GOP plots 2013 strategy on health care repeal

WASHINGTON (AP) ? Turned away at the Supreme Court, congressional Republicans sketched a strategy Friday to repeal the nation's health care law in 2013 that requires a sweeping election victory carrying Mitt Romney to the presidency and the party at least to narrow control of the Senate.

Romney sought to turn the court's decision upholding the two-year-old law into a campaign battle cry, saying the 5-4 ruling had injected "greater urgency" into his challenge to President Barack Obama. "I think many people assumed that the Supreme Court would do the work that was necessary in repealing Obamacare," he said, adding that the justices "did not get that job done."

Several Republicans seized on a portion of Chief Justice John Roberts' majority opinion that said the centerpiece of the law, a requirement to purchase insurance, was constitutional because it is based on Congress' power to impose a tax. "Those who will end up paying the heaviest burden for not buying government-mandated insurance won't be the wealthiest Americans, but the very middle class families the president claims to defend," said Senate Republican leader Mitch McConnell of Kentucky.

The White House said that was an argument it was happy to have. Presidential press secretary Jay Carney said Obama has signed legislation cutting middle class taxes repeatedly, that Republicans want to extend existing income tax cuts for the wealthy and then add "another $5 trillion...that would disproportionately benefit" the same group.

At the same time, the administration announced the latest in a series to steps to implement a law that already has curbed insurance company abuses and cut costs for seniors with high prescription drug costs. Officials said another round of financing was available for states to set up health insurance exchanges, the one-stop markets for consumers scheduled to open in 2014.

Polls find Obama and Romney in a close race four months before the election, with the economy the nation's overriding issue. The battle for control of the Senate is also uncertain, and one day after the court's ruling, the principal fallout was political.

Romney, Obama and congressional candidates in both parties raised campaign money from the ruling, in which Roberts unexpectedly joined four more liberal justices to uphold the law's core component ? a requirement that nearly all Americans purchase health insurance beginning in 2014.

The Republican-controlled House is planning to vote in a little more than a week to repeal the law. But that is a symbolic vote, designed to show faith with opponents of what the GOP scornfully calls "Obamacare." Party officials also hope to force some Democrats into a difficult vote on legislation that has never been popular with the public. The repeal measure is doomed in the Senate, where Democrats hold a majority.

Recognizing as much, Republicans were turning their attention to 2013 as their next realistic opportunity to erase legislation that they say gives government control of health at the same time it raises taxes, cuts Medicare and swells deficits.

"One thing is clear: we need the majority in the Senate," Senate Republican Leader Mitch McConnell of Kentucky wrote in a fundraising email to supporters. "Every path to repeal depends on it."

A 60-vote majority is normally required to overcome adamant opposition to legislation in the Senate, but under limited circumstances, a mere majority can suffice. Democrats took advantage of that when they pushed the health care law to passage in 2010 when they controlled 59 seats. Sen. Jon Kyl, R-Ariz., told reporters, "I think with a ... majority in the Senate, Republicans could do the same things."

The GOP currently has 47 seats in the 100-member Senate, and needs to gain three for effective control if Romney wins the presidential election. Any repeal scenario also assumes the Republicans maintain their House majority in the fall.

A little more than 24 hours after the ruling, Obama, Romney and congressional leaders quickly adjusted.

One effect of the decision was to make Romney's election essential for tea party-aligned voters who fought his nomination in winter and spring but now need him in the White House if there is to be any real hope of repeal.

In a fundraising pitch, the Tea Party Patriots addressed both Romney and House Speaker John Boehner, R-Ohio., asserting "the American people are putting you on notice. We will not rest until this law is overturned."

The court's decision also injected the health care issue into congressional races.

Crossroads GPS, an independent group aligned with Republicans, introduced an ad in North Dakota noting that Democratic senatorial candidate Heidi Heitkamp "endorsed Obamacare." The commercial says the law raises taxes, cuts Medicare and gives federal bureaucrats "the power to restrict seniors' care." It encourages viewers to lobby her to swing behind the repeal effort.

Heitkamp's opponent, Republican Rep. Rick Berg, favors repealing the legislation. A spokesman said he supports "the concepts" behind provisions to guarantee coverage for pre-existing conditions, reduce prescription drug expenses for seniors and raise federal payments in North Dakota and other rural states for doctors and other Medicare health care providers, "but not as part of a $1.7 billion government takeover."

The spokesman, Chris Pack, said he didn't have any information on how those features could be left in place between the time the current law was repealed and a new one was enacted.

It's a question Democrats raised repeatedly in recent days as they tried to position themselves politically for an anticipated defeat at the Supreme Court that didn't come.

Republican candidates ran on a slogan of "'repeal and replace" in 2010, when they won control of the House and gained seats in the Senate. But they have yet to outline details for replacement legislation, and even before the court's ruling, GOP officials said they had no plans to do so until after the election or perhaps 2013. Nor has Romney detailed what he would like to see included in a substitute law.

___

Associated Press writers Donna Cassata and Ricardo Alonso-Zaldivar contributed to this story

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/gop-plots-2013-strategy-health-care-repeal-202641732.html

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Business Analyst

Job Description

OPPORTUNITY
Are you looking for a unique opportunity to grow your career in a place where people care? Here in St. Albert, our employees take pride in providing more than 60,000 residents with high-quality programs and services. A wide array of opportunities are available to suit your passion and experience. You can cultivate your career in a place where staff not only care about the work they do but also the people they work alongside.

Reporting to the Manager, Financial Operations & Reporting, the Business Analyst is responsible for the delivery and continual enhancement of the branch?s information management systems. The Business Analyst is the system administrator of the financial accounting information management system, responsible for maintaining user security and training. The incumbent also creates and maintains various financial reports used by all levels of personnel within the City of St. Albert and City Council to assist with making operational and financial decisions.

