A Bully Finds a Pulpit on the Web - New York Times

In moments, she found the perfect frames — made by a French company called Lafont — on a Web site that looked snazzy and stood at the top of the search results. Not the tippy-top, where the paid ads are found, but under those, on Google’s version of the gold-medal podium, where the most relevant and popular site is displayed.

Ms. Rodriguez placed an order for both the Lafonts and a set of doctor-prescribed Ciba Vision contact lenses on that site, DecorMyEyes.com. The total cost was $361.97.

It was the start of what Ms. Rodriguez would later describe as one of the most maddening and miserable experiences of her life.

The next day, a man named Tony Russo called to say that DecorMyEyes had run out of the Ciba Visions. Pick another brand, he advised a little brusquely.

“I told him that I didn’t want another brand,” recalls Ms. Rodriguez, who lives in the Chelsea neighborhood of Manhattan. “And I asked for a refund. He got rude, really obnoxious. ‘What’s the big deal? Choose another brand!’ ”

With the contacts issue unresolved, her eyeglasses arrived two days later. But the frames appeared to be counterfeits and Ms. Rodriguez, a lifelong fan of Lafont, remembers that even the case seemed fake.

Soon after, she discovered that DecorMyEyes had charged her $487 — or an extra $125. When she and Mr. Russo spoke again, she asked about the overcharge and said she would return the frames.

“What the hell am I supposed to do with these glasses?” she recalls Mr. Russo shouting. “I ordered them from France specifically for you!”

“I’m going to contact my credit card company,” she told him, “and dispute the charge.”

Until that moment, Mr. Russo was merely ornery. Now he erupted.

“Listen, bitch,” he fumed, according to Ms. Rodriguez. “I know your address. I’m one bridge over” — a reference, it turned out, to the company’s office in Brooklyn. Then, she said, he threatened to find her and commit an act of sexual violence too graphic to describe in a newspaper.

Ms. Rodriguez was shaken but undaunted. That day she called Citibank, which administers her MasterCard account, and after submitting some paperwork, she won a provisional victory. Her $487 would be refunded as the bank looked into the charge and discussed it with the owner of DecorMyEyes. A final determination, she was told, would take 60 days.

As that two-month deadline approached, Mr. Russo had dropped his claim for the contact lenses he’d never sent. But, she said, he began an increasingly nasty campaign to persuade her to contact Citibank and withdraw her dispute.

“Call me back or I’m going to drag you to small-claims court,” he wrote in an e-mail on Sept. 27. “You have one hour to call me back or I’m filing online.”

A few hours later, Mr. Russo sent details of what appeared to be a lawsuit filed in Brooklyn. It included a hearing date and time, the address of the court, a docket number and a demand for $1,500, which, the e-mail said, “includes my legal fees.”

Ms. Rodriguez did not respond. A few hours later, Mr. Russo raised the stakes sharply by sending another e-mail, this one with a photograph of the front of the apartment building where she and her fiancé lived.

Then her cellphone started ringing. And ringing. Ms. Rodriguez and her fiancé went to the police station at 1 a.m. to file a complaint.

“At that point,” she says, “I was scared.”

An officer assured her that the police would take the issue seriously. Two days later, she received another e-mail from Mr. Russo. “Close the dispute with the credit card company if you know whats good for you,” he wrote. “Do the right thing and everyone goes away. I AM WATCHING YOU!”

That same day an e-mail from Citi arrived.

Toby Lyles contributed research.

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Apple iPad widely expected to lead tablet disruption of PCs in 2011 - Apple Insider

Apple iPad widely expected to lead tablet disruption of PCs in 2011

By Daniel Eran Dilger

Published: 03:00 PM EST

Reports from a variety of analysts predict a huge swell in tablet computer sales next year ranging from 35 to 100 million units in total, with Apple's iPad accounting for the largest number sold by far.

A report by Barrons compared the predictions of analysts from Citigroup, FBR Capital Markets and Gartner; reports from each differ widely on the number of tablets that will be sold next year, but all agree Apple will lead the pack.

