NEW DELHI, October 10 (Compass Direct News) – After police in the eastern state of Orissa confirmed this week that Maoists killed Hindu nationalist leader Swami Laxmanananda Saraswati, a Hindu extremist group circulated allegedly forged documents in an attempt to implicate a local church in the Aug. 23 murder.

The Hindu Jagaran Samukhya (Society for Revival of Hinduism or HJS) circulated documents saying the plan to kill Saraswati in Kandhamal district was made at a meeting at Bethikala Church on May 25 attended by 17 people following a briefing and command from religious leaders, the Press Trust of India news agency reported yesterday.

Local Christian leaders responded by saying they will file defamation charges.

“We will file both civil and criminal defamation cases against the person who made such allegations,” Father Joseph Kalathil from the Catholic Archbishop House in Bhubaneswar and the Rev. Fr. Prafulla Ku Sabhapati, president of the Bethikala Parish Council of Kandhamal, said in a statement. “Not only our signatures were forged, the contents of the documents were also fabricated.”

On Oct. 6 Orissa state police confirmed that Maoists killed Saraswati, a day after the chief of the Orissa unit of the banned Communist Party of India-Maoist, Sabyasachi Panda, told NDTV 24X7 news that his organization was behind the murder.

The Maoists killed Saraswati because he was a key leader of the Vishwa Hindu Parishad (World Hindu Council or VHP), Panda told the channel. The VHP, he said, used non-tribal traders’ money to build VHP’s youth wing, Bajrang Dal, and ran a campaign against Christians, falsely accusing them of forced conversions and killing cows, considered holy by Hindus.

“This forced us to attack him,” Panda said. “We left two letters claiming responsibility for the murders. But the [Chief Minister Naveen] Patnaik government suppressed those letters. It is a BJP [Hindu nationalist Bharatiya Janata Party] government; they will support the VHP. The state government made it look like Christian groups were responsible for the attack. The Christian community in Orissa does not have any Maoist organization supporting them here.”

There were also reports, however, of the Orissa police having arrested three tribal Christians in connection with Saraswati’s murder. The Indian Express reported that the three had confessed their involvement.

A representative of the Christian Legal Association told Compass that according to sources, the police had tortured the three Christians to pressure them to confess a crime they did not commit.

After the assassination of Saraswati, Hindu extremist groups blamed local Christians and began attacks on them, their houses and their churches. The worst violence against Christians in modern India erupted in spite of the Orissa police and media stating on the day of the murder that suspected Maoists killed Saraswati.

According to the All India Christian Council, more than 60 people have been killed, more than 18,000 injured and around 4,500 houses and churches destroyed in the “retributive” violence. Two Christian women, including a nun, were also gang-raped. The violence, which later spread to at least 14 districts of Orissa, has left more than 50,000 people homeless.

Attacks Continue

Orissa’s Kandhamal district remained tense even 48 days after the violence began.

Yesterday about 15 houses were burned down by a mob in the Lansaripalli village in Kantamal Block of neighboring Boudh district, The Hindu reported. The attackers came from the Gochhapada area of Kandhamal district.

“Thursday’s was the third incident in Boudh district,” added the daily. “More than 100 houses were burnt down in two separate attacks in the past few days.”

On Wednesday (Oct. 8), a mob burned and looted at least 25 houses belonging to Christians in the Balligada village under Daringbadi police station in Kandhamal’s Nuagam Block, Father Ajay Singh of the Catholic Archdiocese of Bhubaneswar told Compass.

On Tuesday (Oct. 7), over five houses were torched in Jalespanga area under Phiringia police jurisdiction in Kandhamal. Another house was burned in the Sujeli village of G. Udayagiri Block the same day.

The Hindu also said the more than 16,000 Christians living in various relief camps were not returning to their villages, fearing attacks on them if they refused to convert to Hinduism.

Fr. Singh from the Bhubaneswar Archdiocese told Compass that over 12,000 Christians from various relief camps had moved out of Kandhamal to other districts and states, as they feared more attacks.

