Monday, December 31, 2012

Mexico: ?The Muslim missionaries are very active here??

Hizballah on a border that cannot be controlled, because to do so would be ?racist? ? what could go wrong?

In the mid-1990s, a leftist resistance group which calls itself The Zapatista Army of National Liberation (EZLN) made Chiapas its home. Its attempts to fight the Mexican Army repeatedly failed, but the Zapatistas are still very active in the district?s rural areas. Chiapas is considered a dangerous place, where every home has an arms arsenal of its own; and like many other places in Mexico, Chiapas? streets have become the battlefield where the government and local drug lords wrestle for dominance.

Chiapas, however, harbors an even more sinister secret: It is also a hub of radical Islamist activity.

Catholic Mexico is in the midst of a crisis of faith. According to a local businessman, who asked to remain anonymous, it is widely believed that within a decade, Chiapas will be the first federal state in Mexico to turn its back on the Church.

?The Muslim missionaries are very active there,? he said. ?It?s hard to know exactly how many people have converted to Islam over the past few years.?

Official data suggests that Mexico is home to some 4,000 Muslims ? a fraction in a country whose population numbers 115 million. Theoretically, this is a negligible number, but it is enough to cause concern in the United States ? and Israel should be concerned as well.

US intelligence indicates that Mexico is home to some 200,000 Syrian and Lebanese immigrants ? most of them illegal ? who were able to cross the border via an extensive web of contacts with drug cartels, both in Mexico and in other countries in South America.

These cartel contacts smuggle illegal immigrants ? including individuals affiliated with Iran, Hezbollah, al-Qaeda and other radical Islamist groups ? into Mexico, placing them a virtual stone?s-throw away from the United States.

Western intelligence agencies have been able to gather ample evidence suggesting that the drug cartels in Mexico ? which are the de facto rulers of the northern districts bordering the US ? are in cahoots with Islamic terror organizations, which are eager to execute attacks against American, Israeli, Jewish and western targets; but most of all, the Islamic terror groups are eager to make money, so they can fund their nefarious aspirations.

In December 2011, the US authorities released an indictment filed against Lebanese drug lord Ayman Juma, which exposed Hezbollah?s involvement with the Los Zetas drug cartel. According to the US Drug Enforcement Agency (DEA), Los Zetas is the most technologically advanced and most dangerous cartel operating in Mexico.

Juma was indicted in absentia for smuggling 85 tons of cocaine into the US and for laundering $850 million for Los Zetas. He was also accused of serving as a go-between for the Mexican crime syndicate and the Shiite terror group?.

Source: http://sheikyermami.com/2012/12/30/mexico-the-muslim-missionaries-are-very-active-here/

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2013 Forecast ? Tis The Season To Drink & Own Coffee -- MrSwing

Coffee prices have fallen more than 50% since 2010 which can be seen through the coffee exchange traded fund symbol: JO. This investment seeks to replicate the returns that are potentially available through an unleveraged investment in coffee futures contracts as well as the rate of interest that could be earned on cash collateral invested in specified Treasury Bills.

Weekly, Hourly and Seasonal chart of JO Coffee Exchange Traded Fund

The top weekly chart shows my price targets for 2013 while the lower hourly chart shows strong on balance volume meaning big money is slowly building a long position in coffee. The small white chart is the seasonal chart of coffee futures showing prices historically rise from Jan? ? March, then a correction followed by another rally in to May.

Coffee prices are still in a down trend but it looks as though the end is near and if played properly it could provide up to 100% return on your capital in 2013.

Dec28JO

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Coffee Futures Monthly Long Term Chart

This chart gives you a bird?s eye view on where coffee prices are trading in the big picture scheme of things.

CoffeeLongTermMonthly

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JO Coffee ETF VS. SBUX Starbucks Share Price:

Lower coffee bean prices has helped lift share prices of coffee companies like Starbucks: SBUX, Coffee Holdings Co.: JVA, Coffee Roasters Inc.: GMCR, and PEET?s Coffee: PEET. But cheap coffee may not be around that much longer and the lower earnings for coffee brewers may be closer than most may think.

Follow my Live Trading Charts Here Free: https://stockcharts.com/public/1992897

CoffeeBrewer

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2013 Caffeine Conclusion:

In short, I have been watching coffee prices for a bottoming pattern for months and I now feel it is getting really close to a bottom and it could be a great trade and investment in the new year. As for companies like Starbucks it will likely not have much of an affect on the bottom line until the second half of the year though it is something to keep an eye on during earning seasons.

If you want my trading and investing ideas each week along with trade alerts for ideas like this then join my newsletter today: http://www.TheGoldAndOilGuy.com

Chris Vermeulen

Source: http://www.mrswing.com/articles/Forecast_Tis_The_Season_To_Drink_Own_Coffee.html

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Sunday, December 30, 2012

Why Investing in Real Estate Rental Houses is Better Than Wall ...

he first reason to invest in Real Estate is income that is received from the property . You can make good use of this cash flow by investing in other real estates. You can also keep this money safe for any emergency situations. You need to learn to make money from money.

? ? ?The value of every single property keeps on increasing over a period of time but the investor is not taxed on the increase unless and until he decides to sell it. You might consider this just like the tax treatment of mutual funds and bonds.? If the prices of properties around yours start increasing then there will be an obvious increase in the value of your property.

? ? ?You can also increase the value yourself by upgrading and renovating you property. You can add rooms or enhance the landscape. Refinancing your property might be done by cashing out at a higher rate as you are not supposed to pay any tax on this earning.?

? ? ?Another reason for investing in real estate is that you are able to borrow cash against the equity held by you in other leases and makes use of that money as the deposit for another investment. By doing so you are rendering the costs of your interest liable for taxes.?

? ? ?This strategy is known as leverage and is used as one of the techniques to build up on your income. Through efficient use of leverage, an investor is able to uphold his capital and achieve profits as well.?

? ? ? It is also possible for an investor to exchange the property he has invested in for another similar property and postpone the tax payment on it. Considering the complications involved in tax laws after some consultation with an expert adviser you can figure out a way.?

? ? ?If you move back into your rental house and occupy it as your home for at least two out of five years before you decide to sell it, then there would be no need for you to pay the taxes on its sale. The only tax that you are supposed to pay will be on your previous wear and tear entailment claims. The rest of the money goes back into your hands.?

? ? ?As an investor you are entitled to demand further reduction in the gross amount on which a tax is calculated depending on the value of your property minus the cost of the land on which it stands over a certain time period. The current duration is set at 27 years. Depreciation is possible in case of furniture, carpet and the appliances in your house over a time period of 5 years.?

? ? ?The depreciation period for driveways, exterior fences and planters as well as trees is 15 years. When you choose to sell a property, taxes need to be paid for all previous depreciations.

