Israel also believes the Iranian regime now faces an unprecedented threat to its stability

Jan 18 12 under Uncategorized | Leave a comment

The Israeli view is that while Iran continues to improve its nuclear capabilities, it has not yet decided whether to translate these cheap burberry capabilities into a nuclear weapon – or, more specifically, a nuclear warhead mounted atop a missile. Nor is it clear when Iran might make such a decision.

Israel also believes the Iranian regime now faces an unprecedented threat to its stability, which for the first time combines both external and internal pressure: from abroad, increasingly harsh sanctions and threats of military action, and at home, economic distress and worries about the results of the parliamentary election scheduled for March.

Israeli intelligence sees signs that the regime in Tehran is genuinely worried about the possibility of an opposition victory in March. Should that happen, the regime will have to choose between conceding the loss or falsifying results – as it apparently did in the 2009 presidential election – which could incite anti-regime protests thanks to the tailwind provided by the Arab Spring, which toppled the regimes in Egypt, Tunisia and Libya.

Moreover, the country’s economic woes are already hitting ordinary Iranians in their pockets. Tighter sanctions have caused the Iranian currency to depreciate by dozens of percent; the regime is having trouble amassing as much foreign currency as it needs; and now, it faces the prospect of new sanctions by the United States and the European Union against its central bank and its oil industry.

The regime is also being confronted by two burberry shoes for men distinct ideological challenges. On one hand, a growing camp that includes supporters of Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad is challenging the authority of the ruling clerics, and especially that of the supreme leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei. On the other, the Iranian model of a strict Islamic regime run by clerics is being called into question by Islamist ruling parties in Turkey, Tunisia and perhaps also Egypt, which either are or will soon be offering more democratic, modern and moderate models of Islamic governance.

Lastly, Tehran’s chief ally, Syrian President Bashar Assad, is in real danger of being toppled as well.

Altogether, therefore, “2011 was a very bad year for the regime in Tehran,” a senior defense official told Haaretz. Israeli analysts believe 2012 will promise more of the same: more pressure, including the tougher public line now being taken by U.S. President Barack Obama, and also more uncertainty and instability, in both the region as a whole and Iran in particular.

All this makes it increasingly hard to predict what Iran will do. Recently, for instance, it threatened to shut down the Straits of Hormuz, and thereby choke off a major portion of the world’s oil supply. And under certain circumstances, it could also decide to make a sprint for a nuclear weapon.

The Iranian issue will presumably cheap moncler jackets be the major focus of Dempsey’s talks here. Over the weekend, the Wall Street Journal reported that the Obama administration recently warned Israel not to attack Iran’s nuclear facilities, and Dempsey is apparently here in part to make sure that Israel has no such plans.

In addition, the U.S. State Department publicly criticized the assassination of a nuclear scientist in Tehran last week and denied any connection to it. Iran has blamed Israel for the attack, though it later accused the United States and Britain of being involved as well.

Israeli officials have made contradictory cheap moncler statements in recent days about the effectiveness of the sanctions imposed on Iran. Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu praised the sanctions in an interview with an Australian paper, but later told the Knesset Foreign Affairs and Defense Committee that they were insufficient.

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Welcome back to The Bachelor

Jan 17 12 under Uncategorized | Leave a comment

Welcome back to The Bachelor, the show where love is a journey, everyone is there for the right reasons, and, we assume, Valtrex is handed out like party favors http://www.cheapguccioutlet2012.com. This season, in a desperate attempt to remain relevant in an increasingly crowded field of progressively lowbrow reality programming, The Bachelor has decided to shake things up a bit. They started the show in Ben’s hometown, moved the production to his current residence of San Francisco, and last night introduced us to Ben’s sister, who offered her ideas on who he should bring home to mom. At the rate this show is going this season, everyone will be shacking up in Fantasy Suites by next week.

Here’s how our pilgrims of love progressed this week:

Best Supporting Role by an Inanimate Object: Sometimes a bridge is just a bridge. But if the Bay Bridge shows up on The Bachelor, it means something. When Bachelor Ben invited Epidemiologist Emily on a nice climb up the wires of the Bay Bridge, they both know that if they could manage this feat (harnessed, wearing helmets, and safety measures up the wazoo) they could do anything! It’s not a date so much as a trust fall with a Cal Trans crew in tow. Highlights: When Emily panics because she is walking up a freaking bridge, Ben checks in by asking, “Talk to me, Goose.” If Ben keeps making Top Gun references we may end up liking him.

