Greek ruling conservatives take lead over leftists: polls

ATHENS (Reuters) - Greece's ruling conservatives have grabbed a narrow lead over the leftist main opposition since securing bailout funds to avert bankruptcy, three opinion polls showed, as most Greeks believe the country will stay in the euro zone.

A survey conducted by MRB pollsters for Sunday newspaper Real News showed that if elections were held now Prime Minister Antonis Samaras's New Democracy party would get 29.2 percent versus 27.8 percent for the anti-bailout SYRIZA party.

The ultra-nationalist Golden Dawn ranked third with 11.6 percent while the power-sharing Socialist PASOK party stood at 7.0 percent, the poll conducted in January 22-24 showed.

For months New Democracy trailed Syriza in polls but it pulled ahead this month after securing aid from the European Union and the International Monetary Fund to end months of uncertainty over Greece's future in the euro.

"There is an increase in the number of people who believe that we must stay in the euro zone and stick to our commitments because there is no other way out," said MRB's Dimitris Mavros.

MRB said that for the first time since the Greek crisis broke out a majority of Greeks - 60 percent - said they believed the country would not go bankrupt and more than 75 percent said they expected Greece to stay in the euro.

But as many as 83 percent expected more austerity measures.

Another survey conducted by Alco for newspaper Proto Thema in the same period showed New Democracy moving into first place for the first time since national polls in June. If elections were held now it would get 24.9 percent versus SYRIZA's 23.4 percent, Alco showed.

Questions still remain over whether the coalition can continue to implement a reform program that has sent unemployment to the highest level in the European Union.

Greeks fed up with waves of tax hikes and salary cuts have repeatedly taken to the streets in often violent protests and lashed out at politicians they hold responsible for the crisis.

More than 62 percent polled by Alco said they could not afford to pay off their loans and their taxes.

But a Kapa Research survey for Sunday's To Vima newspaper showed that 57.6 percent believe the government deserves more time against 28.9 percent who want early elections.

(Reporting by Renee Maltezou)

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/greek-ruling-conservatives-lead-over-leftists-polls-212026955--business.html

red tails red tails heidi klum heidi klum red tails trailer joe pa dead laura dekker

South Florida Nature Activity Guide to Winter | Tropic Home

Download this free guide to nature and outdoor family fun in South Florida

Last fall, I created a free guide for families to do nature-related and outdoor activities in South Florida, where I live. A lot of family-fun guides don?t relate where our seasons are different from most of the rest of the country. That?s especially true for the winter season ? so I created an all-new free guide for winter:

South Florida Nature Activity Guide to Winter

Does Florida even have winter? I have northern friends who laugh at the idea! Longtime Floridians, though, can tell the subtle differences of each season.

Even if you?re not in Florida or thinking to come to Florida this winter, please go ahead and download the free guide in the link above (it?s a PDF) because there are some really cute Valentine crafts your family might enjoy.

Download the nature guide to get the template and instructions for these heart-shaped bird paper crafts

(Also, if you live in the north, this guide will help you get a jump on spring!)

There are eight pages of good ideas, tips, interesting facts about wildlife and activities for kids ? all free.

Please share the South Florida Nature Activity Guide to Winter with your family, friends and neighbors!

Source: http://tropichomeandfamily.com/2013/01/south-florida-nature-activity-guide-to-winter.html

the situation tim tebow jets katy perry part of me video photoshop cs6 beta cate blanchett nfl news tebow

Leading Senate liberal Harkin of Iowa to retire

DES MOINES (Reuters) - Senator Tom Harkin, a veteran Iowa Democrat and one of the most liberal senators, said on Saturday he will not seek re-election in 2014, putting at risk what was considered a safe Democratic seat.

Harkin, 73, who has focused much of his nearly 40-year congressional career on farm policy, education and expanding rights for people with disabilities, is the third senator facing re-election next year who has announced his retirement, following Democrat Jay Rockefeller of West Virginia and Republican Saxby Chambliss of Georgia.

"It's somebody else's turn. It's time for me to step aside ... . I think that's not only good for our party, it's good for our state and for our nation," Harkin said in an interview with Reuters.

He said he had no health problems but had promised his wife that he would quit before it was too late to enjoy other things in life.

