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Android Central

One of our favorite Twitter clients for Android, Falcon, updated just in time for 2013 with a bunch of new features. The biggie is that Falcon now uses the fancy YouTube APIs for Android that Google introduced before Christmas, but there are also a few subtle tweaks that have been added, including a spam reporting button, a slider for setting refresh rates, and a logout button. Here's the full changelog for Falcon Pro 1.4.

SBA Loan

The U.S. Small Business Administration was created by congress in 1953 to encourage the growth of commerce and aid in the forming of new businesses enterprises and to help with growth of existing enterprises. It acts in a way as a liason between congress and small businesses

The SBA loan program is a program that helps guarantee up to 85% of the loan amount. You still get the loan through the bank, only you have the SBA as a guarantor.. You might try to go to the bank and get a loan yourself first, and if you are turned down, ask if they would reconsider your request under the SBA loan guarantee program.

You may want to look into sba preferred and certified lending institutions.

You can approach the sba at any size or stage of small business development.

The SBA may take up to 10 days to process your application. Some of the main factors include collateral. If you don?t have colloateral, you won?t necessarily be rejected, but collateral is a very important factor in all loans.

To be eligible for the sba loan program a business must be operated for profit and must not exceed certain company size standards.

You can get a lot of business information at the local SBxA office and may even be able to find mentors with ?SCORE? ? The Service Corps of Retired Executives which provides free counseling to small business owners.

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Source: http://www.financedogma.com/finance/sba-loan/

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4 Hours Ago ? #1

Senior Moderator

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Join Date: Oct 2005

Posts: 5,252

Game over for PlayStation 2 in Japan

Quote:

Sony has discontinued the PlayStation 2 in Japan, says a report, nearly 13 years after the device's introduction.

Famitsu broke the news that Sony halted Japanese production of PlayStation 2 hardware in its home country, but the blog also noted that the company plans to continue developing and selling games for the video game console. We've reached out to Sony Computer Entertainment America for more information about future PS2 plans in the U.S. -- check back later for a response.

Link: http://news.cnet.com/8301-17938_105-...on-2-in-japan/

__________________
Monster HDP 2500 / Toshiba 55UL610U / Onkyo TX-NR818 / Energy RC-70,RC-LCR,CF-70 / Velodyne EQ-Max 12 / Oppo BDP-83 / LG LDA-831

"Our actions define our legacy"

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Source: http://club.myce.com/f181/game-over-playstation-2-japan-330808/

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Relationship is a means to an end versus an end in itself. The true purpose of relationship is the full flowering of each partner but only those who conquer their fears by learning to consciously love can reach the ultimate seventh stage of relationship: Allen L Roland

Most people are afraid of love because they are afraid of their deepest joy, delight and inner freedom and are, in essence, trapped by their fear of deep vulnerability and intimacy.

2013 will be a worldwide year of transition and no where will that be felt deeper than with individual love relationships.

In relationship, we must reach a place where being honest and being true to yourself is more important than the survival of the relationship! Let me illustrate this using Stendhal's and Roland's seven stages of a love relationship ~ In relationship, Love must evolve from emotional to conscious unconditional love and that transition doesn't happen painlessly.

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1. ADMIRATION " I really admire you as a person "

2. BEGINNING OF DESIRE ?I think I'd like to get to know you better."

3. HOPE " I hope you feel the same way about me "

4. INCEPTION OF LOVE " I think I'm falling in love with you "

5. FIRST CRYSTALLIZATION " I see the beauty and perfection within you "

6. DOUBT, FEAR AND/OR JEALOUSY, ANGER AND RESENTMENT " You're going to hurt me or betray me like others have "

This is where Stendhal ended his six stages of love for this is the stage where most, if not all, emotional relationships end with mutual anger, resentment or fear submerging all traces of the original love. What we do not realize in this stage is that these feelings are often associated with earlier childhood or relationship hurts we felt with loved ones and we are face to face with the decisions we made at that time to repress and deny our deepest feelings ~ because there was seemingly no-one there for us. We can either run, as most people do, or go inside and go through these fears by not denying the love, taking accountability for these feelings and stop being a victim! You cannot escape stage six until you are willing to go inside, take total accountability for your actions and feelings and stop denying love. This takes great courage but the payoff is immense! Resentment doesn't heal! Anger doesn't heal! Only love truly heals!

