Write a summary based on this article:

Kanye West, prolific entertainer/fashion icon/celebrity/member of the Kardashian family needs our help!

 Recently, Kanye let us in on his personal struggle. He is 53 million dollars in debt and it doesn't look like he's going to get Mark Zuckerberg's help that he desperately needs. We must open our hearts and wallets for Kanye today. Sure he is personally rich and can buy furs and houses for his family, but without our help, the true genius of Kanye West can't be realized.

 As Kanye West has told us time and time again he is the "greatest living artist and greatest artist of all time". Great artists need to be supported financially to achieve their full potential.

 To quote Mr. West, "I am Warhol. I am the number one most impactful artist of our generation. I am Shakespeare in the flesh. Walt Disney. Nike. Google. Now who's gonna be the Medici family and stand up and let me create more!"

 WE MUST BE THE MEDICI FAMILY TO KANYE.

 GoFundMe, let us unite!

 Help spread the word! Share Tweet 300k shares on Facebook shares on Facebook ||||| Add a location to your Tweets

 When you tweet with a location, Twitter stores that location. You can switch location on/off before each Tweet and always have the option to delete your location history. Learn more ||||| While Kanye West may be the most beloved artist of all time, at least by Kanye West himself, he's still human. And humans have bills to pay.

 Recently, Yeezy tweeted that he's $53 million in debt.

 I write this to you my brothers while still 53 million dollars in personal debt... Please pray we overcome... This is my true heart... — KANYE WEST (@kanyewest) February 14, 2016

 While it's unclear whether Kanye is truly in this enormous amount of debt, fans are banding together to help him in his time of so-called need.

 Funnyman and funny fan Jeremy Piatt, created a GoFundMe page for the artist, which he's aptly titled "Get Kanye Out of Debt".

 "I'm trying to help out the greatest living artist of our time while he's in need," Piatt told Mashable in an email. "I saw that Kanye is 53 Million Dollars in debt and I knew I had to do anything I could to help, because as all my friends would tell you, I'm just a very giving person."

 Piatt is modeling his act of good will and support of the arts after the wealthy Italian Medici family, who were known to financially support artists at the time of their reign.

 "Kanye is the greatest living artist on the planet, he's told us many many many many times," Piatt told Mashable. "The great artists need people to finance them, Leonardo da Vinci and Michelangelo had the Medici family to fund their projects, so why not have the legions of Kanye fans fund his? This is what makes crowd sourcing great! Now we can personally make a difference in the world and help pay for mind blowing art."

 Image: PHOTOLURE News Agency/Demotix/Corbis

 While Kanye has yet to reach out to Piatt about obtaining the $35 that has been raised when we published this story, Piatt is hopeful he'll hear from the rapper.

 "I am trying to reach out to Kanye or his people so the funds can be transferred to him," Piatt says. "I have been in contact with GoFundMe and we've agreed to keep the page up, but I am not able to withdraw any money. The only people who will be able to withdraw money will be Kanye or his team."

 my dreams brought me into debt and I’m close to seeing the light of day… — KANYE WEST (@kanyewest) February 16, 2016

 Here's hoping Piatt's mission to help the artist get out of debt makes its way toward Kanye himself.

 Ultimately, according to Piatt: "The goal for the page is to raise awareness for supporting the arts, of course I hope that Kanye finds out about it because the money can not be transferred to him unless that happens." ||||| There appears to be some truth to Kanye West’s claim that he has met “all the tech guys”. The Chicago hip-hop mogul this weekend declared he is $53m in debt and requested funding from Facebook founder Mark Zuckerberg and Google cofounder Larry Page.

 He then threw down this 70-character gauntlet:

 KANYE WEST (@kanyewest) All you guys had meetings with me and no one lifted a finger to help….

 The Guardian wasn’t able to determine the true nature of West’s finances, but he does appear to have more than a few friends in Silicon Valley, based on public press accounts and interviews with several tech executives.

 He frequently shows up at Apple’s southern California office, is friends with rap-obsessed venture capitalist Ben Horowitz, has reportedly dined with an Instagram founder, and has some sort of social relationship with Dropbox chief executive Drew Houston.

 The interactions go back at least half a decade.

 Elon Musk (@elonmusk) Kanye stopped by the SpaceX rocket factory today. pic.twitter.com/6z7gHBn6

 There’s some context here. The entertainment industry and tech have long had a fascination with each other. For music titans such as West, Nas, MC Hammer and Justin Bieber, it’s become a way to grow serious businessperson bona fides. For technologists, it’s the ultimate revenge of the nerds.

 Some of West’s early interactions with Silicon Valley were well-documented by Gawker’s tech industry gossip site Valleywag. In 2012 and 2013, the producer and rapper began pitching his latest vision, Donda, to investors. It was presented as a sort of hip man’s General Electric that would have its fingers in everything from fashion and publishing to “alternative energy sources” and “hovercrafts”.

 KANYE WEST (@kanyewest) Here is my Donda chart that I wrote 4 years ago that everyone laughed at… pic.twitter.com/g1po6Z3H55

 Perhaps trying to grease the levers of finance, West invited several tech thought leaders to his 2013 engagement party at San Francisco’s AT&T Park, home of the Giants. Horowitz, the cofounder of mega venture capital firm Andreessen Horowitz, was there, as was Dropbox’s Houston.

 Another person present: Mahbod Moghadam, the controversial cofounder of Rap Genius, the Andreessen Horowitz-backed company that helps people understand rap lyrics.

 “They’re tight. It’s cute,” Moghadam, who now works at Everipedia, said of Horowitz and West.

 Moghadam left Rap Genius in 2014 after comments he made about a mass shooting at the University of California Santa Barbara. “In their defense, I did do a lot of stupid things,” he said.

 Dropbox and Andreessen Horowitz didn’t immediately respond to requests for comment.

 It couldn’t be learned what relationship, if any, West maintains with executives at some of the biggest Silicon Valley companies, such as Facebook, Twitter, Uber and Alphabet (the artists formerly known as Google), although he has dined with Kevin Systrom, the cofounder of Facebook-owned Instagram.

 But he does appear to have a working relationship with Apple, a less-than-surprising development given the iPhone maker’s work with streaming music these days – even if he did declare his new album The Life of Pablo would “never never never” be on Apple’s iTunes Store and would be exclusive to the streaming service Tidal.

 At Apple’s southern California headquarters, where former record executive Jimmy Iovine helps run Apple music, West is sometimes found hanging out in Iovine’s office, a person familiar with the meetings said.

 In his Twitter posts on 14 February, West asked Zuckerberg for $1bn to help handle his debts and bring Donda, his startup idea, to fruition.

 As Aaron Levie, the chief executive of Box, noted on Twitter, that’s a lot of money these days, even in Silicon Valley. ||||| Starting in 1996, Alexa Internet has been donating their crawl data to the Internet Archive. Flowing in every day, these data are added to the Wayback Machine after an embargo period.

 Starting in 1996, Alexa Internet has been donating their crawl data to the Internet Archive. Flowing in every day, these data are added to the Wayback Machine after an embargo period.

 internet The Dumbest GoFundMe Campaigns Ever Ashley Reign 115k votes 18k voters 9.8M views 25 items Follow Embed List Rules Vote up the GoFundMe and crowdfunding campaigns that are so stupid, they're almost insulting.

 If you've ever been on social media, read the Internet, or had human friends, you probably already know about crowdfunding campaigns like the ones on GoFundMe or Kickstarter. More than likely, you’ve been sent a request or two to help fund worthy causes like paying vet bill of a sickly cat or covering the medical expenses of someone’s grandma. But not everyone in the crowdfunding universe has intentions that are quite so pure. In fact, we’ve gathered a collection of some of the worst GoFundMe campaigns of all time to prove just how weird and greedy society can be.

 These are some of the worst crowdfunding campaigns the Internet has to offer, featuring everything from stupid GoFundMe campaigns like the one to find out the truth about #deflategate, to a Kickstarter fan project to break up Ciara and Russell Wilson. While some of these dumb things on GoFundMe might actually resonate with some people (like the one to help a lady buy a hedgehog), others are just plain wacky.

 At the very least, these crowdfunding attempts will help you feel better about your own life. Vote up the best of the worst dumb GoFundMe campaigns ever to hit the web!

 1 1,493 1,137 The Fund To Send A Woman Around The World For Spiritual Healing

 Photo: GoFundMe Traveling the world sounds like an amazing opportunity. And the chance to travel the world on someone else's dime? Even better. This woman - only identified as Rebecca G. - is asking people to help her pay for a $10,000 round-the-world trip so she can advance in her "spiritual journey." Sure. She promises that as she travels she will help others realize their own spiritual journey all while living out her dream. How she plans to help others is unclear. What we do know is that she plans to write a book about it. Yay? The 20 Most Epic Wedding FAILs of All Time The Scariest Animals in the World

 2 2,290 8,645 A Fund to Erase This Bad Decision

 Photo: Tabitha Renea West/via GoFundMe Turns out getting a job was tough for this tattooed New Yorker. To help erase her (really, really, really) terrible decision and hopefully brighten up her job prospects, she started a

 Turns out getting a job was tough for this tattooed New Yorker. To help erase her (really, really, really) terrible decision and hopefully brighten up her job prospects, she started a GoFundMe campaign to get the 420 tattoo removed from her forehead. Aiming for $800, she raised more than $1,000 in just a few days. ||||| Add a location to your Tweets

 When you tweet with a location, Twitter stores that location. You can switch location on/off before each Tweet and always have the option to delete your location history. Learn more ||||| Enlarge Image GoFundMe

 Don't worry Yeezy, help is on the way.

