Monday, December 31, 2012

Veterans, non-smokers dying of lung cancer

INDIANAPOLIS (WISH) - A second Indiana congressman is taking action after an I-Team 8 investigation exposed the government may be knowingly turning its back on thousands of Gulf War veterans with cancer.?

Karen Hensel exposed the investigation that has now prompted troops from here to Afghanistan to be tested for lung cancer.

It was a cancer predicted during the Gulf War by top scientists from several countries. Now 20 years veterans, non smokers, are dying of lung cancer. I-Team 8 went to Washington asking why?

INDIANA MARINE BATTLES

At the center of the battle is Indiana State Trooper and Marine Col. Mark Smith.? He says, "Now it's game on. Now its the fight. That part I can understand."?

Col. Mark Smith is a hardcore Marine. A battalion commander, he led 1,200 Marines into the deepest battles of the Iraq war. This time the fight is not against terrorists in Iraq. The enemy is lung cancer. Smith tells his pulmonologist Dr. Peter Garrett "Hey, a colonel in the Marine Corps can give orders. I can take orders."

He no longer fights alongside Marines. He has a new team. Smith says, "The wings these people wear that nobody sees because they are unbelievable." He is no longer the commander, but rather he is the patient 20 years after the Gulf War.

THE ORIGIN

24-Hour News 8's original I-Team 8 investigation prompted immediate action from Indiana Congressman Marlin Stutzman who is a member of the House Veteran's Affairs Committee. Within days, he sent this letter to the VA and DOD demanding answers on government "response and policies."? Why aren't veterans being notified they are at higher risk of lung cancer and why aren't they being aggressively screened?

When civilian doctors found a blood clot in Smith's leg they immediately ordered a CT scan. While the VA has been urged to offer CT screenings for veterans at high risk for lung cancer, so far the VA has not implemented it, relying solely on the less efficient x-rays.

HOW MANY?

There may be tens of thousands like Mark Smith unaware of the lung cancer battle waging in their chest. In 1991, Mark deployed with the 3/24 Marines to Saudi Arabia. He was stationed near the infamous Kuwaiti oil well fires some scientists likened to a "petroleum Chernobyl". The skies were black during the day. Black gunk would run from their noses. Doctors warned then cancer would appear 20 years later.

Two of Smiths doctors--one now and one then--say it appears his deployment 20 years ago could be the origin.? Dr. Garrett confirms to I-Team 8 "He certainly had exposure."? In 1998 Dr. Robert Daly documents: he spent "substantial time in the military in Saudi Arabia and was exposed to oil fires. Mark's dyspnea (shortness of breath) is somewhat puzzling."

24-Hour News 8's cameras have spent six months documenting how a Marine commander, always prepared, battles cancer. During treatment Smith told 24-Hour News 8, "This is just something I was completely and utterly unprepared for. The Marine Corps steels you."

DAY ONE

Our cameras were there as Smith underwent his first day of treatment. He called it "awesome" and lifted his shirt to show the box that marks the treatment. Day after day he undergoes both radiation and chemo. Long, hard, grueling treatments.?

While undergoing chemotherapy, he shows his Battlebook saying "This is just the Marine Corps way."? But the Marine Battlebook is replaced by Mark's Cancer Battlebook of appointments, notes and reminders. Smith says, "Someone tells you you have cancer, I don't care who you are. Your first thought is I'm dead. That's the stigma that comes with the disease. You have no idea there are the Dr. Garretts and the Dr. Meyers out there doing the things they are doing."

MARK'S NEW TEAM

Before treatment, there are moments of quiet reflection. Once it is time to go back, our microphone comes off. The box on his chest is highlighted as he lies on the machine. Mark may be by himself in the room, but he is never alone. Doctors and staff watch and wait as the barrage of radiation attacks the cancer cells. Smith is emotional as he reveals, "I've walked among giants in the Marine Corps. Guys books will be written about. This 100 pound female doctor stands as tall as any one of them."

He's talking about oncologist Dr. Meyer. Grateful to the doctors, nurses and technicians he thanked each one not as a patient, but as a Marine with a US Marine challenge coin. Semper Fi. Always Faithful.

One Marine, one patient "Always Faithful".

NEW QUESTIONS:

VA RESPONSE

But has the government been faithful to the troops deployed early in the Gulf War?? It took the VA several months to respond to questions from I-Team 8.

We were told "The VA is continuing to systematically study the long term health mortality experience of Gulf War veterans".? While they "found a slight increase in lung cancer" shortly after the 1990-1991 conflict, the response stated "a significantly greater proportion of deployed smoke cigarettes".

Col. Smith never smoked.

SECOND CONGRESSMAN WANTS ANSWERS?

How

many others are there?? That's what Indiana Congressman Todd Rokita is also asking after seeing our investigation. In a letter to the VA Secretary he wants a "clear explanation of what action" is being taken and "What preventative measures are being taken".

Consider it took 11 years for the cancers of 911 to finally be documented. Even more were at risk 20 years ago and still no action has been taken.

Until now.?

We heard from many veterans-non smokers-with lung cancer who also served in Desert Storm.

We also heard from those concerned. 24-Hour News 8 is posting the research on CT scans on our website so you can talk with your doctor. Those links can be found under the News tab at Web Link 8 .

?

Source: http://www.wishtv.com/dpp/news/i_team_8/veterans-non-smokers-dying-of-lung-cancer

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No God Flow: Is The Black Church Driving More African Americans To Atheism? http...

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Source: http://www.facebook.com/theloop21/posts/127402987424079

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Yahoo Bids Farewell to South Korea, Completes Exit

yahoo_purple_large-prvYahoo completed its exist from South Korea service today after operating for 15 years in that country, reports Yonhap News Agency. This move also marks the first Asian market Yahoo is leaving.

Source: http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/Techcrunch/~3/HbW3JRzlGy4/

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Sunday, December 30, 2012

In September, the U.S. Justice Department said Florida had ?planned, structured...

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Essential Tips To Choose Right Budget Web Hosting | Veritas India

Posted on December 30, 2012 by dufttuey508 in Internet

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Do verify the testimonies in their potential consumers to get to understand regarding their treasured expertise. Moreover, you could examine their client?s domain for getting an idea regarding their products.

It is possible to contact the online internet hosting suppliers not simply by using mail and also via toll free numbers for purchaser company. As a particular stage more, a number of the website hosting suppliers offer 100 percent free domains for just about any packages you buy.