QUALIFICATIONS
The ideal candidate will have an accounting designation and a technical diploma or undergraduate Degree in business, accounting, engineering, economics, or a science related field, with a significant emphasis on information technology. Successful candidates will have a minimum of 5 years experience with a solid understanding of municipal and/or business operations and large information systems. Experience in a municipal government will be an asset.

The job requires in-depth knowledge and ability to interpret data generally, with particular skills in statistical, financial, and systems analysis. The work requires an excellent understanding of information systems, business practices, and analytical techniques. The work requires an intermediate knowledge of numerical analysis and modeling techniques, including an expert knowledge of Excel, Access, and Visual Basic programming and the ability to access and manipulate data from various financial and non-financial information systems. Excellent interpersonal skills, being a team player and having great energy and enthusiasm are all highly desirable attributes for this position.

HOURS OF WORK
Compressed work schedule of 72 hours bi-weekly (Monday ? Friday, 8:00 ? 5:00 with a regular day off every two weeks).

SALARY
$65,454 ? $79,635 per annum. In addition, the City of St. Albert offers a generous and comprehensive flexible benefit package.

All successful applicants will be required to obtain a criminal record check.

How to Apply

Qualified candidates are invited to forward their cover letter and resume, quoting competition #12/119S by July 25, 2012 to:

Human Resource Services
The City of St. Albert
216, 7 St. Anne Street
St. Albert, Alberta T8N 2X4

Fax: (780) 459-1729

Online applications:
www.stalbert.ca/employment

We wish to express our appreciation to all applicants for their interest and effort in applying for this position. However, only candidates selected for interviews will be contacted.

Job Categories: Accounting. Job Types: Full-Time. Salary: 60,000 - 80,000. Job expires in 30 days.

27?total views, 1?today

Source: http://www.stalbertjobs.com/jobs/business-analyst/

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House set to vote on Holder contempt charge

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Source: http://news.yahoo.com/holder-faces-house-contempt-vote-gun-probe-001855369.html

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Asteroid hunters want to launch private telescope

LOS ANGELES (AP) ? Who will protect us from a killer asteroid? A team of ex-NASA astronauts and scientists thinks it's up to them.

In a bold plan unveiled Thursday, the group wants to launch its own space telescope to spot and track small and mid-sized space rocks capable of wiping out a city or continent. With that information, they could sound early warnings if a rogue asteroid appeared headed toward our planet.

So far, the idea from the B612 Foundation is on paper only.

Such an effort would cost upward of several hundred million dollars, and the group plans to start fundraising. Behind the nonprofit are a space shuttle astronaut, Apollo 9 astronaut, former Mars czar, deep space mission manager along with other non-NASA types.

Asteroids are leftovers from the formation of the solar system some 4.5 billion years ago. Most reside in the asteroid belt between Mars and Jupiter but some get nudged into Earth's neighborhood.

NASA and a network of astronomers routinely scan the skies for these near-Earth objects. And they've found 90 percent of the biggest threats ? asteroids at least two-thirds of a mile across that are considered major killers. Scientists believe it was a 6-mile-wide asteroid that wiped out the dinosaurs.

But the group thinks more attention should be paid to the estimated half a million smaller asteroids ? similar in size to the one that exploded over Siberia in 1908 and leveled more than 800 square miles of forest.

"We know these objects are out there and we can do something to prevent them" from hitting Earth, said former Apollo 9 astronaut Rusty Schweickart, who helped establish the foundation a decade ago.

Asteroids are getting attention lately. NASA nixed a return to the moon in favor of a manned landing on an asteroid. Last month, Planetary Resources Inc., a company founded by space entrepreneurs, announced plans to extract precious metals from asteroids within a decade.

Since its birth, the Mountain View, Calif.-based B612 Foundation ? named after the home asteroid of the Earth-visiting prince in Antoine de Saint-Exupery's "The Little Prince" ? has focused on finding ways to deflect an incoming asteroid. Ideas studied include sending an intercepting spacecraft to aiming a nuclear bomb, but none have been tested.

Last year, the group shifted focus to seek out asteroids with a telescope.

It is working with Ball Aerospace & Technologies Corp., which has drawn up a preliminary telescope design. The contractor developed NASA's Kepler telescope that hunts for exoplanets and built the instruments aboard the Hubble Space Telescope.

Under the proposal, the asteroid-hunting Sentinel Space Telescope will operate for at least 5 1/2 years. It will orbit around the sun, near the orbit of Venus, or between 30 million to 170 million miles away from Earth. Data will be beamed back through NASA's antenna network under a deal with the space agency.

Launch is targeted for 2017 or 2018. The group is angling to fly aboard SpaceX's Falcon 9 rocket, which made history last month by lifting a cargo capsule to the International Space Station.

Experts said the telescope's vantage point would allow it to spy asteroids faster than ground-based telescopes and accelerate new discoveries. NASA explored doing such a mission in the past but never moved forward because of the expense.

"It's always best to find these things quickly and track them. There might be one with our name on it," said Don Yeomans, who heads the Near-Earth Object Program at NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory, which monitors potentially dangerous space rocks.

Aside from the technological challenges, the big question is whether philanthropists will open up their wallets to support the project.

Nine years ago, the cost was estimated at $500 million, said Tim Spahr, director of the Minor Planet Center at Harvard University who was part of the team that came up with the figure for NASA.

Spahr questions whether enough can be raised given the economy. "This is a hard time," he said.

The group has received seed money ? several hundreds of thousands of dollars ? from venture capitalists and Silicon Valley outfits to create a team of experts. Foundation chairman Ed Lu said he was confident donors will step up and noted that some of the world's most powerful telescopes including the Lick and Palomar observatories in California were built with private money.

"We're not all about doom and gloom," said the former shuttle astronaut. "We're about opening up the solar system. We're talking about preserving life on this planet."

