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Employee theft is one of the worst problems a small business faces. In order to achieve success and make profits, small retail businesses have to stay theft-free. Statistics show that almost two-thirds of loss in a store is caused by theft perpetrated by dishonest employees. The losses cause harm to people who are not involved in this - the customers, by driving prices up. Eventually customers will refuse to do their shopping in the store affected. Therefore, businesses will enjoy less profit. Undoubtedly, every business must strive to prevent theft.

Each small business has the goal to make profits and must do its best to prevent theft. The percentage of employee theft varies for each business. It depends on the type of the store, the type of the products and so on. A store that sells expensive products such as computers, stereos, and televisions will have bigger losses than a store that sells food for example. In such stores, steps must be taken in order to prevent theft.

Because of all these troubles, executives have to find effective ways to prevent theft. The only way to avoid problems with employees is by developing a method to prevent theft. The first thing one can do to prevent theft is to make sure that he or she has hired honest employees. An honest employee is the best treasure you can discover. An honest employee is worth his or her weight in gold. Anyway, no matter how confident you are that you have hired honest employees, effective methods to prevent theft are necessary as well. In order to be successful, employees have to be assured that you are taking all the necessary actions to prevent theft.

Before you hire an employee, make a brief search of the employee’s labor background. Do a credit check. Look into personality and psychological testing. These will be the first steps you must take to prevent theft and these will be the most effective steps you will.

When you are hiring someone, you have to make sure you can rely on him or her. No matter how skillful, a dishonest employee is able to ruin your business. You need to be demanding when you are searching for employees and employees should not be offended by your strict selection. Strict selection is necessary if you wish to prevent theft.

Here are some tricks that may help you:

? Supply employees with uniforms that have no pockets;
? Share the combination to the safe only with those that must have it;
? Install security cameras over the cash-drawers;

You may think that implementing these things will be expensive, but just think of the losses that you will prevent if you fail to prevent theft.

Let me suggest to you one more important thing. First of all, you have to be honest as well. Would you expect your employees to be honest when you are not honest? Be honest in all your contact with employees, customers and vendors. If employees see you are honest, they will try to return you the favor. Do not make any unclear points in your everyday dealings. Develop clear rules and reasonable expectations for your employees. Prevent theft by imposing a fine on employees who do not follow the rules. Encourage those whose job performance is excellent. No employee will have the desire to work hard without appreciation for his or her efforts. It won’t be easy but you simply have to prevent theft.

Morgan Hamilton offers expert advice and great tips regarding all aspects concerning law. Get the information you are seeking now by visiting www.lawinformationonline.com/legal-information/legal-issues/effective-ways-to-prevent-theft.html http://www.lawinformationonline.com/legal-information/legal-issues/effective-ways-to-prevent-theft.html .

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There’s something oddly satisfying about seeing a big-budget movie flop. Whenever we hear about these ambitious, special effects-laden extravaganzas going down in flames we get an odd feeling of schadenfreude.

But why is this? Does it stem from the fact that we feel manipulated, almost exploited, by the movie industry? Perhaps. After all, movie studios make a lot of coin from tweaking our emotions, be it through adrenaline-filled action films or mawkishly tear-jerking weepies.

Perhaps the best reason for our guilty pleasure at seeing a big-budget movie flop is the fact that we feel like we won a battle. We caught Hollywood trying to pull a fast one by releasing a bad movie and trying to hype it anyway — and we weren’t fooled. Gotcha. Better luck next time.

That’s all well and good, but there have been many excellent movies throughout the years that, for whatever reason, failed to make it big at the box office. Hey, just because a movie didn’t make a lot of money on its release doesn’t make it bad — after all, Citizen Kane barely made enough to cover the cost of a wooden sled on its original release. It wasn’t until its re-release and television syndication that it became perhaps the most critically acclaimed movie of all time.

So, here’s a look at two movies that didn’t live up to expectations on their release, but later went on to disprove the critics:

Fight Club

Despite eventually becoming an enormous cult hit, Fight Club performed poorly on its release. With a budget of $63 million it took just $37 million at the US box office. On its release the movie drew mixed critical reactions, partly due to its violent nature. One high profile critic described it as a film without a single redeeming quality, which may have to find its audience in Hell , and the flop cost the Entertainment Chief of 20th Century Fox his job.

Despite a tepid reception, Fight Club went on to turn a small profit at the global box office before exploding in popularity in the DVD market, becoming one of the best-loved films of the 90s. Today you’d be hard pressed to find a young man’s DVD collection that didn’t boast a Fight Club DVD.

