Tim Cook's Apple

When Steve Jobs returned to Apple from NeXT he famously found their product lines confounding. When Tim Cook inherited Apple, an argument could be made that Steve Jobs' greatest product, Apple itself, was confounding. Steve Jobs' solution, famously, was to draw a simple grid and in each of its four quadrants, place a core product -- laptop and pro laptop, desktop and pro desktop. Tim Cook just did the same thing, drawing up a simple grid, and in each of its four quadrants, placing a core person -- software and services, design and technology.

Steve Jobs took Apple from a plethora of ill-defined and overlapping computers to a clearly defined product line that removed internal overhead and customer confusion alike. While the iBook (MacBook) and PowerBook (MacBook Pro) and iMac and Power Mac (Mac Pro) have once again grown into a larger product line, and one now in adolescent-like transition, once that transition passes, Apple will likely return to a simpler scheme -- iPhone and iPads, MacBooks and Macs. Tim Cook is now taking Apple from an overlapping group of people, some responsible for iOS and some OS X, some responsible for hardware design and some software, some responsible for some services but not others, and clearly defining roles and responsibilities that remove internal roadblocks and hedge against the fiefdoms that plague other, large, second generation leadership teams. Jony Ive, Bob Mansfield, Craig Federighi, Eddy Cue will each set up teams to support their new roles, and industrial and interface design, chips and antennas, iOS and OS X, and data centers and ecommerce, and more, will all still get individual attention, but they'll benefit from better collective leadership.

Phil Schiller remains the product guy, Peter Oppenheimer the money guy, Dan Riccio the hardware guy, Jeff Williams the operations guy, Bruce Sewell the legal guy, and Tim Cook remains the oversight guy, but the core of Apple has been reinvented. Tim Cook's Apple has been reinvented.

Now we get to see how well this simplified, clarified team can envision the future and execute on it.

Tim Cook

Apple

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Source: http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/TheIphoneBlog/~3/jVMTJ65Q-tM/story01.htm

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BBQ Pitmasters Season 4 Premiering November 17 | Big Wayner's ...

With the success of BBQ Pitmasters Season 3, it was no surprise that the show was picked up for a fourth season. ?What is surprising (to me, at least) is that season 4 premiers in 3 weeks! ?As you may be aware, season 4 concentrates on regional styles of BBQ to determine who is the best BBQ Pitmaster for a particular region. ?Below is the press release from Destination America (picture below courtesy of Discovery):

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FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

October 24, 2012

VICTORY NEVER TASTED SO GOOD!!?

ALL-NEW SEASON OF COMPETITION SERIES?BBQ PITMASTERS?RETURNS

NOVEMBER 17 ON DESTINATION AMERICA

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All-Star Panel of Judges Includes Myron Mixon, Tuffy Stone and Aaron Franklin;

?Ultimate Barbeque Showdown? Special Premieres Saturday, December 1 at 9pm E/P

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(Silver Spring, MD)??Tis the season to fire up the tailgate grills and serve smoked turkeys for Thanksgiving, so Destination America is delivering another mouth-watering season of the smokin? series?BBQ PITMASTERS.? The new season is taking fans across the country to the best barbecue competitions where each saucy bite puts reputations, respect and thousands of dollars on the line. A new twist this season showcases a fierce competition among the best in regional barbecue ? from Atlanta, GA to Nashville, TN, Kansas City, MO to Charlotte, NC.? Each city hosts three of the most hard-core barbecue grillers in that area as they compete for supreme barbecue bragging rights.? Also, the line-up of judges returns with?Myron Mixon,Tuffy Stone?and?Aaron Franklin?deciding the competitors? fates by blind-tasting the grilled creations to determine who is worthy of being crowned the ultimate Pitmaster in their region when the new season of?BBQ PITMASTERS?premieres Saturday, November 17 at 9 PM (E/P).

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?Barbecue is an entire culture unto itself and a full-blown year-round competitive sport featuring a cut-throat world of high-stakes events,? said Marc Etkind, SVP of Content Strategy for Destination America.? ?During this season of football and tailgating, we thought it was a perfect time to bring back?BBQ PITMASTERS?? the greatest of all competitions ? a tournament of smoke and meat!?

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In the premiere episode, viewers are invited to the Bedford Blues & BBQ Festival in Texas to see the three contenders ??Ernest Servantes?(owner/pitmaster of?Burnt Bean Co.),?Harold ?Buzzie? Hughes?(owner/pitmaster of?Buzzie?s BBQ), and?Will Fleischman?(pitmaster of?Lockharts Smokehouse)? ? hit the smokers to fire up Texas specialties ? brisket and cowboy steak.? Will Servantes, winner of 100 BBQ trophies, prove to be worth his sauce?? Could Wisconsin native and Julia Child fan, Fleishman show them how it?s done?? Or will Buzzie?s BBQ burn the competition?

