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A question was submitted to address-
"…how to assess and compensate for Supply & Demand in a small business?"
Supply and Demand is one of the necessary factors a business needs to aggressively monitor due to its direct correlation to the businesses ability to generate revenue. Supply & Demand is one of the 5 key components we look at when assessing the "Products Pillar" of any business. While the Laws of Supply & Demand would be considered economics and financial planning(most of which I place under the Operations Pillar), most of the control an organization has over it aligns with its products designs and features.
For example creating that "uniqueness" in your product line is one tactic you can Strategically Plan to increase the Demand for your product.
First some background – This question originated from a M.O.R.E Assessement © Our firm refers to the "4 Pillars of M.O.R.E.©" (Products, People, Operations, & Marketing) that all businesses need to generate revenue. Depending on the scale or scope of your business and industry the method to assess each of these can range widely, but the importance of each of these Pillars is a constant. When they work together, you generate more revenue. So, assessing and developing each of the "Pillars" is vital to develop your businesses ability to create revenue, so these 4 areas are always our starting point for assessments.
Assessing Supply & Demand for your Product
Many businesses utilize purchased Business Plan tools (templates, software) or SWOT/PEST analysis methods when determining existing competition and direction, which is an important part of assessing Supply & Demand. While these are good tools, they can become easily biased by whomever is completing them. I have read many SWOT analysis that simply don't represent Threats or Opportunities with in a company well. Thus if a SWOT is the only format used, it can lead to poor or unwise strategy and false outcomes. I always recommend more than one set of eyes create/debate outcomes when using this type of assessment. I DO think they are valuable tools and our firm uses them, but in conjunction with other tools.
The process we tend to use frequently is referred to as a "Market Study". A Market Study is an in-depth, qualitative analysis process which employs many tactics. Each "Study" is a relatively custom designed because every organization or brand is unique. Brand development differs in every organization based on resources, skills and leadership. When performing a Market Study, the process is gathering information from key representatives of every key constituency possible that may create, utilize or experience that business product. Perceptions are confirmed about the product/companies current and former character and user, and enough data is gathered to support future direction. Using an organizations vision and mission needs to be a focal point. A Market Study provides holistic data (internal & external) to help answer: What niche(s) could the organization occupy and what is distinctive about its positioning? Where as a SWOT is merely a component of a Market Study that is generally produced internally. While there may be overlap, it is not as thorough.
Surveys are used in most Market Study's and are an excellent way to collect data on a variety of topics and also works well for supply and demand studies. A properly designed survey has the demographic data, customer preferences, and motivators data needed to help position your products correctly. C.S.Simons Consulting performed a Survey in 2015 to determine why people hire a consultant, which significantly improved how and who we speak to. Click on the Survey link to take our brief Survey!
Benchmarking is also a recommended step in a Market Study and involves competitive data and interviews to discover strategies or missed opportunities of similar businesses. Properly designed conversations will provide significant information you can use for Supply & Demand assessment. Generally both companies gain from the experience and can also lead to improvements in Cost Containment & Labor Optimization.
Territory is another key consideration when determining Supply & Demand. What is the radius for your product appeal ? (assuming a physical address). This changes radically by product or service and by industry, but the key is to understand buyers preferences and motivators as it relates to what you sell. How far will they go to find us? While it sounds obvious or easy, it may not be. The second part of that consideration is how many like "you" are there within this radius? Competition is good to an extent, but how do you determine over-saturation?
Quick example;
Many people want Bankers, Lawyers, or Accountants close to where they are located but won't think twice about traveling for a specialty doctor or upscale retailer. Determining if you are a basic service or destination service in the mind of your customer is key to knowing the radius they will travel to give you their money. Of course, the farther they travel the higher the expectations and the more you risk if they are unsatisfied. But, most will easily justify spending more if you are a destination than if you are basic. (Law of Supply)
How to compensate /correct for Supply & Demand deficiencies?
If you don't have….
Location, Location, Location,
you need
Marketing, Execution, and Follow up
Marketing – Customers need to know either 1) your name or where you are AND 2) why they want/need you. Tactics and Campaigns will come and go, but to maintain customer Supply & Demand, Marketing professionals may be your best bet.
Execution – What ever the Marketers are saying you "do" or "sell", you better make sure the people your customers encounter in your business or products they buy from you,… do it. If you say you have great customer service, you need to make sure they encounter Excellent service, if your marketing says your product will help them loose weight or look sexier, it better or else it will effect your Demand.
Follow up – No matter what you sell, if you have customers, you should ask how they liked the product. The number one thing you need to do once they have purchased something, is to get them (or their referrals) to come back and buy more! I recognize this can be more difficult depending on what you sell, but the fact remains that you need feedback to help determine if you are executing what your Marketing says you are. No feedback or not even asking for feedback can be very dangerous.
- Ever go to a local restaurant where the food was so-so(or worse) and no one ever came back to ask "how is everything?". You leave less than impressed. Has your likely hood of recommending or returning gone down? Maybe. But what if you traveled an hour to go to this restaurant you "heard about" and had the same experience.
What is your likely hood of going out of your way next time to return?
There goes your Demand
Key times to RE-ASSESS your Supply & Demand
It's important to note that Supply & Demand is just one of the 5 key factors our company looks at to assess the Product Pillar for revenue generation and therefore not the only consideration when assessing your products design and strategy. Reviewing the Supply and Demand for your organization/product can be done at any point of the business life-cycle.
Key times to do this are:
- At Start Up
- Any time your business encounters a major change like new leadership
- When planning Expansion/Relocation projects
- Opening new locations – know WHY they find you, don't assume they will
- Considering new technology implementation
- Creating a Strategic Growth Plan
- If it has been more than a few since you looked at this you may want to because of the rate of speed technology changes.
Internet Marketing is radically different than it was 3 years ago, thus HOW people are finding you IS different. The internet has shifted buyers motivations in many industries, how has it effected yours? I always have a plan in my back pocket for a sudden change in sales (+/-) and I have many systems in place to tell me where or why people are finding me. This data is reviewed periodically and is the basis for changes in Business Strategy. I highly recommend this be given some thought by owners and operators. I don't have to tell you how quickly things change and your customers needs and loyalties are changing just as quickly.
This is only the tip of the iceberg on this subject and how to use the information for product development and building your business. Feel free to contact me if you would like to discuss this further or if I can help guide you to some Marketing professionals I work with to help.
Carpe diem!


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A Los Angeles County sheriff's deputy whose patrol car fatally struck cyclist Milton Olin Jr. in Calabasas in December was texting shortly before the collision and may have been distracted, according to court documents.
Olin, a prominent entertainment industry attorney, was traveling in the same direction as the marked black-and-white in the 22400 block of Mulholland Highway when the car struck him in the bicycle lane at about 1:05 p.m. on Dec. 8, according to sheriff's officials.
The 65-year-old former Napster executive from Woodland Hills was pronounced dead at the scene, and Deputy Andrew Wood was transported to the hospital for minor injuries.
Wood, a 16-year department veteran, sent six text messages from his personal cellphone to a Camarillo phone number on Dec. 8 between 1 p.m. and 1:04 p.m, according to subpoenaed cellphone records attached to an affidavit in support of a search warrant filed with Los Angeles Superior Court in May. The last of those six text messages he sent was at 1:04 p.m. and it was received by the recipient at 1:05 p.m., which was the approximate time the department said the collision occurred, according to records.
However, it was not clear Monday whether Wood was in fact texting while driving or whether it was a factor in the collision. The deputy was returning from a call at nearby Calabasas High School — less than a mile from where Olin was struck.
"Witnesses who were in a vehicle directly behind Deputy Wood's radio car at the time of the collision told investigators that the radio car failed to negotiate the left curve in the roadway and proceeded straight into the bicycle lane," wrote Los Angeles County Sheriff's Detective Russell A. Townsley in the affidavit seeking the cellphone records. "The witnesses also stated that they did not see any brake lights on the radio car until after they saw Mr. Olin's body in the air."
Wood did not indicate any physical impairment, nor that he was sleepy or fatigued, according to Townsley's affidavit, adding he did not appear to be under the influence of alcohol or drugs.
"Based on my experience as a traffic collision investigator, and witnesses statements indicating the radio car continued straight, failed to negotiate the left curve in the roadway, and no brake light being illuminated prior to the collision; it appears that Deputy Wood may have been distracted by using his cellular telephone or viewing and/or using the Mobile Digital Computer (MDC) in his radio car at the time of the collision," Townsley wrote in the affidavit.
Roger Granbo of the Los Angeles Office of County Counsel declined comment, saying they typically do not comment on cases currently under investigation or litigation.
The L.A. County District Attorney's Office has been reviewing the case since May to determine whether or not to file criminal charges against Wood.
The Olin family filed a claim in April against Los Angeles County, the Sheriff's Department and Wood — a precursor to a lawsuit — contending that the deputy was "negligently, carelessly, recklessly, intentionally, or in some other actionable matter operating his vehicle."
Wood, who declined comment for this article, was transferred to court services shortly after the collision, though the deputy made that request more than a year before, a county spokesman has said.
Meanwhile, Olin's wife, Louise, is in the process of launching the Milt Olin Foundation, dedicated to eliminating cycling-related fatalities and serious injuries through education, community awareness, collaboration and advocacy. Louise Olin is partnering with nonprofit incubator Charitable Ventures of Orange County to accept tax-deductible donations until the foundation receives its nonprofit status from the IRS.
"We will work with government agencies and cities, urging them to design and build roads for motorists and cyclists to safely share," Olin wrote on the foundation's homepage. "We will advocate for lower speed limits where cyclists ride. We will educate motorists on the dangers of distracted driving. We will support and champion other organizations who share our mission. Our vision is a world with zero bike-related fatalities."

