Power Players: Using Obama’s words against him

A few weeks ago Spinners and Winners went through the top five things Mitt Romney has said that Democrats would use against him if he wins the Republican nomination. Now the flip side: The top five things from Barack Obama you can be sure Republicans will use over and over again in the fall campaign.

The president's opponents will hammer some of the wildly optimistic predictions the White House made about the stimulus program, and some economic promises that Obama has failed to deliver.

"Fourteen days after I signed our Recovery Act into law, we are seeing shovels hit the ground," Obama said in March of 2009. Last year, when it was clear the stimulus did not create the 4 million jobs analysts had predicted it would, the president back-tracked, joking at an economic forum, "Shovel-ready was not as shovel-ready as we expected."

In February 2009 Obama said, "I'm pledging to cut the deficit we inherited by half by the end of my first term in office." After Obama uttered those words, the deficit actually shot up to $1.4 trillion dollars in 2009. It then came down to $1.3 trillion in 2010, then stayed flat for 2011. The Congressional Budget office estimates 2012's deficit will be $1.1 trillion dollars -- a far cry from cutting the deficit in half.

Republicans will attack not just his words, but also his actions, making hay out of the president bowing to foreign dignitaries.

The number one quote that Republicans will likely play over and over again was said nearly three years ago, in an interview the newly-inaugurated president gave to NBC's Today Show.

"If I don't have this done in three years, then there is going to be a one-term proposition," Obama said.

Mitt Romney already talks about this all the time.

"He said if he could turn the economy around in 3 years he would be looking at a one term proposition, well we're here to collect," Romney told a crowd in Grand Rapids, Mich., in mid February. "We're here to collect."

Watch the full show for the full top five.

View the original article here

Feb. 27, 1812: Rage, Rage Against the Industrial Age

Despite his impassioned speech before the House of Lords, Lord Byron couldn't save the Luddites from the death penalty. Courtesy Project Gutenberg

1812: The poet Lord Byron makes an impassioned speech before the House of Lords in an attempt to convince Parliament not to enact the death penalty against the Luddites. He fails.

The Frame Breaking Act made it a capital offense for anyone convicted of “machine breaking,” the willful destruction of mechanized looms and cloth-finishing machinery and other new devices that were eliminating jobs.

The Luddites were a loose association of craft workers, especially croppers and weavers, who saw coming industrialization as a mortal threat to their livelihoods. They took their inspiration, and their name, from the folkloric figure of Ned Ludd, who was said to have smashed a couple of stocking frames (knitting machines) in the late 1770s.

The movement began in early 1811, with a series of letters sent to factory owners and craft employers in the Nottingham area, calling on them not to install the new machines.

When the letters were ignored, the movement spread across England. As the salaries of apprenticed workers were cut and jobs began to be lost, the violence began.

Early attacks were carried out at night, with bands of workers breaking into locked factories to smash the machines. In one three-week period, more than 200 stocking frames were destroyed.

Even with the imposition of capital punishment and the authorities providing increased police protection, the attacks continued and increased in ferocity. In 1812, as wheat prices soared and out-of-work craftsmen were unable to feed their families, they became desperate.

In clashes around the country, scores of Luddites were killed, as were a number of mill and factory owners. Other Luddites were arrested, convicted and executed, including Abraham Charlston, a 12-year-old boy.

By mid-1812, the Luddites had been effectively broken, although sporadic attacks continued in England for several more years.

The Man has pretty much been calling the shots ever since.

(Source: Spartacus.uk)

This article first appeared on Wired.com Feb. 27, 2008.

View the original article here

Power Players: Using Obama’s words against him

A few weeks ago Spinners and Winners went through the top five things Mitt Romney has said that Democrats would use against him if he wins the Republican nomination. Now the flip side: The top five things from Barack Obama you can be sure Republicans will use over and over again in the fall campaign.

The president's opponents will hammer some of the wildly optimistic predictions the White House made about the stimulus program, and some economic promises that Obama has failed to deliver.

"Fourteen days after I signed our Recovery Act into law, we are seeing shovels hit the ground," Obama said in March of 2009. Last year, when it was clear the stimulus did not create the 4 million jobs analysts had predicted it would, the president back-tracked, joking at an economic forum, "Shovel-ready was not as shovel-ready as we expected."

In February 2009 Obama said, "I'm pledging to cut the deficit we inherited by half by the end of my first term in office." After Obama uttered those words, the deficit actually shot up to $1.4 trillion dollars in 2009. It then came down to $1.3 trillion in 2010, then stayed flat for 2011. The Congressional Budget office estimates 2012's deficit will be $1.1 trillion dollars -- a far cry from cutting the deficit in half.

