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Become kind. Now i?m writing this over a cruise ship this is fascinating to view people grouch at their spouses, then turn around and also share an amicable smile which has a stranger. Many of us tend to take family and best friends without any consideration. A smile, any wink, just a instant of kindness goes a considerable ways.
It?s important to understand that if, for any excuse, you begin experience uncomfortable during the date, make a reason and leave.
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You can?t tend to others needs until your own needs are met. To ensure you can have the energy to care for others, take care of yourself by getting plenty of rest.
You already know, into a reasonable degree, learn more at congresosaa-andro2012.com , what your own prospective date looks like as well as his/her era, height, instruction etc. Natural and organic to shades dating.
You want people to like you with regard to who you actually are. Making up the wrong identity can get you plenty involving dates in the beginning, however it will leave a person lonely ultimately. A person can simply ?fake it? for so some time before the truth arrives.
Internet dating is now quite popular during the last few years. Lots of people work hard and they function not have the time to go out in the physical entire world to meet others. Love forums and online dating is one of the number one destination for singles seeking other singles. While you can place singles advertisings on many online dating sites, a forum is rather helpful to help you find out details about dating in today?s society. Especially if you usually are divorced and you will have not dated someone in lots of years. You will get into the thoughts of various other single people in addition to understand a little more about what people anticipate out of a new relationship.
Study: Store layout an important variable for retailersPublic release date: 24-Jan-2013 [ | E-mail | Share ]
Contact: Phil Ciciora pciciora@illinois.edu 217-333-2177 University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign
CHAMPAIGN, Ill. A retailer's optimal store layout is the result of balancing the interests of two different types of markets consumers and suppliers, says new research co-written by a University of Illinois business professor.
According to Yunchuan "Frank" Liu, a retailer's strategic manipulation of store layout is driven by an incentive to balance the shopping process of "fit-uncertain consumers" and the pricing behavior of upstream suppliers.
"Retailers face two different kinds of markets the consumers who buy goods, and the manufacturers that supply goods," he said. "It's a very important variable for local retailers and marketing managers to play with in this era of increased competition with online retailers, and it has important implications for companies and consumers."
The study, which will appear in the journal Marketing Science, is the first paper to formally study the significance of store layouts, said Liu, who co-wrote the study with Zheyin (Jane) Gu, a professor of marketing at the State University of New York, Albany.
"If we look at the current retailing environment, local retailers are in intense competition with online retailers, which means real-world retailers really need to think about how they're going to differentiate themselves," Liu said.
Although consumers live in an information-rich environment, where they know just about everything reviews, price and quality about a product before they handle it, they know virtually nothing about the unique "fit" of the product until they walk into a store and handle the product, Liu says.
"For many products, consumers typically remain uncertain about a product's fit until physically inspecting it," he said. "That could mean how a shirt feels when you try it on, or what a certain size tablet feels like in the consumers' hands. And since the consumer has to travel to the store and compare the products, that is to the local retailer's advantage, because that's something that online retailers can't do."
Another way retailers can compete with online merchants is by making the physical act of shopping as convenient as possible for consumers. In a market characterized by what the researchers call "consumer-fit uncertainty," a retailer may design the layout of a store to facilitate the simultaneous inspection of products, Liu says.
"For basic goods like toothbrushes, the fit probability is really high, because to most consumers, a toothbrush is a toothbrush," he said. "In that case, the retailer should group all toothbrushes together in the same location, forcing the manufacturers to compete on price."
But making the consumer shopping experience as easy as possible may not be the best retail strategy for certain products, Liu says.
According to the research, sometimes retailers might want manufacturers to compete on location in the store, even if it's inconvenient for consumers, which may sound counterintuitive to marketing managers.
"Sometimes it's not in retailers' interests to make certain things convenient to consumers, because they have to consider the balance between the consumer market and the manufacturer market," Liu said. "By affecting consumers' fit inspection processes, the retailer's store layout design also influences pricing behaviors of upstream manufacturers."
