Stores look to week after Christmas for sales

Shoppers walk past an H&M location, Wednesday, Dec. 26, 2012, in New York. This holiday season is shaping up to be the weakest since the country was in the middle of a deep recession in 2008. That not only shows that stores misread Americans' willingness to spend during this period of economic uncertainty. It also could indicate that the days of throngs of shoppers spending thousands of dollars willy nilly on holiday gifts may be long gone. (AP Photo/Frank Franklin II)

Shoppers walk past an H&M location, Wednesday, Dec. 26, 2012, in New York. This holiday season is shaping up to be the weakest since the country was in the middle of a deep recession in 2008. That not only shows that stores misread Americans' willingness to spend during this period of economic uncertainty. It also could indicate that the days of throngs of shoppers spending thousands of dollars willy nilly on holiday gifts may be long gone. (AP Photo/Frank Franklin II)

Shoppers navigate their way around Toys R Us in Times Square Wednesday, Dec. 26, 2012, in New York. This holiday season is shaping up to be the weakest since the country was in the middle of a deep recession in 2008. That not only shows that stores misread Americans' willingness to spend during this period of economic uncertainty. It also could indicate that the days of throngs of shoppers spending thousands of dollars willy nilly on holiday gifts may be long gone. (AP Photo/Frank Franklin II)

Shoppers navigate their way around Toys R Us in Times Square Wednesday, Dec. 26, 2012, in New York. This holiday season is shaping up to be the weakest since the country was in the middle of a deep recession in 2008. That not only shows that stores misread Americans' willingness to spend during this period of economic uncertainty. It also could indicate that the days of throngs of shoppers spending thousands of dollars willy nilly on holiday gifts may be long gone. (AP Photo/Frank Franklin II)

Shoppers navigate their way around Toys R Us in Times Square Wednesday, Dec. 26, 2012, in New York. This holiday season is shaping up to be the weakest since the country was in the middle of a deep recession in 2008. That not only shows that stores misread Americans' willingness to spend during this period of economic uncertainty. It also could indicate that the days of throngs of shoppers spending thousands of dollars willy nilly on holiday gifts may be long gone. (AP Photo/Frank Franklin II)

In this Thursday, Dec. 20, 2012, photo, a holiday shopper walks past a large Christmas tree at Fashion Island shopping center in Newport Beach, Calif. U.S. holiday retail sales this year are the weakest since 2008, after a shopping season disrupted by storms and rising uncertainty among consumers. A report out Tuesday that tracks spending, called MasterCard Advisors SpendingPulse, says holiday sales increased 0.7 percent. Analysts had expected sales to grow 3 to 4 percent. (AP Photo/Chris Carlson)

Bargain-hungry Americans will need to go on a post-Christmas spending binge to salvage this holiday shopping season.

Despite the huge discounts and other incentives that stores offered leading up to Christmas, U.S. holiday sales so far this year have been the weakest since 2008, when the nation was in a deep recession.

So stores now are depending on the days after Christmas to make up lost ground: The final week of December can account for about 15 percent of the month's sales, and the day after Christmas is typically one of the biggest shopping days of the year.

Stores, which don't typically talk about their plans for sales and other promotions during the season, are known for offering discounts of up to 70 percent after the holiday. This year, they're hoping to lure more bargain hunters who held off on shopping because they wanted to get the best deals of the season.

The Macy's location in Herald Square in New York was bustling with shoppers on Wednesday. There were a variety of deals throughout the store: candy dispensers for 70 percent off, various men's clothes were "buy one get one free," belts for 50 percent off, a bin of ties for $9.99.

Ulises Guzman, 30, a social worker, was shopping in the store. He said he waited to shop until the final days before Christmas, knowing that the deals would get better as stores got more desperate. He said he was expecting discounts of at least 50 percent.

The strategy worked. He saw a coat he wanted at Banana Republic for $200 in the days before Christmas but decided to hold off on making a purchase; on Wednesday, he got it for $80.

"I'm not looking at anything that's original price," he said.

Lenox Square Mall in Atlanta was also crowded by midday on Wednesday. Laschonda Pitluck, 18, a student in Atlanta, was shopping after Christmas because she wanted to get the best deals. Last year she spent over $100 on gifts but this year she's keeping it under $50.

