UK hosting cyber security summit

London is hosting a major international conference on the threat from cybersecurity attacks.

Representatives of 60 nations are gathering to discuss how to tackle the rising levels of cybercrime.

It comes a day after intelligence agency GCHQ warned that cyberattacks on the UK were at "disturbing" levels.

Foreign Secretary William Hague convened the London Conference on Cyberspace, and urged a "global co-ordinated response" on policy.

"We want to widen the pool of nations and cyberusers that agree with us about the need for norms of behaviour, and who want to seek a future cyberspace based on opportunity, freedom, innovation, human rights and partnership, between government, civil society and the private sector," he said.

Experts attending the two-day conference include EU digital supremo Neelie Kroes, with leading cybersecurity experts and technology entrepreneurs such as Wikipedia founder Jimmy Wales, Cisco vice-president Brad Boston and Joanna Shields, a senior executive at Facebook.

US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton had been due to attend, but cancelled the trip on Monday night after her 92-year-old mother fell ill.

'Very real threat'

On Monday, Baroness Neville-Jones, the prime minister's special representative to business on cybersecurity, said Russia and China - who are both attending the conference - were some of the worst culprits involved in cyber-attacks.

And Iain Lobban, the head of GCHQ, warned that a "significant" attempt was made to target the computer systems of the Foreign Office and other government departments over the summer.

Continue reading the main story

?Start Quote

So far though the overall impression at this conference is that cyberspace is a frightening and dangerous place and we need to act together to do something about it?

End Quote

Some reports at the time quoted intelligence sources as saying China was responsible for that attack.

With cybercrime estimated to cost ?600bn a year worldwide, Mr Lobban, writing in the Times ahead of the summit, warned that the "disturbing" levels of illegal activity online represented "a very real threat to our prosperity".

Britain said it wanted to develop a set of international "rules of the road", establishing "norms of acceptable behaviour" in cyberspace, while stopping short of a full treaty advocated by some countries.

Mr Hague said a "collective endeavour" was needed to tap into the "enormous potential" of cyberspace.

"How to ensure we can all reap the benefits of a safe and secure cyberspace for generations to come is one of the greatest challenges we face," said Mr Hague.

"The response does not lie in the hands of any one government or country but it is too important to be left to chance. This needs to be a collective endeavour, involving all those who have a stake in cyberspace.

"The ideas and proposals we hope to emerge from the conference will develop into the 'London Agenda' - an inclusive and focused approach to help us realise the enormous potential cyberspace offers for a more prosperous, safe and open networked world."

The government has put aside ?650m of additional funding to help tackle computer-based threats over the next four years, Mr Hague added.

'Drain the swamp'

Ross Anderson, professor of security engineering at Cambridge University, said there had been a "great growth" in cybercrime over the past six years.

As many as 5% of PCs are infected with malware - short for malicious software - Prof Anderson said, and there was a one in 20 risk that any given computer was sending spam without the owner's knowledge.

"If you want to defend against this kind of threat it's not enough to just shoot a few crocodiles, you have to drain the swamp," Prof Anderson told BBC Radio 4's Today programme.

"We need action against the whole ecology of cybercrime, not purely defensive measures to protect, for example, the Foreign Office."

Misha Glenny, author of Dark Market, which looks at the issue of cybercrime, said those involved were not, on the whole, engaged in traditional organised criminal activities.

But he added: "We're seeing a migration of traditional organised crime groups over into cyber, exploiting a new type of person engaged in crime who tends to be young, technically sufficient, very good at maths and physics, but perhaps not your traditional criminal figure in the outside world."

Source: http://www.bbc.co.uk/go/rss/int/news/-/news/technology-15533786

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Mexico soldiers seize catapults used to fling pot

The Mexican army says soldiers have seized two catapults that were being used by drug smugglers to fling packages of marijuana across the border into Arizona.

A military statement Tuesday says an anonymous tip led troops to a house in the border city of Agua Prieta where they found a catapult in the bed of a pickup truck and another inside the house.

It says soldiers also seized 1.4 tons (1.3 metric tons of marijuana) during Monday's raid in Agua Prieta, which is across the border from Douglas, Arizona.

Mexican troops also seized two catapults in the area last January. Authorities said then that it was the first time they had seen this smuggling method used by local traffickers.

