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India Ups Polio Immunisation at Borders to Prevent ReEntry

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* Text Courtesy IANS

*Images courtesy Reuters pictures
?(IANS) India has stepped up vigilance at its borders to prevent the re-entry of polio from Pakistan as it aims to continue its two-year run free from the paralytic disease.

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Though the World Health Organisation (WHO) took India off the list of polio endemic countries in February 2012, it will declare it "polio free" only if no fresh case is reported for the next one year.

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But health officials say the risk of polio persists.

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India's close proximity to polio endemic Pakistan and Afghanistan, the significant movement of the international population and the fact that India has exported polio to countries near and far such as Nepal, Tajikistan, Angola and Bangladesh puts this country at the risk of importing the polio virus.

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To maintain the progress achieved, health ministry officials said they have started round-the-clock polio immunisation at the international borders at five check posts along the India-Pakistan border (Baramullah and Poonch in Jammu and Kashmir, Wagah and Attari in Punjab and Munabo in Barmer, Rajasthan). Pakistan reported 198 polio cases in 2011 and 58 in 2012.

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Apart from this, polio immunisation has also been started at 81 locations along the porous India-Nepal border.

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In 2010, polio travelled from India to Tajikistan. Now, the authorities feel it can return to India via the same route.

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"There is a risk of the polio virus coming back along the same route that India exported it to other countries in the past. Globally since 2000, as many as 44 countries that had been polio free have suffered from one or more importations of wild polio virus," a senior health ministry official told IANS.

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The government has also formed state-level teams to respond to any case of polio importation, anywhere in the country, as a public health emergency.

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As part of the Emergency Preparedness and Response Plans at the national and state levels, emergency preparedness groups and rapid response teams have been formed to roll out an adequate response in the shortest possible time in the event of an importation, the official added.

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The last polio case was detected in India in 2011.

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"India has achieved much in the last few years in its fight against polio, but vigilance needs to be maintained at all costs," a Unicef official told IANS.

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Officials said to mitigate the risk of importation, they also need to build immunity among the high-risk population especially those living in high-risk areas of Uttar Pradesh, Bihar and West Bengal.

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Health ministry officials said they were making all out efforts to ensure children up to the age of five years remain protected against polio through widespread community acceptance of the polio vaccine and high quality vaccination campaigns.

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They said the migrant population is also being tapped for polio immunisation during major festivals and at other major congregations such as the ongoing Kumbh Mela in Allahabad.

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Health Minister Ghulam Nabi Azad also said the focus of the government continues to be on the most vulnerable migrant and mobile populations, youngest children and under-served populations.

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The entire machinery for the polio eradication programme is now geared towards boosting the Routine Immunisation (RI) coverage. India is observing 2012-13 as the year of intensifying routine immunisation.

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Under this campaign, considered the fourth pillar of the polio eradication strategy, 2.3 million vaccinators will have immunised nearly 172 million children.

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The focus of the campaigns remain the most vulnerable population such as the new born and the underserved, the high-risk areas such as the 107 blocks in Uttar Pradesh and Bihar and the at-risk migrant, mobile and nomadic populations in the country.

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Each campaign reaches out to the people in transit through 450 vaccination teams, which immunise eight million children on the move, nearly 100,000 of them on running trains in Uttar Pradesh, Bihar, West Bengal, Delhi and Maharashtra.

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While a nationwide vaccination drive was held Sunday there will be another on Feb 24 and four sub-national polio campaigns during the rest of the year.

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(Sreeparna Chakrabarty can be contacted at sreeparna.c@ians.in)

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Pls feed us love, not spam, links or abusive words :) Help us keep luxpresso a happy place!'); document.getElementById('commentBoxRes').style.display="block"; }else{ $("#commentBoxRes").show(); $.post("http://healthmeup.com/tpl/tplGetcommentadded.php",{"content_id":content_id,"pageval":"1"},function(data){ //alert(data); $("#showcommentcontent").html(data); $("#commentBoxRes").show(); //$("#Username").val(''); //$("#Useremail").val(''); $("#comment_text").val(''); var nocomments = $('#nocomments_'+19105).val(); //console.debug(nocomments); if( nocomments > 0){ $('#comment_'+19105).html(''); $('#comment_'+19105).html(''+nocomments +' Comments ' ); } var message = comment_text; var article_title = "India Ups Polio Immunisation at Borders to Prevent Re-Entry"; var article_page_link = "http://healthmeup.com/news-buzz/india-ups-polio-immunisation-at-borders-to-prevent-re-entry/19105"; var story_section ="News"; var story_section_url ="http://healthmeup.com/archive/content/1/1"; var author_name = "Agencies"; var author_name_url = "http://healthmeup.com/author/agencies/489"; var posteddate = "Jan 21st 2013 at 3:14PM" var article_image_path ="http://images.idiva.com/media/healthmeup/content/2013/Jan/polio_100x75.jpg"; var attachment = {'name': article_title, 'href': article_page_link ,'properties' : { 'Filed under': {'text': story_section, 'href': story_section_url}, 'Author ' : {'text': author_name, 'href':author_name_url}, 'Posted On': posteddate} ,'media': [{ 'type': 'image', 'src': article_image_path, 'href': article_page_link }] }; var action_links = [{'text':'luxpresso', 'href':'http://luxpresso.com/'}]; // FB.Connect.streamPublish(message, attachment, action_links); streamPublish(attachment, 'Healthmeup', 'http://healthmeup.com/', 'Share healthmeup.com'); $('#commentSubmit').attr('disabled',''); }); } }); }else{ var username= jQuery.trim($("#Username").val()); var useremailid= jQuery.trim($("#Useremail").val()); var comment_parentid=jQuery.trim($("#comment_parentid").val()); var userpassword=jQuery.trim($("#Password").val()); var content_id=jQuery.trim($("#content_id").val()); var whihcflag =jQuery.trim($("#whichcontype").val()); var flag = 0; if($('#UsernameSelector').attr('checked') == true){ var username = 'Anonymous'; } else{ var username = $("#Username").val(); } if(comment_text==""){ errmsg = "Please Enter Your Comment"; $("#comment_text").val('') $('#comment_text').focus(); flag=1; }else if(username=="" || useremailid==""){ errmsg = "Please login to comment."; flag=1; }else if (userpassword == "" || userpassword == "Password"){ errmsg = "Please Enter Password"; $('#Password').focus(); flag=1; } if(flag==0){ //alert("asda"); $('#commentSubmit').attr('disabled','disabled'); $.post("http://healthmeup.com/2db/comment2db.php",{'login_type':'normaluser','EmailId':useremailid,'whihcflag':whihcflag,'Username':username,"userpassword":userpassword,"content_id":content_id,"comment_parentid":comment_parentid,'comment_text':comment_text,'screenName':screenName},function(data){ //alert(trim(data)); if(jQuery.trim(data)=='error'){ $("#showerrorComment").html('User and password did not match.'); $("#showerrorComment").show(); }else if(jQuery.trim(data)=='BadWord'){ //alert("dsf") $("#comment_text").focus(); $("#commentBoxRes").html('