Pitluck said she found items for 50 percent off, including a hoodie and jeans for herself at American Eagle and a shirt at Urban Outfitters. She said she would have bought the clothes if they hadn't been 50 percent off.

"I wasn't looking for deals before Christmas," said Pitluck, who also bought boxers for her boyfriend.

The shopping rush after Christmas illustrates just how important holiday sales are. Consumer spending accounts for 70 percent of economic activity, and many retailers can make up to 40 percent of their annual revenue during the two-month holiday period at the end of the year.

So far, holiday sales of electronics, clothing, jewelry and home goods in the two months before Christmas increased 0.7 percent compared with last year, according to the MasterCard Advisors SpendingPulse report. SpendingPulse, which tracks spending, said that's the weakest holiday performance since 2008 when sales dropped sharply, although the company did not know by how much.

The SpendingPulse data released Tuesday, which captures sales from Oct. 28 through Dec. 24 across all payment methods, is the first major snapshot of holiday retail sales. A clearer picture will emerge next week as retailers like Macy's and Target report monthly sales.

In the run-up to Christmas, analysts blamed bad weather for putting a damper on shopping. In late October, Superstorm Sandy battered the Northeast and mid-Atlantic states, which account for 24 percent of U.S. retail sales. That, coupled with the presidential election, hurt sales during the first half of November.

Shopping picked up in the second half of November, but then the threat of the country falling off a "fiscal cliff" gained strength, throwing consumers off track once again. Lawmakers have yet to reach a deal that would prevent tax increases and government spending cuts set to take effect at the beginning of 2013. If the cuts and tax hikes kick in and stay in place for months, the Congressional Budget Office says the nation could fall back into recession.

Still, The National Retail Federation, the nation's largest retail trade group, said Wednesday the trade group is sticking to its forecast for sales in the November and December period to be up 4.1 percent to $586.1 billion this year. That's more than a percentage point lower than the growth in each of the past two years, and the smallest increase since 2009 when sales were up just 0.3 percent.

Kathy Grannis, a spokeswoman for the group, noted that the trade group's definition of holiday sales not only includes clothes and electronics, but also food and building supplies.

"Stores have a big week ahead, and it's still too early to know how the holiday season fared, at this point," she said.

___

Anderson reported from Atlanta and Choi reported from New York.

Ann D'Innocenzio in New York and Daniel Wagner in Washington contributed to this report.

Associated Press

Source: http://hosted2.ap.org/APDEFAULT/f70471f764144b2fab526d39972d37b3/Article_2012-12-26-Holiday%20Shopping/id-fc62fe86e6c4400c851d0612ac9b8385

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Well, hello there.

Hi.
My name is Rina, however I go by Splash on the internet. It's a family thing.
You see, I'm quite new to roleplaying. I've been a tad obsessed with story writing of just about any genre for the past couple of years, and a thought came to me as I Googled more fan fictions; "What if I were to start roleplaying?"
Being curious, I looked up a couple of roleplaying sites and decided that this one sounded promising.
So here I am; introducing myself and feeling like quite the prize fool.
I'd really be grateful if I could make some new friends here, generalise myself with the layout of these forums and find a couple of good role-plays to join. Any help is very much appreciated.
Thank you for taking the time out to read this. :3

Source: http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/RolePlayGateway/~3/sHW6Bww8O5I/viewtopic.php

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Dot Earth Blog: Exploring the Roots of an Emerging Planet-Spanning Mind

I?m grateful to Krista Tippett, the host of the captivating public radio program ?On Being,? for including me in an exploration of the present-day resonance of ?noosphere,? the concept of an?emerging global intelligence?shaped in the early 20th century by Pierre Teilhard de Chardin, a French Jesuit priest, philosopher and paleontologist (with others). You can read two of Teilhard?s most influential books touching on this concept ? ?The Phenomenon of Man? and ?The Future of Man? ? online.

