Conn. shooting site draws hundreds of visitors

NEWTOWN, Conn. (AP) ? The Sandy Hook section of Newtown was a gathering place this weekend for hundreds of people drawn to the scene of the recent massacre to share in the community's mourning and come to terms with the shocking school tragedy.

The village's downtown was clogged with traffic Sunday, with license plates from all across New England and beyond.

Residents across Newtown, meanwhile, were seeking to move forward through faith, community and a determination to seize their future. Many have taken advantage of counseling services.

Both groups are trying in their own way to cope with the puzzling Dec. 14 massacre at Sandy Hook Elementary School that took the lives of 20 children and six adults. Police say the gunman killed his mother before heading to the school and committed suicide afterward.

People with bouquets of flowers, teddy bears and cameras walked along the closed road to the makeshift memorial near the school. Mark Burkhart brought his wife and daughter from Wingdale, N.Y., to pay their respects.

"We felt we had to come here to grieve a little bit," he said. "You find yourself not sure what to do or what to say, so this kind of helps."

Connor Collier, 21, of Newtown, said visitors earlier in the week were mostly with the media. But that changed during the weekend to "just regular people" from as far away as Washington State and Florida.

"Frankly, I like this a lot better. Everybody wants to help," said Collier, who has spent the past week near the village Christmas tree selling green and white bracelets that read, "Angels of Sandy Hook." He said he has raised $40,000 for a fund established for the victims.

A man dressed as Santa greeted visitors Sunday while a group of saxophone players from Newtown High School serenaded the crowd with Christmas carols.

Anne Spillane, 51, of Sandy Hook, drove some of the band members, including her daughter. She said the brother of one band member was killed in the shooting. He was one of several victims the Sillane family knew.

She said she and others in town have been buoyed by the outpouring of support.

A family that lives about three hours away in New Bedford, Mass., came Saturday with a life-sized Santa Claus that held a scroll with the names of all the victims engraved on it, Sillane said.

And a police officer from New Britain gave her a box of homemade Christmas ornaments with the names of each victim on them, Sillane said.

"I gave those to our monsignor, and he's going to give them to the families," she said. "People are just so good. We understand. They just want to do something."

At religious services in Newtown on Sunday, parishioners recognized their church leaders for helping them to cope with the shooting deaths.

After the Sunday service at Newtown's Trinity Episcopal Church, the Rev. Kathleen Adams-Shepherd received hugs and kisses from a long line of parishioners. She choked up as she read the names of the victims and offered a prayer for all of them, including gunman Adam Lanza and his slain mother, Nancy.

Monsignor Robert Weiss of the St. Rose of Lima Roman Catholic Church thanked the community for giving him strength to get through a week filled with funerals. St. Rose of Lima lost eight children and two adults in the massacre.

"This has been the worst week of my life," Weiss said.

Deacon Rick Scinto of St. Rose of Lima said church officials will be teamed with professional counselors and therapists to provide assistance.

"I don't see us taking a lead role, but I certainly see us taking a cooperative role in any kind of counseling that they need. We have our niche. We're religious and we can talk about God and how the Lord figures in this whole mess," Scinto said.

To deal with the short-term trauma, the state sent dozens of mental health professionals to Newtown. Sessions were available every day, at a half-dozen locations. Relief also has been provided by therapy and service dogs, massage therapists, acupuncturists and art therapists, from around Connecticut and the nation.

Dennis Stratford, who works for the school district, happened to be making a delivery to Sandy Hook Elementary when the gunman attacked. He saw dead children. He saw the remains of dead children on those who survived. He waited agonizing minutes for his own child to emerge unharmed from the school. Two of his neighbors' children did not.

"I go home and cry every night, and I cry every morning," Stratford said.

He went to one counseling session, but the horrific images remain. What helps more is work: sorting through the warehouses full of gifts, delivering them where they need to go or doing whatever else needs to be done for his town.

"There were nine minutes of evil, and an infinity of goodness after that," Stratford said, sitting on a forklift loaded with gifts. "This is therapy for me."

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Associated Press writers Brock Vergakis and Michael Melia contributed to this report.

