Obama: The Best Thing That Ever Happened to the US Gun Industry

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President Obama has presided over a heyday for the gun industry despite predictions by the powerful U.S. gun lobby four years ago that he would be the “most anti-gun president in American history.” Gun buyers fear that Mr. Obama wants to restrict their purchases, especially if he were re-elected.

An analysis by The Associated Press of data tracking the health of the gun industry shows that sales are on the rise, so much that some gun manufacturers cannot make enough guns fast enough. Major gun company stock prices are up. The number of federally licensed, retail gun dealers is increasing for the first time in nearly 20 years.

The lobby, the National Rifle Association, a gun advocacy group, is bursting with cash and political clout. And Washington has expressed little interest in passing new gun laws, despite renewed calls to do so after recent deadly shootings in the states of Colorado and Wisconsin.

Mr. Obama has made no promises to impose new gun control legislation and does not have the support in Congress or among voters even if he did. During this week’s presidential debate, Mr. Obama suggested renewing a U.S. ban on assault weapons and coming up with an overall strategy to reduce violence, but both Mr. Obama and Republican presidential nominee Mitt Romney said the government needs to enforce gun laws already on the books.

“The driver is President Obama. He is the best thing that ever happened to the firearm industry,” said Jim Barrett, an industry analyst at C.L. King & Associates Inc. in New York.

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Report: Obama Ally Gloria Allred Preparing Damaging “Romney Revelation”?

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Republicans are bracing themselves for Gloria Allred to make a potentially damaging revelation about Mitt Romney, just weeks before the election.

The pro-President Obama lawyer is rumoured to be preparing for her so-called ‘October surprise’ in which she will strike the Republican presidential hopeful’s chances by unearthing some sort of secret or scandal.

Ms Allred has refused to comment on the rumours, which first surfaced in a tweet by the Drudge Report’s Matt Drudge on Thursday.

‘Here she comes. Hearing Gloria Allred out there again, about to make a move. After all, it’s her time of the campaign. Team O at the ready!!’ Mr Drudge wrote on Twitter.

According to RadarOnline.com, Ms Allred launched a last minute strike on GOP Meg Whitman’s campaign for governor of California by representing a disgruntled former housekeeper.

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Video: Bill Clinton – “It is True, Obama Didn’t Fix It”

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In this video, former president Bill Clinton discusses Republican Presidential Nominee Mitt Romney’s argument that, if President Barrack Obama hasn’t fixed things, Obama should be fired.

Mr. Clinton then states that Obama has not, in fact, fixed the economy.

He describes Obama addressing the unemployed man at the debate and suggests that Obama looked “like he was going to cry” because he knew he had not fixed the economy.

With comments like these, some wonder if the ex-perjurer-in-chief is actually trying to help Obama.

US Economy in Shambles: 40% of Americans Have Less Than $500 in Savings

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A survey of about 1,100 Americans finds that more than 4-in-10 respondents admit they don’t have more than $500 in readily accessible savings.

The survey is a kind of departure for CreditDonkey.com, a website that compares credit card deals. Not respondents all were poor. Some had big houses, big mortgages or 401(k)s, but still no more than five Benjamins to rub together right now.

Jill Michal, president and CEO of the United Way of Greater Philadelphia and Southern New Jersey, reacts to the lack of liquid assets.

“It doesn’t shock me, but it does scare me. You know, we often say that the reason so many people fall off the edge in a tough economy is that they’re standing way too close to it, and I think this is a perfect demonstration of that.”

Michal says there’s a lack of training in personal finances.

Read more from this story HERE.

More Evidence of Obama Border Insecurity: US-Mexico Tunnels Up 80%

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In its final report on Customs and Border Protection’s strategy to address illicit cross-border tunnels issued Sept. 26, 2012, the Office of Inspector General for the Department of Homeland Security said there has been an 80 percent increase in the “tunnel activity” since 2008.

“Since 1990, law enforcement officials have discovered more than 140 tunnels that have breached the U.S. border, with an 80 percent increase in tunnel activity occurring since 2008,” the report stated in its executive summary.

“Illicit cross-border tunnels along the southwest border of the United States represent a significant and growing threat to border security,” the summary stated. “Criminals primarily use the tunnels to transport illegal narcotics into the United States.

The report was done “to determine whether U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) has developed an operational strategy to detect and remediate cross-border tunnels, and has acquired tunnel detection technology,” which is “part of its overall border security and law enforcement missions.”

The summary pointed out, however, “the program has not matured to a point where it demonstrates how it will consider the needs of Homeland Security Investigations” with the development and acquisition of tunnel-detecting technology.

Syrian Civil War May Be Spilling Over Into Lebanon (+video)

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By Oliver Holmes and Mariam Karouny. A prominent Lebanese intelligence official opposed to President Bashar al-Assad was killed in a huge car bomb in Beirut in another sign that Syria’s civil war is dragging its volatile neighbor into the conflict.

Wissam al-Hassan, who led an investigation that implicated Syria and Hezbollah in the assassination of former prime minister Rafik al-Hariri, and seven other people were killed when the bomb exploded in central Beirut on Friday afternoon.

Hassan, a Sunni Muslim who was close to Hariri, also helped uncover a bomb plot that led to the arrest and indictment in August of a pro-Assad former Lebanese minister, in a setback for Damascus and its Lebanese allies including Hezbollah.

