Pakistan Taliban spokesman outlines conditions for ceasefire

ISLAMABAD (Reuters) - The Pakistani Taliban have outlined conditions for a ceasefire, including the adoption of Islamic law and a break with the United States, a spokesman said Thursday, an offer a senior government official described as "preposterous".

The Taliban, in a letter sent to the Pakistan daily The News, also demanded that Pakistan stop its involvement in the war pitting Afghan insurgents against the Kabul government and refocus on a war of "revenge" against India.

The letter from Taliban spokesman Amir Muawiya comes as the focus in Afghanistan shifts from a military push by NATO troops to potential peace talks, and amid speculation of a rift between top Pakistan Taliban leaders.

Military officials told Reuters last month that Pakistan Taliban leader Hakimullah Mehsud had lost operational command to his deputy, Wali ur-Rehman, who is considered to be more open to reconciliation with the Pakistani government. The Taliban deny Mehsud has lost command.

The Pakistani Taliban are a separate entity allied to the Afghan Taliban. Known as the Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP), they have launched devastating attacks against the Pakistani military and civilians.

"They are a bunch of criminals. This is not the Afghan Taliban. They are not open to talks," said one senior government official who called the Pakistan Taliban offer "preposterous".

"No one can take such an offer or terms seriously. The TTP is not a proper entity, certainly not one any government can negotiate with."

The ceasefire conditions, confirmed by spokesman Ihsanullah Ihsan in a phone call to Reuters, said Pakistan should rewrite its laws and constitution according to Islamic law.

"We are ready to cease fire with Pakistan as long as they meet our demands, that an Islamic system should be put into place, they should fix their foreign policy and stop agreeing to American's demands," Ihsan said.

The militants accused Pakistan's army of acting as "mercenaries" for America and pledged to continue attacks on two major political parties they say serve U.S. interests.

"The big mistake (the government) made is that they fought America's war in Afghanistan and brought it into Pakistan," Ihsan said.

NATO troops are due to hand over control of most operations in Afghanistan to Afghan forces next year and officials have been eager to start peace talks with the Taliban there.

But the Taliban insurgency in both Pakistan and Afghanistan is fragmented and senior commanders often disagree with each other over strategy.

(Reporting By Katharine Houreld; Editing by Nick Macfie)

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/pakistan-taliban-spokesman-outlines-conditions-ceasefire-084344205.html

right to work Clackamas Town Center 12 12 12 Anne Hathaway Wardrobe Malfunction jennifer lawrence man of steel man of steel

EPA Administrator Lisa Jackson resigns

WASHINGTON (AP) ? Environmental Protection Agency Administration Lisa Jackson says she's stepping down after nearly four years on the job.

Jackson announced her departure in a statement Thursday. She gave no particular reason for leaving but said she was ready for new challenges, time with her family and new opportunities to make a difference.

Jackson's tenure was marked by high-profile brawls with industry and congressional Republicans over such issues a global warming pollution, the Keystone XL oil pipeline and new controls on coal-fired plants.

She says she's leaving the agency, in her words, "confident the ship is sailing in the right direction."

Jackson is expected to leave after the State of the Union address in late January. Cabinet members looking to move on often leave at the beginning of a president's second term.

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/epa-administrator-lisa-jackson-resigns-150120379.html

pittsburgh steelers seattle seahawks ryan tannehill cispa baltimore ravens space shuttle new york courtney upshaw

Film Review: Les Mis?rables | OregonLive.com

It was as inevitable as the French Revolution. "Les Mis?rables," the worldwide smash stage musical based on Victor Hugo's epic 19th-century novel, has finally come to the screen. This lavish production comes equipped with a bevy of movie stars singing their hearts out, but lacks in some crucial ways the cohesion and spectacle of the live performance with which it will assuredly be compared.

It tells, of course, the decades-spanning tale of Jean Valjean (Hugh Jackman), the long-suffering parolee who, after serving years in prison for stealing a loaf of bread, makes a new, prosperous life for himself, only to be haunted by the pursuit of the relentless Inspector Javert (Russell Crowe). After realizing he has contributed to the misfortune of the doomed Fantine (Anne Hathaway), Valjean vows to look after her young daughter as if she were his own. Things come to a head during a Parisian street uprising, when Valjean tries to protect both the now-grown Cosette (Amanda Seyfried) and her lover Marius (Eddie Redmayne).

None of the performers embarrass themselves, despite the fact that all the singing was reportedly done live, without any post-production dubbing. Jackman, Crowe, and Hathaway have all shown off their pipes in the past, and Hathaway's single-shot, close-up performance of "I Dreamed a Dream" is a highlight. Seyfried and Redmayne are their equals (in Crowe's case, his betters), as is Samantha Barks, one of the few holdovers from the stage production, as the pining ?ponine.

Despite this, the film does tend to drag. This may be heresy, but both Valjean and Javert are wet blankets, one with his continual self-sacrifice and moping, the other with his imperturbable, robotic pursuit of legal justice. Sacha Baron Cohen and Helena Bonham Carter provide some needed, but awkward, comic relief as Cosette's venal foster parents, though they seem to have wandered in from a "Sweeney Todd" production next door.

The narrative moves in fits and starts, slowing to a crawl during the songs and leaping forward dizzyingly at other times. And the cinematic technique of director Tom Hooper ("The King's Speech") tries to replicate the appeal which has drawn millions to stage performances, but comes up more than a little short. This version of "Les Mis?rables" simply doesn't sing.

(157 min., PG-13, multiple locations) Grade: B- ?

?Marc Mohan ?

Source: http://www.oregonlive.com/movies/index.ssf/2012/12/film_review_les_misrables.html

new york jets etch a sketch romney sean payton saints bounty program toulouse france ny jets ny jets

Lieberman fears country may go over `fiscal cliff,' cites `congressional irresponsibility' (Star Tribune)

Share With Friends: | | Politics - Top Stories News, RSS Feeds and Widgets via Feedzilla.

Source: http://news.feedzilla.com/en_us/stories/politics/top-stories/272704597?client_source=feed&format=rss

gavin degraw gavin degraw alec time 100 bob beckel anna paquin warren buffett

Gene variants affect pain susceptibility in children

Sorry, Readability was unable to parse this page for content.

Source: http://feeds.sciencedaily.com/~r/sciencedaily/health_medicine/genes/~3/Ice5yYobJfs/121224113344.htm

hippocrates andrew breitbart red wings penguins the band colton dixon houston weather

New Orleans area to see wet Christmas Eve, stormy Christmas Day ...

Expect a wet Christmas Eve, with more rain and the possibility of dangerous thunderstorms - even a strong tornado or straight line winds of 75 mph or greater - on Christmas Day in the New Orleans area, according to the Slidell office of the National Weather Service.

Forecasters issued a special weather statement to warn of the two spates of stormy weather. A cold front will bring showers and thunderstorms into the area on Monday, with the front stalling near the coast in the afternoon. While widespread severe weather isn't expected on Monday, an isolated severe storm or two is possible, forecasters said.

More problematical is what will happen late Monday night and Tuesday morning, when the front unstalls, moving north as a warm front as a surface low also moves northeastward over the area.

That will be followed by a cold front moving out of the west, and the unstable air between the two fronts could spark severe weather,, including straight line winds, isolated tornadoes or large hail, most likely occurring north of Interstates 10 and 12.

