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Selling Widgets

The widget operators form partnerships with e-retailers either directly or through affiliate marketing companies such as Commission Junction, DoubleClick Performics and LinkShare. Once partnered, an e-retailer typically provides the widget operator access to its data feed, which contains product information and images. The widget operator funnels that information through its web site so users can select which products they would like to appear in their widget product galleries. Widget users get commissions on sales generated through the widget on their web sites, social network pages or blogs.

�Shopping widgets like Lemonade are allowing Internet users to become what amounts to peer-to-peer affiliates for e-retailers where the users can make money,� says Laura Evans, executive director of the retail practice at Resource Interactive, an interactive marketing firm that follows emerging technologies such as widgets, social media and m-commerce. more

• Island business getting back on their feet

South Padre Island businesses are trying to get back on their feet after Hurricane Dolly hit the Rio Grande Valley.

Officials restored some power and opened the Queen Isabella Memorial Causeway to non-residents on Tuesday.

Businesses were already rolling out the welcome mat and hoping to make up for a big loss in business.

Dolly hit right in the middle of tourism season.

Some businesses like Louie's remain closed.

Their next-door neighbor Amberjacks is open but running on generator power.

Manager Rich Furnari said Amberjacks is trying to get back to pre-Dolly conditions but extended their hours because they're one of the few businesses actually opened.

"We're not ready to service everybody the way we want to service them but we do have a full menu so whoever does come through the door we'll be able to take care of them," he said. more

Business & Decision reports solid growth of 26.9% at constant

Paris, France, July 30th, 2008: Business & Decision, the international Consulting and Systems Integration (CIS) Company specializing in Business Intelligence, Customer Relationship Management (CRM) and e-Business, today announced consolidated revenues of E115.1 million for the first half of 2008. This represents 23% growth over the comparative period for 2007; 26.9% growth at constant exchange rates.

Patrick Bensabat, CEO of Business & Decision comments: "Business & Decision performed well in the first half year achieving significant 11.8% organic growth. Each business line contributed to this good performance .This figure is in line with our objectives, despite an uncertain economic climate, which is a great performance. Our revenue forecast of mE250 (i.e. more

Jubelirer Marketing Communications, LLC

At Versilant we work hard to turn nanotechnology from a concept into a reality. Our efforts include nano-materials fabrication; and making useful, revolutionary products out of the new and remarkable materials of nanotechnology. Our focus is on carbon nanotubes. Carbon nanotubes are seamless tubes with nanometer size diameter and micron lengths. They have incredible properties. It is the strongest material that we know of in the universe! They are 100 times stronger than steel and weigh 1/6 as much! Carbon nanotubes conduct electricity better than copper and conduct heat like diamond.

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Latest Recent Leaders In Business News

Reading the tea leaves of iPad competitors - CNN

( CNET) -- It turns out Apple isn't the only company readying a touch-screen tablet computer. We say that half-jokingly, of course. In the last few months, quite a few companies have signaled their intentions to go head-to-head (or at least offer an ...

10 Business Leaders You Should Strive To Emulate - The Business Insider

Great leadership can be hard to come by. With all the politics and blaming that can go on within an organization, many companies are lacking good, solid leadership from people who are willing to stick to their word. That's why it's always refreshing ...

Address the crisis - ESPN.com

WASHINGTON — Concurrent with the Feb. 24 United We Fish rally, a coalition of fishing industry leaders called on the Obama administration ... collection, stock monitoring, and assessment, we believe that the recent closure of the South Atlantic red ...

Leaders call for regulatory reform in oil and gas industry - Denton Record-Chronicle

... they have more than 1,200 signatures on a referendum petition to overturn a recent Town Council vote approving new zoning for centralized collection of drilling wastes in agricultural areas. “Until now, I was not familiar with the piping ...

Stocks: Renewed concerns about economy - Tulsa World

Stocks: Renewed concerns about economy By STEPHEN BERNARD and TIM PARADIS AP Business Writers Published: 2/25/2010 11:25 AM Last Modified: 2/25/2010 11:25 AM NEW YORK — Stocks tumbled Thursday as downbeat news about the nation's job market and debt ...

Dow falls at midday; Great Wolf leads local decliners - Milwaukee Journal Sentinel

Promentis Pharmaceuticals Inc. will use the money to further develop compounds to use for treatments, said Daniel Lawton, Promentis' president and chief executive officer. The Marquette Golden Angels network was the single largest participant with an ...

As EU seeks to appease bond market, painful cutbacks make some fear ... - Minneapolis Star Tribune

DUBLIN - To keep its debt crisis from mushrooming out of control, the European Union is imposing harsh cutbacks on millions of ordinary people in debt-plagued countries like Greece, Ireland and Portugal. But even economists think the cutbacks are a ...

Toyota chief says he was unaware of problem - Alexandria Daily Town Talk

WASHINGTON - Toyota’s top global executive said Wednesday he did not know there were problems of unintended acceleration until late last year, which would be after his company had issued two U.S. recalls of millions of vehicles for the problem and ...

John Snow, Secretary of the Treasury (2003-2006), added as second ... - TMCnet

SHANGHAI --(Business Wire)-- The First Annual Halter Financial Summit - "China in a Changing World" will host a gathering of the world's top-level executives, government officials, financial professionals, economists, and investors to explore how the ...

Nam Hai appoints new DoSM - Hotel Interactive Network

Indochina Capital also owns a controlling interest in and manages Mekong Securities, a leading Vietnamese broker/dealer and investment bank. Established in 1992, General Hotel Management Ltd (GHM) is a market leader in conceptualizing, developing and ...

Resolved Question: Much as Tea Partiers might not want to admit it, is it possible that the Supreme Court doomed their cause?

The Supreme Court recently held that corporations have an unfettered right to contribute to political campaigns. The holding offers a clear advantage to whichever candidate(s) can persuade corporations to donate as much money as possible. Corporations donate to Republicans and Democrats. Often they donate to candidates from BOTH parties because what they are really buying, above all is INFLUENCE with whichever candidate is elected. Then there is the Tea Party Movement. The movement is populist to the core. Tea Party leaders say that they are fed up with "business as usual in Washington." Their leaders complain that power should be returned to individual Americans, not special interests. Tea Partiers are also unflinchingly opposed to government bailouts of corporations--exactly the kind of bailouts that large corporations BEGGED for during the last year. Tea Partiers might favor entrepreneurship and small business, but there is very little that large corporations could find to like about the movement. Now that corporations can donate freely to any campaign, and given their history of support for Republicans and Democrats--but NOT populist movements like the Tea Party--did the recent Supreme Court decision doom the Tea Partier's ability to compete with the mainstream, established political parties that run primarily on corporate money?I see this in an answer: "Populist denotes action by the federal government." Amazing. more

Resolved Question: People say the recent Supreme Court decision gives favor to corporations, but have you read the reason for it?

"The success of such intimidation tactics has apparently spawned a cottage industry that uses forcibly disclosed donor information to preempt citizens’ exercise of their First Amendment rights. Before the 2008 Presidential election, a “newly formed nonprofit group . . . plann[ed] to confront donors to conservative groups, hoping to create a chilling effect that will dry up contributions.” Luo, Group Plans Campaign Against G.O.P. Donors, N. Y. Times, Aug.8, 2008, p. A15. Its leader, “who described his effort as ‘going for the jugular,’” detailed the group’s plan to send a “warning letter . . . alerting donors who might be considering giving to right-wing groups to a variety of potential dangers, including legal trouble, public exposure and watchdog groups digging through their lives.” Ibid. These instances of retaliation sufficiently demonstrate why this Court should invalidate mandatory disclosure and reporting requirements. But amici present evidence of yet another reason to do so—the threat of retaliation from elected officials. As amici’s submissions make clear, this threat extends far beyond a single ballot proposition in California. For example, a candidate challenging an incumbent state attorney general reported that some members of the State’s business community feared donating to his campaign because they did not want to cross the incumbent; in his words, “‘I go to so many people and hear the same thing: “I sure hope you beat [the incumbent], but I can’t afford to have my name on your records. He might come after me next.”’” Strassel, Challenging Spitzerism at the Polls, Wall Street Journal, Aug. 1, 2008, p. A11.The incumbent won reelection in 2008." http://www.supremecourtus.gov/opinions/09pdf/08-205.pdf The McCain Feingold Act made it possible for intimidation tactics to be used to prevent donations and political ads from being run to the opposition party. In having to make political contributions public, the contributors were facing retaliation. In other words, it caused more corruption than it stopped.I didn't hear much about it on FOX. Sorry. If you would read the link, it is the actual case, not a news source. Just because a candidate gets more donations doesn't guarantee they will win an election. But intimidation of voters will result in a skewed vote. It is actually a worse scenario as it inhibits people from not only contributing but from voting as they wish.Disclosure is still in place but the courts no longer prohibit the free speech of the corporations. Up until now, they were unable to tell their side of a situation, or to openly support a candidate without being threatened with a lawsuit.So you think its ok to let this administration demonize corporations while it is a felony for them to defend themselves? You do realize that shutting out corporations from the political debate plays into the hands of those who are trying to end capitalism in this country. Up until 2002, corporations had first amendment rights and now they have been restored. I'm glad.LET US HEAR FROM ALL SIDES AND THEN MAKE OUR DECISIONS. more

Resolved Question: Recent changes in teaching materials within the LDS (mormon) church? Thoughts?

LDS, and others? Do you think these are significant changes to LDS (mormon) teaching manuals? Changed in 2009, from the 1997 manual. It says that they did remove parts from Bruce McConkie's "Mormon Doctrine" and parts from Journal of Discourses, from Brigham Young and other LDS leaders. Note: This explains what was changed.... This year, LDS faithful will be returning to the basics, or core beliefs and doctrines of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints through studying the Gospel Principles manual. This instruction manual has been employed in the Gospel Principles Sunday school class that is primarily attended by new converts to review and teach all that the Gospel has to offer. For 2009, this manual has been revised and includes removing all references to apostle Bruce R. McConkie's book, "Mormon Doctrine". These have been replaced with references to "Teachings of Presidents of the Church" manuals used over the past decade in Relief Society and Priesthood classes. According to church spokeswoman Kim Farah, this is "because it is available in 28 languages, while Mormon Doctrine is only available in a few" (SLC Tribune, Dec. 31, 2009). Also omitted or replaced are references to deceased apostle John A. Widstoe's book, "Discourses of Brigham Young", a 743 page compilation of discourses taken from the "Journal of Discourses" which contained all available discourses of Brigham Young and other early General Authorities. Despite these changes, the revised edition is 90% the same, according to business analyst Matthew Witten (SLC Tribune, Dec. 31, 2009). Witten also says that "the changes are not a big deal." Introduction This year, LDS faithful will be returning to the basics, or core beliefs and doctrines of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints through studying the Gospel Principles manual. This instruction manual has been employed in the Gospel Principles Sunday school class that is primarily attended by new converts to review and teach all that the Gospel has to offer. For 2009, this manual has been revised and includes removing all references to apostle Bruce R. McConkie's book, "Mormon Doctrine". These have been replaced with references to "Teachings of Presidents of the Church" manuals used over the past decade in Relief Society and Priesthood classes. According to church spokeswoman Kim Farah, this is "because it is available in 28 languages, while Mormon Doctrine is only available in a few" (SLC Tribune, Dec. 31, 2009). Also omitted or replaced are references to deceased apostle John A. Widstoe's book, "Discourses of Brigham Young", a 743 page compilation of discourses taken from the "Journal of Discourses" which contained all available discourses of Brigham Young and other early General Authorities. Despite these changes, the revised edition is 90% the same, according to business analyst Matthew Witten (SLC Tribune, Dec. 31, 2009). Witten also says that "the changes are not a big deal." LDS Gospel Topics changed by this latest revision: --- The Plurality of Gods --- Heavenly Parents (mother) --- Eldest brother Jesus --- Attributes of the Holy Ghost --- Becoming a God *Many words and wording are changed in the new manual to totally different sentences with different meanings. 1.Are these not vital "changes" that leaders (teachers) teach the LDS congregation? 2.Could these changes have deeper ramifications including the possibility of cleaning up questionable doctrines that are unpopular or less mainstream? Thoughts?Changes shown here..http://www.mrm.org/gospel-principlesQuerida, According to your list of beliefs, WHAT Joseph Smith, Brigham Young, and many other LDS leaders believed (and taught over the pulpit), and what you claim the LDS church of today believes is two TOTALLY different churches..:) That's for sure.Wispy, I respect your view. :) Although the two manuals are explaining things "different" and changing wording to mean different "beliefs" to some.Missy, Makes you wonder huh? About my beliefs? I like it that way...:)Look it up, I can understand that view. Perhaps for some of the changes is the "wording" because to the outside world and perhaps convert WORDING can be everything, one example saying a teaching is from "Presidents of the Church" instead of J of Discourses by Brigham Young) But to the older members they still know whats up. *It just gets me that, say for one example, Bruce McConkie's "Mormon Doctrine" He was reprimanded for it, but LDS.org still uses quotes and teachings from it! And now they are weeding out his ridiculous ideas in some of these changes to teachings manuals. :) more

Resolved Question: As Obama snuggles closer to China, China's wayward territories cringe?

U.S. business group accuses Obama of shorting Taiwan http://www.reuters.com/article/idUSTRE60013Z20100101?type=politicsNews%3FfeedType%3DRSS&feedName=politicsNews&utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+Reuters%2FPoliticsNews+%28News+%2F+US+%2F+Politics+News%29&utm_content=Google+Feedfetcher Thousands of Hong Kong residents appealed to China on New Year's Day to allow full democracy to be introduced soon in the city http://www.reuters.com/article/idUSTRE6000CD20100101?feedType=RSS&feedName=worldNews&utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+reuters%2FworldNews+%28News+%2F+US+%2F+International%29&utm_content=Google+Feedfetcher Side Note: For those who might have trouble answering, I'm not saying Bush did better or worse, but Obama is the current top diplomat and leader of the free world, so this question focuses on current/recent events. Obama has near full control in regards to speaking on behalf of the US. Anyways, what are your thoughts on the general situation? more

Resolved Question: Indian Raw is Behind Karachi Attack?

