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Source: http://www.qype.co.uk/review/3489433
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Sunday, December 30, 2012
Thank you @Microsoft [Mike Morrison]
On many social media platforms we tend to comment on poor service, rarely on good service.
Mike Morrison
RapidBI.com
+44 0208 2300980
SWOT Analysis Slides
Ready to use training course materials
Google
Yesterday my daughter come home saying her PC had been locked due to illegal software being installed and to pay ?100 to have the pc unlocked.
Thank goodness she realise this was a scam.
After trying many of the usual things to get round such problems I called the Microsoft support team. they got partly in, but then said that further help would be paid for. $99 (?65 in real money)
Well if they would guarantee results or money back - why not. better than paying a blackmailer!
It all started rather badly, with them unable to take payments from outside the US - strange as the technicians were Philippines based!
2 hours later and payment was successful
We were still working on the problem at 2300 last night - some 9 hours!
Then we re assumed the process this morning, another 3 hours
So at a cost of just $8.25 an hour - that is not bad support! - and free support for another month on that PC.
The staff were polite, and both last night and this morning both staff worked past their shift end time. So Microsoft - if you read this thank Francis R & Mike M (no relation!) for getting the problem solved.
Whilst it did take some time - the problem was solved.
Thank you Microsoft for a good service
ps - I know all the apple fans will now come out and say "it never happens on a mac" - really....
pps - it also seems that the entrance of the virus/ malware was via facebook & youtube or videos!
Mike Morrison
RapidBI.com
+44 0208 2300980
SWOT Analysis Slides
Ready to use training course materials
U.S. Medical Doctors Launch Petition to Secure White House Response to Organ Harvesting Atrocities in China
NEW YORK ? A trio of medical doctors initiated a petition yesterday calling upon the Obama administration to investigate and help stop forced organ harvesting from Falun Gong believers in China. The petition is posted within the ?We the People? section of the White House website, whose regulations state that the White House guarantees a response to any petition that secures 25,000 signatures within 30 days.
?We are very concerned about one of the most horrifying crimes against humanity of our time: Forced organ harvesting from living ?prisoners? in China. Killing for parts is a gross violation of medical ethics.? state Drs. Arhur Caplan, Alejandro Centurion and Jianchao Xu in an open letter they released upon initiating the petition.?The petition is available at:?http://wh.gov/5Jmn. A website with background information and the full text of the letter was created at?www.organpetition.org.?
Arthur Caplan, Ph.D, is director of medical ethics with New York University's Langone Medical Center. Dr. Centurion is a practicing physician in California, while Dr. Jianchao Xu is a kidney specialist with Mount Sinai Hospital in New York City. Amidst efforts to end unethical medical practices around the world, all three doctors have been working over the past six years to investigate, expose, and put an end to organ transplant abuses in China.?
As the Falun Dafa Information Center has reported previously, since 2006, evidence has emerged of organ harvesting from illegally imprisoned Falun Gong practitioners (fact sheet). Unlike other countries, China has no large-scale voluntary organ donation system, so instead, military hospitals use prisoners. Experts now estimate that tens of thousands of jailed Falun Gong believers and other prisoners have been systematically examined, and then used as a living organ donor bank, killed on demand to fuel China's lucrative transplant industry.
The U.S. State Department?s 2011 Human Rights Report cited allegations of organ harvesting from Falun Gong believers and other prisoners of conscience. In October, 106 members of Congress wrote to Secretary Clinton requesting the release of information the State Department is believed to have about the gruesome practice. Two Congressional hearings have covered the topic, while leading transplantation doctors and medical organizations from around the world have condemned this crime against humanity.
New Tang Dynasty Television released a short documentary in November exposing forced organ harvesting crimes in China (view online).
The Falun Dafa Information Center is calling upon all Americans to sign this petition and provide President Obama with the support he needs to publicly condemn these crimes, and launch an in-depth investigation into who is responsible and how they can be stopped.
History has repeatedly taught us that remaining silent in the face of such horror is to be complicit. Let us take a stand.
Essential Background
In July of 1999, China's autocratic Communist Party launched an unlawful campaign of arrests, violence, and propaganda against Chinese citizens practicing Falun Gong (or "Falun Dafa") with the intent of "eradicating" the apolitical practice. Former Communist Party leader Jiang Zemin launched the persecution fearing the practice's growing popularity among the Chinese people (70 to 100 million) was overshadowing his own legacy (article). Since then, the Falun Dafa Information Center, based in New York, has reported over 3,500 deaths from abuse and over 80,000 cases of torture. The United Nations, Amnesty International, Chinese human rights lawyers, and foreign media have also documented Falun Gong torture and deaths at the hands of Chinese officials (samples). Hundreds of thousands of Chinese who practice Falun Gong remain in captivity, rendering them the single largest group of prisoners of conscience in China (article). Falun Gong is a traditional Chinese spiritual discipline that is Buddhist in nature, but not part of the religion of Buddhism. It consists of slow-moving "qigong" exercises, meditation, and teachings for daily life centered on the tenets of truthfulness, compassion, and tolerance (about Falun Gong).
Source: http://www.faluninfo.net/article/1289
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Obama Fiscal Cliff Plans: $20 Trillion In Debt By 2017
The United States fiscal cliff is a term referring to the economic effect of a number of laws which (if unchanged) could result in tax increases, spending cuts, and a corresponding reduction in the budget deficit beginning in 2013. These laws include tax increases due to the expiration of the Bush tax cuts and spending cuts under the Budget Control Act of 2011. The Congressional Budget Office reported an increased risk of recession during 2013 if the deficit is reduced suddenly, while indicating that lower deficits and debt would in time improve long-term economic growth. The deficit for 2013 is projected to be reduced by roughly half. Further, over the next ten years, projected increases in the United States public debt would be lowered by as much as $7.1 trillion or about 70%, resulting in a considerably lower ratio of debt relative to the size of the economy. Expiration of the Bush tax cuts extended by President Obama in the Tax Relief, Unemployment Insurance Reauthorization, and Job Creation Act of 2010; Across-the-board spending cuts ("sequestration") to most discretionary programs as directed by the Budget Control Act of 2011; Reversion of the Alternative Minimum Tax thresholds to their 2000 tax year levels; Expiration of the 2% Social Security payroll tax cut, most recently extended by MCTRJCA; Expiration of federal unemployment benefits, as extended by MCTRJCA and New taxes imposed by the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act and the Health Care and Education Reconciliation Act of 2010. The baseline projection. This scenario would have lower deficits and debt but also have lower spending and higher taxes. 2012 phenomenon Tax uncertainty What is the Fiscal Cliff? A primer from the Council on Foreign Relations Between a Mountain of Debt and a Fiscal Cliff An analysis from the Committee for a Responsible Federal Budget CBO Infographic - Fiscal Tightening in 2013 and Its Economic Consequences - August 2012 CBO - The 2012 Long-Term Budget Outlook-June 2012 CBO-Choices for Deficit Reduction-November 2012 CBO-Economic Effects of Reducing the Fiscal Restraint Scheduled to Occur in 2013-May 2012
The Budget Control Act of 2011 was enacted due to the failure of the 111th Congress to pass a Federal Budget and therefore as a compromise to resolve a dispute concerning the public debt ceiling. Deficit spending previously appropriated by Congress was bringing the federal government's total debt close to the statutory ceiling. Republicans in Congress refused to approve an increase in the ceiling unless there were deep spending cuts in order to come closer to a balanced budget and reduce the amount of national debt that was accruing. The Budget Control Act included an immediate increase in the debt ceiling, along with a mechanism for facilitating two additional increases. It also provided for automatic spending cuts to begin on January 2, 2013.
