Handheld launches new version of Algiz XRW rugged notebook with ...

Handheld Group, the manufacturer of rugged mobile computers, PDAs and smartphones, has announced the launch of the new version of its Algiz XRW rugged notebook. The updated Algiz XRW is considerably faster than its predecessor, and has twice the amount of RAM.
?
The new Algiz XRW is a slim, lightweight, compact and fully rugged notebook that delivers unprecedented performance in the field. Its 10.1-inch touchscreen display features MaxView technology, providing spectacular screen clarity and brightness in any outdoor condition, even direct sunlight. The Algiz XRW is one of the lightest and most compact rugged notebooks on the market, weighing in at a mere 1.5 kilograms, or 3.3 pounds.

New Algiz XRW features include:

• A fast and powerful N2600 1.6 GHz Dual-Core Intel ATOM processor.
• A larger 128 GB solid-state disk.
• Twice the memory, with 4 GB of DDR2 RAM.
• Newly optimised integrated u-blox GPS for better field performance.
• Added data security with TPM chipset board.
• An updated version of the optional Gobi 3000 technology.

?The new version of Algiz XRW is considerably faster and better-performing than earlier versions,? said Johan Hed, product manager at Handheld Group. ?The new ATOM processor is very impressive ? it?s powerful and almost twice as fast as its predecessors, yet energy-efficient with long battery life. In addition, we have added bigger cache and RAM memories and better graphics, and have optimized GPS performance to make the Algiz XRW the best in its class of mobile computing tools.?
?
The full-featured and lightweight Algiz XRW offers an array of mobile capabilities. It comes standard with Bluetooth, WLAN and GPS ? features many other products add on as extras ? as well as a built-in 2-megapixel autofocus camera that allows video conferencing in the field.
?
Its keyboard and mouse touchpad are fully sealed and illuminated by two LED lights, and it carries an IP65 rating for protection against sand, dust and water. It passes MIL-STD-810G ruggedness testing, including drop tests from 1.2 meters, and can handle extreme temperatures from -20 C to 55 C.
?
The new Algiz XRW has a powerful N2600 1.6 GHz Dual-Core Intel ATOM processor, and it includes a 128 GB solid-state disk and 4 GB of DDR2 RAM. It runs the Microsoft Windows 7 Ultimate operating system just like any PC in an office, and is ready for Windows 8.
?
An optional 3G modem provides high-speed GSM/UMTS/EVDO data transmission. The Algiz XRW is ready for Gobi 3000 technology, which means it?s possible to work on any choice of wireless frequency anywhere in the world. The 57.6 Wh battery works for eight hours on a single charge.
?
Like the rest of Handheld?s lineup of rugged PDAs, smartphones and mobile computers, Algiz XRW is specifically developed for use in tough environments in industries such as mining, geomatics, logistics, forestry, public transportation, construction, utilities, maintenance, military and security.
?
The new Algiz XRW is available for order immediately, with shipments starting at the end of February 2013. The price point remains unchanged.

Source: http://www.retailtechnologyreview.com/articles/2013/01/30/handheld-launches-new-version-of-algiz-xrw-rugged-notebook-with-performance-improvements/

TD Bank mountain lion hanley ramirez Christian Bale visits victims Perez Hilton national weather service kristen stewart

Become Debt Free in the New Year | All about finance & Insurance

When you?re making New Year?s resolutions, a good one to consider is debt reduction. Not all debt piles up from extravagant overspending ? a great number of financially responsible people find themselves inundated with medical bills. Catastrophic accidents, life-threatening illnesses and chronic medical conditions can bankrupt even the insured. Medical debt relief is out there, however, and the typical consumer is often unaware of the ways they can qualify for?financial help with medical debt.

Differences Between Medical Debt and Other Debt

Going out and signing a loan for a brand new BMW or wearing out that credit card on a 96? screen TV is a different kind of debt than taking a life-saving ride in an ambulance, having an operation and a long hospital convalescence. If you don?t pay the notes for the car or the TV, your creditors can and will come and repossess it. They have a security interest in the merchandise. But medical debt is unsecured debt, which is why it is easily discharged in a typical Chapter 7 or 13 bankruptcy.

Bankruptcy? Really? There Has to Be Another Option

No one wants the black mark of bankruptcy on their financial history, and this is why it?s the last resort for those facing financial ruin. With medical debt, you?ll find creditors are usually more willing to work with you by setting up reasonable payment plans you can make on a monthly basis without breaking your budget. With so many uninsured and under-insured people out there, hospitals and physicians realize there has to be some flexibility in individual cases. This is where your negotiating skills come into play. Begin by asking to speak to, or addressing your letter to, someone with the actual authority to erase some of that debt. Remain pleasant and civil, and honestly state the facts of your case and what you are realistically able to do to clear it up. Providers realize that taking debtors to court is a costly endeavor for them ? there are attorney?s fees, court costs, service fees, etc. Faced with a costly legal fight to obtain a likely uncollectible judgment, creditors will often wipe out thousands or even tens of thousands of dollars of medical debt from debtors who are sincerely making an effort to pay.

Source: http://www.krabimunicipality.com/become-debt-free-in-the-new-year/

michael bay ninja turtles san antonio weather mike daisey nicollette sheridan apple dividend snow white and the huntsman snow white and the huntsman

The future of information technologies in the legal world | OUPblog

By Richard Susskind

The uncharitable might say that I write the same book every four years or so. Some critics certainly accuse me of having said the same thing for many years. I don?t disagree. Since the early 80s, my enduring interest has been in the ways in which technology can modernize and improve the work of the legal profession and the courts.?My main underpinning conviction has indeed not changed: that legal work is document and information intensive, and that a whole host of information technologies can and should streamline and sometimes even overhaul traditional methods of practicing law and administering justice.

What have changed, of course, are the enabling technologies. When I started out on what has become a career devoted largely to legal technology, the web had not been invented, nor had tablets, handheld devices, mobile phones, and much else. As new technologies emerge, therefore, I always have a new story to tell and more evidence that suggests the legal world is shifting from being a cottage industry to an IT-enabled information sector.

The evolution of my thinking reflects my own technical interests and career activities over the years. My first work in the field, in the 1980s, focused on artificial intelligence and its potential and limitations in the law. This began in earnest with my doctoral research at Oxford University. I was interested in the possibility of developing computer systems that could solve legal problems and offer legal advice. Many specialists at the time wanted to define expert systems in law in architectural terms (by reference to what underlying technologies were being used, from rule-based systems to neural networks). I took a more pragmatic view and described these systems functionally as computer applications that sought to make scarce legal knowledge and expertise more widely available and easily accessible.

This remains my fundamental aspiration today. I believe there is enormous scope for using technology, especially Internet technology, as a way of providing affordable, practical legal guidance to non-lawyers, especially those who are not able to pay for conventional legal service. These systems may not be expert systems, architecturally-defined. Instead, they are web-based resources (such as online advisory and document drafting systems) and are delivering legal help, on-screen, as envisaged back in the 1980s.

During the first half of the 90s, while I was working in a law firm (Masons, now Pinsent Masons), my work became less academic. I was bowled over by the web and began to form a view of the way it would revolutionize the communication habits of practicing lawyers and transform the information seeking practices of the legal fraternity. I also had some rudimentary ideas about online communities of lawyers and clients; we now call these social networks. My thinking came together in the mid-1990s. I became clear, in my own mind at least, that information technology would definitely challenge and change the world of law. Most people thought I was nuts.

A few years later, to help put my ideas into practice, I developed what I called ?the grid? ? a simple model that explained the inter-relationships of legal data, legal information, legal knowledge, as found within law firms and shared with clients. I had used this model quite a bit with my clients (by this time, I was working independently) and it seemed to help lawyers think through what they should be doing about IT.

In the years that followed, however, I became even more confident that the Internet was destined to change the legal sector not incrementally and peripherally but radically, pervasively, and irreversibly. But I felt that, in the early 2000s, most lawyers were complacent. Times were good, business was brisk, and the majority of practitioners could not really imagine that legal practice and the court system would be thrown into upheaval by disruptive technologies.

