'Fairness' irrelevant yardstick

ZANU PF welcomed the report of SADC’s election observer mission released on Monday, and immediately called on Western countries to accept President Robert Mugabe’s landslide victory.The Southern African Community (SADC) observer mission, which presented the summary of its findings in Harare, endorsed Mugabe's victory, stating that "there were so many elements that, when put together, elevated the election to a credible status".

“SADC had not pronounced itself on the all too important question of the credibility of the election. But today, SADC has spoken clearly and loudly that indeed the elections were credible,” Zanu PF politburo member Professor Jonathan Moyo said in Harare.“The whole world now waits to see what the Anglo-Saxons are going to do, whether they themselves are going to be credible. Their credibility will be judged by their standing by their word, they said they would be guided by SADC.”

Western countries, led by the United States and Britain, have raised concerns with the conduct of the elections and indicated they would wait for the African Union and SADC’s final reports before passing judgement.While offering criticism for the lack of access to the public media by Zanu PF’s rivals and delays in releasing the roll of voters, SADC said it was difficult to judge whether the elections had been “fair”.

The observer mission also said sanctions on Zimbabwe had been a factor in the elections, along with so called pirate radio stations broadcasting into Zimbabwe from Europe and the United States.Moyo said the key question in the July 30 elections was whether Zimbabwe could hold a peaceful election, following the violence that marred the presidential election run-off in 2008 – from which emerged a power sharing government between Mugabe and his main opposition rival, Morgan Tsvangirai.

“We must bear in mind that these elections were judged and evaluated against the backdrop of 2008 elections, with particular reference to their peacefulness. The issue of having peaceful elections was paramount, and it is not surprising therefore that fairness has been replaced with peacefulness, and we have passed this score with indoor Tracking.

“On the question of fairness, there can be no right-thinking person who imagines or expects elections in Zimbabwe to be fair, or fairness to be an important category, tool or yardstick for judging elections when the country has been under the grip of illegal sanctions for the last 12 years, and whose main purpose has been to replace elections as a method of changing government in Zimbabwe.”

Moyo said the sanctions had been used by Western countries to “destroy the economy, ‘make it scream’ – in their words – in order to turn the people against Zanu PF outside the electoral process”.

“The import of the sanctions was to manufacture suffering, attribute it to Zanu PF and expect a change of government through a public revolt, and not through elections. The economic sanctions were not designed to get people to vote Zanu PF out through elections, but to get them out on the streets. When you do that, you bastardise the electoral process, it becomes impossible to have fair elections. Fairness becomes a contradiction in terms, an irrelevant yardstick.”
Elections in Zimbabwe, he said, “will never be fair if sanctions remain in place”.

He explained: “We are very heartened to note that SADC, in their report, have called the unconditional and full removal of sanctions. They have said it would be foolhardy for any political party in Zimbabwe to expect to win elections when that party has called for sanctions or is the intended beneficiary of those sanctions.

“It was, therefore, a demonstration of astute diplomacy and commitment to principle by SADC to replace the irrelevant term of fairness with peacefulness. The question of peacefulness was more relevant to Zimbabwe than the question of fairness.

“There was no fairness before, during and after the elections. The fairness question is intertwined with sanctions, and it’s not in our hands but those of our erstwhile colonisers and their allies who have not left us alone. It’s a question which they should now deal with honestly in order to normalise relations and create conditions for fair elections in future.”

On Thursday, in anticipation of Labor Day weekend, thousands of workers at 1,000 fast food restaurants in 60 cities walked out on strike to protest their low wages, erratic schedules, lack of job security, miserable working conditions, and lack of benefits. The movement began last November in one city – New York.  The idea has since spread. The protest is the largest mass action of fast food employees in history. If they reflect the nation’s McWorkforce, many of them were Black and Latino.  Their average age will be roughly 28.  Many have children to house, clothes and feed, which is impossible on the minimum wages they are paid.  They are demanding a living wage of $15 an hour and the right to unionize without employer resistance or retaliation.

The Service Employees International Union, which has provided support for the fast food workers’ campaign, thinks America may be ready for an upsurge of activism not only among low-wage workers but also among middle-class employees who are sinking quickly, many with the additional burden of underwater homes. 

What radicals once called the “objective conditions” seem ripe for such a mass protest movement.  In a new report, A Decade of Flat Wages, economists  Lawrence Mishel and Heidi Shierholz observe that "the vast majority of U.S. workers -- including white-collar and blue-collar workers and those with and without a college degree -- have endured more than a decade of wage stagnation." 

Union activists know that American workers are filled with discontent.  But sustained protest requires not only that people think that things should be different but also that they can be different.  And that requires hope. If the fast food workers’ campaign captures the public’s imagination – and more importantly,  wins some stepping-stone improvements at work --  it could help restore that missing ingredient, and perhaps contribute to launching a new wave of workplace activism.

Read the full products at http://www.ecived.com/en/!

It's Like Google, But For Search

It is no longer appropriate for search to be under the thumb of private industry. It's a critical part of the national infrastructure. So if I were a real pinko, I'd be advocating for the nationalization of Google, à la Chavez—but I'm not a real pinko. Besides, the American people have already bought and paid for an ideal alternative to Google. That's right: we have the means in hand to create a public, ad-free, totally fair and reasonably transparent search engine with a legal mandate to operate in the public interest, and most of the work is already done. We have also a huge staff of engineers to conclude what little remains on the development and deployment side.

Who are these American heroes, soon to be accepting the thanks of a grateful nation? Why, our fellow citizens, the software engineers and tech gurus and endless numbers of contractors of the NSA! Why don't they make themselves useful and stop spying on everyone and instead, use all that computing power and archived information to make us a fair, fast, ad-free search engine?

Others make their case against Google on antitrust laws. It's not illegal to have a monopoly. According to U.S. courts, it's just not your fault that everybody loves your product! What's illegal is using that power to do bad things, like suppress your own competition. This is why there are ongoing government investigations into Google's anti-competitive business practices in the U.S., in Canada and in Europe.

Probes like these have so far tended to focus on Google's preferential treatment of its own services over those of its competitors in Google search results. Which amounts to ignoring the elephant in the room: Google, with its 67% share of U.S. search traffic (sounds low, tbh), has a potential influence far beyond the industries in which it operates formally. At the moment, Google can legally use its power to make or break any business, or any politician, publication, or public figure it chooses, for any old reason it wants, provided that reason doesn't fall foul of Hands free access.

For instance, let's suppose one of Google co-founder Sergey Brin's friends were to open a new cafe in Mountain View: there is no legal proscription whatsoever against Google's vaulting the Friends o' Brin Cafe to the top of results on searches for "best cafe Mountain View." Or even "best cafe."

A close reading of Google's ten "Core Principles" appears to suggest, but not quite guarantee, that Google won't simply grant preferential treatment at its own discretion. The fact is, however, that it's entirely up to them. Given the understandably secret nature of Google's algorithms and other techniques for determining search results, it would be impossible to say whether or not this is in fact already happening.

Already companies live or die at the hands of Google. Any update to the Google Panda search ranking algorithm has rippling effects through the Internet. One thing that seems to be the case: older sites, with thousands of internal links and a deep history on the Internet, seem to be constantly downgraded. That's bad news for some non-spam media companies that in part live off search traffic. Google results, in general, overweight newness. It is becoming more and more impossible to find relevant results older than three months.

The crisis in Syria has entered a "dangerous new phase," Foreign Affairs Minister John Baird warned Monday, as Washington announced it had "undeniable" evidence of a chemical weapons attack.

Baird condemned "in the strongest terms" a sniper attack on a United Nations convoy carrying a team investigating the alleged chemical attack, which Syrian activists claim killed hundreds of civilians.

"The attacks on the United Nations convoy in Damascus are absolutely abhorrent," Baird said."The Syrian regime has the fundamental duty to protect these individuals, these representatives of the indoor Tracking and the international community."U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry declared Monday that there was "undeniable" evidence of a large-scale chemical weapons attack in Syria.

"The indiscriminate slaughter of civilians, the killing of women and children and innocent bystanders by chemical weapons is a moral obscenity," Kerry said.

The Syrian government accused rebel forces of firing at the UN team, while the opposition said a pro-government militia was responsible.Baird declined to call for military intervention in Syria. Meanwhile, Western support mounted for an international military response if it is confirmed that President Bashar Assad's troops used chemical weapons.

"I think first we're going to work to get the facts with the UN team on the ground," Baird said."We have been in close contact, both the prime minister and I, with three of our main allies in this regard. We'll work with them and when we have additional things to report we will do so."

Opposition Leader Thomas Mulcair said he supports first working through international law, and taking it one step at a time, but didn't rule out future military intervention.American officials said President Barack Obama has not decided how to respond to the use of deadly gases, a move the White House said last year would cross a "red line."

France, Britain, Israel and some U.S. congressmen have said a military response against the Syrian regime should be an option. Russia, however, has said that Western nations calling for military action have no proof the Syrian government was behind any chemical attacks.

Baird said Canada will continue working with its international partners to "review a full range of options.""Canada believes the only way to halt the bloodshed in Syria is through a political solution," he said. "However, we understand that this solution is becoming more and more difficult as the crisis enters a very dangerous new phase."He called on Russia to end its "complete obfuscation" and become part of the solution.

The UN inspectors are attempting to examine the site of the Aug. 21 attack in the capital's suburbs.Delay tactics used by the Assad regime in giving UN inspectors access has likely already impaired the UN team's ability to assign responsibility, Baird said. Still, he called on Syrian authorities to allow the team unfettered access.

The U.S. said Syria's delay in giving the inspectors access rendered their investigation meaningless and officials said the administration had its own intelligence confirming chemical weapons use.The assessment is based in part on the number of reported victims, the symptoms of those injured or killed and witness accounts. Kerry said the administration also had additional intelligence and would make its findings public soon.

