19 Aug 2010
by in Fashion Design Tags: ambassador, christopher r hill, instant gratification, president jalal talabani, prospects, sympathizers
“This is an extremely interesting night to see these pictures, but I think people need to understand … this is a transition from one that is military over seven years to one that is a transition to diplomacy,” Crowley said.
“It’s still a dangerous place,” he said.
Christopher R. Hill, the outgoing U.S. ambassador to Baghdad, said it was now Iraq’s responsibility to form a stable long-term government and Washington’s responsibility to “see Iraq as a country and not as a war.”
In remarks Wednesday to the U.S. Institute for Peace in Washington, Hill said he was optimistic about the prospects of a stable government, but he added, “If it’s instant gratification you’re looking for, you had better look elsewhere.”
The new U.S. ambassador, James F. Jeffrey, presented his credentials to President Jalal Talabani on Wednesday.
In those 7½ years, 4,415 U.S. service members lost their lives.
Estimates of the number of Iraqis who were killed are more problematic, complicated by difficulties in determining which combatants were from Iraq or were sympathizers from other countries in the region, by deciding whether to include victims of bombings and other attacks by anti-coalition elements, and by the biases of who is doing the reporting.
Iraq Body Count, a non-governmental organization based in Germany whose tallies are commonly reported by Western news agencies, puts the current toll at 97,000 to 106,000. By contrast, researchers at Johns Hopkins University in Baltimore and Al Mustansirya University in Baghdad said in a report heavily criticized by U.S. officials that more than 650,000 Iraqis were killed in “war-related activities” just in the period from 2003 through 2006.
Struggle continues in Afghanistan The 4th Stryker Brigade, a unit of the 2nd Infantry Division that is known as the Raiders, arrived a year ago to provide security for the Iraqi elections on March 7 and to help coordinate the transition of command to the Iraqi military.
The formal handover actually took place Aug. 7, when three Raider soldiers and two Iraqi soldiers pulled down the the brigade’s colors at Forward Operating Base Constitution, leaving only the flags of the Iraqi government and the 6th Iraqi Army Division flying.
Still, the departure means the end of only some combat operations in the greater region. As many as 100,000 U.S. combat forces are still operating in Afghanistan, which they are not tentatively to conclude until next July.
“I think the biggest challenge is the combination of running two theaters,” Tooliatos said, “not only drawing down things in Iraq but working to get things into Afghanistan to the right place at the right time so that the soldier on the ground has what he needs to fight, win and survive on the battlefield.”
Pfc. Timothy Berrena of Fairfield, Conn., is likely to be one of those soldiers. After 12 months on this tour in Iraq, he has re-enlisted.
“I’m hoping to do one more [tour] before I get out. I’m sure the next one will be Afghanistan if it’s anywhere,” Berrena said.
“It’s another chapter in the book,” he said. “It’s a good experience — met a lot of great kids here. You’ve got kids in the military who can’t even buy a pack of cigarettes yet, but they can come over here and fight for their country. I’m just glad to be a part of it.”
‘No one else is going to get hurt’ For others, like Pvt. Nicholas Kelly of Seattle, the day meant “I’m on my way home now.”
“It was a great feeling, you know, being in the country for 12 months,” Kelly said. But “finally getting out is a great feeling.”
Staff Sgt. Steven Bearor of Merrimac, N.H., said he, too, was looking forward to “going home to the family. I like it.”
But the best part, he said, is knowing that “no one else is going to get hurt.”
The Iraqi security forces “are ready to go, Bearor said. “I have all of faith and confidence they will be able to pull off the job.”
By Richard Engel and Charlene Gubash of NBC News on the Iraq-Kuwait border and Alex Johnson of msnbc.com.
Last full U.S. combat brigade leaves Iraq
17 Aug 2010
by in Decorative Arts Tags: common sense, gold, prospects, relevancy, seo
I believe that consistently posting quality original content on your website, on forums, on article submission sites, and so on is absolutely critical to your marketing and SEO strategies. As search engines revamp their algorithms to emphasize relevancy, and as prospects become more computer and Internet savvy, content lays the foundation for every other strategy – from SEO to PPC to social media marketing.
Branding is about consistency in your message, your logo, your mission statement and your site. I search everyday for clues on how other firms have successfully marketed their firms, to emulate what works, or what I perceive to work.
My perception
Publishing great content builds credibility. this is simply common sense. The Internet has grown to become a global resource for information. Why? because it’s users are there searching for what? Information!! If not yours, then your competitor’s!
I love walking into shops that don’t have computers or Internet connections. they do still exist. Most of them come to agree that having an online presence is like mining for gold online with an offline shovel. see Mining Online Gold with an Offline Shovel by Joel Christopher (Author) and George McKenzie (Author). Add to that, prospects do business with firms or reps they know, like and trust, so building credibility enhances business relationships over the long haul.