Then came the global recession and, in turn, lawyers became more receptive than they had been in boom times when there had been no obvious reason why they might change course. Dreadful economic conditions convinced lawyers that tomorrow would look little like yesterday.

With many senior lawyers now recognizing that we are on the brink of major change, my current preoccupation is that most law schools around the world are ignoring this future. They continue to teach law much as I was taught in the late 1970s. They are equipping tomorrow?s lawyers to be twentieth century not twenty-first century lawyers. My mission now is to help law teachers to prepare the next generation of lawyers for the new legal world.

Richard Susskind OBE is an author, speaker, and independent adviser to international professional firms and national governments. He is president of the Society for Computers and law IT adviser to the lord chief justice. Tomorrow?s Lawyers is his eighth book.

Subscribe to the OUPblog via email or RSS.
Subscribe to only law and politics articles on the OUPblog via email or RSS.
Image Credit: ?The Grid? courtesy of Richard Susskind. Used with permission. Do not reproduce without explicit permission of Richard Susskind.

SHARE:

Source: http://blog.oup.com/2013/01/information-technologies-legal-world/

josh smith birdsong teresa giudice atlanta hawks 2012 white house correspondents dinner forrest gump bernard hopkins

Don't Let the Tax Tail Wag the Dog: Client Concerns, Not the Estate ...

Washington?s negotiations about 2013 tax laws are getting lots of press. As estate planning professionals, we are often asked our opinions about what the 2013 estate tax laws might be and the resulting implications for our clients. But for the vast majority of Americans, what the estate and gift tax laws will be in 2013 is really irrelevant. Those who could make large gifts have probably done so in 2012, and the 2013 estate tax exemption is only relevant to those who have a 2013 death.

Yes, it is important for us to be aware of the state of the tax law. We can keep our ear to the ground for warnings of change emanating from Washington, but nobody has any kind of a handle on what the law will be in 5, 10, 15 or 20 years! What we all need to do is redirect our clients? inquiries to their real concerns: protecting their families and assets; preserving the family business; making sure their children are provided for, educated and motivated; seeing that their loved ones have enforceable rights where the law may not grant them; and making sure their plans do not self-destruct for lack of proper maintenance. These are the enduring issues that drive estate planning, regardless of what the estate tax law may be at any given time.

In this issue of The Wealth Counselor, we will take another look at one of those client concerns ? asset protection. With our increasingly litigious society, asset protection planning has become more important and is often a key motivator for clients who need other estate planning, too.

What is Asset Protection Planning?
Asset protection planning is not hiding or concealing assets. Rather, it is helping clients use existing laws appropriately to obtain the best possible level of protection for their assets against possible attack by creditors. The goal is to make planning decisions that are effective if and when needed because they have legitimate non-asset protection purposes and thus are defensible.

The best and most effective time to implement asset protection planning is before a claim arises, when the client is merely worried that someday there may be claims founded on possible events that have not yet happened. But even after a claim has been made, some opportunities (such as making a contribution to an ERISA qualified plan or doing a Roth conversion) may still be available to shield some assets.

Types of Client and Asset Risks
Almost every client would benefit from some asset protection planning, but like most things in life there is a cost to achieve the benefit. Asset protection planning is advanced planning and requires collaboration from a team of advisors, so sometimes the cost outweighs the benefit. Therefore it is important that each member of the advisory team be able to recognize the types of clients whose profile indicates they might be good prospects for asset protection planning. Here are a few of the main ones:

Professionals
The clients who are the best prospects for asset protection planning are those most likely to be sued. At the top of the list are physicians, surgeons, dentists and other health care professionals. Running a close second are lawyers, architects and accountants. A third category is clients involved with business enterprises that pertain to health care, such as skilled nursing facilities and assisted living facilities. Builders, developers and others in construction are also at risk. Those who have already gone through a lawsuit will be keen to avoid the fear of loss associated with another one.

Planning Tip: A professional is liable for the consequences of his or her own negligence and everyone makes mistakes. Therefore, a professional?s liability protection should begin with adequate malpractice or errors and omissions insurance coverage.

Partners
In a general partnership, each partner is liable for the negligent acts of every other partner and every employee. It is rare to encounter a general partnership of medical professionals, but much more common with lawyers and architects. Plus, partnerships can come into existence without any paperwork as a business is started and then the clean-up sometimes doesn?t get done as the business grows.

Entrepreneurs and Executives
Attacks on entrepreneurs could come from business deals that have gone bad or tort claims. Management level personnel are exposed to claims for alleged improper employment practices, employment discrimination, or sexual harassment.

Landlords
Clients who own residential rental properties have often acquired them one-by-one over time. Frequently they are owned in the landlord?s name. Every residential property exposes its owner to premises liability claims, such as for injuries from fires and slip-and-fall accidents. Legal structures can be set up that isolate a property from these risks associated with another property and separate the landlord from all the risks.

The Wealthy
The wealthy are exposed to more risk of lawsuits because they have the ability to pay and juries are often sympathetic to the plaintiff when the defendant is rich. Also, they often have staff, multiple properties and multiple vehicles and those impose claim risks, too.

Lifestyle-Based Candidates
Clients who have had more than one spouse are statistically at higher risk of divorce than those in first marriages. Many a business has collapsed as a result of an ex-spouse claiming an ownership interest in the business.

A client?s child who engages in risky or antisocial behavior creates a risk of future unnecessary dissipation of a family?s wealth; often leaving the child destitute with no one to turn to once the parents are gone.

Levels of Asset Protection
Every asset protection plan is a unique creation designed to meet the particular client?s needs, risks and concerns. Typically, an asset protection plan employs a combination of strategies. Because asset protection planning is a process that frequently takes months to fully implement (and because wisdom dictates building the foundation before starting on the roof) in general asset protection planning should be implemented by levels, starting at the lowest. The lower rungs on the ladder don?t get you very far off the ground, but they are dangerous to skip. Asset protection planning works the same way. A typical planning level strategy that would be presented to a highly compensated professional in a high risk profession would be:

Level 1: Exemptions
Level 2: Transmutation or Tenancy by the Entirety Agreements
Level 3: Professional Entity Formation (PA/PC/PLLC)
Level 4: FLP/FLLC to Own and Lease Practice Assets
Level 5: FLP/FLLC to Own Non-Practice Assets
Level 6: Domestic (U.S.-Based) Asset Protection Trusts
Level 7: Offshore Asset Protection Trusts

Below we discuss each of these seven levels.

Planning Tip: The plan presented should include levels above those that the client will probably choose. This gives the client appropriate control and decision making responsibility and also avoids the risk of the client legitimately complaining that particular strategies were not offered.

Level 1: Exemptions
Some assets are automatically protected by state or federal exemptions. State exemptions can include personal property, life insurance, annuities, IRAs, homestead, and property held in tenancy by the entirety. Each state protects its citizens? assets differently and the amounts of the exemptions will also vary greatly from state to state. For example, some states have an unlimited homestead exemption; many states protect all IRAs; and many non-community property states recognize tenancy by the entirety, which is sometimes a great way to shelter the interests of both the spouse who is at risk and the spouse who is not.

Federal exemptions include ERISA which covers 401(k) and 403(b) plan accounts, pensions, and profit-sharing plans. Creating and funding qualified retirement plans for clients can provide excellent shelters against creditors? claims. Typically these plans must also include one or more non-owner employee participants in order to be covered by ERISA. Skillful pension actuaries can be very helpful with this.

While the federal Pension Protection Act protects up to $1 million in IRAs and Roth IRAs for bankruptcy purposes, the level of non-bankruptcy protection afforded by the states to their citizens? IRAs varies widely.

For a client who lives in a state with weak IRA protection, it might be best to move unprotected IRA assets into an ERISA qualified retirement plan which is unreachable by third-party creditors during the pay-in period (some portion of required minimum distributions may be reachable by creditors). For the client who lives in a state with strong IRA protection or who has not used all of the IRA protection available in their state, converting a traditional or roll-over IRA into a Roth IRA and paying the taxes with non-IRA funds can be an excellent asset protection strategy that is easily and quickly implemented.

