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The top U.S. military officer said Sunday he does not assume Iran's brief seizure of an Iraqi oil well is part of an orchestrated plan in Tehran to th

WASHINGTON – Three of every four Americans view climate change as a serious problem that will harm future generations if not addressed, according to an Associated Press-Stanford University poll. The survey also said that about the same number of people say the Earth probably already is warming, slightly fewer than the percentage expressing that view when asked the same question a year ago. The AP-Stanford poll of 1,005 adults contacted by telephone in November suggests that people's concerns about climate change have not changed significantly. That's contrary to several other recent surveys. In October, according to a poll of 1,500...

I’ve gotten a few e-mails about the latest AP poll, which gives Obama a 56% approval rating — far above Gallup, Rasmussen, and practically every other pollster. In fact, AP’s survey of 1000 adults has Obama’s approval rating improving over last month, most definitely in opposition to the large surveys taken even in Gallup’s own survey of adults. But even the AP analysis notes that his approval rating seems somewhat disconnected to the “squeamish” reaction to Obama’s policies:

WASHINGTON – A report on unemployment claims and a forecast of U.S. economic activity pointed Thursday to an economy mending slowly, without the job growth needed to fuel a vigorous recovery. The number of newly laid-off workers filing claims for unemployment benefits unexpectedly rose last week. But the four-week average for jobless claims, which smooths out fluctuations, fell. That was an encouraging sign that the pace of layoffs continues to decline. The four-week average is now at its lowest point since late September 2008, when the financial crisis hit with full force. Separately, a forecast of economic activity rose for...

WASHINGTON – Budget deficits are in the stratosphere. Unemployment has hit 10 percent. The health care overhaul is incomplete. Still, Americans appear to like President Barack Obama and the way he's doing his job. The latest Associated Press-Gfk poll shows the president's popularity holding steady, with 56 percent of those polled approving of the way he's taking care of the country's business. His marks for handling the 8-year-old war in Afghanistan have jumped by double digits, with more than half now approving, since he capped a three-month strategy review by announcing a big troop increase.

Scientists from around the world are denouncing an Associated Press article hysterically claiming that global warming is "a ticking time bomb" about to explode, and that we're "running out of time" to do anything about it. As reported by NewsBusters, Seth Borenstein, the AP's "national science writer," published a piece Sunday entitled "Obama Left With Little Time to Curb Global Warming." Scientists from all over the world have responded to share their view of this alarmist propaganda: How can this guy call himself a "science reporter?" He is perhaps the worst propagandist in all the media, and that's stating something....

LONDON – E-mails stolen from climate scientists show they stonewalled skeptics and discussed hiding data — but the messages don't support claims that the science of global warming was faked, according to an exhaustive review by The Associated Press. The 1,073 e-mails examined by the AP show that scientists harbored private doubts, however slight and fleeting, even as they told the world they were certain about climate change. However, the exchanges don't undercut the vast body of evidence showing the world is warming because of man-made greenhouse gas emissions. The scientists were keenly aware of how their work would be...

Associated Press headline: Tiger’s Troubles Widen His Distance From Blacks ‘Two layers of suspicion ... one is the pattern in the race of his partners’ The article that followed labeled the golfer racist not only for "declin[ing] to identify himself as black," but also because of "the race of the women" he's involved with. On top of this, the AP made the case that America's fascination with Woods's philandering is only because he's cheating with white women (h/t NB reader Matthew Noll): Amid all the headlines generated by Tiger Woods' troubles — the puzzling car accident, the suggestions of...

"What they do is their business," Dobbs said yesterday. "I tried to accommodate them as best I could, but I've said for many years now that neutrality is not part of my being." [CNN boss Jonathan] Klein long believed Dobbs was at odds with CNN's desire to position itself as an opinion-free, middle-of-the-road alternative to its cable news rivals -- conservative Fox News and liberal MSNBC. Dobbs got $8M to quit Ny Post ^ | Nov. 16, 2009 | MICHAEL SHAIN A man once, upon learning that I'm conservative, said "You probably think that journalism isn't objective." I was...

Well, it would seem that the AP is all for fair use … when it applies to them........No matter how you slice it, the AP copied Palin's book (without permission), distributed it (without permission) and now stands up to say it was all done under fair use.......... The Associated Press has essentially claimed there is no such thing as ‘fair use’ when it comes to quoting its articles or reprinting its headlines, but when the news organization scans an entire book, then fair use does indeed exist. Bloggers and news aggregation sites such as Google News have felt the wrath...