(MORE: The All-TIME 100 TV Shows)

Word of the Day: “Leap List.” When Ben invited ten women on a date, he followed the appropriate etiquette and sent an invitation with a mysterious inscription teasing a “leap.” This tantalizing clue lead to Ben’s explanation that skiing down the streets of San Francisco was on his so-called “Leap List.” What we gather is that a Leap List is basically a list filled with nonsensical things that require a lot of municipal permits. Runner up word of the day: “Journey”, which was used at least four times in the first hour. Gucci shoes for men, cheap gucci men shoes outlet 2012 online.

Most blatant product placement: Ben mentions his “Leap List,” and then we get a Honda ad with a “Leap List” theme. Plus all the bachelorettes are driving New Honda CRVs to their date and showing off the unique and exciting features of the car.

Best way to annoy the neighbors: Put a ski slope filled with snow bunnies in the middle of a neighborhood. Somehow The Bachelor crew convinced the city of San Francisco to let them fill a street with snow so that Ben and his gaggle of bachelorettes could inexplicably strip into their skivvies (this is snow-skiing, not water-skiing ladies) and snowplow down the road. Then the whole neighborhood gathered to watch poor Kasey B. ski down the hill backwards with her bikini-clad butt in the air smiling so that Ben would know she was a real sport. It was an eyeful, but probably nothing that San Francisco hadn’t seen before.

Best Sloppy Seconds: After Britney walked out following Ben’s invitation to a one-on-one date, Ben found himself with a free night and invited Linzie (but not her horse) for a date around the city. Stops included an ice cream store, a trolley ride, a dance break at City Hall (where Matt Nathanson sang just for them) and an interlude at a piano store so Ben could serenade his sweetie. Ben thinks Linzi has “something special.” Namely, dimples, boobs, a short skirt, and a sob story about getting dumped after a year and a half via text message.

Most Fateful Words: During the postmortem of her date with Ben, Linzi uttered the worst thing that a reality contestant could possibly say: “There’s nothing that could ruin this night.” Don’t these people know that such a statement is catnip to producers! Sure enough the camera cut to a mystery woman driving a New Honda CRV (naturally), with San Francisco and a date with Ben dialed into the GPS. Gucci women shoes, cheap gucci sneakers boots for women outlet 2012.

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It was a great performance for (my) first official match of the 2012 season

Jan 17 12 under Uncategorized | Leave a comment

Djokovic started his Australian Open defense with a 6-2, 6-0, 6-0 win over Paolo Lorenzi of Italy, wearing a pair of red-white-and-blue cheap burberry shoes with images of his three major trophies on the sides and a Serbian flag on the heels.

He gave up an early break but immediately broke back at love as he won the next 17 games, saving a break point in the opening game of the second set.

“It was a great performance for (my) first official match of the 2012 season,” said the top-ranked Djokovic, whose only lost at a Grand Slam tournament last year was in the French Open semifinals.

Andy Murray, on the other hand, had to overcome a slow start to beat American Ryan Harrison 4-6, 6-3, 6-4, 6-2 and advance to the second round of the Australian Open on Tuesday.

Murray was a finalist at Melbourne Park the past two years, losing in straight sets to Roger Federer in 2010 and to Djokovic last year.

Djokovic changed his buildup for the Australian Open this year, deciding not to play any warmup tournaments. He was confident it wouldn’t harm his chances.

“I’m nowadays a more complete player. I feel burberry men t-shirts physically I’m stronger, I move better. I serve better,” he said. “Especially having 2011 the way I had, this gives me more confidence.”

The 24-year-old Serb has won two Australian titles — including his first major in 2008 — and his game is well suited to the pace of the hard court. But he struggled at times with the heat at Melbourne Park before his breakthrough season last year and didn’t always look comfortable against Lorenzi as the temperature hit 90 degrees in the first set.

It didn’t stop him from entertaining his fans, though. He played a shot between his legs, with his back to the net, to set up a break point chance in the fourth game of the third set which brought the crowd to its feet.

