myavkow: Making Money With a Website

The CNN Washington Bureau’s morning speed read of the top stories making news from around the country and the world. Click on the headlines for more.

WASHINGTON/POLITICAL

For the latest political news: http://www.CNNPolitics.com

CNN: Obama cancels fundraisers amid stalled debt talks

President Barack Obama has canceled two fundraising appearances Monday, a campaign official said, as weekend talks to resolve the nation's debt-ceiling crisis hit a new stalemate. Asian stocks also fell Monday, the first reaction in global markets after congressional leaders and the Obama administration failed to agree on a deal to raise the U.S. debt limit.

CNNMoney: No deal on debt ceiling

Republican lawmakers and [President Barack] Obama have been negotiating for months, looking for a way to both cut spending and raise the nation's legal borrowing limit. Meanwhile, the stakes are getting higher every day.

CNN: Pelosi calls for ethics investigation of Democratic Oregon congressman

House Democratic leader Nancy Pelosi is asking for an ethics investigation of Rep. David Wu of Oregon, who has resisted calls to resign following a news report alleging he made sexual advances toward the daughter of a longtime campaign donor. The allegations against Wu, a seven-term Democratic congressman, were published Friday by The Oregonian newspaper in Portland.

CNN: Bachmann links Pawlenty to Obama

After repeated attacks on her record from Republican presidential rival and fellow Minnesotan Tim Pawlenty, Michele Bachmann hit back Sunday, vehemently contrasting her record in Congress with his as governor.

CNN: 2012ers hit the road

2012 Republican presidential candidates are traveling this week, mostly in early presidential-contest states. Here's a look at where they're headed.

NATIONAL

For the latest national news: http://www.CNN.com

CNN: First New York couples wed under new same-sex marriage law

A city official married the first couple in New York City to wed under the state's new law allowing same-sex marriage Sunday. Phyllis Siegal, 76, and Connie Kopelov, 84, were married in a chapel at the city clerk's office as a crowd of onlookers cheered. Hundreds of same-sex couples heard the news Friday that they made the cut in the marriage lottery that New York state instituted for Sunday, the day that the state's Marriage Equality Act took effect.

CNN: Hotel maid goes public with allegations against ex-IMF chief

The maid who accused former International Monetary Fund Chief Dominique Strauss-Kahn of sexually assaulting her in a New York City hotel room has ended her months-long silence and gone public. Nafissatou Diallo, whose credibility has been questioned by Strauss-Kahn's lawyers and prosecutors, spoke to Newsweek magazine for an article posted on its website Sunday. She also conducted an interview with Robin Roberts of ABC News, which is set to air Monday on "Good Morning America."

CNN: NFL optimistic lockout will end as players meet over deal

An end to the NFL lockout may be imminent as a committee of league players is scheduled to meet Monday in Washington to consider an offer by club owners. A larger group of player representatives is on standby in case the 13-man executive committee votes on the deal, the NFL said Sunday on its website. If accepted, the deal would end the the lockout that started in March.

Wall Street Journal: Summer Cuts Launch Lunch Scramble

When schools in California and elsewhere closed for the summer to save money, educators expressed worries about the academic consequences. Now, many warn of low-income families losing the government-paid, and generally healthy, meals served there. Such low-cost alternatives as pasta and cereal served at home can contribute to childhood obesity, say advocates.

Arizona Republic: Obama administration debating care of U.S. national forests

The Obama administration is crafting a new plan to manage the nation's 155 national forests, including six in Arizona, for the next 15 to 20 years. …The U.S. Forest Service says the new plan, due by year's end, is urgently needed to replace the so-called forest-planning rule written in 1982 during the Reagan administration. That rule, which emphasized using the forests for logging, does not reflect the latest science on climate change and how best to protect wildlife and water, the Forest Service says.

INTERNATIONAL

For the latest international news: http://edition.cnn.com

CNN: Man accused of Norway terror attacks set to appear in court

A man who authorities say confessed to Norway's terror attacks is expected to make his first court appearance Monday, when, according to his attorney, he wants to "explain himself." The court appearance comes as authorities continue to search for possible victims of Friday's bombing in downtown Olso and a mass shooting at a political youth retreat on Utoya island. At least 93 people were killed and 96 were wounded in the attacks.

CNN: Europe's resurgent far right focuses on immigration, multiculturalism

The far right in Europe has enjoyed a renaissance over the past 30 years, driven by resentment of the growing powers of the European Union and by rejection of the "multiculturalism" that has accompanied rapid immigration from the developing world.

Washington Post: U.S. trucking funds reach Taliban, military-led investigation concludes

A year-long military-led investigation has concluded that U.S. taxpayer money has been indirectly funneled to the Taliban under a $2.16 billion transportation contract that the United States has funded in part to promote Afghan businesses. The unreleased investigation provides seemingly definitive evidence that corruption puts U.S. transportation money into enemy hands, a finding consistent with previous inquiries carried out by Congress, other federal agencies and the military.

Bloomberg: Greece Credit Rating Cut Three Levels by Moody’s

Greece’s sovereign credit rating was cut three steps by Moody’s Investors Service, which said the European Union’s financing package for the debt-laden nation implies “substantial economic losses” for private creditors. Greece’s long-term foreign currency debt was downgraded to Ca from Caa1, the ratings company said in a statement in London today.

