's edge," Miller said.
"Quite simply, Obama has failed to communicate that, and has given his opponent an opening," he said.
Setting the table for his visit to Israel, Romney issued a warning to Iran that he would consider military action to prevent the Islamic republic from building a nuclear weapon.
"The military option should be evaluated and available if no other course is successful," Romney said in an interview with Israel's Haaretz newspaper.
Back in the United States, the Romney campaign was busy capitalizing on new data showing the nation's economy had only grown by a disappointing 1.5% in the second quarter of the year.
"GDP -- Grossly Disappointing President," tweeted top Romney strategist Eric Fehrnstrom.
In the long marathon to November, Sabato said the gold medal issue for American voters is likely to be the economy, not foreign policy.
"Think of the string of gaffes on both sides in the past few months. Every single one was supposedly a game-changer. None has been," Sabato said.

Queen Elizabeth was picking her nails when Great Britain marched into Olympic Stadium

By Chris Chase | Fourth-Place Medal 

When you've ridden to the Opening Ceremony in a helicopter with James Bond, watching 500 athletes march into a stadium just can't compare.
Queen Elizabeth, who appeared in an amusing short film with actor Daniel Craig during the kickoff to the London Games, wasn't too impressed with Team Great Britain on Friday night. As 80,000 fans roared at the arrival of the nation's athletes into Olympic Stadium, the Queen was shown on television intently picking her nails, seemingly oblivious to the pandemonium around her.
Earlier in the ceremony, Queen Elizabeth and James Bond were shown taking a helicopter away from Buckingham Palace. Director Danny Boyle filmed the scene in March and the Queen was excellent in her brief role. I'd go so far as to say that she was a better Queen Elizabeth than Helen Mirren. The segment culminated with a live shot of two stuntpeople dressed as the Queen and Bond parachuting out of the helicopter into Olympic Stadium.
All that adrenaline must have taken its toll on the 86-year-old monarch. Displaying her usual stoicism, the Queen couldn't have been less interested in the Great Britain delegation marching in last during the parade of nations. The pool television feed cut to her for three seconds as the team walked on and she was picking her nails for the entirety.

Wednesday, July 25, 2012

Chicago Politician Will Ban Chick-fil-A From Opening Restaurant After Anti-Gay Comments

PHOTO: Chicago Alderman Joe Moreno has blocked a Chick-Fil-A restaurant from opening in his ward following anti-gay marriage remarks by the restaurant's president, Dan Cathy.
SIPA/Newscom
By  (@alyssanewcomb)


A Chicago politician said he will block Chick-fil-A from opening a restaurant in his ward, following anti-gay marriage remarks by the fast food chain's president.
Alderman Joe Moreno, who represents Chicago's Logan Square neighborhood, plans to use his aldermanic privilege, a Chicago tradition in which City Council members defer to aldermen on local matters, to block the restaurant's permit.
"It's a very diverse ward-- economically, racially, and diverse in sexual orientation," Moreno told ABCNews.com. "We've got thriving businesses and we want more but at the very least don't discriminate against our LGBTQ folks."
Moreno is not alone in standing up to the fast food restaurant, whose president Dan Cathy came under scrutiny after he told the Baptist Press he was "guilty as charged" when it came to supporting "the biblical definition of the family unit."
Boston Mayor Thomas Menino sent Cathy a letter informing him "There is no place for discrimination on Boston's Freedom Trail and no place for your company alongside it."
The Jim Henson Company also severed ties with the establishment and have donated their earnings from making toys for the chain's kids' meals to the gay support organization GLAAD.
But the businessman's comments have become a rallying point for conservative politicians who see them differently.
Former Arkansas Gov. Mike Huckabee organized a "Chick-fil-A Appreciation Day" for Aug. 1.
PHOTO: Chicago Alderman Joe Moreno has blocked a Chick-Fil-A restaurant from opening in his ward following anti-gay marriage remarks by the restaurant's president, Dan Cathy.
SIPA/Newscom
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"The goal is simple: Let's affirm a business that operates on Christian principles and whose executives are willing to take a stand for the godly values we espouse by simply showing up and eating at Chick Fil-A on Wednesday, August 1," Huckabee wrote on Facebook.
As of this afternoon, more than 117,000 people had indicated they'd participate in the event.
Sen. Rick Santorum said on Twitter today that he was eating lunch at Chick-fil-A with five of his children.
"Enjoying chick-in-strips and an awesome peach shake at Chick-fil-A. See you here next Wednesday!" he tweeted.
In Chicago, residents in Moreno's ward have expressed mixed opinions that the fast food restaurant won't be coming to their neighborhood. Moreno does have the support of Mayor Rahm Emmanuel.
"Chick-fil-A values are not Chicago values. They disrespect our fellow neighbors and residents. This would be a bad investment, since it would be empty," Emmanuel said in a statement to the Chicago Tribune.
Moreno said he had been working with "Chick-fil-A" for nine months to address traffic issues the restaurant could create. During that time, he said he also worked "behind the scenes" to address the company's alleged support of anti-gay organizations and brought in the Civil Rights Agenda, an LGBTQ group, to help create a dialogue.
"We were making, I thought, some progress, until [Dan Cathy] comes out swinging. That basically sunk our discussions," he said.
Chick-fil-A did not respond to ABCNews.com's request for an interview. The chain does have a store in Chicago and numerous outlets in its suburbs.
Moreno said if the fast food chain wants to open a location in his ward, than they're going to have to make amends.
"They should be in the business of selling chicken, not promoting a political philosophy," he said. "If they want to come out with an anti-discrimination policy, put it in their employee handbook, post it in their restaurants…then we can have a discussion."
Atlanta-based Chick-fil-A does about $4 billion in annual sales, according to its website, which states that the purpose of the chain is to "glorify God by being a faithful steward of all that is entrusted to us. To have a positive influence on all who come in contact with Chick-fil-A."




