Tunisian Embassy Protesters Chanted: 'Obama, Obama, We Are All Osamas'

US Embassy Tunisia Protest

A chilling detail in this Reuters report on today's protests at the US embassy in Tunisia from reporter Tarek Amara:

"Obama, Obama, we are all Osamas," they chanted, in reference to the slain al Qaeda leader, Osama bin Laden.

The protesters pulled down the U.S. flag flying over the embassy, burned it, and replaced it with a black flag emblazoned with the Shahada, the Islamic declaration of faith.

There were protests in numerous countries today, including Tunisia, Sudan, Yemen, Malaysia, Egypt, and Lebanon.

(Via @jasonbwhitman)

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Retirement or College Funding: Which Comes First?

If you?re working your way out of debt, one of the most difficult questions you might face is how to prioritize college savings and retirement.

If you?re like most parents, you?ll phrase the question this way: What is more important?my own security at retirement or my child?s education and future? It?s easy to think about it that way because it?s an emotional issue.

Lately, a lot of parents have decided that college savings should come first. The economy has seen better days, and desperate, misguided parents have dipped into their 401(k)s to pay for their child?s college tuition.

According to a Sallie Mae and Gallup study, 7.4% of parents took out a loan from their 401(k)s in 2010. That?s more than double the amount in 2009. It?s an alarming trend?one based on fear and desperation. And, after taxes on the loan and an early withdrawal penalty, it?s a trend that will get quite expensive and stressful.

It?s never a good idea to pull money out of your retirement fund before the time comes. But the more difficult question is this: Should you delay saving for retirement to pay for your child?s tuition?

No. Dave prioritizes retirement over college savings because you need retirement money to live, eat, and pay for shelter?the basics. You?re not working, so that money is your only source of income.

Saving for college is extremely important, but it?s a luxury. Your child will have other ways to pay?scholarships, grants, part-time jobs. They can select a more affordable school. Pay for your child?s college if you can, but remember that it?s not as important as retirement.

Retirement is a necessity. If you don?t have retirement money saved up, then you?re working until you die or living on Alpo. Get to a place financially where you can start putting 15% of your income toward retirement first, then begin working on an ESA or 529 for your kid?s college.

Don?t guilt-trip yourself into doing something you?ll regret in a few years, like taking money out of your retirement. Your child will be okay?with or without your help. This isn?t child abuse. It?s wise parenting.

Remember: College is a luxury. Living, eating, and having shelter during retirement is a necessity.

We all face challenges in both our parenting and our money. Financial Peace University offers practical answers to many of the questions you have, including saving for retirement and college. Find the class starting nearest you!

What do you think about saving for retirement and college? Leave a comment below.

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Benefits of Credit Card Debt Consolidation

Consolidation Loans with Bad Credit Is debt consolidation a good solution for my credit card debts? Debtors, upon realizing that in a few years their credit cards would have accumulated thousands of dollars through interests ask the same question. Credit card purchases, in many instances are actually more expensive because of high interest rates. Someone [...]

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Learn The Value Of Canny House loan Research

There is certainly zero hesitation produce that propane is a wonderful long-term expense. We have actually peaked within our power to increase creation meaningfully, just as we now have with gentle essential oil. I do think in order for there to become an increase in long-term propane supply, you have to supply incentive to producers [...]

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Now That The Fed Has Announced QE Unlimited, Here's What They Do Next

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Today the Fed announced Unlimited QE, meaning that it will buy bonds until the labor market improves "substantially."

The idea is that rather than announcing a program with a fixed end date, the Fed will be able to get more bang for its buck by committing not to do any tightening of any sort until thigns improve significantly.

The move was lauded by economists who have been urging the Fed to pre-commit to loose money in the future as a means of stimulating growth now.

So let's say things stay kind of sluggish, and the Fed wants to boost things some more.

What does it do? It starts to define the word "substantially."

Jan Hatzius at Goldman explains:

Mr. Bernanke hinted at further communication changes in an even more aggressive direction if today's actions prove insufficient. In response to a question, he said "clarifying our response to economic conditions might be one way in which we could further provide accommodation." We read this as openness to even more aggressive communication changes along the lines of the Evans 7/3 rule or even a nominal GDP target. While these (especially the latter) still seem quite far off, we did note with interest that Mr. Bernanke mentioned it unprompted in response to a more general question about the importance of credible commitment emphasized in Michael Woodford's Jackson Hole study (which advocates such a target).

The Evans 7/3 rule is simply: The Fed won't stop easing until unemployment is at 7% or core inflation is at 3%. And a nominal GDP target is just that, a target for the total size of GDP, something that can be achieved by either raw growth or inflation.

What's clear is that the Fed has now set itself on a new course, one not defined by numbers and volumes (of bond purchases) but one defined by future commitments towards easy action.

Future guesses about FOMC decisions will now likely revolve around what the Fed says to define when it has hit its goals. These are interesting times.

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Insiders Tell Us What Actually Happened In Libya

Matt VanDyke Libya

The emerging consensus about the embassy attack in Libya that killed an American ambassador and several other Americans is that it was a "well-planned commando style attack."

