Creative Recruitment: Packaging Artworker - London

Our client is a leading packaging supplier to the FMCG industry. They are now in need an Packaging Artworker based on-site at the brand to provide an artwork provision to a specific brand across all packaging substrates.

The following knowledge, skills and abilities are the minimum requirements for the position of the Packaging Artworker. The Packaging Artworker is a key position in the studio team, and as such will be expected to commit to the expectations that are common in this role.
You will have to show working/technical knowledge of all software packages ADOBE Illustrator, Photoshop and Acrobat.

The Packaging Artworker role is to be accountable for meeting the demands of their customers in the effective production of artwork files, this encompasses both internal/external communication and a degree of project management of artwork process.

We have been specialising in sourcing the right permanent and temporary candidates for creative industries since 1995.

Source: http://jobs.printweek.com/job/337852/packaging-artworker-london/?TrackID=3

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Marlboro maker Altria 4Q profit up 32 percent

RICHMOND, Va. (AP) ? Marlboro maker Altria says its fourth-quarter profit rose about 32 percent as it commanded higher prices for cigarette and smokeless tobacco.

The owner of the nation's biggest cigarette maker, Philip Morris USA, on Thursday reported net income of $1.1 billion, or 55 cents per share, for the period ended Dec. 31. That's up from $836 million, or 41 cents a share, a year earlier. The results beat Wall Street expectations by a penny.

Revenue, excluding excise taxes, rose 3 percent to $4.46 billion. Analysts expected $4.35 billion.

Altria Group Inc., based in Richmond, Va., said cigarette volumes grew less than 1 percent, bolstered by top-selling Marlboro and discount brands like L&M. Volumes for its smokeless tobacco products rose nearly 10 percent and cigar volumes fell less than 1 percent.

Associated Press

Source: http://hosted2.ap.org/APDEFAULT/f70471f764144b2fab526d39972d37b3/Article_2013-01-31-US-Earns-Altria-Group/id-41693a42593a4ff0854020106a4852db

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Prostate cancer study tracks long-term urinary, sexual and bowel function side effects

Jan. 30, 2013 ? A new study comparing outcomes among prostate cancer patients treated with surgery versus radiotherapy found differences in urinary, bowel and sexual function after short-term follow-up, but those differences were no longer significant 15 years after initial treatment.

The study, led by first author Matthew Resnick, M.D., instructor in Urologic Surgery, Vanderbilt University Medical Center, was published in the Jan. 31 issue of the New England Journal of Medicine.

From Oct. 1, 1994, through Oct. 31, 1995, investigators enrolled men who had been diagnosed with localized prostate cancer in the Prostate Cancer Outcomes Study (PCOS).

For the current study, investigators followed 1,655 men between the ages of 55 and 74 from the PCOS group, of whom 1,164 (70.3 percent) had undergone prostatectomy, while 491 (29.7 percent) had undergone radiotherapy. At the time of enrollment, the patients were asked to complete a survey about clinical and demographic issues and health-related quality of life. The men were contacted again at set times following treatment and were asked about clinical outcomes and disease-specific quality of life issues.

Men whose prostates had been surgically removed were significantly more likely than those who received radiation therapy to report urinary leakage at two years and five years. However, at 15 years, the investigators found no significant difference in the adjusted odds of urinary incontinence. Nonetheless, patients in the surgery group were more likely to wear incontinence pads throughout the 15-year follow-up period.

Men in the prostatectomy group were also significantly more likely than those in the radiotherapy group to report having problems with erectile dysfunction two years and five years after surgery.

"At the two- and five-year time points, men who underwent prostatectomy were more likely to suffer from urinary incontinence and erectile dysfunction than men who received radiation therapy," said Resnick. "While treatment-related differences were significant in the early years following treatment, those differences became far less pronounced over time."

Despite early and intermediate-term data revealing treatment-dependent differences in patterns of sexual dysfunction, after five years both groups had a gradual decline in sexual function. At 15 years, erectile dysfunction was nearly universal with 87 percent in the prostatectomy group and 93.9 percent in the radiotherapy group reporting sexual difficulties.

The authors noted that age may have played a role in the patients' waning sexual function, as shown in unrelated studies.

Some patients also experienced problems with bowel function in the years following treatment. Those who were treated with radiotherapy had more problems in the short term. Men in the radiotherapy group reported significantly higher rates of bowel urgency than those in the prostatectomy group at two years and five years.

However, at 15 years, despite absolute differences in the prevalence of bowel urgency between the two groups, the researchers found no significant difference in the odds of bowel urgency. Men who had been treated with radiotherapy were significantly more likely to report being bothered by bowel symptoms at both the two-year and 15-year points.

"This study of 15-year outcomes represents a mature portrait of quality of life issues following prostate cancer treatment," said David Penson, M.D., MPH, Ingram Professor of Cancer Research, professor of Urologic Surgery and Medicine, and director of the Vanderbilt Center for Surgical Quality and Outcomes Research, the senior study author.

"Regardless of the form of initial treatment, patients in this study had significant declines in sexual and urinary function over the duration of the study. The causes of these declines probably include advancing age and additional cancer therapies, in addition to the original therapy," Penson said.

"Patients need to be aware that all aggressive therapies for prostate cancer have significant side effects and perhaps these data make an argument for active surveillance (avoiding aggressive treatment and closely following the cancer) in certain cases."

Since the median life expectancy after treatment for prostate cancer is 13.8 years, the authors suggested that these data may be used by physicians to counsel men who are considering treatment for localized disease.

Other authors for this study include Tatsuki Koyama, Ph.D., Kang-Hsien Fan, M.S., R. Lawrence Van Horn, Ph.D., Vanderbilt; Peter Albertsen, M.D., University of Connecticut, Farmington; Michael Goodman, M.D., MPH, Emory University, Atlanta; Ann Hamilton, Ph.D., University of Southern California, Los Angeles; Richard Hoffman, M.D., MPH, University of New Mexico and New Mexico VA Healthcare System, Albuquerque; Arnold Potosky, Ph.D., Georgetown University Medical Center, Washington, D.C.; Janet Stanford, Ph.D., Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center, Seattle; and Antoinette Stroup, Ph.D., University of Utah, Salt Lake City.

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Story Source:

The above story is reprinted from materials provided by Vanderbilt University Medical Center. The original article was written by Dagny Stuart.

Note: Materials may be edited for content and length. For further information, please contact the source cited above.

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Journal Reference:

1. Matthew J. Resnick, Tatsuki Koyama, Kang-Hsien Fan, Peter C. Albertsen, Michael Goodman, Ann S. Hamilton, Richard M. Hoffman, Arnold L. Potosky, Janet L. Stanford, Antoinette M. Stroup, R. Lawrence Van Horn, David F. Penson. Long-Term Functional Outcomes after Treatment for Localized Prostate Cancer. New England Journal of Medicine, 2013; 368 (5): 436 DOI: 10.1056/NEJMoa1209978

Note: If no author is given, the source is cited instead.

Disclaimer: This article is not intended to provide medical advice, diagnosis or treatment. Views expressed here do not necessarily reflect those of ScienceDaily or its staff.