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Source: http://www.veritasindia.com/essential-tips-to-choose-right-budget-web-hosting

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Iran to relocate airport after oil found under runway

Al Arabiya Saturday 29th December, 2012

Iran plans to relocate an airport in the southwest of the country after discovering oil deposits under its runway, media reported on Saturday. The National Iranian Oil Company "intends to buy Ahvaz airport due to the existence of oil deposits under the airport's tarmac," the state broadcaster's website quoted Mohammad Rasoulinejad, managing director of the Iranian Airports Company, as saying. "The government has approved the relocation of t...

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Source: http://www.middleeaststar.com/index.php/sid/211647149/scat/940f2bfd509e743b

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Saturday, December 29, 2012

Best of 2012: My Favorite Things ? Creating Communication

With our remaining three days of 2012, Creating Communication will reflect on the year in review as it relates to public speaking and presentation. ?First, we will look at my favorite presentation-related things of 2012: book, webinar, Tweets, blog, TED Talk, speech, etc.

My favorite 2012 presentation book goes to the Harvard Business Review/Nancy Duarte partnership: HBR?Guide to Persuasive Presentations. ?My review of the text is forthcoming! ?It combines Duarte?s previous texts,?Slide:ology and?Resonate into a short, neat, HBR-approved book, and it?s a must-read for anyone who presents.

My favorite public speaking/presentation concept was Ethos3?s ?Presenter?s Manifesto.? ?I printed out a beautiful color copy of the inspiring, well-designed guide to the presentation revolution, and I urge you to read it and to join us in 2013. ?My favorite Tweets about public speaking and presentation also came from Ethos3. ?You must follow them here. ?Last, but not least, my favorite public speaking webinar this year was done by Ethos3?s CEO Scott Schwertly and was called ?How To Be An Online Presentation God.? ?Organized by Tony Yang, Director of Marketing at Knoodle, the one-hour webinar was the perfect compliment to everything Ethos3 has been doing this year. ?I love those guys so much, and they?ve really inspired me in 2012 in so many ways.

My favorite Slideshare presentation from 2012 was JesseDee?s updated ?You Suck At PowerPoint.? ?Though the original was great, this updated version took the design to the next level.

My favorite TED Talk of 2012 was definitely LZ Granderson?s ?The Myth of the Gay Agenda.? ?My favorite speech of 2012 was Bill Clinton?s Democratic National Convention address. ?You especially have to check out this article alongside the video of Clinton?s DNC speech.

My favorite website with comprehensive information about public speaking and presentation in 2012 was Andrew Dlugan?s Six Minutes. ?I was lucky enough to write for Six Minutes twice in 2012, and you can check out my articles here. ?While this series is my favorite of all time on Six Minutes, this article was my favorite of 2012 because I love examining charisma and what it means to be a charismatic speaker.

I can?t talk about the best of 2012 without honoring the two best overall public speaking/presentation brands: Nancy Duarte and Garr Reynolds. ?Both blog, Tweet, speak, and write amazing things on 21st century presenting.

Who or what would you add to this list of 2012 favorites? ?Did I miss anything important?

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Be the first to like this.

Source: http://alexrister1.wordpress.com/2012/12/29/best-of-2012-my-favorite-things/

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Passengers on Queen Mary 2 sickened; norovirus suspected

8 hrs.

NEW YORK --?An unknown illness, suspected of being a norovirus, has sickened 194 passengers and 11 crew members aboard the luxury cruise ship Queen Mary 2, causing vomiting and diarrhea, federal health officials said on Friday.

Earlier in the week, 189 passengers and 31 crew members on the Emerald Princess came down with the same symptoms.

The symptoms are those of norovirus, a contagious microorganism that can be acquired from an infected person, contaminated food or water, or by touching contaminated surfaces, according to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

Norovirus causes an inflammation of the stomach or intestines called acute gastroenteritis, producing stomach pain, nausea and diarrhea, and is the most common cause of acute gastroenteritis in the United States.

Each year, norovirus causes some 21 million illnesses, of which 70,000 require hospitalization. It kills about 800 people a year, the CDC says.

The Queen Mary 2, with 2,613 passengers and 1,255 crew members, is now docked in Saint Lucia in the Caribbean, according to ship owner Cunard Line, which is owned by Carnival Corp. The cruise left Brooklyn, New York, last Saturday and is due to return there next Thursday.

The CDC learned of the illnesses on the QM2 on Christmas Day on Tuesday, and of those on the Emerald Princess last Saturday. Vessels are required to notify the agency when 2 percent of those on board develop a gastrointestinal illness.

Although the microbial culprit remains unclear In both cases, another reason to suspect norovirus is that the pathogen "has affected a number of schools, hospitals, nursing homes and children's day care centers this winter" in the United Kingdom, Cunard said in a statement.

The UK's Health Protection Agency reports that norovirus activity in the country is 83 per cent higher than last year.

The QM2 sails regularly scheduled crossings between New York and Southampton, England, between April and late November, Cunard spokeswoman Jackie Chase said in an email. "In addition, many of our guests come from the UK."

The QM2's captain is advising passengers with gastrointestinal symptoms to report to the medical center, Chase said. Those sickened are asked to "isolate themselves in their cabin until non-contagious. They are also asked not to proceed ashore, and any shore excursion costs will be refunded. Room service is provided to affected passengers and every effort is made to make them as comfortable as possible."

Of the 194 QM2 passengers who had fallen sick, said Chase, all but 12 had recovered as of Friday.

'Norovirus?active on board'
In a post on the message board cruisecritic.com on Wednesday, a woman who said her daughter was on the QM2 said she "just received a message from her indicating that the Norovirus is active on board."

On Thursday, someone reporting being on the ship posted that "the restaurants are still full. The Captain last night recommended that people take all of their meals in the full-service restaurants rather than the buffet, but the buffet remains open as of this morning. We've been kept informed daily of the persistent cases."

Another post said: "The crew are working like crazy to service all the guests. At lunch today I noticed the hand rails on the promenade deck were wiped three times in about 1 hour."

In response to the outbreak, the QM2 crew has increased cleaning and disinfection procedures, the CDC said, and is asking passengers and crew to report cases of illness and "encourage hand hygiene."

Medical personnel are also collecting stool specimens from ill passengers and crew, which a CDC lab will analyze to make a definitive diagnosis.