Supporting Violence

The president of the VHP, Ashok Singhal, told Zee News channel on Sunday (Oct. 5), “What Hindu organizations including the VHP, the Bajrang Dal and the RSS [Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh, India’s chief Hindu nationalist group] are doing in Orissa is all legal and is the reaction of the murder of VHP leader Saraswati, who was like Jesus Christ to us.”

In an interview with The Week magazine (Oct. 5), Singhal said that Hindu youth are “ready to die and, if necessary, to kill. [Their] patience is ebbing.”

Singhal added that a “Hindu uprising” had begun, “and the political parties will have to rethink and reinvent themselves, for their own existence. If there is no arrangement for Hindus’ security, they’ll do it on their own. The Hindus will not die. If that self-defence is militancy, so be it … the Hindu never went around the world for suzerainty or to convert ... now they are here, undermining us. That causes anger. In fact many want to fight back this harvesting of Hindus.”

In addition, a leader of the Bajrang Dal in the southern state of Karnataka admitted to supporting recent attacks on churches while speaking to The Week magazine. “We supported those who attacked the churches, as it is a justified fight,” Bajrang Dal convenor Mahendra Kumar said.

The violence in Orissa spread to several other states, including Karnataka, where around 20 churches were destroyed and 20 Christians were attacked in the recent weeks.

As many political parties and rights groups have demanded a ban on the Bajrang Dal for attacking Christians and churches in Orissa and other states, the federal government ruled by the United Progressive Alliance has mandated the National Integration Council to give its recommendations, reported the Times of India today.

The Bajrang Dal, however, warned that any such move would have “grave consequences” for the government politically, saying there was “no legal ground” for such an action.

There are 897,861 Christians in Orissa, which has a population of 36.8 million.  

Report from Compass Direct News

here's a photo of him, he's the short haired model on the left. I'm also hoping to work with his friend on the right but we haven't set anything up yet. ^_^

and speaking of model mayhem, I'm working on getting an account there as well and once that happens, you'll be able to see a bit more of an actual "portfolio" and models i've worked with and whatnot...oh so much more professional. haha

if anybody else in interested in setting up a shoot, LET ME KNOW! I'm willing to do TF* (if you have a great look or idea/concept) or paid (i'm cheap and easy!!). I'm willing to travel to some extent. I'm also willing to travel further or do more involved/complicated shots if certain things are paid for of course.  I do have access to a small stock of props, clothes and make-up and am more than ok with you bringing your own. I don't mind escorts. I'm laid back and fun!!!

ya, i know that might sound a bit desperate but i'm chomping at the bit to get going on some shoots expecially before fall is over and winter turns everything monochromatic!

With USB memory sticks quickly becoming a commodity, global manufacturer Dane-Elec Memory is using music downloads as a gift with purchase promotion designed to differentiate its product from the competition and, in turn, garner better placement from retail partners.

“It makes perfect sense to offer digital content with digital storage media – especially digital music given that cars are now being sold with USB ports in their stereos,” notes Jon Christeson, Director of Marketing for Dane-Elec Memory. “And in differentiating our flash drives with a unique, exciting offer, it enables us to generate excitement among our retail partners. Ultimately, it’s all about feeding the retailer’s bottom line.”

Christeson, who says his company is also teaming with Duracell to launch a Duracell-branded flash drive that will be available in grocery stores, views the digital music offer as a long-term marketing strategy – making the fully branded music store option offered by Puretracks an important consideration.

“We wanted the music store to be a Dane-Elec branded experience because we want consumers to associate free music content with our USB drives,” says Christeson. “When we launch the Duracell flash drives, we’ll feature a music store customized for that brand too.”

Promotional Currency offers so many services such as digital entertainment promotions, promotional ringtone cards, digital product promotions and so much more.

With our new personalized skin promotions, you can give consumers the ability to feature your licensed content as a skin on their cell phone, PDA, or MP3 player – enabling you to promote an upcoming movie, CD or game release, or reinforce your brand or logo. You can also give consumers the choice of designing their own personalized skins using the MyTego design library or uploading their own personal image.

