While still retained the specialized insurance business insurance products, the basics of insurance are the same, higher level of risk higher premiums. In order to lower premiums for any form of insurance, you need to find ways to minimize the risk to a minimum.

Where is business is insurance, you can lower your premium will not only save money on concerns, but also wisdom and best practice. Although there are inevitable businessRisks and hazards, there are ways in which you can use the level of exposure that your company has a number of risks.

1) If an insurance review

A Business Insurance Review's filing system of your policy and business records will first update. Then you need to analyze your insurance policies in the context of your business and ongoing operations. This is necessary because companies exist in a dynamic environment and there are regular opportunities forPremium savings.

A performance review can reduce your business insurance premium in the following ways:

a) The elimination of unnecessary or repetitive reporting

b) suspension of pending litigation that could adversely affect your premiums

c) increase with updated / accurate classification codes for specific types of business insurance. Incorrect classification codes tariffs, so that this aspect is very important.

d) Review-insured risks, if your companyChange measures, in some respects, your insurer is likely to reduce your premium based on a reduced risk of firms' exposure.

2) Watch your insurer or broker as a partner

The idea that your insurer or broker will try to make higher premiums from you, is often misleading. There are many trusted insurers, brokers and agents out there with a high degree of integrity. You must find and work with them to determine what you can do to reduce your risk. Insurers estimatethem because they would probably have fewer or no information from you.

3) increasing asset security and income

Insurance is a way to protect your assets. However, you can reduce the insurance premium by securing your assets in the following ways:

i) the installation of security and fire alarm systems

ii) According to security officers on site 24 / 7, especially in areas with high risk

iii) carrying out electrical maintenance at regular intervals

iv) to reduce the possibility for companiesInterruptions (security of computer systems and networks, the strengthening of glass used on business premises)

v) Reducing the amount of cash you keep on your premises to

This is by no means everything you can do in terms of reducing premiums for property and casualty insurance. The most important aspects of the implementation of these measures is that they help you reduce the premiums and prevent the loss. Even if an insurance settlement offer, prevention is better than cure.

4)Pay attention to the people

Whether it's your customers, the public or your employees, you must ensure that adequate provisions to avoid the exposure to liability that is about insurance benefits. Ensuring the safety and health at work is crucial to reduce the risk of injury to reduce the worker, especially in industries with high risk. Using the correct classification codes for your current business and labor can also result in lower premiums. It is also advisable to provide the base salary or wagesYour staff to your insurer, not including overtime and bonuses. Inflating your employee inadvertently inflated salaries are the premiums, which help to protect them.

In so far as relates to your liability, it may be as simple as putting warning signs and proper boundaries for the public. You can also implement quality control measures for your products, which reduce your product liability. Insurers also with regard to positive training for your staff in the areas of health and safetyProcesses and procedures.

Other ways to reduce the insurance premiums your company include:

i) At higher retentions: Increase the amount and number of copies on your insurance is a risk that you provide your insurance company to reduce it.

ii) Less damage / loss: Reducing the frequency of claims / losses that makes your company improve your risk classification.

iii) packaged Use Policy: If you are a small or medium enterprise, a packaged policycost less than an amalgam of specialized business insurance policies.

iv) Get quotes every few years: Check your relationship with your insurer by a comparison, when renewals are due. Premium rates, your business needs and insurance packages may change over time. You may find that you can get a better deal elsewhere.

Reduced insurance premiums, your company can save business money. But what you must do to reduce the premiums arealso a safer environment and fewer service interruptions. While some of these measures cost money, they are worth it. After all, is prevention is better than cure, especially in the context of your company.

Visit : usestock Credit Report Score Mortgage Atlanta

Hi Guys & Girls,

Click on this link for your FREE 80 Page Hypnosis and NLP Success Report -  

2010 ULTIMATE HYPNOSIS COURSE OFFER £197 offer

And REMEMBER until Midnight (UK GMT) I shall be donating £130 UK Sterling for each and every set of this bumper package that is ordered to The British Red Cross and Their Charity Appeal For Haiti.

So please do forward details of this link onto everyone you know!

Cheers

Jonathan Royle

www.magicalguru.com

Outline:

V. Liberty in the Church (8:1-11:1)
VI. Worship in the Church (11:2-14:40)
A. Roles of Men and Women in the Church (11:2-16)
B. The Lord’s Supper (11:17-34)

Section 1: All to the Glory of God (v. 1)

There is only one more verse about liberty in the church, according to the outline in the John MacArthur Study Bible.  It is verse one, which reads:

Imitate me, just as I also imitate Christ.

This verse is very similar to 4:16, which I commented on in my post on 1 Corinthians 4.  To refresh your memory, this is what I wrote:

Paul asks the Corinthians to imitate him.  Doesn’t that seem wrong?  Aren’t we supposed to imitate Christ?  Yes, we are.  However, if we live lives that imitate Christ, then others have an example of godly living that they can look at and imitate.  We might not be able to fully imitate Christ, but we have the ability and obligation to at least imitate Him as best we can.  Doing so, we set an example of Christlikeness that others can follow.

Section 2: Head Coverings (vv. 2-16)

Verses such as these are ones that frustrate me so much.  I find it so hard to accept that men carry authority over women and that women cannot teach in the church, but can only teach other women and children.  I do not feel any less qualified to be a pastor than a man.  However, God’s Word clearly lays out these gender roles, and I have to learn to accept that.  I might view them as injust, but God is just and righteous, so I have no right to think such a thing.  I pray that I learn to accept this and find my role as a woman in the church.

