What's old was new again at the 2012 Academy Awards. The Weinstein Company's 'The Artist' ? a black and white movie about the "golden age" of film ? was the first silent film to be named best picture since 1927. Sweeping the awards with five statuettes each were 'The Artist' and 'Hugo,' Martin Scorcese's 3-D film about the origin of film, from Paramount, which both won five Oscars.
Not only is the whole Oscar celebration an advertisement for the movie business, but the awards singled out two movies that are an advertisement for movies. It's a snake-eating-its-tail-circle that may have left the rest of America confounded, or worse, bored.
Once again, there is a massive disconnect between what's successful at the box office ? i.e. appealing to mainstream America ? and what wins awards. 'The Artist' has one of the lowest box office tallies for any film to win 'Best Picture' ? just $32 million. And 'Hugo,' has grossed less than $70 million in the U.S., though it reportedly cost more than $150 million to make. Both the Weinsteins and Paramount should benefit from a post-Oscar boost. But these are simply not blockbusters.
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The awards ceremony seemed geared to promote the experience of going to a theater: a montage featured actors talking about their first trip to the movies and their all-time favorite films, and popcorn was handed out in the aisles. Cirque de Soleil performers swung over the audience ? an experience certainly better experienced in the flesh, rather than at home.
It makes sense that the Academy would want to promote moviegoing ? the number of tickets sold in 2011 dropped 4 percent from 2010. But the approach may have only highlighted the fact that watching the ceremony from home was far less exciting than going to the movies or sitting behind celebs in the theater formerly known as the Kodak.
Last year's show drew disappointing ratings despite its attempt to go young, with Anne Hathaway and James Franco hosting. And this year's awards returned to tradition in the extreme. The movie montages featured films from decades ago, and even a sketch about focus groups was in black and white, set in 1939.
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And the fact that the average Academy voter is a 62-year-old white man played itself out in the awards as well: Christopher Plummer won best supporting actor at age 82, the oldest age for a winning actor. The evening's biggest upset was the fact that Meryl Streep, who last won an Oscar in 1983, won best actress instead of Viola Davis.
Twitter was buzzing with jokes and complaints throughout the telecast. I read a number of comments that the jokes on Twitter were funnier than the jokes on the tube. And a couple of fake Twitter accounts popped up ? @Angiesright leg and @jlosnipple.
We'll see whether the movie industry's three-hour trailer for itself turned off viewers ? we're waiting for the ratings.
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Hot on the heels of Intel's big event, we've finally got our hands on Orange's Medfield smartphone. The Santa Clara is powered by the Intel Atom Z2460 processor, clocked at 1.6GHz. It does have 2011's Gingerbread kind of Android, but Orange is promising to bring ICS to the phone soon after launch -- in fact an Intel spokesperson told us that it's already had Android 4.0 running on these devices. There's a few differences between this and the Xolo X900 by Lava -- so we've given it a judicious investigation at Intel's big launch party. You'll find our hands-on video and impressions right after the break.
Online business ideas existed when the Internet became available to most people. An example of online business is ebay.com. It sells any kind of merchandise from its users. It also helps smaller businesses to earn money. Nowadays, internet business ideas have expanded through many levels. People are now able to choose an internet business from the wide selection of choices for example web development, Online marketing an internet-based tutorial.
Home-based jobs an internet-based services are illustration of internet business ideas. Because the Internet became open to most areas of the planet, it?s develop different types of companies that may be put up by those who have the heart to work online. Banking institutions for example banks also have developed an online payment system for the online businesses available nowadays but some people are still skeptical in purchasing online products due to unsecured payment system through credit card. Some websites such as amazon.com has the credibility of having secured payment system that people patronize. Online business ideas can be developed by the consumers needs. The main target of every business is to serve the consumers wants and needs.
There are a lot of online business ideas that is available for those who want to build their business online. If you wish to possess a business on your own, these ideas will help you evaluate which would be the what exactly you need to get it done. It?s also wise to take into account the best skills you own and also the thing you want to do in order to succeed in the chosen field of business. It is also important to examine the process of how to firmly build up the future business. All businesses have the potential to succeed whether it has got the right individuals who can manage the entire process with pristine and accuracy.
While we appreciated the risk-taking 'Tree of Life,' safe bet is 'The Artist.' By Kevin P. Sullivan
Bérénice Bejo and Malcolm McDowell in "The Artist" Photo: The Weinstein Company
Heading into Oscar night, a collection of safe nominations and clear favorites has led to a distinct lack of drama. For the past few months, no other film has led the awards conversation quite like "The Artist." An unlikely favorite, yes, but Michel Hazanavicius' ode to the silent-film era moved to the front sometime before the Golden Globes and stayed there.
In the days leading up to the ceremony, the biggest questions aren't who will win, but whether there will be any major surprises at all. Most Oscar analysts have locked their picks in by now, and the apparent answer is a resounding "probably not."
Is "The Artist" unstoppable? Who would we like to see win? Here are our picks for Best Picture:
Who Will Win: "The Artist." After stealing the early lead as favorite from "The Descendants," nothing has stood in the way of "The Artist." Even the most British movie of all time, "Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy," couldn't beat the silent film at its own awards show, the BAFTAs. Oscar gold for Hazanavicius' feel-good love letter to cinema is essentially a foregone conclusion at this juncture. If you're looking for an Oscar-night surprise, look elsewhere.
Who Should Win: "The Tree of Life." Terrence Malick's all-encompassing look at life on this little blue ball is not only the most ambitious film of the nine nominees, but the only one that took any risks at all. Yes, "The Artist" goes without sound for most of its runtime, but the silence rarely goes any deeper than gimmick and relies on an already-established style of filmmaking. Malick, instead, went in an entirely different direction and made a movie on his terms, using his own unique sensibilities. Complaints about pretension are valid and should be acknowledged, but when the rest of the field plays out like safe bets, you have to respect that Malick is swinging for the fences.
The MTV Movies team has the 2012 Oscars covered! Stick with us for everything you need to know leading up to the awards show, and head to Next Movie for a printable Oscar ballot. On Sunday, tune into MTV.com at 5 p.m. ET for our two-and-a-half-hour red-carpet live stream and updates on the night's big winners. To join the live conversation,tweet @MTVNews with the hashtag #Oscars.