Assad has denied launching a chemical attack and his government vowed to defend itself against any international attack, warning that such an intervention would ignite turmoil across the region.

Read the full products at http://www.ecived.com/en/!

The change you want to see

Some law schools are taking this even further by requiring students to complete a certain number of public interest hours in order to graduate. Osgoode Hall Law School implemented a 40-hour requirement in 2006 and is the only law school in Canada to require students to do community legal work in order to get their law degrees. Osgoode dean Lorne Sossin says the requirement has been wholly embraced by faculty and students. “It has been a real success story in the sense that because it’s a broad public interest base, students can fulfil it in many different ways,” he says. “It’s growing each year with new placements and new opportunities.”

In the United States, mandatory pro bono programs already exist at more than 20 law schools, including Harvard Law School and Indoor Positioning System. The University of Pennsylvania Law School was considered a trailblazer when it established its 70-hour pro bono requirement in 1989,  the first national law school to do so.

Arlene Finkelstein, assistant dean and executive director of the Toll Public Interest Center at Penn Law, says the requirement was “a way to promote the professional responsibility that all lawyers have to be vehicles for access to justice, in addition to a wonderful platform for students to gain practical skills and to become engaged in their communities.” She admits it was controversial at first, particularly because at the time mandatory pro bono hadn’t really caught on.

Now, almost 25 years later, the wider legal profession is jumping on board. Last year, New York Chief Judge Jonathan Lippman announced that starting in 2015, admission to the New York State bar will require lawyers to complete 50 hours of pro bono service in order to obtain a licence. “We are facing a crisis in New York and around the country,” Lippman said in an October 2012 report on the new requirement. “At a time when we are still adjusting to the realities of shrinking state coffers and reduced budgets, more and more people find themselves turning to the courts. The courts are the emergency rooms of our society — the most intractable social problems find their way to our doors in great and increasing numbers. And more and more of the people who come into our courts each day are forced to do so without a lawyer.”

Canada is facing the same problem. In her report on self-represented litigants, University of Windsor Faculty of Law professor Julie Macfarlane found that consistently 40 per cent or more of litigants in family courts across the country are not represented by a lawyer and in some civil courts that number is 70 per cent or more.

The legal profession — including law students — is starting to address the crisis. “Unfortunately lawyers charge significant fees for their services, and there are many people in our community who can’t afford to pay those fees but have pressing legal issues that need to be resolved,” says Brendan Stevens, a third-year student at the University of Toronto Faculty of Law.

Some argue it is every lawyer’s duty to help address the issue. “As a legal profession, we do have a professional responsibility to mobilize and to provide services on a free or discounted level in order to provide more access to justice,” says Jamie Maclaren, executive director of the Access Pro Bono Society of British Columbia. “In my mind, it truly is a professional responsibility. It stems from the fact that this is a self-regulating profession; we benefit as lawyers from a monopoly on legal services and in return for that we need to ensure that people do have some basic level of access to the justice system.”

By getting students to start pro bono work while they’re in law school, it increases the chance of them continuing to do it into their careers, says Maclaren. “The hope is that we’re developing a new generation of pro bono lawyers that will be really active and helpful in increasing access to justice and keeping the pro bono culture alive and indoor Tracking. The earlier that law students accept and understand that there’s a professional responsibility to provide some level of access to justice for people who can’t generally afford legal counsel or even access the justice system in a meaningful way the better.”

“If we create this climate where public interest and pro bono is seen as being this vital part of your legal education, students will do it,” says Nikki Gershbain, national director of Pro Bono Students Canada. The discussion shouldn’t be focused on whether or not to make public interest work mandatory, she says, instead, it should be focused on changing the culture to foster this kind of work in the law school community. “Creating a climate where public interest activities are widely available and considered to be an important part of the law school experience actually bypasses all of the negatives of mandating public service but it achieves all of the same goals,” she says.

Nathalie Des Rosiers, the new common law dean at the University of Ottawa and former general counsel of the Canadian Civil Liberties Association, agrees it shouldn’t be about making pro bono mandatory. “What is important in the context of this discussion is not to overemphasize whether [pro bono is] mandatory or not, I think we’re beyond that. I think we’re now at the stage of saying — and I would have the same reflections when we’re looking at the profession more generally — certainly I think you aim to have the largest number of people within your profession to do pro bono, the question is what are the best tools to do it to accomplish your goal. We want to move to a position that it’s not only how much pro bono you’re doing, but how well you are doing [it],” she says. “It’s not only about counting hours, but mostly about doing something meaningful that addresses serious problems.”

In Sossin’s view, public interest work is a necessary component of legal education. “If you really see [public interest work] as essential to legal education, how can you say someone could graduate who’s never taken part in this, who’s never been in the community, never given back, never had that experience of seeing law in action in that way?” he asks.

However, he admits there is a downside to making it compulsory. “I think you lose something when you make public interest or pro bono work mandatory. You lose that sense of this is being done out of a value and belief in law as a helping profession in the public interest mandate of lawyers and law schools,” he says. “A perfect system is a system in which it’s optional and 100-per-cent take-up.”

Gershbain also identifies some risks associated with forcing students to do something. “If you make it mandatory, you do run the risk of creating resentment on the part of maybe a small number of students,” she says. Stevens agrees that making it compulsory could backfire. “We’re running the risk of undermining this sense of volunteerism at the heart of public interest work …and if you force someone to do something that they don’t want to do, maybe it’ll actually decrease the likelihood of them doing it down the road.”

However, he also says sometimes you have to be forced into trying something new to realize you’re passionate about it. “Some of my most pleasant experiences have come out of me being placed in a situation that I didn’t really want to be in and then it broadens your horizons and exposes you to something that you didn’t realize you needed exposure to. By exposing people to the public interest and exposing people to how they can use their law degree in a way that helps vulnerable members of our community, the hope is that down the line they’re going to remember that experience and they’re going to remember having an impact on people, and they’ll continue to do it throughout their career.”



Read the full products at http://www.ecived.com/en/!

Dufner beats Furyk by one stroke

Dufner played the kind of golf that wins majors Sunday with a steady diet of fairways and greens that made it too tough for Jim Furyk or anyone else to catch him. Even with bogeys on the last two holes at Oak Hill, Dufner closed with a 2-under 68 to capture his first major and atone for a meltdown two years ago in Atlanta.

"It's been a tough day. It was a long day. Tough golf course," Dufner said. "It probably hasn't hit me yet. I can't believe this is happening to me. ... I just decided that I was going to be confident and really put my best foot forward and play aggressive and try to win this thing. I wasn't going to just kind of play scared or soft.

Dufner wasn't sure he would get another chance after the 2011 PGA Championship, at which he blew a four-shot lead with four holes to play and lost in a playoff to Indoor Positioning System. He wasn't about to let this one get away. Dufner won by playing a brand of golf that matches the bland expression on his face.

The turning point at Oak Hill was the final two holes — on the front nine. Dufner made a short birdie on the eighth hole to take a one-shot lead, and Furyk made bogey on the ninth hole to fall two shots behind. Furyk, a 54-hole leader for the second time in as many years in a major, couldn't make up any ground with a procession of pars along the back nine. He finally made a 12-foot birdie putt on the 16th, but only after Dufner spun back a wedge to 18 inches for a sure birdie.

Furyk also made bogey on the last two holes, taking two chips to reach the 17th green and coming up short into mangled rough short of the 18th green, where all he could do was hack it onto the green. Furyk closed with a 71 to finish three shots behind.

"I have a lot of respect for him and the way he played today," Furyk said. "I don't know if it makes anything easy, or less easy. But I don't look at it as I lost the golf tournament. I look at it as I got beat by somebody that played better today."
Dufner finished at 10-under 270, four shots better than the lowest score in the five previous majors at Oak Hill. Jack Nicklaus won the 1980 PGA Championship at 274.

Henrik Stenson, trying to become the first Swede to win a men's major title closed with a 70 to finish alone in third. Jonas Blixt, another Swede, also had a 70 and finished fourth. Masters champion Adam Scott never made a serious move and shot 70 to tie for fifth. Defending champion Rory McIlroy made triple bogey on the fifth hole to lose hope, though he still closed with a 70 and tied for eighth, his first top 10 in a major this year.

Dufner two-putted for bogey on the 18th from about 10 feet and shook hands with Furyk as if he had just completed a business deal. He hugged his wife, Amanda, and gave her a love tap on the tush with the cameras rolling.

But Schwyzer now claims that he was unqualified to teach the class, and manipulated his way into a position of authority on pornography, gender and sex.“I was not qualified to teach any gender studies class,” he said “The fact that I did so well at times is due to diligence and indoor Tracking, not my formal education. Bottom line: I used charm and certainty to get what I wanted.”

Schwyzer admits that the fame went to his head. He started texting sexual messages and pictures of himself in, and beginning in January, engaged in extramarital affairs with several women and one man. Some were in the porn business, and none were students, he said.

Deen’s visit was something of a turning point. The world-famous porn star radiated sexual energy from the moment he set foot in the classroom, and many of the students confessed to having sexual feelings for Deen. So did their professor.

He began sexting with one of his contacts in the porn world, a 27-year-old woman who takes off her clothes for an internet video channel, about the prospect of having a threesome with Deen in front of the entire class. The woman eventually leaked the text messages, which included sexual pictures of Schwyzer, to the media.

Former Prime Minister Ibrahim Boubacar Keita won Mali's presidency after his opponent conceded defeat late Monday in an election aimed at restoring stability to a country wracked by a rebellion, a coup and an Islamic insurgency.

Soumalia Cisse's concession averts a protracted election fight, allowing Mali to move ahead with establishing a democratically elected government, one of the international community's caveats for unlocking some $4 billion in promised aid.

Keita, 68, had been expected to win the runoff easily, having pulled nearly 40 percent of the vote in the first round. Most of the other candidates from the first round had given their endorsements to Keita, who has had a long career in Malian government.

