Source: http://news.feedzilla.com/en_us/stories/politics/top-stories/274058343?client_source=feed&format=rss
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Monday, December 31, 2012
Once in a Lifetime ? Real Estate Marketing Blog ? Real Pro Systems
Howard Brinton was one of those people who come along once in a lifetime.? His passing this past week from a long battle with prostate cancer is felt by the many who knew him, admired him, and loved him like family.? The world lost a pretty amazing man who taught an industry how to connect and share to grow in their businesses and in their lives.? Here at Real Pro Systems we feel that loss.? Many of our own are grieving this loss and here are a few words from them.
Rob Levy, Co-Founder of Real Pro Systems, Star Power Star: ??Howard, for those of you who don?t know, was indirectly a major catalyst of the formation of Real Pro Systems and to its beginning success as many of his students (including Galand Haas and I) are Howard Brinton?s Star Power Stars.? He provided real estate education and conferences taught by ?the stars?.? Real Pro Systems first really big sales were at one of those conferences.
Howard was a major influence in my business life from the first time I started listening to the cassettes (yes, cassettes back then) of top agents interviewed back in the very early ?90s.? I then started attending his conferences and learned much of how I run my real estate business from Howard and the stars.? Howard will be missed and is survived by his three children, his grandchildren and his wife Babs.
Galand Haas, Co-Founder of Real Pro Systems, Star Power Star:??Howard really is responsible for Real Pro Systems ever coming to be. ?Without the relationships that were made through Star Power we never would have got Real Pro Systems off of the ground.
I will never forget the Star Advance in Tucson where I did a break out session and showed everyone the buyer stealth site and the crude back end that Joe Lininger had attached to it with the database and drip e-mail campaigns. ?I was asked to give a private session to a couple of the Stars to go over it in more detail. ?There must have been 30 plus that showed up and gathered around the fireplace that night to get a demo. ?The rest is history.
Howard supported all of us and Real Pro Systems from the beginning. ?He was a great mentor, great friend and had an electrifying personality like no other.
Howard will be missed by many who had lives that were touched by him.
Amy Stoehr, Founder/Director of Real Estate Masters Guild (Worked with Howard for 12+ Years):??Facebook asks, ?How are you feeling, Amy?? in the status box. I honestly don?t know how to respond to that today. For those who haven?t yet received the message, Howard Brinton passed away a little past 3 a.m. today. He wore a lot of hats and titles ? mentor, coach, leader, friend, father figure, motivator, industry leader, entertainer ? and after nearly five years battling cancer (and laughing at?it, thriving in spite of it, working through it), I?m still a little shocked, I guess, that he?s gone.
Thank you,?Cathy Russell?for introducing me to Howard and STAR POWER. Thank you, Howard, for believing in me for nearly twelve years. Thank you,?Patrick Hiban?&?Patrick Stracuzzi for being there for Howard in his final moments. Let us ALL be thankful for the way Howard touched each of us individually and let us all take the best of what this family gave us and carry it forward for future generations. And God ? I sure hope you?re ready for Howard!
Terri Renella Sales Director: (former Sales Manager for Star Power):??Howard Brinton touched so many lives in a profound and positive way and I feel blessed to have known him.? I only worked for Howard for a short time but I have many things to thank him for but the two most important???..He taught me to live by the Platinum rule, treat others as THEY want to be treated.? ?And he introduced me to Rob, Caine, Joe and Galand connecting me with Real Pro Systems and a job I love.? Howard was a connector, he knew how to connect individuals at a heart level and he will be missed.
?Caine O?Brien General Manager: ??My very first introduction to the real estate market was at Star Power in 2006.? There, Howard Brinton opened the conference by coming onto the stage in a tuxedo singing ?New York, New York.?? ??The crowd went wild, and I realized I was witnessing an extraordinary force in the industry.
What I observed at that conference and all that followed, is how Howard had built a community, one committed to selfless sharing by the best of the best in real estate.? He leaves a legacy of success, selfless giving as well as down-to-earth accessibility that is an inspiration to us all.? His impact on Real Pro Systems was enormous, touching all of our lives, and he will be deeply missed.
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Source: http://blog.realprosystems.com/2012/12/once-in-a-lifetime/
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Is Apple Pulling A Braveheart?and Why I Hate ?Cheap?
- Posted by Howard
- on December 30th, 2012
Apple is one of my ideas for 2013, but I am already dreading it. Last week I wrote:
10. Apple will do something awesome and surpass 2012 highs. It won?t be the TV either as I don?t think there is enough margin or money in that business for 2013. It might just be a state of the art iOS camera. Photos are still the big thing for chronicling life and so I expect more fireworks in the photo and camera space. The iMac will be a monster for the desktop. Man cannot live by tablet alone (long $AAPL).
I feel like the Apple longs are being led to the grave by the belief in their ?valuation, cash position, vertical integration and stores?.
Today, I can?t get this image out of my head:
It?s supposed to be funny, and it is?but it also has me thinking about new trends that will get us cavemen upright again in 2013 and beyond.
I spend most of my working day on the phone or internet, so it?s hard not to be bombarded with the death of $AAPL analogies these days. There were a few rolling around the internet comparing them to Polaroid just yesterday.
My least favorite coverage of Apple comes from the defenders of it who call the stock cheap. Cheap is a dangerous term in investing. My friend @ThinkingTrades says: ?Momentum Never Chases Cheap?. I love that. I say, ?Cheap? is NOT a catalyst.
Right now, Apple has no catalysts. Analysts are bringing down numbers, momentum funds are locking in gains and I can?t get my hands on my fave product ? the 27 inch iMac.
I got the big bounce to $600 that I needed to get out of $AAPL and it is starting to feel like $500 will give way to much lower prices. Apple the Company is by no means broken, but the stock is missing a catalyst.
I have held on to the idea that the stores are the catalyst which has helped me buy and hold the big dips to date.
There was never an argument an analyst could give me that would make me flinch off my thesis. But, this holiday season the stores feel less busy. As I chased down a 27 inch iMac, I noticed just a hint of slower traffic. I did spend more than I have in recent years, but the margins can?t be as good as every computer was well under $2,000. In 2008, everything sexy for the desktop was north of $2,000.
Time will tell here and tell very soon.
Bring on January and don?t forget that being wrong is part of the business of investing. Staying wrong is part of the business of imploding.
Happy New Year.
The information in this blog post represents my own opinions and does not contain a recommendation for any particular security or investment. I or my affiliates may hold positions or other interests in securities mentioned in the Blog, please see my Disclaimer page for my full disclaimer.
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Sunday, December 30, 2012
animkha commented on Real Roni's blog post WATCH (((NFL)))>> New York Jets vs Buffalo Bills live NFL HD TV
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Source: http://connect.legacy.com/xn/detail/1984035%3AComment%3A438985?xg_source=activity
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The Sports Den's Daily NBA Picks -12/30
The Sports Den had a brutal night going 0-5 with last night's picks, and will be looking to make a major rebound?on Sunday. Here are today's picks and the results of Saturday night's picks. Odds are from Sportsbook.
