Your Afternoon Cry: Photographer Hauntingly Documents Late ...

If you only read one wrenching, touching, tearjerker of a story today, please make it this one.

Five months after New Yorkers Angelo and Jen Merendino were married, Jen was diagnosed with breast cancer. As the next four years of treatment and medications passed, which left then-39-year-old Jen fatigued, in a walker, staying for long stints in the hospital.

With each challenge we grew closer. Words became less important. One night Jen had just been admitted to the hospital, her pain was out of control. She grabbed my arm, her eyes watering, "You have to look in my eyes, that's the only way I can handle this pain." We loved each other with every bit of our souls.

Jen taught me to love, to listen, to give and to believe in others and myself. I've never been as happy as I was during this time.

Angelo, a photographer, began to document her (and their) trials with intimate, powerful shots initially meant for their friends and family. The result is a chronological series of photographs of Jen throughout the course of her illness: laughing, sleeping, grimacing with pain, pushing the painkiller drip, putting on makeup, swimming in the ocean.

My photographs show this daily life. They humanize the face of cancer, on the face of my wife. They show the challenge, difficulty, fear, sadness and loneliness that we faced, that Jennifer faced, as she battled this disease. Most important of all, they show our Love. These photographs do not define us, but they are us.

Jen passed away a year and a half ago of Stage IV breast cancer. If you're not already crying, this blog post about an alert Jen set on Angelo's phone for the 22nd of every month, just a short time before she passed away ("Jennifer thinks Angelo is hot!"), should do you in. Fucking devastating.

The Battle We Didn't Choose [My Wife's Fight With Breast Cancer]

Source: http://jezebel.com/5993000/your-afternoon-cry-photographer-hauntingly-documents-late-wifes-battle-with-breast-cancer

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Awkward Family Photos Make Easter Seem Especially Strange

Christmas photos get a bad rap for being awkward, but families in pastel outfits at Easter brunch give those wearing ugly holiday sweaters a run for their money. Plus, as we already know, setting children on a giant bunny's lap is a recipe for picture disaster (or gold, depending on how you look at it). With that in mind, we bring back the annual Easter roundup from the guys at Awkward Family Photos. Enjoy the vintage fun, and have a happy holiday!

For more awkwardness, visit AwkwardFamilyPhotos.com and get the new Awkward Family Photos Frame Kit!

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Source: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2013/03/30/awkward-family-photos-easte_n_2985791.html

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'The Voice' Beats 'American Idol' In Ratings For First Time

'Idol' ratings continue their decline as 'Voice' has strong first week.
By Gil Kaufman

Shakira and Usher on "The Voice"
Photo: Trae Patton/ NBC

Source: http://www.mtv.com/news/articles/1704636/the-voice-american-idol-ratings.jhtml

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English teaching in Vi?t Nam: Teacher ?re-education? | VIETNAM ...

English learning and teaching have been a bone of contention for years in Vi?t Nam?as teacher qualifications and assessment methodologies are blamed for students? failure to use the language in real life.

These two issues are a major problem.

Vietnamese students start studying English as early as middle school, with many even learning it in elementary school or kindergarten ? just like many other countries where it is spoken as a second language ? but few of them can speak the language fluently when they leave high school.

?Students who have studied English for seven years beginning in grade six are often not able to use English beyond simple greetings and questions such as ?hello,? ?good-bye,? and ?what?s your name???

Says Dr. Diana L. Dudzik, a senior fellow at an education ministry project on foreign language improvement.

Many have attributed myriad reasons to this problem, but everything seems to boil down to unqualified teachers and an outdated testing model.

Disheartening figures

Recent statistics on teacher performance on assessment exams may have discouraged local education officials who planned to spend VND10 trillion (US$480 million) on a national proposal, Project 2020 to improve the foreign language, primarily English, learning and teaching system.

Thousands of teachers in 30 provinces and cities were required to sit for a test prepared last year by the Ministry of Education and Training (MoET), which used guidelines from the Common European Framework of Reference for Languages to check their listening, speaking, reading, and writing skills.

MoET demands that high school teachers reach the framework?s second-highest skill level (C1), while elementary school teachers must achieve the fourth-highest level (B1) and middle school educators the third-highest (B2).

The shocking result of the test was that a mere 3-7 percent made the grade, and veteran instructors were also among the unsuccessful test-takers.

In H? Ch? Minh City, a paltry 15.5 percent of 1,100 teachers passed the test, even though the southern economic hub has some of the country?s highest academic standards.

Most strikingly, those who failed included seasoned instructors who had successfully trained students at leading specialized schools for national competitions and university entrance exams.

Many hold master?s degrees in English instruction.

Elsewhere, just 165 of 1,500 English teachers passed in An Giang Province, in the Mekong Delta, while far fewer passed in neighboring ??ng Th?p Province and C?n Th? City.

The outcome in northern provinces, including H? N?i and H?i D??ng, was not much better.

These figures were so ?frightening? that 40 percent of a H? N?i district?s English teachers refused to take a similar test in February.

Grammar-dominated exams

The country?s current testing methods should be condemned first, followed by teacher training schools.

For years Vietnamese schools have focused on English grammar and reading comprehension, so exams have had to be set this way.

It is no wonder, then, that pedagogical colleges would train their future teachers in these areas so that they can teach their students to pass the exams.

As a result, both students and their teachers are trained to be experts in grammatical structures and vocabulary, but not to utilize these skills as a language.

So, a test that includes listening, speaking, and writing would understandably be an ordeal for them.

Standardized testing system needed

MoET has tried to improvise given such disappointing circumstances but has failed in most cases, with the latest bad idea being to ask teacher training schools to provide improvement courses and help these unqualified teachers to achieve the B1, B2, and C1 levels.

It is these pedagogical institutions that are churning out under-par instructors, yet now they are assigned to ?re-educate? them.

B1, B2, and C1 themselves are not diplomas or certificates, they are just guidelines used to describe language command.

Speakers of other languages often take common English tests such as TOEIC, TOEFL, or IELTS and get their scores compared to the framework, which has six levels, to know which one they have reached.

In that fashion, Vi?t Nam?should design a standardized testing system to assess teachers? language proficiency like the above tests do, instead of letting separate teacher training schools apply their own unaccredited assessment methods and then deciding if a teacher as qualified or not.

For the time being, TOEIC, TOEFL, IELTS or other international equivalents can be utilized pending such a system.

But what Vi?t Nam?should do first and foremost is revamp the way it tests students in English exams by checking their ability to use the English language, rather than their grammar mastery.

About Project 2020

In 2008 Vi?t Nam?issued Government Decision 1400, the goal of which is:

?To renovate thoroughly the tasks of teaching and learning foreign languages within the national educational system.?

MoET?s National Foreign Language 2020 Project, or Project 2020 for short, was created in 2010 to implement this national renovation.

Among the objectives of the project is establishing regional foreign language centers as a major strategy to address teacher development and language teaching quality throughout the country.