Internet Marketing Guru, John Reese, once wrote that content is not king – it’s Kong. Content levels the playing field on the Internet. The web has made it easy for small businesses to reach more people than ever before, opening up a variety of avenues to provide great content, and thus, solidify their business’s success.
Is Your Website Content Really KING?
12 Jul 2010
by in Uncategorized Tags: prospects, span
Childress was an outstanding player coming out of college, and was the number six overall draft pick when he came to the NBA.
Once arriving with the Atlanta Hawks, he consistently made an immediate impact and posted promising statistics. over his four season span with the team, he had an average field-goal percentage of .522 and 5.6 assists per game.
Unfortunately for Childress, after the 2007-2008 season, nobody was willing to give him the contract he wanted. The Hawks wouldn’t offer it, and no team was willing to come after him because they knew Atlanta would just match any deal they came up with.
So, Childress shocked everyone when he decided to take the money and run… out of the country, to play in the Euroleague.
Rumor has it that he is on his way back to the states, and in this year’s free agent class, he’s ranked as one of the top fifteen prospects in nearly all respected sporting news organizations’ websites.
Here’s a list of where he could end up.
The Hawks still retain the rights to Childress, and although the relationship between the two hasn’t been the greatest, Atlanta is still not willing to let him out of their grasp.
This offseason, the main focus for Atlanta is clearly Joe Johnson, and according to news stories today, it is becoming more and more likely they will lock him up.
If they do lock him up, their chances of obtaining Childress are slim to none. The free agent will find a number of teams willing to offer him a contract above what the Hawks can match.
But if Johnson doesn’t end up signing in Atlanta, then Childress will either end up back with the Hawks or finish out his time in Greece.
To be completely honest, there isn’t a single word or rumor in the league supporting the idea that Childress might end up in New Jersey.
Nonetheless, that doesn’t mean it’s not a strong possibility.
When the starting gates opened in the race for LeBron, the Nets came out to an early lead. They picked up an outstanding coach, a billionaire owner, and have plans to move to the big Apple.
But lately, it doesn’t seem as though they will close the deal.
Meaning, they will have little talent and tons of money.
With Childress already proving in the Greece situation that he’s willing to go to the highest bidder, it wouldn’t be surprising if the Nets made him an offer and a handsome one at that.
All Childress is looking for, as of now, is someone to get him out of Atlanta, and New Jersey just might be the organization to do that.
The Clippers are likely to land in the same boat as the Nets. Luckily for them, they are a lot better off already.
The team is still looking for a coach, but their bench is starting to get better. Blake Griffin is coming back in full health this season, they picked up a good inside presence in this year’s draft, and Baron Davis will finally be surrounded by decent talent for the first time since he arrived.
Childress could be the last piece to the puzzle, and the Clippers could use a good distributor like Childress to fill out their roster.
On top of that, L.A. still has a decent amount of cap space and enough pull to get him out of Georgia and back to his home state of California.
The bulls already cleared up a ton of space to get LeBron, and they may or may not be a top contender to land the all-star.
If not, they will be looking towards Dwayne Wade, Chris Bosh, and a couple of other top prospects.
As noted before though, if the super-summit team does eventually come together ( and that’s a big if), the Bulls will be looking to fill in an offensive presence they will be losing in a week, after Kirk Hinrich goes to Washington.
Childress would fit perfectly in Chicago. since going to Europe to play ball, Childress has become a much better player off the ball. his movement without the ball in his hands has improved since he left the NBA, and while he was here, he consistently displayed a future as a starter.
Out of all Childress’ suitors, the Wizards seem the most likely to soon be signing the nuptials.
Reports around the league, and not just the NBA, but the European one as well, are that Childress and the Wizards are already negotiating a deal. The terms aren’t public just yet, but it is likely the Wizards will use their remaining space, at around six million per year, to grab up the amazing afro that is Childress.
Such an amount would be just enough for Childress to come back to the United States, and it would also be too much for Atlanta to match if and when they sign Joe Johnson.
Washington could use talent like Childress in what would become one of the more talented rosters in the entire league. if they add him, pick up Hinrich, keep Mike Williams, and have Arenas return as a positive influence, they could be on the fast track to make a decent run in the play offs.