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PULLMAN, Wash. (AP) -- Tony Wroten scored 21 points and went 9 of 12 from the free throw line as he led Washington over Washington State in true comeback fashion 59-55.
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Washington (20-8, 13-3) erased a 45-32 deficit with 11 minutes left in the game to win.
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Ultimately, the game came down to free throws. WSU (14-14, 6-10) went 11 of 12 to keep the game tied at 28-all despite shooting 27 percent in the first half.
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In the second half, the Cougars shot 6 of 20 from the free throw line, while the Huskies, who only went 2 of 5 in the first half, finished 17 of 24.
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The Cougars out-rebounded the Huskies 42-35.
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CJ Wilcox finished with 16 points for Washington while Abdul Gaddy finished with 10.
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Brock Motum led the Cougars with 17 points and Marcus Capers added 14.
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REVOCABLE vs. IRREVOCABLE TRUSTS Realistically, anyone who expects to die with even a small net worth may need to have a revocable living trust and a will. Like business entities, trusts operate at the direction of people. The people who create trusts and put assets into them are called grantors. The people who are appointed to operate trusts are called trustees. The people who receive funds or property under the trust are called beneficiaries.
A Revocable Living Trust is a type of trust that can be changed at any time. Since Revocable Living Trusts are so flexible, why aren?t all trusts revocable? The down side to a revocable trust is that assets funded into the trust will still be considered your own personal assets for creditor and estate tax purposes. This means that a revocable trust offers no creditor protection if you?re sued and all assets held in the name of the trust at the time of your death will be subject to both state and federal estate taxes. Why use a Revocable Living Trust as part of your estate plan? 1) Assets held in a Revocable Trust at the time a person becomes mentally incapacitated can be managed by their Disability Trustee instead of by a court-supervised guardian. 2) To avoid probate. Assets held in the name of a Revocable Living Trust at the time of a person?s death will pass directly to the beneficiaries named in the trust agreement and outside of the probate process. Probate is a legal process that takes place after someone dies. Typically, probate involves paperwork and court appearances by lawyers. The lawyers and court fees are paid from estate property. 3) To protect the privacy of your property and beneficiaries after you die. This will keep the details about your assets and who you?ve decided to leave your estate to a private family matter. A Last Will and Testament that?s been admitted to probate becomes a public court record. Irrevocable Trusts
An Irrevocable Trust is simply a type of trust that can?t be changed after the agreement has been signed, except in limited circumstances. Irrevocable trusts can take on many forms and be used to accomplish a variety of estate planning goals.
Why use an Irrevocable Trust?
1) Estate Tax Reduction. Irrevocable trusts are commonly used to remove the value of property from a person?s estate so that the property can?t be taxed when the person dies. In other words, the person who transfers assets into an irrevocable trust is giving over those assets to the trustee and beneficiaries of the trust so that the person no longer owns the assets. Thus, if the person no longer owns the assets, then they can?t be taxed when the person later dies.
2) Asset Protection for the Grantor and the beneficiaries. By placing assets into an irrevocable trust, the Grantor is giving up complete control over and access to, the trust assets and, therefore, the trust assets can?t be reached by a creditor of the Grantor. However, the Grantor ?s family can be the beneficiaries of the irrevocable trust, thereby still providing the family with financial support, but outside of the reach of creditors. 3) Protecting your estate in the event long term care is needed. Long term care facilities cost between $35,000 and $150,000 a year. Most people end up ?spending down? their savings until they run out. Then they can qualify for Medicaid to pick up the cost. When applying for Medicaid, officials will look at transfers made within the 5 years prior to the Medicaid application. Those who are not in immediate need of long-term care may have the luxury of protecting their assets before that look back period. Engaging an experienced Elder Law Attorney will help you to set up an irrevocable trust that will put money, property and assets within the trust, with the goal of having the estate protected from the spend down of your assets required to be granted Medicaid. The attorney can guide you in regard to the amount to be held in trust, vs. the amount personally held by the grantor. It is important to have good planning so that you can show about $125,000 in the event a long term care facility is needed. Showing at least this amount of money will help you to get into a higher quality facility, and when that money is spent down, you can apply for Medicaid.
Tags: geriatric care management, health, Irrevocable Trust, lifestyle, Living Trust, power of attorney, Revocable Trust, senior health, Seniors, Trusts, wills
ScienceDaily (Feb. 23, 2012) ? An international team of researchers, with the participation of IAC astronomers, has discovered that the chemical structure of Earth-like planets can be very different from the bulk composition of Earth. This may have a dramatic effect on the existence and formation of the biospheres and life on Earth-like planets.
The study of the photospheric stellar abundances of the planet-host stars is the key to understanding how protoplanets form, as well as which protoplanetary clouds evolve planets and which do not. These studies, which have important implications for models of giant planet formation and evolution, also help us to investigate the internal and atmospheric structure and composition of extrasolar planets..
Theoretical studies suggest that C/O and Mg/Si, are the most important elemental ratios in determining the mineralogy of terrestrial planets, and they can give us information about the composition of these planets. The C/O ratio controls the distribution of Si among carbide and oxide species, while Mg/Si gives information on the silicate mineralogy. In 2010 Bond et al. (2010b) carried out the first numerical simulations of planet formation in which the chemical composition of the proto-planetary cloud was taken as an input parameter. Terrestrial planets were found to form in all the simulations with a wide variety of chemical compositions so these planets might be very different from Earth.
Delgado Mena et al. (2010) have carried out the first detailed and uniform study of C, O, Mg and Si abundances for 61 stars with detected planets and 270 stars without detected planets from the homogeneous high-quality unbiased HARPS GTO sample. They found mineralogical ratios quite different from those in the Sun, showing that there is a wide variety of planetary systems which are unlike the Solar System. Many planetary-host stars present a Mg/Si value lower than 1, so their planets will have a high Si content to form species such as MgSiO3. This type of composition can have important implications for planetary processes like plate tectonics, atmospheric composition and volcanism.
'There could be billions of Earth-like planets in the Universe but a great majority of them may have a totally different internal and atmospheric structure. Building planets in chemically non-solar environments (which are very common in the Universe) may lead to the formation of strange worlds, very different from the Earth! The amount of radioactive and some refractory elements (especially Si) may have drastic implications for planetary processes such as plate tectonics and volcanic activity,' concludes Garik Israelian.
