The charts: Streisand, The Game both off their game (Reuters)

LOS ANGELES (TheWrap.com) ? When it came to first-week sales for his new album, the rapper Game was not on his game. But Barbra Streisand wasn't on hers, either, so Game's "The R.E.D. Album" still had a first-place finish.

The Interscope rapper's latest entered at No. 1 with 98,000 sales -- a big comedown from the 239,000 his previous release came out of the box with three years ago, let alone the 538,000 his freshman album debuted with in 2005.

Game earned a lot of pre-release publicity for a stunt in which his Twitter account encouraged fans to tie up Compton's police lines. But with such dramatically diminishing returns, maybe he needs to call 911 on his career.

Rather than go for Twitter pranks, Streisand went a more traditional route -- a QVC campaign -- to boost "What Matters Most: Barbra Streisand Sings the Lyrics of Alan and Marilyn Bergman," which is available in both single- and double-disc editions. But interest just wasn't as high as it was for her standards album, "Love is the Answer," which enjoyed a surprise bow at No. 1 with 180,000 units two years ago. The new album sold 66,000 to enter at No. 4.

The top 10's biggest surprise was a No. 6 entrance by Pistol Annies, the all-female country trio formed as a side project by Miranda Lambert. "Hell on Heels" sold a rootin', tootin' 42,000 copies despite not being available for sales in retail stores.

It was nearly a digital-only release, except for a physical CD that was available on the group's Web site. But because it turned out to be less of a cult item than expected, the label is meeting demand by going to retail with a limited quantity of discs, according to a Sony Nashville spokesman.

Disney saw some green with a Muppets tribute album, featuring indie acts like OK Go and Weezer, that debuted at No. 8 with 30,000.

Among holdovers, the Jay-Z/Kanye West collaboration nearly enjoyed a third week at the top, falling slightly short of rival Game's high-water mark with 94,000. Adele's "21" also got bumped down a spot, to No. 3, with 82,000 -- a figure that's likely to see a significant boost next week after her heralded MTV Awards performance.

On the singles side, Maroon 5's "Moves Like Jagger" moved back up to No. 1 on the digital songs chart with sales of 217,000. The real Jagger should be so lucky these days, right?

Things will heat up considerably with the next chart, which will be topped by Lil Wayne's "Tha Carter IV." Based on the first two days of sales, the dreadlocked jailbird's comeback is currently projected to sell as many as 900,000 copies its first week.

Source: http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/music/*http%3A//news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20110831/music_nm/us_charts

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Libyans celebrate Eid in Tripoli | Morocco World News

LIbyans praying

Tripoli, August 31, 2011(Al Jazeera)

Thousands of Libyans have gathered in Tripoli?to mark the end of Ramadan and celebrate Eid al-Fitr, kneeling in prayer in Martyrs? Square as they rejoiced in the collapse of Muammar Gaddafi?s regime.

At dawn on Wednesday,?families began to pour into the square, which had been dubbed ?Green Square? by Gaddafi, as women ululated in triumph and spontaneous cries of joy erupted.

?This is the best holiday of my life,? said Adel Masmoudi, who at 41 was born the year Gaddafi seized power.

An imam leading the dawn prayer urged all Libyans to stand united and hailed the ousting of ?the tyrant Gaddafi?, prompting jeers from the crowd at the mention of the former leader?s name.

Rebel forces had set up a security belt around the square, as armed guards patrolled the area and snipers took position on rooftops overlooking the gathering which ended peacefully later in the morning.

The Eid celebrations?had began late on?Tuesday with bursts of red tracer rounds fired into the sky as a substitute for fireworks.

?This is the first time we have felt relaxed in 42 years,? Amari Abdulla, 24, told the AFP news agency.

?We will celebrate as in the past but this time it is simply better. It is a new Libya.?

While anti-Gaddafi rebels claim to have ?liberated? most of the country, negotiations are still underway for the surrender of regime loyalists in Sirte, Gaddafi?s hometown.

Mustafa Abdel Jalil, chairman of the rebels? National Transitional Council (NTC), said on Tuesday that forces loyal to Gaddafi have until Saturday to surrender or face a military assault.

?

Gaddafi son ?to surrender?

