By Courtney Garcia, TODAY contributor and Gael Fashingbauer Cooper, TODAY
Update, 1 p.m. PT: This story has been updated with a new statement from Warner Bros. Consumer Products.
The 1969 Dodge Charger from ?The Dukes of Hazzard,? known to the world as the General Lee, prominently features the Confederate flag on its roof in the popular 1970s-1980s TV show. Some reports now say the flag will be removed from certain toy versions of the car, and at least one former "Dukes" cast member tells TODAY he's furious.
Everett Collection
Tom Wopat and John Schneider flew around the hills of Hazzard County in the General Lee on "The Dukes of Hazzard." Now the car's Confederate flag has become an issue.
Exactly what products might be altered isn't clear. As reported by ScreenCrush, a poster to HobbyTalk.com's message board?wrote there that he was told by a sales rep for the Tomy toy company that "starting January 1, 2013 all Dukes of Hazzard General Lee vehicles will not be allowed to be produced with the Confederate flag on the top of the vehicle. This directive has been passed onto us from the licensor Warner Brothers."
But a Warner Bros. Consumer Products spokesperson denied the report, telling TODAY on Thursday, "We were not, and are not, planning to change the design of the General Lee on merchandise. ?All reports to the contrary have been inaccurate."
Despite the denial, HobbyTalk readers?had no problem sharing?various sightings of cars without the flag. Wrote one, "Not surprising. They have been removing the image from the model boxes for years. I have one that was a giveaway from the Kansas City Royals that has the Royals logo on the trunk and no roof flag."
Another wrote, "Was at a Hobby Lobby today. In the model kit section was a 1/25th scale General Lee ... without the Confederate flag on the roof!!! It looked strange, to say the least! It's like the Batmobile without the bat logo."
But another reader took a different stance. "I am from the West and yes to me the Confederate flag does not?(represent) anything positive," he wrote. "We don't see Germans flying around the swastika flags (because) it's?their history."
And yet another wrote that rather than produce a General Lee without the flag, he believed that toymakers would just stop making reproductions of the car. "Warner Bros. will no longer endorse the license for anything that has the Confederate flag on it," he wrote.?"Therefore, if you are a die-cast manufacturer, your license will not be approved if your sample has a Confederate flag on it, (such as the General Lee, Hazzard County Patrol cars, Cooter's tow truck and so on) if the sample is produced without a flag then it will be issued, but no one is going to do a General Lee with just the 01s and General Lee lettering, it would look silly."
That same writer noted that with an earlier version of the General Lee,?"Warner Bros. requested the flag not be seen when it was on a store shelf. A removable, body-colored cling was attached to the roof of the car to cover the flag until purchase. I knew when this happened that things would be changing soon."
Although the report still hasn't been fully confirmed, the mere idea that the General Lee could be altered has angered??Dukes of Hazzard? star Ben Jones. Jones played the General Lee's mechanic, Cooter Davenport, on "Dukes of Hazzard" and later served two terms in Congress as a Democrat from Georgia. He now owns Cooter?s Place, a chain of??Dukes of Hazzard? museums located?in Gatlinburg and Nashville, Tenn.
After hearing the report, Jones?released a letter of disapproval to the press on Wednesday, criticizing what he feels is a ?narrow-minded, elitist? move on the part of the television studio.
?More than 33 years since the show premiered on CBS-TV on Friday nights, Warner Bros. has issued a new and terribly insulting attack on the South, a region and a culture which Hollywood has trashed for decades," Jones wrote. "Some unnamed genius at the company feels that the flag is 'offensive to some' and therefore it has no business on a classic TV comedy about a bunch of good ol' boys and girls in the Southern mountains. This is a new level of "P.C." idiocy. I don't know about you, but I am tired of being insulted by morons.?
Jones?tells?TODAY that the decision could hurt the "Dukes of Hazzard" brand by misrepresenting the nature of the flag to young people who watch the show.
?It will make kids unhappy and confused,? he says. ?To me, they?re destroying innocence. They?re not responding to people who watch the show, they?re responding to those who don?t follow it. It?s insulting to my culture and my work.?
He adds, ?The flag is a part of the almost perfect design of that car, which has been voted the most popular car in the history of film and television. That?s not going to go away. It?s an idiotic decision.?
Jones stresses that he was an avid supporter of the Civil Rights Movement, participating in countless demonstrations?in the South in the?1960s. He says he?believes in a deep respect for all people, but believes that to assume the Confederate flag merely represents slavery is to overlook history.
?I have a good feel for where people?s heads are on this thing and I don?t understand why it?s happening,? Jones told TODAY. ?When ?The Dukes of Hazzard? was a big show, it was this positive thing about the car and the culture and the kids, and that went on for years. It is a permanent part of Americana.?
Should the Confederate flag be taken off the General Lee? Vote in our poll and tell us on Facebook.
BERLIN (Reuters) - Sony Chief Executive Kazuo Hirai said on Thursday that its new gaming device Vita was mostly selling in line with its expectations, though in some places it was off the pace.
Vita hit the stores earlier this year, the latest in a line of mobile gaming gadgets in the spirit of Nintendo's Game Boy and Atari's Lynx, but some analysts have questioned whether there is room for such a device in a market increasingly dominated by games played on smartphones and tablets.
"Worldwide, the Vita is pretty much along where we would expect it to be, maybe trending behind in certain territories," Hirai told Reuters on the sidelines of IFA, Europe's biggest consumer trade show, held in Berlin.
He declined to disclose where sales were lagging.
When he took the helm at Sony in April, Hirai vowed to revive the fortunes of the company, maker of the Walkman music player and PlayStation games console, after years of competition from foreign rivals had broken its dominance in consumer electronics.
Part of the plan is betting Sony's future on mobile devices such as the Xperia smartphone, gaming and digital imaging, while developing new businesses, including a medical unit.
In Berlin Sony launched three smartphones and one tablet, all powered by Google's Android platform, saying patent challenges facing the software platform had not affected its business.
Sony Mobile chief Kunimasa Suzuki told Reuters he was confident of selling more smartphones in fiscal year 2012-2013 than the 34 million it shifted in the previous year.
After Sony returned a record net loss of 455 billion yen ($5.8 billion) for the last fiscal year to March 31, Hirai promised 10,000 job cuts and big cost reductions in the TV unit, which has clocked up losses of about $12 billion in the past decade.