Shawshank Redemption

One of the most well known box office flops of recent years, The Shawshank Redemption, based on a Steven King novella, came up against the might of Forrest Gump at the box office. Audiences preferred Hanks’ feel good vehicle over this depressing prison drama and, although Shawshank garnered 7 Oscar nominations, the box office take was pathetic.

This all changed once the movie was released on video. Bolstered by the Oscar endorsements Shawshank became the most rented video of 1995, going on to become our 2nd favorite movie of all time according to an Internet Movie Database poll.

The moral of the story, it seems, is that you should probably think twice before dismissing a movie based on its box office success. Movies are always at their most enjoyable when seen on the big screen, so you shouldn’t miss out on the chance to see them as they were meant to be seen simply because the audiences can’t tell a Hollywood gem from fools gold. After all, these are the same people who made Ernest Goes to Jail the number one movie in its opening week. Would you trust them?

>From box office flops to blockbuster films, James Shenton is a movie expert and industry analyst from New York, specializing in picking the hits from the misses.

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Bob Seger developed into one of the most popular heartland rockers over the course of the ’70s. Originally He was a hard-driving rocker in the vein of fellow Michigan garage rockers the Rationals and Mitch Ryder. He successfully created a unique American Sound which was actually the combination of the driving charge of Ryder’s Detroit Wheels with Stonesy garage rock and devotion to hard-edged soul and R&B( events.ixs.net/R-B-Soul.aspx http://events.ixs.net/R-B-Soul.aspx ). Inspite of many lost opportunities of the initial Years of his career, Seger finally achieved a national audience in 1976 with the back-to-back release of his albums Live Bullet and Night Moves. These two Albums were a superb success which helped Seger in retaining his popularity for the coming two decades, releasing seven Top Ten, platinum-selling albums in a row.

Seger shown his interest in music in his early age. He began playing music in 1961 as the leader of the Detroit-based trio the Decibels; his future manager, Eddie Punch Andrews was also a member of the band. Moving to Ann Arbor, he played with the Town Criers before he became the keyboardist and vocalist for Doug Brown & the Omens. The band released The Ballad of the Yellow Beret, that was parody of the Sgt. Barry Sadler song The Ballad of the Green Beret. However, It proved a set back for them when Sadler threatened a lawsuit against this song.Resultantly, The single was withdrawn shortly after its release.

The First Solo Single of Seger was East Side Story, which was released in 1966. This song gained huge popularity and soon it became a regional hit. Many other local hit singles followed on Cameo Records, including Persecution Smith and Heavy Music, before his label folded. The Year 1968 was very important in the Career of Bob Seger as in this year, He successfully formed the Bob Seger System and got the golden opportunity of signing with the reknowned Capitol Records. His debut album, Ramblin’ Gamblin’ Man, was released by Capitol Records in the spring of this eventual year. The title track met a grand success and it became a national hit, climbing to number 17.

Seger achieved a commercial breakthrough with his 1976 album Night Moves which featured several hits including the highly evocative title song. Night Moves became a blockbuster, generating the hit singles Night Moves, Mainstreet, and Rock & Roll Never Forgets. Stranger in Town, released in the summer 1978, was just as successful, featuring the hits Still the Same, Hollywood Nights, We’ve Got Tonite, and Old Time Rock & Roll. His most recognizable songs are almost certainly Old Time Rock & Roll (featured in the film Risky Business) and Like a Rock (most familiar to many younger Americans through its association with a long-running Chevrolet ad campaign). Seger also co-wrote the Eagles #1 hit song Heartache Tonight from their 1979 album The Long Run.

Keeping in view of his grand successes, Seger was acknowledged as America’s most popular rockers. Seger’s next album, 1980’s Against the Wind, became his first number one album and all of its big hits — Fire Lake, Against the Wind, You’ll Accomp’ny Me — were ballads. The live album Nine Tonight continued his multi-platinum success in 1981, selling three million copies and peaking at number three.

Seger released his next popular Album “The Distance” in 1982.While The Distance featured Shame on the Moon, his biggest hit single to date, it had a record breaking sales of a million copies which shows his unmatched popularity.Seger also began to drastically reduce his recording and touring schedules — he only released one other album, 1986’s Like a Rock, during the ’80s. Like a Rock and its supporting tour were both successes, paving the way for Shakedown, a song taken from the soundtrack to Beverly Hills Cop II, to become Seger’s lone number one hit in 1987. Four years after its release, he returned with The Fire Inside. Although the album went platinum and reached the Top Ten, it only appealed to Seger’s devoted following, as did 1995’s It’s a Mystery, which became his first album since Live Bullet to fail to go platinum, leveling off at gold status.