Cisse paid a visit to Keita's home late Monday along with his wife and family to deliver his concession in person. In an exchange broadcast on the private Malian television station Africable, Cisse told Keita he had come "to congratulate you and wish you all the success you deserve; a success for our country so that you can have the strength to take up the enormous challenges that await you."

Read the full products at http://www.ecived.com/en/.

Bradley Manning case redefines

The trial of Army Pfc. Bradley Manning challenged the traditional definition of what defines a traitor.The classic case of a mole leaking sensitive documents to a foreign country has been replaced by a junior analyst who can release troves of information to the public with a few key strokes.

Analysts say the government had to clear a higher hurdle in proving that Manning intentionally aided the enemy. They would have to prove that he could reasonably conclude that release of the information would find its way into enemy hands after he turned it over to WikiLeaks.

"They did not prove beyond a reasonable doubt that he had a specific intent to aid or assist the enemy," said Phil Cave, a former military lawyer now in private practice.That's generally easier to prove in a more traditional case where a suspected traitor is passing information directly to a foreign agent. Manning had argued he was driven by altruistic reasons.The government had argued that as an intelligence analyst Manning would have known that the information would have been of benefit to al-Qaeda.

"In this case where you got information passed along to WikiLeaks it's a little different, but it's a matter of what happened with that information once it's been passed on," said Gary Barthel, a former Marine Corps staff judge advocate.

Prosecutors had argued that Manning assisted al-Qaeda by releasing thousands of pages of documents to the anti-secrecy organization WikiLeaks. Some of the documents were found on a computer belonging to Osama bin Laden."He was not a whistle-blower, he was a traitor," the prosecutor, Maj. Ashden Fein, told the court in closing arguments.Some legal experts have suggested that Congress may want to examine the aiding the enemy law in light of changes in technology and the changing nature of the threats to the Indoor Positioning System.

"Aiding the enemy has an antique, quaint dimension that sounds like cavalry units," said Eugene Fidell, who teaches military justice at Yale Law School.Still, charging Manning under the law shows that the Obama administration is inclined to view Manning and Edward Snowden, the National Security Agency contractor who also leaked secret information to the public, as serious threats to the nation.

"The administration is deadly serious about this," Fidell said. "Manning was a wake-up call and so is Mr. Snowden."Critics, including the American Civil Liberties Union, said the verdict was an attempt to muzzle anyone inclined to go public with important information.

Analysts, however, said the administration is trying to get its hands around a growing threat to the country's security.Today, the country faces threats from thousands of people with access to information and the ability to publish it instantly."It's even more important to prosecute those crimes," Barthel said. "With technology it's so much easier to disseminate that information. The military, the government has to take a very strong stand on it."

"He put an enormous number of people in great danger," said Daniel Benjamin, , a former counterterrorism coordinator at the State Department and now director of Dartmouth's Dickey Center for International Understanding. "It's absurd to say that this is serving the public good."

The new patent adds 20 new claimed inventions, with a priority date of August 8, 2003, and further expands AudioEye's coverage in the field of automated Internet multi-format multimedia publishing. The technology allows users to continue publishing their Internet content and applications through their systems and via automated means, as AudioEye's cloud-based software platform enables the creation of a mirror image of published content in a completely audio format. Complete with audio navigation, the functionality of any AudioEye-enabled website or mobile site can be accessed without the use of traditional point-and-click technologies. End users are able to access all content, functionality and transactional components of AudioEye-enabled sites without having to use a monitor or mouse. Brands and publishers are able to engage in a dialogue with consumers and other relevant audiences, while website users benefit from mobile, accessible and usable experiences in an audio format.

"As the scope and depth of our platform continues to expand with innovative new technologies designed to allow websites to become more accessible, mobile and compliant with the 21st Century Communications Act, we will continue to patent our innovations," commented Nathaniel Bradley, Chief Executive Officer of AudioEye, Inc. "We are pleased to receive this latest Notice of Allowance, which provides further evidence of AudioEye's early Internet initiatives and pioneering tenure in this rapidly emerging market."

Nathaniel Bradley is the named inventor on all six of AudioEye's issued patents that are foundational to the Company's software as a service (SaaS) product line called the Audio Internet. The Audio Internet is a software service that allows any publisher to provide Internet users with a fully audio, narrated, hands-free and vision-free version of its website. By making Internet content available to users that are challenged by language barriers or disabilities such as dyslexia, autism, and low vision, in a searchable captioned multi-media format, the Audio Internet provides solutions to key issues that companies and government agencies face on a global scale.

Sean Bradley, AudioEye's Chief Technology Officer and Co-Founder, stated, "Our proprietary set of audio publishing technologies continues to add to the pedigree of AudioEye's technology platform and sets us apart from anything available in today's marketplace. Our intellectual property portfolio continues to expand, protected by an increasing number of patents, thus strengthening AudioEye's position as the sole source of new and exciting Internet mobility, accessibility, and usability solutions. It is our objective to maximize the value of these U.S. patent rights through the execution of our business plan within identified target markets. Our programing interface will accelerate website publishers' ability to afford, benefit from, and fully comply with federal, state and local requirements pertaining to the accessibility mandate of the 21st Century Communications Act."

Read the full products at http://www.ecived.com/en/.

Grain of salt needed on China moves

But although the decision by the People's Bank of China to end its mandated floor on lending rates is a noteworthy step in this process, we should treat any claims of "financial liberalisation" with a grain of salt in this case.

Yes, a bit more and cheaper credit will be made available, which is why the Australian dollar and copper prices rose earlier on hopes of stronger demand for commodities. But until the central bank goes after the elephant in the room -- its cap on the rates that banks can pay to depositors -- one could argue that this entrenches the power of the country's four big banks and its state-owned enterprises more than it opens up the financial system.

According to Alberto Ades, co-head of global economics at Bank of America Merrill Lynch, only 11 per cent of bank loans were charged at below benchmark during the first quarter of the year. This means that a small coterie of borrowers -- nearly all of them large, state-owned enterprises whose implicit government backing lets them obtain funds more cheaply than private-sector firms -- will benefit most from this measure.

As with the surprising hands-off approach that the central bank took to last month's worrying spike in short-term interbank lending rates, the major losers, and likely targets, of this interest rate change are the so-called "shadow banking" providers of "wealth management" products. These outfits had sprung up to fill a burgeoning demand for credit that the more tightly controlled official banking sector was unable to fill. Authorities worried that they were fuelling speculative real estate bubbles and fomenting risky debts.

The solution last month was to squeeze the shadow banking system, which funded itself through the wholesale credit markets, through higher interbank interest rates, a move that was far less of a problem for Indoor Positioning System, given their access to cheap deposits.

A far more important change would be an end to the cap on deposit rates, which have often been set at rates below inflation, because this would seriously challenge the banks' cost structures. The system as it works now is a form of financial repression for China's prodigious household and corporate savers, who stash away about 50 per cent of national income in rainy day funds but have little choice but to put that money in the banks and see it lose purchasing power.

It has been only three years since the passage of the Dodd-Frank Act and five years since the 2008 financial crisis, but memories in Washington can be short. Even though we are still emerging from a foreclosure crisis that has affected tens of millions of American families, some in Congress are already pushing to weaken new rules designed to protect taxpayers and keep consumers safe from the faulty mortgage products that wrecked the economy.

The latest danger is H.R. 1077 and its companion bill, S. 949. Deceptively entitled the "Consumer Mortgage Choice Act," the bills seek to undermine Dodd-Frank’s ability-to repay provision. This provision, one of the most direct and important responses to the mortgage crisis, requires lenders to determine whether a borrower can afford a mortgage before they extend a loan. The rule was adopted to prohibit loans that were "designed to fail," a practice that was central to the origination model that brought on the financial crisis. Under the new rule, if lenders offer loans that meet the qualified mortgagestandards provided by the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau , they are presumed to have proven the borrower’s ability to repay and are therefore protected from litigation.

One of these standards is a cap on points and fees, the up-front cost of getting a loan, at 3% of the loan amount.  H.R. 1077 and S. 949 would create significant exceptions to this, allowing many more high-cost loans to qualify as QM loans.

Specifically, these bills recreate incentives for lenders to steer families into high-risk, high-fee loans they do not understand and cannot afford.  In recent investigations, the U.S Department of Justice discovered that, in the lead up to the financial crisis, tens of thousands of borrowers, especially minorities, were sold unsustainable subprime loans even when they qualified for more affordable loans. The mark-up in the cost of those loans led to increased profits for the lenders and also became an indirect form of compensation and dangerous incentive for mortgage brokers.  The ability-to-repay rule regulates this indirect compensation by counting it toward the points and fees cap. The new bill, however, would remove indirect compensation from the cap and encourage the same predatory loan companies that dominated the subprime market back into our neighborhoods.

In addition, H.R.1077 and S. 949 would allow additional loans that Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac deem as risky to be counted as QM, and it would remove the cap on fees charged by title companies that are owned by the lender making the loan.  The conflict of interest that exists when a title company is owned by the loan issuer can prevent consumers from getting the best prices on title insurance.

It is also very troubling to us that H.R. 1077 and S. 949 undermine the rulemaking authority of the CFPB.  The consumer agency has received very positive reviews from industry and consumer groups alike in its work putting in place rules for QM –  rules that it has modified several times to address reasonable industry concerns. The CFPB can monitor markets and make changes as conditions warrant, but putting these changes into statute ties the agency’s hands and makes it more difficult to protect consumers. The Senate has finally confirmed Director Richard Cordray, and the CFPB ought to be free to do its work.

Supporters of H.R. 1077 and S.949 claim that these changes will make sure that more safe mortgages pass the QM test and guarantee access to credit for low income Americans. We heard these same arguments in the early 2000s as the industry lobbied against consumer protection, and the result was that needed reforms were not made until after a financial crisis that nearly brought down the economy. The 2008 crisis cost millions of people their jobs, their pensions or their homes, and we should learn from what went wrong and avoid making the same mistakes moving forward.