A senior NTC official in Libya has told Al Jazeera that Saadi Gaddafi, the third son of the deposed leader, is willing to give himself up.

Abdelhakim Belhaj, the NTC?s military leader in?Tripoli,??said on Wednesday that Saddi called him and asked if he could surrender.

n an exclusive interview,?Belhaj said?the revolutionaries?knew for sure where some of the regime leaders?were, including unconfirmed reports on where Gaddafi was.

Al Jazeera?s James Bays, reporting from Tripoli said: ?We asked him [Belhaj] about the military situation, remaining members of the Gaddafi family, and he said that he believes one of Gaddafi?s sons, Saadi, is preparing to surrender.

?According to Belhaj, Saddi doesn?t want to leave Libya, he wants to talk to the national council and negotiate his surrender.

?He thinks he knows the whereabouts of Saddi Gaddafi from the phone call. Also says he believes some senior figures of the government are now ready to surrender, such as the former prime minister.

?Belhaj made a point of saying that any of those who do surrender will be treated properly, and court cases will be held to international norms.

?Belhaj thought that Muammar Gaddafi is less likely to surrender, but would be treated fairly if he did. He would be held in custody with proper human rights.?

There has been speculation that Gaddafi is seeking refuge in Sirte or one of the other remaining regime strongholds, among them the towns of Bani Walid or Sabha.

?Gaddafi is now fleeing ? and we have a good idea where he is,? Ali Tarhouni, a senior NTC minister said earlier, without elaborating. ?We don?t have any doubt that we will catch him.?

Gaddafi family flees

Earlier on Monday, some members of Gaddafi?s family fled the country?to Algeria.

Authorities there confirmed?on?Tuesday that Gaddafi?s second wife Safia, his daughter Aisha, and his sons Muhammad and Hannibal were in Algeria and had been granted permission to enter based on ?humanitarian grounds?.

According to the?AFP news agency, Aisha?gave birth to a girl?while in Algeria.

Mahmoud Shammam, information minister in Libya?s rebel government, told the AP news agency that he considered Algeria?s harbouring of Hannibal an act of aggression.

?I cannot confirm it, but I can comment that, especially for Hannibal, if he fled to Algiers and the Algerian authorities allowed him to do that, we?ll consider this as an aggressive act against the Libyan people?s wish,? he said.

In all, Gaddafi has eight biological children, a daughter and seven sons.

Meanwhile, Khamis Gaddafi, another of Gaddafi?s sons, whose military unit is accused of killing dozens of detainees in Tripoli, may be placed on the international war crimes court?s most-wanted list, the prosecutor told the Reuters news agency?on Monday.

The Hague-based International Criminal Court [ICC] has already approved warrants for the arrest of Gaddafi, his son Saif al-Islam, and Libyan intelligence chief Abdullah al-Senussi on charges of crimes against humanity.

Luis Moreno-Ocampo, the ICC prosecutor, said he may also apply for an arrest warrant for Khamis, after Human Rights Watch said members of the Khamis Brigade, a force commanded by him, appeared to have carried out summary executions of detainees whose bodies were found in a warehouse in Tripoli.

from your own site.

Source: http://moroccoworldnews.com/2011/08/libyans-celebrate-eid-in-tripoli/

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Samsung Galaxy Note official videos


Youtube link for mobile viewing

You've seen the Samsung Galaxy Note announcements, now watch the official demo videos, where you get a good sense at how the stylus thing's going to work, as well as a few of the features of "a new type of smartphone."

One more video's after the break.

read more


Source: http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/androidcentral/~3/2391X14NcPE/samsung-galaxy-note-official-videos

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Game Mechanics and Participation | Zythepsary

Let?s start with a stat: A shitload of people are playing games.

Ok, it wasn?t a stat, but in 2007 Comscore found that 217 million people are playing online games, and that was before all those people got addicted to Zynga?s Facebook games.

?Yeah, but those are just games, what does that have to do with participation??

As I mentioned before, putting some game mechanics into your campaign will help you get and/or keep participation. It?s a fairly simple concept, people like to play and if people are having fun, they?ll get addicted. Addiction is the reason so many people play simulation games (Farmville, SIMS, Sim City 2000), and why they move pieces and parts around (Bejeweled, Tetris). Addiction is about becoming psychologically dedicated to something ? why shouldn?t that something be participation in your project or campaign?

