Thursday, May 31, 2012

Pubslush Is Like Kickstarter for Authors

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Benefits of SEO Marketing Strategies for ... - Honest Reviews Online

Every business, including an auto dealership, wants its business website to appear in top search engine rankings when people search for their products. In order to get into top results, they need to optimize their website?s visibility on search engines. Unlike the PPC advertising, which is for short-term, SEO is a long-term strategy that can improve your business? online presence.

In this article, we will know how SEO marketing strategies benefit auto businesses.

Improve organic search listings: The main purpose of SEO is to make your business rank well in the search engine result pages (SERP). Having said that, it?s not as easy as it is the case with PPC. A SEO strategy involves various critical factors that when made work together improve your organic search listings. Improved organic search listings result in increased visibility, credibility and higher traffic for your website.

Drive relevant traffic: Keyword research is the main aspect of SEO ? as it?s not just important to appear on search engines, but to appear for the related search. By using targeted keywords, a business can drive refined traffic (people searching for the products you offer).

A perfect SEO strategy makes use of revenue generating keywords, which are selected after thorough analysis (in terms of usability, competitiveness, etc.). These primary keywords, focused around your business, maximize the effectiveness of the SEO strategy ? bring quality traffic and improve the rankings of the website in the search engines.

Improved visibility: A website appearing high on the SERP is considered to be credible and most importantly, will be perceived as the market leader by the people. Techniques such as link building, local SEO, etc., help in optimizing the web presence of your website, making it appear in the niche marketplaces.

Work for both small and large businesses: SEO results are mainly based on the functional aspects such as quality content, quality links and high website standards in terms of user-friendliness, easy navigation, accessibility, etc. All these aspects that make a SEO strategy successful can be developed by both small businesses and large businesses alike and with consistent and focused effort.

Higher leads, sales and ROI: High targeted traffic ultimately means more leads, which can later be turned in to sales. SEO strategies based on the organizational strategy including features such as understanding the customers, call to action keywords, etc., help in better customer acquisition and thus generate greater ROI. Further, websites referred through top organic listings are trusted the most and the customers tend to stick to these websites, thus ensuring future income too.

Cost-effective: SEO strategies are cheaper and offer long lasting results. There is no cost incurred by businesses for getting their websites indexed by the search engines, it is only for enhancing the functionality of the website, the cost is incurred. Unlike PPC, SEO strategies are offered at fixed cost (for long-term). Even when a campaign closes to end, with just minimal updates you can see your website still ranking higher.

As majority of the searches being carried out through search engines in the online world, search engine optimization of your website is perfect solution for your business to reach your customers.

Search Optics, Inc. is a leader in digital marketing solutions for the automotive industry. Search Optics interactive marketing services include custom websites, search engine optimization, paid search and mobile solutions that generate leads which result in sales opportunities. Search Optics specializes in automotive internet marketing and automotive marketing services.

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Florida GOP Takes Voter Supression to a Brazen New Extreme (Rolling Stone)

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

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PowerRangers: Star Force

PowerRangers: Star Force

In the far reaches of space at the Starfleet Academy, legions of young men and women train since childhood in hopes of joining the ranks of Star Force , the most elite ranger team in all the universe.(Open, Recruiting)

Owner:

Game Masters:

This topic is an Out Of Character part of the roleplay, ?PowerRangers: Star Force?. Anything posted here will also show up there.

Topic Tags:

Forum for completely Out of Character (OOC) discussion, based around whatever is happening In Character (IC). Discuss plans, storylines, and events; Recruit for your roleplaying game, or find a GM for your playergroup.
This is the auto-generated OOC topic for the roleplay "PowerRangers: Star Force"

You may edit this first post as you see fit.

I'm a dreamcatcher but only nightmares I caught.

User avatar
ZeroTolerance
Member for 1 years



you have made a good power rangers RP , i would love to join as White Ranger

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Fruity_Loopsxx
Member for 0 years



Post a reply

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Wednesday, May 30, 2012

Robot lifeguards hit the beach in time for summer

13 hrs.

Just in time for the summer season, so-called robot lifeguards are hitting the beach on both coasts of the U.S.

?E.M.I.L.Y. is a means to assist lifeguards and first responder who respond to drowning victims,? Bob Lautrup, the robot?s co-inventor and president of Hydonalix told me Monday.

?It is a tool, not a replacement, but it is a way to deliver floatation to a drowning victim at a long distance.??

The lifeguards are essentially remote-controlled jet-ski-like buoys that can reach and stabilize victims as they wait for a human rescue.

The buoy can travel at speeds up 25 miles per hour (any faster and it would be considered a projectile) and will stay afloat with?up to?four people hanging on to it.?

E.M.I.L.Y. stands for Emergency Integrated Lifesaving Lanyard. Lautrup?s company Hydronalix unveiled the concept two and a half years ago and recently starting selling commercial versions.

The Los Angeles County Lifeguards at Zuma Beach in Malibu helped improve the design of the prototype and are the first to put the $10,000 tool to use. (Check NBC Los Angeles? ?video of it ?in action.)

E.M.I.L.Y. is also being deployed in Depot Bay, Oregon and Westerly, Rhode Island, noted Lautrup.

Since E.M.I.L.Y.?s unveiling, it has gained safety features such as a screen on the intake valve of the jet pump to prevent little kids? fingers and long hair from getting sucked into the machinery.