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/conn-shooting-draws-hundreds-visitors-080623043.html

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Tim & Sheila Whalen - Home Sold in Warwick, NY ... - Green Team

My wife Sheila and I had the good fortune to have Geoff Green as our agent. ?When we decided to sell, we went to three local realtors in Warwick to introduce ourselves ad ask for an agent to come to the house and provide an appraisal. ?As you can imagine, the numbers were all over the place from a depressing low to an unrealistic high. Geoff?s appraisal wasn?t the lowest or the highest. What impressed me was he listened carefully and realized we were in no hurry to sell and were willing to price the house a little high and see what happened.
Geoff marketed the house appropriately on a killer website and through his various contacts throughout the real estate community, constantly talking up our house. He came to re-shoot a few pictures at our request and even moved our picture in his front window when we asked to be in a more conspicuous location.

Over the course of our involvement with Geoff and the entire Green Team, we were treated courteously and professionally every time. If Geoff couldn?t respond to a call, someone at the agency office always did in a timely manner.
Geoff never attempted to renegotiate the agreed upon commission over the course of a year and a half, even though it was advantageous to us and we appreciated that.

Tim & Sheila Whalen. Thrilled with The Green Team after the sale of their home on 10 Welling, Warwick, NY.

As time went on, the experience of selling our house naturally became incrementally more stressful. The people at The Green Team and Geoff in particular were sensitive to this and were always available to discuss our concerns and options.
As luck would have it, our buyers were brought to us by another agent from the Green Team, Lucyann. I?m not exaggerating when I say she was the only agent who took the time to learn about the house and actually take her time escorting prospective buyers around and make the sale. She was professiona in her position as agent for the buyer, l and enthusiastic, even bringing her son (who was not looking for a house) for a tour just because she was so excited about the house.

Look, if you are searching for an agency to handle a sale or purchase, I have seen The Green Team do both on our property. If you need straight, reasonable answers, accurate expectations, timely responses and a team effort, Geoff Green and his team should be your first call.
Tim Whalen

Source: http://www.greenteamsells.com/client-testimonials/home-sold-in-warwick-ny-tim-sheila-whalen

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UK prosecutors consider charges over royal hoax call

LONDON (Reuters) - British detectives investigating the death of a nurse found hanged after she took a prank phone call at a hospital treating Prince William's pregnant wife Kate have passed an evidence file to prosecutors, police said on Saturday.

Public prosecutors must decide whether the case is strong enough to bring charges over a stunt that was condemned around the world and fuelled concerns about media ethics.

Indian-born Jacintha Saldanha, 46, was found hanging in her hospital lodgings in London, days after she answered the hoax call from an Australian radio station, an inquest heard.

She put the call through to a colleague who disclosed details of the Duchess of Cambridge's condition during treatment for an extreme form of morning sickness in the early stages of pregnancy.

"Officers submitted a file to the Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) for them to consider whether any potential offences may have been committed by making the hoax call," London's Metropolitan Police said in a statement.

A CPS spokesman confirmed it had received the file, but declined to comment on the timing or nature of possible charges.

"That is what we will be considering," he said.

Prime Minister David Cameron has described the case as a "complete tragedy" and has said many lessons will have to be learned from the nurse's death.

Australia's media regulator has launched an investigation into the phone call. Southern Cross Austereo, parent company of radio station 2Day FM, has apologised for the stunt.

Britain's own media is already under pressure to agree a new system of self-regulation and avoid state intervention following a damning inquiry into reporting practices.

The presenters who made the call, Mel Greig and Michael Christian, have apologised for their actions.

(Reporting by Peter Griffiths; Editing by Stephen Powell)

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/uk-prosecutors-consider-charges-over-royal-hoax-call-142725053.html

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Gabon Agriculture - 15 Percent of GDP By 2020 - African Business ...

In an interview with This is Africa, Gabon?s agriculture minister explains how the government is developing its cash crop sector through international investment.

Gabon aims to increase the contribution of agriculture to its economy to 15 percent, from current levels of 1 percent by 2020, as part of its strategy to become an emerging country by 2025, according to the country?s agriculture minister.

The West African nation is looking to develop its cash crop sector, with the aim of creating domestic food security and exporting into regional and international markets, Julien Nkoghe Bekale tells This is Africa.