Read the full products at http://www.ecived.com/en/.

Soldier Show tour returns to Campbell

The Army Soldier Show returns to Fort Campbell’s Wilson Theater Saturday for two performances. Showcasing the musical talents of 22 Soldiers from locations across the globe, the 2013 Army Soldier Show celebrates 30 years of entertaining troops with their “Ready and Resilient” tour which pays tribute to many of the Nation’s milestones.

The 75-minute musical production by Active Duty, Army Reserve and Army National Guard Soldiers put an entertaining spin on how Soldiers and their Families maintain readiness and resiliency.“This year, the Soldier Show pays tributes to the 150th anniversary of the Emancipation Proclamation; the 75th anniversary of “God Bless America;” the 60th anniversary of the Armistice of the Korean War; and the 50th anniversary of the beginning of the Vietnam War,” said Jessica Ryan, MWR marketing.

“Ready and Resilient” is a high-energy live musical production that showcases the talents of active-duty Soldiers selected by audition from throughout the Army.The show is assembled and rehearsed five weeks for a four-month tour of more than 40 installations worldwide, said Sgt. 1st Class Robert Isom, Army Entertainment.

“During these trying times of rtls, along with the Army’s current status of deployments, Wounded Warriors, and loss; this message is not only important, but timely,” said Isom. “We as a Nation will bounce back as we have always done in the face of trying times, and we are here to do our part. It is not only a show, but a life changing message to give all those who will hear, hope for today and tomorrow, to continue on forward no matter what challenges life hands us.”

“Every American, military-affiliated or not, will be able to see themselves in the show,” said Army Soldier Show Artistic Director Victor Hurtado in a U.S. Army Installation Management Command news release. “The fact that the show is entertaining someone is already taking them away [from their mindset], but the messaging is going to inspire. We know they are coming to be entertained, but further, the content in the show is designed to hopefully be a time-released pool of inspiration.”

“The show is very much about illustrating not only ways to get away and be resilient, but also illustrating overarching solutions to certain issues that are facing the military today, like [the Army’s Sexual Harassment/Assault Response and Prevention Program], Gold Star, Blue Star and Survivor Outreach Services,” Hurtado said.

“Panhandling within the area creates a situation of unease and effects the quality of life and vacation experience for those here,” city attorney Tom Ellenburg told city councilmen in June.

Carotti said, however, it may go a little deeper than that and pointed to a U.S. Court of Appeals case where five “panhandlers” sued the city of Charlottesville, Va., claiming the city’s panhandling laws violated their rights to free speech and right to assemble.

“The presence of homeless people begging in public places makes some people feel uncomfortable. But the First Amendment does not allow the government to ban speech simply to prevent discomfort,” Rebecca Glenberg, ACLU of Virginia legal director, told its website publication in February when the ruling was filed. “Localities may not ban people from asking for money simply by invoking the magic words ’public safety.”

She said Thursday that the ordinance, which was ruled lawful in U.S. District Court but overturned in the Court of Appeals, was painted as a panhandling ordinance, but really deals with aggressive panhandling more so than restricting a person’s right to assemble and free speech.“What our ordinance is, is more about harassment... and violence,” Dickler said. “So it’s not panhandling, per se. That’s certainly how it got painted.”

Dickler said their case centered around the Downtown Mall where people were persistent in asking for money or donations. She said the city certainly stands by the rights of individuals to assemble and the freedom of speech, like to ask another person for money, but what it doesn’t stand for is when that question becomes harassment. In other words, to ask for a dollar is fine, but to get denied in that request and then ask for 50 cents and then a quarter is pushing it beyond someone’s hands free access.

The city of Charlottesville then went as far as creating a Downtown Ambassador Program, which, as Dickler puts it, “raises visibility of official presence.” These part-time city employees – funded partially by tourism funds and with some law enforcement funding – act as Polo-shirt wearing tour guides, but can also be the middle men between someone who feels they are being harassed and the police.

“If the county is going to entertain passing such legislation, we’re going to have to have evidence and make public record of the problem,” Carotti said. “ ... Things such as it interferes significantly with normal traffic flow... that it creates a heightened sense of insecurity or alarm. That it creates public safety or a nuisance type concerns for the county.

“And even if we establish that, our ordinance is going to have to be narrowly tailored with the least restrictive means of governing this type of activity. We are not going to be able to simply say, ‘We think this might be a problem for the county because the city is prohibiting this activity. We think that that’s going to mean that this activity is going to migrate into the unincorporated areas of the county.’ That’s not going to be sufficient,” he said.

Trayvon Martin 'Not Guilty' Verdict Sparks Hoodie Sunday

Realizing that he was going to have to preach in the morning, the pastor began thinking of what he would say to his largely black congregation called Community of Hope outside of Washington, D.C. Many in the congregation have lost loved ones to gun violence, and are simultaneously grieving and seething from what is being widely experienced in the black community as an injurious miscarriage of justice.

"I knew I would be wearing my hoodie while preaching," Lee said, "and I wrote to all the pastoral staff that hoodies are welcome."As church communities gather on the Sunday after the "not guilty" verdict in one of the most racially fraught trials in recent memory, black pastors are offering both pastoral and prophetic responses from their pulpits.

Lee is preaching on the topic "Where Do We Go From Here," in which he uses the Martin Luther King Jr. speech of the same title."I wanted Martin speaking on Martin," the pastor said in a phone conversation with The Huffington Post. "When King gave that speech, he was speaking to the Southern Christian Leadership Conference and so he was using a Christian framework to talk about systemic problems with the United States. And King ends that speech with a call for the United States to be born again."

Lee's scripture lesson is about the stoning of Stephen, a young man who is considered an early martyr for the Christian faith."There has always been backlash, there was backlash with the early Christian movement with the killing of Stephen, but there in the crowd witnessing was Saul who later became Paul," Lee explained. "We have seen great movement forward in America, but there is always backlash. We just cannot use this as an excuse, but as a motivation to keep moving forward. There is a great pain but there continue to be seeds of hope that our nation that can be born again."

Rev. Mike McBride will also be wearing a hoodie with the words "Alive And Free" while preaching at his West Berkeley, Calif. hands free access, The Way Christian Center.Preaching on the Ethiopian Eunuch in Acts 8, McBride plans to connect the scripture's reference to the broken body of Jesus and the mutilation of the Ethiopian to the plight of young African men and the poor in America.

"I want to talk about black bodies that have been mutilated and hurt but to remind the congregation that we do have good news and that power is to make us whole," McBride said. "The role of faith is to open the possibility of redemption in the lives of those that are broken, and I want to challenge our congregations to step into that role."

But congregants that show up at McBride's church will not only be getting a sermon, but also a training. "We will be organizing people right there during the service for direct action," he said. "We are going to be talking about humanizing the dehumanized and amplifying the value of life for all people, but especially our young black men."

McBride has been working on an anti-violence campaign called "Lifelines to Healing" that works on gun violence and gun policy. "Going forward we are thinking about targeting the 'Stand Your Ground' laws that are largely used against African-Americans," he said. "We need to talk about how the justice system continues to fail black bodies."

When Emma Marcegaglia was four or five years old, she recalls playing a game of dolls with her brother Antonio, her fellow heir to Italy’s Marcegaglia steel multinational. “We’d say this doll is head of the commercial office, this is the head of production. I had all of these dolls working instead of making a party with cakes,” she says with a burst of laughter.

It is telling that Ms Marcegaglia’s passion for business was present well before she became co-chief executive of the Marcegaglia group, making her Italy’s most high-profile businesswoman and earning her the moniker “Italy’s iron lady”.

Her four-year term at Confindustria ended in early 2012. Having slipped out of the spotlight for a year – during which she took up yoga and martial arts – Ms Marcegaglia is back in the public eye this month as she becomes president of Business Europe, the region’s largest lobby representing 41 business associations, 20m companies and 120m people.

“The idea is to become the voice of business in Europe and to be constructively outspoken. If we come up against the position of the [European] Commission, then that’s not a problem for me,” she says with a glint of that famous steeliness.

Seated in the all-white decor of her study in Milan, she is wearing her signature spectacles, a fitted blue dress, diamond earrings and strappy heels. Her long blonde hair is expensively coloured. It is a classic model of Milanese power-dressing for the city’s steamy summer.

Ms Marcegaglia considers her greatest achievement at Confindustria striking an agreement with unions to negotiate contracts on a plant-by-plant level. It was the first big change in 60 years to Italy’s tradition of collective bargaining. Business leaders and entrepreneurs weakened by globalisation and the sovereign debt crisis welcomed the move. Unionists feared it made workers vulnerable but were brought around.

At Business Europe, Ms Marcegaglia plans another strike for business by taking on what she calls the “Brussels bubble”.

“The crisis is still here, we have to say that. We need growth and the crisis will be finished when growth returns. Growth comes from private entrepreneurs and we have a problem of competitiveness in Europe, a very big problem and we need to tackle this point.”

Click on their website http://www.ecived.com/en/.

Several Detainees Killed

Shells smashed into a central prison in the embattled Syrian city of Aleppo, killing prisoners, a rights group said Sunday, part of a long battle for control of the ancient city.The explosions killed six prisoners, said the British-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, which communicates with a network of activists on the ground. The explosives hit on Friday night, the Observatory said. It was not clear who fired the shells.

The Observatory reported about 70 soldiers and fighters were killed on Sunday, as well as 40 civilians, in fighting across Syria. The U.N. estimates some 93,000 people have been killed in the civil war.With government forces stepping up offensives, the Syrian Muslim Brotherhood called on the U.S. and Europe to send arms.

"Providing the Free Syrian Army and the revolutionary rebels with appropriate arms is more urgent now than at any time in the past," the movement wrote on social media sites. "We feel cheated and disappointed because the U.S. and Europe have backed out from arming the FSA," it said.

