Japan Takes Its Anime Very Seriously ? Check Out Its New Cobra Paint Job

Anime

The custom of painting a mascot onto an aircraft is nothing new, but this is the first time we've seen one quite so lively and in this particular style.

To celebrate the its 20th anniversary, Japan's 4th Anti Tank Helicopter Unit painted this Anime yura kyara (mascot) onto an AH-1S Cobra. The character's name is 1st Lt. Kisarazu Akane and is apparently one of many works of this kind, in a style that has been largely forgone by the West. Check out the ceremony video below.

During the September mine clearing exercise in the Persian Gulf I spent a day aboard a Japanese mine sweeper photographing what life is like aboard a Japanese Navy ship. I'll be posting that story and photo essay soon.

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Source: http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/businessinsider/~3/lIXrX8oLDf4/just-in-case-you-thought-japan-did-not-take-its-anime-seriously-its-new-cobra-paint-job-2012-10

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GE?s Earnings Will Lean On Industrials As Europe Limps Along

The slowdown in Europe will continue to impact earnings in the third quarter. As Europe constitutes nearly 20% of GE?s top line, this impact will be significant. In addition, the shrinking balance sheet of GE Capital on account of the sale of its commercial real estate holdings is expected to impact its results.

Source: http://www.forbes.com/sites/greatspeculations/2012/10/18/ges-earnings-will-lean-on-industrials-as-europe-limps-along/

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Sprouts Are Out At Kroger

If you’re a fan of fresh sprouts and a Kroger shopper, you’ll have to choose between the two after this weekend, when the supermarket chain sells the last of the little green veggies, which are apparently a pain in the butt to keep clean.

“After a thorough, science-based review, we have decided to voluntarily discontinue selling fresh sprouts,” said Kroger’s … [More]

Source: http://consumerist.com/2012/10/19/sprouts-are-out-at-kroger/

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Stewardship and Spiritual Vitality

Every Sunday, thousands of pastors are asking themselves the question, ?Where is the spiritual vitality in my congregation??

After nearly a decade in stewardship ministry, Dave Briggs, Director of Stewardship at Central Christian Church, had an insight that may well answer that question. It came through the parable of the seeds found in Matthew.

The Third Seed

The third seed in the parable very clearly illustrates that the busyness of life, the desire for more things and the deceitfulness of wealth make the Word unfruitful. This struck Briggs as a major reason why we are not seeing more spiritual vitality in many congregations.

?Most people don?t make the connection between a wrong relationship to money and its ability to diminish the power of God?s Word in our midst.? But as we make the connection between the two, we realize the importance of teaching people that their relationship with ?stuff? directly impacts their relationship with God.

?Many church leaders who are blasé about the need for healthy stewardship ministry may be suffering the ill effects of it without realizing it.?

Stewardship is about far more than raising funds to accomplish the church?s mission or helping people who are completely broke. It?s about the universal need to have a proper relationship with money. Briggs said, ?What you choose to do with money will either draw you close to God or take you further away.?

There are plenty of examples in the Bible. For instance, the Good Samaritan was willing to help a wounded stranger, using his money as an instrument of God?s goodness. The widow who gave her two mites powerfully demonstrated the importance of prioritizing God over money. ?Money became a way to draw each of these people closer to God,? Briggs said.

On the other hand, you have the rich young ruler and the rich farmer who chose wealth above God?a choice that cost them their closeness with Him.

It?s not about the amount of money someone has?after all, the Good Samaritan had plenty, the widow just a few bronze coins. It?s about prioritizing service to the Lord above service to cash. ?I am convinced that there is much difference between the heart need to someone with few resources and someone with a lot of resources.? In other words, someone can have plenty of money but still struggle with spiritual issues that aren?t visible to the outside world.

?If done from a biblical perspective, stewardship takes on the same importance as prayer, Bible study and discipleship,? he said. ?It is all about growing the individual through a relationship to money that grows them closer to God rather than takes them away.?

Stewardship is about so much more than money. As church leaders see that and cast a new vision to their congregation, the entire culture of the church changes.

