AngloGold says illegal strike spreads in South Africa

JOHANNESBURG (Reuters) - An illegal strike spread through AngloGold Ashanti's South African operations on Wednesday, while Anglo American Platinum said it could start firing unlawful strikers on Thursday, as the country's miners grapple to rein in weeks of labor unrest.

A wave of wildcat action is roiling South Africa's mines despite the end of an illegal six-week stoppage at platinum producer Lonmin in which 46 people were killed and the price of the white metal was pushed higher.

Mining shares tanked in Johannesburg on Wednesday, with Amplats losing almost 4.5 percent after it said it has lost 20,000 ounces to the strike action since Sept 12, while AngloGold shares shed over 3 percent.

Most of AngloGold's 35,000 workers have joined the wildcat action that began last week at its Kopanang mine, spokesman Alan Fine said. The company is the world's No.3 bullion producer and South Africa accounted for about 32 percent of its global output of close to 2 million ounces of gold in the first half of 2012.

Illegal strike action has also gripped Gold Fields and the world's top platinum producer Amplats, a unit of global mining group Anglo American.

Amplats said in a statement that attendance at its four Rustenburg mines remained below 20 percent. It said it would take action against those who remained on strike on Thursday, including dismissals.

It has made such threats before but then extended the deadlines, perhaps mindful of the violence unleashed when rival Impala Platinum fired strikers in January.

Much of the platinum sector in South Africa has been battling with soaring costs and weak demand and Anglo American launched a review of its Amplats' operations months ago.

"Our Rustenburg mining operations are under considerable economic pressure and their future is already under review," Amplats' chief executive Chris Griffith said.

RED RAG

The steep 11 to 22 percent pay hikes extracted in the bloody standoff at Lonmin have been a red rag for others in an industry marked by glaring income and wage disparities.

ANC renegade Julius Malema, a populist who has backed the wildcat strikes and called for the nationalization of the country's mines, said he planned to address Implats' workers on Thursday to encourage them to press for higher wages.

"Tomorrow I'm going to a mine, Impala mine in Rustenburg. I'm going to encourage the workers to demand 12,500 (rand a month)," Malema said outside a court in the northern city of Polokwane where he was charged with money laundering.

Malema, the former head of the ruling ANC's Youth League who was ousted from the party for ill-discipline in April, is tapping into a swelling vein of anger among miners to revive his political career and campaign to unseat President Jacob Zuma.

Lesiba Seshoka, spokesman for the National Union of Mineworkers (NUM), said the AngloGold strikers wanted a minimum of 16,000 rand ($2,000) a month but the company said it had not received a formal wage demand yet.

If the demand is 16,000 rand it would represent a rise of as much as 400 percent on the basic wages of the lowest-paid workers in the sector. AngloGold and some of its rivals have two-year wage deals that are in place until the middle of 2013.

The NUM does not support the strikes but elsewhere demands have included the resignation of its leaders, a reflection of discontent among miners who regard the union as out of touch and too close to mine managers and the ANC government.

Gold Fields, the world's fourth largest producer, said on Tuesday workers had reneged on a deal NUM claimed to have sealed to end a two-week strike at its KDC West operation in South Africa and miners at its Beatrix mine had also downed tools.

?Illegal strikes erupted in the platinum sector in the form of a bloody turf war between the NUM and the more militant Association of Mineworkers and Construction Union (AMCU).

The strikes have now spread elsewhere but there is no evidence yet of AMCU involvement in the unrest.

(Additional reporting by Ed Cropley; Editing by Pravin Char)

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/anglogold-says-illegal-strike-spreads-south-africa-111417041--finance.html

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Isleworth Mona Lisa conjures new art world mystery

GENEVA (AP) ? The mystery behind the most enigmatic smile in art ? Leonardo da Vinci's "Mona Lisa" ? just got a little more complicated.

In a coming-out party of sorts in Geneva, rounds of flashbulbs popped Thursday as the nonprofit Mona Lisa Foundation pulled back the curtain to present what it claims is a predecessor of the world's most famous portrait.

But even the experts brought in by the foundation weren't sure about that claim just yet. The art world is prone to all sorts of rumors and speculation ? and, periodically ? discoveries that jolt accepted norms. Two years ago, a retired French electrician claimed that he had turned up 271 Picasso works that had been sitting for decades in his garage ? and Picasso's heirs claimed theft.

But a new claim about the world's most famous painting, which draws millions of visitors to Paris' Louvre Museum each year, resonates like a thunderclap in the art world. It also prompts a new look at a painting that all by itself still raises a lot of questions for experts ? not least the timeless "Is she smiling or not?"

The "Isleworth Mona Lisa" features a dark-haired young woman with her arms crossed against a distant backdrop. The foundation insists it's no copy but an earlier version of the Louvre masterpiece. At the presentation, Alessandro Vezzosi, director of the Museo Ideale Leonardo da Vinci, said the painting was intriguing but needs further study. He declined to line up behind the foundation's claims that it was truly a "Mona Lisa" predecessor painted by da Vinci.

Ever since the 16th century, several historical sources suggest that da Vinci painted two "Mona Lisa" versions. One was of Mona Lisa Gherardo around 1503 that was commissioned by her husband, Francesco del Giocondo, the foundation said. Another ? the one in the Louvre ? was completed in 1517 for Giuliano de Medici, da Vinci's patron. That theory fits with da Vinci's tendency at times to paint two versions of some of his works, like the Virgin of the Rocks, the group said.

Foundation members say it's unrealistic to think that the woman sat twice for a portrait, but that the meticulous, mathematical approach suggested that Da Vinci may have projected in his mind what she would have looked like between the first alleged "Mona Lisa" and the "Mona Lisa" in the Louvre.

However, the foundation acknowledged that the "Isleworth Mona Lisa" remains unfinished, and that da Vinci didn't paint all parts of the work. Still, the group pointed to newly discovered evidence in 2005 from Heidelberg, Germany, that suggested da Vinci was working on at least the head of such a painting in 1503.

The painting has been in headlines before, starting in the early 20th century. And it's not unknown to a foreign audience: It was shown in Japan last year before the foundation's research was finished.

Experts say Thursday's unveiling was designed to draw more attention and scrutiny from worldwide art experts about whether it's authentic: A start more than a finish. The Isleworth painting first came to public light after British art collector Hugh Blaker found it in the home of a nobleman in Somerset, England before World War I, said Robert Meyrick, head of the art school at Wales' Aberystwyth University.

Blaker bought the painting and took it to his private studio in Isleworth outside London. U.S. and British newspapers, meanwhile, speculated even then that it might be a da Vinci. But at that time only art experts ? not high-tech science tests like the ones conducted by the foundation ? could judge its possible bona fides.

During World War II, Blaker shipped the painting to Boston's Museum of Fine Arts for safekeeping, the foundation said. In 1962, it was bought by U.S. collector Henry Pulitzer. When he died in 1979, his reported mistress ? Elisabeth Meyer ? inherited it, but it remained in a Swiss bank vault.

After she died, an "international consortium" ? which the foundation declined to identify ? bought the painting in 2008, according to the group's chronology. The foundation was set up two years later, determined to try to show that it was a real da Vinci.

The Mona Lisa Foundation's members are more from the business world than the art world. Participating in Thursday's show was David Feldman, an Irish-born stamp auctioneer; his brother Stanley, an art historian who was the main author of an extensive book on the "Isleworth Mona Lisa"; and Markus Frey, a lawyer in Zurich who is the foundation's president.

The foundation and its backers paid "several million" to conduct research tests ? forensic analysis, carbon-dating and computerized regression analysis ? on the work, Feldman said. He wouldn't say how much the painting was bought for in 2008.

