'Thor: The Dark World' thunders to No. 1 with $86-million debut

"Thor: The Dark World," starring Chris Hemsworth, easily ruled the box office this weekend. (Walt Disney Studios)

With its god of thunder "Thor" lighting up the box office this weekend, Marvel has struck again at the multiplex.

The 3-D sequel "Thor: The Dark World" debuted with a healthy $86 million, according to an estimate from Marvel distributor Walt Disney Studios. That's the fourth-highest opening of the year, but well behind another Marvel property, "Iron Man 3," whose $174-million debut is still the biggest of 2013.

Heading into the weekend, prerelease audience surveys suggested the comic book adaptation would debut with a minimum of $90 million -- and given strong early interest, even a $100-million launch didn't appear impossible. Of course, $86 million is still a great start -- significantly more than the $65.7 million the original "Thor" launched with in 2011. And although "The Dark World" cost Marvel Entertainment $170 million to produce, the film is likely going to do so well overseas that the studio will end up in good shape.

PHOTOS: 'Thor: The Dark World' Los Angeles premiere

And yet a film from the Marvel universe is held to exceptionally high standards. The first "Thor," which in the end collected $181 million domestically and $268 million abroad, wasn't viewed as a massive hit -- but it was the first film in a franchise, so it was given the benefit of the doubt. Now that the sequel has launched, it seems clear that the "Thor" movies are not destined to perform at the rate that the"Iron Man" films do.

This summer, audiences went crazy for Robert Downey Jr. in "Iron Man 3" as the film raked in an insane $1.2 billion worldwide. The movie no doubt benefited from the success of"The Avengers," which in summer 2012 became the top-grossing film of the year with $1.5 billion in global sales. "The Avengers" features both Iron Man and Thor, along with other Marvel superheroes such as the Hulk and Captain America. (An "Avengers" sequel is planned for release in 2015.)

Via: LA Times

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Woodward: White House Blames Me for Starting Media Criticism of Obama’s Lack of Leadership

The Washington Post’s Bob Woodward made an interesting observation Sunday.

Appearing on Fox News’s MediaBuzz, he claimed that the White House blames him for starting the media’s criticism of President Obama’s lack of leadership (video follows with transcript and commentary):

HOWARD KURTZ, HOST: You concluded in your book "The Price of Politics" that President Obama in the great budget battle had failed to lead. Now we're hearing that he failed to lead on NSA foreign surveillance, didn't know the details. We're hearing that he failed to lead on the ObamaCare rollout, didn’t know about the technical problems. Has it taken the media too long to reach this analysis?

BOB WOODWARD, WASHINGTON POST: Well, you've got to be empirical about it. In “The Price of Politics” I was being empirical, and that's not to take the Republicans off the hook for all the budget problems. But the President’s the CEO of the country, and has to find a way to work his will. As you recount all of this, and as I do, you see that the President is the one who calls people to the White House. They don't call him to the Congress. And…

KURTZ: But it's more than being empirical.

WOODWARD: …he’s got the hammer.

KURTZ: You as an author had to reach a conclusion.

WOODWARD: Yes.

KURTZ: And some people criticized you for that.

WOODWARD: That’s correct.

KURTZ: And I understand that even today some in the White House are not that happy with Bob Woodward's reporting.

WOODWARD: Yeah, because they said I started it. It was kind of the first time somebody said…

KURTZ: Started what?

WOODWARD: Started this idea of he's got to lead, and he's too passive at times on these budget issues. And…

KURTZ: Is the White House official who told you that accurate? Was the person angry? Are they blaming you for this?

WOODWARD: Well, they never, as you know, no one likes to be criticized and called out. But, you know, they deal with reporters. I think the temperature’s going up right now days as there is more and more criticism on the President's comments on ObamaCare, that, you know, if you like it, you'll keep it. And somebody’s found 29 times that he said that and…

KURTZ: Yeah, I've seen it at least 29 times on the air.

For those that have forgotten, Woodward wrote an article in February critical of the President's handling of the fiscal cliff negotiations at the end of last year while also making it clear that Obama was the one that first proposed sequestration.

Days later it was revealed that he received an email from a very senior person at the White House saying he would regret this article.

At the time, much of the media predictably took Obama's side and came down on Woodward.

With the disaster that has been the ObamaCare rollout, some are now singing a different tune.

Via: Newsbusters

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State and Local Governments Cutting Work Hours Due to Obamacare

It’s no longer just restaurants and stores cutting hours and employees due to Obamacare—state and local governments are making changes as well.

The law defines a “full-time” employee as one working more than 30 hours per week, and employers with more than 50 full-time employees must provide government-approved health insurance or pay a penalty. Even though the employer mandate has been delayed for a year, the stories keep rolling in of businesses that have already acted.