Men’s No. 5 seed David Ferrer advanced in straight sets, 6-1, 6-4, 6-2, over Rui Machado of Portugal. No. 24 Kei Nishikori of Japan and No. 32 Alex Bogomolov Jr., now representing Russia, also advanced. Germany’s Philipp Petzschner routed Czech Republic’s Lukas Rosol 6-0, 6-0, 6-2 to advance.

“I don’t think this will immediately shake the credibility of EFSF bonds,” Jun Azumi told a news conference after Standard and Poor’s reduced the rating of the European Financial Stability Facility by one notch to AA+.

Japan has purchased the bonds regularly http://www.cheapmonclerjacketsfinder.com since the fund’s first debt auction a year ago and has no intention of changing its position, Azumi said.

“We have bought them as important products for stable management (of Japan’s foreign reserves), something that is worth holding, and there won’t be any immediate change in our thinking,” he said, Dow Jones Newswires reported.

S&P issued the downgrade on Monday after France and Austria, two of the fund’s top-level guarantors, lost their gold-standard ratings.

“The EFSF’s obligations are no longer fully supported either by guarantees from EFSF members rated AAA by Standard & Poor’s, or by AAA-rated securities,” said S&P.

The eurozone’s temporary bailout fund uses guarantees from its top-rated members to borrow funds at low rates on the market to loan onwards to countries which can no longer borrow affordably on their own.

The ratings agency said the rescue facility could regain its AAA rating if it secured more funds.

“The outlook is developing, which moncler outlet reflects that we could raise the EFSF’s long-term rating to AAA if we see that additional credit enhancements are put in place,” said S&P.

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Ravens defensive back Cary Williams hit Jones,

Jan 16 12 under Uncategorized | Leave a comment

The ball tumbled toward the earth, to a spot nearly 70 yards from where Sam Koch, the Ravens punter, had put his foot to it. Jacoby cheap burberry Jones, the Texans returner, allowed it to hit the turf. Then he thought better of it and tried to catch it mid-carom. Almost immediately, he would wish that he hadn’t.

Ravens defensive back Cary Williams hit Jones, jarring the ball loose, and then Jimmy Smith fell on it, just inside the Texans’ 3-yard line. Baltimore’s divisional playoff game against Houston was barely three and a half minutes old, and already its pivotal moment had occurred. Three plays later, Ravens quarterback Joe Flacco would hit third-string tight end Kris Wilson for an easy one-yard touchdown, and the Ravens had a 7-3 lead, a lead they would not relinquish. They won 20-13, in the process earning a berth in next Sunday’s AFC Championship game against the Patriots.

“It was huge,” coach John Harbaugh said of Jones’s miscue. “Ball on the 3-yard line!”

Still, of all the words Harbaugh uttered after the game, one stood out. “Humbled.” Yes, the Ravens had won, but as Harbaugh said, “It wasn’t perfect by any respect.” The Ravens capitalized on Jones’ gift and on those bestowed by T.J. Yates, the rookie Texans quarterback whose inexperience and fifth-round pedigree finally caught up to him. Yates threw three interceptions, two to cornerback Lardarius Webb, and released at least four other passes that might easily have ended up as such. “Everything leads back to the turnovers,” said Texans center Chris Myers. “We grinded it out, but we just didn’t get it done.”

For much of the game, the Texans did more than grind it out. They physically dominated at the line of scrimmage — on both sides — against a team whose bailiwick for more than a decade now has been physically dominating the line of scrimmage on burberry womenswear both sides. Of the 57 players who had attempted to run against the Ravens in the playoffs, never before had one of them totaled more than 91 rushing yards. Arian Foster, the Texans tailback, gashed the Ravens for 132 yards on 27 carries.

“Oh man, this guy — he’s a guy you would like to take into an alley with you,” Ravens safety Ed Reed said of Foster, presumably because Foster could find you a safe path through it as adroitly as he did through the Ravens’ front seven for much of the afternoon. Houston’s defense held Ray Rice, the NFL’s second-leading rusher, to just 60 yards on 21 attempts.

While the Texans on this day had six tackles for a loss to the Ravens’ two, their superiority extended beyond the running game. Baltimore’s pass rushers laid even a hand on Yates just twice, and produced no sacks. The Texans, meanwhile, hit Flacco six times and sacked him five — all of those coming from a pair of rookies, defensive end J.J. Watt and linebacker Brooks Reed, who also combined for 20 tackles.