Hirai said the group was ahead of plan to return the TV business to the black. "This fiscal year we will halve our losses from what we made last year. We are ahead of track."
Sony is also in talks with several companies who could be interested in its chemicals business, Hirai said. The unit makes material used in consumer electronic products and employs several thousand people. He declined to elaborate.
As for other Japanese exporters, the strength of the yen weighs on Sony's results. The currency has become a safe-haven destination for many investors as debt concerns undermine confidence in both the euro and the dollar.
"The currencies are a real pain," Hirai said. We can complain about that, but it is the reality we have to face."
Since Sony's European sales account for a fifth of all revenue, compared with a tenth at both Panasonic Corp and Sharp, it is particularly sensitive to currency swings against the euro.
(Reporting by Harro ten Wolde and Tarmo Virki; Editing by Will Waterman)
SEO isn?t too hard. Really, it?s about a month?s worth of learning, then years and years of trial-and-error testing.
Course, it doesn?t take years to see some success. Like any new skill, you?ll see beneficial results relatively quickly. But it does take years to figure out the ins and outs of the search engines. How updates affect SEO, how to become resistant to these updates, how to create your own strategies, etc.
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But once you get competent with SEO, once you?ve proven to yourself you can rank your own websites, you?ll probably start feeling an urge to do SEO for private clients. We can?t blame you ? the SEO industry is lucrative. If done correctly, you can build a six-figure business relatively easily.
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To do that, though, you?re going to have to be different. You?re going to have to stand out from the other SEO companies (and there are thousands of them).
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Most people give up the second the hear about competition. If that?s not you, continue reading?
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The internet marketing space is, frankly, disgusting. As I work with small business owners, I?ve been shocked at the antics pulled by my fellow internet marketers. It?s all a focus on the short-term. All about getting money in your bank account as quick as possible. And that?s it.
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I talked to one company who hired an SEO guy at $1,400 a month. This company knew nothing about SEO, and the contractor took full advantage of this. He didn?t even install an analytics program for them! He worked for eight months and they had no clue if what he was doing was working.
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Then once they figured out he wasn?t doing anything, they let him go (they originally signed a six month contract, but kept him on for eight months).
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When they let him go, he ripped all of the on-page work he?d done off of the page, severely damaging the functionality. They weren?t sure, but they told me they thought he removed the links he?d built as well.
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This is not an internet marketing horror story ? it happens all the time! These internet marketers take full advantage of the fact that internet marketing is complicated. If the client doesn?t understand it, they figure they can milk them for a few extra bucks!
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This is not how to make money. This is how to make short-term gains and sacrificing long-term potential.
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If he?d done a good job, if he was 100% upfront and delivered on what he claimed, he would?ve been a permanent asset. Because SEO increases revenue. If he was affecting small businesses on the bottom line, making them more money, they would want to continue employing him!
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Go the Extra Mile
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Want to know what sucks about selling internet marketing services? Getting your first clients.?
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You haven?t proven yourself, and it?s a HUGE uphill battle (thanks largely to the unethical internet marketers like mentioned above).
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So many companies have been burned by dishonest marketers. Not only are you cold calling them, but you also have to work against the negative reputation of the last marketer they hired.?
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The process is a grind. But it?s not that bad ? eventually, you?ll get a chance to prove yourself. When you get that chance, NAIL IT. Go above and beyond what they ever expected.?
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This might sound difficult, but believe me, it?s not. Realize that most marketers don?t even do what they claim they?ll do. So by simply delivering on what you promise, you put yourself above the vast majority of other marketers!?
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It?s the little things that count. Explain everything you?re doing in detail. Give them ways to check your work, to make sure you?re doing what you?ve promised you will do. If they need a quick fix, do it for free.
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Why?
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Because they will shout your name from the rooftops. It truly is this simple. If you do business correctly, the only clients you need to cold call for will be your very first clients. From then on, you?ll thrive on word of mouth advertising. You?ll find small business owners are very connected. And they all have the same problem ? they can?t find internet marketers with integrity!
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So when they find one (you), they will tell everyone they know about you. And then with those new clients, they?ll tell everyone they know about you. Soon, you?ll have more clients than you know what to do with.
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If you?d like more like more articles like the one above, be sure to fill out the form below to join our mailing list.
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Contact: Sarah Stamper sarah.stamper@liv.ac.uk 01-517-943-044 University of Liverpool
Scientists at the University of Liverpool are leading a 1.65 million project to produce and test the first nanomedicines for treating HIV/AIDS.
The research project, funded by the Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council (EPSRC), aims to produce cheaper, more effective medicines which have fewer side effects and are easier to give to newborns and children.
The new therapy options were generated by modifying existing HIV treatments, called antiretrovirals (ARVs). The University has recently produced ARV drug particles at the nanoscale which potentially reduce the toxicity and variability in the response different patients have to therapies. Drug nanoparticles have been shown to allow smaller doses in other disease areas which opens up possibilities to reduce drug side-effects and the risk of drug resistance. Nanoscale objects are less than one micron in size a human hair is approximately 80 microns in diameter.
Professor Steve Rannard, from the University's Department of Chemistry, said: "Nanomedicines are being used daily to treat a range of conditions around the world. There are, however, no current nanoparticle HIV therapies that are providing this kind of patient benefit. This project is the first step towards taking the nanomedicine options that we have developed out of our labs and into the clinic, representing a significant milestone in the development of new HIV treatments.
"If we can demonstrate real potential from our planned clinical work with healthy volunteers at the Royal Liverpool University Hospital, then our collaboration partner, IOTA NanoSolutions, will take forward the further development and clinical validation of the ARV drug particles in HIV patients. We also aim to test new formulations for children in developing countries, offering HIV patients around the world the prospect of safer, more effective treatments."
Professor Andrew Owen, from the University's Department of Molecular and Clinical Pharmacology, added: "We have integrated an assessment of pharmacology and safety early in the research and this has allowed us to rapidly progress lead options for clinical trials. The work has been conducted with the
Medical Research Council (MRC) Centre for Drug Safety Science also based at the University."
"Our data so far looks really exciting, offering the potential to reduce the doses required to control the HIV virus. This work builds on initiatives by Mdecins Sans Frontires and other groups to seek ways to improve ARV therapy and could have real benefits for the safety of ARVs globally. Importantly we also hope to reduce the costs of therapy for resource-limited countries where the burden of disease is highest."
