Worlds Think Tank

Pfizer's Viagra Plays Savior for Erectile Dysfunction

2006-03-18T00:22:00.000-08:00

Human beings are the most superior creature on this planet with immense control over body and mind which helps to achieve fulfillment against all odds; but everything in life comes with its share of adversity. Just like the condition of erectile dysfunction, prevalent in millions of men over the world which is enough to take many successful men and their relationships to the dock. For years, men suffered in silence as they were too embarrassed to speak about their sexual incompetence and also feared rejection by their partners.

Erectile dysfunction (ED) commonly termed impotence is in all aspect a medical condition when a man is unable to achieve or sustain an erection necessary for a sexual act pertaining to his sexual needs or the needs of his partner and has to be treated like any other disease, erectile dysfunction is the sexual inability in a man prevalent consistently over a prolonged period of time and has nothing to do with momentary fluctuations in sexual activity. This is caused mainly due to the hardening of arteries, called arteriosclerosis where narrower hardened arteries prevent the flow of blood to the penis, even on stimulation. There are also several psychological and lifestyle conditions responsible for erectile dysfunction. Latest studies have revealed that erectile dysfunction is not age-related and it can be treated at any age. Researchers over the world have been trying on various methods for treating impotence but the most successful and popular amongst them is the oral medication Viagra.

For years, men suffering from ED continued their trial against destiny and had to rely only on their sexual fantasy. While a group of researchers aided by the pharmaceutical giant Pfizer Inc. New York developed the first oral drug for the treatment of erectile dysfunction. This pioneer drug was named viagra and was approved by the FDA in March, 1998. Since then Viagra has been successfully retrieving back the sexual bliss in many dismantled relationships. This power in Viagra is due to its magical active component, Sildenafil citrate. This ingredient helps in the relaxation of the arteries which thereby improve the flow of blood to the penis on stimulation, thus facilitating an erection. Viagra taken an hour prior to a sexual activity guarantees absolute pleasure and hold true your sexual fantasies for the next 4 hours.

Pfizer has been no less than a savior to the many ED affected men, but anyone contemplating the use of Viagra is advised to consult a doctor before using it considering factors like drug interaction and the health factor for an active sex. Moreover, Viagra online information provides adequate support on latest studies, expert consultations and online buying guide with the click of a mouse. It is indeed the well wishes of many privileged men whose lives are being rejuvenated by Viagra that is behind the success story of Pfizer Pharmaceuticals.

Ideas - cheapest part of writing coz they are free !! The hard is that how you manipulate those ideas and the way to implement them!
Nayalbugs - Impulsive Thinker

Pfizer's Viagra Plays Savior for Erectile Dysfunction

2006-03-18T00:16:00.000-08:00

Ideas - cheapest part of writing coz they are free !! The hard is that how you manipulate those ideas and the way to implement them!
Nayalbugs - Impulsive Thinker

Air Pollution and its Effect on the Planet

2006-03-15T11:02:00.000-08:00

Air pollution is a serious growing problem. Years of plaguing the atmosphere with gases and exhaust is taking its toll on the planet. If steps are not taken immediately to stop or even slow this process soon, there will be dire consequences.

What is air pollution? Air pollution is the result of undesirable chemicals and gases being expelled into the atmosphere by various sources. There are several causes of air pollution, one, and the largest, of these being vehicles. Vehicles account for 57% of all air pollution in the world. Each day, Americans alone purchase millions of gallons of gasoline for their vehicles.

The next largest source of air pollution are industrial establishments. Factories pump tons upon tons of filthy gases high into the sky, where it collects and damages the atmosphere. Scientists have discovered an area over Antarctica where there are signs of depletion of the ozone layer, the layer of the atmosphere that filters harmful ultraviolet rays, as a result of this pollution.

Air pollution is not noticeable in small towns, but in large cities, specifically with a population of over 50,000, air pollution is evident. In a metropolis such as Los Angeles, there are so many sources of pollution that it is visible. Fog mixes with smoke to create smog ,which collects over the city and creates a “greenhouse effect”, trapping warm air between the layer of pollution and the ground, making the space between the two a higher temperature than areas outside the city.

Air pollution is also responsible for global warming. Global warming is the warming of the planet as a result of air pollution, causing the rising of temperature around the world, which causes climate change and melting of the polar ice caps. The polar ice caps contain most of the earth"s fresh water. As a result of the melting, the ocean levels rise and cause flooding in coastal cities. In the city of Amsterdam, Netherlands this flooding has been an issue and steps have been taken to block the advance of water. Although, this is a temporary fix and only the stopping of air pollution will prevent this from occurring.

There are several ways to slow air pollution. Taking simple energy conservation steps in and around the home such as using as little resources as possible and recycling drastically reduces the resources used.

Energy-conservative vehicles such as the new Hybrid technology vehicles, which use a balance of electricity and fuel, produce less than ¼ the pollution than normal vehicles and get better mileage than normal vehicles do, resulting in a great reduction of air pollution.

New sources of energy also lower the amount of fossil fuels that enter the atmosphere, thus lowering air pollution. Solar power is one power source that is being used more frequently to power cities with electricity. Solar power is also becoming more popular to heat houses instead of furnaces and fuel. One day, even cars may be powered by the sun.

Another environment-safe source of electricity lies in the wind. Windmills that were used hundreds of years ago to grind grain and pump water are now generating energy. The windmill is an excellent source of energy, but it has its disadvantages. One disadvantage of windmills is that they do not generate nearly enough electricity to power a large city such as Los Angeles or Chicago. It would take hundreds, maybe thousands of wind-powered generators to provide such power hungry cities with sufficient electricity.

One more power source that does not pollute the earth is hydro-electricity. Hydroelectric generators are clean, efficient, and reliable. The electricity is generated by building a dam and placing tunnels at the bottom with large fans and generators. The flow of water can be increased or decreased at will, and they put out a large amount of electricity.

These are only a handful of the steps that can be taken to reduce the effects of air pollution. The supplies of fossil fuels that reside deep within the earth are not limitless, and their will deplete soon if humanity continues to be wasteful and careless.

Zachary Graham is a student in southeast Minnesota. He likes to spend time with computers, writing, learning languages, and maintaining his website.

Flash Card: When Size Really Matters

2006-03-12T09:59:00.000-08:00

Few years back, we never really imagined how memory storage would evolve into flash cards we know today. It is ever harder to believe that the tiny rectangular piece of plastic could store thousands of pictures, hundreds of songs, and even movies. Remember few years ago when storing files could mean we have to settle for 3.5” and the outrageously large 5.25”? You know what I mean right? Those we have thought the future of memory storage- the floppy disks? With the amazing capacity to store as much as 1.44 MB of files, these floppy disks are really works of technology.

But as we all know technology would not stop to evolve. This is the reason why floppy disks are now the thing of the past. And as the years go by, we have received memory storage cards that are as size of post stamps. We even amaze old folks when we remove in from of them those tiny card out from digital cameras, cellular phones, and computers.

One of the earlier flash cards have the memory capacity not far from floppy drives. 2 MB is enough considering you have the reference point of 1.44MB. Shortly, the 4 MB came out. From then on, several more powerful, smaller, and larger storage flash cards came out. The 8, 16, 32, 64, and 128 MB came out. Up to now, the 128 MB flash cards are still being used although much higher memory cards are now in the market.

Today, several digital devices are using 1 GB, 2 GB, 4 GB, and even 8 GB and 16 GB flash cards. Those are the capacity of hard drives just year ago. While hard drives are as size of car stereo cut in half, flash cards can fit to your pocket just like having a penny. The benefits of flash cards could be seen more popularly on digital cameras where they can sit peacefully to the camera’s size. How about computers? Computers still use hard drives to store memory. And if you want some portable drives, the flash memory sticks are used. Like flash cards, they are small with large amount of memory capacity.

You might wonder how can a single tiny card hold such large files. Let us put it this way: your file cabinet could only store limited amount of files. And large cabinets are big. Big if you are going to store all these filed digitally, meaning using electronic codes, you can store as much files in one tiny storage just like the flash card. Another reason is that flash cards have removed unnecessary components that could enlarge the size of the card.

There are several types of flash cards used today particulry on digital cameras. These came in different sizes depending on the device it is designed to fit in. Here are several types of flash cards used: MultiMediaCard (MMC), Memory Stick (MS), CompactFlash (CF), Secure Digital (SD), SmartMedia (SM) and xD-Picture Card (xD).

The sizes also depend on the capacity of the flash card against one another. But the bottom line is, flash cards, no matter what the size is, still carry significantly large amount of files in one tiny square-shaped plastic card. Who knows, in the future we might se 80 GB flash drives that can record and store several hours of video.

Robert Thatcher is a freelance publisher based in Cupertino, California. He publishes articles and reports in various ezines and provides flash card resources on http://www.about-flash-cards.info.

CANADA EXCEEDS PADHRAMNI EXPECTATIONS

2006-02-16T22:07:00.000-08:00

Message from Council of Canada

In late June the president of the Council for Canada, Firoz Rasul, addressed the Jamat at Scarborough to talk about Mowlana Hazar Imam"s reactions to the recently held Mulaqaats in Toronto and Vancouver. The sessions in Vancouver and Toronto accommodated a little over 90,000 murids, 32,000 of which were non-Canadian. Of the 32,000 visitors, approximately 28,000 were from the US. Firoz Rasul made the following comments, which I thought should be shared: 1. He said the Mowlana Hazar Imam mentioned that the way the Canadians had organized the Mulaqaat, exceeded his expectations. He was greatly impressed by the meticulous organization of the Deedar facilities, accommodation, catering arrangements as well as the hospitality extended to out of town Murids. 2. Secondly, Mowlana Hazar Imam said that when Ismailis from East Africa arrived in Canada close to thirty years ago, he had a vision for where the Canadian Ismailis will be in the future. Hazar Imam said that the Canadian Jamat was light years ahead from where he had expected them to be. He was impressed by how Canadian Ismailis had successfully, as well as keeping within the ethics of the Tariqah, amalgamated themselves in the different spheres of the Canadian economy. Not only that, he said that Canadians were true exemplars of how he wants his Spiritual Children to be. Mowlana Hazar Imam said that he had gotten a lot of praise from the government officials he had met during his trip, and he said that if Canadian Ismailis are his Spiritual Children, then he truly is a very proud father. 3. Firoz Rasul went on to congratulate the Ismaili Volunteer Corps for the exemplary service they offered. He said that a lot of non-Ismailis we interacted with were quite taken aback by our professional and selfless attitude to volunteerism. He went on and gave three examples to illustrate this:

* The way the foundation ceremony was organized for the Delegation of the Ismaili Imamat on Sussex Drive in Ottawa was truly exceptional. Firoz Rasul said that the Head of the State, who frequently organizes meetings with other dignitaries was so impressed by the way the foundation ceremony was arranged, that he told his cabinet that these are the standards that should be followed when they organize such events.

* The Volunteer Corp was told to create an emergency evacuation plan for the NTC (Toronto Deedar Site) and present it to the City"s Fire Marshall. The City was so impressed by this plan that they said they will use this instead of the one they already had in place. Also, the external security personnel, EMS services etc were fairly impressed by the way 30,000 people were taken care of from start to finish of the two Mulaqaat sessions. Similarly, at the Vancouver Mulaqaat, the City was taken aback by the dedication of the volunteers and their sheer professionalism, that they came to the Council and asked if they could get a convoy of these volunteers to help arrange the Winter Olympics!

* Firoz Rasul said that although this was unintentional and totally coincidental, the Ismailis were seen as true model citizens of Canada, and those that did not know of us, did get a glimpse of the community and they were pretty impressed with what they saw! 4. Lastly, Firoz Rasul said that Mowlana Hazir Imam showed keen interest in returning to Canada for the foundation ceremony of the Ismaili Center in Toronto, as well as for Golden Jubilee celebrations.

Article Posted By : Ibrahim Machiwala (Lodhi) of Ismaili-Net

Eight Keys to Heat-up a Cool Relationship

2006-02-12T06:24:00.000-08:00

1. Celebrate Valentines Day Every Day: Love is a practice. Say I love you in the morning and at night....more is better. Share with one another the things that give you the greatest pleasure and help one another"s dream come true. For example if you partner loves music, bring home CDs or tickets to concerts often. If your partner loves football, watch with them on a regular basis. Remember these are GIFTS, done without resentment. You are dream-makers. A good relationship is like good sex---both partners give and receive what they want.

2. Heat-up The Bedroom: Since most men are visual, they appreciate lingerie. Women tend to need to be "talked up" during the day. However, everyone is different so you need a love map to one another.

3. Make Connections: Research shows that happy couples connect often with their eyes, a soft voice, and body language. Cool couples have habitual ways they distance. Communicate connection. Use soft eyes when you look at your partner and touch often.

4. Live Passionately And Not Just For Passion: A wise Native American once said, "As you go the way of life you will see a great chasm. Jump...It is not as wide as you think". If your life is cool, how can your relationship stay hot?

5. In Loving The Spiritual It Is Difficult To Despise The Earthly: Develop a spiritual practice together. You can use prayer, inspirational readings, or meditation. Offer gratitude to one another by sharing one thing you appreciate about your partner before you go to sleep. This practice builds a positive emotional bank account. Spiritual practice generates warmth that heats up the relationship.

6. Don"t Just Survive, Visualize: Visualize your dream relationship. Close your eyes and feel the warmth and connection. Affirm what you want. Our unconscious mind is filled with negative thoughts. Retrain your brain. Many people never saw a model of a hot relationship so they need lots of visualization practice. A famous neuroscientist observed, "In the brain, practice makes permanent."

7. We Cannot Stop Life"s Sorrows But We Can Choose Joy: Mother Theresa said, "Our best protection is a joyful heart" Have fun together. Act like kids. Masters and Johnson observed good sex is like two children under the sheets.

8. Wake Up Without Make-Up: We cannot have true intimacy unless we drop our masks. Live every day like Valentines Day instead of Halloween!

Author, Dr. Linda Miles, is deeply committed to helping individuals and couples achieve rewarding relationships. She is an expert with a doctorate in Counseling Psychology, and has worked in the mental health field for over thirty years. She has been interviewed extensively on radio, TV, and in newspapers and magazines. Find more relationship ideas and relaxation techniques on her web site and in the award-winning book she co-authored, The New Marriage: Transcending the Happily-Ever-After Myth, and Train Your Brain: For Successful Relationships, CD. http://wwwdrlindamiles.com

Jawhar as-Siqilli

2006-02-12T06:09:00.000-08:00

By: Miss Zawahir Noorally. Karachi (Pakistan)

Jawhar"s career is rather straightforward and great, in the sense that he was the first and the last great generals (Qaid) of the Fatimids, who had made so many conquests and had established the empire, not only in the North Western countries but also in Egypt and Syria. His initiative for the cause of the Fatimids is remarkable. Most of the things that he did, have survived till today. In the following pages we shall see the love and devotion of Qaid Jawhar for his master and Caliph al-Mui"zz li-din-"Allah. He had remained faithful to the Shia Fatimid cause till his death. It is rather difficult to know in detail, the society, of the Fatimids in those days, nevertheless it seems, Jawhar must have been accepted in the multi-society of the middle ages, for he had succeeded in proclaiming and establishing the Shiite cause as far in Egypt and Syria.

Since the year 296 A.H. (909). the Shia Fatimids had succeeded in establishing in Tunis a major Shiite Caliphate of Islam. Da"i Abu Abdullah Shi"i had defeated the then Aghlabid, ruler of Maghrib (North Western Africa) and had proclaimed lmam AI-Mahdi as the first Shiite Caliph of Islam. On Tunisian Coast the Caliph ai-Mahdi had founded his new capital after his name, called al-Mahdiyah near Qayrawan and from here he and his successor had ruled Maghrib and many islands of the Mediterranean sea. The lsmailis had also built a strong fleet and had invaded Spain and Sardinia. After the accession of the 4th Fatimid Caliph lmam al-Mu"izz in 341 A. H., Jawhar was entrusted with the invasions of all lands as far as Atlantic. The following pages will investigate the career of this illustrious Qaid of the Fatimids.

Qaid Jawhar from Birth to the Court.

Most historians remember Jawhar by the name of Jawhar-as-Siqilli, tracing his origin from his country of birth, Sicily in Italy. The Fatimid Caliph lmam al-Mu"izz had given him a Kuniyah of "Abul Hussain". Abul Hussain Jawhar bin Abdullah, also called al-Katib, a secretary, also known as a Qaid, was the general of Fatimid forces.

It is pity that history has not preserved for us such records which could provide details of his origin, birth and life of his parents etc. He was probably born between the years 298-300 A.H. in Sicily, which was then an Island of Byzantines. Jawhar was a European mamluk (of Greek origin, Arab historians called these Western Byzantines as Rumis) in the sense he was brought as a slave to Qayrwan, the then capital of the Fatimids in the North Western Africa. It could not be established whether Jawhar was a born Muslim or was later converted. Probably it is true that he was connected with a Muslim family, since Islam had reached Sicily in 212 A.H. Moreover, as mentioned, Jawhar"s father"s name is given Abdullah and it is quite possible that Jawhar was converted to Islam with his father and that he must have had an Islamic upbringing. Historians are unaware of his ancestors. The reason is this, that Jawhar was connected with a group of Mowlas (Non-Arabs) who were brought to Africa. Generally Mowlas in those days, were not supposed to trace their origin with their unislamic names.

The advent of Islam in Sicily and Jawhar"s arrival at the court of the Fatimid Caliphs in Africa, show a discrepancy of over a 100 years. Here it is necessary to give a short sketch of Sicily, the country of his birth, for the surroundings and the environment always influence a person"s life and ideas.

The Muslims had made some sporadic attempts to conquer Sicily much earlier than the year 212 A.H. However, during the reign of the Abbasid Caliph Mamun ar-Rashid ( 198-218), the final conquest of Sicily was achieved in 212. With the conquest, it seems, the majority of its population had accepted Islam and many mosques and madrasas were introduced there. Arabic language had also found a flourishing ground there. However, when Sicily was taken away from Arabs by Normans sometime in 460 H, the Norman ruler Roger 11 had continued to follow the ideals of Arab Cavalry, the Arab administrative system etc. There are many Arabic words found in the Italian language. Hitherto combined Arab-Norman culture had surpassed that of Europe.

The point is that, this flourishing Islamic-Christian culture of Sicily must have effected Jawhar"s outlook and mentality. He must have reached his youth with rich upbringing and might have imbibed in himself both civilizations. For his later political insight and his military genius reflect his early acquisitions. His background had received great momentum under the Fatimid Society. The Fatimid Caliph ai-Mu"izz-li-din "Allah knew many languages, including Greek and Sicilian.

In 296 A.H.. when the Fatimid Caliphate was established in North Western Africa, a number of Sicilians had taken shelter there and from time to time had continued to join the Fatimid forces. During the reign of the 3rd Fatimid Caliph al-Mansur (334-41 A.H), Abul Hussain Jawhar was presented as a slave to the Caliph. It is difficult to determine the year of his arrival in Africa. However, he was made as a personal attendant to the Caliph al-Mansur. After receiving his freedom from his son and successor al-Mu"izz, Jawhar soon rose to prominence. In the year 341 A.H. (932 C.E.) the Caliph al-Mu"izz had appointed him as his katib, the secretary, and from that time onwards, Jawhar was known as "Jawhar al-katib". The year 341 A.H. is the year of accession of al~Mu"izz of Fatimid caliphate. It goes to prove that al-Mu"izz had recognised Jawhar"s genius, a long time before assuming power. In those days, the post of al-katib was only given to an intelligent and trustworthy person, moreover, this was generally a beginning, from where they rose to higher ranks. It seems al~Mu"izz had found some hidden military qualities in his Katib, that by 347 H. he had raised him to rank of a Vazir and a Commander-in-Chief of his forces. This is not surprising, for Jawhar was a very great katib. We can estimate him from the terms of the treaty which he had offered to the people of Egypt at the time of the conquest. These terms show his originality of style and his sagacity which we shall quote later. However, most historians have mentioned his devotion and love of his master al-Mu"izz, to be instrumental for his achievements.

The Conquests of Jawhar in North Western Af rica.

lbn-e-Khallikan writes that al-Mu"izz had sent Jawhar to conquer the remaining provinces in Western Africa in 347 A.H. So Jawhar had started with a large force and in his army there were many inhabitants of the Western provinces (called Maghrib). Soon Jawhar had directed himself towards the provinces of Taharat and Fas which he conquered after fierce fighting. He then, had moved toward Sijilmasa, where a certain person had adopted a title of Shakir Billah and had asked the people to address him as Amir-al-Mominin. However, when this Amir ai-Mominin Shakir Billah had learned about Jawhar"s arrival, he had disappeared from the battlefield. Jawhar had followed him and had imprisoned him. Then Jawhar with his forces had advanced towards the far west and had continued conquering one city after another till he had reached the Atlantic Ocean. Here he wanted his master al-Mu"izz to know where his forces had reached. Jawhar had ordered some fish to be put in a pot with water, to be sent to al-Mu"izz, to let him know that whichever cities and countries he had crossed, he had conquered them and that he had reached as far as the ocean.

Having taken these cities, he had stayed in Maghrib to establish the Fatimid authority there and had chastised the disobedient and had subdued all the countries of Maghrib. There remained not a spot in all those regions wherein, the sovereignty of al-Mu "izz had not been proclaimed. In every one of them, the Friday Prayer was offered up in his name by the congregation and thus he had accomplished the conquests that were begun by Da"i Abu Abdullah as-Shi"i (the founder of the Fatimid Caliphate in Maghrib, particularly in Mahdiya and Qayrawan in 291 A.H./896 C.E.) It is, therefore, obvious that Jawhar"s status was raised before al-Mu"izz and he was made Commander General of the Fatimid forces and was hereafter called "al-Qaid". In the year 358 A.H. the Caliph al-Mu"izz decided to invade Egypt, so he entrusted the responsibility to his Qaid Jawhar after his return from the Western countries.

The Caliph ai-Mu"izz had made preparations to invade Egypt, long since the year 356 A.H. that is two years before the departure of Jawhar for Egypt. During this period, al-Mu"izz had systematically planned the road which Jawhar was to take There on the road he had ordered wells to be dug at various halting places, where resthouses were also built. The money was collected for the expenses of the war. It is said that the army which was formed, included one lakh swordsmen, who belonged to Banu Katama tribe of Maghrib. Mu"izz had showered gifts and honours on their officers also. There were upwards of one hundred thousand horse-men and more than twelve hundred chests of money to be sent there.

It so happened that amidst these preparations for the march, Qaid Jawhar fell dangerously ill that no hopes were entertained of his recovery. When al Mu"izz had heard of his illness he was very sad and he himself had gone to visit him. This was a great honour which could be bestowed on very few near and dear ones only. Mu"izz"s heart was obviously repeating that Egypt could only be conquered by Jawhar. After his visit, al Mu"izz had declared, that Jawhar would survive to conquer Egypt. This prophecy had turned out to be true word by word. During his convalescence, the necessary supplies of money, arms and men were furnished. He was visited almost everyday by al-Mu"izz who conversed with him in private and gave him directions regarding the actual conquests. Finally he had received orders to set out for Egypt.

The departure of Qaid Jawhar for Egypt.

When Jawhar had completely recovered from his illness, al-Mu"izz had ordered for the departure. Before the departure, all his forces were collected at one place, where at-Mu"izz had delivered a Khutba to the Shaykhs of Katama and other tribes. The extracts of which are quoted here. al-Mu"izz is reported to have said:

"We are in need of your bodies and minds. Be it known to you that if you act on what we say, we can hope that God will ease our attack of the Eastern countries, (i.e. Egypt) as he did of the Western parts (Maghrib) with your co-operation" (see Maqrizi itiaz).

"By God, if Jawhar went alone to conquer Egypt, he will be able to take hold of it and alone indeed (Jawhar) you will enter ruins of lbn Tulun and found such a city which could overpower (taqhar) all the cities of the world."

After the Khutba, Mu"izz had formally ordered Jawhar to set out for Raqadah. The Caliph had come as far there to bid Jawhar adieu. There the Caliph had ordered his prince to dismount and give Jawhar the salutation of departure, this had obliged the great officers of the kingdom to dismount also. Then Jawhar kissed the hand of al-Mu"izz and the hoof of his horse; and having mounted on his horse by the order of his master, he put the army in march. When al-Mu"izz returned to his palace, he sent to Jawhar, as a present, all the clothes which he had on, retaining only his drawers and seal ring.

On the 14th of the first Rabi 358 H. Feb., 969 C.E., Qaid Jawhar left for Egypt. lbn-e-Hani Andalusi, the poet of the Fatimids, had to say the following in his long Qasida which he had composed. He himself had seen the marching of the forces, in this way:-

"I saw with my own eyes more than what I had heard about. And what a day it was, that it was more dreadful and astonishing than the day of the resurrection. On the morning of that day, there appeared one garrison on the other, (due to marching of forces) which had hidden the sun rising at the time of its rising."

The condition of Egypt before the Conquest.

Egypt was under the rule of the lkhshids before the advent of Fatimids. The lkhshids had ruled from 323-358 A.H. and in 358 A.H.. the illustrious Jawhar had conquered Egypt and the other attached countries to the lkhshids dominion.

Muhammad lbn Tughj had founded the rule of the lkhshids in Egypt, after defeating the Tulunid dynasty. During Muhammad"s rule, there was peace and prosperity prevailing in Egypt. Egypt was then nominally under the Abbasid supremacy. A number of times, the earlier Fatimid rulers of Maghrib had sent their forces to attack Egypt but the lkhshids had repulsed successfully. However. the Fatimids had also sent their Da"is to propagate Shiism in Egypt, which was welcomed by the lkhshids. After some time, the lkhshids had grown dissatisfied with the Abbasid over lordship and had changed to the Fatimid suzerainity by inserting the name of the Fatimid Caliph in their Friday Khutba. Moreover, the Abbasid Cali"phate was then growing weak in its control of distant territories.

In 334 A.H., Abul Misk Kafur, an Abbyssinian eunuch, bought earlier by Muhammad lkhshid, became protector of the minor lkhshid rulers Abu Qasim and Ali who succeeded their father. Kafur, gradually became the virtual ruler of the dynasty. Soon, the Abbasid Caliphs had recognised him as the ruler of Egypt, Syria and al Hijaz (Mecca and Madina) and he had reverted to the Abbasid Khutba also. All the same, Kafur had grown popular in Egypt. Unfortunately in the year 351 A.H., the river Nile had scarcity of water, which had resulted in a famine and pestilence there. Besides. Egypt had fallen into soaring prices and poor conditions. Moreover, the Qarmatians and Nabiyuns had invaded Kafur"s territory, in which he had been unsuccessful in defending. There had grown much disorder and anarchy and the army had become dissatisfied. In 357 A. H., Kafur had died and was succeeded by a 12 years old Abul Fawaris Ahmed al-ikhshid. Under his rule, there had started an enmity between the Vazir Abu Ja"far In Furat and Yaqub ibn Killis, the treasurer of Egypt. In this dispute, Shariff Muslim, a great grandson of Hazrat lmam Hussain, who was living there in Egypt, had intervened in the dispute and thereby, Yaqub was released from the imprisonment of ibn-Furat. Yaqub had gone to al-Mu"izz and had informed him of the internal conditions of Egypt and requested al- Mu"izz that it was the right time to invade Egypt. Moreover, the Shia population of Egypt had also invited al-Mu"izz to rescue them.

The Earlier Fatimid Invasions of Egypt.

The Fatimid Caliphs had established themselves in the North Western Africa (al Maghrib) in the year 296 H. From the very beginning they had been anxious to extend their boundaries towards Egypt, Syria and al-Hijaz. The riches of Egypt had always attracted many predatory invaders, but the Fatimids had found these Eastern lands, a fruitful place for their Shiite propaganda. The first Fatimid Caliph Ubaidullah al-Mahdi (297-322 A.H.) had invaded Egypt thrice, that in the years 301 A.H.. 307 A.H., 309 A.H., 321 ,A.H. This last invasion had continued until the beginning of the reign of his successor al-Qaim ibn al-Mahdi (322-334 A.H.) The caliph Qaim"s rule was almost parallelled to that of the Abbasid ruler al Mansur (324 - 334 A.H.). However, Qaim"s reign was engaged in putting off the rebellion of Abu - Yazid in the Western Africa. This rebellion had continued in the reign of the 3rd Fatimid Caliph al Mansur bin al-Qaim (334-341 A.H.) In the year 355 A.H., the fourth Fatimid Caliph al-Mu"izz (341-365 A.H.) had sent his forces to attack Egypt. His forces had reached Wahat but Kafur Ikhshid had defended his country strongly and did not allow the Fatimid forces to enter Egypt. All these four invasions so far had proved unsuccessful, for Egypt at that time was strong enough to defend itself.

As we have already mentioned, by 357 A.H., the conditions of Egypt had changed completely. Besides. the Caliph al-Mu"izz was determined to conquer Egypt. He had a complete trust in the strength of Jawhar alone and of course he had made careful preparations personally to conquer Egypt, which was accomplished by Jawhar as-Siqilli.

The Conquest of Egypt.

With all his forces, Jawhar had set out for Barqah. The Caliph al-Mu"izz had written orders to his slave Aflah, the Governor of Barqah, that he should set out to meet Jawhar and kiss his hand. Aflah had offered one hundred thousand dinars to avoid performing that ceremony, but he was obliged to submit. Then Jawhar had directed his army towards Alexandria. , He had conquered it without much opposition. After entering the city, Jawhar had ordered his soldiers not to confront the citizens and checked them from creating clamour and devastation which is generally the habit of the conquering forces. Jawhar had given gifts and honours to his soldiers to make them indifferent to loots and war booties.

When the people of Fustat had learned the news of the fall of the Alexandria, a great agitation was caused by the news, and it was agreed, that the Vazir ibn al Furat should write to Jawhar to obtain peace and security for the lives and property of the inhabitants. They had also requested Shariff Muslim al-Hussaini to be their Ambassador and had obtained his consent, provided a number of citizens in a form of a Wafad (Group) should accompany him to see Jawhar. The Vazir had furnished them his conditions in writing for the truce and on Monday, 18th Rajab 358 A.H. (June 969 C.E.) the Wafad had set out to meet Jawhar, who had halted at a village called Taruja, near Alexandria. Wnen Shariff Muslim " and his companions had arrived, they delivered their message to Jawhar, who had granted immediately, every demand and had confirmed his promise by a written treaty. The terms of the treaty are the original writings of Qaid Jawhar, which. reflect his sagacity and statesmanship. The treaty document which also has an historical significance, is partly translated here from ai-Maqrizi"s description.

The Treaty:

"I begin in the name of God, the merciful and kind. This document is from Jawhar al Katib - the Servant of Amir al-Mominin al-Mu"izz li-din-A"Ilah to the people of Egypt and its residents. Be it known that the advocates whom you had deputed to discuss with me the terms, have arrived. These gentlemen have informed that you citizens have demanded a peace treaty regarding your lives and property. In this connection, I have informed them of the orders of Amir al-Mominin, which he had issued. I have also informed them about my master Amir-ai-Mominin"s kindness on your conditions. So be prayerful to God for His kindness and thank Him for his assistance and succour whatever is binding on you, be always firm in it and try to proceed with the obedience of Amir-al-Mominin and in this lies your safety, peace and pleasure. Be it known also that the Amir al-Mominin has sent his conquering forces to help you and defend you, for you had been, so far, tortured and subdued by the enemy who had only wanted to overpower you of your treasures and pleasures, and deprive you of your independence and, imprison you (Byzantines and the Qarmatians had tried to do so). Hence Amir al-Mominin has sent his conquering forces to defend you against this tyranny and help all those who cry for help and that person who has grieved to know this, had often shed tears and spent sleepless nights over your miseries, is my master Amir al-Mominin.

Qaid Jawhar magnanimously obliged the wafad of Fustat and granted them all that they had asked for. But when Jawhar"s forces reached Fustat on the 17th Shaban 358 A.H. i.e. 6th of July 969 C.E., some citizens resisted. In the ensuing skirmish the Egyptians were totally defeated. Nevertheless Jawhar granted them a complete amnesty. Then the victorious Fatimid army, presenting a magnificent spectacle with its drums and banners, entered Fustat in accordance with the Caliph"s prediction.

Qaid Jawhar did not quarter his troops in the crowded parts of the city. Instead he occupied the great plain to the north of Fustat. Here on the 6th of July,; 969 he drew the lines of the new city and on the very same night laid the foundation of the city of "AI-Qahirah at-Mu"izziyah" (the conquering city of al-Mu"izz). Eventually it was abbreviated to al-Qahirah, which remains its name today. Europeans refer to it as "le Caire", English speaking people as Cairo.

Jawhar had then ordered that the prayers for the Fatimids should be introduced in all the mosques of Misr and the name of the Fatimid Caliph at-Mu"izz was introduced in Khutbah.

Soon Jawhar, had written a despatch to his master al-Mu"izz, informing him of the conquest of Egypt. In this way, the power of lkhshids and the Abbasids had ended in Egypt. The occupation of Egypt was the first step of the Fatimids to spread their influence and power in Syria, Palestine and al-Hijaz. Regarding the foundation of the capital city of ai-Qahirah, we shall speak separately.