Five such facilities were officially launched in January this year at the University of Languages and International Studies/VNU ? H? N?i, Th?i Nguy?n University, Hu? University College of Foreign Languages, the University of Foreign Languages ? ??? N?ng City, and the H? Ch? Minh City University of Education.

Under Project 2020 Vi?t Nam?wants most of its students to be able to use a foreign language, especially English, confidently in their study, daily communication, and work by 2020.

VI?T TO?N

Source: tuoitrenews.vn

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Source: http://vietnameselanguage.wordpress.com/2013/03/29/english-teaching-in-viet-nam-teacher-re-education/

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What role do small dams play in pollution control?

Mar. 28, 2013 ? Sometimes, little things can add up to a lot. In short, that's the message of a research study on small dams, streams and pollution by Steve Powers, a postdoctoral researcher at the University of Notre Dame's Environmental Change Initiative (ECI).

"Small dams, reservoirs and ponds trap water pollution, which provides an important benefit to water resources," Powers said. "This is especially relevant in agricultural lands of the Midwest U.S., where there are lots of small, but aging dams."

Although small individually, the sum total of the small reservoirs and ponds have a global surface area comparable to that of all large reservoirs added together.

Powers and his fellow researchers showed in detail how a small aging dam, which was more than 100 years old and located in agricultural Wisconsin, trapped water pollutants associated with fertilizer and manure runoff. They also showed an increase in downstream transport of nutrient pollution after the dam was removed, which occurred because of concerns about the dam's safety.

"Many small dams are threatened by long-term structural decline and are also filling with sediment," Powers said. "If we don't better incorporate how small dams affect the movement of water and wastes through the environment, their benefit to downstream water quality could be lost. Meanwhile, legacy sediment and pollution currently trapped behind dams could release as dams lose their water storage capacity, fall apart, or are removed deliberately."

Powers notes that there is a crucial need to gain a better understanding of what small dams mean for our water quality before they crumble and disappear.

"I am continuing to work on the subject at a broader regional scale by looking at hundreds of stream and river monitoring stations throughout the Midwestern U.S. to detect signals of dams," he said. "One current goal is to try and figure out which regions are most vulnerable to water quality changes caused by accumulation of sediment and phosphorus behind dams."

The research paper appeared in the Journal of Geophysical Research-Biogeosciences.

Powers is conducting his research as part of the Notre Dame Environmental Change Initiative's Land Use Project. The Environmental Change Initiative conducts policy-oriented research designed to help policy-makers manage environmental changes.

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Story Source:

The above story is reprinted from materials provided by University of Notre Dame.

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

---

Journal Reference:

1. S. M. Powers, J. P. Julian, M. W. Doyle, E. H. Stanley. Retention and transport of nutrients in a mature agricultural impoundment. Journal of Geophysical Research: Biogeosciences, 2013; DOI: 10.1029/2012JG002148

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

Disclaimer: Views expressed in this article do not necessarily reflect those of ScienceDaily or its staff.

Source: http://feeds.sciencedaily.com/~r/sciencedaily/top_news/~3/YxvhKhIHuEg/130329090620.htm

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Exclusive: Indonesia's CT Corp proposes all-cash deal for Bakrie's media unit

By Janeman Latul and Randy Fabi

TANJUNG BENOA, Indonesia (Reuters) - CT Corp, one of Indonesia's emerging conglomerates, has proposed an all-cash deal for a controlling stake in media firm PT Visi Media Asia , valued at up to $1.8 billion, to strengthen its position in the media business in Southeast Asia's biggest economy.

The founder and chairman of CT Corp, Chairul Tanjung, told Reuters that his firm wanted to purchase Visi Media, a unit of Indonesia's powerful Bakrie family, without any partners.

"We are one of the preferred bidders. Our proposal is we want to buy it all ... my pocket is still deep," the 51-year-old billionaire said in his hotel room on the resort island of Bali, shortly after meeting with the president and cabinet ministers in his role as head of the president's economic advisory body.

"(It is) only us that can pay cash one hundred percent ... but the deal is not done yet."

CT Corp is already a major player in the Indonesian media business and controls two local TV stations. Tanjung said he would take out a new loan to buy the Visi Media stake. He declined to say how much the company would borrow for the deal.

This is the first time any bidder has publicly announced that it was offering to buy the company.

Indonesia's politically influential Bakrie family has been in talks to sell its majority interest in Visi Media to help finance a plan to buy back coal assets from London-listed Bumi Plc , sources with direct knowledge have said.

The Bakries are offering around a 51 percent stake in Visi Media, which the family controls via its vehicle CMA Indonesia. The process has been going on for the past three months with local bidders, including CT Corp and MNC Group, the sources said.

The Bakries had been looking for a valuation of $1.2 billion to $2 billion for the unit, although Visi Media's current market capitalization is only around $800 million, the sources said.

Visi Media has two national TV stations and a news website.

The sources said the stake would be worth up to $1.8 billion.

Tanjung, who trained as a dentist before becoming a businessman, also plans to build a $3 billion theme park on Indonesia's Java island and make it one of the biggest theme parks in Southeast Asia when it opens in 2016.

"We will build a city, not only a theme park, as I want to make many Indonesians feel happy," Tanjung said, adding that the land for the park would be around 200 hectares and the construction would start by the end of this year.

The group, which was founded by Tanjung, currently operates two theme parks and has plans to add another 20 theme parks across Indonesia over the next few years.

Tanjung is Indonesia's fifth-richest man with a net worth around $3.4 billion as of march, according to Forbes.

(Editing by Jonathan Thatcher and Chris Gallagher)

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/exclusive-indonesias-ct-corp-proposes-cash-deal-bakries-041447140--finance.html

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Feeling down | Step Talk

Submitted by MissKitty007 on Wed, 03/27/2013 - 5:48pm

Just wondering who the "oldest" SM on this site is and how did you make it as long as you have?
I have been a SM for 3 years and its so hard and not getting easier.

There are currently 75 users and 184 guests online.

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New forum topics

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In your experience as a stepparent, which is easier to deal with?:

Toddlers

33%

Teenagers

4%

There is no good age

63%

Total votes: 256

Help keep Step Talk online!

As this site gets more popular (and it is!) our hosting costs get bigger. Any amount will be graciously accepted. Even $1.00 helps! Thank you!

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Source: http://www.steptalk.org/node/128552

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Ghana Commercial Bank reports surge in 2012 profits

By Martyn Herman LONDON, March 28 (Reuters) - Whether by design, necessity, self-interest or because of all three, nurturing youngsters has become fashionable for England's elite with no expense spared in the hunt for the new Wayne Rooney or Steven Gerrard. The length and breadth of the country, scouts from top clubs are hoovering up promising footballers barely old enough to tie their bootlaces in a bid to unearth the 30 million pounds ($45.40 million) treasures of the future. ...

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/ghana-commercial-bank-reports-surge-2012-profits-094625438--finance.html

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2013=2003? (Unqualified Offerings)

Share With Friends: | | Politics - Top Stories News, RSS Feeds and Widgets via Feedzilla.