Iowa, site of the country's first presidential nominating contest, is considered a political swing state. Republican Charles Grassley is Iowa's other U.S. senator.

In remarks to the Iowa Democratic Party central committee after his announcement, Harkin said he would stay politically active.

"I'm not quitting today. This is not a time for legacy talks or anything like this," said Harkin, who has served in Congress since 1974.

Several committee members had tears running down their cheeks as he spoke.

Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, a Nevada Democrat, in a statement described Harkin as "a passionate progressive, whose deeply held principles have provided a guiding light to Democrats for decades."

SEARCH IS ON

Party officials said Harkin's announcement, coming early in the current two-year election cycle, provides ample time to recruit a strong Democratic candidate.

Among Democrats, U.S. Representative Bruce Braley is widely seen as a front-runner. U.S. Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack, a former Iowa governor, and his wife, Christine Vilsack, who ran unsuccessfully for Congress last year, are also viewed as potential candidates.

Among Republicans, U.S. Representatives Tom Latham, a moderate, and Steve King, a conservative, are mentioned as possible candidates, which could produce a divisive Republican primary.

Democratic President Barack Obama won Iowa in the November election. But the state has a Republican governor, and a divided legislature and congressional delegation.

Harkin's retirement "just reinforces our belief that a grassroots Republican comeback can take place in 2014. Let's have it start in Iowa," Iowa Republican Party Chairman A.J. Spiker said in an email appeal to state Republicans.

The party needs to pick up six seats in the mid-term elections next year to take a majority in the 100-member Senate.

One of the last of the Senate's old-guard liberals, Harkin angrily opposed the White House over the recent fiscal cliff compromise that Vice President Joe Biden negotiated with Senate Republican leader Mitch McConnell of Kentucky.

Harkin said the deal that raised taxes only on the very rich helps the wealthy at the expense of the middle class.

First elected to the House of Representatives in 1974 and to the Senate in 1984, Harkin said someone younger needs to take his place.

"I've been there 40 years. I'm 73. By the time I run (for re-election), I'd be 75," he said.

(Additional reporting by Richard Cowan, David Morgan, Charles Abbott and Vicki Allen in Washington; Editing by Greg McCune and Xavier Briand)

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/democratic-senator-tom-harkin-not-seek-election-aide-161442576.html

fox 8 news indy 500 angelina jolie leg daytona artie lange nascar daytona 2012 kasey kahne

Clashes in Egypt on eve of uprising anniversary

CAIRO (AP) ? Egyptian security forces fired tear gas and protesters hurled stones and Molotov cocktails in a day-long demonstration on Thursday, raising fears of a violent anniversary of the 2011 uprising that toppled long-time authoritarian President Hosni Mubarak.

Youth activists and opposition groups have called for large rallies on the anniversary Friday in Cairo's Tahrir Square and in front of the president palace in the upscale suburb, Heliopolis.

The protests, which left dozens injured, began before dawn in central Cairo when protesters tried to tear down a cement wall built to prevent them from reaching the parliament and the Cabinet building. The street clashes continued after darkness fell on the Egyptian capital.

Three weeks of mass protests that erupted on Jan. 25, 2011, eventually forced Mubarak out of office.

Since then, Egypt has undergone a tumultuous transition under the interim leadership of military generals until the election last June of Mohammed Morsi of the Muslim Brotherhood group. His first six months in office were marked by political tensions, street protests and an economic crunch that sapped his popularity.

As the protests continued, Morsi visited the western city of Ismailia to inaugurate a maritime project, but he was received by activists who blocked a railway station, tore down the welcoming banners and issued a statement stating that they were opposed to inaugurating new projects while there's corruption in the railway system.

Later in the day, Morsi urged Egyptians to mark the anniversary peacefully.

"I call upon Egyptians to celebrate the revolution ... with civilization and peacefully to preserve our nation, our institution, our souls, our streets and our sons," he told a gathering in a speech meant to mark the birthday of Muslim Prophet Muhammad.

"We have to feel that we are all in one ship and we have to preserve its safety and respect the people and their free will which they express in their ballot boxes," he added.

But die-hard fans of Egypt's most popular soccer team, Ahly, who took part in the clashes, warned in a statement: "The price of blood is blood." It was a reference to the deaths of many of their friends last year in a violent rampage at a soccer game that left 74 dead.

