7 Things I Was Baffled By When I Started Online

I?d like to share some of the problems that prevented me making any money whatsoever for around 7-8 months after I began online almost exactly 3 years ago. I?ll also explain how I overcame them by giving some recommendations for each.

It?s quite interesting for me to see how my thinking and understanding of how to start and build a successful web business has changed over time.

But more importantly I hope you?ll be able to get a lot out of this because from talking to others I?ve learned that most people face the same challenges that I?ve experienced.

Let?s dive in with 7 things I was baffled by when I started out:?

1. How To Create Web Pages

Like all of us I visited lots of different websites on a daily basis but I really didn?t understand how to replicate them. Do you have to learn web design and HTML and get involved in the technical side of things?

Luckily, I was introduced to WordPress pretty early on. Although I have built a few pages in other systems (such as the free HTML editor Kompozer) I really never looked back.

What began as a blogging platform has now developed into a fully fledged content management system (CMS) for websites and for running a home business, there are very few cases when it makes sense to not use WordPress.

My Recommendation: If you don?t know WordPress. Learn it. Just create a simple personal blog and get acquainted. It?s time very well spent.

2. How To Get Traffic

I thought the only options were SEO (ranking your web pages high in Google) or Adwords (Google Paid ads).

Like most newcomers I didn?t want to risk any money so I went down the SEO path.

The trouble was by 2010 SEO was already becoming harder, more long term and increasingly uncertain. This didn?t stop me spending a small fortune on SEO software and training courses which resulted in virtually no revenue whatsoever.

My Recommendation: Traffic is a KEY element in your online success. So invest some time in learning about it. There are countless ways to promote your websites and many of them have been discussed on this blog (here and here?for example). Also, although I wouldn?t completely ignore SEO, I also highly recommend you don?t rely on it. Less than 10% of my traffic comes from SEO ? quite honestly I wouldn?t bother with it much at all!

3. Why The Websites Of Successful Marketers Didn?t Look Like Mine

During my ?SEO phase? I followed several ?gurus? who were very keen to tell me (and sell me) strategies which could rank my websites high in Google. Most of these involved setting up blogs, choosing the keywords, meta tags, headlines, H1 tags correctly and building backlinks to my site.

So how come when I visited these gurus? sites they had none of these things? I remember checking the backlinks and wondering why there weren?t any? How could they be making money if they didn?t seem to do the things they were telling me to do?

Also, a lot of their websites just had places for your name and email address (what I later learnt were called ?squeeze pages?) and had no content on them at all. Google wouldn?t rank these surely so I was baffled.

I was very na?ve really. But it just goes to show if you don?t know something then you just don?t know.

Of course, the reality was the the gurus were using joint ventures (JVs), affiliates and paid traffic to promote their websites. As silly as it might sound it really took me about 10 months to fully recognize this.

My Recommendation: Always ask yourself, ?Are the strategies that this person is teaching me what they actually use to make money themselves??. You can?t always be sure but being aware of this question really helps!

4. Who To Trust

A biggy.

As with any business ? online or offline ? there are scams and people who just want your money. In the internet marketing area there are definitely these kinds of people but also many very genuine businesses and marketers who provide solid products and services which can help you.

My Recommendation: Rather than expand on this here I will refer to a previous post where we covered this issue in detail.

5. Which Niche To Go Into

Again, usually a problem most of us have, especially at the early stage of our business.

This is partly related to ?I?m not an expert in anything? thinking but also because there are literally SO many different niches that it can become difficult to decide!

What I did was go into lots of niches. I don?t recommend this because you end up juggling so many balls that you can?t give the attention each niche deserves.

My Recommendation: Brainstorm niches you are interested in, check for sufficient audience size and profitability. Then pick one and go with it. Later on you can (as I have done) expand it more than one niche but that?s when you?ll have the experience of setting them up and promoting them. Also, understand you don?t need to be an expert: 1) You can learn, 2) You can get another expert to help (e.g., by interviewing them), 3) Many products (e.g., software) don?t rely on you being an expert at all.

6. How Can I Keep Up With The Information Coming At Me

Yes, the old information overload problem here!

What I specifically referring to though is the emails that I received as a result of signing up to people?s lists.

This distraction can manifest in at least 2 ways: 1) You are reading emails instead of implementing and taking action, 2) You get mixed messages and conflicting information which stops you taking action on your current plans by introducing doubt and shiny object syndrome.

My Recommendation: Unsubscribe from any list which just promotes things all the time. Follow the people you trust (or at worst think you trust!) ? see above for tips on this. Pick one project and stick with it, emotionally detach (as best you can) and work on your business (imagine you are consulting on someone else?s business which helps) instead of in your business.

7. Sales Funnels

Again I?m admitting naivety here but after coming online I really didn?t understand the importance of having a funnel or even what one was!

Basically, the sales funnel is process people go through after they go up the ?on ramp? into your business.

For example, they might sign up at for your squeeze page, get offered a promotion on the thank you page, receive email follow ups which offer free content and promotions which increase in price and value.

My recommendation: Be aware all the time of sales funnels and every time you purchase something or sign up for something watch what happens and take notes. I actually have a Word files called ?Other Marketers Swipe? which I take notes on what I see from my journeys around the internet in different niches.

3 Final Tips

Overall, If I could go back in time and speak to myself when I started out I?d give this advice:

• Focus soley on building a list of subscribers in a profitable niche that you are interested in
• Go to live events and meetups
• Invest some time and money in solid training from people who have achieved what you want to achieve

If you can relate to any of my experiences I?ve described in this post then this is the same advice I?d give to you. Regardless of your history and where you are right now with your business the PERFECT time is NOW!

What things have baffled you in terms on setting up a successful web business? Please LIKE/TWEET if you enjoyed this and start some discussion by dropping a comment below. Cheers, Rob.