Jed Graham of Investor’s Business Daily has compiled a list of 363 employers who have cut back employees’ hours due to incentives created by Obamacare’s employer mandate.

Here are a few state and local governments taking action because of Obamacare:

• Indiana’s state government cut hours for part-time and temporary employees from a maximum of 37.5 hours per week to fewer than 30.
• Georgia’s Fulton County is cutting a number of employees to fewer than 30 hours per week.
• Delaware’s state government is cutting hourly and seasonal employees to a maximum of 29.75 hours per week.
• Alabama’s Huston County is cutting hours of part-time employees to fewer than 30 per week.

Heritage’s Alyene Senger warned that Obamacare “creates an incentive for businesses to avoid both the penalty and cost of coverage by hiring part-time employees instead of full-time employees, since businesses will not be penalized for failing to provide health insurance to part-time employees.”

Check out the list Investor’s Business Daily is compiling to see hundreds more situations where workers are being negatively affected by Obamacare.

Via: The Foundry

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[VIDEO] YOU WILL PROBABLY WANT TO SEE THIS VIDEO OF A MILLENNIAL BLASTING HIS GENERATION FOR THEIR ‘ENTITLEMENT MINDSET’

A young conservative pundit released a video on Sunday aimed at challenging what he says is the “entitlement mindset of millennials.”

Caleb Bonham, a pundit for college news outlet Campus Reform, said that he believes “an overwhelming majority of the millennial generation believes Americans are entitled to security and a dignified life.”

“Too many of America’s college students embrace the notion that because we have abundance we are inherently exceptional and therefore entitled to a secured, worry-free life,” he said in the video.

According to Bonham, however, such an attitude ultimately leads to an endless desire for government handouts.

“The moment America embraced the idea that we are entitled to life’s necessities through government programs, was the moment America planted the seed that everyone is entitled to health insurance, or free daycare, or government provided cell phones,” he said.

“We have the right to receive dignity as human beings, but we are not entitled to dignified lives,” Bonham concluded. “That is to be determined through our individual life choices and accomplishments.”

Via: The Blaze

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New York Times’ Obama cheerleading harms the nation

Poor Barack Obama. Ending his fifth year as the world’s most powerful man, he is running out of scapegoats and fairy tales. Blaming George W. Bush has lost its punch, and the ObamaCare debacle is shredding the myths he is competent and honest.

Still, before he rides off into that sunset of self-pity and low poll ratings, he ought to invite his remaining friends over for a heart-to-heart. That way he can tell The New York Times that its fanatical support does him no favors.

Instead, it feeds his arrogance and reinforces his belief that he can solve any problem with another speech. The unflattering truth doesn’t stand a chance — ­until it is too late.

Not that the president would admit any of that, of course, but the Obama Protection Racket, led by the Times, cuts both ways. It is a key reason he has defied political gravity for so long, and also why he is now in deep trouble. As watchdogs became lapdogs, the presidential bubble grew impenetrable, isolating him from ordinary Americans and the trickle-down pain of his policies.

From the broadcast networks to MSNBC and most large papers, Obama got the benefit of every doubt. The double standards were a daily disgrace so routine, they mostly provoked a shrug instead of outrage.

Via: NY Post

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THE WEEK THAT WAS

Election Day was Tuesday. Ken Cuccinelli of Virginia andColorado’s income tax were the losers, Chris Christie the winner. Despite winning the mayorship of New York City, Bill de Blasio’ssmackdown victory dance made him look like a loser.

Toronto mayor Rob Ford admitted that he smokes crack and gets drunk. He also confirmed our suspicions that that isn’t an innocent “maple leaf” on the Canadian flag, afterall. He also said that no matter how many illicit substances he ingests, he’d never behave as classlessly as de Blasio.

Obama sort of apologized to the millions of people he lied to about keeping their insurance plans under Obamacare. He said he was sorry “that they are finding themselves in this situation.” He’s just not sorry enough to do anything about it.

Richie Incognito, guard for the Miami Dolphins, made headlines this week for allegedly harassing a teammate. Apparently Incognito had been behaving questionably for some time, but it took the press a while to call him on the unsportsmanlike conduct because they couldn’t figure out who was behind it.

There is a “super typhoon” headed for the Philippines as of the writing of this. It is reportedly “one of the strongest storms ever recorded on the planet.” Please pray for these people.

Via: Human Events

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“The safest place in Korea was right behind a platoon of Marines. Lord, how they could fight!”