Also during 2004, Seger was working on his first new album in 10 years, titled Face the Promise which was released on September 12, 2006. The first single, Wait For Me , landed on radio in July.

The Encyclopedia of Rock And Roll stated that His throaty, authoritative delivery is a pleasure to listen to, and the Silver Bullet Band is superb.

For more information about Bob Seger visit: events.ixs.net/concert-tickets/Pop-Rock/Bob-Seger/index.aspx http://events.ixs.net/concert-tickets/Pop-Rock/Bob-Seger/index.aspx

Heidi Grumm hosts events.ixs.net http://events.ixs.net and expresses her passion for events through writing and discussion. She works for Less Corporation at www.hrlady.com http://www.hrlady.com Copyright Heidi Grumm.

AP - Estelle Getty, the diminutive actress who spent 40 years struggling for success before landing a role of a lifetime in 1985 as the sarcastic octogenarian Sophia on TV’s “The Golden Girls,” has died. She was 84.

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Being a contrarian traveler, that is, doing the opposite of what the majority of people are doing is a smart way to save money on airfares. The theory in this being that while everybody is traveling one way, for example heading back home at the end of their winter vacations to Thailand, the planes going back to Thailand would be relatively empty. This creates an opportunity for the savvy traveler to take advantage of reduced airfares as airlines scramble to fill as many seats as possible.

Unfortunately we are not all able to travel when we want and work commitments may dictate that we must take our holidays at the same time as everybody else. This is where the laws of supply and demand kick in and the airlines and hotels crank up their prices.

But what if you really wanted or needed to travel at a time that was a peak travel time in your country? Do you just have to bite the bullet and pay the inflated prices?

Fortunately there is a strategy which allows you to both travel to and return from popular destinations at the same peak times as everyone else, without having to pay pumped-up holiday fares.

Let’s take Bangkok as an example because it is an extremely popular holiday destination and it is also one of the cheapest places in the world right now to purchase airfare tickets- a fact whose relevance will become clear in just a moment.

Let’s say it’s May and I am going to take a short 5 day trip to Bangkok, on a business trip or to visit friends. I’ve also decided that I want to take a vacation at the end of the year. I will not be able to depart until December 22nd, peak travel season. Unfortunately leaving between mid-December and mid-January will cost me pretty close to double the regular fare. Forward planning being one of the fundamentals of saving money on travel, knowing my end-of-year travel dates will enable me to save a lot of money.

What I do is instead of buying a 5 day return ticket for my May trip, I buy a one year open with the return date of the ticket sometime in January when I want to come home from my end of year vacation. Upon arriving in Bangkok I put this ticket away in my suitcase and purchase a second ticket from Bangkok to my original point of departure, or my home city. The return portion of this ticket (and this is the crucial part of the plan) is set to December 22nd.

This works because each airline in each country determines their fares from the point of departure. What this means is that the return date does not have as big an influence on the fare as the departure date. Basically they don’t care if the return section of your ticket is in a peak period in the country you are coming back from.

One year open tickets are a little more expensive than your regular 7- 30 day open tickets, however you should look into this option and you may find substantial savings doing it this way than paying the inflated peak time airfares that the airlines charge.

Aaron James is the author of many more tips on how to get cheap flights to BKK, Thailand at Cheapflights2thailand.com http://Cheapflights2thailand.com .

AP - General Motors Corp. plans to cut 15 percent of its U.S. and Canadian salaried work force - or around 5,100 jobs - by Nov. 1 as part of a plan to slash billions of dollars in costs and help the automaker ride out a slump in U.S. sales.

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We are all familiar with the famous line from the movie Jerry Maguire in which Jerry (Tom Cruise), after saying hello delivers a very long, dramatic and compelling monologue expressing his thoughts and emotions towards Dorothy (Renee Zellweger), only to hear her say stop… you had me at hello.

How romantic! (I don’t blame you if you already have tears in your eyes.) Wouldn’t it be wonderful if life always worked like that?

I’m really sorry to burst your bubble, but the ruthless truth is that it doesn’t. That’s right, IT DOESN’T. You had me at hello is just a movie phrase, a fantasy, a completely unreal statement meant to be presented and remain (you got it) IN THE MOVIES (ok, maybe in some Spanish soap operas too!)

