In Future, Cars Might Decide if Driver Is Drunk

Much needed:

An alcohol-detection prototype that uses automatic sensors to instantly gauge a driver's fitness to be on the road has the potential to save thousands of lives, but could be as long as a decade away from everyday use in cars, federal officials and researchers said Friday.


U.S. Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood visited QinetiQ North America, a Waltham, Mass.-based research and development facility, for the first public demonstration of systems that could measure whether a motorist has a blood alcohol content at or above the legal limit of .08 and -- if so -- prevent the vehicle from starting.


The technology is being designed as unobtrusive, unlike current alcohol ignition interlock systems often mandated by judges for convicted drunken drivers. Those require operators to blow into a breath-testing device before the car can operate.


The Driver Alcohol Detection Systems for Safety, as the new approach is called, would use sensors that would measure blood alcohol content in one of two possible ways: either by analyzing a driver's breath or through the skin, using sophisticated touch-based sensors placed strategically on steering wheels and door locks, for example.


Both methods eliminate the need for drivers to take any extra steps, and those who are sober would not be delayed in getting on the road, researchers said.

Bristol Palin Un-Invited From College Panel After Kate Walsh Boycott Call

Liberals hatred for Sarah Palin isn't just a derangement, it's pathological:

Bristol Palin will not be bringing her abstinence message to Washington University's Sexual Responsiblity Week.


Washington University issued a statement to FOX411 Friday, saying "The student group that invited Bristol Palin to come to Washington University in St. Louis has mutually agreed with her not to proceed with a contract regarding Palin’s participation in a panel discussion at Washington University on Feb. 7."


"Because of the growing controversy among undergraduates over the decision to pay for her talk with student-generated funds, the Student Health Advisory Committee and Palin decided that the message that they intended on sharing would be overshadowed by controversy," the statement continued.


Bristol Palin is the Teen Abstinence Ambassador for the Candie’s Foundation fighting teen pregnancy. The controversy referred to in the release involved "Private Practice" star Kate Walsh's call for students to boycott Palin's speech should she decide to attend.


Walsh, a member of the Planned Parenthood Federation of America, urged her Twitter followers Wednesday to protest Palin’s possible appearance.


“Welcome to the Idiocracy! RT @elliekirsh: @katewalsh please join students at Wash.U. to boycott Bristol Palin's speech on abstinence. What does she know about college or abstaining?” Walsh tweeted.

Glenn Beck Goes Nuclear – Blasts Chris Matthews over "Balloon-head" Comment on Michele Bachmann

Source

Obama Under Fire as ‘Day of Rage’ Dawns in Egypt

Newsmax.com:

Egyptian security forces are using tear gas, water cannon, rubber bullets, and bamboo canes to attack the tens of thousands of angry anti-government protesters who took to the streets Friday calling for a “day of rage” against Hosni Mubarak’s regime, prompting officials to knock the nation’s global Internet and telephone connections offline in a bid to disrupt the social media the rebels are using to coordinate their efforts.


Sources reported Friday morning that about 85 percent of Egypt’s Internet was offline because Egyptian authorities deactivated it. The only remaining link to the world reportedly is a small Internet service provider that the nation’s banks and equity markets use to link to the rest of the world.


CNN and German news crews report that government security forces have seized or destroyed camera equipment, adding to concerns that Egypt is “going dark.”


“They’re using violence everywhere to put the protesters down,” reported CNN correspondent Ben Wedeman in Cairo, who said most of the demonstrators are remaining peaceful, chanting, waving signs, and marching through the streets.


Marauding crowds of tens of thousands gathered in Cairo to call for a new government. Some threw rocks at police, who fired back with tear gas and rubber bullets.


In recent days, authorities have reported at least seven deaths, 100 injuries, and 1,000 arrests. At one point Friday, the crowds reportedly approached the Mubarak residence.


Concerns are growing that the extremist Muslin Brotherhood, which has thrown its support behind the demonstrations, may use the unrest to seize control of the country.