Source: http://news.feedzilla.com/en_us/stories/politics/top-stories/294798033?client_source=feed&format=rss

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The WWE Universe's WrestleMania Week guide

All WWE programming, talent names, images, likenesses, slogans, wrestling moves, trademarks, logos and copyrights are the exclusive property of WWE, Inc. and its subsidiaries. All other trademarks, logos and copyrights are the property of their respective owners. ? 2013 WWE, Inc. All Rights Reserved. This website is based in the United States. By submitting personal information to this website you consent to your information being maintained in the U.S., subject to applicable U.S. laws. U.S. law may be different than the law of your home country. WrestleMania XXIX (NY/NJ) logo TM & ? 2013 WWE. All Rights Reserved. The Empire State Building design is a registered trademark and used with permission by ESBC.

Source: http://www.wwe.com/shows/wrestlemania/29/wrestlemania-handbook

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Bet You Can't Tell The Difference Between These Actual Anti ...

1. ANTI-INTERRACIAL State v. Jackson. Missouri (1883): "They cannot possibly have any progeny, and such a fact sufficiently justifies those laws which forbid the intermarriage of blacks and whites."

2. ANTI-INTERRACIAL Scott v. Georgia (1869): "The amalgamation of the races is not only unnatural, but is always productive of deplorable results. Our daily observation shows us, that the offspring of these unnatural connections are generally sickly and effeminate [...]They are productive of evil, and evil only, without any corresponding good."

3. ANTI-INTERRACIAL Virginia's Racial Integrity Act of 1924: The law's stated purpose was to prevent "abominable mixture and spurious issue." It "forbade miscegenation on the grounds that racial mixing was scientifically unsound and would 'pollute' America with mixed-blood offspring."

4. ANTI-GAY Rep. Trent Franks (R-AZ), 2011: ?It not only is a complete undermining of the principles of family and marriage and the hope of future generations, but it completely begins to see our society break down to the extent that that foundational unit of the family that is the hope of survival of this country is diminished to the extent that it literally is a threat to the nation?s survival in the long run.?

5. ANTI-INTERRACIAL Senator James R. Doolittle (D-WI), 1863: "By the laws of Massachusetts intermarriages between these races are forbidden as criminal. Why forbidden? Simply because natural instinct revolts at it as wrong."

6. ANTI-INTERRACIAL Scott v. Sandford (1857), Chief Justice Taney: "Intermarriages between white persons and negroes or mulattoes were regarded as unnatural and immoral."

7. ANTI-INTERRACIAL Lonas v. State (1871): Attorneys argued that intermarriage was "distasteful to our people, and unfit to produce the human race in any of the types in which it was created." Tennessee's court agreed, saying that "any effort to intermerge the individuality of the races as a calamity full of the saddest and gloomiest portent to the generations that are to come after us."

8. ANTI-INTERRACIAL Bob Jones University, (1998!!!): "Although there is no verse in the Bible that dogmatically says that races should not intermarry, the whole plan of God as He has dealt with the races down through the ages indicates that interracial marriage is not best for man."

9. ANTI-GAY Family Research Council publication, 2002: "A little-reported fact is that homosexual and lesbian relationships are far more violent than are traditional married households."

10. ANTI-INTERRACIAL From a submitted briefing to the Court on Loving v. Virginia: "I believe that the tendency to classify all persons who oppose [this type of relationship] as 'prejudiced' is in itself a prejudice," a psychologist said. "Nothing of any significance is gained by such a marriage."

Don't deny it. For every single one of these quotes you could easily switch out intermarriage for same-sex marriage, and vice versa. Just as how most people no longer regard interracial marriage as unseemly and revolting, most will eventually cease viewing homosexual relationships in such a negative light. The times are a-changin', and the likes of the Family Research Council, National Organization for Marriage, American Family Association, and Fox's Todd Starnes' views on homosexual relationships will meet up with anti-miscegenation beliefs on the dust-bin of history.

Special thanks are due to the Boston Law Review's paper "American Wedding: Same-Sex Marriage and the Miscegenation Analogy" for assistance with quotes. Also, much respect to Chicago Tribune columnist Eric Zorn, who had a similar idea way back in 1996 and provided several of the quotes above.

Source: http://www.mediaite.com/online/bet-you-cant-tell-the-difference-between-these-actual-anti-interracial-and-anti-gay-marriage-quotes/

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LG issued patent for the 2010-era tri-screen smartphone that never was

How do you boost screen real estate on a smartphone without increasing the device's footprint significantly? You could add a pair of slide-out panels mounted behind the main display. But you wouldn't. We'd hope. Such a concept made its way out of LG HQ and into the hands of the United States Patent and Trademark Office, however, and three years after its submission date, the proposed device has returned to haunt the South Korean manufacturer, in the form of an issued patent. The concept in question is quite simple: a primary LCD would be visible at all times, and when the occasion called for another panel or two, they'd simply slide into view, ready to serve as a number pad, or settings control, predictive text display, or even a full-fledged split keyboard.

Now, considering that there's been plenty of time since this filing to bring such a smartphone to market, we're going to guess that LG's abandoned plans for its tri-screen device, opting instead to boost the primary display size in smartphones like its Optimus G Pro, or the poorly received 5-inch Optimus Vu. That's not to say that multi-screen handsets won't continue to make an appearance, however -- NEC's Medias W has already hit NTT DoCoMo in Japan, and it's possible that BlackBerry may be considering a split device of its own. This LG concept, however, is probably destined for a dusty filing cabinet at the patent office, where it's unlikely to surface again.

Filed under: Cellphones, Displays, Mobile, LG

Comments

Source: USPTO

Source: http://www.engadget.com/2013/03/26/lg-tri-screen-patent/

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Facebook Rolls Out Replies And Threaded Comments On Page Posts And Popular Profiles

Facebook today is rolling out two more features for Pages used by brands and businesses and public Profiles for individuals with more than 10,000 followers: it is adding replies and threaded comments. The move -- like Graph Search, designed to increase time spent on the site -- confirms our report from last week, which we wrote about in detail, and which Facebook also later confirmed for us.