Not only do marketing managers have to decide whether to group competing firms' products together or separately, they also must balance that strategy with consumers' perception of the store.
"Think about Bloomingdale's versus Sears high-end luxury items versus basic items," Liu said. "Sears puts all of a manufacturers' products together. If you're looking for a table at Sears, they're all stocked together. If you go to Bloomingdale's, you'll notice that they sell furniture by brands. If you go to this room, it has everything from one manufacturer. If you want to look at another set of table and chairs, you have to go to another room."
That's because for basic products, such as the table from Sears, the product's fit probability is very high, Liu says.
"But if you go to Bloomindale's, they have the high-end furniture and for
high-end products, people have different tastes," he said. "So Sears wants manufacturers to compete on price, while Bloomingdale's wants manufacturers to compete for the best location in the store."
It also depends on the product itself, Liu says.
"Even within high-end stores, individual product strategies will be different," he said. "For some product categories, such as kitchenware, which is quite standard, even a high-end retailer will sell everything together."
Name-brand clothes, however, are usually sold by the brand.
"Macy's puts some goods from competing manufacturers together, but if you look at clothing jeans, shirts, sweaters they usually sell them by brand," he said. "Calvin Klein is here, but Ralph Lauren is way over there."
But for low-fit probability products such as shirts, where each shirt is different, "even if retailers put them all together, like toothbrushes, the price competition is not that intense, because consumers have different preferences for shirts than they do for toothbrushes," Liu says.
"Even if one shirt manufacturer is running a promotion with a lower price than the competition if that shirt doesn't fit me; if its material irritates my skin; if it doesn't have the color I like, it doesn't matter how low the price is, because I won't buy it," he said.
"In this case, if the retailer sells all of the products together, it doesn't intensify the competition from the manufacturers. So the retailer should put the products in different locations so the manufacturers have to compete on the locations rather than on prices."
Although many retailers also offer the price-matching policy with online retailers like Amazon.com, that's really not the smartest strategy, according to Liu.
"Retailers probably do not want to play the pricing game with online retailers," he said. "They have certain inherent advantages in their store, in that the consumer has to find the right 'fit' for certain products. That's the frontier on which they have the advantage. So they should not give ground by playing the pricing game."
AAAS and EurekAlert! are not responsible for the accuracy of news releases posted to EurekAlert! by contributing institutions or for the use of any information through the EurekAlert! system.
Study: Store layout an important variable for retailersPublic release date: 24-Jan-2013 [ | E-mail | Share ]
Contact: Phil Ciciora pciciora@illinois.edu 217-333-2177 University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign
CHAMPAIGN, Ill. A retailer's optimal store layout is the result of balancing the interests of two different types of markets consumers and suppliers, says new research co-written by a University of Illinois business professor.
According to Yunchuan "Frank" Liu, a retailer's strategic manipulation of store layout is driven by an incentive to balance the shopping process of "fit-uncertain consumers" and the pricing behavior of upstream suppliers.
"Retailers face two different kinds of markets the consumers who buy goods, and the manufacturers that supply goods," he said. "It's a very important variable for local retailers and marketing managers to play with in this era of increased competition with online retailers, and it has important implications for companies and consumers."
The study, which will appear in the journal Marketing Science, is the first paper to formally study the significance of store layouts, said Liu, who co-wrote the study with Zheyin (Jane) Gu, a professor of marketing at the State University of New York, Albany.
"If we look at the current retailing environment, local retailers are in intense competition with online retailers, which means real-world retailers really need to think about how they're going to differentiate themselves," Liu said.
Although consumers live in an information-rich environment, where they know just about everything reviews, price and quality about a product before they handle it, they know virtually nothing about the unique "fit" of the product until they walk into a store and handle the product, Liu says.
"For many products, consumers typically remain uncertain about a product's fit until physically inspecting it," he said. "That could mean how a shirt feels when you try it on, or what a certain size tablet feels like in the consumers' hands. And since the consumer has to travel to the store and compare the products, that is to the local retailer's advantage, because that's something that online retailers can't do."
