Microsoft Revenues Soft As Company Awaits Windows 8 Rollout

Post PC era indeed. Microsoft announced quarterly results yesterday and, although they were massive, they were flat or down compared with a year ago. Overall Microsoft reported revenue of $16.01 billion.

Windows software sales were down 33 percent compared with a year ago. They came in a $3.24 billion vs. $4.87 billion in 2011. Microsoft attributed this in large part to the transition to Windows 8 and delayed enterprise and consumers purchases in anticipation of the launch.

Microsoft?s other cash cow business, Office, declined a much less severe 2 percent to $5.5 billion (from $5.63 billion a year ago).

Source: Microsoft earnings statement

Many financial analysts were not overly critical of the company because of the forthcoming launch of Windows 8, the company?s Surface line of tablets and the Windows 8 upgrade for mobile phones. However Redmond is probably facing the most competitive environment it has ever encountered, with Google on one side (Android, Chrome, Enterprise Apps) and Apple on the other (iPhone, iPad).

One bright spot: the Online Services Division, which houses Bing and advertising, reported both greater revenue and a smaller operating loss ? $697 million and $364 million respectively.

Related Topics: Featured | Microsoft: Bing | Microsoft: Business Issues | Microsoft: Mobile | Microsoft: Surface



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Key player in Parkinson's disease neuron loss pinpointed

ScienceDaily (Oct. 19, 2012) ? By reprogramming skin cells from Parkinson's disease patients with a known genetic mutation, researchers at the Salk Institute for Biological Studies have identified damage to neural stem cells as a powerful player in the disease. The findings, reported online October 17th in Nature, may lead to new ways to diagnose and treat the disease.

The scientists found that a common mutation to a gene that produce the enzyme LRRK2, which is responsible for both familial and sporadic cases of Parkinson's disease, deforms the membrane surrounding the nucleus of a neural stem cell. Damaging the nuclear architecture leads to destruction of these powerful cells, as well as their decreased ability to spawn functional neurons, such as the ones that respond to dopamine.

The researchers checked their laboratory findings with brain samples from Parkinson's disease patients and found the same nuclear envelope impairment.

"This discovery helps explain how Parkinson's disease, which has been traditionally associated with loss of neurons that produce dopamine and subsequent motor impairment, could lead to locomotor dysfunction and other common non-motor manifestations, such as depression and anxiety," says Juan Carlos Izpisua Belmonte, a professor in Salk's Gene Expression Laboratory, who led the research team. "Similarly, current clinical trials explore the possibility of neural stem cell transplantation to compensate for dopamine deficits. Our work provides the platform for similar trials by using patient-specific corrected cells. It identifies degeneration of the nucleus as a previously unknown player in Parkinson's."

Although the researchers say that they don't yet know whether these nuclear aberrations cause Parkinson's disease or are a consequence of it, they say the discovery could offer clues about potential new therapeutic approaches.

For example, they were able to use targeted gene-editing technologies to correct the mutation in patient's nuclear stem cells. This genetic correction repaired the disorganization of the nuclear envelope, and improved overall survival and functioning of the neural stem cells.

They were also able to chemically inhibit damage to the nucleus, producing the same results seen with genetic correction. "This opens the door for drug treatment of Parkinson's disease patients who have this genetic mutation," says Belmonte.

The new finding may also help clinicians better diagnose this form of Parkinson's disease, he adds. "Due to the striking appearance in patient samples, nuclear deformation parameters could add to the pool of diagnostic features for Parkinson's disease," he says.

The research team, which included scientists from China, Spain, and the University of California, San Diego, and Scripps Research Institute, made their discoveries using human induced pluripotent stem cells (iPSCs). These cells are similar to natural stem cells, such as embryonic stem cells, except that they are derived from adult cells. While generation of these cells has raised expectations within the biomedical community due to their transplant potential -- the idea that they could morph into tissue that needs to be replaced -- they also provide exceptional research opportunities, says Belmonte.

"We can model disease using these cells in ways that are not possible using traditional research methods, such as established cell lines, primary cultures and animal models," he says.

In this study, the researchers used skin fibroblast cells taken from Parkinson's disease patients who have the LRRK2 mutation, and they reprogrammed them to iPSC stem cells and developed them into neural stem cells.

Then, by using an approach to model what happens when these neural stem cells aged, they found that older Parkinson disease neural stem cells increasingly displayed deformed nuclear envelopes and nuclear architecture. "This means that, over time, the LRRK2 mutation affects the nucleus of neural stem cells, hampering both their survival and their ability to produce neurons," Belmonte says.