National hero and Nobel Peace Prize winner Mohamed ElBaradei is in Cairo and told the Guardian newspaper that he believes the Mubarak government is “on its last legs.”


Other demonstrations sprang up around the country. Apparently they were inspired by Tunisia’s Jasmine Revolution. Some observers are speculating that Morocco, Algeria, and Jordan could be the next countries hit by the wave of protests against the strong-arm governments in the Middle East.


ElBaradei himself was caught up in the turmoil Friday. After noon prayers ElBaradei and his supporters joined the protesters, only to face baton-wielding police and water cannons.


The Associated Press reports that “a soaking wet ElBaradei” was trapped inside a mosque for nearly an hour after a water cannon blasted him. ElBaradei’s supporters surround him to provide protection. The AP reports that police “laid siege” to the mosque, and fired tear gas canisters at cars outside the mosque, setting them ablaze.


The turmoil in Middle East also is generating chaos in Washington, where foreign policy experts in and out of the Obama administration are trying determine how America should respond.


The New York Times reported Friday that an analysis of WikiLeaks cables shows that U.S.-Egypt relations warmed up after President Barack Obama took office because he backed off of the Bush administration’s push for spreading democracy and human rights in the Middle East. While the Obama administration continued to push Mubarak to make reforms behind the scenes, it toned down the public pressure regarding human rights. One cable, for example, told a visiting Gen. David H. Petraeus that the United States was seeking to avoid “the public confrontations that had become routine over the past several years.”


Now, there are indications the administration’s effort to play global politics to its advantage by soft-pedaling Egypt's abuses could be backfiring. The Times story notes: “This balancing of private pressure with strong public support for Mr. Mubarak has become increasingly tenuous in recent days.”


Increasingly, the administration is coming under criticism for first appearing to encourage pro-democracy movements that it now seems very reticent to embrace. The clash over human rights also appears to be on the verge of triggering a political clash in the United States: Republicans well remember the tepid White House response to the crackdown on protesters following fraudulent elections in Iran in 2009. Republicans complained that President Barack Obama’s response was too timid.

Cops: Baby Drowns While Mom On Facebook

There are some people who have no business ever being parents, this is one of them.

Laura Ingraham Tells Bill O’Reilly: Meghan McCain Is A ‘Poor Man’s Ron Reagan’

Mediaite.com:

If Meghan McCain was looking to put her name in the mouths of pundits for at least the foreseeable end of this news cycle, chalk up one victory to her. Her comment that Rep. Michele Bachmann was little more than a “poor man’s Sarah Palin” fronted The O’Reilly Factor tonight, where guest Laura Ingraham seemed frustrated about having to discuss McCain at all, finally concluding that it was she who was a “poor man’s Ron Reagan.”

Bill O’Reilly’s Talking Points Memo today addressed the comment in the context of the greater disputes within the Republican Party, and how they may affect the party’s chances in 2012. Using Van Jones’s comments about equality of socioeconomic outcome in America to highlight the rift between left and right, O’Reilly then addressed the rift between moderate and far-right conservatives, and, again, brought up the younger McCain as an example of what sort of public intra-party disputes could arise from it. Ingraham agreed in that there was a schism in the party, but argued that there was little need to listen to people like the elder McCain and those on his segment of the aisle. We have to go back to Bush 41, Bob Dole, and John McCain,” she joked, “because they are big winners.”

Then Ingraham had to address the younger McCain head-on, and her immediate reaction was nothing but exasperation. “Are you serious?” she asked O’Reilly as she needed to discuss her. The only reason Meghan McCain is getting any traction, God bless her, is because of her last name,” she argued. Discussing the two women McCain compared– one a longtime elected official, the other a former elected official turned reality TV star– in such terms was unproductive, she continued, as was giving McCain a voice. “Last time I checked, she was talking about a tattoo.” She then proceeded to call McCain a “poor man’s Ron Reagan.”

No love lost between these two, at least on Ingraham’s end. Interesting to see if McCain will take to the Factor’s competitor again to rebut Ingraham’s criticisms.