 A Kanye West fan in Minnesota has created a GoFundMe page for the rapper, fashion designer and Kim Kardashian's crazier half, a day after the Grammy winner tweeted he was $53 million in debt. West's financial woes are so bad, he publicly begged two tech billionaires for cash.

 "Kanye West, prolific entertainer/fashion icon/celebrity/member of the Kardashian family needs our help!" Jeremy Piatt wrote on his Help Get Kanye Out of Debt page. "Sure, he is personally rich and can buy furs and houses for his family, but without our help, the true genius of Kanye West can't be realized."

 The Internet's quickly showed its generosity and support. By Tuesday afternoon -- some 48 hours after West's desperate plea -- a total of $50 had been pledged to the multi-platinum hip-hop star. (That's 0.000094 percent of Kanye's total debt.)

 Piatt, a graphic designer, is no stranger to Internet fame. The 36-year-old, who made headlines last year for giving NFL helmets a bold makeover, said he was motivated by the desire to help a fellow artist.

 "The arts must be funded, and without funding great ideas and great masterpieces never get made," Piatt said. "This is a great way for people, not giant corporations, to support great artists and visionaries."

 A West representative didn't immediately respond to requests for comment.

 Of course, Piatt wasn't alone in trying to organize support for Kanye. A separate GoFundMe campaign, called HELP PAY KANYE'S DEBT!, was organized by Robert Kulik in Washington, D.C. though it appears to have been canceled.

 "A buck, five-spot, 10-banger, deuce-nil, Franklin... Just give what you can as soon as you can," the campaign read. "We need to relieve his stress, so the "greatest artist of all time" can do what he does best - making the world a better place!"

 Kulik's campaign raised $0. He didn't respond to an email seeking comment.

 West recently went on a bizarre Twitter rant in which he pleaded for Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg and Alphabet CEO Larry Page to each invest $1 billion in his ideas. West tweeted Sunday that he feels rich people are always "too cool" to ask for help, including lending money.

 Some in Silicon Valley took note. Box CEO Aaron Levie tweeted: Classic Series A pitch deck line.

 Yeezy -- that's one of West's nicknames -- also just released his latest album, "The Life of Pablo," and debuted his latest clothing collection at Fashion Week in New York.

 The album, which was released on the struggling music streaming app Tidal Sunday, was pulled down shortly after it appeared. The album has reportedly been illegally downloaded more than 500,000 times from other sites after many fans said they paid $20 to download the album off Tidal but didn't get it.

 On one of the tracks, West boasts he's responsible for pop star Taylor Swift's fame.

 On Monday, Swift artfully responded while accepting a Grammy for best album.

 "To all the young women out there: there are going to be people along the way who will try to undercut your success or take credit for your accomplishments or fame," she said. "But if you just focus on the work and you don't let those people sidetrack you, someday when you get where you're going, you'll look around and know it was you and the people who love you who put there and that will be the greatest feeling in the world."

 I guess that's what they call a "mic drop." |||||

– Kanye West is, apparently, $53 million in debt, but he should be able to pay that off in no time thanks to a GoFundMe campaign started by 36-year-old Minnesotan Jeremy Piatt, CNET reports. "Recently, Kanye let us in on his personal struggle. He is 53 million dollars in debt and it doesn't look like he's going to get Mark Zuckerberg's help that he desperately needs," Piatt writes. "We must open our hearts and wallets for Kanye today. Sure he is personally rich and can buy furs and houses for his family, but without our help, the true genius of Kanye West can't be realized." So far, after just a single day of fundraising, $603 has been raised for Kanye (along with a lot of comments like, "How about you get a job?"). Piatt tells Mashable that he's spoken to GoFundMe, and only Kanye or his team will be able to access any money raised. As for Zuckerberg—West specifically asked him, as well as Larry Page, to donate money to the Kanye cause when he went on his Twitter rant, and then went on to imply that he knows other tech giants who should help him. "All you dudes in San Fran play rap music in your homes but never help the real artists…," he tweeted, followed by, "All you guys had meetings with me and no one lifted a finger to help…." The Guardian did a little investigation into how many "tech guys" Kanye actually knows, and found that he really does have something of an ongoing relationship with Facebook and Apple; has had meetings with investors in Silicon Valley and even had some of them at one of his parties; has had interactions with an Instagram co-founder, the Dropbox chief executive, a co-founder of Rap Genius, and Elon Musk; and is good friends with venture capitalist Ben Horowitz. (Here are some of the dumbest GoFundMe campaigns ever.)


Summarize this article:

The comedy series on which Crews stars as Sgt. Terry Jeffords was saved from an untimely death by NBC after it was canceled by Fox on Thursday.

 Terry Crews on Saturday morning thanked Mark Hamill for helping to save Brooklyn Nine-Nine.

 "@HamillHimself I want to personally THANK YOU Mark for using the power of the force to save Brooklyn Nine Nine! *Wipes dirt off shoulder*," Crews tweeted, referencing a Luke Skywalker moment in Star Wars: The Last Jedi.

 He also thanked a number of other celebrities who also shared their disappointment via social media, including Sean Astin and Lin-Manuel Miranda.

 The comedy series on which Crews stars as Sgt. Terry Jeffords was saved from an untimely death by NBC after it was canceled by Fox on Thursday. Created by Dan Goor and Michael Schur, the show premiered on Fox in September 2013.

 Fans were outraged and heartbroken over the news of the cancellation; among those was the Star Wars icon.

 Hamill, who has amassed millions of followers on his social media platforms, shared his disappointment over Fox pulling the plug on the sitcom centered around the goofballs of the New York Police Department's Brooklyn 99th precinct.

 "Oh NOOOOOOOOO!!!!!!!!!" Hamill tweeted on Thursday when he read the news. "I'm SO not ready to say #ByeBye99. Be forewarned @FOXTV-when networks dump shows I love, I'm known for holding grudges a long, L-O-N-G time. I'm still mad @CBS didn't renew #SquarePegs! #EverythingILikeGetsCancelled."

 Hamill also shared a classic scene from the show in which a police lineup sings the Backstreet Boys. "Oh my god, I forgot about this scene! #RenewB99," Hamill wrote.

 When he learned the series received a 13-episode sixth season order from NBC, Hamill tweeted, "Good News: #NBC Renewed @Brooklyn99 in a pick-up from @FOXTV. Better News: If @FOXTV renewed #GreatNews in a pick-up from #NBC. In Other News: I've finally forgiven #ABC for cancelling #TheTexasWheelers." ||||| FILE - In this June 22, 2016, file photo, Terry Crews, left, and Andy Samberg attend "Brooklyn Nine-Nine" FYC Event held at Upright Citizens Brigade Theatre in Los Angeles. NBC is turbo-charging the trend... (Associated Press)

 FILE - In this June 22, 2016, file photo, Terry Crews, left, and Andy Samberg attend "Brooklyn Nine-Nine" FYC Event held at Upright Citizens Brigade Theatre in Los Angeles. NBC is turbo-charging the trend of reviving canceled comedies with its pickup of "Brooklyn Nine-Nine." The network quickly swooped... (Associated Press)

 FILE - In this June 22, 2016, file photo, Terry Crews, left, and Andy Samberg attend "Brooklyn Nine-Nine" FYC Event held at Upright Citizens Brigade Theatre in Los Angeles. NBC is turbo-charging the trend of reviving canceled comedies with its pickup of "Brooklyn Nine-Nine." The network quickly swooped... (Associated Press) FILE - In this June 22, 2016, file photo, Terry Crews, left, and Andy Samberg attend "Brooklyn Nine-Nine" FYC Event held at Upright Citizens Brigade Theatre in Los Angeles. NBC is turbo-charging the trend... (Associated Press)

 NEW YORK (AP) — NBC is turbo-charging the trend of reviving canceled comedies with its pickup of "Brooklyn Nine-Nine."

 The network quickly swooped in after Fox dumped it last week, adding it to NBC's midseason schedule. While the fan outcry was heartening, NBC Entertainment Chairman Robert Greenblatt said Sunday that because of business considerations, the pickup already was in the works. The show is made by an NBC Universal-owed studio.

 Greenblatt said if he had known earlier in the series' development that Andy Samberg was going to star in "Brooklyn Nine-Nine," NBC's studio never would have sold it to Fox in the first place.

 "It was a missed opportunity for us from the beginning," he said. "We jumped on it really quickly, and we're thrilled to have it."

 He said he believes it's a better fit for NBC's brand of comedy than it ever was for Fox.

 NBC succeeded this past season with a reboot of "Will & Grace," while ABC's revival of "Roseanne" has been an even more spectacular success. That's left network executives scouring old cast lists for shows that can be brought back.

 ___

 SEASON KICKOFF

 NBC says it will introduce five new dramas and two new comedies next season. It's the only one of the four biggest broadcast networks with more viewers than last season, although that would not have been the case without the Winter Olympics and Super Bowl.

 Broadcast television's schedule week is a whirlwind of star-studded presentations and parties for advertisers, who will use what they see to decide where to buy billions of dollars' worth of commercial time.

 It is, however, becoming less significant for consumers. Twenty-five years ago, the decisions announced influenced the evening habits of millions more people.

 In those days, 71 percent of televisions in use during prime time were tuned to either ABC, CBS, NBC or Fox, the Nielsen company said. Today, it's roughly half that. During last season, 40 percent of the TVs were watching those channels, along with other broadcasters like the CW, Univision and Telemundo, Nielsen said.