The purpose of the following article is to share with you the main way in which many web sites fail to engage their visitors in establishing a relationship that can eventually translate into a sale, and the steps you can take to make sure even your casual web site visitors turn into customers for life. There’s lots of great information ahead so let’s get started…

Every single web site says hello the moment it is opened by any given individual. It will then deliver it’s compelling monologue (notice the term MONOLOGUE ) by providing all the information about the subject it covers (a product, service, person, business, topic, etc.) We were doing well so far… unfortunately, that is where the similarities between the movie and reality end.

You see, if life worked just like the movie, the individual visiting the web site would instantly fall in love with it, purchase whatever the web site is selling and instantly add it to his or her list of favorite sites to make sure that it will never get lost or disappear in cyber space.

POP!!! There goes your bubble! (Wake up and welcome to reality.) You see, the real scenario that happens can be briefly summarized in these four steps:

1. Individual clicks and opens web site. 2. Individual briefly scrolls through the information and pictures the web site provides. 3. Individual exits web site. 4. Individual forgets that the just-visited web site ever existed.

Ouch…

Before you burst into tears, let me tell you that there is a relatively easy action you can take to prevent that inevitable cycle in human nature from dooming all of your sales efforts forever. (Relax, I’m not talking about suicide!)

The key is simply to remain in contact with each and every visitor that comes to your web site, and the way to accomplish this is by turning the monologue into an ONGOING DIALOGUE .

———————————————————

The “ongoing dialogue”: How to stay in touch

with your web site visitors/customers

———————————————————

The first step to creating this ongoing dialogue is asking your visitors for their contact information. Mind you, you can’t be pushy or aggressive when requesting this information, as that will only make them click that little red box with the white x in the upper right corner of your browser faster than it took for your $12,000 flash intro to download.

Before you even attempt to ask your visitors for their contact details, you should think of something of perceived high value that they really want and that you can give them for FREE in exchange for their contact info. This should typically be an informative report that can be emailed or downloaded at little or no cost to you and not an object that you need to purchase and that will need to be physically mailed… (For example, if you’re giving away free Rolexes, I’m sure people will love to give you their contact info but you’re probably not going to be in business for very long.)

Once you have accomplished the step of capturing their contact information, you have to keep in touch with your visitors regularly. This will allow you to remain at the top of their minds and make sure they remember who you are, especially when they are ready to purchase the type of service or product you offer.

NOTE: Ideally, you want that something that you gave away as a freebie to your visitors to be delivered in the form of several e-mails sent over a period of time… Many people take a long time to make a purchase and you want to make sure you remain close by throughout the decision making process.

An often quoted statistic from famed Marketing Guru Jay Conrad Levinson is that it can take as many as 12 attempts to build a solid, trusting relationship with your potential customers before they will actually make a purchase from you. (I’ve checked this number against my own online sales experience and many times it will take even more attempts before a customer will make a purchase.)

Can you imagine having to make that many contact attempts before you make a sale? And to think most sales web sites simply say “hello” and let their visitors/potential customers surf away, in most cases never to return! Keeping in touch with your web site visitors may sound like a lot of work but it’s actually quite easy to do with a type of technology called an “Auto Responder” which automatically takes care of the whole process for you and will also allow you to keep track not only of the mailings themselves but of the contact information of your visitors.

“Ok - I’ve grabbed their contact information and linked it to an auto responder… Now what do I do?” Once you’ve established your initial relationship, make sure to nurture it constantly, the same way that you nurture a friendship.

Give your potential customers a steady dose of free tips and small pieces of valuable information they may find useful (little tasty bits and previews of what you deliver… Keep them hungry for what you have to offer and they will wait anxiously for your next message!) All the while, tastefully let your contact list know about any new products or services that you develop and every so often, include an offer that may be of interest to your audience. (WARNING: Don’t turn your regular communications into sales pitches or you run the risk of upsetting your audience and having them complain or worse, unsubscribe… the key term is subtlety.)

Place yourself for a moment in the shoes of an individual visiting your web site in search for a solution to his/her problem…

Now that you know the secret, upon arriving at your web site, he or she finds that you not only provide some valuable information on the site, but that you also offer a helpful report that you will send for free to his or her email address. Your auto responder follows up automatically by sending the report you promised, all the while, building credibility and a strong, trusting relationship with that former stranger, who is about to become your trusting friend and soon-to-be customer.