Pallin also recognized the political landmine into which she stepped when using the word “Profiling” . She went on to say, “Because I used that word ‘profile’ I’m going to get clobbered tomorrow morning. Liberals, their heads are just gonna be spinnin’. They’re gonna say ‘She is radical. She is extreme’. But I say profiling in the context of doing whatever we can to save innocent American lives…I’m all for it.”

Look no further: [VIDEO AT SITE] Then you have the AP hiring 11 fact checkers to comb through her book. Or Newsweek using a photo of Sarah in running shorts, taken for Runners World magazine, for it's cover in an obvious attempt to minimize her. And last but not least, a book review of her book by the Washington Post written by someone who didn't read her book. (Excerpt) Read more at floppingaces.net

Sarah Palin is no normal politician, and at the Associated Press, apparently "Going Rogue" is no normal book. When the former Republican vice presidential candidate and former Alaska governor wrote her autobiography, the AP found a copy before its release date and assigned 11 people to fact check all 432 pages. The AP claims Palin misstated her record with regard to travel expenses and taxpayer-funded bailouts, using statements widely reported elsewhere. But it also speculated into Palin's motives for writing "Going Rogue: An American Life," stating as fact that the book "has all the characteristics of a pre-campaign manifesto." Palin...

Republican 2008 vice-presidential candidate Sarah Palin's highly anticipated book tour kicks off Monday afternoon with the airing of her wide-ranging chat with talk show queen Oprah Winfrey. (snip) Although the 418-page best-seller doesn't come out until Tuesday, the Associated Press already has obtained a copy and assigned 11 reporters to comb through it to publish a pre-emptive "fact check" that has outraged her supporters because several items in it relied more on analysis than black-and-white facts. For example, one of the "fact check" items criticized Mrs. Palin for writing in the book that she was driven by "purpose" rather than...

File this one under "Quit Making Stuff Up." It took us all day, but we assembled the definitive debunking of the 11 Associated Press "fact-checkers." Might we suggest a new profession for these folks? As the always brilliant Mark Steyn pointed out: That's 11 writers for a 695-word report. What on? Obamacare? The Iranian nuke program? The upcoming trial of Khalid Sheikh Mohammed? No, the Associated Press assigned 11 writers to "fact-check" Sarah Palin's new book... Hey, don't be too hard on the AP. CNN is also into fact-checking... SNL skits that are "mean" to Obama. Here's some real fact-checking....

The book tour starts this week, and I look forward to it! I'm most looking forward to meeting many of you, shaking your hands, and telling you,"Thanks for loving America." I'll give you a scoop here and tell you what's on the book's Dedication Page – it's dedicated to you – Patriots – who love the U.S.A. as much as I do. Amazingly, but not surprisingly, the AP somehow nabbed a copy of the book before it was released. They're now erroneously reporting on the book's contents and are repeating many of the same things they spewed during the campaign...

[...] Hey, don't be too hard on the AP. CNN is also into fact-checking... SNL skit's that are "mean" to Obama. Here's some real fact-checking. Fasten your seat belts... On Governor Palin’s 2006 Campaign Financing AP “FACTS”: “Of the roughly $1.3 million she raised for her primary and general election campaigns for governor, more than half came from people and political action committees giving at least $500, according to an AP analysis of her campaign finance reports. The maximum that individual donors could give was $1,000; $2,000 for a PAC. Of the rest, about $76,000 came from Republican Party committees.”...

Does this woman, Sarah Palin, ever tell the truth? No. Sadly, those who’ve anointed her their Obamessiah on the Right are in such teen puppy love they can’t face facts. She’s been compared to “Mr. Smith Goes to Washington,” but as this makes clear, it’s far more like “Mrs. Palin Brings Washington Cronyism and Back Room Deals to Alaska.”

The Governor just posted this to her Facebook page: "As you probably have heard, the AP snagged a copy of my memoir, Going Rogue, before its Tuesday release. And as is expected, the AP and a number of subsequent media outlets are erroneously reporting the contents of the book. Keep your powder dry, read the book, and enjoy it! Lots of great stories about my family, Alaska, and the incredible honor it was to run alongside Senator John McCain. We can’t wait to hit the road and meet so many on the book tour! See you in Michigan first... -...

