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Friday, January 20, 2012

Jobless claims lowest since 2008

The number of people seeking unemployment benefits dropped by 50,000 applicants to 352,000?the lowest since April 2008

I mean, that's the headline - is it not?? Jobless Claims are a noisy number for many reasons but when taken as a trend, they are meaningful and they are leading jobs indicator if not a leading economic indicator.

Skip to next paragraph Joshua M. Brown

Joshua has been managing money for high net worth clients, charitable foundations, corporations and retirement plans for more than a decade.

Thursday, January 19, 2012

Study: Indoor Tanning Linked With Early Onset of Skin Cancer (Time.com)

Given that indoor tanning beds were officially classified as a human carcinogen in 2009 -- up there with cigarettes and asbestos -- it should be fairly obvious that frequent tanning-booth exposure would increase your risk of skin cancer.

Indeed, the evidence linking indoor tanning with melanoma, the deadliest form of skin cancer, and squamous cell carcinoma, one of the more common forms of the disease, is "convincing," according to the World Health Organization's International Agency for Research on Cancer. But the research concerning tanning beds and basal cell carcinoma, the third and most frequent major type of skin cancer -- which accounts for some 80% of all skin cancer cases in the U.S. -- has thus far been inconsistent. (See pictures of a photographer's intimate account of her mother's cancer ordeal.)

Basal cell carcinoma, a slow-growing cancer, has traditionally been a disease of middle age. But it's been appearing with increasing frequency in people under 40, especially in women -- a demographic that also happens to like indoor tanning -- suggesting a link. So researchers at the Yale School of Public Health sought to study the association.

The study included 376 people under 40, who had been diagnosed with basal cell carcinoma between 2006 and 2010. They were matched with a control group of 390 dermatology patients who were diagnosed with minor skin conditions like cysts and warts. All participants had skin biopsies, and all were drawn from a Yale University database.

The researchers interviewed each participant about their UV exposure -- both in tanning beds and outdoors. They also asked about their history of sunburns, sunscreen use, family history of melanoma and non-melanoma skin cancers, and their self-reported eye, skin and hair color.

The conclusion: people who had ever used a tanning booth were 69% more likely to develop early-onset basal cell carcinoma than never tanners. Those who used tanning booths more regularly -- for at least six years -- were more than twice a likely to develop basal cell carcinoma, compared with never tanners.

The study found that women were far more devoted than men to indoor tanning, which might help explain why 70% of all early onset basal cell carcinomas occur in females. The authors concluded that about 27% of cases of early onset disease -- including 43% of cases in women -- could be prevented if people simply stopped using tanning booths.

That's a tall order, considering that some 30 million Americans use indoor tanning beds each year. Policy changes, such as the recent California ban on teen tanning, may help, the authors suggest. So would behavioral interventions aimed at women -- at least one study in 2010 found that the best way to get young women to tan less was to warn them about the skin-wrinkling effects of tanning-bed exposure, not the risk of skin cancer.

"Importantly, indoor tanning is a behavior that individuals can change. In conjunction with the findings on melanoma, our results for [basal cell carcinoma] indicate that reducing indoor tanning could translate to a meaningful reduction in the incidence of these two types of skin cancer," said Leah M. Ferrucci, first author of the paper and a postdoctoral fellow at the Yale School of Public Health, in a statement.

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Tuesday, January 17, 2012

China's Wen presses Saudi Arabia for oil access

BEIJING (Reuters) - Chinese Premier Wen Jiabao pressed Saudi Arabia to open its huge oil and gas resources to expanded Chinese investment, media reports said on Sunday against a backdrop of growing tension over Iran and worries over its crude exports to the Asian power.

The Saudi kingdom is China's biggest source of imported oil, and securing energy security was high on Wen's agenda in Riyadh, in part reflecting concerns about how nuclear tensions and sanctions could unsettle ties with Iran.

"China and Saudi Arabia are both in important stages of development, and there are broad prospects for enhancing cooperation," Wen on Saturday told Prince Nayef, who is a senior member of the Saudi government, according to Xinhua.

"Both sides must strive together to expand trade and cooperation, upstream and downstream, in crude oil and natural gas," said Wen, referring to access to extracting oil and gas and then processing the them.

