USA Races to Redraw Lines of Power
CHICAGO: As Democrats struggle to keep their majorities in the U.S. Congress in the November 2 elections, the next decade of party control may well be determined by scores of state legislative races also on the ballot.
At stake is the redrawing by state lawmakers of electoral districts for the House of Representatives in Washington — an adjustment of boundaries every 10 years that tends to favor the party in charge of each state legislature.
The Democratic Party, which has gained seats at the state level since 2004, faces a Republican onslaught expected to alter the balance of power in Congress and in the states.
“The theme for the Democrats is what goes up must come down,” said Tim Storey, an elections analyst at the bipartisan National Conference of State Legislatures, noting the party in control of the White House has lost state legislative seats in 25 of 27 midterm elections since 1900.
“The real question is how big will the losses be for the Democrats? Where will they be? How critical will they be?”
State legislatures assert themselves in various ways — their proposals can percolate up to Congress and they may throw up roadblocks to national policies.
For instance, a handful of state legislatures have sought to block enforcement of the healthcare overhaul championed by President Barack Obama, with Republican opponents arguing it is unconstitutional to require people to buy health insurance.
In most states, legislatures are in charge of redrawing congressional districts once each decade to take account of population shifts recorded by the U.S. Census. The party in power can draw friendly, and convoluted, boundaries to include voters who support its congressional candidates.
Big Republican wins in state houses could give them control of the gerrymandering for about 165 of the 435 seats in the U.S. House, compared with just 30 or so for the Democrats, a report by the National Council of State Legislatures said.
The NCSL projects that control is likely to switch mainly in favor of Republicans in at least 12 chambers, with states such as Alabama, Colorado, Indiana, New York, Ohio, Pennsylvania and Wisconsin in play.
“If one party controls both houses of the legislature and the governorship then they’re in the catbird seat as far as redistricting is concerned,” said Dennis Goldford, professor of politics at Drake University.
The results of state legislative elections could have “ramifications for the whole decade” as they could reinforce one party’s strength in the U.S. House, he said.
In 2006, the Supreme Court largely upheld a controversial redistricting plan in Texas that led to more Republicans than Democrats being elected to Congress from that state.
Gerrymandering in the 1990s in Illinois ensured a safe Hispanic district for Democratic Representative Luis Gutierrez by connecting geographically distant chunks of Chicago and some suburbs by way of an interstate highway.
Hurricane Alex strengthens to Category Two
July 1, 2010 by Trend PK
Filed under World News
LA CARBONERA: The first Atlantic hurricane of the year strengthened to a Category Two on Wednesday, as residents of the Mexican Gulf coast and south Texas braced for it to make landfall.
Hurricane Alex rose one notch on the five-level Saffir-Simpson scale late Wednesday, the Miami-based National Hurricane Center (NHC) said, after Mexico evacuated hundreds of people from fishing towns south of the US border.
Alex has already disrupted oil clean-up operations off the coast of Louisiana, and US President Barack Obama declared a state of emergency in Texas late Tuesday.
Giant waves and strong winds were expected around the US-Mexico border as the storm churned westwards through the Gulf of Mexico, packing winds near 100 miles (160 kilometers) per hour, according to the latest NHC report.
Obama requested federal aid for relief operations after a hurricane warning was issued for southeast Texas and northeast Mexico.
Texas Governor Rick Perry issued his own state disaster proclamation for 19 counties.
Mexican authorities have already reported one storm-related death.
They evacuated some 2,000 inhabitants near the beach in the town of La Carbonera, close to where the storm was expected to hit overnight Wednesday.
Further north in the city of Matamoros, across from Brownsville, Texas, the edge of the storm already brought torrential rain which flooded streets.
Alex was some 80 miles (130 kilometers) northeast of La Pesca, Mexico and 105 miles (170 kilometers) south southeast of Brownsville, Texas, at 2100 GMT, according to the NHC.
The storm was well southwest of the area worst hit by the massive BP oil spill — the coasts of Louisiana, Mississippi, Alabama and Florida — though its strong winds have already caused problems for the cleanup effort.
It was not forecast to turn towards the spill, but severe winds have churned up waves that halted some cleanup operations and threatened to push more of the huge slick onto shore.
