Egyptians fear decades of Muslim Brotherhood rule, warn Morsi is ...

AFP / Getty Images

An Egyptian man delivers a speech as protesters gather in Cairo's landmark Tahrir Square on Friday to protest against a decree by President Mohammed Morsi granting himself broad powers that shield his decisions from judicial review.

By Richard Engel, NBC News Chief Foreign Correspondent

News Analysis

TAHRIR SQUARE, CAIRO -- This was the place where the revolution began: the roundish square where Egyptians celebrated Mubarak's fall.

This is where they are shouting on bullhorns again, outraged because they say the Muslim Brotherhood has stolen the revolution and is railroading though a constitution that could lock in Muslim Brotherhood rule for 50 years, bringing more Islamic law. They cry -- not against Islam -- but that an extremist interpretation is being forced down their throats by a president who critics say is acting every part the tyrant. ?

This is also a warning, they claim, of what may happen across the Middle East. The era of the Muslim?Brotherhood appears to have arrived. President Obama has hailed the Brotherhood's President Mohammed Morsi as a pragmatist who helped end the Gaza crisis. Egyptians here think the Brotherhood has conned Washington, just like it conned them.

Christians, liberals left out as Islamists back Egypt's draft constitution

"President?Obama is supporting a terrorist," a man told me amid chants of "Leave! Leave!" in Tahrir Square and "Down, down with the rule of the Muslim Brotherhood's spiritual leader." Before, it was "Down, down with Mubarak."

---

Morsi's decree divides Egypt
Egypt was torn in half just over a week ago when Morsi made himself more powerful than Mubarak ever was, and the kings before him. Morsi declared himself above judicial oversight, his decisions final and unassailable. He made himself, according to critics, a new pharaoh on the Nile. Imagine if, after five months in office, an American president announced that he could pass any law he pleased regardless of Congress or the U.S. Supreme Court. Imagine if he said his decisions were final and inspired by God.

After issuing a decree making himself more powerful than the courts, Egyptian president Mohamed Morsi has sparked a wave of anger ? some of which is directed toward the United States. NBC's Richard Engel reports.

Morsi last night apologized for the power grab and said he didn't want the extra authorities, but that they were necessary for the good of the people and to safeguard the revolution. Dictators always say stuff like that. Burn down the village to save it.

At first Egyptians were shocked that Morsi would make such an obvious and, according to Egyptian judges, blatantly illegal move. It's clear now, as some analysts have long feared, that the brotherhood is making sure it doesn't lose power again by taking control of Egypt's constitution. The Brotherhood wants to write the rules of the game. Now they've done that too.

PhotoBlog: Dueling demonstrations in Cairo

Protected by the president's new-found supreme and unquestionable powers, Morsi ordered his Islamist allies to finish writing the constitution and get it on his desk by the end of this week. They did it, even though many independent legal experts, Christians and opposition politicians boycotted the drafting process. The Brotherhood called the new constitution "a jewel." Many Egyptians say it leaves too much room for the implementation of Shariah law. ?

The constitution also empowers the people and government with a duty to uphold moral values, a vague clause that could pave the way for vigilante morality police. The constitution barely mentions protecting women's rights. According to women who were originally involved in the drafting process, and who subsequently left because they felt they were being ignored, clauses specifically demanding that women be protected from violence and sex trafficking were dropped because Islamists feared it would conflict with their desire to allow child brides.

ANALYSIS: Crisis tests Egyptians' constitution

The constitution has long been the Muslim Brotherhood's lodestar and, in the past, they have been willing the kill for it. In 1954, not long after a group of 'free officers' carried out a coup against the British-backed monarchy, a Brotherhood assassin tried to kill President Gamal Abdel Nasser. Nasser, a leading free officer, favored a mostly secular, pro-military constitution. The Brotherhood, an Islamist group that supports the return of Arab and Islamic unity and the revival of ancient Muslim glory and Shariah laws, couldn't accept the new rules.

Ahmed Youssef / EPA

18 days of popular protest culminated in the downfall of Egyptian president Hosni Mubarak on Feb. 11, 2011.

