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Special BIN (Buy-It-Now)Bonus - Time Management Video Course With Over 1 Full Hour Of Video Instruction

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100% Exceptional website -- professionally designed and ready for huge profits!

Become an authority in the lucrative Self Improvement niche!

Here is what you get in this outstanding profit-ready package:?

Content That Readers Want To Read and That Search Engines Love

Long before the internet was invented, the defining axiom in print was that "content is king." Today, where online content dominates print content, many of the world's top SEO and web marketing experts still say that "content is king."

?Why is this the case? That even after decades, no matter the medium, content is still the crux of good marketing? ?

? Quality Content Increases Repeat Visitors

Businesses aren't built on first-time visitors. Companies like the Wall Street Journal don't make most of their money from people picking up their papers for the first time. ? They make money from people who've read their content and then decided it was good enough that they either want to purchase again or subscribe to a subscription. If the business had to get a new customer every time in order to get paid, they'd all have gone under by now. ? Yet many online publications approach their business that way. Instead of focusing on repeat visitors, they focus on optimizing for search engines so they get more new customers. ? At the end of the day, however, the really famous and successful blogs like Huffington Post or TechCrunch ultimately still get most of their traffic from repeat visitors. Yes, search engines love them - but their businesses would be a fraction of what they are today if they didn't have great content. ?

? Quality Content Gives You A Clear Advantage In The Search Engines

For many years Google and other search engines have worked towards making their search results pull up better and better results. They want people who search on their engines to find the best content possible in relationship to what they're looking for. ? As search engines get smarter, marketers who focus primarily on marketing tactics rather than actual content will die away. Google has proven this repeatedly by continually downgrading the importance of low-quality links and upgrading the importance of usage statistics and other metrics to actually measure the content of a website. ? If you build your website around great content while having a decent understanding of basic SEO, your site will flourish. If you put all your attention on SEO and don't pay much attention to your content, you'll always be trying to stay one step ahead of the search engines. ?

? Quality Content Gives You The Ability to Sell High Ticket Items

A low quality content website might be able to sell $0.20 clicks via AdSense. But a high quality website could sell $5,000 DVD sets by the hundreds. ? Having great quality content allows you to build a relationship with your readers. That relationship allows you to sell any number of things to your readers. From high end items to recurring memberships to one on one coaching, it all starts from having high quality content.

THE Self Improvement MARKETPLACE - The Self Improvement marketplace is HUGE! Every single day millions of people are looking to either do something that they have never done before or do something better than they are currently doing it.

It seems that people today are busier than ever with work, school, family or all of the above. Many people want more control of their time either for the purposes of increasing on-the-job efficiency and productivity or just to claim more "me time".

Special Note: Soon it will be 2013...a New Year, and millions of people have made New Year's Resolutions because they want "this year to be different". They are looking to improve their lives and "start fresh" in the New Year. Now is the perfect time to own SmarterSelfImprovement.com.

Profit From Your Own Self Improvement Product!

Your website package is already setup and ready for you to profit. You have full resell rights to the ebook. The ebook is in PDF format making it easy to read on both PC's and MAC's. Your customers even print the ebook out if they like and read it at the breakfast table over their morning cup of coffee. Since your website is open 24 hours a day and 7 days a week your ebook can be ordered at anytime from customers anywhere in the world....even if it's 2AM in the morning. emails from Paypal saying, "Notification of payment received".

It really doesn't get any better than making money while you sleep! You keep 100% of the profits.Get paid instantly directly to your Paypal account!

The beautiful custom-ebook graphic perfectly complements the website. The sales page has already been perfectly integrated into the site for you.

Click Here To View The Built-In SalesPage==> View The Complete Sales Page?

My Personal Experience:

I have to admit that at first I was very skeptical of the whole "self improvement/personal development" "thing". It just seemed like there were a bunch of self-proclaimed gurus who had all found the ultimate "key to success and happiness" and were going to share their vast knowledge with the rest of us.

At some point in time I decided to "just do it" as the Nike slogan and give the whole self improvement thing a try. The first person I really listened to was Anthony Robbins and his "Personal Power" audio series. Even though I thought some of the exercises were simplistic I did them anyway ....after all the whole point was to follow through.

To make a long story short, I was nothing short of amazed at the results I achieved in each and every area of my life. In fact, I was so encouraged that I started looking for more ways to improve things in my life. As a result I got in the best physical shape of my life, created incredible empowering relationships, and earned more money than I ever dreamed possible.
There are millions of people out there who are looking for a solutions to a richer, fuller life just like I was. Let's face it, why settle for the life you have rather than pursue the life you've always dreamed about? Most people realize that there is a better life out there just waiting for them to grab it...and just like I did they will spend whatever it takes on books, audio, dvd's, memberships, etc. that help them achieve that goal.

Self Improvement products can also get quite expensive. That makes this niche perfect for you to cash in with the many lucrative Self Improvement affiliate programs!

Built To Help You Succeed Online:

SmarterSelfImprovement.com was built on the rock-solid WordPress platform. Millions of people already use WordPress and one of the big reasons for that is that Google loves WordPress blogs.

Outstanding, Professional Design

Having great design on a content website will play an important part in your user's overall experience. Good design can increase trust, while poor design can decrease trust. Better designed websites will get more opt-ins, more sales and more referrals. In general, design plays a pretty big part in the overall web marketing picture.

Your header graphic is one of the most important elements of what your website looks like. After all, it'll be on the top of every page visitors go to, affecting their overall experience. Your first 200 pixels can have a big effect on both the "vibe" of your site, as well as your total conversion rate. This makes your website header graphic a key component in a professional, well-designed website.

The header on this website is designed to grab attention. It tells the user what the site is about, who you are or any number of other things. In other words, the header plays an active role rather than a passive role in the website.

A color-coordinated, professional website like this one is designed to make a positive impression on your visitors. The effect is a bit like an office. Imagine a client coming into your office. Before they even have a chance to gauge your business or your character, they're already making judgments based on the cleanliness and design of your space. Your colors and graphics work in much the same way. It doesn't necessarily reflect on the quality of your product, but the reader will still make decisions about your credibility, reliability and professionalism based just on your colors and graphics.

Dynamic Featured Content Images -- A stunning dynamic image gallery sits front and center on your website and adds a polished professional look. The high-quality, high-resolution, images change automatically and captivate the viewer ...keeping them on your website longer!?

Dynamic Anti-Spam Tool -- No need for you to lift a finger worrying about spam comments on your site. The dynamic spam tool takes care of everything seamlessly and in the background.?

Automatically Updating Site Map -- All search engines love site maps, especially Google. Your site is already equipped with a site map that automatically updates each time new content is added. This is a tremendous time saver as well as being great for search engine optimization.?