The NHC has warned that heavy rains could cause life-threatening flash floods, mud slides, and that ocean water could penetrate inland for several miles.
Tornadoes were possible over southern Texas on Wednesday, the NHC added.
Alex is the first Atlantic hurricane to form this early, in June, since 1995, according to the NHC.
Alex has already killed at least 10 people in Nicaragua, Guatemala and El Salvador over the weekend.
Obama ups rhetoric on ”oil 9/11”
WASHINGTON: US president Barack Obama has compared the Gulf of Mexico oil spill to an environmental 9/11, as he prepares to meet top BP executives later this week.
The president is making his fourth visit to the affected Gulf Coast and will address the nation from the Oval Office before sitting down with the BP executives for talks, which the White House says, will be “very frank”.
Obama plans to use the BP oil spill to urge Congress to pass new energy legislation.
Meanwhile a Congressional investigation has found that BP took risky shortcuts in drilling the oil well, which has caused the spill.
On Obama”s first trip to the Gulf States of Mississippi, Alabama and Florida since the oil-spill began, he ate crab cakes and prawns and tried to encourage tourists to visit beaches, which have not yet been hit, by the slick.
“If people want to know what can they do to help folks down here, one of the best ways to help is to come down here and enjoy the outstanding hospitality,” he said.
He is now referring to the BP oil spill as an environmental version of September 11.
In an interview with online news site Politico, the president said the spill has had a profound effect on the American psyche “in the same way that our view of our vulnerabilities and our foreign policy was shaped profoundly by 9/11.”
“I think this disaster is going to shape how we think about the environment and energy for many years to come,” he said.
Obama is hinting he will use his first Oval Office address to the nation tomorrow to talk not only about the oil spill but also about the need for energy and climate legislation.
But Michael Levy, a senior fellow for energy and the environment at the Council on Foreign Relations, does not think the September 11 comparison is apt.
“It”s clear that this isn”t as central to the way that Americans are thinking as terrorism was after 9/11,” he said.
“President Bush had nearly 90 per cent approval ratings in the immediate aftermath of 9/11, which meant that he could have done, essentially, anything.
“The president currently has less than 50 per cent approval rating, so the political circumstance is extremely different.
“I wouldn”t put my money on an energy and climate bill, including a price on carbon, passing this year. But I wouldn”t write it off.”
oil spill florida
June 3, 2010 by Trend PK
Filed under World News
The BP oil spill has already done tremendous economic damage to the states of Louisiana, Mississippi, and Alabama. The spill has left thousands of fisherman without work and caused a significant down trend for the tourism industry along the Gulf Coast. While the suffering of those populations is significant by itself, the oil spill’s impact on Florida could ultimately have to most political and economic impact.
Florida plays a key role in the Untied States economy. In 2005, Florida had a GDP of $670 billion, making it the fourth largest economy in the United States. In comparison, Louisiana had a GDP of just $169 billion in 2005. Much of Florida’s economy is dependent on tourism, but if oil cover Floridian beaches it could endanger an economy that has already suffered from the recent depression.
Politically Florida holds even more significance. Louisiana, Mississippi, and Alabama are all Republican strongholds. Together they account for 24 electoral votes. Oil spill or not, President Obama was likely going to lose all three states in 2012. In addition, Democrats had little chance of gaining any congressional seats in these states. On the the hand Florida, with its 27 electoral votes, is very important for any presidential hopeful. 
Florida has played a key role in both the 2000 and 2004 elections. President Obama lost the state in 2008, but not be able to afford losing the state again in 2012. Democrats are also competing for a key Senate seat in Florida in the upcoming 2010 midterms. Whichever party gets blamed for the oil spill disaster is likely to suffer politically in Florida for a very long time.
Meanwhile, BP’s latest effort to stop the massive oil leak suffered a setback Wednesday when the diamond-edge saw being used to cut off the broken pipe got stuck. It took hours to free it, and the company is now using shears to cut the pipe.
Officials say this will mean the cut will not be as clean as had been hoped, and it will require installation of a looser-fitting containment device, known as a top hat.
Florida’s fishing industries and communities weather adverse impacts of the BP Deepwater Horizon oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico. Specifically, the governor has requested that the U.S. Commerce Department take action under federal law to provide aid to commercial fishermen, charter boat operators and coastal fishing communities.
