Thursday, January 31, 2013

Important Facts to Succeed at Business Management | Surfing Trip

Every business and manager should redefine their set goals for more successful business management. It?s quite common to believe that you?re already achieving this although you may are, in fact, not. What can feel odd is usually that the principles of management nfl jerseys will likely look like the specific complete opposite of what you need to accomplish with all your most crucial goals. When you, though, include the manager, you could decide to not keep to the status-quo after which work hard at succeeding here.

Most likely the leading problem for most managers isn?t an deficit of good policies, it is the deficit of throwback jerseys nfl following them that gets them in trouble. A whole lot courage retreats into making the ideal decisions for your business daily. Decide the information behind successful business management so that you can arrive for yourself.

If responsibilities seem fair, visitors employees have zero problem taking on cheap nfl jerseys extra. Customers with rock-bottom prices those that will still only complain regarding it, nevertheless they are inclined to complain about everything. After you encounter this, boost the comfort about what you expect your department to acquire done. Tell your friends this isn?t nearly you acquiring a good bonus. So there has to be an incentive for them rather than letting them know it will help to ensure that they?re employed. People, along with your department and you simply, will need to have sense of shared goals.

To a lucky few, leadership is a natural thing but to the majority of it isn?t. Anyone that hopes to might take classes trading management. That doesn?t mean, however, until this guarantees they?re accomplished at management. And that means you actually have to place some thought into situations and try to get accomplished at handling things. You could have to swallow some bitterness on top of it, but make an effort to consentrate on positivity after you allow feedback. Management ensures that you?ll want to delegate things after which rely on your employees to undertake what?s right. The department those who be good enough will understand the faith and helping them makes it possible to get good at your livelihood.

Irrespective of the department that you?re in, there is certainly generally not a whole lot of creativity in it. Creativity just isn?t a thing that is utterly essential, however. When you are evaluating solutions to help your department, for instance cutting costs, or running with higher stages of efficiency, this is certainly still something extremely important. Imagine you are searching for the call to cut staff if you can?t produce solutions for many problem. The greater solution may be to possess a group meeting trying to discover a more amicable scenario. By putting people beneath the gun, and pressuring them to create a solution, you?ll find solutions quickly. Should there be no pending crisis, also you can obtain the same results.

In the word of successful business management every problem includes a solution. It?s not necessarily unusual for managers to have to understand how to handle multiple unusual circumstances as well as in a strict timeframe. So being flexible within your thinking and also the capability to switch gears promptly are needed qualities. At the same time, focus on better displaying your presence along with your managerial style. Whatever you decide to undertake, just be certain you might be as consistent as possible be while you manage your small business.

Source: http://surfing-trip.com/important-facts-to-succeed-at-business-management/

lucid 2012 ncaa tournament bracket matterhorn chris harrison girl scouts printable bracket game change

Wednesday, January 30, 2013

Video: Sideshow: Cruz disses war veterans Hagel, Kerry for being anti-military



>>> back to "hardball." first up, texas senator ted cruz is pushing the idea that if president obama supports something, it means a weaker america. he's talking about the nominations of john kerry and chuck hagel . here is cruz speaking at an event put on by the conservative national review institute over the weekend.

>> okay. we've got two pending nominations, john kerry , chuck hagel . both of whom are very prominent ly anti-us, less than ardent fans of the u.s. military . my view of the military and foreign policy is exactly that of reagan's, that it should be driven by the national security interests of the united states , that we should go in with clear, defined objectives, overwhelming force, and then when we're done, get the heck out.

>> does anyone believe paul ryan would have taken us into a hawkish war like iraq? by the way, john kerry and chuck hagel aren't fans of the u.s. military ? oh? someone remind the president or remind the senator from texas that both hagel and kerry volunteered to serve in vietnam and have been awarded five purple hearts between them. senator cruz has no experience personally in the u.s. military and, as i said earlier, was one of the three senators who voted against confirming john kerry earlier today.

>>> also, hillary clinton reunited with australian comedy duo hamish and andy. she first met them back in 2010 during a visit to australia and today they popped up at what's being called a global town interview or town-terview with the secretary of state.

>> madam secretary, obviously a lot of good questions we had were taken earlier tonight by some of the wonderful participants around the world but luckily we still have a few. probably the big question on everyone's lips is when you step back from being secretary of state --

>> well, she won't be able to be called madam secretary.

>> you're no longer madam secretary. i think on behalf of all the global citizens which of these three names would you like to adopt.

>> we spent three or four months on this.

>> incredible hillary? the artist formerly known as the secretary? or just hill clinton but it does sound a bit like your husband?

>> i think we're going to have to work on that list.

>> none.

>> none?

>> okay.

>> we will need another four or five months then.

>> secretary clinton took questions from young people around the world over the course of that event.

>>> up next, a strange alliance of neocons and gay groups trying to kill chuck hagel 's nomination later this week. that's ahead, and you're watching "hardball,"

Source: http://video.msnbc.msn.com/hardball/50631951/

arizona debate enquirer national inquirer knicks vs heat ash wednesday kate walsh cnn debate

Google maps out North Korea with crowd-sourced data

20 hrs.

While Google Maps feels like a solid mapping solution, it has some blank spots?? ?particularly when it comes to regions such as?North Korea. But that's all changing thanks to a group of "citizen cartographers" and a tool which allows Google to incorporate crowd-sourced map data into its product.

As?Jayanth Mysore, a senior product manager working on the Google Map Maker project,?explains in a post on the official Google Maps blog, the Map Maker tool?has been around since 2008 and allowed users to "update the maps of the areas they know, and improve their level of detail and accuracy." Crowdsourced data like this is how Google "will build the modern map," Mysore adds, reiterating that without these details, map data is currently "very limited" in some parts of the world.

Efforts to map out North Korea have been made over the last few years, but on Monday, Google was finally ready to officially update the region on Google Maps. "We know this map is not perfect," Mysore acknowledges. "We encourage people from around the world to continue helping us improve the quality of these maps for everyone with Google Map Maker." He adds that, from now on, any further "approved" updates to the North Korean maps will also appear on Google Maps.

The Wall Street Journal's Evan Ramstad points out?that the update of North Korea on Google Maps comes about three weeks after Google's executive chairman Eric Schmidt visited the area (though a Google spokesperson tells NBC News that the visit was unrelated to the timing of the Google Maps update).?During his time in the country, "Schmidt encouraged officials he met in North Korea to make the Internet available to its citizens and end its attempts to restrict information," Ramstad writes.?The Verge's Sam Byford reminds?that Internet access in North Korea remains quite restricted nonetheless, and that odds are that the "vast majority of North Korean citizens" won't be able to access Google's freshly updated maps.

The crowd-sourced cartography includes mass transit, monuments and parks, as well as North Korea's massive gulags, which are signified on Google Maps with a slightly different shading. ?As?the Atlantic notes, "Naturally, the Hwasong Gulag, like any place on Google, already has some jokesters reviewing its?accommodations."?

Mysore dances around these detail in his blog post, and instead focuses on who will be able to take advantage of the information. "While many people around the globe are fascinated with North Korea," he writes, "these maps are especially important for the citizens of South Korea who have ancestral connections or still have family living there."

Want more tech news?or interesting?links? You'll get plenty of both if you keep up with Rosa Golijan, the writer of this post, by following her on?Twitter, subscribing to her?Facebook?posts,?or circling her?on?Google+.

Source: http://www.nbcnews.com/technology/technolog/google-maps-out-north-korea-crowd-sourced-data-1C8157346

dark knight rises trailer vince young vince young evan longoria ryan seacrest kentucky derby beltane

Government mistrust deters older adults from HIV testing

Jan. 29, 2013 ? One out of every four people living with HIV/AIDS is 50 or older, yet these older individuals are far more likely to be diagnosed when they are already in the later stages of infection. Such late diagnoses put their health, and the health of others, at greater risk than would have been the case with earlier detection.

According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, 43 percent of HIV-positive people between the ages of 50 and 55, and 51 percent of those 65 or older, develop full-blown AIDS within a year of their diagnosis, and these older adults account for 35 percent of all AIDS-related deaths. And since many of them are not aware that they have HIV, they could be unknowingly infecting others.