While verses 3-10 annoyed this questioning side of me a bit as they presented that the head of woman is man and that woman comes from man, but man from God, verses 11 and 12 made me feel a bit better about all this.  They read:

¹¹ Nevertheless, neither is man independent of woman, nor woman independent of man, in the Lord. ¹² For as woman came from man, even so man also comes through woman; but all things are from God.

In response to these verses, John MacArthur writes, “All believers, male and female, are equal in the Lord and complementary in the Lord’s work.  Their roles are different in function and relationships, not in spirituality and importance” (John MacArthur Study Bible).

That is how I have to learn to see this issue.  I am not inferior as a woman, but my role is simply different.

Section 3: Conduct at the Lord’s Supper (vv. 17-22)

I am going to quote Matthew Henry’s Commentary on these verses:

The apostle rebukes the disorders in their partaking of the Lord’s supper. The ordinances of Christ, if they do not make us better, will be apt to make us worse. If the use of them does not mend, it will harden. Upon coming together, they fell into divisions, schisms. Christians may separate from each other’s communion, yet be charitable one towards another; they may continue in the same communion, yet be uncharitable. This last is schism, rather than the former. There is a careless and irregular eating of the Lord’s supper, which adds to guilt. Many rich Corinthians seem to have acted very wrong at the Lord’s table, or at the love-feasts, which took place at the same time as the supper. The rich despised the poor, and ate and drank up the provisions they brought, before the poor were allowed to partake; thus some wanted, while others had more than enough. What should have been a bond of mutual love and affection, was made an instrument of discord and disunion. We should be careful that nothing in our behaviour at the Lord’s table, appears to make light of that sacred institution. The Lord’s supper is not now made an occasion for gluttony or revelling, but is it not often made the support of self-righteous pride, or a cloak for hypocrisy? Let us never rest in the outward forms of worship; but look to our hearts.

Section 4: Institution of the Lord’s Supper (vv. 23-26)

²³ For I received from the Lord that which I also delivered to you: that the Lord Jesus on the same night in which He was betrayed took bread; ²⁴ and when He had given thanks, He broke it and said, “Take, eat; this is My body which is broken for you; do this in remembrance of Me.” ²⁵ In the same manner He also took the cup after supper, saying, “This cup is the new covenant in My blood. This do, as often as you drink it, in remembrance of Me.”
²⁶ For as often as you eat this bread and drink this cup, you proclaim the Lord’s death till He comes. (vv. 23-26)

It is difficult for me to write about these verses, as I have never experienced the Lord’s Supper, as it is truly supposed to be.  I grew up Catholic, and though I am no longer Catholic, my parents make me go to a Catholic church with them and do not allow me to go to a church of my own.  Catholics believe in transubstantiation, that the bread and wine actually become Christ’s body and blood.  That is dangerous heresy, as it suggests that Christ’s sacrifice is not sufficient, that it needs to be repeated again and again.  Rather, the Lord’s Supper is meant to be a rememberance of Christ’s one-time sacrifice.  John Piper says the following:

Remember me, Jesus says, sitting with you in fellowship. Remember me being betrayed – and knowing all along. Remember me giving thanks to the God who ordained it all. Remember me breaking the bread just as I willingly gave my own body to be broken. Remember me shedding my blood for you so that you might live because I died. Remember me suffering to obtain for you all the blessings of the new covenant. Remember me promising that I would drink this fruit of the vine new in the kingdom (Mark 14:25). Let the memories of me, in all the fullness of my love and power, flood your soul at this table. (“Why We Eat the Lord’s Supper, Part 1″)

That is what the Lord’s Supper is truly about.  We are to remember what Christ did for us on the cross and thank and praise Him for it.

Section 5: Examine Yourself (vv. 27-34)

Therefore whoever eats this bread or drinks this cup of the Lord in an unworthy manner will be guilty of the body and blood of the Lord. (v. 27)

What does this mean?  John MacArthur explains this verse in this way:

To come to the Lord’s Table clinging to one’s sin does not only dishonors the ceremony, but it also dishonors His body and blood, treating lightly the gracious sacrifice of Christ for us.  It is necessary to set all sin before the Lord (v. 28), then partake, so as not to mock the sacrifice for sin, by holding on to it.

We see, then, that the Lord’s Supper is not something to take lightly.  We should examine ourselves before we partake in it, lest we mock Christ’s sacrifice for sin by continuing to do the very things He died for.

Proper celebration of the Lord’s Supper is so serious that God actually put some offenders to death (v. 30).  That was actually mercy on God’s part, as they were killed before they had a chance to fall away and incur eternal judgment (v. 32).

God forbid that we take the Lord’s Supper lightly, as “when believers do not properly judge the holiness of the celebration of Communion, they treat with indifference the Lord Himself—His life, suffering, and death” (John MacArthur Study Bible).

What gets you all excited about your favourite sport? … the thrill of the chase in horse racing or maybe the atmosphere and tension of a ball game, maybe your favourite player? … Well if you were to capture some of these scenes how would you do it best? For some digital photography tips, let’s take a look at a few ideas right now to capture that realism …

Get Familiar

It’s worth getting familiar with the sport before you start shooting, for example, how points are scored, what causes penalties etc, as this will give you an advantage over others … you will learn to expect where the best action is likely to be, and you can then capture those glorious moments.

