Obama lavishes campaign-trail praise on soldiers (Daily Caller)

President Barack Obama poured one compliment after another onto an audience of soldiers Dec. 14, and even came close to endorsing the Iraq campaign that he has denigrated since 2003.

?You are part of an unbroken line of heroes spanning two centuries ? from the colonists who overthrew an empire, to your grandparents and parents who faced down fascism and communism, to you ? men and women who fought for the same principles in Fallujah and Kandahar, and delivered justice to those who attacked us on 9/11,? Obama declared at Fort Bragg, the North Carolina base of the U.S. 82nd paratroop division.

If that wasn?t enough, Obama also told the soldiers that ?unlike the old empires, we don?t make these sacrifices for territory or for resources.?We do it because it?s right.?

Media coverage of the event downplayed the extent of Obama?s scripted praise for the experienced soldiers. Neither the Washington Post nor the New York Times, for example, included the statements quoted above.

The flattering message was a remarkable 180 degree turn from his earlier description of soldiers as victims dependent on social-welfare and medical services offered by the Democratic coalition.

?Nothing concentrates the mind like a re-election campaign,? said Eliot Cohen, director of the Philip Merrill Center for Strategic Studies at Johns Hopkins University.

Obama?s speech was pitched to soldiers, veterans and their spouses, as well as the many Americans who doubt his respect for the military. It was delivered in swing-state North Carolina, which he which he won by a very narrow margin in 2008.

The speech included a mixture of unfamiliar praise for the soldiers? professional accomplishments alongside a familiar list of welfare benefits offered to soldiers? families by the Democratic coalition. (RELATED: Full coverage of Barack Obama)

First lady Michelle Obama began the event by touting some of the spending programs and benefits supposedly arranged by the president.

?Businesses are hiring tens of thousands of veterans and military spouses?. [Obama] has taken unprecedented steps to improve mental health care,? she said. ?He?s cut taxes for businesses that hire a veteran or a wounded warrior.? And he has kept his promise to responsibly bring you home from Iraq.?

Obama?s text commingled praise and promises, saying ?on behalf of a grateful nation, I?m proud to finally say these two words, and I know your families agree:? Welcome home!?

He downplayed his opposition and that of many Democrats to the Iraq campaign. ?It was a source of great controversy here at home, with patriots on both sides of the debate,? Obama said, ignoring his fellow Democrats? bitter claims that Republicans supported the campaign by lying over chemical and biological weapons, and because they wanted to get at Iraq?s oil or aid Israel.

In fact, the campaign opened a second front in the war against al-Qaida?s jihadis, ended a 12-year economic embargo on Iraq, removed a brutal dictator, recruited Muslims to kill al-Qaida?s gunmen in Iraq and established the basis for a democracy in an Arab country. The cost to the United States was more than 4,500 dead, 30,000 wounded and at least $500 billion.

Obama also cited President George W. Bush?s ?surge? counter-offensive in 2007, without mentioning Bush or his own opposition to the successful operation.

Like in many other speeches, he played up the promise of federal spending for needy soldiers. ?We will help our wounded warriors heal, and we will stand by those who?ve suffered the unseen wounds of war,? he declared. ?We?ve worked with Congress to pass a tax credit so that companies have the incentive to hire vets. ?And Michelle has worked with the private sector to get commitments to create 100,000 jobs for those who?ve served.?

?The Democratic Party has had a much easier time talking about supporting the military with more entitlement benefits? than recognizing its professional accomplishments, said Peter Feaver, a politics professor at Duke University.

The emphasis on entitlements ?has been the Democratic Party?s way of exorcising the Vietnam War?s ghost, when they got tagged [by the public] with being anti-war and anti-military,? Feaver said. ?They wanted to avoid that this time? the solution was to be anti-war but pro-military benefits.?

Neither soldiers nor the public regard the military merely as a welfare case. Throughout much of Obama?s speech, even during his novel and lavish praise for their military accomplishments, the soldiers? reaction was muted.

But most of his speech consisted of unprecedented accolades for the soldiers.

?Those last American troops [not in Iraq] will move south on desert sands, and then they will cross the border out of Iraq with their heads held high? [and we remember] American troops breaking the back of a brutal dictator in less than a month,? he said.

?Your will proved stronger than the terror of those who tried to break it? you stood firm to help those Iraqis who put their faith in the future? Through all this, you have shown why the United States military is the finest fighting force in the history of the world.?