Tho Ingraham is often as far-Right as say Limbaugh and Malkin, it's times like this where you can really appreciate a "true conservative" putting a RINO like Meghan McCain in her place.

Social Security Now In Peril, In 2006 Democrats Cheered When George W. Bush Warned Us That This Would Happen

How stupid do they look now?

Sick and getting sicker, Social Security will run at a deficit this year and keep on running in the red until its trust funds are drained by about 2037, congressional budget experts said Wednesday in bleaker-than-previous estimates.


The massive retirement program has been suffering from the effects of the struggling economy for several years. It first went into deficit last year but had been projected to post surpluses for a few more years before permanently slipping into the red in 2016


This year alone, Social Security will pay out $45 billion more in retirement, disability and survivors' benefits than it collects in payroll taxes, the nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office said. That figure nearly triples - to $130 billion - when the new one-year cut in payroll taxes is included.


Congress has promised to replenish any lost revenue from the tax cut, but that's hardly good news, either, adding to the federal budget deficit. In another sobering estimate, the congressional office said government red ink this year will increase to $1.5 trillion, the most in U.S. history.


More than 54 million Americans receive Social Security benefits, averaging $1,076 per month.

Report: No Presidential Run for Indiana Rep. Mike Pence

FOXNews.com:

U.S. Rep. Mike Pence of Indiana says he will not seek the Republican nomination for president in 2012.


The Indianapolis Star reports Pence told supporters in a letter Thursday that he will bypass a White House bid. There is no word yet on whether he'll run for Indiana governor, but many in political circles assumed that would be the case since he stepped down last year from his House leadership position.


"I am convinced he is now going to run for governor," said Mike McDaniel, a former state Republican chairman.


Pence's staff did not return repeated phone calls and e-mails to The Associated Press.


The 51-year-old Pence is a darling of social conservatives and often describes himself as "a Christian, a conservative, and a Republican, in that order." He had made multiple trips to states that host early presidential primary contests.

Obama To Push For Gun Control

About freaking time. Then too if they could control the conversation, stop politicizing it and just make it about sheer, common sense they'd stand a better chance of winning independents over while beating down the gun-happy cons on the Far-Right:

At the beginning of his State of the Union address, President Obama tipped his hat to Rep. Gabrielle Giffords, who’s now recuperating in a Houston medical facility. But throughout the hourlong speech, he never addressed the issue at the core of the Giffords tragedy—gun control—and what lawmakers would, or should, do to reform American firearm-access laws.

That was intentional, according to the White House. An administration official says Obama didn’t mention guns in his speech because of the omnipresent controversy surrounding the Second Amendment and gun control. Tuesday’s speech was designed to be more about the economy and how, as Obama repeated nine times, the U.S. could “win the future.”

But in the next two weeks, the White House will unveil a new gun-control effort in which it will urge Congress to strengthen current laws, which now allow some mentally unstable people, such as alleged Arizona shooter Jared Loughner, to obtain certain assault weapons, in some cases without even a background check.

Tuesday night after the speech, Obama adviser David Plouffe said to NBC News that the president would not let the moment after the Arizona shootings pass without pushing for some change in the law, to prevent another similar incident. “It’s a very important issue, and one I know there’s going to be debate about on the Hill.”

MSNBC's Sarah Palin Sickness

Proof that any idea of Palin Derangement Syndrome not existing on the Left is not only an outright lie, but just what little they have to talk about without Citizen Sarah (or Michele Bachmann of course). Either way it's all about shutting conservative women up, something they just can't do:

Now that Keith Olbermann has left MSNBC, perhaps cable news can begin weaning itself from its addiction to Sarah Palin. Sure, it will be tough, even expensive — withdrawals usually are — but we all know that reporters themselves are aching for some Palin-free airtime, and audiences seem willing to give it a try as well, judging from her sudden drop in popularity polls.


