The real facebook investing story: how advisers and investors areusing social media

"I think people look much more seriously at LinkedIn as a'business' site and Facebook as a 'personal' site," Jenkin said."However, I believe that Facebook is becoming a more widelyaccepted method now to ask your personal community for help onfinding referrals, best deals or other ideas from people that youcan personally trust. Today, you are seeing more conversationsaround banking relationships being bandied about on Facebook, andyou are beginning to see more discussions on individual companiesthat are both product and stock related." Neal Frankle, a CFP for 28 years, has been on Blogspot for threeyears. He's used his blog to cement relationships with existingclients and meet new ones, and uses Twitter and Facebook torepublish his posts. "Twitter was very helpful at first to connect with the personalfinance community, but later became a huge time-waster," he said."Now that I have my community, we connect on private forums." Despite some of the skepticism he harbors for social media, Frankleviews it as an important component of the advising business. Lipo Laser Slimming Machine

Hethinks that Facebook and Twitter should "mainly be a supportapparatus rather than the main marketing focus" -- a place wherepeople can learn more about you. He focuses on his blog, ratherthan on more superficial social network interactions. The New Challenges Of course, there are darker sides to social media's intersectionwith the investing world. The capacity of such viral platforms tobe used by the unscrupulous to hype investments or spread falseinformation about companies is almost boundless. And the question of how FINRA regulations will apply on sites likeFacebook and Twitter is something that Jenkin calls "a littletricky." "The predominate number of broker dealers in this industry will notallow you in any way, shape or form to get into a discussion onspecific stocks [online], even if you have disclaimers that youdon't own them or do own them," he said. Crystal Microdermabrasion Machines Manufacturer

"They won't even let youhave discussions around specific mutual funds or ETFs." Industry regulator FINRA is having a difficult time so far dealingwith the Pandora's box social networks have opened, and compliancemanagement software hasn't caught up with the magnitude of theissues either. That leaves advisers walking a fine line. "You must be very careful as a professional not to violate strictadvertising rules governing the profession," Frankle said. "That'swhy I only use my blog to talk about general finance issues ratherthan provide investment advice." But even in erring on the side of caution, executives in corneroffices are taking part in this social media revolution. "[Chief officers] are the most engaged members of LinkedIn," Listersaid. Q-switched ND Yag Laser

"C-level investors are the most connected on LinkedIn.".

Us activists, officials seek to protect africa's gay refugees - China fog lights bulbs

As the world marked the International Day Against Homophobia Thursday, in Washington, U.S. activists and officials outlinedefforts to protect an extremely vulnerable group - gay refugees ineast Africa. Kenya is host to more than 600,000 refugees, while there are anestimated 135,000 refugees in Uganda. Both countries criminalize homosexuality.

In Uganda, what arecalled "unnatural offenses" carry a risk of life inprison, with some lawmakers even advocating the death penalty. InKenya, sex between men can lead to prison sentences of up to 14years. This makes it extremely difficult to protect gay refugees in bothcountries, according to Duncan Breen, with the U.S.-based groupHuman Rights First. "Even the existence of these laws do contribute to higherrates of biased motivated violence because the legal framework thenseems to instill amongst citizens the sense that actually they cancommit biased motivated violence with impunity and so certainly itis important for these countries to reconsider these stances,"said Breen.

Breen was the lead author of a Human Rights First report called"The Road to Safety, Strengthening Protection for LGBTIRefugees in Uganda and Kenya." LGBTI stands for lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and intersex(between male and female). The report details numerous recent attacks on LGBTI refugees in thetwo countries. It also says many of these refugees shy away fromaid services due to fears of persecution from other refugees aswell as aid workers. One of the recommendations is for countries like the United Statesto establish temporary safe zones and help expedite resettlementprocedures to a third country so targeted refugees can finally feelsafe. yellow fog light bulbs

U.S. Assistant Secretary of State for Population, Refugees andMigration Anne Richard said the U.S. government is continuallytrying to improve procedures to help. "We have but one option. China fog lights bulbs

We must stand squarely on the side of the most vulnerable,"she stated. "We must do what we can to provide them anenvironment where their safety and security is ensured and theirrights and dignity upheld. That must be our priority." She said efforts were being undertaken to better engage withgovernments, non-governmental organizations and United Nationsagencies to ensure gay refugees in east Africa are helped and notfurther victimized. Larry Yungk, a resettlement officer with the United Nations HighCommissioner for Refugees, said his agency was also evolving in howit deals with the complex issue of LGBTI refugees, with, forexample, new guidebooks for its employees. He said LGBTI refugees who survived camps in Kenya and Uganda,before making it to safety in other countries, should be encouragedto contribute ideas. led fog light bulbs Manufacturer

