The new Obama family portrait: 5 talking points (The Week)

New York ? The White House unveiled a new official First Family portrait on Thursday, and quite a few things have changed since 2009

When the First Family had their first official portrait taken in October 2009, President Obama's daughters were 8 and 11. A lot has changed since then for the White House's occupants, who had their second official portrait taken Dec. 11 with a holiday-bedecked White House as a backdrop (see both portraits below). When the new Obama family portrait was unveiled on Thursday, the commentariat was quick to seize on these five talking points:

1. This is one convincingly happy-looking family
The first thing to know about the First Family photo is that "it's basically perfect," say Roxanne Roberts and Amy Argetsinger in The Washington Post. "You could lock your own family in the Sears portrait studio for an entire weekend and not end up with anything this nice." They look "so sweet and attractive that it almost makes you angry," says Margaret Hartmann in Jezebel. Why is no one "giving her sister a dirty look" or "sprouting a gnarly zit"? Yes, they look "stunning," but "what I love the most is the sight of their hands intertwined," says Danielle Sullivan in Babble. The 2009 portrait is beautiful, too, "but not as connected."

2. But the president looks a lot older
My "immediate takeaways" are that "the first daughters are growing up quickly," while "the president's just getting grayer," says Michael Memoli in the Los Angeles Times. Yes, it's pretty striking "how much the president has... aged," says Elizabeth Snead in The Hollywood Reporter. But all presidents do, even in good times. After these past two years, "can you blame him" for his new gray hairs?

3. First Dog Bo is a no-show
We have "only one little objection" to the official portrait, say Jessica Misener and Ellie Krupnick in The Huffington Post: "Where's Bo???" The family's Portuguese water dog is "notably absent" from the photo, agrees Katherine Skiba in the Chicago Tribune, especially since his "likeness is a prominent feature of this year's Christmas decor in the Executive Mansion." Indeed, note The Washington Post's Roberts and Argetsinger, Bo is the only family member in the Obama's Christmas card, where he's photographed "snoozing by a toasty White House fireplace and a table laden with gifts."

4. The choice of photographers is recession-appropriate
"Both portraits are flattering," but 2009's image, shot by famed celebrity photographer Annie Leibovitz, was "more of a Hollywood spectacle," says Meghan Keneally in Britain's Daily Mail. After two years of sliding polls and "a tough economy," it's definitely "a bit of a reflection of the times" that this year's portrait was shot in-house by White House photographer Pete Souza, and "released with just as little fanfare... on the White House' Twitter feed."?

5. Where did they get those dresses?
First Lady Michelle Obama's black sleeveless dress is from Byron Lars' Beauty Mark line ? "it's the exact same dress she wore to the memorial dedication ceremony of the 10th anniversary of the Sept. 11, 2001 attack," says The Hollywood Reporter's Snead. "We love that she wears outfits more than once, just like we do." And "we're loving Malia's navy and black frock from Anthropologie," says Misener and Krupnick in The Huffington Post. "We know it must fit the tall teen perfectly, considering we tried it on last weekend and it hung well below our knees." Sasha, meanwhile, is wearing the Clarissa dress from BB Dakota's holiday collection. Check out the official portraits ? first, the latest incarnation, followed by the 2009 shot:

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Stewart hires Zipadelli as competition director

(AP) ? Greg Zipadelli had outstanding job security at Joe Gibbs Racing and no real reason to leave the organization.

Until Tony Stewart came calling.

Zipadelli reunited with Stewart on Friday as competition director at Stewart-Haas Racing, a position that's been open since early summer as Stewart appeared to be waiting all along for his former crew chief.

Zipadelli said he had the opportunity to work at JGR for the rest of his life but chose to leave for "the only person in the sport I would go to work for at this time of my career."

"I trust and believe in him as much as I do anybody on this earth," Zipadelli said.

Zipadelli will oversee the race teams of Stewart and Ryan Newman, as well as build the team for which Danica Patrick will drive full time in 2013. And he'll get to continue for a bit as crew chief ? running Patrick's team to prepare for her Daytona 500 debut in February.

"That helps with the withdrawal of being off the box," said Zipadelli, who added he might crew chief all 10 of Patrick's Sprint Cup Series races next season if the right candidate is not available for the job.

Zipadelli received his release this week from JGR, where he'd been crew chief of the No. 20 since 1999. He spent 10 of those years with Stewart, leading him to 33 victories and Cup titles in 2002 and 2005.