????????????????????? Sunday Dec. 30, 2012
???????? ? Game????????????????????????????????Pick
Bucks?@ Pistons???????????????????????????Pistons??? -2.5
Spurs?@ Mavericks?????????????????????? Spurs?? -6
Celtics?@ Kings??????????????????????????? Celtics?? -1.5
Jazz?@ Clippers??????????????????????????? Jazz???+9.5
??????????????????????? Saturday's Results
????????? Game???????????????????????????????? Pick????????????????????????? W/L
Blazers 89 -?76ers 85???????????????????76ers???+2??????????????????? L
Bucks 104 - Heat 85????????????????????Heat? -4???????????????????????L
Thunder 124 - Rockets 94??????????? Rockets???+4???????????????L
Bulls 87 - Wizards 77?????????????????? Bulls??? -10.5?????????????? L
Raptors 123 - Magic 88???????????????Magic?? -4?????????????????? L
Last Night: 0-5??
Season: 135-117-7??????????????
????????????????????? ?????????????????????????
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Mondial junior: le Canada bat les ?tats-Unis gr?ce ? Malcolm Subban
OUFA, Russie - Gr?ce au gardien Malcolm Subban, qui a fait face ? 37 tirs, le Canada a dispos? des ?tats-Unis 2-1, dimanche, en ronde pr?liminaire du championnat mondial de hockey junior, ? Oufa, en Russie.
Les attaquants Ryan Nugent-Hopkins et Ryan Strome ont enfil? les buts des Canadiens, qui inscrivaient une troisi?me victoire en autant de matchs.
Le d?fenseur Jacob Trouba a r?pliqu? pour les Am?ricains. Le gardien am?ricain John Gibson a stopp? 30 des 32 tirs dirig?s vers lui.
Le Canada affrontera la Russie lundi.
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Source: http://quebec.huffingtonpost.ca/2012/12/30/mondial-junior-le-canada_n_2383890.html
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Gang-rape victim dies, India transfixed
The brutal attack on the young woman touched off protests - as well as a national conversation on rape and the safety of women that could intensify with her passing.
In this file photo, Indians participate in a candle light vigil to seek a quick recovery of the young victim of the recent brutal gang-rape in a bus in New Delhi, India. A statement by Singapore?s Mount Elizabeth hospital, where the 23-year-old victim was being treated, said she died Saturday, Dec. 29, 2012.
Saurabh Das/AP/File
EnlargeA young Indian woman who was gang-raped and severely beaten on a bus in New Delhi died Saturday at a Singapore hospital, after her ordeal galvanized Indians to demand greater protection from sexual violence that impacts thousands of women daily, in homes, streets, and public transport, but which often goes unreported.
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She "passed away peacefully" with her family and officials of the Indian embassy by her side," said Dr. Kevin Loh, the chief executive of Mount Elizabeth hospital where she had been treated since Thursday. "The Mount Elizabeth Hospital team of doctors, nurses and staff join her family in mourning her loss," he said in a statement.
He said the woman had remained in an extremely critical condition since Thursday when she was flown to Singapore from India.
"Despite all efforts by a team of eight specialists in Mount Elizabeth Hospital to keep her stable, her condition continued to deteriorate over these two days. She had suffered from severe organ failure following serious injuries to her body and brain. She was courageous in fighting for her life for so long against the odds but the trauma to her body was too severe for her to overcome."
The woman and a male friend, who have not been identified, were traveling in a public bus after watching a film on the evening of Dec. 16 when they were attacked by six men who took turns to?rape?her. They also beat the couple and inserted an iron rod into her body. Both of them were then stripped and thrown off the bus, according to police.
Indian police have arrested six people in connection with the attack, which left the victim with severe internal injuries.
Indian High Commissioner, or ambassador, T.C.A. Raghanvan told reporters that the scale of the injuries she suffered was "very grave" and in the end it "proved too much.
He said arrangements are being made to take her body back to India
The crime shocked Indians, who have come out in their thousands for almost daily demonstrations, demanding stronger protection for women and death penalty for?rape, which is now punishable by a maximum life imprisonment.
(Read the Monitor's roundup of how the gang-rape started a national dialogue on women's safety)
Source: http://rss.csmonitor.com/~r/feeds/csm/~3/6Q7iDkf_9kI/Gang-rape-victim-dies-India-transfixed
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Simple Home Improvements that Go a Long Way
Renovating your home doesn?t have to be extremely costly or time-consuming. You can change the look of any room in your house with a few simple changes. From paint color to easy decor switch-ups, it?s not difficult to create a new look.
Look at flooring as a simple renovation option. Hardwood floors are a top choice for homeowners, but they can be very expensive. Consider laminate flooring instead. You can achieve the same look, but for so much less. Laminate floors come in a wide variety of colors and designs, so no matter what overall feel your home calls for, you can find a finish that will fit perfectly.
Do-it-yourself types love the ease with which laminate floors can be installed. If you?re not the handy type, call a contractor. It will still cost quite a bit less to have laminate floors installed when compared to hardwood flooring.
Changing the paint color in a room instantly creates a new look. It?s one of the most inexpensive ways to give your home a facelift. Again, this is a task many homeowners can take on themselves or they can always hire a professional to complete it. Light colors make a room appear larger and more airy, but a contrast wall in an eye-catching color is a modern way to give a room a bit of ?pop.?
Adding ?pops? of color to a room can be as simple as changing small decor items. Pillows are a favorite, but think beyond sofa and chair pillows. Large floor pillows are practical and decorative at the same time. From luxurious materials like silk to funky patterns like animal print, you can change a room?s complete feel with the right pillow choices.
Update your home?s look with modern fixtures. Switch out cabinet pulls and doorknobs; it?s an inexpensive fix that you can do in one weekend. The same can be accomplished with new faucets and handles in the bathroom or kitchen. Look for what?s hot in home fixtures and instantly pull a room into the current decade with simple additions like these.
Window treatments are another way to change your home?s look in no time. Blinds are still popular, but drapes have never gone out of style for people who love them. Curtains are available in a huge range of shades and styles. For outdoor changes, the simple addition of shutters can give your home?s exterior a great lift.
You don?t have to endure a long and costly home renovation to give your house a new look. Whether you go for a big switch like laminate flooring or smaller touches like decorative accents, you don?t have to go broke when giving your home a makeover. Focus on one room or focus on one change like laminate on your floors. Even the simplest renovations can make a home of any age feel like new.
Source: http://viewfromthehill.org/simple-home-improvements-that-go-a-long-way/
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Saturday, December 29, 2012
China is the elephant in the situation room
Earlier this month the US National Intelligence Council (NIC) released its Global Trends 2030: Alternative Worlds report ? a document that comes out once per presidential administration ? mapping out likely geopolitical trends over the next two decades or so.