The year-over-year changes for fiscal years 2012?2013 include a 19.63% increase in tax revenue and 0.25% reduction in spending. These changes would return tax revenue to approximately its historical average of 18% GDP, while continuing to spend at dollar levels held approximately the same since 2009. Some major programs, like Social Security, Medicaid, federal pay (including military pay and pensions), and veterans' benefits, are exempted from the spending cuts. Spending for federal agencies and cabinet departments would be reduced through broad, shallow cuts referred to as budget sequestration.
The projected effects of these changes have led to calls both inside and outside of Congress to extend some or all of the tax cuts, and to replace the across-the-board reductions with more targeted cutbacks. It has been speculated that any change is unlikely to come until the period roughly between the 2012 federal elections and the end of the year. Additionally, the debate may be exacerbated by the expectation that the debt ceiling is expected to be reached before the end of 2012, unless "extraordinary measures" are used. Nearly all proposals to avoid the fiscal cliff involve extending certain parts of the 2010 Tax Relief Act or changing the 2011 Budget Control Act or both, thus making the deficit larger by reducing taxes and/or increasing spending.
Background
Etymology
The term fiscal cliff had in the past been used to refer to various fiscal issues. The term started being used in the current context near the original expiration of the Bush tax cuts in 2010. In 2011, the term started to be used to refer to the deficit reductions that would occur in 2013 under current law.In late February 2012, Ben Bernanke, chairman of the U.S. Federal Reserve, popularized the term "fiscal cliff" for this crisis. Before the House Financial Services Committee he described that "a massive fiscal cliff of large spending cuts and tax increases" would take place on January 1, 2013.
Some analysts have argued that fiscal slope or fiscal hill would be more appropriate terminology because while the cumulative economic effect over all of 2013 would be substantial, it would not be felt immediately but rather gradually as the weeks and months went by.
Legislative history
During a lame duck session in December 2010, Congress passed the Tax Relief, Unemployment Insurance Reauthorization, and Job Creation Act of 2010. The act extended the Bush tax cuts for an additional two years and "patched" the exemptions to the Alternative Minimum Tax (AMT) for tax year 2011. This act also authorized a one-year reduction in the Social Security (FICA) employee payroll tax. This was extended for an additional year by the Middle Class Tax Relief and Job Creation Act of 2012, which also extended federal unemployment benefits and the freeze on Medicare physician payments.On August 2, 2011, Congress passed the Budget Control Act of 2011 as part of an agreement to resolve the debt-ceiling crisis. The Act provided for a Joint Select Committee on Deficit Reduction (the "super committee") to produce legislation by late November that would decrease the deficit by $1.2 trillion over ten years. If the committee failed to do so, as it in fact had failed to do, another part of the Act directs automatic across-the-board cuts (known as "sequestrations"), split evenly between defense and domestic spending, beginning January 2, 2013. Also, the Affordable Care Act imposed new taxes on families making more than $250,000 a year ($200,000 for individuals) starting at the same time.
At the end of 2011, the patch to the AMT exemptions expired. Technically, the AMT thresholds immediately reverted to their 2000 tax year levels, a drop of 26% for single people and 40% for married couples. Anyone over these reduced thresholds at the end of 2012 would be subject to the AMT. Therefore, more taxpayers would pay more unless some legislation was passed (as was done in 2007) that affects the exemptions retroactively.
Key laws leading to the fiscal cliff
A number of laws led to the fiscal cliff, including these provisions:Expiration of measures delaying the Medicare Sustainable Growth Rate from going into effect (the "doc fix"), as extended by the Middle Class Tax Relief and Job Creation Act of 2012 (MCTRJCA);
Without new legislation, these provisions would automatically go into effect on January 1 or 2, 2013, except for the Alternative Minimum Tax growth, which would be changed retroactively. Some provisions would increase taxes (the expiration of the Bush and FICA payroll tax cuts and the new Affordable Care tax and AMT thresholds) while others would reduce spending (sequestration, expiration of unemployment benefits and implementation of the Medicare SGR).
Proposals to avoid the fiscal cliff involve repealing legislation containing certain of these provisions or passing new legislation to extend provisions that are due to expire. Different proposals may include changes to some or all of the above provisions. For example, the Congressional Budget Office's "Alternative Fiscal Scenario" includes only the first four items above. Changes to other provisions are also sometimes included in such proposals; for example, changing the original caps on discretionary appropriations contained in 2011's Budget Control Act, indexing the AMT exemptions for inflation or the wholesale or partial reform of the tax laws or entitlement programs.
Congressional Budget Office projections
CBO scenarios
Decisions regarding the fiscal cliff will have meaningful implications for deficits, debt, and economic growth. The Congressional Budget Office (CBO) has projected two fiscal scenarios for the years 2013 to 2022:The alternative fiscal scenario. Higher deficits and debt but lower taxes and higher spending.
These paint starkly different fiscal futures. If Congress and the President do not act, allowing tax cuts to expire and mandated spending cuts to be implemented, the next decade will more closely resemble the baseline projection. If they act to extend current policies, keeping lower tax rates in place and postponing or preventing the spending cuts, the next decade will more closely resemble the alternate fiscal scenario.
Baseline projection. The CBO has been publishing baseline projections since 1985. Under "the baseline", tax cuts are allowed to expire and spending cuts are implemented in 2013, resulting in higher tax revenues plus lower spending, deficits, debt and interest for the next decade and beyond. Future deficits would be reduced from an estimated 8.5% of GDP in 2011 to 1.2% by 2021. Revenues would rise towards 24% GDP, versus the historical average 18% GDP.
The total deficit reduction or debt avoidance over ten years could be as high as $7.1 trillion, versus the $10?11 trillion debt increases if current policies are extended. In other words, roughly 70% of debt increases projected over the next 10 years could be avoided by allowing laws on the books during 2012 to be implemented.
CBO estimates under the baseline projection that public debt rises from 69% GDP in 2011 to 84% by 2035. In the long run, lower deficits and debt should lead to relatively higher growth estimates. But, in the short run, real GDP growth in 2013 would likely be reduced to 0.5% from 1.1%. This would mean a high probability of recession (a 1.3% GDP contraction) during the first half of the year followed by 2.3% growth in the second half.
Alternate fiscal scenario. If Congress "avoids" the fiscal cliff, the future more closely resembles the continuation of 2012 policies, described by the CBO's "alternative fiscal scenario." This scenario involves extending the Bush income tax cuts, restricting the reach of the AMT, and keeping Medicare reimbursement rates at the current level (the so-called "doc fix", versus declining by one-third as mandated under current law). Revenues are assumed to remain around the historical average 18% GDP. Under this scenario, public debt rises from 69% GDP in 2011 to 100% by 2021 and approaches 190% by 2035. This scenario has considerably higher debt and interest payments than the baseline projection, but short-term impact on the economy is avoided.
Projected effects
The Congressional Budget Office estimates that allowing certain laws on the books during 2012 to expire or take effect in 2013 (the baseline scenario) would cut the 2013 deficit approximately in half and significantly reduce the trajectory of future deficits and debt increases for the next decade and beyond. However, the 2013 deficit reduction would adversely impact the economy in the short-run. On the other hand, if Congress acts to extend current policies (the alternative scenario), deficits and debt will rise rapidly over the next decade and beyond, slowing the economy over the long run and dramatically increasing interest costs.CBO estimates that if the baseline scenario is allowed to take effect in 2013, it would reduce federal spending by $103 billion and increase tax revenues by $399 billion (and another $105 billion "mostly in revenue") through September 2013 (the end of FY2013). This would amount to a net total of $560 billion, roughly half the $1.2 trillion FY2011 deficit. The White House estimates that a family of four with an income of $50,000 to $85,000 would pay an additional $2,200 in federal taxes.