From a high of 80 percent a little over two years ago, Palin's approval rating sits at just 38 percent. That pollsters routinely collect such data on a woman who doesn't hold office (unless you count being the star of a nonrenewed TLC reality show a perch) and isn’t running for anything other than her next private plane for an appearance speaks to the media’s dysfunctional obsession with her. After all, it’s been more than two years since she was Sen. John McCain's vice-presidential candidate. Hence calls from some prominent columnists to publicly declare their intention to ignore her, at least for a while.


The Washington Post's Dana Milbank, in his Jan. 21 column, went so far as to propose a "Palin-free February" of news coverage after confessing he had written 42 columns about her since 2008. "Though it is embarrassing to admit this in public, I can no longer hide the truth. I have a Sarah Palin problem," Milbank wrote.


Admitting you have a problem and doing something about it, though, are two different things. The main problem in media? Profitabilty, especially for cable news. They just can't quit her. She drives ratings, and in an age of shrinking news staffs and foreign bureaus, she doesn't require much producer manpower save for a script with some plain old on-air commentary. You don't even have to pay for a stand-up shot in front of Congress anymore.


And the narrative and conflict is self-perpetuating. Palin is MSNBC's No. 1 target, and Fox News has become her chief protector. CNN does neither to the extent of its rivals, forever milk-toasting about under the guise of "balance," and it's probably no coincidence that its ratings are third among the three. All this talk about civility — especially in the wake of the Tuscon massacre — is boring in cable-news land. Consider CNN's John King, who apologized to his audience after a guest used the word "crosshairs" in an entirely benign context and was roundly criticized for political correctness run amok. Compare that to Olbermann, who in response to Jon Stewart's "Rally to Restore Sanity" call for more civil discourse, suspended his caustic "Worst Person" segment, only to quickly reverse course when audiences said they missed it.

In Senate, A Quiet Death For Filibuster 'Reform'

Another dumb idea pushed by the Soros-Left because yunno, there's zero chance there'll ever be another Republican president much less a GOP-run Senate:

Lost in the hubbub over President Obama's State of the Union speech was the quiet death of liberal Democratic hopes to "reform" the Senate filibuster. Those hopes officially expired at 10:20 p.m. Tuesday, as lawmakers prepared the leave the Capitol after the president's speech, when the Senate adjourned for the first time this year.


For months, some Democrats had been working on a plan to use a parliamentary maneuver called the "nuclear option" to put an end to minority Republicans' ability to block Democratic initiatives. Under that scenario, on the first day of its session -- and only on the first day -- the Senate would be able to change its rules regarding filibusters with a simple majority vote. Normally, it takes 67 votes to change the Senate's rules, but on the first day, Democrats believed, they could kill the filibuster with just a 51-vote majority.


Of course, the first day the Senate was in session was January 3. Most people would assume that such first-day changes, even if they were possible, would have to be made on that day. But in the Senate, "first day" can be a flexible term. So when the Senate finished business on January 3, Majority Leader Harry Reid did not adjourn the body, which would have meant the end of the day. Instead, Reid declared the Senate in recess, which meant that it remained, in technical Senate terms, in its "first day" until whenever Reid chose to call an adjournment.


Through January 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20, 21, 22, 23, 24, 25 -- through all those days the Senate was in recess and therefore still officially in its "first day." That meant liberal Democrats could continue to maneuver and negotiate ways to end the filibuster and, if they could find 51 senators willing to go along with their scheme, take a vote on the Senate's "first day."


Furious negotiations went on behind the scenes. The Democrats' anti-filibuster wing, led by Sen. Tom Udall, tried to muster support for the effort to kill, or at least substantially weaken, the filibuster. Udall wasn't, of course, trying to persuade Republicans to go along; all GOP senators opposed the idea. Rather, Udall and his allies were trying -- and, it turns out, failing -- to convince 51 Democrats to put an end to the filibuster. By Tuesday, it was clear they had failed. After the State of the Union, Reid adjourned the Senate, and the 22-day "first day" was over.


The filibuster was untouched; nothing has been done to it. "Literally nothing," says a Republican Hill source.