The latest numerical simulations have shown that a wide range of extrasolar terrestrial planet bulk compositions are likely to exist. Planets simulated as forming around stars with Mg/Si ratios less than 1 are found to be Mg-depleted (compared to Earth), consisting of silicate species such as pyroxene and various types of feldspars. Planetary carbon abundances also vary in accordance with the host stars' C/O ratio. The predicted abundances are in keeping with observations of polluted white dwarfs (expected to have accreted their inner planets during their previous red giant stage).
'The observed variations in the key C/O and Mg/Si ratios for known planetary host stars implies that a wide variety of extrasolar terrestrial planet compositions are likely to exist, ranging from relatively "Earth-like" planets to those that are dominated by C, such as graphite and carbide phases (e.g. SiC, TiC),' Delgado Mena stresses.
The results of Delgado Mena et al. (2010) were used in this study as they are the first to determine the abundance of all of the required elements in a completely internally consistent manner, using high quality spectra and an identical approach for all stars and elements, for a large sample of both host and non-host stars.
The chemical and dynamical simulations were combined by assuming that each embryo retains the composition of its formation location and contributes the same composition to the simulated terrestrial planet. The innermost terrestrial planets (located within ?0.5 AU from the host star) contain a significant amount of the refractory elements Al and Ca (?47% of the planetary mass). Planets forming beyond ?0.5 AU from the host star contain steadily less Al and Ca with increasing distance. One planetary system, 55 Cnc, has a C/O ratio above 1 (C/O = 1.12). This system produced carbon-enriched "Earth-like" planets. All of the terrestrial planets considered in this work have compositions dominated by O, Fe, Mg and Si, most of these elements being delivered in the form of silicates or metals (in the case of iron). However, important differences between those planets forming in systems with C/O < 0.8 (HD17051, HD19994) and those with C/O > 0.8 (55Cnc) have been found.
'We are working hard to decrease abundance measurement errors and make the results of theoretical models and numerical simulations more reliable,' comments Gonz?lez Hern?ndez, 'There is much work to be done'.
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The above story is reprinted from materials provided by Instituto de Astrofisica de Canarias, via AlphaGalileo.
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Journal Reference:
Jade C. Carter-Bond, David P. O'Brien, Elisa Delgado Mena, Garik Israelian, Nuno C. Santos, Jonay I. Gonz?lez Hern?ndez. LOW Mg/Si PLANETARY HOST STARS AND THEIR Mg-DEPLETED TERRESTRIAL PLANETS. The Astrophysical Journal, 2012; 747 (1): L2 DOI: 10.1088/2041-8205/747/1/L2
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Disclaimer: Views expressed in this article do not necessarily reflect those of ScienceDaily or its staff.
FILE - In this May 23, 2011 file photo, Dharun Ravi walks into the Middlesex County Courthouse for a hearing in the webcam-spying case involving the suicide of Rutgers University student Tyler Clementi in New Brunswick, N.J. Opening arguments are scheduled for Friday Feb. 24, 2012 in the trial of a former Rutgers University student accused of using a webcam to spy on his roommate's intimate encounter with another man. Nineteen-year-old Dharun Ravi faces 15 criminal counts, including invasion of privacy and bias intimidation. (AP Photo/Julio Cortez, File)
FILE - In this May 23, 2011 file photo, Dharun Ravi walks into the Middlesex County Courthouse for a hearing in the webcam-spying case involving the suicide of Rutgers University student Tyler Clementi in New Brunswick, N.J. Opening arguments are scheduled for Friday Feb. 24, 2012 in the trial of a former Rutgers University student accused of using a webcam to spy on his roommate's intimate encounter with another man. Nineteen-year-old Dharun Ravi faces 15 criminal counts, including invasion of privacy and bias intimidation. (AP Photo/Julio Cortez, File)
FILE - This undated file photograph provided by Joseph and Jane Clementi shows their son Tyler Clementi at a family function. Opening arguments are scheduled for Friday Feb. 24, 2012 in the trial of a former Rutgers University student accused of using a webcam to spy on his roommate Clementi's intimate encounter with another man. The case sparked a national conversation about treatment of young gays after Tyler Clementi, killed himself in September 2010. (AP Photo/Clementi Family)
NEW BRUNSWICK, N.J. (AP) ? A prosecutor and defense lawyer will make their initial pitches to jurors Friday in the trial of a former Rutgers University student accused of using a webcam to spy on his roommate's intimate encounter with another man.
Dharun Ravi faces 15 criminal charges, including invasion of privacy and bias intimidation, a hate crime punishable by up to 10 years in state prison.
The case spurred a national conversation about how young gays are treated when news of it broke in September 2010 after Ravi's roommate, Tyler Clementi, committed suicide.
The case was so well known that it took four days to seat a jury of 16 ? including four alternates. That process was completed Thursday afternoon, clearing the way for the trial to begin.
The trial is going forward because Ravi, 19, rejected a plea bargain offer that would have let him avoid any jail time and receive the state's help if federal authorities tried to deport him to India, where he was born. Lawyer Steven Altman said the reason for not accepting the deal was simple: He's not guilty of any crimes.
If the other man in the video is brought to the witness stand, his testimony could become a key part of the trial. He's been identified publicly only by the initials M.B.
The trial is expected to last three to four weeks.
The main alleged crime happened just weeks after Clementi, a violinist from Ridgewood, and Ravi, an Ultimate Frisbee player from Plainsboro, moved into their dorm room at Rutgers.
Clementi's parents said he told them he was gay in the days before he left for Rutgers. But court filings show that Ravi already knew that from Clementi's web postings.
Authorities say Ravi used the webcam on his computer to check on Clementi when he'd asked to have the room to himself so he could have company.
Ravi posted a Twitter message about it: "Roommate asked for the room till midnight. I went into molly's room and turned on my webcam. I saw him making out with a dude. Yay."
Initially, another first-year Rutgers student, Molly Wei, of Princeton Junction, was also charged in the case. But she entered a pre-trial intervention program last year that allows her to avoid jail time and emerge without a criminal record if she meets a list of conditions for three years. She also agreed to cooperate with prosecutors in their case against Ravi.
