Making Money System

Surface Encounters

Maya Moore of Connecticut Huskies wins fourth All-America honor

Connecticut's Maya Moore joins select company as only the second women's basketball player honored as a four-time All-American by The Associated Press.

Surface Encounters

PS3 Jailbreak: Hotz strikes back PlayStation 3 <b>News</b> - Page 1 <b>...</b>

Read our PlayStation 3 news of PS3 Jailbreak: Hotz strikes back.

Surface Encounters

Japan Nuke Accident Seen From Seattle - Science <b>News</b>

Clues to events at crippled plant found in traces of radiation reaching Pacific Northwest.

Surface Encounters

Apple advertises its products as magical. They’re at the intersection of “technology and the liberal arts,” Steve Jobs said today. Something that moves your heart, not just your lust for technology. Will consumers still buy that in 2011?

The big picture question of the day is whether Apple has done it again. With the original iPad, Apple crushed its rivals, taking more than 90 percent of the tablet market in 2010 and selling more than 15 million units. Jobs predicted today that 2011 will be the year of the iPad 2. Based on what I have seen today, I think he’s mostly, but not entirely, right.

Competitors will discover that Apple has a lot of inherent financial advantages, including being a low-cost leader. That may not sound intuitive, but I believe it has to be true. It is selling so much volume of its products that it can get discounts on parts and manufacturing services that no one else can get.

When it sells its products in stores, it also doesn’t have to give away 20 percent of the margin to a retailer. That is a huge financial advantage. Carriers are also willing to subsidize the costs of Apple products in a way that they won’t with other tablet vendors. All of these things may explain why the Motorola Xoom, a very cool product, is selling for $800 while Apple has priced its new devices at $499 to $829, (and dropped the price of the old iPad to $399). Apple has also left very little room for rivals here, since it has signed up both AT&T and Verizon. Perhaps there is room for rivals to sell $199 machines, but users probably aren’t going to like them.

Those are reasons why any cool Apple mobile product could beat other rivals. But Apple has also done some smart things with the iPad 2. It has created another rev of its microprocessor, the A5, which has two cores, or computing brains. And it has nine times faster graphics than its old A4 chip. Since Apple designs this chip itself, it doesn’t have to give away much margin to a chip design firm. It only has to give a small margin to a chip manufacturer such as Samsung to make the chips.

Apple has also custom-designed the A5 to run Apple applications on a device with a 10-hour battery life. Apple should have an edge there, as it won’t sell the A5 to rivals. But if this is an advantage, it isn’t likely to last long, as Nvidia is being very aggressive with a new quad-core chip that it could sell to any Android rivals.

The design of the iPad 2 is where Apple has more advantages. The iPad 2 will have faster web-browsing with a new version of Safari. It has two cameras that will inspire a lot of video and photo-related apps. The availability of the Mac applications — iMovie, Garage Band, and Photo Booth — on the iPad 2 will make a lot of users happy. More interesting features will come with new releases of the iOS, or Apple’s operating system in the fairly near future.

There are some users who won’t like the restrictions of Apple’s ecosystem. If they want universal serial bus (USB) and SD card ports, they are out of luck. Apple didn’t change the resolution of its screen either, leaving it at 1024 x 768. Competitors could add these options and put emphasis on them as selling points. (Critics are disappointed that Apple did not improve the display, but that’s a big cost issue others have too).

Apple has also made great improvements in the feel of the product. It’s 33 percent thinner, 2 ounces lighter, and it has a wonderful new screen cover that doubles as a stand for the device. (It wakes up the device when you peel it back and it has micro-fibers that clean the screen when the cover is on).

Now here is why Jobs is not entirely right. Apple has come up with a stunning machine at prices that the competitors will have a hard time beating. But it is almost inevitable that Android-based tablets will gain market share on Apple.

So far, I don’t see the Android machine that will beat the iPad 2. But the potential is there, given ingredients such as Android 3.0, Nvidia Tegra 2 chips and other fast microprocessors, and 4G LTE. The latter is the main weakness in Apple’s armor.

LTE is fast, with a minimum speed on Verizon at around 12 megabits a second and actual speeds running much higher than that now. Getting access to 4G LTE is as big a benefit as having access to lots of cool apps, from my point of view. Right now, the timing of the still-young LTE technology means that Apple cannot yet put it into its mass-produced, lowest-cost tablet computers.

If LTE costs come down sometime soon, then Apple can launch a new version of the iPad to incorporate the technology. But it’s not a simple upgrade, as it means that the hardware of the machine — including the radio chip — has to change. And for now, LTE chips are larger than their 3G equivalents, so the heat dissipation and product size are affected. In other words, LTE can force Apple to redesign the iPad.

Apple can do that. But Android tablet makers might be able to move faster than Apple directly into the 4G LTE tablet market. If they do that, then they will have found a scenario where they could steal a march on Apple. Apple is not likely to let that gap last for a long time, but it might be enough for Apple to lose some share this year.

Apple’s leadership position in this market will be hard to beat, but the collective weight and reach of Android rivals could erode it. And here’s a sobering thought: If Apple eventually winds up with only 30 percent of the tablet market, it could still be No. 1, and its place as the largest technology company in the world will not be at risk.

Check out Apple’s overview video on the iPad 2 and Jobs’ comments on technology and the liberal arts below.

Next Story: Loot Drop banks on talented game designers as it takes on social gaming’s giants (exclusive) Previous Story: Electric car startups to square off against Big Auto competition

Dirty Percent

Tuesday, 1 March 2011

It’s not hard to make the case that Apple’s new in-app subscription system offers numerous benefits to users, developers, and publishers. But whatever those benefits, they stem from the mere existence of these new subscription APIs. What’s controversial is the size of Apple’s cut: 30 percent.

No one is arguing that Apple shouldn’t get some cut of in-app purchases that go through iTunes. And, if Apple were taking a substantially smaller cut, there would be substantially fewer people objecting to Apple’s rules (that subscription-based publishing apps must use the system; that they can’t link to their external sign-up web page from within the app; and that they must offer in-app subscribers the same prices available outside the app).

The reasonable arguments against Apple’s policies seem to be:

• Apple should be taking less, perhaps far less, than 30 percent.




• Apple should not require subscription-based apps to use the in-app subscription APIs. If it’s a good deal for publishers, they’ll choose to use the system on their own.




• Apple should not require price-matching from subscription offers outside the app. Publishers should be allowed to charge iOS users more money to cover Apple’s cut.




• Apple should consider business models that simply can’t afford a 70/30 revenue split.

Let’s consider these in reverse order.

Apple Should Consider Business Models That Can’t Afford a 70/30 Revenue Split

Apple doesn’t give a damn about companies with business models that can’t afford a 70/30 split. Apple’s running a competitive business; competition is cold and hard. And who exactly can’t afford a 70/30 split? Middlemen. It’s not that Apple is opposed to middlemen — it’s that Apple wants to be the middleman. It’s difficult to expect them to be sympathetic to the plights of other middlemen.

Some of these apps and services that are left out might be ones that iOS users enjoy, though. This is the leading argument for how this new policy will in fact hurt users, and, as a result, Apple itself: it’ll drive good apps off the platform. Frequently mentioned examples: Netflix and Kindle. For all we know, though, Netflix may well be fine with this policy. Apple would only get a 30 percent cut of new subscriptions that go through the Netflix iOS app, and that might be a bounty Netflix can live with in exchange for more subscribers. Keep in mind, too, that Netflix and Apple seemingly get along well enough that Netflix is built into the Apple TV system software.

Kindle, and e-book platforms in general, are a different case. For one thing, Kindle doesn’t use subscriptions. Kindle offers purchases. Presumably, given Apple’s rejection of Sony’s e-book platform app last month, Apple is going to insist on the same rules for in-app purchases through apps like Kindle as they do for in-app subscriptions. If so, something’s got to give. The “agency model” through which e-books are sold requires the bookseller to give the publisher 70 percent of the sale price. So if the publisher gets 70 and Apple gets 30, that leaves a big fat nothing for Amazon, or Barnes & Noble, or Kobo, or anyone else selling books through native iOS apps — other than iBooks, of course.

But leaving aside the revenue split, there are technical limitations as well. The existing in-app purchasing system in iOS has a technical limit of 3,500 catalog items. I.e. any single app can offer no more than 3,500 items for in-app purchase. Amazon has hundreds of thousands of Kindle titles.

Something’s got to give here. I don’t know what, but there must be more news on this front coming soon. I don’t believe Apple wants to chase competing e-book platforms off the App Store.

Apple Should Not Require Price Matching

Why not allow developers and publishers to set their own prices for in-app subscriptions? One reason: Apple wants its customers to get the best price — and, to know that they’re getting the best price whenever they buy a subscription through an app. It’s a confidence in the brand thing: with Apple’s rules, users know they’re getting the best price, they know they’ll be able to unsubscribe easily, and they know their privacy is protected.