? ? The Housing Market is in Full Recovery Mode and?PRICES ARE MOVING UP!?Add To or Start Building Your Portfolio NOW.
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  • HERE IS AN INCREDIBLE OPPORTUNITY TO PURCHASE?LOW COST?RENTAL HOMES THAT ALREADY PRODUCE 20%+ ANNUAL RETURNS IN?POSITIVE CASH FLOW!?Again, that is a 20% ANNUAL RETURN IN POSITIVE CASH FLOW?

  • ? ???AFTER ALL OF YOUR EXPENSES ARE PAID. THESE RENTAL MACHINES ARE LOCATED IN THE BEST LAS VEGAS NEIGHBORHOODS . PROVIDING EXCELLENT TENANT DEMAND, HIGH RENTAL RATES, AND LOW BUY-IN PRICES FOR INVESTORS.

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David Cooper 702-499-7037

Source: http://www.trulia.com/blog/david_cooper/2012/12/why_investing_in_real_estate_rental_houses_is_better_than_wall_street_6

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2012 top business stories: Longshore labor disputes keep waterfront ...

Labor disputes roiled Portland's waterfront in 2012, snarling commerce, diverting cargo vessels and busying lawyers and judges.

Mile-long lines of trucks formed in July along North Marine Drive outside the Port of Portland's container terminal as the West Coast longshore union claimed work performed by members of the International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers.

The spat involved the equivalent of just two jobs plugging, unplugging and monitoring refrigerated containers, or reefers. But members of the International Longshore and Warehouse Union said the issue was far larger, challenging the union's West Coast collective bargaining agreement that they felt entitled them to the work.

The National Labor Relations Board ruled the jobs belonged to the electricians. But the longshore union continues the fight in federal court.

Separately, Port security officers represented by the longshore union threatened a strike that would have shut down three terminals. The Port backed down, giving the officers the job security they sought.

In a third dispute, longshoremen in Portland, Vancouver and the Puget Sound voted down a contract offer in December from grain terminal owners who prepared to lock out union members. The owners imposed the offer's terms anyway, and union leaders decided to fight the companies in court if necessary instead of calling a strike.

The turmoil paled in comparison to a longshore clash that closed most of the ports of Los Angeles and Long Beach for eight days ending in early December. But in all of the disputes, the powerful longshore union fought to preserve and increase job security and jurisdiction in the face of automation and industry competition.

-- Richard Read,?? twitter: ReadOregonian

Source: http://www.oregonlive.com/business/index.ssf/2012/12/2012_top_business_stories_long.html

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Top 10 area art exhibitions of 2012 - The Orange County Register

In 2011, we had the 800-pound gorilla ? "Pacific Standard Time: Art in L.A. 1945-1980" ? to deal with.

In 2012, there was no such beast. But some museums were still driven by the intense focus on Los Angeles and Southern California artists, continuing with retrospectives on individual "PST" artists, or examining artistic production in the region during the decades that followed 1980.

"Las dos Fridas (The Two Fridas)," a 1939 oil on canvas by Frida Kahlo. This painting was view at the L.A. County Museum of Art, Jan. 29-May 6, part of "In Wonderland: The Surrealist Adventures of Women Artists in Mexico and the United States."

COURTESY OF MUSEO DE ARTE MODERNO, MEXICO CITY

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Nonetheless, many other museums and art institutions branched out from Southern California and offered presentations of international artists, scope and resonance. The results were eclectic, boundary-pushing and refreshing, after all that focus on the City of Angels.

In chronological order, here are my picks for the best art exhibitions in Southern California in 2012. Dates indicate if they are still on view.

"In Wonderland: The Surrealist Adventures of Women Artists in Mexico and the United States" at the Los Angeles County Museum of Art (Jan. 29-May 6): This exhibit featured mind-bending surrealist works by Frida Kahlo, Louise Bourgeois, Helen Lundeberg, Remedios Varo, Leonora Carrington, Lola Alvarez Bravo and Dorothea Tanning. The presentation was excellent, with gray walls running at angles and taut ropes connecting walls and the ceiling, creating a cobweblike effect. There were many unknowns and surprises revealed here.

"Magdalena Fern?ndez: 2iPM009" at the Museum of Latin American Art (Feb. 25-May 27): Inspired by Piet Mondrian, Kasimir Malevich, Sol LeWitt and Latin American artist Jes?s Soto, Venezuelan artist Fern?ndez created a number of video installations that were cutting-edge, profound and, unlike a lot of video art, enjoyable to watch. Her "2iPM009" simulated a rainstorm, with the performance choir Perpetuum Jazzile creating all the noise with their hands and feet. Though this was a relatively small exhibit, it signaled Fern?ndez as an artist of the 21st century to watch.

"Richard Diebenkorn: The Ocean Park Series" at the Orange County Museum of Art (Feb. 26-May 27): This was a superb collection of large canvases created between 1967 and 1988 in Diebenkorn's studio in the Ocean Park neighborhood of Santa Monica. The geometric and architectural works feature layers of paint over paint, signs of addition and subtraction, and traces of previous images and ideas. A tour de force for OCMA and curator Sarah Bancroft.

"Victor Hugo Zayas: Mi Obra" at Laguna Art Museum (Feb. 26-April 29): Zayas, a Mexican-raised, Los Angeles-based artist uses guns ? rifles, revolvers and semi-automatic weapons ? and transforms them into sculptures, thanks to the LAPD's gun buy-back program. For this show, he also created 21 oil paintings, thick with impasto. It was a sensual feast that made viewers think, feel, and even smell (the oil paint).

"Gustav Klimt: The Magic of Line" at the Getty Center (July 3-Sept. 23): This was an intimate look at an under-recognized side of Klimt, who otherwise has become one of the superstars of modern art history. The drawings included studies for "Philosophy" (1900-07), "Medicine" (1901-07) and "Jurisprudence" (1903-07) ? among the most important and misunderstood works in the Viennese artist's career. The Getty also re-created Klimt's "Beethoven Frieze" (1901-02) in the Secession Building, which continues to be a top draw in Austria's capital city.

"Made in L.A. 2012" at the Hammer Museum, LAX Art, and Los Angeles Municipal Art Gallery (June 2-Sept. 2): While its focus was on Los Angeles-based artists, "Made in L.A." did extend to Orange County artists, art schools and beyond. In fact, the sheer diversity of artists in this biennial was impressive. Though the "American Idol"-style contest to pick the best artist of 'em all was controversial, this exhibition did showcase a great deal of established and emerging talent. The sheer amount of new installations, videos, sculptures, performances and paintings was mind-boggling and certainly nothing to sneeze at.

"Ken Price Sculpture: A Retrospective" at LACMA (Sept. 16-Jan. 6, 2013): One of the key figures of "Pacific Standard Time," Price achieved amazing forms and color combinations in clay during his 50-plus-year career. This comprehensive exhibit of sculptures by Price, still on view at LACMA, offers heaping samples of Price's artistic influences, humor and spiritual interests. The retrospective, installed on the west side of LACMA's Resnick Pavilion, was designed by friend and architect Frank O. Gehry, who took a pristine, clean and meditative approach to the show.

