Zombie Economics: A Guide to Personal Finance | ZombieSlam.com

I *almost* ignored this one completely when it first showed up on the shelves.? Then I gave Zombie Economics a second look.? (No, it wasn?t JUST because my pocket book has recently lightened)? My expectations were that I would find another heavy reading, boring, and information-bogged personal finance book that I would inevitably discard after 5 pages.

So what is this all about really?? It IS an information heavy personal finance book, there is no getting around that fact.? The difference is in the way it is presented.? Not only does it make fun of and fun out of finance (and more importantly, zombies and the apocalypse!) but it sets itself apart by being a bold approach to living within your means.

The friendly and approachable reading means that this book does well for many different age groups, manages to grab the attention of both adults and teens, and manages to teach even me, a bit about personal finance.? (Me! Virtually unteachable!)? I recommend this for teenagers just staring jobs, university students, and adults that are so sunk in they can?t see the light of day.

Zombie Economics: A Guide to Personal Finance
By: Lisa Desjardins & Rick Emerson
Publisher: Avery Trade
Buy The Book:
Paperback
Kindle

Source: http://zombieslam.com/2011/07/zombie-economics-a-guide-to-personal-finance/

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Retirement Planning ? Are You Investing in the Right Places ...

After buying our own home, the savings we make for our retirement are probably the biggest investment we make. The trouble is, unless you?re fortunate enough to own a crystal ball that actually works, what happens to your money whilst it?s waiting for you to retire is often left in the lap of the gods.

Most of us know that we should be investing for our retirement but there are so many other demands on our money that our retirement pot is either neglected or the decision is made on the basis of promises that we hope are true.

A lot of pension schemes are put into stocks and shares. The logic for this is that ? over time ? they go up in value. Whilst that is true, it hides a lot of things.

Individual shares can go down in price as well as up. You?ve read the warning at the bottom of the advert and thought (or hoped) that the firm selecting the shares for your pension pot will be OK.

If you take the time to actually study the charts, you could be in for a shock.

An awful lot of pension fund managers ? likely including yours ? underperform the market.

And that?s before they start charging you for the privilege of doing so.

Keeping with stocks and shares, most people would be better off using a tracker fund than an actively managed fund. The charges are significantly lower and by its nature the fund will do roughly as well as the index it is tracking.

Bonds are another option for your retirement investment. They?re not as ?sexy? as shares and don?t pay as high a commission, so they?re not pushed as much.

As with shares, not all bonds are created equal and the rate of interest they pay will vary because of this. As a general rule, the higher the interest rate relative to other bonds, the riskier the investment. Not even government debt is safe ? it?s not unheard of for countries to default on their debt ? so keep this in mind if you decide to go down this route for your retirement investment.

Property is another option that a lot of people choose for their pension fund. Like shares, property tends to rise in value over time. But it also has its ups and downs, so timing can be critical.

Whilst shares usually pay out income in the form of dividends, property costs money to maintain: ground rent, utilities, rates and other taxes. But it can also be rented out which should at least contribute to these costs.

You need a good advisor if you decide to use property for your retirement fund. Ideally, you should choose someone who knows the property market you are considering entering. UK residents should also make sure that the investment you are considering is covered by the Inland Revenue?s rules (other countries will have similar conditions) so that everything is legal and above board.

The important thing for your retirement planning is to ensure that you?ve actually spent some time considering what you?re investing in and also that you carefully monitor your retirement plans ? what seemed like the best thing since sliced bread a decade ago may be less glittery now.

Retrieved from ezinearticles

Source: http://pennystocks-towatch.org/retirement-planning-are-you-investing-in-the-right-places/

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Libya rebels launch assault on gateway to Tripoli (AFP)

ZINTAN, Libya (AFP) ? Libyan rebels launched a promised assault on a key gateway to Tripoli early Wednesday, attacking positions just 50 kilometres (30 miles) from the capital, an AFP correspondent reported.

Buoyed by controversial French arms drops and intensified NATO-led air strikes on the regime's frontline armour, the rebels attacked positions in the Gualish area, in the plains north of their enclave in the Nafusa mountains southwest of Tripoli.

After a retreat from around the plains town of Bir al-Ghanam last week, spokesman Colonel Ahmed Omar Bani had pledged on Saturday that the rebel army would soon try to push the front line northwards.

"In the next two days, the (revolutionaries) will come up with answers. Things will change on the front line," he said.

A rebel leader from the hilltown of Zintan said the rebels had coordinated their assault with NATO.

"We waited before launching this assault and finally got the green light from NATO this morning and the offensive began," the rebel leader said.

There were intense exchanges of artillery, mortar and cannon fire between the rebel fighters and government troops dug in around Gualish, the AFP correspondent reported.

NATO-led warplanes flew over the battlefield but there were no immediate air strikes.