"The Storm Prediction Center is currently indicating a slight risk of severe weather across the entire region Tuesday, but this could be upgraded, if confidence continuest to increase over the coming days," the statement said.

The possibility of severe weather will continue until the cold front sweeps through the area Tuesday evening, the statement said. Forecasters warned residents to review their severe weather plans and to continue to monitor forecasts over the next two days.

Rainfall could total between 1 and 2 inches on Monday and Tuesday, with higher amounts likely on the Northshore of Lake Pontchartrain.

With the rapidly changing frontal systems, expect to see some fast changes in temperature during the next few days. Highs on Monday and Tuesday will be in the mid-70s in New Orleans, dropping to the mid-60s overnight Monday, and into the mid-40s on Tuesday night.

On Wednesday, the thermometer will reach only the lower 50s, despite a return to sunny skies, with temperatures dropping into the upper 30s in New Orleans and the upper 20s on the Northshore overnight, and staying in the lower 50s during the day Thursday.

Another cold front approaches on Friday, with more rain showers expected in the afternoon, as temperatures climb to the lower 60s. The chance of rain continues on Saturday, and temperatures will drop to the mid-30s in New Orleans and mid-20s on the Northshore Saturday night.?

Source: http://www.nola.com/weather/index.ssf/2012/12/new_orleans_area_to_see_wet_ch.html

obama slow jams the news metta world peace ron artest gladys knight private practice deion sanders creutzfeldt jakob disease

Former SC Gov. Sanford eyes US House bid

FILE - In this Jan. 19, 2012, file photo, former South Carolina Gov. Mark Sanford leaves a talk on federal fiscal policy at The Citadel in Charleston, S.C. Sanford a former two-term governor who was a rising GOP star before he vanished from South Carolina for five days in 2009 says he is considering a campaign for his former seat in Congress. (AP Photo/Bruce Smith, File)

FILE - In this Jan. 19, 2012, file photo, former South Carolina Gov. Mark Sanford leaves a talk on federal fiscal policy at The Citadel in Charleston, S.C. Sanford a former two-term governor who was a rising GOP star before he vanished from South Carolina for five days in 2009 says he is considering a campaign for his former seat in Congress. (AP Photo/Bruce Smith, File)

COLUMBIA, S.C. (AP) ? Former South Carolina Gov. Mark Sanford, who left public life two years ago after mysteriously disappearing to visit his then-mistress in Argentina, is poised to re-enter the political arena.

Acknowledging reports that he is seriously weighing a congressional bid for the seat he once held, Sanford wrote in an email to The Associated Press late Saturday: "To answer your question, yes the accounts are accurate." Sanford promised "further conversation on all this" later.

The two-term governor was a rising Republican political star before he vanished from South Carolina for five days in 2009. Reporters were told he was hiking the Appalachian Trail, but he later tearfully acknowledged he was visiting Maria Belen Chapur, which he told everyone at news conference announcing his affair. He later called her his soul mate in an interview with AP and the two were engaged earlier this year.

The opening for Sanford comes after Rep. Tim Scott was appointed to fill the remaining two years of Sen. Jim DeMint's seat. DeMint announced earlier this month he was resigning.

News that Sanford, 52, may be interested in the seat comes days after his ex-wife, Jenny, appeared to be dipping her toe into the state's political waters.

She was reportedly on Gov. Nikki Haley's short list of candidates to fill the seat that went to Scott. Jenny Sanford later said she would think about a run for Scott's seat representing the coastal 1st Congressional District, the seat her ex-husband is now considering.

"I'd be crazy not to look at the race a little bit," she said Tuesday, before reports about Mark Sanford surfaced.

State Republicans said Scott plans to submit his letter of resignation from the House on Jan. 2, triggering a process of candidate filing and primaries leading up to a special election in May.

Scott, in a taped interview airing Sunday on CBS' "Face the Nation," said he thinks there may be 25 or 30 candidates running for the seat.

"This is going to be a very active primary," he told Bob Schieffer when asked about Sanford's run. "The citizens of the 1st District will have an opportunity to have their voice heard through the vote and then two weeks later there will obviously be a runoff because with that many candidates we'll have a lot to say grace over."

Mark Sanford knows the 1st District well. Elected to the seat in 1994 ? Jenny Sanford managed his first campaign and was a close adviser for most of his career ? he served three terms before voters elected him governor in 2002.

The former governor would bring name recognition and money to the race ? two things especially important due to the short campaign season and wide-open field.

Whether voters are ready to welcome Sanford back to politics is another issue.

"It's absolutely absurd. He just has so much baggage. He was such an embarrassment to the state, we don't need that," said Gloria Day, a retired attorney in Charleston.

He avoided impeachment but was censured by the Legislature. He also had to pay more than $70,000 in ethics fines ? still the largest in state history ? after AP investigations raised questions about his use of state, private and commercial aircraft.

Others said Sanford's fiscal record is what's important, and Sanford is known as a libertarian-leaning ideologue who railed against spending and bucked Republican Party leaders before anyone even coined the tea party movement.

"Mark Sanford is a reliable fiscal conservative so I, like many conservatives, would be delighted to see him in the race," said Joanne Jones, vice chairman of the Charleston Tea Party, though she noted she'll wait to see the entire field before throwing her support behind a candidate.

Scott will be sworn in Jan. 3 to replace DeMint, who announced his resignation earlier this month to lead The Heritage Foundation, a conservative think tank. Scott, who would have to seek election in 2014, will become the state's first black U.S. senator and the first black Republican U.S. senator from the South since Reconstruction.

Candidates for Scott's seat must file by the end of January. Primaries will be held in March, with the general election in May.

State GOP Chairman Chad Connelly said as of Friday, 14 Republicans had expressed interest.

"Gov. Sanford getting in would certainly alter the dynamics. That list would go down significantly," he said.

Sanford has $1.2 million left in his state campaign coffers.

John Dietz of Daniel Island said the affair wouldn't affect his vote.

"He said he found his soul mate, and at one point in my life that's exactly how I felt. I empathized," said Dietz, a retiree who characterizes himself as a moderate.

Dietz said he was disappointed that Sanford could not work with his fellow Republicans in the Legislature.

"I did not necessarily agree with a lot of things he did politically," he said. "I'm very much neutral at this point."

Retired Presbyterian minister Dick Giffen of Mount Pleasant said he wouldn't support Sanford, but added that it was unrelated to the affair.

"He wasn't able to bring people together and get action done," Giffen said. "He didn't produce anything. ... I really wasn't impressed with him."

Longtime Republican activist and donor John Rainey, who convinced Sanford to run for governor after leaving Congress, said Sanford's last six months in office, following his tearful press conference, were his most effective.

Rainey said he hopes Sanford re-enters politics.

"He's finally learned how to do it. Mark now understands the necessity of and art of compromise. It's not my way or the highway," said Rainey, who was chairman of the Board of Economic Advisors during Sanford's tenure.

Sanford's engagement to Chapur may improve his standing with voters.

"Think of all that's happened since 2009. That's old news," said Rainey, rattling off a list of political scandals. "Especially in the South, we're about redemption. I don't think he's got a problem."

