Plastic Surgery Westchester: Giving You Self-Esteem | Backlinkarticles

The requirement for plastic surgery westchester as well as other areas is escalating for numerous causes. Appearance is very important, particularly in a major location like New York. Several folks currently have plastic surgery in hopes of boosting their looks. Medical doctors could correct imperfections you might have employing various medical systems. You may achieve the features you want and raise your self-confidence by having plastic surgery.

Plastic surgery may eradicate problems, emphasize your natural beauty, and refresh your physical appearance. Through the help of a dependable New York plastic surgeon, you might increase both your physical and psychological well-being. Listed are some of the positive aspects folks could get from having plastic surgery:

Improve Self-Confidence

Receiving plastic surgery procedures from a New York plastic surgeon team might assist you to have your confidence and self-esteem again. A lot of ladies reported they feel more self-assured after obtaining plastic surgery. A report by the American Society for Aesthetic Plastic Surgery indicated that the progress in women?s self-esteem is directly related with having undergone breast enhancement.

Energized Appearance

Both face and human body surgical procedures may make a more rejuvenated and younger look. For instance, a person might take into consideration having an eyelid procedure to enliven a stressful face. Although some individuals find plastic surgery procedures expensive, most individuals say that the final results are worth the cost. With an increased interest on Plastic surgery in Westchester, an increasing number of folks are visiting surgeons to look and feel young.

Proportionate Facial Profile

New York plastic surgeon teams can quickly repair defects in their facial profile. Facial surgical procedure may correct aesthetic defects that affect your facial structure. Two of the most frequent facial treatment options are Rhinoplasty (nose surgery) and Otoplasty (ear surgery). Surgeons conduct Rhinoplasty to make modifications in the nasal form. The change in nasal profile could increase the all round balance among the facial features. Similar to Rhinoplasty, Otoplasty could drastically modify the look of the face and head by solving large, obtruding ears.

Weight Loss Transformation

A plastic surgery in Westchester and other regions of New York could help folks that have lost a substantial amount weight. After losing weight, countless folks observe stretch marks on their arms, thighs, along with other areas of their body. The excess tissue might be eliminated by having plastic surgery care, such as arm lift, thigh lift, tummy tuck, and breast augmentation.

Tranquility between Your Inner and Outer Self

With the aid of a plastic surgeon in New York, you might appear and feel younger. From the most basic non-surgical treatment methods to the more sophisticated surgical treatments, medical doctors can help the individuals to have their self-worth back again and have a higher self-esteem.

Build up your self-confidence and feel great about your physical aspect by having a plastic surgery in Westchester. Seek advice from knowledgeable plastic surgeons about which surgical treatment suits you. They may help you decide on a procedure which could give you the results you want.

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Source: http://www.backlinkarticles.com/beauty/plastic-surgery-westchester-giving-you-self-esteem.html

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US drive against al Shabaab pressures Somali-American money

(Reuters) - A Chicago man pleaded guilty on Monday to planning to join an al Qaeda-linked group in Somalia, the latest U.S. prosecution in a crackdown that has made it harder for Somali-Americans to send money to the war-torn country.

Shaker Masri, 28, was arrested in August 2010 as he prepared to leave the United States and agreed to serve nearly 10 years in prison, the U.S. Justice Department said.

The prosecutions of Masri and others since the Sept 11, 2001, attacks are designed to stop support to al Shabaab, a militant group the United States says has ties to al-Qaeda.

The campaign against al Shabaab has had a chilling impact on legitimate money transfers from the Somali-American community to relatives in one of the world's poorest countries, Somali-Americans said.

For more than two decades, Somalia has been ravaged by a civil war that has left the country with no functioning central banking system and an income per person only a little over $200 a year, according to the World Bank.

Somali-Americans in Minnesota and other states rely on small money services businesses to funnel money to their relatives in Somalia.

But many U.S. banks stopped hosting accounts for those businesses because U.S. laws, starting with the Patriot Act, made them potentially liable if money ended up in the hands of al Shabaab. The U.S. State Department designated al Shabaab a foreign terrorist organization in 2008.

Wells Fargo, U.S. Bank and TCF Bank stopped providing account services in recent years.

Sunrise Community Banks stopped at the end of 2011, and others have dropped out since, adding to the concerns of Somali-Americans in Minnesota, home to the largest Somali population in the United States at about 34,500, according to census data.

Maryama Abdi, speaking through an interpreter at the Karmel mall in south Minneapolis, said she sent up to $150 a month to family in Somalia using money transfer businesses.

People survive "because of the exchange connections and the money we are sending," Abdi said. "They can use it to buy milk."

SENDING $100 MILLION A YEAR HOME

U.S.-based Somalis send more than $100 million a year back home, according to the U.S. Treasury, mostly $100 or $200 at a time. The Somali government has estimated about $2 billion, or one-third of its gross domestic product, reaches the country through money transfer businesses.

As part of the crackdown on links to al-Shabaab, 18 people face federal charges in an investigation into funding and recruiting for al Shabaab in Minnesota, and several have pleaded guilty. About 20 men have left Minneapolis for Somalia to join al Shabaab since September 2007 and at least two of the men charged in the Minnesota investigation are believed to have been killed there.

U.S. Representative Keith Ellison, a Minnesota Democrat, supports legislation to reduce the regulatory burden on the banks for providing the money transfer services.

"The end goal is to shut down terrorist financing," Ellison said in a telephone interview. "The end goal is not to shut down American immigrant-owned small businesses."

About 17 banks across the United States still facilitate those transactions, Ellison said earlier this month.

The chairman of the Somali American Money Services Association, Said Malin, said his members were concerned about the uncertainty.

"People are rushing to come and send in money to loved ones," Malin said. "Every other month, they say this is the last month, or next month or the third month."

All 14 members of the association shut down temporarily after Sunrise stopped providing services at the end of 2011, but 11 were able to reopen using other banking sources, Malin said.

At Karmel mall, Faduma Alim said her whole family suffered if her sick eldest son did not receive the $150 or $200 she sends each month to care for him and his four children.

"That is how he survives," said Alim, who also sends money to support the six children of her deceased brother, who live with their grandmother. "It's the only banking system we have."

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/us-drive-against-al-shabaab-pressures-somali-american-053447690.html

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The Paradox Of VC Seed Investing | TechCrunch

Editor?s note: Brian Singerman is a partner at Founders Fund. He?previously worked at Google and There.?

This is the first in a series of articles I am writing to bring more transparency and honesty to the field of venture capital. While many of the themes may be contrarian or controversial, I have two primary goals: First, I want to help entrepreneurs and startup enthusiasts understand what motivates investors. Second, I hope to draw attention to some of the fallacies venture capitalists use in their negotiations with entrepreneurs. Aligning the incentives of entrepreneurs and VCs will lead to much stronger relationships and innovation.

Entrepreneurs regularly come to Founders Fund asking us to lead or participate in their seed/angel round. They are often confused or shocked when I try to convince them that with very few exceptions, it is not in entrepreneurs? best interest to raise seed capital from large venture firms and neither is it beneficial for large firms to invest in seed stage companies. Among the reasons: the structure of VC economics and unavoidable perception issues. Since this conversation happens frequently, I?d like to share my honest thoughts on why large funds should avoid angel investing -?? and also why Founders Fund nevertheless does so through its wholly owned FF Angel funds.

