Source: http://news.feedzilla.com/en_us/stories/politics/top-stories/295603264?client_source=feed&format=rss
রবিবার, ৩১ মার্চ, ২০১৩
শনিবার, ৩০ মার্চ, ২০১৩
Famous Taiwan news animator taken off market, away from China
A deal fell through this week to sell Taiwan's Next Media, known for spoofs on everyone from the British royals to Sarah Palin. Many Taiwanese worried that its sale could have given it a pro-China bias.
A man walks past the logo of Next Media at its headquarters in Taipei January 21. Taiwan regulators, under pressure from a public worried that Beijing may meddle in their media, have begun talking tough on TV and newspaper deals by Taiwanese businessmen with strong ties to the mainland.
Pichi Chuang/REUTERS
EnlargeYou may never have heard of Taiwan?s Next Media but you may have seen its handiwork while surfing television channels or online.
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The Daily Show with Jon Stewart?highlighted the animation studio?s spoof on the royal wedding in 2012, and the group's poke at Tiger Woods, imitations of Al Gore, and a jab at Silvio Berlusconi?s sex scandals in Italy all went viral on the Internet.
But then in November, the media group known so well for depicting famous controversies around the world suddenly found itself at the center of its own kerfuffle at home when it announced it was for sale to a conservative business group with China connections. The news set off a chain of street demonstrations in Taiwan, drawing thousands. ?
In Taiwan, the media tends to be heavily polarized, either bashing China or avoiding criticism of it. Independent empires such as Next Media are rare. So activists feared that the prospective buyers would take that gem away by revamping Next Media to please China and compromise its irreverent independence.
But on Wednesday, Next Media announced that the buyers had bailed. As the consortium of four buyers missed a deadline to complete the deal worked out in November, the media group sought to reassert the independent spirit that made it popular before the concern about Chinese control started looming.
It said that except for television, which has lost more than $200 million since 2003, the group is no longer for sale.
?People?s concerns are fair and with evidence,? says Leonard Chu, a retired media studies professor at National Chengchi University in Taipei, referring to protesters and skeptical academics. ?We know that China is not an open society, so that?s a reason to worry.?
Of Taiwan?s six major daily papers and six mainstream cable TV channels, only three regularly raise doubts about Taiwan?s engagement with China.
The Want Want Group, a main contender to buy Next Media, controls several Taiwanese media outlets seen as warm toward Beijing, and raised fears that the politically neutral Next Media coverage would be slanted toward Beijing. But before the $586 million takeover could be finalized, a Next Media spokesman said infighting between investors crashed the deal.
?The buyers decided they don?t want to go forward,? says Next Media?s commercial director Mark Simon, who added that Next Media changed its mind about selling. ?The company is not for sale anymore.?
Next Media?s animated graphics, which use lifelike cartoon videos of politicians and celebrities to recreate news events, have earned the company a cult following online. Next Media?s Internet following has reached about 15 million in Taiwan and Hong Kong combined.
?Why go out and put your employees and put everybody through hell?? Simon says of the decision to take the company off the market. ?TV is on the way out, and we?ll sell TV, but everything else here makes money. It?s a very profitable company.??
Because of pressure from the public, Taiwan?s?broadcast authorities and the legislature are studying whether they can?change laws to prevent media monopolies.
?The public opinions toward the purchase did play a role in keeping the government on their toes, so they can?t just not be transparent and let a deal go through,? says?Ketty Chen,?a political scientist and visiting instructor at National Taiwan University in Taipei.
China has claimed self-ruled Taiwan since the Chinese civil war of the 1940s?and demands that the two sides eventually reunify. Beijing has not ruled out the use of force, keeping the island on guard, despite a thaw in relations since 2008.
শুক্রবার, ২৯ মার্চ, ২০১৩
Ex-chairman of Republican Party of Florida gets 1.5 years in prison for stealing
John Raoux / AP
Former Florida GOP chairman Jim Greer, center, arrives at the Orange County Courthouse, with his wife Lisa, left, and attorney Damon Chase, right, for a sentencing hearing, Wednesday, March 27, in Orlando, Fla.
By Mike Schneider, The Associated Press
ORLANDO, Fla. ? The former chairman of the Republican Party of Florida was sentenced Wednesday to one-and-a-half years for stealing $125,000 in party funds, completing the fall of a man who once was one of the most powerful political figures in the state.
Jim Greer was sentenced in Orlando, more than a month after he pleaded guilty to four counts of theft and a single county of money laundering. The guilty pleas ended Greer's trial before it even started.
Circuit Judge Marc Lubet handed down a sentence that was less severe than the three-and-a-half years in prison requested by prosecutors. Lubet explained that he went with a more lenient sentence because Greer had agreed to pay restitution.
The trial had threatened to expose the underbelly of Florida's dominant political party and its formerly high-spending ways. Some of Florida's most powerful politicians were scheduled as witnesses, including former Gov. Charlie Crist, former U.S. Sen. George LeMieux, former Florida Attorney General Bill McCollum and several state House and state Senate leaders.
Topics covered in pretrial depositions included allegations of prostitutes at a state GOP fundraiser in the Bahamas, the drinking habits of Crist and intraparty strife.
Prosecutors said Greer funneled almost $200,000 to a company he had formed with his right-hand man, Delmar Johnson. He kept $125,000 of the money funneled to Victory Strategies for himself.
Johnson had been scheduled to be prosecutors' star witness and was granted immunity in exchange for his testimony.
Greer was vice mayor of the small central Florida town of Oviedo when Crist surprisingly picked him to be the state party chairman after he led local efforts to help Crist get elected governor in 2006. He previously was the president and CEO of a company that provides training to the hospitality industry on how to comply with alcohol laws.
The plea arrangement was reached at the last minute. Jury selection was set to begin early last month, but neither Greer nor prosecutors had appeared in the courtroom an hour after the trial was supposed to start.
Until he entered his guilty pleas, Greer had contended that party leaders, including Crist, knew about the financial arrangement that gave Greer's company a cut of party money in exchange for fundraising efforts. Greer had said he was targeted because of his support for Crist, who later defected from the GOP to run as an independent for U.S. Senate but lost to Rubio.
Crist denied ever knowing about the arrangement.
? 2013 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.
Forbes values Yankees at $2.3 billion
NEW YORK (AP) ? Forbes estimated the New York Yankees have the highest value in Major League Baseball for the 16th straight year at $2.3 billion, and the average for an MLB team increased by 23 percent in the last year to $744 million.
The magazine said Wednesday the Yankees' value increased from $1.85 billion last year.
The Los Angeles Dodgers are second in MLB at $1.62 billion ? nearly $400 million below the price paid for the team last May when a group headed by Mark Walter, Stan Kasten and Magic Johnson bought the franchise from Frank McCourt.
