Pro- and anti-Syrian groups clash in north Lebanon

A Sunni gunman takes aim during clashes that erupted on Syria Street, which divides the areas between Sunnis and Alawites, in the northern port city of Tripoli, Lebanon, Saturday June 2, 2012. (AP Photo)

A Sunni gunman takes aim during clashes that erupted on Syria Street, which divides the areas between Sunnis and Alawites, in the northern port city of Tripoli, Lebanon, Saturday June 2, 2012. (AP Photo)

An anti-Syrian regime protester shouts slogans during a demonstration against the Houla massacre, held by the Syrian opposition citizens who live in Lebanon, in the northern port city of Tripoli, Friday June 1, 2012. Saying he is "impatient and frustrated," special envoy Kofi Annan called on the Syrian president Friday to implement a U.N.-brokered peace plan following a horrific weekend massacre that killed more than 100 people. The Arabic head band reads: "No God only God and Mohammed his prophet." (AP Photo)

An Anti-Syrian regime protester holds up a placard as she shouts slogans during a demonstration against the Houla massacre, held by the Syrian opposition citizens who live in Lebanon, in the northern port city of Tripoli, Friday, June 1, 2012. Saying he is "impatient and frustrated," special envoy Kofi Annan called on the Syrian president Friday to implement a U.N.-brokered peace plan following a horrific weekend massacre that killed more than 100 people. (AP Photo)

This Thursday, May 31, 2012 citizen journalism image provided by Shaam News Network SNN, purports to show Syrian mourners gathered around the bodies of eleven workers killed by gunmen on their way to work Thursday at a state-owned fertilizer factory in the central province of Homs, Syria. (AP Photo/Shaam News Network, SNN) THE ASSOCIATED PRESS IS UNABLE TO INDEPENDENTLY VERIFY THE AUTHENTICITY, CONTENT, LOCATION OR DATE OF THIS HANDOUT PHOTO.

This citizen journalism image provided by Shaam News Network SNN, taken on Thursday May 31, 2012 purports to show a Syrian rebel shouting slogans after they found the bodies of eleven workers killed by gunmen on their way to work Thursday at a state-owned fertilizer factory in the central province of Homs, Syria. (AP Photo/Shaam News Network, SNN)THE ASSOCIATED PRESS IS UNABLE TO INDEPENDENTLY VERIFY THE AUTHENTICITY, CONTENT, LOCATION OR DATE OF THIS HANDOUT PHOTO

(AP) ? Gunbattles between pro- and anti-Syrian groups in northern Lebanon killed at least seven people and wounded 22 on Saturday, security officials said, as activists reported fresh shelling in a region in central Syria where a massacre last week left more than 100 people dead.

The clashes were the latest to hit the Lebanese port of Tripoli. Repeated outbreaks of violence in the city, the country's second largest, are seen as spillover from the conflict in neighboring Syria and have raised fears of an escalation in sectarian tensions in Lebanon.

The fighting in Tripoli started shortly before midnight Friday and intensified Saturday, the officials said on condition of anonymity in line with regulations.

Lebanon and Syria share a complex web of political and sectarian ties and rivalries, which are easily enflamed. Clashes in Tripoli last month killed at least eight people.

The conflict pits Sunni Muslims who support Syrian rebels trying to oust President Bashar Assad against members of the Alawite sect, an offshoot of Shiite Islam of which Assad is a member.

Smoke was seen billowing from several apartments near the city's Syria street, the dividing line between the mainly Sunni Bab Tabbaneh neighborhood and the adjacent, Alawite-majority Jabal Mohsen. The area around Syria street was mostly empty and gunmen were roaming the streets.

"We are being targeted because we support the Syrian people," a Sunni gunman told Associated Press Television. "We are with you (Syrian people) and will not abandon you."

In Syria, activists said government troops fired shells at Houla, a cluster of farming villages in the central province of Homs where the U.N. says at least 108 people ? including 49 children under the age of ten ? were killed on May 25.

The opposition and the government have exchanged accusations over the massacre, each blaming the other.

Syria has come under deep international isolation since its forces launched a ferocious crackdown on dissent nearly 15 months ago, but the Houla massacre has brought a new urgency to calls to end the crisis.

In Qatar, the head of Syria's largest exile opposition group said Saturday he would welcome Arab military action aimed at brining a halt to attacks by Assad's regime against Syrian rebel forces and civilians.