Indian Raw is Behind Karachi Attack Afghanis are being used by the Indian Raw to destablised Pakistan. Its enough now. We must give strict response to Indian Raw & Dollar Afghanis. We must deport all Afghanis immediately to their bloody deserted country Afghanistan because we have adopted,helped these people when they were in desperate need but they sold themselves to Indian Raw for Dollars.According to recent surveys there is about 3 million homless Afghanis are living happily doing billions rupees worth of business in Pakistan and on the other hand they are desperate to destablise Pakistan. Are we stupid?Yes we are.Show me if there any nation/country support immigrants to kill/destablise their own country.Look at Iran, Saudia,UEA,China, yes these countries treat Afghanis like animals because they knew Afghanis from their history.Even you give your own life but Afghanis are similar to Scorpions,no matter what you do they sting you. I request all Pakistan & other people of the world that take all the shops/businesses/properties from these Afghanis and kicked them out. Do not give any flat/house on rent to these Afghanis because these people are fully being used by Indian Raw.If any Pakistani involved to give support any Afghani just kick these type of pakistanis as well. Afghanis are curse on society.They are just animals. No country can save us if we do not awaken so its the time. How can we stop Indian Involvement? Encourage Indian Muslims & Sikhs to carry out the same attacks what Indian Raw in doing in Pakistan.When they will see Hindus dead bodies then they will stop. Pak army must demolish the waziristan and convert this region into desert because its fare in war. Close the bordor with Afghanistan forever as we don't need them they poorer needy hungry need us. Boycott all Afghan business in all over Pakistan. If any Pak leader like ILtaf Hussain (MQM) & Imran khan(Tehreek Insaf) & Zardari (PPP) support these Afghanis then they are actually supporting India but they must blame indians for their involvement. Thankyou Pak Protect Movement more

Resolved Question: Am I insane? I'm positive the human race is simply scurrying around meaninglessly until a grim demise?

Let me give some background... Nearly every day, the idea that the world is coming to an end quite quickly enters my mind. First of all, America is going down. Period. Within the next 70 years, I'm confident that the global power that is America will either completely or partially collapse, just as every civilization does. The only reason we are (were) such a global leader, is because of recent industrialization (the 1800's), but that power trip it seems is coming to a screeching halt. Everything is outsourced to China (or elsewhere), we consume so much and produce so little, a nation will not sustain itself like that for very long. Yet as the years go on, the people seem to get dumber, acting as if all we need to do is "follow our hearts" and everything will be magically fixed (just like Hollywood and every other B.S. story we've been force-fed for years) This grim reality torments me nearly 60% of the day. I'm considering abandoning my education simply because in a post-America world, a degree from a US college will more than likely be worthless (never mind the possibility that with a collapse of such a power, other "disgruntled" nuclear powers [Iran, etc] would gain a wind of confidence so to speak, and attempt something stupid such as nuclear war) To answer your question, yes I'm a complete misanthrope, I hate other human beings. I'm also an atheist, and I loathe my upbeat "sunshine and rainbows" family (full out loathing, I sometimes seriously contemplate simply not going home, getting on the interstate and never coming back) However, I am in no way emo, goth, or anything of that sort. I wear khakis, and sometimes a tie, just to give you an idea. According to my professors, I'm an excellent writer, and have incredible potential. I'm an expert in computer related matters, meanwhile running a small web design/computer repair business. I function like a normal human being, and yet I feel as though I think like a total loon. I "pollute" my mind with *light* drugs and booze not to "dull the pain," but to open my mind to new ideas (yet I have thought this way even before I began experimenting). I also have only one true friend. I'm 18 years old, and I just want to know, based on the information presented, am I insane, or are there other people out there who think similarly? more

Resolved Question: I have a 40 question business test if anyone would like to do it cause i would love you?

1. (Points: 1) Sole proprietorships are in every sector of the economy, but they are most common in professional and technical services, construction, and retail trade. 1. False 2. True Save Answer 2. (Points: 1) The owner of a sole proprietorship must share any after-tax profits with the company’s shareholders. 1. False 2. True Save Answer 3. (Points: 1) Hennie Hanks has a great idea for a new business—one he is sure will make a ton of money. He’s eager to get started, so he wants to form his business with a minimum of hassle, expense, and red tape. He also wants to be his own boss and have complete control over the company. Hennie’s goals suggest that he would seriously consider operating his business as a sole proprietorship. 1. True 2. False Save Answer 4. (Points: 1) Ralph Flores owns and operates his own business as a sole proprietor. Recently his company was sued. The fact that Ralph has organized his business as a sole proprietorship means that Ralph is protected against any financial loss if the company loses the lawsuit. 1. False 2. True Save Answer 5. (Points: 1) In a general partnership, each partner incurs unlimited liability only for claims resulting from his or her own negligence. 1. True 2. False Save Answer 6. (Points: 1) Most stockholders in large corporations take an active role in managing their companies. 1. True 2. False Save Answer 7. (Points: 1) Liza owns 1000 shares of common stock in Bigbux Inc. As a stockholder in the company, she may vote in the election of Bigbux’s board of directors. 1. False 2. True Save Answer 8. (Points: 1) Joe owns 500 shares of stock in the Megabux Corporation. He is pleased to learn that the company earned a very nice profit over the most recent operating period. The company has announced that they will pay each shareholder a dividend of $1 per share out of its after-tax profits. Because Megabux has already paid taxes on this profit, this payment will represent tax-free income to Joe. 1. True 2. False Save Answer 9. (Points: 1) Unlike C corporations, members of S Corporations have unlimited liability. 1. False 2. True Save Answer 10. (Points: 1) The earnings of S corporations and closed corporations are not exempt from federal and state income taxes. 1. True 2. False Save Answer 11. (Points: 1) Mergers and acquisitions basically mean the same thing; the only difference is the size of the companies involved. 1. True 2. False Save Answer 12. (Points: 1) One drawback of operating a franchise is the greater risk of failure relative to independently owned businesses. 1. False 2. True Save Answer 13. (Points: 1) Lakisha Caldwell began her work at Timeline Vintage Clocks as a shift leader. Over the years, she has moved up the management ranks and has just been promoted to a position in top management. In her new position, Lakisha is likely to find that she must rely more heavily on technical skills and less on conceptual skills. 1. False 2. True Save Answer 14. (Points: 1) The majority of businesses today are formed as 1. limited liability partnerships. 2. sole proprietorships. 3. corporations. 4. partnerships. Save Answer 15. (Points: 1) A serious drawback of sole proprietorships is that they 1. are heavily regulated by the federal government. 2. result in double taxation of the company’s earnings. 3. are difficult and inexpensive to form. 4. expose their owners to unlimited liability for the company’s debts. Save Answer 16. (Points: 1) A key reason most sole proprietorships remain relatively small is that 1. they have limited ability to raise funds needed to finance growth. 2. their stockholders would rather receive dividends than have earnings reinvested to finance growth. 3. government regulations limit their ability to expand into new areas of business. 4. the owners often disagree about the need to take on additional risk associated with growth. Save Answer 17. (Points: 1) Dana wants to open her own business after completing college. As a fine arts student, she is planning to provide services as a graphic artist. She wants the freedom to be her own boss and doesn’t want to deal with a lot of rules and regulations. But she is nervous about risking her personal wealth. She is thinking about forming a sole proprietorship and asks you for your opinion about this form of business. Which of the following statements is most accurate? 1. Forming a sol more

Resolved Question: Is Obama's 11th hour pitch for a job summit 2 save his fellow Democrats from defeat in 2010 too little 2 late?

A recent public-opinion analysis by Democracy Corps, a group of Democratic consultants led by pollster Stan Greenberg and strategist James Carville, put it bluntly, "Voters' frustration with the economy, bailouts for elites, bonuses and spending...is fueling an increasingly anti-incumbent mood that is impacting everyone in Washington. But as the party in power, Democrats are suffering disproportionately." Thursday's jobs summit (which brought 130 corporate leaders, small-business owners and economists to the White House) was a belated recognition by Barack Obama that he was losing the unemployment debate. Not only is the president suffering from the ravages of a depressed economy, but he is also being blamed for squandering taxpayer money in an effort to fix it. http://www.politicsdaily.com/2009/12/04/obama-jobs-summit-i-care-i-really-do/ more

Resolved Question: Do you know of any other programs that help young people with disabilities?

YOUTH ADVOCACY YOUTH LEADERSHIP AND EMPOWERMENT "Nothing About Us, Without Us." These words echo through the mouths of many a disability rights advocate. As the first wave of disability advocates makes various transitions, young people have an opportunity to continue the dialogue for equality and justice and formulate an action plan. The Pacific Rim International Conference on Disabilities Youth Leadership and Empowerment topic area is seeking proposals written and targeted for young people. For more information go to http://www.pacrim.hawaii.edu/submissions/ SUBMISSION DEADLINE: DEC 18, 2009 EMERGING LEADERS SUMMER INTERNSHIP PROGRAM FOR COLLEGE STUDENTS WITH DISABILITIES The Emerging Leaders summer internship program for college students with disabilities offers paid summer internships at many of America's leading corporations. These companies are members of the National Business & Disability Council and are proactive in recruiting qualified people with disabilities. More information can be found on the web site at http://www.emerging-leaders.com APPLICATION DEADLINE: DECEMBER 31, 2009 AAPD SUMMER INTERNSHIP PROGRAMS FOR COLLEGE STUDENTS WITH DISABILITIES Each year the American Association of People with Disabilities (AAPD) hosts two Summer Internship Programs for College Students with Disabilities in Washington, DC, providing paid travel to and from DC, paid fully-accessible housing and living stipends. AAPD is now accepting applications for the 2010 Summer Internship programs. For more information go to http://www.aapd.com/AAPDInternship/ APPLICATION DEADLINE: JAN 8, 2010 BRAILLE READERS ARE LEADERS ANNUAL CONTEST FOR BLIND AND VISUALLY IMPAIRED YOUTH The goal of this contest is to promote the joy of reading for pleasure, to promote pride in Braille as a viable literacy medium equal to print, and to demonstrate the importance of independent reading in the development of Braille literacy skills. Blind/visually impaired Braille reading students who are enrolled in an educational program for students from grades kindergarten through twelfth grade, in the USA and Canada, are eligible to compete in the contest. For more information go to http://www.nfb.org/nfb/Braille_Readers_Are_Leaders_Overview.asp CONTEST DEADLINE: ALL CONTEST MATERIAL MUST BE RECEIVED BY JAN 22, 2010 WHITE HOUSE FELLOWS PROGRAM Founded in 1964, the White House Fellows program is one of America's most prestigious programs for leadership and public service. White House Fellowships offer exceptional young men and women first-hand experience working at the highest levels of the federal government. For more information go to http://www.whitehouse.gov/about/fellows APPLICATION DEADLINE: FEB 1, 2010 BARBARA JORDAN HEALTH POLICY SCHOLARS PROGRAM The Barbara Jordan Health Policy Scholars Program brings talented college seniors and recent graduates to Washington, D.C., where they are placed in congressional offices and learn about health policy issues, with a focus on issues affecting racial and ethnic minority and under served communities. For more information go to http://www.kff.org/minorityhealth/bjscholars/index.cfm APPLICATION DEADLINE: FEB 8, 2010 INTERNSHIP WITH THE NAT'L ASIAN PACIFIC AMERICAN WOMEN'S FORUM The National Asian Pacific American Women's Forum (NAPAWF) is seeking a third or fourth year college student to work part-time (minimum 15 hours per week) during the Spring 2010 semester at our Washington, DC office. Their mission is to build a movement to advance social justice and human rights for API women and girls through policy advocacy, community organizing and public education. For more information send an email to rjfellow@napawf.org APPLICATION DEADLINE: APPLICATIONS REVIEWED ON ROLLING BASISThanks Lilka! Don't mind the thumbs down - they are clueless about what's really important in life. more

Resolved Question: Conservatives: If Andy Stern & the SEIU upset you, what labor union leaders don't?

With the _possible_ exception of some of the pro-Republican leaders in the Teamsters (and sometimes, not even them!), Andy Stern is one of the most profoundly pro-status-quo union leaders in public life in the U.S. today. Anyone with any experience in the union movement knows that for the TV talking heads and online bloggers to hold Stern up as an example of "radicalism" is ridiculous. This is a man who has spent literally million$ of his members' money fighting leftist dissidents inside the SEIU. From the recent complaints, is it fair to assume that conservatives are against the whole idea of a labor union in the first place, and would oppose elected officials meeting with ANY union leaders at all? If someone as business-friendly as Stern upsets conservatives, are there ANY union leaders who wouldn't? Can anyone name a union leader that conservatives would not get upset over? .Hallelujah! Someone actually ANSWERED the question... sort of. However, you DO know that AFTRA has called strikes in the past? Does that bother you? . more

Resolved Question: Will Hong Kong's worldwide status be much more prominent than Singapore's if it hasnt under China's umbrella?

HK's GDP, GDP/capita, business environment/opportunities, Chinese language ability, knowledge on China, freedom of expressions/press/protests/gatherings, ease in setting up companies/doing business, flexibilities, people's persistence/hardworking, long working hours, gift's investments in infrastrutures, transparents of the govt and policies, degree of govt in listening to its people, willingness of HK's media to report on even the most devastated events........so forth are surely much greater in Hong Kong than in Singapore, yet since its return to China, Hong Kong is getting less and less mentioned in the international arena. World prominent leaders like the US President has visited Singapore few times in recent years, giving keynote speeches there which helped to draw tremendous of worldwide publicity/promotions on the small city nation. The US President has not stepped foot in Hong Kong since its return. At the same time and quite on the contrary, certain media and spokesmen inside the mainland time and again deliberately downplay or attack on HK's success particularly the bald headed Commentator, Mr Yuen Chi San of the Phoenix TV who talks more like a leftest of the Central Govt spokesman, with an intention to inform people in the mainland that the gap between the 2 places is not as threatening nor as big as one would have imagined. Also many foreingers living outside of China eg those appearing on here are confused about HK's status, some even thought HK is just another communist city like Shanghai or Beijing. For those that have been living in HK before and after '97 the sovereignty handover would agree that HK's governing, systems, responsiveness to citizens' concerns including cleaniliness of streets, plantations, freedom of press and expressions, business and job opportunities, govt investments and work etc etc are much better now than before.correction above, "gift's" investments in infrastrutures should read "govt's".Serious answers/analysis highly appreciated.Elena S, things arent as simple as you imagine out in the political world. Don has correctly pointed out that the competition between Hong Kong and Singapore is in reality competitions between the 2 forces, ie US and China acting behind. In case you dont know, Singapore had its systems borrowed from HK after the country was set up back in the 60s. Like China of today, Sing dispatched a lot of its civil servants to go to HK in the 70s and early 80s and to learn HK's govt systems and so forth. HK's ICAC, HKTDC, HKTB, Housing Authority etc are all being copied by the Sing. government. more

Resolved Question: Why are Climatologists Baffled by Global Warming Time-Out?