HIV continues to increase in prevalence, with 34 million people currently infected worldwide. The new HIV therapies offer particular hope for treating children with HIV which affects 3.4 million children under the age of 15 years in Sub Saharan Africa. About 90% of infected infants acquire the virus through mother-to-child transmission. Without treatment one third of children die within their first year of life.
There are currently very limited child-appropriate HIV drugs available and existing treatments carry a range of risks for the infant including under or over dosing. The new HIV nanomedicines from the Liverpool team disperse into water, which will make them easier to administer, particularly to newborn babies.
The project will manufacture the ARV nanomedicines using commercially relevant techniques under clinical grade manufacturing conditions. IOTA NanoSolutions was created to further develop and exploit technology originally developed at the University of Liverpool. The company operates a novel nanoparticle synthesis technology, ContraSol and is working with major global pharmaceutical companies. The ARV programme represents a further extension to the ongoing collaboration between the University of Liverpool and IOTA NanoSolutions.
The project aims to deliver highly valuable data within three years and provide a platform for continual development and testing during that time.
David Delpy, Chief Executive of the EPSRC, said: "The EPSRC is continuing its strong investment in nano-related research, which now permeates through almost every aspect of the engineering and physical sciences. This research may bring significant benefits to children infected with the HIV virus.
"It demonstrates how the vast potential of the fundamental science of nanotechnology is now being pulled through into engineering applications that help us address the societal challenges we face in healthcare and other areas."
The project builds on a previous collaboration funded by the Research Councils UK Nano Grand Challenge scheme.
###
Notes to editors:
1. The University of Liverpool is one of the UK's leading research institutions with an annual turnover of 410 million, including 150 million for research. Liverpool is ranked in the top 1% of higher education institutions worldwide and is a member of the Russell Group.
2. IOTA NanoSolutions Limited was registered as a spin-out company from Unilever in 2005 with funding from Unilever Ventures and a mission to develop and commercially exploit its novel proprietary nanodispersion technology, ContraSol. ContraSol offers opportunities to enhance performance of marketed drugs, NCEs and drug candidates currently in development and to revive promising discovery compounds previously overlooked owing to aqueous solubility. The company was co-founded by Prof. Steve Rannard, Dr. Alison Foster, Dr. Dave Duncalf and Prof. Andy Cooper. Since 2005, IOTA NanoSolutions occupies a suite of purpose-built laboratories in the MerseyBIO incubator in Liverpool, UK, from where it serves its growing portfolio of international clients.
3. "Mdecins Sans Frontires MSF (Doctors Without Borders) is an independent international humanitarian organisation that delivers emergency medical aid to people affected by armed conflict, epidemics, natural and man-made disasters or exclusion from health care in more than 60 countries around the world."
4. The Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council (EPSRC) is the UK's main agency for funding research in engineering and the physical sciences. EPSRC invests around 800 million a year in research and postgraduate training, to help the nation handle the next generation of technological change. The areas covered range from information technology to structural engineering, and mathematics to materials science. This research forms the basis for future economic development in the UK and improvements for everyone's health, lifestyle and culture. EPSRC works alongside other Research Councils with responsibility for other areas of research. The Research Councils work collectively on issues of common concern via Research Councils UK. www.epsrc.ac.uk. For more information about the Nanotechnology Grand Challenges in healthcare visit: http://www.epsrc.ac.uk/funding/calls/2008/Pages/challenges.aspx
[ | E-mail | Share ]
?
AAAS and EurekAlert! are not responsible for the accuracy of news releases posted to EurekAlert! by contributing institutions or for the use of any information through the EurekAlert! system.
Contact: Sarah Stamper sarah.stamper@liv.ac.uk 01-517-943-044 University of Liverpool
Scientists at the University of Liverpool are leading a 1.65 million project to produce and test the first nanomedicines for treating HIV/AIDS.
The research project, funded by the Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council (EPSRC), aims to produce cheaper, more effective medicines which have fewer side effects and are easier to give to newborns and children.
The new therapy options were generated by modifying existing HIV treatments, called antiretrovirals (ARVs). The University has recently produced ARV drug particles at the nanoscale which potentially reduce the toxicity and variability in the response different patients have to therapies. Drug nanoparticles have been shown to allow smaller doses in other disease areas which opens up possibilities to reduce drug side-effects and the risk of drug resistance. Nanoscale objects are less than one micron in size a human hair is approximately 80 microns in diameter.
Professor Steve Rannard, from the University's Department of Chemistry, said: "Nanomedicines are being used daily to treat a range of conditions around the world. There are, however, no current nanoparticle HIV therapies that are providing this kind of patient benefit. This project is the first step towards taking the nanomedicine options that we have developed out of our labs and into the clinic, representing a significant milestone in the development of new HIV treatments.
"If we can demonstrate real potential from our planned clinical work with healthy volunteers at the Royal Liverpool University Hospital, then our collaboration partner, IOTA NanoSolutions, will take forward the further development and clinical validation of the ARV drug particles in HIV patients. We also aim to test new formulations for children in developing countries, offering HIV patients around the world the prospect of safer, more effective treatments."
Professor Andrew Owen, from the University's Department of Molecular and Clinical Pharmacology, added: "We have integrated an assessment of pharmacology and safety early in the research and this has allowed us to rapidly progress lead options for clinical trials. The work has been conducted with the
Medical Research Council (MRC) Centre for Drug Safety Science also based at the University."
"Our data so far looks really exciting, offering the potential to reduce the doses required to control the HIV virus. This work builds on initiatives by Mdecins Sans Frontires and other groups to seek ways to improve ARV therapy and could have real benefits for the safety of ARVs globally. Importantly we also hope to reduce the costs of therapy for resource-limited countries where the burden of disease is highest."
HIV continues to increase in prevalence, with 34 million people currently infected worldwide. The new HIV therapies offer particular hope for treating children with HIV which affects 3.4 million children under the age of 15 years in Sub Saharan Africa. About 90% of infected infants acquire the virus through mother-to-child transmission. Without treatment one third of children die within their first year of life.
There are currently very limited child-appropriate HIV drugs available and existing treatments carry a range of risks for the infant including under or over dosing. The new HIV nanomedicines from the Liverpool team disperse into water, which will make them easier to administer, particularly to newborn babies.