Another great tip, as well as aiming to catch the action, capture the ‘emotion’ too. Be ready to shoot players’ faces on triumph of a goal, or any other emotive action in the game and you will bring your photos alive!

Be Prepared

Cold and bad weather conditions can quickly rob the life of your digital camera’s battery, so it’s important to always carry an extra charged battery especially for outdoor sports.

Action Techniques

Stop Action … you’ll very quickly be able to shoot an action shot and ‘freeze’ your subject practically in mid air. Imagine the wheels of a drag car on a dirt road, bouncing off the many bumps … for those few seconds while the car is in mid air, snap away to capture the action.

Lighting is not too much of an issue if you’re outside on a sunny or partially sunny day say at a car race, dog track, or horse race etc, but you’ll maybe need to make adjustments if you’re inside a gymnasium shooting a basketball game, for example. If the lighting is bright, then you’ll probably be okay, but depending on the type of lighting, you may need to activate your fill flash if you shoot players in action and you find your photo colorizations shifting to ‘yellow’.

Also bear in mind the distance, as your flash will not carry too far … it might be worth sitting near the basket hoop to catch the action!

Blurred Action … a couple of ideas behind blurred action is, firstly … if you look back at your photos you have taken using Stop Action, you may find one or two shots that did not freeze the action, which means your camera did not catch the action at the right moment … so you end up with an interestingly blurry effect to your subject.

Secondly, if you’re shooting a ball game, for example, you may get blurring if your player moves just as you click your shutter. If you did not intend for this to happen, you might be pleasantly surprised with the effect!

Panned Action … the most difficult to accomplish, but probably the most effective shooting technique, once mastered. The advantage using your digital camera is that you can delete unwanted frames and start again, so here’s how panning basically works…

Using your digital camera in automatic mode press the shutter half way down to focus on your subject, moving your camera sideways following the action, then pressing the shutter fully while still moving your camera. The effect created is the front of your subject should remain in fairly strong focus, while the back of your subject should start to blur, and as it blurs a long trail should appear, giving a feeling of movement like no other effect could possibly achieve.

Experiment

By knowing what your digital camera can do, experiment with different methods to get the best shots. You could try shooting in continuous mode, then try panning the camera along with your subject, whilst he/she or it is in motion.

I hope these digital photography tips are helpful. If you can get to grips with panning, as I have described above, you’re on a winner!

Yvonne owns Digital Photo Tutorial which offers people information on digital photography tips

A bit 'better, but the computer is so small! This is a aspireone Netbook Acer, 11.6in screen, and it is really easy. I love it!

Postingan ini menyambung dua postingan sebelumnya yang mengenai Microsoft Club VS Plurk.

===========================================

Di dunia yang penuh dengan persaingan yang sangat cepat seperti sekarang ini, sebuah perusahaan, seorang CEO dari suatu perusahaan, harus sangat jeli dalam mengelola uniqueness dan complementary assets yang dimiliki oleh perusahaan atau produknya. Sudah banyak contohnya, seseorang atau suatu perusahaan, tidak harus melakukan inovasi atau penemuan untuk meraih sebuah kesuksesan. Dengan terus berkembangnya teknologi yang ada, sebuah inovasi atau penemuan yang dimiliki oleh seseorang atau perusahaan dapat dengan mudah (atau mungkin juga tidak mudah) disanjung (baca:ditiru) oleh orang atau perusahaan lain.

Mari sejenak kita bahas terlebih dahulu apa itu uniqueness dan complementary assets.

+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

Profesor Jason Davis dalam kuliahnya di MIT Sloan School of Management menjelaskan bahwa:

Uniqueness : Controlling the knowledge generated by an innovation: being the only game in town

Complementary Assets : Controlling the assets necessary to exploit the knowledge generated by innovation

Dari penjelasan singkat di atas dapat diketahui bahwa mengelola uniqueness berarti mengelola pengetahuan yang dihasilkan dari inovasi itu sendiri. Dalam kasus Microsoft Club VS Plurk beberapa diantaranya adalah konsep, source code, dan disain. Uniqueness itu sendiri dapat berasal dari beberapa sumber, diantaranya adalah:

# Perlindungan akan kekayaan intelektual

Hal ini dapat dilakukan dengan cara mendaftarkan inovasi pada patent atau copyright dan sebagainya. Dengan metode ini maka (seharusnya) seseorang atau perusahaan dapat mengelola siapa saja dan dalam jangka berapa lama pihak lain dapat menggunakan (juga) inovasi mereka serta dapat menuntut pihak lain yang menggunakan inovasi mereka tanpa izin.

# Kerahasiaan

Hal ini dapat dilakukan dengan menyimpan rapat-rapat “rahasia” dari inovasi yang dimiliki oleh orang atau perusahaan tersebut. Biasanya pegawai yang bekerja di perusahaan tersebut, diharuskan menandatangani kontrak untuk tidak menyebarkan “rahasia” dari inovasi tersebut.

#Kecepatan

Hal ini yang belakangan ini banyak dipakai oleh perusahaan bertipe technology-driven. Mereka menjaga uniqueness yang dimiliki dengan melakukan inovasi terus menerus secara cepat sehingga kompetitor atau pihak lain tidak mampu mengejarnya. Tentu saja hal ini cukup sulit dan memerlukan sumber daya yang sangat berkualitas.

Dari penjelasan singkat di atas juga dapat diketahui bahwa mengelola complementary assets berarti mengelola aset-aset yang diperlukan untuk “mengeksploitasi” inovasi tersebut. Singkatnya adalah mengelola aset-aset yang menjadikan inovasi tersebut menghasilkan uang, walaupun inovasi yang ada belum tentu unik.