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Source: http://www.gainhigherground.com/7-things-i-was-baffled-by-when-i-started-online/

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SAfrica: Mandela in hospital with lung infection

FILE - In this June 17, 2010 file photo, former South African President Nelson Mandela leaves the chapel after attending the funeral of his great-granddaughter Zenani Mandela in Johannesburg, South Africa. The South African presidency says Nelson Mandela was re-admitted to hospital with a recurrence of a lung infection Thursday March 28, 2013. (AP Photo/Siphiwe Sibeko, Pool, File)

FILE - In this June 17, 2010 file photo, former South African President Nelson Mandela leaves the chapel after attending the funeral of his great-granddaughter Zenani Mandela in Johannesburg, South Africa. The South African presidency says Nelson Mandela was re-admitted to hospital with a recurrence of a lung infection Thursday March 28, 2013. (AP Photo/Siphiwe Sibeko, Pool, File)

FILE - In this Wednesday May 30, 2012 file photo South Africa's former president Nelson Mandela, after receiving a torch to celebrate the African National Congress' centenary from ANC chairperson Baleka Mbete in Mandela's home village of Qunu in rural eastern South Africa. The South African presidency says Nelson Mandela was re-admitted to hospital with a recurrence of a lung infection Thursday March 28, 2013. (AP Photo/Lulamile Feni-Daily Dispatch) SOUTH AFRICA OUT

In this photo taken on Friday, March 15, 2013, a man look's at a statue of former South African President Nelson Mandela at the entrance to the Robben Island ferry departure point at the V&A Waterfront in Cape Town, South Africa. Nelson Mandela, the anti-apartheid leader who became South Africa's first black president, has been admitted to a hospital with a recurring lung infection, South Africa said Thursday, March 28, 2013. Mandela, 94, has become increasingly frail in recent years and has been hospitalized several times since last year, mostly recently earlier this month when he received what a presidential spokesman described as a "successful" medical test. (AP Photo/Schalk van Zuydam)

JOHANNESBURG (AP) ? Nelson Mandela, the anti-apartheid leader who became South Africa's first black president, has been admitted to a hospital with a recurring lung infection, South Africa said Thursday.

Mandela, 94, has become increasingly frail in recent years and has been hospitalized several times since last year, most recently earlier this month when he underwent what authorities said was a scheduled medical test. The Nobel laureate is a revered figure in South Africa, which has honored his legacy of reconciliation by naming buildings and other places after him and printing his image on national banknotes.

"I'm so sorry. I'm sad," said Obed Mokwana, a Johannesburg resident. "I just try to pray all the time. He must come very strong again."

The Nobel laureate was admitted to a hospital just before midnight Wednesday "due to the recurrence of his lung infection," the office of President Jacob Zuma said in a statement.

"Doctors are attending to him, ensuring that he has the best possible expert medical treatment and comfort," the statement said. It appealed "for understanding and privacy in order to allow space to the doctors to do their work."

It did not identify the hospital. In December, Mandela spent three weeks in a hospital in the South African capital of Pretoria, where he was treated for a lung infection and had a procedure to remove gallstones.

Presidential spokesman Mac Maharaj acknowledged there was cause for worry, but said the medical specialists treating Mandela were very competent.

"The health has been OK given his age, but the downturn last night ? obviously when the lung infection recurs, the doctors will want to do everything possible and make sure that they don't allow the infection to spread, that they arrest it as quickly as possible," Maharaj said in an interview with eNCA, a South African news channel.

He said there had been a global outpouring of messages expressing concern for Mandela's health.

Zuma wished Mandela a speedy recovery, referring to him affectionately by his clan name, "Madiba."

"We appeal to the people of South Africa and the world to pray for our beloved Madiba and his family and to keep them in their thoughts. We have full confidence in the medical team and know that they will do everything possible to ensure recovery," the presidential statement quoted Zuma as saying.

Mandela spent a night in a hospital and was released on March 10 following a medical test. At that time, spokesman Maharaj said Mandela was "well."

In February 2012, Mandela spent a night in a hospital for minor diagnostic surgery to determine the cause of an abdominal complaint. In January 2011, he was admitted to a Johannesburg hospital for what officials initially described as tests but what turned out to be an acute respiratory infection. He was discharged days later.

He also had surgery for an enlarged prostate gland in 1985.

Under South Africa's white-minority apartheid regime, Mandela served 27 years in prison, where he contracted tuberculosis, before being released in 1990. He later became the nation's first democratically elected president in 1994 under the banner of the African National Congress, helping to negotiate a relatively peaceful end to apartheid despite fears of much greater bloodshed. He served one five-year term as president before retiring.

Perceived successes during Mandela's tenure include the introduction of a constitution with robust protections for individual rights and the Truth and Reconciliation Commission, a panel that heard testimony about apartheid-era violations of human rights as a kind of national therapy session. South Africa still struggles with crime, economic inequality and other social ills.

Mandela last made a public appearance on a major stage when South Africa hosted the 2010 World Cup soccer tournament.

He had spent more time in the rural village of Qunu in Eastern Cape province, where he grew up. He was visited there in August by Hillary Clinton, who was U.S. secretary of state at the time.

Doctors said in December that he should remain at his home in the Johannesburg neighborhood of Houghton for the time being to be close to medical facilities that can provide the care he needs.

During Mandela's previous hospitalizations, the South African government had criticized some media outlets for what it described as rumor-mongering and a failure to respect the privacy of the former leader and his family. The media, in turn, expressed concern about an alleged lack of transparency and occasionally conflicting reports from officials.

Maharaj, the presidential spokesman, told eNCA on Thursday that authorities were mindful of public interest in Mandela's health, but would allow the medical team to focus on treating the former president.

"Our updates will be dependent always on what the doctors tell us and we are not pressurizing them to give us updates every few hours," he said. "We think that they should attend to their work. We are confident that they know that if there is an upturn for the good, or for the bad, they will always keep us informed."