Two nights after the first alleged spying incident, authorities say Ravi tried to do the same thing when Clementi asked him to stay away from the room again.
A day after that, Clementi jumped from the George Washington Bridge, leaving behind a terse Facebook status updated: "Jumping off the gw bridge, sorry."
The trial is expected to delve into text messages, tweets and online chats from Clementi and Ravi.
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Identity thieves have regained the upper hand, suggests a new survey released Wednesday by fraud research firm Javelin Strategy & Research.? The firm's annual survey of 5,000 consumers suggests a rise in the rate of ID theft during 2011, reversing a drop in identity-related that was found in last year's survey.? The main cause of the new increase: A return to old-fashioned credit card fraud.
"There's been a rebound. ? ID thieves have bounced back," said Javelin President James Van Dyke,?explaining that meant about 7.7 million Americans were hit with credit and debit card fraud in 2011, or about 2.2 million more?than in the previous year.
The survey estimates that 11.6 million Americans were hit by ID theft in 2011, compared to 10.2 million in 2010. Put another way, 4.9 percent of the U.S. adult population -- roughly 1 in 20 adults -- was affected by identity-related fraud last year, compared to 4.35 percent of the population in 2010.
Javelin, like the Federal Trade Commission, uses a fairly broad definition for identity theft: ?any time a transaction occurs using a victim?s name or account information without authorization.
Nearly all the increase can be attributed to sharp rise in credit-card fraud, the survey found. Last year, 2.3 percent of all adults found unauthorized charges on their cards, compared to 1.4 percent in 2010.
A recent rise in credit card fraud has also shown up in previously unpublished research by security firm Gartner. Analyst Avivah Litan shared the data with msnbc.com.?
Her survey found that, of all adults who say they've been hit by credit card fraud at some point, 29 percent said the most recent incident had occurred in the 12 months preceding September, when her survey was conducted.? That compares to just 18 percent who said the most recent incident hit 13-24 months earlier.
"Our data says the same thing (as the Javelin data)," Litan said. "It is worth noting that increases in fraud rates are even more pronounced on the small business and corporate side, which Javelin didn't survey."
Javelin's 2011 survey is the seventh time the firm has queried American adults looking for ID fraud trends. The survey, which has a maximum margin of error of 1.7 percent, was sponsored by several financial services companies, but Van Dyke said the sponsors weren?t? allowed to interfere with the research methodology or the publication of the resulting report.
What would cause a rise in old-fashioned card data theft?? Numerous factors, Van Dyke said.
"It's probably partly an issue of where the gains (the banks) had made couldn't be sustained," Van Dyke said. "Also, the economy also plays a part. We've done this long enough to see a correlation between the state of the economy and this kind of fraud."?
The recession has made life a bit harder for banks? back-end fraud prevention systems, too. Some consumers have simply stopped using credit cards, but maintain open accounts. These dormant cards are ripe for fraud.? Meanwhile, the recession has also dramatically altered some consumers? buying patterns, throwing banks? pattern-recognition efforts off.
There is good news within Javelin's results, however.? The rate of new account fraud -- when a criminal uses a victim's personal information and good credit to open up new accounts -- has dropped slightly, according to survey takers. New account fraud is much more of nightmare for victims, and more costly to financial institutions..
"In fact, the overall amount lost to identity fraud is down slightly," Van Dyke said, from an estimated $20 billion to $18 billion.
The survey also hints at some other larger trends in identity security.? Smartphone users are about 30 percent more likely to report being hit by ID fraud. Surprisingly, 62 percent say they do not use a screen password to protect their devices.
"People aren't protecting their devices," Van Dyke said.
Some 36 million Americans, or roughly 15 percent of U.S. adults, say they received a data breach notification in 2011 from a company indicating it had lost their personal information.? Those who say they received such a notice were more than nine times as likely to also report being fraud victims.
"This is a trend we see spanning four years now, yet we haven't been able to generate any meaningful public awareness around it," Van Dyke said. Many consumers don't even sign up for free credit monitoring services when they are offered by companies that have leaked data, he said.?
Even so, more Americans detected ID fraud through electronic monitoring of accounts -- such as through online banking -- than through paper statements, the first time that has happened, according to the survey.? Such monitoring leads to earlier detection and lower financial losses for both banks and consumers.
Finally, the survey suggests some connection between active use of social networks and ID theft. Slightly more than 10 percent of LinkedIn users say they were hit (10.1 percent), while 7 percent of Google+ users and 6.3 percent of Twitter users reported being victims -- all three above average. Facebook users, at 5.7 percent, were barely above the national average of 4.9 percent.
Those with public profiles often confessed to being careless with data: 45 percent share their birth date and year;? 63 percent shared their high school; 18 percent shared their phone number; and 12 percent shared their pet's name.
"We still have a significant education problem," Van Dyke said. "Consumers are having trouble? being able to grasp what is sometimes conflicting advice in the marketplace. In fact, sometimes it?s impossible to follow the patchwork advice they are given."
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[unable to retrieve full-text content]AP - Newly released transcripts show top Nuclear Regulatory Commission officials debated the accuracy of public statements made by the agency chairman about a pool holding spent fuel rods at a crippled Japan nuclear plant.
The Daily Caller has obtained?documents, emails and communications showing how President Barack Obama?s Federal Communications Commission demolished wireless broadband company LightSquared?s competition through a pattern of regulatory decisions apparently aimed at establishing an ?open-access? Internet in the United States.
The FCC successfully green-lighted LightSquared?s corporate formation in 2009 by allowing Wall Street hedge fund Harbinger Capital Partners to purchase majority ownership in satellite company SkyTerra. A major obstacle that still remained in LightSquared?s way was competitor GlobalStar.
GlobalStar had a similar operation to the one LightSquared was building at the time. A major difference, though, was GlobalStar?s already-orbiting satellites, and the broadband Internet access it was already providing to Americans in rural areas of the country.
GlobalStar leased terrestrial spectrum to Open Range Communications, a company that provided broadband Internet access to customers in underserved parts of rural America. Open Range?s business model depended on a 2008 loan, worth $264 million, from the U.S. Department of Agriculture?s Rural Utilities Service.
