Sunday, September 30, 2012

India's heaviest satellite GSAT-10 launched successfully

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Source: http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/videos/news/Indias-heaviest-satellite-GSAT-10-launched-successfully/videoshow/16603834.cms

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Been looking for new construction homes in Greenville/Greer - Zillow

Houses are not sold on a square foot basis, but instead as a unit.?? The square foot calculation falls out of the total sales price.??

What affects price per square foot???

- size: larger homes have lower cost per square foot from the moment of start of construction assuming everything else is equal

- finish:? higher end finishes add to construction cost.?? Is the flooring builder's grade carpet (less expensive) or hardwood (more expensive).?? Is the roof 10 year shoddy shingles or 400 year slate??? There are hundreds of other finish possibilities that add or subtract from costs.

- is the home in a desireable location vs unwanted location in the subdivision???

- does the home have a view or not???

If prices are $90 to $110 per square foot, you've got the answer.? That's the range, narrowing it down further depends on the individual house you are examining.

Source: http://www.zillow.com/advice-thread/Been-looking-for-new-construction-homes-in-Greenville-Greer-SC-area-for-about-4-weeks/461999/

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Indonesian ambassador visited Baku State University

26/09/2012

Newly-appointed Indonesian ambassador Raden Prayono Atiyantos visited Baku State University. Ambassador met with professor Irada Aliyeva, Vice-rector on educational process and teaching technologies, professor Aydin Kazymzade, Vice-rector on Science and innovation, professor Sani Hajiyev, Vice-rector on humanitarian problems and docent Gulheyran Rahimova, Dean for International Students. They discussed cooperation in teaching and research spheres. Raden Prayono Atiyanto updated on the Education and Training Centre, which was organized by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Indonesia and noted that the students of BSU would use from this center in the future.? The Indonesian Ambassador viewed the scientific-research laboratory of BSU.

Press and Information Department, BSU September 26, 2012.

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Source: http://bsu.edu.az/en/news/indonesian_ambassador_visited_baku_state_university

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Saturday, September 29, 2012

5 Ways to Make Customer Service a Priority

5 Ways to Make Customer Service a Priority

Posted by Meredith Estep on Fri, Sep 28, 2012 @ 12:45 PM

dreamstime 5269498If you want your business to be successful, you must produce happy, satisfied customers. How do you do this? By making customer service a priority for your company, starting from the main persons in charge to every employee on staff. Check out these five ways to make customer service the priority of your business.

Keep Service at the Forefront
If you want your employees to focus on customer service, then you have to focus on it as well. Keep customer service at the forefront of training and staff meetings. Mount your service philosophy on the wall where all of your employees will see it daily. Present the example of customer service to your staff, by getting out of the executive office and onto the customer floor, where you can interact with your customers directly.

Identify Customer Expectations
Providing customer service means meeting customers? expectations. However, you cannot be successful at this task until you know what those expectations are. Determine what your customers want from your business ? by asking them. Use customer feedback cards or simply spend a week or two talking to your customers when they come in. Through this process, you can identify expectations and then develop a service philosophy that will meet them.

Empower Employees to Offer Best Possible Service
When employees are empowered to provide the best service, they understand how important service quality is to your business. Employees should rarely, if ever, tell a customer they cannot meet their needs. Even if the answer to a customer?s request must be ?no,? service reps should be prepared with a myriad of alternatives that meet needs and remain within the parameters of company policy. If an employee doesn?t know the answer to a customer?s question, he should know exactly where to go to get that question answered.

Recognize Efforts
If service is to be a priority for your business, excellent service efforts must be recognized. There are many ways to recognize outstanding service within your company, from presenting awards and recognition at staff meetings to holding friendly contests among your service team. Any type of award can work, from cash bonuses to recognition in front of the rest of the staff. When employees know their efforts won?t go unnoticed, they will be more likely to give their best effort every single day.

Link Customer Service to Your Bottom Line
Finally, make sure employees understand the importance of high quality service by linking customer service to your bottom line. In most cases, happy customers are the ones that will be more likely to return to your business, purchase more products and service, and tell their friends and family about your company. If you can, use a chart with actual numeric values, showing the direct association between customer satisfaction and your bottom line.

Customer service should be the priority of every business today, but some companies don?t know how to pass that priority down to the rest of the staff. Through these ideas, and many others your management team may develop, customer service can be the reason all of your employees come to work every day and put forth their best effort for your company.

- Meredith Estep

Source: http://www.unitiv.com/intelligent-help-desk-blog/bid/91016/5-Ways-to-Make-Customer-Service-a-Priority

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Foulest ads of the campaign season so far

Politically Foul

This week, the biggest foul was committed in the sports arena, not the political one. But that didn't stop candidates from trying to score a dubious touchdown or two.

The Romney campaign attacked President Obama for cutting billions of dollars from Medicare to pay for "Obamacare."

"You pay into Medicare for years, every paycheck. Now, when you need it, Obama cut $716 billion from Medicare," says a new ad from the Romney campaign.

Except the new healthcare law does not cut funds from Medicare. That $716 billion refers to the amount saved by reforming the future rate of growth -- affecting hospitals and health insurance companies, not seniors' benefits.

On the other side of the field, team Obama seized on the 47 percent comment Romney made at a May fundraiser, releasing?an ad claiming that Romney attacked veterans, elderly, and the disabled.

Aside from the fact that Romney himself has admitted to speaking "inelegantly" about the 47 percent of voters who he says won't support him, did he actually attack veterans and old people? No.

In Virginia, jogging moms have become the new soccer moms in an ad from a Virginia-based group hoping to score a few votes from women who voted for Obama in 2008.

"I run to forget, forget about my problems," says a mom running and pushing a baby carriage in the ad. "I voted for Obama, but 'Hope and Change' was just a slogan...the future is getting worse under Obama."

It's not as blatant as belting out, "I love you women!", but still, that's some painful pandering.

Comedian Sarah Silverman played offensive with a video attacking voter ID laws.