"It is the first time to our knowledge that human neural stem cells have been shown to be affected during Parkinson's pathology due to aberrant LRRK2," he says. "Before development of these reprogramming technologies, studies on human neural stem cells were elusive because they needed to be isolated directly from the brain."

Belmonte speculates that the dysfunctional neural stem cell pools that result from the LRRK2 mutation might contribute to other health issues associated with this form of Parkinson's disease, such as depression, anxiety and the inability to detect smells.

Finally, the study shows that these reprogramming technologies are very useful for modeling disease as well as dysfunction caused by aging, Belmonte says.

The research was supported by Glenn Foundation for Medical Research, G. Harold and Leila Y. Mathers Charitable Foundation, Sanofi, The California Institute of Regenerative Medicine, Ellison Medical Foundation and Leona M. and Harry B. Helmsley Charitable Trust, MINECO and Fundacion Cellex.

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The above story is reprinted from materials provided by Salk Institute for Biological Studies, via Newswise.

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


Journal Reference:

  1. Guang-Hui Liu, Jing Qu, Keiichiro Suzuki, Emmanuel Nivet, Mo Li, Nuria Montserrat, Fei Yi, Xiuling Xu, Sergio Ruiz, Weiqi Zhang, Ulrich Wagner, Audrey Kim, Bing Ren, Ying Li, April Goebl, Jessica Kim, Rupa Devi Soligalla, Ilir Dubova, James Thompson, John Yates III, Concepcion Rodriguez Esteban, Ignacio Sancho-Martinez, Juan Carlos Izpisua Belmonte. Progressive degeneration of human neural stem cells caused by pathogenic LRRK2. Nature, 2012; DOI: 10.1038/nature11557

Note: If no author is given, the source is cited instead.

Disclaimer: This article is not intended to provide medical advice, diagnosis or treatment. Views expressed here do not necessarily reflect those of ScienceDaily or its staff.

Source: http://feeds.sciencedaily.com/~r/sciencedaily/~3/nlhrcqm5pps/121019141126.htm

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Pakistani ex-army, intel chiefs face legal action

ISLAMABAD (AP) ? Pakistan's top court recommended Friday that the government launch legal proceedings against a former army chief and head of intelligence for allegedly bankrolling politicians running against the current ruling party in the 1990 election.

The ruling related to a case filed 16 years ago by a retired air marshal, Asghar Khan, accusing the Inter-Services Intelligence agency of distributing the money through a secret cell set up under the supervision of late President Ghulam Ishaq Khan.

The decision is the latest example of the Supreme Court's increasing activism against the civilian government and the military. The military and its intelligence agencies have been accused of interfering in politics many times in the past, but legal action against them is rare.

The court said ex-President Khan, former army chief Aslam Baig and retired ISI chief Asad Durrani "acted in violation of the constitution" and their actions "brought a bad name to Pakistan and its armed forces as well as secret agencies in the eyes of the nation." Khan died in 2006.

The judges ordered the federal government to "take necessary steps under the constitution and law against them."

The court also recommended that legal action be taken against politicians who allegedly received money and were running against the Pakistan People's Party in the election. The names of the politicians were not provided in the court order.

Intelligence agencies "have no role to play in the political affairs of the country such as formation or destabilization of government," said the court.

Also Friday, a bomb attached to a bicycle exploded as a paramilitary vehicle drove by in Quetta, the capital of southwest Baluchistan province. Two soldiers and one civilian were killed, said police official Hamid Shakil. Fifteen people, including four soldiers, were also wounded in the attack, he said.

___

Associated Press writer Abdul Sattar contributed to this report from Quetta, Pakistan.

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/pakistani-ex-army-intel-chiefs-face-legal-action-125755885.html

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Oakland U coach breaks silence about sexual abuse

ROCHESTER, Mich. (AP) ? Beckie Francis remembers sitting on her couch last year, staring in amazement as she watched Sen. Scott Brown of Massachusetts reveal on TV that he was a survivor of sexual abuse.

Francis turned to her husband and told him she could do the same thing.

The women's basketball coach at Oakland University shared her story with parishioners at her suburban Detroit church, and with her players. And now, she is telling everyone else in hopes that it will encourage victims of sexual abuse to seek help, and to assist parents and children to avoid what she endured.

Until now, Francis had not publicly disclosed said that she was sexually assaulted by her dad, who is now deceased, from the age of 4 until she was in the seventh grade. Francis says she doesn't know when her dad died and can't recall the last time she saw him because she blocked him out of her life and mind after the abuse he inflicted on her.

The 47-year-old coach decided to come forward to speak out against the problem, in part because of the Jerry Sandusky scandal at Penn State.