subset: commoncrawl


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By Associated Press
Updated: August 2, 2012, 12:53 AM ET
LONDON -- Perhaps we should have seen this coming.
Back in 2007, a butcher at the Fantastic Sausage Factory in the quaint English county of Dorset was told to remove a window sign depicting sausage meat twisted into the shape of the the five Olympic rings.
And last year, competitors in a baking contest in bucolic Shropshire were warned by games organizers to drop plans to place Olympic-themed marzipan figurines atop their cakes.
But those were merely preliminary skirmishes in a multibillion-dollar sponsorship battle that has drawn charges that London organizers have been heavy-handed, and just plain stupid, in their zealous enforcement of branding restrictions.
"The rules where intended to stop the big brands from getting a free ride on the Olympic good will," said Michael Payne, a former IOC marketing director who now works as a consultant.
"They were never designed nor intended to suffocate the genuine local community spirit -- the florist putting up a bouquet of flowers, or the butcher doing a sign with olympic rings."
He blamed London organizers for creating outrage that will only boomerang on the very sponsors they seek to protect.
"You want to be balanced and intelligent ... but the agenda got hjijacked by the lawyers who were painting everything as black and white, when it needed to be applied in shades of gray."
Private Eye, Britain's spoof political magazine, captured the organizers' somewhat maniacal focus on brand protection best with its cover this week, which depicted two machine-gun wielding policemen outside Olympic Stadium warning a fan to "put down the Pepsi can and no one will get hurt."
As you can probably guess, Coke is the official soft drink of the games.
Just a sampling of the more bizarre examples from Olympic venues this week:
Pimms, that quintessentially English liqueur, cannot be listed on any menus during the games, even at Wimbledon, where tennis is taking place and where Pimms is as traditional as strawberries and cream. The gin-based drink, which is not an Olympic sponsor, is instead being referred to as "No. 1 Cup."
And the Goodyear Blimp, ubiquitous at sporting events around the globe, has been stripped of any corporate reference, prompting more than a few double-takes from sky-gazing fans.
Some journalists have been surprised to see Olympic workers taping over the logos on their Dell and Apple computers, since neither company is bankrolling the games, and the U.S. women's soccer team has been told not to hand out its media guide because it has 12 small logos of its sponsors -- which are not official Olympics 2012 backers.
Even brand names of non-sponsors at Olympic Park bathrooms have been covered, though after a few days of competition some fans answering nature's call have started taking a mischievous pleasure in peeling the toilet tape back.
Back in 2006, the British government passed a law that not only beefed up copyright protection for the word "Olympics" and related symbols and slogans, but also blocked non-sponsoring companies from suggesting any hint of connection to the games. Several big companies have come up with clever ways around the ban that put them right up against the edge of the law.
Nike, which is not an Olympic sponsor, has begun an ad campaign in which athletes compete in cities called London -- only not ones that happen to be the British capital. Locations include London, Ohio, and Little London, Jamiaca, and the ads carry slogans that subtly allude to the Olympics without actually naming them. London organizers considered legal action before deciding against it, but the ad must rile Olympic sponsor Adidas.
And it's not just corporate giants pushing back.
Dozens of Olympians have taken to Twitter since the games began to urge an end to the International Olympic Committee's Rule 40, which gives Olympic organizers the right to punish and even disqualify competitors if they try to pitch their own sponsors, whether on the field of play -- where all advertising is barred -- or online.
U.S. sprinter Manteo Mitchell summed up the view of many Olympians when he tweeted: "I am PROUD to represent my country ... But at the end of the day ... THIS IS MY JOB!!!!"
The London organizing committee defended its policy in a statement to The Associated Press, saying it had to raise more than $1 billion from sponsors, many of whom demanded exclusivity. The committee denied having a hand in the warning to the Dorset butcher, which it said came from a local government official, and said it was not official policy to require brand names on journalists' computers to be hidden by tape.
The committee noted it had never taken anyone to court, preferring to explain the rules rather than litigate, and added that allowing local businesses to get away with copyright violations would create a precedent that bigger corporations could follow.
"There are times when actions we have taken don't look so good, but we have tried and for the most part succeeded in having a measured and pragmatic approach," the committee said.
IOC spokesman Mark Jones was blunt in countering the criticism from some of the athletes: "We're trying to protect the money that comes into the Olympics movement. ... That is why we are doing it."
Payne, the former IOC marketing director, said some brand protection is absolutely necessary, despite his criticism of the shortsighted way the rules are sometimes applied.
All told, sponsors have ponied up more than $4 billion toward the cost of organizing the games and the expenses of the 204 national teams, he said, and without exclusivity, many would walk away.
"It's not just a glib marketing statement to say no sponsors, no games," Payne said. "It's the fact


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A4 (21 x 29.7 cm) Wooden White Frame With Mount
This hand-crafted wooden white picture frame is supplied with a mount. It is made to fit A4 | (21×29.7cm / 8.3×11.7″) wall art, posters, and art prints.
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Industry News for NCMIC Insurance Company
Clive, Iowa 50325
800-769-2000 ext. 3569
By Rachel Spyksma
As someone who works with D.C.s who are financing equipment for their practices, I see how they benefit from Section 179 of the IRS tax code.
Section 179 was created to stimulate the economy by promoting the use of new technology. So the law allows for accelerated business deductions for the purchase of equipment. D.C.s can use these deductionsÑnow up to $108,000Ñto offset practice income.
Deductions can be taken on purchases of qualified equipment and can immediately be expensed, regardless of the equipment's depreciation schedule.
In addition to the high dollar amount allowed for equipment deductions, another advantage is that Section 179 requirements are easy to qualify for. For an existing chiropractic office, any new equipment can qualify for the Section 179 deductions as long as it's installed and being used by the practice's tax year-end.
One of the biggest perks is that the Section 179 deduction is fully allowed even if the equipment is 100 percent financed.
Here's How it Works
Let's say you buy a $35,000.00 piece of equipment. Under Section 179, you can deduct the entire $35,000.00 price from your 2006 taxes. The result? $10,500.00 trimmed off your taxes if you're in the 30% tax bracket. And, at the same time, you dramatically boost your practice's cash flow.
|Equipment cost:
|Section 179 deduction:
| Tax savings:
(Marginal 30% tax bracket)
| Monthly payments for equipment purchased in November 2006
(Two monthly paymentsÑNov. & Dec.)
Before year-end is the ideal time to get the equipment you need now or in the coming year. Of course, you can wait until 2007 to purchase equipment, and Section 179 still applies, but you'll have to wait another year to realize the tax savings. If you act now, you'll get the full benefit.
NCMIC is a leader in equipment financing and is committed to helping D.C.s like you with financing equipment for your practice. NCMIC's experts will thoroughly examine any lease/loan agreement you're considering for hidden pre-payment penalties, terms and fees and suggest alternatives.
We're confident we can offer you speed, service and cost savings beyond what's available elsewhere within the industry.
Call our Lease/Loan Comparison Hotline today
1-800-769-2000, ext. 5716
Rachel Spyksma is a business manager with NCMIC with more than 12 years of experience in lending and financial services.
NCMIC provides malpractice protection for more than 50 percent of the chiropractic profession and offers an array of diversified insurance and financial services. NCMIC does not provide legal advice. Check with your attorney or financial advisor for specific legal, accounting and financial advice.