Associated Press

Source: http://hosted2.ap.org/APDEFAULT/386c25518f464186bf7a2ac026580ce7/Article_2012-12-23-Sanford-Congress/id-3eac4935d6c742dc9dc9c1fcb8b9c8a7

anonymous Victoria Soto nbc sports morgan freeman Survivor Philippines westboro baptist church Fashion Island shooting

NRA: Public wants armed guards in every school

WASHINGTON (AP) ? National Rifle Association executive Wayne LaPierre says the American people think it would be "crazy" not to put armed guards in every school, as the group has suggested in the wake of the massacre at an elementary school in Newtown, Conn.

LaPierre also contends that any new efforts by Congress to regulate guns or ammunition would not prevent mass shootings.

LaPierre's comments on NBC's "Meet the Press" reinforced the position that the largest gun-rights lobby took on Friday when it broke its weeklong silence on the shooting rampage at Sandy Hook Elementary School.

That stand has described by some lawmakers as tone-deaf.

Sen. Charles Schumer, D-N.Y., says LaPierre blames everything but guns for a series of mass shootings in recent years.

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/nra-public-wants-armed-guards-every-school-151217671.html

meningitis bobby valentine bobby valentine nicki minaj miguel cabrera Karrueche Tran dodd frank

A sweeping bargain seemingly out of reach, Obama calls for scaled-back deal to avoid 'cliff' (Star Tribune)

Share With Friends: | | Politics - Top Stories News, RSS Feeds and Widgets via Feedzilla.

Source: http://news.feedzilla.com/en_us/stories/politics/top-stories/272545423?client_source=feed&format=rss

lent undercover boss barbara walters tupelo honey limp bizkit stations of the cross nike foamposite galaxy

A Natural History of Mistletoe

Mistletoe is frequently spotted hanging above lovers? heads in terrible holiday specials?but only during one month of the year. That makes it easy to forget that more than 1,300 species hang in forests year-round, parasitizing thousands of tree species around the world. Or, rather, hemiparasiting, which means the plant is partially self-sufficient: it has its own leaves to collect sunlight to convert into energy, but feeds off of a host tree for water and nutrients.

White mistletoe berries.

Semantics aside, mistletoe has been long-considered the epitome of the word ?parasite:? a blood-sucking bush that plugs into trunks and branches, strangling and killing trees around the world. This airborne parasitism is so successful that mistletoes are thought to have evolved it five separate times on their own.

But the purely negative opinion is starting to change. Mistletoe may parasitize trees, but it also provides valuable services to forest animals. Its flower nectar and berries are a food source for birds, insects (such as moths, beetles, bees and flies), and mammals. Its greenery is a resource-rich patch used as shelter and, for some birds, a sweet nesting spot.

Australian mistletoebird (Dicaeum hirundinaceum), a mistletoe specialist.

How does mistletoe get up on a tree trunk in the first place? In short: sticky poop. Mistletoes rely heavily on birds and mammals to distribute their seeds; in fact, 90 species of birds in 10 families are considered mistletoe specialists. The berries are brightly colored and covered in a sticky glue called viscin, which can survive an animal?s digestive tract. Thus, even after its been pooped out, the seed can still stick to the nearest branch? or to another animal to ferry it elsewhere.

Once left in a proper spot, the mistletoe seed germinates and sprouts a penetration peg that mechanically drills down into the tree. Once it hits a nutrient pipe, the peg is followed by a haustorium, the root that plugs into the arboreal host to draw off nutrients and water. The next step is growing leaves, flowers and berries, a process that can take 2-6 years in some species.

Once it blossoms, the magic begins, and the mistletoe plant sprouts flowers and nectar to feed insects and birds, such as hummingsbirds. Once fertilized, these flowers turn into berries? and the process begins all again.

Western dwarf mistletoe (Arceuthobium campylopodum) sprouting midtrunk.

Mistletoe also provides a broader ecosystem service: it provides abundant nutrients to the forest floor when it drops its leaves. Most leaf-losing trees hoard their precious nutrients, and suck their leaves of every last nutrient-rich drop before they let them fly. But, because of their parasitic nature, mistletoe plants aren?t too concerned with preserving nutrients?they can always just steal some more from their host! So down go the nutrient-rich leaves, which stimulate the growth of other plants (and the host trees themselves).

This may be a more important ecosystem process than producing fruit, flowers, and nesting shelter. In a?recent study, scientists removed the mistletoe from stands of?eucalyptus forest in Australia. Three years later, one-fifth of vertebrate species previously living there had left the woodlands?an astounding result. Because many of these species that abandoned ship ate insects on the forest floor, the authors believe this leaf-litter mechanism explains the biodiversity loss more than the removal of mistletoe berries and flowers.

Its those same beautiful berries that attract birds and bees to spread mistletoe seeds that compelled Europeans to decorate their living rooms with it around Christmastime. (Well, that and pagan culture.) So next time you see some hanging at a party, forget the kiss?grab your girl or guy by the arm and explain that you want to get hemiparasitic with them.

Watson D.M. & Herring M. (2012). Mistletoe as a keystone resource: an experimental test, Proceedings of the Royal Society B: Biological Sciences, 279 (1743) 3853-3860. DOI: 10.1098/rspb.2012.0856

Watson D.M. (2001). MISTLETOE ? A KEYSTONE RESOURCE IN FORESTS AND WOODLANDS WORLDWIDE, Annual Review of Ecology and Systematics, 32 (1) 219-249. DOI:10.1146/annurev.ecolsys.32.081501.114024 (PDF)

Photo Credits:

(1) White mistletoe berries,?Flickr user swamibu CC BY-NC 2.0

(2) Mistletoebird,?Flickr user 0ystercatcher,?CC BY-NC-SA 2.0

(3) Dwarf mistletoe,?Jill Siegrist, CC BY-NC-SA 2.0

Source: http://rss.sciam.com/click.phdo?i=1e7ff71832bd6ec94cdcbc070ceb17db

Alex Karras BCS Rankings 2012 the walking dead the walking dead Walking Dead Season 3 vampire diaries derek jeter

known look. It pays to search around to view every one of the ...

Kitchen area Cabinets are more often than not often the core of almost any kitchen. They could be featured by washing machines such as freezer or fridge, stove, cooktop, dishwasher and also microwave, or these appliances could be modified in order to blend in by employing panels which match your kitchen area cabinets.

Shopping for kitchen cabinetry can be frustrating, especially for a first time purchaser. You will discover hundreds/thousands involving major kitchen case companies, and much more smaller custom kitchen cabinet shops which you could acquire any cabinet manufactured from any types of wood that the mind can see right now. In addition. listing the explosion associated with RTA Kitchen Cupboard importers, as well as the laminated pantry manufacturers, and also suddenly their email list can be overpowering. As well as the point that increased price always implies high quality in construction, or maybe more features currently being accessible.

In past times, charges had for ages been the best way to rank kitchen cabinets. Typically, tthe higher-quality cases simply are more expensive cash. ?nternet site discussed earlier, with an increase of plus much more importers conforming to the KCMA (Kitchen Cabinet Manufacturers Association) constructing standards, many of the RTA Home Cabinets or Inventory kitchen cabinets may actually be a sturdier cabinet than the conventional, created to order cabinetry. Desire to know about type of kitchen case you may go along with, it does not acquire much effort to spend thousands of money on the true kitchen cupboards.