Source: http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/Techcrunch/~3/yJWRRZIGmY8/

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FDA Head Proposes Charging Compounding Pharmacies For Oversight

BOSTON, March 22 (Reuters) - The head of the U.S. Food and Drug Administration has proposed charging compounding pharmacies fees to pay for the oversight needed to prevent a recurrence of the meningitis outbreak that killed 50 people and sickened hundreds more.
FDA Commissioner Margaret Hamburg said in an official blog post on Friday that serious problems continue to take place at compounding pharmacies and she is hopeful that the Senate committee with jurisdiction over the issue "will yield strong legislation for patients across the nation."
The post can be found at: http://blogs.fda.gov/fdavoice/index.php/2013/03/fda-must-have-new-authorities-to-regulate-pharmacy-compounding/?source=govdelivery
Hamburg said a possible mechanism for funding the additional oversight could include registration or other fees of the kind Congress has authorized in other instances. Pharmaceutical companies, for example, pay fees to help fund the FDA's drug review process.
Hamburg would like to explore more ideas with Congress, including requiring compounded drugs to have clear labels identifying the nature and source of the product.
The meningitis outbreak was linked to a tainted steroid shipped last year by the New England Compounding Center (NECC), which filed for bankruptcy protection in December after U.S. authorities shut down its pharmacy operations in Framingham, Massachusetts.
Since the NECC case came to light, the FDA has insisted that its authority over specialty pharmacies is too limited.
"Even during this time of heightened awareness, our inspectors are being delayed in their work or denied full access to records at some of the facilities we are inspecting," Hamburg said.
She added that serious problems at compounding pharmacies continue to occur. This week, there had been two recalls of sterile compounded and repackaged drug products.
In one, the presence of floating particles later identified to be a fungus were reported in five bags of magnesium sulfate intravenous solution, resulting in a nationwide recall. In the other, all sterile drug products from a second pharmacy were recalled after reports that five patients suffered serious eye infections associated with a repackaged product. (Reporting by Tim McLaughlin in Boston, additional reporting by Toni Clarke in Washington; Editing by Leslie Gevirtz)

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Source: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2013/03/25/compounding-pharmacies-charging-oversight-_n_2935708.html

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Transform Your Offline Business To Online | Sharanyan Sharma

Review Overview

Sharanyan SharmaMarch 24, 2013The exciting news for the small businesses is that the recent E-Commerce revolution has introduced a whole new level playing field offering everyone a fair chance to become an internet business giant very easily enabling everyone to enjoy the big profits.The internet carries the free information flow and everyone?s looking for their necessaries. 8.5110

• Online Marketing7

• Offline Marketing10

Total Score8.5

The exciting news for the small businesses is that the recent E-Commerce revolution has introduced a whole new level playing field offering everyone a fair chance to become an internet business giant very easily enabling everyone to enjoy the big profits.The internet carries the free information flow and everyone?s looking for their necessaries.

Hey Guys!

Shopping at the city?center?or running errands around your local town lately? While doing these regular chores, if you look closely, you will find huge changes taken place over the recent years.I?m living in Northern Province Vavuniya City, but No matter where you live, I think the little guys- the small stores, independent business owners are all disappearing. At least in my local town, majority of them can?t be found anymore. Most of the local small families running stores offering the homely personal touch are now being all swallowed up by the latest market dominants, the supermarkets and the chain stores which sell almost anything and everything you may need for the day to day life.

It is a really depressing and pathetic scene where numerous out of town retail parks and supermarkets are uprooting the locals and taking their places. Virtually, each major town or city is basically a carbon copy of one other. Anywhere you travel; there is not much diversity or change you can find anymore. In every city or town, it?s the usual brand of coffee shops, all the same cloth stores, the usual chains of garden care companies, DIY or the same restaurants or electrical outlets.These small businesses owners are struggling to survive a losing battle and are loosing their lifeblood as it is being sucked out.

The exciting news for the small businesses is that the recent E-Commerce revolution has introduced a whole new level playing field offering everyone a fair chance to become an internet business giant very easily enabling everyone to enjoy the big profits.The internet carries the free information flow and everyone?s looking for their necessaries.? These are the local folks ? People living in your own area, Your customers with the biggest potentials.

Check out the recent statistics and you?ll get your proof. The trend of researching products and services online is increasing every year as more and more people are getting easy access to high speed internet facilities. Also the smart phone revolution and tablet devices have been a big help. But still, they buy OFFLINE! Grab full advantage of the E-Commerce concept, put your innovative ideas into effect and watch your business flourish. Make this approach, your competitors did and they are doing well.Keep reading and find out how you too can bring out your ?A Game? and someday become an online business giant.

Getting Started Online

Promoting business on the web can be quite overwhelming. This is one of the many reasons why small business owners postpone their advertisement plans over the internet. On the web, there are numerous advertisement techniques available and not having a clear idea might cause trouble deciding where to start from.

Many local businesses dip into the online marketing world and after sometime they give up as the expected results don?t show up.

The internet marketing is efficient and fruitful but it?s not a magic wand which will help you get rich overnight. You know your business by heart, so, now find an easy and simple approach to let the others know.

Not all marketing methods work well for all type of business ventures, but below are some basic things which literally almost any business venture, no matter which sector the venture is related to, can certainly help you to mark your presence on a large scale over the internet without draining your account dry.

Your Online Income Generation Machine ? ?Your Website

You don?t have to create an expensive website with all singing and dancing works of art. The site should be updated regularly and be search engine friendly.Designing a fully functional and yet profitable website is an extremely daunting task. So, small businesses owners usually leave all the designing and technical works to the hired contractors.This sometimes turns out to be an expensive mistake. Website designers are capable of making stunning looking website designs complete using every bell and whistle.

For example, if you were running a car dealership, you would not trust the car mechanics to run your marketing campaigns. He ?may be a damn good car mechanic, but it is almost unlikely that the mechanic would also be an expert authority on marketing. Hand the control of the marketing campaigns over to him and pretty soon you?ll be out of business.Allowing your website designer to run the website for you would put you into similar situations as mentioned above.

Of course, they come with excellent design skills, but they are not experts on marketing in most cases. Only a few website designers completely understand the effective search engine optimization techniques, or how to present compelling sales information or advertisements which effectively pre-sells the products and services you intend to put on the shelves.Believe me; nobody wants a website designer who only focuses on eye catching designs with pretty looking but absolutely pointless gimmicks providing Zero efficiency.Below some tips are presented that will help you run your website with total control and eventually you?ll be running a website providing a healthy profit.

1.? Think straight and be sure about what it is that you really want. You want and need a website working 24/7 with regular earnings. Be clear about exactly what task each web page is expected to accomplish and design them accordingly. Also, in advance, decide what kind of customers your website is trying to attract.

1. For example, are you interested in showing off your products via an online brochure or do you want to sell those on the website?
2. ?Do you want the webpage to collect the visitor?s contact details or just want the site to let the consumers know your contact details?To keep the customers updated you can go for a blog or newsletter delivery.

2.? Place your offers and make the Buy and contact details clearly visible on the website.? People buy online to save time. So, if you want more online buyers, make the Buy button clearly seen. Make sure that your contact details are visible bright and clearly on each web page, so, the customers can call you if needed.

?Download Your Free Ebook ?

Social media allow you connect with your target audience and have a two-way effective conversation. But it can be easy to forget that not everyone who finds your social media profiles will speak your language, or be able to relate to your region?s latest trends.Social Media Marketing is Secret Weapon for any offline; online business and Brands. Big MNC?s and Small Business owners use social media platform to capture the attention of their target audiences . That?s why?I?ve?created ?special short report about ?Basic E-Commerce Strategies and transform your Business Online using Social media and search Engines. Don?t worry I?m not going to ask you to subscribe my mailing list, but if you like my short report then you can?subscribe my blog to receive Regular updates via email notification.