Integrated Contact Form -- This is an absolute essential for any website. Rather than simply having your e-mail address exposed to every spammer on the planet your integrated contact form makes it possible for your website visitors to contact you without you having to reveal your e-mail address. A contact form is an absolute essential because when you're running an online business you never know who may want to pay you to advertise on your site or even buy your website out right!?Customized contact form so that the sender must correctly answer a simple question to validate that they are human. If they don't give the correct answer they get an error message and won't be able to bug you. Feel free to try it out for yourself if you would like.?

Integrated SEO Components -- Your website contains the necessary components that make effective search engine optimization a snap!

Website Package That is Professionally Designed?

Highly Customized Premium Website

?Exceptional Self Improvement Graphics

Many high-resolution Self Improvement graphics.

?Outstanding Domain Name

Outstanding short, easy-to-remember, keyword-rich domain name SmarterSelfImprovement.com to fit any promotional needs.

?Top-Selling ClickBank Products

The top-selling Clickbank products are already built into the site. Make up to 75% per sale!

?Google Adsense Already Integrated

My own personal testing has shown that one Adsense location I have set up for you gets 10 times more clicks than any other Adsense placement on the page!

?Amazon Already Integrated

Best-selling Amazon Self Improvement products are prominently displayed on the front page making it easy for your visitors to buy. Amazon is one of the most trusted of all online merchants and lends credibility to your website.

?Customized Favicon

These make your website stand out from the crowd even more!

?Search Engine Optimized

The website is SEO'd from the inside out. Before any of the content was written thorough keyword research was performed to select high-profit/low-competition keywords. With these carefully selected keywords it is possible to rank high in the search engines before you even have a single backlink to your website!

?Here Is Just Some Feedback That A Few Of My Flippa Clients Were Nice Enough To Write About Me

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?The Following Exceptional Bonuses Are Available To The BIN(Buy-It-Now) Buyer:

Outstanding Bonus #1:?

Self Improvement Ebook - This ebook contains great Self Improvement information which makes it perfectly fitting for your website SmarterSelfImprovement.com! You can sell this ebook or even give it away to build a massive email list!?A $79.95 Value

Outstanding Bonus #2:?

Twitter Video Course - This video course shows you how to use the ever popular Twitter to get higher rankings in Google! This is really a super-informative course. This is the same course I used to set up and customize my own Twitter account...so I can personally recommend it! A $49.95 Value

Outstanding Bonus #3:?

List Building Video Course - In this video course you will learn the in's and out's of building a massive mailing list. Once you have a mailing list you can send your offers to your list repeatedly in order to build a recurring income. A $49.95 Value

Outstanding Bonus #4:?

Free Site Transfer - No need to worry about being technically savvy. I'll gladly take care of the site transfer to your hosting. A $39.95 Value.

Outstanding Bonus #5:?

FaceBook Traffic Video Course - Get your share of the incredible traffic from FaceBook's 500 million users! These videos are not to be missed! A $79.95 Value.

Outstanding Bonus #6:?

Free Input of Your Affiliate Links - We all know what a time-consuming task this can be. No worries! This is all taken care of for you. Just give me your info and I'll do the rest. A $39.95 Value.

Outstanding Bonus #7:?

Access To Step-By-Step WordPress Videos - You get free access to over 20 WordPress videos. These easy-to-follow, information-packed videos cover everything from editing content to adding new content and much, much more. A $79.95 Value

Outstanding Bonus #8:?

Motivation Ebook - This ebook contains great information on staying motivated which makes it perfectly fitting for your website SmarterSelfImprovement.com! You can sell this ebook or even give it away to build a massive email list!?A $69.95 Value

Outstanding Bonus #9:?

Time Management Ebook & Video Course - This ebook contains great Time Management information which makes it perfectly fitting for your website SmarterSelfImprovement.com! You can sell this ebook or even give it away to build a massive email list. There is also a complimentary Time Management Video Course included with over 1 hour of time management training. A $129.95 Value.

Your Website

Click Here To View The Website ==> www.SmarterSelfImprovement.com

**Additional Information**

SmarterSelfImprovement.com - Short, Premium, keyword-rich Self Improvement domain name. These are almost impossible to find these days. Domain name registered at Godaddy so it can easily be transferred to you.

Questions And Answers:

Answers To Questions That You May Have:

- - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

Q: Why are you selling?

A: I build these sites as a hobby. At first, I started out building a few website related to Forex and Stocks for my own use. I soon found that building websites relaxes me and have continued to build high-quality websites ever since.

When I started building sites I had no idea that the demand for my sites would be so great. I am pleased to be able to offer such high-quality at prices that anyone can afford.
UPDATE: By popular demand I've decided to expand my offerings by teaming up with some top-notch web designers, copywriters, and product creators to offer Flippa members a wider variety of quality niche websites.

- - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

Q: Do you provide service after the sale?

A: Yes, I pride myself in making sure you get up and running quickly and easily.

- - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

Q: Has the site already been properly search engine optimized?

A: Yes, I have personally done the necessary keyword research in this popular and profitable niche. I have also completed the essential on-page SEO for every page of the website.

- - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

Q: When do I have to pay when I am the winning bidder?

A: Payment is due immediately after notification of your winning bid.

- - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

Q: Where is the domain registered?

A: The domain name is registered with Godaddy. I will transfer the domain name to you free of charge.

- - - - - - - - - - - - - -?

I will happily move your website for you for free within 5 days of purchase as long as your host has cpanel.

Get instant updates of newly available website packages ? Click Here ?

?

To express your interest to the seller, or post a public comment, you need to log in or sign up.

Listing details are copyright of the seller. The seller grants a permanent, irrevocable and unrestricted licence over the listing details to Flippa.

Source: https://flippa.com/2863801-premium-self-improvement-website-awesome-design-a-few-days-only-low-bin

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Fiscal Cliff Leaves John Boehner A Wounded Speaker

WASHINGTON -- John Boehner is a bloodied House speaker following the startling setback that his own fractious Republican troops dealt him in their "fiscal cliff" struggle against President Barack Obama.

There's plenty of internal grumbling about the Ohio Republican, especially among conservatives, and lots of buzzing about whether his leadership post is in jeopardy. But it's uncertain whether any other House Republican has the broad appeal to seize the job from Boehner or whether his embarrassing inability to pass his own bill preventing tax increases on everyone but millionaires is enough to topple him.

"No one will be challenging John Boehner as speaker," predicted John Feehery, a consultant and former aide to House GOP leaders. "No one else can right now do the job of bringing everyone together" and unifying House Republicans.

The morning after he yanked the tax-cutting bill from the House floor to prevent certain defeat, Boehner told reporters he wasn't worried about losing his job when the new Congress convenes Jan. 3.

