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Source: http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/21134540/vp/49176371#49176371
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Wednesday, September 26, 2012
Mexican report describes out of control, self-governed prisons
A report by Mexico's human rights commission said Mexico's prisons are plagued by overcrowding, lack of guards, and the omnipotence of prison gangs and drug cartels.
A tunnel that was allegedly used by inmates to escape from a state prison in Piedras Negras, Mexico, that took place on Sept. 17. Mexico's human rights commission cited major problems with Mexican prisons, saying 60 percent are controlled by criminal elements.
AP Photo
EnlargeSix out of 10 Mexican prisons are "self-governed" by prison gangs or drug cartels, according to a report issued Monday by the country's human rights commission.
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Commission representative?Andres Aguirre?said at a news conference that?Mexico's prisons also are plagued by overcrowding, a shortage of guards and corrupt employees who sometimes help with breakouts.
Aguirre said 60 percent of the country's 430 prisons or jails are controlled by criminal elements.
He added that the escape of 521 inmates over 14 incidents since 2010 - often with the help of corrupt prison officials - constitutes a grave problem for the country.
Earlier this month, more than 130 inmates escaped from a prison near the U.S. border in Piedras Negras, Coahuila, one of numerous mass breakouts tied to organized crime in the past few years.
Initial reports indicated the Piedras Negras inmates escaped through a 23-foot-long (2.9 meters) underground tunnel, but it was later revealed that they had merely walked out the facility's front door with the help of prison guards.
"A good number of (Mexico's) prisons feature similar conditions to those at Piedras Negras," Aguirre said.
Overcrowding of the country's prisons and jails is another problem facing the national penal system.
As of July,?Mexico's overall prison population stood at 48,872 inmates, or 25 percent above the system's official capacity.
Mexico?also faces a shortage of prison guards relative to international norms, Aguirre said.
The commission's findings are a reminder of the challenges that await?Enrique Pena Nieto,?Mexico's incoming president, who has pledged to reduce crime in the country after six years of increased gang-related violence under President?Felipe Calderon.
Reporting by Lizbeth Diaz; Writing by David Alire Garcia; Editing by Bill Trott
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B2B Social Media Marketing & Community Building Insights from ...
Determining why your company should engage in a social media plan is one of the first and most important steps.? Working towards the ?what? without the ?why? can result in wasted time, money and set a B2B marketing program off track.
Next up in our B2B marketing innovation interview series is Mack Collier, a well known and respected social media strategist and trainer specializing in helping companies better connect with their customers via social media.?Mack is also the force behind #BlogChat, the largest organized chat on Twitter.
In this interview, Mack dives into four things brands can do to cultivate and connect with fans, as well as well as three basic questions every marketer should ask themselves before embarking on a social media marketing program. He also offers sage advice on B2B innovation and tools.
Please tell us about you and the kind of B2B marketing work you?re most excited about.? Solve any tough ones lately?
The thing that really excites me about blogging, social media, content marketing, etc. is that I think we are getting back to the idea of creating marketing communications that can also create value for our customers. ?I think we are getting away from the days when you ?win? the sale by simply banging customers over the head with your commercial 15 times, to creating content that also creates value, which helps build connections as well as your expertise.
What are the essential starting points small businesses should consider when employing social media marketing and blogging in the B2B space?
I think the most important starting point for a small business or ANY business using social media or starting a blog is to answer this question: ?We are using social media because we want to ________.?
Too many businesses start using social media without asking themselves WHY they want to start using social media. ?(Hint: ?Cause everyone else is? is NOT an acceptable answer) ?Once your business can fill in that blank, then you can craft a social media strategy that actually helps you reach that goal.
There?s a common association that it?s tough to come up with new B2B marketing ideas, but as you know, innovation exists within B2B as much or more as it does with consumer marketing ? just in different ways.? What?s your process for coming up with new and innovative ideas for your B2B marketing efforts?
It?s tough for most businesses to come up with ANY new marketing ideas. ?But I think that?s often the case because businesses view their new marketing effort as ?How is this going to help us stand out?? vs ?How is this going to help us create value for our customers?? ?I think the growing trend of embracing content marketing is really helping businesses to review the idea of creating value via marketing, which I think is awesome.