Burhan Ghalioun, the leader of the Syrian National Council, made the comments before a meeting of Arab League foreign ministers, who discussed the bloodshed in Syria, including the Houla massacre.

Gulf nations such as Saudi Arabia and Qatar have pledged funds to aid Syria's rebels, but there is no direct evidence that the money is reaching anti-Assad forces or that the rebels are becoming better armed. The Arab League, however, does not appear ready to deploy its own troops.

After the meeting, the ministers issued a statement calling on the Arab world's two main satellite operators, Saudi Arabia-hosted Arabsat and Egypt's Nilesat, to suspend the broadcasting of Syria's state-run and private television stations.

The move, which would block the regime's ability to push its version of the uprising, is seen as another step by the Arab League to pressure Damascus, which was suspended from the 22-member bloc last year.

Syrian state TV quickly responded, saying the move is "part of the aggression against Syria and aims to silence the voice of its people." It added that the decision aims to "conceal the facts of what is going on in Syria."

With violence continuing despite nearly 300-strong U.N. observers on the ground in Syria, League chief Nabil Elaraby suggested that the monitors' mission shift into a peacekeeping one.

"What is needed today is not only observing and investigating but supervising that the violence stops," Elaraby told the meeting. "One of the alternatives could be amending the authorization regarding the observers so that they become a peacekeeping force."

The deployment of unarmed U.N. observers is part of international envoy Kofi Annan's six-point peace plan, which includes a cease-fire that is to lead to talks between the regime and its opponents. The truce has never really taken hold, although world leaders continue to pin their hopes on it, in part because there is little appetite in the West for a Libya-style intervention.

Annan warned Arab officials in Qatar that "the specter of all-out civil war, with a worrying sectarian dimension, grows by the day," in Syria, and added that the crisis is spilling over to neighboring countries, an apparent reference to Lebanon.

He called for the immediate implementation of his peace plan.

On Friday night, state TV aired interviews with two witnesses from Houla who said the victims of the massacres were members of families that support the government and did not take part in anti-Assad protests. The witnesses names and faces were not made public for their own safety, according to the station.

Those statements contradicted accounts of witnesses who blamed "shabiha" or the shadowy gunmen who operate on behalf of Assad's regime. The U.N. also said it had strong suspicions those pro-regime gunmen were responsible for much of the bloodshed in Houla.

In Brussels, U.N. High Commissioner for Human Rights Navi Pillay said Saturday there should be no amnesty for crimes committed in Syria, even if potential prosecution might motivate members of the regime to cling to power at all costs.

Pillay spoke a day after the Human Rights Council voted overwhelmingly to condemn Syria over the slaughter in Houla.

Since the massacre occurred, activists have reported that government troops have shelled the area almost daily. They say many residents have the area for fear of a new massacre.

The Britain-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said the shelling concentrated on the village of Tal Dahab in Houla.

The Observatory and the Local Coordination Committees also reported shelling and clashes between troops and rebels in the central city of Homs, the southern province of Daraa and some suburbs of the capital Damascus.

Activists say as many as 13,000 people have died in Assad's crackdown against the anti-government uprising, which began in March 2011 amid the Arab Spring. One year after the revolt began, the U.N. put the toll at 9,000, but many hundreds more have died since.

___

Associated Press writers Brian Murphy in Dubai, United Arab Emirates, and Don Melvin in Brussels contributed to this report.

Associated Press

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Olympic torch starts 5-day Northern Ireland tour

BELFAST, Northern Ireland (AP) ? The Olympic torch began its five-day tour of Northern Ireland with plenty of excitement and no signs of trouble Sunday as the territory's Protestants and Catholics vowed to show the world how united the community has become after four decades of conflict.

Police warned of extra security to deter any of the region's small Irish Republican Army factions ? still trying to undermine a broadly successful peace process with guns and bombs ? from trying to disrupt the event.

But the Olympic torch proceeded from Belfast's Titanic Quarter to the prosperous belt of towns along the County Down coast with no unusual security evident. Just as during its first two weeks on British soil in England and Wales, the crowds were free to stand beside the passing torchbearer, who was flanked by four to six tracksuit-clad security staff jogging alongside.

Between stops, a Northern Ireland police motorcycle unit used to protecting VIPs sped ahead to block roads and ensure the torch convoy of more than a dozen vehicles carrying support staff and media stuck to its ambitious schedule to reach every corner of this province of 1.7 million by Thursday.

