Real Captain Phillips warns cuts could hit Pentagon shipping program

By David Alexander

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - An American merchant marine captain made famous by a Tom Hanks movie after being kidnapped by Somali pirates warned on Thursday that looming U.S. budget cuts could sink part of a program that keeps U.S.-flagged ships ready to ferry military supplies and aid around the world.

Richard Phillips, who was held hostage after Somali pirates seized his vessel in 2009, is backing a campaign to halt the budget cuts, saying they could reduce by a third the size of the 60-strong U.S. commercial fleet that regularly carries cargo for the military.

His ship, the Maersk Alabama was carrying U.S. food aid when it was boarded by the pirates.

Captain Steven Werse, an official at the International Organization of Masters, Mates and Pilots, the union that represents U.S. commercial ship officers, said the example of the Maersk Alabama should show the importance of the program.

"Unfortunately, we're under attack. What the pirates could not take away from the captain and his crew, the Congress could take away," he said. "The Maersk Alabama is one of the vessels that is part of the 60-ship Maritime Security Program."

"Everyone understands belt-tightening. It's just that we've had our belt tightened to the point where we could lose our pants," he said.

The Maritime Security Program run by the U.S. Department of Transportation spends $186 million annually to ensure the 60 ships are at the ready to carry cargo for U.S. troops at war and other government uses. The subsidy per ship is $3.1 million this year, according to congressional testimony.

Data released by the captains at a news conference said that during the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, vessels enrolled in the security program carried 95 percent of Defense Department cargo shipped by sea to the region, from tanks to food.

The Maersk Alabama is one of the vessels potentially affected by the cuts.

Phillips was held hostage in a lifeboat after the pirates seized his vessel and attempted to hold it for ransom.

A five-day standoff with a U.S. Navy ship ended when snipers shot and killed Phillips' three captors on the lifeboat. "Captain Phillips," a movie about the incident starring Tom Hanks, opened in U.S. theaters this week.

Phillips said he didn't view himself as a hero and downplayed the incident, quipping: "We've always dealt with piracy. It's ... the second oldest profession we deal with in the Merchant Marine."

Werse said some $12 million could be cut from the Maritime Security Program under automatic budget cuts due to go into effect this year, which would eliminate four ships from the program.

Similar cuts, which would further reduce the fleet, are expected in subsequent years unless Congress acts to stop some $500 billion in automatic reductions to projected defense spending over the next decade.

Eliminating ships from the program could also force the U.S. military to rely on foreign-flagged vessels to deliver hardware and supplies during wartime, raising security and safety issues, the captains said.

"Our companies need support," Werse said. "If this program goes away, there's an estimated cost of capital investment by the DoD (Department of Defense) to replace these ships of $13 billion. This is a cost-effective program."

The U.S. Merchant Marine comprises fewer than 500 American flagged, civilian-owned ships. In the past it has been called upon to serve as an auxiliary to the Navy in wartime. The Maritime Security Program supports about 2,700 maritime jobs.

(Reporting by David Alexander; Editing by David Brunnstrom)

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/real-captain-phillips-warns-cuts-could-hit-pentagon-010807807--business.html
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Internet Marketing Tips: Is All Traffic To Your Site Created Equal ...

One of the biggest mistakes that newbie Internet marketers make time and time again is paying close attention to the amount of traffic there able to push to a web property – never really paying close attention to whether or not that traffic is of any value.

 

To think that all traffic is created equal could be one of the most crippling mistakes you ever make in this business, and one that you should strive to eliminate entirely if at all possible. There are different kinds of traffic (even when you’re talking about traffic pushed from a single source), and it’s important that you understand the “ins and outs” of traffic generation if you’re going to have any real success whatsoever.

 

There are two major types of traffic that you need to be aware of

 

Now that you know that all traffic is anything but equal, it’s important to understand exactly how traffic sources are broken down into different categories. Taking a very large overview of traffic generation in general, there are two major parts that you need to be aware of – targeted traffic and untargeted traffic.

 

Untargeted traffic is the kind of traffic that you get from just about anyone, anywhere – online or off – that may have just stumbled upon your web property. Untargeted traffic is also the kinds of traffic that you purchase from big time list brokers without checking to see what kind of list they were on in the first place), not making sure that they had a connection to your product or service.