Source: http://feeds.sciencedaily.com/~r/sciencedaily/most_popular/~3/M4uMHrikrZ0/130130184322.htm

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GOP Governors Withdrawing Support for Proposals to Split Electoral Votes

Three Republican governors have backed away from GOP plans to divide electoral votes in their states by congressional district, a move that party leaders believe would give their candidates a better chance of winning future presidential elections.

According to Politico, Michigan Gov. Rick Snyder on Tuesday joined Virginia Gov. Bob McDonnell and Ohio Gov. John Kasich in rejecting legislation to apportion electors by congressional district rather than on a winner-takes-all basis.

All three states were won by President Barack Obama last year, despite the fact Republicans controlled the governorships and legislatures.

Snyder told Politico the Republican-controlled Michigan legislature should not consider changing the law now because it would come off to the public as move designed to obviously favor one party over the other.

?In a perfect world, if you were going to do it, the time to do it is . . . before the census and before redistricting, and people know how that?s going to work out,? he said.

?Theoretically . . . shouldn?t you do it in a bipartisan fashion, that both parties are looking to say, you know, a year or two before the census being taken, to say, ?OK, we don?t know how this is going to turn out,'" Snyder said. "'There could be pros or cons, but do we see value in doing it by congressional district versus overall?' That time is not right now.?

In introducing a bill last week to split electoral votes by district, Virginia state Sen. Charles Carrico Sr. said he hoped the legislation would give smaller communities in rural areas the same clout as densely populated urban centers. If his measure had been law last November, Republican nominee Mitt Romney would have won nine of Virginia's 13 electoral votes to carry the state, even though Obama would have still won the popular vote statewide.

Currently, only two states, Nebraska and Maine, award electoral votes on a proportional basis. But three others controlled by Republicans are still considering plans to split their electoral votes. Meanwhile, Republican lawmakers in Virginia and elsewhere are pushing other election-related bills, including tougher voter identification laws.

The measures are all part of the Republican efforts to rebuild the party after heavy losses at the polls in November.

Reince Priebus, re-elected earlier this month as chairman of the RNC, said his mission is to put the GOP on a permanent rather than cyclical political footing and compete in all regions and states, even those dominated by Democrats.

"There is not a state that isn't worth the effort," He told the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel.

? 2013 Newsmax. All rights reserved.

Source: http://www.newsmax.com/Politics/gop-electoral-votes-splitting/2013/01/30/id/488105

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Philips Bows Out Of Consumer Electronics Business

Philips, a brand well known for their televisions and optical media devices, is leaving the consumer electronics market and is now focusing on medical equipment and lighting. The company sold its CE business to the Japanese manufacturer Funai Electric Co. for $201 million.

Source: http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/Techcrunch/~3/Pdes6nKxZFo/

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BenQ MW519

The BenQ MW519 is a likable data projector most fitting for classroom use. Its data image quality, which is best over a digital connection, is fine for typical presentations, while video quality is suitable for shorter clips. Some appealing features include 3D readiness, long lamp life, and several eco-friendly features.

This DLP-based projector is rated at 2,800 lumens of brightness, and has native WXGA (1,280 by 800) resolution. It has large and responsive metal zoom (1.2:1) and focus rings. Its design is simple yet handsome, with matte-black sides and a glossy black top. One downside to the glossy sheen is that it tends to be a "fingerprint magnet," though the prints it collected could be cleaned off easily enough with a cloth. The projector measures 4.4 by 11.9 by 8.7 inches (HWD) and weighs a reasonably portable 5 pounds, although it lacks a carrying case.

The MW519 has a solid selection of ports, including HDMI; composite video/audio; S-video; two VGA inputs to connect with computers and one to connect with a monitor; two audio-in and one audio-out jack, an RS232 jack, and a USB type B connector for connecting with a computer.

Performance
I tested the projector in our studio, doing the official tests in theater-dark conditions but also viewing images and video in varying conditions of ambient light. The image filled our test screen (about 60 inches diagonal) with the projector about 6 feet away from the screen. The image was able to stand up to considerable ambient light without it looking degraded.

I did our data image testing (using the DisplayMate ?suite of projector tests) when connected to a computer over a VGA connection, and then repeated the tests over an HDMI connection. Although in both cases the data image quality was suitable for typical classroom presentations, in several areas the HDMI results were superior.

A strong point over both connections was the MW519's ability to display type that was readable down to our smallest test size. There was slight tinting with both connections, with some white areas showing a hint of yellow, while actual yellows looked dull or mustardy in all color modes.

With VGA, some grays?particularly ones with hatched patterns?looked green in all color modes, although less so in Presentation mode. ?Over the HDMI connection, the grays looked fine, and a slight pixel jitter visible in some textured images over VGA disappeared when I switched to HDMI. With HDMI, it was also much easier to distinguish very light shades of gray.

With both connections, in some bright areas against dark backgrounds I notices the rainbow artifacts frequently seen in DLP projectors, in which little rainbow-like flashes can be seen by people sensitive to the effect, especially when one moves one's head, or in moving images. It's generally less of a problem with data images than with video, and even people somewhat sensitive to it aren't likely to be bothered by it in the MW519's still images.

Video Quality
As is often the case, the rainbow effect was more of an issue in video. Although the effect wasn't unusually severe for a DLP projector, rainbow artifacts were apparent enough in some darker scenes that people who are sensitive to the effect are likely to be distracted by it, making the projector best for shorter clips.

Also effectively limiting the MW519 to shorter clips (or to use in a small room for video) is the feeble 2-watt audio system. It was sometimes difficult to hear, even at full volume, when I sat fairly close to the projector.

The projector has several eco-friendly features that can increase lamp life to as much as 6,500 hours. EcoBlank mode lets teachers easily take a break from a presentation, blanking the screen out and lowering energy consumption up to 70% while paused. The projector will also automatically enter EcoBlank mode after 3 minutes without a signal. SmartEco mode automatically adjusts lamp brightness depending on lighting conditions.

The MW519 is also 3D-capable, with support for 3D Blu-Ray via HDMI,?as well as NVIDIA?3DTV?Play, enabling it to display 3D content from NVIDIA 3D Vision. The active shutter 3D glasses are not included, and can cost up to $70 per pair. One other nice feature is built-in closed captioning for displaying subtitles.

The ViewSonic PJD6553w, also a DLP-based projector with WXGA resolution, is brighter than the MW519 at 3,500 rated lumens. It not only showed very good data image quality, it had better than average video quality for a DLP projector thanks to a minimal rainbow effect, and a more powerful 10W audio system.

The Editors' Choice Epson PowerLite 1835 XGA 3LCD Projector has a slightly higher price and a lower (XGA, 1,024 by 768) native resolution than the MW519, but it's brighter (3,500 lumens), has very good data and video image quality (as an LCD-based projector, it's immune to the rainbow effect), and a loud audio system (though it didn't have the best sound quality).

The BenQ MW519 is a likable projector for classroom use, with good data image quality, especially over an HDMI connection, and power-saving features that can extend lamp life. It's bright enough for use in mid-sized rooms, although its audio is faint. It is 3D capable, but outfitting an entire class with 3D glasses might prove a tough sell to the school administrators. It's best for use mostly with data presentations; there are better choices if video and audio quality are priorities.