The Texans’ rookies’ youthful energy had a lot to do with it, but the blame for several of the sacks rested squarely on Flacco’s pocket presence — or, more properly, on his continuing lack thereof. Flacco had objected during the week leading to the game, perhaps good-naturedly, to his persistent maligning within the local media. “I’m sure if we win, I’ll have nothing to do with why we won, not according to you guys,” he said, leading cheap moncler some within his organization to privately suggest that he ought to spend less energy scanning newspapers and websites for his name printed in bold.

It is unfair to suggest that the mustachioed Flacco had nothing to do with Sunday’s win — his second-quarter, 10-yard touchdown pass to a slanting Anquan Boldin was perfectly delivered — but he did not have all that much to do with it. Flacco completed 14 of 27 passes for 176 yards, but his impressive quarterback rating of 97.1 served mostly to underscore how misleading that particular metric can sometimes be.

“We probably need to clean up some things on offense,” said Flacco, who time and again held on to the ball too long and threw behind receivers, and who led his team to four third-down conversions in 16 chances. The most praiseful thing that Harbaugh said about his quarterback after the game was that he had not lost too many yards in the process of being sacked, and had managed not to lose a fumble.

Still, as Harbaugh said, “Win the game, no matter what.” That, the Ravens did, despite being outmuscled by the Texans and outgained 315 yards to 227. Next week, though, they will face team that is better able to recover from its mistakes, of moncler jackets which it makes fewer, and a quarterback in Tom Brady who is as far from being T.J. Yates as a quarterback can be.

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The high-stakes planning and diplomacy

Jan 14 12 under Uncategorized | Leave a comment

President Barack Obama, Defense Secretary Leon Panetta and other top officials have delivered a string of private messages to Israeli leaders warning about the dire consequences of a strike. Cheap burberry – designer bags, shoes, accessories, clothing outlet 2012. The U.S. wants Israel to give more time for the effects of sanctions and other measures intended to force Iran to abandon its perceived efforts to build nuclear weapons.

Stepping up the pressure, Mr. Obama spoke by telephone on Thursday with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, and U.S. Gen. Martin Dempsey, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, will meet with Israeli military officials in Tel Aviv next week.

The high-stakes planning and diplomacy comes as U.S. officials warn Tehran, including through what administration officials described Friday as direct messages to Iran’s leaders, against provocative actions.

Tehran has warned that it could retaliate to tightened sanctions by blocking oil trade through the Strait of Hormuz. On Thursday, Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei vowed to punish the perpetrators of the assassination—blamed by Iran on the U.S. and Israel—of an Iranian scientist involved in the nuclear program.

The U.S. denied the charge and condemned the attack. Israel hasn’t commented.
The U.S. and Iran, however, have taken steps in recent days apparently designed to ease tensions. Iran has agreed to host a delegation of United Nations nuclear inspectors this month. The U.S., meanwhile, has twice this month rescued Iranian sailors in the region’s seas.

Covert efforts by Israel’s intelligence service to prevent Tehran from developing nuclear weapons have been credited with slowing the program without the high risk of military conflict that could be sparked by an airstrike. Iran says its nuclear program is for peaceful uses.

But Israel has declined to rule out a strike, as has the U.S.

“It is the policy of the Israeli government, and the Obama administration, that all options remain on the table. And it is crucial that the ayatollahs in Tehran take this policy seriously,” said Michael Oren, Israel’s ambassador to the U.S.

Mr. Netanyahu said in a recent interview that Iran has begun to “wobble,” a signal some U.S. officials believe suggests he is willing to follow the current U.S. strategy, which seeks to avoid a military confrontation with Iran. Burberry men t-shirts, cheap burberry t-shirts for men 2012 outlet.

“Recent comments by the Israelis show they understand how tough the sanctions we’ve put in place are and are giving them time to work,” said a senior Obama administration official.

The U.S. military is preparing for a number of possible responses to an Israeli strike, including assaults by pro-Iranian Shiite militias in Iraq against the U.S. Embassy in Baghdad, according to U.S. officials.

The U.S. believes its embassy and other diplomatic outposts in Iraq are more vulnerable following the withdrawal of U.S. forces last month. Up to 15,000 U.S. diplomats, federal employees and contractors are expected to remain in Iraq.

Cheap burberry jackets, jeans, sweater for men 2012 online. In large measure to deter Iran, the U.S. has 15,000 troops in Kuwait, and has moved a second aircraft carrier strike group to the Persian Gulf area.