"Hey black people, old people, poor people, and students," Silverman?says. "Guess what you all have in common? Lawmakers are trying to --." We can't print what she says, but rest assured, the video sends a clear message that new laws are targeting Democratic demographics.

And, finally, it wouldn't be Politically Foul if we didn't have an outright fumble from Joe Biden. This week, with an assist from his wife.

"I've seen Joe up close," said Jill Biden as she introduced her husband at a campaign event at Dartmouth College. The audience erupted in guffaws, and the blushing Dr. Biden quickly pointed to her notes. "It's in my remarks!"

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/blogs/power-players-abc-news/foulest-ads-campaign-season-far-112136413.html

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For Nokia, helping the competition find its way is good business

For Nokia, helping the competition find its way is good business

Financially, Nokia is in bad shape. It lost a billion dollars last quarter, which is only good news when you look at the quarter before that, which shows a $1.7 billion loss. Despite all this, Christof Hellmis, VP of Product Location Services at Nokia, doesn't seem to be the least bit concerned. In fact, he's rather chipper as he sits down with us at this year's Mondial de l'Automobile in Paris.

Perhaps that's because his division, Location & Commerce, is doing quite well indeed. Containing the remains of Navteq, L&C pulled down nearly €100 million profits in each of the past two quarters. It's a healthy golden goose in Nokia's rapidly shrinking barn. So why, then, is the company helping its competition improve their own offerings by providing more comprehensive navigation services baked right into Windows Phone 8? And, why is it that Apple's own attempt at mapping has gone oh so poorly? Those are just a few of the questions we asked of Mr. Hellmis, all detailed for you after the break.

Continue reading For Nokia, helping the competition find its way is good business

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For Nokia, helping the competition find its way is good business originally appeared on Engadget on Fri, 28 Sep 2012 18:00:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Friday, September 28, 2012

Internet Marketing Suggestions That Will Help increased Your - First

Website marketing has quickly become an established market, and can be considered the forefront of advertising and marketing. This article contains many tips to help increase your profitability.

Look into research that has been done on how a business?s website design or online marketing techniques influence the psychological behavior of consumers. Many psychological factors can determine how people perceive your product, including the color and design of your site. You should have a basic understanding of this information in order to ensure your overall profit is maximized.

Advertise your company with the Internet?s most popular sites. Consider it an investment that will get you a lot of valuable exposure and lead to brand recognition. If your page has traffic all day, the presence of your ad will be implanted in a customer?s mind.

TIP! Ask for feedback often. This particular factor can prove really critical to your overall success, since your perspective of your site appearance and pricing structure might not match the perspective of others.

User Friendly

A great way to make your site user friendly is to include a FAQ section which is frequently asked questions. This will enable your customers to get answers quickly and will make your site more user friendly, in general. The more evident it is to your customer that purchasing services or goods from you is to his or her benefit, the more likely the person is to complete a transaction.

One tip webmasters forget is to keep their sites simple. A lot of web design and marketing companies rely too much on gimmicks like Flash and Silverlight. Experts should understand that many visitors do not want to deal with this type of technology. A website can be more functional if it doesn?t have fancy bells and whistles.

TIP! Before you set out to get your website ranked, you should concentrate on building a quality site. This should be the first step for everyone in web business.

Although you may not know it at first, you are well-equipped to create a successful online marketing strategy. All you need to have is you. No expensive software or other tricks are needed. Simply work diligently, and think before you act on a decision.

It is important that you handle all customer service complaints on your own. It?s better to handle these types of situations on your own, even if you?re tempted to hire someone else to do so. If an unhappy customer sends you an irate email, respond yourself to that email, offer a resolution, and let the customer know that you value him or her and his or her business.

Don?t just abandon and reject ideas that did not produce the results that you wanted. Something that did not catch on a few months ago might work now. The Internet is constantly evolving, and people regularly find new applications for it. Avoid investing too much money in unworkable ideas, but save them.

TIP! It is essential when owning a business that you spend your advertising dollars in the right ways. Like many other business expenditures, advertising is subject to the law of diminishing returns.

Check frequently for outdated information on your website. If your site has only old articles on it, it will not rank well in search results and people will not visit it again. A well-received and current site is one which will attract more people.

You should be able to guarantee that your system for ordering is secure. Open a Paypal or similar account that lets you have a secure transaction system for your website. Personal user accounts should also be password protected to make sure their personal and payment information is secure.

Internet Promotion

TIP! Use internal links that include your keywords. Once you get a visitor to your site, keeping them there becomes vital.

There is no step-by-step recipe for Internet promotion success; it is as much an art as it is a science. Prior to starting an Internet promotion campaign, make sure you understand both parts. Use your creativity to build effective Website marketing techniques for your particular type of business.

Invest some time in learning basic web design techniques and principles. There?s plenty of information online about CSS or HTML that will help you in web design. Spending just a half an hour every day learning about good web page design will give you a lot of ideas in as little as a few weeks.

The beginning of this article pointed out that every bit of knowledge that you can gain on Web marketing will help you in your business. Now that you have learned some new insights into this area, you are hopefully already having new visions and ideas to apply to your own affiliate marketing efforts. Remember the tips in this article and be sure to enjoy your new profits

TIP! An Internet marketing trick everyone should know, is to give people the choice of paying wholesale or retail, according to how much they buy. You should still be making a profit on wholesale items you sell but this is a great way to increase the amount of product you sell.

Join me on Facebook:
www.facebook.com/maynaseric

Source: http://www.maynaseric.com/internet-marketing-suggestions-that-will-help-increased-your-business

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SENATOR TRIES TO SWEEP ELECTION WITH PRO-VACUUM ...

During the election season, some candidates either play it safe in their stances or they go bold. One senator in West Virginia is taking an alternative route by touting his love for the vacuum cleaner during his re-election bid.