"The Cylinder, the Sphere, the Cone" at the Huntington Beach Art Center (Sept. 22-Dec. 15): This group show was former curator Darlene DeAngelo's swan song. Because of city cutbacks, she resigned from the center on Sept. 28. Works by Pat Warner, Gary Simpson and Lana Shuttleworth reflected the themes of cylinder, sphere and cone, respectively, and also provided an environmental and global message. Shuttleworth's use of traffic cones in her work was simply amazing, and Simpson ? who collected soil samples from 193 countries ? proved that persistence pays. "Cylinder" was a beautiful show, one of the finest of the year.

"Bodies and Shadows: Caravaggio and His Legacy" at LACMA (Nov. 11-Feb. 10, 2013): Michelangelo Merisi da Caravaggio was a gifted painter, but he was also a criminal and a killer. This exhibition, still on view in the Resnick Pavilion, brings together eight awe-inspiring Caravaggios ? the first time that's happened in the Golden State. About 50 works by artists influenced by the Italian master ? the "Caravaggisti" ? demonstrate his profound effect on other European painters. "Ecce Homo" (circa 1605) and "The Toothpuller" (c. 1625-1630) by Caravaggio are must-sees.

"Destroy the Picture: Painting the Void, 1949-1962" at the Museum of Contemporary Art, Los Angeles (Oct. 6-Jan. 14): While we're on the subject of swan songs, this exhibition, still on view, is MOCA chief curator Paul Schimmel's final effort. He was unceremoniously let go from the museum in June after 22 years at the helm of an ambitious and internationally respected art program. "Destroy the Picture" examines the period after World War II, when artists from Japan, Europe and the United States ripped, cut, burned or affixed objects to the traditionally two-dimensional canvas, forcing it into three dimensions. The process was destruction as a mode of creation, and the void as an opportunity for creativity. As far as art shows go, this one is challenging, educational and thought-provoking.

A final note. May these artists rest in peace: Mike Kelley (Jan. 31), sculptor Price (Feb. 24), Thomas Kinkade (April 6), Karl Benjamin (July 26) and Michael Asher (Oct. 15).

Contact the writer: 714-796-6026 or rchang@ocregister.com


Source: http://www.ocregister.com/entertainment/art-381906-artists-museum.html

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Saturday, December 29, 2012

4 dead in Moscow airliner crash

MOSCOW (AP) ? A passenger airliner careered off the runway at Russia's third-busiest airport and partly onto a highway while landing on Saturday, broke into pieces and caught fire, killing at least four people.

Officials said there were eight people aboard the Tu-204 belonging to Russian airline Red Wings that was flying back from the Czech Republic without passengers to its home at Vnukovo Airport.

Emergency officials said in a televised news conference that four people were killed and another four severely injured when the plane rolled off the runway into a snowy field and partly onto an adjacent highway, then disintegrated. No collisions with vehicles on the major, multilane highway were reported.

The plane's cockpit area was sheared off from the fuselage and the tail section partly torn away.

The crash occurred amid snow and winds gusting up to 15 meters a second (30 mph), but other details were not immediately known. A spokesman for Russia's top investigative agency, Vladimir Markin, said initial indications were that pilot error was the cause.

The state news agency RIA Novosti cited an unidentified official at the Russian Aviation Agency as saying another Red Wings Tu-204 had gone off the runway at the international airport in Novosibirsk in Siberia on Dec. 20. The agency said that incident, in which no one was injured, was due to the failure of the plane's engines to go into reverse upon landing and that its brake system malfunctioned.

On Friday, the Aviation Agency sent a directive to the Tupolev company's president calling for it to take urgent preventive measures.

The plane that crashed Saturday took off from Pardubice airport in the Czech Republic. Jan Anderlik, the director of the company that operates the airport, told Czech public television that the plane underwent a regular technical check before takeoff and no problems were discovered.

Prior to Saturday's crash, there had been no fatal accidents reported for Tu-204s, which entered commercial service in 1995. The plane is a twin-engine midrange jet with a capacity of about 210 passengers.

The Red Wings airline is one of the holdings of Russian billionaire Alexander Lebedev, who also owns the British newspapers The Independent and the Evening Standard.

Vnukovo, on the southern outskirts of Moscow, is one of the Russian capital's three international airports.

___

Vladimir Isachenkov in Moscow, and Karel Janicek in Prague, Czech Republic, contributed to this story.

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/4-dead-moscow-airliner-crash-152110693--finance.html

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Bharti Infratel shares slump over 10 percent in debut

NEW DELHI (Reuters) - Bharti Infratel, backed by billionaire Sunil Mittal, fell as much as 12.7 percent in its trading debut after raising about $760 million in India's biggest IPO in two years, weighed down by a cautious outlook for mobile tower operators.

The IPO, priced near the lower end of an indicative price range, struggled to find interest from retail investors and was supported mostly by foreign institutional investors. But analysts are betting on a revival in India's initial public offerings on the back of a recent stock market gains.

Bharti Infratel , a unit of top Indian mobile phone carrier Bharti Airtel Ltd and partly owned by KKR & Co Ltd, was trading at 197.20 rupees as of 0434 GMT on the National Stock Exchange.

That was down 10.3 percent from its IPO price of 220 rupees for funds and wealthy investors, who received the majority of the allocation. Bharti Infratel sold shares to retail investors at 210 rupees and to cornerstone investors at 230 rupees.

The IPO also gave funds including Singapore state investor Temasek Holdings and the private equity arm of Goldman Sachs Group Inc an opportunity to cash out of some of their early investments.

The listing comes amid an IPO revival in India after a tepid first half. Credit Analysis and Research Ltd and PC Jeweller Ltd also made their debut this week after raising around $100 million each.

The biggest initial share sale since Coal India Ltd raised $3.5 billion in 2010 pushed India's IPO volume to $1.28 billion this year, shy of last year's tally of $1.36 billion, according to Thomson Reuters data. But that is well short of the record set in 2007, when Indian corporates raised $8.65 billion through IPOs.

India's IPO volumes are expected to improve further on rising foreign capital inflows. Several high-profile deals including the listing of Bombay Stock Exchange and the potential IPO of Vodafone Group Plc's India unit are likely to hit as earlier as next year, bankers said.

The broader NSE index <.nsei> has surged about 28 percent this year, and is Asia's third best-performing market, according to Thomson Reuters data.

Graphic - Top 10 Indian IPOs: http://link.reuters.com/suw24t

Graphic - India's tower market: http://link.reuters.com/cyq44t

CAUTIOUS OUTLOOK

But weighing on the outlook for mobile tower operators, an Indian court this year revoked permits of several wireless carriers while demand growth for third and fourth-generation mobile data services slowed.

Shares of GTL Infrastructure Ltd , the only other mobile tower operator listed in India, have slumped 90 percent in the last two years, hit by debt repayment worries.

Bharti Infratel priced its IPO at lower valuations to overcome those concerns, attracting more than a dozen cornerstone investors including units of Morgan Stanley and Citigroup Inc.