The project will manufacture the ARV nanomedicines using commercially relevant techniques under clinical grade manufacturing conditions. IOTA NanoSolutions was created to further develop and exploit technology originally developed at the University of Liverpool. The company operates a novel nanoparticle synthesis technology, ContraSol and is working with major global pharmaceutical companies. The ARV programme represents a further extension to the ongoing collaboration between the University of Liverpool and IOTA NanoSolutions.
The project aims to deliver highly valuable data within three years and provide a platform for continual development and testing during that time.
David Delpy, Chief Executive of the EPSRC, said: "The EPSRC is continuing its strong investment in nano-related research, which now permeates through almost every aspect of the engineering and physical sciences. This research may bring significant benefits to children infected with the HIV virus.
"It demonstrates how the vast potential of the fundamental science of nanotechnology is now being pulled through into engineering applications that help us address the societal challenges we face in healthcare and other areas."
The project builds on a previous collaboration funded by the Research Councils UK Nano Grand Challenge scheme.
###
Notes to editors:
1. The University of Liverpool is one of the UK's leading research institutions with an annual turnover of 410 million, including 150 million for research. Liverpool is ranked in the top 1% of higher education institutions worldwide and is a member of the Russell Group.
2. IOTA NanoSolutions Limited was registered as a spin-out company from Unilever in 2005 with funding from Unilever Ventures and a mission to develop and commercially exploit its novel proprietary nanodispersion technology, ContraSol. ContraSol offers opportunities to enhance performance of marketed drugs, NCEs and drug candidates currently in development and to revive promising discovery compounds previously overlooked owing to aqueous solubility. The company was co-founded by Prof. Steve Rannard, Dr. Alison Foster, Dr. Dave Duncalf and Prof. Andy Cooper. Since 2005, IOTA NanoSolutions occupies a suite of purpose-built laboratories in the MerseyBIO incubator in Liverpool, UK, from where it serves its growing portfolio of international clients.
3. "Mdecins Sans Frontires MSF (Doctors Without Borders) is an independent international humanitarian organisation that delivers emergency medical aid to people affected by armed conflict, epidemics, natural and man-made disasters or exclusion from health care in more than 60 countries around the world."
4. The Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council (EPSRC) is the UK's main agency for funding research in engineering and the physical sciences. EPSRC invests around 800 million a year in research and postgraduate training, to help the nation handle the next generation of technological change. The areas covered range from information technology to structural engineering, and mathematics to materials science. This research forms the basis for future economic development in the UK and improvements for everyone's health, lifestyle and culture. EPSRC works alongside other Research Councils with responsibility for other areas of research. The Research Councils work collectively on issues of common concern via Research Councils UK. www.epsrc.ac.uk. For more information about the Nanotechnology Grand Challenges in healthcare visit: http://www.epsrc.ac.uk/funding/calls/2008/Pages/challenges.aspx
[ | E-mail | Share ]
?
AAAS and EurekAlert! are not responsible for the accuracy of news releases posted to EurekAlert! by contributing institutions or for the use of any information through the EurekAlert! system.
JOUY-EN-JOSAS, France (Reuters) - The French government sent a firm message of reassurance to Germany on Wednesday with a pledge to cooperate closely on European integration, seeking to dampen talk that Paris is siding with southern European nations against austerity.
Prime Minister Jean-Marc Ayrault said Paris was determined to press ahead with closer European integration to resolve the euro crisis -- a persistent German demand but a divisive issue for France's ruling Socialist Party, where many are reluctant to cede more authority to Brussels.
Ayrault also told a conference of business leaders that, with the euro zone's debt crisis weighing heavily on France's economy, his government's top priority was to restore stability to Europe and this meant France must stick scrupulously to its own EU deficit-cutting commitments.
President Francois Hollande's policy of showing sympathy to debt-laden nations like Italy and Spain as they face more austerity demands has stirred concern in some quarters that he is not closely aligned enough with Germany's Angela Merkel.
Yet Ayrault, a German speaker who has input on bilateral issues, said Paris was keenly focused on relations with Berlin, the euro zone's top economy and effective paymaster.
"The new phase of European construction will only be possible on the basis of a Franco-German agreement," Ayrault told an annual conference of France's Medef business chamber. "Franco-German friendship is the heart of the European project."
"The Franco-German couple is more necessary than ever," he said, adding however that this could not be an exclusive pact, and that Italy in particular should also play a "driving role".
His comments, which seemed aimed at silencing any concerns about the Franco-German relationship, were echoed by Foreign Minister Laurent Fabius, who told a meeting of French ambassadors that the Paris-Berlin axis was "crucial" to Europe.
Officials in Berlin have also suggested that Hollande, who won power in May with a campaign against German-led austerity, has recognized that he needs to work closely with Berlin to resolve the four-year-old euro zone crisis.
"The French have finally realized that they need us to get things done in Europe," one senior German official said this week, after a meeting between French Finance Minister Pierre Moscovici and his German counterpart Wolfgang Schaeuble in Berlin on Monday.
People close to Hollande say he is working on keeping his communication with Merkel clear and seeking a common approach on key issues like the euro, despite their differing sensibilities. "They are frank with each other," said one source.
DETERMINED TO KEEP GREECE IN EURO
Last weekend, Hollande followed Merkel's firm line after meeting with Greek Prime Minister Antonis Samaras in Paris, saying Greece must show its commitment to reform before receiving further aid from Europe.
Ayrault, however, made it plain that France continues to favor further support for southern Europe.
"Integration with solidarity that means, in the short term, that we are determined to do everything to keep Greece in the euro zone," he told the conference.
"It also means strengthened stabilization mechanisms for our partners in southern Europe. In this context we must push ahead quickly with a banking union," he said, referring to plans for joint European bank supervision.
He reiterated that France was determined to retain its financial credibility by hitting its 3 percent deficit target next year, though he recognized that this would require paring back spending next year.
The government needs to find some 30 billion euros ($38 billion) in deficit cuts next year, half of which it has said will come from spending.
"But budget restraint alone is not enough, we see that today in the countries of southern Europe: without growth, nothing is possible," he said.
Further economic integration in Europe could not take place without reforms to deepen the democratic responsibility of European decision-making, Ayrault said, adding that Paris would make proposals on the issue soon.
