Diana Vitan is a 32 year-old Romanian public speaker and the owner of Diana Vitan Consulting & Training, a company specializing in personal and business development programs. At the end of 2012, she became the first woman to win the Best Public Speaker Award in Romania, running against an all-men competition made up of experienced speakers.

Click here to view the first part of this interview.

Toonari Post (TP): How do male public speakers react to you?

Diana Vitan (DV): Men react the way anyone does: If they didn’t react, they wouldn’t be men, right? I’m just kidding. Actually, I wouldn’t divide this one up by sexes. There are people who know how to win by losing with grace and people who are willing to lose by winning dirty, it all depends on what you choose.

I chose to take the positive out of each experience and to enjoy each plus. I remember the movie ‘The Pursuit of Happyness‘ when Will Smith’s character told his son, “Don’t ever let anyone tell you what you can’t do. Not even me!”

The first four speakers designated by the online poll were all named public speaking champions, but I would have given this distinction to the entire top fifteen. They’re all strong names that have helped shape Romanian business development, and it’s an honor for me to be the lady in this extraordinary group. We’re all winners.

TP: Are you a trendsetter for Romanian women?

DV: Fortunately, there are many female public speakers in Romania, so I’m not. I may have more experience and I am unique because of the structure of my activity, because I’ve spoken in front of more than 50,000 people and I’ve worked with big names such as Paul Martinelli, Roddy Galbraith and Christian Simpson.

I also stand out by having founded one of the first personal development schools in Romania and by running a program called “Keep your head up!” the first one of its kind in the country. But I wish to support any woman who resonates with me and with my speaking style and, at the same time, I’d like to take part in events organized by other women public speakers in order to learn new things.

TP: Paul Martinelli, one of the most renowned public speakers in the world, became your coach. How did that happen?

DV: Yes, I am Paul’s only apprentice in Europe and I’m proud of it. Furthermore, after two years of apprenticeship, I am his teaching partner in Europe. It first happened when I started leading the personal development school that I mentioned. I teamed up with my colleagues, Milan Menghesi and Sorin Popa and we asked him to participate, and he said yes!

He saw me on the stage and told me he’d like to see me speak in front of a smaller group (20-30 people), speaking on a subject of his choice, which I did. And he told me I was part of the two percent of the native public speakers in the world. For me, this was a huge compliment and a yes after a huge amount of work. What followed was a period of two years of online collaboration five days a week, and me appearing on stage with him for the next six times he came to Romania, as well as working with him on his “Power Principles” in London where I met Roddy Galbraith and Christian Simpson.

TP: Was it easy to be taught by Mr. Martinelli?

DV: I am proud to have learned from a master of this caliber. Paul is an extraordinary friend and a tough teacher, as well as an exceptional motivator. During our “scrambling eggs” sessions, as he called his private coaching, I felt like giving up many times, but I realized it was just his way of making me become more driven. I am certain that no Romanian or European school could have given me the kind of intensity that his teachings gave me.

I learned to discover myself, to be a professional and to educate others. The success of my projects shows that his plan worked. My style, which was neither European nor Balkan, challenged him to “break me” and to teach a student who thought she knew it all, the most important lesson of all: to learn to forget, and then to learn again. After being a tough teacher, Paul has remained a good friend and a role model who is proud of my every accomplishment.

TP: What do you have in store for this year?

DV: For 2013 I have some surprises for the Romanian public! That is all I want to let you in on! Because the Romanian public deserves surprises and because we wouldn’t exist without them, without a public that takes us in, loves us and follows us!

Image Courtesy : Diana Vitan

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Diana Vitan is a 32 year-old Romanian public speaker and the owner of Diana Vitan Consulting & Training, a company specializing in personal and business development programs. At the end of 2012, she became the first woman to win the Best Public Speaker Award in Romania, running against an all-men competition made up of experienced speakers.

Although always on a tight schedule, she managed to squeeze in a little time to talk to Toonari Post about her experience and key moments in becoming Romania’s top public speaker.

Toonari Post (TP): How would you describe public speaking?

Diana Vitan (DV): Like any other aspect of life, I can really say that “beauty is in the eye of the beholder.” The art of speaking in public is a general notion, which can translate either into a job, a necessity or a terrible fright – it mainly depends on who you ask. For me it has definitely been a passion turned into a job. I consider public speaking to be the art of delivering a message in the most beautiful, clean and appealing way.

TP: How is this profession evolving nowadays?

DV: In the 21st Century, the era of technology and speed, communication has new meaning, new form and new priorities. People feel more comfortable communicating through email, chatting or socializing online, so one might think that live interaction is more and more scarce.

However, for public speaking, this is actually a step forward. You see, my grandfather taught me that it is not the new that is to blame for the loss of the traditional, but the lack of imagination and persuasion in adapting the traditional to the new. I firmly believe that this century is the time for strong speeches, for concentrated communication, that combines the technical and the emotional in the most efficient way.

You have to be better, more concise and more connected in order to deliver the best message. The best people are those that keep reinventing themselves.

TP: Is there a difference between Europe and the U.S., regarding your area of expertise?

DV: Let me ask you a question in return: Have you noticed the difference between the Academy Awards and the Cannes Festival? The U.S., the land of motivation and positive messages vs. Europe, the Old Continent of theatrical art and artistic detail? Each style has its own pulse and, although I really do appreciate the elegance and reasoning of the European speech, I’ve nurtured myself with American motivational literature and American public speaking role-models.

Lately, I’ve rejoiced at seeing Europe make more and more room for the wave of personal development initiative, that needed to successfully complete the public speaking family – and this trend has swept Romania as well! Here, the transition from sales training, to business coaching, to life coaching, and finally to personal development has happened in a natural and beautiful way.

The Romanian audience is becoming more and more receptive to personal as well as business development through guidance (events, books, consultants) – and this has translated into a market demand and a success story at the same time.

TP: What does your audience look like?

DV: I get to talk in front of students, young entrepreneurs, corporate players, freelancers, people in need of personal and professional development – people who want more.

TP: More of what?

DV: More clear objectives, this before anything else! Because if you start with a wrong “why,” i.e. a wrong motivation, you end up setting wrong objectives that you can either not reach – and that’s when you become frustrated – or reach  only to find yourself dissatisfied and constantly searching for more.

TP: How do you work with your audience?

DV: You start to touch people’s lives the moment you help them discover two magical buttons: : “potential” and “passion” – this is where it all begins. I’ve noticed something strange: While people search for passion, they forget to live passionately. How can that be? Most people are searching for their area of genius, of excellence, for their way. Unhappy for not getting there soon enough, they become dissatisfied and frustrated.

When I ask them “What is your passion?” I can see it in the eyes of many that they’re confused and sometimes downright angry for not having found it – and I ask them this: “How can you discover your great passion if you’re not doing everything you do with great passion?” If you’re a telephone switch operator – be the best telephone switch operator in the world and you’re not going to be stuck there for much longer.

TP: You’re the first woman to win the Best Public Speaker Award in Romania!

DV: This is true! But this is also the first Romanian contest of its kind, organized at a national level within the Business Days circuit of events by Laszlo Pacso, the president of the Online Communication Solution Developers Association (ADESCO). There were more than one hundred Romanian speakers talking in front of more than one thousand participants in a two-day event that toured the major cities in the country.

The feedback from the public helped trim the number of the speakers to a top fifteen, and these top speeches were posted on YouTube, where a voting poll decided the winners. I came up on top after the online poll, but I don’t believe that it necessarily means I am the absolute best speaker. I have a lot of respect for all the other speakers, some of whom have a lot more experience than me.

The best speaker is the one that resonates with a specific audience and the one that adapts the fastest and in the best way. I intend to continuously work and improve myself for the people that choose the hear me.

Click here to read the second part of this interview.

Image Courtesy : Diana Vitan

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Let’s talk about James Buchanan. No, not the last American president born in the 18th century. About James McGill Buchanan. Why him? He was a Nobel Prize laureate and American economist who got recognized for his study on public choice theory, and who just recently passed away (January 9, 2013).

So why is his work still relevant today? Mainly because Buchanan initiated research on how non-economic forces and politicians’ personal interests affect economic policy.

His research includes extensive writings on macroeconomics, constitutional economics, the public debt, public finance and voting – all that is very important especially now, at the time of global economic crisis.

What is even more important, looking at the entire government “struggle against the economy,” is that in his studies Buchanan rejects “any organic concept of the state as superior in wisdom, to the citizens of this state.” This is where the interesting part begins.

Thanks to his philosophical position the basis of constitutional economics can be formed. According to Buchanan, every constitution is created for the time period of at least several generations and therefore, it should be able to balance interests of the society, state and each individual.

Unfortunately we don’t see this happening all around us. There are, of course, exclusions, but in whole we see just the opposite. The rich are getting richer or at least are well off anyways. And middle class is getting the full blow of the recession.

It is interesting that Buchanan’s ideas were always seen as a challenge to John Maynard Keynes. And Keynes is recognized to be one of the most influential economists of the last century and founder of modern macroeconomics. He was among those who advocated the use of monetary and fiscal measures to reduce the negative effects of economic recessions.

Once Keynes’s ideas became widespread, they were adopted by leading economies. Even though the outburst of the global financial crisis in 2007 caused degradation in Keynesian thought, the principals of Keynesian economics are still used to give response to the crisis. Unfortunately, neither the administration of George W. Bush or Barack Obama developed new approaches.

In his works Buchanan poses a question, “What do individuals seek in politics if they do not seek to maximize their own expected net wealth?” Which seems to make perfect sense, doesn’t it?

The main point is that modern politics can be adjusted only through the change to the constitution. In this way individuals will be able to act according to the long-term interest of the community and not their own short-term interests.

James M. Buchanan says, “Until and unless we begin to take the long-term perspective in our private and in our public capacities, including the adoption of new and binding constitutional constraints on the fiscal and monetary powers of government, we are doomed to remain mired in the muck of modern politics.”

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As the fiscal cliff approaches, the clock starts to tick louder. For those who have yet to understand: the fiscal cliff is a soup of expiring tax cuts scheduled for the end of the year.

The core of the fiscal cliff consists mainly of the cuts passed from 2001 to 2003 under then President George W. Bush. There are also across-the-board cuts: the expiration of measures delaying the Medicare Sustainable Growth Rate, and the expiration of the 2 percent Social Security payroll tax cut, among others.

If the federal government allows this to happen, the effect on a still-weak economy may be drastic, perhaps even sending it back into a recession. On the other hand the fiscal cliff can significantly decrease the federal budget deficit. This brings us to the question of possible positive effects for the economy in the long run.

