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As an independent Internet marketer who works from home (without an army of helpers), I rely on a lot of essential tools, software and services to get what I need to do done. Over the years, I've tried and tested hundreds of web services, software and tools.
There were many that were just a waste of money or over-hyped. Some were good and over time just became redundant or have been replaced by better tools. To save you some time, I decided to make a list of what I still love and use for my online business.
I will be keeping this list updated and refreshed every time there's material changes. So make sure you subscribe or check back regularly to get the latest updates.
Now allow me to present to you, my top work-from-home online business tools for 2012.
1. Domain Name Registration
[Go to: Namecheap Domain Registration]
As far as domain registration goes, I like to keep them all in once place. Over time, you will end up with hundreds of domains and having them consolidated makes them easier to manage.
I like Namecheap because their domain registration prices are quite cheap to start with. If you do a search for "Nameheap Coupons March 2012" (replace the date with current month) – you will find coupons codes that will further reduce the price of new domains by another 2o%. Also, all their domains comes with a 1-year free "Whois" Guard service that will hide your admin email and address and protect you from a ton of spam.
2. Premium Domain Registration
Sadly, its getting harder and harder to find good domain names due to competition. Over the last 2 years, I found myself having to pay for premium domains that are already owned by someone else. If you search on Google for "premium domains" you'll find a lot of sites that re-sell used domains.
The ones that I've used are as follows:
[Go to: GoDaddy Auctions]
GoDaddy Auctions is free to browse but when you find a domain you wish to bid on, there's a nominal fee. I use GoDaddy Auctions because there's quite a large marketplace for the domains there. Also, the process of transferring from the buyer to you is secured via an escrow service so you're not worried about getting ripped off.
[Go to: Flippa.com]
Flippa.com is a site for buying and selling domains or websites. This service is great because aside from domains, you may even find existing businesses. I also like using Flippa for market research to see if there are any websites in a market niche that I am exploring that is profitable. What I like about Flippa is that you get quite detailed information for each domain including verified traffic and/or income figures from the sellers.
3. Web Hosting
[Go to: Hostgator Webhosting]
Almost all my sites are hosted exclusively by Hostgator.com. Their plans are very reasonable and their customer service is perfect in my opinion. I've always gotten a 24 hour response or less whenever I have any issues with my account. My only gripe with them is that their payment system is still a little in the stone ages. The invoices are hard to trace back to the proper account (if you have many) but I've not had any major problems with it.
[Go to: Bluehost Webhosting]
Another highly rated hosting service is BlueHost. The prices are just a few cents higher than Hostgator a month and their account management system is a little better than Hostgator.com. Again, I keep it simple to host all my sites on Hostgator.com but if you were starting from scratch, either of these two services would be acceptable.
4. Email List Management
[Go to: Aweber Email Software]
Aweber is the longest web service that I've been using since 2006. Its really the market leader for building an email list as well as sending email messages to the list.
What I like about Aweber? The number 1 reason is deliverability. Every email has over 98% deliverability rate.
They also have a great "blog broadcast" service that allows me to automatically send very nice newsletters to my subscribers once a week with a summary of all my latest blog posts. You will also find that many websites and software have built in compatibility to work well with the Aweber system.
5. Keyword Research
[Go to: Market Samurai Free Trial]
Almost any Internet marketing strategy I can think of should begin with keyword and market research. This is a mistake that a lot of marketers make. If the foundation of your online business is flawed, you will always be in an uphill battle to create a successful site.
I've tried a host of different keyword research software and some expensive hosted services in the past. In the end, the one that I still use over and over again is Market Samurai. I use it mostly to plan the structure of my niche blogs and to kind keywords for creating SEO targeted blog posts. I also use it to track my SEO ranking for keywords that I am targeting.
What do I like about it? First, its a one-time only payment. And the team at Market Samurai has updated the software constantly over the years. This is very important as Google is constantly updating their API and ranking data.
The software also has many modules that allow you to do much more than just keyword research. Aside from my main use above, I also use it to find affiliate products to monetize my pages. Its also handy for finding article ideas and research to find what type of content web users are interested in.
The other modules include finding domain names, publishing and syndicating content and getting backlinks to your site. Honestly, I don't use a lot of these modules but its nice to know they are there when if I ever need to use it.
6. Analytics and Tracking
[Go to: Google Analytics]
Without measurement, you can't improve. The best website analytics tool out there is the free Google Analytics service. Why is it the best? Well its easy to install, the reports are great and its fully integrated with other essential Google services like Adwords and the Google Webmaster tools.
What I like about it? I love the fact that you can create goals for your website and their funnel visualization report gives you a great view of how your site is performing to drive visitors to the intended outcome on your site.
It also has a ton of other features like tracking search behavior on your site and also ecommerce tracking to match revenue and cost data for your website traffic. To me, any website that expects to be successful needs to have Google Analytics installed and have at least 1 goal being tracked.
7. Social Media Marketing
[Go to: TweetAdder Automation Software]
Getting traffic from social media websites is an awesome way to accelerate the syndication of your content and website. Social media sites like Facebook and Twitter is also a great way to build a subscriber base.
However, one of the challenges with social media marketing is that its time consuming and repetitive. That's why I love the TweetAdder software. It allows me to find relevant users to follow and hopefully add to my follower list. It can generate multiple auto-reply messages and allows you to reply in a way that does not seem automated. It allows you to schedule your tweets and posts and drive traffic to your site.
I wrote a case study on how I use this software to automate my Twitter marketing and how it makes me a very nice passive income on my niche blogs. You can read about it here: How to Automate Your Twitter Account and Earn Passive Income
8. Outsourcing
I am an accountant by training so when it comes to graphic design and coding, I leave it to the experts. I've outsourced quite a few projects to coders from "RentaCoder.com which has since changed its name to vworker.com. I've also outsourced some content writing jobs to freelancers at eLance.com. The rates here are a little more expensive than vWorker but the site is more user friendly an easier to work with.
Why I like these services? Well, its great to post a job and have a list of people bid for it. Through the selection process, you can fine tune your requirements and get the best deal out of all the proposals. The other important thing is that these services act as a clearing house to make sure you do not get cheated. I've had a few cases where the service provider does not deliver and the arbitration process is quite efficient especially when every email is documented via their system.
[Go to: Elance Outsourcing]
[Go to: Vworker Outsourcing]
I just wanted to add one other place where you can get quick and cheap outsource help. Its called "Fiverr.com" and its a directly of people willing to do work for as little as $5. Some people here can write content, submit your site to directories or even create simple graphics or fix CSS problems on your site.
[Go to: Fiverr.com]
9. Working With Video
Video for the web is an essential requirement for online success. Whether its for your sales letter or your content pages, video helps to drive the message through better than just words alone.
One of the best tools to create great web video is Screenflow. This software is for Mac only and for Windows users, I would recommend using "Camtasia".
What do I like about Screenflow? The software is dead easy to use. It allows you to capture your computer screen together with audio of your voice. Thus is great for tutorials and demos. But my favorite part about Screenflow is the editing tools. You can add titles, texts and effects to your videos very easily.
[Go to: Screenflow Product Page]
[Go to: Camtasia Product Page]
The other important thing about video is how to embed them to your website or blog. For the most part, I upload my videos to YouTube and use the embed code generated by YouTube to add the video to my pages. Another great free service is Vimeo who can host longer HD videos instead of the 15min limit on YouTube.
[Go to: YouTube]
[Go to: Vimeo]
10. Image Editing
If you can afford it, the Adobe Photoshop software will be the tool to handle all your graphic design work. However, the learning curve to use Photoshop effectively can be quite steep. For simple image editing (especially for blogs), I prefer to use a very light tool called Image Well 4. This tools allows me to resize, crop, add captions and text as well as upload directly to my webhost after I'm done editing.
I use this tool to create the images in a lot of my blog posts.
[Go to: ImageWell 4 Product Page]
10. Teleseminar/ Webinar
In my experience, one of methods to get the highest conversions to sales, is the telesminar. Whether its live or recorded. In the past, I used to use the webinar service by GotoMeeting.com. Don't get me wrong – this tool is great but its also quite pricey. Also, users will need to download a special software before they can join your webinar.
I found a simple service called Instant Telesiminar which also gets the job done. Although you are not able to show your desktop live to your users using Instant Teleseminar, it has all the other features you need. You can answer questions, show slides and allow your visitors to call in to ask questions.
Why I like it? Well, I love the fact that you do not require your users to download any additional software. So all they have to do is turn up at a webpage you send them and they can listen in, see your slides and ask questions. Its also a lot more affordable compared to GotoMeeting and its very easy to embed the whole event into any of your websites so that you maintain branding as well as call to action buttons or links you may have on your webpage.
[Go to: InstantTeleseminar Trial]
Ok, I know I am missing quite a few other items on this list. It would be too long if I added them all here so I only listed the key items. If you wanted to know how I do certain things, just ask in the comments below and I'll add it to the list.
Also, if you have recommendations of some awesome tools to checkout – please also add it in the comments below. Thanks!