The Brotherhood's assassination attempt failed. The gunman's eight bullets, fired while Nasser was giving a speech in Alexandria, all missed. The Brotherhood was banned. The group went underground, at times tolerated but more often repressed by Nasser's successors: presidents Mubarak and Anwar el-Sadat. When the revolts started against Mubarak, the Brotherhood saw that fate had given them another chance.

Muslim Brotherhood's calculated rise to power
Looking back now, it all seems so obvious, yet many Egyptians refused to see it coming. In fact, many of the secular revolutionaries backed the Brotherhood, arguing they were better allies than the hated military. The Brotherhood played its cards well.

The Brotherhood was late to join the anti-Mubarak revolts in 2011. When students and liberals initially occupied Tahrir Square, it looked like it might be a passing thing. The Brotherhood either didn't appreciate its significance, or wanted to wait to see who was winning.

I remember watching the Brothers march into the square. They arrived in a large group of perhaps five hundred. Nearly all were men. Many had beards. Most were dressed in poorly cut dark suits. They occupied a corner of Tahrir near a Kentucky Fried Chicken. They came with microphones and wood to build a platform. The other protesters in the square seemed happy to have the support of the new arrivals.

Egypt's Morsi, top judges compromise to defuse soaring tensions over decree

The protests continued to grow. Labor unions went on strike. The military enacted a coup against Mubarak. President Obama withdrew his support for Washington's long-time Arab friend. And Mubarak the president was no more.

The Brotherhood first said it wouldn't seek the new presidency at all. It promised to exist solely as an influential member of civil society. Back then, many Egyptians feared the Brotherhood. It was a semi-secret group. It had a small office in a Cairo apartment building with a sign on the door the size of an index card. Mubarak-era officials had often described the Brotherhood as a group of terrorists. One security official I know called the Brotherhood the most dangerous group in the world. But in the heady 1960s-like days after Mubarak's resignation, the Brotherhood's bad reputation only seemed to give the group more credibility. They'd been oppressed by the man. It was a new day. Everyone, it appeared, deserved a new beginning.

Tens of thousands of protesters gathered in Tahrir Square Friday to denounce Egypt's President Mohamed Morsi and the draft constitution his Islamic allies approved earlier in the day.

The Brotherhood went to work. It organized its considerable finances. It built a big new headquarters with far bigger signs on the doors. It sent its representatives around the world, especially to Washington, on a charm offensive. We've been oppressed, they claimed. We were slandered by a tyrant. We're not what you've heard. We can unite the Sunni world against Iran. We can help bring Israeli-Palestinian peace. There were many promises of a great future.

Even then, the Brotherhood's focus on the constitution was clear. The Brotherhood insisted the constitution be drafted only after a new president was elected. The military was overseeing a transition back then. The Brotherhood argued that the military couldn't be trusted to oversee the creation of such an important document. Many Egyptians agreed -- a decision some sorely regret today.

NBC's Ayman Mohyeldin discusses the current unrest in Egypt

Morsi won the election by a narrow margin and then five months into his term, made himself a dictator and ordered his Islamist friends to quickly finish the constitution. Morsi has said he'll drop his extraordinary powers as soon as the constitution is approved in a referendum in December. Islamists are convinced they'll be able to use their grassroots network of activists to win the referendum like they won the elections. Western diplomats tend to agree.

Yet the United States has remained mostly silent on all this, urging both sides to stay calm and work it out. Washington's policy seems to be that what's going on is simply democracy in progress as Egyptians learn to use their new rights.

But in Tahrir Square people seem convinced the Brotherhood isn't testing its fledgling wings. They say Morsi knows exactly what he's doing, Washington be warned.?

More world stories from NBC News:

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Source: http://worldnews.nbcnews.com/_news/2012/12/01/15578733-egyptians-fear-decades-of-muslim-brotherhood-rule-warn-morsi-is-no-friend-to-us

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Trailers In Motorcycle Travel

Are you ready for your motorcycle travel? It is necessary that you should do the proper arrangement to make your journey safe and comfortable. You can use trailers to make your journey awesome. Trailers not only look great, also very helpful in your journey. Motorcycle travel trailers will be used to make your long distance easy because of its facilities. They are lightweight and reasonable. They make your journey comfortable. You can get so many camper products in the market.