 ___

 SIMON AND THE ROCK

 NBC was admittedly "treading water" in the winter between editions of "The Voice," during the last few years, Greenblatt said.

 He's taken steps to rectify that and will start a winter edition of the summer hit "America's Got Talent," with judge Simon Cowell on board. The format will be a championship tournament of past favorite performers and winners from international editions of the show.

 Dwayne Johnson also will be a part of "The Titan Games," a competition from the producers of "American Ninja Warrior." Ellen DeGeneres also will return with "Ellen's Game of Games."

 The drama "Blacklist," said to be on the fence to return, is on the midseason schedule.

 ___

 CHICAGO: WEDNESDAY

 NBC is taking viewers to the Midwest on Wednesdays, where the dramas "Chicago Med," ''Chicago Fire" and "Chicago P.D." will fill out the network's prime-time schedule. All are products of television veteran Dick Wolf's production studio.

 Wolf's long-running "Law & Order: SVU" will launch its 20th season on Thursday nights.

 ___

 CHEERS

 The midseason comedy "Abby," centered around a bar in San Diego, can boast of one thing unique. It's believed to be the first sitcom to be shot outdoors in front of a live audience.

 ___

 NEW THIS FALL

 NBC's schedule includes three series that will premiere in the fall.

 The Monday night drama "Manifest" is a time-traveler series about passengers who get off a bumpy plane flight only to find it's five years later and all of their friends and relatives assumed they were dead.

 "New Amsterdam," on Tuesday, is a medical series based in New York's Bellevue Hospital.

 "I Feel Bad" — not a medical series — is a comedy about a working mom who is "perfectly OK with being imperfect," according to NBC's description. Amy Poehler is one of the behind-the-scenes figures on the Thursday night show.

 ___

 BYE-BYE

 Hope you didn't get too attached to series like "The Brave," ''Law & Order True Crime," ''Rise" or "Great News." All landed on the scrap heap. Greenblatt said decisions are due soon on the fate of "Timeless" and "Champions." |||||

– Brooklyn Nine-Nine star Terry Crews has a lot to be thankful for now that his show has been rescued by NBC after Fox nixed the beloved series last week. Crews seemed especially grateful to several actors who voiced their support for the show along with its many fans. On Saturday, he name-checked some fellow celebrities to thank them for amplifying the show's cause, including Star Wars actor Mark Hamill. "I want to personally THANK YOU Mark for using the power of the force to save Brooklyn Nine Nine! *Wipes dirt off shoulder*," Crews tweeted. Per the Hollywood Reporter, Crews also gave shout-outs to actor Sean Astin and Broadway star Lin-Manuel Miranda. By Sunday, however, it began to seem like Crews' gratitude may have been misdirected. While the fan outcry was heartening, NBC Entertainment Chairman Robert Greenblatt told the AP that because of business considerations, the pickup already was in the works. The show is made by a studio owned by NBC Universal. Greenblatt said if he had known earlier in the series' development that Andy Samberg was going to star in Brooklyn Nine-Nine, NBC's studio never would have sold it to Fox in the first place. "It was a missed opportunity for us from the beginning," he said. "We jumped on it really quickly, and we're thrilled to have it."


Article:

President Donald Trump threatened to hit car exports from the European Union with a retaliatory tax, escalating a brewing global fight with U.S. trading partners triggered by newly announced 25 percent U.S. tariffs on imported steel and aluminum.

 In a post on Twitter, Trump cited a "big imbalance" between the two countries, said if the 28-nation bloc insisted on imposing punitive taxes on U.S. goods, America would strike back on European car exports. It was an apparent response to European officials threatening policy changes of their own in the wake of Trump's sudden pronouncement on metal imports.

 "If the E.U. wants to further increase their already massive tariffs and barriers on U.S. companies doing business there, we will simply apply a tax on their cars which freely pour into the U.S.," the president said on Twitter.

 That could spell trouble for car manufacturers like Volkswagen and BMW, two of the most popular European brands sold in the U.S. The German luxury car maker also manufactures many of its cars in America, shipping billions of dollars worth abroad.

 In 2016, the EU shipped more than 6 million cars abroad, and the U.S. — its largest market by far — absorbed more than 1 million of those, according to the European Automobile Manufacturers Association.

 Each year, the U.S. imports more from Europe than the continent absorbs in American goods, to the tune of a trade deficit totaling more than $151 billion in 2017, according to U.S. Census data.

 Trump's hasty decision to impose tariffs on steel imports has stoked talk of a brewing trade war, roiling both the political establishment and the global economic order. The move also prompted E.U. trade chiefs to weigh hitting a broad array of U.S. imports with a 25 percent tax, Reuters reported this week.

  ||||| CLOSE President Donald Trump said trade wars were "good," expressing defiance amid global criticism of his plan to slap tariffs on steel and aluminum imports. Newslook

 President Donald Trump and first lady Melania Trump. (Photo: Chuck Burton, AP)

 In the first rumblings of a potential trade war, President Trump punched back Saturday at Canadian and European warnings that his steel tariff plan is "unacceptable" by threatening to slap a tariff on European cars if they try to take him on.

 The latest volley out of Mar-a-Lago came two days after Trump first announced plans to impose a U.S. tariff of 25% on steel imports and 10% on aluminum.

 That, in turn, was met by a sharp rejection from Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau who called the tariffs "absolutely unacceptable" and said they would cause serious disruption of markets on both sides of the border.

 If the E.U. wants to further increase their already massive tariffs and barriers on U.S. companies doing business there, we will simply apply a Tax on their Cars which freely pour into the U.S. They make it impossible for our cars (and more) to sell there. Big trade imbalance! — Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) March 3, 2018

 His foreign minister, Chrystia Freeland, warns that Canada is prepared to "take responsive measures to defend its trade interests and workers," Reuters reports.

 European leaders also weighed in. Jean-Claude Juncker, president of the European Commission, told the German media that the EU would respond with tariffs on such U.S. products as Harley-Davidsons, Kentucky bourbon and bluejeans.

 “None of this is reasonable, but reason is a sentiment that is very unevenly distributed in this world,” Juncker said.

 From his weekend perch, Trump made it clear that such talk would only stoke American resolve.

 "If the E.U. wants to further increase their already massive tariffs and barriers on U.S. companies doing business there, we will simply apply a Tax on their Cars which freely pour into the U.S.," he tweeted. "They make it impossible for our cars (and more) to sell there. Big trade imbalance!"

 The tweet underscored his observation on Friday that when the U.S.is losing "many billions" on trade with virtually every trading partner "trade wars are good and easy to win."

 Dieter Kempf, head of the Federation of German Industries, warns that Trump was risking a “spiral of protectionism” that in the end would cost American jobs, as well as those in Germany and the rest of Europe, The New York Times reported.

 For now, Canada was feeling the most acute pressure as the top supplier to the United States of both steel and aluminum, exporting nearly 90% of its steel to the U.S.

 "Any disruption to this integrated market would be significant and serious, Trudeau said.

 Prime Minister Justin Trudeau stands during question period on Parliament Hill in Ottawa on Feb. 28, 2018. (Photo: Sean Kilpatrick, AP)

 These proposals, he added, "are going to hurt them every bit as much as they are going to hurt us, and we are confident we're going to continue to be able to defend Canadian industry."

 While Trump has routinely singled out China for its steel and aluminum exports to the U.S., the president, in his off-the-cuff remarks on Thursday, did not say specifically whether Canada and/or Mexico would be subject to the new measures.

 If he aims only at China, however, he would hit a mighty small target since China accounts for only 2.9% of U.S. steel imports.

 Canada, on the other hand, is the biggest supplier, accounting for 16% of U.S. steel imports, or $4.3 billion in 2017, followed by South Korea, Mexico, Brazil and China, according to data compiled by Wood Mackenzie.

 The Wall Street Journal, quoting an unidentified senior White House official, reports that Trump plans to apply his tariffs globally and won't exempt allies such as Canada and Europe.

 That is hardly surprising, given Trump's ire in the past over Canada's export policies.

 Last year, in a flareup over milk pricing and softwood lumber, the president took a swipe at the neighbors to the north, warning people not to be fooled by Canadians' friendly demeanor, the The Globe and Mail reported.

 "Canada's been very rough on the United States. Everyone thinks of Canada as being wonderful, and so do I, I love Canada," he said. "But they've outsmarted our politicians for many years."

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What is a summary?

– A full-blown trade war is looking ever more likely with President Trump threatening US allies upset with the tariffs on steel and aluminum imports he announced just days earlier, USA Today reports. "If the E.U. wants to further increase their already massive tariffs and barriers on U.S. companies doing business there, we will simply apply a Tax on their Cars which freely pour into the U.S. They make it impossible for our cars (and more) to sell there. Big trade imbalance!" Trump tweeted Saturday from Mar-a-Lago. The president announced a 25% tariff on imported steel and 10% tariff on imported aluminum on Thursday. Both Canada and the EU called the tariffs "unacceptable," and the EU threatened to retaliate in the form of tariffs on Harley-Davidson motorcycles, Kentucky bourbon, and jeans. Canada also threatened retaliation of its own. The US was the largest market for cars exported from the EU in 2016, importing over 1 million, CNBC reports. According to the Washington Post, Trump's newest tariff threat mostly targets Germany, which exported $23 billion in cars to the US in 2016. Germany's BMW and Volkswagen employ thousands of workers in factories in the US, and critics say a tariff on their cars would only hurt US consumers. Trump said during his presidential campaign that he wanted to fix trade imbalances with China and Mexico. But his announced tariffs on aluminum and steel would mostly affect Canada, the UK, Germany, South Korea, Turkey, and Japan—all allies of the US. “None of this is reasonable, but reason is a sentiment that is very unevenly distributed in this world,” the president of the EU says. Trump on Friday called trade wars "good and easy to win."