7. ROLAND'S SECOND CRYSTALLIZATION " I feel the beauty and perfection within myself and I'm sharing it with you and the world "

This Stage cannot be accomplished unless we realize that our ultimate quest in life is to fully experience our authentic self and our connection to our original state of soul consciousness and an innate connection with source.?

IT?S A PLACE OF INNER VERSUS OUTER VALIDATION !

"Until I let go I cannot grow ", "Great love can both take hold and let go." ?When we let go in relationship, you do not let go of the love. To let go with love you must, in essence, consciously love your partner and yourself. Your self respect will be your guide. You must reach the place where you can say that it?s more important that I love myself than you loving me.?

Conscious love (non-possessive, non-dependent and unconditional love) is rarely obtained between humans. The conscious love motive, in its most developed state, is the wish that the object should arrive at its own innate perfection ~ regardless of the consequences to the lover or partner. It is total unconditional love and when we come from this place we are embracing our deepest spiritual essence and are also accessing a state of soul consciousness within ourselves ( the Unified Field ).

The paradox of this attitude is that such love always invokes eventually a similar attitude in its objects because we all seek, at the deepest level, to be unconditionally loved. As such, when we allow love to be our guiding intention through our thoughts and feelings and learn to consciously unconditional love ~ we eventually begin to see through clearer eyes and all things come into perfect balance and harmony.

Jesus consciously unconditionally loved and the reason we have never forgotten him is because that same capacity to consciously love and be loved lies deepest within each one of us ~ but many of us continue to look outside and externalize it versus going inside and internalized it as I most certainly do with my clients as a heart centered counselor and coach as well as my primary relationship.

The path to the soul is always through doors of fear and most of those fears appear in relationship. You don't realize those fears are illusions until you stop denying love and go through them. Only then can you truly claim the greatest gift ~ yourself.

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Only then can you become a fragment of life's heart and transcend time and space in the process ~ for the hearts' desire is to love so deeply that we become one with a Unified Field of love and soul consciousness as well as claim our part in an evolving loving plan and always from a place of inner celebration and delight.

Each relationship is a step in that process of eventually returning to source and only by fully opening your heart and learning to consciously unconditionally love can you begin or accelerate that journey to truly find yourself.

The ultimate relationship, as such, is a spiritual relationship where both partners are on a common path, one through the other, to find and celebrate who they really are ~ using the love that exists between them as the vehicle.

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We shall not cease from exploration and the end of all our exploring will be to arrive where we started... and know the place for the first time: T.S.Eliot

Allen L Roland ?

Freelance Alternative Press Online columnist and psychotherapist Allen L Roland is available for comments, interviews, speaking engagements and private consultations ( allen@allenroland.com ) Allen L Roland is a practicing psychotherapist, author and lecturer who also shares a daily political and social commentary on his web log and website allenroland.com He also guest hosts a monthly national radio show TRUTHTALK on www.conscioustalk.net

Source: http://allenlrolandsweblog.blogspot.com/2012/12/seven-stages-of-relationship-very-few.html

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WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Congressional negotiators burrowed into their Capitol offices on Saturday to see if they can stop the economy from falling off a "fiscal cliff" in just three days when the biggest tax increases ever to hit Americans in one shot are scheduled to begin.

Aides to Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, a Democrat, and Senate Republican leader Mitch McConnell were expected to work through the day on a possible compromise that would set aside $600 billion in tax increases and across-the-board government spending cuts that are set to kick in next week.

A variety of lower taxes are scheduled to expire on December 31. If allowed to rise, the approximately $500 billion value of the revenue increases would represent a historic hike when taken together.

The combined punch of the tax increases and spending cuts would likely put the U.S. economy into a downward spiral, according to economists' forecasts.