In 2008 the FCC gave GlobalStar a 16-month waiver from so-called ?gating??rules, which required it to guarantee that its satellite service would be continuously available?everywhere it offered broadband service, and also required it to maintain spare satellites in case of an urgent need. GlobalStar had said the issues its system faced would be fixed when it could launch 24 new satellites, which it planned to do by July 1, 2010.
The waiver was meant to allow GlobalStar and Open Range to continue building their networks while GlobalStar fixed those issues.?Open Range depended on GlobalStar for its continued operation.
Then, the unthinkable happened: On April 6, 2009 an earthquake struck L?Aquila, Italy, damaging a factory that made component parts essential to GlobalStar?s satellites. The factory closed, reopening eight months later in early December 2009. (RELATED: Documents: LightSquared shaping up as the FCC?s Solyndra)
Citing the earthquake and disruptions because of the global financial meltdown, GlobalStar filed a request with the Obama administration?s FCC on Dec. 14, 2009,?asking for an additional temporary waiver from the agency?s requirements so it could continue building its network.
The FCC didn?t acknowledge receipt of the extension request until March 5, 2010, and didn?t open it up for public notice until four weeks later, on April 2.
During the months while GlobalStar?s request languished in the FCC?s slow-moving bureaucracy, the agency was helping to finalize the sale of SkyTerra to Harbinger. That company would ultimately become LightSquared.
On Feb. 26, 2010,?one week before the FCC acknowledged GlobalStar?s request, Harbinger and the FCC agreed on conditions that would forbid LightSquared from selling to Verizon and AT&T any?spectrum it would later acquire.
Verizon and AT&T are the nation?s two largest wireless carriers.
FCC spokeswoman Tammy Sun did not answer when The Daily Caller asked her to explain why GlobalStar?s waiver extension?request was delayed for 75 days, during the same time the FCC was finalizing its deal with LightSquared executives.
Also during those late spring months in 2010, several advocacy groups funded by left-wing billionaire George Soros were advocating for the adoption of ?open-access? Internet rules. Soros? Open Society Institute has donated more than $1 million to the four organizations that comprise the Public Interest Spectrum Coalition. He is reported to have invested $200 million personally in Harbinger.
Public Interest Spectrum Coalition member groups hold the position that spectrum ?belongs to the public? and should be subject to as little corporate influence as possible. Their goal is to create a community-oriented, taxpayer-subsidized and highly regulated broadband system, essentially making Internet access a public utility.
It is difficult to run a business in a country where home-brewed products and services are not supported and embraced as they should be. But, this didn?t stop the Mafikeng-born Tshego Chanda from starting her own furniture business. She is the mastermind behind Sebilo Creations, a business which offers an array of services including architecture, interior design, contemporary furniture design and furniture manufacturing.
Where It All Began
As a teenager I was quite creative with everything I touched. Friends thought I would pursue a career in the fashion industry, but interior design chose me. At the tender age of 13, I designed floor drawing layouts for my mother?s house ? the house was built from the drawings. I was present at every construction stage though I didn?t know anything about building materials apart from brick, cement, sand and stone aggregate.
I also used to play around with furniture layout in the house; I felt the urge to re-arrange my mother?s furniture at any given time because it wasn?t aesthetically pleasing, and that usually got me into trouble. I was finally introduced to architecture and interior design?in Grade 12.
Taking a Step Further
After I matriculated I enrolled for studies in Architecture at the former Technikon Pretoria. Five months into the course I was employed by an architectural firm in Pretoria. My love for furniture and interior design magnified when I was designing houses. The passion I have for this industry inspired my career choice, and this led me to start my own company.
Business Background
Sebilo Creations is a young company which aims to apply an African feel to its products. I registered the business in 2008 and operations started in 2009. The name was inspired by a Setswana idiom ?bana ba mmala o sebilo? directly translated ?children of the soil (of a darker skin).? African people are known to be hard, strong and warm ? these characteristics are translated into Sebilo Creations team and work ethic.
Challenges
Finance was the greatest challenge in getting the business off ground. I had no funding back up. I had to fund the business from my own pocket. It would have been great if I had had a mentor to guide me through this journey and advising on crucial elements of the business. I relied on the internet for information. I also asked friends and family for advice and I read self-help books.
Another major challenge is gender discrimination by a number of our potential black clients. Women need to prove themselves twice as much in business.
Clients
Sebilo Creations? clients are young families/adults with a modest income and are looking for the same products and quality that high end customers can afford, yet at a cheaper price.
When we do house calls for purpose-made furniture and interior design, the response we receive is phenomenal. On the other hand, some think we don?t have the ability and the capability to produce the high standard of work. This is largely due to perceptions about new black-owned businesses being unprofessional and not having quality products. It?s going to take us a while to break that mentality and that?s the challenge we are willing to take head on.
My Greatest Lesson
Passion for what you do should be the driving force behind opening your business. Keep on learning; a crash course on handling company finances is essential. Keep abreast of what?s happening in your industry and keep up with technological trends. Above all, enjoy every step of the way.
- P.Mash
For more information, check the Sebilo Creations Facebook page:?www.facebook.com/pages/Sebilo-Creations/102032366583814
There are lots of avenues through which you can direct more traffic to your Internet Marketing projects. Some of these methods are quite popular and used by pretty much every Internet Marketer out there. Others are less often used but nonetheless effective. What you need to understand and what is important to understand is that basically getting traffic is exactly the same as getting attention. You need people to see your project so that you can convince them it is worth their investment. If you let yourself be creative the whole process can be quite a lot more fun. In the following paragraphs we?re going to talk about some of the most creative things you can do when you want more traffic. inox ograje
There is the "thank you" strategy. Where you are in life right now, you didn?t get there on your own. Someone had to hire you. Income from sales is the result of other people buying. Your position in life is the results of the efforts of others as well as your own. Through a referral, your site received traffic through another recommendation. Whatever the reason or the method of the help, it is important to make sure that all of these people know that you appreciate them. Showing your appreciation is something you really need to do. It can happen publicly, or you can send them something that?s private to show your gratitude. More importantly, they will probably be more likely to send even more traffic your way. ograje-mn.si/vrtne-ograjeHopefully you?re already familiar with some basic SEO principles. SEO is one of the best and most traditional forms of traffic generation. Why not see if you can use your own creativity with your SEO methods? See if you can locate any keywords for your niche that are a bit ?far out? and work on targeting those. There is less competition for these keywords and the searchers who use them will appreciate that someone is serving their needs. Even though fewer people might be searching for those far-out terms, those visitors are more likely to convert as you?re targeting exactly what they?re looking for. Besides, you?ll find visitors are more interested in some of those more unusual keywords and phrases, which can keep them on your site longer. stopni??ne ograje
Although, at one point, social bookmarking was all the rage. Now, with the advent of social media sites, their fallen to the wayside. They are not gone by any means! Many of these sites are still going strong like Stumble Upon, Digg and many others. Remember to promote more than just your own sites, though as the users of these sites will see right through that. Promote others ? not yourself! When you do this, it causes people to wonder more about you. They may look at your profile and then visit your websites because of your helpful efforts. It?s also good to make sure that the pages and posts you bookmark truly are useful. Don?t go crazy or your efforts may backfire.