Carlo Pedrotti, one of the world's most eminent scholars on da Vinci, hailed the foundation's "extraordinary contribution to scholarship." In a letter to the foundation presented Thursday, Pedrotti called the group "precisely the sort of research institute, if not a veritable investigating agency ? an FBI for Leonardo studies! ? that I had always hoped for."

Martin Kemp, a da Vinci scholar and Oxford University professor, said he hadn't seen the painting but doubts that it is authentic. He cautioned that the foundation might have its judgment clouded by a possible payoff.

"If this were the original version of the most famous picture in the world, heaven knows what it would cost ? a lot of money," he told APTN in an interview at his home near Oxford. "You'd probably be on your way to 200 million pounds ($325 million) or to stratospheric realms."

"There are big, big stakes involved, and people become committed to it," he noted. Still, who wouldn't want to have their own "Mona Lisa?" "Having a Leonardo is a very sensational thing to have," Kemp admitted. "If I had a Leonardo, it would secure my fame forever."

Source: http://www.mail.com/int/entertainment/lifestyle/1591188-isleworth-mona-lisa-conjures-art-world-mystery.html

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Asian shares fall on wariness over Spain

TOKYO (Reuters) - Asian shares and commodities fell on Wednesday as protests in Spain underscored the country's financing challenges and investors refocused on slowing global growth as rallies, fed by major central bank easing measures, faded.

Flows were also driven by accounting calendar adjustments, with this week seeing the month-end, the end of the July-September quarter, and in Japan, the fiscal first half.

The MSCI index of Asia-Pacific shares outside Japan <.miapj0000pus> slid 0.8 percent to its lowest since September 14, giving back nearly all the gains made after markets across riskier assets cheered the U.S. Federal Reserve's aggressive new stimulus aimed at job creation in the U.S. economy.

The European Central Bank said earlier this month it would buy the bonds of struggling euro zone states if they requested aid, while the Bank of Japan followed the U.S. Federal Reserve example by increasing bond buying to help support the economy.

But market rallies have quickly been overtaken by concerns about deteriorating world economies.

The index's materials sector <.miapjmt00pus> led the declines with a 1.6 percent drop. U.S. crude fell 0.2 percent to $91.13 a barrel and Brent down 0.3 percent to $110.07. London copper shed 0.5 percent to $8,237.75 a metric ton.

Australian shares <.axjo> fell 0.4 percent, as concerns over the global economic recovery dampened China's demand for industrial metals, a major export sector for Australia.

"The reason that these packages have to be pursued is because the underlying level of industrial production and economic growth is very weak," said Ben Lyons, an investment analyst at ATI Asset Management.

China's central bank said on Tuesday it will "fine tune" policy to cushion the economy against global risks while closely watching the possible impact from global policy loosening.

China cut interest rates twice in June and July and lowered banks' reserve requirement ratio three times since late 2011, but has refrained from cutting interest rates or RRR since July.

Tokyo's Nikkei average <.n225> slipped 1.7 percent to a two-week low, as a mass of stocks passed the deadline for buyers to gain rights to first-half dividends. <.t/>

The falls follow an easing in global stocks and a drop in the euro to a near two-week low of $1.2886 on Tuesday. The CBOE Volatility index <.vix>, a gauge of expected volatility in the Standard & Poor's 500 index <.spx>, hit its highest in about two weeks on Tuesday, reflecting rising investor caution.

A further drop in Japanese stocks could fuel speculation about yen-weakening intervention by Japanese authorities to help shore up first-half book closing, keeping traders wary of testing the dollar's downside against the yen, said Yuji Saito, director of foreign exchange at Credit Agricole in Tokyo.

"Selling and buying forces both lack strong momentum, but the market is biased towards selling, with the euro capped by its own problems and the dollar top-heavy against the yen," he said.

The euro could slip briefly below 100 yen while heavy bids placed at 77.50 yen against the dollar may spur a blip above 78 yen, Saito said.

The yen traded at 77.72 yen, near a one-week high of 77.655 hit on Tuesday, and was at 100.30 against the euro. The euro steadied at $1.2905, but stayed pressured.

QE market reaction: http://link.reuters.com/pym62t

FED/ECB moves vs equities: http://link.reuters.com/cav57s

Asset returns in 2012: http://link.reuters.com/nyw85s

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EVENTFUL WEEK FOR SPAIN

Protests flared up in Spain on Tuesday ahead of the planned announcement of a new round of unpopular austerity measures for the 2013 budget on Thursday. Spain will also likely set a fresh timetable for economic reforms later this week.

Markets are closely watching Madrid's ability to control its finances, with ballooning regional debts crippling the government's refinancing efforts. The country is also subject to a ratings review by Moody's Investors Service.

Prime Minister Mariano Rajoy is holding back from seeking a sovereign bailout, which would set the stage for the ECB to start buying high-yielding Spanish bonds to ease the country's borrowing strains.

European news and economic data may provide daily trading incentives but markets will largely stick to recent ranges as investors are unwilling to bet on direction until the U.S. presidential election on November 6, said Goro Ohwada, president and CEO at Japan-based fund of hedge funds, Aino Investment Corp.

"Unless it becomes clear which camp is going to win, and unless there is a significantly bad news, nobody's going to take the risk of hastily bailing out of markets. Rather, they are trying to bring their positions close to neutral so they can move quickly after the election result," he said.

Asian credit markets weakened along with other markets, with the spread on the iTraxx Asia ex-Japan investment-grade index widening by 6 basis points.

(Additional reporting by Maggie Lu Yueyang in Canberra; Editing by Edwina Gibbs and Eric Meijer)

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/asian-shares-fall-wariness-over-spain-005357387--finance.html

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Introducing Fast Solutions In Click Cash Commissions

Reporter Kassandra K. P. Clinton ? If you are searching for a way to generate money online, you might very well be investigating beginning an affiliate work from home business. You?ve probably discovered names like ClickBank and Plimus as well as others and are generally thinking about for an online marketer for click cash commissions review. But if you possess any knowledge of internet marketing, it doesn?t matter what application you ultimately choose unless you know how to offer it.

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Pay for traffic contains things like banner ad campaigns, Pay per Click (PPC), classifieds, buying prospects. Free of charge solutions include Search engine optimization (search engine marketing), social websites, bum marketing, online video marketing. Without the right awareness and training, paid advertising can be extremely expensive and the free of charge advertising and marketing procedures can be be extremely frustrating. In order to generate a sizeable enough revenue, you have to gain some education. That is why you need to pick a enterprise which offers a thorough internet marketing instruction platform which allows one to learn from a lot of the major online marketing experts who happen to be there and tried it. You?ve got to be in the position to gain top-level coaching on pretty much everything related online marketing by way of a variety of mediums like are living webinars, conference calls and are living occasions. Primarily if you can learn how to industry everything, to anybody all over the world, you happen to be onto a victor.

Source: http://product-liability-lawsuits.net/?p=7381

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Now Is The Time For Self Improvement With These Great Ideas ...

Being honest with yourself and acknowledging that you need work is a huge step forward. Take these ideas, and use them as a starting point for your efforts.

Never take on more than you can handle when you are attempting to achieve your goal. While exerting your best effort is admirable, recognize when you have reached your limit. You should take care of yourself when you are working towards a goal. If you were to sacrifice your body in pursuit of improving yourself, it would be counter-productive to your needs.

TIP! You have to provide care for yourself before you can properly care for other people. Whatever point you may be at on your journey, it is important to properly care for yourself.

Demonstrating selfless behavior shows remarkable progress in any self improvement program. Being able to sacrifice for others, and feeling joy in their happiness, develops your character. If you are able to sacrifice for others, you will begin to become the person you want to be.