___

Online:

NASA's Near-Earth Object Program: http://neo.jpl.nasa.gov

___

Alicia Chang can be followed at http://www.twitter.com/SciWriAlicia

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/asteroid-hunters-want-launch-private-telescope-121702216.html

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Summer Building Contest ? Tegu | Blog

A few days ago, we introduced you to the Endeavor and Explorer Sets which have transformed the Tegu experience and enhanced the capabilities for building taller and larger creations!

To prove this gravity-defying nature, we decided to host our inaugural ?Summer Building Contest? where we partnered with some wonderful bloggers (read about them below) who agreed to push their imaginations with the latest Tegu sets.?From dogs and donkeys to flowers and towers, these bloggers definitely show the endless possibilities when constructing with our magnetic wooden blocks.

Wanna broaden your own architectural horizons? Well, you?re in luck. You can enter to win your own Endeavor or Explorer Set by simply voting for your favorite creation. To vote, submit a comment naming your favorite blogger and include your name, email address, and the URL of website that referred you in the corresponding fields. Voting starts today and ends on Tuesday, July 3rd.

One blogger will even win a $300+ Tegu bundle to give away to their active audience (Tegu will select both individual and blogger winners at random). The blogger with the most number of votes will be crowned ?Chief Blockitect.? All winners will be announced on Thursday, July 5th.

Take a look at the creations below and cast your vote today!

Julie Strietelmeier, The Gadgeteer

Julie Strietelmeier from Columbus, Indiana is a gadget freak through and through. She created The Gadgeteer 15yrs ago and has been writing about and testing all sorts of gadgets and gizmos ever since. She likes building sets like Tegu because they are a fun diversion from work and help get her creative juices flowing. Besides, she?s always loved anything that has magnets.

Julie Seguss, Inhabitots

With the motto ?Sustainable design for the next generation?, Inhabitots is the baby / parenting focused website in the Inhabitat family. Inhabitots.com was created as a resource for parents, families, and anyone else interested in sustainable modern design for children with a focus on design specifically targeted at babies, toddlers and kids.

Rebecca Sama, UrbanSherp

Rebecca Sama is the founder of UrbanSherp and has been a proud treehugger since the age of six. She spends her days tracking the latest, greatest green products and designers to share with consumers who appreciate good design and the planet. In fact, you can view her interpretation of Frank Lloyd Wright?s Fallingwater above!

Nicole Manning, The Shopping Mama

Before becoming a mom, Nicole taught high school English and traveled the world with her husband. She now enjoys a life filled with playdates, food being thrown from high chairs, and lots of toddler giggles. She loves to craft and create in her spare time and sells eco-friendly teething necklaces at The Sugar Cone Shoppe. Nicole blogs and writes for The Shopping Mama, THE source for all the unique and fabulous things you want and need for little ones but don?t have time to find yourself.

Alex Lum, Best Toys Guide

BestToysGuide.com was started in 2007 by a group of young-at-heart people with a passion for children?s toys. Their goal was to create an independent toy shopping guide with honest reviews and hands on testing. Today, they?re still having a blast testing out toys (who wouldn?t?), enjoying the antics of the office ferrets, and sharing it all with everyone.

Leanne Heilman, Rave and Review

Leanne is the owner and editor of Rave & Review and is always on the search for toys that the whole family can play with and appreciate. Her family has been fans of Tegu blocks since they ran across them at a local Seattle store and now the whole family is hooked on these awesome magnetic blocks.

Esther Garfield, BuyModernBaby

BuyModernBaby is known for showcasing the best modern children?s nurseries, products, furniture, gear and gifts. Esther Garfield has been searing the highs and lows of the internet since 2005 to find the latest and greatest products for children who?s parents prefer a modern aesthetic. Her discoveries include such wonderful products as Tegu blocks.

MaryAnne Kochenderfer, Mama Smiles

MaryAnne is the mother of three playful, curious, craft-loving children. She is passionate about parenting, hands-on learning, good children?s literature, and encouraging and building childhood creativity.?MaryAnne has a PhD in Medicine, a Masters degree in Education, and a BA in Music. She now uses all three degrees on a daily basis ? albeit in somewhat unusual ways ? as the stay-at-home mother of three (soon to be four!) young children.?As a survivor of pediatric cancer (30 years in May 2012!), she cherishes each and every day of life.

Ilana Rosengarten, Mommy Shorts

Ilana Wiles writes Mommy Shorts, a popular NYC humor blog geared towards new parents. In addition to blogging, Ilana has worked as a creative in advertising for the past 15 years. She lives in the East Village of NYC with her husband, her two-year-old daughter and a rapidly growing pile of stuffed animals.

Anastasia Borisyu, EcoBabyz

Eco-Babyz was born in 2008 out of the desire to share the natural parenting journey with parents all over the world. To provide a place where parents can stay informed on the latest in family health, legislation affecting children, healthy cooking, traveling light, daily mothering, and the best of Eco-friendly products. Capturing the essence of raising kids with enchanting photography. Eco-Babyz is your one stop blog for the journey of raising an intelligent, healthy, Eco-friendly, nature loving child

Molly Elmer, My Favorite Things
Molly is the founder and editor of My Favorite Things. MFT is a lifestyle blog where she assembles an on going list of all of her favorites. She loves to discover. To create. To explore. And share. And she encourages you to do the same. And because her three boys are at the tippy-top of her favorites list, she posts once or twice a week about motherhood.

Jillian Warner, Mommy Testers

Mommy Testers was founded by Jillian Warner, a fashion industry mom with a lifelong passion for baby and kids products. She created Mommy Testers out of a frustration in finding good information about children?s products from reliable, unbiased sources. In reading reviews Jillian frequently found that the writer was either compensated by the company, or in most cases, lacked the thoughtful and practical insight from in depth, hands-on testing of the product.