Believe me, I’ve shared and used this strategy the vast majority of the clients I’ve worked with and it ALWAYS works! To apply this strategy to YOUR online efforts, look at your current web site(s) and see in what ways you may establish an ongoing relationship with your visitors by gathering their contact information even before you try to sell them anything. Think of what kind of information may be of interest to them which you can package into a report in exchange for their email. Once you’ve captured their contact information, make sure you stay in regular touch and treat your customers like close friends.

The objective is to build a trusting relationship with them and let them realize through your communications of your expertise in the area they are seeking advice from you. Constantly find ways of adding value to the lives of those on your list and they will repay you in kind by trusting you and purchasing what you have to offer. Apply this strategy into your own marketing efforts and you will be able to have a much more profitable relationship with your web site visitors faster than you can say SHOW ME THE MONEY!

George Levy is an internationally recognized marketing expert responsible for helping businesses both large and small sell over $100 million dollars in the United States, Canada and 14 countries across Latin America. He is the developer of the Internet Salesmanship program and is known for his Ruthless Truths about online sales and making money on the web. To get instant, Free access to his Internet Salesmanship newsletter, Blog and his Free seven day web marketing course, visit: www.SynergyWebMarketing.com http://www.SynergyWebMarketing.com

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It won’t be long until the United States at long last progresses to a cashless system of purchases. Every year online buying and new payment methods are becoming a part of the American way of life. Even now it is possible to pay almost any bill online or even set up automatic payments where the account holder need not even raise a finger. While obviously this isn’t yet foolproof, the convenience often outweighs any dangers that are present. The question becomes, how can a person with bad credit be apart of these new systems?

Credit cards with low APR are for the most part unavailable to consumers that have bad credit. With the nation as a whole moving into an area of poor credit however, more financial institutions are making products available for this growing market. Credit cards for bad credit are becoming more common, and the availability is quickly spreading.

These bad credit credit cards can be a decisive advantage to consumers with a poor credit history, but if managed badly can do more harm than good. While some people have bad credit as a result of unemployment or illness, most consumers simply manage their finances badly. Bad credit cards handled poorly will keep a credit rating low, or make it worse.

Bad credit cards can be used in the following ways to increase a consumer’s credit rating:

Monthly Use - Make at least one purchase each month on the credit card, and pay the balance off entirely. This offers a consistent flow of credit reporting on your account. This consistency is what creditors are looking for in a good customer.

Keep a small balance - Although any financial expert worth talking too will say to pay off your credit card balances as fast as possible, there can be a benefit from carrying one. Credit companies like customers to carry a balance for obvious reasons, so they may increase your balance because of this. DO NOT carry a balance that will cause you to get behind in payments due to high APR.

Charge less than half your available credit - The more debt incurred on credit cards, the less credit worthy you are. A safe point is less than half of your available credit limit across all open credit accounts.

It has become common for creditors to sell customer accounts to other credit companies as credit worthiness changes. This may have already happened to you and you were simply unaware of why. In 2005 Providian sold off much of it’s customer base to Washington Mutual. As a customer becomes more credit worthy, they become more valuable to many creditors. To make a profit, some bad credit credit companies will help customers build their credit up, and then sell them to another company. This can be a good thing for the consumer as well, as their new account will probably have better APR.

It is possible to have credit that is so bad that even companies that specialize in bad credit credit cards won’t issue you a card. Once this point is reached, possibly through bankruptcy, debit cards and prepaid credit cards become the only options left. Debit cards work the same as credit cards when making a purchase for the most part, and they can’t get you into any further credit problems. Prepaid cards work exactly like a credit card, however money must be deposited into the prepaid credit card account before they can be used.

With all of these options open to consumers, there something out there that will allow everyone to take part in the modern economy. With careful effort over time, even the worst credit history can be repaired.

Jon Norwood is a founder and managing partner of the credit card directory www.bankcardfinder.com http://www.bankcardfinder.com , a site dedicated to providing fast and accurate financial information regarding credit cards that consumers need to make an informed decision on which credit company is right for them.

AFP - Australian swimming’s glamour couple, Stephanie Rice and Eamon Sullivan, has split up just before the Olympic Games but insist their preparations have not been affected.

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Sometimes Hollywood does get it right. The landings at the beaches of Normandy in the Steven Spielberg movie, “Saving Private Ryan” is a vivid, stunning, blood and gore portrayal of the horror that young American troops freeing the world of Adolph Hitler faced. No book could portray this experience as accurately as the movie.