More Projector Reviews:

??? BenQ MW519
??? Epson PowerLite 1835 XGA 3LCD Projector
??? Epson PowerLite Home Cinema 3020e
??? ViewSonic PJD6683ws
??? 3M Projector Sleeve
?? more

Source: http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/ziffdavis/pcmag/~3/eILt68w8hhQ/0,2817,2414838,00.asp

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WTF: Amazon Barely Ekes Out Profit On $21B In Sales, Hits Negative P/E, Misses Estimates, Guidance, Yet Stock Jumps 10%

You really have to hand it to Jeff Bezos and Amazon, which seem to continuously defy reality -- and gravity. Amazon just announced its fourth quarter earnings, and if you listen to the press, you'd think it was another home run, and if you are watching Amazon trade after-hours, you'd think this is the most buyable stock since the last time MG wrote about APPL. Amazon is up nearly 10 percent since the market closed and, as Reuters points out to wit, the stock hit a record high on January 25th.

Source: http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/Techcrunch/~3/dzhG1I4Omqk/

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U.S.A Jobs Today: VP Consulting Jobs Vacanct at IDC in USA

Job Title: VP, Consulting
ID 2012-1314 # of Openings 1
Job Location US-MA-Framingham

More information about this job:
Overview:

IDC is the premier global provider of market intelligence, advisory services, and events for the information technology, telecommunications and consumer technology markets. IDC helps IT professionals, business executives, and the investment communities make fact-based decisions on technology purchases and business strategy. More than 1000 IDC analysts provide global, regional, and local expertise on technology and industry opportunities and trends in over 110 countries worldwide. For more than 47 years, IDC has provided strategic insights to help our clients achieve their key business objectives. IDC is a subsidiary of IDG, the world's leading technology media, research, and events company.

IDC's Worldwide Storage, Security and Semiconductors Consulting practice is responsible for developing and conducting custom market research and consulting assignments focused on IT industry vendors and their end markets. We are currently seeking a Consulting Vice President to lead the practice, develop client engagements and manage projects.
Responsibilities:

The Consulting Vice President will be a member of IDC's Worldwide Consulting team. This involves developing consulting business, leading and managing projects, and developing practice strategy in concert with senior management. The Consulting Vice President will partner with IDC industry analysts, sales, and other IDC groups to develop and manage market research and consulting projects. Clients will include leading IT storage, security and semiconductor vendors. The Consulting Vice President will be expected to develop and manage long-term consulting relationships with assigned clients, including repeat engagements and contribute to strategy and operations of overall IDC Worldwide Consulting business, including development of new practice areas.
Qualifications:

We are seeking a consulting professional with strong leadership and team management experience who has demonstrated success in creating positive change in industry environments characterized by ambiguity and challenge. The individual should have 8+ years of professional experience with a focus on client development, project management and execution, analysis and writing abilities along with strong public presentation and communication skills. Experience working in an entrepreneurial environment and knowledge of the IT industry is highly desirable. Familiarity with qualitative and quantitative research methodologies and market modeling is preferred. A bachelor's degree is required and a master's degree is preferred.

This position is based in IDC's Framingham, MA office with approximately 5% travel expected.

IDC is an Equal Opportunity Employer. Applicants and employees are considered for positions and are evaluated without regard to mental or physical disability, handicap, race, color, religion, gender, gender identity and expression, ancestry, national origin, age, genetic information, military or veteran status, sexual orientation, marital status or other categories protected by law.

Deadline Date: 28th Feb 2013
How To Apply:

https://careers-idc.icims.com/jobs/1314/job

Source: http://usjobs2day.blogspot.com/2013/01/vp-consulting-jobs-vacanct-at-idc-in-usa.html

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Blackstone mulls sale of stake in London office complex

LONDON (Reuters) - U.S. private equity group Blackstone may sell its half stake in a London office and retail complex, its partner British Land said, a deal that could bring Blackstone a sevenfold return on its original investment.

Blackstone bought its share of the 30-acre Broadgate site in London's financial district from property firm British Land in September 2009 for 77 million pounds ($120.9 million), a stake now valued at 520.5 million pounds after debt, according to British Land's 2012 annual report.

Reuters reported in September 2011 that Blackstone was considering a sale of its stake in Broadgate, which would be one of London's largest property transactions in recent years.

The process appears to have taken a step forward since a lock-up agreement expired late last year, allowing a sale to go ahead.

British Land publicly acknowledged that Blackstone could sell out of Broadgate on Tuesday, saying: "We intend to retain our 50 percent stake and work closely with Blackstone through any sale process".

British Land Chief Executive Chris Grigg said the original sale to Blackstone had enabled his company to rebalance its London portfolio between the City and the West End districts and press ahead with developments that will bring in large profits.

"One can always look back and say 'if I knew then what I know now', but we sold at the time to give us financial flexibility," Grigg told Reuters after a trading update on Tuesday.

Blackstone was not immediately available for comment.

"It was always strategically the right thing for British Land to cut its exposure to the City but I have always questioned the timing," said Investec analyst Alan Carter.

The Broadgate development, which is adjacent to Liverpool Street train station, was built between 1984 and 2008 and could attract interest from Oxford Properties, the property arm of Canada's Ontario Municipal Employees Retirement System and Norway's sovereign wealth fund, property experts said.

Broadgate tenants include Swiss bank UBS, which is planning a 340 million pound London headquarters in Broadgate despite concerns it will struggle to fill the 700,000 building, which will include several trading floors, after deep job cuts.

"Predicting headcount in banking is something you can spend a lot of time fretting over," said British Land's Grigg. "From our point of view they have leased the whole building and my view is that it fits with their overall requirements."

British Land said a recent run of retailer failures across its portfolio including HMV and Jessops had pushed the number of units in administration to 1.2 percent from 0.8 percent at the end of 2012.

"There were a number of failures but they were principally failures we expected," said Grigg. "We have a great record of re-letting space."

(Editing by David Holmes and Tom Pfeiffer)

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/british-land-blackstone-broadgate-sale-082741844--sector.html

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Stocks approaching 2007 record highs

15 hrs.

Reuters

NEW YORK?- U.S. stocks have been on a tear in January, moving major indexes within striking distance of all-time highs. The bearish case is a difficult one to make right now.

Earnings have exceeded expectations, the housing and labor markets have strengthened, lawmakers in Washington no longer seem to be the roadblock that they were for most of 2012, and money has returned to stock funds again.

The Standard & Poor's 500 Index has gained 5 percent this year - climbing to the spot where Wall Street strategists expected it to be by mid-year. The Dow Jones industrial average is less than 3 percent away from all-time highs reached in October 2007.

"Once we break above a resistance level at 1,510, we dramatically increase the probability that we break the highs of 2007," said Walter Zimmermann, technical analyst at United-ICAP, in Jersey City, N.J. "That may be the start of a rise that could take equities near 1,800 within the next few years."

The most recent Reuters poll of Wall Street strategists estimated the benchmark index would rise to 1,550 by year-end, a target that is less than 4 percent away from current levels. That would put the S&P 500 a stone's throw from the index's all-time intraday high of 1,576.09 reached on Oct. 11, 2007.

The new year has brought a sharp increase in flows into U.S. equity mutual funds, and that has helped stocks rack up four straight weeks of gains, with strength in big- and small-caps alike.

That's not to say there aren't concerns. Economic growth has been steady, but not as strong as many had hoped. The household unemployment rate remains high at 7.8 percent. And more than 75 percent of the stocks in the S&P 500 are above their 26-week highs, suggesting the buying has come too far, too fast.

