A Zillion Kisses ?2012

By Arlene Uslander

Relaxing on the living room couch after a morning of errands, I stared idly out the ??window, admiring the sprawling crab apple tree on my front lawn. ?Now in full bloom, it had started out as a scrawny twig thirty-four years ago.

A frail, elderly man and a small child ???a blonde, curly haired girl ???walked past my window. ?The man was tightly clasping the little girl?s hand in the protective, caring way that a grandparent holds onto a young child. ?The pair smiled at one another, the old man bending his head; the little girl straining hers upward. ?I would have given anything, at that moment, to have a camera close by. (This was before the days of IPOD phones that did everything but prepare dinner and lay out one?s clothes for work for the following day.) The expression of joy that passed between adult and child could have been adequately captured only by a photograph, not by mere words.

?Then they walked on, slowly, ever so slowly. ?It was, after all, a hot day, and the old man could not walk very fast. ?And, it was, after all, a long street, and the little girl?s legs weren?t long enough to move very fast. ?I watched them as they walked, their strides matching perfectly.

I suddenly found myself thinking far back to a similar scene, on another street, in another time, when an old man held a little girl by the hand. ?They, too, walked along slowly, sharing special dreams and important secrets, the way only a grandparent and grandchild can. ?My grandfather and me.

And I also recall a question one of my sons asked me at about age ten. ?How tall was Grandpa?? he wanted to know, while turning the pages of a time worn family album. ?Oh, about five feet ten,? I replied.

?Is that all?? my son asked, an incredulous look on his face. ?I remember him as being much taller. ?To me, Grandpa was a giant!?

When I used to teach school, I was very much aware of how most of the children felt about their grandparents. ?I saw the excitement on their faces and heard it in their voices when they told me they were going to sleep over night at Grandma and Grandpa?s.

I heard the fear in a child?s voice when a grandparent was ill and the child didn?t know when or if he or she ?would see that grandparent again.

?I saw the tears streaming down cheeks and felt the anguish in hearts when a grandparent died. ?I still remember seven year old Jill saying, ?When my great-grandpa died, I was so sad: I cried twenty-four Kleenex boxes full of tears.? ?Julie, who had recently lost a grandmother and wasn?t about to be outdone by Jill, reported, ?And I cried a whole river of tears!?

?Another time when the children were given an assignment to write about whether they would rather travel to the past or the future if they could take a trip in a time machine, I remember Alex writing: ?To the past ???definitely to the past. ?I?d like to travel back to when my grandpa was young so we could do so many fun things together, like playing baseball and running up and down hills.?

When I once asked a first-grade class what a grandparent is, this was one youngster?s definition: ?A grandparent is someone with a big, soft lap, a jar full of cookies, and a zillion kisses just for you.?

There are many kinds of love: the love between a man and a woman, between parent and child, between sister and brother, between dear friends. ?But I really don?t think there is any kind of love as pure and deep, as unselfish and undemanding? as enduring, and as unconditional ? as the love between grandparent and grandchild.

?A zillion kisses, you know, can last a very, very long time, leaving a whole lifetime of warm memories.
Arlene Uslander is the proud grandmother of 4 grandchildren, ages 20, 19, 18, and 5 (from her two sons and their wives). The three older ones are now at the age/stage where the relationship between grandparent and grandchildren is one of friendship as much as anything else. And the 5-year-old, who came along unexpectedly? There is no way to describe the joy he has brought into the lives of Arlene and her husband, Ira. Just no way!!!

Arlene is the author of 16 books, including That?s What Grandparents Are For, an illustrated book of verse celebrating the special bond between grandparents and grandchildren; (she is currently working on a sequel, That?s What Grandchildren Are For), and her latest publication, which she co-authored/edited with Brenda Warneka, is ?an award-winning anthology of true inspirational stories entitled: The Mystery of Fate: Common Coincidence or Divine Intervention? Visit her website: www.thefatesite.com ???

Source: http://www.senioritylifecare.com/azillionkisses/

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French steel workers occupy ArcelorMittal plant (Reuters)

[unable to retrieve full-text content]Reuters - Workers at an idled ArcelorMittal steel plant in northeast France occupied the site Monday, seeking to put their plight on the political map ahead of a presidential election where industrial decline is a central theme.

Source: http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/europe/*http%3A//news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20120220/bs_nm/us_france_election_steel

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Garlicky Pulled Pork in a Slow Cooker recipe - shizzling - (mis ...