As you probably have heard, the AP snagged a copy of my memoir, Going Rogue, before its Tuesday release. And as is expected, the AP and a number of subsequent media outlets are erroneously reporting the contents of the book. Keep your powder dry, read the book, and enjoy it! Lots of great stories about my family, Alaska, and the incredible honor it was to run alongside Senator John McCain. We can't wait to hit the road and meet so many on the book tour! See you in Michigan first... - Sarah Palin

As you probably have heard, the AP snagged a copy of my memoir, Going Rogue, before its Tuesday release. And as is expected, the AP and a number of subsequent media outlets are erroneously reporting the contents of the book. Keep your powder dry, read the book, and enjoy it! Lots of great stories about my family, Alaska, and the incredible honor it was to run alongside Senator John McCain. We can't wait to hit the road and meet so many on the book tour! See you in Michigan first... - Sarah Palin

Layoffs are not over at The Associated Press. AP CEO Tom Curley addressed staffers Thursday at a company-wide Town Hall forum, saying: "I know you all would like me to sound the all clear. I cannot do that." While many employees have been shown the door, there will yet be cuts in order to slash 10% from the payroll as planned. Curley and other executives discussed a number of iniatives aimed at bringing AP into the digital future. Included in the plans: * They want to create landing pages, curating news and linking to other users to drive traffic to...

With a choice of words that will surely drive Rahm Emanuel and David Axelrod to apoplectic profanity, the Associated Press writes tonight that their boss, President Barack Obama, is foundering in the latest AP-GfK Poll and uses the dreaded Carter era term "malaise" to describe the public's mood.The AP lede tells the story:"The euphoria of 2008 is over: America is in a funk. Elected last November on a wave of optimism, President Barack Obama now finds himself governing an increasingly pessimistic country...perhaps most striking for this novice commander in chief, more people have lost confidence in Obama on Iraq and...

Dan Calabrese notices a scolding tone coming from the Associated Press in reporting its latest polling. It headlines the report by noting that “a grouchy public [is] sticking with Obama,” having seen a 54% job approval rating in its survey — but some bad numbers on the issues. Does the AP report those falling levels of support as a consequence of Barack Obama doing a poor job? No, as emphases from Dan and myself show: The public grew slightly more dispirited on a range of matters over the past month, including war and the economy, continuing the slippage that has...

Tribune Co., owner of The Chicago Tribune, the Los Angeles Times and several other news outlets, will not use most Associated Press content next week to test whether the financially struggling company can do without it, according to a story on the Chicago Tribune's Web site. Tribune said it will use some AP material such as sports statistics and stories it considers vital. The Chicago-based company said it is trying to determine whether severing ties with the news cooperative next fall is a viable option. The company's television stations and newspapers' online editions will not participate in the experiment. Tribune...

By now, Sekou Jackson is used to the questions: Why does he need to leave a work meeting to pray? Don't black Muslims convert to Islam in jail? Why would you even want to be Muslim? "It's kind of a double whammy to be African-American and Muslim," said Jackson, who studies the Navy at the National Academy of Science in Washington. "You're going to be judged." Jackson's struggle may have gotten harder when the FBI raided a Detroit mosque Wednesday, saying its leader preached hate against the government, trafficked in stolen goods and belonged to a radical group that wants...

An early progress report on President Barack Obama's economic recovery plan overstates by thousands the number of jobs created or saved through the stimulus program, a mistake that White House officials promise will be corrected in future reports," the Associated Press reports. Time magazine's Joe Klein has not yet labeled the AP's reporting seditious, but the Obama administration does seem to have added the wire service to its enemies list. Tommy Christopher of Mediaite.com reports Ed DeSeve, senior adviser to the president for Recovery Act implementation, complains that "the story draws misleading conclusions" and "looks at only a small portion...

I guess the AP wasn't intimidated by Obama's war on Fox.

The government issues its first estimate of gross domestic product for the third quarter Thursday, and it's expected to validate the belief that the Great Recession is over. Many analysts expect the economy returned to growth in the July-September quarter, expanding at a pace of 3.3 percent. If they are right, it would end the streak of four straight quarters of contraction, the first time that's happened on records dating to 1947. But while the economy appears back on its feet, millions are still suffering. The big question: Will it still be standing after government supports are gone? A turnaround...

Administration slams what it calls a "misleading" Associated Press story alleging the government significantly overstated the number of jobs created or saved under Obama's $787B stimulus program The Obama administration on Thursday slammed a report from The Associated Press alleging the government had overstated by thousands the number of jobs it has created or saved with federal contracts under President Obama's $787 billion recovery program. The White House seized on an initial report from a government oversight board weeks ago that claimed federal contracts awarded to businesses under the recovery plan already had helped pay for more than 30,000 jobs....