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From the Office of State Senator Royce West - District 23
For Immediate Release
February 18, 1997
Contact: La Juana Barton, (512) 463-0123
AUSTIN, TEXAS -- During a meeting of the Senate Education Committee on February 18, Senator Royce West amended a bill that would require that university systems adopt a common admission application.
Senator West amended this bill so that in addition to other information requested by these common applications, the Higher Education Coordinating Board would by rule require each institution using these applications to collect information regarding gender, ethnicity and date of birth as part of the application process and report this information to the board.
"It is imperative that we are able to capture this information for tracking and evaluation purposes," said West.
State institutions are required to collect and report information to their respective systems, the Higher Education Coordinating Board and the federal government through the Integrated Post Secondary Education Survey (IPEDS).
The IPEDS is required by the U.S. Department of Education pursuant to section 106.B of the Department of Education requirements in compliance with the implementation of Title VI (Civil Rights Act) of 1964.
"In lieu of the recent Hopwood decision and its expanded opinion by Attorney General Dan Morales, many expressed concerns that collecting this information would violate the Hopwood decision. "It will not affect Hopwood because the information is being collected and reported for informational purposes only," added West.
"The information will not be used for admissions purposes. "All sorts of information appear on college applications that do not impact admissions like the applicant's address and whether the applicant has a family member that attended the college being applied to," said West.
"We must be able to accurately identify and track who is and who is not applying to our institutions of higher education," ended Senator West
-- ## --

subset: commoncrawl


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Baby Hazel Birthday Surprise
Akito is a classmate of Baby Hazel, to nursery school. It is a Japanese baby and today is his birthday. Baby Hazel has the great idea of organizing a surprise party. Help her to buy up all the things you need to celebrate in the company of all my friends, the birthday of Akito.
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Alternative Products
The customized 7 Function Knife will show you just how lucky the number 7 really is. If you're tired of settling for customized products that only offer one or two perks, the personalized 7 Function Knife should be a welcome relief. After all, how else can you open a wine bottle, tighten a drawer handle, and pop open a can of beans without breaking a sweat?The personalized 7 Function Knife includes incredible tools such as a knife, bottle opener, can opener, flat head screwdriver, Phillips screwdriver, and corkscrew. Talk about being prepared! Even a Boy Scout would be jealous of this arsenal.All of these tools are part of the customized 7 Function Knife and hang from a split ring. That makes you imprinted logo frequently viewed and highly accessible (so you may want to include contact info on there - hint, hint).Submit a sample request today to check out the remarkable, customized 7 Function Knife. Its stainless steel construction and anodized aluminum handle will win you over - seven times over!
724 North Highland Avenue Aurora, Illinois 60506
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Quality Logo Products, Inc. is your number one source for stress balls and promotional items.
Copyright 2003 - 2016 Quality Logo Products, Inc., Registration No. TX7-524-201. All Rights Reserved.


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Drummer Billy Hart: Listen Now
June 3, 2014. Posted by Tim Wilkins.Add new comment | Filed under: Interviews, live at the village vanguard, Salon Sessions, sheila anderson
Drummer Billy Hart talks with Sheila Anderson about his ECM recording One Is The Other and performance at New York's Village Vanguard June 3 to 8 with pianist Ethan Iverson, tenor saxophonist Mark Turner and bassist Ben Street. Enjoy!
Note: These comment boards are available to the general public. Statements expressed in the comment boards do not necessarily reflect WBGO's views. The inclusion of any links does not necessarily imply a recommendation or endorsement of the views expressed within them. For more information, please read our Terms of Service.


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The first step toward using military benefits at SUNY Adirondack is to file the Application [1].
Veterans may request to have the application fee waived.
Applicants also need to submit to SUNY Adirondack:
* Official High School transcript (in a sealed envelope) or GED
* College and/or Military Transcripts
Military Transcripts must be sent electronically from the Joint Services Transcript [2] website.
Once admitted, the student needs to pay the matriculation fee and will then be referred to the Advisement and Testing Center for placement testing.
* If you are unable to pay your matriculation fee at this time, you may request to have it deferred to your bill. It is likely your VA Education Benefits may cover this expense. A School Certifying Official can help you determine if it will be a covered benefit.
At the end of the placement test, an appointment will be made with an Advisor or Counselor to select courses for the upcoming semester.
When you have a finalized schedule of classes, print out your Degree Evaluation and submit it with a completed Request for Certification to the School Certifying Officials.
If you have a disability for which you will need accommodations, please contact the Accessibility Services Office [3] in Warren Hall.
[1] http://www.sunyacc.edu/admissions/enroll
[2] https://jst.doded.mil/smart/signIn.do
[3] http://www.sunyacc.edu/studentlife/services/accessibility


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there is a 3 X 3 matrix ,
A = [ a b c]
[ b c a ]
[ c a b]
where a , b c are all distinct... can you prove that a + b + c is not 0 ?
the actual question is to prove whether it is invertible. If it is invertible, then its determiniant should not be 0 right? so I got |A| as -(a^3 + b^3 + c^3 ) + 3abc .. which is equal to -(a+b+c)(a^2 + b^2 + c^2 - ab - bc -ca ) which can be factored to
-1/sqrt(2) * (a+b+c)((a-b)^2 + (b-c)^2 + (c-a)^2)
the second part cant be zero as a, b, c are distinct.... so I have to prove that a + b + c is also not 0..
You need to be more specific with questions, especially ones that involve undetermined quantities.
Does the question say something like:
"Assume are distinct real numbers. Determine whether or not the matrix is invertible, or give necessary and sufficient conditions for the matrix to be invertible."
If this is what the question is asking, and if the determinant is indeed
then we know that
is invertible .
But distinct
exists .


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Saudi Arabia targets 41 GW of solar by 203209. May 2012 | Applications & Installations, Global PV markets, Markets & Trends | By: Becky Stuart
Positioning itself to become one of the largest solar markets globally, the governments King Abdullah City for Atomic and Renewable Energy (KA-CARE) has announced Saudi Arabia's ambitious plans to install 41 gigawatts (GW) worth of solar by 2032.
The oil-rich country is planning to place more focus on renewable energy generation. In addition to more solar power, it intends to add wind, geothermal, waste-to-energy and nuclear plants to its energy mix in the future. The program, said to be worth tens of millions of dollars, aims to "catapult Saudi Arabia into the group of global leaders in renewable-energy development."
Of the 41 GW of solar, photovoltaics is expected to comprise 16 GW, while concentrated solar power (CSP) will encompass 25 GW. "The CSP plants, with their higher capacity factor than PV, are foreseen as a bridge between base-load technologies (including geothermal, waste-to-energy and nuclear) and PV, which will provide coverage for daytime demand," explained Apricum, a strategy consulting and transaction advisory firm specialized in renewable energy.
KA-CARE announced its plans to turn Saudi Arabia into "the Kingdom of Sustainable Energy" at the Saudi Solar Energy Forum in Riyadh, yesterday, May 8. In a statement released, Apricum said, "The main objectives of the program are a reduction in oil burned for power production as well as the establishment of a local solar industry and the creation of jobs."
Detailed roadmap
In addition to its installation targets, the government entity issued a roadmap by which the country intends to achieve its goals. It is to be started "immediately".
Under the roadmap, Saudi Arabia intends to introduce a minimum of two competitive bidding rounds, which would see around five GW of utility-scale solar projects installed. The first bidding round is expected to include 1.1 GW of photovoltaics and 900 megawatts (MW) of CSP. The first tenders are currently being prepared and are scheduled for release in early 2013.
Meanwhile, the second round will see 1.3 GW of photovoltaics and 1.2 GW of CSP targeted. "The tender rounds will be followed by a feed-in-tariff scheme such as Germany's successful program," continued the statement. Fixed local content requirements are expected to also be introduced.
Project sizes will be varied, continued Apricum, with the minimum size set at five MW. It added, "Bids will be evaluated on both price per kWh of electricity supplied and qualitative factors, most prominent among them local content and track record in solar project development.
"The competitive bidding will be preceded by a stakeholder engagement phase to collect feedback from the market, starting immediately, leading to a draft request for proposals to be released in Q3/2012."
In the European Photovoltaic Industry Association's (EPIA's) latest "Global Market Outlook for photovoltaics until 2016", the association confirms that Saudi Arabia is a "promising" solar market, due to the growing awareness and interest from policymakers.
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Saturday, December 14, 2013
Semi Formal Christmas Ball (Dance)
Location: Winslow Vfw Winslow Maine
The Winslow Family 4th of July Celebration Fundraising Committee Proudly presents the 1st Annual Semi-FormalChristmas Ball to be held Saturday December 14 ,2013at the Winslow VFW Cost-$15.00 Per Person or $25.00 Per Couple includes a Light Buffet with finger foods and hot goods . There Central Maine's Classic Rock Band "Almost There "There will be a Professional Photographer on site to take pictures. All Proceeds go directly to the 2014 Winslow Family 4th of July Celebration Tickets must be purchased in Advance by calling 877-5906 or 649-1807 No ticket sales at the door Donations accepted


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McDonald's Corp. reported Friday its worst monthly same-store sales results in more than 10 years as it continues to be hammered by supplier woes in China and consumer malaise at home. Global same-store sales fell 2.5 percent in July for the Oak Brook, Ill.-based quick-service chain. Its system of more than 14,000 restaurants in the United States saw same-store sales drop by 3.2 percent, while European operations saw comps rise 0.5 percent. Monthly same-store sales in Asia/Pacific, ...
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Having just released her debut Places June 18th via Verve Records, Lou Doillon delivers a very pensive stroll through the streets of Paris in her new video for "ICU", premiered earlier today via Yahoo Music!.
"Doillon, who initially began her career in the modeling and film worlds, started working on music in 2006. Her debut album, Places, just hit the States last week to considerable critical acclaim. If you're not familiar with her acting, here's a good chance to get acquainted with her effortlessly cool style." – YAHOO! MUSIC
As the daughter of international icon Jane Birkin and Jacques Doillon, and with Serge Gainsbourg as her step-father, it goes without saying that Lou was born into a creative environment. Although she originally pursued acting and modeling careers, Lou always kept music as a hobby, and even wrote many songs in English, which she refers to as her "private language." Lou instantly won over Europe when Places was released back in September of 2012. The collection resulted in the French Grammy for Female Artist of the Year earlier this year.