According to some surveys, about two-thirds of Americans do support reduction of the federal budget deficit, even if it means cutting Medicare and Social Security. Aside from this data, it is quite hard to believe that the majority will eagerly give away their money for seemingly no good reason. It is better to not take into consideration some quavering long-term improvement projections for the common citizen who is not keen on economic analysis.

Unfortunately according to the experts, if Obama and Congress do not avert these legislative changes, America may “fall over the cliff.” It will also mean that taxes will rise the most in the last 60 years or so. The Tax Policy Center reports that middle-income families will pay $2,000 or more in taxes in 2013.

In addition to this, the Congressional Budget Office predicts that about 3.4 million people will lose their jobs. The Unemployment rate of 7.9 percent in October 2012 represents a significant improvement over the October 2009 rate of 10 percent. According to research millions of jobs would be lost after the fiscal cliff. This could result in an unemployment rate of up to 9.1 percent or more.

Some say there is a bright side. The cliff would be a long-term positive, they say. Everybody understands that at some point the U.S. government should deal with the deficit. But in what way and when are the questions. The policy of kicking the can down the road may no longer be effective or will at least become so in the near future. So will the short-term disaster be worth the possible benefits? The truth is, it’s hard to tell.

The Congressional Budget Office estimates that by 2022, the budget deficit would fall to $200 billion from $1.1 trillion now, in the fiscal cliff case scenario. But that is a pretty long shot and in order to get there, the economy would have to face certain financial difficulties.

The bottom line is the cliff will certainly result in the tax rate increases. But the problem is that increasing taxes won’t necessarily increase total tax revenue. The only right way to increase tax revenue is for the economy to recover.

So the bottom line may be that the fiscal cliff doesn’t matter that much any more. The U.S. may have passed the point of no return long ago.  For everyone with average income there is only one thing that can be suggested. Use everybody’s old favorite: cash, not credit. Congress will eventually have to learn this lesson also and finally cut back on a wasteful spending.

If you want to see what your tax life will look after the cliff you can try the links for experienced tax payers or those who want to get a simple answer.

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Higher education institutions are struggling to evolve from a limited market of international student recruitment. Right now, almost one in two international students in the United States is from either China, India, or South Korea. This is because these countries provide an existing market for recruitment, making it easier, quicker, and cheaper to gain diversity through these countries rather than reaching out to other locations. The problem with such a narrow spectrum for higher education diversity is that the economic growth of both China and India is decelerating, which could impact enrollment of international students.

World Education Services (WES),  a non-profit organization and the leading source of international education intelligence, has released a new research report, “Beyond More of the Same: The Top Four Emerging Markets for International Student Recruitment.” As many institutions are attempting to diversify their student bodies by seeking international students from a broader range of countries, WES provides suggestions for which countries are the most promising and how to begin recruiting internationally. The report discusses the top four countries in which the higher education institutions (or HEIs) in the United States would benefit. In order of importance, they are Saudi Arabia, Brazil, Vietnam, and Turkey.

According to Rahul Choudaha, Director of Research and Advisory Services of WES, “Emerging markets in this report are characterized by their growth potential to send international students overseas. This is a function of at least two primary variables–economic growth which fuels aspirations of upward mobility and ability to afford foreign education; and second, size and growth of college-ready education pipeline.”

Recruiting international students is competitive and complex. According to the report, institutions are expected to “recruit quality students, while ensuring diversity within the shortest span of time and with limited financial resources.” This makes it difficult to recruit from other locations, though it would be wise to look into other markets. “Working with emerging markets, however, is a double-edged sword. While it presents potential rewards, there are also challenges to achieving international student enrollment goals, particularly in finding academically prepared and self-funded students,” states the report.

Choudaha told Toonari Post that over-reliance on just a couple source countries can make total enrollment of international students at HEIs sensitive to uncertainties in these countries. “For example, economic uncertainty in China and India could adversely influence not only overall international student enrollment but also diversity of international student body.”

China, India, and South Korea are still expected to retain a high number of prospective students, but the United States should cultivate emerging markets to expand diversity. WES used the Delphi method to gather predictions and opinions from experts of higher education to identify possible growth markets.

The full report can be viewed here.

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As the US election for president draws closer, dirtier the debates become. This does not only extend to President Barack Obama and Mitt Romney, but to the voters themselves. Since this election is so important to the United States, people who have not previously paid much attention to politics–myself included–have been roped into the huge battle for control. The battle has now been dragged into cyberspace.

Facebook has exploded with status and picture updates about the election and who individuals support, which creates tension among friends who are supporting different candidates. I know some of my friends are hardly talking to one another strictly because of fights they have had about politics.

My family and I have an agreement to not discuss politics because we support opposing candidates, and the fights would always turn ugly when the subject came up. However, the rest of the country is letting everyone know their position for the election; political conventions and rallies are happening left and right because everyone wants to get support for their candidate. In other elections, people were not as passionate about who they planned on voting for.

Sure, the election campaigns were aired on TV and everyone was subjected to the annoying phone calls sponsoring a candidate, but friends and families were not torn apart because of politics. Meanwhile, both candidates are trying to make themselves look as saintly as possible while simultaneously trying to make their opponent seem like the anti-Christ. The presidential debates have been the most public display of this goal. The debates have caused a huge stir with voters with trying to determine who “won” the debate.

Romney had better stage presence while Obama looked like he did not want to be there. Obama kept trying to play off of Bill Clinton and emphasizing how horrible George W. Bush was while not taking ownership of any of his own shortcomings. During Obama’s reign, the country’s deficit tripled and he added more debt than any other president combined.  But none of this is his fault, only Bush’s. Obama kept twisting Romney’s plan for taxes, which Romney defended and said that Obama was purposely misleading the public.

Romney continually challenged Obama, who never really defended himself fully. Since the debates, others have tried to make excuses as to why Obama did not seem to be present and involved. However, all the debates have done is created more of a gray area while the public decides which candidate is the biggest liar.

With the debates over, political commercials are always on TV. It has gotten to the point that I refuse to watch any TV until after the election craziness is over. Neither candidate is perfect, and it gets to be very depressing watching Romney have commercials saying how horrible President Obama is while Obama projects the opposite sentiment.

The election is a month away, and it is sure to get much worse before the ballots are collected and tallied. November is guaranteed to be a political bloodbath.   Image Courtesy of   new-york-city

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Following the mass shootings first in Aurora, Colorado and then at the Sikh Temple in Wisconsin, the shooting outside the Empire State Building in New York marks the third mass shooting this summer in the United States. The incident occurred at 34th Street and Fifth Avenue, near New York’s most famous skyscraper.

Just after 9AM, local time, a gunman opened fire in the street near the Empire State Building. According to the New York Post, two men who were coworkers started arguing in the street during the morning rush. They began fighting on the pavement when one of them drew a gun and shot the other fatally in the head, after striking him three times. The shooter then put his gun in his black bag and walked away from the scene.

A local construction worker, Chris Ogden, saw the gunman opening fire and then informed officers near the Empire State Building. New York Police Department arrived at the scene within a few minutes after receiving the emergency call. The New York Police Department officers, who were on foot, confronted the gunman who turned to his gun and fired at them. One of the officers killed the gunman in the confrontation. Police later confirmed that the gunman had indeed been shot dead.

Counting the shooter, there were a total of two deaths at the scene and nine more people were injured — four women and five men. Some of them may have been shot accidentally by officers, but they have all been taken to a number of hospitals in the city and fortunately none of them were seriously wounded. They are all expected to recover quickly.

The FBI has confirmed that the shooting was not terrorist-related. The incident was nothing more than a workplace dispute, but still caused a sense of panic in the city of New York, whose inhabiters have lived through all too familiar scenes in the past.

Police commissioner Ray Kelly identified the shooter as Jeffrey Johnson, aged 53. Johnson shot his 41-year-old former manager using a 45 caliber semiautomatic handgun. The shooter was a Hazan Imports employee for the last six years, designing women’s accessories and clothes and he had been fired from his job about a year ago as part of downsizing in the company. While the incident took place near the the Empire State Building, the landmark was not otherwise connected to the shooting.

New York City’s mayor, Michael Bloomberg, one of America’s biggest gun law reform advocates, said that “soothing words are nice, but maybe it is time that the two people who want to be President of the United States stand up and tell us what they are going to do about it,” expressing his discontent for both President Obama and his republican rival Mitt Romney.

Image Courtesy of   chrisinphilly5448

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Daytona Beach, U.S.A. – NASCAR have concluded a comprehensive agency review that spanned nearly four months, by selecting Ogilvy & Mather as Agency of Record (AOR) to service the sport’s evolving advertising and marketing needs. The agency will help NASCAR and the industry to execute a Five-Year Industry Action Plan to engage and excite existing fans, while creating new ones.

NASCAR embarked on a review to secure a class-leading, full-service advertising agency in early 2012 in order to expand the sport’s marketing efforts and provide an integrated solution to help NASCAR grow its audience in Youth, Gen Y and Hispanic. As AOR, Ogilvy & Mather’s responsibilities will also include target segmentation, brand vision/storytelling, media strategy, promotions and support for the growing NASCAR Digital team.

NASCAR received 110 inquiries and 75 sets of credentials from a host of agencies of all sizes and expertise. The list was carefully analyzed and narrowed to a field of fewer than 10 firms, each of which were visited by a cross-functional team of executives from key business areas across NASCAR. In June, a trio of finalists – Leo Burnett, Ogilvy & Mather and McCann Erickson North America – presented to a group of senior leaders, including NASCAR Chairman and CEO Brian France.

“Significant changes in our ecosystem impacted how we deliver our message and position our brand to existing fans while increasing the appeal of NASCAR to new audiences,” said Kim Brink, NASCAR managing director of brand, consumer and series marketing. “We were thoroughly impressed with the caliber of all three finalists; but Ogilvy’s consistency, creativity and dynamic leadership were the key differentiators. We’re delighted to join the agency’s roster of big consumer brands.”

“We view NASCAR as a lighthouse brand,” said John Seifert, chairman and CEO of Ogilvy & Mather North America. “The sport blends marquee stars, jewel events, and some of the fiercest competition on the planet with an intricate ecosystem comprised of historic tracks and compelling personalities. From the beginning of the agency review process, it was clear to us that NASCAR was looking for a true business partner. We firmly believe that NASCAR is a valuable tool in the marketing mix and a place where big brands get high return on investment. We couldn’t be more proud to add the sport to our portfolio of global brands.”

Ogilvy & Mather will complete a comprehensive on-boarding process in 2012, as the agency prepares to help NASCAR launch a new brand platform at the 55th running of the Daytona 500 in February 2013.