It isn?t just addiction which causes people to participate in the playing of games, it?s also about self improvement. People like to prove to themselves (and others) that they can accomplish more, we?re always striving for eudaimonia, which likely comes from successes in life rather than failures.

It?s important to understand that implementing game mechanics doesn?t necessarily mean creating a full fledged game. It means using certain game-like qualities to change the way that people interact with your particular event/campaign/project.

There are lots and lots of different game mechanics. They fall into 3 overarching mechanic types. The first, behavioral game mechanics, focus on the human psyche. These mechanics use cognitive and emotional motivations to win external motivations (points, levels, etc). Type 2, Feedback game mechanics, are those games that complete Feedback loops (player does something, something happens, player receives feedback, with the learned information the player does something else). Progression game mechanics are those that create a structure for gradually displaying progress. This is nitty gritty stuff, so I suggest checking out Gamification.org (absolutely EXCELLENT library of game mechanic definitions) or the blog at lostgarden.com.

For me, the most valuable game mechanics to work into open web or open source projects and campaigns are:

  1. Cards/Tokens/Points ? don?t be fooled, ?points? doesn?t necessarily mean ?points?, it?s more a tally of what a user has done. In Wikipedia, ?points? might be related to contributions, for the School of Webcraft, ?points? might be how many courses or challenges a user has completed, the Open Badges project already has ?points?, they?re called badges. Anything that a user can collect can be considered ?points?. Users will collect things to prove to themselves that they can get everything there is to collect, it?s a sort of psychosis. They?ll feel they have to participate or contribute until there are no more points for them to collect.
  2. Levels ? The more ?points? you receive, the more ?levels? you advance. This is implemented by making certain actions impossible until a user has a certain number of points. It means that the ?level up? leads to the unlocking of content. Levels will make a user curious, and curiosity will be enough motivation to keep a person involved.
  3. Status ? The ability to show other people what you?ve accomplished. This functions most succinctly by giving people a title based on how many levels they?ve achieved. You see this a lot in forums ? trusted contributors are called ?gurus? and new contributors are called ?newbies? (or whatever). People like to compete against each other, and a status is a way to show off that you?ve won.
  4. Rewards/Prizes ? Offer something, get participation. It?s that simple. Figuring out what you have to offer is the tricky part. Perhaps what you have to offer is notoriety, publicity or straight up swag. Whatever you can give, award it to your contributors/participants. It?ll keep them coming back.

Of these four mechanics, I?d like to take a moment to point out that Open Badges falls into each mechanic. As ?points?, it?s clear. But Badges are also levels (because you can?t get the advanced badge before you get the basic badge), status, and as soon as badges are able to be used as real world proof of accomplishment, the reward aspect will be obvious.

Human beings are naturally competitive, so the challenge is to create competitions, contests or tasks that aren?t just about winning, but also playing the game. You reward people who are playing the game through status and/or straight up reward. In my opinion, the best way to have mass participation is to allow multiple ?winners?. One winner who wins it all creates the ?I don?t stand a chance attitude? and participation drops.

Tiered winning is a great way to get repeat participation. An excellent example of this is the Mojo project. Round One was an open call for entries and there were 60 ?prizes? to win. This round had open feedback from the community at large, so participants were rewarded with feedback. Round Two was a prize AND a competition. The prize for Round One was a spot in a summer learning lab that boasted excellent technology and journalism keynotes, collaborative creation and access to smart people. Round Three is a hackathon in Berlin, this is the prize for Round Two winners, and it too is attached to a competition. The winners get a free trip to Berlin and pitted against each other for the grand prize of winning a year long fellowship with a news organization.

These are some super awesome prizes to win, but the genius behind the structure lies within the game mechanics. People believe they stand a chance, therefore, they participate. In their participation, they are offered real world experiences and contacts, creating a bubble of trust, and inspiring further participation. Those who did not advance are rewarded anyway (in Round One with feedback and exposure, in Round Two with knowledge gained through the lab curriculum, in Round Three with a free trip to Berlin). Because they are rewarded, they are more likely to participate in other competitions of this kind.

