CONVENTION WATCH: Clint Eastwood cracks wise

Convention Watch shows you the 2012 political conventions through the eyes of Associated Press journalists. Follow them on Twitter where available with the handles listed after each item.

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'MAKE MY DAY'

The crowd roared at its first glimpse of actor/director Clint Eastwood, the night's surprise guest. "Save some for Mitt," he told them.

In free-wheeling, joke-filled remarks, Eastwood remembered the enthusiasm around President Barack Obama's nomination four years ago.

"Everybody's crying. Oprah was crying. I was even crying," he joked.

Then he quickly pivoted to the serious: "I haven't cried that hard since I found out there's 23 million unemployed people in this country. That is something to cry for. That is a disgrace, a national disgrace."

"This administration hasn't done enough to cure that," Eastwood said, and it's "time for somebody else to come along and solve the problem."

Eastwood got an adoring standing ovation by telling the delegates, "When somebody does not do the job, we've got to let him go."

At their insistence, he ended with his Dirty Harry catchphrase, joined by the crowd: "Go ahead, make my day."

? Connie Cass ?Twitter http://twitter.com/ConnieCass

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QUICKQUOTE: ON POLITICIANS

"Politicians are employees of ours." ? Clint Eastwood, speaking to the Republican National Convention

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SECRET'S OUT: CLINT EASTWOOD

Surprise: Clint Eastwood is the night's mystery speaker.

In a showbiz flourish, the GOP convention appearance of the "Dirty Harry" star and Oscar-winning director of "Unforgiven" and "Million Dollar Baby" was kept secret.

The suspense had built through the week as rumors circulated that Eastwood might make a Mitt Romney's day.

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THE CHANT: 'U-S-A!'

Political conventions are one thing. But the Olympics ? well, that's something that can really get a crowd's blood stirring.

As a lineup of former Olympic medalists took to the stage at the Republican National Convention, the crowd of delegates burst into a spontaneous, fist-pumping chant of "USA! USA!"

Was it Tampa ... or was it London again?

? Sally Buzbee

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MITT IN THE HOUSE

Mitt Romney has arrived at the convention hall where he'll give his keynote speech and accept the Republican Party's nomination for president later Thursday night.

? Steve Peoples ? Twitter http://twitter.com/sppeoples

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ON THE ISSUES

Mitt Romney's focus on jobs and the deficit in his acceptance speech plays to his strengths on the issues, while Thursday's convention agenda seeks to shore up his weak points. The latest Associated Press-GfK poll finds him most competitive with Obama on fiscal matters. Among registered voters, he leads the president by 10 points as more trusted to handle the federal budget deficit, and holds narrow 4-point edges on creating jobs and handling the economy.

But Romney trails Obama by 15 points on handling social issues, and by 6 points on handling Medicare, a central focus of Republican vice presidential nominee Paul Ryan's congressional career.

The focus among Thursday night's convention speakers on Romney's personal and professional life could help to boost his personal image. Registered voters split evenly in their impressions of the former governor ? 46 percent have a favorable impression, 46 percent an unfavorable one. That lags behind Obama's 52 percent favorable to 46 percent unfavorable mark on this question.

Romney also trails the president on the question of which candidate is the stronger leader (50 percent Obama to 41 percent Romney) and is seen as less apt to understand average people's problems (51 percent say Obama better understands compared with 36 percent Romney).

? Jennifer Agiesta ? Twitter http://twitter.com/jennagiesta

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WHOSE CONVENTION?

Whose convention is this?

If you use Newt and Callista Gingrich's remarks as a guide, you'd think the convention in Tampa was for Ronald Reagan. The former House speaker and his wife invoked Reagan 13 times during their brief remarks.

Mentions of Mitt Romney? Four.

? Phil Elliott ? Twitter http://twitter.com/Philip_Elliott

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A SOMBER HUSH

The floor of a national political convention can be a chaotic place. Many delegates do listen to every speech as the evening goes on. But other delegates mill around, chatting with friends, thronging the aisles, dashing out for food ? and above all else, angling for photos with well-known faces. It's often noisy and frequently raucous.

But every once in a while the convention floor stills for a bit. That happened Thursday night when Ted and Pat Oparowski, a Mormon couple, took the stage to describe a painful period in their life ? when their teenage son, David, was diagnosed in 1979 with non-Hodgkins lymphoma.

Ted Oparowski, who described himself as someone of modest means, told the crowd how Mitt Romney had struck up a friendship with their son, through his work in the church, visiting the 14-year-old during the months he struggled with cancer before dying.

As the couple spoke in slow, sometimes halting voices, delegates in the aisles turned and listened. Voices dropped. The stillness lasted until the couple left the stage.

? Sally Buzbee

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FAMILY LEGACY

The family Bush is making sure its message gets out.

Among the few mentions of the last Republican elected - and re-elected president - were by his family, who seemed to use the brief time spent on President Obama's predecessor to try to polish George W. Bush's legacy.

A five-minute video aired at the convention Wednesday included side-by-side interviews with George W. Bush and his father, former President George H. W. Bush.

The senior Bush noted of his son's administration: "I think the thing I take pride in is the integrity."

The younger Bush's wife Laura added: "I'm so proud of George."

Romney advisers dismissed that speakers were advised to stay away from the Bush years. But some delegates said it was understandable that he didn't show.

Bush's brother Jeb, Florida's former governor, gave the most direct defense at the outset of his speech to the convention Thursday. It was completely off the advance script, and it was emphatic, praising "a man of integrity, courage and honor" who kept the country safe "during incredibly challenging times."

When he finished, he transitioned to his prepared remarks this way: "Now that I've gotten that off my chest, let's talk a little bit about our kids and education."

? Thomas Beaumont ? Twitter http://twitter.com/

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GINGRICH X 2

Newt Gingrich, known for doing things his way, capped his losing presidential bid with a unique GOP convention appearance alongside his wife, Callista.

Taking turns speaking, sort of like Oscar presenters, the pair praised Mitt Romney by comparing him to President Ronald Reagan.