When the QM2 docks in Brooklyn, an officer from the CDC's Vessel Sanitation Program and an epidemiologist will board, conduct an environmental health assessment "and evaluate the outbreak and response activities," the CDC said.

Two officers boarded the Emerald Princess, also owned by Carnival, when it arrived in Fort Lauderdale, Florida, on Thursday and are conducting an environmental assessment.

The Vessel Sanitation Program has authority to inspect cruise ships that carry 13 or more passengers and call at U.S. ports. It gave the Queen Mary 2 a perfect 100 on its most recent inspection this past summer, but found a few minor infractions, including a lack of serving utensils with breakfast pastries at a buffet.

Copyright 2012 Thomson Reuters. Click for restrictions.

Source: http://www.nbcnews.com/travel/passengers-queen-mary-2-sickened-unidentified-pathogen-1C7753032

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Obama invites congressional leaders to cliff talk

WASHINGTON (AP) ? President Barack Obama will meet with congressional leaders at the White House on Friday in search of a compromise to avoid a year-end "fiscal cliff" of across-the-board tax increases and deep spending cuts.

The development capped a day of growing urgency. Obama returned early from a Hawaiian vacation while lawmakers snarled across a partisan divide, leaders in each party blaming the other for an episode of government gridlock that threatens the economy with a new recession.

Adding to the woes confronting the middle class was a pending spike of $2 per gallon or more in milk prices if lawmakers failed to pass farm legislation by year's end.

Four days before the deadline, the White House disputed reports that Obama was sending lawmakers a scaled-down plan to avoid the fiscal cliff of tax increases and spending cuts.

Administration officials confirmed the Friday meeting at the White House in a bare-bones announcement that said the president would "host a meeting."

A spokesman for House Speaker John Boehner quickly issued a statement that said the Ohio Republican would attend and "continue to stress that the House has already passed legislation to avert the entire fiscal cliff and now the Senate must act."

Top Senate leaders said they remain ready to seek a last-minute agreement. Yet there was no legislation pending and no sign of negotiations in either the House or the Senate on a bill to prevent the tax hikes and spending cuts that economists say could send the economy into a recession.

Far from conciliatory, the rhetoric was confrontational and at times unusually personal.

Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, D-Nev., accused House Speaker John Boehner of running a dictatorship, citing his refusal to call a vote on legislation to keep taxes steady for most while letting them rise at upper incomes. The bill "would pass overwhelmingly," Reid predicted, and said the Ohio Republican won't change his mind because he fears it might cost him re-election as speaker when the new Congress convenes next week.

Boehner seems "to care more about keeping his speakership than keeping the nation on a firm financial footing," he said in remarks on the Senate floor.

A few hours later, McConnell expressed frustration and blamed the standoff on Obama and the Democrats. "Republicans have bent over backwards. We stepped way, way out of our comfort zone," he said, referring to GOP offers to accept higher tax rates on some taxpayers.

"We wanted an agreement, but we had no takers. The phone never rang, and so here we are five days from the new year and we might finally start talking," McConnell said.

Still, he warned: "Republicans aren't about to write a blank check for anything the Democrats put forward just because we find ourselves at the edge of the cliff."

Brendan Buck, a spokesman for Boehner, responded in a similar vein to Reid's comments. "Harry Reid should talk less and legislate more if he wants to avert the fiscal cliff. The House has already passed legislation to do so," he said, referring to a measure that extends existing cuts at all income levels.

Addressing the GOP rank and file by conference call, Boehner said the next move is up to the Senate, which has yet to act on House-passed bills to retain expiring tax cuts at all income levels and replace across-the-board spending cuts with targeted savings aimed largely at social programs.

"The House will take this action on whatever the Senate can pass - but the Senate must act," he said, according to a participant in the call.

Boehner told Republican lawmakers the House would convene on Sunday evening. Rep. Tom Cole, R-Okla., an ally of the speaker, quoted him as having said "he didn't really intend to put on the floor something that would pass with all the Democratic votes and few of the Republican votes."

The risk of higher milk prices stems from the possibility that existing farm programs will expire at year's end, and neither chamber of Congress has scheduled a vote on even a temporary extension to prevent a spike. There have been unverified estimates that the cost to consumers of a gallon of milk could double without action by Congress.

The president flew home from Hawaii overnight after speaking with top congressional leaders.

Before leaving the White House last Friday, the president had called on lawmakers to pass scaled-down legislation that prevents tax increases for the middle class, raises rates at upper incomes and renews expiring unemployment benefits for the long-term jobless. He said he still supports a more sweeping measure to include spending cuts to reduce deficits, but said they could wait until the new year.

That capped an unpredictable week in which Boehner pivoted away from comprehensive deficit reduction talks with Obama to an aborted attempt to push legislation through the House that retained existing tax levels except above $1 million. Anti-tax Republicans rebelled at raising rates on million-dollar earners, and Boehner backpedaled and canceled the planned vote.

Without congressional action, current tax rates will expire on Dec. 31, resulting in a $536 billion tax increase over a decade that would touch nearly all Americans. In addition, the military and other federal departments would have to begin absorbing about $110 billion in spending cuts.

Failure to avoid the "fiscal cliff" doesn't necessarily mean tax increases and spending cuts would become permanent, since the new Congress could pass legislation cancelling them retroactively after it begins its work next year.

But gridlock through the end of the year would mark a sour beginning to a two-year extension of divided government that resulted from last month's elections in which Obama won a new term and Republicans retained their majority in the House.

The tax issue in particular has been Obama's first test of muscle after his re-election in November. He ran for a new term calling for higher taxes on the wealthy, and postelection public opinion polls show continued support for his position.

Boehner's decision to support higher rates on million-dollar earners marked a significant break with long-standing GOP orthodoxy, but the resistance among his rank and file so far has trumped him as well as any mandate the president claims.

___

Associated Press writers Alan Fram and Jim Kuhnhenn contributed to this report.

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/obama-invites-congressional-leaders-cliff-talk-003155101--finance.html

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Friday, December 28, 2012

Self Improvement Times: Time Management Tips - 3 Essential Time ...

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Source: http://mimshah.blogspot.com/2012/12/self-improvement-times-time-management.html

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Here's to happy travelling 2013! - Travel insurance for pre-existing ...