"They weren't taking that out on me," he said Friday of rank-and-file GOP lawmakers, who despite pleading from Boehner and his lieutenants were shy of providing the 217 votes needed for passage. "They were dealing with the perception that somebody might accuse them of raising taxes."

That "somebody" was a number of outside conservative groups such as the Club for Growth and Heritage Action for America, which openly pressured lawmakers to reject Boehner's bill. Such organizations often oppose GOP lawmakers they consider too moderate and have been headaches for Boehner in the past.

This time, his retreat on the tax measure was an unmistakable blow to the clout of the 22-year House veteran known for an amiable style, a willingness to make deals and a perpetual tan.

Congressional leaders amass power partly by their ability to command votes, especially in showdowns. His failure to do so Thursday stands to weaken his muscle with Obama and among House Republicans.

"It's very hard for him to negotiate now," said Sarah Binder, a George Washington University political scientist, adding that it's premature to judge if Boehner's hold on the speakership is in peril. "No one can trust him because it's very hard for him to produce votes."

She said the loss weakens his ability to summon support in the future because "you know the last time he came to you like this, others didn't step in line."

Boehner, 63, faces unvarnished hostility from some conservatives.

"We clearly can't have a speaker operate well outside" what Republicans want to do, said freshman Rep. Tim Huelskamp, R-Kan.

Huelskamp is one of four GOP lawmakers who lost prized committee assignments following previous clashes with party leaders. That punishment was an anomaly for Boehner, who is known more for friendly persuasion than arm-twisting.

He said Boehner's job would depend on whether the speaker is "willing to sit and listen to Republicans first, or march off" and negotiate with Obama.

Conservative Rep. Steve King, R-Iowa, said one of the tea party's lasting impacts would be if Boehner struggled to retain his speakership due to the fight over the fiscal cliff, which is the combination of deep tax increases and spending cuts that start in early January without a bipartisan deal to avert them.

"If there's a major defeat delivered here, it could make it tough on him," King said. "He's in a tough spot."

Defenders say Boehner has been dealt a difficult hand. They say that in nearly two years as speaker, he's been field general over an unruly GOP majority confronting a Democratic president and Senate, steering them to the best outcomes possible.

House Republicans won some spending cuts early on. But they were faulted by the public for nearly causing a federal default in a 2011 fight over extending the government's debt limit, and lost a later battle over renewing a payroll tax cut.

This year, they've suffered in the polls for resisting the extension of wide-ranging tax cuts unless the wealthiest earners were included, which Obama opposes. They saw their House majority whittled by eight seats in last month's elections.

"He's doing a good job in a tough situation," said Sen. Rob Portman, R-Ohio, a Boehner friend. He said the speaker's challenges include "independent individuals" among House Republicans and the increased willingness of outside conservatives to pressure GOP leaders, not defer to them.

Portman said he didn't know if Boehner's tax bill debacle would weaken him.

"It proved to the president what he's been saying, that there are limits to how far he can go" in making concessions in fiscal cliff bargaining, said Portman. "But a win would have improved chances for an agreement" by demonstrating that Boehner could deliver votes.

"His own Republican team let him down and that always hurts a leader," said veteran Rep. Jack Kingston, R-Ga.

Republicans watching closely for overt or subtle moves by would-be challengers to Boehner said Friday they'd detected none, though such moves are notoriously secretive.

The entire House elects its speaker by majority vote on the first day of the new session. Because the 201 Democrats will probably all back Rep. Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., for the job, a GOP effort to depose Boehner would have to occur internally and before the full House votes so Republicans ? with 234 seats ? elect one of their own as speaker.

Possible candidates to replace Boehner, according to GOP lawmakers and aides, include Majority Leader Eric Cantor of Virginia, third-ranking Rep. Kevin McCarthy of California, GOP vice presidential nominee Paul Ryan, R-Wis., and Rep. Tom Price of Georgia.

Cantor was at Boehner's side Friday as both men met with reporters. Cantor, McCarthy and Ryan lobbied colleagues for Boehner's tax-cut bill, giving Republicans angry over the measure little reason to turn to them as alternatives.

"I recognize why these questions are getting asked," conservative freshman Rep. Mick Mulvaney, R-S.C., said about whether Boehner was in trouble. "I see nothing giving any evidence to that end. It was not a vote of no confidence on John Boehner. It was a legislative defeat, not a personal defeat."

___

Associated Press writer Thomas Beaumont in Des Moines, Iowa, contributed to this report.

Also on HuffPost:

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Source: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/12/22/fiscal-cliff-john-boehner_n_2352006.html

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Successful Sales Management: Why Are Sales Forecasts So Difficult ...

Sales managers face lots of different challenges in their work. ?One, if not the, most difficult is the tricky business of sales forecasting. ?That's why articles addressing the subject are amongst the most popular in our blogs. ?And why it features prominently in our eBook Reengineering Sales Management. ? The reason sales forecasts are so nerve wracking to make, and so difficult to get right, is the traditional sales model, which most organisations use in one way or another, ?assumes a confrontation between buyer and seller. ?
The seller wants the customer to buy what she's offering, whilst the buyer wants the seller to offer what she's buying. Sometimes this works well for both parties, but mostly the buyer ends up disappointed, receiving something different to what she expected. The obvious problems for finance and customer service to sort out naturally follow, which is an entirely different topic.

Once bitten, twice shy, customers are less likely to get fooled again, and that makes it difficult to predict whether they'll buy, or not, and that makes any deal impossible to forecast. They've been fooled already, by somebody else.

In the Information Age, businesses basing their sales strategy on the naivety of prospects had better have a lot of them, because they're only going to close a very small percentage.

On the other hand, anybody understanding how their value add is unique, targets their proposition at prospects willing to pay for that uniqueness, and collaborates with them in a process which assures mutual satisfaction, will win a high proportion. Sales forecasts are easier to make, and get right.

When customers are more careful with their money, when competition is everywhere, when a business needs certainty in its planning, and when sales people want to win more times than they lose, the traditional sales model must be reengineered.

Instead of product and service people deciding what they want to build, instead of marketing creating aspiration which can't be fulfilled, instead of CEOs wanting to forecast what analysts will approve of; sales managers need to figure out which unique value customers are buying, and persuade their colleagues to offer that. Following which they need to deliver, with a combination of skills and processes which brings in the sales.

And if this is all too difficult, the customers won't care. They'll just buy what they want from somebody else.

Why doesn?t the traditional approach to selling and sales management work so well any more? What can the modern sales professional do to stay relevant in today?s customer driven markets?? Check out our eBook?Reengineering Sales Management?for ideas on how to embrace the new order of customer driven buyer/seller relationships.