On Dot Earth and in lectures of late, I?ve offered a contemporary spelling and framing: Knowosphere.?Tippett first speaks with?Ursula King, a Teilhard scholar and professor emerita of theology and religious studies at the University of Bristol. Then comes?David Sloan Wilson, the?SUNY Distinguished Professor of Biology and Anthropology at Binghamton University in New York and author of a suite of lauded books on evolution and society.

Teilhard sometimes gets disparaged for melding science and spirituality but I encourage you to read ?The Phenomenon of Humanity,? a short piece by Wilson describing Teilhard?s prescience and importance.

Below you can read an excerpt from Wilson?s essay, followed by a snippet from the transcript of my conversation with Tippett on how my awareness of Teilhard?s ideas emerged in 1992 and again in 2002, as I dug into the ideas of his intellectual contemporary and indirect partner, the Russian earth scientist and chemist Vladimir Vernadsky, who in the 1920s (just as an example) wrote:

Mankind?s power is connected not with its matter but with its brain, its thoughts and its works, guided by its mind. In the geological history of the biosphere, a great future is opened to Man if he realizes it and does not direct his mind and work to self-destruction.

Here?s Wilson on Teilhard?s prescience, and one mistake:

Teilhard wrote that humans are both a biological species and a new evolutionary process. As a biological species, we are little different from our primate cousins, and there was no divine spark in our origin (this did not play well with the Catholic Church!). As a new evolutionary process, however, our origin was almost as momentous as the origin of life. Teilhard called the human-created world the noosphere, which slowly spread like a skin over the planet, like the biological skin (the biosphere) that preceded it. He imagined ?grains of thought? coalescing at ever-larger scales until they became a single global consciousness that he called the Omega Point?.

Only during the last decade have evolutionists begun to realize that we are an ultra-social primate species and that this accounts for virtually all of the differences that set us apart from our primate cousins. Mechanisms evolved in our ancestors that suppressed the ability of individuals to succeed at the expense of members of their own group, causing succeeding as a group to become the primary evolutionary force. We are designed to be team players in ways that penetrate so deeply into our subconscious that we are only beginning to understand the proximate mechanisms, even though we play them out every moment of our lives?.

Becoming an ultra-social species at the planetary scale?another kind of Omega Point?will be much more difficult, although theoretically possible. The first step is for everyone to realize that it will not happen spontaneously. Insofar as Teilhard portrayed the Omega Point as inevitable, that is the biggest thing that he got wrong. Dozens of contemporary theorists speculate about the global brain emerging spontaneously from the Internet, as if complexity and inter-connectivity are the only necessary ingredients. That?s wrong, and the sooner we reach a consensus on this point the better. Multi-level selection states very clearly that adaptation at level X requires a process of selection at that level and tends to be undermined by selection at lower levels. We can?t expect natural selection to operate at the scales required to solve our largest and most recalcitrant problems, so the only alternative is policy selection. Call it social engineering or stewardship, it is up to us to turn the earth into the super-organism that Teilhard had in mind. We will not succeed without a sophisticated knowledge of our species as a product of genetic evolution and a process of evolution in our own right.

I couldn?t agree more that this will only happen through conscious choices and efforts.

I encourage you to listen to the full show, which has a fluidity and tone that I think you?ll like. It?s kind of the radio equivalent of a ?long read.? For those who prefer text, here?s a ?teaser? of sorts from my chat with Tippett:

Tippett:? [I]t?s not inevitable that this technology drives towards this kind of coherence?. [Y]ou talk about language like engagement and intentionality. And you?re talking about our relationship with our technology and all these things that are becoming possible?

Revkin:?Sure. I teach a course at Pace University that I launched last year ?this is the second year ? in blogging. And it?s really not a course just in blogging; it?s a course in how to get the most out of the Internet, how to get the most out of all this connectivity. This is all about intentionality. In fact, it?s not a course ? the course is called Blogging a Better Planet, but I don?t define better planet.

I ask them to take their own passions and find some little ? in other words, there might be a student who?s interested in fashion or another in music, which is the case this year. Another one in travel. And I say find the component of the thing that excites you that also fits in this frame of smoothing our journey.