The travel trade will be hoping for a better start to the New Year than they got this year.? 2012 had barely started when we were all shocked by the awful Costa Concordia disaster.? On the 13th of January the cruise ship, with 4,252 passengers and crew on board, ran aground off Italy.? The rocks tore a huge gash in the ship?s hull causing it to take on water and start to sink; this resulted in the deaths of 32 people.? The disaster happening a couple of months before the 100th anniversary of the sinking of the RMS Titanic did not help with cruise holiday makers confidence. ?

As 2012 is drawing to a close there is more worry for the cruise industry with the reported breakout of the Norovirus on a few cruise ships turning dreams holidays into disasters.? When these viruses strike they can spread very quickly in a confined space such as a cruise ship, people with symptoms are generally confined to cabins. This means that although they are on holiday all they are able to look at is the four walls of their cabin, they are not allowed up on deck for fresh air, and even in ports they are still asked to remain in cabin to try and holt the spread, which could also mean missing excursions etc., they have already paid for.


Becoming ill on holiday is normally just down to bad luck, but if you have the correct travel insurance policy in place, this can soften the financial blow.? For example if any of our medical conditions travel insurance customers are going on a cruise holiday we would always recommend that they take out a specific cruise travel insurance policy, which will pay you a daily amount for the days you are confined to cabin if you are taken ill and will also reimburse you for any excursions you are unable to go on due to being confined to cabin.

So here is to happy and healthy travelling in 2013, but remember to buy the travel insurance policy best suitable for your needs and the holiday you are going on.? Then if the worst does happen you have a back up.

Source: http://blog.insurancewith.com/2012/12/heres-to-happy-travelling-2013.html

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Jawbone UP


The Jawbone UP?($149.99 direct)?is in some ways everything I want from a fitness-tracking gadget. It tracks daily activity and sleep efficiency, comes with a supremely well-designed iPhone app, feels comfortable around my wrist, and includes a vibrating silent alarm, which anyone who shares a bed should at least try. And yet, when I compare it with my favorite fitness device and PCMag's Editors' Choice, the $100 Fitbit One, the Jawbone UP doesn't quite measure up.

The UP costs $50 more and misses many key features that the Fitbit just gets right. One is discretion?not everyone wants to be seen wearing what is essentially a pedometer. The Fitbit One fits snugly on a bra strap, in a pocket, or attached to your waistband. Also, the Jawbone doesn't connect to any other apps or devices. The Fitbit integrates with all the major calorie-counting apps, as well as a Wi-Fi bathroom scale, the Fitbit Aria, for automated weigh-ins.?I wanted to love the Jawbone UP, just as I wanted to love the Nike+ FuelBand. I had high expectations of both, but a middling and lackluster experience.

Design
The relatively thin and flexible bracelet comes in three sizes (small, medium, large) and eight colors: onyx, mint green, light gray, blue, navy blue, red, orange, and hunter green. An embossed zigzag extends the length of the wrap-around band, which is made of medical-grade, hypoallergenic TPU rubber. In theory, you can wear it all the time, even in the shower, although I have not yet given it the full splash test. I'll let common sense, rather?than the instruction manual,?guide that decision.

What's included? You get the UP band, a not-very-helpful quick start guide that will point you to Jawbone's website for additional instructions, and a USB charging cable. Inside the band is a lithium-ion polymer battery that lasts about 10 days on a single charge.

Some reviewers like the Jawbone UP's look, but I doubt they went to a formal dinner in a sleeveless dress while still wearing it. If a device is meant to be worn 24/7, as the Jawbone UP is, I need the option to wear it discreetly. That's a huge selling point for the Fitbit, and a major con for the UP.

It's All in the App
The best aspects of the Jawbone UP are found in the iOS app, the primary?nay, only?way you interact with data. The app shows how many miles you've walked, calories you've burned, charts of your sleeping patterns, your mood should you choose to log it daily, and a summary of what you've eaten.

But wait. There's more. From the app, you can set a silent alarm that vibrates up to 30 minutes ahead of your designated wake up time if it spots an ideal moment for you to get up based on your REM cycles. Pretty neat, eh? There's also a power nap switch that, when activated, looks at your sleep habits to determine whether your best nap would be a 27-minute rest or a 45-minute siesta, or something in between. It then sets the appropriate alarm. The Fitbit One has a silent alarm, too, but it only vibrates at the time you set. One more silent alarm I like in the Jawbone UP is an "idle alert," which I scheduled to remind me to get off my butt after 90 minutes of inactivity Monday through Friday, from 8:30 AM to 5:00 PM.

Graphics in the Jawbone UP's app delight the eye with vivacious colors. Interactive gesture-based motions look smooth and fluid. But here's the catch: You must connect the Jawbone to your iPhone's or iPad's headset jack to sync the data and be able to see it. That is to say, the rubbery and lightweight bracelet tells you next to nothing in itself. There are no readouts or displays on the device.?In other words, you need an iOS device. According to the company, an Android app is in hopper, but it's not on the market yet.

The Fitbit One, meanwhile, spoils you with data in a Web app, in mobile apps, and on the gadget itself. Press its tiny button, and you can cycle through your fitness stats, or just view the time, at a moment's notice.

What's Missing and Conclusions
The latest gadgets in the personal fitness market add a heart rate monitor directly on the device, no chest strap needed. I recently received a Basis Alpha to test, which has this feature, and am psyched to write about it soon. A high-tech feature such as this one sets the Jawbone UP even further behind the pack.

The few aspects of the Jawbone UP that I like, I really like. This device could have been great, but the fact that it's limited to iPhone, iPod touch, and iPad users decreases its overall appeal considerably. And in light of our Editors' Choice, the Fitbit One, Jawbone's band doesn't really compete. If you have an iPhone and don't mind not being able to see your data right on the device, it could be a great option, but it's still 50 bucks more.

Source: http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/ziffdavis/pcmag/~3/D_NFA9zS_-M/0,2817,2413303,00.asp

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Thursday, December 27, 2012

Broader background checks and denial criteria could help prevent mass shooting catastrophes, experts say

Dec. 27, 2012 ? Garen Wintemute, a leading authority on gun violence prevention and an emergency medicine physician at UC Davis, believes broader criteria for background checks and denials on gun purchases can help prevent future firearm violence, including mass shooting catastrophes such as those that occurred at Sandy Hook, Aurora, Virginia Tech and Columbine.