The economics of VC explain a lot about why large funds should not do seed investing, so let?s start with a quick review of those dynamics. VCs raise money from a pool of capital known as limited partners (the fund is the general partner), which include accredited individuals and large financial institutions . The VCs usually charge 2% of this capital annually for operating expenses (the management fee) and 20% of the profits (the carry). This is known in the industry as a 2-??and-??20 structure but varies from fund to fund. While the management fees from a large fund can be an important source of revenue, the real incentive is (or anyway, should be) the carry. For of every dollar committed to a fund, the firm will take home approximately $.15-?20 of management fees (which ratchet down over the life of a fund), but $.40 in carry if the fund triples. And good VC managers aim to get a return of at least 3-?5x committed capital. Established firms have been raising more capital lately and this has important consequences for the kinds of investments they make. For the remainder of this article, when I refer to ?VCs,? I am referring top tier funds in the range of $400 million to $1 billion+. As I am a partner at Founders Fund, I will use our latest $625 million fund as the example.

There are many reasons to work in venture capital. Founders Fund, for instance, has remained steadfast in its mission to transform our world for the better, as presented in our manifesto. At the same time, venture capitalists are capitalists, with a duty to provide returns. With a 2-??and-??20 structure, we and every other VC in the world are incentivized to make money for LPs and ourselves. In order to achieve meaningful carry, we need to return several multiples of the fund, or multiples of $625 million in our case. Consider the basic implications here: we make a traditional seed investment in a company of $250k, and that investment returns.?20x, which by anyone?s standards is a home run. The problem is that it only returns $5 million and we need to make another 124 ?home-??run? seed investments to return our fund. In a more extreme example, take Andreessen Horowitz?s $250K seed investment in Instagram. This was one of the most successful seed investments of all time and netted its fund $78 million. In our case, we would need eight Instagrams to get to $625 million?a feat that no single fund has ever achieved in the history of venture capital. The case would be very different if we were a smaller early-??stage firm where the Instagram investment may have returned its fund multiple times over.

This begs the question: why do VCs do seed investing at all? The standard reason is ?option value?, or the ability to put in more money later as the company scales and gains traction. That?s a terrible answer.. Example: You are the founder of Acme Computing Technologies (ACT), and raise $250K in your seed round from a moderately successful venture firm. That firm has not been bad to you in any way, and may have even been helpful. Six months later, ACT is doing well so you are thinking about a $5 million Series A to scale the business. Your original VC would love to do this deal, but you get a call one day from a legendary Silicon Valley firm. Are you really not going to take that call? Of course you will! And if she offers you competitive terms, are you not going to strongly consider taking the money? Of course you will! Top tier firms almost ALWAYS have an option on a company, even if they did not participate in the seed round. Firms with great reputations bring many benefits, from branding and signaling to good advice and great connections. For good companies, this scenario happens frequently.

On the flip side, entrepreneurs should be cautious of taking seed money from top tier VCs because of this ?option value.? Let?s change the story and say that a top tier made a seed investment in ACT from the start. We will ignore the subset of companies that die or ?crush it? and focus on the large majority of companies in the grey area. If the top tier fund skips the next round for whatever reason, ACT would have a serious problem on its hand. The most common question other firms will ask is ?Why didn?t the fund take this round?? Passing sends a negative signal to the market, and in some cases, may actually kill the company. The perceived option value comes at a potential huge cost to company, and is the main reason entrepreneurs need to strongly consider this downside.

Those are the structural problems with VCs doing seed investing ? it?s challenging for a seed investment to have an impact on the fund?s total returns and there can be all sorts of signaling problems. So why would an entrepreneur take money from a top VC, and why would the VC itself ever make seed investments?

A potential reason to take money from large VCs is because of their size and ability to move quickly on a small seed investment. In general, if any $400mm+ fund VC takes more than 24 hours to decide on a $250k seed investment, the entrepreneur should run away, fast. Rapid access to capital allows entrepreneurs to waste less time fundraising and spend more time on product or business?development. Furthermore, since the fund is so large, and the investment a small fraction of committed capital, the VC will likely leave the entrepreneur alone to run her company with no interference. VC meddling is potentially very detrimental to a company?s early success. Convenience and autonomy seem like great reasons to take money from a large fund, but the negative signaling potential to kill the company in the future outweighs these.

Despite these reasons, there are some cases where it does make sense for us (and indeed, any VC firm) to invest in seed stage companies. First, we invest in very high risk tech companies that otherwise would have a difficult time raising funds. We do this because we believe that IF these companies achieve their technical milestones, they open up huge new markets. This is usually a big IF, and also mitigates any signaling risk since other firms might not be willing to invest in the first place. Second, we invest in our network, who are typically amazing entrepreneurs or visionaries (e.g., the PayPal mafia, Facebook mafia, etc.). Investing in our network means we do not need to exert much incremental effort sourcing and helping out on deals because we already know the entrepreneurs and what they are working on. That kind of investing is a process that is almost infinitely scalable and thus incredibly efficient. These companies often do not fall under our manifesto criteria which we apply to our large main fund investments, so there is very little signaling risk if we do not participate in the Series A round. At Founders Fund, we do these seed investments through FF Angel to signal one of these cases, both to other VC firms as well as our own investors.

At the end of the day, we are venture capitalists. We strongly believe in stimulating innovation through capitalism. We are in this profession not simply to make money, but to help fund some of the most important technology the world has ever seen. Making our industry more transparent is an important part of what we do, as it can help cut through all the myths of venture capital, and empower founders to focus on the most important thing: progress.

[Image via Pfeuffer.com.]

Brian Singerman is a Partner at Founders Fund. He came to Founders Fund from Google, where he founded the iGoogle team in 2004, after serving in a variety of development and executive positions. Before joining Google, Brian was an engineer for There, an online, virtual world startup. At Founders Fund, Brian seeks out new investment opportunities such as Discovery Engine, a revolutionary search technology, and Azumio, a smartphone-based biometrics firm. Before joining the Founders Fund team, Brian was...

Learn more

Source: http://techcrunch.com/2012/07/29/the-paradox-of-vc-seed-investing/

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Am I Cheating? Fidelity And On-line Dating ?

On-line courting is one of the quickest rising industries in the UK today. Day by day, hundreds of 1000?s of us go surfing to one or more of the growing number of websites out there; some looking for critical relationships, others for friendship and companions, and still others for informal flings and that additional ?bit on the aspect?.

Some websites declare to be purely for genuine singles in search of dedicated, long run relationships, others flip a blind eye to, and even actively encourage, married or cohabiting members who might or could not use the sites with the blessing of their spouse or partner. After all many individuals who use on-line dating sites achieve this purely for chatting and exchanging messages and never meet nose to nose; with the steady development of the Internet as a communication software because it?s inception, it has change into increasingly potential for netizens to conduct deeply involved, real time relationships with folks they?ve by no means truly met.

So what does this change with regard to the old methods of doing things? When does a web-based relationship develop into ?intimate?? Are you able to fall in love with an avatar, and can you cheat on someone, or with someone, who?s in a special time zone?

