Romney planning to visit Israel over summer

FILE - In this March 6, 2012, file photo, Republican presidential candidate, former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney, is displayed on screen as he speaks before the American Israel Public Affairs Committee (AIPAC), via satellite in Washington. Romney is planning a trip to Israel this summer, an aide to the likely GOP nominee said Monday, July 2, 2012. Details about exactly when and where Romney will visit were not immediately available, and the aide spoke on the condition of anonymity because the aide was not authorized to speak publicly about the plans. (AP Photo/Charles Dharapak, File)

FILE - In this March 6, 2012, file photo, Republican presidential candidate, former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney, is displayed on screen as he speaks before the American Israel Public Affairs Committee (AIPAC), via satellite in Washington. Romney is planning a trip to Israel this summer, an aide to the likely GOP nominee said Monday, July 2, 2012. Details about exactly when and where Romney will visit were not immediately available, and the aide spoke on the condition of anonymity because the aide was not authorized to speak publicly about the plans. (AP Photo/Charles Dharapak, File)

WASHINGTON (AP) ? Mitt Romney is planning a trip to Israel this summer, an aide to the likely GOP nominee said Monday.

Details about exactly when and where Romney will visit were not immediately available, and the aide spoke on the condition of anonymity because the aide was not authorized to speak publicly about the plans. But Romney was expected to meet during the trip with top Israeli leaders including Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.

The summer jaunt will take Romney away from the campaign trail during a key period of his general-election fight against President Barack Obama. But the trip could help Romney shore up support among Jewish voters, evangelicals and foreign policy hawks. It's also an opportunity for Romney, whose credentials in foreign affairs are limited, to bolster his image as a competent leader capable of navigating in one of the thorniest regions of the globe.

Romney, who has vowed that his first trip as president would be to Israel, relentlessly hammered Obama during the GOP presidential primary on his stance on Israel, accusing the incumbent president of throwing the Jewish state "under the bus" for stating that negotiations between Israelis and Palestinians should be based on Israel's 1967 borders.

"I think, by and large, you can just look at the things the president has done and do the opposite," Romney said in June when asked about Israel.

Obama and Democrats have vigorously defended his support for Israel, and the president argued in December he had done more for the critical U.S. ally than any other president. Democrats have summarily dismissed GOP claims that Obama is hemorrhaging support from Jewish voters, who also make up an important part of Obama's donor base.

Obama campaign spokesman BenLaBolt said Romney's upcoming visit would force him to explain what he meant about doing the opposite of Obama.

"Does that mean he would reverse President Obama's policies of sending Israel the largest security assistance packages in history?" said LaBolt. "Does it mean he would let Israel stand alone at the United Nations, or that he would stop funding the Iron Dome system? Does it mean he would abandon the coalition working together to confront Iran's nuclear ambitions?"

Iron Dome is an air-defense system designed by Israel to intercept short-range rockets and mortars frequently lobbed at Israel from the Gaza Strip. The U.S. has provided more than $200 million for the system.

Obama has yet to travel to Israel as president, but did visit in 2008 during his first presidential campaign.

Romney has made the trip on multiple occasions ? most recently in January 2011, when he met with Netanyahu as part of a Mideast swing that also brought him to Afghanistan and Jordan. He also spoke in 2007 at a prominent security conference in the Israeli coastal city of Herzliya.

Romney's relationship with the U.S.-educated Netanyahu dates back decades. Romney and the Israeli leader have a longstanding friendship stemming from their brief overlap in the 1970s at Boston Consulting Group. Both men worked as advisers for the firm early in their careers, before Romney co-founded his own private-equity firm.

Although Netanyahu has carefully avoided taking sides in the U.S. election, he has had a frosty relationship with Obama. Netanyahu has been jokingly referred to in the Israeli media as "the Republican senator from Israel," and is considered to be much closer ideologically to Republicans than Democrats on economic and foreign policy issues.

The New York Times first reported plans of Romney's upcoming visit.

___

Associated Press writer Josef Federman in Jerusalem contributed to this report.

___

Reach Josh Lederman on Twitter at http://twitter.com/joshledermanAP.