Today is the 238th Marine Corps Birthday. Below, the Commandant and the Sergeant Major of the Marine Corps wish a Happy Birthday to Marines everywhere:

A message from the Secretary of the Navy:

And here is the official Birthday Message from the Commandant:

For 238 years, The United States Marine Corps has proudly served our great Nation with unfailing valor – bolstered by the enduring fortitude of our fellow Marines, our families, and our friends. This is why each year on November 10th, Marines from all generations gather together, in groups large and small, to celebrate the birthday of our Corps and to reflect on the proud legacy and warrior ethos we share. This is what unites us as Marines. From our first battle at New Providence to today in Afghanistan, Marines have always shown that they were made of tougher stuff – that when the enemy’s fire poured in from all angles, and the situation was grim, Marines unequivocally knew that their fellow Marines would stay behind their guns, fight courageously, and drive the enemy from the battlefield. We have always known hardship, fatigue, and pain…but we have never known what it is to lose a battle!

Marine of generations past built our reputation as the most disciplined and honorable warriors to ever set foot on a battlefield, and we have triumphed in every battle because our Corps has always focused on iron discipline and combat excellence. This is who we are…this is what we do! It matters not whether you carried an M-1, and M-14, or an M-16. It matters not whether you fought on a lonely island in the Pacific, assaulted a citadel in the jungle, or marched up to Baghdad. It matters not whether you are a grunt, a pilot or a loggie. What matters most is that, when the chips were down and things got tough, your fellow Marines could count on you to stand and fight…and fight we did!

This year, we celebrate the anniversary of several epic battles in our celebrated history: the 70th anniversary fo the 2nd Marine Division landing on Tarawa, the 45th anniversary of the Battle of Hue City, and the 10th anniversary of the “March Up” to Baghdad. Marines who fought in these legendary battles each made their mark upon the history of our Corps. They have passed a rich and illustrious legacy on to us – a much heralded reputation. It is ours to jealously guard, and it is up to us to make our own marks and thus proudly pass it on to the generations of Marines who will follow.

Sergeant Major Michael Barrett joins me in congratulating each of you. Because of you, your selfless service, and your many sacrifices, our Corps remains strong and ready to respond to any crisis. Throughout history, Marines have faced tough times and there will be tough times ahead, but there is no challenge we cannot overcome if we remain honorable and always faithful to our Nation, our Constitution and each other. Happy Birthday, Marines!

To my fellow Marines around the world and here at home, Happy Birthday and may God bless the United States Marine Corps. Ooh-Rah, Devil Dogs!

Via: Red State

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First Obamacare Data to be Released This Week

The Obama administration will release healthcare enrollment numbers for Obamacare's rocky October rollout this week that could be more important for what they fail to say, than for what they do.

President Barack Obama's Democratic administration, which is under intense pressure from Republicans to release the data, has signaled that the total will be low after weeks of technical problems with the federal website, HealthCare.gov.

But that will only underscore the huge number of people believed to be waiting for a chance to obtain benefits, according to policy experts and congressional aides.

The 2010 Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act, or ACA, aims to provide health benefits to millions of uninsured Americans. It mandates that most Americans at least be enrolled for health insurance by March 31 or pay a fine.

Analysts say the October number should offer an early indication of whether Obama's landmark health initiative is proving more popular with poor people who qualify for Medicaid or with working-class families eligible for subsidized private insurance through new online marketplaces that have been set up in all 50 states.

U.S. Health and Human Services Secretary Kathleen Sebelius told the Senate Finance Committee last week that the early tally would be "very low," and that the data would break out the numbers for states and show how many enrolled in private insurance plans versus expanded Medicaid programs.

But administration officials have not said whether the data will provide clues to other important questions, including whether young healthy adults, needed by insurers to offset older people with higher health costs, are eager to obtain coverage.

Via:  Newsmax

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The Man Who Called It Right

Jim Capretta saw the Obamacare debacle coming when it was months away.

On July 5, the Obama administration released a 600 page regulation announcing a one-year delay in part of Obamacare’s implementation. States would not have to check the income of people applying for subsidies, according to the administration’s guidance. The administration simply would not be ready in time.

“This announcement is another indicator—as if we needed one—of the complete fiasco that is Obamacare implementation,” Capretta wrote the following Monday for the Weekly Standard.

It wasn’t the first delay, as a few days earlier the administration had let all big businesses off the hook for providing adequate health insurance to their employees. But Capretta saw in this latest delay a portent of the rollout disaster that America has witnessed since Oct. 1.

Capretta again called for a delay in the law, as he had been doing for months.

“Everyone should now understand that, if there is not a delay, next year will be the scene of an epic disaster for American health care,” Capretta, along with National Affairs editor Yuval Levin, wrote in April.

Via: WFB

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The Progressive Degradation of Freedom

There are Chinese towns near the border with North Korea that send rice across the Yalu River in exchange for girls to marry.  It makes sense.  North Korea needs rice, because communist farming is a failure.  China needs girls, after thirty years of sex-selective abortion and female infanticide.  And this neat little arrangement in an obscure corner of the East holds an important lesson for what is left of a Western civilization looking down the barrel of a gun of its own aiming: the feeling of self-determination can be reduced to the satisfaction of having a daughter to sell for food. 