An essential part of building a business online is to attract and engage a community.? What are your most practical tips that companies and brands should consider for connecting with and cultivating fans?
There are four things that brands can do to cultivate and connect with their fans:
- Be a part of the audience they want to connect with. ?Look at the world through the eyes of your customers. ?How does Harley Davidson do market research? ?By jumping on their Harleys and going for a ride on the weekend with their customers. ?The brands that do the best job of connecting with their fans look at their world the eyes of their most passionate customers.
- Embrace your fans. ?The biggest mistake most brands make when it comes to their fans is that they leave them alone. ?Your fans are special people that WANT a deeper connection with your brand. ?Reward that desire and look for ways to build a deeper connection with them.
- Focus on the ?Bigger Idea? behind your brand. ?Don?t focus on your product or service, focus on what your customers do with your product. ?For example, in its content Patagonia focuses on issues that are relevant to its customers, such as sustainability, protecting the environment, and being active outdoors. ?This approach makes its products more relevant to its customers.
- Look for ways to shift control to your fans. ?If you want to make your marketing more relevant to your customers, make sure it is spoken in a voice that they can understand and relate to; Their own. ?I?m not talking about simply crowdsourcing your marketing, but understanding your customers, and giving them input into the direction of your brand. ?Remember that your fans WANT to be heard by your brand. ?They want to know you are listening, and if you show them you are, that only validates their love of your brand.
Developing a solid B2B marketing plan takes research, and understanding of the customer goals, pain points and journey.? What are some of the most common myths or mistakes you?ve seen with B2B marketing planning?? Any tips on how to be more successful??
One of the great things about the rise of social media and digital communications tools is that it makes it far easier for engaged businesses to better learn about and understand its customers. ?There?s an exponential increase in content being created by?well everyone, and that content can be distilled down into valuable customer insights for the businesses that are willing to put in the legwork.
I think one of the biggest mistakes B2B companies can make is to form a picture of who their customers are based on outdated or incomplete information. ?Leverage these new social tools as a way to better understand and segment your customers to improve your marketing efforts and make them more effective and efficient.
With all the hype in the business marketing media, it?s tempting for companies to chase trending B2B marketing tactics like visual marketing or social networking.? How do you decide what the right B2B marketing tactical mix is for companies that you work with?
I think all companies really need to focus on their available resources and do NOT fall for the ?shiny object syndrome? and start using whatever the ?hot? social media tool or site of the month is. ?I think it goes back to asking and answering three basic questions:
- Who are we trying to reach?
- What are we trying to accomplish?
- What are our resources?
Let your goals define the tools you will use, not the other way around.
Companies that are in search of business growth with limited resources can often close part of the gap with tools.? What tools do you recommend for B2B marketers (or marketers in general) to get more out of their online content and social media investments?
Well I hate to give advice on which tool is best because I think that your goals/resources/audience defines the tools for you. ?But, when it comes to social media, I think right now there are two main tools to look at for B2Bs:
- Blogs. ?I will always love blogs because with a blog you control the content platform. ?That?s huge, and it allows you to create content that search engines love.
- LinkedIn. ?It?s simply more business-oriented, and there?s a higher probability that you can find key decision-makers and cultivate a relationship with them.
Now in general, it?s impossible to ignore Facebook simply because it?s userbase is so massive. ?If you are a business operating in the tech sector, it might be worthwhile to investigate Google Plus as well.
Please share your advice for other B2B marketers out there on how they can be more innovative.
In general, I think we all tend to overthink marketing. ?I think it all goes back to understanding who we are trying to connect with and how we can create communications that are valuable for them. ?For B2C brands, that might be less about the product and more about how customers will use the product and what they will do with it. ?For B2Bs, the idea is the same, its more about how another business will use your product or service to more effectively and efficiently run its business. ?I think a good starting point is to ask yourself ?What business problem does our product or service help solve?? ?Create marketing that focuses on the direct benefit for businesses.
Thank you for your insights Mack!