As we have mentioned that Syria was then under the lkhshid rulers. So Jawhar, soon after conquering Egypt, had sent some of his forces to conquer Syria in 358 A.H. Within a short-time this territory was brought under the control of the Fatimids but chaos and disquietedness had spread immediately. Taking the advantage of the situation, Oarmatians had attacked the country and murdered Fatimid soldiers and occupied the territory. Later on, Oarmatians from their base of Syria had attacked Misr in 361 A.H., but by then, Jawhar was able to defend his country and had warded off their attacks. After sometime Syria was brought under Fatimid control successfully.

Jawhar"s Administration of Egypt.

After the conquest of Egypt, Jawhar had continued to superintend the affairs of the country for nearly 4 years, till the Caliph ai-Mu"izz had arrived in Egypt. During this period, Jawhar had definite policies which he had introduced. As we know, at the time of the conquest, many of the important posts in Government, were in the hands of Sunnis and Egyptians. Jawhar had tried to retain the old order to keep the work going. He had confirmed Ja"far ibn Furat on his post of the Vazir of Egypt. Even the Qadi of Egypt was allowed to retain his post. However, with his plans he had also appointed in every department some slkilled persons from among the Maghribis so that they could get familiar with the office work as well as to help defend his cause of the Shia religious propaganda. He had replaced Shia khutbah reciters in the mosques and had also appointed a Shia Qadi to prosecute Shia Law. The charge of Bait ul mal was given to a Shia. He himself used to hold court on every Sunday for the hearing of grievances of the people at which Ulemas, Qadis and a number of great doctors were invited whilst he himself gave judgements

At the time of the conquest, as we know, Egypt was passing through a period of famine and pestilence. Jawhar had taken precautions to check it. His master al-Mu"izz had sent provisions of grain and treasures to be given to the people. Jawhar, in order to administer, had introduced a Muhtasib System, that is, appointing a superintendent of weights to measure food provisions and to check the hoarding of the provision. It was included in the Muhtasib"s responsibilities to keep an eye on the market rates, to bring about a balance in prices, check adulteration of food etc. This Muhtasib had a special place to sit in the market and listen complaints and investigate their wrongs. Later on police corps were kept under his control, to assist him to carry out his reforms.

He had introduced various agricultural methods, whereby people were encouraged to cultivate crops. He had also revalued the lands and had appointed the amils to collect taxes. The amounts of taxes had risen considerable and by the time Mu"izz had arrived in Egypt, the conditions had improved much.

THE CONSTRUCTIONS OF JAWHAR IN EGYPT

The Foundations of the city of al-Qahirah al-

Mu"izziya

The Muslim conquerors of Egypt had always considered it important after the conquest to construct their own capital city, a mosque etc. Before Jawhar, as we know, the city of Fustat (means camps) was founded by the first Muslim conqueror Umar-lbn al-A"as in 20 A.H. (640 C.E.) He had then built a mosque named Jamia Umrao, which survives even to-day. Asakar and Qattaa were two other cities which were founded later there on similar lines by other Muslim conquerors of Egypt. On 17th of Shaban 358 A.H., Jawhar as-Siqilli had entered Fustat and on its north side had encamped his forces and on the same night, he is reported to have laid the foundation stone of the capital city of al-Qahirah. Later he had also laid the foundation of a mosque Jamia Azhar, and a castle for his master al-Mu"izz. He had also planned a police quarter in the city and the quarters for his mighribi forces.

Regarding the foundation of the city and its name, there are various opinions given by different historians. Some are of the opinion that al-Mu"izz had planned the city before Jawhar"s departure and had selected its name as expressed in his Khutbah at the time of Jawhar"s departure for Egypt, for the word Qahirah means "One that overpowers"

The other opinion is that al-Mu"izz himself was interested in astronomy and that after coming to Egypt had consulted the particular hour of the foundation and had named it accordingly, for at the hour of the foundation the planet Mars was in the skies. Mars in Arabic is called al Qahirah.

And yet more, the most famous story, which is given by al-Maqrizi is that, Jawhar after reaching Fustat had given orders for a new city to be planned. That a suitable area had been marked off and all the more distant parts of it were connected with a bellpull, so that at the given moment at a sign from the astrologers work might begin everywhere at the same instant. The bell-rope was, however, pulled before the auspicious moment by a raven and the building began at a moment when the planet Mars, the Qahir al-Falak, governed the heavens. The same historian, however, while continuing his above story of the astrologers and the diggers does so in such a way that one is led to believe that the name of "al-Qahirah" was actually given at the founding of the city. However, fact is that the city was named Mansuriya till The Caliph Al-Muizz himself had come to Egypt and then it was called Al-Qahira al-Muizziya. During the days of Qaid Jawhar, Qahirah was founded a rectangular plan. Its width was about 1200 metres and was spread on 340 miles acres of land, out of which 70 acres were occupied by the big palace. A largo area was kept as gardens and parks. Abol-ti 200 acres were distributed among army people and quarters for the maghribi forces.

Al-Qahirah was surrounded by a strong wall on all sides. Jawhar had constructed strong iron-gates, which had helped him to protect his city against the Oarmatian invasions. In its north was the gate of Nasr, in its south was the gate of Zwelia, on its east was the gate of Barqiya and the gate of Mahruq and on its west were the gates of Saadat, Faraj and Khokhal.

The population of the city was all mixed, but within 20 years time, it became all Shia. In fact the population had increased later on and many beautiful houses were built. When Sayydna Nasir Khursaw, an lsmaili Missionary had visited Cairo in 439 A.H. 1047, he had seen many storeyed buildings, shops, madrisas, taam khanas (sort of Restaurants), Hammams etc.

Qasaral-Mu"izziya, The Castle

On 18th Shaban 358 A.H. Jawhar had laid the foundation of the palace which he had constructed for his master. This castle like palace was constructed in an open space with the boundary wall and was on the Eastern side of the city. It was a spacious castle with many thousand rooms with golden doors. In front of the palace, there was a Sahan, an open space, where his forces used to parade on ceremonious days. From the palace, the view of,the city and its inhabitants were visible. There were gates from which the Caliph could easily teach his people. There was a family graveyard in the Sahan, where al-Mu"izz had buried the corpses of his forefathers which he had brought with himself from Qayarwan. In the palace, there were rooms with all the records of the government and also the stores of the arms, ammunition and treasures. Later on, some addition and changes were made in the castle. However, today this is all in ruins.

Jamia Azhar Mosque

In Egypt, there were mosques built by earlier Islamic rulers. such as Jamia Umarao, Jamia Asscar and Jamia Tulun. But Jawhar, soon after his conquest had felt the need of building a Shia Mosque which should be a central mosque of Egypt. So in 359 A.H. he had begun the construction of Jamia Azhar in his new citadel, which was completed in nearly 2 years and on 7th of Ramadhan, 361 A.H. (22nd June, 972 C.E.) this mosque was consecrated and opened for services. It was situated not far from the "Great Castle." Several other Fatimid rulers built additions to the mosque and endowed it with grants and foundations. The Caliph al-Aziz (365-386 A.H.) for example, made it an academy and erected an armshouse in it for 35 students.

Its name may be explained from the Fatimid origin, al-Zahra-being a title of Fatima, the daugh I ter of the Holy Prophet. Jamia Azhar was divided into two parts, one was fenced and part two was not fenced. The fenced part was called Maqsurah. It had 76 pillars of marble which faced each other. Other pillars were added later on. The roof was a made of strong wood. The unfenced plain was quite spacious and was used for prayers when a large number attended the prayers. All around this Sahan, there were rooms attached where students were given lessons.

Jawhar had constructed one Mahrab in the mosque. Later on 9 more Mahrabs were added. In the mosque there was a wooden pulpit from where the Fatimid Khutbah was recited. At the time of the construction there was only one minaret, later on 5 more were added, from where Azan was recited five times everyday. The timings of the prayer were observed from a sun dial from one of the walls of Sahan, which exists today.

In all other mosques of Egypt. the timings of a]-Azhar were followed. Caliph Mu"izz, after his arrival, used to recite Friday prayers there with all his retinue and forces. This tradition was followed by all other, Fatimid rulers. Later on when the Sunnis had conquered Egypt, al-Azhar had remained as a centre of prayers though paled a little. But it had always remained an educational institute of the middle ages. Today it is known as one of the oldest universities of the world. Its architecture depicts the Fatimid style of architecture of the time.

The Arrival of Mu"izz in Egypt

On 15th of Ramadhan 358 A.H. i.e. 2nd August 969 C.E.. al-Mu"izz had received the intelligence of the conquest of Egypt by his troops. Later on he had received dispatches from Jawhar containing an account of the conquest. After consolidating the empire, Jawhar had written repeatedly to his master requesting him, in the most earnest way, to come to Egypt. He had also informed that Egypt and Syria were brought into perfect order and that the Khutbah was offered up in his name throughout all those countries. This news had given al-Mu"izz the utmost satisfaction and after appointing Balkeen ibn Ziri ibn Menad as his lieutenant governor in lfrikiya. he had set out for Egypt. He had taken with him an immense sum of money and a number of very influential and powerful chiefs. He had with him Yaqub ibn Killis and Aslooj ibn Hasan. He had also his sons and relatives with him besides the coffins of his ancestors.

He had started from his capital city of lfrikiya on Monday, the 21st of Shawal 361. A.H. 5th August, 972 C.E. and had proceeded to Sardinia near Qayarwan. Here he had stopped for a while, in order to rally his followers, officers and all those who wanted to accompany him.

He then, had departed on Thursday, the 5th of Safar 362 A.H. 15th November, 972 C.E., and had continued his march, halting at certain places for a few days, and at other times, proceeding with great speed. On his way, he had passed through the island of Sardinia where he had stayed for a week. and then went to Barqah and had entered Alexandria on Saturday, the 23rd Shabban of the same year i.e. 29th May, 973 C.E.

Here in Alexandria, Abu Tahir, the Qadi of Fustat accompanied by the chief men of the country had come to welcome al-Mu"izz on his arrival there. After reaching Alexandria, Mu"izz had rested for a while and had received all those who had come to pay homage to him. He then had addressed a long Khutbah in which he had said that the purpose of his conquering Egypt was not of augmenting his dominions and his wealth, but it was of maintaining the true faith, protecting pilgrims and making war against the infidels. He had declared his resolution to dedicate his life in the exercise of good works and to act in conformity with the orders he had received from his ancestor, the holy prophet Muhammad. He then preached to them in a manner which drew tears from some of those who were present. After this he had arrayed the Qadi and other persons of the assembly in robes of honour and gave to each of them a horse (or a mule), as a present.

Towards the end of the month of Shabban, he had left Alexandria and on Saturday, the 2nd of Ramadhan (6th June 973 C.E.) he had stopped at Mina, which is the Wharf of Egypt opposite Giza, Qaid Jawhar went forth to meet his master and on drawing near him, dismounted from his horse and had kissed the ground before him. The Vazir Abu Ja"far ibn al-Furat, had also come to receive him. al-Mu"izz had stopped here for 3 days. During that time, the army had prepared for crossing the river to the wharf of Egypt, with their luggage.

Al-Mu"izz had crossed the Nile on Tuesday, the 5th of Ramadhan, or by other account on the 7th of Ramadhan 362 A.H. and had proceeded to al-Qahirah without entering Fustat (old Cairo), although the inhabitants had adorned the streets of the city, thinking he would visit it. On his arrival in the city, he went to the castle and entered a hall of audience where he fell prostrate in adoration of almighty God. He then said his namaz with two rakats and all those who were with him had followed the prayers.

The Darbar in al-Qahirah

Soon, all the citizens had gathered there in the great castle to pay their allegiance to the caliph. During this audience, Jawhar had remained on the right side of the Caliph. and had presented each and every Kabila for their allegiance. al-Mu"izz was seated on his golden throne and had received all the nobles, Qadis, Vazirs and Ulemas of his city. They all had presented Mu"izz with their gifts. Shariff Abu Ja"far Muslim had presented 11 baskets filled with many beautiful things. He had a robe made especially for the Caliph, from a particular yarn that only grew in Tunnis. This material had a special shine and was gilded with gold and silver. He had also presented a Turban of similar material and had requested the Caliph to put on the robe and the Turban, which he had done.

Jawhar, in his turn, had presented the best breed of 150 horses gilded with saddles and bridles of gold and diamonds. Many camels and ponies, saddled with precious stones boxes filled with all kinds of rare things of Egypt. Many swords studded with silver and golden caskets were presented. Then Mu"izz had given his lrshad and had released about 1000 of his prisoners and had presented robes and Khalat to all his nobles and officers. Mu"izz had then, bestowed Jawhar with a golden khalat and a turban and had tied a sword on his waist and had presented 20 horses with golden saddles, 50 thousand dinars and 2 lakhs of dirhams cash.

The Fatimid Da"wa in Egypt

As we know that, from the very beginning, the Fatimid Caliphs were trying to conquer Egypt. Although from military point of view their earlier invasion had remained unsuccessful, but their propaganda of the religion had found a flourishing ground. The population of Egypt, including- Kafur had always respected Ahle-Bait, the descendants of the holy prophet. ln fact, before the arrival of Qaid Jawhar in Egypt, there was a considerable number of Shia population in Egypt. The lsmaili Da"is had continued to propagate their mission among the Berbers and native Egyptians-coptics. Soon after the conquest of Egypt in 358 A.H., Jawhar had ordered that the Abbasid Khutbah to be discontinued and the Fatimid Khutbah introduced in all mosques. Besides he had coins inscribed with the name of al-Mu"izz, and had also discontinued the black colour of the Abbasids and had ordered white colour to be used. Jamia Umrao was painted inside in green colour and all mosques were made centres of Shiite preaching. The Shiite custom of reciting 5 Takbirs on the dead body was introduced. Jawhar had introduced a rank of Da"i ud-Du"at, the chief of the Da"is, with whose help he used to arrange for the propagation of the Fatimid religion. He had twelve Naqeeb (proclaimers) who used to assist him in the work. The Shia Islamic code was formed and the Jurists used to discuss details with Jawhar before promulgating the laws. Soon after his arrival, the Caliph lmam a]-Mu"izz took the charge of the government and appointed Jawhar as the head of the lsmaili Da"wa in Egypt. lmam treated Jawhar with great honour. Imam al-Mu"izz died on 15th Rabisani, 365 A.H. 20th December, 975 C.E. and was succeeded by his son Hazrat Imam al-Aziz bi"l-lah. Qaid Jawhar continued to serve his new master lmam al-Aziz.

Services of Jawhar under al-Aziz

During the reign of al-Aziz we find Jawhar is honoured again to the rank of the commander of the Fatimid forces. Soon after the death of al-Mu"izz. Syria had become a hot-bed of Oarmatians and Aftakin, a Turkish soldier. In 365 A.H., Aftakin had collected his forces and had joined with Hasan Qarmati and had occupied Syria.

Receiving this news, al-Aziz, had written a letter to Aftakin asking him to submit but the latter had replied that his sword would do the justice. Hence al-Aziz had called Jawhar in his court and had entrusted him with a large force to undertake the conquest of Syria. Soon Qaid Jawhar left with his forces and arrived in Ramia and had occupied it without any difficulty. Then he had directed himself towards Damascus. Meanwhile Hassan Qarmati and Aftakin had disappeared. Thus Jawhar had successfully occupied Damascus and had built a fortress and trenches to defend himself. However, after sometime Aftakin had reappeared with his enforcement and a fierce battle had followed in which Aftakin was defeated, and Jawhar retired towards Ascalan. Meanwhile Aftakin and Hassan Qarmati and other tribes had come out to give a battle to Jawhar. They arrived in Ascalan and had beseiged Jawhar from all sides. Considering the situation difficult Jawhar had entered into a treaty with Aftakin and had succeeded in gaining a guarantee of safe retreat. Whereupon Jawhar had gone to the Caliph al-Aziz in Egypt, who now undertook the direction of the operation in person in 368 A.H. Jawhar had commanded the advance guard in this campaign. A fierce battle had followed in which many were killed on both the sides.

At that time, the Fatimid forces had attacked the right wing of the Qarmatians; and Hassan and Aftakin were defeated badly. Hassan ran away but Aftakin was brought before aI-Aziz, who treated him very kindly and had taken him to Egypt, where he had bestowed a Khalat and other honours, Aftakin lived there till he died in 372 A.H.

Finally the power of Aftakin and Oarmatians was broken and Syria was brought under the control of the Fatimids which remained as a Fatimid territory for a long time.

In this encounter, Jawhar had commanded Aziz"s forces. He had used his tactics to break the unity of Oarmatians with Aftakin and thereby had crushed them completely so that they never rose to power in Syria again, to disturb the Fatimid Caliphs.

The death of Jawahar and Conclusion

After coming back to Egypt, Jawhar retired to a very quiet life for he was then nearly 70 years old. He used to live in a small house and appeared less in the court. We hear no more of his military activities. He appeared to have passed the remainder of his life in comparative retirement, winning the esteem of the people by his liberality.

In the year 381 Jawhar had fallen ill. He was visited by the Caliph al-Aziz-bi"i-lah, who had sent a sum of 50 thousand dinars to him. However, he died on 20th of Zul Qada 381 A.H. 28th January, 922 C.E. The caliph"s relatives had sent aromatics (used for embalming) and coffins etc, which was made of 70 threaded pieces of material. The Caliph al-Aziz himself had recited the Namaz-e-Janaza and he was buried in a big graveyard which is no more there. The tomb which survives to-day in the Northern part of al-Azhar University, is considered by many as Jawhar"s tomb, but is in fact a grave of certain Turkish Mamluke by the name of Amir Jawhar Qanqabali. Jawhar as-Siqil li was over 80 years when he died. He had a son named Hussain, who was given a kuniyah of Abu Abdullah. He had inherited all those good qualities of his father, and was also called Qaid ibn Qaid. The Caliph al-Aziz had confered a Khalat to Hussain and had given him honour in his court.

In this way, Jawhar"s great career came to an end. Jawhar was a great Katib, a well-experienced Qaid, a clever politician and a great administrator. With his death the greatest of the Fatimid General"s life came to an end. It is said that there wasn"t a poet at that time who would have composed verses to deplore his loss and celebrate his liberty Jawhar had founded the Fatimid Caliphate in Egypt. There he had constructed al-Qahirah and al-Azhar. This was all because his master al-Mu"izz had trusted him and had given him all honour that was due. Qarmatians had nearly destroyed the Fatimid Calipate but it was the sagacity and the war skill of Jawhar, which had given a death blow to them. In Egypt to-day, there are many relics which bring back the memories of this great Qaid. The city of Qahirah al-Mu"izziya known as Cairo and the Jamia Azhar have survived till to-day. The city of Cairo, in those days had surpassed Baghdad and Cordova (of Spain, where Umayyads had established their independent Caliphate). Cairo had also become an intellectual centre of those days. Jawhar had introduced many reforms in Egypt and had started the propagation of Shiite cause very systematically and had succeeded in formalizing the rising empire of the Fatimids. The terms of the treaty are the only surviving examples of his understanding and knowledge of the time. In the world there are very few like him.

B I B L I 0 G R A P H Y

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Encyclopaedia of Islam Relevant articles.

Yaqub Bin Killis

2006-02-12T05:43:00.000-08:00

By: Aiijah Deedarali. Karachi (Pakistan)

Fatimi Wazir, Abu al-Farj Yaqub bin Yusuf known as Ibn Killis, was born of an honorable family of Baghdad. By birth he was a Jew, born in 318 A.H./930 C.E. At the young age he came with his father to Egypt where he started his political life at the court of Kafur. He was very intelligent, hard working and honest. Very soon he secured important position in the Court of Kafur as an expert in economic. In 356 A.H./967 C.E., he embraced Islam by which Kafur was highly pleased and appointed him as his courtier. By this promotion of Yaqub, Wazir Ibn Furat of the court of Kafur got excited with jealousy and was searching a cause to fall against him. Incidentally in 357 A.H./967 C.E. Kafur died and Wazir Ibn Furat arrested all his companions including Yaqub bin Killis. It is said that Yaqub bribed the jailor and absconded to West where Hazrat Imam Mu"izz was in power on the throne of Imamat and Caliphate.

Hazrat Imam Mu"izz, assigned Yaqub the responsibility of country"s economy. Through his past experiences he carried out his work with great efficiency. Thereafter at the time of conquest of Egypt, Hazrat Imam Mu"izz, deputed him with Jawhar as-Siqilli for the management there. According to another version, Yaqub accompanied Hazrat Imam Mu"izz to Egypt in 362 A.H. In the beginning, Ibn Furat was continued in the office of Wizarat at Egypt but in 363 A.H./974 C.E. he resigned and Hazrat Imam Mu"izz handed over the administration to Yaqub bin Killis.

During the last period of Imam Mu"izz, and the first two years of the period of Imam Aziz, (365-386 A.H.), due to toil, honesty and intelligence of Yaqub bin Killis, this position became firm and stable, so much so that in 367-68 A.H./977-78 C.E. Imam Aziz, appointed him as Wazir al Adjall (Chief Minister). Prior to this, in the Caliphate of the first four Imams, an assistant was called "Wasta" and in this way Yaqub bin Killis was the first Wazir-i-Adjall (Chief Minister) of Fatimid Caliphate.

During his office of Wazarat, Yaqub bin Killis established various departments anew for the administration of the state - promoted agriculture, reformed trade and stabilised currency - by which country began to flourish and revenue of provinces increased. In this very period Central Exchequer was so much solid in wealth that neither before nor afterwards such a wealth ever accrued. In 373 A.H. he had fallen Karachi (Pakistan) from his office and it is said that Imam Aziz. had penalised him with the fine of 200.000 dinars. The actual cause of his removal is not known. Dr. Zahid Ali assumes that because Ibn Killis had treated badly one of the court prisoners of al-Aziz to whom Imam had promised all honours, therefore Ibn Killis had to pay a fine. All the same within a lapse of few months, in 374 A.H., he was reinstated in the office and was also forgiven.

Sickness and Death: It is said that Yaqub bin Killis fell seriously ill on the 21st of Shawwal 380 A.H. Imam Aziz visited him and said: "0 Yaqub! If your recovery is to be gained through spending wealth then I am prepared to give away the whole wealth of the state. And if your life is saved by sacrificing any life, I am ready to sacrifice my own son". By this it is understood what position Yaqub bin Killis held with Hazrat Imam Aziz. Sickness of Yaqub began to worsen day by day and on the 4th of Dhil Haj 380A.H./991 C.E. he succumbed to death.

His death was mourned throughout Egypt. His shroud was decorated with 50 pieces of clothes of which 30 were embroidered with gold thread. According to Ibn Khallikan, 100 poets composed Marsia, i.e. lamenting stanzas, and every poet earned his reward from the Imam. In Cairo a place was named "Al Harat al-Waziria" in his honour.

Educational Status: With the political sciences Yaqub bin Killis was also endowed with a thorough knowledge of religion. He was a great scholar and was fond of literature. It is said that he wrote many books in which Mukhtasar-ul-Fiqah" (Risala-t-ul-Waziria) is worth mentioning. This work is on theology and 40 theologians participated in its compilation. Besides, he was at his palace lecturing every Friday night on different subjects, where judges, theologians, grammarians, traditionalists and poets used to gather to hear him.

In Jama-e-Azhar he gave vent to religious education and upon his instructions a university was established in Jama-e-Azhar. which exists until today.

The Story of his wealth: Yaqub bin Killis was an efficient wazir and through his efficiency introduced many reforms, as a result of which public was very much at ease. wealthy and treasury was full of wealth. Hazrat Imam Aziz, had given him wide powers and he was also drawing a good remuneration from the Treasury with a high position in the government. Consequently, he was in possession of the force of 4,000 young men. The uniform of his guards was, .similar to that of the guards of Hazrat Imam Aziz that is silky. Yaqub bin Killis had formed a private force, commander of which was called "Qaid". Courts were established for different jobs. There was also a well equipped dispensary in his palace. In the month of Ramadhan besides judges and prominent persons, nominal and general public also used to take advantage of his favour. His annual income was 100,000 dinars, i.e. more than 50.000 guineas. At the time of his death he left property valued forty lakh dinars, this amount was exclusive 200,000 dinars kept aside by him for the dowry of his daughter. He also left a piece of land worth 300.000 dinars. Besides there were

4.000 male and 8,000 female slaves.

REFERENCES

1. Hamdani, Dr. Abbas. The Fatimids. P. 27. Karachi, publishing House, 1962.

2. Hitti, P.K., History of the Arabs p. 627. London, Macmillan & Co. 1949.

3. O"LearY. D" The Short History of the Fatimid Caliphs. P. 99-100. 114.120.

4. Ibn Khallikan. Ibn Khallikan"s Biographical Dictionary- tr. from Arabic to English by Siane M.G. De. Vol. IV, p. 359-368. Paris, Oriental translation Fund of Great Britain and Ireland. 1871.

5. Ibn Khaidun. Tareikh ibn Khafdun (Urdu tr.) Vol. v., P. 132.

Karachi. Nafees Academey, 1966.

6. Zahid Ali, Dr. Tareikh-e-Fatmyeen-e-misr (Urdu) Vol. I p.

194. 197 and Vol. 11 p. 1 1 1 and 130.

7. Saef Azad. Tarikh-e-Khulfa-e-Fatimi (Persian) p. 50-53. Tehran 1341. A. H. Shamsi.

8. Danishghah Punjab Lahore, Da re-e-Mu"arf-e-Islamia (Urdu) Vol. 1. p. 656. (Article on Ibn Killis by Bakar C.H.)

9. Ain ul Haq, Sayyid. Khilafat-e-Abbasia & Fatamyeen-e.Misr

(Urd) p. 233-34. Karachi, Ali publishers.

The Specialties Of Forensic Nurses

2006-02-09T09:25:00.000-08:00

Forensic nursing, just like regular nursing is divided up into several smaller specialties. Nurses wanting to get an education in forensics have the opportunity to pick one or more of these specialties that they prefer the most. Here are three of those smaller specialties:

Sexual Assault Nurse Examiner

This nurse responds to notification of sexual assault, usually by the emergency room staff and obtains a preliminary history, conducts an in-depth interview and conducts the physical, including a pelvic exam to collect appropriate evidence.

The nurse maintains a verified chain of evidence and collaborates with law enforcement officials, which may include testifying in court. The role includes victim education regarding sexually transmitted disease and pregnancy risks and provides referrals for follow-up care.

The first SANE programs started in the mid 1970s but it wasnt until the late 1980s that the programs got a major growth spurt as they grew more rapidly in the 1990s when localities started to see the benefits of what these SANE programs have to offer. And by 1996, there were approximately 70 programs in existence.

Death Investigator

A death investigator is the first person at the crime scene with a forensic background. They must have a knowledgeable background in forensics to be able to approximate the time of death.

For nurses that want to get into CSI, they can become crime seen and death investigators. Nurses make exceptional CSI"s because they know the terminology, techniques, and pick up on signs of medical problems with the victim. Picking up on pre-existing medical problems in victims are easily noticed by a nurse, that might not be so easily noticed by a

Forensic Nurse Investigator

These nurses go by different titles, such as deputy coroner, forensic nurse investigator, or death investigator. Nurses are highly regarded for their medical background, investigative abilities and record keeping/documentation skills that they bring.

Theres a lot of responsibility that comes with this career. If they do their job out of the coroners office, the usually work on a schedule in the office along with taking on call time. Responsibilities for the forensic nurse investigator include responding to the scene, collaborating with detectives, examining the body, taking blood and tissue samples, photographing the body at the scene as well as the scene itself, keeping good records and arranging for the body to be taken to the morgue for autopsy. The help with autopsies and work side by side with the forensic pathologist in collecting evidence.

These are just a few of the specialties that all have to do with forensic nursing. There are more specialties than the three that Ive listed. Theres something for any nurse that wants a career in the forensic sciences.

Larry Ford runs a website about forensic nursing. You can find it at http://www.forensicnursingzone.com

Speed Up Your Pocket PC Guide

2006-02-09T08:30:00.000-08:00

While new Pocket PC owners are usually excited with their purchase, their enthusiasm is often dampened once they run into stability and speed issues. This guide will walk you through several tips to keep your machine slick and well-oiled. As with any system or registry tweaks, always backup in case something does go amiss. Remember, we"re not responsible for any loss of data.

1. Disable Windows menu animation

Switching off eye candies like animation keeps your handheld zippy. To do so, you"ll need a registry editor like PHM RegEdit to modify the registry. Navigate to HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE SYSTEMGWEMenu, then change the value of "AniType" from 6 (default) to 0. This disables the menu animation.

If doing this is a daunting task, an easy alternative is with RegKing. This nifty freeware lets you toggle the menu animation easily and offers other tweaks.

2. Increase display cache

Another tip to speed up the display is to increase the glyph cache value. However, this will take up more system memory. Launch your registry editor and browse to HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINESYSTEMGDIGLYPHCACHE. Change the value of "limit" from 8192 (default) to 16384 or even 32768.

If meddling the registry is unnerving for you, RegKing gets this done in a few taps.

3. Close not minimize

If you are unaware, when you tap on the close button, the program only minimizes. Hence, you may end up with a string of programs running on the background taking up valuable memory. Check out our wrapper on freeware task managers to better manage your device"s resources.

If you don"t mind spending a little, we recommend Spb Pocket Plus. In addition to task management, this feature-laden software adds a launcher, battery meter and other functions.

4. Remove unused programs

Although processor speed is important to system performance, the availability of memory plays an equally crucial role. When it comes to Pocket PC, the more free memory, the better. Programs consumes precious memory so uninstall those you don"t require. Go to Start/Settings/System/Remove Programs to uninstall them.

5. Relocate big files to storage card

Instead of keeping space-intensive data on your main memory, move these files to your storage cards instead. A quick way to identify files hogging the space is via WIMR. Thereafter, using the built-in File Explorer, just cut and paste to move files off the main memory. Make sure these are data files rather than executables or you may break your programs.

6. Install programs onto external storage

If you need a host of software on your Pocket PC, there"s no way all of them can be installed on your main memory. Whenever possible, choose to install programs onto a flash memory card or even non-volatile memory such as iPAQ File Store. This frees up main memory for running programs.

7. Remove redundant folders and files

Like your Windows desktop, the uninstall routine on the Pocket PC often does a bad job leaving orphaned folders and files. Manually remove them using File Explorer.

In addition, programs may accumulate redundant data over time. Rather than removing them manually, install SpeedClean, a free tool that deletes Temporary internet files, Cookies and the Temp folder with ease.

8. Clean up the registry

Over time your registry may be choked up with redundant entries. Hunt these down with Remover or Pocket Mechanic.

Want to save some dough and don"t mind getting your hands dirty? Try manually removing them from the registry. Launch your registry editor and navigate to HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINESOFTWAREApps and HKEY_CURRENT_USERSOFTWARE. Delete entries of programs that have been uninstalled but still lurk in the registry. This won"t do as good a job by Remover and Pocket Mechanic but should be suffice.

8. Overclocking

If having the fastest Pocket PC means the world to you, try overclocking it. Immiersoft"s XCPUScalar or Pocket Hack Master

from Anton Tomov let you run your handheld at speeds higher than it"s designed for. Beware though, there"s a good chance your device may freeze or even hard-reset.

For more PocketPC tips and tricks along with the latest PDA software and freeware check the Mobiletopsoft.com web site

EU"s Resistance to GMOs Hurt the Poor

2006-02-09T02:35:00.000-08:00

The bitter dispute between the U.S., Canada, and Argentina, on one hand, and the European Union (EU), on the other, over the latter’s restrictive policies towards genetically modified foods reaches what is likely to be an acrimonious peak this week when the World Trade Organization (WTO) rules if the EU has violated trade rules by blocking foods produced using modern biotechnology techniques. Acrimonious because the EU is preemptively threatening to dishonor the verdict if it’s in favor of the U.S., Canada and Argentina. The EU is keen on blocking genetically modified foods without scientific justification.

The dispute dates back to the spring of 1998 when five EU member states -Denmark, France, Greece, Italy and Luxembourg - issued a declaration to block GMOs approvals unless the European Commission (EC) proposed legislation for traceability and labeling of GMOs. A year later in June 1999, EU environment ministers imposed a six-year de facto moratorium on all GMOs. The official moratorium has since lapsed but EU’s recalcitrance towards GMOs and obstruction remains.

EU’s ban on GMOs has exasperated the U.S., Canada and Argentina - leading growers of crops with GMO enhancements - to initiate a WTO dispute settlement process against the EU in May 2003, arguing that the moratorium harmed farmers and their export markets, particularly for corn and soybeans, and which are critical sources of revenue for farmers.

Now, the WTO’s verdict is due today(February 7, 2006). They have already reported it will be the longest report document of its kind. This suggests that EU political pandering may have seeped into the WTO process complicating what should be a simple trade dispute resolution. This is unfortunate for more than just the two parties involved.

The stakes are too high, not only to the parties in dispute, but to the entire world, and especially developing world. The dispute is not just another transatlantic trade skirmish. At stake are consumers’ rights to have real choices with regard to their food, and farmers’ freedoms to use approved tools and technologies to safely produce those food choices.

The EU has never justified its restrictive policies towards GMOs, which makes everybody question the motive behind GMOs ban. When it slapped a moratorium on GMOs, the EU cited undefined safety concerns as the reason for the drastic action. Their own scientists and regulators have repeatedly addressed and dismissed the safety issues for these GMO crops. Were similar undefined, precautionary principle standards applied to other growing practices - such as organic - Europe would have to similarly ban all foodstuffs.

In the absence of verifiable scientific justification to block GMOs from its territories, the EU is guilty of violating the Agreement on Technical Barriers to Trade (TBT) and the Agreement on the Application of Sanitary and Phytosanitary Measures (SPS), to which it is a signatory. The SPS, particularly, recognizes that countries are entitled to regulate crops and food products to protect health and environment. The agreement requires, however, “sufficient scientific evidence” to support trade-restrictive regulations on crops and food products to protect the environment.