"It's not easy to talk about," Francis said in an interview with The Associated Press. "It's something I tried to hold back and hide because I was afraid of what people would think. It's to a point now, where situations are coming out in the media with all kinds of cases from schools, churches, everywhere and I'm tired of it."

And, Francis is trying to do something about it.

She agreed to emcee an event on Oakland's campus on Thursday night featuring Erin Merryn, who was sexually abused as a child and now campaigns for increased education and protection from sexual predators. While Francis has been inspired by Brown and Merryn to go public with her past plight, the politician and the advocate are thrilled to have the coach on their team.

"Since telling my own story of abuse, I've been struck by the number of people who say they have drawn strength from it," Brown said. "It is humbling and gratifying to know that I may have given coach Francis the courage to speak out about the abuse she suffered."

Merryn travels around the nation to get versions of "Erin's Law" passed in all 50 states to require schools to adopt policy and create a curriculum that, among other things, would help children understand and talk about sexual abuse. The legislation has been introduced in many states, including Michigan, and enacted in four: Illinois ? where the 27-year-old Merryn is from ? Missouri, Indiana and Maine, she said.

"It always a help when you have a public figure like Beckie, especially at a university, to come forward like this to encourage other people to not keep their story a secret," Merryn said.

Sandusky's secret was exposed nearly a year ago and the former Penn State assistant football coach was sentenced this month to 30 to 60 years in prison. He was found guilty of raping or fondling boys in a child sex-abuse scandal that disgraced the school, forced the ouster of coach Joe Paterno and brought unprecedented penalties from the NCAA.

Penn State is hosting a child sexual abuse conference later this month. Merryn plans to be there to share information about "Erin's Law" and sign copies of her two books.

"It's good that Penn State is trying to do something positive instead of shoving it under the rug, but at this point, they don't have a choice," Merryn said. "It's unfortunate that it look something like the tragedy at Penn State to bring the world's attention to the monsters, who 93 percent of the time are somebody you trust with your kids, that are in every community."

Francis' path toward going public got a jolt when she heard about Merryn trying to get legislation named after her passed in Michigan. The two women quickly connected and an invite was extended to Merryn by the school to come to campus for a speaking engagement endorsed by the school's administration, which includes Francis' husband, Oakland University President Gary Russi.

The school planned to have counselors on hand to provide support and referrals for anyone after what was expected to be an emotional night.

Francis didn't tell her mother what happened until she was in her 30s, about 15 years ago. Her mom, she said, was "shocked and angry" about what happened in Germantown, N.Y., where Francis was born, raised and abused.

Francis, who has won 184 Division I games over 10 seasons, took the team to the 2002 NCAA tournament ? only to resign after the season because of ulcerative colitis she later attributed to stress from the abuse she tried to forget. Francis was rehired for the 2005-06 season and led the Golden Grizzlies back to the NCAA tournament.

"Reflecting back, I do believe the fact that I didn't deal with my abuse affected my health and led to my health- and stress-related resignation," Francis said. "During that time away from coaching, I bawled for the first time in my life with therapists and became a Christian."

With professional help and her strong faith, Francis walks and talks with a powerful conviction ? confident and comfortable ? about her past and her hopes.

"I was in total denial until maybe my 30s, and that's another example of why I want to talk about this," she said. "I know that people are so embarrassed, and they think, 'Oh, I'm just going to forget about it. It was in the past. Move on. Buck up. Suck it up.' But there are so many things. It can affect your health. It just affects your confidence.

"And since I have just let it go, I am happier and healthier than I have ever been. I am totally free."

___

Associated Press writers Mike Householder in Detroit and Jeff Karoub in Lansing, Mich., contributed to this report.

___

Follow Larry Lage on Twitter at www.Twitter.com/larrylage

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/oakland-u-coach-breaks-silence-sexual-abuse-080354068--spt.html

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Bobby Karl Works The Dale Franklin Awards : MusicRow ...

Follow MusicRow on Twitter Print This Post?Print This Post Chapter 409: For the ninth presentation of the Leadership Music Dale Franklin Awards, they [...]

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Illinois Family Institute, Anti-Gay Hate Group, Condemns School For ...

An Illinois anti-gay Christian hate group voiced its condemnation of a newly affirmed school policy for transgender-inclusion, claiming the "feckless school board has made a decision to accommodate, not the needs of gender-confused teens, but their disordered desires."

The East Aurora school board voted Oct. 15 to approve a policy that addresses the needs and rights of transgender and other non gender-conforming students, with policies such as allowing the student to use the restroom he or she associates with and using the modified name he or she has chosen, The Beacon-News reported.

On Tuesday, the Illinois Family Institue released an angry vitriol against the new transgender-inclusive policies.