So if you don?t have intentionality, you could go out there and just sell widgets. The Internet is really good at selling widgets. And as I say, you know, the Internet helped the 9/11 organizers learn where to find their flight schools and stuff. So it can work in terrible ways as well. But I see the upside swamping the downside, especially if young people early on are trained ? not trained, but learn on their own ? how this can work for betterment.

Here?s a link to the full program transcript.

If you seek even more depth, here are links to the unedited audio recordings of the conversations:

Source: http://dotearth.blogs.nytimes.com/2012/12/26/exploring-the-roots-of-an-emerging-planet-spanning-mind/?partner=rss&emc=rss

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The Pursuit of Beauty - Yellow Scene Magazine

The more I watch The Real Housewives, the more normal the women look.

For those of you who have never seen this particularly cracked reality show, it?s a peek into the lives, drama and excesses of Gucci-soaked women in wealthy communities, such as Beverly Hills, Miami, Orange County and Atlanta. More entertaining than their public fighting and constant feuding is their increasingly contorted faces, which are about as pinched, plucked, polished, stretched and shellacked as faces can be. Their lips never stop pouting, their foreheads don?t move and their cheeks are stiff and glossy

Every time I sit down with my DVR to catch up on some trashy TV, I find myself growing more and more accustomed to these faces and their alien qualities: how their expressions never change and how their big hair, big cheekbones, big breasts and big lips make them look impossibly top heavy as they waddle from one party to the next in expensive stripper shoes. The more you watch, the more desensitized you are to their over-polished appearance.

But eventually I?m brought back to my surroundings: beautiful, fit people who eat organic food and use paraben-free shampoo.

Colorado, and the Boulder area especially, is a den of natural beauty practices. Health and fitness?possibly the most natural of all beauty techniques?are king here, and residents go out of their way to spend major cash staying fit and being healthy. Pro athletes, outdoor gear manufacturers and all-natural beauty product companies, like Pangea, make their homes here. The culture seems to idealize the natural beauty and the natural aging process: silver hair, glorious wrinkles and beautiful sagging skin.

But does it?

The truth is not so black and white, as I found out when I sat down with several beauty professionals in the area for this issue. Boulder County does have a thriving plastic surgery and cosmetic treatment industry. According to the American Society of Plastic Surgeons, there are about 17 ASPS-certified plastic surgeons in the North Metro area; though, Beverly Hills has nearly triple that amount. The Botox business is booming here, and even men are enjoying the benefits of aesthetic treatments these days.

According to local beauty professionals, there is a need for all-natural beauty options. But Boulder County residents do have some silicon in their closets. Occasionally, we just need a little extra help to look like we are all-natural, super active Coloradans.

Steve Zakany, owner of Aesthetic Solutions in Lafayette, was solely a family practice physician until seven years ago, when he took an interest in laser and aesthetic treatments. He eventually dropped his family medicine practice and opted for lasers and Botox full time.

Zakany says his Boulder clients are more natural; the further east, the more likely the client will be interested in other treatments.

?My clients from Boulder usually want more natural options,? he said.

Take for instance, a treatment called Selphyl, which is also known as the vampire facelift. It?s a treatment that uses a client?s own blood?after being treated and re-injected back into an area of the body or face?to stimulate collagen production and cell migration.

Still, Zakany says Botox is still the No. 1 treatment he performs at Aesthetic Solutions.

?It can be a very secretive thing. But it?s becoming more open,? he said. ?Ten to 15 years ago, people didn?t talk about it. Now it?s more accepted. People will be like, ?Oh, I have to run. I?m getting Botox.? And men are doing it more and more.?

Zakany has also seen a lot of interest in bio-identical hormone therapy as an anti-aging treatment. Often called a ?natural? hormone treatment, bio-identical hormone therapy is considered controversial by critics who say research on the therapy has been lacking and claims have been dubious.

But Zakany says the typical active, older residents can see a lot of benefit from the therapy, which is basically a medication of hormones that are identical in molecular structure to the hormones we make in our bodies. Bio-identical hormones work to replenish depleting hormones. Oprah is a fan, using the treatment to help with menopausal symptoms, and so are many of Zakany?s clients. He said the therapy helps them continue to build muscle and improve athletically. They continue to be a weekend warrior even after retirement.