Write an article based on this summary:

– The climate talks in Cancun are over, and the assessments seem to fall into the modest-but-better-than-expected range, mainly because they set the stage for future talks. Monsters and Critics has highlights here, including a goal by the nearly 200 participating nations to limit the rise in world temperatures to 2 degrees Celsius and the creation of a "Green Climate Fund" to help developing nations adapt. Guardian: The deal restores "faith in the multilateral UN process but will not reduce temperatures as much as scientists say is needed, and it pushes many of the most important decisions to future negotiations." AOL News: It gives "both developing and developed countries a bit of what they wanted, covering issues ranging from greenhouse gas emission cuts to rules for reducing deforestation." New York Times: "The result was a major step forward for a process that has stumbled badly in recent years." It gives the nations "another year to decide whether to extend the frayed Kyoto Protocol, the 1997 agreement that requires most wealthy nations to trim their emissions while providing assistance to developing countries to pursue a cleaner energy future." Telegraph: "A comprehensive global deal is now back on track. ... After two weeks of negotiating, rich and poor countries agreed a compromise that will see all countries committed to cutting emissions for the first time." Click here to read about Bolivia's objection that the pact is not nearly strong enough.

A comprehensive global deal is now back on track after the agreement, which was reached despite protests by Bolivia during a dramatic finale to the United Nations meeting in Mexico .

 The crunch talks went late into the night as more than 190 countries attempted to agree on the best way to cut carbon emissions.

 The last attempt to reach a global deal in Copenhagen at the end of last year ended in chaos and there were fears that the UN process could collapse completely if talks failed again.

 However, after two weeks of negotiating, rich and poor countries agreed a compromise that will see all countries committed to cutting emissions for the first time.

 The "Cancun package" also sets up a "green fund" to help poor countries cope with climate change and a new scheme to halt deforestation.

 Bolivia claimed the agreement was "tantamount to genocide" because cuts are not tough enough to stop dangerous global warming.

 But after repeated attempts to achieve consensus, the UN decision was taken without the agreement of the South American country.

 To cheers from the ministers, Patricia Espinosa, Mexican foreign secretary and president of the talks, overruled the Bolivian negotiator who repeatedly took the floor and insisted the deal needed complete consensus.

 "I of course note your position, but if there are no other objections, the document is adopted," she said to thunderous applause.

 Felipe Calderón, the president of Mexico, said it was a historic agreement.

 He said the world has been "crushed by inertia and helplessness" in the face of climate change.

 But he said that the deal in Cancun would restore hope in the UN process and the fight against climate change.

 "Confidence is back, hope has returned to the fight against climate change and in many other matters that require hope and trust in the face of our global problems," he said.

 The new deal falls short of a global treaty. However it has progressed from Copenhagen by getting all countries, except Bolivia, to sign up to an official UN document.

 The Cancun deal commits all countries to keeping temperature rise below 2C (3.6F) by reducing emissions. Rich countries have agreed to consider an extension of the Kyoto Protocol while poor countries will sign up to emission cuts for the first time. There are also a series of key decisions on setting up a green fund to help poor countries cope with climate change and halting deforestation.

 Chris Huhne, the Climate Change and Energy Secretary, said the proposals did not give everybody everything they wanted but it was progress.

 "We've made much more progress than anybody expected only weeks," he said.

 "We have real commitments to reductions of greenhouse gases both by developed and developing countries." ||||| Sponsored Links

 CANCUN, Mexico (Dec. 11) -- The United Nations annual climate change summit ended on a dramatic note of compromise, with more than 190 nations adopting a set of agreements that lay the groundwork for future negotiations."The text is the best we can do right now and there is room to improve things next year," said Mohamed Aslam, the environment minister of Maldives.The Cancun Agreements give both developing and developed countries a bit of what they wanted, covering issues ranging from greenhouse gas emission cuts to rules for reducing deforestation.The package lays out a plan to strengthen "monitoring, reporting and verification" of emissions-reduction actions by both developed and developing countries, and to promote transparency about money provided to poor countries for climate change.Lead U.S. climate negotiator Todd Stern noted at a press conference after the adoption that ideas which were "just skeletal" at last year's conference now have been fleshed out and approved."Obviously this package is not going to solve climate change by itself, but it is a good step forward," Stern said.Under the agreements, developed countries recognize the need to reduce carbon emissions by 25 to 40 percent by 2020, as well as to beef up their emission reduction targets. However, industrialized countries did not specify their future carbon emission reduction targets under the Kyoto Protocol, which is the only treaty that imposes binding emission cuts on rich nations.Many countries were happy simply to avoid the controversy of the climate conference in Copenhagen last year, where a great deal of mistrust existed between developed and developing countries. That Copenhagen Accord, which was the product of consultations among the U.S., Brazil, India, South Africa and China, was slammed by Latin American countries such as Bolivia and Venezuela who were angry at being left out.This time around, Bolivia was the only country that mounted an aggressive attack on the agreements, saying they failed to require adequate commitments on the reduction of greenhouse gases by developed countries."This is not a step forward but a step backward," said Bolivia's top climate negotiator, Pablo Solon. He argued that the agreements should be rejected since one country was objecting and in U.N. negotiations, decisions are adopted by consensus.But Patricia Espinosa, the chairman of the conference, shot back that Bolivia could not veto the will of the rest of the countries.The debate continued into the early hours of the morning Saturday with other delegates listening in silence or applauding the fiery rhetoric. Finally, Espinosa gaveled Bolivia down and the package was adopted.The Cancun Agreements will be further worked out as climate change negotiations begin in 2011, and there will be a push to produce a legally binding treaty at the annual conference in Durban, South Africa, next year.Wendel Trio from Greenpeace pointed out that the Cancun Agreements text on carbon mitigation obligations is "vague," particularly about targets for the United States."It refers to increased pledge but does not say how much the pledge needs to be increased," he said. "The U.S. comes out cheaply."Others are wary of the possibility that the Cancun Agreements could kill the Kyoto Protocol by paving the way for a new single treaty where developed countries will have lower emission reduction targets."That's a good chunk of industrialized country emissions that are under Kyoto Protocol now threatening to go out of the back door and trying to get into a non-binding regime," said Alden Meyer of the Union of Concerned Scientists. ||||| Governments today reached an historic deal on climate change that commits all major economies to greenhouse gas cuts. The deal, brokered at international talks in Cancún, has been hailed as restoring faith in the multilateral UN process but will not reduce temperatures as much as scientists say is needed, and it pushes many of the most important decisions to future negotiations.

 The deal, which took four years of negotiations to reach, should lead to less deforestation, the transfer of technology to developing countries and the establishment of a yearly fund, potentially worth up to $100bn (£64bn), to help countries adapt to climate change.

 "This is way better than what we were expecting only a few weeks ago. It's a good deal which gives a new sense of momentum to [climate change] discussions. There was nothing inevitable about this package," said Chris Huhne, energy and climate change secretary who has led the UK's negotiating team.

 "This is a significant turning point. It clearly says that there should be reductions from developing countries. I would like to have seen a 2020 date for global emissions to peak but this takes us forward to a legally-binding overall outcome," he added.

 In a series of late night exchanges, the only opposition came from Bolivia who complained that the deal was being pushed through without consensus. It eventually gave in after intense pressure from the chair of the talks and other countries.

 "This has violated the multilateral rules because they didn't respect the consensus – they are breaking the rules," said Pablo Solon, Bolivia's ambassador to the UN, "This agreement won't stop temperature from rising by 4C and we know that 4C is unsustainable," he added.

 Japan, the one rich country that tried to delay progress in the talks by refusing to sign up to a second commitment period to the Kyoto protocol, gave in after complex legal manoeuvres and pressure from other G20 countries.

 Connie Hedegaard, the EU commissioner for climate action, had earlier in the week spoken of a "very frank exchange of views" with the Japanese delegation. Welcoming the deal, she said, "We have helped to deliver the successful outcome the world expected and needed. But the two weeks in Cancún have shown once again how slow and difficult the process is. Everyone needs to be aware that we still have a long and challenging journey ahead of us to reach the goal of a legally binding global climate framework."

 The deal was greeted with strong reservations by environment groups. "With lives on the line, we must now build on this progress. Long term funding must be secured to help vulnerable countries protect themselves," said Oxfam director Jeremy Hobbs.

 "Cancun may have saved the process but it did not yet save the climate," said Greenpeace International Climate Policy Director Wendel Trio. "Some called the [UN] process dead but governments have shown that they can cooperate and can move forward to achieve a global deal."

 Friends of the Earth International said the agreement was "a slap in the face of those who already suffer from climate change", and could still lead to a temperature rises of 5C. "In the end, all of us will be affected by the lack of ambition and political will of a small group of countries. The US, with Russia and Japan, are to blame for the lack of desperately needed greater ambition," said Nnimmo Bassey, Friends of the Earth international director.

 Other measures agreed in outline included the established of a climate fund to handle and deliver the billions needed for the developing world to adapt to climate change and a system to inspect the actions taken to avoid climate change by rich and larger developing countries.

 However, no date was included in the agreement by when countries must "peak" their emissions. This is considered essential to avoid more serious problems later.