"Apparently, all that?s needed for school personnel to be compelled to participate in a fiction is for a student to pretend 'consistently' at school that he or she is the opposite sex.

The school board is now imposing non-objective, 'progressive' moral, philosophical, and political beliefs?not facts?about gender confusion on the entire school. This feckless school board has made a decision to accommodate, not the needs of gender-confused teens, but their disordered desires and the desires of gender/sexuality anarchists who exploit public education for their perverse ends."

The IFI goes on to say transgender individuals "suffer" from a "mental and moral disorder." The group calls the school board's decision "biased, radical, and offensive" to taxpayers, warning that it could very well "embolden activists all over the state and country."

Think Progress corrected IFI's misinterpretation of transgender identities. "It?s important to note that in the new version of the American Psychiatric Association?s Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Orders (DSM-V), set to print in May 2013, trans identities are no longer classified as mental illness under 'Gender Identity Disorder,'" writes Zack Ford. Affirmation, says Ford, should be the only response towards the trans community.

The IFI has a history of anti-gay hatred, according to the Southern Poverty Law Center. The group has stooped to promoting the repeal of all laws protecting gays against discrimination, attacking anti-bullying programs and comparing homosexuality to Nazism.

Previously, the IFI called on parents to remove their children from classrooms led by teachers who support a gay-straight alliance, use LGBT-inclusive texts/learning materials, or support LGBT students.

[H/T Think Progress for the find.]

  • Bryan Fischer: Gay Adoption Is 'A Form Of Child Abuse'

    The American Family Association evangelist sounded off on a controversial study about gay parenting, which claimed to find disadvantages for children raised by same-sex parents. Fischer spoke about the study on his "Focal Point" talk show, labeling adoption by same-sex couples as "a form of child abuse." Of course, Fischer didn't stop there, making a point to condemn gay sex, too. "The sex that's involved in homosexual behavior -- it's unnatural, it is immoral and it is unhealthy," he proclaimed.

  • Bryan Fischer Compares Gays To Cannibals

    "It is altogether right for a rational culture to discriminate against homosexual behavior," Fischer said. "I am saying, yes, that's exactly what DOMA does and it should...because [homosexuality] is not a benign alternative to heterosexuality...we ought to discriminate." Right Wing Watch also noted that Fischer's declarations echoed those made in a blog piece he wrote last week, in which he compared LGBT people to the disturbing spate of cannibalism cases currently making headlines.

  • Pastor Worley: Gays And Lesbians Should Be Put In An Electrified Pen And Ultimately Killed Off

    The pastor, identified on YouTube as Charles L. Worley of Providence Road Baptist Church in Maiden, N.C., condemns President Obama's much-publicized endorsement of same-sex marriage while calling for gays and lesbians to be put in an electrified pen and ultimately killed off. "Build a great, big, large fence -- 150 or 100 mile long -- put all the lesbians in there," Worley suggests in the clip, reportedly filmed on May 13. "Do the same thing for the queers and the homosexuals and have that fence electrified so they can't get out...and you know what, in a few years, they'll die out...do you know why? They can't reproduce!"

  • Pastor Suggests Gays Should Be Prosecuted Like They Were Historically

    Ron Baity, founding pastor of Winston-Salem's Berean Baptist Church and head of the anti-marriage equality organization Return America, referred to homosexuality as "a perverted lifestyle" in a Sunday sermon before telling his congregation that lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) people should be prosecuted, Good as You is reporting. "For 300 years, we had laws that would prosecute that lifestyle," he is quoted as saying. "We've gone down the wrong path. We've become so dumb that we have accepted a lie for the truth, and we've...discarded the truth on the shoals of shipwreck!"

  • Pastor Sean Harris: Parents Should 'Punch' Their Effeminate Children

    "So your little son starts to act a little girlish when he is four years old and instead of squashing that like a cockroach and saying, 'Man up, son, get that dress off you and get outside and dig a ditch, because that is what boys do,' you get out the camera and you start taking pictures of Johnny acting like a female and then you upload it to YouTube and everybody laughs about it and the next thing you know, this dude, this kid is acting out childhood fantasies that should have been squashed."

  • Pastor Slams Gay Marriage, Suggests Unions Between 'Person And A Beast' Could Be Next

    Tim Rabon, pastor at Raleigh's Beacon Baptist Church, condemned states such as Massachusetts, Connecticut and Maryland which have already "re-defined" marriage to include lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) couples. As heard in this recording, Rabon asked his congregation, "What is stopping them from refining marriage from a person and a beast? We're not far from that."