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Baja Online Realty Blog for Rosarito Beach
By ROXANA HEGEMAN, Associated Press
21 hours ago
ASHLAND, Kan. (AP) — The hospital had lost the last doctor in a
succession of those who came to the remote Kansas town and left again. A
sole physician assistant kept watch over the 24-bed facility and its
adjacent nursing home. It was on the verge of closing.
officials at the Ashland Health Center, seeking to reverse the drain of
talent symptomatic of what happens across rural America, embraced an
unorthodox approach to bring doctors back.
All employees, from
maintenance people to physicians, get eight paid weeks off each year
that they can use to do missionary work in other countries. The idea:
people willing to care for the sick and suffering in developing nations
might be content to do the same in a town of 855 people, more than two
hours away from the nearest Starbucks.
The public hospital began
advertising that benefit — which employees can use for other volunteer
work or any purpose they choose, not just mission work — in Christian
publications and at Catholic-run medical schools. Today, the hospital
has a chief medical officer, a medical technologist, a nursing director,
a nurse practitioner and other staff drawn by its so-called
mission-minded recruiting. It's now looking for nurses, a dentist and a
physical therapist.
"I was not surprised by the differences
between rural Kansas and rural Zimbabwe. What surprised me were the
similarities," said the hospital's 32-year-old administrator, Benjamin
Anderson, who has been the catalyst for the program. "I am not saying
rural Kansas is the same as a developing country, I am simply saying
rural Kansas and rural Zimbabwe struggle with some of the same
challenges — they just look different."
In both places, people have difficulty accessing medical care, face housing problems and can feel isolated.
in the vast prairie of southwestern Kansas, Ashland is a sleepy cattle
ranching and oil town filled with modest homes and an aging population.
The major employers left are the schools and the hospital. It has a
small grocery store, but no gas station. Walking anywhere in town takes
10 minutes.
Anderson, who's gone on missions to Zimbabwe since
coming to Ashland in 2009, was convinced the compassionate health care
providers he sought could best be found among physicians with a passion
for mission work in developing countries.
A few months ago, Dr.
Dan Shuman, a 43-year-old family physician, was working at a health care
center and a multi-specialist medical group in Georgetown, Texas. Then
he heard from a friend about a little hospital in Kansas and the mission
opportunities that came with it.
Although Shuman had a
comfortable practice caring for well-insured retirees, he missed the
medical work he had once done in places like Haiti and Mexico. Shuman
and his wife, a social worker, moved in July with their five children to
"Everywhere in the country we have problems with health
care," Shuman said. "But this was a place that was really seeking to
make a difference."
Ashland's recruitment model was developed with
faculty at the private Via Christi medical residency program in
Wichita, part of the nonprofit Catholic health care system, where
students can complete a three-year family medicine residency. It also
offers an International Family Medicine Fellowship, a one-year
post-residency program geared to providing health care in developing
Dr. Scott Stringfield, its recruiter, has seen more
medical students wishing to do mission work, both in developing nations
and domestically in inner cities. Last year, 16 percent of applicants
indicated interest in such work. This year, it was 33 percent.
doctors have taken the initiative in seeking mission-friendly jobs.
Four former Via Christi fellows, two of whom were married to other
doctors, sent letters to hospital administrators in 25 states offering a
package deal: They would move to a town with a hospital in need in
exchange for each getting three months off on a rotating basis annually
for mission work. All six ended up in New Hampton, Iowa, a town of
"If we can use medicine as a tool for us to share the
gospel of Christ with people that is really what drives us," Dr. John
Epperly said in a phone interview. "We are all going to have bodies that
are aging and getting sick and I hope we can prolong that to some
extent with medicine. But in the end what is important, I think, is what
is eternal and that is what we have been focused on — whether it is
working with farmers in northeastern Iowa or whether it is working in
Zimbabwe at a bush hospital."
Among Ashland's new hires are Lacey
Mollel and her husband, Enkaiye. As the child of missionaries in
Tanzania, she grew up "playing in the bush in the middle of nowhere"
with the boy who would become her husband. She came back to the U.S. for
college, and Enkaiye, a former Masai warrior, followed later.
couple left Indianapolis to work at the Ashland hospital — she as a
certified nurse assistant, he as a groundskeeper — after her uncle, a
pastor in Ashland, told them about the opportunity.
Lacey Mollel said they would not have left Indianapolis "unless you feel some calling or purpose in what you are doing."
County Deputy Sheriff Robert Canton used to tell friends if anything
ever happened to him not to send him to the local hospital. He lives
just a couple of blocks away from the Ashland facility, but thought he
couldn't get good care there. Two months ago, he went to the hospital's
emergency room with heart problems and came away impressed.
Now, he says, he tells his fellow deputies, "Take me there."


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Wolf Blitzer delivers the most important breaking news and political, international, and national security stories of the day. Tune to The Situation Room weekdays 5-7pm ET on CNN.
Hear the one about the dogs learning to drive cars? It's no joke ... though Jeanne Moos reports it's inspiring jokes.
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The following is the full text of the statement issued by the Editors' Guild of India on Wednesday, 23 December 2009, on the issue of "paid-for news":
The Editors Guild of India is deeply shocked and seriously concerned at the increasing number of reports detailing the pernicious practice of publishing "paid news'" by some newspapers and television channels, especially during recent elections.
The Guild, at its annual general meeting held on 22 December 2009 has strongly condemned this practice which whittles the foundations of Indian journalism and calls upon all editors in the country to desist from publishing any form of advertisement which masquerade as news.
The Guild noted that it had always stood for publication of news which is in public interest; news which has been gathered due to the professional efforts of journalists; and news which is not influenced by malice, bias, favouritism or monetary influence.
The Guild recognises that news media in print and electronic form, has a genuine right to publish and broadcast advertisements on all issues, subject to the voluntary Advertising Standards Council code and the News Broadcasting Standards Code.
It is imperative that news organisations have to clearly distinguish between news and advertisements with full and proper disclosure norms, so that no reader and viewer is tricked by any subterfuge of advertisements published and broadcast in the same format, language and style of news.
It is disturbing that this "paid news" practice is also being used by companies, organisations and individuals, apart from political parties.
The Guild further deplores the practice of "private treaties" where news organisations accept free equity in unlisted companies in lieu of promoting these companies through news columns and television news programmes. The news organisations should disclose their commercial and equity interests in such companies to the readers and viewers in a transparent manner.
The Guild decries the unsavoury and unacceptable practice of some political parties and candidates offering payment for "news packages" to news media and its representatives to publish and telecast eulogising and misleading news reports on the political parties.
Both the media organisations and editors who indulge in it, and the customers who offer payment for such "paid news" are guilty of undermining the free and fair press, for which every citizen of India is entitled to.
Such irresponsible acts by a few media organisations and journalists is discrediting the entire media of the country, which has a glorious tradition of safeguarding democratic rights and exposing all kinds of injustices and inequities.
Editors and journalists have been at the vanguard of the movement for creation of a just society, both during the days of colonial rule and Independent India. The ugly phenomenon of "paid news" will be a blot on the country's democratic fabric.
The Guild calls upon publishers, editors and journalists of media organisations to unitedly fight this creeping menace of commercialisation and bartering of self respect of the media. During the coming months, the Guild will join hands with other media organisations to sensitize the media and civil society, including political parties and the Election Commission, on the need to eliminate this unacceptable practice.
The Guild will be shortly unveiling an initiative to encourage transparency regarding "paid news" and "private treaties." We appeal to all stakeholders to join us in pushing for a clean, transparent media.
Rajdeep Sardesai, president of the guild, announced the formation of an ethics committee headed by T.N. Ninan, editor in chief, Business Standard. The members are B G Varghese, editor & columnist; Sumit Chakravartty, editor, Mainstream, and Madhu Kishwar, editor, Manushi.
Also read: Pyramid Saimira, Tatva & Times Private Treaties
Times Private Treaties gets a very public airing
SUCHETA DALAL: Forget the news, you can't believe the ads either
Does he who pays the piper call the tune?
SALIL TRIPATHI: The first casualty of a cosy deal is credibility
Selling the soul? Or sustaining the business?
PAUL BECKETT: Indian media holding Indian democracy ransom
Does he who pays the piper call the tune?
PRATAP BHANU MEHTA: 'Indian media in deeply murky ethical territory'
The scoreline: Different strokes for different folks
A package deal that's well worth a second look
ADITYA NIGAM: 'Editors, senior journalists must declare assets'
The brave last words of Prabhash Joshi


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I wanted to post a set of reflections after attending this years LocalGovCamp and fringe events which happened last week (20/21 June).
Firstly I want to acknowledge the effort and hard work of Sarah Lay – given all of her work in the day job and outside I'm in total admiration for how she managed to make this happen.
Other folk who need acknowledging for there hard work, skills and all round goodness are:
Jon Foster
Phil Rumens
Sarah Jennings
Nick Hill
So back to the event and my reflections and in no particular order
Surprisingly a two day event actually worked, having the practical makers day and leaders summit on the Friday created a focus and energy which carried over to the Saturday even though the people were different
A major realisation that LocalGovDigital has always existed ever since the first LocalGovCamp – the continued support network, the peer to peer sharing, help, advice and collaboration has always been there since 2009, but not as formalised as we are now – we simply made it visible and opened it up.
It never ceases to amaze me how inspired I get from going to these events, there was a time when I felt like the sessions didn't offer value to me personally so I often just floated around talking (reflecting) I essentially continued attending for the people and conversations – And this year it recaptured the energy, newness and enthusiasm of the very first event back in 2009 – I found the sessions were more stimulating and focused on what can happen now, not what might at some point in the future (in an ideal world) which shows that there is a shift towards a greater clarity of focus…however this was not always the case but you have to let conversations flow
There were more people who hadn't attended than had previously attended which was one of the things we wanted to achieve. So I'm not sure exactly how we managed to do that but it certainly contributed to the energy and excitement. We also had councillors attending which was also a great success. We need more but we have found a way in which it worked and it feels like we can build on this momentum quickly as well
LocalGov Digital really came to life at this event, it felt like the network was active, present and greater than the sum of its parts. However we still need to effectively harness that and provide stronger leadership as a collective group of people. As Glen Ocsko stated in the open steering group meeting – "we need to grow some digital balls" – that to me means we have to find the confidence to really demand a new relationship, to state our expectations, to share our values and principles and state loudly that "We want, demand and can build something better". I'm under no illusion that we will need help, but at least we can be honest about that.
Localgovcamp is really about people and places and it just so happens that there is an overt leaning towards technology and some even stated that they felt it was a technology event…we need to address this before we lose people…
For me though I see localgovdigital as being the change makers who can support and help enable a transformation around people and places to create value:
Our focus should be the whole person, whole system and whole place…
– focusing on need
– being open by default
– adopting digital by design
– being networked and collaborative
– by doing and showing
– being evidence and data driven
All of this is underpinned by the democratic accountability which is one of our strengths.
Finally I had one of the best pork pies I think I have ever eaten in the old manor pub – Dave Briggs also had one and can testify to it's incredible taste, it could only have been improved by adding a good strong cheddar and a quality pickle.