 The Mexican presidency was roundly praised for its handling of the negotiations. Becky Chacko, director of Climate Change policy for Conservation International said: "The Mexicans have tried very hard to maintain an atmosphere of transparency and inconclusiveness. In Copenhagen, there was a hope that things could get pressed through so you had a situation where there was text being written behind closed doors and not everyone was included in all of the processes… Here, they made sure that everyone was included and that led to a level of buy-in and consensus that we didn't have last year." ||||| CANCÚN, Mexico — The United Nations climate change conference began with modest aims and ended early Saturday with modest achievements. But while the measures adopted here may have scant near-term impact on the warming of the planet, the international process for dealing with the issue got a significant vote of confidence.

 The agreement fell well short of the broad changes scientists say are needed to avoid dangerous climate change in coming decades. But it lays the groundwork for stronger measures in the future, if nations are able to overcome the emotional arguments that have crippled climate change negotiations in recent years.

 The package known as the Cancún Agreements gives the more than 190 countries participating in the conference another year to decide whether to extend the frayed Kyoto Protocol, the 1997 agreement that requires most wealthy nations to trim their emissions while providing assistance to developing countries to pursue a cleaner energy future.

 The agreement is not a legally binding treaty, but the success of these talks allows the process to seek a more robust accord at next year’s climate conference in Durban, South Africa.

 “This is not the end, but it is a new beginning,” said Christiana Figueres, the Costa Rican diplomat who serves as executive secretary of the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change. “It is not what is ultimately required, but it is the essential foundation on which to build greater, collective ambition.”

 The agreement sets up a new fund to help poor countries adapt to climate changes, creates new mechanisms for transfer of clean energy technology, provides compensation for the preservation of tropical forests and strengthens the emissions reductions pledges that came out of the last United Nations climate change meeting in Copenhagen last year.

 The conference approved the package over the objections of Bolivia, which condemned the pact as too weak. Bolivia’s chief climate negotiator, Pablo Solón, said that the emissions reductions laid out in the plan would allow global temperatures to rise as much as 4 degrees Celsius over the next half century, twice the stated goal of the agreement and a level that would doom millions in the poorest and most vulnerable nations.

 But his protests did not block acceptance of the package. Delegates from island states and the least-developed countries warmly welcomed the pact because it would start the flow of billions of dollars to assist them to adopt cleaner energy systems and adapt to inevitable changes in the climate, like sea rise and drought.

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 But it left unresolved where the $100 billion in annual climate-related aid that the wealthy nations have promised to provide would come from.

 Todd Stern, the American climate envoy, said the package achieved much of what he had hoped, including a more solid commitment by all nations to take steps to reduce their greenhouse gas emissions and a more formalized international program of reporting and verification of reductions. It adds needed specifics to the fuzzy promises of last year’s Copenhagen Accord, he said.

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 “This is a significant step forward that builds on the progress made in Copenhagen,” he said in a news conference after the package was adopted. “It successfully anchors mitigation pledges of the Copenhagen Accord and builds on the transparency element of the accord with substantial detail and content.”

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 Mr. Stern had been particularly insistent that the agreement include a consistent formula for countries to disclose their emissions, report on the measures they are taking to reduce them and provide detailed statements of economic assumptions and methodology. Although a number of large developing nations like China, Brazil and South Africa balked at the intrusiveness of the system, Mr. Stern helped devise a compromise they could live with.

 Yvo de Boer, who stepped down this year after four years as executive secretary of the United Nations climate office, said that the success of this year’s conference was in large measure attributable to the modesty of its goals.

 “This process has never been characterized by leaps and bounds,” he said in an interview. “It has been characterized by small steps. And I’d rather see this small step here in Cancún than the international community tripping over itself in an effort to make a large leap.”

 In all, the success of the Cancún talks was a shot in the arm for a process that some had likened to a zombie, stumbling aimlessly but refusing to die.

 “None of this, of course, is world changing,” said Michael A. Levi, who follows climate issues at the Council on Foreign Relations in New York. “The Cancún agreement should be applauded not because it solves everything, but because it chooses not to: it focuses on those areas where the U.N. process has the most potential to be useful, and avoids other areas where the U.N. process is a dead end. The outcome does not change the fact that most of the important work of cutting emissions will be driven outside the U.N. process.” |||||


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Celebrities and environmental activists, including lawyer Robert F. Kennedy Jr. and civil rights leader Julian Bond, were arrested Wednesday after tying themselves to the White House gate to protest the Keystone XL oil pipeline from Canada.

 Robert F. Kennedy Jr. is arrested in Washington, Wednesday, Feb. 13, 2013, as prominent environmental leaders tied themselves to the White House gate to protest the Keystone XL oil pipeline. (AP Photo/Ann... (Associated Press)

 Actress Daryl Hannah is helped up before she is arrested outside the White House in Washington, Wednesday, Feb. 13, 2013, as prominent environmental leaders tied themselves to the White House gate to... (Associated Press)

 Robert F. Kennedy Jr. is arrested in Washington, Wednesday, Feb. 13, 2013, as prominent environmental leaders tied themselves to the White House gate to protest the Keystone XL oil pipeline. (AP Photo/Ann... (Associated Press)

 Protestors gather in Lafayette Park, across the street from the White House in Washington, Wednesday, Feb. 13, 2013, before prominent environmental leaders tied themselves to the White House gate to protest... (Associated Press)

 Civil rights leader Julian Bond is arrested outside the White House in Washington, Wednesday, Feb. 13, 2013, as prominent environmental leaders tied themselves to the White House gate to protest the Keystone... (Associated Press)

 Actress Daryl Hannah is arrested outside the White House in Washington, Wednesday, Feb. 13, 2013, as prominent environmental leaders tied themselves to the White House gate to protest the Keystone XL... (Associated Press)

 Civil rights protester Julian Bond, left, and Sierra Club Executive Director Michael Brune, second from left, gather with activists in front of the White House in Washington, Wednesday, Feb. 13, 2013,... (Associated Press)

 Sierra Club Executive Director Michael Brune is arrested outside the White House in Washington, Wednesday, Feb. 13, 2013, as prominent environmental leaders tied themselves to the White House gate to... (Associated Press)

 Sierra Club executive director Michael Brune also was arrested _ the first time in the group's 120-year history that a club leader was arrested in an act of civil disobedience. The club's board of directors approved the action as a sign of its opposition to the $7 billion pipeline, which would carry oil derived from tar sands in western Canada to refineries along the Texas Gulf Coast.

 Activist Bill McKibben, actress Daryl Hannah and NASA climate scientist James Hansen also were arrested, along with more than 40 others. They were charged with failure to disperse and obey lawful orders, and released on $100 bond each.

 The protesters are demanding that President Barack Obama reject the pipeline, which they say would carry "dirty oil" that contributes to global warming. They also worry about a spill.

 Many business and labor groups support the 1,700-mile pipeline as a source of jobs and a step toward North American energy independence.

 The 4-year-old project has become a flashpoint in the debate over climate change, with opponents labeling it a "carbon bomb" that could trigger global warming. Supporters call that rhetoric overblown and say Obama should approve the pipeline as part of his "all of the above" energy policy, which encourages a wide range of domestic energy development.

 In an interview before his arrest, Brune said civil disobedience was justified because of the threat posed by tar sands oil, which is difficult to produce and emits significantly more greenhouse gases than conventional oil. The Sierra Club is the nation's oldest and largest environmental group and generally shies away from extreme tactics.

 "We want to send a strong message that we expect the president's ambitions to meet the scale of the challenge and reject a pipeline that carries dirty, thick oil" that contributes to global warming, Brune said. The president's supporters want Obama to "fight with both fists" against climate change, Brune said.

 The made-for-media protest came ahead of a rally planned for Sunday on the National Mall, where organizers are expecting at least 20,000 people to protest the tar sands pipeline and urge Obama to act forcefully on climate change.

 Kennedy, president of the Waterkeeper Alliance, a New York-based environmental group, said he was being arrested "with regret," noting that he would prefer to contest the pipeline in court _ and may eventually do so.

 Kennedy, whose father was an attorney general and U.S. senator, called the pipeline "a boondoggle of monumental proportions" that will "ruin the lives of millions of people," through increased carbon pollution and likely spills.

 Obama was visiting a manufacturing plant in North Carolina when the demonstration occurred. As he made his way to a factory in Asheville, protesters held signs saying "Stop coal" and "No to Keystone."

 Obama has called climate change a serious threat and in his State of the Union speech Tuesday night urged Congress to combat the phenomenon. If Congress fails to act, he will use executive authority to take steps to cut greenhouse gas pollution and encourage increased use of cleaner sources of energy, Obama said.

 Obama has twice thwarted the Keystone XL pipeline because of concerns over its route through sensitive land in Nebraska, but has not indicated how he will decide on the pipeline now that Nebraska's governor has approved a new route. The State Department has authority over the project, because it crosses an international border, but most observers expect Obama to make the final decision.

 Bond, former chairman of the NAACP, said he participated in the pipeline protest "because I'm an American and I'm worried about the planet." He called the pipeline a human-rights issue, since many landowners in the six states where it will travel have been unable to resist Calgary-based TransCanada, the pipeline operator, as it seizes their property.

 Bond also said the pipeline will exacerbate pollution problems near the Houston refineries where it will be processed, including neighborhoods where minorities predominate. The pipeline will travel through Montana, South Dakota, Nebraska, Kansas and Oklahoma before reaching Texas.

 Bond, 73, said he was unhappy at the prospect of being arrested. "My mother told me I'd never get a job" if he got arrested, he said.