The IPO valued Bharti Infratel at a 35 percent discount to peers in the United States and Indonesia with an enterprise value over EBITDA metric, or earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortisation, said Nomura analysts.

But on a price-to-earnings basis, Bharti's valuation implied a 20 percent premium to global peers, Nomura said.

Bharti Infratel sold about 146 million shares, or more than three quarters of the shares on offer, while four of its private equity investors, including the arms of Temasek Holdings and Goldman Sachs, sold a total of 42 million shares.

Bharti Airtel, which owned 86 percent of the tower operator before the IPO, did not sell any shares in the process.

The IPO was mainly supported by foreign institutional investors, with the company receiving bids for less than a fifth of shares on offer for local retail investors.

Bharti Infratel has about 34,000 towers and owns 42 percent of Indus Towers, the world's largest tower operator. Along with Indus, Bharti Infratel has a 38 percent share of the Indian telecommunications tower market.

Bank of America Merrill Lynch , Barclays , Deutsche Bank , HSBC , JPMorgan , Standard Chartered , and UBS were the foreign banks underwriting the IPO, while Kotak Mahindra and Enam Securities were the domestic banks handling the share sale.

(Reporting by Devidutta Tripathy; Editing by Rafael Nam and Ryan Woo)

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/bharti-infratel-shares-slump-pre-open-market-debut-042320411--sector.html

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5 Choices to Help You Stay in Love - Huffington Post

We all know that being in love is one of the very best feelings in the world. When we fall in love, we often believe that our in-love feelings are going to last forever.

In my counseling practice, I've worked with countless people who believed that, this time, the love would last.

Take Benjamin, for example. Benjamin had been married for 22 years when he decided to divorce his wife. He was tired of not feeling connected and intimate with her. He experienced her as closed and resistant, and he wanted a relationship with an open woman.

Soon after the divorce, Benjamin met Rachel at the home of a friend. They connected immediately. Benjamin called me, ecstatic. "I know it's really early in this relationship -- we've only known each other a couple of weeks, but I think I'm in love. It feels so good to be with an open and caring woman."

"Benjamin, please take your time. You are just out of a long marriage and you have barely settled into your new life. It really does take time to know someone. I'm glad you and Rachel are enjoying your time with each other, but please don't rush into anything."

I knew this was likely to fall on deaf ears. I've seen it so many times.

Two months after meeting, the bloom was off the rose.

"Rachel runs away when she is upset. It's frustrating to me to not be able to work things out with her. And she doesn't take good care of herself in a lot of ways. She takes care of everyone but herself."

Benjamin very much wanted to be in love, but he had not made the choices that would lead to lasting love.

Five Choices to Help You Stay in Love

1. Learn to love yourself

Do the inner work you need to do to be happy on your own. If you are abandoning yourself by not taking responsibility for your feelings, judging yourself, turning to various addictions, or making someone else responsible for making you feel full, loved, safe and adequate, you will meet someone who is also abandoning themselves in various ways. We meet each other at our common level of self-abandonment or health, so do the work you need to do to feel happy, peaceful and full of love inside. You don't need to be fully healed, as much healing can take place within a relationship, but you do need to know how to love yourself so you can share your love with others.

2. Take it slow

One of the major mistakes that many people make is moving too fast -- including having sex too early. For a sexual relationship to be deeply satisfying on the physical as well as on the emotional level, there needs to be deep caring and connection. Early "in-love" feelings are often nothing more than infatuation, as truly being in love happens over time -- if it is going to happen. If someone is rushing you into a relationship, be very cautious. Behind the beautiful words and dazzling pursuit may lurk neediness and narcissism.

3. Ask in-depth questions

Ask the important questions -- about values, money, children, religion/spirituality, past relationships. If you are afraid to be forthright in your questions, then the fear itself is letting you know that your fear of rejection may be in charge -- which means you have more inner work to do.

4. Don't shy away from conflict

All relationships have some conflict, and much can be learned from how you each deal with conflict. If you are avoiding the important questions, giving yourself up to keep the peace, or not speaking up for yourself, you will not learn what you need to regarding how the two of you handle conflict. If your new love closes down, gets angry or furious, goes into resistance or defensiveness, or turns to an addiction, this does not bode well for staying in love. An inability to resolve conflict is a major reason why in-love feelings fade away.

If your new love briefly does these protective behaviors, but then opens to learning with you, great. But if he or she does not open within the same day as the conflict, then it will be very hard for issues to get resolved between you.

5. Appreciation rather than judgment

You are not likely to fine someone who has everything you want, but hopefully he or she has many of the qualities you value. Instead of focusing on what you don't like and trying to change your partner with judgment, appreciate what is wonderful about your new love. This doesn't mean avoiding problems, as it is vital to explore the difficulties -- with an intent to learn -- but being judgmental is one of the quickest ways to put the lid on love.

While you will not always feel "in love" with your partner, following these five choices will give you a very good chance of feeling loving and connected with your partner much of the time.

Margaret Paul, Ph.D. is a relationship expert, best-selling author, and co-creator of the powerful Inner Bonding? self-healing process, recommended by actress Lindsay Wagner and singer Alanis Morissette, and featured on Oprah. To begin learning how to love and connect with yourself so that you can connect with others, take advantage of our free Inner Bonding eCourse, receive Free Help, and take our 12-Week eCourse, "The Intimate Relationship Toolbox" - the first two weeks are free! Phone or Skype sessions with Dr. Margaret Paul.

Connect with Margaret on Facebook: Inner Bonding, and Facebook: SelfQuest.

For more by Margaret Paul, Ph.D., click here.

For more on conscious relationships, click here.

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Follow Margaret Paul, Ph.D. on Twitter: www.twitter.com/innerbonding

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Source: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/margaret-paul-phd/relationship-advice_b_2329771.html

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Tell bosses: Careless comments cause lawsuits ? Business ...

We?ve said it before and we?ll say it again: The only appropriate response to a pregnancy announcement is ?Congratulations.? No smart aleck comments, no questions about family size, no wondering aloud how long the employee expects to be out. If the pregnant employee asks about leave, her boss should refer her to HR.

Recent case: Erica was a luxury goods buyer for Gucci America, a subsidiary of the famed Italian company. Her job involved marketing women?s handbags and other leather accessories in the United States. She traveled to Florence several times a year to select goods for the U.S. market. She got excellent reviews and met all her sales goals.

Then the company appointed a new president, who felt the entire company should be revamped. He hired a new general merchandise manager who met with Erica to ?discuss plans to reorganize.

Around the same time, Erica announced she was pregnant. The new general manager, an Italian, bombarded Erica and another pregnant employee with questions about U.S. policies on maternity leave and whether the two expected to take long work breaks after giving birth. She added, ?Wow, all these pregnant girls, what are we going to do with all of them.?

Shortly after, Erica was terminated in a reduction in force and the other pregnant employee was demoted.

Erica sued, alleging pregnancy discrimination. She showed the court that although her job was technically eliminated, a new position with almost identical duties was created and filled by a nonpregnant employee with much less experience.