Mengelola complementary assets ini dapat dibagi menjadi dua bagian:

# Hal-hal yang dapat dilakukan

Yang termasuk di dalamnya adalah kompetensi dalam kemampuan manufaktur dan keahlian sales and service.

# Hal-hal yang dimiliki

Yang termasuk di dalamnya adalah sumber merek dagang (brand name), saluran distribusi, dan hubungan dengan pelanggan.

Perusahaan yang sukses harus dapat mengelola agar kompetensi menghasilkan sumber dan juga sebaliknya.

+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

Sekarang, izinkan saya untuk berbicara mengenai keterhubungan antara pengelolaan kedua hal tersebut dengan dunia kita (IT). Jika menilik dari penjelasan di atas, sesungguhnya bisnis di dunia kita sangatlah kompleks. Sifat uniqueness yang dimiliki oleh bisnis di dunia kita sangat sulit untuk dikelola. Hal ini disebabkan dengan canggihnya teknologi yang ada, makin sulit kita menjaga (menyembunyikan) dan makin mudah pula kompetitor untuk mengetahui kerahasiaan yang ada pada inovasi yang kita miliki. Hal ini dibuktikan dengan mampunya Developer Microsoft Club untuk mendapatkan kode-kode yang digunakan oleh Plurk (walaupun sebagian telah dibagikan sebagai teknologi opensource).

Ya, kita mungkin dapat memanfaatkan Perlindungan akan Kekayaan Intelektual. Tapi dengan berbeda-bedanya peraturan akan perlindungan tersebut di berbagai negara, tidak sempurnanya peraturan tersebut, dan sebagainya, bisa-bisa kita malah “disulitkan” dalam pengurusan perlindungan tersebut. Mungkin satu-satunya cara yang dapat kita lakukan adalah dengan Kecepatan. Tapi seperti yang telah saya sampaikan di atas, diperlukan sumber daya yang sangat berkualitas untuk melakukannya. Dengan begitu, kita dapat “mendikte” pasar dan arah inovasi.

Mengenai complementary assets mungkin akan saya bahas kemudian. Namun pada postingan kali ini, saya lebih menekankan akan pentingnya pengelolaan uniqueness dari suatu perusahaan. Setiap perusahaan harus memastikan hal tersebut telah terkelola dengan baik. Dan sudah menjadi kewajiban seorang CEO lah untuk menjamin keberlangsungannya dijalankan oleh semua elemen dari perusahaan yang dipimpinnya.

Ambil pelajaran dari setiap kejadian di sekitar kita.

Having read several articles asserting that  Pakistan’s delegate had, on behalf of the OIC, submitted to the Ad Hoc Committee on Elaboration of Complementary Standards,[See also: Ad Hoc Cmte Draft Document] a proposal containing the text of Ireland’s new blasphemy legislation, my curiosity was aroused.  I posted a blog comment expressing doubt, and disappointment that the post did not provide a link to the source of the claim.  I prepared to compose a blog post about the issue, but after diligent search, I was unable to find  specific information.

Serendipitous discovery of a document hosted by Article 19 has brought the truth to light, proving  my assumption to be in error. I had assumed that the referenced proposal had been made previous to the recent meeting of the committee. In fact, it was submitted on October 23 and it does, in its first section, include  significant text from the Irish blasphemy statute. If Irish Catholics enacted it into law, it must surely be acceptable, right? Not by my standards!

The quote below comes from  page 11 of the following document: A/HRC/13/55, the report of the Ad Hoc Committee on the Elaboration of Complementary Standards. [The link in the UN document system is broken.] Since the pdf is a scanned image, I used Softifree OCR to convert it to text. I have attempted to edit errors introduced by the conversion process but have left original spelling and syntax intact.I have added bold font emphasis to identify the purloined prose.

Friday, 23-10-2009 PM

‘l`he Chair opened the sixth meeting on Friday, 23 October 2009 in the afternoon, explaining that further consultations were necessary before the Programme of Work could be adopted, The agreement to continue discussion of issues put forward in alphabetical order as recorded in the draft programme of work not yet adopted was therefore extended. Accordingly, the meeting considered the issue of “discrimination based on religion or belief.”

c) Discrimination based on religion or belief.

Pakistan, on behalf of the OIC, made the following proposal of text:

1. States Parties shall prohibit by law the uttering of matters that are grossly abusive or insulting in relation to matters held sacred by any religion, thereby causing outrage among a substantial number of the adherents to that religion.
2. States Parties must enact legal prohibitions on publication of material that negatively stereotypes, insults, or uses offensive language on matters regarded by followers of any religion or belief as sacred or inherent to their dignity as human beings, with the aim of protecting their fundamental human rights.
3. States Parties shall prohibit public insults and defamation of religions, public incitement to violence, threats against a person or a grouping of persons on the grounds of their race, colour, language, religion, nationality, or national or ethnic origin.
4. States Parties shall provide, within their respective legal and constitutional systems, adequate protection against acts of hatred, discrimination, intimidation, and coercion resulting from defamation of religions, and incitement to religious hatred in general, and take all possible measures to promote tolerance and respect for all religions and beliefs.
5. States Parties shall penalize public expressions with racist aims, or of an ideology which claims the superiority of or, or which deprecates or denigrates, a grouping of persons on the grounds of their race, colour, language, religion, nationality, or national or ethnic origin, and enact legal prohibitions on offences in which religious motives are aggravating factors.
6. States Parties shall apply and reinforce existing laws in order to combat and deny impunity for all manifestations and acts of racism, racial discrimination, xenophobia and related intolerance against national or ethnic, religious and linguistic minorities and migrants and the stereotypes applied to them, including on the basis of religion of or belief .