The EU’s argument in the WTO dispute is greatly eroded by the fact that various scientific bodies have, repeatedly, vindicated GMOs. For example, the United Kingdom-based Institute for Food Science and Technology (IFT) - an independent body for food scientists and technologists - has declared that “genetic modification has the potential to offer very significant improvements in the quantity, quality and acceptability of the world’s food supply.”

In 2004, the U.S. National Research Council (NRC), a division of the National Academy of Sciences (NAC), issued a report in which it found that genetic engineering is “not an inherently hazardous process,” calling fears of the anti-biotech crowd “scientifically unjustified.”

In June 2005, the World Health Organization (WHO) released a report that acknowledged the potential of genetically modified foods to enhance human health and development. The report, Modern Food Biotechnology, Human Health and Development, noted that pre-market assessments done so far have not found any negative health effects from consuming GM foods. Surely, no respectable scientific body would endorse a flawed innovation.

These findings may help to explain why agricultural biotech innovators and product developers continue to thrive. Cropnosis - a leading provider of market research and consultancy services in the crop protection and biotechnology sectors - estimates that the global value of biotech crops stands at $5.25 billion representing 15 percent of the $34.02 billion crop protection market in 2005 and 18 per cent of the $30 billion 2005 global commercial seed market.

The International Service for the Acquisition of Agri-biotech Applications (ISAAA), in a report released early this year, reveals that since the commercialization of the first GM crop a decade ago, 1 billion acre of land, in 21 countries, is under biotech crops. In 2005 alone, the global area of approved biotech crops was 222 million hectares, up from 200 million acres in 2004. This translates to annual growth rate of 11 percent.

The lucrative nature of GM crops - they yield high and require less pesticides and herbicides - is driving many developing countries to embrace them. However, many, especially in Africa, where agriculture constitutes 30 per cent of the continent’s Gross Domestic Product (GDP), have been reluctant cultivate GMOs for fear of losing their European agricultural markets. This is why Europe’s accession to GMOs remains critical to Africa’s adoption of GMOs. The EU, by default, is preventing many poor countries to benefit from GMOs.

If Europe opens its doors to GMOs, many poor countries stand to gain from this technology and both the economic as well as life-saving benefits it has to offer. Many in poor countries, predominantly, live on agriculture. They must be given a chance to benefit from modern agricultural technologies such as biotechnology. Denying poor countries an opportunity to reap from crop biotechnology, which has proved so successful in other parts of the world, amounts to condemning billions of people who live in poor countries to a slow and painful death.

Go to http://www.gmoafrica.org to know more about James Wachai

The writer is a communication consultant currently based in the United States, a freelance writer and currently based in the United States, is a native of Kenya and former science reporter/correspondent for several European and African publications.

You Have The Right To Change Your Mind

2006-02-09T01:46:00.000-08:00

Very few things are etched in concrete. You always have the right to change your mind, even if it means someone else won"t like it. If you decide that whatever you were going to do isn"t right for you, it is best to change your mind before you live to regret your decision.

While in the process of shopping for bedroom furniture I bought and cancelled two sets. I still haven"t bought anything, as I just can"t find exactly what I want. The second time I cancelled my order my husband told me that the sales person wasn"t going to like me much. That may be very true, but the salesperson isn"t the one that ultimately has to live with my decision.

The decisions that we make in any moment might not be the decisions that we want to live with. It is good to give yourself permission to reconsider. I have made decisions that I wanted to change, but because of peer pressure, fear or other external forces, I lived unhappily with the decision. In the moment the decision might seem like the right thing to do, but later you might view it differently. If you decide to change your mind, it is okay. There might be a price to pay, but in the long run it is better to change your mind sooner than later.

I am not saying it is good to be indecisive. There are times, however, when you make a decision that seems right at the time, but viewed from a different perspective, you can tell that it isn"t. I often use the three-day rule, if after three days I am still happy with my decision then I go with it. That way I know I am making the decision fully aware. Often when you make a decision in the moment it is based solely on emotion with no logic involved. When you give yourself space to think about the decision, you have the opportunity to blend emotion and logic together to make a more informed decision that you can live with.

Coach Rachelle Disbennett-Lee, PhD, is a Certified Master Coach specializing in working with business owners and professionals in being more profitable and productive while staying sane and balanced. Coach Lee is the publisher of the award winning e-zine, 365 Days of Coaching. Her first book, 365 Days of Coaching - Because Life Happens Every Day (Universal Publisher, 2004) was named a finalist for Best Book 2004 by Publish.com and has a five star rating on Amazon.com.

The Cheapest Long Distance Service

2006-02-06T07:20:00.000-08:00

No longer is the cheapest long distance service a matter of the lowest cent per minute rate. Long distance phone service now comes in the form of traditional cent per minute long distance, dialaround, calling cards, bundled phone service, and broadband phone, or VoIP, with unlimited minutes. Today, usage is far more important than rates.

Low cent per minute long distance rates with traditional phone service are good if you don"t expect to make many long distance phone calls. Keep in mind, you may be charged a fee by your phone company just to have this service on your line, even if you don"t use it. FCC, PIC, taxes, sir charges, and monthly fees are the most common hidden fees.

Dialaround long distance service is most commonly referred to as 1010 numbers, though some dialaround long distance providers offer an 800 access number instead. Dialaround long distance rates are typically slightly higher than a cent per minute plan on your phone line, but do not have as many, if any, hidden fee"s taxes or sir charges.

Calling cards are a cheap alternative to both dialaround and traditional long distance service. You can make long distance phone calls from any telephone and the rates can be very low. Calling cards are good for long distance when used in moderation. On most calling cards you"ll be charged a set amount of minutes each time you use it.

Bundled phone service can be a fairly inexpensive long distance plan if you make a lot of long distance phone calls and opt for unlimited minutes as the long distance portion of your calling plan. The only real draw back to a bundled phone service plan are those pesky hidden fees that can make up to 20% of your total bill, and sometimes more.

Broadband phone, or VoIP is literally the cheapest long distance service available today. Since broadband telephone uses the Internet to send and receive calls, there are no hidden fee"s taxes or surcharges associated with VoIP service. Unlimited local and long distance service for around $20.00 and a 3% federal excise tax is as cheap as it gets.

Clearly the winner for the cheapest long distance service is broadband phone or VoIP. If you must use traditional methods for making long distance phone calls, just try to avoid any hidden fee"s and go with the lowest cent per minute rate if you don"t make many calls. Go for unlimited minutes if you"ll be making a lot of long distance calls.

Editor at Cheapest Service. Save on long distance phone service.

Satellite Telephone Basics

2006-02-06T07:03:00.000-08:00

A satellite phone is a telephone that transmits and receives messages from orbiting satellites that provide coverage to the entire world or only specific regions.

The phones used for satellite communication are often larger in size than the ones that are used for terrestrial applications. These phones can be comparable to the cell phones that were used during the late 1980s and 1990s. These phones also have a large retractable antenna.

Satellite phones use Low Earth Orbit satellites for communication. These satellites orbit the earth at high speeds at low altitude. These satellites fly complete orbits and guarantee complete coverage over every area by at least one satellite at all times.

When a call is made with the satellite phone, the call signal goes up from the satellite phone hand set up to a satellite hundreds of miles in orbit. The signal then goes to one of the many satellites in the low earth orbit. The signal then goes down to one of the ground stations, from where the signal is finally delivered to the destination hand set.

To receive a good service the hand set will need at least 80% view of the sky. Obstructions such as buildings and trees can block the satellite signal from reaching your device. The strength of your calls depends on the user’s view of the sky and the current position of the satellite.

The satellite phones use only orbiting satellites and not any cell towers for communication. Another interesting feature of satellite phones is that they work even during power outages. The only prerequisite is that the phone must have a charged battery for usage. Since these phones can work even during power outages, you can have uninterrupted communication even in the event of a total devastation. These phones can be used for voice and data communication even when all other forms of communication would be disrupted for weeks. In the event of an emergency, a satellite phone is a valuable asset and could mean the difference between life and death where communication is critical.

Although satellite phones are very huge nowadays, they will continue to grow smaller as technology advances. These phones fulfill many specialized roles and provide essential communications in several applications.

Article Posted By : Ibrahim Machiwala

Robert Scheer is a freelance writer and consultant for Best Satellite Phones at http://www.best-satellite-phones.com

A Brief Introduction To Fiber Optics Technology

2006-02-06T06:39:00.000-08:00

Understanding how fiber optics are made and function for uses in everyday life is an intriguing work of art combined with science. Fiber optics has been fabricated from materials that transmit light and are made from a bundle of very thin glass or plastic fibers enclosed in a tube. One end is at a source of light and the other end is a camera lens, used to channel light and images around the bends and corners. Fiber optics have a highly transparent core of glass, or plastic encircled by a covering called "cladding". Light is stimulated through a source on one end of the fiber optic and as the light travels through the tube, the cladding is there to keep it all inside. A bundle of fiber optics may be bent or twisted without distorting the image, as the cladding is designed to reflect these lighting images from inside the surface. This fiber optic light source can carry light over mass distances, ranging from a few inches to over 100 miles.

There are two kinds of fiber optics. The single-mode fiber optic is used for high speed and long distance transmissions because they have extremely tiny cores and they accept light only along the axis of the fibers. Tiny lasers send light directly into the fiber optic where there are low-loss connectors used to join the fibers within the system without substantially degrading the light signal. Then there are multi-mode which have much larger cores and accept light from a variety of angles and can use more types of light sources. Multi-mode fiber optics also use less expensive connectors, but they cannot be used over long distances as with the single-mode fiber optics.

Fiber optics have a large variety of uses. Most common and widely used in communication systems, fiber optic communication systems have a variety of features that make it superior to the systems that use the traditional copper cables. The use of fiber optics with these systems use a larger information-carrying capacity where they are not hassled with electrical interference and require fewer amplifiers then the copper cable systems. Fiber optic communication systems are installed in large networks of fiber optic bundles all around the world and even under the oceans. Many fiber optic testers are available to provide you with the best fiber optic equipment.

In fiber optic communication systems, lasers are used to transmit messages in numeric code by flashing on and off at high speeds. This code can constitute a voice or an electronic file containing, text, numbers, or illustrations, all by using fiber optics. The light from many lasers are added together onto a single fiber optic enabling thousands of currents of data to pass through a single fiber optic cable at one time. This data will travel through the fiber optics and into interpreting devices to convert the messages back into the form of its original signals. Industries also use fiber optics to measure temperatures, pressure, acceleration and voltage, among an assortment of other uses.

James Croydon, Fiber Network Engineer and LC Fiber expert - focusing on Fiber Optic Test Equipment and Fiber Optic Patch Cables

The Difference Between Satellite Internet and DSL

2006-02-05T22:47:00.000-08:00

What is Satellite Internet? Getting high speed internet through satellite is called as satellite internet. Satellite internet is much faster than DSL or cable internet. Satellite internet can be accessed even in remote corners of the country. They are easy to install and operate. The internet speed is higher than DSL or cable internet. Satellite internet is also called as lightning fast internet connection. You can download heavy files in quick time and even listen to online radio uninterrupted. The internet speed is constant and does not fluctuate.

What is DSL? The full form of DSL is Digital Subscriber Line. DSL internet is faster than cable internet. It is a broadband internet connection and files can be uploaded and downloaded quickly. The most important point is you need not require any new cabling to be connected to DSL internet. You can simultaneously connect through the phone lines for accessing internet and receive and make calls too. DSL internet is much more faster than dialup internet. While you opt for a DSL internet connection, you get a DSL modem for connecting to the internet.

The differences between Satellite Internet and DSL:

· You can stay connected to the internet always with the help of satellite internet. The satellite internet service provides two way internet access, which provides internet speed without fluctuations in bandwidth. While in DSL internet, the internet speed is not constant.

· Satellite internet does not require huge cabling or telephone connection to access the internet. The speed of the internet is also constant as satellite internet uses two way high speed internet. In DSL internet the internet speed depends on the telephone wires and in case there is some cabling fault then your DSL internet would come to a stand still. The better the quality of your telephone cable the better your internet speed.

· Satellite internet service is accessable anywhere at any time. You can use satellite internet even in remote places. DSL internet can be accessed where there are telephone lines.

· The downloading speeds of audio and video files are smooth while in DSL internet the files take a lot of time to download.

· If you stay in a city or a rural area the speed of the satellite internet would be the same while with DSL internet the speed would be high if you are near the main office of the DSL service provider. The farther you are located from the main office of the DSL service provider the lower the internet speed.

The best Internet solution: With technology improving day by day, the demand for internet with faster bandwidth and downloading speeds has increased and this in turn has led to satellite internet. Satellite internet can be accessed anywhere which is the most important part of this technology. No cable and no hassles for internet connection and installation. Satellite internet connection is more reliable than a DSL or dial up internet connection. If you feel that there is a need for changing your internet connection opting for a satellite internet connection would be the ideal solution.

Paul has been providing answers to lots of queries through his website on a wide variety of subjects ranging from satellite phones to acne. To learn more visit http://www.askaquery.com/Answers/qn1563.html

You are welcome to republish the above article only if you add our hyperlinked URL.

This Thing we Call the Internet

2006-02-05T21:31:00.000-08:00

Where is this Going?
Good question. If you are referring to this article, I am somewhat disappointed but if you"re referring to the Internet, we can do business. Most of us have an approximate knowledge of the history behind how and why the Internet was conceived but what we have an even less of an idea about is where is it going. If you haven"t managed to catch one of those documentaries examining the Internet"s past, I won"t waste you"re time by telling you about it when there are probably thousands of websites that can do it more justice than I can in a few lines of text here.

Anyway, back to our question. Where is the Internet going? If we can just continue the analogy of the Internet being a child, it was born in the autumn of 1969 and is now a 36 year old man with more money, more fame, more attention and more admirers than any other person that ever lived. Thankfully the Internet is not a man otherwise it would have an ego even bigger than that of Arnold Schwarzenegger. By the way, he was once asked a serious question "What do you think of gay marriages," and his answer was "that"s between a man and a woman."

But jokes aside, we have in fact created a monster that Dr Frankenstein would have been proud of. The Internet touches a very large percentage of the human race. It makes the job of communicating opinions, products, services and a great deal else besides so often so seamless that we cannot help but fall head-over-heals for its mesmerising charm. And yet, behind the façade of colourful pages containing banners, links, images, animations and words, lies an uneasy, almost eerie feeling that we have in fact lost control of this thing we call the Internet.

Have we Lost Control?
Consider this. If, say in five year"s time, it was found that the Internet was causing some serious detriment to human life, could we put a stop to it. I think not. The only precedent that I can think of is the attempt by the Chinese government to sanitise the content to which their people may have access. But, let"s be realistic. It"s almost like trying to stem the Pacific ocean. As long as people use the Internet, it will grow and the more people that use it the faster it will grow. Yes, but grow into what?

Do we Envisage a Happy Ending to the Internet
If we treat it as an invention we can try to predict its future by looking at other inventions that large numbers of people use. Say for example the motor car. The very first one was steam driven and came into being around 1723. That makes it 282 years old. Nowadays, they are everywhere and we couldn"t imagine being without them. As it turns out, it"s not so much the motor car itself that causes us problems (aside from the road accidents) but the exhaust fumes it leaves behind. The trouble with the car is that eventually there will be so many of them, as world population increases, that we shall run out of road space to such an extent that there will be a premium on road usage as opposed to car usage. So I think we can see that the future of the motor car isn’t really that bright.

But there is a great difference between the motor car and the Internet. Like all good inventions, the motor car has one well defined purpose and that is transportation. The Internet, intentionally or otherwise, serves many purposes. E-commerce is but one example. Browsing for information is another function. Entertainment is huge. These purposes in themselves are very large generic entities that branch into a multitude of different facets, all of them purporting to serve the end user.

What I"m trying to get across is that the Internet is not like any other invention. Its purposes are many and each one is a tiny branch upon the countless tentacles emanating from a central mass of major websites that attract the most traffic. If you haven"t already guessed, these are the "good" sides to the internet. What about the sides to it that nobody wants to talk about.

Pornography
There is a statistic that says 90% of all browsing or searching has a connection to or affinity with pornography of one sort or another. We all know this but we don"t really like to talk about it. There is no limit to the depravity that webmasters won"t stoop to in order to feed yet another base desire which is greed. But you may argue that pornography has been with us for a very long time, so why should it worry us now? It"s the method of delivery. If a country wanted to control or censor images of this sort via conventional means, the possible sources could easily be identified, approached and stopped. Television companies, mainstream newspapers and magazines are three examples. It is even possible to curb the purchase of publications by those not of adult age. In addition, there is also the embarrassment factor which may sometimes prevent the prospect from approaching a counter or a till and coming face-to-face with another human being or speaking on the phone to order some illicit cable channel.

I am thinking primarily of the children who make up a large segment of the online population and it is nothing to enter sites that display the most appalling images. And as we all know, the depravity does not stop there. It goes far beyond that for those wishing to pay for services.

Hatred
There are many sites that incite racial, cultural and religious hatred. These do nothing more than fuel people"s prejudices about other people. They are not in the same league as opinion or freedom of speech. If the written word or picture causes tempers to flare and anger to inflame, it has no beneficial effect. On the other hand, if it depicts truth (and we have to be very careful about the facts that led to the truth) it should never be suppressed. These checks and balances, alas, cannot be guaranteed on the Internet. It does not recognise boundaries, taboos and sensitivities because no one can predict the age and background of the visitor.

Illegal Activity
There is of course a plethora of websites and schemes all wanting to scam us out of some amount in return for some idea. No doubt, many thousands fall for these things every day, especially if they are newcomers. Chain letters, pyramid schemes and unsolicited emails are just three examples. Every single aspect of fraudulent activity may be found on the Internet. Happily, we can write articles and visit conscientious websites that genuinely warn people to be aware of such things.

Conclusion
Where is the Internet going? Simple extrapolation shows that the negative sides will grow much faster than the positive ones because there is a lot more of it. This means that come another decade, we could start to see technologies being created to control the Internet perhaps using the United Nations as a means to implement or police the International Internet Community. It will be a pity because, as it is always the case, whenever you take blanket measures to do away with negative activity, there is always damage to the good side as well. It might mean waiting months or years for the vetting process to be finalised before anyone is allowed to start a website. It could be that entire nations maybe disenfranchised from the Internet because they are deemed to be "unsuitable". These are just some examples of how the Internet might go.

However, we, the users of the Internet can do something about it now. The only way to kill a website is to starve it of visitors. If people were to change their habits and avoid sites that they knew had any of the negative things mentioned above, we could effectively police the Internet ourselves. I have to be honest though and say that given our human nautre, I don"t really hold out much hope of this happening any time soon.

In the meantime, here is a website dedicated to a new book of mine which is a supernatural come science-fiction novel. Please click on http://www.willofdreams.com to visit and learn more about the author and the book. Thank you for your attention.

OPENING SPEECH MADE BY THE PRIME MINISTER, RT HON. TONY BLAIR AT THE LONDON CONFERENCE ON AFGHANISTAN

2006-02-05T13:26:00.000-08:00

TUESDAY, 31 JANUARY 2006 (31/01/06)
Opening Speech made by the Prime Minister
LONDON CONFERENCE

Good morning and welcome to everyone from so many different countries around the world to this London Conference, and a special welcome of course to President Karzai and to Secretary General Annan, but also to all the Ministers and distinguished guests here today.

Your presence here underlines the commitment of your countries, and indeed of the whole of the international community, to helping the Afghan people build the stable, and prosperous, and democratic future that they want. We all know the immense challenge that Afghanistan faces. The purpose of the Conference today is of course to sign the London Compact, which will pledge us to help Afghanistan in any way that we can for the future. My own country over the next three years is committed to some £500 million worth of help, but we are also not just committing financial assistance, but of course the forces. The armed forces of many countries around this table are represented in Afghanistan.

Later this year, as we assume the leadership of the NATO International Security Assistance Force, many of our troops will be there in even greater number in Afghanistan, and I would like to pay tribute to the work that all the forces do there and the immense courage and bravery that they show.

I would also, if I may right at the outset, pay tribute to the work that was done first by Japan, but also through the Bonn Process by Germany, to the work that has been done over the past few years in helping Afghanistan make the progress that it has. In addition I would like to thank the United Nations and the Secretary General and his colleagues for all the commitment and dedication that they have shown in helping this process.

Now today, as we know, Afghanistan faces immense challenges. But let us also remember the tremendous progress that has been made. I don"t just mean progress in terms of its economy, where the living standards of the people have risen and the economy has grown, but I also mean the progress in terms of the liberty and freedom that people enjoy in Afghanistan, when for so long they were denied it. Some 8 million people voted in the Presidential election, almost 7 million in the Parliamentary elections, 40 per cent of those were women

There are millions of children back at school, many of them girls denied the chance to be educated during the period of the Taliban"s rule. And what is important is to remember that progress when we face up to the scale of the challenge that we now face. Because what is happening in Afghanistan is important of course primarily for the Afghan people, but I believe it is important as well for the whole of the international community.

Let us be very clear about the scale of the challenge that Afghanistan faces. Of course there is the narcotics trade which is important to combat at every single level, which is why we support the national drugs strategy of the President, and why it is so important that we make sure that we continue to offer alternative livelihoods for those that may otherwise gain their livelihoods through the drugs trade. But most of all, Afghanistan faces the threat of terrorism, of those who want to wreck its progress, of those who want to turn the clock back, of those who want to say to the Afghan people who in their millions have voted for democratic freedom, you must not have it, instead you must return to the days of extremism and fanaticism.

And therefore I think when we gather today as an international community in order to pledge our support for Afghanistan, we do so of course to help Afghanistan and to help its people, but we do so also because the struggle of the Afghan people to have democracy and stability is representative of the struggle worldwide to ensure that people have the opportunity for democracy and freedom when that is what they choose to do.

All of us who have armed forces in this situation know that they face danger. The British troops that will go to Afghanistan face danger there, as they do now in Iraq. But why is it important that we stick with it and see the job through as an international community? It is important in order to demonstrate that where people stand up for terrorism and opt for democracy, we will be on their side, it is to demonstrate that in offering the prospect of a decent future to countries that want to become democracies, we offer not merely the prospect of stability, but enhance our own prospects for stability and against extremism on our own streets in our own countries.

Most of the countries round this table have experienced terrorism and extremism. Most of us know how repugnant that is to the majority of our populations, whatever their religion, Christian or Muslim. Most of us also know that when we suffer a challenge or a set-back, the answer is not to walk away, the answer is to redouble our efforts to succeed and make sure the decent people, the decent majority who want freedom and democracy, have the chance to have it.

So when we gather here today to sign the Compact, to pledge ourselves to support Afghanistan over the time to come, we do so in the interests of helping the Afghan people, and you Mr President, who embody in many ways the hopes and aspirations of the Afghan people, we do so of course to help you, but we should not forget how this began. It began with an attack, a terrorist attack, the worst terrorist attack this world has ever seen, on September 11. Now maybe the international community should have taken action long before, but that spurred us to take the action. That is why this is a struggle that of course primarily concerns the Afghan people, but it is also a struggle that concerns all of us, and it is why we are here today and it is why we are determined to see this through. It is why whatever your challenges we will be there with you, at your side, helping you. It is in your interest to do so, it is in our interest to do so, it is in the interest of the whole of the international community. This is a struggle for freedom, and for moderation, and for democracy and we are with you in it.

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2006-02-05T01:04:00.000-08:00

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The Origins of Valentines Day

2006-02-04T12:04:00.000-08:00

Every year February 14th is celebrated as a day for love, exchange of gifts, promises of eternal passion, and more. The inspired pen poems inspired by their love and admiration for the women of their dreams while others just go to shops and buy commercially available verses.

Valentines means candy, chocolates, perfume, red hearts, balloons, and more. Have you ever wondered when the celebration first originated? Well in ancient Rome, February heralded the coming to spring a time for rejuvenation, fertility, and growth.

In ancient times, Romans celebrated in February a festival to honor the god of fertility who provided them with progeny and ensured a god crop. In Rome February 15th was celebrated as the feast of Lupercalla and Feb 14th as a holiday in honor of Juno the queen of Roman gods and goddesses. On the eve of Lupercalla a glass jar was filled to the brim with chits on which were penned the names of all eligible girls. Then young men would draw a chit each from the jar and the girl whose name was on the chit would be his partner for the celebration. This was a method by which ancient Romans introduced eligible boys and girls to one another.

Much later in the 3rd century BCE when Emperor Claudius II ruled Rome there lived a priest called Valentine. And when Claudius passed a decree that young men in his empire were not to marry, Valentine defied him and used to consecrate marriages secretly. He was sentenced to death and thrown into prison. While awaiting his execution Valentine penned a letter to his love and signed it “from your Valentine.” After his death Valentine became a martyr and saint and was popularly known as St Valentine.

Wonderful legends are woven around Valentine’s Day. In Wales young people exchanged as gifts wooden spoons which were hand carved with decorations of hearts and key holes. The decorations conveyed “you hold the key to my heart or you unlock my heart.” In other places women were given gifts of clothes and if they accepted the gift then it conveyed that they were wiling to marry the man who has sent the gift.

In 1415, Charles, the Duke of Orleans is known to have penned, from his prison in the tower of London , what were known as “poetical amorous addresses” to his wife in France, he is believed to be one of the earliest creators of valentines.

Just as companies like Hallmark sell cards for Valentines Day in the 15th century people bought little booklets with verse in them ---they then made their own valentines using the verse to express their thoughts. For example a valentine could have the hand drawn illustration of a knight and his lady with Cupid the god of love shooting arrows into the knight’s heart. In the US it was after 1723, that popularity of the celebration grew. People imported the “booklets of verse” all the way from England and copied the verses on to gilt edged papers. Then a Ms. Ester Howard in around 1830 decided to be original and create American Valentines that were marketed as Worcester Valentines.

Since then with changing centuries and tastes the celebration has taken on new hues with young men and women, children, as well as older couples creating newer ways to celebrate and declare their undying love.

Paul Wilson is a freelance writer for http://www.1888PressRelease.com/Lifestyle-0-24.html, the premier website to Submit Free Press Release for any announcements including launching of new product or services, new website, announcing new hires, sponsoring a special event or seminar and more. He also freelances for http://www.1888Articles.com/love-articles-178_19.html

RADI ABDULLAH (225-268/840-881)

2006-02-02T23:42:00.000-08:00

Hussain bin Ahmad or Abu Abdullah, surnamed az-Zaki, known as Hussain ar-Radi, or Radi Abdullah (Servant of God who is satisfied and content), was born in 210/825 and assumed the Imamate in 225/840. He is also called Muhammad and al-Muqtada al-Hadi. His also kept his identity secret being represented by his hujjat, Ahmad, surnamed al-Hakim.

Tabari (3rd vol., p. 2232) refers to his son, al-Mahdi under the name of Ibn al-Basri (the son of Basra), emphasising the connection of Radi Abdullah with southern Mesopotamia and the adjoining province of Khuzistan.

The Abbasid caliph al-Mutasim (218-227/833-842) was followed in succession by al-Wasik (227-232/842-847), al-Mutawakkil (232-247/847- 861), al-Muntasir (247-248/861-862), al-Mustain (248-252/862-866), al-Mutaz (252-255/866-869), al-Muhtadi (255-256/869-870) and al- Mutamid (256-279/870-892).

Radi Abdullah is celebrated in devoting time to complete the task of his father, his teachings and institutions. In his time, the faith of the Ismailis spread by leaps and bounds with galloping speed through out the length and breath of Arabia.

Radi Abdullah was an erudite scholar and is celebrated to have epitomised "Ikhwan as-Safa" into an instructive synopsis (al-jamia). Its full name was "ar-Risalat al-Jamia" (the comprehensive espistle). It served as a substitute for the Epistle of "Ikhwan as-Safa" and was intended for private circulation among the more advanced members of the groups. The al-Jamia is the backbone of the Epistles, which was further summarized in "Risalat al-Jamiat al-Jamia an al-Zubdah min Rasail Ikhwan as-Safa" (the condensation of the comprehensive epistles, or the cream of the epistles of Ikhwan as-Safa).

It must be known that the monograph of "ar-Risalat al-Jamia" was awarded the first Howard Bliss Prize by the American University of Beirut in 1929, and was subsequently published serially in the Journal of that institution, vide "al-Kulliyat" (vol. xvii, 1930-1).

Ahmad bin Abdullah bin Maymun
He was born in 204/828 and had joined the Ismaili mission at youth. He conducted his activities in Iran and Iraq. His father had sent him with a deputation to make a survey in Yamen, where he collected the informations for the headquarters and also travelled as far as Bahrain. After his father"s death in 260/874, he returned to Salamia, where Radi Abdullah promoted him to the rank of hujjat. He was known in Salamia as Ahmad al-Hakim, and died in 275/888. He was a man of great ability and is credited with having surveyed the above regions for forthcoming mission works.

Mission of Ibn Hawshab in Yamen
Radi Abdullah had dispatched his dais in all directions, the most acclaimed among them was Abul Qassim Hasan bin Farah bin Hawshab, generally known by the epithet, Mansur al-Yamen (the victorious one of the Yamen). Ibn Hawshab was originally a Twelver, and is said to have spent most of time in a secluded spot on the bank of Euphrates. In such state, he is reported to have met Radi Abdullah and discoursed with him on religion. Imam left him after promising to see him again. Ibn Hawshab was impressed by his chance meeting with the Imam, and was eager to further meeting. After an anxious wait for several days, the Imam did not appear again, thus he became restless and began to search him. Despite his frantic efforts to locate the Imam"s whereabouts, he could not trace him. After sometimes, he accidently met the Imam"s deputy, and through him, Ibn Hawshab eventually succeeded in reaching the Imam"s presence. Radi Abdullah answered his queries to his satisfaction and assuaged his doubts, and at length he espoused Ismailism. Radi Abdullah imparted him the knowledge of Islamic creed, tenets and esoterism.

When the Imam found that Ibn Hawshab was firmly grounded in Ismaili faith and groomed enough for the responsibility of its promulgation, he jointly entrusted him and his colleague, Ibn Fazal, with the task of Ismaili mission in Yamen. Before they set off on their venture, Radi Abdullah summoned them in a private audience and urged to respect each other, and avoid any sort of religious difference. He also entrusted Ibn Hawshab with a voluminous tome which comprehensively dwelled upon the exoteric and esoteric aspects of Ismaili faith. Thus, being equipped with verbal as well as written guidances, both of them set forth on their mission to Yamen in 266/880. Mecca was their first destination, and accosted the pilgrim caravan from Yamen. They proceeded at last to Yamen, and after reaching, both of them separated. Ibn Hawshab headed towards the southern region, and focused his mind on the village of Adanla"a, thickly populated by the Shiites. He married to a local woman and settled down in Adanla"a under strict taqiya. He succeeded to convert the inhabitants. When he found the time appropriate to reveal his identity, he discreetly started his mission, inviting the people to the Ismaili fold and accepting oath of allegiance on behalf of Radi Abdullah and his successor. On other side, Ibn Fazal also followed similar tract, and succeeded in winning the sympathy and adherence of the people of Saroyafoa.

Ibn Hawshab had managed to take possession of a stronghold constructed on a hillock and made it his headquarters. He arranged military training for his followers. He also took possession of Jabal al-Jusaysah and Jabal al-Maswar. Ibn Hawshab however assured the people that his campaigns were neither after booty nor personal glory, but these were meant to promulgate true Islamic message through Ismailism. Finally, he conquered Sana"a, the capital of Yamen, and exiled the ruling tribe of Banu Laydir, and established Ismaili authority in Yamen.

The Ismaili mission reached the apex of its influence in Yamen, from where Ibn Hawshab dispatched many dais to the farthest corners. Thus, Yamen became a vital zone and an important hub of Ismaili dawa. In the time of Radi Abdullah, Abu Abdullah al-Shi"i had embraced Ismailism, who was sent to Yamen for further training. Ibn Hawshab was loyal to the Imam till his last breath and died in 302/914. While reading his biography, we will greatly move the streak of intellectual honesty which ran through his very nature.

Khalaf al-Hallaj
Abdullah bin Maymun (d. 260/874) is reported to have also sent a dai called Khalaf al-Hallaj, the cotton-dresser to Ray in about the middle of the third century with the instructions: "Go to Ray, because there are many Shias in Ray, Aba, Qumm, Kashan and the provinces of Tabaristan and Mazandaran, who will listen to your call." Khalaf went to the neighbourhood of Ray and resided in the district of Fashafuya, in a village called Kulin. He examined the local situation and started his secret mission. His secret activities however attracted attention, therefore he moved to nearby city of Ray, where he died. He is remembered as the founder of Ismaili dawa in Iran, and the converted people locally became known as Khalafiyya. He was succeeded by his son Ahmad, whose chief disciple was Ghiyath from the village of Kulin.

Radi Abdullah continued his peaceful living in Salamia, associating the local Hashimites. He also kept on good terms with the local governor. He seems to have been active in scholarly matters without a bearing in the politics. He was rolling in plenty; yet he contented himself with plain dress and simple food. He was humble in disposition and very hospitable. He is said to have granted allowances from his wealth to the poor and disabled persons in Salamia without discrimination between the Ismailis and non-Ismailis. Tradition has it that he was fond of horsing, shooting, hunting and archery, which had been also a favourite pastime of the Hashimites in Syria.

