Saturday, March 31, 2012

Free Pets to Good Home ? Blog Archive ? Two Essential Concerns ...

[unable to retrieve full-text content]Owning an aquarium and producing it function will take passion and artistry. It can be the capability to make an assemblage of water existence that functions for the types of fish and plant organisms that could be positioned in ...

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Broccoli Vs. Health Insurance Vs. Wheat ? Cheap Talk

Broccoli vs. Health Insurance

You can?t eat broccoli without paying for it. You can get health insurance without paying for it because hospitals are obligated to treat you if you turn up at the ER door. This means society is providing health insurance for free to some people. They are being subsidized by the people who pay for health insurance. There is no such issue with broccoli. Note I am using the phrase health insurance not health care as some of the justices tried to make a distinction between the two.

We can turn heath insurance into broccoli by denying care at the ER door to the uninsured. This is feasible as healthcare services are excludable. Whether society wants to do that are not is a political judgement. Hence, elections are the right mechanism to determine this issue.

Broccoli vs. Wheat

Via the New Yorker,

the Commerce Clause of Article I, Section 8 of the Constitution, [gives] Congress the power

To regulate Commerce with foreign Nations, and among the several States, and with the Indian tribes.

How has this been interpreted? Again, via the New Yorker:

In the famous 1942 case of?Wickard v. Filburn, the Court said that the federal government?s authority extends to any activity that ?exerts a substantial economic effect? on commerce crossing state lines.

The case involved Roscoe Filburn, an Ohio farmer who wanted to grow more wheat than he had been allotted under quotas introduced during the Great Depression to drive up prices. In deciding against Filburn and in favor of the Department of Agriculture, the justices pointed out that the actions of individual wheat farmers, taken together, affect the price of wheat across many states. That is what gives the federal government the power to limit their actions.

This argument can be made for any good, private or public. Hence, the externality argument made above is not necessary under this precedent. Also, Justice Scalia, Roberts etc can be forced to buy broccoli by law.

What is then the limiting principle? The commerce clause has no limiting principle, according to me, a non-lawyer. The limiting principle is the?imposed by politics:?any politician who seeks to regulate the broccoli market must run for election. This politician will reach the limit of his political career.

(Edit: Changed ?eat? to ?buy? re broccoli and ?free insurance? to ?care? ?re healthcare.)

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Marriage saviors - Digital Texas Relationship Site

Is your Marriage relationship in trouble? Plenty of relationships today are straining for lots of rationales. Constant justifying makes everyone miserable as well as triggers break-ups as well as divorce. Will you desire to simply be content again? Seek back that initial day feeling? We have done a bunch of investigation and collected all the most reliable advices on the best way to save your relationship or matrimony. With a couple straightforward changes, your life could be back to happiness. You as well as your wife may be back to loving as well as respecting each other. If you prefer to get on track to contentment like it was in the beginning than check out these tips today!

This entry was posted by admin on March 30, 2012 at 10:20am. It is filed under Relationships.

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Video: Fisherman describes being stranded at sea

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Are bees threatened by insecticide use? New studies say yes. (+video)

Scientists found that one class of insecticides may harm both bumblebees and honeybees in two recent studies. Bees' important role as pollinators may be threatened.?

Scientists have discovered ways in which even low doses of widely used pesticides can harm bumblebees and honeybees, interfering with their homing abilities and making them lose their way.

Skip to next paragraph In this video, Dr. Jan Knodel, NDSU Extension Entomologist, discusses how to protect honeybees and native pollinators from pesticide poisoning. Pollinators are a vital part of our agricultural food production and should be protected from pesticide poisoning.
Special thanks to beekeeper Todd Weinmann.

In two studies published in the journal Science on Thursday, British and French researchers looked at bees and neonicotinoid insecticides - a class introduced in the 1990s now among the most commonly used crop pesticides in the world.

In recent years, bee populations have been dropping rapidly, partly due to a phenomenon known as Colony Collapse Disorder. Scientists also fear pesticides are destroying bee populations, but it is not clear how they are causing damage.

Dave Goulson of Stirling University in Scotland, who led the British study, said some bumblebee species have declined hugely.

"In North America, several bumblebee species which used to be common have more or less disappeared from the entire continent," while in Britain, three species have become extinct, he said in a statement.

The threat to bee populations also extends to Asia, South America and the Middle East, experts say.

Bees are important pollinators of flowering plants, including many fruit and vegetable crops. A 2011 United Nations report estimated that bees and other pollinators such as butterflies, beetles or birds do work worth 153 billion euros ($203 bln) a year to the human economy.

In the first of the Science studies, a University of Stirling team exposed developing colonies of bumblebees to low levels of a neonicotinoid called imidacloprid, and then placed the colonies in an enclosed field site where the bees could fly around collecting pollen under natural conditions for six weeks.

At the beginning and end of the experiment, the researchers weighed each of the bumblebee nests - which included the bees, wax, honey, bee grubs and pollen - to see how much the colony had grown.

Compared to control colonies not exposed to imidacloprid, the researchers found the treated colonies gained less weight, suggesting less food was coming in.

The treated colonies were on average eight to 12 percent smaller than the control colonies at the end of the experiment, and also produced about 85 percent fewer queens - a finding that is key because queens produce the next generation of bees.

In the separate study, a team led by Mickael Henry of the French National Institute for Agricultural Research (INRA) in Avignon tagged free-ranging honeybees with tiny radio-frequency identification microchips glued to each bee's back. This allowed them to track the bees as they came and went from hives.

The researchers gave some of the bees a low dose of the neonicotinoid pesticide thiamethoxam which they knew would not kill them and compared them to a control group of bees that was not exposed to the pesticide.

The treated bees were about two to three times more likely to die while away from their nests, and the researchers said this was probably because the pesticide interfered with the bees' homing systems, so they couldn't find their way home.

Henry said the findings raised important issues about pesticide authorisation procedures.