Associated Press

Source: http://hosted2.ap.org/APDEFAULT/89ae8247abe8493fae24405546e9a1aa/Article_2012-07-02-Romney-Israel/id-b2bfd1b87cc24f5ab3701356e9070f76

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How to keep your cat off your computer keyboard

Courtesy of Lifehacker

By David Galloway
Lifehacker

Does your cat love to sit on your desk (or computer) while you're trying to work or go on MMORPG raids? Reddit user rimcrimp suggests using a board game box to give your cat a home on your workspace.

Cats love boxes. If your cat wants to sit near you while working and isn't content to stay on the ground you can keep your feline friend from knocking stuff over by giving him or her their own space. Just flip a board game box upside down or any other similarly-sized boxes will work. Your cat will love you even more if you can find a way to place that box in sunlight.

Advertise | AdChoices

For other tips on how to make your feline friends happy see our recent post on the top 10 ways to upgrade your cat's life.

LPT: If your cat loves to sit on/in front of your computer, flip the top of a board game box upside down and set if off to the side. Boxes are like magnets for cats. | Reddit Life Pro Tips

More from Lifehacker:

• Use contact paper to give your laptop a new look
• Make any room in your home feel bigger with a little paint, some nirrors, and clear objects
• Make an orange into an oil lamp
  

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Source: http://digitallife.today.msnbc.msn.com/_news/2012/07/01/12509172-how-to-keep-your-cat-off-your-computer-keyboard?lite

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Google makes bid to dodge European antitrust fine

Google chairman Eric Schmidt has submitted a proposal to European regulators in Brussels aimed at avoiding a showdown on the some of the Internet search leader's business practices.

The European Competition Commissioner Joaquin Almunia began investigating Google in 2010, and in May of this year warned the company it needed to quickly propose changes to several practices ? notably including the way it promotes its own offerings in search results ? or face possible fines.

"We have made a proposal to address the four areas the European Commission described as potential concerns," said Al Verney, a Google spokesman in Brussels. "We continue to work cooperatively with the commission."

Almunia's spokesman, Antoine Columbani, confirmed receiving a letter from Schmidt on Monday, but did not disclose details.

It is not clear what changes Google has offered to make. The four areas the Commission criticized were: how Google favors its own services in its search results, how it displays content from other websites, how it manages the ads appearing next to its search results, and how its actions affect marketers' ability to buy ads on rival networks.

If a settlement isn't reached and the European Commission files a case against Google, it will set the stage for a lengthy process that could result in the company being fined up to 10 percent of its annual revenue. In theory that could mean a fine of as much as $3.8 billion, based on Google's revenue last year.

But in a shift of tactics from previous commissioners, Almunia said in May he would prefer to end market abuses as soon as possible, rather than fine misbehavior retroactively, especially in the Internet industry.

"I believe that these fast-moving markets would particularly benefit from a quick resolution of the competition issues identified," he said then. "Restoring competition swiftly to the benefit of users at an early stage is always preferable to lengthy proceedings, although these sometimes become indispensable to competition enforcement."

Microsoft last week lost its final appeal in a decade-long fight against the Commission that cost it well over a billion euros (dollars).

Almunia said Google "has repeatedly expressed to me its willingness to discuss any concerns that the commission might have without having to engage in adversarial proceedings. This is why I am...giving Google an opportunity to offer remedies to address the concerns we have already identified."

Google also faces antitrust investigations in the United States, South Korea and India.

In the U.S., the Federal Trade Commission is looking into whether the company has been unfairly highlighting its own services in its influential search results and rigging its recommendations in a way that drives up online advertising prices.

The FTC recently signaled it is girding for a potential legal battle by hiring a prominent trial lawyer, former Justice Department prosecutor Beth Wilkinson, to assist in its investigation.

Almunia is expected to rule on Google's proposal within several weeks, but no date has yet been set.

_____

AP Technology Writer Michael Liedtke contributed to this story from San Francisco.

Associated Press

Source: http://hosted2.ap.org/APDEFAULT/f70471f764144b2fab526d39972d37b3/Article_2012-07-02-Europe-Google/id-370face17e834e75b4647121460b5047

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Palfrey ends Cuba-Florida swim amid strong current

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Source: http://news.yahoo.com/palfrey-ends-cuba-florida-swim-amid-strong-current-053758548--spt.html

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The hottest convertibles of the year

The Porsche Boxster S is an entry-level coupe suitable for middle-aged accountants and dentists, right? Not exactly.