Most kitchen cabinet suppliers build their home base and wall cabinets in common sizes. Your kitchen base cupboards are often thirty four. 5 inches wide tall and 24 inches heavy. These come in sizes starting at 12 inches and will get higher to forty-eight inches often in increasing width installments of 3 inches width. Kitchen walls cabinets are usually 12 in . deep and 30 inches or 42 inches tall. Additionally they are available in precisely the same size sizes as the bottom cabinets. Wall cabinets are also available in several different heights and depths for locations such as covering the refrigerator or over typically the microwave/hood range product. With custom made kitchen cases, you may have even more choices available, considering that the kitchen cases will be specifically made on your kitchen room.
bathrooms stirling kitchens worthing Kitchen Installers Newcastle
Diverse semi-custom kitchen cabinet manufacturers help to make different-sized kitchen cabinets for all types of special seems and circumstances. It isn?t abnormal to have one cabinet extend past adjacent cabinets to produce a distinguished look. It is worth your time to search around to find out the many different possibilities and particular cabinet features made available from the tailor made and semi-custom kitchen cabinet companies.

The most significant benefits to true tailor made kitchen cabinets may be the capability to make 1 giant base as well as wall kitchen pantry instead of independent boxes that happen to be screwed together by the tech at the jobsite. Some sort of custom-cabinet maker can simply make a single giant base cupboard 8 feet lengthy that installs just like it have been a bit of household furniture. The same does work for wall membrane kitchen cupboards. The main benefit of this method is a deficiency of top to bottom seams where a pair of traditional cabinet cardboard boxes would mate as much as one other.

Pay particular awareness of the resources used to make the kitchen cupboards. Some house cabinets are made with minimal-quality designed lumber, particleboard, or maybe fiberboard.. If you intend to launch a wall cabinet with hefty traditional china and taiwan, the load from the dishes might cause the pantry to pull apart over time. This can be particularly real when it comes to typically the semi-custom cabinets that this high end cabinet companies sell at the home improvement shops (which is the reason why cost is not necessarily a precise gauge connected with cabinet quality). Most of the RTA Kitchen Cabinet manufacturers use solid plywood sides, which clearly creates a robust kitchen cabinet box than the usual particleboard or perhaps fiberboard field. In relation to personalized cabinets, the fabric choices usually are endless and may also usually be specified from the customer.

A different factor that can determine the expense of cooking area cabinets is the materials to hold on to it collectively. Custom kitchen area cabinet manufacturers will often work with a combination of dovetailed joints, wood biscuits, and glue to create restricted joints. Mid-grade home cabinets will have a wide range of materials holding them jointly (staples and fingernails or toenails on the budget, to be able to cam lock assembly and wood paste on the increased end). Most RTA Kitchen Cupboard Manufacturers use the cam lock system, which creates a fine sturdy case, and when enhanced with wood glue, last a lifetime. Drive away from any kind of kitchen cabinets which might be using favorites, wood dowels, or merely anchoring screws. The effectiveness of typically the cabinet will likely be compromised on the joints with such weaker signing up for materials.

Source: http://oister.org/?p=1704

pat robertson hunger games trailer hunger games trailer in plain sight hunger games movie review bats hunger games review

Can you make her love me? - Feng Shui Consultations in Australia by

I have been ?a Chinese Feng Shui consultant for more than a decade. I have been asked ?? Can you make her/him love me?? many times. I got this message again yesterday. ?It said: ?I looked for a girl long time. She doesn?t love me like I love her. She always hurt me every time. I can?t do anything but crying. Can you make that girl love me like I love her??

I feel sorry for the person sending this message, in particular near ?Christmas time. Sadly, I can?t make anyone love anyone.

There are no perfect formulas for relationships in Chinese horoscopes or western astrology. Good relationships mean different things to different people. They are about love, respect, giving and receiving. They are also about how you trust each other, communication, intimacy, responsibility. Good relationships don?t exist by themselves, both parties need to work for them. Like bank accounts, if you withdraw more than you deposit, you will run into trouble. Relationships also depend on the person?s karma.

As a Chinese horoscope and feng shui consultant, I could like to provide some tips and wisdom to help ?loners improve their relationships:

1. Have your Bazi chart done, to understand your elements, life stages, strengths and weaknesses. Accept who you are, enhance your strengths by using your lucky elements and improve your abilities.

2. To have confidence within yourself. Even if you are by yourself, be content and peaceful with your situation. There are other things you can pursue as well as relationships.

3. Understand your life cycle, to know what is best to do in the current life stage. It may be a good time to study or to focus on work. If you know your cycle, and make effort on it, you will be successful.

4. Develop a healthy attitude towards life. Look after yourself physically and mentally.

5. Feng Shui your home, make sure the place you are in has good energy flow.

From my personal experience and thousands of other people?s experiences, if you do the above, I believe you will be much happier.

?

?

? Prev?Feng Shui your Home

Source: http://www.fengshuiaustralia.com/blog/?p=917

rashard mendenhall rachel zoe penn state football doomsday x factor x factor

Effective Landing Page Conversion Boosters To Use In PPC ...

December 20th, 2012 | Posted in Adwords campaign, Affilate Funnel System, Article Marketing, Earn Through Internet

Figuring out how to optimize your landing pages for PPC campaigns will be the most profitable endeavors you can do. This process is not at all hard to put into motion, and there are surprisingly few tasks involved. The simple reason for doing this is that your profits and conversions will only continue to increase. Anytime you are just starting out with something new, it is often easy to feel like you are just treading water. Anyone with experience in earn a living from home will understand what we mean and maybe even have a chuckle about it.

The primary reason for using freelance help is to allow for more time on activities that directly impact revenue. If that is something that gets your attention, and it should, then you will be delighted to find out what is in store for you. Get some reputable information about outsourcing, just as an example, because there are a few tricks you will want to know beforehand. Not just in the case of bringing on contracted-out help, but with anything you have to get it done but also done smartly.

There are many pitfalls waiting for you with a landing page, and getting your navigation right will be one more you can avoid. You should always strive for a very clean landing page, and so simply take out those links and panels you know are not required. Not everybody uses any kind of logo, and if you do not use one then do not place one anywhere. The copy you choose to include does not need to be long at all, and typically many landing pages have the bare amount. If you look around and notice successful PPC campaigns, you?ll see that most of them have landing pages that have little or no navigation ? so take a lesson from them and optimize your landing page accordingly.

It can be fine to use slang in your copy, but do not go overboard and be sure everyone will understand. You have to perform market research and get to know what your audience is comfortable reading. Keep in mind the reading habits of the online surfer, and what they always do is skip around and quickly scan. What you want to do is write paragraphs that are not as long as you may normally see. Benefit bullets are extremely effective when they are written properly, so be sure to use them.

If what you are offering people to opt in is highly desirable, then you will see great results. Never use a cheap offer of something you thought of at the last minute.

The more specific and hard to find your offer is, the more people will want it. The more you can help your self to be seen and unique, the better chance you have to convert. Your future business growth depends on how strong your giveaway offer is. You can do so much more that will produce highly effective landing pages.

