Congress to grill IRS chief on political groups

WASHINGTON (AP) ? The chief of the Internal Revenue Service is facing questions from Congress for the first time since revelations that progressives joined the tea party on a list of groups closely watched for by screeners handling applications for tax-exempt status.

Danny Werfel, invited to testify Thursday to the House Ways and Means Committee, seemed sure to face questions about whether the agency's tough scrutiny of conservative organizations extended to others as well.

Lawmakers also planned to ask Werfel about a report he issued Monday, six weeks after President Barack Obama named him to head the troubled agency. Werfel wrote that he found mismanagement but no purposeful wrongdoing at the IRS in a report that also pointed to the officials who have been replaced and other changes he has made.

Ways and Means Chairman Dave Camp, R-Mich., said Wednesday that Werfel's report didn't answer key questions Republicans have had about the IRS' screening of conservative groups.

"Who started it? Why was it allowed to go on for so long? Why were conservative groups targeted for their political beliefs?" Camp said.

Democrats seem determined to shift the focus to this week's disclosure that the term "Progressive" was also on the agency's watch lists.

They have complained that a May report by J. Russell George, the Treasury Department inspector general, mentioned tea party groups but did not say progressives were listed too. They also have criticized him for not revealing the inclusion of progressives even though lawmakers asked him about it at hearings, and for producing a report that focused too narrowly on the treatment of conservatives.

"There is increasing evidence that the May 14, 2013, audit was fundamentally flawed and that your handling of it has failed to meet the necessary test of objectivity and forthrightness," Rep. Sander Levin of Michigan, top Democrat on Ways and Means, wrote Wednesday in a letter to George.

George's audit was requested by Rep. Darrell Issa, R-Calif., chairman of the House Oversight Committee, and Rep. Jim Jordan, R-Ohio, a senior member of that panel.

Karen Kraushaar, spokeswoman for the inspector general, said Wednesday that lawmakers had asked George to investigate complaints from tea party groups that the IRS was treating their applications harshly. In a later interview, she said the audit focused on the criteria the IRS used to choose all applicants to examine for possible political activity ? which could affect their eligibility for tax-exempt status.

Asked why George didn't acknowledge to lawmakers that "Progressive" appeared on the same list as "Tea Party," she said: "His response was appropriate. He wasn't able to give an exact answer at that particular instant. But our auditors are looking at it."

IRS regulations allow tax-exempt social welfare organizations to engage in some political activity but it cannot be their primary mission. The agency must decide whether each applicant's activities meet those vague guidelines.

The IRS has been under withering fire since May 10, when an agency official conceded publicly that it had targeted conservative groups seeking tax-exempt designations for tough examinations and apologized for it. Until then, IRS officials had insisted that conservatives had not been singled out for such treatment.

Some Republicans have suggested that the focus on conservative groups came from the White House or other Obama allies.

There has been no evidence of that so far. Instead, according to investigators and testimony from IRS workers to congressional committees, workers in the agency's Cincinnati office that handled tax-exempt applications developed the lists to help them find groups that merited additional scrutiny.

Obama and members of both parties in Congress have said such targeting is inexcusable. At least five top officials ? including former Acting IRS Commissioner Steven Miller ? have been removed.

On Monday, Werfel said that when he started his job last month, the IRS was still using "inappropriate" terms to choose applicants for close scrutiny. Werfel didn't specify what those terms were but said he ended the agency's use of the lists earlier this month.

Documents released this week by Democrats on the Ways and Means panel showed that the screening lists included terms like "Progressives" and "Healthcare legislation." Lists from April of this year included "Paying National Debt" and "Green Energy Organizations."

It remains unclear whether progressive groups faced the same extent of mistreatment as conservative organizations, dozens of which faced delays exceeding a year. In addition, many received scores of detailed questions that officials have since said were overly intrusive, including demands for information about their donors.

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/congress-grill-irs-chief-political-groups-072650457.html

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South Africa waits after Mandela's condition worsens

JOHANNESBURG (Reuters) - South Africans prepared on Thursday to say farewell to ailing anti-apartheid leader Nelson Mandela after his condition deteriorated further in hospital, forcing President Jacob Zuma to cancel a trip to neighboring Mozambique.

Zuma was due to attend a summit in Maputo of the Southern African Development Community (SADC) to discuss regional infrastructure, but pulled out after visiting the 94-year-old former president in hospital late on Wednesday.

"Over the past 48 hours, the condition of former president Madiba has gone down," presidential spokesman Mac Maharaj told state broadcaster SABC, using the clan name by which Mandela is affectionately known.

Maharaj said Mandela's condition remained critical. He declined to comment on media reports that he was on life support in the Pretoria hospital where he is being treated for a lung infection, saying his privacy should be respected.

Mandela has already spent 20 days in the hospital, his fourth hospitalization in six months.

This has forced a growing realization among South Africans that the man regarded as the father of their post-apartheid "Rainbow Nation" will not be among them for ever.

"Mandela is very old and at that age, life is not good. I just pray that God takes him this time. He must go. He must rest," said Ida Mashego, a 60-year-old office cleaner in Johannesburg's Sandton financial district.

Mandela, South Africa's first black president, is admired around the world as a symbol of resistance to injustice for the way he opposed his country's apartheid system, spending 27 years in jail, more than half of them on notorious Robben Island.

He is also respected for the way he preached reconciliation after the 1994 transition to multi-racial democracy following three centuries of white domination.

"CELEBRATING HIS LIFE"

U.S. President Barack Obama is due to visit South Africa at the weekend as part of a three-nation Africa tour he has already started in Senegal. Maharaj said it was too early to say whether Obama's schedule in Johannesburg and Cape Town on Saturday and Sunday might be affected by Mandela's worsening condition.

Well-wishers' messages, bouquets and stuffed animals have piled up outside Mandela's Johannesburg home and the wall of the hospital compound where he is being treated in the capital.

As they headed to work on Thursday, South Africans seemed resigned to the prospect of losing their hero.

"We are all going to feel bad when he passes, but at the same time we will be celebrating his life. He has done so many great things for this country," said John Ndlovu, a 25-year-old office worker.

Mandela stepped down in 1999 after one five-year term in office.

Since then he has played little role in public life, dividing his time in retirement between his home in the wealthy Johannesburg suburb of Houghton and Qunu, the village in the impoverished Eastern Cape province where he was born.

The public's last glimpse of him was a brief clip aired by state television in April during a visit to his home by Zuma and other senior officials from the ruling African National Congress.

At the time, the 101-year-old liberation movement assured the public Mandela was "in good shape", although the footage showed a thin and frail old man sitting expressionless in an armchair.

(Reporting by Pascal Fletcher and Ed Cropley; Editing by Ed Cropley)

(This story is refiled to fix typo in fourth paragraph)

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/south-africa-waits-mandelas-condition-worsens-061819187.html

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Iran's new president looks westward for nuke talks

DUBAI, United Arab Emirates (AP) ? Hasan Rouhani knew there was an element of risk.