That doesn't mean there might not be some changes in other areas in coming weeks and months. "We'll have potential to make some changes on secret holds -- a tweak to secret holds, not eliminate them," the source says. "And we're probably going to do something on nominations, reducing the number of positions that require Senate confirmation. But nothing on cloture motions and filibusters."


Why did Democrats give in? Two reasons. One, they know they might soon need the filibuster themselves -- not in a few years, but in a few months. Republicans now have 47 votes in the Senate. If they can peel away four Democrats on any given piece of legislation -- say, the repeal of a portion of Obamacare -- they could be stopped only by a Democratic filibuster. The Democrats who are now denouncing the filibuster when it's used by Republicans might soon be employing it themselves to fend off GOP challenges to Obamacare and other Obama initiatives.


The second reason is that Democrats saw the folly in changing a hallowed Senate rule with just 51 votes. The 2012 elections are coming up; there are far more vulnerable Senate Democrats than Republicans. Two years from today, Republicans might well control the Senate. If Democrats set a precedent for changing the rules now with just 51 votes, what will happen the next time Republicans are in charge? "What do they do if we take the majority?" asks the Hill aide. "What's to stop us from changing the rules with 51 votes?" The answer is nothing, if Democrats crossed that line first.


So cooler heads prevailed among Democrats, and filibuster "reform" is dead -- for now and for the foreseeable future.

Liberal Democrat Loretta Sanchez Tries To Boot Gabrielle Giffords From Committee Assignment

Sanchez is a far-Left nutcase from California who voted with Nancy Pelosi 98% of the time when she ran the House. In other words she's part of the same crowd that's made our country far worse off than it was 4 years ago when the Democrats took over Congress. To think a congresswoman would disrespect a recovering colleague this way is disgraceful:

Behind closed doors, California Democratic Rep. Loretta Sanchez has proposed removing Arizona Rep. Gabrielle Giffords from the House Armed Services Committee (HASC) until she recovers from injuries sustained after being shot in the head on Jan. 8 in Tucson, The Daily Caller has learned.


The proposal sparked an outrage, according to those in the room - including from those in Sanchez's own party.


"It's not appropriate," Texas Democratic Rep. Silvestre Reyes told The Daily Caller, adding that there was outrage among some members in the room when Sanchez made the suggestion. "It's bad for morale during her recovery period."


Reyes and Rep. Adam Smith of California put up most of the fight against Sanchez, and helped squash the idea.

Charles Krauthammer Calls Obama's SOTU Speech "Flat" And "Uninspired"

Mediaite.com:

President Barack Obama delivered his third State of the Union speech tonight, and in an age in which opinion media so dominates political will, the reaction to the delivered text by various pundits is almost as interesting as the text itself. Take for example the initial reaction by the Fox News panel that seemed primarily unimpressed by what some may have seen as a significant move to the center by the Democratic president. Charles Krauthammer did not demure, calling the speech “flat and uninspired” and “remarkably against the trend of what the electorate said this November.”


To be fair, the energy in the room was dramatically different than recent State of the Union speeches, largely because the two parties were not sitting in clear and separate sections of the House. Without question, the somewhat improvised mixed seating arrangement that was conceived to show unity, took away many of the partisan interruptions but made for a more fractured and yes, entertaining experience. While it was perhaps less interesting to partisan bloggers looking for snark, it did create a rare and more unifying experience for the speech.


But this was largely overlooked by the Fox News panel, who focused on the actual rhetoric and ignored the “room,” at least in their initial reaction. Brit Hume seemed to agree with Krauthammer’s critique saying that it appeared that Obama “wanted the speech to be upbeat about America’s future, but only outlined further government spending.” When challenged by fellow guest Juan Williams, Hume doubled down by theoretically asking the President “How much borrowed money, Sir are you willing to spend on these items?” Sharp words that appear to have come from someone who may have missed (or overlooked?) any bipartisan effort from the President.


Token Democrat Kirsten Powers presented faint praise by suggesting that State of the Union speeches are always lackluster and that this was no different. But Williams went to bat for Obama, lauding the President for the realistic nature of the speech, clarifying that it was “not a time for fake oratory” adding admiration for the simple note that Obama made when he said “we do big things.”

