Luke Judge

Saint Louis, MO (PRWEB) December 11, 2010

Breaking up is hard to do, without a doubt. however, many people are making the best of it and commemorating the end of their relationship with one of the season’s hottest collectible ornaments – a Breakup Ornament. Whether it’s a long-term relationship break up, a divorce, or you’re just ready to part ways with the current political leaders in office, a Breakup Ornament is a fun gift that takes a lighthearted look at breaking up.

Recently, two St. Louis entrepreneurs, both experienced in the break up process, decided to take a humorous approach to dealing with break ups. Enter the relationship Breakup Ornament, a spoof on the First Christmas together figurine ornaments. “Everyone has a ‘First Christmas Together’ ornament, so we thought a ‘Last Christmas Together’ ornament made perfect sense,” says Liz Tillman, co-owner of Breakup Ornaments. “With more and more people throwing divorce parties, we realized that the idea of finding a bit of humor in an often undeniably bad situation was gaining traction.”

Following the success of the original Relationship Breakup Ornament, this fall the duo launched their first ‘un-politically correct’ Breakup Ornament. “If you’re tired of the direction of our country’s leadership, then make it known with our Political Breakup Ornament,” says Tillman. “No matter which side of the political fence you’re on, the polls indicate Uncle Sam and Barack Obama may be saying their sweet good-byes to each other in 2012. Our new Political Breakup Ornament is the perfect way to voice your political opinion and your real Christmas wish for 2012…that this will be “Our last Christmas together!” The company also offers a political breakup bumper sticker.

For more information or to order a Breakup Ornament for only $8.50 each, please visit shop.breakupornaments.com.    

About Breakup Ornaments: Founded in 2009, two St. Louis entrepreneurs, both experienced in the break up process, decided to take their own lighthearted look at breaking up. The idea bloomed back in 1991 when one of the entrepreneur’s wife at the time decided that living somewhere else was a good idea. while decorating his Christmas tree that year, he came across the infamous "Our First Christmas together 1985" ornament. he immediately slam-dunked it into the trash can. That was when the idea for the "Our last Christmas Together” was born. for more information, visit breakupornaments.com.

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DUBLIN–(BUSINESS WIRE)–Research and Markets (researchandmarkets.com/research/5a5f62/electric_buses_and) has announced the addition of the “Electric Buses and Taxis 2011-2021″ report to their offering.

The electrification of commercial on-road transport is now being progressed strongly by both paybacks and mandates of local and national governments across the world. Even where paybacks are underwhelming, the green agendas of the participants is driving things forward but there are impediments too, including up-front cost and the poor range and reliability of some versions and the practicality and cost of infrastructure. This report gives numbers and value for hybrid and for pure electric buses and taxis, market drivers and overall transport statistics to put this in context. The most active countries are identified and projections specifically for China are given. Large numbers of suppliers are identifies and some interesting ones are profiled. Drive trains and batteries are examined.

This is the world’s first report forecasting the global market for electric buses and taxis both hybrid and pure electric. It separately forecasts the market in the most important country, China, and it takes a detailed look at technologies present and future with a blunt assessment of reasons for failure and threats for the future, not just the positive aspects. The market for electric buses and taxis will rise 8.7 times from 2011 to 2021, approaching $60 billion not long after that. The buses will be designed exclusively for purpose, though some will have power trains used for trucks as well. The taxis will largely consist of regular cars and people movers with modest adaptation. We explain why, for both, this is the decade of the hybrid but with pure electric versions coming up fast. China will become by far the largest market for both electric buses and electric taxis within the decade. This report looks at the statistics and trends for conventional buses and taxis, the government incentives, paybacks and new technologies with detailed tables and figures to summarise the situation, so the reader can understand the situation with ease. There are no rambling anecdotes or cut and paste of catalog items here – this is all summary, comparison and prediction with numbers, unit values, specifications and a profusion of images.