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By Kyle Clayton
September 5, 2013 | Vol. 39, No. 36
Kyle Clayton / Petersburg Pilot
New reading teacher Kerri Curtiss awaits her first students on the first day of school in Petersburg.
Rae C. Stedman Elementary is welcoming two of its previous students back as staff as the new school year kicks off.
Kerri Curtiss will be teaching reading to third through fifth grade students as well as teaching a high school physical education c...
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CASL Alumni/ae Interviews | University of Michigan-Dearborn Archives
Name: CASL Alumni/ae Interviews
Historical Note: Student Muhi was hired in summer of 2009, to interview alumni/ae as part of the 50th anniversary celebration. He turned the interviews over to the Archives in December 2009, with permissions. There are no plans are to transcribe the interviews.


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There must be some mistake in the printing of the book. It is supposed to be:
0.025v = 28
v = 1120 m/s
A gun of mass 3.5kg fires a bullet of 25g. the gun recoils at a speed of 8m/s-1, Calculate the velocity of the bullet.
total momentum before explosion=0
therefore total momentum after exposion=o
the book shows: m1 v1 + m2 v2,,,,,,, mass1 x velocity1 + mass2 x velocity2 ?
3.5x(-8)+0.025 v2 =0
-28+0.025 v2 =0
0.025 v2=37
v2=37/0.025 =1480m/s-1
where does the 37 come from?
should have done better at school,,,,,,thanks p,


text: What makes people believe the Message? What makes them keep believing even when it's become a hurtful force in their lives? I'm not a utilitarian or especially persuaded by rational-choice theory when it is applied to religion, so I don't think that people need to "get something out of" their faith in tangible ways in [Read More…]


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Most optometric offices confirm appointments; at least that was the plan originally. It's a good idea to be a stickler on this task because it is very common for the confirmation effort to decline as staff members get busy. If confirmations are done effectively, they can result in producing $30,000 additional revenue per year for the average practice (5% of $600,000). An appointment slot that passes with no patient is production that is lost forever.
Let's review an effective plan for appointment confirmation.
Phone, text or email
I think it is smart to use all three methods of communication. Email is the primary method for confirming appointments in my practice, but a smaller group of patients love text messages and don't use email as much. Electronic messages have a few strong advantages over telephone:
Best wishes for continued success,
Neil B. Gailmard, OD, MBA, FAAO
Editor, Optometric Management Tip of the Week
Optometric Management is dedicated to helping optometrists improve their practice through relevant, actionable and practical columns and features that enhance patient outcomes and bolster the bottom line. Optometric Management is the leading how-to guide for optometrists interested in growing their practice, improving their standard of care, and achieving financial and professional success.
Visit PentaVision's Other Publications


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No Takebacks on Reidland-Farley's Boat
Paducah, KY – The Reidland-Farley Fire Department's controversial fire and rescue boat can not be returned to the manufacturer and must be paid for by January 15th. Department Trustee Doug Moore tells the Paducah Sun the company has also declined to help the district find a buyer for the quarter-million dollar vessel. Moore is on a committee studying options for the boat, which was ordered earlier this year with the prospect of receiving a federal grant to pay for most of the cost. That grant hasn't received final approval, but if it is awarded and the department accepts it, the district would be obligated to respond to emergencies along 200 miles of the Ohio, Mississippi, Cumberland and Tennessee rivers.


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Knowledge based crime scenario modelling
Keppens, J. and Schafer, B. (2006) Knowledge based crime scenario modelling. Expert Systems With Applications, 30 (2). pp. 203-222.
Full text not available from this repository.
A crucial concern in the evaluation of evidence related to a major crime is the formulation of sufficient alternative plausible scenarios that can explain the available evidence. However, software aimed at assisting human crime investigators by automatically constructing crime scenarios from evidence is difficult to develop because of the almost infinite variation of plausible crime scenarios. This paper introduces a novel knowledge driven methodology for crime scenario construction and it presents a decision support system based on it. The approach works by storing the component events of the scenarios instead of entire scenarios and by providing an algorithm that can instantiate and compose these component events into useful scenarios. The scenario composition approach is highly adaptable to unanticipated cases because it allows component events to match the case under investigation in many different ways. Given a description of the available evidence, it generates a network of plausible scenarios that can then be analysed to devise effective evidence collection strategies. The applicability of the ideas presented here are demonstrated by means of a realistic example and prototype decision support software.
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Two Starters Out For Saturday
The Columbus Dispatch - August 22, 2013 11:58 AM
Saturday's win against Toronto FC came at a cost to the Crew.
Midfielders Bernardo Anor and Justin Meram will not make the trip to Real Salt Lake, Crew coach Robert Warzycha said after today's training session at the team's facility in Obetz.
"Probably both of them are not going to be able to go this week," he said. "They still are nursing some injuries and at this point I don't think want to risk it. Somebody is going to have to step up and step in and do the job."
Meram injured his back during a hard fall against Toronto, while Anor said he has been suffering from some fatigue. Meram was subbed off in the 66th minute for Danny O'Rourke.
"I was fatigued towards the end of the game," Anor said. "I felt a little bit of discomfort in my (hamstring) so we're taking care of that right now. We'll see what's going on."
Anor has started the last 10 games and Meram the last two as the Crew has shifted its formation. Meram has played on the left wing as Anor has played inside, helping support forwards Federico Higuain and Jairo Arrieta. The result has been a pair of 2-0 wins for the Crew. Anor said he is not sure who would be his primary backup at the position, and Warzycha said the team's formation would not change.
"Obviously we're going to Salt Lake and they're a good team and we'll try to put the best team on the field," he said.
Midfielder Ben Speas seems the most likely candidate to replace Meram on the wing and spent time with the first team in today's training. O'Rourke is still not yet fully healthy after back stiffness forced him out of the lineup in advance of the Crew's 2-0 win against New York on August 10. In a road game against the team atop the Supporters' Shield standings, it seems likely O'Rourke will pair with rookie Wil Trapp at the back of the team's midfield.
"You don't want to give up your spot on the field, but there are guys who can do well too," Anor said. "Whatever happens this weekend, I hope it's for the best of the team and they get the result no matter what."
Warzycha confirmed that he will bring 18 players on the trip and that goalkeeper Andy Gruenebaum will not be among them. In all, eight of the Crew's 30 players are unavailable for the weekend either due to injuries or being on loan to another club.
Saturday's win against Toronto marked the first time Warzycha used the same starting lineup in consecutive games since a three-game stretch April 6-20. The Crew has used 19 different starting lineups in 24 games this season.