Authorities Fear Cops Being Targeted After at Least 11 Officers Shot in 24 Hours

Maybe this will give the gun-happy, kooks on the Right a moment to pause and reflect on changing some of the loopholes that are giving criminals and the mentally-challenged possession of guns. Thank goodness, unlike our President, we here in New York City have a mayor who cares about these things:

Authorities are worried a recent wave of police officer shootings may not be a coincidence.


In just 24 hours, at least 11 cops were shot around the country.


The most recent incident at a fugitive's house in St. Petersburg, Fla., left two officers dead and a U.S. marshal wounded Monday. Hours earlier, an Oregon officer was critically wounded after being shot multiple times during a traffic stop.


Monday's violence followed a bloody Sunday that left an officer in Indianapolis critically wounded during a traffic stop shooting, four officers in Indianapolis wounded after a gunman opened fire in a precinct and two more officers in Washington wounded in a shootout in a Walmart parking lot.


"It's not a fluke," Richard Roberts, a spokesman for the International Union of Police Associations, told MSNBC.com. "There's a perception among officers in the field that there’s a war on cops going on."

Rahm Emanuel Back On Ballot

Anyone with an awareness of Chicago-style politics should've known that there was no way Ramn Emanuel was down for the count, despite what some judges said:

The Illinois Supreme Court has halted the Chicago Board of Elections from printing any mayoral ballots without Rahm Emanuel's name on them.


The high court is still determining whether to consider an appeal filed by Emanuel after a state appeals court ruled that he could not run for Chicago mayor because he didn't live in the city for a year before the Feb. 22 vote.


On Tuesday, the high court said that if any ballots are printed, they must include the former White House chief of staff's name while the court decides whether to take the case.


The Chicago Board of Election Commissioners has said it would begin printing ballots without Emanuel's name on Tuesday. Messages left for Chicago election officials weren't immediately returned.


The former White House chief of staff asked Illinois' highest court Tuesday to overturn a ruling that knocked him off the ballot for Chicago mayor, calling the decision "squarely inconsistent" with previous rulings on the state's election law.

Liberal Media Heaping Praise On Annette Bening And Natalie Portman For Playing Gay And Bisexual Characters

In the moral cesspool that is Hollyweird all an actor has to do to get "praise", over-the-top recognition and remarks of "courage" from the liberal press is play a gay character. That's certainly the case for Annette Bening's portrayal of a lesbian "mom" in "The Kids Are All Right" (there's some gay propaganda for ya) and definitely Natalie Portman, who shared a seductive kiss with Mila Kunis in "Black Swan". Granted I haven't seen either film, but call me skeptical for thinking that it's just a mere coincidence that Bening and Portman (both of whom received Oscar nominations today), long considered to be very talented actresses in their own right, are suddenly getting such high acclaim now for playing gay? Right. I mean one can recall the fervor (and literal cause) that surrounded "Brokeback Mountain" a few years ago (much less the collective groan from the liberal press when "Brokeback" lost Best Film) . . . of course, those in the know are fully aware that it's all a subtle push of an agenda that all the struggling actors may want to take note of.

Bill O’Reilly & Bernie Goldberg Go After Keith Olbermann, Never Mention His Name

Mediaite.com:

Bill O’Reilly is up to date on the MSNBC news that matters: the fact that the network “is the 28th rated cable network.” On his weekly media segment, Bernie Goldberg tried to remind O’Reilly of the actual shocking MSNBC news of the week, but as much as he tried to point out the importance of a media personality he called “the tallest midget in the room,” O’Reilly stuck tight to his point that, no matter what happens at MSNBC, “it really doesn’t matter.”