As media outlets have reported, it was recently confirmed that U.S. Senator Joe Manchin?s wife, Gayle, uses a Flowbee to cut his hair. The vacuum cleaner attachment, which was developed in the late 1980s, spurred such a reaction from voters that Manchin decided to double down on his love for vacuums. Manchin has now come out and admitted it: He loves vacuums more than any other candidate in the political sphere.

?He can?t get enough of them,? said one aide, in an email. ?And this is why you MUST keep Joe Manchin as your governor, voters! We?re just trying to run a clean race here!?

Seen as largely a tactic to appeal to housewives ? or even just the orderly type of voter ? the push for such an odd platform has some scratching their heads. But the junior U.S. senator isn?t that particular; Manchin has taken the opportunity to pose with Dysons and Hoovers alike as he stumps throughout the state.

His opponents have not been as kind about the move.

?This is clearly just a distraction from a poor record,? said an adviser to Republican opponent John Raese. ?Anyone can get up there with a Dirt Devil and talk about their haircut. We need to talk about the real issues.?

As the election moves forward, each candidate hopes to leave the other in the dust. The only difference is that Manchin would promptly sweep up that dust when he gets the chance.

As of this morning, no vacuum companies have made official endorsements for either candidate.

Like this:

Be the first to like this.

Source: http://weeklyworldnews.com/headlines/51548/senator-tries-to-sweep-election-with-pro-vacuum-stance/

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'Angry Birds' spinoff 'Bad Piggies' is the whole hog

6 hrs.

You really can't go wrong spending the pocket change or the time it'll cost you to buy and play the newest game from the creators of "Angry Birds." When it comes to puzzle gaming for your mobile device,?"Bad Piggies"?really is the whole hog.

The "Angry Birds" spinoff from Finnish game company Rovio (which launched in Apple's App store Thursday)?has everything you'd want from a great mobile game???the bright art,?oddly lovable characters, ear-worm music and, most importantly, the highly-polished, infectious and thought-provoking puzzle gameplay you can jump into and out of at (almost) a?moment's notice.?

But let's get something straight: Though this game is clearly?a sister/spin-off/sequel to the?phenomenally?successful Angry Birds games,??there is nary a slingshot or irate?avian?to be found in "Bad Piggies." As the name implies, this game is all about the birds' egg-thieving?nemesis. And, more importantly, "Bag Piggies" has a gameplay?mechanic all its own.

In this game, those endlessly hungry porkers are trying to reach the birds' eggs,?but the map that leads to their delicious location has been torn to shreds. And so, it is your job to help your porcine buddies collect the pieces of the map, which are spread across more than 60?different levels.

But since the pigs are, well, nothing but snouty, leggless?orbs and thus entirely unable to move on their own, you're tasked with constructing contraptions to carry them from starting point A, across, over and around various landscapes and obstacles, to end?point B, where the map piece is.?

Plenty of other contraption-building games have come before, but with "Bad Piggies" Rovio has distilled the this kind of physics?puzzle?gameplay down to its sleek, accessible and addictive?essence.

The first two worlds???"Ground Hog Day" and "When Pigs Fly"???are each made up of 45 levels full of landscapes that must be rolled across or flown through. ?At the start of each level, you'll be given various items with which to make your pig-carrying jallopy???boxes, wheels,?balloons, fans, explosive soda pop bottles, umbrellas,?engines, propellers, rockets,?etc.

Once you've put your contraption together, you set it in motion and see how far you get.?But even when your pig is on the move, your work is not yet done. For example, if?you've attached a fan and a couple of soda pop bottles to the box with your pig in it, you'll have to smartly set the fan blowing or set the pop bottles exploding at just the right time to get your porcine?friend where he needs to go.

And often, he will not get where he needs to go.?This is a game in which, if at first you don't succeed,? you must find joy in try, trying again. You are certain to send your pig careening into walls and plummeting to the ground whereupon your contraption will bust to pieces. But that's OK. The fun?here comes in not only?learning from your mistakes but watching your mistakes happen.

As with "Angry Birds" (and plenty of other puzzle games), you'll be challenged to earn?three stars in each of the first two?worlds. But this time around, Rovio lets you know exactly what you need to do to get those?three stars. And these goals vary from level to level.?

You can earn a?star by, well, running into a?star placed in a hard-to-reach locale, or by?getting your pig??from the starting point to the map in a certain amount of time, or by making it through the level without damaging your?contraption?at all. Sometimes you collect a star by creating a contraption that gets you from point A to point B without using a specific part that would make that journey easier. And sometimes you'll be rewarded for getting the?Pig King through the course too.

And the star collecting ramps up to entirely new and epic proportions?once you unlock the Sandbox levels in the game. These sprawling levels toss 20 stars across vast landscapes and then give you a large?supply of parts with which to build your contraption. The goal here is to see how many stars you can get to. And snagging?more than a few stars is no easy task.?But it is an absolute blast to create and then?tinker with?the most madcap pig-rig you can think up as you try to inch your way to each star.

Of course, the question that will always follow Rovio is: Will this game be as wildly successful as "Angry Birds?" We can't help but wonder: Have they, once again, captured that mysterious something that will earn "Bad Piggies" the?billion downloads their feathered friends have?earned?

If I was a betting person, I'd say no. Not because "Bad Piggies" is a bad game in any way, but because?"Bad Piggies" will require more of you???and your brain???than Angry Birds does. While you could kind of mindlessly send your bird slingshotting through the air in "Angry Birds," you can't just mindlessly send your piggy rolling down a hill ... at least not if you want to be remotely successful.

You need to think about what you're building, you need to refine your work and you'll need to stay focused as your pig is in motion. It will certainly take you more time to get into the groove of this game???and that could be offputting to some casual players. But ultimately this?is?a good thing.?"Bad Piggies" is,?in many ways,?more challenging than its angry brethren?and, I think, because of that it is?more rewarding. It really is an absolute joy to see your pig fly ... and reach his destination in one piece.