I hope my short report will help you create some amazing ideas about your business and Brand. Just hit reply to this post and let me know what you thought please.

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Leader of Syria's opposition coalition steps down

Amr Nabil / AP, file

The head of the Syrian National Coalition for Opposition and Revolutionary Forces Mouaz al-Khatib resigned Sunday.

By Daniel Arkin and Ayman Mohyeldin, NBC News

The leader of the Western-backed Syrian opposition coalition resigned Sunday, destabilizing the rebels'?two-year uprising against President Bashar Assad.

Mouaz al-Khatib, a respected preacher and moderate Islamist who had spearheaded the Syrian National Coalition since it was formed last November, said in a post on his Facebook page that he was following through on a vow to leave his position if unspecified ?red lines? were crossed.

?I had promised our people ? to resign if the situation reaches certain red lines. Today, I honor my promise and I resign from the National Coalition to be able to work with freedom not available through official institutions,? al-Khatib said.

?We have been slaughtered under the watchful eyes of the world for two years, in an unprecedented manner by a vicious regime,? he said? of the bloody civil war that has plunged the nation into chaos, leaving at least 70,000 people dead.

?Everything that happened to the Syrian people ? from destruction of infrastructure, arrest of tens of thousands of their children, displacement of tens of thousands, and other tragedies ? is not enough for the world to make an international decision to allow people to defend themselves,? al-Khatib added.

Al-Khatib?s resignation comes on the heels of his recent decision to offer Assad a negotiated exit from Syria, which received harsh criticism from many prominent figures in the opposition movement.

And despite al-Khatib?s protests, the coalition last week took steps to form a provisional government that would have weakened al-Khatib?s influence in domestic affairs, Reuters reported.

Coalition figures picked Islamist technocrat Ghasshan Hitto as the provisional government?s prime minister. Hitto is backed by the Muslim Brotherhood, according to Reuters.

The departure of Al-Khatib deals a significant blow to the moderate faction of the uprising, which many Westerners see as a safeguard against the rise of insurgent fighters linked to al-Qaeda.

The shake-up in the Syrian National Coalition, which is recognized by scores of nations and international bodies as the legitimate representative of the Syrian people, could potentially make Western powers more reluctant to sponsor rebels.

U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry, who appeared alongside al-Khatib in Rome when the U.S. announced additional aid to the Syrian opposition group in late February, said he was disappointed to see al-Khatib step down ? but not surprised.

?I am personally sorry to see him go because I like him on a personal level,? Kerry told reporters on a trip to Baghdad on Sunday.

?The notion that he might resign has frankly been expressed by him on many different occasions in many different places,? Kerry added.

At the end of his Facebook post, al-Khatib said he plans to remain involved in efforts to bring down Assad?s regime.

?I will continue to work with my colleagues, those who seek the freedom for our people,? al-Khatib said.

?A little bit of patience, our people,? he added. ?Isn?t the morning near??

Related: Kerry urges Iraq to stop arms flow to Syria on Baghdad visit

Source: http://feeds.nbcnews.com/c/35002/f/653387/s/29ef634f/l/0Lworldnews0Bnbcnews0N0C0Inews0C20A130C0A30C240C174424410Eleader0Eof0Esyrias0Eopposition0Ecoalition0Esteps0Edown0Dlite/story01.htm

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New Addition to the Family | Marryl All Write

My Mama is home from Michigan for a very short visit because of my brother?s condition. On a lighter note, it meant some new craft supplies for me. In my part of the world, we don?t have Michael?s, Jo-Ann?s, AC Moore or Hobby Lobby. Yes, it?s so sad that?s why I wish I will have my own craft store here in Cebu someday?I dream big

My loot came in this pretty bag from Jo-Ann?s. I liked the tape measure-like handle. Sorry for the instagrammed pictures. Still too tired and lazy to take out the heavy dslr.

After what seemed like forever, my cuttlebug is finally home. I love, love love my Cuttlebug! I?ll keep you guys posted and maybe show you a video what this little toy can do.

What I usually do for craft supplies and products that aren?t found here in the Philippines, I? ask my Mama or brother buy it for me or purchase it online and ship it there in our place in Michigan and they send it to me or send it through balikbayan box (which takes forever!). I get mails regularly from Craft stores like Jo-ann?s or Michael?s and I use their coupons. These embossing folders and dies were on clearance at just $1.97 at Jo-Ann?s and the Cuttlebug was I think 50% off using the coupon at Michael?s. But I think you can use Michael?s coupon at Jo-Ann?s too.

These unassuming little containers are my newest prized possession I will make magic with them pretty soon. Come back and I?ll keep you posted what these are.

That?s why I enjoy DIY & Crafts so much. I get excited what I can do with stuff. If you?re not into crafting, you should definitely try it. If you?re in other parts of the world like the US, Singapore, UK where you have Craft stores all over, you have no excuse not to be doing DIY & Crafts.

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Source: http://marrylallwrite.com/2013/03/24/new-addition-to-the-family/

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Self Improvement | What Makes Me Unique? Five Areas to Explore ...

By Tracy Warren ?

Understanding what makes you unique is an incredibly valuable thing to know that will help you on your journey to being authentically who you are and making a difference for others. To understand more about what makes you so unique, I invite you to take an adventurous journey to know yourself. There are many places on your journey where you will want to stop and explore. These places are your self-awareness destinations and will help you to know more about where you are going. As you continue along this journey, you will begin to experience an increased sense of meaning and purpose in your life along with a greater appreciation of yourself for the incredibly unique person that you are.

Here are five areas to explore on your self-discovery journey to uncovering your uniqueness.

1. Gifts and Talents ? We all have unique gifts and talents. A lot of these we were born with and others we developed. To know your gifts and special talents you need to look at what you do well. Ask yourself, ?What is that I can do easily that others find difficult?? Your gifts and talents will come so natural to you and sometimes this is why we don?t recognize them. Pay attention to what others tell you that you do well. Notice what they compliment you on and you will soon start to recognize and claim your gifts and talents.

2. Values ? Our values are the things in our life that are most important to us. Values represent what we stand for and what matters to us; they are the principles by which you live your life. To determine your values look at where you spend most of your time and what you spend your money on. What do these things represent to you? Our values present themselves when we are faced with tough decisions. Think about a decision you recently made when you had to choose between one thing or the other. Why did you make that decision? What value did that decision represent?

3. Passions ? You know your passions when you know what you LOVE. What brings you joy just thinking about it? What do you love to spend your time doing? Look at your book collection and see what most the books you love to read are about. Also feel into what makes you come most alive? Your passions invigorate you with feelings of excitement and joy.

4. Life Experiences ? You have a unique life experiences that contribute to you being the incredible individual that you are. Look back at your life from where you grew up to the people you have met and the places you have gone and all that you have experienced, and see that all those events have been part of your unique life path.

5. Special Knowledge ? There are some things that you have a greater insight to than others. What have you studied for a long time? What about any training? This knowledge is part of unique gift you bring to the world.