Image Courtesy of   Photo Works / Shutterstock.com

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In the last months, the diplomatic relation between Russian and the United States has become tense and unstable, mainly because Russia and China vetoed the U.N. intervention on Syria. This really angered the United States, but Vladimir Putin’s recent election to the Russian presidency has not helped to solve the problem and calm things down.

Russia is the U.S.’ 20th largest trading partner in goods. The goods trade between the two countries is reported as $42.9 billion USD in total. U.S. exports to Russia were $8.3 billion dollars. U.S. goods imports from Russia totaled $34.6 billion last year. Compared to China, Russia is a small economic partner to the United States, but a very important one in other areas.

In the 19th century, Russia sold Alaska to the United States. Russia also supported the U.S. during the civil war. In fact, the 19th  century was a golden period for U.S.-Russian diplomatic relations. But the  20th century told us a completely different story. It witnessed the worst  case scenario in the diplomatic relations between the two countries: the Cold War, which was a mainly political conflict between the Soviet Union, a union of countries in which Russia was the biggest, and the United States. Even though the Cold War was going on, the U.S. and Soviet astronauts went to space together in the 1975 Apollo-Soyuz mission.

The Soviet Union didn’t last forever, ending in 1991. After this, relations between the two countries got better, but, like with every country, there are a lot of aspects in which both governments do not agree. This is completely normal considering both countries come from two totally different backgrounds.

Vladimir Putin returned to the Russian presidency in March, which will definitely affect the good relations that President Obama had with his precursor, Dmitri Medvedev, who was in power from 2008 to 2012. Medvedev even declared once that “these were perhaps the best three years of relations between Russia and the United States over the last decade.”

But now Putin, a former K.G.B officer, is back on the game. The man became President for the first time in 2000 and remained so until 2008 when he gave power to his chosen one, Medvedev. Yet, most analysts agree he never stopped ruling.

The first problems between the U.S. and Russia have already reappeared, and the Syria issue has been the trigger. The State Secretary Hillary Clinton accused Putin in June of shipping attack helicopters to Syria that President al-Assad could use to continue with his massacre of civilians. The Russian government responded that they only have sent weapons that can be used for self-defense.

But the problematic relations between both countries really started in February, when Russia and China vetoed the United Nations’ action on Syria. This action caused fury on the other permanent members of the U.N. Security Council. The U.S. ambassador Susan Rice told CNN that “those that have blocked potentially the last effort to resolve this peacefully … will have any future blood spill on their hands.”

But President Obama made an announcement in June to try to calm things down. After a meeting with President Putin, he expressed the tensions can be solved although they have disagreements. Concerning the Syria issue he declared that President Putin agreed that a political process should be created in Syria in order to avoid a civil war.

Image Courtesy of  World Economic Forum

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Glendale, U.S.A. — DreamWorks Animation, ‘Madagascar 3: Europe’s Most Wanted –the 3D third installment in the blockbuster hit franchise about the Central Park Zoosters and their worldwide adventures – has now become the highest-grossing animated film in Russia’s box office history and the third highest-grossing film of all time in Russia. It is the #1 film of the year at the Russian box office and continues to play in theaters there. The top three animated films of all time in Russia are now all DreamWorks Animation pictures: ‘Madagascar 3: Europe’s Most Wanted’, ‘Shrek Forever After’ and ‘Puss In Boots’.

Paramount Pictures, a unit of Viacom Inc., is distributing ‘Madagascar 3: Europe’s Most Wanted’ worldwide and Central Partnership is serving as the film’s local distributor in Russia. The film opened in Russia on June 7, 2012 on 1830 screens – the biggest number yet for any film release – and has grossed $48.3 million, or 1.58 billion rubles, to date.

“Russia is one of the most important markets in the world for DreamWorks Animation films and we couldn’t be more proud to have achieved such unprecedented box office results there,” said Jeffrey Katzenberg, Chief Executive Officer of DreamWorks Animation. “We’re incredibly grateful to our audience in Russia for their enthusiastic and historic support of ‘Madagascar 3: Europe’s Most Wanted’.”

‘Madagascar 3: Europe’s Most Wanted’ has grossed $200 million at the domestic box office and nearly $260 million overseas for a worldwide gross of approximately $460 million to date.

In the highly anticipated third chapter of the Madagascar franchise, Alex the Lion, Marty the Zebra, Gloria the Hippo, and Melman the Giraffe are still fighting to get home to their beloved Big Apple and of course, King Julien, Maurice and the Penguins are all along for the comedic adventure. Their journey takes them through Europe where they find the perfect cover: a traveling circus, which they reinvent – Madagascar style.

Image Courtesy of   Madagascar 3

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To the United States Israel is different: both countries have a special relationship since the creation of the Israeli State in 1948. It is not an insignificant fact that during a meeting of the Republican Jewish Coalition, Mitt Romney promised that the first country he would visit if he was elected President, would be Israel.

Jim Zanotti, specialist in Middle Eastern Affairs, wrote in a CRS Report for Congress dedicated to the relations between the United States and Israel: “Since Israel’s founding in 1948, successive U.S. Presidents and many Members of Congress have demonstrated a commitment to Israel’s security and to maintaining close U.S.-Israel defense, diplomatic, and economic cooperation. U.S. and Israeli leaders have pursued common security goals and have developed close relations based on common perceptions of shared democratic values and religious affinities.”

Both nations signed a free trade agreement in 1985, and the United States is Israel’s most important trading partner. Israel is the United States’ most important ally in a very conflictive area of the world, the Middle East.

But in recent years relations have become less fluid and even tense during some periods, like in 2011 when the United States government tried to press Israel to fulfill their promise of Palestinian independence within the next few months.

The United States didn’t get the expected reaction from Israel: Prime Minister Netanyahu’s response was an absolute no, so all hopes that Palestinian independence might finally come, simply vanished. This did not bode well in the White House, even though President Obama told Mahmoud Abbas, Chairman of the Palestine Liberation Organization, that the United State would veto any United Nations proposals to recognize Palestinian statehood.

The last diplomatic struggle between the United States and Israel concerns Iran and its nuclear program. Prime Minister Netanyahu is pressuring the United States for a stronger policy against an Iranian nuclear program, based on economic sanctions to force immediate shut-down of the nuclear program. Israel demands that Iran agree to halt all its enrichment of uranium in the country, a demand that Iran is not willing to meet. The White House also rejected the Israeli demands and decided to stick with the economic sanctions plan.

The United States’ support of Israel has caused an anti-American reaction in some Arab countries, like Jordan, Lebanon and Sudan, were American flags have been burned and diplomats have even been killed. Even with all the political and economic cost it carries, the United States will still support Israel, which is proven by the Pentagon’s announcement in May to send $70 million dollars to Israel to help it enhance its missile defense system.

Image Courtesy of   World Economic Forum

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Santa Barbara, U.S.A. — July 11 is World Population Day, an annual observance to educate the public about the problems of overpopulation and continuing population growth. It grew out of the public interest in Five Billion Day in 1987 when the global population reached five billion people. A quarter century later, world population now exceeds 7 billion and is growing by 80 million per year.

“This dire situation underscores the need to provide safe and effective family planning to the hundreds of millions of men and women who lack it. Families must have the ability to determine the number and spacing of their children,” said Marilyn DeYoung, Chairman of the Board of Californians for Population Stabilization (CAPS).

CAPS is a nonprofit  organization founded in 1986 that focuses specifically on preserving California’s future through the stabilization of the state’s human population. CAPS also works more broadly to educate about the overall impacts of overpopulation and the environmental impacts of “too many people” throughout the world. In recent years since nearly all of California’s runaway population growth has come from immigration, CAPS has focused  on this issue by sponsoring public and media awareness campaigns, working with lawmakers to promote more responsible policies, maintaining a growing network of member-activists, and conducting vital research about how to create a sustainable state.

A major report from Britain’s Royal Society last year noted that the population must be stabilized rapidly to avoid “a downward spiral of economic and environmental ills.” While world population has soared 40 percent since the first World Population Day, the United States has grown almost as rapidly, increasing 30 percent, from 242 million in 1987 to almost 314 million today.

“Continuing growth of the human population is the most serious environmental problem for our planet and for our nation. The consequences of that growth are all around us—loss of open space, air and water pollution, and never-ending sprawl. Habitat loss due to population growth is by far the greatest threat to wildlife. We must tackle this paramount issue,” stated DeYoung, who served on the President’s Commission on Population Growth and the American Future in 1970.

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Senator Marco Rubio is the rising star of the Republican Party. He is seen as the best hope to bring Hispanic voters back to the party they abandoned in the 2008 election, in which, almost two-thirds voted for Barack Obama. But in the 2012 elections things might be different, Senator Rubio is trying to persuade the Latino voters that Mitt Romney would not follow the Arizona example, referring to the immigration law. That’s why he has become a serious option for vice president, and, who knows, if in the future he might be an option for president.

It seems that Mr. Rubio wants to show the world that the Republican Party would be more permissive with illegal immigrants. This is an important move, because if the Republicans are unable to convince the Hispanic population to vote for Romney they could lose crucial states like Florida, Colorado and Nevada.

Mitt Romney knows it and trusts that Mr. Rubio would be the man who would balance the forces and bring back the Hispanic vote to the Republican Party. In recent declarations Senator Rubio criticized the Democrat Party position over immigration, he stated that ” there are many in the Democratic Party that want immigration to be unsolved issue at least for the time being, because it’s more useful as a campaign issue than it is as a solved issue.”

The Hispanic Vote has become crucial in this election; it forced Mitt Romney to change the position he had in the primaries, in which he criticized Governor Rick Perry for granting in-State tuition to Texas universities to immigrants, to a much more permissive posture, in which he said he would consider a new version of the Dream Act. Congress voted down the Act in 2012, which supposedly will be proposed by Sen. Marco Rubio.

Senator Rubio is in favor of giving nonimmigrant visas to young illegals that were brought to the United States by a certain date, a date that for now is unknown, as long as they have graduated from high school and haven’t committed any crime. Andrea Saul, a spokesman for Mitt Romney’s campaign, said: “Governor Romney will study and consider any proposal on immigration from his republican partners,” to show that Senator Rubio’s proposals will be heard.

President Obama also knows of how crucial the Hispanic vote will be in this election, that’s why a few weeks ago he passed the Dream Act by an executive order, this will temporally make almost 800,000 young people who were brought to the country illegally as children safe from deportation. This does not mean these individuals can apply for their citizenship. Senator Rubio criticized president Obama´s action affirming that it was “an election-year action that in the long-term is going to have negative consequences.”

The battle to gain the support from the Hispanic voters has begun. Both parties know very well how crucial this segment of the population will be in the November election. A recent Gallup shows that president Obama has over 65% of Hispanic voters support. So now we just have to wait and see if the Republican Party is able to regain their trust. They have already chosen Marco Rubio to fulfill this difficult task; if he succeeds, there is a big chance that in the future he might become the Republican candidate for the White House.