As usual, it is a must-read, offering comprehensive analysis of the disparate factors that will drive global politics through 2030.
Further, the NIC took bold steps to correct some previous weaknesses in past reports. In the past, the report nailed the ?what? more often than the ?when.? That is particularly the case with its treatment of the US, for which ?past works assumed US centrality.?
This time around the NIC sets an increasingly ?multipolar world? ? which I call the G-Zero ? as the backdrop of its report, acknowledging that the lack of global leadership has accelerated in the wake of the global financial crisis of 2008 to 2009.
The US? status as a ?hegemonic power? is eroding, and no country is likely to take its place.
This multipolar world is the foundation for the rest of the NIC?s predictions. The report is organized around subsections that range in probability: There are the megatrends that are sure to have an effect, the game-changers that could go a number of ways, and the four potential worlds of 2030.
In my opinion, when it comes to probabilities for the future global order, the single biggest variable ? both in terms of its importance and its potential variance ? is China?s rise or lack thereof. If there are twin ?gigatrends? that supersede all else, they are China?s trajectory and the multipolar world in which it is playing out.
China is mentioned more than 300 times in the report, and the NIC?s assertion that ?the US-China relationship is perhaps the most important bilateral tie shaping the future? is dead on (though I?d cut the word ?perhaps?).
However, despite China?s implicit impact on the report, the NIC does not establish it as the twin pillar alongside the multipolar world it vividly describes. Nor do we get a full sense of how a host of negative China surprises could fundamentally alter the world of 2030 as we imagine it.
A look at each subsection of the NIC report demonstrates just how critical China?s development is ? or should be ? in its calculus.
MEGATRENDS
1. Individual empowerment: Reduced poverty, growing middle classes and new communications and technologies will empower individuals around the world.
Individual empowerment is, on balance, a positive global trend. However, in China, it is moving along two tracks. There is the increasingly affluent, coastal, urban China, where citizens have access to the Internet and increasingly demand the protections that come with the rule of law, respect for intellectual property rights and tougher environmental standards from their government. In an authoritarian, state capitalist nation, where the central government?s priority is to maintain its grip on power, empowered citizens are a wild card. An increasingly affluent population that is demanding more transparency and accountability poses a challenge to regime stability.
On the other hand, there is the half of China that is rural, mainly inland, impoverished and uninformed. Should this group fall further behind, China might face unrest and volatility from the other side of the spectrum. China?s two-speed individual empowerment is a more destabilizing dynamic than it may appear.
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Where can young people go for refuge? (Open letter to the Principle ...
Courtni Webb, one of your 17 year old high school students, is now facing the possibility of being expelled from your school after writing a poem about the massacre at Sandy Hook Elementary School. In the poem Courtni wrote she understood why someone like Adam Lanza might do what he did. She wasn?t agreeing with it, but in her poem said she understood the oppression in society that could cause such a tragedy.
For her intelligence and insight you did not award her a scholarship, but you alienated her further, exactly what she was writing about in her poem.? Working against young people like this, rather than with them, will do more harm than good. But you know this already, as that will be the reason your school was founded in the first place.? Your Life Learning Academy, that Courtni attends, is a last chance educational facility that takes on children that have struggled at their previous schools, who have been in trouble with the police, been involved with gangs etc. ?So no doubt Courtni has a reputation that precedes her.? She will not be an angel, and that may have influenced your decision to suspend her on this occasion.? I don?t have the luxury of knowing the inside story of what was going on here.
is it a case that Courtni is more intelligent than you give her credit for?? If so this is a sad situation, as we hope teachers have high expectations of their students, and have a duty of care to support them when they show signs of intelligence, (even when challenging to society?s norms), not to demonize them, as has happened here.? From what I can see, a young person who has struggled in life, has turned to poetry to creatively express her feelings, (which at her age will be as confused as they are clear), and rather than those of you with a duty of care for her to see that talent and nurture her skills, you have thrown it back in her face and have alienated her further.
Have we learned nothing?
Where can young people go for refuge from a world that doesn?t understand them, if not into the safety of the creative world, in a school that is their last chance? If a 17 year has the clarity of mind to write a poem about their feelings, no matter how challenging to adult polite society those feelings may be, they should be applauded, not treated as a bad person, (which is obviously why they might be angry in the first place).
Where are the ears to hear what these young people have got to say?
All over the United States (if not the world) there are people, experts and lay people, trying to make sense of the tragedy that took place at Sandy Hook Elementary School, trying to understand the actions of Adam Lanza. They will be criminal psychologists, police officers, sociologists, anthropologists, school teachers, news reporters, columnists, politicians, bloggers, cultural commentators, mental health practitioners, and a whole host of other stakeholders that have an interest in seeing a peaceful world. Why do you not allow a young person their say also? More specifically, why not allow Courtni Webb her say? What makes her not worthy of an opinion, but all the others are allowed a say? What is going on here?
The other type of person I did not include in that list of opinion givers are artists. I?m sure artists have been having their say on the issue, but for them it maybe too soon to make a creative response. This is where Courtni should have been applauded even more. She has had the courage to make a creative response, to make her feelings known. She saw her art, poetry, as a safe place to explore the feelings she is having. Courtni is an much of an expert as any listed above. She is exactly the demographic we should be listening to, not silencing.
Where can young people go for refuge, if not in the safety of their own note books, and the trust of the adults around them?
Do not make it that the only place of refuge a young person has to go, is their own grave, by their own hand.
We need to keep our young people safe, not treat them as outcasts, cut adrift.? But as I said, I know you know all of this already, as that will be the reason your school was founded in the first place.
What other options do young people have to be taken seriously, and for their voices to be heard?? We (as adults) need to learn something here. Be careful how we treat the hearts of young people.
Your sincerely,
Dr Shawn Sobers
PhD ? Community Education
News story sources -
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/12/28/courtni-webb_n_2376833.html
http://www.ksdk.com/news/article/354278/28/Student-suspended-after-writing-poem-about-Sandy-Hook-shooter
This was also sent direct to Life Learning Academy as a letter via email.
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Friday, December 28, 2012
Venezuelans obsess: Will Chavez live or die?