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Also whetting BBQ fans? appetites, BBQ PITMASTERS judges Myron Mixon and Tuffy Stone will go head-to-head in the?ULTIMATE BARBECUE SHOWDOWN?special which pits master class BBQ chefs against one another.? Myron and Tuffy can talk the talk but will one of them be the master of the grill in this culinary shootout???Other high level competitors include?Neil ?Bigmista? Strawder, and?Bubba Latimar.? The judging line-up for this special,?premiering Saturday, December 1 at 9pm E/P, includes BBQ legend?Chris Lilly?of Big Bob Gibson,?Ray ?Dr. BBQ? Lampe?and?Mike Lake?of Rock River BBQ Team.

ABOUT THE ?BBQ PITMASTERS? JUDGES:

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Myron Mixon:?As a three-time world barbecue champion, Myron Mixon is the winningest man in all of barbecue. He is the chief cook of the?Jack?s Old South?Bar-B-Que Team and a?New York Times?bestselling?cookbook?author. Since his first competition in 1996, Myron has won more than 180 grand championships and has built a barbecue brand with his own line of sauces, seasons, and custom-built smokers.

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Tuffy Stone:?Classically trained French chef and former Marine, Tuffy Stone, aka ?The Professor,? began researching slow cooking barbecue methods and in 2004, the?Cool Smoke Team?was born. Since then, Cool Smoke has won 30 grand championships in large part due to Tuffy?s unique obsession with the physics and science of wood, smoke, spices, and molecular composition of meat to the point at which he creates barbecue perfection.

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Aaron Franklin:?At the encouragement of friends, Aaron Franklin began barbecuing his brisket out of a trailer on an East Austin parking lot in late 2009. He and his wife debuted?Franklin BBQ?to rave reviews from patrons and press alike, with?Bon Appetit?even hailing their barbecue as the best in America. The Franklins have since outgrown their trailer, but Franklin BBQ?s line is as long as ever, and the restaurant has sold out of brisket every day of its existence.

?

BBQ PITMASTERS?is produced for Destination America by Original Media. For Original Media,?Jay Peterson, Charlie Corwin, and John Markus are executive producers. For Destination America, Ron Simon and Fay Yu are executive producers, Sara Kozak is SVP of production, Marc Etkind is SVP of content strategy, and Henry Schleiff is president and general manager.

?

ABOUT DESTINATION AMERICA

Destination America is the first network to celebrate the people, places, and stories of the United States. The inclusive network targeting Adults 25-54 is available in 59.5 million homes, emblazoning television screens with the grit and tenacity, honesty and work ethic, humor and adventurousness that characterize our nation. Destination America features travel, food, adventure, home, and natural history, with original series covering such diverse subjects as American food favorites, mysteries like Jesse James? lost fortune and Area 51, American heroes and innovators, as well as iconic landmarks and wonders like Yellowstone National Park and the Everglades. Destination America is part of Discovery Communications (Nasdaq: DISCA, DISCB, DISCK), the world?s #1 nonfiction media company reaching more than 1.5 billion cumulative subscribers in 200 countries and territories.

# # #

Please visit the Press Website at?press.discovery.com/us/da?for additional press materials

Follow us on Twitter at?@DestAmerica

Like us on Facebook at?Facebook.com/DestinationAmerica

Visit us online at?DestinationAmerica.com

Other posts you may find interesting:

1. Unofficially Official BBQ Pitmasters Drinking Game Tally ? Episode 3
2. BBQ Pitmasters Season Finale, Plus Episode 5 Recap
3. Recap: BBQ Pitmasters Season 3 Finale ? Final Drink Count
4. BBQ Pitmasters In Their Own Words: Southern Krunk Burn One Boys BBQ
5. BBQ Pitmasters Season 4 Videos

Source: http://www.bigwaynerbbq.com/2012/10/25/bbq-pitmasters-season-4-premiering-november-17/?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=bbq-pitmasters-season-4-premiering-november-17

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Alicia Keys Debuts New Kids? Storybook App

The singer and mom launches a new storybook app, The Journals of Mama Mae and LeeLee, inspired by her childhood.

Source: http://feeds.celebritybabies.com/~r/celebrity-babies/~3/60M2doNum7Y/

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Business big guns join to shape retail future | Stuff.co.nz

MARTA STEEMAN BUSINESS EDITOR

RETAIL PRECINCT: Christchurch retail business leaders Philip Carter, left, Peter Guthrey and Richard Ballantyne are combining their properties.

Three of Christchurch's wealthiest and most influential business families have joined forces to have a leading role in shaping the new inner city shopping precinct.

Yesterday, Ballantynes, Philip Carter and Peter Guthrey showed a small part of their hand announcing they had formed the BCG Alliance, a formidable retailing and investor group proposing predominantly a retail and commercial office development over 25,000 square metres.

That is about 43 per cent of the total retail precinct footprint set out in the Christchurch Central Development Unit's blueprint.

It's the third retail plan for the retail precinct to go public and considerably larger in scale than the $200 million proposal unveiled on Thursday for another block close by.

