Fauna And Flora Aren't The Only Things ... - Small Business Trends

While I live and work out of Silicon Valley, our incubator works with a global charter of nurturing a million entrepreneurs to reach $1M and beyond in annual revenue. Consequently, I get to see a tremendous number of businesses in pretty much all corners of the world. One region that people might not automatically think of as having a thriving entrepreneurship eco-system is Oregon. This is a mistake. Let me introduce you to a set of players who will, inevitably, change your mind.

Investor Eric Pozzo of the Oregon Angels Fund points to the state?s willingness to not simply support entrepreneurship but actually invest in promising companies.

EthicsPoint, based in Lake Oswego, Oregon,?is a company that offers clients integrated telephone and Web-based reporting hotlines and case management services that they can use to identify, report, investigate, and resolve issues and events that may not be in line with their codes of conduct or governance policies.

Then there?s ShopIgniter, a Portland-based company that provides solutions to help companies promote and sell their products on the social Web.

Act-On Software, in Beaverton, Oregon, is a software-as-a-service (SaaS) email marketing company that intends to commoditize marketing automation and make it available to businesses of all sizes.

Another Portland-based company, JanRain offers clients an enterprise-class solution that enables a website to expedite the registration and log-in processes with a user?s third-party account, import user profile information and address books, and make it easy to publish website activity back to multiple social networks.

There?s also PaloAlto Software, which, despite the name, is based in Eugene, Oregon. ?Although PaloAlto Software was incorporated in 1988, it didn?t become a successful venture until 1995. The business came about as the result of founder Tim Berry, whom happens to be a contributor to Small Business Trends, creating something called a Business Plan Toolkit, which was a set of templates that people could use to update their business plans as needed.

Here?s how Tim explained it to me:

?By 1994, the template business had failed in retail. We had a $250,000 liability for returns. We had boxes and boxes of software coming back to us, and at the same time, I had three kids in private school. Everything was very much integrated into my family finances. Things looked very bad.?

Instead, Tim launched Business Plan Pro, a business planning software, which gave the company its real break.

Within the first year after launching Business Plan Pro, PaloAlto Software earned nearly $2 million in revenue. By the time the company started offering a downloadable version online in 1998, that number had increased to $4.5 million. The crash of 2001 caused the company to suffer significant losses, but Berry and his team held on and by 2002, PaloAlto Software had earned $5 million in revenue. ?Over the next five years, the company grew to nearly $10 million in revenue.

Recently, Tim approached his daughter, Sabrina Parsons, to get her take on things. She ticked off a bunch of things that she would do if she were in charge of the operation. A third of them were obvious, a third were things that Tim would have done anyway, and the remaining third sounded like things he definitely wanted to try. As a result, Sabrina became the company?s CEO on the condition that her father resumed blogging and writing. He did. Tim is a well-known fellow-blogger in the domain of entrepreneurship.

In 2012, Tim and Sabrina expect PaloAlto Software to earn $14 million in revenue. As the company continues to evolve with changing times, embracing Software-as-a-Service for example, it is sure to continue growing, making Oregon just one of many places where entrepreneurship can and does thrive.

Act-On Software is another promising company that has been growing very fast. Act-On was founded in 2008 by CEO Raghu Raghavan. The idea for Act-On came up when Raghu and Subrah Iyar, the founder of WebEx, spotted a major gap in the marketing platforms of the time; no one was offering any way to organize webinars as an integrated marketing effort. As a result, webinars were completely isolated from all other marketing activities people usually followed.

Raghu brought together many members of the founding engineering team from Responsys, his previous company, and developed a prototype that bundled WebEx, Salesforce.com and online marketing in a single solution. Cisco agreed to fund this venture, and the company was all set to go. Initially, Raghu planned to use Cisco as the sole sales channel, but later decided to set up an independent sales team.

The initial funding of $2 million came from Cisco. But as Raghu set up an independent sales team, both he and Subrah had to back the company until the sales model was validated. In 2010 and 2011, the founders?brought together Voyager Capital and U.S Venture Partners for a $4 million round and then Trinity Ventures for a $10 million round.

According to Forrester numbers, e-mail marketing is a $4 billion market and marketing automation is a $250 billion market. Act-On is playing in at least $4 billion market if not more. And Silicon Valley?s VCs are playing with them in Oregon.

DiscoverOrg is another company that is on track to make $14 million to $15 million in revenue this year. The company was started in 2007 by Henry Schuck and Kirk Brown. They went to school together and worked for a small lead generation company that sourced leads to technology firms.

Henry and Kirk used their savings and credit cards to create DiscoverOrg, a small startup addressing the need of IT vendors to generate sales leads for IT buyers at major enterprises and SMEs. They worked from the second story of their home in Columbus, Ohio. DiscoverOrg only had a formal office when they moved to Vancouver, Washington, part of the Portland, Oregon metropolitan area, in 2009.

The company got its first customer in 2007 in the range of $15,000 to $20,000. At that time, all the founders had was a database of 5,000 contacts across 1,000 companies. In 2012, DiscoverOrg has 13,000 companies and 215,000 contact profiles in its database. ?Henry receives requests to offer the similar service in finance, marketing and engineering, but his and Kirk?s main focus is on IT buyers.

In the second half of 2007, DiscoverOrg made $110,000 in revenue and in 2008 it jumped to $270,000. In 2009, Henry and Kirk observed significant improvements in terms of revenue. They hired people to work on sales, marketing and research. And that is when they started building the organization. DiscoverOrg?s revenue reached $880,000 in 2009. In 2010 and 2011, the company?s revenue went up to $2.7 million and $5.5 million respectively. The company is expected to earn $14 million to $15 million in revenue in 2012.

As you can see, very interesting companies with considerable revenue levels are being built in Oregon. To me, that is what exemplifies a strong entrepreneurial climate.

It is extremely important for America to disperse the tribal knowledge about entrepreneurship that has accumulated in Silicon Valley over the last two decades to other parts of the country, in meaningful ways. The country has been in a deep recession for almost five years now. Silicon Valley continues to boom, but we need to make entrepreneurship bloom elsewhere as well. Stories like the ones I have shared with you today present a hopeful picture that entrepreneurship eco-systems are actually developing elsewhere in the country as well.

Oregon Photo via Shutterstock

About Sramana Mitra

Sramana Mitra is the founder of the One Million by One Million (1M/1M) initiative, an educational, business development and incubation program that aims to help one million entrepreneurs globally to reach $1 million in revenue and beyond. She is a Silicon Valley entrepreneur and strategist who writes the blog Sramana Mitra On Strategy.