"That took us a little bit of effort to make sure that we did it in a way which met safety objectives buy also in a way that did not wipe out the efficiency of the jet pump," Lautrup noted.

They?ve also added hand loops on the side to make it easier for victims to hold on as they wait for a rescue and outfitted some versions with a rope so that it can be pulled in to shore.

Future versions may come with the option of a sonar scanner to look for objects and people trapped below the surface.

While E.M.I.L.Y. isn?t a replacement for human lifeguards, it is a welcome addition to the beach and nice to see a friendly-robot like technology out to save human lives, not to destroy them.

--Via NBC Los Angeles?

John Roach is a contributing writer for msnbc.com. To learn more about him, check out his website and follow him on Twitter. For more of our Future of Technology series, watch the featured video below.

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Technicolor is the Latest Patent Troll to Go After Apple, HTC and Samsung [Patents]

Technicolor was a 20th century pioneer when it came to video. Now in the 21st century, facing some financial troubles, the outfit might be content to innovate less and patent troll more, evidenced by its raid on the likes of Apple, HTC, and Samsung. More »


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MEDIA ADVISORY - San Diego Unified School District News Releases

Reporters and editors: See news release below from the Federal

Communications Commission. Chairman Julius Genachowski will visit Thursday
and discuss the "broadband adoption gap." Your coverage is invited.
Contact FCC's Neil Grace at 202-418-0506 with questions.

Jack Brandais | Communications Department | San Diego Unified School
District | (619) 725-5570 (Desk) | (619) 607-0477 (Cell)

NEWS
Federal Communications Commission
445 12th Street, S.W.
Washington, D. C. 20554

This is an unofficial announcement of Commission action. Release of the
full text of a Commission order constitutes official action.
See MCI v. FCC. 515 F 2d 385 (D.C. Circ 1974).

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: NEWS MEDIA CONTACT:
May 29, 2012 Neil Grace, 202-418-0506
Email: neil.grace@fcc.gov

***MEDIA ADVISORY***

FCC CHAIRMAN JULIUS GENACHOWSKI TO VISIT SAN DIEGO MIDDLE SCHOOL, ANNOUNCE
PROGRESS ON EFFORT TO EMPOWER MILLIONS OF FAMILIES
WITH HIGH-SPEED INTERNET AND ADDRESS BARRIERS TO BROADBAND ADOPTION

Washington, D.C. ? On Thursday, May 31, 2012, FCC Chairman Julius
Genachowski will join representatives from Connect2Compete and Cox
Communications in San Diego to announce progress on their national effort
to close the broadband adoption gap. Connect2Compete is piloting with Cox
and working in tandem with the cable industry on the program in San Diego,
offering eligible families in six school districts low-cost, high-speed
broadband and low-cost, high-quality laptops.

According to the Pew Research Center, one-third of all Americans?100
million people? have not adopted broadband high-speed Internet at home.
Through Connect2Compete, the public-private partnership seeks to overcome
the top obstacles to broadband adoption, including digital literacy,
relevance and cost.

WHAT: FCC Chairman Julius Genachowski will visit a San Diego
County school to discuss Connect2Compete, an initiative to address
broadband adoption in communities across the country. Representatives from
companies, non-profits, and local education officials will deliver brief
remarks.

WHO: Julius Genachowski, Chairman, Federal Communications
Commission
Dave Bialis, Senior Vice President and General Manager, Cox California
John Lee Evans, President, San Diego Board of Education
Ben Hecht, Chairman, Connect2Compete
Jill Vaske, Executive Vice President, Redemtech/Good PC
Brent Wilkes, National Executive Director, League of United Latin American
Citizens

WHEN: 10:00AM Pacific
Thursday, May 31, 2012

WHERE: Horace Mann Middle School
4345 54th Street
San Diego, CA 92115

PRESS: For media inquiries and to RSVP, please contact FCC Press
Secretary Neil Grace at neil.grace@fcc.gov or 202-418-0506.

-FCC-

You are a subscriber to the news release mailing list for the San Diego Unified School District. To unsubscribe, send a message to "media@lists-sandi-net" with the word "unsubscribe" in the body of the message. For an archive of these releases, go to http://sdusd-news.blogspot.com/

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Tuesday, May 29, 2012

Bubble Hourglass Appears To Flow Backwards [Video]

Who knew that by just replacing the sand in an hourglass with soapy liquid you could defy the laws of space, time, and physics and make it appear to flow in reverse? But that's exactly what happens with this Awaglass timer. More »


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JRTickets.com Reveals Family Friendly Line-Up of Classical LA ...

Los Angeles, CA -- (SBWIRE) -- 05/29/2012 -- LA locals are in for a treat with an exciting schedule of music shows due to be held at the Hollywood Bowl and the Walt Disney Concert Hall in the coming weeks and months. According to ticket brokers, JRTickets.com, the line-up makes for a refreshing change from the typical pop music acts and helps to expose people to a new musical experience.

?By looking at our Hollywood Bowl Tickets and Walt Disney Concert Hall Tickets pages you will notice that the events have a touch of class,? said JRTickets.com spokesperson. ?It is a great way for parents to introduce their kids to a whole new genre of music in a fun, family environment.?