Various psychological barriers may be keeping this older at-risk population from getting tested. Among them are a general mistrust of the government -- for example, the belief that the government is run by a few big interests looking out for themselves -- and AIDS-related conspiracy theories, including, for example, the belief that the virus is human-made and was created to kill certain groups of people.

Now, a team of UCLA-led researchers has demonstrated that government mistrust and conspiracy fears are deeply ingrained in this vulnerable group and that these concerns often -- but in one surprising twist, not always -- deter these individuals from getting tested for HIV. The findings are published Jan. 29 in the peer-reviewed journal The Gerontologist.

"Our work suggests that general mistrust of the government may adversely impact peoples' willingness to get tested for HIV/AIDS," said Chandra Ford, an assistant professor of community health sciences at the UCLA Fielding School of Public Health and the study's primary investigator. "HIV/AIDS is increasing among people 50 and older, but there's not a lot of attention being paid to the HIV-prevention needs of these folks. Older adults are more likely to be diagnosed only after they've been sick, and as a result, they have worse prognoses than younger HIV-positive people do.

"Also, the CDC recommends that anyone who's in a high-risk category should be tested every single year," she said. "These findings mean that the CDC recommendations are not being followed."

The researchers sought to test the association between mistrust of the government, belief in AIDS conspiracy theories and having been tested for HIV in the previous year. For the cross-sectional study, they worked with data from 226 participants ranging in age from 50 to 85. Participants were recruited from three types of public health venues that serve at-risk populations: STD clinics, needle-exchange sites and Latino health clinics.

Of the participants, 46.5 percent were Hispanic, 25.2 percent were non-Hispanic blacks, 18.1 percent were non-Hispanic whites and 10.2 percent were of other races or ethnicities. The data were collected between August 2006 and May 2007.

The researchers found that 72 percent of the participants did not trust the government, 30 percent reported a belief in AIDS conspiracy theories and 45 percent had not taken an HIV test in the prior 12 months. The more strongly participants mistrusted the government, the less likely they were to have been tested for HIV in the prior 12 months.

Several of the findings surprised the researchers -- for example, the fact that HIV testing rates among this population were not higher at the locations where the participants were recruited, given that these locations attract large numbers of people with HIV.

"This finding is concerning because the venues all provide HIV testing and care right there," Ford said.

And there was an even bigger, perhaps counterintuitive surprise. The more strongly participants believed in AIDS conspiracy theories, the more likely they were to have been tested in the previous 12 months.

"We believe they might be proactively testing because they believe it can help them avoid the threats to personal safety that are described in many AIDS conspiracies," Ford said. "For instance, if I hold these conspiracy beliefs and a doctor tells me I tested negative, I might get tested again just to confirm that the result really is negative."

By contrast, individuals who reported mistrusting the government may not have been tested because the venues where they were recruited were, in fact, government entities, Ford said.

The study has some weaknesses. For instance, the study design did not allow the researchers to determine whether the participants held their beliefs before or after being tested; thus, the researchers couldn't tell what prompted their mistrust of the government or conspiracy beliefs. Also, it's possible that the prevalence of these theories is higher in this group than it is in the general public and that some participants may have been afraid to tell the truth.

The next step in the research is to study other groups of older adults to determine if these views are more widely held than just among the at-risk population the researchers studied.

Steven P. Wallace, Sung-Jae Lee and William Cunningham, all of UCLA, and Peter A. Newman of the University of Toronto co-authored the study.

Share this story on Facebook, Twitter, and Google:

Other social bookmarking and sharing tools:


Story Source:

The above story is reprinted from materials provided by University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA), Health Sciences.

Note: Materials may be edited for content and length. For further information, please contact the source cited above.


Journal Reference:

  1. C. L. Ford, S. P. Wallace, P. A. Newman, S.-J. Lee, W. E. Cunningham. Belief in AIDS-Related Conspiracy Theories and Mistrust in the Government: Relationship with HIV Testing Among At-Risk Older Adults. The Gerontologist, 2013; DOI: 10.1093/geront/gns192

Note: If no author is given, the source is cited instead.

Disclaimer: This article is not intended to provide medical advice, diagnosis or treatment. Views expressed here do not necessarily reflect those of ScienceDaily or its staff.

Source: http://feeds.sciencedaily.com/~r/sciencedaily/most_popular/~3/5R2fZxkn8Ew/130129171343.htm

nba all star game shark tank john wall gordon hayward gas prices rising stars challenge star trek 2

Urine the Army Now

Sargent Sheena Adams, 25, US Marine with the FET (Female Engagement Team. Sargent Sheena Adams, 25, US Marine with the FET (Female Engagement Team) 1st Battalion 8th Marines, Regimental Combat team II blows bubbles with Afghan boys surrounding her while on patrol on November 21, 2010 in Musa Qala, Afghanistan.

Photo by Paula Bronstein/Getty Images

Should women be allowed in combat? The Pentagon says yes, but Jerry Boykin knows better. Boykin, a former Army lieutenant general, is the executive vice president of the Family Research Council. Since last week, when the military announced its decision to rescind the combat ban, Boykin has become the point man for opponents of the decision. It isn?t easy in 2013 to make the case that every man should be eligible for the draft but that no woman should be permitted to compete for a combat role in much of the armed forces. Is Boykin man enough for the job? Let?s see how he?s doing.

1. Women are too weak. ?We have seen in Iraq and Afghanistan that ground combat still requires levels of sheer physical strength, speed, and endurance that are relatively rare among women,? Boykin wrote in a USA Today op-ed on Thursday. A day later, in a commentary on CNN, he added,

The slots that may be opened are in our infantry and Special Forces units. The purpose of such units is to directly and physically engage enemy forces. This can often involve personal, hand-to-hand combat in which women will now have to fight men. These units can often be deployed in prolonged operations that can last for months. The physical toll is constant and wearing.

When Boykin talks about hand-to-hand combat and women fighting men, he seems to be suggesting that women can?t or won?t fight men effectively. But if combat-level physical abilities are ?relatively rare? among women, rather than nonexistent, doesn?t that undermine the idea of a categorical ban on women in combat? So Boykin turns to other arguments.

2. Combat missions are too gross for women. Boykin objects that infantry and Special Forces units are sometimes sent on months-long missions:

During operations of this kind there is typically no access to a base of operations or facilities. Consequently, living conditions can be abysmal and base. There is routinely no privacy or ability to maintain personal hygiene for extended periods. Soldiers and Marines have to relieve themselves within sight of others.

So the problem isn?t that women are inherently too weak to carry the gear or kill a man in a knife fight. The problem is that they might have to skip showers or pee in the wild.

3. Combat missions with women are too humiliating for men. On Fox News Sunday, Chris Wallace pointed out that Col. Martha McSally, the country?s first female combat pilot, defeated her male competitors in the military division of the Hawaii Ironman World Triathlon Championships. ?Clearly, some women can meet the standard? for combat, Wallace suggested. Boykin replied:

Some women can, and there will be few, but some can. But that's not the issue I raised initially. What I have raised is the issue of mixing the genders in those combat units where there is no privacy, where they are out on extended operations, and there's no opportunity for people to have any privacy whatsoever. Now, as a man who has been there, and a man who has some experience in these kinds of units, I certainly don't want to be in that environment with a female, because it's degrading and humiliating enough to do your personal hygiene and other normal functions among your teammates.

Ah. So the problem isn?t that women might have to pee near men. The problem is that men might have to pee near women.

4. Women are too sexy. In his essay for CNN, Boykin argued,

This combat environment?now containing males and females?will place a tremendous burden on combat commanders. Not only will they have to maintain their focus on defeating the enemy in battle, they will have to do so in an environment that combines life-threatening danger with underlying sexual tensions. This is a lot to ask of the young leaders, both men and women, who will have to juggle the need to join and separate the sexes within the context of quickly developing and deadly situations. ? Men and women can serve together in the armed forces productively, but that service needs to be prudently structured in a manner that reflects the differences between the sexes and the power of their attractions.