• Trailers for Motorcycle Travel ? Two most used camping trailers used are ?


• Mini Mate ? With this camping trailer, there is no need to worry about the things such as tent, fly and poles. 15 cubic feet space is available in this mini mate camping trailer. This will be used to store camping gear. You can also sleep in this camping trailer. This mini mate can also store some bulky items. You will easily install the tent. It?s really very much useful in your motorcycle travel. The tongue weight of this trailer is about20 lbs. This trailer is very comfortable and needful. You can sleep in this trailer easily.


• Roadman Camping Trailers- Roadman camper is one of the best options for the travelers. They give you so many facilities in your motorcycle travel. There is enough storage space in this camper. The width of this trailer is 38 inch and the storage space is 15 cubic feet. This is easy in installation and it takes less time.

Select one of them and make trip comfortable and safe. There are many other things that you should take in your journey. There are so many trailers available in the market. You can get more information about these camping trailers at the Internet. Their price is also given there.?
There are many organizers who offer so many facilities to the motorcycle travelers. Royal Bike Riders offer you the facilities that you needed in your journey. They make the proper arrangement of lodging. They have so many experts in this field. They will give you their advice to make your journey easy and safe. If needed, they also send their bike riders with you. This helps you a lot in your journey. If you want a long journey, they make perfect arrangements for you. They also offer motorcycle travel to different countries. So select Royal Bike Riders for your motorbike travel and make your journey unforgettable, safe and comfortable.

About the Author:
As Motorcycle tour enthusiast and Motorcycle adventurer, this is our main motto to provide memorable and lifetime holidays to our esteemed guest. We select route and trails very carefully that is still unexplored, preserved and hidden on map and we share our passion and adventure for Motorcycle trip and travel.

Source: http://www.articlesnatch.com/Article/Trailers-In-Motorcycle-Travel/4299206

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Murder-suicide with 'sharp-edged weapon' happened during class

CASPER, Wyo. (AP) ? A man wielding a sharp-edged weapon killed one person in a Casper neighborhood Friday before killing a male teacher and himself in front of students in a community college classroom, causing a campus-wide lockdown as authorities tried to piece together what happened.

Police found the suspect and teacher dead at a science building on the Casper College campus, which was locked down for about two hours, school and police officials said. The other victim, a woman, was found in a street about two miles away.

Casper Police Chief Chris Walsh said the murder-suicide took place in a classroom with students present, but he didn't know how many students or what the class topic was.

He said investigators were still trying to determine a motive.

Walsh said an "edged weapon" was used it at least one of the killings, but he didn't offer specifics and it was unclear if the same or a similar weapon was used in all of the deaths.

The attacker wasn't believed to be a Casper College student and it appeared he knew the victims, Walsh said. No names were released.

"We're locating next of kin and working on notification absolutely as fast as we can," Walsh said.

He added authorities didn't believe there was any further threat to the community.

"I want to emphasize that this is a horrible tragedy," Walsh said. "And I want the city to ... just feel safe right now. There is no one at large."

The attack at the two-year community college in Casper, about 250 miles northwest of Denver, occurred just before 9 a.m. in a classroom on the science building's third floor. All students and staff were evacuated from the building.

The college sent out a campus-wide alert via text message and email within two minutes of receiving word of the attack at 9:06 a.m., school spokesman Rich Fujita said. The lockdown ended at about 11 a.m. after school officials received word that police were no longer searching for a suspect, Fujita said.

There are fewer classes on Fridays than any other day of the week at Casper College, so only between 1,500 and 2,000 of the college's 5,000 students were there, he added.

One of them, freshman Pearson Morgan, was in a math class on the first floor of the science building when his instructor relayed the news in a state of shock.

"My teacher was just so sick, he said, 'You can just leave,'" Morgan said.

Morgan walked outside his classroom to find a female student crying. He then turned to see two or three officers with assault rifles bounding up the stairs. Then, all the classrooms emptied and a crush of students carried him outside, but nobody panicked, Morgan said.

"There was a large group of students behind me," he said. "There was a lot of confusion."