"So far, they (the procedures) mostly require manufacturers to ensure that doses encountered on the field do not kill bees, but they basically ignore the consequences of doses that do not kill them but may cause behavioral difficulties," he said in a statement. ($1 = 0.7525 euros) (Reporting by Kate Kelland; Editing by Karolina Tagaris)

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City to attempt to overtake United in Premiership title race

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Source: http://news.yahoo.com/city-attempt-overtake-united-premiership-title-race-050451794.html

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Business Is Booming In Direct Marketing | e virtual sales force

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www.GinaHarperFanPage.com Business Is Booming in Immediate Marketing and advertising. Trade your W2 in for a 1099. Explode your earnings Immediate advertising and marketing is a type of promoting that reaches its audience with no using classic formal channels of advertising, such as Tv, newspapers or radio. Companies communicate straight to the consumer with marketing strategies this kind of as fliers, catalog distribution, promotional letters, and avenue promoting. Direct Advertising is a sub-self-control and kind of advertising. There are two primary definitional attributes which distinguish it from other kinds of marketing. The 1st is that it sends its message directly to consumers, without the use of intervening commercial communication media. The 2nd attribute is the core principle of successful Promoting driving a precise ?contact-to-action.? This factor of immediate advertising and marketing includes an emphasis on trackable, measurable, constructive responses from customers (acknowledged merely as ?reaction? in the business) regardless of medium. http
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This entry was posted in Pre Qualified Leads and tagged Booming, business, Direct, Marketing by johnkrol. Bookmark the permalink.

Source: http://evirtualsalesforce.com/eVSF/?p=8202

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Boomerang Generation: Is Generation Y Hurting the Economy ...

On the March 28, 2012 episode of Marketplace, economist and commentator Todd Buchholz boldly suggested that the phenomenon known as the "Boomerang Generation", or where Generation Y young adults have to move back home owing to harsh job market conditions, is hurting the economy. Buchholz discussed that whereas "young people today are 40 percent less likely to leave their home state than prior generations, ... an increasing number don't even bother to get drivers licenses."

One of the premises of Buchholz's argument is that "geographic mobility creates economic mobility." That being said, in a time period where more and more young adults find themselves living at home unemployed owing to a weak job market, young adults are not contributing to economic growth. Buchholz cited an example where he advised a Florida engineer to tell "her stay-at-home, unemployed college grad" to "grab a cheap flight to Fargo, North Dakota" because "the unemployment rate is 3.9 percent ... [and he] will nab a job as soon as the captain turns off the fasten seat belt sign."

Buchholz suggested that "an aversion to risk has crept into the psyches of our young people" thereby limiting young adults' opportunities. According to Buchholz, perhaps this aversion to risk is "from overprotective parents who drive their Little Leaguers to first base in the minivan. Or maybe it's a lingering cloud of hopelessness despite the 'hope and change' bumper stickers. But it's not healthy."

Aside from criticizing young adults in their unwillingness to move, Buchholz took the discussion in a different direction in that "governments make matters worse by setting up roadblocks." Buchholz: "Almost one in four jobs requires a permit from a state agency. And most are not brain surgery! Heck, they're not even tree surgery. Say you want to move to Alabama to become a manicurist, you'll first need 750 hours of training." According to Buchholz, "we need to encourage economic mobility among our young people, not stagnation."

To say the least, the comments to Buchholz's piece were interesting. One person commenting wrote, "It's amazing this Todd Buchholz character has a job himself. It would be nice to see other economists speak out against him and defend their field of practice..." Another commenter wrote, "Instead of discussing the real problems in this country and economy [Buchholz] finds it convenient to parcel out blame to young Americans -- as if this segment of America is solely to blame." Another interesting comment read, "Perhaps Mr. Buchholz would be better off focusing on the broken economics of the Baby Boomers, instead of projecting those problems on a younger generation."

Whereas Buchholz's perspective is an interesting take on the economic problems facing the nation, with all due to respect to Mr. Buchholz, in order to appreciate the gravity of the dismal economic and political quagmire in the US, we have to acknowledge the fact that the Great Recession is a multi-dimensional problem. In terms of younger Americans, in many ways Generation Y is a product of the society in which Generation Y was raised.

I noticed that Buchholz made no mention of the student loan bubble. As I have written previously, the student loan bubble is a major part of the economic conundrum that grips the younger generation. That being said, per my previous analysis, student loans remain only one piece of a much bigger socio-economic puzzle. The current malaise in the US owing to changing societal and economic attitudes is probably quite overwhelming and intimidating for many young adults.

Buchholz's contention that young adults should just pick up and move to North Dakota is outlandish. Though I understand his sentiments, the idea that North Dakota has jobs for every unemployed young American seems quite unrealistic. Even further, there are certain values to be weighed with respect to a move across the country to unknown territory. It's very easy to say, "Just pick up and move to North Dakota", but reality is not that simple. I find it hard to believe that an unemployed young adult would be able to "nab a job as soon as the captain turns off the fasten seat belt sign." That being the case, I cannot say that I disagree with Buchholz's advice to the engineer. Perhaps we do need more geographic mobility for young adults, but is that an economic issue or is that a socio-cultural issue?

I do think that it is a bit unfair to impose on young Americans the idea that they ought to move away from their families, friends, and familiar territory for the sake of a job. Perhaps many parents do not want their young adult children to move away. And for young adults who may have significant others or children themselves, a move across the country may be impractical.

In a time period where for a married couple both individuals may have to work to support the household, the issue of geographical location becomes a problem. And even then, we can see a vicious cycle where individuals are unable to get married owing to not having a job, but they want to get married, and yet the search for a job and financial problems are drawing couples apart. This situation may lead to less people getting married, less people having children, less people purchasing homes, etc. And so, yes, geographic mobility may lead to economic mobility, but the situation regarding young people and unemployment in America is deeper and much more complex than just buying a Greyhound ticket to Fargo or Bismarck. As I have learned in my own life, the idea that "the grass is greener" somewhere else does not always make for the best economic plan.

To be fair, I can agree with Buchholz's commentary regarding governments "setting up roadblocks" to job growth. That being the case, one cannot blame Generation Y for the excessive bureaucracy in American society. Maybe we do have too much licensure in society, but if that is the case, state governments should take the lead in reducing bureaucracy, reducing regulations, and promoting productive job growth.

In a sense, I can see Buchholz's point regarding the "boomerang generation" and economic stagnation. However, I do think Buchholz's commentary illustrates serious issues with respect to not only academic economics (as espoused by American higher education) but also cultural and generational differences regarding finance. As I've written previously, whereas economics is at a crossroads, it may be time to have a serious national discussion regarding the discipline of economics going forward. Buchholz's commentary may also reflect a disconnect between generational expectations regarding education, labor, and life's rites of passage. For me personally, to posit the idea that the "boomerang generation" hurts the US economy while not even subtly addressing excessive student loan debt, the higher education bubble, or the host of other debilitating socio-economic issues in the US raises some questions -- but maybe that's just me.

Attempting to find viable solutions can be difficult in a society that is intellectually, politically, and financially divided. As I have written previously, "there appear to be no easy answers to the dilemma." That being said, whereas the current state of Generation Y may be viewed as hurting the economy, I do not think that we can place all the blame on Generation Y. It almost sounds like blaming the impoverished for the existence of poverty; "well, were there no poor people, poverty would not exist." I think many of the issues regarding Generation Y reflect deeper problems within our economic system -- and in many ways, Generation Y's behavior may be simply a response to those deeper problems. In the midst of this global financial crisis, we ought not to fool ourselves into thinking that the symptoms of the disease are the underlying causes of the disease.

