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Tuesday, May 17, 2011

Gingrich Apologizes to Paul Ryan for 'Right-Wing Social Engineering' Criticism


Published May 17, 2011
| FoxNews.com


Republican presidential hopeful Newt Gingrich apologized to Rep. Paul Ryan on Tuesday after panning Ryan’s Medicare plan as “right-wing social engineering.”
Gingrich and Ryan traded emails and spoke on the phone, a call that “went really well,” according to Gingrich’s spokesman Rick Tyler.
The former House speaker also held two conference calls with Tea Party leaders, one on Monday night and one Tuesday morning, to explain what he meant by his comments Sunday on NBC’s “Meet the Press,” Politico reported.
“We’ve tried to correct the record and admit it could have been done better,” Tyler told Politico. “We move on.”
Gingrich went "On the Record" with Greta van Susteren Tuesday night to respond to criticism over his comments.
"I want to set a precedent for new kinds of presidential campaigns," he told van Susteren. "I made a mistake and I called Paul Ryan today, who's a very close personal friend, and I said that."
Ryan, chairman of the House Budget Committee, argued Monday that his proposal is not “radical,” as Gingrich alleged in the interview over the weekend. And he questioned why Gingrich was choosing to align himself with Democratic critics of the GOP budget proposal.
"With allies like that, who needs the left?" Ryan quipped, during an interview on Laura Ingraham's radio show.
Ryan was in Chicago on Monday to defend his budget outline, which calls for phasing out direct Medicare payments to doctors and hospitals in favor of a system of subsidized private insurance for seniors. Republican leaders in Congress generally have supported the plan, though a handful have indicated it is just a starting point for negotiations. But Gingrich, appearing on NBC's "Meet the Press" just days after announcing his presidential campaign, launched a broadside on the program Sunday.
"I don't think right-wing social engineering is any more desirable than left-wing social engineering. I don't think imposing radical change from the right or the left is a very good way for a free society to operate," he said when asked about Ryan's proposal.
Gingrich called for a "national conversation" on Medicare but described Ryan's proposed overhaul as "too big a jump."
Ryan took issue with Gingrich's characterization.
"What we're simply saying is don't give the power to a bureaucrat to ration care," Ryan said. "Hardly is that social engineering and radical. What's radical is kicking the can down the road, not doing anything to fix this problem and watching the whole system implode on itself."
Ryan reiterated that his proposal would leave benefits untouched for Americans 55 and older, while giving younger workers a choice of "guaranteed coverage options," offering more government aid to those who are poor, sick or both.
Such a proposal, though, is estimated to cost seniors more out of pocket over the long run, leading to charges from Democrats that the Republican budget is unfairly placing the burden for reducing the deficit on the backs of seniors.
House Democratic Leader Nancy Pelosi said last week that the proposal would undermine America's social contract, though she told CNBC on Monday that Medicare is "on the table" in ongoing budget talks.

Giffords set to undergo skull surgery


THE ASSOCIATED PRESS FILE
In this March 2010 file photo provided by the office of Rep. Gabrielle Giffords, D-Ariz., Giffords poses for a photo. Still recovering from a gunshot wound to the head, Giffords was at Kennedy Space Center on Monday, May 16, 2011, to witness husband Mark Kelly and his five crewmates blast off and head to the International Space Station.

THE ASSOCIATED PRESS
HOUSTON — Arizona Congresswoman Gabrielle Giffords will undergo surgery on Wednesday to replace a piece of her skull removed by doctors after she was shot in January.
The surgery was confirmed to The Associated Press by a person familiar with Giffords' care. The person spoke on condition of anonymity because the information has not officially been released.
Giffords had a piece of her skull removed shortly after the shooting to allow room for brain swelling, and has been wearing a helmet adorned with an Arizona state flag. Doctors said earlier this year they expected to reattach the skull in May.
The surgery comes just days after Giffords returned from Florida where she watched her astronaut husband rocket into space. Mark Kelly is Endeavour's commander.
Giffords, a three-term Democratic congresswoman, has recovered enough from the shooting to twice fly to from Houston to Florida for launch attempts. When Endeavour's five Americans and one Italian got off the ground on Monday, she watched in private from a wheelchair on the roof of the launch control center and remarked, "good stuff, good stuff," according to her staff.
Giffords returned to Houston and rehab hours after the launch.
That Giffords would watch the shuttle launch seemed improbable a little more than four months ago. The would-be assassin shot her in the head, critically wounding her, killing six people and injuring 12 others at a political event in her hometown of Tucson, Ariz.
The bullet pierced the left side of Giffords' brain, affecting speech and movement on her right side.
Her doctors at a Houston rehabilitation center have said she has made remarkable progress in what will be a long recovery.