Forbes valued Boston third at $1.3 billion, followed by the Chicago Cubs ($1 billion), Philadelphia ($893 million), the New York Mets ($811 million), San Francisco ($786 million), Texas ($764 million), the Los Angeles Angels ($718 million) and St. Louis ($716 million).
The bottom five are Tampa Bay ($451 million), Kansas City ($457 million), Oakland ($468 million), Pittsburgh ($479 million) and Miami ($520 million).
Source: http://news.yahoo.com/forbes-values-yankees-2-3-billion-210911470--mlb.html
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বৃহস্পতিবার, ২৮ মার্চ, ২০১৩
How microbes survive at bare minimum: Archaea eat protein
Mar. 27, 2013 ? Beneath the ocean floor is a desolate place with no oxygen and sunlight. Yet microbes have thrived in this environment for millions of years.
Scientists have puzzled over how these microbes survive, but today there are more answers.
A study led by Karen Lloyd, a University of Tennessee, Knoxville, assistant professor of microbiology, reveals that these microscopic life-forms called archaea slowly eat tiny bits of protein. The study was released today in Nature.
The finding has implications for understanding the bare minimum conditions needed to support life.
"Subseafloor microbes are some of the most common organisms on earth," said Lloyd. "There are more of them than there are stars or sand grains. If you go to a mud flat and stick your toes into the squishy mud, you're touching these archaea. Even though they've literally been right under our noses for all of human history, we've never known what they're doing down there."
Archaea are one of three life forms on earth, including bacteria and eukarya cells.
Scientists are interested in archaea's extreme way of life because it provides clues about the absolute minimum conditions required to sustain life as well as the global carbon cycle.
"Scientists had previously thought that proteins were only broken down in the sea by bacteria," said Lloyd. "But archaea have now turned out to be important new key organisms in protein degradation in the seabed."
Proteins make up a large part of the organic matter in the seabed, the world's largest deposit of organic carbon.
To reveal the cells' identities and way of life, Lloyd and her colleagues collected ocean mud containing the archaea cells from Aarhus Bay, Denmark. Then they pulled out four individual cells and sequenced their genomic DNA to discover the presence of the extracellular protein-degrading enzymes predicted in those genomes.
"We were able to go back to the mud and directly measure the activity of these predicted enzymes," said Andrew Steen, another UT researcher and coauthor of the study. "I was shocked at how high the activities were."
This novel method opens the door for new studies by microbiologists. Scientists have been unable to grow archaea in the laboratory, limiting their studies to less than one percent of microorganisms. This new method allows scientists to study microorganisms directly from nature, opening up the remaining 99 percent to research.
Lloyd collaborated with other researchers from UT, as well as, Aarhus University in Denmark, Bigelow Laboratory for Ocean Sciences in Maine, Ribocon GmbH in Germany, and the Max Planck Institute for Marine Biology in Germany.
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The above story is reprinted from materials provided by University of Tennessee at Knoxville, via EurekAlert!, a service of AAAS.
Note: Materials may be edited for content and length. For further information, please contact the source cited above.
Journal Reference:
- Karen G. Lloyd, Lars Schreiber, Dorthe G. Petersen, Kasper U. Kjeldsen, Mark A. Lever, Andrew D. Steen, Ramunas Stepanauskas, Michael Richter, Sara Kleindienst, Sabine Lenk, Andreas Schramm, Bo Barker J?rgensen. Predominant archaea in marine sediments degrade detrital proteins. Nature, 2013; DOI: 10.1038/nature12033
Note: If no author is given, the source is cited instead.
Disclaimer: Views expressed in this article do not necessarily reflect those of ScienceDaily or its staff.
Source: http://feeds.sciencedaily.com/~r/sciencedaily/top_news/top_science/~3/3miogWBZOBE/130327163256.htm
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Gay marriage equality box spreads on social media
This image released by the Human Rights Campaign shows a redesign of their logo. A square box with thick pink horizontal lines (the mathematical equal symbol) was offered for sharing this week by the Human Rights Campaign as the U.S. Supreme Court took up arguments in key marriage rights cases. The image, replacing profile pictures on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, Tumblr, Pinterest and elsewhere, is a makeover of the advocacy group's logo, usually a blue background with bright yellow lines. The HRC made it available in red _ for the color of love _ on Monday and estimated tens of millions of shares by Wednesday. (AP Photo/Human Rights Campaign)
This image released by the Human Rights Campaign shows a redesign of their logo. A square box with thick pink horizontal lines (the mathematical equal symbol) was offered for sharing this week by the Human Rights Campaign as the U.S. Supreme Court took up arguments in key marriage rights cases. The image, replacing profile pictures on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, Tumblr, Pinterest and elsewhere, is a makeover of the advocacy group's logo, usually a blue background with bright yellow lines. The HRC made it available in red _ for the color of love _ on Monday and estimated tens of millions of shares by Wednesday. (AP Photo/Human Rights Campaign)
NEW YORK (AP) ? Bud Light said it with beer cans and Martha Stewart with red velvet cake as companies and celebrities from Beyonce to George Takei joined millions of social media users in posting and tweaking a simple red logo in support of gay marriage.
A square box with thick pink horizontal lines (the mathematical equal symbol) was offered for sharing this week by the Human Rights Campaign as the U.S. Supreme Court took up arguments in key marriage rights cases.
The image, replacing profile pictures on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, Tumblr, Pinterest and elsewhere, is a makeover of the advocacy group's logo, usually a blue background with bright yellow lines. The HRC made it available in red ? for the color of love ? on Monday and estimated tens of millions of shares by Wednesday.
"It shows the enthusiasm and the passion," said Fred Sainz, a spokesman for the nonprofit in Washington, D.C.
Like viral campaigns of yore, supporting breast cancer awareness (pink), President Barack Obama (change your middle name to Hussein) and even Arab Spring (green), a bit of fatigue set in on some social media streams by those questioning whether such efforts serve to change any minds or, put simply, are plain annoying.
"My Facebook feed is a cascading aesthetic nightmare. Thanks, equality," Washington Post writer Dan Zak wryly grumbled on Twitter.
A photo of Justice Anthony Kennedy made the rounds with the quip: "Before we make a ruling, did enough people change their Facebook profile picture?!"
None of that mattered to the masses of same-sex marriage supporters. Some swapped matzoh for the pink lines as Passover got under way, or added frowny Internet star Grumpy Cat, who explained marriage equality would make her happy.
Bert and Ernie showed up against the red background. (They're best friends with no plans to marry, according to Sesame Street.) Another version featured Paula Deen atop the red square and lines turned a shade of yellow akin to her favorite fatty ingredient and the tagline: "It's like two sticks of butter y'all."