"We're now at the point where, in just a couple days, the law says that every American's tax rates are going up. Every American's paycheck will get a lot smaller. And that would be the wrong thing to do for our economy," President Barack Obama said in his weekly radio and Internet address, which was broadcast on Saturday.

At midday, McConnell walked into his office on the second floor of the Capitol. Asked by waiting journalists if he thought his efforts would be successful, McConnell responded: "I hope so."

A Senate Republican leadership aide said that it might not be known until sometime on Sunday whether these talks bear fruit. That is when leaders are expected to brief their rank-and-file members.

The Senate is scheduled to hold a rare Sunday session beginning at 1 p.m. EST (1800 GMT), but it was not clear whether the chamber would have fiscal cliff legislation to act upon.

Reid and McConnell and their staffs held last-ditch negotiations Friday night and resumed on Saturday with no guarantees that their efforts would pay off. Republicans remained opposed to Obama's demand that households making above $250,000 a year see their income tax rate rise to 39.6 percent, from the current 35 percent, in order to help tame budget deficits.

In recent days, some aides have said that a $400,000 threshold, instead of $250,000, has been discussed as a possible compromise.

PESSIMISTIC OUTLOOK

Democrats and Republicans also are jousting over what to do about inheritance taxes on estates.

Unless Congress acts, the tax is set to jump on January 1 to 55 percent with the first $1 million exempted for individuals. Currently, there is a 35 percent tax and a $5 million exemption.

One Democratic aide was pessimistic that McConnell would come up with a counteroffer that Reid would find acceptable. Such a counteroffer would have to be calibrated in a way that also could attract votes from conservative House Republicans, many of whom have balked at any tax rate increases.

Similarly, a senior House Republican aide on Saturday voiced pessimism about prospects for a deal.

"It's hard to see Reid agreeing to anything that can get the votes of the majority of the majority in the House, thereby allowing a bipartisan accomplishment," the aide said. A "majority of the majority" refers to the 241 Republicans who are in the 435-member House.

The Republican aide placed the blame squarely on Democrats, as many Republican members have done publicly, saying that going off the fiscal cliff is a "policy upside" for them. "Higher taxes, devastating defense cuts. The polls tell them they can win the PR war in January. From their perspective, why stop the cliff dive?"

Democrats, in turn, have publicly accused Republican House Speaker John Boehner of preferring to put off any tough fiscal cliff votes until after a January 3 House election in which he is expected to win another two-year term as speaker.

If McConnell and Reid can manage to reach a deal on inheritance taxes and raising income tax rates on the wealthiest, they likely would throw into the compromise some other fiscal cliff solutions.

Those could include extending an array of other expiring tax breaks, such as one that encourages companies to conduct research and development. Also, Congress wants to prevent a steep pay-cut in January for doctors who treat elderly Medicare patients.

Lawmakers also want to prevent middle-class taxpayers from inadvertently creeping into a higher tax bracket, known as the alternative minimum tax, intended for the wealthiest.

If the Reid-McConnell effort fails, Obama has asked the Senate to hold a vote on Monday on a "basic package" that would stop taxes from going up on the middle class and would extend long-term unemployment benefits that are about to expire. If it passed the Senate, its fate would be in the hands of the Republican-controlled House.

(Additional reporting by Thomas Ferraro and Jeff Mason; Editing by Fred Barbash and Eric Beech)

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/senate-leaders-last-ditch-fiscal-cliff-effort-012150621--business.html

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It really is not so hard to start investing in commercial real estate. There are, however, a few things you need to know about a property before making any transaction. This article teaches you helpful advice so that you can make the most out of your experience.

Take a tour of properties you are considering. You can even take a contractor with you to provide expert advice. Once that is done, you can submit your proposal and begin negotiations. Before making any commitment, you should carefully evaluate each offer and counteroffer.

In a new lease, you need to be aware of how the rent price will affect your investment. Have an exact rental amount in mind before you discuss your property with a potential tenant. This is the best way to attain your goals and turn your investment into a profit.

TIP! When searching for a real estate agent, keep their disclosures in mind so you know who they are working for. Never neglect the fact that you may be dealing with a ?dual agency.