A latest examine by Dr Martin Graff of the University of Glamorgan confirmed that our perceptions of what does and does not constitute ?cheating? on-line are affected by a variety of elements ? most prominently, and perhaps unsurprisingly, by the extent of data relationship website customers are ready to reveal about themselves; Dr Graff explains

?From this examine, it seems that the higher the extent of typed disclosure, then the stronger the notion of infidelity.?

Seemingly, within the absence of the ?nonverbal cues? on which face to face interaction depends so strongly, how a lot we are ready to present away about ourselves is the primary indicator of how intimate our on-line relationships are and by extension, the degree of unfaithfulness inherent within the actions of non single website users.

Maybe extra surprisingly, the study also showed that the time of day at which online encounters happened was also a key think about establishing infidelity, concluding that

?Exchanges later within the night have been perceived to be more infidelitous, than those which might happen within the day or early evening.?

Dr Graff?s research is ongoing and subsequent phases will have a look at the issues of jealousy and belief in the0020context of on-line relationships.

In the end the jury continues to be out on precisely what constitutes online infidelity and indeed relationships over the online as a whole. It?s doubtful that a firm conclusion will ever be reached because the world of online courting and relationships, as in ?actual life?, will all the time be immensely subjective as a result of differing ethical requirements and emotional responses of the people involved. Studies like Dr Graff?s can nonetheless present a fascinating perception into the human causes and effects of the fashionable world, and the way these are formed by the route of our rapidly creating and altering communications technology.

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Source: http://all-articles-directory.com/am-i-cheating-fidelity-and-on-line-dating/

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Customized Tattoo Studios In Sydney Are A Budding Industry

The server is temporarily unable to service your request due to the site owner reaching his/her bandwidth limit. Please try again later.

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Apache Server at www.convivium.co.za Port 80

Source: http://www.convivium.co.za/customized-tattoo-studios-in-sydney-are-a-budding-industry

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HypnotherapyCenterofWI -Appleton WI Hypnosis & NLP : How To ...

New Drug May Promote Weight Loss, But Also Help Maintain It July 29, 2012

A new drug could aid in losing weight and keeping it off. The drug, described in the journal Cell Metabolism, increases sensitivity to the hormone leptin, a natural appetite suppressant found in the body. Although so far the new drug has only been tested on mice, the findings have implications for the development of new treatments for obesity in humans... [?]

Why Do Anti-Hunger And Anti-Obesity Initiatives Always Fall Short? July 27, 2012

New research shows how we can innovate our way out of a double crisis With widespread hunger continuing to haunt developing nations, and obesity fast becoming a global epidemic, any number of efforts on the parts of governments, scientists, non-profit organizations and the business world have taken aim at these twin nutrition-related crises... [?]

Obesity Theories Challenged By Hunter-Gatherer Study July 27, 2012

A new study comparing the lifestyle of Westerners with that of hunter-gatherers challenges the idea that the current obesity crisis is due to lack of physical activity. The researchers suggest the more likely explanation is over-consumption of calories, particularly due to the presence of energy-dense foods in the Western diet... [?]

Increased Risk Of Post-Surgical Infection After Orthopaedic Trauma, Total Joint Replacement In Patients With High Blood Sugar, Obesity July 27, 2012

Two recent studies in the July issues of the Journal of Bone and Joint Surgery (JBJS) looked at surgical site infections and hyperglycemia, the technical term for high blood glucose, or high blood sugar... [?]

Erectile Dysfunction Can Be A Warning Sign For Heart Disease In Younger And Middle-Aged Men And Men With Diabetes July 27, 2012

Although erectile dysfunction (ED) has been shown to be an early warning sign for heart disease, some physicians - and patients - still think of it as just as a natural part of "old age." But now an international team of researchers, led by physicians at The Miriam Hospital, say it's time to expand ED symptom screening to include younger and m [?]

Inactive, Fat Rats Used In Lab To Understand Childhood Obesity July 26, 2012

Childhood obesity has nearly tripled in the past three decades, and by 2009, 17 percent of those 2-19 years of age were classified as obese... [?]

Test Shows Subconscious 'Stop Signs' Can Help Control Overeating July 26, 2012

Once you pop the top of a tube of potato chips, it can be hard to stop munching its contents. But Cornell University researchers may have found a novel way to help: edible serving-size markers that act as subconscious stop signs... [?]

Minimizing Exposure To Artificial Light At Night May Improve Depressive Symptoms July 26, 2012

Chronic exposure to dim light at night can lead to depressive symptoms in rodents -- but these negative effects can be reversed simply by returning to a standard light-dark cycle, a new study suggests... [?]

Study Suggests Obesity Is Due To Increased Food Consumption, Not Decreased Energy Expenditure July 26, 2012

Modern lifestyles are generally quite different from those of our hunter-gatherer ancestors, a fact that some claim as the cause of the current rise in global obesity, but new results published in the open access journal PLoS ONE find that there is no difference between the energy expenditure of modern hunter-gatherers and Westerners, casting doubt on this t [?]

Childhood Obesity Linked To 50% Higher Risk Of Urothelial And Colorectal Cancers In Adulthood July 25, 2012

Parents are increasingly conscious of the dangers of childhood obesity. There is a growing recognition of health problems associated with extra pounds, including the risk of diabetes, heart disease, and joint and muscle pain. New research from Tel Aviv University has revealed another significant reason for children to maintain a healthy weight. Dr. Ari Shami [?]

Snacking And BMI Linked To Double Effect Of Brain Activity And Self-Control July 25, 2012

Snack consumption and BMI are linked to both brain activity and self-control, new research has found. The research, carried out by academics from the Universities of Exeter, Cardiff, Bristol, and Bangor, discovered that an individual's brain 'reward centre' response to pictures of food predicted how much they subsequently ate... [?]

How We Can Innovate Our Way Out Of A Double Crisis - Hunger And Obesity July 24, 2012

With widespread hunger continuing to haunt developing nations, and obesity fast becoming a global epidemic, any number of efforts on the parts of governments, scientists, non-profit organizations and the business world have taken aim at these twin nutrition-related crises... [?]

Overweight Kids Already Have Risk Factors For Heart Disease July 24, 2012

The prevalence of childhood obesity is increasing worldwide, now researchers say that 2 out of 3 severely obese children have at least one risk factor for cardiovascular disease. The study is published online in Archives of Disease in Childhood. The findings from the study are based on data supplied by pediatricians to the Dutch Pediatric Surveillance Unit.. [?]

Healthier Options Now Available At Chain Restaurants With Menu Labeling July 23, 2012

The recent Supreme Court decision on the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act has cleared the way for national requirements about posting nutritional information at chain restaurants. Listing calories, fat content, and sodium levels of menu items at the point of purchase has been promoted as a way to address the obesity epidemic... [?]

How Fat Influences Flavour Perception July 23, 2012

A joint study carried out by The University of Nottingham and the multinational food company Unilever has found for the first time that fat in food can reduce activity in several areas of the brain which are responsible for processing taste, aroma and reward... [?]

Diesel Exhaust Exposure In The Womb A Possible Risk Factor For Obesity July 23, 2012

Pregnant mice exposed to high levels of air pollution gave birth to offspring with a significantly higher rate of obesity and insulin resistance in adulthood than those that were not exposed to air pollution. This effect seemed especially prevalent in male mice, which were heavier regardless of diet... [?]

Qsymia For Weight Management Approved By FDA July 22, 2012

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration today approved Qsymia (phentermine and topiramate extended-release) as an addition to a reduced-calorie diet and exercise for chronic weight management... [?]