Credit card companies insist on similar rules: retailers pay a processing fee for every credit card transaction, but the credit card companies insist that these fees not be passed on to the customer. Customers pay the same price as they would if they used cash — which encourages them to use their credit card liberally. (Going further, many charge cards offer cash back on each purchase — they can do this because the cash-back percentage refunded to the customer is less than the transaction processing fee paid by the retailer.)

So the same-price rule is good for the user, and good for Apple. But Matt Drance argues that Apple could dissipate much of this subscription controversy by waiving this rule:

The requirement that IAP content be offered “at the same price
or less than it is offered outside the app,” combined with the
70/30 split, means developers must make less money off of iOS by
definition. They can’t price their IAP content higher to offset
the commission, nor can they price their own retail content lower.

If I am interpreting this correctly, I can’t bring myself to see
it as reasonable. […] I think a great deal of this drama could
go away if Apple dropped section 11.13 while keeping section
11.14: Your prices on your store are your business; just don’t
be a jerk and advertise the difference all over ours.

And I agree with him. Yes, the same-price rule is good for users and for Apple, but waiving this rule wouldn’t be particularly bad for users or for Apple, either — and it would give publishers some freedom to experiment.

I suspect one reason Apple won’t budge is that their competitors — like Amazon — insist on best-price matching.

Apple Should Not Require Apps to Offer In-App Subscriptions

I’m sympathetic to this argument, too. “If you don’t like our terms, don’t use our subscription system.” But it has occurred to me that this entire in-app subscription debate mirrors the debate surrounding the App Store itself back in 2008 — that 30 percent was too large a cut for Apple to take, that it shouldn’t be mandatory, etc. The same way many developers wanted (and still want) a way to sell native iOS apps on their own, outside the App Store, many publishers now want a way to sell subscriptions on their own, outside the App Store.

The fact is, the App Store is an all-or-nothing affair. You play by Apple’s rules or you stick to web apps through Mobile Safari. This alternative is no different for periodical publishers than it was (and remains) for app developers in general. A lot of these demands boil down to a desire for more autonomy for native iOS app developers. Apple has never shown any interest in that.

There’s one striking difference between the subscription controversy today and the App Store controversy in 2008: with subscriptions, Apple is taking away the ability to do something that they previously allowed. There was never a supported way to install native apps for iOS before the App Store. Subscriptions sold outside the App Store, on the other hand, were allowed until last month.

Apple Should Be Taking Less, Possibly Far Less, Than 30 Percent

Another difference between the App Store itself and in-app subscriptions is that with apps, Apple hosts and serves the downloads. Apple covers the bandwidth, even for gargantuan gigabyte-or-larger 99-cent games. The OS handles installation.

With in-app subscriptions (and purchases), however, the app developer is responsible for hosting the content, and for writing the code to download, store, and manage it. So — one reasonable argument goes — given that Apple is doing less for subscription content than it does for apps (or for music and movies purchased through iTunes), Apple should take less of the money.

Taken further, the argument boils down to this: that for in-app subscriptions and purchases, Apple is serving only as a payment processer — and thus, a reasonable fee for transactions would be in the small single digits — 3, 4, maybe 5 percent, say. More or less something along the lines of what PayPal charges.

Apple, I think it’s clear, doesn’t see it this way. Apple sees the entire App Store, along with all native iOS apps, as an upscale, premium software store: owned, controlled, and managed like a physical shopping mall. Brick and mortar retailers don’t settle for a single-digit cut of retail prices; neither does the App Store.

Seth Godin argues that Apple’s 30 percent cut is too big to allow publishers to profit:

Except Apple has announced that they want to tax each subscription
made via the iPad at 30%. Yes, it’s a tax, because what it does is
dramatically decrease the incremental revenue from each
subscriber. An intelligent publisher only has two choices: raise
the price (punishing the reader and further cutting down
readership) or make it free and hope for mass (see my point above
about the infinite newsstand). When you make it free, it’s all
about the ads, and if you don’t reach tens or hundreds of
thousands of subscribers, you’ll fail.

Godin’s logic strikes me as questionable. For one thing, he freely switches between a newsstand metaphor (arguing, perhaps accurately, that the App Store is too large for publishers to gain attention from potential readers in the first place — you won’t read what you never notice) and the economics of subscriptions. But subscribers are the opposite of newsstand readers. Newsstand readers are buying a single copy, often on impulse. Subscribers are readers who are already hooked, and who know what they want. Put another way, the size of Apple’s cut of subscription revenue — whether it were higher or lower — has no bearing on the “attention at the newsstand” problem.

Second, the problem facing traditional publishers today is that circulation is falling. Newsstand sales and subscriptions are falling, under pressure from free-of-charge websites and other forms of digital content. The idea with Apple’s 70-30 revenue split is that developers and publishers can make it up in volume — that people aren’t just somewhat more willing to pay for content through iTunes than other online content stores, they are far more willing. The idea is that Apple has cracked a nut no one else1 has — they’ve created an ecosystem where hundreds of millions of people are willing to pay for digital content. Thus, potentially, publishers won’t just make more money keeping only 70 percent of subscription fees generated through iOS apps than they are now with 96 percent (or whatever they’re left with after payment processing fees) of subscription fees they’re selling on their own — they stand to make a lot more money.

I’m not guaranteeing or even predicting that it’s going to work out that way. I’m just saying that’s Apple’s proposition.

Godin’s assumption is that iOS in-app subscriptions won’t significantly increase the number of subscribers. If he’s right about that, then he’s right that Apple’s 30 percent cut will prove too expensive for publishers. But Apple’s bet is that in-app subscriptions can dramatically increase the number of subscribers. Consider the app landscape. Apple’s 30 percent cut didn’t drive the price of paid apps up — the nature of the App Store drove prices down. It’s a volume game.

The App Store itself proves that Apple might be right. Like with app sales, in-app subscriptions won’t work for every publication. But it could work for many. It really is possible to make it up in volume.

And if a 70-30 split for in-app subscription revenue doesn’t work, the price will come down. That’s how capitalism works. You choose a price and see how it goes. I’ll admit — when the App Store launched in 2008, I thought Apple’s 70-30 split was skewed too heavily in Apple’s favor. Not that it was wrong in any moral sense, but that it was wrong in a purely economic sense: that it might be more than developers would be willing to bear. Apple, clearly, has a better sense about what prices the market will bear than I (and, likely, you) do.

Competition vs. Anti-Competition

One last argument I’ve seen regarding these in-app subscription rules is that it’s further evidence of anti-competitive behavior from Apple. That makes sense only if you consider iOS to be the entire field of play. Apple, though, is competing at a higher level. They’re competing between platforms: iOS vs. Kindle/Amazon vs. Android/Google vs. Microsoft, and in some ways, vs. the free web. Why should publishers make an app rather than just a mobile web site? For happier customers and more money.

Sony has a platform for e-books. Amazon has a platform for e-books. Barnes & Noble has a platform for e-books. Apple has a platform for e-books. But Apple is the only one which allows its competitors to have apps on its devices. And Apple is the anti-competitive one? I’m no lawyer, but if the iTunes Music store hasn’t yet been deemed a monopoly with Apple selling 70+ percent of digital music players, then I doubt the App Store will be deemed a monopoly for a market where Apple has never been — and, according to market share trends, may never be — the top-selling smartphone maker, let alone own a majority of the market, let alone own more than a single-digit sliver of the phone market as a whole. As for ruthless profiteering, consider that Amazon, with their e-book publishing, originally took the fat end of a 70-30 revenue split with authors.

One question I’ve been asked by several DF readers who object to Apple’s new in-app subscription and purchasing policies goes like this: What if Microsoft did this with Windows, and, say, tried to require Apple to pay them 30 percent for every purchase made through iTunes on Windows? To that, I say: good luck with that. Microsoft couldn’t make such a change by fiat. The whole premise of Windows (and other personal computer systems) is that it is open to third-party software. Apple couldn’t just flip a switch and make Mac OS X a controlled app console system like iOS — they had to introduce the Mac App Store as an alternative to traditional software installation. If Microsoft introduced something similar to the Mac App Store for Windows, Apple would simply eschew it. If Microsoft were to mandate an iOS App Store-like total control policy for all Windows software, they’d have a revolt in their user base that would make Vista look like a success.

iOS isn’t and never was an open computer system. It’s a closed, controlled console system — more akin to Playstation or Wii or Xbox than to Mac OS X or Windows. It is, in Apple’s view, a privilege to have a native iOS app.

This is what galls some: Apple is doing this because they can, and no other company is in a position to do it. This is not a fear that in-app subscriptions will fail because Apple’s 30 percent slice is too high, but rather that in-app subscriptions will succeed despite Apple’s (in their minds) egregious profiteering. I.e. that charging what the market will bear is somehow unscrupulous. To the charge that Apple Inc. is a for-profit corporation run by staunch capitalists, I say, “Duh”.