The projects and sites that you have can get lots of traffic through standard methods. Typically, "standard" methods references traffic generating strategies that actually work and have for many years. Of course, most of these ?standard? traffic generation methods have some room for creativity within them. Of course, there are also not so ?standard ? methods for generating traffic. Think outside of the box a little bit and take a risk every now and then. After all if something doesn?t work, it doesn?t work. It really doesn?t matter that much, does it?
Tags: generation, traffic
This entry was posted on Wednesday, February 22nd, 2012 at 10:30 am and is filed under Uncategorized. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.
You can't see 'em, you can't smell 'em, and you certainly can't feel 'em—but you just know your body and your home is crawling with microscopic invaders who'll do everything they can to make you sick. Gerrrrrms! More »
Rape is a painful topic; a violent act. A 4-letter word that sounds evil. Perpetrators uniformly deny it and victims typically don't discuss it. You'd almost think it never happens. In reality, it happens a lot (see below).
Prior to 1927 there were no laws on the books about rape, and no updated laws existed until January 5, 2011. Women and men both need to know that the U.S. Attorney General recently announced a revised definition of rape so that it can be more accurately reported and prosecuted. As a woman's health expert who spent nearly 20 years at Harvard, it saddens me to say how many women I've cared for who have been raped. I hope it never happens to you or your loved ones; but if it does, now you can prosecute offenders and you're more likely to get justice.
Here's how the new law differs from the old one. In 1927, "Forcible rape" had been defined by the UCR SRS (Uniform Crime Report (UCR) Summary Reporting System (SRS) the "national report card") as "the carnal knowledge of a female, forcibly and against her will." That means a man forces vaginal sex with a woman. It left a lot to be determined; required an immediate visit to the doctor to look for sperm in the woman's vagina as well as any signs of trauma. There was no law for a woman raping a man or a man raping a child. During my on call training, many nights I was asked to examine women for alleged rape, and the details that I carefully wrote in the hospital records had a great impact on whether or not an alleged rapist was convicted.
Here's how the new law describes rape: "The penetration, no matter how slight, of the vagina or anus with any body part or object, or oral penetration by a sex organ of another person, without the consent of the victim."
So one person forcing an object (animate or inanimate) into another person is rape.
Susan B. Carbon, Director of the Office on Violence Against Women, states, "For the first time ever, the new definition includes any gender of victim and perpetrator, not just women being raped by men. It also recognizes that rape with an object can be as traumatic as penile/vaginal rape. This definition also includes instances in which the victim is unable to give consent because of temporary or permanent mental or physical incapacity."
How common is it? According to the Centers for Disease Control (CDC) 1 in 6 women report that they have either been raped or an attempt has been made to rape them in their lifetime. The first time for 60% of these women was before age 18. Tell your daughters. The February 2012 issue of the medical journal Obstetrics & Gynecology (2012;119:412-7) estimates that more than 1 in 3 women (36%) in the United States have experienced rape, physical violence, or stalking by an intimate partner at some point during their lives.
What is it? Sexual violence is any sexual activity for which you do not freely give consent. That includes both sex against your will and sex that happens when you cannot freely give your consent. If you have been drinking and pass out, and wake up to suddenly find a man having sex with you, it is rape. If a man has sex with a woman who is under the influence, it is rape. Think of it like this, if you are under the influence, you cannot sign a consent form for a medical procedure, and you cannot give consent for a sexual act, either. Tell your sons; getting a girl drunk or high to have sex with her may now land him in jail or at least in court.
Rape is more than unwanted sex. It's an act of violence and it's a crime.
Who commits it? Unfortunately, all kinds of people; a current or former intimate partner; a family member, friend, or acquaintance; a person in a position of power or trust, or a stranger. According to the CDC, in a nationally representative survey that looked at the first rape experience of female victims, perpetrators were reported to be intimate partners (30.4%), family members (23.7%), and acquaintances (20%). This means that the victims knew over 74% of the perpetrators. Remind yourself; keep your antennae up.
What are the risks? I divide the risks into short-term: getting pregnant (for women), acquiring a sexually transmitted disease, or being injured; and long-term risks that can affect your physical or emotional health:
? Chronic pain
? Headaches
? Fear and anxiety
? Problems trusting others
? Anger and stress
? Eating disorders
? Depression
? Suicidal thoughts
What can I do to prevent it?
? Avoid using excessive amounts of alcohol and drugs. It interferes with clear thinking.
? Be aware of your surroundings. Be cautious and alert.
? Try to walk in groups rather than alone, especially at night.
? Take a self-defense class.
? Lock all doors to your car and residence at all times.
? Believe in your right to set limits that match your sexual desires and limits.
? State your limits clearly and loudly and say "NO" if necessary.
? Yell "Fire" or carry a whistle and blow it. It attracts people's attention.
? If the rapist is unarmed, fight back, shout "NO" and run away as soon as possible.
? If the rapist is armed, try to talk him out of continuing the assault or resist passively by pretending to faint, vomit or urinate
What do I do in case of rape?
? Go to a safe place and call a friend or family member to be with you.
? Take some slow deep breaths and realize that what happened is wrong, it's not your fault and that you have value.
? Call the police; rape is a crime.
? Do not bathe, douche or change clothes.