Political science instructor Chris Henrichsen said he was showing the film "Frost/Nixon" to his Wyoming and U.S. government class when he stepped into the hall to get something for a student and was told a homicide had occurred on campus.

He went back to his classroom, where students were getting messages about the campus lockdown on their phones.

"We locked the door and waited for further instruction," Henrichsen said.

The students were later sent home, but some who parked near a different campus building where the attack occurred had to leave their cars there, Henrichsen said.

About two miles away, Dave Larsen said he was headed to the gym when he drove past a body in a gutter with two people standing over it, one talking on a cellphone.

Larsen lives about a block from the location of the body, a well-kept neighborhood of mostly single-story houses.

Emergency vehicles had the street blocked off Friday afternoon.

Police provided some details in a news conference streamed live by the Casper Star-Tribune (http://trib.com/).

Walsh said 33 law enforcement officers from different agencies responded to the college after receiving reports of the attack. He said authorities first thought it might have been an "active-shooter-type situation."

"We quickly contained the building and started a sweep through the building," he said.

Walsh said that within minutes of the initial call, there was another report of a traumatic injury about two miles southwest of campus. That victim was found in the street, the Star-Tribune reported.

Classes were canceled for the rest of the day at the school, one of seven community colleges in Wyoming.

A meeting was held in the afternoon for the 150 teachers and students who remained. College president Walt Nolte addressed them, calling it the worst day of his more than 40 years in higher education. He encouraged the community to come together, Fujita said

"It is particularly painful because of our size," Fujita said of the small, tight-knit campus.

Counselors were speaking to students and planned to be available through the weekend. About 450 students live on campus.

Classes were to resume on Monday.

"We agreed it doesn't do any good to just set the students loose. It makes the most sense to have them come back to campus, where they can get help if they need help and come to terms with what happened," Fujita said.

The college plans a candlelight vigil and memorial service on Tuesday.

Walsh said police train for such incidents but had no warning of Friday's violence.

Wyoming Gov. Matt Mead, who went to the campus Friday evening, said it was too early to assess security precautions at the college.

"There's no sense in doing that now until we understand fully what has taken place," he said.

The governor added that the focus now "should be on the victims' family, the community college family, the president, the trustees and the students, and making sure we're attending to any of their needs."

Wyoming's three congressional delegates issued a joint statement lauding responders and expressing condolences to those affected.

"Any loss of life is tragic, especially when it hits so close to home for so many of us," Sen. Mike Enzi said. "What took place today is a reminder to always look out for one another in our communities and neighborhoods."

Casper College opened in 1945 as the state's first junior college and moved to its current site 10 years later. The campus consists of 28 buildings on more than 200 acres. The college provides more than 140 academic-transfer, technical and career programs.

Wyoming has only one four-year university, the University of Wyoming in Laramie, which serves more than 13,000 students.

Casper is Wyoming's second-largest city with a population of about 56,000. Wyoming residents refer to it as the "Oil City" because it's a hub for the state's oil industry.

___

Associated Press writers Ben Neary in Cheyenne and Matt Volz in Helena, Mont., contributed to this report.

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/police-wyo-murder-suicide-happened-during-class-235147631.html

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The Humanities as Sugar Daddy | dagblog

So, the Governor of Florida set up a Task Force on higher education, and they decided that humanities majors should pay more than science majors for a college education. The thinking is that Florida wants more technology grads, and fewer humanities grads, and can get them by making humanities degrees more expensive so that students opt for science, math, and technology instead. They call this approach "market based," but its ignorance of basic economic realities is startling.

One of the hard truths of higher education is that some classes run at a profit and some run at a loss, and that the less-expensive, more-profitable classes are used to underwrite courses that are just as educationally necessary but cost more to run. The larger classes help pay for the smaller ones, the introductory classes help pay for the advanced ones, and the classes in "soft" subjects like English, history, or anthropology help pay for classes in "hard" disciplines like science and engineering.