Excerpts: The Earth's average temperatures have stopped climbing since the beginning of the millennium, and it even looks as though global warming could come to a standstill this year. Ironically, climate change appears to have stalled in the run-up to the upcoming world summit in the Danish capital, where thousands of politicians, bureaucrats, scientists, business leaders and environmental activists plan to negotiate a reduction in greenhouse gas emissions. Billions of euros are at stake in the negotiations. But a few scientists simply refuse to believe the British calculations. "Warming has continued in the last few years," says Stefan Rahmstorf of the Potsdam Institute for Climate Impact Research (PIK). However, Rahmstorf is more or less alone in his view. Hamburg Max Planck Institute scientist Jochem Marotzke, on the other hand, says: "I hardly know any colleagues who would deny that it hasn't gotten warmer in recent years." The controversy sends confusing and mixed messages to the lay public. Why is there such a vigorous debate over climate change, even though it isn't getting warmer at the moment? And how can it be that scientists cannot even arrive at a consensus on changes in temperatures, even though temperatures are constantly being measured? Could it be that this is simply a natural trend and many have jumped to conclusions that don't really exist? http://www.spiegel.de/international/world/0,1518,662092,00.html more

Resolved Question: Need help with Government homework ASAP!?

22. Which statement does NOT describe one type of minor party? a- the members of a minor party are united by a particular group of viewpoints b- a minor party is a part that has broken away from a major party c- the members of a minor party tend to support the platform of a major party d- a minor party expressed discontent over the state of the economy 24. Although United States political parties focus on winning elections, most political parties in other countries also a- have certain principles they want adopted by govt b- seek to discourage compromise c- support the one party system of govt d- all of the above 29. the state party organizations: a- are generally loosely tied to the national committee b- face tight control by the national comittee c-are well disciplined groups d- always cooperate with one another 30. Which of the following is NOT one of the three main elements of the major parties in terms of the roles of their members? a- the party organization b- the party in the electorate c- the party media consultants d- the party in govt 33. the two party system developed in the USA mainly because a- the const. established a democratic govt b- conflicts about the onst. created opposing viewpoints c-leaders and voters agreed on the exsistence of two parties d- it was voted on and approved by both houses of congress 34. the era of one party domination that began in 1968 was different from past eras of one party domination because a- the repub. party gained no new members in congress b- the demo. party gained no new members in congress c- one party controlled congress while another controlled the presidency d- minor parties interfered with the power of the republican party 36. which factor does NOT add the the decentralization of both major parties? a- neither party has a chain of command at the nation state and local levels b- the govt of the unites states is a federal system c- the process of nominating candidates creates party conflict d- the president heads one of the major parties 37. which of the following is a sign of weakend political parties? a- split ticket voting b- straight ticket voting c- newly registered voters d- campaigning for party candidates 38. The functions of the major political parties in the USA politics include a- nominating candidates for office b- insuring the good performance of their elected candidates c- providing a mehanism for the conduct of govt d- all of the above 38. a one party system a- is what the USA has today b- creates an unstable govt c- exsists in nearly all dictatorships today d- results in democracy 40. which of the following groups has tended to support the Democatic party in recent decades? a- the business community b- protestants c- union members d- white males 41. the two major parties have members who take all of the following roles except? a- party leaders b- local party members and voters c- party independents d- party officeholders 42. an increasing number of Americans today a- hold political parties in high recard b- vote a straight party line c- favor mandatory party membership d- identify with neither political party more

Voting Question: HELP ME! PLEASE! SUMMARIZING!?

PLEASE HELP ME SUMMARIZE THIS! HAVANA, Cuba (Achieve3000, June 17, 2009). For the last five decades, relations between the U.S. and Cuba have been tense—and sometimes downright violent. In recent months, however, the governments of both nations have stated publicly that they are open to talks that might lead to at least partial reconciliation. Despite this development, people in both countries remain skeptical that relations will improve anytime soon. From the beginning of Fidel Castro's communist rule over Cuba, which began in 1959 after his military regime overthrew the government of Fulgencio Batista, relations between the U.S. and Cuba have been strained. In 1960, Castro angered U.S. leaders when he took control of the businesses operating in Cuba—including those belonging to U.S. companies—and failed to compensate the U.S. for its lost assets. The U.S. responded by imposing a trade embargo against Cuba. By 1962, the embargo banned nearly all trade with the country. In the 47 years since, relations have continued to be poor, due at least in part to the events surrounding the embargo. Yet there have been recent signs—on both sides—that tensions might be easing. For example, the U.S. erased restrictions on Americans who wish to visit or send money to relatives in Cuba. Meanwhile, President Barack Obama has announced that "the United States seeks a new beginning" with Cuba. Likewise, current Cuban president Raúl Castro, the brother of Fidel Castro, said he would be willing to negotiate everything with the U.S. This includes such thorny issues as freedom of the press, human rights, and the political prisoners that human rights observers say Cuba is holding. But no progress has been made in these areas. Many Cubans say this is because the U.S. embargo on Cuba is still in place. The Cuban government continues to speak out against the U.S. trade sanctions that it blames for frequent shortages of food, medicine, and other basic necessities that plague the island nation. "The cruel embargo against the Cuban people has cost lives, caused suffering, and also affected the economy, which sustains the nation. [The embargo also limits the nation's] possibilities to offer medical services, education, athletics, energy efficiency, and the protection of the environment," Fidel Castro wrote on a government Web site. President Obama says it is up to Cuba to embrace some reforms before bilateral relations can improve. He has pressed Cuba to release political prisoners and to afford greater freedoms to its citizens. Meanwhile, Cuba has yet to loosen restrictions on free speech, rights to assemble, and access to the Internet and other information sources that do not contain propaganda from Cuba's government. The government also continues to dominate the nation's economy, paying workers an average of $19.70 a month. Free enterprise, which might help ordinary citizens pull themselves out of poverty, is prohibited. Many people in both countries say they do not expect to see any significant progress soon. They say the Cuban government is unmotivated to make such changes. Fifty-year-old Rogelio Cardenas lives in Havana, Cuba's capital. "I'm not too optimistic," said Cardenas. He added that thousands of top government officials make comfortable livings fueled by official hostility toward the United States. They may not be ready to give that up, Cardenas said. Other Cuban citizens say that it is hard to ignore the actions that caused Cuba to mistrust the U.S. These actions include the embargo against Cuba, as well as attempts to overthrow various Latin American governments. "[The U.S.] toppled states in Guatemala, in Panama…and we don't even have to mention Girón," said 70-year-old retiree Chula Rodriguez, referring to a 1961 incident in which the U.S. helped Cuban exiles try to overthrow Fidel Castro's government, entering from the Bay of Pigs at Cuba's Girón Beach. Other Cubans believe that some Cuban-Americans living in the U.S. are creating barriers to improved relations between the two nations by encouraging the U.S. to halt negotiations with Cuba. They point out that many exiled Cubans living in Florida are part of an influential anti-Castro lobby. These exiles want Castro's government overthrown so that they may return to their former homes. Still other Cubans believe that even if the two countries improve relations, the lives of ordinary citizens will remain unchanged. "Let the United States come and discuss things with Cuba, but I don't see how that is going to help my life," said Juan, a 63-year-old retiree. Juan said he lives in a crowded three-room apartment with two of his sons, their wives, and two grandchildren. "There's no money, no space even, to live," he added. "Obama can't affect that." more

Resolved Question: Who are Muslim Arabs?

Arab is an ethnic group which lives across many countries in the Middle East and Africa. Apart from Israel, all countries follow the Islam as their religion. The Arabs differentiate themselves from the others on the basis of their linguistics, cultures, economic policies, social structures and religious grounds (Versteegh, 1997). The term Arab has history going way back then Christ when there were Arab Kingdoms and tribes in these areas but currently Arabs are only considered as those who have faith in Islam. Social structures of Arabs are quite different from that are currently operational in western countries. They are still following the structures of tribes that they had originally. Some reforms have taken place in Saudi Arabia, UAE and Egypt due to some potential influences from the western countries but the concept of tribe is still present if not observant. The concept of extended families still working greatly and the pride they have in their heritage and social values is keeping them do this and they take serious responsibilities of their families. In fact they consider themselves as those who have inherited the values of Islam. The tribes have one leader and he owns the power to make decisions. The males of the families all work in different businesses. These countries are rich in oil reserves therefore most of the times they recruit people from developing countries to do their work. There is, however, discrimination quite evident in their social society. As they are the heritage owners, they consider other Muslims to be of low value. There are no law protections for the Muslims from other countries especially any residency laws which don’t allow any other to gain the citizenship of these countries (Lewis, 1993). Arabs are considered as true believers. Their faith in their religion has allowed them to critically evolve into those who are following the rules of Islam quite efficiently. Saudi Arabia holds the cities of Mecca and Medina which are the holy cities of Islam. Every years hundreds and thousands of Muslims around the world pay visit to these places for Hajj and Umrah, the two most holy practices in Islam. The graves of many prophets and noble people are present here which are visited by many regularly. Because of being a center of the religion, Arabs emphasize much on their practice as well. Spiritually they are affected by only one God who is the Creator and Owner of the entire universe. In face government also plays an important role to make people pray five times a day and the mosques are filled during these times pertaining to the fact that they are very close to their religion. Their every aspect be it social, political or cultural all are greatly emphasized by the teaching of Islam. Political emphasis of democracy hasn’t made any difference to the government system. Apart from one or two countries, all the countries have kings who are inheriting the throne from their fathers. Saudi Arab is the largest kingdom in the Middle East and Arab Peninsula and follows this trend as well, though with some reforms in recent years, the governing body’s structure has changed with formation of ministries. However, there is no electoral or voting system that could decide who will be handling ministries. The decision is only taken by the king and his advisors and the chosen one belongs to an influential rich tribe (Versteegh, 1997). The richness factor is not an issue here because their religion requires that power should be given to those who are not vulnerable to capital and corruption. Corruption prevails when people having low backgrounds suddenly get hold of good positions and start manipulating reserves in a negative manner. The legal system is based on the Islamic rule which describes blood for blood and hand for hand (Lewis, 1993). The judges and magistrates follow orders right from their Holy Book and other explanatory materials. The judges and magistrates also belong to a rich and influential tribe so that they cannot be bribed. The legislation is passed by a board of judges in the presence of kings in order to uniformly apply them to all parts of the countries. Arabs speak Arabic language which also had a very long history. Arab is the language of Quran, the Holy Book of Muslims. The traditions and the holy events of Islam are all conducted in Arabic language. With this distinction there are more than 300 million people on the planet that have Arabic as their mother tongue (Versteegh, 1997). Arabic word is taken from the word Arab, meaning the language that is spoken by the Arabs. In the financial texture, all the Arab countries greatly rely on the oil reserves in the country. Therefore, they have a strengthened economy and that has progressed this way for many years. Many Arabic countries are influential members of OPEC which is the organization for oil producing countries and because of this fact they have been easily influencing different other countries. The government of Saud more

Resolved Question: how can President Obama get a peace prize when his nation is dividing?

On one side your have the Popular Democrats raving about Health Care and World Climate, saying we need to to overhaul the Health Care System and improve World Climate. Some and very few, Republicans and Libertarian are trying to stop them because the cost of Health Care might bankrupt and cause economic collapse. Meanwhile in Copenhagen Denmark A World Climate Treaty may be signed in December that will set up a Communist World Government to police Carbon emissions, creating climate debt and tax industrialized nation into oblivion. And now I read a 2005 leaked Citigroup Memo talking bout Plutonomy and how the plutocrats need to find a way to abolish Democracy. I think they have, I think they plan on dividing America using our media, politics and industries. They have turned the world into a duality, where we must choose a side and fight amongst ourselves dividing our country. So after we have exhausted ourselves they, the plutocrats, will come and pick up the pieces, and decide how we will be ruled. And recent history has shown during the banking crisis, If America Falls the rest of the world will follow. "from wikipedia" Plutocracy is rule by the wealthy, or power provided by wealth. The combination of both plutocracy and oligarchy is called plutarchy. An Oligarchy is a form of government in which power effectively rests with a small elite segment of society distinguished by royal, wealth, intellectual, family, military, or religious hegemony. Where do we find these all entities to be most prominent in the world.... The city of London or the square mile as it is called. The City is today a major business and financial centre, ranking on a par with New York City as the leading centre of global finance, in the 19th century, the City served as the world's primary business centre. "from wikipedia" With our World Trade Centers fallen who will reign as The new World Economic Leader, The Plutocrats? Remember, In plutocracy there is no Democracy. How can President Obama get a peace prize when his nation is being divided? And our banks like Citigroup claim to American banks.... Its a damn shame we have allow this to happen to America, The Last beacon of hope for the world.I try to stay neutral when it come to politics, I don't claim any political party affiliation. I am just an observer excited about the times, but I do recognize great imbalances in America. To me it resembles a spinning top losing momentum, wobbling, until it finally flops over. I see new Kenetic energy soon, I agree Major Change. more

Resolved Question: The Bank Manager’s Dilemma?