All 10 S&P 500 industry sectors are higher in 2013, in part because of new money flowing into equity funds. Investors in U.S.-based funds committed $3.66 billion to stock mutual funds in the latest week, the third straight week of big gains for the funds, data from Thomson Reuters' Lipper service showed on Thursday.

Energy shares led the way with a gain of 6.6 percent, followed by industrials, up 6.3 percent. Telecom, a defensive play that underperforms in periods of growth, is the weakest sector - up 0.1 percent for the year.

More than 250 stocks hit new highs on Friday alone on the New York Stock Exchange. The Dow Jones Transportation Average recently climbed to an all-time high, with stocks in this sector and other economic bellwethers posting strong gains almost daily.

"If you peel back the onion a little bit, you start to look at companies like Precision Castparts, Honeywell , 3M Co and Illinois Tool Works - these are big, broad-based industrial companies in the U.S. and they are all hitting new highs, and doing very well. That is the real story," said Mike Binger, portfolio manager at Gradient Investments, in Shoreview, Minn.

The gains have run across asset sizes as well. The S&P small-cap index has jumped 6.1 percent and the S&P mid-cap index has shot up 6.8 percent so far this year.

Exchange-traded funds have seen year-to-date inflows of $15.6 billion, with fairly even flows across the small-, mid- and large-cap categories, according to Nicholas Colas, chief market strategist at the ConvergEx Group, in New York.

"Investors aren't really differentiating among asset sizes. They just want broad equity exposure," Colas said.

The market has shown resilience to weak news. On Thursday, the S&P 500 held steady despite a 12 percent slide in shares of Apple after the iPhone and iPad maker's results. The tech giant is heavily weighted in both the S&P 500 and Nasdaq 100 and in the past, its drop has suffocated stocks' broader gains.

In the last few days, the ratio of stocks hitting new highs versus those hitting new lows on a daily basis has started to diminish - a potential sign that the rally is narrowing to fewer names - and could be running out of gas.

Investors have also cited sentiment surveys that indicate high levels of bullishness among newsletter writers, a contrarian indicator, and momentum indicators are starting to also suggest the rally has perhaps come too far.

The market's resilience could be tested next week with the release of the January non-farm payrolls report. About 155,000 jobs are seen being added in the month and the unemployment rate is expected to hold steady at 7.8 percent.

"Staying over 1,500 sends up a flag of profit taking," said Jerry Harris, president of asset management at Sterne Agee, in Birmingham, Ala. "Since recent jobless claims have made us optimistic on payrolls, if that doesn't come through, it will be a real risk to the rally."

A number of marquee names will report earnings next week, including bellwether companies such as Caterpillar Inc, Amazon.com Inc, Ford Motor Co and Pfizer Inc .

On a historic basis, valuations remain relatively low - the S&P 500's current price-to-earnings ratio sits at 15.66, which is just a tad above the historic level of 15.

Worries about the U.S. stock market's recent strength do not mean the market is in a bubble. Investors clearly don't feel that way at the moment.

"We're seeing more interest in equities overall, and a lot of flows from bonds into stocks," said Paul Zemsky, who helps oversee $445 billion as the New York-based head of asset allocation at ING Investment Management. "We've been increasing our exposure to risky assets."

Copyright 2013 Thomson Reuters.

Source: http://www.nbcnews.com/business/bears-hibernation-u-s-stocks-near-record-highs-1C8133666

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Atlanta PR Job Fair Needs Dose of Reality

About 200 job-seeking students are paying up to $80 each to attend an all-day ?Real World? career fair Feb. 22 in Atlanta at which national PRSA chair Mickey Nall will speak.

Another 100 regular chapter members and guests will be at the lunch when Nall speaks on ?Navigating the Multi-generational workplace.? Veterans, Boomers, Xers and Nexters are all working side-by-side and have different values and needs that must be tended to for maximum client service, he says.

This is a laudable effort on the part of the Society?s Georgia chapter but we find a lot of gaps in the program and wonder how much real job-getting information and tips the students will get.

One session will consider ?PR Niches,? meaning specialties such as ?food & beverage? and ?healthcare.? That just scratches the surface of the PR specialties which have skyrocketed in size and breadth over the past two decades.

The O?Dwyer Co. has tracked the growth of 12 PR specialties since 1992, publishing more than 500 such rankings in 2012.

While corporate and institutional PR departments have been shrinking for decades, often focusing mainly on internal communications, the agencies have been racking up double-digit gains in revenues and staff sizes for many years.

The world?s biggest PR firm, Edelman, had net fees of $660 million in 2012, 4,600 employees, and leads in 11 of the 12 categories.

The defensive nature of much corporate PR was captured last year by New York Times columnist David Carr who wrote that what he typically encounters at companies is ?a wall of communications operatives? who block access to the CEO. He said they deliver ?slop? meant to ?obscure rather than reveal.?

Corporate PR vet Tim Cost has said that ?Corporate PR experiences a press call as a drive-by shooting.?

Unacknowledged and unreturned phone calls and e-mails are epidemic in PR, journalism, business and even among average citizens.

A Jan. 28 New Yorker humor piece by Colin Jost titled ?Automatic Reply? tells of one person pretending not to have access to e-mails and phone calls when actually he is downloading his e-mails every few minutes and endlessly checking his voice mails.

Literature Table NeededChapter president Alicia Thompson of fried chicken chain Popeyes Louisiana Kitchen said there are no plans at the moment for a literature table but she and others will think about this. We hope that decision will be changed because not having one will be an injustice to the students who will attend.

We would donate ten O?Dwyer?s Directory of PR Firms that has 1,600+ firms including 43 in Georgia; subscriptions to the O?Dwyer website and newsletter, and subscriptions to the monthly magazine. We would send several sets of 12 magazine issues, each one focusing on a PR specialty. One of the magazines will be the January O?Dwyer?s PR Buyer?s Guide with data on more than 100 firms offering nearly 1,000 PR products and services. There are lots of jobs in the PR services industry.

Products of the other PR trade publishers should also be on display including Contact of PR Week/U.S., which has information on corporate departments as well as PR firms, and the products of PR News including PRnewsonline. Ragan?s also has products of use to jobseekers including webinars, seminars and the Ragan website.

Students, many of whom will graduate owing tens of thousands of dollars, need all the information they can get without limit or politics.

Book Describes Reality of Agency Life
Since ?real? is the theme of the conference, the literature table should display copies of "Army of Entrepeneurs" by Jennifer Prosek, who heads the $12.5 million Prosek Partners of New York, a gem of a book that captures the go-go atmosphere of a PR firm.

Agency PR is wildly different from corporate/institutional PR as students will learn from this book.

The more than 50 Prosek staffers have been taught for years to prospect for new clients wherever they are including the person next to them on a plane or a bus, fellow exercisers at a gym, friends at a barbecue, former classmates and girlfriends, boyfriends, ex-roommates, relatives, etc.

Counselors should always fly First Class since that is where business prospects might be, she and others advise.

Prosek herself snagged a major client by contacting her former high school boyfriend who had landed a big PR job at Mercedez-Benz Credit Corp. She called him ten years later.

Prosek Partners pays 5% of client fees to whomever brings in an account for the life of the account. Employees are also told to constantly look for new services that can be provided to clients. Those also generate finder?s fees.