The bombing was the most serious to hit the capital since Hariri’s 2005 assassination and prompted Sunni Muslims to take to streets across the country, burning tires and blocking roads in a show of sectarian anger.

Hariri’s son, Saad al-Hariri, accused Assad of being behind the bombing, while Lebanon’s opposition March 14 bloc called on Prime Minister Najib Mikati’s government, which includes ministers from Hezbollah, to resign over the bombing. Read more from this story HERE.

The following is footage of an international news report on the massive bombing:

Half-Snout “Hero” Filipino Dog Set for $20,000 Face Surgery in U.S. (+video)

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By Patrick Winn. Kabang has one of the more gruesome dog faces you’ll ever see.

The canine, a native of Zamboanga City in the Philippines, has only half a snout. Her tongue lolls impossibly out of her skull. Watching her attempt to eat a mound of rice is heartbreaking.

But, according to Manila’s GMA News, donors from around the world have pitched in enough cash ($20,000) to fly Kabang to the states for reconstructive facial surgery.

The center where she’ll be treated, the Veterinary Medical Teaching Hospital at University of California – Davis, is adept at cutting-edge dog jaw replacement. An American dog whose jaw was recently replaced by the center appears to be strutting around as if nothing ever happened.

As the Philippine Inquirer explains, Kabang is something of a hero. The top half of her snout was ripped off by the wheels of a motorbike, which she reportedly intercepted to save two young girls. Read more from this story HERE.

Here’s a TV report from the Philippines about the dog. It’s not in English but has some fascinating footage of the dog’s injury and how it eats without a snout:

Doctor: Fidel Castro Suffered Massive Stroke

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Former Cuban leader Fidel Castro suffered from a massive stroke that has left him hardly able to eat, speak, and recognize people, according to a Venezuelan doctor.

The doctor, Jose Marquina, revealed that he has access to firsthand sources, who say that the 86-year-old former Cuban leader who was last seen in public in March suffered a cerebral hemorrhage, reports Fox News. Marquina stated:

“He suffered an embolic stroke and recognizes absolutely no one. The people with a condition of this nature have difficulty eating and, of course, they end up with total deficit in their neurologic capacities.”

Rumors regarding Castro’s health have been circulating off and on since March, especially after he stopped posting blogs in summer. Cuban news media published Castro’s first new writing in months on Thursday.

The letter congratulated students at a Colombian medical institute on the school’s 50th anniversary, and also recalled how it was converted into an anti-aircraft installation during the Cuban Missile Crisis, just days after it opened in 1962.

Read more from this story HERE.

Congressman Ellison Calls Opponent Chris Fields ‘Lowlife Scumbag’ During Debate

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Congressman Keith Ellison is no stranger to controversy or harsh words, having faced years of unfounded accusations over his religious faith. However, during Ellison’s recent debate with Chris Fields, he exceeded all bounds of good taste, calling his opponent a “lowlife scumbag.”

Fields is campaigning for the Congressional seat the progressive Minnesota Democrat has held since 2007. There is a wide political gulf between the two men, with ultra liberal Ellison strongly supporting President Obama’s policies and Fields saying he will to return America to conservative values, oppose abortion and repeal Obama Care.

The uproar began when Mr. Fields accused Ellison of hiring a Washington, D.C. based research firm to smear him. An article in The Minneapolis Star Tribune claimed Field’s ex-wife requested a restraining order against her husband in 2006 and Fields insisted the Congressman was the source. Ellison took offense to the accusation and replied to the comment by saying, “You’re really stupid. You’re a scumbag. You’re a lowlife scumbag. You are a gutter dweller.”

The mood in the room was poisoned from the start, with Ellison saying on several occasions, “You lie all the time! You have no respect for the truth, anything you say is suspect.” At one point, Ellison claimed his opponent failed to pay his campaign vendors, and during an argument over taxes, the Congressman angrily shouted, ”That’s ridiculous, that’s another bold-faced lie. It amazes me that you could sit here with a straight face. I’m not going to deal with you because you’re just silly–really.”

Instead of taking the high ground after the “scumbag” remark, Fields brought up Mr. Ellison’s divorce and suggested the Congressman was not making his child support payments. The two men appeared to be on the verge of blows, when Ellison exclaimed, ”My daughter is in the next room. I’m using a lot of self-control right now, sir.” Fortunately, the moderator called for a break, and when the debate resumed, the questions were directed to the less provocative subject of Climate Change.

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Children Who Suffer Brain Injuries are More Likely to Become Criminals Later in Life

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Young people who sustain brain injuries are more likely to commit crimes and end up in prison, new research suggests.

Injuries caused by trauma to the head can cause maturing brains to ‘misfire’, affecting judgement and the ability to control impulses.

The study, from the University of Exeter, calls for greater monitoring and treatment to prevent later problems.

Its findings echo a separate report by the Children’s Commissioner for England on the impact of injuries on maturing brains and the social consequences.

In the new report, Repairing Shattered Lives, Professor Huw Williams from the University of Exeter’s Centre for Clinical Neuropsychology Research, describes traumatic brain injury as a ‘silent epidemic’.

Read more from this story HERE.