?We want to develop intensive agriculture next to subsistence agriculture. We are going to develop agro-industry and cash crops: palm oil, sugar, rubber, coffee and cocoa, maize and soya, with the objective of reducing our food imports by 2020,? he says.

Gabon imports the majority of its food, spending 250bn CFA ($504m) annually on goods from Asia, South America, the USA and Europe, but it wants to cut that figure by a factor of four by 2020.

The country?s population is small ? around 1.5 million ? meaning it should be able to service its domestic market relatively easily, before looking to build on its limited current exports of rubber and palm oil, the minister argues: ?Initially we will be looking at the home market, but then the sub-regional market, because we are very well aware that we have a tiny market. The aim after that is to export internationally.?

Production has been boosted by Olam International, which is investing heavily in cash crops in the sparsely populated country. The Singapore-based company has entered an $800m public private partnership with the Gabonese government to develop 50,000 ha for palm oil production. It is also developing rubber plantations and ammonia and urea manufacturing facilities for the production of agricultural fertilisers. Belgium?s SIAT has also invested in rubber and palm oil production since it took over a set of state owned enterprises in 2004.

Buoyed by those inflows, Gabon aims to produce 250,000 t/y of palm oil by 2020, up from current levels of 50,000 t/y.

Courting investors

The development of the agriculture sector is aimed to diversify Gabon?s economy, which is heavily reliant on oil. The country is Africa?s fifth biggest oil producer and hydrocarbons accounted for around 52 percent of GDP in 2011. With structural reforms ? including privatisation ? on track, the government is keen to promote further foreign direct investment in the agriculture sector.

?We have the potential to move from a mining and oil-based economy to becoming an agricultural economy,? Mr Bekale says. ?We have the land available; we have an attractive business environment; so we have all of the means available to develop sustainable agriculture, modern agriculture, and competitive agriculture.?

Gabon has 1m ha of land available for immediate arable use. ?There are also tax breaks; there?s a very good tax regime; and there is security in land acquisition, you can lease land from 25-85 years,? the minister outlines.

Weak labour force

Gabon?s small population means that, unlike other African countries, it lacks agricultural workers, and is therefore less preoccupied with smallholder-led production.

?The government?s objective is to provide food security and to do that we need to increase production, which must happen by encouraging the development of intensive agriculture and cash crops,? he says.

?We have a weak labour force in terms of the number of workers available for agricultural labour. We are top heavy; we have well trained people right at the top but we don?t have agricultural workers or technicians.?

As part of broader education initiative, the country is developing agricultural colleges. ?Our ambition is to create a class of agriculture entrepreneurs, to make the farmers into businessmen,? the minister explains.

The Olam palm oil project will have a significant impact on employment, he says: ?A project like Olam is already having positive effects on employment, society and on growth. We expect 7,000-14,000 jobs created from that project.?

Source: http://abdas.org/?sn=gabon-agriculture-15-percent-of-gdp-by-2020

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Wall Street falls at open on "cliff" worry

Though Robert Pattinson stuck by her, Ben Affleck has left Kristen Stewart?in the dust. Citing a schedule crunch, the actor has backed out of?Focus, a con-artist movie set to costar Stewart and begin filming this spring. Stewart had just said in a recent interview that she was excited to start shooting, but now who knows what will happen. "Hi Kristen. We know that you were excited about working with Ben, but he dropped out, so we got you a replacement," a producer says to her the day she arrives on set. ...

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/stock-futures-fall-worries-over-fiscal-cliff-022438792--finance.html

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Clays on Mars: More plentiful than expected

Friday, December 21, 2012

A new study co-authored by the Georgia Institute of Technology indicates that clay minerals, rocks that usually form when water is present for long periods of time, cover a larger portion of Mars than previously thought. In fact, Assistant Professor James Wray and the research team say clays were in some of the rocks studied by Opportunity when it landed at Eagle crater in 2004. The rover only detected acidic sulfates and has since driven about 22 miles to Endeavour Crater, an area of the planet Wray pinpointed for clays in 2009.

The study is published online in the current edition of Geophysical Research Letters.

The project, which was led by Eldar Noe Dobrea of the Planetary Science Institute, identified the clay minerals using a spectroscopic analysis from the Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter. The research shows that clays also exist in the Meridiani plains that Opportunity rolled over as it trekked toward its current position.