Source: http://blog.mysuccessmantra.com/?p=4716

m.i.a super bowl coin toss madonna super bowl halftime kelly clarkson super bowl giants super bowl 2012 half time show halftime show 2012

YouTube video wins Norwegian kicker NFL tryout

'They tested me on field goals and kickoffs,' Rugland says of tryout with NY Jets

updated 3:29 p.m. ET Dec. 20, 2012

STOCKHOLM - A Norwegian whose Youtube clip of spectacular trick shots has been watched over half a million times could be on the verge of a National Football League (NFL) contract as a kicker.

The video caught the attention of professional teams in the United States, and Norwegian state broadcaster NRK has reported that its star, Havard Rugland, had a tryout for the NFL's New York Jets this week.

"It went well," Rugland told NRK. "They tested me on field goals and kickoffs. Obviously you feel a little more pressure here, but I stayed pretty calm."

The video shows the 27-year-old performing some outrageous tricks and kicks, from nailing 60-yard field goals to soccer-style scissor kicks and volleys with American footballs.

Made by Rugland, his brother and some friends, the video has spread rapidly on the Internet, clocking up over half a million hits and garnering interest from three U.S. colleges and the Jets.

Rugland has no prior American football experience but kicking coach Michael Husted says that if he continues to develop, he could reach the NFL.

"Havard has incredible talent as a kicker," Husted, who played nine seasons as an NFL kicker, told the Seattle Post-Intelligencer newspaper. "He has a cannon for a leg. As he continues to refine his technique, he could be one of the strongest kickers in the NFL."

Husted says he became aware of Rugland via the Youtube video, and that he was asked to bring the kicker to San Diego to prepare him for a trial with an NFL team.

"A GM (general manager) from an NFL team contacted me about Havard. He wanted Havard to come to train with me in San Diego before they were going to fly him in for a workout."

"He reminds me a lot of (Sebastian) Janikowski in terms of stature and strength," coach Husted said, drawing a parallel between Rugland and the Oakland Raiders' Polish placekicker.

Harvard has quickly gone from practicing on his own in his hometown of Aalgaard in southern Norway to being prepared for tryouts with teams in the game's biggest league.

"On this trip things have evolved rapidly, from just training alone to training to try out for a team. From where I am now, playing in the NFL is a long way to go, but my goal is to get a contract before the preparations begin for next season," says Rugland.

But even if he does get a pro contract, Rugland will have a long way to go before he matches the achievements of fellow Norwegian Jan Stenerud.

Stenerud, one of only three kickers in the Pro Football Hall of Fame, played 19 seasons in the NFL and is one of the highest scorers in the game's history. He also kicked three field goals in the 1970 Super Bowl, scoring the first nine points in the Kansas City Chiefs' 23-7 victory.

(c) Copyright Thomson Reuters 2012. Click For Restrictions - http://about.reuters.com/fulllegal.asp

advertisement

Rich Schultz / Getty Images

Source: http://nbcsports.msnbc.com/id/50261708/ns/sports-nfl/

84th annual academy awards beginners 2012 oscars the shore meryl streep oscar wins sasha baron cohen oscars oscar winners

Zimbabwe population growth slows, 3 million abroad

HARARE, Zimbabwe (AP) ? Zimbabwe's official statistics agency says the nation's population rose to 12.9 million in the past decade but the annual growth rate declined to a low of 1.1 percent. Average growth stood at about 3 percent before political turmoil and an economic meltdown beginning in 1998 drove more than 3 million Zimbabweans abroad as economic fugitives and asylum seekers, according to United Nations and World Bank reports.

The state Zimstats office, releasing first results of a new census, did not acknowledge the absentees Wednesday, saying its tally was based on Zimbabweans living in the country on the night of Aug. 18. It said households have declined to an average of 4.2 members.

The last census in 2002 gave the population as 11.6 million, mainly in households of more than six.

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/zimbabwe-population-growth-slows-3-million-abroad-093332071.html

Usain Bolt 2012 Olympics Katie Ledecky Aaron Ross Sikh temple lollapalooza Nastia Liukin Gabby Douglas hair

An Important Element In VoIP Communication Is The VoIP Sip ...

?

By Brooke D. Connelly

Some individuals are not aware that you must also have the VoIP SIP phone in order for the VoIP system to work the best and function properly, which is all part of the latest technology to provide the communications needs for your business. In an effort to make it simpler to understand we will explore a little more closely at the operation of this technology. Session Initiation Protocol is the meaning of the term SIP that is necessary to use this technology.

This is a kind of signaling protocol executed by VoIP technology to establish communications within the Internet Protocol network for two parties. Voice, video, streaming multimedia, online gaming and instant messaging all require this as a mandatory part of any type of communication. Communications sessions and the features that can be compared to traditional phone operations like dialing a number, causing a phone to ring, hearing a ring tone or busy signal and even ending a call are all actually controlled by the SIP hosting. Hopefully that comparison makes it a little bit simpler to comprehend. This technology may seem quite simple, however the technology and characteristics are actually quite detailed and extremely powerful.

In order to use a VoIP communication system the users need a way to easily find the other party and allow the communication session to take place. TheSIP phone permits this process to take place and it is also capable of establishing communications with more than two participants.

The benefits that are elements of your VoIP service or VoIP cloud service should include the SIP provider which works with your high speed Internet connection as part of the platform for the services that you obtain. You can take advantage of the latest technology to move your business to the next level using the many features and benefits available for your business communications. There are many functions included such as conference calling, call management, voice mail, anonymous call rejection, blacklist, history for all calls, do not disturb and address books along with many more additional features that can help project a more professional image for your business.

Affordable communications options are accessible to serve small businesses as well as entrepreneurs with services to help them succeed in a competitive market. This type of service is especially appealing because of the wide selection of options and calling plans to save you money and fit your budget combined with the ease of use to manage and control all your communications needs. These unique and affordable solutions that are available to help your business should be used to your advantage.

You can discover more about one company that is the nation?s premier SIP provider at Crexendo SIP phone and try also to read this helpful link.

Source: http://ninjaseomethods.com/an-important-element-in-voip-communication-is-the-voip-sip-phone-to-make-sure-that-it-works-properly/

Geno Smith ny giants brandon marshall ryder cup Kate Middleton Bottomless the Pirate Bay Hotel Transylvania

Internet Marketing Search Engine Optimization SEM SEO service ...

It is key to use good SEO techniques if you run a business website. By using these techniques, a business can improve its search ranking, so that its website is ranked more highly by the major search engines. Read further and we will share some valuable tips with you.

A domain name which contains your keywords can be a real boost to your efforts. You want to make your website easy to find when people are searching for it on the web. Not everyone will arrive at your site through ads, many will come from product searches.

Strategic keyword placement within your online content gets noticed by search engines that can boost your traffic. The best use of keywords is to place them early in the text without going overboard and loading too many instances of the same words. Ideally, your keyword should be featured twice in your first paragraph. After that, the next 200 words on your page should contain as many instances of your keyword as you can, without overwhelming the page with it.

If you want your site to automatically achieve higher search engine rankings, consider joining forces with the BBB (Better Business Bureau) and the Chamber of Commerce in your area. Since these usually link to your site, it helps with local search results. Having a positive rating through the renowned Better Business Bureau can boost consumer trust in your business.

It is important that links in your website and incoming links all include keyword phrases. ? as your main anchor text. That?s the way to make your anchor text seem credible and relevant to the search engines. Be sure that the internal links on your site use the right keyword links.