Space shuttle Endeavour crew launch their own Star Trek poster


Space shuttle Endeavour crew members are big enough Star Trek fans to pose for a Trekkie poster, modeled after the 2009 J.J. Abrams Star Trek movie.

The crew of the space shuttle Endeavour (STS134) recreate their own version of the movie poster from Star Trek.
NASA


By Clara Moskowitz, SPACE.com Senior Writer / May 16, 2011
CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. The six astronauts flying on NASA's final flight of the space shuttle Endeavour are a serious bunch, but they've got a fun streak too. Case in point: The astronauts apparently like the science fiction franchise "Star Trek" enough to re-enact its most recent movie poster.
Creating custom mission posters based on popular movies has long been a tradition for NASA shuttle and space station crews. [Gallery: NASA's Most Offbeat Mission Posters]
But while past mission posters have recreated the film versions of "Ocean's Eleven" or the Matrix and Harry Potter movies, the six-man STS-134 crew of Endeavour chose something a bit more space-y: the 2009 reboot of "Star Trek: The Future Begins," directed by J.J. Abrams.

IN PICTURES: Shuttle Endeavour missions

"That was my idea!" Endeavour mission specialist Drew Feustel told SPACE.com.
Feustel said he had seen the movie during a previous spaceflight, when he launched on Atlantis in May 2009 to upgrade the Hubble Space Telescope.
"That movie came out basically the day we launched and we were fortunate to have that movie uplinked to us on orbit," Feustel said. "I really liked the movie. I thought it was pretty neat."
Endeavour's STS-134 astronauts lifted off aboard shuttle Endeavour from here at Kennedy Space Center on Monday morning. It is the last voyage for Endeavour before the orbiter is retired. [Photos: Endeavour's Final Mission]
Space, the real final frontier
Feustel said he suggested the latest "Star Trek" film as the theme for the STS-134 poster, and the rest of the crew agreed.
But Feustel's crewmate Greg Chamitoff remembered it differently.
"I kept trying to remember whose idea that was, and I think it might have been mine," Chamitoff said in an interview.
Regardless of the origin of the poster idea, the crew seemed to unite behind the concept.

Jon Stewart-Bill O'Reilly show: Who won the Great Poetry Debate?



May 16, 2011

O'Reilly vs. Stewart Over Common Controversy, Part 1

Bill O'Reilly debates Jon Stewart about rapper's White House invite
 

The Jon Stewart–Bill O'Reilly faceoff on 'The O'Reilly Factor' Monday touched on the White House guest list at a poetry event. Tuesday is Round 2: presidential candidates. Prepare yourself, Newt.

The Jon Stewart-Bill O' Reilly debates have been going on for some time now. Here, they appear on 'The O' Reilly Factor' in September 2010.
Peter Kramer/AP

 
May 16, 2011

O'Reilly vs. Stewart Over Common Controversy, Part 2



By Peter Grier, Staff writer / May 17, 2011
Jon Stewart and Bill O’Reilly debated poetry last night on “The O’Reilly Factor.” Specifically, they argued over whether it was wrong for the Obama administration to invite the rapper Common to the White House for a poetry event last week.


Who won? Advertisers, most likely. Ratings go up whenever this pair is on screen together. They’re like Starsky and Hutch, Felix and Oscar, or Seals and Crofts – an odd-couple duo that somehow works. They actually address each other’s points and don’t shout or throw chairs. Maybe they should hold a big event on the Mall in D.C. in the name of civil discourse and ... oh, right.
Anyway, Mr. O’Reilly pointed out that, 11 years ago, Common wrote a song that defended convicted cop killer Assata Shakur, and that the rapper has traveled abroad to meet with Ms. Shakur, who escaped from prison in 1979.
“Common traveled to Cuba to meet with someone who was convicted of killing a New Jersey trooper,” said O’Reilly, referring to Shakur. “A member of the Black Liberation Army. They found 16 live rounds in her purse.”
Given that President Obama has already faced criticism for some past associations, such as his relationship with the controversial Rev. Jeremiah Wright, he should have known enough to keep Common at arm's length, said O’Reilly.
White House guests need to be “almost unimpeachable,” according to the conservative Fox News host.
Mr. Stewart responded by saying that Common was not celebrating Shakur, so much as honoring someone he believes or believed was wrongly convicted. And if you start excluding from the White House artists who have written songs defending convicted cop killers, then Bono, Bruce Springsteen, and Bob Dylan need to be kept outside the fence as well.
“Why are you drawing the line at Common? There is a selective outrage machine here at Fox that pettifogs only when it suits the narrative that suits them. This guy is in the cross hairs when he shouldn’t be,” said Stewart.
Round 2 of the Stewart-O’Reilly pillow fight is on tonight. They’re going to discuss Republican presidential candidates. Fun! We can’t wait to see their take on Newt Gingrich’s huge Tiffany jewelry bill. For now, we’ll close with a poem – with apologies to Carl Sandberg. Or at least Carl Sandberg’s heirs and/or copyright inheritors.
The pettifog comes/on little cat feet/It sits looking/over camera and show set/on scratching haunches/and then moves on/to The Colbert Report.

