Ferndale -- As The Record Collector, a longtime haven for fans of vinyl, prepares to close its doors a new record shop literally down the street is ready to keep the music spinning.
Warren Westfall, owner of The Record Collector, will be starting off the new year by shuttering the store he's had for the last 15 years on Nine Mile Road in Ferndale. His last day open is Monday.
In a year blessed with topnotch acting in quite a number of noteworthy films, here are the five indelible performances that deserve the highest commendation.
InterAksyon presents the top 5 movie performances of 2012:
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THE CAST OF ?POSAS? Lawrence Fajardo?s taut direction of Zig Carlo Dulay?s fat-free script ? a breathless day-in-the-life procedural about corruption in the police force and the making of an ?official? partner in crime out of a petty thief ? is a model of precise filmmaking.
So are the on-point, life-like performances of the entire cast, from the leads (Nico Antonio as a Quiapo snatcher and Art Acuna as chief of police) to the supporting players (Bangs Garcia as the victim of the theft, and Nor Domingo and Jake Macapagal as police officers), down to the guests and bit players. In a year filled with excellent ensemble acting work (?Aparisyon?, ?Sta. Nina?, ?Mga Munting Lihim?, ?I Do Bidoo?), ?Posas? gets the badge of honor as the finest.
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RHIAN RAMOS, ?SOSSY PROBLEMS? She was very good in the title role in last year?s ?My Kontrabida Girl?. This year she was even better ? sharper and punchier but cooler ? as a bossy spoiled brat in ?Sossy Problems?, about a barkada of clueless ultra rich girls who find a mission outside of themselves when their beloved village country club gets threatened to be torn down to give way to a mall.
The role was practically begging for a kind of go-to-town indulgence. Rhian did not go there. Instead she imbued the character with a playful charm and an unforced headiness that made it easy for viewers to understand why she is the acknowledged leader of this stillettoed pack. And why she is probably the finest young actress in comedy around.
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ANTHONY FALCON, ?REQUIEME!? How do you go head to head and toe to toe with the simmering soulfulness and soft-edged intensity of Shamaine Buencamino? If you?re newcomer Anthony Falcon, you don?t. You play it the other way ? sharp, saucy, and steely. It?s nothing short of genius.
For while the performance is one of chilly, icy coolness on the surface, Anthony as Joanna, a runaway son, a social outcast, and would-be transsexual, is also able to fully locate the bruised soul, the wounded heart, and the zest for life in this black comedy about burying the dearly beloved, Pinoy-style.
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EDDIE GARCIA, ?BWAKAW? This year Manoy played manay and he was nothing short of fabulous. But not in a showy, put-out-all-the-stops kind of way.
As Rene ? a brusko of a man who embraces his sexuality and comes out of the closet very late in life with his canine BFF, by his side, indeed in what the character sees as his twilight years ? Eddie is elegantly funny and sophisticatedly soulful in a portrayal brimming with scrappy wit, sardonic humor, and sensitive heart.
This lovely and loving performance is the opposite of a doggone work.
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NORA AUNOR, ?THY WOMB? Thirty years after ?Himala?, Nora Aunor gives another performance for the ages. As Shaleha, a barren Badjao wife who goes on a mission to find a woman who could and would give her beloved husband a biological child, is hypnotically still, bracingly intelligent, and devastatingly emotional, often all at once and without uttering a single word. She is, in a word, divine in what is the most hauntingly sublime piece of acting in all of Philippine cinema not only this year but in the last 30 years.
TOKYO: A Japanese security firm is planning to rent out private drones that will take off when intruder alarms are tripped and record live footage of break-ins.
Secom Co unveiled a helicopter like drone prototype it said can detect and videotape suspicious vehicles and people breaking into the premises of a shop, warehouse, factory or other properties, Kyodo News agency said.
"The flying robot could take off if our online security systems detect any unauthorized entry," Asuka Saito, a spokeswoman for Secom, said. "It would enable us to quickly check out what's actually happening on the spot," she said.
The machine, equipped with four propellers, is 60 centimetre long and wide and weighs around 1.6kg.
It takes off once it receives an alert from groundbased laser sensors to approach the target and transmit video data to its control center.
The company said it aims to start renting the machine for less than $58 a month in 2014 and it is interested in selling the service in other countries as well. "To reduce crime, we wanted to develop a flying robot that can approach a culprit and his or her vehicles as closely as possible ," said Secom chief Shuji Maeda.
Well, of course elevation has everything to do with temperature. Proximity to the seacoast is the other big determinant.
Quito, Ecuador is within 25 km of the equator, but is at an elevation of 2850 m. For each of the twelve months of the year, independently, the average high varies between 18 and 19 C, and the average low, 9 and 11.
Puerto Bolivar, Ecuador is at an elevation of only 27 m, and the corresponding highs are 27-32 and the lows are 20-22. It is right on the coast, which serves to moderate the temp
In this podcast James Reynolds is joined by James Schramko to discuss how to grow a?real and sustainable internet based business. James Schramko the owner of SuperFastBusiness an Australian based information and service business consistently doubles his revenue every year without any hyped up product launches or joint ventures. This audio interview digs deep on the subject of strategy and systems as James reveals exactly what you need to do to grow a strong internet business.
Streaming Podcast:-
Podcast: Play in new window | Download
?Full podcast transcription;
?JR: Welcome to the Internet Marketing podcast. My name is James Reynolds and today we?re joined by James Schramko from superfastbusiness.com. So it?s a James and James double header day, the JR and JS show. How are you doing James?
JS:? Good day! How are you JR? I call you JR sometimes because we have the same name. It sounds silly when you talk to yourself doesn?t it?
JR: You and I speak about once a week James, and we check in with each other in fact many more times than that, exchanging ideas and discussing what?s working around the business in marketing. We actually met at Unlimited Power Online back in 2009 in Dubai and that?s the event that I?m now a co-organizer of. On that day, you were a speaker and I was a mere humble delegate. So much has changed for both of us since then, and it seems really amazing that it?s been only three years since we?ve met.
JS: Yeah, we are in a fast paced industry so it does feel like things move quickly, and I guess that?s why we?re in touch all the time because we are always checking in and swapping stories of what?s working really well.? I think is the interesting thing is the things that have changed since then, and there are other things that have stayed exactly the same, which is kind of cool.
JR: You perhaps more than any other person have influenced my current business and my path online. I get to mastermind with you regularly and I get to pick your brains on all matters relating to business and marketing. I?d love to have you reveal some of that really cool business and strategies right here on today?s podcast. Does that sound like something you?d be up for James?