The following quote is from page 26 of the Irish statute.

(2) For the purposes of this section, a person publishes or utters blasphemous matter if—
(a) he or she publishes or utters matter that is grossly abusive or insulting in relation to matters held sacred by any
religion, thereby causing outrage among a substantial number of the adherents of that religion, and
(b) he or she intends, by the publication or utterance of the matter concerned, to cause such outrage.

Of course, there is a little detail which the authors do not tell us about, and which the OIC did not  plagiarize: defenses to the charge.

(3) It shall be a defence to proceedings for an offence under this section for the defendant to prove that a reasonable person would
find genuine literary, artistic, political, scientific, or academic value in the matter to which the offence relates.
(4) In this section “religion” does not include an organisation or cult—
(a) the principal object of which is the making of profit, or
(b) that employs oppressive psychological manipulation—
(i) of its followers, or
(ii) for the purpose of gaining new followers.

The egregious element of subjectivity stands out in both documents. How do you define and measure “grossly abusive or insulting”?   How do you define, measure and establish the existence of “genuine literary, artistic, political, scientific, or academic value”? How do you establish intent?  Is any nation likely to include, in similar legislation, clearly defined and provable offenses & defenses?

Re-read  the second item in Pakistan’s list. Where did they get the notion of “negative stereotypes”?  Last October, our State Department and Egypt cosponsored the Freedom of Opinion and Expression resolution. [A/HRC/12/L.14/Rev.1]

Recognizes the positive contribution that the exercise of the right to freedom of expression, particularly by the media, including through information and communication technologies such as the Internet, and full respect for the freedom to seek, receive and impart information can make to the fight against racism, racial discrimination, xenophobia and related intolerance and to preventing human rights abuses, but expresses regret at the promotion by certain media of false images and negative stereotypes of vulnerable individuals or groups of individuals, and at the use of information and communication technologies such as the Internet for purposes contrary to respect for human rights, in particular the perpetration of violence against and exploitation and abuse of women and children, and disseminating racist and xenophobic discourse or content; [Pg. 7, ¶'9]

Boilerplate in  previous resolutions expressed concern about “defamation”. President Obama prefers “negative stereotyping” to “defamation”. The OIC can reluctantly drop its demand for the “defamation” clause, Obama can claim victory, and we loose our freedom of expression.

Lets make a close examination of the proposal to censor critics of Islam.

• grossly abusive or insulting
• causing outrage
• a substantial number
• matters regarded by followers of
  • any religion or belief
  • sacred or inherent to their dignity
• aim of protecting their fundamental human rights
• insults and defamation
• incitement to violence
• promote tolerance and respect for all religions and beliefs
• public expressions with racist aims

Is highly refined  abuse or insult  permissible under the proposed legislation?  How does one determine the difference between gross and refined insult?
By what standard is outrage to be established?   What constitutes a substantial number?

Sanctity is in the mind of the believers?  Why is it not defined by the contents of sacred texts?  How are we to know what everyone considers sacred to their dignity?  In what charter is the  right to be shielded from all potential offense established and enshrined as a fundamental human right?

What constitutes incitement to violence?  According to Ban Ki-moon,  Fitna is incitement to violence.. The only incitement in the video comes from the Qur’an and Imams.  By the UN standard, exposing incitement constitutes incitement.

They are demanding that governments promote tolerance and respect for Islam,  which informed and reasonable people consider intolerable because of its intolerance and violence.

How are “racist aims” to be defined and measured?  Islam is not a race, it afflicts members of several races.  Islam began as a manifestation of Arab supremacism.

One glaring defect stands out in the proposal: subjectivity.  Muslims are set up as judge & jury; states as executioners. The offense exists because they invented it. We are guilty of it because they say we are.  This is a status offense: not being Muslim.

The thirty third ayeh of Surah Al-Ma’idah lists hudud for waging war against Allah. Ibn Kathir’s Tafsir defines that term thusly.

(The recompense of those who wage war against Allah and His Messenger and do mischief in the land is only that they shall be killed or crucified or their hands and their feet be cut off on the opposite sides, or be exiled from the land.) `Wage war‘ mentioned here means, oppose and contradict, and it includes disbelief, blocking roads and spreading fear in the fairways. [Emphasis added.]

If you recite a Christian creed, you are guilty of  disbelief, opposing and contradicting Islam and may be sentenced to death.  The OIC is demanding that the UN and its member states enforce that Islamic law against us.  According to Shari’ah, as codified in Reliance of the Traveller, a dhimmi may be killed for several listed offenses including reviling Islam.

O11.10 …-5- or mentions something impermissible about Allah, the Prophet (Allah bless him and give him peace), or Islam

What is impermissible?   The list of acts entailing apostasy includes these items.

O8.7: Acts that Entail Leaving Islam
-4- to revile Allah or His messenger (Allah bless him and give him peace);

-5- to deny the existence of Allah, His beginingless eternality, His endless eternality, or to deny any of His attributes which the consensus of Muslims ascribes to Him (dis: v1);

-6- to be sarcastic about Allah’s name, His command, His interdiction, His promise, or His threat;

-7- to deny any verse of the Koran or anything which by scholarly consensus (def: b7) belongs to it, or to add a verse that does belong to it;

-16- to revile the religion of Islam;

Among other things, dhimmis are forbidden to recite scripture aloud and display crosses.