Just a week before Iran's election gatekeepers announced the presidential ballot, Rouhani said one-on-one talks with Washington are the only way for breakthroughs in the nuclear standoff, given that the United States ? as he put it ? is the world's "sheriff."

Such a public portrayal of America's importance and the need to make overtures to it undoubtedly rattled a few among Iran's ruling clerics, who decide which candidates are cleared to run. Yet they allowed Rouhani to enter the race, and to the surprise of many, he surged to a runaway victory.

Rouhani's repeated emphasis on direct outreach to Washington may now have a chance for real traction among the ultimate decision-makers in Iran ? the ruling clerics and the powerful Revolutionary Guard. They have long opposed unilateral talks, insisting they would do no good. But the lack of major blowback to Rouhani's speech in mid-May signaled that the idea is no longer a taboo for the establishment, even if it is not yet entirely convinced. Another sign came from Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, who in March hinted he would not stand in the way.

"We have disagreements with the U.S. on regional and international matters, but obviously friendship or hostility with the world is not permanent," Rouhani told an audience at Tehran's Sharif University in his May address. "Every country can improve its relations with others."

Rouhani was Iran's chief nuclear negotiator from 2003 to 2005 and he has said he is convinced he could have sealed a deal if Tehran had been talking directly to Washington at the time. Efforts are under way for a new, fourth round of the multilateral nuclear talks bringing together Iran and the U.S. and other world powers. Earlier rounds have brought no headway.

It's far too early to gain anything more than hints from Iran on whether Rouhani's election this month could shift tactics in nuclear negotiations.

Rouhani does not formally take office until August. Washington has said it appreciates Rouhani's appeals for more engagement, but knows the meaningful decisions are made higher up by Iran's theocracy.

Moreover, Rouhani has made clear he has the same red lines as the ruling clerics: He said in his first post-victory news conference that Iran will never surrender its ability to enrich uranium ? the central issue of the disputes.

Still, the next chief nuclear envoy on the Iranian side is almost certain to side closer to Rouhani's view that seeking one-on-one talks with Washington is a worthy pursuit. It's widely expected that hard-liner Saeed Jalili ? who finished a distant third behind Rouhani in the June 14 election ? will be sent packing by the ruling clerics to avoid internal tensions.

It may be weeks before a shortlist for successors is known. But some possible names mentioned include former Foreign Minister Ali Akbar Velayati, who finished next-to-last in the presidential race; Mohammad Javad Zarif, a former envoy to the U.N., and Amir Hossein Zamaninia, a former member of Iran's negotiating team.

No dates have been proposed to possibly resume talks between Iran and a six-nation bloc, the permanent U.N. Security Council members plus Germany. The four previous rounds since last year have foundered on a central deadlock: The U.S. and others insist Iran sharply scales back its uranium enrichment as a first step, while Iran says the West should ease sanctions as an opening offer.

The West and allies fear Iran's enrichment labs could eventually produce material for a nuclear weapon ? and some critics in Israel and elsewhere believe that extended negotiations will only give Iran more time to advance its program.

Rouhani "may well create an opening," wrote Dennis Ross, a former White House envoy for the Middle East and South Asia, in a commentary published Tuesday in The New York Times. "But we should be on our guard: It must be an opening to clarify what is possible and to test outcomes, not to engage in unending talks for their own sake."

Iranian officials, including Rouhani, say that Iran will not give up control over the entire nuclear cycle, which turns uranium ore into reactor-ready fuel, but that it only seeks the technology for energy production and medical uses.

"The bottom line is that Rouhani's views are not a wholesale change from the ruling system's. They are pretty much the same on all the central points on what Iran wants," said Mohammad Ali Shabani, a British-based Middle East expert concentrating on Iranian affairs. "The issue is over tactics and how to get there."

For Rouhani, that likely means pushing the ruling clerics to see the value in direct nuclear talks with the U.S., which broke off ties with Tehran after the seizure of the U.S. Embassy in Tehran in the wake of the 1979 Islamic Revolution.

Rouhani's frequent references to a failed 2005 accord help explain his views.

He said he was close to a French-backed deal that would have allowed the maximum level of inspection by the U.N.'s nuclear agency in exchange for keeping Iran's nuclear case from reaching the U.N. Security Council, which set in motion layer after layer of economic sanctions over the years. The deal was not backed by France's European partners, and Rouhani now believes it was a mistake not to deal directly with Washington.

"The American are, as the saying goes, the sheriff. So it would be easier if we rather hammer things out with the sheriff than deal with lesser authorities," he told the university audience in May.

The scholar Shabani said Rouhani now hopes to "redeem himself" for letting the 2005 deal slip away.

"It's a mistake to think Rouhani is soft," he said. "He's not. He has a clear view that the only talks that matter ? the only talks that are meaningful in the end ? are with the Americans."

Whether Rouhani can sell this with the ruling establishment is not so simple.

The supreme leader opened the door in March for one-on-one nuclear talks with the U.S. in a significant reversal of policy. But it was far from a ringing endorsement. "I'm not optimistic about these talks, but I'm not opposed to them, either," Khamenei said.

In the past, Iran has insisted that any unilateral negotiations with Washington deal with a host of disputes between the two countries beyond the nuclear issue. The U.S. has rebuffed such multitasking talks.

One major sticking point could be efforts by Iran's establishment to use any new openings for nuclear dialogue as a back channel forum to discuss the civil war in Syria, where Washington backs the opposition and Iran is firmly behind its crucial alliance with Bashar Assad's regime.

"For much of the Iranian leadership at the moment, Syria is more of a priority than the nuclear talks," said Mustafa Alani, a regional analyst at the Gulf Research Center based in Geneva.

"Rouhani, though, believes the nuclear issue is the key to everything else. You resolve that and then move on to other things. This view may be logical, but may be not what Iran's rulers are thinking. This could leave Rouhani trying to swim against the current."

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/irans-president-looks-westward-nuke-talks-064622384.html

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Spy program gathered Americans' Internet records

WASHINGTON (AP) ? The Obama administration gathered U.S. citizens' Internet data until 2011, continuing a spying program started under President George W. Bush that revealed whom Americans exchanged emails with and the Internet Protocol address of their computer, documents disclosed Thursday show.

The National Security Agency ended the program that collected email logs and timing, but not content, in 2011 because it decided it didn't effectively stop terrorist plots, according to the NSA's director, Gen. Keith Alexander, who also heads the U.S. Cyber Command. He said all data was purged in 2011.

Britain's Guardian newspaper on Thursday released documents detailing the collection, though the program was also described earlier this month by The Washington Post.

