Dog, owner detained for election campaigning in India

MUMBAI, India - A pet pooch was detained for flouting India's election rules after it was spotted parading slogans supporting Prime Minister Narendra Modi outside polling stations -- but "let off with a warning," authorities said Tuesday.

Police seized the dog and its owner in the western state of Maharashtra on Monday just as voting was under way on the fourth voting day of India's mammoth election that runs to May 19. 

"We detained the dog and its owner as it was a polling day and they were walking around promoting Modi and violating election campaigning rules," police official Ganpat Phil told AFP.

Campaigning is banned on voting days in areas that are casting ballots.

A complaint was filed under India's penal code against owner Eknath Chaudhary for the sticker and placards stating "Modi Lao, Desh Bachchao" ("Bring Modi back, save the country"), Phil said.

The dog and the owner were released in the town of Nandurbar on Monday evening and "let off with a warning," the official added.

Modi and his Hindu nationalist Bharatiya Janata Party are favorites to retain power following the election, results of which are due May 23.

source: news.abs-cbn.com

Obama, Romney return to attack as campaign hits final stretch

GREEN BAY, Wis. - President Barack Obama and Republican Mitt Romney went back on the attack on Thursday, breaking a storm-induced campaign truce to hit the road and pound home their closing messages in the final stretch of a tight battle for the White House.

With five days left until Tuesday's election, Obama received an endorsement from New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg, r e surrected his 2008 "change" slogan and said he was the only candidate who had actually fought for it.

Romney criticized Obama as a lover of big government who would expand the federal bureaucracy.

National polls show the race deadlocked, and Obama and Romney will spend the final days in eight swing states that will decide who wins the 270 electoral votes needed to capture the White House.

Obama made Wisconsin the first stop on a four-state swing on Thursday that also took him to rallies in Nevada and Colorado before going to Ohio for the night. Romney had a full day of campaigning across Virginia.

"You may be frustrated at the pace of change, but you know what I believe, you know where I stand," Obama told a crowd of 2,600 people on an airport tarmac in Wisconsin, a state that is a vital piece of his electoral strategy. "I know what change looks like because I've fought for it."

At a rally in Doswell, Virginia, Romney criticized Obama's comment that he would like to consolidate government agencies that deal with business issues in a new department under a secretary of business.

"I don't think adding a new chair to his Cabinet will help add millions of jobs on Main Street," Romney said.

Jobs will again be the focus of fierce debate on Friday when the government releases the unemployment figures for October. Any big change from the 7.8 percent number in September could potentially sway voters.

Obama and Romney had put campaigning on hold for several days as the historic storm Sandy pounded the eastern seaboard, leaving a trail of destruction and forcing Obama to turn his attention to storm relief.

That pause produced some unexpected political benefits for Obama, who won warm praise from Republican Governor Chris Christie of New Jersey, a Romney supporter, and he spent days directing federal relief efforts in a show of presidential leadership that largely sidelined Romney.

New York's Bloomberg - a Republican-turned-independent who did not back a candidate in 2008 - endorsed Obama and cited the Democrat's record on climate change, an issue that has gained more attention since the storm.

Bloomberg said Obama had taken significant steps to reduce carbon consumption, while Romney had backtracked on earlier positions he took as governor of Massachusetts to battle climate change. Obama said he was "honored" by the backing of Bloomberg, who flirted with White House runs in the past.

On their first day back on the trail, both Obama and Romney returned to political attacks but struck a slightly more positive tone than usual in trying to woo undecided voters and push their own supporters to vote.

In Doswell, Romney proclaimed his faith in the future and said, "The American people have what it takes to come out of these tough times."

In Wisconsin, Obama drew distinctions with Romney but dropped his usual reference to "Romnesia" - the term he uses to describe what he calls Romney's tendency to shift positions.

SWING-STATE ADVANTAGE FOR OBAMA

Obama has a somewhat easier path to 270 electoral votes than Romney, fueled primarily by a small but steady lead in the vital battleground of Ohio - a crucial piece of any winning scenario for either candidate - and slight leads in Wisconsin, Iowa and Nevada.

Barring any surprises elsewhere, Obama can win a second term by capturing the Midwestern bastions of Ohio, Wisconsin and Iowa, and his schedule was aimed at shoring up his safety net there.

Obama plans to visit Ohio on each of the last four days of the campaign, and plans two more trips to Wisconsin and Iowa. H e will conclude his campaign on Monday night with rock singer Bruce Springsteen in Iowa, where a 2008 caucus win launched his run to the presidency.

So far, Obama has planned just one visit each in the final days to Florida and Virginia, where most polls give Romney a slight lead. Romney will hit Wisconsin and Ohio on Friday, and New Hampshire, Iowa and Colorado on Saturday.

Romney plans to finish up his campaign on Monday night in New Hampshire, the state where he launched his bid last year.