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“If I’m fortunate enough to become the next president, it is my expectation that Fidel Castro will finally be taken off this planet,” Mitt Romney told to a group of Cuban exiled and political leaders in Miami on January. With this short sentence he showed the world that he is not willing to conceive of Cuba as a friend, as long as Raul and Fidel Castro are still alive.

It seems that Mitt Romney dreams of a free Cuba and is willing to make his dream come true. He also wants to be everything Obama isn’t, so in the Cuba issue he would follow the same plan. If Obama, at the beginning of his presidency, adopted an appeasement strategy, Romney in his campaign assured he would harden the sanctions against Cuba if he is elected president. His plans are clear: the embargo would come to an end when Cuba is free, and free means with the Castro’s out of sight. It is clear that he wants the Cuban community’s support for presidential election.

But in these hard economic times, this strategy may not attract as many Cuban voters as he expects. Cubans are decisive in a crucial state like Florida. Most politicians try to gain their support by criticizing Castro, because most of their ancestors escaped the island when the Castro regime started in 1959. But in this period of crisis, most Cuban voters just think about the economy as their priority. Maybe in a time of prosperity, the priority of the Cuban voters will be the position of the presidential candidate over their country, but not in these hard times.

But Mitt Romney has bigger plans than the Cuban community support. He wants the entire Latin community support; he reassured citizens that he is interested in Latin American issues and clearly expressed the route that he will follow, referring to the relations with the different Latin American governments, if he is elected president. Romney believes that Hugo Chavez, president of Venezuela and declared enemy of the United States,  and Fidel  Castro are serious threats for the United States.

That leaves the country members of ALBA (The Bolivian Alliance for the People of Our America), an alliance proposed by Chavez as an alternative to the FTA (Free Trade Area of the Americas, proposed by the United States) without hope of having good relations with the United States in the nearby future.

But Romney may not be the biggest threat toward Chavez. His real enemy is his sickness.Although president Chavez real health condition is a mystery; the fact is, he hasn’t been present in Venezuela during the last months, and it is very difficult to run a country and win an election just by Twitter. Chavez’s health will be a crucial issue during the next months because it will condition the relationship between the United States and Latin America. Also, if Venezuela falls, it is almost certain that Cuba would fall, because Venezuela is the country’s stronger economic supporter.

The future of the United States and Latin America is a mystery. We still have many questions without an answer, like if Romney would be elected president or if Chavez’ health would make him able to compete in the October elections against Henrique Capriles. All these answers are crucial and would determine the future of the continent.

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Miami, U.S.A. – The Jewish Museum of Florida, a historical museum located on Miami Beach, has become part of the Florida International University family through a gift that will create a unique partnership. The Museum will now be known as the Jewish Museum of Florida-FIU (JMOF-FIU).

The Florida International University’s Board of Trustees voted June 29 to approve the gift, which will leverage the resources of both institutions, igniting a new era of interdisciplinary education, research and outreach focused on the history of the Jewish experience in Florida and issues of discrimination against all peoples in Florida throughout history.

Authorization to use the Jewish Museum of Florida- Florida International University as a special purpose center is still pending approval by the Florida Board of Governors.

This hallmark gift includes two adjacent Art Deco buildings that are listed on the National Register of Historic Places as well as The Museum’s historical collections, research library, endowment and other assets.

“There’s an immense richness of research housed within The Museum that explores 250 years of Jewish art, culture and history,” said Florida International University President Mark B. Rosenberg. “Through this generous gift, FIU will expand our reach into the South Florida community, helping to preserve an important part of our history while enhancing the global learning experience we offer our students.”

A key component of the academic plan for the JMOF-FIU is the relocation of a variety of programs, including the Judaic Studies Program, to The Museum’s facilities. The plan also includes the expansion of academic programs and research endeavors about the challenges of the immigrant experiences shared by all ethnicities in the state of Florida.

“Our synergy and mutual commitment to exploring the richness and diversity of Jewish life in Florida makes this a perfect match,” said Jo Ann Arnowitz, executive director and chief curator of The Museum.

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Julian Assange’s worst nightmare has finally come true. According to the London Police Station, Julian Assange has received a letter to report to London’s Belgravia police station this coming Friday at 11:30 p.m. Sam Jones, a reporter for ‘The Guardian,’ reported, “Assange has been seeking political asylum (where an individual seeks refuge in another country after not feeling safe in their own country, and if the country in which they are seeking refuge, approves of them being there) inside Ecuador’s embassy in London since last week” as he tries to avoid extradition to Sweden, where he is wanted for questioning about alleged sex offenses.”

For extradition cases, being court ordered via letter to attend a court hearing is considered the first step of the extraditing process. Assange is facing court orders to be extradited back to Sweden after he was found of accusations of raping a woman and molesting another while attending a lecture in Stockholm back in August of 2010.

Assange, the Wikileaks website founder, “published a mass of leaked diplomatic cables that embarrassed governments and international businesses, denies all allegations, saying the sex was consensual and the allegations against him are politically motivated,” according to The Guardian.

As of recently, a letter has been signed by leading political figures in the United States including that of Michael Moore, Oliver Stone, Noam Chomsky and Danny Glover. In addition to the letter that was sent to the embassy in Ecuador, a petition of over 4,000 American signatures arrived there as well, in hopes of Ecuadorian President, Rafael Correa approving Assange’s political asylum to stay in Ecuador.

According to Reporter Sam Jones, “The letter, which has been posted online, states that its signatories believe Assange has good reason to fear extradition from the UK to Sweden, “as there is a strong likelihood that once in Sweden, he would be imprisoned, and then likely extradited to the United States.”

If Assange is extradited to the United States, and is found guilty of his allegations, he will face the death penalty, according to the Espionage Act.

One of the individuals who signed the petition also wrote a letter to President Correa stating, “Because this is a clear case of an attack on press freedom and on the public’s right to know important truths about US foreign policy, and because the threat to his health and wellbeing is serious, we urge you to grant Mr Assange political asylum.”

Thus far, Assange has not received any charges from the country of Sweden.

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For decades, Iran has been a subject of multilateral international sanctions which have failed to produce cumulative effects on influencing Iran’s policy on its nuclear program. The “toughest sanctions to date,” as quoted by President Obama, will come into full effect on 28th June 2012. Once again, sanctions fall under the umbrella of attempting to prevent Iran from pursuing its nuclear proliferation program.

According to an International Atomic Agency Report 2011, Iran is aiming towards obtaining nuclear weapons and the punitive methods used by the U.S. government will not just subvert the central bank of Iran but will also have an effect on its energy and transport sector. Pressure has also been exerted on other governments to join in with the implementation of a fourth round of UN sanctions on Iran.

Ranking fifth in the world in its oil reserves and second in gas reserves, Iran is clearly an important energy resource base and a major supplier of oil and natural gas to countries like India, China and Japan. In January 2012, the European Union froze assets of Iran’s central bank within its zone and will be extending oil shipment ban later in July. The severity of these sanctions has made it impossible for companies, banks and governments to do any business dealings with Iran.

The debate about whether or not Iran has a right to nuclear energy is as old as Queen Elizabeth’s ascent to the throne. For Iran, acquisition of nuclear energy has become a matter of national pride and in response to this fourth round of multilateral sanctions taken by the UN in 2010, Iran has responded by stating its right to peaceful nuclear energy.

Iran is a study of complexity and intrigue. It is difficult to understand a society that tethers between the modernism of Shah’s time and adherence to the early years of Islam. Iran’s image in the global world is tarnished, and according to a BBC poll in 2012, Iran tops their list as the country that offers “the most negative influence in the world.”

With the collapse of Saddam’s Baathist regime and the defeat of the Taliban in Afghanistan, an altered and delicate balance of power exists in Southwest Asia. Iran’s strategic importance has made itself a point of convergence of the interests of major players, particularly the US. One only needs to look at the map of the Middle East to know the strategic importance of Iran to the US.

In last 10 years, the strong and divisive fissure in U.S. foreign policy to coerce Tehran into adapting a new stance on the war on terrorism has also failed. Sanctions imposed by the Bush administration in 2006 barred Iran from dealing with US financial institutions, even indirectly. As a result, continuous rounds of sanctions have severed diplomatic ties between the two countries. The restart of the Iranian nuclear program and the US retaliation in terms of sanctions, further induces strong images of adversaries that are monolithically aggressive, diabolical, and untrustworthy. For adversaries who hold equally negative images of the other, the ability for each side to misperceive the enemy’s intent has become more pervasive. This means that it is highly possible that the mutual fear between the US and Iran may result in war.

In the present, the impending talks of attacks on Iran are chiefly driven by concern over the safety of US energy supplies, which is similar to the 2003 Iraq war. However, it is certain that the US will never mention oil as a reason for attacking Iran and furthermore, weapons of mass destruction will be cited as the principal justification for war. It is a concern that waging a war against Iran will worsen the cycle of war and violence in the Middle East since that has been continuing since time immemorial.

There is a pursuing debate among international community about the efficacy of these sanctions. With the impending global recession, and ongoing crisis in the Middle East and North African regions (MENA), boycotting Iranian oil will have an adverse effect on world supplies, especially for developing countries. Even though Iranian oil exports are down by 25%, the government has refused to compromise its stance on its nuclear program.

We shouldn’t forget that Iranian anger over centuries of foreign meddling in their sovereign affairs hasn’t yet disseminated. Iranians have yet to learn to forgive the US and its allies over the ousting of Mossadegh in 1953. If the international media can manipulate and present Iran as something out of the stone ages, then Iranian media has also been ambivalent in showing America and its allies as their version of the axis of evil.

Also, the Shiite faction across the world is fiercely loyal to Iran and has taken its impalpable oath of allegiance to the Ayatollah of Iran. Ali Khamenei’s term is coming to an end, but to think that the new government will be easy to manipulate like the puppet governments of Afghanistan and Pakistan could merely be more wishful thinking. Already, the sanctions have fueled bitter resentment against countries participating in them. Perhaps it’s a time for Euro-Anglo-American bodies to renew their policies and ascertain a modus vivendi that will build ties and, more importantly, will guarantee the stability of the Gulf region.

Economic sanctions throughout history have had corrosive effects on the population of a sanctioned country. Though the government of Iran is confident in its ability to ‘weather’ such sanctions, this is the biggest challenge the country will face since the end of the bloody Iran-Iraq war. With the evolving recession crisis worldwide, it will be interesting to see how Iran will overcome these further imposed sanctions.