Source: http://successfulsalesmanagement.stevensreeves.com/2012/12/why-are-sales-forecasts-so-difficult-to.html

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Yemen's president restructures armed forces

SANAA, Yemen (CNN) -

Yemen's armed forces have a new look after President Abdu Rabu Mansour Hadi ordered major changes to both the military's leadership and structure.

The expansive reshuffle appears to have removed those loyal to Yemen's previous President Ali Abdullah Saleh from their powerful positions within the military, with several other generals attaining appointments to new positions.

As part of the restructuring, the elite republican guard and the first armored division will be absorbed into the country's Defense Ministry. The republican guard has been led by Saleh's eldest son, Ahmed Ali Saleh, and Gen. Ali Mohsen Al-Ahmar, who defected during the 2011 Yemeni uprising, has commanded the first armored division.

"General Ahmed Ali and Ali Mohsen are a headache for millions of Yemenis dreaming of a better country and a real national military," Farea Al-Muslimi, a Yemeni youth activist, told CNN.

"It's a good step, but it should have been done a long time ago ... It won't happen overnight," added Al-Muslimi. "It will need a few years for this to work out."

"Yemen will head in the right direction with this restructuring of the armed forces and the ending of the contentious divisions in the military," said a Yemeni government official who was not authorized to speak to the media.

Yemen's military will now consist of five branches: Land Forces, Air Forces, Navy and Coastal Defense Forces, Border Guard, and the Strategic Reserve Forces, according to a news release from the Yemeni embassy in Washington.

The Land Forces command will oversee seven regional commands, and the Strategic Reserve Forces will include the recently established presidential protective brigades, the new missile defense command and the new special operations command, the release said.

A top presidential aide told CNN that the restructuring needed to take place quickly if Yemen was to go forward.

"We are working towards a unified army under a unified leadership, and this needs to take place now," the presidential aide said, asking to remain anonymous due to the sensitivity of the issue.

The changes came as protests continued in front of Hadi's residence. Demonstrators said they wouldn't participate in the upcoming National Dialogue Conference unless Saleh's relatives and loyalists who hold key military and security posts are removed. Yemeni officials have been hoping all the political factions in the country would meet at the conference.

Youth activists celebrated in Change Square on Wednesday, calling the latest decrees a clear victory for reformists and those seeking democracy.

"We support these decisive military decisions, and a major part of our demands have finally been accepted," said Khaled al-Anesi, a leading activist among the first to publicly call for restructuring the military.

"After the removal of Saleh aides, we will seek justice for those who were killed by the previous regime," he added.

Hadi took power in February as part of a Gulf Cooperation Council-backed deal that forced Saleh to trade his position for immunity after a year of political unrest destabilized the country. A United Nations envoy remains in Yemen to help with the transition.

Source: http://www.localnews8.com/news/Yemen-s-president-restructures-armed-forces/-/308662/17838842/-/5k4wje/-/index.html

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SBA Economic Injury Disaster Loans Available in North Carolina Following Secretary of Agriculture Disaster Declaration

ATLANTA, Dec. 20, 2012 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- The U.S. Small Business Administration announced today that federal economic injury disaster loans are available to small businesses, small agricultural cooperatives, small businesses engaged in aquaculture and most private non-profit organizations of all sizes located in North Carolina as a result of the drought and excessive heat between April 1 and July 31, 2012.?

(Logo:? http://photos.prnewswire.com/prnh/20110909/DC65875LOGO)

This SBA's disaster declaration includes the following counties: ?Durham, Franklin, Granville, Person, Vance and Wake in North Carolina.

"When the Secretary of Agriculture issues a disaster declaration to help farmers recover from damages and losses to crops, the Small Business Administration issues a declaration to eligible entities affected by the same disaster," said Frank Skaggs, director of SBA's Field Operations Center East in Atlanta.

Under this declaration, the SBA's Economic Injury Disaster Loan program is available to eligible
farm-related and nonfarm-related entities that suffered financial losses as a direct result of this disaster. With the exception of aquacultural enterprises, agricultural producers, farmers and ranchers are not eligible to apply to SBA.? Nurseries are eligible to apply for economic injury disaster loans for losses caused by drought conditions.

The loan amount can be up to $2 million with interest rates of 3 percent for private non-profit organizations of all sizes and 4 percent for small businesses, with terms up to 30 years.? The SBA determines eligibility based on the size of the applicant, type of activity and its financial resources.? Loan amounts and terms are set by the SBA and are based on each applicant's financial condition.? These working capital loans may be used to pay fixed debts, payroll, accounts payable, and other bills that could have been paid had the disaster not occurred.? The loans are not intended to replace lost sales or profits.

Applicants may apply online using the Electronic Loan Application (ELA) via SBA's secure website at https://disasterloan.sba.gov/ela.

Disaster loan information and application forms may also be obtained by calling the SBA's Customer Service Center at 800-659-2955 (800-877-8339 for the deaf and hard-of-hearing) or by sending an email to disastercustomerservice@sba.gov.? Loan applications can be downloaded from www.sba.gov. ?Completed applications should be mailed to: U.S. Small Business Administration, Processing and Disbursement Center, 14925 Kingsport Road, Fort Worth, TX 76155.?

Completed loan applications must be returned to SBA no later than August 12, 2013.

For more information about the SBA's Disaster Loan Program, visit our website at www.sba.gov .

Contact: Mark Ihenacho?
Phone: 404-331-0333

SOURCE U.S. Small Business Administration

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/sba-economic-injury-disaster-loans-available-north-carolina-171700915.html

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Economy makes weak start to fourth quarter, public finances worsen

LONDON (Reuters) - Britain's dominant services sector posted meagre growth in October, which may be just enough for the economy as a whole to avoid contraction in the last three months of 2012.

However, public borrowing figures also released on Friday showed that Chancellor George Osborne has a lot of catching up to do to meet updated forecasts published earlier this month given the poor economic outlook.

The Office for National Statistics said services output grew 0.1 percent on the month in October, recovering from a 0.6 percent drop in September.

However, this is far behind the 1.2 percent growth that the sector enjoyed in the third quarter, which helped drive an overall 0.9 percent expansion in the economy as a whole in the three months to the end of September.

"It's not a great number but it is positive and it is better than the decline that had been expected," Ross Walker, an economist at Royal Bank of Scotland, said about October's services number.

"On the basis of all the published data it looks like the fourth quarter will be broadly flat, rather than negative."

Revised ONS figures published on Friday confirmed that third-quarter gross domestic product growth was the strongest since the third quarter of 2007. But much of that reflected a one-off boost from the London Olympics and a rebound from the second quarter when an extra public holiday dented output.

GDP in the third quarter was unchanged on the year, a small revision from the fall that the ONS had previously estimated.

The Bank of England and the government's forecasting body, the Office for Budget Responsibility, have both said a small quarterly contraction in the fourth quarter is likely.

