RE/MAX Northern Illinois Names Scott Johnson ... - Franchising.com

Johnson, a Chicago resident, will meet with professionals interested in buying RE/MAX franchises across the northern Illinois region.

Chicago, IL (PRWEB) October 29, 2012 -?RE/MAX Northern Illinois recently named Scott Johnson, 31, as franchise sales consultant. Johnson, a Chicago resident, will meet with professionals interested in buying RE/MAX franchises across the northern Illinois region and will be based at the RE/MAX Northern Illinois headquarters in Elgin, Ill. The northern Illinois region encompasses the top third of the state.

Before coming to RE/MAX, Johnson was a managing associate and investment advisor for Pearre & Associates, a Chicago-based wealth-management firm serving high-net-worth individuals and businesses. While there, Johnson worked with clients who possessed a minimum of $1 million in assets and businesses with $25 million to $100 million in revenue.

At RE/MAX Northern Illinois, Johnson will assist existing brokerages interested in converting to the RE/MAX brand make that transition. He will also help entrepreneurs and real estate professionals outside of the RE/MAX network who want to open their own RE/MAX office navigate the ownership process.

For Johnson, the chance to join RE/MAX was an opportunity he couldn?t pass up.

"I am excited to be working with the number-one real estate brand in Chicago, northern Illinois and the world," Johnson said. "Our goal is to ensure that new RE/MAX franchises continue to be run by the best in the business. I look forward to helping these conversion candidates, real estate agents and entrepreneurs reach their goals."

Those interested in purchasing a RE/MAX franchise or converting to the RE/MAX brand in northern Illinois, may contact Johnson at 847.428.4200 or ksjohnson@remax.net.

About RE/MAX

RE/MAX has been the leader in the northern Illinois real estate market since 1989. The RE/MAX Northern Illinois network, with headquarters in Elgin, Ill., consists of 2,100 sales associates and 110 individually owned and operated RE/MAX offices that provide a full range of residential and commercial brokerage services. Its http://www.illinoisproperty.com and http://www.remax.com websites are leaders in consumer visits among real estate franchise brands. Its mobile search, m.illinoisproperty.com, allows users to conduct real estate searches on any mobile device with Internet access. The northern Illinois network is part of RE/MAX LLC, a global real estate organization with 90,000 sales associates in 90+ nations. The RE/MAX organization has been recognized for numerous industry honors for excellence, and its associates continue to lead the industry in professional designations, experience and production. Nobody in the world sells more real estate than RE/MAX. RE/MAX is also the official real estate partner of Children?s Miracle Network Hospitals and the national sponsor of Susan G. Komen for the Cure?.

Contact:

News Room
RE/MAX Northern Illinois
847-428-4200 224

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Source: http://www.franchising.com/news/20121030_remax_northern_illinois_names_scott_johnson_an_exp.html

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Bob Iger Says Disney Will Focus On Mobile And Social (Not ...

Anthony Ha is a writer at TechCrunch, where he covers media, advertising, and startups. Previously, he was a staff technology writer at Adweek, worked as a senior editor at the tech blog VentureBeat, and was also a reporter at the Hollister Free Lance, where he won awards from the California Newspaper Publishers Association for breaking news coverage and writing.... ? Learn More

The big emphasis during Disney?s conference call discussing its acquisition of Lucasfilm for $4.05 billion was, not surprisingly, the enormous earnings potential of the Star Wars franchise. And that includes gaming ? so one of the analysts asked for more details about Disney?s interactive strategy.

CEO Bob Iger responded that the company is ?likely to focus more on social and mobile than we are on console.? However, he added that Disney will look at console games ?opportunistically,? using licensing deals to allow other companies to create Star Wars games for cosnoles.

That might not seem too surprising, given the general excitement around mobile and social (uh, unless you count Zynga?s recent fortunes), as well as Disney?s recent success on mobile with the Where?s My Water? franchise. On the other hand, most of the big-name Star Wars games, most recently the massively multiplayer roleplaying game The Old Republic (published by Electronic Arts), have been made for consoles and PCs. Though again, Iger isn?t ruling out console games; they just probably won?t be made by Disney itself.

Disney executives also said that gaming accounted for a little less than 20 percent of Lucasfilm?s revenue in the past year. (Films accounted for 25 percent, consumer products for 25 percent, with the remaining 30ish percent made up of everything else.) And Iger said the acquisition should not affect the company?s goal to make its gaming division, Disney Interactive, profitable next year.

Source: http://techcrunch.com/2012/10/30/disney-star-wars-gaming/

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MintLife Blog | Personal Finance News & Advice | Don't Let ...

As cities affected by Hurricane Sandy begin to assess the damage caused by the record-breaking storm, many of those impacted are preparing for alterations to their work schedules and environment.

Bracing for impact doesn?t have to mean reduced effectiveness, however. Below are some tips and free tools which can help keep you on track ? no matter which way the wind blows:

Emergency Planning

Too often, we underestimate the impact of a storm, believing it will mean little more than heavy traffic and a day or two without electricity. But the human and economic tolls can be great, and preparing thoroughly for the full range of outcomes will maximize your ability to not only manage your work ? but to simply stay safe.

It goes without saying, but pay attention to preparedness and government agencies? warnings, and evacuate if, needed. Map an evacuation route (and an alternate), even if you don?t believe you?re facing immediate danger, and download free apps, such as the one provided by the American Red Cross for tracking the storm and sending emergency distress signals should you face serious danger.

Create a Contingency Plan

Limited public transportation, downed power lines and general chaos might prevent even the hardiest amongst us from keeping to our routines and schedules. That?s why having a contingency plan (this app helps you plan a hurricane checklist) in place can help you maintain momentum in the face of disruptions ? especially since already limited resources may be increasingly strained.

Experts recommend paring down your routine to the essentials by identifying key responsibilities, projects and stakeholders. What must get done and who needs to do it? Does that creative re-design project really need to be completed ASAP ? or can it wait? List the truly critical items in order of priority, and define means for completing them outside of the traditional office environment.

Don?t forget that disruptions can last for several days ?if not weeks. A solid contingency plan should equip you and your colleagues to handle major responsibilities for an unforeseen period of time. If you?re thinking of being back in the office in a couple of days, don?t count on it ? and plan accordingly.? Roads may be impassable. Your office may be flooded or otherwise damaged. Your boss may be unreachable.

Even seemingly simple things, such as finding gasoline or even potable water can get harder as the days go by; free apps such GasBuddy can help you locate stocked gas stations in your area ?or along your evacuation route ?and find the cheapest price.

Assess Your Alternatives

In addition to remembering to back-up key files(try the Egnyte free app) in alternate locations (such as in the cloud or remote servers), you should be aware of alternative solutions to traditional office needs. Can some workers be deployed to work from other cities? Or can some meetings be held remotely, using remote conferencing and collaboration tools?

Holding virtual meetings and collaborating remotely via tools and apps such as iMeet?(click for a free trial) can help you maintain high levels of productivity and save money in shifting work situations.

And because these are cloud-based solutions, they?re less likely to be disrupted by adverse weather in any single geographic area. It also allows you to share notes, files, and meet face to face with a variety of voice-connection options that will minimize the likelihood of disruption ?even if phone or power lines are down.

Hurricanes are intrinsically unpredictable phenomena, and can be expected to wreak havoc on work routines and normal business life. Minimize their impact through sensible planning and precautions ? and above all, stay safe.

PGi is a leader in the sorts of virtual collaboration and meeting tools, such as iMeet and GlobalMeet, which enable people to work from a variety of locations ?even in difficult weather and other unexpected situations.

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Source: http://www.mint.com/blog/how-to/dont-let-hurricane-sandy-blow-your-work-off-track-free-tools-and-tips-1012/

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Researchers to debate the call for sexual abstinence education in schools

ScienceDaily (Oct. 29, 2012) ? Introducing abstinence education into UK schools could be a less effective substitute for comprehensive Sex and Relationship Education (SRE) aimed at children and young adults, say a research team led by Sheffield Hallam University.