When you are first starting out in real estate investing, the best thing is to keep it simple and start with one investment strategy at a time. Pick a property type you desire to initially start with and focus on it with your undivided attention. It?s good to find a niche and do very, very well at it rather than flitting from one investment type to another without much success.

Use detailed photos to create this documentation. Ensure that the photos document any problems, including mold, damaged walls, or chipped fixtures.

When considering an investment, one should consider the possible consequences of economic inflation within the next decade. Many leases in the past had built-in clauses preventing and protecting signers from inflation by making changes in accordance with the Buyer Price Index. With the way things work today, take precaution because this type of contract is extinct, which leaves you a lot more vulnerable when it comes to losses as a result of inflation.

TIP! Before you make a decision on which real estate broker to use, see how they negotiate. Find out about their experience and training.

You should learn how to calculate the (NOI) Net Operating Income of your commercial property. For the investment to be profitable, it has to produce more income than operating expenses.

Look for the motivated sellers. You will have to actively find them, especially those who are motivated enough to sell the property below the market value. This is real estate and until you are able to land that seller, you will never land that deal, and that means never landing that profit.

There are a variety of types of real estate brokers who deal in commercial properties. Some agents will represent only the tenant while a full service broker will represent both parties. A broker who works only with tenants should have more experience and should represent a better choice for you.

TIP! Find out how the company you are working with measures their progress. You will need to know how they select property criteria, what methods are used when negotiating and how they calculate how much square footage you will need.

Do your research so you know ahead of time if you will have issues with the environment surrounding your property. As owner, you will have to clean up any environmental problems the building may have. Are you considering a purchase of property in an area that is prone to flooding? You may need to think again. It?s possible to get information specific to the locale you?re considering by contacting environmental assessment agencies in that area.

As previously indicated, a successful commercial real estate deal requires a lot of upfront information. Hopefully, this article has been a good source of advice and inspiration that will contribute to your future success in the business of commercial real estate.

TIP! Record problems by taking digital pictures of them. Make certain your photos highlight specific defects such as carpet spots, wall holes and bathroom discolorations.

Source: http://www.maynaseric.com/need-advice-on-commercial-real-estate-check-out-these-tips-6

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http://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/ill-keep-my-freedom-my-pets-and-my-money?you-can-keep-the-change-says-responsible-pet-owners-alliance-184835361.html

SAN ANTONIO, Texas, Dec.?26, 2012 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ ? Unfortunately little publicity has been given to the Animal Scam that rakes in millions each year to achieve the Animal Rights Movement?s radical agenda to end?all?animal use and ownership.

?Animal Rights? is an international movement closely aligned with environmental extremists.? The Movement spread to?California?from?England?more than 20 years ago and has slowly crept all across the country.? Legislation is their weapon of choice!? Pet shops are being outlawed which threatens all species of pets, not only dogs and cats.

The ongoing legislative battle to regulate pet ownership out of existence in incremental steps is waging in our cities, counties, and at state and federal levels.? It is a radical agenda with a well greased and well financed ?propaganda machine? that has duped the media and elected officials at all levels of government.? HSUS is the worst offender as it is not a government agency as some believe, and has no affiliation with local humane societies.

In the past 5 years, the extremists have made tremendous inroads with anti-pet legislation, declaring each victory a ?first step.?? They have reared their ugly head in?Texas, that last bastion of ?freedom.?? To these anti-pet groups, there are?no?responsible breeders of pets and they want all pet breeding and sales to become unlawful.? Most pet owners do not realize how this legislation will affect them in the future.

People for Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA) purchased billboard advertising recently to attack?Thanksgiving?tradition with this text, ?KIDS:? If you wouldn?t eat your dog, why eat a turkey?? Go Vegan.? PETA?? This sick ad transposed a pet dog?s head on a turkey?s body.

For their agenda regarding all animal use (including pet ownership), check out National Animal Interest Alliance?s website:

http://www.naiaonline.org/naia-library/articles/quotes-from-the-leaders-of-the-animal-rights-movement/

Wayne Pacelle?, (HSUS) Vegan President:? ?We have no ethical obligation to preserve the different breeds of livestock produced through selective breeding ???One generation and out.? We have no problems with the extinction of domestic animals.? They are creations of human selective breeding.?