The company argued its RIF was legitimate, but the court said a jury should decide whether it was merely an excuse to get rid of a pregnant employee. (Crisses v. Gucci America, No. 10-Civ-8393, SD NY, 2012)

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Source: http://www.businessmanagementdaily.com/33480/tell-bosses-careless-comments-cause-lawsuits

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Would You Want to Be Married to You; 6 Questions to Ask Yourself ...

I know the quick and easy response for most people reading this will be a resounding yes. But if we reflected on that question a little bit longer will every part of us really be able to say yes? It is natural to think very highly of ourselves and what we bring to a relationship. However, there is a great benefit in owning up to those not so great habits that show up in our relationship too.

If the roles were reverse in our marriage and we are able to walk in our spouse?s shoes, what are some things we would notice right away? If we were completely honest, I wonder what would work our nerves and what we would enjoy the most. Would we find that we make the relationship a little easier or that we bring most of the drama. If we were our spouse, how would we handle being married to a person like us? ?Consider each of the situations below in order to determine whether or not you are an ideal spouse.

  • Do you make your house a home? Is your home a place both of you look forward to coming back to at the conclusion of a long day? Is it peaceful or cold and filled with commotion? Is there a space to relax and unwind or is there complete chaos in every corner?
  • Do you look for reasons to complain? Are you a nagger? Are you known for being able to find what?s wrong in a situation and never miss an opportunity to point it out?
  • Is there laughter, spontaneity and fun? Do you focus on ways to bring excitement into the marriage or is it the same thing all the time?
  • How often do you and your spouse touch? Is it rare? I don?t mean intercourse, I mean physical connection. Is there daily touching, hugging and kissing?
  • Are you easy to talk to? Do you listen to your spouse and make them feel comfortable communicating with you? Do you give honest feedback rooted in love?
  • Are you full of excuses? Do you use them as the reason you don?t show up better in your marriage?

As I thought about this question, I think I was able to eventually say yes, but I admit I have some areas I need to work on. But overall, I am confident in the effort that I am putting into my relationship. I want my house to be warm and loving and a place we are both excited to return to. Instead of complaining, I will put in the work to improve what isn?t working. I plan to maintain excitement and consistently look for new ways to share with my love. Physical connection will also be more present in my relationship and I will make it easy for my spouse to communicate with me about anything. I desire to be the type of spouse that I expect my husband to be.

BMWK, would you want to be married to you? Why or why not?


About the author

Tiya Cunningham-Sumter is a Certified Life & Relationship Coach and founder of Life Editing. She helps couples and individuals rewrite their life to reflect their dreams. Tiya was featured in Ebony Magazine in the October 2008 and November 2010 issues. She resides in Chicago with her husband and two children.


Source: http://blackandmarriedwithkids.com/2012/12/would-you-want-to-be-married-to-you-6-questions-to-ask-yourself/

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Wednesday, December 19, 2012

Developing a Plan for Your Book - Dan Heaton - Writers Weekly

December 19, 2012

| printable version

My first grade teacher just bought my book.

She's hardly my target audience and I hadn't seen her at least since I left elementary school more than 30 years ago, but I was happy to make the sale. I even charged her full price, rather than the insider's "friends and family rate."

A few simple Internet searches and a plan - developed in large part through guidance from fellow WritersWeekly writers - helped me make the sale.

My first book, published this past summer, is a military biography. Like many writers, I had initially thought writing the book and finding a publisher would be the biggest hurdle. Wrong! Marketing and selling the book is where the real work begins. Guided by my WritersWeekly peers, I developed a plan. First, I researched media outlets in every location where my subject had lived. Then, I worked up a free feature story - quoting myself as an expert! - on the local boy from long ago. That story, along with a photo or two, was sent to media outlets in several markets, each tweaked slightly to highlight the local angles. This was no routine news release, rather this was a free story, with photos, including quotes from several sources, that could easily fill a hole on a slow news day. It eventually ran, with a mention of the book's title, in media outlets in three states.

Next, I did an internet search of every military museum within a reasonable driving distance of my house. I put together a Powerpoint presentation with a number of historic photos. I offer the presentation (or lecture, for the more high-brow museums) for free, in exchange for the opportunity to sell my books afterward. Once scheduled, I work up a news release about the various happenings at the museum, including a quote from me and the appropriate museum volunteer. As a writer, creating and sending out a news release is an easy thing for me. The museum volunteers I've worked with are eager for this type of publicity help and love the fact that I include their general information, as well as my stuff. This also helps get it into local newspapers and on-line news & event listings.

Which is how my first grade teacher came to be at the small, new military museum I didn't even know existed, but is only about two miles from my house. She saw the news item in a local weekly paper and recognized my name. She and her husband attended the presentation and we chatted a bit before. Since they were purchasing the book along with the general public afterward, it would have been too awkward to give her the discount.

Having made several presentations at smaller museums, which are always eager for programming, I've developed something of a positive track record and am now in talks with several far larger, more regional museums. One of my museum presentations also led to an invitation to speak at a fairly large Rotary Club gathering.

The lead time for scheduling presentations at museums can be several months long. I recently booked a speaking engagement for about six months out, but I have a sense that I will be just as eager to sell my book then as I am today - and in fact my second book just may be out by then.

There is a plan waiting to be developed that matches the niche for your book. Developing and sticking to that plan, utilizing the gifts and skills you have as a writer, can pay big dividends the next time you see your first grade teacher.

Dan Heaton is a public affairs specialist for the Michigan Air National Guard. His first book, "Forgotten Aviator: The Byron Q. Jones Story" was published in June 2012. His second book, tentatively titled "Aviation Namesakes: Thomas Selfridge, Phelps Collins and Those Who Led the Way" is expected to be published in early 2013.

?

Source: http://writersweekly.com/success_stories/007730_12192012.html

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A Guide To Hornchurch And Its Attractions

Hornchurch is one of the significantly important suburban towns of northeastern London and are known as the part of London borough of Havering. The town is located at a distance of fifteen miles from Charing Cross and is a locally important district center as identified in the London Plan. The town of Crawley has converted into a largely commercial zone of London and new shopping malls, complexes, streets and housing developments have been done to facilitate the local residents and to attract more tourist and visitors in the town. The town of Hornchurch has been mentioned at many places as one of the most progressing and massively growing town of London. The town is expected to become a highly important area of London in the near future. The advent of brand new Hornchurch cabs and cars in the town have also enabled the tourists to manage their trips most effectively and conveniently. The best thing about Hornchurch is that you can easily get cheap accommodations and economical living facilities.

The town of Hornchurch was originally an ancient parish of the Essex County and its economic history has always been strong. The profession of the local residents was majorly related to agriculture. The town of Romford which is situated in its neighborhood is also one of the Londons major business centers and it became one of the reasons for the immense business growth and development in Hornchurch. The Hornchurch cars have been the major source of travel and transportation for the tourists and professional visitors of the town. The major growth and development in the town of Hornchurch was done during the 20th century when the capital city of London greatly expanded its boundaries and the local council spent huge budgets on the suburban growth of London. The town of Hornchurch is today one of the most developed and modernized towns of UK and is visited by millions of people each year. The tourists of London often plan their stay at the town of Hornchurch for budget friendly facilities.

