Florida lawmakers stand by Stand Your Ground law

TALLAHASSEE -- Florida has become a broad national target for its ?stand your ground? law since the July 13 acquittal of George Zimmerman.

The Daily Show mocked Florida as ?the worst state.? A protest group entering its third week staging a sit-in outside Gov. Rick Scott?s office has gained fans in England and Japan. And the law has sparked a rebuke from U.S. Attorney General Eric Holder, who said it may encourage ?violent situations to escalate.?

But while the ?Gunshine State? finds itself in the cross hairs of world public opinion, the lawmakers who approved ?stand your ground? in 2005 have received little, if any, electoral blowback.

?It?s not been a campaign issue,? said Sen. John Legg, R-Trinity, who voted for it as a representative. ?It?s not like homeowners insurance or nuclear recovery costs.?

Current state lawmakers who voted for ?stand your ground? outnumber those who opposed it by a 4-1 margin.

Republicans who approved it are unapologetic. Not one would repeal it now.

?It?s never come up on the campaign trail, pro or con,? said former Sen. Victor Crist, R-Tampa, who now serves as a Hillsborough County commissioner. ?The firearm abolitionists are stirring the pot, using ?stand your ground? as a platform to eliminate guns.?

Democrats are far less unified. When SB 436 was signed by then-Gov. Jeb Bush on April 26, 2005, it enjoyed solid bipartisan support. It passed the Senate 39-0, a tally that included 14 Democrats, such as 2014 gubernatorial hopeful Nan Rich.

?I voted based on what I thought was the intent of the law,? Rich said. ?Obviously, if I knew then what I know about how the law was implemented, I would not have voted for that.?

U.S. Rep. Frederica Wilson, D-Miami, voted for it as a state senator, but in February issued a resolution urging the repeal of ?stand your ground.? At a Miami rally following the Zimmerman verdict, Wilson told a crowd: ?This legislation is so difficult to even decipher what it means. It applies to some cases, doesn?t apply to another case. The Justice Department is confused. The legislators are confused. Everybody?s confused.?

She didn?t return messages asking about her earlier support of the law.

Of the 133 lawmakers who voted for the legislation, 48 hold elected office today. A state representative from Miami became U.S. Sen. Marco Rubio. Eight others went on to Congress, where five still serve. State Sen. Jeff Atwater is Florida?s chief financial officer. State representatives Jeff Kottkamp and Jennifer Carroll ascended to lieutenant governor. Of the 94 representatives who approved it in the Florida House, 16 graduated to the state Senate.

Until the shooting death of Trayvon Martin on Feb. 26, 2012, some hadn?t reconsidered their votes. Sen. Gwen Margolis, D-Aventura, said she had to look up the roll call on the Web to remember how she voted.

?When Trayvon was shot, the first thing I did was check my vote,? Margolis said. ?It didn?t sound like something I voted for, but when I saw it, I was absolutely amazed. It was just one of those things, where it sounded reasonable, but wasn?t.?

Source: http://www.miamiherald.com/2013/07/28/3525665/florida-lawmakers-stand-by-stand.html

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How Better Home and Gardens Interviews Real Estate Agents ...

Our number one recruitment goal is building a relationship with either a new, struggling or a top producing real estate agent. Our goal for asking questions for the new or struggling agent is:

• Will they make it in real estate?
• What are their past accomplishments/work history??Sales experience?
• What is their personality/behavior style?
• The top producing agent is different in the fact that I want to know, what do they like??What do they dislike?
• What are the differences of our company vs. their company?
• What systems will I present to them?

The questions for new agents begin with telling me about his or her last job:

• What did you like and dislike?
• Why have you left, or why are you leaving, and what brings you here today?
• What sales experience do you have in your past, or contact with the public?
• Have you ever had to call people on the phone, or knock on doors to sell anything?
• What expectations are they looking for?

Now with struggling agents (diamonds in the rough) the questions are a little more to the point:

• How many people in your client base?
• How often do you market to your client base?
• How many FSBO (For Sale by Owner)?s have you listed?
• What is your technique when calling expired listings?
• How many hours in a day do you put into real estate?
• What have YOU done to build your real estate business?
• What are you expectations from a real estate company?
• Would you be willing to meet at?8:30?every morning to get your career back on track?