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I recently had an idea to look at 19 of the biggest banks in North America. I detailed my reasons for being interested in the space in my last article, but once again:
I believe stocks in general are expensive at this point. Although the big commercial banks have largely recovered from the financial crisis of 2008-09, they are still cheap relative to other industries and are due to outperform, driven by:
- multiple expansion as the stigma of the financial crisis fades
- further recovery of profits to normalized range
- NIM expansion due to steepening of the interest rate yield curve with ZIRP less QE
The list I looked at included the Canadian Big Five + National Bank of Canada (OTCPK:NTIOF), the US Big Four, and nine second tier US banks. I compared the banks on size, credit risk, profitability, and valuation, and found the Canadian banks collectively to be the clear winners. The Canadian banks all show higher ROE, strong credit ratings, and a few look pretty cheap relative to the rest of the pack. Executives at Canadian banks are paid more reasonably than the heads of their US counterparts.
I also prefer the Canadian banks because I believe Canada is a better operating environment than the US. Canada has a better record of economic growth than many other big financial centers, including the US:
It also has a government that has historically been more fiscally responsible than others. The Canadian budget was balanced for 11 years from 1998 to 2008, when the global financial crisis sort of forced its spending hand, but is now reducing its deficit and the budget should again be balanced in a few years.
Of the 19 banks I compared, my favorite was Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce (NYSE:CM). From there I decided to take a deeper look at CIBC and I am happy to say that I believe I've identified an extremely high quality company. I'd like shares to get cheaper, but CIBC is the kind of the company I'd have no problem owning for the long haul and it's the best value of the 19 banks I looked at in my opinion.
Business Overview
CIBC is a large Canadian bank with 3 businesses:
- Retail and Business Banking
- Wealth Management
- Wholesale Banking
It has significant scale:
- 44k employees
- 11mm clients
- 3500 ATMs
- 1100 branches
One recurring theme about CBIC that is a big part of why I like the business is the company's commitment to being idealistic/the model of what a bank should be/proper. However you want to say it, CIBC seems to be a thoroughly ethical enterprise. Take a look at the company's strategy:
Source: Q4 Fact Sheet
This contrasts a great deal with the volatile, heavily-levered, self-serving stigma that surrounds the US financial system. I'm not saying all US banks deserve this reputation, but many do. I think CIBC differentiates itself big time in this area.
The company's Retail and Business Banking segment is the largest of the 3 segments. It is their traditional commercial banking operations- taking in deposits and spitting out loans.
Source: Investment Community Introduction to CIBC
The company believes Retail an Business Banking operations have distinct competitive advantages:
This is all true, but I think the underlying theme and the real source of the competitive advantage is scale. CIBC is the fifth largest bank in Canada and one of the biggest banks in the world. The economics of banking gives big banks a distinct advantage over smaller banks. Think about the cost of a banker in the credit risk department evaluating the risks of lending to another corporation. The small bank is constrained by capital- it doesn't have nearly as much to lend- so it will be lending to much smaller corporations and lending much less money. Because of its size, not only will the big bank have access to slightly cheaper capital, it will also save a great deal on non-interest expense relating to the deal. Say it takes one or two bankers from the small bank to assess the credit risks of the small borrower. This analysis hardly scales. At the big bank, maybe the transaction is 10000x larger than at the small bank. Sure there most definitely are much more bankers assessing the credit risks of the big borrower, but there isn't 10-20k bankers working on the credit risks of the deal. I liken it to me analyzing companies for SA. At times I analyze small companies like my recent article on Keating Capital (KIPO), other times I look at big players like CIBC. I've been writing for almost a year now and I don't think I spend any more time or effort analyzing big companies than small ones. In other words the cost of analysis and due diligence hardly scales. Additionally, big banks have proven themselves capable of coexisting profitably. There are 5 major banks in Canada and all of them are quite profitable and efficient. They all have their own niches and focuses.
You can probably tell that I really like the economics of big banks and I don't think I'm the only one. My idol, Warren Buffett, through Berkshire Hathaway (BRK.A, BRK.B), is heavily invested in the big banks. Berkshire's largest stock holding by far is Wells Fargo (NYSE:WFC). Berkshire owns $21.5mm worth of it. His 8th largest holding is another US big bank, US Bancorp (NYSE:USB). His 11th largest holding is Goldman Sachs (NYSE:GS). His 18th largest holding is The Bank of New York Mellon (NYSE:BK). His 24th largest holding, a very large bank with $84B in assets, but not in the first or second tier of US banks, is M&T Bank (NYSE:MTB). In total, 27.3% of Berkshires stock portfolio is allocated in big banks. Warren Buffett is a responsible man. He would not put that much money in banks if he didn't absolutely love the economics of the industry.
Now that that worthwhile tangent is through, let's move on. The Wealth Management business is structured as follows:Click to enlarge
In Wealth Management, CIBC is looking to strengthen relationships with HNW clients, expand its geographic presence and build scale through acquisitions, especially of US Wealth Management businesses. They're also pushing to cross-sell more productively, following the lead of Wells Fargo. CIBC's Wealth Management business is established and has a leading market position.
The Wholesale Banking business is structured as follows:
The Wholesale Banking business is characterized by a client-based, value adding focus. I enjoyed reading this because I think that's what investment banking should be. Maybe it's just PR bull, but a value-adding strategy is in my opinion the only way to sustainably do investment banking without scandals and erratic results, coupled with high client turnover.
Canadian Imperial focuses on the stable bedrocks of Canadian industry:
Gerald McCaughey is the company's CEO. He started out as an Account Executive in Merrill Lynch's Canadian operations and rose internally in CIBC's Wealth Management business after it acquired Merrill Lynch Canada. He's been CEO for 9 years now. He makes about $10mm annually. I consider that reasonable. I compared his pay to Dan Amos of Aflac (NYSE:AFL), a holding of mine that is virtually the same as CIBC in terms of profits and revenues, and in terms of profitability (both companies boast ROE of about 20%). Amos makes 40% more so that's a good sign for CIBC. But then I compared McCaughey to some of the other CEOs of big US and Canadian banks. While the Canadian CEOs in general are paid more reasonably than at US banks, McCaughey is on the higher end relative to the size of the enterprise he's managing. I don't think it's that glaring an issue though. After all, his company has been performing better than the other banks.
Health of the Business
Basel III places the focus of minimum capital requirements on the Common Equity Tier 1 ratio (CET1). It requires banks to have a minimum CET1 of 4.5%. CIBC is extremely well-capitalized. As you can see below, the company's risk-weighted assets have increased quite a bit in the last year and yet the company's CET1 is substantially higher now than it was a year ago and still well above the Basel III minimum.
The company's credit ratings are solid:
- Moody's: 4th highest rating out of 21
- S&P: 5th highest rating out of 22
- Fitch: 4th highest rating out of 20
- DBRS: 3rd highest rating out of 20
CIBC has been named the strongest bank in Canada by Bloomberg Markets for the past 2 years and is currently fourth on the list of "World's Strongest Banks." To put this in perspective for American investors, there is only one US bank on the list and it is Citigroup (NYSE:C) at #17.
The company has long term goals of 5-10% earnings growth annually and a dividend payout of 40-50%. This implies expected ROE of 8.33-20%, with a midpoint of 14.2%. The company has been outperforming even the high end of its expectations though for almost 4 years now since recovering from the financial crisis, with ROE averaging about 22%.
As far as performance by segment, the business is cruising, uneventfully but well. There isn't much to say and little evidence of the 20+% ROE status quo shifting.
In Retail and Business Banking, the company has seen modest NIM expansion, volume growth, profit growth, and much improved credit performance:
In Wealth Management, there's been solid AUM and AUA growth, due in part to acquisitions, and record revenue and income in Q4.
In Wholesale Banking, the company has seen lower trading revenue driven by the market. Credit losses are trending well. The company also made some switches to lower performance-based compensation in the business, supporting the 'idealistic' theme.
With trailing ROE of 21.53% and the stock at a P/B of 2.05, effective yield (ROE/(P/B)) is at 10.5%, a full percentage point above my cost of equity of 9.5%. This was 2nd best of the 19 banks I compared.
I valued the company using a dividend discount model. I assumed a 9.5% cost of equity and ROE of 20% for the next 5 years. The only uncertainty that I used as a variable, was terminal ROE after the 5 years. I input a variety of possibilities and my probabilities of each respective scenario, and took the weighted average of all of them.
It seems that shares are just a bit below fair value. I have a hard line of at least 25% margin of safety, so I haven't bought shares yet. I'd buy if it got to $70, but I sort of doubt that.
Big banks in general are attractive. Their economics make them attractive long-term investments. My favorite of the biggest banks in North America right now is CIBC and if shares get cheaper, I'll be a buyer. Canadian Imperial is in the world's elite of the big banks in terms of capitalization an profitability. On top of that, it operates in a great country for banks. I'm hoping it drops to $70, but I doubt that. I will definitely be keeping it in mind for the next few years though.
Disclosure: I am long AFL, . I wrote this article myself, and it expresses my own opinions. I am not receiving compensation for it (other than from Seeking Alpha). I have no business relationship with any company whose stock is mentioned in this article.
Additional disclosure: I may initiate a long position in CM over the next 72 hours.


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© Herald photo by Matt Gardner - Lez B Dudes members Caitlin Cleghorn (left), aka Cam Leon, and Stephanie Bourne, aka Ivan Tuplzu, discuss the subject of packing during their "Drag 101" class on Wednesday. Part of this week's Pride Week celebrations, the class included tips for drag kings and queens on getting into character, binding, wardrobe, hair and makeup application.
Prince Albert-21°C Complete weather forecast


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Ooguri, Hirosi and Vafa, Cumrun (2003) Gravity Induced C-Deformation. Advances in Theoretical and Mathematical Physics, 7 (3). pp. 407-419. ISSN 1095-0761. http://resolver.caltech.edu/CaltechAUTHORS:OOGatmp03b
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We study F-terms describing coupling of the supergravity to N = 1 supersymmetric gauge theories which admit large N expansions. We show that these F-terms are given by summing over genus one non-planar diagrams of the large N expansion of the associated matrix model (or more generally bosonic gauge theory). The key ingredient in this derivation is the observation that the chiral ring of the gluino fields is deformed by the supergravity fields, generalizing the C-deformation which was recently introduced. The gravity induced part of the C-deformation can be derived from the Bianchi identities of the supergravity, but understanding gravitational corrections to the F-terms requires a non-traditional interpretation of these identities.
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|© 2006 International Press of Boston We thank R. Dijkgraaf, M. Grisaru, and D. Zanon, whose insights have contributed significantly to this paper. We are also grateful to N. Berkovits for valuable discussion. C.V. thanks the hospitality of the theory group at Caltech, where he is a Gordon Moore Distinguished Scholar. The research of H.O. was supported in part by DOE grant DE-FG03-92-ER40701. The research of C.V. was supported in part by NSF grants PHY-9802709 and DMS-0074329. e-print archive: http://lanl.arXiv.org/abs/hep-th/0303063 Technical report nos.: CALT-68-2433; HUTP-03/A020
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2 posts tagged with guardian by jontyjago.
Displaying 1 through 2 of 2.
Speak Proper!
mumbo jumbo... BBC journalist John Humphrys bemoans the abuses suffered by the English language. At the risk of becoming a Grumpy Old Man before my time I can't help but agree with him, in particular about the Management Speak. I recently came across the verb "to hero" which set my teeth on edge. And just what the hell does "to leverage" mean?
AltaVista goes back to its roots
AltaVista goes back to its roots I regularly used AltaVista when I first came to the web but now haven't used it as a Search Engine for many months. Portals, and MSN in particular seem to be very popular but I'm unable to see the attraction (smacks of spoon-feeding idiots "content" who can't find it themselves) so I'm pleased to see AltaVista changing back to what they do best. Can't see me switching back from Google though..
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Hi Everyone ...
Sooo as a lot of you know, I live and work on a cruise ship in the Caribbean and I have recently come across a problem hopefully someone out there has a solution ... or suggestions?!
I have what I believe is rust that is showing up on my thumb-rests (cleaned it off today ok) ... and also around my "pearls" but they aren't pearls ... they are more like flute keys.
Obviously I understand that I'm in a tropical climate so there's more moisture in the air ... but I'm looking for either something I can put in my case to absorb moisture ... or any other suggestions would be great!
Thanks all!