As much as Goldberg insisted, O’Reilly refused to speak of now-former rival Keith Olbermann, who departed MSNBC at the end of last week. He did note that “they took one of their guys out” over at MSNBC “and they’re moving everyone else around,” but that was as far as he was willing to go.”After a bit of goading from Goldberg, he finally noted that “I really don’t want to get involved in any of that personal stuff,” but adamantly refused to name names. Instead, he played the ratings boasting game. “Spike TV kisses [sic] their butt. The Carrot Channel!” he joked. He also later noted that, if the Olbermann story was a “business” one, then the true point of the story is “Fox News’ dominance” in cable.


Yet Goldberg did take a few swipes at Olbermann from his position, reminiscing that “this is someone who told the President to ’shut the hell up,’” among other things, and wondering what would’ve been of O’Reilly’s career had he shown such incivility. He also mocked the only MSNBC personality to get mentioned by name in this entire segment, Rachel Maddow, for being reported to live in a country house in Massachusetts.

"the tallest midget in the room"...classic.

Suicide Bomber Attacks Moscow Airport, Kills 35

Will anyone ever complain about being patted down or having to take their clothes off before flying after this happens? Terrorism remains as real as ever in this world, don't ever take that for granted:

Terrorists detonated a bomb at Moscow's busiest airport on Monday, killing 35 people and wounding another 152, Russian authorities said.


President Dmitry Medvedev, who called the bombing a terrorist attack, ordered additional security at Moscow's other airports and transportation hubs, and Moscow police went on high alert in case of additional bombs.


The explosion occurred about 4:30 p.m. at the entrance of the international arrivals section of Domodedovo Airport, Itar-Tass said, citing a spokeswoman for the Russian Investigative Committee, Tatyana Morozova.


State TV aired video of the smoke-filled terminal, including what appeared to be bodies and luggage on the ground.


The Russian National Anti-Terrorist Committee said 35 people were dead and 152 had been wounded in the explosion.


State TV, citing Russian authorities, said the bombing was the act of a suicide bomber who stuffed a homemade bomb with small metal objects to make it more deadly, then activated it in a crowded area where many people were either preparing for flights or waiting for arriving passengers. CNN could not independently verify those claims.

ABC Blames Global Warming for Extreme Cold Temperatures and Snow

Hot, cold, warm, mild, chilly...it's always global warming's fault:

On Friday’s World News on ABC, correspondent Linsey Davis filed a one-sided report in which she cited the views of climate scientists who blame the recent cold temperatures and high amounts of snowfall on global warming. After recounting the recent extreme weather around the country, Davis continued:


If this winter seems especially brutal, scientists say you're right. ABC News contacted 10 climate scientists to ask their take, if an extreme winter like the one we're having is the way of the future. The consensus? Global warming is playing a role by shifting weather patterns in unpredictable ways. Many say the forecast for the future calls for record-breaking precipitation and extreme temperatures year round. And that means winters with more snow.


The ABC correspondent concluded the report by noting the unusually cold temperatures in Boston:


LINSEY DAVIS: Here in Boston, the good news is that the snow has stopped, at least for now. But the bad news is that temperatures are expected to drop below zero for the first time in this area in six years. Diane?


DIANE SAWYER: And this could be the new normal, as you say. Linsey Davis reporting.


Notably, in July 2005, ABC’s World News filed a report touting predictions that hurricane intensity would likely increase due to global warming, omitting the theory that hurricane intensities go through cycles over decades. The report was recycled in September 2007 as a nearly identical piece ran.

Video: One Kermit Gosnell Victim Speaks

HotAir.com:

CNN interviews LaToya Ransome, one of the victims of Kermit Gosnell, who faces eight counts of murder and other charges for his gruesome abortion practice in Philadelphia. Ransome, clearly reluctant to be on camera, relates how Gosnell’s work ended up making her so ill that she had to have open-heart surgery and disabled her. Ransome says that the death penalty is too easy for him and wants him to get life in prison instead:

CNN’s Martin Savidge introduces the segment rather oddly, saying that Gosnell is accused of “destroying viable fetuses.” Certainly Gosnell faces charges of performing illegal third-trimester abortions, but he faces murder charges for killing babies, not “viable fetuses.” The babies Gosnell murdered survived to birth, which means they no longer were “fetuses” at all. They were, both legally and morally, live infants requiring care. Instead, Gosnell and his staff stabbed them with scissors or cut their throats to kill them.