Barack Obama is no Reagan, they made clear. He's more like Jimmy Carter, the Gingriches asserted.

"It's striking how President Carter and President Obama both took our nation down a path that in four years weakened America's confidence in itself and our hope for a better future," Newt said.

Left behind were any hard feelings from the heated primary campaign in which he called Romney a liar at one point and in a debate urged him to drop "the pious baloney."

? Connie Cass ?Twitter http://twitter.com/ConnieCass

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HISPANIC OUTREACH

Republicans continued their strong outreach to Hispanic voters during Thursday night's convention.

All week they have been highlighting Hispanic elected officials from around the country, but on Thursday the effort kicked into even a higher gear. In a short video, elected officials from New Mexico Gov. Susana Martinez to U.S. Rep. Ileana Ros-Lehtinen of Florida talked about how their party's values are the values of many Hispanics ? from strong family ties to strong support for small business.

On the heels of the video, Romney's son Craig Romney spoke in Spanish to the crowd, followed by former Florida Gov. Jeb Bush ? a popular politician who also spoke to the crowd in Spanish.

Scheduled to be up later in the evening: Sen. Marco Rubio of Florida ? perhaps the country's most up-and-coming Hispanic official.

? Sally Buzbee

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BROTHERLY LOVE

Jeb Bush used his turn on the Republican's national stage to make a spirited, personal defense of his brother, George W. Bush, whose oft-criticized presidency has been barely mentioned at the party's convention.

"My brother, well, I love my brother. He is a man of integrity and courage and honor," Bush said before launching into his formal remarks, which focused on education policy.

Early in his brother's two-term tenure, America was shocked by the Sept. 11 terror attacks. Jeb Bush said: "During incredibly challenging times, he kept us safe."

Delegates responded with a standing ovation.

? Connie Cass ?Twitter http://twitter.com/ConnieCass

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THE WONDER YEAR?

While speaker after speaker at the Republican National Convention lambasted Barack Obama ? and more than one mocked the final night of his 2008 convention in Denver ? they appropriated one of the best-known songs of that Democratic night's musical star, Stevie Wonder.

The Obama campaign played the song, "Signed, Sealed, Delivered I'm Yours," frequently at the end of the candidate's rallies that year, and Wonder himself sang it on the final night of Obama's convention at Denver's Invesco Field.

Thursday night, playing Newt and Callista Gingrich offstage, the GOP convention's band swung into the song, the second time it was featured in the hall this week.

? Robert Furlow ? Twitter http://twitter.com/furl442

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FULL-THROATED DEFENSE

The last Republican president, George W. Bush, has been almost invisible at this convention ? until Thursday night. Almost no previous speaker had mentioned the president who immediately preceded Barack Obama. Vice presidential nominee Paul Ryan even took an oblique swipe at Bush, noting in his speech Wednesday night that the country's budget and debt problems had been caused not just by Obama, but by administrations before his.

That changed Thursday night, when the former president's brother, former Florida Gov. Jeb Bush made an impromptu ? and full throated ? defense of his brother at the start of his speech to the delegates. Jeb Bush's speech was on education. But before he leapt in, Jeb Bush got the crowd roaring by telling the crowd of delegates "I love my brother." In a very troubled time for America, Jeb Bush said, "He kept us safe."

George W. Bush was just a few months into his presidency when terrorists flew airplanes into the World Trade Center in New York City and the Pentagon, killing thousands of Americans. In the aftermath of those Sept. 11 attacks, then-President Bush ordered American troops first into Afghanistan to attack al-Qaida and then later into Iraq to overthrow dictator Saddam Hussein.

? Sally Buzbee

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SUNSHINE AT LAST

"It's finally the Sunshine State." ? Florida Gov. Rick Scott, speaking on the floor of the Republican National Convention on Thursday night, referring to the blowing by of Tropical Storm Isaac earlier in the week.

? Carol Druga ? Twitter http://twitter.com/Droogs66

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QUICKQUOTE: JEB ON GEORGE

"Mr. President, it is time to stop blaming your predecessor for your failed economic policies. You were dealt a tough hand but your policies have not worked." ? Former Fla. Gov. Jeb Bush, after praising his brother, former President George W. Bush.

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REAGAN REDUX

Ronald Reagan is at the Republican National Convention once again ? if merely in spirit.

As the final session began Thursday night, a nostalgic Reagan video backed by music and sentimental imagery summoned the way the conservatives have framed his legacy. "As we continue our journey we think of those who traveled before us," Reagan's voice said over clips of war veterans and families. In a montage of images that ranged from space shuttles to Sandra Day O'Connor, his narrative was repackaged and re-offered to conservatives 23 years after he left office and eight years after he died. "Mr. Gorbachev, tear down this wall," Reagan said once again Thursday night.

There's no more potent image for the Republicans to summon, of course. This is a man who is the most towering icon of modern conservatism. When Reagan is brought out, it's always about imagery and implied GOP renewal ? about a "springtime of hope" and the notion of America as the shining city on the hill.

Then the music swelled and faded, the video ended and two fresh speakers walked on stage: Newt Gingrich and his wife Callista.

? Ted Anthony ? Twitter http://www.twitter.com/anthonyted

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QUICKQUOTE: RENEWAL

"It's not about the past. It's not about what was done wrong. It's not about blaming America. It's quite the opposite. Tonight we embark on a renewal of the American dream." ? U.S. Rep. Connie Mack, R-Fla.

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WHAT'S OBAMA DOING?

White House spokesman Jay Carney says Obama is "fully aware" of the happenings at the Republican convention in Tampa this week. But he says he doesn't think the president watched Paul Ryan's speech Wednesday night, nor does he know whether Obama will watch Romney address the GOP convention Thursday.

Carney didn't say whether he thought Ryan's speech was factually accurate. But he criticized Romney's campaign more broadly for distorting Obama's record and policy positions in speeches and advertisements.

"Perhaps when the facts aren't on your side, you ignore the facts," Carney says.