The Xinhua report made no mention of any discussion of Iran, whose oil exports to China face pressure from new U.S. sanctions. The U.S. sanctions threat is a particular worry for China, the biggest buyer of Iranian oil. Only Saudi Arabia and Angola sell it more crude.

"Beijing is concerned with the potential response to Iranian bellicose statements and with the spike in oil prices that would ensue from greater turmoil in Syria and Iran," Michal Meidan, an analyst in London with the Eurasia Group who studies Chinese energy investment and policy, said in an emailed research note.

Late on Saturday, the Chinese Foreign Ministry denounced U.S. punishment of China's state-run Zhuhai Zhenrong Corp.

On Thursday, the Obama administration invoked U.S. law to sanction Zhuhai Zhenrong Corp, which it said was Iran's largest supplier of refined petroleum products.

"Imposing sanctions on a Chinese company based on a domestic (U.S.) law is totally unreasonable, and does not conform to the spirit or content of U.N. Security Council resolutions about the Iran nuclear issue," the Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Liu Weimin said in a statement issued on the ministry's website (www.mfa.gov.cn).

"China expresses its strong dissatisfaction and adamant opposition," said Liu.

The Obama administration said its sanctions against the Chinese company and two other firms are part of a broadening effort to target Iran's energy sector and press Tehran to curb in its nuclear ambitions, which Western governments say appear aimed at developing the means to make atomic weapons.

Iran says its nuclear activities are legitimate and entirely for peaceful ends.

China cut oil imports from Iran in January and February in a commercial dispute over contract terms, and has been looking for alternative supplies.

Yet China is unlikely to dramatically boost crude imports from Saudi Arabia, even with the Iranian worries, said Meidan, the analyst with the Eurasia Group.

"In the likely event that Iran will offer discounted oil, Chinese traders will buy more Iranian barrels and could consequently reduce their Saudi imports," she said.

"Wen will therefore need to convey both commercial and diplomatic realities to Saudi Arabia, China's number one source of crude imports, and ensure that bilateral ties remain on steady footing."

MORE TRADE TOO, PLEASE

Wen also said his government wants "strong and reputable" Chinese companies to invest in Saudi Arabia's ports, railways and infrastructure, the Chinese Xinhua news agency reported.

China and Saudi Arabia should keep deepening cooperation "in the face of changeable and complicated regional and international trends," he said, according to Xinhua.

Crown Prince Nayef is King Abdullah's half brother and became heir to the throne in October. The Xinhua report paraphrased the prince as saying that Saudi Arabia is willing to expand cooperation in energy and infrastructure.

China is already Saudi Arabia's biggest customer and the kingdom is keen to diversify its economic ties.

On Saturday, the state-run Saudi oil giant Aramco and Chinese companies finalized an initial agreement signed last year to develop a 400,000 barrel per day (bpd) refinery in Yanbu, on the kingdom's Red Sea coast.

Aramco will hold a 62.5 percent stake in the joint venture formed to develop Yanbu Aramco Sinopec Refining Co (YASREF), and Sinopec will own the rest.

In the first 11 months of 2011, top supplier Saudi Arabia shipped 45.5 million tons of crude to China, a rise of 12.9 percent over the same period in 2010, according to Chinese customs data. Angola and Iran were China's second and third biggest suppliers.

Wen is also scheduled to visit the United Arab Emirates and Qatar.

(Reporting by Chris Buckley, Editing by Jonathan Thatcher)

Source: http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/46002070/ns/business/

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Monday, January 16, 2012

Mitt Romney 2012 Rivals Keep Up Business Record Criticism

COLUMBIA, S.C. ? A splintered conservative vote in South Carolina could pave the way for Mitt Romney to win this week's pivotal primary, some rivals said Sunday, acknowledging an outcome that prominent state lawmakers suggested could end the nomination fight.

"I think the only way that a Massachusetts moderate can get through South Carolina is if the vote is split," said Newt Gingrich, portraying himself as the lone conservative with a "realistic chance" of beating Romney in the first-in-the South contest.

Polls show Romney, the former Massachusetts governors who struggled to a fourth-place finish in South Carolina during his 2008 White House run, with a lead heading into Saturday's vote. The state has a large population of evangelicals and other conservative Christians, and concerns arose four years ago about his Mormon faith.

But Gingrich, Rick Santorum and Rick Perry all said Romney, after victories in Iowa and New Hampshire, continued to benefit from the fractured GOP field and the failure of social conservatives to fully coalesce around a single alternative.