Another way retailers can compete with online merchants is by making the physical act of shopping as convenient as possible for consumers. In a market characterized by what the researchers call "consumer-fit uncertainty," a retailer may design the layout of a store to facilitate the simultaneous inspection of products, Liu says.
"For basic goods like toothbrushes, the fit probability is really high, because to most consumers, a toothbrush is a toothbrush," he said. "In that case, the retailer should group all toothbrushes together in the same location, forcing the manufacturers to compete on price."
But making the consumer shopping experience as easy as possible may not be the best retail strategy for certain products, Liu says.
According to the research, sometimes retailers might want manufacturers to compete on location in the store, even if it's inconvenient for consumers, which may sound counterintuitive to marketing managers.
"Sometimes it's not in retailers' interests to make certain things convenient to consumers, because they have to consider the balance between the consumer market and the manufacturer market," Liu said. "By affecting consumers' fit inspection processes, the retailer's store layout design also influences pricing behaviors of upstream manufacturers."
Not only do marketing managers have to decide whether to group competing firms' products together or separately, they also must balance that strategy with consumers' perception of the store.
"Think about Bloomingdale's versus Sears high-end luxury items versus basic items," Liu said. "Sears puts all of a manufacturers' products together. If you're looking for a table at Sears, they're all stocked together. If you go to Bloomingdale's, you'll notice that they sell furniture by brands. If you go to this room, it has everything from one manufacturer. If you want to look at another set of table and chairs, you have to go to another room."
That's because for basic products, such as the table from Sears, the product's fit probability is very high, Liu says.
"But if you go to Bloomindale's, they have the high-end furniture and for
high-end products, people have different tastes," he said. "So Sears wants manufacturers to compete on price, while Bloomingdale's wants manufacturers to compete for the best location in the store."
It also depends on the product itself, Liu says.
"Even within high-end stores, individual product strategies will be different," he said. "For some product categories, such as kitchenware, which is quite standard, even a high-end retailer will sell everything together."
Name-brand clothes, however, are usually sold by the brand.
"Macy's puts some goods from competing manufacturers together, but if you look at clothing jeans, shirts, sweaters they usually sell them by brand," he said. "Calvin Klein is here, but Ralph Lauren is way over there."
But for low-fit probability products such as shirts, where each shirt is different, "even if retailers put them all together, like toothbrushes, the price competition is not that intense, because consumers have different preferences for shirts than they do for toothbrushes," Liu says.
"Even if one shirt manufacturer is running a promotion with a lower price than the competition if that shirt doesn't fit me; if its material irritates my skin; if it doesn't have the color I like, it doesn't matter how low the price is, because I won't buy it," he said.
"In this case, if the retailer sells all of the products together, it doesn't intensify the competition from the manufacturers. So the retailer should put the products in different locations so the manufacturers have to compete on the locations rather than on prices."
Although many retailers also offer the price-matching policy with online retailers like Amazon.com, that's really not the smartest strategy, according to Liu.
"Retailers probably do not want to play the pricing game with online retailers," he said. "They have certain inherent advantages in their store, in that the consumer has to find the right 'fit' for certain products. That's the frontier on which they have the advantage. So they should not give ground by playing the pricing game."
AAAS and EurekAlert! are not responsible for the accuracy of news releases posted to EurekAlert! by contributing institutions or for the use of any information through the EurekAlert! system.