Takei, a noted punster with nearly 4 million followers in Facebook, turned the equal sign into the division sign for those opposed to marriage equality.
Beyonce, with more than 44 million followers there, played it straight, leaving the logo alone and adding a personal message: "It's about TIME!!! (hash)EQUALITY (hash)MarryWhoYouLove.
Fergie let the image speak for itself on Twitter, adding: "No words necessary." Montana Sen. John Tester, a Democrat who endorsed same-sex marriage on Tuesday, put the logo up as his profile on Facebook while the clothing site Bonobos swapped its usual Facebook pic for the red square using fancy white pants for the equal sign.
Martha Stewart's Facebook page used a slice of red cake with white icing to make the image and the HBO page for "True Blood" added fangs.
All in good fun?
"There's a lot of serious conversation going on and there's an awful lot of important concepts that the Supreme Court justices are discussing," Sainz said. "What this logo going viral means is individuals have reduced it to a very straightforward concept."
___
Follow Leanne Italie on Twitter at http://twitter.com/litalie
Associated PressAction Launcher Pro version 1.5 puts Android widgets just a swipe away (video)
Android launchers cross our desks every so often but only a handful catch our eye. Action Launcher Pro is the latest to strike our fancy thanks to its quick and compact widget solution dubbed Shutters. With the freshly added feature, users can open up widgets by simply giving app icons a vertical swipe. Version 1.5 also packs a number of improvements, including support for 10-inch tablets and increased stability. Devices running Android 4.0.3 or newer will be able to take the launcher for a spin, but Shutters is a Jelly Bean-only affair thanks to API limitations. Head past the break to catch the software in action, or click the second source link to pick it up for $3.99.
Source: Action Launcher Pro (1, Google+), (2, Google Play), Action Launcher Release Notes, Chris Lacy (YouTube)
Source: http://www.engadget.com/2013/03/28/action-launcher-pro-version-1-5-shutters-widgets/
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বুধবার, ২৭ মার্চ, ২০১৩
U.S. approves Nasdaq payback plan for Facebook IPO, UBS unhappy
By John McCrank and Jennifer Saba
(Reuters) - Regulators approved Nasdaq OMX Group's $62 million compensation plan for firms that lost money in Facebook Inc's glitch-ridden market debut, a victory for the exchange operator that also set the stage for potential lawsuits from firms seeking more.
The Nasdaq plan will give retail market makers far less than the $500 million in estimated losses from Facebook's initial public offering. Nasdaq said in a note to traders on Monday that the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission approved the plan, and that firms had one week to submit requests for compensation.
A systems failure at Nasdaq on May 18 prevented timely order confirmations for many market participants, leaving them trading in the dark in the midst of the leading online social network's long-awaited initial public offering.
UBS AG has pegged its losses from the problematic IPO at above $350 million. It said it has already filed an arbitration demand against Nasdaq to fully recover losses due to the exchange's "gross mishandling the IPO."
Other market makers that took losses in the botched IPO include units of Citigroup Inc, Knight Capital Group and Citadel LLC.
Citi had opposed Nasdaq's plan, while Knight supported the plan but did not want to waive its right to sue for compensation. Firms that sign on to the plan must agree not to take legal actions against Nasdaq over the IPO. Citadel has backed the plan.
It was not immediately clear if any other firms planned to take legal action to try to recover their full losses. Knight, Citi and Citadel declined to comment.
REGULATORY IMMUNITY
The SEC's written decision said that while several letters to the regulator had expressed concern that approval of the compensation plan could affect pending litigation against Nasdaq, the ruling concerned only whether the compensation plan was consistent with existing regulation.
The regulator said it was "expressing no view as to whether Nasdaq or any other person may have violated the federal securities laws or any other laws, any rule or regulation ... in connection with the Facebook IPO."
At stake is the extent to which U.S. stock exchanges, which match hundreds of billions of dollars of transactions daily, can be held liable for technical glitches in an environment dominated by lightning-fast automated trading.
Liabilities at U.S. exchanges, which have some regulatory duties, are capped when the exchanges are performing those duties. Nasdaq's cap for technical glitches in most instances is $3 million a month.
If Nasdaq had to make whole all the brokers that lost money in the IPO, it might bankrupt the exchange, which could end up driving more trading onto less transparent venues, such as dark pools, said Tamar Frankel, a Boston University professor who teaches securities law, corporate governance, and legal ethics.
The SEC said the question of whether Nasdaq should be able to claim regulatory immunity in this case was outside of the scope of the regulator's consideration.
Separately, the SEC is investigating Nasdaq's role in the botched IPO. A source previously said the two sides are in talks to possibly settle the probe.
VOLUNTARY PLAN
Nasdaq has maintained that it is not obligated to compensate firms for losses, and that its plan is voluntary. It has given strict guidance on which types of orders will qualify to be reimbursed.
Nasdaq spokesman Joe Christinat said now that the SEC has approved the plan, the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority can promptly begin processing claims for restitution.
UBS called Nasdaq's proposal "inadequate and insufficient," and said in a statement the SEC's approval of the plan does not change its opinion.
Citi had also asked the SEC to not approve Nasdaq's plan, arguing in a letter that Nasdaq "was acting exclusively as a for-profit business, and not as a market regulator, when it made the grossly negligent business decisions that caused market participants hundreds of millions of dollars of losses."
Knight, which in August had its own technical glitch that cost it $461 million and nearly bankrupted the company, said in a letter that month to the SEC it supported Nasdaq's efforts but that the condition of having to waive the right to sue would "set a harmful precedent."
Shares of Nasdaq, which has completed 50 IPOs since the Facebook IPO, were down 0.6 percent at $32.16 on Monday afternoon.
(Reporting by John McCrank and Jennifer Saba. Editing by Gerald E. McCormick, Lisa Von Ahn and David Gregorio)
Source: http://news.yahoo.com/regulators-approve-plan-lost-money-facebook-ipo-123811986--sector.html
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Court could sidestep gay marriage question
Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand (D-NY) talks with Edith Windsor (R) in the hallway before a news conference on gay marriage.??
On Wednesday, the Supreme Court justices will hear arguments in the second gay marriage case ever in the court's history, again raising hopes from both sides that the court will weigh in decisively on the issue after justices suggested on Tuesday that they may dodge a decision in California's gay marriage case.
The case is Windsor v. United States, a challenge to the 1996 Defense of Marriage Act, which prohibits the federal government from recognizing same-sex marriages even in the nine states and District of Columbia that allow them. Eighty-three-year-old New Yorker Edith Windsor brought the suit after she was made to pay more than $363,000 in estate taxes when her same-sex spouse died, because the federal government did not recognize their marriage.
