UK IMMIGRATION MATTERS- 10 July 2009

IMMIGRATION MATTERS
Bankrupt NVQ College leaves thousands of Filipino students stranded
By Charles Kelly
10 July 2009

NVQ college, Precision Training UK Ltd, has gone bust leaving Filipino students "high and dry" after paying hundreds of pounds in upfront fees weeks before the owners pulled the plus on its Wembley office.
Since Precision Training collapsed students have been sent letters by a company called 'Aspire Training', which claims they have taken over from Precision due to 'Precision Training going into liquidation'.
Despite this, the company is offering no refunds and will not take any fees paid into account when "advising" students to sign up with them to continue their training.
According to reports, as many as 4,500 students from the UK, Philippines, Ghana, Bulgaria and other countries may have been scammed by Precision's owners Nichola and Salim Shivji.
Despite the fact that NVQ awarding body EDEXCEL had imposed sanctions against Precision as far back as May 2008, preventing them from taking on new students, some months ago, the company continued to recruit new candidates.
The all too familiar story has echoes of last year's scandal involving Birmingham based bankrupt college, Affinity Training and its Philippine cohort Kirsten...Full story


OTHER STORIES THIS WEEK

7 Steps for overseas students when your college fails
What should you do if you are a victim of precision training or another bankrupt college?
As a student on a student visa, you must be in 'full time study in order to comply with your visa conditions. If your college is not providing you with full time courses, or has gone out of business, you should register with another training provider, which is on the Government-approved Tier 4 Sponsors Register. Cynthia Barker, Immigration adviser and Centre Manager for Majestic College gives you 7 Steps.
Cynthia also said that her team would be as "flexible as possible" on initial fees with students who have lost money with Precision or other failed NVQ colleges.
You can find out more about Majestic College at http://www.majesticcollege.org/ email them at info@majesticcollege.org.Drop in visitors welcome - no appointment needed!

How to check out a UK Limited Company
I am often asked by Immigration Matters readers - overseas students or job hunters - if a company offering them a course or work placement is legitimate. The internet has given birth to millions scams including those offering people bogus jobs, usually requiring applicants to send money in advance for Work Permit applications or flights.

UKBA arrest illegal immigrant on his wedding day
The UK Border Agency (UKBA) has arrested and deported an illegal immigrant on his wedding day last week. There were no "many happy returns" from the UKBA as officers arrested the 29 year Jamaican minutes before he was due to marry his British fiancée on Friday 3 July at Birmingham Register Office.
If you need any immigration advice or help with Sponsorship or Work Permits, Visa or an appeal against a refusal please email:
info@immigrationmatters.co.uk or visit http://www.immigrationmatters.co.uk/

Avoid e-mail mistakes with a single setting

Avoid e-mail mistakes with a single setting

* Date: June 9th, 2009
* Author: Susan Harkins
* Category: Outlook


We’ve all done it, and regretted it — sent an e-mail to the wrong person, sent an angry e-mail in haste, or sent an e-mail with mistakes. I don’t mind confessing my most humiliating e-mail mistakes because they’re so old:

• I sent an article to the wrong publisher. Now, that’s not horrible and as a freelancer, all my editors know that I work for other publishers, but it was still unpleasant because I looked stupid.
• I used the wrong publication name when corresponding with an editor. She responded with a curt, “I work for… ,” and I never received another assignment from her.

Most e-mail clients send e-mail as soon as you hit Send in the message window, and that’s why we get into trouble. Instead of sending each e-mail immediately, let them sit in the outbox. Later (usually a few hours or so), review the messages one last time and then send them. I often find small and seemingly unimportant mistakes, but mistakes nonetheless. Occasionally, I find something more important and I count my lucky stars! Letting a message sit for a while, especially if you’re angry when you respond, will give you a bit of time to rethink and perhaps, even save face.

Outlook is configured to send mail when you click Send in the New Message window. To reset this option so that you control when Outlook sends mail, do the following:

1. From the Tools menu, choose Options.
2. Click the Mail Setup tab.
3. Click Send/Receive in the Send/Receive options.
4. Uncheck the Include This Group In Send/Receive (F9) option in the Setting For Group “All Accounts” section. Most of us will set this for all accounts, but you can configure Outlook to handle each account differently.
5. Click Close and then OK.

After unchecking the Send/Receive option, you must remember to click Send/Receive on the Standard toolbar to send mail. You can also set Outlook to send e-mail when you launch or close Outlook, or schedule it to send and receive e-mail at regular intervals, so be sure to consider those options as well. You’ll still have to find the mistakes, but putting a little time between creating and sending messages makes it easier to catch mistakes you might otherwise miss.

OF EU ELECTIONS AND BRITISH LIFE.