There may have been more proposals submitted to CCDU by the Tuesday deadline, but CCDU is not revealing who or how many.

The BCG Alliance proposal is short on detail which is still being worked through and is likely to be released in a few weeks.

They have yet to reveal the total cost of the development.

"Here are three Christchurch families who are really wanting to show leadership for the city, want to ensure an end result that is stunning, but to do that we totally believe collaboration is the key amongst it all," Ballantynes managing director Mary Devine said.

"So we don't want to be big brother coming in and saying this is what we are all about, but we do want to create a vision that is exciting."

This week another group, which included investor Miles Middleton and construction manager Apollo Projects, unveiled a $200m, 8000sqm proposal for shops, offices and cafes and other hospitality for the block between City Mall, Lichfield St, Oxford Tce and Plymouth Lane.

Two other rival proposals for that block near the Avon River are understood to have been submitted to CCDU, each vying for support of about 13 landowners who make up the block.

The BCG Alliance area spreads from about halfway up City Mall on the Ballantynes side and across Colombo St to the block that extends to High St and through to Lichfield St.

The three families own the majority of the land. There are other landowners they are talking to.

Asked about outside investment partners, Carter said they were working as a tight investment unit and their proposal was evolving.

"You've got three pretty strong families financially," Carter said.

"We do want to work with other landowners. What the final entity is is still to be worked through," Devine said. Guthrey Holdings owns land next to Ballantynes while Carter Group owns properties on the other side of Colombo St.

Devine said fortunately they did not have competing development proposals on their block and they were confident they were the key players over the land they owned.

"The land is effectively controlled by this group either through ownership or partners working together, so we won't have that issue," Peter Guthrey said referring to the three rival plans on the block near the river.

BCG had a good relationship with CCDU and the council, Devine said.

"It's not about individual gain, it's about an end product that everyone will be proud of."

BCG wanted to "drive the development of the central city retail precinct".

"We see the centre of retail sitting either side of Colombo St," Devine sai

- ? Fairfax NZ News

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Source: http://www.stuff.co.nz/the-press/news/7870830/Business-big-guns-join-to-shape-retail-future

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Mitt Romney casts himself as the 'real' change

Mitt Romney in Iowa during his 2012 presidential camnpaign (Justin Sullivan/Getty Images)AMES, Iowa?Mitt Romney again cast himself as an agent of change who is better equipped than President Barack Obama to turn around the nation's economy.

With just over a week to go before Election Day, Romney aides described the candidate's speech at a rally in this battleground state as his closing argument to voters. He mostly stuck with a stump speech he has been delivering in recent days, one that included a heavy emphasis on change and his ability to be a bipartisan leader in Washington.

Romney, co-opting Obama's 2008 mantra of "change," vowed that if elected he will bring "real change" to a country at an economic turning point. "[Change] requires that we put aside the small and petty and demand the scale of change we deserve. We need real change, big change."

Obama, he added, "spoke to the scale of the times" four years ago, but now "shrinks from it." He accused his opponent of being too focused on attacks instead of working to confront big issues.

"Four years ago, America voted for a post-partisan president, but they have seen the most partisan and political of presidents, and a Washington in gridlock because of it," he said.

As he has done in recent weeks, Romney, speaking to a few thousand people here, repeatedly cast himself as someone who will rise above the partisan rancor in the nation's capital. He pointed to his record of working with Democrats as a Republican governor of Massachusetts and to his leadership as head of the 2002 Winter Olympics and in the private sector.

[Political junkie? Sign up for the Yahoo! News Daily Ticket newsletter today]

Romney's remarks sounded like something Obama would have said during his run four years ago. If elected, the GOP nominee promised to "work tirelessly to bridge the divide between the political parties." He vowed to meet with both Democrats and Republicans regularly and look for "common ground and shared principals."

He also sought to disarm Obama's claim that he inherited a troubled economy by insisting the president didn't do enough with what he had to work with, including a country full of people who have always "risen to the occasion." The country, he insisted, as he has at almost every campaign stop in recent months, can't take "another four years like the last four years."

In response, Lis Smith, an Obama campaign spokeswoman, dismissed Romney's remarks as "dishonest attacks" and empty promises.

"The only change Romney's offering is to take us back to the same failed policies that crashed our economy in the first place," Smith said. "That's not the change we need, and with every 'major speech,' Mitt Romney just reminds voters that's all he's got to offer."

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/blogs/ticket/closing-argument-romney-sounds-change-theme-185923371--election.html

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China's Ai Weiwei bemoans block on his "Gangnam" parody

BEIJING (Reuters) - Dissident Chinese artist Ai Weiwei criticized the government on Thursday for removing from Chinese websites his parody of Korean pop sensation Psy's Gangnam Style video.

Ai, a world-renowned artist and China's most prominent dissident, and staff of his company performed Psy's famous horse dance in his Beijing studio and posted the video late on Wednesday to Chinese sites such as "Tudou", the equivalent of the blocked YouTube site.