Citigroup's estimates say 35 million tablet devices will ship in 2011, with Apple's iPad representing three quarters of the total (around 26 million), giving it a share of the market similar to the company's dominant position in music players with the iPod.

Citigroup sees 400 million PCs being sold next year, but estimates that growth in tablets will come at the expense of 11 million PCs (which would have been sold had the iPad not shaken up the market). That's enough to have prompted the group to reduce its expected growth of the PC market from 12 percent to just 9 percent over this year's sales.

Craig Berger of FBR Capital Markets says Apple will sell 40 million iPads next year, and that other makers will mange to sell another 30 million. He indicates that every 2.5 tablets sold will result in a lost PC sale, or a total of 28 million fewer conventional PCs.

While often missing the mark on its reports, DigiTimes has reported Apple is gearing up manufacturing to reach annual production of 70 million iPads, and expected other makers to contribute an additional 30 million to tablet sales.

Gartner noted that the last quarter of PC sales was "the weakest in several years," but does not include iPads in its definition of PCs sold.

Weathering the iPad storm

Apple's sales of iPads are cutting into PC makers' profit margins, including Apple's own. Of course, Apple also enjoys the fattest profit margins of PC makers, thanks to its ability to attract buyers to machines with a higher average sales price.

Company executives began warning about more aggressive prices on upcoming products, a ruthless strategy intended to keep the iPad from repeating the mistake of isolating a leading product into an upscale market niche as it did with the Macintosh in the late 80s.

By leveraging the vast economies of scale inherent in building tens of millions of iPods and iPhones, Apple can sell the nearly 10 inch iPad for the same price or less than competitors can afford to sell their much smaller 7 inch tablets, which Apple insists can't deliver a differentiated experience over existing smartphone-class devices the way that the iPad can.

While Apple's successful growth in entering the existing smartphone business has been duplicated and in some cases exceeded in sales volumes by Android, Googles operating system hasn't produced competitive music players or tablets, both markets that were largely defined by Apple with the iPod and iPad and, in the case of the iPod, a market Apple maintained a dominant position in for years even under the onslaught of supposed "iPod-killers" promised by Creative, Sony, Microsoft, and others.

iPad contenders

Meanwhile, rival PC makers are left to use Microsoft's Windows 7, which hasn't done well in the Tablet PC/Slate PC market before; or adopt Google's current Android OS, which the company itself doesn't yet recommend for tablet-sized devices but is already being sold on devices such as the Galaxy Tab; or use Google's still unfinished Chrome OS, which delivers a browser-centric experience.

Other companies, including RIM and HP, have decided to build their own iOS competitors, with RIM embarking on a new tablet environment for its PlayBook that pairs the QNX kernel with Adobe's AIR (a derivative of Flash) to provide a development environment for apps and the overall system.

HP's acquisition of Palm and its WebOS promises to bring another option to the tablet market sometime next year, sporting the web-based environment that didn't help Palm remain self sufficient in its efforts to rebuild its smartphone business with the Palm Pre. HP's previous attempt to deliver a Slate PC running Windows 7 failed miserably.

Sony adopts, then drops, Cocoa-like GNUStep plans to rival Apple iOS Apple iPad widely expected to lead tablet disruption of PCs in 2011Black Friday Macs: Save up to $130 on MacBook Airs, $150 on MacBooks, $270 on MacBook Pros, $180 on iMacs, $100 on Mac minis and $400 on Mac Pros Black Friday Software: 80% off Adobe CS5, Office 2011 for $89, Final Cut Studio for $799 Black Friday Electronics: AirPrint-ready printers, Apple accessories, and digital cameras Black Friday iOS devices: Apple TV for $79.99, 8GB iPod touches for $199.99Apple nabs HP's former 98 acre campus in CupertinoApple resellers launch early Black Friday sales: up to $150 off MacBooks, $270 off MacBook Pros, $180 off iMacs, $100 off MacBook AirsEarly Black Friday: Apple TV for $79.99, Office 2011 for $89.99, VMWare Fusion for $27.99 Apple posts Black Friday deals [u]Report predicts "monster holiday season" for AppleRIM's PlayBook may undercut Apple iPad at $399 - reportNPD: 11% of consumers likely to purchase Apple iPad by FebruaryOprah declares Apple's iPad her 'favorite thing ever,' gives away 275