JS: Sounds like a great plan. Where do you want to start?
JR: I?d like you to walk us through today the various components of building a real internet based business.? Both you and I have got quite established internet related marketing businesses but let?s assume now that we?re starting out again. What?s the first step?
JS: I think the first step is to realize that you?re dealing with a business. The internet is just a channel- it?s a marketing channel and I see some people think that internet marketing is some kind of business. Really the internet connects customers to your business so start with the business itself and when I really want to pull it back to basics I?d like to look at ? what is the business structure? Who owns it? Do you have proper accounting and legal situation in the beginning as if you are going to grow it into a serious business?? And that is the first stop for people who join my programs, I?m like- what have you got? What?s it called? How is it structured? Do you have insurance? Are you going to be able to keep some of that profit that you bring into the business? ? That is the foundation, and the next step that I look for is what is the point of this business.
JR: You are in contact with over 200 plus internet marketers I guess every single day inside your Fast Web formula community- answering their questions and helping them move forward with their internet businesses. I?m sure you see a lot of mistakes being made by new internet business owners. What is the one big one that comes up time and time again?
JS: Some people make this mistake of approaching business as some kind of hobby, or you know, trying to do everything cheap but that?s not how real businesses are built. Actual businesses have a lot more structure behind them and if you think about even the businesses that we all deal with like a bank, a restaurant, they?ve got to have infrastructure, they have the cost of staff, they have cost of stock, and that?s where I look at it, who controls these things? Some people surrender all of their equity when they start a business and then they build it and then they have nothing. Other people under resource it and the business fails. So you can?t really go too far until you look at the structure of it and then have a look at the purpose or the point of that and what the strategy is going to be, and hopefully the business will be set up to solve some kind of problem, and it will be easy for people to identify your business if they have that problem and it will be easy for people to understand how you solve the problem and it will be easy for people to give you money to solve their problem. And then of course you have to deliver the solution. So a lot of the things that will determine a successful business are how they are setup, how they solve problems, how they deliver that solution. And then if they can repeatedly do it or scale or become the premium supplier of that solution in the marketplace.
JR: You have a monster of a business now, you make over $1 Million in profit and your business doubles in size most years. Have you always met success or did you have some challenges starting out James?
JS: I guess I started out with my own challenge which was simply how to build a website. That was like the big challenge. At that time when I was running the businesses, I figured the internet channel, that marketing channel is so big that would allow me to go all around the world and I could find people anywhere and do transactions online. The first challenge was how to build a website and I struggled with that to the point where I almost gave up and I just bought a software that promised to make it easy to build a website. And it didn?t and I was just like heart broken. The last ditch attempt was another software program that promised it was even easier. So I bought it and it was- it was easy to use than the one that I had already bought even though it was less expensive. And I built a website but just really to get a hold of the concept ? I made a sample site to show myself all of the functions of it and it turned out that other people are having the same problem as me, trying to build a website, and I started selling copies of the software as an affiliate, in other words, I got a referral commission. That is how I first met success online- with finding other people with problems just like mine. If you would take that all the way to where my business is at now, most of it revolves around helping businesses get online or understand how to run their business properly. It is everything from information on how to do that to services where we?ll just do it for business. Inevitably, I ended up dealing with a lot of business owners who go into that sort of level where there business is growing but they want to grow up faster, they want to short cut the pathway by getting information from someone who?s already seen it, done it, tested it and put up the resources budget and I?ve ended up with the business that pretty much has the information arm and the service arm coming together into one quite large business now.
JR: How did your business evolve into what it is today? Did you always plan to have an information and service based business or did it evolved from the wants and needs of your customers?
JS: That?s exactly how it evolved because from one group of customers they ask me questions like I might use a piece of software in my business and my customers will say, what software should I use, and my answer is like, you know I had the same question so I looked at all of these software solutions, three of them sucked, one of them was awesome, these are the reasons I used this software and perhaps you should it too. And then the next question they say is how do I use it? I?ll put together some training for it, its how you use it, and then they?d say, I?m kind of busy. Is there any chance I can hire your team just to do it for me, and then I?d get people in my team and we?ll provide that service. So the natural evolution is that by always focusing on the problems and challenges that my customers have, I have been able to create product after product and service after service that addresses their needs and someone put it quite eloquently in a podcast interview once ? they thought that I was at the marathon, I?m the guy at the table with the sport supplement drink. When the runner comes up and gets thirsty, I?m there holding out the next round of supplements for them that is going to get them to the next stage so hopefully for my customers, I am able to solve their problems around that particular phase. So yes, they do feed each other, and it?s exactly like the Mercedes dealership that I used to run, where we?re dealing with the same customer but in different part of the business and different things. Everything from someone buying a new Mercedes to then wanting to service the Mercedes, and of course they want to finance it half the time. And if something needs upgrading they might buy parts for it ? a new key ring, or petrol cap or tires etc. So we?re able to deal with the same customer but in different parts of the business.
JR: James, it will be great to get a short checklist at this point of those considerations relating to establishing the right business structure starting out.
JS: Checklist would be the legal entity, hopefully it?s something other than just a sole trader. Then It will be do they have insurance? They would probably want to speak to an accountant and a lawyer to get the right business structure and the right legal structure. Now, you only need to do this at the point where you actually have enough business traction that you can?t afford to lose what you have in place. In the beginning maybe you don?t need this. As soon as you start making good money, you want to sort it out early, because it gets a bit shifty when you start measuring entities after you?ve accumulated wealth. So to get that going as early is practical. If you do have potential legal exposure, get insurance. But of course seek proper advice; I am not licensed to give advice. Then I want to look at things like the name of the business- see that it is appropriate and not a trademark by someone else and that they can be comfortable growing that business, something that you?ll feel good about- but this is not the point where you?ll get obsessive about business cards and stuff. That will come later, that?s a marketing device. Then they want to be clear on their strategy, what is the purpose of this business? How would they like to design this business in terms of working from home or from an office- do they want staff? Do they want stock? Are they going to operate in that country or somewhere else? And what sort of business model they?ll pursue? Do they want to be a retailer or wholesaler? This might come down to the sort of strengths they have as a business operator, or their skill set or experience level. And they might want to work strongly on their Alpha. Because ultimately, if you are in the problem solving business, it?s how you convey that to your audience that will be important and that will determine the take up rate.