This uniquely up to date reference book is extremely thorough. Just one of the tables lists 78 hybrid bus manufacturers with country and product image, another lists 53 pure electric bus manufacturers with country and product image and another compares 68 lithium-ion traction battery manufacturers with cathode and anode chemistry and other technical detail and who is using these batteries – naming bus, car and other companies using them, explaining who is winning and why. There is a table comparing eight electric taxi projects with country, image and commentary, including technical detail, and another comparing many fuel cell bus trials. Many of the figures are graphs, bar charts, pie charts, and other analysis to allow you to assess the situation quickly and conveniently.

The market forecasts cover units, unit prices and total market value 2011-2021 backed up by forecasts for the market for all types of bus taken together, each for global and separately China. Taxi number, unit value and market value is similarly forecasted and the whole is put in the context of statistics for past sales and production output by manufacturer and forecasts for the electric vehicle market as a whole. The leading suppliers are identified. Transmission manufacturers are compared using sectioned technical diagrams. There is a glossary of terms and one hour of free consultancy with every purchase will answer any questions you have remaining.

In addition, all report purchases include one hour free consulting with a report author from IDTechEx, by email or telephone. This needs to be used within three months of purchasing the report.

Key Topics Covered:

• EXECUTIVE SUMMARY AND CONCLUSIONS
• INTRODUCTION
• ELECTRIC BUS MANUFACTURERS AND TECHNOLOGIES
• PROFILES OF SOME INTERESTING SUPPLIERS
• BUS DRIVE TRAINS
• ELECTRIC TAXI MANUFACTURERS AND TECHNOLOGIES
• TRACTION BATTERIES, FUEL CELLS, RANGE EXTENDERS
• FUEL CELLS
• MARKET STATISTICS AND FORECASTS

For more information visit researchandmarkets.com/research/5a5f62/electric_buses_and

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Familiar Pattern Continues in Japan Politics

Steve Herman | Seoul 02 June 2010

Photo: AP

An employee goes the rounds as TV sets show a news broadcast about Japanese Prime Minister Yukio Hatoyama’s decision to step down, Tokyo, Japan, 02 Jun 2010

It was a familiar sight – a Japanese prime minister, displaying more emotion than previously seen during his brief and tumultuous tenure, announcing for the good of his party and country that he was stepping down. This latest turn of the revolving door at the prime minister’s office, however, is part of decades of political tradition.

“The public has gradually refused to hear me. It’s a shame and I’m solely to blame for it,” lamented Yukio Hatoyama in the latest rendition Wednesday morning as tears glistened in his eyes.

He resigned in large part because of criticism over his failure to keep his campaign promise to move a U.S. air base off the island of Okinawa. After months of study and talks with the United States, last month Mr. Hatoyama concluded the idea wouldn’t work.

Mr. Hatoyama is the fourth Japanese prime minister to resign in four years. He stayed in office a mere eight months, still a longer stint that some of his predecessors.

“This instability hurts Japan in the short term for the economic, fiscal and aging challenges,” says Yu Serizawa, president of Forma Corp., a Tokyo consulting firm. “We need strong and stable political leadership which we’ve been missing for some years.”

Mr. Hatoyama’s successor will be the 33rd prime minister since Japan’s World War II defeat in August 1945.

Despite the number of prime ministers, Japan remains economically and politically steadfast. Economic policy largely is under the tight control of government bureaucrats in what some economists and political analysts consider a cozy nexus with industrialists and bankers. It is a tradition that began with the rise of Japan’s “zaibatsu” business plutocrats in the 19th century.

Although the American occupation leaders dismantled the zaibatsu system after Japan’s defeat, those traditional ties were reconstituted on a less formal basis, driving the country’s amazing economic recovery.

Since 1945, Japan’s foreign policy and defense planning largely has been aligned with that of Washington. The foundation of that relationship is a solid commitment to the U.S.-Japan defense alliance, including the large U.S. military bases in the country – about half of them on Okinawa.

Although recent prime ministers have spoken of closer ties with Japan’s neighbors, especially giant China, lingering historical animosities and suspicions about future geopolitical goals have yet to upset the status quo.  