"I think too often we speak on behalf ofrefugees without letting them come forward and tell us what mightwork. We have a lot of very talented refugees being resettled,people with good ideas, and I think trying to make sure that theyare at the table as we work on these issues is vitallyimportant," noted Yungk. Activists and officials say local authorities have been a part ofthe problem, making it that much more difficult to resolve. InUganda and Kenya, there have been many reports of police harassinggay refugees inside aid camps.

Research conducted by Human Rights First last year in Ugandaindicates a Burundian transgender female refugee was continuallyarrested by police due to her sexual orientation and genderidentity. In prison, the research indicates, she was thenrepeatedly raped.

Iditarod musher attacked by his own knife becomes laughing stock - Industrial Oil Separators

OPINION: When Iditarod dog drive Mitch Seavey was attacked by hisown knife in 2011 and injured enough to be forced out of the race,he was upset. He did what people do in America these days when theyare upset. He filed a lawsuit against the store that sold him theknife and the company that manufactured the knife. No one paid any attention.

The suit was stupid. Then an Anchorage newspaper picked up the story in May of this year. Now the 52-year-oldSeavey, the 2004 winner of the Iditarod Trail Sled Dog Race, isbeing mocked all over the 49th state and in goodly parts of therest of the country. Design flaw? At dinner the other night, a former leader of the AlaskaLegislature described the Seavey suit as part of what is wrong withthe country.

If judges would toss out this sort of frivolous crap,the now retired politician observed, the civil court systemwouldn't be bogged down the way it is today. Frivolous crap? Well, yes, as some online commentators appeared to quickly figureout as the Seavey story rippled across the internet. The Seaveycase, you see, hinges on the idea the lock-back Kershaw knife hewas using had a design flaw that caused the lock to fail whichcaused the blade to collapse on Seavey's hand, nearly severing afinger. But there are a whole lot of problems with Seavey'sargument, starting with the one quickly noted by a participant on thehighroad.org , a popular forum for shooters and other firearms owners. Disc Oil Separator

"Sounds like the 'musher' Seavy (sic) oughta invest in a linecutter, a fixed blade or carry a live Boy Scout to safely performhis cutting for him," posted someone with the handle ApacheCoTodd."I...would guess from this poorly (written) - though sadlystandardly poor - article, that he was using it to hook towards himas a line cutter rather than hook away as a gut hook is intended.I'm sure the knife, the manufacturer and unfortunately, theretailer sold it as a gut-hook folder." The "gut-hook" feature, as it is called, is incorporated into theblade to make it easier for hunters to eviscerate big-game animalswithout cutting into the intestines, spilling intestinal fluid andruining the meat of the animal. The "gut-hook" feature is notdesigned for cutting the twine holding together bales of straw. Folding knives fold Others were quick to pick up on the significance of this. "It's agut hook, not a cord cutter. Hence, I read that as he was using theknife in a manner for which it was/is not intended, implied, noradvertised to be used," posted ugaarguy on the same forum. Industrial Oil Separators

He's right, and there is problem No. 1 for Seavey. He was using thetool -- in this case a knife -- to do a job for which it was notdesigned. It would be sort of like using a bobby pin to clean thewax out of your ear and then suing the manufacturer when you injureyour ear drum. China Disc Oil Separator

As someone calling themselves Shnick posted on another forum devoted to bush craft, "I feel bad for the guy, but when youexpect certain conditions you don't buy a folder. I own severalfolders and each one has talents and limitations. I do not howeverown a gut hook knife ...These guys are using it as a cordagecutter, not it's original intended use. He probably didn't have itlocked in the first place ... Gloves, mittens, driving snow, itcould happen." And therein is problem number two.

Everyone -- or at least everyonewho has spent much time in the outdoors, especially in Alaska --knows that folding knives fold, and that when using a lockbackfolder, YOU SHOULD TREAT IT AS IF IT HAS NO LOCK. Seavey ignoredthis rule. He treated his folding knife like it was a fixed-bladeknife, and it attacked him for the oversight. He says it was because the release for unlocking the knife ispoorly placed on the handle. Because it was poorly placed, hebelieves, he accidentally hit it, the blade released and -- viola!-- he was in pain and bleeding all over his dog straw.