Aim to make each day better than its predecessor. Discover innovative ways to increase your character development. Focus on a specific task that you want to do better today than yesterday.

An excellent method of helping you with your anxiety is going to the movies with a friend. You will be out and about but not have to socialize as much. In addition, this can give you the opportunity to become comfortable in crowded rooms.

TIP! Moving toward your goal and meeting your personal needs demands that you do one specific thing to be successful. Choose to take real action, everyday, towards your goals and dreams, instead of just watching others from the sidelines.

You should always strive to be the best in your area. That passion of yours can put you on the road to success. You can?t be the best at everything, but you can inspire people in the same field as you. Do what you can to improve yourself in your work, and you should feel more confident.

Love is the key to motivation and faith. Without love, you can?t have faith. Don?t be idle in your faith, continue to work on it. Do something nice for someone else, or for your community. Love yourself, love others, and let your faith mean something.

Begin a special savings for emergencies. It is not good to pile up credit card bills when an unexpected emergency pops up. This makes you even less capable of dealing with an emergency in the future. Putting a few dollars a week into an emergency fund will add up over time. That fund will be helpful now and later, especially as your debt decreases.

TIP! Conduct yourself with wisdom and modesty as you go through life. Look for opportunities to learn something new every day, and always be willing to admit when you simply cannot change something.

You should make self improvement goals as defined as possible with specific ways to achieve them. If there are specific goals present, it will be easier to figure out the path that you should take to meet them. By meeting challenges, experiencing success will shortly follow.

A great organizational system can help you track your progress. Setting up a sequence of small steps needed to reach your goal will make its achievement easier. Ten small steps are an easier path than three giant ones. Keep track of your progress via a planner or use a journal just for your goals in self improvement.

A positive attitude is key to personal growth. A negative attitude won?t help you advance in life and may actually lead you down the wrong path. Instead, stay positive and tell yourself that having a good attitude will help you achieve your goals.

TIP! Strive to make each day a bit better than the previous one. Try to improve yourself constantly.

You need a good mentor or coach if you expect to be a champion. All champions have great coaches and mentors, and it is important to have them. Everyone should be able to help others find the way. In the absence of mentors, it would be difficult for individuals to reach their full potential. Behind every successful story, there?s a great mentor.

Become a more well-rounded person by developing your leadership qualities. Leadership has many definitions, but many people think of it as ?influence.? Evaluate your leadership skills honestly. What events have impacted you the most in your life? In what ways have you changed due to these events? What skills would you contribute to a group? When you can answer those questions, you?ll know how to be part of a team.

One essential method of improving yourself is to get healthy. A healthy lifestyle includes working out and watching what kind of food you eat, and you must be able to acquire the characteristic of being able to remain motivated to do it. When you put your health first, you are going to feel better in all areas of your life.

TIP! Take a notebook around with you to jot ideas in. You could for instance carry a small notebook with you, or use an app on your phone.

Taking some moderate risks could be the key to your happiness! Many people do not like to take chances because they don?t want to feel like a failure, so they would rather stay cemented in their comfort zone, which often leads to an unfulfilled life. Taking some chances is a key component of happiness. It demonstrates courage and a lust for life.

A common problem for people seeking self improvement, is having a goal that is overly vague or difficult to pin down. Make sure that your goals are very specific. If you create a clear goal, you will achieve the results you want.

Learn how not to worry. When you worry, you create a made-up situation inside of your mind that hasn?t yet happened, and in all likelihood, probably never will. Rather than worrying, think about the worst thing that could happen and make a plan that you can put into motion if that occurs. Then, you are prepared to handle whatever gets thrown your way. Excessive worrying solves nothing.

TIP! Try talking to the pastor at your church, or a therapist; it can help. These professionals are equipped to discuss very deep, emotional issues and often have many years of experience.

When working on your self improvement, you need to value yourself and what is best for your life. You need to understand what you are best at and incorporate that activity into your life plan.

Praise others, flatter them, and show your appreciation. Instead, do the exact opposite and treat others with kindness and respect. This kindness will make you feel better and help you to treat yourself nicely as well.

Strengthening your faith and expressing love are two great personal development goals. Without love, it?s impossible to have faith. Make it a priority to activate faith in your life. Faith and love can lead you to help those in need, and believe in people when they need it most, especially yourself.

TIP! Self-discipline is a key characteristic of any successful personal development plan. Make sure you exhibit self control over what you most desire.

Be ready to write down ideas wherever you are. Use a notepad app on your phone or even carry a real notepad with you. If an idea grabs you while you are on the subway, write it down, then do something about it when inspiration strikes.

Give these strategies a try and take notes on changes in your thoughts or feelings. Remember to take a break from everything once in a while

It is so important to know what you want out of life when you are involved in personal development. Long-term goals are very helpful, and they can have a huge impact on how you view the world.

Source: http://www.projectpb.net/blog/index.php/personal_development/now-is-the-time-for-self-improvement-with-these-great-ideas/

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'Today' producer angry about Lauer stories

FILE - This April 24, 2012 file photo shows NBC "Today" show co-host Matt Lauer attending the TIME 100 gala, celebrating the 100 most influential people in the world, at the Frederick P. Rose Hall in New York. The "Today" show's top producer is speaking out against stories portraying anchor Matt Lauer as being difficult to work with during the show's slide in the ratings. Executive Producer Jim Bell said Wednesday that Lauer is the heart and soul of NBC's morning news show and that negative stories about him have been hard to deal with. "Today" has slipped behind ABC's "Good Morning America" in the ratings recently, particularly since Lauer's former co-host, Ann Curry, was replaced by Savannah Guthrie. That's led to a wave of bad publicity, much of it focused on Lauer. (AP Photo/Evan Agostini, file)

FILE - This April 24, 2012 file photo shows NBC "Today" show co-host Matt Lauer attending the TIME 100 gala, celebrating the 100 most influential people in the world, at the Frederick P. Rose Hall in New York. The "Today" show's top producer is speaking out against stories portraying anchor Matt Lauer as being difficult to work with during the show's slide in the ratings. Executive Producer Jim Bell said Wednesday that Lauer is the heart and soul of NBC's morning news show and that negative stories about him have been hard to deal with. "Today" has slipped behind ABC's "Good Morning America" in the ratings recently, particularly since Lauer's former co-host, Ann Curry, was replaced by Savannah Guthrie. That's led to a wave of bad publicity, much of it focused on Lauer. (AP Photo/Evan Agostini, file)

FILE - This April 24, 2012 file photo shows NBC "Today" show co-host Matt Lauer attending the TIME 100 gala, celebrating the 100 most influential people in the world, at the Frederick P. Rose Hall in New York. The "Today" show's top producer is speaking out against stories portraying anchor Matt Lauer as being difficult to work with during the show's slide in the ratings. Executive Producer Jim Bell said Wednesday that Lauer is the heart and soul of NBC's morning news show and that negative stories about him have been hard to deal with. "Today" has slipped behind ABC's "Good Morning America" in the ratings recently, particularly since Lauer's former co-host, Ann Curry, was replaced by Savannah Guthrie. That's led to a wave of bad publicity, much of it focused on Lauer. (AP Photo/Evan Agostini, file)

NEW YORK (AP) ? The "Today" show's top producer on Wednesday defended Matt Lauer against stories that have portrayed the anchor as difficult to deal with during the show's slide in the ratings.

The longtime morning champ has slipped behind ABC's "Good Morning America" in the ratings over recent months, after more than 15 years of being the unquestioned leader in the morning. The new ratings order has solidified since Ann Curry's tearful exit as Lauer's co-host in June.

"Matt has been the heart and soul of the show for a long, long time, and any of the stuff out that has portrayed him in an unflattering light as being difficult to work with is patently false and it's been tough to deal with," said Jim Bell, "Today" executive producer.

