Car Donation: A Simple Gesture of Kindness

Donations always help people in need and assist them in improving their quality of life. So, the non-profit organizations all across the world request people to donate their unwanted items, like clothing, books, accessories and even vehicles. Many-a-times people are not ready to part with their hard earned money or cite time issues as the reason for their not taking part in charitable works. This is the reason why charitable institutes have started accepting used items and belongings that they place to good use. For instance, they donate the used clothing or blankets to poor and needy people or distribute the used toys to poor children. Car donation has also become popular these days and people can easily contribute towards the betterment of society by donating their junk or old vehicles.

Old vehicles that require frequent maintenance or demand spending good amount of money in part replacements are of no use to you. Instead of spending money in replacing their parts or sending the vehicle for repairs, you can easily add on some more money and buy a new car. When you plan to buy a new car you also have to think of ways to dispose of your old one. You cannot keep the old or junk car in your garage for long. It will unnecessarily occupy the garage space and will attract harmful flies and animals. So, you have to either sell your old car or donate it. When you think of selling the car, you are immediately filled with anxiety. The work actually requires devoting time as you will have to first advertise about your old car and then talk to prospective buyers. The process of selling old car is definitely time-taking and irritating and you will end up being annoyed.

So, you can choose the other alternative of disposing your old or junk vehicle; i.e. donate car. You know that as you have used the car for several years and the condition of the car is also not good, it will not fetch good amount of money. Through donating your car, you can become a part of the humanitarian society that thinks about the betterment of poor people, apart from their self-development. The contentment and happiness that you will receive will be unmatched. The smiles which you will add on to other people lives through car donation will also reflect in your face and you will find it worth being a human!

I have written various articles in different topics in last three years but my moral has told me to write something different here. In this article I have engrossed on car donation; your kindness will help sick children to bring smile on their face.

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Economic Transformation May Improve The Potential For Finding A Graduate Job In Birmingham

The Birmingham economy has undergone a massive transformation over the last 30 years. It was previously based on manufacturing, but now it is largely based on services. The services sector has traditionally been responsible for hiring a larger number of graduates than any other. This can improved employment opportunities for those looking for a graduate job in Birmingham. There are huge differences between the manufacturing and service sectors.

The transformation resulted in a displacement of over 200000 jobs from the local economy, but those jobs were eventually replaced, when the strategy to revitalize the centre of the city, was installed. It became not only easier to find a graduate job in Birmingham, but the redevelopment resulted in a city that is now recognized as one of the beta-world cities.

With a population of just almost 4 million people, Birmingham is the second most populated British borough, next to London. In earlier periods, the economic profile of the region was one where thousands of small workshops were able to practise a wide variety of special skills. The environment was conducive to, and encouraged innovation and creativity, that was used to provide a base for industries that prospered up until the end of the 20th century.

It was perhaps difficult to find a graduate job in Birmingham, but with the move away from industries that dominated the economic landscape up to the late 1970s, when the decline in industrialization began, the centre of the city of Birmingham has been regenerated with employment in other areas, such professional services and businesses, tourism, hospitality and retail.

Birmingham is a now considered a major international commercial hub. With a Gross Domestic Product that approaches $95 billion, the World Cities Research Network, that studies cities as they relate to the rest of the globe, ranks as Birmingham as one of the top 100 cities, in terms of economic capacity.

Outside of London, Birmingham is considered as the biggest centre for advanced education in Britain. The region contains three universities and two university colleges, which are not fully independent and lack the status of a university.

Over the last two decades, the city has experienced an unsurpassed level of economic output, which has been supported by growth of the service sector. Finding and working at a graduate job in Birmingham can now be a much coveted experience, as there additional cultural activities, where the residents and workers, may be happy to be involved.

The major cultural activities include the Birmingham Symphony Orchestra playing at the Symphony Hall that also hosts several other musical events. There are also several other tourist attractions in the region.

In addition to the close connection to institutions for higher education, along with the opportunities to enjoy a wide variety of cultural activities, the Midlands West region and the region of Birmingham has hosted many significant national and international events, such as the G8 for world leaders.

There are continuing redevelopment plans in process. The plans are to keep remaking and transforming the city of Birmingham into becoming one of the cities in the world in which to live. Being one of the best places to live, may also make it conducive for business, and the prospective candidate, seeking a graduate job in Birmingham may be impressed by the potential.

A graduate job in Birmingham may be one of the best ways to begin or enhance your career. Major redevelopments has transformed the economy to the services sector, and there are varieties of amenities and services along with more opportunities for anyone seeking a graduate job in Birmingham.

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God Bless the Empowered Salesclerk

There is hardly a day that goes by that we don't experience the words of a Chinese proverb: "The less power a man has, the more he likes to use it."

I first became aware of this behavior many years ago when my mother came to visit me. We were in a department store and she went to pay for her purchases. This was long before credit cards or debit cards came into existence. She took out her checkbook and proceeded to write a check. The salesclerk asked for identification and my mother, who didn't drive a car and had no license, pulled out her voter registration card, which in her state, was a valid ID. In a nasally, whiny voice the salesclerk told my mother that it was against store policy to accept checks without a driver's license.

Keep in mind that this encounter took place more than a half-century ago when we lived in an age of innocence and there was no such thing as identity theft or hacking of accounts. There were still policemen on the street who were known as a child's friend, and adults didn't have to fear police brutality. It was also in an era before television so we ate dinner at the table without having to witness the gruesome sight of wars being played out in our living room during dinner hour.