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'); document.getElementById('commentBoxRes').style.display="block"; // $("#Username").val(''); //$("#Useremail").val(''); $("#comment_text").val(''); var nocomments = $('#nocomments_'+19105).val(); //console.debug(nocomments); if( nocomments > 0){ $('#comment_'+19105).html(''); $('#comment_'+19105).html(''+nocomments +' Comments ' ); } }); } $('#commentSubmit').attr('disabled',''); del_cook('keepComment'); }); }else{ $("#showerrorComment").html(errmsg); document.getElementById('showerrorComment').style.display="block"; } } } function posttofacebook(comment_text){ var message = comment_text; var article_title = "India Ups Polio Immunisation at Borders to Prevent Re-Entry"; var article_page_link = "http://healthmeup.com/news-buzz/india-ups-polio-immunisation-at-borders-to-prevent-re-entry/19105"; var story_section ="News"; var story_section_url ="http://healthmeup.com/archive/content/1/1"; var author_name = "Agencies"; var author_name_url = "http://healthmeup.com/author/agencies/489"; var posteddate = "Jan 21st 2013 at 3:14PM"; var article_image_path ="http://images.idiva.com/media/healthmeup/content/2013/Jan/polio_100x75.jpg"; var attachment = {'name': article_title, 'href': article_page_link ,'properties' : { 'Filed under': {'text': story_section, 'href': story_section_url}, 'Author ' : {'text': author_name, 'href':author_name_url}, 'Posted On': posteddate } ,'media': [{ 'type': 'image', 'src': article_image_path, 'href': article_page_link }] }; var action_links = [{'text':'Healthmeup', 'href':'http://healthmeup.com/'}]; //FB.Connect.streamPublish(message, attachment, action_links); streamPublish(attachment, 'Healthmeup', 'http://healthmeup.com/', 'Share healthmeup.com'); } function clearText(field){ if (field.defaultValue == field.value) field.value = ''; else if (field.value == '') field.value = field.defaultValue; } function del_cook(name){ //alert('deleted'); var expdate = new Date(); expdate.setTime(expdate.getTime() - 1); document.cookie = name += "=; expires=" + expdate.toGMTString(); } window.setTimeout(function() { // This will execute 0.5s after the page loads // and it will execute only once if(readCookie('focus_comment')) { $(window).bind('load', function() { $('html, body').animate({ scrollTop: $('#landcomment').offset().top }, 'fast'); $("#comment_text").focus(); Set_Cookie("focus_comment",'1', "-1"); $("#login_thank_u").html('Thank you for logging in. Please go ahead and submit your comment'); $("#login_thank_u").show(); $("#login_thank_u").fadeOut(10000); }); } }, 500);

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Source: http://healthmeup.com/news-buzz/india-ups-polio-immunisation-at-borders-to-prevent-reentry/19105

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Video: Missing Mickey, Part 3

Dateline NBC

'Dateline NBC,' the signature broadcast for NBC News in primetime, premiered in 1992. Since then, it has been pioneering a new approach to primetime news programming. The multi-night franchise, supplemented by frequent specials, allows NBC to consistently and comprehensively present the highest-quality reporting, investigative features, breaking news coverage and newsmaker profiles.

Source: http://www.nbcnews.com/id/3032600/vp/50634225#50634225

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Possible to get immigration overhaul done by first half of year: Obama

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - President Barack Obama said on Wednesday that he believes it is possible to get an overhaul of the U.S. immigration system certainly by the end of the year if not the first half of 2013.

Obama gave an interview to Telemundo, a U.S. Spanish- language television network, to push his proposals for giving 11 million illegal immigrants a pathway to U.S. citizenship after an influential Senate group offered its own plan.

"I?m hopeful that this can get done, and I don?t think that it should take many, many months. I think this is something we should be able to get done certainly this year and I?d like to see if we could get it done sooner, in the first half of the year if possible," Obama said.

(Reporting by Steve Holland and Matt Spetalnick; Editing by Eric Walsh)

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/possible-immigration-overhaul-done-first-half-obama-233758212.html

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Murdoch apologies for "offensive" Netanyahu cartoon

LONDON (Reuters) - Rupert Murdoch apologised on Monday for a "grotesque" cartoon in his London-based Sunday Times newspaper depicting Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu building a bloody wall trapping the bodies of Palestinians, after complaints from Jewish groups.

The image, which shows Netanyahu holding a trowel dripping blood, was published on Holocaust Memorial Day and carried the caption "Israeli elections. Will cementing peace continue?"

The Board of Deputies of British Jews said the cartoon was "shockingly reminiscent of the blood libel imagery more usually found in parts of the virulently anti-Semitic Arab press".

The so-called "blood libel" - accusations that Jewish peoples murder children and use their blood in rituals - go back centuries and have led to persecution and attacks.

The wall image by the weekly paper's cartoonist Gerald Scarfe was a reference to the barrier that Israel has been building for a decade on West Bank territory.

The project was launched at the height of a Palestinian uprising and was billed as a way to stop suicide bombers from penetrating the country.

The Sunday Times's acting editor was due to meet Jewish community leaders in Britain on Tuesday to express his regrets over the cartoon, said a spokesman for Murdoch's News International, the paper's publisher.

Murdoch said Scarfe had never reflected the opinions of the Sunday Times. "Nevertheless, we owe major apology for grotesque, offensive cartoon," he said in a Twitter message.

The Board of Deputies, representing Jewish communities in Britain, said it had lodged a complaint over the image with the Press Complaints Commission, an industry-run watchdog.

"Its use is all the more disgusting on Holocaust Memorial Day, given the similar tropes levelled against Jews by the Nazis," the board added.

The paper denied the cartoon was anti-Semitic, saying it was aimed at Netanyahu and not the Israeli people. It said the timing of its publication was linked to the victory of Netanyahu's party in last week's Israeli elections.

"The last thing I or anyone connected with the Sunday Times would countenance would be insulting the memory of the Shoah (the Holocaust) or invoking the blood libel," said Martin Ivens, who was appointed as the paper's acting editor earlier this month.

"We are however reminded of the sensitivities in this area by the reaction to the cartoon and I will of course bear them very carefully in mind in future," he added.

Ivens was expected to tell Jewish leaders that the cartoon was a case of "bad taste and extremely bad timing", the News International spokesman said.

Scarfe told Britain's Jewish Chronicle he had been unaware it was Holocaust Memorial Day on Sunday and regretted the timing of the cartoon's publication.

(Editing by Jon Hemming)

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/murdoch-apologies-offensive-netanyahu-cartoon-075747154--finance.html

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New Michigan Laws on Independent Contractors Now in Effect | The ...

If your business regularly utilizes the services of a person who you have designated to be an Independent Contractor, you should be aware that there has been a change in the Michigan Workers? Compensation law pertaining to whether your company would be considered the independent contractor?s employer and liable for his/her workers? compensation benefits. As of January 1, 2013, the Michigan legislature enacted a 20- factor test to determine if an employer/employee relationship exists for workers? compensation liability. The 20-factors are:

1. INSTRUCTIONS: If your business requires the contractor comply with its instructions about when, where and how the service is to be done, the contractor could be considered an employee.

2. TRAINING: If your business requires that the contractor perform the job in a particular manner then the contractor could be considered an employee. An independent contractor will use his/her own methods be complete the agreed upon service and should receive no training from your business.

3. INTEGRATION: If the services performed by the contractor are an important part of your business operation then the contractor could be considered an employee. The integration of the two businesses indicates that the contractor is subject to your direction or control.

4. SERVICES RENDERED PERSONALLY: If the contractor is required to perform the service personally is an indication that contractor is an employee since an independent contractor is free to assign work to his/her own employees if necessary.