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Related MEA's
Partner MEAs List
UNCLOS website
United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea
The United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea establishes national sovereignty over marine resources lying within coastal waters. Although it exercises the greatest rights within 12 miles of the coast, lesser controls apply to waters of the 200-mile exclusive economic zone (EEZ).
The treaty was was drafted in 1982, adopted in 1983, and entered into force in 1994.
By establishing property rights that apply to the species and habitats found within coastal waters, the treaty provides countries with some incentive to better manage these resources.
It obligates Parties to protect and preserve the marine environment by cooperating regionally and globally, and to adopt laws and regulations to deal with land-based sources of marine pollution. It also provides a framework for establishing maritime zones and for regulating fishing and marine scientific research.
The Convention is noted for its comprehensive coverage of marine resource issues. Many of the provisions regarding the management of these resources are not binding, although the treaty also establishes binding procedures for settling disputes over natural resources lying outside of sovereign waters.
Nearly all of the participating states in Regional Seas programmes have claimed sovereignty over their marine resources.


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Thanks to all the Chocolatiers, Judges, Volunteers and Attendees of the 2016 Chocolate Lovers' Fling!
For information on participating in our 2017 Fling as a chocolatier, becoming a sponsor, or volunteering, please call 207-828-1035.
Special Thank You to this years host venue:
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Sexual Assault Response Services of Southern Maine • P.O. Box 1371, Portland, Maine 04104 • Hotline: 1.800.313.9900


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13 posts tagged with Iraq by fold_and_mutilate.
Displaying 1 through 13 of 13.
Amnesty International, International Committee of the Red Cross Reports on Iraq
Two new reports on our progress in Iraq were released today:
"Five years after the war started, the humanitarian situation in Iraq is among the most critical in the world..." - International Committee of the Red Cross.
"Five years of carnage and despair in Iraq" - Amnesty International. [more inside]
"Five years after the war started, the humanitarian situation in Iraq is among the most critical in the world..." - International Committee of the Red Cross.
"Five years of carnage and despair in Iraq" - Amnesty International. [more inside]
Iraq War Worsens Terror Threat
Spy Agencies Say Iraq War Worsens Terror Threat. A stark assessment of terrorism trends by American intelligence agencies has found that the American invasion and occupation of Iraq has helped spawn a new generation of Islamic radicalism and that the overall terrorist threat has grown since the Sept. 11 attacks. The assessment is part of the latest "National Intelligence Estimate".
Fourth Estate Failure
"There was an attitude among editors: Look, we're going to war, why do we even worry about all this contrary stuff?'' "Editors at The Washington Post acknowledge they underplayed stories questioning President Bush's claims of the threat posed by Saddam Hussein in the months leading up to the U.S. invasion of Iraq." The weblog Lunaville notes that The Center for International and Security Studies at the University of Maryland found that "since September 11, 2001, the Bush administration has been especially successful at getting the American media to confirm its political and diplomatic agenda. Media reporting on the President amplified the administration s voice: when Bush said to the country that Americans are vulnerable to WMD in the hands of terrorists, the media effectively magnified those fears." Lawrence Lessig says: "As media becomes more concentrated, competition to curry favor with politicians only increases... Concentrated media and expansive copyright are the perfect storm not just for stifling debate but, increasingly, for weakening democracy as well." Can we make the media democratic?
Katharine Gun, Hero
The Brave Tale of Katherine Gun, aka The Conscience of the Individual versus the State, aka "How the 'Land of the Free' Stopped Worrying about Legality and Liberty, and Learned to Love Wiretap and Manipulation": "Katharine made the disclosure because she believed that it was necessary to prevent an illegal war in which thousands of Iraqi citizens and British and American soldiers would die or be maimed.""I have only ever followed my conscience," she said. Pentagon Paper's author Daniel Ellsberg described the leak as "more timely and potentially more important than the Pentagon Papers. Truth-telling like this can stop a war." Norman Solomon asks " To what extent is the "special relationship" between the two countries to be based on democracy or duplicity? How much do we treasure the substance of civil liberties that make authentic public discourse distinct from the hollowness of secrecy and manipulation? How badly do we want to know what is being done in our names with our tax money? And why is it so rare that conscience takes precedence over expediency?"
The Health and Environmental Costs of War on Iraq
"Bring 'Em On:" A Certain Four Horsemen Rein Up to Inquire of The Taunt -- or "The Health and Environmental Costs of War on Iraq (PDF)." An independent survey just released by the UK global health charity Medact, finds that "the war on Iraq and its aftermath exacted a heavy toll on combatants and civilians, who paid and continue to pay the price in death, injury and mental and physical ill health. Between 21,700 and 55,000 people died between March 20 and October 20, 2003." According to the BBC, the report says that the "conflict and its aftermath have put the most vulnerable in society - women, children and the elderly - at risk", and "there has been a reported increase in maternal mortality rates, acute malnutrition has almost doubled from 4% to 8% in the last year and there is an increase in water-borne diseases and vaccine-preventable diseases."
Rumsfeld Tried To Embed Bechtel And Himself With Saddam As Iraq Gassed Iranians
Embedding? Rumsfeld et al Tried to Embed Bechtel and Themselves with Saddam as Iraq Gassed Iranians. "Our examination [issued by the Sustainable Energy and Economy Network and the Institute for Policy Studies with recently released supporting documents] shines a new spotlight on the revolving door between Bechtel and the Reagan Administration that drove U.S.-Iraq interactions between 1983 and 1985. The men who courted Saddam while he gassed Iranians are now waging war against him, ostensibly because he holds weapons of mass destruction. To a man, they now deny that oil has anything to do with the conflict. Yet during the Reagan Administration, and in the years leading up to the present conflict, these men shaped and implemented a strategy that has everything to do with securing Iraqi oil exports....[This paper] notes that the break in US-Iraq relations occurred not after Iraq used chemical weapons on the Iranians, nor after Iraq gassed its own Kurdish people, nor even after Iraq invaded Kuwait, but rather, followed Saddam's rejection of the Aqaba pipeline deal. Finally, this paper shows that the main actors in the 1980s drama are now back on center stage, this time justifying military action against Iraq in terms of national security....The Bush/Cheney administration now eyes Bechtel as a primary contractor for the rebuilding of Iraq's infrastructure." (via Progressive Review.)
Poets Against the War
Poets Against The War
Sons and Daughters of Baghdad:
The hour of your liberation draws near
We extend towards you our white hand
Once embraced by many in vain:
Indian, African, Vietnamese,
And washed clean of their colored red stain.
Sons and Daughters of Baghdad:
The hour of your liberation draws near
We extend towards you our white hand
Once embraced by many in vain:
Indian, African, Vietnamese,
And washed clean of their colored red stain.
Collateral Damage: The Health and Environmental Costs of War on Iraq.
Collateral Damage: The Health and Environmental Costs of War on Iraq. The terror of the war on terror: "A war against Iraq could kill half a million people, warns a new report by medical experts - and most would be civilians." The report (pdf format) is from Medact, the British affiliate of International Physicians for the Prevention of Nuclear War. One of the report's conclusions: "It cannot be emphasised too strongly that even a best-case scenario of a limited war of short duration, perhaps comparable to 1991, would have much greater impact on the Iraqi people and would initially kill three times the number who died on September 11."
Dear Soldier of the U.S. Military:
Dear Soldier of the U.S. Military: "With all due respect, I want you to know that if you participate in this conflict, you are not serving me, and I don't support you." A West Point graduate weighs in on the impending war.
The Push For War (by Anatol Lieven).
The Push For War (by Anatol Lieven). "The most surprising thing about the Bush Administration's plan to invade Iraq is not that it is destructive of international order; or wicked, when we consider the role the US (and Britain) have played, and continue to play, in the Middle East; or opposed by the great majority of the international community; or seemingly contrary to some of the basic needs of the war against terrorism. It is all of these things, but they are of no great concern to the hardline nationalists in the Administration....The most surprising thing about the push for war is that it is so profoundly reckless....What we see now is the tragedy of a great country, with noble impulses, successful institutions, magnificent historical achievements and immense energies, which has become a menace to itself and to mankind."
Excecutive summary: Lord Acton foretold all fruit of "military superiority".
Excecutive summary: Lord Acton foretold all fruit of "military superiority".
Why Aren't U.S. Journalists Reporting From Iraq?
Why Aren't U.S. Journalists Reporting From Iraq? "This notion that the Iraqi leader is in cahoots with Osama will be easy to feed the American people. To the American people, one bad Arab is the same as the next, and Osama equals Saddam. People who wonder about the Bush war-urgency only need to think about this: there's a blind spot that needs to be exploited now, before too many journalists get the idea to go inside Iraq and find out what's really happening. As long as the Condi Rices, Dick Cheneys and other hawks are talking to journalists with no experience inside Iraq, they won't get a raised eyebrow about this notion that the secular dictator is in bed with the jihadis -- even though [reports indicate]....the CIA has found no link between the Iraqi dictator and Al Qaeda."
What happened in the final days of the Gulf War?
What happened in the final days of the Gulf War? "The Battle of Rumaila was closely reviewed at the war's end by an analyst for the C.I.A., who confirmed that the Iraqi losses were great. The toll included at least a hundred tanks from the Hammurabi division. "It's like eating an artichoke," one colonel had said of combat.... 'Once you start, you can't stop.' One of the destroyed vehicles was a bus, which had been hit by a rocket. The precise number of its occupants who were injured or killed is not known, but they included civilians and children. One of the first Americans at the scene was Lieutenant Charles W. Gameros, Jr., a Scout platoon leader, who called in a Medevac team for the victims. At the time, he was "frustrated" by what he saw as needless deaths, Gameros recalled in an interview. 'Now I look at it sadly,' he said. Unresisting Iraqis had been slain all morning, but the deaths of the children troubled many soldiers."
What's happening in "the final days" of the war in Afghanistan? What will be happening in the upcoming war in Iraq?
What's happening in "the final days" of the war in Afghanistan? What will be happening in the upcoming war in Iraq?
"Let us pray that our country will stop this war."
"Let us pray that our country will stop this war." From a recent speech by U.S. Congressman Dennis Kucinich of Ohio: "We did not authorize the administration to wage war anytime, anywhere, anyhow it pleases. We did not authorize war without end. We did not authorize a permanent war economy. We did not authorize an eye for an eye. Nor did we ask that the blood of innocent people, who perished on Sept. 11, be avenged with the blood of innocent villagers in Afghanistan." Amen.
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Working for QCCU
Queensland Country Credit Union is the only financial institution with its Head Office in Townsville, North Queensland. When you work at Queensland Country, you join a team of over 290 employees, all passionate about providing the best possible service to our customers. We value putting people first, challenging ourselves, being professional but fun, participation, energy for change and personal development. Our staff live these values at each of our 21 branches across Queensland.
We are an equal opportunity employer and pride ourselves on employing the right staff to accommodate the needs of our customer owners.
Queensland Country is currently one of 90 organisations in Australianto be awarded with the 2015-2016 WGEA Employer of Choice for Gender Equality. This citation is awarded to organisations that have demonstrated a strong commitment to equal opportunity in the workplace. To view our 2016-2017 report click here.
Recruitment Enquiries
Please direct all enquires to our Human Resources Officer on 07 4412 3731 or email email@example.com.
We offer full time, part time and casual employment opportunities in a diverse range of fields including:
Page last updated: 21 July 2016