One tabloid report last week described Lauer as an "anchor animal" who berates the staff and inserts himself into show decisions, which Bell described as "patently false." He also denied an online report that Lauer would be asked to take a pay cut if the show's ratings don't improve. "Today" has also consistently shot down stories that Lauer played a behind-the-scenes role in Savannah Guthrie's replacement of Curry.

Asked if viewers were taking Curry's dismissal out on "Today," Bell said that "it's more complex than that."

"Any time there is a change, especially in the morning, it takes a while for people to process that change and we're still going through that," Bell said. "That's OK. We understand. We get it. We love our team and we really feel positive about the show we are doing and we are taking the long view here."

"Today" has actually taken pride in seamless anchor transitions in the past, such as when Meredith Vieira replaced Katie Couric, Curry replaced Vieira and Lauer took over for Bryant Gumbel. This one hasn't worked, at least for now.

Bell denied reports that he would leave "Today" for another job at NBC, saying "this is the best job in the world."

After a 17-year winning streak in the ratings, "GMA" overtook "Today" during a couple of weeks last spring. With the exception of two weeks when "Today" broadcast from the London Olympics, the ABC show has won consistently since Curry's dismissal, by margins as much as 800,000 viewers.

"GMA" has succeeded with a lighter, more pop culture-oriented show. Its on-air team of George Stephanopoulos, Robin Roberts, Josh Elliott and Lara Spencer has clicked during NBC's turmoil. "Today" has long been a huge cash cow for NBC, and a permanent change in the morning's pecking order would have big financial implications.

"For a long time, they tried to do a version of the 'Today' show," Bell said of ABC. "It didn't work well, so they have tried to do a different show. We are different shows right now. Despite however that might be working in the short term, for our show, it's in our best interests to be who we are and not try to do what someone else is doing."

Asked for comment, ABC spokesman Jeffrey Schneider said: "I think the audience has spoken loud and clear about its preference in the morning."

He said "Today," which featured a Curry interview with Libyan President Mohammed Magarief on Wednesday, will be making its differences with "Good Morning America" more apparent in coming months.

"While we recognize in the short term we're going through a difficult period, we're not going to compound it by suddenly doing a different show from the one we all feel good about, which is a smart show, a relevant show and an important show to do," he said.

Associated Press

Source: http://hosted2.ap.org/APDEFAULT/4e67281c3f754d0696fbfdee0f3f1469/Article_2012-09-26-TV-Today-Lauer/id-e473527fbcff4dd48d5992546b62a423

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Health care, jobs, taxes, top topics for Senate District 22 race

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Source: http://theleafchronicle.com/article/20120923/NEWS01/309230018/1014/RSS05

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Holiday Road

There are few things that get my boys more fired up than the string of upcoming holidays. Thanks to Clark Griswold and the miracle of You Tube, our household has now joined the ranks of competitive decorators (admit it: you are singing that ?Holiday Ro-oh-oh-oh-oh-oh-oh-oh-oh-oad? song in your head now. It?s ok.)

But we love us some holiday decorations. Particularly of the exterior variety.

Especially for Halloween.

Call us crazy; it certainly fits the bill.

I grew up in a house that might have had a pumpkin for Halloween. A pumpkin?as in singular. And then we had a Christmas tree and stockings on our mantel. Wham-bam! Decorations complete. I had no siblings to assist me in the argument for more things to strew around the house.

Instead, my dad and uncles would load up my cousins and me around Christmas Eve, and we?d ride wa-a-ay out into the country to see the one nutty family who had successfully Griswold-ed their house and yard. They weren?t just partial to Christmas either; this house covered all the bases with its blow-up menorah and an inflatable Grinch. You could almost see their power meter spinning. It was so awful, it was good.

My husband grew up in a household with similar views towards holiday-themed decorating, though my mother-in-law does have a small stash of fantastic knick-knacks like palm-sized snowglobes and reindeer music boxes. One by one, as our sons came along, they fell in love with Grandma?s red felted Santa and her stuffed snowmen from Hallmark.

Seeing their sheer fascination with these little items melted our hearts. I remember my husband telling me on our flight home from our first Christmastime visit to his parents with our first baby in tow, ?I can?t wait until we get to decorate for Christmas. Our house is going to rock.?

And rock it does, my friends.

We are suckers for holiday decor. I should just drop the Pottery Barn fall catalogs straight into the recycling bin instead of flipping through them. They are such teases, aren?t they? Those adorable bright orange table runners appliqued with ghosts and witches and the matching chair backers? Fancy up your breakfast table with that, and you?re guaranteed to have a ketchup covered mess within an hour. Maybe that can work to your advantage if you explain to any guests that it?s actually blood. Extra spooky.

Thanksgiving typically gets the short-shrift on decor, but not at our house. (Of course, this could have a little something to do with the fact that my husband?s alma mater, Virginia Tech, has a turkey as its mascot.) I took a trip up to Paper Affair a few years ago and returned with 3 ceramic turkeys the size of pumpkins. (You know you?re jealous; just admit it.) These guys are our stars of November. They perch up on our mantel, just asking for someone to make a comment. And comment they do, because who in their right mind has such ridiculousness in prominent display?

Um, that would be us.

We?d be sad to see our gobbler friends go back to their boxy nest in the basement if it weren?t for the fact that the Mother-of-All-Decorative-Holidays comes right after Turkey Day. It takes us several days to fully Christmas up our house. You know you are serious about your decorations when your husband excitedly takes his yearly pilgrimage to Home Depot to get more staples for the staple gun. Just call him Clark.

All of this mayhem begins, of course, with Halloween. My sons love Halloween. They start talking about it when the first Halloween costume catalog arrives?typically around mid-August. My husband tried to set a family rule that no Halloween stuff can come up from the basement until September 15th. Nice try, Honey. We put out our pumpkin-y type stuff out on September 1st because we just cannot stand it any longer. The boys and I have brilliantly renamed this cache of pre-Halloween junk ?Harvest decor?. Hah! Take that, Family Rules.

There are typically 2 camps of decorators: the normal folks and the all-in folks, like us (some of whom are currently downloading Lego designs for bats and pumpkins). But ask yourself this: how happy does it make your kids to see those incredibly decorated houses? Do they ask to drive by the house blanketed in glittering colored lights each year? Do they have jack-o-lantern envy of the neighbors who line their front stoop with perfectly carved pumpkins? Would they use their tooth fairy money to buy a giant inflatable turkey for your front yard?

When dealing with little kids, of course, the answer is yes-yes-yes. More usually equates to better for them, especially in the case of decorations. Have you ever let your child put the birthday candles on anyone?s cake? Total fire hazard.

And then think of this: you only have a few years where you get the honor of doing this, of reliving your own childhood through crazy decorations, of embracing the frenzy of energy that comes with the fall and the anticipation of all its celebrations. It?s way more fun to experience the holidays with little ones; they see holidays?all of them?as times of magic.

Our family has 14 years until our nest will be completely empty, only 10 years until our oldest leaves home. That?s only 14 more Halloweens to celebrate with at least one of our children living in the house with us. Only 14 more Decembers with a son at home each night to see the light-up reindeer fall over because his twisting head mechanism still doesn?t work right.

Fourteen is not a lot, people. Ten is even less. Now that?s scary.

So we?re off to stake the neon green inflatable skull in our front yard. Halloween?s only 36 days away, you know. And we?re going to be ready for it.

How about you?

Laura Bedingfield Herakovich hopes this post has opened the floodgates for all you Halloween lovers out there. Don?t be shy, folks. Someone has to be the first in the neighborhood to break out the ghouls.

?