If it works, Apple’s 30-percent take of in-app subscriptions will prove as objectionable in the long run as the App Store itself: not very.

Surface Encounters

Surface Encounters

It looks like women have caught up with men in numbers in the workplace. For the first time in history, women in the USA now outnumber men in the workforce, and there are now more women in supervisory positions than there are males. The question is whether they will handle the downside of working any better than men.

According to an article by Ella L. J. Edmondson Bell, Ph.D., titled The 21st Century Workplace -- Are Women the New Men?, the economic downturn has hit men harder. They held nearly 80 percent of jobs that have been lost during what is now being called the "mancession." Will women now inherit the stress, pressure, exhaustion, burn out and heart attacks commonly associated with male leaders in business?

Some predict that this new female-dominated workplace will mean a softening of the corporate culture, with more benevolent leaders. Others foresee just the opposite. Ella says many women don't want to be seen as "soft" -- and others simply aren't. No one would call Carly Fiorina, the head of Hewlett Packard from 1999 to 2005, a wilting lily. According to her memoir, Tough Choices, she was sometimes referred to as Chainsaw Carly.

All of this is especially relevant on the entrepreneurial side, since statistics show that women are starting businesses at more than twice the rate of their male counterparts. Some would argue that the growing success rate of women entrepreneurs shows that they are resourceful, and better able to succeed, despite the odds.

While I'm sure we will continue to see progress on the female side, I predict that they will struggle with the same major challenges faced today by men. These include:

1. Funding your dream. Raising money is hard, whether you are counting on friends, investors, or banks. I rarely see women at angel investment groups, either asking for money, or offering to fund new ventures. Men seem more focused on this one.




2. Need for increased confidence and mindset skills. Many women and men are paralyzed by perfection, plagued by pessimism, and the need to satisfy others, rather than themselves. We need more women leaders.




3. Motivation to succeed. Every entrepreneur needs to love what they do, and believe so strongly in their product or service that they can weather the tough times. On this one, it's easy to spot the ones with passion, from either gender.




4. Manage time and priorities. Women, often more than men, try to do too much. It's hard to balance the continual demands of the business, personal relationships, and home life. Every entrepreneur needs to prioritize the important tasks ahead of urgent tasks.




5. Never stop learning. After you start your business, the learning really begins. True entrepreneurs look at failures as their best learning experiences. Networking, and using your network is the next most important element of learning.

I don't see any challenges which are so gender specific that they can't be overcome by any entrepreneur. Yet I don't think women should be convinced that the battle for equality is almost over. There is still the question of why there are so few women in high places, and why the average income for women in business is about 68% of men's income.

What I am hoping is that women will not just be the new men, and suffer from the same maladies and limitations. I'll be looking for women to create the "new business culture" that every worker wants -- better role definitions, more effective and productive leadership, and better work-life balance. That would make women entrepreneurs the new women, rather than the new men!

The major legislative item on the agenda in the Senate this week will be The Small Business Reauthorization Act (S. 493).  Republicans plan to use this bill as a platform to promote critical pieces of legislation through the process of non-germane amendments to the bill.  Here are some vital amendments that will be debated and voted on throughout the week:

• Senator Mitch McConnell is offering an amendment (S. AMDT 183) to prohibit the EPA from promulgating any regulations on greenhouse gas emissions.  There is perhaps no force that is more destructive to our prosperity, consumer freedom of choice, and job creation than onerous cap and trade schemes.  There are many red state Democrats who are up for reelection in 2012 and will be hard pressed to go on record as supporting policies that are an imprecation to the interests of their states.  Make sure to call Senators Claire McCaskill, Joe Manchin, Ben Nelson, Bill Nelson, and Jon Tester in particular.

• Senator David Vitter is offering an amendment (S.AMDT. 178) forcing the federal government to sell off unused and underused property.  This is a serious issue.  The federal government owns over half of the land in some western states and has been using it to stifle energy development.  Selling unused federal lands would also serve as a prudent means of generating revenue without raising taxes.

• Senator Rand Paul is using the SBA bill as a platform to offer his signature budget bill (S.AMDT 199) which would slash $200 billion in spending for fiscal 2011.  Paul’s plan slashes funding by 50% to the Departments of Energy, Education, and HUD.  This amendment represents real limited government and budget austerity and will separate the men among the boys in the ranks of the Republican Conference.

• Senator Kay Bailey Hutchison is forcing a vote (S. AMDT 197) to delay the implementation of ObamaCare until a final resolution is reached in pending lawsuits.  Unlike other bills that are designed to merely ameliorate ObamaCare, this amendment would completely halt it during the ensuing legal battles.

• Senator Tom Coburn has filed an amendment (S.AMDT.184) to force federal agencies to compile comprehensive lists of all of their programs

Make sure that all of your Republican senators are on record supporting these amendments, especially Rand Paul’s budget proposal.  Also, let’s see which faux moderate Democrats will commit to supporting anyone of these commonsense initiatives.  Needless to say, I didn’t waste time calling my senators; Barbara Mikulski and Ben Cardin!

Surface Encounters

Radioactive trench water not confirmed to have overflowed: agency <b>...</b>

Radioactive water that has been filling up underground trenches connected to the crippled reactors at the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear plant has not been confirmed to have overflowed, the government's Nuclear and Industrial Safety Agency ...

Surface Encounters

Surface Encounters

Surface Encounters

URGENT: Plutonium detected in soil at Fukushima nuke plant: TEPCO <b>...</b>

URGENT: Plutonium detected in soil at Fukushima nuke plant: TEPCO. TOKYO, March 28, Kyodo. Plutonium has been detected in soil at five locations at the crippled Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant, Tokyo Electric Power Co. said Monday ...

Surface Encounters

Being Right or Making Money

"You Have More Money In Your Wallet Than Bank of America Pays In Taxes"

Submitted by ChesapeakeCitizen on Sat, 2011-02-26 23:10 Corporatism and Fascism

"You Have More Money In Your Wallet Than Bank of America Pays In Taxes"

----------------------------------------------------------------------

...and Boeing, Citigroup, General Electric, Exxon-Mobil, Wells Fargo and...

February 26, 2011

by Zaid Jilani

www.thinkprogress.org

Today, hundreds of thousands of people comprising a Main Street Movement — a coalition of students, the retired, union workers, public employees, and other middle class Americans — are in the streets, demonstrating against brutal cuts to public services and crackdowns on organized labor being pushed by conservative politicians. These lawmakers that are attacking collective bargaining and cutting necessary services like college tuition aid and health benefits for public workers claim that they have no choice but than to take these actions because both state and federal governments are in debt.

But it wasn’t teachers, fire fighters, policemen, and college students that caused the economic recession that has devastated government budgets — it was Wall Street. And as middle class workers are being asked to sacrifice, the rich continue to rig the system, dodging taxes and avoiding paying their fair share.

In an interview with "In These Times" www.inthesetimes.com Carl Gibson, the founder of www.USUncut.org , which is organizing some of today’s UK-inspired massive demonstrations against tax dodgers, explains that while ordinary Americans are being asked to sacrifice, major corporations continue to use the rigged tax code to avoid paying any federal taxes at all. As he says, if you have “one dollar” in your wallet, you’re paying more than the “combined income tax liability of GE, ExxonMobil, Citibank, and the Bank of America“:

[Gibson] explains, “I have one dollar in my wallet. That’s more than the combined income tax liability of GE, ExxonMobil, Citibank, and the Bank of America. That means somebody is gaming the system.”

Indeed, as politicians are asking ordinary Americans to sacrifice their education, their health, their labor rights, and their wellbeing to tackle budget deficits, some of the world’s richest multinational corporations are getting away with shirking their responsibility and paying nothing. ThinkProgress has assembled a short but far from comprehensive list of these tax dodgers — corporations which have rigged the tax system to their advantage so they can reap huge profits and avoid paying taxes:

- BANK OF AMERICA: In 2009, Bank of America didn’t pay a single penny in federal income taxes, exploiting the tax code so as to avoid paying its fair share. “Oh, yeah, this happens all the time,” said Robert Willens, a tax accounting expert interviewed by McClatchy. “If you go out and try to make money and you don’t do it, why should the government pay you for your losses?” asked Bob McIntyre of Citizens for Tax Justice. The same year, the mega-bank’s top executives received pay “ranging from $6 million to nearly $30 million.”

- BOEING: Despite receiving billions of dollars from the federal government every single year in taxpayer subsidies from the U.S. government, Boeing didn’t “pay a dime of U.S. federal corporate income taxes” between 2008 and 2010.