5. HIRING, SUPERVISION AND PAYING ASSISTANTS: If the business allows the contractor to hire, supervise or pay assistants for the business, the contractor is likely to be deemed an employee unless the contract specifies that the contractor will hire and supervise other as part of the contract.

6. CONTINUING RELATIONSHIP: If the business and contractor have an ongoing relationship for the service provided, the contractor could be considered an employee. The IRS has held that even irregular recurring jobs would qualify as an employment relationship.

7. SET HOURS OF WORK: If the business requires the contractor to work a set number of hours, the contractor could be considered an employee since an independent contractor sets his/her own schedule.

8. FULL TIME REQUIRED: If the business requires the contractor to work substantially full time for the business, the contractor will likely be considered an employee since an independent contractor is typically free to work when and for whom he or she chooses.

9. WORK DONE ON PREMISES: If the business requires that the services being performed are completed on the business? premises, the contractor could be considered an employee, especially if the service could be performed elsewhere.

10. ORDER OR SEQUENCE TEST: If the business requires that the service be performed in a certain order, the contractor could be considered an employee since the independent contractor should be allowed to perform the services in whatever order he/she deems appropriate.

11. ORAL OR WRITTEN REPORTS: Any contractor required to submit regular reports would suggest an employee relationship since it is a method of controlling the contractor.

12. PAYMENTS BY THE HOUR, WEEK OR MONTH: Payment of wages by a set schedule would suggest an employment relationship since independent contractors are traditionally paid by the job and/or commission.

13. PAYMENT OF BUSINESS AND/OR TRAVELING EXPENSES: If the business pays the contractor?s expenses, the contractor would be considered an employee.

14. FURNISHING TOOLS AND MATERIAL: If the business provides the tools and material necessary for the contractor to complete the service, the contractor would likely be considered an employee.

15. SIGNIFICANT INVESTMENT: If the contractor maintains his or her own office, no employment relationship would be presumed.

16. PROFIT OR LOSS: If the contractor can realize a profit or loss by his or her services, then no employment relationship would be presumed.

17. WORKING FOR MORE THAN ONE FIRM AT A TIME: If the contractor performs more than de minims services for other businesses then no employment relationship would be presumed.

18. MAKING SERVICE AVAILABLE TO THE GENERAL PUBLIC: If the contractor makes his or her services available to the public on a regular or consistent basis then no employment relationship would be presumed.

19. RIGHT TO DISCHARGE: If the business has the right to discharge the contractor, then an employment relationship could be established. A business? right to end the relationship with an independent contractor is typically controlled by the terms of the contract.

20. RIGHT TO TERMINATE: If the contractor has the right to terminate the relationship with the business without incurring liability, then an employment relationship could be established.

These factors are fairly general and some will likely apply to your business relationship with an independent contractor. The Michigan legislature has implemented a process where a business can request a hearing to determine if the contractor performing services is covered with an employment relationship but this request for a hearing will likely take too long for the services to be relevant.

It should be noted that the workers? compensation liability for injuries sustained by an independent contractor or his/her employees will only revert back to your business ?if? the contractor does not have workers? compensation insurance of his/her own. As such, if your business needs to hire an independent contractor to perform services, it is wise to request a copy of the contractor?s certificate of insurance for workers? compensation and even follow up with a call to their agent to ensure that the insurance coverage is still in effect. Beware, if your independent contractor did not have workers? compensation coverage and a claim is filed against your workers? compensation carrier, your insurance carrier has the right to audit your records and raise your premium for those uninsured contractors.

_________________________________________
About the Author
This article was written by Denise L. Clemmons, Esq. of the Law Offices of Charfoos Reiter H?bert P.C. Charfoos Reiter H?bert is a law firm dedicated to representing employers, self-insured employers and insurance carriers in workers? compensation matters. Charfoos Reiter H?bert is a founding member of The National Workers? Compensation Network (NWCDN). If you have any questions about this article or Michigan workers? compensation issues in general, please feel free to contact the author at Denise.Clemmons@micompdefense.com or any firm member at 248-626-7300 or firm@micompdefense.com.

Source: http://bbmich1.wordpress.com/2013/01/29/new-michigan-laws-on-independent-contractors-now-in-effect-2/

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Judge Approves BP Criminal Settlement Over Gulf Spill

[unable to retrieve full-text content]A federal judge signed off on the British company?s agreement to pay $4 billion in fines to resolve criminal charges in the 2010 Deepwater Horizon spill.

Source: http://www.nytimes.com/2013/01/30/business/judge-approves-bp-criminal-settlement.html?partner=rss&emc=rss

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Interview with Lee Duddell, Head of UX of WhatUsersDo on ...

Lee Duddell is Founder & Head of UX (user experience) at?WhatUsersDo. He is?passionate about improving digital experiences for everyone. That is why he founded WhatUsersDo ? so that organisations can base digital design decisions on UX insight and not hunches. You may follow him?@whatusersdo.

1. In 2013,?what?are the most common mistakes companies are making in relation to UX?

Here are some common ones from the retail sector:

• Unclear returns policy?(written by a legal team, not a web content editor).
• No guest checkout?(users?are increasingly expecting this).
• Name entry form not supporting apostrophes?(we ran a test with Irish?users).
• Irritation that out of stock items were added to the basket?(speaks for itself).
• Price sliders hard to use?(on an iPad test).

2. ? Have client?s perceptions of UX changed in recent times? If so, how?

Yes, clients are increasingly recognizing how improving UX impacts the bottom-line not only in terms of increased revenue but also reduced costs and improved customer loyalty. Put simply, consumers judge brands not on their latest TV ad campaign but on their online experience with that brand.

As a result of this ?enlightenment? our clients are now embedding UX testing (as part of their?User-Centred) approach to ensure their digital experiences are optimized for?users. The influence of the HiPPO (Highest Paid Person?s Opinion) is diminishing as clients increasingly focus on?User?Experience.

3. Can you provide an example of a company who is getting UX right at the moment? Alternatively,?what?would be an example of a company that needs to improve its UX?

Amazon.com is an obvious example of a company that consistently gets UX right ? simply because people buy from them even when they are not the cheapest. They have UX nailed and they?do?this by continually acting upon data and insight. Their?User Experience is their Brand.

In the UK, ASOS frequently fares well ? again this online pure-player acts on insight and experiments with new concepts and approaches to enhance their UX.

As for a company that needs to improve its UX the list is almost endless since there is always room for improvement. Even companies who you think would get it, don?t. As an example we?ve be running some content tests for a client on their online videos which are hosted on YouTube. We?ve seen numerous?users?struggle to adjust the video volume as the volume control is displayed horizontally and not vertically. Volume is turned up and down and not left or right!

4. Is UX performance best assessed and measured using quantitative data (e.g. performance analytics) or qualitative data (e.g. customer anecdotes)?

A blend. Quant certainly means you can measure, but?what?s the point of measuring if you don?t know why? Qual provides the why. As importantly, and perhaps surprisingly, revealing Qual insights (e.g. in the form of video clips that capture?users? frustration) are a great way to influence internal decision makers to take action because they are so compelling. Nobody likes to hear a potential customer leave your site because the UX was poor.

5. Is the increasing convergence of media channels (web, video on demand, social media) important to companies looking at the UX they provide for their customers?

Of course. It?s crucial. We?re seeing the emergence of terms like ?omni-channel??User?Experience (a few months ago it was plain old ?multi-channel?).?Users?don?t care about the media or delivery mechanism they just want a great experience.