(c) 2011 Benzinga.com. All rights reserved. This material may not be published in its entirety or redistributed without the approval of Benzinga.

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Source: http://www.benzinga.com/general/politics/12/03/2461163/boomerang-generation-is-generation-y-hurting-the-economy

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Friday, March 30, 2012

Business to Business marketing companies: How do you choose a ...


When engaging a new marketing or business consulting firm, there are several major points you would want to check to assure you contract with a firm that will maximize your growth potential. Personal chemistry with the person(s) who?ll be handling your account is important. But here are some other things you need to consider when evaluating business to business marketing companies:

Vertical market knowhow ? You want a business or marketing company that has specific experience in your industry and your market. Irrelevant experience will not maximize your investment. Check a company?s website, Facebook page, customer list and LinkedIn profiles of the firm?s executives.

Track record ? Ask for client references and don?t hesitate to contact them to inquire about the results achieved and the cost effectiveness of campaigns done with that firm.

Compensation method ? Business to business marketing companies that want a high retainer with relatively small success sharing are probably either too large or established for you, or do not believe in your product. There are plenty of business to business marketing companies that will charge you for costs while agreeing to take a significant part of the compensation based on performance.

Business creativity - Business to business marketing companies must be creative. After all, one of the reasons you are considering a consultant is to complement your own efforts to generate new business; you want the consultant to give you fresh ideas on how to improve and enlarge your business. You can easily identify business creativity by the marketing or business plan suggested, the channels chosen for the marketing investment and the way content and company messages are handled.

Multitasking - Business to business marketing companies should be able to handle multiple channels and multiple media to achieve the agreed-on business targets. A cost-effective campaign strategy should include several measurable channels so the effectiveness of the different channels can be tracked and analyzed.

New media - Business to business marketing companies must completely understand new media. Social media marketing is a must for today?s business to business marketing campaigns. Facebook, LinkedIn, and Pinterest are likely to play a role in any campaign.

Acknowledge limits - Like in life, not every company will be a perfect match for you. Some companies will be too large for you; some will be too small. . Some are too busy with one major client, and some have a great reputation but have never dealt with the industries relevant to you. A professional firm will be able to tell you what it cannot do for you. Look for business to business marketing companies that know what they?re good at, and consider what parts of the campaign you can do on your own, or hand to third party.

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We at One Business Avenue specialize in marketing and business consulting for emerging markets. If you are a high-tech, telecom, software or internet company and you want to break into emerging markets ? we probably have what you?re looking for.

We help companies penetrate emerging markets quickly and at the lowest possible cost. Contact us to discuss what we can do for you.

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Source: http://www.onebusinessavenue.com/business-consulting/business-to-business-marketing-companies-how-do-you-choose-a-consulting-firm/

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Thursday, March 29, 2012

Sales Consultant - Baton Rouge, LA Jobs - Careers.org

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Basic Job Info

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Location

US-LA-Baton Rouge

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Experience Required

0 to 5 year(s)

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Degree Required

2 Year Degree

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Other Compensation

Comensurate with Experience

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Employment Type

Full-Time

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Travel Required

Up to 25%

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Relocation Covered

False

Job Description

Smith Business Consultants, Inc. is one of?the nation?s top solution providers in the South. Large Fortune 500 companies?contract with us to handle their promotional sales and marketing campaigns in the?Baton Rouge?area. Our?primary responsibility is to increase market share, customer acquisition and customer retention.

Our goal is to add value to all within our company. We strive to see leaders develop, both personally and professionally, into entrepreneurs. We prove our results to our clients through the continual growth of our business throughout the United States.?

Marketing, Sales, Public Relations, Entry Level, Business Management

We offer an exciting, fast-paced, results driven environment that is currently seeking qualified entry level candidates looking for a REAL career move and recent college grads looking to get their foot in the door.?

We Are:
  • A rapidly expanding marketing and sales firm based in Baton Rouge
  • A fun place to work, where individuality is encouraged and hard work is rewarded
  • A company with strong community ties and a commitment to philanthropy
  • A company that is growing exponentially in a time of economic hardship
  • A professional environment providing hands-on training to every member of our team
  • A company where advancement is based on performance
  • A company that provides personal mentorship and development to every team member
  • A place where you can grow personally, professionally, and socially

Job Requirements

Smith Business Consultants, Inc. is searching for self-starters with high energy, motivation, and a strong desire to excel.

You Must Be:

  • FUN
  • Outgoing
  • Confident
  • Ambitious
  • Willing to work hard to accomplish your own goals and those of our team
  • Able to work in a team environment, both as a team member and as a leader
  • Looking for an entry-level position in marketing, advertising, customer service, or sales
  • ?A great student with an open mind and sense of humor

Please visit our website or call Jamie at 225-296-5022 to learn more about our position.


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If you do not like hard work and lack a sense of humor, our company is not for you.? If you know you can make a positive impression and can be trusted to contribute to company growth, we want to hear from you.??Compensation for this position is on a pay for performance basis.? Equal opportunity employer.? Candidates may be subject to drug screenings and criminal background checks.?

KEYWORDS: SALES, CUSTOMER SERVICE, MARKETING, ENTRY LEVEL, ENTRY LEVEL SALES, ENTRY LEVEL MARKETING, ENTRY LEVEL MANAGEMENT, MANAGEMENT, TRAINING,? RETAIL, CUSTOMER SERVICE, BUSINESS TO BUSINESS SALES, FACE TO FACE SALES, MANAGER, REAL ESTATE, INSURANCE, BANKING, RESTAURANT, SUPERVISOR, HOTEL, COMMUNICATIONS, OUTSIDE?SALES, PHARMACEUTICAL SALES, HOSPITALITY,?SPORTS BACKGROUND

Careers.org gives you access to over a million jobs and career opportunities across the US including in Baton Rouge. Find your perfect job and apply directly through a simply online application process


Source: http://jobs.careers.org/job/JHQ7M6603VRDTMW5CZG/Sales-Consultant

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Direct Mail Marketing Level Up | Futch Printing and Mailing

The talk in marketing these days is all about social media, whether it?s Twitter, Facebook, LinkedIn, or thousands of other sites.

The end of ?snail mail? marketing has been highly exaggerated. In fact, direct mail statistics show that self-mailers, postcards, and newsletters and much more, are still relevant to the consumer and effective.