Topic: Institutions and Markets (Loan Covenants) Characters: Sara, A branch manager at a large commercial bank As a young branch manager at a relatively small retail office within a large bank holding company, Sara has been challenged by her superiors to increase loan and deposit volume within her local banking market. In Sara’s first year on the job, she has designed and implemented an aggressive calling program in which she visits local businesses and solicits new corporate accounts for the bank. Her initial efforts have been most successful. In spite of strong competition from other local financial institutions, Sara has managed to land a new $2 million deposit account from a local apartment management firm, Silver Valley Estates, and she is currently negotiating with Silver Valley’s president to provide a $300,000 mortgage loan for his new personal residence. After a recent credit committee meeting at the bank’s regional headquarters where Sara presented the mortgage loan request and received approval from the bank’s senior leaders for this loan, Sara is called to her boss’s office. She can hardly contain her excitement in greeting her boss, telling him of the new mortgage loan she is planning to make. Upon hearing the news, Sara’s boss frowns and tells her of a mistake that occurred in the bank’s deposit operations center several weeks ago. It seems a group of checks worth $20,000 deposited into Silver Valley’s rental collection account two months ago were returned to the bank for nonsufficient funds by the Federal Reserve. Instead of promptly deducting the bad checks from Silver Valley’s account and returning them to the firm, one of the deposit operations clerks at the bank inadvertently placed the checks in his bottom desk drawer and forgot about them. After several weeks, the bank’s auditors located the checks, and now Sara must debit Silver Valley’s account and return the checks to the firm. Sara protests to her boss that this action would clearly be wrong, because the bank’s written policy states that checks accepted for deposit cannot be returned after the tenth business day following their date of deposit. In addition, Sara explains that one condition of the bank’s mortgage loan approval to Silver Valley’s president is that the firm must maintain a major deposit account with Sara’s branch. She knows that if she charges the Silver Valley account for the bad check loss, she will anger Silver Valley’s president, lose the $2 million deposit account and the new mortgage loan, and sacrifice all future business from Silver Valley to competing financial institutions in her local market. Sara’s boss claims that he understands her dilemma, but he is adamant in his instruction to her. The bank cannot afford a $20,000 loss to a new corporate depositor, and she must debit Silver Valley’s account to cover the bad check loss. Moreover, Sara is quietly warned that discussing this matter with any other senior officers of the bank will prove most damaging to her career. What should she do? more

Resolved Question: Do you consider this Chicago politics "person" Relevant?

Health Care Bill Makes Sen. Roland Burris Relevant AP Sen. Roland Burris, D-Ill., is interviewed by the Associated Press in his Capitol Hill office in Washington By LAURIE KELLMAN, Associated Press Writer Laurie Kellman, Associated Press Writer – Mon Oct 19, 6:19 am ET WASHINGTON – For Democrats determined to get a health care bill, Sen. Roland Burris is like the house guest who couldn't be refused, won't soon be leaving and poses a plausible threat of ruining holiday dinner. Suddenly, he can no longer be ignored. The Illinois Democrat, appointed by disgraced former Gov. Rod Blagojevich, says he'll only vote for a bill to provide health care to millions more Americans as long as it allows the government to sell insurance in competition with private insurers. And he says he won't compromise. "I would not support a bill that does not have a public option," Burris, 72, said in a recent interview with The Associated Press. "That position will not change." Those words caught the attention of the very Democratic leaders who tried to keep Burris out of the Senate, suggested he resign and have shunned him in unprecedented fashion. Burris is not the only Democrat to insist on creation of a government-run health plan. But he is the one who has the least to lose by defying President Barack Obama and the Democrats who once turned him out in the cold rain. It was early January and Blagojevich had appointed Burris, a former Illinois attorney general, to Obama's former Senate seat — defying Democrats in Washington who had wanted someone without a tainted patron and with a better chance of winning election in 2010. What happened next was a procession of ugly images, from Burris' rain-swept news conference after Democrats turned him away from a swearing-in to Illinois Rep. Bobby Rush daring Democrats to block an accomplished lawyer who would be the chamber's only black. Bitterly, the Democrats seated Burris. But when it came out that Burris had admitted what he had denied under oath — that he'd unsuccessfully tried to raise money for Blagojevich — Majority Whip Richard Durbin, D-Ill., suggested that Burris resign. He refused. A Senate ethics committee probe is pending into Burris' statements. Democratic leaders, meanwhile, refused to support any effort by Burris to run for a full term, and he will leave the Senate in 2011. Meanwhile, his relationship with the rest of his caucus has settled into one of mutual, if chilly, benefit. It works this way: Burris stays mum about any bitterness he may feel about his reception, and he gets Obama's Senate seat for two years. Democrats seat him, don't speak of him, and get his loyal vote at a time when all 58 Democrats and two independents must vote together to prevent Republican filibusters. They've never needed 60 votes like they do on the yet-to-be-finalized health care bill. A disciplined grin shows that Burris knows it. No, he says, he will not vote for any version of a government-run plan circulating in the Senate, other than the full-blown one from the Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Committee. He won't vote, for example, for Republican Sen. Olympia Snowe's idea to use the threat of a public option to force insurers to lower premiums by certain deadlines. He hasn't seen the details of another idea, proposed by Sen. Tom Carper, D-Del., that would allow each state to decide whether to offer public coverage to compete with private insurers. The health committee's proposal, he says, must be in the final bill to earn his vote. "Yeah, that's the one," Burris said. By definition, all 100 senators are relevant because any one can block Senate business unless there are 60 votes to override the objection. But Burris' stated position on the public option means that Democrats can no longer take his vote for granted. And yet, Democratic leaders aren't talking about Burris. Instead, they're talking confidently about having the votes for the biggest policy overhaul in a generation, a signature issue for Obama and the Democratic Party. Finance Committee Chairman Max Baucus, D-Mont., said Burris' demand alone makes him no different than other senators seeking this or that in the bill. "I will do what I can to address the thises and thats," Baucus said. "But my strong feeling is in the end, the need for health care reform is to get 60 votes (and) is going to trump the concerns that some might have." For his part, Burris says he's just representing the wishes of his state. And he's relentlessly loyal to the arrangement. His only acknowledgment of being treated differently than others is a reference to the "distractions" that marked his first weeks in office. Ask him whether he feels badly treated by the leaders, and he'll answer with a question: "By whose standard?" Go a couple more rounds, and he'll elaborate, generally. "I feel that I've had great opportunities here," Burris said. "I feel l more

Resolved Question: Many Questions About a Poor Office Environment?

I work in advertising and our floor is an "open atmosphere" that has been promoted as an environment that increases communication. However, since a recent merger that has changed the makeup of those within the office, the open environment seems to be cultivating an environment social interaction. I am a supervisor and my seat within this environment is next to another supervisor on this floor. This supervisor has a bit of a different work ethic than I and places more emphasis on being the social butterfly of the group as opposed to a professional leader whom is respected by his coworkers for his knowledge of the business. Often throughout the day, this coworker will spend up to 30 mins talking away on his cell phone to his friends overseas or carrying on with conversations with other coworkers. Over the past 5 months, I have complained to our management that I do not like sitting in this environment (specifically next to this social supervisor) and asked to be moved to an environment that is more like the environment I had agreed to work in prior to the merger. Recently after asking my management to discuss this issue, it was suggested that while waiting for a response, I simply check out a laptop from IT and work in a quieter area of the office. When the head of my group heard that I had done just this, I was told "that it was unacceptable and to return to my assigned seat". This flagrant act of alternative dispute resolution lead me to contact HR. HR took the situation seriously, but stated that HR was not aware of any other complaints (despite the fact that there are a few others that have expressed a disappointment in the change of environment). Not really having an argument to dispute the fact that HR had no other complaints, I questioned the tone and the approach that management had taken up to this time, as an example that the lack of professionalism is in fact missing from our group and accepted. To make a long story short - I am considering just resigning my position as I clearly see no future now that the merger has taken place. However, the group my group sits on 2 separate floors, the second of which I have experienced as being perfectly tolerable. I DO see a future by simply sitting on this quieter floor. Am I really at the mercy of a terrible work environment such as this? Am I really at the mercy of management that does not wish to work with their employees and ensure that serious and (not to brag) but competent employees are happy with their work environment? I hate to be one to "abuse" the system but are changes in environment due to a merger, grounds for a compensated resignation? By the state? Any suggestions would be helpful. Thank you! more

Resolved Question: Why doesn't ACORN want Republicans to vote?

http://biggovernment.com/2009/10/07/acorn-throws-out-republican-voter-registrations/ Here is a first-hand account of how it happens. In February 2008, Fathiyyah Muhammad of Jacksonville, Florida, heard that ACORN was paying people three dollars for each voter they could register. ACORN paid her three dollars for each voter she registered, but Fatiyyah Muhammad says that the group threw out her votes and fired her when she brought them registrations of Republican voters. Fathiyyah Muhammad voted for Obama. “I’m a Republican,” she says, “and this was the first time that I voted for a Democrat since JFK…. I’m one of those rare birds, a black conservative Republican, and actually this is the black conservative capital of the country, Jacksonville, Florida.” She is an entrepreneur and a great American: she makes custom caps for her businesses Bilal’s Custom Caps and Only in America. She and her James have made custom caps for politicians, sports heroes, musicians, and others. “America,” she says, “is the place you can live your dreams if you work at it.” She’s a can-do woman with a great American spirit, and when she saw what was breaking in the news about ACORN, she came forward; I interviewed her Monday morning. “This is my first experience” with ACORN, Muhammad said. “This was before Obama got the nomination, long before then….I heard about this group that was paying $3.00 per person, to go out and to get people to sign up to vote. So I went over, I thought that well this is a good way to make some money because I know everybody, you know. I went over there and this guy signed me up and everything, and gave me my little pad, all this stuff.” Muhammad went to the ACORN office in Jacksonville. There she encountered a young man speaking to a room of about twenty people. “He was telling us, you know, about his experience, he was from Brooklyn, he wasn’t from this area. He was just here recruiting people to register people to vote. They had a big office here, and I would say maybe about ten or twelve people at there.” She went to work: “Well, I went out and got a lot of people, homeless people, but of course I signed everybody up as a Republican, and I would have put people had they been Democrats.” She was not forcing people to sign up as Republicans: “You could put down anything you wanted.” But when she got back to ACORN, a group leader was not pleased: “So I showed what I had, and he said, “No, no, you a fraud, there can’t be any black Republicans,’ and oh, he just kind of hung me out to dry…. But of course their main aim was to register only Democrats. They’re not interested in registering Republicans.” She saw ACORN officials in Jacksonville throw out the Republican registrations she made. “They just discarded those, they weren’t valid. All of the registrations… they just threw those out.” Yet she says that she is sure that the people she registered were actually going to vote: “Yes, they all were going to vote, I just didn’t want to get anybody just to get the three dollars, I wasn’t desperate for three dollars.” ACORN did not honor its agreement to pay three dollars for each registered voter. “He took my papers,” says Muhammad, “didn’t pay me anything and I just left, I just figured that this is just another scam…. Everyone else got paid, all the other people got paid, but I didn’t. And I didn’t make a big deal about it, I just figured that it was another one of life’s experiences.” Fatiyyah Muhammad didn’t know anything about ACORN at that time. She didn’t know that ACORN has been doing this for a long time. As far back as November 2006 the organization was indicted for some 40,000 illegal voter registrations, and that was before any of the recent revelations. Now Fatiyyah Muhammad says: “I can’t believe that they got away with it for so long.” And she wants her story to be told: “How are you going to shine a light on the laundry if you don’t want to come out and say what happened?” Fatiyyah Muhammad is unafraid to shine that light. And her testimony is another nail in the coffin of the community organizers of ACORN and their stealth agenda. more

Resolved Question: Is this Conservative correct?

Above all, however, he thinks that the Republican Party no longer has a credible economic policy. It continues to advocate tax cuts even though the recent Bush tax cuts led to only mediocre economic growth and huge deficits. (Numbers from the Congressional Budget Office show that Mr. Bush’s policies are responsible for far more of the projected deficits than Mr. Obama’s.) On the spending side, Republican leaders criticize Mr. Obama, yet offer no serious spending cuts of their own. Indeed, when the White House has proposed cuts — to parts of Medicare, to an outdated fighter jet program and to subsidies for banks and agribusiness — most Republicans have opposed them. How, Mr. Bartlett asks, is this conservative? How is it in keeping with a party that once prided itself on fiscal responsibility — the party of President Dwight Eisenhower (who refused to cut taxes because the budget wasn’t balanced) or of the first President Bush (whose tax increase helped create the 1990s surpluses)? “So much of what passes for conservatism today is just pure partisan opposition,” Mr. Bartlett says. “It’s not conservative at all.” http://www.nytimes.com/2009/10/07/business/07leonhardt.html?_r=1&scp=3&sq=republicans%20taxes&st=cse"Mr. Bartlett has worked for Jack Kemp and Presidents Reagan and George H. W. Bush. He has been a fellow at the Cato Institute and the Heritage Foundation. He wants the estate tax to be reduced, and he thinks that President Obama should not have taken on health reform or climate change this year." more

Resolved Question: Do you agree with new recommendations that all police across America cannot ask about immigrations this means?

Do you agree with new recommendations that all police across America cannot ask about immigrations this means the police could not arrest anyone suspected of being illegal or could not even issue a ticket to a suspected illegal for no drivers licenses or insurance and the police would be powerless to even arrest any suspected illegal until a fatal crime happens until then illegals are off limits to all law enforcement ,why are illegals now not even held to the same laws as us, they are accountable when it is a serious crime until then the police would subject to being fired for U.S. government task force recommended Wednesday that the federal Department of Homeland Security scale back an initiative that allows local authorities to enforce the country’s immigration law. The so-called 287(g) program — named after the section of law that created it — should be limited to identifying illegal immigrants in state prisons and county jails and exclude any efforts to track them down outside of criminal investigations, the Southwest Border Task Force said. The proposal came as part of the group’s first report to the Homeland Security Advisory Council, which sought input in June from several border politicians, law enforcement officials, academics and business leaders. The task force presented 18 other proposals Wednesday on issues ranging from streamlining the border crossing process to ongoing cooperation with Mexican law enforcement. “Our goal is to get all of the Southwest border on the same playing field and draw out the realities on the border versus the rhetoric,” said Hidalgo County Sheriff Lupe Treviño, the task force’s vice chairman. Civil rights and Hispanic groups have urged President Barack Obama’s administration in recent months to end the 287(g) program amid mounting evidence that some participating police departments have used the newly granted authority to justify racial profiling. Maricopa County Sheriff Joe Arpaio, whose jurisdiction includes unincorporated areas outside Phoenix, has been accused of targeting individuals for immigration review based solely on their appearance and is currently facing a U.S. Justice Department investigation into alleged civil rights violations stemming from his participation in the program. Treviño, a staunch critic of 287(g) in its current form, said Wednesday that assuming a role in enforcing federal immigration law distracts local authorities from their primary duties and can cause problems with illegal immigrants in their communities. “We do not want a repeat of what has happened in Maricopa County,” he said. Homeland Security Secretary Janet Napolitano announced during the summer that her department would review 287(g)’s scope. Since then, the number of participating law enforcement agencies has swelled to nearly 70. In addition to changing the 287(g) program, the Southwest Border Task Force also urged Wednesday that Homeland Security place more emphasis on recruiting customs agents for the nation’s land ports of entry. Although Congress has appropriated money to expand the ranks of the U.S. Border Patrol by 8,200 since 2006, hiring for customs agents has not kept pace. Homeland Security budgets for fiscal year 2009 included funds for 2,200 new Border Patrol agents but only 22 additional customs agents. Other task force recommendations include: >> Creating a White House office to coordinate approving applications for new border ports of entry such as the soon-to-open Anzalduas International Bridge in Mission. Currently, local entities must complete 13 steps before winning approval and deal with four government agencies outside of Congress and the White House. >> Adopting clear definitions for terms such as “spillover violence,” which the task force suggested should be narrowly defined as violence originating within a Mexican criminal organization that plays out north of the border. >> Setting up a federal government grant program that would routinely provide money to border-area law enforcement. Homeland Security is not bound to implement any of the recommended policy changes, but Treviño, the vice chair, said he is hopeful they will receive fair consideration. “If DHS — or any other federal law enforcement agency — is going to meet their mission, they are going to have to have the 100 percent cooperation of local law enforcement,” he said. “I think this is a good first step.” http://www.themonitor.com/articles/federal-31189-force-task.html more

Resolved Question: Glenn Beck Hates ACORN - Do you think he is just an LDS shlub?