If you?re looking for even more insight on making your business more innovative, be sure to attend a recap of the first day of the conference on #BlogChat on October 4th.? Mack will also be participating in the One-on-One (Marketing) Therapy on the topic of blogging for attendees looking for a little more input from an industry expert.
Also be sure to check out the TopRank session on 360 degrees of optimization with search and social media marketing:??Integrating Content, Search & Social to Optimize the Funnel? ? Friday, October 5th at 8:15am.
We?ll be releasing an eBook soon that?s chock full of B2B Marketing Innovation tips from B2B marketing champions like IBM, SAP and Silverpop, so be sure to check back!
What?s your best B2B Marketing Innovation tip?
We would love to hear from you. ?Share your best?B2B marketing innovation tip?by Wed 9/27 and you will have a chance to win two of the best books on content marketing:?Content Rules?by Ann Handley and C.C. Chapman and?Optimize?by Lee Odden (hey, that?s me!).
?
Source: http://www.toprankblog.com/2012/09/b2b-marketing-innovation-mack-collier/
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Tuesday, September 25, 2012
"End of Watch" Breaks Tie, Wins Weekend Box Office at $13.2 million
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Source: http://news.yahoo.com/end-watch-breaks-tie-wins-weekend-box-office-194650214.html
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Businessman Sentenced to 11 Years for Real Estate Investment Scam
Francis X. Sanchez, 52, Woodstock, Illinois, was sentenced in federal court by U.S. District Judge Philip G. Reinhard to 136 months in prison for conducting a $7 million fraud scheme.
The defendant co-owned and operated a business in McHenry County known as InvestForClosures. On May 3, 2012, Sanchez pled guilty and admitted that he had fraudulently obtained more than $7 million from InvestForClosures? investors.
According to Sanchez?s plea agreement, InvestForClosures purportedly bought distressed houses, rehabilitated those houses, and sold the houses for a profit. Sanchez admitted in his plea agreement that he solicited people to invest in InvestForClosures by making various misrepresentations, including: (1) their investments would be safe because they would be backed by real estate; (2) InvestForClosures used the majority of their investors? funds to purchase real estate; and (3) because of the business? efficient cash flow from buying and selling houses, InvestForClosures had never failed to make an interest payment on time or return an investor?s principal when requested.
These representations were false because: (1) the business did not own sufficient real estate to secure all of the investments; (2) the business did not use the majority of investor funds to purchase real estate, but instead used most of the investors? funds to pay other expenses, including the salaries of the defendants, and to pay Ponzi-type interest to prior investors; and (3) InvestForClosures was not making enough money from property sales to pay the interest owed to the investors, but was instead using cash received from new investors to pay the prior investors with Ponzi-type payments.
Sanchez further admitted that, in order to conceal from the investors his false promises and misrepresentations and to prevent the investors from demanding the return of their principal, he told the investors that he was developing an exclusive, luxury residential community in Mexico known as the ?Sands of Gold.? Sanchez solicited his investors to purchase lots at Sands of Gold and to invest additional monies for the Sands of Gold project.
Sanchez admitted that he made several misrepresentations to his investors regarding Sands of Gold, including: (1) the government of Mexico had promised to invest millions of dollars in infrastructure necessary for the development of the Sands of Gold; (2) efforts to obtain financing for the project were going well and a financing deal was imminent; (3) he was finishing negotiations with a major hotel chain for the construction of a hotel at Sands of Gold; and (4) a major accounting firm had agreed to do the accounting work necessary so that the business could go public.
During the course of the scheme, Sanchez fraudulently obtained more than $9 million from the investors. Of this amount, approximately $1,711,711.18 was paid back to the investors through Ponzi-type payments. In addition to sentencing Sanchez to prison, the court also ordered him to pay more than $7.8 million in restitution to the victims of his crime.
Sanchez?s business partner and co-defendant, James D. Bourassa, 55, Gilberts, Illinois, pled guilty to mail fraud on February 27, 2012. Bourassa was sentenced on June 11, 2012, to 51 months in federal prison.