According to a government and journalist source we have spoken to, this  actually does not appear to be the case. Rather, the attack appears to have been a spontaneous decision by an extremist group to capitalize on otherwise non-violent protests about an anti-Muslim film trailer.

First of all: "This was not a commando style raid, that's ridiculous, this type of thing can be put together in a matter of minutes with a few cell-phone calls," said Matthew VanDyke, a journalist (with his own web page here) and analyst on Libya and the Middle East. VanDyke is an American who actually fought on the side of the Libyan rebels during the Libyan revolution and was taken as a prisoner by Qaddafi for five and half months.

VanDyke has had close friends in Libya for years, from his days of motorcycle travel. Many of them lost family members in the initial fighting, and were still losing family members when they contacted him in the states.

VanDyke's network gives him an enhanced view of military operations in the still restive region. He is in the United States right now, but he says he's been getting messages nonstop since the assault on the consulate. And he thinks he knows what happened.

"It's really simple how it happened. First there was the video, that no one would have known about if it weren't for the Egyptian media blowing it up. Then people protested in Cairo, and people in Libya saw it on TV, so they decided to protest in Benghazi."

From there, VanDyke said, all it took was a few phone calls.

"The people up in the green mountains, the extremists, they saw their opportunity to pounce."

VanDyke said the video protestors probably had no intent to get violent.

"The extremists, who the government knew was there, they used the protestors as a shield. I've experienced how quickly the mobilization can happen firsthand. All it takes is a couple cell phones. All of sudden there's a handful of trucks packed with fighters."

Derna, a city located between the Green Mountains and the Mediterranean Sea, used to be lush and well-taken care of, affluent even until Gaddafi developed a grudge. 

"This extremism is only one generation deep, I assure you. And that area, in Derna, has been left festering by the government ever since the revolution."

VanDyke said he thought that possibly the government was waiting until it was better organized to clean out the area of training camps.


Libya consulate resized"Those camps have been there. There's no excuse for that. They're about 2 hours from the consulate, so these guys probably saw it on TV, made a few cell-phone calls, grabbed some gear, and got on the road."

The attack developed quickly, and included rockets and small arms fire. Although VanDyke said the weaponry does not indicate advanced training.

"They don't have the infrastructure or military history to make commandos, that's really absurd. Like I said, the extremism is one generation deep. And the fact that they have RPGs is irrelevant. The whole population has RPGs and weapons, how do you think they overthrew Gaddafi. Even I have an arsenal out there, RPGs, AKs."

So then how did they overcome consulate guards to kill four Americans, including an Ambassador?

I also talked to a State Department Official with intimate details about operations, security, and administration. The official was only willing to talk on condition of anonymity.

The official said the problems in Libya stem from our post-revolution diplomatic stance, which is risky, but could potentially pay big dividends.

"The secretary [Hillary Clinton] wanted to do what's called 'aggressive expeditious diplomacy' - which is like sending diplomats out to Iraq, Libya, Egypt, countries that are in a transition, where we want to have influence, but are still experiencing incredible unrest - the overall policy goal is to maintain influence of governments in nations after the awakening."

attached imageIn the past, the U.S. would simply close embassies in times of transition, but in this region things are different. American foreign policy in the region hinges on good relations with incoming, or newly forming government bodies.

Maintaining that influence also means issuing a certain amount of "trust" currency.

Therein lies the risk.

"Really it's an abysmal failing on [Libya's] behalf. We expect reciprocal protection, just as we give their dignitaries here. You know, the NYPD doesn't actively protect embassies, but if a riot or protest started in front of one, they'd be out there breaking it up. But they're unstable as a whole, there's no real government there."

As a part of that trust, the U.S. can't send in thousands of troops to fill in the cracks, so to speak. It also can't go throwing around deadly force.

"There's only a certain amount of State Department Special Agents out there, on site, to protect the diplomat, a handful really. And you can't use deadly force because you want to maintain a decent relationship with the government. It's not like the military, it's not shoot first and ask questions later, they're more likely to ditch the post and try to leave with the ambassador."

The State Department official said the ambassadors to these regions are fully briefed, and know they're walking into an unstable region, with a disorganized government, one unlikely to have adequate security or instant first responders.

In fact, reports are that the Libyan security outfit responsible to protect the consulate fled the scene.

"We knew what we were walking into there," said the official. "They're not really a functioning government, so expecting them to provide security is not realistic. No one goes to Benghazi without knowing just the instability of the environment is an incredible threat, there's certain posts that are just high-risk posts."

A Marine counter-terrorism unit has been deployed to protect remaining personnel at the Embassy in Tripoli, and drones fly the skies over both Tripoli and Benghazi, searching for jihadis, but the State Department official said he doesn't expect any American military confrontations.

To do so would be counter to Secretary Hillary Clinton's plans for diplomacy.

What happens from here, what is the next step?

"Well, what the Americans will do is put pressure on the government to capture or kill these extremists, but they'll do that privately, and probably will provide intel to the Libyan military," said the journalist VanDyke.

Publicly, both governments will conclude on a united message.