Ingrid Newkirk?, People for the Ethical Treatment of? Animals:? ?For one thing we would no longer allow breeding.? People could not create different breeds.? If people had companion animals in their homes, these animals would have to be refugees from the animal shelter and the streets??? But as the surplus of cats and dogs declined, eventually companion animals would be phased out and we would return to a more symbiotic relationship ? enjoyment at a distance.?

Tom Regan?,?(The Philosophy of Animal Rights, Culture and Animals Foundation):? ?It is not larger, cleaner cages that justice demands ?? But empty cages.?

Contact:??Mary Beth Duerler, Executive Director
(210) 822-6763,?rpoa@texas.net

DONATE:??www.rpoatexasoutreach.org

RPOA formed to preserve the human/animal bond and our historic working relationship with animals.

Like this:

Be the first to like this.

~ by topcatsroar on December 28, 2012.

Posted in Uncategorized
Tags: PETA, TX-RPOA, American Kennel Club, Texas, THLN, TDLR, TEXAS DEPARTMENT OF LICENSING AND REGULATION, RPOA, HB 1451, responsible pet owners alliance, responsible pet owners, texas humane legislation network, Exotic Animals, Animal Rights Extremists, ASPCA, pet breeders, rescuers, politics, Animal Owners, "Puppy Mill Bill", current-events, Sportsman, hunting, Humane Society of the United States, HSUS, farm animals, PETA kills, puppy mill, Breeders, animal rights activist, animal rights groups, Mary Beth Duerler, Animal Legal Defense Fund, Working Dogs, lawsuit, RPOA Texas Outreach, Breeder's License Committee, responsible animal ownership, Advisory Committee, Breeders Advisory Committee, HSUS Anti-Breeding Bill, RADICAL Animal Rights, Dog and Cat Breeder Bill, Sea World, Bird, Dog shows, cat shows, dog fanciers, cat fanciers, Exhibitors, veterinarians, hunting dogs, search and rescue dogs, companion animals, therapy animals, show dog handlers, pet groomers, pet stores, Animal interests, Pet Limits, commercial breeder, equal protection clause, texas department of licensing and regulations, occupy-wall-street, harassment, puppy and kitty mills, kitty mill, Texas Department of Licensing & Regulation, cat breeders, dog breeders, warrantless inspections, Breeder Definition, Breeder Bounty, vigilantes, anonymous "snitches", anti-breeder, Texas Department of Agriculture, federal court

Source: http://topcatsroar.wordpress.com/2012/12/28/ill-keep-my-freedom-my-pets-and-my-money-you-can-keep-the-change-says-responsible-pet-owners-alliance-tx-rpoa/

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I'm not 100% sure it'll work, but try and download Crystal Disk Info to see if it detects the drive as damaged in any way. That's the only thing I can think of, but I'm not really all that good at computers.

Current System:

Motherboard - MSI P67A-C43
CPU - i5-2400

Cooling - Corsair H60 push/pull
Memory - 16GB Corsair Vengeance 1600mhz RAM
GPU - Galaxy GTX 670 OC Edition
Display - 23" 1920x1080 Acer monitor
Peripherals - Razer Lycosa, Death Adder, Carcharias
Case - Cooler Master HAF932

Planned Upgrade:

Motherboard - AsRock Z77 Extreme6
CPU - i7-2700k

Cooling - Corsair H100i pull
Memory - ~~16GB Corsair Vengeance 1600mhz RAM~~
GPU - ~~Galaxy GTX 670 OC Edition~~
Display (1) - ~~23" 1920x1080 Acer Monitor (Secondary Monitor)~~
Display (2) - 24" 1920x1080 Asus Monitor (OR 27" 1920x1080 monitor, dependent on a friend I may be purchasing from)
Peripherals - ~~Razer Lycosa, Death Adder, Carcharias~~
Case - ~~Cooler Master HAF932~~

Source: http://www.adkgamers.com/topic/21960-laptop-hdd-partition-problem/

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Tax Type Tax Rate Tax ID or Company no.

eg. VAT, GST ? Registration no.