I had some leftover roasted garlic puree in the fridge so I thought I'd use it as the basis of a coating for a pork shoulder joint that I am slow cooking to make pulled pork.

I cut 2 sweet onions into thick slices and placed them in the bottom of the slow cooker. I squirted a generous amount of cider vinegar over the onions and set the slow cooker heat to High. ?

The coating ?was made by combining about 2 tablespoons of pureed roasted garlic with the same amount of Dijon mustard, a slug of olive oil, a tablespoon of Mesquite liquid smoke, some cracked black pepper and a tablespoon of Herbes de Provence. This was mixed to a paste and then slathered over the pork.

I put the pork into the slow cooker, on top of the bed of onions, and then sprinkled it liberally with dry rub. ??

It has just gone into the slow cooker. I'll give it an hour or so on the High setting and then switch down to Low for the rest of the cook. ?

Source: http://www.shizzling.com/2012/02/garlicky-pulled-pork-in-a-slow-cooker-recipe.html

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"Undefeated" on the gridiron of life. At Oscars, too? (Reuters)

[unable to retrieve full-text content]Reuters - It can't be easy making Sean "Diddy" Combs cry, but Oscar-nominated documentary film "Undefeated" did -- four times.

Source: http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/movies/*http%3A//news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20120219/film_nm/us_oscars_undefeated

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Automating with Autoresponders | Copywriting for Internet Marketing

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Automation is an important part to any business. The less time you devote to doing small redundant tasks the more time you will have to devote to primary business activities, such as: product development, advertising, customer service, and list building. Or, you may want to have more time for enjoying other things in life other than working, so the more you automate your business the more time you will have available to spend on whatever you desire.
Autoresponder,email autoresponder
Automation is an important part to any business. The less time you devote to doing small redundant tasks the more time you will have to devote to primary business activities, such as: product development, advertising, customer service, and list building. Or, you may want to have more time for enjoying other things in life other than working, so the more you automate your business the more time you will have available to spend on whatever you desire.

Putting an online business on autopilot is not very difficult and much of it can be done by simple using autoresponders to do many simple tasks for you. An autoresponder is a software program that you pay usage fees for, or that you buy and put on your own hosting account?s server. It is a program that responds to email inquiries from other people with whatever you program it to send out. And it can also easily be programmed to send out email messages that you enter into it at whatever time you want. Therefore an autoresponder, abbreviated AR, can be used for many purposes to assist in handling business communication activities.

An AR can be used to promote your products or services and to get people to visit your website. Just type or copy and paste your sales or informational message into your AR and have it sent out to whoever you have entered into the AR. Then, when a person receives your message and visits your web site and makes a purchase you can have your AR setup to deliver another message to them. The message would thank them for their purchase and then deliver their product and receipt to them.

You may also program it to give your customers detailed instructions on how to go about obtaining their products and describing other products you have to offer that they may be also be interested in purchasing. In this way you have the ability to promote more products and possibly make more sales. You can also program your AR to send out follow-up messages a day or two after a purchase to ask customers if they are satisfied with their purchase. This assists in building strong customer relations and also gives you another opportunity to promote more products while saving your time.

It will also allow you to make more ?back-end?sales by using follow up messages every few days. It is advisable to always include some meaningful and relevant information in your follow up messages so your messages do not appear to just be blatant sales messages, which most people do not generally like or appreciate. The beauty of all this is that you can be off doing something else while much of your business communication activities are being handled automatically by your AR.

Autoresponders are great for training and teaching purposes. Many college professors who teach correspondence courses set up their lessons in an AR and then send them to their students at specified times throughout the semester. And, because the courses being taught often do not vary much from semester to semester, or from year to year, the lessons can be set up one time and used over and over again with only minor adjustments being needed.

ARs are great for providing training lessons to all types of groups. For example, a 12 week training course can be written in advance and then scheduled for deliver when the time is appropriate. The lessons can even be set up to be delivered to different groups at different time intervals. ARs are great for keeping members of an organization informed of upcoming events, deadlines, and special offers or promotions.

Promoting products for sale is one of the most popular uses of autoresponders in online business. But when using an AR to promote your sales just realize that most potential customers do not like the direct ?hard sale?approach and it has been documented that on an average a potential customer must hear from you at least 7 times before a sale is made. It is usually best to contact potential customers in the first 2 to 4 messages with valuable information that is interesting for them to read or use in their lives. It is good to give away something of interest and value and to thank them for subscribing to your email newsletter or ezine.