The case was investigated by the Rockford Office of the Federal Bureau of Investigation, the Chicago Office of the United States Postal Inspection Service, and the Illinois Secretary of State?s Securities Department. The investigation was conducted under the auspices of the Financial Fraud Enforcement Task Force, which includes representatives from a broad range of federal agencies, regulatory authorities, inspectors general, and state and local law enforcement who, working together, bring to bear a powerful array of criminal and civil enforcement resources. The task force is working to improve efforts across the federal executive branch, and with state and local partners, to investigate and prosecute significant financial crimes, ensure just and effective punishment for those who perpetrate financial crimes, combat discrimination in the lending and financial markets, and recover proceeds for victims of financial crimes. For more information on the task force, visit: www.StopFraud.gov
The sentencing was announced by Gary S. Shapiro, Acting United States Attorney for the Northern District of Illinois; William C. Monroe, Acting Special Agent in Charge of the Chicago Office of Federal Bureau of Investigation; Thomas P. Brady, Postal Inspector in Charge of the Chicago Division of the U.S. Postal Inspection Service; and Illinois Secretary of State Jesse White.
The government was represented by Assistant U.S. Attorney Scott A. Verseman.
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U.S. says complied with WTO ruling on Boeing subsidies
GENEVA (Reuters) - The United States said on Monday it had complied with a ruling ordering it to withdraw unfair subsidies to Boeing as tit-for-tat exchanges flared up in the world's largest trade dispute.
The World Trade Organization (WTO) found in March that the U.S. planemaker had received billions of dollars in unfair aid, following an earlier ruling against European support to Airbus.
The United States and the European Union (EU) cannot agree on the severity of the ruling against subsidies to Airbus, which the United States says far outstrip any U.S. government support for Boeing
The U.S. Trade Representative's office said it had met a September 23 deadline to comply with the WTO's findings in a case brought by the European Union in response to the first claim launched by the United States more than seven years ago.
"USTR has been working extensively over the last six months with all of the government entities affected by the March 23, 2012 ruling in this case - including NASA, the Department of Defense, the State of Washington, and the City of Wichita - to ensure full compliance with the United States' WTO obligations," the government agency said in a statement.
The EU's executive Commission, in response, said it needed to check that the U.S. had taken the necessary action to end the subsidies.
"In March this year, the WTO ruled that billions of dollars of subsidies to Boeing were illegal, and the U.S. were given until today to bring those to an end. We will now immediately review their compliance package to check whether the U.S. have taken the necessary steps to end these subsidies and their adverse effects," EU Trade spokesperson John Clancy said in a statement.
The United States has targeted government loans to Airbus, which it says helped the European planemaker compete unfairly to replace Boeing as the world's largest commercial jetmaker.
The European Union says Boeing
Both sides now claim to have complied with the respective WTO rulings, while the United States has accused the EU of failing to fall into step with the WTO decisions and is threatening up to $10 billion in sanctions.
Boeing said Airbus and its government backers had "thumbed their noses" at the WTO. Airbus is owned by EADS
"Despite a crystal clear ruling against launch aid subsidies, European governments have continued the practice by providing Airbus with billions of taxpayer euros and pounds for its next new product, the A350," Boeing said in a statement.
"What is more, the European governments have yet to remove the very substantial subsidies, including those propping up the A380, which the WTO's ruling in June of last year requires them to do."
After a legal battle that dates back seven years, most observers expect the United States and the European Union will eventually negotiate a settlement to end the row, but warn it could rumble on for years more amid further bickering.
EADS, is now in merger talks with British arms maker BAE Systems Plc
(Reporting by Tom Miles; Editing by Susan Fenton)
Source: http://news.yahoo.com/u-says-complied-wto-ruling-boeing-subsidies-094244086--finance.html
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Monday, September 24, 2012
Money in politics: Big oil's ties to Washington
A report from the National Wildlife Federation?highlights the role it says oil companies play in U.S. politics, stating energy companies are influencing legislation in favour of oil, natural gas and coal policies, according to OilPrice.com
Speaker of the House John Boehner, R-Ohio, meets with reporters on Capitol Hill in Washington in this September 2012 file photo. Boehner received nearly twice as much financial support from donors tied to the energy sector than did the next-closest recipient, according to the National Wildlife Federation.