Think more along the lines of James Dean.

?It?s a sexy car because of him,? Porsche spokesman Dave Engelman says. The $64,100 coupe is said to evoke the iconic Porsche 550 Spyder driven by the ?Rebel Without A Cause? star. ?They were designed as all-out sports cars with no compromise.?

Forbes.com slideshow: See the 10 hottest convertibles

Indeed. Not that Joe the Accountant couldn?t drive it, of course, but the Boxster offers so much more than that. Three hundred fifteen horsepower and a 0-60 mph time of 4.7 seconds are nothing to laugh at. Not to mention a top speed of nearly 175 miles per hour.

And if you ask a pro he?ll tell you that for most civilians, the mid-engined Boxster is much more fun to drive on the track than its 911 sibling.

?The Boxster is a great car ? it?s way more manageable than the 911,? Patrick Long told me once at a party in New York. He would know ? Long drives the Porsche 911 GT3-RSR for Flying Lizard Motorsports in the American Le Mans Series.

All this to say that the Boxster S is a perfect fit for our list of 10 hot convertibles on the market this summer.

This year?s group includes cars from the likely suspects (think Aston Martin, Bentley, Mercedes-Benz) along with a few surprises. Some are impractical but exceedingly attractive. Others look more demure and will work for a weekend jaunt with friends. But they?re all relatively expensive ? the $60,000 Ford Shelby GT is the cheapest thing on the list ? and muscle-car buffs and exotics-lovers alike will agree they?re all hot rides. (We chose the winners on this list from model-year 2012 or newer cars.)

To drop or not?
Convertibles have been around for more than a century (they were the original horseless carriages, after all ? just ask Gottlieb Daimler) but once conventional vehicles came about their popularity waned. Sales nationwide may actually be slipping even more, thanks to the growing popularity of panoramic sunroofs and targa tops.

According to the research firm RL Polk, convertible sales typically account for nearly 2 percent of the auto market but were running closer to 1.2 percent last year. The Chevrolet Camaro was the top-selling convertible last year, accounting for 7,530 car registrations. The Ford Mustang was second, with convertible sales of 6,645.

On the luxury side, the highest-selling convertible, the Mercedes-Benz E-Class, sold just of 3,446 units last year; the BMW 328 convertible sold just 2,867 units. But convertibles are still an important part of each brand, says Lonnie Miller, an analyst for Polk, because they act as ?halo? vehicles ? they attract attention and excitement. Even if someone doesn?t actually buy the roadster they walk into a showroom to drool over, at least it got them into the showroom.

?It?s a feel-good car,? Miller says.

Hard or soft?
For those who do opt to drop-top, the biggest question often comes down to form: Which is better, a soft top or a hard top? Switch from a cloth top to hard top in any given cabriolet and it?ll affect everything ? performance, structural soundness and (most importantly for many consumers) aesthetics ? because of the difference in weight and structure. Each style has its merits ? it just depends on what you want.

Hard tops like the one available in the $105,500 Mercedes-Benz SL550 are quieter and more durable, especially for drivers who live in cold climates. They?re also generally accepted as better-looking when the top is raised. But they?re also heavier, which means hardtop cars are slower and less fuel-efficient than they would be with cloth tops.

A cloth top on something like Ford?s Shelby Mustang means more space in the trunk and a lighter (more efficient) vehicle. It?s well-suited to drivers who won?t likely need to put up the roof very often. But they often look dingy and cheap when they?re deployed, and they?re usually more complicated to engage than the push-button hardtop. They also tend to be slightly louder than something hard, despite huge gains in recent years to make the seals more sound-proof.

One of the best in the ragtop range is Bentley?s arch Continental GTC. It has 500 horsepower, with a top speed of 195 miles per hour and a 0-to-60 sprint time of 4.5 seconds. Inside it has unique bulls-eye air vents and wood-framed organ stop controls, Mulliner diamond-quilted leather seats and a three-spoke leather steering wheel with aluminum inlays. Price: Just under $200,000, for the base version.

It?s a handsome car, to be sure. There?s just one catch, and it goes for everything on this list: The Continental goes faster with the roof up.

More from Forbes.com

? 2012 Forbes.com

Source: http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/47921821/ns/business-forbes_com/

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No one-size-fits-all approach to wooing Hispanics

ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. (AP) ? In New Mexico, Tomasita Maestas says she will pick the presidential candidate who has the best plan to fix education and the economy.

