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NorCal Utility Gives $250K to Defeat Gay Marriage Ban

"The utility also said it will spearhead the formation of a business advisory council that will seek to get other businesses around California to to defeat the ballot initiative," reported the LA Times. The working theory behind businesses getting on the No on Prop 8 bandwagon is that if passed, the ban would be bad for business and many more gay employees are out and in higher ranking positions.

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Squeeze hits business confidence

Tough economic conditions are seriously affecting business confidence as profits fall, a study just published has revealed.

Firms' optimism about business in the next six months is at its lowest level since records began, although companies in Scotland seem to have a more positive outlook than the rest of the country.

The Business in Britain survey from Lloyds TSB Commercial questioned 1,800 UK firms.

The bank's Business Confidence Index for July revealed that the balance of firms expecting better rather than worse order books, profits and sales for then next six months dropped from plus-18% in January to minus-8%.

Of those quizzed, just plus-2% are expecting high than lower sales in the next half year compared to plus-28% six months ago, while the balance of UK firms predicting higher rather than lower profits over the same period has dropped from plus-4% to minus-25%. more

Trade payment delays blow out by four weeks

Businesses are facing delays on trade payments four weeks beyond the standard terms, according to new reports.

Dun & Bradstreets analysis of business-to-business trade payments for the June Quarter shows the average payment period has reached a seven-year high of 55.8 days.

While trade payments are not considered a traditional indicator of the financial health of the economy, D&B Australia Chief Executive Officer Christine Christian says payment times have a substantial impact on business cash flow and the subsequent stability of the national economy.

"The last time payment figures were as high as the current level was back in 2001. Interestingly, 2001 was a year in which businesses suffered a severe economic downturn as companies found themselves victims of over indebtedness," says Christian. more

Congress Looking To Businesses For Help

�This hearing today, I believe, will leave no doubt that the ideas and innovations that are good for the environment will also be good for businesses� bottom lines.�

Officials said the reason the hearing was held in Connecticut rather than Capitol Hill in Washington, where such meetings are usually held, is that two of Connecticut's best-known companies are big on green energy.

�In a world defined by a quest to develop renewable and alternative energy, Connecticut can be the epicenter of that world,� said Rep. Christopher Murphy, 5th District. . more

Audited annual reports may face scrutiny

NEW DELHI: The ministry of corporate affairs is working on a proposal according to which audited annual accounts of companies would be scrutinised on a regular basis. Currently, the government directs special audits only in cases where irregularities come to light.

The development follows a proposal from a high-level committee on financial sector reforms. The Planning Commission constituted panel, chaired by former IMF chief economist Raghuram Rajan, had proposed that a review of such annual accounts would result in greater public confidence in company reports. Emergence of large financial conglomerates and holding companies makes such a system of supervision a necessity, goes the argument.

Even as the proposal is at a deliberative phase, government officials say that in case the panel's recommendations are accepted, amendments will have to be made to the Company Law. more

Latest Business Lead Opportunity Seeker News

Jobless MBAs Seek Solace in Support Groups - Yahoo Finance

Gillian Mager was in the midst of updating her MBA job club members on her networking efforts last June when she broke down in tears. Like most in the support group at the University of California at San Diego's Rady School of Management (Rady Full ...

We Regret These Errors - TheStranger.com

I n our election endorsements in the October 15 issue of The Stranger , we ran the wrong date for the general election. We regret the error. Also in the October 15 issue of The Stranger , on our election endorsements cheat sheet, we misspelled city ...

What's ahead in 2010? - CharlotteObserver.com

Trainor JOHN CONNAUGHTON, UNC Charlotte: N.C. companies will add jobs next year, but the unemployment rate could remain in the double digits into 2011. It will probably take three or four years for it to drop below 7 percent. Wages will remain ...

For the state’s economy and it job seekers, 2009 is a year to forget - Providence Journal

David Correia is taking classes at netWORKri in Providence, hoping to land a job as a medical assistant. He was laid off last winter when jewelry maker Colibri closed. The Providence Journal / Kathy Borchers PROVIDENCE — David Correia won’t be ...

Voting Question: What's the best way to get leads for my MLM business or opportunity seekers?

Resolved Question: How can I get free email leads of business opportunity seekers ?

I have a few business opps that I want to post, but my advertising budget is limited. How do I GET SOME FREE LEADS OR POSTINGS. I am particularly interested in email addresses ? more

Resolved Question: Can someone interpret this tarot spread please?