6. Are classic UX mistakes being repeated all over again in the mobile sites and apps being produced for smart-phones and tablet PCs??What?are the key differences (if any) of providing good UX via mobile devices, as opposed to a conventional website?

Because there are fewer accepted best practices for mobile devices companies are faced with greater challenges. I think (and hope) the days of ?we?ve got a mobile app? being enough for companies are over. The good news is that research exists that points to how usage differs by device and this can help companies decide?what?to focus on. Here are a few simple mobile tips (kindly shared by some of our clients):

-?do?the minimum you can for tablets (e.g. remove Flash, ensure buttons and actions are adequately spaced to avoid ?fat fingers?)
? identify through Google Analytics the most common tasks people perform on SmartPhones and focus your SmartPhone version on those
? always have a link to the full site on your mobile site and vice versa

Source: http://www.business2community.com/expert-interviews/interview-with-lee-duddell-head-of-ux-of-whatusersdo-on-improving-conversions-common-ux-mistakes-0391115

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'Hansel & Gretel' Tops Box Office With Modest $19 Million

Ensemble comedy 'Movie 43' flops, collecting just $5 million during its first weekend.
By Ryan J. Downey

Jeremy Renner in "Hansel & Gretel: Witch Hunters"
Photo: Paramount Pictures

Source: http://www.mtv.com/news/articles/1700866/hansel-and-gretel-box-office-weekend.jhtml

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Iran says it sent monkey into space and back

TEHRAN, Iran (AP) ? Iran said Monday it has successfully sent a monkey into space, describing the launch as another step toward Tehran's goal of a manned space flight.

According to a brief report on state TV, the rocket dubbed Pishgam, or Pioneer in Farsi, reached a height of 120 kilometers (72 miles). The report gave no other details on the timing or location of the launch, but said the monkey safely returned to earth.

Still images broadcast on state TV showed a small, gray-tufted monkey presumably being prepared for the flight, including wearing a type of body protection and being strapped tightly into a pod that resembled an infant's car seat.

The photos draw historical links to the earliest years of the space race in the 1950s when both the U.S. and Soviet Union tested the boundaries of rocket flight with animals on board, including American capsules carrying monkeys and Moscow's crafts holding dogs. Many of the animals on the flights perished because of equipment failure or technology unable to cope with re-entry from orbit.

Iran has long said it seeks to send an astronaut into space as part of its ambitious aerospace program, including plans for a new space center announced last year. In 2010, Iran said it launched an Explorer rocket into space carrying a mouse, a turtle and worms.

The U.S. and its allies worry that technology from the space program could also be used to develop long-range missiles that could potentially be armed with nuclear warheads. Iran denies it seeks atomic weapons and claims it is pursuing nuclear reactors only for energy and medical applications.

Tehran has announced several successful launches of satellites, dating back to 2005 in a joint project with Russia.

The Islamic Republic has not given details of its planned new space facility, but it already has a major satellite launch complex near Semnan, about 200 kilometers (125 miles) east of Tehran. A satellite monitoring facility is located outside Mahdasht, about 70 kilometers (40 miles) west of the Iranian capital.

Iran says it wants to put its own satellites into orbit to monitor natural disasters in the earthquake-prone nation, improve telecommunications and expand military surveillance in the region.

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/iran-says-sent-monkey-space-back-145110120.html

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Spotlight: Leaders in Commercial Banking in 2013 ? North Bay ...

Individuals are alphabetized by name of institution.

Larry Tidwell

AltaPacific Bank

3725 Westwind Blvd., Ste. 100, Santa Rosa 95403,?apbconect.com, 707-236-1521

Larry Tidwell

Larry Tidwell has served as the executive vice president in the real estate industries group at AltaPacific Bank in Santa Rosa since April 2009. He oversees all construction lending, a responsibility he held in his previous position as executive vice president in the real estate industries group at Temecula Valley Bank.

Mr. Tidwell was born in Roswell, N.M., and has lived in the North Bay for 30 years. He cited the retention of customers over more than 15 years as a major accomplishment.

?I think one thing we will see in 2013 is more banks throwing their hat in the ring with regards to lending,? he said.??This will lead to healthy competition amongst lenders, which will be good for borrowers as they will have more choices.?

AltaPacific Bank was founded in 2006 and has assets of $222 million.

Gus Zijlstra

American River Bank

90 S. E St., Ste. 11, Santa Rosa 95404, americanriverbank.com, 707-528-6300

Gus Zijlstra

Gus Zijlstra is vice president and relationship manager at American River Bank and has 16 years of experience in commercial lending.

A native of Buenos Aires, Argentina, Mr. Zijlstra has a management and accounting degree from Sonoma State University and a master?s degree from the University of San Francisco. He moved to Santa Rosa in 1985 after graduating from the Argentine Naval Academy and a successful naval career.

Mr. Zijlstra said the one-on-one customer service he provides is what clients expect from a community bank, and those interactions are enhanced by his experience in the banking industry. He is also a frequent volunteer for community organizations, including his work to help mentor elementary school students through Operation Getting Together and to teach financial concepts at the junior high level through Junior Achievement of the Redwood Empire.

American River Bank is a 30-year-old regional business bank with $585 million in assets.

David Meddaugh

Bank of America Merrill Lynch

10 Santa Rosa Ave., Ste. 210, Santa Rosa 95404,?bankofamerica.com, 707-293-2553

David Meddaugh

David Meddaugh is the senior vice president and market manager of the North Coast commercial banking office of Bank of America Merrill Lynch. He has been with the bank for more than 30 years. In his current capacity, he manages the unit?s largest client relationships, with particular focus on the wine and specialty food and beverage industries.

Mr. Meddaugh also serves as the bank?s liaison with the California wine industry. He has presented at the Wine Industry Financial Symposium, Unified Wine and Grape Symposium, Leadership Forum, Sonoma State University Economic Outlook and Moss Adams Wine Industry Roundtable.

He earned bachelor?s degrees in both economics and finance from California State University, Chico, and holds an MBA in corporate finance from the Pacific Coast Banking School at the University of Washington.

Mr. Meddaugh was raised in Santa Rosa. He lives there with his wife and two children at their Buckshot Ranch property, which has been planted to Italian varietal olive trees.

Beth Reizman

Bank of Marin

504 Redwood Blvd., Ste. 100, Novato 94947,?bankofmarin.com, 415-763-4520

Beth Reizman

Beth Reizman?is a seasoned lender and manager who has held various positions over her 17-year tenure at Bank of Marin. As commercial banking manager, she is based in?the bank?s headquarters in Novato. She also is a member of the senior management team, helping set the strategic direction of the bank. Ms. Reizman claims her greatest banking accomplishment is helping contribute to the growth and success of Bank of Marin.

Ms. Reizman is currently treasurer of the Marin Workforce Housing Trust Board and serves on their finance committee. She has served on numerous local non-profit boards in the past, including Novato Human Needs Center, North Bay Children?s Center, and Novato Sunrise Rotary. She has also been a long time community volunteer with Lucas Valley Swim Team, Lucas Valley Community Church, and Marin Catholic High School.

Born in the Philippines, she attended the International School in Manila then graduated with a degree in economics from Stanford University. Ms. Reizman started her career at Crocker Bank in the Asia Pacific division then held numerous private and commercial banking positions with Crocker, Hibernia Bank and Bank of California.