I followed the arrows. I walked through the open south transept door, glancing around like a stranger usually does into the St Peters church hall crossing converted into a polling station; I felt some huge dissapointment at the scene unfolding before me, I had expected the sophistication of 'Europe', technical gadgets etceteras but there before my eyes was a basic electoral scene not dissimilar to that of my African home country, facing me were 5 makeshift open ended wood booths, to my immediate left sat three English ladies on a lone table with three heaps of differently coloured paper, the 25 years young silent one was far younger than the other two. The wall clock said 11 am UK time, yet I was the lone voter and undeservedly got more than the attention I needed; I looked the smiling one in the eye, smiled back and handed in my poll certificate, I confirmed my name as Kapito and my address of abode, was rewarded with a long voting card folded into three, with which I pranced on my black loafers silently to the first left wood booth.

I fished out a pen from my shirt pocket, unfurled the voting card, and heard the two ladies yell to my back 'you have to open it up to see all your options', I thought 'I have already sodding done that mai!' but mouthed a respectful 'thank you' instead, my eyes caressed the 10 or so parties listed on the firm black and white thin board paper and settled for a choice with an 'X' mark before walking to the right facing the church chancel, alter and sacristy, where just before the step stood a middle aged Englishman busy with something in his hands, he glanced at me briefly as I stuffed my vote into an opening in the black 'toolbox' like container atop a metal table and muttered something friendly, I muttered back. I had voted for my choice of a UK member of EU parliament (fondly called MEP's by mainstream media).

Like me millions across the UK partook a similar ritual, millions less than elections years before, the Sky News election results of this morning mention the historic low turnout of a mere 37.5% of registered voters. The economy, parliamentarian expenses scandals have taken their toll, the population has voted with their backsides, they sat the elections out, stayed home or pretended them away. How did the UK get here? now thats a long long story.

For me though the first answer was the top deck window seat ride of route 279 towards Enfield Borough, Zone 4, London. Not a single of the loud conversations around were in English, I wondered, perhaps aloud if I was really in London, the advertising boards that slowly flashed by as the bus motored ahead confirmed I was in London, so I thought instead about how the indigineous Englanders felt about this sustained 'invasion' of economic and academic migrants, it must be uncomfortable I thought, and indeed it was, since then I have seen the Home office push forward unprecedented reforms in immigration, strikes by British workers over immigrants 'taking' their jobs, have heard countless stories of people being deported ( 'ali mmanja mwa Boma'), visas refused, scandals of asian forgers of academic certificates at £4000 pounds, British driving licences, British passports caught and brought to book, I have seen the quiet tide turning against 'foreigners'. This is not the UK my father lived in way back in 1975, it is under siege mental or otherwise; anti EU sentiment, centuries of immigration and the opening up of the EU migration are taking its toll and the ordinary British fear for their way of life.

The UK has offered qualitative education for a long while now, on a comparative scale British education ranks better than other 'developed' nations. The reality on the ground though indicates that society is grappling with the realities of opening its borders to the outside world. The biggest issue affecting the UK now is immigration asides from the state of the economy, the guilt trip the UK took for colonising, harvesting and shipping all the goodies out of the colonies and then more by taxing the colonised locals is biting back. The indigenous UK population has spoken through this 2009 election, by voting in the far right party BNP and such parties into the European Parliament for the first time, some say its a protest vote against the main parties for their abuse of the system, I say its a real vote and a sign of things to come. Some non-UK visitors have long abused the system, illegally claiming benefits, working full time on student visas, falsifying documents, perpetuating various crimes, terrorising and bombing innocent people, all culminating in higher costs (security, social welfare, health etc) for the state, a deepening mistrust and now a xenophobic culture albeit in its infancy.

The future will see less students from african countries study in the UK, as student number intakes by approved educational institutions are closely monitored by the Home Office, scholarship numbers reduce, and the 'fees upfront' immigation policy weeds out undesirables before they reach the British shores, it will only serve to make British education more attractive, good old supply and demand laws at work, scarcity breeds value. So what next for UK Educational Institutions? Franchising? Supply the students in their home countries?

So whats my rant about? Its about voting, its about rising xenophobic tendencies, its about a closing door to access of education on British soil by non-EU citizens, its about private thoughts about immigrants now being made public. Alarmists are at play, in the media, in the dailies, everywhere and even on youtube, sample this if you may as an example of whipping up of the anti-immigration frenzy or rationalising depending on which side of the railtrack you are on:

Has Keynes trumped Adam Smith?