Planning Tip: With today?s low interest rates, defined benefit plans are becoming popular again. Instead of the required annual fixed contributions of the past, the IRS now allows almost as much flexibility with defined benefit plan contributions as it does with profit-sharing plans. Contributions can also be increased dramatically to allow for the use of life insurance within the plan. Life insurance can be an especially valuable asset because death benefits are not subject to income or capital gain tax, and if the policy ownership and control is done right, the death benefit is not part of the insured?s taxable estate.

Planning Tip: Sometimes it is possible to convert non-exempt assets into exempt assets. For example, cash (a non-exempt asset) can be used to pay down a homestead mortgage and increase exempt home equity. This is a strategy for clients who live in states with a large or unlimited homestead exemption.

Planning Tip: Because home mortgages and home equity lines of credit are currently hard to get, a qualified personal residence trust (QPRT), established as an ongoing trust to benefit younger family members, can also be used. However, because it is a self-settled irrevocable trust, some states have limitations that can reduce a QPRT?s effectiveness for asset protection. Also, putting an unprotected home asset into a QPRT when there is a known or anticipated claim could be held to be a fraudulent transfer.

Planning Tip: The exemption level asset protection strategies may even be available to the client who has already been sued.

Level 2: Transmutation or Tenancy by the Entirety Agreements
There are asset protection strategies for married clients that depend on how title is held to an asset. In most of the states, the available technique is converting jointly held property to tenancy by the entirety property. In the nine community property states, the technique of choice is the agreement to transmute community property into separate property. Both techniques have legal consequences beyond asset protection that must be explained to, understood and accepted by the client.

Converting jointly held property into tenancy by the entirety can make it inaccessible to an at-risk spouse?s creditors while the other spouse is living. Transmutation agreements allow clients to convert community property assets into the separate property of the spouse not at risk. Make sure the client is aware that property once transmuted stays separate property unless and until another transmutation agreement converts it back to community property. Separate counsel for each spouse may be needed to make a transmutation agreement binding. Plus, there may be enhanced risk of loss of property in case of a divorce.

Level 3: Professional Entity Formation (PA/PC/PLLC)
General partnerships and sole proprietorships under which a professional is conducting business should be restructured as a professional association or corporation (which depends on state law) or a professional limited liability company. By so doing, each professional will become protected from personal liability for the errors of other professionals and employees. Putting that protection in place is a good second step beyond having adequate malpractice insurance.

State laws will vary on this. If available, a PLLC is usually more desirable because of the charging order limitations that prevent a professional?s creditor from seizing any assets from the entity, limiting the creditor to only receiving distributions that would have been made to the affected debtor-member. In addition, the creditor may have to pay tax on any income that is distributed under a charging order. This is often enough to discourage a creditor from pursuing a claim or to make settlement on a favorable basis possible. Establishing the entity under the laws of a state that has the charging order as the sole creditor remedy, when that is possible, should also be considered.

Level 4: LP/LLC to Own and Lease Practice Assets
An LP or LLC can be created to own the specialized or valuable equipment and/or real estate that is used in the professional practice. ?Lease back? agreements can then be created between the professional practice and the property owning LLCs. This strategy allows the professional to isolate valuable real estate and equipment from malpractice exposure. In some cases, a factoring arrangement can put the value of the practice?s accounts receivable in the LP or LLC and thus beyond the reach of a malpractice creditor.

Planning Tip: Creating an LP or LLC to own practice assets also allows for good estate planning by providing the opportunity for gifting or sale of LLC/LP interests to irrevocable trusts established for the benefit of children or other family members.

Level 5: FLP/FLLC to Own Non-Practice Assets
Consider the formation of a family limited partnership or family LLC in a favorable jurisdiction that has the charging order as the sole remedy to own non-practice assets. This entity would hold personal use real estate, investment accounts, cash or bank accounts, and investment real estate. Having a multi-member LLC increases the charging order protection because a bankruptcy judge cannot collapse a multi-member LLC that was formed in a favorable jurisdiction.

Level 6: Domestic (U.S.-Based) Asset Protection Trusts
Historically, creditors were able to reach assets that their debtor had placed into an irrevocable trust for the debtor?s benefit. Such trusts are called ?self-settled.? Starting with Alaska in 1987, several states have adopted laws that allow the assets of certain self-settled trusts to be protected from the grantor/beneficiary?s creditors. These trusts are called asset protection trusts. Because they are formed under a state?s jurisdiction as opposed to the jurisdiction of another country (see Level 7, below) this kind of trust is commonly referred to as a Domestic Asset Protection Trust (DAPT).

The time between creating the DAPT or placing an asset in the DAPT and the DAPT affording protection to that or all DAPT assets varies from state to state, with the shortest time being two years. In like manner, the states have different lists of creditor or claim classes to which the DAPT?s asset protection does not apply. The most popular states for DAPT formation are, in alphabetical order, Alaska, Delaware, Nevada and Wyoming.

In Level 6 planning, the client establishes a DAPT in the selected jurisdiction and funds it with non-practice, non-leasing LLC assets.

Each DAPT state has its own rules that will need to be satisfied for a DAPT established under its laws to be effective. For example, the state?s DAPT law may require that a trustee have an office in that state or that some of the trust assets be held there. Associating local counsel in the chosen DAPT jurisdiction may be appropriate.

Planning Tip: Because clients today are often living into their 90s, it is wise to build flexibility into a DAPT or other irrevocable trust to accommodate changes in a client?s needs and family over several decades. To do this, the trust can be made changeable by an independent third party of the client?s choosing. This role is commonly referred to as the ?Trust Protector.?

Planning Tip: A trust can be designed so that transfers to it are, for gift and estate tax purposes, completed or incomplete gifts. Incomplete gifts are included in the grantor?s estate for estate tax purposes and get a basis adjustment at death. The opposite is true for completed gifts that are not brought back into the grantor?s estate under what are called the ?string? sections of the Internal Revenue Code (26 USC ?? 2035-38 and 2042). Be sure to determine what is best in each case.

Level 7: Offshore Asset Protection Trusts
The highest (and most expensive to establish and maintain) level of asset protection planning is founded on one or more asset protection trusts established under the laws of a foreign jurisdiction. (The Cook Islands, the Bahamas, Bermuda and the Channel Islands are all popular choices.) With an offshore trust, the assets are in the hands of a local trustee and are outside the reach of any U.S. court. However, there may be tax issues. Also, if the court orders the assets repatriated and they can?t be, the client could be cited for contempt and even jailed.

Planning Tip: An offshore asset protection trust should not hold assets in the United States over which a U.S. court could exert jurisdiction.

Implementing the Asset Protection Plan
The advisors independently and collectively will make a list of the client?s assets and determine what needs to be done with each one to implement the levels of planning selected by the client. It can easily take six months to a year to design, implement and fully fund a comprehensive asset protection plan, and it?s usually done in steps and pieces. During the process, it?s very important to keep the client informed and keep everyone on a timeline.

Protecting the Advisor Team
Asset protection planning can pose a risk to the advisor team members? assets. Those risks need to be avoided. One risk is the client who, when his or her assets are under attack, will forget that no advisor guaranteed the plan?s success. The other risk is that the client?s creditors, who just want money and don?t care who pays, may try to bring the asset protection planning team members into the fray under ?fraudulent transfer? allegations.

Tempering Expectations and Documenting the Agreement
To deal with the first risk, it is important to set some reasonable expectations for the client and for the client to be educated about what asset protection is, how the laws work, and what the client can reasonably expect to achieve. For example:
* Most people would like to have a high degree of certainty of the outcome. The advisors have to temper that expectation by explaining how the law works and that there may be circumstances that nobody can effectively control. Asset protection is time consuming, but worthwhile. The end result should be considerably better than if the client had done no planning at all.
* Many clients want to maintain control rather than shift assets to some unknown third party in a foreign land. The preferred approach is to maintain control or at least oversight over the assets.
* An effective plan will discourage lawsuits from the outset. We cannot make our client?s assets appear not to exist, but we can create a structure that will make it less attractive for a potential plaintiff to go after our client than to go after someone who has done no planning. And we can enhance our client?s ability to negotiate a favorable settlement if liability is established.