One reason there has been little change in policy is that most of Japan’s leaders share the same party lineage, and often share blood ties. Almost all prime ministers came from the Liberal Democratic Party – even Mr. Hatoyama, head of the Democratic Party, began his political career in the LDP.

The moderate-conservative LDP officially formed in 1955 but its roots date to the 1870′s. Political analysts say its diverse membership is unified by little more than a desire for an efficient government manipulating the levers of the economy and policy.

But critics long complained that the LDP relied too much on money politics – buying votes with unnecessary public spending and building support from business leaders with favorable policies. Over the decades, scores of LDP politicians have been toppled when they were caught in corruption scandals too big to ignore.

Mr. Hatoyama came to power with much fanfare as the first prime minister of the Democratic Party, touted as a clean break from the past.

Yet he is a fourth-generation politician, whose grandfather, Ichiro Hatoyama helped found the LDP and served as prime minister. The departing prime minister’s brother, Kunio, is a former cabinet minister who spent his political career in the LDP until March, when he left to start a new party.

Cynics in Japan argue that pragmatism and corrupt money politics always trump policy priorities for mainstream politicians. And following long tradition, important political decisions are almost always made behind closed doors.

That appears to include Mr. Hatoyama’s resignation, which came after he met twice with Ichiro Ozawa, the DPJ’s departing secretary-general. Ozawa was arguably the most powerful man in Japan during Mr. Hatoyama’s tenure. But tainted by funding scandals, he is considered unelectable as prime minister. Still, few Japanese doubt that he has, and will continue to, cast a large shadow over the country’s politics.

Ozawa, notably a former chief secretary of the LDP and second-generation politician, on Wednesday afternoon offered a prosaic comment that he was “very sorry” to see Hatoyama go.

The DPJ is to choose a new leader Friday in a hurried effort to prepare for Upper House elections and to have someone to shake hands with other world leaders at the G8 summit in Canada – both events taking place within the next five weeks.

At home, however, there is only moderate concern about the prospect of a new prime minister. Consultant Serizawa, a former senior advisor to the World Economic Forum, says the political turmoil was the topic of humor during her lunch Wednesday with some top bureaucrats and politicians.

“We joked that changing prime ministers has become our national annual summer festival,” said Serizawa.

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People who like the idea of making their home as energy efficient as possible should consider the idea of getting honeycomb shades. These shades come in a variety of different colors as well as six different pleat sizes and your choice of single, double, or triple cell design. Which options you choose depend on the decor of your home and the amount of light you want to come in through the shades.

Windows with arches can be difficult to fit for shades, but with the Bali DiamondCell 3/8 inch Double Cell Northern Lights Cellular Shade Perfect Arch you won’t have any problem. These honeycomb shades come in your choice of 37 different colors, as well as either an inside or outside mount. You can get them as part of an over arch standard treatment or as a stand alone arch depending on how your window is designed.

If you are looking for honeycomb shades for sliding glass doors, the Hunter Douglas Duette 3/4 inch Single Cell Semi-Opaque Honeycomb Shade D2 Elite Vertiglide might just be the perfect thing for you. You have your choice of forty different colors. The shades can be inside or outside mounted, and they can stack either to the left or the right, depending on your preferences. You can also get a valance of either Grandover Alternative Wood or Sydney Aluminum.

The Bali SkyTrack 3/8 inch Double Cell Midnight Blackout Skylight is one of the options for covering up a skylight and keeping out almost all light when you want to keep a room dark. It is available in sixteen different colors. It can be either inside or outside mounted, and you can get an optional extension pole of either 6 feet or 9 1/2 feet for an additional cost.

Those with extra wide windows might be interested in the Graber CrystalPleat 3/8 inch Single Cell Cellular Shade Garden Retreat, since it is 120 inches wide. It also has a special design that includes concealed cords and cord routs so it has a very clean look to it. You can have your choice of 21 colors and an inside or outside mount. There is also a choice between the standard cordlock or paying an extra amount for cordless, mechanized, or other options. You can even purchase a valance to go with it if you so desire.

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Penn State Altoona students stirred up memories for World War II veteran Don Hollows.