Mark's Blog-3.8 Magnitude quake hits L.A.

Mark's Blog

Tuesday, July 24, 2012

3 arrested in separate 'Dark Knight' incidents

By The Associated Press | Associated Press

the new Batman movie have been arrested in separate incidents, underscoring moviegoers' anxieties and heightened security in the wake of a deadly mass shooting at a Colorado theater showing the film.
A Maine man was arrested when he told authorities that he was on his way to shoot a former employer a day after watching "The Dark Knight Rises," Maine state police said Monday.
Timothy Courtois of Biddeford, Maine, had been stopped for speeding, and a police search of his car found an AK-47 assault weapon, four handguns, ammunition and news clippings about the mass shooting that left 12 people dead early Friday, authorities said.
Former graduate student James Holmes, 24, is accused of opening fire in a theater in a Denver suburb. The shooting also injured 58 people.
Courtois said he had attended the Batman movie on Saturday, although police have not confirmed whether he actually saw the film.
"I guess we're taking everything at face value," State Police Lt. Kevin Donovan said. "It's very scary."
Police searched Courtois' home later Sunday and found a machine gun, several other guns and thousands of rounds of ammunition.
"We don't know what his true intentions were," said Steve McCausland, spokesman for the Department of Public Safety. "Based on the arsenal that was confiscated, we brought in our counterparts from the FBI and ATF to assist with the investigation."
Courtois was charged with speeding and possession of a concealed weapon.
In Southern California, a man at a Sunday afternoon showing of the film was arrested after witnesses said he made threats and alluded to the Aurora shooting when the movie didn't start.
Los Angeles County sheriff's deputies were called to a cinema complex in Norwalk after moviegoerssaid 52-year-old Clark Tabor shouted: "I should go off like in Colorado." They said he then asked: "Does anybody have a gun?"
A security guard saw Tabor with a backpack on his knees in the second row, but deputies who searched the bag, the theater and its surrounding area did not find any weapon.
Separately, moviegoers in Sierra Visa, Ariz., panicked when a man who appeared intoxicated was confronted during a showing of the movie. The Cochise County Sheriff's office said it caused "mass hysteria" and about 50 people fled the theater.
Off-duty Border Patrol agents tackled Michael William Borboa, 27, who had a backpack with him, according to The Arizona Daily Star. Authorities said it contained an empty alcohol container and a half-empty moonshine bottle.
Borboa was arrested on suspicion of disorderly conduct, and threatening and intimidating.
Despite some jitters over the horrific shooting, moviegoers around the country still flocked to theaters to see the film, which was the final installment of the phenomenally successful Batman trilogy. Warner Bros. reported that it brought in $160.9 million over the weekend, making it the third highest opening weekend ever, after "The Avengers" and "Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows — Part 2."