We very highly recommend that a detailed written asset protection engagement agreement be signed in all cases. The agreement should spell out the plan goals, limitations and potential risks and negate the idea of there being any guarantee of success.

Avoiding Fraudulent Transfer Exposure
The natural tendency of the debtor is to hide assets to frustrate the creditor who would seize them. To deal with that problem, there are ?fraudulent transfer? laws. Each state has one and there is one in the Bankruptcy Code. In general they allow a creditor to unwind certain transactions in which the debtor has transferred assets to another for anything short of full and fair consideration with the intent of hindering or defrauding creditors. These laws also impose personal liability on anyone who aids or abets the debtor in these activities. Therefore, the advisor team members all want to make sure that they have a good defense to any frustrated creditor?s claim that they took any action that was reasonably calculated to aid their client in implementing a fraudulent transfer.

The key to the advisor team members avoiding exposure to a claim of abetting fraudulent transfer is to make sure to gather financial and objective information and to build a relationship with the client before designing or implementing the asset protection planning. Once the facts are known, no matter how bad they are, some level of asset protection planning can probably be done. Without knowledge of the facts, the asset protection plan designed by the advisors is likely to fail.

Planning Tip: Because the natural tendency of many is to procrastinate, often the client who seeks asset protection planning already has a claim pending or impending against them.

Planning Tip: Because asset protection planning is most attractive to those who have a higher than average risk of being sued, it is critically important to determine early in the planning process how much information the client is willing to share and should share with various members of the advisor team. For example, it may be vital to preserve attorney/client privilege about some things and therefore not share specific risk information with non-attorney advisors who could be subpoenaed. Short of being sued, there is not much worse for an advisor than to be called to testify against a client!

Planning Tip: Clients may misrepresent their legal difficulties, and none of us wants to subsidize a plaintiff?s claim through the use of our own malpractice insurance because of not asking the right questions or doing a thorough discovery. An excellent practice is to have in your file a solvency certificate from your client in which the client represents to you in writing that their net worth is a positive number and that the planning they are going to do will not render them insolvent. In some instances it is useful to obtain permission from the client in order to do due diligence and independently investigate to make sure you know the information provided is accurate.

Conclusion
Asset protection planning is just one client concern that can be the impetus that gets the client to do estate planning. While it is highly important that the advisor team members know and understand the current estate tax laws, nobody knows what those laws will be in the future when the client?s planning ?matures.? Other than in very rare cases, the current tax laws themselves are irrelevant to, and are rarely the motivating factor for, our clients? planning. What our clients want and need is predictability coupled with flexibility. Members of the advisory team who are aware of the enduring concerns clients have will find many opportunities to work together for the benefit of the team members and their clients.

We hope this information was useful to you, your clients and their families.?To get more information regarding this or any related topic, please visit our website?www.TEPLG.com?or call us at 630-871-8778.

To comply with the U.S. Treasury regulations, we must inform you that (i) any U.S. federal tax advice contained in this newsletter was not intended or written to be used, and cannot be used, by any person for the purpose of avoiding U.S. federal tax penalties that may be imposed on such person and (ii) each taxpayer should seek advice from their tax adviser based on the taxpayer?s particular circumstances.

Source: http://illinoisestateplanninglawyerblog.com/?p=1498

mike brown bcs rankings jay cutler applebees jeff gordon veterans day world war z

Bioinspired fibers change color when stretched

Jan. 28, 2013 ? A team of materials scientists at Harvard University and the University of Exeter, UK, have invented a new fiber that changes color when stretched. Inspired by nature, the researchers identified and replicated the unique structural elements that create the bright iridescent blue color of a tropical plant's fruit.

The multilayered fiber, described January 28 in the journal Advanced Materials, could lend itself to the creation of smart fabrics that visibly react to heat or pressure.

"Our new fiber is based on a structure we found in nature, and through clever engineering we've taken its capabilities a step further," says lead author Mathias Kolle, a postdoctoral fellow at the Harvard School of Engineering and Applied Sciences (SEAS). "The plant, of course, cannot change color. By combining its structure with an elastic material, however, we've created an artificial version that passes through a full rainbow of colors as it's stretched."

Since the evolution of the first eye on Earth more than 500 million years ago, the success of many organisms has relied upon the way they interact with light and color, making them useful models for the creation of new materials. For seeds and fruit in particular, bright color is thought to have evolved to attract the agents of seed dispersal, especially birds.

The fruit of the South American tropical plant, Margaritaria nobilis, commonly called "bastard hogberry," is an intriguing example of this adaptation. The ultra-bright blue fruit, which is low in nutritious content, mimics a more fleshy and nutritious competitor. Deceived birds eat the fruit and ultimately release its seeds over a wide geographic area.

"The fruit of this bastard hogberry plant was scientifically delightful to pick," says principal investigator Peter Vukusic, Associate Professor in Natural Photonics at the University of Exeter. "The light-manipulating architecture its surface layer presents, which has evolved to serve a specific biological function, has inspired an extremely useful and interesting technological design."

Vukusic and his collaborators at Harvard studied the structural origin of the seed's vibrant color. They discovered that the upper cells in the seed's skin contain a curved, repeating pattern, which creates color through the interference of light waves. (A similar mechanism is responsible for the bright colors of soap bubbles.) The team's analysis revealed that multiple layers of cells in the seed coat are each made up of a cylindrically layered architecture with high regularity on the nano- scale.

The team replicated the key structural elements of the fruit to create flexible, stretchable and color-changing photonic fibers using an innovative roll-up mechanism perfected in the Harvard laboratories.

"For our artificial structure, we cut down the complexity of the fruit to just its key elements," explains Kolle. "We use very thin fibers and wrap a polymer bilayer around them. That gives us the refractive index contrast, the right number of layers, and the curved, cylindrical cross-section that we need to produce these vivid colors."

The researchers say that the process could be scaled up and developed to suit industrial production.

"Our fiber-rolling technique allows the use of a wide range of materials, especially elastic ones, with the color-tuning range exceeding by an order of magnitude anything that has been reported for thermally drawn fibers," says coauthor Joanna Aizenberg, Amy Smith Berylson Professor of Materials Science at Harvard SEAS, and Kolle's adviser. Aizenberg is also Director of the Kavli Institute for Bionano Science and Technology at Harvard and a Core Faculty Member at the Wyss Institute for Biologically Inspired Engineering at Harvard.

The fibers' superior mechanical properties, combined with their demonstrated color brilliance and tunability, make them very versatile. For instance, the fibers can be wound to coat complex shapes. Because the fibers change color under strain, the technology could lend itself to smart sports textiles that change color in areas of muscle tension, or that sense when an object is placed under strain as a result of heat.

Additional coauthors included Alfred Lethbridge at the University of Exeter, Moritz Kreysing at Ludwig Maximilians University (Germany), and Jeremy B. Baumberg, Professor of Nanophotonics at the University of Cambridge (UK).

This research was supported by the U.S. Air Force Office of Scientific Research Multidisciplinary University Research Initiative, by the UK Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council, and through a postdoctoral research fellowship from the Alexander von Humboldt Foundation. The researchers also benefited from facilities at the Harvard Center for Nanoscale Systems, which is part of the National Nanotechnology Infrastructure Network supported by the U.S. National Science Foundation. The Wyss Institute for Biologically Inspired Engineering at Harvard also contributed to this research.

Share this story on Facebook, Twitter, and Google:

Other social bookmarking and sharing tools:

---

Story Source:

The above story is reprinted from materials provided by Harvard University.

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

---

Journal Reference:

1. Mathias Kolle, Alfred Lethbridge, Moritz Kreysing, Jeremy J. Baumberg, Joanna Aizenberg, Peter Vukusic. Bio-Inspired Band-Gap Tunable Elastic Optical Multilayer Fibers. Advanced Materials, 2013; DOI: 10.1002/adma.201203529

Note: If no author is given, the source is cited instead.