Marketing Sherpa released a chart that shows that direct mail is still considered a very important part of any business to business marketing campaign. It may not be as trendy as social media, but it most definitely does work.

?Of the 1000+ B2B marketing professionals surveyed by Marketing Sherpa, 79% found direct mail to be either effective or very effective. Some sectors find direct mail especially useful to their business; 34% of business services organizations in the study found direct mail very effective. However, only 13% of companies in the business technology categorized direct mail in this way.?

The key to success in direct mail is relevance to the consumer and repetition. In the direct mail statistics above, companies in business technology probably find that direct mail isn?t the best way to educate their customers about their products. However, companies that focus on business services find that their customers respond to direct mail. By understanding your target audience and how they want to connect with you and learn about your products and services, you can decide how direct mail will fit into your overall marketing strategy. If you are not sure about the design, we can assist your company with that too.

Technology is making it easy for you to harness the power of direct mail. Variable data printing allows you to personalize direct mail during the printing process. You can not only insert names and addresses into the text of your printed piece, you can add valuable information that you supply to us in a database, and even change images that will print on each piece.

Direct mail can be an important part of a larger marketing strategy, connecting email marketing, direct mail marketing, and website marketing through personalized URLs and custom content so that your customers can get the information they need in the medium they are most comfortable with.

Give us a call at Futch Printing & Mailing 904.388.3995. We can assist you in all aspects of your campaign. From concept to design, let us take your marketing to the next level; let us Address all of your Printing needs.

?

?

Not so small print disclaimer: Information provided in our blog posts, that doesn?t directly apply to Futch Printing & Mailing,?was obtained from various sources, too many to list, but mostly probably fairly accurate. We hope you enjoy!

Source: http://futchprint.net/blog/?p=552

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Get Your Money's Worth: Go For Highly Qualified Business Sales ...

Get Your Money?s Worth: Go For Highly Qualified Business Sales Leads

Article by Sarah Barnes

Chasing after business sales leads is something that all salespeople have to do on a daily basis. Lead generation, though time consuming and can be costly, is an important aspect of the sales process that all business people can do without. It is the only way to find new clients and eventually increase a business? revenue. However, not all sales leads have the potential of becoming good prospects, and ultimately, paying customers. Which is why qualifying business sales leads is so crucial in order to avoid wasting both time and money.

In today?s fast-changing corporate world, highly-qualified B2B sales leads are hard to find. Although there has been a rapid growth in lead buying and list brokerage these days, one cannot deny that only a few lead generation firms and business lists suppliers can really deliver high quality and well-targeted sales leads.

If you are a business owner and scouting for good sales leads, you want to make sure that you are getting your money?s worth. While you can always get business leads cheaply, the quality of these leads cannot be guaranteed. The only time you will discover how bad they are is after you or your sales team have called them and find out they don?t exist, are difficult to contact, you have the wrong person or number, wrong business name, etc. Of course, you wouldn?t get these leads without first paying for them, right? So there goes your hard-earned dollars. They?re cheap, so ?you get? what ?you paid for?.

Buying business leads can be an attractive option, especially if you or your sales people don?t have the time to do it yourselves. But, if you would be shelling out bucks for leads, whether large or small amount, you want to have the chance at, to say the least, getting their phones to ring instead of getting a busy signal or a disconnected message. Ideally, you want to be able to speak with the decision maker who would listen to your proposition and has a genuine interest in your service or product. How do you do this? You can buy leads that have been pre-qualified through appointment setting.

Over the years, lead generation through appointment setting has been proven to work for any vertical. It?s a tried-and-tested marketing approach for generating business leads for various products or services such as accounting/bookkeeping, advertising, cash advance, credit card processing, commercial cleaning, software, tax consulting, and many more.

In appointment setting, professional B2B phone marketers cold-call decision-makers from targeted companies based on the client?s criteria. Telephone representatives call on behalf of the client, establish trust, and set the mood for a sales presentation. If the prospect shows interest and agrees to meet with a sales representative, an appointment (face-to-face, phone, or webinar) is set. This prospect has now been pre-qualified and is forwarded to the client as a sales lead.

The beauty of this method is its capability to quickly identify buying signals. Callers can probe and determine if the prospect:

-Has time for a sales presentation-Is happy with what they have-Has the financial capacity to buy-Is the key decision-maker

In addition, clients can always modify the qualifying questions to get the kind of information they want from prospects. This makes it easier for the sales representative to go about the presentation because issues have been identified earlier and can be addressed accordingly during the presentation proper.

Searching for new leads will always be a part of running a business, and if you have made the decision to buy business sales leads, make sure that you work with a reputable company that can deliver what you paid for.

About the Author

Sarah Barnes is a telemarketing expert with 11 years experience as a sales leads analyst for small and medium companies. Sarah invites you to visit http://www.121directmarketing.com/ for more information on pre-qualified sales leads and appointments.

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Source: http://small-business-phones.info/?p=9762

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Wednesday, March 28, 2012

Pakistan censors ban 'India's James Bond'