It has been said that the best way to entice sales is to build interest slowly and start with an informative message about something that interests your reader. And, when you do try to make a sale be sure to focus on a problem or solution that your product or service will help resolve for them. Gain their confidence by providing free information that is relevant, accurate, and informative for them.

There are many AR services available and you can certainly find them by doing a search with any of the main search engine services. Many AR services will give you free limited service, but be cautious of these AR services because they will put their advertisements on all of your outgoing messages, or limited the amount of messages and subscribers you can send to. These things certainly will not help your business any. Be very careful when choosing and signing up with an autoresponder service to use in your business.

Some popular ARs frequently used are listed below:

- http://www.aweber.com/
- http://www.a1ebiz.com/
- http://www.getresponse.com
- http://www.emailgogettersystem.com/

And, of course there are many, many more so please do a good and thorough investigation and analysis before deciding which AR to use. If you are a beginner then you may want to try the free service listed on the last line above. It is called, ?EGGS?for short. It is very easy to understand and to use. It does have some limitations but it has plenty of functionality for most people and there is no cost
involved unless you would like to donate.

Source: http://www.copiapoa.info/2012/02/automating-with-autoresponders/

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China to crank up credit as lending, economy slow (Reuters)

[unable to retrieve full-text content]Reuters - China's central bank cut the amount of cash banks must hold in reserves on Saturday, boosting lending capacity by an estimated 350-400 billion yuan ($55.6-$63.5 billion) in a bid to crank up credit creation as the world's second-biggest economy faces a fifth successive quarter of slowing growth.

Source: http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/china/*http%3A//news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20120218/bs_nm/us_china_economy_rrr

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New York State Tax Department Provides Tips For 2011 Income Tax ...

ALBANY, NY (02/16/2012)(readMedia)-- Taxpayers should have already received their W-2 income statements for 2011, and other necessary statements from their financial institutions. The New York State Tax Department has tools for filing 2011 tax returns on the Department's Web site at: www.tax.ny.gov.

E-file

Each year, more and more New Yorkers discover the convenience of e-filing tax returns ? it's easy, fast, safe, and most taxpayers are doing it. In fact, 80% of taxpayers e-filed their New York State returns for tax year 2010. E-filing saves taxpayer dollars on processing costs associated with paper returns, nearly $50 million last year alone.

Tax tip: Taxpayers should check if they qualify for FreeFile, free tax preparation and e-filing software. Through FreeFile, taxpayers can prepare and file online their federal and state income tax returns at no cost. Generally, those who earned $57,000 or less in 2011 may be eligible. In 2010, FreeFile use increased by 32% as compared with the prior tax year. However, many more taxpayers are eligible. Visit the New York State Tax Department's website for eligibility requirements.

Faster refunds

Last year, there was a marked increase in the rate for issuing refunds. The total number of refunds issued in less than 30 days increased by 46%. Nearly 77% of refunds issued in less than 30 days were for e-filed returns, as compared with just 58% for paper-filed returns.

Tax tip: To speed up a refund, taxpayers should e-file, and do it early in the filing season. Track the status of a refund on the Tax Department's Web site.

Tax help

Each year, the Tax Department publishes "Instructions for Form IT-201." In addition to providing straightforward tax filing instructions, the booklet offers helpful guidance. Taxpayers can print just the pages they need.

Tax tip: Look at tax credit eligibility. There are over two dozen different tax-saving credits. Some credits may be new to some taxpayers. There are credits for college tuition, long-term care insurance and solar energy systems. The earned income tax credit continues to be available to low to moderate income working individuals and families who qualify.

New refund option ? debit cards

There are multiple was to receive refunds. Direct deposit to personal bank accounts remains the fastest and easiest method. This year, there is a new option ? the pre-paid debit card. The card is secure, easy to use and flexible. In most instances, there's no charge for using the card to make cash withdrawals or purchases.

Tax tip: Taxpayers who don't have a bank account can avoid check-cashing fees by opting for a debit card.

Marriage equality

The Marriage Equality Act, which took effect in July of 2011, provides that all marriages, whether of same or different-sex couples, will be treated equally under the laws of New York State. This year marks the first time in our state's history that same-sex married couples will file jointly.