?Yes, we?ve got a lot of 60-year-old men running around with 20-year-old testosterone levels,? he said with a smile.

Debora Ma of Blue Aspen Plastic Surgery in Boulder is the only female plastic surgeon between Denver and Loveland. She founded her business in this area specifically because of the active, educated population. Ma specializes in breast augmentation but also performs liposuction, Botox and other cosmetic procedures.

She says she?s known for doing breasts that appear ?feminine and natural.?

?The population in this area is healthy, and the athletic, female population has reasonable requests for feminine, natural breasts that fit their lifestyle,? she said. ?Everyone wants to be comfortable with their body; how they get there varies per individual.?

Ma does not see a conflict between valuing natural and organic while also having cosmetic surgery or aesthetic treatments.

?I think the two aren?t mutually exclusive,? she said. ?It?s not a conflict to say you want to look as good as you feel, or to look as healthy as you are, particularly when you work hard at it. It is fine to enhance what you naturally have.?

She went on to say: ?I think they approach the appearance issue similar to how they approach other things in life, like how they eat. People here make wise, well-informed decisions.?

She says her clients come in well-informed about procedures or treatments. They?ve often done research online, and they?ve learned about risks and rewards. But Ma says, she occasionally has to debunk misinformation that clients have found online.

But in the heart of the People?s Republic, some things are exactly as you?d expect.

?We carry a line of products that is paraben free, sulfate free and gluten free,? said Alicia Cox, top stylist at Twig Salon.

Twig calls itself ?Boulder?s most eco-friendly salon.? Even more than all-natural, organic products, Cox?s clients want to look natural and be healthy.

?It?s more that people don?t want to look like they have put in a ton of effort. We do a lot of sun-kissed highlights and natural-looking highlights,? she said.

Cox moved to Colorado from Dallas, so she is acutely aware of just how focused Boulderites are on appearing to look natural and staying healthy.

Many of her clients will not dye their hair specifically because of the chemicals that are often used. They?ll let it air dry, and they?ll keep it away from the heat of a curling iron or a straightener.

?It?s not just coloring for the sake of having a some color,? she said. ?We are looking at what looks natural with their skin and eyes. And they don?t bring in celebrity pictures.?

When Cox trains new stylists, she teaches them to ask one specific question first: What do you do?

?It?s usually cycling or yoga or skiing,? she said. ?It?s not their job.?

She calls it a lifestyle hairstyle: Their lifestyle dictates what their hair looks like. That means cutting hair so it looks good without being exposed to heat, or if they go for a run and they just need to pull it down and have it look great. Or maybe even a cut to cover up their wrinkles.

?I have clients who pick between bangs or Botox,? she said.

Source: http://yellowscene.com/2012/12/26/the-pursuit-of-beauty/

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Canon shutters the EOS 5D Mark II, makes Mark III man of the house

Canon shutters the EOS 5D Mark II, wheel continues to turn

Given the advent of the EOS 5D Mark III, it's hardly a surprise to see that the Mark II has been quietly moved to Canon's retired list. The full-frame DSLR was famous for its HD video prowess and was quickly adopted by Hollywood, where it was used to film an entire episode of House back in 2010. While the spirit of the 5D lives on in the latest revision, the old dog most definitely deserves a toast 'round the fire.

Filed under:

Comments

Via: British Journal of Photography

Source: Canon (Translated)

Source: http://feeds.engadget.com/~r/weblogsinc/engadget/~3/ew49v-Mx9F8/

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13 New Year's Resolutions Everyone Should Make

New Year's resolutions aren't only about self-improvement. Often, making a commitment to changing your behavior can help your family, friends and co-workers. To help you figure what New Year's resolutions will have the most impact, professors and other members of Washington University in St. Louis came up with 13 resolutions everyone should make this year.? Those resolutions are:

Learn something new

"Taking a class in a subject you enjoy is a great way to rekindle your love of learning," said Robert Wiltenburg, dean of?University College, the professional and continuing education division of Arts & Sciences at Washington University. "If you give yourself the freedom to explore new interests, you might uncover a passion that you never knew existed."