The latest revelation follows previous leaks from ex-NSA contractor Edward Snowden, who is presumed hiding at a Moscow airport transit area, waiting to hear whether Ecuador, Iceland or another country might grant him asylum. He fled Hong Kong over the weekend and flew to Russia after being charged with violating American espionage laws.

The collection appears similar to the gathering of U.S. phone records, and seems to overlap with the Prism surveillance program of foreigners on U.S. Internet servers, both revealed by Snowden. U.S. officials have said the phone records can only be checked for numbers dialed by a terrorist suspect overseas. According to the documents published by The Guardian on Thursday, the Internet records show whom they exchanged emails with and the specific numeric address assigned to a computer connected to the Internet, known as the IP, or Internet Protocol, address.

The program, described in a top secret draft report from the NSA inspector general, described the efforts of then-NSA Director Gen. Mike Hayden to fill gaps in intelligence gathering after the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks. One NSA officer quoted in the report described "NSA standing at the U.S. border looking outward for foreign threats" and "the FBI looking within the United States for domestic threats. But no one was looking at the foreign threats coming into the United States. That was the huge gap that NSA wanted to cover."

The draft added that the sweeping phone and Internet data-gathering programs were meant to speed up the process of surveillance of a terrorist suspect overseas, because "the average wait time was between four and six weeks" to get a court order from the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Court. "Terrorists could have changed their telephone numbers or Internet addresses" before the NSA received permission to spy on them on U.S.-based phone or Internet systems.

Alexander said at a Baltimore conference on cybersecurity that the NSA decided to kill the Internet data gathering program because "it wasn't meeting what we needed and we thought we could better protect civil liberties and privacy by doing away with it."

He said the program was conducted under provisions of the Patriot Act, and that NSA leaders went to the Obama administration and Congress with the recommendation to shut it down.

Shawn Turner, a spokesman for the director of national intelligence, said the program has not resumed.

The Washington Post had described the Internet surveillance in an earlier report, without publishing the documents or releasing as many details. The Post described it as part of four secret surveillance programs ? two aimed at phone and Internet metadata, while two more target contents of phone and Internet communications.

Alexander, who has been up on Capitol Hill frequently for hearings and meetings since the NSA phone and email surveillance was made public, laid out a broad defense of the programs.

He said he worries that more leaks are coming, adding that "every time a capability is revealed we lose our ability to track those targets."

While never mentioning Snowden by name, Alexander said his irresponsible releases of classified information "will have a long term detrimental impact on the intelligence community's ability to detect future attacks."

He declined to provide more details on what the NSA is doing to prevent such leaks in the future. He has said that the agency is changing passwords and improving its ability to track what system administrators are doing.

On Thursday, he said he was looking at how the leak happened and the people involved. He said the NSA can't do its job without contractors because it doesn't have all the talent or access it needs to do the job.

___

Baldor reported from Baltimore.

___

Follow Kimberly Dozier on Twitter at http://twitter.com/kimberlydozier

Follow Lolita C. Baldor on Twitter at http://twitter.com/lbaldor

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/spy-program-gathered-americans-internet-records-194829481.html

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Court Strikes Down Defense of Marriage Act (Taegan Goddard's Political Wire)

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Conservative House Republicans Are Furious About the DOMA Ruling (Atlantic Politics Channel)

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James Salter Is a Sexist

Writer James Salter in Paris, in 1999

Photo by Ulf Andersen/Getty Images

William Faulkner, in his acceptance speech for the Nobel Prize, declared that the only subject worth writing about is ?the human heart in conflict with itself.? Great writing demands the universal truths of ?love and honor and pity and pride and compassion,? says Faulkner; any writing without pity or compassion is ?ephemeral and doomed.? As Kafka wrote in a letter to his friend Oskar Pollack in 1904, ?A book must be the axe for the frozen sea inside us.? It?s compassion that shatters the ice.

But somehow we no longer require compassion from the literature we admire. We admire writers who celebrate irony, disdain, contempt, who establish emotional distance rather than intimacy. We?ve come to confuse compassion with sentimentality and we?re slightly embarrassed by both. Have people changed, in some fundamental way? Is the human heart no longer in conflict with itself? Is this deep inner conflict no longer important?

James Salter is praised as a writer?s writer, with good reason: His work is hauntingly beautiful. Each word seems inevitable and perfect, as though the sentences were carved in marble. His voice creates an enchanted forest, and we move, entranced, through its deep shadowy glades. The spell is such that we might not notice the content. If we did, we?d pause, in confusion and dismay.

Salter?s latest book, All That Is, is written in the episodic style of a memoir. It recounts in a meandering fashion the story of Philip Bowman, who grows up in a modest fatherless household in New Jersey and goes into the Navy in World War II, where he sees action in the Pacific. He comes home and goes to Harvard, where he feels like an outsider. He finds a job in publishing, which becomes his career. He gets married, then divorced. He has affairs, he moves house. In the end he meets another woman.

Bowman, like most young men, thinks constantly about sex, and sees women almost solely in physical terms. The jokes and comments made by him and his friends are coarsely sexist. Perhaps we?re expected to forgive this, because sexism was then common. But this isn?t Faulkner, using the N-word while it was still current. This is Salter, in 2013, writing racist and sexist fantasies?like the one about the black maid who is laid down naked on her belly so her white boss can set silver dollars on her back before he screws her. Salter writes this passage with loving attentiveness, infusing it with a hushed and secretive heat. He compares it to ?certain feverish visions of saints.? Apparently we?re meant to think of this like a kind of religious ecstasy?but isn?t it kind of loathsome?

About halfway through, Bowman (Beau-Man, or the Archer?he is prodigiously handsome, and prodigiously good in bed) falls in love with Catherine and they have great sex. She finds him a beautiful house in the Hamptons. He won?t marry her, but he buys the house in both their names. She lives there with her teenage daughter, Anet, while Bowman comes out on weekends. Catherine betrays him, sues for sole possession of the house, and wins. Enraged, Bowman leaves the Hamptons. Several years later, when he?s around 50, he runs into Anet, who is around 20. This is his chance, and he mounts a calculated campaign. He seduces her, introduces her to hashish, and then takes her on a romantic trip to Paris. They have great sex, during which she lovingly surrenders herself, making it ?plain she was his.? That?s what he wanted, and while she?s asleep he walks out, leaving her without money or a ticket home. It?s quite a remarkable act of cruelty: revenge carried out on an innocent, and driven not by a great emotion like love or grief or even rage, but by small, dishonorable ones?vindictiveness, hoarded spite, pure malice.

Source: http://www.slate.com/articles/double_x/doublex/2013/06/james_salter_author_of_all_that_is_is_a_sexist.html

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Star Firm Corp Launches a Complete Range of SEO Services

Start Firm Corp, a fast-growing internet marketing company based in Chicago, is releasing multiple services to help small and mid-size businesses improve their online presence. The company offers a complete SEO solutions including article writing and submission, social bookmarking, blog commenting and press releases just to name a few. Marc Kilian from Star Firm Corp said, ?We are proud to be one of the pioneers of the industry and have seen various online marketing strategies develop in front of us. We have been into the business for over a decade now and certainly the first name to strike the mind when it comes to SEO Chicago .?

