August 25, 2012

Mitt Romney Sort Of Promises To Bank In U.S. If Elected President

Source: TheHuffingtonPost

WASHINGTON -- Mitt Romney might repatriate his vast overseas holdings if he is elected president, the GOP candidate said in an interview with Parade magazine.

The family-friendly periodical asked readers what questions the Romneys should be asked during the interview, which led to the question on Romney's offshore funds.

"There were a number of questions about your financial wealth," Parade noted. "New Jersey resident Harry H. asked if you would make this pledge: If elected, do you promise to bank in the United States?"

Romney first replied by claiming that the decision was out of his hands. "My investments have been managed for almost the last 10 years by a blind trust. A trustee decides where to put our money. If I'm president, my understanding is the same principle applies, that I may not direct any of my investments. I can't tell you what my investments might be because I won't make them," he said. "But I'm happy to have every investment in the United States."

Read more: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/08/25/mitt-romney-bank_n_1830307.html

---

Just think about how friggin crazy this sounds? 'if you elected me president, I will make sure I bank in the country that elects me?'.... This election season is completely bonkers!

August 25, 2012

Mitt Romney Sort Of Promises To Bank In U.S. If Elected President

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/mobileweb/2012/08/25/mitt-romney-bank_n_1830307.html


WASHINGTON -- Mitt Romney might repatriate his vast overseas holdings if he is elected president, the GOP candidate said in an interview with Parade magazine.

The family-friendly periodical asked readers what questions the Romneys should be asked during the interview, which led to the question on Romney's offshore funds.

"There were a number of questions about your financial wealth," Parade noted. "New Jersey resident Harry H. asked if you would make this pledge: If elected, do you promise to bank in the United States?"

Romney first replied by claiming that the decision was out of his hands. "My investments have been managed for almost the last 10 years by a blind trust. A trustee decides where to put our money. If I'm president, my understanding is the same principle applies, that I may not direct any of my investments. I can't tell you what my investments might be because I won't make them," he said. "But I'm happy to have every investment in the United States."

August 25, 2012

Biden's son slams GOP ticket's plans for veterans

Source: Orlando sentinel

Delaware Attorney General Beau Biden, the son of Vice President Joe Biden, said in Orlando on Friday that the Republican presidential ticket of Mitt Romney and U.S. Rep. Paul Ryan could cause "unconscionable" program cuts for American veterans.

Speaking at the Obama for America campaign office in Orlando, Biden, a Delaware Army National Guard major and Iraq veteran, said Ryan's proposed budget cuts could eliminate $11 billion for veterans in the first year.

He also slammed Romney's veterans' benefits voucher idea, saying that with 50,000 veterans coming home wounded from Iraq and Afghanistan, "There should be no debate about our government taking care of our veterans."

Read more: http://articles.orlandosentinel.com/2012-08-24/news/os-beau-biden-orlando-20120824_1_iraq-veteran-delaware-attorney-general-beau-vice-president-joe-biden

August 24, 2012

Prominent scientists sign declaration that animals have conscious awareness, just like us

http://io9.com/5937356/prominent-scientists-sign-declaration-that-animals-have-conscious-awareness-just-like-us

An international group of prominent scientists has signed The Cambridge Declaration on Consciousness in which they are proclaiming their support for the idea that animals are conscious and aware to the degree that humans are — a list of animals that includes all mammals, birds, and even the octopus. But will this make us stop treating these animals in totally inhumane ways?

While it might not sound like much for scientists to declare that many nonhuman animals possess conscious states, it's the open acknowledgement that's the big news here. The body of scientific evidence is increasingly showing that most animals are conscious in the same way that we are, and it's no longer something we can ignore.

What's also very interesting about the declaration is the group's acknowledgement that consciousness can emerge in those animals that are very much unlike humans, including those that evolved along different evolutionary tracks, namely birds and some cephalopods.