The tourists just hire a taxi from London City airport to Hornchurch and reach out to their pre booked accommodations in Hornchurch. The hotels in the town offer online booking services. CrossCab is one of the leading online transport hire companies of UK offering superior quality ground transportation services in the town of Hornchurch. They offer all kinds of local transfers for the tourists and local residents wanting to skip from one part of the town to another. Aside from the local transfers, they also offer twenty four hours online airport transfer services. The tourists of Hornchurch rely greatly on online transportation booking and their ultimate choice has always been CrossCab. You can easily hire a taxi from Hornchurch to London City airport or any other airport of London including Heathrow, Gatwick, Stansted or Luton by making use of their online web based cab booking system which is simple and easy to follow even for those who are not much familiar with the computers.

Source: http://www.articlesnatch.com/Article/A-Guide-To-Hornchurch-And-Its-Attractions/4333175

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Video: Fiscal cliff: deal or no deal?

PFT: Jets bench Sanchez, go with McElroy

Mark Sanchez has been benched. Tim Tebow has been bypassed. Greg McElroy is the New York Jets? starting quarterback. McElroy, who has played in only one game in his NFL career, has been announced as the starter for the Jets on Sunday against the Chargers. Jets coach Rex Ryan made the decision after Sanchez had a disastrous four-interception game in a Monday night loss that eliminated the Jets from playoff contention.

Source: http://video.msnbc.msn.com/hardball/50241118/

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Tuesday, December 18, 2012

Stylists: Lanza never spoke, made no eye contact

This undated photo circulated by law enforcement and provided by NBC News, shows Adam Lanza. Authorities say Lanza killed his mother at their home and then opened fire inside the Sandy Hook Elementary School in Newtown, killing 26 people, including 20 children, before taking his own life, on Friday. (AP Photo/NBC News)

This undated photo circulated by law enforcement and provided by NBC News, shows Adam Lanza. Authorities say Lanza killed his mother at their home and then opened fire inside the Sandy Hook Elementary School in Newtown, killing 26 people, including 20 children, before taking his own life, on Friday. (AP Photo/NBC News)

(AP) ? Stylists who cut Adam Lanza's hair for years at a Newtown salon say they recall a teenager who made no eye contact, never spoke and was always with his mother.

Stylist Diane Harty said Tuesday that Lanza came in for haircuts about every six weeks for "a couple of years" in his mid-teens. She says they stopped coming in about three years ago.

Another stylist, Bob Skuba, says Adam would move only "when his mother told him to."

The comments are among the first describing how the Lanzas interacted with each other. Authorities say Adam Lanza killed his mother at their home Friday, then gunned down 26 people at an elementary school in Newtown and killed himself in one of the deadliest shootings in U.S. history.

___

Associated Press video journalist Bonny Ghosh contributed to this report.

Associated Press

Source: http://hosted2.ap.org/apdefault/386c25518f464186bf7a2ac026580ce7/Article_2012-12-18-School%20Shooting-Gunman/id-95364b44f34a4c768786056b5d7f386d

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BRISTOL BITS: Military contractor Castlesalutes veterans at dinner

Monday, December 17, 2012 10:55 PM EST

George Castle hosted his annual dinner for Bristol veterans and, once again, it was a huge success. The event was held at the American Legion and among the dignitaries ? in no special order ? were Mayor Art Ward, state Reps. Frank Nicastro and Whit Betts and state Sen. Jason Welch, Sgt. Dave Corello, local Legion commander Chuck Woodin and National American Legion Commander Frank Sturgeon, Bristol Veterans Committee Chairman Tim Gamache, vice-chair Gerry Chamberland, F.A.W.V. Post 26 Commander Mark Morin, F.A.Q.W. State Commander Roy Tagget and Korean War Veterans Chairman Jim Bousquet. Others present, just to name a few, included Pete Coppola and Donna Doguin of the Army Strong Community Center;? Adree St. Lawrence, recipient of four Purple Hearts; John and Jane Wright, sons of American Legion/American Legion Riders and Woman?s Auxilliary, respectively; honor guard Commander Bob Coffey, decorated soldier Gil Daniels and Brother Leonard Webster, chaplain.

George Castle opened the event with the following:

?I am pleased to be hosting this dinner to honor all of you in recognition of your military service in the defense of our great country. Three years ago, I was at a military convention with over 500 people, hosted at Redstone Arsenal in Huntsville, Ala.? I was overtaken and surprised when General Myers singled me and my company out as one of those having a superior product that addressed ergonomic issues, accuracy and durability at a competitive pricing. His comments were heart warming and made me proud. He stated that my products were the example of the technologies needed as we moved into the 21th century.

?The military is now one of my largest customers and my customer base is with the Army, Marines, Navy, Air Force, Coast Guard. And that?s why I want to share my success with you, because without you and your sacrifices for our great nation, I would not be hosting this event today. I would not hesitate to go into battle for a second thought with any of you, you?re my brothers and I salute you for your efforts.?

I arrived at the dinner towards the end and saw the room filled to capacity. The food was outstanding and the speakers and presentations, I was told, were heartfelt.

To suggest an item for Bristol Bits, write to Bristol Bits with Bob Montgomery, c/o The Bristol Press, 188 Main St., Bristol, CT 06010.

?

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Source: http://bristolpress.com/articles/2012/12/18/news/doc50cfe899ab4a5304228485.txt

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Older worker scorns younger boss? What to do ? Business ...

With many employees putting off retirement and staying on the job longer than they expected, it?s bound to happen: They have trouble reporting to a much younger manager.

Before the work relationship becomes irreparable or an age discrimination suit is filed, have a chat with the veteran employee.

  • Remind them: Even if they don?t respect their young manager personally, they are expected to respect the manager?s position of authority.
  • Encourage them to keep their skill sets up-to-date. Ask what types of training they?d be interested in getting; they might have something in mind that would benefit both them and their department.
  • Point out some of the positive characteristics and contributions young managers make to the company. For in??stance, older employees who are accustomed to the importance of ?face time? might gripe that the younger managers leave work at 4:30 each day; you might point out that these same managers frequently work late into the night from home.

Like what you've read? ...Republish it and share great business tips!

Attention: Readers, Publishers, Editors, Bloggers, Media, Webmasters and more...

We believe great content should be read and passed around. After all, knowledge IS power. And good business can become great with the right information at their fingertips. If you'd like to share any of the insightful articles on BusinessManagementDaily.com, you may republish or syndicate it without charge.

The only thing we ask is that you keep the article exactly as it was written and formatted. You also need to include an attribution statement and link to the article.

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Kimmel's 2012 Clip Of The Year (VIDEO)

2012 is almost over, so it's time again for Jimmy Kimmel to pick the best clip of the year. And what a year it was. Who will win: Diabolical Cat, Sweet Brown, Big Ass Shark? Watch the clip to find out and let us know if you agree with Kimmel's pick.