* Branded Landing Page: All of our personalized skin promotions can feature a custom-branded landing page that reflects the look and feel of your brand.
* Micro Sites: We can design a complete micro site customized for your brand, and upload your licensed content or images into our image library
* Intuitive Consumer Experience: Designing a customized skin is easy. Consumers just select their device and model from the list provided and let their imaginations run wild in our design library. Their skin will be delivered to their door in a matter of days.
* Fits all cell phone, PDA and PM3 player models. Promo codes can also be applied to Laptop and Game Console skins.

Promotional Currency offers so many services such as digital entertainment promotions, promotional ringtone cards, digital product promotions and so much more.

The free music offer, which kicks off in early November, is an enhancement to Platinum members' arrival gift options to emphasize the program’s focus on personalization.

“We always provide our Elite members with a gift on arrival – usually their choice between a food item or receiving additional points,” explains Anna Kittleson, Manager, Elite Recognition for Marriott Rewards. “But we wanted to start to evolve and offer them different options and with a co-branded Billboard music card, they can have their choice from millions of songs, which they can download over a one-year period.”

The co-branded Billboard music card program will initially roll out at 525 Fairfield Inn by Marriott locations nationwide, which Kittleson says is a natural fit for the hospitality brand. But she adds that Marriott Rewards plans to offer the music card program to its other select service brands in 2009 and wanted to partner with a premier music provider that had widespread brand recognition.

“We felt that Billboard was a good brand fit for us and brings a lot of strength and validity to the program,” notes Kittleson. “We are treating the Fairfield Inn music offer as a test, but we have no doubt that it will be a popular gift. And as far as we know, none of our competitors are offering music as an arrival gift so it’s a unique niche for us.”

Promotional Currency offers so many services such as digital entertainment promotions, promotional ringtone cards, digital product promotions and so much more.

Our new Latin music portal is bilingual and features more than 100,000 top Latin tracks in genres ranging from Reggaeton to Cristiana. Like our mainstream music store, puretrackslatin.com was designed with promotions in mind. Read more

Promotional Currency offers so many services such as digital entertainment promotions, promotional ringtone cards, digital product promotions and so much more.

Through our partnership with PlayPhone, we are able to offer a Wal-Mart promotions program that enables vendors to launch in-store promotions featuring exclusive mobile content from new album releases, as well as thousands of the coolest ringtones, hottest games and best graphics around.

Promotional Currency offers so many services such as digital entertainment promotions, promotional ringtone cards, digital product promotions and so much more.

1. Gift with Purchase: Drive specific product purchases by rewarding consumers with a digital incentive good for free music downloads, mobile content or a personalized skin for their cell phone or MP3 player.
2. Spend and Get Promotions: Digital incentives are a great way to drive foot traffic and increase the amount of money consumers spend in your store. Offer them a five song download or ringtone card with any $50 purchase, and increase excitement by giving them a chance to win an MP3 player or cell phone.
3. Customer Loyalty Appreciation: Get loyal customers into the holiday spirit with a music card that features a few holiday favorites from your customized holiday music store.
4. Think Latin: With $900 billion in annual spending power and a youth demographic that is three times the size of non-Latino whites , the Latin market is a force to be reckoned with. With our newly launched Latin Music Store, you can tap into the Latin music craze and feature a music promotion that appeals to this digital-savvy consumer base.

Promotional Currency offers so many services such as digital entertainment promotions, promotional ringtone cards, digital product promotions and so much more.

But even in today’s challenging environment, there are plenty of effective, low cost ways for retailers to drive consumers to their stores and move product off their shelves. Think universal appeal, think personalization, think digital.

Promotional Currency offers so many services such as digital entertainment promotions, promotional ringtone cards, digital product promotions and so much more.