Stewart left at the end of 2008 to become co-owner of his own team, and Zipadelli had since been paired with Joey Logano. JGR on Friday said Jason Ratcliff will replace Zipadelli, promoted from the Nationwide Series, where he led the No. 18 team to 30 victories and the owner's championship in 2009 and 2010.

"We appreciate everything Greg has done for us here at Joe Gibbs Racing," Gibbs said. "He has been a big part of our success, but we felt the timing was right to make this transition for our race team which allows Greg the opportunity to pursue a director of competition position with Tony.

"We also felt that the timing was right to bring Jason to our Cup operation. He is a proven leader with a tremendous track record in our Nationwide program, and we think he and Joey will work well together."

Logano has yet to live up to the steep expectations placed on him when he entered NASCAR as a much-heralded 18-year-old. He got Stewart's ride, and it was probably too soon. Logano has just one Cup win and has not made the Chase for the Sprint Cup championship in his three seasons at the top level.

Zipadelli said the pairing with Ratcliff should help Logano.

"Those are shoes that just don't get filled," he said of Logano replacing Stewart. "I believe he's got an opportunity to prove himself with a completely different level of expectations, and I think you'll see him blossom because of that."

Stewart has had a busy offseason since winning his third championship last month.

He fired crew chief Darian Grubb a week after winning the title and hired Steve Addington from Penske Racing.

Addington worked at JGR as Kyle Busch's crew chief, and Grubb quickly was picked up by JGR as the new crew chief for Denny Hamlin. It's created quite the game of musical chairs among crew chiefs and reunites close friends Zipadelli and Addington.

Stewart was pleased to get his old buddy, Zippy, back.

"Greg and I have a long and successful history together. I know him and he knows me, and we both know what it takes to build race teams," Stewart said. "We took our time in searching for a competition director, because it's an important role with a lot of responsibility. Greg knows all that goes into the job, understands the importance of teamwork and communication across all levels of the organization, and is ultimately someone I have a great deal of trust in."

Associated Press

Source: http://hosted2.ap.org/APDEFAULT/347875155d53465d95cec892aeb06419/Article_2011-12-16-NASCAR-Stewart-Zipadelli/id-7a50bccdc1754ed280b0acc441e2348b

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TV's ten greatest automotive pitchmen

The pitchman is an American icon. When we sit in front of the TV, we trust and adore these characters committed to selling us a magical fantasyland during every commercial break. And nowhere is that lie more apparent than in the world of cars. According to Jalopnik readers, these are the ten best men and women at pulling the wool over our eyes.

Welcome to Answers of the Day ? our daily Jalopnik feature where we take the best ten responses from the previous day's Question of the Day and shine it up to show off. It's by you and for you, the Jalopnik readers. Enjoy!

Photo Credit: Isuzu

Source: http://jalopnik.com/5867992/tvs-ten-greatest-automotive-pitchmen/gallery/1

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Ohio boy who weighed 200 pounds to live with uncle

Attorney John Lawson, who represents the boy, speaks to the media after a court proceeding Wednesday, Dec. 14, 2011, in Cleveland. An Ohio judge says a third-grader who was taken from his mother after his weight topped 200 pounds will be removed from foster care and placed in his uncle's custody. The judge says the boy's weight has dropped to 192 pounds while he's been in foster care for two months. (AP Photo/Tony Dejak)

Attorney John Lawson, who represents the boy, speaks to the media after a court proceeding Wednesday, Dec. 14, 2011, in Cleveland. An Ohio judge says a third-grader who was taken from his mother after his weight topped 200 pounds will be removed from foster care and placed in his uncle's custody. The judge says the boy's weight has dropped to 192 pounds while he's been in foster care for two months. (AP Photo/Tony Dejak)

(AP) ? A boy removed from his mother's custody over health concerns when his weight ballooned to more than 200 pounds will be taken from foster care and placed in the custody of an uncle, a judge ruled Wednesday.

Judge John Hoffman also said the boy, who celebrated his 9th birthday Wednesday but didn't appear in court, would be allowed a weeklong visit with his mother for Christmas. His name was withheld by Cuyahoga County Juvenile Court.

The mother left court without commenting, but the placement with her brother living in the Columbus area had been accepted by all sides before it was announced during a brief court hearing.

The court-appointed attorney representing the boy's interests, John Lawson, said he was sure the youngster would be happy with the agreement.

"This is only an interim plan because the real goal of everybody here is to get him back in his home with his mother and his sibling," a brother, Lawson said.

"He's a very smart boy and I think he's got goals about himself," Lawson said, including losing weight.