Republicans will attack not just his words, but also his actions, making hay out of the president bowing to foreign dignitaries.

The number one quote that Republicans will likely play over and over again was said nearly three years ago, in an interview the newly-inaugurated president gave to NBC's Today Show.

"If I don't have this done in three years, then there is going to be a one-term proposition," Obama said.

Mitt Romney already talks about this all the time.

"He said if he could turn the economy around in 3 years he would be looking at a one term proposition, well we're here to collect," Romney told a crowd in Grand Rapids, Mich., in mid February. "We're here to collect."

Watch the full show for the full top five.

View the original article here

Google Tablet to Compete Against IPad 3

By Lorien Crow | Fri Feb 24, 2012 12:59 pm

Google will launch a new 7-inch tablet this spring, sources say, as the search giant continues its quest to dominate the mobile technology market and compete with rivals like Apple and Amazon.

The company has not publicly stated its intentions to produce a tablet, but analysts at DisplaySearch say the device will boast a 1280 by 800 resolution screen, and run an unmodified, pure version of Android Ice Cream Sandwich.

Google's recent acquisition of Motorola Mobility will empower the company to begin manufacturing its own hardware, and with plans in the works for a digital home entertainment system, cable service, and several new smartphones, Google is ramping up competition against its rivals in multiple yet connected sectors.

With the Motorola merger, Google gained ownership of three tablets: the 10.1-inch Xoom, the 10.1-inch Xyboard, and the 8.2-inch Xyboard. The new 7-inch tablet is likely meant to go head-to-head with Apple's iPad tablets and Amazon's similarly-sized Kindle Fire, to diversify the company's offerings.

Apple pioneered the tablet market with the iPad and broke sales records with the iPad 2, dominating the tablet market. The Cupertino, Calif.-based company is expected to launch the iPad 3 in March, while Google's highly anticipated tablet entry will d?but in April.

However, Apple is reportedly considering producing a smaller, less expensive model to directly compete with the Kindle Fire, so competition in the smaller-screened devices could ramp up.

The Kindle Fire is a runaway success, with over 5 million units sold since the device's November launch, according to Barclay's. Tablet computers are increasingly popular, and Google likely wants to capitalize on the growing trend while improving upon current successful models with a higher resolution screens akin to Samsung's Galaxy 7.7 tablet.

Amazon's Kindle Fire runs on a modified version of Android, but to date, Google hasn't offered a branded alternative to compete with the best-selling device.

Google is also looking to beef up its content offerings, as Amazon and Apple's tablets are both backed by massive media libraries. The Mountain View, Calif.-based company is making deals with TV stations and movie studios to create YouTube channels, and rumors say the company is also exploring deals with record labels and streaming services for its digital home music system.

Such deals could further establish a working relationship with the entertainment industry, boosting Google's content and allowing users easy access and downloads to any Google-branded tablet.

Finally, Google Wallet, the search engine's mobile payment system, will make that content easy to pay for with the click of a keypad on any linked devices, rounding out the Google ecosystem of products.

A Google tablet dovetails with comments made by chairman Eric Schmidt in December, which touched on plans to market a tablet. However, Schmidt did not clarify if the device would be of Google's own design, or a co-branded device with a maker like Motorola.

Google is fighting to stay on top of the tech industry, and taking risks to expand in several different directions. A pure Android tablet with high-resolution and great content options could be just the thing to sway consumers away from Apple's iPad and Amazon's Kindle Fire into Google's growing ecosystem.

View the original article here

Feb. 27, 1812: Rage, Rage Against the Industrial Age

Despite his impassioned speech before the House of Lords, Lord Byron couldn't save the Luddites from the death penalty. Courtesy Project Gutenberg

1812: The poet Lord Byron makes an impassioned speech before the House of Lords in an attempt to convince Parliament not to enact the death penalty against the Luddites. He fails.

The Frame Breaking Act made it a capital offense for anyone convicted of “machine breaking,” the willful destruction of mechanized looms and cloth-finishing machinery and other new devices that were eliminating jobs.

The Luddites were a loose association of craft workers, especially croppers and weavers, who saw coming industrialization as a mortal threat to their livelihoods. They took their inspiration, and their name, from the folkloric figure of Ned Ludd, who was said to have smashed a couple of stocking frames (knitting machines) in the late 1770s.

The movement began in early 1811, with a series of letters sent to factory owners and craft employers in the Nottingham area, calling on them not to install the new machines.