Source: http://feeds.slate.com/click.phdo?i=8916a0c1377c50b50ee9fc0ded013866

elizabeth taylor cam newton danielle fishel FedEx Gabriel Aubry halle berry cyber monday deals

Tuesday, January 29, 2013

Japan PM says open to summit with China to help economic ties

TOKYO (Reuters) - Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe said on Tuesday he was open to a meeting with Chinese leaders to rebuild ties damaged by a territorial dispute but said there was no room for negotiations on their row over a group of small islands.

The remarks came after China's Communist Party chief, Xi Jinping, told a Japanese envoy sent to Beijing last week that he was committed to developing bilateral ties and would consider holding a summit meeting.

Relations between the world's second- and third-largest economies plunged after the Japanese government bought three disputed islands from a private owner last September, sparking anti-Japan protests across China. Some Japanese businesses were looted and Japanese citizens attacked.

"It is precisely because we have a problem that we should hold the summit between leaders and have high-level talks," Abe said on a television program. "I would like to consider a top-level summit if circumstances allow."

The conservative prime minister has just increased the defense budget for the first time in 11 years and swept back to power in a December election calling for the protection of Japan's "beautiful seas".

He reiterated Japan's stance on the islands, which it controls. Japan calls them the Senkaku while China calls them the Diaoyu.

"The Senkaku Islands are our land and China has taken provocative steps against them ... we have been clear that there is no room for negotiation on this matter," he said.

"But on top of that, there's an economic relationship. Japan invests in China and reaps benefits from exporting its goods there while China creates job places thanks to Japanese investment," said Abe, adding that maintaining strong economic ties were vital for both countries.

"If top-level meeting was necessary to achieve that, we should do it and from that point on rebuild our relationship."

(Reporting by Antoni Slodkowski; Editing by Robert Birsel)

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/japan-pm-says-open-summit-china-help-economic-112934216.html

great pacific garbage patch ben affleck and jennifer garner google privacy changes windows 8 preview leap year moratorium dwts season 14 cast

Obama, Biden to meet police chiefs from towns scarred by shootings

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - President Barack Obama and Vice President Joe Biden are scheduled to meet with police chiefs from three U.S. communities scarred by mass shootings last year to talk about the administration's push to reduce gun violence, a White House official said.

The meeting, at the White House, is the latest in a series of discussions that Obama is using to try to galvanize political support for tighter gun control after 20 young children and six adults were killed in December by a gunman at a school in Newtown, Connecticut.

Newtown's police chief, Michael Kehoe, plans to be at the meeting along with his counterparts from Aurora, Colorado, where 12 people were killed and 58 wounded in a mass shooting at a movie theater last July, and from Oak Creek, Wisconsin, where six people were killed and four wounded at a Sikh temple in August.

Obama wants to ban military-style assault weapons and ensure that all gun buyers are subjected to background checks, but he needs Congress to pass laws on the politically tricky issues.

The Senate Judiciary Committee will hold its first hearing on Wednesday on the measures.

The National Rifle Association, the country's most powerful pro-gun lobby group, has vowed to try to defeat the plan, which it says would infringe on gun ownership rights protected by the U.S. Constitution.

Obama and Biden have said the plan would not affect the rights of responsible gun owners. Biden traveled to Richmond, Virginia last week with that message.

Monday's meeting will include representatives of the Major Cities Chiefs Association and Major County Sheriffs Association, as well as U.S. Attorney General Eric Holder and Homeland Security Secretary Janet Napolitano.

(Reporting by Roberta Rampton; editing by Christopher Wilson)

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/obama-biden-meet-police-chiefs-towns-scarred-shootings-110748510.html

mega upload santorum wins iowa archer ibooks 2 ifl indoor football league newt gingrich wife

?Human Error? Caused Vine?s DildoPlay Editor?s Pick

dildoplayThis morning, new Vine users woke up to quite the treat. Twitter's new video sharing app launched a NSFW, porn clip called "DildoPlay" to the top of the Editor's Picks section of the app, a place where users can browse the latest and greatest vines. Vine only launched last week, and has already been reported as having a small porn problem. Searching the hashtag #porn within the app will give you a peek at what I'm talking about. This is expected from almost any new visually focused social network. If you build it, sex will come.

Source: http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/Techcrunch/~3/GWb4ExizcKU/

gillian anderson leah remini desean jackson kyle orton kyle orton ncaa tournament schedule black and tan

Philadelphia opera co.: New name, new vision

PHILADELPHIA (AP) ? The Opera Company of Philadelphia is getting a name change that officials say is in better harmony with its move toward more innovative programming and greater diversity in its repertoire.

The company said Tuesday it will now be known simply as Opera Philadelphia. The new name and logo will appear on all of its brochures and ads.

The announcement was made in conjunction with the unveiling of the 2013-2014 season.

The company plans to continue bringing opera to new audiences with surprise "pop-up" concerts in famous Philadelphia locations. Past performances at a downtown Macy's and the Reading Terminal Market have received millions of views on YouTube.

Opera Philadelphia says it has five new operas in development and aims to present challenging contemporary works along with classics like "Carmen" and "La Boheme."

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/philadelphia-opera-co-name-vision-143451371.html

obama care miss universe canada don draper gallagher madmen james cameron liam hemsworth

Today on New Scientist: 28 January 2013

Full text RSS feed Full text RSS - You can now subscribe to the full text of Today on New Scientist.

Retreating rebels burn Timbuktu's science manuscripts

As the French and Malian armies recapture Timbuktu, Islamist rebels have set fire to texts that document when science began in Africa

Quantum theory of smell causes a new stink

An experiment showing humans might rely on quantum mechanics to distinguish between odours has reopened a smelly debate

Davos: Persuading big business to act on climate change

A new report argues that private-sector investment could limit rise in temperature ? as long as governments can encourage businesses to step up

Gas flares from Bakken fracking are visible from space

A shining cluster of light in this satellite image of the US from space isn't a city - it's the glow from hundreds of flares from rigs in North Dakota

First video reveals working tractor beam in action

Watch a light beam pull tiny objects using a new technique that attracts certain arrangements of particles

Human brain model and graphene win science's X Factor

Quests to build a supercomputer simulation of the human brain and unlock graphene's potential have each won a potential ?1 billion in research funding

Interactive nails give you a screen at your fingertips

Forget colourful nail varnish, one day your fingernails could be used to display touchscreen content from your smartphone instead

Stellar performances finally gain the limelight

In Heart of Darkness, Jeremiah P. Ostriker and Simon Mitton add new stars to the constellation of astronomy to tell the subject's full history

Is Obama about to blow his climate credentials?

The US president could be poised to approve the doubling of imports of tar sands oil, one of the filthiest fuels on Earth, says Fred Pearce

DNA privacy: don't flatter yourself

The secrets contained in our individual genomes are less valuable than we like to believe

Weird high-energy flare made by spitting black hole

One of the most detailed looks yet at a gamma-ray burst from an active galaxy hints that a knot of high-speed plasma was the likely trigger

Get cirrus in the fight against climate change

Feathery cirrus clouds trap a lot of heat and help warm the planet. Getting rid of them could counteract human-caused climate change ? in theory

Your molar roots are leftovers from Homo erectus

Our teeth erupt later than they did in our early ancestors, but not so the roots of our molars: they develop as they did in Homo erectus

Bandwidth-sharing app brings connectivity to all

AirMobs lets you use your neighbour's mobile internet connection?- or share your own?- regardless of carrier or location

Lingering kiss: DNA persists in the mouth after smooch

A kiss is not just a kiss - it's bacteria, mucus and DNA. And with the discovery that the DNA persists in the mouth for at least an hour, it could be used to identify sex offenders

The digital map is not the territory

The latest maps offer a rich and vivid way of navigating the world, but we must not expect a perfect representation of reality

Source: http://feeds.newscientist.com/c/749/f/10897/s/27fc2bb1/l/0L0Snewscientist0N0Cblogs0Cshortsharpscience0C20A130C0A10Ctoday0Eon0Enew0Escientist0E280Ejanu0E40Bhtml0Dcmpid0FRSS0QNSNS0Q20A120EGLOBAL0Qonline0Enews/story01.htm

philadelphia eagles obamacare Todd Akin Register To Vote Fox News Live Obama 2016 Who Is Winning The Election 2012

Monday, January 28, 2013

U.S. condemns sentencing of American pastor in Iran

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The U.S. State Department on Sunday condemned an Iranian court for sentencing an Iranian-American Christian pastor to eight years in prison.