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These frontline health workers are much easier

Jan 12 12 under Uncategorized | Leave a comment

Tied to this answer is the cheap burberry outlet 2012 key to addressing some of the world’s greatest health challenges.

Fictional or not, Nightingale, Quinn, and Huxtable served patients on the front lines of health care. Whether on the battlefield, in the Wild West, or from a cozy home office, these health workers were the first and sometimes only point of contact for communities in need of care.

Today, the World Health Organization puts the shortage of frontline health workers at more than 1 million. Many more lack the skills, medicines and support they need to deliver basic health services. That means far too many people in the developing world can’t access simple treatments and preventive measures that could save their lives. As a result, millions of mothers, newborns, and children die every year, and diseases like AIDS and tuberculosis continue to ravage communities despite known, affordable treatments. Finding a practical way to boost access to basic health care among poor and hard-to-reach populations could dramatically reduce this toll.

Investing in global health challenges one disease at a time is neither sufficient nor efficient. That’s why 15 leading global health organizations have teamed up moncler jackets for men to call on the U.S. government to train 250,000 new frontline health workers in countries where kids are dying and to improve the ability of existing workers to save more lives. At a time when every dollar counts more than ever, the new Frontline Health Workers Coalition believes this focus is the most cost-effective way to save mothers’ and children’s lives around the world, address global health threats, and help advance strategic U.S. interests in a secure and prosperous world.

Coalition members include The Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, Save the Children, Partners in Health and World Vision. Eight corporations are also coordinating with the new coalition to bolster ongoing private sector work on improving health worker support and training.

Back to higher-level health workers like Dr. House and Doogie Howser. These characters portray extremely valuable medical roles, but their care is based in hospitals, where patients are either referred or fortunate enough to be admitted to a functioning facility. For countless poor families in the developing world, hospitals are either too far or expensive to reach, or too under-resourced to meet overwhelming health needs.

That’s a major reason why every year — despite proven, lifesaving solutions — 7.6 million children still die before their fifth birthday, and 358,000 women still die of pregnancy-related causes. The vast majority of these deaths are preventable.

Here’s the kicker: most mothers, newborns, and children don’t need access to a doctor to survive the leading causes of death. Burberry scarves, burberry hat, cheap burberry scarf & cap online.Properly supported community health workers and midwives can do much of the job.

These frontline health workers are much easier and less expensive to recruit, train, and retain. They have proven they can properly prescribe basic drugs to treat leading child-killers pneumonia, diarrhea, and malaria; offer family planning and prenatal, postnatal, and preventive care; and provide a woman with skilled help at birth. These frontline health workers save lives.

Existing investments in frontline health workers are already working and have helped poor countries like Bangladesh, Nepal, and Ethiopia reduce maternal, newborn, and child death rates, improve health, and now are showing signs of reducing population growth rates.

Still, much work remains. But because we know what to do, let’s get it done. To quote Dr. Seuss cheap moncler — not actually a health worker, but still a pro at making sense — “Sometimes the questions are complicated and the answers are simple.”

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Thomas voted for President Obama in 2008

Jan 10 12 under Uncategorized | Leave a comment

With the smell of French toast and maple syrup heavy in the air, Jon Huntsman Jr. stopped by a diner here Monday and told patrons that while he was feeling some momentum, “We need some votes.”

Sherry Thomas, 62, replied, “I’m a burberry handbag outlet Democrat and I’m voting for you!”

Thomas voted for President Obama in 2008, but is impressed by Huntsman’s background as a Utah governor and ambassador to China.

“He completely outshines everybody who’s out there right now,” said the Warner, N.H., resident. “He speaks the truth, and I hope people give him a second look and a third look.”

And therein lies Huntsman’s predicament as New Hampshire holds the first presidential primary in the nation: His candidacy has sparked waves of excitement among the chattering classes and moderates, but has never been taken as seriously by the bulk of voters who will pick the GOP nominee.

For presidential candidates, New Hampshire’s quirky history feeds dreams and, occasionally, delusions. As Huntsman made his last stand here, he declined to say how well he must do to make his bid the former rather than the latter, but agreed that Tuesday would be decisive.

“Our strategy moving forward is getting a head of steam out of New Hampshire. We have got to prove the point of electability here. This is why the New Hampshire primary is so critically important,” he told reporters in Concord.