"Bad Piggies" is?99 cents for the iPhone?here?and?$2.99 for the iPad here. It's $4.99 in the Mac App store here. And you'll find it for free on Google Play?here.?Rovio says it is coming to PCs and Windows Phones "soon."

Winda Benedetti?writes?about video?games for NBC?News. You can follow her tweets about games and?other things on Twitter here?@WindaBenedetti,?and you can?follow her?on?Google+.?Meanwhile, be sure to check?out the?IN-GAME?FACEBOOK PAGE?to discuss the day's?gaming news and reviews.

Source: http://www.nbcnews.com/technology/ingame/angry-birds-spinoff-bad-piggies-whole-hog-6150498

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Thursday, September 27, 2012

Affordable Car Rentals - Finding The Right Deal Is Not That Tough ...

There are several rental vehicle companies right now. Selecting the best car hire that meets your financial budget may be the difficult part. One automobile rental organization nonetheless offers high quality of cars while using right spending budget. Thrifty Car Accommodations has always been a value-oriented automobile rental organization who caters to cost-cognizant and discretion travelers. Thrifty automobile hire has been available since 1958, became a public company 1987 and acquired by Chrysler in 1989 and later on joined with Dollar Rent a motor vehicle in 1990.

Frugal is one of the largest sized rental corporations on the globe using more than 1,000 areas in 70 countries corporately-owned and franchised retailers. From the U.S. alone they have 426 locations. In Canada 140 regions and 592 worldwide. A well known brand in a vehicle rental entire world that serves cost aware company and leisure vacation goers.

In October of 2009 the company has decided to help to increase its fleet brands such as Ford, Automobile, Nissan, Hyundai, Kia among others as well as Chrysler. Chrysler, Dodge and Jeep were just the primary cars rented just before 2009. With your additions it?s simple to choose between several brands want.

One of the most successful web marketing strategy on this business is the Blue Chip Express Rental Program. It allows members some great benefits of expedited pickup and return. The Blue Chip Express Rental Program costs nothing for anyone who really wants to join, membership is totally free. Once you?re registered to this particular program you gain usage of several rewards program like the Blue Chip Rewards, members get free rental days and rewards credits for members who park at participating thrifty parking at the airport destinations. Together with Blue Chip Rewards people also provide the option of adding airline miles with collaborating airline carriers.

Thrifty also provides the Wild Car program. The program ensures customers reduced rates on large vehicles or mid-sized vehicles. The corporation also provides many business system for all their business needs. Should your company requires that you travel a lot then SmartBusinness is the program. Advantages of this program add a generous mileage allowance, secured leases, free added drivers and limits to vehicle damage responsibility. Next we now have the SmartBiz, this program is designed for smaller businesses a far more streamlined version of the SmartBusiness.

Lots of Thrifty?s major opposition just about solely targets manchester airport market, Thrifty however may be felt significantly on airport and native automobile hire markets. In the U.S., Thrifty has around 80% of its business concentrated within the airport current market and 20% from your market.

And so the the very next time you plan on hiring an automobile together with good deals don?t forget to have a look at Cash conscious all you need to carry out is go to their website sufficient reason for a click of the mouse you are well on the right path to renting a car whether for business or pleasure. They provide a fantastic range of vehicles for all size households, in the sporty kind to the large cruiser that can the grand mother and father at the same time.

For more fantastic specifics of rent a car, go to our fresh website varna car rental today.

Related posts:

  1. Car Rentals ? Doing Your Holiday Less Complicated
  2. Kedna.com Offers Affordable and Effective Real Estate Marketing Solution in Todays Tough Marketplace
  3. Vacation Rentals of North Myrtle Beach Offers New Fall Specials
  4. September Special Now for Cape San Blas Vacation Rentals at Bayrock on Bobzio.com, a Free Website for Vacation Rentals by Onwer, Home Swappers & Travelers to Connect
  5. Tough Economy Benefits Certain Types of Businesses

Source: http://www.hugohosting.com/affordable-car-rentals-finding-the-right-deal-is-not-that-tough.html

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Romney, Obama descend on battleground Ohio

Republican presidential candidate, former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney speaks during a campaign rally, Wednesday, Sept. 26, 2012, in Westerville, Ohio. (AP Photo/ Evan Vucci)

Republican presidential candidate, former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney speaks during a campaign rally, Wednesday, Sept. 26, 2012, in Westerville, Ohio. (AP Photo/ Evan Vucci)

President Barack Obama walks across the tarmac to board Air Force One before his departure from Andrews Air Force Base, Md., Wednesday, Sept., 26, 2012. Obama is traveling to Ohio for a day of campaign event. (AP Photo/Pablo Martinez Monsivais)

Republican presidential candidate, former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney reacts to hecklers while speaking at a campaign rally, Wednesday, Sept. 26, 2012, in Westerville, Ohio. (AP Photo/Jay LaPrete)

(AP) ? Republican presidential candidate Mitt Romney said Wednesday that he understands the struggles of working families and has the know-how to fix them as he sought to counteract fallout from a secret video that President Barack Obama won't let him live down.

With polls showing the president ahead in key swing states that will decide the race, the White House expressed confidence. "As time progresses, you know, the field is looking like it's narrowing for them," campaign spokeswoman Jen Psaki told reporters aboard Air Force One as Obama headed for his own rallies in Ohio. "And so in that sense we'd rather be us than them."

Obama was stopping at two college campuses in the hunt for the state's 18 electoral votes, while Romney was here for a second straight day on a bus emblazoned with, "More Jobs, More Take-Home Pay." Losing the state would dramatically narrow Romney's path to the 270 Electoral College votes it takes to win the White House ? and no Republican has ever lost Ohio and won the presidency.

Romney's pitch for working-class men was far from subtle. He campaigned at a factory that makes commercial spring wire, touring the noisy plant floor in goggles and rolled-up shirt sleeves alongside television's king of macho, Discovery Channel's "Dirty Jobs" host Mike Rowe. The pair spoke later from a stage set with hard hat-wearing workers, giant coils of steel wire, open metal cross beams and yellow caution signs in the background.