Source: http://www.mamasagainstdrama.com/2012/09/holiday-road/

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Top Five Discounts in Auto Insurance You can Benefit from ...

Finding affordable car insurance is not easy these days that?s why consumers are looking for discounts when it comes to getting insurance whatever kind of insurance it may be. Although most people would say that it is difficult to land on a cheap or affordable insurance policy nowadays, there are ways to do so.

If you want to save on your auto insurance, you should take a look at the top 5 discounts given by auto insurance companies.

Multiple Vehicles Insured

According to experts, experienced drivers usually enjoy very low insurance premiums on their cars and drivers who have more than one car are qualified for multiple vehicle discounts. This gets better if you have a good credit score too.

Combined Policies

Experienced drivers who have home insurance or rental policy from an insurer can easily get a discount on other policies if they are loyal to one company or insurer.

Student Driver

If you already have a policy and would like to get your student driver insured, you will easily get a auto insurance policy at real competitive prices. The reason why rates of such policies drop significantly at a certain point is because your kids won?t be using the car while they are away in college and only use them when they are at home. This means that the lesser the mileage, it is more unlikely to get into accidents.

Vehicle Safety

If you are getting a new insurance policy on your vehicle, make sure that you mention all the safety features of the particular vehicle or the vehicles you would like to insure. This includes items such as anti-lock brakes, automatic seat belts, and airbags.

Your Anti-Theft Security

To get more discounts from your insurer you can also mention your anti-theft devices. This includes your car?s ignition cut-off system, your fuel cut-off system as well as window etching. All these things will qualify you for an additional discount on your policy.

Experienced drivers usually get all of these discounts so be sure to be one of these drivers to ensure that you get the most out of your hard-earned money.

Both comments and pings are currently closed.

Source: http://www.amahoro-onlus.org/769-top-five-discounts-in-auto-insurance-you-can-benefit-from.html

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Web Design and Development Firm, Bayshore Solutions - PressRoom

PRLog (Press Release) ? Sep 20, 2012 ?
TAMPA, FL and DENVER, CO, September, 2012 ? Bayshore Solutions has been recognized as a 2012 Florida Company to Watch, an honor presented by the Florida Economic Gardening Institute (GrowFL) at the University of Central Florida. ?The award-winning web design, web development and ?interactive marketing company ?was selected to join an elite group of nationally recognized companies as part of Florida Companies to Watch for 2012.

Florida Companies to WatchSM is an awards program that celebrates privately held second-stage companies headquartered in the state of Florida. Awardees are selected for demonstrating the intent and capacity to grow based on employee or sales growth, exceptional entrepreneurial leadership, sustainable competitive advantage, outstanding corporate culture, inspired community giving and other notable strengths.

?We are especially proud of second-stage companies such as yours; not only do you form the backbone of Florida?s burgeoning economy, you are the creators of ground-breaking innovations and provide inspiration for your employees and communities,? said Tom O?Neal, Executive Director of Grow FL and Associate Vice President for Research & Communications at the University of Central Florida.

?Bayshore Solutions is thrilled to be nationally recognized as part of the 2012 Florida Companies to Watch,? said Kevin Hourigan, President and CEO of Bayshore Solutions. ? ?We strive to combine technology and marketing expertise to measurably grow our customers? businesses and achieving this recognition highlights that driving success for our customers is key to our own success.?

Fifty companies from across the state of Florida will receive their recognition at an awards gala on Friday, October 19 at the Rosen Shingle Creek Resort in Orlando, Florida.

To find out more about Bayshore Solutions? Florida Companies to Watch selection, visit: http://www.bayshoresolutions.com/portfolio-home/bayshore-?.

To view more Bayshore Solutions? industry achievements, visit: ?http://www.bayshoresolutions.com/portfolio-home/bayshore-?.

About Bayshore Solutions
Interactive marketing agency Bayshore Solutions, offers award-winning capabilities in custom web design, website development, e-commerce and Internet marketing. Founded in 1996, the web site design company has delivered custom web applications and interactive marketing services throughout the USA and internationally. Headquartered in Tampa, the firm has a web development and Internet marketing delivery team located in its Denver, Colorado office and physical offices accessible to Orlando, Miami, Fort Lauderdale, Dade County and Broward County in Florida. Bayshore Solutions integrates technology and Internet marketing services to ensure measurable results for clients. For more information about Web site design and Internet marketing services visit http://www.BayshoreSolutions.com.

Source: http://pr.techneologism.com/2012/09/24/web-design-and-development-firm-bayshore-solutions-recognized-among-2012-florida-companies-to-watch/

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Baseball: Red Sox 2013 roster has lots of flexibility

Thanks to their unspeakably bad season, the Red Sox find themselves in a position to almost entirely reconstruct their roster for 2013 and beyond.

They will head into next year obligated to pay only manager Bobby Valentine and five of his players ? John Lackey, Dustin Pedroia, Jon Lester, Clay Buchholz and Jose Iglesias.

There?s not much Boston can do with Lackey except let him pitch and hope he does better than Daisuke Matsuzaka did in his return from Tommy John surgery, and who knows if the Sox will retain Valentine or not? Otherwise, Pedroia, Lester, Buchholz and Iglesias appear to be worth the money.

That leaves the Sox with lots of flexibility in who to keep and who to let go from the current crop, although players like Cody Ross and David Ortiz are free agents and can go their own ways if they wish. Some recommendations:

Keepers...
Ross, Andrew Miller, Ortiz, Jarrod Saltalamacchia, Andrew Bailey, Franklin Morales, Scott Atchison, Chris Carpenter, Rich Hill, Ryan Kalish, Clayton Mortensen, Ryan Lavarnway, Felix Doubront, Junichi Tazawa, Will Middlebrooks, Pedro Ciriaco, Jacoby Ellsbury.

Ross is arguably Boston?s MVP this season and seems like a player who will have better numbers playing half his games at Fenway Park than he will with any other franchise. He knows that, too. Ortiz?s absence hurt the Sox this season, but it also probably reduced his value on the free-agent market, which should work in Boston?s favor. He should be given every chance to end his career in a Red Sox uniform.

They need two catchers and know that Saltalamacchia is acceptable, while Lavarnway is showing signs of being able to hit ? finally. Middlebrooks is a potential All-Star, Kalish deserves to be evaluated as a healthy player, and Ciriaco is worth keeping if only because the Sox play the Yankees 19 times next year.

Bullpen parts are generally interchangeable, but Miller and Hill are two proven lefties. Mortensen has shown enough to rate a spot for 2013. Atchison has been dependable and refused to take the easy way out and have Tommy John surgery. Carpenter is promising as a mid-innings guy.

Tazawa has been consistently good, but his ERA is a bit deceptive, since he has allowed too many inherited runners to score. In clean-inning situations, Tazawa has been terrific, which makes you wonder if he could close. Bailey is probably good enough to stay in that role, but his meltdown at Tampa Bay Thursday was disturbing.

Ellsbury has a year left before free agency in 2014, so chances are he will be very motivated to make 2013 a good year. Ability has never been an issue with Ellsbury, but consistency has. Maybe next year can be an MVP season for him.

Let ?em go...
Ryan Sweeney, Matsuzaka, James Loney, Scott Podsednik, Craig Breslow, Aaron Cook, Mark Melancon, Vicente Padilla, Daniel Nava, Alfredo Aceves.

Sweeney and Loney fall into the same category ? left-handed hitters who will never be that effective with Fenway Park as their home stadium. Matsuzaka ? there should be a ceremony when he makes his final appearance in a Boston uniform. Podsednik and Nava are fourth outfielders who filled holes this season, but look worse the more at-bats they get. There are a hundred Breslows in the world, and if both Miller and Hill are healthy, the Sox don?t need one.