Larry Fletcher

Bank of Napa

2007 Redwood Rd., Ste. 101, Napa 94558,?thebankofnapa.com, 707-257-7777

Larry Fletcher

A 30-year resident of Northern California, Larry Fletcher is the executive vice president and chief credit officer at Bank of Napa. He has more than 30 years of experience as a banking executive, 26 of them in Napa and Solano counties. He is responsible for all aspects of the bank?s loan portfolio.

Born in Southern California, Mr. Fletcher graduated from Long Beach State University in 1974 with a degree in business administration. He graduated with honors from the Pacific Coast Banking School in Seattle in 1988.

Prior to joining Bank of Napa, Mr. Fletcher was the manager of the commercial lending hub for Vintage Bank. He also held the previous role of chief credit officer for Solano Bank, a subsidiary of Vintage Bank in Vacaville, and began his banking career as a consumer loan officer for United California Bank in Los Angeles.

Outside of the bank, he serves on the board of directors for Child Start, a nonprofit that operates the Head Start child-development organization in Napa and Solano counties.

Tom LeMasters, president and CEO, credited Mr. Fletcher with helping the bank to grow a strong portfolio during tumultuous economic times. The bank reported nearly $150 million in assets at the end of 2012.

Don Mercer

Bank of the West

20 S. Petaluma Blvd., Petaluma 94952,?bankofthewest.com, 707-778-3313

Don Mercer

Don Mercer, senior vice president and national sales manager, has been with Bank of the West for 13 years. In this role for the bank, he manages the region?s SBA team for small business and commercial lending.

Previously, Mr. Mercer served as a branch manager, regional business development officer and regional manager at the bank. He began his banking career while in college, and assumed his current position in 2007.

A graduate of the Pacific Coast Banking School, Mr. Mercer also holds a bachelor?s degree from the University of California, Los Angeles. Born in Anaheim and raised in Fullerton, he has lived in the North Bay for more than 10 years. In his spare time, he enjoys cooking and reading.

Founded in 1874, $63 billion-asset Bank of the West operates 700 branches and offices in 19 states. The bank has several branches in the North Bay, including a commercial lending office in Petaluma and a wine-focused lending office in Napa.

Michael Silva

Comerica Bank

2 Embarcadero Ctr., Ste. 300, San Francisco 94111, comerica.com, 415-477-3274

Michael Silva

Michael Silva is a senior vice president at Comerica Bank, heading the bank?s commercial lending group in San Francisco, Marin, Sonoma and Mendocino counties. He has served in his current role for nine years and has been with Comerica for a total of 15 years. That followed 12 years at Union Bank.

Mr. Silva has a bachelor of science degree in finance from Santa Clara University?and is a graduate of Pacific Coast Banking School at the University of Washington.

Comerica serves a number of specialty food manufacturers in the North Bay, and the wine industry represents about 25 percent of the bank?s regional portfolio, he said.

?There are a lot of companies in the region that are emerging from a smaller size and looking to grow,? Mr. Silva said.

He said that the bank also sees growth opportunities for other sectors in the region, such as helping to finance the purchase of the North Bay Business Journal, Santa Rosa Press Democrat and the Petaluma Argus-Courier last year.

?You?re seeing the impact of local business people owning their local newspaper,? he said.

Comerica Bank had $63.3 billion in assets in its most recent report.

Steve Herron

Exchange Bank

545 Fourth St., Dept. 410, Santa Rosa 95401,?exchangebank.com, 707-524-3102

Steve Herron

Steve Herron has served as senior vice president and manager for commercial lending at Exchange Bank since 2000. He focused on business lending for seven years prior to that as a business development officer at the bank.?

Mr. Herron?s banking career began in Los Angeles, where he participated in a commercial lending training program for Union Bank. The program included a one-year assignment in Sacramento, which led to his transfer to the bank?s small banking office in Santa Rosa as a commercial lender in 1987.

Since 1996, Exchange Bank has steadily developed?its?growing?niche as a commercial lender catering to Sonoma County?s artisan?winemakers, growers and vineyard managers, growing that portfolio?to more than $150 million.?

A resident of the North Bay since 1987, Mr. Herron grew up in Fresno. In his spare time he loves to listen to music, read business periodicals, follow the stock markets and collect fine wine.

?I personally think there is a reasonable level of pent-up demand within the business community ? most sectors ? for growth in hiring, capital expansion and expanded business lending,? he said.??I think it will start slowly in 2013, held back by the second phase of the fiscal/budget cliff, but accelerate during the second quarter and into the back half of 2013.?

Exchange Bank was founded more than 120 years ago and reported more than $1.6 billion in assets in its last financial filing.

Barbara Larson

First Community Bank

438 First St.,? Santa Rosa 95401,?fcbconnect.com, 707-636-9711

Barbara Larson is vice president and commercial loan officer at First Community Bank.

Barbara Larson

Ms. Larson has been in the banking industry since 1996, and joined First Community Bank in 2008. She specializes in commercial lines of credit, equipment financing and SBA financing. The bank describes her as a client favorite who brings a wealth of business expertise and customized personal service to each relationship.

?I love working for a community bank, and First Community was the perfect fit for me professionally and personally,? she said.

The bank encourages community service, and Ms. Larson shares her time and talent in through a number of community organizations. She is the current treasurer of the Santa Rosa West Rotary Club, a position she has held for nine years. As a longtime advocate for children, young adults and seniors, she also serves as the treasurer for the Elder Care Expo board of directors.

Carol Landry

First Northern Bank

555 Mason St., Ste. 100, Vacaville 95688,?thatsmybank.com, 707-447-8600

Carol Landry

Carol Landry is the senior vice president and western region commercial loan manager for First Northern Bank. She has been with the bank for eight years. In her current position, Ms. Landry manages commercial loan activities in Solano and Yolo counties.

She has more than 30 years of experience in commercial lending, including several community and national banks in Solano, Yolo and Napa counties.

Ms. Landry is past chairman of Vacaville Chamber of Commerce and Vacaville Library Commission. She has been a board member of several community organizations in Solano County. Ms. Landry holds a bachelor of arts degree in economics from the University of California, Davis, and is a graduate of Pacific Coast Banking School at University of Washington.

First Northern Bank was founded in 1910 to provide better banking services to the Solano agribusiness community. Today, in addition to operating lines of credit and equipment lines and leases, the bank offers commercial solar financing and commercial real estate loans to small- and medium-sized businesses and farms. The 10-branch bank is a preferred SBA lender and reported $805.6 million in total assets on Sept. 30.

Ruth Edwards

Mechanics Bank

433 Soscol Ave. Ste. 161, Napa 94559,?mechanicsbank.com, 707-256-4343

Ruth Edwards

Ruth Edwards, senior vice president and corporate banking regional manager for the Napa region of Mechanics Bank, has spent more than a decade as a North Bay banker. A longtime wine country resident who grew up in Santa Rosa, she joined the bank?s Napa corporate banking office in 2006. Previously, she was part of the Santa Rosa regional commercial banking office of?Wells Fargo. She lives with her husband, Gary, and two small children in Sonoma.

Mechanics Bank has been a North Bay fixture for 17 years. Its Napa client relationships, however, date back to the early 20th century, when it was a well-known lender to the wine industry. The bank has continued to lend during the economic downturn and focused on furthering its customer relationships as industries weathered the so-called Great Recession.

The 107-year-old bank passed the $3 billion asset mark last year with significant deposit growth. Offices throughout Northern California include Napa, a St. Helena and San Rafael. A new Napa office is set to open in late spring.