My mother was a very gentle soul so she took people by surprise when she didn't allow them to bully her. In her kindest voice she told this offensive salesclerk who reeked of newly empowered authority, that she would like to speak to the store manager. When he came, he apologized to my mother for any inconvenience she had been made to suffer and accepted her check.

That was a huge learning experience for me. A few years after that, I tried to bring back a bra that I had just bought the day before. I put the bra in the washing machine and when I took it out, I saw that the cotton threads were shredding and I knew that if this happened after one day of wearing it and one machine washing, it would never go the distance.

Unfortunately for me, I had thrown out the box and the garbage was taken a few hours before I left for the store. I had the original price tags and the receipt and thought this should be an easy return. No such luck.

The salesclerk didn't want to take it back because the box was missing. The store wouldn't take back an item because the box was missing? I couldn't believe we were having this conversation. I told her that the manufacturer of the bra had to have thousands of boxes and they wouldn't care that it was being returned without the original box. This argument went on for a long time.

My mother had a gentle and charming way about her. I didn't take after her in that regard but I did remember how she handled the whiny, newly empowered salesclerk from several years before. I told the salesclerk to call the store manager.

It was interesting the way she deferred to the store manager. I told him that I would like to tell him what I was experiencing in his store. He agreed to listen and wouldn't let the salesclerk say a word until I finished. When she was allowed to speak, she reiterated that I didn't have the box and that she couldn't accept it as a return even though she could see that the bra looked new and I had the price tags and receipt from the day before.

It's interesting to see how a salesclerk who tries to play God with a customer suddenly finds herself with a begging bowl, trying to hold onto her job. The store manager verbally flayed her for not using her common sense. Then he apologized to me on behalf of the store and gave me a refund from the cash register.

Over the years, I have had many occasions to witness how people who have little to no power, try to bully people when they are given a little power. We have only to look at government agents, e.g., the IRS agents, the TSA agents, the FEMA agents, and on and on. When I see people like this, I always wonder what their homelife was like growing up and whether they are still feeling powerless as adults. It makes one wonder if they would use power more compassionately if they came from an environment where they didn't have to claw their way into adulthood.

by Connie H. Deutsch

Connie H. Deutsch is an internationally known business consultant and personal advisor who has a keen understanding of human nature and is a natural problem-solver. She is known throughout the world for helping clients find workable solutions to complex problems.

Connie has hosted her own weekly radio show, been a weekly guest on a morning radio show, done guest spots on radio shows around the country, and appeared as a guest on a cable television show. Connie wrote a weekly newspaper Advice Column for sixteen years and has been invited to speak at local colleges and given lectures around the country. She also wrote the scripts for a weekly financial show on cable television.

Connie is the author of the books, "Whispers of the Soul" and "The Counseling Effect" and she is the co-author of an eBook, "Getting Rich While the World Falls Apart" which is being offered as a free download on her website. She has also written and produced two CDs on Meditation and Relationships and has done coaching on customer service and employee relationships. Her website: http://www.conniehdeutsch.com/
See more of her articles by clicking here ConnieHDeutsch Articles

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9-11 - In Memory Thereof and Going Forward

In answer to the question oft asked this day, I remember exactly where I was when the tragedies began. I stood mouth gaping open like everyone else not able to wrap my brain around what I was seeing. I still wonder why on earth I let my children attend school that day. We all scrambled through the various news stations and online to get the latest bits of news each bit more tragic and shocking than the last. We shook our heads in disbelief watching all those folks just like us walking across the Brooklyn Bridge trying to get home to assure their loved ones that they were, in fact one of the lucky ones. One of the lucky ones.

It would be impossible for me to stress in my own humble way how disinterested I am in discussing why this happened. Ditto for the politics that surround this issue to this day. I only care about 2 things. I care about the families and their journey and the different points and rest stops they have encountered along grief's rocky path. Additionally, I sincerely contemplate, meditate, pray, consider, hope, manifest and affirm that the way to avoiding these types of chaotic episodes is to understand, understand, know, take to heart the notion that we are citizens of the world and we are one another's keeper. We are all siblings.

The days following 9-11 were eerily quiet. No planes flying overhead and people speaking almost in a whisper. The flags were flying everywhere and often I found myself having to leave the room during the news broadcasts as the pundits pontificated about who was responsible. There were some things however that began to present themselves as the tiniest glimmers of Grace amongst the wreckage. I was picking up grocery items for dinner that evening the day after 9-11. There were long lines that afternoon as if folks were eating at home instead of eating out or auto-piloting their way to the drive-thru fast food. I silently gasped as I noticed the woman in front of me was Muslim, dressed in full Burka. Fear took over as I was concerned for her safety in public. I had heard reports of violence taking place back East already. Condemnations, slurs, assaults and I wondered if there might be customers here waiting in line that shared the unfortunate view that all of those who believe differently from us have hatred and violence in their heart. My fears were unfounded as I watched stranger after stranger offer to let someone go ahead of them, any number of people turned in front of them or in back of them to smile and make small talk. In our line there was special attention given to smile, acknowledge and offer greetings to the woman in front of me. I felt emotion rise to the surface. I wanted to reach out and embrace her and have her know that she is like me and that I am like her and that I consider her path sacred just like my own. I believe I went with a smile and something mundane about the weather. Opportunity missed. Yet I have silently blessed her many times over the years for allowing so many of us to reach out in our own way that day.