Asking Your Children What Their Superheroes Would Eat Primes Them To Make Healthier Fast Food Choices July 22, 2012

Popeye inspired a generation of growing Baby Boomers to eat its spinach. Today, role models such as Batman can prompt children to develop their own healthy eating habits, a recent Cornell University study finds. "Fast food patronage is a frequent reality for many children and their parents... [?]

Obesity Leads To More Doctor Visits Than Smoking, Canada July 21, 2012

Statistics show that today, almost one in four Canadians is obese. A deadly trend that has been on the rise for the last thirty years, obesity is associated with diabetes, heart disease and cancer... [?]

Non-Invasive Thermal Imaging Joins The Fight Against Obesity July 20, 2012

Scientists at The University of Nottingham believe they've found a way of fighting obesity - with a pioneering technique which uses thermal imaging. This heat-seeking technology is being used to trace our reserves of brown fat - the body's 'good fat' - which plays a key role in how quickly our body can burn calories as energy... [?]

Source: http://howcanyouloseweighttoday.com/2012/07/29/hypnotherapycenterofwi-appleton-wi-hypnosis-nlp-how-to-lose-belly-fat/

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Improve Your ghds Self Improvement With This Assistance ...

Welcome to the famous five minute WordPress installation process! You may want to browse the ReadMe documentation at your leisure. Otherwise, just fill in the information below and you?ll be on your way to using the most extendable and powerful personal publishing platform in the world.

Please provide the following information. Don?t worry, you can always change these settings later.

Source: http://answers.apostoliccm.com/2012/07/improve-your-ghds-self-improvement-with-this-assistance/

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Small Business Online Marketing Advice | Absolute Web Services Blog

Even with a limited budget, small businesses can find many ways to increase traffic to their website using social media, good search engine optimization and more. Here are some key areas to focus on to drive more traffic to small business website, and what you need to know.

Joel Mark Witt | FolkMedia.org?

Increasing Traffic Through Search Engines
Getting your small business website on the first page of Google search results is one of the best ways to increase traffic and tends to be more effective than e-mail marketing, print ads, TV ads and online banners. Without the right knowledge about how search engines rank your site and how keywords affect your ranking, dramatically improving your search engine ranking can be difficult without a design firm.

Improve Your Design
Improving the design and function is another seemingly easy way to market your business, although it?s also tricky if you lack the experience. A number of factors go into good small business web design, including loading time, high quality content, intuitive navigation, logo design, color choice, carefully chosen images and more. Improving the design of your website also means keeping the content fresh and updated so it performs better on search engines. Using a content management system like WordPress makes it easy for a business owner to keep their website up to date, even if they lack technical experience.

Create a Focus Group
Small business can also use referrals and buzz to increase traffic to their website and improve sales. Along with word-of-mouth marketing, some companies also use their web customers as a focus group to test new products before launch. An example of this is Bite Shoes, which created a new golf shoe but wasn?t sure how customers would react. To test the product, they posted pictures of the shoe to their website and emailed loyal online customers as well as top buyers for pro shops. The emails referred the recipients to the website, where they were asked their opinion about the price and style of the shoe. While customers liked the shoe, store representatives weren?t willing to take a risk on the design. Bite Shoes decided not to release the shoe, as they don?t sell directly to customers and knew they would lose a great deal of money.

Using Customer Data
All websites should have a well-written and easy to understand privacy policy on their website to inform customers what happens to their personal data. So what can you do with customer data that?s given voluntarily? There are a few techniques you can use. One option is an online poll or comment cards that allow you to survey customers about their opinions. You can also analyze the log files of your website to learn exactly how customers use your site, which may give you valuable insight to make improvements. Some e-commerce businesses also create customer databases to examine cost per contact and cost per sale. These status reports are a great way to measure the results of your marketing.

Take Advantage of Social Media
Small businesses can also improve their marketing strategy by leveraging social media. Facebook has over 300 million users and allows you to create a free online presence for your business. Take advantage of your Business Fan Page by creating weekly updates, offering special promotions to Facebook fans and informing consumers about new products or locations. Likewise, sign up for Twitter and LinkedIn and create a business blog to generate buzz about your business. Social media allows businesses of all sizes to effectively compete in their market.

Perform Market Research
Using an effective market research technique, you?ll learn the actual need for your services or products, how likely it is to sell, the best store location and how to market your key demographic. If you have a limited marketing budget, try snail mail and email questionnaires sent to your target market. You can also join forums related to your business and find an active audience. There are also companies that specialize in market research. While the fee for these serices can seem like a bit much, it may save you money in the long-run when you consider the time needed to send out mailers and follow-up on responses.

Grassroots and Creative Marketing Strategies
Finally, come up with creative ways to market your company to compete with more established businesses. You may focus on supporting your local community, for example. One restaurant owner in Dallas even started sending out congratulatory letters to workers in the area who received a recent promotion. By spending about 30 minutes a day looking through local newspapers for annoucements, the owner then found the address of the employee and began sending 30 letters per day. The congratulatory letters invite the employee to the restaurant for a free glass of wine or champagne. He estimates this program costs $1,625 each year and creates a 29% response rate for a total of $106,177 in increased revenue.

Pay-per-Click Advertising: Is it for you?
Many small businesses invest a great deal of money into pay-per-click advertising. These paid search engine ads can lead to increased revenue, but they may be very expensive for your targeted keywords. Because you pay money every time someone clicks on your ad, you must also keep in mind that up to 35% of these clicks may be fradulent. According to Inc Magazine, many of the people who fradulently click on paid advertisements with no intention of purchasing anything are actually business competitors, although some are also owners of affiliate sites hosting the ads, who receive a commission. Because there is no real way to affordably prevent to problem, it?s a cost you?ll have to live with.

Source: http://www.absolutewebservices.com/blog/internet-marketing/small-business-online-marketing-advice/

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Fly Or Die: Google Nexus 7

Ever since I/O and the unveiling of Android 4.1 Jelly Bean, the blogosphere has been measuring Google?s new Nexus 7 tablet. The verdict in almost every case is good, including our very own iPad lover?s take.

John and I thus found it only fitting to bring the little 7-inch tablet into the studio for Fly or Die. The tablet, with a 7-inch IPS 1280?800 display, a Tegra 3 quad-core processor, and the latest version of Android, didn?t fail to impress.

And the specs have very little to do with it. Sure, that Tegra 3 proc probably contributes quite a bit to the snappiness of the tablet, but the display isn?t anything to write home about, nor is the measly 8GB of on board storage. (I know there?s a 16Gb model, but without external memory you?ll be walking around with a rather ?light? amount of content.)

What makes the tablet great is that it?s the first truly premium tablet available in this size and price range. Amazon?s Kindle Fire is great but it isn?t really a computer replacement the way the iPad is, but rather a mobile Amazon content portal. And the iPad, though exceptional in performance and usability, is a little large and way too expensive to fit into the category.

The Nexus 7 fills that gap, and so we believe it?ll fly and fly into many a home. It?s already sold out once.

The real question is whether or not it?ll still have such high demand once Apple unveils that long-awaited iPad mini. September will be here before you know it.