This praise won?t cost him support among his progressive base, mostly because it was given to soldiers as Obama completed his campaign-trail promise to withdraw from Iraq.

Republican politicians, including former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney, say there?s some risk that the troop withdrawal could mean that Iraq?s government will lose the gains earned by U.S. soldiers. But the 2012 election will likely be decided by economic issues.

However, the soldiers and their families will likely remembers Obama?s scripted, teleprompter-carried torrent of compliments, which even channeled the St. Crispins? Day speech in Shakespeare?s Henry V play.

?Years from now? in the quiet of night, you will recall that your heart was once touched by fire,? Obama said. ?You answered when your country called; you served a cause greater than yourselves; you helped forge a just and lasting peace with Iraq, and among all nations.?

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Source: http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/obama/*http%3A//news.yahoo.com/s/dailycaller/20111214/pl_dailycaller/obamalavishescampaigntrailpraiseonsoldiers

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Pet Auto Safety: Safe Restraints for Pets Riding in Cars | Petside

Unrestrained pets can cause more than just a distraction; they can cause serious injuries to the driver and passengers. The safety statistics are alarming; according to a study by the American Automobile Association (AAA), a 35 m.p.h. accident can turn a 60-pound pet into a 2,700-pound projectile. And another recent survey suggests that 61 percent of us do not restrain our pets in the car.

It?s time for a serious mind shift among pet owners. Parents don?t let their children travel in the car without a seatbelt or with their head hanging out the window, and pet parents should follow that same rule for their pets.

Pet Auto Safety: What Distraction?

Chew on this: according to a 2010 study by the Highway Loss Data Institute, distracted driving is the number one cause of driving accidents. This precedes drunk driving, speeding, falling asleep at the wheel and aggressive driving. Distracted driving includes texting, adjusting the GPS, eating and distractions caused by pets.

Interestingly enough, large (more than 50 lbs.) and small dogs (under 20 lbs.) are most likely to travel with their owners. While large dogs often ride in the back seat or cargo area of the vehicle, it is not uncommon for an unrestrained animal?no matter their size? to jump over the seat to get a closer look at the squirrel that just darted across the street or the blonde ?Lassie? walking down the sidewalk. You?ll probably agree that 20-50 plus pounds of excited, squirming, and most likely barking canine fun is way more than most people can handle with their hands free, much less with both hands on the steering wheel.

Unrestrained cats will typically try to hide underneath a seat or worse, under the driver?s feet! What could be more distracting than that?

It?s also not uncommon to see cute lap dogs ?driving? in the laps of their owners. Some assume that since air bags provide protection for humans, they would provide the same protection for pets traveling in the car. But with air bags deploying at an average speed of 200 m.p.h., what cushions the impact of a crash for a human would be a bone-breaking force for an animal. If a front airbag deploys when you have a pet on your lap, the airbag will almost certainly kill the animal. Also, the force of the bag will push the pet into your abdomen, possibly causing human internal injuries.

When choosing the appropriate pet restraint, pet parents have several options. The right selection depends on the breed and size of your animal as well as the type of vehicle in which you will be traveling. Regardless of which pet restraint you choose, keeping a pet safe in the car, as it is with children, is a matter of properly adjusted safety equipment and positioning in the car.?

Pet Auto Safety: Canine Seat Belt Systems

For large or small dogs, one of the safest ways to secure them inside a car is with a canine seat belt system.

Pet Auto Safety: Pet Car Seats

Pet car seats, similar to those used for children, are a viable option for use with smaller dogs.

Pet Autio Safety: Safety Barriers

Vehicle pet barriers are a great way to minimize distraction while you're driving, keeping you and your pets safe. Most auto pet barriers are adjustable and designed to fit in a variety of vehicles while many are made specifically for hatch back cars, SUVs and mini vans.

Pet Auto Safety: Pet Carriers

Pet carriers are an ideal option for traveling with cats and small dogs because they act not only as a form of protection, but also can provide a reassuring space for the pet within the vehicle.????

Pet Auto Safety: Pet Crates

Should you desire the enclosed protection of a pet carrier for your larger dog, a crate may be the most suitable selection.

It is critical that pet owners are aware of and educated about the importance of properly securing pets in a pet crate, by a dog harness connected to a seat belt, or behind a divider to keep the pet in the cargo area of a wagon or SUV.?