Source: http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/africa/*http%3A//news.yahoo.com/s/afp/20110706/wl_africa_afp/libyaconflictnafusarebels

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NEA Passes Teacher-Evaluation Policy, With a Catch-22 on Test ...

posted by Loki on Jul.5.2011 at 1:37 pm

July 4, 2011

Stephen Sawchuk | Education Week

The National Education Association just approved a policy statement on teacher evaluation theoretically permitting use of standardized-test scores as one measure of teacher performance?but the union?s leaders underscored that no existing standardized tests currently meet the criteria for inclusion spelled out in the policy.

The move was urged by the union?s leaders as a way of putting forth a coherent vision for the place of evaluations in promoting teacher effectiveness. It amends all the union?s current resolutions dealing with teacher evaluations, support, and due process.

As Teacher Beat reported earlier, the union?s board of directors put many qualifications on the use of test scores in teacher evaluations even before delegates got a whack at the proposal.

In introducing the proposal, NEA Secretary-Treasurer Becky Pringle made it clear that the NEA?s main focus is on teacher improvement. ?The decision is whether we will define a truly high-quality evaluation and accountability system that honors our profession,? she said.

Given that no existing tests currently meet the requirements as stated, she said the union would engage in ?ongoing work to ensure they are created.?

On the convention floor, delegates added a few additional amendments. Let?s take a look at them:

? Objective evaluators must now ?be agreed to by the local affiliate,? which would, for example, not permit evaluators like the district-hired ?master educators? used by the District of Columbia?s IMPACT teacher-evaluation system.

? On tenure-granting (or as the union calls it ?career status?), the original proposal said that teachers after receiving two ?meets? or ?exceeds? ratings on evaluations should earn tenure. But the final version says tenure should be granted for a good evaluation ?at the end of their probationary period.?

? On top of all the other requirements, standardized tests used in evaluations would now have to be ?developmentally appropriate,? too.

Strong statements both pro and con during the debate on this item. Here?s a delegate from Michigan, speaking on behalf of his state?s delegation:

?It is disturbing that the largest labor union in the U.S., the largest teachers? union 3.2-million members is flipping on this position. ? Standardized tests narrow our curriculum. Standardized tests are not an accurate measure of teacher performance or student achievement.?

And here?s Ken Swanson, president of the Illinois Education Association, speaking on behalf of the union?s board of directors, in favor of adoption:

?We act on many things every year at the RA. Some are somewhat trivial, some are important, some are profound. But occasionally we act on something that fundamentally charts the course of the organization and fundamentally changes the national debate about public education. This is one of those items. This is a change to get off of defense and start playing offense. ? Now it the moment, now is the opportunity. ? It is time to act. It is time for us to talk about what makes for effective teaching and effective evaluation.?

An interesting subtext also emerged during the debate. A few education support personnel were not happy that the statement does not reference how they should be evaluated.

Source: http://www.nje3.org/?p=5485

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China pledges to boost restive west's development (AP)

BEIJING ? The governor of China's restive western region wants to boost its economy by further opening it up to external trade and investment, state media said Monday, the eve of the second anniversary of the region's worst ethnic violence in over a decade.

Gov. Nur Bekri said he would promote Xinjiang's foreign trade and economic cooperation with neighboring countries, work on establishing special economic zones in the cities of Kashgar and Horgos and attract domestic and foreign investors, the China News Service said.

China's leaders believe faster economic development will reduce ethnic tensions in Xinjiang, and its efforts resemble those already under way in also tense Tibet. Xinjiang is China's Central Asian frontier, bordering Pakistan, Afghanistan, Russia and other countries, and was long a gateway, the region crossed by the Silk Road caravan routes that sent Chinese silk to the Middle East and Europe.

Bekri said further expanding trade and economic links was key to Xinjiang's long-term stability, the official Xinhua News Agency said.

He urged the region to participate more in international cooperation and competition in economic and technological areas, it reported.

Xinjiang remains tense after deadly clashes erupted between predominantly Muslim Uighurs and Han Chinese migrants in 2009. Uighurs attacked Hans, overturning buses and torching shops in the regional capital of Urumqi in a riot the government says killed 197 people.

In the aftermath, hundreds were arrested and about two dozen sentenced to death. Many other Uighurs remain unaccounted for and are believed to be in custody.

Uighur activists say the riots, which were followed by retaliatory attacks by Han people, were the result of decades of pent-up frustration with Chinese rule.

China's leaders say all ethnic groups are treated equally and point to the billions of dollars in investment that has modernized the strategically vital region with significant oil and gas deposits. Many Uighurs say they suffer discrimination in jobs and cannot get loans and passports, while many Hans see the Uighurs as a privileged minority with government jobs and university places reserved for them in Xinjiang.

Dilxat Raxit, spokesman for the Germany-based World Uyghur Congress, said official pressure on Uighurs continues to intensify and accused the government of using Bekri's remarks in the state media to "distort the worsening situation."

"The monitoring and investigating of Uighurs is strengthening. Racial discrimination is further increasing," he said, warning that "China's systematic policy of repression is fueling the emergence of new local unrest."