September 7, 1998

NASDAQ:GOOG

Google provides search and advertising services, which together aim to organize and monetize the world?s information. In addition to its dominant search engine, it offers a plethora of online tools and platforms including: Gmail, Maps, YouTube, and Google+, the company?s extension into the social space. Most of its Web-based products are free, funded by Google?s highly integrated online advertising platforms AdWords and AdSense. Google promotes the idea that advertising should be highly targeted and relevant to users thus providing...

Learn more

The Nexus 7 is Google?s first tablet hardware. The Nexus 7 comes in two sizes: 8GB and 16GB both with 7-inch 1280x800 HD display.

Learn more

Source: http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/Techcrunch/~3/3g0bzs8c4cc/

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The future of online presentation - Internet and Website Design

Recent technology developments have sent traditional media into a tailspin, turning nearly every proven marketing strategy into a gamble.

Across the world, in every industry, companies are scrambling to update the marketing tactics on which they?ve relied for generations. At the same time, consumers are craving engaging, relevant content that complements both their interests and their lifestyles.

The most popular search engines have responded to these demands with fundamental changes that have shaken the advertising industry?s foundation.

As marketers, publishers and business owners strive to keep up with this critical juncture in online media, two things are clear: multiplatform digital consumers are driving the future of online presentations, and long-term, positive branding hinges on a company?s ability to create personal connections with its customer base.? In other words, the future is changing around us?and we?re the ones doing the changing!

According to the Pew Research Center, the younger, hyper-connected generation is rapidly becoming dependent on mobile technology. This makes sense, as larger numbers of personal devices now come equipped with out-of-the-box networking capabilities. Smart phones, iPods, and even video game consoles all now rely on connectivity not as a selling point, but as an absolute necessity.

Between Summer 2011 and Spring 2012, tablet ownership grew nearly 50 percent, and roughly 44 percent of Americans are now smartphone owners. These two developments have drastically influenced how consumers find and follow their news, their entertainment, and their friends. It is now common to read a newspaper from a tablet screen, listen to music streaming over the Internet or converse with others electronically via text and video.

These sweeping changes in how people access information make responsive web design a critical element in marketing campaigns. Digital mavens who rely on numerous devices and browsers are demanding a consistent, single source of content that is easily navigable and quickly supplies essential information. Individual landing pages are increasingly proving to be an engaging way to connect with customers from any channel, whether it is through a QR code, a pay-per click advertisement or a specific keyword search.? One way or another, potential customers and clients are being driven to the content they seek?and that provides companies and marketers with a built-in audience.

App development in the publishing and business industries is also skyrocketing. Downloads available through the Apple App Store have increased exponentially from 10,000 in late 2008 to 799,850 in April 2012, with 895 new games and applications posted daily. Gaming, books, entertainment, education and lifestyle apps, which are enjoying immense popularity, can help to facilitate meaningful business to consumer connections. National Public Radio (NPR), for instance, reports that 80 percent of radio listeners also access content via its Android app.

Unfortunately, this pursuit of the tablet audience requires significant time and financial investment that few media producers are willing to expend, and that refusal to embrace an app?s added reach is increasingly becoming a commercial liability. The critical issue in overlooking all these devices is the potential loss of a customer. The nature of the Internet enables consumers to simply select the next person on the list who does provide the services they are seeking?and that list is both easy to access and full of competitors willing to give customers what they?re looking for.

?From the content-delivery perspective, if you are not able to deliver to all the different platforms, then you are missing a portion of the market who might want to view your content on a platform that you do not support,? explains Alex Dobrushin, chief marketing officer for Wowza Media Systems, Inc., in an April 2012 article in Streaming Media magazine. ?You?re also missing an opportunity to generate revenue from that content.?

This ability to instantly access information from anywhere requires publishers to present strong, useful content. News aggregators that gather value-added information are becoming the go-to resource for those seeking more details about the topics that interest them. Social bookmarking websites, such as Diigo, Delicious and Reddit, are successful simply because they point the way to interesting third-party content.? Users can even help to curate the material, which makes it more likely that what you?re looking at is something worth seeing.

Due to the nature of Google?s search algorithm, original content is paramount. Recycled product descriptions are now removed from the first page of search results ? or at least they?re supposed to be ? while keyword-laden and scraped articles do not attract unique and repeat visitors. Content curators who produce a diverse mix of quality blogs, videos, tweets, posts and wikis are a hot commodity in the business world right now, simply because this is exactly what consumers and readers are already looking for.

Traditional media outlets, which have suffered a steep decline in loyal readers, are experimenting (often successfully) with the aggregate, curate and create business model. The news outlets who embrace such an approach are often significantly outperforming traditional sources of information, including print weeklies, such as Time and Newsweek, cable news wire services, such as the Associated Press, and entertainment outlets, such as the Hollywood Reporter.

The Daily Beast, which presents a ?smart, speedy? viewpoint on world news, experienced a 251 percent growth in 2010, while the Huffington Post?s syndicated columnists, blogs and news articles attract 36.2 million unique monthly visitors. The news aggregator has launched 44 new channels during the past year, including HuffPost Green and HuffPost Gay Voices, which dominate comScore in their respective categories.? This is good news for readers who had long turned their attention toward smaller blogs with a personal voice that appeals to them; the uprising of aggregators provides a wider swath of relevant material to a much larger readership, and that benefits everybody.

Sources that offer a blend of online and offline content alongside paid subscriptions and free information are flourishing. This multi-platform strategy works because it serves the varied interests of a diverse audience. The ad-supported Washington Post has experienced great success this past year by adding Trove, a free social news site that aggregates content from more than 10,000 portals. The venerated news outlet also charges for e-reader article downloads and recently launched a paid iPad app for premium political news.

This platform diversification is critical. According to the Pew Research Center?s State of the News Media 2012 report, ?mobile technology is adding to news consumption, strengthening the appeal of traditional news brands and even boosting reading of long-form journalism. The move toward mobile holds some promising options for news producers.?

Community media

The prevalence of personal communication outlets, from social media and customer review websites to blogs and videos, has created intimate channels that enable consumers to communicate in real-time. While these channels are social by nature, the end-goal is to build strong communities.

In the October 2011 blog post ?Perspectives on the Future of Community,? Vanessa DiMauro, CEO of Leader NetworksAccess, notes that ?valuable content is the single most compelling driver for participating in an online community. Content serves as the trigger to join, providing contexts for conversations between members. People come for content and stay for community.?

Additionally, during the 13th International Symposium on Online Journalism, which took place April 20-21, 2012, Debra Galant, the founder of Baristanet, stressed the importance of providing ?quality coverage of local issues.? She also noted that a ?sense of personality and personalized writing is what differentiates? hyperlocal news sites, such as Patch, from traditional national news sources.

Specialized, private online communities are gaining traction as network websites, such as LinkedIn and Facebook, grow to enormous proportions. Platforms that provide targeted connections, like Google+ Circles, offer some control over who receives information. These gated communities assist news aggregators and curators in meeting the specialized needs of their followers.? Ultimately, it?s clear where the internet is heading: personal engagement, and personalized content. For web designers, that?s both impossible to ignore and a thrilling challenge to embrace.