In Arizona, Mexican immigrant Carlos Gomez backs Republican Mitt Romney because he's more conservative on social issues than his Democratic opponent.

In Miami, Colombia native Luna Lopez probably will vote for President Barack Obama now that he's decided to halt the deportation of many illegal immigrants brought to the United States as children.

The reasons that Hispanics give for choosing between Obama and Romney are just as diverse as the countries that they or their ancestors once called home, suggesting there's no one-size-fits-all approach to courting the nation's fastest-growing minority group.

The Latino vote isn't monolithic or, really, a voting bloc. It includes a range of people with varying opinions. Among them are Republican-leaning Cubans in Florida, new Mexican immigrants and longtime descendants of Spanish settlers in the Southwest, and Democratic-tilting Puerto Ricans in the East.

Immigration policy would seem to be the natural top issue for these voters, except that nearly two-thirds of Hispanics are born in the U.S. Their priorities are the same as the general population ? jobs, the economy, education and health care.

"We need to see more jobs here, that's my No. 1 priority and what I want to hear about," says Stefan Gonzalez, an almost 18-year-old from Denver, whose heritage includes Spanish, Mexican and Native American roots. Gonzalez, who works in a suburban Denver pawn shop, says he plans to vote for Obama this fall.

In Albuquerque, Ernest Gurule, an 84-year-old whose ancestors settled New Mexico in 1580, says his main issue is the federal health care plan upheld by the Supreme Court last week, and that he'll back Obama in part because of it. Also, the Democrat, adds: "It's too expensive to change horses midstream."

Democrats and Republicans are in a fierce race to figure out how to best reach Hispanics.

In the short term, these voters could decide the outcome in Nevada, Colorado, New Mexico, Florida and elsewhere. The long-term stakes are even bigger because Hispanics are projected to account for roughly 30 percent of the population by 2050, doubling in size and, potentially changing the national political landscape.

Like most minorities, Hispanics traditionally have leaned Democratic. But a recent Pew Research poll indicates that Hispanics also are the fastest-growing group of independent voters, with 46 percent now shunning a party label compared with 31 percent six years ago. Such results only underscore how diverse Hispanics are and the challenges for the political parties.

"It is going to be a very hard fight to win," says Jennifer Korn, the executive director of the Republican-based Hispanic Leadership Network, which was established to help bring more Hispanic voters to the GOP. "The more they assimilate, the more sophisticated they become and that's when they start dividing between parties."

For now at least, Obama and his Democrats have an advantage, with the latest polls showing 65 percent of Hispanics back Obama and 25 percent back Romney.

The Democrats' campaign has worked to keep that edge, helped by Obama's new immigration policy and the Supreme Court's decision to side with the administration on most of an Arizona law that many immigrants viewed as overly harsh.

His campaign has spent the past year setting up offices with grassroots outreach to Hispanic communities in the Southwest, as well as in important states such as Ohio, North Carolina, Pennsylvania and Florida.

Mindful of the diversity among Hispanics, Obama has custom-tailored his outreach, including tweaking Spanish dialect for different regions.

For instance, in Florida the campaign has two distinct outreach plans. One focuses on Cuban-Americans in Miami who tend to lean Republican and are less concerned about immigration; the other speaks to traditionally Democratic Puerto Ricans, who are U.S. citizens from birth, as well as new immigrants from Central America.

Obama also has promoted the new health law, which can resonate in states such as New Mexico, which has one of the highest rates of uninsured in the country.

Romney has plenty of ground to make up after a bruising primary season filled with tough rhetoric that even Republicans acknowledge turned off many Hispanics. He recently established a Hispanic advisory group that includes top elected Republican Hispanics.

During the primaries, the former Massachusetts governor pledged to veto legislation, known as the DREAM Act, that would give a path to citizenship to young immigrants who came to the United States illegally as children but have since attended school or served in the military. He has since toned down his anti-immigration stance, which included self-deportation, telling a Hispanic leadership gathering in the Orlando area that he would address illegal immigration "in a civil but resolute manner."