Glenn Beck: Probe of ACORN 'Bogus' - Calls for Obama to Intervene By Joseph Weber Conservative commentator Glenn Beck said Thursday the ethics investigation into the community activist group ACORN will yield no meaningful findings unless it reaches into the top levels of the organization or the White House gets involved. "I think this whole thing is bogus," said Mr. Beck, a Fox News talk-show host. ACORN on Wednesday named former Massachusetts Attorney General Scott Harshbarger, a Democrat, to lead an independent inquiry into the liberal group's social-services program. The inquiry follows the recent release of videotapes showing undercover operatives posing as a prostitute and pimp seeking tax and housing advice at five ACORN offices. "It's a show," Mr. Beck told The Washington Times' "America's Morning News" radio show. "They moved too fast, too quietly. The president is not involved. Until you start going to the people at the top ... the people connected to the White House, you cannot clean up this mess." Mr. Beck noted that ACORN's advisory board includes Kathleen Kennedy Townsend, daughter of Robert F. Kennedy and former Maryland lieutenant governor; John Podesta, a Clinton administration chief of staff; and Henry G. Cisneros, secretary of Housing and Urban Development during the Clinton administration. "How could you possibly clean up ACORN with these people on the board," Mr. Beck said. "You have the worst of the worst sitting on this board making decisions." Mr. Obama's election committee hired an ACORN affiliate to help with get-out-the-vote efforts in the 2008 campaign. The group also is being investigated for voter-registration fraud. The flap over ACORN is one of several issues that has riled up liberals and others against Mr. Beck, and now a planned visit to his hometown of Mount Vernon, Wash., this weekend has divided that town. Groups have demonstrated on the streets and in City Council meetings about Mr. Beck's visit, according to the Associated Press, and petitions have been collected calling for cancellation of the visit. A small-business owner put up a sign that says: "Glenn Beck & Hatred not welcome here." And the leader of nearby Whatcom County has offered the key to his city to Jon Stewart, the host of Comedy Central's "The Daily Show," in sort of a mayoral rebuttal after Mount Vernon Mayor Bud Norris proclaimed Sept. 26 as "Glenn Beck Day" to honor his success as a nationally known broadcaster. The media circus and the strong public reaction over the event has not fazed Mr. Norris. "I knew him here as a kid," Mr. Norris, a Republican, told the AP. "I was really unaware, really, of what he was doing in the last 25 years or so until I became aware he was on CNN. ... I decided to recognize him for his professional achievement, not for his political views." The announcement sparked a wave of opposition, riling up liberals in and around Mount Vernon, an agricultural city of 26,000 people, according to the AP. In a statement, Mr. Beck said, "The people of Mount Vernon are great people and I'm humbled by this honor and proud to be from there." He added he learned the value of hard work in his family's bakery. In his show, though, Mr. Beck poked fun at the surrounding controversy. "I'm afraid of even landing in my own home state. It used to be sane in Seattle. In the outlying areas, it used to be sane. Now, not so much," Mr. Beck said on his radio show Sept. 2, according to the AP. "You don't know some of these people in Seattle ... they don't have a life. They're out hugging salmon and setting them free." S.A. Miller contributed to this report. Copyright 2009 The Washington Times, LLC http://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2009/sep/25/beck-probe-of-acorn-bogus/?source=newsletter_must-read-stories-today_more_news_carousel more

Resolved Question: I want this mail is scam or original...please help me....?

I had forwarded mail from my friend there is job at Genesco company....the following is the mail... Dear Applicants, This is to inform you that there is a job vacancy in Genesco Company. Place of vacancy is located in, LONDON, USA, EUROPE AND ASIA and Resort in the big city of UNITED KINGDOM LABOUR CONSULTANT: RECRUITMENT AGENCY: CONTINENTAL RECRUITMENT We have employment opportunities in all Hospitality and Catering positions. We are manufacturers of cloths, electronics, footwares, etc. we need to fill up all the positions with experienced and qualified candidates. 1. Business Manager 2. Asst Manager 3. Marketing/Manager/Asst 4. Landscape Engineer 5. Public Relations/Manager/Asst 6. Chef De Parties 7. Executive Sours Chef / Chef De Cuisine 8. Souse Chef 9. Banquet Sales Executive / Manager 10. Front Desk Supervisor 11. F & B Manager 12. Customer Relation Officer 13.. Housekeeping Executive / Assistant 14. Team Leader Manager/Asst 15. Front Office / Guest Relations Executive / Manager 16. Travel Desk Manager 17. Loddy / Duty Manager 18. Asst Manager/F&B 19. Head / VP / GM-F&B 20. Head / VP / GM / National Manager - Sales 21. Operation Manager 22. Head / VP / GM-Accounts 23. Health Cloud Assistant / Manager 24. Junior Relationship Manager 25. Electric/electronic Engineers 26. Office Administration/ Manager 27. Business Analyst 28. Sales and Marketing Manager/Assistant 29. Assistant Restaurant Manager 30. Finance Manager 31. HR Operations Manager 32. Senior Relationship Manager 33. Executive / Master Chef If you are interested to start up employment where a nice monthly salary, accommodation, free insurances, free staff private car and many more benefits will be use in making your months/years a very wonderful experiences in the field of Hospitality and Catering. DETAILS: GENESCO RECRUITMENT INC: with the mandate to recruit expatriate services employees' for the fulfillment of the requirements of GENESCO COMPANY; "Hospitality FLARING PROJECT in LONDON, seek to write your consent after recommendation from our labour consultants (based on recent expatriate vacancies with our client. Kindly send in your Current CV/Resume and application letter stating the particular position where you will like to take up in this GENESCO COMPANY. CONTRACT DURATION: Level 1: 12 Months, (One Year) and renewable only on satisfactory performance by employee.Level 2: Full time Interested candidates must have not less than 2 or 4 years experience in any of the above listed fields. Interested candidates should forward their resumes/CV with verifiable reference(s) as word attached document to: E-Mail: genesco_recruitment@mail2recruiter.com website: www.genesco.com Contact Person: Mr. James Gulmi. Best Wishes. Director/Chief Recruiter. JOB RECRUITMENT/CAREER DEPARTMENT GENESCO COMPANY LONDON 2-24 Kensington High St | London W8 4PT more

Resolved Question: Are Latino advocates trying to control free speech in this country Latino advocates CNN to drop Lou Dobbs?

Latino organizations in 25 U.S. cities are joining forces through a national technology-based campaign demanding that CNN drop Lou Dobbs from its program offerings. Their leaders are citing Dobbs’ links to immigration hard-line groups such as the Federation for American Immigration Reform (FAIR), which some consider an anti-immigrant organization, and his ongoing promotion of dangerous anti-Latino and anti-immigrant rhetoric. “Enough is enough. CNN has allowed Dobbs to spout hate on its network for too long, and his alignment with a hate group like FAIR should be the last straw,” said Roberto Lovato of Presente.org, the national online group that is organizing the effort. FAIR was founded by John Tanton, decried by the Southern Poverty Law Center for his connection to white supremacist organizations. According to U.S. Census Bureau data, there are 46.9 million Latinos in the U.S., making people of Hispanic origin the nation’s largest ethnic or race minority. Recent studies tie anti-immigrant hate speech to increased violence against Latinos. Dobbs is joining FAIR’s annual “Hold Their Feet to the Fire” event, which is taking place in Washington D.C. today and tomorrow. The conference topics include “How Best to Close Illegal Alien Loophole in House Health Care Bill,” even though it’s been widely reported that undocumented immigrants are forbidden from receiving health care benefits under proposed plans. Dobbs’ involvement in the FAIR event is the most recent action upsetting Hispanic activists nationwide. Back in March, he criticized President Barack Obama for speaking about education reform to members of the U.S. Hispanic Chamber of Commerce, a group in Washington, D.C. that advocates on behalf of Hispanic-owned businesses in the U.S., calling it “crazy stuff.” He apologized days later. “We are calling on CNN President Jon Klein to drop Dobbs if he and his network are to maintain any semblance of credibility in the fast-growing Latino media market,” Lovato said. Organizers are asking supporters to join the campaign by visiting www.DropDobbs.com. The groups involved in the campaign are based in the 25 U.S. cities with the largest Latino populations, which account for more than 75 percent of the entire Hispanic television audience in the country. http://blogs.orlandosentinel.com/news_hispanicaffairs/2009/09/latino-advocates-ask-cnn-to-drop-lou-dobbs.html more

Resolved Question: Swine flu/h1n1 Martial law?

So Apparently these next couple of months in the US and world wide will be quite a roar. It seems as though our government, along with many others, already knows exactly what the h1n1 virus will do....these links show little known bills that have been passed, in the past month. These bills are very dangerous, yet have not been reported on, one the grand scale. They give right to "restrict freedom of movement" and if one person suspects you are ill, indefinitely quarantine you and your family. The fact of the matter is those who were once called crazy because they thought radical conspiracy thoughts....maaayyy not be so crazy now a days. Take a look, do I have any other truth movement followers out there, any militia members, any patriots, that may stand and say "I am not taking a vaccine that will kill me." Or..."try and take my liberties, its not happening today tomorrow or ever" anyone? or am I by posting this comment deciding my own fate as a crazy person until we're all confined to our homes by armed military men? http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Hdv4Bv2F7Q0&feature=related CNN regional military http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yuSMWzmheGE&feature=related This is a bill passed by the senate giving our government the right to force quarantine us, shut down businesses, enter homes at free will, restrict freedom of movement, among many other very ominous sounding things....all in writing of our government! yet unless I looked I would have never heard of this...you can find it by typing in bill 2028 on google http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Kka3K4RqcjU <---this one's a little iffy its a video regarding a recent international summit that world leaders held in Washington DC to decide what would/will happen if the swine flu gets out of control. If you ask me but the document and pdf still exists and the conference did happen....up to your own speculation here is the pdf http://docs.google.com/gview?a=v&q=cache:ZpOH7E99BwAJ:www.new-fields.com/ISFC/brochure.pdf+international+swine+flu+conference+.pdf&hl=en&gl=us And that is the actual document which you can easily find on Google....like I said made your own conclusion http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BW8yARUA3CQ <---this guy (Alex Jones) is really a little too radical but the beginning of the video is what counts. even though Alex Jones may be crossing a line....all his research is backed up :( see this is an issue.....look up the posse comitatus http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Posse_Comitatus_Act Our government is quite literally going to break the constitution....and even if you don't believe me....they already did :P Katrina 2005 They sent armed military men into New Orleans to use as law enforcement especially in the Astrodome....this is illegal. http://images.google.com/imgres?imgurl=http://www.chinadaily.com.cn/english/doc/2005-09/06/xin_46090206085237012461.jpg&imgrefurl=http://www.chinadaily.com.cn/english/doc/2005-09/06/content_475448.htm&usg=__skgnRAhCRP8ymsB2lGm6wQZtAYs=&h=287&w=350&sz=15&hl=en&start=5&um=1&tbnid=TrfKEYUHKukqSM:&tbnh=98&tbnw=120&prev=/images%3Fq%3Dkatrina%2Bmilitary%26hl%3Den%26um%3D1 So make up you're mind.....am I crazy? Am I a patriot? or maybe JUST MAYBE.....may I be on to something? PS: Don't forget to smile and nod when American Idol comes on....I mean after all it is WAY more important than losing your liberties......right? more

Resolved Question: Why is Obama keeping the Republicans from issuing subpoenas to CountryWide?