[ [ [['Afghan security forces and police killed three', 3]], 'http://yhoo.it/H9BcJE', '[Related: Bales\' wife on his alleged shooting: \'He would not do that\']', ' ', '630', ' ', ' ', ], [ [['looking for fireworks between the opposing camps', 16]], 'http://yhoo.it/GSvEsj', '[RELATED:\?It?s going to be a circus\?: Activists begin protests outside Supreme Court]', ' ', '630', ' ', ' ', ], [ [['entirely respectable way to put off the searing constitutional controversy', 8]], 'http://yhoo.it/GE6jSh', '[RELATED: Obama\?s health care law passed 2 years ago, but where are we now\?]', ' ', '630', ' ', ' ', ], [ [['Witnesses said the gunman pulled up on a black scooter', 7]], 'http://yhoo.it/GzwOIW', '[Related: New York police tighten security at Jewish sites]', ' ', '630', ' ', ' ', ], [ [['test Zimmerman for alcohol or drugs', 11]], 'http://yhoo.it/Gzn6VF', '[Related: White House says Trayvon Martin is local issue]', ' ', '630', ' ', ' ', ], [ [['entirely respectable way to put off the searing constitutional controversy', 12]], 'http://news.yahoo.com/photos/tea-party-activists-defy-rain-to-rip-obama-health-care-law-slideshow/', 'Click image to see more photos', 'http://l.yimg.com/a/p/us/news/editorial/4/31/431f2f4f7ed388d5bc5557b0a76267fa.jpeg', '450', ' ', 'Reuters/Jonathan Ernst', ], [ [['associated with such a small earthquake', 4]], 'http://yhoo.it/GTco9z', 'Click image to see more photos', 'http://l.yimg.com/a/p/us/news/editorial/0/b4/0b493c1a47b6e3f97f8f48a2b251d7d4.jpeg', '630', ' ', 'AP Photo/Carrie Antlfinger', ], [ [['Fox News host Geraldo Rivera sparked outrage', 3]], 'http://yhoo.it/GKMVTk', 'Click image to see more photos', 'http://l.yimg.com/a/p/us/news/editorial/2/7c/27c7367bc512d233ae1790b320a5e92c.jpeg', '630', ' ', 'AP Photo/John Minchillo', ], [ [['The charges signed against Bales include', 1]], 'http://yhoo.it/wZT5zV', 'Click image to see more photos', 'http://l.yimg.com/a/p/us/news/editorial/7/a0/7a07c51b2aa0f39b1a23355046d13870.jpeg', '512', ' ', 'AP Photo/DVIDS\, Spc\. Ryan Hallock\, File', ], [ [['George Zimmerman, if I had a son', 6]], 'http://news.yahoo.com/photos/thousands-protest-fla-teen-death-1332387124-slideshow/', 'Click image to see more photos', 'http://l.yimg.com/os/152/2012/03/22/d761a49f3fcc99080a0f6a70670053cd-jpg_150905.jpg', '500', ' ', 'AP Photo/John Minchillo', ], [ [['Mohamed Merah', 10], ['prosecutor Francois Molins', 5]], 'http://news.yahoo.com/photos/four-dead-in-french-jewish-school-shooting-1332173151-slideshow', 'Click image to see more photos', 'http://l.yimg.com/cv/ip/ap/default/120321/2012_03_21t151508z_425380421_gm1e83l1sqs01_rtrmadp_3_france_shootings_raid.jpg', '630', ' ', 'REUTERS/Jean-Paul Pelissier', ], [ [['Shortly after he wrapped up his victory remarks', 2]], 'http://news.yahoo.com/photos/4-straight-romney-wins-washington-gop-caucus-1330835515-slideshow/', 'Click image to see more photos', 'http://l.yimg.com/a/p/us/news/editorial/3/e9/3e9b0082c3c3111dcc19e3527ae94cc7.jpeg', '500', ' ', 'AP Photo/Steven Senne', ], [ [['best understands the problems of average Americans', 2]], 'http://news.yahoo.com/photos/4-straight-romney-wins-washington-gop-caucus-1330835515-slideshow/', 'Click image to see more photos', 'http://l.yimg.com/a/p/us/news/editorial/3/e9/3e9b0082c3c3111dcc19e3527ae94cc7.jpeg', '500', ' ', 'AP Photo/Steven Senne', ], [ [['Group for Historic Aircraft Recovery', 7]], 'http://yhoo.it/GB2RVy', 'Click image to see more photos', 'http://l.yimg.com/os/152/2012/03/20/photo-1332257995646-4-0-jpg_171722.jpg', '630', ' ', 'AFP', ], [ [['xxxxxxxxxxxx', 11]], 'http://news.yahoo.com/photos/russian-grannies-win-bid-to-sing-at-eurovision-1331223625-slideshow/', 'Click image to see more photos', 'http://l.yimg.com/a/p/us/news/editorial/1/56/156d92f2760dcd3e75bcd649a8b85fcf.jpeg', '500', ' ', 'AP', ] ]

[ [ [['short answer is yes', 7]], '28746030', '0' ], [ [['opportunity to tell the real story', 7]], '28731764', '0' ], [ [['entirely respectable way to put off the searing constitutional controversy', 7]], '28723797', '0' ], [ [['point of my campaign is that big ideas matter', 9]], '28712293', '0' ], [ [['As the standoff dragged into a second day', 7]], '28687424', '0' ], [ [['French police stepped up the search', 17]], '28667224', '0' ], [ [['Seeking to elevate his candidacy back to a general', 8]], '28660934', '0' ], [ [['The tragic story of Trayvon Martin', 4]], '28647343', '0' ], [ [['Karzai will get a chance soon to express', 8]], '28630306', '0' ], [ [['powerful storms stretching', 8]], '28493546', '0' ], [ [['basic norm that death is private', 6]], '28413590', '0' ], [ [['songwriter also saw a surge in sales for her debut album', 6]], '28413590', '1', 'Watch music videos from Whitney Houston ', 'on Yahoo! Music', 'http://music.yahoo.com' ], [ [['keyword', 99999999999999999999999]], 'videoID', '1', 'overwrite-pre-description', 'overwrite-link-string', 'overwrite-link-url' ] ]

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/pakistan-censors-ban-indias-james-bond-134902489.html

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Deep-ocean impact of the Deepwater Horizon explosion revealed

ScienceDaily (Mar. 26, 2012) ? Compelling evidence of the impact of the Deepwater Horizon oil spill on deep-sea corals will be published online in the Early Edition of the journal Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences during the week beginning March 26. The diverse team of researchers, led by Penn State Professor of Biology Charles Fisher, used a wide range of underwater vehicles, including the research submarine Alvin, to investigate the corals. They also used comprehensive two-dimensional gas chromatography to determine precisely the source of the petroleum hydrocarbons they found.

Other researchers on the team include the paper's lead author, Assistant Professor of Chemistry Helen White of Haverford College, Erik Cordes of Temple University, and Timothy Shank and Christopher German of the Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution (WHOI), which operates the Navy-owned submersible Alvin. Fisher, Cordes, Shank and German are co-authors of the study, along with 10 other scientists from WHOI, Penn State, Temple and the U.S. Geological Survey.

The study's findings are significant for a number of reasons, White said.

"These biological communities in the deep Gulf of Mexico are separated from human activity at the surface by 4,000 feet of water. We would not expect deep-water corals to be impacted by a typical oil spill, but the sheer magnitude of the Deepwater Horizon oil spill and its release at depth make it very different from a tanker running aground and spilling its contents. Because of the unprecedented nature of the spill, we have learned that its impacts are more far reaching than those arising from smaller spills that occur on the surface."

The study grew out of an initial research cruise to the Gulf, led by Fisher in late October 2010 -- approximately six months after the Deepwater Horizon oil spill. This expedition was part of an ongoing study funded by the Bureau of Ocean Energy Management and the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration's Ocean Exploration and Research program. Using the remotely operated vehicle (ROV) Jason II, the team examined nine sites at distances greater than 20 kilometers from the Macondo Well and found deep-water coral communities unharmed. However, when the ROV explored another area 11 kilometers to the south west of the spill site, the team was surprised to discover numerous coral communities covered in a brown flocculent material and showing signs of tissue damage.