? Julie Pace ? Twitter http://twitter.com/JPaceDC

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HIGH-SPEED RAIL

Tampa Mayor Bob Buckhorn is all smiles, happy that so far his city has avoided widespread confrontations and arrests that have marred other conventions.

But that doesn't mean he's pleased with everything.

Buckhorn, a Democrat, used his daily press briefing to argue Tampa needs more mass transit options to build from the "worldwide" exposure it got during the convention.

In early 2011, Florida Gov. Rick Scott turned down a federal grant to help build a high-speed rail line between Tampa and Orlando. The Republican governor argued the state would wind up spending more than anticipated because it would cost more than initially projected.

Buckhorn took a swipe at Scott by noting that Detroit's mayor had thanked him recently because high-speed rail money once destined for Florida was redirected to other states and cities.

Gary Fineout ? Twitter http://twitter.com/fineout

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POLICE-PROTESTER LOVE?

As the Republican National Convention wears on, protesters are getting worn out.

The busloads of protesters ? who are staying at a makeshift camp dubbed "Romneyville" ? have seen their food and water supplies dwindle. Law enforcement has noticed, as well.

So on Thursday morning, police brought boxed lunches of sandwiches, fruits and ice-cold water to Romneyville. Chief Jane Castor said police had extra food, so they decided to donate it rather than throw it out.

Castor, during a morning news conference, said simply: "We're here to serve the public."

? Tamara Lush ? Twitter http://twitter.com/tamaralush

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WHO'S TUNING IN

Sure, political conventions aim to fire up the die-hard partisans in the arena, but they're also made-for-TV events designed to appeal to undecided voters. Recent polling suggests they may not be hitting their mark.

A Pew Research Center survey before the Republican convention began found just over four in 10 adults were interested in following each party's convention.

Partisans were most interested in their own gathering ? 70 percent of Republicans were interested in this week's events and 66 percent of Democrats were interested in their party's upcoming convention. Fewer partisans check in on the other team: 41 percent of Democrats were interested in the goings-on in Tampa, Fla., while 28 percent of Republicans were interested in tuning in for Obama's re-nomination.

Among independents, just 37 percent said they were interested in the Republican convention, 36 percent in the Democratic one.

For Republicans angling for young, disaffected Obama voters, the convention may not be their best chance. Overnight ratings for the GOP convention suggested less than 10 percent of viewers were under age 35. The Pew poll found less than 30 percent of twenty-somethings were interested in the political conventions.

? Jennifer Agiesta ? Twitter http://twitter.com/jennagiesta

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ROMNEY PREVIEW

In his big speech, Mitt Romney will make a direct appeal to voters who felt excited to cast a ballot for Barack Obama four years ago.

"If you felt that excitement when you voted for Barack Obama, shouldn't you feel that way now that he's President Obama?" Romney says in excerpts released before his Thursday night speech. "You know there's something wrong with the kind of job he's done as president when the best feeling you had, was the day you voted for him."

You've been let down, Romney's telling former Obama voters, by a presidency that lapsed into disappointment and division.

"Many Americans have given up on this president, but they haven't ever thought about giving up," Romney says. "Not on themselves. Not on each other. And not on America."

Riffing on Obama's 2008 catchphrase, "Yes we can," Romney plans to tell Americans, "Now is the moment when we CAN do something."

What can Americans do, according to Romney? Vote for him.

? Connie Cass ?Twitter http://twitter.com/ConnieCass

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POLITICAL FOOTBALL

There may be large swaths of a Republican stronghold otherwise occupied during Mitt Romney's big speech Thursday night. College football debuts at the same time, and that can trump anything else on TV, especially in the pigskin-crazy South.

The marquee matchup happens down in Tennessee, with Steve Spurrier's No. 9 South Carolina Gamecocks taking on the Vanderbilt Commodores in Nashville at 7 p.m. EDT. But the GOP probably isn't worried about losing interest or votes in either South Carolina or Tennessee, both of which are normally reliable Republican states in presidential contests.

? Jesse J. Holland ? Twitter http://twitter.com/jessejholland

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EDITOR'S NOTE ? Follow AP journalists on Twitter where available with the handles listed after each item.

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/convention-watch-clint-eastwood-cracks-wise-023333605--election.html

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Bergen Barracudas Swim Team Announces Season Tryouts ...

The Ramapo College of New Jersey is a state college located at 505 Ramapo Valley Road (Route 202), in Mahwah. Founded in 1969, this four-year institution now has nearly 6,000 students enrolled in undergraduate, graduate and professional programs of study. With a 300-acre campus, this college offers multiple facilities, including athletic buildings, courts and fields, a spiritual center, academic, administration and residence buildings, theaters, art galleries, eating spaces and more. Ramapo College welcomes many residents of Mahwah, Bergen County and across the state of New Jersey as students.?

Source: http://ridgewood.patch.com/events/bergen-barracudas-swim-team-announces-season-tryouts-fc56e5a3

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Nats' Strasburg has 'probably' 2-3 starts to go

WASHINGTON (AP) ? Stephen Strasburg has "probably" two or three starts remaining before he's done for the season, and he can no longer claim he wasn't told the shutdown was coming.

Washington Nationals manager Davey Johnson said he spoke to Strasburg about the right-hander's innings limit Wednesday night on the flight home from a series against the Miami Marlins.

"I said something to him on the plane, you know: 'You've got a few more to go,'" Johnson said before Thursday night's game against the St. Louis Cardinals.

The Nationals began the day with a five-game lead over Atlanta in the NL East.

Johnson said Strasburg is down to "probably ... two or three" starts to go in the ace's first full season since undergoing reconstructive elbow surgery. General manager Mike Rizzo has said he'll have an intuitive feel for when to pull the plug, but Johnson said there's a "pretty firm plan" in place that's dependent on how long Strasburg stays in each game.

"He might pitch 10 innings one game, or he might just go five," Johnson said. "I asked Rizz, 'Do you want me to hook him after three? Save some innings?'"