  • Tamara Scott: Gay Marriage Leads To Eiffel Tower Marriage

  • Bryan Fischer On Why Gays Are Responsible For The Nazi Party

  • Pastor Wooden Says Gay Sex Causes Gay Men To Need Diapers

  • Linda Harvey: Don't Let Gay Doctors Attend To Your Children

  • Robertson Compares Polygamy, Bestiality And Pedophilia To Gay Marriage

  • Scott Lively: Gay-Straight Alliances Are Designed To Recruit Kids

  • Tony Perkins: 'If You Want A Military That Just Does Parades,' Allow Gays To Openly Serve

  • James Robison: 'The Enemy' Is Using 'Glee' To Destroy America

  • Newt Gingrich: Gay Marriage A 'Perfect Example Of What I Mean By The Rise Of Paganism'

  • Daniel Lapin: Gays Should've Been Quarantined To fight AIDS

  • Pat Robertson Advises Father To Seek Ex-Gay Conversion For Gay Son

  • Bryan Fischer On How 'Poppers' And Promiscuity Causes AIDS

  • Liberty Counsel Warns That Macy's LGBT Policy Could Lead To Rape, Sexual Assault

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Source: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/10/17/anti-gay-group-condemns-school-transgender-inclusive-policies_n_1974096.html

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Southwest posts small profit after weak September

Southwest Airlines eked out a small third-quarter profit in spite of a September slowdown, the company said on Thursday.

Traffic at all the big airlines fell last month. September is traditionally when vacationers wrap up summer travel by Labor Day, and business travelers get back in the air.

Southwest has been using a mix of fare increases and sales to try to get its prices to a level that travelers will pay. Last month, fares paid by business travelers were soft, CEO Gary Kelly said on CNBC. Business travelers tend to pay more because they usually buy tickets closer to their departure date than vacationers.

"Business travelers were there, but it felt like we needed a little bit more aggressive pricing to entice them," he said.

It's possible the slowdown is over. Kelly said a key measure of revenue is 4 percent higher this month than in October 2011.

While Southwest rolls out the occasional sale to fill planes ? they were 82.1 percent full, a record for the quarter ? it has also been aggressive about trying to raise fares in recent months.

It launched two of the three fare increases that stuck during the quarter, according to a tally by Rick Seaney, CEO of air-travel website FareCompare.com.

And when an attempted increase by United Airlines last week faltered, Southwest came along and revived it. Seaney wrote that it was the first time he remembers a low-cost airline reviving a failed domestic price hike in almost a decade of watching fares.

Airlines have needed to raise fares to offset rising fuel costs. Southwest paid $3.16 per gallon for jet fuel during the recent quarter. It expects to pay an all-time high of $3.45 per gallon in the fourth quarter. That includes an expense of 9 cents per gallon for derivative contracts, known as fuel hedges, that may turn out to be money-losers based on current prices, the airline said.

Kelly said Southwest will "need to more aggressively control costs in the next year."

Southwest earned $16 million for the quarter that ended Sept. 30, or 2 cents per share. Not counting special items, Southwest would have earned $97 million, or 13 cents per share. That's a penny per share more than expected by analysts surveyed by FactSet.

During the same period last year it lost $140 million, or 18 cents per share.

Revenue was the same as a year ago, at $4.31 billion. Analysts had expected $4.35 billion.

Southwest is still working to absorb AirTran, which it bought last year. Nine AirTran planes have been painted in Southwest's blue and orange.

However, it's still running what amounts to two separate airlines, with separate ticket sales and flight schedules. Southwest said it's on track to connect the networks of the two airlines early next year.

Southwest said it will convert AirTran markets in Charlotte, N.C., Flint, Mich., Portland, Maine, and Rochester, N.Y. to Southwest markets starting with its April schedule, to be published next week.

Shares of Dallas-based Southwest Airlines Co. airline rose 7 cents to $9.02 in morning trading.

Associated Press

Source: http://hosted2.ap.org/APDEFAULT/f70471f764144b2fab526d39972d37b3/Article_2012-10-18-Earns-Southwest%20Airlines/id-614c32f01e0441ac94b5a9698e1fae15

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Much Ado About Noting

President Obama, left, listens as Republican presidential candidate Mitt Romney, right, speaks during the Presidential Debate.

President Obama, left, listens and takes notes during the first presidential debate

Photo by Michael Reynolds/Getty Images.

President Obama and former Gov. Mitt Romney will face off in a crucial town hall debate at Hofstra University in New York on Tuesday. Obama was criticized after the last debate for spending too much time looking down and taking notes rather than staring at his opponent. What are candidates actually writing down?