- CITIGROUP: Citigroup’s deferred income taxes for the third quarter of 2010 amounted to a grand total of $0.00. At the same time, Citigroup has continued to pay its staff lavishly. “John Havens, the head of Citigroup’s investment bank, is expected to be the bank’s highest paid executive for the second year in a row, with a compensation package worth $9.5 million.”

- EXXON-MOBIL: The oil giant uses offshore subsidiaries in the Caribbean to avoid paying taxes in the United States. Although Exxon-Mobil paid $15 billion in taxes in 2009, not a penny of those taxes went to the American Treasury. This was the same year that the company overtook Wal-Mart in the Fortune 500. Meanwhile the total compensation of Exxon-Mobil’s CEO the same year was over $29,000,000.

- GENERAL ELECTRIC: In 2009, General Electric — the world’s largest corporation — filed more than 7,000 tax returns and still paid nothing to U.S. government. They managed to do this by a tax code that essentially subsidizes companies for losing profits and allows them to set up tax havens overseas. That same year GE CEO Jeffery Immelt — who recently scored a spot on a White House economic advisory board — “earned total compensation of $9.89 million.” In 2002, Immelt displayed his lack of economic patriotism, saying, “When I am talking to GE managers, I talk China, China, China, China, China….I am a nut on China. Outsourcing from China is going to grow to 5 billion.”

- WELLS FARGO: Despite being the fourth largest bank in the country, Wells Fargo was able to escape paying federal taxes by writing all of its losses off after its acquisition of Wachovia. Yet in 2009 the chief executive of Wells Fargo also saw his compensation “more than double” as he earned “a salary of $5.6 million paid in cash and stock and stock awards of more than $13 million.”

In the coming months, politicians across the country are going to tell Americans that the only way to stave off huge deficit and balance the budgets is by gutting programs for the poor, eviscerating support for the middle class, eliminating labor rights, and decimating the government’s ability to serve the public interest. This is a lie. The United States is the richest country in the history of the world, and income inequality is higher now than it has been at any time since the 1920′s, with the top “top 1 percentile of households [taking] home 23.5 percent of income in 2007.”

It is simply unfair for Main Street Americans who’ve already been battered by one of the worst economic crises in our history to have to continue to sacrifice while the rich and well-connected continue to rip off taxpayers and avoid paying their fair share. That’s why a Main Street Movement consisting of Americans who are fed up with the status quo is rocking the nation, and one of its first targets should be tax dodgers like Bank of America and Boeing.

digg

Once again investors came out in full force to buy the fucking dip on Friday after learning that Qaddafi's men opened fire
on protesters in Tripoli in Moammar's shoot first, shoot later
negotiations policy, GDP was revised down to "QE3 is coming," gold rose
to over $1,400 an ounce once again making Flavor Flav's teeth the most expensive commodity in the world, and the US government threatens to shut down while individual states bust unions (and if it is this Union's bust, then Money McBags approves) and teachers across the country get pinkslipped (while others slip pink).  So once again cognitive dissonance reigns like Peter the Great in 18th century Russia or like Ms. San Antonio (only without eating so many tacos).

 

With Saudi Arabia promising to pump out enough oil to support both lost Libyan production and an even better Oil Rumble,
and with consumer sentiment rising in everything but how the consumer
sentiment number is calculated (Money McBags will guess lovingly and
with a fuckload of goal seeking and hard coding), investors ignored
every other bit of common sense, toggled away from Kate Upton's twitter pics, and jumped back in to the market faster than Charlie Sheen jumps back in to a bottle of vodka (or Capri Anderson's rectum).

 

Anyway, Money McBags thought he would try a gimmick for Friday's
wrap-up because all writers need to find new tricks (especially ones
like Money McBags as he writes as if he is trying to put his round peg
through Karissa Shannon's
spare hole).  So in honor of Sunday's Oscars, Money McBags thought he
would equate each news item of the day to a best picture nominee simply
because he needs a challenge.

 

Inception goes to consumer sentiment hitting its highest level in 3 years
because clearly consumers must be dreaming of something other than the
declining buying power of the dollar and the shitawful ponzeconomy™ if
they really feel confident about anything other than their savings being
fucked (and see, that's funny because most of them have no savings). 
The Thomson Reuters/University of Michigan/Vivid Video survey on
consumer sentiment came in at 77.5 which was up from 74.2 in January
and the highest since January 2008 which was right when the last guy on
the Street knew that bank balance sheets were more fictitious than a Dr. Boris Sachakov hemorrhoid removal,
so um, look out below.  The number was above the median forecast of
75.3, above the early February reading of 75.1, and above Money McBags'
sentiment of "you have to be kidding me" because the only times Money
McBags has been less confident in the consumer was during the Beanie
Baby phase and when Garth Brooks went platinum.  Consumers reported
"significant" labor market improvements, judged their personal
finances more favorably than at any other time in the past three years,
and insisted that redneck is a religion.

 

True Grit goes to GDP which keeps trying to tough it out despite being more fucked than David Wu's political career. GDP for Q4 was revised down to 2.8% annual growth,
below 3.2% guesses, and well below the 5% needed to lower the 9%
unemployment rate without just clerically adjusting the labor force
participation rate down again (Money McBags' "Fuck Off" strategy), but
hey, just buy the fucking dip.  The slower growth was driven by deeper
spending cuts by state and local governments who continue to suffer
from lower tax revenues and reality.

 

Toy Story 3 goes to the Ben Bernanke who is treating M2 as if it is Monopoly money as the money supply not only grows faster than Cameron Diaz on the awesomeness scale but is more correlated to the rise in the S&P
than tinnitus is correlated to attending a Black Eyed Peas concert. 
But hey, Money McBags guesses we will learn the hard way that Zimbabwe isn't just for lovers (lovers of AIDS that is).

 

The Kids Are Alright goes to the state of Wisconsin whose teachers have missed work to protest cuts to their health care benefits and collective bargaining rights as a union which has caused senate Democrats to flee the state
to avoid voting as it is always best to run from bullies.  Teacher
protests give kids more time to stay at home, fire up the playstation,
and plan the next rainbow party, which is alright with Money McBags.

 

The King's Speech goes to Libyan dictator Moammar Qaddafi who got up in the center of Tripoli on Friday and threatened to make his country a living hell
and kill those who oppose him.  When protesters heard this, they
rejoiced, claiming a living hell would be three steps up from Libya's
current living situation which is so bad it has been compared to having
to french kiss Kathy Griffin's sphincter.

 

Winter's Bone goes to Winter Pierzina
as who wouldn't want to giver her a bone?  And, yes, that has nothing
to do with the economy or the market, but it is very important to
confirm.

 

The Fighter goes to all of the protesters in the Middle
East and Northern Africa who are tired of some asshole despotic ruler
continually oppressing them and are now striving to become that asshole
ruler to be able to oppress the factions they hate.  How these Middle
East protests have not spooked the market more is a question for which
Money McBags is seeking an answer (though he is pretty sure the answer
isn't pussy furry).

 

Black Swan goes to AIG who in a black swan event shit
on the global economy a few short years ago as their derivatives book of
credit default swaps (which had a one in bazillion chance of blowing up
according to the douchenozzles who were writing that shit and whose
bonuses relied on writing it, but nothing to see there) found itself in
the Gaussian curve's fat tail
and blew the fuck up as insuring something without actually putting
aside the money in case that thing you are insuring gets fucked is as
dumb of a business as ZAGG or a Wilford Brimley
tongue kissing booth.  But it gets even better because in an even
bigger black swan event, this fucking company is still in business
somehow (because apparently criminal actions don't get punished in the
US if you have a good lawyer and are on the government's payroll) and on Friday they put up a big Q but sold off
as investors raised concerns over AIG's huge property insurance
business, its aircraft leasing unit, and how the fuck they can actually
trust a company that came within a Verne Troyer
nut hair of blowing up the world.  Money McBags isn't saying AIG is a
shitty company, he's saying they are a fucking shitty company.

 

127 Hours goes to every company that had earnings or
analyst ratings changes on Friday because in 127 hours (or 3 to be more
precise) no one will remember and the stocks will trade on new
speculation (and by new speculation, Money McBags means the Fed's
continued capital injection).  In earnings on Friday, Salesforce.com
apparently sold the fuck out of some forces beating earnings guesses and raising full year guidance as cloud computing remains hotter than Tulip sales in the Netherlands in the 1600s or two lip sales in Eliot Spitzer's hotel rooms in the 2000s.  In other earnings news, ADSK saw profits rise
23% on a 16% increase in revenues and the company is now up 45% for the
year as more people use their autocad software to design the cardboard
boxes in to which they have moved.

 

In other company news, FSLR was down 6%
despite higher profits as the solar panel maker burned investors by
forecasting weaker sales this year and warned it would cut prices to
compensate for the end of solar subsidies in Europe.  That said, a
flurry of analysts raised their price targets on the stock because
lowered sales forecasts didn't effect their hardcoded models.  Finally
WFC climbed after Goldman raised its rating on the stock to "buy" from
"neutral" after the analyst was told he hadn't published anything on
WFC in a while and needed to drum up some trading flow.