"If for some reason he's not derailed here and Mitt Romney wins South Carolina ... I think it should be over," said the state's senior senator, Republican Lindsey Graham. He added, "I'd hope the party would rally around him if he did in fact win South Carolina."

Santorum said South Carolina is "not going to be the final issue" and spoke of the "need to get this eventually down to a conservative alternative" to Romney. "When we get it down to a two-person race, we have an excellent opportunity to win this race," said the former Pennsylvania senator who won the endorsement of an influential group of social conservatives and evangelical leaders Saturday in Texas.

Perry, the Texas governor, said it was "our intention" to compete in the next contest, Florida's primary Jan. 31, even if he finished last in South Carolina.

Gingrich said he would "reassess" his candidacy if he lost in South Carolina and acknowledged that a Romney victory would mean "an enormous advantage going forward."

The former House speaker appealed for the support of "every conservative who wants to have a conservative nominee."

"I hope every conservative will reach the conclusion that to vote for anybody but Gingrich is, in fact, to help Romney win the nomination," he said.

To Rep. Tim Scott, R-S.C., the equation is simple: "If Romney wins South Carolina, I think the game's over. This is the last stand for many candidates."

He noted that three candidates are pursuing the evangelical vote "very strongly and without any question that works to the Romney campaign's benefit. It's hard to find a single candidate that rallies all of the Christian voters in South Carolina and therefore that splintered approach will probably have a major impact" in the primary.

Romney took a rare day off from campaigning while his opponents focused on the South Carolina coast. They also attended church services and prayer breakfasts in a state with a large population of evangelicals and other conservative Christians.

At the Cathedral of Praise in North Charleston, Gingrich was cheered by church members as he criticized activist judges who he said had made "anti-American" rulings to keep God out of schools. Santorum spoke at the same church Saturday.

At a prayer breakfast in Myrtle Beach, Perry appealed to religious conservatives to back his candidacy.

"Who will see the job of president as that of faithful servant to the American people, and the God who created us?" Perry said. "I hope each of you will peer into your heart and look for that individual with the record and the values that represent your heart."

The candidates faced a packed week of campaign events and nationally televised debates Monday and Thursday. No Republican has won the party's presidential nomination without carrying South Carolina.

Santorum battled Romney to a virtual tie in Iowa before falling to fifth place in New Hampshire. Gingrich and Perry fared poorly in both states.

All three have the backing of well-financed independent groups known as super political action committee that can help keep their candidacies afloat.

Santorum refused to suggest anyone should drop out of the race as a way to consolidate conservative support behind an anti-Romney candidate. But he said Republicans would have a hard time beating President Barack Obama in November if Romney were the nominee. Santorum cited Romney's push for mandatory insurance coverage in Massachusetts.

Gingrich and Perry used television interviews to focus on Romney's former leadership of the Bain Capital venture firm. Both defended raising questions about Bain's business practices, saying Romney's tenure would come under relentless assault from Democrats in the general election.

Former Utah Gov. Jon Huntsman picked up the endorsement of The State, one of South Carolina's leading newspaper. Huntsman came in a weak third in New Hampshire after skipping Iowa, but the paper described him as a "realist" able to appeal to the centrist voters who will decide the general election.

Texas Rep. Ron Paul was returning to campaigning for the first time since Wednesday. He has spent several days at home in Texas after his second-place finish in the New Hampshire primary last week.

Gingrich, Graham and Scott appeared on NBC's "Meet the Press," while Santorum spoke on "Fox News Sunday" and Perry was interviewed on CNN's "State of the Union."

___

Associated Press writers Tom Beaumont in Myrtle Beach and Julie Pace in North Charleston contributed to this report.

___

Follow Beth Fouhy on Twitter at http://www.twitter.com/bfouhy

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Source: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/01/15/mitt-romney-2012-rivals-k_n_1207396.html

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Bottom Line - Insurance study: Women are better drivers than men

By Jason Kandel, KNBC

In the proverbial battle of the sexes, women are better drivers than men. Or so says a new study by an online auto insurance group that hopes to dispel the long-standing notion that women are bad drivers.

Some 80 percent of all fatal and serious car crashes are caused by male drivers, the study says. It says women are 27 percent less likely than men to cause auto accidents. In 2007, statistics reveal men were involved in 6.1 million car accidents while women were involved in 4.4 million.