A snapshot of Venezuela's President Hugo Chavez is surrounded by a trio of religious prayer cards and a sign that reads in Spanish; "Merry Christmas" on a red background hanging at a state-run market in Caracas, Venezuela, Friday, Dec. 28, 2012. The obsessive, circular conversations about Chavez's health dominate family dinners, plaza chit-chats and social media sites in this country on edge since its larger-than-life leader went to Cuba for emergency cancer surgery more than two weeks ago. The man whose booming voice once dominated the airwaves for hours at a time has not been seen or heard from since. (AP Photo/Fernando Llano)
A snapshot of Venezuela's President Hugo Chavez is surrounded by a trio of religious prayer cards and a sign that reads in Spanish; "Merry Christmas" on a red background hanging at a state-run market in Caracas, Venezuela, Friday, Dec. 28, 2012. The obsessive, circular conversations about Chavez's health dominate family dinners, plaza chit-chats and social media sites in this country on edge since its larger-than-life leader went to Cuba for emergency cancer surgery more than two weeks ago. The man whose booming voice once dominated the airwaves for hours at a time has not been seen or heard from since. (AP Photo/Fernando Llano)
A vendor wearing a T-shirt with an image of Venezuela's President Hugo Chavez sells vegetable at a state-run market in Caracas, Venezuela, Friday, Dec. 28, 2012. The obsessive, circular conversations about Chavez's health dominate family dinners, plaza chit-chats and social media sites in this country on edge since its larger-than-life leader went to Cuba for emergency cancer surgery more than two weeks ago. The man whose booming voice once dominated the airwaves for hours at a time has not been seen or heard from since.(AP Photo/Fernando Llano)
Iconic T-shirts styled with images of Venezuela's President Hugo Chavez are displayed for sale next to a T-shirt of Venezuelan musician Ali Primera, in Caracas, Venezuela, Friday, Dec. 28, 2012. The obsessive, circular conversations about Chavez's health dominate family dinners, plaza chit-chats and social media sites in this country on edge since its larger-than-life leader went to Cuba for emergency cancer surgery more than two weeks ago. The man whose booming voice once dominated the airwaves for hours at a time has not been seen or heard from since.(AP Photo/Fernando Llano)
Portraits of Venezuela's independence hero Simon Bolivar, left, and Venezuela's President Hugo Chavez are exhibited for sale on folding easels in Caracas, Venezuela, Friday, Dec. 28, 2012. The obsessive, circular conversations about Chavez's health dominate family dinners, plaza chit-chats and social media sites in this country on edge since its larger-than-life leader went to Cuba for emergency cancer surgery more than two weeks ago. The man whose booming voice once dominated the airwaves for hours at a time has not been seen or heard from since.(AP Photo/Fernando Llano)
CARACAS, Venezuela (AP) ? He's getting better. He's getting worse. He's already dead. The whole thing is a conspiracy and he was never sick in the first place.
The obsessive, circular conversations about President Hugo Chavez's health dominate family dinners, plaza chit-chats and social media sites in this country on edge since its larger-than-life leader went to Cuba for emergency cancer surgery more than two weeks ago. The man whose booming voice once dominated the airwaves for hours at a time has not been seen or heard from since.
His lieutenants have consistently assured Venezuelans over the last week that Chavez is slowly on the mend and will be back at the helm of the country he has dominated for 14 years. But when will he be back? Will he be well enough to govern? What type of cancer does he have? Is it terminal? If so, how long does he have to live?
Government officials have not answered any of those questions, leaving Venezuelans to their own speculations. The wildest conspiracy theories run the gamut from those who say there is no proof Chavez is even still alive to those who believe his illness is a made-up play for sympathy.
"Everything has been a mystery. Everyone believes what they want about the status of his health," said Ismael Garcia, a leftist lawmaker who belonged to the Chavez movement until a falling-out a few years ago.
Vice President Nicolas Maduro read out a New Year message from Chavez to Venezuelan troops on Friday, but for the fourth day in a row offered no updates on the president's health. Maduro had announced Monday night that Chavez was walking and doing some exercises.
The uncertainty comes with a sense of urgency because Chavez is scheduled to be sworn in for a new six-year term Jan. 10. The government and opposition disagree on what should happen if Chavez can't show up, raising the threat of a destabilizing legal fight. Beyond that, nobody knows if Chavez's deputies, who have long worked under his formidable shadow, can hold the country together if he dies.
Like everything else in this fiercely divided country, what people believe usually depends on where their political loyalty lies. Chavez opponents are mostly convinced that the president has terminal cancer, has known it for a long time and should not have sought re-election in October. His most fervent supporters refuse to believe "El Comandante" will die.
"Chavez is going to live on. He is a very important man. He has transformed the world with his ideology," said Victor Coba, a 48-year-old construction worker standing outside a Caracas church as government officials held a Mass to pray for the leader. "Anyone of us will die first before Chavez."
Coba scurried off to a street corner where officials were handing out a book of photographs of Chavez's recent presidential campaign. The comandante's grinning face looked out from the cover, alongside the slogan "Chavez, the heart of my country."
The same image looms from billboards erected all over Caracas, from freeway medians to the low-income apartment towers being built with Venezuelan oil wealth. Such services for the poor have helped Chavez maintain a core of followers despite high inflation, rampant gun violence, trash-strewn cities and other problems he has failed to fix.
For many, the attachment to Chavez borders on religious reverence. His supporters wish each other "Feliz Chavidad" rather than "Feliz Navidad," or Merry Christmas. Government officials have started talking about Chavez like an omnipresent deity.
"Chavez is this cable car. Chavez is this great mission. The children are Chavez. The women are Chavez. The men are Chavez. We are all Chavez," Maduro said recently while inaugurating a cable car to bring people down from one of the vast slums that creep up Caracas' hillsides. "Comandante, take care of yourself, get better and we will be waiting for you here."
Crowds of red-clad supporters roar their approval each time Maduro reassures them. But on the streets, confusion reigns.
"People say he's going to get better," said Alibexi Birriel, an office manager eating at a Chinese restaurant on Christmas Day.
Her husband Richard Hernandez shook his head. "No. Most people say Chavez is going to die and that Nicolas Maduro is going to take power."
Birriel paused, chiming in, "Well, some think this whole thing is theater and that there's nothing wrong with him."
Hernandez, who described himself as a Chavez supporter but "not a fanatic," shrugged. "The opposition thinks that if Chavez died they are going to win the elections. That is not going to happen."
There have been some official details. Chavez, 58, first underwent surgery for an unspecified type of pelvic cancer in Cuba in June 2011 and went back this month after tests had found a return of malignant cells in the same area where tumors had already been twice removed. Venezuelan officials said that following a six-hour surgery Dec. 11, Chavez suffered internal bleeding that was stanched and a respiratory infection that was being treated.
Just five months earlier, Chavez had announced he was free of cancer. But he acknowledged the seriousness of his illness earlier before flying to Cuba this month by designating Maduro as his successor and telling his supporters to vote for the vice president should new elections be necessary. Outside doctors have said that judging from the information Chavez has provided, his cancer is likely terminal, though the government has never confirmed that.
On Christmas Eve, Maduro surprised Venezuelans by saying he had spoken to Chavez by telephone and that the president was up and walking. With no other details, that only set off another round of furious speculation.
"I don't think he can be standing up walking," said Dr. Gustavo Medrano, a lung specialist at the Centro Medico hospital in Caracas. "Unless ... there are a lot of lies in this and the surgery was not six hours ... but something else much simpler, much simpler, maybe a half-hour operation, or two hours, something like that and that he is now recovering. That is possible."