While in foster care, the boy's weight dropped from about 200 pounds to 192.

Mary Louise Madigan, speaking for the Cuyahoga County Children and Family Services agency that sought foster care for the boy over weight-related health issues, said having the uncle caring for the boy was part of the county's goal of getting him to a healthy weight and back with his mother.

"He's in a least restrictive placement with a family member and I think that's what the court was looking at," she said.

The American Civil Liberties Union of Ohio joined the case on the boy's behalf and said he should be with his family.

"We think it's a fundamental liberty for a child to be brought up in his home among family and friends," said the ACLU's James Hardiman.

Taking a child from the home over weight issues could set a bad precedent, he said.

"We're concerned that if this were to establish a precedent that it would be a pretty dangerous precedent. So we take it as a basic fundamental civil liberties issue," Hardiman said.

Associated Press

Source: http://hosted2.ap.org/APDEFAULT/386c25518f464186bf7a2ac026580ce7/Article_2011-12-14-US-Obese-Third-Grader/id-adee454e95bb4f7192e056867ff3f5df

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Chris Meloni signs on for 'True Blood' role

Been hankering for a Christopher Meloni fix since he left "Law &Order: SVU"?

Sadly, we won't get any more hot and heavy scenes in the interrogation room, but fans will get the chance to drool over Meloni's sexiness on the small screen ? with a new thirst for blood.

E! News confirms that the actor has been signed on as a regular on "True Blood."

READ: Does Christopher Meloni, Have Lex Appeal?

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Rumors of this connection started last month when TVline.com reported that the hit drama was pulling to get Meloni as part of their cast. And now after weeks of negotiation, it's finally official.

So what's in store for season five?

Executive producer Alan Ball tells TV Line that the former detective's character will be, "An ancient, powerful vampire who holds the fate of Bill and Eric in his hands."

And the plot thickens!

Are you guys excited to see Meloni as a "True Blood" vamp or is throwing chairs in front of potential criminals more his thing? Sound off on the Facebook page for our TV blog, The Clicker!

PHOTOS: True Blood Season Four Premiere

Source: http://today.msnbc.msn.com/id/45662445/ns/today-entertainment/

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Sony Ericsson demos Ice Cream Sandwich, releases alpha ROM for developers (Digital Trends)

With Android Ice Cream Sandwich only officially available on the Samsung Galaxy Nexus, there are sure to be plenty of Android fans who want to get a glimpse of the new version running on a different phone. Sony Ericsson has come to the rescue with this demonstration video, showing an early build running on an Xperia Arc S.

The company recently announced they would be releasing an Ice Cream Sandwich update for their 2011 range of Xperia-branded devices, however it?s a lengthy and complex process and with the source code only a few weeks old, owners still have a while to wait before it officially arrives.

Rather than work away without input from users, Sony Ericsson has released an ?alpha build? ICS ROM to accompany the video. It?s compatible with the Sony Ericsson Xperia Arc S, the Xperia Ray and the Xperia Neo V, and provided they have an unlocked bootloader the ROM can be installed.

Great news, right? Yes, but before you go rushing off to download it, you should know that the ROM is designed for developmental testing, and not for everyday use. Sony Ericsson wants to get as much feedback as possible, and has therefore disabled the modem, Wi-Fi, Bluetooth, the FM radio and the antenna inside the ROM.

Yes, they?re spoilsports, but the alpha ROM still does a great job of showing how Ice Cream Sandwich looks and performs on devices other than the Galaxy Nexus. If you?re confident to start messing around with your Xperia phone, Sony Ericsson provides full instructions on how to apply the ROM on their developer site, and even recommends you join the XDA community afterwards to converse with like-minded hackers.

Now, how many other other manufacturers will follow Sony Ericsson?s lead and release preview versions of Ice Cream Sandwich?

This article was originally posted on Digital Trends

More from Digital Trends

The Samsung Galaxy Nexus goes on sale December 15

Coming Nexus phone?s details surface

First tablet with Ice Cream Sandwich launched, sub-$100 price tag

No Ice Cream Sandwich for Google Nexus One

Source: http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/tech/*http%3A//news.yahoo.com/s/digitaltrends/20111216/tc_digitaltrends/sonyericssondemosicecreamsandwichreleasesalpharomfordevelopers

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Rev. Jesse Jackson: 'Jesus was an Occupier'

Oli Scarff / Getty Images

Rev. Jesse Jackson speaks to Occupy activists outside of London's St. Paul's Cathedral on Thursday.