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NAIROBI, Kenya (AP) ? The director of the Pumwani Maternity Hospital, located in a hardscrabble neighborhood of downtown Nairobi, freely acknowledges that he detains mothers who can't pay their bills.

Lazarus Omondi says it's the only way he can keep his medical center running. Now, a New York-based group filed a lawsuit this month in hopes of forcing Pumwani to stop the practice.

Two mothers who live in a mud-wall and tin-roof slum near the maternity hospital said Pumwani wouldn't let them leave after delivering their babies. The bills the mothers couldn't afford were $60 and $160. Guards with sticks would beat mothers who tried to leave without paying, one of the women said.

Omondi says one solution to the problem would be a national health insurance program.

Associated Press

Source: http://hosted2.ap.org/APDEFAULT/cae69a7523db45408eeb2b3a98c0c9c5/Article_2012-12-27-Kenya-Hospital%20Prisoners/id-d9f6f251f913474d915d9dccd6851ff5

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MOSCOW (Reuters) - A Japanese adventurer who was cycling across Russia is believed to have been killed on Wednesday in a road accident near the Arctic circle, Russian officials and media said.

Authorities believe a Japanese man who died after being hit by a car from behind on the Kola Peninsula some 300 km (185 miles) south of Murmansk was Haruhisa Watanabe, said Sergei Klyushev, a Russian Foreign Ministry official in Murmansk.

"He died at the scene after sustaining multiple injuries," Klyushev said by phone.

In 2004 at age 22 Watanabe said he had become the second youngest person to climb the highest peaks on all seven continents.

Media reports said he had began his current trip in June in China and had crossed Central Asia, Iran, Azerbaijan, Georgia, Armenia and Turkey before taking a ferry to Russia's Black Sea resort of Sochi and cycling north from there.

(Reporting by Tatyana Ustinova; Writing by Gennady Fyodorov; Editing by Steve Gutterman and Andrew Osborn)

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/japanese-adventurer-feared-killed-russian-road-accident-174102833.html

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LG 'Hecto' laser TV projector to debut at CES 2013, promises a 100inch screen from 22inches away

As LG continues its slew of CES 2013 pre-announcements, the latest is a new display technology it's bringing to the projection arena, an ultra short throw laser projector. Capable of creating a 100-inch screen from just 22 inches (56cm) away, the "Hecto" Laser TV a 1080p shooter that can change the way owners design their home theater. If you'd like to use it as an all-in-one home theater to go (the screen is included, picture after the break), it also has a digital tuner and 10w speakers built-in, with three HDMI inputs, an RS-232 port and Smart TV capabilities controlled by LG's Magic Remote. As you can see above, it follows LG's "Dynamic Arc Design" with a max height of just 5.7-inches. It carries a 1,000,000 to 1 contrast ratio with WiDi and Miracast compatibility and LG claims the laser system will run for up to 25,000 hours without replacement. There's no word on pricing or release date, although it likely won't be value priced. We expect to get a few more details when we see it in Las Vegas, check the press release after the break for all the information currently available.

Continue reading LG 'Hecto' laser TV projector to debut at CES 2013, promises a 100-inch screen from 22-inches away

Filed under: Home Entertainment, HD

Comments

Source: http://www.engadget.com/2012/12/26/lg-hecto-laser-tv-projector-to-debut-at-ces-2013-promises-a-1/

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JOHANNESBURG (Reuters) - Former South African president and anti-apartheid hero Nelson Mandela is looking much better after more than two weeks in hospital, President Jacob Zuma said on Tuesday.

Zuma, who visited Mandela on Christmas Day, said in a statement that doctors were happy with the progress the elder statesman was making.

"We found him in good spirits. He was happy to have visitors on this special day and is looking much better. The doctors are happy with the progress that he is making," said Zuma.

The 94-year-old Nobel Peace laureate has been in hospital in Pretoria for more than two weeks after being admitted for routine tests. He then underwent surgery to remove gallstones.