Alexandra Franceschi, a spokeswoman for the Republican National Committee's Hispanic effort, made clear that the GOP outreach will focus broadly on the economy. "Hispanics are Americans and are facing the same issues as everyone else, chronically high unemployment, lower pay and rising health care costs," she said.

Republicans have noted that under Obama, the Hispanic unemployment rate is higher than the national average. And Hispanics' median household income fell 7 percent between 2000 and 2010, from $43,100 to $40,000, according to the Pew Hispanic Center.

What drives Hispanics to vote depends on who's asked.

Lopez, a 20-year-old new citizen and college student from Colombia, cites Obama's policy shift on deportation as reason she's likely to pick him when she casts her first vote in the country.

"The issue didn't directly affect me, but I have many family members and friends who it did," she said.

In Arizona, Gomez, a 43-year-old priest who immigrated to Phoenix 15 years ago, backed Obama's policy change. But Gomez says immigration isn't his priority because "immigrants will continue coming across the border no matter what we do." He says he's voting for Romney because, like him, the Republican opposes gay marriage and abortion rights.

In Albuquerque, Maestas, a 37-year-old mother and office manager, is focused intently on pocketbook issues. Immigration, she says, is only important to "a certain point" because "If you can't take care of your own, how are you going to take care of others?"

___

Associated Press writers Laura Wides-Munoz in Miami, Kristen Wyatt in Denver and Amanda Lee Myers in Phoenix contributed to this report.

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/no-one-size-fits-approach-wooing-hispanics-122521731.html

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Lions extend contract with coach Jim Schwartz

DETROIT (AP) ? The Detroit Lions have accomplished one more goal this offseason, keeping another cog in the franchise's turnaround.

Detroit and coach Jim Schwartz, who had one year left on his deal, agreed on a contract extension. Lions spokesman Bill Keenist said Friday night that the team won't disclose details of the new contract.

Schwartz and the team consistently refused to comment on negotiations this offseason.

There was no doubt, however, that the Lions didn't want to let him get away.

He helped Detroit reach the playoffs last season just three years after inheriting a team coming off the NFL's first 0-16 year.

The Lions gave the former Tennessee Titans defensive coordinator his first chance to be a head coach in 2009. Schwartz won two games in his first year, six the next and 10 last season. He led the franchise to double digits in wins for the first time since 1995 and into the postseason for the first time since the 1999 season.

All-Pro receiver Calvin Johnson had his contract extended this offseason by Detroit, which also retained standout defensive Cliff Avril, linebacker Stephen Tulloch and offensive tackle Jeff Backus. Cornerback Eric Wright, who left as a free agent to sign with Tampa Bay, is the only significant player missing from last season's team.

The Lions, however, have marred their offseason with arrests that have led to at least one suspension. Running back Mikel Leshoure will miss the first two games without pay and will have to give up two more game checks for violating the NFL's substance-abuse policy. Defensive tackle Nick Fairley will likely also be suspended because he was arrested twice in two months.

On the field, the Lions have found a leader they've been looking for a long time.

Detroit hasn't had a coach lead the team for more than four seasons since Fontes won 138 games from 1988-96.

Bobby Ross, Gary Moeller, Marty Mornhinweg, Steve Mariucci, Dick Jauron ? on an interim basis ? and Rod Marinelli all had a chance to lead a franchise with only one playoff victory since winning the 1957 NFL title before Schwartz was hired.

"I don't shy away from a challenge," Schwartz said in 2009 following a second interview with the Lions.

Schwartz, who is from Baltimore, played linebacker at Georgetown and graduated with a degree in economics.

He started his coaching career as a graduate assistant at Maryland in 1989, later had the same position at Minnesota and went on to become a secondary coach for North Carolina Central and linebackers coach at Colgate. Schwarz was a college and pro scout for the Cleveland Browns and spent three years on the Baltimore Ravens' staff before moving on and up with the Titans.

The Lions have taken on the personality of their demonstrative coach, who had to be separated from San Francisco coach Jim Harbaugh after a loss last year.

"Coach is fiery. We love that about him," Detroit offensive lineman Rob Sims said last season. "I think he's a great leader in regards to that, just staying positive, being emotional. Some guys, they try to just hide."

___

Follow Larry Lage on Twitter at www.Twitter.com/larrylage

Source: http://www.mysanantonio.com/sports/article/Lions-extend-contract-with-coach-Jim-Schwartz-3674390.php

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