Disclaimer: Views expressed in this article do not necessarily reflect those of ScienceDaily or its staff.

Source: http://feeds.sciencedaily.com/~r/sciencedaily/top_news/top_science/~3/F55whN1jT3w/130128151938.htm

heart transplant the international preppers geraldo obama trayvon martin pietrus cheney

Make at Home Orange Shrimp for Chinese New Year - The Party ...

Chinese New Year 2013 is the year of the Snake. The celebration begins on February 10th, which is a Sunday night ? so plan to party at home with family and friends.?

So that you can enjoy the fun, and not be stuck in the kitchen, we have a deliciously easy stir fry recipe for Orange Chicken to share with you.? The recipe comes from Carol Kicinski, renowned chef, food writer and gluten-free guru.? It?s a healthy meal that can be served in a matter of minutes with only 6 nutritious ingredients.? It gets its great taste from fresh ingredients and San-J gluten free orange sauce.? Hope you enjoy!

2013 is the year of THE WATER SNAKE

This is a year of? water Snake, and?all things will be possible.? Saving money and being thrifty should be your top priorities.? Delusion and deception are common in the year of water Snake.? Stay alert!? To gain the greatest benefits from this year, you must control spending and use your talents wisely.? If you are planning to get married or to begin a business partnership, be sure to thoroughly investigate the other person?s finances and background before you legalize the alliance.

?

ORANGE SHRIMP
Created by: Carol Kicinski

Ingredients

• 1 1/2 pounds raw large shrimp, peeled and deveined
• 3 tablespoons cornstarch
• 2 tablespoons vegetable oil
• 8 green onions, cleaned, trimmed and cut into 1 inch pieces on the diagonal
• 5 Thai chilies, whole
• 1/3 cup San-J Orange Sauce

Preparation

1. Pat the shrimp dry with paper towels and put into a mixing bowl with the cornstarch, toss to coat.
2. Heat the oil in a large skillet or wok over high heat until it starts to shimmer, add the shrimp and cook, stirring often, until they turn pink and start to curl, about 2 minutes.
   
3. Add the green onions and chilies and cook for 1 minute.
   
4. Add the San-J Orange Sauce, cook for 1 minutes or until the sauce is heated through.
   
5. Serve immediately; don?t eat the chilies unless you can tolerate really spicy food.

?

Source: http://www.partybluprintsblog.com/the-menu/orange-shrimp-easy-recipe-chinese-year/?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=orange-shrimp-easy-recipe-chinese-year

1940 census instagram for android dallas news dallas fort worth dfw 1930 census nike new nfl uniforms

Obama's envoy for closing Gitmo prison reassigned

WASHINGTON (AP) ? The State Department has reassigned its special envoy for closing the U.S. prison at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, in another step away from one of President Barack Obama's first campaign promises.

Ambassador Daniel Fried is starting this week as the department's sanctions coordinator, according to an internal notice, focusing on governments like Iran and Syria.

And no one is replacing Fried as lead diplomat to persuade countries to resettle Guantanamo inmates approved for release. Instead, those responsibilities will now transfer to the department's legal office.

The reduced diplomatic effort comes as a military tribunal holds more hearings into the case of alleged 9/11 mastermind Khalid Sheikh Mohammed and five other defendants who face almost 3,000 counts of murder. They could get the death penalty if convicted in a trial that is likely at least a year away. Most of this week's proceedings have focused on abstract pretrial legal issues.

Fried helped in the transfer of 40 detainees overseas during his four years as special envoy, assuming the post shortly after Obama first took office and promised to close the much-maligned prison within a year.

But Republican-led bills have since cut off funding to move detainees to foreign countries, and bringing them to the United States has been impossible since Congress blocked Obama's attempt in 2009 to try Mohammed and others accused of war crimes in a civilian court.

The Obama administration still hopes to close Guantanamo and send its remaining 166 inmates elsewhere, but officials say congressional restrictions have left diplomatic efforts severely hampered.

Despite signing last year's federal defense bill, the president criticized further provisions it included that regulated the detention, interrogation and prosecution of suspected terrorists. He called continued Guantanamo restrictions "unwise" and insisted federal courts can successfully prosecute terrorists.

Associated Press

Source: http://hosted2.ap.org/APDEFAULT/cae69a7523db45408eeb2b3a98c0c9c5/Article_2013-01-29-US-Guantanamo/id-b3bd8f2f827e40bf9ee16f18a3321a50

petrino fired george zimmerman charged big sean sherri shepherd sherri shepherd arkansas razorbacks trisomy 18

The Note's Must-Reads for Monday, January 28, 2013

Compiled by ABC News' Jayce Henderson, Amanda VanAllen and Jordan Mazza

HILLARY CLINTON ABC News' Mary Bruce and Dana Hughes: " President Obama, Hillary Clinton: From Bitter Rivals to Bosom Buddies" In something of a parting gift, President Obama is making abundantly clear his deep support and fondness for outgoing Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, who is leaving wide open a possible presidential run in 2016. Sitting together for their first joint interview, you could almost forget that they once politically bludgeoned each other in the 2008 Democratic primary. "I'm going to miss her," Obama told. LINK USA Today's Aamer Madhani: " Obama praises former nemesis Clinton as 'Strong friend'" During their battle for the Democratic presidential nomination more than four years ago, President Obama dismissed his political nemesis Hillary Rodham Clinton as "likable enough." But as Clinton prepares to depart from the State Department this week, Obama gushed about his outgoing secretary of State and predicted, the history books will remember her as one of the best to grace the office of America's top diplomat. LINK

FOREIGN POLICY The Hills' Julian Pecquet: " Obama signals focus on foreign policy with new chief of staff" President Obama's choice of a foreign policy expert and longtime aide to become his chief of staff is widely seen as evidence that the president plans to emulate his predecessors, who used their second terms to put their mark on the world. By tapping Deputy National Security Adviser Denis McDonough for the role, Obama is also picking a former House and Senate staffer who's known for keeping out of the spotlight. LINK

IMMIGRATION The Los Angeles Times' Brian Bennett and Lisa Mascaro: " Senators agree on immigration overhaul plan" A bipartisan group of senators has agreed on a plan to grant legal status to most of the estimated 11 million illegal immigrants in the U.S., which could form the basis for a far-reaching overhaul of immigration laws this year. The Senate blueprint, drafted during weeks of closed-door meetings by leading senators from each party, will probably set parameters for a contentious legislative battle over the next several months. LINK

The Wall Street Journal's Laura Meckler: " Immigration Debate Gears Up" Millions of illegal immigrants would be given a path to citizenship under provisions of an immigration overhaul fashioned by a bipartisan group of senators, an opening shot in what promises to be a fight in Congress this year. The legislative framework, to be released Monday, also would add federal agents and equipment to strengthen the borders and tighten work rules to ensure employers hire legally. The unveiling comes before President Barack Obama plans to set out his own, similar principles in a speech Tuesday in Las Vegas. LINK

The New York Times' Julia Preston: "Senators Offer a New Blueprint for Immigration" A bipartisan group of senators has agreed on a set of principles for a sweeping overhaul of the immigration system, including a pathway to American citizenship for 11 million illegal immigrants that would hinge on progress in securing the borders and ensuring that foreigners leave the country when their visas expire. LINK

PRESIDENT OBAMA The Washington Times' Stephen Dinan: " Ruling puts presidential power at risk" The federal appeals court ruling last week finding President Obama abused his recess appointment powers harkened back to a vision of the Constitution that many thought long dead, and could upend decades of practice by Republicans and Democrats. In the short term, the ruling by a three-judge panel of the U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia holds that Mr. Obama illegally bypassed Congress to name three members of the National Labor Relations Board - calling into question hundreds of decisions made by the board in the year since the appointments. LINK