I am keenly aware of the thorny problems that face us. I just know that finding ways to show love to these problems is the only way to resolution. There is only love. I do not care how this sounds. I just want to know why those in charge of these thorny problems do not spend more time speaking about how love can be a catalyst for change and then actually use love as that catalyst.

So on this day, I will spend quiet time in reflection of all of those lost that day. All of those lost since due to illness and grief. I will bless their contributions to all of us. I will honor their memory by sending blessings of love and comfort and empowerment going forward to each of their family members and friends. It is the least that I can do. I will not lower my standard of expectation that we will find resolution through love.

May we honor these lives transitioned by showing love and patience and tolerance for others. May we honor these events with a sacred attempt to show love and patience and tolerance for ourselves as this will build a foundation for peace in great measure for generations to come.

And so it is.

Peggy Cole Ashman is the author of _Inexplicable Grace-An Adoptee Journeys Home She is an artist, author, blogger and happy wife and Mom. You may find her website at http://www.renewalofspirit.com/

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When A Journalist's 'Borrowing' Crosses The Line

Even schoolchildren know that copying another's work is wrong. But for professional journalists, just what it is that constitutes "copying" can apparently get a little murky.

News commentator Fareed Zakaria drew some unwanted attention recently because of two incidents related to other writers. Time magazine, for which he is editor-at-large, and CNN, for which he is a commentator, both suspended Zakaria after media reporters pointed out that several paragraphs in his recent Time column closely resembled work by Harvard University history professor Jill Lepore published in the New Yorker this April. The Washington Post, for which Zakaria writes a separate column, has decided not to publish him this month.

Time and CNN both reinstated Zakaria yesterday. In a statement reported last night by The New York Times, a Time spokeswoman said Zakaria's offending column was "an unintentional error and an isolated incident." (1)

While Zakaria apologized for lifting from Lepore, calling it "a terrible mistake," (1) he was himself a victim of sloppy journalism by the very newspaper that has just put him on one-month hiatus. The Post reported earlier this week that in a 2008 book, "The Post-American World," Zakaria used a quote from Intel founder Andy Grove that another author, Clyde V. Prestowitz, gathered while researching his 2006 book, "Three Billion New Capitalists: The Great Shift of Power to the East." The Post said Zakaria "finally acknowledged" (2) Prestowitz in an updated and expanded version of "The Post-American World" published last year.

But Zakaria's publisher, W.W. Norton, pointed out that the original edition of Zakaria's book gave Prestowitz credit for the Grove quote in a footnote. Zakaria himself may have forgotten that he did this, because he initially defended not attributing the quote as "standard practice" (2) for the type of book in question.

On Wednesday The Post issued an editor's note correcting its story. "The Post should have examined copies of the books and should not have published the article," the correction stated. "We regret the error and apologize to Fareed Zakaria." (2)

Plagiarism is not, itself, a crime, though it can be an element of another offense, such as fraud or copyright infringement. Legally, nearly all cases involving plagiarism are civil matters in which someone who believes his or her work has been plagiarized seeks compensation. This is not to suggest plagiarism alone doesn't, or shouldn't, have serious consequences; plagiarism is treated especially harshly in the academic world. Nowadays, information moves so widely and so fast that the lines between academic standards, journalistic ethics, civil law and criminal law are being blurred. But that doesn't mean the lines are not there.

Plagiarism.org offers a definition of plagiarism as presenting someone else's work or ideas as one's own. That's an expansive definition. Presenting someone else's work as though you were its creator fits anybody's definition of plagiarism. However, more than one person can share an idea, a belief or an opinion. It is the unique individual expression of that idea that is copyrighted.

Plagiarism.org is a site operated by iParadigms, Inc., a company that offers anti-plagiarism services commercially to schools and others. It is not surprising that it takes a broad view of what constitutes plagiarism. It also, ironically, takes a broad view of what constitutes "fair use" when it compiles its own large database of student papers, which it uses to find evidence of student plagiarism.

Helen Gurley Brown died this week. I have not seen her death certificate, nor spoken to her doctors or family members. I know this because it has been widely reported in the press. I don't think I am committing an act of plagiarism by reporting this statement, or the fact that she was an influential author and magazine editor. Of course, if I quote liberally from her New York Times obituary without attribution I will be committing plagiarism, and if I simply republish that obituary, I will certainly have committed copyright infringement.

If President Obama gives a speech, and I read a news article about that speech and then comment on what the president said, will I commit plagiarism if I quote from the speech? No. The president's speech is freely available for all of us, including the newspaper and me, to cite and quote.

Zakaria acknowledged he crossed a line when he quoted a passage from Lepore's article nearly verbatim. But if he had worded his own passage differently, without having personally read the book that Lepore was describing, would it have been plagiarism? He was not writing a book review. Would the context have mattered?

On the other hand, Prestowitz interviewed Grove and subsequently quoted him in a book. If Zakaria had then used the quote in his own work without mentioning Prestowitz or Prestowitz' book, it would have been unfair to readers and to Prestowitz. The first author's original work deserves recognition, and readers, who otherwise would not know that Zakaria himself did not conduct the Grove interview, deserve to know and evaluate his sources.

In the rush of daily life, when writers race to meet deadlines and synthesize stories and commentaries from a multitude of sources, it's easy to abuse someone else's work unintentionally. It may happen in this column from time to time, though never in ways that would damage another writer economically. If we use a direct quote, we try to always include a hyperlink to the source, for example - but it's possible to forget, or to insert a link that later stops working.

Plagiarism is a very strong word. It should not get thrown around for hyper-technical faults in citation, nor should it be applied with an overly broad brush.