AP Confirms Hyde Amdt Doesn't Prevent Abortion Funding in Health Care Washington, DC -- White House press secretary Robert Gibbs may want to add a Friday news story from the Associated Press to his to-do list today. The article disabuses Gibbs on claims he made in recent weeks saying the Hyde amendment prevent taxpayer-funding of abortion in the health care bills. http://www.LifeNews.com/nat5599.html

Shepard Fairey’s claim that he had the right to use a news photo to create his famous Barack Obama “HOPE” poster became a widely watched court case about fair use that now appears to have nearly collapsed. By Friday night, his attorneys — led by Anthony Falzone, executive director of the Fair Use Project at Stanford University — said they intend to withdraw from the case and said the artist had misled them by fabricating information and destroying other material. Fairey himself admitted that he didn’t use The Associated Press photo of Obama seated next to actor George Clooney he...

"Shepard Fairey has now been forced to admit that he sued the AP under false pretenses by lying about which AP photograph he used to make the Hope and Progress posters," Kasi said. "Mr. Fairey has also now admitted to the AP that he fabricated and attempted to destroy other evidence in an effort to bolster his fair use case and cover up his previous lies and omissions." Kasi said the AP would continue to "vigorously pursue its countersuit alleging that Fairey willfully infringed the AP's copyright in the close-up photo of then-Sen. Obama."

A statement emerged tonight from AP concerning its long battle with artist Shepard Fairey over his use of an AP photo as the basic image for his famous Obama campaign poster. AP claims that Fairey's attorneys admit he tried to destroy some evidence, faking others and that his attorneys have sought to get off the case. Statement from Srinandan R. Kasi, VP and General Counsel, The Associated Press, follows. * Striking at the heart of his fair use case against the AP, Shepard Fairey has now been forced to admit that he sued the AP under false pretenses by lying...

BEIJING — The leaders of two of the world’s major news organizations said Friday that it is time for search engines and others who use news content for free to pay up. The comments from Tom Curley of The Associated Press and News Corp. [NWS]’s Rupert Murdoch come as the media industry struggles in the Internet age. Many news companies contend that sites such as Google have reaped a fortune from their articles, photos and video without fairly compensating the news organizations producing the material. "We content creators have been too slow to react to the free exploitation of news...

Ukraine will hand 12 T-84 Oplot tanks, developed by the Kharkiv Morozov Machine Building Design Bureau, to Georgia in October, Verkhovna Rada deputy Valerii Konovaliuk of the Party of Regions faction has announced to the press.

Just asking. When you capitalize a period of time like the Age of Discovery, the Industrial Revolution, the Space Age or the Great Depression, you mark it as an historical era. Rachel Beck, writing for the Associated Press, has capitalized her two references to the Great Recession.

Pastor Lawrence Adams knows how to handle a gun after spending 25 years as a Detroit police officer, many at the department’s training academy. That experience helped Sunday evening when the retired lieutenant was confronted by a burglar at his Detroit church. When the intruder began swinging an object at him, Pastor Adams pulled a handgun and shot the man in the abdomen. Police say the pastor was not injured and is licensed to carry the handgun.

Posters's Note: This is from the ACTUAL AP newsrelase!! ****************************************************** OK, can you do some more probing? New York will want to know frank's out today. i checked already, and so did zurich. they say the question is irrelevant. he answered me with the quote i used, about we knew when he was coming this time. he's been here many times in the past, we think. thx brad. aptn is aware, but unfortunately won't make it in time, but is hoping to catch tail end. i'm pushing out another writethru with some more background details before press conference. no surprise,...

(AP) An advocacy group under fire after employees were caught on camera appearing to advise a couple posing as a prostitute and pimp to lie about the woman's profession to get housing help said Wednesday it is ordering an independent investigation. **snip** In the film, O'Keefe and Giles enter an ACORN office in Brooklyn and O'Keefe can be heard stating that "we have a unique life situation" and asking if the pair qualify for housing help. The ACORN housing coordinator and office administrator apparently urge the couple to lie about the woman's profession, with the housing coordinator suggesting that the...

