steven proportionality

Monday, April 2, 2012

Stricken cruise ship limps into Malaysian port

Bazuki Muhammad / Reuters

The stricken luxury cruise ship Azamara Quest sails toward a port in Malaysia's town of Sandakan on Borneo island, April 1, 2012.

By Reuters

The Azamara Quest, a luxury cruise adrift off the southern Philippines for 24 hours because of an engine fire, has safely reached a Malaysian port.

The vessel, carrying 600 passengers who are mostly westerners and 411 crew, was stranded at sea flames engulfed one of its engine rooms Friday night.

It restored propulsion the next night and reached the harbor of Sandakan city in Malaysia's eastern state of Sabah on Borneo island late Sunday.

Police and buses were waiting at the port to take the passengers to a hotel.?Five crew members suffered smoke inhalation, including one who was seriously injured.

The Azamara Quest, carrying 600 passengers who are mostly westerners and 411 crew, suffered an engine-room fire on Friday that disabled the engines and left the ship temporarily stranded off the southern Philippines coast.

The fire, the latest in a string of cruise ship accidents across the world, was put out on Saturday although five crew members suffered from smoke inhalation with one requiring serious medical attention.

A U.S. Navy vessel had joined the escort flotilla comprising of several Philippine Navy ships and a coast guard ship, Filipino officials said.

The heightened security comes as the waters off the coast of southern Philippines and northern Sabah are key hunting grounds for pirates and the Abu Sayyaf, a deadly Islamic militant group.

The Abu Sayyaf wants an independent Islamic nation in the south of Roman Catholic Philippines, and has been responsible for high profile kidnappings of westerners, including abducting tourists from a nearby Malaysian resort island in 2000.

Azamara Club Cruises - a subsidiary of Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd - said engineers onboard the ship had restored power to one of the ship's engines that allows for some air conditioning, running water and refrigeration.

The rest of the cruise, carrying mainly Americans, Australians and Western Europeans, has been cancelled but some of the passengers were still upbeat.

"This is our first trip on a cruise holiday and after what has happened you would think we would not want to go again but you are so wrong," said Neil Andrew Kirkpatrick who posted on the Azamara Facebook page on Sunday.

"The only discomfort is the heat due to the air-conditioning not working but I can suffer that as I know the engineering department have been working 24/7 to try to get this up and running."

The Azamara Quest was on a 17-night journey and had departed Hong Kong on Monday with port calls to Manila, Balikpapan (Borneo), Palapo (Sulawesi), Benoa Bali, Semarang and Komodo in Indonesia, Malaysia and ending in Singapore.

More from msnbc.com and NBC News:

colton harris moore hurd hurd christopher hitchens ron paul 2012 zynga stock zynga stock

Gaza man killed by soldiers as thousands protest Israel policy

Security forces in riot gear deployed in high numbers along the frontiers of Israel and the Palestinian territories in anticipation of a repeat of last year's violence, in which at least 38 people died near the borders with Lebanon and Syria.

Israeli troops shot dead a Palestinian protester in?Gaza?on Friday as thousands in the Palestinian territories, Israel and neighboring countries participated in an annual protest against the Jewish state's land policies.

Skip to next paragraph

But for the most part, protests were small and organizers kept demonstrators from actually marching on the borders.

The "Land Day" rallies are an annual event marked by Israeli Arabs and Palestinians in the West Bank andGaza?who protest what they say are discriminatory Israeli land policies.

Gaza?health official Adham Abu Salmia said Israeli forces shot and killed Mahmoud Zaqout, 21, and critically wounded another man as they were approaching the Israel-Gaza border during a demonstration of a few thousand people organized by the territory's Hamas rulers.

The Israeli military said troops fired warning shots before shooting directly at Zaqout, in accordance with the army's rules of engagement.

The military said it responded to protesters with tear gas in addition to gunfire. Abu Salmia said an additional 37 protesters throughout?Gaza?were lightly injured, while the Israeli military put the number at about 29.

By midday, skirmishes had broken out between protesters and security forces in the Jerusalem area. Palestinians threw rocks and Israeli troops responded with tear gas, stun grenades and rubber pellets.

Dozens of Palestinians were treated for light wounds in hospitals throughout the West Bank and Jerusalem, including four with serious head wounds from rubber pellets and one hit in the head by a tear gas canister, said Mohammed Ayyad, a spokesman for the Red Crescent medical service in Ramallah.