Experienced agents are in a ball game all by themselves. Here are some questions that I ask top producing agents:

• What three things are you looking for if you were to make a move?
• What would you change about where you are now?
• Are you familiar with our PinPoint or target marketing?
• When you take a listing what is your marketing strategy?
• How do you determine who you should market that listing to?
• Would you like to earn more money? How much more? Do you see yourself doing that with your current employer?
• What program do you use to manage your client database?

All of these interview questions ? no matter if it?s for a new, struggling or top producing agent ? are designed for me to find out where they are at. It also lets me see where I can add value to their sales career with the systems that we provide. Building relationships with prospective agents takes planning, patience, and a conviction that we are providing the best product for that agent.

?

Wes Cafourek?is?co-owner of Better Homes & Gardens Real Estate | SOUTHWEST GROUP. BHGRE SOUTHWEST GROUP has 3 locations in Missouri. The home office in Republic, MO and two branch offices in Springfield, MO and Aurora, MO to serve the real estate needs of residents in the Southwest Missouri area.

SmartRecruiters?is?the hiring platform with everything you need to source talent, manage candidates and make the right hires.?

Source: http://www.smartrecruiters.com/blog/how-better-home-and-gardens-interviews-real-estate-agents/?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=how-better-home-and-gardens-interviews-real-estate-agents

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Desalination project hits land hurdle - Real Estate India

??|?? July 8, 2013 ?? 02:32pm ??|Contributed by manoja

VISAKHAPATNAM: The delay in allotment of land by the state government is posing a hurdle to Greater Visakhapatnam Municipal Corporation?s (GVMC) proposed desalination project.

GVMC requires about 20 acres to launch the project at an estimated cost of Rs 80 crore. The corporation, through the project, aims to generate 10 million litres of water per day.

A few months ago, the state government had agreed to allot land along the Bay of Bengal to the corporation. Based on this assurance, the corporation swung into action and entrusted the task of pre-feasibility study to the Andhra Pradesh Industrial and Technical Consultancy (APITCO), which submitted its report two months ago.

However, the corporation is yet to receive a nod from the state government and is thus reluctant to move further and prepare the detailed project report (DPR) for the much-hyped project.

?We received the work order of feasibility study on desalination project from GVMC six months ago. After conducting the study at Singapore, Dubai and even in Chennai in the country, we submitted the report to GVMC two months ago. In that report, we have mentioned that Vizag is viable for the desalination project,? APITCO project associate K Lakshminarayana told TOI.

?Though APITCO submitted the report to us, we are not able to prepare the DPR because the government has not as yet allotted the required land. We will prepare the DPR and go ahead with the project soon after getting the land. We hope that the government will give us the land fast,? GVMC chief engineer B Jayaram Reddy told TOI. GVMC will first build a 10 MLD plant and then go for a 100 MLD plant, he said.

However, official sources revealed that the government is waiting for the clearance of the GVMC merger with its neighbouring Anakapalle and Bheemili municipalities before taking any decision on land allotment for the desalination project.

?GVMC proposed the desalination plant at Bheemili, which is not under its jurisdiction. If the merger takes place, GVMC does not need to depend on the government for the land as it will have the right to the required land in Bheemili, which has vast coastal land along the sea feasible for desalination projects,? a senior GVMC officer informed.

Senior TDP leader K Thatha Rao said that government is once again proving its inability by delaying land allotment to a useful project in the rapidly growing city. ?The city needs such projects to meet the huge gap between demand and supply of water,? Rao said.

http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/city/visakhapatnam/Desalination-project-hits-land-hurdle/articleshow/20808814.cms

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Source: http://www.indianrealtynews.com/other-city/desalination-project-hits-land-hurdle.html

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How does the Twitter followers compare to the Facebook fans?

I understand that these two networks are completely different with each other.

But I'd like to know how does Twitter followers and Facebook fans compare to each other, for example when comparing both in similar situations, equal number of fans/followers with similar demographics, same content and similar subjects, which one would translates to more social visibility?