Johnson quickly added, in case there was any doubt, that such an early hook is not an option. He also ruled out sending Strasburg to the bullpen.

"And, no, I'm not going to drag it out and give him seven days between starts, either," Johnson said.

The Nationals have not revealed the exact innings target for Strasburg, but the team shut down Jordan Zimmermann at 161 1-3 innings under similar circumstances last year. Strasburg has thrown 150 1-3, and leads the NL with 186 strikeouts.

Strasburg (15-6, 3.05 ERA) has helped lead the Nationals to a remarkable turnaround season, with the team in its first pennant race since the franchise moved to Washington. The decision to shut him down, which was determined at the start of the season, has generated considerable national debate as to whether it could cost the city a chance to win its first World Series title since 1924.

Strasburg has feigned ignorance of the situation, repeatedly claiming that no one in the Nationals organization has talked to him about innings constraints. There's no doubt now that he's been told.

Johnson was asked if Strasburg gave any pushback. The manager said that wasn't relevant.

"I'm the one that puts his name on the lineup card," Johnson said. "And it ain't happening after the innings limit."

Strasburg's next start is scheduled for Sunday. Barring a rainout or some change in the rotation, his final start would likely be on Sept. 7 at home against Miami or Sept. 12 at the New York Mets.

Johnson went on to say that he'll be shutting down a "perfect" 24-year-old pitcher.

"He's perfect as far as I'm concerned, his work habits ... It's just (he still has a) learning curve, with hitters, how he locates the ball, not getting frustrated," Johnson said. "Just stuff that comes from experience."

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Follow Joseph White on Twitter: http://twitter.com/JGWhiteAP

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/nats-strasburg-probably-2-3-starts-213836590--mlb.html

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Marco Rubio: GOP Has Immigration 'Challenge'

Florida Sen. Marco Rubio told me this morning that he agreed with Los Angeles Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa, who said Tuesday that "you can't just trot out a brown face or a Spanish surname and expect people are going to vote for your party or your candidate."

Villaraigosa was referring to the number of prominent Hispanic Republicans slated to speak at the Republican National Convention this week, but Rubio said the mayor's message applies to both parties.

"I think what he's saying, quite frankly, is true for both parties," said Rubio, who spoke to me this morning on "Good Morning America." "Policies matter and, look, the Republican Party does have a challenge. We can't just be the anti-illegal immigration party, we have to be the pro-legal immigration party.

"We have a broken system of immigration that needs to be fixed and we have a legal immigration problem because we have millions of people who are in this country without documents and we have to deal with that in a way that honors our legacy both as a nation of compassion and a nation of immigrants but also as a nation of laws. That's a real challenge. That's not an easy thing to do. We're going to confront that not by pandering, not by making unrealistic promises but by trying to find a balanced approach to how to deal with it."

Recent polls show that Mitt Romney, the GOP nominee for president, is struggling with Latino voters. Hispanics are a growing minority in the United States and a key demographic in Rubio's home state of Florida, a crucial swing state in the presidential election. Romney has expressed views on immigration seen as being to the right of former President George W. Bush - who was for comprehensive immigration reform - while President Obama, who has much higher support among Latino voters, issued an executive order earlier this year that would allow some undocumented immigrants legal status.

Rubio told me this morning that Romney would replace this policy.

"I think he's going to replace it. That's what I think you can expect from the Romney presidency and I think the obligation of some of us in the Congress is to find that permanent solution," Rubio, 41, said. "It was something I was working on, that I continue to work on, an alternative to the DREAM Act that allows us to continue to deal with that issue but not in a way that's amnesty and not in a way that encourages illegal immigration in the future."

Rubio, who is Cuban-American, is among several Hispanic Republicans who have prominent roles at the Republican National Convention this week. Rubio will introduce Romney Thursday night on the final night of the convention in Tampa, Fla., before the former Massachusetts governor formally accepts the GOP nomination for president.

"I hope to present to the people of the United States in the few minutes that I have, two things. A very unique human being, Mitt Romney, who has lived his life in a way that's not just admirable but really a role model, irrespective of how people may feel about his policies, they may disagree with him on policies, but you look at the way he's lived his life as a husband, as a father, as a member of his community, really a role model for younger Americans and what we should all aspire for our kids to be," Rubio said.

"And then, also, the choice that America has between two very different views of government's role in our economy. That's really what this election is about. It's not just a choice between a Democrat and a Republican, it's a choice between two very different futures. I hope I can do that for him."

Get more pure politics at ABCNews.com/Politics and a lighter take on the news at OTUSNews.com .

Also Read

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/marco-rubio-gop-immigration-challenge-122259330--abc-news-politics.html

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LIVE @ Liv | Harriet Homemaker

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LIVE @ Liv, a new arts & entertainment series is happening THURSDAY September 6th @ 7pm ! Joel Smith will be reading fiction and I?ll be reading some new poems ! My visual art will be on display through October 23rd ! LIV is open 8am-9pm their bistro hours are 8am to 3pm.

Joel Smith edits fiction for Spork Press and has work forthcoming in Wigleaf. A recent interview about The Parish, his first graphic novel, can be found at the AmeriCorps Alums website. This entry was posted in Encaustic, Food, Acrylic, Exhibits, Events, Shows, POETRY, LIV and tagged Food, Encaustics, Acrylic, announcements, Events, Shows, VALYNTINA GRENIER, LIV Caf? & Bistro, Joel Smith. Bookmark the permalink.

Source: http://harriethomemaker.wordpress.com/2012/08/29/live-liv/

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NASA sees Hurricane Isaac make double landfall in Louisiana

ScienceDaily (Aug. 29, 2012) ? Hurricane Isaac is continuing to drop heavy rainfall over Louisiana and Mississippi, and NASA's TRMM satellite identified that rainfall as the storm was making landfall.