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Melvin and June (nee Rocklin) Robbins of Broomall will celebrate their 65th wedding anniversary on Nov. 27 with their family.
Their children are Gloria Joffe (the late Meir) of Havertown; Larry (Eve) of Glen Mills; Mitchel (Claudia) of Broomall; Sandy Avidan (Moshe) of Langhorne; Ted (Anna) of Media; Daniel (Luisa) of Broomall; and Eddie of Broomall.
The couple has 18 grandchildren and four great-grandchildren (with one on the way).
Date of Occasion
Tuesday, November 27, 2012
Mazel Tov Category
Mazel Tov [3]
Anniversaries [4]


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Peace, like war, has a domino effect.
On Sept. 1, 1939, Germany invaded Poland, and World War II had begun. Two days later, France, fearing neighboring Germany would eventually advance westward, and Great Britain, an ally of the French, declared war on the Third Reich.
In June 1940 with France near collapse against its German aggressors, Italy declared war on the French and British.
Eventually the United States, after the bombing of Pearl Harbor, formed an alliance with Great Britain and the Soviet Union. By the end of the war, 50 nations had joined the Allies. Japan joined Germany and Italy to form the Axis.
For one reason or another, whether it be historical ties, security threats or unabashed aggression, nations had picked sides and the world was at war.
Enough of the European history lesson. A similar situation has been playing itself out in the Middle East for years.
But the difference is the stakes - peace.
Syria's border with Israel is called the Golan Heights. The Israelis captured the territory during the Six-Day War in 1967, the second conflict between the nations. Syria seems to have realized that war is not the answer in reclaiming the Golan.
Syrians have come to that conclusion because of peace agreements Israel signed with Syria's long-standing allies. Peace treaties were brokered between Israel and three of its chief rivals: Egypt in 1979, the Palestinians in 1990 and Jordan in 1994.
With no one to turn to, Syria has decided peace might be the best recourse.
Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Barak and Syrian Foreign Minister Farouk al-Sharaa just wrapped up a week of peace talks in West Virginia. No agreement was reached, but the two sides declared they would resume negotiations later this month or early next month.
"We began a discussion. I believe it will continue," Israeli Foreign Minister David Levy said. "The sides will make efforts, with a consciousness that peace will serve both sides and the entire region."
Here's hoping that the two sides return with renewed vigor, and calm can pervade in this traditionally volatile region.
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Looks like Reflections by Windsor is no longer available on Rent.com which means this information is likely out of date.
Make sure to check out these similar properties in the area.
At Reflections by Windsor, our well-appointed luxury apartment homes offer outstanding access to workplaces in Bellevue, Redmond and greater Seattle. Your leisure options are endless inside our unique community; watch a movie in our big-screen media theater, take a dip in our invigorating pool, or work out in our 24-hour fitness center. When you're ready to experience the outdoors, you'll be just steps away from the gorgeous views and recreational opportunities of Lake Sammamish and Marymoor Park. Offering the best in home, city, and outdoor life, Reflections by Windsor is simply the best place to call home.
Our lease terms are: 1 month, 2 months, 3 months, 4 months, 5 months, 6 months, 7 months, 8 months, 9 months, 10 months, 11 months, 12 months, 15 months, 16 months (Please note that lease terms may vary, are subject to change without notice, and are based on availability. Inquire with property staff for complete details).
Dog Policy: Cats and dogs welcome! "Doggy Disneyland", a 40 acre off leash dog park is located right next door at Marymoor Park. A maximum of two pets per household. $250 Deposit/ $250 fee per pet. $350 Deposit/$400 fee for 2. $25 monthly pet rent for 1 & $45 for 2 pets (for cats).$30 monthly pet rent for 1 & $50 for 2 pets (for dogs).
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I didn't want to start Impact Dialing at first. I had been looking for a predictive dialer to help Equality California call voters about same-sex marriage, and I couldn't find anything I liked. All the dialers were expensive, difficult-to-use, and not scalable. I once even suggested to the CEO of one of my now-competitors that he look into technologies like cloud computing, which provides computing power on demand, and voice over IP, which can be used to provide telephone lines on demand. He brushed me off. Finally, an acquaintance said to me, "There's a market out there. Why don't you just build it yourself?"
Impact Dialing's Lean Startup Model
[This post is part of the Lean Startup Challenge. Post a comment wishing us luck!]
I didn't have a lot of savings to invest, so I knew that Impact Dialing needed to make money as quickly as possible. I had heard of a company called Twilio that makes it simple to build web applications that interact with phone lines. This would help us build our dialer quickly. Twilio's pay-as-you-go pricing was appealing, too: we wouldn't have minimums or up-front costs, so Impact Dialing could cover its phone bills by requiring customers to pay in advance, and then using that money to pay Twilio.
Likewise, we chose to run our software on Amazon Web Services. Amazon lets you "rent" virtual servers on-demand, so we could seamlessly grow our capacity as our volume increased. Services like Twilio and Amazon have made it possible for people like me to start companies with minimal funding.
My business partner, Brian, who does our programming, decided that to program with Ruby on Rails, an application framework that makes it incredibly fast to build web applications. We also used a pre-built CSS template, which defines how a web page looks, so that we wouldn't have to spend time building our own look and feel (which can take a lot of time!).
With the technologies picked out that would allow us to start quickly and at minimal cost, now I had to define our product. Once again, I was focused on getting to market as fast as possible. I made a list of all the features I would like to have, and then crossed out everything that wasn't absolutely necessary. We would build the minimum viable product, start selling it, and then build new features as we went and as our clients and leads requested them.
In less than five weeks of writing our first line of code we launched Impact Dialing and started selling it to political campaigns. We released new features and bug fixes on an almost daily basis. A couple times, someone was interested in using our product but really needed a feature we didn't have, so we built the feature and released it within a day or two. And by the time the November elections were finished, we were already profitable!
We've continued to work hard improving Impact Dialing, building new features and making the system more robust. We've enjoyed keeping the company small – it's still just me and Brian – but we've started to think about bringing on investors to help us grow more quickly than we can on our own. I would love to go to more trade shows and events to promote Impact Dialing, but we've got a tight budget that forces us make hard choices (which can be a good thing, too!). And both Brian and I have other jobs that help us pay the bills, though we'd love to work on Impact Dialing full-time.
Recently, I heard about a contest called the Lean Startup Challenge that offers funding to lean startups, and given how lean Impact Dialing is, I figured we'd be a pretty good fit. Wish us luck!
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Cycle Armor Is A Organ and Cycle Support Men's Formula!
Introducing Cycle Armor by Lecheek Nutrition! Cycle Armour was designed to promote heart, liver, and prostate health both on and off cycle. Cycle Armour includes 6 critical ingredients that help maintain your health during your cycle and beyond.
Ingredient Profile
Milk Thistle
Milk thistle has a long history of use as a liver regenerator. Milk thistle is known to promote liver health and prevent damage from alcohol and certain types of drugs. The active ingredient in Milk Thistle is known as silymarin, which consists of several flavonolignands and helps to repair damaged liver cells.
Saw Palmetto
Historically, Saw Palmetto has seen centuries of use for prostrate problems. More recent use of this potent herbal extract has been in treating male pattern baldness. This is because it is able to inhibit 5-alpha reductase, an enzyme that converts testosterone into DHT.
Hawthorne Berry
Hawthorn Berry is well known for heart and cardiovascular health. It can improve blood and oxygen flow to the heart as well as improving the heart's pumping capability. Additionally, Hawthorne is known as a potent anti-oxidant.
N-Acetyl-L-Cysteine (NAC)
NAC, a major antioxidant, combines an acetyl group to the amino acid cysteine, enhancing its bioavailability. NAC has been research proven to promote cell health
Celery Seed Extract
Celery has been used as medicine for thousands of years. It can be traced back to Indian Ayurvedic medicine, where it was used to treat colds, flu, water retention, poor digestion, various types of arthritis, and certain diseases of the liver and spleen. Today research has shown that celery has some interesting properties. Celery contains the active ingredient 3nB, a compound exclusive to celery and the reason celery has the flavor it does. 3nB has been shown in research studies to help treat high blood pressure. 3nB helps lower blood pressure by functioning as a diuretic and vasodilator. Also, 3nB has also been research proven to lower blood cholesterol levels.
Pygeum Bark
Pygeum, much like saw palmetto, is an herbal extract that promotes prostrate health and is in fact often combined with saw palmetto for that purpose.
Cycle Armor Features
• Promotes Liver and Organ Health
• Promotes Prostate Health
• Promotes Normal Blood Pressure
• Promotes Normal Blood Sugar Levels
IllPumpYouUp.com Video Review
Like This Video Review? View All of Our Video Reviews!
Supplement Facts
Serving Size: 2 Capsules
Servings Per Container: 30
Amount Per Serving
Proprietary Blends:
Liver Support
Milke Thistle - 360mg
N-Acetyl-L-Cysteine (NAC) - 250mg
Prostate Support
Saw Palmetto - 200mg
Pygeum Bark - 100mg
Blood Sugar Support
Hawthorn Berry - 160mg
Blood Sugar Support
Celery Seed Extract - 100mg
To use: Take 2 capsules with breakfast.
Discuss use of this product with your doctor before taking if you have a medical condition or are taking any prescription medications. Keep away from children.