The soccer fans, known as Ultras, also called for mass protests on Jan. 26, the day a court is expected to rule on the fate of security officials being tried in connection with the deaths at the soccer game, one of the world's bloodiest instances of violence at a sports event.

On Tuesday, in an attempt to assuage anger, Morsi announced that the victims will be considered "martyrs." That means their families will receive compensation like those killed in the uprising against Mubarak.

That same day, Egypt's prosecutor general, who was appointed by Morsi, asked the court to give the prosecution more time to introduce new findings and new defendants before issuing its verdict. That was seen viewed as a move to postpone the verdict and avoid street violence by the soccer fans.

On Wednesday, Ultras held a sit-in in front of Egypt's stock market, briefly blocked a highway, and set up tents in Tahrir Square. The group has long been at odds with police, and it played a key role in anti-Mubarak uprising.

In addition to Ultras, a previously unknown group calling itself the Black Bloc appeared in a video clip posted on social networking sites. Wearing black masks and waving black banners, it warned the Muslim Brotherhood of using its "military wing" to tamp down protests, saying that if it did it would "go down to the streets and never come back."

In another online statement, the Black Bloc claimed responsibility for attacks on the offices of the Muslim Brotherhood and a fast-food chain known to be owned by the group. Egyptian daily Al-Masry al-Youm reported that members of the group took part in Thursday's clashes.

The opposition has demanded a suspension or radical changes to be made to Egypt's newly adopted constitution, which an Islamist-dominated constituent assembly drafted amid deep polarization and mass street protests.

The constitution, which many Egyptians see as a detrimental to civil liberties and a precursor to a religious state, passed with a 64 percent "yes" vote in a December referendum in which around 33 percent of voters took part.

In an online video message posted on Thursday, the nation's most prominent opposition leader Mohamed ElBaradei urged Egyptians to rally in the streets but warned that change will take time.

"I demand from each one of you, all across Egypt, to prove that the revolution must continue and must be completed," ElBaradei, a Nobel Peace Prize laureate and former head of the U.N. nuclear agency, said in the message.

"Egyptians rose up for the sake of freedom, dignity and social justice," he said. "We must not stop until we see all the demands achieved. It will take time but we have to put ourselves on the right path."

The opposition wants to use the occasion to put pressure on Morsi and the Muslim Brotherhood, who secular and liberal Egyptians accuse of trying to monopolize power.

Meanwhile, the Brotherhood and other Islamist parties announced they will stay away from the streets on Friday's anniversary and warned the opposition against instigating violence. However, a Brotherhood member said that orders were given for supporters to rally at a mosque located near the presidency. He spoke on condition of anonymity because he was not authorized to give the information to the media.

Egypt witnessed some of its worst street clashes on Dec. 4 when supporters of the Muslim Brotherhood clamped down on tents and protesters holding a sit-in in front of the presidential palace. Clashes ended with 10 dead and hundreds injured on both sides.

The Brotherhood said it would mark the anniversary by planting 1 million trees in a campaign entitled "Let's build Egypt."

In a statement posted on the group's official website, its leader, Mohammed Badie, advised Muslims to "watch their enemies," invoking challenges the prophet faced while founding a new state in the holy city of Medina in the 7th Century.

Commemorating the prophet's birthday, a national holiday, Badie said Muhammad faced "hypocrites, filled with hatred and envy for the emerging group."

____

Associated Press reporter Mariam Rizk contributed to this report.

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/clashes-egypt-eve-uprising-anniversary-152510759.html

Mermaid Body Found Celeste Holm Stephen Covey klimt bastille day breaking bad breaking bad

Brain in Love -- The Woodlands LearningRx suggests loving ...

THE WOODLANDS, TX? (Jan. 23, 2013) ? Love can inspire a poem, a painting or a day-dream, but only recently has it been credited with building brain power.

Kim Bellini, director of LearningRx in The Woodlands, said she is intrigued with the many mysteries surrounding the brain -- and, most recently, the role that love plays.

Bellini?s?business focuses on strengthening cognitive skills ? those functions that help us acquire, retain and process information. Trainers at LearningRx work one-on-one with clients of all ages ? not tutoring them but using certain techniques and even games to boost cognitive function.