Source: http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/45125484/ns/world_news-americas/

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ADM earns up on accounting gain, adj profit falls (AP)

NEW YORK ? Agricultural processor Archer Daniels Midland Co. said Tuesday its fiscal first-quarter earnings rose 33 percent mostly due to an accounting gain. Without the gain, its adjusted profit fell from a year earlier on weak margins in its oilseeds business and high corn costs.

Archer Daniels Midland's profits were hurt by a wildly volatile few months in global food markets. The price of corn, for example, jumped 26 percent between early July and late August to hit $7.75 a bushel. Then prices crashed 9 percent to close the quarter near where they started, at around $6.32 a bushel.

Such wild price swings make it difficult for Archer Daniels Midland to profit because the company is constantly buying and selling grain. It does everything from ship grain to run ethanol plants to make food ingredients.

CEO Patricia Woertz said profit margins should improve in the coming months. But handling the volatility would be key to Archer Daniels Midland's performance.

"We remain focused, regardless of the (profit) margin environment, frankly, on risk. On good risk management," Woertz told analysts during a conference call Tuesday morning.

Decatur, Ill.-based Archer Daniels Midland builds its fiscal year around the farming calendar. During the first quarter, company reported net income of $460 million, or 68 cents per share, compared with $345 million, or 54 cents per share, a year earlier.

Adjusted for the accounting issue and other items, ADM earned 58 cents per share, down from 67 cents a year earlier.

The company recorded a so-called "LIFO" gain of 11 cents per share in the most recent quarter, and a penny per share in debt exchange costs. LIFO, or last-in, first-out, assumes that a company sells its newest products first. If a product is sold for more than it was bought for, the difference is taken as a gain.

Net revenue rose to $21.9 billion from $16.8 billion.

Analysts expected adjusted earnings of 67 cents per share on lower revenue of $19.12 billion.

Operating profit in the company's oilseeds business fell to $221 million from $308 million a year earlier. Its corn processing operating profit fell to $179 million from $341 million in last year's fiscal first quarter. ADM's unit that provides agricultural services posted an improved operating profit of $244 million, up from $132 million a year ago.

ADM says it offset some cost pressures through hedging. It's seeing a smaller U.S. harvest than last year, but says global demand for crops remains solid.

In midday trading, shares of the company fell $1.08, or 3.7 percent, to $27.86 as the broader markets declined.

Source: http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/earnings/*http%3A//news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20111101/ap_on_bi_ge/us_earns_archer_daniels

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Something Has Exploded In a Spectacular Fashion On Uranus [Space]

Snow, wind, rain smack Northeast; cleanup begins

Bayron Zamora, right, 15, and Jarell Finley, 17, look at a down tree as heavy snow created issues with down lines and trees during a rare October snowstorm that hit the Northern New Jersey region, Saturday, Oct. 29, 2011, in Lodi, N.J. (AP Photo/Julio Cortez)

Bayron Zamora, right, 15, and Jarell Finley, 17, look at a down tree as heavy snow created issues with down lines and trees during a rare October snowstorm that hit the Northern New Jersey region, Saturday, Oct. 29, 2011, in Lodi, N.J. (AP Photo/Julio Cortez)

A vehicle makes its way at the snow-covered intersection of Autumn and Grove Streets in Lodi, N.J., following a rare October snowstorm that hit the region, Saturday, Oct. 29, 2011. (AP Photo/Julio Cortez)

A Times Square Alliance worker clears snow in New York's Times Square Saturday Oct. 29, 2011. An unusual early-autumn nor'easter brought a mix of snow, rain and slush to parts of New York on Saturday, and authorities said Central Park was seeing its snowiest October on record. (AP Photo/Tina Fineberg)

Rutgers fans celebrate a touchdown as the snow falls in the second half of an NCAA college football game against West Virginia in Piscataway, N.J., Saturday, Oct. 29, 2011. West Virginia won 41- 31. (AP Photo/Mel Evans)

A Times Square Alliance worker clears snow in New York's Times Square Saturday Oct. 29, 2011. An unusual early-autumn nor'easter brought a mix of snow, rain and slush to parts of New York on Saturday, and authorities said Central Park was seeing its snowiest October on record. (AP Photo/Tina Fineberg)

STATE COLLEGE, Pa. (AP) ? An unseasonably early snowstorm that blanketed parts of states from Maryland to Maine, knocking out power to millions and snarling air and highway travel, was forecast to slowly move north out of New England and officials warned it could be days before many see electricity restored.