The company also provides a range of other related services as well including domain registration, web hosting, mobile website development, content management and affiliate marketing guidance. Marc added, ?These are all related to each other in one way or another. If you are looking to do business online, the very first thing you would need is a domain name and then space for hosting your website. Once you have a website, you would need to market your business to generate leads and convert them into sales.? He further added, ?Instead of looking for different companies for the services, all you need to do is get in touch with us. In addition, you would also need to get a mobile version of your site and again we are here to serve you.?

Today, search engine optimization as well as mobile-friendly site are must for any website and should not be ignored to survive the growing competition. Alex, a notable internet marketer said ?SEO and internet marketing become more and more important since almost all businesses have jumped on the internet bandwagon. Online competition is very fierce and SEO can help you win business through your website.?

?Having a mobile version of website is important too as smartphones are rapidly replacing desktop computers for web browsing and searching. If you do not have a mobile compatible site, you are likely to direct customers to your rivals.?

About Star Firm Corp

Star Firm Corp is a Chicago based internet marketing company providing a range of services including SEO consulting, mobile website development, domain registration, web hosting and many others. The company has been in business since 1999. For more information, please visit http://www.starfirm.com/

Contact Information
Company Name: Star Firm Corp.
Company Location: Chicago, IL
Email: admin@starfirm.com
Website: http://www.starfirm.com

SEO Wizard
John?Fraizer
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Source: http://www.news4press.com/Star-Firm-Corp-Launches-a-Complete-Range_750943.html

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Gene mutation may have effect on benefit of aspirin use for colorectal cancer

June 25, 2013 ? In 2 large studies, the association between aspirin use and risk of colorectal cancer was affected by mutation of the gene BRAF, with regular aspirin use associated with a lower risk of BRAF-wild-type colorectal cancer but not with risk of BRAF-mutated cancer, findings that suggest that BRAF-mutant colon tumor cells may be less sensitive to the effect of aspirin, according to a study in the June 26 issue of JAMA.

Colorectal cancer is a leading cause of cancer-related death worldwide. Randomized controlled trials have demonstrated that aspirin use reduces the risk of colorectal cancer, according to background information in the article. Experimental evidence has suggested that BRAF-mutant colonic cells might be less sensitive to the antitumor effects of aspirin than BRAF-wild-type (the typical form of a gene as it occurs in nature) neoplastic cells.

Reiko Nishihara, Ph.D., of the Dana-Farber Cancer Institute, Boston, and colleagues examined the association of aspirin use with the risk of colorectal cancer according to BRAF mutation status. The researchers collected biennial questionnaire data on aspirin use and followed up participants in the Nurses' Health Study (from 1980) and the Health Professionals Follow-up Study (from 1986) until July 2006 for cancer incidence and until January 2012 for cancer mortality.

Among 127,865 individuals, 1,226 incident rectal and colon cancers were identified with available molecular data. The researchers found that regular aspirin use was associated with a significantly lower risk (27 percent) of BRAF-wild-type cancer. Regular aspirin use was not associated with a lower risk of BRAF-mutated cancer. "The association of aspirin use with colorectal cancer risk differed significantly according to BRAF mutation status."

The authors also observed a lower risk of BRAF-wild-type cancer with increasing aspirin tablets per week; however, there was not a significant trend in risk reduction for BRAF-mutated cancer. "The association of aspirin tablets per week with cancer risk differed significantly by BRAF mutation status. Compared with individuals who reported no aspirin use, a significantly lower risk of BRAF-wild-type cancer was observed among individuals who used 6 to 14 tablets of aspirin per week and among those who used more than 14 tablets of aspirin per week."

In addition, longer duration of aspirin use was associated with significant risk reduction for BRAF-wild-type cancer, whereas duration of aspirin use was not significantly associated with BRAF-mutated cancer risk.

"There was no statistically significant interaction between post-diagnosis aspirin use and BRAF mutation status in colorectal cancer-specific or overall survival analysis. This suggests that the potential protective effect of aspirin may differ by BRAF status in the early phase of tumor evolution before clinical detection but not during later phases of tumor progression," the authors write.

"The identification of specific cancer-subtypes that are prevented by aspirin is important for several reasons. First, it enhances our understanding of the molecular pathogenesis of colorectal neoplasia and the mechanisms through which aspirin may exert its antineoplastic effects. Second, development of clinical, genetic, or molecular predictors of specific subtypes of colorectal cancer might lead to the development of more tailored screening or chemo-preventive strategies. Nevertheless, given the modest absolute risk difference, further investigations are necessary to evaluate clinical implications of our findings. Lastly, our data provide additional support for a causal association between aspirin use and risk reduction for a specific subtype of colorectal cancers. Accumulating evidence supports preventive effect of aspirin against colorectal cancer."

Editorial: Differential Effects of Aspirin Before and After Diagnosis of Colorectal Cancer

In an accompanying editorial, Boris Pasche, M.D., Ph.D., of the University of Alabama at Birmingham, (and JAMA contributing editor), comments on the findings of this study.

"Nishihara el al derived their report from the Nurses' Health Study and the Health Professionals Follow-up Study, which include a large number of female and male health professionals. This population is predominantly white: 98 percent of the participants in the Nurses' Health Study and 95 percent of participants in the Health Professionals Follow-up Study are of a non-Hispanic white ethnic background. However, black individuals have the highest incidence of colorectal cancer in the United States and represent the ethnic group for whom colorectal cancer prevention may have the greatest benefit. Therefore, it will be important to determine whether the findings reported by Nishihara et al are confirmed in black individuals."

"In summary, these results identify biomarkers of response to aspirin administered either preventively or therapeutically and are likely to help tailor the use of aspirin in the prevention and treatment of colorectal cancer."

Source: http://feeds.sciencedaily.com/~r/sciencedaily/~3/W6jQRekd7fU/130625161853.htm

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Bomb explodes in eastern Lebanon near Syria

BEIRUT (AP) ? Lebanese security officials say a roadside bomb has exploded on the highway linking Beirut to the Syrian capital without causing casualties.

The officials say the small bomb went off Tuesday morning near the town of Barr Elias, a few kilometers (miles) from the border crossing point of Masnaa.

The officials spoke on condition of anonymity in line with regulations.

The bomb comes a day after Lebanese troops fought heavily armed followers of a hard-line Sunni Muslim cleric holed up in a mosque in the southern city of Sidon.

Troops stormed the complex Monday. It includes the mosque where cleric Ahmad al-Assir used to preach.

On Tuesday troops were clearing the complex of explosives.

The fighting left 16 soldiers and at least 20 gunmen dead. Al-Assir's fate is still unknown.