The economy during Obama's presidency has been especially hard on male blue-collar workers. But secretly recorded video of Romney telling donors he doesn't need to worry about the 47 percent of Americans who don't pay income taxes and "believe that they are victims" has distracted from his argument that blue-collar men should throw Obama out over his fiscal record.

Obama continued to remind voters of Romney's secretly recorded remarks in television ads and a speech at Bowling Green State University.

"Look, I don't believe we can get very far with leaders who write off half the nation as a bunch of victims who never take responsibility for their own lives," Obama said. "I've got to tell you, as I travel around Ohio and as I look out on this crowd, I don't see a lot of victims. I see hard working Ohioans."

At an earlier stop outside Columbus, Romney touted his business experience as reason he can do better. "I care about the people of America. The difference between me and President Obama is I know what to do and I will do what it takes to get this economy going," Romney said to a standing ovation from supporters.

Romney also released a 60-second television ad with a new, softer approach than the negative ads dominating the airways. It's unclear how much ? if at all ? the commercial will air on television, but it echoed Romney's compassionate pitch from the campaign trial. The candidate, in an open-collar shirt, speaks into the camera about the struggles of living paycheck to paycheck and trying to pay for necessities like food and gas on falling incomes.

"President Obama and I both care about poor and middle-class families," Romney says. "The difference is my policies will make things better for them."

And Romney's new insistence that he's the better candidate to help middle-class families comes after his campaign's recent announcement that he'll do more to describe what he would do as president. At his morning rally, Romney stood in front of a running national debt clock and focused on Obama's handling of the debt and the interest piling up.

Romney's comments follow a Washington Post poll that shows the federal debt and deficit are the one set of issues on which he has an advantage over Obama with likely voters. In recent weeks, Romney has lost his polling edge on the economy generally, with more people saying they now trust Obama to fix the nation's economic woes.

The gym couldn't hold all the people who came to see Romney at Alum Creek Park, and he stopped by an overflow room to shake hands with those who couldn't get in to see him in person. As he was leaving, one supporter told him: "Please get us out of this mess."

Introducing Romney was golfing great Jack Nicklaus, an Ohio native. Romney's campaign produced signs that read, "The Golden Bear for Romney/Ryan," featuring the campaign logo and a silhouette of Nicklaus swinging a club. "I certainly didn't apologize for my success," Nicklaus told the audience to cheers.

Obama planned to campaign later Wednesday at Kent State University, hoping to generate the kind of enthusiasm among young voters that helped fuel his victory four years ago. Romney focused on major metropolitan areas of the state where large numbers of voters live.

Buoyed by signs of an improving economy, Obama has the edge in polls in Ohio six weeks from Election Day. The president has led Romney in a series of recent surveys in the state, with a Washington Post poll on Tuesday showing Obama with a lead that was outside the poll's margin of error. A CBS/New York Times poll also showed Obama ahead here. Even on handling of the economy, where Romney until recently had an advantage, Obama now leads.

___

Pickler reported from Washington. Associated Press writer Steve Peoples in Bowling Green, Ohio, contributed to this report.

Associated Press

Source: http://hosted2.ap.org/APDEFAULT/3d281c11a96b4ad082fe88aa0db04305/Article_2012-09-26-Presidential%20Campaign/id-5d54170a451f4400bff1ae0dc60e6257

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Can Duct Cleaning Really Help My Champaign, IL home? | Lanz Inc ...

Have you ever wondered why your home is dusty, or why your family members with allergies suffer more inside your home than outside?? There are many things that can contribute to this. One of the largest reasons could be coming from your air ducts!? Dirty ductwork is one of the leading contributors to poor indoor air quality in your home.? You can do a simple inspection of your ductwork by removing a vent coveror register.? Also, you can disconnect and inspect your ductwork in your basement, crawl space, or attic for dust and allergens.? Duct cleaning can greatly improve your Indoor Air Quality by removing the dirt from your vents so it is not blowing around your home every time the furnace or A/C runs.? Let Lanz Heating & Cooling help you breathe easier today! Give us a call or schedule a service online!

Source: http://www.lanzinc.com/blog/indoor-air-quality/can-duct-cleaning-really-help-my-champaign-il-home/

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Wednesday, September 26, 2012

Bill payday loan to avoid default: Dubli - Business and Finance Sites

Payday loans are a good source of money to help keep making payments in time. There are times when unexpected payments tend to eat the money that has been provided with regular bill payments. When such things happen, payday loans online work well for many clients. Pay a fee for the easy money is to proactively maintain the payments on time. You will be charged for late payments, be reported to credit bureaus, and risking his growing interest by the creditor. If you are behind in your payments, even less than 30 days begins to do damage to your credit score.

What can be done to remedy one of these negative marks on your credit score? The first of the most important factors is to make payment and do what you can to keep all future paid on time. Increase your budget to find the money to make it work. The next thing you can do is take a look at your credit score to see exactly what is reported and how often. Creditors have not reported the end of the first payment if paid within 30 days. Each lender has its own policies, but they are less tolerant when debtors are frequently late.

If you are late, the creditor is a person who has been with you for a long time or if you have your bank account, you can call to remove the default status. Creditors will not call you to ask if you wish to be removed, so that the debtor will be on the offensive, a polished offensive. If you are someone who habitually late, it does not hurt to try, but most creditors will not help if the delay occurs too often. Phone calls do not always work, you can ask to speak to a supervisor or to try a different approach.

If you?ve been a good customer with a history of timely payments, write a letter to the creditor. In his letter to his creditor with courtesy and be clear with your request. Let them know how long you?ve been a customer. Refer to the duration of the payments on time and stayed with his company refused offers of other creditors with more attractive offers. Let them know that you read what is written on your credit report and ask you to remove it. Let them know that you know that it is easy to do and become familiar with the Reporting Act Fair Credit.