The Disney Company through its ABC subsidiary, has put together a $40 million dollar 5 hour experience of the events leading up to the September 11th tragedy at the World Trade Centers. Being a student of national security I was deeply surprised at how accurate the movie is. Even some of the actors physically looked like some of the actual participants in the events.

The senior Democratic leadership in the Congress pleaded with the network not to air the movie. They felt that the Democrats were being shown in a bad light, which they were. If you want to lead a country, you must take the hit politically when you are caught on the wrong side of an issue.

Beginning with Jimmy Carter, this country has treated acts of terrorism as a judicial process, a law and order issue, and not an ACT OF WAR. This policy was continued by every President, Republican or Democratic for over a quarter of a century, only President Bush to his credit, decided to call it what it is, WAR. It’s the desire on the part of Islamic extremists to make the world unsafe for democracy.

The Democrats have much to lose because Senator Hillary Clinton would like to be President in the next 24 months, and former President Clinton is taking a hit on this movie as well. Bill Clinton personally called Robert Iger, the CEO of Disney, and ABC’s parent company to ask him to cancel the 5 hour drama. Clinton was told that the show was still being edited, and this was just 4 days before it would appear on television. Nobody edits that close to airtime. Who’s kidding who? Nevertheless, it looks like 15 to 20 minutes were cut from the first night’s portrayal.

One of the scenes that were altered at the former President’s request showed Sandy Berger, former national security advisor to President Clinton in a telephone conversation with leaders of the CIA. The agency had a real time, live ground operation in progress to capture Osama Bin Laden going on while Berger on the phone simultaneously, couldn’t make up his mind whether to proceed. Men’s lives were at risk, and Berger can’t make a decision. Finally, Berger hangs up the telephone rather than be pinned down. The scene showing Berger hanging up the phone was deleted.

Berger certainly doesn’t come up in a good light. Neither does former Secretary of State Madeleine Albright for that matter. When it came to giving the approval to go after Bin Laden, Albright makes it very clear that regional considerations must come first, and then there’s President Clinton himself. The movie does some job portraying the former President as out of touch, and even weak towards terrorism. To a very great extent this was simply the former President following in the same footsteps as every President before him during the preceding 25 years.

Former Presidents have all played the same tune. They treated terrorism as a legal issue. These people must be arrested, and brought to justice. Terrorists were waging war against the United States, and we in turn were waving arrest warrants, and grand jury indictments at them. This was just as true of Republican Presidents as well as Democratic Presidents. Nobody in a leadership position in Washington wanted to take on the terrorism issue.

It was far easier and face saving, to call it a legal issue. The current President George Bush changed all that. Whatever you think of the current President, he is the first American President in a quarter of a century to deal with terrorism for what it is, terrorism. It is a war pure and simple.

Now there are a lot of people in the world that hate us, that’s the bad part. The good part is that 99% of these people don’t have the money, energy, knowledge, or guts to follow through on their hatred. They can’t execute, they can’t get it done. Bin Laden had the wherewithal, and the organization to follow through, and that’s just what he did. Ask anyone in the CIA, and they will tell you that the 9/11 plot was in no way the work of amateurs.

If you asked an intelligence agent his objective opinion, he would probably tell you the operation was well thought out, well run, well financed, and well executed. The cell even used our own technology (GPS tracking), and openness of our society against us. It was kept a small operation by the terrorists, and the goal was something that in an open society was unthinkable.

The ABC movie showed the continuing power of visual media over books. You can write a thousand books, but one movie can be seen by a hundred times people than those who read books.

Bin Laden knew the power of visuals. This is why he wanted the full force of the media to be involved in this tragedy, and that’s just what he got. The man is evil, and he’s a terrorist. We must also realize that with his money and organization he represents a threat that we have not seen before or since. He should have been dealt with by now. The scale of the danger he represents is too great, for this menace to be left alive in the mountains of Pakistan where he lurks.

Goodbye and Good Luck

Richard Stoyeck

Richard Stoyeck’s background includes being a limited partner at Bear Stearns, Senior VP at Lehman Brothers, Kuhn Loeb, Arthur Andersen, and KPMG. Educated at Pace University, NYU, and Harvard University, today he runs Rockefeller Capital Partners and StocksAtBottom.com.

AP - As they started their production of “Annie,” a musical about an orphan’s unwavering hope, the children of the Tennessee Valley Unitarian Universalist Church witnessed a scene that may have rattled theirs.