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/bomb-explodes-eastern-lebanon-near-syria-065837140.html

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'Nerdy' mold needs breaking to recruit women into computer science

June 24, 2013 ? The 'computer nerd' is a well-known stereotype in our modern society. While this stereotype is inaccurate, it still has a chilling effect on women pursuing a qualification in computer science, according to a new paper by Sapna Cheryan from the University of Washington in the US, and colleagues. However, when this image is downplayed in the print media, women express more interest in further education in computer science. The work is published online in Springer's journal, Sex Roles.

Despite years of effort, it has proven difficult to recruit women into many fields that are perceived to be masculine and male-dominated, including computer science. The image of a lone computer scientist, concerned only with technology, is in stark contrast to a more people-oriented or traditionally feminine image. Understanding what prevents women from entering computer science is key to achieving gender parity in science, technology, engineering and mathematics.

Cheryan and team sought to prove that the shortage of women in computer science and other scientific fields is not only due to a lack of interest in the subject matter on the part of women. In a first study, 293 college students from two US West Coast universities were asked to provide descriptions of computer science majors. The authors wanted to discover what the stereotypical computer scientist looks like in students' minds.

Both women and men spontaneously offered an image of computer scientists as technology-oriented, intensely focused on computers, intelligent and socially unskilled. These characteristics contrast with the female gender role, and are inconsistent with how many women see themselves.

The way a social group is represented in the media also influences how people think about that group and their relation to it. In a second study, the researchers manipulated the students' images of a computer scientist, using fabricated newspaper articles, to examine the influence of these media on women's interest in entering the field. A total of 54 students read articles about computer science majors that described these students as either fitting, or not fitting, the current stereotype. Students were then asked to rate their interest in computer science.

Exposure to a newspaper article claiming that computer science majors no longer fit current preconceived notions increased women's interest in majoring in computer science. These results were in comparison to those of exposure to a newspaper article claiming that computer science majors do indeed reflect the stereotype. Men, however, were unaffected by how computer science majors were represented.

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The above story is reprinted from materials provided by Springer Science+Business Media.

Note: Materials may be edited for content and length. For further information, please contact the source cited above.

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Journal Reference:

1. Sapna Cheryan, Victoria C. Plaut, Caitlin Handron, Lauren Hudson. The Stereotypical Computer Scientist: Gendered Media Representations as a Barrier to Inclusion for Women. Sex Roles, 2013; DOI: 10.1007/s11199-013-0296-x

Note: If no author is given, the source is cited instead.

Source: http://feeds.sciencedaily.com/~r/sciencedaily/most_popular/~3/qI0OhTpgkEc/130624141414.htm

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Best US Coastal Hikes: Escape The City Hiking 10 Of America's Best Seaside Trails (PHOTOS)

Looking to escape the city this summer? Get away from the urban grind and enjoy some of the stress-relieving benefits of nature with a relaxing weekend trip exploring some of the country's most scenic coastal destinations by foot.

Ranging in length and difficulty level from one-mile walks around the Everglades to 15-mile excursions through Northern California coastal headlands, these trails showcase some of the most spectacular coastlines in the US. Click through the slideshow below for 10 hikes to check out this summer -- or add to your travel bucket list.

What are your favorite oceanside trails? Share your top picks in the comments or tweet @HuffPostTravel.

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Source: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2013/06/24/best-us-coastal-hikes_n_3461276.html

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Free agent WR Collins suspended 4 games by NFL

NEW YORK (AP) ? New York Giants free-agent wide receiver Brandon Collins has been suspended without pay for the first four games of the 2013 regular season for violating the NFL Policy and Program for Substances of Abuse.

The NFL announced the suspension of the first-year player on Monday.

The 24-year-old Collins will be eligible to return to the Giants' active roster on Sept. 30, the day after the team plays the Kansas City Chiefs. The Southeastern Louisiana product spent part of last season on the Giants' practice squad and will be eligible to participate in all offseason and preseason practices and games.

Collins had played well in the recent veterans minicamp.

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/free-agent-wr-collins-suspended-4-games-nfl-185700743.html

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Steve Martin: Wally On The Run

It's not always a good idea for famous people to make albums. Example: William Shatner. Alternate Example: Paris Hilton. But Steve Martin, who has always been sort of vaguely known for his banjo playing, has made roots music his priority in the last four or five years and is totally nailing it. His most recent album, recorded with Edie Brickell, came out in April. He's also touring right now with Brickell and The Steep Canyon Rangers, the band he worked with on his second most recent album. Even if you don't like bluegrass, his stuff is pretty accessible and he jokes around on a bunch of the tracks.

"Wally On The Run" is from Martin's 2009 album The Crow. He played it on Fallon with Paul Simon one time and it was really awesome. He also apparently had a video contest for the song. The winner is cute, but I like this runner-up better. Stop being so negative, you're gonna like it. [Amazon, iTunes, Spotify]

Source: http://gizmodo.com/steve-martin-wally-on-the-run-551608576

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A Typeface Designed To Thwart Spying Computers

If people are snooping on your textual communications and you don't like it, there are a couple of things you can do. You can try to block the prying eyes, you can stop saying things you don't want to be seen, or you can make your messages make no sense to the outside. The anti-authoritarian typeface ZXX is shooting for that last one.

Read more...

Source: http://feeds.gawker.com/~r/gizmodo/full/~3/hk0wwKVKM64/a-typeface-designed-to-thwart-sneaky-spying-computers-543341176

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breakage junie: Successful Tele Selling - FreeArticleZines Free ...

Tele selling is an significant avenue for sales for most business establishments in the present time eventuality. While most people make use of tele selling, there are just 1 or 2 who?re profitable. In case you wish to be productive too, make sure that you abide by the provided tips.

Smile, when you?re tele selling your goods. While the person on the other end of the phone may not observe your facial expression, he or he?s going to definitely feel it. Smiling not only makes you more confident however additionally gives your voice a pleasing undertone. Moreover, when you smile, you?re bound to feel relaxed and that will also reflect in your voice. So, when you sound confident, pleasant and chilled, the individual you?re calling is certain to be more willing to lend an ear to what you are saying.

Learn to listen to your clients. Most tele executives are more engaged in narrating their part of the tale than listening to what the customer has to say. This disposition may merely frustrate the receiver of your call and so you must make it a point to hear what the other person is saying before continuing with what you ought to say. Do not multitask when on a call as you might not be able to listen to what?s being stated. By lending a patient and alert ear, you will be able to make your discussion more productive.

To make sure that you have an engaging and smooth conversation, include various open ended investigations in the call. This can give a chance to the receiver to speak his/her mind. In reality it?s much better in case the prospective customer is at the speaking end more than you. Purpose being this creates a comfortable atmosphere for the recipient. This may aid you coax the person to go ahead with the purchase.