James Reynolds and James Schramko
JR: Okay, so we?ve got ourselves set up with a sound business structure, I guess we must give some consideration to the business model we want to pursue. You?ve tried a few James ? affiliate marketing, information, products, software, membership side services, and probably a whole lot more I missed. What are those that you consider the best for someone starting out online?
JS: There?s everything from setting up an e-bay store through to creating your own information products so the one that I currently do, a good indicator, is the ones that I like because they are self-proving.
One is to be an affiliate where you sell someone?s product services and you get? a sale for everyone you introduce. The positive side: you can start at a low cost, you don?t really need a website but that?s a good strategy to do, and you don?t have to worry? about creating new products, endorsing a product, dealing with the stock, managing store or complaints, or writing sales coy or any of that stuff. You can start pretty easily. The downside is you don?t really grow as much, you really growing someone else?s business and you get paid as a sales agent.
The next is to create your own products and services, or you have your own store where you reselling stock for example, but it?s your business, you?re growing it, and other people are marketing it for you ? if you have affiliates and you control your own marketing. But you do have a lot more requirements, you?ve got infrastructure now, you need your own website, you do potentially need to buy stock or services, you have to manage customer service, you have to manage billing and ideally if you get it right it?s a good business model and it?s quite scalable for most people.
There are still other models where you might go heavily into that e-commerce market and have a store and that might involve you having a warehouse. You can get one in the market or you can have your own, that would depend on what kind of a market you would want to get into so the ups and downs of having either certainly depends on what market you?re operating in and how good you are with logistics. Then there?s things like wholesale service provision which is where you assemble a team of people and you actually create service and people buy that from you and resell it, or you go direct to the customer, in which case you are starting to become more a marketing business, where you are dealing more with the end consumer.
There are so many different choices even in those small sector of business models ? there?s even more where you could be doing information services so you can provide how to products, you can even take that offline and use the online market to sell offline workshops or you can do virtual masterminds or virtual coaching in a forum environment. So I am doing a lot of these different models. I have not gone into things like e-bay, because I don?t want to be on their platform, I?d rather be operating from my website. And I don?t do physical stock anymore. I don?t want actual things because they generally cost more to get, they are expensive to ship and move around, and they have damages and they go disappearing sometimes. So I am mostly services or digital ? that?s my thing.
JR: So what about systems? We?re probably going to need some software and equipment to run this thing, what?s in that tool kit James?
JS: In terms of systems, you?re going to need some basics like website, some hosting, a domain name, email capturing program that hopefully can be automated and send automated messages and even better if can be sequential or tagged so you can have rules and triggers because it really will help you grow the business and as you grow bigger, you?ll need things like the ability to test things, survey things and support is going to be a big one. If you are dealing with people in any form, you want to build out your support system infrastructure. These can be done at a very, very low cost and using various service providers like Zendesk and that is going to be an early consideration as you grow.
JR: None of this stuff cost a fortune, I know Zendesk you can get for as little as $20 I believe and most email broadcast software such as aweber probably cost about $20 per month. The barrier to entry is very low. With something like email broadcast software do you recommend people get started with a basic option like mailchimp or aweber or they need something more? What are you using now James?
JR: Now I?m using officeautopilot. Most people will be happy with mailchimp or aweber but I went for officeautopilot because I am able to do more automation and for me that?s important, that?s the key to growing my business. It?s probably around $300 a month and for someone starting out they would probably look at it as something expensive. As soon as you have a thousand customers I would say that this would be a better maneuver because it allows you to do more things. We also should throw in there, you are going to need at some point probably project management software if you have a team and you?ll need a shopping cart to be able to handle all of your transactions. And advanced things are the ability to have meetings with your customers and or online webinars or teleseminars with prospects.
JR: Being able to work from home or operate virtually is certainly an advantage of an internet business like ours, both you and I have teams based elsewhere, and yours is quite a large team. Tell me a little bit about how that works because the setup is quite different from a typical bricks and mortar business.
JS: Yeah, they?re in a different country and even more so, they all work from home. So we have I guess just shy of a hundred people all hanging out at their house, except for the husband and wife or partner set up that we have so we are all scattered around. But we all collaborate and that is the power of this medium is we can come together for a common purpose and that is why your business should be very clear, you should still have some of the things that work in a traditional business such as core values that drives your business so everyone understands what your business does and how they do it and why they do it. And when you?ve got that direction then that gets you a sense of purpose and it?s easy to then start setting up benchmarks and reporting. Because you need to be able to keep score as you go through. If anything of this is unclear to people on what they do online, they just see the word opportunity and get all starry eyed about the appeal of it. But when it comes to start rolling up their sleeves, you really have to get stuck on the hard core things. So yes, you got your system set up, but you?re also going to need some people and you?re probably going to have to have a deeper understanding of the mechanics of the business on the flow of getting marketing happening to bring in leads and turning those leads into customers and then helping those customers spend more money with you, and actually get to keep some of it after all your costs.
JR: And that is the intention right? To profit so you can fund the sort of lifestyle you want? So was it always your intention to build a team of 100 people and do you really need a small army powering your business? I guess that would be pretty scary for some people starting out.
JS: I?ll give you a double NO on that one. It certainly is not the intention when I left my job. When I quit my job it was me plus a part time article writer plus a part time support person. That was the entire team. And still today, half my business, and we?re talking a multi-million dollar business, runs with just me. Because two of the business models I have chosen are not very people intensive, they are very me intensive and that?s great. But the other half of my business is very people intensive, however, it doesn?t require me that much. So it?s kind of cool that I am able to balance these two business models and together they are very powerful. So no- you do not need a large team and you do not need to scale to make money, but you do have to have a business model that supports what your business is trying to do. That?s why the second step is designing your business. The type of business model that does not require a lot of people is generally going to be one that is relating to software, because the system can be leveraged- so software as a service is one, you might have things like apps as well that?s two, or kindles, or podcasting; All of these things are more leveraged in terms of the technology rather than people. They will require specialist knowledge like programmers or technical set up. But if you want to take the stage on YouTube or podcasting or run masterminds or do coaching or just write great information products you can get by with a really small team, probably one or two people to help you out here and there.? It?s the other types of business models such as service provision or ecommerce that is going to be far more resource intensive.
JR: So as I can see you operate a business a little bit like a two-hulled boat with each side supporting the other. You can lose one of those hulls and your business will go along just fine.