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Source: http://smallbiztrends.com/2012/10/entrepreneurship-flourishing-in-oregon.html

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Today on New Scientist: 8 October 2012

Why sea ice records are poles apart

Levels of sea ice seem to be heading in opposite directions at the Earth's poles, for complex reasons

Star-shaped waves emerge from wobbly oil

Watch how an unusual pattern can emerge while shaking a tray of silicone oil

Chinese telcos branded national security risk for US

Fearing that internet routers and phone switches could relay secrets to Chinese intelligence, the US is warning against two foreign makes of telecoms kit

Cloning and stem cell Nobel for Gurdon and Yamanaka

John Gurdon and Shinya Yamanaka have won this year's Nobel prize in Physiology or Medicine for showing that cells can be rewound to an embryonic state

Tech festival of dazzling displays but no big picture

This year's Ars Electronica festival lost its way in search of territory where science and art are truly integrated

Black-hole laser edges closer to testing Hawking

A novel laser could confirm Stephen Hawking's theory that black holes emit light - and find practical applications

Look to the ceiling for mathematical enlightenment

These kaleidoscope-like photos of the interiors of domes show places of worship in a new, mathematical light

Japan's Yamanaka wins Nobel for stem cell breakthrough

Joint Nobel prize winner Shinya Yamanaka talks about turning adult human cells into cells akin to embryonic stem cells - and his ethical worries

The sickening truth about wind farm syndrome

Hilltop turbines are being blamed for myriad maladies. Simon Chapman deconstructs the outlandish claims levelled against these modern windmills

The ultimate guide to memory

We are all collections of memories, yet memory, with its many virtues and flaws, has puzzled for centuries. New Scientist set out to clear the fog

Mammals' ancestor was not as puny as we thought

A new genetic analysis suggests that the common ancestor of modern mammals may not have been shrewlike in size, but more like a small monkey

App helps tell your colourful pills apart

Software that identifies different pills by sight could help avoid dangerous drug mix-ups

Webcam + sunshine + time = 3D model of your world

Using only webcam pictures and seasonal sunshine, a new system can create incredibly detailed 3D models of outdoor environments

Wasp has hints of a clockwork brain

The tiny greenhouse whitefly parasite has brain cells so slender, they may not behave like normal neurons - and may work mechanically instead

Astrophile: Supernova impostor explodes for real

The latest outburst of SN 2009ip was no fake and the death was like no other - that has implications for a nearby, looming star explosion

Source: http://feeds.newscientist.com/c/749/f/492992/s/2440cf2a/l/0L0Snewscientist0N0Cblogs0Cshortsharpscience0C20A120C10A0Ctoday0Eon0Enew0Escientist0E80Eoctob0E10Bhtml/story01.htm

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The Year of Consequential Debates (Atlantic Politics Channel)

Share With Friends: | | Politics - Top Stories News, RSS Feeds and Widgets via Feedzilla.

Source: http://news.feedzilla.com/en_us/stories/politics/top-stories/254285276?client_source=feed&format=rss

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Afghanistan War Anniversary: Operation Enduring Freedom Enters 12th Year

KABUL, Afghanistan -- Nobody wants a repeat of the bloody ethnic fighting that followed the Soviet exit from Afghanistan in the 1990s ? least of all 32-year-old Wahidullah who was crippled by a bullet that pierced his spine during the civil war.

Yet as the Afghan war began its 12th year on Sunday, fears loom that the country will again fracture along ethnic lines once international combat forces leave by the end of 2014.

"It was a very bad situation," said Wahidullah, who was a teenager when he was wounded in the 1992-1996 civil war. "All these streets around here were full of bullet shells, burned tanks and vehicles," he added, squinting into a setting sun that cast a golden glow on the bombed-out Darulaman Palace still standing in west Kabul not far from where he was wounded.

"People could not find bread or water, but rockets were everywhere," said Wahidullah, who now hobbles around on red-handled crutches. He goes by one name only, as do many Afghans.

The dilapidated palace is a reminder of the horror of the civil war when rival factions ? who had joined forces against Soviet fighters before they left in early 1989 ? turned their guns on each other. Tens of thousands of civilians were killed.

Fed up with the bloodletting, the Afghan people longed for someone ? anyone ? who would restore peace and order. The Taliban did so.

But once in power, they imposed harsh Islamic laws that repressed women and they publicly executed, stoned and lashed people for alleged crimes and sexual misconduct. The Taliban also gave sanctuary to al-Qaida in the run-up to the Sept. 11, 2001 attacks on the U.S. When the Taliban refused to give up the al-Qaida leaders who orchestrated 9/11, the U.S. invaded on Oct. 7, 2001.

Eleven years later, Afghanistan remains divided and ethnic tension still simmers.

The Taliban, dominated by the ethnic Pashtun majority, have strongholds in the south. Ethnic minorities such as Tajiks, Hazaras and Uzbeks live predominantly in central and northern Afghanistan. The fear is that when international forces leave, minority groups will take up arms to prevent another Taliban takeover and that members of the Afghan security forces could walk off the government force and fight with their ethnic leaders.

Anxiety and confusion about what will happen after the foreign forces leave permeates every aspect of society. Political debate about an Afghanistan post-2014 is getting more vocal. Some political leaders threaten to take up arms while others preach progress, development and peace. Young Afghans with money and connections are trying to flee the country before 2014.

There also is mounting uncertainty about the upcoming transfer of power. At the same time that foreign troops are scheduled to complete their withdrawal in 2014, Afghans will go to the polls to elect a successor to President Hamid Karzai, who is barred by the constitution from running for a third term.

The Afghan people already view their government as weak and corrupt and those doubtful of a peaceful future say that if the upcoming presidential election is rigged and yields an illegitimate leader, civil war could erupt between ethnic groups backed by neighboring countries trying to influence Afghanistan's future.

"Unfortunately in Afghanistan, we do not have any political unity," said Gen. Sayed Hussain Anwari, a former governor of Kabul and Herat provinces who led fighters during the civil war.

Speaking in emotional, rapid-fire sentences at his home in Kabul, Anwari says that the Taliban have a right to participate in the political process.

"But if the scenario changes and they come to power by force, there will be groups that won't go with the Taliban and the fighting will continue," he said.

Ghairat Baheer offers an even gloomier prediction. Baheer is a representative and son-in-law of Gulbuddin Hekmatyar, a key civil war leader in the 1990s whose fighters attack foreign troops today. He warns that the current Afghan government will collapse with the international troop withdrawal and says civil war is likely without a peace agreement.

"The realties are that the government is not sustainable," he said in a telephone interview. "Anti-Americanism and anti-western sentiment is increasing daily in Afghanistan and the resistance is spreading day-by-day across the country."

Fahim Dashti was with Ahmad Shah Massoud, the charismatic Tajik leader who commanded the Northern Alliance of minority groups, when he was fatally wounded by two terrorists posing as journalists two days before the Sept. 11 attacks. Dashti's face and hands were burned when one of the journalists blew himself up as the interview began. Even now, Dashti's hands are not strong enough to twist the cap off a bottle of water.

Despite his experience, Dashti, who now directs the National Journalists' Union in Afghanistan, doesn't think his country is headed toward a civil war.

"I do share the concerns of the people, no doubt. But there are some positive points such as the (growing) capability and the ability of the Afghan security forces," he said in his office.

Donor nations have pledged to continue supporting the Afghan forces, which will avoid civil war and prevent Afghanistan from becoming a sanctuary for international terrorists again, Dashti said. He's more worried about the upcoming presidential race.

"There is no one-man solution," he said, adding that a team of leaders from all ethnic factions needs to be assembled to lead the nation forward.

Gen. Majid Rouzi, who also commanded fighters in the civil war and is now an adviser at the Afghan Interior Ministry, agrees.

"Nobody has any justification for rearming," he said, sitting cross-legged on a rug in his home in Kabul. "The Taliban coming again? It is not possible. A factional war is not coming."

However, Gen. Sahki Dad Ghafel, who led 1,500 troops fighting under Hazara commander Abdul Ali Mazari during the civil war, says civil strife is inevitable unless a peace can be reached with the Taliban before 2014. And he's not optimistic that the Taliban will renounce violence, moderate their hardline ways and participate in the political process.