Ai, 55, called the video "Caonima". "Caonima" means "grass mud horse" but the word, which sounds like a very crude insult, has also been taken on by Chinese Internet users, and by Ai himself, and featured in postings mocking the government's online controls.

"We only filmed for a bit over 10 minutes but we used a whole day to edit, and eventually put it online at midnight," Ai told Reuters.

"After we had uploaded it, a few hours later ... we found that a lot of people, tens of thousands, had already watched it. Now, in China, it has already been totally removed, deleted entirely, and you can't see it in China," Ai said.

Ai said Psy's Gangnam Style song and dance was a grass-roots expression of individualism that should be allowed in his country.

"Overall, we feel that every person has the right to express themselves, and this right of expression is fundamentally linked to our happiness and even our existence," Ai said.

"When a society constantly demands that everyone should abandon this right, then the society becomes a society without creativity. It can never become a happy society."

Ai, whose 81-day detention last year sparked an international outcry, has regularly criticized the government for what he sees as its flouting of the rule of law and the rights of citizens.

Last month, a court upheld a $2.4 million tax evasion fine against him, ending a long legal battle with the authorities. He can be jailed if he does not pay.

(Reporting by Maxim Duncan; Editing by Elaine Lies and Robert Birsel)

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/chinas-ai-weiwei-bemoans-block-gangnam-parody-095226298.html

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Data Linking Aspartame To Cancer Risk Are Too Weak To Defend, Hospital Says

Aspartame is a sugar substitute found in many popular foods, including diet sodas.

Maggie Starbard/NPR i

We almost brought you news today about a study that appeared to raise some troubling questions about aspartame, the popular sugar substitute found in many common foods like diet soda. Note the key word ? almost.

A study due to be published at 3 p.m. Wednesday in the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition and released to reporters earlier in the week under embargo found some correlation between drinking diet soda and an increased risk of leukemia and Non-Hodgkin's lymphoma, as well as a few other rare blood-related cancers.

But at 2:24 p.m. ? about a half-hour before the paper was to publish ? we and many other news outlets who had been working on the story got an email from the senior vice president of communications at Brigham and Women's Hospital.

"It has come to our attention that the scientific leaders at Brigham and Women's Hospital did not have an opportunity, prior to today, to review the findings of the paper," Erin McDonough wrote in an email to us. "Upon review of the findings, the consensus of our scientific leaders is that the data is weak, and that BWH Media Relations was premature in the promotion of this work. We apologize for the time you have invested in this story."

Now, the paper still got published, although the editor of the journal, Dennis Bier, told us that the reviewers pushed back during the editing process. They wanted to make sure "that the conclusion made it clear that chance was a plausible explanation of the findings," he says. "The journal tried to ensure that the caveats were adequately presented."

A co-author of the paper, Harvard's Walter Willett, who sits on the editorial board of the ACJN, told us earlier today by email that "I do think this finding is strong enough to justify further study on aspartame and cancer risk."

However, it seems as if senior scientists at Brigham and Women's Hospital decided that the data weren't ready for prime time. And all along, in the course of our reporting, the researchers we interviewed (who were not connected with the paper) had raised cautions.

"The results are really not that strong," Amy Subar of the National Cancer Institute told us yesterday.

And from Don Berry of MD Anderson Cancer Center: "I'm not convinced that this paper shows a relationship between blood-related cancers and drinking diet soda."

Marji McCulllough of the American Cancer Society had pointed to inconsistent findings. For instance, the increased risk in Non-Hodgkin's lymphoma was found only in men, not women. And regular, sugar-sweetened soda also seemed to lead to a similar increased risk of cancer.

And statistically, some of the findings teetered on the edge of significance.

The paper's lead researcher, Eva Schernhammer of Brigham and Women's Hospital and Harvard Medical School, acknowledged to us yesterday that her manuscript had been turned down for publication by many other journals, including the Journal of the National Cancer Institute, the Journal of the American Medical Association, The Lancet and the British Medical Journal.

So why were journalists even covering the paper? Well, most of the experts we interviewed agreed with Willett that ? despite the limitations ? the findings were significant enough to justify further research.

As we reported earlier this week, Americans drink a lot of diet soda, and there's some evidence that it can help maintain weight.

So we get it. Any evidence that there's a potential health concern with something as popular and ubiquitous as diet soda has to be pretty solid.

As journalists at NBC note, "the situation is a great example of why the public often finds science confusing and frustrating."

We'll keep you posted as we learn more.

Source: http://www.npr.org/blogs/thesalt/2012/10/24/163559533/aspartame-and-cancer-risk-new-study-is-too-weak-to-defend?ft=1&f=1007

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Verizon, AT&T put Samsung's Galaxy Note II on pre-sale for $300 with a two-year contract

Samsung's Galaxy Note II played coy at first by only hanging out with the European crowd, but now that it's here, it's the life of the US carrier party. The two biggest, AT&T and Verizon, have now glommed the phablet and each are offering it for pre-sale in all its quad-core Exynos, 5.5-inch glory for $300 under a two-year contract. We just handled Verizon's variant, but weren't sure of a sale date, and AT&T's version, which we saw earlier was already expected for pre-order today. When Sprint's copy of the handset arrives later today, that'll round out the Note II's major US carrier dance card -- so you'll be able to grab it at whichever plucks on your heart (or purse) strings.