The CBO has identified the following metrics for its baseline and alternative scenarios for the period starting January 2013:
Estimated deficit for the first year
The CBO estimated that the total deficit of fiscal year 2012 (which ends on September 30, 2012) will be $1.171 trillion. The CBO also estimated that the total reductions to the fiscal year 2013 deficit by letting current laws take effect (which increase taxes and reduce spending) would be about $560 billion.Therefore, since the total US public debt was approximately $11.053 trillion as of July 2012, the public debt would climb by the end of FY2013 to either $11.664 trillion (if Congress does nothing, allowing current law to take effect) or $12.224 trillion (if the fiscal cliff is avoided, extending current tax and spending policies into the future), all other considerations remaining the same. This difference amounts to 5.07% of the federal debt in nine months.
Under current laws scheduled to take effect by the end of 2012, the total 2013 deficit will be $612 billion, as opposed to $1,171 billion for the previous year. The chart at the right contains a breakdown of the currently authorized reductions to the FY2013 deficit. The total of this chart is $606 billion but this is without considering economic feedback. Reduced taxes and increased spending, due to the 1.3% contraction in the first half of 2013, as well as other constraints, are expected to decrease the savings by $47 billion, giving a net total of $560 billion in deficit reduction during FY2013.
CBO analysis of policy options
The CBO reported in November 2012 the economic and employment effects of various policy options related to the cliff. Each option has a different GDP and employment impact per dollar of deficit impact. In other words, some choices are more economically efficient. CBO explained why spending cuts have a more significant adverse impact on the economy than tax increases per dollar of deficit reduction: ?The larger 'bang for the buck' next year of the spending policies under the alternative fiscal scenario occurs because, CBO expects, a significant part of the decrease in taxes (relative to those under current law) would be saved rather than spent."Effects of sequestration
The spending reduction elements of the fiscal cliff are primarily contained within the Budget Control Act of 2011, which directed that both defense and non-defense discretionary spending be reduced by "sequestration" if Congress was unable to agree on other spending cuts of similar size. Congress was unable to reach agreement and therefore the sequestrations are expected start taking effect on January 2, 2013 if Congress, and President Obama, do not agree to a budget deficit reduction plan. The scope of the law excludes major mandatory programs such as Social Security and Medicare.The effect on both defense and non-defense discretionary spending will be significant if the cliff is not avoided. Cuts totaling $110 billion per year will be applied from 2013 to 2022, split evenly ($55 billion each) to defense and non-defense discretionary spending. For scale, discretionary funding for 2011 totaled $1,277 billion: budget authority of $712 billion for defense and funding totaling $566 billion for non-defense activities.
During 2013, defense and non-defense discretionary spending would be maintained around 2012 levels due to the sequester. However, the spending begins to rise thereafter, but not at the pace projected prior to the sequester. In other words, the trajectory of spending increases is reduced, but spending is not frozen at 2012 levels. Defense and non-defense discretionary spending increases from 2013?2021 would be about 1.5% annually, significantly below the prior decade.
For example, according to the CBO Historical Tables, defense spending (including overseas contingency operations for the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan) grew from $295 billion in 2000 to $700 billion in 2011, an annual growth rate of 8.2%. Non-defense discretionary spending grew at a 6.6% annual rate during that time, from $320 billion to $646 billion.
The austerity represented by the sequester is not unprecedented; from 1990?1999, defense spending actually declined by about 1% annually, from $300 billion to $276 billion, although non-defense discretionary spending grew by 4.5% annually, rising from $200 to $297 billion.
The CBO estimated the possible impact on defense spending in October 2011 testimony: "Compliance with the caps on discretionary funding could occur through many different combinations of defense and non-defense funding. For example, defense and nondefense appropriations might be cut proportionally relative to the funding that would be necessary to keep pace with inflation. In that case, funding for defense programs apart from overseas contingency operations would drop from $552 billion in 2011 to $538 billion in 2012 before rising again and reaching $637 billion in 2021 (see Table 3).
Between 2012 and 2021, such funding would be $445 billion less than the amount that would occur if the amount of funding for 2011 grew at the rate of inflation. When measured as a share of GDP, funding for defense would decline by about 1 percentage point from 2011 to 2021, or by more than one-fourth (see Table 5). Funding for defense in 2021 (excluding overseas contingency operations) would represent 2.7 percent of GDP; by comparison, annual funding for defense (excluding overseas contingency operations) has averaged 3.4 percent of GDP during the past decade."
The CBO estimated the possible impact on non-defense discretionary spending in October 2011 testimony: "If defense and nondefense appropriations were cut proportionally relative to the funding that would be necessary to keep pace with inflation, nondefense budget authority would decrease from $511 billion in 2011 to $505 billion in 2012 before rising again and reaching $597 billion in 2021 (see Table 4). Between 2012 and 2021, budget authority for nondefense purposes would be $418 billion less than the amount that would be provided if funding grew at the rate of inflation after 2011. Under an assumption that the obligation limitations for certain transportation programs grow over time at the rate of inflation, nondefense funding in 2021 would represent 2.8 percent of GDP; by comparison, such funding has averaged 4.1 percent of GDP during the past decade (see Figure 6)."
Effects of tax increases
Various sources estimated the 2013 impact on taxpayers (individual and married filing jointly) from the tax increases that would occur if the Bush income tax cuts and Obama payroll tax cuts are allowed to expire. The table below shows the dollar and percentage increase in taxes due and assumes two federal allowances are taken. The interactive tool at the source cited can be adjusted based on the reader's circumstances.{|class="wikitable" style="text-align:center" ! Income Level / Filing status ! Single ! MarriedFiling Jointly |- | $50,000 | $1,576 / 18% | $1,870 / 26% |- | $100,000 | $4,076 / 17% | $3,272 / 17% |- | $150,000 | $5,850 / 15% | $5,046 / 15% |- | $200,000 | $7,350 / 13% | $6,546 / 14% |}
Commentary
Many experts have argued that the U.S. should avoid the fiscal cliff while taking steps to bring the long-term deficit and debt trajectory under control. For example, economist Paul Krugman recommended that the U.S. focus on employment in the short-run, rather than the deficit. Federal Reserve Chair Ben Bernanke emphasized the importance of balancing long-term deficit reduction with actions that would not slow the economy in the short-run. Charles Konigsburg, who directed the bi-partisan Domenici-Rivlin deficit reduction panel, advocated avoiding the fiscal cliff while taking steps to reduce the budget deficit over time. He recommended the adoption of ideas from deficit panels such as Domenici-Rivlin and Bowles-Simpson that accomplish these two goals. Conservative budget experts have opposed calls to raise taxes or to allow defense sequestration, and have called on congressional leaders to return to normal budgetary process. Patrick Knudsen, a Heritage Foundation fellow, argued that lawmakers should seek long-term stability by rejecting short-term fixes and "grand bargains."Financial news networks CNBC and CNBC.com are launching a network-wide initiative aimed at calling attention to the fiscal situation. The network?s campaign is called ?RISE ABOVE?, a call to action appealing to everyone to rise above partisan political views in an effort to come to agreement on a plan that tackles both the long and short term challenges to the American economy. CNBC plans to engage business leaders, politicians and viewers through a series of programming efforts designed to increase the understanding of the core issues and to raise the level of dialogue beyond the rhetoric and talking points that have saturated media coverage of the 'fiscal cliff.'