"It's not a surprise that Opportunity didn't find clays while exploring," said Wray, a faculty member in the School of Earth and Atmospheric Sciences. "We didn't know they existed on Mars until after the rover arrived. Opportunity doesn't have the same tools that have proven so effective for detecting clays from orbit."

The clay signatures near Eagle crater are very weak, especially compared to those along the rim and inside Endeavour crater. Wray believes clays could have been more plentiful in the past, but Mars' volcanic, acidic history has probably eliminated some of them.

"It was also surprising to find clays in geologically younger terrain than the sulfates," said Dobrea. Current theories of Martian geological history suggest that clays, a product of aqueous alteration, actually formed early on when the planet's waters were more alkaline. As the water acidified due to volcanism, the dominant alteration mineralogy became sulfates. "This forces us to rethink our current hypotheses of the history of water on Mars," he added.

Even though Opportunity has reached an area believed to contain rich clay deposits, the odds are still stacked against it. Opportunity was supposed to survive for only three months. It's still going strong nine years later, but the rover's two mineralogical instruments don't work anymore. Instead, Opportunity must take pictures of rocks with its panoramic camera and analyze targets with a spectrometer to try and determine the composition of rock layers.

"So far, we've only been able to identify areas of clay deposits from orbit," said Wray. "If Opportunity can find a sample and give us a closer look, we should be able to determine how the rock was formed, such as in a deep lake, shallow pond or volcanic system."

As for the other rover on the other side of Mars, Curiosity's instruments are better equipped to search for signs of past or current conditions for habitable life, thanks in part to Opportunity. Wray is a member of Curiosity's science team.

###

Georgia Institute of Technology: http://www.gatech.edu

Thanks to Georgia Institute of Technology for this article.

This press release was posted to serve as a topic for discussion. Please comment below. We try our best to only post press releases that are associated with peer reviewed scientific literature. Critical discussions of the research are appreciated. If you need help finding a link to the original article, please contact us on twitter or via e-mail.

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Source: http://www.labspaces.net/126062/Clays_on_Mars__More_plentiful_than_expected

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Equipment Leasing and Finance Association's Survey of Economic ...

Equipment Leasing and Finance Association?s Survey of Economic Activity: Monthly Leasing and Finance Index

Posted 12/21/12

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November New Business Volume Up by 3 Percent Year-over-year, Down 16 Percent Month-to-month, Up 15 Percent Year-to-date

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Washington, DC, December 21, 2012? The Equipment Leasing and Finance Association?s (ELFA) Monthly Leasing and Finance Index (MLFI-25), which reports economic activity from 25 companies representing a cross section of the $725 billion equipment finance sector, showed their overall new business volume for November was $6.4 billion, up 3 percent from volume of $6.2 billion in the same period in 2011. Their volume was down 16 percent from the previous month, and their year-to-date cumulative new business volume increased 15 percent.

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Receivables over 30 days increased for the first time in six months to 2.0 percent, up from 1.7 percent in October, and they were unchanged when compared to the same period in 2011. Charge-offs were up from the previous month at 0.5 percent, and down by 28.6 percent compared to the same period last year.

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Credit approvals totaled 77.0 percent in November, down from 79.5 percent in October. Forty-six percent of participating organizations reported submitting more transactions for approval during November, down from 66 percent the previous month.

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Finally, total headcount for equipment finance companies was down 1 percent from the previous month, and declined 2 percent year over year.

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ELFA President and CEO William G. Sutton, CAE, said: ?New business volume in the equipment finance sector of the U.S. economy continues to show slow, but steady, growth.?Credit quality and portfolio performance also trend positively as delinquencies and losses remain under control for MLFI-25 respondents. We are hopeful that, as recent ?fiscal cliff? negotiations between the White House and the Congress seem to be entering a decisive phase, businesses will interpret this as a sign that the economy gradually will pick up steam and is poised for a more robust recovery. Only with a confident business sector will the equipment finance marketplace thrive and, indeed, expand, as investment spending strengthens going forward.?