Cook is 4-10, Melancon?s ERA is 6.64, and Padilla is superfluous. Aceves has worn out his welcome here, as he did in New York, and may have worn out his welcome in the major leagues, period. He did some good things in two years and was never on the DL, which is something in the Red Sox organization, but for all that, he is 2-10 with a 5.31 ERA and eight blown saves this season.

On the fence...
Mike Aviles, Daniel Bard, Mauro Gomez.

Aviles is such a likable and versatile player, it?s hard not to bring him back, but if you keep Ciriaco and Iglesias, where does he play? For all his fine qualities, Aviles is a .250 hitter and average defensive player.

It would seem that Bard needs a change of scenery, which would be dangerous for the Sox since he?s liable to come back with a new team and exorcise his mental demons. Still, his career record is 10-19, and it?s not all bad luck.

Gomez could be better than Loney offensively, although certainly not defensively. The Sox can always use right-handed pop, and as good as Adrian Gonzalez was with the glove, it was good riddance when he was traded.

Baseball Jeopardy
Answers:

1. The last pitcher to beat the Red Sox six times in the same year.

2. The two major league managers active today who also were managing in 1985.

3. The last season the Red Sox had two teenagers on the team at the same time.

Questions below.

Honorable, but complicated
Melky Cabrera?s request to have any potential National League batting title vacated seems like an honorable thing, but it?s also a complicated thing.

Conceding that the batting championship would be tainted is also a concession that any games the Giants won with Cabrera playing are tainted.

Should San Francisco vacate those victories, too? And should any player with a positive PED test vacate any awards he won during the time frame of his usage?

Yes or no ? the policy should be consistent.

Maybe Cabrera will turn into the Rosa Parks of baseball statistics, changing the way things are done by what seems like a single, solitary, isolated act. What would be next ? players calling themselves out on strikes on a close pitch the plate umpire thinks missed the strike zone?

Catching up with?
The Red Sox unloaded 13 players during the course of the season. How all did, or are doing, since being traded or released:

Kevin Youkilis has turned into Jarrod Saltalamacchia with the White Sox, who like his contributions to their playoff drive very much. He is hitting just .226 in 70 games for Chicago, but that includes 15 homers and 45 RBIs. Youkilis has only four home runs since Aug. 22, though.

Lars Anderson played in 18 games for Triple-A Columbus and hit .196 with no homers before being beaned and sitting out the rest of the year. Marlon Byrd was suspended for 50 games for using PEDs and almost certainly will never play again. The popular Darnell McDonald played 31 games for the Yankees? Triple-A team, Wilkes-Barre, and hit just .194 with three home runs.

The Dodgers Trio ? Josh Beckett, Adrian Gonzalez and Nick Punto ? have not done much. In fact, it may be that L.A. made that deal to get Punto, who is hitting .263. Gonzalez is hitting a mere .243 with one home run, and Beckett is 1-2 with a 3.45 ERA; the Dodgers are 2-3 in his five starts.

Matt Albers has done very well for the Diamondbacks, essentially continuing the first half he put together in Boston. That?s a big change from last year when he flopped in the final two months. Albers is 0-1 with a 2.70 ERA in 18 games for Arizona.

Kelly Shoppach is the same player with the Mets that he was with the Sox. He is hitting .230 with three homers and 23 strikeouts in 59 at-bats. Justin Thomas ? remember him? ? spent most of the year with McDonald at Wilkes-Barre and got a September call-up to the Yankees. Thomas was serviceable at Triple A, going 2-1 with a 3.45 ERA in 57-1/3 innings.

Michael Bowden has had a good season with the Cubs, both in Triple A and the majors. Since being called up to Chicago in the middle of last month, Bowden has a 1.71 ERA in 21 innings.

Bowden?s teammate, Justin Germano, who left the Sox after one outing that went 5-2/3 shutout innings, has not done so well with the Cubs. He is 2-10 with a 6.17 ERA in 11 appearances. Brent Lillibridge is hitting .217 with three homers and eight RBIs for the Indians, but was .333 with one homer and two RBIs in a three-game series against the Sox.

Jeopardy questions
1. Who is Dave Stewart? The Oakland right-hander beat Boston six times in 1990 ? four times in the regular season and twice in the ALCS.

2. Who are Davey Johnson and Bobby Valentine? Johnson was the Mets manager in ?85, while Valentine took over the Rangers from Doug Rader early in that season.

3. What is 1964? When that season ended, Boston had Tony Conigliaro and Tony Horton ? both 19 years old ? on the roster.

Bill Ballou can be contacted at wballou@telegram.com

Source: http://www.telegram.com/article/20120923/COLUMN35/109239894/1118/RSS01&source=rss

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UN envoy: Syria war is threatening the region

Lakhdar Brahimi, joint special representative for Syria, arrives at closed door consultations regarding the situation in Syria at the Security Council at United Nations headquarters Monday, Sept. 24, 2012. (AP Photo/David Karp)

Lakhdar Brahimi, joint special representative for Syria, arrives at closed door consultations regarding the situation in Syria at the Security Council at United Nations headquarters Monday, Sept. 24, 2012. (AP Photo/David Karp)

Iran's President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad addresses the high level meeting on rule of law in the United Nations General Assembly at U.N. headquarters Monday, Sept. 24, 2012. (AP Photo/Richard Drew)

Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad waves as he approaches the podium during a high level meeting in the United Nations General Assembly at U.N. headquarters Monday, Sept. 24, 2012. (AP Photo/Seth Wenig)

Iran's President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad addresses the high level meeting on rule of law in the United Nations General Assembly at U.N. headquarters Monday, Sept. 24, 2012. (AP Photo/Richard Drew)

Lakhdar Brahimi, center, joint special representative for Syria, arrives at closed door consultations regarding the situation in Syria at the Security Council at United Nations headquarters Monday, Sept. 24, 2012. (AP Photo/David Karp)

UNITED NATIONS (AP) ? Syria's civil war is worsening and there is no prospect of a quick end to the violence, international envoy Lakhdar Brahimi said Monday in a gloomy assessment to the U.N. Security Council.

The new envoy leavened his message, however, saying he was crafting a new plan that he hoped could break the impasse, but refused to give details or say when it would be ready.

Despite President Bashar Assad's refusal to end his family's 40-year grip on power, some tentative hope of a solution remained, Brahimi said in his first briefing to the council since he took over from Kofi Annan on Sept. 1 as the U.N.-Arab League special representative for Syria

"I think there is no disagreement anywhere that the situation in Syria is extremely bad and getting worse, that it is a threat to the region and a threat to peace and security in the world," Brahimi told reporters after the closed-door talks.

Activists claim nearly 30,000 people have died in the uprising which began in March 2011, including in attacks Monday by Syrian warplanes in the northern city of Aleppo.

Brahimi had just returned from Syria and refugee camps in Jordan and Turkey. His gloomy report of a looming food crisis, battle-damaged schools and shuttered factories, contradicted his insistence that he saw grounds for optimism, including "some signs" that the divided Syrian opposition may be moving toward unity. That is key for any political negotiations Brahimi would oversee.

"I refuse to believe that reasonable people do not see that you cannot go backward, that you cannot go back to the Syria of the past. I told everybody in Damascus and everywhere that reform is not enough anymore, what is needed is change," said Brahimi, who has met with Assad and other regime officials in Damascus.

"Paradoxically, now that I have found out a little more about what is happening in the country and the region, I think that we will find an opening in the not too distant future," Brahimi said.

Brahimi said he wanted to hold further discussions before disclosing precisely what action he plans to propose. "I do not have a full plan for the moment, but I do have a few ideas," he said.