Sinn Fein, the Irish nationalist party that long supported IRA attacks but today helps govern Northern Ireland alongside its British Protestant majority, said all of Ireland was excited to see the symbol of the 2012 London Games arrive. The flame will cross the border Wednesday into the Republic of Ireland to tour Dublin, a special concession to demonstrate today's exceptionally strong British-Irish relations and cooperation between the two governments on the island of Ireland.

"The all-Ireland torch relay is a celebration of sport, culture and our local heroes. This really is our opportunity to shine and showcase our cities, beautiful scenery and most of all the people who live here," said Caral Ni Chuilin, the Sinn Fein sports minister for Northern Ireland.

Sunday's torch run started at dawn in the Belfast docklands where the city's most infamous export, the Titanic, was built a century ago. It headed east to Holywood, best known as the hometown of top-ranked golfer Rory McIlroy, then to the port of Bangor, the major town of a stretch of coastline known as the Gold Coast because of its reputation for comfort and affluence.

Along the sidewalks, sometimes the crowds of spectators grew to five deep in the hearts of town, but more often the torchbearer was able to wave to single groups of people cheering, whistling, hooting ? or occasionally still rubbing sleep out of their eyes, bathrobes on, coffee mugs in hand.

The torch spends the rest of Sunday visiting Stormont Parliamentary Building, the base for Northern Ireland's 5-year-old unity government, then showcasing some of the province's most spectacular scenery along the coast north past glacier-carved forest glens and the Giants Causeway, with its strange carpet of hexagonal rocks running down to the Atlantic waves.

As the torch passed through predominantly Protestant towns east of Belfast, the locals' loyalties were on display, with many waving British flags adorned with images of Queen Elizabeth II. Much of the torch's later route goes through predominantly Irish Catholic turf, including areas where IRA extremists still committed to the idea of overthrowing Northern Ireland by force live.

Underscoring the threat, a suspected IRA activist tossed a grenade at a police unit Saturday in Northern Ireland's second-largest city, Londonderry, where the Olympic cavalcade will spend parts of Monday and Tuesday. The police, who were searching a property at the time, weren't injured but their vehicle suffered heavy shrapnel damage.

In Belfast a police deputy commander, Assistant Chief Constable Alistair Finlay, said the Northern Ireland public would see heavy deployments of officers both along the Olympic torch routes and at events associated with the queen's Diamond Jubilee, also being celebrated this weekend. He said IRA splinter groups "will take any opportunity to cause disruption."

He said people might find roads blocked, and other unexpected security delays. "We are taking these steps to keep communities and their officers safe. We would not do this if it was not absolutely necessary to protect life," Finlay said.

Several spectators said they doubted that any IRA splinter group would seriously disrupt the torch run. They said even if Irish republican extremists tried something, Northern Ireland's people were determined to keep partying anyway.

"We're not going to let that crowd of morons ruin our day. They represent zero-point-zero of the population. This is the real Northern Ireland," said Gareth Wilson, 35, standing with his wife and two sons by the roadside with cell phones in hand, each snapping pictures as the torch cavalcade passed.

___

Online:

Olympic torch relay May 19-July 27, http://l2012.cm/Juynr7

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Elder Law and Geriatric Care Management - Two Important Committee

Almost 8 years ago, a 84 y.o. client of ours (who did not have children or family) taught us the importance of having a "committee".? Her committee was composed of 2 friends that were her own age and 2 friends who were about 20 years younger than she.? She wisely said that it is important to form a committee of lots of varied perspectives, different ages, and people who you trust to help you with important life changing decisions.?At that time she invited?a CareForce RN to participate on her committee as she faced some disability issues.? ?Fast forward to today when I met with a elder law attorney to discuss the value of an attorney who is the legal advocate for his/her client.? We had a thoughtful discussion about legal, financial, medical, safety and emotional issues that families must address during that journey called life, and in particular the years when we are considered "elderly".? Getting advice and assistance from an attorney who is an expert in elder law can help our clients to make thoughtful and informed decisions about planning for long term care and/or estate planning.?Most definitely a qualified elder law attorney can make sure you have all of the facts before making life changing decisions.? ?Then inviting a Geriatric Care Manager, such as CareForce GCM's, to assess your medical, safety, and support needs for your long term care can inform your planning and make that committee of yours able to help you with your decisions.? Make sure you have the right members of your personal long term care committee.