There aretwo problems there --the first being that Seavey bought the knifeand should have noticed when he bought it where the lock mechanismis located.

Millions of students chronically absent, study says - Portable Phone Battery Charger Manufacturer

PHILADELPHIA -- Up to 7.5 million students miss nearly a month ofschool each year, making them much more likely to drop out beforethey graduate, according to a new national report. What's more startling is that only six states track chronicabsenteeism in schools, according to a study by Johns HopkinsUniversity researchers released Thursday at events in Philadelphiaand Washington, D.C. "No one is measuring this most fundamental thing -- are kidsattending school regularly" said Robert Balfanz, one of the JohnsHopkins researchers who worked on the study. "You can't evenanalyze what's working in closing the achievement gap withoutlooking first at chronic absenteeism." The study marks the first time researchers have tracked theprevalence of students who habitually miss school. Iphone 2G Replacement Parts

The researchers estimate that up to 15 percent of studentsnationally are considered chronically absent. That spikes up toone-third of students in urban and rural areas, where students maybe poor and come from families with little education. As a result, students who typically need more help to be successfulacademically are the ones missing the most school. Researchers found absenteeism to be highest in kindergarten and inhigh school. A student is considered chronically absent if they missed at leasta month of school in a year, or about 10 percent. Portable Phone Battery Charger Manufacturer

Some schools hadthe equivalent of entire classrooms of students missing that muchor more each year, the researchers found. The federal government doesn't track the problem, and neither domost states. The only states that keep up with it are Georgia,Florida, Maryland, Nebraska, Oregon and Rhode Island. Because of the limited data, Balfanz cautions that the study is an"educated guess" about the scope of the problem. The U.S. China Galaxy Tab Bluetooth Keyboard

Department of Education requires states to track dailyattendance, but those numbers don't reflect students who arechronically absent. For example, a school can have a 90 percent attendance rate butstill have hundreds of students who are chronically absent becausethe students all miss different days. "The research shows that we must address the attendance problem ifwe are going to have the kind of broader school improvement we wantand our students deserve," said Marie Groark, executive director ofGet Schooled, an education nonprofit that paid for the study.

Apple no longer censoring word 'jailbreak' among itunes storecontent [u] - Jib Cranes Manufacturer

Apple on Thursday began censoring the world "jailbreak" amongcontent in the iTunes Store, including the song "Jailbreak" byIrish rockers Thin Lizzy, though the issue was quickly addressed. Users began noticing on Thursday that some uses of the word"jailbreak" have been censored among iTunes Store content.Strangely, however, some instances of the word remained readable. For example, the album "Jailbreak" by Thin Lizzy, and the album'stitular track both remained visible on iTunes. However, otherinstances of the song "Jailbreak" on compilation albums andsoundtracks were been censored to read "J*******k." Update: As of Thursday afternoon, the issue was addressed, and content onthe iTunes Store once again displays the word "jailbreak" withoutcensoring it. The change applies to music and applications. Double Girder Overhead Cranes

Earlier, the word was also censored from other artists, such as asong with the same title from the band Gossip on their album"That's Not What I heard," and Sonic Syndicate's song from thealbum "Eden Fire." Outside of the song by Thin Lizzy, or AC/DC's own "Jailbreak" songfound on its third album (and not available on the iTunes Store),jailbreaking refers to the process of hacking iOS to allowed usersto install custom software and tweaks without Apple's permission.Performing a jailbreak on an iPhone, iPad or iPad touch voidsApple's warranty for the devices. Through jailbreaking, hackers have created their own customapplications which are available from an alternative storefrontknown as Cydia, similar to Apple's official App Store for iOS.There are many free and paid applications available on Cydia thatallow users to install custom tweaks, user interface themes andvarious other software that does not comply with Apple's iOSdeveloper agreement. Jailbreaking itself is not illegal, however, the process can beused to pirate software from the App Store, which is against the law. Concern over piracyis one of the main reasons Apple has fought the practice of jailbreaking. In addition to music content, Apple's censoring of the word"jailbreak" also extends to officially approved software for iOSdevices. Jib Cranes Manufacturer

For example, a two-dimensional platform shooter game inwhich players must escape from a prison is now listed in iTunes as"J*******k.". China Wire Rope Hoists