Romney's campaign has aired ads in recent days in the Democratic-leaning states of Michigan, Pennsylvania and Minnesota, hoping to put them in play after polls showed the races tightening but Obama still ahead.

The campaign said Romney would visit Pennsylvania on Sunday, marking his first campaign visit since the nominating convention to one of his new target states. A win in Pennsylvania would be a crippling blow to Obama, but most public polls still show Obama leading there.

Romney aides said the moves into those three new states were a sign of their growing momentum, although Obama aides described them as a desperate ploy to find new paths to 270 electoral votes.

A Reuters/Ipsos national online poll on Thursday showed the race remained effectively deadlocked, with Obama at 47 percent to Romney's 46 percent. Most national polls showed roughly similar results.

Most swing-state polls have found Obama clinging to slender leads in five of the eight most heavily contested states - Ohio, Wisconsin, Iowa, Nevada and New Hampshire. In most polls, Romney has a slight lead in Florida, while Virginia and Colorado were effectively tied.

A Reuters/Ipsos online poll on Thursday showed Obama with a 5-point lead in Virginia, and 2-point leads among likely voters in both Ohio and Florida. Romney led by 1 point in Colorado in the Reuters/Ipsos polls.

source: abs-cbnnews.com

Why Janice won't campaign for Aga

MANILA, Philippines -- Janice de Belen is firm on keeping her distance from the political aspirations of her former partner, actor Aga Muhlach.


According to de Belen, she and Muhlach have spoken on the possibility of her taking part in his political campaign. The "Oki Doki Doc" star is set to run for a seat in Congress in the upcoming 2013 midterm elections, representing the fourth district of Camarines Sur.

"Pinag-usapan na namin 'yan. Hindi kasi ako pwede mag-campaign eh, because of religion, we're not allowed to campaign," de Belen told reporters on Monday night, when asked if she is willing to campaign for Muhlach.

De Belen is a member of the Iglesia ni Cristo.

The Kapamilya actress and Muhlach became sweethearts during their teens, when they co-starred in a number of films, including "Super Wan-Tu-Tri" (1985).

Although she has a child with Muhlach, de Belen went on to marry actor John Estrada. They have since separated.

Muhlach, meanwhile, married former beauty queen Charlene Gonzales.

Gonzales, one of the hosts of ABS-CBN's entertainment talk show "The Buzz," has been vocal of her support for Muhlach in his congressional bid.

Asked if she can render the same support for her former boyfriend, de Belen said: "I'm not from Bicol. Meron akong mga ninuno from Bicol. But I'm not from Bicol, I don't vote there. I vote here."

"But I wish him the best," the actress added.

While the "Ina, Kapatid, Anak" actress won't be campaigning for Muhlach, their son, according to de Belen, will be showing his full support for his father.

"Syempre anak niya 'yun eh," de Belen said, when ABS-CBN News noted that Luigi will take part in Muhlach's political campaign. "Tatay niya 'yun. Dapat lang talaga ipag-campaign niya daddy niya."

Although she cannot formally endorse any fellow celebrities who are running in the 2013 polls, de Belen expressed confidence that an actor-turned-politican might end up becoming the country's best hope at progress.

"Sa lahat ng mga artista, you wish them the best. Because, malay mo, sila nga 'yung makakatulong sa ikagaganda ng bayan, why not," she said.

Will she be joining the political world anytime soon?

"Never ko naisip tumakbo. I think showbiz is enough, sa dami ng nagaganap. Sana magtuluy-tuloy, okay na ko dun," she said.

Aside from the primetime series "Ina, Kapatid, Anak," in which she stars, de Belen is set to topbill the 14th installment of the horror film anthology "Shake, Rattle & Roll." The Regal Films flick is an official entry to the 2012 Metro Manila Film Festival.

source: abs-cbnnews.com

Romney attacks Obama’s Middle East policy in speech to Virginia military cadets

Gaining ground in several new polls, a resurgent Mitt Romney on Monday sought to burnish his foreign policy credentials with a major policy speech attacking President Obama’s handling of the Middle East.

He accused Obama of emboldening Iran, alienating Israel, abandoning Syrian rebels, withdrawing troops from Iraq too abruptly and mishandling the consulate attack in Libya that killed Ambassador Christopher Stevens.

“We cannot support our friends and defeat our enemies in the Middle East when our words are not backed up by deeds, when our defense spending is being arbitrarily and deeply cut . . . and the perception of our strategy is not one of partnership, but of passivity.”

Romney spoke as several polls found him enjoying a jolt of new support following his performance against Obama in last week’s debate.

A poll released by the respected Pew Research Center showed the biggest bounce — a Romney lead of 49% to 45% among likely voters. A Pew poll in mid-September had Obama up among likely voters, 51% to 43%.