JS: That?s what my accountant says. He says I?m in a very rare scenario. Most business owners will die to be in my position, where they have no debt, no costs that can?t be liquidated within an instant. The business keeps growing and it gets more and more profitable every single day. The metrics just keep growing, just last month we had a 15% increase in our revenue than the month prior. Some businesses will be happy with 15% increase in three years, let alone a month.
JR: You?re in a pretty happy position now James. What?s next for you? Are you planning to consolidate or should we expect more growth on superfast business?
JS: There?s always something new, and there?s always consolidation. So you know business, as it matures. In the beginning it?s just to scramble to get customers and to find anything that works. If you can make something convert, that is step one. Step two is you grow it profit-wise. Not growth for the sake of growth, so that?s an important distinction. You go through that optimization phase where you start fine tuning and then you go for innovation where you just want to radically grow it. Many years, almost every year my business has doubled until recently but I?m planning on doubling it again now. The way that I?ll do that is constantly analyzing my business, looking for the radical innovation and also optimizing.
So I?ve split my management team to two main types of managers. One is the grower and I?ve created a little incubation unit and I?ve given them project to grow. And they?ll grow it quickly, using every innovation we know to date. And they have pretty ambitious deadlines, and all of my support. Then the other type of business leaders that we have is our optimizers/ fixer. Once the new business divisions take hold and are proven, then we move in management team who can maintain and optimize that division and hold it steady. And then there are one or two divisions that will exit, where we liquidate them by selling them off and bringing the profit back in to the business and they move off to other areas. I guess like a dynamic machine where constantly making some parts of the machine redundant and replacing them with newer parts. And that whole business actually lifts up and moves every single month.
JR: One thing that always impresses me James is your level of productivity and how much you were able to achieve while still having an abundant time to do the stuff you love outside your business. So is your role now in the business purely strategic?
JS: That?s primarily my role. My role is strategy, and driving the business. And I?ve managed my team to be operational, and now they?ve reached a point that they?re getting a bit strategic. That?s where my business is at. I?ve reached a point where the top people in my business are strategic now and they have to push that operational stuff down one level. And that frees me up, instead of me trying to get into the operations and teaching them the strategy, now I can really focus on driving the business down the next stage. I can visit other countries, I can speak to people, I can spend time planning. I can literally sit here and do nothing other than read a book or sit out in the sun for an hour or two with coffee and focus and have that quality time without having a back end appointments over and over, one after the other, without getting fried with a thousand emails. I actually have that layer of perspective where, you are right, a lot of business owners are just drowning in the details in the moment.
JR: I?d like to close things out now James, what final piece of advice can you offer for people listening to this podcast? The most important thing is to keep things as simple as possible. It doesn?t matter how many people I get in the business, it doesn?t matter how many websites I have, how many services. The goal is to always have the minimum possible; I want the simplest checklist if we have tasks to do. I want the least amount of appointments in my calendar. I also want to be able to just focus on one thing at a time, and I know that I am able to say no to a lot of things and I know some things that I think are important are just not important. By letting go of a lot of stuff you can easily focus on that most important thing with the shortest amount of steps and get the best possible result. So I guess less is more is really something that has been rewarding me lately. And when I meet with my team, we actually say what can we stop doing or eliminate from the business that?s just noise or wasting our time. What are just the key important things that we must do and let?s just focus on them.
JR: James thank you so much, you?ve shared a wealth of really really cool stuff, You can check out more of what James is up to at www.superfastbusiness.com. JS I look forward to catching up with you again soon
JS: Thanks JR great to catch up again.
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Tagged as: business mastermind, Internet Business Strategy, James Schramko, Super Fast Business, Systems
Showing off her luxurious lifestyle despite recent financial woes, Lindsay Lohan arrived at the Dorchester hotel in London, England on Saturday (December 29).
The "Mean Girls" star wore a long, expensive-looking fur coat with black-heeled boots as she smiled at paparazzi before making her way inside the swanky digs.
As previously reported by GossipCenter, the 26-year-old actress will be featured on an upcoming episode of "Million Dollar Decorators."
Along with host Kathryn Ireland, the fiery redhead sets out to redecorate her home on a budget of $250,000. A clip of the episode includes Lindsay admitting, "I got bored so I started decorating with Chanel."
Newsweek just released their last print issue (cover). It shows a vintage photo of Newsweek?s old offices. Below the photo is a Twitter hashtag: #LASTPRINTISSUE (we?ll forgive for a moment that the hashtag is in all caps).
The hashtag is a nod to who killed Newsweek (the Internet), and to Newsweek?s future (the Internet).
Here?s the cover, then below some discussion:
I remain convinced (or perhaps newly-convinced) that putting news online for free, over a decade ago, was a huge mistake.
At the time, I was thrilled. Especially as a gay man, it was amazing to be able to read gay news from around the country ? around the world ? when once upon a time I used to read the Chicago Tribune every day just waiting, hoping, for the occasional gay-oriented story. I remember going to the library and searching for ?gay? books ? something, anything, to reaffirm that I was ?normal,? and just to connect with people (ideas, words) like me. So putting newspapers online for free was huge, in that regard.
But 15 years later, I can?t help but feel that it was a huge mistake.
First we had recession of 2000/2001, which hurt media a lot. Then there was the competition from blogs, which, rather than ?stealing? stories (at the last the good blogs didn?t steal), would link to news stories and provide a quick summary that, in retrospect, may have worked too well as a medium for sifting through the mountain of news online. In some ways, blogs helped to elevate the best news by highlighting it away from the rest of the competition.
But I wonder whether blogs didn?t also divert the MSM?s ?drive-by? traffic ? people who used to cruise news Web sites for news, now cruised blogs in order to find out what news was the best, most interesting, news, and only then would they go to news sites and actually read the stories in question. That decreased traffic. In the same way that Twitter and Reddit and Facebook, among others, are now decreasing traffic to blogs and the Netroots. People cruise social media to see what the latest news is, and only when they see a headline that piques their interest do they visit an actual news site/blog. That decreases our traffic, which decreases our revenue. And many of us maintain these sites as full-time jobs ? the best sites can only be maintained full-time ? so a drop in revenue hits us the same way that losing half of your salary would you. It?s a big hit.
And finally, you have the advertising crisis. Ad sales plummeted during the recession a decade ago, and they plummeted during the Great Recession (depression) of the last four years. People don?t advertise nearly as much when the economy sours. I lost three quarters of my income on AMERICAblog after Lehman Brothers collapsed. Imagine 3/4 of you annual income suddenly disappearing. (Those of you who lost jobs know the feeling.) And my experience wasn?t unique. Media, and online media especially, across the board suddenly saw their revenue dry up.