Events that JRTickets.com are keen to highlight include the following:

- Los Angeles Philharmonic at Walt Disney Concert Hall and also Hollywood Bowl

- Barry Manilow at Hollywood Bowl

- Ben Harper at Hollywood Bowl

- West Coast Youth Orchestra Festival at Walt Disney Concert Hall

JRTickets.com also points out the upcoming dates for the Pageant of the Masters. ?Whilst not in LA, the Pageant of the Masters supports the promotion of performing arts throughout the country and makes a good fit for the subject of music, arts, and entertainment on the higher end of the scale. We highly recommend website visitors to check out their shows at the Irvine Bowl in Laguna Beach, CA.?

To see the JRTickets.com Hollywood Bowl Tickets page, visit http://www.jrtickets.com/venue/hollywood-bowl_tickets.html

For Walt Disney Concert Hall Tickets visit http://www.jrtickets.com/venue/walt-disney-concert-hall_tickets.html

For Pageant of the Masters Tickets, go to http://www.jrtickets.com/pageant-of-the-masters_tickets.html

About JRTickets.com
JRTickets.com (http://www.jrtickets.com/) is an online ticket broker website that is dedicated to bringing the public tickets to famous sporting and entertainment events at an affordable price. The website is designed to make ticket purchasing quick and easy to avoid waiting inline and being put on hold over the phone.

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PPC advertisements are set up in a way that entices users to click on ...

Knowing this, many new small business owners look for ways to learn from those who have fallen in the past. They look at these examples as things that they should avoid doing if they really want to keep their business afloat.

One thing that many have grasped onto is the idea that a successful business is one that understands online marketing. PPC or pay per click advertising for example is something that a successful business owner is going to need to know about. It is simply not possible to get by without understanding the mechanics of pay per click.

Pay per click advertising is a type of advertising payment system whereby an advertiser literally pays for every click that they get from a legitimate internet surfer. By using this system there is a direct correlation between the amount that someone is paying for their advertising and the results that they are getting.

That is just about the most fair system imaginable.

PPC advertisements are set up in a way that entices users to click on them. Everyone wants to get the most out of their pay per click advertisements even though it means they are paying more for them. Paying more is not a big deal so long as the results are coming in. Pay per click advertising is an investment that business owners have to absorb the costs of now in order to enjoy the benefits of later. For some this is a very difficult thing to do, but it is necessary if one wants to realize all of the benefits of online advertising.

Those who have never done PPC advertising in the past may want to start small. Limiting the budget on pay per click is a good idea to start off with. Once one has a more firm grasp on pay per click advertising, they can extend that budget a little bit. It is important to limit it at first so that they do not end up spending too much if it is not something that is going to work out for them. Most people will find that Pay per click does work well for them, and they are going to want to continue to use it. However, those who do not like the system can opt out.

PPC advertising is going to be around for a very long time to come. There is no shortage of willing providers of these ads, and there are nearly limitless opportunities to advertise on the internet to specific groups. It is an exciting world that business owners should be giddy to be a part of.

?

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Monday, May 28, 2012

BP Texas Claim Area: Galveston, Chambers, Jefferson & Orange Counties

Personal Injury Lawyers Serving: Arlington, Fort Worth, Garland, Mesquite, Plano, Irving, Athens, Dallas, Houston, San Antonio, Austin, Kaufman, Terrell, Waco, Corsicana, Waxahachie, El Paso, Corpus Christi, Lubbock, Carrollton, Grand Prairie, North Richland Hills, Lake Worth, Richardson, Tyler, Longview, Killeen, Denton, Flower Mound, Temple, Belton, Hurst, Euless, Bedford

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Samsung argues 4G Galaxy Tab not in direct competition with Apple's 3G iPad 2

Vote!

Excerpt from: Samsung argues 4G Galaxy Tab not in direct competition with Apple's 3G iPad 2

Samsung is fighting Apple's requests for a preliminary injunction against its Galaxy Tab with the argument that the 4G capability of its tablet means it does not directly compete with Apple's 3G-equipped iPad 2....

read more...

Published By: Apple Insider - Today


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Why Social Marketing is crucial for business - and your reputation on ...

Why Social Marketing is crucial for business - and your reputation on-line
? Register with Postbit - Free!