But one poll suggested the bounce might be short-lived. A seven-day tracking poll by Gallup found a five-point edge for the President among registered voters, about where he was before the debate.

Obama spent Monday in California, where he designated the home of Latino labor leader Cesar Chavez — the United Farm Workers union founder who died in 1993 — a national monument.

The designation could shore up support from Hispanic and progressive voters for Obama, whose 2008 “Yes we can” slogan borrowed from Chavez’s motto, “Si, se puede.”

Obama also held fund-raisers in San Francisco, as his campaign closed in on a staggering $1 billion in donations. Romney’s Virginia speech offered a preview of the attacks he is likely to launch when he debates Obama on foreign policy on Oct. 22 in South Florida — their third and final debate.

Romney accused the President of emboldening Iran by putting “daylight” between the U.S. and Israel.
Romney also said the President pulled U.S. troops out of Iraq too quickly, placing the nation’s fragile security gains at risk.

And he said Obama’s policies have left the U.S. “at the mercy of events,” including last month’s attack on the U.S. Consulate in Benghazi, Libya, where Ambassador Stevens and three other Americans were killed.
Romney cast the attack in Libya as part of a larger trend of anti-American violence in the region.

“When we look at the Middle East today . . . it is clear that the risk of conflict in the region is higher now than when the President took office,” he said.

Romney also brought up the issue of Iraq, accusing the Obama administration of an “abrupt withdrawal” of troops. He framed Iraq as part of “a struggle between liberty and tyranny, justice and oppression, hope and despair.”

White House spokesman Jay Carney dismissed Romney’s tough talk on Iran as “chest-thumping” and many of his other Middle East proposals as “contradictions.”

He jumped on Romney’s comments about the war in Iraq.

“In what seems simply to be an attempt to draw a distinction with this President without any policy forethought, Gov. Romney is now saying we should have tens of thousands of troops still in Iraq,” Carney said. “And this President is happy to debate that issue, because he profoundly disagrees.”

To drive home the counterattack, the Obama campaign launched a television ad slamming what it called Romney’s “gaffe-filled” overseas trip in July — a tour of England, Israel and Poland — as “reckless” and “amateurish.”

The ad, which will air in Virginia, reminds voters of Romney’s stumbles on that trip, which included questioning whether his British hosts were ready to host the Olympics.

“If this is how he handles the world now, just think what Mitt Romney might do as President,” the ad said.

The Obama campaign also dispatched Madeline Albright, the secretary of state under former President Bill Clinton, who called Romney’s address “very shallow” and “full of platitudes” on a conference call with reporters.







Sen. Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.) also took a moment to tout the President’s foreign policy victories during the Columbus Day Parade.

“Bottom line is, it’s very hard for (Romney) to make inroads on foreign affairs because Obama has done a good job in terms of getting Bin Laden,” he said.Although Romney took a sharp tone in Monday’s policy speech, he is taking a noticeably softer approach on the campaign trail.

During a three-day campaign swing through Florida this weekend, the GOP candidate devoted much of stump speeches to sharing his past good deeds — including ministering to a 14-year-old leukemia patient who died after Romney helped him write out a will.

On Monday, Romney made an impromptu stop at a Virginia elementary school, where he was greeted like a pop star by a group of squealing fourth- and fifth-graders.

The students lined up to shake hands with the White House hopeful, who also crouched in the grass for a group photo with the children.

“I just saw you on TV!” exclaimed one little girl who was almost overcome with excitement.

Meanwhile, Romney found himself in dispute with television host Linda Ellerbee, after skipping an opportunity to take part in Nickelodeon’s “Kids Pick the President” special that includes President Obama.

Ellerbee, the show’s host and executive producer, said the decision “disses” children.

The Romney campaign did not immediately respond to requests by The Associated Press for comment.

Since 1992, when Nickelodeon began airing the Q&As, only two other candidates have declined to take part, Ellerbee said: Democratic contender John Kerry said no in 2004, which prompted President George W. Bush to withdraw.

source: nydailynews.com

Romney takes fight to Obama in first debate

* Romney on the offensive from start of debate

* Obama says Romney tax plan doesn't add up

* Romney needed a breakthrough performance

DENVER - An aggressive Mitt Romney took the fight to President Barack Obama on Wednesday and the Republican candidate appeared to breathe new life into his struggling campaign with a solid performance at their first debate.

As polls showed Obama with a slight edge among voters, Romney was on the offensive throughout the 90-minute encounter between the two rivals at the University of Denver.

The two men, standing side-by-side for the first time after months of brutal campaign attacks hurled at each other, clashed over taxes, healthcare and the role of government, reflecting the deep ideological divide in Washington.

Appearing poised and well-prepared, Romney zeroed in on weak economic growth and 8.1 percent unemployment that has left Obama vulnerable in his effort to win a second four-year term.