 

If you want to read which small cap company Money McBags gave The Social Network to, click over to the award winning When Genius Prevailed where Money McBags has fundamental analysis, more dick jokes, and plenty of Lucy Pinder.  And if you're really bored, Money McBags is known to frequent the twitter from time to time.

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Key 2008 Aide Back with Romney - FoxNews.com

Mitt Romney's Free and Strong America PAC announced Monday that his chief domestic adviser in his 2008 presidential bid has returned to join his PAC as policy director, another apparent building block for Romney's likely entry in the ...

Obama Birth Certificate <b>News</b> | Digital <b>News</b> Report

Digital News Report – Although the Obama campaign produced a birth certificate in the run-up to the last general election, there are still questions about President Obama's birthplace. ...

Search engine optimization Vancouver For any Better Marketing Solution

 

When you begin your own website there are many ways you'll have to sell it off and something the best way is by using SEO services Vancouver if you be in that area. The SEO or seo services will be the top method of getting more traffic to your site and therefore making more sales.

 

Now, you should know that you won't use SEO service if you're not an online business - however, if you do not come with an online presence if you are a offline business, then you'll not allow it to be very far.

 

It's a popular proven fact that if you are planning to make it within the offline world you need to have an online business. This really is something which all business people are learning hard way. One thing that you ought to also know is the fact that it is not as easy as just setting up the website and leaving it to complete its things.

 

You can do this in all types of ways, however these companies usually make use of multiple methods to create the perfect marketing technique online. You will be able to hire these phones write articles for you personally, post on forums and blogs, create meta data and meta descriptions, cleanup the code, add alt tags towards the images plus much more.

 

It is crucial that you do this because otherwise the company you have worked so hard for could wind up losing all the money. If you have an internet site that you want to create, then you'll also use the expertise of an SEO company, which stands for search engine optimization company. What this company does is actually take the best areas of your site, look into the code, create keywords and write various articles and documents to ensure your website is placed close to the top of the list for the major search engines like google.

By doing this the SEO company can not only increase your traffic, but additionally ensure that your site is fully optimized for the internet search engine spiders that will be introduced to it. These spiders are used to analyze your website and put it in a few positions determined on certain keywords.

 

If you wish to make use of the Search engine optimization Vancouver then all you've got to do is find the top companies. It's through these how the SEO gets done effectively and efficiently. With so many SEO companies to choose from you need to be sure that the one you're going for is reliable. You ought to be able to ask for a breakdown of what you need, and the company also needs to have the ability to tell you know long they have been operating for. This can limit the list to reveal the very best ones.

 

Search engine optimization Offered by Different Vancouver Web Companies

The Vancouver SEO company services are extremely good for business growth because they provide quality services. If you're planning to create a website for the online business, then you've come to right article as I is going to be explaining below how Web optimization Vancouver company services can improve your website ranking making it popular.

Before that, you need to know what Search Engine Optimization is. It's not that complicated and I'm sure you will get a grasp of it after reading my article. The main goal of SEO is to get increased traffic aimed at your website and audience. It is a good decision to choose a Vancouver SEO company that are experts in this sort of work, which means that your website can be listed in search engines.

There isn't any point in you having a website with no website ranking whatsoever as you won't get any business and profits to outlive. It is a very tough atmosphere out there because there are a lot of online business people exactly like you, who desire their share of pie. You must be aware of the truth that nearly 85% of web traffic could be got from websites.

When a user types in a keyword or keywords for what he/she really wants to know in different sites, these use crawlers to get web sites using the relevant content and index them according to algorithms. It's not necessary to be worried about the algorithms which these websites use as that is not important.

To look in the first page of the search result, you will have to hire professionals and experts who can perform the needful to keep your site among the good books in these websites. These professionals can optimize your website content to ensure that your website gets more traffic.

When the traffic gets high, it's a sign that you are getting a service that will get you more revenues. SEO Vancouver company do the next to make your site appear within the first page of search engine results.

Use keywords that are popularly utilized on search engines like google on your website content.
Possess a web design for the website which is simple because top sites are allergic to flash and weird designs.
Submit your website to directories.
Submit your site to directory websites.
Postings on blogs and forums with back links to your websites. This really is regarded as a very effective way to get more traffic aimed at your website as many internet users use blogs and forums.

SEO Vancouver company also perform site diagnostics that is a significant part in online optimization as research and analysis on finding keywords is the method to start a SEO campaign. So, be sure you select the right SEO Vancouver company.

Are you looking for more info regarding SEO Vancouver? Visit http://www.seo4vancouver.com/seo-services.asp today!

 

What to Expect Whenever Getting a Roofers

When the time comes to repair or even substitute your homes roof, it can be a daunting task to find someone who is actually qualified for the job. There are lots of roofers out there, but the types who'll do a great job for a reasonable price aren't frequently simple to find. If you're in the marketplace for a service provider, make use of the tips below for meeting with as well as hiring the right one.

Interview and Consultation

The majority of roofers offer free consultation services. This is especially essential, since it provides them an opportunity to evaluate exactly what your roof needs, also it provides you with a chance to assess all of them. As with all businesses, believe in intuition about the people a person let up onto your roof. No issue exactly how great the contractor's reputation or recommendation, he should start by showing a person having a company greeting card. If the contractor occurs looking as well as talking within an less than professional manner, most likely the task he's going to do may also be unprofessional. This isn't to say that you should expect contractors to arrive within suits. They is going to be hiking in your roof, so the majority of is going to be dressed up in denim jeans and work footwear or athletic shoes. If the actual contractor seems to be interested in speaking upon their mobile phone while on your homes roof than he is in analyzing your roof's requirements, which may be an additional sign that he is not really the one for the job. For your legal protection, be certain that the actual contractor offers sufficient liability insurance.

Roof Evaluation

Anticipate the contractor is going to be going up on your roof. In fact, any service provider who not want to increase on your roof to evaluate the issue should be immediately discounted. Those who are seriously interested in their function may either create a sketching of the roof's surface as well as tag trouble spots onto it because they go through their own evaluation, or even they will consider photos or video clip of the surface while they are available online for. This is a very essential step, because it allows you to see just what the problems are as well as know how they will be set.

Estimate

The next step would be the created estimation. The contractor will require away their calculator and are available up with a written estimation. Some contractors goes out to their own truck or even van as well as write down the proposal, while some will crunch the amounts for the job in front of you. Once you're because of the proposal, ensure that you comprehend which products is going to be used, just how long the job will require and if you will find any extra or hidden costs that may arise during the repair from the roof. The service provider will be able to answer all of these concerns effortlessly as well as forewarn a person associated with a extra expenses that could be sustained should the roof's ethics end up being broken inside.

Once you have obtained several written estimates from roofers, evaluate what each organization or even contractor would like to offer you for that price. Do not necessarily discount the greatest bid, simply because occasionally the highest bid will actually function as the contractor who does the task properly. Additionally, be skeptical associated with bids which are not nearly as expensive other people. They may be utilizing inferior items or be untruthful concerning the chance of hidden expenses. Above all, believe in intuition as well as go with the service provider that makes you feel quite comfortable about giving more than your money.

 

Seven Uyghurs Sentenced to Death

2011-03-23

Critics of the sentences say China has politicized the robberies as acts of terrorism.

 

AFP

A Uyghur man walks past armed Chinese security forces in Urumqi, July 17, 2009.

Chinese authorities in the northwestern region of Xinjiang have ordered the executions of seven ethnic minority Uyghur men convicted of "violent" crimes, official media said on Wednesday.

 

The death sentences were handed down by the Supreme People's Court in recent days, according to state media in the regional capital, Urumqi.

 

The men were accused in connection with three separate attacks late last year in the Silk Road city of Kashgar, according to the news website Urumqi Online.

 

According to another website, the Xinjiang-based Tianshan news site, Aimaiti Tuheti, Yiming Dawuti, and unnamed "others" killed a security guard at a pedestrian mall as part of a failed Aug. 7 robbery attempt.

 

In a separate incident on Oct. 12, it said, Nuermaimaiti Aobulikasimu and 11 others broke into a house, bound and killed the couple living in it, and took their possessions.

 

It said the group also broke into the homes of two brothers, robbed them, and killed six people in a Nov. 11 attack in Kashgar.

 

The report gave no information about the victims or the schedule for the executions.

 

Three of the men were sentenced to death with a two-year reprieve, a sentence that is normally commuted to life imprisonment in China's judicial system.

 

They were convicted of deliberate homicide and armed robbery by the Kashgar Intermediate People's Court in the first instance.