Related on HuffPost:

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Source: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/12/18/kimmels-2012-clip-of-the-year_n_2321405.html

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Sunday, December 16, 2012

Best bets: Cruise is mysterious 'Jack Reacher'

By Gael Fashingbauer Cooper, NBC News

While the biggest movies of the month will come Christmas week, a couple of big titles hit theaters this week. Tom Cruise plays stoic and mysterious "Jack Reacher," while the characters of "Knocked Up" get another cinematic turn in "This Is 40." And if you loved Arnold Schwarzenegger in "Total Recall," you may want to compare The Governator's performance with that of Colin Farrell in the remake, coming to home video.

TUESDAY: 'Total Recall' on home video
The 1990 version of "Total Recall" had so much going for it. Arnold Schwarzenegger in the starring role! A three-breasted hooker! Classic lines -- Arnold shoots traitorous wife Sharon Stone while barking, "Consider that a divorce" as only Arnold can. We're still not sure why Hollywood felt a need to remake that film with Colin Farrell in the Arnold role. Critics liked the action, but felt this take had less humor. Now you can compare the two, as Farrell's "Recall" hits home video this week. (On DVD and Blu-ray Dec. 18.)

FRIDAY: 'Jack Reacher'
First, the height question: The character of Jack Reacher in Lee Child's books stands 6 foot five inches tall. His size is a major factor in many plot points. Tom Cruise is famously short. But this is Hollywood, and many of the filmgoers will have never read one of the Reacher novels, so this may not matter. In the film, a man who seemed to have quite clearly shot five people asks the cops for only one thing: That they get him Jack Reacher. The Hollywood Reporter had no trouble with the casting, with critic Todd McCarthy writing, "Tom Cruise might not be the 6-foot-5 rock described in the books, but he makes the title role fit him like a latex glove in a winning turn that could spawn a popular new franchise for the star." (Opens Dec. 21.)

FRIDAY: 'This Is 40'
Although "This Is 40" is being sold as a "Knocked Up" sequel, it's not about Katherine Heigl and Seth Rogen's characters. The new film focuses on Debbie (Heigl's sister in the first film) and her husband Pete as they grapple with financial and parenting troubles. If you like director Judd Apatow's work, you'll want to check this one out. Apatow wrote, directed and co-produced, his real-life wife Leslie Mann returns as Debbie, and the Apatow-Mann daughters play the couple's children. (Opens Dec. 21.)

Related content:

Source: http://entertainment.nbcnews.com/_news/2012/12/11/15847983-best-bets-tom-cruise-jack-reacher?lite

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Google Gets Ten Times As Many Takedown Requests As It Did Six Months Ago

Back in May when Google started publishing the takedown requests it received from copyright holders, the number was fairly high, roughly 250,000 a week. That's as much as all of 2009. Now, it's even higher. As of this month, that number has reached 2.5 million. More »


Source: http://feeds.gawker.com/~r/gizmodo/full/~3/7RSlAh_dgLs/google-gets-ten-times-as-many-takedown-requests-as-it-did-six-months-ago

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UK and US block Internet Regulation | E RADAR | Smarter business ...

The United Kingdom and other member states have blocked an attempt to put the United Nations in control of the Internet at a conference in Dubai this week.

The International Telecommunication Union (ITU) ? the UN?s agency for information and communications technology ? brought together representatives from around the world to try and agree on updating telecoms regulations that hadn?t been touched since 1988.

But representatives from the UK and US, as well as from Chile, Costa Rica, the Czech Republic, Denmark, Finland, Greece, Italy, Kenya, the Netherlands, New Zealand, Portugal and Sweden said they wouldn?t be able to sign up without discussing it first with their domestic governments.

Critics claim that giving equal rights to each state of the UN and putting one vote in each of their hands could lead to Internet censorship. High profile figures such as?Vint Cerf, one of the creators of the internet, and Sir Tim-Berners Lee, inventor of the World Wide Web, even said such regulations would be a threat to a free internet and standards should be left to the private sector organisations building the technology.

However, countries such as Russia, China and Saudi Arabia have said the current Internet governance framework allows the US to hold the rights to the naming and registration of addresses on the internet and puts control into select hands. They believe new regulations are now needed.

Avatar of Jim Richardson

About the Author:

Editor based in Washington DC responsible for international affairs. Personal views are my own and don't necessarily represent those of E RADAR. Passionate about gadgets, technology and making use of common sense!

Jim Richardson ? who has written 392 posts on E RADAR | Smarter business online.


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Source: http://www.eradar.eu/2012/12/uk-block-internet-regulation/

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Newtown: A special town shattered by tragedy

NEWTOWN, Conn. (AP) ? At the crossroads that marks the center of this three-century-old New England postcard town stands a flagpole that's a kind of barometer. Every day, says Susan Osborne White, who has lived here all her life, "it tells me which way the wind is blowing" ? and she calls the local newspaper whenever the flag is lowered to half-staff, to ask why.

No one is asking that now as the flag forlonly hangs over a heartbroken, uncomprehending town.

Along streets where every window twinkles with holiday candles, police sirens wailed Friday. Over horse pastures in what was until fairly recently a rural town, helicopters' rotors thudded. In shops, televisions set to news stations blared.

Gesturing at a TV image of the shooting scene behind him at Newtown Hardware, Kyle Watts gave a pained cry, "I know that place," and shook his head. He's 18 and had gone to Sandy Hook Elementary School, and yet he and others working at the store felt they hardly knew where they were.

"A week or two ago," he said in disbelief, "we had the Christmas tree lighting. There was singing."

In normal times, this is a place that marks the year with a community tree lighting, an endless Labor Day parade running past the Main Street flagpole in which it's said everyone is either a participant or spectator or both, and an annual fund-raising lobster dinner at one of the five volunteer fire companies. It's a place where a benefactress, Mary Hawley, donated the classically designed town hall and the large, re-brick library, both set among towering oaks and maples. On a lake in town, part of one of the Spencer Tracy-Katharine Hepburn comedies was filmed.

It's become a bedroom community for commuters to Manhattan and Connecticut's more toney coastal towns, but it has retained the rural character that was set in 1708 when the colonial assembly of Connecticut permitted 36 men to lay out a new town. Some houses today date from not long after that, but there are typical modern subdivisions, too.

"It's still very much a small town in its heart. People really know each other," said Dan Cruson, the town's historian who has written a number of books about Newtown.

Sandy Hook is a section of town where the first grist mill was built along the rocky, rushing Pootatuck River. Other mills followed, and manufacturing grew in Sandy Hook. "It's always had its own identity," Cruson said, and in recent years it has been revitalized with smart restaurants and shops in Sandy Hook's center.

Every year, the local Lions Club raises thousands of dollars with a charity event along the river: Thousands of numbered yellow rubber ducks are sold for $5 each, then dumped in the swift current for a "race," the winner of which might get a big screen TV or a weekend in Manhattan 60 miles away.