A note from the author:

I?m so delighted to be part of Toyota?s Pet Expert Team (P.E.T.), a new initiative launched by the automaker earlier this year. Myself and five other pet experts across the U.S. will be working with Toyota to educate pet parents about the importance of restraining pets in vehicles to save lives?both human and animal.

?Toyota is so serious about this cause that we formed a Pet Expert Team (P.E.T.) comprised of leading pet industry experts throughout the country to offer our customers pet travel safety tips and engage the local community to generate awareness surrounding pet automobile safety,? explained Bob Zeinstra, national manager, advertising, Toyota Motor Sales USA.

For our first assignment, Chilly (my one-year-old Labrador mix) and I set out on a holiday road trip last month, traveling from Tampa to Denver and back in our new, pet-friendly Toyota Sequoia, outfitted with multiple Kurgo pet restraint systems. Along the way, we tailgated at rest stops with fellow pet parents, talked about their travel experiences and we taught them how to ride more safely.

You can review our travel experiences on my blog: http://www.kristenlevine.com/blog/.

Meanwhile, make the rest of 2011 and 2012 the year you drive more safely with your pet and human passengers!

Source: http://www.petside.com/article/pet-auto-safety-safe-restraints-pets-riding-cars

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Polemical journalist and atheist Christopher Hitchens dead at 62 (Reuters)

WASHINGTON (Reuters) ? British-born journalist and atheist intellectual Christopher Hitchens, who made the United States his home and backed the 2003 U.S. invasion of Iraq, died on Thursday at the age of 62.

Hitchens died in Houston of pneumonia, a complication of cancer of the esophagus, Vanity Fair magazine said.

"Christopher Hitchens - the incomparable critic, masterful rhetorician, fiery wit, and fearless bon vivant - died today at the age of 62," Vanity Fair said.

A heavy smoker and drinker, Hitchens cut short a book tour for his memoir "Hitch 22" last year to undergo chemotherapy after being diagnosed with cancer.

As a journalist, war correspondent and literary critic, Hitchens carved out a reputation for barbed repartee, scathing critiques of public figures and a fierce intelligence.

In his 2007 book "God Is Not Great: How Religion Poisons Everything," Hitchens took on major religions with his trenchant atheism. He argued that religion was the source of all tyranny and that many of the world's evils have been done in the name of religion.

The son of a British naval officer, Hitchens studied at Oxford University and worked as literary critic for the New Statesman magazine in London before moving to New York to work as a journalist in 1981. He settled in Washington the following year, initially as correspondent for the left-wing magazine The Nation. He retained his British citizenship when he became an American citizen in 2007.

Hitchens was not one to mince words. In his book on Bill Clinton "No one left to lie to", he called the former U.S. president a "rapist" and a "con man." He once referred to Mother Teresa of Calcutta as a "fanatical Albanian dwarf."

The author of 25 books - including works on Thomas Jefferson, Thomas Paine and George Orwell - and countless articles and columns, Hitchens never lost his biting humor.

"I'm a member of a cancer elite. I rather look down on people with lesser cancers," Hitchens said in an interview with CBS "60 Minutes" aired on March 6, 2011.

In a 2010 interview with Reuters, Hitchens dismissed criticism that he moved from left to right and helped former U.S. President George W. Bush sell the 2003 war with Iraq to the American public with what turned out to be bad intelligence about weapons of mass destruction.

"Saddam was an enemy of the civilized world and he should have been taken out a long time before," Hitchens said of Iraqi leader Saddam Hussein. "I have no regrets about that at all."

The 2001 attacks on the United States by Islamic fundamentalists in hijacked passenger planes made Hitchens ever more critical of the role of religion in the world, and led him to appreciate the merits of American democracy.

"I am absolutely convinced that the main source of hatred in the world is religion, and organized religion," he wrote.

(Editing by Mohammad Zargham)

Source: http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/us/*http%3A//news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20111216/us_nm/us_christopherhitchens

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Santa takes a 'Paws' to pose with pets | santa, point, dana - News ...

MORE PHOTOS ?

Snoopy, a 10-week-old rescued kitten, meets Santa Claus on Saturday as the Pet Project Foundation held its annual "Santa Claws and Paws" photo event to benefit the San Clemente/Dana Point Animal Shelter.