Chavez supporters tweeted their relief and joy. Opponents tweeted incredulity. They traded insults in the comment sections of newspaper websites. Some posters demanded to know where the proof was that the president was even still alive. Others wondered if he had ever been sick in the first place. Chavez supporters shot back that the rumor-mongering should stop.
One Chavez foe finally posted on the Ultimas Noticias newspaper website, "Bla, bla, bla ... He's getting better, he's dying, he has nothing, he's strong as a bull, he can't get of bed, all the hypotheses are valid because there is no proof of anything."
Amid the raging rumors, Chavez's daughter, Maria Gabriela Chavez, sent out a Twitter message from Havana last week pleading for it all to stop.
"Respect for my family and especially respect for my people. Enough lies! We are with papa. ALIVE, fighting and recovering. WITH GOD," she wrote.
Teresa Maniglia, a press officer at the presidential palace, has kept up a steady stream of cheerleading tweets.
"CHAVEZ all the time."
That's for sure.
______
Follow Alexandra Olson on Twitter at http://twitter.com/alexolson99
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Three New Jersey police officers shot at station
GLOUCESTER TOWNSHIP, New Jersey (Reuters) - Three New Jersey police officers were shot and wounded on Friday at their police station, and one was in surgery for his wounds, a hospital official said.
Local TV news reported that the suspected gunman was killed in the exchange of gunfire at the police station in Gloucester Township, New Jersey, about 16 miles from Philadelphia. The TV report said the suspect had been brought in for a domestic incident.
"A violent struggle occurred while the suspect was being processed," Gloucester Deputy Police Chief David Harkins said, according to Philadelphia TV station NBC10. The man was able to grab a gun and then opened fire.
The gunman was killed by police during the confrontation, Gloucester Police Chief W. Harry Earle said, according to the NBC10 report.
Gloucester Township Police declined to comment on the incident or to confirm the NBC10 report. An officer answering the phone said a press statement would be issued later, and a press conference was scheduled for Friday afternoon.
The three wounded police officers, two men and a woman, were brought to Cooper University Hospital shortly after 6 a.m. EST, hospital spokeswoman Lori Shaffer said.
Two of the officers suffered minor wounds, but one of the three, a male, required surgery, Shaffer said. She had no more information on the extent of the officer's wounds.
Part of the Gloucester Township municipal complex, which houses the police department, was cordoned off by yellow police tape on Friday. Residents described it as a quiet community.
"It's really a safe neighborhood," said Kim Kavanaugh, 47, who lives across the street from the complex with her husband and two grown children.
Her husband Don Kavanaugh, 49, said he arrived home from his overnight work shift about 5 a.m. "About 6 o'clock I saw a bunch of flashing lights. I didn't think nothing of it, I see flashing lights in and out of there all the time," he said.
The incident follows several recent multiple shootings in the United States, and comes two weeks after a gunman killed 26 people, including 20 children, at Sandy Hook Elementary School in Newtown, Connecticut.
One week ago in western Pennsylvania, a man with a pistol fatally shot three people and then opened fire on police. Three officers were injured in that incident, one in a collision from a car chase with the gunman, another from bullet fragments to the face and a third who was struck with gunfire to the chest but survived because he was wearing a bulletproof vest.
(Additional reporting and writing by Dan Burns in New York; Editing by Paul Thomasch, Claudia Parsons and David Gregorio)
Source: http://news.yahoo.com/three-jersey-police-officers-shot-134330961.html
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Random Acts Of Kindness Can Make Kids More Popular
A hug is good for Mom, and good for her daughter.
iStockphoto.comA hug is good for Mom, and good for her daughter.
iStockphoto.comIn the aftermath of Christmas, a parent could be forgiven for thinking that materialism has trumped human kindness.
Take heart. Children can easily become kinder and more helpful. And that behavior makes them more positive, more accepting and more popular.
At least that's how it worked for fourth- and fifth-graders in Vancouver, Canada. Researchers there have been studying empathy and altruism in schoolchildren for decades.
"How do we decrease bullying, increase empathy and caring for others?" says Kimberly Schonert-Reichl, an applied developmental psychologist at the University of British Columbia who helped lead the experiment.
They wanted to see how performing random acts of kindness would influence that. But one measurement thrown into the mix almost as an afterthought ? being liked by peers ? was the quality most improved by helpful acts.
The researchers asked 9- to 11-year-olds in 19 classrooms to either perform three acts of kindness or visit three places each week (the tourists were the control group).
The acts of kindness were simple. The children gave mom a hug when she was stressed out, shared their lunches, or vacuumed the floor.
After four weeks, the researchers tested the kids and compared the results with tests they'd taken before. All the children had more positive emotions, and were slightly happier.
But the children who performed acts of kindness were much more likely to be accepting of their peers, naming more classmates as children they'd like to spend time with.
"I do think we're on to something," Schonert-Reichl tells Shots. The children were at an age when bullying can be more extreme, she says, and children become more self-conscious. So an increase in peer acceptance could benefit in the classroom and in social life. The study was published online in the journal PLOS One.
Being part of the experiment made kindness intentional. The children had to plan their acts of kindness, and remember to do them. Similar experiments in adults have shown that being actively kind increases happiness, and happier people then become more likely to help others.
Parents don't have to have a Ph.D. to encourage these sorts of simple acts of kindness in children ? or in themselves.
"I think of ways to start the New Year, and people making resolutions," says Schonert-Reichl, a former middle school teacher and mother of two boys." Can I do an act of kindness for someone every day?"
Harried parents would feel better, she says, and their children would, too. "They start helping, and they start feeling this is nice." Seeing themselves as the kind of person who helps others could be an identity that then stays with them for the rest of their lives.
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Thursday, December 27, 2012
Jefferson Parish Sheriff's Office West Bank crime report, Dec. 23 ...
This information reflects initial calls for service reported by the Jefferson Parish Sheriff's Office for the west bank of Jefferson Parish. Locations are approximate due to automated location methods and address inconsistencies, the Sheriff's Office says. Burglar alarm calls are excluded.
4th Street and Industry Street - Dec. 23, 12:37 a.m., suspicious person.
100 block of 5th Street - Dec. 23, 8:36 p.m., disturbing the peace.
6500 block of Acre Road - Dec. 23, 4:49 a.m., disturbing the peace.
Ames Boulevard and South Judah Drive - Dec. 23, 11:15 p.m., suspicious person.
300 block of Apple Tree Lane - Dec. 23, 2:22 p.m., criminal damage.
6200 block of August Avenue - Dec. 23, 9:33 p.m., assault.
6200 block of August Avenue - Dec. 23, 10:12 p.m., disturbing the peace.
3900 block of East Bamboo Drive - Dec. 23, 12:59 p.m., disturbing the peace.
2500 block of Barataria Boulevard - Dec. 23, 2:12 a.m., suspicious person.
900 block of Beechgrove Boulevard - Dec. 23, 3:52 p.m., disturbing the peace.
2700 block of Belle Chasse Highway - Dec. 23, 3:25 p.m., disturbing the peace.