So first we had the problem that online advertising fell down. Now we?re facing the problem that online advertising is not getting up. And it may not ever again. Some blame Google, and Google certainly shares soe of the blame. A lot of advertisers, including non-profits and political campaigns, prefer to buy ads on sites through Google because they can get bottom of the barrel rates, as compared to our other ad networks. Why don?t we just remove Google as an ad network? Because it brings in too much money on its own, that we?d take a huge hit by dropping it. So it?s a Catch 22. Keep em and lose money, drop em and lose money. And for anyone who says ?that?s just the market at play,? we don?t say that when big companies want Americans to work for chump change, or worse, want foreigners to work for $1 a day. The free market and a livable wage can and should go hand in hand.
Putting that aside, many now worry that online advertising is never coming back. As I noted in our recent fundraising appeal:
DailyKos announced yesterday that their online ad revenue has dropped 30% over the last year. At AMERICAblog, we?re in a similar financial situation?
[A]s Markos noted over at DailyKos, that?s no longer enough:
?The business of online publishing has changed? [we] can no longer depend on advertising to finance operations? [and] we have to make up the shortfall in other ways.?
So online advertising revenue isn?t sufficiently coming back for anyone.
Then, to add insult to injury, people are now using iphone/mobile and Web browser apps that convert Web sites into more ?readable? formats ? in other words, they strip out all of our ads and feed your our content in a text-only format that steals 100% of our revenue, in essence forcing us to work for free, and eventually bankrupting us. ?I understand the desire to more quickly be able to visit Web ?sites. ?I do not appreciate anyone creating an app that literally steals my income. ?Keep that in mind if you ever think of using these apps, or know anyone who does. ?You?re reading content online for free. ?Content that people have slaved all day producing. ?Yes, it?s a pain to wait a few seconds for their pages to load. ?But consider it your contribution, your donation, to the very hard and very good work these people are doing on your behalf, and on behalf of the issues you care about.
So, add all of that up, and you have a whole world of pain in the media and new media business.
I don?t know where things go from here. ?But when Republicans create entire fake-news networks in order to circumvent the media ? the truth ? because they see the truth as the number one threat to their political message, then it worries me when that media starts to wither on the vine. ?People may have some gripes with the traditional media, but that media is necessary, and many do a great job in spite of our sometimes gripes. ?For all of our concerns about the MSM, we?re worse off, and the Republicans are better off, without them.
There?s more to Australia Day than sporting the national colours. It?s also about recognising the outstanding achievers in our community by nominating them for awards. Peter Holt
IF YOU know someone who deserves recognition for the good deeds they do, you need to do a good deed first and nominate them.
There's only about a week to go before Mackay Regional Council Australia Day award nominations close and in some categories the lack of entries is a real concern, according to corporate communications manager Ken Furdek.
"We often see a noticeable increase in nominations in the first week of the new year, and we're hoping that will be the case this year, but submissions for the two new categories are really concerning," Mr Furdek said.
"These are the South Sea Islander Achievement Award, which is a one-off for 2013 because it marks their 150 years of settlement, and the Environmental Achievement Award.
"The other area where we notoriously struggle for nominations is Sarina, and this happens every year.
"There are a lot of people in Sarina who do a lot of good things, and we need these worthy people to be nominated." Mr Furdek said people may have misconceptions about the type of people who could be nominated for an award.
"This is for people who do something for their community, people who do good deeds, and that can be mowing a neighbour's lawn every week.
"They don't need to be outstanding achievers," Mr Furdek said.
The 2012 Young Citizen of the Year, Cale Hutchins, also is encouraging people to put in nominations.
"Come hell or high water the people of Mackay always chip in," Mr Hutchins said.
"We have some real community heroes and fantastic volunteers out there that deserve recognition, even though they don't do these things for rewards."
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(Reuters) - Three New Jersey police officers were shot early on Friday at their police station, and one was in surgery for his wounds, a hospital official said.
The suspected gunman, who had been brought to the Gloucester Township Police station for a domestic incident, was killed in the exchange of gunfire, local TV reported, citing police officials. Gloucester is in central New Jersey about 16 miles outside of Philadelphia.
"A violent struggle occurred while the suspect was being processed," Gloucester Deputy Police Chief David Harkins said, according to Philadelphia TV station NBC10. The man was able to grab a gun and then opened fire.
The gunman was killed by police during the confrontation, Gloucester Police Chief W. Harry Earle said, according to the NBC10 report.
Gloucester Township Police declined to comment on the incident or to confirm the NBC10 report. An officer answering the phone said a press statement would be issued later in the day and a press conference was scheduled for Friday afternoon.
The three wounded police officers, two men and a woman, were brought to Cooper University Hospital shortly after 6 a.m. EST (1100 GMT), hospital spokeswoman Lori Shaffer said.
Two of the officers suffered minor wounds, but one of the three, a male, required surgery, Shaffer said. She had no more information on the extent of the officer's wounds.
The incident follows several recent multiple shootings in the United States, and comes two weeks after a gunman killed 26 people, including 20 children, at Sandy Hook Elementary School in Newtown, Connecticut.
One week ago in western Pennsylvania, a man with a pistol fatally shot three people and then opened fire on police. Three officers were injured in that incident, one in a collision from a car chase with the gunman, another from bullet fragments to the face and a third who was struck with gunfire to the chest but survived because he was wearing a bulletproof vest.
(Reporting by Dan Burns in New York; Editing by Dale Hudson and Claudia Parsons)
Junior dos Santos and Cain Velasquez will roll it back later tonight (Dec. 29, 2012) in the UFC 155 main event, little more than one year after their first encounter lasted little more than one minute in Nov. 2011. Will Velasquez keep his distance and exact revenge? Or will "Cigano" repeat history in "Sin City?" Jason Probst for MMAmania.com breaks it all down.
With the first title defense under his belt, Junior Dos Santos looked every bit the world beater in dispatching Frank Mir as he did in taking the heavyweight title against Cain Velasquez.
Using potent striking and laser-like accuracy, Dos Santos' mixed martial arts (MMA) game is seemingly at its apex. Facing a revenge-minded Velasquez, who dismantled Antonio Silva in his last outing, Dos Santos may well have his hands full in the UFC 155 main event this evening (Dec. 29, 2012) from the MGM Grand Garden Arena in Las Vegas, Nevada.
That's because "Brown Pride" is the most dangerous kind of opponent: a guy he beat far more convincingly than their relative skill sets would suggest who is bent on payback.