O11.5 … -6- are forbidden to openly display wine or pork, (A: to ring church bells or display crosses,) recite the Torah or Evangel aloud, or make public display of their funerals and feastdays;

The Ad Hoc Committee is expected to meet in March.  We need to send a clear message  of rejection to the United States Department of State.  This is not an issue amenable to compromise.  Our right of free expression must not be abridged!   When the protocol is published, we must rise up as one with a loud voice and disrespectfully demand that the President not sign it and the Senate not ratify it.

In the meantime, lovers of liberty  have another way to make a clear statement of disrespect and contempt for Islam and demanding effective protection from its evil intentions. The International Qur’an Petition puts the most important evidence before the World Court and prays for injunctive relief. Please sign it and exhort everyone you can hope to influence to sign it and share it with their friends. We must not allow the lamp of liberty to be extinguished forever.

This is a summary of a powerpoint presentation by Margaret Kipp. Unfortunately, I couldn’t watch the presentation; I can only read the slides. So my understanding of the content is limited to what is written in the slides.

She begins the presentation by highlighting some online social bookmarking tools, i.e. Delicious, CiteULike, and Connotea.

She seems to then move to a discussion of those who contribute to what she calls “indexing.” Her term here probably relates to idea of tagging.

Three distinct groups are involved in indexing:

1. Authors
2. Users
3. Intermediaries (librarians, etc.)

Each group has a certain relationship to the content that, in turn, affects how they index the content.

Her research questions were:

“Are user categories different from subject headings (descriptors) or author keywords?”; and

“Are there differences in context, type or some other semantic relationship?”

She collected data from CiteULike, specifically from 165 articles in LIS related journals and journals that were indexed by INSPEC or Library Lit (not sure what these are). She collected the data with the understanding that the “tags” or keywords were created by any and all of the three groups.

She has a slide called “Voorbij’s Thesaural Relations.” Please consult the slide for more details.

Again, understanding the context of the slides is difficult, but it seems that her study was on the types of tags that were used. On a slide called “General Results” she seems to be highlighting some of the types of tags that were common. She highlights these:

• Spelling variations: UK vs. US English
• Punctuation: using underscores or dashes in tags
• Sesquipedalians – using many words smashed together in one tag, e.g. “informationseekingbehavior”
• Acronyms and Abbreviations
• Language – mostly English, though some other languages

There was a positive correlation between number of taggers and number of tags, i.e. the more taggers for a particular item, the more tags it would carry.

Much of these slides were difficult to understand out of context. I will move on to some of the conclusions.

She found that many tags were very general and so, I assume, not efficient at categorizing the items. She also found that the tags, since they weren’t standardized, constituted a “folksonomy.” There were also non-English tags.

Furthermore, in her conclusions section, she argues that each of the groups who contributed to the indexing had different “conceptions of the documents” they were indexing.

Works Cited

Kipp, M. (2006). Complementary or Discrete Contexts in Online Indexing: A Comparison of User, Creator and Intermediary Keywords. Canadian Journal of Library and Information Science. 30(3)

Hill County Courthouse, ala Van Gogh

This is a project I started Friday after school, then worked on through the weekend, and finally finished Monday after school.  La Quinta is building a new hotel in Hillsboro, Texas, and has requested that local artists submit paintings of local themes.  I was approached about creating three paintings of the Hill County Courthouse in a style reminiscent of Vincent Van Gogh.  This was my best shot at it.  Watercolor is where I tend to do 95% of my work, but occasionally an acrylic on canvas assignment comes along.  It’s been awhile since I worked on a 22 x 28″ surface.  I enjoyed the freedom of movement, and the dynamics of stretched canvas provided a welcome change from the paper surface where I usually work.  This is my first attempt at something approaching a triptych.  If accepted, these paintings will be hung on a red-orange wall.  At any rate, I’m glad now to be getting back to watercolor.  It’s been nearly a week, and I’ve missed it.

The strategic choice view argues that if an incumbent is not the first to introduce an innovation, it may not be because it has no incentive to invest, its competence has been destroyed, it has not recognized the potential of the innovation, it does not have the complementary assets, it did not use the right adoption mechanism, or it is an environment that is not conducive to innovation. It may be because of the firm’s innovation strategy—its goals, timing, actions, and resource allocation in using new knowledge to offer new products or services. By making the right choices early, a firm can build the right competences and complementary assets, or even shape the kind of environment in which it is going to operate.

There are several innovation strategies: offensive, defensive, imitative, dependent, traditional, and optimistic. A firm with an offensive strategy is the first to introduce new products. If the strategy is to be the first to innovate, it will invest in the innovation and build the capabilities to do so.  In a defensive innovation strategy, a firm waits for a competitor with an offensive strategy to introduce a product first and resolve some of the uncertainties confronting the innovation. The defensive firm then introduces its own product, correcting any mistakes that pioneers may have made.