The State Department said it had confirmed reports of Saeed Abedini's sentencing with the family's attorney and called for his release.

"We condemn Iran's continued violation of the universal right of freedom of religion and we call on the Iranian authorities to respect Mr. Abedini's human rights and release him," State Department spokesperson Darby Holladay said.

Hollaway said Abedini's attorney had only one day to present his defense and the department was deeply concerned about the fairness and transparency of his trial.

The American Center for Law and Justice, a conservative lobbying group, said Abedini was convicted by Judge Pir-Abassi of Branch 26 of the Iranian Revolutionary Court for threatening Iran's national security through his leadership in Christian house churches.

It said Abedini, a 32-year-old father of two, became a U.S. citizen in 2010 through marriage to his American wife Naghmeh.

He was ordained a minister in 2008 through the American Evangelistic Association and had been traveling back and forth freely between the U.S. and Iran for three years until this past summer, when he was placed on house arrest. He was imprisoned in September.

The ACLJ, which is representing Abedini's U.S.-based wife and children, said the pastor had been beaten and tortured during his time in prison, raising questions about his medical condition.

It said Abedini and his attorney were only allowed to attend one day of his trial, which started on January 21.

"This is a real travesty - a mockery of justice," said ACLJ's Executive Director Jordan Sekulow. "From the very beginning, Iranian authorities have lied about all aspects of this case, even releasing rumors of his expected release. Iran has not only abused its own laws, it has trampled on the fundamentals of human rights."

In a statement, Naghmeh Abedini said she is "devastated" for her husband and her family - a six-year-old daughter and a four-year-old son.

"We must now pursue every effort, turn every rock, and not stop until Saeed is safely on American soil," she added.

(Reporting By Arshad Mohammed and Sarah N. Lynch; Editing by David Brunnstrom)

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/u-condemns-sentencing-american-pastor-iran-012339247.html

gabrielle union mark wahlberg merle haggard ladainian tomlinson pipa keystone xl sopa bill

UN humanitarian chief in Syria for talks

DAMASCUS, Syria (AP) ? The United Nations humanitarian chief was in Damascus on Sunday for talks with Syrian officials about the nation's conflict, which has forced millions of people from their homes, destroyed the country's cities and created food and fuel shortages.

Valerie Amos did not make any public remarks upon her arrival in Damascus on Sunday for a two-day visit, but was seen by reporters heading to the offices of U.N. agencies and government officials.

Living conditions have deteriorated across Syria during the 22-month conflict, which began with political protests but has since evolved into a civil war with scores of rebel groups battling President Bashar Assad's forces. Entire towns and neighborhoods have been damaged in the fighting, and more than 2 million people are internally displaced, with another 650,000 seeking refuge in neighboring countries.

Some areas face food shortages, and even areas that have been spared large-scale violence like Damascus lack sufficient quantities of gasoline, heating oil and cooking gas.

On Friday, the U.N. announced it was preparing to send $10 million in new U.S. aid to help alleviate hunger in northern Syria.

Speaking at the World Economic Forum in Davos last week, Amos said world powers had not done enough to lessen Syrian suffering.

"The humanitarian situation in Syria is already catastrophic and it's clearly getting worse," she said. "What we are seeing now are the consequences of the failure of the international community to unite to resolve the crisis."

World powers remain divided on how to solve the crisis. The U.S. and many Arab and European countries have called on Assad to step down, while Russia, China and Iran refuse any pressure from outside that seeks to hasten the regime's fall.

On Saturday, Iran made its strongest warning to date that it could intervene militarily to help Assad's regime.

As quoted by the semiofficial Mehr news agency, an aide to Iranian Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei said Syria held a key position among a group of Middle Eastern powers opposed to U.S. and Israeli influence in the region.

"Syria plays a very key role in supporting or, God forbid, destabilizing the resistance front," said Ali Akbar Velayati. "For this same reason, (an) attack on Syria is considered (an) attack on Iran and Iran's allies."

Iran is Syria's strongest ally in the Middle East, and has provided Assad's government with military and political backing for years. In September, the top commander of Iran's powerful Revolutionary Guard, Gen. Mohammad Ali Jafari, said the elite unit had high-level advisers in Syria. Iran also is believed to be sending weapons and money to Syria as it endures its worst crisis in decades.

Also Sunday, Syria announced that it would drop legal proceedings against any opposition figures who returned to the country to participate in a "national dialogue" called for by Assad during a recent speech.

Syria's Higher Judicial Council announced the decision in a statement carried by the state news agency. The report gave no further details.

Assad proposed the national dialogue as part of his plan to end the country's crisis as laid out in a high-profile speech this month at the Damascus Opera House.

In the same speech, however, he vowed to keep fighting and referred the opposition as criminals and terrorists ? making it unlikely anyone will take their chances on the amnesty offer.

Tens of thousands of activists, their family members and opposition supporters remain jailed by the regime, according to international rights groups.

Opposition leaders have repeatedly rejected any talks that include Assad, insisting he must step down.

The U.N. says more than 60,000 people have been killed since the start of the conflict in March 2011.

___

Hubbard reported from Beirut.

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/un-humanitarian-chief-syria-talks-111429122.html

michael beasley jermaine jones hbo luck unc asheville stephen jackson nba trade deadline ncaa tournament

Sunday, January 27, 2013

Machines have feelings too!

Steampunk, Dieselpunk, Cyberpunk...These are neat and all, but they are basically just variations of ice cream. What if I want a dang sandwich instead of more dessert? Biopunk! Something I haven't really seen done. Now, I'm not talking genetic mutation of humans or any of that vanilla garbage. I'm talking machines that breed, buildings that grow, and technology that evolves organically!

My idea: Alternate timeline universe where technology as we know it never occurred. Since the dawn of sentient life, all forms of "technology" have been simply animals or plants that were cultivated into tools. Over the eons the level of sophistication has grown to be far more advanced than we have today, but at the same time, many things we take for granted don't exist.

There is no electricity, nor cell phones, computers, the internet, or other convenience items. There are many things which can take place of that though.

For long distance communication, stations that resemble phone booths are grown as twins, then separated and transported to the locations they are needed. The booths are plantlike, and psychically linked to each other. Inside there is a patch of growth that is bio-luminescent and able to produce colors similar in to the manner of a cuttlefish, effectively making a television screen. The booths also have a device that temporarily grafts to the back of the user's neck, enabling them to hear the thoughts of the occupant in the adjoined booth. Obviously, since this method of communication isn't portable, each meeting needs to be scheduled ahead of time.

For that purpose, small mouse like creatures are also bred. They, too, are psychically linked, and when one is activated, all others from the same litter will light up as well. This makes these creatures invaluable to special operations teams, businessmen, married couples, and anyone who needs to keep in contact with others instantaneously.

There are no cars, trains or planes. Several different types of transportation exist, from simple four legged mounts to encapsulating tank like creatures, and no two are exactly the same(unless they are twins of course). Each has a different method of control, as well as their own temperament and personality.

Much of the world is vegetarian, due mostly to the fact that nearly all animal life tastes horrible and is slightly toxic. There is no economy system, nor currency. Most services are free of charge, such as inns, restaurants and bath houses. Goods such as clothing or mounts can be traded for using seeds or breeding animals.

These are some of the ideas I come up with, but I still don't have a definitive plot or detailed mechanisms yet. If anyone has ideas to offer, I'd be very grateful. Let me know what you all think!

Source: http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/RolePlayGateway/~3/OqtzyuJ4KFU/viewtopic.php

winning numbers mega millions megamillions drawing olbermann mega millions march 30 lucky numbers odds of winning mega millions mary mary

Regarding iPad 5, iPad mini 2, iPhone 5S, and other rumored Apple hardware

Regarding iPad 5, iPhone 5S, and the less expensive iPhone

With the new year comes new speculation about what's next from Apple. We've been inundated with rumors already, everything from iterative to big to cheap iPhones, and everything from thinner iPads to Retina iPad minis. Today, Jeremy Horowitz from iLounge, which has a very good track record with this kind of stuff, gave a rundown of what he's hearing for 2013, including:

  • iPhone 5S (N51), coming as early as July, and perhaps with an upgraded 13-megapixel rear camera.