Schwarzenegger Fathered Child With Household Staff Member

Published May 17, 2011
| FoxNews.com



 Former California Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger admitted Tuesday that he fathered a child with a member of his household staff 10 years ago. 
He called his actions inexcusable and apologized to his wife, Maria Shriver, his children and his family. 
"After leaving the governor's office I told my wife about this event, which occurred over a decade ago," Schwarzenegger told the Los Angeles Times in a statement early Tuesday. "I understand and deserve the feelings of anger and disappointment among my friends and family. There are no excuses and I take full responsibility for the hurt I have caused. I have apologized to Maria, my children and my family. I am truly sorry."
"I ask that the media respect my wife and children through this extremely difficult time," the statement concluded. "While I deserve your attention and criticism, my family does not."
In a statement to FoxNews.com, Shriver said "This is a painful and heartbreaking time. As a mother, my concern is for the children. I ask for compassion, respect and privacy as my children and I try to rebuild our lives and heal. I will have no further comment."
The shocking revelation was apparently the impetus for Shriver to leave the couple’s home before they announced their separation last week after 25 years of marriage.
Schwarzenegger and Shriver made a public announcement May 9 that they were splitting up, but according to the L.A Times, Shriver moved out of the family’s Brentwood mansion earlier this year after Schwarzenegger announced the affair with his staffer.
The unnamed staffer reportedly worked for the family for 20 years and retired in January. The L.A. Times approached the woman, who initially denied that Schwarzenegger was the father, saying instead it was her husband at the time.
After Schwarzenegger's confession, she declined to offer further comment, saying she voluntarily left her position with the family “on good terms.”
“I wanted to achieve my 20 years, then I asked to retire,” she told the Times adding that she received a severance payment from the former couple.
Schwarzenegger reportedly accepted financial responsibility for the child from the start and continues to provide support. It is unclear whether or not the child knew that Schwarzenegger was the father.
From the start, the Schwarzenegger-Shriver union seemed an unlikely pairing. She was a Kennedy, well-respected journalist and a Democrat, while he was a Republican bodybuilder turned movie star.
Shriver, 55, stood by her husband during his 2003 gubernatorial campaign after the Los Angeles Times reported accusations that he had a history of groping women. Schwarzenegger later said he "behaved badly sometimes."
In an interview that year with Oprah Winfrey, Shriver balked at allegations that she was taught, as a Kennedy woman, to “look the other way.”
“That ticks me off, I am my own woman, I have not been quote ‘bred’ to look the other way,” she told the talk show host.
Schwarzenegger, for his part, publicly credited Shriver’s support with helping him to win the election.
In his first public comments since the couple announced their breakup, Schwarzenegger said last week that he and Shriver "both love each other very much."
"We are very fortunate that we have four extraordinary children and we're taking one day at a time," he said at a Los Angeles event marking Israeli independence. Their four children range in age from 13 to 21.
Schwarzenegger has received support from his four other children since the couple announced the news of their split.
Following the announcement, a 52-year-old former child actress, Gigi Goyette, claimed that she was one of many Schwarzenegger mistresses over the course of his 25-year-marriage. In 2005, the L.A. Times reported that two days after he announced his campaign for governor in 2003, a tabloid publisher with close ties to Schwarzenegger paid Goyette $20G for her silence about their relationship.
Since his term as California governor ended in early January, Schwarzenegger, 63, has hopscotched around the world, his wife nowhere in sight. While the "Terminator" star appeared confident about the future since exiting politics, cutting movie deals and fashioning himself as a global spokesman for green energy, Shriver, known for her confidence, seemed unsettled.
In a YouTube video posted on her website in March, she asked her fans “how do you handle transitions in your life?”
“It is so stressful to not know what you’re doing next, when people ask you ‘ what are you doing?’ and then they can’t believe that you don’t know what you’re doing and then every idea you have you think, ‘well, maybe I shouldn’t do that.’
“So I thought to myself, I’ll ask you guys … I’d like to hear from other people who are in transition. How did you find your transition? Personal, professional, emotional, spiritual, financial … how’d you get through it?”
Shriver maintained her own identity when her husband entered politics promoting volunteer work and directing conferences, although she gave up her job at NBC.
On Friday, she thanked her Twitter followers for supporting her.
“Thank you for all the kindness, support and compassion. I am humbled by the love," she wrote. "Thank you.”
The Associated Press contributed to this report.