Associated Press

Source: http://hosted2.ap.org/APDEFAULT/cae69a7523db45408eeb2b3a98c0c9c5/Article_2013-03-28-South%20Africa-Mandela/id-d3289dccf0b74079b178950bd2b659bb

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Softbank and Sprint say no to Huawei in hopes of getting merger back on track

In an effort to speed up an already contested $20.1 billion merger, Softbank and Sprint have reportedly agreed not to use Huawei network equipment within the US carrier's existing network. In fact, the Chairman of the House Intelligence Committee, Mike Rogers, recently told The New York Times that the two outfits have pledged to remove Huawei hardware from Clearwire's network, too. These promises are likely a reaction to Congress' security concerns, which saw Huawei exiled from America's first responder network back in October. While Rogers is happy with Softbank and Sprint's new game plan, this deal is far from done. The two firms still need to make it past the Committee on Foreign Investment in the US, which reviews national security risks connected to business transactions. Until then, Dan Hesse may wanna hold off on any extracurricular activities.

Filed under: Wireless, Networking, Mobile, Sprint

Comments

Via: The Register

Source: The New York Times

Source: http://www.engadget.com/2013/03/29/softbank-sprint-agree-to-exclude-huawei/

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Cyprus controls expected to hit foreign transactions

By Michele Kambas and Costas Pitas

NICOSIA (Reuters) - Cyprus is expected to stop people taking their money out of the country but will not restrict dealings at home as it tries to avert a run on its banks after agreeing a tough rescue package with international lenders.

Cypriots have taken to the streets of Nicosia in their thousands to protest against a bailout deal that will push their country into an economic slump and cost many their jobs.

European leaders said the deal averted a chaotic national bankruptcy that might have forced Cyprus out of the euro.

With banks due to reopen on Thursday after nearly two weeks, Finance Minister Michael Sarris said capital controls will be "within the realms of reason" and a business leader said he had been told they would affect only international transactions.

"We will look at the best way to limit the possibility of large sums of money leaving, and not imposing punitive conditions on the economy, businesses and individuals," Sarris told local television.

Speaking after meeting government officials, the head of the Cyprus chamber of commerce said: "We have been assured that limitations will not affect transactions within Cyprus at all."

"Where there will be limitations is on what we spend abroad and also on capital outflows," Phidias Pelides told reporters.

The central bank governor said earlier that "loose" controls would apply temporarily to all banks. Earlier, the finance minister said they could be in place for weeks. Banks have been shut since final bailout talks got under way in mid-March.

Russia, whose citizens have billions of euros in Cyprus and use Cypriot banks to move money around even among Russian firms, cautioned Nicosia against imposing onerous controls on healthy banks and noted that Moscow was reviewing loan terms to Cyprus.

"If there are such measures, this will not foster trust but only provoke additional problems for participants, depositors," Russian Finance Minister Anton Siluanov said on Tuesday.

He cautioned that Russian willingness to restructure and extend a 2.5-billion euro loan made to Cyprus in 2011 would depend on the island's decision on capital controls.

"We will discuss (restructuring of the loan) in the context of the decisions the parliament adopts," he said. "We are prepared to discuss within these parameters."

State-controlled Russian bank VTB has a subsidiary in Cyprus, Russian Commercial Bank, which has not been directly affected by a bailout deal which focuses on big local banks that lost badly in the restructuring of debts in neighboring Greece.

POPULAR ANGER

The terms of the 10-billion euro ($13-billion) rescue from the European Union, International Monetary Fund and European Central Bank have stirred popular anger within Cyprus at the country's partners in the EU, notably Germany, the bloc's main paymaster and fiercest advocate of austerity.

On Tuesday, many hundreds of high school students protested at parliament, in the first major expression of popular anger since the bailout was agreed in the early hours of Monday in Brussels. The deal largely side-stepped the Cypriot parliament, and has triggered opposition calls for a referendum.

"They've just got rid of all our dreams," said one student, named Thomas.

Outside the central bank on Tuesday, about 200 employees of the country's biggest commercial lender, the Bank of Cyprus, demanded the resignation of central bank governor Panicos Demetriades, chanting "Hands off Cyprus" and "Disgrace".

Dimos Dimosthenous, a veteran Bank of Cyprus employee, said: "The bank is being driven to closure. That will be the end."

A Bank of Cyprus official said its chief executive, Yiannis Kypri, had been removed on the orders of the central bank.

It follows the appointment of a special administrator to run the bank, which is being restructured as part of the bailout deal, and an offer to resign by its chairman, Andreas Artemis.

ACCOUNTS FROZEN

The second largest lender, Cyprus Popular Bank, also known as Laiki, is to be shut down, and accounts of under 100,000 euros and some loans will be moved to the Bank of Cyprus. Deposits at both banks over the 100,000-euro mark, which is an EU benchmark for state insurance, will be frozen.

Government officials have estimated that these larger depositors, many of them wealthy foreigners including Russians, could lose around 40 percent of their cash.

On Wednesday, the government was appointing special crisis teams of economic experts to advise ministers.

Many Cypriots say they do not feel reassured by the bailout deal, however, and are expected to besiege banks as soon as they reopen after a shutdown that began over a week ago.

The long closure of the banks has hurt business, according to Andreas Hadjiadamou, president of the Cyprus Supermarkets Association, who said consumer confidence had "hit the floor".

Maria Benaki, who runs a family silverware business on Nicosia's biggest shopping street, said she had not had a customer in days.

"The situation is dire," she said. "What will happen at the end of the month when I need to pay my bills?"

(Additional reporting by Agnieszka Flak in Durban, Douglas Busvine and Steve Gutterman in Moscow and Laura Noonan and Karolina Tagaris in Nicosia; Writing by Giles Elgood and Matt Robinson; Editing by Will Waterman and Alastair Macdonald)

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/cyprus-readies-capital-controls-avert-bank-run-090603283--finance.html

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BlackBerry Posts Promising Q4 Results After BB10 Launch: EPS Of $0.22, Revenue Of $2.7B, ~1M Z10s Shipped

For the past year BlackBerry has been trying to prove to the world that it?s not a mobile has-been just yet, and that all came to a head earlier this year when the company finally released the BlackBerry 10 mobile OS to the masses. While the company?s future is still unclear, BlackBerry released its fiscal Q4 2013 earnings early this morning and they?re more impressive than you would expect for a company going through some major upheavals.