Official: Trap in Colorado suspect's home had 30 homemade grenades, gasoline

By Poppy Harlow and Ed Payne, CNN

The public gets its first glimpse of James Holmes, 24, the suspect in the Colorado theater shooting during his initial court appearance Monday, July 23. With his hair dyed reddish-orange, Holmes, here with public defender Tamara Brady, showed little emotion. He is accused of opening fire in a movie theater Friday, July 20, in Aurora, Colorado, killing 12 people and wounding 58 others.The public gets its first glimpse of James Holmes, 24, the suspect in the Colorado theater shooting during his initial court appearance Monday, July 23. With his hair dyed reddish-orange, Holmes, here with public defender Tamara Brady, showed little emotion. He is accused of opening fire in a movie theater Friday, July 20, in Aurora, Colorado, killing 12 people and wounding 58 others.
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STORY HIGHLIGHTS
  • NEW: It looks like the booby trapped apartment was "rigged" to explode, the official says
  • The setup resembled those used in Iraq and Afghanistan, according to the official
  • Fifteen people remain hospitalized, five in critical condition
  • Holmes will be formally charged on July 30
Aurora, Colorado (CNN) -- The suspect in last week's deadly shooting rampage at a crowded Colorado movie theater boobytrapped his apartment with more than 30 homemade grenades and 10 gallons of gasoline, a law enforcement official who viewed video from inside the apartment told CNN Monday night.
The sophisticated set up at the sparsely furnished Aurora home of James E. Holmes was meant to harm, or possibly kill, anyone who entered -- and tested the skills of bomb squad members charged with clearing it.
"Imagine that fireball ... you would have an explosion that would knock down the wall of (nearby) apartments," the official said. "That flame would have consumed the entire third floor (of the apartment complex)."
"By the time a fire truck would have arrived, they would have arrived to a building that would have been completely consumed in flames."
The grenades were wired to a control box in the kitchen, which bomb technicians disabled with the help of a remote-controlled robot that squirted water on it.
"It looked like spaghetti," according to the official, who said it resembled setups that are used in Iraq and Afghanistan, but rarely in the United States.
The control box has been sent to Quantico, Virginia, for forensic analysis at the FBI laboratory, the official said.
But the setup appears to have been "rigged" so that it would have exploded, according to the official. A "post-blast analysis" will determine if it would have worked.
The gasoline was divvied up into glass containers and gas cans in order to "enhance the thermal effect of the explosion," the official said.
Over the weekend, Aurora Police Chief Daniel Oates told reporters there was "evidence of ... some calculation and deliberation" in the Friday attack at the Century Aurora 16 multiplex.
Holmes received deliveries over the past four months at his home and work addresses, which begins to explain how he may have obtained some of the materials used in the attack and those found at his apartment, Oates said.
The University of Colorado School of Medicine, where Holmes enrolled as a doctoral candidate in its neuroscience program but later withdrew, was investigating whether he received any of the alleged shipments while working as a research assistant at the Anschutz Medical Campus.
Authorities have been tight-lipped about a possible motive in the case, though police spokesman Frank Fania told CNN that Holmes has been uncooperative with investigators and requested an attorney.
The movie multiplex, where the shootings occurred during a midnight screening of the new Batman move "The Dark Knight Returns," will remain shuttered at least until Wednesday to give police time to complete their investigation and allow the suspect's defense team access Tuesday.
Aurora, meanwhile, is bracing for another emotional week as families begin making funeral arrangements. It was not immediately known when the coroner would release the bodies.
On Monday, Holmes made his first court appearance.
Looking dazed at times, Holmes -- who after the attack identified himself to police as "The Joker" -- wore a maroon jumpsuit over a white T-shirt and gave little indication that he was paying attention to the courtroom procedure that ensured he will continue to be held without bond.
Booking photograph of James Eagan Holmes, accused of killing 12 in Aurora, Colorado Theater Shooting.
Booking photograph of James Eagan Holmes, accused of killing 12 in Aurora, Colorado Theater Shooting.
He was then led from the courtroom and back to the Arapahoe County Jail, where he is being held in isolation. Formal charges are expected to be filed July 30.
"The charges on which the court found cause included first-degree murder," Arapahoe County District Attorney Carol Chambers told reporters outside the courthouse. She said prosecutors have a lot of work to do.
"I would say there's no such thing as a slam-dunk case," she said. "We're still looking at the enormous amount of evidence."
Deciding whether to pursue the death penalty is a long process that involves input from victims and their relatives, she said.
A capital case would require a finding of either extreme indifference or deliberation, she said.
Holmes is being held in connection with the shootings that killed 12 people and left 58 others wounded. As of late Monday, at least 15 people remained hospitalized -- five in critical condition -- in four area hospitals.
Four of those killed were active members of the the U.S. military. The Department of Defense is flying flags at half-staff in their honor.
"These acts of heroism and sacrifice are the essence of what military service is about -- putting your life on the line to defend those who are part of the American family," Secretary of Defense Leon Panetta said in a statement Monday.
Meanwhile, Lisa Damiani, an attorney representing the Holmes family but not the suspect, said his family members were keeping their location secret. "I don't think they would like the media to know where they are," she said, adding that she feared for their safety.
"They're doing as well as they can, under the circumstances," Damiani told reporters at her office in San Diego, California, where the family lives. "I think everyone can imagine how they're feeling -- anyone who's ever been a parent."
She added, "The family has elected not to discuss James or their relationship with James at this time."
The family issued a statement Friday saying, "Our hearts go out to those who were involved in this tragedy and to the families and friends of those involved." It added, "We are still trying to process this information."