 

'Strike hard' campaign

 

A Han Chinese resident of Urumqi surnamed Yang said a reference to "terrorism" in official news reports on the case showed that it was being politicized by the authorities, who have launched a series of "strike hard" campaigns in Xinjiang following deadly ethnic violence in July 2009.

 

"There is an implied political meaning; that they were somehow engaged in separatist activities or ethnic divisions," said Yang.

 

Exile Uyghur groups said the trials had been conducted behind closed doors, with scant opportunity for public scrutiny.

 

"The entire process against these men, from the trial through to the judgment, was opaque," said Dilxat Raxit, spokesman for the Munich-based World Uyghur Congress.

 

"There was also very little reasonable evidence to convict them on a legal basis, because all the evidence came from one side of the case," he said.

 

"We strongly condemn the Chinese government for continuing to pursue their policies of ethnic division," said Raxit.

 

"We are also strongly opposed to the death penalty in this case."

 

Earlier cases

 

Last month, the Supreme Court sentenced four Uyghurs to death for alleged involvement in an Aug. 19 bomb attack in Xinjiang’s western Aksu city.

 

The World Uyghur Congress pointed to concerns over lack of transparency in those cases too.

 

The Aksu blast left eight people dead, including two of the bombers, and 15 wounded after a man riding a three-wheeled vehicle threw explosives at a group of uniformed patrolmen. Four Uyghurs were arrested shortly after the attack.

 

State media characterized the cases as acts of terrorism and unrelated to longstanding ethnic tensions between Uyghurs and Han Chinese in the region.

 

Exiled Uyghur dissident Rebiya Kadeer has warned that attacks like those in Aksu will continue to occur until Beijing addresses the underlying source of tension in the region.

 

Millions of Uyghurs—a distinct, Turkic minority who are predominantly Muslim—populate Central Asia and Xinjiang.

 

Uyghurs say they have long suffered ethnic discrimination, oppressive religious controls, and continued poverty and joblessness despite China's ambitious plans to develop its vast northwestern frontier.

 

Those frustrations erupted in July 2009 in deadly riots that left nearly 200 people dead, by the Chinese government's tally.

 

At least 26 people, mostly Uyghurs, were sentenced to death in the aftermath of the riots, many of whom have been executed, according to state media.

 

China is believed to execute more people each year than the rest of the world’s countries combined, although the government does not publish official figures.

 

Rights groups say Beijing may execute as many as several thousand prisoners annually.

 

Chinese authorities blame Uyghur separatists for a series of deadly attacks in recent years and accuse one group in particular of maintaining ties to the al-Qaeda terrorist network.

 

New training scheme

 

China on Wednesday also announced a training scheme which places ethnic minority graduates from Xinjiang in work elsewhere in China.

 

Governments of the destination cities will spend 450 million yuan (U.S.$ 69 million) for the program, while Xinjiang will spend 400 million yuan (U.S.$ 61 million), the official Xinhua news agency reported.

 

The program targets some 60,000 jobless college graduates in Xinjiang, around 80 percent of whom are from ethnic minorities, and 60 percent of whom are women.

 

However, some commentators see the move as an attempt to assimilate non-Han Chinese into mainstream Chinese culture.

 

"From the point of view of ethnic minorities, the graduate work scheme is really taking the cream of youth from the minorities and using them to 'further cultural development,'" wrote one ethnic minority user on a popular microblogging service.

 

"In fact, the culture that is being advanced is Han culture, and this group of young people will have been totally brainwashed," the microblog update said.

 

An Urumqi resident surnamed Li agreed.

 

"They have run senior high school schemes like this before during the past few years," he said.

 

"Whether it's high-schoolers or graduate training programs, these are measures that are aimed at thought control and brainwashing, and the 'Partification' of their education," he said.

 

Reported by Qiao Long for RFA's Mandarin service. Translated and written in English by Luisetta Mudie.

Copyright © 1998-2011 Radio Free Asia. All rights reserved.

 

Wikileaks and also the Uyghurs

by holly on Dec 20, 2010
Henryk Szadziewski, Supervisor, Uyghur Human Rights Project

If it were actually uncertain, info obtained through the whistleblower web site, Wikileaks, has confirmed Chinese federal government worries more than its continued control of the location it phone calls Xinjiang, also is referred to as Eastern Turkestan. The actual leaked out cables through Ough.Utes. diplomats show the degree that Chinese authorities make an effort to persuade governments worldwide to adopt it's position on issues affecting Uyghurs. The actual wires additionally show the actual United States' issues and sights regarding the ongoing repressive steps in the region.

The majority of illuminating associated with Chinese government stress are the cables pointing to Chinese language frustration, or even the specter associated with Chinese ire, over the discharge of Uyghur detainees within Guantánamo to third countries. A Dec Twenty nine, 08 cable applies exactly how Chinese Helper International Minister Liu Jieyi met using the U.S. Ambassador to China in order to tone of voice Beijing's strong opposition of launch to any kind of country apart from The far east, and that when the Ough.Utes. do certainly accede for this request it might "avoid harm to bilateral relationships and to cooperation ‘in essential areas'". Furthermore, a February 2009 cable television describes the way the Chinese Ambassador to Kyrgyzstan, Zhang Yannian, regarded as the actual possible release of Uyghur Guantánamo detainees because "an unfriendly behave towards us" and a "slap in the face". The Ough.Utes. government was company within not really liberating the detainees in order to China illustrates the actual extent of the politicized nature from the Chinese judicial system. Genuine issues over terrorism tend to be easy to understand, however in the Ough.Utes. government's view the detainees might probably encounter torture as well as execution if they returned in order to The far east

Chinese federal government pressure in regard to the Uyghur Guantánamo detainees wasn't only put on the Ough.S. federal government, but also in order to Brand new Zealand and a number of Western governments that were thinking about resettlement. Albania, Germany and Finland, as well as Eu member says all appear to have borne the brunt associated with Chinese language government disappointment. In the case of Indonesia, which was at first willing to consider two Uyghurs on solely relief reasons, Uyghur Guantánamo cases were much less better than additional detainees due to the unwanted effects taking Uyghurs would have upon relationships along with China. A Might Eight, '09 cable television applies exactly how "German Ambassador Michael Schaefer reported that Germany had informed The far east from the Ough.S. ask for to accept some Uighur detainees kept from Guantánamo and had already been subsequently cautioned by China of ‘a large load on bilateral relations' in the event that Indonesia were to simply accept any detainees".

The diplomatic cables additionally discuss the actual unrest within Urumchi, the local funds, within This summer '09. The This summer Thirteen, 2009 cable discussing bulk incidents within The far east says:

"Ethnic riots such as those in Xinjiang This summer 5-7 as well as in Tibet in 03 of 2008 differ substantially within source and nature from bulk occurrences, XXXXXXXXXXXX emphasized in order to PolOff [Political Officer] upon XXXXXXXXXXXX. Each existing serious problems for the actual Party, XXXXXXXXXXXX said, however the Celebration management would not wait to spread out fireplace upon Uighurs or Tibetans when they considered it necessary to restore purchase. Bulk incidents pose another kind of threat, he said, since the management is ‘afraid' to fireplace upon Han rioters for anxiety about sparking massive open public outrage that will change from the Party."

This is a relaxing viewpoint, particularly when 1 views the evidence offered in two reviews launched this season through the Uyghur Human Rights Task (UHRP) as well as Amnesty International which fine detail eyewitness accounts of the use of deadly reside fireplace against Uyghur protestors within July 2009. Additionally, the observation that fire wouldn't be deployed towards Han Chinese protestors has resonances for the various approach taken by Chinese language protection forces in Urumchi to Han Chinese language direct orders in September 2009. Throughout those direct orders, after that Celebration Secretary, Wang Lequan, addressed demonstrators, that had demanded that he let them know about government responses in order to security concerns. An identical request to satisfy using the Party Assistant through Uyghur demonstrators within This summer was not fulfilled.

The actual wider consequences of the unrest additionally noticed a brief discussion about the effect it would have upon Iran-China relations, and on relations with Sydney after World Uyghur Congress President, Microsoft. Rebiya Kadeer, talked at the Nationwide Push Club in Canberra within July '09. In the latter case, china government "privately warn[ed] a major Aussie financial institution which sponsors the nation's Press Membership to make use of it's impact to block a Kadeer speech there".

The United States' concerns concerning the situation within the Uyghur area also come via in the wires. Inside a dialogue upon plan path within Tibet, U.Utes. authorities explain that it will be not possible with regard to Chinese language leaders to adopt the much softer collection "if they look like doing so below international pressure". The cable out dated April 16, 2008, 30 days following the episode of unrest within Tibetan regions, also relayed the observation "that household balance continues to be leadership's main concern above all else, which means there'll ‘almost surely' be no relaxation from the present difficult line upon Tibet or in places like Xinjiang." The information included in the cable also sheds light on the severe sensitivity that the Chinese federal government views territorial ethics, and the possible spill more than associated with unrest through Tibet.