Source: http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/Techcrunch/~3/_Uh0_yyU9Fo/

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Haiti splashes slum with psychedelic colors

In this picture taken March 21, 2013, homes painted in bright colors cover a hill in Jalousie, a cinder block shantytown in Petionville, Haiti. Workers this month began painting the concrete facades of buildings in Jalousie slum a rainbow of colors, inspired by the dazzling ?cities-in-the-skies? of well-known Haitian painter Prefete Duffaut, who died last year. (AP Photo/Dieu Nalio Chery)

In this picture taken March 21, 2013, homes painted in bright colors cover a hill in Jalousie, a cinder block shantytown in Petionville, Haiti. Workers this month began painting the concrete facades of buildings in Jalousie slum a rainbow of colors, inspired by the dazzling ?cities-in-the-skies? of well-known Haitian painter Prefete Duffaut, who died last year. (AP Photo/Dieu Nalio Chery)

In this March 21, 2013 photo, a man paints green the exterior wall of a home in Jalousie, a cinder block shantytown in Petionville, Haiti. The $1.4 million effort titled ?Beauty versus Poverty: Jalousie in Colors? is part of a government project to relocate people from the displacement camps that sprouted up after Haiti's 2010 earthquake. (AP Photo/Dieu Nalio Chery)

A painting by Haitian artist Prefete Duffaut titled "Friends of Haiti" hangs on exhibit at the Galerie Monnin in Petionville, Haiti, Monday, March 25, 2013. Workers this month began painting the concrete facades of buildings in Jalousie slum, one of Haiti's biggest shantytowns, a rainbow of purple, peach, lime and cream, inspired by the dazzling ?cities-in-the-skies? of well-known Haitian painter Prefete Duffaut, who died last year. (AP Photo/Dieu Nalio Chery)

In this March 21, 2013 photo, workers paint red the exterior of a home in Jalousie, a cinder block shantytown in Petionville, Haiti. Jalousie is unique in that its mountainside presence makes it visible to people living in the wealthy district of Petionville. Critics have suggested that the choice of Jalousie for a makeover is as much about giving the posh hotels of Petionville a pretty view as helping the slum's residents. (AP Photo/Dieu Nalio Chery)

In this March 21, 2013 photo, a worker paints red the exterior wall of a home in Jalousie, a cinder block shantytown in Petionville, Haiti. While most residents welcome the attempt to beautify Jalousie, a slum of 45,000 inhabitants, critics say the project is the latest example of cosmetic changes carried out by a government that has done little to improve people's lives in the Western Hemisphere's poorest country. (AP Photo/Dieu Nalio Chery)

PORT-AU-PRINCE, Haiti (AP) ? One of Haiti's biggest shantytowns, a vast expanse of grim cinderblock homes on a mountainside in the nation's capital, is getting a psychedelic makeover that aims to be part art and part homage.

Workers this month began painting the concrete facades of buildings in Jalousie slum a rainbow of purple, peach, lime and cream, inspired by the dazzling "cities-in-the-skies" of well-known Haitian painter Prefete Duffaut, who died last year.

The $1.4 million effort titled "Beauty versus Poverty: Jalousie in Colors" is part of a government project to relocate people from the displacement camps that sprouted up after Haiti's 2010 earthquake. The relocation has targeted a handful of high-profile camps in Port-au-Prince by paying a year's worth of rent subsidies for residents to move into neighborhoods like Jalousie. The government is now trying to spruce up these poor neighborhoods and introduce city services.

"We're not trying to do Coconut Grove. We're not trying to do South Beach," said Clement Belizaire, director of the government's housing relocation program, referring to Miami neighborhoods. "The goal that we are shooting for is a neighborhood that is modest but decent, where residents are proud to be from that area."

While most residents welcome the attempt to beautify Jalousie, a slum of 45,000 inhabitants, critics say the project is the latest example of cosmetic changes carried out by a government that has done little to improve people's lives in the Western Hemisphere's poorest country.

"This is just to make it look like they're doing something for the people but in reality they are not," said Sen. Moise Jean-Charles, an outspoken critic of President Michel Martelly, arguing that the money could have been better spent.

Others wonder why Jalousie was chosen for the makeover, though officials say they plan to expand the project to other Port-au-Prince shantytowns.

Jalousie is unique in that its mountainside presence makes it visible to people living in the wealthy district of Petionville. Critics have suggested that the choice of Jalousie is as much about giving the posh hotels of Petionville a pretty view as helping the slum's residents.

Belizaire said he welcomes controversy, adding that the project's visibility is important. It's a concrete accomplishment for the government and he contends that it does indeed help Jalousie residents.

"People are sitting on the balcony, having a beer, smoking a cigarette ? whatever ? and you have all of Port-au-Prince at your feet, and you're living in colors," Belizaire said, sitting in his office.

Jalousie, perched above rich Petionville, has become a flashpoint for class controversy in Haiti recently. It is among many slums that have sprawled across the hills of Port-au-Prince in recent decades because governments past and present have failed to provide affordable housing and basic services. Many of the homes crash down the hills every year during the country's rainy seasons.

Haiti's class divisions spilled into the streets last year when more than 1,000 people from Jalousie protested in central Port-au-Prince. They threw rocks at a luxury hotel and criticized rich Haitians, threatening to burn down Petionville if the government followed through with a plan to demolish their homes. Officials had wanted to tear down the homes next to a ravine to build a flood-protection project. During heavy rainfall, rocks from the ravine clog the entrance to a private school for the children of diplomats and wealthy Haitians.

The demolition never happened.

These days, most people in Jalousie chalk the protests up to a "misunderstanding," and talk about the project with pride.

"It's beautiful. Jalousie is not the same anymore," Resilia Pierre, a 53-year-old wife and mother, said as she waited at a well to buy water. "We don't have the means to do it ourselves. I would like to say 'thank you' to the people who did that."

The government's goal it to eventually paint 1,000 homes and other buildings.