This seems counter-intuitive to some non-academics who, having internalized the idea that science is where the money is, presume that offering science classes is also more profitable than offering classes on Latin poetry or sociological methods. But it is partly because STEM graduates make more money on average than humanities graduates that teaching STEM courses is more expensive: engineering professors make higher salaries than classics professors. Laboratory science (including computer science, certainly) also requires expensive labs and equipment, while most humanities courses require only a textbook (whose price is borne by the student, not the college). It's true that STEM fields bring in more external grant money, but that grant money largely gets eaten up by the lab facilities you have to build in order to apply for the grants.

The question "how can the humanities pay for themselves?" ignores the fact that the humanities not only pay for themselves but underwrite the sciences too. But ignoring that fact does not make it go away. And if Florida did manage to move a large number of its students out of profit-turning humanities classes into break-even-or-less science classes, it's likely that many public university budgets in Florida will go up in flames pose significant challenges.

Of course, that presumes that they can move students into their math and science classes at all. The "market-based" part of the solution ignores the fact that the Florida schools are actually part of a market. They compete for students with a large number of other schools. Being in a market means that you don't get to set prices unilaterally.

The English majors will simply go somewhere else. This is how markets work. Making a humanities degree pricier won't discourage people from pursuing that degree. It will only encourage them to buy it from your competitors instead of you. If it's too expensive to major in history at the University of Florida, students who want to major in history will either go to a private university or leave the state.

What Florida just decided to do is the equivalent to saying, "I'm tired of customers buying hamburgers instead of lobster. I'm going to make hamburgers twice as expensive as lobster." If you did that, you wouldn't sell more lobster. You'd just lose customers. They would go across the street to a restaurant where lobster was the same price, and burgers much cheaper. On the other hand, the few customers you did have would order nothing but the lobster, which you have to buy at expensive wholesale prices, instead of the ground beef that wholesales for so much less. And your restaurant will go broke pretty quickly, especially if you were already using the profits on all those hamburgers to subsidize the lobster side of the business.

But the Florida idea is ultimately just a newer version of something that's been happening in American universities for decades, as administrators demand a higher and higher profit margin from humanities classes in order to fund other priorities. For at least twenty-five years colleges have been increasing those profits by cutting humanities budgets, trying to spend less and less on those classes while keeping the revenue those courses bring in steady and growing. They shrink the number of full-time faculty in those fields, shift more and more teaching to ill-paid part-timers, and when push comes to shove cut the few subjects in the humanities, such as foreign-language instruction, that require higher overhead. Cutting costs AND upping prices is just an intensification of the normal strategy, busting the piggy bank open at two different ends.

Universities don't cut humanities budgets because the humanities are unprofitable. They cut humanities budgets because humanities are profitable, and schools are trying to squeeze more and more profit out of them. It's one of the few places to make money.? And schools are always hungry for more.

Source: http://dagblog.com/business/humanities-sugar-daddy-15575

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862 - EPR Real Estate News

US Residential Asset Fund, LLC (http://usresifund.com/), implemented a unique strategy by launching as an REO- (real estate-owned) to-Rental fund. Christopher J. Crippen, the Fund?s manager, announced, ?We put together a strategy that allows us to capitalize on the tremendous opportunities available in the REO-to-Rental markets and to support the communities we invest in.

US Residential Asset Fund?s investment strategy is focused on acquiring, renovating, leasing, managing, and exiting distressed single-family properties in multiple U.S. metropolitan areas. Tenants have the option to rent the properties with a ?contract for deed,? paving the road to homeownership for those who otherwise would be lifelong renters. The tenants work with the Fund?s strategic partner, Sagamore Home Mortgage, to resolve their credit challenges, qualify for a mortgage, and purchase the home they are renting.

Mr. Crippen, an industry expert, explained, ?This is really a unique Fund. We can do something good for the communities we invest in, enable our tenants to become homeowners, and provide double-digit returns for our investors. It?s a win-win-win strategy, which is hard to find in this market. I am proud to be a part of it.?

US Residential Asset Fund?was founded by Mr. Crippen, Dana Bradley, Al Espinoza, Patrick Cipolla, and Amos Alexander. Focusing on the $3 trillion single-family rental market, the Fund expects to invest more that $20 million over the next two years, beginning with acquiring assets in the Charlotte, Memphis, and Chicago, MSAs. Phase two acquisitions will be in the Atlanta, Indianapolis, Tampa, Orlando, MSAs.

