Son of gay parents, Obama comedy speech, Perry campaign ad top YouTube 2011 political videos

NEW YORK — A young Iowa man’s plea for marriage rights for his lesbian parents drew 18.3 million views to become the most-watched political video of the year, according to YouTube’s ranking of viral political videos.
President Barack Obama’s speech to the White House Correspondents’ Association dinner in April was second on the list, while Republican presidential candidate Rick Perry’s ad criticizing gays in the military placed third and was the year’s most-watched campaign commercial.
YouTube, the popular video-sharing site, released its 2011 list Tuesday. The company based its rankings on videos uploaded by users to the site’s news and politics category.
Rounding out the top five: Obama’s announcement of the death of Osama bin Laden on May 1, and “Brother Can You Spare a Trillion?” by Florida Republican activist Blaise Ingoglia, warning of the mounting federal debt.
Together, the top 10 political videos drew about 50 million views from January to mid-December 2011.
To be sure, the political offerings were much less popular than those on YouTube’s Top 10 overall list, which was also released Tuesday.
“Friday,” Rebecca Black’s sing-songy paean to the weekend, was the most-watched video of the year with nearly 180 million views, YouTube announced. Even “Cat Mom Hugs Baby Kitten,” which placed 10th on the overall list, had a whopping 37 million views.
But Ramya Raghavan, news and politics manager for YouTube, said public interest in political videos was already strong and would grow more so as the 2012 presidential campaign intensifies.
“A roller-skating baby is always going to get a lot of views,” Raghavan said. “But the audience is also showing a big appetite for political news and content, and there is so much more of this presidential race to go.”
A hearing in the Iowa House Judiciary Committee over a constitutional amendment banning gay marriage last winter generated the most-viewed political video of the year.
Zach Wahls, a student at the University of Iowa, stood before the panel to describe growing up as the son of two women. A handsome Eagle Scout, Wahls described a childhood similar to that of other Iowa families.
“In my 19 years not once have I ever been confronted by an individual who realized independently that I was raised by a gay couple,” Wahls told the committee. “And you know why? Because the sexual orientation of my parents has had zero effect on the content of my character.”
Iowa’s state Supreme Court legalized gay marriage in April 2009. The proposed amendment would have revoked marriage rights.
The Iowa House passed the amendment despite Wahls’ plea. But state Senate leaders decided against bringing up the matter, effectively killing it for the time being. Many gay rights activists credited the Wahls video for helping draw attention to the issue.
Obama appears twice on YouTube’s list. His remarks at the April 30 correspondents’ dinner, where he skewered real estate mogul Donald Trump for raising questions about his birth certificate, drew 9.1 million views.
Obama’s speech announcing the U.S. mission that killed bin Laden came a day later, drawing 6.2 million views.
Campaign commercials for Perry, the Texas governor, appear twice on YouTube’s list.
In “Stronger,” which placed third on the political list, Perry vows action against Obama’s “war on religion.”
Perry says, “There’s something wrong in this country when gays can serve openly in the military but our kids can’t openly celebrate Christmas or pray in schools.”
The ad drew 7 million views in less than two weeks. It also provoked controversy and sparked several parodies.
Perry’s debut presidential campaign ad, “Proven Leadership,” also made the list with 2.1 million views.
Other videos on YouTube’s top 10: comedian Seth Myers’ remarks to the White House Correspondents’ Dinner; Jon Stewart of “The Daily Show” appearing on Fox News Channel with host Bill O’Reilly; Herman Cain’s campaign ad featuring his chief of staff, Mark Block, smoking a cigarette; and a mock Obama campaign ad produced by the National Republican Senatorial Committee.

Obama camp says Romney’s layoff record makes him an easier target than Gingrich on jobs front

WASHINGTON — Conventional wisdom, supported by polls, maintains that Mitt Romney would be a tougher opponent than Newt Gingrich against President Barack Obama.
But one factor keeps Democrats from salivating over Gingrich’s rise in the Republican presidential race: Romney may present a fatter target on jobs, the issue expected to dominate the 2012 contest.