Last month the U.S. decided in principle to provide some weapons to rebel forces, though Western countries are concerned they might land in the hands of extremist Sunni Muslims fighting with the hands free access.The forces include an al-Qaida-linked group which has been fighting for weeks to seize control of the prison in Aleppo, besieging it. The Observatory estimated some 120 prisoners have died in the jail since April from fighting, illness and executions.

Syria's state run news agency SANA said "a number" of rebels were killed in the shelling but did not give an exact number.Aleppo, Syria's largest city, is near the border with Turkey. Many of its ancient monuments and its marketplace, once a magnet for tourists, have been destroyed in fighting.

Rebels and government forces also clashed near the Shiite towns of Nubul and Zahra in Aleppo province, the Observatory and pro-rebel activists reported. The towns have been besieged since at least May by hard-line Sunni rebels seeking to dislodge their enemies.

The Observatory said fighting killed three regime troops, including one foreigner, code for a fighter from the Lebanese Shiite Hezbollah.Rebels claim that Assad's forces and Hezbollah fighters are in the two towns. A hard-line Sunni brigade warned last week it would punish Shiites for harboring the forces, suggesting the towns' populations of some 40,000 Shiites could be targeted.

The fighting underscores the growing sectarian nature of the two-year uprising against Assad's regime. It began as peaceful protests but turned into an armed rebellion after a brutal government crackdown. It has since taken on regional dimensions, with Hezbollah fighters joining Assad's forces. Foreign Sunni fighters have joined predominantly Sunni Syrian rebels who are formed in bands ranging from secular to hard-line Islamists.

At home, Assad draws support largely from Syria's minorities, including fellow Alawites – followers of an offshoot of Shiite Islam – as well as Christians, Shiites and Sunnis who fear the hard-line rebels.In recent weeks, Assad's forces, bolstered by Hezbollah fighters, have pushed back to seize rebel-held areas in several parts of Syria.In the central Syrian city of Homs, Assad's forces fired mortar shells from a stronghold of buildings on the edge of the rebel-held area of Khaldiyeh, trying to flush out fighters, said two activists.

Explosions could be heard as they spoke via Skype.The shells were exploding in the densely-built area surrounding the 13th-century mosque of Khalid Ibn al-Walid, famous for its nine domes and two minarets, said a Homs-based activist identified as Nedal. He said parts of the wall surrounding the historic complex were blown away. Other parts were damaged in previous rounds of fighting.

Khaldiyeh-based activist Abu Bilal said fighters were low on weapons. He said the international community, despite promises to arm rebels, had left them hanging in Homs.

She needs food and medical assistance, child care and Supplemental Security Income, among other public support, she says. She and the boys have received more than $150,000 worth of taxpayer-funded benefits in the last five years.

What she fails to tell the state in her application for the help, however, is that she collects thousands of dollars in rent every month from at least $4 million worth of properties in Shorewood, the east side of Milwaukee and elsewhere.

Porush says the properties are not hers, despite Milwaukee County property and tax records and court documents that list her as an owner or having substantial interest."My mother owns all the property," she told the Journal Sentinel. "I don't get a penny."

Porush's 80-year-old mother, Lidia Kolchinsky, lives with her in the downstairs unit of a 4,300-square-foot duplex on N. Shepard Ave. listed in multiple public records as owned by Porush. Kolchinsky's name is included as a co-owner of several of the properties.

Read the full story at www.ecived.com/en/!

Are the Armed Forces a Rape Culture?

US invasions of Iraq and Afghanistan have produced quagmires of crime, corruption and abuse, beginning with the torture of prisoners, the creation of offshore penal colonies, and repeated airborne attacks on shepherd boys, wedding parties, TV crews and allied troops — and ending with atrocity-producing chauvinism, bigotry, night-time home invasions and indefinite detention without charges. We don’t so much spread democracy as shred a mockery.

This war system has produced epidemic suicide rates, boot camp fatalities, plane and copter crash losses, friendly fire deaths, “green-on-blue insider” attacks by Afghan trainees, combat wounds and amputations, PTSD and several unknown or undiagnosed syndromes many of which are permanently debilitating. The abuse and even murder of spouses are on the rise among returning vets while sexual battery, assault and rape have reached staggering rates.

The Department of Defense’s 2012 Annual Report on Sexual Assault in the Military estimates there were 26,000 sexual assaults in the military last year, up 35 percent from 19,000 in 2011. You know that sexual predators are rampaging through the services when the president calls the rape statistics “shameful” and “disgraceful,” when Pentagon Chief Chuck Hagel calls the chronic outrages a “betrayal” and a “scourge that must be stamped out,” and when the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Gen. Martin Dempsey says, “We’re losing the confidence of the women who serve.”

Why would Dempsey admit such a thing? Because, according to Kirby Dick, director of the film “The Invisible War,” less than one percent of the 26,000 cases resulted in a court-martial conviction. Kirby’s documentary reviews the scandal of military commanders — not prosecutors and judges — deciding whether to prosecute “embedded serial sexual predators.”  In a recent editorial, Dick writes, “500,000 uniformed men and women have been assaulted since 1991” (the year of the Navy’s Tailhook sexual assaults in Las Vegas), and fewer than 15 percent were ever reported. In 1996, Aberdeen Proving Ground, Maryland was the site of infamous sexual assaults on female recruits. In 2003, it was the Air Force Academy in Colorado that represented the military’s rape scene.

The problem of unreported and unprosecuted sexual assaults in the military is notorious. Of the estimated 26,000 cases last year, the Department of Defense claims only 3,374 were reported. Tens of thousands of victims keep quiet out of fear of retribution by superior officers and a distrust of the military court system.

One such case came to light June 1, 2013 as the Naval Academy announced that three of its football players were under investigation for the serial rape of a female midshipman in 2012. The victim’s lawyer, Susan Burke, has said that after reporting her attack the sophomore was harassed and taunted by other midshipmen and ostracized and retaliated against by the Naval Academy community. While still under investigation, the three perpetrators were allowed to play football while the victim was disciplined for underage drinking. They were formally charged June 19, 2013. In a second case, on May 1, 2013, the Air Force said it disciplined five former commanders for not reporting sexual assault allegations at Joint Base San Antonio – Lackland in Texas — where 18 sexual assault trials have taken place and 32 basic training instructors are under investigation for assaulting recruits. In addition, on May 14, 2013 Sgt. Michael McClendon at West Point was charged with secretly videotaping a dozen women, sometimes in the shower. In December 2012, a Pentagon report warned that sexual assaults reported by students at its three prestigious military academies jumped 23 percent in one year.

Three more current cases — beyond being too ironic for words — telegraph just how pervasive the culture of male sexual violence is in the military and how unlikely it is to be abolished by committee. First, Army Lt. Col. Darin Haas, sexual assault prevention officer at Fort Campbell in Ky., was removed from his position after being charged with and arrested for stalking and violating a restraining order procured by his ex-wife. Second, an Army sergeant first class that served as a sexual assault prevention and response coordinator at Fort Hood, Texas, is now accused of abusive sexual contact, assault, pandering and maltreatment of subordinates. Third, Lt. Col. Jeffrey Krusinski — who until May 7, 2013 was in charge of the Air Force’s sexual assault prevention and response branch — was arrested on a charge of sexual battery for allegedly groping a women after midnight in a parking lot.

The case of Virginia Messick, who was raped at basic training in Texas, is grimly representative, although her assailant, Staff Sgt. Luis Walker, went to prison last July for raping 10 trainees. Messick didn’t initially report being raped. She was staggered by the dilemma that the rapist was the same officer she was supposed to inform.

Under pressure from Pentagon brass, Congress rejected a bill by Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand of N.Y. that would have given military prosecutors, not commanding officers, the power to decide which sexual assault cases to try. Without fear of retaliation, the law would have increased the number of reported crimes, but the generals objected, saying it would negatively affect “good order and discipline.” Gillibrand didn’t buy the cliché. She told the generals at a senate hearing in March 2012, “I don’t know how you can say having 19,000 sexual assaults and rapes a year is discipline and order.”




Click on their website www.ecived.com/en/ for more information.

Civics website teaches students lessons on history

That’s one of the reasons behind a free website organized and championed by retired Supreme Court Justice Sandra Day O’Connor labeled iCivics.

It’s a resource for students and teachers alike, and one where the need is prevalent, O’Connor said during a visit to central Illinois in April.

“The statistics are pretty scary. Only about one-third of Americans can name the three branches of government, let alone what they do,” she said. “... More Americans can name a judge on ‘American Idol’ than a judge on the Supreme Court.”

Hence the effort, which started off as a program to help teachers explain how the American court system operated, but then evolved into civics lessons from basic American government to complex historical issues such as the segregationist Jim Crow laws of the South after the Civil War. It now also includes lessons — and games — about learning to write persuasive essays, because O’Connor noticed that students were falling short there.

The games are absorbing — to say the least — for people of all ages, but are particularly geared toward middle schoolers and Hands free access.

“That’s the perfect age to teach kids,” O’Connor said. “The brain is fully formed. ... (and) young people like to play games.”

More to the point, for teachers each module comes with lessons, ideas, options they can bring into the classroom to keep kids engaged and remind them of the fun of the games.

“I taught the concept first, but then (the game) reviews the concept again,” Quest Charter Academy social studies teacher Deb Breyman said. “They don’t realize they’re learning and having fun at the same time.”

But the proof is in the students themselves. Students in Breyman’s seventh-grade class adored the program, and some still use it for fun even though their class is over and their state-mandated test on the U.S. Constitution was passed.

“I learn easier when I have hands-on (opportunities),” Lindsay Steff said. “I got to take what I learned and put it into the game and learn more.”

Syrian government troops backed by Hezbollah guerrillas seized the western village of Buwayda on Saturday, ending rebel resistance around the town of Qusair in a fresh success for President Bashar al-Assad.