Check out a complete breakdown of the UFC 155 main event rematch between Junior dos Santos vs. Cain Velasquez below:
The Breakdown
In nine fights, dos Santos has yet to be planted on his back. His ability to dictate range and terms of engagement -- along with an incredibly spry physique for a man his size -- are a nasty assignment that are reminiscent of a prime Fedor Emelianenko. And his penchant for explosive, fight-changing punches in the blink of an eye are yet another cause of concern for opponents. One mistake and it's over.
Velasquez, however, figures to have better stamina in a long, gut-check type of fight, if he can force one.
Dos Santos started fast in blowout decision wins over Shane Carwin and Roy Nelson, pretty much coasting over the final two rounds once it was clear his opponents couldn't challenge him on the feet, much less convert anything into a takedown. Grappling cardio, however, figures to favor Velasquez if he's in top position.
Given the disaster that their first encounter was for the former champ, you have to wonder how he'll hold up if drilled repeatedly and if scoring a takedown means attempting desperate, low-percentage shots.
If there's a real X-factor in this fight, it's dos Santos' guard. He's won several grappling competitions in Brazil, and I think his takedowns are an overlooked weapon in his arsenal because he never seems to need them. But his top-notch training partners (the Nogueira brothers and Anderson Silva, among others) figure to have helped him develop as much of a guard as he or anyone else will need in the Heavyweight division.
Velasquez has to stay away from dos Santos' massive right hand, which means circling to his right to take away some of its power, yet he still has to strike enough to buy respect. Much as Randy Couture did in his first fight with Chuck Liddell, there's a blueprint for Velasquez: use disruptive jabs and good timing to upset the striker's rhythm, then close the gap to force cardio-sapping clinches and grappling.
Even if Velasquez can't make a takedown attempt stick, it's still enough to make dos Santos use stamina, wearing him down for the second half of the fight.
If Velasquez does get it to the ground, he should be content to stay in guard and hammer away. Dos Santos has the best hips of any heavyweight I've seen since Emelianenko, and even a half-guard position could give him enough room to squirm and scramble out. Dos Santos is also excellent when pressed against the cage, manipulating the other guy's weight and head to slip off the fence. Velasquez, meanwhile, if he can force clinches there, should be sure to get a solid body lock to keep "Cigano" from wrestling free because he's not going to win this fight in the middle of the cage.
He's got to make it a down-and-dirty gut check, while avoiding huge damage early.
The Pick
On paper, these two could make for one of the great rivalries of the sport. But, there's a big problem for Velasquez, and it's getting to the point where he can apply his advantages appropriately, which is pretty much a problem for anyone not named Alistair Overeem in the present state of the heavyweight division.
Dos Santos has many skills that he barely uses such as good kicks, takedowns and grappling, because they're overshadowed by his numbing striking, which dominates fights.
Look for Velasquez to open the fight cautious and circling, hoping to scout dos Santos a bit before opening up, which was his fatal mistake last time. However, it's hard to see where Velasquez doesn't get caught again, as he is wont to do, especially when trying to close the gap.
It would be a revealing moment for dos Santos as champion to have to deal with the thundering guns of Velasquez's ground and pound. And I wouldn't be surprised to see that happen for a moment or two. But, dos Santos' athleticism and toughness should be enough to carry him through any time he spends on his back. And on the feet, he'll just have too many chances to exploit Velasquez' standing deficits, as he rocks him several times in the first and second round, prior to pouncing in the third round for a finishing salvo en route to a knockout win.
Dos Santos via knockout
Remember that MMAmania.com will provide LIVE round-by-round, blow-by-blow coverage of the UFC 155 main card action later this evening (Sat., Dec. 29, 2012), which is slated to begin at 10 p.m. ET on pay-per-view (PPV). The latest quick updates of the live action will begin to flow earlier than that around 6:30 p.m. ET with the "Prelims" bouts on Facebook and FX Channel.
Jason Probst can be reached at twitter.com/jasonprobst
Philadelphia Eagles coach Andy Reid listens to a question during a news conference at the team's NFL football training facility, Wednesday, Dec. 19, 2012, in Philadelphia. (AP Photo/Matt Rourke)
Philadelphia Eagles coach Andy Reid listens to a question during a news conference at the team's NFL football training facility, Wednesday, Dec. 19, 2012, in Philadelphia. (AP Photo/Matt Rourke)
Philadelphia Eagles coach Andy Reid leaves after a news conference following an NFL football game against the Washington Redskins, Sunday, Dec. 23, 2012, in Philadelphia. Washington won 27-20. (AP Photo/Michael Perez)
Philadelphia Eagles coach Andy Reid speaks with members of the media during a news conference at the team's NFL football training facility, Wednesday, Dec. 19, 2012, in Philadelphia. (AP Photo/Matt Rourke)
Philadelphia Eagles coach Andy Reid observes practice at the team's NFL football training facility, Wednesday, Dec. 19, 2012, in Philadelphia. (AP Photo/Matt Rourke)
PHILADELPHIA (AP) ? Andy Reid has been fired by nearly everyone except the man in charge.
It's a foregone conclusion in Philadelphia and around the NFL that Reid will coach his last game with the Eagles on Sunday at the New York Giants. Fans already have a wish list for a new coach and the media has speculated for months about Reid's successor.
But owner Jeffrey Lurie has said nothing. Lurie hasn't spoken to reporters since Aug. 30, which is when he said another 8-8 season would be "unacceptable."
A careful look at the questions Lurie faced and his exact answers during that news conference leaves open the possibility that maybe Reid may not get fired.
It doesn't seem likely that he'll step down.
"I want to coach. That's what I want to do," Reid said Friday.
Reid has one year left on his contract, so Lurie made it clear the last time he spoke publicly that he wouldn't discuss a contract extension with Reid's agent, Bob LaMonte, until after the season.
After that statement, Lurie was asked six straight questions about Reid's future. Here's the questions and responses:
?Does there need to be a certain level of success on the field for Reid to receive a contract extension?
"It goes beyond that but there's no question what I said was we need substantial improvement," Lurie said.
? Did you set a level of what qualifies as a successful season?
"I don't have a level or anything like that," Lurie said. "I just want to be clear about that. You just try to make the best judgment you can after the season."
?Would another 8-8 season be considered satisfactory?
"No, it would not," Lurie said.
?Will you know after the season whether it was successful?
"I do. I think it will be very clear," Lurie said.
?Does your statement on an 8-8 season have qualifiers, including potential injuries?