Which game mechanics to implement and how to implement them is something to be thought about. There?s a lot of different types of games, therefore a lot of game mechanics. There are different game personality types, so implementing game mechanics means looking at your target audience. Who are they, and how do they play? Are they achievers, explorers, socializers or killers?

It?s not about turning your project into a game, it?s about getting people to participate and contribute more.

Refocusing our various efforts to work together rather than autonomously could make for a great gaming experience. Turning our initiatives into a series of interconnected ?games? will have more people participating, which means more people will be aware of the fight we?re fighting. Perhaps it?s time to get some overarching game mechanics conceptualized?

  • Gamification.org (it?s all laid out for you, all the hundreds of mechanics and how they work)
  • Lostgarden (wonderful blog)

Source: http://www.zythepsary.com/techie/game-mechanics-and-participation/

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Bellingham Real Estate Update. What homes for sale in Bellingham ...

Bellingham Real EstateEvery week we track the number of homes on the market that have offers on them and those that do not and create a ratio we call Pending Ratios. This weeks numbers were great with all areas either remaining stable or up in pendings.

As of Saturday, August 27th, the pending ratio in Bellingham was 20% . Pending is the time frame between when an offer has been mutual accepted between the buyer?s and the seller?s of the home and when the title actually transfers hands. This give the buyer?s time to get the financing, do inspection, review the title reports and more.

Birch Bay had a pending ratio of 16%

The Lynden area in East Whatcom County has a pending ratio of 14%

The Sudden Valley pending ratio was 17%

The Ferndale pending ratio was 16%

To view a complete history of Whatcom County Pending Ratios or for other real estate statistics don?t hesitate to contact The Johnson Team at (360) 303-2734 or by email at Info@JohnsonTeamRealEstate.com

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For more information on Bellingham Real Estate or to search for homes in the Bellingham and Whatcom County area visit www.JohnsonTeamRealEstate.com, your one stop Bellingham real estate and community information resource!

Source: http://www.johnsonteamrealestate.com/blog/index.php/2011/08/29/bellingham-real-estate-update-which-homes-for-sale-have-offers-on-them/

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Aug. 30, 1963 | Communications 'Hot Line' Connects Soviet and ...

Historic Headlines

Learn about key events in history and their connections to today.

On Aug. 30, 1963, a direct line of communication between Washington and Moscow, dubbed the ?Hot Line,? became operational. The Hot Line was established after previous methods of communication were found to be dangerously cumbersome.

The New York Times article about the communication link reported that it was ?a direct outgrowth of the serious delays that developed in diplomatic communications between the two capitals during the Cuban crisis last fall,? and would reduce the time required for direct communication between the heads of the two governments from hours to minutes.

The equipment included four American-made teletype machines installed at the Kremlin, and four East German-made teletype machines installed in the Pentagon.

The Hot Line was first used in 1967 during the Six Day War between Israel, Egypt, Jordan and Syria, to clarify the intentions of fleet movements in the Mediterranean that could have been interpreted as hostile. Richard Nixon used it during the Indo-Pakistani War of 1971 and again during the 1973 Arab-Israeli War. It was used several more times during the 1970s and again during the Reagan Administration.

Although the Hot Line had limited application in real politics, the concept was eagerly adopted by fiction writers. Instead of mundane Teletype machines being manned by trained operators in the Pentagon and the Kremlin, Hollywood often depicted the ?Red Phone? as a direct phone line between the Oval Office and the office of the Premier.

The Hot Line has appeared in the series ?24,? Stanley Kubrick?s ?Dr. Strangelove,? the Tom Clancy novel ?The Sum of All Fears,? the 1964 film ?Fail-Safe? and even the ?Dilbert? comic strip.

Despite the infrequency with which it is used, and the improved relationship between Russia and the United States since the fall of the Soviet Union and the end of the Cold War, the Hot Line still exists. Over the years, it has been upgraded several times to keep up with advancing communications technologies.

The former C.I.A. director and defense secretary, Robert Gates, has said that the Hot Line will remain an important tool for ?as long as these two sides have submarines roaming the oceans and missiles pointed at each other.?