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Karate flop.
Yeah, that's Iran's Revolutionary Guard, trying to look all tough again. And yeah, they're kicking an Israeli flag up there—Oooooo, so original. Never seen that one before!
But you know what? No matter how tough Iran thinks they look, I'm still convinced that tiny Israel's gonna come out of this whole mess just fine, my friends. You know why?
I'm getting my T-Shirt here—and so should you! Just think of how mad the Ayatollah will look when he sees you in it!
Update: You too can study the ancient art—Thanks to Izzy for the link!
Was that a Shou-Jew-Lin Monk?
Oh, I think I shed a tear. I would love to see him meet up with the dancing clowns in the above photos. Let's see who comes out 1 against 5.
Why is Ewan MacGregor taking on the role of Rabbi Kickus Tucas?! I'd say the original "Jew-Jitsu is today's Krav Maga. These Revolutionary Retards in Iran would get slaughtered by the Golani Brigade of the IDF.
See the website for Abir Warrior Arts at http://www.abirwarriorarts.com/en
Thank you Izzy.
"Abir, as a fighting system of the people of Israel, began with the three patriarchs Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. Abraham was the son of Terah, the warlord of Nimrod (ruler of the kingdom of Babylon); he had a monotheistic revelation and left Babylon for the land of Cana'an. Abraham taught the fighting system he had learned from his father, Abir-Qesheth, to his son Isaac,"
makes sense to me.


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The Style Gallery is a great new way for you to view, love, and share outfit photos. It's meant to showcase
all the expressive, creative, and inspirational personalities of our community!
Love you too!
Your email has been sent!
Even the most superstitious gal will admit that there's nothing unlucky about this sweet black cat bag! Dotted in white from ears to strap to whisker-stitched base, this satchel is seriously cute, just like you! Its two wide eyes - actually external pockets - stare up at you as you make your way to the coffee shop to blog in a bright yellow shirtdress and red Oxford pumps. With your essentials tucked amid its muted plum floral lining, you're a sign of more good things to come!
Final Sale: This item cannot be returned or exchanged.
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Interest Level
Grades 3 - 5
Reading Level
Grade level Equivalent: 1.8
Lexile® Measure: 360L
Guided Reading: M
- Comedy and Humor
- Series
- Cooperation and Teamwork
- Kindness and Compassion
- Friends and Friendship
- Softball
About This Book
The Brain doesn't believe in superstition like Arthur and the rest of their friends. But when he tries to prove that superstitions are nonsense, the Brain soon finds bad luck everywhere. The big softball game is on Friday, the 13th — and now the Brain plans to stay home. But his friends need him. Will the Brain be able to shake off his bad luck and help his team to victory?
Presented in chapter-book format, for children who are ready to read on their own, this tale of mishaps will surely be a hit among Arthur fans.
Items Added to Cart:
1 Paperback
2 Hardcover
1 Teacher's Edition
$48.99 Subtotal


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If you're still feeling sorry for Emeril Lagasse because he lost his prime time TV gig at the Food Network, don't. Publicly traded Martha Stewart Living Omnimedia, Inc. will pay Lagasse a cool $50 million for, in the company's words, "the assets related to the business of Emeril Lagasse, other than the restaurant and foundation-related assets, in a transaction that pairs one of the biggest brands in food-related content with the established leader in 'how-to' lifestyle information and ...
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Ben's Big Science Thing: The artificial muscle made from fishing line
Making cheap, powerful artificial muscles out of ordinary fishing line:
In a surprising breakthrough for the world of materials science, researchers have created some of the most powerful artificial muscles we've ever seen. And they did it with simple fishing line. These freakishly strong and cheap muscles could revolutionize robotics, and perhaps one day our own bodies.


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A white Dendrobium orchid plant in an urn planter with decorations. Pot colors varies depending on the store's selection.
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Reward Points on this item:9
Availability: Discontinued Item Discontinued. Cannot Ship.
California's Proposition 65 Warning: May This item contains chemicals known to cause cancer, birth defects, or other reproductive harm. Reference by California Office of Environmental Health Hazard Assessment (OEHHA) at: www.oehha.ca.gov/prop65/prop65_list/Newlist.html.
Active Ingredients
Zinc Oxide: 19%
Inactive Ingredients
Aloe Vera (Aloe Barbadensis) Gel, Bladderwrack (Fucus Vesiculosus) Extract, Caprylic/capric triglycerides, Caprylyl Glycol, Cucumber (Cucumis Sativus) Extract, d-alpha Tocopherol (Vitamin E), Grapefruit (Citrus Grandis) Seed Extract, Jojoba Oil, Magnesium Ascorbyl Phosphate (Vitamin C), Sea Kelp (Macrocystis Pyrifera) Extract, Sunflower (Helianthus Annuus) Oil
Lil Critters Gummy Vites, Multivitamin And Mineral Formula For Kids - 190 Ea
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Neutrogena Age Fighter Face Moisturizer For Men With Spf 15 - 1.4 Oz
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All Terrain Kidsport Face Stick Skin Protecant With Spf 30 - 0.6 Oz
Our Price:$5.51


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Press Release Detail
Rolling Out the Cardinal Red Carpet for Alumni
It's the most wonderful time of the year – Homecoming Weekend! This weekend, October 4-7, is one of the busiest weekends on the St. John Fisher College campus, when upwards of 1,000 alumni are expected to return for a variety of events that run through Sunday.
Starting on Thursday, October 4, the Accounting Alumni Society will hold the Lifetime Achievement Awards Luncheon, where Raymond J. Kittelberger '57 and the late Terrance P. McNamara '77 will be honored. And Thursday evening is the Science and Technology Hall of Fame dinner, where four esteemed alums will be inducted.
Friday's events include the First Friday Lecture Series featuring Dr. Rick DeJesús-Rueff, the Fisher Fall Classic Golf Tournament, kick-off reunions for graduates from the classes of 1972 and 1982, and a class reunion for those who graduated in 1992.
The always-anticipated Cardinal Carnival and tailgating event begin at 11:00 a.m. on Saturday, featuring family-friendly activities in the Campus Center Quad. Beginning at noon, the Fisher football team takes on Salisbury University at Growney Stadium.
Do you want to see more sports? Alumnae from the women's volleyball team will be playing a reunion match at 4:00 p.m. in the Varsity Gym on Saturday. And alumni from the classes of 1962, 1972, and 1982 will all hold separate reunions around town in the evening. Maroon and Gold Pub Night, open to graduates from the classes of 2002-2012, will take place at MacGregors' Grill and Tap Room.
The weekend will wind down on Sunday, October 7, with a reunion mass celebration at 10:00 a.m. in Coleman Chapel, an Economics Department alumni brunch, and the Wegmans School of Pharmacy Golf Tournament and Wine Tour.
For a full schedule of events, visit the Alumni Website (link to events listings - http://www.sjfc.edu/alumni/news/events-calendar.dot)


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You missed it This great deal for Boulder Photo Booth is over. But don't despair, we've got more great deals every day.
Related Deals That You May Like
Boulder Photo Booth
Two-Hour Photo Booth Rental with Digital Images and Online Gallery Access
To keep us motivated on our run through the Flatirons, we pretend the paparazzi are chasing us on the worst of all hair days. But for festive occasions like today's deal from Boulder Photo Booth, we're happy to strike a pose: Pay $400 for a two-hour photo booth rental with a disc of digital images and online gallery access, plus setup and takedown, anywhere in Boulder County or the Denver metro area (an $800 value). The on-site professional photographer can capture the guests of your next fabulous fete at their best; unlike in a traditional booth, you'll enjoy a larger backdrop that lets everyone get in on the fun. After the party, you can browse your disc of photos or peruse the online gallery anytime you're feeling nostalgic. Embrace the life of glitz and glamour with this deal before it dashes away.
PAID VALUE EXPIRES ON December 5, 2021
PROMOTIONAL VALUE EXPIRES ON April 15, 2013


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Feeding for 30: The Nutritional Link to the Goal of 30 P/S/Y
Maternal nutrition has a major influence on fetal growth and sow herd nutrition is a key influencer of litter size and performance in any size operation. So how can you better feed for 30? Click here to read more.
Feeding for 30: Reproduction Considerations
Monitoring and managing sow condition can help determine the appropriate feeding program adjustments during gestation and lactation. Click here to read more.
Strategies to Reduce Preweaning Mortality in Pigs
This article discusses strategies to reduce preweaning mortality in pigs. Click here to read more.
Improving Sow Productivity when Feeding Medium- or High-energy Diets
With longer lactations (to improve piglet survivability in the nursery), the industry is pressing sow's to produce more and better milk while not losing body condition. This article includes the results of a trial conducted at LongView Animal Nutrition Center, MO, evaluating two levels of fat (2.5 and 5.0%) with and without PUSH® feed on 152 litters.
Solving a Key Sow Production Challenge – Lactation Feed Intake in the Summer
This article discusses why lactation intake is so important and how lactation intake can be improved in hot weather.
Click here to read more
True Appetizer™ Feed Increased Sow Feed Intake in a Field Study Located in Ohio
Low sow feed intake has a negative influence on reproduction, which is particularly evident during hot weather. A study was conducted in Ohio from July to September 2008 to determine the effects of True Appetizer™ feed supplementation to sows during lactation under warm environmental conditions on sow feed consumption and productivity in a commercial facility.
Improving Sow Productivity by using PUSH® Feed
This article discusses the improvement in pig growth performance and sow reproductive performance when using PUSH® feed during a commercial retrospective comparison of approx 970 litters.