  • iPad 5 (J72), coming in October, with a thinner, lighter iPad mini-like casing.

  • iPad mini 2 (J85), also coming in October, with the same design but perhaps with a Retina display.

  • Cheaper iPhone for China with a plastic casing

  • Larger iPhone, which may or may not make it to market.

Some of this lines up with what I've seen and heard, and what prompted my posts on the less expensive iPhone, the 5-inch iPhone, and the iPad 5 design. All of it sounds reasonable, and depicts logical next-steps for Apple's product line.

As to the timeline, a lot of it might simply depend on how long it takes to get things done. Making a Retina iPad 4 as relatively thin and light as an iPad mini, and giving an iPad mini a Retina display while keeping it thin and light are tremendous undertakings. Apple needs more power efficient panel technology, perhaps Sharp's IGZO. They need more power efficient chips, especially GPUs, to drive them, perhaps at smaller die sizes. They need more efficient LED to light them. And they need as much from as little battery as possible to power it all. If that's not in place in time for spring, the fall is the logical launch slot.

With the phones, Apple did a tremendous amount of work making the iPhone 5 as thin as they did. Getting an iPhone 4S-class camera in something as thin as the iPhone 5 took a lot of that work. Now that it's done, ramping up the quality of the camera even higher certainly sounds like something Apple would do. It's what they did with the iPhone 4 to iPhone 4S jump, after all. Add possible advances in processor tech, panel tech, and battery tech, and it starts to take shape.

The less expensive iPhone and bigger iPhone may or may not leave design and prototype stages. That's likely a go-to-market decision, and will depend on Apple's business -- and business relationships -- in emerging markets, and competitive pressures. Neither feels imminent.

What that means for February and March is interesting. With Apple dropping as much new product as they did last fall, renewing virtually every line they make, there've been a lot of questions about what's left for early 2013. Two years ago we had the Verizon iPhone in February and the iPad 2 in March. Last year we had OS X 10.8 Mountain Lion and the education event in February, and the iPad 3 and Apple TV 3 in March.

I mentioned Apple TV 4 earlier in the week. An OS X 10.9 preview could be in the works again. Beyond that, there's always the chance for something new, or at least something unexpected.

All of that being said, and as cool as the thought of new hardware is, I still think iOS 7 and iCloud will be far, far more important for Apple in 2013.

Check out iLounge's post for everything they're hearing.

Source: iLounge)



Source: http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/TheIphoneBlog/~3/bja1D6T_dC8/story01.htm

seth macfarlane Black Mesa matt ryan matt ryan att wireless Mother Jones cars

Skin Cancer Prevention Act goes before committee - News, Weather ...

By: Cole Miller
cmiller@klkntv.com?
?
In the dead of winter, a tanning bed may be the closest thing you can get to summer-like weather. But should we regulate who can use them? Omaha senator Jeremy Nordquist wants a ban that would prohibit anyone under the age of 18 from 'warming up' with?UV light bulbs.?
?
"A study of young people calculated that 3 out of 4 melanomas under age 30 were directly caused by indoor tanning," Dr. David Watts said.?"In simple terms, the more indoor tanning or the younger the person, the higher the risk."

Dermatologists, professors and skin cancer survivors, like 26-year-old Jessica Guerrero, agree.?
?
"What's stopping you from supporting this bill?" Guerrero asked.?"and?I just have to ask, how many more young people are we going to let this affect before we take a stand against it?"
?
"It will be 5 years next month since my last surgery. I'm optimistic that this time I'll make the 5 year mark," Teresa Roddy, a skin cancer survivor said.

But what about those who make their living in this business?
?
"In the past 3 years, 48% of Nebraska tanning salons have closed. My company could be next if more legislation assaults us this way," Heather Almond of Ashley Lynn's Tanning said.

Many salon owners say they already regulate who can come in and ask for parental consent, even though Nebraska law doesn't require it.
?
"The difference in this bill is it not only implies that we, as professional salons, are acting irresponsibly, but Nebraska parents are unable to parent responsibly," Max?Tan owner?Michelle Grubbs said.
?
Nordquist has said that he would work with tanning companies to find common ground. The committee took no immediate action on the bill Friday.

Source: http://www.klkntv.com/story/20711349/skin-cancer-prevention-act-goes-before-committee

Jason Terry IFE Fireworks 2012 4th Of July independence day BET Awards 2012 declaration of independence 4th Of July 2012

Alcatel One Touch Evo 7 makes FCC pitstop, still runs Ice Cream Sandwich

Alcatel One Touch EVO 7 makes FCC pitstop, still runs Ice Cream Sandwich

If it's ICS, you can be sure it ain't fresh. And Alcatel seems to know that, but it's offering a base version of its non-HD One Touch Evo 7 tablet that runs that so very 2011 Android OS anyway. Yes, this is the very same 7-inch "modular" slate we saw at this past CES, except now it's made an appearance at the FCC, indicating market availability on the horizon. Just in case you need a refresher, Alcatel's outfitted the tab with a WSVGA (1,024 x 600) display, single-core 1GHz Rockchip CPU buffered by 1GB RAM and 4GB of internal storage -- nothing to get excited about, really. All the goods are here on display, from test setup shots to its user manual. So, feel free to peruse the source below for a glimpse at the official docs.

Filed under:

Comments

Source: FCC

Source: http://feeds.engadget.com/~r/weblogsinc/engadget/~3/pcBLyJN8nIk/

Jason Babin Nolan Daniels angus t. jones monday night football monday night football SEC Championship Game 2012 kansas city chiefs

Attention shoppers: Another credit card fee is here

1 day

It could soon cost you more to shop with a credit card at some stores. As of this Sunday, Jan. 27, merchants who accept credit cards issued by Visa and MasterCard will be allowed to add a service charge to the purchase price.

Visa and MasterCard had always prohibited merchants from doing this. They agreed to change the rules and allow the surcharge as part of the settlement of an antitrust suit brought by retailers.

The surcharge is supposed to equal the actual cost of processing the credit card transaction, which is typically 1.5 to 3 percent. Under the agreement, the fee is capped at 4 percent. The surcharge can vary based on the type of card. For example, it could be higher for a rewards card or premier card.

Merchants still cannot add a surcharge to debit card transactions.

The big question is: Will any stores do this? Should you worry about paying a credit card surcharge?

?We have discussed the settlement with many, many merchants, and not a single merchant we have spoken to plans to surcharge,? Craig Sherman, spokesman for the National Retail Federation (NRF), said in a statement. The NRF was not involved in the class action lawsuit.

NBC News contacted some of the country?s largest retailers. Wal-Mart,?Target, Sears and Home Depot said they have no plans to add a credit card surcharge.

Credit card surcharges are banned by law in 10 states: California, Colorado, Connecticut, Florida, Kansas, Maine, Massachusetts, New York, Oklahoma and Texas.

Visa and MasterCard have rules that require retailers to handle credit cards the same way in all of their stores across the country. That means a chain with stores in any of the 10 states where a surcharge is banned would not be able to have a surcharge at any of its stores.

The National Retail Federation points out that under terms of the settlement, a merchant who adds a surcharge to purchases on a Visa or MasterCard would have to do the same with American Express cards. But AMEX prohibits surcharge fees. So a merchant who accepts American Express as well as Visa/MasterCard would not be able to surcharge any of those cards.

?The bottom line is that very few retailers would be able to surcharge under the settlement, and that the vast majority don?t want to surcharge even if they could,? the NRF?s Sherman said.

Ed Mierzwinski, Director of Consumer Programs at U.S. PIRG agrees.

?In the brick-and-mortar world, no one who does any sort of volume business is going to want to surcharge because it will drive their customer crazy and slow down transactions,? Mierzwinski said.