600 block of Bellemeade Boulevard - Dec. 23, 1:15 a.m., burglary.
2100 block of Blk Carol Sue Avenue - Dec. 23, 6:42 a.m., suspicious person.
900 block of Blk Maplewood Drive - Dec. 23, 8:59 p.m., suspicious person.
700 block of Blk Terry Parkway - Dec. 23, 3:41 p.m., suspicious person.
1400 block of Blk U South 90 Highway - Dec. 23, 9:18 p.m., suspicious person.
200 block of Brett Drive - Dec. 23, 6:13 p.m., suspicious person.
Dandelion Drive and River Road - Dec. 23, 10:17 a.m., suspicious person.
Dandelion Drive and River Road - Dec. 23, 8:28 p.m., suspicious person.
2700 block of Destrehan Avenue - Dec. 23, 12:22 a.m., suspicious person.
5400 block of Faith Drive - Dec. 23, 3:11 p.m., vehicle wreck.
Farmington Place and Heritage Avenue - Dec. 23, 3:27 a.m., suspicious person.
1900 block of Fordham Place - Dec. 23, 3:04 p.m., suspicious person.
1600 block of Gary Court - Dec. 23, 4:07 p.m., criminal damage.
1600 block of Gary Court - Dec. 23, 8:17 p.m., disturbing the peace.
200 block of Glen Della Drive - Dec. 23, 4:57 a.m., suspicious person.
Heather Street and Wayne Avenue - Dec. 23, 1:44 p.m., disturbing the peace.
100 block of Holmes Boulevard - Dec. 23, 6:22 p.m., residence burglary.
Jamie Boulevard and U South 90 Highway - Dec. 23, 9:26 p.m., illegal discharge of weapon.
4200 block of Lac Couture Drive - Dec. 23, 2:14 a.m., disturbing the peace.
1700 block of Lapalco Boulevard - Dec. 23, 9:29 p.m., assault.
3600 block of Lapalco Boulevard - Dec. 23, 4:57 p.m., disturbing the peace.
4800 block of Lapalco Boulevard - Dec. 23, 2:52 p.m., vehicle wreck.
Lapalco Boulevard and Destrehan Avenue - Dec. 23, 11:09 p.m., vehicle wreck.
Leo Kerner Parkway and Cascade Drive - Dec. 23, 1:08 p.m., illegal discharge of weapon.
1500 block of Manhattan Boulevard - Dec. 23, 9:34 a.m., suspicious person.
2100 block of Manhattan Boulevard - Dec. 23, 4:32 p.m., theft.
2400 block of Manhattan Boulevard - Dec. 23, 9:15 p.m., suspicious person.
2500 block of Manhattan Boulevard - Dec. 23, 6:19 p.m., vehicle wreck.
2800 block of Manhattan Boulevard - Dec. 23, 6:29 p.m., suspicious person.
900 block of Manhattan Boulevard - Dec. 23, 3:49 a.m., disturbing the peace.
1100 block of Medical Center Boulevard - Dec. 23, 2:23 a.m., suspicious person.
Medical Center Boulevard and Westbank Exp - Dec. 23, 7:02 p.m., vehicle wreck.
3800 block of Mercer Lane - Dec. 23, 4:33 p.m., disturbing the peace.
900 block of East Monterey Court - Dec. 23, 11:35 a.m., disturbing the peace.
900 block of East Monterey Court - Dec. 23, 11:24 p.m., vehicle wreck.
Mt Kennedy Drive and Ames Boulevard - Dec. 23, 10:23 p.m., suspicious person.
3900 block of Nathan Kornman Drive - Dec. 23, 2:25 p.m., residence burglary.
4100 block of Peters Road - Dec. 23, 12:01 a.m., criminal damage.
4000 block of Post Drive - Dec. 23, 7:36 p.m., residence burglary.
1400 block of Redwood Drive - Dec. 23, 5:49 p.m., theft.
Richland Drive and Barataria Boulevard - Dec. 23, 9:26 p.m., suspicious person.
4400 block of River Road - Dec. 23, 1:19 p.m., vehicle wreck.
River Road and Modern Farms Road - Dec. 23, 8:31 p.m., suspicious person.
Stanley Schofield Way and Butler Drive - Dec. 23, 10:21 p.m., suspicious person.
Street Joseph Lane and Breaux Avenue - Dec. 23, 10:10 a.m., suspicious person.
2100 block of Stumpf Boulevard - Dec. 23, 12:48 p.m., criminal damage.
Stumpf Boulevard and Whitney Avenue - Dec. 23, 9:10 a.m., vehicle wreck.
1000 block of Tallow Tree Lane - Dec. 23, 8:48 p.m., suspicious person.
1000 block of Tallow Tree Lane - Dec. 23, 8:48 p.m., suspicious person.
50 Terry Parkway - Dec. 23, 9:15 a.m., suspicious person.
600 block of Terry Parkway - Dec. 23, 2:00 p.m., suspicious person.
700 block of Terry Parkway - Dec. 23, 11:59 a.m., suspicious person.
Terry Parkway and Coral Avenue - Dec. 23, 7:53 p.m., suspicious person.
Terry Parkway and Wall Boulevard - Dec. 23, 7:33 p.m., vehicle wreck.
400 block of Timberlane Drive - Dec. 23, 1:00 p.m., disturbing the peace.
2800 block of U South 90 Highway - Dec. 23, 2:05 p.m., vehicle wreck.
500 block of Urbandale Street - Dec. 23, 6:20 p.m., disturbing the peace.
2600 block of Vulcan Street - Dec. 23, 3:22 p.m., disturbing the peace.
500 block of Wall Boulevard - Dec. 23, 11:23 a.m., vehicle wreck.
100 block of Westbank Exp - Dec. 23, 12:09 p.m., vehicle wreck.
100 block of Westbank Exp - Dec. 23, 2:10 p.m., vehicle wreck.
100 block of Westbank Exp - Dec. 23, 3:06 p.m., theft.
100 block of Westbank Exp - Dec. 23, 5:13 p.m., theft.
1600 block of Westbank Exp - Dec. 23, 2:58 p.m., suspicious person.
3700 block of Westbank Exp - Dec. 23, 10:18 p.m., disturbing the peace.
6100 block of Westbank Exp - Dec. 23, 11:54 p.m., disturbing the peace.
6200 block of Westbank Exp - Dec. 23, 8:02 p.m., illegal discharge of weapon.
7100 block of Westbank Exp - Dec. 23, 8:01 p.m., suspicious person.
7300 block of Westbank Exp - Dec. 23, 11:21 p.m., auto theft.
Westbank Exp and Berger Road - Dec. 23, 9:32 p.m., suspicious person.
Westbank Exp and Terry Parkway - Dec. 23, 1:30 a.m., vehicle wreck.
Westbank Exp and Terry Parkway - Dec. 23, 5:13 p.m., vehicle wreck.