FILE - In this Aug. 26, 2010 file photo, Navy Secretary Ray Mabus is interviewed by The Associated Press at the Pentagon in Washington. The Navy on Wednesday, Jan. 23, 2013 said it will conduct random blood-alcohol tests on its sailors in the United States starting next month, a sign of how concerned the service's leaders have become about the effects alcohol abuse is having on the force. The tests are part of Mabus' 21st Century Sailor and Marine Initiative, an expansive program intended to improve the well-being of sailors and Marines after more than a decade at war. (AP Photo/Charles Dharapak, File)
FILE - In this Aug. 26, 2010 file photo, Navy Secretary Ray Mabus is interviewed by The Associated Press at the Pentagon in Washington. The Navy on Wednesday, Jan. 23, 2013 said it will conduct random blood-alcohol tests on its sailors in the United States starting next month, a sign of how concerned the service's leaders have become about the effects alcohol abuse is having on the force. The tests are part of Mabus' 21st Century Sailor and Marine Initiative, an expansive program intended to improve the well-being of sailors and Marines after more than a decade at war. (AP Photo/Charles Dharapak, File)
NORFOLK, Va. (AP) ? The Navy said Wednesday it will conduct random blood-alcohol tests on its sailors in the United States starting next month, a sign of how concerned the service's leaders have become about the effects alcohol abuse is having on the force.
The tests are part of Navy Secretary Ray Mabus' 21st Century Sailor and Marine Initiative, an expansive program intended to improve the well-being of sailors and Marines after more than a decade at war.
The Marines announced it would carry out its own random alcohol tests last month. While alcohol has long played a part in the Navy's culture, Navy officials stressed they aren't trying to stop sailors from drinking altogether, but are concerned about their health and safety.
The Navy said it will use the blood-alcohol tests to determine whether someone is fit for duty or may need counseling. Any sailor whose blood-alcohol level is .04 or higher when reporting for duty won't be allowed to work. In all 50 states and the District of Columbia, a driver with a 0.08 percent blood-alcohol is considered drunk.
A positive test result for a sailor reporting to work ? a reading of 0.02 percent or higher ? won't be used to punish sailors. But the Navy said it could be used to refer him or her to a drug and alcohol program adviser.
Adm. Mark Ferguson, vice chief of naval operations, said the random tests could help spot sailors who need support before "an incident occurs due to the irresponsible use of alcohol." He also wrote in a message outlining the new details of the policy to the fleet that the tests will serve as a safety measure and raise awareness among commanding officers of a crew's "culture of alcohol use."
Alcohol is of particular concern because of the role it frequently plays in other destructive behaviors such as suicide and sexual assault. Alcohol also has played a factor in the dismissals of a number of commanding officers in recent years.
"Deterring irresponsible use of alcohol is essential to the readiness of our fleet and ensuring the health and safety of our service members and units," Adm. Bill Gortney, commander of U.S. Fleet Forces, said in a statement.
In a pilot program with 13 commands this past summer, nearly 7,500 sailors were subjected to random alcohol tests. Of those, 87 tested positive for alcohol.
"The test verified that the majority of our service members, who choose to drink alcohol, do so responsibly. It also verified that our commanding officers need a flexible program that serves to increase the Navy's awareness about the impacts of alcohol," Gortney said in a statement.
By May 24, the Navy expects to have hand-held alcohol detection devices available for nearly 2,000 commands.
The 21st Century Sailor and Marine Initiative was unveiled by Mabus in a rare 'all-hands' call aboard a ship in Norfolk last March that was broadcast to sailors around the world. Among other things, it also focuses on preventing suicides, sexual assaults and increasing physical fitness. The Navy has also begun conducting random urine tests for synthetic drug use under the initiative.
Unlike the alcohol tests, those who test positive for synthetic drug use are subject to punishment.
__
Brock Vergakis can be reached at www.twitter.com/BrockVergakis
There are many factors involved behind a shooting like the one in Newtown, Conn., on Dec. 14.
There are gun and ammunition availability issues, social and cultural norms and pressures, family histories, Internet and media dynamics, and the mental condition of the shooter.
Since the Newtown massacre, I have written twice about some of the factors that relate to firearms. As some state governors are proposing, I have recommended that we impose stricter limitations on sales of all semi-automatic pistols and rifles, and that we ban outright the private ownership of gun magazines larger than 10 rounds.