But it's still an important concept. Time, CNN, The Washington Post and other outlets are right to publicly disavow it. If left unchecked, we would soon have no way to know where any information came from, or which news sources we should trust.

Sources:

1) The New York Times: Media Decoder, "Time and CNN Reinstate Journalist After Review"

2) The Washington Post, "More questions raised about Fareed Zakaria's work"

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Baby Boomers Are Hiring Estate Sale "Downsizing" Companies

Many baby boomers are reaching retirement age. They are ready to move on to another phase in their life and perhaps move to another home. Years of accumulation of childrens toys, furniture, outdated furniture, old electronics, china, crystal and more, won't be needed in their next move.

For many years, families passed down furniture,crystal and china to their children and grandchildren. Children today, for the most part just do not want that style furniture, and other family heirlooms. Maybe because we now have dishwashers and microwaves and other high tech appliances. Perhaps we as "baby boomers" would not want the china and crystal either, if we had the choice. After all, who really enjoys the hand washing of china and polishing of silver.

Furniture of choice for the vast majority of baby boomers have been traditional and some modern furniture. Those individuals reaching adult age in the 1970's enjoyed the traditional and modern style. The "danish modern" and mid century furniture is becoming more and more popular and is selling well. However, there is still a lot of furniture left with no demand from adult children.

As baby boomers make the decision to move, they now have the opportunity to make money on what they do not want to keep. Of course they can always have a garage sale or donate to charity. But, many people have accumulated items of value over the years, a typical garage sale, does not bring out the "higher purchase" buyers. The business of liquidation of personal property has grown tremendously the last few years.

When you hear the word "estate sale" you probably think someone has died and has hired a company to dispose of their belongings. This is still true but now there is such a thing as a "living estate sale". These sales are also handled by estate sale companies. In fact, nearly half of all estate sales today, are of people who are very much alive. Baby boomers downsizing, families forced to downsize due to foreclosure, and also business liquidations are now being handled by liquidation companies.

Why not sell it yourself? Pricing is critical to a successful and a money making sale. The average person does not know how to price a piece of used furniture or an antique figurine. Overpricing by only a few dollars can make the difference between obtaining a "fair price" or selling below market value at the end of the sale.

Estate sale companies charge a percentage of the total proceeds of the sale. This percentage varies from state to state and company. But, we have seen 25% to 35% here in Georgia. You can find a local estate or liquidation company by conducting an internet search using the search term "estate sale". There are many new companies getting into this profitable business. Be search you check references and interview more than one company.

Thinking of "downsizing" or need to move? Consider contacting a local estate sale company.

We welcome any comments about our article. My name is Ann Roberts and I am the marketing director of Georgia Estate Sale Network. Our website is http://www.gaestatesalenetwork.com/. We are here to promote the ever growing liquidation and estate sale business. Our goal is to make the public aware of this valuable resource, the use of a liquidation company. We will also be writing about current resale market value in Georgia and the greater Atlanta area.

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Global Warming: A Chilled View

A Brief History

For the past several million years the climate has been dominated by ice ages, and approximately every 100,000 years the Earth's climate warms up temporarily. These warm periods, called 'interglacial periods', can last anywhere between 15-20,000 years before reverting back to a cold ice age climate. At year 18,000 and counting our current interglacial break from the Ice Age is much nearer to its end than its beginning, as can be seen:

• Approximately 15,000 years ago the earth had warmed sufficiently to halt the advance of glaciers, and sea levels worldwide began to rise.

• By 8,000 years ago the land bridge across the Bering Strait was drowned, cutting off the migration of men and animals to North America from Asia.

• Since the end of the Ice Age, Earth's temperature has risen approximately 16 degrees F and sea levels have risen a total of 300 feet! Forests have returned where once there was only ice.

In the 1970's concerned environmentalists feared a return to another ice age due to manmade pollution blocking out the sun! And since around 1940 the global climate has indeed appeared to be cooling. Then sometime in the late 1970s global temperature declines slowed to a halt and ground-based recording stations over the next 20 years began showing small and steady increases in near-surface temperatures. Fears of a Global-Cooling then changed suddenly to Global-Warming and the blame ironically laid at the feet of manmade pollution!

It is well understood in the scientific community, that Earths warming and cooling periods of approximately 40 years exists within larger 400 year periods, which

in turn exist within larger periods of 20,000 years and so on..

Global temperatures over 400 years ago were at the same levels as today, the so called 'Medieval Warm Period' which existed approximately from A.D 1000 to A.D 1350 gave way to a cool period termed the 'Little Ice Age' which lasted till around A.D 1860. This period was charaterized by harsh winters, shorter growing seasons, and a drier climate. The decline in global temperatures was only 1/2 degree centigrade, but the effects of have been blamed for a host of human sufferings including the 'Irish Potato Famine' and the demise of the Viking colonies in Greenland.

"... the Earth was evidently coming out of a relatively cold period in the 1800s so that warming in the past century may be part of this natural recovery." Dr. John R. Christy leading climate and atmospheric science expert- U. of Alabama in Huntsville.

Global Warming advocats insist that this increase in global temperatures since A.D 1860 are due to the effects of 'Industrial Revolution', whereby large amounts of CO² have been released into the atmosphere from manmade sources causing a runaway 'Greenhouse Effect'.

Is man truly responsible for bringing the Earth out of the 'Little Ice Age' with his industrial pollution?