Ayrault also sought to comfort corporations alarmed by billions of euros in tax rises in this year's budget, telling the Medef conference that an upcoming tax reform would help to improve France's flagging competitiveness -- an apparent reference to plans to reduce social charges on labor.
"We welcome the prime minister's speech...but speeches are not enough: we imperatively need in the coming weeks a pro-business budget for France," Medef chief Marisol Parisot told a news conference. ($1 = 0.7958 euros)
(Additional reporting by Jean-Baptiste Vey and Elizabeth Pineau in Paris, Noah Barkin in Berlin; editing by Catherine Bremer)
HOUSTON, Aug. 28, 2012 /PRNewswire/ --?Noble Energy, Inc. (NYSE: NBL) announced today that Chuck Davidson, the Company's Chairman and CEO, will present at the Barclays Capital CEO Energy Conference on Thursday, September 6, 2012 at 8:25 a.m. Eastern Time.?
The presentation will be webcast live on the 'Investors' page of the Company's website, www.nobleenergyinc.com, with a replay accessible until Thursday, December 6, 2012.? The slide presentation will be available at the same web location shortly following the event.
Noble Energy is a leading independent energy company engaged in worldwide oil and gas exploration and production. The Company has core operations onshore in the U.S., primarily in the DJ Basin and Marcellus Shale, in the deepwater Gulf of Mexico, offshore Eastern Mediterranean, and offshore West Africa. Noble Energy is listed on the New York Stock Exchange and is traded under the ticker symbol NBL. Further information is available at www.nobleenergyinc.com.
Businesses Online | Internet and Businesses Online | * Written by Samantha | Sunday, 26 August 2012 23:58 | Word Count: 421
Ball mill is the key equipment for grinding after the crushing process, which is widely used in the manufacture industries, such as cement, silicate, new building material, refractory material, fertilizer, ferrous metal, nonferrous metal and glass ceramics and can be used for the dry and wet grinding for all kinds of ores and other grind-able materials.1. When ore-machine.com/ball-mill.html">ball mills are running, regularly loud hit sound comes from the machine, the reason is some liner bolts is loosen. You can judge the position of liner bolt based on the sound resource, and then find it and tight it up. 2. The temperature of ball mills and motor bearing is rising and exceeds regulation. In this case, you can touch the machine to judge the heated parts are over whole or just partly. Settle the problems with these methods as follows. (1) Check all the lubricating points, if the using oil specifications are complies with equipment instructions or not. (2) Check if the lubricating oil and grease becomes bad. (3) Check if lubricating road is clogged, and if lubricating oil directly enters into lubricating point. Oil shortage will cause machine overheated. (4) Side gap between ball mills and bearing bush is too small, and the gap of bearing bush and bearing is too large. As a result, the contact points are too much to form evenly oil film on the bush. (5) The reason can also be the amount of roller bearing lubricating oil is too much or too little. Too much amount oil will generate heat and hardly dissipated. Too little oil will cause poor lubrication. So, we should add enough oil as regulation, generally the amount is 1/3~1/2 of the bearing gap. (6) Two ends of ball mills body is too tight in sealing, or sealing body contact directly with bearing, can cause overheated. All the above problems should be solved according to different reason. 3. Ball mills reducer bearing overheat Except checking it according to ball mill heating check methods, we should check gas discharging port of reducer. If it is clogging, we should keep it clear. 4. Ball mills vibrates when motor starts reducer, the main reasons are: (1) The gap of connected two wheels is too small, as a result, it can?t compensate driving power. (2) The method of shaft coupling correcting is not right, which leads to unconcentric of two bearings. (3) The connecting bolt of shaft coupling is not fixed tight equally, and the tight degree is different. (4) Ball mill bearing outer ring is flexible. Settlement: adjust gap of two wheels as instruction statement, and make them concentric. Fix tight the connected bolts with equal force.
You see the offers and you wonder about the home based business opportunities. are the promises real? Did these people really make so much money so quickly, and without having to do any work? can I make a living working from home?well, reality check time; yes you can make a living getting into a network marketing program and starting a home based business. the reality is that statistically you won?t. you see, over 95 percent of the people that join a MLM program fail at it. they either never make any money or they quit. the question you need to ask is why?the idea or concept of making a living working from your house is incredibly attractive, especially today. so many people are either unemployed or underemployed, working part time not making enough money to pay the monthly bills. so many other people are working in a job where they are miserable every day. Their hearts drop each morning when the alarm clock rings and they are reminded that they have yet another day working at a job they hate. Do you know that feeling?
So the idea of starting a home based business is very attractive and a fantasy of millions of people around the world. and joining a network marketing program is an easy way to enter the world of working from home. you can start part time and depending on your commitment and schedule put in as many hours per week as you want. and there is the promise of financial freedom.the idea that you could be living the internet lifestyle you see advertised, with a big house and a cool car, traveling the world on exotic vacations is so very enticing. Like the way our minds start working when the lotto jackpot goes over $100 million. We can imagine the life we could lead if our number came up.someone wins that lotto eventually, and there are people living the internet lifestyle from the money they earned in one or more of these MLM programs. so why can?t it be you? well it can be you. but as I said, statistically it probably won?t.but that reality shouldn?t stop you from pursuing your dream of running a successful ?home based business?. as I?ve said before in earlier blogs, success depends on dedication and belief, and I stand by that statement. I?ve also said that you must develop an entrepreneurial mindset in order to be successful in a home based business. this is also true.
Bring value in your home based business
Another principle that you must understand is that you need to provide value to your customers or prospects in order to achieve success in a home based business. and one way to provide value is to provide information that is of use to others. so it is imperative that you are educated about what you are offering in your business.if your home based business is offering accounting services, you obviously need to have knowledge about accounting. if you are an internet marketer, than you need to know about internet marketing. Your value to others may depend on their perception of you as an expert in your field. if you are promoting a network marketing opportunity, people are not only buying the system that you are promoting, they are buying the value that you offer to them as the provider.Success in network marketing depends on having a system that you can duplicate. when you join, you are depending on the expertise of the person you are buying from to provide you with a system that will bring you success as well. once you are in a MLM program, you are promoting a system that can be duplicated by others so that they believe that they can be successful in the program.In reality, your success in a network marketing home based business very much depends on the perception that you have value. that value depends on the knowledge you have acquired either before or while in the program. People buy people, not products. the best way to add value to yourself is to be perceived as an expert in your field. the best way to be perceived as an expert is to be educated in your field.if you want to be successful in internet marketing, you need to be an expert in internet marketing. you become an expert by studying everything that you can about the subject. you apply the things that you learn and you become better. you continue to learn and your value increases.People perceive your value; you develop a confidence in yourself. you have belief and dedication and you develop an entrepreneurial mindset. Now you have the tools necessary to be successful. Now you can be in the 5 percent who do succeed at a home based business.Are you going to be in the 5 percent who are successful in their home based business?