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On Friday, June 8 2012 violence broke out in Western Myanmar (also known as Burma) leading to days of ethnic and religious violence including knife attacks and rioting. According to Reuters and MSNBC as of Monday 21 have died, another 21 have been wounded, and 1,662 houses have been burned to the ground. At least 4,100 people have lost their homes and are taking up refuge in schools and Buddhist monasteries.

The Western state of Rakhine is home to the majority religion group the Rakhine Buddhists and the minority group, Rohingya Muslims. The tension has been building for years as the Buddhists and the Muslims have different ethnic, religious, and cultural ties. The former military government has also persecuted the Rohingya Muslims for many years.

According to the UN the Rakhine state – this distraught region of Myanmar – is one of the most discriminating areas in the world. Tomas Ojea Quintana, the UN special rapporteur on the human rights situation in Myanmar, claimed, “the underlying tensions that stem from discrimination against ethnic and religious minorities pose a threat to Myanmar’s democratic transition and stability.”

President Thein Sein has also admitted, “what is currently happening in the Rakhine state is about putting grievances, hatred, and desire for revenge at the forefront, based on racial and religious grounds, and that’s why anarchic actions are becoming widespread.”

The recent violence began after three Muslims were arrested in relation to the rape and murder of a Buddhist woman. A few days later, on June 3, a mob attacked a bus and lynched ten Muslims who were unrelated to the case. The Buddhists are also worried about the Rohingyas taking the jobs in the area where employment is scarce.

The rioting originally broke out in the city of Maungdaw on June 8, but quickly spread to the neighboring towns and cities including the state capital city of Sittwe.

During the violence on June 11, the United Nations pulled out 44 of 150 members of its staff in the western region of Myanmar. Ashok Nigam, the UN’s resident and human coordinator in Yangon – Myanmar’s largest city – stated that the relocation was a precaution for the safety of its staff.

Mohammad Sadek of Malaysia’s Rohingya Arakanese Refugee Committee stated, “We are trying to call on the international community, especially the UN, to send peacekeeping forces to mediate. Thousands of Rohingya are displaced, the wounded can’t get medication, it’s a crisis.”

President Thein Sein declared a state of emergency in the coastal region of the Rakhine state Sunday, June 10. Police were forced to fire shots into the air on Tuesday June 12 in order to disperse a rioting Rohingya group that was burning houses in Sittwe. As of the following day, there were soldiers patrolling the streets of Sittwe preventing individuals from carrying weapons and setting fire to houses.

Soldiers are also helping groups of Rohingya Muslims escape from Sittwe to Thae Chaung village since many individuals’ houses have burned down. The presence of soldiers in Sittwe seems to be calming the violence and residents since, according to Reuters’ reporters, more people are leaving their homes.

The 800,000 Rohingya Muslims living in Myanmar claim to be from the Rakhine region but they have been persecuted by the Myanmar government for years and are still not recognized as citizens, according to the United Nations. Instead the Myanmar government claims the Rohingya Muslims are from Bangladesh and are illegal immigrants; however, the Bangladesh government will not accept them as citizens either. During the 1990s around 250,000 Rohingyas fled to Bangladesh to escape the persecution of the Myanmar government. The Bangladesh government eventually stopped letting the Rohingyas into the country in 1992.

Recently three boats carrying about one thousand Rohingya Muslims tried to enter Bangladesh to flee the current violence but were turned away. Around thirty Rohingyas actually managed to enter Bangladesh ten of whom were injured in the rioting violence in Myanmar and are being treated.

In the past year or so Myanmar has been working to end decades of military rule and economic isolation; however these riots and other recent conflicts have somewhat stalled its efforts. There have been several protests over recent months due to power cuts and workers have also blocked access to twelve mines in Mandalay Division because of bad labor conditions and job cuts.

The military junta in Myanmar ruled the country for decades and heavily supported  the ethnic majority of Burmans over the minority groups in the country. According to Jan Zalewski, a South Asia analyst with IHD Global Insight based in London, “the rest, the non-Burmans, were pretty much persecuted.” Zalewski also suggests a reason for the recent protests and violence during these government reforms. “As you reform and open up the media, people have an opportunity to vent their anger over everything that’s sitting quite deep. So you increase the polarization between groups.”

President Sein was elected with the backing of the military but he has worked to get rid of many of the former, oppressive policies and has worked toward the pro-democracy movement advocated by Nobel Peace Prize Laureate and former political prisoner Auug San Suu Kyi. Myanmar’s government over the past year has released political prisoners, held free elections, and signed peace deals with rebel minority groups; several Western governments that have previously left Myanmar in economic isolation have relaxed economic sanctions with these changes.

Some have been worried that the government will use this outbreak of violence as an excuse to tighten control again. However the European Union announced that it was ‘satisfied’ with the response by the Myanmar government, possibly implying that they believe the government has not overstepped its bounds during this crisis.

The United States Secretary of State, Hillary Rodham Clinton also made a statement saying, “We urge the people of Burma to work together toward a peaceful, prosperous and democratic country that respects the rights of all its diverse people.”

Although the violence seems to be calming, the International Crisis Group, a non-governmental research organization, warns, “How the government handles this case will be a major test of the police and courts in a country that has just begun to emerge from an authoritarian past. It will also test the government’s will and capacity to reverse a longstanding policy of discrimination toward the Muslim Rohingya.”

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Yemenis troops took two of al-Qaeda’s southern strongholds 12 June 2012 in an operation known as Golden Swords. The offensive, which began 12 May 2012, took over ninety percent of the provincial capital of Abyan, Zinjibar, and the city of Jaar. The troops also took the highway linking Jaar to the port of Aden, the area through which sixty percent of Yemen’s oil passes.

The Yemeni military was backed by dozens of US troops who remained in a command center at a nearby air base.

The Yemeni troops have been shelling the strongholds for about the past two months. The troops took Jaar in a surprise dawn attack, driving the al-Qaeda group out. The residents of the town celebrated the victory of the operation. One Jaar resident, Khaled Mohsen stated, “we thought it would take a year in order for the army to get rid of al-Qaeda, but we were surprised when they swept into the town in no time. I have been hearing constant exchange of gunfire all night, then suddenly everything was quiet. I looked from the windows, and I saw soldiers in uniform in the center of the town.”

The fighting in Zanjibar was much lighter than in Jaar since most of the city was already taken and many of the militants left for Jaar to defend that city.

Twenty militants and forty troops were killed in the fighting. The al-Qaeda militants fled from the town to the mountains and small towns in the region; most are now in the coastal town of Shaqra, the last remaining stronghold of al-Qaeda in the Abyan region. The group claims that they left the city to “spare bloodshed” and threatened to attack the capital of Sanaa in retaliation, according to CP24, a Canadian news agency. As they left Jaar the militants wrote “Al-Qaeda has withdrawn. Al-Qaeda was not defeated” on shutters and walls.

Al-Qaeda has been in possession of most of the southern province of Abyan for over a year. Although the Yemeni military has tried to take the region back, past attempts have failed because they are ill-equipped, badly trained, have no developed intelligence system, and there are still some conflicted loyalties to former President Saleh.

Newly elected President, Abed Rabbo Mansour Hadi, has promised to purge Yemen of al-Qaeda; so far his efforts seem to be successful. According to Gamal al-Aqil, governor of the Abyan province, the Yemeni government has succeeded in dealing al-Qaeda “painful blows.”

The United States views al-Qaeda in Yemen as the greatest threat to its national security. They have been aiding the Yemeni government as it tries to overthrow the group. The United States has also sent many drone attacks to the area over the past several years, although many in Yemen oppose the strikes. According to the BBC around forty people, including Yemeni citizens, were killed in US drone strikes in 2009.

Although al-Qaeda seems to be on the run in Yemen, the government is still worried about sleeper cells that may remain elsewhere in Yemen. The group has also retaliated recently with a suicide bomber in Sanaa in response to the foiling of a bombing attack on a US airliner.

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Fairfax County, U.S.A. – Sun Design Remodeling Specialists of Fairfax County, Va. has won two national remodeling industry awards for the creativity, professionalism and overall excellence of its projects and exceptional customer satisfaction.

Sun Design has won a national Chrysalis Award for a residential basement project in Fairfax County. Chrysalis Awards honor the finest remodeling projects in the country. Some 81 remodeling companies from across the United States were named winners. Winning projects were selected from 420 entries judged on overall design, creative use of space and materials and the degree to which the project enhanced the original structure.

Sun Design has also won The 2012 Guildmaster Award (with Distinction) which is given based on a lengthy track record of exceptional customer satisfaction. The awarding organization surveys recent actual customers of homebuilders, remodelers, real estate developers, and home services contractors across the country and makes awards based on specific testimonials provided by those customers.

This has been one of most spectacular periods in Sun Design’s 24-year history. Earlier this month, the company announced it had its best sales month ever in March 2012. Sales were more than $1.8 million, beating its last record of $1.6 million in June 2007. The company won a national CotY Award as a “Contractor of the Year” from the National Association of the Remodeling Industry (NARI), in April of this year, for a dramatic remodeling project in Fairfax, VA.

Sun Design President Bob Gallagher, said, “This is really an exciting time for all of us at Sun Design. We’re beating records, winning the hearts of our clients and growing the organization to exceed the expectations of each and every client.”

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Cypress, U.S.A. - Yamaha Motor recently announced its 2013 model year line of ATV and Side-by-Side (SxS) vehicles, including new Assembled in U.S.A. Raptor 700 sport ATVs and new Tactical Black Grizzly 700 4×4 and Rhino 700 4×4 Special Edition models.

The Raptor 700 models are the first Yamaha sport ATVs to be assembled in the U.S. In 2010, Yamaha announced a long term production transfer strategy to move the great majority of its worldwide ATV production to the Yamaha Motor Manufacturing Corporation of America (YMMC) factory in Newnan, Georgia. Last year, Yamaha moved the production of its top-of-the-line utility ATVs, the Grizzly 700 and Grizzly 550, to YMMC, and Yamaha will complete the production transfer with additional models coming to the U.S. by the end of 2013.

“Yamaha’s ATV production transfer represents the company’s long term commitment to the U.S. ATV market as well as its significant investment in the YMMC facility,” said Steve Nessl, Yamaha’s ATV/SxS group marketing manager. “Yamaha’s U.S. factory is state-of-the-art with highly trained and passionate U.S. workers who are turning out the most durable and reliable ATV and SxS products. Yamaha is proud to bring more ATV production to the U.S. – the world’s largest ATV market – and to be part of the local community in Newnan.”

The production transfer will continue through the end of 2013, and when complete, could result in Yamaha adding 200 or more American jobs at Yamaha’s U.S. factory as well as additional jobs at the company’s 125 North American parts supplier companies. YMMC will ultimately be responsible for nearly all of Yamaha’s worldwide ATV production including both utility and sport models.