"We discovered the site during the last dive of the three-week cruise," said Fisher, a biologist and the chief scientist of this mission. "As soon as the ROV got close enough to the community for the corals to come into clear view, it was clear to me that something was wrong at this site. I think it was too much white and brown, and not enough color on the corals and brittle stars. Once we were close enough to zoom in on a few colonies, there was no doubt that this was something I had not seen anywhere else in the Gulf: an abundance of stressed corals, showing clear signs of a recent impact. This is exactly what we had been on the lookout for during all dives, but hoping not to see anywhere."

These coral communities were 4,300 feet deep, in close proximity to the Macondo well, which had been capped three months previously after spilling an estimated 160 million gallons of oil into the Gulf. Because the timing and unprecedented nature of this observation suggested that the damage observed visually resulted from the Deepwater Horizon oil spill, the scientists rapidly organized a second research cruise, which began on Dec. 8, 2010, barely a month after their return to land following their initial discovery.

Joining this second research cruise, again headed by Fisher, was White, whose expertise as a geochemist was key to the interdisciplinary effort. This rare opportunity for the researchers to return to a deep-water site so quickly for the subsequent study was made possible with funding from the National Science Foundation's RAPID Collaborative Research grant program, which aids scientists seeking to respond quickly to urgent issues such as natural disasters or crises resulting from human activity.

To examine the deep water, the team used the autonomous underwater vehicle Sentry to map and photograph the ocean floor, and the deep-submergence, 3-passenger, robotic-armed vehicle Alvin to get a better look at the distressed corals. During six dives in Alvin, the team collected sediments and samples of the corals and filtered the brown material off of the corals for analysis.

To identify the oil found in the coral communities, White worked with Christopher Reddy and Robert Nelson at WHOI using an advanced technique called comprehensive two-dimensional gas chromatography, which was pioneered at WHOI by Reddy and Nelson for use in oil spill research. The method, which separates oil compounds by molecular weight, allows scientists to essentially "fingerprint" oil and determine its source.

This exacting petroleum analysis, coupled with the analysis of 69 images from 43 individual corals at the site -- performed by Pen-Yuan Hsing, a graduate student of Fisher's at Penn State -- yielded strong evidence that the coral communities were impacted by oil from the Macondo well spill.

Fisher said these findings confirm a serious impact from the spill on the animal communities in the deep sea more than seven miles from the Macondo well. He added, "Our ongoing work in the Gulf will allow us to better understand the long-term effects of the spill on the deep sea, and to constrain the footprint of the impact zone for deep-water corals around the Macondo well."

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Story Source:

The above story is reprinted from materials provided by Penn State.

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


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://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2012/03/120326160821.htm

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Monday, March 26, 2012

Gifts That You Can Find In A Breast Cancer Gift Shop | Bricorey

Breast cancer continues to be major heath concern mainly in women although it has been proved that men are also victims. Common treatments for the disease include chemotherapy, surgery, immunotherapy, radiation and vaccine therapy. It is advisable for one to undergo regular checkups since early detection plays a significant role in recovery.

There are many donations that people towards the support for the advancement of breast cancer research and most of them are mainly in form of gifts. By visiting a?breast cancer walks for gift shop, you?ll be able to buy a wide range of gifts that can go a long way in saving a precious life.

Listed below are some of the gifts that you can find in a breast cancer gift shop:

? Clothes: There are lots of clothes that are sold in breast cancer gift shops, all of which are premised on creating awareness. Essentially the clothes are fitted with a pink ribbon that acts as a symbol of breast cancer awareness. These clothes may include jackets, shirts, underwear and many other accessories. The clothes also contain a special message related to breast cancer.

? Stationery: The awareness is also taken a notch higher through the printing of greeting cards, posters, calendars and journals. All of these are printed in pink and they usually have powerful words imprinted on them in the support of breast cancer awareness.

? Novelty items: The shops also contain innovative items all of which are meant for supporting this cause. These include stuffed bears, license plate frames, computer items and many others.

? Gift baskets: Gift baskets are wonderful gifts to breast cancer patients since they usually bring along good cheer through messages of love and comfort. Inside them you can also find items such as scented soap, candles, mugs, comfortable socks and books.

In case the person to want to present the gift to has a pet, you can choose to buy the gorgeous doggie T-Shirts. Other miscellaneous gifts that are available include hanging ornaments, wall clocks and tiles that bear a breast cancer message. The?breast cancer gift shop offers you a wide array of such products and through buying them you will be helping save lives the world over.

Source: http://www.bricorey.com/gifts-that-find-breast-cancer-gift-shop.htm

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Sunday, March 25, 2012

Realtor Job Description | Agents Realtors

Posted by admin Posted on Mar - 24 - 2012

By? Jordan Loo

If you are learning how to be a registered realtor or simply would like to know more about real estate, you must first learn more about what a realtor actually does. Most people think that anyone can be a realtor but there are needed steps that you need to take so that you will be able to reap the benefits of being able to be a realtor. A real estate agent will become a realtor when he or she becomes a member of the National Association Of Realtors. This is a professional association that keeps the realtors organized and only accepts realtors who pass the requirements.

What Does A Realtor Do?

A real estate broker is also called a real estate agent and will be in between the buyer and the seller during the process of a home being sold. An agent will help sellers find a buyer and will also help a buyer find a seller. They will make money whenever they are able to sell a home.

Another job that the agent will have is to fully market the home so that more buyers will be able to see the home. This allows more prospective buyers to see the home and thus having a higher chance of the home being sold. A realtor will also guide the client throughout the whole process and will make everything run smoothly. All the paperwork needed for the sale of the home will be provided by the agent and this is all a part of their job. Another job that a real estate agent might need to do is reading exchanging property and auctioning property. Though it is rare for these two things to occur, they will need to know a lot about them if ever the situations arise.

How Do You Become A Realtor?

You will need to have real estate education and you will need to become licensed. Depending on the state, you will need to take a minimum amount of classes before you are allowed to take the state exam. This will sometimes be provided by the brokerage or the company because this is a great way to get more agents under their company. The process of becoming a licensed realtor can take about a year but it will all depend on how hard you work and if you are able to study well for the exam.

Most people who are trying to learn how to be a registered realtor will not know that there is an exam and so it is a good idea to focus on studying well for the exam and to do as much research as you can before you are able to take the classes.

If you are looking for a career in real estate, you will need to focus on being able to learn as much as you can about real estate. Take your time with the process and understand that this might be a great time to get into real estate and to start your new career.

Get more comprehensive information about Realtor Job Description at Real Estate in Malaysia.