Walk in the park

"A quick walk in the park can do wonders to reduce stress and increase focus," said?Aaron Hipp, environmental health expert and assistant professor of social work at the university's Brown School. "Research has linked visiting parks to improvements in mood, concentration and positive feelings. People taking a walk in or even viewing a park report reduced feelings of depression, anxiety, anger and tension. A resolution to walk more and take advantage of local parks can contribute to a healthy, green year."

Volunteer

"Volunteering is good for your physical and mental health, as well as the local economy," said?Amanda Moore McBride, associate professor and associate dean for social work at the?Brown School?and director of the university?s Gephardt Institute for Public Service. ?Research links volunteering with improved overall well-being, and connections between people within a community correlates with strong economic indicators. Do everyone a favor this new year and volunteer."

Get your social media house in order

"We?re making choices without thinking about the way we?re building the world of new media," said?law professor Neil Richards, a privacy-law expert and author of the upcoming book "Intellectual Privacy," to be published by Oxford University Press in 2014. "But the choices we make now about the boundaries between our individual and social selves will have massive consequences for the societies our children and grandchildren inherit." ?

Rediscover the library

"A library card can be the most powerful item in your wallet, opening up vast resources that will enrich your life and give you access to more than you can imagine." said Jeffrey G. Trzeciak, university librarian.

Step away from your desk

"You learn to sit at school; you learn to sit at work. Get active like you used to be when you were a kid," said Debra Haire-Joshu, director of the?Obesity Prevention and Policy Research Center at the Brown School. "We can learn, then, to bring activity back into our daily life, just like we learned to take it out."

Pay down your credit card debt

"You may be tempted to pay off a smaller-debt account with a low APR because psychologically it feels gratifying to close an account. But the best way to reduce overall debt is to put extra money toward the loans with the highest interest rates," said?Cynthia Cryder?, assistant professor of marketing at?Olin Business School.

A few strategies to manage debt more effectively:

  • ?Consolidate several small debts into a few larger ones to eliminate the temptation of closing small accounts.
  • ?Pay attention to the actual dollars you are spending on interest.
  • ?Always put your money toward the debt with the higher interest rate.

Use your smartphone to quit smoking

"Smoking is both a physical addiction to nicotine and a learned psychological behavior, so the best way to quit is to attack it from both sides," said Sarah Shelton, manager of research and evaluation at the?Brown School?s Center for Public Health Systems Science.

Shelton adds that using nontraditional measures like smartphones in the fight against smoking can help greatly. In particular, smartphones can bring new forms of support to those looking to quit.?

Mind your health

Getting healthier in the new year can be as easy as making a few simple lifestyle changes, like committing to eating a healthy breakfast, paying attention to grocery?nutrition labels or sticking with a?consistent exercise?regimen.?

Kick the car habit

"Each gallon of gas we burn releases approximately 20 pounds of CO2 into the atmosphere," said?Phil Valko, the university's director of sustainability. "With rising gas prices, rising sea levels and increasing traffic congestion, going car-free is a challenge that more and more individuals are interested in taking on."

Parents: Make every day count

"In order to be happy, well-adjusted children that grow into happy, well-adjusted adults, kids need happy, well-adjusted parents," said?Kelly Ross, an assistant professor in the Department of Newborn Medicine at the Washington University School of Medicine and a pediatric hospitalist at St. Louis Children?s Hospital.

Get more sleep

Proper sleep can promote better learning, memory and health, researchers have found. Additionally, getting more sleep helps to improve the ability to retain information and perform new tasks.???

Consume more culture

"By subscribing to a series, you?re telling the organization, 'I believe in what you do. Culture matters to me. I?m one of your people,'" said Charlie Robin, executive director of?Edison, the university?s professional performing arts showcase. "It identifies you as someone who is game for art, for entertainment and for edification. Don?t let weather, whining or whimsy counter your commitment to culture!"

This story was provided by BusinessNewsDaily, a sister site to LiveScience. Follow David Mielach on Twitter @D_M89?or BusinessNewsDaily @bndarticles. We're also on Facebook & Google+.