Because of Huntsman’s resume — a combination of executive and international experience, service under presidents of both parties, plus a non-flame-throwing personality and a picture-perfect family — there was great anticipation in certain circles about his presidential bid before he announced in June.

Huntsman has staked his campaign on New Hampshire, holding more than 170 events here and relying on the state’s voters, who have a deep independent streak and, compared with early-state voters in Iowa and South Carolina, are more concerned with fiscal conservatism than social issues.

But he’s never caught fire, either here or in national polls, in part because of a series of debate performances where he failed to make an impression or was largely ignored. But in recent days, he has seen a small rise, prompting burberry kids short pleated skirt speculation that he has an outside shot at second place behind Mitt Romney, who has a commanding lead here.

The candidate and his campaign refuse to speculate where they will come in.

“When you start at zero, as the margin-of-error candidate, to be where we are with the wind at our back, we’re confident we’ll be able to exceed expectations,” said campaign manager Matt David.

The candidate has seen movement in the polls whenever a pro-Huntsman “super PAC” — an independent effort on a candidate’s behalf that he can have no involvement in — airs commercials. The Our Destiny PAC is reportedly funded in large part by the candidate’s billionaire father.

Huntsman had his best debate performance to date Sunday, including what campaign aides describe as a defining moment.

After Romney criticized Huntsman for working as Obama’s ambassador to China while Romney was helping Republican candidates get elected, Huntsman responded, “This country is divided … because of attitudes like that,” prompting loud applause from the audience. “The American people are tired of the partisan division.”

The campaign is trying to capitalize on the moment, and made it the center of an advertisement that began running here Monday. And Huntsman, whose advisors have long urged him to engage Romney, is also being more aggressive in challenging his rival.

“It’s become abundantly clear over the last couple days what differentiates Gov. Romney and me. I will always put my country first. It seems Gov. Romney believes in putting politics first,” Huntsman said Monday.

He also slapped at Romney’s “I like being able to fire people” comment Monday, a remark that the former governor of next-door Massachusetts made in a discussion about health insurance providers. Romney later said the comment was taken out of context.

Huntsman said the remark showed how Romney was removed from the perils facing Americans.

“It may be that he’s slightly out of touch with the economic reality playing out in America right now, and that’s a dangerous place for somebody to be,” he said.

Whether such efforts — hours before burberry outlet 2012 Granite State voters begin casting ballots — can lift Huntsman remains to be seen, an uncertainty the candidate acknowledges.

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It was his evening with Christie that has these ladies

Jan 9 12 under Uncategorized | Leave a comment

It was packed and the huge draw was undoubtedly for Chris Christie.

The New Jersey governor has a way of firing up a crowd like few other politicians.

And former Mass. Gov. Mitt Romney reaped the benefits of that energy and influence on the stump at Exeter High School from the man he affectionately called the loud mouth from New Jersey.

“When America’s watching on Tuesday night, you tell them we’ve seen presidential candidates come and go in this state, and we know a President when we see one. And he is right here,” Gov. Christie said.

Republicans begged Christie to run for President, but he decided not to and instead has thrown his support to the New Hampshire frontrunner.

“Christie kills jobs,” a protester interrupted.

“Really?” Christie asked.

Protesters tried to interrupt the party and got a raw NJ smackdown.

“You know something may go down tonight, but it ain’t going to be jobs, sweetheart,” Christie said.

But the talk turned to Romney vs. Obama.

“This President has failed on the budget, he’s failed on the economy getting people back to work, he’s failed nationally, his vision is wrong, our vision is right. We believe in America,” Romney said.

“We can no longer put up with the most pessimistic president I’ve ever seen in the oval office, President Barack Obama,” Christie said.

A few hours before, Romney was in Rochester, NH with former Minnesota Governor Tim Pawlenty.

“Are you ready to do everything you can in this room and beyond to make Mitt Romney the next President of the United States of America?” Pawlenty asked the crowd.

But it was his evening with Christie that has these ladies who call themselves the three Mittketeers thinking about the White House.

“He really can and will promote a lot of votes for Mitt,” said Cheryl Bennett.

NECN asked what she thought about them as running mates.

“My hope, my hope, that would be great,” Bennett added.

So could this be the Republican ticket to face Obama and Biden?

We’ll see.