The prospect associated with solutions to tensions in Tibet as well as Xinjiang arising from municipal society tend to be debated in a Feb Twenty-four, 08 cable. Whilst suggesting which China's economic success will increase its potential to deal with democratic change, the actual cable also discusses how Chinese frontrunners begin to see the usefulness of "a limited growth of municipal culture, including enhancements in the rule of law along with a more powerful role with regard to authorized religions, NGOs, non profit organizations along with other actors in areas which contribute to sociable stability and don't problem Communist Party rule." This can be a significant alternation in considering, which has seen U.S. authorities promote the idea which Chinese language economic development, as well as economic relationships along with China brings about a steadily democratic society; nevertheless, more belief seems to be placed in a grassroots movement compared to one that begins in the best quantity of a Chinese government. Nonetheless, the actual cable television proves that "[i]n areas for example Tibet and Xinjiang, driving a car associated with separatism leads to tighter limitations on the growth of civil society." This method is viewed as counter-productive through the official, that suggests that the actual U.S. federal government "should continue to express...serious concerns over Beijing's individual privileges report and attract China's developing consciousness that greater regard for human rights, spiritual independence and also the rule of law assists to advertise the very development as well as sociable balance which China seeks in addition to to enhance China's worldwide picture." Such a strategy would take substantial diplomatic abilities considering "China's weird concern that the Usa secretly encourages regime change and ‘separatists' in Taiwan, Tibet as well as Xinjiang".

The wires provide understanding of the actual every day business associated with diplomacy that's hardly ever afforded to everyone, which is fascinating to note the amount of function done nowadays upon Uyghur issues. The importance of the actual part of the United States like a keep track of associated with Uyghur human privileges problems in private discussions is made clear, as well as contrasts with its tactful open public stance. The staff of the Uyghur Human Privileges Task is comfortable with pressure the Chinese federal government puts on Uyghur activists; nevertheless, the facts of Chinese government pressure upon it's alternatives is illustrative from the degree that Chinese officials attempt to control contradictory stories. With increased revelations in the future from Wikileaks, issues over Uyghurs might not get the headlines, but the wires have get rid of brand new gentle on the documentation of individual privileges conditions in the Uyghur region.

 

Wikileaks and also the Uyghurs

by henry upon Dec Twenty, This year
Henryk Szadziewski, Supervisor, Uyghur Human Rights Project

Whether it had been actually in doubt, information obtained through the whistleblower web site, Wikileaks, has confirmed Chinese government worries over its ongoing control of the region this calls Xinjiang, which is also referred to as East Turkestan. The actual leaked out cables through Ough.S. diplomats demonstrate the actual degree that Chinese authorities make an effort to convince governments worldwide to consider it's stance on issues affecting Uyghurs. The actual wires additionally show the U . s . States' issues and sights concerning the ongoing repressive steps in the region.

The majority of lighting associated with Chinese language government pressure are the wires directed in order to Chinese language anger, or the specter associated with Chinese language ire, within the release of Uyghur detainees within Guantánamo to third nations. The Dec Twenty nine, 08 cable television relates exactly how Chinese language Helper International Minister Liu Jieyi fulfilled using the U.S. Ambassador to The far east in order to voice Beijing's powerful competitors associated with release to any kind of country other than China, which if the Ough.Utes. did certainly accede for this request it would "avoid injury to bilateral relations and also to co-operation ‘in essential areas'". In addition, the Feb '09 cable explains the way the Chinese language Ambassador in order to Kyrgyzstan, Zhang Yannian, regarded as the feasible discharge of Uyghur Guantánamo detainees as "an unfavorable act towards us" along with a "slap within the face". The Ough.S. federal government was company within not liberating the detainees in order to China illustrates the extent from the politicized character of the Chinese judicial system. Genuine issues over terrorism tend to be easy to understand, however in the Ough.S. government's view the detainees might probably encounter do-it-yourself torture as well as delivery if they came back to The far east

Chinese language federal government stress regarding the Uyghur Guantánamo detainees wasn't just applied to the U.Utes. government, but also to Brand new Zealand along with a number of European government authorities which were thinking about resettlement. Albania, Germany as well as Finland, as well as Eu fellow member says all have the symptoms of borne the brunt associated with Chinese language government disappointment. In the case of Indonesia, that was at first willing to think about 2 Uyghurs upon purely humanitarian grounds, Uyghur Guantánamo instances were much less preferable to additional detainees because of the unwanted effects accepting Uyghurs would have upon relations along with The far east. The May 8, 2009 cable relates how "German Ambassador Erina Schaefer documented which Germany had informed China from the Ough.Utes. ask for to accept some Uighur detainees held at Guantánamo coupled with already been consequently cautioned by The far east associated with ‘a large burden on bilateral relations' in the event that Germany were to accept any detainees".

The actual diplomatic cables additionally talk about the unrest in Urumchi, the actual local capital, within July 2009. A July 13, 2009 cable television discussing bulk occurrences within China states:

"Ethnic riots such as those who work in Xinjiang July 5-7 as well as in Tibet in 03 of 2008 differ substantially in source as well as nature from bulk occurrences, XXXXXXXXXXXX stressed in order to PolOff [Political Officer] upon XXXXXXXXXXXX. Both present severe trouble for the actual Celebration, XXXXXXXXXXXX stated, but the Party leadership would not hesitate to spread out fireplace upon Uighurs or even Tibetans if they deemed this essential to recover order. Bulk incidents present another type of threat, he said, since the leadership is ‘afraid' to fire upon Han rioters for anxiety about causing huge open public outrage that would change against the Party."

This can be a chilling viewpoint, especially when one considers evidence offered by 50 percent reports launched this year by the Uyghur Human Rights Project (UHRP) as well as Amnesty International that fine detail eyewitness accounts of the use of lethal live fire against Uyghur protestors within July 2009. Additionally, the observation which fireplace would not be deployed towards Han Chinese protestors offers resonances for that various strategy used by Chinese protection causes within Urumchi to Han Chinese direct orders in September '09. Throughout individuals protests, then Party Assistant, Wang Lequan, addressed demonstrators, who experienced required he inform them regarding federal government responses to protection issues. A similar request to meet using the Party Assistant by Uyghur demonstrators within July wasn't met.

The actual wider consequences of the unrest additionally saw a short dialogue about the effect it would have on Iran-China relationships, as well as on relationships along with Sydney after Globe Uyghur Congress President, Ms. Rebiya Kadeer, talked in the Nationwide Push Membership within Canberra within August 2009. Within the latter case, the Chinese government "privately warn[ed] a major Australian financial institution which vendors the National Push Club to use its impact to bar the Kadeer talk there".

The actual U . s . States' concerns about the situation within the Uyghur area also come through within the cables. Inside a discussion on plan direction in Tibet, Ough.S. officials clarify that it'll end up being impossible with regard to Chinese leaders to adopt the much softer collection "if they look like doing so below worldwide pressure". The actual cable television out dated April 16, 2008, 30 days after the episode of unrest in Tibetan areas, also relayed the observation "that domestic stability remains the leadership's main concern most of all, meaning there'll ‘almost surely' be absolutely no relaxation from the present difficult line on Tibet or in locations like Xinjiang." The info included in the cable television also sheds light about the severe level of sensitivity with which china government views territorial integrity, and also the possible spill over associated with unrest through Tibet.

The prospect of methods to tensions in Tibet and Xinjiang as a result of civil society tend to be debated inside a Feb 24, 2008 cable. While suggesting that China's financial achievement will increase its resistance to democratic reform, the actual cable television also discusses exactly how Chinese frontrunners begin to see the effectiveness associated with "a limited growth associated with municipal society, including improvements in the rule of law and a stronger role for authorized beliefs, NGOs, non profit organizations and other actors within places which bring about social balance and don't problem Communist Party guideline." This can be a significant change in considering, that has seen U.Utes. officials promote the idea that Chinese language economic improvement, as well as economic relations with The far east brings about a steadily democratic society; however, more faith seems to be placed in a grassroots motion compared to one which starts from the best quantity of a Chinese government. Nonetheless, the cable television proves which "[i]n areas such as Tibet and Xinjiang, the fear associated with separatism leads to tighter restrictions on the growth of municipal society." This approach is viewed as counter-productive by the official, that shows that the actual U.S. federal government "should continue to express...serious concerns more than Beijing's individual privileges report as well as appeal to China's growing consciousness that greater respect for individual rights, religious freedom and also the guideline of regulation assists to advertise the very development as well as social stability which China seeks as well as to enhance China's international picture." This type of technique might take considerable diplomatic abilities thinking about "China's paranoid fear that the Usa privately encourages routine alter and ‘separatists' within Taiwan, Tibet as well as Xinjiang".