With its transfer to YMMC this summer, the Raptor 700R receives aggressive new styling and performance features that reinforce its position as the highest performance big bore sport ATV. Catering to a larger base of ATV enthusiasts, Yamaha is producing three versions of the Raptor 700 this year with a range of pricing, performance and design options.

The Team Yamaha Blue/White Raptor 700R (MSRP $8,099) is $300 less than the comparable 2012 model. This year’s Special Edition Raptor 700R features black plastics with special red graphics and GYTR accessories (MSRP $8,799) at $200 less than the 2012 SE. Additionally for 2013, Yamaha has developed a third version Raptor 700 (MSRP $7,699) in white with dual graphic kit options priced at $700below last year’s 700R model. The all-white 2013 Raptor 700 comes with two graphic kits at the time of purchase: a Red, White and Blue Assembled in U.S.A.-themed kit and an aggressive black and red kit.

Yamaha is the number one brand in sport ATVs with the industry’s most complete line of high performance, track and trail conquering machines including, in addition to the three Raptor 700 models, the YFZ450R (MSRP $8,599), YFZ450R Special Edition (MSRP $8,949), YFZ450 (MSRP $6,899), Raptor 350 (MSRP $5,599), Raptor 250 (MSRP $4,599) and Raptor 125 (MSRP $3,499). Yamaha will also produce the Raptor 90 youth model (MSRP $2,699). Each of the sport and youth models has an all-white version with the dual graphic kit option – similar to the Raptor 700.

Also new for 2013 are Yamaha’s Special Edition Tactical Black Grizzly 700 FI with Electric Power Steering (EPS) (MSRP $10,999) and Rhino 700 FI 4×4 (MSRP $12,999). All of Yamaha’s 4×4 vehicles are assembled at Yamaha’s U.S. factory, and these two new SE models feature an all-new matte black body and cast aluminum wheels for tactical design and durability. These are the most off-road capable and durable vehicles in their respective classes both featuring Yamaha’s exclusive Ultramatic automatic transmission, the most durable CVT system in the industry, and Yamaha’s On-Command push-button 2WD, 4WD and 4WD diff-lock system.

The new Tactical Black SE models join Yamaha’s complete line of award-winning and super reliable utility ATVs for 2013 including the Grizzly 700 FI (MSRP starting at $8,899) and Grizzly 700 FI EPS (MSRP starting at $9,499), Grizzly 550 FI (MSRP starting at $7,999) and Grizzly 550 FI EPS (MSRP starting at$8,699), Grizzly 450 (MSRP starting at $6,899) and Grizzly 450 EPS (MSRP starting at $7,499), Grizzly 350 Auto 4×4 (MSRP starting at $5,599), Grizzly 300 Auto (MSRP $4,199) and Grizzly 125 Auto (MSRP$3,699). Most of Yamaha’s utility ATVs come in multiple color options including Realtree AP HD camo.

Yamaha’s Rhino 700 FI SxS continues to be one of the highest quality, most versatile and off-road capable vehicles and for 2013 will be available in Red and Hunter Green (MSRP $11,499) and Realtree AP HD camo (MSRP $12,049).

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Franklin, U.S.A. - As National Tire Safety Week kicks-off across the country, Nissan confirmed plans to make the “Easy-Fill Tire Alert” system available on all future models it brings to market beginning in 2013. This safety feature, which also bolsters fuel economy, is one of the automaker’s latest innovations. It currently comes standard on all 2013 Nissan Altima, 2012 Nissan LEAF and 2012 Nissan Quest models, with standard or optional availability on more products to follow later this year as the automaker continues it launch of five all-new models in the next 15 months.

The “Easy-Fill Tire Alert” system is an all-new control module currently being phased into vehicle redesigns like the all-new 2013 Nissan Altima. First, the vehicle’s tire-pressure warning system alerts a driver to a low tire; and on some models displays the current pressure and tire or tires that require attention on the dashboard display.

When alerted, drivers should stop at the nearest gas station to fill the tire with an available air hose. Once air begins flowing into the tire, the vehicle’s four-way flashers come on to confirm the process has started. When the tire hits the appropriate pressure level, the horn then chirps to let drivers know the tire has been properly inflated. If the driver continues to fill the tire with air, the horn honks more aggressively and the tire deflates to the appropriate operating level.

“Nissan’s ‘Easy-Fill Tire Alert’ system is straight forward and eliminates the need to keep a tire gauge in your vehicle’s glove compartment,” said Pierre Loing, vice president, Product Planning, Nissan North America, Inc. “By making this unique Nissan innovation available on all our future products, the guessing and the gauge vanish for our customers.”

A recently released federal study shows driving on under-inflated tires triples the risk of an accident, and according to the U.S. Department of Energy, drivers can improve gas mileage by up to 3.3 percent by keeping tires inflated to the proper pressure. Additionally, auto care professionals say that from one tire gauge to another there can be a three or four pound difference in air pressure readings, further indicating the need for an easy-to-use technology like the “Easy-Fill Tire Alert” to assist vehicle owners in maintaining proper tire pressure.

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New York, U.S.A. - Two things immediately come to mind this time of year – baseball and iced coffee. Dunkin’ Donuts, America’s all-day, everyday stop for coffee and baked goods, has all your bases covered this summer season. New York Mets Manager Terry Collins and New York Yankees Manager Joe Girardi will be featured in a two month campaign in the New York Metro area to promote Dunkin’ Donuts Caramel, Mocha and the new Mocha Almond Iced Coffee flavors.

Dunkin’ Donuts will showcase both managers through a multi-tiered promotional campaign. Collins and Girardi will be featured in the television and radio campaign, “Fuels Any Series,” which will spotlight the friendly rivalry between both managers, with Collins promoting Mocha Iced Coffee and Girardi promoting Caramel Iced Coffee.

Additionally, the managers’ likeness will be prominently displayed in Dunkin’ Donuts restaurants throughout the New York Metro area, including store standees, door decals and in-store POP. The “Fuels Any Series” campaign will also be leveraged through Dunkin’ Donuts’ various social media channels during the promotion.

“It is an honor for Dunkin’ Donuts to partner with both Terry Collins and Joe Girardi for this exciting promotion. Dunkin’ Donuts has a long standing relationship with both the Yankees and Mets and this partnership will be a fantastic way to highlight Dunkin’ Donuts’ leadership in the iced coffee category,” saidRuss Romeo, Field Marketing Director for Dunkin’ Brands in the Mid-Atlantic Region. “Whether you are a Yankees fan or a Mets fan, Dunkin’ Donuts is sure to fuel your summer!”

Collins was named the 20th manager in Mets history on November 23, 2010 and has led the Mets to a 31-25 record this season. He first joined the Mets in 2010 as a Minor League Field Coordinator overseeing all on-field aspects of the Mets’ Minor League Spring Training, mini camps and Fall Instructional League. Collins previously spent six years as a major-league manager leading the Anaheim Angels and Houston Astros to winning records and second place finishes.

Girardi became manager of the Yankees in 2008, and led the team to their 27th World Championship in 2009. Girardi led the Yankees to the post-season the past three years, and currently has the Yankees near the top of the American League East with a 30-24 record. During his playing career, Girardi spent 15 seasons as a catcher in the big leagues, winning three World Championships with the Yankees (1996, 1998 and 1999).

Dunkin’ Donuts has been at the forefront in developing an innovative process for brewing iced coffee, which has set the standard for the industry. The unique process, called double brewing, uses twice the amount of coffee when making the beverage to achieve consistent flavor and freshness that are never compromised at the expense of serving it cold. The result is a smooth, rich taste sensation–iced coffee that is never bitter or watered down.

Image Courtesy  of  jason aron / Shutterstock.com

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New York, U.S.A. - Penton Media, the largest privately owned business-to-business media company in the U.S., announced the launch of WealthManagement.com, a new digital resource for financial and estate planning professionals. The site, which is organized around how wealth professionals spend their day, is the new digital resource of REP. magazine, RegisteredRep.com, Trusts & Estates magazine, Trusts&Estates.com, more than a dozen e-newsletters and original content.

“We’ve spent the last two years in the marketplace tracking habits and workflow of advisors,” said William O’Conor, vice president, Penton Wealth Management Group. “As part of this research, we developed the proper organization and flow for the sites.

It also became eminently clear that while Registered Rep. was largely for financial advisors, and Trusts & Estates was targeted at estate planning professionals, their information needs were more and more overlapping. So, we decided to make the bold move of building WealthManagement.com as a combined site. If the site serves our readers properly, it should be a unique meeting place for all the centers of influence within the wealth management industry involved in investing, accounting, tax, legal, philanthropy and estate planning.”

With four times as much content and improved navigation, search and display, the site is designed to serve the needs of the novice or the advanced practitioner. The content will be primarily available without charge, though registration and/or payment will be required for selected premium content and tools.

“WealthManagement.com provides everything wealth professionals need to know to stay knowledgeable about the industry, build stronger relationships, improve their practice and grow their business,” said David Armstrong, managing editor of WealthManagement.com.  ”Its unique ‘day in the life’ information taxonomy is designed around the daily activities of wealth advisors – covering everything from daily news and opinion to financial planning strategies, practice management, community resources, and business tools and services.” Our new motto is: “Invest your time wisely. Every day.”

Updates to the print publications

Effective with the June 2012 issues, Registered Rep. has changed its name to “REP., The WealthManagement.com magazine for financial professionals,” and Trusts & Estates has adopted the tagline, “The WealthManagement.com journal for estate planning professionals.”

“These moves were part of the plan to bring the brands closer together, and we believe this is one of the few times that seasoned and established print publications have become identified as units of a Web property,” said Warren N. Bimblick, Penton’s senior vice president, strategy and business development. Indeed, REP. is 31 years old and Trusts & Estates is 108 years old.

“The team has really sized up the marketplace and come up with an offering of content, community, data and targeting that is really strong,” said David Kieselstein, Penton’s CEO. “We have tested their premises with users and marketers, and working with our technology group, have created a unique and valuable service.”

Songquan Deng / Shutterstock.com

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Chicago, U.S.A. – Just ahead of a major U.S. Senate vote on the Environmental Protection Agency’s authority to clean up mercury and other toxic air pollutants, a Natural Resources Defense Council (NRDC) report shows that the 25 worst coal-fired power plants account for more than half of the dangerous mercury pollution emitted by the total of 144 electricity generation facilities in the Great Lakes region. The report also finds that almost 90 percent of the toxic emissions could be eliminated with off-the-shelf technologies.