"Listen, you just have to make the best decisions you can after the season," Lurie said. "As I said, 8-8 was unacceptable."
?Regardless of injuries, is an 8-8 season unacceptable?
"Again, I am not going to make blanket statements," Lurie said. "I really wanted to try to explain to you that 8-8 was unacceptable. Yeah, I guess if two-thirds of the team is not playing, there are always exceptions. That was a really unacceptable outcome. I just want to reiterate that."
At no point did Lurie say he would fire Reid if the team didn't make the playoffs. However, the widespread assumption after that news conference was that Reid had to take the Eagles deep in the playoffs to keep his job. Because the Eagles are 4-11 and out of the playoffs for the second straight year, it seems inevitable that Reid's days are numbered.
But Lurie left himself an out when he said "there are always exceptions."
Here are five reasons why Lurie could keep Reid for one more year:
1. Reid is due to make $6 million in 2013. That's a lot of money to pay a guy to go away. Sure, the Eagles have missed the playoffs two years in a row. But Reid is the winningest coach in franchise history. Nine playoff appearances, six division titles, five conference championship games and one Super Bowl loss is quite a resume.
2. A slew of injuries never allowed the Eagles to get in a rhythm on offense. The four best players ? quarterback Michael Vick, running back LeSean McCoy, wide receiver DeSean Jackson and left tackle Jason Peters ? missed a combined 31 games. Center Jason Kelce missed the last 14 games, and Evan Mathis was the only lineman not to miss any. Though some players were hurt after the team started its slide, losing these key players didn't give Philadelphia much of a chance to bounce back.
3. The Eagles had too much turmoil on defense. Reid fired defensive coordinator Juan Castillo after six games. The decision to move Castillo from offensive-line coach to defense in 2011 was Reid's biggest mistake. But the defense struggled terribly after Castillo was dismissed. It wasn't until defensive-line coach Jim Washburn was fired with four games remaining that the defense started making progress under new coordinator Todd Bowles.
4. Rookie quarterback Nick Foles and rookie running back Bryce Brown were bright spots on offense in a dismal season. Reid made his mark in the NFL by helping develop Brett Favre in Green Bay. He drafted and turned Donovan McNabb into a six-time Pro Bowl QB. So, he certainly knows quarterbacks. Foles would have to start fresh in a new system if Reid and his coaching staff are let go.
5. Reid has complete support in the locker room. No one on the roster has said a negative word about the coach and any player asked says he wants him back.
This already was a tough year for Reid before the Eagles even started playing games that count. Reid endured a devastating loss just weeks before the season opener when his oldest son, Garrett Reid, died during training camp after a long battle with drug addiction.
Lurie said that wouldn't factor into his decision.
"You are there to win and win big and you have to separate the two. All of the analysis will be on Andy Reid the coach," Lurie said.
Still, it's difficult to imagine a personal tragedy of that magnitude didn't even affect Reid's coaching. Lurie and Reid have had a close working relationship throughout their 14 seasons together.
Maybe Lurie lets Reid finish out his contract. It may cause a riot among the fans, but the city loves its Eagles and the stadium is always full.
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Follow Rob Maaddi on Twitter: https://twitter.com/RobMaaddi
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Online: http://pro32.ap.org/poll and http://twitter.com/AP_NFL
Come and see hand thrown pottery, exquisite jewelry, artists of all kinds, basket weaving, colorful purses and totes, metal working, hand made rocking chairs from the mountains of Tennessee, blown glass, stained glass.? Don?t forget all the wonderfully delicious gourmet delights to savor and so much more at the 10th Annual Springtime Made in the South ? February 10-12, 2013.
Book early for this favorite Spring-time festival; Azalea Inn and Gardens has a room for you!
Azalea Inn and Gardens, a Savannah GA bed and breakfast inn, invites you to reserve your room today and begin enjoying the best food experiences in our city, which Travel + Leisure Magazine acclaimed as a ?World?s Best City?.
One of my #2013Resolutions is to get back on track with yoga.
The most difficult part of yoga for me is... getting my butt to yoga class. I have no excuses: my yoga studio is literally just around the corner from our home - a three-minute walk from my front porch - and the wonderful teacher is patient, always pushes me just far enough, always reminds me to breathe.?
As usual this morning, I hemmed and hawed, looking for every excuse to not get my butt to the yoga studio. And though I did manage to get my butt over to the studio, as always, I unfurled my yoga mat down with the most unenthusiastic look upon my face and begrudgingly got into lotus pose. ? Ten minutes into the session, as usual, I felt my creaky body stretch back to where it belongs. And by the end of the hour, I felt refreshed, rejuvenated, more energetic, and less like the Tin Man I was when I entered the dimly lit room. I do hot yoga, so I feel like I've sweated out some toxins with a side of negativity. I feel my feet a bit more firmly planted into the ground, and I feel lighter.? I suppose I can consider myself a bicyclist by default, and I'm big on walking, everywhere. What I need more than anything is a lot of stretching. I want to be strong, lean, and limber. ?
So for 2013, I am going to make a point of getting my butt out the door and into yoga class, at least twice per week. I will unfurl my yoga mat with a smile knowing that in one hour, I will feel so much better.?
What are your 2013 fitness and health resolutions?
Hartville Elementary kindergarten teacher Melissa Dills attributes to her mother her passion for learning.
?From my mother?s love of learning, I realized that I want to pass that on to other students who love school,? Dills said. ?I work with the greatest people and the most wonderful age of children. I?m so honored.?
John McAllister, director of instruction at Lake Local Schools, said there are few more challenging jobs than that of a kindergarten teacher.
?Mrs. Dills makes it seem effortless,? he said. ?Each year she quickly engages her students and has the ability to develop lessons that meet the needs of her charges.?
Name: Melissa Dills
Home: Edinburg
Family: Sweet and supportive husband, Audie, and an energetic 2-year old, Elizabeth.
Credentials: B.S in early childhood education with an emphasis in reading, a minor in French from the University of Akron and a masters in integrating technology into the classroom from Walden University
Why do you teach? ?I teach because I can't imagine being as challenged and as fulfilled doing any other job. I am so blessed to work with the greatest colleagues who support me. I am thankful for teaching in a district that includes administration and parents that highly values community and education.?? ?
Teaching philosophy: ?Every student can and wants to learn and do well. My job is to help them do that and more.?