In-house web team

An in-house web team requires a substantial investment in the beginning but in the long-run, this option can prove to be more cost-effective and allows you complete control. The main factor that will determine if it's worth having your own web team is what you expect to achieve with your website. Are you planning on weekly or even daily content updates? Do you wish to launch online promotions on a weekly basis? The more work you intend to do with your website, the greater the possibility of going for your in-house web team.

If you decide to take that route, you need people to do the work. Here are some of the job categories typical of a web team. However, in many cases, people do wear many hats.

• eMarketing Director
• Project Manager
• Technology Lead
• Programmer (Java, .NET, PHP)
• Integrator (HTML, CSS, etc.)
• Art Director
• Designer
• Copywriter
• Quality Control Manager

As I mentioned earlier, an internal web team will cost you a lot of money to set-up. You need to evaluate the ROI of an internal team versus outsourcing.

Intermediary solution

An intermediary solution is to outsource to a vendor the development of your website. The development must include all the back-end options (admin tools, dashboards, content management systems) to allow you to update the content, send emails, etc.

This option will of course allow you to have a smaller team:

• eMarketing Director
• Project Manager
• Programmer/Integrator
• Designer
• Copywriter

The composition of your team will really vary based on your needs and expectations.

Outsourcing to a web design agency

Rule of thumb, in order to build your online presence and attract customers, your website must be remarkable. Hire the company that will make you remarkable in a cost-effective way and with whom you will enjoy working in the long term.

Here are some basic elements that you should consider when hiring a web design firm:

Where to find a web design firm

Sure, you can check the yellow pages, web directories, etc. But the best way to find the web design agency that's right for you, is to look around, and find any websites that you like. If you think that a particular website fits well with what you would like to achieve, contact the company to have the name of their website design agency. In that way, not only you can be sure that this company does great design and technology work, but you also get to gather some references at the outset.

Finding the right design firm for you

Once you have lined-up a few web design firms, evaluate them based on the following criteria.

What you need

Be very clear about you need. And be realistic about your goals and growth plans so you know whether you should hire the firm short-term or long-term. You may decide to outsource the building and development part, and keep the maintenance in-house. Maybe you don't know exactly what you need. Then the best account manager will help you assess your needs clearly without undue pressure

Does the web design firm meet your needs?

If you are planning to sell online, does the firm have proven e-commerce experience? If you are considering a freelance web designer or developer, does this person have all the necessary skills to do everything you need? What are the other services that they offer: copywriting, translation, planning, marketing, etc.

The deal breaker

As I mentioned in a previous post, the most important determining factor for choosing your vendor is your chemistry with the agency and its capacity to go the extra mile. Evaluate if they share your values or if they are just humouring you to get your business. Insist of transparency, good will and rapport.  Ask yourself those questions:

1. Do they really listen to my needs?
2. Do they explain issues in ways I can understand?
3. Do they share my vision for the site?
4. Can we work together in the long term?
5. Do I feel comfortable with this firm?

Think ahead

The web industry is in flux right now. And the global economic situation in 2008 is making the situation even more volatile. In the web industry, it is common for web design firms of all sizes to merge, cut back their operations, or simply closed. You must ask about their financial stability and their vision for the future, especially if you expect to build a long-term relationship.

Expectations

When choosing the right design firm, it is essential that both parties agree on expectations and conditions. Evaluate thoroughly the what if scenarios. Some agencies work with the premise of requests for changes. That means that for every change - however minor it can be - you will be charged extra for it. Be clear about those little details. This will ensure that your projects will run more smoothly.

The design versus technology conundrum

What is more important? Design or technology? Both of course. One cannot be without the other. However, in this present era, where competition on the web is fierce, please keep in mind that your website MUST be remarkable. People's attention is getting harder to grab and even more difficult to retain. By remarkable, I do not mean, gimmicks such as pointless Flash animations. It simply means that you need to spend some time on the pre-planning stage (benchmarking, needs assessment, information architecture, wireframes, etc.) and make sure the firm can deliver a top-notched, visually attractive website for your company.

I couldn't be more excited to get this off the ground now!!!