Come in rhythm to the recipient?s style of talking. In case the person at the other end of the phone speaks softly and carefully, try to take up the same speaking style. As the pace plus the style of speaking reaches a common zone, the chances of successful chat raises manifolds. The recipient develops an affinity with the caller and thereby strikes an engaging chat.

Besides the above mentioned tips, you could also look at recording your calls to increase your success quotient. Recording your calls and listening to them will aid you understand the areas where you could improve. You may wish to say ?Hi? in a distinct tone all together. Or you might realize that your articulation is not very apparent to the other person. Work on your flaws and you will manage to collect success for sure.

So, in case you desire your tele selling to bring the preferred revenue and profits, it makes sense to take on the given tips at the earliest.

Here Is Some More Information On Juvenile Diabetes And Treadmill Maintenance.

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Source: http://www.freearticlezines.com/2013/06/successful-tele-selling/

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Source: http://kaleidoscopic-hellenic.blogspot.com/2013/06/successful-tele-selling.html

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Source: http://breakage-junie.blogspot.com/2013/06/successful-tele-selling.html

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Steve Martin: Wally On The Run

It's not always a good idea for famous people to make albums. Example: William Shatner. Alternate Example: Paris Hilton. But Steve Martin, who has always been sort of vaguely known for his banjo playing, has made roots music his priority in the last four or five years and is totally nailing it. His most recent album, recorded with Edie Brickell, came out in April. He's also touring right now with Brickell and The Steep Canyon Rangers, the band he worked with on his second most recent album. Even if you don't like bluegrass, his stuff is pretty accessible and he jokes around on a bunch of the tracks.

Read more...

Source: http://feeds.gawker.com/~r/gizmodo/full/~3/8Hoi2dTrkTw/steve-martin-wally-on-the-run-551608576

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West, Kardashian point to North for baby name

Celebs

Randee Dawn TODAY contributor

June 21, 2013 at 9:31 AM ET

Yes, you heard right. According to multiple sources, the name Kim Kardashian and Kanye West have gone with for their infant daughter is ... "North."

A signed birth certificate from Cedars-Sinai Medical Center in Los Angeles reportedly revealed the information -- which would make the child's name North West (no middle name).

The baby was born five weeks early on June 15 and is the couple's first child.

But back to the name: It's the joke Jay Leno threw out as "rumored" when Kardashian visited "The Tonight Show" -- and which the reality TV star denied was on their list of names.

"I like Easton. Easton West. I think that's cute," she told Leno at the time.

E! sources say the child will be called "Nori" for short.

Well, at least it's not "Knorth." And thus far, no reported connection to the 1994 movie stinker "North."

Meanwhile, celebrities have wasted no time jumping on the joke bandwagon about the name; Jason Biggs tweeted: "I lost my office pool. I had Ratings Spike Kardashian-West," while "Modern Family" co-creator Steve Levitan also tweeted, "What a ridiculous name, said Wayne Dwop."

Source: http://www.today.com/entertainment/all-signs-point-north-kanye-west-kim-kardashian-baby-name-6C10408930

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Hillary Clinton says she wants America to have a woman president. Surprised?

'I really do hope that we have a woman president in my lifetime,'?Hillary Rodham Clinton?said this week.?Was that a hint about her own possible candidacy?

By Mark Trumbull,?Staff writer / June 22, 2013

Former Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton addresses the Clinton Global Initiative (CGI) meeting in Chicago last week. Her speech was a broad-brush address heralding the power of women and talking education and opportunity.

Scott Eisen/AP

Enlarge

She didn?t say she?s going to run for the White House in 2016. But, to many listeners, the latest words of Hillary Rodham Clinton certainly hint that it?s a strong possibility.

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?Let me say this, hypothetically speaking,? she said, ?I really do hope that we have a woman president in my lifetime.?

Members of the audience, at a women?s lecture series in Toronto, cheered.

To get beyond the ?hypothetical," a quick follow-up question: Isn?t it possible that, when voters get the opportunity to see a woman on the presidential ballot as a major contender, the initials of that nominee might be H.R.C.?

Answer: Yes, it looks very possible.

Mrs. Clinton currently gets a ?favorable? rating from 6 in 10 Americans, is widely known, and has been making moves you might expect of someone positioning themselves for a presidential run.

After being Secretary of State, she?s bowed out of public service for President Obama?s second term. She?s showing her interest in domestic affairs by engaging in an initiative for early childhood education. Having been a strong contender for the Democratic nomination back in 2008, she knows a lot about campaigning.

Some other major democracies have had female chief executives, including people like Margaret Thatcher in Britain and, currently, Angela Merkel in Germany. For more than two centuries, America hasn?t broken that gender barrier.

?I think it would send exactly the right historic signal to girls and women, as well as boys and men,? Clinton told the Thursday crowd in Toronto. Video?footage of the comments, captured by an audience member, was posted on YouTube.com by the Associated Press Friday.

?It really depends on women stepping up and subjecting themselves to the political process,? Clinton added.

Quoting another former First Lady, Eleanor Roosevelt, Clinton said women need Rhinoceros-thick skins to be in politics.

She also said electing a woman would require a ?leap of faith? for US voters.

Some polls have found Americans saying they have no problem with the idea of a woman as president. A?Gallup poll?in 2006, for example, found 6 in 10 saying Americans are ?ready? for that.

Will Clinton herself ?step up? for the 2016 contest? We?ll see. Her popularity has ebbed and flowed over the years, but since early 2008 a majority of Americans have given her a favorable rating in Gallup polls.

She has lots of fans. But as she departed from her role as Secretary of State, Clinton?s aura of success in that job was tarnished by?controversy?over the State Department?s handling of events in Benghazi, Libya, in which Ambassador Christopher Stevens and three other Americans were killed in a terrorist attack.

And she has long been a magnet for conservative criticism. On Thursday, the Republican group America Rising launched a?StopHillary2016.org?website to raise funds in opposition to her potential candidacy.

Source: http://rss.csmonitor.com/~r/feeds/csm/~3/hHOOcfqaqcA/Hillary-Clinton-says-she-wants-America-to-have-a-woman-president.-Surprised

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David Hunt saves lives by teaching swimming in Cambodia

Drowning is the top cause of death for children in Cambodia over the age of 1, according to a recent report.

By Julie Masis,?Correspondent / June 21, 2013

David Hunt at the pool in Phnom Penh, where he coaches a Cambodian children?s swim team.

Julie Masis

Enlarge

On a recent Wednesday afternoon, when a powerful thunderstorm darkened the sky over Cambodia's capital, Phnom Penh, children were still playing in the city's outdoor Olympic-size pool. No one ? not even the staff who were supposed to be watching them ? told them to get out of the water.

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British lifeguard and swim instructor David Hunt couldn't help but notice. "You feel responsible when you know it shouldn't be happening," he says.