"Maybe if there is a deal between America, Pakistan and the Taliban, the Taliban might come with the tie instead of the turban," Ghafel, a round-faced military man with a small black mustache, said snacking on green grapes and melon in his office. "If the foreign troops leave, there will not be a good result. I am not confident about the future. I'm not optimistic."

Karzai has called for national unity and has tried to reassure his people that Afghanistan will not collapse when the troops leave.

"If the foreigners are not here, we are nothing?" he asked sarcastically at a news conference last week: "We were not a nation before NATO and the Americans came?"

Karzai claims there has been a decline in violence in areas where Afghan troops are taking over from U.S. and NATO forces and that Afghan policemen and soldiers will be strong enough to provide security in the future. He blames the media for scaring Afghans into thinking they have no future once the international coalition leaves. Those who share Karzai's optimism argue that despite reports of drug use and unprofessionalism, Afghan security forces ? now 352,000 strong ? will be capable of securing the nation by international troops leave.

Coalition officials claim they have battered the Taliban and that while they are capable of staging suicide bombings and insider attacks, the insurgents cannot defeat the Afghan forces on the battlefield. They contend that keeping up the pressure on insurgents will push Taliban leaders to the negotiating table and that the international community's pledge to bankroll the Afghan army and police force in coming years will support the Afghan government as it works to provide better governance.

The more pessimistic view is that the Afghan forces won't be up to the task.

The joint international and Afghan force is fighting a losing battle, Taliban spokesman Zabiullah Mujahid said in a statement marking the 11th anniversary of the start of the war. Mujahid claims the Taliban have infiltrated the Afghan forces and are responsible for the rash of insider attacks that have left more than 50 U.S. and NATO forces dead at the hands of their would-be Afghan partners so far this year.

"Right now, the foreigners are in a position where they are just trying to escape," Mujahid said.

___

Associated Press Writer Kathy Gannon in Islamabad, Pakistan, contributed to this report.

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Source: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/10/07/afghanistan-war-anniversary_n_1946392.html

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RolePlayGateway?

Lives of six teens are changed for better and worse as they meet and bonds are formed.

Qualifications
* This is a Literate role play. I ask that you use correct grammar and spelling to the best of your abilities. I can understand slight mistakes. I make them myself.
* Once again, literate, three paragraphs would be the mere minimum. Keyword, mere
* I am willing to double, and if this is a 1x1 then I will expect you to do the same.
* I will ask you to write in third person. "Dialogue will be put in quotes please and thank you." Thoughts will be in italics
* Active. I hate waiting a week for a reply -_-
* Willingness to add to plot
* Talk to me :D I'm friendly I swear

What's it about?
Six teens, each intertwined in each others lives one way or another, find themselves becoming wrapped in a romance that can literally break them or save them.

Love will not be instant, and problems will accrue.

What makes this different? I see a lot of romances that claim to look for literate/committed role player(s)
There are four things I look for in a player, and will give:

*Literacy. I can not stress this enough. I am extremely tired of reading short and choppy sentences. Not everyone can write five-eight paragraph responses, and that is perfectly fine, but I promise you, it is possible to write an amazing post with a minimal of three paragraphs if you know how.

* Commitment . It doesn't matter how many role players you have, everyone plays an important part. I beg you, if you join this role play, stick it out through the end...or at least tell us if you will no longer participate.

*Imagination.That pretty much speaks for itself.

*Ability to read over everything and not ask questions that have already been answered

How much are we required to post and how often?
A solid three paragraphs...minimum. Most schools require more than that in an in-class writing assignment, so I'm sure that's not asking too much.

As for posting, I will require you post at least once a week (possibly more depending on activity), and with no more than a three day gap between the last post written.

The idea. Once again, this can be a 1x1 or a small group

She loves him. He loves her crazy. She's a hopeless romantic. He's just hopeless. She's afraid to let go. He won't let her. A story about a honest girl in love with a scheming boy. Here, forever is a lie.

Girl one:Taken by me
Name: Juliet Saunders
Age: Sixteen
About: Best friend to Lilian, the two girls share everything, except one major secret...Juliet is in love with "Dusty"; Lilian's law breaking, pot smoking, liar of an older brother.

Boy one:
Name: Aidan "Dusty" Valentine
Age: Nineteen
About: A liar, a hypocrite, selfish, and an overall rebel. He will sleep with anyone. To him, emotions are a game, and he's the top player...until Juliet laid down her cards.

She is a liar. He never believes her. She needed a hero. He needed somebody to save. She fears being alone. He's never had anyone to hold onto. Together they found love

Girl two:
Name: Lilian Valentine
Age: Sixteen
About: A happy girl that seems to have no care in the world, except for maybe her brother's best friend (unknown to Aidan). What started as innocent text messages became a romance neither could avoid. Sure, she has a boyfriend, and maybe she loves him...but Noah makes her feel alive.

Boy two:Taken by me
Name: Noah Jackson
Age:Eighteen
About: Broken family and a blackened heart, he found refuge in his friendship with Aidan. The Valentine's became his family, and despite their own problems, they were his home. It wasn't long before Lilian weaseled her way into his heart, but he won't let her go.

Girl three:
Name: Jessica Gray
Age:Eighteen
About:The girl Aidan lost his virginity to, and his constant "fling". She tried to make him love her, and thought she came close...the pain became too much to bare.She soon set her eyes on Logan, and she decided to hurt Aidan the one way she could...thought Lilian.
Boy three:
Name: Logan Hernandez
Age: Sixteen
About: Lilian was the girl of his dreams, but then she kissed Noah. She swore it was a mistake, but he couldn't believe her. His hate for Aidan and Noah grew as he soon realized his friend, as well as his ex, both seemed involved with the two. Hooking up with Jessica was just a way to make them pay.

Source: http://feeds.feedburner.com/RolePlayGateway

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Calls for carbon emissions target

8 October 2012 Last updated at 08:03 ET

Ministers must set a specific target for restricting carbon emissions from power generation, businesses have said.

The plea is made in an open letter to Chancellor George Osborne signed by 50 businesses and organisations.

They want a target for how emissions should be curbed by 2030, arguing that a failure to show commitment to reducing carbon emissions may harm the economy and their commercial prospects.

Mr Osborne has outlined plans to get energy from gas beyond 2030.

Labour Leader Ed Miliband has backed a 2030 target for the power sector and the Liberal Democrats have supported a target under the Energy Bill, to be included in secondary legislation to allow flexibility.

The government's climate advisers have warned support for future gas plants without technology fitted to cut emissions is not compatible with climate change legislation and is harming investment in low-carbon power such as renewables and nuclear.

Companies and investors have joined with trade unions, environmental groups and industry bodies to warn the chancellor that support for gas power into the 2030s is undermining investment in UK electricity infrastructure.

The introduction of a carbon intensity target for the energy sector would, they say, provide investors with the long term confidence needed to transform the electricity market and promote wider economic growth.

Continue reading the main story

?Start Quote

It is essential for government to provide investors with the long-term confidence they need to transform our electricity market?

End Quote Open letter

Such a target would also be in line with recent recommendations from the independent Committee on Climate Change

The letter was signed by 50 businesses and organisations, including Microsoft, Marks and Spencer, Alliance Boots and Asda.

In it, they warn the Mr Osborne that uncertainty over the government's commitment to low-carbon power generation is harming the development of green businesses.

The letter states: "The government's perceived commitment to the low carbon transition is being undermined by recent statements calling for unabated gas in the power sector beyond 2030 and the absence of a specific carbon intensity target."