In the crowd watching and cheering and at events like the fire department's lobster dinner, "everyone knows everyone. All of Sandy Hook is so tight," said Watts.

Maybe the school shooter was recognized when he entered and didn't seem a threat because he was known, he and others at the hardware store speculated. "You would never think ..." he said, leaving the thought incomplete.

The closeness has another dimension, of course.

"Everybody in town is going to help out. ... All of the churches are open tonight," said his co-worker Francis Oggeri, who's 22.

Scudder Smith agreed. "I was just down at the firehouse. Restaurants were sending in food," said Smith, publisher of the Newtown Bee, the weekly paper that has published since 1877.

He said Newtown is "getting bigger than the little country town that I grew up in. I've been here 77 years.... But it still has the feeling between neighbors that it always had."

The Bee had closed this week's edition ? with front-page reports on the schools "performing at or above target," on vandalism at a cemetery, and other stories ? when the first word of the shooting came in.

"We've been putting everything on our website. We were the first ones down there," Smith said. "We've had calls from Turkey, all over Europe."

A police scanner alerted the newsroom, and reporter Shannon Hicks said, "I listened long enough to figure out where this was unfolding and headed out." Her photo of terrified children being led across a school parking lot appeared around the world.

Asked about the town, Hicks said, "It's a good town. We have our issues" ? squabbling over the local budget, police news and the like ? "but this is not the kind of thing that's suposed to be one of them."

Standing by the cluttered antique wooden desk of the publisher, she looked down sadly. "I've already heard comparisons to Columbine," she said.

Folks here want to tell about the town that was here for 300 years before Friday's attack.

At the Bee, they mention how Halloween brings out so many children to Main Street houses ? one was made into a "princess castle" this year, another for years had a three-story web and giant spider in front ? that the paper has used clickers and counted more than 2,000 kids some years.

They mention the homely, simple things that might counter the horror.

"We have two garden clubs, and they get along, they don't hate each other," said Susan White, who checks the flagpole every day.

She laughed but then grew more serious, mentioning that her father was on the school board that authorized the building of the Sandy Hook school. "That was my school," she said.

Telling about an award her mother recently received for work on a 75-year-old scholarship fund in town, she said of the ceremony, "It was a Norman Rockwell moment."

And was this a Norman Rockwell town?

"We've got our ups and downs, but we're a very real town. 'Norman Rockwell' sounds like we're perfect... but we're not very different from any other town," she said.

And now, she added, "People will stick together. They have to."

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/newtown-special-town-shattered-tragedy-011627597.html

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Saturday, December 15, 2012

Chevron nears settlement in Brazil spill case

RIO DE JANEIRO (Reuters) - Chevron Corp is willing to pay about 300 million reais ($144 million) to settle lawsuits in Brazil over an oil spill last year, a senior executive and a federal prosecutor said on Friday.

The talks over a possible settlement reinforce expectations of a swift resolution for Chevron , the No. 2 U.S. oil company, and its drilling contractor Transocean Ltd.

Related moves by Brazil's oil regulator, the ANP, could also lead to a quick restart of output at Chevron's Frade field, the location of the spill, which has been shut since March.

"We could have an agreement before Christmas," Gisele Porto, the prosecutor responsible for the case, said after a public hearing. "The amount is reasonable, and I don't think I could get a judge to sign off on more."

She said Chevron and Brazil's oil regulator, the ANP, suggested that the settlement include 311 million reais worth of damages and additional measures to improve the safety of offshore oil operations.

"It's our understanding that if this settlement is accepted that the civil lawsuits will be extinct," said Rafael Jaen Williamson Chevron's director of corporate affairs in Brazil.

Chevron will pay the entire cost of the settlement, Williamson said. Transocean was found to have no responsibility in the spill by the ANP.

BIGGEST-EVER PROSECUTION

The expected settlement amount is less than 1 percent of the nearly $20 billion in damages initially sought by prosecutors in the case, Brazil's largest-ever environmental prosecution.

"The prosecutor asked for too much and asked for it before investigations of the spill were even complete," said Porto, who took over the case earlier this year.

The proposed settlement represents between six weeks to two months of Chevron's share of output from the Frade field.

Chevron has a 52 percent stake in the Frade field, which was producing 60,000 barrels a day before it was closed on March 15. The heavy crude pumped at Frade trades at a discount to Brent crude, which has averaged $110.33 per barrel since then.

Brazil's state-led Perobras owns 30 percent of output from Frade and Frade Japan, a Japanese group controlled by Sojitz Corp and Inpex Corp , owns 18 percent.

"I'm extremely disappointed," said Eduardo Santos de Oliveira who launched the original lawsuit but handed off the case to Porto and colleagues when it was moved from Campos de Goytacazes to Rio de Janeiro in April.

"I think this sends a message that you can pollute and then escape a conviction by just paying a fine, I don't think that's right," he said in a telephone interview on Friday.

Chevron, Transocean and 17 of their employees also face criminal charges that carry jail terms of up to 31 years in the largest environmental prosecution in Brazil's history.

That case has also been shifted to Rio de Janeiro and will be handled by Porto.

OUTPUT EXPECTED TO RESUME

While smaller than the fines originally requested by Oliveira, Chevron's Williamson said the value of the proposed settlement is well above what other such cases would suggest.

Using the amounts paid to settle lawsuits in the 750,000-barrel Exxon Valdez spill in Alaska in 1989 and the 5-million-barrel 2010 Deepwater Horizon disaster the Gulf of Mexico, Chevron lawyers determined that 30 million reais would be a reasonable amount for its 3,600 barrel spill.

Chevron and the ANP proposed paying 90 million reais, or triple its baseline estimate, for environmental damages, Porto said. The rest of the settlement's cost would be to pay for equipment and measures to prevent future spills.

In a separate regulatory case, the ANP is wrapping up its investigation of the spill by checking if Chevron has taken the necessary steps to correct problems, said Raphael Moura, operational security superintendent of the ANP.

If inspections of the installations in the Frade field are satisfactory, Chevron could be given the go ahead to restart production within two months, Moura said after the hearings.

"We'd be ready to ramp up production almost immediately," Williamson said. He added that permission to drill new wells or restart water injection to boost output would require additional regulatory clearance.

No one was hurt in the Frade accident. No oil reached shore, and there was no discernable environmental damage, according to the ANP. Nor was there any measurable harm to marine animals, Chevron lawyers said at the presentation.

In the Exxon Valdez and Deepwater Horizon cases thousands of seabirds and other animals such as whales and turtles were killed and fishing grounds were polluted and disrupted.

Eleven were killed and 17 injured in the fire on BP Plc's Deepwater Horizon drilling rig.

On November 15, BP agreed to pay a record $4.5 billion in penalties and plead guilty to criminal misconduct charges in the United States.

(Reporting by Jeb Blount; Edited by Brad Haynes and Leslie Gevirtz)

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/chevron-nears-150-million-settlement-brazil-spill-case-201057826--finance.html

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