Male drivers outnumber females 3 to 1 for DUI violations, according to the study.

Read the original story at NBC Los Angeles

"It's almost scary how bad the average American man is at driving," 4autoinsurancequote CEO James Shaffer said. "Blame it on whatever you want ? high testosterone, higher propensity to take risks, or higher levels of aggression, but the fact remains ? men simply make too many mistakes behind the wheel."

The study "Women Are Bad Drivers ? Fact Or Fiction?" compares traffic violation, accident, and insurance price statistics between men and women.

The study shows how traffic violations are higher for male drivers in almost every single category from reckless driving, failure to yield, seat belt violations, or speeding.

The average six-month policy for a man costs $765 while it only costs $698 for women.

The study confirms information that has long been known, said Pete Moraga, a spokesman with the Insurance Information Network of California. But he said that the gap between male and female driving habits is quickly closing.

According to a 2009 report by the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety's Highway Loss Data Institute, more men than women die each year in car crashes. Men drive more miles than women and drive more dangerously. The report also said, however, that in crashes of equal severity, females are more likely than males to be killed or injured.

"When it comes to the battle of the sexes of bad driving habits, no one wins," Moraga said. "Men and women equally need to do their best to drive safely to protect all of us on the roads

Sunday, January 15, 2012

Despite video outrage, no halt to peace talk moves

This image made on Thursday, Jan. 12, 2012 from undated video posted on the Internet on Wednesday, Jan. 11, 2012 by a YouTube user who identified themself as "semperfiLoneVoice" shows men in U.S. Marine combat gear, standing in a semi-circle over three bodies. U.S. Defense Secretary Leon Panetta is branding as "utterly despicable" the video purporting to show four U.S. Marines urinating on the corpses of Taliban fighters. The Marine Corps had said Wednesday that it was looking into the YouTube video but hadn't yet verified its origin or authenticity. (AP Photo)

Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton expresses her dismay at emerging reports of U.S. Marines allegedly desecrating the bodies of Taliban fighters killed in Afghanistan, Thursday, Jan. 12, 2012, during a news conference with Algerian Foreign Minister Mourad Medelci, at the State Department in Washington. (AP Photo/J. Scott Applewhite)

WASHINGTON (AP) ? Pentagon officials worry that outrage over a video purporting to depict Marines urinating on Taliban corpses will tarnish the reputation of the entire military. Some also fear it could undermine prospects for exploratory Afghan peace talks.

After roundly condemning the Marines' alleged behavior, Defense Secretary Leon Panetta and top military leaders on Thursday promised a full investigation and sought to contain the damage at home and abroad.

Panetta also said the incident could endanger the outlook for peace talks, although the Obama administration and the Taliban each voiced readiness Thursday to try peace talks while pledging to carry on the military conflict until their rival objectives are met. The separate statements by senior American and Taliban officials illustrated the improved environment for Afghan reconciliation efforts as well as the daunting task ahead.

The Naval Criminal Investigative Service, the law enforcement arm of the Navy, is heading the main inquiry, which is expected to weigh evidence of violations of the U.S. military legal code as well as the international laws of warfare. Separately, the Marine Corps is doing its own internal investigation.

By Thursday evening, the NCIS had interviewed two of the four Marines appearing in the video. At the time they were filmed urinating on the bodies, the four were members of the 3rd Battalion, 2nd Marines, which fought in the southern Afghan province of Helmand for seven months before returning to their home base at Camp Lejeune, N.C., last September.

Two of the four, plus the commander of the battalion, had moved on to other assignments before the video appeared on the Internet, according to Marine Corps officials who spoke on condition of anonymity in order to discuss an active investigation.

Even Thursday's emergence of the Internet video depicting Marines urinating on what appear to be Afghan corpses didn't seem to immediately set back movement toward exploratory negotiations with the Taliban. Asked about possible implications for peace talks, Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton said the U.S. remained strongly committed to supporting Afghan efforts.

Panetta, however, said the incident could endanger the talks.

"The danger is that this kind of video can be misused in many ways to undermine what we are trying to do in Afghanistan and the possibility of reconciliation," Panetta said at Fort Bliss, Texas, adding it's important for the U.S. to move quickly to "send a clear signal to the world that the U.S. will not tolerate this kind of behavior and that is not what the U.S. is all about."