Bloomberg's Tom Schoenberg: " Obama Picks Rejected as Court Casts Doubt on Recess Power" President Barack Obama violated the Constitution by making appointments to the federal labor board without Senate approval, a U.S. appeals court said in a ruling that calls hundreds of board decisions into question and may extend to the head of the new consumer finance agency. LINK

PAUL RYAN The Boston Globe: " Paul Ryan says GOP has to pick its fights with Obama" Representative Paul Ryan said Saturday that Republicans should stick together and pick their fights during President Obama's second term, rejecting some White House proposals outright and trying to infuse others with conservative principles. In a speech to conservatives, the GOP's 2012 vice presidential nominee said Obama would attempt to divide Republicans but urged them to avoid internal squabbles after a second straight presidential loss. LINK

GOP The Washington Post's Suzy Khimm: "Paul Ryan insists Republicans are ready to let the sequester happen" On Sunday morning, Rep. Paul Ryan reiterated a message that House Republicans have been trying to push since the fiscal cliff deal happened: The GOP is unafraid to let the sequester take effect. LINK

Politico's James Hohmann and John Bresnahan: "Big breaks for Republicans, but road to Senate still steep" Tom Harkin's Saturday retirement announcement is the latest early break for Republicans in their long-shot bid to seize control of the Senate in 2014. LINK

BOOKMARKS The Note: LINK The Must-Reads Online: LINK Top Line Webcast (12noon EST M-F): LINK ABC News Politics: LINK George's Bottom Line (George Stephanopoulos): LINK Follow ABC News on Twitter: LINK ABC News Mobile: LINK ABC News app on your iPhone/iPod Touch/iPad: LINK

Also Read

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/notes-must-reads-monday-january-28-2013-091606705--abc-news-politics.html

september 11 2001 dr oz serena williams blake lively Espn Fantasy Football Grandparents Day 2012 army wives

What is there to do in Pine/Strawberry during the winter? | Life in ...

It always surprises us when people from the Metro Phoenix area visit the Pine/Strawberry area for the very first time and remark with surprise that they?ve lived in the Valley for years and never before heard of Pine and Strawberry. ?We?ve often heard visitors exclaim that the Pine/Strawberry area is ?Arizona?s Best Kept Secret.? What?s more, many Valley residents think of the Pine/Strawberry area only as a warm weather destination, and they wonder what those of us who live here full-time could possibly do during the winter. Well, of course, those of us full-time Pine/Strawberry residents who are not retired still go to work every workday, and work and recreate in our homes, just like folks in the Valley and beyond. The following are some of the fun things we do in Pine and Strawberry during the winter and throughout the year, and which you might want to do some time, too:

During the cold months, on dry days, many of us still go for hikes on the many numerous trails in the area, many of which extend from the Pine Trail Head just south of town. (Visit?http://www.arizonahikingtrails.com for a comprehensive list of Rim Country trails.) ?Those of us that have ATVs or UTVs sometimes take to the trails in those, even when there is snow on the ground. ?Sometimes we?ll take along a picnic, too, so we can spend the whole day enjoying the gorgeous weather and views.

For those who enjoyhorseback riding, Gentle Hands Equine Center?At Betsy Ross Acres?in Strawberry (www.paysontrailrides.com) is a great place to go for a nice guided trail ride.

A visit to The Ranch at Fossil Creek in Strawberry is fun for kids of all ages. ?There one can see and even help feed live goats and llamas, and sample and purchase outstanding locally-produced goat cheeses and fudge. ?For information, visit:?www.ranchatfossilcreek.com.

If going out to breakfast is your thing, you can get a good quick breakfast in Pine at The Early Bird, H.B.?s place, or the Pine Creek Smokehouse, or at the Strawberry Lodge in Strawberry.

For a more leisurely breakfast (or lunch) and excellent gourmet food, be sure to visit the?Randall House, where you can also browse through artwork and gift items available for sale while waiting for your meal to arrive. ?During the warm weather, you can bring your dog and sit outside.

Sometimes it?s fun just to browse through some of the local shops, such as Moose Mountain Gifts & Antiques, Tymeless Antiques & Treasures, Pine Country Antiques, Auntie Gail?s Collectibles, Coach House Antiques & Boutique, the Pine-Strawberry Senior Center Thrift Shop, and Carol?s Country Crafts. ?At the Gingerbread House, one can hunt through a few rooms full of antique treasures and also enjoy the offerings of their old-fashioned soda fountain and homemade ice cream. ?For quilters, a visit to The Quilt Shop at?3972 N. AZ. Hwy. 87 is always fun.

A tour through Myra?s Art Gallery and Studio (just north of Sunny Mountain Realty?s Pine Office) is always worthwhile. ?In addition to her own work, she features original paintings and gicclee prints from several renowned Rim Country artists, including William Ahrendt (www.williamahrendt.com), as well as the work of numerous other artist in a variety of mediums, including ceramics, wood carving, and jewelry design.

A trip to the Pine Deli on Hardscrabble Road is great for a good lunch to eat there or take along for a picnic. ?They offer great lunch and dinner specials daily as well as great pizza, to eat-in or take-out. And, if you plan to dine in, you may bring in your own bottle of wine, if desired. H.B.?s Place is another good choice for a good hearty homemade lunch or dinner, including a great Friday night fish fry, but make sure to bring cash as they no longer accept credit cards. ?The Pine Creek Smokehouse has good hamburgers and is also offering Friday night fish fry and other specials.

Sometimes it?s just fun to go to Sidewinder?s Saloon (corner of S.R. 87 & Hardscrabble Rd.) for some adult libations and to play pool and grab a bite to eat for lunch, dinner or appetizers. ?During the winter, they feature live music and dancing, and tasty barbeque?ribs every other Friday night (during the summer it?s every Friday night.) ?Sidewinder?s features various events and celebrations as well as six televisions and surround sound. For information, visit?www.sidewinderssaloon.com.

Another great gathering place is Pine?s one and only microbrewery, THAT Brewery & Pub, located ?on S.R. 87 at the south end of town. ?According to their Web site (www.thatbrewery.com), ?THAT Brewery is for beer enthusiasts, foodies, nature fanatics, mountain bikers, hikers,?sightseers, antique shoppers, families, home brewers and well, just about everyone!? It is a family-friendly restaurant with a dog-friendly patio, weather permitting. They also feature a great Friday night fish fry.

There are some good dining options in Strawberry, too. ?The Strawberry Lodge, which offers breakfast, lunch and dinner, has a great Friday night fish fry, featuring a delicious corn meal batter. ?On Saturday, the specials typically include delicious prime rib or prawns, and the Sunday pot roast special is also delicious. ?They often feature live music on weekends. And, if you?re into pie, they always have a great selection. ?Mama Joe?s offers delicious Italian food, including their own special pizza. ?And, for adult libation and recreation in Strawberry, you can visit the Sportsman?s Chalet or the Flying Grizzly. ?All of these places are located on S.R. 87 in Strawberry.

Finally, if we feel like taking in a movie, we run down to Payson and take in a show at the Saw Mill Theatre. (Visitwww.sawmilltheatres.net for listings.)

These are just some of the things there are to do in our area. ?In the coming months, we will use this blog to feature information about the numerous activities and events in the Pine/Strawberry and Payson area.

Why not check out the Pine/Strawberry area sometime soon? ?And, when you do, be sure to stop by Sunny Mountain Realty and say hi!

?

?

?

?

Source: http://www.az85544.com/2013/01/27/what-is-there-to-do-in-pinestrawberry-during-the-winter/

the colony kids choice awards ncaa final four 2012 uk vs louisville university of kansas buckeye west side story

In Washington, a proposal to sell naming rights

OLYMPIA, Wash. (AP) ? As many state and local governments across the nation deal with the aftermath of severe budget cuts prompted by the Great Recession, a Washington state lawmaker has put forth a plan to increase revenue without raising taxes: Allow the sale of naming rights to publicly owned facilities.

"I'm trying to think out of the box and come up with some revenue for our local folks and for our state that isn't another dollar out of our taxpayers' wallets," said Republican state Rep. Jan Angel.