"To reduce the number of deaths and injuries from firearms in the United States, we need to develop policies that require background checks for all firearm purchases, including private-party sales -- the most important source of firearms for criminal buyers and others who are prohibited from purchasing guns," said Wintemute, director of the UC Davis Violence Prevention Research Program and inaugural Susan P. Baker-Stephen P. Teret Chair in Violence Prevention at UC Davis.

"We need to prevent individuals with a previous conviction for a misdemeanor violent crime, such as assault and battery, from purchasing or possessing a firearm. We also need to develop better data and criteria that allow us to distinguish between those with a treatable mental disorder who do not have a history of violence from those with a history of violence or substance abuse," he said.

Wintemute's views posted on the Online First section of the New England Journal of Medicine website as a Perspective article, entitled "Tragedy's Legacy," on December 26, 2012. It also will appear in the journal's January 31, 2013 print edition.

According to Wintemute, the United States represents only 5 percent of the world's population, but it owns more than 40 percent of all firearms that are in civilians' hands. In addition, he believes that policies governing gun purchases and use have allowed the widest possible array of firearms to be available to the widest group of people, for use under the widest array of conditions. Wintemute specifically cites the "Stand Your Ground" laws, enacted at the state level, as dangerous experiments that have been used to legitimize shootings that once were considered to be murder.

Wintemute emphasizes taking a broad approach.

"It may be impossible to predict the next mass shooting incident, and we cannot expect interventions designed for specific circumstances to eliminate the risk of firearm violence. But we can change our firearms laws, based on existing evidence, to reduce harm and better ensure public safety," he said.

"Some 40 percent of all firearm transactions, for example, involve private-party sellers, who are not required to keep records and cannot obtain a background check," Wintemute said. "We need policies that prevent these quick, anonymous and undocumented sales. We also need policies that deny gun purchases to those who we know are at high risk for violence."

Wintemute's research has shown that among persons who purchase firearms legally, those with a previous conviction for a misdemeanor violent crime are roughly nine times as likely as those with no criminal history to be arrested for a violent crime later. For those with two or more such prior convictions, he found the risk increases by a factor of 10 to 15. In addition, studies have shown that firearm owners who abuse alcohol are more likely than other owners to engage in violence-related firearm behavior.

"We know that comprehensive background checks and expanded denial criteria are feasible and effective, because they are in place in many states and have been evaluated," Wintemute said. "In California, the denial policy reduced the risk of violence and firearm-related crime by 23 percent among those whose purchases were denied. But we need to broaden these and other effective state-level regulations to eliminate the flow of firearms from states where laws are lax to states where laws are stricter."

Wintemute also notes that proposals for comprehensive background checks and denials for misdemeanor violence and for alcohol abuse enjoy broad public support, including among firearm owners. Survey data come from Wintemute's own research as well as a series of public polls conducted for the Mayors Against Illegal Guns.

"While the individual circumstances of the mass shooting massacres in the U.S. are different, we can only change the outcome if we confront the challenge of unchecked and easy access to firearms," Wintemute said. "Strengthening our background check and denial policies for firearm purchases will not eliminate firearm violence, but they can reduce it."

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Story Source:

The above story is reprinted from materials provided by University of California - Davis Health System.

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


Journal Reference:

  1. Garen J. Wintemute. Tragedy's Legacy. New England Journal of Medicine, 2012; : 121226140059003 DOI: 10.1056/NEJMp1215491

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

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

Source: http://feeds.sciencedaily.com/~r/sciencedaily/mind_brain/consumer_behavior/~3/Q7KXLV85PdI/121227154701.htm

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Jobless claims fall to lowest level in nearly five years

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - U.S. consumer confidence fell more than expected in December, hitting a four-month low as a looming fiscal crisis sapped what had been a growing sense of optimism about the economy.

The report heightened concerns that a failure by Washington to avert planned tax hikes and spending cuts could lead households to close their wallets, threatening an economic recovery that has been steady albeit lackluster.

Other data on Thursday highlighted the positive momentum building in the economy, with the number of Americans filing new claims for jobless benefits falling to a nearly 4-1/2 year low and new home sales hitting their highest level since April 2010.

But gauges of business sentiment have weakened recently on worries Washington will go forward with plans to slash the federal deficit by about $600 billion in 2013.

Now consumers also appear apprehensive, a sign worries about the so-called "fiscal cliff" could bite into household spending.

The Conference Board, an industry group, said its index of consumer attitudes fell to 65.1 from 71.5 in November.

A sub-index measuring how consumers feel about their present situation rose to its highest level in more than four years, but a gauge of sentiment about the future plunged to its lowest point in more than a year.

"Consumers are increasingly preoccupied with the potential damage the fiscal cliff will cause to the economy and to their wallets if a deal is not reached soon," economists at RBS in Stamford, Connecticut, wrote in a research note.

Separately, the Labor Department said initial claims for state unemployment benefits dropped 12,000 last week to a seasonally adjusted 350,000, the Labor Department said.

"This recent improvement in the claims data is potentially a favorable signal for the labor market," said Daniel Silver, an economist at JPMorgan in New York.

After spiking in the wake of a mammoth storm that ravaged the East Coast in late October, new claims have dropped to their lowest levels since the early days of the 2007-09 recession. The four-week moving average fell 11,250 last week to 356,750, the lowest since March 2008.

The claims data has no direct relation to the government's monthly employment report, but it suggests the surge in layoffs since the recession has at least run its course.

Still, many economists think hiring may remain sluggish even as the pace of layoffs ease.

Companies in recent months have been adding to their payrolls at a lackluster pace, and analysts expect the employment report due on January 4 will show 143,000 jobs were created in December, down from 146,000 in November.

"A significant improvement in labor market conditions ahead of any resolution to the fiscal cliff is unlikely," said Michael Gapen, an economist at Barclays in New York.

U.S. stocks opened flat but turned lower as the Senate Democratic leader derided Republicans for the lack of progress in budget talks and warned that a fall off the "cliff" appeared inevitable. Investors sought safety by buying U.S. Treasury debt and the dollar, which rose against the euro.

Following a truncated holiday break in Hawaii, U.S. President Barack Obama returned to Washington to restart talks to avoid the brunt of the fiscal cliff's impact, which would likely put the U.S. economy back into recession if not lessened.

HOLIDAY CAVEAT

The signs of progress in the claims data also included a caveat, at least for the latest week.