Sony adopts, then drops, Cocoa-like GNUStep plans to rival Apple iOS
Apple iPad widely expected to lead tablet disruption of PCs in 2011
Black Friday Macs: Save up to $130 on MacBook Airs, $150 on MacBooks, $270 on MacBook Pros, $180 on iMacs, $100 on Mac minis and $400 on Mac Pros
Black Friday Software: 80% off Adobe CS5, Office 2011 for $89, Final Cut Studio for $799
Black Friday Electronics: AirPrint-ready printers, Apple accessories, and digital cameras
Black Friday iOS devices: Apple TV for $79.99, 8GB iPod touches for $199.99
Apple nabs HP's former 98 acre campus in Cupertino
Apple resellers launch early Black Friday sales: up to $150 off MacBooks, $270 off MacBook Pros, $180 off iMacs, $100 off MacBook Airs
Early Black Friday: Apple TV for $79.99, Office 2011 for $89.99, VMWare Fusion for $27.99
Apple posts Black Friday deals [u]
Report predicts "monster holiday season" for Apple
RIM's PlayBook may undercut Apple iPad at $399 - report
NPD: 11% of consumers likely to purchase Apple iPad by February
Oprah declares Apple's iPad her 'favorite thing ever,' gives away 275
Acer unveils Windows, Android tablets to compete with Apple's iPad
Apple analysts under SEC investigation for 'channel checks'
ITC to investigate Apple's patent case against Motorola
Apple I computer sells for $174K at London auction
Apple hiring members of rival RIM's enterprise sales team
iTunes sales of Beatles albums top 450,000 in first week
Apple adds accelerometer, WebSockets support to Safari in iOS 4.2
Apple rumored to release iOS 4.3 with app subscriptions in December
St. Clair accuses Apple, RIM, HTC of patent infringement
iPhone music vanishes with Apple's iOS 4.2, hackers release 'jailbreak'
Mac pricing gives Apple top dollar share in U.S. home PC market
Foxconn adds new production plants to meet demand for Apple's iPad
Apple posts Black Friday sale teaser
Briefly: Orange UK subsidizing iPad, iPhone 4 Torx screws, Apple Store burglarized
Apple updates iWork for iPad with multitasking, AirPrint support
Apple may introduce iPad news subscriptions at media event Dec. 9
Samsung's global Galaxy Tab sales lag behind Apple iPad at 600K
Apple releases iOS 4.2 for iPad, iPhone and iPod touch [u]
AirPlay streaming arrives with Apple TV 4.1 update
AT&T boasts 20%-60% faster wireless speeds than competitors
Apple makes Find My iPhone service free for iOS devices
Rumors of Apple's second-generation iPad expected to weaken tablet sales
Carriers' threats force Apple to abandon embedded iPhone SIM plans
News Corp, Apple building tablet-only iPad newspaper together - rumor
iPad coming to northern Europe, iOS 4.2 hints at free MobileMe accounts
Angry Birds maker apologizes for Android fragmentation issues

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Angry voters flood streets as several candidates reject Haiti election - Christian Science Monitor

Port-au-Prince, Haiti

Frustrated voters flooded the streets and several presidential candidates called for the government to annul Sunday’s Haiti election due to problems at polls throughout the country.

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Scores of voters said they were prohibited from voting because their names did not appear on rolls at the polling places. Angry voters threw rocks and bottles at United Nations peacekeeping forces and shut down polling places.

Twelve of the 19 presidential candidates held an afternoon press conference calling for the vote to be canceled. They accused the Inite party, backed by President Rene Preval, of "massive fraud."

RELATED: In Haiti election, voter confusion, apathy loom large

As polls closed at 4 p.m. peaceful demonstrations clogged the streets of Petionville, a neighborhood in the hills above downtown Port-au-Prince.