Source: http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/china/*http%3A//news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20110704/ap_on_re_as/as_china_xinjiang

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Why drinking green tea?

Some people ask. Why should drink green tea, is not this one of those horrible taste?
Green tea is no different in taste to other drinks such as regular tea and coffee. You can make great mixes, and you can get all these horrible way, and like all the drinks you do not like, and those who do it.

The advantages of looking for a brand or type it is worth. Some say that the mixture found in your supermarket or hypermarketcurrent example, but an expert will tell you that the place to get your power from a Chinese supermarket, or a good health food store.

It was the Chinese and Japanese green tea is popular there, and it is estimated that the drinks for 4000 years as a health drink were, and to treat things such as headaches and depression.

More recent research has been done on green tea, and the results show a significant difference to people's healthwho have tried it. Some studies have shown that antioxidants in green tea may be useful to a number of diseases. These include cancer, Alzheimer's, Parkinson's, multiple sclerosis, and lowering cholesterol. It is also believed that the ability to convert to convert into body fat, and energy, so that means losing weight, too.

Lowering cholesterol reduces the likelihood of blood clots, which in turn reduces the risk of heart attacks andStokes. When you consider how many people are going through cardiovascular overweight it makes sense, a green tea that suits you for their own health benefits found.

Now I am not a medical person, and I'm not very qualified to give you a recommendation, but if you have the wealth of information about the benefits of green tea regularly certainly worthwhile out of the way to start taking it. A report that was for me was sick with cancer, and how it reduced tumorswere present in the body, and also contributed to the spread of cancer.

To limit the amount of money that each year is spent be considered medically useful things such as cancer, Alzheimer's, Parkinson's, multiple sclerosis, heart attack, stroke, and a good number more, it's almost worth telling about your life insurance, your doctor or insurance broker ask if they offer you a discount if you drink green tea. (If you do not ask, do not get)

A good place to read aboutGreen tea has on Wikipedia.com, which give an unbiased view on the benefits, and an interesting article, was all the different kinds of tea in the from.

Source: http://drink-cooking-supplies.chailit.com/why-drinking-green-tea.html

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Quiksilver, MSG Action Sports Claiming New York As Surfin' Turf ...

When people think of surfing, the places that immediately come to mind are Hawaii, Australia and Southern California.

Quiksilver is trying to add Long Beach, NY, located about 30 miles east of New York City, to that list.

The Quicksliver Pro New York, scheduled for Sept. 1- Sept. 15, is expected to draw more than 25,000 people who in turn are expecting to see the best of the three ?B? atmosphere that comes with surfing: boards, brew and babes.

As to whether or not the waves will be tough enough to make people temporarily forget about Manhattan Beach and Long Beach, California, the field is expected to include most of the 35 top-ranked men and women surfers in the world competing for a $1 million prize purse.

The two-week event will be supported by action sports demos, live music from more than 45 bands, films and other ?fashion and cultural events.?

According to Bob McKnight, CEO for surfing and action sports equipment, swimwear and clothing company Quiksilver, ?We are beyond excited to host the biggest pro surf event in the world on Long Island this September. There has always been a huge contingent of dedicated surfers and surf enthusiasts on the East Coast and they will now get a chance to watch the world?s best surfers in Long Beach.

?We are also bringing the best and brightest Quiksilver, Roxy and DC athletes to New York . . . for 12 days of surf, skate, BMX, fashion, art and music that will bring incredible global attention to these phenomenal athletes and the action sports culture and lifestyle,? said McKnight.

As the first Association of Surfing Professionals World Tour Pro Surf competition on the East Coast, it has already attracted significant marketing support. MSG Action Sports said it would partner with Quiksilver to make MSG Networks and national music network Fuse the official broadcast partners of the event.

MSG Networks will telecast live and live-to-tape surfing action, including the quarterfinal, semifinal and final rounds. Additional programming from the festival will air daily on both MSG Networks and Fuse during the competition and will also include live and live-to-tape daily segments showcasing the surf competition, BMX, skate and Motocross athletes and exhibitions, as well as contest highlights, athlete interviews, action sports exhibitions, daily concerts and cultural events.

Marketing includes a 30-second spot, print, radio, outdoor, Internet focusing on social media sites Facebook, Twitter and YouTube.

MSG Action Sports had its official unveiling in June with ?Air in the Square,? a BMX and skateboarding competition in Times Square on June 16. It featured a 195-foot-long MegaRamp ASA Triples course that featured a 25-foot-high roll-in ramp, two 25-foot-wide jumps and a course-ending 14-foot-high quarter pipe.

According to McKnight, ?The newly launched MSG Action Sports group will elevate awareness for our industry?s athletes and events in New York City and throughout the U.S., and their understanding of sports, music and television production will be a great asset to promoting our sports and lifestyle.?

Source: http://thebiglead.com/index.php/2011/07/05/quiksilver-msg-action-sports-claiming-new-york-as-surfin-turf/

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