 

At the same time, targeted traffic is worth its weight in gold – and much more difficult to create. This is the kind of traffic that you’re going to be able to enjoy from industry blogs, direct mailings that have been sent to niche prospects, and joint ventures that you’ve put together with other people in your industry – as well as the traffic that you generate from your own customer lists to

 

Eliminate untargeted traffic while embracing targeted traffic

 

Obviously, of the two types of traffic, targeted traffic is much more valuable to your bottom line while untargeted traffic is only going to eat away at your profits.

 

The problem is that targeted traffic is much more difficult to secure (and almost always more expensive). Anyone can shoot out a message across Facebook opening to find 10 or 15 prospects, but it costs a tremendous amount of money to create real connections with industry insiders, gain their trust to mail they are specific customer lists, and then focus on only picking the very best prospects from the bunch.

 

However, the moment that you decide to take charge of your different traffic types is the moment that your business changes forever. Just by making the relatively simple adjustment to committing only to get targeted traffic – regardless of the cost, or time necessary to generate – you’ll find that your returns go down, your customer service requests go way down, your profit goes up, and your enjoyment of your business goes through the roof.

 

Don’t ever fall for the “traffic is traffic” myth, it just might end up being the nail in your business’s coffin.

 

Now it’s your turn!

 

What is your approach to traffic?  Do you target anyone and everyone?  Or do you dial it down to a specific targeted group?  Please leave your feedback in the comments section and I look forward to reading them!

 

 

Nate Leung is the CEO and Founder of NateLeung.com. He has been an Internet Network Marketing professional since 2001. Nate specializes in blogging, generating highly targeted leads, prospecting, social media and driving traffic. You can find out more from Nate by connecting with him over at Google +.
There is no greater passion he has than helping people to succeed in their business.
He teaches people how to use the Internet to build a successful Network Marketing business. If you're struggling and or looking for help, contact Nate here.

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Source: http://windowsphone.uservoice.com/forums/101801-feature-suggestions/suggestions/3934842-developed-ng-pay-software-in-windows-phone

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How To Visualize and Create A Checklist for The Perfect Seattle ...

The process of buying a home can be a difficult one. The truth be told. It is the biggest financial endeavor that one undertakes during their existence. It is a very important decision because it will directly determine the kind of life that you and your family will live in the future. For this reason, this decision has to undertaken after much thought and consideration. This article is written to offer helpful information and guidelines that will help you to go through the process of buying a home and make it a stress free affair.

First things first, visualize the kind of house you want to purchase.

Ask yourself questions such as:
- How many floors do you want the house to have?
- Do you want the house to have a deck or a lawn?
- How many bedrooms should the house have?
- How many bathrooms should the house have?

Think further along the features that you want to include within your home.

External factors are equally important factors to think about when planning to buy a home.

Do you want to live in close proximity to shopping complexes for instance?

Or do you want your home to be in a suburban or urban environment?

Consider the things that you can change about the house as well as the things that you cannot change.

It would be simple to change the appearance of a house but it would be impossible to change the view or the location.

Buying a house also involves a lot of legal papers both on the buyer and on the seller?s side.

This is the where a real estate broker comes in. Find a professional real estate broker who will help you in overseeing this process. Ideally they earn their commission after a successful sale goes through. Always choose a real estate broker who knows the location and general area where you want to buy your house well. He or she will most likely have lots more information about the place.

The next thing to consider is your budget

What can you and can?t you afford. You may fall head over heels with a particular location but the houses there are out of your budget price. That said you can strategically find a house in the location of your choice but that will call for you to make some sacrifices as well.

Finding a Fixer In a Good Area

Finding a fixer might be tough to find. Know this though, that if you get such a deal the home will not be a ready to move in immediately kind of house. It would help a lot if you are handy or have friends and family who are handy. If you are or have such friends you can comfortably purchase the upper fixer in a good neighborhood.

Direct any and every question that you may have about buying a home to your agent. It is the sole purpose why they are there and there is never a question that is bad or not good enough.

If it takes you sometime to find your dream house, do not despair.

It?s the nature of the homes market. Sometimes they are available and sometimes they are not. If you can wait before you move, take your time and use that time to find the home of your choice. The most important point here is that you should only buy a house when you are 100% sure that that is the house you want.

Before you put pen to paper on any binding contracts, make sure the house has gone through an inspection. If there are any problems with its structure, the seller is under obligation to fix any issue and at his or her own expense. There is no way you would want to be stuck up in a place that has major problems even before you move in.

Since buying a home is really a big venture, give yourself sufficient time to think about it. Think over the options you have and do so until you are sure of what you want.