“We are not going to stand for an election that is not the will of the people,” says Abner Jean, who could not vote despite holding a valid registration card. His name did not appear on rolls. “If they put in a candidate that we did not choose, we’ll use whatever means necessary to kick them out.”

Observers said problems were reported throughout the country. Many voters who’d been displaced by the earthquake did not know where to vote, resulting in frustration and confusion.

The electoral commission held a press conference urging calm and reassuring the public that the vote was on track.

Representatives for the commission, CEP, said voters tried to use out-of-date cards or were going to the wrong polling places. They urged voters to call a toll-free number or go to the commission’s Web site to find their polling place.

“There are places where bandits shut down polls, shots were fired, and stones were thrown,” said Opont Pierre, director general of the CEP. “But it is only a small percentage of the polling areas and it won’t stop us from voting and getting a valid result.”

By that time, however, Haitians had already taken to Port-au-Prince streets. They rushed to the candidates’ press conference.

Michel Martelly, a popular musician considered one of the leading candidates in a field of 19, said the meeting was held "to denounce today's massive fraud all over the country."

Rapper Wyclef Jean appeared moments later with Martelly, who is known as “Sweet Mickey.” The crowd that formed erupted as Jean hugged Martelly.

Song broke out with lyrics like “Oh Mickey, now we’ve been delivered,” and “They gave us cholera, they call it poison,” a reference to the cholera epidemic that has killed more than 1,600 and continues to spread.

Nearby, blue helmeted UN soldiers and Haitian police in riot gear lined street sides.

The crowd followed Martelly and Jean, who were joined by Charles Henry Baker, a white-haired businessman who also complained that the vote was unfair.

It was a raucous end to a voting day that began quietly with teenagers playing soccer on traffic-free streets, using earthquake rubble as goal markers as women and children filtered to church.

Tensions grew as the day unfolded and more people complained they’d been prohibited from voting.

Laurent Yvone, who lives in a camp for people displaced by January’s earthquake, lined up with thousands of early this morning. The polling place for the camp, known as Camp Corail, had just 39 registered names, however.

“There are more than 5,000 people here and the [Interim Electoral Commission] sent us less than 40 names. We don’t have enough ballots,” says the polling place’s supervisor, Elizer Fritznel.

Mr. Fritznel fled before the polls were supposed to close at 4 p.m. Only a handful of voters cast ballots there.

“If we can’t vote, these ballots are not going to leave here,” Mr. Yvone said. “This is corruption.”

RELATED: In Haiti election, voter confusion, apathy loom large

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Gran Turismo 5 vs. NFS: Hot Pursuit - Which will you buy? - Computerandvideogames.com

CVG Home ? Features 28-Nov-2010 Debate: Is it a case of an old hat going up against the cool cat?
We've all been having a laugh and a giggle at Kazunori Yamauchi (and Sony's) expense for the past few years now. Usually we'd point out all of the significant events that have happened since the GT5 reveal at E3 2005 (three Forza games have been conceived, developed and released, for example) but we're pretty sure you get the point by now - it's been a long time.

In many ways Sony's Gran Turismo has always been the poster child for gaming. Sure, it's not as relevant as Call of Duty or Gears of War these days but, to a huge contingent of gamers, GT represents simulation racing at its finest, cutting edge graphics and an unrivalled attention to detail. It's a real watershed gaming moment.

Now that it's on store shelves once again, the question has quickly become "Was it worth the wait?"

The release of Gran Turismo 5 came just four days after the return of another racing game franchise heavy-hitter, EA's Need for Speed: Hot Pursuit, which was developed by Criterion Games - the creators of Burnout.

While Polyphony Digital toiled away creating another Gran Turismo game, Criterion has spent an equal amount of time innovating and pushing the genre in bold new directions.

Though some racing purists will undoubtedly argue the two represent very different forms of racing game. The more cynical (perhaps forward thinking) among us might instead posit that GT5 and Hot Pursuit represent two contrasting eras of video games.