Queen of Swords Briefly: Her future lies in learning to trust others again. In Detail... Physically usually (though not always) tall and/or slender woman. Quite often has dark hair. Refined appearance and conservative in dress most of the time. Gracious manner. She prefers sophisticated clothing. Personality is cautious and clever. Can be cunning, destructive and manipulative. She is often aloof and distant. She keeps her distance and puts up barriers around herself. She displays an air of unemotional responses. She may appear hard, selfish and self-controlled. Beneath her facade she hides much previous emotional pain and/or hardship. She has learnt how to survive. She is a woman alone. She is either a widow, divorced, a spinster or without a loving partner. She may have spent a long time on her own and keeps up her defences and her sword drawn to protect her at all times. She has a fondness for red roses. She looks good in black clothing. She likes to wear expensive or perhaps antique and conservative jewellery most of the time, though sometimes she wears some bold jewels. She knows she would or could be seduced if she lets her guard down. She is not a social butterfly. She can seem to be unforgiving in some circumstances, but this is her self-defence mechanism being activated to avoid feeling pain and disturbing emotional reactions. She cries in her sleep, and little elsewhere. She feels more in control if she can avoid having too deep feelings for anyone, lest they puncture her heart and give her reason to despair. She can become big hearted if in the right company and circumstances and when she feels safe and secure. There is hope for her and she is wise enough to know it. She is symbolic of the rose, seductive and potentially dangerous, capable of cutting the skin and making it bleed, yet the soft velvety petals can blossom into the most beautiful arrangement and captivate your heart. She is wistful and reflective, serious yet sensuous, yet always alert. She is capable of being the Goddess or the crucifier. Occupations suited to her would be the head of a company or large organisation. Also she would make a great surgeon, doctor, police officer, dentist or anything that involves the use of sharp items or weapons. She would make a good soldier, warrior, fighter or leader of a revolution. She knows only one truth, her own. Her future lies in learning to trust others again. She has been severely betrayed in the past by women and men alike. She may need to take a leaf out of the book of the Queen of Cups, who is more giving, loving and affectionate. She could have a love relationship but only if total trust exists. There is no room for dishonesty or lies. If she is betrayed, she severs her relationships completely and irrevocably and never goes back. Friends are cast off and not seen again should they make the mistake to betray or abuse her. Her goodwill only stretches so far and behind that she may lose some of her sense of compassion, knowing that others should learn to be more self-reliant, like herself. She may go to the extreme of cutting off her husband's head, should he betray or deceive her. Querent's card. If this is you, then you may be being called to meet the challenge of your strengths and you will meet this head on regardless of whether this produces success or failure. Even in failure, you will learn where you went wrong and this is the ultimate lesson. If you are not the querent and this card appears, I suggest that you make an ally of this woman, because she can be a powerful opponent if you should cross her. She is loyal and steadfast to those she gets close to, just don't mess with her, because you will wish you hadn't. Your World - Your Focus What surrounds you currently, how others view you, where you are both mentally and spiritually. Queen of Pentacles Briefly: You are on your way to fame and fortune. In Detail... The picture on this card shows a beautiful woman wearing lovely clothes and a crown on her head, placed on top of lovely beaded headwear. She holds in front of her a large pentacle and her hands are slim and well manicured. She wears a special ring, which has a large oval stone set in it, which is possibly a ruby. There are mountains in the background, similar to those in Hawaii. There is foliage around her and nuts growing on these. Generally she has blue eyes, though could have any eye colour. If you are this person, you are on your way to fame and fortune. You may come into a windfall, marry well, or somehow stumble upon a unique way to increase your income. You will be well liked by your friends and loved by your family and husband. You are serious, yet vulnerable. You are calm, yet can be set back by those who stir conflict around you. The comforts of life are important, more so for your own peace within your own mind knowing that you have what you need. If you are not this woman, then you will meet someone like her who supports you in many and varied ways. If you are a female, this woman will become your most ardent fan and friend. If you are a male, this woman may become your lover or your wife. Cherish her, for she is loyal and affectionate and has your best interests at heart. Your Lovers World - Their Focus What surrounds your Lover currently, how others view them, where they are both mentally and spiritually. Eight of Wands Briefly: A new love is coming into your life and very swiftly at that. In Detail... This card has a picture of eight wands running right across it. For some this can mean that a new love is coming into your life and very swiftly at that. It brings things quickly into focus and gives you the opportunity to seize a brilliant opportunity or improve your life in some way. You could also be about to move to a more tranquil setting in either your home life or the location or your work. A river or other picturesque scene may be part of your new environment, or you may meet someone special in just such a location. If you are planning a pregnancy, now may be your most fertile time. The energy of the season of Spring may make you feel inspired to be