As part of the Economic and Social Research Council (ESRC) Festival of Social Science 2012, Sheffield Hallam and partners will host a one day event to debate the issues surrounding abstinence education.

Dr Julia Hirst, from the Public Health Hub at Sheffield Hallam, says "We hope to bring together politicians, teachers, youth workers, young people and their parents to discuss the re-emergence in our society of views promoting abstinence education in schools and youth settings."

Research shows that existing evidence fails to support the view that teaching abstinence from sexual activity is the only certain way to avoid unintended pregnancy, Sexually Transmitted Infections (STIs) and HIV.

"Extensive research undertaken in the US points to negative outcomes associated with abstinence education including increased risks of unprotected sex and a more reluctance to seek advice or treatment related to sexual health and relationship matters," says Steve Slack, Director of the Centre for Sexual Health and HIV in Sheffield.

There is clear evidence that access to comprehensive SRE can have positive effects in terms of increasing the age of a first sexual encounter.

"By widening understanding of safer sexual practices and equipping young people with the skills and confidence to protect their sexual and emotional health reduces the risk of unprotected sex, unwanted sex, unwanted pregnancies, and STI's. Comprehensive SRE also includes strategies for young people who want support in abstaining from sexual activity." Dr Hirst points out.

Research shows that comprehensive sex education should include a greater focus on the issue of relationships, as well as sexuality, include more discussion of safer sexual activity and further debate regarding values and up-bringing in shaping attitudes to sex.

Steve Slack agrees: "Our discussions with young people consistently suggest that while there are pockets of good practice in terms of SRE in the UK, sex education overall is too little and too late and often fails to address young people's expressed needs for across-the-board sex and relationships education."

"If we look to countries with the lowest rates of unwanted pregnancy and STIs, the least relationship abuse and more attention paid to relationships, for example, the Netherlands or Sweden; these are the countries which have age-appropriate SRE embedded in their curriculum and it is supported by youth friendly sexual health services and well-informed parents. This is what we would like to see for young people in this country." Dr Hirst concludes.

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The above story is reprinted from materials provided by Economic & Social Research Council.

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

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

Source: http://feeds.sciencedaily.com/~r/sciencedaily/mind_brain/child_development/~3/xtzNMo7MFT0/121030101449.htm

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5 Top Traffic Sources to Build Your List | How to Start a Membership ...

Whether you manage a non-profit or own your own business you know how important it is to the health of your organization to have a vibrant and growing email list.

Huge email lists, can be bought or inherited but most commonly they are collected the old-fashioned way ? one at a time.

The website or ?vehicle? for collecting emails is known as a ?squeeze page?.

It?s called a ?squeeze? page because usually the only way to exit the page once you are on it, is to enter your email address and ?click? the ?submit? button ? thus? the page is ?squeezing? you into giving up your email address.

The squeeze page, is the true blue friend of anyone building a list, but they don?t work alone, meaning you can?t put them online and hope people will just find them and sign-up to your list.

To be successful you need to drive traffic to your squeeze page, and there are several ways to do this.

Here, we will cover five top traffic sources, which have generated a lot of success this year.

(This is in no particular order because one is not necessarily better than another in all scenarios.)

#1 Paid-For Ads, On High Ranking Websites

Paid-for or sponsored links are most commonly purchased through Bing?s ad-center or Google?s Adsense. This is also known as PPC advertising. The PPC stands for Pay-Per-Click as each click on your ad will require you to pay more.

This is considered one of the fastest but most expensive methods for generating traffic and building your list.

However, you must pay careful attention to the targeting parameters, and how your ad is written, if you only want to pay for and attract certain types of people to your squeeze page.??

#2 Banner Ads

Banner ads are quite similar to PPC ads, only that generally you pay one fee, which covers the cost of hosting your banner ad on some website for specific time-period.

Typically, a 125 by 125 ad placed on the sidebar of a website can be an economical method ? able to send laser targeted traffic to your squeeze page.

However, special care in the creation of your banner and in the choice of sites your banner will appear can make a huge difference in how effectively they will perform.

Banner ads also have another obstacle to overcome, that being ?banner blindness? so it may behoove you to get an experienced graphic designer to create it for you.

#3 Solo Ads

A solo ad is simply a marketing term for getting someone that already has an email list and paying them to send your squeeze page offer to their subscribers.

Non-profit organizations may accept trading ads, however entrepreneurs may need to find a Joint Venture partner if they want to trade ads. You can find people to trade with in the JV section of the Warrior Forum (WarriorForum.com) or at Safe-Swap (Safe-Swap.com).

It?s easy to find people with huge, highly targeted lists. How much the list owner believes your ad will effect the values of his or her list, how big the list is, and how targeted it is will all come into play when buying or trading solo ads.

Another consideration is how much more clout the ad is worth because when it?s sent via email from another party it essentially caries the recommendation of the list owner!?

#4? Directory of Ezines

The directory of ezines has recently been updated and we?ve been members of it for many years.? There you can find a lot of ezine editors that will let you send a solo ad to their lists (usually large lists) for less than half the price traditional solo ads cost. Of course, with ezines you?ll have to share space with other solo ads. You can think of it as buying an ad in a traditional magazine. You?ll lose some of the direct ?recommendation? mojo you?d get from a traditional solo ad, but if you can get a compelling image into an ezine you may do quite well!

#5 Pinterest

Pinterest is the new social media kid on the block. It really exploded this year in popularity. If you can create interesting images that beg to be shared, then Pinterest can drive a strong torrent of traffic to your squeeze page.

You?d simply create the ?sharable images? and post them on your Pinterest board attached to your website link.

As Pinterest is a social-media website, it will behoove you to also interact with the Pinterest community by sharing and re-pining, liking and commenting on other Pinterest member?s images and pin-boards!

#5 Your Signature and Profile Pages

Think of how many people you come into contact with throughout the day through email and social media sites like Facebook, LinkedIn and Twitter. Not to mention, you have no idea how many times an email you have sent once, will be forwarded.

Every one of these forms of communication allows you to permanently affix a link to your squeeze page.

But, no-matter what methods you use to drive traffic to your squeeze page the #1 factor that will contribute to it?s success still resides in the quality of your squeeze page itself!?

The only problem with making all those squeeze pages to build your lists up?

It?s super time consuming to do it all! Plus you need to be technical savvy to figure out all the HTML formatting, graphic placement, testing links, and fighting to integrate your auto-responder code?into pages and then putting it all together so a sales flow works properly after they sign up from your page.

The solution?

Our new Squeeze Ninja Software!

To make it all super easy for you we created this first truly point and click software

It used to be very time consuming to do this but not anymore

our new Squeeze Ninja software let?s you

- create unlimited campaigns on the fly

- build entire squeeze funnels in about 3 min

- monetize with your own products or done for you products

- spend less than half the price of inferior software

and so much more!

You?ll be able to build & profit from your lists faster & easier than ever before!

Just take a look at what some powerful list builders have had to say about our new ?Squeeze Ninja? software at:

http://somethingtocheckout.com/squeezeninja

We are using this in our own business and we think it?ll help you with yours as well.

To Your Success!

Warm Regards,
Jeremy & Simon
=================================================

Tags: email marketing software, Jeremy Gislason, list building software, ninja squeeze, Simon Hodgkinson, squeeze ninja, squeeze ninja software, squeezejinja

This entry was posted on Tuesday, October 30th, 2012 at 10:04 am and is filed under Internet Marketing. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. Responses are currently closed, but you can trackback from your own site.