When Radi Abdullah felt that the shadows of his death were closing upon him, he consigned the office of Imamate to his son, Muhammad al- Mahdi, saying, according to Ibn Khaldun that: "You are the promised Mahdi. You would take refuge in a remote land after my death, where you would have to submit to hard trials." (vide "Tarikh", Karachi, 1966, 5th vol., p. 93).

Radi Abdullah died in 268/881 at Salamia while he was travelling in the vicinity, appointing before his death as his trustee his own brother, Muhammad bin Ahmad, surnamed Sa"id al-Khayr as the guardian of his son, al-Mahdi. His death in 268/881 remarkably marks the termination of dawr-i satr (concealment period) in the Ismaili history.

Hidden Imams in Dawr-i Satr
It is worth mentioning that the most important aspect of the Ismailism, which deserves serious treatment is to keep everything secret under the garb of taqiya connected with their faith, tending their enemies to contrived baseless stories and myths against them. The veiled period (dawr-i satr) thus became benigh climate for them to cultivate different wrong genealogies of the Imams. Thus, the ancestry of the Fatimids has confounded the students of history due to divergent accounts given by the historians, which had been developed round the persons of the "hidden Imams" (aima"i masturin) during concealment period. The widespread Abbasid propaganda, the derogatory attitude of Sunnite and Shiite authors make difficult to decide one way or the other about the legitimacy of their claim. In the light of the Fatimid policy, we are inclined to believe that the Fatimids deliberately seem to have avoided discussing the matter of their ancestry. It emerges from this a safe conclusion that it was a preconceived plan of the Fatimids to keep their genealogy a top secret, owing to the intricate and dark passages it passed through and due to contradictions involved in the adoption of assumed names by the hidden Imams.

The variety of lineages suggested by the writers amounted to several hundreds, and the lineage between Wafi Ahmad and Radi Abdullah alone has been altered in no less than fifty ways. Since the hidden Imams had assumed different names in various regions to outsiders, in order to evade the vigilance of the Abbasids, the historians derived their informations on hearsay. The Ismaili Imams of that period were too cautious to disclose their true names; instead they assumed names, other than their owns and used for themselves the names of their dais. The hidden Imams, for the most part, could not pass the settled lives in specific places, but were known by names other than their own, sometimes by names of their dais and hujjats as a precautionary measure designed to ward off the danger of their persons being discovered.

The absence of detailed biographies of the three hidden Imams is also the result of their having lived in strict disguise. This seems quite probable, if one realizes the situation very seriously. What in fact would the popular memory preserve about the Imams when these were living ostensibly as local merchants, carrying on their business, associating with friends, directing their followers through secret agency of mission, marrying, educating their children, etc. The memory of these traditions is very meagre, retaining only reminiscences of the most important names and events. Similarly, the Ismaili dais also disguised as pious merchants of slightly lower standing, also left behind very trivial traces. Thus the leaving of any trace of their activities in writing was obviously avoided as much as possible. W.Ivanow writes in "The Rise of the Fatimids" (Calcutta, 1942, pp. 43-44) that, "Thus the long blank period in the story of the Imams, living in such conditions, cannot reasonably be taken as valid proof of the falsity of their claims to continuous succession from their original ancestor, Ismail b. Jafar."

Even though the period of concealment and fear of the Abbasids were no longer in existence, the Fatimids were insistent not to divulge the names of their earlier three hidden Imams, the link between Imam al-Mahdi and Imam Muhammad bin Ismail. It seems quite possible that these Imams had assumed names for more than one time, and hid their true names, and were too complicated to be clarified. The followers also seem to have given much priority on the Imam of the time, descending from Muhammad bin Ismail. This secrecy however led too much confusion and made it too hard to locate the real names of the hidden Imams. It is also a striking feature that these three hidden Imams are not mentioned by the early renowned Ismaili scholars, viz. Abu Hatim ar-Razi (d. 322/934), Qadi Noman (d. 363/974), Jafar bin Mansur al-Yamen (d. 365/975) and other authors of 4th/10th century.

Commenting the aggressive attitude of the historians, Ivanow writes in "The Rise of the Fatimids" (Calcutta, 1942, p. 29) that, "With their predominantly hostile tendency, each author vie with the others in inventing something more humiliating and scandalous for the dynasty." The diversity of the names of the three hidden Imams can be judged from the following list of some special surname and epithet, whose implications were intelligible only to the trusted followers, indicating a causative factor of the contradictions in the sources:

ABDULLAH : Radi, Ahmad, Abu Muhammad, al-Wafi AHMAD : Wafi, Muhammad, Abul Hussain, at-Taqi. HUSSAIN : Muhammad, Taqi, Ahmad, Abu Abdullah, az-Zaki, al-Muqtada al-Hadi, ar-Radi.

The fact about the Imams assuming the above code names in one or more times can be derived from the letter of Imam al-Muizz (341-365/953-975), which he routed in 354/965 to his dai in Sind, named Jaylam bin Shayban, which is preserved in the 5th volume of "Uyun"l-Akhbar" by Idris Imaduddin. According to "Expose de la Religion des Druzes" (Paris, 1838, p. 252) by de Sacy, "These men (hidden Imams) obliged to seek concealment, took sometimes one name and sometimes another, in order to shelter from the pursuit of their enemies." John Nicholson also writes in "Establishment of the Fatemide Dynasty in Northern Africa" (1840, p. 12) that, "They themselves have taken different names at different times in order to elude discovery."

According to "an-Naqdu"l-Khafi" by Hamza (cf. "Expose de la Religion des Druzes" by Silverstre de Sacy, Paris, 1838, p. 74) that the Fatimid Caliph, al-Muizz had once said: "I am the seventh in the second heptad." As is well known, al-Muizz was the 14th Imam in the second heptad. The Imams of the first heptad were seven and the seventh one was Muhammad bin Ismail, and the Imams followed after him were also seven to make al-Muizz as the 14th Imam. Hence, the 13th Imam was al-Mansur, the 12th was al-Qaim and 11th was al-Mahdi. It therefore emerges conclusively that there must have been three Imams between al-Mahdi and Muhammad bin Ismail, whose names were Abdullah (Wafi Ahmad), Ahmad (Taqi Muhammad) and Hussain (Radi Abdullah) from 8th to 10th in the sequence. W. Ivanow writes in "Ismailis and Qarmatians" (JBBRAS, Bombay, 1940, p. 74) that, "Being the fourth Fatimid Caliph, al-Muizz was the seventh Imam after Muhammad bin Ismail. Thus this formally rejects the theory of the Fatimids descending from Abdullah bin Maymun."

The statement of al-Muizz however does not contain the explicit names of the "three hidden Imams", but before that, it is known that al-Mahdi had sent a letter in Yamen, which reached there after his arrival in Mahdiya in 308/921. Jafar bin Mansur al-Yamen (d. 365/975) had quoted the letter in his "al-Fara"id wa Hudud ad-Din" (pp. 13-19), wherein the names of the three hidden Imams have been mentioned, viz. Abdullah, Ahmad and Muhammad. Dr. Sami Nasib Makarem writes in "The Hidden Imams of the Ismailis" (al-Abhath, 21, 1969, p. 24) in this context that, "If al-Mahdi"s letter is authentic, it is one of the oldest documents that have come to light until now, and, consequently a most reliable document, especially because it was written by the Caliph al-Mahdi himself."

Among the later Ismaili historians, Ahmad bin Muhammad an-Naysaburi, the author of "Istitaru"l-Imam", compiled under Imam al-Aziz (365-386/975-996) seems first to have mentioned the names of the three hidden Imams. Later on, such references appear in the works of Hamiduddin Kirmani (d. 408/1017), in his "Tanbihu"l-Hadi wa"l-Mustahdi" and "ar-Risalat al-Wa"iza". Idris Imaduddin (d. 872/1468) in "Uyun"l-Akhbar" and Hasan bin Nuh Broachi (d. 939/1533) in "Kitabu"l Azhar", had also advanced brief biographies of the three hidden Imams.

In sum, R. Strothmann writes in "Gnosis-Texte der Ismailiten" (Gottingen, 1943, p. 59) that, "The three Imams followed by Muhammad bin Ismail were in concealment: Abdullah al-Rida, Ahmad al-Wafi and Hussain al-Taqi, and finally the beginning of the Fatimid dynasty with al-Mahdi."

Jesus, Master Internet Marketer

2006-02-02T13:14:00.000-08:00

Now I know what you are thinking. Jesus hasn"t physically walked the earth since the first century A.D. and the internet wasn"t invented until the 20th century, let alone internet marketing, so how could Jesus have been a master internet marketer? Ok, ok, I am speculating a little bit. But if Jesus was physically here now He would have been a master internet marketer! Consider:

Jesus had a mission"s statement or a goal

Jesus was focused

Jesus used freebies

Jesus had an affiliate program

Jesus used viral marketing

Jesus used awesome sale"s copy

1 Jesus had a mission"s statement or goal

We read in Luke 19:10, "For the Son of man (Jesus) is come to seek and to save that which was lost." Is that a mission"s statement or what? Jesus knew exactly what His purpose on this earth was for. He spent His entire adult life working to achieve that goal. It is imperative for an internet marketer to know exactly what he hopes to accomplish. Having a mission or a goal compels you to establish a direction or a plan to follow. Jesus did this. It was His plan to go to the cross to die for the sins of mankind. That was the purpose of His miracles, His teachings, and His presentation to the Jewish people as their Messiah.

Now your goal certainly won"t be as lofty as that; nevertheless, you must still have a plan. For example, what if your goal was to have more free time with your family? How would you accomplish this? You certainly could not work for some other employer because they don"t care about your wife and kids. They are concerned about what you can do for them. So you have to become self-employed! Now you must calculate how much money do you need to replace your income to ensure that your bills are being paid. Then you must decide what is the best way to do that. Do I sell ebooks online, software, start a membership site, and etc. There are many different options that you can choose.

2. Jesus was focused

Everything that Jesus said and did was for the above stated mission-to redeem mankind. He did not allow Himself to become distracted. In Luke 9:51 it is recorded, "And it came to pass, when the time was come that He (Jesus) should be received up, He steadfastly set His face to Jerusalem." Remember, Christ was going to the cross to die a horrible death for you and me, and even though it wasn"t something that you or I might look forward to, He was focused! Why, because He saw past the death, pain, and agony, He saw our redemption. When Christ sat in the company of sinners, He didn"t see them as sinners, but as saints!

It is easy to get distracted! A friend calls, unexpected guests come over for a visit, and before you know it, the time that you set aside for internet marketing is already gone! You must remain focused. Look past the agonizing hours of reading and writing emails. Look past the tedious task of building your web site. Look past the exhausting hours of locating link partners. And look forward to the time that you will have with your family and the freedom to do whatever you desire to do!

3. Jesus used freebies

The freebies that Jesus used were His miracles. He did not use them boastfully, but for the purpose of confirming who He was and that His message and work was of His Father. These miracles were not some cheap hocus-pocus act, but were very valuable. He fed crowds of 5,000 plus when no one had any food, but a young lad who brought his lunch to hear Jesus teach. He gave sight to the blind, hearing to the deaf, made the lame to walk again, and even raised the dead. No, these were not cheap giveme"s, but valuable and many times necessary gifts!

Likewise, a master internet marketer will offer his subscribers and potential customers quality gifts that they can use. Ebooks, software, reports, and etc. I even have a friend who offers a free professional autoresponder service. The freebies offered should not be cheap out-of-date material, but valuable wealth-earning items. Remember, the quality of the freebie represent and confirms the quality of your message and product!

4. Jesus had an affiliate program

What do you mean Jesus had an affiliate program? What I mean is that Christ didn"t do all the work. He didn"t do all the teaching and all the preaching, nor all the miracles. At first He had ordained twelve men to spread His word and then seventy more. Jesus provided His affiliates with tools. He empowered them to do miracles and to cast out demons in His name. He also offered in- centives or rewards to them for faithfulness. Looking through the New Testament there are five(5) crowns that can be won by His followers.

The same is true with exceptional Internet Marketers today. They realize that they can accomplish more and earn more money by having an affiliate program. The exceptional affiliate programs offer banners, text links, sample emails, and etc. to aid the affiliate. The exceptional netrepreneurs will offer incentives or rewards to their top performing affiliates!

5. Jesus used viral marketing.

After Jesus" death, burial, and resurrection He gave a commission to His disciples that they were to go throughout the world teaching, preaching, and baptizing in the name of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit. Not only were they to win the unbeliever, but they were to teach them to do just the same!

The most effective way to reach a great number of people is to tell a first group and to have them pass the message on down the line, and so on, and so on. You may not be able to reach 1 million on your own, but you can reach 100, and they can reach 10,000, and then they can reach 1 million.

6. Jesus used awesome sale"s copy

Jesus used awesome sale"s copy when He taught. He frequently used parables which are nothing more than simple earthly stories with heavenly meanings. The stories were so simple that even a child could understand them. Not everyone accepted Jesus" teachings, but all understood to some degree what He was saying. Jesus always brought His hearers to a decision. Jesus gave His hearers quality content and not fluff. What the hearer decided about what he had heard determined the destiny of his eternal soul.

The master internet marketer will use stories and testimonies in his sale"s copy. He will illustrate how the product or service that he is promoting will benefit the customer and he will bring them to a decision whether to buy or not to buy. He doesn"t leave them hanging wondering what to do next. He offers them quality so that he will have repeat business.

Summary
Jesus had the attributes of a master internet marketer even though He did not own a computer, nor have access to the internet. Have you incorporated these 6 qualities into your online business? If not, do so today and watch your subscriber lists grow and your sales increase.

Mark Butts is the owner of these fine sites and uses his profits to support his missionary efforts in the Philippines. http://www.affordablelifetimehosting.com
http://www.newbies-starter-kit.com
http://mission-philippines.us

Link Building A Easy Search Engine Optimization

2006-02-02T12:51:00.000-08:00

Success in life comes through building and sustaining both personal and professional relationships. As human beings, we strive to be at the right place at the right time in order to make the right connection. We quickly learn that each right connection links to another and before we know it, we are part of a network.

Do you wonder why your site does not receive the traffic you believe it deserves? The only people visiting your website are current customers. Where are the new customers the web designer promised you? One of the most overlooked steps in creation of a website is Search Engine Optimization (SEO). We like to think that search engines will crawl our website and shazaam, like magic, we appear at the top of the results for our keywords. Unfortunately, it rarely works that way. We need to build relationships or "links" to our sites. While this can be a daunting endeavor, it can be very rewarding.

We are going to look at link building theory and practice. How do you let the world, more accurately the web, know you are open for business? Where do you begin building links? What about link building software? What are directories? Who are your top competitors? Who links to them? How do you ask for a link? Do you want reciprocal links? How many links do you need? These are the questions all website owners and link builders need to answer.

Search engines look at links as votes. The more links your website has, the more votes it has to be number 1, or the "authority" on your subject matter. Not all links are created equal. Links from more popular websites are weighted heavier then links from less popular sites. Search engines are now smart enough to know that content is related, so, links from relevant sites are more important then links from sites which are irrelevant.

The link text will help you rank better for your keywords. If possible get into the major directories. Avoid FFA"s or "Free For All" link farms.

How Do You Let The World Know You Are Open For Business?

PR or public relations. The way most link builders will approach this is to create a press release that is disseminated to the right people. How do we know we reach the right people? In a recent talk with Eric Ward, the father of link building, I learned that most of the press release web services allow a person to subscribe to items that interest them. If a person runs a widget website and is interested in widgets, they will receive any press release that is related to widgets. Often, they may list the new widget information on their own website. That"s an easy link. The press release itself is another link. Yes, it may cost a bit of money to draft and the service may not be free, but you have built several links with a simple press release.

Link Building Software

Link building software automates the task of collecting relevant sites and their contact information, based on keywords. Many of the available software packages include an automatic contact manager that allows you to contact sites with very little effort. It is generally excepted that you should not use the automatic contact features. Instead use the software to identify sites and contact them manually. Many webmasters feel the automated emails to be spam and will reject, with prejudice, any site that asks for a link using them. Software should be used in addition to other link building strategies.

The Directories

The major pay for inclusion directories include Yahoo and Business.com. These directories charge to be included in their database of websites. They are often used by major search engines to help determine rank. Don"t forget the free directories such as the ODP and joeant.com. The ODP (Open Directory Project) is at http://dmoz.org. They are selective on the sites they include. Not all websites will be able to obtain a link at the ODP. joeant.com on the other hand is very easy to get into. You will have to join to enter your site into their database, it"s very easy to do, and is a super easy link to obtain.

Who Are Your Top Competitors?

It is important to seek out your top competitors, the websites that are ranking on the first page of search results for your keywords. Knowing who is at the top, and who links to them is the first and foremost part of link building.

Who Links To Them?

Returning to our link building is like life analogy, imagine you operate a linen laundry. As a linen laundry owner, you wouldn"t want to network with people who are involved in high technology or manufacturing. You would want to network with people who are in the hospitality or closely related industries. Restaurants, hotels or people who interact with them on a frequent basis. That is if we have a website that deals with the latest widgets and widget reviews, we wouldn"t want to waste time seeking links from automobile manufacturers (unless the widgets are automobile related). We want links from other widget and widget related websites.

The easiest way to determine who is linking to your top competitors is to use the link: command in your search engine of choice. The Google link command seems to be broken, so use a search engine other then Google. For an example we will use a fictional company URLProject, with the URL of http://www.URLProject.com. URLProject is at the top of the search engines for your search term "widget reviews". Because of this, we want to see who links to URLProject. Just enter "link: www.URLProject.com" (without quotation marks) into your favorite SE, other then Google of course.

(Editor"s Note: The Google link command was working when checked by SiteProNews.)

Follow this procedure for the top 5 or 6 sites that use your keywords. Compile a list competitor websites and their incoming links. We will use the list as a source for our link building strategy.

Asking For A Link

We now have a list of website pages that link to URLProject and can now see if we can get our site listed on the page as well. You will need to visit the pages listed. It is important that when you write an email to a webmaster that it is obvious you have visited the site yourself and that it is not a machine generated email (spam). You will need to determine the email address of the person you need to send your request to. Be sure to state why you deserve to be listed on their page, as well as a few compliments about their website, and your contact information. Be courteous and succinct. Most webmasters have little time to deal with their daily tasks. Most important, ask for link text that uses your keywords, not your company name. Using our widget example, you would ask for a link with the text "My Life Cycle reviews", or in HTML
< a href="MyLifeCycle .com" > My Life Cycle Reviews < /a >.

Reciprocal Links

Generally, reciprocal links are not weighted as heavily as non reciprocal links. I usually only offer a reciprocal link if I really want a link from a high traffic site that demands a reciprocal link.

How Many Links Do You Need?

Your work at link building will never end. The good news is that as your site becomes an authority on your subject matter, websites will link to you on their own.

Your Options

You have three options when it comes to link building. Hire someone, don"t worry about it or Do It Yourself.

The first option is a good option, but, it can be very expensive. Professional link builders often charge $20 a link + the cost of the link (yes, websites sell links). As you can see, this can add up quickly. Building a hundred links through a professional link builder could easily cost $2,000!

The don"t worry about it option doesn"t cost a thing. But, don"t expect any traffic. The World Wide Web is a collection of links. Each site pointing to other sites. Without links, your otherwise brilliant and insightful website will slowly die a horrible lonely death.

This article is written with the DYI"er in mind. I wish you good luck in your link building adventures!

I have founded several internet publications on the seo tutorials, articles and reviews. I just want to share these information with you. http://www.mylifecycle.com

Learn more about website news here

Business Marketing Publicity Targets 96% of where Customers Learn about New Products and Technology

2006-02-02T12:25:00.000-08:00

Who wouldn’t like to reach 96% of their target market with one business to business marketing plan? According to a survey published in the September 1, 2005 issue of “Electronic Design” magazine, it can be done. When asked, “Where do you find the most useful information about new products and technology?” the respondents ranked print magazines (54%), Web searches (23%, Google primarily), and E-mail newsletters (19%, which includes RSS feeds) as the top three sources. This covers 96% of the bases, relegating trade shows (2%) and word of mouth (2%) to being almost inconsequential. This comes as good news for anyone using business to business marketing for lead generation.

These numbers show that print is roughly equal to the Internet in value; you can’t neglect either without significantly hindering your marketing campaign. Of the electronic half of the marketing publicity equation, Internet searches on Google account for a slightly larger percentage. However, unless done correctly, simply posting optimized” press releases on the Web will not necessarily land a company on the first page of a search.

Most companies have done some search engine optimization (SEO) for their site, so the playing field is level. Taking optimization to the next level, a marketing or public relations firm must generate optimized releases and articles that go out on major wire services with embedded links to the relevant pages on a client’s website. And they should be syndicated with RSS content feeds to increase visibility with new audiences.

Rounding out a close third are Internet newsletters. In particular, RSS newsletters are quickly becoming an excellent marketing tool as this medium makes it easy to display high-quality, relevant news on a company’s Website, and to syndicate its news and content elsewhere.

Just as for news releases, though, anything written for RSS must employ all available SEO techniques so critical for visibility when a prospective customer is searching your keywords. Once correctly optimized, major search engines seek out RSS feeds and view them as legitimate news sources. Here lies one of the greatest strengths of any marketing publicity effort: that customers readily recognize the editorial copy of electronic or print media outlets as fairly objective arbiters of the “real” story. For this reason, editorial copy is read six times more than advertising, according to some studies.

Without print, optimized press releases and RSS feeds, there will be gaping holes in your business to business marketing strategy and it will be difficult, if not impossible, to get to the 96% saturation level. But with the right online marketing plan, lead generation should more than take care of itself.

By John Elliott. Founder of Power PR, a business to business marketing firm based in Torrance, CA. http://www.powerpr.com/why_business_to_business_marketing.html Power PR specializes in marketing publicity using both offline and online news media. Contact John at 3711 Lomita Blvd., Suite 200, Torrance, CA 90505; (310) 787-1940; fax (310) 787-1970; on the Web at http://www.powerpr.com

Make Money Online With High-Paying Surveys, Auto-Surfing, and Data Entry, Using Very Little Money

2006-02-02T11:57:00.000-08:00

With the advent of the internet, a new world of hope and opportunities has been made available to everyone. The problem is, this same world has been laden with many scams and con- artists as well, taking advantage of people looking to make a good income online. While there are almost an unlimited amount of ways to make money online, I will just focus on the three methods that have personally made me a fortune and hope that someday it will do the same for you.

Method One: Paid Surveys Online

This first method has been made quite popular in recent years due to its ease and speed of making money. You get paid on a one-time basis by various companies to take a survey of your opinions about either an idea, product, movie, or any consumer item you can think of. These companies pay money for real people to evaluate their products because they need legitimate, real-world opinions about how good or bad their products are, or if there are any flaws associated with them. It is done all the time and it is very cost-effective for these companies to do these surveys, rather than go ahead with mass production and simply put the product out on the mass market, untested, where it may or may not be successful.

There are always new products being put out by successful companies so that they can stay competitive in today"s fast-paced world, thus ensuring that there will always be a steady flow of surveys that will pay anyone to evaluate their products. This is how anyone can make a decent living if they wish to pursue this type of occupation full-time.

Paid surveys are subjected to frauds and scam artists because some unscrupulous individuals actually trick you into taking their surveys that claim they pay you, but never do. The real objective of these scammers is to collect your personal information, bombard it with spam and unsolicited advertisements, and maybe even sell your personal information to other third-parties.

The most common method of scamming people is to get someone to join their paid survey program, fill in their personal information, and then take a few surveys. This is what legitimate paid survey programs do. However, when you take the scam-surveys, they ask you questions, you answer them, and then are redirected to another website that asks for more personal information, and sometimes money from you. A legitimate paid survey would never or almost never ask you for money from you or more personal information other than the information you already gave them when you first agreed to take their surveys.

Most surveys pay from $5 dollars USD to $75 dollars USD, sometimes more or less. They can take anywhere from a few minutes to almost an hour to complete, depending on how much the company is paying you. The higher the dollar amount, the longer the survey will take to complete, generally.

I personally can complete the $75 dollar surveys in about 50 minutes, so that can give you an idea of how much you can make if you did this full-time. The $5 dollar surveys takes me about 3 minutes to finish.

Method Two: Data Entry Online

This method involves filling in a few blank advertising text-boxes for various marketing companies. You get paid a commission if the company is able to sell their products through the ad you just typed in for them. This is far more lucrative than doing paid surveys, but does require a little startup capital of say, $25 dollars in addition to the memebership fee to join these companies.

Legitimate companies will tell you what to input into the text-boxes and do all the marketing for you. These companies actually find it cheaper to pay someone on a commission basis to do some of the grunt work for them, while they can concentrate on marketing and creating sales-ads (which is what these companies tell you to input into the ad text-boxes).

The scam companies want you to do all the work, come up with the marketing, pay for everything, including marketing costs, and then when the sales are made, they do not pay you your commission.

Method Three: Auto-Surfing

This is my new favorite form of making money online. It involves joining a website that will require you to "auto-surf" webpages for you to get paid. Auto-surfing is simply letting your web-browsesr visit websites submitted by advertisers for about 10-30 seconds each. When your browser visits the minimum amount of websites (usually 50), you are rewarded with money based on how much cash you paid into the auto-surfing website (this is called your membership/upgrade level). Note that I said your web-browser, not you, doing the work. That means you just log in, click the auto-surf link, and then let the computer do all the work for you. Making money does not get easier than this.

Legitimate auto-surf programs will pay you on time. They spell out all the rules and agreements in their Frequently Asked Questions links. They also pay somewhere around 1% to 3% of your memebership level, each day. Any number higher than that is very likely a ponzi scheme. These auto-surf programs also are backed by businesses or foreign currency exchange, which is why they can afford to pay out such high returns. They also place a small cap on how high your membership level can go, which is how these programs stay in business and not make them go bankrupt. Some programs also have membership expirations, which means the amount of money you put into the programs disappears after a fixed time (usually 1 year). You are also usually limited to one or two accounts, in addition to the membership level cap.

It is entirely possible to earn several thousand dollars a month doing legitimate auto-surf programs, but that usually costs around $20,000 dollars initially. The upside is, you can start auto-surfing with as little as $6 or $10 dollars, and work your way up from there, and still earn that 1%-3% per day on that.

Scam auto-surf programs usually offer ridiculously high returns each day, with an impossible membership expiry duration. For example, an auto-surf that pays 7% daily and upgrades never expire, is very likely a ponzi scheme. However, an auto-surf that pays 12% daily with an expiry of 12 days, is not since if you really look closely at the numbers, the returns per month are relatively low, but high enough to keep everyone happy.

Another sign of auto-surf scams is that they simply do not pay but continually ask for more money despite the company"s "problems." It is best to go with auto-surfs that pay on time and have had relatively good reviews by people on the internet.

Most autosurfs pay you weekly, bi-weekly, or monthly. Any duration longer than that is asking for trouble.

Sarah Lauren is a self-made rich woman who runs her own business reviews and scam-watch website at http://www.richlemongal.com in addition to explaining her own personal experiences with various money-making online programs. She has spent several thousand dollars of her own money researching what are the legitimate programs and which are not (and losing thousands as well). She also explains some of the ways to make money online with little or no cost, as that is how she started out. Anyone may reproduce this article, provided they leave this entire article with links, intact, and that the information provided here will not be used to scam people.

Rehabilitation of America"s Addiction for Gasoline

2006-02-02T04:08:00.000-08:00

If you want MORE traffic to your website, then this might be the most important article you"ll ever read.

If you want to establish yourself as an expert, then I urge you to read this article -- immediately.

If you"re sick and tired of getting screwed of paid advertising sources, then here"s some good news.

Now you can own the MOST "amazing" free online advertising tactic and cash-in on one of the greatest traffic building strategy available today.

If you can use more new customers... and I mean TONS of new hungry visitors pouring into your site all day long, I"ve got great news for you.

Now there"s a powerful, inexpensive new way to bring in all the targeted traffic you"ll ever need. The kind traffic that will rocket your statcounter right off the charts!

How to do that? I hear you saying. The answer is simple - Write Killer Articles in Your Niche.

Here are some benefits of writing articles and submitting them to ezines, article directories, announcement lists, etc...

Benefit 1 - Brand Yourself and Your Website.

You"ll brand your web site, business and yourself by submitting articles to e-zines. You could include your name, business name, your credentials, web site address and e-mail address in your resource box.

Benefit 2 - Establish Yourself as an Expert.

You will become known as an expert on the topics you write about. This will give you and your business extra credibility which will help you compete against your competition.

Benefit 3 - Get Publicity.

Your article might also be placed on the publisher"s home page. If they publish each issue on their home page, this will give you some extra exposure.

Benefit 4 - Exposure for Your Website.

You might get extra exposure if the e-zine publisher archives their e-zine on their site. People might want to read the back issues before they make the decision to subscribe.

Benefit 5 - Free Advertising.

You will get free advertising. This will allow you to spend your profits on other forms of advertising. You could buy advertisements in other e-zines that don"t publish your articles.

Everything you may have heard about the getting targeted traffic to your site might be true.

But this article has shown you one amazingly simple "no-cost" solution to get all the free publicity you will ever need to brand your website and your reputation.

If you"ve been looking for a quick and easy way to get thunder storm of traffic waves that you can use to sell your own products, affiliate products or increase your adsense income, this article has shown you how you can do it writing killer articles in your niche.

One of the most difficult and time consuming tasks in this internet marketing world is to continuously get targeted traffic pouring into your site.

If you want to get consistent, lazer-targeted website traffic for life time of your business, then I urge you to take ACTION and apply this article marketing strategy instantly.

There"s never been a better time for you to let those hungry visitors crawl ALL over your site, than it is today!

Murtuza Abbas specializes in creating simple "Profit Pulling Minisites".

Create amazing Minisites in 3 Hours or Less. Grab your FREE $147 "Minisite Creation Pack" & learn how to start an internet business today...

http://www.7DaysToEarn.com

Rehabilitation of America"s Addiction for Gasoline

2006-02-02T03:48:00.000-08:00

We all know to well that America has an addiction for our thirst of Gasoline. We also know it takes months to re-tool even our most advanced robotic factories. Changing from gasoline to alternative fuels is more than just a goal; it is a necessity. Many believe that it is not possible for America to rapidly change from our dependence on Foreign Oil; these political consultants say it cannot be done on any quick time table. But it can be done. How so you ask?

I propose we use the Experimental Aircraft Association (EAA) model, where people can by conversion kits for their current cars. You see in General Aviation it just got to be to expensive to buy private aircraft due to the Finished Products Liability Insurance due to incessant lawsuits. The EAA model allowed those who build their own aircraft or modified them to assume the risk and be put into a separate category.

If we reduce legal liability from lawsuits for car owners and entrepreneurs and allow them to apply for an Experimental Car status, they can buy kits, which will take their existing cars and convert them to run on Ethanol from corn, soybean or grass, Bio Diesel and/or flex fuels. Additionally folks can buy kit cars or components from the huge array of SEMA member automotive after market entrepreneurial companies. You will see an entire new market open up in a race for better battery technologies, more efficient aerodynamic designs, lighter and stronger materials and hybrid cars that no one has even considered.

"Lance Winslow" - Online Think Tank forum board. If you have innovative thoughts and unique perspectives, come think with Lance; http://www.WorldThinkTank.net/wttbbs/

New Year's Resolution: No More Tax Problems

2006-02-01T21:03:00.000-08:00

Well, if you have any tax problems or are cheating Uncle Sam in any way, you should be.

The Internal Revenue Service, once the butt of late-night television jokes, has changed. It’s now an aggressive agency with the tenacity and bite of a pit bull.

The IRS’s enforcement numbers in 2005 were up substantially compared to the year before — 20 percent more people were audited, including 221,000 taxpayers who earned more than $100,000 per year. All across the board, audits were up and enforcement was iron-fisted.

It’s not a good time to be cheating on your taxes. Just ask a few of these folks:

∑ Singer-songwriter Ronald Isley, of the Isley Brothers, was convicted on five counts of tax evasion and one count of willful failure to file a tax return. He faces up to 26 years in the Big House.

∑ Richard Hatch, the first winner of the reality television show Survivor, was charged with a 10-count indictment that alleges fraud and tax evasion. Prosecutors claim Hatch tried to avoid paying taxes on the $1,010,000 he won on the 2000 TV show. If convicted, he faces up to five years in the hoosegow.

∑ Adrian K. Karsten, a former ESPN sportscaster and winner of a 1991 Emmy Award, received 11 months of home confinement after pleading guilty to two counts of failing to file income tax returns.

∑ Lee Mroszak, a Gulf War veteran who is best known as “Crazy Cabbie” on the Howard Stern Show, received one year behind bars after pleading guilty to tax evasion.

And the list goes on and on and on.

Get the picture?

Uncle Sam means business, and for the past three years, the IRS has been getting more and more aggressive. There’s no tolerance for tax cheats and tax-avoidance schemes.

What’s more, 2006 will likely bring even more activity. Congress has already approved funding to allow the IRS to be as aggressive as it was in 2005, if not more.

If you’re one of the thousands of Americans with tax problems, you now have an ultimatum: consult with a qualified tax professional and resolve your problems once and for all or the roll the dice and take your chance.

You might not get caught this year. You might not get caught next.

But you will get caught. This year, make a wise New Year’s Resolution.

Darrin T. Mish is an Attorney who practice focuses on representing clients across the United States with IRS Problems.He is a member of the American Society of IRS Problem Solvers and the Tax Freedom Institute. He can be reached at his website at http://www.getIRShelp.com

Should You Quit School?

