| Republican Candidates Focus Attacks on Romney as Field Shrinks Posted: 17 Jan 2012 04:09 AM PST The five remaining candidates seeking the U.S. Republican party's nomination for president met Monday evening in the eastern coastal state of South Carolina, just days before voters there participate in the next primary election. Although the debate touched on a wide range of issues from the U.S. economy, unemployment and foreign policy, several of the candidates used the stage to focus their attacks on the front-runner in the race, former Massachusetts governor Mitt Romney. Romney's business record
Republican candidates Newt Gingrich and Rick Perry attacked Mitt Romney's business record and urged voters to take a closer look at his firm, Bain Capital, a venture capital company that bought companies and tried to make them more competitive.
Speaking during the debate, which was hosted by Fox News, Gingrich argued that in some cases, the companies Bain Capital bought ended up with enormous debt or ended up going broke.
"The governor has every opportunity to answer those questions, to give us facts and data and I think that is part of his responsibility as a candidate," he said. "And I think that is part of what a campaign is about, is to raise questions and see whether or not your competitor can answer them effectively before you get to the general elections where you know those questions are going to be asked." Huntsman's support
<!--IMAGE-LEFT--> Just hours before the debate began, Republican candidate and former Utah governor Jon Huntsman stepped out of the race, narrowing the field from six to five. And, despite his attacks in the past on Romney, Huntsman put his support behind the front-runner.
The four other remaining candidates in the race, Rick Santorum, Ron Paul, Rick Perry and Gingrich are trying to slow Romney's momentum before Saturday's vote in South Carolina. Political analysts and even Gingrich, himself, have said that if Romney wins this week's vote, he is likely to become the party's nominee for president.
Texas Governor Rick Perry noted that in the state of South Carolina, Bain Capital came in and bought a steel mill and a lot of people lost jobs. Jobs are a particularly pressing issue in South Carolina, where the unemployment rate of nearly 10 percent is higher than the national average. Tax records
Perry also pressed Romney to release his income tax records, noting that he has already done so and that he believes Newt Gingrich will do so as well later this week.
"We need for you to release your income tax so the people of this country can see how you made your money," said Perry.
Romney responded to the income tax request by saying that he had nothing in them that was a problem and that he might do so in a few months.
As for his record at Bain Capital, Romney says he was proud of the fact that his company invested in well over a 100 businesses.
"Four of the companies that we invested in, they weren't businesses I ran, but we invested in, ended up today having some 120,000 jobs," said Romney. "Some of the businesses we invested in weren't successful and lost jobs." South Carolina polls
The latest polling in South Carolina shows Romney with a strong lead. And, a new national public opinion poll released Monday by CNN and ORC International, shows Republican presidential candidates Mitt Romney and Ron Paul tied with President Barack Obama if the November election were held today.
According to the survey, 48 percent say they would vote for Romney and 47 percent say they would support President Obama's bid for re-election. In the poll, pitting Ron Paul against Obama, 48 percent say they would support the president and 46 percent say they would support congressman Paul. 
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| ‘Occupy The Dream’ Holds First National Day of Action Posted: 16 Jan 2012 07:03 PM PST <!--AV--> As the United States marked the birthday of slain civil rights leader the Reverend Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. on Monday, some veterans of the civil rights movement were also joining forces with the Occupy Wall Street movement. Singing songs popular during the civil rights movement of the 1960s, the newly-formed coalition held its first national day of action at Federal Reserve branches around the United States.
Several hundred protesters gathered at the Washington headquarters of the Federal Reserve, the U.S. central bank, calling themselves "Occupy the Dream." They called for economic justice as they also honored Martin Luther King's birthday.
Steven Smith is with the Rainbow Push Coalition, which promotes social justice. "To honor him, we have come to be a part of the Occupy movement and to continue in that tradition," he said.
Occupy the Dream is a coalition of the Occupy Wall Street movement and prominent Black clergy. The protest was part of a national day of action at Federal Reserve branches in 13 U.S. cities.
The group has three main demands: an increase in federal grants for university education, an end to home foreclosures and a $100 - billion fund from Wall Street banks for new jobs and neighborhood investment.
Occupy the Dream Co-Chairman Reverend Jamal Bryant told the crowd that this is only the beginning, saying that the group plans more focused actions each month, starting on February 14.
He called for 750,000 to 1 million people to divest their money from corporate banks and open accounts in small community based banks and credit unions. Bryant said the action would promote community control of money and development, rather than profits for Wall Street. "We are getting ready to infuse capital into small banks and to credit unions, and minority banks so that they can have a voice and represent the people in their communities. America has never seen an economic revolution like what they are getting ready to see now," he said.
Bryant told the crowd that one of Martin Luther King's last acts before his assassination in 1968 was to start the Poor People's Campaign, which focuses on jobs, income and housing for the poor. More than 40 years later, Bryant said, those issues are still relevant.