Former Secretary of Defense Robert Gates stated in October 2012: ?Sequestration in 2013 will lead to a reduction of $1.2 trillion in the federal government?s discretionary spending, with half of that coming from the defense budget. Such deep across-the-board cuts in defense spending will not only wreak havoc on the economy of military-connected communities such as Huntsville but will also "do great damage" to the U.S. military, homeland security, aviation programs and other government entities that keep America strong at home and overseas.?
Proposals to mitigate the fiscal cliff
Congress
Congressional Republicans have proposed that the Bush tax cuts be extended in their entirety. In August 2012, the Congressional Budget Office (CBO) estimated that extending these tax cuts for the 2013?2022 time period would add $3.18 trillion to the national debt relative to the current law baseline, comprising $2.74 trillion in foregone tax revenue plus another $0.44 trillion for interest and debt service costs.
On July 25, 2012, the U.S. Senate voted 51?48 to pass a bill supporting the President's tax proposal which extended cuts for most taxpayers, while rejecting the Republican proposal of extending the tax cuts for all 45?54. The U.S. House of Representatives rejected, 170?257, the President's tax proposal on August 1, 2012.
As of November 1, 2012, a group of senators, now called the Gang of Eight, composed of Democratic Whip Richard J. Durbin D-Il., Finance Committee member Tom Coburn, R-Okla., Budget Committee Chair Kent Conrad, D-N.D., Sen. Michael F. Bennet, D-Colo., Sen. Mark R. Warner, D-Va., Finance member Mike Crapo, R-Idaho., Sen. Saxby Chambliss, R-Ga., and Sen. Mike Johanns, R-Neb., have been working since 2011 but "[have] so far failed to reach an agreement after more than a year of talks." Because of the number of spending cuts and tax changes, at least half a dozen committees, such as the House Ways and Means and Senate Finance committees, might want to weigh in on the bill.
On November 28, 2012, certain Republicans, such as Orrin G. Hatch (R-Utah), support "modifying tax expenditures as a way to raise revenue."
IRS
In a three-page letter, Steven Miller, acting IRS Commissioner, outlined the effects of the fiscal cliff and said that the IRS is working under the assumption that Congress would "patch" the Alternative Minimum Tax (AMT). The patch prevents the AMT from impacting many more taxpayers. This is similar to what Congress has done in previous years. CBO estimated in August 2012 that if the patch were not implemented, federal revenues would rise by a total of $864 billion over the 2013-2022 period.President Obama's position
During November 2012, President Obama expressed a preference for replacing the more blunt cuts of the sequester with more targeted cuts, while raising income tax rates on the top 2% of earners. Senior White House officials recommended a veto of any bill that: 1) averts defense cuts while leaving intact non-defense cuts; or 2) excludes an increase in tax rates for top earners. Obama wants to continue to extend the Bush tax cuts for American couples earning less than $250,000 and individuals earning less than $200,000.Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner is Obama's lead negotiator about the fiscal cliff and the increase in the 2013 debt limit.
As of November 30, 2012, Obama is supporting an undeclared amount of spending cuts, $1.6 trillion in higher taxes over ten years, and cuts of $400 billion from Medicare and other benefit programs over a decade. Also, Obama wants to include "an extension of the 2 percentage point payroll tax cut" and spend "at least $50 billion" in 2013 "to boost the economy."
Timeline
March 23, 2010: President Obama signed into law the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act. One of this law's provisions is to impose new taxes on families making $250,000 per year or more starting in 2013. December 17, 2010: Obama signed the Tax Relief, Unemployment Insurance Reauthorization, and Job Creation Act of 2010, patching the AMT through 2011 and extending the Bush tax cuts to the end of 2012. August 2, 2011: The President signed the Budget Control Act of 2011. This act provided that, if the Joint Select Committee did not produce bipartisan legislation, across-the-board spending cuts would take effect on January 2, 2013. February 22, 2012: Obama signed into law the Middle Class Tax Relief and Job Creation Act of 2012, which extended the following provisions until December 31, 2012: the 2% Social Security payroll tax cut, federal unemployment benefits and the freeze on Medicare physician payments. February 29, 2012: Ben Bernanke popularized the term "fiscal cliff" in his testimony before the House Financial Services Committee. July 3, 2012: IMF head Lagarde warned that the threat of "going over the fiscal cliff" could weaken the US economy later in 2012. The IMF also reduced its projection for US growth in 2013 from 2.4 to 2.25 percent of GDP. July 17, 2012: Bernanke pushed Congress to avoid the fiscal cliff, warning that a failure to do so will further dampen the sluggish economic recovery. July 31, 2012: Reid and Boehner agreed on a continuing resolution that would pay for the day-to-day running of the government until the end of March 2013. This does not affect the fiscal cliff or the debt-ceiling. August 7, 2012: Obama signed the Sequestration Transparency Act of 2012, which directed his administration to detail in 30 days how they plan to implement the automatic cuts mandated by the Budget Control Act. September 14, 2012: Obama released his 400-page document detailing cuts. http://cdn.govexec.com/media/gbc/docs/pdfs_edit/091412cc1.pdf October 22, 2012: At the third of three presidential debates, Obama says sequestration will not happen. November 16, 2012: US leaders announced that they met to discuss the fiscal cliff and perhaps develop an approach that would be ready to present the week of November 26, 2012. November 29, 2012: Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner presented a plan to congressional leaders to correct the fiscal cliff.See also
Notes
References
Further reading
External links
Category:Government finances in the United States Category:Presidency of Barack Obama Category:112th United States Congress
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Saturday, December 29, 2012
2012 top business stories: Oregon retail scene sees plenty of activity ...
The biggest, most tragic news of 2012 in local retail will likely continue to shake the community for a good portion of the year to come.
A masked gunman, later identified as 22-year-old Jacob Roberts, opened fire Dec. 11 near the food court at Clackamas Town Center, killing two adults and seriously injuring a teenage girl. Terrified shoppers dropped purses, shopping bags and strollers as they made for the doors. Others ducked into stores and sat for hours with employees as police searched for the gunman, who subsequently killed himself in a back hallway.
The violence chilled shoppers young and old who came to realize how safe they'd once felt in malls, especially during the holidays.
Retailers at Westfield Southcenter in Seattle, where a teenager was killed in a gang-related shooting in 2008, said it can take six months to a year to regain some sense of normalcy.
Indeed, people returned to Clackamas, shopping and writing words of support on memorial stars along the mall's railings. On the day after Christmas, usually one of the busiest days of the year, traffic was strong, though many shoppers and store employees commented it didn't seem as busy as some years.
"A lot of people have come out to support local merchants and national ones. That's the right thing to do," said John Jost, owner of Eugene-based Excalibur Cutlery & Gifts, which was hit financially by the mall's two-day closure following the tragedy. "It does take a while for memories to fade."
In other retail news, there was plenty of activity.
Comings
In February, Target Corp. announced plans to open a City Target in downtown Portland's Galleria Building. The 89,000-square-foot location at Southwest 10th Avenue and Alder Street will feature a pharmacy and the usual fashion and home offerings. A few blocks away, across from Pioneer Place mall, will come a long-awaited mega Apple store. Development plans call for a 165-foot-long, glass-enclosed store.
Wal-Mart Stores Inc., which for years battled Portlanders and politicians to wend its way into the Rose City, found a way to bring its price-slashing smiley face to town: defunct grocery stores. The Arkansas-based chain opened three mini-me versions in shuttered grocery stores in Lake Oswego, Beaverton and Gresham. Wal-Mart also updated and added groceries to its Southeast Portland location and broke ground on a 90,000-square-foot store with groceries at Hayden Meadows in North Portland.
GoingsLast January, in a filing with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission, Tilman Fertitta sealed the deal on his purchase of McCormick & Schmick's Seafood Restaurants Inc. He immediately took the Portland company private and, according to many regular diners, reduced the chain's once-famous selection of local wines.