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Syria on brink of sectarian civil war, West says

BEIRUT (Reuters) - Peace envoy Kofi Annan said on Friday he was "frustrated and impatient" a week after the massacre in Syria of 108 people, mostly children, shocked the world, while there were signs Russia might be moving closer to the West on how to tackle the crisis.

President Vladimir Putin denied that Russia, which has a base in Syria and supplies it with weapons, was supplying arms to the Syrian government to crush rebels, brushing off U.S. criticism of a "reprehensible" arms shipment to Damascus.

Putin, speaking after talks with German Chancellor Angela Merkel and ahead of talks with French President Francois Holland, reiterated that Moscow does not back any side in what he called an "extremely dangerous" situation in Syria and said patience was needed to achieve a political solution.

World powers are pressing for a peaceful resolution in Syria, where more than 10,000 people have been killed in a 15-month uprising against President Bashar al-Assad, to prevent the country sliding into an all-out civil war that could also trigger regional conflict.

"I think perhaps I am more frustrated than most of you because I am in the thick of this," Annan told reporters after talks in Beirut with Lebanon's Prime Minister Najib Mikati. "I want to see things move faster," he said.

Syrian rebels, who agreed to Annan's April 12 ceasefire plan, have been urging him to declare the plan dead, freeing them from any commitment to a tattered truce which both rebels and government forces have repeatedly violated.

Damascus says it wants Annan's plan to succeed in ending the violence so the crisis can be resolved through political talks.

Although refusing to declare the ceasefire a failure, Annan welcomed any further steps from the U.N. Security Council. "If there are other options on the table, I will say bravo and support them," he said.

OUTRAGE OVER HOULA

Outrage at last Friday's mass killings in the Syrian town of Houla, documented by U.N. monitors, prompted a host of Western countries to step up pressure on Syria by expelling its senior diplomats, and to press Russia and China to allow tougher action by the U.N. Security Council.

But China and Russia have stuck to their rejection of any intervention or U.N.-backed penalties to force Assad to change course, while backing Annan's peace drive, the only broadly accepted initiative to halt the bloodletting in Syria.

Merkel and Hollande are expected to try to convince Putin that the West is not working against Russia's strategic interests in the Middle East and that the intention is to halt the bloodshed that has erupted across the country.

The West is averse to military intervention, although Hollande said that could change if the U.N. Security Council backed it - something that is not possible unless veto-wielding members Russia and China allow it.

U.S. Ambassador to the U.N. Human Rights Council Eileen Chamberlain Donahoe said her hope was that Russia was "on the cusp of joining with us to use the leverage we have together to make sure that this conflict does not spiral out of control."

In negotiations over the text of a U.N. resolution on the Houla massacre, she said the Russians were "very interested, more than ever in the past, to coming to an agreement".

"They weren't quite there, but I think they've signaled enough of an interest to move, at least in our negotiations, that there is still that possibility with the conversations ahead of us that they will be helping, trying to use their leverage to bring this to an end," she said.

Donahoe said Secretary Hillary Clinton would meet Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov this weekend.

Clinton, speaking in Oslo on Friday, said Russia was seen in Damascus and at the United Nations as supporting the continuity of Assad's rule. But she said the United States was prepared to cooperate with Russia if Moscow is ready to work on a political transition in Syria.

"We have a good, long-standing relationship with Syria, but we do not support any side from which the threat of a civil war may emerge," Putin said. Russia, along with China, has vetoed two moves in the U.N. Security Council to condemn Assad, but supported the Annan initiative.

"I agree with Madame Chancellor (Merkel) that our common task is to prevent the situation from developing under such an unfavorable scenario. Today we are seeing the signs of an emerging civil war. It is extremely dangerous," he added.

"As for supplying weapons, Russia does not provide weapons that could be used in a civil conflict," he said.

The Kremlin does not want to lose its firmest foothold in the Middle East - a client for billions of dollars' worth of weapons and the host of Russia's only warm-water naval port outside the former Soviet Union.

GUNFIRE AND CLASHES

The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, a British-based monitoring group, said that at least 20 people were killed in gunfire and clashes in Syria on Friday. The Observatory added that hundreds of thousands of civilians attended opposition protests around the country.