TAMPA, Fla. (AP) ? Mitt Romney's Republican National Convention sputters to life with the lonely banging of a gavel in a mostly empty hall, hardly the opening splash intended for the nation. With a sprawling and strengthening storm bearing down on the region, the party hastily rewrote the convention script to present the extravaganza's prime rituals and headline speakers later in the week ? Tropical Storm Isaac willing.
Nothing was certain Monday as the storm carved an unpredictable path toward the Gulf of Mexico, forcing planners to compress four days of events into three and otherwise improvise.
It was a complication, at best, for a party determined to cast the close election as a referendum on President Barack Obama's economic stewardship and Romney as the best hope for jobs and prosperity.
From New Hampshire, where he and his wife, Ann, rehearsed their convention speeches in a high school auditorium, Romney expressed worry about the people in Isaac's way while predicting a "great convention" nonetheless. Other officials put on a brave face, too.
But Sally Bradshaw, a Florida Republican and longtime senior aide to former Florida Gov. Jeb Bush, was not so sanguine. "It's a mess all around and it's fraught with risk," she said. "It's not good for anybody ? particularly the people impacted by the storm."
The concern was two-fold: that Tampa, hosting thousands of GOP delegates, would get sideswiped by the storm; and that it would be unseemly to engage in days of political celebration if Isaac made a destructive landfall anywhere on U.S. soil.
"You can tone down the happy-days-are-here-again a bit," said Rich Galen, a veteran Republican consultant in Washington. "Maybe you don't have the biggest balloon drop in history."
Said Reince Priebus, the Republican National Committee chairman: "We're moving forward, but we are going to be nimble." Real estate developer Donald Trump, who had been scheduled to speak Monday, was dropped from the convention program because of the reshuffling.
Republicans hoped another distracting tempest would blow over, too, concerning abortion. The Obama campaign and its allies have doubled down in efforts to exploit remarks more than a week ago by Rep. Todd Akin, the GOP's candidate for a Senate seat from Missouri, that a woman's body has a way of preventing pregnancy in the case of a "legitimate rape." The claim is unsupported by medical evidence. The congressman quickly apologized but resisted Romney's pressure to drop out of the race.
Romney, in a Fox interview, said in comments broadcast Sunday that the fallout over Akin's remarks "hurts our party and I think is damaging to women," adding: "It really is sad, isn't it? With all the issues that America faces, for the Obama campaign to continue to stoop to such a low level."
In the reworked convention schedule released early Sunday evening, organizers planned a pro forma opening Monday afternoon, lasting no more than five minutes or so. Priebus was to gavel the convention to order, then immediately recess. Few delegates were expected to attend. In the only bit of convention-hall theater, a debt clock was to be set in motion, to tally the nation's red ink during the convention.
Speakers who had been scheduled for Monday were to start making the case against Obama, under the day's theme, "we can do better." That theme now will be threaded through the following three days, said Romney adviser Russ Schriefer, in charge of the convention's planning. "Even though the days will be abbreviated, I absolutely believe we'll be able to get our message out," he said.
The roll call of state delegations affirming Romney as the party's nominee now is to unfold Tuesday, an evening capped by speeches from Ann Romney and an assortment of GOP governors. Romney's running mate, Rep. Paul Ryan, gets the prime-time spotlight Wednesday and Romney closes out the spectacle Thursday night, his springboard into the final leg of the contest. That's all if the storm brings no further complications.
So far, many delegates were taking the shakeup in stride. "People are pretty resilient, and people knew going in that there were some weather issues," said Pat Shortridge, the Minnesota state GOP chairman, from Lino Lakes, Minn. "I don't think it's dampened enthusiasm."
Weather was recognized as potential trouble when Republicans chose to hold their convention in politically vital Florida during hurricane season, a decision made well before Romney locked up the nomination. And it's clear that memories of Hurricane Katrina, and the failure of a Republican administration to respond effectively to its Gulf Coast devastation in 2005, are hanging over Tampa now. Republicans have been so sensitive to the political risks from natural disasters that they delayed the start of their national convention by a day in 2008, when Hurricane Gustav bore down on the Gulf, far from their meeting in Minnesota.
And it surely wasn't lost on Tampa convention organizers that a gathering storm gave Obama an opportunity to show leadership. As the forecast worsened, the president directed the Federal Emergency Management Agency to help.
"The president also told the governor to let him know if there are any unmet needs or additional resources the administration could provide, including in support of efforts to ensure the safety of those visiting the state for the Republican National Convention," the White House said Sunday.
Both sides grappled with how to conduct their politicking in the face of the storm. Vice President Joe Biden, who had been prepared to make as much political hay as possible over the Republican convention, canceled a campaign swing through Florida on Monday and Tuesday.
Polls find a tight race, and it's one that is likely to be settled in a small number of battleground states.
An estimated $500 million has been spent on television commercials so far by the two candidates, their parties and supporting outside groups, nearly all of it in Florida, North Carolina, Virginia, New Hampshire, Ohio, Iowa, Colorado and Nevada. Those states account for 100 electoral votes out of the 270 needed to win the White House. Republicans hope to expand the electoral map to include Pennsylvania, Michigan, perhaps Ryan's Wisconsin and even Minnesota, states with 68 electoral votes combined.
All four are usually reliably Democratic in presidential campaigns. Yet Romney has a financial advantage over the president, according to the most recent fundraising reports, and a move by the Republicans into any of them could force Obama to dip into his own campaign treasury in regions he has considered relatively safe.
Republican office-holders past and present said the economy is the key if Romney is to expand his appeal to women and Hispanic voters.
"We have to point out that the unemployment rate among young women is now 16 percent, that the unemployment rate among Hispanics is very high, that jobs and the economy are more important, perhaps, than maybe other issues," said Arizona Sen. John McCain, who lost to Obama in 2008.