Next step is for Nurture (the agency) to do a background check on me and to arrange a psychological evaluation.  Assuming that those both go smoothly (lol, I'll be pretty concerned if they don't!) we'll then start making travel plans to Cape Town or Johannesburg for me, for a night.  This will be quite a whirlwind trip where I will meet a social worker, lawyer, have a medical work-up and meet possible IP's.  Exciting stuff!

Because each individual process takes time it'll probably be 5/6 weeks before we get to that point though.

So next up for me is my gynae appointment next Friday.  Here's hoping he has only good news for me and my uterus :)

To move aside the clouds of despair and have the rays of light come shine through, I write this new poem entitled "Happy".

Happy happy happy
lets all be happy happy
flip flappity happity doo dah
I am so happy yay!

Ok that was just uhm, not cool. Sickening in fact. As I typed that I envisioned a dragon come flying around having a nice day deciding to swoop down and behead people with it's sharp talons. It thought out loud, "Wee this is so fun!" Yet the only thing being heard was the loud bellow of a roar coming from the monstrosity as people cried and screamed in chaos.

People scattered like ants as they frantically tried to escape death. A mist of blood forming as more and more people were gashed open, spraying blood like a sparkler sparking.

"Look everyone! We're saved!" Springing forth from my 80% optimistic mind, a knight in shining armor appeared atop the legendary Pegasus. Surrounded by an aura of light that defeats all evil, he raised his mighty sword into the air! Behind him an army of tanks rolled forward.

"Ha ha ha! Why if it isn't my arch-nemesis, your name burned with hatred in my soul. Damn you, Knight in Shining Armor Riding Pegasus with an Aura of Light. Are you surprised I know your name?!"

The knight looked puzzled. Was the abomination trying to talk to him? He signaled the tanks to fire. These were no ordinary tanks. They were green... and big too! They were even bouncing up and down with hydrolics! But what really set them apart was the logo on their sides.

RAID
Dragon & Flying Demon Killer
Quick acting formula kills dragons and flying demons; residual keeps killing for up to four weeks.
Pine Scented
-shake well-

The people rejoiced as the dragon fell from the sky in agony. The knight stood on top of the fallen enemy in pine scented glory. Pegasus neighed and thought, "Man I didn't even get to like fly around and look cool and stuff. Stupid temp hiring agency."

-------------------------------------

reyubix: some friends of mine told me that maybe a lot of people wont get it
reyubix: cuz most people don't get that kind of humor
Pao Pao: well, maybe you can downgrade a bit
Pao Pao: so the lesser beings will "get" it

( Downgrade? Like Windows XP to Vista ??? )

There are so many sources of information on agencies in books and on the Web, it was hard to know where to begin searching. I had a few recommendations from fellow writers, which I used to start my list. After floundering a bit in all the available resources, I decided to use CHILDREN'S WRITER'S & ILLUSTRATOR'S MARKET, but I found only a few agencies there. I moved on to Agent Query and used that site to grow my list. Now I have my top 20, but I've got to narrow the list even further to my top five.

So far I have:
• searched each agency's web site carefully and read the agent's blogs, if any.
• read each agent's submission guidelines so I can send them what they want--a query, sample chapters, outline, synopsis--and how they want it--electronic or snail main
• looked up recent sales for the specific agent at the agency I want to represent me in PublishersMarketplace to be sure the agent is a good match for my book.
• checked in Predators and Editors to be sure there are no black marks against the agency
• Searched for each agent in Association of Authors Representatives (US) or the Association of Authors Agents (UK).

I am ready to begin contacting agents. Wish me luck in finding THE MAGIC QUILT a good home.

Plus, we have a pretty robust PR division in our shop, so it seemed like a good stop. I think the real reason that came to see us that we're close to Niagara Falls, and they happened to be going that way after our talk. (sometimes we take the Falls for granted, but then, it's human nature to take the things close to us for granted.

But I digress. Because this is about brand u. When it came time for me to speak, I said,

"Your goal should be for people to enter your name in Google and have it be you. Even if they press: "I'm feeling lucky".