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I thought about giving it to Kate Mara, I did. Her white dress was among the best in a night where best, at best, was B+. And there were so few of those. It's J Mendel. It's a good idea, not greatly executed.
Take a look at it from the side. You see that sheer pantyhose holding it together? Cheap. With a better design you could do without that sh-t and it wouldn't come up short in the details. Also, the shoes. I want you to consider how tacky they are. I want you to examine the nude meshing or whatever that is and tell me that a pair of shoes like that deserves to be part of a winning look. You can't. Because you're too busy recommending them to Shauna Sand.
So. Almost.
And almost too because, not to be mean, intentionally, but this game is only fun when the "best" and the "worst" are NAMES, you know? Worst Dressed at the Oscars this year belonged to Amy Adams and Anne Hathaway. That was a good time. Best Dressed at the Oscars this year was a tie between Charlize Theron and Naomi Watts. There's weight behind those selections. A List. Right at the top.
There's no art in putting Kaley Cuoco on a Dressed List, no matter if it's best or worst. Who cares?
That's not so say that we don't care about Kate Mara. We are growing to. She'll get there, but not yet. Almost.


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Snowy Owl Books
"In the vibrantly colorful photos that fill the book, [Adams] is attempting to present a mosaic of his home state and its people that sharply differs from the conventional picture many non-Alaskans have—a mosaic that may even catch long-time Alaskans off-guard."
—Anchorage Daily News
"Adams presents scores of striking portraits in which the piercing gaze of his subjects dares you to pigeonhole them."
—Chicago Tribune
"I Am Alaskan is a celebration of Alaska's diverse human landscape as well as a personal exploration of [Adams's] own identity. . . . Alaska is still a young state—just over 50 years old. It's often romanticized, but Adams gives a unique and raw view of life in the Far North."
—High Country News
What does an Alaskan look like? When asked to visualize someone from Alaska, the image most often conjured is one of a face lost in a parka, surrounded by snow. Missing from this image is the vibrant diversity of those who call themselves Alaskans, as well as the true essence of the place. Brian Adams, a rising star in photography, aims to change all this with his captivating new collection, I Am Alaskan.
In this striking full-color tribute, Adams entices us to reconsider our ideas of this unique and compelling land and its equally individual residents. He captures subjects on urban streets and rural villages, revealing what daily life in Alaska is really like. The portraits focus on moments both ordinary and extraordinary, serious and playful, while capturing Alaskans at their most natural. Subjects range from Alaska Native villagers to rarely seen portraits of famous Alaskans, including Sarah Palin, Vic Fischer, and Lance Mackey. Through photographs, Adams also explores his own half-Iñupiat, half-American Alaska identity in the process, revealing how he came to define himself and the state in which he lives. Frame by frame, Adams powerfully and honestly shows what it means to be an Alaskan.


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You must have 150 post to post in the throne. This is a place for active members to chat and talk about anything and everything
Please post serious threads in this area. This is a NO hijacking forum. This area is for serious matters ONLY. Please keep other member's feeling in mind when you are posting in this area.


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It's a holiday weekend! Three glorious days off, but not all of us can rest. Nope, the FUNimation Channel Shop is going to be working double time and offering 5 incredibly awesome titles at $15 each throughout this weekend. Sale will start today (Friday) at 6pm EDT and will go through Tuesday at 9am EDT. So, take a look below at the titles on sale and click this link! Sorry Canada, this sale is only available in the U.S. and U.S. territories.
So stay tuned, fans! Also, if you've been watching Casshern Sins on Toonami and you haven't picked up the series yet, this is a great opportunity to own the entire series for just $30!
Will you be taking advantage of our FUNimation Channel Shop Labor Day sale?


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Pope's agenda in Israel: honoring Holocaust victims, urging two-state solution
As he landed in Tel Aviv, Pope Benedict XVI spoke of need for a 'just resolution' for Israelis and Palestinians
| Jerusalem
Pope Benedict XVI arrived here on Monday for a historic five-day tour of the Holy Land, and from the moment he touched ground, he urged Christians, Muslims, and Jews to work toward peace based on a two-state formula to solve the Israel-Palestinian conflict.
While still on the tarmac of Ben Gurion Airport outside Tel Aviv, the pope also spoke of the horrors of the Holocaust – referring to it with the Hebrew term shoah – and said that he would "pray that humanity will never again witness a crime of such magnitude." He declared ongoing anti-Semitism in the world "totally unacceptable."
These two messages – telling Jews that he intends to honor the 6 million killed in the Holocaust, and reassuring Arabs that he supports the creation of a Palestinian state – are key themes that the pope is expected to broadcast during his visit here. In addition to encouraging the small native Christian population, which has been dwindling in numbers over decades of Middle East violence, the pope began his five-day visit by setting a tone of healing rifts with Jews and Muslims.
Pope Benedict upset many Muslims around the world in 2006, when he quoted a medieval text depicting the prophet Muhammad as violent. Jews, too, look warily at several of his positions. He has praised Pius XII, the World War II-era pope whom Jews say did little to save Jews or criticize the Nazis during the Holocaust. Also in dispute is his decision to reinstate the Tridentine Mass, which includes a prayer for the conversion of Jews to Roman Catholicism, and his lifting of an excommunication order for a bishop who denies the Holocaust occurred.
But some say the pope's trip itself is a step in the right direction. Many of the controversial matters are more nuanced issues that were taken out of context, says Rabbi David Rosen, the Chairman of the International Jewish Committee on Interreligious Consultations (IJCIC).
"It was a communications fiasco. He wants the Jewish community to understand that [these decisions] were in no way meant to condone anti-Semitism or advance Holocaust denial," says Rabbi Rosen, an expert in Catholic-Jewish relations.
"Most people think we've been through a rough patch in Christian-Jewish relations," Rosen adds. "This visit will serve as a message to people that if there was a problem, it's obviously been solved." He added: "There's never been as much dialogue between the Vatican and the Jews as there is today."
Given the sensitivities surrounding Benedict's decisions and the stalemate in the Israeli-Palestinian negotiations, experts say that the pope will craft his message carefully and will choose his words in kind.
"Every speech will try to maneuver between all parties," says Amnon Ramon, a professor at Hebrew University's Swiss Center for Conflict Research, Management, & Resolution. "I think Israelis will be listening to what he says at Yad Vashem [Israel's Holocaust Memorial Museum], and when in Bethlehem he will say something about the Palestinian tragedy. It's quite a complicated mission."
Professor Ramon notes the difference between this visit and that of Pope John Paul II, who came here in March 2000, half a year before the second intifada, or uprising, broke out. There was far more optimism in the air, bolstered by a worldwide appreciation for the ailing pope, factors that paved the way for a much smoother visit.
By comparison, Ramon says, some people – Muslims and Jews alike – may hold fast to some of the negative impressions surrounding Pope Benedict.
"If you make a few mistakes, even if you try to correct them, it's hard to take back what you said, and so this is a difficult mission for the pope," he says. "Even though the Vatican tried to heal the wounds, still these are images that a lot of people remember."
The pope is also faced with the challenge of advancing Middle East peace without being overtly political.
Upon landing in Israel, the pope said that the Palestinians should have a "homeland" with their own borders, though he refrained from using the word "state." Israel's new prime minister, Benjamin Netanayhu, has not endorsed the two-state solution accepted in Washington, making the issue of language a touchy subject.
"I plead with all those responsible to explore every possible avenue in the search for a just resolution of the outstanding difficulties, so that both peoples may live in peace in a homeland of their own, within secure and internationally recognized borders," the pope stated.
From Israel's perspective, the pope's visit is expected to stimulate pilgrimage to the Holy Land and emphasize freedom of access to the holy sites. Mayor Nir Barkat said in a welcome speech that "Jerusalem is an open place of all religions and we intend to deepen our links with all the world's great religions."
But Palestinians are keen to present an alternative image of reality, based on the fact that many West Bank Muslims find it impossible to obtain permits from Israel to reach Jerusalem and pray in the Al Aqsa Mosque, the third-holiest site in Islam.