Rep. Edolphus Towns, D-N.Y., chairman of the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee, said he has other work to do on the causes of and fixes for the financial crisis and will not interfere with other investigations of the VIP loans. Towns' committee in recent months has focused on how much pressure the Federal Reserve and former Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson put on Bank of America to take over brokerage giant Merrill Lynch, another financial company with losses in the billions of dollars. http://www.startribune.com/politics/52091367.html YET DEMOCRATS WILL INVESTIGATE HOW MUCH INSURANCE COMPANIES MAKE Washington (AP) - Democrats on a House committee are seeking detailed financial records from dozens of large insurance companies, officials disclosed Tuesday, part of an investigation into "executive compensation and other business practices" in an industry opposed to President Barack Obama's plan to overhaul health care. http://www.cnsnews.com/news/article/52726 ARE DEMOCRATS REALLY THIS SLIMEY ,OR JUST THEIR LEADERS? more

Resolved Question: Why does 0bama hate capitalism?

http://townhall.com/blog/g/005ed0d7-158c-4c5b-b1f3-da3e62dfd6fb In the midst of the economic crisis of 2009, some of the nation’s most prominent politicians expressed wrong-headed hostility to the profit motive that will play a necessary role in any potential recovery. On May 13th, President Obama addressed the graduates of Arizona State University and told them that “the old order has been shaken, the old ideas and institutions have crumbled, and a new generation is called upon to remake the world.” In his bitter description of those “old ideas,” the leader of the Free World lavished special scorn on traditional dreams of upward mobility, suggesting that they actually displayed “a poverty of ambition.” “Now, in the face of these challenges, it may be tempting to fall back on the formulas for success that have been pedaled so frequently in recent years,” the president declaimed. “It goes something like this: You’re taught to chase after all the usual brass rings; you try to be on this ‘who’s who’ list or that top 100 list; you chase after the big money and you figure out how big your corner office is; you worry about whether you have a fancy enough title or a fancy enough car. That’s the message that’s sent each and every day, or has been in our culture for far too long- that through material possessions, through a ruthless competition pursued only on your own behalf – that’s how you will measure success.” As Fred Barnes aptly commented in The Weekly Standard: “That’s a brutal caricature of the way most people seek to get ahead in life, support a family and gain financial security.” Near the end of his address, President Obama specifically addressed those presumably benighted graduates who had made the mistake of pursuing degrees in business. “You have no excuses not to change the world. Did you study business? Go start a company. Or why not help our struggling non-profits find better, more effective ways to serve folks in need.” The tone of his remarks (which drew warm applause) made it clear that he viewed non-profit work (like community organizing) as a higher calling than involvement in the corporate world of “ruthless competition” for which the business students had trained. He simultaneously ignored the fact that pursuit of profit and tireless business-building bring rising levels of national and international prosperity that “serve folks in need” far more reliably than even the best-intentioned among “struggling non-profits.” more

Resolved Question: I'm 12 weeks pregnant, how do I give my baby up for adoption?

Before everyone goes jumping on the bandwagon and calling me selfish, allow me to explain my situation. I take offence to people telling me I should have kept my legs shut, because my private life is my business and in no way, shape or form could I be described as a girl who 'sleeps around' or is 'easy.' I am 21 years old, pregnant by a male ex who I had a brief relationship with in my own denial about my sexuality- I am an out-and-out lesbian woman, and although my family and some of my friends take great offence to this, I finally tired of dating men to 'please' their ideal of the life that they wanted for me; unfortunately their refusal to accept my sexuality was the death knell for my previous relationship with my girlfriend, and the driving force in setting myself back up with a male ex in an attempt to 'straighten myself out' and a relationship that proved disastrous. I WAS using birth control pills when I started dating Lee, we were careful in that respect, and clearly they didn't work. We broke up within a few weeks as it was clear that neither of us were interested in the relationship, and I started to stand up for myself a little more. I became involved in LGBT meetings at work, Equality & Diversity projects, and started to surround myself with people who supported me and accepted me for me. So far, so good. After a few recent weeks of constant nausea, exhaustion and morning sickness, I did a home pregnancy test and it proved positive. I could only see three choices ahead of me: 1. Termination. 2. Keep my baby 3. Give birth, and place my child in care. I am aware that I am well within the time constraints for a termination, and have researched it as an option. However two years ago, I miscarried a baby girl at 21 weeks, just days after the ultrasound scan where I had seen her moving and waving and been told she was a girl, and decided on her name. I went into hospital for a partial termination to 'remove' the rest of my little girl, and returned to work within a week and never spoke about it to anyone. My ex and I broke up under the strain, as I became irritable and snappy and self-loathing, and under these circumstances and the well of grief that I still carry around with myself, I could never, ever consider a termination unless for medical reasons, and even then I would probably struggle with it as a choice. I know that right now my baby is about 5cm long, with fingers, fingernails, functioning organs, and that's enough for me to know that personally, I couldn't do it. Secondly, keep my baby and bring it up. That's the option that, reading through a lot of this forum before I braved posting on it, most of the baying mob are going to spit at me to do. I would love to, I would truly love to, but I don't own my own home, I live in rented accomodation which I am going to have to leave shortly as Statutory Maternity Pay will not even cover my rent, let along anything else, and I cleaned out my savings accounts moving into this house in the first place when my church-leader parents kicked me out for being gay. Funny, I thought the church's outreach was everyone, but clearly homosexuality is a shameful thing for the daughter of a sunday school teacher, and she wanted to distance herself from it. I will be living with a work colleague, and completely unable to financially support a child, even with child maintenance allowance from the father. People who say poverty is temporary have never had a 'friend' steal hundreds of pounds from them. They've never been hauled into court over their council tax. I'd bet they've never begged friends for a fiver to buy some decent food with to feed their baby. Would it be fair on me to bring my baby up, in a studio flat (one room, like a kitchen with a bed in) and God only knows what I would do for work. There are 44 women in my place of work, not one of them is a single mum. I do shifts, 15 hour days and nights on a fixed schedule, and there is no flexibility for single mothers. There is the option for 'part time' working, but that still includes one 15 hour night shift a week. Easily overcome if Lee wants to look after his child, but he has absolutely no interest other than financially supporting me, and I cannot force this child on him. I am aware that he has responsibilities, but they are not, as far as I know, legally enforceable, in that I cannot make him look after my baby one night a week while I go to work. I have no family who will support me, and cannot foist a newborn child onto friends. I could find a childminder, but simply put, I won't be able to afford it on part-time wages. Option 3- give my baby up for adoption. I grew up in a family where my mum and dad were both foster carers, and saw a good 100 kids come and go over the past 15 years. Some stayed a weekend while their parent was in hospital, one brother and sister pairing lived with us for 13 years and are completely stable adults. My mum and dad have just adopted more

Resolved Question: White House now charges for meals why?

If you're a corporate CEO, and you are invited to the White House for lunch, you'd better bring your credit card along. Yes, the days of the free lunch are over at 1600 Pennsylvania Ave. Case in point: A recent Oval Office powwow between President Obama and the heads of Xerox, Coca-Cola, AT&T, and Honeywell, where the executives were asked by White House staffers to provide their credit card information so that they could be billed for the cost of the meal. Via Politico: The White House defended the unusual move as a way to avoid conflicts of interest. But the Bush administration didn't charge presidential guests for meals, one former official said, and at least one etiquette expert found the whole thing unseemly -- suggesting it was a serious breach of protocol. The president regularly hosts meetings with the nation's top business leaders to listen to their grievances and suggestions, and making them pick up the tab for their meals is intended to show that the relationship is free of ethical complications. Makes you wonder did he charge the cop for the beer? more

Resolved Question: How do I deal with this relationship when there is an ongoing power struggle?

We have been together for about 5 years and over time, a power struggle has created (or at least come to the surface) and become worse each year. A description of me: Independent, self sufficient, organized, leader not a follower, hard working, been in management for 10 years, self driven; would like to own my own business someday A description of him:stubborn, defiant, hard working at work but not at home, likes routine but eventually gets tired of it, follower not a leader, keeps to himself, does not like to communicate; wants to be a police officer someday and currently works in the criminal justice field A recent example: I met him at his job and he said he was going to follow me to a store because he did not know where it was at. I agreed. He starts out following me, but then decides to pass me and leave me behind. Why pass me if you don't know where we are going??? I have to pull over (in a not so good neighborhood may I add), call him, and wait for him to come back to get me because I didn't know where he was...totally out of sight! On the phone he tells me I have a problem with him driving ahead of me instead of me driving ahead of him. I tell him no, my problem is he doesn't know where we are going and he said he was going to follow me but he doesn't do that. Little things like this constantly happen and I want to fix it because it leads to much larger problems. Some of you might say "grow up" but that isn't a real answer. I am just trying to reduce conflict that happens regularly. Any suggestions on how to compromise?actually, I used the traits that others used to describe us...haha funny? No, don't think so. He agrees to all the traits above...still think it's funny? BTW, he prides himself on the stubborn one the mostBTW "Me", he asked me to marry him about 4 mos back and I told him I didn't think it was a good idea until we worked out the problems we are currently having. He bought the rings and everything. I don't think YOU have a clueHe has not fully come out and said he resents me but his actions have showed it in some ways. Most of his guy friends will say things like "you got a really good girlfriend" or "can I chlone her" or "you are so lucky" and that frustrates him even more so I ask them not to say those things. I am fully dedicated to him, but I don't know if he is to me because he is so driven on being "better" than me. I want to be equal. When we met I had my life in a good place and he did not. I had many more positive experiences by the choices I made whereas he made bad decisions. He will tell you, his whole life turned around when he met me. Now he does seem to resent it. more

Resolved Question: Why was I denied and American Express Blue Cash card?

Thank you for your recent application for the Blue Cash SM from American Express. After reviewing your request, regrettably, we are unable to open an account for you at this time for the following reason(s): Your American Express Acquisition Risk Score is too high (See below) Your application was processed using our American Express Proprietary Acquisition Risk Scoring System which assigns a numerical value to the various items of information we consider in evaluating an application. Your application's total score exceeded our threshold for approval at this time. Listed below are the reasons that you did not score well compared with other applicants. (For reasons based on information in a credit report, the name of the consumer reporting agency is identified.) Number of trades (Experian) Amount of credit available on accounts (Experian) Ratio of your card account balances to your income is too high, or cannot be determined(Experian) Our credit decision was based in whole or in part on information obtained in a report from the consumer reporting agency(ies) listed in this letter. Please understand that the reporting agency(ies) played no part in our decision and cannot supply you with specific reasons why we denied credit to you. You have a right under the Fair Credit Reporting Act to obtain a free copy of your report from the reporting agency, if you request it no later than 60 days after you receive this notice. If you find that any information contained in the report you receive is inaccurate or incomplete, you have the right to dispute the matter with the reporting agency. An important notice concerning your rights is included. The creditor is American Express Centurion Bank. It has been our experience that applicants who do not meet our basic requirements at one time may qualify later on. We invite you to submit a new application at a later date when your circumstances have changed. Thank you for your interest in our service. Sincerely, Robert Garinger Business Leader New Accounts Now anyone who can tell me why I was denied? It clearly states it but I want to know MORE about it. And Im going to send a copy of it to experian so I can get a report from them. I know my credit is good. No bad marks whatsoever. I'm blaming it on the credit crisis! =D lol oh well. I'll live. more

Resolved Question: Do you think the Nation of Islam killed Michael Jackson?

The clearout had apparently been engineered by his children’s nanny, Grace Rwaramba, who was gaining considerable influence over Jackson and his affairs and has been described as the ‘queen bee’ by those around Jackson. Rwaramba had ties to the black militant organisation, the Nation of Islam, and its controversial leader, Louis Farrakhan, whom she enlisted for help in running Jackson’s affairs. Before long, the Nation was supplying Jackson’s security detail and Farrakhan’s son-in-law, Leonard Muhammad, was appointed as Jackson’s business manager, though his role has lessened significantly in recent years. http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-1196009/Im-better-dead-Im-How-Michael-Jackson-predicted-death-months-ago.html more

Resolved Question: How MANY MORE TRILLIONS will Obama and FRIENDS WASTE BEFORE HE ADMITS his PORKULUS ISN'T WORKING?

Seventy-six percent (76%) of Americans say it is at least somewhat likely that a large amount of money in the $787-billion economic stimulus plan will be wasted due to inadequate government oversight. Nearly half (46%) say it is very likely, according to a new Rasmussen Reports national telephone survey http://www.rasmussenreports.com/public_content/business/economic_stimulus_package/june_2009/76_say_government_likely_to_waste_stimulus_money Three-out-of-four Americans (74%) trust their own judgment more than that of the average member of Congress when it comes to economic issues facing the nation. A new Rasmussen Reports national telephone survey finds that just 13% trust the average Congress member’s judgment more, while 12% are not sure who knows best. http://www.rasmussenreports.com/public_content/business/economic_stimulus_package/june_2009/74_trust_their_own_economic_judgment_more_than_congress 55% Say Business Leaders, Not Government, Will Help Economy Most http://www.rasmussenreports.com/public_content/most_recent_videos2/business/55_say_business_leaders_not_government_will_help_economy_most Most voters (53%) believe increases in government spending hurt the economy, according to a new Rasmussen Reports national telephone survey. http://www.rasmussenreports.com/public_content/business/taxes/june_2009/53_say_more_government_spending_hurts_the_economy Voters now trust Republicans more than Democrats on six out of 10 key issues, including the top issue of the economy. The latest Rasmussen Reports national telephone survey finds that 45% now trust the GOP more to handle economic issues, while 39% trust Democrats more. http://www.rasmussenreports.com/public_content/politics/mood_of_america/trust_on_issues/trust_on_issues more

Voting Question: Mark Sanford Used Tax Payor dollars to fund his tryst. Is this what's coming from the GOP in 2010?

Mark Sanford visited Argentina exactly one year ago as part of a taxpayer-funded South Carolina Department of Commerce trade mission, according to a copy of the trip itinerary. Sanford revealed Wednesday that he began an affair with "a dear, dear friend" from Argentina last year. It's unknown if Sanford spent time with the woman the during the trade mission, but the governor explained Wednesday that his relationship with her "sparked into something more" than just a friendship "about a year ago." He said he has known the woman for about eight years. Sanford's office said the trip, like other trade missions, was organized by the Department of Commerce, not by the governor. The South American swing took Sanford and several commerce officials to Brazil and Argentina for one week in June 2008, beginning on June 21. After spending three days in Brazil, the delegation arrived in Cordoba, Argentina on June 24 — one year ago to the day Sanford emotionally admitted his extramarital affair at the state house in Columbia. The following day, the group traveled to Buenos Aires — the city Sanford went back to last week, during his mysterious absence — for the final two nights of the trip. Members of the delegation were scheduled to stay at the Hilton Buenos Aires, located in the city's Puerto Madero district. While the delegation spent much of their time meeting with diplomats and business leaders, several hours each day were allotted for "personal time." The group returned to Columbia on the morning of June 28 after taking an overnight flight. According to state expenditure reports, Sanford's out-state travel expenses with the Department of Commerce totaled $21, 487 for the fiscal year ending on June 30, 2008. Governors commonly travel out-of-state or abroad to stir up investment in their home states. "All of the economic development trips taken by the governor are organized and run by the Department of Commerce," said Sanford spokesman Joel Sawyer. Sanford said in a press conference Wednesday that he footed the bill for his most recent trip to Buenos Aires. The governor said earlier in the day he had traveled to Argentina several times before. more

Voting Question: Obama says - "While I'm not spoiling for a fight, I'm ready for one."?