The practice has been in place elsewhere for decades, most prominently on sports venues. The results have ranged from memorable, Busch Stadium in St. Louis, to regrettable, Sleep Train Arena in Sacramento, Calif.

The proposal has sparked a measure of skepticism in Washington state among those who think it would give the appearance that government influence is for sale.

"I think perhaps of the CenturyLink Capitol building or something like that," said Democratic state Rep. Sam Hunt, during a recent committee hearing. "How far could this go?"

Angel's plans include measures that would allow private bidders to pay state and local governments for the right to name everything from government buildings to schools. She maintains that reception to her bills has been very positive.

In addition to raising funds, Angel, who represents a district west of Seattle that includes the town of Port Orchard, says she wants to provide firmer legal footing for local governments in Washington state that already are engaged in the practice.

Washington state isn't alone in considering such plans.

Virginia lawmakers last year passed a measure allowing the state to sell naming rights to its bridges and roads. Shortly thereafter, the state signed a $2 million yearly deal granting GEICO Insurance naming rights to all 43 of its rest areas.

New Hampshire and Florida lawmakers discussed similar legislation last year, to no avail. New Hampshire, however, is set to try again this year.

Several local government agencies also have gotten in on the action.

In Philadelphia in 2010, AT&T paid $5 million to put its name on a downtown transit station for five years.

A year before that in New York City, the British bank Barclays bought the naming rights to a bustling Brooklyn subway station for $200,000 per year. The bank's name also is attached to the adjacent arena that is home to the NBA's Brooklyn Nets.

In Washington, Angel says she is particularly interested in raising cash by selling the naming rights to the Tacoma Narrows Bridge. The state owes more than $45 million a year in debt payments on the span. Money for those payments is raised by bridge tolls. Those fees are slated to increase from the current $4 to $6 per round trip in 2015, a scenario Angel hopes to avoid. It was not immediately clear, however, whether the plan would be able to accomplish this goal.

Despite the potential to provide cash, critics say that such deals are inappropriate.

"The problem is it's not money for nothing," said Robert Weissman, president of Public Citizen, a left-leaning Washington D.C.-based consumer advocacy group.

Weissman says he understands why some lawmakers find the approach appealing, but argues that it should be abandoned.

"It erases the important and appropriate divide between the commercial sphere and the civil sphere and communicates a message that everything is for sale," he said.

Under Angel's plans, no government entity would be compelled to sell naming rights to any given property. And governments would still have the ability to name memorials after notable people for free.

She said money raised would go toward the renamed facilities and that the proposals would leave up to local control issues including who gets to buy the names, how the rights would be sold and how names would be displayed.

The measures would not allow obscene or offensive names. Nor would they allow names of tobacco or cannabis companies.

Angel said her bills put to legislators the question: If we so desperately need revenue, why not give it a try?

"Nothing ventured," she added, "nothing gained."

___

Follow AP Writer Jonathan Kaminsky at http://twitter.com/jekaminsky

Associated Press

Source: http://hosted2.ap.org/APDEFAULT/386c25518f464186bf7a2ac026580ce7/Article_2013-01-27-Selling%20Naming%20Rights/id-5d747fd8c8124b169986bdcf52228db5

toyota recall northern lights sign of the times keystone pipeline purim acc tournament big ten tournament

Bear Vs. Shark: Catamaran

I discovered Bear vs. Shark by accident. A college roommate had insisted I listen to Minus the Bear, and I wasn't paying attention, so only the "Bear" part stuck. It proved to be a serendipitous little mistake though, because Bear vs. Shark is as awesome as the battle portrayed in their name would be. More »

Source: http://feeds.gawker.com/~r/gizmodo/full/~3/JdFI6-eDbRM/bear-vs-shark-catamaran

mock draft north country brian mcknight sbux nfldraft asante samuel salton sea

The Benefits of CMS in Web Development | TrickyDigital.com

Sorry, Readability was unable to parse this page for content.

Source: http://www.trickydigital.com/the-benefits-of-cms-in-web-development/

ellsbury brad pitt and angelina jolie brad and angelina herniated disc luke scott tom benson royals

Hotel Transylvania Blu-ray + DVD Review

Kidzworld checks out the monster animated comedy Hotel Transylvania. Should you take it home?

By: Lynn Barker

Count Dracula as a doting dad? Yep, to a ?teen? daughter Mavis who is 118 and more than ready to leave their home; a vacation hotel for monsters!

Story Goes: After his wife died, Count Dracula (voice of Adam Sandler) built Hotel Transylvania, a resort for monsters where they can escape persecution by evil humans. Problem is daughter Mavis (voice of Selena Gomez) is turning 18 (well 118) and feels more trapped than safe. She dreams of exotic lands and people her age.

At Mavis?s big birthday bash where everyone from Frankenstein to the Wolf Man has gathered, a hapless young hiking human named Johnny (voice of Andy Samberg) stumbles in and it?s love at first sight for him and Mavis. Disguised as Frankenstein?s cousin, Johnny impresses the whole gang with music and fun. Drac is determined to get rid of the lad before Mavis runs away with him.?

Special Features: Goodnight Mr. Foot is a cute animated short film featuring Bigfoot?s attempt to get some rest as a hotel guest while a bumbling witch/housekeeper keeps accidentally waking him. Quite fun but very short.

Deleted Scenes are presented in both semi-finished animation and storyboards. One series deals with how Dracula met and courted Mavis?s mom Martha. This is very sweet and must have been cut for time. Another deleted scene is a fun rap called ?Vampire Girls? that is worth a listen and maybe a dance.

In Meet the Staff and Guests: Voicing Hotel Transylvania, we get to see all the major voice actors recording their voices and this is always fun. The producer talks about what certain actors brought to each character. We learn that Adam brought his kids into the booth with him for inspiration and that Selena recorded for hours without a break. It?s great to see this excellent voice cast at work!

Making the Hotel focuses on developing the story and putting the project together. Interesting.

Progression Reels cover every aspect of doing the animation for the movie. In voice-over, an animator takes you through hand drawn vs. 3D computer animation, using ?motion blur? to indicate fast movements and other cool ?tricks?. You learn about lighting and painting the backgrounds and that a team of animators were sent to the actual Transylvania to get the ?look? of the movie right. A very comprehensive ?making-of? featurette.

Music Video ? ?Problem (Monster Remix)? features Becky G. and guests Will.i.am. This is really catchy and fun to dance to.

Filmmakers? Commentary is the Director, Producer and Visual Effects Supervisor talking about making the film both funny and scary and balancing the two. Lots of tech info and tidbits on the film?s look.? More techy for older kids and teens.

Wrapping Up:? Hotel Transylvania is a cute, if ?nothing new? film. It?s predictable and maybe too ?silly? at times but still fun enough and worth collecting. The extras on this Blu-ray/DVD set cover just about everything from the ?look? of the movie to the actors voicing the roles. Alone, the movie would get 3 stars but with the extras on this set, we?ll go 4.

Hotel Transylvania Blu-ray + DVD Rating:

?

Source: http://www.kidzworld.com/article/27819-hotel-transylvania-blu-ray-dvd-review

just friends chronicle george lopez bedtime stories micron susan g komen kenyon martin

Child soldier's tale illustrates Mali's dirty war

SEVARE, Mali (AP) ? The boy sits with his knees tucked under his chest on the concrete floor of the police station here, his adolescent face a tableau of fear. He's still garbed in the knee-length tunic he was ordered to wear by the Islamic extremist who recruited him.

It's these same clothes, styled after those worn by the Prophet Muhammad in the 7th century, which gave him away when he tried to flee earlier this week. They have now become his prison garb.

Adama Drabo is 16, and his recruitment into the ranks of a group designated as a terrorist organization, followed by his violent interrogation at the hands of the Malian army, underscores the obstacles faced by France as it tries to wash its former West African colony clean of the al-Qaida-linked fighters occupying it.

"In terms of the rules of engagement, you have to think to yourself, what will you do if a child comes up to you wearing an explosive vest? What do you do if a 12-year-old is manning a checkpoint?" says Rudolph Atallah, former director of counterterrorism for Africa at the Pentagon during the Bush administration. "It's a very difficult situation."