Obama declared Monday a holiday for federal workers and many state offices followed suit and were unable to provide complete data for last week's jobless claims. Data for 19 states was estimated, although 14 of those states submitted their own estimates, which tend to be fairly accurate.

The holiday season can make it more difficult to adjust the claims data for normal seasonal fluctuations, another reason to be cautious about the report for last week.

Separately, the Commerce Department said new U.S. single-family home sales rose in November to a 377,000-unit annual rate, while the median sales price jumped 14.9 percent from the same month in 2011, the latest signs the U.S. housing recovery is gaining some steam.

In a fourth report, the Chicago Federal Reserve Bank said its index of factory activity in the U.S. Midwest increased in November to 93.7 from a revised 92.2 in October.

(Reporting by Jason Lange; Additional reporting by Richard Leong and Ryan Vlastelica in New York; Editing by Neil Stempleman)

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/jobless-claims-fall-trend-reading-four-half-low-133656610--business.html

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Nelson Mandela "not yet fully recovered": spokesman

JOHANNESBURG (Reuters) - Former South African President Nelson Mandela is doing well after being discharged from hospital, although he is still not fully recovered, a government spokesman said on Thursday.

"He is not yet fully recovered, but he has sufficiently moved forward so that he can be discharged," Mac Maharaj told local broadcaster eNCA.

"He is sufficiently well to be home."

The 94-year-old anti-apartheid leader and Nobel Peace Prize laureate was discharged from the hospital on Wednesday, ending a nearly three-week stay during which he was treated for a lung infection and had surgery to remove gallstones.

Mandela, who has been in frail health for several years, is now receiving care at his suburban Johannesburg home.

Mandela has a history of lung problems dating back to when he contracted tuberculosis while in jail as a political prisoner. He spent 27 years in prison, including 18 years on the windswept Robben Island off Cape Town.

The former president was admitted to a Pretoria hospital on December 8 and this was his longest stay in a hospital since he was released from prison in 1990.

Current President Jacob Zuma visited Mandela on Christmas Day and said the former South African leader was doing much better, making progress and in good spirits.

Mandela was also admitted to a hospital in February because of abdominal pain but released the following day after a keyhole examination showed there was nothing seriously wrong with him.

He has spent most of his time since then in another home in Qunu, his ancestral village in the impoverished Eastern Cape province.

(Reporting by David Dolan; editing by Todd Eastham)

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/south-africas-mandela-discharged-hospital-government-020549200.html

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Wednesday, December 26, 2012

Sir Paul Coleridge's gay marriage comments 'have damaged the ...

Calls by a High Court judge for the Government to abandon gay marriage plans have been criticised as troubling and inappropriate by lawyers and a former minister.

In an interview with The Times, Sir Paul Coleridge attacked the coalition?s plans for gay marriage, saying that ministers were wasting efforts on a minority issue which only affected ?0.1 per cent? of the population.

?So much energy and time has been put into this debate for 0.1 per cent of the population, when we have a crisis of family breakdown,? he said. ?It?s gratifying that marriage in any context is centre stage

Source: http://www.thetimes.co.uk/tto/news/politics/article3640912.ece

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Mattel and Hasbro: Terrified By Kids' High-Tech Christmas Lists?

Source: http://www.thehollywoodgossip.com/2012/12/mattel-and-hasbro-terrified-by-kids-high-tech-christmas-lists/

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Scientists sequence genome of pathogen responsible for pneumocystis pneumonia

Dec. 26, 2012 ? Scientists have sequenced the genome of the fungus Pneumocystis jirovecii, an advancement that could help identify new targets for drugs to treat and prevent Pneumocystis pneumonia, a common and often deadly infection in immunocompromised patients. The study will be published on December 26, 2012 in mBio?, the online open-access journal of the American Society for Microbiology. The organism cannot yet be isolated and grown for study in the laboratory, so details about Pneumocystis pneumonia, the biology of P. jirovecii, and its pathogenicity are hard to come by. The genome sequence represents a wealth of new information for doctors and researchers tackling this disease.

Pneumocystis pneumonia is an opportunistic infection that strikes most often in individuals with diminished immune systems. The corresponding author of the study in mBio?, Philippe Hauser of the Centre Hospitalier Universitaire Vaudois and University of Lausanne, in Switzerland, says the disease gained importance in the 1980s.

"Recognized first among malnourished infants, P. jirovecii pneumonia became a public issue with the advent of the HIV epidemic," says Hauser. Today, the disease most commonly affects HIV-infected persons who are unaware of their status as well as solid organ transplant recipients and patients with hemato-oncologic or autoimmune diseases. Since the organism cannot be grown in the lab for study, researchers have long made do with studying P. jirovecii's lab-friendly relatives, species that infect animals and plants, in order to explore the secrets of the human disease.

"It is obviously better to study [P. jirovecii's] genes rather that those of Pneumocystis species from animal models. The genome has both medical and evolutionary interests for the scientific community," says Hauser.

Under normal circumstances, scientists sequencing the genome of a microorganism simply extract DNA from thick cultures of cells they grow in the lab. Since they were unable to grow P. jirovecii cells for their genomic DNA, Hauser and his colleagues took a different approach. They took a sample of bronchoalveolar lavage fluid from an individual infected with Pneumocystis pneumonia, then concentrated the P. jirovecii cells using immuno-precipitation and created copies of the DNA in the sample using a technique called random DNA amplification. This mixture of DNA strands, from P. jirovecii, human, and other microbes from the lungs of the infected patient, was then sequenced using high throughput technologies.

According to Hauser and his colleagues, the fact that the sequence data represented DNA from many different species created the biggest challenge they faced. "The major challenge of the study was the in silico sorting of the reads out of a mixture representing the human host and different organisms present in the lung microbiome," he says. This challenge was met through a collaboration with Marco Pagni of the Vital-IT group of the SIB Swiss Institute of Bioinformatics, who provided indispensable expertise and infrastructure.

Once the sorting task was accomplished, the researchers assembled the sequences into a genome and attempted to identify the functions of P. jirovecii's genes. This is the first time scientists have assembled the genome of a fungus from a mixed pool of DNA from a single source, often called a metagenome. Their analyses reveal a surprising fact: P. jirovecii is a parasite that must live within the human body to survive.