To file New York State returns, same-sex married couples should complete, but not submit, a federal return (including all credit forms, schedules, and other attachments) as married. They should then transfer the information from the federal return to properly complete the New York State return. Then each same sex spouse should individually file with the IRS to meet the federal government's requirement.

Tax tip: E-filing (including FreeFile) can simplify the process for same-sex married couples. Most tax preparation software programs will prompt taxpayers with questions that will accommodate the different federal and state requirements.

Filing deadline

This year, the filing deadline is April 17. This is due to April 15 falling on a Sunday and April 16 being Emancipation Day, which is observed in the District of Columbia. By law, District of Columbia holidays and federal holidays give taxpayers an extra day to file.

Free In-Person Tax Preparation

Volunteer Income Tax Assistance (VITA) sites are open across the State to help individuals and families with an annual income of $50,000 or less prepare and file their income tax returns free of charge. Visit the New York State Tax Department's Website to find a location including days and hours of operation.

Next year

This time next year New Yorkers will be filing their income taxes under the lowest tax brackets for middle class taxpayers in fifty-eight years. Governor Cuomo's overhaul of the tax code reduced the tax rate for at least 4.4 million middle class taxpayers, as compared with 2011. Many taxpayers should already see less tax withheld in their paychecks.

Questions?

Most answers to questions can be found on-line. Taxpayers can also call 518.457.5181.

Follow us on Twitter and YouTube

###

Source: http://readme.readmedia.com/New-York-State-Tax-Department-Provides-Tips-For-2011-Income-Tax-Filing-Season/3612670

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Libya: A Year After Uprising Against Moammar Gadhafi, Power Held By Hundreds Of Militias (VIDEO)

Libya Militias

In this Feb. 14, 2012 photo, Libyan militias from towns throughout the country's west parade through Tripoli, Libya. (AP Photo/ Abdel Magid Al Fergany)

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TRIPOLI, Libya -- One revolutionary militia controls the airport. Others carve up neighborhoods of the Libyan capital into fiefdoms. They clash in the streets, terrifying residents. They hold detainees in makeshift prisons where torture is said to be rampant.

As Libya on Friday marks the one-year anniversary of the start of the uprising against Moammar Gadhafi, hundreds of armed militias are the real power on the ground in the country, and the government that took the longtime strongman's place is largely impotent, unable to rein in fighters, rebuild decimated institutions or stop widespread corruption.

The revolutionary militias contend they are Libya's heroes ? the ones who drove Gadhafi from power and who now keep security in the streets at a time when the police and military are all but nonexistent. They insist they won't give up their weapons to a government that is too weak, too corrupt and, they fear, too willing to let elements of the old dictatorship back into positions of power.

"I am fed up," said the commander of a militia of fighters from the western mountain town of Zintan who control Tripoli's airport. Al-Mukhtar al-Akhdar says Libya's politicians unfairly blame the militias for the country's chaos while doing nothing to bring real change.

They believe "revolutionaries have no place in Libya now," said al-Akhdar, who was once a tour company owner in Zintan until he took up arms against Gadhafi and now sports a military uniform. "We paid a very heavy price in the revolution, not for the sake of a seat or authority, but for the sake of freedoms and rights."

As a result, Libya has been flipped upside down, from a country where all power was in the hands of one man, Gadhafi, to one where it has been broken up into hundreds of different hands, each taking its own decisions. The National Transitional Council, which officially rules the country, is struggling to incorporate the militias into the military and police, while trying to get the economy back on its feet and reshape government ministries, courts and other institutions hollowed out under Gadhafi.

In one sign of the lack of control, Finance Minister Hassan Zaklam admitted that millions of dollars from Gadhafi family assets returned to Libya by European countries ? a potentially key source of revenue ? have flowed right back out of Libya, stolen by corrupt officials and smuggled out in suitcases through the ports.

"The money comes for transit only," Zaklam said in a Feb. 6 interview on Libya state TV. He threatened to resign if the government didn't impose control over ports or stop unfreezing the assets. "I can't be a clown," he said.

Government spokesman Ashur Shamis blamed revolutionaries in charge of ports and middle- and lower-ranking bureaucrats from the old regime who still retain their posts, known among Libyans as the "Green Snakes," after the signature color of Gadhafi's rule.

At the airport, al-Akhdar blamed customs employees and said his fighters are keeping a closer eye on them ? but he insisted stopping smuggling was the police and military's responsibility.