On one side we have Gran Turismo, a game painstakingly crafted to offer the perfect sim experience, and on the other we have Need for Speed: Hot Pursuit, a racing game designed to thrive off the technology and 'connected' nature of today's world.

There's no denying that GT5 is a very capable, high quality title, but it also comes across as an antiquated experience, with design decisions and a feature set that represents a time where creators worked on simple hardware and lacked the integration with the wider world that consoles now have.

Is Gran Turismo 5 really a showpiece of what the PlayStation 3 and games can do? Or is it just another really pretty racing game.

Though many of the features in Need for Speed: Hot Pursuit are refinements of established concepts, it's still arguably leaps and bounds ahead of GT5, most evident when compared to GT5's barebones online gameplay options.

Hot Pursuit is a game that thrives off constantly reminding you that you're just one racer and a huge world full of them. It constantly feeds you information about how your friends are performing, creates rivalries and provides a variety of ways to settle scores.

With that said we're throwing the question over to you. Is Gran Turismo 5 an out of date gem trying to get by in a world where its competitors have evolved? And which of the two racing games will you be spending your hard earned cash on? Get those fingers typing.

function print_article(id) { window.open('/print.php?id=' + id, 'print', 'width=500,height=600,scrollbars=yes,toolbar=no,resizable=no'); } function email_article(id) { window.open('/email.php?id=' + id, 'email', 'width=484,height=420,toolbar=no,resizable=no'); }   I picked both games up and its a bit unfair to try compare them directly, ones arcade racer others a sim, for sheer fun and competition NFS is great, my facebook page has recently been littered with jibes, insults, maybe sum threats all thanks to tehir bloody autolog or because we've been online and sumones totalled mate A's veyron with mate b's cop car inches from finish, all good fun.
then i have other mates who have bought GT5 and thats more a kinda liek discussing this weeks Top Gear, u can jump online and all talk bout teh performance of your car and races arnt so much on edge racing but more of 'look what my car can do' and swapping tactics to get a toyato yaris into 3 figure mph's to win the beginner vitz cup
for me Need for speed is liek a saturday night out with your mates on the pub, its rowdy, theres drinks and jibes and sum heavy ribbing when u beat sumones time by 0.01 of a second.
GT5 is more liek a bunch of middle aged blokes sitting in the track Lounge on comfy leather sofas with your shiny motor sat outside while u have lunch, ready to go out and show off your cars cornering/top speed/accel ect.

Both great games and fun in their own lil ways, altho i'm a bit peeved about a Civic i sent to a mate thats just vanished into thin air ahh well i has another one now

I bought GT5 and traded it after a couple of days, not because it's not good, just because I don't like simmy games and this just reenforced that on me! I got more for it than I paid anyway, so I figure I lost nothing giving it a try.

I shall be getting Hot Pursuit soon as a few friends have it on 360, they've been raving about it and I'll be able to drive around corners at unrealistic speeds - that's personally what I want from a car game!

You're comparing two very different games here though.

People should which ever they think they'd like the most, or both. They are only games.I've already made my decision, since I bought GT5 yesterday.

I might be missing something here, but for me a driving game - arcade or sim - has to be about the driving model. I didn't mind the NFS demo, but it didn't grab me. NFS might actually be prettier overall, since most of the GT5 cars aren't actually fantastic in that respect (and I'm holding out for patches that slowly upgrade the rest of the cars - yes, I'm probably naive). But in terms of getting into the car and feeling like you are actually driving a car, GT5 is better. And yes, the menu system could use an overhaul and it was never going to live up to the 6-years of hype, but I will always prefer a worse-looking but better-playing game over a pretty-but-shallow one.

And before you say "sure but what about arcade-racing fans?" I say this to you. I really enjoyed Burnout Paradise, PGR and Dirt 2, and those couldn't be much further from real driving. But something about NFS:HP just didn't feel quite right to me. Hence my decision. Which after several levels of both A and B spec racing I think is right for me. But I will defend to the death your right to choose the other one.