As totalitarian dreamers of both the one-party and multi-party varieties have long understood, and have come to count on, humans have an almost infinitely elastic ability to accommodate themselves to conditions that seem inescapable or predetermined.  Our natural desire for self-preservation virtually guarantees it -- there is almost no degradation that men cannot learn to live with, given enough time. 

"Learning to live with it," however, is both a natural reflex and a great danger.  For although self-preservation is not at all the same as acquiescence, the former can devolve into a rationalization of the latter due to the slackening of will and reason that results from battle fatigue and the stretching of the soul's moral cords by' the constant pull of inescapable conditions.  And when this slackening of the soul occurs, men may become bound to oppressive rulers more firmly than could ever be achieved with mere chains and fences.  For what they are losing is a faculty of perception less obviously vital to our bare existence than others, and therefore easier than others to survive without, namely the capacity to feel free. 

Via: American Thinker

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St. Louis Woman Has Her Identity Stolen By Three Different People After Signing Up For Obamacare On Exchange Website…

Hey, look, another reason not to sign up for Obamacare

Via: Weasel Zippers

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[CARTOON] Sounds Familiar

Via: California Political Review

Gov't Pays $1,123,463 to Develop Strawberry Harvest-Aiding Robots

(CNSNews.com) - The U.S. Department of Agriculture  (USDA) has given an award of $1,123,463 to the University of California, Davis to develop “relatively small, inexpensive robots" to aid in harvesting strawberries.

The announcement was made in late October as part of a series of USDA awards “to spur the development and use of robots in American agriculture production,” according to a USDA press release.

The release describes the UC Davis robotics grant as a “project (that) will develop relatively small, inexpensive robots to aid in human harvesting of strawberries.”

Dr. Stavros Vougioukas, Assistant Professor of Biological and Agricultural Engineering at UC Davis, tells CNSNews.com that the robots are referred to as “FRAIL-bots”, short for Fragile Crop Harvest-Aiding Mobile Robots.

“It is a harvest aid robot. It is aiding the harvesters, so it’s not a machine that is harvesting or picking berries itself,” Vougioukas says.

“It transports the strawberries from the worker to the unloading station. That way the goal is to save time; workers expend up to 20 percent of their time just walking back and forth from the strawberry field to the unloading station. So the aim is to increase efficiency.”

Via: CNS News

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MILLER: No worries! Obama golfs 150th round as superstorm devastates Philippines, Iran deal enrages

"IT'S ALL ABOUT ME AND NO ONE ELSE" Barack Obama

President Obama’s approval ratings may be stuck in a sand trap, but that has not deterred him from sticking to his weekly round of golf. After teeing off on Saturday at the private course in Florida where the film “Caddy Shack” was filmed, Mr. Obama hit the milestone number of 150 golf rounds in less than five years in the White House. 

The Secret Service loaded Mr. Obama’s golf clubs bag emblazoned with the presidential seal into the motorcade Saturday morning to head to the private Grande Oaks Golf Club. Sporting a blue polo shirt with tan slacks and a cap, he spent five hours on the private course with former NBA star Alonzo Mourning, friend Cyrus Walker and former U.S. Trade Representative Ron Kirk.

Mr. Obama wasn’t much of a duffer before he ran for president. His regularity on the green started on April 26, 2009. He played 27 times that first year in office, seven of which were during his vacations on Martha’s Vineyard and Hawaii. 

During his second year as president, Mr. Obama played a little more — 30 rounds. He included a woman for only the second time when Health and Human Services Secretary Kathleen Sebelius joined on Oct. 10, 2010.

Perhaps time on the links gave them time to discuss all the people they knew would lose their insurance when Obamacare was implemented.Ms. Sebelius also joined the president on the golf course on May 18 this year. 

Via: Washington Times

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Democrats grasping at straws to energize base on 2013 results

Democrats lost big in the New Jersey governor's race and barely won the Virginia gubernatorial contest, but that hasn't stopped them from claiming the 2013 election was a major victory for them.

And they’re taking some very big leaps to do so.

In an e-mail sent to subscribers this weekend, Democratic National Committee Communications Director Mo Elleithee wrote that “we defied some pretty big trends in this past election.”

Elleithee then lists four “big” trends that were broken; let’s take a look at each one separately.

1. “For the first time in almost four decades, the winning candidate in Virginia's governor's race is from the same party as the president.”

And? How is that a victory for the Democratic party?

Under both Republican and Democratic presidents, the state has elected a governor of the opposite party. With the host of issues that Republican nominee Ken Cuccinelli was faced with (the government shutdown, current Gov. Bob McDonnell and weak fundraising), the fact that Democratic candidate Terry McAuliffe won is not surprising.

Via: Washington Examiner

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