J. Scott Applewhite/AP/File
EnlargeU.S. Rep. John Boehner, speaker of the House of Representatives, received nearly twice as much financial support from donors tied to the energy sector than did the next-closest recipient, a report from the National Wildlife Federation finds. The 20-page report highlights the role it says oil companies play in U.S. politics, stating energy companies are working behind the scenes on Capitol Hill to influence legislation in favour of oil, natural gas and coal policies. The NWF report finds that the current 112th U.S. Congress has voted one out of every five times against legislation drafted in favour of environmental issues.
Skip to next paragraph OilPrice.comoffers extensive coverage of all energy sectors from crude oil and natural gas to solar energy and environmental issues. To see more opinion pieces and news analysis that cover energy technology, finance and trading, geopolitics, and sector news, please visit?Oilprice.com.
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Boehner, R-Ohio, in a press conference this week, spoke out against a stagnant unemployment climate in the United States. The U.S. Labour Department, in an early September report,?showed?the unemployment rate dropped slightly in August to 8.1 percent, down 0.2 percent from its July level. That's the 43rd consecutive month, however, that the unemployment rate was above 8 percent, the longest period since World War II. The House speaker said this was a sign of President Barack Obama's failure to lead.
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On Friday, Boehner led the House of Representatives in?passing?the so-called Stop the War on Coal Act, a measure that would block the Environmental Protection Agency from regulating greenhouse gases. It's unlikely to pass through the Senate.
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"We?re the Saudi Arabia of coal and the president wants to shut down coal production and the use of coal in the United States so that we can export it to our economic competitors around the world,"?said?Boehner in a statement. It's a jobs issue, he said.?(More from Oilprice.com:?Ignore the Political Optimism, the Planet is in Trouble)
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The?report?from the NWF, released on the eve of the House vote, finds that Oxbow Corp., a private company focused on mining and marketing of coal, natural gas and petroleum, donated more than $80,000 to Boehner's campaign since 2010. The NWF explains that Oxbow was founded by William Koch, whose twin billionaire brothers are among the largest corporate financiers of the U.S. Congress. According to information NWF gathered from The Center for Responsive Politics, energy companies like Oxbow gave more than $814,000 to Boehner's campaign during the current Congress.
The NWF's report, however, is non-partisan in its effort to showcase the energy sector's monetary influence over U.S. politics. Sen. Joe Manchin, D-W.Va., who serves on the Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee, ranked No. 2 on the NWF's list. Manchin, ahead of Friday's vote in the House,?said?it was clear that "the EPA has overstepped its bounds" in terms of action that could target the coal industry. Of the top 10 lawmakers listed in the NWF report, however, Manchin is the only Democrat and received $480,050 compared to Boehner's $814,060.?(More from Oilprice.com:?Japan Steps Away from Nuclear Power)
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The NWF states that the House of Representatives, led by Boenher and his fellow Republicans, voted 109 times since the start of 2011 to weaken environmental laws or some of the safety regulations in the oil industry.?
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Larry Schweiger, president and CEO of the NWF, said the report provides a "behind the curtains" look into U.S. politics.
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"America has been losing ground in the climate fight, and much of this is due to gridlock within our political system," he?writes. "The resulting inertia is sustained by oil, gas, and coal companies that have spent more than a billion dollars on campaign contributions, public advertising, and lobbying in the past two years alone."
Source:?http://oilprice.com/Energy/Crude-Oil/Big-Oil-Funding-U.S.-Politics.html?
The Christian Science Monitor has assembled a diverse group of the best energy bloggers out there. Our guest bloggers are not employed or directed by the Monitor and the views expressed are the bloggers' own, as is responsibility for the content of their blogs. To contact us about a blogger, click here. To add or view a comment on a guest blog, please go to the blogger's own site by clicking on the link in the blog description box above.
Source: http://rss.csmonitor.com/~r/feeds/csm/~3/TeeL4vHmUco/Money-in-politics-Big-oil-s-ties-to-Washington
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