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Many promotion Specialists hardly pay attention to social networking until a actual mayhem visits their companies. At that point, they will definitely hurry into action with no actual procedure or strategy behind the stressful twitter posts and Facebook posts they send out in reply to the fast spread of false speculation or furious grievances across web sites. Yet the web space ? especially social networking is increasingly becoming ground zero for reputation downturn for organizations. Marketing and PR executives should to think about the best way to reply on-line in a methodical way to a popularity turmoil. Perhaps the best vital step is to understand that one can approach for reputation downturn that play out toward some level or typically on the web, still if it is easier said than done to anticipate at what time will definitely hit or what form they will take. The key here is that promoters need to frequently evaluate the dangers to their companies' position and technique for a range of conditions. Most organizations know where at least a number of of the weak links in their popularity lie and be able to think about how they will convey around them in a turbulence scenario. For instance, if an marketing manager is aware that the phone centre is slow at responding to communication, that the enterprise will be revealing weak financial results or that it has knowledgeable greatest dividends for a particular product, he or she can initiate developing a reaction procedure for social networking just in case the subject turns into a turmoil. It's vital to pair this strategic knowledge with the business procedures and resources required to track and answer on-line popularity problems. Marketers have to also ensure their front-line public networking staff know what to do when unique trouble is in the air and who to convert to for help, information along with resources. Most considerable and moderate organizations will find it helpful to invest in proper on line reputation management remedies that provide them a chance to keep track of public discussions of their organizations and troubles which might be related to their firms. ORM resources encourage advertising and marketing executives with all the knowledge they need to apply wisely to a turmoil scenario. The more marketing executives know about an unfolding turmoil, the better they can handle it and the better their outcomes will be. With Reputation Planet, they can understand what discussions are mounting, and how easily certain thoughts and emotions are moving through the social networking galaxy. Often, they could get an early alert of a turmoil that allows them to nip it in the bud ? perhaps by placating an enraged but powerful customer before his or her grievances get out of control or rubber stamping out a false rumour. These remedies also assist marketing executives to deal with work-flow across groups and priority areas so that they know how to remain on top of tendencies to clients. And these resources also provide organizations understanding into how effective their tendencies are in protecting or enhancing their on line standing in a turmoil. Companies like Reputation Planet offer a all-inclusive online reputation control basis that goes beyond simple monitoring. Their specialized services are designed to eliminate or decrease the impact of damaging comments and website and improve an effective internet reputation for individuals and firms. Furthermore, offering important online popularity control remedies to assist people and firms to promote, guard and defend their web popularity. In a real-time world where clients will always be on line and discussing their views about the companies they interact with, reputation control is becoming standard mode of operation for many organizations. But organizations that have the appropriate resources in position to listen to public discussions, answer them easily and quantify the influence of these applications can convert these downturn into opportunities. By performing easily, humanly and proactively to a chaos in popularity, organizations can build trust with consumers. ORM resources inspire organizations with the resources they need to do exactly this. Reputation Planet engages a strong team of knowledgeable advertising, legal, marketing, and technology professionals, trained to remove or hide defamatory content, reports and other on line grievances by producing and implementing good Internet content. Post by danowrccwa (2012-05-27 12:59)

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Sunday, May 27, 2012

Daniel R. Schwarz: What Is the Cultural Significance of Facebook's May 18, 2012 IPO?

Worrying about the fluctuating price of Facebook and whether Morgan Stanley properly managed the IPO misses the major historical and cultural point of what happened. What, we should be asking, is the significance of Facebook's opening capitalization (number of shares times price of shares, originally $38) at over $100 billion when the iconic New York Times Company -- which owns the New York Times as its flagship product -- is capitalized at less than one billion?

Given that Facebook's original capitalization -- making it on May 18, 2012, the 23rd largest U.S. corporation -- is as much a predictor as a reflection of value, does this mean that investors are voting with their feet and fleeing traditional media for social media because they foresee not only the end of the print paper but the inability of the Times to sustain itself as a news source? While the average stock S&P price is $14 for every $1 of profit, Facebook's shareholders paid $100 for each dollar of profit. (Even today, May 27, 2012 with a price decline to slightly under $32 a share and capitalization of over $87 billion, it is still in the top 30 largest corporations.) By contrast, it is not clear if the Times Company is on the road to profitability.

I am less interested in the business model than the value our culture is putting on what is still perhaps the most important news gathering institution in the world -- versus the value it is placing on a social media company. For more than one hundred and fifteen years, the New York Times has been, not without bumps such as the misreporting of WMD's, our best diary of how our history unfolded day by day.

In an important way, Facebook is the anti-Times. The concept of the newspaper as paper of record also implies gatekeeping by which I mean that the editors decide what goes through the Informational Gates into the daily print paper and Internet site, nytimes.com. In his column in the May 20, 2012 Sunday Times, Thomas Friedman seems to quote with approval Amazon.com's founder, Jeff Bezos, who advocates "eliminating all the gatekeepers."

But do we really want the death of gatekeeping? Within a democracy, we want forums for diverse views and much can be said for interactive media with audience comments. But we also need accurate and objective news and that depends on editors and reporters selecting and arranging available information. More than any other news source in the United States, the Times -- with its 26 foreign bureaus and experienced news staff -- provides foreign news. No doubt some independent bloggers are informed, and op-ed pages and major sites like The Huffington Post should include them in a dialogue. But that is different from ceding major foreign news to bloggers who not only don't know the languages and histories of the places they discuss but also have never visited those countries or interviewed key political figures. (In regard to gatekeeping, we might also note that authoritative historical and scientific books and articles also depend on knowledgeable editing and vetting).

If the blogosphere undermines the concept that editors control those Informational Gates, Facebook takes this even further by assuming we are interested more in each other's private and personal lives -- what we might call micro-news -- than in international, national and even local news, and that we will spend more time reading about the health of our friend's dog -- the term "friend" is used loosely when many Facebook users have hundreds of friends -- or a minute-by-minute report on what music someone is listening to. One could argue that this information fills different needs, but many of my present and recent former Cornell students -- and these are for the most part gifted students -- spend hours on social media, most of it on their smart phones; by their own admission, this takes time away from being informed.

This interest in the small details of life -- local news defined in its most reductive form --affects the major news-gathering venues that must engage its readers to sell advertising. With its expanded emphasis on its soft sections such as Style, Dining, Home and Travel, the Times today is as concerned with delivering what it thinks its audience and its advertisers want as it is with what it thinks its audience needs to know. This escalation of what the Times calls value added journalism -- where to eat and travel, how to invest and buy a home, how to find a partner -- takes its cue from social media in stressing the details of day-to-day life.