Workers hired by three companies began two weeks ago by putting concrete finishes on the ash-colored facades of the slum's cinderblock houses. Then they paint over the finish with bright colors using rollers, standing atop wobbly ladders next to buckets of paint. The entire effort is supposed to take six months.

Duffaut, one of Haiti's most famous painters, was born in the country's south in 1923. He studied at the Centre D'Art in the late 1940s and his work, appearing in museums worldwide, has long been a source of national pride.

While the project in Jalousie may be inspired by Duffaut, when completed it will still require a bit of imagination by the viewer to see his psychedelic cities in the sky, with their dazzling colors and surreal tiers that seemingly hovering in the air.

What residents will have in their neighborhood high up on a mountainside will be a lot of bright colors and a love of the artist.

"The people of Jalousie," said Jamesson Misery, a coordinator of the project who lives in the slum, "we plan to honor Prefete Duffaut."

Associated Press

Source: http://hosted2.ap.org/APDEFAULT/cae69a7523db45408eeb2b3a98c0c9c5/Article_2013-03-25-Haiti-Slum%20Makeover/id-ee0075adbd804597b21fb4db38a484f0

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Derrick Nix, Keith Appling Towel-Fight: Michigan State Teammates Argue During Memphis Timeout (VIDEO)

Michigan State wasn't just throwing everything it had at Memphis on Saturday, the Spartans were also battling one another.

Leading by 11 with 12:45 remaining in the game, a pair of Michigan State teammates started arguing with each other... with towels.

As the team huddled after Memphis called a timeout, tempers flared between Derrick Nix and Keith Appling. The two threw towels and appeared to yell at each other while head coach Tom Izzo was drawing up a play. Izzo and the rest of the team calmed the two down and then went right back to the clipboard.

Over the next 12:45, the Spartans outscored the Tigers 27-16 and went on to win by 22 to advance to the Sweet 16.

"It?s great, isn?t it? It reminds me of (Mateen) Cleaves and them (on the 2000 national championship team)," Izzo said after the game, via Fox Sports Detroit. "It?s better when your team is getting a little feisty. Keith didn?t want to take anything from Nix, so he told him. That?s all good. Trust me, in my program, that?s all good. They got into it a little bit and I enjoyed it."

Not surprisingly, the argument caught some attention on Twitter.

Matt Mosley

I love how Izzo kept drawing that play during the Nix-Appling altercation. Didn't really faze him.

Bob Wojnowski

Nix and Appling threw towels at each other in the MSU huddle. No biggie. Memphis' entire putrid offense is throwing in the towel.

Vincent Goodwill

Appling and Nix getting into it...Izzo looking like he really loved it

Also on HuffPost:

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Source: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2013/03/24/derrick-nix-keith-appling_n_2942177.html

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NFL Star Says Marriage Equality Effort On Par With ?Civil Rights,? Evangelist Tony Perkins Disagrees

During an exclusive appearance on Face The Nation on CBS, Baltimore Ravens linebacker Brendon Ayanbadejo said he attributes his strong support for marriage equality to his upbringing as a minority in California. Ayanbadejo consider the fight the civil rights issue of our time.

?This is something I?ve been speaking about since 2009, and in my opinion, it?s just the evolution of civil rights and equal rights and athletes do a lot to change society, and this is something we can make a big difference on. It starts with bullying kids in elementary school and goes all the way to legislative and treating everybody equally,? Ayanbadejo said.

?This is a fight myself and a bunch of my colleagues we want to take to and we feel that everyone should be treated equally and we?re not going to stop until everyone is treated fairly, especially including the LGBT community,? he said,

Host Bob Schieffer noted that isn?t something you see very often from the NFL community but Ayanbadejo, along with Minesota Vikings punter Chris Kluwe filed a friend of the court brief in February that encourage the Supreme Court to strike down proposition 8. Since they filed it additional NFL players have joined their cause.

Ayanbadejo grew up in Santa Cruz, California so the anti-gay marriage proposition struck him particularly hard. Ayanbadejo said he thinks the efforts to legalize gay marriage are no different from the efforts of the civil rights and suffrage movements. ?I know what it feels like to be treated differently and discriminated. So this is no different, the way the LGBT community is treated,? said

Tony Perkins, president of the Family Research Council, told Schieffer that the national polls that show changing attitudes on this issue aren?t important because when it goes to the ballot box it wins by large numbers. He rejects the idea that gay marriage will one day become acceptable in the United States.

?If it?s inevitable, as the media would like us to believe, then there?s no reason for the court to interject itself into this,? Perkins said.

?We?re far from being at a point where America has embraced same-sex marriage,? he said.

Watch clip below via CBS

Source: http://www.mediaite.com/tv/nfl-star-says-marriage-equality-effort-on-par-with-civil-rights-evangelist-tony-perkins-disagrees/

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Obama: Israel has 'no greater friend' than US

Following the first meeting of his Mideast tour, President Obama delivers a statement with Israel's President Shimon Peres.

By Alastair Jamieson and Ian Johnston, NBC News

Israel has "no greater friend than the United States," President Barack Obama said Wednesday on his first state trip to the country.

During his visit, Obama is expected to discuss Iran's disputed nuclear program and the crisis in Syria, and will also meet Palestinian officials in the West Bank on Thursday, but little progress on the peace process is expected.

Standing alongside Israel?s President Shimon Peres following a?private bilateral meeting, Obama said the two countries' joint efforts were important in securing peace for future generations.?

Peres warmly praised Obama as ?very knowledgeable,? adding there could be ?no better? leader to take the peace process forward. He also thanked Obama for the ?lots of sleepless nights? the president had endured in support of Israel.

Obama then entered a formal meeting with Israel's Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, with whom he has not always seen eye to eye.

Earlier Wednesday, Obama was met at Tel Aviv's airport by Netanyahu and Peres, along with a military band and a host of other officials and dignitaries.

Oliwer Weiken / EPA

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu (second right) and President Shimon Peres (left) welcome President Barack Obama to Israel Wednesday. All three emphasized the enduring friendship between the U.S. and Israel.