Before he left Washington for his troop visit to Fort Bliss, Panetta called President Hamid Karzai to promise a full investigation of the video affair and condemned the Marines' behavior as "entirely inappropriate."

As the video spread across the Internet in postings and re-postings, U.S. officials joined with Afghans in calling it shocking, deplorable, inhumane and a breach of military standards of conduct. It shows men in Marine combat gear standing in a semicircle urinating on the bodies of three men in standard Afghan clothing, one whose chest was covered in blood.

It's not certain whether the dead were Taliban fighters, civilians or someone else.

The incident will likely further hurt ties with Karzai's government and complicate negotiations over a strategic partnership arrangement meant to govern the presence of U.S. troops and advisers in Afghanistan after most international combat troops withdraw by the end of 2014.

Anti-American sentiment is already on the rise in Afghanistan, especially among Afghans who have not seen improvements to their daily lives despite billions of dollars in international aid. They also have deplored the accidental killing of civilians during NATO airstrikes and argue that foreign troops have culturally offended the Afghan people, mostly when it comes to activities involving women and the Quran, the Muslim holy book.

Pentagon officials said the criminal investigation would likely look into whether the Marines violated laws of war, which include prohibitions against photographing or mishandling bodies and detainees. It also appeared to violate the U.S. Uniform Code of Military Justice, which governs conduct. Thus, some or all of the four Marines could face a military court-martial or other disciplinary action.

Karzai called the video "completely inhumane." The Afghan Defense Ministry called it "shocking." And the Taliban issued a statement accusing U.S. forces of committing numerous "indignities" against the Afghan people.

Panetta said the actions depicted in the brief video were inexcusable.

"I have seen the footage, and I find the behavior depicted in it utterly deplorable. I condemn it in the strongest possible terms," Panetta's statement said. "Those found to have engaged in such conduct will be held accountable to the fullest extent."

The chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, Army Gen. Martin Dempsey, said he was deeply disturbed by the video and worried that it would erode the reputation of the entire military, not just the Marine Corps.

On the streets of Afghanistan, the reaction was cool.

"If these actions continue, people will not like them (the Americans) anymore and there will be uprising against them," Mohammad Qayum, said while watching a television news story about the video that was airing in a local restaurant in Kabul.

Ahmad Naweed, a shopkeeper in Kandahar, the birthplace of the Taliban insurgency, said, "On the one hand, the Americans present themselves as friends of Afghanistan and ... they also try to have peace talks with the Taliban. So we don't know what kind of political game they are playing in Afghanistan."

___

Associated Press writers Pauline Jelinek in Washington and Deb Riechmann in Kabul contributed to this report.

Robert Burns can be reached on Twitter at http://twitter.com/robertburnsAP

Associated Press

Source: http://hosted2.ap.org/APDEFAULT/386c25518f464186bf7a2ac026580ce7/Article_2012-01-13-US-Marines-Taliban-Corpses/id-2ae621c30be043308d81a074a55ae86a

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Saturday, January 14, 2012

Top GOP candidates won't qualify for Va. primary ballot

Rick Santorum, Newt Gingrich, Rick Perry, and Jon Huntsman have all failed to qualify for the?ballot?in at least one upcoming GOP primary.

Many of Mitt Romney's presidential challengers are having trouble fulfilling a fundamental requirement of running for public office: getting on the?ballot.

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Rick Santorum, Newt Gingrich, Rick Perry and Jon Huntsman have all failed to qualify for the?ballot?in at least one upcoming GOP primary. In other states, they have failed to file full slates of delegates with state or party officials, raising questions about whether these candidates have the resources to wage effective national campaigns.

And if one of them were able to marshal enough anti-Romney forces to challenge the front-runner, the?ballotblunders could limit their ability to win delegates in key states.

The exception: Ron Paul, who appears to have avoided such pitfalls so far.

"This is why you need a real-life, no-kidding-around campaign," said Rich Galen, a GOP strategist and former Gingrich aide who is neutral in the 2012 race. "All these guys who have been crowing that they found a new way to run for president, it's like saying I'm inventing a new airplane, and it has only one wing."