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Jordan_Loo

Source: http://www.apaanchorage.org/realtor-job-description.html

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Man arrested at Sacramento airport with 4 guns

A Montana man was arrested after he tried to bring four loaded guns through a security checkpoint at a Sacramento, California, airport and is being held without bail, the sheriff's office said on Saturday.

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The suspect, Harold Waller, 45, was arrested on Thursday afternoon at Sacramento International Airport after Transportation Security Administration officers at a checkpoint found a firearm inside a carry-on bag, the Sacramento County Sheriff's Department said in a statement.

Further checks showed Waller was carrying a loaded handgun and had three loaded firearms in his carry-on bags, it said.

Sheriff's deputies searched his car at an off-site parking lot and turned up eight more firearms, several of them loaded.

The statement did not specify the types of weapons.

Waller faces charges including unlawful possession of a loaded firearm, unlawful possession of a concealed firearm, possession of an unauthorized weapon in a public building and possession of a firearm within a sterile area of an airport, the sheriff's department statement said.

Copyright 2012 Thomson Reuters. Click for restrictions.

Source: http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/46843472/ns/travel-news/

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Romney: Obama's health law an 'unfolding disaster'

Republican presidential candidate, former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney speaks at a campaign stop at an American Legion post in Arbutus, Md., Wednesday, March 21, 2012. (AP Photo/Steven Senne)

Republican presidential candidate, former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney speaks at a campaign stop at an American Legion post in Arbutus, Md., Wednesday, March 21, 2012. (AP Photo/Steven Senne)

Republican presidential candidate, former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney addresses an audience during a campaign stop at an American Legion post in Arbutus, Md., Wednesday, March 21, 2012. (AP Photo/Steven Senne)

Republican presidential candidate, former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney, greets supporters during a campaign stop in Metairie, La., Friday, March 23, 2012. (AP Photo/Steven Senne)

Republican presidential candidate, former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney, campaigns in Metairie, La., Friday, March 23, 2012. (AP Photo/Steven Senne)

METAIRIE, La. (AP) ? Mitt Romney on Friday looked to pre-empt Supreme Court arguments that will shine a spotlight on a key vulnerability for him in the Republican primary ? health care reform.

Romney called Democratic President Barack Obama's signature overhaul "an unfolding disaster for the American economy, a budget-busting entitlement and a dramatic new federal intrusion into our lives."

Romney was marking the second anniversary of the signing of the health care law, which requires all Americans to pay insurance or face a tax penalty. That mandate to buy insurance has become a focal point for conservative anger, and critics say it represents unwanted or even unconstitutional government intrusion.

Romney, though, signed a health reform law as governor of Massachusetts that required everyone in the state to buy insurance, legislation that became the model for the national overhaul. Romney's support of the Massachusetts law has fueled conservative criticism against him. Skepticism about his health care record, combined with moderate positions he's taken on other issues in the past, is part of what's contributing to Romney's struggle to wrap up the GOP nomination.

The White House on Friday released a report highlighting the benefits of the overhaul, including a provision that makes it illegal for insurance companies to refuse to cover people who have pre-existing medical conditions.

In a written statement, Obama said the law "has made a difference for millions of Americans, and over time, it will help give even more working- and middle-class families the security they deserve."

The health care law is unpopular with voters. An AP-GfK poll conducted in February found that overall, 35 percent of Americans say they support the health care reforms Congress passed two years ago, while 47 percent oppose it.

Coming up next week are three days of arguments in the Supreme Court over whether the overhaul, particularly the requirement to buy insurance, is constitutional. Among other options, the justices could uphold the law, strike it down completely or get rid of some provisions.

The arguments are likely to shine a spotlight on Romney's own health care record in Massachusetts.

As governor, Romney signed a health care law that requires everyone in Massachusetts to buy insurance or pay a penalty. The law ended up covering most of the uninsured in the state, but health care costs have risen in the years since it was passed. Critics have dubbed it "RomneyCare," and the plan inspired the national law.

In addition to a mandate to buy insurance, both Romney's law and the national plan include special marketplaces to buy insurance, as well as a series of requirements that health plans have to meet in order to sell plans there.

Romney has refused to disavow the Massachusetts legislation, instead saying that it was the right plan for his state. He says he has never believed it should have become a national model and insists states should be allowed to come up with their own solutions to health care problems.

"Different states have created different approaches, and I will return to states the responsibility for caring for their own uninsured," Romney said Friday as he campaigned in Louisiana.

Still, Democrats were quick to point out that Romney has previously suggested his Massachusetts law could become the basis for a national plan. "Lessons we learned in Massachusetts could help Washington...find a better way," Romney in 2009 wrote an opinion piece in USA Today. Obama campaign strategist David Axelrod has pointed out that the White House used Romney's plan as a model for the national legislation.

"Gov. Romney was an early supporter of the individual mandate, and as governor put a mandate in place to ensure all Massachusetts residents were taking responsibility for their own health care and everyone could get covered at a lower cost," Obama campaign spokesman Ben LaBolt said in a statement. "He called his health care reform plan a national model."

Romney says that his plan was right for his state, but insists it shouldn't have become the basis for a national plan.

If Obama intended to use the Massachusetts law as a model, "Why didn't he call me?" Romney routinely says when he's asked about the issue at campaign stops.

The individual mandate was originally proposed by a conservative think tank as an alternative to the national health plan that then-First Lady Hillary Clinton was proposing in the mid-1990s. Republican presidential candidate Newt Gingrich, then the Speaker of the House, backed the idea at the time.

Now, the public remains broadly opposed to an individual mandate. Six in 10 say they oppose a law that would require every American to have health insurance or pay a penalty if they don't. Just 34 percent support a mandate for individuals to have health insurance.

There are other provisions that are more popular. The health law also made it illegal for insurance companies to deny health coverage to people because of pre-existing medical conditions.

Still, that requirement is part of why the mandate is also included in the law ? it makes sure that young, healthy people are buying insurance even if they don't need very much medical care. That brings down insurance costs for everyone. A mandate also keeps people from using emergency room care when they don't have insurance.

Romney recognized those realities at the state level. "Getting every citizen insured doesn't have to break the bank," he wrote in the 2009 opinion piece. "Using tax penalties, as we did, or tax credits, as others have proposed, encourages 'free riders' to take responsibility for themselves rather than pass their medical costs on to others."