I picked both games up and its a bit unfair to try compare them directly, ones arcade racer others a sim, for sheer fun and competition NFS is great, my facebook page has recently been littered with jibes, insults, maybe sum threats all thanks to tehir bloody autolog or because we've been online and sumones totalled mate A's veyron with mate b's cop car inches from finish, all good fun.
then i have other mates who have bought GT5 and thats more a kinda liek discussing this weeks Top Gear, u can jump online and all talk bout teh performance of your car and races arnt so much on edge racing but more of 'look what my car can do' and swapping tactics to get a toyato yaris into 3 figure mph's to win the beginner vitz cup
for me Need for speed is liek a saturday night out with your mates on the pub, its rowdy, theres drinks and jibes and sum heavy ribbing when u beat sumones time by 0.01 of a second.
GT5 is more liek a bunch of middle aged blokes sitting in the track Lounge on comfy leather sofas with your shiny motor sat outside while u have lunch, ready to go out and show off your cars cornering/top speed/accel ect.

Both great games and fun in their own lil ways, altho i'm a bit peeved about a Civic i sent to a mate thats just vanished into thin air ahh well i has another one now

That'sa pretty good analogy of both games to be honest so I agree in saying that you cannot compare them both at all. Now if you were going to compare GT5 and Shift 2 when that comes out that makes far more sense. Especially as EA have claimed it will be better.A moot point really since I choose not to own a PS3, and I already own "NFS: Hot Pursuit". One of the videos for it sold me almost instantly. It looked F-U-N! Also, I prefer racers to be more arcade-like than simulators, hence one of the reasons I consider "Forza 3" a racing masterpiece: It allows each individual player to tweak the settings to cater to his/her personal arcade or sim preferences. So, even if I had a PS3, I would likely still have opted for "NFS: Hot Pursuit" instead of "GT 5".Gran Turismo 5 vs. NFS: Hot Pursuit - Which will you buy? Then you harp on about how need for speed is better. Certainly seems like CVG has already made up its mind. Might have well have just posted," EVERYONE BUY NEED FOR SPEED". Thats not really a question at all now is it.Gran Turismo 5 vs. NFS: Hot Pursuit - Which will you buy? Then you harp on about how need for speed is better. Certainly seems like CVG has already made up its mind. Might have well have just posted," EVERYONE BUY NEED FOR SPEED". Thats not really a question at all now is it.
Maybe its becasuse PD have made CVG and others look just a little silly rushing out a halfassed review before actually playing the WHOLE game first. Hoped maybe they would of taken a lesson from it but no,instead they will just berate it more.

On the whole im very happy with GT5. Got nothing against NFS,Forza and the like but havent got room in my life for more than 1 game at a time and GT5 will do for me for a long time to come.

I was quite looking forward to Hot Pursuit, with it (kind of) going back to its roots but the demo left me underwhelmed and disappointed.

I do pretty much all my multiplayer gaming on the PC so the multiplayer part of NFS:HP adds nothing for me. GT on the other hand has always been a single player experience for me so wont be using the online features of that either.

As the article also points out these are two very different racers so if you like both then just buy both. I would have bought NFS along with GT if I had enjoyed the demo.

CVG, honestly... All I had to do was look at the first paragraph to know where this was heading, ugh. Only 2 things these games have that are simular is that they both have cars, it is like comparing Numchucks to Dynamite.. they can both be used as weapons but entirely different beast.

I got both games as I wanted a Sim and a Arcade racer.

I have got to admit. I am rather unimpressed by GT5. I really do think the graphics are a major step back from Prologue and what is with the terrible shadow clipping on the car models. This is supposed to be the flagship of PS3 development, 5 years in the making and it really does look bland and unappealing. The menus are a mess, just upgrading your cars takes several long loading screens.

I am really thinking that CVG were right on the graphics front, this does look worse when compared to Forza III.

Hopefully they patch this soon, but it seems to me like they might have made some last minute concessions to shoehorn 3D into the experience at the expense of graphical superiority.