But long before that, Romney will be at a Nashua Chamber of Commerce breakfast, tour a Hudson manufacturing plant, and have an evening rally at the McKelvie School in Bedford.

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Who would say such an outlandish thing?

Jan 7 12 under Uncategorized | Leave a comment

But as Romney’s rivals prepared to focus their fire on him in critical back-to-back debates – the first of them tonight – the political phenomenon of the day was former Pennsylvania senator Rick Santorum, who stunned the field by running almost even with Romney in last week’s Iowa caucus and drew such large crowds at a series of events yesterday that fire marshals had to intervene several times.

In Manchester, marshals forced the candidate and his supporters to move a meeting from an overcrowded restaurant to its parking lot.

For Santorum, Jon Huntsman, Newt Gingrich, and Ron Paul, their best opportunity to take Romney down a notch – or position themselves as the alternative to him – could come in what are shaping up to be the most important debates so far in a campaign season chock full of them.

Romney will undoubtedly be in the crosshairs, said Andrew Smith, a political science professor at the University of New Hampshire.

“Everybody’s going to have to beat up on Romney a little bit,’’ Smith said.

The candidates’ potential angles of attack have been surfacing over the past few days. Huntsman, who has focused exclusively on New Hampshire and desperately needs to do well to sustain his campaign, belittled Romney yesterday for saying, on several occasions, that “corporations are people.’’

“Of course corporations are not people,’’ Huntsman said. “Who would say such an outlandish thing? I can’t imagine anyone running for president would say something like that.’’

Romney, who made millions of dollars as a venture capitalist, has said he means by the comment that defending the interests of corporations means defending the well-being of those who work for them and own stock in them.

Yet Romney’s rivals could pay a price if they go too negative on the front-runner, Smith said. They could give Romney the chance to look good by staying above the fray.

“Romney can be the statesman in the group, who doesn’t have to go negative,’’ he said.

Tonight’s debate will be the first since an impressive surge in the polls for Santorum.

Voters who packed his events yesterday heard him spell out his strong conservative views on social and economic issues. At an event in Keene, for example, Santorum called for immediate cuts to Social Security benefits, even for current beneficiaries. The federal deficit is so immense, Santorum said, that everyone must sacrifice.

In addition to raising the eligibility age for Social Security, Santorum calls for tighter restrictions on benefits for the wealthy.

His position is more aggressive than those of other GOP candidates, who either refrain from talking about Social Security cuts or call for trims for future recipients.

Santorum also faced a number of questions on his positions on social issues.

“I’m sure you are sick of this question,’’ said one voter in Dublin, who then asked Santorum to explain again his position on gay marriage.

Santorum, becoming more impassioned each time the question was posed, said it was harmful to families because it could mean that children grow up without both a mother and a father.

“You’re robbing children of something they need, they deserve, they have a right to,’’ Santorum said. “They have a right to know and be loved by their dad and their mom. And that’s what marriage is about. It’s not about two people loving each other. There’s lots of people who love each other that we don’t give a privilege to and call it marriage.’’

During the hourlong visit to a school in Dublin, Santorum was asked about gay marriage three times and abortion once.

His conservative stances in a state that tends to be more moderate on social issues are likely to also be a topic in the debates. With Romney so far in the lead, the other candidates are jockeying for second place and the right to promote themselves as the alternative to Romney, said Dante Scala, associate professor of political science at the University of New Hampshire.

Santorum, Scala said, will be seeking to convince voters that he is electable. He and Romney will be positioned at the center of the candidates in tonight’s debate.

“I would imagine that he would be on center stage in ways he hasn’t been in previous debates,’’ said Scala.

“Santorum was the guy standing on the side, saying, ‘Look at me, look at me,’ ’’ Scala said, referring to previous debates. “Now people are looking, and there’s going to be some pressure that goes along with that.’’

Gingrich surged in the polls over the fall because of well-received performances in previous debates, but even another solid performance, Scala said, might do little to lift the former House speaker’s stock among New Hampshire voters, who will likely stick with Romney or be looking for a fresher face such as Santorum.

The two-hour debate tonight, sponsored by ABC News, Yahoo! News, and WMUR-TV, starts at 9. The debate tomorrow morning at 9 a.m. is hosted by NBC’s “Meet the Press.’’

Paul, who is second in most polls in New Hampshire, returned to the state yesterday and met with supporters at an airport hangar at Nashua Airport.