Britain suffered its second recession since the financial crisis between late 2011 and mid-2012, and overall has recovered much more slowly since 2009 than most other big economies.

The Bank and other forecasters expect little in the way of a pick-up in the immediate future, given the weak global economy, government spending cuts and relatively high inflation.

"The economy faces a difficult-looking 2013 and we suspect it will only manage to eke out growth of 1.1 percent," said Howard Archer, economist at IHS Global Insight.

Recent ONS data has shown contraction in the retail and industrial sectors in the first part of the fourth quarter, though construction - which has been a major drag on GDP - appears to be stabilising.

A GfK consumer confidence survey released earlier on Friday showed an unexpectedly sharp fall in morale.

Friday's GDP figures showed that the household savings ratio rose to 7.7 percent, its highest since the third quarter of 2009, suggesting an unwillingness to spend and a desire to pay down debts.

TRADE GAP NARROWS

One bright spot was third-quarter current account data, which showed Britain's deficit with the rest of the world narrowed more than expected to 12.8 billion pounds, equivalent to 3.3 percent of GDP, from 17.4 billion in the second quarter.

But Britain's government borrowed more than expected in November as government spending rose while a weak economy meant tax receipts fell compared to a year earlier.

Public sector net borrowing excluding financial sector interventions - the government's preferred measure - rose last month to 17.5 billion pounds from 16.3 billion in November 2011.

This was above economists' average forecast for 16.0 billion pounds and took borrowing in the fiscal year to date to 92.7 billion pounds, excluding the transfer of Royal Mail pension assets, up from 84.4 billion at the same point in 2011.

The OBR forecast earlier this month that the borrowing measure would reach 108.5 billion pounds this financial year, equivalent to 6.9 percent of GDP.

To meet this forecast, the deficit would have to fall 10.8 percent on the year, but so far in 2012, it is 9.9 percent higher than last year.

When the government came to power in 2010, it planned to largely eliminate the budget deficit by 2015 with spending cuts and tax rises. But a weak economy has since forced it to extend austerity until 2018.

(Reporting by David Milliken and Olesya Dmitracova; Editing by Ruth Pitchford)

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/economy-makes-weak-start-q4-public-finances-worsen-093516211--business.html

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Myspace?s Tom May Have Just Unleashed the Twitter Burn of the Century

That picture up there brings back the memories, huh? The skeezy nights spent adding friends on Myspace, the first time you discovered Tila Tequila's profile, and, above all, the discussion with your friends about who the hell Tom actually was.

For those, like me, who just figured it out around the time he cameoed in "Funny People," Tom was actually Tom Anderson, the co-creator of Myspace and guy who made a killing off News Corps' unwise decision to spend $580 million on the social network. How do we know Tom made a killing off the sale? This Tweet he sent to a random guy yesterday is a pretty good indicator.

BURN BURN BURN I'M ON FIRE HOLY SHIT IT'S HOT.

The Tweet now has over 6,000 RTs and 4,000 favorites. And, it caused @polotapia to delete his account. ?Does that mean I win?? Tom asked in a Tweet, actually following that up with the hashtags #winning and #myspacetom. Which is either the douchiest or greatest thing I've seen all week.

Yes, Tom, you win.

[H/T: Betabeat]

Source: http://www.brobible.com/life/article/myspaces-tom-twitter-burn-of-century

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Microsoft partner in Quebec partners for international reach

Matricis Informatique forms alliance with European and Australian Microsoft partners
12/19/2012 2:43:00 PM By: Jeff Jedras

A Montreal-based Microsoft partner has partnered with firms from Europe and Australia to form the Impack Alliance.

Matricis Informatique, specialists in enterprise application integration, have partnered with two other Microsoft integration partners: Codit, with offices in France and Belgium, and Edgecliff, Australia-based Breeze.

RELATED STORY: Start-up acquires five Quebec area solution providers

All together, the alliance can leverage more than 100 Microsoft integration experts around the world, focused mainly on BizTalk Server and Windows Azure. The companies hope to become the Microsoft global preferred partner for integration opportunities, and add they hope the alliance gives then a stronger say in Microsoft's future product roadmap for BizTalk Server and Windows Azure.

"Through the alliance, Microsoft will be able to get better feedback from a large number of customers spread out across the world and involved in integration space which will contribute greatly to the evolution these technologies,? said Francois Beaubien, president of Matricis, in a statement.

Added Codit CEO Stijn Degrieck, ?Besides the full service 24/7 support guaranteed by qualified BizTalk and Windows Azure experts only - and this now on a worldwide scale - we will offer customers the best skilled team tailored to their specific needs. In case of incidents, the Alliance partners will also join forces to speed up delivery, demonstrating the highest level of flexibility one could ever dream of."

<< Back

Related Technology News from Around the World

Source: http://www.itbusiness.ca/it/client/en/home/News.asp?id=69601

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Twins agree to 1-year deal with Pelfrey

By JON KRAWCZYNSKI

AP Sports Writer

Associated Press Sports

updated 12:52 p.m. ET Dec. 18, 2012

MINNEAPOLIS (AP) - Mike Pelfrey once was a promising prospect for the New York Mets, a groundball-inducing machine who chewed up innings and bats with a hard sinker that tumbled out of his 6-foot-7 frame.

He's 28 years old now, coming off of Tommy John surgery and was sitting in the free agent bargain bin, which is where the Minnesota Twins have been shopping for starting pitchers all offseason.

The Twins agreed to terms with the right-hander on a $4 million, one-year contract Tuesday, adding him to the mix in a starting rotation filled with "pitch-to-contact" guys who rely more on their defense making plays behind them than they do striking hitters out with overpowering stuff.

Pelfrey went 50-54 with a 4.36 ERA in seven seasons with the Mets, including a four-year run in which he pitched at least 184 innings and topped 200 innings twice. But he has averaged just 5.1 strikeouts per nine innings, which means he fits right in with a Twins rotation built on light-throwing, location-oriented arms.

He missed almost all of last season after having the ligament replacement surgery and is now working on his comeback. His deal calls for $1.5 million in performance bonuses, including $100,000 for 150 innings, $150,000 for 160 innings, $250,000 each for 170, 180 and 190 innings and $500,000 for 200 innings, according to a person with knowledge of the agreement. The person requested anonymity because the deal has not been announced.

Pelfrey will join Scott Diamond, Vance Worley and Kevin Correia in the new-look rotation. Only Diamond was a holdover from last year's staff, which is probably a good thing.

Twins starters went 39-75 with a 5.40 ERA last year, a disastrous season that put their staff ahead of only Colorado in the majors. Twelve players took at least five starts last season, and the dearth of power arms was one of the organization's biggest weaknesses in their second straight last-place finish in the AL Central.