According to ”Poisoning the Great Lakes: Mercury Emissions from Coal-Fired Power Plants In the Great Lakes Region,” Ohio emits the largest amount of mercury from coal-fired power plants (21 percent of the total in the Great Lakes region), followed closely by Pennsylvania (20 percent) and Indiana (16 percent). The remaining five states in the region rank as follows: Michigan (14 percent); Illinois (11 percent); Wisconsin (9.5 percent); Minnesota (6.5 percent); and New York (2 percent). Plants from outside the region also contribute to mercury pollution in the Great Lakes.

The Great Lakes region’s five worst coal-fired power plants for mercury pollution are: Shawville (Clearfield County, PA); Monroe (Monroe County, MI); Homer City (Indiana County, PA); Cardinal (Jefferson County, OH); and Sherburne County (Sherburne County, MN). (See the complete list below of the worst 25.) A dozen power plants in Ohio and Indiana – owned in whole or part by American Electric Power — accounted for 19 percent of all mercury emitted in 2010 from the total of 144 coal-fired power plants in the region.

U.S. Senator James Inhofe, R-OK, recently filed a Congressional Review Act (CRA) resolution to void health standards reducing mercury and other toxic air pollution from power plants and to permanently block EPA from re-issuing similar safeguards.

Thomas Cmar, attorney, Natural Resources Defense Council office in Chicago, said: ”Mercury is a dangerous brain poison that doesn’t belong in our Great Lakes. It puts the health of kids and pregnant women at risk and adds an unwelcome danger to eating what our fishermen catch. That’s why it is so important that we support the EPA’s standards to reduce mercury pollution by holding polluters accountable. Even more critical is that every single U.S. Senator from the region stand up for the Lakes by rejecting reckless attempts to derail the long overdue Clean Air Act updates that can help tame this problem.”

Cindy Copeland, report author and formerly with the EPA Air Program, said: “Mercury is poisoning the Great Lakes and the three states – Ohio, Indiana and Pennsylvania – that impose no rules are by far the worst offenders. Airborne mercury from coal-fired power plants in the Great Lakes Region harms our health, and the benefits of reducing mercury emissions are well worth the cost. With a reduction of health costs to the economy at up to $90 billion, it is hard to say no to this.”

In the Great Lakes region, there are more than 144 coal-fired power plants which pumped over 13,000 pounds of mercury into the air in 2010. Mercury pollution from these plants’ region accounts for close to 25 percent of the nation’s total. The Great Lakes region is comprised of the five Great Lakes (Erie,Ontario, Huron, Michigan, and Superior) and the eight surrounding states (Illinois, Indiana, Michigan,Minnesota, Ohio, Pennsylvania, New York, and Wisconsin).

Eating poisoned fish is the primary cause of mercury poisoning of humans. Mercury is a neurotoxin that harms the brain, heart, central nervous system, kidneys, lungs, and immune system. Young children and developing fetuses are most at risk, and can suffer developmental problems from mercury poisoning.

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) recently issued nationwide rules to require coal-fired power plants to limit airborne mercury emissions and other toxic air pollutants by 2015. The technologies to meet the EPA’s mercury limits are widely available and effective.

Based on projected reductions in fine particulate emissions due to the combined benefits of various air toxic pollution controls, the EPA has projected that the benefits of its Mercury and Air Toxics Standards (MATS) far outweigh the costs of pollution controls. The health benefits of the MATS are projected to be worth $37 to $90 billion in 2016 alone. The EPA has projected that the majority of the benefits would be reaped in the eastern United States, including the Great Lakes region.

Mercury emitted into the air from coal-fired power plants is by far the leading man-made source of mercury reaching the Great Lakes and the lakes, rivers, and streams of the Great Lakes region. This report lists the top 25 mercury emitting plants in the region. Mercury pollution from plants outside the region also contributes to the overall quantity of mercury found in the Great Lakes. When coal is burned to produce electricity, mercury is emitted into the air. The EPA estimates that coal-fired power plants are the largest man-made source of mercury pollution, accounting for 50 percent of mercury air emissions in the United States.

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Chicago, U.S.A. – The start of summer also marks the beginning of the “100 Deadliest Days for Teens”— the time between Memorial Day and Labor Day that is traditionally the deadliest for teen drivers. Automobile accidents are the leading cause of death for U.S. teens, and more teens are killed on the road during summer than any other time of year.

But parents can do more than just stand by and worry this summer; when it comes to safe driving, parents have more influence over their teens’ behavior than they might expect, say experts featured on BeSmartBeWell.com/Teen-Driving in a series of new videos produced by the health and wellness website.

“Parents play a key role in preventing teen crashes. When asked whose opinions they listen to, teens most often said their parents,” says Erin Sauber-Schatz, Ph.D., M.P.H., of the CDC and one of the experts featured on BeSmartBeWell.com/Teen-Driving.

Parents can turn to BeSmartBeWell.com, where experts and real-life parents provide practical advice for starting conversations about safe driving and getting teens the driving experience they need to be safe behind the wheel.

Be clear and be involved

Teens who think their parents will be upset with them if they engage in risky driving are less likely to take risks when behind the wheel. That is why it’s important for parents to communicate their expectations for safe driving clearly.

Tanya, a mom featured on BeSmartBeWell.com/Teen-Driving, has been very clear with her teen daughter about driving rules and what happens when the rules are violated.

“It’s important to let her know the consequences. If she doesn’t follow through, she’ll know what I expect from her,” Tanya says. “She’ll know what she’s supposed to do, what’s wrong and what’s right.” Watch Tanya and her daughter negotiate their family’s rules of the road.

Tanya also makes sure Daija gets lots of supervised driving practice, essential for keeping teens safe behind the wheel. “You should be driving with your teen as much as possible,” says Flaura Winston, M.D., director of the Center for Injury Research and Prevention at Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia and one of the experts featured on BeSmartBeWell.com/Teen-Driving. “The more hours the better, and in a variety of conditions.”

Not sure how to begin?

A parent-teen driver agreement can help parents start a conversation about safe driving. A teen driver agreement lists driving rules – like always wear a seat belt, never text and drive, etc. – and spells out consequences for violating those rules.

Negotiating the terms of the agreement together helps parents communicate their expectations, and garners teen buy-in, says the CDC’s Sauber-Schatz in a video on BeSmartBeWell.com/Teen-Driving. ”It lets the teens and parents work together to set up the consequences.”

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Poverty is one of the world’s biggest unsolved issues. Even though the United States is the wealthiest country in the world, it’s  masses still live in poverty every single day. According to the non-profit organization ‘Bread for the World,’ “more than one in five children live in households that struggle to put food on the table, and most Americans (51.4 percent) will live in poverty at some point before age 65.” Of that percentage, a huge chunk comes from broken homes, including single and teenage mothers. This chunk is being blamed for the poor social mobility in the U.S.

According to a survey in the book “From Parents to Children,” written by a group of scholars, “children born into poor homes in America — where single-parent and teen-parent homes are more common (than in other parts of the world)– tended to remain poor throughout their life, while Australian and Canadian children born into similar families were more successful in advancing themselves.”

One of the scholars who wrote the book, Ottawa University’s Miles Corak, a poverty and education expert, said, “the tie between the educational attainment of children and the educational attainment of their parents is much tighter in the UK and U.S. than not just Australia and Canada, but also the vast majority of comparable rich countries.”

Children in the United States that are born into poverty are considered less developed than children entering elementary school in Australia and Canada. By the time these children enter high school, the gap of development continues to widen. Additionally, according to NewsCore, students born into poverty are much less likely to further their education after high school than impoverished students in other industrialized nations.

In hopes of improving the lives of those born into poverty in the United States, there are several things that the public can do to contribute to the lives of those that are most affected. Educational Charity Sutton Trust, which works to address such inequalities, said, “if we can understand the reasons for the much higher levels of social mobility in nations such as Canada and Australia … then the hope is that we can develop policies that will improve the life prospects.”

‘Bread for the World’ outlines several solutions to end poverty and to change the current statistics of poverty in America. Better jobs with higher wages need to be created for adults to support their families, and work support programs need to expand for families to have access to affordable health care and child care.

Strengthening tax credits, such as the Earned Income Tax Credit and Child Tax Credit, which help working families, and child nutrition programs—school lunches and breakfasts, summer feeding programs, and the Women, Infants and Children (WIC) program—are critical to ending childhood hunger. When children receive the nutrition they need, they are more likely to move out of poverty as adults.

Image Courtesy of  Gerry Boughan / Shutterstock.com

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Each and every year conditions for journalists are getting more dangerous. So far this year, 44 journalists have been killed, making the year of 2012 potentially the deadliest year for journalists since the International Press Institute began tracking such deaths in 1997, according to the Neiman Journalism Lab. As of May 16^th there is one more journalist to be added to that list: Honduran Radio Journalist, Ángel Alfredo Villatoro.

Villatoro was found dead Tuesday night on a sidewalk in the city of Tegucigalpa. He had a red handkerchief covering his face and was dressed as a special operations police officer at the time he was discovered. He had been kidnapped from his car on May 9^th and had been shot in the head twice, according to police reports.

According to the Committee to Protect Journalists, also known as the CPJ, Honduran President Porfirio Lobo told journalists that the kidnappers had sent a “proof of life” video with images of Villatoro. However, it was later found out that the images were from Saturday, according to news reports. “News accounts said the journalist’s family had received a demand for ransom. Héctor Ivan Mejía, spokesman for the national police, told  journalists there were many possible theories but that nothing was confirmed and that police would continue to investigate.”

Police are suspecting that the murder of Villatoro was a result of a drug gang retaliation on the government from the recent crackdown on drug cartels. Security Minister Pompeyo made a statement to a local TV station saying, “(Drug gangs) are trying to frighten Honduran society.”

There is good reason for the government to be cracking down on local drug gangs  as Honduras is becoming increasingly used as a transit route to smuggle cocaine from South America into the United States. According to Gustavo Palencia, a reporter with the Huffington Post, “Honduras has the world’s highest murder rate – more than 80 homicides per 100,000 inhabitants last year.”

Police are continuing to investigate the murder of the beloved journalist, but have found no leads for a suspect thus far.

Villatoro was a prominent and well-know Director and radio personality for HRN radio, one of Honduras’s oldest and most listened to radio stations. As the investigation continues, those that loved him most, want to see justice served for the sake of Villatoro and his loved ones.

“We are saddened by the death of journalist Ángel Alfredo Villatoro and send our condolences to his friends, family, and colleagues,” said CPJ Executive Director Joel Simon. “Honduran authorities must fully investigate this crime and bring those responsible to justice. The deadly cycle of violence against journalists and impunity for these crimes is endangering freedom of expression in Honduras.”