On Aug. 29, 2012 at 1 p.m. EDT, Isaac was still a hurricane with maximum sustained winds near 75 mph (120 kmh). Isaac was located about 10 miles northwest (15 km) of Houma, Louisiana and moving slowly. It is moving to the northwest near 6 mph (9 km). Isaac continued bringing heavy rainfall to southeastern Louisiana and southern Mississippi. The threat for dangerous coastal storm surge and inland flooding are expected to continue overnight.

The Tropical Rainfall Measuring Mission (TRMM) satellite flew over Hurricane Isaac twice on the night that Isaac made landfall in Louisiana and headed for New Orleans. TRMM is a joint mission managed by both NASA and JAXA, the Japanese Space Agency.

In the first of the two overflights, the TRMM radar saw two hot towers in the eyewall of Hurricane Isaac just hours before landfall. While hot towers were shooting up in the eyewall over the ocean, Isaac's inner rainband was already lashing Louisiana with heavy rain. Hot towers are common in intensifying tropical cyclones are are a sign that energy is being pumped into the hurricane from the ocean's surface. A "hot tower" is a tall cumulonimbus cloud that reaches at least to the top of the troposphere, the lowest layer of the atmosphere. It extends approximately nine miles (14.5 km) high in the tropics.

Two images were created by Owen Kelley, of NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center, Greenbelt, Md. The background of the first image showed TRMM infrared observations that give a sense of the height of the cloud cover the hides the heavy precipitation inside of of the hurricane. The blue-gray 3D volume contains the light precipitation inside the hurricane, using a 20 dBZ radar-reflectivity threshold.

In the image, an insert reveals details at the center of the hurricane. Two hot towers are indicated by the yellow and orange colors. They are locations where strong updrafts are lifting frozen precipitation above a 14.5 km (9.1 mile) threshold. Water that condenses in updrafts will soon freeze if updrafts lift it above the zero-degree isotherm near 5 kilometers (3.1 miles) altitude. The freezing releases another boost of latent heat, the fuel of hurricanes, following the initial release of latent heat when the water vapor condenses into liquid.

The TRMM radar happened to overfly Hurricane Isaac again just five hours later, shortly after the eyewall made landfall. Robbed of its oceanic source of energy, the eyewall hot towers are gone in this later overflight. Instead of reaching 14.5 km (9.1 mile) altitude, the eyewall merely reaches a 10 km (6.2 mile) altitude, which is indicated by the light green shading at the top of the blue-green volume of light precipitation.

Unfortunately for New Orleans and surrounding areas, TRMM sees that Hurricane Isaac's eyewall was remarkably well organized at that time, despite having made landfall. The insert shows a ring of very intense radar echos in red, echos that exceed 40 dBZ radar reflectivity. The northwest quadrant of his ring of heavy precipitation is almost on top of New Orleans at the time of observation.

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The above story is reprinted from materials provided by NASA/Goddard Space Flight Center. The original article was written by Owen Kelley, NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center.

Note: Materials may be edited for content and length. For further information, please contact the source cited above.

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Disclaimer: Views expressed in this article do not necessarily reflect those of ScienceDaily or its staff.

Source: http://feeds.sciencedaily.com/~r/sciencedaily/top_news/top_environment/~3/fiNnunTS3GY/120829172111.htm

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Rowso's Article Database ? Health Supplements

From time began plant life and organic treatments have been the pillar of life on Earth. Long before doctors or modern science, there has been illness and disease, and yet life continues.
There are three key ingredients to life on Planet Earth, air , water, and food. The better the quality of these elements, the better the quality of being. All living beings on Earth depends on these three common components.
For most living creatures, whether plant, animal or man, health depends on the availability of breathable air, consumable water, and sustainable food and nutrition.
In the past both mankind and the animal world, have counted on herbs and botanicals to cure their sicknesses, even totally carnivorous animals on occasions supplement their typical diets by consuming grass or other herbal plants.
In every country, there are folk treatments for a wide number of health problems, from chicken soup for the common cold, to Horny Goat Weed for sexual problems, and St. John?s Wort for depression.
Herbs and botanicals have been ?Nature?s Drugstore ? for centuries.
To a huge extent, our health and wellbeing, are affected by our nutrition, environment and lifestyle.
We tend to take these points without any consideration, perhaps because theree is not much that we can do as people to change our immediate circumstances.
Fortunately, as human beings, alive in a modern world, we have more possibilities than ever before in just how we want to live our lives.
That said, our environment, diet and lifestyle, and also hereditary influences, often wreak havoc on our ability to live truly happy healthy lives.
The demands of career, the hectic pace of life, and the oftentimes poor standard of supermarket and restaurant ?food?, often have a detrimental toll on our complete health and well being.
Modern man suffers from a wide range of lifestyle related ailments, and conditions that often lead to large medical bills, expensive invasive treatments and surgery, and a poor quality of life.
Herbal supplements, while not being a cure all for major illnesses , can greatly enhance our lives, and add nutritional support for our often poor diets, and stress related problems.
Practically all doctors and health care professionals accept that most major maladies are the result of unhealthy diet, stress and thoughtless diet choices. and while modern medicine has come a long way over the years, many prescription medications, have detrimental side effects, and may even lead to other illnesses or complications, that make these prescription drugs highly questionable as being truly life supporting.
Herbal nutritional supplements, are not drugs, they?re natural plant or food based products. rather than being harsh chemically manufactured drugs, they generally provide safer non toxic solutions for many common problems, and when used responsibly, can really help, prevent and cure many long term debilitating sicknesses.
Since ancient times, mankind has always trusted and relied on herbs and other plants for the treatment and cure of many serious illnesses, and even today in countries with large populations, like China and India, even medical doctors, will usually prescribe herbal supplements to cure disease, before they prescribe chemically, manufactured prescription drugs or surgery. Interestingly in these cultures that rely and trust in herbal solutions, rather than prescription drugs and surgery, people on average tend to live longer healthier and happier lives than, people who live in developed countries with the most advanced surgical techniques, sophisticated diagnostic machines, and a strong reliance on prescription drugs for medication.
In days of old the use of herbs as treatments or cures for serious illness, usually relied on the knowledge of elders, priests, shamans , witch doctors, or magicians.
Thankfully today through analysis and the sharing of information, it is easy to research and find herbal supplements, prepared by experts in the field of herbal medicine, who?ve made it easy to find and access quality herbal products in scientifically prepared dosages for optimum results.
While it is not wise to try and treat serious or chronic illnesses with herbal nutritional supplements, without consulting a medical practitioner, it is perfectly safe to try them as therapeutic dietary supplements to ,enhance general health, fitness and well being.
There are many natural health supplements available without prescription, which are helpful for many common complaints. from weight loss issues to sexual dysfunction, many easy, inexpensive options are available at quality herbal supply stores.