The journey to discover your uniqueness will open you to a new awareness of yourself. When you have a clear picture of what makes you unique then you can better understand how you can contribute to others around you. You begin to understand your unique place in the world and your purpose is revealed.

Tracy Warren helps heart-centered professionals to know and express their unique essence and make a meaningful contribution through their work. Find out more about how to discover your uniqueness and create a fulfilling life?s work that expresses your soul at: http://www.soulality.com.

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Tracy_Warren
http://EzineArticles.com/?What-Makes-Me-Unique?-Five-Areas-to-Explore&id=3817206

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Source: http://theselfimprovementblog.com/self-improvement/self-esteem/what-makes-me-unique-five-areas-to-explore/

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Police: No sign of 3rd party in Berezovsky death

British police officers cordon off a road near a residence in Ascot, a town 40 kilometers (25 miles) west of London, Saturday, March 23, 2013. Boris Berezovsky, 67, a self-exiled and outspoken former Russian oligarch who had a bitter falling out with Russian President Vladimir Putin, was found dead Saturday in southeast England. Thames Valley police said his death was being treated as unexplained. They would not directly identify him, but when asked about him by name they read a statement saying they were investigating the death of a 67-year-old man at a property in Ascot. A mathematician turned Mercedes dealer, Berezovsky amassed his wealth during Russia's chaotic privatization of state assets in the early 1990's. The one-time Kremlin powerbroker fell out with Putin and sought political asylum in Britain in the early 2000's. He has lived in the U.K. ever since. (AP Photo/Lefteris Pitarakis)

British police officers cordon off a road near a residence in Ascot, a town 40 kilometers (25 miles) west of London, Saturday, March 23, 2013. Boris Berezovsky, 67, a self-exiled and outspoken former Russian oligarch who had a bitter falling out with Russian President Vladimir Putin, was found dead Saturday in southeast England. Thames Valley police said his death was being treated as unexplained. They would not directly identify him, but when asked about him by name they read a statement saying they were investigating the death of a 67-year-old man at a property in Ascot. A mathematician turned Mercedes dealer, Berezovsky amassed his wealth during Russia's chaotic privatization of state assets in the early 1990's. The one-time Kremlin powerbroker fell out with Putin and sought political asylum in Britain in the early 2000's. He has lived in the U.K. ever since. (AP Photo/Lefteris Pitarakis)

FILE - In this Jan. 26, 2000 file photo Russian tycoons Boris Berezovsky, left, and Roman Abramovich, then both lawmakers, walk after the session of the State Duma, parliament's lower house, in Moscow, Russia. United Kingdom police have said that Berezovsky has been found dead Saturday March 23, 2013. (AP Photo/Ivan Sekretarev, File)

British police officers cordon off a road near a residence in Ascot, a town 40 kilometers (25 miles) west of London, Saturday, March 23, 2013. Boris Berezovsky, 67, a self-exiled and outspoken former Russian oligarch who had a bitter falling out with Russian President Vladimir Putin, was found dead Saturday in southeast England. Thames Valley police said his death was being treated as unexplained. They would not directly identify him, but when asked about him by name they read a statement saying they were investigating the death of a 67-year-old man at a property in Ascot. A mathematician turned Mercedes dealer, Berezovsky amassed his wealth during Russia's chaotic privatization of state assets in the early 1990's. The one-time Kremlin powerbroker fell out with Putin and sought political asylum in Britain in the early 2000's. He has lived in the U.K. ever since. (AP Photo/Lefteris Pitarakis)

FILE - A Wednesday, July 18, 2007 photo from files showing Russian exile Boris Berezovsky, a close friend of former Russian agent Alexander Litvinenko who was poisoned by Polonium 2-10, speaking to the media in a news conference in London. United Kingdom police have said that Berezovsky has been found dead Saturday March 23, 2013. (AP Photo/Sang Tan, File)

FILE - A Friday, Aug. 31, 2012 photo from files showing Russian tycoon Boris Berezovsky talking to the media after losing his case against Russian oligarch Roman Abramovich as he leaves the High Court in London. United Kingdom police have said that Berezovsky has been found dead Saturday March 23, 2013.(AP Photo/Sang Tan, File)

LONDON (AP) ? British police said Sunday they have no evidence to suggest third-party involvement in the death of Boris Berezovsky, the self-exiled Russian tycoon who went from Kremlin kingmaker to fiery critic.

With an investigation underway, police are treating the death of Berezovsky ? who fled to Britain in the early 2000s after a bitter falling out with Russian President Vladimir Putin ? as unexplained. But the former oligarch survived assassination attempts and recently faced financial difficulties, prompting speculation as to whether his death was part of a conspiracy ? or suicide.

Police said Sunday it would be wrong to speculate on how Berezovsky died pending the results of an autopsy but that they had no reason to suspect

"We are at the early stages of the investigation and we are retaining an open mind as we progress," said Detective Chief Inspector Kevin Brown. "The investigation team is building a picture of the last days of Mr. Berezovsky's life, speaking to close friends and family to gain a better understanding of his state of mind."

Police released some details on the circumstances that triggered their investigation into his demise and a subsequent check for hazardous materials at the property in Ascot, a town 40 kilometers (25 miles) west of London where Berezovsky's body was found on Saturday.

A call came into police from the local ambulance service at 3:23 p.m. GMT (11:23 a.m. EDT) Saturday saying a man had been found dead, Thames Valley Police said in a statement on Sunday.

The police said an employee of Berezovsky told how he had called an ambulance after becoming concerned for Berezovsky's welfare and forced open a bathroom door locked from the inside to find the tycoon's body on the floor.

The employee was the only person in the house when Berezovsky's body was discovered, police said. Members of the ex-oligarch's family arrived at the home while the paramedic was on scene.

Police explained that after a paramedic declared Berezovsky dead and left the scene, a device measuring his exposure to radiation was triggered, which is why chemical and radiations experts were called to examine the property.

"Officers found nothing of concern in the property and we are now progressing the investigation as normal," a statement from police said earlier, adding that the majority of the cordon put in place around the property has now been lifted.

Berezovsky ? who had survived a number of assassination attempts ? amassed a fortune through oil and automobiles during Russia's chaotic privatization of state assets following the collapse of the Soviet Union in the early 1990s.

Once a member of Russian President Boris Yeltsin's inner circle, Berezovsky fell out with Yeltsin's successor, Putin, and fled Britain in the early 2000s to escape fraud charges that he said were politically motivated.

He became a strident and frequent critic of Putin, accusing the leader of ushering in a dictatorship, and accused the security services of organizing the 1999 apartment house bombings in Moscow and two other Russian cities that became a pretext for Russian troops to sweep into Chechnya for the second war there in half a decade.

Putin's spokesman acknowledged Sunday that the Russian president considered Berezovsky an enemy with clearly stated intentions to fight.

"We know for certain that he spared no expense in support of processes, within Russia and beyond, that could be said to have been directed against Russia and Putin," spokesman Dmitry Peskov said on the independent cable television channel Rain. "He definitely was Putin's opponent, and unfortunately not only his political opponent, but most likely in other dimensions as well."