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Tony Golobic, Chairman and CEO, GreatAmerica Financial Services,said, ?For much of the year, we at GreatAmerica Financial Services had experienced a solid increase in our overall commercial equipment lease volume from throughout the country; however, as we edged our way into the fourth quarter we began to feel the effects of the lack of clarity in Washington regarding the budget deficit. ?Without question, concerns about the ballooning budget deficit and the resulting lack of tax clarity are causing indecision related to new capital expenditures within the business community.? While cautiously optimistic with respect to the underlying economy, we certainly need to have greater clarity on the new tax structure and where the spending cuts will be positioned.? To the extent there is some business-friendly clarity, I believe we will see a return to the type of growth we had seen earlier in the year.?

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About the ELFA?s MLFI-25 The MLFI-25 is the only index that reflects capex, or the volume of commercial equipment financed in the U.S. The MLFI-25 is released globally at 8 a.m. Eastern time from Washington, D.C., each month on the day before the U.S. Department of Commerce releases the durable goods report. The MLFI-25 is a financial indicator that complements the durable goods report and other economic indexes, including the Institute for Supply Management Index, which reports economic activity in the manufacturing sector. Together with the MLFI-25 these reports provide a complete view of the status of productive assets in the U.S. economy: ?equipment produced, acquired and financed.

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The MLFI-25 is a time series that reflects two years of business activity for the 25 companies currently participating in the survey. The latest MLFI-25, including methodology and participants is available below and also at http://www.elfaonline.org/Research/MLFI/

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MLFI-25 Methodology

The ELFA produces the MLFI-25 survey to help member organizations achieve competitive advantage by providing them with leading-edge research and benchmarking information to support strategic business decision making.

The MLFI-25 is a barometer of the trends in U.S. capital equipment investment. Five components are included in the survey: new business volume (originations), aging of receivables, charge-offs, credit approval ratios, (approved vs. submitted) and headcount for the equipment finance business.

The MLFI-25 measures monthly commercial equipment lease and loan activity as reported by participating ELFA member equipment finance companies representing a cross section of the equipment finance sector, including small ticket, middle-market, large ticket, bank, captive and independent leasing and finance companies. Based on hard survey data, the responses mirror the economic activity of the broader equipment finance sector and current business conditions nationally.

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ADP Credit

BancorpSouth Equipment Finance

Bank of America

Bank of the West

BB&T Bank

BMO Harris Equipment Finance

Canon Financial Services

Caterpillar Financial Services

CIT

De Lage Landen Financial Services

Dell Financial Services

Direct Capital Corporation

EverBank Commercial Finance

Fifth Third Equipment Finance

First American Equipment Finance, a City National Bank Company

GreatAmerica Financial Services

Hitachi Credit America

HP Financial Services

Huntington Equipment Finance

John Deere Financial

Key Equipment Finance

M&T Bank

Marlin Leasing

Merchants Capital

PNC Equipment Finance

RBS Asset Finance

SG Equipment Finance

Siemens Financial Services

Stearns Bank

Suntrust

Susquehanna Commercial Finance

US Bancorp Equipment Finance

Verizon Capital

Volvo Financial Services

Wells Fargo Equipment Finance

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?

About the ELFA

The Equipment Leasing and Finance Association (ELFA) is the trade association that represents companies in the $725 billion equipment finance sector, which includes financial services companies and manufacturers engaged in financing capital goods. ELFA members are the driving force behind the growth in the commercial equipment finance market and contribute to capital formation in the U.S. and abroad. Its more than 575 members include independent and captive leasing and finance companies, banks, financial services corporations, broker/packagers and investment banks, as well as manufacturers and service providers. ELFA has been equipping business for success for more than 50 years. For more information, please visit www.elfaonline.org.

?

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The Equipment Leasing & Finance Foundation is the non-profit affiliate to the Equipment Leasing and Finance Association, providing future-focused research to the equipment finance industry. For more information please visit the website at www.leasefoundation.org

?

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Source: http://www.elfaonline.org/news/indnews/news_report.cfm?id=20731

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Three Kinds of People Who Won't Help Your Internet Marketing

Digital Marketing is the Future for Small Business Marketing

I have felt for quite some time that digital marketing is the best path for economical and prolific lead and customer generation for small businesses.? But it isn?t an easy path.? Marketing prior to the Internet was much more straight forward in how it was delivered.? Now there are multitudes of options and although it allows businesses to market effectively themselves, it is complex to sort out.