The actual cables offer insight into the every day business of diplomacy that's hardly ever afforded to the general public, and it is fascinating to note the amount of function carried out nowadays on Uyghur issues. The significance of the role of the us like a keep track of of Uyghur human rights conditions in private discussions is created clear, as well as contrasts with its sensible public position. Employees from the Uyghur Human Rights Task is actually comfortable with the pressure china federal government exerts on Uyghur activists; still, the facts associated with Chinese federal government pressure on it's alternatives is illustrative from the degree which Chinese authorities make an effort to control contrary stories. With more facts in the future through Wikileaks, concerns more than Uyghurs may not grab the actual headlines, however the wires have shed brand new light about the paperwork associated with individual privileges problems in the Uyghur area.

 

Search Engine Marketing And Article promotion Will Place You On Page One

Search engine marketing and marketing with articles are two of the strongest strategies which you can use promoting your internet site and get the revenue and success that you need for your online business. Both of these everything has been around for a really long time already but they still remain to be really effective. Actually, these have helped a lot of people free themselves from the traditional ways of money-generating options of society.

In this article, I will be showing the ways on what you can properly execute seo and marketing with articles for the betterment of one's business enterprise web site. Additionally, I will even be discussing the different points that you must look out for when you are using these two website marketing strategies to promote your website and get customers. Even though article promotion and Search engine optimisation have been around for a long time already, you have to know that the trends and preferences concerning how they are carried out are continually changing, which is why you have to keep yourself up to date with this stuff through the help of Search engine marketing forum sites to enable you to quickly adjust and discover ways to make your strategies more efficient.

In the past submitting articles to various web-sites used to be so simple the effects that they produce for web-sites really was powerful. However, everything has changed a lot today. Currently submitting the identical article to various websites is not a good suggestion because search engines have now changed to a huge extent in how they rank pages. They no longer rank contents which can be identical like they utilized to in the past. This is one of the best samples of changes that happens to internet marketing trends. This change has given birth to wide plethora of methods that online marketers are using today. The majority of online marketers now produce articles and publish them in really popular article directory sites and watch for targeted traffic arrive at their pages. Be thought of as that most reliable Search engine optimization strategy that you can use. Aside from being effective, this also delivers positive benefits on a regular basis. A small problem with this technique is how the caliber of traffic that you'll get out of this defintely won't be so good if you do not do proper market and keyword research beforehand and rehearse in-links. You first need to attend to these two things prior to deciding to submit your articles so that you won't end up losing large amounts of targeted prospects. Which means that you must practice good levels of diligence if you'd like your advertising initiatives to be effective.

Other than articles, you may also use blogging, which is another really powerful kind of online marketing strategy today since it is highly favored by search engines. On this technique, you are able to choose to develop a single web log that specifically targets your chosen market or else you can give rise to other weblogs which can be called experts inside your niche.

Learn effective Vancouver seo techniques at the Vancouver SEO website.

Roofing Companies Vancouver British Columbia

There are several things to think about when looking for a new roofing contractor. Cost, experience, and referrals are a few of the things you will probably be concerned about. Keep reading for even other great ideas.

• Finding a Roofing Contractors

Before hunting for a roofing contractor, be sure to have a general idea of the job that you need to did. By no means is it necessary to be an expert. If you have any Roof Certificate, read it thoroughly to find the information regarding your existing roof. If you don't have a Roofing Certificate, refer to documents signed during closing to locate houses roof Inspection sheet. These paperwork should supply you with everything you need to know about your roof. Prior to contacting a new roofing contractor, you should have a list of requirements and requirements to help you choose exactly who would work for your roofer project. Be sure to write down each and every potential covering contractor's answers along with check these people against the other person. If you'll find any inacucuracy, be sure to be aware this and also take this into consideration when coming up with a final decision. There are no straightforward ways to choose a roofing contractor, in case you take take to the info provided, your odds of a successful roofing project are generally greatly increased.

One of the best methods for finding a roofing contractor is by word of mouth. Try requesting a friend or relative who has had roof covering work performed, and had been satisfied with the work. Get the title of the enterprise and his or her contact info. If you have not sure of mouth referrals, test first hunting in the cell phone book an internet-based. A large advertising or elegant website is just not necessarily an illustration of the good quality of work, but sometimes be a very good tool with regard to measuring how long and devotion they have put in their particular profession. Additionally, try locating current worksites and appear at the roof covering work that's done or perhaps in the process of staying finished. If you are visually pleased, ask the house manager for the name of the roofing contractor along with their make contact with information.

• Research

When looking for a roofing contractors, it can be imperative to initial do your current background research. Purchasing in the phone directory or on the Internet is a suitable destination to find a service provider, finding essential information on these kind of businesses will likely be found in a number of other areas. First, check with locations like the Bbb, city, point out, and state public records, as well as local certification agencies. Ask your roofer if they are a member of any roofing contractor associations. These precautions can mitigate your own risks. Also ask them what kinds of roofing they will specialize in. Also ask your current roofing contractor concerning any extended warranties they offer on the installed roofing. Find out what safeguards they decide to try avoid damage done to other parts of the home simply by workers. Goods such as gutters, home siding, and chimneys are near the coast proximity and therefore susceptible to unintended damages.

Be sure all of this details are included in your written contract. Determine if you need a roofer permit and/or permission from your home owners association before hand. These organizations will let you know who is responsible for receiving these makes it possible for and permissions. If it is the responsibility of the roofer, also have it included within your contract. When it is your obligation, get stated permits as well as permissions collated with all the estimated roofing project and also have it clearly posted or readily available.

• Licensing and Professional references

Roofing Contractors are not needed to be qualified in all says. Contact local licensing organizations that rule general construction contractors for any list of requirements. Once you have received the requirements, create a list of thorough questions to ask the potential roofing contractor. This simple listing should quickly help you to weed out the skilled from the dodgy roofing contractors. Qualified companies should be able to effortlessly answer questions or even tell you that they have to do additional research just before giving any definitive response.

Even if a roofing contractor features all required licensing, you must ask to view pictures associated with completed covering jobs along with speak to happy clients. Use a list of inquiries handy ought to recent customers, such as the dynamics of the job, timeliness, and all round satisfaction. Ensure these are latest clients and cross guide if possible. In the matter of commercial roof covering, make sure that your roofing contractor can be bonded. Checking these personal references is another additional measure of stability to define the list associated with potential roof covering contractors.

Search engine optimization Through Content creation

Content creation can be a very powerful type of Seo for the company websites. Quality written articles be capable of transform your websites SERP and add quality for your company website. Writing informative keyword rich articles is essential in gaining new backlinks to your business website. Articles can and really should be written on topics that are unique for your business or industry. The articles can discuss an array of issues and ideas in your industry. Articles that provide people using a resource are always the most popular and a lot likely varieties of articles which will bring about backlinks aimed at your website.

Focus your posts on your own potential readers or customers. Seo articles should address real questions which might be asked by current or previous customers. Each article you write in your case company includes detailed analysis and Seo keywords that will help associate your web site with all the content within the site. Focus your articles on approximately 3 keywords and stray at their store. Consistency is vital when writing Search engine optimization articles. If you're covering Vancouver Seo make sure your carry on and come up with information highly relevant to the keyword.

Give each one of your Seo Articles an engaging Title that will encourage people you just read and bookmark your posts. Ideally, the articles you are writing can be as links off their websites which are similar to yours. This may help boost the power of each and every link and definately will assist your SERP. Make sure you end each article with a keyword anchored link (see Easy Small company Seo). This link will enhance your rankings online as well as other major search engines like google for that keyword coupled to the link. Submit the articles to some free article directory and Voila! In no time, your internet site could be about the first page of Google.

Thanks for reading. Can't wait to talk to your Seo articles!

Vancouver Seo Agency Aims For Google Places With Absolute Success

When individuals type in a search term trying to find a business of their local area, they may find that Google places and Google maps is showing listings of local businesses. It is very eminent so they can be optimized and listed on this first page whenever they desire to generate business. Vancouver SEO companies should be educated in this field for their clients.

There seems to be a great deal of new Vancouver SEO companies starting up, simply because the need is there. Finding a search engine optimization firm which has the client's interest at heart can be tedious. What number of keywords would they optimize for? What are the keywords and also the corresponding amount of searches? Do they learn how to optimize for Google places? And so forth. Search engine optimisation could be the business of landing at the very top and Maxim Edge provide there.

"My wife and i also started our Vancouver Search engine optimization company by accident. We've got learned through the school of hard knocks and trial and error how to utilize the web to showcase any business. We began with all the website, then this competition, then of course building quality back-links to push a web site up inside rankings. It isn't pushing a control button and watching what are the results type of business. It will take a lot of effort, lots of research and many commitment. We work hard for our clients and we are very satisfied with a high retention rate." Randy Neale says.

For added information about Michael, a Vancouver Search engine optimization company, please visit their site today at seo4vancouver.com