Windsor married her partner of more than four decades, Thea Spyer, in 2007 in Canada. Four years later, New York state legalized gay marriage.
Windsor argues that the law, commonly referred to as DOMA, unfairly excluded her marriage in more than 1,000 federal statutes in which marriage is relevant, including key parts of the tax code. She says the government has no legitimate reason to exclude same-sex married couples from benefits received by opposite-sex couples, and that she and other gay couples are being denied equal protection under the law.
The Obama administration has declined to defend DOMA, so the House of Representatives appointed seasoned attorney Paul Clement, who has argued before the Supreme Court many times, to take up the case. Clement will most likely argue that the federal government is not intruding on states' definition of marriage, but simply using its own definition in regard to federal benefits. He also has argued in legal briefs that the federal government has an interest in defining marriage as only between opposite sex couples because it encourages them to form stable family relationships when they procreate.
On Tuesday, some justices?including key swing vote Anthony Kennedy?expressed skepticism that the supporters of California's Proposition 8 have the legal authority to defend the law after the state's attorney general decided to drop the case. The DOMA case also is dogged by procedural issues, and it's possible the justices may throw it out without issuing a decision, letting the lower court's opinion stand. The Supreme Court has appointed a private lawyer to argue on Wednesday that the House of Representatives does not have standing in the case, signaling that the justices have real concerns about the standing issue.
It's possible that justices could dodge decisions in both Proposition 8 and DOMA, which would most likely be disappointing for proponents of both sides. If the DOMA case is thrown out, the federal government would most likely have to pay Windsor back her taxes, but the federal law would still remain in place. If the justices decide to dismiss Proposition 8, gay marriage will most likely become legal in California but not in other states.
But if the justices decide the House does have standing to appeal on behalf of DOMA, some legal experts have argued that the liberal justices may attract support from conservative justices to strike down the law by appealing to a states' rights argument. Marriage traditionally has been regulated by the states, the argument goes, and DOMA is unfairly interfering with New York and the eight other states that allow gay marriage.
Erwin Chemerinsky, the founding dean of University of California at Irvine Law School, said that based on the Proposition 8 oral argument, he was skeptical of that. "I think Justices Scalia and Alito clearly indicated the they're hostile to the marriage equality opinion," Chemerinsky said. "Thomas is likely to be with them."
If the conservative justices attract Kennedy, who has written two major opinions upholding gay rights, then DOMA would be affirmed as law. That would deal a blow to the gay rights movement strategy of getting gay marriage passed state-by-state, since the federal government would not be required to recognize those marriages. It's also possible that the court could use DOMA as a vehicle to declare that gay people have a right to marriage, though most legal experts say that's unlikely. The Proposition 8 case was seen as the better bet for gay marriage supporters to get a broad decision out of the justices, since the DOMA case is more narrowly focused on one aspect of a federal law.
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মঙ্গলবার, ২৬ মার্চ, ২০১৩
CBO lowers personal loan ceiling to 35%Financial Services - Zawya
By A.E. James
Muscat: The Central Bank of Oman (CBO) yesterday decided to bring down the upper ceiling of personal loan portfolio of commercial banks to 35 per cent from 40 per cent of a bank's total credit, while increasing the housing loan limit to 15 per cent from 10 per cent now. The decision was taken by the board of governors, which met under the chairmanship of Dr Ali bin Mohammed bin Moosa, Deputy Chairman of the board here yesterday. It is not clear whether the decision will be implemented immediately or a grace period will be granted to local banks to comply with the revised upper limit.
Market analysts said that the increase in upper limit of mortgage finance will help real estate sector, although banks will get a lower margin compared to personal loan.
"Since it is backed by assets, the loan quality will improve and will help the growth of real economy," noted Sankar Kailasam, Head of Asset Management at Gulf Baader Capital Markets. The CBO decision was aimed at bringing in discipline among those who take personal loan. There have been concerns that a sizable amount of personal loan is used for conspicuous consumption, which include luxury cars, mobile phones and leisure travel.
In other words, the increase in will help to create more appreciating assets, than depreciating assets. Of late, the Majlis A'Shura also discussed the issue in detail. The aggregate personal loan portfolio of all banks touched OMR5.8 billion (which include mortgage finance) by end-December, 2012. This constitutes 41 per cent of the total loan portfolio of all banks at OMR14.36 billion. "So, there is ample room for banks to grow their mortgage finance portfolio," added Kailasam.
Kailasam said those commercial banks, which have already reached their upper ceiling (of 40 per cent personal loan and 10 per cent housing finance) can not grow their retail portfolio, which is generally a high margin business. However, if corporate loan grows at a faster pace, banks will be able to increase its personal loan portfolio as well.
In principle approval
The CBO board also gave an in principle approval for ahlibank to take over the assets and liabilities of Taageer Finance Company.
Further, the board approved the application of National Bank of Oman to expand its business in the United Arab Emirates by opening additional branches. In addition, the board discussed the scope for investments of Islamic banking, besides the personal and housing finance in the context of Islamic Banks.
The apex bank last year brought down interest rate ceiling on new personal loan to 7 per cent from 8 per cent, offering relief to bank borrowers. The interest rate cut was aimed at bringing down the repayment burden or indebtedness of bank borrowers, at a time interest rates across the board have witnessed a substantial fall.
? Times of Oman 2013? Copyright Zawya. All Rights Reserved.
Source: http://www.zawya.com/story/CBO_lowers_personal_loan_ceiling_to_35-ZAWYA20130325041021/
সোমবার, ২৫ মার্চ, ২০১৩
Technotronic: Pump Up The Jam
Source: http://feeds.gawker.com/~r/gizmodo/full/~3/yuTSfmfQSBM/technotronic-pump-up-the-jam
শনিবার, ২৩ মার্চ, ২০১৩
BBC commissions first iPlayer-exclusive drama, sees which way the wind is blowing
A few weeks ago, the BBC began to ask "Where Next?" and just like magic, it's now revealing its future direction. The corporation is commissioning its first strand of original dramas that'll air exclusively on its iPlayer VOD service. The deal's rather minor, given that it'll feature six short films in two years that are aimed at BBC Three's "youth" audience, but we can't imagine this won't be followed by something meatier down the line. Perhaps we could see the corporation remaking its seminal series House of Cards... oh.
Filed under: HD
Source: http://feeds.engadget.com/~r/weblogsinc/engadget/~3/rOIr54AZSAQ/
শুক্রবার, ২২ মার্চ, ২০১৩
Wiz Khalifa Proud That Baby Is 'Taking Good Poops'
'The hardest thing for me is just when he cries,' Wiz tells 'RapFix Live' about his adjustment to fatherhood.