It highlights a recent report by business group the CBI, which estimates that while a third of UK growth in 2011/2012 came from green businesses, policy uncertainty could lose the UK ?400m in exports in 2014/2015 alone.

"It is essential for government to provide investors with the long-term confidence they need to transform our electricity market and make investments capable of driving wider economic growth," says the letter.

Peter Young, chairman of the Aldersgate Group which co-ordinated the move, called for an end to "any political uncertainty surrounding the UK's energy future".

And Andy Atkins, executive director at Friends of the Earth, which backed the letter, said Mr Osborne's support for gas power was looking "increasingly isolated".

Asda, Aviva, British American Tobacco, EDF, Microsoft, Marks & Spencer, PepsiCo, Philips, Sky and the Co-operative are among the businesses to have signed the letter.

Source: http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-19867371#sa-ns_mchannel=rss&ns_source=PublicRSS20-sa

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Documentary shows Putin in uncompromising mood

MOSCOW (AP) ? Russian President Vladimir Putin said in a first-person documentary aired on his 60th birthday Sunday that the current generation of opposition leaders needs to be cast aside and he brushed aside concerns the two-year jail sentence for punk bank Pussy Riot was too severe.

The documentary that aired Sunday portrays Putin as a tireless and no-nonsense leader contemptuous of domestic and international criticism. It also depicts a Spartan lifestyle of daily exercise, plain breakfasts and late-night work sessions.

Putin says in the program that he welcomes opposing views, but that they should come from people willing to take responsibility for running the country. Putin's dismissive remarks addressed at the opposition, who he called "husks" to be thrown out, will reconsolidate anxiety over his perceived disregard for pluralism in Russia.

Celebrations took place all over Russia to celebrate Putin's birthday, although the Kremlin has said the president opted for low-key celebrations with friends and family. The documentary was one of a series of candid public displays of support for Putin.

The leader exuded a typical lack of self-doubt in the documentary, despite the unprecedented street protests that accompanied his reelection to the post of president earlier this year after a four-year hiatus as prime minister.

"From the very first steps, everything I did came in for criticism, but I was absolutely convinced in what I was doing and that there was no other path," he said, referring to his first term as president from 2000.

Three members of the feminist punk band Pussy Riot were sentenced to two years in prison in August for performing an anti-Putin "punk prayer" at Moscow's main cathedral, a verdict that drew global outrage and came to symbolize the Kremlin's crackdown on dissent.

Putin dismissed that criticism, however, and said the court was right in its decision.

"My first reaction was they should ask believers for forgiveness and that would have been that," Putin said. "But they kept building it up and building it up, and so the whole case ended up in court and the judge slipped them two years."

With the band's case coming up for appeal this week, some will worry about the court's ability to reach an independent decision in the face of the Kremlin's clear position.

Much of Sunday's documentary focused on more trivial details of the president's daily life and fondness for his black Labrador, Kony.

Putin was shown performing daily weightlifting exercises and swimming in the pool at his residence. In an apparent demonstration of his attachment to his work desk, the narrator explains that Putin keeps a flask of tea under his desk.

Kony was seen at her master's side almost at all times, although she too was subjected to Putin's authoritarian streak.

"Kony, stop being a pest, it's not nice," he tells the dog as it sniffs at the interviewer.

Later, while the two discuss the ingredients of a vegetable juice made by Putin ? of which two elements are garlic and horseradish ? the president tells the dog: "No Kony, you can't have any."

Associated Press

Source: http://hosted2.ap.org/APDEFAULT/cae69a7523db45408eeb2b3a98c0c9c5/Article_2012-10-07-EU-Russia-Putin-Documentary/id-2dfb271a11c64b92b4e8c7f31d150161

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How To Choose A Real Estate Attorney|lawyer,real estate investing ...

by Daniel Doran - 08 October 2012

Throughout the course of your real estate investment career you will inevitably need the guidance of a qualified attorney.? Getting the right lawyer is crucial to you.? Spending $500 to have an attorney on retainer can save you $10,000 in lost profits from a deal that goes sour. You have several options when choosing an attorney which include investing in a pre-paid legal plan online or hiring a local attorney in your area.? Here are some simple steps you can take to insure you choose a? good attorney.

Freedigitalphotos.net

The number one criterion has to do with a lawyer?s legal ability, background and experience.? You need someone who is going to be honest with you and will lay down the law for you.? Having an attorney who just tells you what you want to hear is useless.? You need someone who will present you with options, explain the? ramifications of each decision you make and give you recommendations on the? best course of action. You need a lawyer who gives you candid advice? and council you can trust, someone with enough perspective to step back? from an issue and look at it from all perspectives and be objective.

In this day and age of very complicated, niche legal issues,? more and more attorneys are picking one field of law and specializing in it.? You will almost always get better? information from an attorney with a practice specialized in a particular area of the law than a ?General Law? attorney who normally deals with a broad spectrum of legal issues. As a real estate investor you want an attorney who is proficient in real estate law, contracts, title issues and possibly even foreclosure defense and short sales. One of the newest methods of finding an attorney is using an online, pre-paid legal service.

?The Pros and Cons of Attorney Services Online

• With online attorney services you?re able to get legal advice from the convenience of your home and you do not have to set aside valuable work time to meet with your attorney.

• You can initiate the contact with your attorney anywhere, driving in your car, grabbing a sandwich and coffee, whatever and wherever is convenient for you.
• On the web, you can find many legal directories in just a few clicks; making you able to compare many services in a short amount of time.

• You are not compelled to hire the attorney right away unlike when you?re meeting with them personally. When you sit in someone?s office you tend to feel that you are obligated to hire him/her since you?ve already meet him/her in person.
• The chances of dealing with fraud attorneys are high
• The risks of hiring unreliable attorney services are greater than when you know the firm personally
• You are faced with thousands of choices; hence, you tend to get confused on which attorney services to choose.

• You cannot see whether the attorney is sincere in helping you or not from their facial expressions, however many of these on line services also provide Skype conference calling.

No matter where you opt to hire attorney services, the best thing to do s you could get the best one, is to ask for referral. Yes. Ask your friends or relatives whether they know of attorney services firm that is reliable and can give you the kind of services that you need. They may have worked previously on some attorneys with good records and refer them to you.

?

Daniel Doran is a 20+ year veteran in the real estate industry. He is a previous owner of a law firm, mortgage and title company. Daniel has also written several books on mortgage modification, short sales and real estate investing. He currently specializes in Commercial Finance and Real Estate Development and is a graduate of Manhattanville College and Brooklyn Law School. You can contact Dan at Buildings By Owner.

Source: http://realtybiznews.com/choosing-a-real-estate-attorney/98716043/

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Picking Out an Inexpensive Minimal Business Web Pages Internet ...

Well before we go over relating to the differing types of internet hosting coupled with their functions, permit us outline earliest what internet hosting program is. Internet hosting program is definitely the home business that serves, property and maintains information for other website pages. Together with the allow of the internet hosting company, two or even more merchants share the price of aquiring a very quickly Connection to the internet in that event all of them help save on financial resources. Additionally, it allows for anyone, a business, a company or a corporation to possess their own personal websites available into the website.

The hosts are all those businesses or institutions that offer you room to a different shopper or 3rd party. They really are also accountable in delivering Net connectivity to their sub buyers. Any individual can hire or lease an internet hosting server and allow it rented by others. It will be identical to leasing an place of work place and allowing someone else lease it in return of cash, on occasion it?s a method for getting earnings relating to the individual who at first rented the room.