Source: http://www.memberspeed.com/blog/internet-marketing-2/5-top-traffic-sources-to-build-your-list?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=5-top-traffic-sources-to-build-your-list

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Linksys WUMC710 Wireless-AC Wi-Fi 5GHz Universal Media Connector Bridge with 4-Port Switch

Cisco Linksys' WUMC710 AC Wi-Fi Universal Media Connector Bridge is Linksys' pre-draft 802.11ac companion bridge to the Linksys Smart Wi-Fi Router AC 1750HD Video Pro EA6500 its newly released pre-draft 802.11ac router. While the Linksys media bridge did not give any noticeable performance boosts in streaming media, such as I witnessed with Buffalo's AirStation AC1300/N450 4-Port Gigabit Dual Band Wireless Ethernet Bridge WLI-H4-D1300 , Linksys' unit is a bit less expensive at $159.99 than the $179.99 Buffalo bridge, is very easy to set up, and is a decent way to connect devices such as gaming consoles, NASes, or smart TVs, to your home network.

What's a media bridge useful for? Say you have a smart TV in your downstairs entertainment room and a wireless router in your upstairs home office. You want Internet access for your smart TV, but it doesn't have built-in wireless connectivity. You can place a media bridge near that TV, connect the bridge wirelessly to the router upstairs, and then connect the TV to the bridge via an Ethernet cable. This will put the TV on your home network and bring it Internet access.

Specs
The WUMC710 has four Gigabit Ethernet ports?as most media bridges. The front panel includes a WPS (WiFi Protected Setup) button (for push-button connectivity with a Linksys Smart Wi-Fi router) and LEDs for connectivity, power, and wireless status.
The media bridge wirelessly pairs with the EA6500, allowing you to take advantage of the wired 802.11ac throughput speeds within your local network with devices connected directly to the Ethernet ports of the bridge. The device ships with a CD containing documentation, a quick install guide, a cat 5e cable and a power adapter.

It's a 5 GHz bridge with three internal antennas that deliver a 3x3 transmit /receive speed. The WUMC710 supports the pre-draft 802.11ac standard and wireless 802.11A and N. Since it's 5GHz, it won't work with single-band 2.4 GHz routers, which is OK, because the wireless connectivity if for connecting the bridge to the 5GHz-supported EA6500 router, not for connecting wireless clients. You can still connect wireless clients to the EA6500's 2.4 GHz band.

Setup
To set up and pair the Linksys bridge with the Linksys EA6500 router, it's best to initially place the media bridge near the router, (it can be moved later?Linksys recommends the device operates about five meters from the router).

Then, connect the power adapter and wait for the power LED to stop flashing?this took about 30 seconds in my testing.

Next, press the WPS button on the media connector and within 2 minutes, press the WPS button on the EA6500 router. When I did this in testing, the WPS button started to flash on the bridge and the illuminated Cisco logo on the EA6500 began slowly blinking?these flashing lights indicated that WPS pairing had commenced. After a few seconds the bride's WPS and wireless LEDs became a solid blue color?the pairing of the router and bridge had been made.

Testing
For testing, I connected a server to the bridge. I checked the server's network settings and was pleased to discover the server was part of the Linksys' EA6500 router's network via its Ethernet connection to the WUMC710.? I also checked the EA6500's Connected Devices list in the router's interface and saw the name of the server. My server also received Internet access through the bridge's connection.

One small issue to consider: If you make any wireless settings changes to the EA6500 router, you will have to pair the bridge and router again. I changed the network settings on the EA6500 by renaming the SSID for the 5GHz band. My server immediately lost connectivity on the network. The fix was easy enough: I just re-pressed the WPS button on the media bridge and then the router, which fixed the problem bringing my server was back online.

To test performance, I connected a Synology DS712+
NAS to a LAN port on both the router and then the bridge. I then wirelessly uploaded a 1.5GB file to the NAS from a laptop. Connected to the bridge via Ethernet, my NAS showed negligible upload speed difference as compared with the NAS only connected to the router. Both upload times were about 2 minutes uploading from a laptop to the NAS, with the bridged connection a little faster at 1 minute and 42 seconds. I expected faster speeds with the bridge connection, since it uses 802.11ac.

You may not see any performance gains with the bridge, even running both bridge and router in pre-draft 802.11ac mode. Still, the WUMC710 is very easy to set up and does a good job of to extending network connectivity to devices that wouldn't otherwise have it. The Linksys WUMC710 Wireless-AC Wi-Fi 5GHz Universal Media Connector Bridge with 4-Port Switch earns 3.5 out of 5 stars for networking hardware.

More?Networking?Reviews:
??? D-Link Wireless AC1200 Dual Band USB Adapter (DWA-182)
??? Linksys WUMC710 Wireless-AC Wi-Fi 5GHz Universal Media Connector Bridge with 4-Port Switch
??? Tufin T-80
??? Norton Hotspot Privacy
??? WiFi Overview 360 Pro (for Android)
?? more

Source: http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/ziffdavis/pcmag/~3/Bir-ZfXKz7M/0,2817,2411416,00.asp

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Obama slams Mourdock rape remarks on 'Tonight''

BURBANK, California (Reuters) - President Barack Obama suspended the levity during an interview with late-night TV talk show host Jay Leno on Wednesday to address a Republican Senate candidate's assertion that pregnancies resulting from rape are intended by God and to express confidence that Washington could soon address the looming "fiscal cliff."

"I don't know how these guys come up with these ideas. Let me make a very simple proposition: rape is rape. It is a crime," Obama said on NBC's "The Tonight Show."

"This is exactly why you don't want a bunch of politicians, mostly male, making decisions about women's healthcare."

Indiana Republican Senate candidate Richard Mourdock's comments that pregnancies caused by rape are "something God intended to happen" echoed across the U.S. media and sent ripples through political circles ahead of the November 6 election.

The Obama campaign, which enjoys leads among women voters in many election battleground states, sought swiftly to connect Mourdock with Republican presidential candidate Mitt Romney. This summer Romney had to distance himself from remarks by another Republican Senate candidate, Todd Akin of Missouri, about what he called "legitimate rape."

In an interview full of jokes about marriage, Halloween and other topics, the Democratic president made a few serious comments, mostly about the hottest topic of the election: the economy.

Asked about the so-called fiscal cliff - a combination of automatic spending cuts and tax hikes set to kick in early next year - Obama said he was confident that a solution could be found before the end of the year.

"Solving this is not that hard. It requires some tough choices," Obama said, adding that some programs had to be cut and tax rates should go up for people making more than $250,000 a year.

"I hope that we can get it done by the end of this year. It just requires some compromise, which shouldn't be a dirty word."

On the economic crisis gripping the European Union, Obama said countries have been "kind of muddling along" and "they didn't respond as quickly as they could."

The United States is working with those nations to make sure they have a credible plan to maintain the unity of Europe, he added.

In a lighter moment, Obama joked about real estate mogul and TV personality Donald Trump, who recently posted a video challenging Obama to release documents about his education.

Trump has persistently questioned whether Obama, a native of Hawaii, was actually born in the United States, and Obama played off Trump's theories about his origins.

"This all dates back to when we were growing up together in Kenya," Obama joked. "We had, you know, constant run-ins on the soccer field. He wasn't very good and resented it."

(Additional reporting and writing by Lisa Lambert in Washington; Editing by Christopher Wilson)

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/obama-tackles-rape-comments-fiscal-cliff-tv-talk-034456779.html

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Public, former colleagues pay tribute to McGovern

SIOUX FALLS, S.D. (AP) ? Family, friends and former colleagues are filing into a Sioux Falls, S.D., church to pay their respects to former senator and Democratic presidential candidate George McGovern.

Vice President Joe Biden is among the hundreds of well-wishers and politicians who are expected to attend Thursday's public viewing and prayer service for McGovern. Biden served in the U.S. Senate with McGovern in the 1970s and early '80s.

McGovern died Sunday at age 90. He was a political legend in his home state and was very involved in efforts to feed the hungry.

About two dozen people lined up before the church opened for the chance to walk past McGovern's open, flag-draped casket. Two uniformed men stood at attention next to the casket.