? If you choose not to contact the police, go to a hospital emergency department to be checked. You are not required to report to police in order to get medical care.
? Write down as much as you can remember about what happened and the person who did it while it is most fresh in your mind.
? Contact a rape treatment center. A counselor there can be of great help.
? I offer patients who have been abused a private phone to call the National Domestic Violence Hotline (1-800-799-SAFE [7233]) because abusers often monitor cell phone logs or Internet use.
For more information on important health issues, visit my website at www.DoctorSeibel.com or click here for a FREE Ebook on my top 10 Stress Busters.
Preparing for the flood: Visualizations help communities plan for sea-level risePublic release date: 19-Feb-2012 [ | E-mail | Share ]
Contact: Heather Amos heather.amos@ubc.ca 604-828-3867 University of British Columbia
Researchers at the University of British Columbia have produced computer visualizations of rising sea levels in a low-lying coastal municipality, illustrating ways to adapt to climate change impacts such as flooding and storms surges.
The researchers are working with a municipality south of Vancouver, Canada that is surrounded by water on three sides and is expecting the sea-level to rise by 1.2 metres by 2100 a change that would affect a number of waterfront homes, inland suburban developments, roads and farmland.
Considerable infrastructure has been built below current and projected high water levels, and could be inundated in the event of a dike breach. The images produced show how different adaptation strategies that could be implemented in the municipality and are being used to help make decisions about how to best prepare for the future.
"To me, the visualizations are the only way that you can tell the complete story of climate change and its impacts in a low-lying coastal community," says David Flanders, a UBC research scientist with the Collaborative for Advanced Landscape Planning (CALP), who will present this research at the 2012 Annual Meeting of the American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS) in Vancouver on Sunday. "In other words, seeing really is believing in this case."
"It can be hard to mentally grasp what rising sea-levels can mean on the ground but our visualizations give people a glimpse of what their future world will look and feel like in their own backyards. They help community members understand how their quality of life can be affected by climate change, and by the decisions they make to deal with climate impacts."
BACKGROUND
The municipality of Delta, B.C. is in an agricultural region with a population of about 100,000 (Fig. 1). Historically, the municipality has used dykes to protect the land from flooding and tides a common strategy used by coastal communities.
New provincial guidelines for the construction of new homes have more than doubled the recommended finished floor elevation to compensate for rising high water lines. Similarly, the guidelines for sea dike construction have increased considerably, in some cases suggesting a top-of-wall more than two times their current elevation above mean sea level.
Working with the municipality, Flanders and his colleagues at CALP have created visualizations of sea-level rise in Delta and four alternate scenarios that show different ways Delta could adapt. These were constructed using a cutting-edge 3D geovisualization process that integrates climate modeling scenarios, inundation modeling, Geographic Information Systems (GIS) data, land use and urban design.
Visualizations of higher water levels in Delta portray what would happen to the community if it does nothing to prepare for climate change (Fig. 2).
"Combine the sea-level rise with bigger storms, more wind, more waves and high-tide and that's an enormous amount of water," says Flanders.
The four alternate scenarios show Delta over the next century where the municipality adopts various strategies to prepare for sea-level rise including: raising the dikes ("Hold The Line," Fig. 3); building offshore barrier islands to absorb the impact of incoming storms ("Reinforce and Reclaim," Fig 4); moving parts of the community out of the floodplain and on to higher ground ("Managed Retreat," Fig. 5); and reducing vulnerability through design by raising homes, roads and critical infrastructure above the floodplain ("Build Up," Fig. 6).
The visualizations packages not only show what the region could look at the end of the century but also takes into account other important factors like the cost of each solution for the municipality, the cost to individual property owners, and the trade-offs between protecting roads, habitat, homes, waterfront views and agricultural production.
"What is becoming evident is that there is no single, perfect solution. Each alternative pathway has trade-offs associated with it, and this planning process has been very effective at communicating those trade-offs, and assessing acceptability," says Flanders.
"Communities will have to decide what their priorities are, and likely plan for a mosaic of different solutions, because each neighbourhood has its own set of concerns and its own idea of what will be possible. This visioning process can help inform these kinds of tough decisions that many low-lying communities will have to make over the next 20, 50 and 100 years."
To produce the visualizations, Flanders is working with other landscape planning researchers at CALP, climate scientists on the climate forecasts, coastal engineers who can calculate what water will do during a storm when it slams against the dikes, land-use planners who know current policies and how strategies could potentially roll-out on the ground, and a working group of members of the public. These participants helped to build the scenarios and assess their acceptability.
Flanders and his colleagues have begun to show these visualizations to city planners and engineers, local elected officials, and members of the community. He notes that "many individuals seeing the images for the first time had a very emotional response."
The work borrows from international precedents, but CALP is unique in combining visualization, stakeholder input, and evaluation of results comprehensively in the Delta study.
"Other communities around the globe could gain insight from this on how to address their own local concerns, whether it's sea level rise, forest fire risk, changing snow pack, or other issues."
###
CONTACT:
David Flanders
Research Scientist, Collaborative for Advanced Landscape Planning
Adjunct Faculty, School of Architecture and Landscape Architecture
Tel: 604.328.3448
Email: david.flanders@ubc.ca
Heather Amos
UBC Public Affairs
Cell: 604.828.3867
Email: heather.amos@ubc.ca
[NB: Flanders is participating in a AAAS news briefing on Sunday, Feb. 19 at 1 p.m. PST at the Vancouver Convention Centre in Room 223-224. He is available for embargoed interviews anytime on Friday morning, Saturday evening at the annual Compass Marine Mixer (6:30 - 9 p.m. at the Pan Pacific Hotel (Chrystal Pavilion); and on Monday. He is available at 604.328.3448 (cell).
Simulated images are available by contacting Heather Amos at heather.amos@ubc.ca or 604.828.3867 (cell) and will be available for download Sunday, Feb. 19 at 1 p.m at: http://www.aaas.ubc.ca/media-resources/photos/
Photos of Flanders are available at: http://www.aaas.ubc.ca/media-resources/photos/. A video of Flanders is available at http://www.aaas.ubc.ca/media-resources/videos/ ]
[ | E-mail | Share ]
?