When you are ready contact us 206-334-8773

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Tagged as: buying in seattle, seattle homes, Seattle Real Estate, visualize perfect home

Source: http://www.thachrealestategroup.com/how-to-visualize-and-create-a-checklist-for-the-perfect-seattle-home-seattle-real-estate-for-sale/

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Since Photos Are Boring Without Filters, Glassagram Will Spice Up Your Google Glass Pics

Thanks to Instagram, we rarely see photos taken from camera phones without some type of filter on it. Even Twitter’s photo service uses Aviary to drop an earthy overlay or black-and-white treatment onto your digital masterpiece. Google Glass users aren’t going to be left out of this craze thanks to an app aptly named Glassagram. Again, this is the type of app that we’re seeing early on, consisting of the very basics that consumers will look for when thinking about whether Glass is a device for them, once they become available to the general public. Adding filters to photos is pretty consumery. Once you sign up for Glassagram, you simply share a photo with the service, then a card is sent back to your Glass timeline with all of your filtered options: The timeline card is going to be a main component in every Glass app that we see, as it will be the primary way for users to interact with what they’re seeing. For now, options like “share” are all we have, but I could see a day where more advanced controls like editing could be available. Something like Glassagram would be a perfect case for this. Once you get your options, simply scroll your way through them and reshare the one that tickles your fancy. It looks like you’ll get five different filtered options for your photo. The nice part about this is that it’s all done through the Glass UI, so you don’t need your phone or the web to do anything: Technological marvel? No. Handy app and an example of what’s to come from Glass developers? Yes. As I’ve been speaking with members of the Glass community, I’ve learned that quite a few companies are starting to look at the device to develop their own official apps, like Twitter. There seems to be interest in the developers who are getting a head start in the Explorer program from the companies, as well. This means that those poking around the Mirror API to figure out everything they can do might be able to land themselves a sweet job focusing on the device specifically. Will a company like Facebook dedicate a small team to figuring out the right experience for its users on Glass? It’s a safe bet that they will. Until then, we get to enjoy these small, but evolutionary, apps coming from Glass explorers. It feels

Source: http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/Techcrunch/~3/USQXVb-mLR4/

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Did Honey Boo Boo's parents tie the knot?

3 hours ago

Splash News

Mike "Sugar Bear" Thompson, June "Mama June" Shannon and Alana "Honey Boo Boo" Thompson.

You betta redneckognize y'all--Mama June and Sugar Bear made it official! Well, kinda.

Honey Boo Boo (real name Alanna Thompson) and big sisters Pumpkin, Chickadee and Chubbs witnessed their parents exchange vows Sunday in their Georgia backyard, People reports, but they won't confirm whether or not they've legally tied the knot.

"You'll have to watch the new season," a TLC rep tells E! News ("Here Comes Honey Boo Boo" returns to TLC July 17, so write that down).

NEWS: Keira Knightley marries James Righton in France

"The day was very special mostly because my girls were able to take part in it," June told the mag, "I felt like it was important for them to see this moment and celebrate my love for Sugar Bear."

The ceremony included a cake and a one-of-a-kind, camouflage wedding dress that was paired with a bouquet of bright roses. Everyone also enjoyed a barbecue and a bit of Cinco de Mayo partying.

"My sister baked the cake, and we spent most of the money on barbecue," says June. "We stayed true to our roots and made the focus on the family and my commitment to Sugar Bear. You can definitely plan an event on a budget!"

NEWS: Kim Kardashian and Kanye West having a destination wedding?

June also offered a piece of advice for fans who are looking for their own Sugar Bear.

"Never settle for a man who doesn't treat you right," she says. "If a guy doesn't love everything about you, move on! There are plenty of other fish in the sea."

She continued, "I give this advice to my daughters, because I always want them to be themselves and surround themselves with people who love them for them."

Wise words, Mama June.

PHOTOS: Did you know about these celebrity weddings?

Source: http://www.today.com/entertainment/did-honey-boo-boos-mama-june-sugar-bear-exchange-vows-6C9784005

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Clean Bottle The Square water bottle review

I work in a corporate office (Cummins Inc.) with 100′s of other people. It was once common to see people carrying around soft drink bottles to and from their meetings. But in the last few years, soda has mostly been replaced by water. Where people once carried around Coke, Pepsi and Mt. Dew bottles, now [...]

Source: http://the-gadgeteer.com/2013/05/05/clean-bottle-the-square-water-bottle-review/

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