Source (Link): AdamSmith.org

Written by Mark Skousen (February 2009)

Friday, 27 February 2009

The problem today is Keynesian-style policy, the darling of the establishment politicos and media giants: big government solutions, deficit spending, easy money, bailouts. Keynes has suddenly trumped Adam Smith. And that's dangerous. One day last week, I walked into the largest Barnes & Noble bookstore in New York and saw a big display table up front with all kinds of books on John Maynard Keynes and Keynesian economics. One book, The Return of Depression Economics, was written by Paul Krugman, the caustic New York Times columnist who just won the Nobel Prize. Another book was called The Case for Big Government by Jeff Madrick, the editor of Challenge magazine. I can understand writing a book in support of good, efficient, strong, and productive government, but “big” alone? Most Americans prefer the motto “cheaper and better.” The biggest surprise at Barnes & Noble was to see my own book, The Big Three in Economics, prominently displayed along side all the Keynesian and Marxist books. It has suddenly become my most successful book. But mine was the only book there that took a dim view of Keynes and Marx and their solutions to the financial crisis (always more government, more taxes, and more regulations). For my money, Adam Smith and his followers (Ludwig von Mises, Friedrich Hayek, Milton Friedman, Murray Rothbard) deserve to be on top of the Totem Pole of Economics. Unfortunately, Keynes is all the rage now. The British economist became famous in the 1930s for advocating going off the gold standard, running deficits and bailing out troubled banks with easy money as a way to end the Great Depression. Today’s politicians, from George Bush to Barack Obama, have suddenly become Keynesians during this financial crisis, spending money they don’t have in a vain effort to right the ship. Even Newsweek has gone so far to say, “We are all socialists now.” Alan Greenspan, the ex-student of Ayn Rand, now favors nationalization of the big American banks Citibank and Bank of America. Every investor and gold bug should know the enemy: Keynes, the advocate of big government and the welfare state, and Karl Marx, the radical who advocated outright state socialism and total central control of the means of production. After World War I, Randolph Bourne observed, “War is the health of the state.” Today he might say, “A financial crisis is the health of the state.” It looks like modern-day statists are getting their wish. We’re getting big government, good and hard. Adam Smith and Milton Friedman are out of favor, while John Maynard Keynes, the patron saint of bailouts, inflation, and the welfare state, is making a comeback with a vengeance. The tentacles of the leviathan state are growing by leaps and bounds. In 2009, global governments will be the largest shareholders in commercial banks, reversing 20 years of retreat by the state. The costs of entitlements are exploding upwards, and Congress hasn’t had the courage to address future liabilities. Social Security and Medicare are government-sponsored Ponzi schemes that will make Bernie Madoff’s embezzlement look like a picnic. The late management guru Peter Drucker said, “Government is better at creating problems than solving them.” In fact, wrote a cynical Ducker, government has gotten bigger, not stronger, and can only do three things well -- taxation, inflation, and making war. According to Drucker, the state has become a "swollen monstrosity….Indeed, government is sick -- and just at a time when we need a strong, healthy, and vigorous government." (He said all this in 1969.) If you want to solve problems, he counseled, you must turn to business and the private sector. But where does one get the straight scoop on Keynes, Marx, and their nemesis, Adam Smith and the followers of free-market capitalism? I have no apologies for where I stand on the issue. In writing The Big Three, I commissioned a Florida woodcarver, James Sagui, to create “The Totem Pole of Economics.” (The Tolem Pole of Economics is shown on the back cover of the book.) Clearly, my hero is Adam Smith, the author of The Wealth of Nations, published in 1776, a declaration of economic independence. Adam Smith, the 18th century philosopher, is on top of the Totem Pole for his advocacy of a revolutionary new doctrine which he called a “system of natural liberty,” what we might call laissez faire or free-market capitalism. He used the “invisible hand” to symbolized how the private actions of individual entrepreneurs would lead to the public good. Today's advocates of Smithian economics have real solutions to the crisis, as I've outlined in previous HUMAN EVENTS columns: suspend "mark to market" accounting rules, make the Bush tax cuts permanent, slash the corporate tax rate, and mostly importantly "do no harm." Also, it wouldn't hurt to take a look at the Canadian banking system, ranked #1 in the world in soundness (US is #40) for its conservative reserve requirements and nationwide branching. (Not a single Canadian bank has failed in either the Great Depression or now.) Keynes is ranked below Adam Smith, because he supported big government and the welfare state as a way to stabilize the crisis-prone capitalist economy, the “middle ground” between laissez faire and totalitarian socialism. But as we have seen, Keynesian activism has led to much mischief in the world today, and countries that have adopted his bureaucratic, regulated mindset have witnessed “slow growth” and “stagflation” style economies. And Marx is the “low man” on the Totem Pole. His radical solution, government ownership and control of the production, distribution and consumption of goods and services, would be, as Hayek says, “the road to serfdom.” Adam Smith and his “system of natural liberty” have come under attack many times by his arch enemies, the Marxists and Keynesians. But Smithian economics has nine lives, and has always managed a comeback. With your help, Adam Smith will return. Click here for a copy of The Big Three in Economics.

Consequential Damage- Term of the day.

Term of the Day

For Monday, January 19, 2009

consequential damage

Definition

Damage or injury that does not directly and immediately result from a wrongful act, but instead indirectly and/or after elapse of some time. Consequential damage usually cannot be foreseen and is often unrecoverable through litigation, unless the offending party was notified in advance that the aggrieved party would suffer such damage. Also called indirect damage or special damage. See also consequential loss.

consequential damage is in the Corporate, Commercial, & General Law and General, Marine, & Life Insurance subjects.

consequential damage appears in the definitions of the following terms: special damage and indirect damage.