[Thanks to all who sent this in]

Filed under: Cellphones, Mobile, Verizon, AT&T

Verizon, AT&T put Samsung's Galaxy Note II on pre-sale for $300 with a two-year contract originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 25 Oct 2012 01:52:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Source: http://feeds.engadget.com/~r/weblogsinc/engadget/~3/hePJol198t8/

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Audit: US oversight of charter school funds lax

LOS ANGELES (AP) ? An audit of the U.S. Department of Education's division overseeing hundreds of millions of dollars in charter school funding has criticized the office for failing to properly monitor how states spend the money.

The report released in late September by the department's Office of the Inspector General also singled out state education departments in California, Florida and Arizona for lax monitoring of what charter schools do with the funds and whether their expenditures comply with federal regulations.

The education department's Office of Innovation and Improvement spent $940 million from 2008 to 2011 on charter schools, which are autonomously operated public schools. Most of the money is funneled through state education departments, although some is given directly to charter schools.

The funds are administered through competitive grants aimed at helping launch new charters and replicate successful charter models.

The inspector general said the innovation office has not given proper guidance to states on monitoring the use of the money and does not have policies to ensure that states corrected deficiencies when they were found.

Additionally, the audit, which was conducted by San Francisco-based education research company WestEd, found that the office did not review expenditures to ensure they met with federal disbursement requirements.

The office has agreed to beef up its procedures to track federal funds and ensure states are adequately overseeing charter schools, the report said.

WestEd also examined state charter oversight policies in California, Arizona and Florida, which collectively received $275 million in federal funds for charter schools from 2008 to 2011.

Among the findings:

? In California, which has received nearly $182 million in federal charter grants from 2008 to 2011, auditors found "significant weaknesses" in charter oversight, such as school reviewers being unqualified to conduct on-site school visits. One reviewer felt "awkward" conducting site visits because of a lack of knowledge and experience, the report said.

? In Florida, state officials had no records of which schools received federal grant money nor which schools received on-site monitoring and audits. Florida received $67.6 million.

? In Arizona, which received about $26 million, reviewers lacked a monitoring checklist and thus collected inconsistent data when they visited schools.

The office has agreed to beef up its procedures to track federal funds and ensure states are adequately monitoring charter schools.

California Department of Education spokeswoman Tina Jung said officials in Sacramento had just received the report and were reviewing it, but she acknowledged that the department had been aware of oversight deficiencies.

"Even before this review, we recognized the need to build our monitoring capacity, and that effort has already begun," she said.

___

Contact the reporter at http://twitter.com/ChristinaHoag .

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/audit-us-oversight-charter-school-funds-lax-191134813.html

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Stevens' dad: Politicizing death would be 'abhorrent'

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Travel Leisure City Guides and Information: Go to Poppit Sands and

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Source: http://mysterious-incineration.blogspot.com/2012/10/travel-leisure-city-guides-and.html

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Creations With Becka: Home Decor Blog Hop

Unless otherwise stated within the post, this is my original work. Please feel free to use as inspiration for your own personal use, but do not use for publication, contest/message board entries, or to sell. If my work inspires a work of your own, please give credit by posting a link to my blog. Thank you!

Source: http://creationswithbecka.blogspot.com/2012/10/home-decor-blog-hop.html

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Levitt Letter Extra News | ?Christian? Leaders call on Congress to Re ...

? claiming it only serves ?to sustain the status quo and Israel?s military occupation of the Palestinian territories.?

JTA.org

Fifteen leaders of U.S. churches and other faith-based organizations have asked Congress to re-evaluate U.S. military aid to Israel.

The religious leaders sent a letter to Congress members on Monday, Oct 8, calling for an investigation into possible violations by Israel of the U.S. Foreign Assistance Act and the U.S. Arms Export Control Act, which would make Israel ineligible for U.S. military aid.

?As Christian leaders in the United States, it is our moral responsibility to question the continuation of unconditional U.S. financial assistance to the government of Israel. Realizing a just and lasting peace will require this accountability, as continued U.S. military assistance to Israel ? offered without conditions or accountability ? will only serve to sustain the status quo and Israel?s military occupation of the Palestinian territories,? the letter, signed by leaders of the Lutheran, Methodist, UCC churches, and the National Council of Churches, said.

?We request, therefore, that Congress hold Israel accountable to these standards by making the disbursement of U.S. military assistance to Israel contingent on the Israeli government?s compliance with applicable U.S. laws and policies.?