2006-02-01T09:51:00.000-08:00

Are you finding yourself in an institution for higher learning and thinking to yourself that maybe this is not right for you? Do you feel that you are doing busy work and not learning anything? If so you may not be alone in fact everyone in college goes thru this phase. For instance a very bright college student made this statement this week:

I can"t tell you how many classes I"ve taken that seemed so remedial but necessary and/or mandatory to take just to get that stupid piece of paper that I have to pay for that proves I"m "smart."

Indeed I had to leave school for this reason myself. Was that the right choice? I couldn"t figure out a good reason to stay, when I could be running my business, which is what I really loved to do. For me personally well I had another calling. I felt as if the subject matter and the way it was taught worked really work hard to get me to categorize all your thoughts and limit my areas of thought. I can"t do that really, my mind just doesnt work that way, perhaps it works a little different. I felt like this college student and felt at the time that they were polluting it with just incessant BS? But I am not suggesting you quit, because it maybe worth sticking out for you, I had different circumstances really. The very intelligent college student went on to ask;

Do you know how many other people have that piece of paper who are NOT smart, including some professors?

Well myself, I am not one to throw stones even though I live in a steel house. Only reciprocal responses from me, I am into pre-emption but only in a limited sense. The professors have never attacked me so I have nothing bad to say. Colleges serves a purpose, as it is the training of the next generation to run the systems that all the real minds, entrepreneurs and innovators dream up and create. I have met some brilliant professors in my day, but mostly I agree with this college student, as I did at the time I quit school. Tenure is a dangerous luxury I do not believe humankind should have to afford. Consider this in 2006.

"Lance Winslow" - Online Think Tank forum board. If you have innovative thoughts and unique perspectives, come think with Lance; http://www.WorldThinkTank.net/wttbbs/

Pharmacy Schools - The Short List

2006-02-01T08:37:00.000-08:00

From pharmacy technician programs to popular nursing school and legal assistant programs, universities nationwide are gearing up to accommodate the current demand for various health care and legal related programs. As for aspiring pharmacists, there"s plenty of quality pharmacy schools they can choose from when it comes to pursuing their education.

I"ve briefly outlined a few of the more popular Pharmacy Schools below. Some provide only traditional campus training, others provide only online training while others provide both.

University of Phoenix Online
For those who actually prefer a pharmacy program that is convenient and designed around their schedule you may want to check out the University of Phoenix. The University of Phoenix online caters to students like you who don"t have the time to attend a traditional pharmacy school.

The University of Phoenix online pharmacy school has the largest number of accredited online pharmacy degree programs when compared to other online pharmacy schools. The University of Phoenix was founded in 1976 and was one of the very first accredited universities to offer online college education with corresponding complete degree programs through the convenience of the internet. Many of their students are finishing their course work in as little as 2 to 3 years. The University of Phoenix online, is not just a pharmacy school, it actually offers a number of other health care related programs like healthcare management (masters and bachelor"s), health information and nursing.

Bryman College
Located throughout California is Bryman College, a pharmacy school which also offers various certificate programs in the following health care fields: Massage Therapy, Medical Assistant, Pharmacy Technician, Dental Assisting as well as Medical Billing & Coding.

Capella Online University
Like the University of Phoenix online pharmacy school, Capella Online University is also an accredited online pharmacy school which is specifically designed to provide high quality education for busy people who don"t have the time to attend classes at regular pharmacy schools but who want to pursue a career in health care at their own pace and schedule.

This pharmacy school is actually built on a community of determined and highly motivated adult learners as well as reputable faculty members. The staff is geared towards helping you become successful with your chosen health care career. Capella University online programs include healthcare management for bachelor"s, masters and PhDs.

Florida Metropolitan University
While the Florida Metropolitan University has locations throughout the state of Florida and offers programs in various in-demand health care professions. However, it"s not just a pharmacy school but a well-rounded university that is geared towards being up-to-date with what the job market is currently looking for in job candidates.

From the fields of business, criminal justice, computers, health care, legal and management, design and marketing, Florida Metropolitan University also boasts of offering in-demand health care programs like: EKG Technician, Healthcare Management, Laboratory Technician, Administration (in the medical office), Medical Assistant, Massage Therapy, Phlebotomy, Medical Transcription, Pharmacy Technician/Assistant as well as Surgical Technician.

Lincoln Technical Institute
The Lincoln Technical Institute prides itself on providing their students with hands-on training to improve their acquired skills in the Health Care and Medical profession but also in Automotive, Drafting, Computers and Information Technology and Electronics. Their pharmacy school offers a Pharmacy Assistant/Technician program.

DeVry University
DeVry takes great lengths in providing their students with highly career-oriented undergraduate as well as post graduate degree programs in various fields like business and management and technology. They also provide a highly flexible learning environment to assist students earn their degrees a little faster than other universities. If you"re diligent and hard-working you"re sure to earn your degree in as early as three years. The university also offers students healthcare programs in various health care professions.

Georgia Medical Institute
The Georgia Medical Institute provides students with a more personalized learning atmosphere and environment. Their courses and programs are specifically designed to support their students in their professional development especially in the health care fields.

Georgia Medical Institute doesn"t just have a great pharmacy school offering Pharmacy Technology but they also offer other health care related courses such as Medical Administration, Dental Assisting, Massage Therapy, Surgical Technology, Respiratory Care, Massage Therapy and Medical Assisting. In addition to offering traditional program schedules they also offer many programs in versions which will allow the motivated student to finish their studies at a much quicker pace, if they choose to do so.

This article may be reproduced only in its entirety.

Kevin Erickson is an entrepreneur and writer. For more articles he"s written visit: Pharmacist Degree | Medical Transcriptionist | Paralegal

Bachelors Degrees In Business

2006-02-01T06:54:00.000-08:00

As the scope of business expands with drastic changes and development in technology and global socioeconomics, there is also a rapid growth in the career opportunities and jobs that require strong analytical and business skills. A degree in business administration encourages students to strive for a thorough understanding of business principles with a spirit of creativity and entrepreneurship in order to compete in todays business environment.

Business skills and administration are the main skills that are taught in a bachelors degree in business program. Employers combine academic disciplines with functional business applications, along with liberal arts to prepare students in skills applicable in every business setup.

Bachelor of Business Administration (BBA) is a bachelor degree in business administration. In order to attain a degree in business administration, a student needs to complete at least four years of full-time study or 120 credit hours in one or more areas of business. This rule is applied in most universities around the world.

Most of the time, general business courses and advanced courses for specific concentrations are included in BBA or bachelors of business administration course. It is also possible for students who have completed their BBA to pursue a masters degree known as MBA (masters of business administration). However, in order to attain an MBA degree, a BBA degree is not compulsory.

Courses and subjects may be categorized differently and vary from one university to another but there are some of basic subjects included in a BBA course: accounting, marketing management, business management, micro-economics, macro-economics, financial management, communication skills, business environment, taxation, business law, money and material management, management theory, organizational behavior, business ethics, human resource management, statistics, logistics and transport, policy analysis, and management information system.

Bachelors Degrees provides detailed information about bachelors degrees, accelerated bachelors degrees, bachelor of arts degrees, bachelor of science degrees and more. Bachelors Degrees is the sister site of Nursing Continuing Education Courses.

Bachelor Of Science Degrees

2006-02-01T06:52:00.000-08:00

Bachelor of Science Degrees (B.S. or B.Sc.), also known as Baccalaureates, are campus or online academic degrees, awarded by a college for the successful completion of an undergraduate course or major in the sciences, such as Life Sciences, Physical Sciences, or Mathematical Sciences. A campus Bachelors degree can last up to four years while an online course can be completed within a much shorter period.

A number of universities and colleges also offer the Bachelor of Science degree as a tagged degree. Tagged degrees, such as Bachelor of Science in Agriculture, Architecture, Business, Chemistry, Civil Engineering, and Computer Science generally require more specialized course work, and also incorporate the name of the major into the degree title.

In accordance with commonly held standards, a Bachelor of Science degree program should imply a minimum of 45 quarter or 30 semester credits to be completed from four compulsory subjects: Communications, Natural Sciences/Mathematics, Humanities, and Social Sciences.

A minimum of 6 quarter or 4 semester credits in each of the four categories should be included in the 45 quarter or 30 semester credits. The remaining credits should be chosen from one or more of these four compulsory categories.

Tagged degrees also imply a minimum of 45 quarter or 30 semester credits to be completed from these four compulsory subjects, with at least 6 quarter or 4 semester credits in each of the four.

Introductory course work should cover the broad concepts, principles, and substance of individual disciplines. Advanced course work should be able to provide an exhaustive investigation of individual disciplines. Thirty per cent of the total number of credits required to complete the Bachelors degree should be made up of advanced level credits.

Bachelor of Science degrees, whether taken on a campus or online, and whether they are tagged or not, require the minimum completion of 45 quarter or 30 semester credits from four general, compulsory areas.

Online Degree Program: No Stopping You Now!

2006-02-01T04:27:00.000-08:00

Just when you thought that you couldn"t manage going to college or university to obtain that degree that you need, we come to tell you about the option of an online degree program that will help you obtain your degree without actually going to university or college. Yes that is right. You heard correctly.

Surely you have heard of studying by correspondence or perhaps long distance learning, well this type of learning is even better than that as everything is done online. You have the opportunity to choose the university or college that offers the course you want and still be living in another place no where near. This type of online degree program can offer you the opportunity to gain Associates, Bachelor"s and even your Master"s if that is what you really want. You have the opportunity to study the Arts, Business, Computers, Health & Medicine, Social Sciences and even Trades if that is to your liking. The sky is the limit.

You may be someone that cannot afford to move house to gain your education or perhaps you have to work to support yourself and your family. Then again, may be your employer wants you to gain an extra degree but doesn"t want you to physically go to university because he needs you to keep working. Whatever the reason, it doesn"t matter because you have a fabulous opportunity to get that degree and graduate successfully while participating in an online degree program.

There are so many universities, colleges and even high schools around the world that offer these types of educational learning programs. This is an opportunity not to be missed. Why not take the time to check out these universities and colleges and find out what options are available to you right now and see what suits you and your needs.

Susan Dean is the webmaster and publisher of http://www.online-degree-shop.com Visit her site for discount online degrees.

Speech by His Highness the Aga Khan ( Lisbon, 19 December 2005 )

2006-02-01T02:53:00.000-08:00

Remarks by His Highness the Aga Khan at the Signing Ceremony of the Protocol of Cooperation between the Government of the Republic of Portugal and the Ismaili Imamat

President Sampaio
Prime Minister Socrates
Minister of State and Foreign Affairs Freitas do Amaral
Excellencies
Distinguished Guests
Ladies and Gentlemen

I am deeply touched by the generosity of remarks by Prime Minister Socrates. I also thank President Sampaio, the Prime Minister, and the Government of the Portuguese Republic, for their kindness and warm welcome.

In its contemporary history, when our world, at times, has seemed to descend into chaos, and moral leadership into oblivion, Portugal has been an outstanding example of integrity and compassion. When crises have erupted beyond her shores, she has welcomed displaced populations of different cultures and ethnicities. This is, therefore, an appropriate occasion to acknowledge the lasting gratitude and permanent commitment of the Ismaili Imamat and Community to Portugal, a land of harmony and opportunity, that rejoices in her diversity as a wellspring of national strength.

It is a great honour and an immense source of happiness for me to be at this historic Palace of Ajuda to mark a milestone, as our valued relationship moves confidently forward. The Protocol of Co-operation between the Government of the Portuguese Republic and the Ismaili Imamat, which we signed this evening, is the first such Agreement that the Ismaili Imamat has signed with a Western Government, and I am deeply convinced that it will bring clear benefits to our peoples and to many others.

For the Ismaili Imamat, the Ismaili Community worldwide and me, this is a highly important day. I, therefore, wish this evening, to illustrate the full significance which it has in our eyes, and which is the context in which His Excellency Professor Freitas do Amaral, the Foreign Minister, and I spent some exceptional time together in putting our final touches to this Agreement.

Portugal is a small country, with a long history, and its role in the world has been illuminated by peaks of glory. The Ismaili Community is a small community with a long history also illuminated by peaks of glory. Our respective histories have also, at times, been marked by conflict and internal challenges. They have often strengthened us. Portugal’s population is only slightly smaller than that of the Ismaili Community worldwide today. We have, therefore, very much in common, which underscores the logic of our new and formal relationship. But there are also differences.

Portugal is rooted in the centuries old Christian world, whereas the Ismaili Imamat is rooted in the centuries old Muslim world. Portugal’s influence has been essentially in Africa and South America, with an occasional presence in Asia. The Ismaili Community is significantly present in Central and South Asia, the Middle East and sub-Saharan Africa, but it is nearly totally absent from South America. What brings us together is not only our historical similarities and our mutual respect for our past, but our wish to work together better to address the opportunities and the problems which will confront us in the decades ahead. Our respective histories have taught us to place our trust in human values and to root them in an ethical view of life.

Our histories have taught us the value of dialogue, and that rarely, indeed very rarely, does anything good come out of conflict. Our world view is to engage with the problem of social exclusion in our societies and to contribute to building bridges across faiths and across nations, by linking diverse parts of the world.

I have no doubt that for you, whose historical roots are in the Christian world, it is as painful as it is for us Muslims, with our roots in the East, to watch an increasingly deep gulf growing between significant parts of our respective worlds. We cannot stand by as passive observers letting this gulf grow wider and wider, at the cost of future generations. If we have the will, which I am certain we share, we have the historical knowledge and the ethical foundations to move our world forward, to make it a better and more hopeful place, and to put an end to the storm of hatred which appears to be building up around us.

We are concerned, and most rightly so, that there is poverty among our respective peoples, and we cannot stand by watching this inhuman indignity become a permanent part of our societies, of our generations of today and tomorrow. We must work together to develop an arsenal of peaceful weapons to attack this plight which blights our times, and to try to make sure that those who are marginalised today can be certain that we are not blind to them, that we will not let their future generations live in the same hopeless world in which they themselves are seeking, often only in despair, to survive.

In confronting this situation we share the same need to build our civil societies for we both recognise that it is the civil society institutions of today, that, strengthened and expanded by tomorrow, have the highest probability of enabling people to help themselves out of the quagmire of poverty. Working together in the East and the West, we certainly have the greatest chance of being successful in multiple situations, such as responding to the needs of aging populations.

There are those who say that faiths divide. This may be true. But today we must explore every opportunity to have different faiths come together in addressing the problems of our respective societies. We come from the same common religious heritage, descendants of Abraham, and it is enjoined on us to address the problems of society on the same ethical premises.

You have created here in Portugal a moral and enabling environment for faiths to live in equity and mutual respect. I intend to do all in my power to work with other faiths here and elsewhere, to give practical meaning and quantifiable outcomes to our future partnerships.

The acute challenge for all faiths, both in terms of their principles and practice, is the scourge of poverty which, unfortunately, also afflicts sections of populations, especially minorities, even in the industrially advanced countries of the West. The tragedies they endure and the unknown dimensions of their plight have been highlighted by recent natural and other events. To their credit, their citizens and governments recognize it is intolerable that these pockets of misery should persist in self respecting societies.

It is in this light that, encouraged by the Government, and after careful assessments through years of independently commissioned studies and programmatic engagement, particularly in Early Childhood Education development, the Aga Khan Development Network has embarked on an Urban Community Support Programme in Portugal. This is designed to help marginalised groups, including cultural and ethnic minorities living in urban settings, develop their own capacity to move out of the poverty trap and achieve the benefits of social inclusion.

The Government and municipalities, the European Commission, leading civil society and business organisations are our partners in this moral enterprise known by its local name of Kapacidad, reflecting the conviction that people are inherently capable to look after themselves. I am most happy to acknowledge and welcome the presence here this evening of their representatives.

In global terms our numbers may be small, but our openness to addressing the issues of our time and of tomorrow, our willingness to bring mature judgment to our pluralist societies, are so strong, and so vigorously shared, that I believe the partnership we are founding today would enable us, with God’s support, to have a positive influence in the future which could far surpass the sizes of our demographies.

These are the reasons that have given birth to my conviction that this is truly an historic day.

These are the principles that underpin our long standing and fruitful relationship, inspiring the joint work we already do in Portugal and abroad in Mozambique, Afghanistan and … Pakistan. It is on these principles and experience that the Protocol of Co-operation builds. Both the Government and the Imamat are determined it does not remain just an expression of pious hope.

Thank you.

A Non-Traditional Wedding

2006-02-01T02:27:00.000-08:00

Traditional? Not you. That’s why you’re searching for some non-traditional ideas for your upcoming wedding. With a little ingenuity and some silk wedding flowers, you can have the non-traditional wedding of your dreams.

If you’ve never been big on wedding bouquets, how about having your bridesmaids and maid-of-honor carry small handbags that are covered in silk flowers! Each attendant can wear a different color and they can carry a handbag personalized just for them. Get your glue gun out and attach the silk flower heads to the individual purses to match the color and style of the gowns. This rainbow of colors will be eye-catching and help to ensure a bright beginning for you and your groom!

If you’re planning on having little girls in your wedding, but don’t like the idea of the “flower girl”, you can make a floral garland for them to carry. Simply cover birch vines with silk flowers that match or complement the flowers that the bridesmaids and maid-of-honor are carrying and let your two or three young attendants carry the garland in tandem. This will not only look adorable (get ready for the oohs and ahhs) but it is also a clever way of keeping the girls together.

As the bride, if you don’t want to carry a traditional cascading bridal bouquet, or even a hand-tied bridal bouquet, consider getting married while holding a hoop made of vine and strung with various silk flowers. The hoop is carried like a tambourine.

Another option is the pomander, a Styrofoam ball that is covered in lace or tulle. Silk flower heads are attached and the lightweight floral pomander simply hangs from the wrist.

If you’ve lost someone special to you, such as a grandmother or even your mother, consider carrying something of theirs, such as their prayer book, garnished with their favorite flowers. This would be a lovely way to pay tribute to this missing guest.

In lieu of corsages, floral bracelets can be fashioned like small garlands with silk wedding flowers woven in. These not only would look lovely, but they would also give your wedding yet another non-traditional flavor.

If your wedding is in the autumn, how about decorating with pumpkins and wheat rather than the traditional floral arrangements? Christmas weddings can include strands of lights and lots of pine and holly. Beautiful glass ornaments can be included not only in the arrangements, but also in the bouquets. Reception guests can each receive a lovely ornament as a favor. The date can be inscribed on the ornaments as a reminder of this special day. Decorated boxwood Christmas “trees” would look stunning as centerpieces at each table.

Summer weddings can be lush with silk wedding flowers. Floral halos can be crafted for the young girls in the wedding. Beach themed décor can add a festive and fun touch to the wedding and reception. In place of flowers, your young attendants can carry small wind chimes that will add peaceful chiming to the day.

If you want non-traditional, you have to start thinking outside of the box. Once outside of the box, the sky’s the limit!

Bonnie Goodwin Ray has more than sixteen years experience in the wedding industry. She is the author of Wedding Planning Made Easier and has become a leading expert in silk wedding floral design.

Gulzar-E-Rahim Colony Metroville S.I.T.E. Karachi Pakistan (VIP Group)

2006-01-31T13:15:00.000-08:00

Buddy"s From Metroville. Pakistan.

Ibrahim Lodhi
Iqbal Jilani
Irfan Akber
Imran Mota
Shair Gund
Nasir Mufta
Malik Curtain

Wrinkles

2006-01-30T11:55:00.000-08:00

Wrinkles refer to the loosening of the skin. With the age the skin loses its elasticity and moisture as a results wrinkles appear on all over the face. Some young people also have few wrinkles around the eyes that are caused by spending much time in the sun.

Home Remedies

1. Massaging the face with coconut oil before going to bed prevents wrinkles.

2. B complex vitamins are the best for skin so the foods like eggs, beef, chicken and whole wheat should be included in the diet in good amounts. Other vitamins like A, C and E act as antioxidant and gives the skin a healthy look. So these vitamins should also be included in the diet.

3. Avoid excess of smoking and alcohol as it causes puffiness of the skin. Thus, leading to wrinkles.

4. Application of lemon juice several times a day will fade away the blemishes and wrinkles.

5. Rubbing the core of pineapple on the face and leaving it for 5-10 minutes will help in the treatment of wrinkles.

6. Simmer half-cup rosemary leaves in 2 cups of water for about 30 minutes. Add half cup of brandy and leave on for 10-15 minutes. Strain the mixture and store it to wipe the skin twice a day.

7. Dont rub the face while washing and use only normal water for washing instead of using warm water.

8. Mix turmeric powder and sugarcane to form a paste and apply it on the skin for preventing wrinkles.

9. Eating one tablespoonful of shredded ginger with honey will provide the skin with healthy glow.

10. Leave metal spoons in the freezer overnight and in the morning keep the back of the spoons on the eyes. It will cure the eye wrinkles and the under eye dark circles.

11. Mix two tablespoons vodka, a tablespoon fennel seeds, and 2 teaspoons honey, and leave it for three days. Strain the mixture and use it as a toner.

12. Massaging the skin with pure castor oil also prevents wrinkles.

13. Avoid going out in midday as the ultraviolet rays of the sun cause premature wrinkles.

14. Cleaning face every night before going to bed and applying any cream will prevent wrinkles and other aging marks.

15. Juice of green pineapples and apples when applied daily on the face clears the skin from var ious lines and wrinkles.

16. Soft massaging of the face in the upward direction with any cream gives the skin firmness and prevents wrinkles. Its best when done during night.

Hot Flashes and You-What You Need to Know

2006-01-30T00:19:00.000-08:00

Many women have hot flashes during menopause. Most women experience this particular symptom of menopause for about five years (80%), while some continue to have them longer, around ten years (10%). While great majorities of women live through hot flashes during their change of life, not a lot is known about what causes the hot flashes. However, there are some measures that can be taken to alleviate hot flashes.

Some of these treatments include using plant and vitamin supplements to help alleviate the symptoms of hot flashes. If a women wanted to try an alternative method, there is not a shortage available, everything from soy to new breathing techniques have been touted as the cure for hot flashes.

The most important thing that you can do for yourself when experiencing hot flashes before or during menopause is to speak with your health care provider. They will be able to walk you through the process of choosing a treatment regimen. Discuss with your doctor if you have any concerns regarding hormone replacement surgery, together you can find the right form of relief for you.

Hormone replacement therapy is by far the most affective means to treat hot flashes and is prescribed to more than 40 million women every year. However, this program has been under intense scrutiny recently, as new research as indicated that the hormone replacement may be a leading cause in heart disease among women. For that reason, more and more women are turning away from this traditional treatment in favor of more natural methods of controlling the hot flashes.

Even though not a whole lot is known about hot flashes, it is believed that they occur not because of low hormones, but are due rather to a fluctuation in those hormones. Traditionally, hot flashes are treated with a prescription of estrogen via an oral or transdermal medications; this treatment is called hormone replacement therapy (HRT). These medications are a way of evening out the hormones with in the body and are proven to slow the occurrences of hot flash by 80-90% in most women.

John Mancini has been writing about Menopause online and offline for a long time. Visit http://menopause-central.com or http://my-menopause.com to read more about matters like early menopause symptoms and herbs for menopause.

Standing in the River of Faith

2006-01-29T08:53:00.000-08:00

I see her there before me, in my religious imagination. In Ansel Adams black and white, she kneels in a rushing river. She clasps her aged hands in prayer, eyes closed, head slightly cocked. She wears a thin cotton garment, a sari, and a matching scarf. Both are soaked by the river and its spray. She is a vision of prayerful serenity. I want to know her; I want to experience her peace.

I do not know this woman. I think she must be in India, a Hindu. Judging by her clothing and the river, I think she wades in the Ganges. Beneath consciousness, I form other more spiritually intimate assumptions. For example, since I think she is Hindu, she may be praying to Krishna, Shiva, Kali or one of the multitudes of names by which Hindus know God. Yet, all this runs through my mind without benefit of knowing her, of approaching her and entering into her souls delight and her minds illumination.

His Holiness, the Fourteenth Dalai Lama says, Peace means genuine tranquility. I think genuine peace must come on the basis of mutual trust, mutual respect. His sentiment does not conflict with Christs life as narrated in the gospels. I reflect on Christs compassion and values as he conversed with the woman at the well. She was an outsider to the Pharisees, yet Christ protected her from their anger. And she was moved in her soul. I take a tentative first step from my secure bank of rational thought and slowly ease my way into the foreign currents of her faith. She is watching me, the hint of a smile and a glint of merriment in her eyes. I stand before her, not yet kneeling. The waters quite warm, I say, surprised. She smiles and does not reply.

Imagine: She and I, sitting on a lotus blossom that is suspended above the swirling waters of wholeness (holiness), our hearts opening to one another, radiating the pure light of joyous understanding. I need to know how to proceed so that she will not sense any threat or disrespect. The answer comes to me in a whisper of realization: Proceed with humility.

We begin to exchange our respective beliefs about God. She is praying to Kali, Hinduisms Black Goddess. Although I am open to a new approach to prayer, my cultural conditioning is challenged. I try to describe Christian faith and monotheism; she begins to look somewhat mystified as well. Is there any common ground here? I say that the Christian belief in God is grounded in the notion of one God. One and three: Father, Son and Holy Spirit. Overwhelmingly, the Divine is personified as masculine.

My new friend wrinkles her brow, considers this, and shakes her head. No feminine deities? No, I reply. I do not understand, she tells me. The Goddess Kali, who is but one of the many faces of Brahman. Kali is the mother of liberation. My Hindu companion cannot understand how Christians can limit themselves to so few experiences of Gods infinite power.

Perhaps a simple Hindu woman in prayer and an inquisitive woman from the Christian west can achieve a glimmer of enlightenment in the river of our coming together. She listens to me with nothing more than acceptance and curiosity. I hope that I have done her the same courtesy. I sense I do not have to cast away all that my heritage has taught me about God. My ideas about God represent but one view of a multi-dimensional reality.

Final image: My Hindu friend and I have formed a community of two. We hold hands and help each other out of the river and up the riverbank, still part of the Hindu universe, still rotating on a Christian axis, yet open like the lotus and ready to spread our fragrance as we pass through our very different days. Where will we go from here?

As we part, she smiles.

Sandi Fults has a Master"s degree in Systematic Theology from St. Mary"s University in San Antonio, Texas. She also attended the graduate Middle Eastern Studies program at the University of Texas at Austin. Her area of specialization is Interreligious Dialogue and the world"s religions, with emphasis on the South Asian Hindu and Buddhist religious traditions. She is convinced that interreligious dialogue is a way to peace.

Recruiters: The Challenges of Executive Head Hunters

2006-01-28T23:04:00.000-08:00

Once upon a time, head hunters were no more than common cannibals. Some people still view them that way, but executive recruiters are a vital link in a chain that keeps major enterprises functioning well.

The top positions at any organization dictate the fortunes of the company, the shareholders and the employees ... and often the communities in which they are located. A good executive head hunter can ensure that new company executives have the skills required for the position and the challenges ahead. He can also ensure that the right executive is chosen, one whose style will flourish in the specific environment of that company.

However, modern executive recruiters face challenges to be effective. I caught up with Esther Barzel, co-owner of the Online Recruiter Directory Site.

Q: What are the main challenges of executive head hunters in today"s business climate?

A: To start with, the geographic net has become much wider. A head hunter in , say, New York City or Toronto, can no longer rely on finding the right candidate right in town. In fact, the ideal candidate might be just minutes away by Internet, but he might be located in another country or even on another continent. We are looking at a new breed of executive recruiter.

Executive Recruiter in the Internet Age

Q: The Internet should make his job easier, right?

A: Yes...and no. He has to post requirements in more places and sift through more potential candidates to find the jewel he seeks. So his workload has actually increased.

Q: Plus, I presume, he still faces the challenges of yesteryear?

A: That"s right. He still has to make contact with potential candidates, conduct preliminary interviews, set up meetings with the company, attend to minute details, brief the interviewer, etc.

Q: What about follow-up?

A: Yes, there is, of course, follow-up required after every interview, both with the client and with the prospect. It"s a busy job.

Does the Internet Make Life Easier Or Harder For Head Hunters

Q: So how does the Internet make life easier for an executive recruiter?

A: Now you have online communities and bulletin boards, such as Monster.com, where you can place ads for positions. This makes it somewhat easier to cast one"s net. Directories like ours help head hunters attract clients, so they can spend more recruiting and less time on business development.

Q: Don"t online bulletin boards and directories just mean the head hunter has to spend more time in more places?

A: Yes and no. Online resources are more easily searched than, say, paper. Our recruiter directory gives employers the chance to search by geography or by vocation, or by the type of position. This means they can find a recruiter that specializes in pharmaceutical sales, or who specializes in accounting, or whatever field. The head hunter spends less time answering questions from people who will never be their clients.

Q: And I assume it works both ways?

A: Yes, the recruiter gets resumes from only those people who are likely candidates for the types of positions he works on. The pharmaceutical recruiter, for example will not get a resume from someone whose background is in aeronautical engineering.

Q: Wow, that"s a mouthful. I don"t know if I could even repeat that.

A: Many executive recruiters could not repeat it, either. So the Internet is making it easier for them to receive resumes targeted to their field of expertise, saving them time...not to mention overexertion of their tongues.

On that humorous note, we thank Esther for taking the time to explain how the Internet is making life both more complex and easier for executive recruiters and head hunters.

David Leonhardt is a freelance writer. Read more about today"s head hunter opportunities and today"s executive recruiter challenges. Find out more about Esther Barzel"s online recruiting agency services.

Sell More & Speak Better By Relaxing Until It's Too Late

2006-01-26T06:52:00.000-08:00

Keynote speakers, top salespeople, and big-time athletes face a similar challenge.

How do you get up for the game, get ready to do your best, without nervously dissipating your energy, or overvaluing the idea of winning at any cost?

In other words, how can you stay loose? How can you keep the fun in the experience, instead of turning it into a gut wrenching drag?

Something that that works for me is to:

(1) Monitor my nerves, and when they get too jittery, this cues me to take the next step, which is to:

(2) Remind myself to get nervous later, not now.

I don’t put myself down for getting the butterflies, which is an easy trap to fall into as a professional keynote speaker and sales coach.

In effect, I say to myself, “Of course you want to feel nervous, and you’ll get your chance, later, closer to kickoff time.”

Then something marvelous happens.

I really relax. I enjoy myself. I enhance my upcoming event with some new twists.

I might even decide to add a new celebrity impression to my “act,” like Sean Connery.

Of course, while all of this relaxing and fun prep are going on, the clock is ticking away, and I’m not sweating it, or anything.

Then, it’s 30 seconds until I’m “on” and guess what?

It’s too late to worry!

This has worked for me so many times, in so many settings, that I feel it is nearly foolproof.

Try it for yourself, and please tell me how you do!

Dr. Gary S. Goodman © 2006

Dr. Gary S. Goodman, President of Customersatisfaction.com, is a popular keynote speaker, management consultant, and seminar leader and the best-selling author of 12 books, including Reach Out & Sell Someone® and Monitoring, Measuring & Managing Customer Service. A frequent guest on radio and television, worldwide, Gary’s programs are offered by UCLA Extension and by numerous universities, trade associations, and other organizations in the United States and abroad. Gary is headquartered in Glendale, California. He can be reached at (818) 243-7338 or at: gary@customersatisfaction.com

Salespeople: Read This Article Later!

2006-01-26T06:48:00.000-08:00

I was just asking myself what advice I’d give you, today, to help you to increase sales.

We could cover ways to open sales calls, describe your products and services, closing techniques, the best methods for delaying and answering objections and the like.

And it hit me.

Instead of reading this article, right now, which is ABOUT selling, you should actually BE selling, without delay.

In other words, if I could persuade you to drop everything, and to make that phone call, or to write that proposal, or to get into the car and pitch someone, in the flesh, well, that would make me very successful, and you, too.

What have you been putting off doing?

I have a lead or two that I generated that I need to call back and set appointments with.

From a strict selling standpoint, that’s exactly what I need to do, right now.

After doing it, I’ll feel better and I’ll be on my way to more sales. So, momentarily, that’s precisely what’s going to happen.

Prime selling hours are precious and few. Take advantage of them, right away.

And put off other things, though they’re important, like planning and list development, and continuing education, until later.

There’s always time to read.

And to write!

Dr. Gary S. Goodman, President of Customersatisfaction.com, is a popular keynote speaker, management consultant, and seminar leader and the best-selling author of 12 books, including Reach Out & Sell Someone® and Monitoring, Measuring & Managing Customer Service. He is a frequent guest on radio and television, worldwide. A Ph.D. from USC's Annenberg School, Gary offers programs through UCLA Extension and numerous universities, trade associations, and other organizations in the United States and abroad. He is headquartered in Glendale, California, and he can be reached at (818) 243-7338 or at: gary@customersatisfaction.com.

Salespeople: Fight Back Against Customer Brainwashing!

2006-01-26T06:46:00.000-08:00

You’re doing a sales presentation, and suddenly you look across the table and see aliens from another galaxy.

They seal your lips, so none of your eloquence can escape, and through telepathy they say:

“Listen to us sales unit. Your product sucks; it’s no different than any other. In fact, you’re lucky we don’t kick your puny butt into another dimension. Lower your prices, now. Give us the deal we want, and we’ll let you live another day, so you can swindle some other unsuspecting fools. Probe over!”

You do what any poor sap would do: you cut your commissions, your profit margins, anything, just to emerge with a sale.

You sleep like a rock that evening, and by the morning, you’re feeling like your old self, again. But as you prepare to meet your first prospect of the day, you get queasy.