AAAS and EurekAlert! are not responsible for the accuracy of news releases posted to EurekAlert! by contributing institutions or for the use of any information through the EurekAlert! system.
Preparing for the flood: Visualizations help communities plan for sea-level risePublic release date: 19-Feb-2012 [ | E-mail | Share ]
Contact: Heather Amos heather.amos@ubc.ca 604-828-3867 University of British Columbia
Researchers at the University of British Columbia have produced computer visualizations of rising sea levels in a low-lying coastal municipality, illustrating ways to adapt to climate change impacts such as flooding and storms surges.
The researchers are working with a municipality south of Vancouver, Canada that is surrounded by water on three sides and is expecting the sea-level to rise by 1.2 metres by 2100 a change that would affect a number of waterfront homes, inland suburban developments, roads and farmland.
Considerable infrastructure has been built below current and projected high water levels, and could be inundated in the event of a dike breach. The images produced show how different adaptation strategies that could be implemented in the municipality and are being used to help make decisions about how to best prepare for the future.
"To me, the visualizations are the only way that you can tell the complete story of climate change and its impacts in a low-lying coastal community," says David Flanders, a UBC research scientist with the Collaborative for Advanced Landscape Planning (CALP), who will present this research at the 2012 Annual Meeting of the American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS) in Vancouver on Sunday. "In other words, seeing really is believing in this case."
"It can be hard to mentally grasp what rising sea-levels can mean on the ground but our visualizations give people a glimpse of what their future world will look and feel like in their own backyards. They help community members understand how their quality of life can be affected by climate change, and by the decisions they make to deal with climate impacts."
BACKGROUND
The municipality of Delta, B.C. is in an agricultural region with a population of about 100,000 (Fig. 1). Historically, the municipality has used dykes to protect the land from flooding and tides a common strategy used by coastal communities.
New provincial guidelines for the construction of new homes have more than doubled the recommended finished floor elevation to compensate for rising high water lines. Similarly, the guidelines for sea dike construction have increased considerably, in some cases suggesting a top-of-wall more than two times their current elevation above mean sea level.
Working with the municipality, Flanders and his colleagues at CALP have created visualizations of sea-level rise in Delta and four alternate scenarios that show different ways Delta could adapt. These were constructed using a cutting-edge 3D geovisualization process that integrates climate modeling scenarios, inundation modeling, Geographic Information Systems (GIS) data, land use and urban design.
Visualizations of higher water levels in Delta portray what would happen to the community if it does nothing to prepare for climate change (Fig. 2).
"Combine the sea-level rise with bigger storms, more wind, more waves and high-tide and that's an enormous amount of water," says Flanders.
The four alternate scenarios show Delta over the next century where the municipality adopts various strategies to prepare for sea-level rise including: raising the dikes ("Hold The Line," Fig. 3); building offshore barrier islands to absorb the impact of incoming storms ("Reinforce and Reclaim," Fig 4); moving parts of the community out of the floodplain and on to higher ground ("Managed Retreat," Fig. 5); and reducing vulnerability through design by raising homes, roads and critical infrastructure above the floodplain ("Build Up," Fig. 6).
The visualizations packages not only show what the region could look at the end of the century but also takes into account other important factors like the cost of each solution for the municipality, the cost to individual property owners, and the trade-offs between protecting roads, habitat, homes, waterfront views and agricultural production.
"What is becoming evident is that there is no single, perfect solution. Each alternative pathway has trade-offs associated with it, and this planning process has been very effective at communicating those trade-offs, and assessing acceptability," says Flanders.
"Communities will have to decide what their priorities are, and likely plan for a mosaic of different solutions, because each neighbourhood has its own set of concerns and its own idea of what will be possible. This visioning process can help inform these kinds of tough decisions that many low-lying communities will have to make over the next 20, 50 and 100 years."
To produce the visualizations, Flanders is working with other landscape planning researchers at CALP, climate scientists on the climate forecasts, coastal engineers who can calculate what water will do during a storm when it slams against the dikes, land-use planners who know current policies and how strategies could potentially roll-out on the ground, and a working group of members of the public. These participants helped to build the scenarios and assess their acceptability.
Flanders and his colleagues have begun to show these visualizations to city planners and engineers, local elected officials, and members of the community. He notes that "many individuals seeing the images for the first time had a very emotional response."
The work borrows from international precedents, but CALP is unique in combining visualization, stakeholder input, and evaluation of results comprehensively in the Delta study.
"Other communities around the globe could gain insight from this on how to address their own local concerns, whether it's sea level rise, forest fire risk, changing snow pack, or other issues."
###
CONTACT:
David Flanders
Research Scientist, Collaborative for Advanced Landscape Planning
Adjunct Faculty, School of Architecture and Landscape Architecture
Tel: 604.328.3448
Email: david.flanders@ubc.ca
Heather Amos
UBC Public Affairs
Cell: 604.828.3867
Email: heather.amos@ubc.ca
[NB: Flanders is participating in a AAAS news briefing on Sunday, Feb. 19 at 1 p.m. PST at the Vancouver Convention Centre in Room 223-224. He is available for embargoed interviews anytime on Friday morning, Saturday evening at the annual Compass Marine Mixer (6:30 - 9 p.m. at the Pan Pacific Hotel (Chrystal Pavilion); and on Monday. He is available at 604.328.3448 (cell).
Simulated images are available by contacting Heather Amos at heather.amos@ubc.ca or 604.828.3867 (cell) and will be available for download Sunday, Feb. 19 at 1 p.m at: http://www.aaas.ubc.ca/media-resources/photos/
Photos of Flanders are available at: http://www.aaas.ubc.ca/media-resources/photos/. A video of Flanders is available at http://www.aaas.ubc.ca/media-resources/videos/ ]
[ | E-mail | Share ]
?
AAAS and EurekAlert! are not responsible for the accuracy of news releases posted to EurekAlert! by contributing institutions or for the use of any information through the EurekAlert! system.
It is difficult to run a business in a country where home-brewed products and services are not supported and embraced as they should be. But, this didn?t stop the Mafikeng-born Tshego Chanda from starting her own furniture business. She is the mastermind behind Sebilo Creations, a business which offers an array of services including architecture, interior design, contemporary furniture design and furniture manufacturing.
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Public release date: 19-Feb-2012
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