Source: http://webapps.stackexchange.com/questions/46446/how-does-the-twitter-followers-compare-to-the-facebook-fans

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Photographer Brian Sokol Tells Refugee Stories Through Their 'Most Important Thing' (PHOTOS)

When Mariam Diallo fled her home in Mali after Islamists threatened her for not wearing a full head scarf, she decided to grab her favorite pair of intricate earrings before setting off to a refugee camp: Beyond just being an accessory, they symbolized her freedom.

For others who fled Mali for encampments, the choices they made about what to take with them reveal what is most important -- a piece of carpet was a reminder of home; a turban represented identity and faith. Photographer Brian Sokol has documented these items and their owners for a series called "The Most Important Thing," illustrating the stark choices behind what individual items refugee families take with them when they flee.

The freelance photographer, in partnership with the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees, has taken pictures of refugees from South Sudan, Syria and Mali. Sokol hopes to raise awareness for the world's estimated 45.2 million refugees, a number that is at a 19-year high, according to the UNHCR.

In the below photos shared by Sokol with The Huffington Post, he photographed Malian refugees who fled south to a displacement camp in Burkina Faso.

Agade Ag Mohammed, 71, and his family fled Mali after their relatives were kidnapped and killed. He said his "Most Important Thing" was a walking stick, which supported him on his journey.

?I was so tired and scared on the journey that if I heard the wind whistling through a water jar, I would shrink in terror,? he told Sokol.

Refugees began fleeing Mali, a nation of almost 16 million in West Africa, after Taureg rebels took over northern areas of the country in March 2012, but were then pushed out by Islamic extremists. They enforced their dominance with public executions, amputations and other acts of violence, the Associated Press reported.

Sokol said he's had stones and curse words in countless languages cast his way, but the most inspiring thing he witnessed was the general sense of fortitude and gratitude displayed by the refugees he photographed.

"These people are so grateful in the camps," he said. "After coming from war-torn areas complete with AK-47s and dead bodies, at least they know nobody's trying to set their tent on fire."

The photographer took his photos in displacement camps or private residences after refugees had fled bombings, threats and militias attempting to kill residents. Some were taking refuge in a shelter, while others were urban refugees trying to live off the local economy, the photographer said.

Sokol, who is 37 and now lives in Manhattan, said the refugees' respective items of choice were often the more revealing portrait. Syrians tended to prize items of nostalgia -- a key to their house, for example. Malians often gravitated to things that tied them to their cultural identity, perhaps because a majority of them are ethnic minorities, Sokol suggested. "For Malians, they chose items that might have represented cultural identity rather than an individual identity."

The main causes behind the global refugee crisis, which equates to a new displaced person every 4.1 seconds, are war and lack of funding for displaced people, said UNHCR spokesman Brian Hansford. UNHCR helps refugees by providing aid and helping with resettlement, among other long-term solutions. The greatest challenges are monitoring relocations at the border, gaps in funding and timely distributions of aid, Hansford said.

"Where there is insecurity, it's difficult in all situations of conflict. When you have convoys of trucks with relief items going on dangerous missions, the issue of access is extremely acute," he said.

Despite security challenges, Sokol said that people would invite him into their makeshift residences without hesitation. "They have to queue for hours for grains they have and they are offering it to me as a complete outsider," he said. "I walk down streets of Manhattan and see millionaires and hipsters, and I see less smiles on those sidewalks than in a refugee camp."

He said the hardest part about the project is forging close personal relationships, not knowing whether his advocacy efforts will ultimately trickle down to help the individual he's talking to. "They'd tell me 'I lost my brother and children and I had to decide which child I would carry back,'" Sokol said. "You talk to them and realize the project is more about the stories than the photographs. The photos are more of a way to get them to read the captions."

Sokol said he partnered with the UN for the project in order to remind the world of every refugee's individuality. "Images can dehumanize people," he said. "There is no way you can mistake this person with a statistic with these photos. This person is obviously an individual."

Related on HuffPost:

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Source: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2013/06/30/brian-sokol-photographer-refugees_n_3523622.html

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