Streaming videos

To say that the popularity of streaming media is swelling is a massive understatement. YouTube currently attracts 800 million monthly visitors. This AdSense-supported website supplies a lucrative revenue stream for Google, which has more than doubled its advertisement partner ad revenue for four years straight. Businesses, from the Wall Street Journal to Disney, are leveraging the user-generated content platform by posting commercials, infomercials, product reviews as well as CEO and customer testimonials.? Customers, contrary to generations of belief that that they are there to be served, are increasingly demonstrating that they enjoy serving themselves, shaping their own experience, and having a little fun along the way.

As video becomes a mission-critical method for engaging customers, innovative leaders are curating new platforms that cater to their niche audiences. The Huffington Post Streaming Network (HPSN) is set to launch this year, providing 12 hours of news content designed to rival cable news outlets like CNN. The paid NBA League Pass, which is available via television, broadband Internet and mobile channels, permits basketball fans to watch, rewind and record up to 40 live games each week. The on-demand access is supplemented with a vast array of content, from player statistics to play-by-play reviews.

Recent federal government mandates established under the 21st Century Communications and Video Accessibility Act now requires the inclusion of captioning on most streaming media. This is sure to have a colossal impact on how videos are curated, shared and indexed, so, as always, it?s important to look to the future if we intend to survive beyond the present.

Advertising

The ever-evolving nature of technology, combined with the recent recession, has severely affected how and where advertisers spend their dollars. Print newspaper advertising, once the dominant method for notifying the public about department store sales and job openings, lost nearly 40 percent of its supporters between 2006 and 2010 to online outlets.

Strategically placed backlinks attached to blog posts, articles, videos, forums and social networking sites are proving to be much more powerful for attracting potential customers. The most effective links point consumers to content that is valuable, even if it directs them to off-site information that is not associated with the company.? After all, attracting the customer to your site or blog isn?t going to do any good if you can?t also furnish them with the information that they seek. By providing that information, even through external links to other companies or institutions, you are demonstrating a respect for their time, and establishing yourself in their mind as a resource worth recommending and returning to.

Implications for the future presentation of online media

The diverse array of technologies that enable us to access information is drastically impacting the presentation and consumption of online media. Rising to the top of the viewing platforms are the iPad and iPhone, both of which are expected to receive an iOS update this year. In addition to video streaming, innovative advertisers are keeping on an eye on developing strategies for Internet-connected televisions and gaming devices, such as Xbox and PlayStation3, as well as the recently announced Wii U.

With this constant evolution, marketing strategies must be flexible so that they can adapt to any present and future format. To ensure adaptability, content must be attached to detailed metadata and then digitized and stored at the highest quality. Additionally, loyal brand buy-in will only result when companies listen to their customers? challenges and goals, then develop helpful solutions.

This article was written exclusively for WebDesignerDepot.com by Philip J Reed, on behalf of?Westwood College?s Information Technology Program. Feel free to contact the college through?their website with any questions.

Where do you see the future of online presentation? What developments most excite you about emerging technology? Let us know if the comments below!

Source

This entry was posted on July 27, 2012 at 4:45 am. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. Both comments and pings are currently closed.

Posted in advertising Community Internet Marketing News publishing by bmoss

Source: http://internetwebsitedesign.biz/marketing/the-future-of-online-presentation

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Lupe Fiasco's All City Chess Club Will 'Live In The Mixtape World'

'Let's do it. Let's make something happen. I'm ready,' Lupe says on 'RapFix Live' of finally recording with his all-star collective.
By Nadeska Alexis, with reporting by Sway Calloway

Lupe Fiasco on "RapFix Live"
Photo: Natasha Chandel/ MTV News

Source: http://www.mtv.com/news/articles/1690650/lupe-fiasco-live-in-the-mixtape-world.jhtml

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Peter Dag & Friends: The Dynamics of Risk Management

In managing money and managing the risk of your portfolio, it is crucial that you establish the period and the timing of reviewing your portfolio and strategies. Professionals are likely to review their strategies every day - every minute - as the data come through the screens. An avid investor may review his strategies every day or every week. Others would prefer every month. What is important is that strategy and the assessment of risk is reviewed with periodicity.

The closer that you keep an eye on the performance of your portfolio, the more successful you will be. If you do not have the time to perform this task, the odds are that you have too many investments, too many stocks, too many bonds, and too many other assets that you have to follow. The important thing is to choose a few assets, a few stocks, and follow them very closely. If you do not have the time, give your money to a professional portfolio manager, or an administrator who provides you with a weekly summary of the value of your investments. It is very difficult to be successful without a close monitoring of the performance of your portfolio.

The choice of the investment period is very important to be successful in investing. Some investors like to day-trade. They feel comfortable investing early in the morning and after a few hours or a few seconds, selling their positions. The reason they feel comfortable is because they have developed patterns in stock prices; they have developed their own indicators and methodology to invest. They review their decisions every minute after they have invested their money. Every minute they decide if they should continue to hold their current position or if they should sell. The investment period for them is very short. It fits their personality and above all fits with the model they have of how and why stock prices change. They feel comfortable with that model and are willing to make important investment decisions using such models.

There are other investors who have found that there are cycles in the stock market whereby stocks rise for anywhere from one to two weeks when certain conditions arise. For instance, when the market is oversold, volume increases, breadth expands with a larger number of stocks rising, these investors take advantage of these patterns. They have determined that the odds of investing over a week or 10-day period are very profitable for them. Different from the day trader, they review their investment position every few hours, or every day, to make sure the trend is still in their favor. Their personality is not as active as that of the day trader, but it is still a very intense way of investing.

There are other investors who feel more comfortable with longer investment periods and recognize that a favorable trend lasts for several months. This book will provide you with the information to help you recognize these trends. In this case, information should be reviewed every week to make sure the trends and the factors that have helped the investor make the decision to buy or sell are still in place. Other investors have a trading rule of buying only between the end of October and the end of April. They believe in the strong seasonality that exists in the stock market. According to this model, the period of May-October is very unfavorable. Each investor has his own personality and his own psychological requirement when investing. It also depends greatly on the kind of rules the investor wants to follow to make a particular decision.

Whatever your personality and emotional characteristics, it is important to (a) decide what your investment period is, (b) recognize that the success of your investment program strongly relies on reviewing the performance of your portfolio, (c) review what caused your decisions to buy or sell, and (d) maintain the flexibility to change that decision if it proves to be the incorrect one. Furthermore, it is important to move in small steps to avoid painful mistakes where a change in investment posture is required.

How do you manage risk? What is the process? Step one is to collect the information. In the following pages, you will find the most important data one should follow to access the risk of the various markets. This book will also provide ways of organizing it so that it becomes easily understood and can be easily interpreted. Depending on the investment approach you choose, you have to select different types of information. The day trader might be interested in sophisticated, technical patterns in stock prices and resistance and support levels, in volume patterns, and in hourly cycles in stock prices to trade. On the other hand, if your investment period is over several months, you have to rely more on economic and financial data and the review of this information should be done every week or two weeks.

The second step in the dynamics of risk management is to develop knowledge - that is, to have a model in your mind to process the information that you have collected in step one. The main objective of the following pages is to provide you with this model - how to process, how to interpret, how to analyze the information collected in step one.

For instance, you will learn the reasons why a strong economy is followed by rising interest rates, and how to relate rising interest rates to the stock market and overall liquidity in the economic system. You will learn to recognize that if liquidity increases and short-term interest rates decline, this usually happens when the economy is fairly weak and creates an environment favorable to rising stock prices. There are many economic and financial factors that need to be tied together. The purpose of this book is to propose to you a way of connecting all this information and therefore recognize what is happening. This element by itself will help you make important projections in understanding the risk involved in the financial markets.