Staffer new biz activities and contracts signed are constantly reviewed. Workshops in such activities are also held.

New biz experts are not born but are trained, says Prosek.

Lots of Personal Service in PR

Textbooks don?t often cover it but helping clients with personal issues and problems is a major part of PR.

Another book that should be on the literature table is "Always Live Better than Your Clients" by New York Times reporter Isadore Barmash. It?s a 1983 book but far from outated.

Ben Sonnenberg became perhaps the richest PR counselor in New York by zeroing in on what is in clients? ?heart of hearts.? He found that making more money was not their problem but rather dealing with a wayward offspring, or a son or daughter who needed a career or a job, or is trying to get into college, or a bored wife who wanted to get into the right clubs.

He helped them with such problems 24/7. An anxious client once called him at 3 a.m. and demanded he come to his apartment. Sonnenberg did so and found a father who was distraught because his son wanted to go into the theater.
Don?t worry, Sonnenberg advised, breaking in is so tough your son will soon give up. He was right.

The PR counselor owned a 12-story townhouse on Gramercy Park and was famous for the elaborate parties he threw for clients, celebrities and media figures.

Join Local Social, Business Groups

A job tip we would give (in case this fair asks us to speak) is for students and recent grads to volunteer for local charitable and civic groups. Business leaders and their spouses can be found there. Local PR groups are apt to be loaded with other jobseekers.

PR newcomers must accept that a PR job is not apt to be served to them on a silver platter. Recruiters tell us that the way for a PR person to get a job with a PR firm is to bring in an account.

Having an outgoing, pleasing personality is one of the skills that is necessary for PR success.

Doing PR for a restaurant on a barter basis is one way to start a PR firm. Handle PR in return for meals, which cost the restaurant almost nothing.

Plenty of things can be bartered including possibly cars, apartments, clothes, etc. Knock on doors, is our advice.

Barter is a big but largely untold factor in the business world. Students who take unpaid internships are engaging in barter?exchanging their time and effort in return for a learning experience and a blurb on their resumes.

Politics Is Royal Road to Jobs

Working or volunteering for a political office-holder at the local, state or national levels has become the royal road for PR careers in recent years.

Companies have found that public opinion may go one way or another but what really counts is what laws are passed and whether and if they are enforced and how they are enforced.

The National Capital Chapter has nearly 1,500 members or double the size of the New York chapter. Those proportions were once reversed.

In the South, which is overwhelmingly Republican based on the voting results of the 2012 elections, being associated with a Republican candidate or office-holder would be the logical course for a PR jobseeker who intends to remain in the South.

Millions of businesses that can?t afford advertising can benefit from the cornucopia of services that PR firms and individuals have at their command.

Source: http://www.odwyerpr.com/blog/index.php?/archives/5723-Atlanta-PR-Job-Fair-Needs-Dose-of-Reality.html

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Exclusive: Japan eased safety standards ahead of Boeing 787 rollout

TOKYO (Reuters) - Japan's government stepped in to give Boeing Co's now-grounded 787 Dreamliner and its made-in-Japan technology a boost in 2008 by easing safety regulations, fast-tracking the rollout of the groundbreaking jet for Japan's biggest airlines, according to records and participants in the process.

The concessions by an advisory panel to Japan's transport ministry reflected pressure from All Nippon Airways (ANA) and Japan Airlines (JAL) and a push to support Japanese firms that supply 35 percent of the 787 from the carbon-fiber in its wings to sophisticated electrical systems and batteries used to save fuel, people involved in the deliberations told Reuters.

"I believe the request for the changes came initially from the airlines. Ultimately, it was a discussion of measures to lower operating costs for the airlines," said Masatoshi Harigae, head of aviation at Japan's Aerospace Exploration Agency, one of the outside advisers who urged the eased regulatory standards.

There is no suggestion that easing regulatory standards contributed to the problems facing the Dreamliner, idled around the world after a string of malfunctions ranging from fuel leaks to battery meltdowns. There is also no evidence to suggest that continuing the mandate for more frequent manual inspections for new aircraft, including the Boeing 787, before 2008 would have helped catch signs of trouble earlier.

The looser regulations did not specifically address the risk of the Dreamliner's powerful batteries catching fire, the risk that safety investigators have zeroed in on in recent weeks.

But the steps taken by Japan's Civil Aviation Bureau in 2008 underscore how the deep commercial ties between Boeing and its Japanese suppliers and the backing of ANA and JAL helped build support for an easing of certification standards, based on a review of meeting records by the advisory panel released by the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport and comments from three of the seven experts who participated.

ANA and JAL declined to comment, deferring questions on regulatory standards to aviation officials and the ministry.

"We have not brought down our standards in comparison to other countries. This was a pragmatic revision," Tatsuyuki Shimazu, Chief Air Worthiness Engineer at the Civil Aviation Bureau, said.

ONGOING PROBE

Earlier this month, ANA was forced to make an emergency landing on a 787 domestic flight after a battery overheated and partially melted, triggering smoke alarms in the cockpit. The probe into that incident may take weeks or months as investigators still lack basic data to understand what went wrong, people involved have said.

In the meantime, the indefinite grounding of the Dreamliner has raised costs for both ANA and JAL and threatened to push back plans both carriers had for growth and new routes based on the new aircraft, analysts have said.

After three meetings by a panel of industry and policy experts that concluded in March 2008, Japan's transport ministry said it would adopt 40 proposals to streamline regulations surrounding new aircraft. At the time, the ministry said the easier regulatory standards were designed in part to "quickly realize the benefits from the introduction of the 787."

ANA, the Dreamliner's biggest customer, and JAL committed to buy the first 787 in 2004, helping Boeing kick-start orders for the futuristic plane. Both subsequently increased their orders, with ANA planning to eventually fly 66 Dreamliners.

"At the time there was a lot of confidence in the aircraft. It was a discussion of measures to lower operating costs for the airlines," said Harigae.

Japan's government agencies often convene blue-ribbon panels of outside experts to review regulatory policy changes, as the transport ministry did for aircraft safety rules in 2007.

QUICKER TURNAROUNDS

Changes endorsed by the aviation group, including 40 revised safety guidelines, were presented as an effort to bring Japan into line with the framework of regulations in other markets, including the United States. At least five recommendations in the advisory report benefited the 787. Four mentioned support for the Dreamliner directly.

Three of the rule changes dealt with abbreviated testing and approval of pilots who had been cleared to fly the Boeing 777 and were preparing to switch to the 787. "It (787) is highly innovative and its safety is also advanced, but it's also very similar in design to the 777," said Kinya Fujiishi, an aviation journalist who sat on the panel. "This is why we thought it would be fine to revise the rule."

Another approved rule change exempted Boeing's new jet from the need for detailed inspections by ground crew after each landing that would have meant higher costs - and longer delays - for the airlines with each flight. Participants said the panel concluded such checks were not needed because of the Dreamliner's sophisticated on-board diagnostic system.

JAL said it still performs checks between 787 flights because it is still required to do so after international routes. ANA said it checks domestic 777 and 787 flights although rules no longer mandate them to perform these.