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Matthew McCormack
To Fight Cancer, You Need a Team - One That is Tougher Together
Welcome to my Game On Cancer fundraising page!
Help me support Henry Ford Cancer Institute patients and their families by making a donation or joining my Game On Cancer team, today! The process is fast, easy and secure. I appreciate your support — it will make a real, immediate difference for a truly important cause!
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LAGOS, Nigeria (AP) -- Engines out, the pilot of the doomed Nigerian commercial airliner looked for somewhere to put down the aircraft, desperate for open space but finding only a sea of tin roofs and narrow dirt roads. Down below, people quietly rejoiced in their homes that erratic state-run electrical service had returned to their crowded neighborhood on the edge of the megacity of Lagos on a hot Sunday afternoon.
The crash on Sunday of the Dana Air flight killed 153 people on board the MD-83 jetliner and an undetermined number of people on the ground. The tragedy struck all of Nigeria's economic classes, from the state-run oil company executive riding on the plane to the working poor on the ground in the country's largest city. As investigators continue to probe what caused the crash, many fear another could happen in a country with a long history of aviation disasters that remains completely unprepared for large-scale emergencies.
It's not just those aboard aircraft who face danger, noted Ezekiel Adekunle, the son of a landlord whose apartment building was damaged in the crash.
``What about those people at home who didn't board any plane, but the plane came and crashed on them,'' he said.
It was the worst air disaster in nearly two decades for Nigeria, a nation where carriers have longed used aging aircraft and often operate under little government scrutiny. Some passengers clutch Muslim prayer beads or Bibles, softly praying or loudly calling out ``Blood of Jesus'' as airplanes hit turbulence. Applause and more prayers punctuate landings.
But flying is the quickest and safest way to move around a nation about twice the size of California with a crumbling network of roads that drivers in rickety buses and trucks speed along and where robbers lay in wait in the night.
Among diplomats and expatriate workers in the oil-rich nation, air travel often becomes a macabre cocktail party discussion, as people swear by one airline or whisper about rumored pending bankruptcies of others. Some of the smaller carriers rely on just one or two aircraft while the largest, Arik Air Ltd., has more than 20 airplanes.
Dana Air, owned by a wealthy family whose conglomerate sells everything from fruit juice to cars, had a fair reputation for on-time departures and safety. Politicians and government workers shuttling between Nigeria's central capital of Abuja to its seaside commercial capital of Lagos in the southwest were frequent passengers. Dana's fleet of five planes, all of them U.S.-made MD-83s, stood out among other airlines that rely on Boeing 737s. Passengers got Dana-branded drinks and sausage rolls on each flight.
On Sunday, airlines ran the normally reduced number of routes between Abuja and Lagos. The Dana Air MD-83, crewed by a pilot, co-pilot, a flight engineer and four flight attendants, had flown from Lagos to Abuja earlier in the day and was scheduled to depart the capital for Lagos at 2:13 p.m. for the return flight.
Abuja's Nnamdi Azikiwe International Airport is undergoing renovations, so passenger squeeze into one waiting hall where large standing air conditioners cannot cool the hot and humid air fast enough. Those wanting to travel on Sunday crowded against each other, trying to obtain seats on the limited number of flights available. Omonigho Akinsanya was trying to travel back home to Lagos with her 5-year-old son Moyo after visiting her sister. She got angry when a man jumped the line and got one of the last tickets available on the Dana flight. Her other sister, Esi Oghene Oko, got a seat and boarded the flight. The man's rudeness saved the lives of Akinsanya and her little boy.
Inside the full flight, a cross-section of Nigeria's elite sat in business class and coach. The son of a former vice president during Nigeria's military era, Ehime Aikhomu, sat in first class. Levi Ajuonuma, an executive and spokesman for the state-run Nigerian National Petroleum Corp., was nearby. Members of the Nigeria's military were scattered throughout the plane, as were employees of the country's Central Bank. The Anyenes, a Nigerian-American family of six from West Hartford, Connecticut, sat in coach. There were a total of nine Americans on board as well as a Briton, an Indian, a French citizen, at least four Chinese citizens, two Lebanese and a Canadian.
The flight taxied and took off into the dusty air outside of Abuja at 2:54 p.m., about 40 minutes later than scheduled. The plane banked and began heading south toward Lagos.
It remains unclear exactly what went wrong, but at 3:42 p.m., pilot Peter Waxton, an American from Fort Lauderdale, Florida, radioed Lagos' control tower and declared an emergency, saying both of the Pratt & Whitney engines that hang just below the plane's tail had failed. The MD-83 lost altitude, still miles from the airfield and surrounded by the sprawl of Lagos, a state home to more than 17.5 million.
In the final moments, the aircraft neared a small open space in the crowded neighborhood of Iju-Ishaga, about nine kilometers (five miles) short of Lagos' Murtala Muhammed International Airport. The plane barely passed over an uncompleted building before sheering off the top of a mango tree. The belly of the airplane crashed into an empty house. Its nose smashed into a three-story apartment building.
On the ground, Abiodun Adeniyi had turned on a PlayStation, happy that electrical power had returned to his neighborhood just ahead of the Nigeria-Namibia FIFA qualifying soccer match at 4 p.m. Without noise or warning, the plane came down. Debris penetrated his roof and rained down. Some struck his cousin's baby, only bruising her face. One of the plane's wings destroyed the rooms of two men who had joined Adeniyi only minutes earlier.
As the plane burned, sending acrid white smoke that stung the eyes into the air, thousands gathered around the crash site, taking pictures with their mobile phones and rummaging through debris. It took emergency workers about 20 minutes to reach the site over the narrow, crooked dirt roads. Even then, there wasn't enough water to put out the flames. Residents tried to put out the fire by throwing water from small plastic buckets.
Night fell, and private water tankers from nearby construction sites rumbled toward the site, but couldn't get through because cars of onlookers and security officials blocked the road. Soldiers and police tore away pieces of scrap lumber to strike those who wouldn't step back from the shattered and smoldering plane.
As of Thursday, it remains unclear how many people in total died in the crash. Government officials have said they likely won't know until they complete forensic testing, which could take weeks. Meanwhile, bulldozers have leveled the remains of the buildings struck by the plane, turning it into an eerily empty lot of airplane parts where security officers were seen thumbing through the pages of a torn family photo album.
Adeniyi had immediately packed his belongings and those of his neighbors as the fire still raged from the airplane. Some people approached and began moving his possessions. He thought they were lending a hand. Instead they just walked away with them. Adeniyi doesn't care all that much.
``I just thank God that I did not die,'' he said. ``I'm alive.''


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The following is one of seven blog posts that have appeared on doodlemeister.com featuring Sam Shepard talking about his craft over the years. To read all seven posts, type his name, including capital letters, into the search window off to the right.
Adapted from: The Pathfinder
By John Lahr, The New Yorker, February 8, 2010
The male influences around me (growing up) were primarily alcoholics and extremely violent. I listened like an animal. My listening was afraid.
I just dropped out of nowhere. It was absolute luck that I happened to be there (NYC, 1963) when the whole Off-Off Broadway movement was starting. I think they hired everybody. It was wide open. You were like a kid in a fun park—trying to be an actor, writer, musician, whatever happened . . . . For me, there was nothing fun about the sixties. Terrible suffering . . . . Things coming apart at the seams.
I had a sense that a voice existed that needed expression, that there was a voice that wasn't being voiced. There were so many voices that I didn't know where to start. I felt kind of like a weird stenographer . . . . There were definitely things there, and I was just putting them down. I was fascinated by how they structured themselves.
When you write a play, you work out like a musician on a piece of music. You find all the rhythms and the melody and the harmonies and take them as they come . . . . Break it all down in pairs. Make the pairs work together, with each other. Then make 'em work against each other, independent.
I preferred a character that was constantly unidentifiable . . . instead of embodying a "whole character," the actor should consider his performance "a fractured whole with bits and pieces of character flying off the central theme," . . . . to make a kind of music or painting in space without having to feel the need to completely answer intellectually for the character's behavior.
Character is something that can't be helped. It's like destiny . . . . It can be covered up, it can be messed with, it can be screwed around with, but it can't be ultimately changed. It's like the structure of our bones, and the blood that runs through our veins.
(I was) dead set against revisions because I couldn't stand rewriting . . . . (The plays) were chants, they were incantations, they were spells. You get on them and you go. Plays have to go beyond just working out problems. (They have to move) from colloquial territory to poetic country.
I hate endings. Just detest them. Beginnings are definitely the most exciting, middles are perplexing, and endings are a disaster.


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Boehner slams Dems' filibuster plan
House Speaker John Boehner warned Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid not to proceed with "heavy-handed" efforts to change Senate filibuster rules by a simple majority vote. The speaker promised to kill any bill approved under the altered rules that reached the House.
"Senate Democrats' attempt to break Senate rules in order to change Senate rules is clearly designed to marginalize Senate Republicans and their constituents while greasing the skids for controversial partisan measures," Boehner said in a statement. "I question the wisdom of this maneuver, especially at a time when cooperation on Capitol Hill is critical, and fully support Leader McConnell's efforts to protect minority rights, which are an essential part of our constitutional tradition.
"Any bill that reaches a Republican-led House based on Senate Democrats' heavy-handed power play would be dead on arrival."
It is the most serious GOP threat yet that the method used to change the filibuster rules could thwart the Democratic domestic agenda next year. Reid wants to prevent filibusters from being used to block a debate from starting and to prevent House-Senate conference committees from convening. And he wants to impose the so-called "talking filibuster" that would force senators to carry out a talk-a-thon session on the floor, rather than simply threaten one.
But the process is what infuriates Senate Republicans the most. Rather than using the 67-vote threshold to change the rules, Reid is threatening to use a rarely used maneuver to change the rules by 51 votes at the beginning of the next session starting in January.
Reid says he's fed up with McConnell tying up the Senate, but McConnell calls this the "nuclear option" that will further poison relations and create a damaging precedent.
Reid spokesman Adam Jentleson responded to Boehner with this statement:
"Putting aside the fact that the Speaker's views on Senate procedure are effectively irrelevant, it is a shame to see Speaker Boehner join Senator McConnell's desperate attempt to double down on the status quo of Republican-led gridlock in Washington. Senate Democrats are determined to make Washington work better to get things done for the middle class. We hope Republicans will work with us, but after watching them spend the last four years engaging in nothing but knee-jerk obstruction and delay, we are not holding our breath."