especially creative. Nature of your Issues together Either past influences or current what surrounds you both. The Chariot Briefly: Travel awaits you. Should the other travel card, the six of swords also be in your card layout, then this is an indicator that you are to move across new ground, or maybe even purchase a mode of travel such as a car. In Detail... Generally speaking this card depicts some kind of travel. Should the other travel card, the six of swords also be in your card layout, then this is an indicator that you are to move across new ground. However, even by itself, as this is a major arcana card, travel is still a strong possibility. You may travel quite a distance and your goal is to get there, by whatever means you can find, even horseback if necessary. This can also mean that someone is coming from a long distance towards you. For some people this can represent getting a new mode of transport, such as buying your first car, or buying a new car or bike or whatever. The emphasis is on getting to your destination by the quickest route available. This card too is about choices. You may have to make a major decision around this time that will alter your circumstances quite dramatically. Do not resist change for that will disrupt the natural flow of events that are waiting to unfold for you. Also I have seen this card manifest in matters to do with re-decorating the home. Sometimes it is just new curtains or cushions, however the aim is to bring comfort into the home. Obstacles to overcome Areas that need to be illuminated, places that need to be worked through. Ace of Swords Briefly: Broaden your horizons and make sweeping changes. Your future is about to move ahead in many and varied ways. In Detail... When you draw this card, you are being given the urge to broaden your horizons and make sweeping changes. Your future is about to move ahead in many and varied ways. This card cuts aside those things and people that you no longer need or are relevant to your life. This can also too be a fertility card, so if you are seeking to bring a new baby into the world, this can help to manifest it. It is possible that you may feel like making a new beginning in your life and starting over. You could move house, change jobs, get married or have a new baby arrive. Whichever you choose, it will be a welcome change and one that will require additional energy on your part, however you will more than adequately meet the new challenge. Physically, it could mean that an operation is imminent, and that your health is undergoing some changes. It is possible that something has to be removed, whether that be a tooth or other body part, and it may be replaced with an artificial part. This gives the ability to recover quickly and to get on with the rest of your life. You may also be undergong major psychological changes where you are feeling more confident and outgoing. You may start becoming more ambitious or self-motivated and ready to take on new challenges and dare to do more than you have ever done before. Luck is on your side. Lessons & Signs to watch for The Divine Universal watch tower! Signs to signal their impending arrival, areas that need illuminating... only you will know that which needs to be seen. Three of Wands Briefly: The seeker of knowledge and truth. He searches until he finds what he is looking for. In Detail... This card depicts a man with his back to us though revealing part of his face as he looks out over the hillside. He holds a wand in his hand which has three leaves sprouting from it signifying growth and abundance. In front of him is another wand and behind him the third wand. He is contemplating his future and possibly the journey ahead of him. In the distance are mountains with high peaks. It appears to be an almost barren environment, warm and dry. However he has with him the symbols of growth and can plant wherever he sees fit. He wants to settle down, but must first wander and roam until he finds his true home. This card too is the seeker of knowledge and truth. He searches until he finds what he is looking for. Your Hopes, Fears, Desires What is it that your soul really wants and needs. The Sun Briefly: There is also the possibility, for those who desire a child, that a pregnancy is imminent. Any new business venture also has the signs of success written on it, so proceed with confidence that all will be well. In Detail... This card depicts the Sun and in the front of this are a male and a female looking deep into each others eyes. There are sunflowers on the card, some greenery and a wall in the background. Often this card symbolises Summer or is associated with the sing of Leo. Perhaps an important event will occur around your own Summer month or during the one month time span of Leo which is from July 23 up to August 22. For some this can mean a very special relationship on the horizon, and one that may very well lead to marriage, this will be a successful union and bring much happiness into both people's lives. There is also the possibility, for those who desire a child, that a pregnancy is imminent. Any new business venture also has the signs of success written on it, so proceed with confidence that all will be well. Also a distinct possibility is a trip to a warm location in the near future. Your Lovers Hopes, Fears, Desires What is it that your lovers soul really thirsts for? King of Swords Briefly: Now is the time to make a clean break with what you have been doing up until now. In Detail... Physically he is usually tall and relatively slim. Sometimes bearded and with piercing eyes, either blue or black. He sometimes gives an austere appearance. He may look like he doesn't smile too often. He may not age well and could tend to look rather weathered or older than he actually is, even at a young age. Mostly he would have dark hair. Conservative in attire most of the time. Serious manner in appearance and clothing. Personality: Can be abrasive, tactless and have a harsh attitude towards life and his efforts for survival. He may have fought various battles, personal or in times