At the same time, the revised rules opened up potentially lucrative trans-Pacific destinations to ANA and JAL with the Dreamliner sooner than previous standards would have allowed. Changes shortened the time needed to win approval - known as Extended-range Twin-engine Operational Performance Standards (ETOPS) - to fly two-engined jets on routes distant from emergency airfields.

But production and design snags meant ANA, even so, had to wait until 2011 for its first Dreamliner.

DEEP TIES

In 2009, a bilateral agreement between Japan and the United States provided further support for the Dreamliner to enter service in Asia. That pact allowed aviation officials in Tokyo to certify the airworthiness of the U.S.-built jets based on testing mostly approved by the Federal Aviation Authority (FAA).

In 2007, the FAA cleared Boeing's use of a potentially flammable battery in the Dreamliner because Boeing's design was expected to contain any potential fire and divert smoke and fumes away from the passenger cabin.

Japan's support for the Dreamliner reflects how closely integrated the nation's aerospace industry has become in Boeing's supply chain, experts say. "If the 787 prevails all over the world it's good for Japanese industry, so the government wants to support it," said Hajime Tozaki, an aviation policy specialist and professor at Tokyo's Waseda University, who was not part of the 2008 review.

Japanese companies led by Mitsubishi Heavy Industries Ltd maker of the wartime Zero fighter, build a third of the Dreamliner including its wings. With each succeeding Boeing model, Japanese suppliers have deepened their involvement from supplying parts for the 747 jumbo jet to becoming full-fledged, risk-sharing partners with the U.S. aircraft builder.

The stake of Japanese suppliers rose from less than a fifth for the 767 to a quarter for the 777 and 35 percent for the 787. As many as 22,000 aerospace jobs at 65 firms in Japan are pegged to Boeing's fortunes, Boeing estimates.

After years of trying, Europe's Airbus has failed to drive a wedge into Japan's ties to Boeing, which in the past decade has won more than 80 percent of Japan's aircraft orders.

POTENTIAL DAMAGE

For now, Japan is sticking by Boeing with some even calling for a more conspicuous government support for the 787.

"I didn't feel there was enough (government) effort to promote the 787," said Hiroyasu Hagio, a former JAL pilot who represented flight crews in the 2008 review as head of the Japan Aircraft Pilot Association. He added: "In other countries it's normal for countries to aggressively get involved in sales."

The two big Japanese carriers remain committed to putting the 787 at the core of their fleet planning and say there has been no change to their order plans.

But there are signs the Dreamliner's problems have strained ties between Japan and Boeing. Last week, U.S. diplomats met Japanese officials in Tokyo to discuss the political and economic fallout from the Dreamliner's grounding.

"If Boeing intentionally and politically puts the losses on to Japanese companies, the damage for Japan will be huge," said Isao Iijima, a political adviser to Prime Minister Shinzo Abe.

(Additional reporting by Maki Shiraki, James Topham, Antoni Slodkowski and Yumi Muranaka; Editing by Kevin Krolicki and Ian Geoghegan)

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/exclusive-japan-eased-safety-standards-ahead-boeing-787-060057246--sector.html

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Easy Life Changing Tips: Self Improvement & Motivation Tips ...

Easy Life Changing Tips: Self Improvement & Motivation Tips & Advice: Curative Bodywork Kaia Petin, licensed massage therapist, discusses easy tips for making changes and improvements in your life. How can you change your life when you lack self discipline? Do you have a need to change but can?t seem to get motivated? How can you motivate yourself? Are there easy things that you can do to improve your diet, lifestyle, sleep, exercise habits, etc? Find out how simple and easy changes can make a big difference in your lifestyle. Visit Kaia Facebook page at; www.facebook.com This video was produced by Psychetruth www.youtube.com www.twitter.com www.facebook.com www.myspace.com Music by Scotty B ? Copyright 2011 Target Public Media LLC. All Rights Reserved. Life change tips ?self improvement? improvement motivation advice curative bodywork psychetruth holistic lifestyle self discipline diet sleep exercise

Find Self Improvement Golden Nuggets Here

Source: http://selfimprovement.advancedstrategicmarketing.com/?p=1597

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What Should the Republican Party Stand For? (Atlantic Politics Channel)

Share With Friends: | | Politics - Top Stories Stories, RSS and RSS Feed via Feedzilla.

Source: http://news.feedzilla.com/en_us/stories/politics/top-stories/279739598?client_source=feed&format=rss

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French Court Orders Twitter to Name Names of Racist Tweeters

A French court has ordered Twitter to hand over data that could help identify users who posted racist messages on the service's website, acting on a complaint filed in October by the Union of French Jewish Students. The 17th Chamber of the Paris Criminal Courts also wants Twitter to make it easy for users to flag tweets deemed illegal under French law.

Source: http://ectnews.com.feedsportal.com/c/34520/f/632000/s/27ec3f49/l/0L0Stechnewsworld0N0Crsstory0C771730Bhtml/story01.htm

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Researching Auto Responders | SalesFist.com

If you are in the Internet marketing business or if you run a business online, an autoresponder can make a world of difference. They can handle a majority of your technical support questions and informational requests, by sending out automated messages to interested customers. When they get an email, they will respond instantly with a preset message. This can save you quite a bit of time- especially if you get a lot of emails on a daily basis.

Out there on the Internet, there are many autoresponders to choose from. They are classified into three main types ? locally hosted, remote hosted and desktop hosted. Each type has pros and cons, depending on your needs. Locally and desktop hosted programs will give you complete control over the program, as you run them through your own server or website. Remote hosted on the other hand, is ran through a third party service provider. Remote programs cost you a monthly fee, while desktop and locally hosted programs cost one fee ? then you have complete ownership of the program.

Before you decide to purchase an autoresponder, you should always compare and see what each one has to offer. If you are interested in running one from your server or website, then you?ll need to look at desktop and locally hosted autoresponders. There are free programs available online, although they will normally come with strings attached, such as ads in your emails. This can be a bad thing, as ads in your email will give customers the wrong impression. www.Automatic-Responder.com is a great service that also offers a free version for up to 250 subscribers and no advertisements.

When you purchase one of these types of autoresponder programs, you should always research and find out all that you can. There are many programs out there that you can buy, many of which will offer you great features at a great price. Buying your program is the way to go, especially if you have an image to uphold. Once you have found a program and buy it, it will be yours for as long as you decide to use it.

If you are looking towards a remotely hosted autoresponder, you?ll need to research for the best prices and service, this is a must when shopping around. You?ll be dealing with a company who has control over the address of the autoresponder, meaning that your domain name won?t appear in the emails you send using the autoresponder. This can be good for some, although many prefer to have their name in their emails.

When it all comes down to it, you should always research an autoresponder before you decide to make a purchase or use a free program. There are several out there to choose from, although some are far superior to others. If you take the time and research what each one has to offer you and how much it will cost you ? you?ll end up with an autoresponder that will prove to be more than worth the cost.

PPPPP

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Source: http://www.salesfist.com/index.php/2013/01/researching-auto-responders/

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Hookup Culture: Why Millennials Struggle With Attachment and ...

It turns out that there are ?Strings Attached? in our ?Friends with Benefits? Culture

Historic Christian morality and modern neuroscience have come to the same conclusion: sex forms a nearly inseparable?bond. ?

by Mike Friesen?? Launch Ministry

Castle Rock Entertainment, 2011

What we see in the Millennial generation is a generation that didn?t want to see the dysfunctional marriages that they themselves lived with when they were growing up and yet they still wanted to sustain and gratify their sexual urges (hence, these uncommitted relationships). My generation is having a hard time forming attachments with other people.