You don't need me to tell you that social networking is becoming a tool for hiring: This says it:

More than one in five employers search social networking sites to screen job candidates, according to a survey of more than 31,000 employers released by CareerBuilder.com this week.

Of the hiring managers who use social networks, one-third said they found information on such sites that caused them to toss the candidate out of consideration for a job, the survey said.

At this event, one of the people I work with in PR told the class to scrub their Facebook pages of any overt partying.

Image via CrunchBase

I disagree. I think partying on Facebook shows a nice balance, when balanced with a blog, or another tool that positively positions brand u as a competent professional. In advertising agencies, we like people who can party, and then show up to work and work.

Show that you know your stuff, and that you like to have fun, and you're showing a balance that will make you stand out.

My point is simple. Think about tools like Wordpress, Twitter, Flickr, and YouTube, and think about how they can further your brand. Then start spending time working on it. The goal is to get the #1 spot in google for your name. And if your name is Michael Jackson or Steve Smith, figure out how to get it up there anyway. Maybe it's Mike R Jackson, or something.

Solve it. It's actually a classic marketing problem.

Hint: Tools that start with your name (stumbleupon, tumblr) might work even better than tools that don't.

So good luck taking over Google.

VATICAN CITY, AUG. 21, 2007 (Zenit.org).- In a 13-page report, the Fides news agency of the Vatican Congregation for the Evangelization of Peoples takes a look at the death penalty, calling it "cruel and unnecessary."

"Love Your Enemies: How States Take Lives" includes an overview of the methods that nations have used in recent years to inflict death, a list of those countries that allow the death penalty. The report also includes an interview with a professor from the Catholic University of the Sacred Heart in Milan and one with a spokesman for the Community of Sant'Egidio.

The document raised questions regarding the use of the death penalty on minors and detailed information on the innocent who are erroneously condemned to death.

A section on 2006 statistics said that "a total 128 countries have abolished the death penalty in law or practice, whereas 69 countries still maintain capital punishment in force, but executions are carried out only in very few countries."

"In 2006, 91% of all reported executions happened in six countries; Kuwait has the highest number of executions per head in the world, followed by Iran," the report stated.

Eventual abolition

According to the Fides agency, "thanks to international mobilization in recent years, of individuals, nongovernmental organizations and certain governments -- with an increase in the number of abolitionist countries -- in 2007 the United Nations could decide to adopt a resolution to sanction a universal moratorium on the death penalty, in view of its eventual abolition."

The document refers to words from Pope John Paul II, including a speech during his visit to the United States on Jan. 27, 1999, where he said: "Modern society has the means to protect itself without denying criminals the opportunity to redeem themselves. The death penalty is cruel and unnecessary and this is true even for someone who has done something very wrong."

The report also includes a reference to a United States bishops' conference 2005 report: "When the state in our names and with our taxes ends a human life despite having nonlethal alternatives, it suggests that society can overcome violence with violence. The use of the death penalty ought to be abandoned not only for what it does to those who are executed, but for what it does to all of society."

This campaign was the 1st official policy issue brought forth through Twitter. Individuals supporting the campaign were asked to tweet:

"Congress, change the rules. Talk to us on our social networks. http://letourcongresstweet.org/ Let Our Congress Tweet! #LOCT08."

The campaign with links to media coverage can be found here. In response, the Sunlight Foundation has created @CAPITOLTWEETS has been created for those who want to receive tweets sent out by members of Congress. This allows interested individuals can get a @CAPITOLTWEETS widget to include on their blog or Web site if desired that updates every 10 minutes with tweets from Congress members.

The rulings official wording is and can be found on Speaker Pelosi's blog:

In addition to their official (house.gov) Web site, a Member may maintain another Web site(s), channel(s) or otherwise post material on third-party Web sites. (more...)