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Nominated for 10 Academy Awards, including Best Picture, and eventual winner of 3 Oscars, On Golden Pond is an unconventional Hollywood blockbuster. Based on the play of the same name by Ernest Thompson, the film offers a character driven storyline that explores numerous themes such as aging, abandonment, and family relationships of various types. Veteran film and TV director Mark Rydell packs the big screen with a star-studded cast for this 1981 release. Because of its well developed characters and realistic portrayal of human interactions, it’s a film that’s almost certain to make you laugh, cry, and/or smile. In fact, if you don’t find Norman to be one of the most hilarious and eccentric characters ever created, then you must not be watching the same film.

On Golden Pond follows the lives of a retired New England couple on their annual summer vacation to Golden Pond. Norman Thayer (Henry Fonda) is an aging, long-retired college professor. Sarcastic and crotchety, he manages to distance himself from just about everyone but his wife Ethel (Katharine Hepburn). In fact, his biting demeanor nearly destroys he and his daughter’s relationship, Chelsea (Jane Fonda). When Chelsea brings her new boyfriend Bill (Dabney Coleman) to visit, it isn’t long before Norman stirs things up once again. But Norman and Ethel get an unexpected summer guest when Bill and Chelsea take a prolonged European vacation and leave Bill’s 13-year-old son Billy in their care. It makes for an odd threesome, but as the three learn to live with each other’s quirks, they also learn from each other. But the true test for the new family comes when Chelsea and Bill return from Europe. Can she learn to accept her father’s vices? And can Norman finally be proud of his daughter for who she is?

Hollywood veterans Katharine Hepburn and Henry Fonda turn in two of the best performances of their respective careers. Fonda is absolutely brilliant as the doddering and cranky Norman. One can’t help but laugh at his antics, although it helps that he has the best written lines in the entire movie. Dabney Coleman, although brief in his appearance, makes an immediate impression when he engages in a classic dialogue with Henry Fonda over the evening’s sleeping arrangements. However, in the end, On Golden Pond works because of the chemistry between the three characters who encompass the majority of the story - Ethel, Norman, and Billy. They bind together to create an epic drama rife with conflict, conquest, and chaos without all the usual Hollywood blood and gore. It’s truly rare to have a film of this nature capture audiences without boring them, and On Golden Pond pulls it off.

Complimenting this strong cast and screenplay is a simple, yet memorable instrumental soundtrack composed by Dave Grusin, veteran TV and film composer known for such works as Tootsie (1982) and The Goonies (1985). Filmed on location on and around the Squam Lakes in New Hampshire, the beauty and majesty of this untainted landscape blends perfectly with its tailor-made soundtrack to create a theme of endless peace and tranquility. Overall, it makes for a rather enjoyable movie experience. If you haven’t seen it, do yourself a favor and watch On Golden Pond. Then, see if you can say “Ethel Thayer” really fast without a lisp!

Britt Gillette is author of The DVD Report, a blog where you can find where you can find more reviews of movies and TV series. Source: thedvdreport.blogspot.com/2006/08/on-golden-pond-dvd.html http://thedvdreport.blogspot.com/2006/08/on-golden-pond-dvd.html

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When we give praise to our children, it is a way of telling them that we like what they did. This message can be in the form of a word, a phrase, a gesture or a facial expression.

The message creates a sense of well-being and gives the child a feeling of pride, joy and respect.

We as parents want to use praise when we see our children trying to do something that we want them to repeat on a regular basis. Behaviors we might want to praise are remembering their chores, being gentle with their younger siblings, signs of thoughtfulness, respect for others. Whatever the situation, we should follow immediately with praise. It is also wise to come back later on and reinforce the behavior again with more praise. This can be repeated several times.

When giving praise, we need to be aware not to use negative comments or comparison. Examples of how praise loses its positive value are:

“For such a little boy, you did very well.”

“Well, now you look like a human being with your hair cut.” Unfortunately, children learn soon enough about the comparison trap. I call it a trap because you never win. You may come out on top every once in a while but you are left in a constant state of competition. This means no rest for the competitor, your child.

What we want to do is relate the praise to the event, not the child’s total character. Here are some examples of how praise can be focused on events:

“I’m glad you remembered to bring a pencil, that was good thinking.”

This gives that child the message that they can think for themselves.

“Your room looks great. You sure did a nice job cleaning up your toys and making your bed.”

This gives the child the message that they are capable and a hard worker.