of war, that have left him feeling empty and scarred. He may even have a physical scar on his face or hands. He tends to treat people abrubtly, as if they annoy him just by their presence. He is serious and often secretive. Often, what he doesn't say, says it all. His look can condemn. He likes to be in charge and in control of his life and his environment. He is generally in business suits or a uniform of some type. He appreciates the discipline of keeping up appearances and likes his boots polished very well. He may actually collect old relics or swords as a hobby and enjoy cleaning and polishing them and putting them on display in his home. He is generally tidy by nature, methodical and despising clutter and useless items. He believes that life is meant to involve hard work and he would not like to be unemployed at any time, as he likes the structures of time and discipline in his well-ordered life. He would appreciate a good steak. He dislikes waste and frivolity. He has the gift of intelligence, commonsense and foresight. He likes to have well-defined plans and goals. He is a stickler for rules and doing his duty. He is a born leader. He appreciates time. He is capable of being the instructor. Occupations suited to him would be the head of a company or large organisation. Also he would make a great surgeon, doctor, police officer, dentist or anything that involves the use of sharp items or weapons. He would make a good soldier, warrior, fighter or leader of a revolution. His future lies in being more open to others if he is to feel fulfilled at the end of his life. He could fall in love again, or renew his vows with his wife if already married. He is faithful though observant of the beauty of women. He especially admires women of grace and good manners. He is as vulnerable as the next man, but rarely shows it. He will have a relationship if she shows enough direct interest in him. Querent's card. If this is you, now is the time to make a clean break with what you have been doing up until now. Sever the past and start anew. You can heed the challenge. You are brave and can face anything the future holds. Just say yes! If you are not the querent and this card appears, I suggest that you allow this person to be themselves. Do not stand in this man's way, he will rollercoaster over you without even noticing you were stood there in the first place. He can be the most sincerest friend, only after you have proven your friendship to him, never before. What Challenges your Relationship Areas that require awareness and attention. The Tower Briefly: For some people this can mean a radical change in their lives that was unexpected. It can be major house move, change of location to a totally different area or country, a divorce, or other sudden development which means you have to adapt to the ever changing forces around you. In Detail... This is an awesome card to look at. There is a picture of a tower and in the background is a storm and lightening. There are dark clouds and the sea leaps up around the building. There are people leaping from the windows to escape the blazing inferno. For some people this can mean a radical change in their lives that was unexpected. It can be major house move, change of location to a totally different area or country, a divorce, or other sudden development which means you have to adapt to the ever changing forces around you. Sometimes if means that a radical overhaul of your life is needed to put things into a different perspective for you. You may have been in a rut or felt unable to make new changes, and the energy of this card shows that somehow an event will occur that gives you the opportunity to do just that. If some disaster does strike that you have difficulty coping with, be aware that for some reason there is a lesson or a message in the experience for you to learn from. If a relationship ends around this time, take heed that this was meant to be, and that your resistance to move with the ever changing tide will be made more difficult if you do not adapt. It will be easier on yourself if you can remain flexible and ready to do whatever you have to do when the time comes. The Final Outcome The Final Card, the outcome of it all, the future of your relationship. Page of Cups Briefly: Time to discover some new career direction that will lead you towards prosperity. In Detail... The picture on this card is of a youngish person, who is often male, though this can indicate a female. He is colourfully dressed and wears a hat and some plumage in it. He carries some red flowers, and a cup with a fish jumping about in it. He looks content and yet very innocent. He could be about to embark on a new career or had just graduated from college, university or from law school. He is clean shaven, either blue or black eyes and has lovely sleek hair. He loves to wear bright coloured clothing which reflects his warmth and compassion for others. If you draw this card and the person is yourself, you may discover some new career direction that will lead you towards prosperity. If it is someone else, they could become very important to you, either by becoming your new best friend, or your lover or husband/wife. This person is also highly sensitive and should therefore only mix with people who are positive and enthusiastic. There may also be some special occasion coming up where you have to put on your best threads.Hi Pam, thank you, that was very accurate!! I had a tarot spread online and didn't know how to interpret it, but you did very accurately. My desire is love and sincerity, but he seems to want dominance. Can this be resolved?the 8 of wands describes his studies - he is busy in grad sch. and queen of swords (first card) describes me, yes. the chariot shows he is overseas! Amazing. And yes, I agree with the tower and the ace of swords. There' egos and power struggles here, but I don't know when I could talk to him - when I try he avoids it. he seems to want to be in control but i don't want to be controlled. I was thinking it's not what I want but I don't know how to resolve it.. more