A day before, 12 workers were killed near Syria's western town of al-Qusair when gunmen loyal to Assad ordered them off a bus and shot them, activists said. Syrian media blamed "terrorists" for the killings.

Video released by activists showed bloodied corpses of 12 men - two of them with the top of their heads shot away - laid out on the ground near the town of al-Qusair, which like Houla lies about 20km from the opposition stronghold of Homs city. Qusair is southwest of Homs, near the Lebanese border.

Hamza Al-Buweida, a local opposition activist, said he spoke to a survivor who said the dead men had been returning from work at a fertilizer company in al-Buweida al-Sharqiya.

"They stopped, as usual, at a Syrian army checkpoint. But about 300 meters after the checkpoint a yellow car with four armed shabbiha (pro-Assad militia) stopped their car," he told Reuters over Skype.

"They took money off the men and then killed them one by one with gunshots to the head. More than 300 bullets were found in the bodies," he said.

It was impossible to verify Buweida's account of the killing. Syria has restricted journalists' access since the start of the uprising against Assad 15 months ago.

Activists say 50 to 100 people have died daily this week, including civilians, soldiers and anti-Assad rebels.

Syrian forces and pro-government militia accused of committing a massacre in Houla could face prosecution for crimes against humanity, the United Nations said on Friday and rights experts said Syrian authorities had directly ordered torture.

U.N. High Commissioner for Human Rights Navi Pillay called again for the Security Council to refer Syria to the prosecutor of the International Criminal Court (ICC).

Pillay, a former war crimes judge, said: "I reiterate that those who order, assist or fail to stop attacks on civilians are individually criminally liable for their actions."

Former President Bill Clinton believes the worsening situation in Syria is similar in some respects to one he faced early on in the Bosnia crisis in the 1990s, and said a way must be found to stop the violence.

Clinton said he believes the world "would come rushing to help Syria" if Assad left but said it was "very difficult" for the United States to act alone. European countries had to first be "persuaded to support our position."

(Additional reporting by Tom Miles in Geneva, Khaled Yacoub Oweis in Amman, Mariam Karouny in Beirut, Gleb Bryanski and Andreas Rinke in Berlin; Writing by Oliver Holmes; Editing by Jon Hemming)

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Floor Renovation Phoenix - Choosing Between Tile, Stone, and ...

Last updated 13 hours ago

Cheap and flooring quickly makes up for its low cost as it requires repair and replacement. Make the most of your home improvement budget by choosing a top-tier flooring material instead. This guide to tile, stone, and wood can you upgrade your home with a robust new floor.

  • Tile: Clay tile floors are perfect for any room in your home. Tough tile exteriors stand up to food traffic with ease and are extremely resistant to water. Plus, tile flooring materials come in all shapes, colors, and designs. This versatility makes it easy for homeowners to match tile to an existing decorating scheme. Tile?s water resistance makes it an especially great choice for bathrooms and kitchens as well.
    ?
  • Stone: Stone is the best choice for homeowners looking to add value and security to their home. These stately, nearly indestructible floors look great in living rooms and master suites alike. Some stone materials may require sealing from moisture?this is especially important for stone floors in kitchens. Once sealed, however, they?re resistant to almost everything. Stone floors make a huge impact on prospective buyers, so they?re a great investment for homeowners looking to flip their properties.
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  • Wood: Wood is unique both for its appearance and its strength. Rustic and classic wood materials add natural charm to any dining room or guest room. In addition, various wood colors can add bold new elements to interior decorating. Like stone floors, wood floors will require some ongoing maintenance to stay in top condition. Regular refinishing of your wood floors protects them permanent stains and unattractive scratches.

Tile, wood, and stone floors should be handled by a professional. These materials are tough to work with and need expert installation for best performance. Call Gryphon Roofing & Remodeling today at (877) 435-4526 if you need us to install a durable new floor in your home.

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UN refugee agency quadruples aid appeal for Sahel

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Taylor Kitsch Snuffs 'Catching Fire' Finnick Rumors

Actor was rumored to be in the running for 'Hunger Games' sequel, along with Garrett Hedlund and Armie Hammer.
By Kara Warner


Taylor Kitsch
Photo: Getty Images

And then there were two? The list of three very eligible male actors — Taylor Kitsch, Armie Hammer and Garrett Hedlund — recently speculated to be the top choices to play fan-favorite character Finnick O'Dair in the "Hunger Games" sequel "Catching Fire" has apparently been trimmed to two.