Mandela, who came to power in historic elections in 1994 after decades struggling against apartheid, remains a symbol of resistance to racism and injustice at home and around the world.

He has a history of lung problems dating back to when he contracted tuberculosis while in jail as a political prisoner. But this is his longest stay in hospital since he was released from prison in 1990.

He spent time in a Johannesburg hospital in 2011 with a respiratory condition, and again in February this year because of abdominal pains though he was released the following day after a keyhole examination showed there was nothing serious.

Zuma, who has just been re-elected as president of the ruling African National Congress party, last week described Mandela's condition as serious.

"The Mandela family truly appreciates all the support they are receiving from the public. That is what keeps them going at this difficult time," said Zuma.

Periodic statements from the presidency continue to stress that the veteran politician is responding to treatment. No date has been given for his release from hospital.

Mandela spent 27 years in prison, including 18 years on the windswept Robben Island off Cape Town.

After his release, he used his popularity to push for reconciliation between whites and blacks. This reconciliation is the bedrock of the post-apartheid "Rainbow Nation".

Sworn in as South Africa's first black president in 1994, Mandela stepped down in 1999 after one term in office and has largely been absent from public life for the last decade.

His fragile health has prevented him from making any public appearances in South Africa, though he has continued to receive high-profile domestic and international visitors, including former U.S. president Bill Clinton in July.

(Reporting by Sherilee Lakmidas; Editing by Andrew Osborn)

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/former-south-african-president-mandela-much-better-zuma-101405285.html

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Source: http://www.thehollywoodgossip.com/2012/12/jodie-marsh-bikini-battle-breast-in-show/

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Django Unchained, Quentin Tarantino?s blaxploitation spaghetti western about a freed slave turned bounty hunter, provoked a lot of contradictory feelings in me, including some that don?t usually come in pairs: Hilarity and boredom. Aesthetic delight and physical nausea. Fist-pumping righteousness and vague moral unease.

Of course, provoking intense feelings is what Tarantino?s cinema is all about. The 49-year-old eternal wunderkind has always been a provocateur, a creator of over-the-top multi-genre spectaculars that are as cinematically sophisticated as they can be ideologically crude. But with his last two films?Inglourious Basterds, which rewrote the ending of World War II as an apocalyptic Jewish revenge fantasy, and Django Unchained, which performs an analogous sleight of hand on the institution of American slavery?Tarantino ups the ante. Now he?s drawing his inspiration not only from movie history?the mob dramas, martial-arts films, and grade-B exploitation flicks he?s always drawn on for his ingenious style pastiches?but from history itself.

That shift in source material seems, in itself, worthy of pausing to note. Does his choice to plumb the past for painful, ideologically loaded stories of racial and ethnic violence suggest that Tarantino is maturing as a filmmaker, opening out from the stylized self-referentiality of his early films onto a broader historical perspective? And if it doesn?t?if Tarantino really is just appropriating world-historical atrocities for no other reason than their power to make audiences sweat and squirm and root for the long-suffering good guys to finally for the love of God kick the bad guys? Nazi/slave-trading asses?should that matter? Does Django Unchained need to have anything more on its mind than the unleashing of gleefully gory racial retribution?

A legend places the movie?s opening in Texas in 1858, two years before the beginning of the Civil War. A band of slaves shackled at the ankle makes its way through the night, driven by two white traders. Suddenly a curious sight comes into view: A horse-drawn-carriage topped by a bouncing wooden tooth and driven by a German ?migr?, King Schultz (Christoph Waltz, jovially stealing every scene he?s in), who?s posing as an itinerant dentist. In fact, King is a bounty hunter on business for the U.S. government. He?s looking for a particular slave, Django (a steely Jamie Foxx), to help him identify his next targets, the notoriously pitiless slave overseers the Brittle brothers.

In no time, Schultz has bought Django his liberty, tossed the remaining slaves the key to their shackles, and made short work of the unlucky traders. With Django posing as his valet, Schultz locates the Brittles, who, it turns out, are the same heartless bastards who earlier separated Django from his beloved wife, Broomhilda (Kerry Washington). Schultz strikes a deal with the wary Django: If he?s willing to ride north and bounty-hunt by Schultz?s side through the winter, in the spring they?ll head south together to find and rescue Broomhilda.????????