When the letters were ignored, the movement spread across England. As the salaries of apprenticed workers were cut and jobs began to be lost, the violence began.

Early attacks were carried out at night, with bands of workers breaking into locked factories to smash the machines. In one three-week period, more than 200 stocking frames were destroyed.

Even with the imposition of capital punishment and the authorities providing increased police protection, the attacks continued and increased in ferocity. In 1812, as wheat prices soared and out-of-work craftsmen were unable to feed their families, they became desperate.

In clashes around the country, scores of Luddites were killed, as were a number of mill and factory owners. Other Luddites were arrested, convicted and executed, including Abraham Charlston, a 12-year-old boy.

By mid-1812, the Luddites had been effectively broken, although sporadic attacks continued in England for several more years.

The Man has pretty much been calling the shots ever since.

(Source: Spartacus.uk)

This article first appeared on Wired.com Feb. 27, 2008.

View the original article here

Feb. 27, 1812: Rage, Rage Against the Industrial Age

Despite his impassioned speech before the House of Lords, Lord Byron couldn't save the Luddites from the death penalty. Courtesy Project Gutenberg

1812: The poet Lord Byron makes an impassioned speech before the House of Lords in an attempt to convince Parliament not to enact the death penalty against the Luddites. He fails.

The Frame Breaking Act made it a capital offense for anyone convicted of “machine breaking,” the willful destruction of mechanized looms and cloth-finishing machinery and other new devices that were eliminating jobs.

The Luddites were a loose association of craft workers, especially croppers and weavers, who saw coming industrialization as a mortal threat to their livelihoods. They took their inspiration, and their name, from the folkloric figure of Ned Ludd, who was said to have smashed a couple of stocking frames (knitting machines) in the late 1770s.

The movement began in early 1811, with a series of letters sent to factory owners and craft employers in the Nottingham area, calling on them not to install the new machines.

When the letters were ignored, the movement spread across England. As the salaries of apprenticed workers were cut and jobs began to be lost, the violence began.

Early attacks were carried out at night, with bands of workers breaking into locked factories to smash the machines. In one three-week period, more than 200 stocking frames were destroyed.

Even with the imposition of capital punishment and the authorities providing increased police protection, the attacks continued and increased in ferocity. In 1812, as wheat prices soared and out-of-work craftsmen were unable to feed their families, they became desperate.

In clashes around the country, scores of Luddites were killed, as were a number of mill and factory owners. Other Luddites were arrested, convicted and executed, including Abraham Charlston, a 12-year-old boy.

By mid-1812, the Luddites had been effectively broken, although sporadic attacks continued in England for several more years.

The Man has pretty much been calling the shots ever since.

(Source: Spartacus.uk)

This article first appeared on Wired.com Feb. 27, 2008.

View the original article here

Nokia up against an Army of Droids

With just days left before the Mobile World Congress opens on February 27, the mobile world is abuzz and rightly so.  MWC is the world’s largest mobile exhibition show and marks the gathering of the industries biggest and brightest wireless operators and mobile phone manufacturer. The event also serves as a venue for industry bigwigs to showoff their latest handset devices and lay down plans for the rest of the year.

Nokia was notably absent from last year’s event following news of financial turmoil and eroding market share. Focusing on beefing up their Windows Phone 7 lineup, the Finnish giant is expected to stage a triumphant return to MWC this year. Rumored to release as many as six new handsets, the lineup will include new, high-end Windows Phones and possibly the last of their Symbian-based handsets.

The anticipation is already very high with what could be Nokia’s last attempt at reviving their Symbian line. Touted to best the company’s best camera phone to date, rumours suggest that the PureView would include “Nokia’s largest image sensor ever”. This coupled with the latest improvements to the Symbian platform, the PureView could be a runaway hit nobody expected from Nokia in 2012.

Nokia is also expected to release several Lumia-branded handsets during the event. At the forefront is the Lumia 900, a 4G high-end smartphone and Lumia 610, a low-end Windows Phone aimed at strengthening the company’s share of the low-end market.

Nokia is expected to collide head on with several high-profile competitions coming from HTC, LG and new players Huawei and ZTE, majority of which will be sporting improved versions of the killer Android platform.

Will Nokia outshine the army of Droids this year?

[VIA]

Michael Cadiz
A corporate slave by day, a full-time partyphile at night. A true-blue internet bibliophile who spends his day surfing and reading anything and everything about gadgets, TV Shows, and movie reviews. If he's not on the internet, check him out at the local arcade playing Tekken Tag Tournament 2. Follow him on twitter: @ImNotUrAngel23

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