The heavy, wet October snow, falling atop leaf-laden trees and driven by frigid, gusting winds, brought down branches and power lines and put the Northeast on notice that winter is around the corner. More than 2.3 million customers from Maryland to New England lost power due to the storm by early Sunday.

Governors declared states of emergency in New Jersey, Connecticut, Massachusetts and parts of New York, and at least three deaths were blamed on the weather, including an 84-year-old Pennsylvania man killed when a tree fell on his home while he was napping in his recliner.

Some 700,000 lost power in Connecticut, and Gov. Dannel P. Malloy cautioned that some homes and business without electricity may be in for a long haul.

"If you are without power, you should expect to be without power for a prolonged period of time," Malloy said Saturday night.

Snow was forecast to stop falling in New England late Sunday as the storm tracks toward Nova Scotia, but not before accumulating up to 2 feet in some areas of Massachusetts. Some inland towns in West Virginia, Pennsylvania, New Jersey and New York saw more than a foot of snow, according to the National Weather Service.

New York City's Central Park set a record for both the date and the month of October with 1.3 inches of snow.

Communities in western Massachusetts were among the hardest hit. Windsor, Mass., had received 26 inches by early Sunday, and nearby Plainfield saw 24? inches, and Savoy 24. West Milford, N.J., about 45 miles northwest of New York City, had received 19 inches of snow by early Sunday.

In addition to high number of customers without electricity in Connecticut, there were more than 600,000 in New Jersey ? including Gov. Chris Christie ? and a half-million in Massachusetts and Pennsylvania without power.

PSE&G, New Jersey's largest electric and gas utility, warned customers in a statement on its website to prepare for "potentially lengthy outages" and advised that full restoration of power might not happen until Wednesday.

Officials throughout the region had warned that the early storm would bring sticky snow on the heels of the week's warmer weather and could create dangerous conditions. In addition to declarations in New Jersey, Connecticut and Massachusetts, and New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo declared a state of emergency for 13 counties.

"It's a little startling. I mean, it's only October," said Craig Brodur, who was playing keno with a friend at Northampton Convenience in western Massachusetts.

By early Sunday, the storm had vacated Pennsylvania and New Jersey and was tracking northeast.

Transportation officials early Sunday advised against any unnecessary travel on I-87 between New York and Albany and along I-90 in the Albany area due to heavy snow.

The storm was expected to worsen as it swept north. Wind gusts of up to 55 mph were predicted especially along coastal areas.

The heaviest snow in Vermont, New Hampshire and Maine was set to fall early Sunday. Parts of southern Vermont could receive more than a foot.

The first measurable snow in New England usually falls in early December, and normal highs for late October are in the mid-50s.

Along the coast and in cities such as Boston, relatively warm water temperatures helped keep snowfall totals much lower. Washington received a trace of snow, tying a record for the date set in 1925.

But not everyone was lamenting the unofficial arrival of winter.

Two Vermont ski resorts, Killington and Mount Snow, started the ski season early by opening one trail each over the weekend, thanks to the recent snow and cold. Maine's Sunday River ski resort also opened for the weekend.

Some said the severity of the storm caught them by surprise.

"This is absolutely a lot more snow than I expected to see today. I can't believe it's not even Halloween and it's snowing already," Carole Shepherd of Washington Township, N.J., said after shoveling her driveway.

The storm disrupted travel along the Eastern Seaboard. Philadelphia International Airport, Newark Liberty International Airport and John F. Kennedy International Airport all had hourslong delays Saturday. Amtrak suspended service between Philadelphia and Harrisburg, Pa., and commuter trains in Connecticut and New York were delayed or suspended because of downed trees and signal problems.

Residents were urged to avoid travel altogether. Speed limits were reduced on bridges between New Jersey and Pennsylvania. A few roads closed because of accidents and downed trees and power lines, and more were expected, said Sean Brown, a spokesman for the Pennsylvania Department of Transportation.

The storm came on a busy weekend for many, with trick-or-treaters going door-to-door in search of Halloween booty, hunting season opening in some states and a full slate of college and pro football scheduled.

In eastern Pennsylvania, snow caused widespread problems, toppling trees and a few power lines, and led to minor traffic accidents, according to dispatchers. In Huffs Church, in Berks County, southwest of Allentown, 16 inches of snow fell.