 As Bond and others were being arrested, the American Petroleum Institute, the largest lobbying group for the oil industry, again urged Obama to approve the project. The group said it will pay for ads supporting the pipeline and will mobilize grassroots events across the country urging Obama's approval.

 API President Jack Gerard called Keystone XL "the most thoroughly vetted major infrastructure project in the nation's history" and noted that TransCanada has agreed to 57 special conditions sought by the U.S. government to ensure environmental safety.

 With the unemployment rate hovering near 8 percent, "getting people into these new jobs is critical," Gerard said.

 In the past week, nine people have been arrested in attempts to disrupt the pipeline's construction through Oklahoma. One of the eight people arrested Monday near Schoolton, Okla., had attached himself to a crane and was freed by a firefighter using bolt cutters.

 ___

 Associated Press writer Josh Lederman in Asheville, N.C., contributed to this report.

 ___

 Follow Matthew Daly on Twitter: https://twitter.com/MatthewDalyWDC ||||| Holy geez, we can't wait to hear Swift sing about this one!

 Conor Kennedy was arrested this afternoon at the White House!!

 Po-Po slapped cuffs on his pretty little wrists and hauled his famous behind off to the slammer!

 Conor, Robert F. Kennedy Jr., Darryl Hannah, and 44 other activists were arrested for civil disobedience while protesting the Keystone XL tar sands pipeline as, apparently, their Sierra Club-esque group feels it will contribute to the current economic crisis!

 The dude who once made headlines for crashing weddings with (then lover) Taylor Swift paid a sizable fine before the DC cops released him!

 In a statement, one activist said:

 “We really shouldn’t have to be put in handcuffs to stop KXL–our nation’s leading climate scientists have told us it’s dangerous folly, and all the recent Nobel Peace laureates have urged us to set a different kind of example for the world, so the choice should be obvious."

 We aren't sure how Conor came to be involved, but we bet his great-uncle John F. Kennedy — a legendary American who once lived in the residence where the protest was staged — would be proud as peach pie to see a descendant risk his reputation for a cause he deemed worthy.

 And combating pollutions is so important, too!

 Aww! We're almost sad Conor and T-Swizzle are never ever getting back together!

 What a beautiful pair of difference-makers they could've become!

 See more pics of the arrest (below)!

 [Image via Sierra Club.]

 Tags: activism, arrested, busted, conor kennedy, darryl hannah, environment, john f kennedy, love line, robert f kennedy jr, sierra club, taylor swift, white house |||||

– More than 40 protesters, including the likes of Robert Kennedy Jr. and Daryl Hannah, were arrested yesterday after protesting the Keystone XL oil pipeline, reports NPR. The event, which saw demonstrators tying themselves to the gates of the White House, was the first act of civil disobedience for the 120-year-old Sierra Club, says its director, who was also arrested. Activists Julian Bond and Bill McKibben were also arrested, the AP reports; everyone was released on $100 bond. And Perez Hilton has a special note for Taylor Swift: Kennedy's son, Conor, was also among the busted environmentalists.


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Exclusive Syrian Centre for Policy Research says 470,000 deaths is twice UN’s figure with ‘human development ruined’ after 45% of population is displaced

 Syria’s national wealth, infrastructure and institutions have been “almost obliterated” by the “catastrophic impact” of nearly five years of conflict, a new report has found. Fatalities caused by war, directly and indirectly, amount to 470,000, according to the Syrian Centre for Policy Research (SCPR) – a far higher total than the figure of 250,000 used by the United Nations until it stopped collecting statistics 18 months ago.

 In all, 11.5% of the country’s population have been killed or injured since the crisis erupted in March 2011, the report estimates. The number of wounded is put at 1.9 million. Life expectancy has dropped from 70 in 2010 to 55.4 in 2015. Overall economic losses are estimated at $255bn (£175bn).

 Russia offers ceasefire in Syria but US suspects ploy to crush rebels Read more

 The stark account of the war’s toll came as warnings multiplied about Aleppo, Syria’s largest city, which is in danger of being cut off by a government advance aided by Russian airstrikes and Iranian militiamen. The Syrian opposition is demanding urgent action to relieve the suffering of tens of thousands of civilians.

 The International Red Cross said on Wednesday that 50,000 people had fled the upsurge in fighting in the north, requiring urgent deliveries of food and water.

 Talks in Munich on Thursday between the US secretary of state, John Kerry, and his Russian counterpart, Sergei Lavrov, will be closely watched for any sign of an end to the deadly impasse. UN-brokered peace talks in Geneva are scheduled to resume in two weeks but are unlikely to do so without a significant shift of policy.

 Speaking in London on Wednesday, an opposition spokesman, Salim al-Muslet, said President Barack Obama could stop the Russian attacks. “If he is willing to save our children it is really the time now to say ‘no’ to these strikes in Syria,” he said. The Washington Post reported that Moscow had sent a letter to Washington proposing to stop bombing on 1 March.

 Of the 470,000 war dead counted by the SCPR, about 400,000 were directly due to violence, while the remaining 70,000 fell victim to lack of adequate health services, medicine, especially for chronic diseases, lack of food, clean water, sanitation and proper housing, especially for those displaced within conflict zones.

 “We use very rigorous research methods and we are sure of this figure,” Rabie Nasser, the report’s author, told the Guardian. “Indirect deaths will be greater in the future, though most NGOs [non-governmental organisations] and the UN ignore them.

 “We think that the UN documentation and informal estimation underestimated the casualties due to lack of access to information during the crisis,” he said.

 Humanitarian efforts in Aleppo are at breaking point – this war has to end | Dalia Al-Awqati Read more

 In statistical terms, Syria’s mortality rate increase from 4.4 per thousand in 2010 to 10.9 per thousand in 2015.

 The UN high commissioner for human rights – which manages conflict death tolls – stopped counting Syria’s dead in mid-2014, citing lack of access and diminishing confidence in data sources.

 The SCPR was based until recently in Damascus and research for this and previous reports was carried out on the ground across Syria. It is careful not to criticise the Syrian government or its allies – Iran, Hezbollah, Russia. And with the exception of Islamic State, it refers only to “armed groups” seeking to overthrow President Bashar al-Assad. But despite the neutral tone the findings are shocking.

 In an atmosphere of “coercion, fear and fanaticism”, blackmail, theft and smuggling have supported the continuation of armed conflict so that the Syrian economy has become “a black hole” absorbing “domestic and external resources”.Oil production continues to be an “important financial resource” for Isis and other armed groups, it says.

 Consumer prices rose 53% last year. But suffering is unevenly spread. “Prices in conflict zones and besieged areas are much higher than elsewhere in the country and this boosts profit margins for war traders who monopolise the markets of these regions,” it says. Employment conditions and pay have deteriorated and women work less because of security concerns. About 13.8 million Syrians have lost their source of livelihood.

 Madaya again facing starvation as report warns of extent of sieges Read more

 “The common characteristics across all regions are lack of security, the allocation of all resources to the fighting, the creation of violence-related job opportunities and imposition of authority by force.”

 The shrinking of the population by 21% helps explain the waves of refugees reaching Turkey and Europe. In all, 45% of the population have been displaced, 6.36 million internally and more than 4 million abroad. Health, education and income standards have all deteriorated sharply. Poverty increased by 85% in 2015 alone.

 The report notes that the rest of the world has been slow to wake up to the dimensions of the crisis. “Despite the fact that Syrians have been suffering for … five years, global attention to human rights and dignity for them only intensified when the crisis had a direct impact on the societies of developed countries.”

 The conflict “continues to destroy the social and economic fabric of the country with the intensification of international interventions that deepen polarisation among Syrians. Human development, rights and dignity have been comprehensively ruined.”

 The report is entitled Confronting Fragmentation. Previous titles in the series track the unfolding of the world’s biggest humanitarian disaster: Syrian Catastrophe, War on Development, Squandering Humanity, and Alienation and Violence. ||||| In this photo released by the Syrian official news agency SANA, Syrians gather in a street that was hit by shelling, in the predominantly Christian and Armenian neighborhood of Suleimaniyeh, Aleppo, Syria,... (Associated Press)

 MUNICH (AP) — Russia has proposed a March 1 ceasefire in Syria, U.S. officials say, but Washington believes Moscow is giving itself and the Syrian government three weeks to try to crush moderate rebel groups.

 The United States has countered with demands for the fighting to stop immediately, the officials said Wednesday. Peace talks are supposed to resume by Feb. 25.

 The talk of new ceasefire plans comes as the U.S., Russia and more than a dozen other countries meet in Munich to try to halt five years of civil war in the Arab country. The conflict has killed more than a quarter-million people, created Europe's biggest refugee crisis since World War II and allowed the Islamic State to carve out its own territory across parts of Syria and neighboring Iraq.

 Russia says it is supporting Syrian President Bashar Assad's government as part of a counterterrorism campaign. But the West says the majority of its strikes are targeting moderate groups that are opposed to Assad and the Islamic State.

 The most recent Russian-backed offensive, near Aleppo, prompted opposition groups to walk out of peace talks last month in Geneva, while forcing tens of thousands of civilians to flee toward the Turkish border.

 The U.S. officials weren't authorized to speak publicly about private diplomatic discussions in the run-up to the Munich conference and demanded anonymity. One said the U.S. can't accept Russia's offer because opposition forces could suffer irreversible losses in northern and southern Syria before the ceasefire ever takes hold.

 The officials said the U.S. counterproposal is simple: A ceasefire that is effective immediately and is accompanied by full humanitarian access to Syria's besieged civilian centers.