There are such a lot of forms of internet hosting products, and we?ll investigate why a number of people opt for them. The sort of support that men and women select is dependent on their wishes or standards for his or her online business. Mainly because there are lots of styles of internet hosting, their scope also differs. Giant vendors although there?re not in to the The web centered home business; they however require desktops for correspondence, painless upgrades, and interconnectivity. To acquire a pc which includes an use of the world wide web may be used because of the employees to ship e-mail. Permit us consider to discover exactly what are the ones hosting products and services as well as their functions.

Focused Internet hosting Company is usually regarded as managed internet hosting services or devoted server. This sort of assistance allows a person or a corporation to showcase their online site on-line. Its labeled as devoted since just one particular person leases the server. In the focused server, the individual that is leasing the place can select the components additionally, the working program, and therefore the database will likely be on the secured position and it?s got superfluous electricity resources for restoration, and files back again up. Just one form of focused internet hosting is an unmanaged or self-managed internet hosting whereby the shopper maintains his have safety.

Shared Hosting Program is any time a homepage is positioned within the similar server similar to an additional resource site. Their quantities may well get to hundreds to 1000?s. It?s the style of internet hosting that is definitely a good deal more practical if your shopper don?t have to have significant bandwidth or excessive general performance. In a very shared internet hosting, the net server are shared by a wide range of web sites. This is actually the most economical and easy model of internet hosting company due to the fact that of its inexpensive price level. Shared internet hosting servers are monitored, preserved and operated by IT pros with a view to make certain greatest stability and functionality. A shared webhosting provider is more inexpensive, increased effortless as technical situations are settled by IT gurus.

Completely free Hosting Products are now being supplied by distinctive agencies, and they?re customarily supported with ads. On the 100 % free webhosting company, organization that gives the 100 percent free website hosting get gain by promoting other issues with a view to offset any fee. A Reseller Webhosting allows the shopper to generally be the world wide web host on their own. A Reseller account could possibly have their own personal focused server. A Reseller of one?s account can also be liable for just about any technical guidance amid their consumers. In reselling internet hosting, the operator with the account can make use of the travel area and bandwidth to host the web site on behalf of an additional business. Also in reseller webhosting, the host is spared from any technical matters like sustaining the server and knowledge heart.

With a Managed Internet hosting Assistance, the person can get their particular internet server but do not need the potential to distant administration instruments, and they?re not permitted to take care of knowledge; to put it briefly, they really are not offered entire regulate through the server. You can find also an extra variety of internet hosting that?s identified as Colocation Webhosting which is certainly fairly comparable to devoted internet hosting nevertheless it is easily the most effective and more costly kind of internet hosting assistance. In summary, the above mentioned pointed out sorts of providers are only couple of within the more and more styles of companies. An entrepreneur need to examine them carefully to ensure that he can see which kind of provider is most relevant for his organization.

Remember to visit Searching For Industry Internet Hosting Alternatives That Actually Do The Trick for added details. I?m certain you can obtain the short article quite informational.

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3. Price Level Parameter Despite The Fact That Picking Out the Most Efficient Internet Hosting Alternative
4. Quality Small Business Internet Hosting Ensures Profitable Online Business
5. Deciding an Inexpensive Minimal Organization Webpage Internet Hosting Method

Source: http://mysixstringsblog.com/picking-out-an-inexpensive-minimal-business-web-pages-internet-hosting-strategy/?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=picking-out-an-inexpensive-minimal-business-web-pages-internet-hosting-strategy

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HTC's 'Get Started' helps you set up your new Sense device from a computer

HTC is not only trying to push the envelope with new hardware and fast software, they are also trying to make smartphones easier for the average person to set up and use. If you're reading AC, there's a good chance you're inside a tech bubble where smartphones, and Internet "things" in general are part of every day life, and you truly understand how to use the computer in your hands. But that's not the case for everyone.

Every time we talk about things like a ROM or an OTA update, someone new to smartphones is asking questions about setting up a Google account or what a Dropbox is. Nobody was born knowing this stuff, and HTC is making it as easy as possible to get started.

Right now, this will only be available for Sense 4+ devices like the One X+. HTC tells us that they have plans to back-port it to all One series phones, as well as the most popular Sense 3.5 phones. It's also geared for devices that are sold internationally, but we expect to see some sort of carrier partnership in the U.S. to use the new tools, much like AT&T is already doing on newer Android devices.

Read through to have a look at what HTC has in store.

More: HTC Get Started

read more

Source: http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/androidcentral/~3/BpRb_kP3iiM/story01.htm

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Orioles' plane diverted because of smoke in galley

The airplane taking the Baltimore Orioles to the Tampa area on Sunday night had its flight diverted to Jacksonville because of smoke in the forward galley.

Michael Stewart, spokesman for the Jacksonville Aviation Authority, told The Associated Press that the plane was inspected and deemed OK to fly. The Orioles resumed their trip on the same aircraft, leaving Jacksonville International Airport at 10:15 p.m.

Stewart said the plane was a Delta charter with more than 90 people aboard.

Orioles spokeswoman Monica Barlow said the emergency landing "''was done with an abundance of caution, and no time was anyone on the flight in danger."

After the team touched down in Tampa, manager Buck Showalter said during a telephone conference call, "We were in good hands. It was just a precautionary thing just to be on the safe side.

"We had a little something heat up on the plane, and the professionals didn't like what was going on. So just to check it out and be on the safe side, we stopped in Jacksonville. We fixed whatever the problem was, got back on the plane and took off.

"It gave everyone a chance to watch some of the Eagles (football) game, so it worked out good."

The Orioles beat Boston 6-3 in Baltimore on Sunday afternoon. The Orioles later clinched a playoff spot when the Los Angeles Angels lost at Texas in the second game of a doubleheader.

Baltimore, tied with New York for first place in the AL East, opens a series at Tampa Bay on Monday night.

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/orioles-plane-diverted-because-smoke-galley-031614671--mlb.html

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'Earthscapes' stamps celebrate the planet

Click through imagery of our planet as seen from above in the U.S. Postal Service's "Earthscapes" stamp set.

By Alan Boyle

The only problem with putting out a set of stamps that celebrate America's landscapes, as seen from above, is that the postage-stamp size hardly does justice to the aerial vistas. That's why we're giving you the "Earthscapes" imagery in slideshow form.

The 15-stamp set, which features pictures from aerial photographers and Earth-orbiting satellites, is available starting today from the U.S. Postal Service. The "Forever" stamps had their official unveiling at NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center in Maryland.

"Once you've seen the world from above, you never look at it quite the same way again," Joseph Corbett, the Postal Service's chief financial officer and executive vice president, was quoted as saying in a NASA news release about the kickoff. "That's why the Postal Service is proud to offer these Earthscapes stamps, which invite us to take a bird's-eye view of the land we all share."

---

Two of the images are from the Landsat 7 satellite, and one comes from GeoEye's Ikonos satellite. The other 12 were taken by aerial photographers. One photographer, 81-year-old Jim Wark, took five of the photos, showing Utah's Castle Butte, a railroad roundhouse in Pennsylvania, a barge operation in Houston, a skyscraper in Manhattan and a geothermal spring in Yellowstone.

Wark spends hours in his plane looking for great shots. "I'm looking for the pictures that the other guy doesn't have," Shutterbug magazine quoted Wark as saying.