Lisa Sedlar, who joined New Seasons Market in 2005 and was named chief executive in 2010, announced she would leave the Portland-based grocery chain to launch her own line of healthy convenience stores. The grocer's leadership, which has since named Wendy Collie as CEO, liked Sedlar's idea and took a minority stake in her new venture.
Makeovers
Many of the metro area's malls unveiled updates and expansions this year.
The 13-year-old Woodburn Company Stores completed its final build-out, adding 16 stores as part of a $10 million expansion that added 38,569 square feet. New names included footwear retailers The Puma Store and Crocs, and clothing retailers Maurices and Charlotte Russe. Jantzen Beach also spent the year reworking the once-enclosed mall in North Portland into a 100,000-square-foot, U-shaped design that allows shoppers to access stores from the outside. The $50 million overhaul, which will add about 30 new stores, also included a revamp of the mall's Target, which added groceries.
Westfield Vancouver installed new carpeting, sleek furniture and a couple of new retailers. The update's main attraction is a snazzy Cinetopia 23 theater, which offers massive movie screens, including one 80-footer, as well as food and cocktails delivered to moviegoers' comfy seats.
Metro-area J.C. Penney stores have gotten spiffed up, too, incorporating several flashy stores-within-stores as part of the Texas-based chain's complete overhaul. Along with the new look, the retailer no longer relies on coupons or doorbuster deals to woo customers, relying instead on "every day low prices." Initial marketing confused some shoppers and the jury's still out on whether former Apple executive Ron Johnson's leadership at the venerable chain will be a success.
Fred Meyer, the locally based subsidiary of The Kroger Co., also completed a number of regularly scheduled, though major renovations in the Portland area. The chain's Hollywood West store in Northeast Portland, which will gain a New Seasons as a neighbor just a few blocks away in 2013, unveiled an $18 million update designed by a Eugene firm. Overall, the chain will spend $40 million on renovations at three Oregon stores, including its Tualatin location, next year.
-- Laura Gunderson
Source: http://www.oregonlive.com/business/index.ssf/2012/12/2012_top_business_stories_oreg.html
Iran begins naval maneuvers near Strait of Hormuz
TEHRAN, Iran (AP) ? Iran's state TV is reporting the country's navy has begun maneuvers in the area of the Strait of Hormuz, where one-fifth of the world's oil passes.
It says the maneuvers began early Friday, involving warships, submarines jet fighters and hovercrafts.
The drills come as the West increases its pressure over Iran's nuclear program. The West suspects it may be aimed at producing nuclear weapons, a charge Iran denies.
Iran has threatened to close the straits over Western sanctions but has not repeated the threats lately.
The report says Iran warned ships to stay away from the site until Jan. 3. The maneuvers cover nearly 1 million sq. kilometers (400,000 sq. miles) from the Strait of Hormuz to northern part of Indian Ocean, including the Sea of Oman.
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home page ? Insider_Tennis_Strategies : Sports and Recreation
You are here: Home / General / home page ? Insider_Tennis_Strategies
" I downloaded your book, read it, played a match against a friend who had creamed me the day before?.and I beat him 6-1,6-0. Your book made all the difference. Kudos ?..great book!"
Looking For The Fastest Way To Improve Your Tennis? You don?t have to improve your strokes, it costs less than a lesson, and the results are Guaranteed.
The one book that I recently bought, read, and was absolutely blown away in its brutal honesty, is Dr. Glenn Sheiner?s downloadable eBook "Insider Tennis Strategies". " A must read for anyone who wants to play competitive singles."
If you?re serious about improving your tennis game without spending megabucks on tesson lessons then I?ll think you?ll find the following info very interesting:
Hi Glenn Wow!!! I have been playing competitive tennis in Ireland for sometime now and recently changed clubs (2003). I am a very good doubles player and understand the challenges the game brings. However, my singles leaves a lot to be desired.
I have won many events both in the club and intra-club at doubles, but never managed to get past the first round of any singles event. Again in my Over 35 Club Championships, I lost in the first round.
However I then purchased your book INSIDER TENNIS STRATEGIES and started to read the first few chapters. Thankfully the club runs a Plate event (first match losers) and I decided I would give your ideas a try ? well I won the event including beating a fellow member who has beaten me regularly 6/4 6/1 in the final. I had decided a strategy and adjusted it as required. I can?t wait to finish the book ? there will be no stopping me. Many thanks, Ciar?n Johnson Ireland
Hi, my name is Dr. Glenn Sheiner and I?ve been involved with tennis for over 32 years ? plain and simple it?s one of the loves of my life. And because I love winning, trophies, and beating my buddies, I?ve studied and read everything on this great game. Hey, I even once ordered 50 year old tennis books by Pancho Gonzalez, Don Budge, and Jack Kramer just to see if I could discover even one winning tennis tip, tactic, or strategy that would help me learn how to improve at tennis and win even more.
Though I have read Nick Bolletieri?s tennis handbook cover to cover, tried to study Brad Gilbert?s Winning Ugly, and subscribed to tennis magazines for about 3 years your Ebook "INSIDER TENNIS STRATEGIES" is one of the most exciting things that has come my way in terms of tennis.
As a club player, I used to be constantly frustrated by losing to players I felt I should beat. After reading INSIDER TENNIS STRATEGIES, I now like to think of myself as one of the guys who others aim to beat. The book is jampacked with practical information on how to win at tennis that you can?t get just by taking a few lessons or?
Read more?
Source: http://www.theyellowads.com/recreation_sports/home-page-insider_tennis_strategies/
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Friday, December 28, 2012
?In The Studio,? How Patrick Collison Guides Stripe In The Competitive Payments World
Editor's Note: Semil Shah is an EIR with Javelin Venture Partners and is a contributor to TechCrunch. You can follow him on Twitter at @semil. "In the Studio" closes out its inaugural year by welcoming the young CEO of one of the web's hottest startups who, before his current breakthrough, immigrated from Ireland, dropped out of MIT, founded and sold his first company, and is now taking on an industry with formidable land mines, competitors, and incumbents.Source: http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/Techcrunch/~3/7DJ5ut0pMm8/
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IUFF is the new contest for young filmmakers who create fashion ...
International upcoming fashion filmmakers?
?
First fashion video festival during Milano Fashion City program.
Diana Secl??presents the new talent contest about DIRECTION, PHOTOGRAPHY, STYLING and DESIGN.
IUFF is reserved to international talents aged 18/36 years old which will achieve fashion short video.
IMPORTANT:?video can be already produced!!!
Theme:?accessory touch
There ?has to be one of the following accessory in the video: bag/ shoes/ glasses/ fur
Accessory is not only the fashion video main actor but just feeling
(please have a look to submission for all accessories details)
Both juries will confer thirty finalists and five winners.
Every award gives the possibility to the winner of achieving a short fashion video committed by every fair following the category linked to it and it will be visible on the proper web site. All the total amount will be 7.500 euro
IUFF award will use video winner to promote next festival season all over the world.
But also ? every winner will have the possibility, with our help, coming to Milan for 2 nights!!