They added highly touted prospects Alex Meyer and Trevor May in trades, but both will likely take at least another year of seasoning in the minors before they're ready to join the rotation. They also have their own prospect, Kyle Gibson, coming off of Tommy John surgery. He could join the rotation this season sometime but is expected to be on an innings limit similar to what Washington's Stephen Strasburg was on last season.

Pelfrey will have to pass a physical before the deal becomes official.

---

AP Sports Writer Ron Blum contributed to this report.

? 2012 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.

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Chris Trotman / Getty Images file

HBT: Jays, Mets finalize 7-player?Dickey trade

HBT: R.A. Dickey passed his physical, clearing the final hurdle for his trade to Toronto. Here?s the official transaction: Blue Jays acquire RHP R.A. Dickey, C Josh Thole and C Mike Nickeas from the Mets for C Travis d?Arnaud, C John Buck, RHP Noah Syndergaard and OF Wuilmer Becerra.

Source: http://nbcsports.msnbc.com/id/50238889/ns/sports-baseball/

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Collective Action & Property Rights News: CALL FOR PAPERS ...

ESEE 2013 is organized by the European Society for Ecological Economics in collaboration with CLERSE (Universit? Lille1-CNRS, France) and REGARDS (Universit? de Reims Champagne-Ardenne, France). Proposals for paper and poster presentations (abstracts with 1200 words with a summary of 800 characters) on any of the following Conference themes, and for the organisation of special sessions in the form of focused discussions/thematic sessions, are welcomed. A limited number of special sessions (10 to 15% maximum of the parallel and special sessions) can be organized in French.

The main theme of the conference is Ecological Economics and Institutional Dynamics. Institutions are considered here in their broader sense, including social representations, norms, rules of the game, collective action processes and power dimensions, forms and types of exploitation, informal and formal organizations, referring at large to governance aspects and dealing with the large spectrum of topics developed in the field of Ecological Economics. Abstracts and papers articulating social and environmental questions would be particularly appreciated.

Of course, proposals dealing with questions outside of the general theme, but relevant with the agenda of ecological economics are welcomed.

Themes of the conference

• Interdisciplinary and transdisciplinary theoretical approaches (Institutional approaches, Post-Keynesian Economics, Marxist and Post-marxist economics, Feminist Economics, Political Ecology, Development Studies, Social Psychology, Environmental Sociology, Systems theory, Resilience approach, etc.).
• Methodological and epistemological issues (Participatory approaches, Multi-criteria analysis, Experimental and behavioral approaches, Life-cycle analysis, Future studies, Modelling, Deliberative methods, Social metabolism, Multiple methods approach, Integrated assessment, Storytelling, Valuation methods, Post-normal science, etc.).
• Governance, policies and institutions (multi-level governance, Environmental justice, Agenda 21, legal instruments, regional and territorial planning, economic instruments, voluntary agreements, policymix, norms, participatory processes, Common pool resources, transboundary issues, etc.).
• Resources and environment (water, land, air, forests, pollution, biodiversity and ecosystem services, food and agriculture, energy, transport, etc.).
• Actors and behaviors (capabilities, well-being, quality of life, gender issues, consumption, sustainability and firms, Corporate Social Responsibility, industrial ecology, NGO?s, cities, territorial units,. etc.).
• Towards a Socio-Ecological Transition (Prosperity and well-being beyond the growth paradigm, De-growth, Alternative metrics, ?dual-track governance? for transition, system innovation for socio-technical transition, from niche experiments to regime change, integral change, etc.).
• Institutionalization of Ecological Economics: a European Perspective (Origins and history of ESEE, Comparative studies with the development of Ecological Economics outside of Europe, Education and teaching, Implementation of Ecological Economics policies, etc.).
• Etc.

Posters

A special attention will be dedicated to posters during the conference. Guided tours will be organized so as to leave time for poster presenters to briefly present their works. A ?best poster? prize will be delivered by the scientific committee and conference participants will be actively invited to read the posters.

More information.

Deadline: December 14, 2012

Source: http://news.capri.cgiar.org/2012/11/call-for-papers-ecological-economics.html

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UC ? Driving Value by Unifying Employees ? ADTRAN Blog

My current theme here has been how UC unifies things other than communications, and I believe this represents another layer of value that is not fully understood. Lately, I?ve addressed how UC unifies your endpoints and your operations, but now it?s time to shift to something less tangible ? your employees.

The business case for UC is usually made on performance-based metrics such as ROI, TCO, AHT, FCR, etc. That is usually sufficient, but if management is still undecided, you can bolster the value proposition in other ways. Unifying employees is one such approach, and as my analysis indicates, some aspects are measureable, while others may carry weight based on their intangible qualities.

Unifying employees. This may sound like an amorphous idea, but is it really much different from UC itself? The open-ended nature of UC cuts both ways, but one of its inherent virtues is to provide a consistent environment and experience for end users. Management looks to IT to reduce communications costs, improve productivity, drive more efficient processes, etc. There is also greater emphasis on teamwork and collaboration, but strictly for the purposes of achieving better outcomes for the business.

These priorities are very much in the realm of IT, but management will not typically ask about how UC can help improve morale or tap into our personal qualities that characterize the organizational culture. I?m not advocating you pretend to be a psychologist, but UC can contribute to these things in ways that management will understand. You just need to connect the dots. To illustrate, consider the following examples:

• Using UC to create self-organizing portals where employees can share social interests or pursue group activities. This could serve as a digital bulletin board for things like sharing recipes, organizing group outings, posting photos/videos, classifieds, interactive games during lunch, carpooling, etc. The key is to make it self-organizing, and can be a great way to make remote or home-based employees feel more connected to the organization.
• Create a dynamic, searchable knowledge base to help everyone find people with the right expertise in-house. The bigger the company, and/or the more dispersed employees are, the harder it is to know how to get the help you need beyond your known circle of co-workers. Few companies can effectively leverage their collective knowledge, and UC is an ideal platform for doing so. Not only can it serve as a repository for all forms of media and content, but by tying into the company directory, UC makes it easy to find the person/s of interest, as well as interact with them on the spot.
• Self-paced training and peer review. UC provides a multitude of options for giving employees the tools for self-improvement on their terms. Training and learning can be accessed at times that suit the employees, and in the modes they are most comfortable with. Some content could be delivered via video, or in a virtual interactive setting, or simply be text-based. Peer review can be administered in a variety of modes as well, with varying degrees of privacy and anonymity. The overall benefit is to make it easy to pursue continuous learning from any location, which helps reinforce the culture of sharing and collaboration that UC itself is designed to foster.

I?m just scratching the surface here, and that?s really the point. Every company culture is distinct, and you should view UC as a blank canvas upon which you can develop applications that speak to what people value. There?s little downside if you make it self-organizing, except monitoring for inappropriate activity. You?re much more likely to see upside once employees discover how easy it is to share rich content that is of personal interest to them. This type of offering will take a life of its own, and when UC facilitates engagement that builds community, nobody will question its value for unifying employees.