?We write to you as Christian leaders representing U.S. churches and religious organizations committed to seeking a just peace for Israelis and Palestinians,? the letter said, adding that the organizations have ?worked alongside our Palestinian Christian sisters and brothers to help build a peaceful and resilient Palestinian civil society.?

The signatories said they were writing to Congress ?to express our grave concern about the deteriorating conditions in Israel and the occupied Palestinian territories.?

?Unfortunately, unconditional U.S. military assistance to Israel has contributed to this deterioration, sustaining the conflict and undermining the long-term security interests of both Israelis and Palestinians,? the letter said, citing the 2011 State Department Country Report on Human Rights Practices covering Israel and the Occupied Territories.

The letter called on Congress to hold hearings ?to examine Israel?s compliance, and we request regular reporting on compliance and the withholding of military aid for non-compliance.?

The letter also decried what it called ?a troubling and consistent pattern of disregard by the government of Israel for U.S. policies that support a just and lasting peace,? citing Israel?s failure to halt settlement activity despite repeated U.S. government requests.

The letter was criticized by Jewish groups.

The Jewish Council for Public Affairs rejected the call to re-evaluate foreign aid to Israel. ?U.S. aid to Israel is not ?unconditional,? as the letter claims. It reflects the shared values of America and Israel and furthers our shared goals for peace and security and is vital to advance the security of both peoples,? said JCPA President Rabbi Steve Gutow.

The Rabbinical Assembly, the international umbrella organization of Conservative rabbis, called for a re-evaluation of the interfaith partnerships between the assembly and the denominations represented in the letter.

?The letter calling for hearings and reassessment was issued without outreach to longtime partners in public advocacy within the Jewish community. It was released on the eve of Shabbat, just before a long weekend of Jewish and American holidays. And it was distributed at a time when Congress is out of session, in the midst of the general election campaign,? the Rabbinical Assembly said in a statement. ?We find these tactics to be disrespectful of channels of communication that have been constructed over decades, and an essential declaration of separation from the endeavor of interfaith consultation on matters of deep concern to the Jewish community. Indeed, we find this breach of trust to be so egregious that we wonder if it may not warrant an examination on the part of the Jewish community at large of these partnerships and relationships that we understood ourselves to be working diligently to preserve and protect.?

The American Jewish Committee said it was outraged by the Christian leaders? call.

?When the world currently is focused on the Iranian nuclear threat to the entire Middle East and the world, Christian leaders have chosen to mount another political attack on Israel,? said Rabbi Noam Marans, AJC director of Interreligious and Intergroup Relations. ?When religious liberty and safety of Christians across the Middle East are threatened by the repercussions of the Arab Spring, these Christian leaders have chosen to initiate a polemic against Israel, a country that protects religious freedom and expression for Christians, Muslims, and others.?

This entry was posted on Friday, October 12th, 2012 at 3:20 pm and is filed under Anti-Semitism. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.

Source: http://www.levitt.com/news/2012/10/12/christian-leaders-call-on-congress-to-re-evaulate-military-aid-to-israel/

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Amazon's Kindle Paperwhite coming to the UK on October 25th, starting at ?109

Amazon has found a relatively clear day in the calendar on which to launch its excellent Kindle Paperwhite e-reader in the British Isles. The ad-supported basic model will knock you back £109, while an extra £60 will get you the 3G version. Amazon's Lending Library service will roll-out at the same time, offering Prime members free loans from a collection of 200,000 books as part of the £49 per year subscription (which also has other perks). If you're shopping around, don't forget that Barnes & Noble's equally glowing alternative is also available in the UK these days, wearing a pretty much identical price tag.

Amazon's Kindle Paperwhite coming to the UK on October 25th, starting at ?109 originally appeared on Engadget on Fri, 12 Oct 2012 05:45:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Source: http://www.engadget.com/2012/10/12/kindle-paperwhite-uk/

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A right-brained business plan?? | Energy Bulletin

So you?ve made the big jump. You?ve left the conventional business world behind and you?re starting a business of the new future. Maybe you just launched your town?s first rickshaw taxi. Maybe you sell vegetable seedlings at farmers market or you?re pioneering urban goat cheese production. Perhaps it?s a social enterprise or a nonprofit. At any rate, you?re still going to need a few of the tools that conventional businesses use, like business plans and accounting systems.

May I introduce you to The Right-Brain Business Plan by Jennifer Lee? I stumbled upon this innovative and delightful book in my public library system. Within the Transition world we use many different types of meeting styles designed to get the creative juices flowing, to channel our thoughts and energies into different, not-so-conventional avenues. The Right-Brain Business Plan is a tool that deserves to be right in there.

Fun Business Plans

Imagine a business plan crafted in collage. Or decoupage. Imagine a business plan laid out within a full-color drawing of a landscape. The Right-Brain Business Plan guides you to do the necessary thinking and planning so that your business gets off to a great, solid start:

Who is your customer base and what do they need? What is your business environment ? barriers, competitors, and opportunities? What are you really good at that you should do more of? What isn?t really working in your business that you?d better stop? Who are your best assets ? the people around you?