CNN: Egypt's revolution at 6 months: 'We can't go back'

Six months after the improbable revolt that toppled one of the world's longest-serving rulers, protesters are once again camping in Cairo's Tahrir Square to demand speedy change. …The result is a revolution that remains incomplete, with the coalition that formed in Tahrir Square splintering over different visions of a post-Mubarak future. But few dispute that the uprising launched on January 25 has changed an ancient nation in a fundamental way.

BUSINESS

For the latest business news: http://www.CNNMoney.com

CNNMoney: Stocks: Big week ahead

Strap in for an eventful week in the markets. The debt ceiling clock is ticking and politics is strangling policy in Washington. At stake: The creditworthiness of the United States. Meanwhile, the end of the week will bring an important report on the economy: The first official reading on growth in the second quarter - a period when the recovery lost steam.

Houston Chronicle: Big Oil expects big profits, drivers’ anger over gas costs

Big Oil is expected to report another round of big profits this week after sharply higher crude prices during the second quarter helped boost their bottom lines, but few Americans are likely to celebrate the achievement. …Analysts said companies likely received the biggest boost in the April-June period from higher oil prices, which averaged $102.34 a barrel, up from $78.05 a barrel in the second quarter of 2010.

Detroit Free Press: Earnings are key as auto talks open

In the days ahead, the Detroit Three will report their second-quarter financial results and kick off national labor talks with the UAW. …The Detroit Three are likely to report combined profits of more than $4 billion, before one-time charges, despite the challenging economic backdrop of the last three months.

In Case You Missed It…

A Civil War battle commemoration provides a small Virginia town with an economic boost. CNN's Brianna Keilar reports.

http://www.cnn.com/video/#/video/us/2011/07/24/keilar.reenactment.economy.cnn

Jaeson Parsons made a lot of money on 9/11. His trading desk at Refco in Chicago bet huge when no one else would.

“We quoted the market more than 50 ticks wide,” Parsons said. “It was unheard of, but everyone was scared and no one was willing to put their jobs or their money on the line.”

Check out the Graffiti of War >

With their corporate headquarters across the street from Ground Zero, Parsons' team lost several friends that morning. It was the pain of this loss, combined with the unstoppable thrill of making money, that caused a fissure of guilt to form in Parsons. As the U.S. war on terror commenced, he continued making money and the guilt only grew.

“Volatility provides earning opportunities for market makers,” Parsons says.

"In other words, the harder this war was to our troops, the more unrest, the higher the profits. And that didn't sit well with me. It was unspoken for sure, no one said it out loud, but I couldn't take the silence anymore.”

Parsons was going through a divorce when he gave notice. His bosses and co-workers told him he was having an early mid-life crisis. Thinking there was more to it than that, he enlisted in the Army as a combat medic and went off to Fort Knox for basic training in late June 2005. He was 27.

He served for four years, before an injury put him in an Army hospital where he was told he could accept a staff position or get out. His days as a medic at an end, he opted out. “I loved being a medic, but I got too attached. Too much empathy is not a good quality in a combat medic.”

It is a quality that caused him to carry the missions--and the friends he lost--around with him after coming home. His VA psychiatrist diagnosed him with Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) and suggested he find a hobby, something to take his mind off the killing.

He enrolled at college in West Virginia, his new wife’s home state. He began studying business, but his thoughts lingered on the doctor's suggestion.

Recalling some artwork on the Jersey barriers back in Iraq, and encouraged by his new wife Melissa and fellow veterans, Parsons contacted publishers to see if there was interest in a coffee table book on the Graffiti of War left by almost a decade of fighting. Maxim assured him that there was.

The artwork is ubiquitous in and around U.S. bases in the theater. From Sharpy drawings inside Porta-Potties, to unit sponsored art work with a company motto's and crests, the t-walls and Jersey barriers designed to thwart attack proved the perfect spot to paint.

By March 2010, Parsons had partners, a publisher, and a website. He began collecting donations to pay for a trip back to Iraq for more pictures. By spring 2011, he’d raised about $4,000 toward the $15,000 expedition.

Once he received approval from U.S. Force commanders in Iraq, he used his student loans to cover the difference and spent a month in Iraq shooting more than 2,500 images.

“Iraq looked the same, smelled the same and tasted the same,” Parsons says, “but it was all different. The Iraqis are doing everything now. Our guys just seem bored.”

It’s a shift that’s being received differently depending on the soldier. “Guys on their first deployment are disappointed, guys on their fourth tour are just grateful they’re in air conditioning,” Parsons says.

Attacks were up in June as the U.S. prepares for a full withdrawal. Parsons says commanders there told him the increased attacks are an effort by Iraqi militants to make it look as if they’ve forced the U.S. out of the country after the scheduled withdrawal.

As local forces take over responsibilities from the U.S., the graffiti is also changing. Local nationals are being encouraged to paint their own murals to promote esprit de corps -- putting a new face on the military enforcement.

As it becomes easier for Iraqi forces to paint, it's getting more difficult for U.S. servicemembers. "There are signs everywhere." Parsons says, "Even in the Porta-Potties they say it's illegal to deface government property and can result in prosecution."

Work from locals and U.S. servicemembers will be included in the book, the release date of which has yet to be announced. “I want this project to help others with PTSD as much as it’s helped me,” Parsons says. “My goal is to donate half of all profits to groups that support post-traumatic veterans.”

Parsons is planning a trip to Afghanistan next year.

surface encounters reviews url

Friday, July 29, 2011

Making Money With a Website

Check out the Graffiti of War >

No comments:

Post a Comment