Philadelphia saw mostly rain, but the snow that did fall coated downtown roofs in white. The last major widespread snowstorm to hit Pennsylvania this early was in 1972, said John LaCorte, a National Weather Service meteorologist in State College.

In southeastern Pennsylvania, an 84-year-old man was killed when a snow-laden tree fell on his home while he was napping in his recliner. In Connecticut, the governor said one person died in a Colchester traffic accident that he blamed on slippery conditions.

In Massachusetts, a 20-year-old man died in Springfield after being electrocuted by a power line downed by high winds and wet, heavy snow. Capt. William Collins says the man stopped when he saw police and firefighters examining downed wires and stepped in the wrong place.

Parts of New York saw a mix of snow, rain and slush that made for sheer misery at the Occupy Wall Street encampment in New York City, where drenched protesters hunkered down in tents and under tarps as the plaza filled with rainwater and melted snow.

Technically, tents are banned in the park, but protesters say authorities have been looking the other way, even despite a crackdown on generators that were keeping them warm.

Nick Lemmin, 25, of Brooklyn, was spending his first night at the encampment. He was one of a handful of protesters still at the park early Sunday.

"I had to come out and support," he said. "The underlying importance of this is such that you have to weather the cold."

Adash Daniel, 24, is a protester who had been at the park for three weeks. He had a sleeping bag and cot that he was going to set up, but changed his mind.

"I'm not much good to this movement if I'm shivering," he said as he left the park.

October snowfall is rare in New York, and Saturday marked just the fourth October day with measurable snowfall in Central Park since record-keeping began 135 years ago, the National Weather Service said.

___

Associated Press writers Ron Todt in Philadelphia; David B. Caruso and Colleen Long in New York; Jay Lindsay in Boston; Eric Tucker in Washington; Bruce Shipkowski in Trenton, N.J.; and Clarke Canfield in Portland, Maine, contributed to this report.

Associated Press

Source: http://hosted2.ap.org/APDEFAULT/3d281c11a96b4ad082fe88aa0db04305/Article_2011-10-30-October%20Snow/id-53aac34e286c437da0bf6c8bc27c6454

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US prosecutors settle with ex-Apollo astronaut (AP)

MIAMI ? Federal prosecutors and former astronaut Edgar Mitchell have reached an agreement over a camera Mitchell brought home from his 1971 Apollo 14 moon mission.

Mitchell said the camera was a gift from NASA, and earlier this year he tried to auction it through the British firm Bonhams.

NASA says the camera is U.S. government property and sued Mitchell to get it back after learning in March it was up for sale.

In papers filed Thursday, the U.S. Attorney's Office in Miami stated Mitchell will give up any claim to the 16 mm motion picture camera and agree to return it to NASA. NASA will in turn give it to the National Air and Space Museum in Washington for display within 60 days.

Both sides will pay their own legal expenses. A judge was expected to sign off on the settlement in the coming days.

Mitchell's attorney Armen R. Vartian said his client decided the settlement was the best way to resolve a conflict with NASA.

"I think both sides saw the lawsuit as something that should not continue," he added.

Mitchell is one of 12 humans to have walked on the moon. He later received the Presidential Medal of Freedom.

The camera was one of two that went to the moon's surface on the Apollo 14 mission, which Mitchell piloted.

During the mission, Mitchell and Alan Shepard spent hours collecting nearly 100 pounds of lunar samples.

They also demonstrated that astronauts could walk long distances safely, covering about two miles on one expedition. Shepard's attempt at swatting a golf ball on the moon can be viewed on the internet.

Mitchell later said he attempted to communicate using telepathy with friends on Earth during the mission.

Since his retirement, Mitchell has devoted much of his life to exploring the mind, physics, the possibility of space aliens and ways of linking religion with scientific fact.

Source: http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/space/*http%3A//news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20111028/ap_on_re_us/us_nasa_sues_astronaut

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'Broads' to chat sports, Vegas at ex-mayor's joint

(AP) ? Former Las Vegas mayor Oscar Goodman was known to swill gin and bring showgirls everywhere while he was in office. Now, the booze and girls will stay as he opens his new steakhouse Dec. 15.

Sin City's colorful ex-mayor tells The Associated Press that his Beef, Booze and Broads steakhouse at the Plaza Hotel and Casino will feature pretty hostesses hired to chat with diners about topics like sports and Las Vegas. He says they'll eat and drink with guests.