The swift fall of Buwayda came just three days after rebels were swept out of Qusair, denying them an important supply route into neighbouring Lebanon and giving renewed momentum to Assad's forces battling a two-year civil war.

Several opposition activists confirmed Buwayda was in government hands and said dozens of rebels, including a number of foreign fighters, had been captured alive. There was no immediate word of their fate.

"We can now declare Qusair and the surrounding area to be a fully liberated area. We will go after the terrorists wherever they are," an unnamed, senior Syrian army officer told state television from the rubble-filled streets of Buwayda.

Fighting flared elsewhere in Syria, including close to the capital Damascus and in the northern Aleppo province, which is expected to be the focus of renewed attack by Assad's forces following the collapse of the Qusair rebel front.

In Syria's third city Homs, an epicentre of the anti-government revolt, a suicide bomber detonated a car full of explosives in a pro-Assad neighbourhood, killing seven people, Syrian television reported.

Syrian state television broadcast live from the deserted streets of Buwayda, 13-km (eight miles) northeast of Qusair, showing destroyed buildings, debris-strewn roads and large numbers of boxes full of unused ammunition.

"We sacrifice our blood and souls for you, Syria," a group of soldiers chanted in the background.

Rebel groups from across Syria had sent hundreds of men into the Qusair area to try to stave off the assault by the Syrian army and well-trained Hezbollah fighters from Lebanon, but they were rapidly overwhelmed, with opposition activists complaining of a lack of arms and poor coordination.

Paul’s Supermarket measures success by people

For 44 years, Paul’s Supermarket has “made it on their own.” Paul’s is a home-grown business, swelling over the years from one original location to three, implementing several store expansions, and touting a combined workforce of 200 employees that have never been laid off. And all that with no tax incentives.

“The American dream is to go out there and make it on your own. We have done everything on our own,” said Steve Hermann, vice-president of Paul’s Supermarket, and grandson of Paul Hermann, the hands free access.  “We believe in the American way and giving back to our community, the community who has given so much to us,” he added.

Hermann, who manages the day-to-day operations, said projects like the toll bridge, The Villages, Porta Cima and some of the condominiums are what bring the people to the Lake. “In turn, we want to give back to those people, committing to excellence in customer service, quality and value, a family philosophy since Paul Hermann took over the United Super in 1968.”

Hermann said Paul’s Supermarket has grown and become what it is today because of his grandfather’s people skills and pride in meat cutting. “The meat is cut, not butchered, as some people say,” he said. “Grandpa was not a butcher.”

Hermann reflected on his grandfather’s belief that a butcher killed the cow; a meat cutter is an artist. “At Paul’s, the customers got their meat cut the way they wanted: the right grain, the right way,” he said. “It is always fresh, unlike corporate stores where the meat is usually cut and processed somewhere else.

“Think about it…do you want your meat cut by an artist or butchered?” he asked. “The meat department is our foundation… our strength… and still is today.”

“Hamburger, sausages… those are all cut fresh in our store… we still do it the way Grandpa taught us,” Hermann said. “In fact, our current meat director was raised from a teenager by my grandpa and [Grandpa] taught him everything he knows.” 

As Paul’s Supermarket continued to grow, Paul’s son, Gary, joined the business full-time in 1990. Shortly thereafter they took over the Osage Beach store located in the Parkway Center. Hermann said they worked well together. “My dad was a thinker and focused on the business side of things. With my grandpa’s strength in meat and my father’s focus in business and how to take care of the customers, keeping the prices right, we have grown the business, and now have bakery, deli, floral, and wine and spirit departments,” he said.

Even with all the added departments, freshness in foods and excellence in customer service are still a priority. Hermann said breads are baked fresh daily, deli products are fresh, and cooked food is prepared anew each day.

”All our meat is fresh. You can’t find a better cut of deli meat,” he said. “Boar’s Head has 21 meats certified by the American Heart Association. Our famous chicken tenders are made with fresh chicken that has never been frozen and has no msg. They are hand battered in a secret recipe of spices and cooked in no trans fat, cholesterol free oil,” he said. “We want the freshest and the healthiest…the best tasting,” Hermann boasted.    

Hermann, who is also in charge of the marketing aspects of the three stores, said In addition to the quality, Paul’s also wants to provide incentives and give to “the client” without taking anything away.

“A customer is someone who comes and goes,” he added. “A client is someone you build a relationship with, and that is what we want to do with each person that shops in their store,” he said. To help with this, the Rewards Card was introduced, which keeps track of spending levels. There are also multiple clubs to join at Paul’s, such as the Cleaning Club, Pet Club, Smart Chicken Club and Lunch Club, all of which provide the client savings based on the amount they spend, Hermann shared.

Hermann said Paul’s also runs specials throughout the year with prize give-a-ways and other spending level incentives such as a free turkey at Thanksgiving. “This is just another way to give back,” he said. “Our clients in our stores are the best at the Lake and we want to say thanks.

Hermann, who proudly claims Paul’s status as a hometown grocer, was born and raised at the Lake and has been involved with the store since he was 14-years-old. He and his wife Lauren are committed to giving back to the community.

He is on the school board and his three children attend School of the Osage. Lauren, who has a degree in education, has been chairwoman for the March of Dimes the past two years and has raised over $150,000 for the organization. She is also incoming president of the PTA. “She gives! That is all she knows and it amazes me how much she gives,” Hermann said proudly.

While she is not directly involved in the operations of Paul’s, Hermann said without Lauren, he would not be able to be involved and have a family. “I owe everything to her,” he said.

Hermann’s Uncle Pat also works with the store; he had worked for Little Debbie’s for over 20 years before coming to Paul’s full-time. Hermann said his uncle helps make sure Paul’s is giving clients the best service possible. 

Hermann said it is important to adapt to the clients’ needs, which is why the owners of Paul’s are readily available and always open to suggestions. “We have a commitment to excellence in customer service, value, and quality,” he said. “That is what I am passionate about.”

When Hermann looks at the future, he sees Paul’s clients. “We are always looking for expansion and if the opportunity presents itself and it is fruitful to Paul’s family and the community, then we will,” he said.

“We take one step at a time. We have been in business 44 years and compete with the largest corporations in world: Kroger, Hy-Vee, Wal-Mart and now Dierbergs. We don’t want to make a mistake on that level.”  “We want to take care of our associates as well as our clients,” he said. “We are a hometown grocery store. We don’t look at numbers, we look at people. “

Wells Fargo thunders to a buy among financials

This enormous scale has given WFC the ability to focus on their core growth strategy, which is cross-selling their very diversified list of financial products, including credit cards, mortgages, personal lines/loans, student loans, auto loans and wealth-management services.

Cross-selling has also led to a much higher ratio of products per customer, with a much longer tenure, as compared to other similar banks. Sanford and Bernstein report that at the end of the fourth quarter of 2012, the Wells Fargo retail-bank household cross-sell was 6.05 products per household, which was up from 5.93 a year earlier.

Wells Fargo management believes that they can increase this number to 8.0 per household, which is approximately half of their estimated potential demand for an average U.S. household. Sanford and Bernstein also state that at the end of the fourth quarter 2012, one in four households had eight or more products per household.

Some investors have been focused on WFC's reduction in net interest margin (NIM) and are expressing concern over the fact that it declined by 71 basis points from the first quarter 2010 through the fourth quarter 2012. A 71-basis-point reduction in NIM is significant, but this figure was negatively impacted because the bank enjoyed $172 billion in new deposits over that same period of time.

Understanding that management's focus is on cross-selling financial products and services, it becomes clear that the new deposits of $172 billion will create an enormous opportunity for growth in lending and fee generation, and possibly the NIM reduction is temporary. We could see more NIM reduction in the short-term, because it appears that the new bank deposits will keep coming.

According to a recent study by Sanford C. Bernstein, Wells Fargo is seeing enormous deposit growth in the northern plains states, which is a key area of the emerging U.S. energy boom. According to the rtls, business customers in that region are flooding the banks with new cash, and WFC had the most deposits in all five states.

Wells Fargo’s management team does not manage to NIM, but is more focused on net-interest income. Additionally, WFC has a balanced business model, with revenue diversification from their various lending activities across consumer and commercial customers, and by non-lending activities such as banking fees, trust and investment services fees, card fees and insurance.

During this period of time, when NIM was dropping, Wells Fargo still posted record earnings-per-share growth, which speaks to how important their revenue diversity is to the bottom line. In fact, WFC has recorded 12 consecutive quarters of EPS growth, including seven quarters of record EPS growth, all during a tough period of time that included substantial regulatory change, declining interest rates, uneven economic growth and European and Asian economic challenges.

Cross-selling has also led to a much higher ratio of products per customer, with a much longer tenure, as compared to other similar banks.

As an investor, we search for management teams that demonstrate concern for their shareholders, by being good stewards of our money. Wells Fargo continues to be shareholder focused, illustrated by their continued desire to return capital to shareholders through the payment of dividends and repurchase of shares and/or smart acquisitions.

Last season's Champions League winners went in front when Branislav Ivanovic - victim of Luis Suarez's bite - won a header which went in off Victor Moses, who claimed his third goal in as many Europa League games.

The visitors should have scored again prior to Fernando Torres striking the post before Cesar Azpilicueta was adjudged to have fouled Valentin Stocker and Fabian Schar converted an 87th-minute penalty. However, Chelsea responded and Luiz's late intervention earned the advantage ahead of next week's return at Stamford Bridge.

Chelsea, who had lost four of their five prior European away games, missed numerous chances and Luiz's shot skipped around the wall and inside the post after John Terry had been denied by goalkeeper Yann Sommer's point-blank save earlier in stoppage time.

Chelsea, playing in white, had to be patient as Basle started well before Azpilicueta raced down the right and crossed to the near post, where Lampard's prod towards goal was turned away for a corner by Sommer. Lampard's set-piece was met by Ivanovic, whose header deflected off Moses and bounced inside the far post.