According to a diplomat inside the council's private briefing, who demanded anonymity because he was not authorized to publicly to reveal details, Brahimi was also reluctant to discuss the proposals with the Security Council. "He kept his cards very close to his chest," he said.

In the private talks, Brahimi urged Security Council members to overcome the diplomatic deadlock which has paralyzed their ability to help end the crisis.

The Security Council is the only U.N. body that can impose global sanctions and authorize military action. Russia, Syria's key protector, and China have vetoed three Western-backed resolutions aimed at pressuring Assad to halt the violence and open talks with his opponents on a transition of power.

"If I do not represent the entire council, I am nothing. I need to be seen to represent a united council and a united League of Arab States," Brahimi told reporters.

Brahimi told the council that he believed Assad's goal was to return the country to "the old Syria," in which he and his father had ruled as dictators for four decades, the diplomat said.

He said Brahimi claimed Assad's intention was to portray the uprising as fueled by outside nations in a bid to discredit his internal opponents.

The envoy told the meeting that food shortages are likely in Syria because of a poor harvest and citizens fear seeking hospital treatment when injured. Brahimi said about 2,000 schools had been damaged and others used as shelter by those who had lost their homes. Many factories and pharmaceutical laboratories were destroyed or falling into disrepair, according to the diplomat.

Despite a call from Germany's Foreign Minister Guido Westerwelle to maintain backing for Annan's six-point peace plan, which starts with a cease-fire and ends with a political transition, Brahimi said only that the ideas would remain "elements in my toolbox."

Brahimi said it wasn't yet clear how his new proposals might incorporate Annan's plan and a June declaration by world leaders in Geneva backing the peace process.

Annan's plan never took hold and was largely ignored by the government and the rebels before it ultimately collapsed.

Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, meanwhile, said that Iran is neutral in the Syrian civil war, and denied allegations that Tehran is providing weapons or training to Assad's regime.

"We like and love both sides, and we see both sides as brothers," he said. He referred to the conflict in Syria as "tribal" fighting and said that international "meddling from the outside has made the situation even harder." He refused to say whether Iran would accept a government not led by the Assad regime, which for years has been Iran's closest ally in the Middle East.

Ahmadinejad also alluded to the U.S.-made amateur anti-Islam video, accusing the United States and others of misusing freedom of speech and faiiing to speak out against the defamation of people's beliefs and "divine prophets."

The Iranian leader also called Israel a nuclear-armed "fake regime."

___

Associated Press writers Edith M. Lederer and John Daniszewski contributed to this report from the United Nations.

Associated Press

Source: http://hosted2.ap.org/APDEFAULT/cae69a7523db45408eeb2b3a98c0c9c5/Article_2012-09-24-UN-General%20Assembly/id-93f1e843e4934aaa80f858f9c99f1216

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7 Content Marketing Links You Can Use | Small Business Marketing ...

Posted on 22. Sep, 2012 by Robert Bruce in Blog, Small Business Internet Marketing, Small Business Marketing

This week on The Lede ?

• Where to Place Your Calls to Action
• Need Inspiration? Here?s 450 Free Audiobooks ?
• John Gruber on Charlie Rose
• How to Type Faster on the iPhone
• Guy Kawasaki: Google+ is the Macintosh of Social Networks
• The Definitive Guide to Starting a Profitable Email Newsletter
• The Best Way to Learn Marketing

If you want to grab even more useful links (beyond those that make The Lede), follow @copyblogger on Twitter.

//

Where to Place Your Calls to Action

You know that old, unquestioned advice that you must place your important calls to action on your website above ?the fold?? Well ? think again. Mr. Tennant publishes a couple tests that may reveal otherwise. More accurately, they reveal that you need to Always Be Testing.

//

How to Type Faster on the iPhone

I?ll admit it, if I could get away with using the iPhone as my primary computer, I?d do it. I?m actually almost there, but for a few little details (again, I call to all iOS developers for a beautiful, record-to-publish podcasting app). Anyway, whether you?re gonna go my way here or not, we?re typing a lot on these little machines now, and it?s only going to get worse (or better). Here?s a little-known native function on the iPhone to help you get those mobile words-per-minute up.

//

John Gruber on Charlie Rose

This short segment from Charlie Rose covers the release of the iPhone 5. Whatever. What struck me were the guests invited to sit at that legendary table. On Charlie?s left was David Pogue, technology writer for The New York Times for the last twelve years. On his right, John Gruber, proprietor and sole contributor to his own 10-years-old site Daring Fireball. Mr. Gruber has come to prominence in recent years, covering Apple and technology in varying formats on his site. This appearance is yet another example of what?s becoming a long line of mainstream respect for his completely independent work. The point: Much is now possible for the person willing to consistently create and distribute well-crafted and useful content to an audience, over a long period of time, on a site he owns. Well done, Mr. Gruber.

//

Need Some Inspiration? Here?s 450 Free Audiobooks ?

You may not have enough years left to get to them all, but you can certainly start your walk down to The Crossroads right now. My grandfather would not have believed that this kind of resource could ever be so accessible, can you? What will you do with it?

//

Guy Kawasaki: Google+ is the Macintosh of Social Networks

Despite the PR whipping Google+ takes on a regular basis, it continues to steamroll along, growing in both numbers and overall importance to your content goals. Mr Kawasaki wrote a book about the social network, comparing it to that other little laughed-at product he evangelized all those storied years ago ? the Macintosh computer.

//

The Definitive Guide to Starting a Profitable Email Newsletter

Mr. Juntilla has written an article that delivers on the headline. If you?re looking to get started with an email newsletter (and yes, you should), he answers most of the very first operational questions and issues you?ll come up against.

//

The Best Way to Learn Marketing

Not much to add here, because Mr. Godin does not bloviate. Just go ahead and click that link up there for some of the best (general) marketing advice you?ll ever get ?

Miss anything on Copyblogger this week?

About the Author: Robert Bruce is Copyblogger Media?s Chief Copywriter and Resident Recluse. Get very short stories from Robert on Twitter and Google+.

Related Stories

Make sure you pick up your copy of our FREE Business Acceleration Report! Simply enter your info on the form to the right and I'll send it right out! -->> Thanks for visiting!

Tags: Links, Small Business Internet Marketing

Source: http://www.frontlinemarketingsystems.com/blog/small-business-marketing/7-content-marketing-links-you-can-use/

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Lukashenko sneers at opposition boycott as Belarus votes

MINSK (Reuters) - Belarus's President Alexander Lukashenko called opposition leaders "cowards" after they urged people to go mushrooming rather than vote in an election set to reinforce the hardline leader's grip on the ex-Soviet country.

"They are cowards who have nothing to say to the people," Lukashenko - a populist who has run the country of 9.5 million with an iron fist since 1994 - told journalists after voting at a Minsk polling station where an orchestra turned out to play.

The two main opposition parties see the election as a sham exercise to produce a 110-seat chamber which largely rubber-stamps Lukashenko's directives.

Opposition parties, the United Civic Party and the Belarussian People's Front, said anyone voting would be casting a ballot for his leadership as a whole and would be validating the detention of political prisoners and election fraud.

But students, armed service staff and police voting had already produced a 26 percent turnout, official figures showed, and there was no question of the boycott threatening the overall turnout threshold and the validity of Sunday's ballot.

The outcome will enable Lukashenko to present the election as a genuine democratic process. Western monitoring agencies have not judged an election in Belarus free and fair since 1995.

Defending his 18-year-long rule and intolerance of dissent, the former Soviet state farm boss, once described by the U.S. administration of George W. Bush as Europe's last dictator, said on Sunday: "We don't need revolutions and shake-ups."

The Organisation for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE) has fielded 330 observers for the election and is expected to give its verdict on the election on Monday.