“The Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission (FWC) has been consulting with our fishing industry stakeholders very closely over the past several weeks,” said FWC Chairman Rodney Barreto. “They are telling us they are struggling to stay afloat even though fishing is still open in Florida and seafood is still being harvested.”
The oil spill has already entered the loop current that will take it past the shores of Florida, including the Tampa Bay area.
USA Today reports that “the danger posed by the Gulf oil spill to the U.S. food supply is worse than previously thought, and could make testing of seafood necessary for decades to come, officials and scientists say.”
Acting director for the U.S. Fish and Wildlife service Rowan Gould added another disturbing problem to the deadly oil mix. He said, the spill “will affect the Gulf, and possibly the entire North American region, for maybe years, if not decades.
blizzard store
June 3, 2010 by Trend PK
Filed under World News
Have your credit card at the ready and your finger poised over the F5 button, for BlizzCon tickets go on sale soon.
Tickets for Activision Blizzard’s annual BlizzCon fan festival will go on sale Wednesday at 7 p.m. Pacific time. Those looking to nab the $150 tickets should bookmark the Blizzard store’s official sales page for the event.
BlizzCon 2010 will take place on October 22 and 23 in Anaheim, California. The convention caters to fans of World of Warcraft, Starcraft and Diablo. Attendees get early hands-on with new games, fresh announcements around forthcoming Blizzard games and tons of great virtual and real-world swag. In 2009, BlizzCon attendees were treated to a live concert from Ozzy Osbourne.
In years prior, BlizzCon ticket sales have been problematic: Passes sell out quickly, and the rush to nab tickets has broken websites and wreaked havoc with online billing systems. Previous fails have been so epic that they inspired their own Flash game.
Should you miss the opportunity to buy BlizzCon tickets on Wednesday, another batch will go up for sale on Saturday June 5 at 10 a.m. Those who fail to grab the coveted tickets can always stay home watch the event on Pay-Per-View.
If this is something that dings your excitement, Blizzard would like you to review the official press release for further details, and make sure your browser is pointed towards the online store (http://us.blizzard.com/store/index.xml) with your clickin’ finger ready. Remember last year’s tickets sold out nearly before they went on sale, so you’d better be prepared!
vandersloot peru
June 3, 2010 by Trend PK
Filed under World News
The chief suspect in the case is Joran van der Sloot. Yesterday Joran’s father Paulus van der Sloot suddenly and unexpectedly died. Paulus was a huge part of this case. Joining us by phone in Aruba is Julia Renfro, editor and chief of “Aruba Today.” Good evening, Julia, and tell me what happened with Paulus?
Criminal police chief Gen. Cesar Guardia told a news conference that Joran van der Sloot was being sought in the Sunday killing of 21-year-old Stephany Flores in a Lima hotel. Guardia said the suspect fled the country the next day by land to Chile.
Van der Sloot is suspected in the weekend stabbing death of Stephany Flores Ramirez, 21, whose body was found Wednesday wrapped in a bloody blanket in a hotel room in Lima, Peru, CBS said. Chief of detectives Col. Miguel Canlla says she was killed Sunday, and her father says van der Sloot appears with her in video taken at a Lima casino early Sunday.
Natalee Ann Holloway (born October 21, 1986) disappeared on May 30, 2005, during a high school graduation trip to Aruba, a Caribbean country within the Kingdom of the Netherlands. The American student from Mountain Brook, Alabama, Holloway graduated from Mountain Brook High School on May 24, 2005, shortly before the trip. Her disappearance caused a media sensation in the United States.Natalee Holloway disappeared five years ago this week on vacation with friends in Aruba. The story – the disappearance of Holloway, research, ways to help his family, the study of Van der Sloot and his friends, Aruban law, and Van der Sloot and forth between owning and freedom – has become fodder for cable news during the summer of 2005.
Fox News Channel Greta Van Susteren, a lawyer by profession, took charge of the coverage, like CNN’s Anderson Copper. But broadcasters are not far behind, including the “20/20? and NBC “Dateline” that the hours of special coverage has produced on the Holloway story.
Van der Sloot was last seen crossing the border between Peru and Chile Monday, 5.31 on a bus provided by the customs Chacalluta in Arica, the survey of the Chilean police in the Peruvian media.