Kutcher and Portman or?Erikson and Freud?

You can blame it on Hollywood. Movies like ?Friends with Benefits? with Justin Timberlake and Mila Kunis or ?No Strings Attached? with Ashton Kutcher and Natalie Portman certainly chronicle the issue, but they hardly caused it. You could blame it on a culture that is built around instant gratification. You could even say that it is our ultimate desire that we just want to do what other people are doing so that we aren?t a social oddity.

Ultimately, I believe it comes down to an identity problem.?No matter how we go through life we will assert our imprint on the world. Even social disengagement is a form of social engagement. How we interact with the world stems from a fundamental understanding of who we think we are. So in my sexual relationships, I have sex (or don?t have sex) with those based on how I understand myself and how I understand myself through others.

One of the most renowned 20th century psychologists Erik Erikson noted that the age in which we are supposed to be developing meaningful and bonding relationships happens between 18-30 (the age of the current Millennial relationships). Erikson believed, and I believe rightly, that it takes two whole people to bond and create whole relationships. It isn?t rocket science that broken people tend to create two types of social reactions when relationships are imposed upon them: codependent relationships or retreating into isolation.

Neuroscience and Morality?

Paramount Pictures, 2011

As Christians we believe that when we engage in sexual activity that there is a bond that is inseparable. Neuroscience has come to the same conclusion. When people have sex, several chemicals in their brain are released: one is oxytocin and another is dopamine. Oxytocin is the bonding chemical. When we have sex with someone we are supposed to be bonded to this person.

The more bonds we form with others, and these relationships are torn apart or disengaged, the more we struggle to bond with another. Dopamine is the feel good chemical. The more dopamine is released in our brain, the more we become attached to it. This is how sexual addictions are created. Sigmund Freud also called this engagement where sexual activity is used as a form to merely annihilate the tension we feel in our body a Death Instinct. It seems that from the Bible to neuroscience to Freud, that our sexuality outside of Eros, out of continual longing for union with a person, that our actions will lead to some form of biological or metaphysical death.

It?s Identity

All of this to bring us back to our fundamental question: Who am I? When we don?t know who we are, we won?t know what to do in our social engagements (sexual or not). Maybe our critique of the Millennial generation, my generation, comes from a poor or broken understanding of who we are. For Christians, we are called to help people understand who they are in Christ (as the beloved). If we are not Christians, how do we invite people into wholeness? How do we help people find themselves? How do we help people find one another?

.

?

Mike Friesen blogs on topics related to Millennial life and spirituality for?Launch Ministry?and?Christianity for the Rest of Us.?

Connect with him on?Twitter?and?Facebook.

See Also

Are Millennials Creating a New Religion? by Mike Friesen

The Zacchaeus Generation: Identity, Community, and Seeing, by Mike Friesen

How ?Boy Meets World? Reveals What My Generation Thinks About God, by Mike Friesen

Video: What South Park Teaches Us About Easter, by Mike Friesen

The Social Media Gospel: We Can?t Be Witnesses Where We?re Not Present, by Mike Friesen

The Poetry of Batman: This is how The Dark Knight Rises, by Mike Friesen

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Source: http://garydavidstratton.com/2013/01/25/hookup-culture-why-millennials-struggle-with-attachment-and-relationships/

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Pentagon begins cinching in its belt

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The Pentagon has begun laying off many of its 46,000 temporary and contract workers and delaying maintenance on aircraft and ships to slow spending due to fears it may be hit by new budget cuts, Deputy Defense Secretary Ashton Carter said on Friday.

The Pentagon also plans to formally notify Congress in the next few weeks that if further budget cuts take place on March 1, it will furlough most of its 800,000 full-time civilian employees, probably by asking them to take a day off per week for the last 22 weeks of the fiscal year, Carter said.

"Obviously this is a terrible thing to have to do to our employees and to the mission," Carter said. "But it's necessary because it'll save $5 billion and we have to find that money."

The cost-cutting steps come as the Pentagon tries to deal with budget uncertainty caused by the threat of $45 billion in across-the-board spending reductions on March 1 and Congress's failure to appropriate defense funding for the 2013 fiscal year.

The Pentagon currently is absorbing $487 billion in cuts to projected defense spending over 10 years that were agreed in the Budget Control Act of 2011. That law also required the additional across-the-board cuts by January 1, 2013, unless Congress agreed to an alternative.

Lawmakers failed to reach a new deal but did agree to postpone the across-the-board cuts until March 1 to give themselves more time. But March 1 is five months into the fiscal year, giving the Pentagon less time to absorb any cuts.

Defense officials had long resisted taking action in response to the threat of additional reductions, saying they were put in place to try to force Congress to reach an alternative.

But Carter said the congressional debate on U.S. financial issues in late December had been sobering, with little discussion of how cuts would affect the Pentagon or its mission. Postponing the decision for another two months reduced the time the department would have to respond.

"When we were marching up to January 1 we had more runway, more time to absorb cuts if we had to absorb cuts," Carter said. "Now we're running out of time and so for those two reasons, our risk calculus has to change ... and we need to begin acting."

Carter asked the military services two weeks ago to take steps to reduce their rate of spending. He said he asked them for detailed plans by February 1 on what they are doing to reduce short-term spending before the $45 billion in new cuts are due to go into effect on March 1.

He also asked for detailed long-term planning by February 8 on how the services will implement the $45 billion in across-the-board cuts if they go into effect.

BUDGET MESS

Congressional failure to allocate funding for defense for the 2013 fiscal year has complicated the Pentagon's budget mess. The department is currently operating on a continuing resolution that maintains funding at 2012 levels until March 27.

"The problem is that the money is in the wrong pots," Carter said. He said the Pentagon had planned to spend considerably more for operations and maintenance in 2013 than it did in 2012.

"We don't have enough money to operate the forces in the way we thought we were going to," Carter said. "That's the problem. And that's a more than $10 billion problem. And we're running out of time to eat that $10 billion and that's the reason that we need to act now."

To slow the rate of spending, the department has put a freeze on civilian hiring, he said. Usually the department hires 1,000 to 2,000 civilians a week, more than 44 percent of them military veterans and 86 percent of them living and working across the country, not in Washington.

The department's 46,000 temporary and contract employees are "all now subject to release," Carter said, meaning they will either be let go now or will not have their contracts extended. The only exception would be if they are performing jobs critical to the war or the department's basic mission.

The department also is cutting back on base and equipment maintenance, which costs about $15 billion per year. He said the Navy would cancel maintenance on 30 ships that had been planned for the third and fourth quarters this year.

"They're not going to sign those contracts with the shipyards that do that work," Carter said.

Carter said the Pentagon would have to do "more draconian things" if Congress allows the $45 billion in cuts to go into effect, likely leading to "a pervasive crisis in readiness."

He said the Army projected that if the cuts occur, two-thirds of its active brigades and all of its reserve brigades would be operating at reduced readiness. Funds for training would primarily be used to prepare troops deploying to Afghanistan, while others would largely do without, he said.