1000 block of Whitney Avenue - Dec. 23, 1:40 p.m., vehicle wreck.
1100 block of Whitney Avenue - Dec. 23, 4:35 p.m., disturbing the peace.
300 block of Whitney Avenue - Dec. 23, 11:32 a.m., business burglary.
Willswood Lane and Live Oak Boulevard - Dec. 23, 7:55 p.m., suspicious person.
200 block of Wright Avenue - Dec. 23, 12:21 p.m., suspicious person.
Source: http://www.nola.com/crime/index.ssf/2012/12/jefferson_parish_sheriffs_offi_1226.html
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Newtown, Conn., officials request halt to gifts
Snow-covered stuffed animals with photos attached sit at a memorial in Newtown, Conn. Tuesday, Dec. 25, 2012. People continue to visit memorials after gunman Adam Lanza walked into Sandy Hook Elementary School in Newtown, Friday, Dec. 14, and opened fire, killing 26, including 20 children, before killing himself. (AP Photo/Craig Ruttle)
Snow-covered stuffed animals with photos attached sit at a memorial in Newtown, Conn. Tuesday, Dec. 25, 2012. People continue to visit memorials after gunman Adam Lanza walked into Sandy Hook Elementary School in Newtown, Friday, Dec. 14, and opened fire, killing 26, including 20 children, before killing himself. (AP Photo/Craig Ruttle)
NEWTOWN, Conn. (AP) ? Officials in Newtown, Conn., are asking people to stop sending gifts to the grief-stricken community following the deadly school shooting, saying they're deeply grateful but can't handle the donation deluge.
The town's first selectman, police chief and schools superintendent made the request Wednesday through an editor at The Newtown Bee newspaper.
They say since a gunman killed 20 first-graders and six educators Dec. 14, gifts from school supplies to artwork have arrived in such numbers they've overwhelmed the small community's ability to process them.
The officials are asking people to temporarily stop sending gifts. They say once they process the "warehouses full of items," they'll detail the best ways to help.
Meanwhile, the United Way of Western Connecticut announced Wednesday that a fund established after the shooting to support Newtown has grown to $3.5 million.
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Wednesday, December 26, 2012
Online Marketing Tips for Effective Brand Promotion
Online marketing is one of the most effective yet economical options available for many companies. Businessmen, who couldn?t consider advertising before, are now effectively utilizing various internet platforms to promote their product or service. Internet marketing has grown over the years. From being restricted to very few marketing channels, people can use almost all the internet platforms for advertising. From social media to video advertising, you can choose any type to market your service. However, before you go ahead with the marketing plan, ensure people are aware about your brand. When an ad is posted, people should immediately relate it to your product or service. Here are a few marketing tips for effective brand promotion:
Be consistent with branding:
Create a logo and tag line for your business. This provides instant brand recognition when people see it. Use it across all the websites to help recognize your brand immediately. There are certain things that are better kept unchanged and logos are one of them. Not just logos, you have to project your company?s image through your marketing. Be it creative or corporate, balance the marketing strategies to ensure your brand is not lost in the midst.
Don?t be completely dependent on your website:
Don?t rely on your company?s website to promote the brand. Sign up with various social websites and create a community. Target your audience and engage them in active discussions. Listen to their criticisms and provide valuable information. Building a website is just the first step towards marketing. Utilize other platforms including videos, blogs, images, link building, online PR options, etc. When you start building your brand, take up all the opportunities to get your brand noticed.
Use social media:
Social networking websites have become excellent platforms for marketing. Create business pages in all the leading social networking platforms to build brand awareness. However, starting a page is not enough. You have to become an active user on all the websites in which you have accounts. There are hundreds of social networks available. You have to choose the right social networks. You can either go by popularity or your target audience. The must-have accounts are on Facebook, Twitter and Pinterest. You also have few emerging social networks like LinkedIn and Quora. Either engage a separate social network manager or limit your accounts if you plan to do the work personally.
Viral marketing:
Viral marketing is the best way to bring instant recognition to your brand. You post marketing material. It instantly gains popularity through the ?click of mouse?. The most effective medium for viral marketing is videos and photos. All you have to do is post it on a popular platform. However, to go viral the content has to be attractive and appealing to the audience. Perfecting a viral message is not really easy. Once you get to design the right content, nothing will stop the content from going viral. When the viral message is effective, it has better reach online. The popularity or the effect of the viral message completely depends on the targeted audience. Though it gets instant recognition, viral marketing can be sustained only for a short time. You will be able to get your message across within that time.
Brand building or brand promotion should be an ongoing process. You should not establish your brand when you start a company and not promote further. People tend to go with the latest trends. To keep your brand firmly in their mind, you have to promote it continuously. With multiple competitors, it is important to stay afloat and you can do it only with effective brand promotion. You can reach millions of users in a matter of months. The trick lies in the approach you take to find them.
Tanya Hansen, a freelance writer for www.homesecurityreviewsite.com ? offers full home security to help protect your family, assets from burglary and other crimes.
Source: http://thesuccess4life.com/online-marketing-tips-effective-brand-promotion/
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'Spartacus: War Of The Damned' Final Season Trailer: War Comes To Rome (VIDEO)
'Spartacus: War Of The Damned' final season trailer.
The final season premiere of "Spartacus: War Of The Damned" is a month away, and Starz has released a new action-packed trailer for the gory gladiator drama.
Both the trailer above and Starz' official description of the season preview an epic war between the Spartacus-led rebels and the Roman army.
"The season opens and Gaius Claudius Glaber is dead. Many months have passed since his defeat, and the rebel army, led by Spartacus and his generals Crixus, Gannicus and Agron continue to amass victories over Rome. With the rebel numbers swelling to thousands of freed slaves, and Spartacus more determined than ever to bring down the entire Roman Republic, the horde become a force that challenges even the mighty armies of Rome. Together, the rebels engage in one bloody skirmish after another and prepare for the inevitable: a full out war."
Newcomers Simon Merrells and Todd Lasance join the cast this season as Marcus Crassus and Julius Caesar. Liam McIntyre returns as Spartacus after taking on the role in "Spartacus: Vengeance" in the wake of Andy Whitfield's tragic death from non-Hodgkin lymphoma.
"Spartacus: War of the Damned" premieres Friday, January 25 at 9 p.m. ET on Starz.
Earlier on HuffPost:
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Iraq: New protests break out in Sunni heartland
An Iraqi woman carries her child as wades through flood water, after heavy rain fell in Baghdad, Iraq, Wednesday, Dec. 26, 2012. (AP Photo/Karim Kadim)
An Iraqi woman carries her child as wades through flood water, after heavy rain fell in Baghdad, Iraq, Wednesday, Dec. 26, 2012. (AP Photo/Karim Kadim)
An Iraqi family make their way through flood water, after heavy rain fell in Baghdad, Iraq, Wednesday, Dec. 26, 2012. (AP Photo/Karim Kadim)
Iraqis make their way through flooded streets after heavy rain fell in Baghdad, Iraq, Wednesday, Dec. 26, 2012. (AP Photo/Karim Kadim)
RAMADI, Iraq (AP) ? Thousands of Iraqi demonstrators massed in a Sunni-dominated province west of Baghdad Wednesday, determined to keep up the pressure on a Shiite-led government that many accuse of trying to marginalize them.