Their opponents? points, their own responses, or just about anything to avoid making faces at their opponents. Note-taking is valuable to candidates, many of whom picked up the habit in law school, for structuring their responses. However, just as often candidates turn to their notes simply to have somewhere to look while their opponent attacks them. President Obama has been known to use this strategy before, such as when he debated Hillary Clinton and was described as ?tightening his mouth and taking notes to avoid her gaze.? Later on during that campaign, John McCain was known to mask his anger using the same strategy. Note-taking has been a controversial issue since the first presidential debates, in 1960. After their third appearance together, Richard Nixon accused John F. Kennedy of breaking the rules by reading from prepared notes. Kennedy denied that he had violated any rules, and ABC, which had aired the debate, refused to take sides. Nixon insisted, ?I?m not angry about it,? but the New York Times noted that ?his face was rigid, his lips taut, and his voice rose as he continued talking about the use of notes.? He went on to claim once again that he was ?not complaining. ? But before the next debate, we had better settle on the rules.?

The rules concerning note-taking have become more and more detailed. By the Ronald Reagan-Walter Mondale duels of 1984, debate rules stated that ?No prepared notes or prompting devices of any kind may be brought into the debate,? though they went on to declare that ?during the debate, however, notes may be taken.? For the next round of debates, between George H.W. Bush and Michael Dukakis, rules specified that each candidate could scribble ?on the size, color and type of paper each prefers.? Rules were a bit stricter in 1996, when Bob Dole and Bill Clinton were each required by contract to submit their own chosen stationery and pens or pencils to the debate commission beforehand; the commission?s staff were the only people authorized to place those papers and writing utensils on the candidates? lecterns. The town hall debate that year at the University of San Diego faced potentially jeopardizing last-minute negotiations when the Dole campaign requested that the candidates stand behind lecterns so that Dole could still organize his thoughts on paper. The campaign cited the candidate?s war wounds, which left him in paralyzed in one arm, but the Clinton campaign insisted that ?no substantive changes [would] be acceptable.?

This year?s debate rules, which were obtained and leaked by Time magazine, are more detailed than ever when it comes to scribbles. Under Section 5c, the agreement says that ?No props, notes, charts, diagrams, or other writings or other tangible things may be brought into the debate by any candidate, including portable electronic devices.? It goes on to specify that ?prior to the beginning of the debate, the Commission will verify as appropriate that the candidates have complied with this subsection.? The penalty for violation is simple: ?If a candidate uses a prop, note, or other writing or other tangible thing during a debate, the moderator must interrupt? to explain the violation. Still, as long they don?t write on them beforehand, each candidate is still allowed ?the size, color, and type of blank paper each prefers? and ?the type of pen or pencil that each prefers.?

Still, the ever more detailed rules haven?t always prevented further controversy. Before the final presidential debate in Williamsburg, Va., in 1976, first lady Betty Ford stepped to the podium during an afternoon tech check and scrawled an illicit note to Jimmy Carter: ?Dear Mr. Carter, May I wish you the best tonight. I am sure the best man will win. I happen to have a favorite candidate, my husband. Best of luck, Betty Ford.? For the 1992 vice presidential debate, aides to Dan Quayle sought approval to have him read passages from Al Gore?s book Earth in the Balance. Gore representatives agreed, but only on the condition that their guy could bring in a potato. (Quayle had famously misspelled the word potato earlier that year.) The matter was soon dropped. Some left-leaning blogs accused Romney of sneaking a cheat sheet into his first debate with Obama?evoking Sarah Palin in 2010?but further analysis of the video revealed that the small white object was just a handkerchief. Even just last week Rep. Steve King of Iowa was caught with notes written on his hand during a congressional debate, though King says it was just a reminder from his wife to smile.

Obama wasn?t the first candidate to get criticized for looking down at his notes too much. After the vice-presidential debate of 1984, Geraldine Ferraro was criticized for staring not at the camera or her opponent but down at her legal pad, making her appear cowed by George H.W. Bush. The vice-presidential debate of 2004 was particularly noted for the amount of note-taking, with Vice President Dick Cheney and Sen. John Edwards ?scribbl[ing] furiously on their pads, occasionally exchanging wary glances, then looking away.? The New York Times? Alessandra Stanley wrote that ?they looked like two strangers endorsing checks at the bank.?

Candidates usually keep their notes to themselves, but after last week?s vice presidential debate, a close-up photo of Biden?s notes began to travel around the Web. His doodles included bullet points reading simply, for example, ?Egyptian people? and ?no apology.?

Got a question about today?s news??Ask the Explainer.

Source: http://feeds.slate.com/click.phdo?i=44ba1b2046e6f96a00c6126e85e2ab88

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The B2B Lead Generation Manifesto [Infographic] - Online Marketing ...