Elizabeth Pyo, Being MVP

Elizabeth is?a fulltime working mama to a wonderful little girl named Kenzie and is currently expecting a boy in early August. Balancing work and home life is tiresome but she?s enjoying every bit of watching Kenzie grow up.

Tiffany Malloy, Play Eat Grow

Play Eat Grow was started in 2011 by two friends, Tiffany and Christina, in an attempt to share all the fun things they were doing with their kids! Play Eat Grow specializes in PLAYING (fun things to do for both parent and child), EATING (yummy and kid-friendly recipes), and GROWING (spiritual formation activities and ideas).

Rebekka Drago, The Proverbs31 Mama

Rebekka is the wife of a wonderful husband and the mom of an incredible little girl. She feels blessed every day for the life she leads. Her blog is filled with product reviews, recipes, and craft ideas for little one!

Rebecca Sessa, MommaSess

Becky is the owner of the blog MommaSess (www.MommaSess.blogspot.com) ?She has an 11 month old baby boy who has been walking for about a month now and is also married to my wonderful husband Chris. Her blog focuses on product reviews with a ton of giveaways for her blog followers.

Diannah Jacobson, Cheap Mama Chick

Diannah is the owner/operator of Cheapmamachick.com, which focuses on finding great prices for high quality items for infants, children and moms!

Stephanie Moran Heald, Naturally Mindful

Stephanie is a mom, a furmom and a wife. Her blog, Naturally Mindful, was born out of necessity when she felt overwhelmed by how unsafe and toxic many common household products are. She is determined to live a healthier and safer life for her and her family one step at a time. As a stay at home to her one year old, Stephanie does her homework in between naps and play dates. Sharing her tips and educating other families to empower them to take the best choice to live a greener life.

Tags: building blocks, creativity, heirloom-quality toys, magnetic wooden blocks

Source: http://www.tegu.com/blog/2012/06/28/summer-block-building-contest/

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NFL Communications - NFL Launches Inaugural NFL Fan Flag ...

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Google releases Chrome browser for iPhone, iPad

SAN FRANCISCO (AP) ? Google's Chrome browser can now be used to surf the Web on the iPhone and iPad.

The Chrome application released Thursday is the latest volley in the escalating rivalry between Google Inc. and Apple Inc., which makes those two popular mobile devices. The announcement highlighted the second day of Google I/O, an annual conference that the company hosts in San Francisco for computer programmers around the world.

Google's attempt to supplant Apple's own Safari browser comes a day after it unveiled plans to sell a low-priced tablet computer to compete against the iPad and Amazon.com Inc.'s Kindle Fire.

If Chrome turns out to be a hit on Apple's mobile devices, it could help boost Google's profits, even though it's free, because Google now shares some advertising revenue with Apple in exchange for Apple building the Google search engine into the mobile version of Safari.

Google won't have to pay commissions on revenue generated from searches done through Chrome.

Macquarie Capital analyst Ben Schachter estimates that Google relinquishes up to 60 percent of the advertising revenue flowing from mobile searches on Safari.

The arrival of Chrome on Apple's mobile operating system comes a month after Yahoo Inc. released a browser called Axis for the iPhone and iPad.

Unlike Axis, however, Chrome already is one of the most popular alternatives to Microsoft Corp.'s Internet Explorer on traditional computers. Google said Thursday that Chrome now has 310 million active users, up from 160 million a year ago.

Since Google released the browser in 2008, Chrome also has become the foundation for an operating system powering a line of lightweight laptops that debuted last year. The so-called Chromebooks, which had been sold only online, will be available in 100 Best Buy stores in the U.S. beginning Thursday.

Last month, Google announced its plan to rely on Best Buy to sell the machines, which so far haven't made much of a dent in the personal computer market.

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EXCLUSIVE! Sally Field Dishes on Her 'Spider-Man' Role

Peter Parker may have gotten his powers from a radioactive spider, but he got his values from his Aunt May and Uncle Ben.

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Wall Street likes, doesn't love, Facebook

SAN FRANCISCO (Reuters) - Facebook Inc drew tepid assessments from Wall Street's top analysts a month after its rocky stock market debut, as warnings about an uncertain business model and a difficult transition to mobile helped send its shares down 2.6 percent.

In more than a dozen highly anticipated reports, Morgan Stanley and other major brokerages that handled the blockbuster IPO said it remains unclear how Facebook plans to make money from a growing number of users logging onto the No. 1 social network via smartphones and tablets.

Most analysts expected Facebook's large user base to help it corner a substantial share of the Internet advertising market. But almost half of the ratings released on Wednesday were "hold" or the equivalent -- despite the shares trading sharply down from their $38 IPO price.

The reports, all from banks involved in the highly anticipated but poorly executed IPO, represent Wall Street's most broad-based assessment of Facebook, the first U.S. company to debut with a market value of more than $100 billion.

The 33 banks that participated in the stock listing were required by securities regulations to wait until 40 days after the first day of trading on May 18 before publishing their views, limiting the research on Facebook until now to a handful of analysts.

"One of the things investors will have to get comfortable with is Facebook's recent revenue growth deceleration," said Scott Devitt at lead underwriter Morgan Stanley, who issued an "overweight" rating.

Devitt, who told the firm's major clients that he had cut his revenue estimates on Facebook just days before the IPO, said he expects mobile monetization to be a challenge for the next several quarters to several years.

He expects revenue to climb 31 percent in 2012, down sharply from the 88 percent growth in 2011.

Of 14 analysts' ratings initiated overnight or early on Wednesday, seven slapped top ratings -- "buy," "outperform" or "overweight" -- on the social networking company, including lead advisors JP Morgan, Goldman Sachs and Morgan Stanley.