 Secretary of State John Kerry, who arrived in Germany Wednesday, had talks planned late in the evening with U.N. peace envoy Staffan de Mistura and Adel al-Jubeir, the foreign minister of Saudi Arabia, a key backer of Syria's rebel groups.

 The Obama administration has been trying for months to clinch a ceasefire and pave the way for a transition government in Syria that would allow parties to the conflict to concentrate on defeating the threat posed by the Islamic State and the al-Qaida-linked Nusra Front.

 But after having long demanded Assad's ouster, the shift in the U.S. focus to combating terrorism has resulted in a confusing mix of priorities and a layered strategy in Syria that few understand, and even fewer see working. Beyond Russia, the administration has often struggled to keep its own allies such as Turkey and Saudi Arabia in line.

 "We will approach this meeting in Munich with great hopes that this will be a telling moment," Kerry said Tuesday in Washington. His peace push coincides with Defense Secretary Ash Carter's attendance at a gathering in Brussels to hash out military options with NATO partners.

 Brett McGurk, the Obama administration's point-man for defeating the Islamic State, said Russia's Aleppo offensive was having the perverse effect of helping the extremists by drawing local fighters away from the battle against IS and to the war against Syria's government.

 "What Russia's doing is directly enabling ISIL," McGurk told the House Foreign Affairs Committee in Washington.

 But the panel's top Democrat echoed some of the frustration of his Republican colleagues with the larger U.S. strategy.

 "It seems as if we're only halfheartedly going after ISIS, and halfheartedly helping the (rebel) Free Syria Army and others on the ground," said Rep. Eliot Engel, D-N.Y. He urged a "robust campaign, not a tentative one, not one that seems like we're dragging ourselves in ... to destroy ISIS and get rid of Assad."

 Kerry emphasized Tuesday that U.S. officials "are not blind to what is happening." He said the Aleppo battle makes it "much more difficult to be able to come to the table and to be able to have a serious conversation."

 But the U.S. has staked its hopes for an end to the five-year civil war in Syria on the peace talks and Assad's eventual departure, saying the American public has no appetite for a military solution.

 To that end, Washington has tempered its calls dating back to August 2011 for Assad to immediately leave power. And to get Russia on board, it now won't even say that Assad should be barred from running for re-election if and when a new Syrian constitution is drafted.

 The ambiguity has emboldened Assad's supporters, Russia and Iran, while upsetting American allies in the Middle East, who are frustrated by a process that appears to lock the Syrian leader in place well into 2017 — and perhaps beyond. |||||

– Russia has proposed a March 1 ceasefire in Syria, US officials say, but Washington believes Moscow is giving itself and the Syrian government three weeks to try to crush moderate rebel groups. The United States has countered with demands for the fighting to stop immediately, officials say. The talk of new ceasefire plans comes as the US, Russia and more than a dozen other countries meet in Munich to try to halt five years of civil war in the Arab country. The Guardian reports that according to a new study from the Syrian Center for Policy Research, the war has killed or injured 470,000 people—11.5% of the population—and has also lowered life expectancy from 70 to 55 and almost "completely obliterated" the country's infrastructure. The most recent Russian-backed offensive, near Aleppo, prompted opposition groups to walk out of peace talks last month in Geneva, while forcing tens of thousands of civilians to flee toward the Turkish border. Sources tell the AP that the US can't accept Russia's offer of a March 1 ceasefire because moderate opposition forces could suffer irreversible losses in northern and southern Syria before it ever takes hold. Defense Secretary Ash Carter, meanwhile, says NATO military authorities have been ordered to draw up plans for how the alliance could help shut down illegal migration and people smuggling across the Aegean Sea. Three NATO allies—Turkey, Germany, and Greece—requested alliance participation in an international effort to help end Europe's gravest migration crisis since World War II.


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An announcement bump for Mitt Romney and a bus-tour boost for Sarah Palin put the pair atop the field for the Republican presidential nomination. But while their primary standings are similar, their broader prospects for election look vastly different.

 Romney appears formidable: In a general-election trial heat in the latest ABC News/Washington Post poll he runs evenly with Barack Obama among all Americans, and numerically outpoints him, 49-46 percent, among registered voters -- not a statistically significant lead, given sampling error, but a clear reflection of Obama's vulnerability to a well-positioned challenger.

 Charts and Questionnaire

 Romney, though, is the only Republican to run that well; Obama leads all other potential opponents tested in this poll -- Palin, Newt Gingrich, Tim Pawlenty, Michele Bachmann and Jon Huntsman. Palin fares worst, trailing Obama by 17 points among all adults, 15 points among registered voters.

 Indeed, despite advancing in GOP primary preference, Palin faces daunting challenges. Sixty-four percent of Americans say they definitely will not vote for her for president, a new high. Sixty-three percent describe her as unqualified for the job, below its peak but still a substantial majority. Even in her own party, among Republicans and Republican-leaning independents, 41 percent rule out voting for her and 39 percent see her as unqualified.

 Overall, 21 percent of leaned Republicans support Romney for the nomination, 17 percent Palin, with all others in single digits. Still, while those two lead, the flipside is that each is not supported by eight in 10 potential GOP voters, indicating plenty of room to move as the field coalesces and voters tune in. Today just 22 percent of Americans (and 24 percent of leaned Republicans) are following the 2012 presidential election very closely.

 There is, moreover, a continued lack of enthusiasm for the Republican field. Fewer than half of Republicans and Republican-leaning independents, 47 percent, describe themselves as satisfied with their choice of candidates for the nomination, barely changed from 43 percent in April despite the official entrances of Romney, Gingrich and Pawlenty; exits of Mike Huckabee, Donald Trump and Mitch Daniels; and revving-up sounds from Palin, Bachmann and Huntsman. That's far lower than the level of satisfaction, 68 percent, in June '07.

 FRUSTRATED? -- The risks to Obama are underscored by the ABC News Frustration Index: It stands at 68, essentially what it was going into the 2010 midterm elections. Based on ratings of the economy, presidential approval, anti-incumbency and dissatisfaction with the federal government, it correlates strongly with House re-election rates and presidential prospects alike.

 The index peaked at 80 in 2008, when the Democrats regained the White House, and at 73 in summer 1992, shortly before the first President Bush lost re-election; it was 67 last fall, when the GOP regained the House and scored major inroads in the Senate. The Frustration Index today is a relatively mild 50 among Democrats, but a boiling 80 among Republicans -- and close to it, 72, among independents, the quintessential swing voters in national elections.

 Tellingly, the Frustration Index is a cool 19 among the few who say the economy's in excellent or good shape, rising to 65 among those who say it's not so good -- and 83 among the more than four in 10 who say the economy is in poor shape. In partisan terms, the index is relatively low (48) among liberal Democrats, but 81 among conservative Republicans; and likewise 48 among Obama supporters in a match-up with Romney, while 85 among Romney supporters.

 Among the index's components, and related survey results in this poll, produced for ABC News by Langer Research Associates:

 A vast 89 percent of Americans say the economy's in bad shape. It's ranged from 87 to 94 percent steadily since spring 2008. This gets old; people want relief. But 57 percent say that in terms of their own experience, the economy has not yet even begun to recover from the recession. And among the minority that says a recovery has begun, 81 percent say it's a weak one.

 The president's bin Laden bounce is gone. He had a 47 percent job approval rating in April. That bounced to 56 percent in a Post/Pew poll immediately after Osama bin Laden was killed. It's back, exactly, to 47 percent now. Forty-nine percent disapprove of the president's performance, including 53 percent of independents, and strong disapprovers outnumber strong approvers by 10 points.

 More -- 59 percent, a new high -- disapprove of Obama's handling of the economy, which, in a nutshell, is what the public's frustration is all about. Obama also is back to about an even split with the Republicans in Congress in trust to handle the economy -- 42 percent pick him, 45 percent the GOP. This also was essentially tied in December, then moved away from the GOP in January and March; we're now back to an even division on this most fundamental issue. On the deficit Obama fares worse -- 33 percent approval, down six points since April to a career low.

 In another expression of the public's discontent, just 34 percent say they're inclined to re-elect their representative in Congress. Fifty-five percent, instead, say they'll look around for someone new, a level of anti-incumbency as high as it was in early October 2010. If it holds, the risk may not be just to Obama, but to any and all officeholders associated with the status quo.

 In two equally critical measures, 66 percent say the country's seriously off on the wrong track and 69 percent describe themselves as dissatisfied or even angry with the way the federal government is working. Both are not quite as high as they were just before the last midterms -- but close. And 25 percent are downright angry about the way the government is operating, tying the high in polls since 1992.

 ROMNEY/PALIN -- Romney faces his own challenges. There's potential risk from the health care plan he signed into law as governor of Massachusetts in 2006: Leaned Republicans by 2-1, 41 percent to 21 percent, say they oppose that plan; and while a mere 3 percent support it strongly, 25 percent describe themselves as strong opponents.

 So far it's not hurting Romney significantly; even among those who oppose the law, 20 percent support him for the nomination, and in a match-up with Obama, 88 percent in this group take Romney. At the same time a substantial 37 percent of leaned Republicans haven't formed an opinion of the law yet; where they wind up may matter.

 Religion may be another question. Romney, a Mormon, has 15 percent support for the nomination from born-again and evangelical white Protestants, a core GOP group, vs. 23 percent from non-evangelicals. Evangelicals accounted for 44 percent of Republican primary voters in 2008, and Romney won 20 percent of their votes, vs. 28 percent from non-evangelicals.