[We're trying something different and including this sponsored post from Oli Gardner, Co-Founder & Creative director at?Unbounce, a sponsor for the Minneapolis launch of Lee's book Optimize. ?You may know?Unbounce as that clever service that gives marketers and marketing agencies an easy way to create, publish and test landing pages without IT or developers.]

As a digital marketing agency that does a substantial amount of consulting in the B2B Marketing space, we?ve paid a lot of attention to the topic here at Online Marketing Blog with tips posts and the recent B2B Marketing Innovation eBook we put together in partnership with MarketingProfs.

As part of our mission to provide useful information in an interesting way, below is an awesome infographic in the style of a vintage Russian propaganda poster that provides 5 principles of B2B lead generation for any company marketing to business buyers. ?The bonus tips after the infographic offer great advice to help you boost your B2B marketing lead generation performance.

Principle #1. Thou Shalt Create Content

Create valuable content that helps people achieve greater success for their business and will be willing to share their personal data for.

Examples of the types of content you can use to entice leads are:

  1. eBooks and whitepapers: Help to establish you as a thought leader which can lead you the acquisition of customers.
  2. Blogging: Your lead can be in the form of an RSS subscriber.
  3. Videos: Add a CTA at the end.
  4. Infographics: Highly shareable content can give you greater brand exposure. Couple them with some surrounding content (like this post) and link to a landing page to generate leads.
  5. Webinars:?Leverage well known experts?and co-marketing to bring in special guests from other companies to add to the desire factor.

If You Want to Create an eBook: Here?s a How-To Process

Have some genius content to give away so that people will part with their information and start to see you as a thought leader in the space.

How to Do it in 24 Hours:

Sounds crazy, but if you want to gather leads with an eBook it?s worth it. At Unbounce we used the process below to create our first eBook in one day:

  1. Define a concept: Ours was to create an eBook of?101 Landing Page Optimization Tips.
  2. Break it into chapters: (e.g. forms, trust factors) and then formulate a question to generate the content for each chapter. In this instance a question could be: ?What can you do with your lead forms to improve conversions??.
  3. Spend 10-20 minutes per question doing a rapid fire brainstorm: Place post-it notes on larger pieces of paper (one piece of paper per question, as shown in the infographic) ? this allows for better organization.
  4. Pull an all-nighter: Take all the answers and then commit to writing the eBook in one go while the ideas are fresh.
  5. Build your PDF: Include social sharing buttons to a landing page which we?ll do in step 7 and make it clear that it?s okay to pass it along.
  6. Include a CTA: Have a CTA at the bottom of every page and a large one at the end of the eBook that goes to a landing page where you can add a special offer.
  7. Put together a landing page with 2 variants: Split your traffic to the pages 50/50. One with a form to collect leads, the other should require people to?pay with a tweet [case study]. Or?have both options on the same page.

Principle #2. Thou Shalt Optimize Your Lead Gen Pages

The simplest rule to learn here is that every lead gen form ? or the page it?s on ? can be better. This is where A/B testing and conversion rate optimization come into play. If you?re part of an?in-house marketing team or agency, you can break up the optimization workflow between your team members.

Things to test to achieve higher conversions on your B2B lead gen pages:

  1. The size of the prize: Match the perceived value of your giveaway with that of the level of data you?re asking for. I.e. don?t have a form with 10 required fields for a 5 page eBook.
  2. Try before you buy: This is a proven technique used repeatedly in B2C circles (think of Amazon?s ?Look Inside?), so why not use it for your B2B campaigns? Add trust to your page by offering a totally free preview of the best section.
  3. Social proof: If you?re advertising a webinar, show a live count of registrants to encourage herd mentality. Also get your Marketing Manager to reach out for customer testimonials.
  4. A/B test your pages: Continually come up with new hypothesis to test against your original page.

Principle #3. Thou Shalt Market After the Conversion

Confirmation pages are a highly neglected conversion hotspot that should be taken advantage of while your lead is at their warmest. This is known as post-conversion lead generation.

How you should leverage your post-conversion opportunities:

  1. For webinars: People get busy, forget, or have to attend meetings, so they inevitably miss webinars. In the case of?Dan Zarrella?s world record breaking webinar?(31,100 registrants) ? 65% of registrants didn?t show up. But don?t let this be the end of the story, you now have a list of business leads, so follow up with a recording and invite them to your next event.
  2. Give a bonus: To make people feel extra special, give them something else after they convert, such as another eBook.
  3. Social sharing and following: The confirmation page is the place to put your sharing and follow widgets, it removes clutter and distractions from your landing page.