Step three is the most important phase of assessing risk. In this step one has to evaluate on the basis of the model and on the basis of the information collected, what the risks are for the various markets. The outcome of this step is very simple. Should I increase my investments in a certain asset, should I start selling because risk is becoming too high and it's not worth it to have so much money on the line, or should I just stay with my current position and do nothing? These three conclusions have to be reached at the end of step three.

Let's assume that the investment environment is such that the economy is very strong and because of the previous step we have determined that the economy will remain strong. Let's also assume that interest rates have been rising for more than two months. We will see that your outlook for interest rates, according to the methodology presented in this book, will be that they will continue to rise. This forecast tells you that the risk for the stock market is certainly going to increase.

As risk increases, which also means that the odds of making money is decreasing, the appropriate strategy is to reduce the amount of money that you have in the stock market. You will also have to examine the other options that are available to you. For instance, a strong economy may cause commodities to rise including gold, silver, palladium and platinum. One way to invest under this environment would be to reduce your exposure to stocks, and increase your exposure to commodity-type stocks.

Step four will be the outcome of step three. In step three, let's say that the answer is "yes", the risk of the market is very high and the probability the market will rise from the current levels has decreased greatly. Given the returns one can get from money market mutual funds, it doesn't pay to have all the money in the stock market. The outcome of step four is to decide that based on risk having increased, the money invested should be reduced - the odds of winning are decreasing, so you have to decrease the amount that you bet. Remember what the poker player does when not handed a good set of cards.

The most difficult decision investors have to make is to decide if it is better to be in cash than in the stock market. It is a difficult decision because these are the times when they will always read stories of some stocks rising and making new highs, even if a bear market is under way. What are the odds an investor has in finding those stocks? Very small. When the majority of stocks decline, the odds are that the investor will lose money by owning stocks. This is a good time to fold and to wait for the time when the odds of making money are considerably better.

Finally, once you have established the strategy, the outcome at the end of step four, you have to implement the strategy. Based on the period of time you have determined best for you, you will re-evaluate your strategy.

Professional investors re-evaluate their strategy daily because everyday there is some information available that might change their strategy. One has to go back to collect the information that has been published and made available in the last day, process it through the model, decide if risk has increased or decreased, and then develop the new strategy whether one should start buying or start selling or should do nothing. And so this process is repeated continuously everyday. This is the only way to protect yourself against losses and to protect yourself against loosing money.

This is the only way you can make sure that the amount of money you have invested reflects the odds of making money. Again, if the odds of making money are low, you should not invest a lot of money. It just doesn?t make sense.

The important steps to manage risk can then be summarized as follows:

1) Collect information after you have decided what is the investment period that is best suited to your personality.

2) Develop the knowledge and understand the meaning of the information you have collected.

3) Evaluate the risk of the market based on the interpretation of the information you have collected.

4) Determine the level of risk. Is risk high and increasing or low and decreasing?

5) Establish a strategy. If risk is increasing, the strategy is to reduce your exposure to stocks. If on the other hand, risk is decreasing, you may want to consider investing more of your capital in stocks.

These steps should be repeated depending on the investment period you have selected. The day trader evaluates this information and goes through these steps every minute. A 10-15 day investor reviews this information every day. The investor whose investment period is several months, will review this information every week and, at the very least, once a month. (From my book Profiting in Bull or Bear Markets).

Source: http://peterdag.blogspot.com/2012/07/the-dynamics-of-risk-management.html

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Seattle, federal officials agree to police reforms

SEATTLE (AP) ? Seattle officials agreed to an independent monitor and court oversight of the city's police department as part of an agreement announced Friday with the Justice Department following a damning report that found officers routinely used excessive force.

City and federal negotiators were involved in tense talks over the scope of a deal for months, and Justice Department lawyers had threatened to sue the city if a deal was not reached by July 31.

"It's no secret there were a few bumps in the road to get here," Mayor Mike McGinn said. "We do have a lot of work in front of us."

The Justice Department launched its civil rights investigation early last year after the fatal shooting of a homeless, Native American woodcarver and other incidents involving force used against minority suspects. In December, a DOJ report found officers were too quick to reach for weapons, such as flashlights and batons, even when arresting people for minor offenses.

The agreement was announced at City Hall by McGinn, Jennifer Durkan, U.S. attorney for Seattle, and Thomas Perez, the Justice Department's chief civil rights enforcer.

The deal also calls for a special commission, appointed by the mayor, to concentrate on use of force issues.

Talks between Seattle officials and the Justice Department had been hung up after city officials initially balked at some federal proposals for reform.

The settlement, which must be approved by a federal judge, requires the Seattle Police Department to revise use of force policies and enhance training, reporting, investigation and supervision for situations involving use force. Police also would have to change policies and training concerning "bias-free" policing and stops, and create a Community Police Commission, which would be a civilian oversight body.

Court oversight would continue for five years, but the city could ask to end the scrutiny earlier if it has complied with the agreements for two years.

"This city is committed to eliminating bias," McGinn said.

Perez said the agreement could serve as a way to help reduce crime and increase public confidence in the city's police officers.

"We must continue to be well aware of the very raw feelings that many Seattle residents continue to have toward the Seattle Police Department," Perez said.

Surveillance cameras and police-cruiser videos had captured officers beating civilians, including stomping on a prone Latino man who was mistakenly thought to be a robbery suspect, and an officer kicking a non-resisting black youth in a convenience store.

The earlier Justice Department report found that force was used unconstitutionally one out of every five times an officer resorted to it. The department failed to adequately review the use of force and lacked policies and training related to the use of force, it said.

The American Civil Liberties Union and other community groups called for scrutiny of the department after a Seattle officer shot and killed the woodcarver, John T. Williams, in 2010.

Video from Officer Ian Birk's patrol car showed Williams crossing the street holding a piece of wood and a small knife, and Birk exiting the vehicle to pursue him. Off-camera, Birk quickly shouted three times for Williams to drop the knife then fired five shots. The knife was found folded at the scene, but Birk later maintained Williams had threatened him. Birk resigned from the force and was not charged. A review board found the shooting unjustified.

Seattle Councilman Tim Burgess, a former city police officer, said the agreement was a good one.

The fact that a federal judge and federal monitor will be involved was key, Burgess said. "That will provide the muscle behind the reforms that will be necessary," he said.

Doug Honig, spokesman for the ACLU of Washington, was also pleased.

"The city and the DOJ appear to have taken our concerns about excessive force, racially biased policing and flaws in the oversight system seriously," Honig said. "The implementation is what's going to matter."

Since the beginning of 2010, the Justice Department's civil rights division has previously reached settlements to reform police practices in New Orleans and in Warren, Ohio.

It has sued the Maricopa County, Ariz., sheriff's office and the East Haven, Conn., police department for a pattern and practice of discrimination against Latinos and Hispanics. It is also investigating the Newark, N.J., police department for a pattern and practice of excessive force and unconstitutional stops, searches, arrests and seizures, and discriminatory policing; the Miami, Fla., police department and the Portland, Ore., Police Bureau over patterns of excessive deadly force; and Missoula, Mont., police over handling of sexual assault cases.