So when we hear that Facebook is worth more than 100 times -- or more than 87 times with the decline in its post IPO price -- what the New York Times Company is worth, we are not only hearing an economic fact but also learning something about the values of our culture. In 2012, we may be more interested in the warp and woof of our daily life -- often fluff rather than substance -- and we may be more motivated by our need to connect with one another on micro-matters rather than to find larger goals and ideals informed by national and international concerns.

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Your China-Economy Reading List for the Evening

In my first few hours back in Shanghai, I am newly amazed by the scale and pace of the building, of the ambitions, of the problems, and of the range of Chinese dreams realistic and fanciful. More on that after some sleep. For now:

1) From John Berthelsen of Asia Sentinel, this "Chart of the Day," showing the role of construction outlays in China's overall investment picture. The blue line is construction investment; the red line is total fixed asset investment; and the scale appears to be rate of increase year-on-year.

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As Berthelsen says (in a note to me) about the pattern shown here, "You can see how construction spiked earlier this year as the government seeks to construct its way out of the current slump. Since they announced a flock of accelerated construction projects [this week], it should spike back again." I did an Atlantic article on the previous spike, in 2009, while still in Beijing.

One of the big themes in my new book is that the Chinese development model of the past 30 years has been very heavily reliant on the "when in doubt, build something" strategy. In the short term, this approach certainly keeps people employed -- and enriches others through real-estate transactions. In the medium term, it creates infrastructure that can help the country grow (subways, ports, the 100+ airports under construction). And in the long term, even some of the apparent white elephants and "ghost cities" may eventually be grown-into as Chinese demand goes up and up.

But too great a reliance on construction and real-estate boosterism creates various follow-on distortions, as I'll spell out another time. For now, thanks to Berthelsen for the chart.

2) In case you haven't seen it, it is worth reading this article from Arthur Kroeber, at Foreign Policy, on the China trends that are really serious and those that will probably take care of themselves. Sample:

No question, China has many problems. Years of one-sided investment-driven growth have created obvious excesses and overcapacity.... Is China's legendary economy in serious trouble?

Not just yet. The odds are that China will navigate these shoals and continue to grow at a fairly rapid pace of around 7 percent a year for the remainder of the decade, overtaking the United States to become the world's biggest economy around 2020.... Considerably less certain, however, is whether China's secretive and corrupt Communist Party can make this growth equitable, inclusive, and fair. Rather than economic collapse, it's far more likely that a decade from now China will have a strong economy but a deeply flawed and unstable society.

This is a complex point (as Kroeber, who has been on-scene in China for a very long time, is well aware). For what it's worth, I think the environmental, social, and political tensions could become serious even sooner than Kroeber suggests -- that's part of the concluding argument in my book. And before anyone writes in to point it out, I am fully aware that modern America's version of the same problem -- "overall economy doing OK, most people not doing OK" -- is a first-order challenge to our national well-being. The main point is that it is worth reading Kroeber's essay.

3) Worried that the imbalances in US-Chinese trade and investment flows leave the United States helplessly at China's whim and mercy? You might want to consider how the picture looks from the perspective of a state-controlled nationalist paper in China, Global Times. Here is a translation of one of its editorials this week:

"Sino-U.S trade not equal and mutually beneficial (pg 15)

"No matter from what point of view, China is more dependent on the U.S. than vice versa.? As long as there is an asymmetric dependence, there can be no equality or mutual benefit.?

"Over the years, the United States has used dollars to exchange for China's real resources, goods and services.? However, with this greenback or electronic symbols, China is not allowed to purchase real U.S. assets but rather U.S. dollar denominated securities and treasury bonds to support the U.S. economy.? With the dollar's depreciation and inflation, China's foreign exchange reserves continue to shrink.? Is this equal and mutually beneficial??

"The United States at every turn uses its domestic law to impose anti-dumping and countervailing duties on products made-in-China, implementing "special protection."? Is this equal and mutually beneficial?? Ford, Wal-Mart, Goldman Sachs and other U.S. companies can drive straight into Chinese market, while CNOOC, Huawei were long shut out by the U.S.? Is this equal and mutually beneficial?"

One other immediate reaction on this trip: the rediscovered annoyance of dealing with a firewalled Internet, even in the most modern hotel I have ever stayed in. (Yes, I realize that this is a country-level rather than hotel-level blocking scheme; I just am referring to the incongruous mix of hyper-advanced luxury technology and hyper-backward internet access.) Something has happened so that my old VPN provider now appears to be blocked. A project for later in the day.

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Balochistan conference demands end to military operation

Photo shows relatives of ?missing persons? sitting in a protest camp outside Quetta Press Club on May 26, 2012. ?Photo by Online

ISLAMABAD: ?Who are these people who have enforced these disappearances? Is there no rule of law or respect for the Constitution in this land?? asked Mian Mohammad Nawaz Sharif, the chief of the main opposition party, as he addressed a conference on Balochistan held in Islamabad on Saturday.

?The Baloch have a right to rebel ? why shouldn?t they, after all that they have been put through?? remarked the PML-N chief, one of the most vocal leaders at the conference, as he called bringing Nawab Akbar Bugti?s murderers to justice.