Resolved Question: People's Republic of China?

CHINA PEOPLE'S REPUBLIC OF CHINA Head of state: Hu Jintao Head of government: Wen Jiabao Death penalty: retentionist International Criminal Court: not ratified An increased number of lawyers and journalists were harassed, detained, and jailed. Thousands of people who pursued their faith outside officially sanctioned churches were subjected to harassment and many to detention and imprisonment. Thousands of people were sentenced to death or executed. Migrants from rural areas were deprived of basic rights. Severe repression of Uighurs in the Xinjiang Uighur Autonomous Region continued, and freedom of expression and religion continued to be severely restricted in Tibet and among Tibetans elsewhere. International community Before China's election to the new UN Human Rights Council, it made a number of human rights-related pledges, including ratification of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights and active co-operation with the UN on human rights. Chinese companies continued to export arms to countries where they were likely to be used for serious human rights abuses, including Sudan and Myanmar. Human rights defenders The government crackdown on lawyers and housing rights activists intensified. Many human rights defenders were subjected to lengthy periods of arbitrary detention without charge, as well as harassment by the police or by local gangs apparently condoned by the police. Many lived under near constant surveillance or house arrest and members of their families were increasingly targeted. New regulations restricted the ability of lawyers to represent groups of victims and to participate in collective petitions. • Gao Zhisheng, an outspoken human rights lawyer, had his law practice suspended in November 2005. He was detained in August 2006 and remained in incommunicado detention at an unknown location until his trial in December 2006. In October he was formally arrested on charges of "inciting subversion", and in December he was sentenced to three years' imprisonment, suspended for five years. Journalists and Internet users The government's crackdown on journalists, writers, and Internet users intensified. Numerous popular newspapers and journals were shut down. Hundreds of international websites remained blocked and thousands of Chinese websites were shut down. Dozens of journalists were detained for reporting on sensitive issues. The government strengthened systems for blocking, filtering, and monitoring the flow of information. New regulations came into effect requiring foreign news agencies to gain approval from China's official news agency in order to publish any news. Many foreign journalists were detained for short periods. Discrimination against rural migrants Rural migrant workers in China's cities faced wide-ranging discrimination. Despite official commitment to resolve the problem, millions of migrant workers were still owed back pay. The vast majority were excluded from urban health insurance schemes and could not afford private health care. Access to public education remained tenuous for millions of migrant children, in contrast to other urban residents. An estimated 20 million migrant children were unable to live with their parents in the cities in part because of insecure schooling. • Beijing municipal authorities closed dozens of migrant schools in September, affecting thousands of migrant children. While authorities claimed to have targeted unregistered and sub-standard schools, onerous demands made it nearly impossible for migrant schools to be registered. Some school staff believed the closures were aimed at reducing the migrant population in Beijing ahead of the 2008 Olympics. Violence and discrimination against women Violence and discrimination against women remained severe. The disadvantaged economic and social status of women and girls was evident in employment, health care and education. Women were laid off in larger numbers than men from failing state enterprises. Women accounted for 60 per cent of rural labourers and had fewer non-agricultural opportunities than men. The absence of gender-sensitive anti-HIV/AIDS policies contributed to a significant rise in female HIV/AIDS cases in 2006. Only 43 per cent of girls in rural areas completed education above lower middle school, compared with 61 per cent of boys. Despite strengthened laws and government efforts to combat human trafficking, it remained pervasive, with an estimated 90 per cent of cases being women and children trafficked for sexual exploitation. • Chen Guangcheng, a blind, self-trained lawyer, was sentenced in August to a prison term of four years and three months on charges of "damaging public property and gathering people to stop traffic". He had been arbitrarily confined to his home since September 2005 in connection with his advocacy on behalf of women undergoing forced abortions in Shandong Province. On appeal, the guilty verdict was overturned and the case sent back to the lower court for retrial, but the lower court upheld the original sentence. Repression of spiritual and religious groups The government continued to crack down on religious observance outside officially sanctioned channels. Thousands of members of underground protestant "house churches" and unofficial Catholic churches were detained, many of whom were ill-treated or tortured in detention. Members of the Falun Gong spiritual movement were detained and assigned to administrative detention for their beliefs, and continued to be at high risk of torture or ill-treatment. • Bu Dongwei, a Falun Gong practitioner, was assigned to two and a half years' Re-education through Labour in June for "activities relating to a banned organization" after police discovered Falun Gong literature at his home. He had been working for a US aid organization when he was detained. • Pastor Zhang Rongliang, an underground church leader who had been repeatedly detained and imprisoned since 1976, was sentenced in June to seven and a half years' imprisonment on charges of illegally crossing the border and fraudulently obtaining a passport. Death penalty The death penalty continued to be used extensively to punish around 68 crimes, including economic and non-violent crimes. Based on public reports, AI estimated that at least 1,010 people were executed and 2,790 sentenced to death during 2006, although the true figures were believed to be much higher. The National People's Congress passed a law reinstating a final review of all death penalty cases by the Supreme People's Court from 2007. Commentators believed this would lead to a reduction in miscarriages of justice and use of the death penalty. Executions by lethal injection rose, facilitating the extraction of organs from executed prisoners, a lucrative business. In November a deputy minister announced that the majority of transplanted organs came from executed prisoners. In July new regulations banned the buying and selling of organs and required written consent from donors for organ removal. • Xu Shuangfu, the leader of an unofficial Protestant group called "Three Grades of Servants", was executed along with 11 others in November after being convicted of murdering 20 members of another group, "Eastern Lightning", in 2003-4. Xu Shuangfu reportedly claimed that he had confessed under torture during police interrogation and that the torture had included beatings with heavy chains and sticks, electric shocks to the toes, fingers and genitals and forced injection of hot pepper, gasoline and ginger into the nose. Both the first