Six others, including Citi, gave Facebook a "neutral" or "hold" rating. And just one -- BMO Capital Markets -- began their coverage with an "underperform" recommendation and a $25 target, translating into a nearly 25 percent slide from current levels.

The eight-year-old company started by Mark Zuckerberg in his Harvard dorm-room began trading at $38 -- a whopping 100 times 2011 net income per share, compared with Apple Inc's current multiple of 20.6 and Google Inc's 18.9.

TOPSY TURVY IPO

Analysts at JP Morgan set a price target of $45 for the stock, suggesting a rise of 36 percent compared with its close of $33.10 on Tuesday. Facebook shares were down 2.6 percent at $32.23 in morning trading on Wednesday.

The company's stock offering, one of the most highly anticipated in history, was marred by a series of technical glitches at the Nasdaq exchange.

Facebook's decision to increase the size of the offering by 25 percent just days ahead of the IPO, as well as concerns about decelerating revenue, also weighed on the stock, which traded as low as $25.52 before regaining some ground to trade in a $31-$33 range in recent days.

Goldman Sachs set a share price target of $42, while RBC said it expected a run to $40. BofA Merrill Lynch and Morgan Stanley pegged the shares at $38, while Citi and Barclays opted for $35.

The rush of research comes ahead of Facebook's second-quarter results, expected sometime in mid to late July.

With about 900 million users, Facebook has become one of the Web's top destinations, challenging established players such as Google Inc and Yahoo Inc .

Even so, revenue growth from ads and other services is slowing. The company, which last year was more than doubling the amount of money collected every quarter compared with a year earlier, reported growth of 45 percent in the first three months of 2012, and revenue declined from the preceding quarter.

General Motors' announcement a few days before the IPO that it would stop advertising on Facebook has added to the concerns about Facebook's ability to generate business from advertising.

Despite $4.8 billion in expected revenue in 2012, Facebook's user monetization rate is still relatively low, said BofA Merrill Lynch, which expects new advertising formats to accelerate revenue growth in the second half of the year.

In recent weeks, Facebook has unveiled a string of enhancements to its advertising service, allowing marketers to target ads to users on the mobile version of Facebook and to show Facebook users ads based on previous websites that they have visited.

"The company is in the midst of a mobile usage transition and we are cautious on Facebook's revenue trends until new mobile ad revenue models start driving the top line," the analysts at BofA Merrill Lynch wrote.

Several analysts working for the underwriters, including Morgan Stanley and Goldman Sachs, cut financial forecasts for Facebook days before the IPO after the company cautioned about revenue growth due to a rapid shift of users to mobile devices, where Facebook is less effective at generating revenue.

The analysts briefed some institutional clients about their revised forecasts, Reuters has reported, but retail investors were left in the dark. That revelation has resulted in lawsuits alleging the banks and Facebook failed to fully disclose the company's weakened financial outlook ahead of its IPO. (Additional reporting By Alexei Oreskovic in San Francisco and Tenzin Pema in Bangalore; Editing by Joyjeet Das, Ted Kerr and John Wallace)

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'Family Guy' creator Seth MacFarlane donates Carl Sagan's papers to Library of Congress (+video)

Seth MacFarlane?said that the papers belonging to the astronomer and popularizer of science Carl Sagan were extremely influential to him, and that they should be accessible to everyone.

By Ben Nuckols,?Associated Press / June 27, 2012

In this 2011 photo, Seth MacFarlane poses for a portrait in Los Angeles. The Library of Congress has acquired the personal papers of the late scientist and astronomer Carl Sagan, thanks to him.

Matt Sayles/ AP File

Enlarge

Seth MacFarlane once included a gag on his animated TV comedy "Family Guy" about an "edited for rednecks" version of Carl Sagan's "Cosmos," featuring an animated Sagan dubbed over to say that the earth is "hundreds and hundreds" of years old.?

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'; } else if (google_ads.length > 1) { ad_unit += ''; } } document.getElementById("ad_unit").innerHTML += ad_unit; google_adnum += google_ads.length; return; } var google_adnum = 0; google_ad_client = "pub-6743622525202572"; google_ad_output = 'js'; google_max_num_ads = '1'; google_feedback = "on"; google_ad_type = "text"; google_adtest = "off"; google_image_size = '230x105'; google_skip = '0'; // --> In the intro to the Cosmos television series, Carl Sagan talks about the universe and our place within it.

Jokes aside, his admiration for Sagan runs deep.

The Library of Congress announced Wednesday that, thanks to MacFarlane's generosity, it has acquired the personal papers of the late scientist and astronomer, who spoke to mass audiences about the mysteries of the universe and the origins of life. While MacFarlane never owned Sagan's papers, he covered the undisclosed costs of donating them to the library.

"All I did was write a check, but it's something that was, to me, worth every penny," MacFarlane told The Associated Press by phone from Los Angeles. "He's a man whose life's work should be accessible to everybody."

MacFarlane ? creator of "Family Guy," ''American Dad!" and "The Cleveland Show" ? met Sagan's widow and collaborator, Ann Druyan, at an event a few years ago that brought together Hollywood screenwriters and directors with scientists. They agreed to collaborate on a follow-up to "Cosmos," Sagan's acclaimed 1980 miniseries, with MacFarlane serving as producer. Astrophysicst Neil deGrasse Tyson will host the series, which is scheduled to begin production this fall.

MacFarlane said he watched "Cosmos" as a child and devoured all of Sagan's books.

"He was an enormous and profound influence in my life," MacFarlane said. "He played an essential role ? some would say the only role at the time ? in bridging the gap between the academic community and the general public."

A planetary astronomer and passionate advocate for science, Sagan contributed to a variety of NASA projects and conducted research on the possibilities of extraterrestrial life. He also studied climate change and the "nuclear winter" that could result from a nuclear war. He died in 1996 at age 62.