All three men gave speeches that emphasized the friendship between the U.S. and Israel ? Netanyahu spoke of the ?unbreakable alliance,? Obama the ?unbreakable bond.?

'Eternal' alliance
Obama, who began his speech with ?shalom,? said he was ?confident in declaring that our alliance is eternal.?

?The United States is proud to stand with you as your strongest ally and your greatest friend,? he said.

He said it was not an accident that he had made the first overseas trip of his second term in office to Israel.

?Across this region, the winds of change bring both promise and peril,? Obama said, likely a reference to the Arab Spring uprisings that saw an Islamist president voted into power in Egypt and a civil war erupt in Syria.

In his speech, Netanyahu thanked Obama for ?standing by Israel at this time of historic change in the Middle East.?

?We deeply appreciate your friendship and we share your hope that the Middle East will enjoy a future of freedom, prosperity and peace,? he added.

Picking up on comments Obama made before the trip ?- expressing the desire to put on a disguise and go to a Tel Aviv bar -- Netanyahu joked that he had lined up a few locations and ?even picked out a fake mustache for you.?

Obama also viewed an ?Iron Dome? air defense missile launcher, a?U.S.-funded system, that was brought to the airport for him to see. The system has helped protect Israelis from Hamas rocket attacks from Gaza.

Ammar Awad / Reuters

Palestinian demonstrators hold placards, some depicting President Barack Obama dressed as an Israeli soldier during a protest in the West Bank city of Ramallah on Tuesday.

Netanyahu is expected to attempt to get Obama to agree to define a ?red line? for Iran -- the point in its nuclear development at which military action would be taken to stop it from getting an atom bomb. Last week, Peres described Iran as ?the greatest threat to peace in the world.?

Israel also worries that Islamist factions among the rebels fighting Syria?s Bashar Assad could seize control of the buffer zone between the two countries from the United Nations and threaten Israel with chemical weapons and long-range rockets captured from the regime.

On Thursday, the president will meet Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas in the West Bank, where he can expect a mixed reception.

"It's not a positive visit," Wasel Abu Yousef, a senior official in the Palestine Liberation Organization, which is led by Abbas, told Reuters.

In Ramallah on Tuesday, Palestinian police scuffled with scores of demonstrators protesting Obama's visit.

Obama is likely to offer reassurance that the U.S. still supports the creation of an independent Palestinian state.

However, little progress on the peace process is expected during the trip.

'Horrible conclusion'
In an editorial Wednesday, the Haaretz newspaper said it would ?take a good bit of imagination to expect a breakthrough over the next two days.?

President Barack Obama leaves Tuesday for his first ever trip to Israel as president and the White House is already lowering expectations for that visit. The New York Times' Elizabeth Bumiller, USA Today's Susan Page and The Washington Post's Ruth Marcus discuss.

?Here lies the central danger of the visit. The Israeli government and public could conclude, based on the polite tone of the president and the lack of a threat or demonstrative pressure, that Israel is now exempt from having to initiate steps toward resuming the peace process,? it wrote.

?This would be a horrible conclusion. Obama and the United States are not a party to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. The president of the United States is not the one who must live in a society that is being transformed as a result of the occupation and pushed to the margins of the international community,? it added.

The Jerusalem Post said that there would ?admittedly? be ?little if any headway? on the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.

However, its editorial said the visit would be more than just a ?charm offensive,? given the war in Syria and the prospect of Iran getting a nuclear weapon. Iran insists its nuclear program is for peaceful means only.

?As the leader of the Jewish people, who have been threatened with destruction by Iran?s leaders, Netanyahu wants assurances that the U.S. will launch a military strike if necessary to prevent a nuclear-armed Iran,? the Post wrote.

?Ideally, he would also like to define a mutually agreed upon ?red line? or the point at which it has been determined that diplomacy and sanctions are useless and military action must be taken,? it added.

Obama will be in the Middle East until Saturday. He will also lay a wreath in the Hall of Remembrance for victims of the Holocaust, and visit the Church of the Nativity with Abbas.

On Friday, he will go to Amman, Jordan, for talks and a dinner with King Abdullah. On Saturday, Obama will take a walking tour of the ancient city of Petra before flying home.

Reuters contributed to this report.

Former NSC spokesperson Tommy Vietor and Aaron David Miller, a fellow at the Woodrow Wilson International Center, discuss what's at stake with President Barack Obama's trip to Israel and debate whether he will be able to repair a fractious relationship with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.

Related:

Rough ride ahead for Obama as Palestinians, Israelis lukewarm over visit

Israel to grill Obama over possible military strike on Iran

Plenty to discuss as Obama heads to Israel

Syria chaos looms large over Obama's Israel trip

This story was originally published on Wed Mar 20, 2013 4:56 AM EDT

Source: http://worldnews.nbcnews.com/_news/2013/03/20/17382317-on-historic-mideast-trip-obama-says-israel-has-no-greater-friend-than-us?lite

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Russian President Putin wants BRICS to tackle geopolitics

By Steve Gutterman

MOSCOW (Reuters) - Russia wants the BRICS group of major emerging economies to broaden its role and get more involved in geopolitics, President Vladimir Putin said in an interview published on Friday.

Putin, who has frequently criticized European and U.S. activities and has teamed up with fellow BRICS nation China to counter Western clout, spoke before a summit next week of the group, which also includes Brazil, India and South Africa.

He told news agency Itar-Tass that the BRICS members were working on joint declarations on the conflicts in Syria and Afghanistan, Iran's nuclear program, the situation in the Middle East and other issues.

"We invite our partners to gradually transform BRICS from a dialogue forum that coordinates approaches to a limited number of issues into a full-scale strategic cooperation mechanism that will allow us to look for solutions to key issues of global politics together," Putin said according to a Kremlin transcript of the interview.

BRICS leaders are expected to use the March 26-27 meeting in Durban, South Africa to endorse plans to create a joint foreign exchange reserves pool and an infrastructure bank, senior emerging market officials said on Thursday.