Podcasts are an excellent way to deliver content. You can include both audio and video content in a podcast, just be sure it is content your users care about. It is easy to enter the podcast world; you only need a tape recorder. Be sure to include a description of your podcast so the search engines can index it.

You should publish and write fresh content as much as you can. Set weekly goals and keep the promise to yourself to publish a certain amount of content. Search engines judge sites with a fresh stream of content that is posted regularly as more valuable than those that only update the content occasionally. Consistently updated content equals higher page ranks.

Search engines will lower your page rankings if you are found to be manipulating the rating system to artificially achieve top search rankings. Search engine sites, like Google and Yahoo, have blacklisted some websites and removed them from their search results for trying to manipulate rankings. Be aware of the methods you use to optimize your search engine rankings.

Have the owner of the business actively involved in posting material on the website if applicable. This will give the site a more human touch. This is the company?s voice, and people will desire to hear it.

The language meta tag is crucial to your search ranking if your site is written in a language besides English. Doing so will improve your site rankings for queries in a different language.

If you are looking to climb up the search engine ranks, then provide a plethora of content, going across many different topics, but still staying within the niche. In other words, provide relative content from different aspects of your niche. If your topic is nutrition, provide articles on healthy recipes, wellness tips, vitamins and supplements, and more. By providing a wide array of articles centered around specific subjects, you increase the likelihood that your site will appear near the top of search results.

An HTML title will yield better SEO results, if you use keywords and phrases in them. When analyzing your site, search engines place heavier emphasis on keywords that are included in title tags. Placing the strongest keywords in the title tag maximizes your results and increases site traffic.

There?s a lot to search engine optimization, but as was stated earlier in the article, it?s absolutely essential to make sure your website gets the business it deserves. Make sure to apply these techniques to your website, as soon as possible, so that you can start getting more customers and more profits.

Search Engine Optimization, SEO

_________________________________________
Here are some other Internet Marketing/SEO related sites that I would like to share with you.
Thanks for visiting Website Host Direct reviews!

Multilingual Seo
seo analyst jobs - CNNMoney.com
Late-Night Sales on a Roll for U.S. Fast-Food Outlets - WSJ.com
Website remedies: Expert help for ailing sites - Jul. 16 2008
Technology posts - Tech Talk - CBS News

Related posts:

1. How Search Engine Optimization Works Can Work For You
2. Tips On How To Make Search Engine Optimization Work For You
3. Search Engine Optimization ? Does It Really Work?
4. Making Search Engine Optimization Work For You
5. Search Engine Optimization Techniques That Really Work

Source: http://www.websitehostdirect.com/how-search-engine-optimization-works-can-work-for-you-2/

pebble beach golf beverly hilton roland martin whitney houston dead at 48 whitney houston dead 2012 whitney houston passed away heartbreak hotel

Humor, fresh faces to distinguish Pamela Hayes' 'Nutcracker

In the 120 years since its debut at St. Petersburg?s Imperial Mariinsky Theatre, ?The Nutcracker? has been staged by a host of renowned choreographers on behalf of an equally impressive number of ballet troupes.

Though original reviews were mixed, in the past half-century, librettist Marius Petipa?s magical mystery tour (based on Alexandre Dumas? adaptation of E.T.A. Hoffmann?s story) has become a perennial favorite of companies that have used the romantic production to introduce generations of would-be ballerinas to ?the dance.?

Count Pamela Hayes Classical Ballet among them. PHCB?s debuted its take on Tchaikovsky?s fanciful ballet in 2000, when the company was still based at the Sheldon High School Performing Arts Center. The company?s 12th annual production opens Friday, Dec. 21, for four performances at its current home: Folsom Lake College?s Harris Center for the Performing Arts (formerly Three Stages).

Though it now presents at a newer, state-of-the-art venue, PHCB is still facing the same-old challenge of preserving the ?classic? in ?Classical Ballet Theatre,? while communicating the distinctions of its ?Nutcracker? from myriad rival stagings.

?There are a zillion of them, but I have tried to make ours more entertaining,? said PHCB Artistic Director Pamela Hayes, who acknowledged that ?The Nutcracker? has been historically criticized for a rather uninspired first act. ?I became aware when I became more of an observer than a participant that the first act ran long, and could be boring. So now we try to make ours more entertaining and humorous by inserting more comedy to make it funnier than others.?

Though ballet aficionados might not perceive even the original staging of little Clara?s journey to a snowy pine forest, and the magical Land of Sweets (escorted by her Nutcracker Prince) as anything but perfection, Hayes said she?s keenly aware that many of the dads, grandfathers, boyfriends and husbands in the audience may have been cajoled, guilted, threatened, or even blackmailed to attend.

With that in mind, Hayes ? a graduate of London?s Royal Academy of Dance and an alum of the Royal Ballet, Oregon Ballet Theater, Ballet West and Eugene Ballet ? said a great deal of her focus is to offer a ?Nutcracker? that?s not only family friendly, but is unabashed family fun for girls and boys, moms and dads, dancers and nondancers, and everyone in between.

?That?s my goal, and ? hopefully ? what sets us apart from some of the larger companies,? said Hayes.

?From those audience members we?ve heard from ? especially those who have been dragged out, as well as disinterested children with short attention spans ? we?ve succeeded.?

In addition to injecting more than its fair gaggle of giggles, PHCB?s ?Nutcracker? is keen on bringing aboard notable guest artists to perform key roles, or to serve in advisory capacities.

This year, Hayes welcomes Peter O?Brien, whose real life inspired the lauded film (and its subsequent Tony-winning stage adaptation) ?Billy Elliot,? about a young boy whose interest in ballet provided an escape from a decidedly working-class British mining town.

Hayes met O?Brien some years ago when both were students at the Royal Academy of Dance.

O?Brien will return to Sacramento in August to work with Hayes and company on PHCB?s full-length production of ?Giselle.?

?He?ll be consulting on ?Giselle? and teaching a summer workshop, so that?s kind of exciting,? said Hayes.

Joining ?The Nutcracker? cast in guest-performer capacities are Michael Onstad as Herr Drosselmeyer, and Georgy Rusanov as the Sugar Plum?s Cavalier.

?We?re lucky to have Michael,? said Hayes. ?We?re always grateful when he can do our ?Nutcracker? because others would love to have him.?

While having new dancers aboard is energizing, it?s also nice to see former students return to dance, said Hayes, noting that three alums are coming back this year to ?slide into roles they?ve done before.?

Among those returning for onstage appearances is PHCB alumna Allyn Ginns, who has danced in the company?s 11 previous ?Nutcracker? productions.

?Allyn first danced the role of Clara, back when she was 17,? said Hayes, who mentioned that it?s a special treat for Ginns to return for another ?Nutcracker,? reprising her role as the Sugar Plum Fairy, considering how hectic her year has been.

?She?s just back from college ? Georgetown University in Washington, D.C. In fact, she just passed the New York state bar. She?s quite an amazing young woman.?

In speaking about Ginns and her history with PHCB as a student and performer, Hayes is reminded of another distinction between her company and others.

?One of Allyn?s early dreams as a very young student was to dance the role of Clara,? said Hayes. ?Well, she was such a lovely dancer, and even at 17 so petite that she could fit into the Clara costume. So she ended up as my Clara. After she debuted in the role, it became our tradition to feature mature, more accomplished dancers in that part.?