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20090620/ap_on_go_pr_wh/us_obama_consumers What in the world?!?! He's trying to MAKE the people in Washington do what he says??!! Isn't this ILLEGAL?!!? Don't the people in Washington have a LEGAL RIGHT to NOT do what he says?!?! I'm not asking if what Obama is wanting is right or wrong, good or bad. I'm just asking if it's illegal, him trying to MAKE them do what he wants. WASHINGTON – President Barack Obama said Saturday that current financial rules exploit consumers and he put critics of his proposed overhaul on notice: "While I'm not spoiling for a fight, I'm ready for one." Obama used his weekly radio and Internet address to defend his recent proposal, which is intended to prevent a repeat of the breakdown that has sent the U.S. economy reeling. But such major changes face a fight in Congress and opposition from some leaders in the banking and insurance industries. In the address, Obama focused on a consumer watchdog office that he wants to set up. "This is essential," Obama said. "For this crisis may have started on Wall Street. But its impacts have been felt by ordinary Americans who rely on credit cards, home loans and other financial instruments." The Consumer Financial Protection Agency would take over oversight of mortgages, requiring that lenders give customers the option of "plain vanilla" plans with clear and affordable terms. "It will have the power to set tough new rules so that companies compete by offering innovative products that consumers actually want and actually understand," Obama said. "Those ridiculous contracts — pages of fine print that no one can figure out — will be a thing of the past. You'll be able to compare products, with descriptions in plain language, to see what is best for you." More broadly, Obama's changes would begin to reverse the easing on federal regulations pressed by President Ronald Reagan in the 1980s. Democratic leaders in Congress are promising legislation will get passed this year, but that depends in part on how Congress answers big questions about the overhaul, including the role of the Federal Reserve. "I welcome a debate about how we can make sure our regulations work for businesses and consumers," Obama said. "But what I will not accept — what I will vigorously oppose — are those who do not argue in good faith." By that, Obama said, he meant those who defend the status quo at any cost. He didn't name any people or organizations, but said special interests are already mobilizing to fight change. He called that typical Washington. "These are the interests that have benefited from a system which allowed ordinary Americans to be exploited," Obama said. The president said he would stand up for his plans, saying: "While I'm not spoiling for a fight, I'm ready for one. The most important thing we can do to put this era of irresponsibility in the past is to take responsibility now." more

Resolved Question: History please help me I'm stuck!:]] 10 points!!?

Which of the following statements describes India? (Points: 5) Projected to become a leading world economic power, it provides information technology and software services to other countries. Moving from underdeveloped nation to developing nation, it provides agricultural products to all of Southeast Asia. Once a developing nation, it is now an urbanized country with an economy based on oil. Formerly part of the Soviet Union, it is now an independent, industrialized nation governed by a Maharajah. 55. What country has experienced significant industrial growth in recent years due to increased foreign investment and decentralization of economic control? (Points: 5) China France Canada Russia 56. One indicator of a developing nation, in contrast to a developed nation, is widespread poverty. Reasons for poverty in a nation include all the following except (Points: 5) high national debt high literacy rate trade barriers lack of foreign assistance 57. Which of the following is the best explanation for why international relief agencies might speak to officials in Kenya concerning an ongoing drought in neighboring Somalia? (Points: 5) Kenya may want to contribute additional farmland along the border to help provide relief for Somalia. With the threat of famine, Somalia’s government could fall and be replaced with one that would attack Kenya. Kenya might need to expect large numbers of people to enter the country to avoid famine in Somalia. Famine could lead to deaths and disease that could spread to Kenya. 58. In a city experiencing rapid urbanization, which of the following organizations would be least likely to need additional workers? (Points: 5) Office of Agricultural Planning Board of Education Bureau of Public Housing Office of Urban Planning 59. Which group of people has had the biggest impact on globalization? (Points: 5) entrepreneurs and educators legislators and information technology specialists information technology specialists and artists legislators and journalists 60. Globalization would most likely be welcomed by all the following except (Points: 5) a business owner looking to expand into new markets a family living below the poverty level because of unemployment bankers and financial consultants looking for profits from investments leaders in a communist nation with a command economy more

Resolved Question: Should illegals be counted in census?

Should the churches stay out of government business such as the census? If they are not afraid to come out of the shadows, why are they not wanting to be counted? Since they don't want to be counted, how will the schools pay for their illegal children to attend, they will be losing money? Has these churches gone too far? Should there be reprocussions? U.S. census sparks feud over the counting of illegal immigrants A national Latino clergy group wants 1 million to boycott the count in an effort to press for legalization. But immigrant activists decry the plan. By Teresa Watanabe May 31, 2009 In a high-stakes battle that could affect California's share of federal funding and political representation, immigrant activists are vowing to combat efforts by a national Latino clergy group to persuade 1 million illegal immigrants to boycott the 2010 U.S. census. The Washington, D.C.-based National Coalition of Latino Clergy & Christian Leaders, which says it represents 20,000 Latino churches in 34 states, recently announced that a quarter of its 4 million members were prepared to join the boycott as a way to intensify pressure for legalization and to protect themselves from government scrutiny. 3 California counties will check... Army extends immigrant recruitingDeportations carried out in the middle of immigration cases "Before being counted, we need to be legalized," said the Rev. Miguel Rivera, the coalition's chairman and founder. But the boycott call has infuriated many Latino organizations. La Opinión, in a recent editorial, denounced it as a "dangerous mistake" that "verges on political suicide" while an official with the National Assn. of Latino Elected and Appointed Officials called it "wildly irresponsible." "This is a phenomenal step backward in the strides we have made to make sure we are equal," said Arturo Vargas, executive director of the Los Angeles-based Latino officials group. The decennial census, which counts all people regardless of immigration status, is used to allocate federal funds for education, housing, healthcare, transportation and other local needs. By some estimates, every person counted results in $1,000 in federal funds. The census is also used to apportion the 435 seats in the U.S. House of Representatives, which are based on a state's population. According to a study in 2003, California's sizable illegal immigrant population allowed it to gain three House seats it might otherwise not have received. The state's illegal immigrant population also caused Indiana, Michigan and Mississippi to each lose one of their seats and prevented Montana from gaining a seat. The study by the Center for Immigration Studies, a Washington, D.C.-based research group that promotes immigration restrictions, also argued that the illegal immigrant population skewed the "one man, one vote" principle in elections. In 2002, the study found, it took almost 100,000 votes to win the typical congressional race in the four states that lost or failed to gain a seat, compared with 35,000 votes to win in immigrant-rich districts in California. Back in 1988, the effect on apportionment, which also affects the Electoral College, prompted a lawsuit by 40 members of Congress, Pennsylvania and the Federation for American Immigration Reform to prevent the Census Bureau from counting illegal immigrants. The complaint was dismissed by the U.S. Supreme Court for lack of standing. "People who have no right to be in this country should not be counted," said federation President Dan Stein. "It's awfully hard to explain to U.S. citizens why they keep losing political representation to states like California because of people who broke immigration laws." Vargas and others questioned the boycott organizers' political motivations, noting that most of them were conservative. Rivera acknowledged that his coalition endorsed George W. Bush in 2004 and slightly favored Republican presidential nominee John McCain over Democrat Barack Obama by a vote of 52% to 48% last year. But he denied that the boycott was aimed at aiding Republicans. He said his group was concerned that federal funds obtained in part through the counting of illegal immigrants would be used against them to increase arrests and harassment by local law enforcement. Rivera also said he wanted to use the boycott as a way to pressure Congress to pass legislation offering legalization to illegal immigrants. So far, his group appears to have gained little traction in California. A group of affiliated Latino pastors plans to meet in the next week or two to discuss the boycott call but has made no decision yet, according to Jose Caballero, a Camarillo minister. But other Latino leaders say they are nervous about the boycott. "The fact that they are getting a lot of media attention concerns us that they could do a lot of damage," said Brent Wilkes, executive director of the League of Unite more

Resolved Question: Is global warming just a clever way to raise taxes?

I, personally do not believe in the whole ‘Global Warming’ fiasco. I think that governments and world leaders are clever and sneaky enough to create such a theory that climate change is due to humans. In my geography lesson today, I learnt that humans only emit 6.5 gigatonnes of C02 each year. Compare that to the 150 gigatonnes that is created by other animals and plants and it seems that humans aren’t actually contributing that much. Even dying leaves emit even more! Scientists say that temperatures have risen since the industrial revolution. Maybe it’s actually since the agricultural revolution. Since humans are breeding more animals and growing more vegetation for farming, more CO2 is being released. I don’t at all believe that just by walking to school instead of getting a lift in the car and switching off lights when not in use will help to save the planet. I still try and do my bit for the environment though by walking a 3 mile round trip every school day and switch off all my unused electrical items. I do agree that there is, apparently, scientific proof that the temperatures have risen in recent centuries. But, these results could be altered or just completely made up before they are released to the public. I have watched ‘An Inconvenient Truth’ and found that quite interesting. But, I also found that, as an audience, I was being bombarded with theories and not facts. Yes, sea levels are rising. Well, apparently. Maybe ‘they’ just measured when the tide was coming in. How convenient. I understand all the theories and see where they might stem from. But, I think that maybe having to PAY ‘green taxes’ and being pressured every day by the media and people around us to ‘reduce our carbon footprint’ by BUYING things and SPENDING money on eco-friendly things is just a clever way to get everyone on Earth panicking (and therefore possibly dying of paranoia, consequently leaving all their inheritance money to the government) and spending money on things which don’t actually help the environment at all. If I IS human activity contributing to Global Warming as everyone’s all hyped on, then maybe it’s not individuals who have to do something about it, but the big businesses that deal in the fossil fuels that we are using up that have to stop counting their money and stop being so greedy. If global warming IS genuine, the planet will run out of resources and millions will die as a result of flooding, hurricanes and homelessness. Its just up to us to decide what generation, down the line, has to suffer with it. more

Resolved Question: Why does Obama dislike U.S. corporate leaders and businesses?

WASHINGTON (AP) - Relations between President Barack Obama and U.S. corporate leaders have grown tense in recent weeks, with business groups bristling over his sharp rebukes of lenders and multinational companies in particular.Some banks were forced to take the money and then they were not allowed to pay it back...READ. more

Resolved Question: Obama is going to close tax loopholes. Is that for just Republicans?

WASHINGTON — Following through on a campaign promise to stop rewarding companies that send jobs and money overseas, President Barack Obama on Monday called for eliminating various loopholes that benefit offshore tax havens and ratcheting up overseas enforcement, which he said could save $210 billion over a decade and encourage more job creation at home. The proposals, which would require congressional action, enjoy support from some Democratic lawmakers, but they face loud objections from others, including Senate Republican leader Mitch McConnell of Kentucky , and from hundreds of the most powerful businesses in the nation, including those that produce technology, pharmaceuticals and food. Opponents say that Obama's proposals would amount to a tax increase and put them at a disadvantage to foreign rivals who don't face such tax laws in their home countries. "I want to see our companies remain the most competitive in the world," Obama said in announcing his plans at the White House , flanked by Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner . "But the way to make sure that happens is not to reward our companies for moving jobs off our shores or transferring profits to overseas tax havens." As evidence of the problem, a White House fact sheet noted that: — The effective U.S. tax rate on U.S. multinational corporations as of 2004, the most recent year for data, was 2.3 percent. — Eighty-three of the 100 largest U.S. corporations had subsidiaries in tax havens, according to the Government Accountability Office . — Bermuda , the Netherlands and Ireland — all small, low-tax countries — claimed nearly a third of all foreign profits reported in 2003 by U.S. corporations. Obama wants to reduce companies' ability to defer taxes on overseas profits, end many overseas tax havens and aggressively hunt down overseas tax evaders. more

Resolved Question: Which group was most likely to vote against FDR in the election of 1936?

A.skilled & unskilled workers B.northern Negroes C.recent immigrants D.business leaders more

Resolved Question: Conservatives, do you agree w/ Demint that road back to GOP roots must drop GOP affair w/ corporate interests?

"Earlier this month, the United States Chamber of Commerce handed out its annual "Spirit of Enterprise" awards to those members of Congress who voted with the Chamber 70 percent of the time on its most important legislative initiatives of 2008. The only four Republican senators who did not receive the award were Jon Kyl, Jeff Sessions, Jim Inhofe and me - four of the most conservative members of the Senate. What were the conservative offenses? We opposed the failed bailouts and stimulus. Which explains why many liberal Democrats scored higher, including Barack Obama and Hillary Rodham Clinton. The Republican who scored lowest of all - that is, the Republican lawmaker supposedly least aligned with the nation's business community - was Ron Paul, a strong constitutionalist famous for his strict adherence to a free- enterprise libertarian philosophy. There is, in these facts, an important insight into the current unpopularity of the Republican Party. In an era of corporate welfare - which is lately taking on the characteristics of 1930s-style corporatism itself - the interests of big business are veering away from the interests of economic freedom and toward the interests of big government. Many Republicans in the past decade have followed a similar course, and the party - and our country - have paid dearly for the wrong turn. .... For the past eight years, the Republican experiment in big government hollowed out our core identity. In battles over immigration, spending, education and other "compassionate conservative" priorities, small-government conservatives were attacked by leading Republicans for choosing principle over poll-tested politics. It was in these battles that the long-alleged marriage between the Republican Party and corporate America was finally consummated. Where Mr. Reagan fought to deregulate in the interests of industry competition, many recent Republican leaders have sought to regulate in the interests of industry leaders. That is why the lobbying industry has grown so successful in recent years: For the first time, both parties have become receptive to special interest pleadings. That is also why conservative opposition to President Obama's massive new spending agenda rings hollow in many ears. Even the most socialistic of big-government Democrats can credibly ask why Republicans are suddenly so worried about the dangers of big government. The road back to Republican success is not to reinforce our weakened coalition of corporate interests, but to drop it altogether.This rings true to me. What do you think?Kiss, as a paleoconservative I think the government should not be concerned with marriage. Maybe the State could have unions (if needed) for all and let churches deal with their own sacraments.zaphod, I have posted solutions. You just don't like them - or haven't read them. That isn't what this question is about, though.and the words are demint's not mine.bwlobo, I agree in free market, demint is saying regulations are actually being put into place to help corporate interests by creating barriars to entry by competitors, though, and corporate welfare.bwlobo, I agree in free market, demint is saying regulations are actually being put into place to help corporate interests by creating barriars to entry by competitors, though, and corporate welfare. more

Resolved Question: What is your opinion on Jackie Chan's Comments about Chinese people needing to be controled & cared for?