?His body was desecrated ? while his murderers were presented with a guard of honour,? said Sharif as he referred to former President Gen (Retd) Pervez Musharraf?s dictatorial regime. ?Does anybody have the courage to hold him responsible??

Top leaders of major political parties were in attendance at the National Conference on Balochistan, organised by the Supreme Court Bar Association (SCBA), as they called for a dialogue with all stakeholders in order to solve the province?s problems.

A fifteen-point resolution aimed to resolve Balochistan?s problems was passed unanimously at the conference. The resolution calls for an end to the ongoing military operation in the insurgency-hit province, and the withdrawal of military and paramilitary troops from Balochistan.

While some leaders blamed military dictators, others called for addressing the issue of missing persons in Balochistan.

In his opening remarks, SCBA President Yaseen Azad said that the main unrest in Balochistan is the problem of missing persons which could only be addressed through parliament by political forces.

Speaking at the same venue, Pakistan Tehreek-i-Insaf (PTI) chairman Imran Khan stressed that granting ?unconditional amnesty? to Baloch rebels was the only way to resolve the complex problem.

Khan said that the solution lies in the hands of the country?s politicians, and not with military personnel. Moreover, he said that the soldiers were not trained to perform the job of policemen.

On the other hand, PML-Q Secretary-General Mushahid Hussain Syed felt that the ?Balochistan problem? was spreading to other parts of the country and stressed: ?We have to tackle it with a serious sense of responsibility. No one is taking responsibility for deteriorated law and order situation in the province.?

Asma Jahangir, former president of Supreme Court Bar Association, remarked that the solution of Balochistan issue was vested with the political parties and they should take immediate initiatives in that regard.

Qazi Hussain Ahmed, former Amir of Jamaat-i-Islami, was of the opinion that a society could not survive without justice and enforcement of Consttution could ensure all fundamental rights and provincial autonomy.

He said the rights of Baloch people over natural resources should be fully acknowledged.

President National Party Dr. Abdul Malik underlined the imperative need for granting basic rights to the people of Balochistan. ?Balochistan is an integral part of Pakistan and we have to find out solution by dialogue with all the stakeholders.

Deputy Chairman Pakhtoonkhawa Milli Awami Party Abdur Rahim Mandokhel said all problems have been created by the dictatorial regimes and now it is the duty of political leadership to address and resolve them.

President Hazara National Jirga Abdul Qayyum Chengezi said solution of problems was by holding free, fair and impartial elections.

President JUI-F Balochistan Maulana Mohammad Khan Sherani was of the view that problems of Balochistan need a united national solution in accordance to the teachings of Islam.

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Saturday, May 26, 2012

Brother of blind Chinese activist goes missing: lawyer

BEIJING | Sat May 26, 2012 4:07am EDT

BEIJING (Reuters) - The brother of blind activist Chen Guangcheng has gone missing, a lawyer said on Saturday, days after he fled his village in northeastern China to seek help for his son who has been detained in a case that has become a rallying point among rights activists.

Chen Guangfu, the eldest brother of Chen Guangcheng, fled his home in Shandong province and arrived in Beijing on Wednesday to seek legal help for his son, Chen Kegui, who is being held on an attempted murder charge.

He appears to have become the latest target of the government's reprisals against Chen Guangcheng's family in the wake of the blind activist's escape from his village in late April after 19 months of detention at home.

Chen Guangcheng took refuge in the U.S. embassy, where he stayed for six days and sparked a diplomatic crisis between China and the United States. That crisis, which overshadowed a visit by Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, was finally defused last Saturday when China allowed Chen to fly to the United States to study.

Chen Guangfu did not return to his hotel room in Beijing on Friday night, Shandong-based lawyer Liu Weiguo told Reuters.

Zhao Wei, a Shandong supporter of Chen Guangcheng's family, was the last person to have contact with Chen Guangfu before they parted ways on Friday afternoon, Liu said.

"As of now, there's still no news on Brother Guangfu," Liu said. "We're not optimistic. Guangcheng is also very worried. He's contacting friends to look (for him)."

The news of Chen Guangfu's disappearance comes three days after the 55-year-old farmer and odd job laborer recounted to Reuters details of his own torture and reprisals by authorities since his brother's escape.

Chen Guangfu said he was restricted from leaving his village and that police in Shandong warned him they would increase the sentence for his son, Chen Kegui, if he gave interviews.

His son, Chen Kegui, 32, was charged with "intentional homicide" for using knives to fend off local officials who burst into his home on April 27, the day after they discovered his blind uncle had escaped.

He could face the death penalty. His lawyers, denied access to him last week, said he did not kill anyone.

Michael Posner, U.S. assistant secretary of state for democracy, human rights and labor, said on Thursday the United States was closely monitoring Chen's family in China.

Chen Guangcheng urged authorities in Beijing on Thursday to prosecute "lawless" officials who harassed and abused the self-taught lawyer, his family and supporters, saying such prosecutions could help China establish rule of law.

(Editing by Nick Macfie)

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Michael Chiesa vs. Al Iaquinta final set for ?The Ultimate Fighter? finale

Friday night's "The Ultimate Fighter" finale is set as Michael Chiesa and Al Iaquinta won their semifinal bouts. The two Team Faber fighters will meet in the show's live finale on Friday in Las Vegas in a card that will feature Jake Ellenberger and Martin Kampmann in the main event.