Hayes said her cast?s younger students only perform age-appropriate roles, that is, roles that call for only a level of training one could expect from a student.

?I struggle to keep a promise I made to my studio?s then-students more than a dozen years ago,? said Hayes, ?because I?m a perfectionist with a respect for my craft, and what?s onstage has to be beautiful and come up to professional standards ? it?s not a ?recital? version.?

?We pride ourselves on putting a very-professional product onstage. I want to give the students the experience of what it?s like working with a ballet company one day, and to give them an idea if this is what they want to do.?

In addition to Ginns, other PHCB alums that are returning to the fold for a ?Nutcracker? reunion are: Sarah Kosterman (as Clara); Aly Andersen (as one of Drosselmeyer?s dolls and as a Spanish dancer); and Katryn Davis and Marie L?Hermine (as party scene parents).

Along with featuring a mix of fresh faces and experienced alums in creative and performance roles, Hayes said what distinguishes her company?s ?Nutcracker? is its continual updating of sets and costumes so that even those who aren?t ballet aficionados have a plethora of eye candy on which to feast.

?We have the new costumes for our snow scene that we had made last year,? said Hayes, who also mentioned there were just-stitched costumes waiting to be unveiled, including those for the dolls in the party scene.

?And this is the first year for our snow sets. Our snow scenes for 2012 are as beautiful as we could possibly create, with white-and-fluffy snow. There should be an audible ?Wow? from the audience.?

?Each year it?s a little different,? said Hayes. ?I like to keep it fresh.?

Hayes said she believes what also makes the PHCB production stand out is the inclusion of a number of characters that don?t normally get much stage time. Introduced during the company?s first productions (to facilitate costume changes for the then-smaller cast), she kept them even after more dancers were added.

?They were so entertaining, we just left them in there,? she said, noting that her 80-member cast ? which includes children as young as 3 ? performs in every show. ?We?ve even added more older roles this year ? more dancers in short tutus. A lot of people don?t feel like they?ve gone to the ballet unless they?ve seen a lot of short tutus.?

Pamela Hayes Classical Ballet presents ?The Nutcracker? at 7:30 p.m. Friday, Dec. 21; 2 and 7:30 p.m. Saturday, Dec. 22; and 2 p.m. Sunday, Dec. 23.

Single tickets, priced at $15 to $26, are available by calling (916) 608-6888, or online at www.threestages.net. For more information, visit www.phcb.org.
?

Source: http://www.sacramentopress.com/headline/77298/Humor_fresh_faces_to_distinguish_Pamela_Hayes_Nutcracker

marbury v. madison 2013 lincoln mkz burger king mary j blige google project glass google goggles one tree hill projectglass

APNewsBreak: Unisex Easy-Bake oven on the way

PROVIDENCE, R.I. (AP) ? Hasbro says it will soon reveal a gender-neutral Easy-Bake Oven after meeting with a New Jersey girl who started a campaign calling on the toy maker to make one that appeals to all kids.

McKenna Pope, 13, of Garfield, N.J., got more than 40,000 signatures on her online petition at Change.org and the support of celebrity chefs including Bobby Flay, who backed her call for Hasbro to make a gender-neutral oven and to include boys in the ads.

She was prompted to start the petition after shopping for an Easy-Bake as a Christmas present for her 4-year-old brother, Gavyn Boscio, and finding them only in purple and pink.

Hasbro invited McKenna and her family to its Pawtucket, R.I., headquarters to meet with its Easy-Bake team, and on Monday, they drove to Rhode Island from New Jersey. During the meeting, Hasbro executives showed off a prototype of their newest Easy-Bake: one that's black, silver and blue.

Hasbro has been working on the new color scheme and design for about 18 months, and decided to invite McKenna to see it and offer her thoughts, said John Frascotti, Hasbro's chief marketing officer.

McKenna said the company is doing everything she asked, including putting boys in the ads.

"I think that they really met most or even all of what I wanted them to do, and they really amazed me," she said, adding that Gavyn thought the new design was "awesome."

Frascotti pointed out that the classic toy has had about a dozen different color schemes, from yellow to green to teal to silver, since first being introduced in 1963. The most recent iteration, introduced in 2011, is mostly purple with pink accents.

He said it's sold well since then, and that prompted the company to look for a way to update it and to broaden the consumer base by doing it in different colors.

"It's actually a product that's played with by both boys and girls," he said. "We will continue to offer the existing product too because it's so popular."

Hasbro plans to introduce the new color scheme at the industry's Toy Fair in New York in February. Frascotti said people are likely to see it on store shelves next summer.

As for McKenna's Christmas present for her brother, she said the TV show "Inside Edition" gave the family an Easy-Bake Oven after learning of her campaign. For Christmas, she said, she'll probably buy him some mixes to bake in it.

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/apnewsbreak-unisex-easy-bake-oven-way-215127263--finance.html

ufc 144 james jones james jones aladdin black forest ufc 144 fight card ufc 144 results

Drought's winter toll: Mississippi barges face losses while US blasts river

Traffic along 180 miles of the drought-stricken Mississippi will be curtailed for a month, at a cost of billions to the barging industry, to allow the US to blast rock formations and raise river levels.

By Mark Guarino,?Staff writer / December 18, 2012

Barges with excavating machinery remove rocks on the Mississippi River Tuesday, in Thebes Ill.

Seth Perlman/AP

Enlarge

Even in winter, the severe drought that plagued a great swath of the nation?s agricultural and ranching states this summer is taking a punishing toll on the nation?s economy, with the Mississippi River barging industry the latest sector to fall victim.

Skip to next paragraph

' + google_ads[0].line2 + '
' + google_ads[0].line3 + '

'; } else if (google_ads.length > 1) { ad_unit += ''; } } document.getElementById("ad_unit").innerHTML += ad_unit; google_adnum += google_ads.length; return; } var google_adnum = 0; google_ad_client = "pub-6743622525202572"; google_ad_output = 'js'; google_max_num_ads = '1'; google_feedback = "on"; google_ad_type = "text"; google_adtest = "on"; google_image_size = '230x105'; google_skip = '0'; // -->

Subscribe Today to the Monitor

Click Here for your FREE 30 DAYS of
The Christian Science Monitor
Weekly Digital Edition

With water levels in the river already dangerously low and continuing to fall, the US Army Corps of Engineers and the US Coast Guard embarked Tuesday on a month-long program to increase water flow and ease navigation, during which barge traffic will be severely curtailed on a 180-mile stretch of river. Barging industry officials say they expect about $7 billion in losses through the end of January as a result.

The Obama administration announced the project on Monday, saying the Corps and the Guard planned to blast massive rock formations in shipping channels along a 15-mile stretch near Thebes, Ill., about 128 miles south of St. Louis. The agencies also say they will release new water from reservoirs connected to the Carlyle River in southern Illinois.

In total, the $10 million project is expected to add about six inches of water depth to the Mississippi by next week, the Corps says.

?Every inch counts right now. It?s not a permanent fix. But we?re using every tool at our disposal to keep commerce moving,? says Mike Peterson, a Corps spokesman.

Sen. Dick Durbin (D) of Illinois, at a press conference in nearby Alton, Ill., said Monday that his office is tracking efforts with the Corps ?to ensure we are doing everything we can to keep traffic moving on the river.?