Messaging and value have always been aspects of marketing and the Internet gives small business owners the medium to spread their message and create and share value as never before.

But how do you sort through the options and craft a small business marketing program that will work for you and your business?? Many people will reach out to others for help.? There are three kinds of people / businesses that don?t know how to help you monetize your business value online.? It?s not that they don?t want to help or won?t try to help, they just have a partial view of the overall picture.

They will try to help, but they don?t know what they don?t know?

These three types of people are graphic designers, developers and Search Engine Optimization (SEO) specialists and they are the most commonly found people designing websites, which is often mistaken for the sole requirement for digital marketing.

Beware of fake experts!Too many times I?ve come across beautifully designed and developed websites that aren?t accomplishing anything for the business.? Their designers didn?t? understand SEO or how to rank a site in order to bring visitors nor did they comprehend how to structure the site to help convert visitors into customers.

It?s not only important to rank your site, but to rank for the right keywords?

On the other hand, many SEO ?experts? don?t understand how to rank for keywords that are pertinent to the business.? Many SEO gurus are best suited to select keywords for niches that are focused on selling affiliate products, but not as well prepared to help a regular business achieve its goals through Internet marketing.

None of these three types of people are typically capable of establishing the right ?Internet Presence,? which is essentially everything that you have on the Internet including website, blog and social media pages.? In concert, the components of your Internet Presence will help you create traffic to your sites, convert the traffic to customers, and help you measure the results throughout the process.

The true solution results from a blended approach with defined business objectives?

The best solutions for this blended approach are few and far between.? This is due to the fact that truly effective digital marketing requires a blend of skills from web site creation, traffic generation, typical marketing, sales, business skills, etc.? Most of these three types of people don?t actually understand the business objective and rarely know what that objective is.

Holistic Approach to MarketingI have to say that for a long time, I wasn?t 100% sure how to do this either!? I spent almost six years gathering information, experimenting with different techniques, learning from everybody I could find that would share information, etc. until I finally considered myself a bit of an expert in the field.

Only once I gained this expertise, was I able to recognize the value and genius of the Six Figure Mentors (SFM) and Digital Experts Academy that provides the tools and system that create an effective Internet Presence that results in business outcomes, namely attracting prospects, converting them to clients and measuring the process.

Because of this holistic approach, we no longer need graphic designers, SEO experts or developers.? The system and tools provided are sufficient to begin creating the desired business outcome ? more business!? While graphic designers and developers are still great to have around, we?re now able to ask them to focus on their true specialties instead of falsely believing that they are masters of all things Internet.

Within businesses, this means that we can use the SFM system, enhance it through graphic designers and involve the rest of the team from management, marketing, sales, finance, etc. to move the business down the desired path.? Now we?re getting somewhere?
Michael
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Michael Nelson
The Cogent Coach Blog ? #8 Small Biz Marketing Resource on the Internet
877-242-4812
Send Me an Email
Twitter? /? Facebook / Google+? / LinkedIn / Twylah ? Twitter Trends
Skype: ?cogentcoach

P.S. If you?d like to learn more about how to use the Internet in your small business marketing, check out the free handbooks on the top right of the page. They will help you structure your online presence and take advantage of internet marketing the right way!

P.P.S. If you would like to spend an hour working on your marketing (free!) with the #8 ranked small business marketing resource on the internet, click here to sign up. I can only work with a handful of clients at a time, but to support my mission to help as many small businesses as possible grow their businesses and thrive, I hold a number of spots open each week to lend a hand to anybody who might benefit from improved marketing. I?m looking forward to our time together and helping you with your small business marketing!

P.P.P.S. ?Struggling with gift ideas this year? ?Check this out: ?A Gift Like No Other ? Make This Year?s Holiday Present A Gift Of A Brilliant Future!

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There is a Digital Experts Academy Coming to a Location Near You! ?Washington, DC to be the first US location.

Source: http://thecogentcoach.com/wordpress/three-kinds-of-people

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Obama must remind Vladimir Putin of human rights, religious freedom concerns

This year has featured grim news of serious human rights restrictions imposed by Moscow on Russian society, including religious groups. At their next discussion, President Obama should convey these concerns to Vladimir Putin, reiterating to Russia?s president the need to adhere to universal human rights and religious freedom standards if relations are to progress between our two countries.