Kitsch said the speculation about his possible involvement in the second film in the blockbuster franchise is just that.

"Not going to happen," the "Battleship" and "John Carter" actor wrote in an email to the Los Angeles Times this week.

There has been no word from either Hammer's or Hedlund's camps regarding the validity of the report, but when MTV News reached out to Lionsgate for confirmation, we received this statement: "Like the first film, Lionsgate won't be commenting on any of the rumors until we officially announce."

Finnick appears in both "Catching Fire" and the last book in the franchise, "Mockingjay," and is memorable for his extreme attractiveness, along with the fact that 10 years before he entered the arena in "Catching Fire," he had won the Hunger Games at age 14 using a Trident.

Another actor rumored to be in the running is Robert Pattinson, who quickly put those rumors to bed. "I was kind of curious for a second," Pattinson told USA Today about the reports. "So I called my agent. My agent was like, 'No ... no one's going to offer you that part.' I was like, 'Thanks for the reassurance.' "

This hasn't stopped us from doing our own speculation and fan casting of the role, which provides for a fun distraction until Lionsgate makes the official announcement.

There's still time to cast your vote for "The Hunger Games" to win big at Sunday's MTV Movie Awards, airing at 9 p.m. ET. The film is nominated for a slew of Golden Popcorn trophies in the categories of Best Cast, Movie of the Year, Best Hero, Best Fight, Best Kiss and more.

Head over to MovieAwards.MTV.com to vote for your favorite flicks now! The 21st annual MTV Movie Awards air live this Sunday, June 3, at 9 p.m. ET.

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User:FazioBrimmer230 - TLTR Wiki

Write and Speak(?) for the Ear


You and I may possibly not aspire to write fantastic books or make fantastic speeches. But almost all of us want a thing to happen when we write or speak. And, the a lot more we tailor our words for the ears of readers and listeners, the higher our probabilities of getting the results we want.

By writing for the ear, I mean that spoken words can have a lot more power than written words. Immediately after all, when we have crucial messages, we prefer to deliver them verbally and personally, rather than by sending a written message.

Of course, it's not practical or possible to deliver every message verbally. But, if we can capture some of the nuances of the spoken word we can boost the power of our messages. When we write for the ear, our writing undergoes some subtle but crucial modifications. Our words, sentences, and paragraphs adjust in a number of crucial ways.

Take into account the number of pauses that happen when we speak. Most of us pause often, far more frequently than when we write. To capture these pauses, use commas or 1 of the other 'slowing' punctuation marks, such as colons and semicolons.

Writing for the ear also signifies shorter sentences. And even fragments of sentences. As you can imagine, speech tends to higher spontaneity than written expression, which implies shorter sentences and more fragments.

A lot of of the exact same principles hold when we make formal speeches or presentations. Particularly if we speak from prepared notes.

Whatever we say, when we speak publicly, has to go in by means of listeners' ears. And so, if you are going to allow me to belabor the obvious, we want to write speeches for listeners' ears, not our mouths.

You can contact on several speedy and straightforward methods. wordpress theme generator . For example, use short words whenever possible. Words such as 'many' rather than 'numerous' 'use' rather than 'utilize' and 'need' rather than 'require'.

You can also speak for the ear by making use of widespread words rather than jargon or technical words. Step back from your speech, immediately after writing it, and ask oneself if you use words that a child will understand.

We also want vivid words, words that fire up our imagination, that paint new pictures on the canvases of readers' minds. Descriptive words that convey action and emotion, words that drive tips into our heads.

Use active verbs and not passive verbs. Banish words like 'is', and 'are'. Also, verify for the word 'being' and rewrite to get rid of it. Bring in verbs that do some thing.

Now that you have got the words you want, place them into brief sentences. A single brief sentence. Followed by yet another short sentence. But, every when in while add a longer sentence for variety and to minimize the chances of boring your audience. And, maintain the tips easy within these long sentences.

I'm biased, I know. After spending the better element of a decade writing and reading radio news copy, I feel it is a very good thought to write for the ear.

Try it for oneself. Write some thing, read it out loud, and ask oneself about the impact it really is most likely to have on readers. Re-write as essential, and read it aloud once more. Repeat the approach a few instances. By the time you finish you ought to have a effectively-crafted piece of writing, even if no one ever reads it aloud or hears it spoken.

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