This content can be found on the following page:

http://www.businessdictionary.com/definition/consequential-damage.html

Check Out the New, Hilarious Section on BusinessDictionary:

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Take a look at the amusing takes we found for a number of popular terms!

Search for a term in our comprehensive business dictionary

Makes it sound so simple, innit?

North Lake News-Register

North Lake News-Register

Looking to the future with much optimism

Malawi student thankful for the opportunity to study in the United States

Francis Kapito

Issue date: 1/12/09 Section: Opinion

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As the fall 2008 registration began, the North Lake College faculties were at their busiest. Students not only from Texas but also from such faraway places as Zimbabwe, Malawi, New Zealand, Nepal and Nigeria were on the go registering for classes.

Course selection was the game of the moment. Where do I start from? For continuing students who have registered before, such questions are a piece of cake. However, for new students-especially international students like me-they are filled with excitement and greater expectation.

For me, to be at place where it all begins was a quest fulfilled.

The idea of joining an American college played in my mind like a far-fetched dream that was taking too long to come true. It was at the beginning of last August when I finally got my acceptance into North Lake College. As it had for thousands of others, the time had arrived when I would look into the future with much optimism about higher learning. It was time to pack my bags.

The plane started off from Chileka International Airport, in Blantyre, the biggest commercial city of Malawi, a country in the tropical part of southeastern Africa. Malawi's three regions are populated with about 13 million people of different tribes and several dialects. Malawi shares boundaries with Mozambique, which wraps around it on the southern tip, and both to the southeast and southwest; Tanzania in the northeast and Zambia in the northwest.

As the plane touched into the blue skies, I knew this was going to be a wonderful 18-hour flight across the Atlantic before landing at Dallas/Fort Worth International Airport on a calm Thursday morning.

Visiting the North Lake College Web site had become a hobby. The day had come when I would walk with my feet on campus. The pieces were practically merging as if I were completing a maze. I could not help but notice plenty of cars in the lots. I soon realized, in this country, people pursue education seriously, which is why the United States is so developed and is the world leader.

My first stop was the International Center. I quickly headed to room A-418, where I was welcomed by friendly and helpful people. My heart calmed because I realized that it was all going to be fine and good, just like home.

You see, Malawi is known to the world as the "Warm Heart of Africa" because of its friendly people, who always say, full of smiles, "Muli bwanji? Takulandirani." That means: "How are you? You are most welcome." Meeting the people I had been in contact with via e-mail was such a delight.

I had often asked myself: What will it be like? What is the learning style? Early Monday morning, I found myself sitting in a humanities class. The semester had begun. I was fascinated by the setup and the learning style. Fifty-five minutes later; I would be heading to the door, through the corridors to my next class.

In my second class, it took the professor's calling out my name, "Francis," for me to realize this was no longer a dream- I am in College.

- Francis Kapito is an international student studying business at North Lake.

WHY TRASHING OTHER RELIGIONS IS THE HEIGHT OF IGNORANCE AND NAIVETE'

Initially but most importantly all of us were simply born into the religions we would now want to defend with our lives.

Then again to expound on that, perhaps if we were to be born in different circumstances or in a different family on a different planet we would have defended a different religion than the one we currently hold. What does this say? That God is in all of us and we all worship a superior being at the end of the day.

The height of our ignorance in each other religions lies in the inability to have an open mind and understand and read enough on each other religions; most religions have kept meticulous records over the years, and these holy books of meticulous record are jealously, fervently and fanatically guarded, we swear on them as allegiance to one thing or the other, we use them to reinforce our religion, we call them different names:-

The Analects A collection of Confucius' teachings thought to have been recorded by his students. They are considered the only sayings that can safely be attributed to him.

Bhagavad Gita A Sanskrit poem that is part of the Indian epic known as the Mahabharata . It describes, in a dialogue between Lord Krishna and Prince Arjuna, the Hindu path to spiritual wisdom and the unity with God that can be achieved through karma (action), bhakti (devotion), and jnana (knowledge). The Bhagavad-Gita was probably written sometime between 200 B.C. and A.D. 200.

Five Classics Five works traditionally attributed to Confucius that form the basic texts of Confucianism. They are the Spring and Autumn Annals, a history of Confucius's native district; the I Ching (or Book of Changes ), a system of divining the future; the Book of Rites , which outlines ceremonies and describes the ideal government; the Book of History ; and the Book of Songs , a collection of poetry. Together they promulgate a system of ethics for managing society based on sympathy for others, etiquette, and ritual. Although the dates of these books are uncertain, they were probably written before the third century B.C.