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Nest, the Internet-connected thermostat and smoke detector maker owned by Google, is acquiring home security system developer Dropcam as part of a push to connect a wider range of devices in people's homes.
Nest said Friday that it was acquiring Dropcam and that the companies would be working together to build new products that add intelligence to the devices in people's homes. The acquisition could allow for new types of communication among the appliances in homes.
"Eventually, the plan is for us to work together to reinvent products that will help shape the future of the conscious home," Nest said in its announcement of the deal, which has yet to close.
Nest paid US$555 million cash to acquire Dropcam, the company said in a separate statement. Google, which acquired Nest earlier this year, declined to comment further.
Dropcam, founded in 2009, makes small Wi-Fi-connected cameras designed to let people monitor what goes on in their homes when they're not there. The company makes an app for iOS and Android devices to let people receive mobile alerts about motions and sounds in their homes.
For now, Dropcam's products will continue to be sold online and in stores, Nest said. Existing Dropcam customers can continue to use their accounts.
Nest's thermostats and smoke detectors are designed to learn people's habits over time, can be controlled from afar, and are aimed at improved energy efficiency.
The acquisition is bound to raise questions over the extent to which Google could gain sensitive data about the goings-on in people's homes. Nest said Dropcam will come under its privacy policy, which says that data won't be shared with anyone, including Google, without the customer's permission.
Incorporating ads into Dropcam is not part of the strategy, Nest said. Google, however, included language in a letter sent to federal regulators last year suggesting that it could eventually place ads on devices like thermostats or self-driving cars.
Zach Miners covers social networking, search and general technology news for IDG News Service. Follow Zach on Twitter at @zachminers. Zach's e-mail address is firstname.lastname@example.com