The papers ? contained in more than 800 filing-cabinet drawers ? include correspondence with other scientists, drafts of Sagan's academic articles and screenplay drafts for the movie "Contact," which was based on Sagan's novel. Also part of the collection: his grade-school report cards and a drawing he made as a child about the future of space exploration.

Druyan said Sagan would have been thrilled to see his life's work made available to the public.

"He was a citizen scientist," Druyan said by phone from her Ithaca, N.Y., home. "He really believed that science belonged to everyone, all of us. He was a 'small-d' democrat in the truest sense of the word."

The donation is part of a busy week for MacFarlane, whose first live-action film, "Ted," hits theaters Friday. While he's known more for crude humor than his interest in science, he hopes to push for a renewed commitment to space exploration. Although he's a liberal Democrat, he was impressed by Newt Gingrich's recent comments about establishing a colony on the moon.

"In the late '60s, they just assumed that would be a given, that things would continue to progress and that the space program would continue to evolve, and it was a no-brainer that we would have a presence on the moon by 2000," MacFarlane said. "We're so far away from that, and it should be embarrassing."

___

Follow Ben Nuckols on Twitter at http://twitter.com/APBenNuckols.

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I Want to Start an Automotive Car Detailing Company | Internet ...

I see that you are considering starting an automotive car detailing company and that is a good choice because there are over 250 million cars in the United States of America in each year automakers sell another 17 million cars throughout our country. Let?s face it we are a car nation and therefore it makes sense if you?re going to start a small business of you?re own or a home based business you will want to start a company where you could have lots of customers.

Since everyone owns a car it makes sense to start in automotive car detailing company. But you need to consider a strategy of which type of customers you?re going to go after and how best to market to those customers. Often we see new automotive car detailing companies buying expensive phonebook ads and this is unfortunate because your best customers always come from referrals or friends of friends.

It takes a while to get the hang of car detailing because each car is a little different, but eventually you can become a master of the trade. There are two types of main customers in auto car detailing; there is the wholesale detail customer like car lots and auto dealerships and there is the customer who is a private party who owns a very expensive car and wants to keep it in pristine shape.

The going rate for wholesale auto detailing for car dealerships is between 50 and $75. But the average going rate for detailing for private parties can be his high as $100 to $200. Now you can see why so many people want to get into the automotive car detailing business and start a business in automotive car detailing of their own.

But I must warn you it is not easy work and if you do not do good job then you will not have the referrals you need to make a lot of money in the future. Every business is a risk and this is something you should consider in 2006.

?Lance Winslow? ? Online Think Tank forum board. If you have innovative thoughts and unique perspectives, come think with Lance; www.WorldThinkTank.net/. Lance is an online writer in retirement.

Content About : I Want to Start an Automotive Car Detailing Company Article

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Vancouver's Province pulls animation satirizing Enbridge : Canada's ...

You are here: Home / Media / Vancouver?s Province pulls animation satirizing Enbridge

Posted by admin on June 25, 2012 ? 2 Comments?

A BoB short

The Vancouver Province has pulled from its website an animation created by its editorial cartoonist, Dan Murphy, that satirizes Enbridge?s massive ad campaign in support of its Northern Gateway pipeline.

In the original ad, Enbridge claims that the pipeline is ?a path to our future,? while families and fish frolic in sylvan settings to placid music. In the parody (see below), a fictional official comments with increasing distress as the ad is repeatedly interrupted with giant oil splotches.

Wayne Moriarty, The Province?s Editor-in-Chief, says the animation was removed at the request of Enbridge ?because it contains copyrighted material.? He admits that use of the material might be protected under fair use laws, but says the newspaper chose not to pursue the matter. He points out that The Province has run editorials critical of the pipeline, and insists that the decision to pull the satire has nothing to do with the $5 million campaign, which is running in his paper and The Vancouver Sun (both of which are owned by The Pacific Newspaper Group), among many other media outlets.

Moriarty denies a rumour that Murphy has been fired because of the cartoon. Murphy was not available for comment. His cartoon, however, may trump the original yet. The Enbridge ad, posted on its youtube channel, has drawn just 260 views. Murphy?s take, posted on the third-party channel below, has received 632 views ? so far.

- Frank Moher

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Sales Leads: How to Create a Lead Management Process

Last updated 18 hours ago

An important part of any marketing strategy is creating a process to track and monitor new sales leads, which are people who show interest in your products and services. By setting up a basic lead management process for the leads you capture through your marketing efforts, you can keep track of where your leads are coming from and accurately measure the effectiveness of your marketing. Here are a simple few tips to get started with lead management for your business.

Track the Source of Your Leads

A vital part of the process of handling your sales leads is to make sure that you track where those leads are coming from. This task will help the overall effectiveness of your online and offline advertising efforts because you?ll have a clear understanding of which marketing tactics are driving the most customers to your business. One simple way to do this is to simply ask prospects how they heard about your business once they contact you. Additionally, you can use analytics software on your website to monitor the sources of online leads. Another option for tracking leads is to use a call tracking number or tracking URL that you can place on your offline or online advertising, so when people contact you via those methods, you can track which marketing brought them to your business. Then, you can use this insight to shift your marketing investment toward the types of efforts that bring you the most customers.

Monitor & Respond to Social Media Channels

Social media channels like Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, and Google Plus have become great new sources of potential leads for your business. It?s important to monitor social media regularly and follow up with consumers who are leaving comments on your page, tweeting you publicly, or sending you direct messages. If someone expresses interest in your product or service or contacts you directly via social media, ask them to contact you via email or phone so you can get more information about what they?re interested in, and collect their contact information so you can follow up. In addition, you can use social media pages as a source of information about your target market, like their demographics, interests, and expectations from your business. ?