DEADLINE SUBMISSION: january 18, 2013
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Instagram Denies 25% Holiday User Drop From TOS Backlash, And Here Are Real Explanations For A Usage Dip
Sure, it's not unlike the New York Post to be?sensationalist. But in this case it misinterpreted data to suggest Instagram was hit harder by backlash to its terms of service changes than it actually was. Combined with it being a quiet-ish holiday news week, I am taking?a story?it published today on a 25 percent drop in Instagram users?with a little more than a grain of salt.Source: http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/Techcrunch/~3/Z_jbleIqeAs/
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Mont. group collecting paper hearts for Newtown
In this Monday, Dec. 24, 2012 photo, Joy Manning, neighbor of program coordinator Gala Thompson, sorts some of the hundreds of paper hearts received as part of the Paper Hearts Across America program, in Billings, Mont. The goal of Paper Hearts Across America is to collect nearly 19 million paper hearts, the estimated amount it would take to stretch a chain of hearts from Billings to Newtown, Conn. Thompson tells the Billings Gazette her family started Paper Hearts Across America as a way to discuss the Sandy Hook Elementary shootings where 26 people were killed Dec. 14. (AP Photo/The Billings Gazette, Larry Mayer)
In this Monday, Dec. 24, 2012 photo, Joy Manning, neighbor of program coordinator Gala Thompson, sorts some of the hundreds of paper hearts received as part of the Paper Hearts Across America program, in Billings, Mont. The goal of Paper Hearts Across America is to collect nearly 19 million paper hearts, the estimated amount it would take to stretch a chain of hearts from Billings to Newtown, Conn. Thompson tells the Billings Gazette her family started Paper Hearts Across America as a way to discuss the Sandy Hook Elementary shootings where 26 people were killed Dec. 14. (AP Photo/The Billings Gazette, Larry Mayer)
In this Monday, Dec. 24, 2012 photo, a table is set up in front of the home of Joy Manning, neighbor of program coordinator Gala Thompson, so passersby can write on paper hearts for the Paper Hearts Across America program, in Billings, Mont. The goal of Paper Hearts Across America is to collect nearly 19 million paper hearts, the estimated amount it would take to stretch a chain of hearts from Billings to Newtown, Conn. Thompson tells the Billings Gazette her family started Paper Hearts Across America as a way to discuss the Sandy Hook Elementary shootings where 26 people were killed Dec. 14. (AP Photo/The Billings Gazette, Larry Mayer)
BILLINGS, Mont. (AP) ? It started as a way for one Montana family to talk discuss the tragic school shooting of 26 children and adults. Now it's blossoming into an international movement to build a chain of handmade paper hearts to stretch nearly all the way across the nation.
Gala Thompson and her family's Paper Hearts Across America estimate it would take about 19 million small paper hearts to connect Billings, Mont., to Newtown, Conn. They're hoping to gather that many hearts so they can deliver them to the residents of Newtown and show them there's still good in the world.
And the response is growing, with more than 10,000 decorated hearts already sent from as far away as China and Australia, the Billings Gazette reported (http://bit.ly/UmsVfd ).
"It's gone above and beyond what we hoped, really, from the first day," Thompson said. "I was thinking the first 500 hearts we got, that was great. But now, it's grown on its own."
The project is in response to the Dec. 14 shooting at Sandy Hook Elementary School in Newtown. A gunman killed his mother before opening fire at the school, killing 20 children and six adults. He then killed himself.
Word about Paper Hearts Across America spread through news reports and a Facebook page ? which contains a template for the hearts ? and contributions have come from nearly every state.
People are sending boxes of the hearts to Broadwater Elementary in Billings, which agreed to be a collection point until the group reaches its goal. School officials are hanging the hearts in hallways until they're sent to Connecticut.
"The hearts come in boxes and boxes and we all just get so excited," Thompson said. "We've been able to cover the whole inside of one of the school buildings and we're moving to the other one now."
Thompson said she wants people to know that it's not just a project for school kids. She wants universities, families, businesses, hospitals and others to get involved.
"Hopefully, Newtown will be flattered by this gesture and about how many people are compassionate and kind," she said. "There's more kindness in the world than there is hate, and that's what this is all about to begin with."
___
Information from: Billings Gazette, http://www.billingsgazette.com
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Thursday, December 27, 2012
New Samsung Galaxy Note 2 ad targets business
Samsung has just put out a fresh ad for the Galaxy Note 2 targeting enterprise users. In the span of a minute, it does a great job of showing how the Note 2 can be used to take notes, watch video, multitask, and transfer files over NFC. Despite being about work, it still has the same sense of humor as Samsung's previous TV spots, and I'm tempted to agree with the top-voted YouTube commenter for the ad: "Apple is going to have to get more creative with their marketing. Samsung is killing it."
Hit the jump for a playlist of Samsung's more holiday-themed ads.
 |  |
Source: http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/androidcentral/~3/WSL_uDE4yPg/story01.htm
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HLTV.org - News: mshz joins Imaginary Gaming
Imaginary Gaming have announced that they have added Michel "mshz" Nguyen to their roster.
The news comes in the wake of the French team's third-place finish at the SLTV StarSeries finals, where they defeated zNation and suffered losses against ESC Gaming and Virtus.pro.
Nguyen was last seen at AMD Sapphire in Prague with eXtensive!, who placed fourth in their group with just one victory from four matches.
mshz gets together with Ozstrik3r once again
He will step into the shoes of Arthur "h0rks" Moulet, who did not make the trip to Ukraine last week, being replaced by the team's backup player, Thomas "akeR" Radovic.
"After looking at our level of play from the French ESWC qualifier and the SLTV finals, I have to agree that we are better online," Imaginary captain Steeve "Ozstrik3r" Flavini told Vakarm.net.
"That simply means that some players lack experience, so we are always under pressure from other teams who want to steal some of our players.
"I had no choice but to make this change, which is similar to the one Millenium did in 2008 when Mahe "Yoshi" Martin replaced Wadie "wadie" Zbadi.
"I want to dethrone VeryGames and I think we can be a top three team in the world. It will be hard, but looking at our players I think that it is really possible."
Flavini played alongside Nguyen in several different teams, such as Millenium and LDLC.com, during their time playing CS 1.6, and the French veteran had nothing but praise for the new man on the team.
"I know his level, which can only improve, and he will bring a lot to the fare with his experience in big matches," Flavini added.
"He is a sniper who is a little bit slower than h0rks but who has good communication and positioning."
Imaginary Gaming now have the following line-up:
Steeve "Ozstrik3r" Flavini
Adil "ScreaM" Benrlitom
About Michel "mshz" Nguyen:
Source: http://www.hltv.org/news/9801-mshz-joins-imaginary-gaming
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gearstick patron: Health & Fitness Solutions: Self-Hypnosis ...