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| U.S. helicopter crashes in southern Afghanistan, killing 3 Posted: 16 Jan 2012 06:01 PM PST KABUL, AFGHANISTAN (BNO NEWS) -- Three crew members were killed on late Monday morning when a U.S.-owned helicopter crashed in southern Afghanistan, its owner said. There were no survivors. The accident happened at around 10:45 a.m. local time when a helicopter belonging to AAR Airlift, a unit of Chicago-based AAR Corp., crashed in the Nad Ali district of Helmand province. The aircraft was conducting operations for the U.S. Department of Defense, although it was not part of the NATO-led International Security Assistance Force (ISAF). "The Company has confirmed that there were three crew member fatalities," AAR Airlift said in a brief statement. "The families of all three crew members have been contacted. The Company reports that no passengers were aboard the aircraft at the time of the accident." AAR Airlift said the cause of the accident was not immediately known and gave no other details. However, district police chief Major Omar Jan told Pajhwok Afghan News that the aircraft caught fire, possibly as a result of a technical fault, while attempting an emergency landing. But Taliban spokesman Qari Yousuf Ahmadi claimed its fighters had shot down the aircraft. "The attack took place at 11:00 am today as the enemy aircraft took off from a base while carrying troops away when it came under an armed attack in Shawal area, catching fire in mid-air before violently crashing onto the ground, instantly killing all invaders and crew onboard," he said. Contrary to the Taliban claim, ISAF said no service members were on board the aircraft and the casualties are believed to have been U.S. civilians. The Taliban frequently exaggerates its statements for propaganda purposes, but is also known to falsely claim credit for accidents. (Copyright 2012 by BNO News B.V. All rights reserved. Info: sales@bnonews.com.) 
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| Automakers Marketing More Fuel Efficient, Compact Cars Posted: 16 Jan 2012 05:26 PM PST <!--AV--> As the U.S. automotive industry emerges from one of its worst sales periods on record, factories continue to retool in an effort to make and market vehicles that reflect new customer demands. This strategy is creating jobs in the so-called "green car" industry, but eliminating others. After 15 years on the assembly line, Detroit autoworker Nicole Current is about to become unemployed.
"I make truck axles, so as the auto industry tries to get away from the larger size vehicles, and tries to get to more fuel efficient, more economical vehicles, and gas prices being where they are with what product we make, it makes it extremely difficult when in the actual economy, people aren't buying trucks," Current said.
People are instead buying cars like the gasoline electric hybrid Toyota Prius. Toyoto Communications Manager Greg Thome says it is one of the automaker's most popular models.
"The Prius has done really well. We expect our sales this year to grow incrementally as far as Prius is concerned, because we are growing from one Prius model to a family of four models," Thome said.
Toyota debuted the more compact Prius C at the 2012 North American International Auto Show in Detroit. Michigan.
Thome says the Prius C reflects post-recession customer demand for cheaper vehicles that don't cost as much to fill up.
"The recession certainly hit all models. Now we're starting to see a lot of people come back to the market, including for new technology like hybrids and so forth," Thome said.
Almost every manufacturer on the floor of this year's Detroit Auto Show - from low-end to luxury -- is now marketing fuel-efficient models.
Just as sales of General Motors widely publicized, electric-powered Chevrolet Volt enters a second year, the company is concentrating more on the green vehicle market.
GM's director of regulatory affairs Mary Beth Stanek says shifting the company's focus away from less fuel-efficient trucks and sport utility vehicles is part of GM's overall strategy.
"The green aspect has been coming along for some time. Naturally, we want to make sure we have alternatives to petroleum as well. Our business doesn't want to be dependent on one particular type of energy source. So it moves us as a company to make sure we have a lot of offerings and that we kind of ride out the instability of petroleum pricing," Stanek said.
Customer demand for smaller and more fuel-efficient cars continues to redefine the U.S. auto economy. That demand is re-opening shuttered facilities, and bringing jobs back to an industry that shed tens of thousands of workers in the last decade.
But it comes as bittersweet news for workers like Nicole Current.
"Although I am losing my job, as a union member, I'm just still one piece of that pie. I definitely believe that we are going in the right direction with the leadership we've got in place," Current said.
Current hopes that leadership can help her find employment in one of the thousands of new positions created by Detroit's burgeoning green car industry. 
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| Wikipedia plans blackout to protest anti-piracy act Posted: 16 Jan 2012 05:19 PM PST SAN FRANCISCO (BNO NEWS) -- The community of the online encyclopedia Wikipedia is in favor of shutting down the website on Wednesday to protest controversial U.S. anti-piracy legislation, its co-founder said on Monday. Jimmy Wales said the 'emerging consensus of the community' appears to be in favor of a total 24-hour shutdown of Wikipedia on Wednesday, starting at midnight Eastern Standard Time (0500 GMT). "We need to send Washington a big message," he said. Wales is one of the most prominent opponents of the Stop Online Piracy Act (SOPA) and its U.S. Senate sister PROTECT IP Act (PIPA). The bills aim to crack down on U.S. and international websites which host or provide access to copyrighted material without the permission of their owners. But opponents, many web companies and human rights groups, claim it would be 'devastating' to a free and open internet. The new laws would enable copyright holders to complain to law enforcement agencies and get the websites shut down while search engines would be required to remove links to the websites. Wales said the 24-hour blackout will only affect Wikipedia English, which receives an estimated 25 million daily visitors on average, although its other languages may decide to join in. "Each language can hold their own vote, but the primary target is U.S. voters," he wrote on Twitter on Monday. "[Wikipedia English will show] a letter from the community and a call to action - to call and write Congress," Wales said. "My goal is to melt switchboards!" Wikipedia's German version plans to run a banner in opposition of SOPA and PIPA, he added. Smaller websites such as Reddit.com and Cheezeburger are also expected to join the 24-hour blackout. (Copyright 2012 by BNO News B.V. All rights reserved. Info: sales@bnonews.com.) 
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