instance and appeal courts reportedly refused to allow his lawyers to introduce these allegations as evidence in his defence. Torture, arbitrary detention and unfair trials Torture and ill-treatment remained widespread. Common methods included kicking, beating, electric shocks, suspension by the arms, shackling in painful positions, cigarette burns, and sleep and food deprivation. In November a senior official admitted that at least 30 wrongful convictions handed down each year resulted from the use of torture, with the true number likely being higher. There was no progress in efforts to reform the Re-education through Labour system of administrative detention without charge or trial. Hundreds of thousands of people were believed to be held in Re-education through Labour facilities across China and were at risk of torture and ill-treatment. In May 2006, the Beijing city authorities announced their intention to extend their use of Re-education through Labour as a way to control "offending behaviour" and to clean up the city's image ahead of the Olympics. • Ye Guozhu was sentenced to four years' imprisonment in 2004 for his opposition to forced evictions in Beijing associated with construction for the Olympic games. It emerged during 2006 that Ye had been tortured while in detention. He was reportedly suspended from the ceiling by the arms and beaten repeatedly by police in Dongcheng district detention centre, Beijing, and also reportedly tortured in another prison in the second half of 2005. Uighurs in the Xinjiang Uighur Autonomous Region Government authorities in Xinjiang continued to severely repress the Uighur community and to deny their human rights, including freedom of religion and access to education. An increased number of Uighurs were extradited to China from Central Asia, reflecting growing pressure by China on governments in the region. Seventeen Uighurs remained in detention in Guantánamo Bay. • The family of exiled former prisoner of conscience Rebiya Kadeer continued to be targeted by the Chinese authorities. On 26 November her son Ablikim Abdiriyim, detained in Xinjiang awaiting trial on charges of "subversion" and tax evasion, was seen being carried out of Tianshan District Detention Centre, apparently in need of medical attention. On 27 November her sons Alim and Kahar Abdiriyim were fined heavily and Alim sentenced to seven years' imprisonment on charges of tax evasion. • Husein Celil, a Canadian citizen who fled China in the 1990s as a refugee, was arrested in Uzbekistan and extradited to China in June. He was reportedly accused of "terrorism" and denied access to family or consular representatives. Tibetans Tibetans in the Tibet Autonomous Region and other areas experienced severe restrictions on their rights to freedom of religious belief, expression and association, and discrimination in employment. Many were detained or imprisoned for observing their religion or expressing opinions, including Tibetan Buddhist monks and nuns. Excessive use of force against Tibetans seeking to flee repression in Tibet continued. In September witnesses saw Chinese border patrol guards shooting at a group of Tibetans attempting to reach Nepal. At least one child was confirmed killed. • Woeser, a leading Tibetan intellectual, had her weblog shut down several times after she raised questions about China's role in Tibet. • Sonam Gyalpo, a former monk, was sentenced to 12 years' imprisonment in mid-2006 for "endangering state security" after the authorities found videos of the Dalai Lama and other "incriminating materials" in his house. His family learned of his trial and sentencing when they tried to visit him in detention. North Korean refugees Approximately 100,000 North Koreans were reportedly hiding in China. The authorities arrested and deported an estimated 150-300 each week without ever referring cases to UNHCR, the UN refugee agency. They also reportedly implemented a system of rewards for turning in North Koreans and heavy fines for supporting them. In September a new crackdown was reported on North Koreans residing illegally in China. Abuse of North Korean women in China was widely reported, including cases of systematic rape and prostitution. North Korean women were reportedly sold as brides to Chinese men for between US$880 and US$1,890. Some women knew they were being sold into marriage but did not know how harsh conditions in China would be. Others were lured across the border by marriage brokers posing as merchants. Hong Kong Special Administrative Region All 14 South Koreans charged with "unlawful assembly" after protesting outside World Trade Organization meetings in December 2005 were acquitted in early 2006, sparking renewed calls for an independent inquiry into the actions of the police during the protests. The UN Human Rights Committee and the UN Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination against Women reviewed the human rights situation in Hong Kong in March and August respectively. Both made several recommendations for reform. In September, the Hong Kong Court of Appeal upheld a lower court ruling that laws providing a higher age of consent for sexual relations for gay men than for heterosexuals were discriminatory. The authorities announced that they would not appeal the case further. Asylum-seekers continued to be refused entry without adequate consideration of their claims. Others were detained for over-staying their visas or other immigration offences. Despite lobbying from human rights and social welfare groups, the authorities confirmed that there were no plans to extend the UN Refugee Convention to Hong Kong. The authorities began to offer limited welfare assistance to asylum-seekers after UNHCR ceased its funding in May, but this was reportedly insufficient to meet basic needs. AI country reports/visits Reports • People's Republic of China: Abolishing "Re-education through Labour" and other forms of administrative detention - An opportunity to bring the law into line with the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (AI Index: ASA 17/016/2006) • People's Republic of China: Sustaining conflict and human rights abuses - The flow of arms accelerates (AI Index: ASA 17/030/2006) • People's Republic of China: The Olympics count-down - failing to keep human rights promises (AI Index: ASA 17/046/2006) • Undermining freedom of expression in China: the role of Yahoo!, Microsoft and Google (AI Index: POL 30/026/2006) Visits AI representatives attended several human rights-related meetings in Beijing and Shenzhen.CHINA PEOPLE'S REPUBLIC OF CHINA Head of state: Hu Jintao Head of government: Wen Jiabao Death penalty: retentionist International Criminal Court: not ratified An increased number of lawyers and journalists were harassed, detained, and jailed. Thousands of people who pursued their faith outside officially sanctioned churches were subjected to harassment and many to detention and imprisonment. Thousands of people were sentenced to death or executed. Migrants from rural areas were deprived of basic rights. Severe repression of Uighurs in the Xinjiang Uighur Autonomous Region continued, and freedom of expression and religion continued to be severely restricted in Tibet and among Tibetans elsewhere. International community Before China's election to the new UN Human Rights Council, it made a number of human rights-related pledges, including ratification of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights and active co-operation with the UN on human rights.http://thereport.amnesty.org/eng/Regions/Asia-Pacific/China more