McGovern's funeral is Friday in Sioux Falls.

Associated Press

Source: http://hosted2.ap.org/APDEFAULT/386c25518f464186bf7a2ac026580ce7/Article_2012-10-25-McGovern%20Services-Prayer/id-9fa8c87e3c65405a9b488968f596f485

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Encouraging China PMI halts slide in Asian shares

TOKYO (Reuters) - Data suggesting a gathering economic recovery in China helped trim declines in Asian shares on Wednesday, though investors stayed risk averse due to weak corporate earnings results worldwide and enduring worries over economic slowdown.

The China HSBC Flash Manufacturing Purchasing Managers Index (PMI) rose to a three-month high of 49.1 in October, also registering the most robust order books since April, signaling a strengthening recovery.

The MSCI index of Asia-Pacific shares outside Japan <.miapj0000pus> eased 0.1 percent, slightly trimming an earlier 0.3 percent drop. Hong Kong shares <.hsi> also narrowed losses to a 0.1 percent from a decline of 0.3 percent, while Shanghai shares <.ssec> steadied from a 0.2 percent fall.

Japan's Nikkei average <.n225> were down 0.4 percent, recovering from an earlier drop of more than 1 percent. <.t/>

"Recent data have suggested that Chinese growth may have bottomed out last month, helping to improve market sentiment as U.S. economic figures have also been hinting at a brightening recovery trend recently," said Kyoya Okazawa head of global equities at BNP Paribas in Tokyo.

But corporate earnings were a bigger focus for South Korean shares <.ks11>, which fell 0.7 percent, as lacklustre results in local and international markets weighed on investor sentiment.

SK Hynix Inc , the world's No.2 computer memory chipmaker, reported a third-quarter operating loss before the market opened, but its shares gained as the loss was smaller than expected.

Australian shares were down 0.6 percent at a one-week low as a stronger inflation data scaled back expectations for a further interest rate cut, countering the bullish impact from positive data from China, Australia's single largest export market.

The dollar was steady against the yen at 79.82 yen, having hit its highest since early July of 80.02 on Tuesday.

The Australian dollar rose to a high of $1.0317 after the Chinese data, having earlier risen from around $1.027 following data showing Australian consumer prices increased a surprisingly large 1.4 percent last quarter, lowering expectations for interest rate cuts.

The Aussie rose 0.5 percent against the yen to 82.33 yen, helping the euro to steady against the yen at 103.70 yen. The euro touched a 5/1-2 month high against the yen of 104.45 on Tuesday.

Markets may remain cautious, but their response "is more geared towards consolidating risky assets near lower levels that justify bearing the risk, rather than the pre-announcing more difficulties to come", Barclays Capital said in a research note.

On Tuesday, a leading European share index, te FTSEurofirst 300 index <.fteu3>, slid to its lowest level in more than one-and-a-half months on Tuesday, while U.S. stocks fell, with the Dow industrials suffering the biggest drop since June 21 after DuPont and United Technologies showed profit growth slowing, adding to a string of disappointments from companies falling short of Wall Street's expectations.

U.S.-listed shares of foreign companies slid across the board on Tuesday, also on fresh worries over the euro zone's debt crisis as Spanish bond yields rose after Moody's Investors Service downgraded five of Spain's regions.

Spot gold recovered to rise 0.3 percent to $1,712.79 an ounce after falling 1.2 percent to a six-week low of $1,703.50 on Tuesday as other assets fell.

U.S. crude rose 0.6 percent to $87.18 after settling at a three-month low of $86.67 on Tuesday. Brent crude futures were up 0.5 percent at $108.83.

The euro steadied at $1.2988 from Tuesday's low of $1.2952, but well below last week's high of $1.3140. The euro's low this month was around $1.2804.

Investors continue to wait both for Spain to ask for aid to help manage its huge public debts with external funds, and for Greece to agree to conditions attached by its global lenders in exchange for a further bailout.

Germany's Sueddeutsche Zeitung paper reported in its Wednesday edition, without citing sources, that euro zone states will grant Greece an extra two years to bring its budget deficit to within agreed targets.

The euro could be pressured if initial readings of euro zone purchasing managers' index and a German Ifo business sentiment survey due later on Wednesday signal further deterioration.

U.S. Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke has told close friends he probably will not stand for a third term at the central bank even if President Barack Obama wins the November 6 election, the New York Times reported.

Under Bernanke, the Fed has taken aggressive easing policies to help underpin the tepid U.S. recovery. The Fed is unlikely to take fresh steps when it ends a two-day meeting on Wednesday, opting to assess the impact of last month's aggressive quantitative easing measures.

Sober investor sentiment hit Asian credit markets, pushing the spread on the iTraxx Asia ex-Japan investment-grade index 4 basis points wider.

(Additional reporting by Joyce Lee in Seoul; Editing by Simon Cameron-Moore)

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/encouraging-china-pmi-halts-slide-asian-shares-034643509--finance.html

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Equipment Leasing and Finance Association&#39;s Survey of Economic

Equipment Leasing and Finance Association?s Survey of Economic Activity: Monthly Leasing and Finance Index

Posted 10/24/12

September New Business Volume Up by 16 Percent Year-over-year, 19 Percent Month-to-month, 16 Percent Year-to-date

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Washington, DC, October 24, 2012? The Equipment Leasing and Finance Association?s (ELFA) Monthly Leasing and Finance Index (MLFI-25), which reports economic activity for the $628 billion equipment finance sector, showed overall new business volume for September was $8.2 billion, up 16 percent from volume of $7.1 billion in the same period in 2011. Volume was up 19 percent from the previous month. Year-to-date cumulative new business volume increased 16 percent.

Receivables over 30 days decreased for the fourth consecutive month to 1.8 percent, down from 1.9 percent in August and down 22 percent when compared to the same period in 2011. Charge-offs were up slightly from the previous month at 0.5 percent, and down by 44 percent compared to the same period last year.

Credit approvals increased to 79.6 percent in September from 77.0 percent in August. ?Fifty-four percent of participating organizations reported submitting more transactions for approval during September, down from 65 percent the previous month.

Finally, total headcount for equipment finance companies was down 0.5 percent from the previous month, and declined 3.2 percent year over year.

Separately, the Equipment Leasing & Finance Foundation's Monthly Confidence Index (MCI-EFI) for October is 53.3, relatively unchanged from the September index of 53.0, reflecting steady industry confidence despite economic, political and regulatory concerns.

ELFA President and CEO William G. Sutton, CAE, said: ?While September?s sharp increase in new business volume is indeed encouraging, some equipment finance markets continue to show some softness.? Also, the run-up to the U.S. elections, high energy prices and continuing uncertainty brought about by fragile European economies is muting what might be an otherwise robust recovery for the U.S. economy.

?Double digit improvement in several index categories is certainly a good sign for our industry," said William Stephenson, Chairman, Global Vendor Finance, De Lage Landen International B.V. ??The improvement trend in these fundamental industry metrics reflects a?relatively stable?but cautionary outlook for the future.?

About the ELFA?s MLFI-25

The MLFI-25 is the only index that reflects capex, or the volume of commercial equipment financed in the U.S. The MLFI-25 is released globally at 8 a.m. Eastern time from Washington, D.C., each month, on the day before the U.S. Department of Commerce releases the durable goods report. The MLFI-25 is a financial indicator that complements the durable goods report and other economic indexes, including the Institute for Supply Management Index, which reports economic activity in the manufacturing sector. Together with the MLFI-25 these reports provide a complete view of the status of productive assets in the U.S. economy: equipment produced, acquired and financed.

The MLFI-25 is a time series that reflects two years of business activity for the 25 companies currently participating in the survey. The latest MLFI-25, including methodology and participants is available below and also at http://www.elfaonline.org/Research/MLFI/

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MLFI-25 Methodology

The ELFA produces the MLFI-25 survey to help member organizations achieve competitive advantage by providing them with leading-edge research and benchmarking information to support strategic business decision making.