What’s wrong? Normally, you’re juiced, upbeat, happy, and willing to jump into the fray.

You enter the office, sit down, and the same aliens come in.

“Just tell us your price, we have no time for foolishness.”

“Well, sure, I’ll cover that in a minute,” you say, just as they taught you when you were a rookie, in training.

“That won’t do, earth scum! Give us your best price, now!”

“Okay, okay!” Then, you amaze yourself, offering yet another bare bones deal.

You walk away, convinced the aliens are right. Your product is the same as anybody’s.

Why are your list prices so high? Doesn’t management appreciate how competitive it is out there?

What you don’t know is you’ve been brainwashed, convinced that everything is a commodity, and the only differentiator is price. This is just what clever customers want you to believe, because if you buy this, you’ll buy anything.

They’ve transformed you from a seller into a buyer, by incessantly making you doubt, until the foundation of your confidence is completely chiseled away.

You must find a way to fight back against customer brainwashing. The best way is by using affirmations.

You have to psych yourself up with statements that say, “We offer unique value,” and “Even if our prices and products are the same, I’m different, and I’m worth more!”

Fight every disparaging comment and innuendo that you hear with a counter-statement. And never let an objection go by, unanswered.

A wise sales manager told me, early in my career:

”Gary, when you’re in front of a customer only two things can happen: You’ll sell them, or they’ll sell you!”

True, and after we leave an office where aliens are entrenched, we have to re-sell ourselves, or all is lost.

Dr. Gary S. Goodman, President of Customersatisfaction.com, is a popular keynote speaker, management consultant, and seminar leader and the best-selling author of 12 books, including Reach Out & Sell Someone® and Monitoring, Measuring & Managing Customer Service. He is a frequent guest on radio and television, worldwide. A Ph.D. from USC's Annenberg School, Gary offers programs through UCLA Extension and numerous universities, trade associations, and other organizations in the United States and abroad. He is headquartered in Glendale, California, and he can be reached at (818) 243-7338 or at: gary@customersatisfaction.com.

Salespeople, Be Like Kobe: When You're Hot, Stay Hot!

2006-01-26T06:44:00.000-08:00

Salespeople differ from customer service people and other knowledge workers in a number of critical ways.

Someone who has a sales personality is similar to athletes, to artists, to performers of all kinds. They prepare, and then they deliver.

They recuperate, they prepare, and they deliver again.

When they’re “on,” they have to turn it completely on, and hold nothing back.

Sellers, like basketball star Kobe Bryant, are also streaky.

The other night Kobe scored 84 points, coming in second behind all-time NBA great, Wilt Chamberlain. If you remember back to the beginning of the season, Kobe was cold, and he under-performed.

Any Laker fan would say, so what, he’s hot now, and it’s all that matters!

Absolutely!

All that matters is getting to the post season, racking up enough victories to get a shot at the title.

Selling is the same way. We don’t have to close everybody; in fact, it’s impossible.

But when we know we’re hot, we should never, ever let ourselves stop, because like Kobe, we will get cold, sooner or later, and frighteningly few of our shots will fall into place.

But right now Kobe is in the zone, and he can do no wrong. It’s a beautiful thing, isn’t it?

Dr. Gary S. Goodman, President of Customersatisfaction.com, is a popular keynote speaker, management consultant, and seminar leader and the best-selling author of 12 books, including Reach Out & Sell Someone® and Monitoring, Measuring & Managing Customer Service. He is a frequent guest on radio and television, worldwide. A Ph.D. from USC's Annenberg School, Gary offers programs through UCLA Extension and numerous universities, trade associations, and other organizations in the United States and abroad. He is headquartered in Glendale, California, and he can be reached at (818) 243-7338 or at: gary@customersatisfaction.com.

Salespeople Repeat This: Price Isn't Value; Price Isn't Value; Price Isn't Value!

2006-01-26T06:42:00.000-08:00

We live in very competitive times, I’m sure you’ll agree.

Not only are we now participants in a global economy, but the Internet enables customers to shop our prices down to the penny, making us ever more accountable for keeping costs in line, and for tightening profit margins.

It’s tempting to try to find a way to sell, based on price, alone. When you see yet another huge Wal-Mart tractor-trailer tooling down the highway, wearing the slogan, a low price, “Always,” it seems compelling, doesn’t it?

If you can guarantee rock bottom pricing, won’t the world beat a path to your door?

Not necessarily. For all of Wal-Mart’s success, and I don’t disparage it, that company doesn’t yet own 100% of the retail market. Even if its pricing claim is completely true, that it has the lower price, always, there are still shoppers who don’t want to patronize those stores.

Why do they willingly pay more, presuming there is a Wal-Mart in the vicinity?

There is only one answer: Price is not value—at least to everyone.

Some people shop for the experience. Still, at Nordstrom, for instance, as you stroll through the store, you can hear someone playing the piano. What a beautiful touch!

Of course, the prices have to pay for the pianist, but so what? There’s elegance, and well, we’re worth it, as one hair care commercial used to say.

Why will people pay a surcharge to order concert tickets online or over the phone, instead of at the box office? Convenience, right?

That has value, and people are willing to pay value to get value.

I could so on and on.

The next time a customer claims your price is high, or higher than a competitor’s, tell them price isn’t value, and back it up with specifics that say, sure, our price is slightly higher, but you get a lot more value from us.

Always!

Dr. Gary S. Goodman, President of Customersatisfaction.com, is a popular keynote speaker, management consultant, and seminar leader and the best-selling author of 12 books, including Reach Out & Sell Someone® and Monitoring, Measuring & Managing Customer Service. He is a frequent guest on radio and television, worldwide. A Ph.D. from USC's Annenberg School, Gary offers programs through UCLA Extension and numerous universities, trade associations, and other organizations in the United States and abroad. He is headquartered in Glendale, California, and he can be reached at (818) 243-7338 or at: gary@customersatisfaction.com.

Salesmen: Keep Irrelevant Opinions To Yourself!

2006-01-26T06:40:00.000-08:00

I had nothing better to do the other day at the airport than to study the techniques of a fellow who was promoting premium charge cards. It seemed to me he was doing nearly everything imaginable to scare away business.

A gentleman sitting next to me, about 15 feet away from the vendor, called out: “Can I ask you a few questions?”

The reply: “No, I can’t leave my post—well—okay, uh, why don’t I just give you this brochure.”

The next thing he did was to strike up a nasty conversation with a man who was wearing a bold USC shirt.

“They’re going to lose you know,” the card seller taunted.

(His words were prophetic. Texas, as you know, prevailed in the national championship game, later that evening.)

Still, what a bozo!

How can you hope to sell anything by making people feel defensive?

I have seen this behavior not only in salespeople, but also in customer service providers and other functionaries—or should I call them, dysfunctionaries. They inject their biases and opinions into their business conversations without having a clue as to how offensive they sound.

They should go at it from a very different angle. Even if somebody asks them their opinion, they should say, “Actually, I don’t have a position on that,” and shut up.

They might be pleasantly surprised to find that suddenly they will get along with nearly everyone, and they’ll also close a lot more sales.

Dr. Gary S. Goodman © 2006

Dr. Gary S. Goodman, President of Customersatisfaction.com, is a popular keynote speaker, management consultant, and seminar leader and the best-selling author of 12 books, including Reach Out & Sell Someone® and Monitoring, Measuring & Managing Customer Service. A frequent guest on radio and television, worldwide, Gary’s programs are offered by UCLA Extension and by numerous universities, trade associations, and other organizations in the United States and abroad. Gary is headquartered in Glendale, California. He can be reached at (818) 243-7338 or at: gary@customersatisfaction.com

Sales Words To Use & To Avoid

2006-01-26T06:32:00.000-08:00

I come from a long line of communicators, salespeople, entrepreneurs, and even one telegraph operator.

All of them took language very seriously, and if you look at how they did in their careers, it worked out pretty well for them.

With this legacy in mind, please pardon me if I also show sensitivity to the impact of language. It's in my genes!

I suppose, if you want to be a word-nerd, it doesn’t hurt having a Ph.D. from the Annenberg School For Communication, at USC. (Occasionally, it can even get you some football tickets!)

Anyway, I’ve had such great responses to my articles about wimpy versus winning sales language that I thought I’d treat you to more examples of sales words to use and to avoid.

Typically, it is good sense to avoid using these weak-at-the-knees, trembling, weasel words and phrases:

I’d like to…

Perhaps…

Possibly…

Maybe…

Do you have a minute to talk?

I’m not interrupting anything, am I?

Substitute the following positive terms and combinations:

What we’ll do is…

What we do…

What we’re doing…

I’m sure you’ll find…

Definitely…

Certainly…

This will just take a second…

I’m a strong believer in the “Try it, you’ll like it!” approach to selling, and so I encourage you to put these improved words to use, every day, in your presentations.

And then tell me how you do, okay?

Dr. Gary S. Goodman © 2006

Dr. Gary S. Goodman, President of Customersatisfaction.com, is a popular keynote speaker, management consultant, and seminar leader and the best-selling author of 12 books, including Reach Out & Sell Someone® and Monitoring, Measuring & Managing Customer Service. A frequent guest on radio and television, worldwide, Gary’s programs are offered by UCLA Extension and by numerous universities, trade associations, and other organizations in the United States and abroad. Gary is headquartered in Glendale, California. He can be reached at (818) 243-7338 or at: gary@customersatisfaction.com.

Sales Stars Pitch From The Bullpen!

2006-01-26T06:29:00.000-08:00

When I was recruiting a call center staff for a Fortune 500 company, one of my associates fielded an inquiry from an applicant, and then handed the phone to me.

“The job sounds interesting,” the caller said, and then she whispered, “But is there a window?”

“A window?”

I wasn’t sure about what she meant.

“Is there a window in your call center? Can you see out, when you’re calling? I have to have a window, or I’ll go crazy!”

I told her there was a window, with a beautiful view of the parking lot, but she had to be standing next to the copier to see it.

“Sorry, that won’t do. Bye!”

Well, you have to hand it to her. She knows the conditions under which she works best.

Can you say the same thing about yourself?

For instance, do you think you would make more sales if you were asked to make cold calls from your own, private office or while seated in a bullpen with a number of other people around you?

I believe 90% would do better while seated in a bullpen, but a very small percentage would realize it.

Here’s my reasoning:

(1) We think privacy is superior, and that peace and quiet will facilitate intimacy with customers. Not so, peace and quiet will probably make you timid, and reluctant to dial the next number. The corner office will confer more status, but fewer sales.

(2) When we’re selling together, it’s like hunting in a pack. We’re more outgoing and we don’t want to let each other down.

(3) By being within view or earshot of others we are pressured to make the next call, and the one after that. Without that pressure, we can lapse into needless contemplation of our navels.

(4) We crave reinforcement, and when we do something well, publicly, we get it, and quickly. It’s no fun celebrating alone.

(5) Work is, in part a social outlet. When my former professor, Peter F. Drucker, used to comment about retirement, he said most folks who hang up their spurs don’t miss the work, itself. “It’s the gossip they miss,” he mused.

So, if you have a choice, pull up a cubicle and sell next to someone else. Not only will you keep each other company; you’ll probably both make more sales!

Dr. Gary S. Goodman, President of http://www.Customersatisfaction.com, is a popular keynote speaker, management consultant, and seminar leader and the best-selling author of 12 books, including Reach Out & Sell Someone® and Monitoring, Measuring & Managing Customer Service. He is a frequent guest on radio and television, worldwide. A Ph.D. from USC's Annenberg School, Gary offers programs through UCLA Extension and numerous universities, trade associations, and other organizations in the United States and abroad. He is headquartered in Glendale, California, and he can be reached at (818) 243-7338 or at: gary@customersatisfaction.com

Sales Secret: No Pain, No Gain!

2006-01-26T06:18:00.000-08:00

I was doing a nationwide consulting project for Xerox and I had a chance to train their field sales force as well as install a telemarketing unit.

I prepared by interviewing their best salespeople. One memorable producer was very insightful when it came to defining who makes a great customer:

“People in pain,” he said, quite assuredly.

I asked him to elaborate and he defined these as folks who have a problem and they simply must solve it, now.

His job is to get them to feel their pain, strongly, and then to put them out of their misery with a half-million dollar suite of products and services.

This is one of the best definitions I’ve come across for who is worth paying attention to, as a prospect. If someone is in pain, and he knows it, that’s ideal. If he doesn’t know it, and you can get him to realize it, efficiently, then it’s the next best thing.

But if you can’t get him to feel any pain, there’s no motivation to buy.

Lots of prospects that we might define as needy are in denial.

They just don’t want to believe they have a problem that requires a solution. If you do a check-up from the neck-up, they’re as good as dead.

Try to remember these five requirements for having a qualified prospect:

(1) They have a need.

(2) They feel its importance.

(3) They have the authority to address it.

(4) They have the money and can spend the money to address it.

(5) They’re willing to accept our help.

The top sales gun at Xerox was referring to numbers (1) and (2). Prospects must have a need and perceive its importance.

But (3), (4), and (5) also have to be in place.

Please don’t underestimate the significance of (5). Potential buyers must be open to the idea of receiving your help. You could be trying to sell into a company that for political reasons, can’t award a contract to anyone other than a local person, or to a first cousin.

Why work your way through the first four items, only to be blocked from getting the deal? For instance, as a consultant I have talked with prospects that had a need, appreciated its importance, had the budget and authority to solve it, but that didn’t want outside help.

So, depending on what you sell, you might want to juggle around the order of your qualifying questions to place (5) higher up.

Knowing who qualifies as a customer is crucial to your success as a salesperson.

Minimally, there has to be pain, for you to gain!

Dr. Gary S. Goodman, President of Customersatisfaction.com, is a popular keynote speaker, management consultant, and seminar leader and the best-selling author of 12 books, including Reach Out & Sell Someone® and Monitoring, Measuring & Managing Customer Service. He is a frequent guest on radio and television, worldwide. A Ph.D. from USC's Annenberg School, Gary offers programs through UCLA Extension and numerous universities, trade associations, and other organizations in the United States and abroad. He is headquartered in Glendale, California, and he can be reached at (818) 243-7338 or at: gary@customersatisfaction.com.

Sales & Customer Satisfaction Secret: Promise Big & Deliver Bigger!

2006-01-26T06:14:00.000-08:00

Reverend Robert Schuller is known to millions as the charismatic guiding light of the Crystal Cathedral, a monument to possibility thinking that has been the home of one of the most successful television ministries for decades.

Dr. Schuller is also a fine author and an engaging speaker, as well as a master marketer and a super salesman. Read him closely and you’ll be amazed at how he succeeded in making his dream of building the Crystal Cathedral a reality.

Suffice it to say, that he has a few brilliant insights, paraphrased here, that we can all benefit from putting to use:

(1) People love grand undertakings and they long to be part of something big.

(2) We make a terrible mistake by asking for less than what we need to fulfill our dreams.

(3) If you build it, they will come. (Later popularized in the movie, “Field of Dreams.”)

As salespeople, we tend to do the opposite. We propose a modest amount in our presentations, fail to ask for what we really want and need, and we wait for clients to order more, based on their perceived needs.

One of my most successful undertakings has been promoting the idea that corporations should train everyone to be better communicators, polished customer service purveyors, and salespeople. I urge them to “make a corporate commitment” to our programs, and to support training at all levels, from the president on down the line.

By necessity, such a commitment involves a substantial investment, but without a doubt, these mega-programs are the most satisfying to everyone.

Dr. Schuller says that small undertakings just don’t have the sizzle to generate interest and unleash people’s energies, and I’ve found this to be very true.

More important, it has been my experience that the surest path to creating high sales and high customer satisfaction is to promise big, and to deliver even bigger.

That way, everybody wins!

Dr. Gary S. Goodman © 2006

Dr. Gary S. Goodman, President of Customersatisfaction.com, is a popular keynote speaker, management consultant, and seminar leader and the best-selling author of 12 books, including Reach Out & Sell Someone® and Monitoring, Measuring & Managing Customer Service. A frequent guest on radio and television, worldwide, Gary’s programs are offered by UCLA Extension and by numerous universities, trade associations, and other organizations in the United States and abroad. Gary is headquartered in Glendale, California. He can be reached at (818) 243-7338 or at: gary@customersatisfaction.com.

Ring In Your Sales With Bells!

2006-01-26T06:10:00.000-08:00

When I was developing a call center for Xerox, I made a deal with my onsite coordinator:

“Put combination locks on the doors, and don’t permit any tours without speaking to me, first!”

I knew that a successful telemarketing unit would not only attract busloads of corporate tourists and gawkers, but it would be misunderstood.

One reason I promote privacy is that I strive to create a unique environment in a call center, unlike that in any other department. One of my suggestions is to use bells, such as those that adorn the check-in counters at hotels. When a rep sets an appointment or makes a sale, he rings his bell.

This signals success, and it causes a lot of excitement for a number of reasons:

(1) The rep is celebrating his success, making it conspicuous. He gets recognition.

(2) It makes those around him competitive. They want some recognition, too.

(3) It informs management, second by second, how the room is doing.

(4) It reinforces having a louder rather than quieter environment. (See my article: “Bigger Voices Sell Better!”

(5) It’s downright Pavlovian. Want to see management salivate? Ring that bell!

People sell better when they’re uninhibited, extroverted, and one way to get them to be bigger than life is to ring in their sales with bells!

Dr. Gary S. Goodman, President of www.Customersatisfaction.com, is a popular keynote speaker, management consultant, and seminar leader and the best-selling author of 12 books, including Reach Out & Sell Someone® and Monitoring, Measuring & Managing Customer Service. He is a frequent guest on radio and television, worldwide. A Ph.D. from USC's Annenberg School, Gary offers programs through UCLA Extension and numerous universities, trade associations, and other organizations in the United States and abroad. He is headquartered in Glendale, California, and he can be reached at (818) 243-7338 or at: gary@customersatisfaction.com

Remember Next Tuesday: It's Bring Your Pets To Work Day!

2006-01-26T06:05:00.000-08:00

An editor I know offers his definition of a small business.

It isn’t a place where fewer than 250 people work, or where it is family owned and operated.

It’s a place where you can bring your dog to work!

I like that, and it makes me wonder if, every now and then, businesses large and small should declare it’s bring-your-pets-to-work-day!

Rural kids enjoy fests like this.

In Greencastle, Indiana, for instance, the younger set will bring tiny farm animals to school. It isn’t unusual to have a show-and-tell session featuring little powdered pigs shuttled in shoeboxes, and your standard range of puppies, kitties, hamsters, and snakes.

Well, we already have casual Fridays and other workplace perks that encourage us to let our hair down and team-build. What could be better than sharing our pets?

Our pets actually say more about our personalities and inner worlds than our kids, because, for one thing we can choose our pets, right?

On Pet-Day, we can have contests and competitions, such as frog jumping, and dog races, best and worst trained distinctions, blue ribbons and certificates of wonderfulness.

By the minute, I’m getting more and more worked up about this.

If it really catches on, it could become another faux holiday, such as National Customer Service Week, or Secretaries Day, though I’m not sure if automation and political correctness have nixed the latter.

Anyway, put a note in that suggestion box at work. This is one improvement that will make nearly everybody purr and coo.

Dr. Gary S. Goodman, President of Customersatisfaction.com, is a popular keynote speaker, management consultant, and seminar leader and the best-selling author of 12 books, including Reach Out & Sell Someone® and Monitoring, Measuring & Managing Customer Service. A frequent guest on radio and television, worldwide, Gary’s programs are offered by UCLA Extension and by numerous universities, trade associations, and other organizations in the United States and abroad. Gary is headquartered in Glendale, California. He can be reached at (818) 243-7338 or at: gary@customersatisfaction.com.

Relationship Building 101: Just Call Them To Say Hello

2006-01-26T06:02:00.000-08:00

There are a million reasons to call a prospect—all of them proper and official.

For instance, you can call to tell them about a special sale, to introduce a new product, to alert them to a company-sponsored event.

You can remind them to stock up on an item that is facing an impending shortage. The list, as you know, goes on.

But, there is one reason to call that never goes out of style, and it earns you lots of relationship credits in the Bank of Human Appreciation:

Just calling to say hello.

We do this with family and friends, so why not with clients?

I suspect many of us feel we’re wasting everybody’s time if we don’t begin a conversation with an official, sanctioned reason for our communication. Maybe, we feel we’re going to embarrass ourselves by making nothing but small talk.

But here’s what happens when you have no official agenda. After asking Bill if he’s been getting out on his boat, or up to the mountains for a little skiing, he’ll open up and generate an official reason for the call.

He’ll probably say, “You know I was thinking about you the other day. I know a guy who could probably use your services.”

Wow, that’s a referral. I can’t tell you how many salespeople complain that they feel odd asking for referrals. Isn’t it nice when they just crop up, seemingly by themselves?

This is just the type of serendipitous perk that you get when you call for the heck of it.

I’ve found that it’s also a good time to hear what’s happening of consequence in your client’s industry. When I speak to my university contacts around the county, I make a point of asking what courses are doing especially well for them.

Always, I hear about new ones that have been flying, to that point, totally under my radar. I may not want to offer the same programs, but knowing that more resources are being placed behind them tells me something about the future direction of my sponsors.

When I check in with the next campus, situated hundred or thousands of miles away, I can mention what seems to be working for my other client.

Because your conversation doesn’t have an official agenda, it’s very relaxing, and that mood is conducive to doing more business. Everybody appreciates interactions that carry less stress.

You don’t want to overdo these calls. One a month, or every other month, might do wonders for you and for your customers.

Dr. Gary S. Goodman, President of Customersatisfaction.com, is a popular keynote speaker, management consultant, and seminar leader and the best-selling author of 12 books, including Reach Out & Sell Someone® and Monitoring, Measuring & Managing Customer Service. He is a frequent guest on radio and television, worldwide. A Ph.D. from USC's Annenberg School, Gary offers programs through UCLA Extension and numerous universities, trade associations, and other organizations in the United States and abroad. He is headquartered in Glendale, California, and he can be reached at (818) 243-7338 or at: gary@customersatisfaction.com

Real Rambo's Make Cold Calls!

2006-01-26T05:54:00.000-08:00

There are three kinds of salespeople:

(1) Those who hate cold-calling, and would rather get a route canal;

(2) Those who love and hate it, knowing it’s good for them, but are still uncomfortable doing it;

(3) And those who actually look forward to doing it, who find it exciting and challenging and financially rewarding.

99% of the people I’ve trained are in the first two groups. They are only moderately successful as salespeople.

The real winners teach themselves to enjoy cold calling, to relish the thrills and spills and the special status that accords to the Big Dogs, who really know how to hunt.

Speaking of which, there are three kinds of hunters:(1) Those who want to hang around the campfire and tell stories; (2) Those who stay near the campsite, gathering berries and low-hanging fruit; and (3) Rambo’s.

Of course, you remember Rambo, the movie character brought to life by Sylvester Stallone. He was the guy that the small town Sheriff tried to bully. The Sheriff’s name, by the way, was Dummo.

Rambo can do it all, fashioning a poncho from a scrap of canvas, hunting with only a knife, some self-made string, and his grit. And he, better than anyone else can survive and thrive on adversity.

I was doing a ride-along with a salesman in Florida whose specialty is building his insurance accounts by cold calling at business parks and out of the way factories.

I asked him why he enjoyed cold calling so much. Here’s how this Rambo replied:

“You never know what opportunities you’re going to walk into, “ he beamed, brightly.

A second later, we passed through a portal only to find a million-watt, gorgeous smile waiting for us.

I’ll tell you why I like it. Once you can successfully cold call, you can accomplish anything else in selling. It’s like bench-pressing 300 pounds and then cutting back to 100.

A Rambo who is handed a warm lead swarms all over it, and doesn’t back off until a deal is made. If he’s so lucky as to receive an inbound call, well, the game is over.

He’ll definitely transform the lukewarm inquiry into a sizzling sale, on the spot—-no call backs, or “Please send me a brochure” dodges, allowed.

Don’t believe anyone who says cold calling is dead, unnecessary, or passé.

Just Rambo-up, and you’ll prove them all to be wrong!

Dr. Gary S. Goodman © 2005

Dr. Gary S. Goodman is a popular keynote speaker, sales management consultant, and seminar leader and the best-selling author of 12 books, including Reach Out & Sell Someone, You Can Sell Anything By Telephone!, Monitoring, Measuring & Managing Customer Service, and How To Sell Like A Natural Born Salesperson. President of Customersatisfaction.com & The Goodman Organization, he is a frequent guest on radio and television, worldwide. Gary’s programs are offered by UCLA Extension and by numerous universities, trade associations, and other organizations in the United States and abroad. When he isn’t consulting, Gary can usually be found in Glendale, California, where he makes his home. He can be reached at (818) 243-7338 or at gary@customersatisfaction.com

Reaching Out With The Spirit

2006-01-26T05:51:00.000-08:00

At first, I thought he was just cold. The casino’s air conditioning was pumped up, and it did feel a bit brisk.

But then, he turned to the side, and instead of seeing the outline of crossed arms beneath his tee shirt, I saw a flat silhouette. Instinctively, I turned away.

I didn’t want to acknowledge that the gentleman standing in front of me in the buffet line, the chap who seemed so nonchalant, easygoing, and totally comfortable surrounded by three family members, had no arms.

An odd mix of emotions suddenly coursed through me, making me woozy.

I wondered how he managed everything. My two days of carefree card playing, dancing, roller coaster and log rides, embracing my loved one, swimming, climbing to the top of the water slide, all of these things, things I could do flashed before me. Most of my pleasures had involved grasping, gripping, touching, feeling, balancing, gesturing, and thousands of effortless manipulations, of which this gentleman was nearly incapable.

How would it feel to be him, to be in that body? I wondered.

Instantly, I was flooded with self-pity, hopelessness, and despair. I wouldn’t want to live, I thought.

It was then that I realized what a coward I must be, compared to this guy. He seemed the least self-conscious person standing in line. I felt grotesque, as I considered how I shrink from challenges, large and small.

Like a kid, I tell myself I don’t want to do this or that, and so I don’t. If he could only have a day indulging the opportunities I turn down, it would be nothing less than heaven.

Traffic was light, heading back to LA. I easily made it to my Black Belt class. The Sensei had us hitting bags. His instruction was simple: Outdo anything you’ve ever done before.

I held nothing back, as the image of that fellow glowed in my mind.

Over and again, with renewed spirit, I struck the bag for both of us.

Copyright, 2005

Dr. Gary S. Goodman is a popular keynote speaker, consultant, and seminar leader and the best-selling author of 12 books. He is the author of the Nightingale-Conant audio program, The Law Of Large Numbers: How To Make Success Inevitable. Gary teaches Entrepreneurship and Consulting at UCLA Extension, and he is President of Customersatisfaction.com and The Goodman Organization, in Glendale, CA. He can be reached at gary@customersatisfaction.com

Reach Out and Sell Someone!

2006-01-26T05:49:00.000-08:00

I was speaking to the operator of a successful business the other day, asking him how he and his fellow franchisees earn their clients. He mentioned 10 ways: networking, referrals, and advertising are among them.

But one, he said, outperforms the rest: selling by telephone.

Businesspeople who make calls outpace their peers by a wide margin, he said, noting that he is the franchise system’s top performer.

Why aren’t more experienced business people emulating this fellow, using their people skills to meet and greet potential clients by phone? There are several reasons:

1. They’re afraid of real-time rejection.
2. They believe the phone is a tainted tool.
3. They have low frustration tolerance.
4. They think there has to be an easier way!
5. They believe they come across poorly.
6. They believe phoning lacks dignity.
7. They believe their target market is deluged with calls.
8. They don’t have a manageable database.
9. They lack an effective phone presentation.
10. They lack good phone training.

If you look at this list, at least half of the items result from psychological factors. Many people resist phoning because they needlessly beat themselves up and disparage the medium. That’s what items 1-7 are all about—negative beliefs and judgments.

Instead of focusing on themselves, businesspeople should attend to the last three items: managing their database, devising an effective phone presentation, and getting good coaching and training. Address these challenges, and the first seven impediments will either go away, or be dramatically minimized.

Let’s discuss these items briefly, and put them into proper perspective.

1. They’re afraid of real-time rejection.

Most of us are rejected silently and indirectly. If we send out a zillion resumes, most will end up in the trash, but we don’t feel that pain, directly. Nor do we hurt if we mail out as many business brochures, which meet the same fate. But when we empower someone to flatly say no, directly in our ear, it feels threatening. Rejection is usually not about us—at most it’s about our offer, our value proposition, and how we have communicated it. So, there’s no reason to take it personally. Attend to the real challenge: fix your message and how you’re delivering it. (For a more complete discussion, please see my article, “Thanks For The Rejection!”)

2. They believe the phone is a tainted tool.

As consumers, many of us have been bombarded by calls that have had little value. For years, it made economic sense for giant call centers to spray-and-pray. Now, with the ubiquity of answering devices, caller I.D. and effective anti-telemarketing legislation, these calls have been diminishing, but our negative attitude about them, persists. The phone, as a medium, is alive and well. We need to work on developing the message and the messenger.

3. They have low frustration tolerance.

There is a math-of-success in prospecting and selling. If you make fifty calls, you’ll probably find ten people who will express some interest and be worth pursuing. After sending information to them, and following-up, three may still be interested, and of these, you might close one or two.

I’m just using these numbers as an example, because they point out that fifty tries might earn you one success. Let me tell you one of my favorite war stories about a guy who did much worse than this.

A Houston-based client of mine sells investments to institutions such as colleges and large banks. One of their commission salespeople worked from January through October without earning a sale. Literally, he made thousands upon thousands of calls, to no avail.

Every other salesperson was making at least some money, and a few were doing very well, but he struck out, left and right.

Then, in November, he got his first order of the year. It was so large that it made him a millionaire, on the spot.

He had high frustration tolerance, which is a trait worth developing! (For a fuller discussion, please refer to my audio seminar: “The Law of Large Numbers: How To Make Success Inevitable,” published by Nightingale-Conant.)

4. They think there has to be an easier way!

The other night, at a meeting of business professionals, I was discussing marketing with a consultant. He beamed that he got a client four years after initially meeting him at a mixer. Networking is his favorite way to get business.

I agree, networking can be pleasant but it’s just too unpredictable. Waiting for the phone to ring only seems easy. In my experience, it is harder than proactively selling someone, which permits much greater control and instant feedback.

5. They believe they come across poorly over the phone.

True enough, when you hear certain people over the phone, there’s much less than meets the eye. Their voices may be inherently unpleasant, squeaky or gravelly, or their articulation may be flawed.

But most people don’t suffer from these ills, and even non-radio announcer voices can be enhanced through training, while others can be improved with medical help.

(6) They believe phoning lacks dignity.

Some aristocratic businesspeople feel that phoning is simply too far beneath their social station to be permissible for them to do. They equate it to begging.

All I can say is that the dignity in phoning is equal to the dignity you bring to it. If you sound impressive, and credible, you’ll generally encounter fair treatment.

(7) They believe their target market is deluged with calls.

I’ve been in business over twenty years, and the cold calls I receive today are significantly less than ever before. I suspect fewer people are making business-to-business calls, if only because they don’t know how to penetrate voice mail systems and call screening.

(8) They don’t have a manageable database.

Calling isn’t merely about dialing and smiling. It’s about getting organized to call and being able to capture information about the calls you’ve made.

The first challenge is to get a good list of prospects. Once you have that, you should load it into one of the many inexpensive database programs offered by software sellers.

By tackling these tasks, you’ll be able to be productive and you won’t have the time or interest in wallowing over your rejection rate. You’ll be able to measure it, and improve upon it.

(9) They lack an effective phone presentation.

You need to write, or hire a pro to write a good script.

No matter how glib you are, you should know exactly what you’re going to say to get through screening, to leave a captivating message on voice mail, to greet a real-time human, to credibly introduce yourself, to state your basic offer, to earn a commitment from the listener, to confirm the progress you made in the call, and to identify the next step to come.

Without a script, you’ll ramble, seem disorganized, invert the order of what you say, and hopelessly change your talk from one contact to the next. That way, you’ll be unaware of what’s working, what’s failing, and what you need to change.

A script mustn’t sound stilted or canned, and you need to make yours seem fresh and spontaneous. But when you do, it will serve you very well.

(10) They lack good phone training.

I had the luxury of being trained by my father, who was superb at making cold calls to develop his advertising, radio, and TV ventures. He’d phone from home, and I’d listen, fascinated by his ability to adjust to different people.

In college, I worked as a full-time collector for a finance company, and then I became top salesperson and a manager at Time-Life Books. Later, with a Ph.D. in Communications, I started training others as a consultant.

I’ve found that some people are “naturals” over the phone—but they’re rare. Most need to be trained and coached, to develop their skills.

But once they have them, they feel as I do: I could land in any place in the world where I speak the language, pick up the phone, and prosper.

It’s always the right time to Reach Out & Sell Someone®!

Dr. Gary S. Goodman
President, Customersatisfaction.com

Dr. Gary S. Goodman is a popular keynote speaker, management consultant, and seminar leader and the best-selling author of 12 books, including Reach Out & Sell Someone® and Monitoring, Measuring & Managing Customer Service. Gary’s programs are offered by UCLA Extension and by numerous universities, trade associations, and other organizations in the United States and abroad. When he isn’t consulting, Gary can be found in Glendale, California. He can be reached at (818) 243-7338 or at: gary@customersatisfaction.com.

Picasso's Five Sales Strategies

2006-01-26T05:43:00.000-08:00

Pablo Picasso was one of the most influential artists of the last century, no question about it.