Vitopharma Nutritional Supplements are a global supplier of top quality dietary supplements visit their herbal health store online

Source: http://www.rowso.com/health-supplements/

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From East to West, there are many different kinds of dragon tattoos ...

One of the most popular images used in body art designs today has to be the legendary dragon tattoos however there are different depictions of this creature, which offer contrasting symbolism depending on what part of the world you are in. In the Far East, it is the magical Asian dragon which is a symbol of prosperity and good fortune while in the western world their version is associated with evil and destruction. These were depicted as frightening, giant lizard-like creatures with scales and leathery looking wings while their Eastern counterparts were much more benevolent in both appearance and nature. They do not have wings either and have long bodies that resemble a snake, with brightly colored whiskers and vivid manes.

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This entry was posted on Monday, August 27th, 2012 at 5:40 pm and is filed under Entertainment Arts. Both comments and pings are currently closed.

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Source: http://www.symbols-larp.com/entertainment-arts/from-east-to-west-there-are-many-different-kinds-of-dragon-tattoos-for-men/

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Source: http://harrington42.typepad.com/blog/2012/08/from-east-to-west-there-are-many-different-kinds-of-dragon-tattoos.html

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U.S. diplomat Harry G. Barnes Jr., 86, helped end military dictatorship in Chile

Mr. Barnes?s mission was to convince both Pinochet and his demoralized opponents that the Reagan administration would no longer tolerate the general?s abusive grip on power. For three years, Mr. Barnes pushed steadily for political change in Chile ? opening his embassy to opposition leaders, standing up publicly for victims of repression and making it clear that he had Washington?s blessing.

In 1988, after 15 years of military rule, Pinochet was peacefully defeated in a national plebiscite and forced to step down as president in 1990, ushering in an era of democratic governance and economic success that has become a model for Latin America. Mr. Barnes left Chile soon after the plebiscite and retired from the Foreign Service. He died Aug. 9 in Lebanon, N.H., at 86. His family said he had contracted an infection.

During 38 years in the Foreign Service, Mr. Barnes was posted in eight countries, learning to speak many of their languages, and he served as ambassador to India (1981 to 1985) and Romania (1974 to 1977) as well as Chile. In India, he plunged into negotiations on nuclear and arms issues after a generation of ideological estrangement.

After retirement, he worked for the Atlanta-based Carter Center as director of human rights and conflict resolution programs from 1994 to 2000, traveling often to global trouble spots.

But it was Mr. Barnes?s role in Chile that earned him a niche in history. A small country that loomed large in the ideological wars of the 1960s, Chile embarked on a chaotic socialist period under President Salvador Allende.

In 1973, Allende and Chile?s leftist aspirations were crushed by a military coup that was welcomed by the Nixon administration and reportedly abetted by the CIA. Pinochet, who was army chief, seized power and vowed to extirpate communism from Chilean soil. Over the next several years, thousands of political activists were detained, tortured or vanished in custody.

By the mid-1980s, the Reagan administration in Washington had soured on Pinochet and was looking for an antidote to its controversial anti-communist role in Central America and the Iran-contra scandal. Mr. Barnes was sent to Chile to push for a return to civilian rule. It was a delicate task, with powerful adversaries in both capitals, and he tackled it with characteristic and quiet determination.

?Harry had to navigate working with the opposition, the socialists and Christian Democrats, without becoming an enemy of the government or the Chilean right,? said Elliott Abrams, then the top State Department official for Latin America and now with the Council on Foreign Relations in New York. ?He also had to navigate in Washington,? where the new policy on Chile was opposed by powerful conservatives such as the late Sen. Jesse Helms (R-N.C.). ?I think he did a magnificent job.?

Source: http://www.washingtonpost.com/world/world-politics/us-diplomat-harry-g-barnes-jr-86-helped-end-military-dictatorship-in-chile/2012/08/22/4a5f8710-eb9f-11e1-9ddc-340d5efb1e9c_story.html

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Google's Big Brains Think an Algorithm Will Help Them With Girl Problems [Women]

We hear about this issue all the time: tech companies, even the big guns, have trouble attracting and retaining women. Interestingly enough, Google has taken the least human and most nerdiest possible route to tackling this gender issue—algorithms. More »

Source: http://feeds.gawker.com/~r/gizmodo/full/~3/AE8x0h7vPZM/googles-big-brains-think-an-algorithm-will-help-them-with-girl-problems

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Mexican judge cuts ammo charge against North Texas trucker

by JUAN CARLOS LLORCA & MATT GOODMAN

WFAA and the Associated Press

Posted on August 23, 2012 at 12:26 PM

Updated today at 5:55 PM

CIUDAD JUAREZ, Mexico (WFAA/AP) ??A Mexican appeals judge has significantly lessened the charge against a Dallas truck driver who says he made a wrong turn into Mexico with a trailer full of ammunition.

Jabin Bogan, 28, has been jailed in Mexico since April after attempting to enter the country carrying 268,000 rounds of ammunition in his 18-wheeler. Before the decision, which was announced Thursday afternoon, Bogan faced 30 years in a Mexican prison. He's been held in a maximum security facility in Veracruz.

The Associated Press reports his attorney believes Bogan will be able to perform community service or pay a fine as punishment. The new charge, downgraded from trafficking to possession of ammunition, carries a maximum six-year sentence.?