The bar features a "No-bama" whiskey cocktail, playing on a flap Goodman stirred in 2009 when he sought an apology from President Barack Obama for comments Goodman thought hurt Las Vegas.

Goodman says it's all in good fun ? and that Obama's welcome to have a drink at his joint.

Associated Press

Source: http://hosted2.ap.org/APDEFAULT/4e67281c3f754d0696fbfdee0f3f1469/Article_2011-10-27-Booze%20and%20Broads-Vegas/id-47862b525c444ceeb86586f90bcee56f

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Rules change gives royal girls equal shot at crown (AP)

LONDON ? If Will and Kate's first child is a girl, it's now clear that she'll probably become queen one day ? and not even getting a little brother can mess that up.

The Commonwealth countries agreed Friday to change centuries-old rules of succession that put sons on the throne ahead of any older sisters. So that hypothetical daughter of Prince William and Kate Middleton ? now known as Catherine, Duchess of Cambridge ? would have a prime place in history: the first princess to beat out any younger brothers and accede to the throne.

Had these rules been in place in the 1500s, Henry VIII would have just been a rather large historical footnote.

The move is a baby step: Before taking effect, the changes still must be approved by the legislatures of the 16 nations where Queen Elizabeth II is head of state. Still, the agreement, which was reached at a meeting of Commonwealth nations in Perth, Australia, represents a triumph over practices now considered outdated and sexist in much of the world.

Nations including Sweden, Belgium, the Netherlands and Norway have already taken similar steps.

Will and Kate's lavish April wedding renewed a decades-long debate over succession.

Middleton told a well-wisher in Canada this summer that she hopes to start a family. William has said the same.

Once their honeymoon was over, baby talk started, adding urgency to the dialogue, although officials insist that talk of a pregnancy is premature.

Historians think it's about time.

"You shouldn't muck around too much with the constitution, but it's a good idea to change this at this time," said royal expert Hugo Vickers. "It's much better to have it sorted out before any babies come along."

The new rules would only apply to future heirs and would have no impact on the current line of succession.

William is second in line to the throne after his father, Prince Charles, who is the queen's firstborn child. Charles' sister, Anne, is lower in the line of succession than her younger brothers Andrew and Edward by virtue of their male gender.

Charles had only sons, William and Prince Harry, so the issue of gender was never raised.

In 2009, the government of then-Prime Minister Gordon Brown considered a bill that would end the custom of putting males ahead of females in the succession line. It also would lift a ban on British monarchs marrying Roman Catholics. The government did not have time to pursue it before Brown left office.

The rule has kept women from succeeding to the throne in the past. Queen Victoria's first child was a daughter ? also called Victoria ? but it was her younger brother who became King Edward VII.

If Queen Victoria had been able to pass her crown to her firstborn, Britain's Princess Victoria would have had a brief reign before her death in 1901.

That would have made her son ? Wilhelm II, who at that time was the German Kaiser ? king. With Wilhelm II ruling both Germany and Britain, there may not have been two world wars.

Earlier history might also have been drastically different if women had had equal rights to the throne.

Neither Henry VIII nor Charles I would have been king because both had older sisters who, under the new rules, would have been monarch.

As king, Henry VIII set in motion the creation of the Church of England. His six marriages left an insecure succession ? one sickly son and two princesses, according to the monarchy's official website. Charles I's reign in the 17th century led to a bloody civil war.

Prince William and his wife have been credited with freshening up a staid monarchy, and new succession rules seem to fit right in.

"In this day and age, why should a royal son be more important than a royal daughter?" said Joe Little, managing editor of Majesty magazine.

The same goes for the decision Friday in Perth to lift a ban on monarchs marrying Roman Catholics. Critics had called the rule blatantly discriminatory since royals are free to wed Jews, Muslims, Hindus or members of any other religion. "Britain is no longer the religious country that it once was," Little said. "While not denigrating the importance of religion, it plays much less of a role now then it did 60 years ago."

Still, some Britons are wary of a Catholic monarch.

"The pope is responsible for some horrors," said Anna Marsh, 73, who was cycling in London.

Her biking buddy Jill Gregory, 71, was fine with the idea ? and also fully in favor of giving firstborn girls an equal right to the throne.

"In terms of ability, I don't think women are any different than men," Gregory said, pointing to the queen and her late mother.

Elizabeth II succeeded her father, King George VI, because he had no sons. If she had had a younger brother, he would have jumped above her in the line of succession.