NBA Free Agency 2010: Top Destinations for Josh Childress
10 Jul 2010
by in Uncategorized Tags: angels, blake beavan, five seasons, joe saunders, prospects
Cliff Lee are Rangers too hard? are angels watching his three consecutive division titles within limited time? Ask the Mariners to lay the foundation of the dynasty that afternoon? If this were the Premiere League, one of Oakland would be a double-A team yet? Rangers get: Cliff Lee and reliever of 27 years of age. Mariners get: Justin Smoak and Blake Beavan, plus two players who not only John Sickels Top 20 Rangers Prospects list, either in its degree of honor C refers to the list either. so, first, take two perspectives C in Texas to make a trade without any consequence for Seattle reliever. Well, bored faces. Yawn, whaddevah.now look at the market in three months for Cliff Lee Justin Smoak and Blake Beavan. only two words must be spoken by an Angels fan this: CRUD AH. CRUD is Oh CRUD for this season and Ah! For Blake Beavan 2011th ceiling is a right-hander Joe Saunders with more PH is still bats and outs fast ball on the ground for gloves. in Seattle, the beginning of a no. 2 this season and solid # 3 stuff for the next five seasons. AH CRUD Sickles had Beavan Rangers Prospect # 16 pre-season. it closes one thing we have in Beavan Sickels C + range is Trevor Bell and Beavan is 2 + years younger. Justin Smoak … Hmmm … Well, what SBN John Sickels has to say about Smoak before the season started?2) Justin Smoak, 1B, Grade A-: I’m not too worried about what happened in the Triple-A, for all he has done. Always wait for it to become the first star to use for everyone. For your information, that # 2 is the symbol of the Rangers Sickels Smoak # 2 prospect. Neftali Feliz was the preseason # 1 for cakewalkers Ron Washington and had some good as # 1 ninth round of ice for them. Cliff Lee Rangers. Basically, the best pitcher in baseball right now, rolled Lotsa, Lotsa stick, not really walking. The Rangers also have the first-round pick who signed Lee team next season, guess who will be the Yankees after Smoak and get Beavan Lee and the revival of Jule 30th 11 draft and an additional option in 30 or 40 years.
Blake Beavan
26 Jun 2010
by in Uncategorized Tags: drayson bowman, justin peters, mattias lindstrom, playing time, prospects, rsquo
Top 10 prospects
3. Drayson Bowman, LW
10. Mattias Lindstrom, LW
Heading into the 2010 NHL Entry Draft, no team holds more picks than the Carolina Hurricanes, who have 11 selections — including six of the first 85 picks. The Hurricanes should land an excellent prospect with the seventh overall pick, plus they acquired two extra second-round picks prior to the NHL trade deadline, giving them a total of four of the first 53 spots in the draft.
GM Jim Rutherford has several options. He could hold on to the picks and restock Carolina’s prospect cupboards, use the extra picks to move up in Round 1 or gain a second first-round selection, or perhaps even use the extra assets to acquire players.
Team Needs
For the first time in a long time, Carolina is poised to transition several of their prospects into NHL contributors. Zach Boychuk, Jamie McBain, Brett Carson and Justin Peters should all see significant playing time with the Hurricanes, while several others like Drayson Bowman could earn roles in Raleigh.
But with that transition comes a depletion of their prospect depth. The Canes will likely take the best available player at No. 7, then use their three second-round picks and seven other picks to address needs throughout the organization. Carolina has several middle-of-the-road prospects, but lacks significant top-end talent.
With Peters set to back up Cam Ward in Carolina, Mike Murphy and Justin Pogge will play with the team’s new AHL affiliate in Charlotte, but they are the only two goalies in the system. Expect the Canes to address that need in Los Angeles.
Organizational Strengths
The Hurricanes are best stocked at forward, but several of those players are ready or near ready to join the NHL ranks. The same is true for McBain and Carson, the team’s top two defensive prospects. Boston College’s Brian Dumoulin, a rising sophomore, was a second-round pick last year and looks like he could be a home run, but should take at least two more seasons before he turns pro.
Organizational Weaknesses
The team’s biggest need is depth. There are acclaimed prospects ready to make the jump to the NHL, but their graduation means there are holes that need filling. Several of the high-end prospects will likely become full-time NHLers next year, so the team is in need of some sure-fire talent they can count on down the road. Finally, the team has two goalies set for Charlotte, but no others in the system.
Draft Tendencies
Rutherford has stated several times that he prefers to not use first-round picks on defensemen because their development time is much longer than other prospects. still, if one of the “big Three” (Cam Fowler, Eric Gudbranson and Brandon Gormley) fell to the Canes at No. 7, you’d have to think they’d consider making an exception like they did with Jack Johnson at No. 3 in 2005.
While the Canes used their first-round pick last year on Philippe Paradis, the team rarely chooses players from the QMJHL. The team has not used a first-round pick — outside of Paradis, who was traded to Toronto less than six months after he was selected — or a second-round pick on a QMJHL player since moving to Raleigh, and just twice used a third on a Quebec league player.
The team has also shied away from Russians, selecting just one (Igor Knyazev, 15th overall in 2001) since the team relocated. The Canes used three of their six picks on Scandanavian players last year, choosing two from Finland and one from Sweden, but for the most part the team has selected WHL and OHL players, along with the occasional American-born player.
Hurricanes 2010 draft preview – Hockey’s Future
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