Mike Ledwich

Rabobank, N.A.

700 Trancas St., Napa 94558,?rabobankamerica.com, 916-797-8286

Mike Ledwich

Mike Ledwich is vice president and commercial banking officer for Rabobank, N.A. He is responsible for fostering new business relationships and providing solutions to meet the banking needs of business customers in Napa and Sonoma counties.

A banker for 26 years, Mr. Ledwich has spent his entire career in Napa. Before joining Rabobank, Mr. Ledwich was senior vice president and client relationship manager at Bay Commercial Bank as well as senior vice president and relationship manager at Charter Oak Bank.? He also served as vice president and senior relationship manager at Mechanics Bank in Napa for 10 years.

Mr. Ledwich earned a bachelor of science degree in finance and economics from Sacramento State University?and an MBA from Golden Gate University in San Francisco. ?A lifelong resident of Napa, he is a member and past president of Napa Sunrise Rotary Club.

Rabobank is a California community bank with nearly 120 branches, including branches in Napa and Sonoma and a branch and agribusiness lending office in Santa Rosa.

Michael Downey

Redwood Credit Union

3033 Cleveland Ave., Santa Rosa 95403,?redwoodcu.org, 877-545-4100

Michel Downey

Michael Downey is senior vice president of business services for Redwood Credit Union, where he has managed the credit union?s business programs since 2006. He has a bachelor?s degree in business administration from Chico State University?and served on the city of Santa Rosa Board of Public Utilities for nearly 24 years.

Mr. Downey has many years of business management and financial services experience in Sonoma County. He owned a local business for 30 years. Recognizing the unique financial needs of small businesses, Mr. Downey started a financial services career more than 10 years ago to provide custom financial solutions to help local businesses grow and thrive.

Aging baby boomers will play a prominent role in commercial lending in 2013 as they execute business-exit strategies and transfer assets, he said.

?We are entering a period of the largest transition of generational wealth in the history of our country,? he said.

In 2008, Mr. Downey helped start Redwood Credit Union?s SBA program, which has ranked among the top lenders in the North Bay for the past four years. The credit union is a Small Business Administration preferred lender with more than $2 billion in assets and in excess 220,000 members.

Sunny Lapham

SAFE-BIDCO

1377 Corporate Center Pkwy., Ste. A, Santa Rosa 95407,?safe-bidco.com, 707-577-8621

Sunny Lapham

Sunny Lapham joined SAFE-BIDCO as a loan officer in 2004. Ms. Lapham?s current responsibilities include underwriting and financial analysis of loan requests and overseeing the corporation?s Small Business Loan Guarantee Program and the Energy Efficiency Loan Program.

Ms. Lapham works extensively with community lenders to facilitate their small business lending. Under her stewardship, the Small Business Loan Guarantee Program tripled in volume this past year.

She has 25 years of experience in north coast banking and financial development, including stints at Exchange Bank and Redwood Credit Union. She has a degree in social psychology from University of Nevada?and trained to administer loan programs backed by the Small Business Administration, as well as general banking. Ms. Lapham has served on the board of directors for a number of businesses, nonprofits and educational organizations in the North Bay.

Rob McMillan

Silicon Valley Bank

899 Adams St., Ste. G2, St. Helena 94574,?svb.com/winedivision, 707-967-1367

Rob McMillan

Rob McMillan is the founder of the?St. Helena-based?Wine Division of??Silicon Valley Bank. Starting in 1992, he developed the division from the idea and startup phase to the point where it?s now regarded by many as the leading provider of financial services to the fine wine business on the West Coast.

Mr. McMillan?s banking career has spanned more than 30 years, over 20 with Silicon Valley Bank. In that time, he has moved though roles of increasing responsibility including a term on the bank?s Managing Committee.

Today, Mr. McMillan supports Silicon Valley Bank?s continuing growth and success in the wine business assisting the rest of the division?s clients and bankers: sharing views on the macro factors impacting the fine wine business, offering customized management presentations for clients, writing, speaking and managing a portfolio of client relationships.

He has published reports of varied and emerging trends to the wine industry over the past decade and is author of the bank?s annual Wine Industry Report. Mr. McMillan?s perspectives regarding the direction, opportunities and threats in the fine wine business continue to be cited in regional, national international and the wine trade press.

Mr. McMillan received a bachelor?s degree in finance and economics from Sacramento State University and an MBA from Leavey School of Business at?Santa Clara University. He is affiliated with, and supports numerous charities and industry associations both in and outside of the wine industry.

He is the father of two, enjoys the outdoors and travel, and takes any opportunity to play percussion and drums in live settings.

Jamie Williams

Sonoma Bank

1101 Fifth Ave., Ste. 360, San Rafael 94901,?sonomabank.com, 415-747-3202

Jamie Williams

Jamie Williams has been senior vice president and commercial banking regional director for Sonoma Bank since he was hired two and a half years ago. His focus has been on building strong commercial banking teams in Marin County, East Bay and Santa Rosa. He said hiring high-performing, well-known veteran bankers are key in the success of the bank?s commercial teams in the region.

Along with traditional business banking products and services, Sonoma Bank has experienced tremendous growth in owner-occupied commercial real estate lending.

Mr. Williams was born in Marin and has lived in Novato for more than 21 years. He has been in the banking industry for more than 30 years, always on the commercial or corporate banking side. Prior to joining Sonoma Bank, he was a founder of Greater Bay Bank Marin and was regional vice president for Westamerica Bank. His first position was in 1978 as a management trainee for Wells Fargo after graduating from Santa Clara University with a degree in economics.

Sterling Bank of Spokane, Wash., does business in California as Sonoma Bank.

Bill Fogarty

Summit State Bank

500 Bicentennial Way, Santa Rosa 95403,?summitstatebank.com, 707-568-6000

Bill Fogarty

Bill Fogarty is senior vice president and chief credit officer at Summit State Bank. Mr. Fogarty joined Summit at the end of 2011 with 25 years of banking experience, including chief credit officer and chief executive roles at other community banking institutions.

Mr. Fogarty attended Arizona State University and earned a bachelor?s degree in business administration at University of Phoenix. He also graduated from Pacific Coast Bankers School at University of Washington in Seattle.

He focuses on all areas of the bank?s lending programs and portfolio for safety, soundness and profitability.

?We are seeing indicators of an upturn in our economy due to a notable pickup in loan production in 2012 that was double the level of 2011,? Mr. Fogarty said. ?We heavily promoted our $50 million loan commitment in 2012, which we believe was part of our increased loan demand and production at Summit. But we also believe that the economic upturn was the foundation of this growth. Businesses are also beginning to activate their expansion plans and start projects that have been on hold for the last few years.?

In his spare time, Mr. Fogarty enjoys outdoor activities such as hiking, wildlife photography and golf. He also enjoys spending time with his wife of 28 years, Sheryl, his two children and grandchild.

Mr. Fogarty has ?fallen in love with Sonoma County? and regularly donates his time to local nonprofits and chambers of commerce.

Founded in 1984, Summit State Bank has roughly $430 million in assets, 62 employees and five offices. Summit State Bank is a Top Performing Bank, earning the highest Findley Reports designation of all Sonoma County-based banks.

Francine Boards

Travis Credit Union

One Travis Way, Vacaville 95687,?traviscu.org, 707-469-1964

Francine Boards became vice president of business lending at Travis Credit Union in early 2012. It?s a newly created position that is part of a targeted approach to boost the $2.2 billion institution?s efforts in commercial lending. She served as senior commercial credit officer at the credit union since 2009.