Most Air Force flying units would be at reduced readiness by the end of the year, he said. The Navy would have to cut back steaming days by 30 percent to 35 percent, affecting its presence in the Gulf and Asia-Pacific region. He said the cuts might affect the U.S. ability to keep two carriers in the Gulf.

(Reporting by David Alexander; Editing by Vicki Allen and Doina Chiacu)

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/pentagon-cutting-jobs-maintenance-due-budget-fears-official-170708494--business.html

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Bahrain protests flare up after rally blocked

MANAMA, Bahrain (AP) ? Hundreds of anti-government protesters have clashed with riot police in Bahrain's capital after authorities denied a request for a major opposition rally.

Friday's confrontations included police firing tear gas at protesters in the narrow streets of Manama's traditional market area.

The unrest came after authorities rejected a request by the main Shiite-led opposition groups for a gathering in the capital.

More than 55 people have died in nearly two years of tensions between the Sunni-led government and the kingdom's majority Shiites seeking a greater political voice.

On Thursday, police fired tear gas and stun grenades at anti-government protesters near Sitra, south of Manama. The demonstrators there were chanting to reject proposed talks aimed at easing unrest in the Gulf nation, which is home to the U.S. Navy's 5th Fleet.

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/bahrain-protests-flare-rally-blocked-144952921.html

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N. Korea's propaganda poets stay true to their muse

KCNA via Reuters, file

A banner reading "Accomplish task suggested by Workers Party Central Committee and Central Army Committee" appears at a rally commemorating the 65th anniversary of North Korean Workers Party in Pyongyang on Feb. 13, 2010.

By Ian Johnston, Staff Writer, NBC News

North Korea?s leaders are ?peerlessly great? and capable of ?immortal feats,? Americans are ?imperialists? who use ?brigandish logic? and critics are just ?rats? scurrying about in a ditch.

And not to forget the gushing ode to the ?threadbare and discolored? parka worn by the late ?dear leader? Kim Jong Il or the discovery of a unicorn lair.

Official pronouncements from North Korea?s state-controlled media have always had a certain poetic quality -- although the poet in question would appear to be extremely angry, somewhat paranoid and possessed by an overly active imagination.

---

And more than a year after Kim Jong Un, son of Kim Jong Il, came to power, it is clear that the planet's only hereditary communist state is still pleased with its flowery rhetoric, despite mocking laughter from the rest of the world.

After all, foreign journalists who dare to criticize can be easily dismissed as ?a sordid hackwork of rubbish media,? according to one release Wednesday from the KCNA news agency.

Kcna / AFP - Getty Images

A pictorial look at the North Korean leader through the years

And not to worry. ?The sun will always give off its light even though rats make nonsensical remarks moving around ditch, while finding it hard to raise their heads to the bright human world.? So there.

On Thursday, KCNA's latest statement hailed its recent satellite launch as a demonstration of its ?space science and technology and its overall national power.? This ?stark fact? was ?favored by the world.?

No matter that the United Nations Security Council had agreed to a resolution to sanction North Korea over the launch, which is feared was actually a test of long-range missile technology.

This claim was simply the ?brigandish logic? of the U.S. and the Security Council was nothing more than ?a marionette.?

But, again, there is really no need for North Koreans to worry, given their country is ?a political, ideological and military giant? run by ?peerlessly great persons of [the sacred] Mt. Paektu.?

However, occasionally there are hints that not everyone is quite so on-message.

At a meeting of the Kim Il Sung Socialist Youth League and Central Committee of the General Federation of Trade unions of Korea Wednesday, KCNA said that ?reporters and speakers? had ?underscored the need to dynamically conduct ideological education to firmly defend and glorify the sacred revolutionary careers and immortal feats? of said peerlessly great leaders.

Elizabeth Dalziel / AP

From work to play, see pictures from inside the secretive country.

Among Kim Jong Il?s accomplishments were: Shooting 11 holes-in-one during the first round of golf he ever played, writing operas, producing movies, and flying jet fighters.

His death, of course, was due to ?physical and mental over-work? on behalf of the nation.

Another reason why he was so great was that he wore an old jacket, which was the subject of a radio essay last month called the ?Parka of Kim Jong Il during his field guidance? on North Korean broadcasting service, Voice of Korea.

"His parka was that of a great father, with which he kept all the people on this land from snow, rain and cold,? the Voice of Korea report said.

Kim ? a "peerless sage of mankind, possessed with warm humanity, broad magnanimity and noble sense of moral obligation? ? had apparently worn the parka as a reminder of his country?s grim history after the death of his father Kim Il Sung.

'Outlandish superlatives'
Seoul-based North Korea expert Daniel Pinkston, North East Asia deputy project director for the International Crisis Group, said stories about unbelievable golfing prowess and the like were not really meant to be taken literally.

?The whole point is not that people necessarily believe it,? he said, noting there was also a degree of mythologizing about revered figures from the past in the West.

And Pinkston said what often sounds ?comical? or ?bizarre? in English ?doesn?t come off as the kind of stilted, strange language? in Korean.

But he said North Korea perhaps suffered from its isolation and the lack of feedback on its writing style.

?They do have a tendency to use outlandish superlatives? to emphasize a point, he added.

The main message, however, of many of the statements is seldom lost in translation, Pinkston said.

?It?s just very harsh and militant,? he said.

Related:

North Korea: Rocket launches, nuclear tests will 'target' US

Cigars, cognac and mass starvation: 10 facts that divide North Korea from world

ANALYSIS: 'Spoiled child' North Korea snubs key ally China with rocket test

Source: http://worldnews.nbcnews.com/_news/2013/01/24/16676455-north-koreas-poets-of-propaganda-stay-true-to-their-muse-despite-worlds-laughter?lite

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Special day for Mooney family as they become Aussies - Council ...

HEIDI Mooney will be among those becoming a citizen on Australia Day - and she has four legs and a tail.

The St Bernard is one of eight members of the Mooney family who will attend the citizenship ceremony at Mosman's Drill Hall on Saturday.

Jaz Mooney said the beloved family pet was just as proud to call Australia home as the rest of his Irish clan.

"She'll wear an Australian collar and celebrate with us," he said.

"She's part of the family."

Heidi made the journey from Ireland to Australia with Jaz, wife Karen and their five children Bethan, Ben, Rhiannon, Angharad and Megan. The family marked seven years in Australia on Monday, after leaving their Belfast home for a better life.

"Coming from Northern Ireland we're told the UK doesn't want you, Dublin doesn't want you but come to Australia, we want you," he said.

"There is no better place to bring up kids than Australia and no better place to live than Mosman."

Mr Mooney and his Welsh wife Karen fell in love with Australia and each other during a backpacking holiday more than 25 years ago.

"We always wanted to come back," Mrs Mooney said.

Mr Mooney, a publican, said he loved Australia's blue skies, beaches and barbecues.

"But most important of all is freedom. Whatever your religious or political views you're allowed to express them freely."

AUSTRALIA DAY?

55 people will become Australian citizens at a ceremony at Mosman's Drill Hall on Australia Day.

Most of those making the pledge originate from the United Kingdom, New Zealand and South Africa.

The ceremony will begin at 10am followed by an Australia Day Address by Krystal Barter, the naming of Mosman's Citizen and Young Citizen of the Year and a barbecue.

Source: http://mosman-daily.whereilive.com.au/news/story/special-day-for-mooney-family-as-they-become-aussies/

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