***************

Related, in June, I compiled a list of ALL government Twitter accounts available. This post has been very popular, and many more have since been a) suggested and b) created. Thus, here is the update, beginning with none other than....Congress members who Twitter. Colleague @ariherzog also maintains the Government page on the Twitter fan wiki for future updates. Enjoy!

U.S. Senate

• Votes from the Senate floor
• @NRSC - National Republican Senatorial Committee

1. Joe Biden (D-Del.)
2. Sen. John McCain (R-Az.)
3. Hillary Clinton (D-N.Y.)
4. Jim DeMint (R-S.C.)
5. Chris Dodd (D-Conn.)
6. Chuck Grassley (R-Iowa)
7. Jim Inhofe (R-Okla.)
8. Barack Obama (D-Ill.)

U.S. House of Representatives

• Votes from the House floor
• House Republican Conference Committee
• House Republican Policy Committee

1. Neil Abercrombie (D-Hawaii)
2. Gresham Barrett (R-S.C.)
3. Roy Blunt (R-Mo.)
4. John Boehner (R-Ohio)
5. John Boozman (R-Ark.)
6. Michael Burgess (R-Texas)
7. Dan Burton (R-Ind.)
8. Eric Cantor (R-Va.)
9. John Culberson (R-Texas)
10. Keith Ellison (D-Minn.)
11. Randy Forbes (R-Va.)
12. Pete Hoekstra (R-Mich.)
13. Randy Kuhl (R-N.Y.)
14. Tom Latham (R-Iowa)
15. Bob Latta (R-Ohio)
16. Thaddeus McCotter (R-Mich.)
17. Kendrick Meek (D-Fla.)
18. Candice Miller (R-Mich.)
19. George Miller (D-Calif.)
20. Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.)
21. Tom Price (R-Ga.)
22. Denny Rehberg (R-Mont.)
23. Ileana Ros-Lehtinen (D-Fla.)
24. Tim Ryan (D-Ohio)
25. Christopher Shays (R-Conn.)
26. John Shimkus (R-Ill.)
27. Mark Udall (D-Colo.)
28. Tom Udall (D-N.M.)
29. Joe Wilson (R-S.C.)
30. Rob Wittman (R-Va.)
31. John Yarmuth (D-Ky.)
32. Ron Paul (R-Texas) (FAKE PROFILE)

Executive Branch (including Cabinet, departments, and agencies)