Romney spent the morning in South Carolina, a state where social conservatives, evangelical Christians, and military families have posed difficulties for the former Massachusetts governor in the past.

Tea Party activists and social conservatives are also girding for a major battle in South Carolina, potentially making the state a last stand against Romney if he is able to pull off the historic feat of winning competitive races in both Iowa and New Hampshire.

“He’s going to win in New Hampshire,’’ Senator John McCain told several hundred voters at a rally with Romney and Governor Nikki Haley in Myrtle Beach. “It’s going to come down, my friends, as it always does, to South Carolina. . . . If Mitt Romney wins here, he will be the next president of the United States. South Carolina, it’s up to you.’’

A CNN/Time/ORC poll released yesterday showed Romney with 37 percent of the vote, followed by Santorum with 19 percent, Gingrich with 18 percent, Paul with 12 percent, Perry with 5 percent, and Huntsman with 1 percent.

Both Romney and Santorum showed huge jumps from the previous CNN poll, conducted in early December, when Romney was at 20 percent and Santorum at just 4 percent. Their rise came at the expense of Gingrich, whose support dropped from 43 percent.

The poll found that 44 percent of voters had definitely made up their minds, while 49 percent said they could still change their decision. The poll of 485 likely Republican primary voters was conducted by ORC International on Jan. 4-5 and has a margin of error of 4.5 percent.

Romney was also ahead in the latest Suffolk University poll in New Hampshire, taking 40 percent of the expected voters, with Paul at 17 percent and Santorum at 11 percent.

At his lone event in New Hampshire, Romney cautioned his supporters not to become overconfident.

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Christian Watford scored 25 points

Jan 6 12 under Uncategorized | Leave a comment

Christian Watford scored 25 points, Cody Zeller had 18 and Zack Novak’s desperation heave bounced high off the backboard, sealing a 73-71 victory for No. 12 Indiana.

“We’re a tough group,” Novak said. “Even when we’d make runs, their crowd would get into it, try to hype their team back up which a lot of crowds don’t do. But I thought we did a good job of fighting through that, and I thought we stayed pretty poised for the environment we were in.”

No. 16 Michigan (12-3, 2-1 Big Ten) is 1-14 at Assembly Hall since 1996, but at least they had a chance in the latest meeting.

Despite never holding a lead, Tim Hardaway and Trey Burke scored all the points in a 13-3 run that tied the score at 68 with 3:02 to go. It was only the second tie of the game.

But the Wolverines didn’t score again until Stu Douglass’ 3-pointer with 2.9 seconds left.

Hardaway finished with 19 points, Douglass had 11 and Burke had 10 points and eight assists.

It still wasn’t enough to break the Hoosiers’ hex.

“I’m really proud of our team, I thought they played really hard and did some of the things we needed to do to win,” Wolverines coach John Beilein said. “But we needed a couple more possessions or have a few possessions back. It didn’t go our way.”

The Hoosiers (14-1, 2-1 Big Ten) have won 11 straight at Assembly Hall, three times over ranked foes — their highest season total since beating four Top 25 teams in 2005-06. The 14 wins are already a season-best for Crean, who in his fourth season in Bloomington.

Watford has had a huge hand in the remarkable turnaround.

He hit the game-winning 3-pointer against No. 1 Kentucky in mid-December, sealed Saturday’s victory over No. 2 Ohio State with two free throws in the closing seconds and had the most complete game of his three-year career Thursday.

Watford led the Hoosiers with seven rebounds, was 8 of 11 from the field including 3 of 4 on 3-pointers, made 6 of 8 free throws and had four assists. Zeller had 18 points on 8-of-10 shooting, and Verdell Jones scored six of his eight points in the critical closing stretch for Indiana.

It impressed their toughest critic.

“I thought you had to recruit for grit and you had to recruit someone with grit,” coach Tom Crean said. “But I’ve learned with these guys that grit can be developed and grit can come out. Verdell Jones and Christian Watford are developing grit. And Cody Zeller came with it. They are playing with it.”

The Hoosiers had no choice on a treacherous night.

Indiana led by as many as 15 points late in the first half and seemed poised for a blowout until the Wolverines rallied within seven points at halftime. Michigan trimmed the lead to 44-43 early in the second half, and finally tied the score at 46 when Evan Smotrycz connected on a 3-pointer.

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