Koran (Arabic, al-Qur'an) The primary holy book of Islam. It is made up of 114 suras, or chapters, which contain impassioned appeals for belief in God, encouragement to lead a moral life, portrayals of damnation and beatitude, stories of Islamic prophets, and rules governing the social and religious life of Muslims. Believers maintain that the Koran contains the verbatim word of God, revealed to the prophet Muhammad through the Angel Gabriel. Some of the suras were written during Muhammad's lifetime, but an authoritative text was not produced until c. A.D. 650.

New Testament The second portion of the Christian Bible, which contains 27 books that form the basis of Christian belief. These books include the sayings of Jesus, the story of his life and work, the death and resurrection of Jesus now celebrated as Easter, the teachings and writings of the apostles, and instruction for converting nonbelievers and for performing baptisms, blessings, and other rituals. The New Testament is believed to have been written c. A.D. 100, some 70 to 90 years after the death of Jesus.

Old Testament The Christian name for the Hebrew Bible. It is the sacred scripture of Judaism and the first portion of the Christian Bible. According to Jewish teachings, it is made up of three parts: the Law (also known as the Torah or Pentateuch), comprising the first five books (Genesis, Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers, and Deuteronomy), which describes the origins of the world, the covenant between the Lord and Israel, the exodus and entry into the promised land, and the various rules governing social and religious behavior; the Prophets , including the former prophets (Joshua, Judges, Samuel 1-2, Kings 1-2) and the latter prophets (Isaiah, Jeremiah, Ezekiel, and the 12 minor prophets), which describes the history of the Israelites, the stories of heroes, kings, judges, and wars, and the choosing of David as leader of the Israelites; and the Writings (including Psalms, Job, Song of Solomon, and Ruth, among others), which describes the reactions of the people to the laws and covenants, as well as prayers and praises of the covenant. Some books of the Old Testament regarded as sacred by the Jews are not accepted as such by Christians; among Christians there are differences between Roman Catholics and Protestants about the inclusion of some books, the order of the books, and the original sources used in translating them. Scholars generally agree that the Old Testament was compiled from c. 1000 B.C. to c. 100 B.C.

Talmud A compilation of Jewish oral law and rabbinical teachings that is separate from the scriptures of the Hebrew Bible, or Old Testament. It is made up of two parts: the Mishna , which is the oral law itself, and the Gemara , a commentary on the Mishna . The Talmud contains both a legal section (the Halakah ) and a portion devoted to legends and stories (the Aggada ). The authoritative Babylonian Talmud was compiled in the sixth century.

Tao-te-ching (The Way and Its Power) The basic text of the Chinese philosophy and religion known as Taoism. It is made up of 81 short chapters or poems that describe a way of life marked by quiet effortlessness and freedom from desire. This is thought to be achieved by following the creative, spontaneous life force of the universe, called the Tao. The book is attributed to Lao-tzu, but it was probably a compilation by a number of writers over a long period of time.

Upanishads The basis of Hindu religion and philosophy that form the final portion of the Veda . The 112 Upanishads describe the relationship of the Brahman , or universal soul, to the atman , or individual soul; they also provide information about Vedic sacrifice and yoga. The original texts of the Upanishads come from various sources and were written beginning c. 900 B.C.
Veda The sacred scripture of Hinduism. Four Vedas make up the Samhita , a collection of prayers and hymns that are considered to be revelations of eternal truth written by seer-poets inspired by the gods. The Rig-Veda , the Sama-Veda , and the Yajur-Veda are books of hymns; the Atharva-Veda compiles magic spells. These writings maintain that the Brahman , or Absolute Self, underlies all reality and can be known by invoking gods through the use of hymns or mantes. The Vedic texts were compiled between c. 1000 B.C. and c. 500 B.C., making them the oldest known group of religious writings.

A simple question to those who have studied the sacred scripts would be; how can we tell which religion is superior to the other when for all the different peoples that claim a religion it has their historic origins intertwined in the scripture? difficult I would say.

My forefathers worshipped the spirits of their ancestors and nature but I was born into an adopted Christian religion, and claim to be a christian, as I would have claimed to be a moslem had I been born in a Moslem family. The most I am looking at in life these days is not to wholesomely find fault with any religion, it is simply to appreciate what it has contributed to the world as we now know it, for starters lets look at Islam from a very basic view as would dictate and characterise me as an armchair historian, lets look at a basic item we all use in the world today called 'Soap', where did it come from, 'Europe' I guess you would say, a big 'No' would be my answer and that of history, it was more in Africa and the Arab world prior to its being championed in Europe that soap came from, Okay lets talk of Alchemy, no no no Chemistry, which religion most of all developed Chemistry? there you will find again it is Islam and I quote below:

Alexander von Humboldt regarded the Muslim chemists as the founders of chemistry.[21] Will Durant wrote in The Story of Civilization IV: The Age of Faith:

"Chemistry as a science was almost created by the Moslems; for in this field, where the Greeks (so far as we know) were confined to industrial experience and vague hypothesis, the Saracens introduced precise observation, controlled experiment, and careful records. They invented and named the alembic (al-anbiq), chemically analyzed innumerable substances, composed lapidaries, distinguished alkalis and acids, investigated their affinities, studied and manufactured hundreds of drugs. Alchemy, which the Moslems inherited from Egypt, contributed to chemistry by a thousand incidental discoveries, and by its method, which was the most scientific of all medieval operations."[22]

Fielding H. Garrison wrote in the History of Medicine:
"The Saracens themselves were the originators not only of algebra, chemistry, and geology, but of many of the so-called improvements or refinements of civilization, such as street lamps, window-panes, firework, stringed instruments, cultivated fruits, perfumes, spices, etc..."[23]

Robert Briffault wrote in The Making of Humanity:
"Chemistry, the rudiments of which arose in the processes employed by Egyptian metallurgists and jewellers combining metals into various alloys and 'tinting' them to resemble gold processes long preserved as a secret monopoly of the priestly colleges, and clad in the usual mystic formulas, developed in the hands of the Arabs into a widespread, organized passion for research which led them to the invention of pure distillation, sublimation, filtration, to the discovery of alcohol, of nitric and sulfuric acids (the only acid known to the ancients was vinegar), of the alkalis, of the salts of mercury, of antimony and bismuth, and laid the basis of all subsequent chemistry and physical research."[11]

I must rest my case with these few words, do not be ignorant and speak without having a historical background on anything at all, let us all take time to learn of the world around us and appreciate other cultures, only then will we see the world for the labour of love it truly is regardless of religion.

Some homework for you then, if I may, what are the origins of the word 'alkali'?

INDIAS IT BOSS QUITS OVER SCANDAL.

Source: http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/business/7815031.stm

The boss of Satyam, India's fourth-biggest software firm, has resigned after revealing financial irregularities in the firm's accounts.

Chairman Ramalinga Raju apologised and said "the gap in the balance sheet has arisen purely on account of inflated profits" during several years.

He said he was subjecting himself to the laws of the land and would "face the consequences".

India's benchmark index fell nearly 7% on the news, as Satyam stock shed 82%.

In a letter to the board of directors, Mr Raju said that neither he nor the managing director took any money from the company and did not benefit in financial terms following the "inflated results".

It was like riding a tiger, not knowing how to get off without being eaten
Ramalinga Raju, chairman and founder, Satyam

He added that no board member had been aware of the situation the firm was in.

"What started as a marginal gap between actual operating profits and the one reflected in the books of accounts continued to grow over the years," said Mr Ramalinga's statement, which was sent to the stock exchange.

"It was like riding a tiger, not knowing how to get off without being eaten," he said.

Satyam specialises in business software and benefited from the IT outsourcing boom.

'Fictitious assets'

The BBC's Sanjoy Majumder in Delhi says analysts see this as one of the worst crises to have hit corporate India, at a time when it was hoping to attract foreign investors looking for quick gains in emerging markets.


READ THE LETTER
Letter from Ramalinga Raju [157KB]


Our correspondent says many fear that the international community will now take a harder look at Indian companies and think twice about placing their money there.

BBC correspondent Karishma Vaswani in Mumbai says the consequences for corporate India are extremely dire, given that Satyam is not just listed on Indian stock markets, but was also the first Indian technology firm to list on the hi-tech US Nasdaq market.


SATYAM

• Employs 53,000 people, operates in 66 countries
• Won 2008 global award for excellence in corporate governance by World Council for Corporate Governance (WCFCG)
• Becomes official IT services provider for the FIFA World Cups, 2010 and 2014
• Ramalinga Raju, Satyam's founder and chairman, won Ernst & Young's 2007 entrepreneur of the year award
• Jigar Shah, senior vice-president at Kim Eng Securities, said: "I think there is no fortune for this stock. The case for India is similar to what happened to Enron in the US."

The news comes after plans to acquire Maytas Properties and plans to acquire a 51% stake in Maytas Infra failed.

"The aborted Maytas acquisition deal was the last attempt to fill the fictitious assets with real ones," said the letter.

Mr Raju said a task force investigating the failed deal had been set up. He also recommended to the board that Merrill Lynch be entrusted with the talk of "quickly exploring" merger opportunities.

"We have to go beyond this letter and find out what actually has happened," the Securities and Exchange Board of India told reporters.

"This is an issue which has very serious implications... It also raises the issue of authenticity of accounts that have been audited and certified by the auditors."

Mark Anderson's 10 Predictions For 2009

Posted by Linda Tischler

http://www.fastcompany.com/blog/linda-tischler/design-times/mark-ansersons-10-predictions-2009

On a foul night in New York, where the cold, torrential rain perfectly matched the day’s news -- massive fraud at a large investment fund, a failed bailout for the auto industry, the fifth straight decline in retail sales --- Mark Anderson, one of the tech industry’s favorite prognosticators, offered at least a glimmer of hopeful news at his annual “Predictions” dinner at the Waldorf Astoria.