But the most important step we can take relating to gun ownership is to require that every gun buyer undergo a background check. Currently, because purchases made at gun shows and between two private individuals do not require a background check, roughly 40 percent of firearms are procured without any review of the purchaser?s personal record or general fitness to own a weapon.
Although no set of gun regulations, however carefully crafted, will prevent all future murders, we can endeavor to reduce their frequency.
This column will focus on some of the mental health aspects of the gun violence problem.
It has become clear that many ? but not all ? of the perpetrators of the worst mass shootings in recent decades have had some degree of long-standing, diagnosable mental illness. While it is important to note that the mentally ill population may not commit violence at a rate higher than the general population, it is certainly true that the shooters in Aurora, Colo. (the movie theater); Tucson, Ariz. (Congresswoman Giffords); Virginia Tech (campus shootings); and Newtown, Conn., struggled mightily either to cope with their minds or conventional norms.
After these shootings, advocates for the mentally ill have called our attention to the dismal state of health care for people with mental problems.
In any given year, nearly 60 million Americans experience some type of mental health problem. The ailments can be as diverse as schizophrenia, anorexia, hyperactivity, extreme anxiety or various degrees of depression. Some of those illnesses are temporary, and some may be permanent. But finding, receiving and affording the treatment for any of them can be extremely difficult.
The mental health care system is fragmented, inadequate in scope and capacity, and just plain unaffordable for many people in need. Many patients with really serious problems can wait months for in-patient care. Since 2009, the states have had to cut about 12 percent of their mental health treatment budgets; 3,000 psychiatric hospital beds have been lost.
Most families, even with insurance, cannot afford to pay for residential psychiatric care; they have to rely on publicly funded programs. Medicaid, for example, provides about half of all state mental health budgets. Other programs, mostly for the non-poor mentally ill, are funded through general state budgets (not Medicaid).
Consequently, one-third of all severely mentally ill people never receive any treatment at all. Two-thirds of those with moderate illness receive no treatment.
In some respects, our jails and prisons have become repositories for the mentally ill. Unable to function competently or get psychiatric help, they eventually commit petty crimes (or worse) and end up incarcerated. Almost one-fifth of U.S. inmates are mentally sick.
And then there are shooters ? mainly alienated youths ? whose grievances may not amount to a psychiatric disorder, but who are nonetheless at risk for destructive behavior. Their rage, humiliation, paranoia, narcissism, isolation, disconnectedness or sense of unworthiness may lead them to plot and commit a horrible crime. The approaches to reaching kids like that may differ markedly from the care of other mentally afflicted people.
Mental health experts are suggesting that we carefully consider a number of reforms. We should discuss the ways that caregivers can increase their reporting of potentially dangerous individuals to the federal background-check database. Developing the definitions, protocols, procedures and safeguards to do this will be difficult, but necessary.
We should increase the system?s capacity generally to see and help the mentally ill. Experts say that community-based and school-based programs should be multiplied.
Perhaps we should consider building more residential care and treatment facilities for psychiatric patients. Decades ago, when we deinstitutionalized mental patients, we left a hole in the system. New facilities, without the abuses of the past, could be part of new reforms.
There are many more improvements we can make to both the care system and to mental health itself. Some despondency, alienation, anger and violence can be a product partly of our coarse and careless culture. Our mental health, sanity and levels of experienced trauma are not unrelated to the conditions and features of our society.
So, to the extent that we can have fewer wars, destroy less natural habitat and environment, be less materialistic and more connected to each other, and be generally more responsible and ethical, we will reap benefits ? slowly, over generations ? in the quality of our society and thus the quality of our emotional lives.
---
Brian T. Watson is a regular Salem News columnist. Contact him at watson@nii.net.
(Reuters) - Communications gear maker Motorola Solutions Inc reported better-than-expected fourth-quarter profit, boosted by higher government spending on public safety, but forecast current quarter revenue below analysts' estimates.
The company expects first-quarter revenue to increase 4 percent to 5 percent from a year earlier. This means a revenue of between $2.03 billion and $2.05 billion.