"Now, I'm concerned that we're on the path that's just been unsuccessful. The president has a view very similar to the one he had when he ran for office four years go, that spending more, taxing more, regulating more, if you will, trickle-down government would work. That's not the right answer for America," Romney said.

The debate saw no haymaker punches thrown and not much in the way of one-line zingers. Instead, it was a war of attrition as each man used facts and figures to make his points and stress the differences between them.

Romney, however, may have done himself some favors with crisper answers than Obama, who sounded professorial and a bit long-winded despite his staff's best efforts to get him to give snappier comments.

The incumbent Democrat did put Romney on the defensive about his proposals for overhauling the U.S. tax system.

Obama said Romney was promoting the same kind of tax cut proposals that former President George W. Bush pushed through Congress in 2001 and 2003.

"We ended up moving from surpluses to deficits and it all culminated with the worst recession since the Great Depression," said Obama.

In the face of attacks from Romney that the Obama healthcare overhaul of 2010 will hurt small-business hiring, Obama basically said his healthcare plan was modeled after the program Romney put in place as governor of Massachusetts, and it "hasn't destroyed jobs" there.

Romney needs victory more

Romney was in need of a victory at the debate to help him put his campaign back on a positive footing after a rocky few weeks.

He was damaged by a hidden-camera videotape in which he said 47 percent of voters were dependent on government and unlikely to support him.

Obama, holding a slight edge in national polls and leading Romney in some swing states where the election will be decided, was looking in the debate to do avoid harming his position as the apparent front-runner.

The debate moderated by PBS anchor Jim Lehrer was the best opportunity to date to reach large numbers of voters in an unfiltered way, with an estimated television audience of 60 million possible.

Both men have been under pressure to provide more specific details on how to get America's economy surging again after a prolonged recovery from recession.

Obama charged that Romney's plan to reduce income taxes by 20 percent across the board and eliminate some tax deductions would leave middle-class Americans paying more taxes, an allegation that Romney vociferously denied.

"The fact is that if you are lowering the rates the way you described, Governor, then it is not possible to come up with enough deductions and loopholes that only affect high-income individuals to avoid either raising the deficit or burdening the middle class. It's - it's math. It's arithmetic," Obama said.

Replied Romney, "Virtually everything he said about my tax plan is inaccurate."

The debate was the first of three such face-offs scheduled in the next four weeks. Biden and Romney's running mate, U.S. Representative Paul Ryan, will debate once, on Oct. 11.

source: abs-cbnnews.com

Romney’s campaign misspells “America” in new app

WASHINGTON — Republican Mitt Romney says he is running for president in search of a better America.

This week, Romney’s campaign could have used a better speller.

The campaign released an iPhone app late Tuesday that features slogans supporting his campaign against Democratic President Barack Obama ahead of elections on November 6.

“We’re With Mitt,” read one. “American Greatness,” declared another.

“A Better Amercia,” proclaimed a third, a misspelling that almost instantly became the subject of jokes on social media.

The unfortunate typographical error – made on behalf of a candidate who has been known to sing “America the Beautiful” on the campaign trail – came on a day in which Romney was joined at a Las Vegas fundraiser by Donald Trump. The real estate and media mogul had spent much of the day casting doubt on Obama’s eligibility to be president, questioning whether he had been born in the United States, even after certified copies of his Hawaiian birth certificate were released last year.

“Mistakes happen,” Romney campaign spokeswoman Andrea Saul told MSNBC about the spelling slip.

A corrected version of the app was released by Apple on Wednesday.

source: interaksyon.com

Eva Longoria and Kal Penn join Barack Obama campaign

Feb 23 (TheWrap.com) - President Barack Obama's support in Hollywood might not be what it used to, but he can always depend on a little star power from Eva Longoria and Kal Penn.

Longoria and Penn will serve as national co-chairs of the president's re-election campaign, the Obama for America campaign announced Wednesday. "Harold & Kumar" star Penn and "Desperate Housewives" actress Longoria will join dozens of other co-chairs to "serve as ambassadors for the President, advise the campaign on key issues, and help engage and mobilize voters in all 50 states."

Other co-chairs named to the campaign include former Obama chiefs of staff Rahm Emanuel and Bill Daley, Massachusetts governor Deval Patrick, and Los Angeles mayor Antonio Villaraigosa.

Longoria and Penn's participation in the campaign isn't surprising; Longoria has been a big Obama booster, while Penn (real name: Kalpen Modi) took time out from acting to work at the White House as the associate director for the Office of Public Engagement.

Jim Messina, the Obama campaign's manager, said that the newly appointed co-chairs "will be tremendous assets on the ground as we build the biggest grassroots campaign in history.”

source: http://www.fox13now.com/entertainment/sns-rt-barack-obama-eva-longoriamt1thewrap35667-20120223,0,5663314.story