Set Up Notifications of New Leads

To take your lead management strategy to the next level, you can invest in a service that provides real-time lead notifications, such as an email or SMS message, when you receive a new lead. New leads could be generated from a ?a form submission, email, voicemail, or chat lead. Notifications let you know as soon as a lead comes in, provide a record of the lead, and ensure you can respond promptly to close the sale.?In fact, after the first hour, the chances of reaching a lead are reduced by 10 times.?

Record Your Calls

Recording calls to your business is an easy way to track and store incoming sales leads. Many?call recording technologies?not only let you record the live call itself, but also capture data such as caller ID, date, and time, so you have a full picture of the call and caller. Plus, the ability to record calls can also provide additional business insight, such as whether or not your team is effectively answering the phone, ?trends about what customers are calling about, and issues or feedback about your products or services, so you can make adjustments where needed.

Organize Your Database

Whether you?re entering leads into a CRM system or managing them in your own spreadsheet, it?s important to?keep your lead data clean?and organized. First, determine what data you want to capture, like name, email, phone, and lead source, so that you?re always recording the same type of information for each lead. In addition, you should regularly check your list and remove duplicate leads, make sure contact information is complete and up-to-date, and keep track of all interactions with the prospect so that you can pace out how often you want to reach out again ?to existing customers and active leads you?ve already contacted.?

Once you have a solid process in place for managing new sales leads, it?s important to tie any sales you make back to the original lead to accurately measure the ultimate ROI of your marketing investment. By documenting this process, you?ll have a better idea of which marketing investments have the biggest impact on your business.?

What lead management strategies has your business implemented, and which do you plan on adding? Let us know in a comment!

Tamara?Weintraub?helps equip small business owners with information about local online advertising, social media, and content marketing as a writer for?the?ReachLocal?blog.

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Grow up: Life Has Trade-offs

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Obama Mocks Romney Aides For Outsourcing v. Offshoring Defense

WASHINGTON -- President Barack Obama escalated his criticism of Mitt Romney's work with private equity firm Bain Capital Monday during a mid-day campaign event in Durham, N.H.

Speaking to a boisterous crowd in the Granite State, Obama criticized Romney for outsourcing jobs and mocked his campaign's insistence that outsourcing and offshoring are two different things.

"Now, just last week, it was reported that Governor Romney's old firm owned companies that were pioneers in the business of outsourcing American jobs to places like China and India," said Obama. "So yesterday his advisers were asked about this and they tried to clear this up by telling us there is actually a difference between outsourcing and offshoring. That's what they said. You cannot make this stuff up."

The line, which got strong applause and some audible snickers from the crowd, was a response to arguments made the day before by Romney aides and surrogates on the Sunday show circuit. Those surrogates pushed back against a Washington Post report that Romney had invested in companies that sent American jobs overseas while at Bain Capital by clinging to a technical distinction.

"There?s a very simple difference between outsourcing and offshoring,? top Romney adviser Eric Fehrnstrom said on CBS?s ?Face the Nation.? ?[Outsourcing] is done by companies every day. They take functions and they allow vendors to do it rather than handling it in-house. Offshoring is the shipment of American jobs overseas."

It's true that outsourcing and offshoring are two different things. That said, it seems fairly well established that Bain Capital invested in companies that, through one method or another, took work that could have been done in the United States and had it done overseas. And in the context of a presidential campaign, arguing these types of distinctions rarely means you are playing a winning hand.

Certainly, Obama was eager to move past the technical debate in favor of making a larger point.

"Now what Governor Romney's advisers don't seem to understand is this: if you're a worker whose job went overseas, you don't need somebody trying to explain to you the difference between outsourcing and offshoring," he said. "You need somebody who is going to wake up every single day and fight for American jobs."

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Houston entrepreneurs competing for $250000 Mission: Small ...

If it seems like everyone is applying for the Mission: Small Business grant, that's not too far from the truth ? especially in Houston.?

The contest, sponsored by Chase and LivingSocial, is meant "to increase awareness of the important role small businesses play in local communities and to help small businesses grow." The program has raised a grant pool of $3 million to be awarded to 12?eligible, established small businesses based on the strength of each company's application.?

That amounts to a grant of $250,000 each; nothing for a small business to sneeze at. Houston business owners have taken to the challenge, racking up a whopping 67 pages of grant applicants and proving that our city is something of an entrepreneurial mecca.?

?Houston business-owners have taken up the challenge, racking up 67 pages of applicants that prove our city is something of an entrepreneurial mecca.??

Barber shops, gyms, car washes and cupcakeries?have all put their name in the pot for consideration.?

We're particularly excited about New Living, which plans to launch an ecommerce site for The Green Painter and open a second Houston location, plus follow through with an inner Loop, artisan-crafted furniture factory, Made at 6111 Kirby, if it receives the funds.

But that's just one of many locally-focused Houston businesses in the running:?Houston Dairymaids, New for the Night, Texas Art Asylum, 18 Hands Gallery, Kitchen Incubator?(which would use the funds to open Project Brew), One Green Street, Houston Heights Orchestra, Radical Eats, Down Easy Brewing Company and many, many more are looking for the votes to move on the next round and make positive changes in their businesses and the surrounding community.?

Each applicant must garner a requisite 250 votes by 11:59 p.m. EST on Saturday to advance to an application review.?Check out the full list?here?(the ballot requires Facebook sign-in, and entrants are searchable by city and state or by company name)?to support your favorite local businesses.

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Database shows Florida has pledged nearly $155M since Gov. Rick Scott took office to create jobs

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ANU News.net Romney to Hispanics: Boost Legal Immigration, More ...