P. jirovecii lacks the genes necessary for creating some of the essential ingredients of life, a hallmark of obligate parasites, organisms that must rely on another creature for sustenance. "It implies that they need their host to provide these molecules. Thus, this has been quite an important finding which implied that human beings represent the reservoir of this pathogen," says Hauser. This is useful information, since it means that people are the only significant source of the organism and that both infected people and healthy carriers represent the only control points for limiting the spread of the disease.

The genome also shows that P. jirovecii apparently lacks the ability to make toxins and virulence factors, molecules that enable a microbe to invade and take advantage of its host. This makes sense, since P. jirovecii does not cause disease in healthy people, but only runs out of control when it is not confronted with an immune response.

In the study of infectious disease, access to the genome of a pathogen provides new information that can be pivotal in combating the diseases is causes. The hope is that the genome of P. jirovecii will lead to new advances in therapies for those suffering from Pneumocystis pneumonia. The current drugs of choice for treating Pneumocystis pneumonia are antifolates, but certain isolates of P. jirovecii have already developed resistance to antifolates, an ability that is very likely to spread. Now that the genome of P. jirovecii is assembled and available to researchers all over the world, scientists can tease out clues about the organism that will help identify targets for some badly needed new drugs.

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Story Source:

The above story is reprinted from materials provided by American Society for Microbiology, via EurekAlert!, a service of AAAS.

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


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

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

Source: http://feeds.sciencedaily.com/~r/sciencedaily/top_news/top_health/~3/_LiDeWUJJr4/121226080900.htm

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Tuesday, December 25, 2012

Write Your Life: Top Blog Posts of 2012

At Write Your Life, we enjoy sharing tips and information to help you get smart about becoming a self-published author. Throughout 2012, our team of bloggers has shared valuable expertise and knowledge to help you succeed. Here, we share a few of our top picks from the year.?

Many authors do all their writing first and think that they can wait to work on plans and goals later, when the book is ready to be released. But in doing that, they?re starting out behind.?Here are five questions to consider before writing and publishing your book.

Stop searching for the Holy Grail of all writing instruction materials and instead build your network of academic pros, literary pros, and colleagues to hone your craft.

Time and patience and inspiration allow great authors to achieve eloquent and emotional introductions. With a little effort, you, too, can craft a strong opening line.

Writers need to write. The learning curve can be tough. Demanding. But it?s important to your craft. If you want to get better, here are some ways to improve.?

Most often, new authors consider the dollar cost of book production as an expense rather than an investment. The distinction, as I see it, is that an investment suggests an anticipated return while an expense may not. And so it should be with your book project.

The time to begin making connections and building relationships for marketing is BEFORE your book is complete. Small, consistent steps make it easy.

Taking the time at the start of your writing journey to consider how you might wrap up your story will become one of the biggest favors you?ve ever done for yourself.

A professional edit is an essential component of a well-produced book. So why do so many authors, particularly self-published authors, skip this vital step? It could be that they do not know what to look for when choosing an editor.

Many think the hardest part of publishing a book is writing it, but that?s the easiest part for most authors. Marketing is equally important. Here are some ideas for generating special market sales.

For strategic authors, identifying an ideal reader ? a target audience, as it's called in marketing ? is an unvoidable and absolutely necessary first step in creating a book that will appeal to a niche market.

If you?re looking to get a commercial or academic publisher, here are the top five things you should include in your book proposal.?

The power of a dollar can go quite far with your book marketing budget. As the co-author of How to Market Your Book For Free, I have learned to use various strategies to market my books while on a budget, through healthy self-competition, for a substantial return on my investment.?

We wish you a peaceful, prosperous, and phenomenal New Yew Year.?

Source: http://writeyourlifeblog.blogspot.com/2012/12/top-blog-posts-of-2012.html

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Jupiter, Moon Align in Christmas Skywatching Treat

As darkness falls on Christmas night, check out the east-southeast sky.?Shining brilliantly to the upper left of the bright, nearly full moon will be a silvery "star" with a steady glow.

But that's not a star, or Santa returning to the North Pole. Rather, it's the largest planet in our solar system, Jupiter, serving as a sort of holiday ornament with Earth's nearest neighbor to cap off a year of interesting skwyatching events. ??

As viewed from the eastern and central United States, the moon and Jupiter will appear closest together during the late afternoon or early evening hours on Tuesday (Dec. 25). From New York, they?ll be closest together at 6:25 p.m. EST (2325 GMT); from Chicago, it?ll be 5:18 p.m. local time (2318 GMT).

Jupiter will appear just a bit over one-half degree from the limb of the moon. (One-half degree is roughly equal to the moon?s apparent width). In the western United States, the closest approach will come before sunset, but moon and planet will still appear to be quite close together as darkness falls.?[Video: Jupiter and the Moon Converge on Christmas]?

The pair will be slowly separating as Tuesday night shifts to Wednesday morning; the moon moves across the sky at roughly its own diameter each hour.?

Jupiter will remain a bold light high in the east-southeast at nightfall.?This week, it?doesn't set in the west until around 5 a.m. local time.?Appearing brighter than any nighttime star, Jupiter is now levitating in front of the constellation Taurus (the Bull), not far from the famous V-shaped Hyades star cluster and despite the nearby presence of the orange 1st-magnitude star, Aldebaran, which fills this region of the sky with overbearing brightness.?

What kind of telescopic observation can be made of the gas giant now??Almost every kind.?From mid-northern latitudes you can even watch a full rotation of Jupiter, with the cloud features of every longitude displayed, during a single nightlong vigil. And as always, a fascinating dance of Jupiter's four large Galilean satellites will await viewers on any night who watch with a small telescope or even steadily held binoculars.

As darkness falls over the eastern U.S. on Tuesday, you'll see two Jupiter moons ? Ganymede and Callisto ? on one side of the giant planet, while?a third, Europa, hovers by itself on the other side.?

As the evening progresses, Ganymede and Europa will gradually pull away from Jupiter. Then, at 7:15 p.m. EST (0015 GMT Wednesday), the fourth Galilean satellite, Io, will emerge from Jupiter's shadow and appear on the side of the planet occupied by Europa.?

Slowly, as Tuesday night wears on, Io will become easier to see as it moves away from Jupiter and toward Europa. At 11:40 p.m. EST (0440 GMT Wednesday), you?ll see Io passing Europa.?

And Jupiter itself will continue to be a great target throughout the entire winter season for those who got binoculars or a telescope as a holiday gift.