Firms pursuing a defensive strategy normally have very strong complementary assets—capabilities such as marketing, manufacturing, distribution channels, and reputation which allow a firm to commercialize an invention—and when they decide to move, they do so very quickly. They usually have a strong R&D since it takes knowledge to absorb knowledge. The product is not an imitation of the pioneer’s version but rather a differentiated product, often with better features and lower cost. The firm, in effect, catches up with or leapfrogs the pioneer. Thus not being the first to introduce an innovation may not be a sign of a lack of incentive to invest, competence destruction, absence of appropriate complementary assets, inappropriate adoption mechanism, or being in the wrong environment. It may be because the firm in question has a defensive strategy.

While a firm with a defensive strategy would like to differentiate its products, one with an imitative strategy would like to produce a clone of the pioneer’s product. It has very little attention of catching up with or leapfrogging the pioneer. It usually has such low-cost capabilities as lower labor costs, access to raw materials, and strong manufacturing. In the dependent strategy the firm accepts a subordinate role to a stronger firm. It imitates product changes only when requested by the customer or superior. Many large Japanese firms have these satellite firms. The traditional strategy makes very few changes to products, only striving to offer the lowest cost possible. In the opportunistic strategy the firm looks for some unique needs of a market segment that are not being met—it looks for a niche market. The point in all these other strategies is that a firm’s failure to introduce a product first can be due to its deliberate strategy.

My Consultancy–Asif J. Mir - Management Consultant–transforms organizations where people have the freedom to be creative, a place that brings out the best in everybody–an open, fair place where people have a sense that what they do matters. For details please visit www.asifjmir.com, and my Lectures.

Nature malabsorption gastric bypass system prohibits adequate amounts of B vitamins from food sources in the body of patients with weight loss surgery. Annual blood tests indicate that patients who do not supplement their diet with B group vitamins are deficient.

B vitamins are found in meat and plant foods. Most of the B complex dietary supplements containing vitamins, but many WLS patients to choose whether to take an extra B-complex tablet. There isRisk of B-complex deficiency due to malabsorption and limited food intake. B-complex tablets can be purchased in sublingual form – a tablet placed under the tongue to be dissolved and absorbed through the soft tissues of the mouth.

It 'has long been believed, although not scientifically supported, that mega-doses of B vitamins daily life is stressful, fighting to improve energy security and control cravings. I remember years ago my grandmother a trip to the doctor Moody cityshot of a B-12. With great relief of his grandfather, returned from a visit to gay and apparently without stress. In those days it was common for women to take "in menopause" to B-12 shots.

Vitamin B complex refers to all the known essential water-soluble vitamins except vitamin C. Furthermore, thiamin (vitamin B1), riboflavin (vitamin B2 include), niacin (vitamin B3), pantothenic acid (vitamin B5), pyridoxine (vitamin B6), biotin, folic acid and cobalmins (vitaminB12). Each member of the B complex has a unique structure and performs unique functions in the body. B-complex vitamins to support energy production, immune system, cell division and proper support of the nervous system.

Recent studies at the National Institute on Aging found that women over 65 years ago with a deficiency of vitamin B12 are twice as likely to suffer from depression, with a cargo full of vitamins. Maybe my grandmother was right to visit their doctor for this shotHilarity. Today it is easier to pull a log of good humor-nutrients under the tongue.

Copyright © 2005 Kaye Bailey – All rights reserved.

Perhaps the champagne goes well with shopping, though I suspect the Yahoo! omg! meant it was free or complimentary:

Looking back on our EDTS 523 course, I’ve noticed a pattern. Though we used technology I had used before (Excel, Powerpoint), some I had heard of but never used myself (blogs, wikis, podcasts) and new technology that I had never heard of (Webquests, Inspiration, voicethread, ning, delicious), the effectiveness of every single one of those pieces of technology depends on the user. This is a point that Dr. Ransom stressed to us on a weekly basis, and after having now completed all of our coursework, I can definitely see the value in his statement. This principle applies to teaching tools that are not technological in nature, also. It’s up to us as teachers to evolve our practices so that they are creative, original and engaging.

Another recurring theme throughout this semester has been the emphasis on higher order thinking. For a different class I was taking this semester, we watched a video on how rampant cheating has become among students. Well, one way to debunk this is by requiring tasks that require students to use their own thinking in order to complete the assignment, such as webquests. Memorization and recall have even less of a place in learning now than they did before because a student can look up a random fact on his cell phone faster than he can retrieve the information from his brain. We need to stop wasting our students’ time requiring them to cram and spend more time teaching students HOW to FIND information and then APPLY that information. Technology helps us do that.

To sum up my learning over this semester, I have learned that technology is complementary to education, it is a supplement to good teaching. It will not succeed unless the teacher controlling it is using it effectively. And it is worth a teacher’s time to get familiar with the many services (many which are free) that can truly enhance their teaching and encourage students to produce their own learning.

My motivation to stay on top of the current trends in technology and their uses in the classroom will come from my students because I want to provide them with the best way of learning I can and equip them with the skills and thinking that this techno-crazed world now requires. And that is where I need to start, because before the technology can do its job, I need to first do mine.

Today’s blog is a little earlier than usual, as I shall be enjoying an open bar on a boat from 7pm, and doubt I’ll be in any shape to write upon my return.

I’m rather looking forward to it; the Thames at night is beautiful as it is, but to be sailing along it in a fine suit with free wine in hand… well, ’tis a consummation devoutly to be wish’d.

Off the top of my head I’m not sure I’ve ever actually attended a water based soiree. I’ve drunk on ferries (and in typing that experienced an almost overwhelming impulse to do so once more) before, and very possibly on dinghies and yachts, but as far as a specific boat trip for the sole purpose of carousal, well I think this’ll be a first.