In all likelihood the "lifeguards" working at the country's largest swimming pool were not trained. Sometimes they appeared to be sleeping in their chairs. That they were there at all is remarkable: Most people who come to Cambodia never encounter a lifeguard.

That's because there is no lifeguard training course for Cambodian nationals in this small country. Cori Parks, an American instructor who runs the only lifeguard training program in Cambodia, caters to expatriates and hasn't certified a single Cambodian ? ever. The course she offers costs $350 ? three times the average monthly salary here.

But Mr. Hunt ? who has taught hundreds of children to swim since arriving in the country seven years ago ? has recently started training Cambodia's first generation of swimmers who will know how to save someone in trouble in the water.

This school year he introduced a lifeguard training program at the iCAN British International School in Phnom Penh, where he works. The 30 teenagers in his class learned how to rescue someone using a rope, administer first aid, and retrieve and resuscitate an unconscious victim. They also know what to do if a boat capsizes, and how to help without endangering themselves.

"It's a life skill ? [once you learn it, it becomes] instinctive. You can do it at any time. It's like learning to ride a bicycle; you don't forget how to do it," Hunt says. He also plans to start an affordable program to train adult lifeguards next year.

In this flood-prone country, their skills will be in demand. Last year, a UNICEF report found that drowning is the leading cause of death for children in Cambodia after the age of 1. According to the May 2012 report, approximately 1,800 Cambodian children drown every year ? a rate 10 times greater than those in rich nations. The median age of a child in Cambodia who has drowned is 4 years old, the report found.

The astounding number of drowning victims means that the number of children who drown is greater than the number who die from malaria, HIV/AIDS, dengue, and traffic accidents. Drowning has been significantly underestimated because statistics were collected from hospitals, where children who drown are seldom taken, the report says.

The report also found that less than 10 percent of drowning victims received resuscitation from a trained responder, 40 percent received no resuscitation, and 50 percent were subjected to ineffective and harmful practices that included jumping on the chest to expel water, inserting sticks into the mouth to induce vomiting, and heating the body over a fire to try to get the water inside to dry up.

A year after the report was released, however, neither Cambodia's government nor the dozens of international aid organizations working in the country have developed a program to teach children to swim or train lifeguards.

UNICEF's spokeswoman in Cambodia, Denise Shepherd-Johnson, says that her organization's drowning-prevention strategies include teaching mothers to keep water containers covered and increasing preschool attendance, so that more children are under adult supervision.

She referred a reporter to the government's accident-prevention official ? whose title is "mine risk education coordinator." (According to the report on child injury in Cambodia, which was submitted to UNICEF by The Alliance for Safe Children, 130 children lost their lives because of land mines and explosives in 2006, when the survey was done.)

Teaching swimming in Cambodia is a logistical challenge because most adults here don't know how to swim, either. According to the report on child injury, only a quarter of Cambodians ever learn to swim. This year, a US-funded initiative to train Cambodian deminers to remove explosives from the bottom of the country's rivers brought to light the fact that before they could be taught to scuba dive, the 40 middle-aged men had to be taught to swim.

Hunt himself didn't learn to swim until he was 11; he grew up in Heanor ? a town as far from the sea as you can get in England, he says. He was embarrassed that he was older than the others in his learn-to-swim class, so he worked extra hard to become a good swimmer.

By the time he was a teenager, he was a lifeguard at his local pool and had traveled all over England to compete in lifesaving tournaments, a sport that includes events such as rescuing make-believe victims from submerged vehicles.

After a job on an African island (where he also started a swimming program), Hunt replied to an advertisement for a teaching position in Cambodia. He knew that swim instruction would be part of his responsibilities ? but hadn't realized that, in addition to his students, he would find himself teaching school janitors, cooks, security guards, and teachers.

Teaching adults to swim is worthwhile, he says, because every person who learns can share knowledge with others.

"It was something they didn't have an opportunity to do before. In general, the older population [in Cambodia] don't know how to swim," he says. "The first thing we learn is how to be safe in water ? what to do if they're tired, if they get a cramp, all the things you need to do in an emergency."

To improve the iCAN school's swimming program, Hunt hired athletes from Cambodia's national swim team ? the first international school in Cambodia to do so. Other schools in the city soon followed his lead.

Hunt also expanded interschool swimming competitions here. He standardized events and established separate competitions for different age groups. The number of children participating in meets has increased from 40 five years ago to almost 200 today, he says.

Next year, Hunt will invite schools from Vietnam to compete against swimmers in Cambodia for the first time ? and he plans to introduce a lifesaving relay.

"He's the one who's been most proactive, the one who sent the e-mails around, who drew us all together," says Jennifer Ainsworth, the swim team director at the HOPE International School in Phnom Penh. "Before, certain things were not uniform ? the races were all in different order, there were different ways ... to score points."

Hunt also organizes the Mekong River Swim, an annual event in which people race from one bank of Asia's seventh-largest river to the other, nearly a half-mile away. While the event was started by expats, in recent years more Cambodians have begun to join in. This year more than 100 people swam across the river, including children as young as 12.

To make the Mekong River Swim safer, Hunt quadrupled the number of volunteers and trained adults, who learned to swim at his school, that serve as monitor swimmers. In the past, participants were chaperoned by fishermen, who had no special training, he says.

Most of all, though, Hunt is dedicated to teaching children to swim. He is proud that at the iCAN school, where he is vice principal, every child is taught to swim beginning at age 3. The school has more than 300 students, the majority of whom hold Cambodian passports.

One of Hunt's former students is 17-year-old Regis Seng. Two months ago, he went to a birthday party and ended up saving an 8-year-old boy who almost drowned in a pool.

"When people saw [the child], people thought he was playing, pretending like he was drowning; the two nannies thought that. We looked at him [and thought] why is he not moving, he is just floating. It was pretty scary," Regis recalls.

"We jumped in and swam back and used the skills, like David taught us, like how to hold the head.... I felt good that I saved somebody's life," he says.

Helping children in Cambodia and elsewhere

UniversalGiving helps people give to and volunteer for top-performing charitable organizations worldwide. Projects are vetted by Universal Giving; 100 percent of each donation goes directly to the listed cause.

Below are three groups selected by UniversalGiving that help children in Cambodia and elsewhere:

? The Foundation for International Medical Relief of Children works to improve the health of children in the developing world. Project: Work as a health volunteer with children in India.

? The GVN Foundation supports the charitable and educational work of local community organizations. Project: Volunteer in English classes in Phnom Penh, Cambodia.

? Corazon Roxas assists groups that provide education, housing, and care for children in developing countries. Project: Educate children by gifting four bags of books.

Source: http://rss.csmonitor.com/~r/feeds/csm/~3/i-DRS5AjBak/David-Hunt-saves-lives-by-teaching-swimming-in-Cambodia

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Cats and Dogs Can Be Good for Your Child's Health - 94.3 The Point

(photo by Postcardlady1, Flickr)

If you want to keep your?kids from developing allergies?get a pet!