In southern Lebanon Friday, thousands of Lebanese and Palestinians gathered outside the Crusader-built Beaufort castle 15 kilometers (9 miles) from Israel. Lebanese security forces kept them from moving any closer to the border.

Last year, demonstrators from Lebanon and Syria tried twice to break across the borders into Israel, setting off clashes with Israeli troops in which at least 38 people were killed.

Sobhiyeh Mizari, 70, said she always taught her 12 children "never to forget Palestine."

"We will liberate our land against the will of Israel and its backers," said Mizari, who said her husband was killed in Israeli shelling of Lebanon in 1978.

Among the protesters in Lebanon were rabbis from the ultra-Orthodox Jewish sect Neturei Karta, a radical anti-Israel group that believes Jews must live without a country of their own until the coming of the Messiah.

In Jordan, thousands of demonstrators gathered a few kilometers (miles) east of Jordan's border with the West Bank, chanting, "Death to Israel." Israel controls the West Bank side of the border.

"Get out Jews, get out. Jerusalem and the West Bank are in the land of virtue, in Arab-Muslim land, and your dirt will stain it," Hammam Saeed, a hawkish Muslim Brotherhood leader in Jordan, told the cheering crowd. Jordanian media reported that representatives from Neturei Karta, which traditionally supports Israel's enemies, were present there as well.

About 2,000 Arab-Israelis demonstrated in northern Israel, where a large portion of Israel's Arab minority lives.

Several dozen Palestinians who live in east Jerusalem waved their national flag outside Jerusalem's walled Old City. "One, one homeland!" they chanted.

Palestinians were banned from entering from the West Bank except for medical emergencies, and police barred Palestinian men under 40 from praying at a volatile Jerusalem holy site, citing security concerns.

The demonstrators performed their communal Muslim Friday prayers where they stood, praying on their flags instead of traditional mats.

They were surrounded by what appeared to be an equal number of Israeli security forces.

"Israel has no trouble with peaceful protest and respects the rights of people to demonstrate peacefully," said government spokesman Mark Regev.

Many Palestinians, energized by Arab Spring uprisings that have overturned decades-old authoritarian regimes, see massive, coordinated marches as one of the most effective strategies to draw attention to their cause.

"After the Arab revolutions, there's awareness of the importance of popular participation," said Arab activist Jafar Farah. "This has rattled the Arab regimes, and now it's frightening the Israeli government."

kourtney kardashian pregnant again kourtney kardashian pregnant again apple juice apple juice carole king miranda kerr occupy la

Venture Capital

For one reason or another, you?ve considered putting up your own business using venture capital. It could be that you don?t have enough financial resources or you don?t want to risk your own money. Perhaps you?ve heard of some successful entrepreneurs and wished to follow their footsteps.

As you search for more information on this, you?ll soon find that the first important aspect in venture capital is raising it. Here are some tips on how to raise venture capital funding.

The first step is in understanding how these capitalists and investor firms think. Basically, their goal is the same as yours ? to make money. The only difference is they?ve spent most of their time in research ? studying which businesses have the potential of growing in a couple of years. That is why in the past few years, investments are geared towards technology and biotechnology fields, as they are the fields with highest potential.

Sometimes they operate within a certain field or geographical area, so you must know the investment firms in your locality. Thus, there?s the need for you to make a research on the firms within your state as well as their investment criteria. Know what they want and give it to them. If your business proposal is not in line with these businesses or does not meet their investment criteria, then make sure that your proposal is impressive enough to catch their eye.

This brings us to the next step ? preparation of your business proposal. Since these firms receive tons of proposals, it is important your proposal be brief but complete. The opportunity must be well defined and clearly explained. This is only possible if you did your homework well. Know the market that you wish to penetrate as well as your competitors and their strategies.

Make sure to ask help from experts and professionals on how to draft these proposals. While it may be an added cost, the chances of your proposal getting approved will also greatly increase if you seek help. This is very important specially if you have no business background.

You may know your business well and have made a thorough research, but you haven?t translated it into a clear, reasonable proposal. Have someone check your draft before submitting it. Lastly, check your proposal for any errors in typo and grammar. The figures must also be accurate.

After you?ve submitted your proposal and have caught the firm?s attention, it is time to put up a management team. Keep in mind that with venture capital, you lose some degree of control over the company. These investment firms would also field in some of its people to sit in the board or be a part of the management team. It is therefore important that your management team be strong enough to handle the pressures from the investment firm.