?From farms to coal mines, a great deal of Illinois? economy depends on the Mississippi,? he said.

While the river will not be completely shut down to barge traffic during the month-long project, it will not allow passage during daytime hours, between 6 a.m. and 10 p.m. Vessels will be allowed to pass on a first-come, first-served basis arranged by the Coast Guard.

The barging industry says the efforts are not enough to increase both the water flow and depth that are needed to return the Mississippi to pre-drought levels. They have repeatedly urged the Corps to open up a reservoir system connected to the Missouri River to release at least 2 percent of its water, which is needed to compensate for river flows that are becoming ?shallower and narrower? by the day, says Ann McCulloch, a spokeswoman with the American Waterways Operators, an advocacy organization in Washington.

?We are very grateful the Corps is expediting rock removal work. That is very important, but if it happens without a modest amount of flow from the Missouri River, we feel that work is not going to be enough to maintain navigation,? Ms. McCulloch says. Since August, she adds, barges that under normal conditions are meant to navigate with a 12-foot ?draft? have been operating with a 9-foot draft, which is likely to decrease without the added flow.

The draft is a measurement used to determine the minimum depth of water needed for vessels to operate safely with and without cargo.

?When that channel becomes lower and lower, the Corps will place restrictions on how much barges can carry, and when you get below nine feet, the river might as well be closed, because there?s not much that will be able to move,? she says.

Mr. Peterson says the decision to keep the Missouri River reservoir system closed to the Mississippi is one of the ?tough decisions? the agency makes in determining the best use of its water sources. He adds that the decision is based on the long-term forecast that the drought may not be an isolated event and could stretch forward for years.

"Right now this is year one in what we are looking at as a multi-year event,? he says. ?We want to make sure every decision we make now won?t have long-term negative impact for people who rely on the Missouri River system for their drinking water and hydro power.?

The American Waterways Operators estimates that the partial shutdown of the river will reduce the number of barges from 35 to 15 that can be hauled by a single towboat. The reduced speed and capacity along the 180-mile stretch of the river between St. Louis and Cairo, Ill., which has water levels already 20 feet below normal, will result in $7 billion in lost business in December and January, the organization says.

It says over a third of those losses, or $2.3 billion, is represented by farm exports. Other expected losses are from chemical products ($1.8 billion), petroleum products ($1.3 billion), crude oil ($534 million), and coal ($192 million).

Source: http://rss.csmonitor.com/~r/feeds/csm/~3/NlNO2c7EY3k/Drought-s-winter-toll-Mississippi-barges-face-losses-while-US-blasts-river

Paul Ryan Speech chris cooley chris cooley condoleezza rice Perry Hall High School bill cosby us open

Business Insights and Technology Tips January 2013- Cornerstone ...

Home ?\? Business Insights and Technology Tips January 2013

Your Social Media Marketing?Checklist for 2013

This helpful article contains a checklist of items?to review so that your social media marketing goals can be easily achieved.??As we enter a hopeful new year, we thought it would be helpful to deliver some key items for your corporate social media strategy checklist for 2013. And, as we also enter a new year of Google changes to the ever-important search algorithm, we include a review of SEO from a social standpoint.?

See:?Mashable.com -?2013 Social Media Marketing?

For?best practices regarding?social media marketing, mobile commerce?and online-digital marketing strategies please call the Tampa, FL?corporate?office of Cornerstone Consulting at 813-321-1300.

?

7 Tech Trends That Will Impact Your Business in 2013

Staying abreast of?future technology,?can help??executives to make plans for deployments, deal with IT dilemmas and make sound contingency plans. Yet one trend is clear: What we know about technology now will change. Email used to be the standard for most corporate communication, but now the writing is on the wall, giving way to more immediate social transmissions.?

See:?CIO.com ? 7 Tech Trends That Will Impact Your Business in 2013

For state-of-the-art small and midsized enterprise resource planning systems, real-time accurate analytics, business software,?mobile apps, and outstanding technology?please call the Tampa corporate?office of Cornerstone Consulting at 813-321-1300.

?

Apple in 2013:?Five Predictions

Josh Lowensohn of CNET.com believes will be Apple?s focus in 2013 will be on Apple t.v., settling court battles with rivals, development of iRadio, enhancements of maps, and improving Siri.

See:?CNET.com ? Apple in 2013: Five Predictions

For?superior business consulting, ERP systems, IT/MIS, cutting edge software and technology?please call the Tampa, FL?corporate?office of Cornerstone Consulting at 813-321-1300.

?

Internet Censorship, Restrictions Around the Globe

Throughout the world, many in governments want to increase regulation and censorship of the Internet. Recently, ?envoys in Dubai signed a new U.N. telecommunications treaty Friday that a U.S.-led delegation says endorses greater government control of the Internet. The U.S. and more than 20 other countries refused to ratify the accord by the 193-nation International Telecommunications Union.?

See:?FoxNews.com ? Government Internet Censorship

For state-of-the-art small and midsized enterprise resource planning systems, real-time accurate analytics, business software,?mobile apps, and outstanding technology?please call the Tampa corporate?office of Cornerstone Consulting at 813-321-1300.

?

Perfect Device for Life in a Disruptive World

In this article Eric Mack reviews the?near perfect technological evolution of instantaneous global information and connectivity.?Mack describes how?society benefits from, ?the global proliferation of easily accessible broadband; unbelievably cheap voice and videoconferencing solutions that ride those rails; and a plethora of affordable, portable, and powerful devices to help tap into both. This combination makes it possible for me to be ?productive? ? in the 21st century, IT sense of the word ? from almost anywhere on earth. Add a solar panel and/or piezoelectric system and satellite connection to the mix and you can swap out ?almost anywhere? for literally ?anywhere?.?

See: CNET.com ? Perfect Device

For?cutting-edge ERP systems, accurate?analytics and mobile?software and technology?please call the Tampa, FL?corporate?office of Cornerstone Consulting at 813-321-1300.?

?

About Cornerstone Consulting, Inc.

Based in Tampa, FL, Cornerstone Consulting, Inc. is a?business consulting and information technology (IT)?company. Not only is Cornerstone an award-winning?value added reseller (VAR) of business software, our highly-skilled team specializes in cutting-edge solutions and tech support for:

• SAP Business One ERP
• E-commerce
• M-commerce
• Mobility
• Business Intelligence (BI)
• Analytics
• Internet
• Databases
• Cloud Computing
• Custom Programming
• Software as a Service (SaaS)
• Website Design, Development and Hosting

Cornerstone provides?software products, tech?services and business process outsourcing?which support all areas of a small or medium sized?business, such as: financial accounting, operations, customer relationship management, sales, inventory control-tracking-management, warehouse management, e-commerce, and more.?Cornerstone?s ?dream team? of programmers, trainers and consultants?specialize in?providing our Manufacturing, Wholesale Distribution, Pharmaceutical, Nutraceutical, and Online Retail?clients with optimal?business process configuration, integration and automation.??

How might we partner with you to?improve your business and make it run?better than ever previously imagined??Let?s connect and start the conversation. Call us at (813) 321-1300 today!

?

?

?

Source: http://www.cornerstoneconsultinginc.com/2012/12/business-insights-and-technology-tips-january-2013/

pipa and sopa sopa pipa wikipedia blackout kyla pratt justified season 3 custer scott walker