Other victims are also speaking out:


In one 1999 case, prosecutors said, 20-year-old Marie Smith was sent home after a Gosnell abortion unaware that he had been unable to remove the entire fetus from her uterus. Days later, vomiting and with a swollen abdomen and severe infection, Smith was taken to a hospital, where she was rushed into surgery.


Her mother, Johnnie Mae Smith, said she was shocked at the “nasty and dirty, filthy” conditions in the clinic. When her daughter took ill days later, she called Gosnell.


“I said, ‘What did you do to my daughter? … My daughter’s about to die,’ Smith said. “He said, ‘Take her to the hospital.’”


Gosnell turned up at the hospital with his checkbook, she said, aiming to settle immediately. Instead, she chased him away, vowing to sue. Later, her daughter got $3,000, after lawyer fees, from a $5,000 settlement.

Yes!

Politiks As Usual: In The News 1/24/11

Left Wing Climate Of Hate And Assassination

Colin Powell: Obama Still Has Work To Do

FBI: Woman Who Raised Stolen NY Baby Held In Conn.

Does The NFL Still Need The 'Rooney Rule'?

The Philadelphia Horror

The Fight To Give Educational Choices To Poor Dc Children

Skins: A New Low, Even For MTV; More Advertisers Pull Out

Rick Santorum: Why Would Obama Deny Human Rights To An Unborn Child

2nd Grade Teacher Suspended After Reports Of Classroom Sex

Gov. Robert Bentley Apologizes For Remarks On Christians

Former Rep. Bob Barr: Haiti Is Worse Now Than Under Duvalier; Show Me The Money, Haiti

Norm Coleman: GOP Outreach To Hispanics 'Tough Sell'

George Will: State Of Union Addresses Try To “Stroke Every Erogenous Zone”

Mediaite.com:

Every week on ABC’s This Week viewers can always count on conservative commentator George Will to provide a unique perspective on current events, yet what many might find surprising is that he often delivers laugh out loud funny moments to thoughtful political discussions. This morning Will unleashed a humorous assault against the insignificance of the State of the Union address calling it an overrated and interminable speech, and that’s Will just warming up.


Will continued:


“Every President, regardless of party, tries to stroke every erogenous zone in the electorate, and it becomes a political pep rally . . . if it’s going to be a pep rally with the President’s supporters or whatever party standing up in braying approval and histrionic pouting on the part of the other, then it’s no place for the judiciary, it’s no place for the uniformed military, and it’s no place for non-adolescent legislators.”


Anytime someone can get serious journalist Christiane Amanpour to gasp “oh my goodness” you know the clip is worth watching. Panelists Donna Brazile, Paul Krugman and Matthew Dowd also join in the laughter, but then attempt to justify the significance of the speech and predict what President Obama might say. However, Will’s conclusion that the speech ultimately means nothing might potentially be more memorable than anything actually said by the President during the address.

Glenn Beck Correctly Predicted Keith Olbermann's Firing Two Weeks Ago

Hillbuzz.org:

Glenn Beck correctly predicted Keith Olbermann’s firing two weeks ago, in the video clip above.


Here’s what else he had to say then:


* MSNBC is in incredible trouble, since Comcast does not see it as a loss-leader the way GE did.


* Comcast will run MSNBC as a business (not, as GE did, a tool to curry favor with the Obama administration by supplying the Left with a 24/7 propaganda network in exchange for whatever corporate subsidies, stimulus funds, and other corporate bribes GE wanted in this quid pro quo)


* If Comcast wants MSNBC to stay a Leftist station, it will still feature Leftist content…but it will have to strike a balance where it makes money (which it does not currently)


* Beck said, emphatically, that Comcast would not allow Keith Olbermann to stay on the air (and as of yesterday, 1/21/11, Beck was right)


* Keith Olbermann outlived his usefulness for radical and revolutionaries on the Left