If you?re thinking of expanding your existing business or putting up a new one, venture capital funding is a good alternative. But before deciding on it, know the options. Read business books and articles on the topic. Then study your business plan and see if venture capital is applicable.

If you think that this is the only way to go, then go for it. Just make sure that you take all precautionary measures and know all alternative strategies to your business plan.

Facebook Social Signals

cher morgellons nhl all star draft touch nitrous oxide rihanna thug life tattoo chuck pagano

Sunday, April 1, 2012

Tips Self Improvement: General Information About Substance Abuse ...

By Earnie Davis

Information regarding help for alcoholism is extremely important if you want to select the right place in which you may get the most specialized help around the most effective way of having the vital help of being addicted to the abuse of alcohol. If you end up in situation in places you cannot control the intake of alcohol or you need to consume copious amounts of alcohol so as to feel great you must try to find the best place which you could get help for alcoholism. The great news is that you have a number of information about help for alcoholism via the internet.

Cautious quit the abuse of alcohol just isn't easy because the addiction. The addiction occurs resulting from the modifications that take place in as their pharmicudical counterpart. These changes increase the risk for body and brain in the patient totally dependent upon the alcohol. The person as state won't be effective at living without abusing the alcohol in very high quantities.

The phrase alcohol identifies any substance that when taken (through drinking or placing underneath the tongue) causes the feeling of drunkenness that is along with mood, consciousness and emotions. In the daily language, it's almost common knowledge alcohol to refer to the drinks like wines, beer or spirits that may contain alcohol or ethyl alcohol. The abuse of abuse in little quantities causes intoxication and various other psychoactive effects that impair the functioning of your brain's cerebellum.

The impairing on the brain due to the abuse of alcohol causes impairment in judgment. The drunken person may stagger while walking and its particular vision becomes blurred. The impairment in thinking and judgment is the thing that causes lots of deaths because of motor vehicle accidents, diseases and irresponsible sexual behavior. In lifespan of human that abuse alcohol, you will probably find the body's very careful and should not drive in excess of 70 KM/hour while sober. When see your face is drunk, it could possibly drive in a speed of over 120 KM/hour without worries in regards to the dangers overspending.

Inside the state of being intoxicated and drunk, an addicted person can also take part in risky behaviors such as making love by using a stranger without having to use protection (e.g. condom), indecent touches or simply trying to rape. The medical more knowledge about help for alcoholism is likely to reveal that there's no abuse of alcohol that can generally be deemed safe. The abuse of alcohol even during little quantities can cause death and various other undesirable consequences as a result of intoxication and psychoactive effects inside brain.

ncaa march madness mario williams vcu jordan hill unlv sam young ncaa bracket

Garmin 410 Review Revealed 5 Easy Ways To Get The Most Out Of ...

The Garmin 410 is a great investment not only for those who running for health and fitness but also for serious runners training for marathons. This GPS enabled watch is packed with useful features to help you train smarter. To use your Garmin 410 to its full potential, check out these five easy tips from Garmin 410 Review.

Make the most of the Garmin 410 User Manual - This is the fastest way to find out all the features the Garmin 410 has to offer and how the features are relevant to your training plan. The user manual also gives you clear instructions on how to take care of your GPS watch to prolong its life span. There is a series of free online training videos on Garmin's website to help you learn the features of the Garmin 410 and show you how to customize it to maximize your training efficiency.

Take full advantage of Garmin Connect - Create new goals, keep track of your progress and gauge your progress against your goal.

Everyone can plan their own training like their own coach or personal trainer with Garmin Connect. It is the best way to keep you motivated and focused.

Pair your Garmin 410 with the Heart Rate Monitor -Your cardiovascular fitness is the major factor affecting your running speed. Training at the appropriate heart rate can improve your cardiovascular fitness much more efficiently. The Heart Rate Monitor is the only way to track and record your heart rate for an entire run without stopping and count your pulse rate. That's why maintaining your targeted heart rate during training will get you the best results. The Garmin 410 connects to the Heart Rate Monitor wirelessly and you can see your real time heart rate at a glance.

Take advantage of Interval Training using the Garmin 410 - Interval training is highly effective for those who want to supercharge their fitness and increase their metabolism. By following the simple instructions in your owner's manual, you can set up Interval Training on you watch in less than 5 minutes.

Take your training as a serious business - Put your Garmin 410 on and start running. A great tool is useless if it is not used. Set you goal, plan out your running route, get connected with Garmin Connect, share your course with other runners, explore new routes and see what other runners are up to and make most of this great GPS watch.
?

exorcism jersey shore season 5 mark driscoll unemployment rate unemployment rate stephen hawking jesse ventura

American Consumer Credit Counseling?s Book: Financial Peace of ...