Copyright 2012 LiveScience, a TechMediaNetwork company. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/13-years-resolutions-everyone-165426020.html

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WASHINGTON (AP) ? For the first time, the Census Bureau is giving U.S. households a chance to respond to government surveys over the Internet, part of a bid to save costs and boost sagging response rates in a digital age. The new online option will supplement the traditional census mail-out operation. It is a major [...]

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TAFTANAZ, Syria (AP) ? The main street of this once-bustling Syrian farm town now stands eerily quiet, its shops charred black from arson, its shoppers replaced by cats roaming the rubble of homes destroyed by tank fire. At dawn on April 3, Syrian forces shelled the town in the first volley of what residents say [...]

NEW YORK ? Can the world live without Wikipedia for a day? The shutdown of one of the Internet?s most-visited sites is not sitting well with some of its volunteer editors, who say the protest of anti-piracy legislation could threaten the credibility of their work. ?My main concern is that it puts the organization in [...]

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Egypt's parliament convenes after charter passes

CAIRO (AP) ? Egypt's upper house of parliament has convened in its first session after the passing of the country's Islamist-backed constitution, the first action by a state institution in accordance with a document whose legitimacy is still contested by the opposition.

The Shura Council was swearing in 90 new members appointed by President Mohammed Morsi Wednesday. The charter, approved by 63.8 percent in a two-round referendum that ended Saturday, gives the traditionally toothless upper house full legislative powers until elections for a new lower house is called within two months.

The Islamist-dominated council is expected to draft a law regulating upcoming parliamentary elections. Other items on the agenda may include laws on protests and the media.

The opposition says the constitutional process was rushed and the referendum marked by widespread irregularities.

Associated Press

Source: http://hosted2.ap.org/APDEFAULT/cae69a7523db45408eeb2b3a98c0c9c5/Article_2012-12-26-Egypt/id-d3c5acb8c7fd493fba01078e91d324b6

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Self Improvement Techniques: A Guide To A Better Life - Health Care

Most people wish they had a slightly different life. For some, the shows itself in their personal life whereas with others, they prefer to concentrate on improving their professional careers. Anyone intrigued by the idea of self improvement will find the insights of this article quite useful.

Come up with a little pep talk for yourself. Write a list of each of your good points and attributes on an index card. Take it with you everywhere you go, and go over each quality when you feel the need. Another great idea is to recite the list while filming yourself, so that you can view the footage regularly. Is there a benefit?

Speaking to a therapist or religious official can really help you out. Not only have they been trained to deal in personal growth, their experience in these issues is what makes them a good choice to speak with. They?ll eagerly listen, analyze what?s going on and help you find enlightenment. Talking these issues through with someone who is a professional will help you be healthier and happier in the long term.

Understand that there is a divide between where you are and where you wish to go. This is the best way to be able to set a course of direction to get there. If you do not know this, you are not ready to begin personal development.

Read literature that is focused on self improvement. A good book can provide you with the information that you need to get started on your journey toward a new you. Pick out a book that has gotten good reviews because there are some books about self improvement that are not written very well.

When trying to achieve personal development, failures can dampen and hurt an individual?s ego and self esteem. Approach your failures as opportunities to learn. Failure helps you figure out what you are good at and what needs improvement. When you look at it that way, failure should inspire pride in your ability to discover a new piece in your puzzle.

To keep from saying something you may regret later, count from one to ten before speaking. This gives you time to get your emotions under control. Take a cleansing breath and focus on something positive. Picture yourself remaining calm and saying only what you will not regret.

If you hope to advance your state of knowledge regarding self improvement, it can help to show a little humility. As you acknowledge that you are small and insignificant in this universe, the more that you realize your lack of knowledge. Once you absorb this fact, you will have a desire for further knowledge and understanding.

Make the important aspects of your life the focus of how you live. You will have much more inner peace if you just choose to focus on things that matter to you.

For many, there is a vague feeling of discontentment and an urge to facilitate change, but they lack the knowledge needed to begin. While a great result is only going to be achieved by you putting in the effort, here are some handy hints to get you on the road to success. Stay motivated by keeping these tips in mind at all times.