Romney, the former Massachusetts governor, says his greatest asset is his understanding of business and job creation. Obama’s team has compiled a thick file to rebut that claim, based mainly on Romney’s time as head of the private equity firm Bain Capital in the 1980s and 1990s. Bain made hefty profits for Romney and other officials and investors. But hundreds of workers sometimes lost their jobs in the process.
Considerable research already exists for Obama. When Romney unsuccessfully challenged Sen. Edward M. Kennedy, D-Mass., in 1994, Democrats ran attack ads featuring laid-off workers from American Pad & Paper, or Ampad. After Bain acquired the company in 1992, it cut 385 jobs and closed two U.S. plants. Ampad sought bankruptcy protection in 2000, shortly after Romney had left Bain.
A few other Bain reorganization projects met similar fates, although some prospered and grew.
The Obama camp has no comparable jobs “opposition research” on Gingrich. The former House speaker spent his career as a college instructor, lawmaker and Washington-based consultant, none of which involved hiring or firing large numbers of people.
“Romney’s record is a target-rich environment, since he threw people out of jobs to make a lot of money,” said Doug Hattaway, a Democratic strategist. “Gingrich is harder to paint as a job-destroyer.”
In some ways, it would make sense for Obama supporters to root for Gingrich. He has charmed and alienated people about equally, at best, during his long up-and-down career.
The latest Associated Press-GfK poll found Romney and Obama essentially tied when Americans were asked their voting intentions for 2012. But Obama led Gingrich, 51 percent to 42 percent.
Nonetheless, some Obama advisers seem eager to take on Romney, saying the line of attack on jobs is much clearer than it is for Gingrich.
When Romney was endorsed by Delaware tea party activist Christine O’Donnell — she once declared “I’m not a witch” in a Senate race ad — Obama strategist David Axelrod jumped in. “If Christine O’Donnell really wants to help Mitt, maybe she can cast a spell and make his MA and Bain records disappear,” Axelrod said via Twitter.
Romney is trying to inoculate himself.
During last Thursday’s GOP debate in Iowa, Romney predicted Obama will “go after me and say: ‘You know, in businesses that you’ve invested in, they didn’t all succeed. Some failed. Some laid people off.’ And he’ll be absolutely right. But if you look at all the businesses we invested in, over a hundred different businesses, they added tens of thousands of jobs.”
Reviews of Bain’s history by the Los Angeles Times, The Washington Post and others have concluded it’s difficult to prove or disprove the thrust of Romney’s claim. There’s ample evidence of jobs lost, and jobs gained, by companies reorganized by Bain during Romney’s leadership.

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Healthy Lifestyles Promote Graceful Ageing

Dr Chris Adomako, a Sport Medicine Physician at Trust Hospital in Accra on Tuesday said a healthy lifestyle and regular exercises would ensure one growing gracefully in old age. He said those who take good care of themselves while growing stood the chance of restraining the debilitating effects of diseases associated with ageing. Dr Adomako made the observation when speaking at a lecture on: “Ageing and Its Associate Diseases,” as part of the 20th anniversary celebration of Retired SSNIT Staff Association (RESSA) in Accra. He called for regular medical check-up, saying early diagnosis and treatment were key in the fight against diseases. Dr Adomako said cancer was the result of unregulated cell division which was not supposed to be and in the worst cases, left the area in which they occurred and spread to other parts of the body. He said although not all cancers shared exactly the same steps, there were some general features that were shared in the development of many types of the disease. Dr Adomako touched on breast, prostate, colon, bladder, cervical, uterus, stomach, gastric and liver cancers and noted that despite their debilitating effects early diagnosis was apt.