The book includes many photos of highly creative and artistic plans. One is a wristband. ?Another dangles from a mobile. ?The book is perhaps intended for a small home-crafts business, but its whole approach is to give you permission for freeform expression ? even in the traditionally staid world of business and finance. A type of expression that is SORELY needed, to further the emergence of the new economy!

We are using The Right-Brain Business Plan as we develop the mission and vision for (the new official tax-exempt-corporation version of) the Environmental Change-Makers. Although ECM began gathering in 2005, up till now we?ve never had a Board ? which means several minds need to be aligned behind written plans. In 7 years of successful Change-Making we?ve never before had a checking account ? which means some degree of planning so that it doesn?t run dry.

Let?s talk budgets and accounting. Ugh ? dirty words amid such promised creativity! No, not necessarily. The Right-Brain Business Plan coaches you to create a budget with post-it notes stuck on colored posterboard. (ok, ok, I admit you do record it later on spreadsheets. But you get the thoughts going with stickers and fun.)

Open-sourced Accounting

Sick of Quicken/Quickbooks and its branding and ties into Big Bank corporate America? Why not try an open-source accounting package? GnuCash is a solid little program downloadable for free. It is a full double-entry accounting system that produces all the traditional and necessary reports you need for IRS, bankers, and board members (like balance sheet, income statement, budget comparison, etc.). And for international readers of this post, it copes with multiple currencies.

While some might label GnuCash as a bit ?bare bones,? I beg to differ. I was sick of the excessive ?features? of Quicken/Quckbooks, all the bells and whistles I didn?t need and would never use but still had to stumble around to get the basic job done. I found GnuCash a welcome, distraction-free, and efficient relief.

GnuCash is perfect for startups. We are using GnuCash for our nonprofit. I figure it will serve us well for several years. I did have to do some customizations to adapt it to nonprofit accounting, but that wasn?t hard at all.

Even as we step into a radically altered future, some conventional tasks are unavoidable. But even so, there?s no reason that our Transition enterprises need to be pigeon-holed into conventional forms of getting those tasks accomplished!

Want more new-future tools that smash old conventional forms? Read ?

?

Joanne Poyourow directs the Environmental Change-Makers. She is widely regarded as the ?initiator? who brought the ideas of the international Transition movement to Los Angeles and helped form the Transition Los Angeles city hub. She is a Certified Public Accountant by training.

Source: http://www.energybulletin.net/stories/2012-10-12/right-brained-business-plan

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ELIXIR: Pests aren't welcome in your homes

Pests can invade your home or garden at any time of the year, be it rodents, insects, squirrels or moles and once they?re in they can be difficult to shift. Pests can cause untold damage to your home, your sanity and your health. Pest control also involves more than just insects; without proper chimney capping, birds, squirrels, chipmunks, raccoons, bats and other pests can easily enter your home. Uncapped chimneys pose other problems: such as, access to the chimney providing access to the interior of your home; it's like leaving your front door open and pests can easily become trapped inside and birds and bats often find unblocked chimneys to be a cozy place to nest. ?Try some of those home improvement projects. Not only will they make your home less vulnerable to pest attacks, but they will improve its value.?

"The annual end-of-summer invasion poses many potential risks to homes that are not properly protected from the seasonal onslaught. Power Home Remodeling Group, one of the nation's largest home remodeling companies, provides tips for homeowners ..."
http://www.sacbee.com/2012/10/09/4894613/chilly-weather-signals-time-for.html

You can prevent pest infestations while beautifying your home through home improvement projects. Prevent your home from needing a termite inspection or other costly pest control procedure by simple home improvements. The baseboard around your floors is a great place for pests to enter your home, which is why you may want to replace yours if it?s old or damaged. ?Ensure that your basement isn?t leaking air or accumulating moisture, Using a sealant can prevent termites from entering your home and causing major structural damage. Termites and rodents are attracted to moisture. When landscaping your home, make sure to keep the mulch beds near your house low so that they don?t retain as much water.?

?

Source: http://www.oagebsco.com/2012/10/pests-arent-welcome-in-your-homes.html

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Google in industry's "defining fight" with Apple, Schmidt says

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Source: http://news.yahoo.com/google-versus-apple-industrys-defining-fight-schmidt-012101642--sector.html

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Award winners at The European Call Centre & Customer Service Expo

The ?best and brightest? shining stars of customer service were revealed at a glistening awards ceremony held in the London Hilton on Park Lane.

Guests were treated to a comedy sketch from host Seann Walsh as well as a performance from the ACM Gospel Choir before the serious business of recognising the individuals and teams.

Winners on the night included:

Best customer service in financial services

LV=
This company demonstrated a high level of engagement with their staff, leading to high levels of customer service. This was especially focused on investment in customer community forums.

Best high street, travel and leisure customer service

Newport City Council
The innovation and creativity in consistently exceeding customer expectations was what caught the eye of the judges, as well as a truly people-centric environment and team ethic.