In fact, most consumer advocates believe that except for some small retailers, a credit card surcharge is a non-issue in the short-term.

But Edgar Dworsky, founder of ConsumerWorld.org, worries that over time surcharges will gain traction.

?It?s predictable what?s going to happen,? he said. ?We?re at the top of the hill and we?re going to start going down that slippery slope.?

Dworsky points out that stores factor in the cost of processing credit cards when they price their merchandise. Charging for that again, he said, would be double-dipping, unless stores rolled back their prices ? which no one expects them to do.

?We shouldn?t have gotten to the point, but unfortunately because of the court settlement we have,? Dworsky told me. ?There?s no one standing up for consumers and saying that this is really bad.?

Dworsky points to Australia, where surcharging credit card use began in 2003. At first, few merchants charged the fee.? His research shows that approximately one-third of the sellers there ? including some hotels, supermarkets, department stores and utilities ? now charge extra to use a credit card.?

What about disclosures??
The advocacy group Consumer Action has published a booklet on credit card checkout fees. It warns shoppers to be on the lookout for these fees and advises them to express their dissatisfaction.?Customers shouldn?t stand for it,? said Ruth Susswein Consumer Action?s deputy director of national priorities. ?Our advice is to tell them you don?t like the fee and this makes you want to take your business elsewhere.?

The new rules from Visa and MasterCard require retailers who apply a credit card surcharge to post a notice at the store?s entrance. The exact percentage of the surcharge does not need to be disclosed until the point of sale. The customer receipt must list the amount of the surcharge.

Online stores with a surcharge will not be required to have a notice on the home page. They only need to alert shoppers about this when they reach the page where credit cards are first mentioned. In most cases, that means the final step of checkout when the purchase is being completed.

Not the end of this story?
The settlement that allows merchants to impose a surcharge is only preliminary. The court has yet to issue its final ruling in this case. That?s expected later this year.?

Once that happens, various retailers and business groups plan to challenge the settlement. That could drag into late 2014.

For now, the possibility that the settlement could be modified will probably keep most businesses of any size from instituting credit card fees.

?We?re not convinced this is going to be an issue,? Consumer Action?s Susswein told me. ?They may never do it, but as individual consumers we need to be aware.?

Herb Weisbaum is The ConsumerMan. Follow him on Facebook and Twitteror visit The ConsumerMan website.?

Source: http://www.nbcnews.com/business/attention-shoppers-another-credit-card-fee-here-1C8086499

nfl scores Devon Walker Tom Cruise ryan reynolds Star Trek: The Original Series Carlton Morgan Freeman Dead

Wednesday, January 23, 2013

Swiss Federal Lab Claims New World Record For Solar Cell Efficiency

Ok, let's do the math. Total electrical consumption (not all energy usage, just electrical) for the US is about 480 gigawatts. Average insolation is about 1 kw per square meter. At 10% efficiency, that means about 100 watts for every square meter of panel. That means you need 4.8 billion square meters of panels. 4.8 billion square meters can fit into a square 69.282 kilometers on a side. That's somewhere between the size of Rhode Island and Delaware.

Even if you expand that to all energy usage, not just electrical, you're talking approximately 3 terrawatts. So, that's about 30 billion square meters of panels. That's a square about 173.2 kilometers on a side. That's somewhere between the size of Maryland and Hawaii.

So, if you actually sit down and DO the math, you can easily cover US electrical requirements and, in fact the total US energy usage (not counting food energy and not considering the fact that much of that energy usage can't currently be converted to electrical) without coming remotely close to covering the US with solar panels.

Of course, if you'd actually done the math on your own claims, you would have realized that, when you claimed that you could "optimistically" supply 7.5% of the US's electrical supply with 0.01% of the surface area, that would mean that you could "optimistically" supply 100% of the electrical supply with 0.133334% of the surface area, or even pessimistically (let's pretend that the difference between "optimistic" and pessimistic is an order of magnitude) with 1.33334% of the surface area.

So, it's pretty clear that you either didn't do the math yourself, or you just decide to bluff. If you meant something else, like that there are logistical problems in covering that much area, then say so.

Source: http://rss.slashdot.org/~r/Slashdot/slashdotScience/~3/6-gC0hnND2Y/story01.htm

scarlett o hara pat sajak vanna white michael robinson joe paterno memorial service

How cells' DNA repair machinery can destroy viruses

Jan. 21, 2013 ? A team of researchers based at Johns Hopkins has decoded a system that makes certain types of immune cells impervious to HIV infection. The system's two vital components are high levels of a molecule that becomes embedded in viral DNA like a code written in invisible ink, and an enzyme that, when it reads the code, switches from repairing the DNA to chopping it up into unusable pieces. The researchers, who report the find in the Jan. 21 early edition of the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, say the discovery points toward a new approach to eradicating HIV from the body.

"For decades, we've seen conflicting reports on whether each of these components helped protect cells from viruses," says James Stivers, Ph.D., a professor of pharmacology and molecular sciences at the Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine's Institute for Basic Biomedical Sciences. "By plotting how much of each are found in different types of cells, as well as the cells' response to HIV, we learned that both are needed to get the protective effect."

Researchers have long known that DNA's code is made up of four building blocks called nucleotides, commonly abbreviated A, T, G, and C. Before a cell divides, DNA-copying enzymes string these nucleotides together based on existing templates, so that each of the new cells gets its own copy of the genome. But because the T nucleotide, dTTP, is very similar to dUTP, a fifth nucleotide that doesn't belong in DNA, the copying enzyme sometimes mistakenly puts in a U where there should be a T.

To prevent this, says Stivers, most human cell types have an enzyme whose job is to break down dUTP, keeping its levels very low. Another quality control measure is the enzyme hUNG2, which snips stray Us out of newly copied DNA strands, leaving the resulting holes to be filled by a different repair enzyme. Certain immune cells called resting cells lack the first quality-control mechanism because, Stivers explains, "They're not replicating their DNA and dividing, so they couldn't care less if they have a lot of dUTP."

This is a critical piece of information, Stivers says, because when a retrovirus like HIV invades a cell, its first order of business is to make a DNA copy of its own genome, then insert that copy into the host cell's genome. If there are many dUTPs floating around in the cell, they will likely make their way into the new viral DNA, and, potentially, later be snipped out by hUNG2. The question, Stivers says, left open by the conflicting results of previous studies, was what effect, if any, this process has on HIV and other viruses.

To address this question, Amy Weil, a graduate student in Stivers' laboratory, measured dUTP levels and hUNG2 activity in a variety of human cells grown in the laboratory, then exposed them to HIV. Cells with high dUTP but little hUNG2 activity succumbed easily to the virus, which appeared to function just fine with a U-ridden genome. Similarly, cells with low dUTP levels but high hUNG2 activity were susceptible to HIV. For these cells, it seemed, hUNG2 would snip out the few stray Us, but the resulting holes would be repaired, leaving the viral DNA as good as new.

But in cells with both high dUTP and vigilant hUNG2, the repair process turned into a hack job, Stivers says, leaving the viral DNA so riddled with holes that it was beyond repair. "It's like dropping a nuclear bomb on the viral genome," he says.

By showing how dUTP and hUNG2 work together to protect resting cells from infection, Stivers says, the study identifies a new pathway that could restrict HIV infection in non-dividing cells. Current anti-retroviral drugs effectively suppress the virus, but, Stivers explains, they miss copies of the virus that hide out in non-dividing cells, and "the minute you stop taking anti-retrovirals, it starts replicating again." He suggests that drug strategies could be devised to target this pathway in affected cells, possibly lessening the pool of viruses hiding out in non-dividing cells. The principle could also be applied to other retroviruses, he says, since they, like HIV, all make DNA copies of their genomes as part of the infection process.

Other authors on the paper were Devlina Ghosh, Yan Zhou, Lauren Seiple and Robert F. Siliciano of the Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine; Moira A. McMahon of the University of California, San Diego; and Adam M. Spivak of the University of Utah School of Medicine.

The study was funded by the National Institute of General Medical Sciences (grant number GM056834) and the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases Extramural Activities (grant number AI081600).