After 8 years of nothing but messages of bad news and fear, the psychological lift of Obama’s inauguration will lead to a short term rebound effect on the market, he said. “I’m guessing it will take three weeks for the ‘Obama Bounce’ to take effect,” he said, laying out a series ‘landscape’ scenarios as a back drop for his annual predictions.

Anderson is CEO and founder of the Strategic News Service, the first subscription-based newsletter on the Internet. He counts Bill Gates, Mark Hurd, Michael Dell, and a blue chip roster of tech movers and shakers among his subscribers.

He claims the dubious distinction of being among the first to predict the global liquidity collapse, on CNN World News, way back in February 2007. The 10 year, publicly graded, accuracy rate of his predictions is over 90%, although recently he’s topped that. He says that his predictions for last year were 96% correct.

Over a dinner heavy on red wine and red meat, before an audience of venture capitalists, CEOs, consultants and tech media, Anderson laid out his top 10 hunches for the coming year.

1.) It will be a big year for applications that can play on big screens. We’ve already got our plasma TVs, he said. In 2009, we’ll spend more on ways to use them – video games, movies, etc. “It will all be about what you can do for $100 to add value.”

2.) Similarly, the big news in the mobile world won’t be a slicker, newer cellphone -- it will be smart phone applications. “We’re talking billions in downloads,” he said. In addition, because of their low cost and high volume, smart phone apps have the potential to replace mobile advertising – unless it can be ‘dragged through’ on an app.

3.) The blush is off the China rose. “There are already 15,000 riots a year in China,” Anderson said. “The next thing is that people will get shot.” China’s GDP is likely to plummet in 2009, and the West will revise its view of the country, recognizing it as a polluted place, rife with economic turmoil and starving people.

4.) 2009 will be the year when flash-based computing will really take off. “This year we’ll see the first computer with no moving parts,” he said. That means the shelf life of a computer will expand, which will force the software industry to develop products that last over a longer term. “Everybody benefits,” Anderson said.

5.) This will also be the year that wall computing gets traction. Think of the wall computers that CNN’s John King used during the election. They will soon find their way into corporate conference rooms, fundamentally changing the way we collaborate at work.

6.) Carry-along computers will be hot. HP’s mini is already ringing up dramatic sales, and Dell is entering the market as well. These lightweight, inexpensive little laptops, “will soon be the most commonly used computer,” Anderson said.

7.) Led by Europe, LTE (Long Term Evolution) will be the preferred technology for 4G.

8.) Not to be left behind, the less developed world will finally see widespread availability of broadband. “Villages in Africa and elsewhere will get broadband and telephony at the same time,” he said.

9.) After years of failed promises, voice recognition will finally work right. “We’ll go from being angry with the mechanical voice at the end of the line, to using it without annoyance,” he said. “We will finally have continuous speech with no training.”

10.) The Internet Assistant will be born. Think of this as your own personal technological concierge that can integrate all your disparate data and put it to work, probably via your phone. In 2009, you’ll be able to say, “Jeeves, I’m going to San Diego on Friday, your IA will book a flight (using your frequent flier account, and scoring your preferred window seat), book a car to the airport, reserve a rental car of the size you like with your favorite provider, book a hotel, and make dinner reservations at your favorite boite. It may even scan your calendar, determine that you have a free evening, and book tickets to the philharmonic.

While Anderson had no predictions for when the housing market, or the broader market would hit bottom, he was optimistic that having a new, competent, team in Washington, that valued science, technology, and innovation, would improve the country’s overall mood.

Market psychology is a powerful force, he said. It’s not surprising that the country is currently in a funk, given that we’ve been bombarded for nearly a decade with relentless messages of fear. “If you did this to a dog, you’d get arrested,” he said.

“In 2009,” he said, “our psychology will improve, even if our circumstances will get worse.”

Looking for a free International SMS service? Try Wadja!

Clement Nyirenda's blog world

Looking for a free SMS service? Try Wadja! Posted: 25 Dec 2008 10:20 AM CST For sometime, I have been looking for an online service that allows users to send free SMS messages to Malawi. A few days ago, I stumbled on Wadja, a social networking website, like Orkut, Facebook and Myspace, which goes one step beyond the rest by providing FREE SMS across the world. After signing up, I managed to send a couple of free SMS messages to my family in Malawi. I also configured the system in such a way that the replies come straight to my mobile phone. I am now using this service on a regular basis. If this trend continues, expect to see less of me on Facebook. Unlike many other social networks, Wadja does not rely on users bringing a social group to the service. Many social networking sites rivals are only truly useful for a user if their peers have signed up to the service, as the services are often contained within the network. For instance, currently, I do not have any friends in my Wadja network but I am already enjoying their service to the fullest. Related posts: 1. Non-profit free drug rehab referral service 2. The Quechup spam 3. My facebook account is back!