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The MLFI-25 is a barometer of the trends in U.S. capital equipment investment. Five components are included in the survey: new business volume (originations), aging of receivables, charge-offs, credit approval ratios, (approved vs. submitted) and headcount for the equipment finance business.

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The MLFI-25 measures monthly commercial equipment lease and loan activity as reported by participating ELFA member equipment finance companies representing a cross section of the equipment finance sector, including small ticket, middle-market, large ticket, bank, captive and independent leasing and finance companies. Based on hard survey data, the responses mirror the economic activity of the broader equipment finance sector and current business conditions nationally.

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ELFA MLFI-25 Participants

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ADP Credit

BancorpSouth Equipment Finance

Bank of America

Bank of the West

BB&T Bank

BMO Harris Equipment Finance

Canon Financial Services

Caterpillar Financial Services

CIT

De Lage Landen Financial Services

Dell Financial Services

Direct Capital Corporation

EverBank Commercial Finance

Fifth Third Equipment Finance

First American Equipment Finance, a City National Bank Company

GreatAmerica

Hitachi Credit America

HP Financial Services

Huntington Equipment Finance

John Deere Financial

Key Equipment Finance

M&T Bank

Marlin Leasing

Merchants Capital

PNC Equipment Finance

RBS Asset Finance

SG Equipment Finance

Siemens Financial Services

Stearns Bank

Suntrust

Susquehanna Commercial Finance

US Bancorp Equipment Finance

Verizon Capital

Volvo Financial Services

Wells Fargo Equipment Finance

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?About the ELFA

The Equipment Leasing and Finance Association (ELFA) is the trade association that represents companies in the $628 billion equipment finance sector, which includes financial services companies and manufacturers engaged in financing capital goods. ELFA members are the driving force behind the growth in the commercial equipment finance market and contribute to capital formation in the U.S. and abroad. Its over 550 members include independent and captive leasing and finance companies, banks, financial services corporations, broker/packagers and investment banks, as well as manufacturers and service providers. ELFA has been equipping business for success for more than 50 years. For more information, please visit www.elfaonline.org.

ELFA is the premier source for statistics and analyses concerning the equipment finance sector. Please visit http://www.elfaonline.org/Research/ ?for additional information.

The Equipment Leasing & Finance Foundation is the non-profit affiliate to the Equipment Leasing and Finance Association, providing future-focused research to the equipment finance industry. For more information please visit the website at www.leasefoundation.org

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Source: http://www.elfaonline.org/news/indnews/news_report.cfm?id=20661

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Disposable income in Texas up 15 percent

Disposable income in Texas increased 15 percent over a five-year span.

Disposable income in Texas increased 15 percent over a five-year span, an analysis shows.

Texas' per capita disposable personal income increased from $31,844 in 2006 to $36,631 in 2011, data from the U.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis shows. However, that increase only ranks Texas No. 19 among the 50 states and Washington, D.C., the Business Journals? On Numbers reports.

The Dakotas experienced the largest increases. North Dakota?s per capita disposable personal income increased from $29,891 to $42,492 ? a jump of 42.16 percent ? and South Dakota?s increased 32.58 percent, from $31,024 to $41,133.

The District of Columbia, Iowa and Nebraska rounded out the top five, with increases of 23.62 percent, 23.37 percent and 21.26 percent, respectively.

No other state experienced an increase of more than 20 percent. Nationwide, disposable personal income increased 11.7 percent, nearly equal to the inflation rate of 11.6 percent.

Nevada was the only state to experience a decrease in disposable income, slipping 2.3 percent.

Disposable personal income is defined as all money received from all sources, minus federal, state and local income taxes and motor vehicle taxes (property and sales are not excluded), On Numbers reports.

Olivia Pulsinelli is the web producer for the Houston Business Journal's award-winning website.

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A black footballers union? Are you mad? Surely that&#39;s racist - Le Grove

Arsene Wenger didn?t come out and say it, he meant it so he and I agree on something at long last!

If I started a White footballers Union I would be called a racist, or does racism only work one way? I?m sure that Rio Ferdinand didn?t actually say it, but if he did then that?s as bizzare as having a Federation of Black policemen, its racist.

Racism is racism whatever colour you are if you have an organisation that excludes a race, then you become as bad as the people you are trying to protect, or is that concept too difficult for a footballer to grasp?

Enough on that, let me tell you a story about my day yesterday, I got a call from Arsenal asking why I didn?t renew my Club level tickets, firstly let me say he was a very polite young man, I told him because we had a manager that didn?t invest in buying players.

He was genuinely shocked, he said but we bought Podolski, Cazola and Giroud, I said yes but we sold Song and Van persie for more, surely the job of a manager is to at least spend the budget he has.

I then asked him to justify Gazidas?s bonus, he struggled with that one as if other members of Arsenal?s staff also did.

He then said Wenger?s salary was on par with his peers so I said he earns far more than Wigan?s manager, he said Wigan?s manager wasn?t a peer, I said why not, they?ve won what we have, nothing.

Needless to say it was an amusing conversation and he refused flat out to partake in an interview on this blog.

He was actually calling me to ask if I wanted to buy some season tickets, you know the same ones that one of our Grover?s yesterday were told by Arsenal there was a 7 year wait for.

Arsenal just can?t stop lying can they! Lies, lies, lies.

Onto tonight and the Champions league game, a tough team to play whether or not it?s on the back of a Norwich away loss.

Schalke have won their last 5 including a useful one against Dortmund, they also have ?a player called?Klaas-Jan Huntelaar who you may remember scored the first ever goal at the Grove, so we need to be sharp at the back.

As we all saw last night, even top teams like Barca can be vulnerable and this Schalke team are no mugs, it?s vital to win our home games in this competition so we need a big improvement from Saturday.

I think we?ll be miles better because the criticism must have hurt and we can?t possibly play as badly as that again, can we???

I?m not going to guess what team we put out but needless to say I hope we play 4-4-2 and we never see Mannone again.

I somehow doubt either will happen though. Any sort of win will do me but a stylish one would be great, Arsenal I think you owe us one tonight.

Have a great day Grovers and if you are going, stay away from the worst fans in Europe!

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Source: http://le-grove.co.uk/2012/10/24/a-black-footballers-union-are-you-mad-surely-thats-racist-tonights-the-night-arsenal/?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=a-black-footballers-union-are-you-mad-surely-thats-racist-tonights-the-night-arsenal

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Billionaire Donor Tom Steyer Quits Finance for Philanthropy ...

October 23, 2012, 10:07 am

California hedge-fund billionaire Tom Steyer is leaving his $20-billion financial firm to devote himself to philanthropy and politics, according to Reuters.

Mr. Steyer announced his long-rumored decision in a letter to clients of Farallon Capital, the San Francisco-based investment house he founded in 1986 and built into one of the world?s largest hedge funds, saying, ?Now it?s time to focus full-time on giving back.?

The 55-year-old investor and his wife, Kat Taylor, have significantly raised their public profile in recent years with major gifts to Yale and Stanford universities. They signed the Giving Pledge in 2010 and ranked 33rd on The Chronicle of Philanthropy?s Philanthropy 400 list of 2011?s biggest donors.

Mr. Steyer, a Democrat, has also become more involved in politics, speaking at the party?s 2012 convention and channeling $22-million into a ballot initiative to require multistate businesses to pay more taxes in California.