It forecast earnings of between 62 cents and 67 cents per share from continuing operations in the first quarter of 2013.
Analysts on average are expecting a profit of 67 cents per share on revenue of $2.07 billion, according to Thomson Reuters I/B/E/S.
Motorola Solutions benefited over the past year as two-way radio users were required by the Federal Communications Commission to upgrade their devices for a switch to narrow bands of 12.5 kHz from wideband channels of 25 kHz by January 1, 2013.
The company dominates the two-way radio market with its land-mobile-radio systems and public-safety products.
"In 2013, we expect the end of narrowbanding to result in government revenue growth slowing down to the mid single digits ... from the strong growth seen last year," Sanford C. Bernstein analyst Pierre Ferragu wrote in a pre-earnings note.
Net income from continuing operations rose to $336 million, or $1.18 per share, in the fourth quarter, from $177 million, or 54 cents per share, a year earlier.
Excluding items, the company earned $1.10 per share from continuing operations, above analysts' expectations of $1.02.
Revenue rose 6 percent to $2.44 billion, in-line with analysts' estimates of $2.45 billion.
Motorola Solutions is not related to Motorola Mobility, the cellphone maker bought by Google Inc for $12.5 billion in 2011.
Shares of the Schaumburg, Illinois-based company were up marginally at $59 in premarket trading on Wednesday. They closed at $58.29 on the New York Stock Exchange on Tuesday.
(Reporting by Neha Alawadhi in Bangalore; Editing by Sriraj Kalluvila)
President Barack Obama arrives on the West Front of the Capitol in Washington, Monday, Jan. 21, 2013, for his ceremonial swearing-in ceremony during the 57th Presidential Inauguration. (AP Photo/Win McNamee, Pool)
President Barack Obama arrives on the West Front of the Capitol in Washington, Monday, Jan. 21, 2013, for his ceremonial swearing-in ceremony during the 57th Presidential Inauguration. (AP Photo/Win McNamee, Pool)
President Barack Obama kisses first lady Michelle Obama during their dance at the Commander-in-Chief Inaugural Ball at the Washington Convention Center during the 57th Presidential Inauguration on Monday, Jan. 21, 2013, in Washington. (AP Photo/Jacquelyn Martin)
President Barack Obama arrives at the Commander-in-Chief's Inaugural Ball in Washington, at the Washington Convention Center during the 57th Presidential Inauguration on Monday, Jan. 21, 2013. (AP Photo/Jacquelyn Martin)
Vice President Joe Biden and Jill Biden react to the crowd at The Inaugural Ball in the Washington convention center during the 57th Presidential Inauguration in Washington, Monday, Jan. 21, 2013. (AP Photo/Paul Sancya)
WASHINGTON (AP) ? President Barack Obama's lofty ideals from his inaugural address ran smack into reality Tuesday on the first working day of his second term.
Twenty-four hours after Obama pledged to tackle climate change and called for gays and lesbians to be treated equally under the law, the White House struggled to back up his sweeping rhetoric with specifics, raising questions about how much political muscle he'll put behind both issues.
Republicans were already signaling their unhappiness with Obama's agenda.
"The era of liberalism is back," said Senate Republican leader Mitch McConnell. "If the president pursues that kind of agenda, obviously it's not designed to bring us together."
Obama, standing before hundreds of thousands of people on the National Mall, had vowed to "respond to the threat of climate change, knowing that the failure to do so would betray our children and future generations."
But in the White House briefing room a day later, Obama spokesman Jay Carney said he couldn't speculate about future actions. He said that while climate change was a priority for the president, "it is not a singular priority."
On gay rights, the president had declared that the nation's journey is "not complete until our gay brothers and sisters are treated like anyone else under the law, for if we are truly created equal, then surely the love we commit to one another must be equal as well."
But Carney said the president was speaking about his personal views and would not take federal action on same-sex marriage, which he continues to see as a state issue.