Emilio de la Rosa, said he will advise his client to plead no contest so he can push for his release.

"We've given this guy back 30 years of his life," de la Rosa told The Associated Press.

Bogan has maintained that his GPS malfunctioned and he took a wrong turn, which put him on the Bridge of the Americas with a truckload of weaponry. About two weeks after Bogan was arrested, the 28-year-old?s boss provided News 8 with work orders showing the load was being legally delivered to an Arizona store.?

?It was an honest mistake,? Dennis Mekenye, Bogan?s boss at Demco Express in Euless, told News 8 reporter Jonathan Betz in April. ?He missed an exit and found himself in Mexico with those ammo and bullets.??

In June, the Associated Press reported all truckers entering Mexico along the Bridge of the Americas must use a designated lane that leads to an inspection area.?

Bogan?s vehicle was in the lane for passenger cars, Mexican customs agent America Zubia Sanz said in a May 29 deposition before a judge in Ciudad Juarez, Chihuahua. He was arrested despite possessing cargo documents that showed they were destined for an Arizona whole seller, his attorney said.

Mexican customs agents testified in court that Bogan was trying to make a U-turn back into the U.S. when they discovered the ammunition, which was visible in the trailer. The prosecution argued that Bogan hid the ammo under his floorboards.?

In July, a judge ordered a reenactment of the arrest. Bogan?s mother and attorney told News 8 reporter Brad Watson that the staging would show her son simply made a wrong turn.?

"The judge can see that he was telling the truth from day one," Bogan's mother, Aletha Smith, said then. "There was nothing hid."?

De La Rosa said surveillance footage captured at the border shows Bogan blocking several lanes of southbound traffic for more than half an hour while trying to maneuver his 18-wheeler back to U.S. soil, the AP reported.?During the reenactment, a forensic expert said the U-turn would be "impossible."

Customs agents at the border told Bogan to turn around, but he was stopped and arrested in the process.

A message left with prosecutors was not immediately returned Thursday.

(The Associated Press contributed to this report)

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Source: http://www.wfaa.com/home/Mexican-judge-cuts-ammo-charge-against-US-trucker--167206335.html

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Top Ten Reasons why Construction Gains from Certification ...

There?s no question that the UK construction industry is going through difficult times. The latest government figures showed that output fell by almost 4% in the second quarter of 2012. Economic pressures continue to bear down on an industry that?s dealing with the need to maintain stringent risk management as well as to adopt more sustainable approaches to construction.

In this environment, standards have a strong role to play because they reduce variability and therefore risk; they impose structures that help control costs; and they provide a road-map to develop more sustainable practices.

Here are our top ten reasons to go for certification:

1. The quality standard ISO 9001 opens the door to tendering for a lot of contracts that otherwise would be out of reach. Public sector contacts especially, which represent around 40% by value of all UK construction projects, will be looking for ISO 9001.

2. You don?t need us to tell you about the drive for efficiency and cost control in the construction sector. ISO 9001 supplies a route-map to streamlining processes and finding cost savings and efficient ways of working, helping you save time and money.

3. It?s no secret that construction is a hazardous environment to work in. Certification to OHSAS 18001 can help in establishing strategies that could radically reduce the number of work related incidents and accidents; therefore reducing the associated human and financial costs.

4. Certification to OHSAS 18001 will significantly reduce the scope for regulatory fines that can arise from non-compliance with legislation such as the Working at Height Regulations. This is achieved through setting up robust processes to evaluate your own legal compliance, and through regular reviews of legal compliance by the certification auditor.

5. From Building Regulations Part L to the Green Deal, construction is under a great deal of pressure become more sustainable. Certification to ISO 14001, the environmental management standard, is a way to demonstrate that your operation is systematically reviewing and reducing its environmental impacts. This can lay the ground for more sustainable practices if coupled, for example, with local community action and employment of a local workforce.

6. In the course of reducing environmental impacts, you?ll most likely be saving money by using ISO 14001. This is because the biggest impacts are often directly related to your biggest costs, so lessening impacts also cuts costs. Using the standard will help you to structure more considered procurement policies and lead to less waste and reduced materials costs.

7. To specifically address energy use, certification to ISO 50001 for Energy Management Systems will help your business focus on where cost (and carbon) can be cut. Certification will also demonstrate to stakeholders and employees alike that you?re committed to playing your part in limiting your impacts on climate change.

8. No business is immune from unexpected catastrophes. ISO 22301 for Business Continuity management specifies a methodology for identifying and prioritising the key systems that can keep your business operational, should disaster strike. It could help keep you afloat should the worst happen, and at the very least certification to the standard will give you, and your stakeholders, peace of mind.

9. Because the physical assets of your business are critical to achieving your business goals, PAS 55 for asset management will help you get the best value from your equipment, facilities and people, and to improve your risk management.

10. And finally, society is rightly concerned that businesses are acting in socially responsible ways and this concern is growing. ISO 26000 Guidance on Social Responsibility isn?t a standard you can get certified to, but DNV can give you help in complying with ISO 26000, which is a route to enhanced reputation and competitive advantage. It may also be used as a framework for establishing your sustainability strategy.

Learn more on ISO 9001 consultants at www.dnvda-gateway.co.uk

Source: http://www.welcometocoastcity.org/top-ten-reasons-why-construction-gains-from-certification.php

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Government joins false claims suit against Gallup

WASHINGTON (AP) ? The Justice Department said Wednesday that it has joined a lawsuit against The Gallup Organization alleging the polling company filed false claims on contracts with the U.S. Mint, the State Department and other government agencies.

A fired Gallup employee who became a whistle-blower, Michael Lindley, alleges in the lawsuit that he discovered shortly after going to work for the polling company that it had engaged in widespread fraud against the government.

Honored as "Rookie of the Year" at Gallup in 2009, Lindley says he was fired six months later when he told colleagues that if the company didn't report overbilling practices to the government, Lindley would do so himself.