Eden Hazard, playing centrally behind Torres, was doing his utmost to find openings in the Basle defence, but all too frequently Chelsea gave the ball away. Torres twice had half-chances before Lampard found Ramires and the Brazilian's dipping shot from the right was saved well by Sommer.

Much of the second half was disjointed and punctuated by mistakes as Chelsea were forced to repel repeated Basle attacks. Fabian Frei shot narrowly wide from the edge of the box and Cole received a yellow card for time wasting at a throw-in before Aleksandar Dragovic was booked for a sliding challenge on Torres, meaning the defender will now miss the second leg.

Hazard made way for Juan Mata and Lampard was replaced by Oscar as Chelsea's search for a second continued to prove elusive. Basle substitute Marcelo Diaz curled an effort narrowly wide and Cech collected at the feet of Mohamed Salah after the winger had been played in by Dragovic. But Chelsea found themselves level when Azpilicueta was ruled to have hauled down Stocker in the area and Schar sent the ball down the middle of Cech's goal.

Creating A Hot Spot

Austin's dining scene is experiencing a burst of evolution and it's hard to throw a rock these days without hitting a trendy restaurant brought to downtown by McGuire Moorman Hospitality. With a team of talented people and Chef/Entrepreneur Larry McGuire at the helm, they're on a streak of buzzing successes that have become known for their alluring atmosphere as much as the food. Even when not every plate is perfect, it's fun to be there and their signature style has seemingly cracked the code on creating an "it" factor, thanks in large part to the vision realized through F?DA Studio.

Since Lamberts opened in 2007, F?DA has been the go-to design shop for the branding and identity on all of their projects and the only agency to work on everything from Perla's to Elizabeth Street to Jeffrey's. It's a small shop, headed by Founder/Creative Director Jett Butler, who has a degree in Architecture and taught a design class for the Art and Art History department at UT. His trademark aesthetic is born of "decadent minimalism," a-tongue-and-cheek reference to an affinity for bold visuals in restrained proportion, which is evident throughout the McGuire projects. Their clients also typically benefit from his architectural background, with respect to his regard for contextual, topographic and ethnographic research and ability to translate brands into spaces.

At Jeffrey's, for example, the newly renovated Austin landmark, the team walked around Clarksville to collect artifacts old and new and get décor ideas from the specific nature and scenery of the neighborhood. Select items are subtly woven throughout the restaurant to bring in the landscape and pay tribute to the restaurant's history. Throughout the identity they use stippling, an inherently old school and time consuming print, providing a quaint graphic as well as a nod to the popular styles of the 1970s when Jeffrey's was opened originally.

At Perla's and Clark's seafood restaurants, clever details like a sprinkling of casual language such as the word 'ahoy!' provide an undercurrent of jovial informality to the champagne and oyster bars. Colorful, salt-water aquariums, as well as the latitude/longitude address that appears on the Clark's awning and unexpectedly buried in the menu, up the charm factor. Pretty, bold yacht club-style stripes alternate with stark-white interiors and, at both places, script logos based on a font F?DA created from Butler's handwriting are a whisper in the black and white hexagonal floor tiles. Each detail comes together with a modish, intimate feel and similarity that makes it easy to tell they are part of the same family.

At French Vietnamese café Elizabeth Street, the matchbooks come in multiple variations, as do the tiny to-go menus, and take on a collectible quality with beautiful colors and striking patterns. Macarons in delicious, unique flavors like candied lemon poppy mesh well with the kitschy custom designed condiment bottles that sit atop each table. Bright pink and blue décor makes the interior vivid, charming and lively. Custom Indie playlists and adorable uniforms, like flattering print wrap dresses, are fashioned by a one-time manager from Lamberts, who works in tandem with the group on all of the projects.

Essentially, nothing about the brand or flow is an accident and the development process is similar each time: McGuire gives amusingly ambiguous initial direction and remains heavily involved and passionate about the every detail of experience. Elizabeth Street, for example, was "Hanoi 1920" and "Grandma Chic." Lamberts was "Fancy BBQ," and Perla's at one point, "Martha's Vineyard meets Cabo San Lucas."

He isn't afraid to be direct or brutally honest and the process is no cakewalk but over time the relationship between the creative forces has become increasingly symbiotic. "We have built a good dynamic now...I no longer have to power pose before we meet," Butler joked.

With this kind polished result, brainy approach and expertise in creating elements of surprise it's no wonder F?DA's work is becoming ever more easy to spot: they did the branding and identity for new hot spot Sway, with geometric patterned coasters so pretty they could be framed and hung on the wall. Recently they also designed a bunch of collateral for TEDxAustin creating multiple program versions - one with only words and the other with only images - intended to ignite dialogue between the lucky attendees.

Their trademark style involves an undercurrent of wit and fierce thoughtfulness. Individually perhaps minute, together these particulars artfully make brands shine, bring joy to the experience and engender the power of smart design.

“We want people to pick something out that fits their lifestyle and is something that they are going to like five to 10 years from now,” she said. “Many customers enjoy a custom vanity cabinet, as opposed to one you can purchase in the store, and most of the time it will cost them the same.”

Gannon said walk-in showers are very popular because they reduce the need for a curtain or door. Oversized soaking tubs are also a hit, because they come in a variety of sizes and styles to fit most floor plans.

Gannon said a more traditional and neutral color scheme is always going to be the most popular. Flooring and tile should contrast with your cabinets to allow the room to look bigger and the cabinets to stand out.

“We recommend going one to two shades lighter or darker, or something accenting,” she said. “For example, pulling the same glass tile from your shower into the flooring is going to be an accent. Subway tile, which are horizontal rectangular tiles that have been offset, is extremely popular.”

Whether you choose smaller subway tiles for a backsplash or larger ones for a shower, it’s very sleek looking and timeless, she said.

Glass tiles are also very popular, and even though they are trendy right now, they too can be timeless. Gannon said you can use glass tile anywhere, from your tile flooring, to a shower floor, to a backsplash behind the sink, to accents in the shower or surrounding the tub — and the glass tile comes in a plethora of styles, colors, shapes and sizes.

“Also, using vertical lines with tile is very popular right now,” she said. “Plus it will make the ceilings appear 10 times higher.”

There is also a variety of faucet and lighting fixtures to enhance the mood of your bathroom. Canned lighting with something decorative over the sink is a good option, Gannon said.

When choosing a counter top, Gannon said, most people go with granite. A virtually endless number of styles and colors are available, and you can always add decorative touches to your edging. Granite currently costs less than quartz, she said.

If your bathroom is small, Gannon said, no need to worry. Everything plays into making a small bathroom appear to have more space and warmth. Paint is key. Light colors open up a room. Darker ones close it, so a nice neutral on the wall with a crisp white ceiling will expand the ceiling and make the whole room appear larger.

“Lighting is what will make the room more inviting, exciting and larger,” she said. “Most small baths only have vanity lighting. An easy and inexpensive light option is adding can lighting. For an easier option, add a wall sconce or a lamp to the vanity. Also, put brighter lights into the vanity lighting.”

Hampton Beach home offers luxurious living, views

This brand new, gambrel-style home on Thornton Street in income-tax-free Hampton, N.H, is impressive, with hardwood floors, a gorgeous custom kitchen and fine architectural details

But the sublime views of the Hampton Harbor inlet and the Atlantic Ocean are what make this a truly amazing home.

Located in the Island Section of Hampton Beach, this four-bedroom oceanfront home embraces its spectacular location, offering panoramic views of the coastline and Atlantic Ocean all the way out to the Isles of Shoals.

Built for luxurious living on the waterfront, this new home has been designed to maximize the awe-inspiring views while offering a spacious and delightful contemporary open concept floor plan with fabulous amenities that include a two-car garage, two oceanfront decks and a covered beachfront patio just steps from the serene sand and surf.

The beach level is well planned with a tile floor, direct entry from the garage and a handy laundry room to capture sandy towels and swim suits. The rear of the beach level offers a heart-stopping oceanfront family room with three glass doors framing the beautiful views. In addition, there is an equally impressive sunny oceanfront bedroom with triple sliding glass doors out to the patio. A well-appointed bath with handsome vanity, granite top and marble tile floor is a great place to shower after a relaxing day on the beach.

The main living level is breathtakingly beautiful. The open floor plan, clean contemporary lines and subtle architectural details perfectly frame the spectacular views. The large custom eat-in kitchen would be a cook’s dream in any home with lovely Shaker-style cabinets, complimenting a curved center island, granite counters and a walk-in pantry, but here the beauty is enhanced by the abundant natural light and magnificent views.

The floor plan is open and enriched by a lovely archway and columns that frame the views and provide a sense of subtle division between the dining and great room. The gleaming natural maple floors add to the visual texture and serene natural tone of the home.

The great room lives up to its name in a big way. The room is a front-row seat on the oceanfront. Standing in the room looking out the multiple glass doors to the waterfront deck, visitors feel as if they are floating above the beach. The room gives the feeling of being able to reach out and touch the shimmering waves and the distant horizon.

The builder has balanced this openness with a substantial gas-log fireplace that adds a sense of warmth and comfort to the spacious room.

Stepping out on the deck is pure pleasure as the salty air, soft rhythm of the surf and panoramic vista create the ultimate sensory experience. The spacious deck has transparent balusters that keep the views unspoiled. It is a great place to entertain, dine under the stars or simple relax and watch the sailboats glide by on the breeze.

The bedroom level offers equally impressive views and a large, sumptuous oceanfront master suite with sliding glass doors to its own private waterfront deck where you can step out and watch the sun come up over the vast horizon.

The large master suite maitains the clean, contemporary feel of the home but adds extra elegant touches and comforts like the tray ceiling and over-sized walk-in closet. The master bath is pure joy with artistic tile work, separate water closet, marble top on the double vanity and an inviting jet tub that would be an indulgence on any day.