Let them know that their story would be perfect if there were not one or two exceptions. Ask their loyalty in exchange for deleted items. Express your gratitude and thank you in advance of his intention to stay. Loyal and responsible

Avoid late payments in line with salary loans.Prevention is the best medicine when it comes to keeping the payments on time. Make sure you have enough money to repay the loan so that you can keep payday loans online at low cost is a success.

Source: http://thedublifactor.com/bill-payday-loan-to-avoid-default.htm

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Verizon Joins Lockheed Martin Cybersecurity Alliance

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Source: http://news.yahoo.com/verizon-joins-lockheed-martin-cybersecurity-alliance-090014479.html

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Reference and Education: Effective Way of Learning Physics

Maybe you wonder how learning physics with ease and you can easily understand the material being studied. Actually, our ability to capture knowledge practically the same average, but why the final results obtained showed a striking difference with others? The answer was probably short, which lies in every child and Link on how to learn the physics can be used every child is different.

Therefore, you need for a coaching to how to learn physics a simple from teacher at school or counselor from any tutor. How do we find an effective method of learning physics, especially the students often find obstacles in the learning process effectively and efficiently? All must feel learning is synonymous with the expense or liability. But everything is not going to be like that if you use the physics coursework help. Assistance of a competent tutor will make it easier to learn. But the main thing is discipline in learning. Discipline does need to be applied in the study, such as the discipline of time and discipline to concentrate on the lesson. Given the nature of the discipline in yourself, you can bet that you do lessons can be effectively and efficiently. So, try it!

Source: http://gutcheckthisamerica.blogspot.com/2012/09/effective-way-of-learning-physics.html

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Source: http://behan-weierstrass.blogspot.com/2012/09/reference-and-education-effective-way.html

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Tuesday, September 25, 2012

UN chief demands global action to end war in Syria

UNITED NATIONS (AP) ? Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon demanded international action to stop the war in Syria, telling a somber gathering of world leaders Tuesday that the 18-month conflict had become "a regional calamity with global ramifications."

In his state of the world speech at the opening of the U.N. General Assembly's annual ministerial meeting, Ban said he was sounding the alarm about widespread insecurity and injustice, inequality and intolerance in many countries.

Putting the spotlight on Syria, the U.N. chief said "the international community should not look the other way as violence spirals out of control."

Ban said the Syrian conflict is a serious and growing threat to international peace and security that requires attention from the deeply divided U.N. Security Council.

Russia and China have vetoed three Western-backed resolutions aimed at pressuring Syrian President Bashar Assad to end the violence and enter negotiations on a political transition, leaving the U.N.'s most powerful body paralyzed in what some diplomats say is the worst crisis since the U.S.-Soviet standoff during the Cold War.

The secretary-general also expressed profound concern at continuing violence in Afghanistan and Congo, increasing unrest across west Africa's Sahel region where al-Qaida has made inroads, and the "dangerous impasse" between Israelis and Palestinians that may close the door on the two-state solution.

The "shrill war talk" by Israel in recent weeks, in response to its belief that Iran is pursuing nuclear weapons, "has been alarming," Ban said, and Tehran's rhetoric threatening Israel's existence is unacceptable.

"Any such attacks would be devastating," he said, reminding the 193 U.N. member states of the need for peaceful solutions and respect for international law.

"Leaders have a responsibility to use their voices to lower tensions instead of raising the temperature and volatility of the moment," he said.

Alluding to the recently circulated amateur video made in the U.S. which attacks Islam and denigrates the Prophet Muhammad, Ban said that "in recent days we have seen hate speech and violent responses that perpetuate a cycle of blind violence."

He lamented that in the world today "too often, divisions are exploited for short-term political gain" and "too many people are ready to take small flames of difference and turn them into a bonfire."

The secretary-general said it's time for responsible political and community leaders and ordinary citizens to speak out.

"The moderate majority should not be a silent majority," Ban said. "It must empower itself, and say to bigots and extremists alike: 'you do not speak for us.'"

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/un-chief-demands-global-action-end-war-syria-133433892.html

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Mary Edwards Walker: Above and Beyond | Psychology Today

Faced with what is right, to leave it undone shows a lack of courage. ? Confucius

I have been writing a scholarly paper on recipients of the Medal of Honor ? aka the Congressional Medal of Honor* ? which is the highest award for bravery that can be given to someone in the US Armed Forces. Since 1863, it has been awarded to 3400+ individuals. In all cases, the person performed an extraordinary deed entailing risk of life above and beyond the call of duty, usually in armed action against an opposing force. At least in recent decades, most Medals of Honor have been awarded posthumously because the recipients died while performing the heroic deed that earned the award.

In my paper, I referred to the recipients collectively as ?men? but then fretted that maybe I was wrong. The popular movie Courage Under Fire notwithstanding, maybe some women had received the Medal of Honor, and the least I could do was to include them in my generalizations.

As I quickly discovered upon consulting Wikipedia, a woman (one) had been awarded the Medal of Honor: Mary Edwards Walker (1832-1919), usually identified as a Union Civil War surgeon. She was born in Oswego, New York, in a family without sons. Her father expected his daughters to do a man?s work on the family farm, and they all did.

It is unclear whether she attended college, but at age 21, Mary Edwards Walker enrolled at Syracuse Medical College, one of the few schools in the United States that admitted female students. Tuition was $55 per term, and room and board in a dormitory was $1.50 per week. In 1855, after eighteen months of study, she earned her medical degree.

Dr. Walker had difficulty establishing an independent medical practice, and when the Civil War began, she volunteered her services to the Union Army and cared for wounded Soldiers on both sides of the conflict and their family members. After crossing battle lines, she was taken prisoner of war and served time in a Confederate prison. In 1865, she received the Medal of Honor. In 1917, it was rescinded (as were hundreds of others that had been awarded) because she was a civilian and ? strictly speaking ? her acts of bravery did not occur in the context of combat. However, her Medal was restored in 1977.