Bush agreed, saying that Romney "can make inroads if he focuses on how do we create a climate of job creation and economic growth." If he succeeds, "I think people will move back towards the Republican side," the former Florida governor added.
Obama leads Romney among female voters and by an overwhelming margin among Hispanics, but trails substantially among men.
___
Woodward reported from Washington. Associated Press writers Steve Peoples in New Hampshire; Thomas Beaumont, Tamara Lush and Brendan Farrington in Florida; Philip Elliott in Wisconsin; and Alicia Caldwell in Washington contributed to this report.
NEW YORK (AP) ? Upscale jewelry chain Tiffany & Co. lowered its outlook for the year on Monday as the wealthy cut back on buying baubles in an uncertain economy.
Company shares rose more than 7 percent Monday, however, as revenue in established stores, a key measure for retailers, declined less than analysts had expected in the second quarter. Investors may also have been encouraged that Tiffany is planning stores in new cities despite its challenges.
The affluent had been spending more since the Great Recession ended in mid-2009, recovering faster than other people. But starting late last year, Tiffany's customers trimmed their spending on jewelry amid stock market volatility and growing worry about the debt crisis in Europe.
"Not surprisingly, sales growth has been affected by economic weakness in a number of markets," said CEO Michael J. Kowalski. "We think it is only prudent to maintain a cautious near-term outlook about global economic conditions and the effects on customer spending."
Tiffany, known for its blue boxes, earned $91.8 million, or 72 cents per share, for the period ended July 31, up 2 percent from $90 million, or 69 cents per share, a year earlier.
Analysts expected earnings of 74 cents per share.
Revenue for the New York company rose 2 percent to $886.6 million from $872.7 million. Wall Street forecast $891.1 million.
Sales in the Americas edged down 1 percent to $434 million. Sales in the New York flagship stores fell 9 percent, after a 41 percent increase a year ago, because U.S. customers are spending less, said Tiffany spokesman Mark Aaron. Sales in U.S. stores to foreign tourists were roughly unchanged from the prior year as more Chinese visitors helped offset a decline in spending by European tourists in the U.S.
Japan's sales increased 11 percent to $159 million, while sales in the Asia-Pacific region, a once hot area, rose just 1 percent $174 million. European sales fell 1 percent to $100 million.
Overall, revenue at stores opened at least a year fell 1 percent. Analysts surveyed by FactSet had expected a 4 percent drop.
The company also continues to grapple with high costs for silver and gold, which have eroded its profitability. However, those costs have moderated a bit.
Still, Tiffany is determined to fortify its competitive edge.
It now plans to open 28 company-operated stores this year compared with the previously planned 24. In the second half, Tiffany plans a store in Manhattan's Soho neighborhood, a second store in San Francisco, a shop in La Jolla, Calif., a store in Rio de Janeiro and a third store in Toronto.
Tiffany said that it now expects 2012 earnings of $3.55 to $3.70 per share, down from $3.70 to $3.80 per share. Analysts predict $3.65 per share.
It also trimmed its revenue forecast to growth of 6 to 7 percent for the year, or about $3.86 billion to $3.89 billion. Its prior guidance was for a 7 to 8 percent increase. Analysts expect revenue of $3.87 billion.
Tiffany's stock gained $4.33, or 7.4 percent, to $62.83 in midday trading Monday.
A mural is seen on the Lance Armstrong foundation building, Friday, Aug. 24, 2012, in Austin, Texas. The U.S. Anti-Doping Agency stripped Armstrong of his seven Tour de France titles Friday, erasing one of the most incredible achievements in sports after deciding he had used performance-enhancing drugs to do it. (AP Photo/Eric Gay)
A mural is seen on the Lance Armstrong foundation building, Friday, Aug. 24, 2012, in Austin, Texas. The U.S. Anti-Doping Agency stripped Armstrong of his seven Tour de France titles Friday, erasing one of the most incredible achievements in sports after deciding he had used performance-enhancing drugs to do it. (AP Photo/Eric Gay)
A cyclist passes a mural on the Lance Armstrong foundation building, Friday, Aug. 24, 2012, in Austin, Texas. The U.S. Anti-Doping Agency stripped Armstrong of his seven Tour de France titles Friday, erasing one of the most incredible achievements in sports after deciding he had used performance-enhancing drugs to do it. (AP Photo/Eric Gay)
FILE - In this Feb. 15, 2011, file photo, Lance Armstrong pauses during an interview in Austin, Texas. Armstrong said on Thursday, Aug. 23, 2012, that he is finished fighting charges from the United States Anti-Doping Agency that he used performance-enhancing drugs during his unprecedented cycling career, a decision that could put his string of seven Tour de France titles in jeopardy. (AP Photo/Thao Nguyen, File)
FILE - In this July 24, 2010, file photo, Lance Armstrong crosses the finish line during the 19th stage of the Tour de France cycling race, an individual time trial over 52 kilometers (32.3 miles), with a start in Bordeaux and finish in Pauillac, south western France. Armstrong said on Thursday, Aug. 23, 2012, that he is finished fighting charges from the United States Anti-Doping Agency that he used performance-enhancing drugs during his unprecedented cycling career, a decision that could put his string of seven Tour de France titles in jeopardy. (AP Photo/Laurent Rebours, File)
"Hell" is how one cancer patient describes it ? the helpless feeling of sitting in a hospital room all alone, a potion that is both toxic and lifesaving flowing into her body.
When she didn't know whether she would live or die, when she didn't know if she could possibly endure another round of the horrifying chemo treatments at St. Luke's in New York, there was someone who helped her endure.
Lance Armstrong.
No, not Lance the fallen two-wheeled star whose reputation and cycling legacy is in tatters. The other Lance, the philanthropist and cancer survivor who has inspired so many.
"I know firsthand how much good he's done," said the woman, whose cancer is now in remission but asked that her name not be used because she's a public figure and isn't ready to let the world know about her condition. "He's touched too many lives to stop now. He's given hope to too many people."
Armstrong made cycling cool in America with seven straight Tour de France titles. He will likely be stripped of them all because of what he put in his body.
That Lance is done, gone forever.
We hope the other Lance continues to serve. So many still need him.
"I think saving millions of lives ? and I'm not exaggerating by any means ? far outweighs any athletic accomplishment," said Olympic swimmer Eric Shanteau, who, like Armstrong, survived testicular cancer.