If you do not ordinarily give direct praise to your child this may feel a bit awkward to you. If this is the case, ask yourself: “Does your child know when you are pleased?” Far too often we think we don’t need to praise them for doing something we expect them to do.

We as parents are expected to cook, clean, cut grass, etc…but it sure feels good when someone comments on what a good job we’re doing. A child needs to know that they are appreciated too. Make praise a regular part of your family.

Mark Webb, Licensed Marriage and Family Therapist

Reuters - Merrill Lynch & Co said on Monday it will take a $5.7 billion third-quarter write-down as it unloads huge amounts of risky debt, and will raise $8.5 billion by selling new stock.

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Nominated for 25 Saturn Awards and one Emmy for Outstanding Makeup for a Series, Angel has established a strong cult following during its five-year run on the WB network. A spin-off of the enormously popular series Buffy The Vampire Slayer, Angel has followed in the footsteps of its predecessor and boasts many of the same heroes and villains. Created by Joss Whedon, the show is one of a number of successful original series aired by WB including Buffy, Smallville, Dawson’s Creek, and Gilmore Girls among others…

Angel revolves around the life of Angel (David Boreanaz), a vampire turned do-gooder following a long career of killing the innocent. After spending three years in the small California town of Sunnydale with his girlfriend Buffy, Angel moves to Los Angeles where he sets up Angel Investigations to help those people most in need of protection from the dark forces that lurk within the city. Aided by old friends and new, Angel seeks to redeem his soul while cleansing the streets of Los Angeles of demons, warlocks, and evil lawyers… Angel’s supernatural fighting team includes Buffy crossover character Cordelia Chase (Charisma Carpenter), now an aspiring actress; erudite Englishman Wesley Wyndam-Price (Alexis Denisof), and street fighter Charles Gunn (J. August Richards). Together, they join forces in a series known for its well-written and suspense riddled plots…

The Angel DVD features a number of exciting episodes including the season premiere City Of in which Angel moves to L.A. unaware of his life purpose, at least until he meets up with his half-demon spiritual advisor Alan Doyle (Glenn Quinn) who reveals a more positive direction for Angel. When powerful vampire lawyer Russell Winters sets his sights on Cordelia, it’s up to Angel to save her from his evil clutches… Other notable episodes from Season 1 include Sense & Sensitivity in which an evil sensitivity training instructor casts his spell over an entire police department including Angel himself, and The Ring in which Angel stumbles into a secret underground demon fight club…

Below is a list of episodes included on the Angel (Season 1) DVD:

Episode 1 (City Of) Air Date: 10-05-1999
Episode 2 (Lonely Hearts) Air Date: 10-12-1999
Episode 3 (In the Dark) Air Date: 10-19-1999
Episode 4 (I Fall to Pieces) Air Date: 10-26-1999
Episode 5 (Rm w/a Vu) Air Date: 11-02-1999
Episode 6 (Sense & Sensitivity) Air Date: 11-09-1999
Episode 7 (Bachelor Party) Air Date: 11-16-1999
Episode 8 (I Will Remember You) Air Date: 11-23-1999
Episode 9 (Hero) Air Date: 11-30-1999
Episode 10 (Parting Gifts) Air Date: 12-14-1999
Episode 11 (Somnambulist) Air Date: 01-18-2000
Episode 12 (Expecting) Air Date: 01-25-2000
Episode 13 (She) Air Date: 02-08-2000
Episode 14 (I’ve Got You Under My Skin) Air Date: 02-15-2000
Episode 15 (The Prodigal) Air Date: 02-22-2000
Episode 16 (The Ring) Air Date: 02-29-2000
Episode 17 (Eternity) Air Date: 04-04-2000
Episode 18 (Five by Five) Air Date: 04-25-2000
Episode 19 (Sanctuary) Air Date: 05-02-2000
Episode 20 (War Zone) Air Date: 05-09-2000
Episode 21 (Blind Date) Air Date: 05-16-2000
Episode 22 (To Shanshu in L.A.) Air Date: 05-23-2000

Britt Gillette is author of The DVD Report, a blog where you can find where you can find more reviews of movies and TV series. Source: thedvdreport.blogspot.com/2006/02/angel-dvd.html http://thedvdreport.blogspot.com/2006/02/angel-dvd.html

Reuters - Walking a bit more each day can help people control their Type 2 diabetes but obese people trying to keep weight off may need to exercise harder than they had thought, according to a studies published on Monday.

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