Joe Rao serves as an instructor and guest lecturer at New York's Hayden Planetarium. He writes about astronomy for The New York Times and other publications, and he is also an on-camera meteorologist for News 12 Westchester, New York.?Follow SPACE.com on Twitter?@Spacedotcom. We're also on?Facebook?&?Google+.?

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

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/jupiter-moon-align-christmas-skywatching-treat-120844842.html

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Eric Chua : Life, Business and Real Estate in Singapore ? Top Tier ...

When you get away from everything, you will understand how simple most people are. Never assume that simply because you don?t have a major brand name behind you that you can?t have achieve the success of your dreams. When using the correct Internet marketing strategies, you can turn a business into a profitable venture, and the tips below will show you how to achieve that.

Create a FAQ on your site. To address each question or concern, offer thoughtful responses, and also be sure to mention some products that you have for sale as solutions. Although it?s a good idea to avoid the impression of advertising too directly, you can couch the questions in terms that make it reasonable to talk about your products when you write the answers.

Be sure to provide an ordering system that is secure. Consider PayPal or a comparable service for secure transactions on your site. Before a customer sends you any money, they need to create a secure account.

TIP! On your webpage, have free offers. A lot of people might be interested in getting a article on download.

If writing is something you are skilled at, write an article containing information about your business and send it over to websites or magazines that allow article submissions. Be sure to include information about your brand and your site in the articles you submit. You can entice the editors with commissions or freebies that encourage them to publish your content.

Put on a promotion or event, and then see what the buzz is about. This will benefit the future success of marketing strategies. When launching an online event or promotion, you should be aware of the way your visitors react on blogs and forums. Incorporate the advice they have given so that your visitors know that you are listening to them, and respect what they have to say.

Advertise your company on popular websites online. This may be a big investment, but it can make a great big difference. You want to pick a site that has heavy traffic and offers content in your particular niche or area of industry.

TIP! Follow your competition to stay aware of current trends and failures in your market. Check out the websites of competitors to look at their offers.

There are many methods of Affiliate marketing. One basic form is to post advertisements in various strategic locations online. There are many companies who will allow you to do this, and Google AdSense is a very popular one. The prices are often reasonable for most budgets and can help increase your customer base.

It is vital that you track your numbers closely. You need to monitor your traffic, sales and outreach. Calculate your referral and conversion rates to figure out how efficient your campaign is. Detailed statistics can help you to devise your plan for the future and see where you are lacking.

Run some email tests and monitor their success to understand what works for your subscribers. One way to do this is with split testing, also called bucket testing or A/B testing. Write two versions of an email to send to your customers so that there is one significant difference between the versions. This may include two separate subject lines or two different paragraphs. Try sending each version to equal number of random customers and see which has the best success. You should use the email campaign that is the most popular.

TIP! For returning customers, consider adding special deals on the order page. Seeing a half price-item can lead to more business from the same customer.

Before you can aspire to real success with internet marketing, you must first have a really good website. You should perform regular tests on your site to make sure there aren?t any glitches or broken links. If potential customers can?t easily navigate your website, they may not be motivated to buy your product.

If you bundle the products and offer a better price, you may have success. Make sure that the terms of what you?re offering are clearly stated and easy to find.

A comprehensive online marketing strategy should make use of social media platforms like Twitter, Facebook and others. You can easily maintain a daily presence in the minds of your customers by using social networking websites. However, it is important that your comments or tweets are not overly promotional in nature. Rather, provide posts that are informative and witty, with a little bit of sales lingo scattered here and there.

TIP! Blogging will increase the traffic to your website. Regularly posting fresh content is a great thing for attracting viewers.

Allow your customers to control the content that they get from you. There is too much spam and unwanted emails in the Internet world so make sure your emails are wanted and contain useful content. Make it clear that their participating is optional in order to boost your credibility.

Your competition is another main component when doing Internet promotion. Study their moves to determine what methods seem to work and which are not performing to standard. There is a lot that you can get from watching others. Learn from their mistakes and make your site more complete and original.

Direct marketing can be an effective part of you Online marketing plan. You can impart information regarding promotions and services to your customers via phone, email and fax. You can find a lot of helpful information in the yellow pages, or in online directories.

TIP! A glossary of technical terms is always a must-have for its obvious search engine potential. A glossary is beneficial to both potential and current customers and could help to direct new traffic toward your site.

Use online marketing to make your customers feel emotionally attached to your products. Give people a reason to want to make a purchase on your site. Your ad copy should make it so that they can enjoy special benefits and features even though they?re just reading an ad.

Learn how to employ HTML tags if you want the best optimization results. HTML tags tell the search engine that this content is important. It will display in the search engine under your website name to give readers an idea of what your website is about. Search engines take emphasized text into account when determining rankings. Therefore, put an emphasis on any important keywords you are using.

TIP! In order to get into eCommerce, you will have to first build a website. If you have a website, start out with this step.

Never let anything stop you from working towards your goal. Aspiring to lofty goals is important for helping you to keep up the momentum to grow your business, and the advice shared here can help you attain those goals.

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www.facebook.com/maynaseric

Source: http://www.maynaseric.com/top-tier-tips-that-will-change-your-internet-promotion-game

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4 NY Firefighters Shot While Responding to Fire (Voice Of America)

Share With Friends: Share on FacebookTweet ThisPost to Google-BuzzSend on GmailPost to Linked-InSubscribe to This Feed | Rss To Twitter | Politics - Top Stories Stories, RSS Feeds and Widgets via Feedzilla.

Source: http://news.feedzilla.com/en_us/stories/politics/top-stories/272889544?client_source=feed&format=rss

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Monday, December 24, 2012

Christmas Giveaway: Download Free Internet Business & Marketing ...

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So it?s been an interesting few weeks (or months?) for the EUR/USD ~ From Greek bailouts to Spain now requesting multiple billions of dollars, it has been nothing short of a fiasco for forex signals providers to trade anything LONG on this pair. Well, From the looks of things, the news, the Spaniards requesting funding and the Eurozone leaders vowing billions in aid to stimulate Euro growth, it looks like we may be up for a nice spike LONG on the EUR/USD. Take a look at the 4-Hour Chart below (screenshot taken today on June 25, 2012):

How creative can one man get (that is I) when critiquing show, after movie, after film, after movie? Do I bring your attention to an obscure film? Do I mention what?s currently showing? Do I become extremely opinionated this week? Do I reveal predictable, optimistic thoughts? Should this be my last article?

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