?

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Source: http://blog.adtran.com/uc-driving-value-by-unifying-employees/?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=uc-driving-value-by-unifying-employees

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Poison pens and lipstick guns: 8 real-life spy weapons

South Korean authorities capture an assassin armed with deadly gadgets almost as implausible as this collection of espionage gear.

Newly crowned "Sexiest Man Alive" Kim Jong Un isn't the biggest fan of Park Sang-hak, an anti-Pyongyang defector now living in South Korea who's near the top of North Korea's hit list. The outspoken activist was recently the target of a would-be assassin equipped with three seemingly innocent, easy-to-conceal weapons plucked straight from a 007 script. A South Korea "investigation official," speaking with CNN, described the weapons thus: A poison-tipped device built to look like a Parker ballpoint pen; a second pen equipped to shoot poison-filled bullets directly into the skin; and a small flashlight rigged to fire three bullets at close range. "You'd notice a gun," said Park, "but these weapons are so innocuous [they could] easily kill someone [without warning]. I'd be dead immediately." Park is hardly the first to be the target of top-secret spy weaponry. Here, eight other imaginative killing devices that have actually been produced:?

1. Lipstick gun
Meet the "kiss of death." This famous Cold War-era pistol may look like an ordinary lipstick, but it was designed by KGB operatives to let a Soviet femme fatale fire a single 4.5mm bullet at anyone unlucky enough to get caught in her cross-hairs.?

2. Exploding rats
During World War II, Britain's Special Operations Executive (SOE) devised a clever plan to blow up enemy boilers by hiding explosive rat carcasses in German coal piles. Supposedly, an unsuspecting enemy would simply toss the dead rat into the nearby fire to dispose of the body and... kaboom! The plan went awry when German authorities seized the first consignment of the devices ? and went on to showcase them in the country's top military academies.

3. Flamethrower glove
Patrick Priebe, a cyberpunk weapons hobbyist, designed this hand-mounted flamethrower using just four lithium ion batteries, butane, a NE555 circuit board, and a transformer to spew fire right from his palm.?

4. Umbrella dart gun
Just one day before his 1978 death in London, Bulgarian dissident writer Georgi Markov felt a sharp prick in his thigh. He looked up to see a man clumsily fiddling with an umbrella before speeding off. The brolly had shot a dart loaded with a pellet of ricin, a sophisticated poison. The pellet was coated in a special wax designed to melt at body temperatures, releasing the ricin into the bloodstream. The shooter, believed to be a member of the Bulgarian secret police, was never caught.?

5. Exploding chocolate
Prime Minister Winston Churchill did not like the Nazis. And the Nazis did not like Prime Minister Winston Churchill, as evidenced by a letter written by a high-ranking World War II-era British intelligence officer, referencing a bizarre Nazi assassination plot to kill the boisterous politician with explosive chocolate. "We have received information that the enemy are using pound slabs of chocolate which are made of steel with a very thin cover of chocolate," wrote Lord Victor Rothschild of British intelligence. "Inside there is a high explosive and some form of delay mechanism." Fortunately, British spies discovered the candy bombs, which were to be placed around the War Cabinet's dining room, before anyone could have a taste.

6. Pistol glove
Another product of the Cold War-era KGB, this glove-cum-pistol be fired with the twitch of a finger. "It gave the wearer the ability to get within point blank range before firing a lethal shot," says Buck Sexton at The Blaze. "Oddjob would be proud."

7. Poisoned cigars
On August 16, 1960, a CIA official was handed a box of Fidel Castro's favorite cigars? along with instructions to rig them with a deadly poison. The cigars were treated with a toxin called botulinum, reportedly so potent it could kill any man who attempted to light one of the cigars. Though the cigars were duly doctored, it's unclear if they ever even made it into Castro's vicinity.?

8. CIA's heart-attack gun
During a mid-1970s Senate testimony, it was revealed that the CIA had developed a dart gun capable of causing a heart attack. The dart ? which could penetrate clothing, leave skin unmarked except for a small red bump resembling a mosquito bite, and then disintegrate ? was filled with a deadly shellfish toxin. The advantage, says InfoWars, was that officials would attribute the victim's death to natural causes in the event of an autopsy. It's unclear if the heart attack gun was actually ever used.?

Sources: CNN,?Wired, BBC, Gizmag, Cracked, The Atlantic, The Blaze, InfoWars

SEE ALSO: The 3D printing photo booth that turns you into an action figure

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Source: http://news.yahoo.com/poison-pens-lipstick-guns-8-real-life-spy-153400840.html

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Scientists design 3-D printed satellite

17 hrs.

Rachel Kaufman, TechNewsDaily Contributor , TechNewsDaily

Seeking?a low-cost way to launch their experiments into space, a team of scientists has designed a space-ready, 3-D printed CubeSat.

CubeSats are standardized, tiny satellites, often only 3.9 inches on each side and weighing just under 3 pounds. They are so small that they have room for only a few sensors, and burn up in the Earth's atmosphere after just a few months. Kits cost under $10,000, which is considered cheap for the space industry. But Jacopo Piattoni of the University of Bologna and his team aim to drive the satellites' price down even further, while making the devices easier to customize.

In 3-D printing, a computer-directed nozzle "prints" a three-dimensional object in plastic. Often, engineers use this method to design a prototype for a product that will then be built out of metal or another, sturdier medium. But Piattoni?s team hopes their plastic CubeSat could survive launch and low-Earth orbit.

Using 3-D printers, researchers can automate the CubeSat production process. ?We don?t need a technician,? Piattoni said, adding that this also makes the process faster.

[NASA Turns to 3-D Printing for Self-Building Spacecraft]

The CubeSat?s sensors and computer chips, of course, weren't printed in the lab, and the team had to add a small, metal heat sink to disperse the electronic components' heat. The method holds promise, though. When the researchers tested the chassis in near-space conditions, "it did really well," Piattoni said.

Piattoni chose ABS plastic, the same type of plastic used in Lego bricks, to construct his CubeSat because of that material's resilience to extreme temperatures, vibrations, radiation and more. A satellite will absorb a lot of solar radiation during its spaceflight, and its temperature will swing from -4 degrees F (-20 degrees C) to 176 degrees F (80 degrees C) each orbit. "It's not so easy for plastics in that environment," Piattoni said.

In fact, ABS plastic was famously indicted in a massive seat-belt buckle recall in the mid-90s because UV radiation weakened buckles made from the material. But such radiation, even at elevated levels, won't pose a problem for the CubeSat, due to its short lifetime.