France, which now has around 2,500 troops on the ground, plunged headfirst into the conflict in Mali two weeks ago, after the Islamist groups that have controlled the nation's northern half since last year began an aggressive push southward. The French soldiers are equipped with night vision goggles, anti-tank mines and laser-guided bombs. However, their enemy includes the hundreds of children, some as young as 11, who have been conscripted into the rebel army.

Among those the French will have to fight are boys like Adama, the uneducated, eldest child of a poor family of rice growers, who until recently spent his days plowing fields with oxen near the village of N'Denbougou. Living just 15 miles (25 kilometers) from the central Malian town of Niono, which has become one of the frontlines in the recent war, Adama fits the profile of the types of children the Islamists have successfully recruited. His village has a single mosque, and unlike the moderate form of Islam practiced in much of Mali, the one he and his family attended preached Wahabism.

"We have observed a pattern of recruitment of child soldiers from villages that for many years have practiced a very strict form of Islam, referred to as Wahabism," says Corinne Dufka, senior researcher for West Africa at Human Rights Watch. "We estimate that hundreds of children have been recruited."

The groups allied with al-Qaida started recruiting children soon after they seized control of northern Mali last April. Rebel leaders quoted verses from the Quran which they claim describe children as the purest apprentices. Since then witnesses have described seeing children staffing checkpoints, riding in patrol vehicles, carrying out searches of cars stopped at roadblocks, as well as preparing tea and cooking food for the fighters in the towns controlled by the insurgents, says Dufka.

The United Nations children's agency said late last year that it had been able to corroborate at least 175 reported cases of child soldiers in northern Mali, bought from their impoverished parents for between $1,000 and $1,200 per child. Malian human rights officials put the total number of children recruited by the Islamists considerably higher at 1,000 ? and that was before the French intervention.

Adama, who is now being held at the Sevare gendarmerie, was hired as a cook two weeks ago by Islamist fighters in Douentza, a city controlled by the Movement for Oneness and Jihad, or MUJAO. Its members have been linked to the recent terrorist attack on a natural gas plant in Algeria, which ended in the death of at least 37 hostages, according to the Algerian government.

The teenager claims he didn't know he was working for a terrorist group, even though the insurgents who ate the macaroni he cooked carried guns, wore beards and dressed in the unfamiliar Gulf-style clothes they gave him. He says he joined them only for the money they promised they would pay at the end of each month. The police holding him say he was promised around $200 a month, several times the average monthly salary here.

Adama explains that his friends in Niono said they knew people in Sevare who would give them work. So they took a Peugeot 207 taxi to reach the town.

"It was there in the town that we met some people and they hired us to cook for them," he says. "They said that at the end of each month we would get paid. ... And so we started cooking for them."

He says that even though some of the fighters in their entourage went to fight in the Niono area, he was unaware of their battle plans. The men spoke Arabic and Tamashek, a Tuareg language, which he did not understand.

One day, when he went to the corner store, the shop owner told him a war was on, he says.

"I told my friend, 'Even if the month isn't over yet, we need to get out of here.' We walked to the next village, where we found an old man there, and we asked him if he could please give us some water? The old man said he couldn't give us any water, because we're rebels. We said, 'We're not rebels. Give us some water.' It was then that a man on a motorcycle came by. The motorcyclist said that we are wearing the clothes of the Islamic fighters."

The boys tried to run.

The friend got away. Adama was handed over to the Malian military, which in recent days has been accused of executing dozens of suspected Islamists, including a group of six men who arrived in Sevare without identity cards. Adama may have been saved by the international outcry that followed the reported executions this week, says Atallah, putting immense diplomatic pressure on Mali's ill-trained and often incompetent army to respect human rights conventions.

"I was frightened," says Adama. "They said they were going to kill me. ... They said this several times."

During the interrogation, especially on the first day, the soldiers threatened to execute Adama if he did not tell the truth, he says. They hit him, he says, and slapped him across his face. It was only on Friday, according to Adama, that the soldiers told him they would not kill him.

"For four days, they kept me in jail with two big people," he says. "I feel somewhat reassured now, but not totally reassured. Because I am still not free."

Child soldiers have been part of the fabric of African conflicts for decades now. In Liberia's civil war more than 10 years ago, drugged 12- and 13-year-olds were famously photographed toting automatic weapons and teddy bears. However, the standoff this time is between a Western army bound by the Geneva Convention and Western values on human rights, and an enemy that includes hundreds of children. One of the most active groups in northern Mali is al-Qaida in the Islamic Maghreb, the terror network's affiliate in Africa, which originated in Algeria. In 2008, the group released a video showing a cheerful 15-year-old in Algeria who was suffering from a terminal illness, Atallah says. The Islamists convinced the boy that the best thing he could do with what remained of his life was to die for Allah, according to Atallah, who saw the recording.

"The video shows him smiling," he says. "They taught him how to drive a van. And then they filmed the van as it left, just before he detonated himself. I wouldn't put it past them to do this again."

___

Associated Press writer Krista Larson contributed from Mopti, Mali.

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/child-soldiers-tale-illustrates-malis-dirty-war-121007549.html

ozzie guillen castro comments phish gluten free diet barry zito mac virus santorum drops out bby

Innovative ways to finance a startup | Increase RSS - Increase traffic ...

If you are a new entrepreneur, then procuring funds for your small business is your biggest challenge. How you are going to overcome this challenge becomes a big and pertinent question for you. You can take into consideration different financing options for your startup that are available in the market and go for the one that suits your specific needs. Always remember that financing a startup business is a daunting task and you will have to face many hurdles to make it a successful one.
Questions you should ask before looking for finance for your startup
Given below are certain questions that you should ask:
??When and for how much time do I need the finance?
??How much finance do I need?
??Am I ready to relinquish some extent of ownership or control of the start-up business reciprocally for investment?
??What security (if any) can I furnish? Key areas that you should take into consideration while financing a startup At the time of financing a startup, the following are the key areas that you need to take into consideration:
??Establishment costs (the costs that are necessary prior to the commencement of business operations)
??Working capital ? also described as current assets minus current liabilities. Current assets include the stocks required by the enterprise or organization, for instance raw materials, cash and cash equivalents, accounts receivable, prepaid liabilities and short-term investments. Current liabilities include accounts payable and other outstanding expenses.
??Initial investment (the fixed assets required prior to commencement of business operations)
??Maturity and prosperity (for example, additional investment in capacity)
Innovative ways to finance a startup
Some innovative ways to finance a startup are given below:
1) Bootstrapping
Bootstrapping is financing your business on your own or without anybody?s help. For example, you can take a home equity loan to finance your startup.
2) Tapping your family and friends
This is also another good option. If you know people who can lend you money with simple repayment terms and conditions, you can borrow from them without keeping any hesitation in your mind.
3) Small business administration (SBA) loans
This is another useful source of startup financing. You cannot directly finance your startup through SBA but it can partly back your loan that has been secured from an insurance company, bank or any other financial services provider. However, keep in mind that there is plenty of paperwork involved.
4) SBTT and SBIR grants from the government
Both small business technology transfer grants and small business innovation research grants are excellent sources of startup financing, provided you are eligible for these loans/grants. These are popular federal grants that are available from the departments of Energy, Agriculture, Defense and also some other agencies.
5) Angel Investors
Angel investors also work as a reliable source of startup financing. This is a form of equity financing. If any angel investor is financing your small business, they will also enjoy a part of the ownership of the enterprise and it is the rule. However, you should not expect a huge investment on their behalf into your firm.
6) Bank loans and bank overdrafts
You can also finance your small business with bank loans and overdrafts. In comparison to bank overdrafts, bank loans are available for more extensive periods. You need to provide a security against the loan and the interest rates are usually less than that of a bank overdraft.

.

Source: http://increaserss.com/innovative-ways-to-finance-a-startup/

Kitty Wells Marissa Mayer Jon Lord Colorado shootings dark knight rises Aurora shooting James Eagan Holmes