Prime Minister David Cameron had pushed for the changes, calling it a matter of equality.

New Zealand will now chair a working group of Commonwealth countries to discuss how to accomplish the reforms. It's not a simple process. Getting all 16 countries to begin the legislative changes is what has held them up for decades.

However long it takes, Patricia Wager of London said it would clear up something that should not be an issue in the modern world.

"It's a good idea, and a long time coming," she said.

___

Associated Press writer Danica Kirka contributed to this report.

Source: http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/britain/*http%3A//news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20111028/ap_on_re_eu/eu_britain_girls_rule

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The Mystery of the Missing Presidential Campaign: Cain Operation MIA in Key States (Time.com)

In early October, as Herman Cain caught fire in national polls and began to climb into the first tier of the Republican presidential race, the ex-CEO turned insurgent candidate puzzled political observers by diverting his campaign to promote a book entitled This is Herman Cain! My Journey to the White House. Cain's critics alleged that his publicity tour wasn't really about selling the idea of a Cain Presidency to voters, but rather peddling motivational pamphlets ? "Leadership Requires Leadership" is available for $5 at "The Herminator Experience" website ? and inflating the value of his services on the speaking circuit.

A series of interviews with key party figures may lend further credence to this charge. Well-connected GOP operatives in New Hampshire, Florida and South Carolina say they see little or no evidence of Cain's campaign in those key early primary states, and some are even unable to name who is leading his localized efforts just a little more than two months before voters are expected to cast the first ballots.

"There is no sense of a tangible organization that you can point to," says Rich Killion, an uncommitted GOP strategist in New Hampshire, who's unsure of the location of Cain's Granite State base of operations, or even if there is one. "If you said, 'Rich, tell me who is running the effort here?' I could not even give you that person." Matt Murphy, Cain's original state director, resigned in June. (Watch TIME's video "9-9-9 and Beyond: TIME Interviews Herman Cain.")

"There is good will towards him, but there is almost no organization to speak of," says Fergus Cullen, a former chairman of the New Hampshire Republican Party. "If there is a local group who wanted to invite him to speak, it is unclear whom to call. I gather that they are adding staff and ramping up, but the primary is in two and a half months."

A prominent Republican operative in Florida says the Cain campaign is similarly invisible in his state. "If somebody called here and asked to volunteer for Cain, I would not know whom to talk to," he says. Cain won a major Florida straw poll in late September, but he's been largely absent ever since. "He came and worked the crowd. He got a few state reps. to endorse him" and then he left, the operative says. "It boggles the mind. I don't know any of the usual suspects who have been called, asked or much less hired. There is no grassroots. The guys in key counties, none of them are getting talked to."

"We see nothing to resemble a real campaign," says another GOP operative, who is based in South Carolina and knows of only one Cain staffer there. According to him, both of South Carolina's U.S. Senators and one member of its House delegation sought assistance with reaching out to Cain, but the strategist said he's been unable to get the campaign to respond.

None of the GOP strategists interviewed by TIME have endorsed any of Cain's opponents, but most requested anonymity to avoid conflict with the surging candidate's campaign. (See "The De Facto Religious Test in Presidential Politics.")

Cain has established a limited presence in select states. Campaign spokesman J.D. Gordon says Cain has hired more than 40 staffers overall, including former Iowa GOP Chairman Steve Grubbs to spearhead his efforts in the Hawkeye State. In Nevada, one in-the-know Republican says he has seen a vigorous volunteer effort to identify and motivate potential Cain voters all over the state.

Even so, Cain's campaign appears infinitesimal compared with those of his top rivals. Killion describes a "seismic difference" between Cain's New Hampshire operation and Mitt Romney's Manchester outfit, which is staffed with relatively well-known state co-chairs, advisers and directors.

Scott Plakon, one of the Florida state reps. who endorsed Cain just before his straw poll victory, argues that the former CEO shouldn't be judged on logistics. "Given the choice between an uninspiring candidate with an organized campaign and an inspiring candidate with a less-organized campaign, I'll take the latter," he says. Like other Cain supporters, Plakon also predicts that an announcement of a beefier organization in his state is right around the corner.

But time is short. Cain's place atop the national polls may not translate into votes in parochial early state precincts if he's unable to establish himself in the next few months. "If you are not going to campaign in the early primary states," says the South Carolina operative, "where are you going to campaign?" And if nothing changes, he muses, "Is it a campaign or is it a book tour?"

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