Share this story on Facebook, Twitter, and Google:

Other social bookmarking and sharing tools:


Story Source:

The above story is reprinted from materials provided by Johns Hopkins Medicine, via Newswise.

Note: Materials may be edited for content and length. For further information, please contact the source cited above.


Note: If no author is given, the source is cited instead.

Disclaimer: This article is not intended to provide medical advice, diagnosis or treatment. Views expressed here do not necessarily reflect those of ScienceDaily or its staff.

Source: http://feeds.sciencedaily.com/~r/sciencedaily/top_news/~3/DC3IVg5qJY4/130121161751.htm

mexico earthquake aziz ansari aziz ansari katherine jenkins peyton manning broncos mexico city earthquake stand your ground law

Tuesday, January 22, 2013

Oil price dips, trading muted on US public holiday

The price of crude oil slipped closer to $95 a barrel on Monday, with energy investors keeping to the sidelines as U.S. markets were closed for Martin Luther King, Jr. Day.

Benchmark oil for February delivery fell 9 cents to settle at $95.47 a barrel in electronic trading on the New York Mercantile Exchange. The contract rose 7 cents to finish at $95.56 per barrel on the Nymex on Friday.

"Due to the lack of major economic indicators, investors will be looking for some direction to the global equity markets and the U.S. dollar movements," said a report from Sucden Financial Research in London.

A stronger dollar tends to put pressure on oil prices by making crude more expensive for traders using other currencies. On Monday, the euro was down against the dollar, to $1.3314 from $1.3375 on Friday.

A rise in stock markets did help limit losses in commodity markets, but sentiment remained fragile.

Concerns linger about the U.S. economy, with lawmakers wrangling over spending cuts and the nation's debt ceiling, which limits the amount of debt that U.S. government can take on. Though Republican lawmakers were expected to accept a temporary increase, a final deal is still not in sight.

Brent crude, used to price international varieties of oil, fell 9 cents to $11.80 per barrel on the ICE Futures exchange in London.

In other energy futures trading on the Nymex:

? Natural gas added 6 cents to $3.63 per 1,000 cubic feet.

? Wholesale gasoline rose a fraction of a cent to $2.798 per gallon.

? Heating oil rose 2 cents to $3.072 a gallon.

___

Pamela Sampson in Bangkok contributed to this report.

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/oil-price-dips-trading-muted-us-public-holiday-130637896--finance.html

george huguely whitney houston casket photo match play championship the national enquirer marie colvin cm punk cm punk

What Your Web Design Says About Your Business | SEOCIALISE

Monday, 21 January 2013 16:59 Last Updated on Monday, 21 January 2013 16:59 admin

Your web design is important if you want to reach some of the 79 percent of search engine users that will almost always click on normal, organic web links instead of those that are sponsored. In fact, 80 percent of users say they will actively avoid sponsored ads and links in favor of natural results. That means that your web design is going to matter, and that you are going to need the right search engine optimization to be incorporated into that design if you want to get the right results. Fortunately, it is possible for businesses to outsource SEO whenever they need to be sure that they have the competitive edge, but for those that provide it, Seo reseller plans are also available to make sure that clients are connected with the content that they need.

Seo reseller programs can help businesses to focus on social media and web design so that they can get the best results. 75 percent of those who perform a search on the internet find what they are looking for on the very first page, and will not go any further than that. A majority of users will also determine whether or not they are going to stay on a web page within the first six seconds of loading it. That means that you do not have a lot of time or opportunity to impress, but with the right online marketing and web design it may be possible to make that impression as soon as possible. If you want your company to be able to target the 93 percent of internet users who begin their day on the net by performing a search, then your search marketing is going to play a role in that.

With over $200 billion in sales in 2011, eCommerce is becoming a force to reckon with, and web design is helping businesses to achieve their sales figures and totals along the way. Your choice of social media resellers and hosting could play a large role as well, so be sure that your business is working with the right people for the job. Companies will respond to roughly 30 percent of their social media fans and their feedback, so focus counts. Choosing to focus on great web design and social media solutions could be the right call if you want your business to truly shine and stand up against the competition online.

Source: http://www.seocialise.com/2013/01/what-your-web-design-says-about-your-business/

mexico earthquake aziz ansari aziz ansari katherine jenkins peyton manning broncos mexico city earthquake stand your ground law

Alaska Bar Association to offer free legal services on MLK Day ...

The Alaska Bar Association along with the Alaska Court System and the Alaska Legal Services Corporation will host a free legal clinic on Monday in honor of the late Martin Luther King Jr. in Anchorage, Fairbanks and Juneau.

Free legal consultations and referrals in family law, landlord/tenant and public benefits will be available to the attendees on a first-come, first- served basis.?This is the Alaska Bar Association's fourth year hosting the MLK Day event.

?The Alaska Bar Association has followed the national lead of making this a 'day on, not a day off' as a powerful way of building community and providing service," Krista Scully, pro bono director of the Alaska Bar Association, said in press release.??

In Anchorage the event will be noon-6 p.m. at the Mountain View Boys & Girls Club, 315 Price St. In Fairbanks, it's 10 a.m.-4 p.m. at the Rabinowitz Courthouse, 101 Lacey St. ?In Juneau, the event will take place at two locations. The first, Aldersgate Methodist Church, 9161 Cinema Dr., runs 9 a.m.-noon. The second, at the Dimond Courthouse (123 Fourth St.) is 1-4 p.m.?

Visit The Alaska Bar Association for more information.

Source: http://www.alaskadispatch.com/article/alaska-bar-association-offer-free-legal-services-mlk-day

colorado rockies moonshine news channel 4 radar weather morosini death jacoby ellsbury jacoby ellsbury

60 SEO Tips For Business Owners - UK Business Forums

Mark Walters's Avatar

I'm just testing the water here.

...UK Business Forums Full Member...

?