"Already they're saying this was planned, but there was no long term planning with this, they just saw an opportunity and went for it. What's important now is that they act fast to clean out those camps up there, before these guys get too much time to celebrate."

Many news organizations here in the States have broadcast the administration's official account, that this was a complex, planned attack; ABC even quotes an unnamed "intelligence official." But the network hedges its bets by saying that Benghazi's account of the attack "has not yet been verified."

In all likelihood, the Obama administration already knows who's to blame, and is pressuring the government to take care of them. They've got drones over the area now, said VanDyke. 

Benghazi Reuters Fire"Finding these guys won't be difficult, there's not many people in Libya, and the names are very distinct—again, it would take a half hour with a cell phone and a decent network to find out who is responsible," said VanDyke.

Regardless, the mainstream news fed into both the U.S. and Libyan administration's confusing "who knows, it's still an investigation" public statements that immediately followed the violence. Privately though, VanDyke said, they're likely tussling with how to handle it.

"There's no doubt that both intelligence arms, Libyan and American, and their PR people, are collaborating to come up with something that makes them look good, a unified statement, which they should be doing," VanDyke said.

Fox News reported earlier that "current and former U.S. lawmakers, and others, claimed Wednesday that the attack looked like a coordinated strike." Sure there was plenty of strong language coming from American political or intelligence figures, but VanDyke maintains that that is largely to save face. 

"Also, other reporters are playing up Anti-American sentiment, but that's not true either, Libyans like Americans, because they helped. Even some of the extreme Islamists of the past have given up violence."

VanDyke says this will help narrow down the suspects. Former virulent cells of violent Islamists have given up violence in exchange for political clout in the newly independent government. They don't want to risk their new power—and, since turning political, these leaders have been targets of assassination, so they will likely cooperate with authorities.

The U.S. government acknowledges some of these reformed extremists, so finding the guilty parties may be relatively easy.

"What's important here is action, and I think they'll take it. They knew the extremists were there, and are certainly kicking themselves for not taking action sooner, but now, things have changed," said VanDyke.

The stakes are high—not just for the U.S., but for Libya.

"This hurts Libya in terms of international development. It’s a problem they’ve allowed to fester there since the end of the war. Already tolerated too much already. And if they don't act, I promise you these protests will spread, and the small pockets of militants will become emboldened."

Protests have recently been reported in Tunisia. VanDyke said he wouldn't be surprised to see them in Afghanistan either.

"I understand diplomacy, but you can't let people climb on your embassy walls and get away with it," he said.

Now: Check out what these Marines did to the Taliban in Afghanistan >

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Hiring Lessons from the NFL

In the world of football, they are the kings. The superstar players whose names are as familiar as the teams they represent. They are treated like royalty. Just ask Charles Johnson?s paycheck. In 2011, the defensive end for the Carolina Panthers signed a record-breaking, six-year, $76-million contract, making him the highest paid professional pigskin player of all time.

But Johnson is not alone. There are 30 NFL players on Forbes magazine?s list of the world?s top 100 highest paid athletes this year. Quarterback Peyton Manning will earn $32.4 million with the Broncos. Rams? quarterback Sam Bradford will earn $26.8 million. And the list goes on and on.

The theory behind these big dollars is that the players are so exceptionally talented, they?ll help carry their team to the Super Bowl or at least the playoffs. But that?s not always the case. In 2011, Johnson made just 40 tackles, and his team had a dismal record of 6-10. Manning spent the season on Indianapolis? bench nursing his injuries. And Bradford? His team had one of the worst records of the season.

What?s the business lesson to be learned from these guys? You don?t have to pay NFL-like salaries to attract the best players to your team. As Dave teaches at EntreLeadership Master Series, there are several ways to find a solution.

Start With the Culture

If you build a place where people love to work, they will come. In fact, they?ll be knocking down your door. And the best way to begin is to follow the most golden of all rules. "Do unto others as you would have them do unto you." If you would expect praise, don?t just give it, but do it in front of their peers, family?heck, anyone who will listen. If they need a helping hand, lend it. When you would expect grace, give it. Before you know it, word of mouth will spread, and your team will turn into your best recruiters as they let everyone know that they work at the Super Bowl of companies.

Have a Generous Spirit

What?s one of the best ways to create an awesome vibe for your company? Be generous with your products, services and profits for your team, customers and community. Volunteer, give back, and let your team do the same. When possible, begin allocating funds each month for these types of projects, and simply show you have a big heart. As Dave says, ?The dividends in terms of smiles and personal satisfaction far outweigh the few dollars committed.?

Champions Beget Champions

It?s a fact. Winners like to hang out with winners. So when you have a building full of them, others will naturally follow. Take time in your hiring process to find the perfect person for every position, no matter how strong the need. At Dave?s company, there is a 12-step hiring process that takes several months to complete. The result is a building full of people who are as passionate about winning and their team as any Manning ever dreamed of.

By creating a culture where people love to work, you?ll attract more talent than you?ll ever need, as well as create a Super-Bowl?worthy team. With this type of business, every season will be a winning one.

To learn more about business, team building and leadership, download our EntreLeadership podcasts, which include lessons from Dave plus interviews with key business leaders from across the nation.

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