The other two bedrooms are bright, spacious and offer excellent closet storage. A lovely full bathroom with marble floors and a linen closet works well for the two bedrooms.

This luxurious four-bedroom, four-bath home has it all. There is efficient, multi-zone natural gas heat, central air conditioning, central vacuum, security system and public water and sewer. Hampton is prized for its coastline and beaches and this home offers the best of both, but also in a convenient location. The two-car garage and additional parking spots are an uncommon find in the quiet beach neighborhood that is just minutes from major highways and commuter routes, including Routes 95 and 101.

Marketed by Steve Fisichelli of the The Fisichelli Team at $1,495,000, this is a rare opportunity to own a spectacular brand new oceanfront home in the well-established Island Section of Hampton Beach This is a property that must be experienced in person to fully appreciate the magnificence of the location and how its wonderful design complements the natural beauty of the harbor front.

Militants Attack Office in Pakistan

Militants wearing suicide vests and disguised as policemen attacked the office of a senior political official in northwestern Pakistan on Monday, killing five people, police and hospital officials said.

In Pakistan’s southwest, meanwhile, several thousand Shiite Muslims protested for a second day following a massive bombing targeting the minority sect that killed 84 people. The protesters have refused to bury victims of the attack until authorities take action against the militants who were responsible.

The target of Monday’s attack in the city of Peshawar was the office of the top political official for the Khyber tribal area, a major militant sanctuary in the country. The militants were disguised in the same type of uniform worn by the tribal policemen who protect the compound.

Four militants opened fire on the policemen protecting the compound and managed to get inside, said senior tribal policeman Sajad Hussain. Once inside, three of the attackers detonated their suicide vests, said Hussain. It’s unclear what happened to the fourth attacker.

The bodies of five people killed in the attack have been brought to a local hospital, along with seven others who were wounded, said hospital spokesman Jamil Shah.

The dead included four tribal policemen and one elderly civilian, said police officer Noor Mohammed Khan. The wounded included four tribal policemen and three civilians, he said.

An eyewitness, Shahid Shinwari, said the militants launched the attack when a van carrying prisoners arrived at the office compound. The militants tried to free the prisoners from the van, he said.

The compound is open to members of the public on Mondays, and it was filled with dozens of people who became trapped inside by the attack. Soldiers and police responded to the attack, and the people trapped inside were eventually freed.

Local TV footage showed them walking out of the compound with their hands raised as they were led out of the compound to an area for screening. White smoke from the explosions billowed out of the compound.

In the southwest city of Quetta, over 4,000 men and women staged a protest in an area of the city where a bombing targeting Shiites ripped through a produce market on Saturday. The death toll from the attack rose to 84 on Monday, after three people died from their injuries, said senior police officer Fayaz Saumbal.

Nearly 1,000 others protested in a different part of the city, at the location where a bombing at a billiards hall that also targeted Shiite Muslims killed 86 people in January.

Members of the country’s minority sect have increasingly been targeted by radical Sunni militants who do not consider them to be real Muslims. The most prominent among the attackers has been Lashkar-e-Jhangvi, which claimed responsibility for both of the recent bombings in Quetta. Rights groups and members of the Shiite community have accused the government of not doing enough to crack down on the militants.

Many of the attacks have occurred in Baluchistan province, where Quetta is the capital. The province has the largest concentration of Shiites in the country. Many are Hazaras, an ethnic group that migrated from Afghanistan over a century ago.

Azizullah Hazara, the vice chairman of the Hazara Democratic Party, a political group representing Hazaras, threatened Sunday to hold widespread protests unless the government finds those responsible for the most recent attack and arrests them within 48 hours.

Protesters have also demanded the army take over control of Quetta and launch a targeted operation against the militants who have been attacking Shiites.

After the bombing in January that killed 86 people, Shiites camped out in the street for four days alongside the coffins of their loved ones. Eventually the country’s prime minister ordered a shake-up in the regional administration, putting the local governor in charge of the whole province. But the governor has expressed frustration, saying the recent bombing was the result of a failure of the provincial security and intelligence services.

Sometimes a study or some broader body of research emerges that points to this uncontrollable side of life, arguing that something about the way we were born has a bearing on who we are. When doctors find that certain genes or family histories may predispose us to heart disease, it's called medicine. But when scientists argue that the circumstances of our birth—be they genetic, environmental or otherwise—determine our behavior and attitudes, our successes and failures, even our intelligence, that's called determinism. And wherever it appears, controversy attends, raising specters of days when colonialists, eugenicists, public health officials, and political idealists believed they could cure the human condition through manipulation and force.     

 Understanding those fears helps shed light on the controversy surrounding a recent paper published in the American Economic Review, entitled, “The ‘Out of Africa’ Hypothesis, Human Genetic Diversity, and Comparative Economic Development.” In it, economists Quamrul Ashraf and Oded Galor argue that the economic development of broad human populations correlate with their levels of genetic diversity—which is, in turn, pinned to the distance its inhabitants migrated from Africa thousands of years ago. Reaction in some circles has been swift and vehement.

An article signed by 18 academics in Current Anthropology accuses the researchers of “bad science”—“something false and undesirable” based on “weak data and methods” that “can become a justification for reactionary policy.” The paper attacks everything from its sources of population data to its methods for measuring genetic diversity, but the economists are standing by their methods. 

Amanzi Tea

This month sees the launch of Amanzi Tea with the opening of its first international flagship tea bar and retail space New Cavendish Street. The company, originating from the US combines the heritage of tea-making with modern techniques and a new and interactive retail and tea bar experience.

No, the irony of a US concern bringing a tea bar to GB isn’t lost on us either but with the name  Amanzi meaning water in the Southern African dialect of Zulu (a reference to the heritage of the original founders), it’s suitably multicultural, and, with a marble topped bar and vibrant Victorian floor tiles, is also suitably elegant.

Spanning two levels, the ground floor will house a bar, retail shop and table seating with a snug on the lower-ground comprising comfortable sofas and communal tables and chairs. An outside terrace will accommodate up to eight, in warmer weather.

The retail shop and bar will house 40 teas on a striking tea wall with a diverse selection of traditional and bespoke loose leaf blends. All can be enjoyed either hot or cold, with trained baristas on hand to offer guidance. State-of-the-art precision boilers have been installed in the bar for perfect temperature control and there’s even an advanced filtration to create the purest water possible.

Amanzi’s own 150 propriety blends – from Earl Grey to Chocolate Orange Truffle - will be available on a rotating basis plus caffeine-free varieties; single estate blends (Gyokuru, Silver Needle and Wuyi); infusions such as honey, lemon and ginger for the flu season; frappés, iced tea lemonades and virgin cocktails (Lychee Mar-Tea-Ni) and bubble teas as well. You can also order coffee. And snacks.

Recently the global tool manufacturing and knowledge company decided to take a closer look at the macro trends influencing the future of the manufacturing industry. Through an extensive study the company identified four areas of special interest: Rapid urbanization, sustainability, new advanced materials and new technologies.

Traditionally the manufacturing industry has been conservative in exploring new opportunities. Now, the situation is different. Simply put, the world is moving at a much faster pace than before. In order to develop future solutions and meeting customer demands, industry leaders have to be perceptive and forward thinking, says Kevin Lorch, Marketing Manager Innovation at Sandvik Coromant.

It was decided early on that the result of the study should be shared with the rest of the industry. The reason for sharing came out of a need in the industry of a more general discussion relating to the common challenges of the future.

While many companies perform market and trend research for internal use we decided that the result of the survey could be used to spark a dialogue about the future of manufacturing and the attitudes in the industry toward new challenges, Kevin Lorch explains.

The acquisition, which was completed in December 2012, is in keeping with TVV's steady focus on acquiring companies in the niche manufacturing industry that hold sustainable competitive advantages in stable and growing market segments.

In September 2012, TVV acquired Big 3 Precision Products, Inc., a manufacturer of injection blow molds, tooling and fabrication products for the pharmaceutical and automotive industries.

Bigham customers are commercial farm operators who purchase the company's equipment through an independent dealer network of over 1,400 locations, with strengths in Texas, the Southwest and Mississippi Delta regions. The company's innovative products are used in both flat and raised bed planting environments and serve to reduce tractor fuel consumption, control soil and water erosion and aerate the soil.

"The acquisition of Bigham Brothers is a continuation of TVV Capital's focused approach, ability to independently source deals and cultivate relationships to identify and invest in high-growth opportunities on behalf of our investors," said Andrew W. Byrd, TVV Capital's President. "Given its management team, current market penetration and future product strategy in the sustainable agriculture movement, Bigham is poised for considerable growth and market expansion."

"TVV Capital approached us as a true partner would. From the onset, they brought a unique understanding of our market, management style and future vision," said Sandy Kimball, retiring President of Bigham Brothers. "TVV's acquisition of Bigham will enable us to not just maintain, but also aggressively expand our U.S.-based manufacturing facility to keep pace with market demand and continue our growth trajectory."

“The Airbus announcement certainly indicates a growing awareness in France and Europe of the great opportunities for investment in the Southeast,” says Daniel Bowers, executive director of the French American Chamber.

According to Airbus, more than 3,200 Airbus aircraft have been ordered in North America from customers including Delta Air Lines, FedEx, Frontier Airlines, GECAS, Hawaiian Airlines, ILFC, JetBlue Airways, Spirit Airlines, United Airlines, United Parcel Service, US Airways and Virgin America.

Airbus has manufacturing suppliers throughout the United States and spends 42 percent of its aircraft-related procurement in the United States, buying more parts, components, tooling and other material from the United States than any other country.

“Atlanta continues to grow in importance as the gateway to the Southeast," said Angela Drees of Munson Site Selection Group, a consulting group and specializes in site selection for international businesses interested in locating in the region. "The mix of financial capital, and international government presence combined with a strong global population in a city of almost 6 million provides fertile ground for the support and growth of incoming international businesses like Airbus.”