Join Date: Nov 2012

Location: Birmingham

Posts: 44

Thanked 18 Times in 10 Posts

Post

60 SEO Tips For Business Owners


  1. SEO results aren?t instant. The results of SEO work done today might not become apparent, and might not be credited by search engines, for weeks, or even months.
  2. You don?t need to submit your website to search engines. They have evolved beyond the point of needing to be directly notified when a new website, or page on a website, is created.
  3. Set-up a Google+ page for your business. Doing so builds trust with Google and improves rankings for localised keywords.
  4. Diversify your traffic sources. Google is a great source of traffic but being 100% reliant on them for visitors puts you in a vulnerable position.
  5. Low quality equals high risk. Low quality backlinks and/or low quality on-site content can easily result in your site being penalised by search engines.
  6. Create content primarily for people, not search engines. There?s no point creating content that ranks well if it doesn?t help people, interest them, or persuade them to buy from you.
  7. Remove duplicate content. You can be penalised for having the same, or very similar, content on multiple pages of your site.
  8. Remove, merge or add to pages with little content on them. Having lots of content-light pages, with short page view times, can result in search engines downgrading all of your site?s keyword rankings.
  9. Claim authorship of your content. Linking your Google+ account to your content improves both rankings and click-through-rate.
  10. Ensure your content is good enough to be on the 1st page. If your content isn?t better than the content already on the 1st page for a keyword then your site doesn?t deserve to rank there.
  11. Make your content engaging for visitors. The more engaging it is, the longer people will stay on your site, and high viewing times signal to search engines that your site deserves good rankings.
  12. Create content to post on other websites and blogs. People are much more likely to link to you if you provide them with content to use on their site.
  13. Balance creating content with marketing content. If you create content without marketing it then people will struggle to find it, and if they can?t find it they can?t link to it or share it.
  14. Write a unique, descriptive title for every page. Within 65 characters you need to make the topic of a page clear to both humans and search engines.
  15. Write a unique, descriptive meta description for every page. Within 160 characters you need to describe the topic of a page in a way that persuades people to click on your site instead of the other sites listed in the search results.
  16. Research keywords before optimising for them. If you choose the wrong keywords, regardless of what you do for on-site and off-site SEO, you?ll get very few visitors and/or visitors who don?t convert into sales.
  17. Use Google?s Keyword Tool. It provides a good list of words and phrases related to the keyword ideas that you enter into it.
  18. Get keyword ideas from other people. They (customers, suppliers, partners, friends, etc.) see your business differently to you and may associate different words and phrases with it.
  19. Long-tail keywords are a great source of traffic. It?s quicker and cheaper to rank for longer, specific keyword phrases, and more than 40% of searches are comprised of four or more words.
  20. Dedicate 1 page of your website to each keyword that you?re targeting. Doing so makes it simpler for search engines to categorise and rank your pages.
  21. Add keywords in the right places. They?re less important than they used to be, but you should still include them in urls, page titles, meta descriptions, header tags and image alt tags.
  22. Avoid keyword stuffing. You?re much more likely to be penalised than credited if you use a keyword phrase repeatedly on a page.
  23. Backlinks affect rankings more than anything else. The number and quality of links pointing to your site will largely determine in what position your site ranks.
  24. Don?t set backlink targets. Link building should be a steady, consistent, on-going process, that doesn?t stop when you reach a certain number.
  25. Get backlinks from relevant sources. Search engines want to display relevant results for each keyword, and links from relevant pages/sites, are a strong signal to them that your site is relevant.
  26. Be prepared to work for backlinks. Generally, the more easily you can acquire a link, the less value it will likely have.
  27. Don?t pay people to link to your website. Not only is it risky, but it?s unnecessary too, as if you have good content and build good relationships then people will link to you for free.
  28. Diversify your backlink profile. Get different types of links from a wide range of IP addresses.
  29. Build backlinks to every page of your website that you want to rank. Get people to link to the inner-pages of your site ? the ones you want to rank for specific keywords ? as well as to the homepage.
  30. Existing relationships are an instant source of backlinks. Most of your suppliers, partners and customers will link to your site if you ask them to do so.
  31. Get the good backlinks that your competition already has. If someone has already linked to one your competitors then there?s a reasonable chance that they?ll link to you also if you give them a good reason to.
  32. Get some backlinks with your target keywords as the link text. This type of link is important, but should make up less than 25% of your backlink profile.
  33. A good percentage of your backlinks should be branded. A backlink profile without lots of branded links (like ?Company Name? and ?www.companyname.co.uk') signals to search engines that you?ve been using manipulative link building tactics.
  34. Sign up for Ahrefs, Majestic SEO or Open Site Explorer. Doing so gives you access to extensive backlink data for your site and also your competitors? sites.
  35. Every page of your website should be linked to from at least one other page. Search engines don?t include pages in their results that aren?t linked to either internally (from another page of the same site) or externally (from another site).
  36. Have direct links from your homepage to your most important pages. Doing so passes authority from the homepage to your important pages and improves the rankings of those pages.
  37. Add in-content links to other relevant pages on your website. Whilst not as valuable as external links, internal links do still pass authority and signal to search engines what pages to rank for which keywords.
  38. Link out to relevant websites and blogs. People generally notice if you link to them, and if you link to them, there?s a reasonable chance that they?ll link back to you if you have good site.
  39. Interact with bloggers in your industry. The better people with relevant blogs know you (through social sites, forums, email, etc.) the more likely they?ll be to link to your site and to share your content.
  40. Contact businesses with relevant websites. A good relationship, in which you help promote each others? sites, makes SEO simpler and cheaper for you and for them.
  41. Write press releases to share news and opinions. This is a good way to get content on, and links from, sites outside of your industry and circle of connections.
  42. Phone people to develop online relationships. Emails can easily be ignored or forgotten, but phone calls not so much.
  43. Use your website to build trust and relationships. The more relationships you have, and the more people trust you, the more people will talk about you, link to you, and, ultimately, buy from you.
  44. Add your address and phone number to every page of your website. This builds trust and improves rankings if you?re targeting keyword phrases that contain your town/city name.
  45. Get listed in industry and local directories. Most directories are worthless, however, there should be at least 10 that are relevant to your area or industry.
  46. Ask customers to leave reviews on Google+ and local directories. Positive reviews improve your rankings in Google?s local listings and can be accessed directly from the search results.
  47. Add social sharing buttons to your website. The easier you make it for people to share your content, the more likely they will be to do so.
  48. Social media isn?t a replacement for SEO. Your social strategy should be part of, or should run alongside, your SEO strategy.
  49. Search engines ranks webpages, not websites. Whether or not a page ranks for a particular keyword depends largely on the quality of that individual page, and not the quality of your site as a whole.
  50. Know where you?re ranking. Within Google Webmaster Tools, go to ?Traffic? and then ?Search Queries? to check where your site is ranking for keywords.
  51. Aim to be in the top 3, not just the top 10. If your site isn?t ranked in the top 3 positions for a keyword then you?ll only get a small percentage (less than 10%) of the traffic from searches for that keyword.
  52. Rankings can be misleading. The number of 1st page rankings you have is irrelevant if those rankings don?t convert to visitor numbers and, ultimately, sales.
  53. Don?t worry about PageRank. Sites with a low PR can, and often do, outrank sites with a high PR.
  54. Choose between using www or not using www. Ensure that your site is set to load at either www.domainname.co.uk or domainname.co.uk ? not both.
  55. Adopt a flat website architecture. Any page of your site should be accessible within 3 clicks from your homepage.
  56. Use a simple, clear URL structure. People should be able to guess the topic of a page by looking only at its URL.
  57. Use header tags. Include variations of your target keyword phrases in a page?s H1 and H2 tags.
  58. Optimise your images. Include a page?s target keyword phrase, or variations of it, in the file names and img alt tags of the images on that page.
  59. Optimise your website for mobile users. Your site needs to be clear and simple to use for people accessing it using smartphones and tablets.
  60. Maximise your website?s loading speed. Use Google?s site speed tool and implement the recommendations that they give you.


Last edited by Mark Walters; Today at 11:34.

The Following User Says Thank You to Mark Walters For This Useful Post:
eventdomain's Avatar

There are concerns over my Forum/Life balance.

UK Business Forums Free Member

?

Join Date: Apr 2009

Posts: 2,733

Thanked 310 Times in 276 Posts

Quote:

or low quality on-site content can easily result in your site being penalised by search engines.
Only with minimal content sites, that are putting 10 pages up to game the engines.

Quote:

People are much more likely to link to you if you provide them with content to use on their site.
Common method claimed by the desperate I'm afraid. Its a wonder many bother with it, as you're better off creating content for your own site.

Quote:

Generally, the more easily you can acquire a link, the less value it will likely have
Applies to those who can't be bothered to check out sites in-depth. But usually, translates into the link chaser/seeker doesn't own a site worthy to warrant any link trades.

Quote:

Don?t pay people to link to your website. Not only is it risky
Every site is a lead-generation model that either takes commissions or sells direct advertising. So it can't be that risky if the world is doing exactly that.

Quote:

there?s a reasonable chance that they?ll link to you
I dont think you can count on that these days, with many scrapping their link pages. Its only the resources that get away with link exchanges now, and even now I'd suggest its a v-limited activity, mainly as so many opt for direct advertising.

Quote:

Most directories are worthless, however, there should be at least 10 that are relevant to your area or industry.
How do you know their stats and traffic again?

The total amount of portals sites on the web runs in the thousands, BUT, they all want money ???? Forget pipe dreams about free links on those boys - I'd imagine they'd like to see any beggers and spammers eat dirt, and are happy to aid in that process by increasing their fees. Still, I guess it keeps the forums busy with all the talk.

Quote:

Don?t worry about PageRank. Sites with a low PR can, and often do, outrank sites with a high PR.
Very true! __________________
National Finalist for Virtual Business of the Year 2010

Regional Finalist for Online Biz of the Year 2010


Last edited by eventdomain; Today at 14:44.



Currently Active Users Viewing This Thread: 1 (0 members and 1 guests)
?

Posting Rules

You may not post new threads

You may not post replies

You may not post attachments

You may not edit your posts


HTML code is Off

All times are GMT. The time now is 20:37.


? AddThis Social Bookmark Button

Source: http://www.ukbusinessforums.co.uk/forums/showthread.php?t=284708

heartbreak hotel don cornelius whitney houston i will always love you breaking news whitney houston carmen whitney houston last performance cpac straw poll