Prior to joining Travis, Ms. Boards held senior management positions for commercial lending operations at One California Bank, Mechanics Bank and Civic Bank of Commerce. She has a total of 24 years of financial industry experience and is a graduate of the MBA program at St. Mary?s College of California as well as Pacific Coast Banking School at the University of Washington.

James Barrett

Union Bank

899 Adams St., Ste. F-1, St. Helena 94574,?unionbank.com, 707-968-9514

James Barrett

James Barrett?is vice president and senior relationship manager with the Wine Industry Services group at?Union Bank.

The Wine Industry Services group in Northern California is growing. Ttotal commitments to the industry increased by about 30 percent in the last two years. Mr. Barrett attributes this growth to the bank?s consistency in its approach to the business and to its strong relationships with clients.

In addition to the wine industry, he has clients in the retail, food and beverage, and manufacturing sectors, and has worked with clients in many other industries during his career.

Mr. Barrett said his biggest accomplishment has been to successfully balance a rewarding career with an active and happy family life. He likes to spend time with family and friends and enjoys sports, reading and cooking.

He earned a finance degree at?Auburn University?and a master?s degree in business administration with an emphasis in finance at?Georgia State University?in Atlanta. He is a graduate of?Leadership Napa Valley?and a member of the?Napa Rotary Club.

Mr. Barrett has lived in Napa since 1995.

As of Sept. 30, Union Bank had assets of $88.2 billion and roughly 10,000 employees.

Conrad Figueroa

U.S. Bank

1 California St., Ste. 2000, San Francisco 94111,?usbank.com, 707.326.8397

Conrad Figueroa

Conrad Figueroa is a senior relationship manager in the?Bay Area Commercial Banking Group, which includes the North Bay, of U.S. Bank. The group caters to middle-market companies with a strong focus on relationship banking.? ?

Previously, Mr. Figueroa spent 10 years working for Wells Fargo Bank and five years for Comerica Bank. During his time at Wells Fargo and prior to becoming a vice president for commercial banking there, he was a branch manager and a licensed financial advisor.

Mr. Figueroa has lived in Northern California for over 20 years and is a graduate of University of California, Davis, in economics. Mr. Figueroa enjoys running in his spare time and is a 2011 Boston Marathon finisher.

U.S. Bank, based in Minneapolis, recently reported more than $350 billion in assets. ?

Scott Shapiro

Warren Capital Corp.

100 Rowland Way, Ste. 205, Novato 94945,?warrencapital.com, 415-898-1875

Scott Shapiro

Scott Shapiro is senior vice president of Warren Capital Corporation. He is responsible for managing the lender?s portfolio and developing relationships with its partners, which include community banks and the health care and franchise markets.

Mr. Shapiro has been with Warren Capital for 12 years. His career in banking began at BankBoston in Boston during its merger with Fleet Bank. He attended Boston College, graduating with a business degree in finance and information systems.

Having grown up in the North Bay, Mr. Shapiro moved back to California after college. He began working at Warren Capital as a three-day-a-week intern in the 2001 recession and gradually worked his way up to senior vice president. He said that ascent is?one of his greatest accomplishments, leading to years-long relationships with repeat clients.

Over the past 29 years, Warren Capital has completed over $1.7 billion in financings, including $500 million in the North Bay, for more than 3,500 clients. The lender provides services that include equipment leasing and financing, large-scale debt placements and seller-focused merger-and-acquisition advisory.

James Kimball

Wells Fargo

200 B St., Ste. 300, Santa Rosa 95401, wellsfargo.com, 707-584-3147

James Kimball

?Kimball is a senior vice president and regional manager with the Wells Fargo Commercial Banking Group. He oversees the North Coast Regional Commercial Banking Office, responsible for a territory spanning from the Golden Gate Bridge to Oregon.

The team serves a variety of industries, but has specialists focused on wine, specialty food and agriculture.

Mr. Kimball has worked in financial services for more than 25 years, a career that has focused on commercial banking in Northern California and the western United States. He was regional president for wholesale banking at Wachovia when the bank merged with Wells Fargo and spent 22 years holding various leadership positions at Bank of America.

He received bachelor?s and master?s degrees in finance from Sacramento State University.

A lifelong Sonoma County?resident, Mr. Kimball is an active community leader in Northern California and has a history of service on the boards of the North Bay Leadership Council and the Wine Business Institute at Sonoma State University. He lives with his wife, Sharon, and two children in Petaluma.

Joseph Dietzen

Westamerica Bank

1108 Fifth Ave., San Rafael 94901, westamerica.com, 800-848-1088

Joseph Dietzen is senior vice president at Westamerica Bank. In that role, he oversees account relationships and loan production in the bank?s Sonoma and Mendocino regions.

A native of Washington, he grew up in Yakima and came to California to obtain a bachelor?s degree in economics from Stanford University. Mr. Dietzen later received an MBA in finance from?University of California, Berkeley, and attended Pacific Coast Banking School.

He joined Westamerica Bank in 2005 when it acquired National Bank of the Redwoods.?He had been executive vice president and responsible for real estate loan production there.

Mr. Dietzen said that he was pleased to work closely with the low-income housing efforts of the Sonoma County Loan Consortium and Burbank Housing. He also?was?actively involved with Redwood Empire Food Bank during a time of expansion.

When away from his duties at the bank, Mr. Dietzen said that he enjoys working on a classic Victorian townhouse that has been in his wife?s family for generations.

Westamerica Bank reported $5 billion in total assets at the end of 2012.

Source: http://www.northbaybusinessjournal.com/67794/spotlight-leaders-in-commercial-banking-2013/

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Product Creation eClass 2.0 by Jason Fladlien Tutorail

Product Creation eClass 2.0 by Jason Fladlien
English | Mp4 | 1024?768 | 136 kb/s | 30.00 fps | Mp3 | 44100 Hz | 53 kb/s | 2.83GB
Genre: Business Training

Jason Fladlien Product Creation eClass 2.0 + BONUSES This is a 9 week live interactive group training from 2012 that has produced more 6 figure earners than any other training Jason Fladlien has done. That doesn t guarantee you ll make 6 figures, of course, but I promise you will learn a lot and if you follow what you learn, you will be well on your way.
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Week 1: 2 hour product creation
I show you exactly how to outline what I call your 1 1 1 products
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I give you the conversion template to plug your product into
I give you the traffic source to plug into?
Best of all these products require no proof!

Week 2 star latching
A new technique never before taught in a product eclass training?
I show you how to take a traffic source of less than 10 people?
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Week 3 info product imports
You thought importing/exporting was only for physical goods? Wrong!
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This is our version of made in china

Week 4 the semester method
It s not one off payments?
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It s something BRAND NEW never previously taught in an eclass
It s a technique we ve developed that makes me about $2,240 per HOUR!

Week 5 price stretching
How did I turn a $4 product into a $47 product?
How did we buy rights to a product that sold for $17 and turned it into a $197 upfront, plus monthly continuity? The answer price stretching!
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Week 6 Leveraging Your Own Affiliate System
5 separate affiliates systems broken down the best two revealed?
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Why the phone call interview style products are NOT the answer?
How to leverage the kindle marketplace to get others to write your books for you
A simple tweak to get all the traffic you can handle to these style of products (only works with this?)