____

Associated Press writers Gene Johnson in Seattle and Michael J. Sniffen in Washington, D.C., contributed to this report.

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/seattle-federal-officials-agree-police-reforms-003704360.html

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Debt-hit Spain will press on with 2020 bid

LONDON (Reuters) - Spain vowed to press on with its bid for the 2020 Olympics despite an economic crisis that threatened to engulf its economy and said it was not about to follow Italy and abandon its bid.

The Madrid government is bidding for the third successive time for the Games though the economic climate could not be less favorable and the euro zone debt crisis has already claimed one victim with Rome pulling out earlier this year.

Tokyo and Istanbul are the other two candidates.

Spain's increasingly desperate struggle to put its finances in order has seen its borrowing costs soar to levels that are not manageable indefinitely, reflecting a growing belief that it will need a sovereign bailout the euro zone can barely afford.

"This is a time when the economy is not good, not only in Spain but around the world," Madrid Mayor Ana Botella said on Thursday ahead of the official opening of the London 2012 Games.

"The Games need to respect reduced levels of investment. We have to be careful how we use public funds."

Spain have experienced a golden run of recent sporting results with their soccer team adding the European title to their 2010 World Cup while tennis player Rafa Nadal won his record seventh Roland Garros title last month.

But more and more Spaniards are questioning the multi-million-euro expense of going ahead with the bid as an economic crisis shrinks budgets for public services like hospitals and schools and people are increasingly asked to make sacrifices.

Various groups, including Spain's Indignados, whose sit-ins in squares last year helped to inspire the worldwide "Occupy" protest movement, say they are opposed to the Olympics.

While few formal protests have taken place, critics expect a growing chorus of public and political opposition to the bid as spending cuts bite and the Games bid progresses.

The Government, however, was adamant it already had much of the infrastructure in place to host the largest multi-sport event in the world and for the huge influx of visitors, saying this would lessen the burden on its citizens already facing tough austerity measures.

"We are not talking about huge investments here," said Spain's State Secretary for Sport Miguel Cardenal, who admitted the country's belt tightening was "certainly painful" for the population.

"But we will pursue this project," he said. "The government has no doubt whatsoever and is fully behind the bid."

SOARING COSTS

While Madrid officials are confident the Games would trigger growth and create jobs, the International Olympic Committee, which will elect the winning city in September 2013, will need to be convinced the Spanish capital's preparations would be trouble-free.

Madrid has won praise for the technical aspects of their previous bids with the sports-mad nation planning to invest only in the bare necessities, having done much of the groundwork in their two failed attempts for the 2012 and 2016 Games with 85 percent of needed venues already in place.

"It is true we have a complicated economic situation," bid leader Alejandro Blanco said on Thursday when asked by Reuters if the candidacy was under growing pressure due to the country's spiraling debt problems.

"But like any athlete we want to keep on pushing and win. Italian Prime Minister Mario Monti had his own take on this matter (when he pulled the plug on the Rome bid).

"But Madrid is different because the bulk of investment has been made and the residual investment is less than the return we will have from the Games."

Despite their optimism, the Spanish capital need only look at London for evidence of the multi-billion pricetag of staging the Games soaring in the seven-year period it takes for the city to prepare.

London pumped in 9.3 billion pounds ($14.76 billion) of public money into the project. It had originally projected a cost of just over two billion when it won the bid in 2005.

The Olympics are also by no means a financial panacea as data on Wednesday revealed the British economy shrank more than expected in the second quarter of 2012.

The British government is also holding a series of business summits during the Games that it hopes will generate an additional one billion pounds of revenue for British companies.

Spain had cushioned itself by securing well over half its annual debt needs in the first six months of the year when market conditions were more benign, but that advantage has evaporated as its funding requirements for the rest of the year have grown.

Late last week the government also said it expected the economy to remain in recession well into next year, while the autonomous region of Valencia became the first to ask Madrid for aid to pay debt obligations it cannot meet. Others are expected to follow.

Spain's northeastern region of Catalonia, responsible for a fifth of the country's economic output, said it had financing needs to meet while its access to markets was shut, but had not decided yet whether to tap a state liquidity line.

Catalonia's Barcelona hosted the 1992 Olympics.

($1 = 0.6463 British pounds) (Editing by Greg Stutchbury)

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/debt-hit-spain-press-2020-bid-122111776--spt.html

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Pimple Remedies instructions Buying an Everlasting Cure For Your ...

Many people look for ideas, remedies and also health programs so that you can turn out to be acne breakouts totally free. The actual great issue with pimples are usually that it are going to reappear whenever you stop a particular cure. For instance , enter into the esophagus the problem with the use of commercially developed anti-acne goods which have a number of pharmacological formulations meant to obvious typically the skin pores, sterilize and acquire reduce the particular defects. As early as you stop while using item, the actual acne is backside, that exhibits very painful and also irritating.

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-quitting cigarette smoking; -healthy ways of eating; -quality rest; -regular actual workout; -limiting the particular coffee beans consumption; -spending amount of time in typically the wide open, ultimately in unpolluted areas.

Life-style changes will be the toughest to make the decision for you to as well as set directly into actions, specifically given that old routines pass away complicated. It usually takes lots of endurance, stamina as well as fine will to stop tobacco use, stop rubbish food items as well as cola, move to the recreation area as opposed to actively playing laptop or computer online games and so forth

An pimples cost-free existing may not be achievable with no this kind of ?sacrifices? which usually appear to you need to aside numerous things you?re keen on. This kind of normally appears not really good, nevertheless not necessarily!

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Source: http://guru3x.com/pimple-remedies-instructions-buying-an-everlasting-cure-for-your-pimples/

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Condo ? Tewksbury, MA 01876 now has a new price! | ERA Home ...

**Available Immediately!! Quality construction by reknown Katie Estates Builders offers a beautiful new triplex with convenience, quality and style . Wooded setting yet close to all amenities. Spacious kitchen opens to living room. Large master bedroom with bath & walk in closet. Add living area & upgrade your lower level to add space. 2 car garage! Includes 1 yr builder warranty plus additional 4 year warranty by American Home Shield. Stop renting & buy now!

This is a Townhouse style home and features 5 total rooms, 2 full baths, 1 half bath, 2 bedrooms, and is currently available for $314,900.

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Source: http://www.erahomeandfamily.com/blog/condo-tewksbury-ma-01876-now-has-a-new-price-10

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JPMorgan's Dimon wants to stay at bank "many, many more years"

NEW YORK (Reuters) - JPMorgan Chase & Co Chairman and CEO Jamie Dimon said in an interview on Friday that he wants to stay at the bank for "many, many more years."

Dimon spoke to Reuters after announcing that he is rearranging responsibilities of many of his top lieutenants to prepare the bank for his eventual departure.

"Succession is one of the most critical things I have to do -- getting people prepared for these jobs, including mine," said Dimon, whose bank holds $2.29 trillion in assets, more than any other United States-based lender.

Dimon also said the rearrangement is "completely unrelated" to the multibillion-dollar loss from derivatives trades that the bank first disclosed in May.

(Reporting by David Henry in New York; Editing by Gary Crosse)

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/jpmorgans-dimon-wants-stay-bank-many-many-more-185027524--sector.html

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