BP tries pumping mud down pipe to stop oil flow
May 27, 2010 by Trend PK
Filed under World News
WASHINGTON: Louisiana Gov. Bobby Jindal said today that his state doesn”t have what it needs to fight the spread of BP”s oil.
“We need more boom, more skimmers, more jack-up barges,” Jindal said at an angry news conference in Venice, Louisiana, complaining that Louisiana has received a fraction of the supplies it requested to protect itself from the oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico.
“More than 100 miles of our shoreline has been impacted by the oil spill. That is more than the entire sea coastline of Mississippi and Alabama combined,” the governor said.
Democratic strategist James Carville, a Louisiana native, joined Jindal on a tour of coastal areas today, seeing firsthand the effect of the oil on the marshlands. Carville said he hoped that President Obama would take a similar tour when he visits the region on Friday.
“This is not oil, this is crude,” said Carville. “This is not what you put in your car, this is some of the most vicious stuff you can imagine.”
Jindal joked that he wants Obama to pack hard boom onto Air Force One and bring it with him on Friday, but the governor was serious about his promise to move forward with building barrier islands without the federal government”s permission.
“We cannot let bureaucracy and red tape delay our action while oil hits our wetlands week after week,” he said.
While the governor asks for more supplies, a number of countries said today that the U.S. government and BP had yet to take them up on offers of assistance, including booms and skimmers.
The State Department said in a briefing today that 17 countries had offered assistance, including Canada, Mexico, South Korea, Croatia, France, Germany, Ireland, Japan, the Netherlands, Norway, Romania, Russia, Spain, Sweden, the United Arab Emirates, the United Kingdom and Vietnam.
BP added another two countries to that list, Brazil and Saudi Arabia.
While BP has accepted some supplies, including booms and skimmers from Norway, most other countries said they were waiting for a response from the U.S. government.
“We have the equipment,” said Ferran Tarradellas, a spokesman for the European Union agency coordinating Europe”s response, “but at this point in time, we have not received any requests.”
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Ambrose Olsen Male Model’s Dead at 24
Ambrose Olsen was born in 1985 in Homer, Alabama, Ambrose Olsen grew up in this fine model.We discussed the model Ambrose Olsen in our Male Model Monday feature back on July 27, 2009. We are sorry to announce that Ambrose died unexpectedly 22 April 2010 in New York City.
Ambrose join our Male Model Monday line causes up you will surely realize when you are scrutinizing his pictures in the gallery. Male model Ambrose Olson is the new face / body Armani photography of Mert Alas and Marcus Piggott. We are always sad to report the transfer of a member of the fashion family.
The young and talented model Ambrose Olsen, died unexpectedly 22 April 2010 in New York City. Specifications on his cause of death is not confirmed. Check out some of Olsen’s photos from the Giorgio Armani campaign, and his feat.ure in commercials for the new fragrance. Ambrose Olson is back after more Attitude and this time it’s extremes. See the TV commercial below.
Ambrose Olsen a su trayectoria profesional participo a Diverse Campana de Marca y disenadores. Our condolences go to Ambrose Olsen’s friends and family as we remember his life and respected body of work. You may have seen him in campaigns for Hugh Boss, D & G Natutica, Dior Homme, Armani Exchange, and the list goes on and his touch in the commercial for the new fragrance.
jevan snead
April 24, 2010 by Trend PK
Filed under World News
LeGarrette Blount, Jevan Snead among top undrafted players
The NFL draft is over, which means there are currently scores of undrafted players on the phone getting offers to sign as free agents.
Among the most recognizable names not to be drafted are Oregon running back LeGarrette Blount and Mississippi quarterback Jevan Snead.
Blount missed most of his senior season because of a suspension for punching a Boise State player after the first game of 2009, while Snead made the surprising decision to enter the draft early after a disappointing junior year in 2009.
Other undrafted players of note include West Virginia quarterback Jarrett Brown, Virginia running back Rashawn Jackson, Tulane wide receiver Jeremy Williams, Texas offensive lineman Adam Ulatoski, Troy defensive end Brandon Lang, LSU linebacker Harry Coleman, UCLA linebacker Kyle Bosworth and Michigan cornerback Donovan Warren.
source:nbcsports