His lawsuit, filed nearly three years ago and unsealed Wednesday in federal court, says Gallup routinely submitted inflated cost estimates which enabled the company to reap huge profits from its government business.

In addition to its polling work, Gallup provides consulting services to government, corporate and other clients around the world.

The Justice Department said it was stepping into the case with respect to Gallup's contracts with the Mint and the State Department.

In response, Gallup general counsel Steve O'Brien said, "We believe that the allegations and the legal theory that the Justice Department is using are entirely meritless."

O'Brien said the work involved fixed-price contracts that were all competitively bid and paid for as agreed. Now, said O'Brien, the government is saying "the price should have been something else."

O'Brien is among those named in Lindley's lawsuit. According to Lindley, when he asked O'Brien why he had been fired, O'Brien said "When you start talking about going to the Department of Justice, I don't trust you anymore."

On Wednesday, O'Brien called Lindley's assertion "a total and complete fabrication."

According to Lindley's lawsuit, on a $2 million-a-year sole-source contract with the Mint, Gallup inflated the number of hours required to complete the work, usually by a multiple of two or three times the number justified by historical experience. Gallup was hired to conduct market research for the sale of newly issued coins.

The State Department work involved the U.S. Passport Agency. During negotiations on a $25 million sole-source contract, Gallup allegedly submitted detailed budgets with vastly inflated hours on the time to complete the work for the agency. Gallup was hired to conduct surveys to predict the level of passport applications stemming from changes in border laws governing travel to Mexico and Canada.

Separately, Lindley alleges that Gallup exercised undue influence over the award process on a $15 million contract with the Army's Joint Contracting Command in Iraq.

The lawsuit says Gallup actually wrote the request for proposal that the Army's contracting officer issued. Gallup wrote the proposal so the contract could be awarded only to a company with characteristics that were unique to Gallup, according to Lindley's allegations.

In a $10 million contract with a Health and Human Services Department agency, Gallup allegedly shifted costs from some of its fixed-price government contracts to a cost-plus contract with the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration.

In a $2 million-a-year contract with the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, a Gallup executive allegedly submitted inflated estimates of the hours required to complete various tasks, inflating the contract price.

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/government-joins-false-claims-suit-against-gallup-195101153.html

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Lesbians More Likely to Take Drugs, Binge Drink, According to Report

Wednesday, 22 August 2012 11:40 Written by Sergio N. Candido

Lesbians like to party hard: they are more likely to take drugs, smoke, and binge drink, according to a new study by Australia?s Curtin University.

As first reported by the Gay Star News, the survey of almost 900 women found that lesbian and bisexual women use legal--and illegal--drugs more than the population average.

While 86 percent of the LB sample reported they drank alcohol, which is similar to the broader population, levels of risky drinking were higher: Nearly one third of the respondents were ?binge drinkers,? meaning they consumed very dangerous levels of alcohol on one sitting.

?The findings all help in building a picture of the community and provide direction to work with this community to improve their health,? Jude Comfort from the Western Australia Centre for Health Promotion Research told the Gay Star News.

Comfort added: ?Smoking rates that are twice the national average are a huge concern especially as tobacco smoking is the single most preventable cause of ill health and death in Australia.?

?We hope that this study will provide important guidance to future public health programs targeting the lesbian and bisexual women?s population. They also provide direction for further research to better understand the preventative health needs of this group,? she concluded.

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Read the full report here:

Women in contact with the Perth gay and lesbian community: Report of the Women?s Western Australian Sexual ...

Source: http://www.southfloridagaynews.com/life-and-style/health/6970-lesbians-more-likely-to-take-drugs-binge-drink-according-to-report.html

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The Secret To Social Marketing Using Facebook Page : Internet ...

How to create a landing page on Facebook is the problem of several who wish to identify a wonderful way of getting a lot of friends, therefore the approach for the process is a very frequently enquired question in social networking. Having a custom opening should be the next most sensible thing to having a widget in your website, and therefore the superb headlines is that it genuinely is rather easy to do.

Having a customized page of welcome for your visitors is an excellent tactic given it will signify that targeted traffic don?t simply come along on your wall. By doing this, you may represent yourself to the visitors how you need to, and be sure that your readers are going to have a true explanation to click and therefore like you.

A landing text will have to create a long lasting idea with your targeted traffic; returning visitors without tagging your posts will be some and far in between, so it will be significant that you really understand it properly the first time. An excellent way to completely implement your welcome articles to the utmost could be to present a zero cost download or a subscribe box. In this manner you can obtain the emails of one?s site visitors and you?ll be in the position to have them up-to-date regarding your worthwhile news reports.

If you wish to build your personalized welcome in HTML then you definately will need to download the zero cost FBML app. A thing of warning here though is when you are not acquainted with HTML language, you certainly require the assistance of an expert, as well as for this you?ll be in good shape with to fork out a cost of between a hundred or perhaps 200 bucks.

Each time that you wish to change design too you will be forced to pay style and design prices, so this requires to be considered before choosing this action to your content. Instead of this oftentimes overpriced method, you can use completely different apps for setting up your page.

With as low as $5 a month it is possible to download the likes of Welcome Tab for Facebook which really is amazing and user-friendly and uncomplicated. Using this method you merely need to spend one manageable monthly fee, on developer fees, and will also be capable of display all sorts of content material such as your logo, pictures plus business profile.

Setting up the software seriously could not be any more painless; simply click at the utilities tab in the Facebook application directory and you will be led from the approach with a few simple and easy to check out instructions. When you have set up the application, you then must make it possible for you set it up as your default landing text; this can be performed through your settings menu.

How to change your Facebook landing page thus genuinely could not be any more basic, and in some cases for the newbie it is totally possible by just downloading the right application. Once you have designed your text within this superb social media tool, you will note exactly how beneficial it is and exactly how it will drive increased traffic equally on your article content but to your support or even enterprise, having you a certain successes. Visit this link to learn how to share your photos on Twitter.

Source: http://www.theyellowads.com/internet_businesses_online/the-secret-to-social-marketing-using-facebook-page

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