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Source: http://philanthropy.com/blogs/philanthropytoday/billionaire-donor-tom-steyer-quits-finance-for-philanthropy/56212

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Lohan won't face charges in alleged NYC car scrape

In this May 9, 2012 photo shows actress Lindsay Lohan at the A&E Networks 2012 Upfront at Lincoln Center in New York. New York police were called to Lindsay Lohan's childhood home in suburban New York after a report of a fight between the troubled actress and her mother. Nassau County police say officers were called around 8 a.m. Wednesday, Oct. 10, to the Merrick, Long Island, home where the starlet grew up. Her mother Dina lives in the home with some of her other children. An investigation revealed ?no criminality.? Police did not release details on the subject of the argument. (AP Photo/Starpix, Kristina Bumphrey, file)

In this May 9, 2012 photo shows actress Lindsay Lohan at the A&E Networks 2012 Upfront at Lincoln Center in New York. New York police were called to Lindsay Lohan's childhood home in suburban New York after a report of a fight between the troubled actress and her mother. Nassau County police say officers were called around 8 a.m. Wednesday, Oct. 10, to the Merrick, Long Island, home where the starlet grew up. Her mother Dina lives in the home with some of her other children. An investigation revealed ?no criminality.? Police did not release details on the subject of the argument. (AP Photo/Starpix, Kristina Bumphrey, file)

NEW YORK (AP) ? Lindsay Lohan won't face criminal charges after being accused of clipping a man with her car outside a nightclub, one of a string of troubles the actress has encountered behind the wheel and elsewhere in recent months.

The "Mean Girls" and "Freaky Friday" star had been due to make her first court appearance in the case Tuesday, but the Manhattan district attorney's office said Monday there is now no court date scheduled at any point.

Prosecutors wouldn't elaborate on their decision not to move forward on the allegations about the Sept. 21 episode, which was captured on surveillance video. Lohan's spokesman had called the claims false.

"As we said from the beginning, this is a big nothing," the spokesman, Steve Honig, said Monday.

Lohan, 26, was arrested on a charge of leaving an accident scene after restaurant worker Jose Rodriguez said her Porsche hit him and hurt his knee as she turned from a Manhattan street into an alley by the Dream Hotel. Police said no alcohol was involved. Rodriguez, 34, was walking by after leaving his job at another hotel nearby.

Lohan was released with an appearance ticket. Rodriguez called emergency services and was taken to a hospital.

Police released grainy surveillance footage that shows Lohan's car turning as Rodriguez passed in front of it. Blurring to conceal witnesses' faces partially obscures the scene, and it's not clear exactly what happens as he is in front of the car. The video does show him staying on his feet and walking after the car as it continues into the alley.

The encounter came with Lohan on informal probation for taking a necklace last year without permission from a jewelry store in Venice, Calif.; she spent 35 days on house arrest in that case. The Los Angeles city attorney's office said Monday the Manhattan car episode wouldn't affect Lohan's probation.

The actress' latest project, "Liz & Dick," is set to premiere on Lifetime on Nov. 25. She plays Elizabeth Taylor in the biopic, which chronicles the roller coaster romance of Taylor and Richard Burton.

Lohan ? whose earlier problems with cocaine, alcohol and driving landed her in a Los Angeles-area jail for about two weeks in 2010 ? has had some other brushes with the law recently. In May, she was cleared of allegations that she hit a Hollywood nightclub manager with her car. The next month, she and her assistant were in a California crash that sent both to a hospital; neither was seriously hurt.

About a week after the episode near the Dream Hotel, Lohan told authorities a man grabbed her in a New York hotel room in an argument over cellphone photos. The man was initially arrested, but the arrest was voided hours later when the charge could not be substantiated, law enforcement officials said.

Earlier this month, police were called to Lohan's childhood home in the New York suburbs after getting a report that she and her mother were fighting. Investigators found nothing criminal happened, Nassau County police said.

___

Follow Jennifer Peltz at http://twitter.com/jennpeltz

Associated Press

Source: http://hosted2.ap.org/APDEFAULT/4e67281c3f754d0696fbfdee0f3f1469/Article_2012-10-22-People-Lindsay%20Lohan/id-7e71fa9397664ffdbfe9f5b47f68df0b

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Don&#39;t Delay Until The Holiday Season To ... - Real Estate & Homes

Don?t Delay Until The Holiday Season To Relocate!
contributor

With the approaching of the summer of 2012, it is time to begin thinking ahead for the rest of the year. Autumn is the subsequent period in line, which is among the best seasons to plan a relocation. Summer time happens to be the most busy period for moving. If you?ve been thinking about moving, now is the perfect time. Movers.net helps thousands of people get reliable moving companies this past summer season, and we?re right here to assist now that Summer time has past. Don?t wait until the vacations. Here are a couple of great reasons to begin planning your move now!

Moving companies will start offering much better deals.

Moving companies have been reserved all summer season long. There are many instances when moving companies could not maintain the demand which summer season brought on. Many moving companies were turning away business. They didn?t have enough vehicles to take care of all the relocations, and they also didn?t have enough staff to help manage the rush of individuals making an attempt to relocate.

Considering that summer season has gone, getting a moving company is going to be less difficult. At this moment moving companies should have plenty of spare time to take care of your move. Many moving companies will also begin offering Autumn specials to obtain more business. They?ll often lower their prices to attempt to attract more business. If you?ve been waiting to relocate, it is now time to save some serious funds. Take advantage of these savings before the holidays come.

Save your money for the vacations.

The holiday season will be right here before you realize it. You should start saving for the vacations! There?s a great way to start saving, and that?s by relocating now. The much more time that you must save for the vacations, the better off you is going to be. No one wants to be unpacking moving boxes on Xmas morning. Gifts will be the only packagesthat need to be opened on Xmas morning.
Make use of the colder weather conditions.

The high temperature of summer season is behind all of us, and that could only mean one thing. The cold of winter months is right behind the corner. Summer time may be the most busy time of the year for moving companies, but it may get too hot! Right now is the time to relocate. Climate start to decrease, and the climate outside is beginning to get much more comfortable. Should you wait until winter sets in, moving will probably be worse. Who desires to relocate in the freezing cold and snow? Not many individuals.

Moving in winter can also be far more hazardous. When the streets ice over and when the snow starts to melt, driving a vehicle can get a little unsafe. Moving vehicles don?t generally function in the snow. If the streets have iced over, moving vehicles aren?t going anyplace. Consider if everything that you possessed was loaded onto a moving vehicle and the next day a blizzard struck. All of your things will be grounded till the weather conditions clear. If you want to make a relocation stressful, this would certainly get it done.

Movers.net offers greatest suggestions to you to avoid the crowds of people, avoid the cold weather and make best use of more cost-effective moving prices this Autumn!

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Source: http://blogs.yain.com/dont-delay-until-the-holiday-season-to-relocate/

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Craig Venter's plan to email vaccines around the world

Debora MacKenzie, Brussels correspondent

(Image: Joe Raedle/Getty)

Craig Venter, the ?ber-DNA jockey who quietly sequenced the human genome using his own DNA, then made "synthetic life" by outfitting a gutted bacterium with homemade genes, says his next trick will be emailing biological molecules, using 3D biological printers. The move that could revolutionise healthcare - and biological warfare.

Venter discussed the idea at last week's Wired Health Conference in New York - although it was somewhat overshadowed by his audacious plan to sequence Martian DNA and beam the results back to Earth. Long before that sci-fi can be realised, though, bio-printers could more plausibly be used to shuttle vaccines around our planet.

This makes lots of sense. If you can email troops the 3D instructions for printing a replacement gun part , then you can email macromolecules - as long as you have a printer that can deposit a repertoire of nucleotides, sugars and/or amino acids where they belong, and link them up chemically.

You'll need a lot of different toner cartridges to recreate the full range of biological widgets, of course. But you may not need that many for modern vaccines, made not of dead germs but of their key molecules. In fact, for DNA vaccines - which often work well in experiments but have never been commercialised, because of safety concerns - you could do it now with a machine that synthesises DNA to an emailed sequence. Proteins wouldn't be much harder. As long as you also had the vials of sterile saline plus immunity-boosting additives to mix with the DNA or protein, and make it a vaccine.