The Numbers

Global climate and temperature cycles are the result of a complex interplay between a variety of causes. Because these cycles and events overlap, sometimes

compounding one another, sometimes canceling one another out, it is inaccurate to imply a statistically significant trend in climate or temperature patterns from

just a few decades of data.

Unfortunately, a lot of disinformation about where Earth's climate is heading is propagated by "scientists" who use improper statistical methods, short-term

temperature trends, or faulty computer models to make analytical and anecdotal projections about the significance of man-made influences to Earth's climate.

During the last 100 years there have been two general cycles of warming and cooling recorded in the U.S. Which is currently in a second warming cycle, and overall, temperatures have showed no significant warming trend over the last 100 years. This warming trend is well-established but not well-publicized.

Each year Government press releases declare the previous year to be the "hottest year on record." The UN's executive summary on climate change, issued in January 2001, insists that the 20th century was the warmest in the last millennium. The news media distribute these stories and people generally believe them to

be true. However, as most climatologists know, these reports generally are founded on ground-based temperature readings, which are misleading. The more meaningful and precise orbiting satellite data for the same period (which are generally not cited by the press) have year after year showed little or no warming.

The problem is ground-based recording stations, many of which were originally earlier in the previous century, sited in rural areas, but over time have suffered from background bias due to urban sprawl, and the encroachment of concrete and asphalt which holds and releases heat well. Satellite measurements obviously are not limited in this way, and show no significant warming in the last 20 years they have been recording and returning data.

A Matter of Opinion

The idea that man-made pollution is responsible for global warming is not supported by historical fact. The period known as the 'Holocene Maximum' is a good example so-named because it was the hottest period in human history. The interesting thing is this period occurred approximately 5,500 B.C - 2,000 B.C long before industrial pollution.

Data taken from Ice Cores in Antarctica shows that CO² in the atmosphere has been steadily increasing for the last 18,000 years, which is long before humans invented the combustion engine. Incidentally, data shows CO² levels in the atmosphere today have reached similar levels in a previous interglacial period which existed around 140,000 years ago. This cycle lasted about 20,000 years and was known as the 'Eemian Interglacial Period' funnily enough the earth returned to a full blown ice age immediately afterward.

Seven Facts about Carbon Dioxide

• The footprint contributed by man to gases in the atmosphere accounts for only 0.28% of the 'air out there'. Approximately 99.72% of the 'greenhouse effect' is due to natural causes.

• Of the 186 billion tons of carbon from CO² that enter earth's atmosphere each year from all sources, only 6 billion tons are from human activity. Approximately 90 billion tons come from biologic activity in earth's oceans and another 90 billion tons from such sources as volcanoes and decaying land plants.

• At 380 parts per million CO² is a minor constituent of earth's atmosphere - less than 4/100ths of 1% of all gases present. Compared to former geologic times, earth's current atmosphere is CO²- impoverished.

• CO² is odorless, colorless, and tasteless. Plants absorb CO² and emit oxygen as a waste product. Humans and animals breathe oxygen and emit CO² as a waste product.

• Carbon dioxide is a nutrient, not a pollutant, and all life-- plants and animals alike benefit from more of it. All life on earth is carbon-based and CO² is an essential ingredient. When plant-growers want to stimulate plant growth, they introduce more carbon dioxide.

• CO² that goes into the atmosphere does not stay there but is continually recycled by terrestrial plant life and earth's oceans - the great retirement home for most terrestrial carbon dioxide.

• If we are in a global warming crisis today, even the most aggressive and costly proposals for limiting industrial carbon dioxide emissions would have a negligible effect on the global climate!

Some scientists believe we are "nearing the end of our minor interglacial period", and may in fact be on the brink of another Ice Age. If this is true, the last thing

we should be doing is limiting carbon dioxide emissions into the atmosphere, just in case they may have a positive effect in sustaining present temperatures.

Global climate cycles of warming and cooling have been a natural phenomena for hundreds of thousands of years, and it is unlikely that these cycles of dramatic climate change will stop anytime soon. We currently enjoy a warm Earth. Can we count on a warm Earth forever? The answer is most likely... no.

Saving Energy in your Home.co.uk offers free information on Energy Savings that can be made around your home, as well as advice on a large range of renewable energy sources which could generate your electricity and heating needs. We also have sections on recycling, emissions, the environment and extensive information on government grants that are available to households. http://www.savingenergyinyourhome.co.uk/

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Time to End Victim Violence

Victim Violence (definition): the phenomenon of both intentional and unintentional shaming, lack of support for, and silent denigration of, victims of abuse and neglect - after they have suffered episodes of victimisation. It is wherever functions for empathy and action for victims fail.

Still not enough is known of violence done to victims. Still not enough is being done. Still not enough outrage is borne out of this issue.

It will always be time to end victim violence. But it will never truly end in this life. But that is no excuse to not fight the good fight of everlasting advocacy. Indeed, victim violence only has advocacy as the ignitor for systematic societal programs of change, even from a single encouraging act.

Education is massive. So many people are completely unaware of the victimisation that comprises the violence against victims, which is separate from the assaults on their person they suffer out of their actual episodes of abuse and neglect.

But action is equally massive. If acts of random kindness were done routinely most of the problem would not exist. But that is not the world we live in most of the time.

HOW CAN WE, AS INDIVIDUALS, DO MORE?

The most important act regarding victim violence, which we all may have passively or actively engaged in from time to time, is to understand violence from the victim's viewpoint.

Any neglect or abuse is violent.