Best improvement strategy

Staples
Staples impressed the judges with a very clear vision of a new scheme to transform customer service and employee engagement, which was clearly communicated, results-focused, and fun.

Best newcomer

Lizzie Chadwick ? Virgin Media
Lizzie displayed real dedication and personal sacrifice in her drive to create amazing experiences for customers ? as well as an infectious enthusiastic approach and imaginative thinking to bring the brand alive.

Best online customer service

Charles Tyrwhitt
This inspirational organisation has a culture of constant feedback from customers and employees that is used to inform the business ? resulting in happier customers and increasing revenues.

Best use of technology

Aviva
Aviva blew the judges away with its comprehensive communication strategy to make sure that the new solution achieved the best possible results for front-line staff as well as customers.

Complaints team of the year

Client Relations ? Barclays, Wealth and Investment Management
In the difficult world of complaints, it can be difficult to be positive and passionate ? but this winning team displayed positivity by the bucket load and an infectious passion for customer service.

Front-line professional of the year

Stacey Gowran, Everything Everywhere ? T-Mobile
A true rising star, Stacey has made a huge impact in a short space of time thanks to an uncanny knack of identifying business process improvements that have yielded success for the entire organisation.

Front-line team of the year

GreenAcres Woodland Burials
This team left the judges feeling quite emotional, thanks to the inspirational stories of individuals constantly going above and beyond for the customer experience. They also demonstrated a strong teamwork ethic that helps them deliver exceptional service.

Innovation of the year

CPP Group Plc ? Phonesafe
The judges were impressed by a truly transformative innovation that was delivered through careful planning and excellent training and communication ? and has resulted in significant savings for the business.

Manager of the year

Amanda Wilson ? Aviva Life
An inspiring leader, Amanda has not only led phenomenal success in her department, but has worked tirelessly to change the mindset of senior directors and promote the importance of customer service to the entire business.

Support professional of the year

Julia Killen ? Legal & General
The judges were impressed with Julia?s drive for success and the way she tackled a challenging special project with professionalism and dedication ? making her truly indispensable to her team and company.

Support team of the year

Daisy Wholesale ? The Network Operations Team
This team took customer focus to a whole new level, with a powerful mix of dedication, passion and innovation.

Team leader of the year

Aimee Jones, Virgin Media
With a passion for teaching others and a clear focus on the importance of customer service, Aimee impressed the judges as someone who will be a leading figure in this industry in the future.

Young professional of the year

Liam Dyson, Everything Everywhere
For someone so new to the world of customer service, Liam blew the judges away with his commitment, dedication and a clear understanding of how his individual performance impacts on the success of the business as a whole.

Best outsourcing partnership

Concentrix & Cisco
Going far beyond a client/outsourcing relationship, this partnership has been courageous, collaborative and committed to staff engagement. The potential for development across both companies has engendered a strong network and an overwhelming sense of unity.

Outsourcer of the year

FirstSource
From a very strong field of entrants, Firstsource stood out by clearly demonstrating where they had added value over and above the service they were contracted to deliver ? and the way it genuinely engaged with both employees and clients.

Best customer service operation

QVC Deutschland Inc. & Co. KG
QVC Deutschland delivers an exceptional experience for its customers, regardless of the communication channels. You get the feeling that the employees love their work and the employer loves its employees! Not satisfied with 99% customer satisfaction, they are striving to achieve 100%.

Employer of the year

T-Mobile, Merthyr Tydfil Contact Centre
In spite of significant changes they have faced in recent months, this centre has continued to grow its employee engagement activities and its great work within the community. The leadership team has conceived and skilfully executed a recruitment strategy and an enviable employee development programme.

Large contact centre of the year (+100 seats)

Lebara
Lebara really has pushed out the envelope and created something truly inspiring. A unique culture, centred around the customer and the provision of the best possible customer experiences. Innovative approaches to recruitment, training, staff development and performance management. On top of this, a whole team of totally engaged and committed employees to an extent the judges have rarely, if ever, encountered.

Small contact centre of the year (-100 seats)

RHP
The winner of this award has used its size to great effect, aligning strategic goals with customer interactions. Reacting with flexibility to customer needs, this organisation has listened to customers and front-line teams to deliver an exceptional level of service.

Customer service business leader

Sian McGregor, Virgin Media
This category is very special because it has been voted for by all of you! The finalists were each interviewed on camera, and you have been voting in your thousands for the winner. And the individual who has come out on top is nothing short of an inspiration. An incredible leader, Sian has worked tirelessly to put customer service at the very heart of everything the organisation does.

Lifetime achievement

Don Hales
Don Hales has achieved a phenomenal amount in his 30-year career as a business leader. Through his directorship at several well known companies, he has done so much to put customer service on the boardroom agenda.

Congratulations to all of the winners.

10 Oct 2012 - Filed under Call Centre News

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Source: http://www.callcentrehelper.com/award-winners-at-the-european-call-centre-customer-service-expo-2012-33008.htm

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