Resolved Question: What is the best Free Website to Advertise your Home base Business Opportunity?

I have a homebase business that requires me to advertise to get leads for my call center. The call center then calls and closes the leads. My role is just to advertise and get the leads or prospects. I am looking for actual opportunity seekers; not "tire kicker". I have seen other websites that promote your business for free; however in return they spam you with other opportunity owners sites.Need to advertise worldwide; not locally for my home base buisness. more

Resolved Question: Wld u vte BNP ova their policies,nd do u belive that the BNP are the only prty that cn save our British Cultr?

IMMIGRATION - time to say ENOUGH! On current demographic trends, we, the native British people, will be an ethnic minority in our own country within sixty years. To ensure that this does not happen, and that the British people retain their homeland and identity, we call for an immediate halt to all further immigration, the immediate deportation of criminal and illegal immigrants, and the introduction of a system of voluntary resettlement whereby those immigrants who are legally here will be afforded the opportunity to return to their lands of ethnic origin assisted by a generous financial incentives both for individuals and for the countries in question. We will abolish the 'positive discrimination' schemes that have made white Britons second-class citizens. We will also clamp down on the flood of 'asylum seekers', all of whom are either bogus or can find refuge much nearer their home countries. EUROPE - back to British independence! We are opposed to the Single European Currency, and support the overwhelming majority of the British people in their desire to keep the Pound and our traditional weights and measures. At the same time, we are for the best possible relationship with our European neighbours and believe that the nations of Europe should be free to trade and cooperate whenever it is mutually beneficial, though without being forced into a political and economic straitjacket - political unification. Accordingly, we stand for British withdrawal from the European Union. In place of the EU, we intend to aim towards greater national self-sufficiency, and to work to restore Britain's family and trading ties with Australia, Canada and New Zealand, and to trade with the rest of the world as it suits us. Following our withdrawal from the EU, the BNP will use the £43 million per day net contribution Britain at present makes to the European Union to fund many far more useful projects at home. LAW AND ORDER - crack down on crime! The BNP will crack down on crime and restore public safety and confidence. We will free the police and courts from the politically correct straitjacket that is stopping them from doing their job properly. The liberal fixation with the 'rights' of criminals must be replaced by concern for the rights of victims, and the right of innocent people not to become victims. We support the re-introduction of corporal punishment for petty criminals and vandals, and the restoration of capital punishment for paedophiles, terrorists and murderers as an option for judges in cases where their guilt is proven beyond dispute, as by DNA evidence or being caught red-handed. ECONOMY - British workers first! Globalisation, with its export of jobs to the Third World, is bringing ruin and unemployment to British industries and the communities that depend on them. Accordingly, the BNP calls for the selective exclusion of foreign-made goods from British markets and the reduction of foreign imports. We will ensure that our manufactured goods are, wherever possible, produced in British factories, employing British workers. When this is done, unemployment in this country will be brought to an end, and secure, well-paid employment will flourish, at last getting our people back to work and ending the waste and injustice of having more than 4 million people in a hidden army of the unemployed concealed by Labour's statistical fiddles. We further believe that British industry, commerce, land and other economic and natural assets belong in the final analysis to the British nation and people. To that end we will restore our economy and land to British ownership. We also call for preference in the job market to be given to native Britons. We will take active steps to break up the socially, economically and politically damaging monopolies now being established by the supermarket giants. Finally we will seek to give British workers a stake in the success and prosperity of the enterprises whose profits their labour creates by encouraging worker shareholder and co-operative schemes. EDUCATION - discipline, standards, achievement! We are against the 'trendy' teaching methods that have made Britain one of the most poorly educated nations in Europe. We will end the practice of politically correct indoctrination in all its guises and we will restore discipline in the classroom, give authority back to teachers and put far greater emphasis on training young people in the industrial and technological skills necessary in the modern world. We will also seek to instill in our young people knowledge of and pride in the history, cultures and heritage of the native peoples of Britain. AGRICULTURE - quality before quantity! We see a strong, healthy agriculture sector as vital to the country. Britain's farming industry will be encouraged to produce a much greater part of the nation's need in food products. Priority will be switched from quantity to quality, as we move from competing in a global economy to maximum self-sufficiency for Britain. We will ensure a major shift to healthier and more sustainable organic farming. We are pledged to ensure the restoration of Britain's once great fishing industry with the reimposition of the former exclusion zones around our coast. HEALTH - first-class healthcare for all! We are wholly committed to a free, fully funded National Health Service for all British citizens. We will revitalise the Health Service by boosting staff and bed numbers, slashing unnecessary bureaucracy and by addressing the root cause of low recruitment and retention - low pay. We will see to it that no money is given in foreign aid while our own hospitals are short of beds and the staff to run them. More emphasis must be placed on healthy living with greater understanding of sickness prevention through physical exercise, a healthier environment and improved diets. TRANSPORT - time to invest! Increased investment is needed in Britain's public transport system to bring it up to the highest standards in the world. The fiasco of rail privatisation with different companies running services and track leading to higher