Read Part 2: The Stewardship Toolbox

Dave Ramsey has created a program called Momentum to help churches teach their congregations what it means to live out biblical generosity. Momentum is all about bringing people back to God?s view of money management and cultivating a culture of lasting generosity. Discover today how Momentum can help your congregation.

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Source: http://www.daveramsey.com/article/dave-briggs-stewardship-spiritual-vitality/lifeandmoney_church

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Stewardship and Spiritual Vitality

Every Sunday, thousands of pastors are asking themselves the question, ?Where is the spiritual vitality in my congregation??

After nearly a decade in stewardship ministry, Dave Briggs, Director of Stewardship at Central Christian Church, had an insight that may well answer that question. It came through the parable of the seeds found in Matthew.

The Third Seed

The third seed in the parable very clearly illustrates that the busyness of life, the desire for more things and the deceitfulness of wealth make the Word unfruitful. This struck Briggs as a major reason why we are not seeing more spiritual vitality in many congregations.

?Most people don?t make the connection between a wrong relationship to money and its ability to diminish the power of God?s Word in our midst.? But as we make the connection between the two, we realize the importance of teaching people that their relationship with ?stuff? directly impacts their relationship with God.

?Many church leaders who are blasé about the need for healthy stewardship ministry may be suffering the ill effects of it without realizing it.?

Stewardship is about far more than raising funds to accomplish the church?s mission or helping people who are completely broke. It?s about the universal need to have a proper relationship with money. Briggs said, ?What you choose to do with money will either draw you close to God or take you further away.?

There are plenty of examples in the Bible. For instance, the Good Samaritan was willing to help a wounded stranger, using his money as an instrument of God?s goodness. The widow who gave her two mites powerfully demonstrated the importance of prioritizing God over money. ?Money became a way to draw each of these people closer to God,? Briggs said.

On the other hand, you have the rich young ruler and the rich farmer who chose wealth above God?a choice that cost them their closeness with Him.

It?s not about the amount of money someone has?after all, the Good Samaritan had plenty, the widow just a few bronze coins. It?s about prioritizing service to the Lord above service to cash. ?I am convinced that there is much difference between the heart need to someone with few resources and someone with a lot of resources.? In other words, someone can have plenty of money but still struggle with spiritual issues that aren?t visible to the outside world.

?If done from a biblical perspective, stewardship takes on the same importance as prayer, Bible study and discipleship,? he said. ?It is all about growing the individual through a relationship to money that grows them closer to God rather than takes them away.?

Stewardship is about so much more than money. As church leaders see that and cast a new vision to their congregation, the entire culture of the church changes.

Read Part 2: The Stewardship Toolbox

Dave Ramsey has created a program called Momentum to help churches teach their congregations what it means to live out biblical generosity. Momentum is all about bringing people back to God?s view of money management and cultivating a culture of lasting generosity. Discover today how Momentum can help your congregation.

Powered By WizardRSS.com | Full Text RSS Feed | Amazon Plugin Wordpress | Android Forums | Wordpress Tutorials

Source: http://www.daveramsey.com/article/dave-briggs-stewardship-spiritual-vitality/lifeandmoney_church

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Big Red Flag Lost In Hoopla Of Google?s Premature Emission

Recently there has been a flood of glowing recommendations on Google from analysts. Both traditional fundamental analysis and traditional technical analysis showed that Google was a screaming buy. Today investors got burned.

Source: http://www.forbes.com/sites/greatspeculations/2012/10/18/the-big-red-flag-getting-lost-in-the-hoopla-of-googles-early-earnings-release/

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Is Taco Bell Carrying Yum! Higher After All?

at this month?s Value Investing Congress was that the trendy restaurant would soon start to lose market share to Taco Bell, one of the ?concepts? owned by Yum! Brands (NYSE: YUM). Despite offering a consumer survey conducted by Greenlight Capital in support, Einhorn was mocked for this point- did the billionaire not understand that Taco Bell and Chipotle were completely different restaurants? Had he ever visited one?