DAVID BRO, FOR THE ORANGE COUNTY REGISTER

Source: http://www.ocregister.com/news/santa-329929-point-dana.html

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Calif. man who killed 25 farmworkers denied parole (AP)

SACRAMENTO, Calif. ? A California man who was once known as the nation's worst serial killer was again denied parole Monday after he admitted his guilt for the first time before the parole board.

Juan Corona said he murdered and mutilated 25 farmworkers four decades ago because they were trespassing in the orchards north of Sacramento, said Sutter County Assistant District Attorney Jana McClung.

Parole officials decided Corona can try again in five years, McClung said after the two-hour hearing. It was Corona's seventh bid for parole from Corcoran State Prison.

Corona previously made incriminating statements to a prison psychologist.

However, "this is the first time that I'm aware of that he made that admission to the full board. He said it was trespassing and they were winos," McClung said. "He just doesn't seem to realize that what he did was wrong."

Corona, 77, has been diagnosed with dementia and mental illness.

No family members of his victims attended the hearing. Prosecutors said Corona targeted victims who had few relatives and likely wouldn't be missed.

"We have had no contact with survivors for two decades now," District Attorney Carl Adams said before the hearing. "The people who he killed were farm laborers who were itinerant. Most of them didn't have relatives who could be contacted back in the `70s at the time of trial."

Four of the bodies have never been identified. The bodies of 14 of Corona's victims were never claimed by family members after they were discovered in 1971.

Corona, a farm labor contractor with a history of mental illness, was convicted of stabbing the men, hacking open their heads and burying their remains near Yuba City, 40 miles north of Sacramento.

He told the parole board he stabbed his first victim with a kitchen knife, shot his second, and killed the rest with a machete, McClung said. However, there is no record of any of his victims being shot, she said, raising questions about whether there was another possible victim or if the shooting was a product of Corona's fading mind.

"He got a five-year denial. ... Part of it was because he at least discussed some of the underlying facts with regard to the commitment offense," said his attorney, Leon Harris III of Bakersfield, declining further comment.

Corona walked unaided into the hearing, but his dementia was evident during his comments, McClung said.

"He was a little bit all over the road," she said. "He did start rambling a little bit."

Corona's first conviction in 1973 was overturned on appeal, but he was convicted again in 1982 and sentenced to 25 concurrent life sentences. He was not eligible for the death penalty because California's capital punishment law had been ruled unconstitutional at the time.

It was the most deadly killing spree in U.S. history, until John Wayne Gacy Jr. was convicted in 1980 of murdering 33 young men and boys in his Chicago home. Gacy was executed in 1994 in Illinois.

Investigators found a machete, a meat cleaver, a double-bladed ax and a wooden club, all stained with blood, in Corona's home, along with a ledger book containing the names of seven of the victims.

Corona is a Mexican national and native of Jalisco, Mexico.

His attorney argued that his age and lack of recent violent acts means he should be paroled, said McClung, who countered that his dementia and apparent lack of understanding and remorse means he is still dangerous.

"The concern could be, would he go out and do this again, because he doesn't seem to have an understanding of what he did the first time," she said.

Source: http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/crime/*http%3A//news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20111206/ap_on_re_us/us_serial_killer_parole

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Rosie O?Donnell Engaged!

Rosie O?Donnell is headed down the aisle again. She recently became engaged to girlfriend Michelle Rounds. Audience members at a taping of The Rosie Show, which tapes in Chicago, were the first to hear the news that Rosie O?Donnell and her lady love Michelle Rounds are engaged. O?Donnell broke the news those in the audience during a commercial break. Her rep later confirmed that the news is true. Last Friday those of us who follow Rosie on Twitter, yes that would be me, saw the TV host send out a tweet that said ?happy ? in love? with a link to her Instagram page that showed a picture of Michelle. The soon to be married couple met at a Starbucks of all places earlier this year. Some of you may recall how O?Donnell admitted that when she first met her now soon to be wife she thought that she was 280years old and heterosexual. Boy was she wrong Rounds is 40-years old and a gay woman, who apparently makes the sometimes controversial comedian very happy. Even though the engagement was announced like a second ago there are already rumors circulating that the couple will tie the knot before Christmas, boy [...]

Source: http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/RightCelebrity/~3/PtgQc22dnsM/

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Snow flurries in New Mexico

ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. (AP) - Wind has turned to snow in New Mexico, as wintery weather shut parts of Interstate 40 for a few hours and caused dangerous driving conditions through Raton Pass.