The Landsat images serve as a fitting way to celebrate the 40th anniversary of the first Landsat launch. "NASA has been at the forefront of looking at Earth from the unique vantage point in space," Chris Scolese, director of Goddard Space Flight Center, said at today's ceremony. In case you're not content with just 15 pictures, here are more long-range views of Earth worth clicking through:

---

Alan Boyle is NBCNews.com's science editor. Connect with the Cosmic Log community by "liking" the log's?Facebook page, following?@b0yle on Twitter?and adding the?Cosmic Log page?to your Google+ presence. To keep up with Cosmic Log as well as NBCNews.com's other stories about science and space, sign up for the Tech & Science newsletter, delivered to your email in-box every weekday. You can also check out?"The Case for Pluto,"?my book about the controversial dwarf planet and the search for new worlds.

Source: http://cosmiclog.nbcnews.com/_news/2012/10/01/14174251-postage-stamps-celebrate-the-planet?lite

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Film Review: 'Hello I Must Be Going' - Darien, CT Patch

There are few greater cinematic pleasures than watching a pair of actors at the top of their game. In 'Hello I Must Be Going,' Melanie Lynskey and Christopher Abbott give the sort of subtle, all-encompassing performances that serve as reminders that the best actors do a lot more than appear on magazine covers.

'Hello' tells the story of Amy (Melanie Lynskey), a 35-year-old divorcee living with her parents in Westport, Connecticut. She finds her life rejuvenated after having an affair with Jeremy (Christopher Abbott), the 19-year-old son of her father's business associate.

Lynskey has had small roles in a number of films, including 'Up in the Air' and 'Win Win.' In 'Hello,' she is asked to carry the movie, and does so dutifully, telling the story of her character with the smallest gesture or change in expression. One could imagine Lynskey going through the whole movie without saying a single word and selling the role perfectly, but when she is given dialogue, she knocks that out of the park, too.

Christopher Abbott is best known as Charlie from the Lena Dunham HBO series 'Girls.' Aside from perhaps Adam Driver, Abbott was the best thing on that show, running the gamut from dutiful boyfriend to unhinged maniac to disaffected playboy and back again.

Here Abbott takes on the role of a 19-year-old former child actor who is deceiving his family and doesn't want to act anymore. This could be a thoroughly grating character, but Abbott lacks any sort of vanity in his performance, bringing out the truly pathetic aspects of Jeremy. It's astounding for an actor to convince the audience to identify with his "problems," which include the burden of playing Walt Whitman in an upcoming theater production.

Many of the reviews for 'Hello I Must Be Going' have praised the work of Lynskey while painting the overall film as formulaic. It's inarguable that a few beats in the screenplay, written by Sarah Koskoff (and directed by Koskoff's husband, Todd Louiso) feel pat, but such criticism overlooks the fact that the film is a bit of a writing miracle, moving through a number of rooms, houses and the streets of downtown Westport (which itself is a character in the film) at such a brisk, unexpected pace.

More than anything, it's great to see a film centered on a female's wants and needs, rather than caring about the many ways that she can be of service to men. A tip of the hat to Lynskey, Koskoff, Louiso and Abbott for producing that rare unicorn of a movie: One that treats women as though they're living, breathing, thinking human beings.

Source: http://darien.patch.com/articles/film-review-hello-i-must-be-going-8db0685b

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Surprise! Pressure Sensitive iPad Stylus Pogo Connect Offers Interchangeable Tips, Locating Feature

The Pogo Connect from Ten One?Design?is maybe one of my most-anticipated gadgets of 2012, a pressure sensitive iPad stylus that uses Bluetooth 4.0 and ships very soon. In the meantime, the company has detailed a couple very interesting features today as it announces that pre-orders are now officially open to all. The Connect will offer interchangeable magnetic tips, and also a homing feature that lets you track down a misplaced stylus via iPad or iPhone.

Source: http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/Techcrunch/~3/xLxL7K1vISY/

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Bombs rock Iraq, killing 26 in coordinated attacks

An Iraqi woman stands in rubble at the scene of a car bomb attack in the town of Taji, about 12 miles (20 kilometers) north of Baghdad, Iraq, Sunday, Sept. 30, 2012. A rapid-fire series of explosions in Baghdad while Iraqis were going to work on Sunday morning, killed and wounded scores of people, police said. (AP Photo/Hadi Mizban)

An Iraqi woman stands in rubble at the scene of a car bomb attack in the town of Taji, about 12 miles (20 kilometers) north of Baghdad, Iraq, Sunday, Sept. 30, 2012. A rapid-fire series of explosions in Baghdad while Iraqis were going to work on Sunday morning, killed and wounded scores of people, police said. (AP Photo/Hadi Mizban)

Iraqis inspect the scene of a car bomb attack in the town of Taji, about 12 miles (20 kilometers) north of Baghdad, Iraq, Sunday, Sept. 30, 2012. A rapid-fire series of explosions in Baghdad while Iraqis were going to work on Sunday morning, killed and wounded scores of people, police said. (AP Photo/Hadi Mizban)

An Iraqi boy stands at the scene of a car bomb attack in the town of Taji, about 12 miles (20 kilometers) north of Baghdad, Iraq, Sunday, Sept. 30, 2012. A rapid-fire series of explosions in Baghdad while Iraqis were going to work on Sunday morning, killed and wounded scores of people, police said. (AP Photo/Hadi Mizban)

Iraqis inspect the scene of a car bomb attack in Baghdad, Iraq, Sunday, Sept. 30, 2012. A rapid-fire series of explosions in Baghdad while Iraqis were going to work on Sunday morning, killed and wounded scores of people, police said. (AP Photo/Karim Kadim)

Iraqis stand in rubble at the scene of a car bomb attack in the town of Taji, about 12 miles (20 kilometers) north of Baghdad, Iraq, Sunday, Sept. 30, 2012. A rapid-fire series of explosions in Baghdad while Iraqis were going to work on Sunday morning, killed and wounded scores of people, police said. (AP Photo/Hadi Mizban)

BAGHDAD (AP) ? Bombs striking Shiite neighborhoods, security forces and other targets across Iraq killed at least 26 people Sunday, officials said, in the latest instance of coordinated violence to take a sectarian bent and undermine confidence in the beleaguered government.

The deadliest attack came in the town of Taji, a former al-Qaida stronghold just north of Baghdad, where three explosive-rigged cars went off within minutes of each other. Police said eight people died and 28 were injured in the back-to-back blasts that began around 7:15 a.m.

In all, at least 94 people were wounded in the wave of attacks that stretched from the restive but oil-rich city of Kirkuk in Iraq's north to the southern Shiite town of Kut.

Spokesmen for the government and Baghdad's military command could not immediately be reached for comment, and no one claimed responsibility for the violence immediately.

Car bombs however are a hallmark of al-Qaida in Iraq. The Sunni militant network has vowed to take back areas of the country, like Taji, from which it was pushed before U.S. troops withdrew last December.

Shiite lawmaker Hakim al-Zamili, a member of parliament's security and defense committee, said the attacks were a sign al-Qaida "is still in business." He said a deadly weekend prison break in Tikrit in which many al-Qaida-linked convicts escaped, likely boosted the terror network's morale and spurred Sunday's assault.

"Al-Qaida leaders have no intention of leaving this country or letting Iraqis live in peace," al-Zamili said. "Thus, we should expect more attacks in the near future. The situation in Iraq is still unstable ... and repetition of such attacks shows that our security forces are still unqualified to deal with the terrorists," he added.