WOW... My first reaction to reading what he said was just "WOW..." Chinese people need to be "Controlled" or else they will "Just do what they want"? Um... yeah... Isn't that the point? I guess all those stunts and head wounds have finally caught up with him... What do you think about what he said? Jackie Chan's China comments prompt backlash (AP) http://movies.yahoo.com/news/movies.ap.org/jackie-chans-china-comments-prompt-backlash-ap HONG KONG - Action star Jackie Chan 's comments wondering whether Chinese people "need to be controlled" have drawn sharp rebuke in his native Hong Kong and in Taiwan . Chan told a business forum in the southern Chinese province of Hainan that a free society may not be beneficial for China 's authoritarian mainland. "I'm not sure if it's good to have freedom or not," Chan said Saturday. "I'm gradually beginning to feel that we Chinese need to be controlled. If we're not being controlled, we'll just do what we want." He went on to say that freedoms in Hong Kong and Taiwan made those societies "chaotic." Chan's comments drew applause from a predominantly Chinese audience of business leaders, but did not sit well with lawmakers in Taiwan and Hong Kong. "He's insulted the Chinese people. Chinese people aren't pets," Hong Kong pro-democracy legislator Leung Kwok-hung told The Associated Press. "Chinese society needs a democratic system to protect human rights and rule of law." Another lawmaker, Albert Ho, called the comments "racist," adding: "People around the world are running their own countries. Why can't Chinese do the same?" Former British colony Hong Kong enjoys Western-style civil liberties and some democratic elections under Chinese rule. Half of its 60-member legislature is elected, with the other half picked by special interest groups. But Hong Kong's leader is chosen by a panel stacked with Beijing loyalists. In democratically self-ruled Taiwan, which split from mainland China during a civil war in 1949, legislator Huang Wei-che said Chan himself "has enjoyed freedom and democracy and has reaped the economic benefits of capitalism. But he has yet to grasp the true meaning of freedom and democracy." Chan's comments were reported by news outlets in Hong Kong and Taiwan, but were ignored by the mainland Chinese press. Although Chan was a fierce critic of the brutal crackdown on pro-democracy protesters in Beijing's Tiananmen Square in June 1989, which killed at least hundreds, he has not publicly criticized China's government in recent years and is immensely popular on the mainland. He performed during the opening and closing ceremonies of the Beijing Olympics and took part in the Olympic torch relay . Chan also is vice chairman of the China Film Association, a key industry group. more

Resolved Question: Economist asks: “Change” Under Obama: From Dumb to Dumber and From Bad to Worse?

George Reisman, professor of Economics at Pepeprdine writes: "A recent article in The New York Times quotes President Obama as saying, “I don’t buy the argument that providing workers with collective-bargaining rights somehow weakens the economy or worsens the business environment. If you’ve got workers who have decent pay and benefits, they’re also customers for business.” (March 2, 2009, p. B3.) The President’s statement reveals a great deal about his understanding or, more correctly, lack of understanding of economics. Collective bargaining is the joining together, typically through the instrumentality of a labor union, of all workers in a given occupation or industry for the purpose of acting as a single unit in seeking pay and benefits. It is an attempt to compel employers to deal with just one party—i.e., the labor union—and to come to terms agreeable to that party or to be unable to obtain labor. The imposition and maintenance of collective bargaining necessarily depends on compulsion and coercion, i.e., on the use of physical force against both employers and unemployed workers. This coercion is necessitated, in substantial measure, precisely by the seeming success that collective bargaining can achieve. That success is measured in terms of the rise in wage rates that it achieves. That rise in wage rates is all that labor union leaders and their ignorant supporters are aware of. Precisely this “success,” however, is the cause of major problems. The first is that higher wage rates reduce the quantity of labor that any given amount of capital funds can employ. For example, at a wage of $20,000 per year, $1 million of payroll funds can employ 50 workers for a year. But at a wage of $25,000 per year, it can employ only 40 workers for a year. With every further rise in the wage, correspondingly fewer workers are able to be employed. Higher wage rates also serve to raise costs of production and thus the selling prices of the products that the higher-paid workers are producing. These higher selling prices reduce the quantities of the products that buyers are able and willing to buy. And thus, whether as the result of the reduced purchasing power of capital funds in the face of higher wage rates or the reduced quantities of products demanded by customers in the face of higher product prices, the effect of collective bargaining is a reduced quantity of labor employed, i.e., unemployment. It is shocking, indeed, frightening, that the President of the United States, whose main concern at the moment is supposedly with overcoming mass unemployment and preventing its getting worse, does not understand that any policy that drives up wage rates drives up unemployment." "In saying, “I don’t buy the argument that providing workers with collective-bargaining rights somehow weakens the economy or worsens the business environment,” President Obama confesses to not knowing that collective bargaining raises prices and causes unemployment. He confesses to not knowing that it raises costs and prices not only through the imposition of artificially high wage rates, but also in imposing on employers the use of unnecessary labor, sometimes as many as four or five workers to do the job that just one could do." "The reader should keep in mind the coercive nature of collective bargaining. Then he should consider Mr. Obama’s observation that “If you’ve got workers who have decent pay and benefits [as the alleged result of collective bargaining], they’re also customers for business.” This statement makes about as much sense as declaring that people who are successful at sticking up gas stations are also customers of gas stations. Moreover, the workers who are unemployed by collective bargaining are not customers of business, or not very good customers (they can’t afford to be). And the products offered by business to its customers are poorer and more expensive because of collective bargaining. This is something, it must be stressed, that reduces the buying power of the wages of workers throughout the economic system, i.e., reduces what economists call their “real wages.” Mr. Obama needs to forget the nonsense he believes about collective bargaining and paying extortionate wages somehow benefiting business and learn to understand how it harms wage earners, how it harms every wage earner who must pay more and get less as the result of legally enforced collective bargaining. He must learn to understand how it also harms every worker who must earn less as the result of being displaced by collective bargaining from the better paying jobs he could have had if wage rates in those lines had not been driven artificially still higher by collective bargaining and thus reduced the number of workers who could be employed in them and thereby forced those workers into lower paying jobs."http://georgereisman.com/blog/ more

Resolved Question: PENN/COLUMBIA with these?

Hey all, My other question was a joke. This is the real deal. I have a 4.2-4.3 in my school with around 9 aps. my unweighted is around 3.85 I took the SAT and underperformed due to illness--> 2180 I hope to retake that and get over 2250 if possible I took the SAT 2 in math 2 and received a 760 For extracurriculars, I participated in vars tennis and xc for 3 years so far (Im a junior). I have been the top performer in xc and have almost gone to state finals. I am currently the captain of the tennis team. I also play the tenor sax and have been playing for for 6 years. I am currently the section leader and I am given a majority of the sax solos. I currently volunteer for the Tech museum of innovation where i teach children and a few adults about the recent technological advancements in the silicon valley. I have been volunteering there for over 2 years and will continue to do so. I also am a part of a youth leadership group called YTF that actively addresses youth problems in the community. One problem we worked on was homelessness. In order to get an understanding of the situation, we went on an "Urban Plunge" and lived on the streets for 2 days. We lived in a shelter and were given a dollar to spend on food for each day. We interviewed the many unfortunate souls and created a video that we spread across the community. I also am taking a great deal of ap courses that focus on medicine and biomedical engineering. In addition to taking the hardest science course in my school, I will be working in india. I will be shadowing the various surgeons in a renowned hospital in south india. I will also be working at a bme lab in order to decide if i wanna pursue the field. I am also in Green revs, a club where i will be renovating a Volkswagen into a green vehicle. I will be learning about the basics of engineering and management in the process. In addition to all the science, I am also in FBLA, a business club that helps us understand the economy and its twisted ways. I have participated in FBLA conferences and won an award in business law. Please provide thoughtful answers. more

Resolved Question: I'm so tired of Hilary~~even moreso her husband. Are you? Do you wish they both would just leave politics?

.. always something new with these two. I have no idea why Obama even considered this woman. And Bill is a just a hanger on as far as I can see. To think I almost liked the man at one time and that I felt sorry for Hilary. What a mistake! They both stink. (Not just because of the money from foreigners but because everytime I see one or the other or both of them at the same time, I just feel creepy. WASHINGTON – Former President Bill Clinton laid out a list of big-ticket donors to his foundation Thursday that is heavy with foreign governments and business interests sure to have a stake in the policies that Hillary Rodham Clinton carries out as secretary of state. Saudi Arabia and other foreign governments gave at least $46 million, while corporate donors included the Blackwater security firm that protects U.S. diplomats in Iraq. The contributions went to the William J. Clinton Foundation, a nonprofit created by the former president to finance his library in Little Rock, Ark., and charitable efforts to reduce poverty and treat AIDS. President-elect Barack Obama made Hillary Clinton's nomination as secretary of state contingent on her husband revealing the foundation's contributors, to avoid questions about potential conflicts of interest. The Kingdom of Saudi Arabia gave $10 million to $25 million to the foundation, and other government donors included Norway, Kuwait, Qatar, Brunei, Oman, Italy and Jamaica. The Dutch national lottery gave $5 million to $10 million. The Blackwater Training Center donated $10,001 to $25,000. The State Department will have to decide next year whether to renew Blackwater Worldwide's contract to protect U.S. diplomats in Iraq. Five Blackwater guards have been indicted by a U.S. grand jury on manslaughter and weapons charges stemming from a September 2007 firefight in Baghdad's Nisoor Square in which 17 Iraqis died. The foundation disclosed the names of its 205,000 donors on a Web site Thursday, ending a decade of resistance to identifying the sources of its money. While the list is loaded with international business leaders and billionaires, some 12,000 donors gave $10 or less. Clinton agreed to release the information after concerns emerged that his extensive international fundraising and business deals could conflict with America's interests if his wife became the nation's top diplomat. The foundation has insisted for years that it was under no legal obligation to identify its contributors, contending that many expected confidentiality when they donated. The list also underscores ties between the Clintons and India, a connection that could complicate diplomatic perceptions of whether Hillary Clinton can be a neutral broker between India and neighboring Pakistan in a region where Obama will face an early test of his foreign policy leadership. The former president did not release specific totals for each donor, providing only ranges of giving. Nor did he identify individual contributors' occupations or countries of residence. Donors gave Clinton's foundation at least $492 million from its inception in 1997 through last year, according to the most recent figures available. After negotiations with Obama's transition team, Clinton promised to reveal the contributors, submit future foundation activities and paid speeches to an ethics review, step away from the day-to-day operation of his annual charitable conference and inform the State Department about new sources of income and speeches. Representatives of the foundation, including CEO Bruce Lindsay and attorney Cheryl Mills, and aides to Hillary Clinton met privately Wednesday with staff of incoming Foreign Relations Committee Chairman John Kerry of Massachusetts and ranking Republican Dick Lugar of Indiana to discuss the foundation's activities and review a memorandum of understanding drawn up by the Clinton and Obama teams. The Foreign Relations Committee will hold hearings and vote on Hillary Clinton's nomination before sending it to the full Senate. Shortly after Obama tapped Clinton, Lugar said he would support her, though he said there would still be "legitimate questions" raised about the former president's extensive international involvement. "I don't know how, given all of our ethics standards now, anyone quite measures up to this — who has such cosmic ties," Lugar said. Some of the donors have extensive ties to Indian interests that could prove troubling to Pakistan. Tensions between the two nuclear nations are high since last month's deadly terrorist attacks in Mumbai. Amar Singh, a donor in the $1 million to $5 million category, is an Indian politician who played host to Bill Clinton on a visit to India in 2005 and met Hillary Clinton in New York in September to discuss an India-U.S. civil nuclear agreement.hey sillies on the right. I'm not democerat or conservative. I don't need a label. and I didn't write the entire article (to he who invited me to "get a life"). I wrote comments which took about 8 minutes.I do have a life. I just type fast. Very fast. I think fast also. It took me just under 18 seconds to write this little tidbit. Now. Drink some milk and take a nap sily. (the last sent. took 5 seconds) more

Resolved Question: Almost done with home, help on a few extra questions?

1.It is important for a leader to have which of the following in common with the people in the group he/she leads? A.education and training B.abilities and skills C.values and goals 2. A group of occupations which require similar training and abilities is called A. a job family B. flextime C. technology 3. According to your textbook, which of the following is an example of a basic need? A. being a status leader B. having charisma C. having a feeling of self-respect 4. In recent years psychologists have suggested that to improve working, relations, management should A. criticize workers when they make errors. B. give positive reinforcement to workers for their achievements C. make the tasks at work simpler and less challenging 5. When laid off or fired from their jobs, people should A. never take a lower level job, even temporarily B. look for opportunities to upgrade their skills C. not bother contacting their state employment office 6. Absenteeism is A. when a worker stays away from work B. the rate at which new technology is introduced into businesses and factories C. a program for establishing good manager-employee relations more

Resolved Question: Should India tell USA to mind its own business in handling recent Mumbai terror attack?

When USA attack Afghanistan they did not ask any body's opinion. As we all know that Afghanistan did not attack USA. So at this juncture how can they rush to advice India. I can understand why Prime minister Singh or Sonia Gandhi are not speaking out but what about opposition party leaders ? Of course I do not suggest that India attack Pakistan. But India can make up its own mind. more

Resolved Question: Are the Democrats the lesser of two evils?

Or actually just another, and in fact, the major brokers for US corporate power? The Democratic Party, as the recent events have clearly demonstrated, is the servant of Wall Street. Long gone are the days when liberal Democrats postured as opponents of the moneyed interests. Now they are the major advocates for paying off Wall Street debts, supposedly for our benefit. Yet, as the New York Times makes clear today -- http://www.nytimes.com/2008/10/25/business/25nocera.html?_r=1&oref=slogin -- the banks have no intentions of loosening credit for consumers. Rather, the money is being used for mega-bank mergers, mergers that will only hurt consumers in the long run as consumers have less choice and mega-banks more power, being the only game in town. Democrats--who can believe in them, at all? I don't. They are useless, and their new leader is the biggest abdicator of them all. The Grand Acquiescent Obama. Utter Cave-In Boy. more