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Uploading your products, sales page & download pages
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2 Day Amazon Book
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$100 a Day Challenge
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Fears grow that Libya is incubator of turmoil

Libya's upheaval the past two years helped lead to the ongoing conflict in Mali, and now Mali's war threatens to wash back and further hike Libya's instability. Fears are growing that post-Moammar Gadhafi Libya is becoming an incubator of turmoil, with an overflow of weapons and Islamic jihadi militants operating freely, ready for battlefields at home or abroad.

The possibility of a Mali backlash was underlined the past week when several European governments evacuated their citizens from Libya's second largest city, Benghazi, fearing attacks in retaliation for the French-led military assault against al-Qaida-linked extremists in northern Mali.

More worrisome is the possibility that Islamic militants inspired by ? or linked to ? al-Qaida can establish a strong enough foothold in Libya to spread instability across a swath of North Africa where long, porous desert borders have little meaning, governments are weak, and tribal and ethnic networks stretch from country to country. The Associated Press examined the dangers in recent interviews with officials, tribal leaders and jihadis in various parts of Libya.

Already, Libya's turmoil echoes around the region and in the Middle East. The large numbers of weapons brought into Libya or seized from government caches during the 2011 civil war against Gadhafi are now smuggled freely to Mali, Egypt and its Sinai Peninsula, the Hamas-ruled Gaza Strip and to rebels fighting Syrian President Bashar Assad. Jihadis in Libya are believed to have operational links with fellow militant groups in the same swath, Libyan fighters have joined rebels in Syria and are believed to operate in other countries as well.

Libyan officials, activists and experts are increasingly raising alarm over how Islamic militants have taken advantage of the oil-rich country's weakness to grow in strength. During his more than four-decade rule Gadhafi stripped the country of national institutions, and after his fall the central government has little authority beyond the capital, Tripoli. Militias established to fight Gadhafi remain dominant, and tribes and regions are sharply divided.

In the eastern city of Benghazi, birthplace of the revolt that led to the ouster and killing of Gadhafi, militias espousing an al-Qaida ideology and including veteran fighters are prevalent, even ostensibly serving as security forces on behalf of the government since the police and military are so weak and poorly armed. One such militia, Ansar al-Shariah, is believed to have been behind the Sept. 11 attack on the U.S. Consulate in the city that killed four Americans, including the ambassador. Since then, militants have been blamed for a wave of assassinations of security officers and government officials.

Earlier this month, former Libyan leader Mustafa Abdul-Jalil warned the militant threat extends to efforts to establish a state that can enforce rule of law.

"Libya will not see stability except by facing them," he told a gathering videotaped by activists and aired on Libyan TV. "It is time to either hold dialogue or confront them." He listed 30 officials and police officers assassinated in Benghazi the past year.

The Mali drama illustrates how the threat bounces back and forth across the borders drawn in the Sahel, the region stretching across the Sahara Desert. Libya and Mali are separated by Algeria, but the two countries had deep ties under Gadhafi. Thousands of Tuaregs moved from Mali to Libya beginning in the 1970s, and many joined special divisions of Gadhafi's military where they earned higher salaries than they would have at home.

As Gadhafi was falling in 2011, thousands of heavily armed Tuareg fighters in southern Libya fled to northern Mali. The Tuareg are an indigenous ethnic group living throughout the Sahel, from Mali to Chad and into Libya and Algeria.

The fighters, led by commander Mohammed Ag Najem, broke the Mali government's hold over the north and declared their long-held dream of a Tuareg homeland, Azawad. But they in turn were defeated by Islamic militants, some linked to al-Qaida's branch in North Africa, who took over the territory and imposed rule under an extreme version of Shariah, or Islamic law. This month, as militants moved south, France launched its military intervention to rescue the Mali government, conducting airstrikes against militants.

In retaliation, militants seized an oil complex in eastern Algeria, prompting a siege by Algerian forces that killed dozens of Western hostages and militants.

The militant group that carried out the Algeria hostage taking, in turn, had help from Libyan extremists in the form of smuggled weapons and "organizational ties," the group's leader, Moktar Belmoktar said.

"Their ideological and organizational connection to us is not an accusation against a Muslim but a source of pride and honor to us and to them," Belmoktar, the one-eyed Algerian founder of the Masked Brigade, said of the Libyans in an interview with The Mauritanian newspaper in mid-December. "Jihadists in al-Qaida and in general were the biggest beneficiaries of the Arab world uprisings, because these uprisings have broken the chains of fear ... that the agent regimes of the West imposed."

He urged Libyan militants not to submit to calls by the Tripoli government to hand over their weapons, saying their arms are "the source of their dignity and their guarantee of security."

With pressure building on Mali's Islamists, Libya provides a possible alternative haven for jihadis, said Scott Stewart of the global intelligence group Stratfor.

"It is a very good place to operate if you are an extremist," he said. "There are fault lines and divisions ... The central government has very little authority outside Tripoli. This is very conducive environment for Jihad to thrive."

They already have a free rein in Benghazi.

"Libya became a heaven for them," Col. Salah Bouhalqa, a leading military commander in Benghazi, said of al-Qaida. "The Westerners are fearful that what happened in Algeria will take place in Libya. And here, just like Mali and Egypt and Iraq, these groups have extensions."

Some extremists say they are determined to shape the new Libya. Youssef Jihani, a member of Ansar Shariah in Benghazi, vowed that he and other jihadis would not accept a return to the days when they were jailed and executed under Gadhafi's rule. He told the AP in Benghazi late last year that the toppling of Gadhafi would not have been possible without the strength of jihadi fighters who he said joined the uprising to ensure an "Islamic state of Libya, where Shariah rule is implemented."

The bearded young man said he lay down his weapons last year. But he said he would take arms up again if Libya's next constitution doesn't make a clear reference to rule by Islamic law or if secular politicians hold power and try to rein in jihadis.

Jihani proudly said he believes in al-Qaida and supports its slain leader Osama bin Laden and Afghan Taliban leader Mullah Omar. He said that during Libya's civil war in 2011, he killed a captured soldier from Gadhafi's army after discovering 11 video clips on his mobile phone showing soldiers raping women and men. Jihani said he ordered the soldier to dig his own grave, then severed his head with a knife.

"I wish I could behead him 11 times," he said. His story could not be independently confirmed.

Stewart, of Stratfor, also pointed to a concern that al-Qaida could make inroads among Libya's impoverished and alienated Tuareg.

Living in mud-brick slums or camps in the deserts of southwestern Libya, most Tuaregs were never given citizenship under Gadhafi's rule, though he used their fighters as mercenaries, and now they suffer not only from poverty but from the disdain of Libyans who see them as Gadhafi loyalists.

For centuries, Tuareg ran caravan routes across the Sahara, carrying gold and other valuables. Now they're known for smuggling weapons and drugs. In slums around the towns of Sabha and Owbari, they sleep next to livestock in shacks with corrugated metal roofs, with webs of electric cables dangling from poles overhead and garbage-filled streets.

Libya's new leadership has largely shunned them. The Tuareg's four members in parliament were removed because of ties to Gadhafi's regime, leaving them without a political voice. The Tuareg contend they were exploited by Gadhafi, along with all other Libyans.

"Gadhafi's rule left behind a breeding ground for terrorism by depriving people of their rights and education .... After all the promises, we thought we will live in heaven, but kids here die from scorpion bites," said Suleiman Naaim, a Tuareg rights activist, told the AP in Owbari.

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/fears-grow-libya-incubator-turmoil-195835295.html

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