By Rob Markman, with reporting by Sway Calloway
Wiz Khalifa
Photo: MTV News
Source: http://www.mtv.com/news/articles/1704088/wiz-khalifa-baby-poops.jhtml
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বুধবার, ২০ মার্চ, ২০১৩
Vampire Night: NPC Thread.
Sorry, Readability was unable to parse this page for content.
Source: http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/RolePlayGateway/~3/1n-1DrqKmkA/viewtopic.php
Delicate diplomacy: Pope meets Argentine president
VATICAN CITY (AP) ? Pope Francis' diplomatic skills were put to the test Monday as he had lunch with Argentine President Cristina Fernandez: As leader of Argentina's Catholics, he had accused her populist government of demagoguery while she called his position on gay adoptions reminiscent of the Middle Ages and the Inquisition.
That was then. On Monday, Fernandez gave the new pope a mate gourd and straw, to hold the traditional Argentine tea that Francis loves, and he gave her a kiss.
"Never in my life has a pope kissed me!" Fernandez said afterward.
Fernandez called on the former Archbishop of Buenos Aires at his temporary home, the Vatican hotel on the edge of the Vatican gardens, and the two later had lunch together, a day before she and other world leaders attend his installation Mass in St. Peter's Square that some estimates say could bring 1 million people to Rome.
The Vatican on Monday released details of the Mass, saying it would be a simplified version of the 2005 installation Mass that brought Pope Benedict XVI to the papacy, with many gestures to Eastern rite Catholics and Orthodox Christians in a sign of church unity.
The Vatican also released details of Francis' coat of arms and official ring, both of which are in keeping with his simple style and harking back to popes past: The coat of arms is the same Jesuit-inspired one he used as archbishop of Buenos Aires, while the ring was once offered to Pope Paul VI, who presided over the second half of the Second Vatican Council, the church meetings that modernized the church.
Newly elected Pope Francis I, Cardinal Jorge Mario Bergoglio of Argentina, leads a a mass with cardinals at the Sistine Chapel, in a still image taken from video at the Vatican March 14, 2013. ... more? Newly elected Pope Francis I, Cardinal Jorge Mario Bergoglio of Argentina, leads a a mass with cardinals at the Sistine Chapel, in a still image taken from video at the Vatican March 14, 2013. Argentine Cardinal Jorge Bergoglio surprised the world on Wednesday when he ended a run of nearly 1,300 years of European popes and greeted St. Peter's Square for the first time as Pope Francis. REUTERS/Vatican CTV via Reuters TV (VATICAN - Tags: RELIGION) FOR EDITORIAL USE ONLY. NOT FOR SALE FOR MARKETING OR ADVERTISING CAMPAIGNS. less? Francis will officially receive the ring and the pallium, a woolen stole, during Tuesday's installation Mass, which is drawing six sovereign rulers, 31 heads of state, three princes and 11 heads of government to the Vatican. Fernandez leads the largest delegation with 19 members.She and her predecessor and late husband, Nestor Kirchner, defied church teaching to push through a series of measures with popular backing in Argentina, including mandatory sex education in schools, free distribution of contraceptives in public hospitals, and the right for transsexuals to change their official identities on demand. Argentina in 2010 became the first Latin American country to legalize same-sex marriages.
According to Francis' authorized biographer, Sergio Rubin, the former Cardinal Jorge Mario Bergoglio was politically wise enough to know the church couldn't win a straight-on fight against gay marriage, so he urged his bishops to lobby for gay civil unions instead. It wasn't until his proposal was shot down by the bishops' conference that he declared what gay activists called a "war of God" on the measure ? and the church lost the issue altogether.
Fernandez issued a perfunctory message of congratulations when Francis was elected last week, calling the election of the first Latin American pope "historic" and saying she hoped that given his namesake, St. Francis of Assisi, the new pope would inspire world leaders to pay greater attention to the poor and pursue dialogue rather than force to resolve disputes.
She has, however, remained unusually silent about the election on her otherwise prolifically active Twitter account, posting a single tweet on his election day: "To your Holiness Francis I" with a link to her letter of congratulations, which wasn't even signed.
Their chilly relations became crystal clear after the Kirchners several years ago stopped attending the church's annual "Te Deum" address challenging society to do better, which is delivered each May 25.
In last year's address, Bergoglio said Argentina was being harmed by demagoguery, totalitarianism, corruption and efforts to secure unlimited power: a strong message in a country whose president has ruled by decree and left scandals unpunished.
The Fernandez meeting isn't the only diplomatic dance Francis will be conducting this week as more than 132 government delegations descend on Rome for the Mass formally installing Francis as the 266th leader of the 1.2-billion strong Catholic Church.
Italian media say Rome civil protection authorities are planning for upward of 1 million people to attend the Mass, numbers not seen since the beatification of Pope John Paul II in 2011, which drew 1.5 million to St. Peter's and the surrounding streets.
One significant VIP is the spiritual leader of the world's Orthodox Christians, Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew I. His presence at the installation is the first from the Istanbul-based Patriarchate in nearly 1,000 years since the Great Schism divided the church in 1054.
The Mass will make several gestures toward Eastern rite and Orthodox Christians, with the Gospel being chanted in Greek as opposed to Latin and eastern rite Catholic prelates joining Francis at an initial prayer at the tomb of St. Peter under the basilica's main altar, the Vatican said Monday.
In all, some 33 Christian delegations will be present, as well as representatives of Jewish, Muslim, Buddhist, Sikh and Jain communities. They will see a simplified Mass compared to the 2005 installation of Pope Benedict XVI, with for example fewer cardinals pledging obedience to the new pope.
Also arriving in Rome on Monday was Taiwanese President Ma Ying-jeou, a rare European foray for the head of the diplomatically isolated island that underscores the tricky nature of its relations with China and the Vatican.
"We want to have much better relations with the Vatican and I think we will, thank you," Ma said as he arrived. He said Francis was a "wonderful person. I think he'll do a very good job."
Taiwan has full diplomatic relations with only 23 countries, most of them in Latin America, Africa, and the south Pacific. Its only diplomatic ally in Europe is the Vatican, though even that tie remains tenuous.
The Vatican has long expressed a willingness to transfer its diplomatic recognition from Taipei to Beijing, which is one of China's conditions. But the real sticking point between the two is who has the authority to appoint bishops. Beijing maintains that right belongs to a Chinese bishops conference, which is ultimately controlled by the Communist Party, while the Vatican insists that authority lies with the pope.
China has congratulated the new pope on his election, but said that establishing formal relations would depend on the Vatican cutting ties with Taipei and ceasing activities Beijing considers interference in its internal affairs.