We could say that any failure to love is also violent. And the violence against victims almost always runs well past a simple failure to love. These forces against the victim are destructive to the point of destroying whole lives. And even though God can redeem every soul to hope, far many more will find themselves incapable of escaping the devil's clutches. So much depression, self-harm, and suicide (among other effects) takes place as a result.

We help them escape the devil's snare by our plain understanding of their truth; the victim has no case to answer; they have been transgressed; they feel shame when they shouldn't feel ashamed at all. Perhaps we feel ashamed because we are without the ability to adequately empathise. We should say it. We feel inadequate. That is okay.

Empathy is a meeting of the minds and hearts. A victim simply needs to be heard. And the process of healing is made easier, and, in fact, is perhaps started.

Most of all we should be available to the victim, and even look for the victim in each person we come across. We should be available to the victim inside us. The more we are open to think about these issues, the more we gain a grasp over a necessary empathy to help. The more we do this, the better quality of thought that takes place for helping, and the more functional our helping can be.

***

It will always be time to end victim violence. Never will a time come when a perfect end will come, until Jesus comes. But we love best when our hearts extend into the lives, hurts, abuses, and neglects of others.

© 2012 S. J. Wickham.

Steve Wickham is a Registered Safety Practitioner (BSc, FSIA, RSP[Australia]) and a qualified, unordained Christian minister (GradDipBib&Min). Steve writes at: http://epitemnein-epitomic.blogspot.com.au/ and http://tribework.blogspot.com.au/

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The Dawn of the Digital Era

In 1851, Nathaniel Hawthorne wrote: By means of electricity, the world of matter has become a great nerve, vibrating thousands of miles in breathless point of time.The round globe is vast- brain, instinct with intelligence.

Since then, humanity has not stopped to realize Hawthorne's vision of a world where the human intelligence is networked. Into the 21st century, the global society lives in the frontiers of digital age. Mass production is taken over by mass- customization. The consumer of today applies their specific knowledge, tastes, expectations and demands on producers who have to able to meet these in order to succeed. We are in the era of knowledge based economy.

The internet has existed since 1969. British scientist Tim Berners-Lee invented the World Wide Web in 1989 and fully implemented by 1991, thus the beginning of a global network. It is today's ultimate platform for disseminating information globally, its growth is beyond exponential. Is the print media as we know today be a thing of yesteryears, pushed to obsolescence?

The I-WAY has created an information society. This has a significant impact on the economic, political, social, cultural, scientific, medical, educational and technological field. Networked technology introduced the world to digitalization. It opens up the creation, distribution, integration, diffusion, use and manipulation of information in many creative and productive ways. Knowledge economy creates wealth through the exploitation of knowledge and understanding. Beniger states that people who have the means to partake in this form of society are referred to as digital citizens- one of the many labels that ushers in a new phase of society into the 21st century.

The growth of information in society

There is no definite or universally accepted meaning of what exactly is information society. Theories bounce around as to this transformation in society that started back in 1970's. Internet is not the only information technology that is widely used. There are specific media and modes of production that influences the changing ways of society.

The growth of technologically mediated information has been quantified in different ways, including society's technological capacity to store information, to communicate information, and to compute information.

Touraine wrote in 1988 referring to the programmed society- " this phrase captures its capacity to create models of management, production, organization,distribution and consumption, such a society appears at all functional levels, as the product of an action exercised by society itself, not the outcome of natural laws or cultural specificities."

In the dawn of networked technology, information of all sorts becomes digital, reduced to bits stored in computers, races at the speed of light across the global networks. It is a new world of possibilities. The digital whirlwind is sweeping society. This digital growth is quantified in different ways. It handles how society stores information, communicate and compute the data. The technical capacity to store information grew from (optimally compressed) 2.6 exabytes in 1986 to 295 exabytes in 2007.This shows a 60% growth per year over the past two decades.

Wisegeek explains:

1,024 gigabytes is one terabyte, and 1,024 terabytes is one petabyte.

To put this in perspective, a petabyte is about one million gigabytes (1,048,576).

In the late 1980s, a large hard disk was considered 80 megabytes. Today, that amount of space doesn't even hold a current Windows operating system without butting up against storage limits. Robust programs, music files, digital versatile discs (DVDs), streaming video and high-resolution graphics have all become memory-hungry beasts devouring real estate bit by byte. It would have been unthinkable in the 1980s that the home computer would one day require tens and even hundreds of gigabytes to store data. Though the petabyte still lies beyond the territory of the terabyte, who can say where the home computer will be in another two decades?

With the influx of computers, CD-ROMS, hard drives, USB flash drives, and other discs, the byte can not hold larger values. With the larger volumes of information, more bytes are needed:

kilobyte -KB- is 1,024 bytes, but most relate it to 1000 bytes.

Megabyte-MB- is 1,024 kilobytes

Gigabyte -GB- is 1,024 megabytes

Terabyte -TB- is 1,024 gigabytes

Petabyte- PB- is 1,024 terabytes

Exabyte-EB- is 1,024 petabytes

Zettabyte-ZB- 1,024 exabytes

Yottabyte-YB- is 1,024 zettabytes

Note: many hardware and hard drive manufacturers think of a kilobyte as 1,000 bytes. from Wisegeek

Perils

The automobile changed the world in many ways, economically, physically and socially. Mechanized agriculture is the only way to farm. The discovery of the printing press was a real big deal- facilitated the printing of books, as against the laborius handwritten texts.

The interactive multimedia once again, is very rapidly changing the face of the world. At first, the internet's most popular use was for e-mails and chat rooms. Then comes social networks, telecommuting, blogging and vlogging and more. Already, there is a dark side to the digital world. There is fear that technology will bring unemployment, numbing of minds and invasion of privacy.