Connect to Today:

In the June 2008 New York Times Backgrounder?Negotiating with Hostile States,? Robert McMahon discussed the recent history of U.S. policy on engaging with adversarial countries like Iran, and stateless parties like Hezbollah. It recalled the approach by President Nixon and his secretary of state, Henry Kissinger, to treat the Soviet Union, in Mr. Kissinger?s words, as ?both adversary and collaborator;? playing the latter role, to keep ?ideological conflict from exploding into a nuclear war.?

Do you think the United States should keep open a line of communication with its adversaries? Why or why not?


Learn more about what happened in history on August 30?

Learn more about Historic Headlines and our collaboration with findingDulcinea ?

Source: http://learning.blogs.nytimes.com/2011/08/30/aug-30-1963-communications-hot-line-connects-soviet-and-u-s-heads-of-state/

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Colts activate QB Peyton Manning

Indianapolis Colts quarterback Peyton Manning, center, looks on next to teammates John Gill (60) and Jerry Hughes during the fourth quarter of an NFL preseason football game against the Washington Redskins in Indianapolis, on Friday, Aug. 19, 2011. (AP Photo/Michael Conroy)

Indianapolis Colts quarterback Peyton Manning, center, looks on next to teammates John Gill (60) and Jerry Hughes during the fourth quarter of an NFL preseason football game against the Washington Redskins in Indianapolis, on Friday, Aug. 19, 2011. (AP Photo/Michael Conroy)

Indianapolis Colts quarterback Peyton Manning, right, talks with head coach Jim Caldwell during the second quarter of an NFL preseason football game against the Green Bay Packers in Indianapolis, Friday, Aug. 26, 2011. (AP Photo/AJ Mast)

Indianapolis Colts quarterback Kerry Collins throws before an NFL preseason football game in Indianapolis, Friday, Aug. 26, 2011. Collins was signed by the Colts as a backup for an injured Peyton Manning. (AP Photo/Indianapolis Star, Matt Kryger) NO SALES

(AP) ? Peyton Manning is back. Whether he is ready to play is an open question.

The Colts activated Manning from the physically unable to perform list Monday. A few hours later, the four-time MVP pulled on his white No. 18 jersey and a helmet, and jogged onto the practice field, renewing hopes that he might actually play in the season-opener at Houston on Sept. 11 four months after neck surgery.

"That's kind of been my goal all along, trying to get better and I know everybody's into predictions and everybody wants to have the breaking news," an upbeat Manning said. "But I just can't give you any more than what I'm giving you."

What everyone wants to know, of course, is whether Manning will be ready. Nobody, including Manning, will say that yet and he said again that he won't play in Thursday night's preseason finale at Cincinnati.

Clearly, though, Manning is getting closer. He acknowledged that he is healthy enough right now to take a snap or play a series to keep his consecutive-games streak intact but insists he won't.

"Like I said the other night, I have to be able to competitively play," he said. "I have too much respect for football. I've got to be able to compete and to help my team win, and that's what's fair to the team, fair to myself."

Manning has started 227 consecutive games, including the playoffs, the second-longest streak in NFL history for quarterbacks behind Brett Favre. Of all the numbers Manning has put up over the years, the streak is the one he has usually said means the most.

Manning had been on the PUP since the team's first training camp practice on Aug. 1 following the May procedure to repair a nerve in his neck. The Colts were facing a Saturday deadline to make the move or Manning would have missed Indy's first six games.

Team officials issued a statement that said Manning would practice on a "scripted" and controlled basis. Coach Jim Caldwell did not elaborate on the plan.

"Obviously, he's been throwing, but nevertheless it's just going to be in a limited amount," Caldwell said. "I don't think it needs a whole lot of explanation, I don't believe. Scripted means that we kind of know exactly what he's going to do, prescribed by his rehab specialist and our medical team."

Manning hadn't been seen much at team headquarters, perhaps working out in private. He was at his playful best on Monday, teasing reporters about their memories, poking fun at the circus-like environment surrounding his neck injury and suggesting that his close friend and center, Jeff Saturday, was tired of answering questions about him.

Team officials have said all along that Manning would practice only when doctors cleared him and when Manning felt comfortable, and he again declined to say specifically what was holding him back.

"I don't know what HIPAA stands for, but I believe in it and I practice it," Manning joked, referring to the federal law protecting medical privacy. "So, uh, I'll leave it at that."