It was the third major protest in less than a week in Anbar, Iraq's largest province, once the heart of the deadly Sunni insurgency that erupted after the U.S.-led invasion in 2003.
The unrest is part of a larger picture of sectarian conflicts that threaten the stability of the country, a year after the last U.S. troops left.
The demonstrations follow the arrest last week of 10 bodyguards assigned to Finance Minister Rafia al-Issawi, who comes from Anbar and is one of the central government's most senior Sunni officials. The case is exacerbating tensions with Iraq's Sunnis, who see the detentions as politically motivated.
Protesters turned out Wednesday near the provincial capital Ramadi, 115 kilometers (70 miles) west of Baghdad. The city and nearby Fallujah were the scenes of some of the deadliest fighting between U.S. troops and Iraqi insurgents.
Demonstrators gathered along a highway linking Baghdad with neighboring Jordan and Syria. They held banners demanding that Sunni rights be respected and calling for the release of Sunni prisoners in Iraqi jails. "We warn the government not to draw the country into sectarian conflict," read one. Another declared: "We are not a minority."
Al-Issawi made an appearance at the rally, arriving in a long convoy of black SUVs protected by heavily armed bodyguards. He condemned last week's raid on his office and rattled off a list of grievances aimed at Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki's government.
"Injustice, marginalization, discrimination and double standards, as well as the politicization of the judiciary system and a lack of respect for partnership, law and constitution ... have all turned our neighborhoods in Baghdad into huge prisons surrounded by concrete blocks," he declared.
Iraq's majority Shiites rose to power following the 2003 U.S.-led invasion that ousted Saddam Hussein's Sunni-dominated regime, though the country's minority Sunni Arabs and Kurds do hold some posts in the government.
Many Sunnis see the arrest of the finance minister's guards as the latest in a series of moves by the Shiite prime minister against their sect and other perceived political opponents. Vice President Tariq al-Hashemi, one of the country's highest-ranking Sunni politicians, is now living in exile in Turkey after being handed multiple death sentences for allegedly running death squads ? a charge he dismisses as politically motivated.
"This sit-in will remain open-ended until the demonstrators' demands are met, and until the injustice against ends," cleric Hamid al-Issawi told The Associated Press at the protest. He accused al-Maliki's government of trying to create rifts between Sunnis and Shiites.
"These practices are aimed at drawing the country into a sectarian conflict again by creating crisis and targeting prominent national figures," the cleric said.
Al-Maliki has defended the arrests of the finance minister's guards as legal and based on warrants issued by judicial authorities. He also recently warned against a return to sectarian strife in criticizing the responses of prominent Sunni officials to the detentions.
In a recent statement, the prime minister dismissed the rhetoric as political posturing ahead of provincial elections scheduled for April and warned his opponents not to forget the dark days of sectarian fighting "when we used to collect bodies and chopped heads from the streets."
The political tensions are rising at a sensitive time. Iraq's ailing President Jalal Talabani is incapacitated following a serious stroke last week and is being treated in a German hospital. The 79-year-old president, an ethnic Kurd, is widely seen as a unifying figure with the clout to mediate among the country's ethnic and sectarian groups.
Also Wednesday, the United Nations mission to Iraq said its monitors have determined that a hospital that treated a member of an Iranian exile group who died this week at a refugee camp near Baghdad did not consider his health condition serious enough to warrant hospitalization when he arrived for treatment in November.
An organization representing the Mujahedeen-e-Khalq exile group on Monday accused Iraqi authorities of preventing 56-year-old Behrooz Rahimian from being hospitalized, and alleged that the U.N. failed to take sufficient steps to intervene. Iraq considers the MEK a terrorist group and wants its members out of the country.
The U.N. mission in Baghdad said in a statement Wednesday that it "does not have any indication so far that treatment was obstructed by the Iraqi authorities." It noted that representatives for the refugee residents told U.N. monitors that Rahimian "appeared to be in good condition until the time of his death."
___
Associated Press writers Adam Schreck and Sinan Salaheddin contributed.
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Car Finance ? Using Payday Cash Loans To End An Emergency But ...
Get fast $ 300 instant approval payday loans online Nashville- Davidson Tennessee no credit check .
It?s dependent on reality that payday loans use a poor status. Every person has observed the terror tales of when these services go awry along with the costly results that arise. Nevertheless, from the correct conditions, payday loans may possibly be advantageous for your needs. Here are a few recommendations you need to know just before stepping into this particular deal.
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In case you are possessing a difficult experience figuring out if you should utilize a pay day loan, contact a client credit specialist. These pros generally help no-profit businesses that provide free of charge credit and financial help to buyers. These people will help you find the correct pay day lender, or perhaps even help you rework your funds so that you do not need the financing.
When you are completing your application for payday loans, you are sending your personal details over the internet to an unidentified destination. Knowing this could enable you to guard your details, much like your societal safety number. Shop around about the lender you are looking for just before, you give anything at all over the Internet.
Whenever you are filling out a software for the pay day loan, it is recommended to look for some sort of writing saying your details will not be marketed or shared with any individual. Some pay day financing internet sites will give information apart including your street address, societal safety number, and many others. so make sure you steer clear of these firms.
By no means take out a pay day loan on behalf of somebody else, regardless of how close up your relationship is that you simply have using this type of particular person. If a person is struggling to be entitled to a pay day loan independently, you should not believe in them sufficient to put your credit on the line.
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Before you decide to take out a pay day loan, talk with any friends members who have previously done so. Question them concerning their experience and find out which pay day lender they chose. The greater number of research one does in advance, the more likely you may be to steer clear of engaging in additional financial difficulty.
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If you make application for a pay day loan, make certain you apply to an individual lender as opposed to numerous ones. You increase the probability that your application will get turned down if you apply to numerous loan providers at the same time as it can certainly be observed as irresponsible from the loan providers.
In the event you require a pay day loan, you really should think about reevaluating your finances or financial practices. Even though a pay day loan can really become a existence-series, you should not be according to them too often. You must learn to deal with cash wisely, and in a fashion that contributes to financial power, and never continuing hardship.
Do not picture you are able to steer clear of repaying a pay day loan by shutting down the banking account your examine was published on. Performing that would build a condition where you could take place responsible for very high charges and attention. In addition to receiving you into legal difficulty, and even more expense.
To conclude, financial concerns will often need that they can be dealt with in an urgent approach. For this kind of scenarios, a simple bank loan may be required, say for example a pay day loan. Just keep in mind the pay day loan advice and tips from earlier in this post to obtain a pay day loan for your requirements.
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