Zimbabwe President Robert Mugabe also arrived in Rome for the inaugural Mass.
Mugabe, 89, is the subject of a travel ban by European nations to protest his human rights record in a decade of political and economic turmoil in his southern African nation, but it does not affect his trips to the Vatican through Italy.
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Michael Warren in Buenos Aires contributed.
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Follow Nicole Winfield at www.twitter.com/nwinfield
Source: http://news.yahoo.com/delicate-diplomacy-pope-meets-argentine-president-101239047.html
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মঙ্গলবার, ১৯ মার্চ, ২০১৩
Report: Microsoft Is Being Investigated for Bribery
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সোমবার, ১৮ মার্চ, ২০১৩
Syrian rebel official backs interim government
Khalid Saleh, the spokesman for the opposition Syrian National Coalition, speaks to reporters in Istanbul, Turkey, Monday, March 18, 2013. The coalition began a push Monday to form an interim government to administer rebel-held parts of Syria. (AP Photo/Ben Hubbard)
Khalid Saleh, the spokesman for the opposition Syrian National Coalition, speaks to reporters in Istanbul, Turkey, Monday, March 18, 2013. The coalition began a push Monday to form an interim government to administer rebel-held parts of Syria. (AP Photo/Ben Hubbard)
Khalid Saleh, the spokesman for the opposition Syrian National Coalition, speaks to reporters in Istanbul, Turkey, Monday, March 18, 2013. The coalition began a push Monday to form an interim government to administer rebel-held parts of Syria. (AP Photo/Ben Hubbard)
Head of the new Syrian National Coalition for Opposition and Revolutionary Forces Mouaz al-Khatib, rear-left, speaks during a meeting in Istanbul, Turkey, Monday, March 2013. Syria's main opposition coalition began a push Monday to form an interim government to provide services to people living in parts of the country now controlled by rebel forces. Arabic writing at centre reads, General Assembly Meeting.(AP Photo)
U.N.-Arab League international Syria mediator Lakhdar Brahimi speaks during a press conference with Arab League Secretary-General Nabil al-Araby, left, at the Arab league headquarters in Cairo, Egypt, Monday, March 18, 2013. The fighting in the Syrian civil war has settled into a bloody stalemate and shows no signs of stopping, despite several tentative proposals from both sides to find a peaceful resolution to the conflict. (AP Photo/Amr Nabil)
Arab League Secretary-General Nabil al-Araby, right, meets with U.N.-Arab League international Syria mediator Lakhdar Brahimi at the Arab league headquarters in Cairo, Egypt, Monday, March 18, 2013. The fighting in Syria has settled into a bloody stalemate and shows no signs of stopping, despite several tentative proposals from both sides to find a peaceful resolution to the conflict. (AP Photo/Amr Nabil)
ISTANBUL (AP) ? The leader of the main Syrian rebel force on Monday threw his weight behind the formation of an interim government to administer rebel-held areas as heavy fighting broke out in the Syrian capital and several suburbs.
At least three mortar shells struck central Damascus, the seat of President Bashar Assad's power. The pro-government's Al-Ikhbariya TV said one of the shells fell in Muhajireen district near Tishreen Palace, one of three palaces that Assad uses in the capital.
Activists also reported that mortar shells struck near state security agencies in al-Barakmeh district and close to the Higher Education Ministry in Mazzeh district.
At least 26 people died in the fighting in Damascus and its suburbs, according to the Britain-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights.
Also on Monday, Assad's fighter jets struck targets near the town of Arsal, Lebanon, according to Lebanon's state-run National News Agency. The two countries share a porous border and it was unclear if the shelling occurred inside Lebanon.
The strikes came just days after Damascus warned Beirut to stop militants from crossing the border to fight alongside the rebels.
Lebanon has been on edge since the uprising against Assad began in March 2011. Gunmen on opposing sides of Syrian civil war have frequently clashed in Lebanon, raising concerns of a spillover.
Syria's conflict began with political protests in mid-March, 2011, and has since become a civil war, with hundreds of rebel groups fighting Assad's forces. The U.N. says more than 70,000 people have been killed and millions have been pushed from their homes by the violence.
In Istanbul, Gen. Salim Idris told reporters that fighters affiliated with his Free Syrian Army, the main rebel group, will work under the umbrella of an interim government and protect its members.
"We recognize the coalition as our political umbrella and we hope this government can be formed unanimously and that this government will exercise its powers in all of Syria," said Idris, the chief of staff of the FSA. "We consider it the only legal government in the country."
Idris' comments sought to boost efforts by the opposition's Syrian National Coalition to choose a prime minister who will form an interim government. The coalition has failed to take such a step twice before, but members say there now appears to be more agreement that such a step is necessary.
The coalition's 73 members meeting in Istanbul are expected to elect an interim prime minister from 12 candidates. The vote is expected by Tuesday.
Idris' comments also sought to portray his group as the most powerful and organized rebel formation in Syria. It remains unclear, however, how many of the hundreds of rebel brigades fighting Assad's forces follow Idris' commands or are linked to his group.
Some of the most effective rebel groups are Islamic extremists who have developed their own support networks. One of them, Jabhat al-Nusra, has been designated a terrorist group by the United States and is said to be linked to al-Qaida.
Idris said his group has no relationship with Jabhat al-Nusra.
He renewed his call for world powers to arm rebel fighters, saying his group would insure that the weapons don't fall into the wrong hands ? a prime concern of the U.S. and other powers, especially given Syria's southern frontier with Israel.
"We have the power and the organizational capacity to control the movement of these weapons and keep them in safe, trusted hands," he said.
Last week, Britain and France urged the European Union to lift a ban on arming Syrian rebels, but with other EU members opposed, no decision was reached.
The U.S. is reluctant to send weapons, fearing they might end up with extremists, but U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry said Monday that the Obama administration won't hold anyone back from doing so.
"The United States does not stand in the way of other countries that made a decision to provide arms, whether it's France, or Britain or others," Kerry said in Washington.
The longer Syria's violence goes on, the greater the danger of its institutions collapsing and extremists obtaining chemical weapons, Kerry said.
Idris, meanwhile, suggested other types of possible military aid, saying his group would welcome Lebanese or international forces along Syria's border with Lebanon. He also called for rebel units to be trained to seize Syria's chemical weapons.
"The chemical weapons in Syria are not secured," he said, warning that they could be used against rebels or given to "rogue groups, like the Lebanese militant group Hezbollah."
"We ask the international community to help us train special forces that can secure these weapons and keep them from falling into the hands of extremists," he said.
___
Associated Press Writer Barbara Surk, Zeina Karam and Karin Laub in Beirut, Lebanon, and Bradley S. Klapper in Washington contributed to this report.