Multiple studies show that the risk of many?common allergies is greatly reduced in children who grow up with dogs and cats in their home.

One study from the National Institues of Health followed kids from birth to age 7 and found that their risk of suffering from allergies was reduced by up to 50% in pet-owning households. And these dog or cat-owning children also had far fewer allergic reactions to dust mites, ragweed, and grass!

Dr. Dennis Ownby, chief of the Medical College of Allergy and Immunology (Georgia Section) says that when kids play with a cat or dog and get licked, it transfers bacteria that could help your child?s immune system respond to help protect against allergies.

Other research shows that having a cat or dog exposes children to more infections early in life. This is?GOOD NEWS?because that kind of exposure boosts your child?s immune system and keeps pet-owning children healtheir than their peers with no pets.

In addition to the psycical health benefits, pet ownership for children offers many positive cognitive and emotional experiences. Wonderful life lessons can result from owning a pet, like how much fun a playmate can be, how to share mom and dad?s attention with a new sibling, and how to deal with the loss of a family member.

Pet ownership can also help kids develop responsibility and discipline. Children will learn how and when to feed their pet, take their pet outside, clean or groom their pet, or take their pet for shots and check-ups?helping them to become mature adults.

Pets can be the first friend for a young child and provide a strong level of camaraderie and mututal respect. Positive relationships with pets lead to the development of trusting and respectful relationships with other humans.?And the development of non-verbal communication skills cannot be overlooked.

A child who realizes that another creature?s survival depends on him builds a sense of awareness, belonging, and self-esteem

Pets can also help the family do things together like taking the dog for walks or to a park, brushing the cat, going to the pet store, celebrating your pet?s birthday or letting the kids pick out special gifts for their pet?for the holidays since the pet is part of the family.

Of course if your child is allergic to pets or dander and that exposure is an asthma trigger you should follow your doctor?s advice. But some children with asthma are not allergic to animals and can live with a pet because their allergies are triggered by something else entirely. Children with asthma can be given a skin or blood test to see exactly which triggers are most important to avoid.

For more information on this and other family news topics, visit www.brighthorizons.com.

?

Source: http://943thepoint.com/cats-and-dogs-can-be-good-for-your-childs-health/

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Advertising on Wedding Blogs | Burnett's Boards - Wedding Inspiration

This isn?t our typical event design and styling kind of post ? but I think it?s a worthwhile discussion to have.?Monetizing this wedding blog of mine has been an interesting journey for me since I dove headfirst into it and initially had no idea what I was doing. One thing I did? learn early though is that relationships matter!

(before getting any further along I?d like to take a second to thank the lovely Christina Heaston for allowing me to use these engagement?inspiration?shoot images to spruce up this post with ? mahalo!)?

There are real people behind each and every advertisement you put on your website, and by and large ? those people are absolutely lovely and wonderful to work with. They are just like the rest of us: trying to get by in this world doing what they love.

I recently had a vendor not renew their shop listing and it was somewhat devastating to me in that I took it personally. Now before you go assuming that I?m a super sensitive tearful kind of woman (I?m not) I?d like to add that I took it personally because up until that point a week or two ago I had a 100% renewal rate. And to be frank, I was pretty proud of that. So that little setback really got me thinking ? what could I have done more of to better serve that vendor?

I?ve never viewed advertising on wedding blogs as a one-time transaction; I try to think of it as a relationship. Yes, vendors pay us to place advertisements on our blogs, but it shouldn?t stop there for either party. Advertising on wedding blogs should not just be a mutually beneficial relationship, but also a mutually supportive one ? an investment from both parties.

Things bloggers can do to support their vendors:

- Recommend and use products in styled shoots.

- Share noteworthy shoots and posts from vendors? business pages.

- Pin from your vendors? blogs.

- Create a Facebook group to help connect vendors with each other, and vendors with their blogger for future collaborations.

- Limit sidebar advertisement spots to help combat ad blindness.

- Create a vendor newsletter that shows how you promote their work and encourages creative thinking and brainstorming for collaborations.

From Lily of Behold Designz: ?Collaboration seems to be key for me. Readers respond more to posts than ads so if a blogger truly believes in their vendor?s products and can provide content in addition to a sidebar advertisement that has a huge impact.?

?A collaborated post is not simply ?plugging a vendor? which comes across as dead, but sparks interest and shows a real partnership between a blogger and vendor.??(see example collaboration?here)

?Perhaps another step forward would be for the blogger to orchestrate brain storming and sharing of ideas between vendors. Instinctively vendors don?t want to do this as they want to maintain a competitive edge ? especially if they have similar products. However, I think it can be mutually beneficial if vendors share ideas and discuss trends and new directions, ultimately benefiting our customers! Vendors don?t necessarily talk to each other directly ? but the blogger can certainly mediate and share the ideas.?

From Gaelan of Uschi & Kay: ?I think the best way to support vendors is to have a relationship with them on social media. Not only can you help drive traffic to them by sharing, retweeting, and pinning, but it will help you build a strong business relationship with them and the stronger the relationship you have the more likely you are to keep them on as vendors.?

?I feel strongly though that the engagement needs to be genuine and happen organically; if you are just pinning somebody?s stuff because they?re your vendor or always retweeting someone instead of just sharing the content that is most interesting and relevant to you and your readers, it will come off as insincere and will hurt both you and your vendors in the long run.?

And now for the flip-side of the coin?

Things vendors can do to support their blogger:

- Email your blogger with creative collaborative ideas.

- If you love what your blogger is doing for you ? share that! Tell the world that you enjoy working with ?so and so? and have seen benefits from doing so.

- Promote your blogger by sharing their blog posts whether it?s about you or not. Pins, Facebook posts etc tend to have a ripple effect. For example: one person pinning one image from a blog can lead to thousands of page views down the road ? that?s thousands of more eyes on your advertisement.?

From Chelsea of Bit of Ivory Photography: ?I would encourage vendors to look at their own website?s analytics. It will help them see what is working in a visual/tangible manner.?

See which blogs are your top referrals and invest more time there. ?Keep in mind though that click-throughs don?t necessarily mean bookings or purchases ? a smaller niche blog might send you fewer referrals, but if your style matches the blog?s those referrals are more likely to be people who will adore your work and be long-term customers.

What are your thoughts on the relationship between bloggers and advertisers? What makes you click on an advertisement on a blog??We?d all love to hear everyone?s ideas on this so feel free to leave a comment or suggestion below!

Further reading:?tips for advertising on wedding blogs (see mid-page)

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Photography: Christina Heaston Photography // Event Design & Styling: Fred + Kate Events // Location: Tantalus, Oahu, Hawaii // Dress & Accessories: Eden in Love // Props: DIY by Fred + Kate Events.

Source: http://burnettsboards.com/2013/06/advertising-wedding-blogs/

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