fares and lower safety also needs to be resolved. Congestion of our towns and cities must be eased by the provision of greater incentives to use rail and bus transport instead of private cars. The first step is to end the crime and squalor that puts so many people off public transport. Motorists must not be made the scapegoats for government failure. Fuel tax should be cut, motorway speed limits raised, and hidden speed cameras should be banned. Far more must be done to encourage the development and use of cleaner fuels. ENVIRONMENT - a cleaner, greener future! Our ideal for Britain is that of a clean, beautiful country, free of pollution in all its forms. We will enforce standards to curb those practices, whether by business or the individual, which cause environmental damage. "The polluter pays to clean up the mess" must become a fact of life, not an electioneering slogan. In towns we would work to replace the brutalist modernism of 1960s-style-architecture with a blend of traditional local styles and materials and ensure that developments take place on a more human scale. FOREIGN AID - time to spend our money on our own people! We reject the idea that Britain must forever be obliged to subsidise the incompetence and corruption of Third World states by supplying them with financial aid. We will link foreign aid with our voluntary resettlement policy, whereby those nations taking significant numbers of people back to their homelands will need cash to help absorb those returning. The billions of pounds saved every year by this policy will also be reallocated to vital services in Britain. PENSIONERS - pensioners before asylum seekers! The conditions in which many of Britain's old people are forced to live are a national disgrace. We are pledged to ensure that all our old folk are able to live in comfortable homes, and will restore the earnings link with pensions. Elderly people who have paid a lifetime of taxes and reared families should not have to sell their homes to pay for care. NORTHERN IRELAND - an end to sectarianism! Britain has shamefully allowed the terrorists in N.I. to come close to winning when the IRA could have been destroyed years ago. Government weakness has led to hundreds of deaths and given those same terrorists a share in government. We would end all attempts to force the people of Northern Ireland to accept foreign interference in their affairs and deal with terrorism - from whatever side - once and for all. No one with links to a terrorist organisation that refuses to lay down its arms should be allowed to enter government. We would abolish state-supported segregation in education. In the long run, we wish to end the conflict in Ireland by welcoming Eire as well as Ulster as equal partners in a federation of the nations of the British Isles. DEFENCE - no more cuts! Successive cuts in defence spending have left Britain's armed forces perilously weak. We will boost Britain's armed forces to ensure that they are able to deal with any emergency, and defend our homeland and our independence. We will bring our troops back from Germany and withdraw from NATO, since recent political developments make both commitments obsolete. We will close all foreign military bases on British soil, and refuse to risk British lives in meddling 'peace-keeping' missions in parts of the world where no British interests are at stake - a position of armed neutrality. We will also restore national service for our young with the option of civil or military service. FOREIGN AFFAIRS - Britain's interests first! Britain's foreign relations should be determined by the protection of our own national interest and not by our like or dislike of other nations' internal politics. We would have no quarrel with any nation that does not threaten British interests. We will maintain an independent foreign policy of our own, and not a spineless subservience to the USA, the 'international community', or any other country. DEMOCRACY - letting the people decide! The British people invented modern Parliamentary democracy. Yet in recent years the British people have been denied their democratic rights. On issue after issue, the views of the majority of British people have been ignored and overridden by a Politically Correct 'élite' which thinks it knows best. On immigration, on Capital Punishment, on the surrender of British sovereignty to the EU and in numerous other areas, democracy has been absent as Labour, Tories and Lib-Dems conspire in election after election to offer the British people no real choice on such vital issues. The BNP exists to give the British people, that choice, and thus to restore and defend the basic democratic rights we have all been denied. We favour more democracy, not less, not just at national but at regional and local level. Power should be devolved to the lowest level possible so that local communities can make decisions which affect them. We will remove legal curbs on freedom of speech imposed by successive Governments over the last 40 years. We will implement a Bill of Rights guaranteeing fundamental freedoms to the British people. We will ensure that ordinary British people have real democratic power over their own lives and that Government, local and national, is truly accountable to the people whosorry for the first paragraph but i had to write it in a bit of a text language because they only give me so many letters for the opening question also the rest is the BNP policies i cut it and paste it off theyr website agains sorry about the spelling in the questionalso one more thing this is a question of a matter of your opinions, and only your opinions more

Resolved Question: Does anyone have contacts in Singapore, UK or Malaysia?

Hi .. we are looking for business opportunity seekers who are serious, motivated and determined to make a positive change in their lives in the countries of Singapore, UK, and Malaysia specifically. Our business is exploding in those countries and we want to expand our personal organization over there but are having a hard time finding contacts or reputable leads sources. We need potential Team Leaders in these countries ASAP. Any assistance provided would be greatly appreciated! Your in Success! Lou and Robin Personal Development Counselors Founders: Success Network Group Members: Success University Success University Is Rocking In 175 Countries! See What All The Commotion Is About: http://www.SuccessNetworkGroup.com more

Resolved Question: How do you transfer names & Addresses in Excel to Microsoft Outlook Please HELP!?

I have been given almost 500 Business Opportunity seeker leads, at the moment they are in Excell, i want to transfer them into seperate files for eaxch person using Microsoft Outlook how do i do this? please let me know. more