Associated PressWomen's Track Opens Outdoor Season With Strong Showing
Complete Results
SAN DIEGO, Calif. ? The Big Red men's and women's track and field teams had a strong start to the outdoor season, more than holding their own against excellent competition at the Aztec Invitational over the weekend by combining for 28 ECAC/IC4A qualifying performances and three event wins.
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Competing in San Diego for the first time against a field that had Olympians and NCAA champions while also having to deal with lengthy travel, Cornell still produced five changes to the all-time top-10 lists in school history.
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The Big Red women were terrific, producing 16 ECAC qualifiers, a freshman record and over 20 top-10 event finishes in the competitive meet. Things began very well on Friday night in the distance races.
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Senior All-American Genna Hartung ran a technically sound race in the 3000 steeplechase, leading wire to wire to win as she finished in 10:46.22, an ECAC qualifier and her best ever steeple seasonal debut. Freshman Claire DeVoe impressed in her very first attempt at the event, placing third in 11:12.18.
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In the 5000, the Big Red took five of the top nine places with four ECAC qualifiers. Senior co-captain Katie Kellner placed third in 16:28.12, the fastest time by a Cornellian on the spring trip in the last 20 years. Freshman Caroline Kellner had a seven-second personal best to place fifth in 16:42.98, and junior Devin McMahon ran a very strong race to improve her 2013 best by nine seconds, crossing the line in 16:44.80. Senior Kate Rosettie was seventh in 16:54.77, an outdoor personal record by 26 seconds. And freshman Dina Iacone, despite being sick, ran well with her teammates, splitting an impressive 10:01 at 3K before finishing in 17:20.53 for ninth.
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Last, but certainly not least, freshman Sarah Holl ran an excellent race to place 10th in the 1500 in 4:36.23.
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On Saturday, things got off to a solid start in the 4x100 as the quartet of sophomore Mina Amick-Alexis, sophomore Zena Kolliesuah, junior Ebolutalese Airewele and sophomore Katie Woodford ran 47.11 for seventh and an ECAC qualifier, a good beginning. Airewele came back with an outstanding race in the 400, running 55.24 for eighth in a great field, the No. 8 time in school history. Kolliesuah joined her as an ECAC qualifier, placing 10th in 55.65.
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The Big Red had two other individual eighth place finishes on the track: sophomore Elyse Wilkinson set a collegiate personal record with a run of 2:12.22 in the 800, and junior Ryan Woolley ran 62.62 in the 400 hurdles. And in the 4x400, a lineup of sophomore Emily Woodford (58.8), senior co-captain Libby O'Brien (56.2), freshman Deedee Akpaete (57.1) and Woolley (55.8) ran 3:48.29 for seventh and an ECAC qualifier.
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The Big Red women were particularly strong in the field events. In the high jump, senior co-captain Ailish Hanly cleared 5' 8 3/4? for second, and freshman Elizabeth Crissy joined her as an ECAC qualifier with a clearance of 5' 7?. Not only No. 8 all-time, Crissy's performance ties the freshman record of Shawna Rossini '07.
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In the javelin, the Big Red had three more ECAC qualifiers. Senior co-captain Victoria Imbesi had an impressive debut with a third-place throw of 148' 1?. Classmate Brittany Dombrowski looked strong with a fifth-place mark of 139' 4?, and sophomore Felicia Reid got off to a good start with a mark of 137' for eighth.
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In the pole vault, Claire Dishong continued her fine senior year with a 10th-place clearance of 12' 2 3/4? in the pole vault.
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The team now heads up to Irvine for a week of training on their facility and will conclude the trip with the UC Irvine Spring Break Invitational on Friday and Saturday.
Source: http://www.cornellbigred.com/news/2013/3/17/WTRACK_0317131633.aspx
Rowling to UK govt: Don't let down hacking victims
FILE This is a Thursday, Sept. 27, 2012 file photo of British author J.K. Rowling as she poses for the photographers during photo call to unveil her new book, entitled: 'The Casual Vacancy', at the Southbank Centre in London. Celebrities including author J.K. Rowling and actor Hugh Grant are accusing the government of letting down victims of media intrusion. They are urging lawmakers to back new measures to rein in Britain?s unruly press. (AP Photo/Lefteris Pitarakis, File)
FILE This is a Thursday, Sept. 27, 2012 file photo of British author J.K. Rowling as she poses for the photographers during photo call to unveil her new book, entitled: 'The Casual Vacancy', at the Southbank Centre in London. Celebrities including author J.K. Rowling and actor Hugh Grant are accusing the government of letting down victims of media intrusion. They are urging lawmakers to back new measures to rein in Britain?s unruly press. (AP Photo/Lefteris Pitarakis, File)
FILE - This is a Monday, Nov. 21, 2011 file photo of British actor Hugh Grant as he arrives to give evidence at the the Leveson inquiry in London. Celebrities including author J.K. Rowling and actor Hugh Grant are accusing the government of letting down victims of media intrusion. They are urging lawmakers to back new measures to rein in Britain?s unruly press. (AP Photo/Alastair Grant, File)
LONDON (AP) ? J.K. Rowling and Hugh Grant are among the celebrities accusing the British government of letting down the victims of media hacking. They want lawmakers to back new measures to rein in Britain's unruly press.
Legislators are due to vote Monday on rival plans for tougher controls in the wake of the country's phone-hacking scandal.
The Conservative-led government says it will propose a new press watchdog, but hacking victims say the regulator must be backed by an act of Parliament.
"Harry Potter" author Rowling ? who has spoken of the media's impact on her family ? said Sunday that she and other victims felt they "have been hung out to dry" by the government.
Grant said hacking victims would support plans by the Liberal Democrats and Labour for stronger media measures.
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Become An Internet Marketing Guru With These Powerful Marketing ...
Online marketing can seem difficult, but can be very lucrative if you have the knowledge to succeed. Don?t be overly concerned. These tips will help you avoid the pitfalls.
TIP! Not every affiliate website is easy to use. Many can be aggravating or hard to navigate.
When you first start out doing internet marketing, you usually have to spend some money in order to make more money. Always reinvest some of your profits into your marketing your business with advertisements on several websites. Some popular websites that should yield great returns include Google, Bing, Yahoo, YouTube and Facebook.
TIP! One strength of a good affiliate company is their active support for affiliates with product-selling resources made available. Most affiliate companies have the knowledge and experience to know what works and what doesn?t.
Give careful consideration before linking to products on your site. You may have to take some time to learn how to best arrange the affiliate links on your site, but once you find a successful formula, you will see the profits coming in more regularly.
TIP! There is money to be made in choosing a specialty niche for your affiliate marketing. You can immediately see profits through specialty niches as opposed to main stream products that may take longer to see profits.