The other day I spent some extra time at the Norton Simon Museum, in Pasadena, checking out his paintings, and then his sculptures, and I got to thinking about what he could teach salespeople.

There are at least five solid lessons:

(1 Picasso put "The Law of Large Numbers" to work. (See my audio program with this title, published by Nightingale-Conant.)

He was extremely prolific, having created, literally thousands of works over his career. Compare that to DaVinci, whose significant output was extremely limited, however brilliant. Salespeople should be constantly opening new accounts, more than they think they need to reach their quotas and to have a nice living. Push yourself to create a lot, every day, that’s the Picasso way!

(2) Picasso, as you may know, used various expressive styles. He had a “blue” period, dabbled in cubism, realism, minimalism, and so forth. There are lots of ways to communicate with your public, so become adept at all: phone, face to face, voice mail, email, etc.

(3) Ignore your critics, internal and external. If you watch the movie about Picasso, starring Anthony Hopkins, you can see how self-confident this guy was, especially in his romances and work. He didn’t indulge in self-criticism, and he had no time to listen to his external critics. In fact, he probably outlived most of them!

(4) Lead, and let others follow. Emerson said to be great is to be misunderstood, and while Picasso did enjoy commercial success during his lifetime, he set his own course, boldly creating styles unique to himself. One of the sculptures I like a lot at the Norton Simon Museum actually looks a hundred years ahead of our time, and he shaped it in 1909! I think it may take audiences that long to really “get it,” but so what?

(5) Enjoy yourself! This guy loved life, and was filled with energy and vitality. He left nothing un-done; you can see this in the movie about his life. Work should be involving and enjoyable. If it’s drudgery, it’s not just killing your creativity; it’s probably killing you.

Most great artists outlive everyone else, except great comedians. We could do worse than to model our careers after luminaries such as Picasso, Erte, and Dali, to name a few.

Dr. Gary S. Goodman, President of Customersatisfaction.com, is a popular keynote speaker, management consultant, and seminar leader and the best-selling author of 12 books, including Reach Out & Sell Someone® and Monitoring, Measuring & Managing Customer Service. He is a frequent guest on radio and television, worldwide. A Ph.D. from USC's Annenberg School, Gary offers programs through UCLA Extension and numerous universities, trade associations, and other organizations in the United States and abroad. He is headquartered in Glendale, California, and he can be reached at (818) 243-7338 or at: gary@customersatisfaction.com

Picasso's Five Sales Strategies

2006-01-26T05:36:00.000-08:00

Persuasive Salespeople Are PEPPY

2006-01-26T05:32:00.000-08:00

One of my speech teachers in college was former Navy Captain, Sheldon Hayden, who taught me a lot about communicating. He was well suited to the task, having been trained as one of Dale Carnegie’s first instructors.

He shared with me a winning, three-part formula for persuading anybody to buy anything. And it has helped me to close innumerable sales.

This simple outline, he asserted, could be used to inform, to persuade or sell, and even to entertain.

(1) First, you make a POINT.

(2) Second, support that point with EVIDENCE.

(3) Third, repeat the main POINT.

He called it his PEP Formula, and I can tell you from long and wondrous experience in using it, that it certainly lives up to its name. I’ve personally used it to inform, to persuade and to sell, and to entertain.

Moreover, it’s PEPPY, lending energy, coherence, and dynamism to your talks, to your reports, to anything.

If you take a quick moment to review the sequence of this article, I promise you’ll find at least one major PEP talk in it.

Many of us use a variant of this unconsciously. If you listen to the most credible and sincere sounding salespeople, you’ll be able to trace this outline.

Try using PEP in your everyday chats with family, friends, and co-workers.

How’s this one?

Sorry, you can’t go out and play, because:

1. You haven’t eaten your lunch;

2. You haven’t done your homework; and

3. You haven’t cleaned your room.

So, I’m sorry, but you can’t go out and play!

In future articles, I’ll show you some of the more exciting dimensions of PEP, but in the meantime, try using it at least once a day, especially in selling, to prove its value to yourself!

Dr. Gary S. Goodman © 2005

Dr. Gary S. Goodman, President of Customersatisfaction.com, is a popular keynote speaker, management consultant, and seminar leader and the best-selling author of 12 books, including Monitoring, Measuring & Managing Customer Service, Reach Out & Sell Someone, and How To Sell Like A Natural Born Salesperson. He is a frequent guest on radio and television, worldwide. Gary’s programs are offered by UCLA Extension and by numerous universities, trade associations, and other organizations in the United States and abroad. When he isn’t consulting, Gary can usually be found in Glendale, California, where he makes his home. He can be reached at (818) 243-7338 or at gary@customersatisfaction.com

Perky Voices = Perky Sales

2006-01-26T05:30:00.000-08:00

It’s easy to sell someone who is in a great mood, don’t you agree?

But why do most people we call sound grumpy? Can’t we just once run into someone who has won the lottery and wants to share?

Imagine how many more sales you could make if say, 90% of those with whom you spoke started to sound nice, supportive, upbeat, and receptive. That would surely beat guarded and suspicious, right?

Well, here’s the good news. You can control and alter their receptivity by inserting a quick vocal trick.

But first, let me set the stage.

You’re cold calling, and you’re put through to Mr. Smith. His assistant connected you, and he doesn’t know why, or know you, so he sounds like he’s speaking from a cocoon.

“Hello,” he grumbles.

Stop here. How do you normally respond, tonally?

I’ll tell you. You’ll match his grumbling tone. If he’s down in the dumps, you’ll jump down there, too!

And that’s a big problem, because it’s hard to sell anybody when you both sound depressed.

Here comes the trick to your rescue.

Backtrack to his grumpy “hello.” Instead of allowing your voice to decline, consciously contrast it with his.

Ask his name, don’t state it. “Hello, Mr. Smith?”

This should instantly elevate his voice into a more upbeat, optimistic range, into a range of greater receptivity.

From that point, continue your presentation as you normally would.

Prove the value of this technique to yourself. I’m sure you’ll agree that at the crucial initial stage of a conversation, a perky voice will perk up your sales!

Dr. Gary S. Goodman, President of Customersatisfaction.com, is a popular keynote speaker, management consultant, and seminar leader and the best-selling author of 12 books, including Reach Out & Sell Someone® and Monitoring, Measuring & Managing Customer Service. He is a frequent guest on radio and television, worldwide. A Ph.D. from USC's Annenberg School, Gary offers programs through UCLA Extension and numerous universities, trade associations, and other organizations in the United States and abroad. He is headquartered in Glendale, California, and he can be reached at (818) 243-7338 or at: gary@customersatisfaction.com.

Paradise Is Where The Rewards Are!

2006-01-26T05:28:00.000-08:00

When I was doing a major project in Houston, Texas, a number of Californians asked me how I could stand the heat and humidity, especially in August.

And then there was the matter of hurricanes and tropical storms. How could I put up with city streets that turned cars into rafts?

I replied that my shirts may have been moist, but I didn’t feel a thing.

I was doing what I loved, consulting, and implementing a unique program that I had developed for producing customer loyalty at a major financial services company.

When I flew in and out of town, it was first-class, and whenever I wished I rented a convertible.

I was paid quite well.

Oh, one more thing. I rented a suite at the luxurious Four Seasons Hotel.

By the month.

Which brings me to my point: Paradise isn’t a place.

It doesn’t have to have swaying palms, azure skies, and tropical drinks shaded by tiny umbrellas.

It’s where you are, providing you find it rewarding. That’s the key.

The weather and other environmental challenges disappear when you’re fully engaged with your life, professionally, personally, or preferably, with both.

Houston rocked.

Did I mention that I saw Elton John, the Rolling Stones, and the Astros when I was there?

Dr. Gary S. Goodman, President of Customersatisfaction.com, is a popular keynote speaker, management consultant, and seminar leader and the best-selling author of 12 books, including Reach Out & Sell Someone® and Monitoring, Measuring & Managing Customer Service. He is a frequent guest on radio and television, worldwide. A Ph.D. from USC's Annenberg School, Gary offers programs through UCLA Extension and numerous universities, trade associations, and other organizations in the United States and abroad. He is headquartered in Glendale, California, and he can be reached at (818) 243-7338 or at: gary@customersatisfaction.com.

Overcome Procrastination By Doing What You Really, Truly, & Utterly Hate!

2006-01-26T05:26:00.000-08:00

According to famed psychologist, Dr. Albert Ellis, who is whispered to be in contention for a Nobel Prize, there is one very good way to lick procrastination.

It is to do what you hate, right away.

If you can tackle that, everything else suddenly becomes easy, by comparison. You’ll then be floating on air, effortlessly completing one task after the next.

And Ellis has a clever way of inducing us to cut out the distractions, excuses, rationalizations, and other things that prevent us from confronting our major obstacle.

He tells his patients and his readers to: (1) Either do the thing they hate, something that really needs to be done, anyway, and that will benefit them; or (2) Do something they hate even more, from which they’ll get no benefit, and which will even cost them a substantial amount.

For example, let’s say you need to get into your back yard, prepare the soil, and plant some grass seed. It’s a messy job, and it’s physically taxing, too. No wonder you want to put it off!

But you’re thinking of renting or selling your home rather soon, and this is the cheapest and best way to make the yard appear to be appealing. So, the clock is ticking, and if you wait too long, you’ll be out of luck.

Ellis suggests for every day you stall, after your ideal planting date, you write a check for $100, or $250, or even $500 to a cause or to a group you utterly despise. If you zealously support animal rights, you’d send your hard earned dough to a group that advocates euthanasia for stray animals, instead of adoptions.

That’s harsh, isn’t it? You might even consider it awful. And that’s exactly Ellis’ point.

The more hated action has to be dramatic enough for you to recognize that it is a lot easier and more rewarding to do what you should do, yet you have been putting off.

There are milder forms of this behavior therapy. You could deny yourself a minor pleasure until you get your homework done, or scrub the toilet, or groom your dog.

That can work.

But with the big objects of your procrastination, it’s better to have bigger penalties!

Dr. Gary S. Goodman, President of Customersatisfaction.com, is a popular keynote speaker, management consultant, and seminar leader and the best-selling author of 12 books, including Reach Out & Sell Someone® and Monitoring, Measuring & Managing Customer Service. He is a frequent guest on radio and television, worldwide. A Ph.D. from USC's Annenberg School, Gary offers programs through UCLA Extension and numerous universities, trade associations, and other organizations in the United States and abroad. He is headquartered in Glendale, California, and he can be reached at (818) 243-7338 or at: gary@customersatisfaction.com.

One Bad Waiter Can Kill The Economy!

2006-01-26T05:24:00.000-08:00

Whenever I speak out against lousy service I feel I’m performing my civic duty.

Unfortunately, all too many service providers think I’m a Johnny Damon, a team switcher, a traitor to the corporate cause. They wonder how can I be sincerely interested in helping consumers if my consulting income is provided by companies?

Of course, that’s a naive question. We drink from the same well, because we’re all consumers.

When service standards are high, companies prosper and the economy grows, not only because of job creation and a more robust tax base. It grows because consumers are confident.

They’re confident enough to spend, because they anticipate they’ll get value, and that includes proper treatment and the right help when they need it.

Have you ever noticed how the releasing of consumer confidence numbers can rock Wall Street? Investors know that when confidence plunges, spending dries up. People cut back, and the economy as a whole recedes.

Consider your own everyday behavior. When are you more likely to order dessert: when your waiter has been exceedingly upbeat and efficient, or when he has been rude?

While we’re at it, let’s imagine the impact that just one exceedingly rude waiter can have on the economy.

If he offends us, minimally, we’ll very possibly take our trade elsewhere. Moreover, we may generalize his conduct, imputing it to restaurants in general, making us cut back on eating out.

Statistics also suggest that we’ll tell at least 5-10 of our friends and associates about our negative experience, and our warning will discourage them from frequenting the place.

Profits will decline, and the offending restaurant may decide to forego plans to expand, or to open new units. It may be forced to lay off workers. Instead of adding to the tax base, the business will become a drain on it.

The restaurant’s service quality will probably decline further, because the single sourpuss who disserved us will infect others with his bad attitude. They’ll model after him, making it hard to recruit and retain “positive” people.

The place will earn a bad reputation in the trade, and that word, careening through the supply chain, will also wend its way down to customers.

Fostering such a poor restaurant, the entire area may slide into decay. If the restaurant shutters its doors, this may make a future restaurateur think twice about locating in a spot where a predecessor failed. An empty storefront will also rattle the confidence of neighboring businesses, residents, and workers.

Nearby hotels, dependent in part on neighborhood eateries to attract guests, will also be affected. Again, the tax base will shrink, and along with it, essential policing and other public services will decline. Further public investment in infrastructural improvements may be difficult to garner.

Travel agents may discourage vacationers and businesspeople from going to an increasingly seedy or blighted destination. Meeting planners may elect to take their lucrative conferences and conventions, elsewhere.

Once a critical mass of decay has been reached, it could take years or decades for the neighborhood to regenerate.

If you think I’m going overboard, recall this vision, paraphrased from Shakespeare:

For want of a nail, a shoe was lost. For want of a shoe, a horse was lost. For want of a horse a rider was lost. For want of a rider, a battle was lost. For want of a battle, the war was lost.

For want of a good waiter, our economy could be lost.

Dr. Gary S. Goodman, President of Customersatisfaction.com, is a popular keynote speaker, management consultant, and seminar leader and the best-selling author of 12 books, including Reach Out & Sell Someone® and Monitoring, Measuring & Managing Customer Service. A frequent guest on radio and television, worldwide, Gary’s programs are offered by UCLA Extension and by numerous universities, trade associations, and other organizations in the United States and abroad. Gary is headquartered in Glendale, California. He can be reached at (818) 243-7338 or at: gary@customersatisfaction.com.

Ok, Use YOUR Script, But Stick To That!

2006-01-26T05:20:00.000-08:00

I believe in the expression, “Let a thousand flowers bloom.”

Last Spring, it literally got me into trouble, because I planted a zillion wildflowers in the back yard, to have my own version of a Monet garden.

It worked, too well! I had a riot of color, but my stepping-stones and walking paths were obscured, and the job of removing the dead stems, was tedious and nasty.

Still, the chaos was beautiful and worth it.

When it comes to sales presentations, I’m also a believer in letting a thousand scripts bloom. Theoretically, there are multiple pathways to sales. My script may be better than yours, for me, but the words that naturally flow from my lips can sound silly coming from yours, and vice versa.

But as a practical matter, when I hand a rep a script, I want him to use it. It is going to be more effective than having him “wing-it” from call to call. His improvisations will never add up to my carefully crafted persuasive prose, unless he’s an utter genius, but they’re rare.

Happily there is an alternative to the “My way or the highway!” approach to script enforcement. Let’s say you have a small call center, with ten desks.

It’s totally cool with me to hear ten different presentations going on. Please note, I said ten, not twenty, and not 2,000.

Ten.

If each rep wants to write down his text, and to stick to that, providing it produces results for us, I’m supportive of that idea.

My ego doesn’t count. I don’t need to hear MY WORDS echoing back to me. I just need CONSISTENT words in operation, call after call--words that are proven to work.

Try this approach, and I think you’ll find that it sends the right message, a mature one to reps.

It says, structure works. Moreover, we in management aren’t the only repositories of wisdom. You can be creative.

But once you have planned your script, work that script!

Dr. Gary S. Goodman, President of Customersatisfaction.com, is a popular keynote speaker, management consultant, and seminar leader and the best-selling author of 12 books, including Reach Out & Sell Someone® and Monitoring, Measuring & Managing Customer Service. He is a frequent guest on radio and television, worldwide. A Ph.D. from USC's Annenberg School, Gary offers programs through UCLA Extension and numerous universities, trade associations, and other organizations in the United States and abroad. He is headquartered in Glendale, California, and he can be reached at (818) 243-7338 or at: gary@customersatisfaction.com.

No Problem, I'll Deal With Your Replacement!

2006-01-26T05:17:00.000-08:00

You’ve heard the adage, “Don’t get mad; get even” haven’t you?

Well, let’s do better than that, shall we?

One of the best aspects of being in business for a couple of decades is that you see things from a broader perspective than the novice.

You realize the wisdom in a line I first heard from my professor, the famous management guru, Peter F. Drucker:

“We don’t solve many of life’s problems; we outlive them!”

And there are fewer things as sweet as encountering an adversary in business, someone who turns into an apparently unstoppable nemesis, whose reign of terror, or incompetence, you survive.

For example, I was trying to earn the service training business of a client that was already using me for its telemarketing training. My contact was impressed with another firm, one that had a big reputation and he elected to use them, instead.

I asked him why, and he echoed what they told him: “If you got hit by a truck, we’d be out of luck” because at that time, I operated solo. It was a stupid reason to select them, one that was an actually insurable and manageable risk.

Anyway, fast-forward a few years, and my client was sold to a larger competitor, so in the corporate sense, it died—eaten by a predator. The manager lost his position.

Soon after that, the very company that I lost out to hired me to train its field sales force and to install a large telemarketing unit. That contract was huge, from the standpoint of dollars and prestige.

I guess it was Yogi Berra who said never give up because “It ain’t over ‘till it’s over.”

Remember this when you are rejected or mistreated by someone in business. And silently comfort yourself with the line:

“No problem; I’ll deal with your replacement!”

Dr. Gary S. Goodman, President of Customersatisfaction.com, is a popular keynote speaker, management consultant, and seminar leader and the best-selling author of 12 books, including Reach Out & Sell Someone® and Monitoring, Measuring & Managing Customer Service. He is a frequent guest on radio and television, worldwide. A Ph.D. from USC's Annenberg School, Gary offers programs through UCLA Extension and numerous universities, trade associations, and other organizations in the United States and abroad. He is headquartered in Glendale, California, and he can be reached at (818) 243-7338 or at: gary@customersatisfaction.com.

Motivate Yourself: Treat Bad News As Good News & Good News As Temporary

2006-01-26T05:15:00.000-08:00

It’s lonely at the top, and this applies to salespeople, especially.

Selling isn’t a team sport. It is a task that resists collaboration, like writing.

And those of us who sell for a major part of our livings know that our greatest challenge is getting up for the game, making sure we’re motivated, excited about the challenges before us.

If we don’t make ourselves sell, nobody else will pick up the slack, or hand us their “extra” orders, unless we’re still so fresh at it that the manager is nursing us along by feeding us “house” accounts.

But even that doesn’t last forever, and you have to question the wisdom in it.

So, how can you stay up, emotionally, and psyched, especially if you’re hitting a tough patch and the sales are few and far between? Here are some tips that have worked for me:

(1) Treat each setback as good news, as an opportunity. Henry Ford said failure is an opportunity to try again, more intelligently. There is a silver lining, if only the fact that your will is being forged in the molten furnace of disappointment, and you’ll emerge tougher and stronger than before.

(2) When sales are rolling in for you on a schedule celebrate, briefly, and then forget about them, quickly. They’re temporary, so see them as such. Don’t con yourself into thinking that you’re getting so good at selling that you can cut back your commitment to working hard.

(3) When you start seeing some customers as more valuable than others, based on order size, or profit margins, you’re getting too analytical. Leave the numbers crunching to management, or forget about it, altogether. Inevitably, in my experience, when I start thinking that some of my clients aren’t as cool as others, suddenly I have to work especially hard to get any new ones aboard.

(4) Build into your schedule relaxation breaks, but make them short, yet thorough. If you can afford it, get away for the weekend. Look into one of the cheap internet travel packages and fly somewhere, or just pack a bag and take the car somewhere without any idea of where you’re heading. I assure you that you’ll feel you got away, and you’ll be refreshed.

(5) Realize that we’re creatures of habit. We shape habits, and then they shape us. What kinds of habits are you forming right now? When you feel stuck in any rut, that’s the time to change your routine. Eat in new places, drive a different route to work, go to bed or get up two hours earlier. All of these things will help you to see that your behavior patterns are your choice, and you can change them at any time.

These are some things that work for me. They help me to maintain the “ecology” of motivation, so I don’t get too high or too low for my own good!

Dr. Gary S. Goodman, President of Customersatisfaction.com, is a popular keynote speaker, management consultant, and seminar leader and the best-selling author of 12 books, including Reach Out & Sell Someone® and Monitoring, Measuring & Managing Customer Service. He is a frequent guest on radio and television, worldwide. A Ph.D. from USC's Annenberg School, Gary offers programs through UCLA Extension and numerous universities, trade associations, and other organizations in the United States and abroad. He is headquartered in Glendale, California, and he can be reached at (818) 243-7338 or at: gary@customersatisfaction.com.

Business Owners: 5 of the Many Ways How Blogging Can Help Your Business

2006-01-19T11:22:00.000-08:00

Businesses of all sizes are beginning to realize the advantage of blogging and what that activity can mean for their businesses.

Despite still being in its infancy, compared to other more mature marketing technologies, blogs are already significantly affecting businesses. That's because, used and designed properly a blog can help you manage your website and leverage your existing content for better business visibility.

One of the best things about using a blog with your business is that it can be used in a variety of applications. Started as a simple personal journaling web application, a blog quickly mature and evolve into a business and marketing tool that some of us can't live without.

So what can a blog do for your business?

1) Keep in touch with prospects and customers. Keep the interaction flowing and let them know you better. Demonstrate that there is a human behind your business, instead of a static website.

2) Position yourself as an expert in your niche. Regularly post about business events, share thoughts, new innovations or even provide customer service.

3) Capture leads. Engage them with content, delivered regularly through blogs, RSS feeds and e-mail.

4) Generate revenue. Selling advertising space, products, services, or build relationship and pre-sell. You to cash in your content by participating in contextual advertising program like Google AdSense, Yahoo! Publisher Network and others.

5) Boost business productivity. Used internally for communication, project management, or just a personal place to throw ideas at.

Standalone conventional websites used to adequately deliver information, but nowadays customers want more than that. We live in an information age where there is enormous amount of data being generated every single second. That has meant that end-users (clients) are beginning to shift their information consumption habit. As a result, they now demand more control over the medium, and they prefer to choose when and what information they're going to process.

As part of the shift, consumer generated media is set to take on older web models, especially as consumers also want to participate in the market, not just as passive readers.

That's why having a blog on your website can be a very good idea.

If customers are familiar with your product they may want to share what they think with others at your blog. On the other hand, if they're unfamiliar with your product, they may want to hear more about what you have to offer from others.

In other words, the idea is to help them know your product better, and hopefully decide on your product when it comes time to buy.

One of the interesting things about using a blog, is that it forces people to become participatory. You find that you have no choice but to jump into the conversation. And remember, if you don't allow people to have a say and talk on your blog, that doesn't mean it's the end of the conversation since they can just as easily start their own blog or leave comments on other people's blogs.

Instead of just sitting and watching, customers want to have a conversation, where they can tell you directly what they think about a product or service that you offer. That can be scary, but it's also valuable feedback.

Copyright 2006 Hendry Lee

Hendry Lee helps business owners leverage technologies and what they know to market their business online and actively blogs about Small Business Blogging. Subscribe to Biz Blog Tips to receive short and practical tips to start and get the most out of your blog.

Hendry Lee helps business owners leverage technologies and what they know to market their business online and actively blogs about Small Business Blogging. Subscribe to Biz Blog Tips to receive short and practical tips to start and get the most out of your blog.

Garden design planning

2006-01-14T02:36:00.000-08:00

Good garden design starts with thinking before digging.

Garden design takes time. It's too late to plan your garden when you are standing in the nursery eyeing every new plant that tempts you. Spend some time looking at your garden site, either during the off season, when you can really view it objectively or during the growing season, when your successes and failures make themselves known.

Once you have an idea of how you are going to use your garden, come back to reality and take an objective look at the site before you come up with your garden design. This is of utmost importance in determining which plants and trees you use to achieve the desired effect.

Monitor it during different times of the day and year:

1. How many hours of sun does the site receive?
2. What times of day is it sunny?
3. Does sun exposure change with the seasons? Do trees allow sun in the spring and shade during summer?
4. How is the soil, as far as pH and texture?
5. Are there structures or large trees that will affect plant growth and selection?
6. Are there structures nearby that you would like to camouflage?
7. What plants are already growing there?

You know what you want to use your garden for, what you are working with and what resources you can devote to it. Now, what do you want it to look like?

Formal or informal? Wild?
Should it complement your house?
Do you want it to flow with the natural landscape?
Do you favor soft pastels or bold tropicals?

All these things might seem overwhelming, but you'll be saving yourself a lot of time and a considerable amount of money if you take this advice and you'll find that each step gets easier and more fun. Plant selection should be one of the last things you consider, or you may be overwhelmed trying to create a garden design to accommodate the dozens (or hundreds or even thousands) of plants you crave.

Know your planting zone

Before you buy that first plant, you have to know what your planting zone is. Without that knowledge, you can end up ordering all sorts of wonderful looking plants and shrubs only to find that they are not suitable for your planting zone and they will die. You will have spent time and money needlessly. If you're buying by catalog or online, every plant and seed catalog or online merchant should show a planting zone map and each plant depicted should have an indication of the zones in which that particular plant (or tree, etc.) will thrive. You can also contact your local garden clubs or your county's Agriculture Extension Bureau with your questions regarding the suitability and care of plants for your particular area. This knowledge is of critical importance, particularly if you have moved from one zone to another. Not only will you save money, but you will avoid countless hours of frustrating work in your garden.

Keep in mind what your garden will be used for and when. This is important in your plant consideration. If you plan to entertain a lot and don't want to spend all summer on chores, look for lower maintenance plants that don't require constant deadheading and staking to look good and, if you are planting for small children, choose plants that will bloom at their eye level, with interesting textures and scents and non-poisonous flowers and seeds.

Make a list of the plants you like and group them by color, texture and form - the garden design triumvirate. Also chart them by season of bloom and/or interest. Consider both flowers and foliage. There are more and more plants being bred with colorful foliage that will provide interest in the garden all season.

Be sure to include some large anchor plants that will look good all year. These are usually shrubs and often evergreens. Most small to average gardens can only accommodate 1 or 2 trees or shrubs, but they are important for providing the good bones of the garden and you want to choose wisely at the beginning. Trees and shrubs can be very difficult and heavy to move around.

Planting bulbs for added beauty

A wonderful way to use bulbs effectively is to naturalize daffodils in a wooded area or group them for colorful accent around evergreen shrubs. High quality Dutch flower bulbs can be ordered online from reputable catalogers and merchants who will advise you as to what's appropriate for your zone.

Plan ahead when planting bulbs; i.e., for spring flowering you plant in the Fall. Follow directions accompanying your bulbs regarding depth (usually six inches) and fertilizer (there are special bulb fertilizers that should be put in the planting holes). An important reminder - again: Know your planting zone before ordering any bulbs. They all look so beautiful in the catalogs,but what grows well in the midwest, in most instances, will not grow in South Florida! Special tools for planting bulbs are also available online. They make digging holdes so much easier than using a simple trowel. Check them out.

Happy planting!

Rita Hutner is a copywriter for Catalogs.com. Catalogs.com is the Internet’s leading source for print and online catalog shopping – and a growing hub of original content and “how to” information at www.catalogs.com

Invisible Ink - Book Review

2006-01-14T02:01:00.000-08:00

Carl Veno’s book, Invisible Ink, provides an insider’s view of the newspaper world during the author’s 25-years as a journalist and editor - at a time when major events were having dramatic affects on American society. Told in a no-nonsense matter-of-fact manner, the tales of experience are intermingled with the author’s family history, including the immigration of his Italian ancestors to America more than 125 years ago. Reminiscent moments clearly reveal Carl’s fond memories of growing up and his youthful love of New York.

Various newspaper readership "wars" were destroying and absorbing each other during an incredible age of change and discovery for the American people. Exciting and newsworthy issues including men and women learning to co-exist in the workplace, mobsters, racism, riots, war and space travel were fighting for newspaper space. Between all this the author reveals inner office politics within the industry. We all know from our own experience, differences occur at places of employment – management issues, co-worker competition, etc. – and it is all here. Yet on top of this the reader is introduced to interesting and eccentric characters, complicated work-related relationships and office love affairs. The epilogue closes nicely with the fate of some of the newspapers mentioned in the book.

Prior to entering the world of journalism, Carl spent time as a barber, boxer and army trooper. Not including his free-lance work and lecturing, Veno was employed by eight newspapers (some of which won many awards) and was nominated for the Pulitzer Prize during his career. Carl is now retired and able to pursue his love of exercise through jogging and continues to write books.

ISBN#: 1-4137-4881-3
Author: Carl Veno
Publisher: Publish America

~ Book Reviewer: Lillian Brummet - Co-author of the book Trash Talk, a guide for anyone concerned about his or her impact on the environment – Author of Towards Understanding, a collection of poetry. (www.sunshinecable.com/~drumit)

Don't Use That Kitchen Knife Until You Know How To Care For It

2006-01-08T10:05:00.000-08:00

When using a kitchen knife, or any sharp object, remember to put safety first. Although it sounds obvious don’t run around with a sharp knife in your hand, don’t point a knife at anyone and always cut away from yourself not towards yourself. Also, don’t use your finger to see how sharp the blade is. Yes, I know some of you reading this article have been guilty of this at least once and have found out that the edge of the knife was indeed very sharp because you cut yourself on it!

Another important safety tip is to never use the knife for other than its intended purpose. No, a sharp kitchen knife should not be used as a makeshift screwdriver or as a device to try and pry open a locked door that you can’t find the key for. Nor should it be used to pry apart a stack of frozen hamburger patties. You could easily cut yourself if the knife slips and you are also in danger of breaking the tip of your knife off. Also, don’t use your kitchen knives to cut the tops off plastic jugs or to cut cardboard boxes unless you want to almost instantly dull your knife. Use a scissors or utility knife for those jobs.

When you buy a kitchen knife you get what you pay for so invest in the best quality knives you can afford and buy them from a reputable dealer. A fully forged carbon knife is the highest quality knife you can buy. High carbon stainless steel knives are also pretty good. Regular stainless steel knives aren’t as good and won’t last you as long but any knife will last longer if you take care of it properly (and most people don’t care for their knives the way they should). What should you do to properly maintain your knives? Below is a list of 6 important knife care tips.

1) Never ever, and I repeat NEVER, put your knives in the dishwasher. The harsh chemicals from your dishwasher detergent will pit your knives and the dry cycle will also damage your knives. In addition, if the sharp edges of your knives bump up against anything else, like your plates, it will damage and dull your knives. Instead, as soon as possible after using your knives, wash them by hand with a mild detergent and hand dry them. Don’t allow the knives to drip dry because moisture will dull your knives and will damage the wood handles of knives.

2) Always use a cutting board. Don’t cut on your countertop. Not only is cutting on your countertop bad for your countertop, it’s bad for the blade of your knife too. And never use a glass cutting board. Glass cutting boards may be pretty but they are also pretty horrible for a knife. It’s a quick way to dull and ruin a knife.

3) Regularly use a honing steel to maintain the edges on your knives, but learn how to use the honing steel properly. To learn the right technique, ask the dealer where you buy your knives to sell you a good honing steel and to also show you how to use it.

4) Have your knives professionally sharpened. Although there are lots of knife sharpeners available for in-home use, I don’t recommend using them. It’s too easy to permanently damage your knife. Instead use your honing steel regularly and take your knives to a professional for sharpening a few times a year. If you take care of your knives properly you won’t need to get your knives sharpened more than a few times a year depending on how much you use your knives.

5) Don’t store your knives in a drawer with lots of metal objects, such as your kitchen utensil drawer. The edges of your knives will get banged against the other metal things, damaging and dulling the edges of your knives. You can still store your knives in a drawer, but don’t have that drawer crowded full of other items. Just keep your knives in that drawer. Another option is to use a wood block to store your knives.

6) Use the correct knife for the task at hand. Don’t use your serrated bread knife for chopping and dicing. Don’t use your boning knife to slice your bread. Instead, use a chef’s knife (also called a cook’s knife or a French knife for chopping, slicing and dicing. Use a paring knife for peeling and trimming, and for cutting and slicing small items. A utility knife is great for slicing meat and cheese. A boning knife is for cutting meat and poultry. A fillet knife is a great for cutting fish. And, as you would expect, a bread knife’s best use is cutting bread.

With proper use and care, your knives will last you a long time and will help make your kitchen cutting tasks easier and more enjoyable.

About The Author

D Ruplinger is a featured writer for http://www.luxurycutlery.com. For more information on cutlery along with cutlery reviews visit http://www.luxurycutlery.com.

Lima Bean Delight

2006-01-08T10:03:00.000-08:00

The numerous health and thermogenic (fat burning) benefits of vegetables have been extensively documented by intensive scientific research in recent years, but did you know that it doesn't take much at all to concoct a veritable feast out of seemingly bland veggies? If you aren't yet a believer in the goodness of God's greens, then there's no better time for you to revel in my latest recipe than right now!

LIMA BEAN DELIGHT

2 tbsp. margarine
1 c. milk
1/8 tsp. pepper
1/4 c. chopped pimento
2 tbsp. catsup
2 tbsp. margarine, melted
2 tbsp. all-purpose flour
1 tsp. salt
2 c. lg. lima beans, cooked and drained
1 c. shredded Cheddar cheese
1/2 c. soft bread crumbs

Melt 2 tablespoons margarine in saucepan over low heat; blend in flour. Then add milk, salt and pepper, stir constantly until thick and bubbly. Add beans, pimentos, cheese and catsup; mix well and pour into greased 1 1/2 quart casserole dish. Combine 2 tablespoons melted margarine and bread crumbs; sprinkle over casserole, then bake at 350 degrees for 30 minutes.