With one successful satellite constructed, the team can now use the 3-D printer to crank out another copy each night. They can also test new designs or build support for other sensors or modules, just by clicking a few buttons on a computer.

The final product passed its tests with flying colors. Now, like most other CubeSats, it will hitch a ride into space as secondary cargo on a rocket already headed to its preferred orbit. Piattoni's team is working with QB50, which will put 50 CubeSats into orbit at once on a Russian Shtil-2.1 scheduled to launch in 2014.

The satellite was designed and tested by Piattoni and researchers in the University of Rome's Department of Astronautical, Electrical and Energy Engineering and the Department of Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering.

Copyright 2012 TechNewsDaily, a TechMediaNetwork company. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.

Source: http://www.nbcnews.com/technology/futureoftech/scientists-design-3-d-printed-satellite-1C7265444

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Professor to speak on creative writing at Columbia | The Ithacan

Catherine Taylor, associate professor of writing, who began her writing career as a nonfiction writer, defies the separation of genres in creative writing with her latest book, ?Apart.? The anthropology department at Columbia University invited Taylor to give her lecture, titled ?Between Art and Politics: ?Ficto-Criticism? and Suspended Genres,? and a reading from ?Apart? on Thursday. Taylor?s newly released book discusses the politics of South Africa and her personal connection with the country.

Courtesy of Catherine TaylorCatherine Taylor, associate professor of writing, will be speaking at Columbia University Thursday.

Staff Writer Nicole Arocho spoke with Taylor about her book and life as a creative writer and a scholar.

Nicole Arocho: What?s your latest book about?

Catherine Taylor: It?s a quirky book mainly because it is a multi-genre book, although it?s more nonfiction than the other genres. The book shifts from essays, prose poems, photographs, archives and excerpts from archives. It?s all related to South African political history but also my family?s history in South Africa.

NA: How do you feel about being invited by the Columbia University Anthropology Department to give a lecture and a reading?

CT: It was exciting to get that kind of validation in a discipline that is not my own. Professor Michael Taussig [of Columbia] read the book and wrote me a paper letter, because he couldn?t find my email, which I will treasure forever.

NA: What was your writing process behind ?Apart?? How did it end up being a multi-genre book instead of just nonfiction?

CT: The book started as a very normal, standard memoir, but it became apparent to me very early on that that wasn?t going to work, because the topic was so complex, and I had a difficult time understanding it. It seemed to me that the book wanted to be as broken and fragmented as my understanding was. Otherwise it felt like a lie.

NA: How would you describe writing in collage mode?

CT: It was fun and liberating; it gave me the freedom of writing poems, essays, gathering pictures. Working this way let me use the archive material in a way that made sense to me. Using collage as my mode of writing gave me the opportunity of telling more stories rather than choosing a few and focusing on those only.

NA: Were there any authors that inspired you to write a cross-genre book?

CT: Yes, Michael Taussing is definitely one of them. He coined the term ?ficto-criticism,? which mixes fiction and criticism. Also the documentary poet Charles Reznikoff, with his book ?Testimony,? and Anne Carson, with her wildly lyrical essay poems. Susan Griffin is in there too. I?m going to teach her book ?A Course of Stones: The Private Life of War? next semester.

NA: How is this lecture different from any other lectures you?ve done so far?

CT: Well, this is the first time that I?ll be giving a lecture related to ?Apart? after the book was published, after I?d written the whole thing. Another thing that?s different is that I?m being invited to both read both as a creative artist and as a scholar.

NA: What would you recommend to students who want to be both writers and scholars like you?

CT: I would say, be patient. Some things you may want to do just take a really long time. It takes a long time to find yourself as a writer, to develop your craft, to find a place in the world and to find your community of writers. To those students who are torn between scholarly work and creative writing: You can be both.

NA: Are you already working on a new book?

CT: I am. I?m working on a project about military drones. What interests me is the complex place of the drone in human life by those who are being attacked by them. That?s what I want to explore.

Source: http://theithacan.org/28471

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UnitedHealth forecasts 2013 profit below Wall St view

(Reuters) - UnitedHealth Group Inc , the largest U.S. private health insurer, said on Monday it expected 2013 earnings of $5.25 to $5.50 per share, below analysts' expectations.

Revenue should be $123 billion to $124 billion, the company said, higher than the Wall Street target. UnitedHealth gave the forecast in a statement ahead of a Tuesday meeting with analysts and investors.

Analysts had expected 2013 earnings of $5.58 per share on revenue of $119.12 billion, according to Thomson Reuters I/B/E/S.

UnitedHealth said during a quarterly conference call in October that analysts' estimates for 2013 were too high, citing the weak economy and government efforts to rein in the deficit. At that time, the consensus was for earnings of $5.60 per share.

UnitedHealth has a history of exceeding its forecast, Oppenheimer analyst Michael Wiederhorn said in a research note. "Overall, we believe UNH's outlook will prove conservative," he wrote.

Wiederhorn said it was not immediately clear if the Wall Street consensus outlook for 2013 revenue was comparable and included sales from Brazil's Amil Participacoes SA , which it acquired for $4.9 billion.

UnitedHealth also reaffirmed its 2012 outlook for earnings of $5.20 to $5.25 per share.

(Reporting by Caroline Humer; Editing by Lisa Von Ahn and Jeffrey Benkoe)

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/unitedhealth-forecasts-2013-profit-below-wall-st-view-132406712--finance.html

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lijansharma: kudals: molina anvil: Reference and Education: Proper ...

Becoming an electrician starts with getting the right schooling. One can start quite early, even in High School. Many vocational programs in secondary schools have an electrical program. Following High School graduation, one can enter a program at a college to further their learning. Community colleges often have excellent trades program, including electrical. In addition to their typical general education courses like math and English, students will take practical courses where they learn both the science behind the trade and also get to apply and learn new skills in hands-on work. If one desires to learn more about the scientific end of things, they can attend a four year college that offers advanced programs like electrical engineering or similar majors. Community colleges are great because they offer students practical experience.

One can also do some extra work on their own to increase their skills and education. It is a great idea to find an experienced individual who works in the field and get close to them. An experienced worker can offer electrician training in the form of an apprenticeship or might be able to hire a student to work for them. They can also share the pros and cons of the industry, as well as stories from on the job. This will give the young student a better idea of what daily life is like as an electrical worker, and help them decide if this is really the field that they want to devote their life to. Working with a professional can help one meet others in the field and perhaps potential future customers. The pro may also have some suggestions for training programs or courses that the aspiring electrician can take advantage of. They can serve as a reference for the student's resume.

Before one can be successful in industry, they must have to proper education and training. Fortunately, budding electrical workers have many options to help them reach their goals and better themselves.

Source: http://iscussnisa.blogspot.com/2012/11/proper-electrician-training-and.html

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