In recent years, Berezovsky fended off legal attacks that often bore political undertones ? and others that bit into his fortune.

Russia repeatedly sought to extradite on Berezovksy on a wide variety of criminal charges, and the tycoon vehemently rejected allegations over the years that he was linked to several deaths, including that of slain journalist Anna Politkovskaya and ex-KGB agent Alexander Litvinenko.

Berezovsky won a libel case in 2010 against a Kremlin-owned broadcaster that aired a show in which it was suggested he was behind the poisoning of Litvinenko, who had fled Russia with Berezovsky's help after accusing officials there of plotting to assassinate political opponents.

He took a hit with his divorce from Galina Besharova in 2010, paying what was at the time Britain's largest divorce settlement. The figure beat a previous record of 48 million pounds ($73.1 million) and was estimated as high as 100 million pounds, though the exact figure was never confirmed.

Last year, Berezovsky lost a multibillion-pound High Court case against fellow Russian Roman Abramovich and was ordered to pay 35 million pounds ($53.3 million) in legal costs.

Berezovsky had claimed that Abramovich, the billionaire owner of Chelsea Football Club, cheated him out of his stakes in the oil group Sibneft, arguing that he blackmailed him into selling the stakes vastly beneath their true worth after he lost Putin's good graces.

But a judge threw out the case in August, ruling that Berezovsky was a dishonest and unreliable witness, and rejected Berezovsky's claims that he was threatened by Putin and Alexander Voloshin, a Putin ally, to coerce him to sell his Sibneft stake.

It also recently emerged that Berezovsky ran up legal bills totaling more than 250,000 pounds in just two months of a case against his former partner, Elena Gorbunova, with whom he had two children and who claimed the businessman owed her millions.

Earlier this week, The Times of London newspaper reported that Berezovsky was selling property ? including an Andy Warhol portrait of the former Soviet Union leader Vladimir Lenin ? to settle his debts and pay expenses owed to lawyers.

News of Berezovsky's death has prompted conspiracy theories along with speculation as to his state of mind, given his recent financial setbacks.

Ilya Zhegulev, a journalist with the Russian edition of Forbes magazine, said he spoke with Berezovsky the day before he died and discussed the tycoon's decision to flee Russia in 2000.

The journalist quoted Berezovsky as saying that during his years in London he had lost the meaning of life.

"I no longer want to be involved in politics," Zhegulev quoted Berezovsky as saying in a story published Saturday on the Forbes.ru website.

He said Berezovsky told him that he wanted nothing more than to return to Russia. The former oligarch said he had changed his views on Russia, saying he now understood that it should not look to Europe as a model.

"I had absolutely, idealistically imagined that it was possible to build a democratic Russia. And idealistically imagined what democracy was in the center of Europe. I underestimated the inertia of Russia and greatly overestimated the West. This took place gradually. I changed my understanding of Russia's path," he quoted Berezovsky as having said.

___

AP writer Lynn Berry in Moscow contributed to this report. Cassandra Vinograd can be reached at http://twitter.com/CassVinograd

Associated Press

Source: http://hosted2.ap.org/APDEFAULT/f70471f764144b2fab526d39972d37b3/Article_2013-03-24-Britain-Berezovsky/id-1d34f2b3d16540ea97c1a2a0fba8ff80

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Kerry warns Iraq on Iran flights to Syria

BAGHDAD (AP) ? Just days after the 10th anniversary of the U.S. invasion of Iraq, U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry confronted Baghdad for continuing to grant Iran access to its airspace and said Iraq's behavior was raising questions about its reliability as a partner.

Speaking to reporters during a previously unannounced trip to Baghdad, Kerry said that he and Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki had engaged in "a very spirited discussion" on the Iranian flights, which U.S. officials believe are ferrying weapons and fighters intended for the embattled Syrian government.

Kerry said the plane shipments ? along with material being trucked across Iraqi territory from Iran to Syria ? were helping President Bashar Assad's regime cling to power by increasing their ability to strike at Syrian rebels and opposition figures demanding Assad's ouster.

"I made it very clear that for those of us who are engaged in an effort to see President Assad step down and to see a democratic process take hold ... anything that supports President Assad is problematic," Kerry said at a news conference at the U.S. Embassy in Baghdad after meeting separately with Maliki at his office. "And I made it very clear to the Prime Minister that the overflights from Iran are, in fact, helping to sustain President Assad and his regime."

The overflights in Iraq have long been a source of contention between the U.S. and Iraq. Iraq and Iran claim the flights are carrying humanitarian goods, but American officials say they are confident that the planes are being used to arm the support the Assad regime. The administration is warning Iraq that unless action is taken, Iraq will be excluded from the international discussion about Syria's political future.

U.S. officials say that in the absence of a complete ban on flights, Washington would at least like the planes to land and be inspected in Iraq to ensure that they are carrying humanitarian supplies. Former Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton secured a pledge from Iraq to inspect the flights last year, but since then only two aircraft have been checked by Iraqi authorities, according to U.S. officials.

One senior U.S. official traveling with Kerry said the sheer number of overflights, which occur "close to daily," along with shipments trucked to Syria from Iran through Iraq, was inconsistent with claims they are only carrying humanitarian supplies. The official said it was in Iraq's interest to prevent the situation in Syria from deteriorating further, particularly as there are fears that al-Qaida-linked extremists may gain a foothold in the country as the Assad regime falters.

The official, who spoke on condition of anonymity because the official was not authorized to speak publicly on the matter, said there are clear links between al-Qaida linked extremists operating in Syria and militants who are also carrying out terrorist attacks in Iraqi territory with increasing regularity.

Kerry's comments in Baghdad come as U.S. lawmakers are calling for President Barack Obama to do more to stop the bloodshed in Syria, including possible airstrikes against Assad's aircraft fleet.

The Republican chairman of the House Intelligence Committee, Rep. Mike Rogers of Michigan, said Sunday the U.S. should create a "safe zone" in northern Syria that would give the U.S. more leverage with opposition forces.

"This doesn't mean the 101st Airborne Division and ships" are deployed, Rogers told CBS' "Face the Nation." ''It means small groups with special capabilities reengaging the opposition so we can vet them, train them, equip them so they can be an effective fighting force."

Last week, Sens. Carl Levin, D-Mich., and John McCain, R-Ariz., asked Obama in a letter to step up U.S. military efforts in the region, including destroying Assad's aircraft using precision airstrikes.

Kerry said Iraq's tacit approval of Iranian overflights left the American people wondering how an ally would undermine U.S. efforts, particularly after the enormous sacrifices made by the United States in liberating Iraq from Saddam Hussein's tyrannical rule.

"There are members of Congress and people in America who increasingly are watching what Iraq is doing and wondering how it is that a partner in the efforts for democracy and a partner for whom Americans feel they have tried so hard to be helpful, how that country can be, in fact, doing something that makes it more difficult to achieve our common goals, the goal expressed by the prime minister with respect to Syria and President Assad," he said.