Journalism Is Dead: Part 1,749,212. The Associated Press must have wandered too far outside of its Obama Comfort Zone last week when it attempted an open act of journalism after the president's health care speech. Not to worry, their lips are dutifully crowding the executive derriere once more. Assessing the ever-dimming prospects for the Democrats in 2010, AP reporter Beth Fouhy (my guess: registered Independent but has never even looked at a Republican's name on a ballot) creates the illusion of doing her job objectively but maintains her Obama cred with the use of a few craftily employed words and...

Dropouts Seek a Boost From Equivalency Exams Numbers Seeking a Degree Swell -- But Gains May Be Limited A growing number of Americans are taking high school equivalency tests in their hunt for any leg up in a bleak labor market. Adult-education centers across the country report backlogs and waiting lists for prep courses cramming dozens of topics and years of lessons into weeks or months. But the potential for a better job and pay that drives many to seek a General Educational Development diploma comes with a caveat: The certificate generally is of limited value unless students use it...

WASHINGTON (AP) - Congressional aides say the Obama administration has chosen a Colorado natural resources official to be the new agriculture undersecretary in charge of the U.S. Forest Service. Harris Sherman, executive director of the Colorado Department of Natural Resources, is to be nominated as soon as Thursday. The congressional aides familiar with the decision spoke on condition of anonymity because the White House had yet to announce it.

Arguably violating its embed agreement, the near universal press practice since 9/11, and the expressed wishes of the family, the Associated Press went ahead and published a photograph of mortally wounded Marine Lance Corporal Joshua "Bernie" Bernard, killed in action in Afghanistan. The AP also ignored the pleas of Secretary of Defense Robert Gates, who had implored the press agency as a "matter of judgment and common decency" not to publish the photo. Bernard, 21, a devout Christian and Iraq War veteran from Maine, was described by his squad leader as "a true-heartedly very good guy ... probably one of...

I feel guilty because originally I supported the decision by the Associated Press to release the photo of the young Marine that was taken as he lay dying. I lost readers over that and I do not blame them. Sarah Palin weighed in on Facebook. "Many of us join Secretary Gates in condemning the Associated Press for its heartless and selfish decision to turn its back on the wishes of a grieving family in order to exploit the tragic death of a true American hero. Lance Corporal Joshua ‘Bernie’ Bernard was a selfless young American who sacrificed everything for our...

On August 14 in Afghanistan, Marine LCPL Joshua Bernard was killed in action when he was hit by a rocket-propelled grenade. As Bernard lay maimed and dying, embedded Associated Press photographer Julie Jacobsen smelled a Pulitzer, so she snapped picture after gory picture instead of helping those trying to save LCPL Bernard. After the young Marine was buried, the AP dispatched a minion to Bernard’s parents, John and Sharon, ostensibly to “get their permission” for the publication of the gruesome photograph. John Bernard emphatically denied their request,

KABUL — A Swedish charity accused American troops Monday of storming through a hospital in central Afghanistan, breaking down doors and tying up staff in a search for militants. The U.S. military said it was investigating.

Many of us join Secretary Gates in condemning the Associated Press for its heartless and selfish decision to turn its back on the wishes of a grieving family in order to exploit the tragic death of a true American hero. Lance Corporal Joshua 'Bernie' Bernard was a selfless young American who sacrificed everything for our freedom. Shame on the AP for purposely adding to the grieving family's pain. Ignoring the family's wishes by publishing a sacred image of their loved one proved a despicable and heartless act by the AP. The family said they didn't want the photo published. AP,...

NEW YORK (AP) ― The Associated Press is distributing a photo of a Marine fatally wounded in battle, choosing after a period of reflection to make public an image that conveys the grimness of war and the sacrifice of young men and women fighting it. Lance Cpl. Joshua M. Bernard, 21, of New Portland, Maine, was struck by a rocket-propelled grenade in a Taliban ambush Aug. 14 in Helmand province of southern Afghanistan. The image shows fellow Marines helping Bernard after he suffered severe leg injuries. He was evacuated to a field hospital where he died on the operating table.

Al Qaeda two largest terrorist forums are celebrating the despicable AP photo of our Marine Hero during his moment of death. The two largest Al Qaeda forums are called “Al Falojah” and “Shoomookh Al Islam”. The translation to English is in italic Translation from “Al Falojah” terrorist forum thread # 82382 titled: “A Gift: The Pentagon is shocked by the publication of an American soldier breathing his last breath, picture is attached”. Then members of "al falojah" terrorist forum commented by saying “To Hell and have the worst fate” and “allah damn him and damn anyone who mourns him, we...