Intrigued by what I had read about Mary Edwards Walker, I wanted to learn more. I located an out-of-print biography of Dr. Walker, subtitled Above And Beyond. It was written by historian Dale L. Walker (2005). I took the step of actually buying the book because I thought (incorrectly, as it turned out) that the author might have been a descendant of Dr. Walker. Maybe he had some inside information about her and her life.

To my regret, the author had no inside information, for which I do not fault him. He was honest in noting that historical records were scant, and he did not try to fill in the blanks by making things up or extrapolating. Unlike many of her contemporaries, Dr. Walker was apparently not a prolific letter writer, and she did not keep a regular journal. What is known about her comes from official documents, letters by others that mentioned her, and newspaper stories**.

Another reason for the lack of information about Dr. Walker is that she may have been a spy for the Union Army and sworn to secrecy, a promise that if made was kept until her death. Historical records are not clear, although it is known that in 1864, she was arrested by Confederate forces, charged as a spy, and held in a Richmond prison until released in a prisoner exchange, a fact that supposedly amused her because the exchange signified that she was, at last, regarded as the equal of a man.

In any event, what the author of Dr. Walker?s biography did well was to depict the historical era in which she lived. Three things in particularly have stuck with me. First was the incredible difficulty faced by women in the 1800s, especially those who departed from what was expected. Women could not vote. Women could not easily acquire higher education, including medical education. And for those women who did earn a medical degree, acceptance by their male peers was almost impossible. So, although Dr. Walker tended to the ill and wounded throughout the Civil War, her appointment as a surgeon or even a surgeon?s assistant was strongly opposed by members of the medical establishment. She was not even paid for what she did except at the very end of the war.

Second was that when people in the mid-1800s communicated with those who were not in their immediate vicinity, they usually did so by letter. Or they took trips to see those with whom they wanted to talk. These trips could take days or even weeks. Contrast these practices with the modern world and its cell phones, e-mails, Facebook pages, and Skype calls. Despite what would seem to us formidable barriers to communication. Dr. Walker was in contact with such well-known individuals as Abraham Lincoln, Andrew Johnson, Dorothea Dix, Susan B. Anthony, and Frederick Douglas, among others.

Third was the incredible loss of life of combatants in the Civil War. Between 1861 and 1865, some 650,000 American Soldiers (on both sides) lost their lives, about 300 fatalities per day and totaling almost 2% of the entire United States population at the time. This number exceeds the US combat deaths in each of World War I, World War II, the Korean War, the Vietnam War, the Gulf War, and the Global War on Terror. Many deaths during the Civil War occurred as physicians tried to treat the wounded. One of the practices was the routine amputation of damaged limbs, a practice against which Dr. Walker argued but to little effect. History proved her correct: Amputation should be a last resort and not something automatically done. Other innovations championed by Dr. Walker were a diet of fruits and vegetables, regular physical exercise, and strict cleanliness.

The biography of Dr. Walker was more of an appetizer than an entr?e, but it was a tantalizing one. Dr. Walker was one interesting and important individual who deserves much more attention from history than she seems to receive. Her life was indeed above and beyond.

* Because the award is given ?in the name of Congress,? it is often called the Congressional Medal of Honor, but the actual name is simply the Medal of Honor.

** Indeed, newspaper stories about her were rather frequent because she attracted attention, not only for her accomplishments as a physician and as an activist promoting numerous causes from abolition to prohibition to family welfare to women?s suffrage but also because of the physical appearance she deliberately chose. Believing that the clothing typically worn by women of her era ? corsets, petticoats, and hoop skirts -- were not only constraining but unhygienic and unhealthy, she opted to wear clothing of her own design, typically trousers under a long-sleeved, high-necked, loose-waisted dress that fell just below her knees. She was often described as wearing men?s clothing ? which was hardly accurate ? and even arrested several times for supposedly so doing. But as she frequently said, ?I don?t wear men?s clothes. I wear my own clothes.? Even today, in a world that is more evolved in many ways, the attire of a powerful woman attracts attention in a way that the attire of a powerful man does not. Think Hillary Clinton and her well-chronicled pants suits. Plus ?a change, plus c'est la m?me chose. [The more things change, the more they stay the same.}

Reference

Walker, D. L. (2005). Mary Edwards Walker: Above and beyond. New York: Macmillan.

Source: http://www.psychologytoday.com/blog/the-good-life/201209/mary-edwards-walker-above-and-beyond

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The crucial Asian American note

The crucial Asian American note [ Back to EurekAlert! ] Public release date: 25-Sep-2012
[ | E-mail | Share Share ]

Contact: Bettye Miller
bettye.miller@ucr.edu
951-827-7847
University of California - Riverside

New survey outlines political views of key group

WASHINGTON, D.C. Asian Americans likely to vote in November strongly prefer Barack Obama over Mitt Romney, but a large portion of voters nearly one-third remain undecided and could play a crucial role in battleground states, according to two reports released today by the National Asian American Survey.

Drawn from a nationally representative sample of more than 3,300 interviews, the reports offer the most comprehensive portrait of Asian American political views. Among the fastest growing groups in America, Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders exceeded the 5 percent threshold in roughly one in four congressional districts in 2010, and a record number of Asian Americans are running for Congress this year.

"Asian American voters are getting a considerable amount of attention from the presidential campaigns this year, particularly in the battleground states of Nevada, North Carolina and Virginia," said Karthick Ramakrishnan, associate professor of political science at the University of California, Riverside and director of the National Asian American Survey (NAAS). "When compared to the general electorate, and even the Latino electorate, the Asian American vote is very much up for grabs at this late stage in the presidential campaign."

Indeed, the survey data show that 32 percent of likely Asian American voters remain undecided after the presidential nominating conventions, much higher than the estimated 7 percent rate among the general population. Moreover, one in six Asian Americans lives in a battleground state during the 2012 presidential election.