The AI seems to be the same as every other GT game and doesn't even seem to acknowledge the player is on the track. As demonstrated by the frequent pit maneuvers where they take you out and nudge you off the track.

Quite a poor showing so far as far as I am concerned for something even the developers stated was trying to achieve perfection. I think the truth is, GT isn't king anymore because others have done racing better and more interesting both on and offline.

Is this article attempting to justify the rushed GT5 review score?

I only bought GT5 yesterday, but I've spent a good 6 - 8 hours with it already and I'm still in no position to claim a score out of ten on it, because I've barely scratched the surface. All the day 1 GT5 review scores are a farce.

But yeh, GT5 vs Hot Pursuit is a ridiculous question, they're totally different, like comparing FIFA to NHL or something.

When I heard Criterion was going to bring back Hot Pursuit, my eyes lit up. About a decade ago I can remember playing my best friend in Hot Pursuit 2 (PS2) for literally hours, breaking track records, hitting stunt jumps, and getting in gnarly wrecks. While Need For Speed may be an "Arcade game" as most of you would like to call it, I feel that if you want that "Sim" kind of feeling, why not jump in a real car instead of wasting $59.99? Hot Pursuit is the jewel and king of racing. Hands down. -dirty2the3rdNext article; ARMA 2 or Call of Duty - Which will you buy?

Pointless one guys. You tried to justify this articles existence but it was just laughable.

Like others have said, they aren't really comparable. I bought GT5, but I prefer sim racers to arcade ones.

What I'm wondering is, how the hell do you innovate in a sim racer? A rewind button, like Forza? Because frankly, that's a joke of a feature that noone claiming to like racing simulation would ever touch. You can only improve the physics and add new cars and race modes. GT5 did all three, and then some.

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'World News' Political Insights: President Obama Faces Democratic Angst - ABC News

In a lame-duck session that will be anything but lame, the ties that bind the Democratic Party will be tested anew.

The week's big focus will be on the bipartisan summit to be held Tuesday at the White House -- a key indicator of how the president plans to govern under the new reality imposed by voters in the midterm elections.

But it's President Obama's relationship with his own party in its waning weeks of total control of Washington that still will determine a range of policy outcomes. Moves to the right in the coming weeks will be viewed with skepticism on the left, as Democrats still must guard against a revolt inside their ranks in their final weeks in control of the House.

Before a new House majority takes power, Congress convenes for a final burst of legislating with a crowded agenda that includes expiring tax cuts and unemployment benefits; a push to repeal the military's "don't ask, don't tell" policy; and attempted ratification of a key nuclear weapons treaty with Russia.

In the middle lands the report of the president's deficit commission, the recommendations of which appear likely to provide a stark choice for a president who's seeking new footing.

The co-chairmen's initial recommendations were denounced by those on both sides of the aisle. Particular vitriol emanated by leading Democrats, with House Speaker Nancy Pelosi pronouncing the draft proposal "simply unacceptable."

The president has stayed mostly mum so far on the commission report. While he'll come under pressure to embrace its broad principles, Democrats will balk if he's seen as backing cuts to favored programs such as Social Security.

"Simply unacceptable" is also an apt summation of many leading Democrats' stance toward the likeliest emerging compromises on the expiring Bush tax cuts.

Top House Democrats continue to insist that the tax cuts for upper-income earners be allowed to expire. Republicans and some moderate Democrats want all the tax cuts extended; Obama has vowed repeatedly to allow them to lapse for couples making more than $250,000 a year.

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$125 Mil 'Harry Potter' Wins Weekend With Franchise's Biggest Debut Ever - Hollywood Reporter

Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part 1

Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part 1 made history this week, winning the weekend box office with $125 million for the best three-day opening weekend in the franchise's history, besting 2005's Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire, which earned $102.7 million.

Coming in second on the weekend was Megamind with another $16.2 million, followed by the Denzel Washington-Chris Pine train thriller, Unstoppable, which took in $13.1 million over the weekend.

Due Date took in $6.8 million for fourth place, with the Russell Crowe vehicle The Next Three Days rounding out the weekend's top five films with $6.8 million.

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