Part of the campus near the Hawthorne Building was set up to look like Civil War and World War II camps Friday for the Penn State Altoona History Society’s third annual history encampment.

Twenty Civil War and six World War II re-enactors portrayed soldiers and other historical figures to give an intimate glimpse into the wartime experience.

“He told us about his experiences in the war and that it was good to see young people remember his generation’s efforts in such a way,” society President Jared Frederick, 22, said in an e-mail.

The 84-year-old Altoona man served in the Navy from 1944-46 in the Pacific Theater, covering Guam to Japan, he said.

“It wasn’t a pleasure cruise,” Hollows, who escaped the war without injury, said of his time serving. “I didn’t like it a bit.”

Even though Hollows said he signed up when he was 18 because he wanted to, he was afraid of getting killed and was thankful to return to Altoona alive.

Hollows said he never knew a good night’s sleep while serving, and he could only share limited information with his family.

He still talks on the phone to some of his war buddies and they reminisce about how hot it was on the ship with no air conditioning, he said.

All the memories weren’t bad, though.

“The meals were great,” he said, remembering how the Navy gave them three square meals a day.

He said the Army wasn’t so lucky because they lacked the ability to carry supplies like the belly of the Navy ships could, so they didn’t eat as well.

The purpose of the re-enactment was to “help bring history alive for students,” Frederick said.

History goes beyond what students can learn in a textbook, said Frederick, a history major and Gettysburg National Military park ranger.

“[History is] not only a story of where we’ve been, but where we’re going,” he said of how one can look to the past to “see mistakes and triumphs.”

“It also gives the students a new perspective on history,” he said.

WWII re-enactor Chuck Lynch, 24, a history major who has participated in reenactments since he was a teenager, said bringing the experience of a World War II soldier to life shows students what their grandfathers or older uncles may have experienced.

Hollows said the re-enactors were knowledgeable.

“I enjoyed it,” he said of the encampment he called realistic.

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Bamboo shades are a great way to bring nature to you if you cannot get to nature. In home decor, these types of window coverings are popular to have. As well as bringing nature into your favorite room, you’ll notice that your space will also have elegance. Even though, the cotton and sheer curtains are the traditional choice, there’s a lure to having a little nature in your home.

If you want to purchase these types of shades there are some things that you should know. First off, there are lots of bamboo styles. There are many texture, styles and colors that will match the tone you want to set. While the shade has some imperfections, this is okay, it only adds to the attraction of them.

Although, the imperfections add beauty do not settle for a bad fit and color. While, browsing on the Internet, the color can be significantly different from the picture so there are some websites that’ll provide sample orders to ensure that’s exactly what you want. Another, very important thing to keep in mind is that make sure you measure right the first time to avoid making mistakes.

You should be aware that bamboo shades are available in two styles. These are the light filtering and the privacy window shades. Filtering shades only provides you with partial seclusion since there are soft flow of sunlight that’s allowed into the room to give it a light and airy feel. If you’re a stickler for privacy then full coverage is ideal for you.

When the decision has been made about the type and size of shade, it’s time to move on to the color. The staining and coloring of the bamboo can greatly determine the tone of your room. In order, to have a more sensual and chic environment then you should purchase darker color shades. On the other hand, if you want a mood that’s light then, of course, go with the light color shades.

When creating a tone for your room color isn’t the only thing to think about. The shape as well has an impact about the style of the room. The flat and square bamboo have a differentiate feel where the round woven shades provide a relaxed environment. So are these shades a wise investment?

Just like with the other window coverings, the prices of bamboo can be varied depending on the features that your shades have. Of course, light filtering shades are not as expensive as privacy window shades are since they require less material to make them. If you choose full coverage, you’ll pay more since the size is larger. Overall, purchasing bamboo is cheaper than sheers and curtains.

Bamboo shades are especially, for you if you like nature and want to bring it inside of your home. You should keep in mind that you can pick from the various color, stains and styles, in addition, to the shape so you can set your home’s tone and mood.

Visit Jesita Jerik’s webstore at bamboo shades

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