Chiesa got an emotional TKO win for Team Faber. He slammed James Vick to his back, got full mount, and ground and pounded for the win. In training the day before the bout, Chiesa had broken down crying, admitting that he's still dealing with the death of his father.

"I feel great. It has been quite a journey. A lot of ups and downs but I feel like I've earned my spot in the finale and I'm very excited to seize the moment," Chiesa said.

Iaquinta earned the right to face his teammate with a unanimous decision win over Pichel. He used wrestling to control Team Cruz's Pichel for the first round, and won the edge in bloody striking in the second round.

"I couldn't have done it without a great team, great roommates. Everyone really helped me out. The coaching staff was just awesome. Everything was a dream come true. When I left I didn't know what I was getting myself into. Now I have the toughest fight of my life ahead of me, and I'm ready for it," Iaquinta said.

The winner of Friday's fight will get a six-figure UFC contract and a Harley-Davidson motorcycle.

Early in Friday night's show, UFC president delivered good news to the cast. Every healthy fighter will fight on the finale. Mike Rio, who broke a rib in practice, and Andy Ogle, who was knocked out in a recent fight, will not fight. Because of Vick's knockout loss, he is medically suspended, leaving Vinc Pinchel without an opponent. They are expected to appear on a future UFC card.

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A Shameless Recovery: Transforming Regret into a Learning ...

In just about any self-help support group meeting around the world, you will find people who have been through unimaginable pain standing tall and fearlessly sharing their stories. Despite devastating personal losses, lifelong health problems and broken relationships, they are not consumed with shame. In fact, many seem strangely at peace with their past.

This is the freedom of recovery without regret.

Because addicts tell lies and make repeated mistakes, regret commonly becomes an obstacle to recovery. Left to fester, regrets not only make it difficult to learn from the past and move forward but they can also take valuable time and attention away from recovery, increasing the risk of relapse.

Though painful, regret can be an important part of the healing process. In treatment, we see regret as a sign of readiness to change. As addicts become increasingly aware of the negative consequences of their drug use, regret is a natural response. In its healthiest form, regret drives the addict to ask, ?What can I do differently right now to right the wrongs of the past and make better decisions in the future??

Here are a few ways to deal with regrets so they don?t get in the way of recovery:

Focus on the Present. The only day anyone can do anything about is today. Focusing on missed opportunities and making comparisons to other people rarely bring about positive change. Rather than dwelling on what could?ve, should?ve or would?ve been, focus on what you can do right now to create the life you want.

Although it is present-focused, recovery is not about shutting the door on the past. The 4th Step of AA/NA directs addicts to conduct a searching inventory of the past. We remember the past, not to wallow in shame, guilt or denial, but to understand how the future can be different.

Make an Honest Evaluation. It?s tempting to look back and assume life would?ve been different but for one or two bad decisions. An honest evaluation can help put regrets in perspective and reveal the lessons to be gleaned from the experience. Ask yourself if the memory has been distorted over time. Could you truly have done something differently, or have you taken responsibility for something out of your control? Did you do your best given the circumstances?

Embrace the Learning Experience. Some people turn their regrets into a story that defines who they are. One or two bad decisions become exaggerated to mean ??I?m a bad person? or ?I never make good decisions.? To find peace in recovery you must find peace with yourself, which means learning from your experiences and letting the rest go.

Doing away with regret can be intimidating because it means facing an unknowable future and taking new risks that may or may not play out as desired. The greatest thinkers throughout history have known that ?failures? are not to be regretted but celebrated as steppingstones to later success. Often the biggest ?mistakes? turn into the greatest fortune. Those who are afraid of regret run the much greater risk that they will be forever limited to only partial satisfaction.

Make Amends. To promote accountability, the 8th and 9th Steps of AA/NA ask addicts to make amends where possible. This means making apologies when merited, and using the lessons you?ve learned to help others. It also means fully committing to your recovery. Your continuing sobriety and efforts toward self-improvement are the greatest gift you can give yourself or any of the people you have wronged in the past.

For some, holding onto regret can be a way of avoiding responsibility. They believe that regret shows they?re truly sorry and will keep them from repeating their mistakes, but it actually keeps them stuck in a self-focused mode that blocks healing for both the addict and their loved ones. Dwelling on regrets doesn?t fix the past and only draws the suffering out into the future.

Accept the Consequences. Sometimes, in spite of our best efforts, it isn?t possible to mend past hurts. The serenity prayer offers a useful reminder that some things are within your power to change (working a recovery program and making amends) and others are not (the past and in some cases, the feelings of those who have been hurt). Mistakes are part of being human. While it is important to accept responsibility for the wrongs committed, be generous with your forgiveness of self and others so that you can be free to move on.

Focus on the Positive. The human brain is adept at organizing information into habits. This is why it takes a long time to complete a task (say, learning a new computer program) on the first or second try, but becomes virtually automatic after multiple attempts. While this organizational structure can save time and energy in our tasks of daily living, it can also turn negative self-talk into an automatic process. The recovering addict who dwells on regret may find that negative thoughts creep up involuntarily and far more frequently than positive ones because the brain has become habituated to this sequence.

No one chooses to become an addict, but there are lessons that can be learned as a result. For example, recovering addicts often have more empathy for others, are able to embrace their own imperfections and have a new appreciation for life. Troubling events from the past can be instructional, but they cannot be undone. Once you?ve learned the lesson, focus on who you are and what you can do better today.