The fact he has been activated is not only good news for Manning, his teammates and Colts' fans, but it also eased some concerns expressed by Jim Irsay. Indy's team owner recently wrote on Twitter that the Colts should be prepared to start the season without Manning and later posted comments that prompted speculation he was trying to convince Favre to come out of retirement.

Instead, the Colts signed another retired quarterback in 16-year veteran Kerry Collins, who stood alongside Manning in a nationally televised loss to Super Bowl champion Green Bay last week.

"(hash)18 to the practice field! Soon the leaves will fall/I looked at sideline sat.night n saw $30,000,000.00 standing there,my checkbook hurts!," Irsay wrote Monday. Manning signed a five-year, $90 million contract deal in the offseason to stay in Indy.

The next big question is how the Colts will divvy up the snaps.

Manning insists he'll spend the next two weeks continuing the rehab and trying to get in sync with his teammates.

But the Colts need Collins to work with the starters and still want Curtis Painter, who remains No. 2 on the depth chart, to play, too, in case Manning misses the Houston game.

"Starting today, I guess I'd be getting quite a few reps," Collins said. "What the breakdown will be, I don't know, because I'm sure they're going to try and get Peyton back into the swing of things."

The surgery was expected to keep Manning off the field for six to eight weeks.

Instead, the recovery has gone slower than expected, something Manning has blamed, in part, on the 4 1/2-month lockout that kept him away from team trainers.

With Manning ailing, the Colts have been refining backup plans. Two days after signing Collins, Painter delivered his best preseason performance by going 11 of 21 for 171 yards with two TD passes and nearly led the Colts to their first preseason win in more than two years.

But Manning has been the backbone of this team since he was taken No. 1 overall in 1998.

He's thrown for 54,828 yards, third all-time behind Favre and Dan Marino, and needs one more TD pass to join Favre (508) and Marino (420) as the only members of the NFL's 400-club. He's led the Colts to a record-tying nine consecutive playoff appearances, including last season when most of his top weapons went down with injuries.

"This was one of my goals all along, to get back during the week of this last preseason game," Manning said. "This would give you two weeks of on the field work, and it can give you a pretty good answer to some questions that coach Caldwell has and that I have."

Manning has been through all of this before.

In 2008, he missed the entire training camp after having two surgeries to remove an infected bursa sac in his left knee and didn't return to practice until the final preseason game. He wound up winning his third MVP award.

This time, Manning has been seen running and throwing passes and teammates have expressed confidence he will start in Week 1.

"I think he's right on schedule," said Saturday, one of Manning's closest friends. "I think it's whatever the trainers and the rehab say. That's where he is."

Associated Press

Source: http://hosted2.ap.org/apdefault/347875155d53465d95cec892aeb06419/Article_2011-08-29-Colts-Manning/id-ba946b1251e34227a1efc51d9324e519

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Prepaid Legal Services Review, From an Objective Standpoint

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By : Jason Cunningham ?? 4 or more times read
Submitted 2011-08-29 14:25:47 So you've heard of Prepaid Legal Services, but you're not quite sure what it is? Well, it's exactly what it sounds like - access to legal counsel for a low monthly premium. Many liken it to paying monthly premiums for car, health, or life insurance, which I think is a pretty smart idea given the cost of paying cash for legal services.

Their products include prepaid legal plans for individuals, families, and businesses, and identity theft protection. The standard legal protection plan plus identity theft shield will run you about $36 per month.

It's really an ingenious idea, since the average 3-day trial in Canada would have cost you over $60,000 three years ago. I don't know about you, but I would be extremely upset if I had to take out a second mortgage on my house just to pay some guy in a suit to 'potentially' win my case. But nevertheless, people still do it.

I'm not going to discuss whether Prepaid Legal is a legitimate business opportunity or not, because its track record speaks for itself. The company has been around for almost 40 years, and was recently acquired by branding monster, MidOcean Partners for over 600 million dollars. This firm plans on making Prepaid Legal a household name, just like most of your home, auto, and life insurance providers. Therefore, common sense says that anybody who purchases a company for that kind of money would have to be crazy unless they were planning on making a significant return on their investment.