Putin, who wants more for foreign investment to bolster Russia's economy, said Russia plans to announce the creation of a BRICS Business Council to promote trade and investment within the group and help launch multilateral business projects.

(steve.gutterman@thomsonreuters.com)(+74957751242)(Reuters Messaging: steve.gutterman.thomsonreuters.com@reuters.net)

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/russian-president-putin-wants-brics-tackle-geopolitics-224320943.html

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The Meeting Of Great Minds Happens In Marvellous Melbourne

Melbourne is continuously increasing in population size and simultaneously increasing in popularity. More and more travellers are heading to Melbourne to see what delights this eclectic city has to offer, while a growing number of businesspeople are also setting their sights on Melbourne as a world-class destination for business meetings. Whether you are planning to host a seminar, a workshop, a meeting with prospective clients or even if you need a space in which to have interviews, you will need a corporate meeting room in Melbourne where you can facilitate your corporate event.

As Melbourne is growing as a centre of commerce, so is the range and availability of corporate function rooms. There are a few points to keep in mind when selecting the room in which you wish to host your corporate event. A logical place to start from is to think of your budget. Are you looking for a small, simple venue for the sake of practicality? Or are you hosting the business event of the year with wealthy clients that need to be wined and dined? For the former, you could look for a small meeting room in a community centre, as perhaps it will be a small amount of people meeting for a short time. But, if you are getting the events coordinator and party planner out, then you should perhaps be looking at a corporate meeting room Melbourne that is part of a hotel or expo centre.

The hotel option is a winner for many reasons. Firstly, if you choose a hotel with an ample amount of stars, the meeting rooms will definitely be luxurious. You can expect delicious food from the caterers, state of the art technology in the rooms, wifi access all around and gourmet coffee made barista style to keep your guests focused and the ideas flowing all day long. The other reason why a hotel meeting room is a good idea is because you have the luxury and convenience of accommodation added into the picture. Especially if many or all of your guests are flying in to join your corporate event, it helps a lot to have the guests stay just upstairs from the meeting room. It allows visitors to be more relaxed, and they could even enjoy a night out on the town with a few drinks, knowing that they do not have to worry about getting up at ridiculously early hours of the morning. Instead they can just leisurely amble down the stairs following the smell of freshly brewed coffee and freshly printed documents.

Regardless of your business in Melbourne, when it comes to meeting rooms youll be spoiled for choice!

About the Author:
John M Wilson primarily writes articles that offer recommendation about planning and booking for corporate meeting room Melbourne. If you would like to use any of John Wilsons existing work please visit the grandhotelmelbourne.com.au.

Source: http://www.articlesnatch.com/Article/The-Meeting-Of-Great-Minds-Happens-In-Marvellous-Melbourne/4494547

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Deadly chemical weapons attack reported in Syria

George Ourfalian / Reuters

Residents and medics transport a wounded Syrian army soldier to hospital Tuesday after heavy fighting in Aleppo province during which both rebels and government forces said a chemical weapon was used.

By Ian Johnston, Charlene Gubash and Ammar Cheikomar, NBC News

A chemical weapon was used during fierce fighting in a strategically important Syrian town, rebels and the government claimed Tuesday, with each side blaming the other for the deadly attack.

If it is confirmed that a banned chemical agent was used, it could significantly change the international response to the ongoing civil war.

The death toll was put at 25 by Syria?s state-run SANA news agency, which said dozens of other people were injured.

White House spokesman Jay Carney addresses reports that chemical weapons may have been used in Syria as civil war continues under the rule of President Bashar Assad.

A photographer for the Reuters news agency visited hospitals in the city of Aleppo, and said a number of patients had breathing difficulties. They told him of people dying and ?suffocating in the streets.?

SANA blamed the rebels for the attack, which happened in Khan al-Asal in Aleppo province.

?Terrorists on Tuesday launched a rocket containing chemical materials,? it said.

?Initial information indicated that about 16 citizens were killed, and 86 others were injured, most of them are in critical condition. Later, the death toll due to the firing of the rocket rose up to 25 martyrs,? it added.

SANA?s website showed photographs of a number of people, including several children, in what appeared to be a hospital.

'Convulsions, then death'
Information Minister Omran al-Zoabi said that ?the substance in the rocket causes unconsciousness, then convulsions, then death,? Reuters reported.

Rebel spokesman Fahd al Masry said a Scud missile was fired by the government and that "most probably" chemical weapons had been used. "This is not the first time," he added.

There was ?a state of panic and fear among the civilians and dozens of cases of suffocating and poisoning,? he said.

George Ourfalian / Reuters

A man is treated at a hospital after a chemical weapons attack in Syria's Aleppo province. Rebels and Syrian government forces blamed each other for the attack.

Masry said the attack would not have happened if foreign governments had taken stronger action.

"They?wouldn't?have used it if not for the silence of the international community on the crimes and massacres committed in Syria for the past two years," he said.

Masry said that the rebel forces may "be forced to reevaluate the rules of engagement in the coming days."

Khan al-Asal is the last town in the area to the west of Aleppo that has not been taken by the rebels, and if it fell that would hamper the flow of supplies to the regime?s forces in the city.

The town's population has traditionally been split between Sunni Muslims, who tend to be sympathetic toward the rebels, and Shiites, who are more likely to be supporters of President Bashar Assad.

White House spokesman Jay Carney said Tuesday the U.S. was looking carefully at allegations that both sides are using chemical weapons, but he said he was skeptical of any claims made by the Syrian regime, The Associated Press reported.

He added there was no evidence to back up the Assad regime's claim that Syrian rebels have used chemical weapons.

Carney said it was a serious concern for the U.S. that the Assad regime could use such weapons, the AP reported. He said President Barack Obama believed that would be unacceptable and that there would be consequences.?

The Organization for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons (OPCW) also said it was aware of the reports and hoped to release a statement later Tuesday.

/

A look back at the conflict that has overtaken the country.