In addition to the overflights, Kerry said he had urged Maliki and other Iraqi officials to promote unity amid a spike in sectarian violence and called on them to ensure that upcoming provincial elections are free and fair. Kerry said the postponement of the polls in two provinces ? Anbar and Ninevah ? was unacceptable and should be reversed.

"We strongly urge the prime minister to take this issue to the cabinet and to see if it can be revisited, because we believe very strongly that everybody needs to vote simultaneously," he said.

In addition to his meeting with Maliki, Kerry saw Iraqi parliament speaker parliament speaker Osama al-Nujaifi, a Sunni, whose faction is at odds with Maliki's Shiia. Kerry also spoke by phone with Massoud Barzani, the head of the Kurdish Regional Government based in Irbil to encourage the Kurds not go ahead with unilateral actions ? especially involving oil, like a pipeline deal with Turkey.

Kerry arrived in Baghdad from Amman, where he had been accompanying President Barack Obama on his tour of Israel, the Palestinian Authority and Jordan. His visit to Iraq is the first by a U.S. secretary of state since Clinton went in April 2009. During Obama's first term, the Iraq portfolio was largely delegated to Vice President Joe Biden as Obama wound down the war.

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/kerry-warns-iraq-iran-flights-syria-132200384--politics.html

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Police arrest 2 teens in Ga. baby killing

BRUNSWICK, Ga. (AP) ? In five years, Sherry West has lost two sons to unspeakable violence.

The Georgia mother was grieving from Thursday's shooting death of her 13-month-old son in his stroller during an attempted robbery while they took a morning stroll. In 2008, her 18-year-old son was stabbed in an altercation in New Jersey.

A pair of teenagers was arrested Friday in the most recent shooting. West had just been to the post office a few blocks from her apartment Thursday morning and was pushing her son, Antonio, in his stroller while they walked past gnarled oak trees and blooming azaleas in the coastal city of Brunswick.

West said a tall, skinny teenager, accompanied by a smaller boy, asked her for money.

"He asked me for money and I said I didn't have it," she told The Associated Press Friday from her apartment, which was scattered with her son's toys and movies.

"When you have a baby, you spend all your money on babies. They're expensive. And he kept asking and I just said 'I don't have it.' And he said, 'Do you want me to kill your baby?' And I said, 'No, don't kill my baby!'"

One of the teens fired four shots, grazing West's ear and striking her in the leg, before he walked around to the stroller and shot the baby in the face.

Seventeen-year-old De'Marquis Elkins is charged as an adult with first-degree murder, along with a 14-year-old who was not identified because he is a juvenile, Police Chief Tobe Green said. It wasn't immediately clear whether the boys had attorneys.

Police announced the arrest Friday afternoon after combing school records and canvassing neighborhoods searching for the pair. The chief said the motive of the "horrendous act" was still under investigation and the weapon had not been found.

"I feel glad that justice will be served," West said. "It's not something I'm going to live with very well. I'm just glad they caught him."

West said detectives showed her mugshots of about 24 young men. She pointed to one, saying he looked like the gunman.

"After I picked him, they said they had him in custody," West said. "It looked just like him. So I think we got our man."

West said she thought the other suspect looked much younger: "That little boy did not look 14."

The slaying happened around the corner from West's apartment in the city's Old Town historic district. It's a street lined with grand Victorian homes from the late 1800s. Most have been neatly restored by their owners. Others, with faded and flaking paint, have been divided into rental units like the apartment West shared with her son. The slain boy's father, Luis Santiago, lives in a house across the street.

A neighbor dropped off a fruit basket and then a hot pot of coffee Friday as a friend from the post office dropped by to comfort West.

Santiago came and went. At one point he scooped up an armload of his son's stuffed animals, saying he wanted to take them home with him. He talked about Antonio's first birthday on Feb. 5 and how they had tried different party hats on the boy.

"He's all right," Santiago told the boy's mother, trying to smile. "He's potty training upstairs in heaven."

West said her son was walking well on his own and eight of his teeth had come in. But she also mourned the milestones that will never come, like Antonio's first day at school.

"I'm always going to wonder what his first word would be," West said.

Beverly Anderson, whose husband owns the property where West has lived for several years, said she was stunned by the violence in what's generally known as a safe neighborhood where children walk to school and families are frequently outdoors.

Jonathan Mayes and his wife were out walking their dogs Friday, right past the crime scene, and said they've never felt nervous about being out after dark.

"What is so mind-numbing about this is we don't have this kind of stuff happen here," Mayes said. "You expect that kind of crap in Atlanta."

It's not the mother's first loss of a child to violence. West said her 18-year-old son, Shaun Glassey, was killed in New Jersey in 2008. She still has a newspaper clipping from the time.

Glassey was killed with a steak knife in March 2008 during an attack involving several other teens on a dark street corner in Gloucester County, N.J., according to news reports from the time.

"He and some other boys were going to ambush a kid," Bernie Weisenfeld, a spokesman for the Gloucester County prosecutor's office, told the AP Friday.

Glassey was armed with a knife, but the 17-year-old target of the attack was able to get the knife away from him "and Glassey ended up on the wrong end of the knife," Weisenfeld recalled.

Prosecutors decided the 17-year-old would not be charged because they determined that he acted in self-defense.

Sabrina Elkins, the sister of the older suspect in the Georgia baby's slaying, said Friday evening that she believed her brother was innocent of the charges. She didn't know whether he had a lawyer.

"He couldn't have done that to a little baby," she told AP. "My brother has a good heart."

She said that her brother had been living in Atlanta, and only returned to Brunswick a few months ago. Typically, he would come by her house in the morning and they'd go to breakfast. But Friday morning, police came to her door as her brother was approaching along the sidewalk.

"The police came pointing a Taser at him, telling him to get on the ground," she recalled by phone. "He said, 'What are you getting me for? Can you tell me what I did?'"

___

Associated Press Writer Christina A. Cassidy in Atlanta and news researcher Monika Mathur in New York contributed to this report.

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/police-arrest-2-teens-ga-baby-killing-204023308.html

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Switched On: Higher stakes, higher ground for crowdfunding, part 1

Each week Ross Rubin contributes Switched On, a column about consumer technology.

The power of crowdfunding is that, by aggregating relatively modest donations from what is often hundreds or even thousands of backers, consumers can help artists and inventors turn ideas or concepts into reality. The Pebble smartwatch that set the record for funds raised on Kickstarter was noteworthy for breaking the $10 million barrier. That money, though, came from nearly 69,000 backers.

Today, the two biggest crowdfunding destinations, Indiegogo and Kickstarter, offer different approaches to what gets presented on their sites. Indiegogo is a completely open site; there is virtually no screening of projects. Kickstarter, on the other hand, is a curated site. Projects must meet a range of criteria. As co-founder Yancey Strickler recently explained at Engadget Expand, the roots of Kickstarter were in the funding of creative and social pursuits. Kickstarter has been a haven for artists such as photographers looking to create a photo book or musicians seeking to cut a first album or create a music video.

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