Provide alternate uses for products you sell through an affiliate program, if possible. If you are selling a shoe mat with high sides, show it being used as a food dish for dogs or as a means of draining pots and pans.
TIP! A useful affiliate marketing tip is to seek out a company that frequently creates products. If you are striving to have repeat business and involve yourself with a company who has an excellent reputation, then you should ensure you find one who is always releasing many different products in order to always have commissions coming your way.
Look into getting a reputable tracking system. If an affiliate improperly calculates your sales, it will be your bank account that suffers. Make sure that your money is protected by always using a tracking service that is well known and trustworthy. There may be a fee for the service, but it will be worth the money.
TIP! If you want to be successful at affiliate marketing, know your audience. You want your message to resonate with your readers.
Try using a handwritten ad on your website. Adding a unique element to your website could be an effective way to generate sales. A more personal online experience may convince potential customers to make purchases. If you have bad handwriting, hire someone to write the copy for you.
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Do your research and check the track record of any affiliate that you join up with: do they pay on time and follow through with commissions? Is the affiliate able to track orders from all channels, including online, phone and fax? You need to be sure you are receiving all of the commission payments you are due.
TIP! Extensive communication can make a bond between affiliates even stronger and more beneficial. This frequent communication also helps protect your profits.
Give your potential buyers a lot of information about your product, like screen shots and user reviews. If you are able to offer prospective buyers a wealth of information, you can increase the likelihood that they?ll choose to do business with you and send others your way.
TIP! Whenever you build affiliate links, you should consider accessories as well. They might also want an mp3 player to listen to on their walks.
Include all the media you can in your online marketing efforts. Try adding screenshots or even videos of the product in action. Doing so brings in more buyers. Always offer lots of details in your reviews. People are interested in learning about products they buy.
TIP! Affiliate marketing issues in California have been resolved so accounts suspended in early 2011 can now replace the links they lost. Amazon had to lawfully drop California clients then, but they can get back in now.
You nor anyone associated with you should take advantage of the process. This is extremely annoying for viewers in the best case. This method can break the chains of affiliate tracking and it can also spread viruses.
TIP! Learning proper marketing methods is one an important step to being a successful affiliate. It is common to see newcomers to affiliate marketing jump at the most readily available free offering.
Learn new marketing tactics, and share with others in the community, by joining affiliate marketing communities online. Many forums exist in which you can share ideas and find help for any difficulties you may be having.
Clear information is essential for older customers. Even small things like increasing font size can make it easier to close a sale.
TIP! Don?t rely on just a few affiliate programs for your entire campaign. Variety is not only the spice of life, but with products and your affiliates too.
Though you have big ideas for your affiliate website, the best strategy is to start off small. Learning on the job is a great way to be successful. After succeeding, you will gain the knowledge and confidence you need to enter niches that are more competitive.
TIP! Once you know which items you intend to market for affiliates, be certain you market them in a way that will attract the right constituency. Cheap products get by on high sales and click through methods.
It is hard to sell something you do not believe in. A great way to advertise the affiliate product is to use it yourself. You can report how valuable the product has been for you via a blog, in a web article or product reviews. There are countless forums that you can join to discuss the product and promote it. Anytime you post something about the product you are marketing also post an affiliate link for potential customers. This will allow readers to easily find the product and purchase it.
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Check out affiliate promotion referral programs. Many companies offer referral rewards for directing new customers toward their business. There are enterprises that will pay you a portion of any sales resulting from a referral. You could effectively refer affiliate marketers if you are in an emerged market or industry group.
TIP! An excellent way to get more visitors to your site is to make a banner ad that has a trivia question in it. Set it up so the only way for a person to know the correct answer is by visiting your site.
Sharing e-books is a good way to gain credibility. E-books offer value in and of themselves, which also inspires interest and confidence in your products. Your completed document should include multiple links that will take the reader to your website.
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Web marketing doesn?t have to be difficult. Even though it requires a lot of networking, researching and hard work, it?s worth doing these things in order to improve your site?s future. The aforementioned advice should serve as a valuable starting point for your web marketing efforts.
Source: http://www.chiccyclist.com/become-an-internet-marketing-guru-with-these-powerful-marketing-tips/
রবিবার, ১৭ মার্চ, ২০১৩
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Ubuntu Raring Ringtail hits beta, flagship desktop and server flavors left out
Canonical's taken the next step in pushing Raring Ringtail out of its nest by releasing the very first beta version, but only for Edubuntu, Kubuntu, Lubuntu, UbuntuKylin, Ubuntu Cloud, Ubuntu Studio and Xubuntu. Plain ol' Ubuntu for desktops and servers will arrive with the final 13.04 beta release on March 28th, so that devs will be able to focus on the software and keep things under wraps for a little longer. These early versions aren't for the faint of heart, but adventurous folks can download them at the source if they don't mind some kinks. However, those who aren't interested in tempting fate can wait for the polished release in April.
Via: PCWorld
Source: ubuntu-devel-announce mailing list
Source: http://feeds.engadget.com/~r/weblogsinc/engadget/~3/CUAu7MdfKXM/
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Late-winter storms could bring more snow to Northeast
Terry Prather / AP
Snow falls early Sunday, March 17, 2013, as an Amish family travels to church services near Maysville, Ky.
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By Craig Giammona, NBC News
A pair of storm systems that were moving across the country on Sunday could join forces to bring snow to the Northeast ? even as the official start of spring approaches next week.
One storm was spreading snow showers from the Cascades and northern Rockies into the northern Plains and was expected to bring snow to the Dakotas, Minnesota and western Wisconsin tonight, the Weather Channel said.
There was also a chance of snow in West Virgina, southwest Pennsylvania and northwestern Virginia Sunday night, according to meteorologists.
Another storm system was moving over the Ohio Valley Sunday and was expected to continue moving east, joining the northern system to produce a "fairly potent storm off the New England coast Tuesday," the Weather Channel said.
In addition, severe thunderstorms were in Monday's forecast from southern Ohio down into Kentucky, Tennessee and parts of Alabama, Mississippi, Louisiana and northeast Texas.
Snow was expected to close in on parts of the Northeast as the work week gets underway. The Weather Channel said the best chance for accumulating snow and freezing rain was in New England and other interior sections of the Northeast.
Snow is also possible on the I-95 corridor from Washington to Philadelphia Sunday night and from New York to Boston Monday night.
The National Oceanic and Atmosphere Administration called for a chance of rain in New York City Monday, with showers also forecast for Tuesday. NOAA also forecasted snow early Tuesday morning in Boston, but little accumulation is expected as the precipitation turns to sleet and rain during the day.
Wednesday marks the first official day of spring.
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