"Uncertainty is also a defining characteristic of party identification," noted Taeku Lee, professor and chair of political science and professor of law at the University of California, Berkeley. "Given the high proportion of immigrants among the Asian American electorate, we find a much higher proportion of non-partisans than the national average." Lee is a principal investigator of the survey and co-author of a book (with Zoltan Hajnal), "Why Americans Don't Join The Party."

The data also show that:

Among likely voters, 43 percent of Asian Americans support Barack Obama, while 24 percent prefer Romney. There are considerable differences by ethnic group: Indian Americans show the strongest support for Obama (68 percent), and Samoans and Filipinos show strongest support for Romney (39 percent and 38 percent, respectively).

Democrats have a 34 percent to 18 percent advantage among Asian Americans, but a majority of Asian Americans (51 percent) are Independent or do not identify with the U.S. party system. This figure is higher than the average for the national population (40 percent). Hmong, Indian and Korean Americans most strongly identify with the Democratic Party. In a significant shift, Filipino Americans now have the strongest identification with the Republican Party, a designation that has previously consistently belonged to Vietnamese Americans. The issues most important to Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders are similar to those of the rest of the country: the economy and jobs, followed by health care and education.

Asian Americans largely support both health care reform and affirmative action. On health care reform, support remains high regardless of whether the law is referred to as the Affordable Care Act or "Obamacare."

The survey was conducted by Ramakrishnan and Lee, who together have written seven books and dozens of articles on racial/ethnic politics, and have conducted 17 surveys, eight of which have included multiple-language support for Asian Americans.

Project partners on the report include National Asian Pacific American Women's Forum (NAPAWF) and Asian American Justice Center (AAJC). "Most national polls do not feature the voices of Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders," said Miriam Yeung, executive director of NAPAWF. "A survey like this, with the number of respondents and questions relevant to our community are vitally important."

"Public officials need to take note of our growing communities, nationally and in various states," Mee Moua, president and executive director of AAJC, also noted. "The need to engage the AAPI population, on issues they are concerned about and in a culturally competent manner, is more important than ever."

###

The full reports, including information about the survey methodology, can be found at www.naasurvey.com/.

The NAAS is a scientific and nonpartisan effort to poll the opinions of Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders.


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The crucial Asian American note [ Back to EurekAlert! ] Public release date: 25-Sep-2012
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Contact: Bettye Miller
bettye.miller@ucr.edu
951-827-7847
University of California - Riverside

New survey outlines political views of key group

WASHINGTON, D.C. Asian Americans likely to vote in November strongly prefer Barack Obama over Mitt Romney, but a large portion of voters nearly one-third remain undecided and could play a crucial role in battleground states, according to two reports released today by the National Asian American Survey.

Drawn from a nationally representative sample of more than 3,300 interviews, the reports offer the most comprehensive portrait of Asian American political views. Among the fastest growing groups in America, Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders exceeded the 5 percent threshold in roughly one in four congressional districts in 2010, and a record number of Asian Americans are running for Congress this year.

"Asian American voters are getting a considerable amount of attention from the presidential campaigns this year, particularly in the battleground states of Nevada, North Carolina and Virginia," said Karthick Ramakrishnan, associate professor of political science at the University of California, Riverside and director of the National Asian American Survey (NAAS). "When compared to the general electorate, and even the Latino electorate, the Asian American vote is very much up for grabs at this late stage in the presidential campaign."

Indeed, the survey data show that 32 percent of likely Asian American voters remain undecided after the presidential nominating conventions, much higher than the estimated 7 percent rate among the general population. Moreover, one in six Asian Americans lives in a battleground state during the 2012 presidential election.

"Uncertainty is also a defining characteristic of party identification," noted Taeku Lee, professor and chair of political science and professor of law at the University of California, Berkeley. "Given the high proportion of immigrants among the Asian American electorate, we find a much higher proportion of non-partisans than the national average." Lee is a principal investigator of the survey and co-author of a book (with Zoltan Hajnal), "Why Americans Don't Join The Party."

The data also show that:

Among likely voters, 43 percent of Asian Americans support Barack Obama, while 24 percent prefer Romney. There are considerable differences by ethnic group: Indian Americans show the strongest support for Obama (68 percent), and Samoans and Filipinos show strongest support for Romney (39 percent and 38 percent, respectively).

Democrats have a 34 percent to 18 percent advantage among Asian Americans, but a majority of Asian Americans (51 percent) are Independent or do not identify with the U.S. party system. This figure is higher than the average for the national population (40 percent). Hmong, Indian and Korean Americans most strongly identify with the Democratic Party. In a significant shift, Filipino Americans now have the strongest identification with the Republican Party, a designation that has previously consistently belonged to Vietnamese Americans. The issues most important to Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders are similar to those of the rest of the country: the economy and jobs, followed by health care and education.

Asian Americans largely support both health care reform and affirmative action. On health care reform, support remains high regardless of whether the law is referred to as the Affordable Care Act or "Obamacare."

The survey was conducted by Ramakrishnan and Lee, who together have written seven books and dozens of articles on racial/ethnic politics, and have conducted 17 surveys, eight of which have included multiple-language support for Asian Americans.

Project partners on the report include National Asian Pacific American Women's Forum (NAPAWF) and Asian American Justice Center (AAJC). "Most national polls do not feature the voices of Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders," said Miriam Yeung, executive director of NAPAWF. "A survey like this, with the number of respondents and questions relevant to our community are vitally important."

"Public officials need to take note of our growing communities, nationally and in various states," Mee Moua, president and executive director of AAJC, also noted. "The need to engage the AAPI population, on issues they are concerned about and in a culturally competent manner, is more important than ever."

###

The full reports, including information about the survey methodology, can be found at www.naasurvey.com/.

The NAAS is a scientific and nonpartisan effort to poll the opinions of Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders.


[ Back to EurekAlert! ] [ | E-mail | Share Share ]

?


AAAS and EurekAlert! are not responsible for the accuracy of news releases posted to EurekAlert! by contributing institutions or for the use of any information through the EurekAlert! system.


Source: http://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2012-09/uoc--tca092512.php

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