This has game-changing implications for public health, and for biodefence. The bottleneck in fighting infectious disease, once you invent the vaccine, is getting it to people - if not, 15 kids an hour would not still be dying of measles. The blue-sky US military research organisation DARPA has long been funding efforts to make vaccines in days, rather than months.

Venter's bio-printer, in theory, could both make and distribute a macromolecular vaccine fast. If everyone, or maybe every local clinic, had a bio-printer, a mass email of the vaccine specs should take care of a novel pandemic, or bioterror attack - or maybe even measles - in minutes. Simply print, and inject.

What could go wrong? Well, I can see the mass emailing ending up dumped in a fair number of spam filters. How do we guarantee quality control? Worse, the vaccine specs could themselves become the bioweapon. The bottleneck in biological warfare is getting the germ into the victim. Brew up a false bio-alarm, then intercept and tinker with the vaccine email, and your victims will inject it themselves. And antivirus software takes on a whole new meaning when you can spam-email Ebola or the 1918 flu.

OK, I don't really want to pour cold water - this would be way cool if it works. If we can get the quality control right, and prevent tampering. And the prank emailing of deadly viruses. And resign ourselves to the fact that once this is available, heroin and its ilk will become as impossible to ban as spam.

Source: http://feeds.newscientist.com/c/749/f/10897/s/24bdd03d/l/0L0Snewscientist0N0Cblogs0Cshortsharpscience0C20A120C10A0Ccraig0Eventer0Eemail0Evaccine0Bhtml0Dcmpid0FRSS0QNSNS0Q20A120EGLOBAL0Qonline0Enews/story01.htm

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Deputies search for suspect in Wis. mall shooting

Police and swat team members respond to a call of a shooting at the Azana Spa in Brookfield, Wis. Sunday , Oct. 21, 2012. Multiple people were wounded when someone opened fire at the spa near the Brookfield Square Mall. Deputies are still looking for the gunman. (AP Photo/Tom Lynn)

Police and swat team members respond to a call of a shooting at the Azana Spa in Brookfield, Wis. Sunday , Oct. 21, 2012. Multiple people were wounded when someone opened fire at the spa near the Brookfield Square Mall. Deputies are still looking for the gunman. (AP Photo/Tom Lynn)

A police officer responds to a call of a shooting at the Azana Spa in Brookfield, Wis. Sunday, Oct. 21, 2012. Multiple people were wounded when someone opened fire at the spa near the Brookfield Square Mall. Deputies are still looking for the gunman. (AP Photo/Tom Lynn)

Police and swat team members respond to a call of a shooting at the Azana Spa in Brookfield, Wis. Sunday,Oct. 21, 2012. Multiple people were wounded when someone opened fire at the spa near the Brookfield Square Mall. Deputies are still looking for the gunman. (AP Photo/Tom Lynn)

Spectators and media look toward the Azana Spa as police and swat team members respond to a call of a shooting at the Azana Spa in Brookfield, Wis. Sunday , Oct. 21, 2012. Multiple people were wounded when someone opened fire at the spa near the Brookfield Square Mall. Deputies are still looking for the gunman. (AP Photo/Tom Lynn)

Map locates Brookfield, Wis., site of shooting near shopping mall

BROOKFIELD, Wis. (AP) ? Deputies searched Sunday for a shooter after multiple people were wounded when someone opened fire at a spa near a suburban Milwaukee shopping mall.

Brookfield police told WTMJ-AM the shooting happened about 11 a.m. Sunday at a spa across the street from the Brookfield Square Mall. The mall and a county club adjacent to the spa were locked down, local media reported.

Calls to police from The Associated Press rang to the Waukesha County Sheriff's Department. A woman who answered the phone there said deputies were looking for an active shooter but did not provide any other information.

Milwaukee FBI spokesman Leonard Peace said its SWAT team, hostage negotiators and others were helping with the response. But he declined to say how many FBI personnel were involved in all or provide details on what had happened.

Robert Schmidt, spokesman for the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, said it had 10 agents participating.

Beth Strohbusch, a spokeswoman for Froedtert Memorial Hospital, said four shooting victims were taken there, and three more were expected. She said none of the four already received were in critical condition.

WISN-TV reported police were asking people in the mall's parking lot to clear out, because they had set up operations there.

Tactical teams were on the scene, along with at least 20 fire, ambulance and police vehicles. A medical helicopter was on the ground.

The shooting took place at Azana Day Spa, a two-story, 9,000-square-foot building across from the mall in a middle- to upper-class community west of Milwaukee.

It was the second mass shooting in Wisconsin this year. Wade Michael Page, a 40-year-old Army veteran and white supremacist, killed six people and injured three others before fatally shooting himself Aug. 5 at a Sikh temple south of Milwaukee.

The shooting at the mall took place less than a mile from where seven people were killed and four wounded on March 12, 2005, when a gunman opened fire at a Living Church of God service held at a hotel.

Associated Press

Source: http://hosted2.ap.org/APDEFAULT/386c25518f464186bf7a2ac026580ce7/Article_2012-10-21-Wisconsin%20Mall-Shooting/id-95146b92b9be4d109ee7d804dcea01c0

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Russell Means, Indian activist, actor, dies at 72

SIOUX FALLS, S.D. (AP) ? Russell Means never shunned attention. Whether leading Native Americans in railing against broken federal treaties, appearing in a Hollywood blockbuster or advocating a sovereign American Indian nation within U.S. borders, the activist who helped lead the 1973 uprising at Wounded Knee reveled in the spotlight.

But it was only on his terms. Openly critical of mainstream media, the onetime leader of the American Indian Movement often refused interviews and verbally blasted journalists who showed up to cover his public appearances. Instead, he chose to speak to his fan base through YouTube videos and blog posts on his personal website.

When he did speak out publicly, he remained steadfast in his defense of AIM. He found himself dogged for decades by questions about the group's alleged involvement in the slaying of a tribe member and the several gun battles with federal officers during the 71-day occupation of Wounded Knee, but denied the group ever promoted violence.

"You people who want to continue to put AIM in this certain pocket of illegality, I can't stand you people," Means said, lashing out an at audience member question during an April gathering commemorating the uprising's 40th anniversary. "I wish I was a little bit healthier and a little bit younger, because I wouldn't just talk."

Means, who announced in August 2011 that he had developed inoperable throat cancer but told The Associated Press he was forgoing mainstream medical treatments in favor of traditional American Indian remedies, died early Monday at his ranch in in Porcupine, S.D., Oglala Sioux Tribe spokeswoman Donna Salomon said. He was 72.

Born on the Pine Ridge Indian Reservation, Means grew up in the San Francisco area before becoming an early leader of AIM. He often was embroiled in controversy, partly because of AIM's alleged involvement in the 1975 slaying of Annie Mae Aquash.

But Means also was known for his role in the movie "The Last of the Mohicans" and had run unsuccessfully for the Libertarian nomination for president in 1988.

AIM was founded in the late 1960s to protest the U.S. government's treatment of Native Americans and demand the government honor its treaties with Indian tribes. Means told the AP in 2011 that before AIM, there had been no advocate on a national or international scale for American Indians, and that Native Americans were ashamed of their heritage.

"No one except Hollywood stars and very rich Texans wore Indian jewelry," Means said. "And there was a plethora of dozens if not hundreds of athletic teams that in essence were insulting us, from grade schools to college. That's all changed."

The movement eventually faded away, the result of Native Americans becoming self-aware and self-determined, Means said.

Paul DeMain, editor of News from Indian Country, said there were plenty of Indian activists before AIM but that the group became the "radical media gorilla."

"If someone needed help, you called on the American Indian Movement and they showed up and caused all kind of ruckus and looked beautiful on a 20-second clip on TV that night," DeMain said.

Means and AIM co-founder Dennis Banks were charged in 1974 for their role in the Wounded Knee uprising, but after a trial that lasted several months, a judge threw the charges out on grounds of government misconduct.