?My partners, Innotion Enterprises, Inc. (www.innotion.com), and Performance Holdings (http://www.performanceholdings.com/), have been operating in the single-family and REO arenas, and have built a world-class acquisition, renovation, and management platform uniquely designed for these properties,? Mr. Crippen continued. ?We work with Sagamore Home Mortgage to work with our tenants to qualify them to purchase our properties.? Christopher J. Crippen formerly headed Prescient Asset Management?s FDIC ORE Disposition.

Mr. Crippen described how the program works, saying, ?All of our properties are offered as ?rent to own? (RTO) to our tenants. This encourages homeownership in the markets we are investing in. Studies show that RTO tenants take better care of their properties than strictly rental tenants. The benefits are a more secure investment and the ability to give back to the communities in which we invest. It?s a win-win-win situation.?

Via?EPR Network
More?Real Estate press releases

Source: http://www.eprrealestatenews.com/2012/11/30/862/

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Construction Industry Tips: Finance | Factoring

Construction Industry Tips: Finance

If you are in the construction industry and provide business-to-business services, you are likely to come across a few problems which many of your industry associates will have also come across. This can be especially true if you are a small or medium sized firm that often have less finance power than larger counterparts.

The key to overcoming these problems is to know some of the solutions available, as like I mentioned, many companies have already come across these problems and found a way to overcome them in recent times.

Six common problems for the construction industry:

1. Large projects cause cashflow issues as you struggle to pay the significant costs such as those associated with wages and raw materials without first having the cash from the invoice.
2. You are not benefitting from supplier economies of scale discounts like you should be, perhaps putting you at a pricing competitive disadvantage.
3. Banks are slow and unwilling to supply you with a loan or overdraft.
4. You want to expand but cannot afford to pay for the equipment or tools (known as assets).
5. You struggle to find the right kind of employees who can supply you the skills you need for a project and cannot afford to pay the rates for skilled individuals.
6. You would love to train someone up but do not have the cashflow to afford the costs involved.

With construction jobs seemingly being the first thing to be dropped by struggling firms, it can feel like a serious struggle. However, there are a few finance solutions which may help you overcome the common problems which occur within the construction industry.

Common construction Industry cashflow solutions:

Invoice finance ? Invoice finance is a solution which can solve almost many of the problems caused mentioned above. In effect it can completely remove and bypass the dependency on an overdraft. It works by an invoice finance company providing you with a percentage cash advance on your invoice (usually up to 90% of your invoices? value). The invoice is used as the security as the lender knows you should (eventually) be getting the money in, and less risk for them less security is required by you. This can be a very positive point as no one enjoys securing a loan on a family home or premises as banks often ask for.

After you receive the cash advance, you can spend it on whatever you need, whether it is to pay wages, suppliers or to fund for growth (buying equipment for example). You can choose either factoring, where the lender collects the debt from your client for you, or invoice discounting, where you are left to collect the debt yourself. Either way, once the debt is collected, you are given the remaining balance of the invoice (the 10% if you took a 90% advance), minus lenders fees.

To find out more about invoice finance, call our experts on 0845 017 7524 or fill in our short quote form for instant feedback.

Spot factoring ? Spot factoring is a type of invoice finance. This product allows you to pick and choose a few major invoices over the year rather than having all of your business conducted through invoice finance. If you have ten projects to do over a year you may only want to factor one or two project ? with spot factoring this is perfectly reasonable.

If you would like to know more about spot factoring, our experts provide you with no obligation, confidential advice.

Asset Finance ? Growing your business may mean purchasing new equipment and tools, which can come at a hefty price, especially if you want to provide your clients with the best quality service. Asset finance aims to make purchasing equipment affordable and simple. You may want to look into leasing, allowing you to use equipment as you usually would but for a small monthly fee. Alternatively you may want to use a hire purchase agreement where you pay monthly for equipment until the end of the contract, which is when you own it outright. It must also be pointed out that you can re-finance some of your existing assets. For instance, a piece of machinery worth ?50,000 may be worth re-financing as you can receive a cash lump sum of maybe ?40,000 to be paid back monthly for an agreed period.