Even with his last election behind him, Obama has politics to weigh as he considers just how much effort he'll put into pursuing climate change legislation and a gay rights agenda. Both issues are backed by the president's liberal base but opposed by many Republicans and conservative Democrats.
Obama already is asking lawmakers for a lot as he starts his second term. He needs their votes to increase the nation's borrowing limit and approve billions of dollars to keep the government running. And he has pledged to pursue stricter gun legislation and comprehensive immigration reform quickly this year, neither of which can pass Congress without some GOP votes.
For environmental groups and gay rights supporters, Obama's inaugural address provided fresh hope for progress on issues that were stumbling blocks for Obama in his first term.
While Obama put into effect tougher fuel efficiency standards for vehicles, his efforts to pass a cap-and-trade bill failed on Capitol Hill due to bipartisan opposition. And despite Obama's many actions to bolster gay rights in his first term ? including repealing the military's ban on openly gay service members ? his reluctance to back gay marriage frustrated many of his liberal supporters until he ultimately voiced his support for same-sex unions last year.
Supporters of both issues say Obama will quickly have opportunities to demonstrate his commitment to their causes in his second term.
The Supreme Court will soon take up Proposition 8, a California's ban on same-sex marriage, a case that could give the justices the chance to rule on whether gay Americans have the same constitutional right to marry as heterosexuals.
Opponents of the ban have called on the Obama administration to file an amicus, or friend-of-the-court, brief to overturn the measure.
"We view the president's filing of an amicus brief in this case as the next natural step to his inaugural remarks," said Fred Sainz, vice president of the Human Rights Campaign, the nation's largest gay rights groups. "His call for equal justice under the law for gay and lesbian Americans including in their committed relationships is the centerpiece of the argument against Proposition 8."
The White House has so far refused to take a position on the Supreme Court case.
For environmental groups, Obama's next best chance to make good on his inaugural address is a looming decision on the Keystone XL pipeline running from Canada to the Gulf Coast.
Obama blocked the pipeline last year, citing uncertainty over the project's route through environmentally sensitive land in Nebraska. But on Tuesday, the state's Republican governor, Dave Heineman, gave his approval to a revised route for the pipeline, a widely anticipated move that nonetheless added to the political pressure for the Obama administration to approve or reject the new route without delay.
"If we are going to get serious about climate change, opening the spigot to a pipeline that will export up to 830,000 barrels of the dirtiest oil on the planet to foreign markets stands as a bad idea," said Anthony Swift of the Natural Resources Defense Council.
Republicans and many business groups say the pipeline project would help achieve energy independence.
The State Department, which has federal jurisdiction over the $7 billion pipeline because it begins in Canada, said Tuesday that it would not be able to conclude its review during the first quarter of the year.
White House officials sought to look beyond Keystone, with aides saying Tuesday that the president may also pursue executive actions to fulfill his pledge to tackle climate change.
___
Associated Press writers Matthew Daly, Josh Lederman and Donna Cassata contributed to this report.
Continuing on with my interviews with public speakers I met at Craig Duswalt?s Rockstar Marketing Bootcamp, this week I chat with the Booya! Speaker, Martin Presse, about his public speaking super power. He shares his advice for bringing out your enthusiasm as a speaker. ?
To recap what Martin said in the video, he recommends:
Attending seminars and workshops to grow your speaking and business skills,
Practice speaking in front of audiences (and/or a mirror) to gain confidence and hone your ability,
Video tape yourself to learn areas that you do well as well as areas you need to improve
For more information:
Martin Presse: MartinPresse.com Martin on Facebook Page: www.facebook.com/martin.presse.5 Toastmasters International: Toastmasters.org
Other speakers in this series from that event include: Bridget Brady, Maurice DiMino, Eldonna Lewis-Fernandez and Carol McManus.
Would you like me to speak at your meeting or event? I am available to speak to your group, both in-person and virtually, on a variety of topics. For more information, visit www.carmaspence.com/speaker.
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Public release date: 24-Jan-2013
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