Forecasters expected the worst of the storm to hit western and central New Mexico Friday night into Saturday.

Meanwhile, strong winds shut down Sandia Peak Aerial Tramway and Silver City was hit with heavy snow.

The National Weather Service says the heaviest band of snow is expected along the Interstate 40 corridor from Vaughn and Santa Rosa to Tucumcari.

Eastbound traffic on Interstate 40 near Sedillo Hill was discouraged due to multiple accidents in the area.

Steady snow was also falling in Tijeras Canyon.

Some areas are expected to see a foot of snow. A winter weather advisory remains in effect until early Saturday.

(Copyright 2011 The Associated Press. All rights reserved.)

Source: http://neheights.kob.com/news/news/102382-snow-flurries-new-mexico

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Merkel: Financial crisis solution to 'take years' (AP)

BERLIN ? German Chancellor Angela Merkel flatly rejected any quick-fix ideas to try to resolve the European financial crisis, telling lawmakers Friday that treaty changes and stricter controls were the only path forward ? and that the process could take years.

Merkel and French President Nicolas Sarkozy are pushing for a reorganization of existing European Union regulations, which they is needed to prevent the eurozone from breaking apart.

In laying out to the lower house of Parliament plans she will take to a Dec. 9 EU summit in Brussels, Merkel insisted the 17 nations who use the euro currency need to take measures to restore market confidence. She added that eurozone financial regulations had been violated too frequently.

"The German government has made it clear that the European crisis will not be solved in one fell swoop..." she said. "It's a process, and this process will take years."

She reiterated her objection to so-called eurobonds, telling Parliament that jointly backed government debt across the eurozone is no solution.

The discussion about eurobonds "does not contribute to the resolution of the crisis," she said. Instead, she said, the eurozone needs a new "stability union" with stronger fiscal controls and debt regulations.

The German leader said her goal, together with Sarkozy's, is to change European treaties "to avoid a splitting of the eurozone and non-eurozone members," through a strengthening of EU institutions.

Sarkozy called Thursday for "refounding and rethinking the organization of Europe."

___

Associated Press Writers David Rising and Kirsten Grieshaber contributed to this report.

Source: http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/europe/*http%3A//news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20111202/ap_on_bi_ge/eu_europe_financial_crisis

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Boeheim still a coach for US Olympic team

Syracuse men's basketball coach Jim Boeheim, center, enters the Carrier Dome for NCAA college basketball practice, Thursday, Dec. 1, 2011, in Syracuse, N.Y. Federal authorities have searched a locker in the Syracuse University basketball center in their investigation of former assistant coach Bernie Fine, according to a law enforcement official familiar with the case. (AP Photo/Heather Ainsworth)

Syracuse men's basketball coach Jim Boeheim, center, enters the Carrier Dome for NCAA college basketball practice, Thursday, Dec. 1, 2011, in Syracuse, N.Y. Federal authorities have searched a locker in the Syracuse University basketball center in their investigation of former assistant coach Bernie Fine, according to a law enforcement official familiar with the case. (AP Photo/Heather Ainsworth)

Jim Boeheim's spot on the coaching staff of the U.S. basketball team is secure, though the U.S. Olympic Committee is monitoring the child sex abuse investigation of Boeheim's longtime assistant at Syracuse.

Boeheim is the top assistant to Mike Krzyzewski on the team that will play at the 2012 London Olympics.

Asked about Boeheim's status, USA Basketball spokesman Craig Miller said, "Jim Boeheim is a member of the USA Men's National Team coaching staff.'"

The USOC declined comment, though a person familiar with the situation told The Associated Press the federation is following the issue. The person spoke to The AP on the condition of anonymity because of the sensitivity of the situation.

Three men, including two former Syracuse ballboys, have accused Boeheim's longtime assistant Bernie Fine of molesting them as minors.

Fine, who was fired Sunday, has denied the allegations.

Two high-profile Olympic sports have dealt with allegations of child sex abuse in the past two years.

In 2010, USA Swimming was hit by a number of sex-abuse allegations by coaches. More recently, 1984 Olympic gymnastics coach Don Peters was banned for life by USA Gymnastics after being accused of sexually abusing two athletes in the 1980s.

Over the past 18 months, the USOC has increased efforts to ensure safe environments for children who participate in Olympic sports.

The federation adopted a task force that encouraged the national governing bodies to adopt standardized policies to prevent abuse. It also hired an attorney to serve as the director of ethics and safe sport.