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Source: http://gearstick-patron.blogspot.com/2012/12/health-fitness-solutions-self-hypnosis.html
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Shinzo Abe returns as Japan's prime minister
Japan's Liberal Democratic Party leader Shinzo Abe bows after being named Japan's new prime minister during the plenary session at the lower house of Parliament in Tokyo, Wednesday, Dec. 26, 2012. The rise of Abe, whose nationalist positions have in the past angered Japan's neighbors, ends more than three years at the helm for the left-leaning Democratic Party of Japan and brings back the conservative, pro-big business LDP that governed for most of the post-World War II era. (AP Photo/Itsuo Inouye)
Japan's Liberal Democratic Party leader Shinzo Abe bows after being named Japan's new prime minister during the plenary session at the lower house of Parliament in Tokyo, Wednesday, Dec. 26, 2012. The rise of Abe, whose nationalist positions have in the past angered Japan's neighbors, ends more than three years at the helm for the left-leaning Democratic Party of Japan and brings back the conservative, pro-big business LDP that governed for most of the post-World War II era. (AP Photo/Itsuo Inouye)
Japan's Prime Minister Yoshihiko Noda bows as he leaves the prime minister's office in Tokyo, Wednesday, Dec. 26, 2012. Prime Minister Noda's Cabinet resigned Wednesday to clear the way for a vote in parliament to formally install the nation's new leader, Shinzo Abe, a conservative whose nationalist positions have in the past angered Japan's neighbors. (AP Photo/Kyodo News) JAPAN OUT, MANDATORY CREDIT, NO LICENSING IN CHINA, HONG KONG, JAPAN, SOUTH KOREA AND FRANCE
Japan's Prime Minister Yoshihiko Noda, holding flowers, bows as he leaves the prime minister's office in Tokyo, Wednesday, Dec. 26, 2012. Prime Minister Noda's Cabinet resigned Wednesday to clear the way for a vote in parliament to formally install the nation's new leader, Shinzo Abe, a conservative whose nationalist positions have in the past angered Japan's neighbors. (AP Photo/Kyodo News) JAPAN OUT, MANDATORY CREDIT, NO LICENSING IN CHINA, HONG KONG, JAPAN, SOUTH KOREA AND FRANCE
Japan's prime-minister-to-be Shinzo Abe, right, along with his top lieutenants, delivers a speech in front of his Liberal Democratic Party lawmakers ahead of the special diet session, at the party headquarters in Tokyo, Wednesday, Dec. 26, 2012. Capitalizing on the Democrats' failure to improve the economy and its perceived lack of strong leadership, Abe led the Liberal Democratic Party to victory in parliamentary elections Dec. 16. Abe was to be named prime minister later Wednesday. He was also prime minister in 2006-2007. (AP Photo/Kyodo News) JAPAN OUT, MANDATORY CREDIT, NO LICENSING IN CHINA, HONG KONG, JAPAN, SOUTH KOREA AND FRANCE
Japan's prime-minister-to-be Shinzo Abe arrives at the parliament for the special diet session in Tokyo, Wednesday, Dec. 26, 2012. Capitalizing on the Democrats' failure to improve the economy and its perceived lack of strong leadership, Abe led the Liberal Democratic Party to victory in parliamentary elections Dec. 16. Abe was to be named prime minister later Wednesday. He was also prime minister in 2006-2007. (AP Photo/Kyodo News) JAPAN OUT, MANDATORY CREDIT, NO LICENSING IN CHINA, HONG KONG, JAPAN, SOUTH KOREA AND FRANCE
TOKYO (AP) ? Old-guard veteran Shinzo Abe was voted back into office as prime minister Wednesday and immediately named a new Cabinet, ending three years of liberal administrations and restoring power to his conservative, pro-big-business party that has run Japan for most of the post-World War II era.
Abe, whose nationalist positions have in the past angered Japan's neighbors, is the country's seventh prime minister in just over six years. He was also prime minister in 2006-2007 before resigning for health reasons that he says are no longer an issue.
The outspoken and often hawkish leader has promised to restore growth to an economy that has been struggling for 20 years. His new administration also faces souring relations with China and a complex debate over whether resource-poor Japan should wean itself off nuclear energy after last year's earthquake and tsunami caused a meltdown at an atomic power plant.
On top of that, he will have to win over a public that gave his party a lukewarm mandate in elections on Dec. 16, along with keeping at bay a still-powerful opposition in parliament. Though his party and its Buddhist-backed coalition partner is the biggest bloc in the more influential lower house, Abe actually came up short in the first round of voting in the upper house, then won in a runoff.
Capitalizing on voter discontent with the left-leaning Democratic Party of Japan, Abe has vowed to shore up the economy, deal with a swelling national debt and come up with a fresh recovery plan following last year's tsunami disaster, which set off the worst nuclear crisis since Chernobyl.
"Disaster reconstruction and economic recovery are our first and foremost tasks," new Chief Cabinet Secretary Yoshihide Suga said in announcing what he called a "crisis breakthrough Cabinet."
In foreign policy, Abe has stressed his desire to make Japan a bigger player on the world stage, a stance that has resonated with many voters who are concerned that their nation is taking a back seat economically and diplomatically to China.
He has said he will support a reinterpretation of Japan's pacifist postwar constitution to loosen the reins on the military, stand up to Beijing over an ongoing territorial dispute and strengthen Tokyo's security alliance with Washington. Beijing has already warned him to tread carefully, and will be watching closely to see if he tones down his positions now that he is in office.
Abe led the Liberal Democratic Party to victory in nationwide elections this month to cement his second term as Japan's leader.
"I feel as fresh as the clear sky today," Abe told reporters before Wednesday's parliamentary vote, adding that he wanted to get right down to business.
His new Cabinet will feature another former prime minister, Taro Aso, as finance minister. Heading the foreign ministry is Fumio Kishida, an expert on the southern island of Okinawa, where many residents angry over crime and overcrowding want a big reduction in the number of U.S. troops they host ? now at about 20,000. The new defense minister is Itsunori Onodera, who was in Abe's previous administration.
Abe has already named a roster of top party executives that includes two women ? more than in previous LDP administrations ? and is younger than earlier ones, with three of the four in their 50s.
The LDP governed Japan for decades after it was founded in 1955. Before it was ousted in 2009, the LDP was hobbled by scandals and problems getting key legislation through a divided parliament.
This time around, Abe has promised to make the economy his top priority and is expected to push for a 2 percent inflation target designed to fight a problem that was until recently relatively unique in the world ? deflation. Continually dropping prices deaden economic activity, and the Japanese economy has been stuck in deflation for two decades.
Besides generous promises to boost public works spending ? by as much as 10 trillion yen ($119 billion), according to party officials ? Abe is pressuring the central bank to work more closely with the government to reach the inflation target.
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The Carey-Cannon?s Very Merry Christmas
"Merry Christmas from the Carey-Cannons!" the songstress, 42, Tweeted Tuesday, along with a photo of the foursome frolicking in the snow.
Source: http://feeds.celebritybabies.com/~r/celebrity-babies/~3/SA1Pr3B7Fq0/
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Lip-Sticking: Time to Write that Book - Marketing in 2013
by Yvonne DiVita
2013 is on the horizon. I love this time of year. Our social media channels are overflowing with Christmas joy, everyone is vowing to eat just one more cookie and then no more!, and our businessfolk are either panicking because they aren't ready for 2013, or happy with the plans in place for this next year.
Let's talk about marketing in 2013 - some of it focused on marketing to women, and some of it focused on trends. I'm curious about the trends - will women drive these trends? Will we embrace them or ignore them? We'll see.
#1 - marketing to women is still a viable approach to all of your plans for 2013. Women not only love to buy - we love to share. If you are really in touch with your women customers (no matter what you sell, you have women customers - you know this, right?), you should be successful in bringing their voices into your marketing plans. Women are more than delighted to tell you how they want you to do things. Just ask your <wife> <sister> <mother> <aunt> .... or <girlfriend>. Better yet, get all your women 'friends' in one room and give them a whiteboard. Oh, the innovative ideas you'll get! Makes me tingle all over!
#2 - women may be a 'gender' and you may be looking at gender marketing but never doubt that each woman is a special person unto herself. Don't think you can market to Miah, my granddaughter, or Maggie, my middle child, or me, as one. And, here's the tricky part of marketing to women, don't think you can't market to us as one. Because we talk to each other. We ask questions about the latest, greatest... clothes, shoes, electronics, cars, and more. Find that special spot where you can tap into Miah's conversations to learn what I like - and you can ask me what Maggie likes. Can you say Twitter Pawty? (ok, that's a BlogPaws thing but... you know what I mean)
#3 - women are demanding more attention. We're not allowing brands to market around us, or through us. We're getting tired of the stereotypical woman?depicted in commercials,ads and business articles - women who don't reflect us, as a group or an individual. We aren't going to buy products or services that depict us as housewives who care for the family with a smile, always neatly dressed and manicured (let's get rid of the term 'housewife' in 2013, shall we?), or as a woman gone wild in some store or another, or as a harried working Mom, annoyed that her husband isn't pitching in. That's ancient history - if you don't get with it, we'll move on to your competitor, who is performing item #1 very nicely, thank you.