Means said he felt his most important accomplishment was the founding of the Republic of Lakotah and the "re-establishment of our freedom to be responsible" as a sovereign nation inside the borders of the United States. His efforts to have his proposed country recognized by the international community continued at the United Nations, he said, even as it was ignored by tribal governments closer to home, including his own Oglala Sioux Tribe.

But others may remember him for his former organization's connection to Aquash's slaying. Her death remains synonymous with AIM and its often-violent clashes with federal agents in the 1970s.

Authorities believe three AIM members shot and killed Aquash on the Pine Ridge reservation on the orders of someone in AIM's leadership because they suspected she was an FBI informant. Two activists ? Arlo Looking Cloud and John Graham ? were both eventually convicted of murder. The third has never been charged.

Means blamed Vernon Bellecourt, another AIM leader, for ordering Aquash's killing. Bellecourt denied the allegations in a 2004 interview, four years before he died.

DeMain, an Indian journalist who researched the case, said AIM's leaders know who ordered Aquash's killing but have covered up the truth for decades.

Also in 1975, murder charges were filed against Means and Dick Marshall, an AIM member, in the shooting death of Martin Montileaux of Kyle at the Longbranch Saloon in Scenic. Marshall served 24 years in prison. Means was acquitted.

In addition to his presidential bid, Means also briefly served as a vice presidential candidate in 1984, joining the Larry Flynt ticket during the Hustler magazine publisher's unsuccessful bid for the Republican nomination. Flynt was typically a Democrat.

But Means always considered himself a Libertarian and couldn't believe that anyone would want to call themselves either a Republican or a Democrat.

"It's just unconscionable that America has become so stupid," he said.

His acting career began in 1992 when he portrayed Chingachgook alongside Daniel Day-Lewis' Hawkeye in "The Last of the Mohicans." He also appeared in the 1994 film "Natural Born Killers," voiced Chief Powhatan in the 1995 animated film "Pocahontas" and guest starred in 2004 on the HBO series "Curb Your Enthusiasm."

Means recounted his life in the book "Where White Men Fear to Tread." He said he pulled no punches in his autobiography, admitting to his frailties and evils but also acknowledging his successes.

"I tell the truth, and I expose myself as a weak, misguided, misdirected, dysfunctional human being I used to be," he said.

Salomon, the tribal spokeswoman, called Means' death a "great loss" for the Oglala Sioux Tribe.

Means' death came a day after former U.S. Sen. George McGovern died in Sioux Falls at the age of 90. McGovern had traveled to Wounded Knee with U.S. Sen. James Abourezk during the 71-day takeover to try to negotiate an end.

"I've lost two good friends in a matter of two to three days," Abourezk said Monday morning. "I don't pretend to understand it."

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Follow Kristi Eaton on Twitter at http://twitter.com/kristieaton .

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/russell-means-indian-activist-actor-dies-72-134116186.html

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Unions shift political might to state, local races

WASHINGTON (AP) ? Unions are shifting more of their political resources to state and local races this year as they try to head off passage of laws that could undermine bargaining rights, make it harder to organize or reduce their political muscle.

Labor leaders say their top goal remains re-electing President Barack Obama, but several unions are redirecting their focus from the presidential and congressional campaigns to state and local races in dozens of states where they feel threatened.

In New Hampshire, unions want to keep the governor's seat in Democratic hands to prevent a right-to-work measure. In Maine and Minnesota, labor leaders hope to overturn Republican majorities in state legislatures. And in Michigan, unions are trying to enshrine collective bargaining rights in the state constitution.

The shift comes as organized labor is still reeling from battles in Wisconsin, Ohio, Indiana and other states where governors have sought to limit union rights for public workers or otherwise restrict union power.

"This year we've invested in these races more than ever before," said Brian Weeks, political director of the country's largest public workers union, the American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees.

Weeks' union has pledged to spend $100 million this election cycle to help re-elect Obama and other union-friendly candidates ? most of them are Democrats ? in federal, state and local races. A larger chunk of that is flowing to state and local candidates than in the past, though Weeks said the union is only spending "marginally less" on presidential and congressional races than four years ago.

Unions have been on the defensive since 2010, when Republicans seeking to weaken union muscle took control in 26 state legislatures, up from 14 two years earlier. Unions failed to recall Wisconsin Gov. Scott Walker, a Republican, after he signed a law limiting collective bargaining rights for most public workers. They also saw Indiana become the 23rd state to pass a right-to-work law that limits unions' ability to collect fees from nonunion workers.

"The severity and the viciousness of the attacks in 2010 caught us a little off-guard," Weeks said. "Now we're planning for that to prevent it from happening again."

In 2008, the nation's largest firefighters union spent nearly 100 percent of its money on federal races. This year, for the first time, about 25 percent of the national union's $14 million political budget is going to state and local campaigns.

"We have really pivoted and turned a lot of our work and resources into those state races," said Harold Schaitberger, president of the International Association of Firefighters.

That includes Iowa, where Democrats hold a one-vote majority in the Senate. Unions hope to keep that advantage to prevent passage of a measure that would ban public employee unions from collecting dues through automatic paycheck deductions.

Unions can play a pivotal role in turning out voters in some states. The AFL-CIO says its volunteers will knock on 5.5 million doors, make 5.2 million phone calls and hand out 2 million leaflets at worksites in the final four days before the election. Voters in 25 states will receive about 12 million pieces of mail urging them to vote for union-endorsed candidates.

Larry Kruse, a Republican running for a state Senate seat in Iowa's 42nd District, said some of his supporters have shown him the fliers that unions are mailing out.

"Most of them are on the negative side, so a lot of people are upset with them," Kruse said. "They may be spending a lot of money, but I question how effective it is."

In Minnesota, unions hope to overturn Republican rule of both legislative chambers so Democratic Gov. Mark Dayton can push through income tax increases on the highest earners and more spending on schools. Republicans want to cut state spending, which could jeopardize public employees.

In New Hampshire, the GOP-led Legislature passed right-to-work legislation last year but failed to override a veto by Democratic Gov. John Lynch. Lynch is not seeking another term, so unions are pinning their hopes on electing Democrat Maggie Hassan over GOP rival Ovide Lamontagne, who has pledged to sign a right-to-work measure.

This week, AFSCME and the Service Employees International Union launched a $1.3 million television ad campaign in New Hampshire against Lamontagne.

The heavy union investment in New Hampshire's gubernatorial race doesn't sit well with Fred Kfoury, president and CEO of Central Paper Products Co., a 55-employee business in Manchester. Kfoury said a right-to-work law would help the state attract more new businesses.

"Unions have outlived their usefulness and have been an impediment to business growth and dynamics," Kfoury said.

Brandon Davis, SEIU's political director, downplayed the notion that his union is not spending as much money on the presidential and congressional races. He said the union is being more strategic about how it spends money, focusing on state legislative districts that overlap with key congressional districts and urging voters not to forget about state and local races.

"We simply cannot stop at the top," Davis said.

Unions are being forced to play defense even in the usually labor-friendly confines of California, where they are fighting a ballot proposition that would prohibit unions from using payroll deductions to collect funds for political purposes. That would starve unions of the tens of millions of dollars they use to finance campaigns and political organizing. Californians rejected similar measures in 2005 and 1998.

In Michigan, unions are going on offense with a ballot measure that would include collective bargaining rights in the state constitution. The measure would prevent future Wisconsin-style measures restricting bargaining rights, but opponents say it would hinder state and local lawmakers who want to control their budgets.

A union-backed group has spent about $6.5 million on TV ads supporting the measure, according to a nonprofit called the Michigan Campaign Finance Network. Two opposition groups with business support have spent roughly the same amount.

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Follow Sam Hananel's labor coverage at http://twitter.com/SamHananelAP

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/unions-shift-political-might-state-local-races-153412762--election.html

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