David Sack, M.D., is board certified in Addiction Psychiatry and Addiction Medicine. ?As CEO of Elements Behavioral Health he oversees addiction treatment centers that include Promises Treatment Centers, The Ranch, The Recovery Place, and The Sexual Recovery Institute. ?You can follow Dr. Sack on Twitter at http://www.twitter.com/drdavidsack.



????Last reviewed: 25 May 2012

APA Reference
Anonymous. (2012). A Shameless Recovery: Transforming Regret into a Learning Opportunity. Psych Central. Retrieved on May 26, 2012, from http://blogs.psychcentral.com/addiction-recovery/2012/05/shame-in-addiction-recovery/

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Friday, May 25, 2012

Gov't taking new steps to combat food stamp fraud

File - In this file photo taken Thursday, Feb. 4, 2010, an Electronic benefit Transfer card, food stamp recipients use to purchase food, is seen at the Sacramento County Economic Development Department in Sacramento, Calif. Food stamp recipients are ripping off the government for millions of dollars by illegally selling their benefit cards for cash _ sometimes even in the open, on eBay or Craigslist _ and then asking the government for replacement cards. The Agriculture Department is proposing new rules Thursday May 24, 2012 to curb the practice by giving states more power to investigate people who repeatedly claim to lose their benefit cards. (AP Photo/Rich Pedroncelli)

File - In this file photo taken Thursday, Feb. 4, 2010, an Electronic benefit Transfer card, food stamp recipients use to purchase food, is seen at the Sacramento County Economic Development Department in Sacramento, Calif. Food stamp recipients are ripping off the government for millions of dollars by illegally selling their benefit cards for cash _ sometimes even in the open, on eBay or Craigslist _ and then asking the government for replacement cards. The Agriculture Department is proposing new rules Thursday May 24, 2012 to curb the practice by giving states more power to investigate people who repeatedly claim to lose their benefit cards. (AP Photo/Rich Pedroncelli)

(AP) ? Food stamp recipients are ripping off the government for millions of dollars by illegally selling their benefit cards for cash ? sometimes even in the open, on eBay or Craigslist ? and then asking the government for replacement cards.

The Agriculture Department wants to curb the practice by giving states more power to investigate people who repeatedly claim to lose their benefit cards.

It is proposing new rules Thursday that would allow states to demand formal explanations from people who seek replacement cards more than three times a year. Those who don't comply can be denied further cards.

"Up to this point, the state's hands have been tied unless they absolutely suspected fraudulent activity," said Kevin Concannon, the department's undersecretary for food, nutrition and consumer services.

Overall, food stamp fraud costs taxpayers about $750 million a year, or 1 percent of the $75 billion program that makes up the bulk of the department's total budget for the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program.

Most fraud occurs when unscrupulous retailers allow customers to turn in their benefits cards for lesser amounts of cash. But USDA officials are also concerned about people selling or trading cards in the open market, including through websites.

Last year, the department sent letters urging eBay and Craigslist to notify customers that it's illegal to buy and sell food stamps. USDA officials followed up last month, saying they are still getting complaints that people are using the websites to illegally market food stamps.

Both eBay and Craigslist have told the government they are actively reviewing their sites for illegal activity and would take down ads offering food stamp benefits for cash. The USDA also has warned Facebook and Twitter about the practice.

South Dakota, Oklahoma, Washington, D.C., Minnesota and Washington state have the highest percentage of recipients seeking four or more replacement cards over a year. But USDA officials said that doesn't necessarily indicate a high rate of fraud. All states are required by law to reissue lost or stolen cards to those who are eligible for benefits.

Wyoming, Idaho, New Hampshire, North Carolina and Alabama have the lowest percentage of households requesting four or more cards in a 12-month period.

In North Carolina, the state already issues warning letters to people who request four replacement cards in a year, letting them know that officials are monitoring them closely. Dean Simpson, chief of economic family services for the North Carolina Division of Social Services, said the new rules would give her state even more of a boost in curbing food stamp fraud.

"I think it would help with the trafficking and let individuals know they are being observed and watched," said Simpson, who oversees the state's distribution of food stamps.

More than 46 million people receive food stamps, nearly half of them children. The average monthly benefit is $132 per person.

Benefit cards work like debit cards, allowing users to swipe them for food purchases at some 231,000 stores around the country that are authorized to take part in the food stamp program. Once a card is reported lost or stolen, it can be disabled immediately. But the USDA does not require photo identification, since several members of a family, including children, may use the cards at different times.

Concannon stressed that the USDA wants to be sensitive to vulnerable people who may lose their cards for innocent reasons. While it may sound suspicious for someone to lose a card two or three times a year, food stamp recipients include many people who are homeless or have dementia or mental illness, he said.

"Our concern is that in many instances, it may point to a trafficking issue," he said.

Last year, about 850,000 people were investigated for possible food stamp fraud. About 2,000 stores were sanctioned for illegal conduct, and 1,200 stores were permanently removed from the food stamp program.

Large supermarkets are seldom involved in illegal activity, Concannon said. The vast majority of fraud is found in smaller shops and convenience stores.

The USDA is currently developing tougher sanctions and penalties for retailers engaging in food stamp fraud. It is also taking steps to make sure that people disqualified from the program for illegal activity are not able to use it again in other states.

Associated Press

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