Republican presidential candidate Mitt Romney acknowledged that Hispanics may not always agree with him, but he offered a vision Thursday of an America more welcoming to certain legal immigrants and their families. http://amren.com/news/2012/06/romney-to-hispanics-boost-legal-immigration-more-green-cards/

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Spain beats France 2-0 to reach semifinals

Spain's Xabi Alonso celebrates scoring the opening goal during the Euro 2012 soccer championship quarterfinal match between Spain and France in Donetsk, Ukraine, Saturday, June 23, 2012. (AP Photo/Michael Sohn)

Spain's Xabi Alonso celebrates scoring the opening goal during the Euro 2012 soccer championship quarterfinal match between Spain and France in Donetsk, Ukraine, Saturday, June 23, 2012. (AP Photo/Michael Sohn)

France's Yohan Cabaye, right, and Spain's Xabi Alonso go for the ball during the Euro 2012 soccer championship quarterfinal match between Spain and France in Donetsk, Ukraine, Saturday, June 23, 2012. (AP Photo/Ivan Sekretarev)

France's Olivier Giroud falls over Spain's Gerard Pique during the Euro 2012 soccer championship quarterfinal match between Spain and France in Donetsk, Ukraine, Saturday, June 23, 2012. (AP Photo/Laurent Cipriani)

France goalkeeper Hugo Lloris saves on Spain's Fernando Torres, center, during the Euro 2012 soccer championship quarterfinal match between Spain and France in Donetsk, Ukraine, Saturday, June 23, 2012. (AP Photo/Ivan Sekretarev)

France's Olivier Giroud falls over Spain's Gerard Pique during the Euro 2012 soccer championship quarterfinal match between Spain and France in Donetsk, Ukraine, Saturday, June 23, 2012. (AP Photo/Matthias Schrader)

DONETSK, Ukraine (AP) ? Even if Spain failed to live up to expectations, Xabi Alonso exceeded them.

The defending champions, who are trying to win a third straight major title, advanced to the European Championship semifinals with a not-so-commanding 2-0 win over France on Saturday. In the next round, Portugal and star player Cristiano Ronaldo could provide a much sterner test.

"These types of games, in this type of competition, are always very tense," Spain coach Vicente del Bosque said of Saturday's win, "and you need to have the know-how to win them."

Alonso provided that.

The Real Madrid midfielder celebrated his 100th international appearance with an early header and a late penalty, a pair of rare goals from a player more accustomed to anchoring the back of the six-man midfield rather than pushing forward with the rest.

"I could never have imagined to reach my 100th cap, to go to the semis and score two goals," Alonso said. "Hopefully the 101st will be better."

Spain's next match will come on Wednesday against Portugal, again at the Donbass Arena in Donetsk. And with Ronaldo improving as the tournament progresses, Spain will likely have to improve as well to earn a chance to defend its title.

Saturday's opening goal was the result of excellent one-touch soccer ? the hallmark of Spain's game. Andres Iniesta prodded the ball through for Jordi Alba, who whipped a perfect cross from the left. Alonso timed his run so well that no France defender picked him up.

Spain wrapped things up after France right back Anthony Reveillere barged into substitute forward Pedro Rodriguez in injury time. Alonso coolly sent goalkeeper Hugo Lloris the wrong way from the spot, looking right but clipping the ball firmly to the left.

"He knows how to sacrifice himself, help the team and where to play," Del Bosque said of Alonso. "He is one of the attacking strengths of ours. He knows how to create and finish."

The win was Spain's first ever over France in a competitive match in seven attempts. But France wasn't that competitive Saturday, managing only one shot on target.

"When you lose a game there's always something missing, I'm not sure if it's possession or technical ability," France coach Laurent Blanc said. "The lads gave everything and it's very hard to play against Spain. We blocked their left flank, which is their strong point."

France's best moment came in the 32nd minute when Yohan Cabaye's free kick was tipped over by Spain goalkeeper Iker Casillas.

"They were there for the taking," Blanc said. "We knew we would get some chances, and the only thing I regret is that they scored off their first good chance. If we had gone in level at 0-0 at halftime, then I think we would have had more room in the second half."

Although the French made it out of the group stage for the first time since the 2006 World Cup, the manner of Saturday's loss will be disappointing for a team touted as one of the tournament's dangerous outsiders.

France formed a deep defensive line and watched awe-struck as Spain flicked the ball around like a training session. The Spanish made dummy runs everywhere early on, and had a penalty claim waved away in the sixth minute when Cesc Fabregas tumbled under a challenge from left back Gael Clichy.

Fabregas also started against Italy in Spain's opening 1-1 draw, sparking criticism against Del Bosque for not picking a recognized striker. But against France, it worked.

Spain pulled a compact France team out of position in the 10th minute as Iniesta curled a ball behind center half Adil Rami but it was too far for Fabregas to reach.

Karim Benzema, looking for his first goal at a major tournament, looked sharp and made some good runs, but the Real Madrid striker rarely got any service. He was fouled in the 32nd after running onto Florent Malouda's pass, and Cabaye's free kick was sailing into the top left corner before Casillas shuffled across quickly to save it.

While the French averted a repeat of the 2010 World Cup crisis ? when the entire squad went on strike at training ? the buildup to Saturday's game was marred by tensions in the camp following a heated dressing room bust-up after the 2-0 loss to Sweden.

"The big teams have all showed up at this Euro, and they will be in the semifinals," Blanc said. "Unfortunately, France won't be."

___

Lineups:

Spain: Iker Casillas, Alvaro Arbeloa, Gerard Pique, Sergio Ramos, Jordi Alba, Xavi Hernandez, Sergio Busquets, Xabi Alonso, David Silva (Pedro Rodriguez, 65), Andres Iniesta (Santi Cazorla, 84), Cesc Fabregas (Fernando Torres, 67).

France: Hugo Lloris, Anthony Reveillere, Adil Rami, Laurent Koscielny, Gael Clichy, Mathieu Debuchy (Jeremy Menez, 65), Yohan Cabaye, Yann M'Vila (Olivier Giroud, 79), Florent Malouda (Samir Nasri, 65), Franck Ribery, Karim Benzema.

Associated Press

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