About The Author

Luke Indran is a professional food and recipe addict who actively balances his obsession with eating with his fanaticism for exercise and healthy living. If you're after delicious recipes that stir your senses, then head on over to Luke's mega website at http://www.recipemecca.com/ for the yummiest recipes anywhere presented in a step-by-step format anyone can follow easily!

recipes@recipemecca.com

Cooking Versus Raw Diet

2006-01-08T10:00:00.000-08:00

From a theoretical standpoint it is easy to reason to the conclusion that a raw diet-- grains, vegetables, fruits and nuts--should be the natural food of man. One can easily imagine how the first man to discover fire found comfort in basking in its warmth, and how natural it would be under these circumstances for him to also first warm any food that he might wish to eat.

Thus it is not at all difficult to find the origin of cooking, for, from warming to cooking a food is but a step. Although from a theoretical standpoint raw food seems to have been intended by nature as the best for all animal kind, human and otherwise, the fact that we have for many generations subsisted almost entirely on cooked food must be considered.

“Cooking destroys the life cells in food--the cells which make and sustain life in man. Cook a seed thoroughly and see whether it will sprout when planted.

All live vegetation is capable of either reproducing its own kind or of furnishing life or vitality to other organized living things; take away its life and it can do neither.

All foods for men and animals must come from either animal or vegetable life. To give any comprehensive information of value in reference to cooking would require a book in itself. But, I would like to call attention to the usual inclination to cook every article of food until a large portion of its nourishing, life-giving qualities are actually disorganized and destroyed. Then, no element can be used as a food.

Excessive cooking, also, so softens the food that it is swallowed without chewing. A food should be cooked only so long as is necessary to bring out its richest flavor. It should never be allowed to assume the consistency of mush. Foods of this character are of little value to nourish the body; vital food in balance with cooked food, can lead to a life that is abundant in energy. So mix it up, enjoy your cooking and furthermore enjoy good health.

About The Author

Paul Hegarty is the owner of learningfromdvds.com. A guide to educational DVDs with price comparisons, reviews, and free E-books. Read this month’s e-book on "How To Spot A fraudulent Email". Grab your free copy today.

Sign up for our monthly newsletter at http://www.learningfromdvds.com and get your free e-book on memory, along with a wide selection of cooking DVDs.

Cooking Indian Food at Home - Where to Start?

2006-01-08T09:55:00.000-08:00

If you read my article, Curry - A Journey, published on the Curry page of this site, you’ll know that my first experiences of the dish were of the generic variety which the British invariably cooked and ate when living abroad a few decades ago. You’ll also know that I then discovered “real” Indian cookery and decided that as I couldn’t afford to eat out that much, I needed to learn how to cook the stuff myself.

My first stop then, was a local bookshop, where the choice of books on Indian cookery was somewhat limited. However, I struck lucky and discovered a book called Indian Cookery by Madhur Jaffrey - what a find. Written in simple language but with lovely descriptive text and recommendations on what to serve with what, it was just what I had been looking for.

There was a stumbling block, however, which was the endless list of spices, seasonings and flavourings in the front of the book. I didn’t know where to start - I’d heard of quite a lot of them, having watched a few TV programmes on Indian cooking but, “help” I thought, “buying that many all at once is going to cost a fortune”. If you’re thinking the same, don’t panic. Check in your store cupboard. You probably already have some of the items you will need. For example, look for black peppercorns, bay leaves, chilli powder (if you’re already a fan of chilli con carne), ground ginger, nutmeg, cloves and cinnamon if you bake cakes or apple pies. Maybe you’ll find mustard seeds if you do your own pickling and sesame seeds if you make rolls or cook Chinese food. That only leaves a few basic ingredients which appear in a lot of Indian recipes - cumin, coriander, turmeric and cardamom. Often you need ground cumin and coriander but if you buy the whole spices, you can grind them as necessary (and they keep longer that way too).

The other thing I did was to choose a fairly simple recipe to start with and I just bought the spices I needed for that. The next time I want to cook an Indian meal, I chose another recipe with similar ingredients so I had to just buy a couple more things. Soon enough I built up a whole store cupboard of the things I needed and it didn’t have had such a drastic effect on my wallet.

Then there was no stopping me - I even know some recipes by heart now and you can do the same if you want to.

You don’t need special equipment for Indian cookery, although I wouldn’t be without my electric coffee grinder (to grind spices) and it’s nice (but not necessary) to have the traditional dishes to serve your meal in. Other than that, you need a bit of patience and it’s fun to cook with a friend so that you can share the chopping and grinding or have someone read the recipe out to you step by step so you don’t go wrong in the middle.

The flavours are great, a curry evening is really sociable, so go on, give it a try.

About The Author

Liz Canham: As well as a love of Asian cooking and travel as you can see in her Asian Food and Cookery and Travellers’ Tales websites, Liz seeks to help newcomers to the world of internet marketing with tools, tips and training from her Liz-e-Biz.com website.

Chicken Tetrazzini

2006-01-08T09:46:00.000-08:00

This delicious and easy to make pasta dish is a meal on its own! A cream sauce is the signature of this pasta casserole that is believed to be invented in San Francisco, where it was named after the then-famous opera star Luisa Tetrazzini.

Preparation time: 10 minutes
Cooking Time: 15 minutes

Ingredients
2 Chicken Breasts (cut into 1" cubes)
2 tbsp. Olive Oil

1/4 cup Butter
2 Large finely chopped Shallots
2 cups Sliced Mushrooms

1/4 cup All Purpose Flour
4 tsp. Chicken Boullion
1/2 tsp. Pepper
1/2 tsp. Salt

1/3 cup Sherry
2 cups Water
1/2 cup Heavy Cream

4 cups of cooked Egg Noodles or Seashell Pasta

Salt & Pepper to taste

Preparation

In a large frying pan, cook diced chicken in 2 tablespoons of olive oil. When cooked all the way through, remove chicken with a slotted spoon leaving juices in the frying pan.

Add 1/4 cup of butter to the frying pan and sautee shallots and mushrooms, cooking on medium heat for 5 minutes.

Mix 1/4 cup of flour, chicken boullion, salt and pepper then sprinkle over cooked mushrooms and shallots. Add Sherry and water and boil for 5 minutes.

Stir in Heavy Cream then add salt and pepper to taste. Add cooked chicken and noodles then serve hot.

About The Author

Jim Rutherford is the webmaster for http://www.familyandhome.info and http://www.livingnow.info.

Beer Brewing Big And Creative In America

2006-01-08T09:41:00.000-08:00

Breweries in America are growing at an exponential rate. Beer brewing is becoming big business with a resurgence of traditional types of ales and lagers combining with more exotic offerings. With a colourful history, beer carries on its controversial way to regain the traditional role it’s always played as an every-day beverage, while taking on a more creative flavour to please every palate.

Back in 1620, when the Mayflower came to America’s shores, the boat fell a bit short of its destination due to a shortage of beer, according to a passenger’s journal. One doesn’t think Puritans would have drunk beer – they were Puritans, after all - however this was the every-day drink of choice. People drank beer as we drink pop, juice, milk and water today. Each tavern and inn brewed its own beer.

It is only in modern society that we see beer as having a perilous quality. There were no laws governing beer brewing and drinking. There were no police roadblocks to catch drunk drivers. How much damage could a horse and cart inflict? Certainly there were no scantily-clad women prancing about at parties, drinking beer and impressing men with their sudsy sexiness. Beer was an every-day beverage drunk by everyone in the household from adult to child. When the Mayflower arrived, the people discovered that the Natives made their beer from maize. Wonder which beer was drunk at the first Thanksgiving? This may have been the first ever “Bring Your Own Beer (BYOB).”

The United States has become an international contender in beer brewing and the country can hold its own when in competition with other countries that are notorious for making amazing beer. The U.S. prohibition slowed things down a little, but in the 21st century, things seem to be heating up for American breweries. According to the Brewer’s Association, nearly 7 million barrels of beer will be made and drunk by Americans in 2006. That’s a lot of kegs, bottles, pints and glasses!

Online there are multitudes of sites about beer: beer brewing magazines to read like “Yankee Brew News” and “Brewery News;” breweries to visit; associations for beer-makers to join like the Brewer’s Association; festivals to attend like the Barleywine Festival in Buffalo, New York; and competitions to enter like the World Beer Cup held in Seattle, Washington. Of these sites, about 85% are based in the U.S. so the Americans seem to be leading the pack!

During the 1960s, 70s and 80s, beer in America was primarily made and distributed by large beer brewing companies. In the early 1980s, many of the states passed legislation that allowed the smaller microbreweries to get in on the action. The large companies still do big business, but many patrons are fussy and want high-quality, exclusive beers; they are the “yuppies” of beer drinkers. In and around any city in America, there are anywhere from 2 to 20 breweries within a 15-mile radius of that city and the numbers are growing. Some states have more breweries than others. Each microbrewery has a family tradition they want to maintain and each beer is different; a return to the old days when two taverns a mile apart had two different-tasting beers.

The breweries have gone back to creating beers that are made from all-natural ingredients like malt, hops and yeast. They produce traditional lagers and ales together with exotic beers that have a hint of spices, vanilla, caramel, coriander and anise. One brewery, found online, uses rose hips in their beer. Usually used for tea, rose hips must provide an interesting taste to beer. Lemon coriander beer may be quite refreshing on a hot day.

Soon we will be having discussions about what type of beer goes best with chicken or beef. We’ll hear opinions like: “The caramel-flavoured beer would go great with that cheesecake; a sweet beer just made for dessert.” Is that beer good for pasta? Would it be better with a roast beef dinner? Already there are countless beer-tasting functions. Is beer the new wine? Is there a “twirl-glass-sniff-liquid-swish-in-mouth” process for beer? Like martinis, there are excessive amounts of beer types. Perhaps the process should be expedited; Beertinis for everyone!

The beer brewing companies in America, found online, emphasize the importance of quality. They discuss the importance of tradition. They discuss the importance of bringing beer back to its every-day role played for thousands of years. This time, breweries also seem to feel beer can be creative-tasting and still be in demand.

About The Author

Andrea Nichol is a contributing writer to Excalibur Communications, the company that created The Beer Home Page – Your Online Guide to Great Brew Pubs and Beer Labels. If you would like to find the best breweries worldwide, visit http://www.thebeerhomepage.com.

Articles4Free.Com - Submit Articles4Free

2006-01-08T09:34:00.000-08:00

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Criminal Injury Claim - Are You Serious

2005-12-24T08:47:00.000-08:00

Injuries due to criminal activities, can be one of the most complex and traumatic experiences that anyone can suffer. A criminal injury claim in these terrible incidents, can profoundly affect both the victim and the victim's friends and family, leaving both emotional and physical scars that can last a lifetime.

Few people understand the sensitive and complicated nature of criminal injury claims and can sympathise with those who require the legal help often necessary after these incidents. Criminal injury compensation is especially unique and each case must be dealt with in a unique manner.

Getting Started Can Be The Hardest Part

The most difficult part of a criminal compensation claim, quite often, is coming to the decision to seek one. Serious crimes, that leave the victims injured both physically and mentally can have all sorts of impacts, depending on the person.

Far too often, the victim chooses to put the incident behind them, without persuing for justice that they deserve because they feel that a court case will just make things worse. That's when a trusted compensation solicitor comes in handy.

Because of the sensitive nature of these cases, a trustworthy and caring solicitor will be your best friend in the battle. If you feel comfortable with your injury solicitor, then you will be able to get the verdict and the compensation you've been hoping for. Together, you can turn this whole incident around and find the silver lining in the cloud.

Don't Be Victimised! Fight Back!

After suffering a criminal incident such as an assault, many victims tend to shun away and try to bury the memory, in hopes that it will go away. This, unfortunately, is probably the worst thing anyone can do, while we understand the trauma that has been suffered, we must push hard for a compensation claim, because it is the right thing to do.

Allowing those who have hurt you to remain free from responsibilities is unacceptable.

Finding the right accident compensation solicitor and taking those responsible to court is the right and justice thing to do, as you could possibly prevent them from assaulting others.

From Victim To Victor!

Take back your life and get the compensation you deserve. Go from being a victim to a victor and make them pay!

Getting the compensation you deserve can be a turning point in this tiring time, but you must not forget to choose the right solicitor in your battle, it can mean all the difference in the final outcome.

Start Today And Make Them Pay!

If you are a victim of a crime and have been injured, and are still not convinced that an accident claim is the way to go, then please read the following:

• If it was someone you cared or loved was hurt in a criminal activity, wouldn't you push hard for justice?

• Even if the victim was reluctant and wanted to forget the whole thing, you would know better, because you cared and knew they weren't thinking clearly.

• Not pursuing the compensation deserved can be a regretful decision, with many people coming to the realisation too late.

• Don't become just another victim, just another statistic that is left to deal with the traumatic experience by yourself.

• There are solicitors who care, who will fight hard and win for you, who are not only concerned with the bottom line, but getting their clients life back on track.

• Don't hesitate, make the decision and take charge today, you won't regret it.

Ignorance and Punishment

2005-12-24T08:45:00.000-08:00

The fact that one is ignorant of the law does not a sufficient defence in a court of law make. Ignorance is no protection against punishment. The adult is presumed to know all the laws. This presumption is knowingly and clearly false. So why is it made in the first place?

There are many types of laws. If a person is not aware of the existence of gravitation, he will still obey it and fall to the ground from a tall building. This is a law of nature and, indeed, ignorance serves as no protection and cannot shield one from its effects and applicability. But human laws cannot be assumed to have he same power. They are culture-dependent, history-dependent, related to needs and priorities of the community of humans to which they apply. A law that is dependent and derivative is also contingent. No one can be reasonably expected to have intimate (or even passing) acquaintance with all things contingent. A special learning process, directed at the contingency must be effectuated to secure such knowledge.

Perhaps human laws reflect some in-built natural truth, discernible by all conscious, intelligent observers? Some of them give out such an impression. "Thou shalt not murder", for instance. But this makes none of them less contingent. That all human cultures throughout history obtained the same thinking regarding murder - does not bestow upon the human prohibition a privileged nomic status. In other words, no law is endowed with the status of a law of nature just by virtue of the broad agreement between humans who support it. There is no power in numbers, in this respect. A law of nature is not a statistically determined "event". At least, ideally, it should not be.

Another argument is that a person should be guided by a sense of right and wrong. This inner guide, also known as the conscience or the super-ego, is the result of social and psychological processes collectively known as "socialization". But socialization itself is contingent, in the sense that we have described. It cannot serve as a rigorous, objective benchmark. Itself a product of cultural accumulation and conditioning, it should be no more self evident than the very laws with which it tries to imbue the persons to whom it is applied.

Still, laws are made public. They are accessible to anyone who cares to get acquainted with them. Or so, theoretically. Actually, it is inaccessible to the illiterate, to those who have not assimilated the legal jargon, or to the poor. Even if laws were uniformly accessible to all - their interpretation would not have been. In many legal systems, precedents and court decisions are an integral part of the law. Really, there is no such thing as a perfect law. Laws evolve, grow, are replaced by others, which better reflect mores and beliefs, values and fears, in general the public psychology as mediated by the legislators. This is why a class of professionals has arisen, who make it their main business to keep up with the legal evolution and revolutions. Not many can afford the services of these law-yers. In this respect, many do not have ample access to the latest (and relevant) versions of the law. Nor would it be true to say that there is no convincing way to pierce one's mind in order to ascertain whether he did know the law in advance or not. We all use stereotypes and estimates in our daily contacts with others. There is no reason to refrain from doing so only in this particular case. If an illiterate, poor person broke a law - it could safely be assumed that he did not know, a-priori, that he was doing so. Assuming otherwise would lead to falsity, something the law is supposed to try and avoid. It is, therefore, not an operational problem.

Sam Vaknin

Christmas Trimmings TURKEY and a SUN TAN

2005-12-20T11:02:00.000-08:00

Why Benidorm for Christmas Dinner? Why not

What is so special about being abroad on Christmas day? What can you get abroad that you can not get in the UK or countries with the same climate at this time of year, a sun tan?

Things to do on Christmas day under the hot Spanish sun, play a round of golf/water ski/swim/ snorkel/sunbathe or to walk around half naked are just a few other things to make your Christmas extra special..

Overlooking the beach while eating Christmas lunch is a phenomenal experience; and should you decide to extend your stay through to the New Year then expect fireworks (Excuse the pun) as the clock strikes midnight all hell breaks loose in Benidorm.

Marvelous firework displays light up the sky over the hotels along the promenade beach front. New Year celebrations continue through to the early hours with bangs and explosions that can be heard all over the Costa Blanca.
This is the only time you will get shivers down your spine in a hot country.

Why not have the best of both worlds if caravan/camping holiday's are your forte. Benidorm has great camp sites and caravan parks. What a great start to your holiday with guaranteed sunshine by choosing to spend Christmas abroad.

Costa Blanca is an absolute fabulous choice for campers/ tourists. This coastal region of Spain has the cleanest golden sandy beaches any one could wish for on a holiday. It has been awarded the blue flag emblem so many times for cleanliness; surely that speaks volumes alone.
An all year round resort with so much to do and plenty to see, Benidorm can accommodate the laid back I want to relax tourist or party animals wanting to dance the night away. This is definitely the place for all the Michael Flatleys out there.

The Entertainment scene is lively colorful and action packed, all sparkle and glitter similar to a mini Las Vegas with neon lighting. Wonderful quaint little fishing villages surround the whole of the Costa Blanca, so if the gypsy blood in you urges you to travel then do it. Go see more of the beauty behind Benidorm.

No need to budget in Benidorm, you will find your holiday money will stretch far beyond belief especially on fully inclusive deals. A great gift for the kiddies on Christmas day as much ice cream as they can eat then down to the beach to bury mum/dad in the sand. Food is fantastic and so cheap, recipes to suit all European palettes.

Searching for romance or maybe looking to wed on the beaches of Benidorm, then this is the place with ideal settings for love.

For campers then it has to be Excalibur Caravan Park with its medieval look and feel where you will find statuettes of the sword in the stone and more. These statues stand higher than a house.
A tranquil atmosphere greets you on entering this park with its Camelot theme. The sweet scented aroma of the flowers ousting out of the tubs and flowerbeds in the entrance alone is sight not to miss. Excalibur is a camper's paradise.

Benidorm gives the tourist what they want and much more.

PS
Remember if you're going dancing in Benidorm; make sure it is with your partner if not holiday over.

kacycarr

Out of Africa

2005-12-20T11:00:00.000-08:00

Exploring the wildlife in Africa could be the greatest and the most exiting experiences of your lifetime. People, who get used to living in a big city will be really astonished be the grandeur of the African nature, its flora and fauna.

If your aim is to sink deep into this world your choice is safari. There are several kinds of this sort o tour. Your decision will depend on what you would like to see and how much time do you have. The significant part of safari ways is situated in the Eastern and the Southern parts ot the continent.

During walking safaris you usually will use temporary bush camps or permanent lodges as a base from which vehicles and sometimes boats will get you into areas of activity or specific interest. Its the closest to nature way to see and to feel the African wilderness areas.

If you lie to see more in a shorter time, then mobile safari is for you. Mobile safaris make use of 4x4 vehicles usually to cover larger areas or a variety of different habitats in a single trip. The diversity and relatively large distances between the prime spots in Botswana and Namibia make mobile safaris the preferred means for covering these destinations.

In case you want to see all thats possible then flying above Africa will the right way. Fly-in safaris are regularly done in Botswana and Namibia in order to cover a large amount of territory with some very specific spots on the agenda in as short a space of time as possible.

One of the more popular means of experiencing Africa's wilderness is a canoe safari. Several of the large African rivers are run by canoe but it's the lower Zambezi that really holds the leadership. Mana Pools National Park is on the southern bank - the remote Lower Zambezi National Park is on the northern shoreline in Zambia. You can choose the class of your canoe and travel with the maximum convenience.

Self-drive safari is the most flexible type of trip that you'll find. In this variant you hire a vehicle, plan your own route, pre-book accommodations of your choice and explore the region on your own. Namibia is the easiest to on a self-drive basis even if you travel for the first time.

Privately guided safari is your variant if you're looking for exclusivity, special attention. Some excursions are into the remoter parts, others are on well trodden trails simply exploring on a more casual and relaxed basis.

Your trip can be a combination of all these types of safaris. Anyway dont forget to receive all the possible information about the destination you are going to. The more information the better. Also, dont forget to make all the necessary vaccinations. In Africa its a must, if you do not intend to spend your holiday in the hospital.

Elena

Pool Safety On Vacation

2005-12-20T10:59:00.000-08:00

Lets face it, most of us are not lucky enough to have a swimming pool in our back garden, so when we go on vacation its a rare treat to splash about in the toasty warm waters of an outdoor swimming pool.

Outdoor pools are best enjoyed in the sunshine, and to that end, there can be no better place to lie back in the crystal clear waters, staring at the dappled silhouette of a swaying palm tree and let your cares float away, than in everyones favourite holiday destination, Florida.

And whilst not every hotel has its own pool, if you choose to stay in the now increasingly popular choice of a private luxury villa, such as those advertised on the Florida Vacation Rentals Web Site Orlando Villas, you will most definitely be spoilt with not only stunning accommodation but your own private pool too.

However, as with all things watery, common sense must always be applied.

For some reason folks on vacation, who in their ordinary everyday lives might be the most sensible people on the planet, often forget to pack their common sense along with their sunscreen and flip flops !!!

This in itself is not a detrimental thing, except perhaps when it comes to pool safety.

Fortunately, Florida state law has stepped in to lend a helping hand by requiring rental villas with private pools to follow some very simple rules to ensure the well being and safety of their guests.

Naturally, it goes without saying that all children must always be supervised by an adult in and around any pool area. But in addition to that, you will find that your rental villas pool is also clearly marked in terms of water depth, indicating both the shallow and deep ends.

Child alert pool alarms are also required to be fitted onto any door leading directly from the property into the pool area. This alarm will sound if opened by a small child to alert parents of the imminent danger.

A clear set of Pool Rules will also be posted at the poolside, which you should read carefully before dipping your toes into the water.

Floatation devices such as water wings and inflatable rings are extremely popular with children, but it should always be remembered that these are not life saving devices. They are merely floating toys. Just because your child is wearing water wings, does not mean that it is safe to leave them to play in or by the pool.

Rough play and running on the pool deck is also a big No No, due to the obvious dangers of slipping and diving is also discouraged, as most pools only have a maximum depth of 6 foot.

To sum up, if treated with respect, and common sense is applied, your vacation swimming pool can be one of the highlights of your trip. Remember that small children learn by example, so if you as an adult can teach them to safely enjoy their swimming experience, it will be a lesson that will never be forgotten, and which ultimately could one day save their lives.

Chris Neilson

Time To Ditch The Hotel

2005-12-20T10:57:00.000-08:00

So its vacation time again. Woo Hoo !!!

The family has spent months debating where to go, what type of vacation they are looking for and whether or not to include Auntie Ethel in their plans again (following that particularly unfortunate incident with the well built waiter and what she thought was a pepper mill !)

With Auntie Ethel quickly out of the picture, and the whole clan having opted for a fun filled vacation, packed to the gunnels with action, adventure and magic, there can only be one destination Florida.

No matter how you cut it, Florida has something for everyone, and nowhere more so than the Disney areas located around Orlando and Kissimmee. These central Florida locations are legendary, and despite being among the most popular in the world, retain a seemingly intimate charm which creates life long memories for those that venture there.

And so, with the destination finalised, your thoughts turn to hotels. But wait a minute didnt someone at work go to Florida last year and stay in a luxurious rental villa ? Yes of course ! You remember looking at the gorgeous interior shots of the house, and then the not so gorgeous shots of your work colleagues husband in his Speedos ! Mind you, the private pool and the swaying palm trees looked wonderful !

And didnt your colleague rave about the high standard of the accommodation and how much better and cheaper it was than staying in a cramped and musty hotel room ? Yes, again. So what are you waiting for ?

Because the fact is that year on year, millions of vacationers from all around the globe are breaking with tradition, and ditching the bland and often over priced hotel chains in favour of privately owned luxury villas in the central Florida region.

To accommodate this appetite for a real home from home, numerous web sites have sprung up on the internet offering privately owned Florida villas for rent. Whilst some are here today gone tomorrow one hit wonders, without doubt, one of the very best, longest established and most highly ranked by both its clients and the search engines is Orlando Villas

This well managed and easy to navigate site will offer you a choice of stunning vacation homes, ranging in size from 3 to 7 bedrooms, all with private pools, and all within 10~20 minutes of the major theme parks and attractions. Its literally an Aladdins cave of luxurious, yet affordable accommodation which can quite simply help to turn your regular holiday into a dream vacation.

We all work hard in order to afford to go on vacation, so why not make your money go further and your vacation experience the best it can possibly be, for both you and your
family ? Why not break with tradition ? Its time to ditch the hotel and live like a real Floridian on your next Disney vacation. I guarantee that once youve tried it, youll be hooked.

Chris Neilson

Disney In One Day Is It Possible ?

2005-12-20T10:56:00.000-08:00

As a Florida villa owner, this is one of the most commonly asked questions I receive from guests. In truth, there is no definitive answer. Various factors will affect your ability to seek out all that Disney has to offer within a limited timescale, but with a little common sense and some handy tips, youll certainly be on track to achieving your goal!

So here is a list of ideas to help smooth your day:

1: Ensure everyone has a hearty breakfast. The all you can eat breakfast buffets are very popular, or diners such as Dennys offer excellent value for money.

2: Buy your Disney tickets in advance to save valuable time standing in line at the ticket window when you arrive at your chosen park.

3: Choose which Disney Park you are going to visit. Fairly obvious ~ But you would be amazed how many families just head off to Disney, and then decide in the car ! Not conducive to good debate or safe driving !

4: Arrive early. Check the park times and arrive when the gates open. It will give you a head start on those guests who take a leisurely breakfast and arrive mid morning.

5: Pick up a couple of park maps and timetables at the park entrance. This way if any members of your party decide to split up, you can easily arrange a meeting point to find each other again, as there is no excuse for getting lost.

6: Talking of getting lost. Dont allow members of your group to just wander off. Before anyone separates from your group for whatever reason, decide on a specific meeting point, to link up again. Many valuable minutes can be wasted looking for a wanderer !

7: When you enter the park, go straight to the farthest attraction, and work backwards toward the front entrance during the day.

8: If you travel in a counter clockwise direction around the parks, your journey time will be quicker, as most folks enter a park and turn right ~ its a right handed thing !)

9: Decide ahead of time which attractions if any you want to miss out, and any that are definite must sees.

10: Co-ordinate your travels in conjunction with the various parades and shows that are continually being performed throughout the day.

11: Take advantage of Disneys Fast Pass service, which allows you to avoid the lines at the more popular attractions, by giving you a designated ride time. Details are available at the entrance to all participating rides.

12: There is usually one big afternoon parade and up to two night time parades. However, if parades are not your thing, these times are an excellent opportunity to visit other attractions, as the majority of guests will be out on the streets waving at Mickey Mouse !

13: Taking a supply of nutritional snacks and fruit will save you time and money, as opposed to waiting in restaurants.

14: Use the Tip Boards. All Disney parks have Tip Boards, showing the average wait time for each attraction. This information is updated regularly throughout the day.

15: Save any shopping until you are ready to exit the park. Shops will stay open for at least an hour after the park officially closes, and if you buy your souvenirs as you exit, it will save you having to carry them around the park all day !

So is it possible to do Disney in a day ? Probably not ! Although the above tips will give you a better chance than Mr and Mrs Average. Seasoned veterans of theme parks may be able to notch up every ride and attraction on their visit, but they have the advantage of being on familiar territory.

The good news however is that there is always something different, new and exciting to see, experience and explore in a Disney park, so even if you dont manage to cross off everything on your theme park list, there is no better excuse for a return visit at a more leisurely pace !

Chris Neilson

Find Your Last Minute Bargain Vacation

2005-12-20T10:54:00.000-08:00

In most places the low vacation season starts around late autumn. If you scout the Internet, you will find plenty of bargain deals around that time. Some of the travel and airline sites advertise bundle deals that include hotel, car, and airfare for two. These deals can be real bargains because airlines want to sell the unused seats in those packages by heavily discounting the seats. Sign up for the news letters of major travel sites, e.g. expedia.com, price line.com or airline travel sites, like ua.com, aa.com. You will receive plenty of last minute great vacation and airfare deals in your e-mail account regularly. Use another site called sidestep.com for comparison shopping of best airfares to your destination.

Go to different hotel sites to look for bargains in the form of one night free for two nights stay. Check out bedandbreakfast.com for the last minute great bargains. While at bedandbreakfast.com site, sign up for their weekly news letter to all the discounted bed and break fast gateways. Many car rental companies will not advertise their unbooked cars at a lower price but they would offer discounts via sites like hotwire.com and priceline.com. Priceline.com offers two types of booking, name-your-price or selection from a listed rate. Use the listed rate first to estimate a fair market value of the bargain you are looking for. And then use the name-your-price and offer a discounted price. Start with a high discounted price to reveal the best price you can get.

Many cruise cabins are cancelled at the last minute by early birds - people who have booked these cabins sometimes a year in advance - and they are auctioned off at skyauction.com. It is a auction type site where you bid for all kind of travel deals, including international travel, cruises, etc. Before you start putting bid, know the fair market value of the deal and refrain from emotional bidding and dont set your mind to the bid no matter what it costs.

Here is a great tip for getting bargains that most people searching the Web dont know. Clear your Web browser cookies after each search at a travel or airline Website, like expedia.com or ua.com. To clear your cookies from your Windows Internet browser, select Tools and then Internet Options. A window will pop up and in the middle of the Window on the left side, you will see a button with label Delete Cookies. Click the button to clear all your cookies before you start a fresh search on the site. Using cookies, some Web sites keep track of all the bargains displayed to you and clearing the cookies will reveal further price breaks that you did not see before. It is worth a try. Another great tip is to get a free e-mail account from myluckymail.com that you can use for signing up for new letters etc.

Dr. Deepak Dutta

Rules In A Florida Vacation Villa

2005-12-20T10:52:00.000-08:00

The answer is yes and no ! There are very few, (in fact, Ive condensed it down to just four) but ultimately it all boils down to common sense and respect for the owners of the vacation property.

Sounds pretty good huh ? And it is so here are the few simple rules that the villa owner will expect you to obey during your occupancy.

Check In & Check Out Times :

Please adhere to the times stated on your booking forms. These are stated for a reason and are part of the contract that you make with the owner when you agree to book their accommodation. Early check ins cause terrible problems for the cleaning staff, who work like Trojans in order to ensure your first impression is a great impression. Look at it this way if it normally takes the cleaners 4-5 hours to clean the villa, and you arrive early, it is not going to make them clean any faster ! You will not be allowed entry to the villa until the job is complete, so if you do arrive early, take the opportunity to do a little shopping and stock up on those daily essentials.

Likewise, late check outs cause problems as this has a knock on effect throughout the day, as the cleaners struggle to make up the time caused by a late check out. Imagine you were the guests arriving on a day that the previous guests had checked out late. And imagine how annoyed you would be if the villa wasnt ready, just because of someone elses selfishness.

So the general rule of thumb, is to please check in and check out on time. Remember that if you overstay your welcome, as with hotels, you will be charged an additional fee.

Notices :

The villa owner and their management company will have gone to great lengths to ensure that the appropriate signage is displayed inside and outside the villa. Some people say that these signs are insulting to their intelligence, but the bottom line is that they are the law, and an owner can be fined if they are not displayed. Besides which, they are there for your health and safety, so take note of them and follow the instructions they give.

General Behaviour :

Always remember that you are staying in a privately owned home ~ not something owned by a faceless corporation. Villa owners spend thousands of dollars a year maintaining and upgrading their homes to ensure that you, as guests, get the best value for money vacation experience that you can.

Please dont disrespect the owners property, and the trust they have placed in you by turning your accommodation into dump or a party house. Would you like your home and your possessions damaged ? Of course not ! So please dont think that an owner will feel any differently.

Report any accidents immediately to the management company. Dont try to hide the evidence in the hope that you will get away with it. Trust me you wont ! Also bear in mind that if the manager is not given time to repair damage or replace damaged items, the next guests will have to suffer the consequences of your actions. Put yourself in their position, and do the right thing !

Pool Rules:

One of the greatest things about renting a private villa is the fact that get your own private swimming pool too. However, care must be take at all times in and around the pool, especially if you have children in your party.

The villa owner will give specific details of pool safety in their Welcome Folder, and you will also see signs at poolside, which are required by Florida State Law. Please read these carefully and follow them to the letter.

A legal requirement in a short term rental villa is the provision of a pool alert alarm which should be fitted to any internal door which leads out to the pool area. This alarm will sound whenever a door is opened, and is designed to alert parents to small children who may have entered the pool area unnoticed. It is an excellent safety feature. An override button on the alarm, which can be activated by adults will ensure that the siren does not become annoying.

Many guests however simply disarm this alarm, showing total disregard for the safety of their children. Not only is this stupid beyond belief, but also an arrestable offence in the State of Florida, with fines of $5,000.00 being levied against offenders.

Again, be smart, think health and safety, and do the right thing.

And that my friends is pretty much it ! Nothing too scary or overwhelming. Just simple common sense and courtesy. Follow these rules and you will not only enjoy a fantastic vacation, but you will always be welcomed back to the villa again, year after year after year.

Chris Neilson

Rules In A Florida Vacation Villa

2005-12-20T10:50:00.000-08:00