Shortly after the Taji attacks, police said a suicide bomber set off his explosives-packed car in the Shiite neighborhood of Shula in northwest Baghdad. One person was killed and seven wounded. Police could not immediately identify the target.

"So many people were hurt. A leg of a person was amputated," lamented Shula resident Naeem Frieh. "What have those innocent people done to deserve this?"

And in Baghdad's bustling Karradah neighborhood, a parked car laden with explosives went off next to a police patrol, killing a police officer and a civilian, other officials said. Eight other people were injured. The blast was followed minutes later by another parked car bomb as people gathered, killing three civilians and injuring 12 others, they added. Secondary bomb blasts targeting those coming to help the wounded are a common insurgent tactic.

An Associated Press cameraman was knocked to the ground in the second explosion and an AP photographer was slightly injured.

Elsewhere in the country, another suicide bomber drove a minibus into a security checkpoint in Kut, located 160 kilometers (100 miles) southeast of Baghdad. Three police officers were killed and five wounded, Maj. Gen. Hussein Abdul-Hadi Mahbob said.

And in Iraq's north, another policeman was killed when security forces were trying to defuse a car bomb parked on the main highway between the cities of Kirkuk and Tuz Khormato, said Kirkuk police chief Brig. Gen. Sarhad Qadir. A second policeman was wounded in the blast, Qadir said. Kirkuk is about 290 kilometers (180 miles) north of Baghdad.

In mid-morning, another parked car bomb went off next to a bus carrying Iranian pilgrims in the town of Madain, killing three Iraqis and injuring 11 others including seven Iranians, another police officer and health official said. Madain is a mainly Sunni area located 20 kilometers (12 miles) southeast of Baghdad.

In the town of Balad Ruz, 75 kilometers (45 miles) northeast of Baghdad, a parked car bomb targeted a passing police patrol, killing two policemen and injuring seven others, a police officer and health official said. And in the nearby town of Khan Bani Saad, 15 kilometers (nine miles) northeast of Baghdad, yet another parked car bomb exploded near a market and killed one civilian and injured nine others, they added.

Two Iraqi soldiers were killed in the town of Tarmiyah, 50 kilometers (30 miles) north of Baghdad, when their patrol hit a roadside bomb, another police officer and health official said. Six other people, including four civilians were wounded.

Health officials in Taji, Tarmiyah and Baghdad confirmed the casualties. All officials spoke anonymously as they were not authorized to release information.

Earlier this summer, the Iraqi wing of al-Qaida, also called the Islamic State of Iraq, launched a campaign dubbed "Breaking the Walls," which aimed at retaking strongholds from which it was driven by the American military. At its peak, al-Qaida in Iraq brutalized its victims with publicized beheadings, suicide bombings and roadside bombs that targeted the Shiite government, the U.S. military and Iraqi civilians.

In an attempt to goad Shiite militias to respond, Al-Qaida bombed the revered al-Askari Shiite shrine in Samarra in 2006 ? an attack that launched Iraq's descent into more than three years of sectarian fighting. But the Iraqi wing of al-Qaida was shunned by the worldwide terror network's central leadership, which chided it for killing civilians.

The insurgency made a series of other missteps ? imposing overly strict Islamic discipline and alienating tribal leaders ? that undercut its support in Iraq's Sunni communities and helped lead to the widespread defection of fighters to groups allied with the U.S. As a result, the flow of funding, arms and fighters slowed to a trickle, and al-Qaida in Iraq has struggled to command much power.

Violence has dropped since the height of Iraq's bloodshed a few years ago, but Iraqi forces have failed to stop the attacks that continue to claim lives almost daily.

_____

Associated Press writer Sameer N. Yacoub contributed to this report from Baghdad.

Associated Press

Source: http://hosted2.ap.org/APDEFAULT/3d281c11a96b4ad082fe88aa0db04305/Article_2012-09-30-Iraq/id-de8e2f5806c04733b12484d3690c9e38

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Spain crisis fuels Catalan separatist sentiment

FILE - Demonstrators wave Catalan flags during a protest rally in Barcelona , Spain, in this Tuesday, Sept. 11, 2012 file photo. Thousands of people demonstrated in Barcelona on Tuesday demanding independence for Catalonia, on the Catalonia region's 'National Day". On Thursday, regional lawmakers voted to hold a referendum for Catalonia's seven million citizens to decide whether they want to break away from Spain. The Spanish government says that the referendum would be unconstitutional. And it's unclear if the "Yes" vote would win ? even in these restless times. But it looks more likely than ever that Catalonia may ask to go its own way. (AP Photo/Emilio Morenatti, File)

FILE - Demonstrators wave Catalan flags during a protest rally in Barcelona , Spain, in this Tuesday, Sept. 11, 2012 file photo. Thousands of people demonstrated in Barcelona on Tuesday demanding independence for Catalonia, on the Catalonia region's 'National Day". On Thursday, regional lawmakers voted to hold a referendum for Catalonia's seven million citizens to decide whether they want to break away from Spain. The Spanish government says that the referendum would be unconstitutional. And it's unclear if the "Yes" vote would win ? even in these restless times. But it looks more likely than ever that Catalonia may ask to go its own way. (AP Photo/Emilio Morenatti, File)

BARCELONA, Spain (AP) ? Three weeks after a massive Catalan separatist march in Barcelona ? the biggest since the 1970s ? the independence flags still flutter from balconies across Spain's second largest city.

Spain's crushing recession has had this divisive consequence: soaring popular sentiment in Catalonia that the affluent region would be better off as separate nation.

On Thursday, regional lawmakers voted to hold a referendum for Catalonia's seven million citizens to decide whether they want to break away from Spain. The Spanish government says that the referendum would be unconstitutional. And it's unclear if the "Yes" vote would win ? even in these restless times.

But it looks more likely than ever that Catalonia may ask to go its own way.

"I have a big Catalan flag on the balcony. I put it up a week before the demonstration on Sept. 11 and it is still hanging there," said Gemma Mondon, 46, a mother of two. "I think we would be better off if we can manage our money. I think we would do much better."

Catalonia, a northeastern region that is historically one of Spain's wealthiest and most industrialized, has always harbored a strong nationalist streak. Separatism is especially entrenched in the rural towns and villages outside its more cosmopolitan capital Barcelona, where people switch between speaking Spanish and Catalan with ease and at times without even noticing.

In the peaceful transition from the Franco dictatorship to prosperous democracy, Catalans were content just to recover the freedom to openly speak, teach and publish in their own Catalan language, a right denied under Franco for over 30 years.

But now, generations-old grievances for more self-government and recognition of their culture are rising to the surface as the economic downturn bites.

Many Catalans feel their quest for a sense for nationhood has been frustrated by the intransigence of the central government in Madrid. The most recent of these clashes came in 2010 when Spain's Constitutional Court weakened the Statute of Autonomy for Catalonia, a sweeping package of laws that devolved more power to the region and would have recognized Catalonia as a nation, albeit one within Spain.

Spain's slump, which has led to a spike in unemployment and harsh austerity cuts, has proven to be the tipping point for many Catalans who used to be against or ambivalent about seeking their own state.

Mondon, who works for a family run real estate management firm, said that just over a year ago she voted "No" in a nonbinding referendum organized by pro-independence groups. Now, she says she has changed her mind.

"I always felt Spanish and Catalan and I never had the urge to be independent. A year ago I just wanted to be left alone to speak my language and raise my children in a Catalan school," said Mondon. "My attitude was 'don't bother me,' but now that has changed."