I love the Thames. It’s an ancient vein that snakes through the city and the generations alike, connecting us by sight, smell, sound and feel to London-dwellers from a hundred, from five hundred, from a thousand years past. How many have watched this same meander? How many have sailed this same stretch? How many have stood on this spot on this bank and watched the tide flow? I love to walk alongside it, taking in Shakespeare’s Globe, the Tower of London, St. Paul’s Cathedral, The National Theatre and so much more besides; some new, some old, all very much a part of my London experience. The Thames Path at night is my favourite city walk – despite the two year diversion stuck in the middle of it like a knife in a spine thanks to the building work on Blackfriars Station. Even that isn’t so bad. When the tide is out one can choose to ignore the detour and instead go through the rails and down the steps to tread that stretch on the sandy bank itself. I like to pick out the shards of rounded glass, sticks of bone and pottery glyphs that scatter themselves amongst the shells, stones and drift-wood. Treasures of the thames, from who-knows-where and who-knows-when. The potential is endless.

Then of course you have the river itself; the black, merciless waters that seem to stretch, as you stare at them in twilight, beyond the bounds of physics and reality and deep into your very Being. You start to let the waters creep around your thoughts, and can imagine all too readily how easy it would be to throw away the mobile phones and the reality television and just give in to the sharp depths, to the cold embrace of it’s busom.

There are countless lesser rivers, off-shoots of the Thames that weave through the city and it’s borders. Once in our history these bodies of water were worshipped, Gods and spirits named after them as avatars, protectors and personifications of the water; Effra, Falconbrook, Moselle… these names are all but forgotten today; the rivers built upon, ignored, forced to continue their ancient paths underground, or unseen through the waterways and aqueducts we’ve enclosed them in. (if interested, here: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Subterranean_rivers_of_London )

I can’t remember who (perhaps Terry Pratchett? Very possibly), but a writer better than myself once expressed the horror of the sea in a way I can’t. He talked about how on land there are walls, houses, boundaries, countries; there’s distance. Sure, there are terrors and monsters and wild beasts but they’re far away, safe in cages or continents with unpronouncable names. Not so with water. There are creatures we cannot imagine lurking in the darkest liquids of the Earth, mouths full of needles, eyeless bags of blood and gills, and all that seperates us – the ONLY thing that seperates us – is Depth. Not distance, not days of travel, not cars or trains or horses, not castles or houses or mud shacks; depth. Just depth. Think too long on the Lovecraftian possibilities, stare too deep into those dark waters, and anyone with an ounce of imagination could quite readily go insane.

As an example of what’s waiting to be found, scientists have recently discovered (in such depths) the only truly immortal creature on the Earth (as of yet). The Turritopsis Nutricula. A type of jellyfish 3-4 millimetres in diameter that, when it gets as old as is comfortable, simply reverses the process, working it’s way back to a juvenile polyp, before starting again from scratch. Theoretically there’s no reason this cycle cannot continue in perpetuity.

Immortality! And a far more sensible theory of it than simply ageing forever until you’re a form of dust with consciousness, or attempting to stay static and stagnant, growing steadily less and less relevant as the world evolves around your firmly rooted feet. A constant cycle. Growing old, growing young, growing old, growing young… the opportunity to learn from mistakes; to try again; to experience so much anew. A circle of life. Not a strict path with a beginning and an end, but an ouroboros; a snake eating it’s tail; an endless circle. Constantly changing, constantly growing. It’s a beautiful concept, and it isn’t science fiction. It’s here:

http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/news/science/article5594539.ece

The possibilities of what geneticists could learn from it are mind-boggling and will-puzzling. Just think! Just think.

And so, when I’m supping complementary wine in a double-breasted suit, stuffing myself with hors doeuvres and feeling rather good about the world in a few turns of the clock, I shall lean over the side of the boat and I’ll look down into the waters, into the black depths, and I will do my absolute, very best to stop it from staring back. I will do my absolute, very best to keep from diving in head first, screaming for circles and snakes, and I will do my absolute, very best to swallow my drink, dissever myself from the pull of the ageless Thames, and rejoin the throng. And I will do my absolute, very best to pretend that a significant part of me doesn’t long to go back.

No serious crystal healer would deny the power of western medicine. Medical technology, especially during the nineteenth and twentieth centuries, is responsible for an unprecedented increase in the average human lifespan. While in pre-modern societies people lived around forty to forty-five years, today they are expected to reach their seventieth year and beyond, depending on the country. However, western medicine does not present concrete solutions in every problem. Especially, emotional and psychological issues are completely ignored until the pain becomes unbearable. Emotional problems do not cause only mental pain but also considerable physical disturbances. The existence of psychosomatic problems is undeniable. Heart attacks, for example, are closely related to depression. Irritable bowel syndrome, thyroid e.t.c. are directly linked to stress. Western medicine tends to treat the symptom (heart attack, colitis, thyroid, headaches) but it would consistently ignore the problem that caused it (stress, emotional problems, negative emotions). And this is where complementary holistic treatments enter the equation. Crystal healing is a powerful complementary, not alternative, healing process. It is the perfect complement to western medicine. While medication and surgery take care of the symptom, crystal therapy treats the whole person. It addresses problems at an emotional level. This way, it brings the body as well as the mind in its most perfect condition. It also works as a preventative measure. A crystal healer can and will acknowledge the physical problem before it manifests itself. On the whole, regular sessions of crystal healing can promise a happier and healthier life.