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« Back
Danish Defense Minister argues for greater civil-military integration in Afghanistan
December 10, 2010
Author: Cathryn Clüver, Executive Director, The Future of Diplomacy Project
Belfer Center Programs or Projects: Future of Diplomacy Project
In a public address for the Future of Diplomacy Project entitled From small state to smart state, Gitte Lillelund Bech, Denmarks Minister of Defense argued that new threats required new responses and that tough choices had to be met with smart decisions.
While threats in the Cold War era were distinct, the entry of non-state actors on the international stage, the threat of proliferation of nuclear and chemical weapons and growing instability in certain areas of the globe had created a multi-dimensionality of problems.
At the same time, more actors were crowding conflict areas: 48 countries are currently engaged in Afghanistan, she noted, while 60 additional countries give aid, in part through development commitments. Ongoing engagement in the country was crucial, but noted that the most active form of international involvement comes at a cost: The price of life.
We lost time in Afghanistan, she said. Now we need to win the peace. We should have realized in 2003 that we need more than the military, we need the civilian leg as well. Those are the two legs to stand on. Capacity building among the local security force was a pre-condition of a future hand-over to Afghan authorities, she said.
We could not have foreseen what happened in Afghanistan. But when I am there now, I need three pairs of shoes: First, sandals, to show that our commitment to civilian rebuilding and development is earnest. Second, I need stilettos to show the national and provincial governments that we mean business and need respect. Third, we need the combat boots to demonstrate that we are serious about our ongoing military commitment.
The military arm and civilian rebuilding efforts had been too separate for too long. These have to work closely together, she said, taking out two Lego bricks to illustrate her point. They must fit seamlessly together, like this childrens toy. A simple concept but still a difficult vision to realize in certain cases, she noted.
Close coordination needs joint execution. Cooperation isnt easy and reliance, trust is hard-won. But we cannot afford to duplicate efforts within NATO.
With an eye to NATOs new strategic concept she said a small civilian hum within NATO is necessary. Integration of these efforts would have a positive impact on the public diplomacy of the North-Atlantic Alliance and its members, as it would cut down on the bureaucracy and reduce tax spending in a time of fiscal austerity. The current command structure was too expensive and heavy-handed.
What role should small states play in NATO and in international relations? According to Bech, they have legitimacy to pull their weight: We want to leave a distinctly Danish fingerprint on situations that we are involved in, she said, pointing to the fact that Denmark has the largest number of soldiers in Afghanistan, relative to its own population size. Reliable and responsible countries should live up to their promises, she said. How can you not be in the South, where the action is?
Over time the quality of a country would be evidenced by the quality of its military commitment to areas of international instability, she noted.
In conversation with Nicholas Burns, Director of the Future of Diplomacy Project and Karl Kaiser, Director of the Program on Transatlantic Relations of the Weatherhead Center for International Affairs, she also commented on public diplomacy on NATO and the future of Denmarks engagement in the Arctic region.
Bech agreed with Kaiser that the new NATO strategic concept had to be supported by public consensus in order for it to reach its full potential. The public needs to be addressed; otherwise it is no more than an elite project.
She also noted that classic problems of territorial international relations were returning: The conflict over resources and maritime access routes in the Arctic and the South China Sea could be extremely contentious in the near future. She called for better, closer transnational cooperation to address these issues.
For more information about this publication please contact the Future of Diplomacy Project Executive Director at 617-496-0104.
For Academic Citation:


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What do you consider the number one issue affecting our county and what will you do to address it – be specific?
Dennis DeWitt, who answered the question, said finances is the biggest issue facing Bee County: "If we don't have the money to pay for things, we are in a world of hurt."
He said the county has to pay for utilities, salaries for workers, equipment and supplies, fuel, to name but a few expenses.
How do you pay for all this? he asked.
"Well, I don't think you can scrub the budget more than they already have. I have to admit the court has already done all it can to scrub the budget. They've looked at everything. (Any more cuts) and it will begin to affect government service, which is never good."
His proposal to generate more revenue is to find alternative revenue sources, such as operating the weigh stations on the bypasses with sheriff's deputies. Other counties which have done so have raised between $50,000 and $90,000 a month, he said.
Another revenue source is state and federal grants, as well as collecting unpaid fines owed to the city, he added. DeWitt said he understands that some $500,000 and $1 million in unpaid fines are owed to the county.
"There are alternative methods of funding out there and we need to find them," he said. "We need to get these new ideas, these new innovations in place. And we can do it."
Not many years ago the county's reserve fund was $2.5 million. Now, it is below $1 million. How do you think we got to this point and what is your plan to ensure the county remains financially sound without further tax increases or taking money, whether it's interest or principal, from the health care funds?
Susan Stasny, who answered the question, said past commissioners courts adopted tax rates below the effective tax rates for several years, which led to less tax revenue.
"In the 1997-98-99 budget years, the commissioners court reduced taxes by two cents below the effective tax rate, and that was done at the recommendation of the county auditor at the time, and it seemed like a good decision and I voted for it. But those taxes (revenue) were lost forever and I think the outcome of it was not a good decision. I talked to a lot of businessmen in the community at the time, and only one of them — Tom Marshall — told me, 'Susan, don't do that. It's not good business.' They all wanted lower taxes and it sounded like a good thing and it's hard to vote against not increasing taxes and I did it, but I am not sure it was the right thing to do."
Over the next eight years, county commissioners voted to use money in the reserve fund to balance the budget to keep from raising taxes and to cut spending, she said.
The ongoing dispute between the county and BISD over tax collection costs made it clear that we need elected officials that think pragmatically and are willing to put the citizens of this community first rather than get involved in tit-for-tat politics. How would you have handled and resolved the dispute?
Kenneth Chesshir answered that opposing viewpoints are common in politics but he has brought opposing sides to a consensus on issues over the course of his 14 years on the City Council.
"People get on one side of the fence and say, 'We are all right and you are all wrong.' It's always been a good political thing (for a public official) to say, 'We're gonna agree on what we can agree on.' That's a good campaign promise, but most people don't do it. And I feel I have done it. I have worked on issues in which lines were definitely drawn and I have found common ground on almost every one of them, and I think I could on this (issue) as well."
What should Commissioners Court do to bring more jobs to Bee County? The federal stimulus bill saved a few jobs at the sheriff's department, but what can Commissioners Court do to stimulate job growth in this community?
Stasny's answer: "There are very few things a commissioners court can do to promote economic development."
Some of the things that can be done include the creation of the Main Street program, which she helped start. "So as a county commissioner I was able to coordinate with the city and help make that program happen."
While talking to business owners on the 27 blocks that now make up the Main Street program area, Stasny said the biggest cause of concern to business development downtown was flooding. "They told me, 'We need to have the drainage fixed downtown. We're not fixing up my building or expanding my businesses until that is done.' She said she promised to help in that regard. And with help from the Main Street director Molly Young, and a 14-inch flood in 2006, the Texas Department of Transportation agreed to improve the drainage along the main thoroughfares in the city. That work was completed last fall, Stasny noted.
Are you willing to consider a freeze in your salary for the next four years and would you work to convince your fellow commissioners to accept that freeze?
Dennis DeWitt said the commissioners should not only freeze their pay but consider giving some of their salary back. "I think a freeze is an oxymoron. There's no money for raises anyway. Instead of a freeze, we need to be talking about a reduction (in commissioners' salaries). If you ask a commissioner, 'How much do you make, they will probably tell you around $38,000 a year. Well, that's not quite true.'
He said when you figure in the fringe benefits — the gas allowance, the health insurance, the retirement — a commissioner earns closer to $50,000.
On the other hand, some county employees earn as little as $14,000 per year, he noted, hardly a "livable salary."
We often hear that we need to reduce spending, but still maintain or improve the county's infrastructure. Do you think it is possible to meet these two competing objectives?
Kenneth Chesshir answered this question by saying he has experienced the same issue while serving on the City Council.
"Well, I know that in our budget for the city, we bring it in and we have a workable budget, but then people start coming in and wanting this and wanting that. You have to try to weigh it out. But it seems like a lot of times when you think you've cut everything, you can cut again. You just have to go over (the budget) and over it and over it again. We have had budgets (for the city) that we thought we had cut to the quick, and we went through it again and cut a little more."
It's a tough decision, he concedes. "Do you want to cut the budget or do you want to raise taxes. It's just like everybody wants to go to heaven but nobody wants to die."