• The White House: Communications Office
• The White House: Office of National Drug Control Policy
• Department of Agriculture: Food Safety Information Center
• Department of Commerce: National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration: National Marine Sanctuary
• Department of Defense: DipNote Blog, @dipnote
• Department of Defense: Maxine Teller, Public Affairs
• Department of Defense: Mark Drapeau, Research Fellow, National Defense University
• Department of Defense: US Joint Forces Command
• Department of Defense: Department of Army: US Army
• Department of Defense: Department of Navy: Naval Air Warfare Center Weapons Division: HJ Armstrong, public affairs
• Department of Energy: Argonne National Laboratory
• Department of Health & Human Services: AIDS.gov (AIDS Conference)
• Department of Health & Human Services: AIDS.gov (Main)
• Department of Health & Human Services: National Institutes of Health: NIH Communications Office
• Department of Health & Human Services: National Institutes of Health: Jim Angus
• Department of Health & Human Services: Office on Women's Health
• Department of Homeland Security: Emergency Preparedness
• Department of Homeland Security: Leadership Journal
• Department of Homeland Security: Transportation Security Administration blog team
• Department of Homeland Security: US Citizenship and Immigration Services
• Department of Interior: National Park Service: Brooks Camp at Katmai National Park
• Department of Interior: National Park Service: National Center for Preservation Technology & Training
• Department of State: Country-specific Information, travel department
• Department of State: Dipnote, official blog feed
• Department of State: US Embassy, London
• Environmental Protection Agency: EPA
• Environmental Protection Agency: EPA News Releases
• Environmental Protection Agency: Greenversations blog
• General Services Administration: Federal Citizen Information Center
• GSA: Office of Citizen Services and Communications: GovGab
• GSA: Office of Citizen Services and Communications: GobiernoUSA.gov
• GSA: Office of Citizen Services and Communications: USA.gov
• National Aeronautics and Space Administration: Astrobiology Institute
• NASA: CoLab, advising and consulting on NASA collaboration
• NASA: Desert RATS
• NASA: Earth Observatory, echoed at Natural Hazard
• NASA: GLAST
• NASA: Hubble Space Telescope
• NASA: Jason-1 project
• NASA: Kepler
• NASA: Lunar Atmosphere & Dust Environment Explorer
• NASA: Lunar Crater Observation & Sensing Satellite
• NASA: Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter
• NASA: NanoSail-D mission, first solar sail created for nanosatellites
• NASA: NASA EDGE
• NASA: PharmaSat
• NASA: PreSat
• NASA: Public Affairs
• NASA: Solar Dynamics Observatory
• NASA: Transiting Exoplanet Survey Satellite
• NASA: Emma Antunes, web manager
• NASA: Ames Research Center: Public Affairs Office
• NASA: Ames Research Center: Kimberly Ennico, payload scientist
• NASA: Goddard Space Flight Center: Linda Cureton, chief information officer
• NASA: Goddard Space Flight Center: Ravi Sharma, engineer
• NASA: Innovative Partnerships Program: Doug Comstock, director
• NASA: Jet Propulsion Laboratory: Cassini, flying around Saturn
• NASA: Jet Propulsion Laboratory: Earth Vital Signs
• NASA: Jet Propulsion Laboratory: Mars Exploration Rover
• NASA: Jet Propulsion Laboratory: News, unofficial feed, not endorsed by JPL
• NASA: Jet Propulsion Laboratory: Phoenix Mars Lander
• NASA: Langley Research Center: Bil Kleb, computational aerothermodynamist
• NASA: Marshall Space Flight Center: Daniel Kanigan, public affairs
• National Geospatial-Intelligence Agency: Chris Rasmussen, social software knowledge manager/trainer
• Office of Personnel Management: OPM
• Securities and Exchange Commission: SEC Investor Education
• Social Security Administration: Lee Alviar, public affairs specialist in Dallas
• U.S. Geological Survey: USGS
• U.S. Geological Survey: Earthquake & Tsunami Warning
• U.S. Geological Survey: Dave Govoni, paleontologist
• U.S. Intelligence Community: Andrea Baker
• U.S. Intelligence Community: Heather Cox
• U.S. Intelligence Community: John Hale
• U.S. Peace Corps
• U.S. Small Business Administration: Business.Gov

Additional

• Bob Barr (L), former U.S. Representative from Georgia, presidential candidate in 2008
• John Edwards (D), former U.S. Senator from North Carolina, presidential candidate in 2004 and 2008
• @secgen - The U.N. Secretary General
• @peacecorps - The Peace Corps
• L.A. California Fire Department
• Mike Huckabee - Former Arkansas Governor and Presidential Candidate

U.S. State Government Leaders

1. @schwarzenegger - California Gov. Arnold Schwarsenegger
2. @GovernorGibbons - Nevada Gov. Jim Gibbons (No longer actice and beware the fake account @FakeGibbons)
3. @govgranholm - Michigan Gov. Jennifer Granholm
4. @johncherry - Michigan Lieutenant Gov. John Cherry
5. @PeterKinder - Missouri Lieutenant Gov. Peter Kinder
6. Mark Boughton, Mayor of Danbury, Connecticut
7. R.T. Rybak, Mayor of Minneapolis, Minnesota

U.S. State Government

1. @coloradogov - Colorado Government
2. @kygov - Kentucky Government
3. @vermontgov - Vermont Government
4. @UtahGov - Utah Government
5. @SCGOV - South Carolina Government
6. @www_maine_gov - Maine Government
7. @rigov - Rhode Island Government
8. @wsdot - Washington State Department of Transportation
9. @NevDCNR - Nevada Dept. of Conservation and Natural Resources

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