Boeheim was on the U.S. coaching staff in 1990 and returned in 2006.

Because Boeheim does not fall under the USOC's umbrella until the Olympic team is officially named, the USOC does not consider his status on USA Basketball to currently be its issue.

Meanwhile, USA Basketball officials say the federal investigation of Fine doesn't affect Boeheim's status in their organization, but that they, too, continue to keep an eye on developments.

Advocates for sex abuse victims have said Boeheim should resign or be fired for his adamant defense of Fine when the allegations first surfaced and for verbally disparaging the accusers.

"Based on what I knew at that time, there were three investigations and nothing was corroborated," Boeheim said earlier this week "That was the basis for me saying what I said. I said what I knew at the time."

Associated Press

Source: http://hosted2.ap.org/APDEFAULT/347875155d53465d95cec892aeb06419/Article_2011-12-02-BKC-Syracuse-Fine-Investigation/id-43547f17cd354ea69fb29ed553f91e92

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Katherine Heigl Hates Balls! (Funny or Die Video)

Katherine Heigl Hates Balls! (Funny or Die Video)

Actress Katherine Heigl has stripped down in a strange photo shoot for IHateBalls.com, a website that promotes neutering pets. The actress has joined the campaign, [...]

Katherine Heigl Hates Balls! (Funny or Die Video) Stupid Celebrities Gossip Stupid Celebrities Gossip News

Source: http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/stupidcelebrities/~3/bGXscSi30FM/

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Franchising Basics: Franchise Business Model Introduction

The business model of franchising has been called one of the greatest ever developed. Its popularity has to do with its proven track record of success, and the relative ease in which people can become franchise business owners.? Franchising contributes a sizeable amount of dollars to the U.S. economy, and some of the data that I?ll be sharing with you here will bear that out.

It used to be that folks would graduate from college, land a well-paying corporate job, and move up the ranks in the company until it was time to retire. Those were the days?.

Today, people are graduating and landing corporate jobs, but they?re finding themselves out of that job 4 years later. ? ?(According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, the median number of years that wage and salary workers had been with their current employer was 4.4 as of January 2010.)

Is it any wonder that we?re seeing more and more people take a serious look at other career alternatives, including franchise ownership?

What is a franchise?

A franchise typically involves the granting by one party (a franchisor) to another party (a franchisee) the right to carry on a particular name or trade mark, according to an identified system, usually within a territory or at a location, for an agreed upon term. The franchisee is granted a franchise license to use the franchise company?s trademarks, systems, signage, software, and other proprietary tools and systems in accordance with the guidelines in the franchise contract.

Not only must you run the business according to the operations manual and the franchise contract, but you must pay them an upfront franchise fee (license fee), and ongoing royalties.

The average franchisee fee ranges from $25,000 -$35,000, although some franchise fees can go well over $100,000, as in the case of what?s called a Master Franchise. In a Master Franchise, like Jan-Pro Cleaning Systems, one buys the rights to an entire area, and it?s usually based on population.

The royalties are usually based on a % of gross sales. Royalties range anywhere from 4%, like over at Batteries Plus, a retail storefront type of franchise, all the way up to 9% as in the case of MRINetwork, an executive recruiting franchise.

Some franchisors like Fantastic Sam?s, a hair salon franchise, charge a flat monthly royalty fee.

In addition to royalties, franchisees usually pay into a national monthly advertising/marketing fund, which amounts to 1-2% of gross sales.

How big is franchising, as an industry?

According to a report put out by the IFA (International Franchise Association), franchising is huge. As of 2005;

• There were 909,253 franchised business establishments in the United States.
• Franchised businesses provided more than 11 million jobs, or 8.1 percent of the national private-sector workforce.
• Franchised businesses supplied an annual payroll of $278.6 billion, or 5.3 percent of all private-sector payrolls in the United States.
• Franchised businesses produce goods and services worth $880.9 billion per year, or 4.4 percent of private-sector output in the United States.

(Go to the IFA website to see the full report.)

Differences Between a Franchise Opportunity And a Business Opportunity

They?re both really ?business opportunities.? A franchise business provides a detailed, step-by-step, business ?blueprint.? There are very specific rules that must be followed, including the use of approved signage, and marketing materials, hours of operation, etc. Franchisors also provide ongoing support to their franchisees. Franchising is also highly regulated, and there are a lot of things that a franchisor must do to legally set it up.