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[Updated at 11:52 p.m. ET, 5:52 a.m. in Egypt] Some 40 anti-Morsy protesters are planning to meet with cleaning equipment to polish up their former protest campground, Tahrir Square. They have invited over 2,000 people to join them on Facebook.
[Updated at 11:03 p.m. ET, 5:30 a.m. in Egypt] CNN's Jake Tapper outlines some fine points of Obama's reaction to the Egyptian military's actions:
President Obama's statement Wednesday evening about the Egyptian military's seizure of power from President Mohamed Morsy is as telling for what he doesn't say as for what he does: he doesn't mention the word "coup." He doesn't call upon the Egyptian military to restore power to the "democratically elected civilian government," but rather to a"democratically elected civilian government" - in other words, it need not be Morsy's.
The thinking of the president and senior Obama administration officials, according to a knowledgeable source, is that while the administration is not explicitly supporting the removal of Morsy from power - it expressly did not support the move - it is seeking to now push the Egyptian military in a direction.
If the Obama administration were to use the word "coup." that would have legal ramifications that would result in the end of U.S. aid. If White House officials were to pull the plug completely, they would be removing themselves from the picture altogether.
[Updated at 10:19 p.m. ET, 4:19 a.m. in Egypt] CNN's Ben Wedeman, who spent time at a pro-Morsy rally in Cairo on Wednesday evening, reported he spoke to one protester who said he felt demonstrators would stay there "until Mohamed Morsy is once again president of Egypt."
Wedeman recalled the exchange early Thursday after leaving the pro-Morsy rally to go to the larger gathering at Cairo's Tahrir Square, where people still were celebrating Morsy's ouster.
Wedeman said that although much focus is on the joy and excitement at Tahrir Square, "there's a significant portion of the Egyptian population - (although) I wouldn't suggest it's a majority - who are very upset at what has happened."
Wedeman, a CNN senior international correspondent who'd previously served as CNN's Cairo bureau chief, said it appeared the overall mood in Egypt would be different than 2011, when then-President Hosni Mubarak was deposed. In 2011, Wedeman said, Mubarak's supporters kept a low profile for months.
"There's not going to be that quiet after the storm this time around," Wedeman said.
[Updated at 10:06 p.m. ET, 4:06 a.m. in Egypt] Get ready for an extremist backlash to Morsy's ouster, says Mohammed Ayoob, Michigan State University professor emeritus of international relations.
"The major lesson that Islamists in the Middle East are likely to learn from this episode is that they will not be allowed to exercise power no matter how many compromises they make in both the domestic and foreign policy arenas," Ayoob wrote for a CNN.com opinion piece. "This is likely to push a substantial portion of mainstream Islamists into the arms of the extremists who reject democracy and ideological compromise."
CNN's Ben Wedeman, reporting from Cairo, also said there's a danger that some members of the Muslim Brotherhood will break from the main group and "challenge (Egypt's new leaders) with violence."
They may take the attitude of "we tried to play the game, our leaders were jailed, our media have been shut down ... so we're going to destroy the system," said Wedeman, who is a CNN senior international correspondent and had previously been CNN's Cairo bureau chief.
[Updated at 9:23 p.m. ET, 3:23 a.m. in Egypt] U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon has echoed Obama's call for a quick return to civilian rule. He appealed for "calm, non-violence, dialogue and restraint."
[Updated at 8:24 p.m. ET, 2:24 a.m. in Egypt] More about arrests in Egypt, from CNN's interview with Muslim Brotherhood spokesman Gehad El-Haddad:
- Morsy was arrested by presidential guards at their headquarters, and is being "cut off" from the world, El-Haddad told CNN. "They cut all his access, all his calls. No one is meeting him," the spokesman said.
- Members of Morsy's presidential team also were arrested, El-Haddad said.
- The head of Egypt's Freedom and Justice Party and the deputy leader of the Muslim Brotherhood also were arrested, according to El-Haddad.
- El-Haddad told CNN he understands that hundreds of names have been put on an "arrest list," but "I can't confirm any arrests apart from these."
[Updated at 8:03 p.m. ET, 2:03 a.m. in Egypt] Muslim Brotherhood spokesman Gehad El-Haddad just confirmed his account of Morsy's arrest to CNN by phone.
Presidential guards arrested Morsy at the guards' headquarters, El-Haddad told CNN. He described it as "house arrest." He added that Morsy's presidential team was "entirely put under arrest as well."
[Updated at 7:42 p.m. ET, 1:42 a.m. in Egypt] Morsy is "under house arrest," as are most members of the presidential team, according to a post on Muslim Brotherhood spokesman Gehad El-Haddad's Twitter account.
Reuters also reported Morsy is being held by authorities, citing the Muslim Brotherhood and a security source.
[Updated at 7:27 p.m. ET, 1:27 a.m. in Egypt] At least eight people were killed and 343 were wounded in clashes across Egypt on Wednesday, the day the Egyptian military announced it had ousted Mohamed Morsy as president, according to the state-run al-Ahram news agency, citing the Health Ministry.
[Updated at 7:07 p.m. ET, 1:07 a.m. in Egypt] Egypt's military reportedly is attempting a massive roundup of members of the Muslim Brotherhood, the Islamist movement that helped propel Morsy to power a year ago.
Arrest warrants have been issued for 300 members of the Muslim Brotherhood, and an operation to arrest them is under way, according to the state-run Ahram newspaper website on Thursday, which cited an unnamed security source.
Egyptian security forces also have arrested the Muslim Brotherhood's political party leader, Saad el-Katatni, and its deputy, Rashad Al-Bayoumi, Egypt's official MENA news agency reported Wednesday, citing an unnamed military source.
[Updated at 6:57 p.m. ET, 12:57 a.m. in Egypt] U.S. President Barack Obama, in his first public statement on Morsy's ouster, says the United States is "deeply concerned by the decision of the Egyptian armed forces to remove President Morsy and suspend the Egyptian constitution," and that he has "directed the relevant departments and agencies to review the implications under U.S. law for our assistance to the government of Egypt."
Obama also called on the Egyptian military "to move quickly and responsibly to return full authority back to a democratically elected civilian government as soon as possible through an inclusive and transparent process, and to avoid arbitrary arrests of President Morsy and his supporters."
Here is the full statement, released moments ago by the White House:
"As I have said since the Egyptian revolution, the United States supports a set of core principles, including opposition to violence, protection of universal human rights, and reform that meets the legitimate aspirations of the people. The United States does not support particular individuals or political parties, but we are committed to the democratic process and respect for the rule of law. Since the current unrest in Egypt began, we have called on all parties to work together to address the legitimate grievances of the Egyptian people, in accordance with the democratic process, and without recourse to violence or the use of force.
"The United States is monitoring the very fluid situation in Egypt, and we believe that ultimately the future of Egypt can only be determined by the Egyptian people. Nevertheless, we are deeply concerned by the decision of the Egyptian Armed Forces to remove President Morsy and suspend the Egyptian constitution. I now call on the Egyptian military to move quickly and responsibly to return full authority back to a democratically elected civilian government as soon as possible through an inclusive and transparent process, and to avoid any arbitrary arrests of President Morsy and his supporters. Given today's developments, I have also directed the relevant departments and agencies to review the implications under U.S. law for our assistance to the government of Egypt.
"The United States continues to believe firmly that the best foundation for lasting stability in Egypt is a democratic political order with participation from all sides and all political parties - secular and religious, civilian and military. During this uncertain period, we expect the military to ensure that the rights of all Egyptian men and women are protected, including the right to peaceful assembly, due process, and free and fair trials in civilian courts. Moreover, the goal of any political process should be a government that respects the rights of all people, majority and minority; that institutionalizes the checks and balances upon which democracy depends; and that places the interests of the people above party or faction. The voices of all those who have protested peacefully must be heard - including those who welcomed today's developments, and those who have supported President Morsy. In the interim, I urge all sides to avoid violence and come together to ensure the lasting restoration of Egypt's democracy.
"No transition to democracy comes without difficulty, but in the end it must stay true to the will of the people. An honest, capable and representative government is what ordinary Egyptians seek and what they deserve. The longstanding partnership between the United States and Egypt is based on shared interests and values, and we will continue to work with the Egyptian people to ensure that Egypt's transition to democracy succeeds."
The White House Flickr feed released this photo of Obama discussing Egypt with members of his national security team in the White House Situation Room.
[Updated at 6:52 p.m. ET, 12:40 a.m. in Egypt] What's next for an Egypt that has ousted two leaders in two years? CNN's Christiane Amanpour takes a look:
[Updated at 6:40 p.m. ET, 12:40 a.m. in Egypt] Al Jazeera has offered more details of the reported raid on its Egypt station.
It says that its live Egypt service was taken off air during a live broadcast. "Security forces stormed the building and arrested the presenter, guests and producers," a post on Al Jazeera's website said.
Earlier, CNN's Ivan Watson reported from Cairo that at least three pro-Muslim Brotherhood TV stations in Egypt also appear to have been shut down.
Meanwhile, it's after midnight in Cairo, and the pro-Morsy and anti-Morsy rallies in Cairo still are going strong. On CNN International, CNN's Reza Sayah is reporting from the anti-Morsy demonstration at Cairo's Tahrir Square, and fireworks still are going off behind him.
Watson has noted the same thing:
[Updated at 6:25 p.m. ET, 12:25 a.m. in Egypt] Saudi King Abdullah has sent a message of congratulations to Adly Mansour, the Egyptian constitutional court leader who will temporarily replace Morsy, according to the Saudi Press Association.
"I congratulate you on assuming the leadership of Egypt at this critical point of its history. By doing so, I appeal to Allah Almighty to help you to shoulder the responsibility laid on your shoulder to achieve the hopes of our sisterly people of the Arab Republic of Egypt," King Abdullah said in the statement.
[Updated at 5:57 p.m. ET, 11:57 p.m. in Egypt] The offices of Al Jazeera's Egyptian television channel have been raided by security forces, who have detained some of the staff, the network has reported.
Additionally, at least three pro-Muslim Brotherhood TV stations in Egypt appear to have been shut down Wednesday, CNN's Ivan Watson reported from Cairo.
[Updated at 5:46 p.m. ET, 11:46 p.m. in Egypt] Reports of new clashes between Morsy's supporters and security forces and/or anti-Morsy demonstrators are coming in.
At least four people were killed Wednesday in confrontations between Morsy supporters and security forces in the northern Egyptian city of Marsa Matrouh, according to the state-run Ahram newspaper website, citing its correspondent based in the city.
Also, clashes between Morsy supporters and the opposition were reported Wednesday in Kafr El-Sheikh in northern Egypt, with dozens reportedly injured, according to Ahram. At least 43 Morsy supporters have been arrested, Ahram reported.
This comes about a day after 23 people reportedly died in clashes at Cairo University. That number came from Ahram, citing medical sources. The university clashes started Tuesday night.
[Updated at 5:40 p.m. ET, 11:40 p.m. in Egypt] It's one defiant speech after another at the large pro-Morsy rally in Cairo, CNN's Ben Wedeman reports from near the site.
One speaker has called on supporters of the Muslim Brotherhood, the Islamist movement that propelled Morsy to his election last year, to hold demonstrations and sit-ins across the country. Speakers continue to stress that Morsy is Egypt's legitimate leader precisely because he was elected. Demonstrators also have heard an audio message from Morsy, who rejected notions that he's been deposed (see 5:16 entry for a Morsy message that was aired on Al Jazeera).
Morsy won 52% of the vote last year. To catch you up on what has happened in the last year, see this piece by CNN's Kyle Almond, who notes that Morsy's opponents complained that his government wasn't inclusive.
Morsy has also been accused of authoritarianism, forcing his conservative agenda through edicts and a narrow majority. He has squared off against Egypt's judiciary, the media, the police and even artists.
"The Muslim Brotherhood has not recognized that it has to take into account the 48% that didn't vote for it," CNN's Fareed Zakaria told Wolf Blitzer on Tuesday. "There are many people who feel that the constitution was rammed down the throats of a lot of Egyptians, that it contains within it many illiberal characteristics, things that are kind of the Muslim Brotherhood's Islamic agenda written into the basic framework of laws."
[Updated at 5:16 p.m. ET, 11:16 p.m. in Egypt] Wherever Morsy is, he doesn't appear to have accepted his ouster. He says, in a taped statement just aired on Al Jazeera, that he is still Egypt's legitimate president.
He also said he remains open to negotiate and to engage in dialogue.
Stressing that he was democratically elected, he called on his supporters to continue their peaceful demonstrations but avoid infighting and bloodshed.
[Updated at 5:11 p.m. ET, 11:11 p.m. in Egypt] The U.S. Embassy in Cairo has ordered the mandatory evacuation of all nonessential personnel, CNN's Jill Dougherty reports, citing a senior administration official, who spoke on condition of anonymity.
[Updated at 5:08 p.m. ET, 11:08 p.m. in Egypt] A few hours before Morsy's ouster was announced, soldiers and police were deployed to certain areas of the city. CNN's Ivan Watson, reporting from Cairo, reports that these forces generally surrounded areas where supporters of Morsy and the Muslim Brotherhood were gathered.
To recap the demonstration scenes: Anti-Morsy demonstrators are celebrating in Cairo's Tahrir Square, but there is a substantial pro-Morsy crowd elsewhere in the city.
Some of those protesters oppose Morsy but also oppose pushing from power a democratically elected leader, said Gehad El-Haddad, a spokesman for the Muslim Brotherhood, which helped boost Morsy to power last year. "Under no circumstances will we ever accept a military-backed coup," he said.