"If this time round there is doubt cast on the choice of the Belarussian people then I don't know what standards will be good enough in future elections," Lukashenko, who was accompanied by his 7-year-old son Kolya, said.

Asked about possible Western recognition for the vote, he said he hoped "for the best". "We don't hold elections for the West. The main architect is the Belarussian people," he said.

Lukashenko's relations with the United States and the European Union, which were never good, nose-dived when he cracked down on street protests against his re-election in December 2010.

Scores of his opponents - including several who stood against him - were arrested. Many now either lie low after periods in jail or have fled the country.

ARRESTS, DETENTIONS

Human rights bodies say the run-up to Sunday's poll - inconsequential though it is - has been marked by arrests and detention of opposition activists.

State-run television and radio have made no mention of the boycott call. Opposition groups have been prevented from holding street protests or giving out leaflets to support their action.

"These are all banned," said Anatoly Lebedko, head of the United Civic Party, gesturing on Saturday to a pile of leaflets on his desk which called on people to take their families to the park, go fishing or stroll in the woods rather than vote.

Activists who had tried to distribute them were stopped from doing so by police and the leaflets were seized, he said.

His party posted a video on YouTube featuring activists gathering mushrooms, playing chess and reading books in a park - all as alternatives to going to polling stations to vote.

Anatoly, a 50-year-old computer programmer who cast his vote at a central polling station in a high school building, said: "I am hoping for new deputies in parliament who suit me better in their work." Referring to the opposition boycott, he said: "I don't condemn them. In their situation, they considered this the right thing to do."

Yuri, a teacher of about the same age, was more severe in his comments about the opposition. "The country does not need these people. I consider it normal for a person to take part in the public life of our country," he said.

While shrugging off the boycott threat, authorities have been unsettled by a genuine lack of interest in one of the most low-key ballots since Belarus became independent 20 years ago.

Earlier this week Belarussian state television rejigged its programs to show footage of people enthusiastically casting their ballots in early voting which started last Tuesday.

Opposition activists say many students in higher-education were told to go and vote, sometimes under threat of losing their subsidized accommodation.

Many senior opposition figures have dropped out of sight following the 2010 police crackdown, including Andrei Sannikov, a former deputy foreign minister, and Vladimir Neklyayev who heads the Tell the Truth movement. Both of them ran against Lukashenko in 2010 and subsequently spent time in jail.

Earlier this week, state security police broke up a small demonstration urging people to cook borshch - beetroot soup - instead of voting. Several activists were arrested as well as news photographers covering the event. Some of the journalists were released after about two hours.

Analysts say that the election is not likely to promote any strong personality among deputies capable of competing with Lukashenko. Previous parliaments have initiated very little legislation independent of the presidency.

Despite U.S. and EU sanctions, which prevent Lukashenko and his inner circle travelling to anywhere in the West, the small country has weathered a currency crisis which drained it of dollars and caused two big devaluations.

This was largely thanks to Russia, which provided $4.5 billion in loans and investments in exchange for access to industrial assets such as pipelines pumping Russian gas to Europe. With the deterioration in relations with the West, Belarus has moved closer to Russia with which it has an open border and shares a common air defense network.

(Editing by Louise Ireland)

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/lukashenko-sneers-opposition-boycott-belarus-votes-103149119.html

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Hot Real Estate Investment News This Week 2012-09-22

All the Real Estate News That?s Fit to RE-Print?

Welcome to our weekly edition of?Hot Real Estate Investment News.

New this week:

• Home builders are more confident than they have been in six years.

• August existing home sales rose 7.8 percent.

• Home inventory dipped 29.7 percent below levels from August 2011.

• Economists are far more bullish on the future of housing prices.

Here are the details about real estate investing related news items that caught our attention this past week?

Home builders and economists are bullish on the real estate market.

CNBC Real Estate Reporter, Diana Olick, reports:

?The nation?s once-beleaguered home builders are more confident than they have been in six years.

A surge in new orders for homes, especially among the big public builders, pushed builder sentiment on an industry survey up three points to the highest level since June of 2006.

The National Association of Home Builders confidence survey now stands at 40, although 50 is still the line between positive and negative. This is a vast improvement from where it was just one year ago: 14.?

From Mark Lieberman at DSnews.com:

?Existing home sales rose 7.8 percent to 4.82 million in August ? the highest level since May 2010 ? the?National Association of Realtors?reported Wednesday. The median price of an existing single-family home in August was $187,400, down $400 from July but up $16,200 or 9.5 percent from August 2011.?

Ryan Schuette from DSnews.com reports:

?Home prices skimmed close to the bottom during July this year but climbed 6.3 percent year-over-year by August, according to?RE/MAX?.

According to RE/MAX, home inventory dipped 29.7 percent below levels from August last year ? a trend that the company report says?remains a serious challenge to this recovery.?

From Tony Barringer at DSnews.com:

?A strengthening housing market in the past few months has economists making more bullish predictions about the recovery,?Zillow?revealed Thursday.

The company released the results of its most recent?Home Price Expectations Survey, showing that economists surveyed expect home prices to rise by a total of 2.3 percent during 2012. This change in sentiment is a major turnaround from June, when respondents predicted home prices would experience a net decline this year.?

Source: http://www.creonline.com/blog/hot-real-estate-investment-news-this-week-2012-09-22/

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Toronto House Painters: Lightening Up Your Space | ArticleBro.com

Often people take house painting for granted and do not pay adequate attention to it. Do you also do the same? Check out the interiors of your home and if it does not appear appealing anymore, then it is time to hire the Toronto house painters immediately. House painting is an age old method to beautify your home and surroundings. In fact, good paint also protects your place from rot, damp and various other house destruction elements. You might also have noticed that winter months leave your home completely damp and dull. Thus, in case, you too are missing the brightness in life, you can hire the Painters Toronto and beautify both the interiors as well as exteriors of your place and welcome the stunning spring with a beautiful house.
You would surely agree that spring season brings in a lot of joy to life. Hence, you can hire the Toronto house painters to add in the colors of joy in your home to maintain its freshness and vigor. The Toronto painter can give your home a picture perfect look that you have always craved for. In fact, it is also possible to beautify the exteriors by painting not only the walls, but arches, porches and even swings in the garden. The beauty of your home would grow manifold by hiring the service of Toronto painters. You can try and experiment with new colors and get rid of the traditional color schemes to give your house a modern look and feel. The new colors would completely change the overall look of your house and it would appear that you are living in a new home. House painters prepare surfaces for painting, and apply a wide range of paints, stains, varnishes and lacquers to structures from private homes to industrial buildings. Depending on the size of the average job, the workplace changes from week to week. Painting can be physically challenging, and often involves working with ladders and scaffolding.

People often get bored of seeing the same colors in their house for a long time. If you too are among them, then Toronto house painters can be your savior. The fresh coat of paint will completely change the appearance of your home and you would surely enjoy the beauty of your home. It would certainly bring in a feeling of joy and happiness in the heart of home dwellers. Thus, in case, you are really interested in taking the service of home painters Brisbane, make a list of things you would like the painter to do. In fact, if you are willing to hire the services of the best painter, make sure that their company is certified and the employees are ensured.
It is also important to ascertain that Toronto house painters are true professionals with years of excellence to their credit. They must be a pro in their work and must be capable of offering fabulous services to the clients. In case, money is an important constraint, then do not forget to ask for the service quotes. It would help you in choosing the right house painter for the job which is not only good at work but is offering the services at a feasible price. So what are you waiting for? Start looking out for the best company today.

Toronto Painters | Markham Painters | Aurora Painters

Source: http://articlebro.com/2012/home-family/home-improvement/toronto-house-painters-lightening-up-your-space/

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