American Consumer Credit Counseling?s Book: Financial Peace of Mind Now Available on Amazon

Boston, MA (PRWEB) December 05, 2011

American Consumer Credit Counseling, a leading national non-profit credit counseling and debt management agency, today announced the public release of Financial Peace of Mind ? a step by step guide for taking control of your money and your life. This realistic approach to managing finances is now available to all consumers worldwide on Amazon.com.

?We understand the devastating toll soaring debt and financial instability can take on individuals and their families and Financial Peace of Mind was written to give consumers a second chance at living a financially healthy and peaceful life,? said Steve Trumble, president and CEO of ACCC, who co-authored the book with ACCC Education and Development Manager Katherine Ross.

Financial Peace of Mind provides a practical, step-by-step guide that shares with consumers the fundamental elements of a healthy financial life ? making the journey to financial health manageable and attainable. Part I of the book emphasizes the importance of organizational skills and money management as a first step to building a strong, debt-free future including setting financial goals, budgeting, saving and investing, and managing purchases. In Part II, the authors teach the basics of credit, what it is and how to use it, highlighting the significant role that credit plays in developing a financially responsible future.

?By giving consumers a realistic financial plan that is easy to understand and implement, Financial Peace of Mind will be a valuable blueprint for consumers that provides them with resources to regain control of their personal finances,? said Ross, Education and Development manager and co-author of the book.

For the past 20 years ACCC has helped thousands of individuals, providing them with debt counseling and other services. In addition, the non-profit organization?s Financial Education Department conducts more than 500 financial literacy workshops and community one-on-one counseling sessions every year, serving in excess of 10,000 consumers throughout the Commonwealth. In addition, it has published over 20 different publications and resources with financial overviews and guidelines. Copies of Financial Peace of Mind are free of charge to clients.

About American Consumer Credit Counseling

American Consumer Credit Counseling (ACCC) is a non-profit 501(c)(3) organization dedicated to empowering consumers to achieve financial health through education, counseling, and debt management. ACCC provides individuals with practical solutions for solving financial problems and recognizes that consumers? financial difficulties are often not the result of poor spending habits, but more frequently from extenuating circumstances beyond their control. As one of the nation?s leading providers of financial education and credit counseling services, ACCC works with consumers to help them with the best plan of action to reduce their debt and regain financial stability. ACCC is accredited by the Better Business Bureau and holds an A+ rating. It is also a member of the Association of Independent Consumer Credit Counseling Agencies. For more information or to access free financial education resources log on to ConsumerCredit.com or visit TalkingCentsBlog.com.

###

Attachments

, Vocus PRW Holdings, LLC.
Vocus, PRWeb, and Publicity Wire are trademarks or registered trademarks of Vocus, Inc. or Vocus PRW Holdings, LLC.

This entry was posted on March 30, 2012, 3:08 pm and is filed under Consumer Credit Counseling. You can follow any responses to this entry through RSS 2.0. Responses are currently closed, but you can trackback from your own site.

daytona 500 winner cleveland plain dealer barry sanders barry sanders john scott jimmie johnson juan pablo montoya crash

What taxes do i pay as a independent contractor? | Finance ...

Question by questionable : What taxes do i pay as a independent contractor ?
Lets say im a Independent Contractor (soul proprietorship) in NY state (not nyc) working for a employer in Arizona. Which would I have to pay taxes on my income? he. federal, state self, employment taxesSo do I have to pay in quarterly or do I have the option to file once a year? Thanks. Best answer:
Answer by

waggy_33
You would have to file a federal income tax return to pay your self-employment and tax. You would file resides to AZ non-resident income tax and a NY You would get a tax. income credit on the return for taxes paid to NY AZ.You are required to pay quarterly taxes for both the federal and states taxes. If your 2008 income was under $ 150,000 would be your 2009 estimates of amount equal to your 2008 tax paid. If your 2008 income was above $ 150,000 then the exception to penalty is 1.10% of the 2008 tax paid. Otherwise you will be to estimate the total tax for 2009 and pay in at least 90% quarterly.

Add your own answer in the comments!

anchorman 2 passover recipes how to hard boil eggs michael oher megamillions winning numbers lotto winner the lucky one

Monday, April 2, 2012

Facebook Social Signals

Related posts:

Sunday, April 1, 2012