The militias, meanwhile, are accused of acting like vigilantes and armed gangs, fighting over turf and taking the law into their own hands. Many run private prisons, detaining criminals, suspected former regime members or simply people who run afoul of the fighters.

In a report Wednesday, London-based Amnesty International said it found prisoners had been tortured or abused in all but one of 11 militia-run facilities it visited. Detainees told the group they had been beaten for hours with whips, cables and plastic hoses and given electrical shocks.

At least 12 detainees have died since September after torture, it said.

The militias arose during last year's 8-month-long civil war against Gadhafi.

Soon after anti-regime protests first erupted nationwide on Feb. 17, 2011, Libya's second largest city Benghazi and the rest of the eastern half of the country threw off rule from Tripoli. As Gadhafi clamped down in the west, Libyan citizens formed local militias based around a city, town or even neighborhood, taking up arms to fight alongside breakaway army units.

Backed by NATO airstrikes, the militias swept into Tripoli in August, driving out Gadhafi. The militias then were at the forefront of battles for the last regime strongholds, ending with Gadhafi's capture and killing in October at the hands of a militia from Misrata, a city east of Tripoli that endured one of the bloodiest sieges of the civil war.

Since then, militias have carved up neighborhoods in Tripoli and other cities, establishing their hold with checkpoints at the entrances. There are efforts between them to cooperate: If a brigade chases a suspect into another district, it must seek clearance from the local militia, said Jalal al-Gelani, the deputy police chief of the Tripoli neighborhood of Souq al-Jomaa.

But borders often overlap. Disputes break out over personnel or relatives from one militia detained by another. Then the weapons come out and shooting begins. There are usually no casualties, but the battles terrify residents. In January, a gunbattle between Misrata and Zintan revolutionaries erupted in a turf fight over a sports complex. The two sides fired rifles and heavy machine guns, shattering the complex's windows and damaging cars.

The police have been eclipsed. When Tripoli fell, most police fled and shed their uniforms, fearful of revenge attacks. The police chief in Souq al-Jomaa never came back. Now there are about 200 police in the Souq al-Jomaa station, about a tenth of the number of militiamen, said one officer, Mustafa al-Darnawi.

At night, policemen vanish, afraid of attacks. Police stations are guarded by militiamen.

"Without revolutionaries, the police are zeros," said a Souq al-Jomaa resident, 24-year-old Ahmed Hajaji, standing next to the local police station, where a large sign over the entrance read, "No to revenge, yes to forgiveness."

Last week, top militia commanders from the western half of the country gathered in Tripoli to form a united front to coordinate their activities and avoid fights. The front mirrors a separate bloc created in the east.

The fronts also present a political force to pressure the National Transitional Council and the Cabinet it created, headed by Prime Minister Abdel Rahim al-Keib, signaling they will not lay down their arms.

NTC efforts to integrate the revolutionaries have already brought opposition.

A newly formed Defense Ministry "Warriors Committee" has so far registered 200,000 revolutionaries, who are given the option to join the army, police, intelligence or get help returning to society, such as a loan to start up a business or even travel abroad for studies.

But according to the former rebels, the committee has also registered members of Gadhafi's forces alongside the revolutionaries as part of an attempt at reconciliation, angering many in the militias.

"This is out of the question," said Farag al-Swehli, the commander of a Misrata militia operating in Tripoli. "You can't bring two people who fought against each other to sit next to each other ... There is only one way: revolutionaries are the army."

At the same time, the militias appear to be pressing for a political say as well, demanding figures they feel come from the ranks of the revolution be given government posts.

And they are confident the NTC and government has to listen to them.

"We can withdraw our troops in one second ... but who is going to protect Libya," said al-Akhdar in a defiant tone. "If they have a national army or police, let them show us. We haven't seen any so far."

Earlier on HuffPost:

Source: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/02/17/libya-militias_n_1284016.html

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Everything That's Wrong with Patent and Copyright Laws in One Brilliant Video [Video]

Patent trolls are the worst. Oh wait, no, out-of-control copyright crusaders, they're the worst. In fact, the whole intellectual property system needs a total overhaul. But why? How did it come to this? Kirby Ferguson's sublime Everything Is a Remix series comes to a conclusion with this really smart explanation of how the spirit of IP laws have been totally perverted by modern corporate culture. More »


Source: http://feeds.gawker.com/~r/gizmodo/full/~3/ovEcE6gfFbM/everything-thats-wrong-with-patent-and-copyright-laws-in-one-brilliant-video

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