Source: GNA

Gut Check: 10 Best and Worst Foods for Your Tummy

Gas, bloating, constipation and diarrhea are common signs your digestive system is off-kilter. But did you know that brittle hair and low energy can also point to tummy troubles? Find out which foods will keep your gut clogged or moving. Plus, test your yogurt IQ with our quiz… A healthy digestive system begins with a good diet. Eat the right stuff and you feel great. Eat badly and you feel like a human garbage can. How you eat can affect the way you feel too. "If you don't digest your food properly, your cells don't get what they need to function optimally," says Liz Lipski, Ph.D., a clinical dietitian and author of Digestive Wellness (McGraw-Hill). The gastrointestinal (GI) tract is also home to our most precious disease-fighting resource: the immune system. "Two-thirds of the immune system is in the digestive tract," Lipski says. "There are more neurotransmitters in the GI than in the brain and more nerve endings than in the spine," she adds. Your digestive system is vital to your health and happiness. So how do you keep it working well? For starters, avoid these 5 gut enemies: 5 Worst Foods for Your Gut 1. Red meat The more red meat you eat, the higher your risk of colorectal cancer risk. That's because it's typically high in saturated fat, which is tied to cancer of the small intestine, according to a 2008 Cancer Research study. How to avoid it: Choose lean cuts of beef, lamb and pork. Eat more protein- and iron-rich legumes in place of red meat. Grill a Portobello mushroom instead of a burger; it's meaty flavor will fill you. 2. Processed meat Lunch meats, hot dogs, sausages and other processed meats are packed with saturated fat, sodium and nitrates. Processed meats have been linked to colon cancer, possibly because they are cooked at high temperatures, which can increase carcinogens. How to avoid it: Stick to fresh, lean cuts and eat other forms of protein (legumes and grains) as much as possible. 3. Hydrogenated oils Trans fats, created when liquid oils are hydrogenated (so they become solid at room temperature), aren't found in nature. They’re an inexpensive way to make fats last longer on supermarket shelves, but your body pays a high price: They’re tough to digest and have been linked to many health problems, including increased bad (LDL) cholesterol, decreased good (HDL) cholesterol and colon cancer. The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) requires trans fats to be labeled on food products. But the federal agency also allows manufacturers to claim zero trans fats if there are fewer than 0.5 grams per serving. Don't be fooled: If a food lists hydrogenated oils as an ingredient, it contains trans fats. How to avoid it: Eat fresh, whole, natural foods and ditch the packaged, processed stuff. 4. Gluten About 2 million Americans suffer from gluten intolerance, says the National Institutes of Health (NIH). Gluten is a protein found in barley, rye, spelt, wheat and countless other foods such as processed meats, soy sauce, ice cream, cheese, cookies, pasta, ketchup, salad dressings and more. Food sensitivities affect 10%-20% of us, and can cause lots of digestive complaints (gas, cramping, bloating, heartburn, indigestion) and other symptoms, including chronic headaches, aching joints and muscles, depression, concentration, memory problems and poor energy levels, Lipski says. How to avoid it: A gluten-free diet is the only solution; it’s a challenge but possible. Check out 7 Gluten-Free Recipes. 5. Lactose Another tummy troubler is lactose, the principal sugar found in milk. Lactose intolerance affects 30-50 million Americans, according to the NIH. Avoiding milk will help, but you don't have to give up all dairy. Some lactose-intolerant people do fine with small amounts of milk. How to avoid it: Drink lactose-free milk and eat cultured dairy products, like yogurt, which break down lactose. Aged cheeses (like Cheddar and Swiss) have less lactose and may be easier to digest. 5 Best Foods for Your Gut 1. Dietary fiber Our Pick: Prunes Fiber keeps things moving through your digestive system and out. Otherwise, your colon is stuck with toxins that can build up and cause major health problems. Your body then begins reabsorbing toxins, hormones and other substances. "If you don’t have regular bowel movements, you're retaining wastes that your body has finished with," Lipski says. "It’s like not moving a stinky garbage bag out of your kitchen.” A diet rich in fiber protects against colon cancer and cancers of the small intestine, according to a 2008 study in the journal Gastroenterology. Fruits, vegetables, whole grains and legumes are all packed with healthy fiber. But when it comes to staying regular, prunes, because of their mild laxative effect, is the go-to fruit. They're also a great source of energy, nutrition and disease-fighting phenolic compounds.

Source: Lifescript