A Lesson in Customer Service- all in in a days work

The online shopping experience in the UK can be amazing, from an armchair armed with your broadband and laptop and bankcard, you get to your favorite commercial searchbot (search robot that continuously searches the Internet trying to find all the best websites it can on your behalf), in this case my 'Brother' printer/fax/scanner colour ink cartridges had run out but the £35 tag on the 4 replacement cartridges was a little much, for gods sake I could rent a limo for that amount! anyways I located www.Shop.com.co.uk which trawls all the websites in the UK for a particular item and ranges all the pertinent info and prices from lowest to highest for you and hey presto! I located my printer cartridges at £8.99!!! can you believe that? £26 pounds less than the initial price located. Amazing stuff! the level of service I received for even such a low price was simply amazing! In under 24 hours I had my product through my front door letter hole, and 5 emails sitting in my 'outlook' inbox updating me at all times on the status of the order. Now that's a fine example of customer service! talk about the power of the internet, total quality, customer service and online banking coming together for good effect, something worth emulating. Copies of emails appended hereunder:

1.

Thank you for creating your SHOP.COM account XXXX Kapito,

You can access your account at any time using your sign-in name: XXXXXX@gmail.com

Please keep this email safe in case you need it in the future.

At SHOP.COM our goal is to make your life easier:
Your account gives you direct access to all your favourite brands and allows you to shop from hundreds of suppliers using one secure password-protected account.

Take advantage of these additional SHOP.COM features:

1. SHOP.COM's safe shopping guarantee.

2. A secure address book to store various delivery addresses and personal details.

3. A date reminder e-mail service, making sure you never miss an occasion.

4. A "Gift Registry" service, allowing you to create your own gift wishlist.

5. An eGift service, where the recipient can choose a present (without seeing the price) and you decide the price-range.

6. And much, much more...

Manage your account now or start a new shopping trip.

If you have any questions or comments, contact us via email. We read each note and appreciate your feedback.

Sincerely,

The Customer Support Team
SHOP.COM

2.

Thank you for placing your order with SHOP.COM.

Your SHOP.COM Master Order #633374x is detailed below and will be processed for delivery shortly. Please keep this email as a reference.

Your credit/debit card will only be charged when your order(s) is dispatched.*

PLEASE NOTE: In addition to your SHOP.COM order number, you may receive an order update email with a supplier-specific order number from the SHOP.COM supplier fulfilling your order.

If you have any questions about your order, please feel free to contact us by email or call us at 0845 257 8041 and we will be happy to help. If for any reason you can't get through to us or you would prefer to contact the supplier directly, you can find their contact details in the order details below.

---

SHOP.COM Master Order #633374x Details:

Order Date: 30/11/2008

Order Total: £8.99

Purchaser e-mail address: xxxxx@gmail.com

3.

-----Original Message-----
From: Customer Service UK [mailto:customersupportUK@shop.com]
Sent: 01 December 2008 18:14
To: xxxxx@gmail.com
Subject: RE:'SHOP.COM=002-735-826' SHOPPER COMMENT: "Order confirmation-Thank You"

Dear Sir / Madame,

Thank you for comments.

All such feedback is appreciated and used in order to better improve our overall service.

4.

-----Original Message-----
From: Refresh Cartridges [mailto:sales@refreshcartridges.co.uk]
Sent: 30 November 2008 23:20
To: Kapito
Subject: Order Process

Refresh Cartridges

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

Order Number: 19962x

Date Ordered: Sunday 30 November, 2008

Products

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

1 x Compatible Valuepack - 4 Cartridges - 1 of each Black, Cyan, Yellow, Magenta (LC900Bk/C/M/Y) for Brother MFC 210C 215C 410CN 620CN 640CW 3240C 3340CN 3342C 5440CN 5840CN DCP 110C 115C 117C 120C 310CN 315CN 340CW Fax 1835 1840 1940CN 2440C Prin () = £8.99

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

Total: £8.99

5.

-----Original Message-----
From: Refresh Cartridges [mailto:sales@refreshcartridges.co.uk]
Sent: 01 December 2008 07:15
To: Kapito
Subject: Refresh Cartridges Order 19962x: Pending Despatch

Refresh Cartridges

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

Order Number: 19962x

Date Ordered: Sunday 30 November, 2008

Your order has been updated to the following status: Pending Despatch

6.

-----Original Message-----
From: Refresh Cartridges [mailto:sales@refreshcartridges.co.uk]
Sent: 01 December 2008 15:25
To: Kapito
Subject: Refresh Cartridges Order 19962x: Order Despatched

Refresh Cartridges

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

Order Number: 19962x

Date Ordered: Sunday 30 November, 2008

Your order has been updated to the following status: Order Despatched

To view and print your invoice, please visit:

http://www.refreshcartridges.co.uk/display_my_invoice.php?