Find Finance Solutions by being aware and taking action

Construction is often not associated with products such as invoice finance, but it is in fact a product which fits the industry well. Spot factoring helps keep invoice finance a flexible product meaning it can be tailored to most construction businesses. If you suffer from any of the problem within this article and think these products can help you, the first step to solving the problem is to give us a call.

Call our experts on 0845 017 7524 for a no obligation, confidential call.

Alternatively ?fill in a quote form and enjoy a call back from our experts.

We can offer you financial solutions to help keep your cashflow healthy. Request a quote now to find out how much invoice finance can save you.

Request a quote online

Source: http://www.factoring.org.uk/construction-industry-tips-finance

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Fantasy Sports And A New Basketball Season

As the year nears its end basketball players across the country look forward to the start of their season. Rookie players prepare to meet their new teams. Freshly retired players begin looking back on glorious careers. College alumni are getting their school colors cleaned and ready to be worn. Coaches begin designing plays they hope will catch their opponents off guard. Amongst all the preparation one other group is getting themselves geared up for a new season. Fantasy basketball league players are looking over rosters and player statistics in an attempt to find the perfect team. Everyone is working hard to prove they can perform better than anyone else at their favorite sport. Whether running up and down the court, encouraging players from the sideline, or tracking statistics in a fantasy league, they all want to be the best.

Now is the perfect time to begin reviewing scouting reports and look over players' statistics from previous years. If a coach has their players selected early they can easily choose alternate team setups should a key player or two be unavailable due to contract issues, injuries, or the player being drafted by a competing fantasy coach. By selecting players now a fantasy coach can make adjustments before a possible deadline passes and a season is missed.

Fantasy coaches that may miss the start of a season or want more flexibility from week to week can easily find a league that plays their games weekly or daily. For leagues of this type early player scouting can be just as important. Knowing a player's history can show if they tend to peak at the start of the year or hold back their best skills until the playoffs are looming. A tendency for injuries can also be spotted when looking over a player's history.

Exhibition games before the start of the season allow a sneak peek at rookie players sampling the professional level of the game for the first time. These games also allow a fantasy basketball coach a chance to judge how well an experienced player blends with a new team after a trade or contract with a new team through free agency. While most teams don't play their top players before the start of the season, the team members that do take the court can still have an impact throughout the season. They may replace injured starting players, replace someone with too many fouls, or simply take over for a player that is faltering.

There are a number of factors that make for a successful season. This is true for teams playing on the court and those drafted by a fantasy basketball coach. Choosing the right players, watching them as the year rolls by, making trades or benching celebrity players, all of these are important decisions that must be made from the start of the season until the end. Making these decisions correctly can be helped significantly by study and research done now, before the tip-off of the first game of the season.

About the Author:
Fantasy Feud is one of the most popular fantasy sports websites online. They offer a huge number of leagues with great prizes, and you can even click here to get inside information and player updates from their fantasy sports blog.

Source: http://www.articlesnatch.com/Article/Fantasy-Sports-And-A-New-Basketball-Season/4298033

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HBT: Hall odds look slim for Clemens, Bonds

A couple of data points made me think, hey, Bonds? and Clemens? ?Hall of Fame case may not be as bleak as everyone things, but the AP has taken a straw poll, and it?s not all that optimistic:

With steroid scandals still very much on the minds of longtime members of the Baseball Writers? Association of America as they cast their ballots, the trio failed to muster even 50 percent support among the 112 voters contacted by the AP ? nearly one-fifth of those eligible to choose.?Candidates need 75 percent for election.

You figure the AP has better contacts with active writers than those old legacy dudes who get Hall of Fame votes because they covered baseball for a season or two back in the 60s. In my personal experience, active writers would be more likely than older, inactive writers to give Bonds and Clemens the benefit of the doubt, so this does not look promising at all.

Someone get Nate Silver on the horn and boil a pot of coffee. ?We need to get to the bottom of this.

Source: http://hardballtalk.nbcsports.com/2012/11/30/ok-forget-what-i-said-about-bonds-and-clemens-maybe-getting-in-the-hall-after-all/related

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