 Palin, for her part, does slightly better with white evangelical Republicans than with non-evangelicals, 23 percent vs. 15 percent. But Romney edges Palin among conservative potential GOP voters, and runs evenly with her among supporters of the Tea Party political movement.

 Romney is strongest within his party among those earning more than $100,000 a year -- with 30 percent support vs. Palin's 9 percent -- and those with college degrees, 28-10 percent. Palin comes back among those less well-off, leading Romney by 25 percent to 11 percent among people with incomes less than $50,000. They're more closely matched in the middle-income group and among non-graduates.

 OBAMA/ROMNEY -- With Romney matched against Obama, most Republicans and conservative groups rally. Romney hauls in 87 percent of Republicans, 71 percent of conservatives and evangelical white Protestants alike, and two-thirds of "very conservative" Americans. No candidate does better against Obama among any of these groups.

 Romney gains 72 percent support from the 46 percent of Americans who describe themselves as supporters of the Tea Party political movement. But, showing breadth, he also draws in 48 percent of independents, the key swing voters.

 Romney currently fares better against Obama than John McCain did in 2008 among several important groups, and some surprising ones. Romney and Obama run evenly among women, a group Obama won by 13 points in 2008; among white women, while McCain won by 7 points, Romney leads by 18. McCain won white Catholics, an important swing-voting group, by 5 points, while Romney leads here by 19.

 Romney runs about evenly with Obama in the Midwest, a region Obama won by 10 points in 2008. While 18-29-year-olds still overwhelmingly favor Obama regardless of the Republican candidate, his margin against Romney is 23 points, vs. 34 points against McCain. Even among liberals, Obama's edge is down -- 79 points vs. McCain, 61 vs. Romney.

 CONSIDER? -- As suggested above, Romney's position far from shuts down other potential GOP runners. Majorities of leaned Republicans say they'd consider each of a dozen potential candidates tested, or at least haven't decided yet. Those garnering the most flat objections include Palin -- 38 percent say they definitely would not support her for the nomination; Ron Paul, 36 percent; and Newt Gingrich, 34 percent. Still, just 18 percent, by contrast, say there's no way they'd consider Romney.

 OBAMA'S BASE -- Obama, while down, is hardly out. Against Romney he retains support from 86 percent of Democrats and 79 percent of liberals, and majorities (regardless of his opposition) among non-whites, 18-to29-year-olds, moderates, East and West coast residents, college graduates, and people with incomes less than $50,000 a year. He gets more than two-thirds of the vote from those who are satisfied with the way the government is working and those who think the economy has begun to recover -- but these ranks are thin.

 Marking his teeter-totter position, Obama gets precisely split decisions, 49-49 percent, on two personal attributes, understanding the problems of "people like you" and sharing "your values." He does better, though, on one other -- 55 percent rate him a strong leader.

 But it's the economy that drives Obama's fortunes. Among the nearly six in 10 Americans who think economic recovery has not yet begun, 69 percent disapprove of the president's job performance overall and 64 percent say they won't even consider voting for him in 2012. Romney leads him in this group by 63-29 percent.

 Ultimately, 53 percent overall say they'd at least consider voting for Obama for re-election next year, vs. 45 percent who flatly rule him out (among registered voters, 47 percent). That leaves just enough room for Obama to gain re-election -- but with precious little margin for error. And if the economy worsens still, it'll be all the more opportunity for his ultimate challenger.

 Methodology -- This ABC News/Washington Post poll was conducted by telephone June 2-5, 2011, among a random national sample of 1,002 adults, including landline and cell-phone-only respondents. Results for the full sample have a 3.5-point error margin. Click here for a detailed description of sampling error. This survey was produced for ABC News by Langer Research Associates of New York, N.Y, with sampling, data collection and tabulation by TNS of Horsham, Pa.

 ABC News polls can be found at ABCNEWS.com at http://abcnews.com/pollingunit ||||| The public opinion boost President Obama received after the killing of Osama bin Laden has dissipated, and Americans’ disapproval of how he is handling the nation’s economy and the deficit has reached new highs, according to a new Washington Post-ABC News poll.

 The survey portrays a broadly pessimistic mood in the country this spring as higher gasoline prices, sliding home values and a disappointing employment picture have raised fresh concerns about the pace of the economic recovery.

 By 2 to 1, Americans say the country is pretty seriously on the wrong track, and nine in 10 continue to rate the economy in negative terms. Nearly six in 10 say the economy has not started to recover, regardless of what official statistics may say, and most of those who say it has improved rate the recovery as weak.

 New Post-ABC numbers show Obama leading five of six potential Republican presidential rivals tested in the poll. But he is in a dead heat with former Massachusetts governor Mitt Romney, who formally announced his 2012 candidacy last week, making jobs and the economy the central issues in his campaign.

 Among all Americans, Obama and Romney are knotted at 47 percent each, and among registered voters, the former governor is numerically ahead, 49 percent to 46 percent.

 Overall, about six in 10 of those surveyed give Obama negative marks on the economy and the deficit. Significantly, nearly half strongly disapprove of his performance in these two crucial areas. Nearly two-thirds of political independents disapprove of the president’s handling of the economy, including — for the first time — a slim majority who do so strongly.

 In another indicator of rapidly shifting views on economic issues, 45 percent trust congressional Republicans over the president when it comes to dealing with the economy, an 11-point improvement for the GOP since March. Still, nearly as many, 42 percent, side with Obama on this issue.

 The president has sought to point to progress on the economy, particularly in the automobile industry, and to argue that the policies he put in place at the beginning of his term are working. But the combined effects of weak economic indicators and dissatisfaction among the public are adding to the political pressures on the White House as the president’s advisers look toward what could be a difficult 2012 reelection campaign.

 Meanwhile, Romney emerges in the new survey as the strongest current or prospective Republican candidate in the 2012 presidential field. Although he is by no means in a secure spot, on virtually every measure, the former governor appears better positioned than any of his rivals.

 In contrast, the poll brings more bad news for former Alaska governor Sarah Palin, whose bus tour along the East Coast last week renewed speculation that she might join the race.

 Almost two-thirds of all Americans say they “definitely would not” vote for Palin for president. She is predictably unpopular with Democrats and most independents, but the new survey underscores the hurdles she would face if she became a candidate: 42 percent of Republicans say they’ve ruled out supporting her candidacy.

 More than six in 10 Americans say they do not consider Palin qualified to serve as president. That is a slightly better rating for the former governor than through most of last year, but is another indication of widespread public doubts about a possible presidential run.

 The Post-ABC poll asked Republicans and GOP-leaning independents whom they would vote for if a primary or caucus were held now in their state. Romney topped the list, with 21 percent, followed by Palin at 17 percent. No one else reached double digits, although former New York mayor Rudolph W. Giuliani, who has suddenly shown interest in becoming a candidate, is close, at 8 percent. Without Palin in the race, Romney scores 25 percent, with all others in the single digits.

 In another measure of the field, Republicans chose Romney as the only one of a dozen possible candidates they would “strongly consider” for the party’s nomination as opposed to stating that they definitely would not vote for him. He and Palin scored equal numbers of respondents who said they would strongly consider supporting them, but Palin has more than double the percentage who have ruled her out.

 Other candidates fared poorly on this count, including former House speaker Newt Gingrich (Ga.), whose campaign got off to a rocky start; Rep. Ron Paul (Tex.), a libertarian who has a passionate following but many detractors; and former senator Rick Santorum (Pa.), who announced his candidacy on Monday.

 The Massachusetts health-care plan enacted under Romney remains a potentially serious problem in the former governor’s bid. By nearly 2 to 1, Republicans oppose the plan, with strong detractors far outnumbering solid supporters. But there is some potential for him to frame the matter: Almost four in 10 Republicans expressed no opinion about the state’s program.

 Overall dissatisfaction with the GOP field remains high, with as many respondents saying they are unhappy with their choices as say they are satisfied. At this time four years ago, nearly seven in 10 Republicans said they were satisfied with their field of candidates.

 In head-to-head matchups with Obama, Palin trails by 17 percentage points, the worst of the six possible candidates tested. The president leads Gingrich and former Utah governor Jon Huntsman Jr. by 10 points. He runs 11 points ahead of former Minnesota governor Tim Pawlenty and 13 points ahead of Rep. Michele Bachmann (Minn.).

 Romney owes his relatively good standing against the president to support from independents. He and Obama garner roughly equal percentages from those in their own parties. But independents split for Romney 50 percent to 43 percent.

 The president continues to receive positive marks as a strong leader, but the 55 percent rating marks a low point of his presidency. He gets mixed reviews on empathy and on sharing the same values as respondents.

 The telephone poll was conducted June 2-5 among a random national sample of 1,002 adults. The results from the full survey have a margin of sampling error of plus or minus 3.5 percentage points.

 Polling manager Peyton M. Craighill and polling analyst Scott Clement contributed to this report. |||||

– The raid that killed Osama bin Laden bought President Obama barely a month of higher approval ratings, according to the latest Washington Post/ABCNews poll. The president's approval rating, which stood at 47% in April, surged to 57% in May, but has now dropped right back down to 47%, the poll found. Disapproval of how the president is handling the economy and the deficit is at a high, and two-thirds of respondents say the country is on the wrong track. The bad news for Obama isn't good news for Republican contenders, however—unless they're named Mitt Romney. The former Massachusetts governor is in first place for the GOP nomination, with Sarah Palin in second, according to the poll. Romney would be in a dead heat with Obama if the election were held today; Palin would lose by 17 percentage points. Around half of Republicans said they weren't happy with their options for the nomination, compared to less than a third four years ago.