A non-franchise business opportunity also provides a ?blueprint,? but it?s usually not as detailed. ?There just aren?t as many rules, when compared to a franchise. The actual contract that you?re given to review prior to signing a business opportunity type of business may be one to two pages in length. Franchise contracts are 20 to 40 pages long.

A good example of a business opportunity would be a mall kiosk type of business. The kiosk owner is provides with a pre-packaged set-up including the actual kiosk, the inventory, and preferred methods to make sales. In addition, there are no ongoing royalties, as with a franchise. Most of the time, pure business opportunities have a much lower investment than a franchise business.

One reason for this is that once someone buys a business opportunity, the support provided by the business opportunity seller is very limited in most cases, as opposed to a franchisor, who must invest in an infrastructure that can handle the ongoing needs and contractual obligations of its franchisees.

About the Author

Joel Libava, The Franchise King,? is the President of Franchise Selection Specialists Inc, and is the Small Business Trends franchise expert. He?s just completed a much-needed book for future franchise owners called, ?Become a Franchise Owner!?

Connect with Joel Libava:

?

Source: http://smallbiztrends.com/2011/12/introduction-to-franchising.html

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Video: Where is D.B. Cooper?

>>> the 40th anniversary of his disappearance, dozens of amateur sleuths have made it their personal crusade to find out what happened to d.b. cooper .

>> could have landed anywhere in there. see the kind of terrain he to come down?

>> jerry thomas has been hunting for cooper 25 years, deep in the woods in washington state .

>> you get a general idea in here what he has to negotiate.

>> the army veteran believes the thick, rugged terrain could have played a role in the hijacker's fate.

>> bottom line, not experienced enough or prepared for the terrain in which he jumped in.

>> thomas doesn't think cooper survived.

>> very good reasons to believe he lived, because we've never found a body in 40 years.

>> i feel he -- he very much survived it.

>> over the years, dozens who have tried to crack the case and now on the 40th anniversary, these amateur sleuths are comparing notes.

>> if he's out there, no way he can't come to this event.

>> on saturday, jeffrey gray, author of "skyjack" held the first ever cooper s eer symposium in portland.

>> all because a guy passed a note that said, miss, i have a bomb. i'd like you to sit by me.

>> reporter: the hijacker took over the flight from portland to seattle. his demand? $200,000 and a means to escape.

>> four parachutes, two backups, two primaries.

>> reporter: his demands met, the hijacker, who bought the ticket under dan cooper , freed passengers and instructed the flight to take off and fly south. the entire crew was in the cockpit. he the cabin to himself. at one point, they get a warning light to tell them that the rear exit had been opened. cooper walks down these stairs, opens up the lower ramp, jumps out of the airplane and into history.

>> reporter: he jumped into a cold rainy night into the washington/oregon border. not until some of this money was found eight years later was there any sign of cooper. since 1971 , there have been thousands of tips from those claiming to be or know where d.b. cooper is. another made public on saturday.

>> well, we believe we know who d.b. cooper is. a friend we met back in 1977 . i flew for a whole year before she told us she used to be a man.

>> new theories continue to emerge about the case. reports resurfaced indicating cooper may have been canadian and got the idea from a comic book .

>> dan cooper is a character in a comic book .

>> reporter: this man has been investigating the lead and the possibility that he had access to a rare metal . traces of titanium on a rare neck tie.

>> he probably had a military history , worked in the titanium industry.

>> reporter: as far as motive, cooper's own words are most telling.

>> one fortunate things i found in the files deals direct well this motive. it's right here. it's not because i have a grudge against your airline. it's just because i have a grudge. dan cooper likely was extreme loner, depressed, i believe suicidal.

>> reporter: ralph himlesbach, one of the first fbi agents assigned to the case, believes it's highly unlikely he survived the jump.

>> he jumped out of an airline going almost 10,000 feet, with the air temperature outside the plane 7 degrees below zero . i think of him as being just another sleazy rotten criminal.

>> reporter: regardless of what you believe, 40 years later, these cooper sleuths are determined to solve the mystery.

>> becoming part of the story is what you have to do in order to solve the case.

>> it is a great american mystery. it's like the x-prize. when you throw out a challenge to the public, the public will pick it up and do a good job of trying to solve it.

>> i have a feeling they will try to solve it.

Source: http://video.today.msnbc.msn.com/today/45452330/

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