Romney, the former Massachusetts governor, won the first two contests, in Iowa and New Hampshire, and he is leading in the polls in South Carolina and Florida, the next two states to have primaries. Romney raised $56 million in 2011 for his campaign, giving him big financial and organizational advantages over his GOP rivals.

Those advantages are on display as many of his competitors miss deadlines or fail to collect enough signatures to meet?ballot?requirements in upcoming contests.

Santorum, the former Pennsylvania senator who came within a few votes of winning the Iowa caucuses, didn't get on the?ballot?in Virginia or the District of Columbia. His campaign also filed incomplete slates of delegates in Illinois and Ohio, which could limit his ability to win delegates in those key states.

Virginia has been a tough?ballot?to crack for several GOP candidates because the state requires campaigns to collect signatures from at least 10,000 registered voters. Romney and Paul were the only ones who made theballot?for the March 6 primary.

Perry sued, and was later joined in the lawsuit by Gingrich, Huntsman and Santorum. But on Friday, a federal judge in Richmond refused to add them to the?ballot, saying the candidates should have challenged Virginia's primary qualifying rules earlier.

Santorum is the only major candidate who will be left off the?ballot?in the District of Columbia primary April 3, said Paul Craney, executive director of the DC Republican Committee. The party provides two ways to get on the?ballot: Pay $10,000, or pay $5,000 and collect signatures from 296 registered Republicans in the heavily Democratic capital city.

"It's not easy, but it can be done, if you are a serious presidential candidate," Craney said. "All the presidential candidates who are serious about winning the nomination will be on the D.C.?ballot."

Santorum adviser John Brabender acknowledged that Romney has more money and a larger campaign organization. But, he said, Santorum's campaign has gained resources and momentum since the close finish in Iowa. Romney, he said, has been running for president for the past six years, giving him more time to build his organization.

"It's a different campaign than it was earlier," Brabender said.

Huntsman, the former Utah governor, failed to get on the?ballot?in Arizona or Illinois.

The requirements to get on the GOP?ballot?in Arizona are pretty easy ? all you have to do is fill out a two-page form. Twenty-three candidates managed to do it properly, so they will be on the?ballot?for the state's Feb. 28 primary.

Huntsman, however, was left off the?ballot?because his filing had a photocopied signature and wasn't notarized, said Arizona Secretary of State Ken Bennett.

"If you can't get on the?ballot?around the country, you're a regional candidate, by definition," said Rich Beeson, the Romney campaign's political director. "Barack Obama is going to be on the?ballot?in all 50 states, and so will we."

Gingrich, the former House speaker, didn't make it on the?ballot?for primaries in Missouri or Virginia, though he has joined the lawsuit to get on the Virginia?ballot?and Missouri won't award any delegates based on its Feb. 7 primary. Instead, Missouri Republicans will hold caucuses March 17.

Perry, the Texas governor, made the?ballot?in Illinois, but he will only be eligible to win one delegate in the state's March 20 primary ? a contest in which 54 delegates will be up for grabs.

It will take 1,144 delegates to win the nomination at the Republican national convention this summer.

Illinois has a unique way of awarding delegates to candidates. The winner of the state's GOP primary doesn't necessarily get any delegates. Instead, Republicans will vote for the actual delegates, who are listed separately on the?ballot?but are identified by the candidate they support.

Each of the state's 18 congressional districts will elect three delegates, for a total of 54. To appear on theballot?as a delegate, candidates had to collect signatures from at least 600 registered voters in the district where they are running.

Only one Perry delegate filed signatures by the deadline, according to the Illinois State Board of Elections. Gingrich, Paul and Romney filed full slates, while only 44 Santorum delegates filed signatures.

Ron Michaelson, who served as executive director of the Illinois State Board of Elections for nearly 30 years, said he doesn't remember presidential candidates having these kinds of problems in previous elections.

"They're concentrating so heavily on the early states, devoting so many resources there that they're not looking down the road far enough," said Michaelson, now a visiting assistant professor at the University of Illinois in Springfield.

The system in Illinois is designed to keep fly-by-night candidates from crowding the?ballot, said Christopher Mooney, another political science professor at the University of Illinois.

"It keeps people who don't know what they're doing out of the arena," Mooney said.

Source: http://rss.csmonitor.com/~r/feeds/csm/~3/-hs5sKIofOw/Top-GOP-candidates-won-t-qualify-for-Va.-primary-ballot

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