This is the dichotomy we're faced with after Armstrong decided not to dispute the charges leveled against him by the U.S. Anti-Doping Agency. He still refuses to acknowledge using any performance-enhancing drugs, but that's essentially what he did when he decided not to carry on the fight. His reasoning ? that he was simply tired of contesting accusations that first came up more than a decade ago ? rings hollow, to say the least.
After all, he had stared down cancer when told he had less than a 50-50 chance of living. He had turned the towering Pyrenees into tame little hills during all those glorious Tour de France triumphs, refusing to be beaten no matter the physical toll on his body.
To give up now? Well, USADA must've had quite an impressive case against him.
It's time to let go of that Lance ? the disgraced doper, like so many in his sport, not to mention one who can be sullen and snarky ? and embrace the other side of the man.
The charismatic figure who started a foundation that raised a half a billion dollars, and counting, for the fight against cancer. The caring person who shows up at hospitals unannounced, without an entourage, giving so many victims of this dreaded disease a reason to live. Maybe he does it with a few words. Maybe it's just sitting with them while they're undergoing treatments.
All of it helps tremendously.
"Livestrong has almost made cancer acceptable," said Shanteau, who started working with Armstrong's foundation after he underwent successful surgery. "That's such a dangerous word ? to 'accept' ? but people are willing to talk about it now. People are willing to address it. People are willing to support it. Livestrong has done that. Lance should be proud that his organization, in a sense, has outgrown him."
Shanteau is all for clean sport, but he felt no reservations about joining up with Livestrong after learning he had testicular cancer just ahead of the 2008 Beijing Olympics. He never had any trouble separating the shady athlete from the man who has done so much good away from his bike.
This other fight is far more important than the one he's been waging with USADA.
"When a person goes to Livestrong or any other cancer foundation, the last thing on his mind is that," Shanteau said. "They're walking in there fighting for their lives. They need help. The foundation is going to continue to be there to help."
Shanteau has seen both sides of the fight. He beat cancer. His father didn't.
"I still got to see all the benefits from the foundation that he got, and the pride he got from seeing me work with the foundation," Shanteau said. "I've seen how Livestrong affects people the cancer community and what a positive force they have been in that fight."
There are hopeful signs in the wake of Armstrong's bombshell capitulation. He tweeted Friday that donations to Livestrong were 25 times higher than the previous day, when he raised the white flag.
"Thank you thank you thank you!" he wrote.
Around the country, people donned their Livestrong bracelets, showing solidarity with Armstrong the cancer fighter, if not Armstrong the supposed doper.
The American Cancer Society is sticking with him, too.
"It is our hope that the foundation will continue its important work," said John R. Seffrin, the organization's CEO. "Reducing suffering and death from cancer is a moral imperative, and the Lance Armstrong foundation's contribution is sorely needed."
So, if you're wearing a Livestrong bracelet today, that doesn't mean you're supporting athletes shooting themselves up with all sorts of illicit chemicals, looking to boost their strength or improve their endurance.
Even Armstrong's most ardent supporters seem at ease conceding that, yes, he probably juiced.
Larry DeGaris, director of the sports marketing program at the University of Indianapolis, said he doesn't expect the USADA case to have a major impact on Armstrong's fundraising abilities.
"His celebrity has superseded his sports accomplishments and is now more based on being a cancer survivor than a Tour de France winner," DeGaris said. "I reckon there's something uniquely American going on with athletes who transcend their sports and for whom performance on the field of play becomes secondary."
For once, that's a good thing.
We no longer care if Armstrong injected himself with something that helped him win the Tour de France over and over again.
Now, it's about finding a chemical we can inject into anyone stricken with cancer, to kill off that insidious disease before it takes another loved one, another close friend, another person we admired from afar.
We need all the help we can get in that battle.
We need Lance.
___
Paul Newberry is a national writer for The Associated Press. Write to him at pnewberry(at)ap.org or www.twitter.com/pnewberry1963
Long time Internet users can remember a time when domain registration didn?t offer a whole lot of choice ? there was only one domain name provider, and it wasn?t very affordable.
Times have changed. There are now a seemingly endless number of domain providers, and with greater choice and drastically lower pricing, the registration of new domain names has seen a continual rise. Verisign reports that in 2007, more than 33 million new domain names were registered, bringing the overall total to an estimated 153 million. That?s a lot of domain names In 2008, that number is expected to grow, as more and more people start their own online business in order to supplement their income.
In the old days, free website communities like Angelfire were home to most personal and many small business websites. Now, it is almost just as easy (and inexpensive) to have your own domain. Appropriate, professional domain names are especially important for companies wishing to establish branding and credibility on the Web.
If you?re ready to purchase a personal or small business domain name and want to compare domain registrars, you may not know where to start. Fortunately, as the domain registry business has grown, sites have been established that help you compare their quality. Most of these services that offer you the ability to compare domain registrars will offer side by side comparisons of the big names in table format. They can help you determine the cost of the domain, features, promotional offers, and more.
Some registrars will charge an additional fee for private registration, which prevents the public from viewing your domain ownership information in the WHOIS database. Some also charge a small monthly fee for managed DNS.
Many of the domain registrars are actually resellers for the larger registries. That said, you may purchase a domain from John Doe?s Domain Registry, and it may actually be registered through Godaddy, one of the Internet?s largest domain name providers. This explains the varying fluctuation in registration cost, and is why it pays to look for the best deal. Small business domains are frequently purchased from these types of resellers, since they often register for years at a time, and a better rate can make a more pronounced difference..
A popular misconception is that you ?own? a domain name when you ?buy? it from a registrar or domain broker. The truth is that you only ?own? it as long as you continue to pay the required registration fee to your domain name provider.
Because of steep competition among the major providers, domains are typically being sold at fairly similar prices. So rather than look only at pricing, be sure to consider the service and features provided by the registrar. Charging more doesn?t make a provider the best, and charging less doesn?t mean they?re the worst.
If you plan on registering multiple domains, you should definitely take the time to check out some of the registrar review sites. These sites often contain tips and promotional codes that can save you both time and money.
In summary, most domain pricing will be similar, but there are things that will set one registrar apart from the others. Look at the features offered with your registration ? things like private registration, managed DNS, easy account access, and more ? before you make a decision.
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Public release date: 29-Aug-2012
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