When I was in Moscow in late September as chair of the US Commission on International Religious Freedom, I heard these worries voiced frequently. In my meetings with 30 individuals representing civil society, journalism, and human rights and religious freedom, all feared that Russia was on the cusp of a new cold war on civil society.

OPINION: Vladimir Putin's karate chop to Russian liberties

Since Mr. Putin?s return to the presidency, Russia has passed a succession of laws curtailing freedom of expression, association, and assembly. Parliament might even pass a proposed blasphemy law that clearly would violate freedom of religion or belief.

The new restrictions began in June 2012 when Putin signed a law which included a 100-fold increase ? more than the average Russian?s annual salary ? in fines for unauthorized protests.

In July, Putin signed legislation requiring foreign-funded nongovernmental organizations (NGOs) involved in ?political activity? to register as ?foreign agents? or face massive fines or two-year jail terms for their leaders. Essentially, this declares a group to be a highly suspicious outsider organization. Yet many of Russia?s most vital human rights NGOs rely on some outside financial support

Also in July, Russia?s parliament adopted laws increasing control over the Internet and re-criminalizing certain kinds of libel.

In November, Putin signed a treason law on the day he told the Presidential Human Rights Council that he might revise it. It broadens the definition of high treason to include acts against ?constitutional order, sovereignty, and territorial and state integrity,? potentially making participation in political protests and international organizations punishable by up to 20 years in prison.

All of this came on top of acts against pro-democratic US entities, such as closing the US Agency for International Development and denying certain radio frequencies to Radio Liberty.

Recently, Russia?s parliament began considering the criminalizing of blasphemy. A current bill would levy fines and penalties for ?offenses against religion and religious sentiment? and ?offending religious feelings of citizens.?

Those found to have engaged in ?public insults to the faith and humiliation during liturgical services? could be fined up to 300,000 rubles ($10,000), ordered to perform 200 hours of community service, or sentenced to three-year prison terms. For ?the desecration and destruction of religious objects, places of worship and pilgrimage,? penalties could include up to five years in jail. Putin has since called for postponing the bill?s consideration until next spring.

Supporters insist that religion, particularly Russian Orthodoxy, needs protection against critics who, they claim, seek to destabilize Russia by undermining its religious traditions. Yet a blasphemy law not only would violate the individual rights of freedom of religion and expression, but could exacerbate tensions by stifling the peaceful exchange of ideas and opinions.

Were the blasphemy bill to pass, Russians could bring suit against fellow citizens whom they allege have ?insulted their religious sentiments.? For instance, Russian Orthodox believers who view Apple?s logo as glorifying Adam and Eve?s original sin in the Bible also could prosecute Apple executives.

Russia already punishes people for ?hooliganism motivated by religious hatred.? Under this criminal category, two of the three women detained in the notorious Pussy Riot punk band case were handed two-year prison sentences for performing a ?punk prayer? in February at the Cathedral of Christ the Savior in Moscow.

Clearly, a blasphemy law could push Russia?s religious freedom conditions from the proverbial frying pan into the fire.

Even without this proposal, Russia maintains a blatant double standard on religious freedom. While favoring the Moscow patriarchate of the Russian Orthodox Church, it targets Muslims and other groups. Its actions range from sweeping bans on Islamic materials to labeling religious minorities such as Mormons and Jehovah?s Witnesses ?totalitarian cults,? as well as discriminating systematically against Russia?s evangelical Protestant minority.

ANOTHER VIEW: Russia protests are overblown by West. Putin is here to stay.

Russia?s course unmistakably threatens democracy, but also stability, potentially pitting the Moscow patriarchate against Russia?s 25 million Muslim citizens. For the sake of both freedom and stability, it?s time to remind Russia?s president that, for the United States, human rights matter, and it's time to condemn this year's eclipse of those rights in Putin?s Russia.

Katrina Lantos Swett is Chair of the US Commission on International Religious Freedom (USCIRF).

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Source: http://news.yahoo.com/obama-must-remind-vladimir-putin-human-rights-religious-192851300--politics.html

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