By F. Brinley Bruton, msnbc.com

LONDON -- Veteran activist the?Rev. Jesse Jackson?compared the global anti-capitalist movement to the U.S. civil rights struggle, the battle against apartheid in South Africa and the fight for Indian independence during a visit to an Occupy camp in London on Thursday.

"Jesus was an Occupier, born under a death warrant, a Jew by religion, born in poverty under Roman occupation," the two-time candidate for the Democratic presidential nomination told a crowd near Saint Paul?s Cathedral.?"Gandhi was an Occupier, Martin Luther King was an Occupier,?(Nelson) Mandela was an Occupier."


A?man dressed in a well-tailored dark wool jacket and crisp checked shirt ? not your stereotypical Occupy protester ? cried as he watched Jackson. "He is my hero," he said.

While the crowd enthusiastically joined Jackson for a chant, not everybody was supportive and a few heckles punctuated his speech.?

One?man?who shouted that the Occupy movement wasn't addressing the needs of the homeless was detained before he reached the podium where Jackson was standing.

F. Brinley Bruton / msnbc.com

John, 34, who has been camped next to London's Saint Paul's Cathedral since Oct. 15, waits for Rev. Jesse Jackson to address Occupy protesters on Thursday.

Another Occupier,?who said he's been camped out since the protest began on Oct. 15, said he welcomed Jackson. However, he?remained skeptical.

"I have mixed feelings ? someone told me he's quite a wealthy person," said John, 34, who declined to give a last name. "You don't know his agenda."

F. Brinley Bruton is a senior writer for msnbc.com based in London

Read more content from msnbc.com and NBC News:

Source: http://worldnews.msnbc.msn.com/_news/2011/12/15/9471810-rev-jesse-jackson-to-london-protesters-jesus-was-an-occupier

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As government shutdown looms, lawmakers squabbling over policy, not pork

Time was, an 11th-hour omnibus spending bill to avoid a government shutdown was an invitation for members of Congress to push through pork projects. This year the tussle is over policy riders.

In Congresses of yesteryear, the 11th-hour, must-pass omnibus spending bill typically set off a spike in earmarks or member projects to grease the deal, adding billions to federal deficits.

Skip to next paragraph

But the 1,219-page, $1 trillion spending package released by House leaders late Wednesday night is making waves not for its pork projects, but for its member-driven policy riders on issues ranging from travel to Cuba and the funding of abortions to marketing food to children.

The House GOP bill, which was formulated based on ongoing conference negotiations but not yet signed, wraps up the nine remaining annual appropriation bills. Meanwhile, negotiators continue working toward a ?megabus? that could pass the Senate.

It?s these policy riders, not the bottom-line spending, that have been the main sticking point in passing the bills needed to keep the government from shutting down. Like member earmarks, the aim of riders is to force on the White House a policy that the president would not otherwise support, using annual funding as leverage.

Senate Democrats have fought hard to derail most of the policy riders in the ?megabus?,?especially those aiming to curb environmental regulations. But there?s a bumper crop still in the omnibus bill released by House leaders late Wednesday night.

These include:

? Ending $181 million in funding for Department of Energy loan guarantees, including the program that funded Solyndra, the now-bankrupt solar energy company.

? Scuttling a Senate provision requiring energy efficiency regulations for televisions and cable boxes.

??Halting new light-bulb efficiency standards.

??Prohibiting federal or local funding for abortions in the District of Columbia.

??Banning funding for the Federal Trade Commission to report on the marketing of food to children, unless they conduct a cost-benefit analysis.

??A mandate to expedite approval for new offshore energy production.

??A provision barring the Department of Health and Human Services from activities that promote gun control.

But the provision that set off the biggest firestorm is one tightening federal rules regarding family travel and remittances to Cuba. The rider, by Rep. Mario Diaz-Balart (R) of Florida, overturns Obama administration policies that allow Cuban-Americans to visit family in Cuba or send remittances without limit. In a return to Bush-era policies, the rider would limit visits to once every three years and remittances to $1,200 annually.

?If this bill passes, what happens to the 300,000 Cuban-Americans who have already left for the holidays and are in Cuba?? says Rep. Jose Serrano (D) of New York.

?Times have changed,? he adds. ?Republicans say that remittances are propping up the government, but it?s more like children getting school supplies.?

House Speaker John Boehner told reporters on Thursday that an omnibus bill will pass in time to avert a government shutdown, after funding for FY 2012 runs out on Friday. ?I am confident that the bill will pass in a bipartisan fashion,? he said.