Principle #4 ? Thou Shalt Embrace the Mobile Market

With 64% of decision-makers reading their email via mobile devices, you should be using email marketing to engage these people. To do this effectively, make sure that any mobile pages you build follow these rules:

  1. Make your CTA buttons big enough for fat fingers.
  2. Don?t send ANYONE to a homepage: All that nudging and stretching on a smartphone is annoying and makes people hit the back button.
  3. Keep your forms short: Tolerance for typing on mobile devices is low.
  4. Click to call: If your prospects need a little handholding, have a clickable phone number as well as the form.

Mobile Tip

Virtually every free mobile app has some kind of advertising. If you have an app, link to a mobile-ready landing page with an offer (for example ask for their email to get a discount for the paid version of the app that removes the ads).

Principle #5. Thou Shalt Nurture Your Leads

A common marketing expression is that you should sell the fire, not the fire extinguisher. In other words, use a soft sell approach. You can do this via email by sending useful content to your leads to keep them engaged and looking at you as a subject matter expert. Over time this will create the persuasion required to turn a fence-sitter into a customer.

Tip: Test Your Email Frequency with Drip Campaigns

Segment your list and send leads a different number of emails during a 30-day product trial and compare unsubscribe rates.
Follow these 5 principles and you?ll start seeing an improvement in your B2B lead generation conversion rates. Finally, what have you found to be the best way to engage your B2B customers?

Follow these 5 principles and you?ll start seeing an improvement in your B2B lead generation conversion rates. Finally, what have you found to be the best way to engage your B2B customers?

Source: http://www.toprankblog.com/2012/10/b2b-lead-generation-manifesto-infographic/

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A-Rod benched again, with Granderson this time

New York Yankees' Alex Rodriguez watches from the dugout in the sixth inning during Game 3 of the American League championship against the Detroit Tigers series Tuesday, Oct. 16, 2012, in Detroit. (AP Photo/Paul Sancya )

New York Yankees' Alex Rodriguez watches from the dugout in the sixth inning during Game 3 of the American League championship against the Detroit Tigers series Tuesday, Oct. 16, 2012, in Detroit. (AP Photo/Paul Sancya )

New York Yankees' Curtis Granderson reacts after striking out in the third inning during Game 3 of the American League championship series against the Detroit Tigers Tuesday, Oct. 16, 2012, in Detroit. (AP Photo/Paul Sancya )

DETROIT (AP) ? Alex Rodriguez has been benched again by the New York Yankees, who also dropped center fielder Curtis Granderson from the starting lineup while trying to avoid elimination Wednesday.

The slumping Yankees trail 3-0 in the AL championship series against Detroit. Manager Joe Girardi has juggled his lineup throughout the postseason, trying to find the right combination.

"I'm not happy about it. Obviously, you come to the ballpark feeling you can help the team win. When you see your name is not in the lineup, it's obviously disappointing," Rodriguez said before Game 4 on Wednesday night. "You've got to accept being a cheerleader and also make sure that you're ready when you're number's called."

Rodriguez, who is 3 for 23 in these playoffs, is out of the starting lineup for the third time. The star third baseman also been removed for a pinch-hitter three times in New York's nine postseason games.

"I really feel in my heart, anytime I'm in that lineup, the team is a better team, without a question," he said.

While Rodriguez was surrounded by a pack of reporters on the field Wednesday, some Tigers looked on in bewilderment during Detroit's batting practice.

Granderson joins A-Rod on the bench after another hitless night Tuesday dropped him to 3 for 29 in the postseason. Granderson hit 43 homers with 106 RBIs this season.

Nick Swisher, who was benched in Game 3, returns to the lineup in right field. Eric Chavez starts at third base in place of Rodriguez. Brett Gardner is starting in Granderson's normal spot.

Rodriguez has looked particularly overmatched against right-handers, going 0 for 18 with 12 strikeouts in the postseason. Detroit's entire playoff rotation is right-handed, including Game 4 starter Max Scherzer.

In Game 3, Girardi let Raul Ibanez hit against left-hander Phil Coke in the ninth inning, and Ibanez struck out to end the game. The switch-hitting Swisher ? not Rodriguez ? was in the on-deck circle preparing to pinch-hit.

"I was ready to hit, and I was just waiting for my number to be called," Rodriguez said. "Any time I'm in any lineup, I think that lineup is better and has a better chance to win. ... Anytime I'm in the box, the game can change, and everyone knows that."

Associated Press

Source: http://hosted2.ap.org/APDEFAULT/347875155d53465d95cec892aeb06419/Article_2012-10-17-ALCS-Yankees-A-Rod%20and%20Granderson%20Benched/id-2c2fc8a3648a4b139aac438f17658d2b

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