In his book- Digital Economy, Don Tapscott writes :" the digital world, while it offers exciting promise, there is also a dark side. Social stratification, massive social dislocation and conflict are perils that man faces with this digitalization. Violence and suffering can be seen worldwide instantly, not just in poor countries. There are new social, ethical and government issues that will surface as time goes on."

What lies ahead

Critical scholars say that major critiques of concepts like information society, knowledge society, network society, post modern society, post industrial society and other labels tend to create the impression that we are entering into a totally new type of society.

According to Wikipedia, Frank Webster argues that this kind of approach stress discontinuity, that contemporary society has nothing in common with society as it was 100 or 150 years ago. He argues that these assumptions mean, nothing can be done. Ideologically there is nothing society can do and just have to adapt to the existing reality. Webster insists on the continuities that characterize change. He stresses the different epoch of capitalism, that is, the laizzez-faire of the 19th century, corporate capitalism in the 20th century and informational capitalism for the 21st century.

You, society, be the judge.

Ref:

Digital Economy by Don Tapscott

Wisegeek.com

Wikipedia on Frank Webster

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Bespoke Tailoring

Bespoke tailoring dates back to the 17 century. The cloth at a tailor shop was said to be spoken for when chosen by a customer to be made into a garment. Hence came the meaning bespoke tailoring. The garment made through such a method is specifically designed for the individual according to measurements taken directly from him and taking into considerations his requirements.

Garments made through such a method are handcrafted. The measurements taken are painstakingly translated onto the cloth. Garments can be either fully bespoke or semi-bespoke. Fully bespoke are garments made entirely by hand while semi-bespoke are not 100% handmade. It is estimated that when making a bespoke suit, more than 5000 individual stitches are made.

Because bespoke tailoring involves a great amount of individual care and personal touch, it provide a very high level of customization. Garments made using such a technique are considered to be of very high quality.The essence of bespoke lies in the process for making such garments; as an example, suits are made in many different stages. After the measurements are taken, the first fitting is just a raw assembling of various parts. This provides the tailor the opportunity to adjust the suit by opening and re-attaching with pins so that the suit fits properly on the individual.

The second fitting incorporates the changes made on the first fitting. The suit is than finished with only small alterations made. The process usually requires two fittings but can involve more depending on different factors. Bespoke clothing requires top-level craftsmanship. the garments are made with extreme care and attention is given to every single details. Garments made through bespoke are usually very expensive. At to tailoring firms, suits are known to cost anything between three to eight thousand dollars.

These days, many types of clothing are made to measure. They do not involve such intricate process as bespoke but are garments that have been made in pre-determined standard sizes. Most are produced in factories but they can also be obtained ready-made from tailors. Made-to-measure garments are easily obtained at high street stores and online.

The beauty of bespoke clothing is that the person purchasing such garment has the possibility to actually participate in the process with every fitting. The tailor provides expert advice while the individual can offer his opinion as well as likes or dislikes. Bespoke tailoring mostly started with the making of suits, coats and shirts but any type of garment can be ordered and made through bespoke tailoring.

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We Are Trying to End the Problem of Child Obesity in One Generation - She Said

Well, we aren't allowed to say it, we are not allowed to tell anyone they are fat anymore, because it is not politically correct, but it is the truth. Over the years, I occasionally go to Starbucks, and I've watched the kids come in and pound down frappachino with extra caramel sauce, chocolate, and whip cream, your basic 500 to 650 calorie snack. Why are Americans getting fat you ask. Many people in New York think they have the answer; banning transfats in food, sin tax on snacks, and an add-on tax on big gulp sized soda pop.

It's not that America doesn't eat good food. It's all that junk they eat in between. The other day, I was at the grocery store and the person in front of me paying with food stamps was buying soda pop, chips, a pumpkin pie, donuts, and cake. Oh, don't get me wrong they also bought carrots, dip, fish, and a chicken. So apparently they got 20% of their diet correct.

Now then, not long ago, Michelle Obama noted that it was her vision to end this challenge of childhood obesity in one generation, but I'd say that if we keep over-feeding Americans and giving them free food with food stamps, then we are obviously going the wrong way. If people have more money to spend on food, they are going to buy the food tastes good, and they are going to feed it to their mouths until they are stuffed.

Therefore we have a bunch of people rolling along, literally, hugely overweight, and we have no one to blame but ourselves and our government for providing all this extra money which is unnecessary in free food stamps. Do I think we should limit choice? Not necessarily, I think if you buy your own food, and pay for your own health care, you can eat whatever you want.

However, if the government is paying for it, and my tax dollars paying for free food, then I would appreciate it if these folks would not make their children obese, and then claim that I need to also pay for the diabetes medicine for the rest of their lives. You see that point?

Look, here's the deal; we are not going to solve the problem of childhood obesity in one generation if we keep doing nonsensical things with these socialist food program strategies. If we really want to solve this problem we're going to need a new group of people in the White House who use common sense. We can't hope for change, we have to use smart policies, if not we shouldn't use the taxpayers money. Please consider all this and think on it.

Lance Winslow is the Founder of the Online Think Tank, a diverse group of achievers, experts, innovators, entrepreneurs, thinkers, futurists, academics, dreamers, leaders, and general all around brilliant minds. Lance Winslow hopes you've enjoyed today's discussion and topic. http://www.worldthinktank.net/ - Have an important subject to discuss, contact Lance Winslow.