Catalonia will go to the polls on Nov. 25, with regional president Artur Mas' center-right nationalist party Convergencia i Unio expected to increase its hold of the regional parliament. Mas has said he will hold a referendum on Catalonia's self-determination, whether the Spanish government permits it or not. The date has yet to be set.

"If the Spanish government authorizes (the referendum), more the better," said Mas. "If the Spanish government turns its back on us and doesn't authorize a referendum or another type of vote, well, we will do it anyway."

Spanish Prime Minister Mariano Rajoy insists the country's constitution doesn't allow a region to secede on its own, and experts say it would be virtually impossible for Catalan separatists to get it changed. Spain's Basque region, the other part of the country with a strong separatist movement, tried to get such a move approved in Parliament in 2005 but failed.

"It's not a scenario planned by the constitution," said Francisco Perez-Latre, a communications professor at the University of Navarra who has closely monitored the Catalan independence movement for years.

The new political uncertainty about the economically important region and major tourism destination is unsettling for investors already worried about Rajoy's ability to keep his country's shaky economy afloat, and within the euro currency club.

There are also doubts about how well-equipped Catalonia would be to go it alone.

Catalonia, sitting on its own mountain of debt, has in fact asked Spain for a ?5.9 billion bailout. But many Catalans argue that the region is only heavily indebted because it has to pay more than its fair due in taxes compared to services and funding it gets in return. Spain's other better-off regions also give more than they receive. Rajoy, however, has emboldened Catalan separatists by flatly rejecting demands for more power in levying tax revenues and deciding how it is spent, privileges granted to two other Spanish regions: the Basque Country and Navarra.

Rajoy's stance has combined with Spain's gloomy prospects to push Catalans who never wanted to break away from Spain before to conclude that the country itself is a failure.

"I put the Catalan flag on my balcony for the first time. Normally, I have been very discreet with my political ideas. But I think now I have to go a step further," said architect Albert Estanyol, 48, whose mother came from southern Spain. "Before, when asked about independence, I would say 'Why?' Now, I say, 'Why not?'"

Catalonia has over 800,000 unemployed, almost 22 percent of its population. That's slightly lower than Spain's national jobless rate, but the back-to-back recessions have been particularly hard on young workers in Catalonia. Since 2007, over 100,000 Catalans under 25 have lost their jobs, and the unemployment rate for workers under 25 has skyrocketed to over 50 percent, close to the national level for the same age bracket.

"I have looked for work. Since I was 18 I have had six or seven jobs, they have all been unstable, poorly paid, like filling in for two weeks at IKEA. They have had nothing to do with what I studied," said Roger Cervino, a 23-year-old who holds a degree in history.

"The economic situation is bad and one of the solutions to ending the crisis is secession. It would be complicated, but Catalonia has the capacity to reach full employment," he said. "What stops it is Spain, and above all the Spanish government, which has been a disaster."

___

Alan Clendenning contributed from Madrid.

Associated Press

Source: http://hosted2.ap.org/APDEFAULT/cae69a7523db45408eeb2b3a98c0c9c5/Article_2012-09-30-EU-Spain-Catalan-Independence/id-e130c5f5112e40d5abe4c7bcac712335

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EADS, BAE chiefs tout merger, blast "misconceptions"

PARIS/FRANKFURT (Reuters) - The bosses of EADS and BAE Systems sought to reassure investors over the benefits of their planned $45 billion merger amid what they described as "myths and misconceptions" over the creation of a pan-European defense giant.

BAE Systems chief executive Ian King and Tom Enders, his counterpart at Airbus parent EADS, said in a joint newspaper article that the plan to join forces was born out of "opportunity, not necessity," and would create growth.

"With the necessary political will and support, management determination and proper governance, BAE Systems and EADS can produce a whole that is greater than the sum of its parts," they wrote in the article to be published in three European newspapers on Monday.

EADS shares have fallen 17 percent since September 12, when word of the negotiations was leaked. After shedding initial gains, BAE shares are back to where they were beforehand.

Some analysts have said the two European companies are being forced to combine because of steep cuts to national defense spending and have criticized what they see as a lack of synergies, the cost and revenue benefits usually targeted in a merger.

The two chief executives said the wider group, which would be the world's largest aerospace and defense company, would better be able to ride the cycles of civil aviation demand and defense spending.

"The rationale that drives this transaction is growth, not contraction," they wrote.

UK-based BAE Systems is Europe's largest defense contractor and Airbus, which dominates the finances of EADS, is the world's largest commercial planemaker ahead of U.S. rival Boeing Co .

BAE has started re-investing in the buoyant commercial sector after pulling out of Airbus in 2006, while EADS has long sought to expand its defense activities, which remain a long way behind the successful passenger aircraft division.

The article was due to be published as France and Germany, the main forces within EADS, seek to defend their respective roles inside the new company.

Germany, which presented its demands on Friday, has been pushing for equality with France, which has a 15 percent stake and special rights through a shareholder pact.

However, those rights are set to disappear if the merger goes ahead and would be replaced by a special share whose exact properties have yet to be publicly defined.

Pressure on the governments involved is rising amid signs that the pact could unravel quickly in the absence of a deal, leaving France with a stake but no right to be heard on strategy and no voice for Germany.

King and Enders vowed that the new company would have "governance structures which would enable it to operate in a normal commercial manner and which confers the same rights on all shareholders, large and small."

German magazine Der Spiegel on Sunday cited high-level civil servants as saying that France and Germany had agreed to each hold a 9 percent diluted stake in the merged entity, equivalent to a 15 percent undiluted stake in EADS.

The Franco-German agreement would form the basis for their negotiations with the British government in talks this week, the magazine added.

A spokesman for German Economy Minister Philipp Roesler declined to confirm or deny the report.

"The talks are continuing and the relevant questions are still being examined," the spokesman said.

FRENCH CAUTIOUS

French officials were not immediately available to comment on the Spiegel report, but sources familiar with the matter denied that the two sides were in agreement on the shareholding or how their relative interests should be guaranteed.

France has so far been cautious about agreeing to German overtures aimed at forging a common position as both countries defend their interests in the successor to EADS, which has often been a source of tensions since it was set up in 2000.

Analysts say there is little overlap between the two companies, which may be good news for getting past antitrust regulators, but not so encouraging for deriving financial gains.

"The complete lack of apparent synergies is the most worrying part of the deal," said Agency Partners managing partner Nick Cunningham.

There would be few benefits in purchasing costs since each company is already big and only limited cost synergies since the main project on which they work together, the Eurofighter combat jet, is near the end of its development cycle, he said.

A German government source told Reuters on Friday that Berlin will present France with a list of proposals, agreed by Chancellor Angela Merkel's office and the Economy Ministry, that aim to preserve a balance of power between the two countries in the new company.

France directly owns 15 percent of EADS, the maker of Airbus jets, and wants to retain its right to influence group strategy, currently conducted through a complex pact with 7.5-percent shareholder Lagardere .

Germany is not a direct shareholder but sees the transaction as a chance to tighten its grip on a stake currently held by Daimler AG and a group of banks.

The German source gave no further details, but his comments confirmed a newspaper report on Friday which also said Germany was ready to buy up the shares of Daimler and the banks via the state development bank KfW if France kept its own stake intact. (Additional reporting by Kerstin Doerr and Michael Nienaber in Berlin; editing by Patrick Graham, G Crosse)

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/france-germany-agree-strategy-eads-talks-report-145935972--sector.html

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