Associated Press

Source: http://hosted2.ap.org/APDEFAULT/3d281c11a96b4ad082fe88aa0db04305/Article_2012-03-23-US-Romney-Health-Care/id-c91d174b71114013a6f92ca500e6e7c4

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Saturday, March 24, 2012

Gun-Toting Increases Bias to See Guns Toted

60-Second Science60-Second Science | Mind & Brain

A person holding a gun may be more likely to think they see a weapon being carried by another. Christopher Intagliata reports.

More 60-Second Science

A quarter of all police shootings involve unarmed suspects. In a few recent cases, officers mistook cell phones and hairbrushes for guns, and shot and killed the victims. Now a study may explain?in part?these errors. Researchers found that when a person holds a gun, they?re more likely to think they see a weapon being carried by another. That study is in the Journal of Experimental Psychology: Human Perception and Performance. [Jessica K. Witt & James R. Brockmole; Action Alters Object Identification: Wielding a Gun Increases the Bias to See Guns, link to come]

Researchers had volunteers hold a Wii handgun or a foam ball. Then they flashed images of people either holding guns or objects like soda cans, and asked volunteers to decide if they'd seen a weapon. The subjects holding the Wii gun were more likely to mistakenly see a gun in the hands of their onscreen 'foe.' When researchers varied the experiment, subjects holding shoes were more likely to see shoes onscreen.

The reason, the authors say, is that just planning to possibly use an object?like a pistol?might prime the brain for spotting that object. Which might be a great advantage for quickly noting when a suspect is indeed armed. But can cause tragic overreactions when there?s really no gun in sight.

?Christopher Intagliata

[The above text is a transcript of this podcast]


Source: http://rss.sciam.com/click.phdo?i=9e47c574810485ede4b5ee0781b5128b

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[Rant Sports] - Mario Manningham?s Contract Proves He Was Not About the Money

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Friday, March 23, 2012

Trayvon Martin supporters start Skittles protest

Joe Raedle / Getty Images

Protesters hold cans of ice tea and Skittles which is what the 17-year-old Trayvon Martin is reported to have been carrying when he was killed by neighborhood watch person, George Zimmerman.

By msnbc.com staff

The death of Trayvon Martin, the unarmed 17-year-old shot earlier this month by a neighborhood watch volunteer, has prompted a protest aimed at the police department that initially investigated the case. The weapon: Skittles.

A campaign mounted through Facebook and Twitter is asking people to mail packages of the candy to Bill Lee, police chief of the Sanford Police Department, which released the man who shot Martin after questioning. The campaign has been touted at the DailyKos.com and theurbandaily.com.


They?ve chosen Skittles because that?s what Martin was carrying when George Zimmerman, 28, spotted Martin, a black teen who was walking home from a convenience store at night in a gated community. Zimmerman told police he shot Martin in self-defense after a confrontation.

Story: Mom: Trayvon Martin was killed because of 'the color of his skin'

Martin?s death set off protests around the United States from people demanding that Zimmerman?s actions be investigated. More than 818,000 people have signed a petition on Change.org, a social action website, calling for his arrest, Reuters reported.

At a rally Wednesday evening in New York attended by Martin's parents, protesters held signs decorated with Skittles.

PhotoBlog: Showing support for Trayvon Martin

In a statement, a spokeswoman for Skittles said: "We are deeply saddened by the news of Trayvon Martin's death and express our sincere condolences to his family and friends. We also respect their privacy and feel it inappropriate to get involved or comment further as we would never wish for our actions to be perceived as an attempt of commercial gain following this tragedy.?

?Neighbor defends Trayvon Martin's shooter: 'No Rambo'

Responding to the outcry, the Florida state attorney announced Tuesday that a grand jury would investigate the teen?s death.

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Source: http://usnews.msnbc.msn.com/_news/2012/03/21/10799176-trayvon-martin-supporters-urged-to-send-skittles-to-police-chief

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Cylinder hides contents and makes them invisible to magnetic fields

ScienceDaily (Mar. 22, 2012) ? Universitat Autonoma de Barcelona researchers, in collaboration with an experimental group from the Academy of Sciences of Slovakia, have created a cylinder which hides contents and makes them invisible to magnetic fields. The device was built using superconductor and ferromagnetic materials available on the market.

The cylinder is built using high temperature superconductor material, easily refrigerated with liquid nitrogen and covered in a layer of iron, nickel and chrome. This simple and accessible formula has been used to create a true invisibility cloak.

The cylinder is invisible to magnetic fields and represents a step towards the invisibility of light -- an electromagnetic wave. Never before had a device been created with such simplicity or exactness in theoretical calculations.

The invention is published this week in the journal Science.

Researchers at UAB, led by ?lvar S?nchez, lecturer of the Department of Physics, came up with the mathematical formula to design the device. Using an extraordinarily simple equation scientists described a cylinder which in theory is absolutely undetectable to magnetic fields from the outside, and maintains everything in its interior completely isolated from these fields as well.

Equation in hand and with the aim of building the device, UAB researchers contacted the laboratory specializing in the precise measurement of magnetic fields at the Institute of Electrical Engineering of the Slovak Academy of Sciences in Bratislava. Only a few months later the experimental results were clear. The cylinder was completely invisible to magnetic fields, made invisible whatever content was found in its interior and fully isolated it from external fields.

The superconductor layer of the cylinder prevents the magnetic field from reaching the interior, but distorts the external field and thus makes it detectable. To avoid detection, the ferromagnetic outer layer made of iron, nickel and chrome, produce the opposite effect. It attracts the magnetic field lines and compensates the distortion created by the superconductor, but without allowing the field to reach the interior. The global effect is a completely non-existent magnetic field inside the cylinder and absolutely no distortions in the magnetic field outside.

Magnetic fields are fundamental for the production of electric energy -- 99% of energy consumed is generated thanks to the magnetic camps within the turbines found in power stations -- and for the design of engines for all types of mechanic devices, for new advances made in computer and mobile phone memory devices, etc. For this reason controlling this field represents an important achievement in technological development. Scientists are perfectly familiar with the process of creating magnetism. However, the process of cancelling at will is a scientific and technological challenge, and the device created by UAB scientists opens the way for this possibility.

The results of this research project also pave the way for possible medical applications. In the future, similar devices designed by UAB researchers could serve to block a pacemaker or a cochlear implant in a patient needing to undergo a magnetic resonance.

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The above story is reprinted from materials provided by Universitat Autonoma de Barcelona, via AlphaGalileo.

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


Journal Reference:

  1. Fedor G?m?ry, Mykola Solovyov, J?n ?ouc, Carles Navau, Jordi Prat-Camps, and Alvaro Sanchez. Experimental Realization of a Magnetic Cloak. Science, 23 March 2012 DOI: 10.1126/science.1218316

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://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2012/03/120322151528.htm

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