[Updated at 4:53 p.m. ET, 10:53 p.m. in Egypt] We told you earlier about the large pro-Mosry demonstration in Cairo. Here's a video that will give you a good look what that looks like tonight:
[Updated at 4:42 p.m. ET, 10:42 p.m. in Egypt] The chairman of the U.S. House Foreign Affairs Committee has weighed in:
"It is unfortunate that Morsy did not heed popular demands for early elections after a year of his incompetent leadership and attempting a power grab for the Muslim Brotherhood," U.S. Rep. Ed Royce, R-California, said in an e-mailed statement. "Morsy was an obstacle to the constitutional democracy most Egyptians wanted.
"I am hopeful that his departure will reopen the path to a better future for Egypt, and I encourage the military and all political parties to cooperate in the peaceful establishment of democratic institutions and new elections that lead to an Egypt where minority rights are protected. But make no mistake about it, Egypt is in for very difficult days."
[Updated at 4:36 p.m. ET, 10:26 p.m. in Egypt] Pro-Morsy satellite television stations have been cut off by the Egyptian military, Muslim Brotherhood spokesman Gehad El-Haddad said Wednesday in a post on his official Twitter account.
[Updated at 4:26 p.m. ET, 10:26 p.m. in Egypt] We noted earlier that the Muslim Brotherhood wouldn't be pleased, and now it is expressing its displeasure officially.
Morsy's ouster is a "conspiracy against legitimacy" and "a military coup that wastes the will of the people and returns Egypt to tyranny," the Muslim Brotherhood said in a post on its official website.
The Muslim Brotherhood, which is the Islamist movement that propelled Morsy to the presidency, also said that "millions condemn the coup and support the elected president's legitimacy."
It also suggested that elements of the regime of former President Hosni Mubarak, who was ousted in 2011 following massive demonstrations, are behind what happened to Morsy.
"The former regime is returning at the cost of the blood of ... martyrs," the brotherhood's post said.
[Updated at 4:18 p.m. ET, 10:18 p.m. in Egypt] We want to bring you up to speed on what the opposition leaders have been saying in the past hour. Mohamed ElBaradei, one of those leaders, said in a televised address that the political road map outlined by the military "responds to the demands of the Egyptian people."
He said that the road map - which includes allowing the head of the country's constitutional court to be Egypt's temporary president until a new constitution can be drawn up and new elections can be held - "guarantees achieving the principle demand of the Egyptian people of having early presidential elections."
ElBaradei is a former leader of the International Atomic Energy Agency.
[Updated at 4:15 p.m. ET, 10:15 p.m. in Egypt] Cairo's Tahrir Square is still rocking, reports CNN's Reza Sayah from near the square.
"It's just jubilation. They're just rocking - it's a party," Sayah said.
The square - the site of 2011 demonstrations that helped oust then-President Hosni Mubarak - has been the heart of demonstrations that have now helped prompt Morsy's ouster. Thousands are cheering in the square, watching fireworks go off overhead.
[Updated at 3:59 p.m. ET, 9:59 p.m. in Egypt] Despite the Egyptian military's forced ouster of Morsy, a former Egyptian general, Sameh Seif El Yazal, argues to CNN that what happened today isn't a military coup. He says the military isn't going to rule the country and that the military "supported the will of the Egyptians."
El Yazal said he expects elections to take place in nine to 12 months.
To recap what Gen. Abdel-Fatah El-Sisi, Egypt's top military leader, said when announcing Morsy's ouster about an hour ago: Morsy was no longer the leader of the country, and that the head of the country's constitutional court will serve as Egypt's temporary president until a new constitution can be drawn up and new elections can be held.
It's not clear where Morsy is, although he, or someone on his behalf, appears to be sending messages through Twitter, as noted directly below.
[Updated at 3:52 p.m. ET, 9:52 p.m. in Egypt] Morsy appears to be taking to Twitter.
A post on the Egyptian presidency's official account, attributed to Morsy, says the military's move represents a "full coup categorically rejected by all the free men of our nation."
The account also "urges civilians and military members to uphold the law & the Constitution" and "not to accept that coup which turns #Egypt backwards." This was posted just moments after the country's top military officer announced his ouster.
Morsy's account "urges everyone to adhere to peacefulness and avoid shedding blood of fellow countrymen."
[Updated at 3:37 p.m. ET, 9:37 p.m. in Egypt] It's not all celebration in Cairo. Pro-Morsy demonstrators in Cairo are furious, CNN's Ben Wedeman reports from near their rally.
Thousands at the pro-Morsy rally chanted "down with military rule" and "invalid" upon listening to the military announcement of Morsy's ouster.
Morsy enjoyed support from the Muslim Brotherhood, the Islamist movement that propelled Morsy to the presidency. CNN's Fareed Zakaria said much will depend on whether and how the Muslim Brotherhood will challenge the army's move.
Morsy, a U.S.-educated religious conservative, was elected president in June 2012. But his approval ratings have plummeted. His government has failed to keep order as the economy has tanked and crime has soared, including open sexual assaults on women in Egypt's streets. Chaos has driven away many tourists and investors.
That has disaffected many among Egypt's poor and middle classes, Fawaz Gerges, director of the Middle East Center at the London School of Economics, told CNN this week.
"The millions of Egyptians who cheered for Morsy are saying he must go," Gerges said.
[Updated at 3:26 p.m. ET, 9:26 p.m. in Egypt] Car horns are honking and fireworks are going off in Tahrir Square, the heart of the anti-Morsy protests that is still filled with thousands upon thousands of people.
CNN's Reza Sayah, who's at the square, described it as "an explosion of joy."
[Updated at 3:24 p.m. ET, 9:24 p.m. in Egypt] Morsy's ouster comes hours after the passing of a deadline set by the military, which had told Morsy, in effect: Make a deal with the opposition and settle the unrest of the past few days, or be ousted.
The officer who announced the move moments ago, Gen. Abdel-Fatah El-Sisi, said the head of the country's constitutional court will serve as Egypt's temporary president until a new constitution can be drawn up and new elections can be held.
[Updated at 3:18 p.m. ET, 9:18 p.m. in Egypt] CNN's Ivan Watson in Cairo said he had seen Egyptians celebrating the overthrow of Egypt's first ever democratically elected president.
"I am quite stunned by how much ill will he generated among so many Egyptians, that they throw away the electoral process and start again," he said.
[Updated at 3:13 p.m. ET, 9:13 p.m. in Egypt] Egyptian President Mohamed Morsy, elected just a year ago, has been ousted from power, Gen. Abdel-Fatah El-Sisi just said in a televised address.
El-Sisi, Egypt's top military officer, announced that President Mohamed Morsy was no longer the leader of the country and warned the military would respond firmly to any violence. He also outlined a political road map for the country to follow.
Anti-Morsy demonstrators in Cairo's Tahrir Square, listening to the address, roared their approval when El-Sisi finished.
[Updated at 12:45 p.m. ET, 6:45 p.m. in Egypt] Key statements from both sides are coming out on social media.
This from Essam al Haddad, Egypt's presidential senior adviser on foreign affairs, on his Facebook page:
As I write these lines I am fully aware that these may be the last lines I get to post on this page. For the sake of Egypt and for historical accuracy, let's call what is happening by its real name: Military coup.
And this tweet from Muslim Brotherhood official Gehad El-Haddad, saying tanks are on the streets.
[tweet https://twitter.com/gelhaddad/status/352456306961027072]
A little earlier today, the military used its Facebook page (in Arabic) to say it was meeting with religious and political leaders before announcing any action.
And Morsy's Facebook page (in Arabic) added his refusal to change his position. He's proposing a "road map" to include a new coalition government but said bypassing the elected presidency was "a threat to democracy."
[Posted at 12:40 p.m. ET, 6:40 p.m. in Egypt] Massive protests have been taking place in Cairo for and against President Mohamed Morsy and his Muslim Brotherhood. Now it seems the protests are leading to concrete action.
Democratic reformists and moderates accuse Morsy's government of moving in an authoritarian direction. There's also opposition from former Mubarak supporters and others fed up with the nation's direction who are calling for the restoration of order through the military.
Earlier today Morsy refused to act on demands by the military that he share power with his opponents. That prompted the military generals to issue a statement they called "The Final Hours."
"We swear by God that we are ready to sacrifice our blood for Egypt and its people against any terrorist, extremist or ignorant," they said.
A key difference between these protests and the ones in 2011 that led to the downfall of President Hosni Mubarak in the Arab Spring is that Morsy is democratically elected.
Here's a profile of President Mohamed Morsy
Our colleague Reza Sayah reported from the heart of the protests earlier on Wednesday.
Go people of Egypt!!! What a great military, lucky to have them. How much more violent could this have been? Amazing. The Egyptians truly are lucky, they have a real chance at a true democratic government now, if the US doesn't screw it up. Ironic no?
Please people of united states what is happening in egypt is not coup. This is the free will of the people . Muslim brotherhood poeple are liars & never explained the truth about the egyptians. We want to be a great country & then we can be of a good use to you & this person morsi is the ast person that can lead the nation to a better suituatin. Concerning there channels they usedto deliver hate and anger towards anybody who opposes them. So please usa people support the egyptians' will & stop supporting terrorists like morsi & his party they r not trustworthy.
You do have a few good points, but this is technically a coup. A military ousting any politician is usually declared a coup, no matter how the people feel.
U should know at least the 13,000,000 who voted to president morsy are completely upset and refuse what the army did.
Do not deliver hate. Deliver pepperoni pizza!
We have a right to pepperoni pizza NOW!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
We Turks are against the MB too.
Best wishes for prosperous new Egypt.
I'm an Egyptian who participated in the 30th of june revolution againts Mohamed Morsi , im writing this to tell you that what happened in the last few hours can never be called as a COUP it was PUBIC DEMAND as the whole world have seen the biggest demonstrations in the human political history .
Please consider
Thin crust pepperoni pizza please. Extra cheese.
Walk like an Egyptiannnnnn
What happened today in Egypt wasn't coup, it was the second wave of our revolution, more than 33 million egyptians were in squares of freedom around the whole country. It is our right to say no to the dictator who elected a year ago and to his group. Muslims brotherhood are just killers, the problem was we wanted to try the democracy with people don't understand what the democracy is.
Once again, the media has tried to distort history! you call this a coup, you are not their living with the egyptians. you didn't even start covering this story with continues coverage until today! you didn't televise what the ex president said last night on TV! I am an american who was born and raised her but have family there, so unless you live there DO NOT CALL IT anything other then a revolution. Because any country in the world would have done EXACTLY what the egyptians did had they been in that situation. The army backing the people IS THERE JOB. we run commercials here all the time, fight for our country – thats EXACTLY what they did. You guys ALWAYS find a way to create, distort, and persuade people of YOUR OWN POINTS THAT YOU WANT COMMUNICATED, NOT THE TRUTH!!! THIS IS RIDICULES AND HAS COMPLETELY GOTTEN OUT OF HAND!
Happy 4th of July America.
Hello Domino's? 60,000 pepperoni pizzas please. And one diet coke.
to all the people is saying what is going on in Egypt now it is a military coup .The military it is not carrying out a coup, but acting on the will of the people to clear the way for a new leadership. Egypt's military gives 48 hours warning. If the people's demands are not met, the military, which is forced to act according to its role and duty, will have to disclose its own future plan.the armed forces acted out of its "patriotic and historical responsibility.
Military coup is the seizure of power bu military force and unilateral governance. what happened in Egypt is the bias of the army to the legitimate democratic demands of the Egyptians (almost 33 millions in Egypt and many around the world)
33 ha ha ha ha ha ha ha33 million , !!!!!!!!......, i think i might also take pizza peparroni with u
Hello Domino's? 33million pepperoni pizzas please
It's not a coup millions went down to street dumb people 🙂
I don't know how the US govern could justify its support to a military coup against elected president. I think US govern might understand president morsy were elected by all Egyptian nation, not by Tharir or Cairo nation only.
I want a pan pizza with extra pepperoni and a diet coke.
We want pizza too. Thin pizza supreme from Pizza Hut. We get it free after a coup take over of a New Jersey Pizza Hut outlet.
Long live American food! Pizza!!!!!! !!!!!!!!! !!!!!!!!! !!!!!!! !!!!!!!
To the people of Egypt:
If you let me go, I promise pepperoni pizza for every man, woman, and child.
I want a large pepperoni pizza please, extra cheese.
Walk like an Egyptiannnnnnn
I just ate an entire large deep dish pepperoni pizza. Does this dress make me look fat?
Walk like an Egyptiannnnnnnn
That's all Ban and his bunch of croonies ever do – urge restraint. I can urge restraint as well, I urge restraint – there you go!
@yaso and ahmed. Stop eating my pepperoni pizza. I urge restraint!


text:
Pearl of Fire Agni Manitite 13.5 grams
- Regular Price
- $50.99
- Sale Price
- $50.99
- Regular Price
- $68.99
- Unit Price
- per
This rare Agni Manitite Pearl of Fire from Java, Indonesia is one of a kind. Agni Manitite's name comes from the ancient Sanskrit "Agni Mani" which translates to "pearl of the divine fire". You will receive the exact piece shown.
Metaphysical Properties
Agni Manitite is known as a stone of initiation and power. It has been described as fire or dragon-like energy. The people of Tibet consider the Agni Manitite stones to have great spiritual power. It is an excellent crystal to aid with increasing a persons willpower and creativity.
About Pearl of Fire Agni Manitite
These beauties are also known as Javanite, Pearl of Fire, and Agni Mani. The glistening, dimpled surface of each stone appears dark grey or black when sitting in natural light. When held up to a light source, they are translucent and show tones of warm grey, brown, and dark grey.
You will receive the exact stone pictured. Close-up photography is used in natural sunlight to show detail. The item may appear larger than actual size. Please see size listed for the dimensions. 1" = 25.4 millimeters.
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