But House minority leader Nancy Pelosi (D) of California cautioned that House Republicans ?won?t be getting any cooperation from us.?

In a close vote on the first fiscal 2012 spending package in November, more than 100 House Republicans refused to vote for the relatively noncontroversial measure on the grounds that it spent too much.

Source: http://rss.csmonitor.com/~r/feeds/csm/~3/XEZgpj37xlo/As-government-shutdown-looms-lawmakers-squabbling-over-policy-not-pork

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Lawyer: Emails didn't show wide phone hacking (AP)

LONDON ? A lawyer asked by Rupert Murdoch's News International to examine emails for evidence tabloid executives knew about illegal activities said Tuesday he initially found nothing to suggest that knowledge of phone hacking was widespread.

But Lawrence Abramson told Britain's media ethics inquiry that since he carried out his first review in 2007, he has seen a fresh batch of emails that would have changed his report.

Abramson worked for the law firm Harbottle & Lewis, which was asked by News International in 2007 to review more than 2,000 emails to see if there was evidence to support a former employee's claim that executives at the company knew of extensive hacking.

He told Britain's media ethics inquiry that he found emails that cast News International in an "unfavorable light" ? such as the company's attempt to influence the prosecution of Clive Goodman, a royal reporter who was jailed for hacking into the voice mails of members of the royal household.

Goodman's allegations that News International executives were aware of illegal activities at the newspaper prompted the company to hire Hartbottle & Lewis to review the emails, and Abramson said he didn't find anything to back up those allegations.

But Abramson said he initially did not have access to emails dating back to 2003 and has since reviewed a batch of emails from that time period. He said that had he seen those messages at the time, his recommendation to News International would have been different.

Julian Pike, an independent legal adviser who provided advice to News International, later testified that he did not believe in 2008 the company's claim that phone hacking at the tabloid was limited to one rogue reporter.

That backs up an assertion Pike made in October that he'd known for years News International had been lying to the public about the extent of the scandal.

Prime Minister David Cameron set up the judge-led media inquiry after it emerged that the Murdoch-owned News of the World had for years illegally eavesdropped on the voice mail messages of celebrities, public figures and crime victims in its quest for exclusive stories.

Murdoch shut down the 168-year-old newspaper in July amid a wave of public revulsion over hacking the voice mails of a missing schoolgirl, Milly Dowler, who was later found murdered.

Source: http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/britain/*http%3A//news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20111213/ap_on_bi_ge/eu_britain_phone_hacking

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Americans' Fear of Big Government Bodes Ill for Obama (ContributorNetwork)

COMMENTARY | In his recent speech in Kansas, President Barack Obama mounted a full-throated defense of big government, even suggesting capitalism and free markets have "never worked." A Gallup Poll suggests he is at odds with the American people.

The poll, taken Nov. 28 to Dec. 1, sampled 1,012 adults. It found 64 percent of the respondents believe big government is the biggest threat to the U.S. By contrast, only 26 percent point to big business despite the noise being made by Occupy Wall Street, and 8 percent point to big labor.

If President Obama intends to base his campaign on how the benefits of big government outweigh the freedoms of capitalism, he might want to rethink that strategy. It is never good politics to propose to do something that the vast majority of registered voters fear.

But Obama seems to have gotten puffed up, likely from an inflated view of the numbers and influence of the Occupy Wall Street movement. He is at last, according to Peter Schiff on Townhall, liberated to express what he truly believes. Obama does not fear big government. He yearns for it as other people yearn for food, water, and air.

Obama will not be the first politician enraptured with the glittering vision of a socialist utopia in America. In 1972, George McGovern promised a Great Society on steroids. In 1984 Walter Mondale promised to raise everyone's taxes. Both presidential candidates went down to 49 state defeats.

Obama seems to be headed in that direction, the only difference being he is doing so as a sitting president. This means he also has a record that he has to defend, including a $900 billion stimulus package and a health care reform law that has become a stench in the nostrils of Americans.

The horrors McGovern and Mondale planned to unleash were theoretical thanks to their landslide defeats. Obama has succeeded in instituting the sort of government that the previous candidate only dreamed of. The results have not been pretty.

All, therefore, Obama's Republican opponent has to do is to propose a free market approach to governing. Contrasting that with Obama's big government approach will be the key to victory.

Source: http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/obama/*http%3A//news.yahoo.com/s/ac/20111213/pl_ac/10669119_americans_fear_of_big_government_bodes_ill_for_obama

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