New Info on Air France Jet Crash


May 17, 2011
- 5:06 - 
Black box shows no clear issue with plane

Two Big GOP Personalities are out of the race


Saudi Arabia's Degenerate New Law: Don't Criticize the Leaders

by David Keyes  May 16, 2011 | 6:50pm
As the Arab world rises up in the name of democracy, Saudi Arabia just took another step backward. David Keyes on citizens who say leaders are tightening the noose on their own people.
On April 29, as Arabs throughout the Middle East were dying for greater freedom, the Saudi government passed new amendments to a media law banning all criticism of the country’s religious and political leaders.  The amendments to Royal Decree No. 32, originally published in 2000, are “binding on all responsible persons in publishing” and demand “objective and constructive criticism aimed at the public interest and based on real facts.”  
Anyone who harms the “good reputation and honor” of government officials, the grand mufti, and members of the senior religious council will be imprisoned or fined up to one million riyal. Violating the media law can get one banned from publishing ever again.
HP main - Keyes Saudi LawHassan Ammar / AP Photo
“The new regulations are unbelievable,” prominent Saudi blogger Khaled Yeslam told me. “You can’t criticize anymore. That’s it. We don’t have any journalists anymore. We have advertising companies.” A reporter at one of Saudi Arabia’s leading newspapers said on condition of anonymity, “We have no rights. The media is regressing. Everything has been destroyed.  Saudis need a new 9/11 to have more freedom."
What does that shocking statement mean?  “After 9/11 there was a strong pressure on Saudi Arabia to grant more rights for Saudis and reduce radicalism,” he said.  “Ten years later, the government is again putting power in the hands of religious fundamentalists. Don’t be surprised when you see hate speech spreading in Saudi Arabia.”  
One anecdote that supports this view was an incident at a recent book fair in Riyadh. A group of men called rijal al hisba, or “those who look after you,” stormed the fair attacking women and intimidating book sellers. Three times a day this gang showed up to harass women. When the Saudi minister of Culture and Information, Dr. Abdulaziz Khojah, appeared at the fair they shouted him down.  “You'll go to hell,” they chanted. “Don’t you fear Allah?”
Rather than stand their ground, the government caved.  The gang “achieved their goals,” Wajeha al Huweider, one of Saudi Arabia’s most respected women’s-rights activist, told me. “After this, women were not allowed to mix with men. They gave them a different time and some books were removed. Women who came with publishers to sell books were also removed.  Men were brought instead.”
Prominent Saudi blogger and journalist, Abdulwahab Saleh Al Oraid, sees a direct connection between growing religious influence and the new amendments. “It gives religious movements power over local media and liberal authors in Saudi Arabia. I expect many writers to stop working due to lack of freedom." Media outlets have been directed to be cautious with what they publish because they could be fined up to $125,000 if the religious authorities file a complaint.
King Abdullah has recently allocated hundreds of millions of riyals to religious authorities and religious police. “The next 10 years will set us back 30,” a Saudi writer told me on condition of anonymity. “Everyone in Saudi Arabia is talking about how crazy and radicalized everything will be. The government is supporting the religious police and they are giving hundreds of millions to sheikhs and clerics."
What will be the upshot of these policies? “You will see Bin Laden again,” he said ominously. “You will see 9/11."
The media is regressing. Everything has been destroyed. Saudis need a new 9/11 to have more freedom.”
On Twitter, Saudi blogger Ahmad Al Omran contrasted the new press law, which “adds further restriction on media and freedom of expression,” to King Abdullah’s statement in 2008 that “responsible freedom is the right of every pure soul....As god is my witness, I have never hesitated to sharply and honestly criticize myself.”
Saudi liberals see through this rhetoric. Many are pleading with America to take a more active role in pressuring their government.  “America should help liberalize the Saudi media and increase pressure to remove radicalism from the educational system,” the aforementioned journalist said.  “It also must weaken the religious police.  If they remain so powerful, how will women ever drive?"
The recent amendment is yet one more indication that the Saudi government is an enemy of freedom and disconnected from the trends sweeping the Arab world. While the rest of the region inches forward, Saudi Arabia lurches backward into its comfort zone: theocratic tyranny and fundamentalist repression.
David Keyes is executive director of Advancing Human Rights and cofounder of CyberDissidents.org.