A new field, interpersonal neurobiology, uses clinical evidence to observe how the brain continually changes, Bellini said.

?This is good news,? she explained. ?It means that people can continually learn, and the brain is able to rewire and improve itself throughout life ? if it gets the right stimulation.?

Bellini said ?neuroplasticity,? the science that shows how experience can change the brain?s physical structure and function, has another major implication. ?This tells us that what people choose to do, or who we choose to be around, has the power to stimulate the brain and ultimately define a person,? Bellini said.

In other words, relationships can affect the brain. ?Starting with your mother, and carrying on to your spouse, others can change how our brain functions,? she said.

Love at first sight

Immediately at birth, the brain is buzzing with information from a new world ? and neural circuits are actually being built to form a bond with caregivers, Bellini said.

Babies show love early on. At 2 to 4 months, a child makes eye contact and starts to smile.

?These signs of love are more important than just being cute,? Bellini noted. ?Smiling back and forth, giggling together and mimicking body movements actually help your baby develop a host of critical qualities, including intelligence and language ability.?

Advances in neuro-imaging are showing that a baby is learning and forming the basis of learning ability at these early stages.

As children grow, they need a loving and nurturing?home environment to increase their ability to learn in school, Bellini added.??So love and caring at home is critical to a developing child and ultimately helps them reach their potential in the classroom,? she said.

Continuing to grow

Scientists have been studying the effects of relationships on the brain. For example, Daniel J. Siegel and Allan N. Schore, colleagues at the University of California, Los Angeles, recently discussed findings of their research proving that caregivers can change the way genes express themselves. Supportive relationships can predict positive traits.

James Coan, a neuroscientist at the University of Virginia, conducted experiments that showed subjects in a healthy relationship could lower their blood pressure and ease stress by holding hands.

Bellini said the research does not surprise her; it makes sense considering some of the basics used in brain training.

?Basically, the brain is stimulated by exposure to new stimuli,? Bellini said. ?We tell clients to learn a new language or play an instrument and to constantly challenge themselves mentally.?

Relationships often encourage this type of behavior, she added.

?When people fall in love, and spend more time with others, they often try new things, listen to new ideas, adopt new habits and meet new people ? all of this is stimulating for the brain,? Bellini said.

Creating fun ways to learn and build cognitive skills is one of the chief goals of The Woodlands LearningRx, a brain-training center that offers unique programs to transform a student?s ability to learn at a core level. The center is located at 4840 West Panther Creek, Suite 205. For more information, call 832- 482-3082or visit www.learningrx.com/the-woodlands.

Source: http://fatcatwebproductions.com/the_paper/content/brain-love-woodlands-learningrx-suggests-loving-relationships-can-boost-mental-power

ostara andy kaufman masters 2012 tom watson kawasaki disease resurrection masters tickets

If you don?t play the game the theorists have won (Unqualified Offerings)

Share With Friends: | | Politics - Top Stories Stories, RSS Feeds and Widgets via Feedzilla.

Source: http://news.feedzilla.com/en_us/stories/politics/top-stories/279139289?client_source=feed&format=rss

chelsea handler mitch daniels shirataki noodles prince fielder state of the union address 2012 obama state of the union 2012 2012 state of the union address

MSGs Do Not Do Personal Security - Business Insider

The Benghazi attacks last year touched off a firestorm of debate around diplomatic security.

While some suggested that?Marine Embassy Security Guards (MSGs) could have prevented the attack, the reality is that MSGs have a different mission. As Hillary Clinton told the Senate hearing: Embassy Marines are primarily responsible for the protection and disposal of classified documents in the event of an attack.

Secondary to that, provide the security of and possible egress for American citizens.

Check out the clip below:

?

From the official State.gov website: The primary mission of MSGs is to provide internal security services at U.S. diplomatic and consular facilities abroad, to prevent the compromise of classified U.S. Government information and equipment under a range of circumstances, up to and including hostile assaults. Their secondary mission is to provide protection for U.S. citizens and property located within those official U.S. facilities during situations that require urgent action.

Source: http://www.businessinsider.com/msgs-do-not-do-personal-security-2013-1

Ryan Lanza Sandy Hook justin bieber kanye west cbs Univision josh hamilton