And now, on to trends. Rohit Bhargava has a great powerpoint on 15 Marketing Trends in 2013. I urge you to hop over and watch it. ?I'm borrowing from this powerpoint because it speaks to me more than other articles I've read.
2013 Trends to Consider
Rohit identifies this as Trend #2. Partnership Publishing. Got a book in you? I bet you do. No time to write it? No time to create a cover? Not feeling the writing vibe but really want to see a book with your name on it? Gather some friends and colleagues and make it happen. It's a win-win all the way around. There are a number of definitions of this new model, because it's so new - and, because that's true, you can create the process that works for you. POD is inherent - Print on Demand. My company, WME, has been doing POD for 7 years. If you have questions on how it works, let me know. (check out Seth Godin's Domino Project, also)
Trend #3 is Human Banking. I'm confident many of you have participated in Kickstarter programs, right? The new darling is Indiegogo - which I don't know that much about but see everywhere. Rohit isn't talking about these programs, however. He's talking about actual banking. One example is Ally Bank - which is customer friendly. Not something we usually associate with a bank. Imagine how great this could be for new women business owners. A bank that treats them like the people they are - instead of the numbers they're supposed to be (and will be, if the bank can help with funding!).
The #4 Trend is... crowdfunding, where Kickstarter and Indiegogo fit in. Check it out. Worth exploring if you need to raise money quickly.
And, Rohit's #5 Trend is... Powered by Women! w00t! I love it when folks 'get it'... and recognizing the power of the female presence in business is getting it big time. Check out The Athena Doctrine, The Girl Effect, and from me, Strong Women - Strong Girls.?
The real power, IMBO, the real trend to follow, is how you, all the ladies and men who read this blog and share their experiences, their time, and their commitments to each other, via social media, are accomplishing the impossible. Our desire to connect is growing exponentially - because we, the women of today, aren't waiting for someone else to solve the issues - we're out there doing it ourselves. And our men are right there next to us - partners in every way, and proud to be so.
It's time - 2013 is the year that women everywhere are recognized for their talents, their compassion, their leadership abilities, their focus on solving issues not complaining about them, and their willingness to work together - across all tables. It's up to us, ladies. Let's do it!
Source: http://www.lipsticking.com/2012/12/time-to-write-that-book-marketing-in-2013.html
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Factbox: Profiles of key ministers in Japan PM Abe's new cabinet
TOKYO (Reuters) - New Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe announced his cabinet line-up on Wednesday after being voted in by parliament. Abe, a security hawk who quit as premier in 2007 after a troubled year in office, has made beating deflation and taming a strong yen with drastic monetary policy and big public works spending his first priority.
Below are brief profiles of key cabinet ministers.
TARO ASO (Finance Minister, Deputy Prime Minister)
A fan of "manga" comics and the grandson of a prominent post-World War Two premier, Aso served as prime minister from 2008-2009, leading his Liberal Democratic Party to a crushing defeat in August 2009. Well-versed in micro-economic matters, Aso crafted massive stimulus packages to try to offset the impact of the 2008 financial crisis. Scion of a wealthy family, he has been criticized for gaffes that offend groups from the elderly to parents but praised for being able to charm people at close range. Aso once upset South Korea with remarks that seemed to praise Japan's 1919-1945 colonial rule, but as premier forged good ties with Seoul and kept relations with China steady. Aso will also hold the financial services portfolio.
AKIRA AMARI (Minister for economic revival)
A former trade and industry minister, Amari worked briefly for electronics giant Sony Corp before entering politics as an aide to his lawmaker father and then winning election to the lower house in 1993. He is close to both Abe and Aso, having served in their cabinets. And he has taken credit for the LDP's "economic revival plan" aimed at beating deflation and a strong yen. He remained in favor of nuclear power after the 2011 Fukushima radiation crisis and as trade minister pushed resource diplomacy.
YOSHIMASA HAYASHI (Minister of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries)
Hayashi, who graduated from Tokyo University and Harvard, served in the previous Abe cabinet in 2006-2007 as a junior minister. Known for his expertise on economic and fiscal policy and close ties to the United States, Hayashi also held the post of defense minister briefly in 2008 and economics minister in 2009. He was a proponent of easy monetary policy and setting up a hotline with China to facilitate diplomatic talks to improve relations.
NOBUTERU ISHIHARA (Environment and nuclear crisis minister)
Ishihara came in behind Abe and ex-defense minister Shigeru Ishiba in the September LDP leadership race. The son of outspoken nationalist Shintaro Ishihara, a former governor of Tokyo who now leads the right-leaning Japan Restoration Party, he is seen as less extreme in his views than his father. Ishihara has previously served as transport and administrative reform minister, and was party secretary-general until Abe was elected party chief.
FUMIO KISHIDA (Minister of Foreign Affairs)
Kishida entered politics after working at the now-defunct Long-Term Credit Bank of Japan and previously served as a state minister in charge of issues related to Okinawa island - host to the bulk of U.S. military forces in Japan - in Abe's first 2006-2007 cabinet. He is nominal head of an LDP faction previously led by the late Prime Minister Kiichi Miyazawa and has an image as something of a foreign policy dove.
ITSUNORI ONODERA (Minister of Defence)
First elected to parliament's lower house in 1997, Onodera hails from Kesenuma in Miyagi prefecture, northeast Japan, hard-hit by the March 11, 2011 earthquake and tsunami disasters. He twice served as parliamentary secretary for foreign affairs before becoming a senior vice-minister for foreign affairs in August 2007 under Abe's first administration.
TOSHIMITSU MOTEGI, (Minister of Economy, Trade and Industry)
A graduate of Harvard University's John F. Kennedy School of Government and a former management consultant at McKinsey & Company, Motegi got his start in politics in 1993 in a small opposition party that helped briefly eject the then-ruling Liberal Democratic Party from power. But after the LDP returned to power, he joined the long-dominant conservative party and went on to hold a number of posts, including vice foreign minister, vice trade minister and financial services minister.
HAKUBUN SHIMOMURA (Minister of Minister of Education)
An ultra-conservative close to Abe, Shimomura shares the incoming prime minister's desire to rewrite Japan's wartime history with a less apologetic tinge and put more patriotism in school curriculums. He also shares Abe's long-held goal of revising the 1947 pacifist constitution. He has previously served as parliamentary secretary for education and deputy chief cabinet secretary, the latter in Abe's first administration.
SADAKAZU TANIGAKI (Minister of Justice)
The Liberal Democrats picked Tanigaki, a former finance minister, as its new leader following their devastating defeat in 2009. A fiscal conservative, Tanigaki helped outgoing Prime Minister Yoshihiko Noda push through legislation to double Japan's 5 percent sales tax by 2015 to help curb bulging public debt. But the gentlemanly Tanigaki came under fire for failing to get Noda to make good on a promise to call an election "soon", and he did not run in the September party leadership vote that picked Shinzo Abe as his successor.
ICHITA YAMAMOTO (Minister of State for Okinawa and Northern Territories Affairs)
Yamamoto graduated with a master's degree from Washington's Georgetown University and worked for the United Nations Development Programme before winning election to parliament's upper house in 1995 from his father's constituency. Like Abe, Yamamoto has taken a tough line toward North Korea. He is a prolific blogger, played in a rock band in college and appears often on TV talk shows.
(Reporting by Linda Sieg; Editing by Ron Popeski)
Source: http://news.yahoo.com/factbox-profiles-key-ministers-japan-pm-abes-cabinet-094329545--finance.html
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