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Resources Are Available to Find the Graduate Job in Birmingham

Birmingham is the second largest city in the U.K. and it is also one of the largest cities in Europe. Located in the centre of the West Midlands region, with easy access to other metropolitan areas, it can be an ideal place to begin your career if you're a graduate seeking a graduate job in Birmingham. The opportunity for any graduate job in Birmingham has improved greatly with the transformation of the Birmingham economy. Employers recognize that graduates can bring valuable specialized knowledge and training to any business.

Recruitment across a wide variety of careers means that there are more businesses that are able and ready to hire the suitable candidate for the graduate job in Birmingham. Concerted efforts are being made, and strong ties are being made between the local authorities and the business community. Birmingham, situated in the West Midlands, which is in the heart of the UK, has an ethically diverse population of over a million people, of which 30% are minorities.

Over the last decades there has been a significant decline in the manufacturing sector, on which the economy was based. Birmingham has successfully recovered from the decline in unemployment in the manufacturing sectors by putting into action a plan that will result in the redevelopment of the city centre. The plan ambitious plan encourages expansion in the service sector and related industries, such as leisure, tourism, and hospitality. During the transformational phases, the service sector related industries, can be in need of the specialized training, providing ample opportunities for anyone who may be looking for, or considering a graduate job in Birmingham.

The revitalization program has made the region more business friendly, and many major international and well-recognized corporations such as Fujitsu and Vodafone have established offices in the region. Improved prospects in the region can mean there may be more opportunities available, but as most job seekers, and especially anyone looking for a graduate job in Birmingham may realize, much of the job market can be hidden.

The prospect for finding employment is strengthened by the close relationship that exists between the business community and the local leadership. There are a total 15 Universities, 3 university colleges and over 30 institutions of higher learning in the region. The reciprocal arrangement of a skilled and educated workforce, that is available, encourages business development.

A wide range of cultural activities contributes to the diversity of the city. The large investment made in the regeneration program over the last decades, has transformed the city of into a Birmingham blossoming business center. The core of the city consists of an exciting combination of restaurants, interesting attractions, nightlife activities, and dynamic retailers. The city and the region has also been host to a number of major events and conferences.

With a cohesive combination of excellent educational institutions, a great cultural mix, and a business friendly community, Birmingham can be a great environment; not only for working, but it can also be an encouraging and promising situation for residents. The region is also home to several recognized corporations that have established world headquarters in the area.

If you are trying to find a graduate job in Birmingham, you may find that the prospects have improved recently. The regeneration plan instituted has contributed to improved growth in business, which means more jobs may be available. Resources are available to help land the coveted graduate job in Birmingham.

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The End of Modernism

The Modern Age is considered to have begun with the Enlightenment, when medieval religion's oppressive grip on the human mind was relinquished, and reason was set free. The real crux of modernism is the belief that we can know and understand the universe by applying objective reason to the material world. The knowledge we obtain by this method, called 'science', is Truth. Reason is assumed to be the highest form of mental functioning and is therefore the proper judge of what is True, and consequently it is also the proper judge of what is Good (ethics) and what is Beautiful (aesthetics).

This point of view persists today as the prevalent way of thinking. On the positive side, it has led to magnificent achievements in medicine, technology, industry, agriculture, aeronautics, and communications, to name but a few. On the negative side, it has led to pollution of the environment, weaponry that threatens total annihilation, mindless consumerism, and an empty sense that life on earth is nothing but an insignificant fluke.

Much of the scientific worldview of modernism has been abandoned by recent science, but it remains deeply ingrained in our psyches and continues to affect all aspects of our daily lives. For instance, our fascination with taking things apart, examining and classifying the pieces, and not carefully considering how to put them back together, applies to our relationships with family and community just as much as to the objects of laboratory study. This way of thinking leads to the fragmentation of our social lives, especially today when technological advancements enable us to leave our homes and roots at a moment's notice and resettle in distant parts of the planet by the end of the day, maintaining superficial relationships through phone lines and computers. Thus the coherence of community decays.

Not that freeing oneself from the confines of a stifling environment is a bad thing, or that the pursuit of individual freedom and personal growth is a bad thing. But there is a vital distinction that is often missed between genuine positive freedom and the unsalvageable destruction of meaningful human connections. An inner spiritual state of detachment enables conscious love, but a self-absorbed emotional detachment from other human beings merely causes alienation, not freedom, and is just a sign of the inability to sustain love, commitment, or responsibility. The flowing-process image that describes material objects in a laboratory applies equally well to people in a society: we are connected to each other in a web of mutuality in space and time, and cannot separate from each other any more than a bit of matter can separate from time, space, or its environment. When community no longer nourishes, and it becomes necessary to break communal links, new human relations must be established. Personal freedom grows when the individual is nourished, sustained, and supported by love, when idiosyncrasies are cherished, and communication is warm and plentiful. But freedom corrodes and perishes in the anonymity of standardized mechanical mass culture, where conformity masquerades as equality, and we are free to make whatever life choices we wish to make but have no healthy criteria for making them.

Andrew Cort is the author of "THE AMERICAN PSYCHE IN SEARCH OF ITS SOUL: Freedom, Equality, and the Restoration of Meaning" ( http://www.meaninginamerica.com/ ). He is a strong advocate for the return of Civility, Cooperation, and Maturity to our politics and national life, and so, although he considers himself a Liberal, the Foreword to his book was written by the well-known Conservative author and commentator, George Gilder. Find out more and pick up your Paperback or Kindle today at the above link.

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