On Dec. 24 last year, there were claims that a number of Syrians were killed after inhaling ?poisonous gases? released by government forces in rebel-held areas of the city of Homs.

OPCW spokesman Michael Louhan said the body was asked by the United Nations to give its assessment of this incident, but it was unable to find any ?conclusive information regarding whether they were banned chemical weapon substances or not.?

According to the international body, the Chemical Weapons Convention says it was created ?for the sake of all mankind, to exclude completely the possibility? of their use.

'Abhorrent'
The U.K., which recently announced it was sending armored vehicles to the rebel forces, warned Tuesday that if the use of chemical weapons was confirmed it would change its approach.

?We are aware of today?s press reports alleging that a chemical weapon was fired in the north of Syria and we are looking into this,? a spokesman for the U.K. Foreign Office said.

?The use of chemical weapons would be abhorrent and would be universally condemned,? he added. ?The U.K. is clear that the use or proliferation of chemical weapons would demand a serious response from the international community and force us to revisit our approach so far.?

Russia ? one of Syria?s dwindling number of allies - blamed the opposition, saying it was ?seriously concerned? that ?weapons of mass destruction are falling into the hands of the rebels,? according to a foreign ministry statement reported by Reuters.

NBC News

People resisting the army of President Bashar al-Assad in northern Syria cope with loss and prepare for fighting.

The Reuters photographer said victims he had visited in Aleppo hospitals were "mostly women and children."

"They said that people were suffocating in the streets and the air smelt strongly of chlorine,"?said the photographer, who Reuters said cannot be named for his own safety.?

The photographer quoted victims he met at the University of Aleppo hospital and the al-Rajaa hospital as saying: "People were dying in the streets and in their houses."

Reuters described footage aired by Syrian state television:

Men, women and children were rushed inside on stretchers as doctors inserted medical drips into their arms and oxygen tubes into their mouths. None had visible wounds to their bodies, but some interviewed said they had trouble breathing.

An unidentified doctor interviewed on the channel said the attack was either "phosphorus or poison" but did not elaborate.

"The Free Syrian Army hit us with a rocket, we smelled something and then everyone got dizzy and fell down. People were falling to the ground, " said a sobbing woman, lying on a stretcher with a drip in her arm.

A young girl on a stretcher wept as she said: "My chest closed up. I couldn't talk. I couldn't breathe ... We saw people falling dead to the floor. My father fell, he fell and now we don't know where he is. God curse them, I hope they die."

A man in a green surgical mask, who said he had been helping to evacuate the casualties, said: "It was like a powder, and anyone who breathed it in fell to the ground."

Reuters, The Associated Press and NBC News' John Newland contributed to this report.

Related:

Syria threatens military action in Lebanon

'Human river' of Syria refugees hits 1 million; UK to send armored vehicles to rebels

US defense chief: Intel 'raises serious concerns' about Syria chemical weapons

This story was originally published on Tue Mar 19, 2013 8:10 AM EDT

Source: http://worldnews.nbcnews.com/_news/2013/03/19/17370550-suffocating-in-the-streets-chemical-weapons-attack-reported-in-syria?lite

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High Fantasy with a slice of Steampunk

The RP Magelord needs more players. This RP is set in a fantasy universe where a feudal society ruled by nobleborn sorcerers is under threat from a new magic, Alchemical Science, that is available to anyone regardless of pedigree. The game will be almost completely player driven with players deciding through their actions whether a revolutionary war between the two factions is inevitable or avoidable. Being an open world RP, any style of play is possible and non combative characters are welcome.

Source: http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/RolePlayGateway/~3/Aoyv4Mb_yDo/viewtopic.php

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Smallest vibration sensor in the quantum world

Monday, March 18, 2013

In their experiment the researchers used a carbon nanotube that was mounted between two metal electrodes, spanned a distance of about 1 ?m, and could vibrate mechanically. Then, they applied an organic molecule with a magnetic spin due to an incorporated metal atom. This spin was oriented in an external magnetic field.

"In this setup, we demonstrated that the vibrations of the tube are influenced directly when the spin flips parallel or antiparallel to the magnetic field," explains Mario Ruben, head of the working group at KIT. When the spin changes, the resulting recoil is transferred to the carbon nanotube and the latter starts to vibrate. Vibration changes the atomic distances of the tube and, hence, its conductance that is used as a measure of motion.

The strong interaction between a magnetic spin and mechanical vibration opens up interesting applications apart from determining the states of motion of the carbon nanotube. It is proposed to determine the masses of individual molecules and to measure magnetic forces within the nano-regime. Use as a quantum bit in a quantum computer might also be feasible.

According to the supplementary information published in the same issue of nature nanotechnology such interactions are of high importance in the quantum world, i.e. in the range of discrete energies and tunnel effects, for the future use of nanoscopic effects in macroscopic applications. Combination of spin, vibration, and rotation on the nanoscale in particular may result in entirely new applications and technologies.

###

Helmholtz Association of German Research Centres: http://www.helmholtz.de/en/index.html

Thanks to Helmholtz Association of German Research Centres for this article.

This press release was posted to serve as a topic for discussion. Please comment below. We try our best to only post press releases that are associated with peer reviewed scientific literature. Critical discussions of the research are appreciated. If you need help finding a link to the original article, please contact us on twitter or via e-mail.

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Source: http://www.labspaces.net/127331/Smallest_vibration_sensor_in_the_quantum_world

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Question about buying a distressed home... I am the ... - Zillow Real ...

Your next step should be to contact a Real Estate professional. There are so many ways that you could fall victim to a contract if you were to fill one out yourself or rely on the seller to do that, as he would only act in his best interest.

Also keep in mind that you only want to pay fair market value, where the seller is "under water" you would want to confirm market information in your area to be sure this home is a good deal, even though it sounds like you have checked out the tax information. ?

If you don't know where to start, meet with an agent to represent YOUR interests and hopefully you will be well on your way to owning your first home. ?

Source: http://www.zillow.com/advice-thread/Question-about-buying-a-distressed-home-I-am-the-tenant/483516/

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