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Source: http://www.healthcarecenteradvice.com/2012/12/24/self-improvement-techniques-a-guide-to-a-better-life-2/

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Source: http://romeokolodz.posterous.com/self-improvement-techniques-a-guide-to-a-bett

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Half Of Americans Would See Their Taxes Go Up If This Obamacare ...

WASHINGTON -- New taxes are coming Jan. 1 to help finance President Barack Obama's health care overhaul. Most people may not notice. But they will pay attention if Congress decides to start taxing employer-sponsored health insurance, one of the options in play if lawmakers can ever agree on a budget deal to reduce federal deficits.

The tax hikes already on the books, taking effect in 2013, fall mainly on people who make lots of money and on the health care industry. But about half of Americans benefit from the tax-free status of employer health insurance. Workers pay no income or payroll taxes on what their employer contributes for health insurance, and in most cases on their own share of premiums as well.

It's the single biggest tax break allowed by the government, outstripping the mortgage interest deduction, the deduction for charitable giving and other better-known benefits. If the value of job-based health insurance were taxed like regular income, it would raise nearly $150 billion in revenue in 2013, according to congressional estimates. By comparison, wiping away the mortgage interest deduction would bring in only about $90 billion.

"If you are looking to raise revenue to pay for tax reform, that is the biggest pot of money of all," said Martin Sullivan, chief economist with Tax Analysts, a nonpartisan publisher of tax information.

It's hard to see how lawmakers can avoid touching health insurance if they want to eliminate loopholes and curtail deductions so as to raise revenue and lower tax rates. Congress probably wouldn't do away with the health care tax break, but limit it in some form. Such limits could be keyed to the cost of a particular health insurance plan, the income level of taxpayers, or a combination.

Many economists think some kind of limit would be a good thing, because it would force consumers to watch costs, and that could help keep health care spending in check. Obama's health law took a tentative step toward limits by imposing a tax on high-value health insurance plans. But that doesn't start until 2018.

Next spring will be three years since Congress passed the health care overhaul, but because of a long phase-in, many of the taxes to finance the plan are only now coming into effect. Medicare spending cuts that help pay for covering the uninsured have started to take effect, but they also are staggered. The law's main benefit, coverage for 30 million uninsured people, will take a little longer. It doesn't start until Jan. 1, 2014.

The biggest tax hike from the health care law has a bit of mystery to it. The legislation calls it a "Medicare contribution," but none of the revenue will go to the Medicare trust fund. Instead, it's funneled into the government's general fund, which does pay the lion's share of Medicare outpatient and prescription costs, but also covers most other things the government does.

The new tax is a 3.8 percent levy on investment income that applies to individuals making more than $200,000 or married couples above $250,000. Projected to raise $123 billion from 2013-2019, it comes on top of other taxes on investment income. And while it does apply to profits from home sales, the vast majority of sellers will not have to worry since another law allows individuals to shield up to $250,000 in gains on their home from taxation. (Married couples can exclude up to $500,000 in home sale gains.)

Investors have already been taking steps to avoid the tax, selling assets this year before it takes effect. The impact of the investment tax will be compounded if Obama and Republicans can't stave off the automatic tax increases scheduled at the end of the year if there's no budget agreement.

High earners will face another new tax under the health care law Jan. 1. It's an additional Medicare payroll tax of 0.9 percent on wage income above $200,000 for an individual or $250,000 for couples. This one does go to the Medicare trust fund.

Donald Marron, director of the nonpartisan Tax Policy Center, calls the health care law tax increases medium-sized by historical standards. The center, a joint project of the Brookings Institution and the Urban Institute, provides in-depth analysis on tax issues.

They also foreshadow the current debate about raising taxes on people with high incomes. "These were an example of the president winning, and raising taxes on upper-income people," said Marron. "They are going to happen."

Other health care law tax increases taking effect Jan. 1:

_ A 2.3 percent sales tax on medical devices used by hospitals and doctors. Industry is trying to delay or repeal the tax, saying it will lead to a loss of jobs. Several economists say manufacturers should be able to pass on most of the cost.

_ A limit on the amount employees can contribute to tax-free flexible spending accounts for medical expenses. It's set at $2,500 for 2013, and indexed thereafter for inflation.

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Source: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/12/25/obamacare-tax-hike_n_2362422.html

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