School involvement: Grade level leader for kindergarten for the past two years, Relay for Life captain and participant
Favorite teaching moment: ?Teaching kindergarten is the best because I get to be there when most kids realize they can read. The look on their face when they stretch out an unknown word is priceless.? ?
Evidence of student achievement: ?Our district works hard to create common assessments that we administer, compare scores and discuss our teaching strategies. I think my students love using the clickers, iPads and computers in our school.? ?
Role model: ?My family. I have been so blessed to have a wonderful immediate and extended family. I live beside 14 families of relatives, many in education. I was influenced by my mom to love to learn. She enrolled me in many classes as a child but most importantly, taught me lessons each day. My father has dyslexia, so I have watched him struggle with reading abilities my entire life. He made me want to help those who find school challenging. He taught me compassion for those who may not like school at first and a willingness to reach each and every student.?
Best advice ever given: Don?t forget the students in your class are someone?s most prized possession. Treat them that way.
Most recent thing learned: ?I?m in the process of learning how to potty train a 2-year old. So far I haven?t mastered that.?
Ambitions: She plans to continue to be a classroom teacher and reach as many students as possible. ?
An a-ha moment that changed her life: ?In 2007, my close cousin, Ben Dillon, was killed in Iraq. He was an Army Ranger on his fourth deployment. The outpouring of support and love from the community, army and absolute strangers was amazing. It taught me that the smallest acts of kindness can be so meaningful. I have tried to carry that over into my everyday life. Whether the event is tragic or magic, I try to support and encourage others since I have been so fortunate to have that support from others.? ?
Interests and hobbies: ?I love reading, spending time with my family and visiting parks. My sisters and I spend hours together with our children. I love technology both in the classroom and at home.? ?
Favorites
? Food and restaurant: Roadhouse in Alliance
? Movie: ?Evita?
? TV show: ?Criminal Minds?
? Music: ?There are not many songs I don't like.?
? Time of year: Spring and summer
? Color: Blue
Bucket list: ?I want to travel more, work at a library and spend as much quality time as possible with my family.?
?Dills Darling?s? love creating movies and sharing their ideas with the parents and families. They share what they are doing in the classroom on the classroom Facebook page and blog.
?Lake is blessed with many outstanding educators, and Mrs. Dills is among our very best,? McAllister said.
He said Dills? understanding of curriculum and teaching strategies is unsurpassed, and she consistently and effectively uses digital tools to enhance learning.
?Mrs. Dills does a great job communicating with parents, making them a vital part of their child?s learning,? McAllister said. ?She is perceived as a leader by administration and her colleagues and is instrumental in the refinement of our curriculum process.?
BANGUI (Reuters) - Residents of Central African Republic's riverside capital Bangui fled in overloaded cars and boats on Friday or stockpiled food and water as rebel forces paused at the city gates for ceasefire talks.
An insurgency has swept across much of the poverty-stricken but resource-rich former French colony since December 10, posing the biggest threat yet to President Francois Bozize's nearly 10 years in power and threatening a humanitarian crisis.
The government on Thursday urged Western powers France and the United States to help push back the rebels, though Paris said it would not use soldiers to defend Bozize's government and Washington evacuated its embassy.
The Central African Republic is one of a number of nations in the region where U.S. Special Forces are helping local forces try to track down the Lords Resistance Army, a rebel group responsible for killing thousands of civilians across four African nations.
"Our last chance, our only chance, is dialogue with the rebels," bus driver Jerome Lega said as he weaved through traffic in the centre of Bangui.
Scores of wooden boats piled high with baggage and people crossed the Oubangui River toward Democratic Republic of Congo on the other side, while the main road south away from rebel lines was choked with overloaded vehicles.
Those remaining said they were stockpiling food and water and praying international mediation efforts would convince the insurgents not to enter the city shooting.
"We are hoping that Bangui will not be attacked," said Eugenie Bosso, a woman running a market stall.
In a sign of rising tensions, the government announced a ban on motorcycle taxis in Bangui after nightfall, amid suspicions rebels were using them to infiltrate the city unnoticed.
GROUNDWORK FOR PEACE TALKS
Envoys from across central Africa arrived in Bangui on Thursday to lay the groundwork for peace talks with the rebels, and regional foreign ministers were due to meet in Gabon later on Friday to discuss the crisis.
African Union Commissioner for Peace and Security Ramtane Lamamra said regional leaders were seeking to convince the rebels to send a delegation to Gabon's capital Libreville to hash out a peace deal and end the crisis.
"If that is not successful, of course other options will be considered," he told reporters in the Ethiopian capital Addis Ababa, adding central African states could provide additional troops to reinforce CAR's army against the rebels.
A spokesman for the SELEKA rebel coalition - which said it will oust Bozize unless he honors a previous rebel peace agreement that provided payments and jobs to former fighters - said on Thursday it would halt its advance short of Bangui to allow for the mediation efforts.
A military source and an aid worker said the rebels had advanced to within 75 km (45 miles) of Bangui by late Wednesday, and a diplomatic source said they had since moved closer to the capital, effectively surrounding it.
The rebel advance has highlighted the instability of a country that has remained poor since independence from France in 1960 despite rich deposits of uranium, gold and diamonds. Average income is barely $2 a day.
French nuclear energy group Areva mines the Bakouma uranium deposit in the CAR's south - France's biggest commercial interest in its former colony.
The U.N. Security Council on Thursday condemned the rebel advance. Regional and Western powers have been pushing for a negotiated solution.
Neighboring Chad has sent troops to bolster CAR's weak army though it is unclear whether they would be enough to halt a renewed rebel assault on the capital.
The International Committee of the Red Cross said it was working to provide displaced people with water, sanitary facilities, and other necessities, and called on rebel and government forces to spare civilians. It said it had withdrawn eight staff for security reasons, but that 14 foreign staff remained in the country.
The SELEKA coalition brings together three former rebel groups that had largely been contained in CAR's northwest by government forces in recent years, but with foreign backing.
Paris in 2006 defended Bozize's government from a rebel advance using air strikes. President Francois Hollande on Thursday poured cold water on the latest request for help.
"Those days are over," he said.
Government soldiers were deployed at strategic sites and French troops reinforced security at the French Embassy after protesters threw rocks at the building on Wednesday.
With a government that holds little sway outside the capital, some parts of the country have long endured the consequences of conflicts spilling over from troubled neighbors Chad, Sudan and the Democratic Republic of Congo.
(Additional reporting by Aaron Maasho in Addis Ababa and by Tom Miles in Geneva; Writing by Richard Valdmanis; Editing by Michael Roddy)
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