Shortly afterward, Yum! Brands issued its 10-Q for the quarter ending in August. Revenues were up 9% from the same period last year, roughly even with the growth rate from earlier in the year despite concerns about Chinese macro. Net income rose sharply, at a 23% rate. Revenues were down in the U.S.- China, responsible for over half of sales, drove overall growth- but operating profits rose 13%.

To some degree these changes were due to refranchising initiatives. According to the 10-Q, Taco Bell operations in the U.S., China, and the International division (which excludes the U.S., China, and India) are responsible for 90% of Yum!'s operating profits. Given the strong increase in U.S. operating profits, it seems logical to conclude that Taco Bell is making significant contributions.

It?s good to see profit growth, but Einhorn had noted in his presentation that he was not long Yum! Brands, and it?s possible that the reason for that is the company?s valuation. At 21 times trailing earnings and 19 times forward earnings estimates, the market seems to be expecting growth to pick up. While it?s possible that good U.S. consumer numbers will continue to push domestic operations higher and contribute to a stronger Chinese economy, the valuation does seem aggressive to us.

Yum! took the #2 slot on our list of the ten most popular restaurant stocks among hedge funds in the second quarter, as more funds and other notable investors- likely worried about Chinese exposure- sold out of the stock than of McDonald?s (NYSE: MCD). Billionaire Steve Cohen?s SAC Capital Advisors diverged from this trend, as the fund added shares and had about 940,000 shares in its 13F portfolio at the end of June (see more stock picks from SAC Capital Advisors). Legg Mason Capital Management, managed by Bill Miller, slightly reduced its stake but still owned 1.3 million shares at the end of the second quarter (find more stocks that Legg Mason owned).

Yum!?s peers include Chipotle, quick service restaurants McDonald?s and Burger King (NYSE: BKW), and pizza restaurant Domino?s Pizza (NYSE: DPZ). Domino?s recently reported strong third quarter earnings, with earnings per share coming in at $0.43 versus $0.35 a year earlier. Much smaller than Yum! at a $2.3 billion market cap, Domino?s trades at a forward P/E of 18. Even with its good growth, that does not seem like an attractive valuation, including relative to Yum!.

Chipotle has an impressive growth history behind it, but Einhorn?s action and other short activity (shortly before his presentation, about 12% of the company's shares outstanding were held short) reflect skepticism that the company can preserve its market share. Trading at trailing and forward P/Es of 35 and 27, respectively, it is highly sensitive to a lower trajectory of earnings.

McDonald?s, somewhat surprisingly, is the cheapest of these peers on a forward basis. The $94 billion market cap quick service restaurant trades at 15 times estimates of 2013 earnings, and also offers a 3.1% dividend yield. Its recent growth may not be particularly high, but is still respectable and despite Yum!?s expansion opportunities we see McDonald?s as a better value.

Burger King, fresh off its IPO in June, carries a forward P/E of 22--higher than what we see at McDonald?s or Yum!. The investment thesis is that Burger King will be able to expand its business, but we are skeptical that it should get this kind of earnings premium.

Yum! does seem to have the potential to chip away at Chipotle. However, there?s no reason that both companies can?t be overpriced, and we think that McDonald?s is a better value in the restaurant industry.

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Source: http://beta.fool.com/insidermonkey/2012/10/19/taco-bell-carrying-yum-higher-after-all/14767/

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Minnesota Says No To Free Online College Courses

A new trend has popped up on the education radar lately ? free online classes anyone from anywhere can take to learn about a plethora of subjects. It’s known as MOOC ? massive open online courses, and Coursera is one of the big names out there offering a variety of learning material. But the state of Minnesota is miffed because … [More]

Source: http://consumerist.com/2012/10/19/minnesota-not-cool-with-coursera-because-out-of-state-universities-didnt-pay-registration-fees/

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eBay?s Marketplaces Growth Picks Up As PayPal?s Surge Continues

The company credits its m-commerce and mobile payment initiatives as the primary driver of growth. Payment revenues once again led the growth with a 23% increase while marketplace followed at 10%.

Source: http://www.forbes.com/sites/greatspeculations/2012/10/18/ebays-marketplaces-growth-picks-up-as-paypals-surge-continues/

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