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In a little under 181 days, Americans will head to the voting booths to decide who will be president for the next four years. The committed Left and Democrats will vote for Barack Obama. The committed Right and Republicans, though not all not at all Conservatives, will vote for Mitt Romney.

Stuck in the middle will be the independents, liberal Republicans, and conservative Democrats. These are the people Obama and Romney will be fighting over to secure the White House. The campaign will be brutal, it will be hard fought and each man will try to sell his vision of America to the voters he needs. It is this last part, “a vision of America,” that will really be at the heart of the 2012 presidential election.

Within a 200-year span, America has become the most powerful and successful country in the history of the world. It did not accomplish this because its citizens are smarter; they are not. America accomplished this because its system of governance, the framework of capitalism and the idea of freedom for every individual in regards to their purpose in life.

These things allowed the people of America to capitalize on the huge amount of resources at America’s disposal. It has not always been pretty, but the U.S. is still the best country for an ambitious, poor person to live.

In November of 2012, we will, for the first time since the founding of this country, decide whether that will remain the case. The country has reached a tipping point. The President has increased the debt so high, so fast that we are a short distance from financial collapse.

Many in the country want more entitlements, more spending, more benefits, in two or three years Supreme Court Justice Kennedy will retire, leaving open a slot that could Left or Right, depending on this election. President Obama represents one path, Governor Romney another path.

On the Left 

In one corner, we have Barack Obama, a man who exemplifies one set of choices. America needs to be transformed, changed and humbled. We know this because this is what the president has told us. Throughout his campaign, he preached the ideas of change and transformation. On the day of his electoral win, his victory speech was capped off with the words, “Change has come to America.”

His two signature programs would be a stimulus package of nearly a trillion dollars, followed up with increases in every single social program the government has with the coup de grace being the ‘Obamacare’ law that took the country one step closer to single-payer healthcare.

In the last three years, change and transformation have meant spending more money, according to the Congressional Budget Office, than all previous presidents combined. In order to pay for this, Mr. Obama has fallen on the politics of envy, telling millions of high-income Americans they are not paying their fair share.

Indeed, in the next election, it has almost become a repeated mantra of his: “Pay their fair share,” “Everyone needs to sacrifice and pay their fair share,” or “Everyone needs to pay their fair share, and do their part.” The single fact that the top 10% of wage earners already pay 65 percent of the tax bill seems lost on the president and those that support him.

This is not an accusation or an assertion; it is on the White House webpage. It is easy for anyone to add up and see. This is the America that Barack Obama is fighting to create. A country where the few take care of the many and the government decides what you need.

The path he would take America on is one that the world has previously seen. It is a place where the state takes care of the citizen. It is the duty of the government to provide healthcare, education at all levels, determine rules for what is or is not fair. It is a government that spends large amounts of money on social programs designed to make a person’s life better, even if it means running their life.

On this path, businesses large and small are to be watched closely, regulated tightly, and provide something for the common populace to do during the day. To pay for this path, the government will play Robin Hood and take from society’s most productive people in order to pay for all the rest. What it cannot make up in tax revenue or confiscation, it will pay via loans and debt to other countries.

America today is a debtor nation, no different from the man hocking his computer to pay for his habit, except America’s drug of choice will be money for birth control, abortions, food stamps, or worst yet, another bridge with a politician’s name on it. Food stamp usage has increased under President Obama exponentially.

And despite the Democrats cry of racist foul play toward Newt Gingrich over calling President Obama the food stamp President, his reelection team is using a TV ad proclaiming proudly the increased usage. The battle over giving women, rich or poor, free birth control has become the policy mascot in the Democrats insistence that there is a “War on Women.”

This is the fiscal path that President Obama has chosen to lead the country on. This is the transformation he for which he is fighting, a change in the social contract. A contract that gives, and gives, and gives, regardless of the cost.

President Obama is the current standard-bearer for the liberal mindset, and that mindset is one of no judgments, and excuse-making. It is how you get gay marriage, not as an equal right, but as some sort of equivalency to normal marriage. It is why obesity is the fault of soda companies, McDonald’s, or not enough side walks in the country, and not a parent’s inability to say no to a five-year-old, or pull the honey bun away from his or her own mouth.

The issue of whether any of these examples: social spending, socialism, alternative life styles, etc., are okay or should be seen as acceptable is not the issue. The issue is that this is one path that America can take. This is one of the choices we face.

On the Right

In the other corner, we have the vision of the Right. A vision that says anyone with the drive and ambition can move from being poor to being a billionaire in their lifetime. Jorge M. Perez managed to do it, even though he came to this country poor, uneducated and unable to speak English. The President’s biggest cheerleader Oprah Winfrey did it, despite her well documented trials of physical abuse and rape. The vision being championed this time around by Mitt Romney wants all people to have the same opportunity as Winfrey, Perez and millions of other Americans.

It is a country where charity to the needy is golden, but the healthy must put in work. It is a country where the rules for business are simple: do not lie, cheat, or defraud the public and if you do, then you go to jail, but otherwise, do what you want. Do all businesses follow that path? No, they do not, and when they do not, they are punished.

Much in the same way we punish individuals for robbing banks, speeding, or physically assaulting someone, but we do not believe most people act in those ways. There is no transformation that needs to take place. The vision on the Right rejects the idea that we are a deeply flawed nation.

The views of how business should be treated is perhaps best illustrated in the tale of two states: California and Texas. California follows the dreams of the Left; high taxes, social Liberalism, tightly regulated businesses and, they have a 15 billion dollar deficit. Starting a business is costly and tedious, so businesses are leaving the state, along with their tax revenue and jobs. Many are going to Texas where taxes are low, and regulation is smart, but not onerous.

As a result Texas has low unemployment and has had low unemployment for years. The idea of making it harder to open a business is silly to those on the Right. Conservatives want a path that embraces the entrepreneurial spirit of each person, wants it to take flight, and when it does, congratulates you for being successful.

Individualism, personal responsibility, and personal choice is the path being fought for by Mitt Romney. As the standard-bearer for the Right, he is fighting to create or maintain a structure that encourages entrepreneur-ism and self-reliance. It is a view that says the needy get help, but everyone else needs to step up to the plate, and take care of themselves.

New ideas, new innovations, products, and services that help people and make individuals money, that is the path that built America and created all the tools we take for granted. The Imac, I-pod, and I-phone were not created in a department in Washington. No, Apple was founded in a garage by a bright individual, whose company has become a powerhouse that provides thousands of jobs, and billions in tax revenue.

Take your pick of a product cell phones, internet, cars, air conditioning, high tech medicine, shopping malls, and Walmart. These items did not come out of a government program. These products were not conceived in some over-bloated governmental department. Americans did this in a nation that is a capitalist society. It is the backbone of the Great American Experiment. We have a system in America that allows a 19-year-old freshman at Harvard create a business and product that changes the world.

It is a country that allows another company to create a product, called Farmville, for the aforementioned company founded by that 19-year-old and generate 340 million in revenue. This is the country America is, and this what the Right represents. A vision that does not just fight for the millionaire or billionaire, but for the right and ability of you, your kids, and grandkids to become a millionaire or billionaire yourself.

This is what the election is about. Who are we going to be as a country? Are we going to be a North American version of France with social programs for every citizen and a laissez-faire population, or are we going to be  Americans? In America we work hard, people that do not perform get fired (unless they are union teachers), and compared to the rest of the world our economy shows it.

In France, you get 8 weeks of vacation, you cannot be fired easily, and you get riots from people if they try to change retirement by two years. More important, their economy reflects that as well. France, and other countries with similar policies have stagnant economies, and a financial house that is crumbling even as you read these words.

This is not a bashing of France. Judging by the recent presidential vote, they are proud to be socialists. The issue is what America wants to be. Is the path of national healthcare, eight-week vacations, and a nanny state that polices where we want to go?

This election is the one that will answer that question.

There will be many long arguments in the coming weeks and months about which path is better. Make no mistake, this is the election that will be a defining one in your life, my life, and in the world. If we go in one direction, we could end up going the path of empires before us such as Rome, Carthage, the British Empire, etc.: into a path of slow decay. Not because the notion of helping others is bad, but because to give people stuff, you have to pay for it, and there is never enough money in a social democracy.

If this is not the case then why are Spain, Greece, France, Italy, Ireland and others finding out that truth today? If there is more than enough, then why is Europe a heartbeat away from collapsing economically? Depending on what direction this next election takes, America may find out the answer to those questions. If we move Left, we might not like the answer.

Image Courtesy of  K2 images / Shutterstock.com

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Miami,U.S.A. – When twenty-four renowned authors come together to record personal anecdotes on migration and the United States, the result is an anthology as rich and colorful as the experiences that transpire in or derive from the “great country up north.” Sam no es mi tio, published by Alfaguara.

Each Hispanic has a story, personal or collective, real or imaginary, to tell concerning the United States. At one point in our lives, one way or another, we have all crossed paths with the “North.” For this reason, the twenty-four writers in this unique anthology set out to portray America-The Americas, their Americas.

As Ailen El-Kadi, who along with Diego Fonseca edited this anthology, says “We wanted confessions, we wanted stories that were personal, stories that weren’t that easy to tell. And what did we find? We found that behind the Unites States and behind every person passing through US customs a host of fantasies exist. Our chroniclers, like millions of others,  came face to face with reality when they reached the North.

Things are not as you imagine they would be, whether for someone shopping in Miami or going to University, or for those who leave their countries, families, jobs, and loved ones behind in search of a better life or a decent wage. In Sam no es mi tio readers will find just that, diverse and distinct stories from all types of people, confessions from those who have dared to reveal the myths that Latin Americans have been piling up for years regarding the United States.”

These chronicles take the reader through fascinating paths, they narrate encounters, miss-encounters, disappointments, happiness, triumphs, and reality. “The book’s central question is: how would you describe, today, the relationship between Latin Americans and the United States?,” says Diego Fonseca, co-editor of the book. “Giving a single absolute explanation to this discussion is impossible.

This group of texts fulfills the task of a chronicle: an in-depth exploration of stories that are testimony to a much broader phenomena.” And so, these accounts are the echo of migrants who no longer belong to one place but are now a part of them all.

Authors included in the anthology: Daniel Alarcon, Jon Lee Anderson, Joaquin Botero, Joao Paulo Cuenca, Andre De Leones, Aileen El-Kadi, Gabriela Esquivada, Diego Fonseca, Eduardo Halfon, Yuri Herrera, Hernan Iglesias Illa, Andrea Jeftanovic, Camilo Jimenez, Juan Pablo Meneses, Edmundo Paz Soldan, Claudia Pineiro, Santiago Roncagliolo, Carola Saavedra, Ilan Stavans, Wilbert Torre, Eloy Urroz, and Jorge Volpi.

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