After an irresistibly loopy montage set to Jim Croce?s ?I Got a Name,? in which the two bounty hunters ride through Marlboro-country backdrops felling wanted criminals and practicing target shooting on snowmen, we move to Mississippi, where they?ve tracked Broomhilda?s whereabouts to Candieland, a plantation belonging to the decadent, sadistic, and obscenely rich Calvin J. Candie (Leonardo DiCaprio in an enjoyably florid, mustache-twirling performance). Candie?s hobby is ?mandingo fighting,? the practice of siccing two unarmed black men on one another and forcing them to fight to the death. (There?s one long, horrifying scene in which we witness the sport in action; I can?t speak with authority as to how gory it got in the end, because I could only watch through a latticework of fingers.)

Django and Schultz pose as mandingo traders in order to infiltrate the plantation and help Broomhilda escape?but it?s not easy to get past Stephen (Samuel L. Jackson), Candieland?s eagle-eyed ?house nigger? (if that job description makes you uncomfortable, get used to it; in Django Unchained the n-word is ubiquitous in the mouths of both black and white actors). I wish the complex enmity between Django and Stephen?the fiercely self-reliant freed slave and the servile, self-loathing Uncle Tom?had been the dramatic focus of this middle section. Instead, the movie founders into theatricality with a way-too-long dinner sequence replete with death threats, double-crosses, and impromptu phrenology lectures.

The last hour and a half of Django Unchained sometimes seems like Tarantino?s extended experiment in blood-splatter painting. How would a burst of arterial blood look spraying across a horses? flank? Over a field of unpicked cotton? Onto the white carnation in a dandy?s buttonhole? If you unproblematically loved Inglourious Basterds, with its multiple endings that nested one gory act of take-that-you-Nazis! retribution inside another, you will probably dig the final stretch of Django Unchained. I won?t spoil who does what to whom, save to say that lots of bad fates are visited upon lots of bodies (some of which get torn apart alive by dogs or continue to be shot at close range many, many times after they?re dead). The rhythm begins to stagger as Tarantino can?t resist topping his first bloodbath shootout with a second, more comic, more virtuosic bloodbath shootout, or flashing back to that earlier dog-mauling scene just in case we?d forgotten.

Tarantino?s intent may have been to showcase the horrors of slavery, but there?s something about his directorial delectation in all these acts of racial violence that left me not just physically but morally queasy. His fascination with repeated acts of graphic retribution puts the viewer in the position of Calvin J. Candie, watching with a cigarette holder and a coconut drink in hand as the mandingoes fight it out.

Source: http://feeds.slate.com/click.phdo?i=bebe89f108ed5667ebf2e6b9ef5a1979

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The best reputation management you have as a small business is customer service. One bad customer service experience can have huge repercussions in the age of social media. UPS discovered this the hard way.

A few years ago an incident like this could have gone months before the company saw any negative publicity ? if at all. But with social media, and everyone you know having accounts at all the major social media websites, you can bet that your customers will use it if they have to.

All you have to do to stop the social media negative PR campaigns before they start is provide good customer service. That doesn?t mean flawless execution of your service or flawless products. It means addressing concerns when they arise.

Once you sully your reputation it?s hard to get it back. That?s why you need to train all your employees on how to handle customer complaints when they happen. And be sure that no one drops the ball on any customer complaint. If you fail to do this one time, you could end up like UPS and have a video go viral, making your company look like it doesn?t care about its customers.

Social media is the great equalizer between customers and large businesses. What do you think it could do to a small business in a small town if this kind of thing happens to one of your customers?

Tags: customer service, Reputation Management, small business, Social Media

This entry was posted on Monday, December 24th, 2012 at 8:11 am and is filed under Reputation Management. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.

Source: http://www.smallbusinessmavericks.com/internetmarketing/reputation-management/customer-service-is-reputation-management/12/24/2012/

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