But I would encourage you to take a look at the bigger picture. You may decide may want to begin building a Prepaid Legal business, but have you thought about how you're going to do it? You might have it in your mind that you're going to write down your wedding list with all your friends, family, acquaintances, etc. and start by prospecting them. Then you'll continue by asking for referrals and doing conference calls, hotel meetings, personal relationship marketing and the like.

This approach is fine and some of the largest organizations in the entire network marketing industry have been built using this face-to-face, warm market approach. The big questions you need to ask yourself, though, are have you had success with these approaches in the past? Are they working now? Who are you going to market to once you exhaust your warm market? Are these methods going help you achieve your goals in the fastest, most efficient way possible?

I'm not knocking the 'old school' approaches because Prepaid Legal has typically been built in this fashion, and is still making a lot of people a great deal of money. I'm simply a little biased on how I like to build my business, but that's just me.

I would strongly recommend Prepaid Legal Services to anyone looking to build a network marketing business that is poised for serious growth in the near future and with a product that just makes sense. For a low monthly cost and a low initial investment, you're really doing yourself a disservice if you don't at least consider what Prepaid Legal can do for you.

Author Resource:- This Prepaid Legal Service review was written by Jason Cunningham, an expert in the field of Attraction Marketing. He combines a very effective style of online relationship building, social media, and some old school methods which creates a powerful formula for up-front growth and duplication. If you want Jason's recipe for ultimate online success, visit Jason's Internet Marketing Secrets now.
Article From Article Mayhem

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Source: http://www.articlemayhem.com/Art/365672/24/Prepaid-Legal-Services-Review-From-an-Objective-Standpoint.html

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Another photograph a flower arrangement. | Small Business ...

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Source: http://www.smallbusinessplansoftware.net/another-photograph-a-flower-arrangement.html

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One in five real estate contracts cancelled due to appraisal issues

Tara Steele | August 29, 2011? |

cancelled real estate contracts One in five real estate contracts cancelled due to appraisal issues

Low appraisals hurting real estate sector

Low appraisals continue to be the concrete block tied around the ankles of a sinking real estate market that is already unstable due to epic unemployment, tight credit, decreasing values, rising foreclosures and the like. Because lenders must cap their loans at the value set by appraisers while sellers and buyer?s disagree on how to make up the difference with an original deal price, cancellations happen.

According to the National Association of Realtors (NAR), 16 percent of Realtors reported cancelled contracts in July, due mostly in part ?by declined mortgage applications or failures in loan underwriting from appraised values coming in below the negotiated price.?

Nine percent reported contract delays because of low appraisals, and 13 percent reported that a contract we renegotiated to a lower price because the appraisal cam in below the original price, NAR said, making over one in five real estate contracts cancelled in July because of appraisal issues.

It?s hard to talk about any recovery

?It?s hard to talk about any recovery of the housing market and home prices until the appraisal issue is squared away, and that is a broad issue,? said Guy Cecala, publisher of Inside Mortgage Finance told Reuters.

Some point to the housing bubble inflation as the fault of high estimates of property values by appraisers, but recent reforms has curbed this and the industry is now seeing what some project to be artificially low appraisals.

?The industry, both from a lending perspective and appraising perspective, has gotten as outrageously conservative now as they were outrageously aggressive a few years ago,? said Rick Sharga, senior vice president of data firm RealtyTrac.

Appraisal Management Companies popping up

Third party appraisal management companies have popped up all over America to play middleman since Realtors were banned from selecting appraisers for Fannie Mae or Freddie Mac approved loans (90% of all U.S. loans). Regardless of accuracy, being too liberal or too conservative, the management companies get paid and are offering smaller and smaller commissions to overworked appraisers who ultimately bear the liability of the appraisal in the new ?sue everyone? era.

Appraiser Mike Evans, former president of the American Society of Appraisers told Reuters, ?Some guy blows in from 300 miles away and grabs three comps that may not be in the right area, and leaves.?


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This article published on Monday, August 29th, 2011 at 12:06 am | Contact the editor

Tags: featured, real estate economy, Real Estate News

Category: Economy

Source: http://agentgenius.com/real-estate-mortgage-economy/one-in-five-real-estate-contracts-cancelled-due-to-appraisal-issues/

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